FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(concept cover art)

Red Twilight

World Walkers

By

Dustin Feyder

Dedicated to

Stephon P. Walker

Table of Contents

Act 1: A Bend in Time

Chapter 1: Dark Prophesy 4-11

Chapter 2: Into Nothing 5-22

Chapter 3: Father 23-32

Chapter 4: The Man Called Devil 33-46

Chapter 5: Allegiances 47-65

Chapter 6: Into the Mist 66-75

Act 2: A Wrinkle in Space

Chapter 7: Steel Rose 76-94

Chapter 8: Doppelganger 95-114

Chapter 9: Histories 115-129

Chapter 10: Deadlight 130-150

Chapter 11: Wind Snow and Ice 151-173

Chapter 12: A Plan for Attack 174-189

Chapter 13: Eclipse phase 1 190-210

Chapter 14 Eclipse phase 2 211-235

Chapter 15 The Dream Machine 236-260

Chapter 16 Attack on the Steal Rose 261-276

Chapter 17 Next thing to Paradise 1 277-295

Chapter 18 Next thing to Paradise 2 296-309

Chapter 19 Fate 310-325

Chapter 20 Everything Fades 326-341

Chapter 21 Spiders Nest 342-350

Chapter 22 Attack on Eden part 1 351-357

Chapter 23 Attack on Eden part 2 358-366

Act 3: Fate Reforged

Chapter 24 Whim of Chaos 368-369

Chapter 25 Fullmoon 370-373

Chapter 26 Died or Alive 374-

Act 1

A Bend in Time

Chapter 1

Dark Prophecies

The King of Tamreal, The God of the Nothingness, The Demon called Cravixs, the man once known as Fellius Mammon, and as Crow sits on his thrown in the Black tower of Eden, at the top of the world, that is at the center of all realities, the river of Mana before him, the tree of Beginnings behind him. His long black coat dripping with blood, one hand cradles his side, his flaming velvet eyes fixated on his window looking down on his kingdom. His flawless white skin looks like marbled stone, his raven hair flows down his back like a river of dusk silver. He watches as the sky is torn asunder.

The vales of reality brake away like drywall, the river of Mana is drank half dry as a rain of souls march into Tamreal. All the bravest warriors of all the free world fall in prepared for one final push to free the web of the multiverse from the God of Hunger. This game that has been being played since before time is drawing to a close.

But the march of these hero's is not unopposed. The scores of the dead, from all of time, all that have given in, the dishonored, the disgraced, the old and the ill, the soulless, all flock to Cravix aid.

Night against day, light against dark, freedom against order. All things come to an end. A halfhearted grin finds Cravix face as he watches the armies square off. He has seen this happen already, twelve times or more in fact. Mammon's elder brother Laus-dayO is a poor looser, time and time again Cravix has won this war. Light has yielded to darkness. It is the only possible outcome.

** *

Charlie Belmond is the first to exit the gate followed closely by Lances Jacob; then David Jazzmen, Hetatsubatchi Una, Cinder, then tens of millions of other. The final battle is at hand and Charlie has gathered every world to fight by his side, Belmond cannot possible loose. The middle aged Warlock drapes his mighty whip 'Souleater' down at his side and points off to the fields ahead proclaiming "Yggdrasil lies ahead!"

The army has already been tampered in the fire of war. Even though Belmond is their leader he needs give no orders, everyone already know the part that they must play.

David Jazzmen pulls the giant 'Demon's Blade' from his back as he marches forth, his wavy silver hair drifts before his glowing green eyes as the first wave of Cravix slaves step forth to block the invaders path, Jazzmen pulls down on his crimson coat slightly adjusting it. The slaves freeze in place, they can feel the evil power that flows through Jazzmen. Jazzmen smiles darkly as he introduces himself to the slave army. "I am David Jazzmen, The Prince of the Kingdom of Dis, The Man called Devil. Who of you is brave enough to face me?"

The slave army backs away slightly recalling from the diabolic prince. Jazzman points the Demon Blade, "No one stands in my way?" he holds the sword overhead gripping it in both hands like a samurai "Very well! Then I will fight all of you at once!" Jazzman dives into the wake of battle to draw first blood. A vicking esc cry of freedom echoes in Jazzmen's wake as the battle begins.

Cinder, missionary of Vishnew, floats forth to fight by Jazzman's side. Her skin is made of wood, her hair of fire, her gown of flowing sands forged into a cloth. The Prince and the missionary side by side make a force truly worth fearing. Cinder waves her arms in a dance fire and water trailing her movements in walls of elemental wrath. "Charlie my beloved" Cinder calls back "do not trouble yourself with these befouled souls, go forth and see to it that gods bleed"

All out melee brakes out, the armies of light make room for their heroes to sally forth. Lance, Hetatsubatchi and Belmond push towards the tower till Cravixs angel Harm steps between them.

Harm the vampire child of the goddess Akash outstretches his arms in a taunting prayer.

Hetatsubatchi, the mighty white Warg with the flower tattoos fails to allow the vampire to speak as he picks up the monster in his jaws and pins him to the ground. "Tiny god." Hetatsubatchi snarls, "I have sunk my fangs into more than one of your kin."

Jacob looks back to Hetatsubatchi offaring his aid in this battle "Tatsu?!"

"Stay with the Belmond, I can pluck this birds feathers just fine."

Lance and Charlie fight their way to the gates of the tower with hardly another backwards glance. Charlie place is hand to the door and using the power the king of Tamreal gave him oh so many years ago forces the gates to crumble before him.

When the gates fall a group of twisted souls cloaked in shadows reach-out for the two men. Jacob pulls his 'book of prayers' from his satchel and a blinding light erupts form his chest pushing the monster back into the shadows. Up the stairs the two run, Charlie pointing the way as Lances walks backwards holding out his book to see to it that they are not fallowed.

** *

Cravixs slides over to his window looking down on the world "Fools, all of you, I am the sun and the moon, I am the dusk and the dawn, I am creation manifest! And you point your swords at me?!" Cravixs reaches one hand overhead his force of will gripping the moon in the sky and with a thrust of his arm throws the moon into the earth, the world itself set ablaze, only the tower and the tree of beginnings protected from the wraith of the God of Hunger. Souls without number sent into annihilation. Hero and villain alike drawn into Cravixs chest. All life returning to the sources in barley the blink of in eye.

** *

Lances and Charlie are blissfully ignorant of what has happened as they reach the top of the tower. Charlie looks to Lances "this is as far as you go old man. Watch the door."

"Charlie?" Lances protest

"you couldn't fallow me even if I wanted you to. Crow won't allow you to enter his chamber." Charlie smiles at his old friend as he steps up to the door. Cold light bleeds into the chamber as the door creeks open. Charlie Belmond walks forth to meet his destiny

"Fight bravely my friend. May we meet again in better times." Lances whispers to himself turning to look back down the steps.

** *

Belmond walks through the open door his fist wrapped tightly around his whip his eyes go cold as he takes a deep breath, the huge marble room overlooking all of creation outstretched before him. Slowly he steps rolling his eyes side to side, the room feels empty, but Charlie knows well that Cravixs is waiting for him.

Charlie has barley taken five steps before he freezes in place, he feels moister rolling down his chest. One hand finds his rips and then pulls away as he feel blood rushing down his body and the moon shaped blade of Gloom, Crow's death scythe.

The shadows behind Belmond melt into the sexless beauty that is the king of Tamreal. "I know what you are thinking, let me help you vocalize your thoughts. 'I don't understand, I did everything right, my souls is on fire, my heart overflows with indignation, a hundred generation my fathers paved the road that would lead me hear, and not even am I aloud to look on to your lovely face?' Let me help you understand. You are strong, you are brave, but you are mortal, you are flawed. Never where you worthy to stand eye to eye with me. Never where you meant to win this fight, you are nothing more than a sacrifice to my divinity. Belmond son of Belmond the last of the keys of salvation are almost within my reach and once I have them no king or god will ever be my equal again, and you have made that possible ."

Slowly, softly, silently, the scythe is drawn back, pealed all so gently from Belmond's breast. Charlie kneels, his eyes turning upwards to look at something that is not there. Crow lets loose his blade as it brakes way as a flock of birds returning to the never from which it came. Crow slides around in front of Charlie and kneels to face him. "I am sorrowful for what I have done, make no mistake of that, I only ask that you try to understand, try to comprehend the incomprehensible. I offer you, friend from another life, that which my brothers where far to cruel to allow me. I am a companionate god, I offer you finite life, and finite death. Your heart has already stopped, there is no blood in your vain, you were dead before I pulled out my scythe. But you can still feel, still think, for a few moments longer."

Crow reaches one hand out to push the hair away from Charlie's eyes "at this moment you're watching your dreams play out backwards in your thoughts, the world is turning gray and red as your thought bleed out onto the floor with your blood, you think you are in pain, but the pain will only last as long as your will to fight. Soon you will see your first thoughts, your earliest memories flake away and then in your last second, as the last of what you once where has left your flesh you will feel true peace fill your heart."

Charlie falls onto his side. Crow stands back up "I free you from the bounds of infinite rebirth, I give you the gift of solidarity, and annihilation. I envy you, and wish I could join you."

Cravixs walks the empty halls of the tower. Down the steps, and out the door to find Lances Jacob standing mortified on the battle field, only now seeing what has happened. Jacob hears Crow's step behind him and spins to face Crow with a scream as he brandishes his book. For the briefest of moments Jacob shutters freezing as he looks into the glowing purple lights that are Cravixs eyes, he remembers their last meeting, Jacob's rage mounts as he begins to recite a spell from his book.

"... and so on the 40th day the king of the night stands before the king of light, the king of night holds forth his hands..."

Crow rolls his eyes back and whispers "Lances, my boy, why do you not love me?"

"... I need not your bread to fill my body for my soul is filled by passion and grace..."

Crow continues as the two men have to conversations against each other "I have been nothing if not kind to you."

"...IF not my bread that you eat, then my wine you must drink, fore for forty days thou has thirst..." "I simply cannot understand why you turn away from me. I gave you direction, I gave you a feeling of inclusion, of autonomy..."

"... King of the night, I send you away, Back, Back, I command it, in the name of the Light! Cower before me! Feel the drag of sin and kneel!"

The king of Tamreal's eye go cold as he takes a step forward forcing Lances to step back "No, not this time. Let me tell you a secret Lances. That book in your hands, it has no power. You can be holding anything and it would have the same effect. The power was yours form the beginning. You have my blood in your veins, that is why you can control my monster. But your soul is old. You are running out of power. Ten years ago, maybe you could have stood a fool's chance but..."

The book in Jacob's hand grows larger and heavier till Lances can no longer hold his grip and so the book drops to the ground shattering the holy light that Lances believed was holding the demon at bay. With a manic howl Jacob throws open his coat and draws out his curved hunting knife. Holy rage fuels his wraith as he steps forth to strike the evil god.

Crow brings up his right hand to grab lances by the wrist and his left he thrust out into his biracial plexus tie-in, a half step back, and crow has dragged Lances into the ground. "Love me, worship me, that is all I ask, and I will take away all your ills. I am the one true love and the one true peace." Crow grins, he is playing with his food, he is already in side Jacob's mind binding his will "no man shall serve to masters, lust he hates one and loves the other.

Jacob tries to look away, tries to close his eyes. Jacob can't hope to fight Cravixs, in this supernatural arm wrestling contest Cravixs is a boxer in top fighting form, Lances is a sickly child. Crow can kill lances at any moment.

"Lances my boy. The Key, I cannot take it from you, you must hand it to me" desperately Lances tries to come up with one last act of defiance, but there is nothing. Crow shatters Jacob's will, his eyes turn dead and white, his zombie hands close, as they part a key forms in his grip, a non-corporeal key that only Crow can see Crow reaches out for the key.

The stars in the sky start to spin, the key vanishes for Crows grasp as does Jacob. Crow shouts into the nothingness "Lous-day-O! you fool! How many times do you want to watch this day replayed? I have crushed your army! Slain your champion! And mocked your gambit! My victory today is the only outcome. Lay your toys to rest and face me already!"

***

Chapter 2

Into the Nothing

Charlie awakens, he feels no pain, he feels nothing at first it seems. Slowly his head turns form side to side taking in the ambiences. The stars in the sky are distant, so much so that galaxies and nebula are somehow brought into soft focus. Light is so week it seems to shutter, wavering, leaving cut into the night sky a negative shape almost like a tree. The black of space seems bright next to the emptiness of the blackzone.

Charlie has found his way so far from any world he would know that the impossible is within arm's reach. The vary edge of tangential reality. Islands of floating stone reach off into deadspace off to one side of him, falling off the lip of perceivable nature, to the other side a body of water seems to settle as globs of water fall ever so slowly from space to the tiny rock on which Belmond rest.

Belmond know what this is, he knows where he is, somehow he remembers this place from his past lives, the land of Epheron, the valley of Laith, the lake of Lost Memories. The greatest outreach of spacetime, the end of everything.

Charlies hands find his face rubbing himself down, the roadmap of scars on his face are gone, as is every other imperfection on his body, his armor has burned away into a long gray coat, his boots are gone as he feels he has shed his flesh and now only the avatar of his mind remans. Charlie takes a deep breath and rolls his eyes back, "I'm dead again."

From seated nearby a man in bronze aged medicine robs and a conical hat calls out, he has flowing white hair and electric blue eyes, he is young and aged all at once "That is true."

Charlie sits up pointing at the strange man "I know you."

The old man nods watching the water "you remember me from last time, and the time before that." The old man shacks his head as the water ripples slightly one of the globs of water touching down. "the lake of lost memories, it is starting to look like in ocean."

Charlie walks over to the old man then falls into a resting position Charlie waves out to the water. "I should be in there by now shouldn't i?" The old man nods. "but you keep pulling me out." The old man nods again "I messed up."

"you are a drop of water; you throw yourself at a whelming wave to try to stop it. You could never have one." The old man explains.

"what is 'He'."

The old man points out to the wall of un-mater. "he is that. He is where everything ends, the final dream."

Charlie squints into the distance "Cravixs eats dreams. Why?"

"they are the spark. They are what fuels the river of mana, feeds the tree of beginnings and what allows the Tamreal to shape and craft worlds." There is a long silinces as the two men watch the water "do you want to hear the most amazing truth that will ever be muttered?" Charlie nods "this too will end. At some point in time all of creation will return to the emptiness. Now mater exist necessarily, any time there is no mater, mater will, will itself into existences, but apathy is will fallow mater and call mater back into a state of not mater in time. But time is space and space has mass, there for when mater stops time stops, and then non mater exist again, but because mater exist as necessity the motion of the universe must start again. Not me, not Him, no one can stop that."

"if life is death, then why do we fight?" Belmond struggles to understand the old man

"because death is life is death is life."

Charlie looks to the old man "you are God; why don't you fight?"

"I am Tamreal, the first king, they would say, but in truth one of for, and we too are slaves to another god, you pray to me Charlie, I pray to the tree of beginnings, and the tree prays to the water. Besides, we tried that already, if I fight my brother I lose. That's why the elaborate game, magic words, keys, the greater and lesser Tamreal."

"what does Cravixs want?"

"he is old, he has been hurt about as badly as anything can hurt him, he wants to return to nothing."

"are you saying that you Tamreal can't die?"

"half-bloods can. As for the others like me... I don't know?"

"you know everything!" Charlie commands

"I know only what is knowable." There is a long seconds silence as the elderly man thinks "Thou I was the first fruit to fall from the tree of beginnings I am not unique. Since the dawning of Tangential reality, I have watched the infinite Gaia's spiral off to the edges of the real. I have seen everything seeable, done all that is doable. But still there are limitations. I cannot see past end of this reality. The Time before and the Time after that which I have lived is beyond my reach, beyond my brothers and my sister as well. Tell me Charlie Belmond, what does it sound like when gods die? Where do we go? What is at the fare end of heaven?"

Charlie leans in looking down into the water, flickers if light jump from its surface as mystical waking dreams, the last visions of the dream's owner frozen on the surface. "can you die?"

"that is what Mammon hoped to learn when he set into motion the spells that would forge you"

Charlie offers the old man a queer glance "I am a suicide note?..." he turns to face the sky "why do you keep saving me?"

"If anyone is going to defeat a Tamrail in single combat it has to be you."

"why?"

"when The Nothing entered into this branch of realities it broke Mammon. He now lives as four minds and four bodies. You have seen three of them."

"Adam Crow, the hand of Cravixs, Cravixs the Voice of Mammon, and Mammon the heart of the void" Charlie thinks aloud "what about the fourth?"

"his humanity." The old man refuses to say more "Charlie I can send you back, anywhere you want to go."

Charlie rolls to face the wizard "The tower steps! As I was on my way to face Crow! I can beat him!"

"are you in such a hurry to die again? Going there will save no one. Even if you win, your victory will be empty".

"then where should I go?"

"Go home Charlie"

Where is home for someone that has walked the roads between realities? Charlie lived alone in the days before his call to war. He hasn't seen his mother in months, father is long since dead, and his wife and kid are hiding out half way across the country. Charlie might as well pitch a tent in the boiler room of the school he worked at, there is little else left in his life but work. But this fight, this means something. As a father Charlie is a faller, as a husband he is hapless, but as a Warlock his life means something.

"I want to go back to 'the Lamia's Back' September 10th"

The old man chuckles and slaps Charlie on the arm "Good chose. Now, It is your memories I'm sending back not your body. Much of your magic will need to be relearned, and only you will remember all that has transpired."

The old man waves his hand and the stars in the sky start to spin counterclockwise changing the vary shape of the cosmos. A flash of light erupts from Charlie's body, he reaches his hands to the sky, then he is gone, his thoughts and memories sent back in time to try to change the past futures.

The old man pulls his hat down over his face lying down. "Im going to miss that kid."

***

When Charlie reopens his eyes he is on his back in a hole in the ground piled high with broken car parts, the air is dry and dusty, the smell of rust and blood is thick about him. Charlie looks himself over, he has on his motorcycle gang jacket with the patriot eagle and flag on the back and the scales made out of pop tabs on the front, his magic whip Souleater is still clenched in his fist. He starts to sit up then falls over backwards "that's right, I had broken two ribs on September 9th. "

Charlie had been at this bar yesterday night, there had been some form of evil magic at work wherein the bar became a breeding pit for monster. Charlie Belmond alongside, Snake and Larry Geeks, Lances Jacob, El Driver, and his friends Mohamed Quin and Luca Wingate had fought off the demons that night. It was the first time Charlie had seen the monster called Crow, the day he knew he had to fight! When Charlie had first learned of his heritage from his mother, he fled, but never again.

Push past a great deal of discomfort Charlie finds his feet, he stagers right then left then finally straightens up. One hand finds the side of his head as he closes his eyes trying to remember the last time he stood atop this stack of broken car parts at last shouting down into the hallow ground

"RT (pronounced as Art) Z9 Double One Z One. Xzoner, wake up!"

A soft fluid voice shacks the ground "I do not recall the last time my name was spoken out loud by any but myself" a two dimensional monstrosisty bubbles out of the ground, visible at first as only sparkles of red light bouncing off its cytoplasmic outer membrane but then twist in the air showing off its backside at first which is the shape and color of a red blood cell then its underside which is a bottomless pit lined with teeth and ridges stretching from now into never. As if air is water its body flickers slightly in and out of view as it partly folds in on itself falling back into its duel dimensional transparency.

"RT, do you remember me?" Charlie ask the monster,

RT pulls and sags on air becoming ever larger as it blankets the sun from entering the pit in which Charlie stands "this version of you and I have never met."

Charlie calls up to it. "But others of you and I have!"

Sound gets sucked into the empty vortex of RT's body, all sounds outside the pit are silenced, the quite is painful to hear. "the aura your body generates does not belong to you, not this you. I have infinite sisters sleeping on infinite worlds across infinite realties. I can see all that they see, but I have never seen you."

"when last we spoke RT you asked me to ask you a question. What is infinite minus one?" Charlie stars up at the beast from outside time.

"I have wondered that myself many times." There is a hard second of stillness as the air under the dome RT formed becomes heavier. "Why did you call to me warlock?"

"RT I need your help; you were born when the Nothing broken into this reality. You are what was left behind when the god Cravixs targeted this world to be returned to nothing. You are the keyhole through which the Tamreal can see other worlds. I need the power to slide past the keyhole." Charlie explains.

"For what purpose?"

"I am going to kill god."

RT makes no move, no sound, in the stillness the grinding of warms underfoot becomes ever louder as does the echoing of Charlie's breathing and blood flowing through his vain becomes addible. "what you are asking for has never been done."

"then I will be the first."

"Do you understand what you are asking for?"

"it will be a fine adventure."

"and what happens to us when there are no gods left?"

"All prisoners will be released. All sin forgiven. Life will have meaning."

"what meaning."

"whatever you choose."

"Choices is the meaning?"

"yes." Charlie smiles waiting for the Xzoner to think over what he has claimed. How long Charlie can't tell but it is long enough. The canopy brakes and RT rolls itself into a ball. In this form it flies down into Charlie diving into his body. Charlie absorbs RT taking on a portion of its magical abilities. He has taken the next grate step into becoming the sorcerer he knows he will become.

There are a multitude of ways to take another's essence into oneself. Directly might well be the most unpleasant. For more than a few moments Charlie hugs himself swaying from side to side waiting for the new life within him to settle in. any looking on may even see the alien crawling under his skin.

When at last Rt has found a peace within Charlie's chest it takes the form of a glass looking marble protruding from between his shoulders, it takes only the slightest color from his skin as well making his flesh look discreetly thinner and his vain mildly more pronounced, but with the tapestry of scars Charlie has already no one would notice.

Charlie makes his way back to his 1940 Harley Davison his head still swimming. Sirens can be heard whaling in the distance. Charlie pays them no heed as he looks over his bike, then back at the bar. He opens up his saddlebags looking them over to remind himself of what he had with him on what had been his trip to the bike rally.

Its outstanding how quickly an extra-planner terror can change vacation plans. Charlie's digging terns up a tape player, he pops it open to pull out the cartridge "Ecliptica." He smiles brightly "I remember this." He had gotten this tap in the mail from his son months ago, he had been playing it on a loop. It's a rock band from Netherlands, not his normal taste but because of where it came from, he quickly learned to love it.

Charlie repacks his bags and mounts his bike as he starts singing to himself "I'm home again, we have one the war, and now I am behind the door. Remember me, before the war, I was the man that lived next door, long agoooo." With a quick kick of the starter, the bike explodes to life.

Charlie needs to regather his forces, arm himself for war again. This time, things will be better.

Chapter 3

The Father

Deep within the pits of a Jesuit church rest a treasury of books and scrolls, some of which date back to 100 years BCE. The sealing is arched and the room smells old. At a small wooden table illuminated by an oil lamp a woman with golden hair dressed in the clerical red rob of the arch cardinals taps a fist full of papers on the desk before her. She lets out a hard breath as she pushes her glasses up on her noise to level them. She is an odd one, a woman who has assumed the title of cardinal, she is either old with a young face or young with an old body.

The cardinal terns her eyes up to her guest "Father Jacob, I trust you understand that you have asked me to leave my work in Italy to come here to speak to you face to face." She rests her elbows on the table to fold her hands under her chin. "Now you see father the absurdity of a simple parish contacting the senior most member of the Jesuit Knights has not escaped me so I took the liberty of reading over your history." With one hand the arch Cardinal reaches into her deep red robe and produces a rolled up stack of papers. She taps them on the table then pushes up her glasses before beginning to read down a list of facts about Lances' life

"born 1935 in Main, baptized 1950, joined the Mosaic brotherhood 1960, you played baseball for your congestion, you were offered the membership into the circle of bishops 1976, you declined. 1979-1994 you took a pilgrimage, off church funds, to central Europe and visited a good deal of historical sites. After returning home it seems you fell ill and took 6 months off work. During which time you adopted 2 children. 1996 you took up a job as a translator for the church, it seems you can read in 5 languages and speak 4 fluently. But early this year you sent out a letter you your bishop, your parish and to me saying that you are retiring. So you can understand my shock when hardly a month later you are contacting me again pleading me to come see you. In the dead-lands of Nebraska of all places." She sets down the pages and glare over the table to father Jacob.

Lances leans back on his chair in a nearly off-putting display of smugness. "Madam St. Frances, I can't help but say 'you did your diligents' so I will go right head and get to the short and skinny. You and your people, I know your history just like you know mine." Lances removes his glasses and wipes them on his robe "The Knights of Jesuit, or the Brotherhood, like to dress up and play priest. But you are no man of god. The Jesuit knights where founded by a man named Francesco Demolay, Francesco was A wealthy lord with deep connections in both France and Sicily, in some provinces he was even called a warlord. But with the aid of 'the sisterhood of St. Jane' Demolay was able to set himself up a front as a landlord and founder of a coin exchange and even erect a church in his name. all the while running with his old mercenary's out the back door."

Lances leans forth onto the table placing his glasses back on his face. "The brotherhood, is 'the Knights of Demolay' and Demolay is the last organized group of demon hunters pre fourteen hundered."

A strange grin finds the Arch Cardinal's lips as Lances talks "well aren't we the smart librarian?"

Lances eyes are cold as stone as he leers over the table "I have fucked this goat more than once. I know the kinds of games that get played around here. And I will go right ahead and play them for you one more time if you can give me what I want. I will sell your snake oil, push your panacea, read whatever retconned history you want me to read and I won't stop smiling the whole time. I have lied for you and for the church before. You know I can do it."

Magdalen cuts into the monolog "And what is it you want Father Jacob?"

"there is evil in this world with a capital 'E' my baby girl is in the hands of a demon as we speak. I want your blessing, and weapons from your personal armory, and I want to go bet the fear of god into those monsters."

Magdalen's grin grows ever wider as the old preacher spits fire "you have made a good deal of clams, but I can't be expected to take this with nothing more than your word can I?"

Lances nostrils flare and lip curls as he can see he is being played "I dropped a tail cut clean from a demons ass on the doorstep when I came in!" he grips his chair moving in slightly tighter "but if that's not proof enough fine. Bring me an uncut loaf of bread and a pitcher of water and Ill show you something that will bleed the color clean out of your robe.

With a snap of her fingers and a quick gesture St. Frances attendant walks off to find the requested items. Jacob reaches into his coat pulling out his book of prayers as they wait. The book is cradled in a black cloth and wrapped in leather, bound by silver string with a brass buckle that holds the book closed when not in use. The old man whispers to himself as he reads in a language that St. Frances cannot understand.

The water is placed on the table first, it is in a bronze vase, then the uncut bread on a matching saucer. St. Frances leans forth waiting, watching most interested. "your bread father. Impress me."

Lances closes his book placing it back into his inner coat pocket "you are going to eat those words." He places one hand over the water pitcher and starts chanting in a long forgotten tongue. He stops momentarily "what would you be more impressed by: wine, or blood?"

"you're joking right?" the cardinal rest back in her chair taken aback by the statement

"wine it is." Jacob retutns to his chant for only a few moments longer then pulls his hand away from the vase. He sits back and waves the cardinal forward "look."

St. Frances picks the pitcher up rolling it side to side. "it is filled with a black red liquid." Her eyes shift to Jacob "what is it?"

"A 'Morlet' wine if I'm not mistaking"

After a moments contemplation St. Frances places the vase down and chuckles dismissively "that trick could be done with a seltzer tablet."

Lance jaw tightens and he reach out to place one hand over the bread "alright, then for my next trick." He starts to chant once more, the crust of the bread brakes away and from its shell rises a block of roasted beef. "you can't do that with a seltzer tablet."

St. Frances nearly slips from her chair in bewilderment. "Transmutation?" her eyes shot from Lances to the meat and then back "How?" she freezes "how long have you had this power?"

Lances now has the grin on his face as he folds his hands over his chest "about two weeks. Don't think it was long after I left the church that I first used it."

"Can you change other things?" St. Frances looks most interested now

"don't know that for sure. But I can; bless water, mend broken bones, and heal cuts and bruises with a touch. And that's just what I know so far. Imagine what I might find out tomorrow."

St. Frances mumbles to herself "you are some kind of messiah."

"no..." Lance protest "but I am one mean motherfucking servant of god."

"where did this power come from?"

Lances pulls out his book "I know how to pray right. for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

St. Frances regains her composure "that book you are holding, where did it come from? Is it one of ours?"

"if you take it at face value this is the chronical of the profit Adam as told by saint Enoch. If I understand right Enoch gave this book to King Samsun, who lost it, it then found its way into the hand of Gaius Marcius, then Flavius Belisarius, Martin Luther, a few others and now I have it."

"what is in its pages?"

"amongst other things, the name of god, the names of his brothers and sister. The name of the god that created him..." St. Frances turns bitter and points accusingly, Lances holds up a hand to silencer her premeditatedly "And that is why I hold the book not you. Our god claims to be vain by his own admition saying such things as 'have no gods before me' and 'bring no graven images before me' over the years we just came to believe that meant he was the only god, but god is not a name, it is a description."

St. Frances stands "Give me the book!"

Lances stands slapping his book on the table, the two stare each other down before Lances brakes the silence "Take it. If you can."

Greed flashes in the cardinal's eyes as she swoops in to take the book of prayers. The book emits a shock that forces the cardinal to drop the book. It lands on the ground open then the pages spin pulling the book closed, thunder roars from within its pages till at last the latch clicks itself into place. "Looks like you aren't worthy." Lances proclaims in earnest. Jacob picks the book back up hiding it in his coat.

"the book is alive? And it seems to know who it wants holding it. How may I be of service to you Father Jacob?"

Lances produces a folded up later from a pocket "Let me know if you have seen any of the things on this list."

***

The rip in timespace heals itself and Cravixs has been returned to his past body. Even the Tamreal, the most perfect entities birthed from the tree of beginnings, have limitations to their powers. 'Action vs. Reaction' is an equation irreparable unbalanced, an order to take an action you must take two steps, ascertain target, then engage target, in order to react you must make four steps, see target, asses target, formulate maneuvers, engage target. This makes first move advantage in any struggle key to clean victory. The other limitation is another that is a fundamental flaw in organic life, to use a modern colloquialism 'input lag' there will always be a moment's hesitation between the time one has a thought and the time that one's body acts one said thought.

As Crow reorients himself a voice can be heard calling to him. One he knows and is less then found of "Behold, For I am Gideon, son of Skoll the Eclipser, she who is the shadow over the Moon. In the name of Asgard, I will punish you 'Worldeater'." Gideon is a giant almost twice Crow's height, he has a bradded red beard with matching breaded hair, is wrapped in wolf hide armor, he has a shield on his back with a high mirror polish, a leather whip hooked onto his belt and holds in his left hand an axe forged of obsidian meteoric stone "prepare yourself for honorable death!" Gideon brings his axe to high ready and rushes forth.

The Asgard are an off shoot of the Tamreal. Not so unlike the Demi, demons or angels, they have holy blood, but no direct link back to the tree of beginnings. The Asgard came to be in a time that is called the 'premortal age'. Simple beast, fish, birds, rodents, bugs and reptiles where strong across the multiverse already but complex, sophisticated beast where still a number of generations out.

Mammon and his sister Chaos had gone out exploring these young worlds that have seemingly become self-sufficient and self-procreating. The two of them experimented with some of these primal lifeforms, foolishly seeing what would become of them when baptized in their holy blood, what happens when the divine touches that which never seen divinity?

The Tamreal would come to find that their experimentation resulted in the birth of a number of animals that had most of their powers and reproduced at an explosive rate. After only a few short hundred years the Asgard populated their home world and learned how to travel to new worlds, they became proud and aggressive, brining faith, convinction, and technology to worlds that might never have found them otherwise. In many ways this fake Tamreal became dangerous to the real ones, teaching their fallowers how to fight.

Gideon brings down his blade slashing at Crow with what should be deadly force, the blade cuts deep, if Cravixs where anything less than god Gideon would have slain him with this strike, but even though the son of the wolf god is mighty, he is not mightier than the god of hunger, the god of the void, the Cravixs!

Where otherwise blood should be spraying from the axe wound carved much of the way thought Crow's body instead sand and mulch ooze out. This is the first domino to fall, the event that triggers the events that he has now lived through a dozen times, the one moment in time that he seem to have no power to change. The wound looks far more horrofinig than it truly is. This body even if destroyed is only a body Cravixs can forge another. But that is time consuming, and if there was one thing that Cravixs hate more so then most it is the loss of time. Most of all when he is so close to his next meal.

Before Cravixs can consume a world protected by the pantheon he must track down the 'keys of salvation' a collection of souls that act like a lock limiting the powers of the gods on clammed world. Only in this body, the smallest and weakest of the forms he can take can Cravixs slip past the door, but not till the door is unlocked can he take his truest form and claim his prize.

With this body damaged the most efficient course of action is to travel back to Yggdrasil and use the soil of eternal garden to pack the wound and wait for his body to regrow. But first, to deal with the son of the wolf goddess.

Crow locks arms with Gideon to push up against the obsidian blade to lift it from his body. The Giant clearly shocked by the power this tiny god called Crow can muster. Crow's eye flash violet as he proclaims "you are a useful rook in this game of kings. Being as such I will need to make use of your might to my own ends someday soon. But not today."

In large Crow is bluffing, in this form Gideon is equally as strong as Crow, but Gideon stands taller and can rest his weight on his blade far more easily then Crow can push up on it, Crow must sidestep and fall onto his magic to win this fight, his magic still eclipsing Gideon's.

Crow dips down to one knee then rolls off to one side to slide away from Gideon. Gideon's axe hits the soft earth underfoot sending out a shockwave forcing the ground to fissure upwards in web lick splinters. Crow kicks off of the ground flouting.

Gideon pulls his shield from his back understanding he no longer has the void-mage on defensive. Crow lnows what he is meant to do now, in the first loop he had cast 'Immolation' to turn his foe to ashes, but the shield Gideon is holding was dipped in the blood of Amaterasu; the goddess of the sun, wolves, nature, and birth. This act has given the shield the power to capture most magic and in the case of invocation redirect the spell at a new target.

But then again, there is no reason to see this fight through to its final idiocy. Crow points at the ground to Gideon's sides, then spins his hand in a figure eight. The earth grows teeth throwing itself at the giant. Gideon demonstrates his heroic heritage thrusting his axe and his shield about smashing apart the pillars of earth. Crow makes lick a conductor waving one hand in the air keeping time, the earth is his orcistra fallowing his every movement. Gideon becomes a dancer in Crows ballet, jumping, ducking and spinning around the ever dividing spires of stone.

With Nordic pseudo god distracted Crow phase shifts away beginning the long walk back home to heal.

After escaping into the ether crow cast a minding spell on himself, he is too far from the mana streams to truly heal but he can use the magical equivalent of field dressing to make his injured arm useful again. Traversing the mist of space and the worlds between sleep and dreams he ducks his head thinking.

"I know the script; I know what I have done in every alternate reality I have been forced to live though. But the first. The first life that I lived, the moment before the time loop began, what was I doing then?"

"Lois-day-O, this is your game, you and you alone have the power to move heaven. And with it comes the power to move time. But you can only spine the clock backwards, the right to change the future belongs to those that have power, and no one or thing has enough power to force my will. There for it is my will that will be done. It is only a matter of time before you come to understand that too."

"you could end this any time you want Lois, return to Yggdrasil, summon Chaos, Sa-la-day-name-O, and me back to your side. the first life to fall from the tree, the gardeners of Eden. All this evil rooted in our division. The four of us witnessed the birth of the first sun, the first universe. Only the nothingness has seen more than us."

A second voice finds its way out of Crow's chest "the nothing gave birth to us, now we must return to the nothing." Nearly crippling hunger grips Crow forcing him to fold partly in half to grip his abdomen in order to hold himself up, his humanity (whatever is left of it) melts from his face, his eyes become like glowing purple stone and his skin marble. That dimension called 'Red Twilight' he should have eaten it long ago. He can't wait to eat again.

Chapter 4

The Man Called Devil

David Jazzmen is a thing straight out of an early 90's action movie: boots with spars on them, red leather pants, the sounds of chains ringing as he walks, a vest that looks like it is forged from used artillery casings, two golden handguns tide to his hips with names carved into their handles (Ebony and Alabaster), a deep read overcoat, a broadsword on his back and a shotgun hidden within the folds of his long coat, mid length silver hair, flashing jade eyes and what looks like a meteorite chip tide around his neck with a leather chain.

David pulls the keys out of his Sazuki Hyabusa then takes his phone from his pocket, he looks up the address for his next job as he thinks about the conversation he had had with his next client, one Mr. Joel

"I am looking for an exorcist." Joel's voice echoes in his mind.

"If you have the coin then I am the man." Jazzmen told him "describe the symptoms.'

"My father's teeth fell out the other day, they grew back like fishing hooks, his skin has turned white, lips glow red like gemstones and his hear looks like seaweed..."

"has he been eating raw meats?"

"yes."

"has he attacked anyone?"

"yes."

"has he killed anyone?"

"no."

"sounds to me like a Galgthy or a Sovirgna. Lock him in a room with flowers over the doors and windows, then set up a sprinkler to spray at the windows and tie a chain with a gold ring on the door handle. I'll be there in less than five hours."

The voice over the phone became exsited "then you can save my father still?"

"no, your father is dead as shit, but maybe we can get his soul back."

'Demonic position' is a real thing. David knows that batter them most but the 'why' is the most important question. Maybe Demonic position isn't the best phrase, maybe just position would cover it. It's not just demons doing it after all. What position really is, is the byproduct of plane shifting. You see, in the worlds around this one there are wars that have been raging for lifetimes with no signs of slowing. That being what it is there are those that wish to escape.

When it comes to plane shifting the best way to do it is 'direct mater shift' this is how he got to this world. One step no stop, you and everything you are comes over all at once. Put the magic and technology to do this is reserved for the elitist, it is costly to say the least. Your next choice is 'one to one mater exchange' this starts with sending out what looks like a cross dimensional e-mail and waiting for a reply. Ideally you look for someone that is sick or fatally injured and offer to use whatever paranatural skills you may have to extend your client's life. Then as they die peace by peace you get placed into their body till there is more of you then there is of your client.

Lastly there is 'one over one ether trade.' In this you lay claim over another life form, you must wait for your client to die, to take full control but in the mean time you live in their dreams and after death you own their body, only your brain survives the transfer but that is the only part that matters.

Most of these plane-shifters are decent enough of people, they are refugees looking for asylum nothing more, and if they did their homework you would never know that they crossed over. They would blend in, disappear, not you nor I would ever know what happened. It's only when they fuck up and use their paranatural gifts around others that people ask questions.

That's most of the time any-way. Then there are the outliers. The kind Jazzmen really hates, lunatics with plane-shifting technology that would be called monster on any planet that they may land on. Those are the ones that make the most noise and give responsible demons a bad name.

If everyone did what they were told to do a town overrun by monster would look no different from the outside thin a little Italy or little china in New York. Instead you get bloodbaths and front page news, then someone like David or some other hunter has to show up to restore peace.

After a stop for gas and grabbing a surgery drink David is back on the road, in short order finding his way to his target. A two story prairie house with date fields on all sides of it, two halves of a truck parked in front of the house and one car and a tractor that look to be in working order. There is a middle-aged man dressed in denim overalls and a girl in her early teens with coveralls on and a short white tie shirt under it waiting on the front patio.

Jazzman steps off his bike and stretches momentarily before calling over "Mr. and Ms. Joel?"

The farmer smiles as he approaches holding out a hand in greeting "I am mister Joel. There is no Missis Joel." His English is fine but it is not hard to tell that it was not the language he grew up speaking. Jazzman's first feeling is that Joel might have been born on one of the Caribbean islands, but being an immigrant himself he isn't going to waste time asking. Anyone who is willing to; run, jump, climb, fight, or swim to find a new home has every right to call themselves whatever they want in his mind.

Jazzman point to the girl "so who is this over hear?"

"Amanda, she is a child I am taking care of." Joel is going to say more but David holds up a hand in protest, he doesn't need details on Joel's personal life.

Jazzman walks around the house with Joel looking at the foundation and searching for utility lines. Jazzmen nods approvingly "It's a nice house."

"Mr. Jazzman, can I get you food and drink?"

"no thank you."

"do you want to talk about payment for your services?"

"I do cash on the jobs completion, never before."

"you are a man of honor."

"Runs in the family." After a short stop for small talk they are back at the front of the house. "Did you hang a gold ring of the door to your fathers room like I had asked?"

"Yes and he became quite when I did."

"that is good." Jazzman ascends the steps to the front door. "Exorcisms can be loud and violent. I recommend you two wait outside till I get back. "

Jazzman doesn't say another word; he walks briskly into the tainted home. The interior if the house is rustic in nature, decorated with stuffed animals and broken farming tools, homemade art and modest furnishings. People like this can't afforded a privateer like him. But that is ok, Jazzman has no qualms with taking trophies from his pray as payment.

From the front door the dining room is on the right, the din straight ahead, forward and to the left there is a hall way, looking down it there are four doors, one is the child's room, the door is ajar and the organizational skills of a ten-year-old seeps through the door, piles of paper and craft supplies slip into the hall, the door right of that is Joel's room. There is a body mirror just inside the door with a jewelry box visible at the vanity in the darkened room and a make-up kit tucked under the table, Joel was either lying about being single or he lives a double life.

Next over is the master bedroom, it is conjoined with the bathroom. The door is closed and there is a chain on the door as well as a gold ring. A garden hoes Is stretched across the floor, it seems to have been feed in through the bathroom window.

Jazzman lifts the ring in one hand and studies it. It is a simple golden band; it is 14k gold according to the markings on the inner ring. Just good enough to do the job it is meant for. Every plain of existences has rules that can't be broken. men form Phage, Dis, and the realms closest there to can't touch gold without it making them ill, to them it acts radioactive, and filtered water is acidic, so if they know what is good for them they keep their distances. Joel trust David implicitly, that is good, it is going to make life easier. He sniffs the air, there are no flowers in the room. No big deal, so long as the monster is sitting still and the larger strokes are out of the way the small details don't mater.

Jazzman pulls on the ring braking it from the chain, He walks into the bedroom. The room is larger than the others but is in the same esthetic as the main rooms; wooden freestanding dresser, a deer head on the wall, a stuffed beaver on the nightstand and on the bed one demon.

The old man has growing younger, his eyes are phosphorusly burring filling the room with a sickly green light, his skin is earthly gray, lips swollen with black blood, his lags are fouled and he is grinning so widely that his cheeks are ripping showing off curved snapping-turtle like teeth.

Jazzman stomps one foot and protest in a comically childish way "Dammed it, I really wanted it to be a Sovergna. They make less noise when they die." The clown like monster sways in its set watching the preposterous performance "All right clown. There are two ways this can go down. You bungled this up and it is time for you to clock out, you can go home of your own free will or..."

The clown gets board of waiting and jumps to its feet, it howls shacking the walls in a way no human can. The beast thrust its arms down at its sides, it arcs its back threateningly. "Do you know who I am?" it ask gargling on the fresh fluids still flouting it its breast.

Jazzman puts his hand up ready to box with the monster "no, do you know who I am?"

The clown knobs "Devil, son of Dis is your name. Princes of the city of Bronze."

Jazzman knobs whispering to himself "yeah, that is about right."

The monster runs at Jazzman, it has no hand to hand tactical training, but it does have long teeth and claws, it's plan is to overwhelm it's pray off size alone. Jazzman on the other hand has decades of training to fall back on. Jazzman reaches one hand out to rest on the monster head as it charges to gauge its size and speed. Jazzman pivots to the outside and brings down his opposing hand on the back of its head to stun it. The hand that had gauged its trajectory transitions to its chin, the other to its crown, with a shifting of his weight Jazzman grabs the monster by the head and throws it across the room with its own momentum.

The monster rolls up to its feet and run in again arms outstretched. The beast pushes Jazzman into a wall, Jazzman hooks one arm across his chest and grips the monster by the wrist pinning its arms to his chest, Jazzman's other hand reach between the gap of their arms to palm strike against the monsters jaw, he then jabs its shoulder's tie in nerve to make it loose its grip, a slap to the underarm forces the monster to roll off to one side, Jazzman maintains his grip on the beast, as it rolls he pins the monsters arm into his-own arm pit and with a sharp pull up shatters its elbow and shoulder.

But the best hasn't had enough yet. The evil clown thrust its weight off to the side to push Jazzman away. The monster brings it's good arm around to pull Jazzmen into a grapple, it brings its head in to wrap its moth around Jazzman's head. Jazzman reaches around the monster's head sliding his fingers into its eyes, a sharp twist of the hips latter the monster is nearly folded in half over Jazzman's lag, a quick jap to the chest and the monster is dropped to the ground stunned.

Jazzman taunt's commandingly "Stand up!" So far Jazzman has been playing nice, he doesn't have to. As the monster finds its footing Jazzman transitions to a forward fighting stance. The monster is barley upright before Jazzman cross steps to the monster three o'clock delivering a back fist across its midsection to keep it off balance, Jazzman reverses his momentum delivering a forward elbow to make the monster fall backwards, he fallows with a corkscrew punch to the mandibular angle forcing the monster to sidestep bracing itself on the bathroom door. Jazzman thrust out with both hands in a twin cannon strike to the rips and hip-flexures.

Jazzman's assault would have easily crushed any human already, one dislocated jaw, broken shoulder, broken elbow, rib cage crushed. The beast brakes thought the door from the force of the last punch it rests its weight on the bathroom sink to regain Its baring's. Jazzman doesn't let up. Two hammer fist to the pectorals and the monster falls to its knees.

The monster is brutalized, at this point it seems if it could choose to leave this body it would. Jazzman pick the monster up and smashes it into the bathroom mirror, mostly for fun then with one foot flips the lid up on the stall. He pushes the monsters head into the toilet.

"this is your one and only chance. Return to your place of origin or another convent parallel diminution peacefully now or I send you there the hard way." The monster flails around in Jazzman's grip desperetly trying to pull away from the water. Jazzman grunts "Fine." He flips the monster upside-down by the lags pushing its head into the standing water, the monster hisses and bubbles for a time till at last bursting into flames. The head melts away completely.

Jazzman complains again dropping the body "you had to do it the hard way."

Whenever David has a job the one thing he never wants to deal with is talking to the families affected afterwards. It is easy when it is a monster boarded up in some long forgotten place now being excavated after 60 plus years and no one remembers who the monster once was. This is the worst though, a demon taking a human skin and staying in the same house as the children and grandchildren of the skin it now wares. There is always crying, long talks, apologies.

Joel is good and fair in the end, he had some idea what was going to happen from the get go. Joel can't pay Jazzman's fee, Jazzman knew he wouldn't, but he does fill up his gas tank, and give him so cheap Jewry. And that is all right, money is a perk. Not the resin for the work.

So then why does a man like David Jazzman do the things he does? David is the son of king Dis, that part everyone knows. Here is the part that not some many do, his mother was a high-ranking judge from the land of Zion, a country that Dis has been at war with for so many generations that no one is really keeping count any more, her name was Emmel.

Jazzman's parents had thought it best that he be raised in the Brass city, how they came to that conclusion he will never understand if there was one thing that everyone seemed to agree on about the city it is that 'it's good to be the king' to hell with everyone else. That was short lived. Dis had lots of sons and twice as many daughters, most of them with his slaves and hellhounds, but all of them with native bourns of his own kingdom. All but him.

Even that being as complicated as that is. Things were no better for his mother. Judges don't have kids, they don't have relationships, Judges are above the needs of flesh, above want, above hunger, desire, passion. Judges are mythical things of unbridled, unimaginable power, there will is absolute. His mother's pregnancy was a death warrant, her showing that she was as needing as any mortal was grounds enough to have her wings clipped and her tittle stripped of her. But the child is without sin and punishments could not be rot on the mother till the son was strong enough to live without her.

Jazzman has seen the evil of heaven, and the divine of hell, he has seen the fire of hate, and the hunger of war, and he has seen rage boil out of his home world into the ones around it. The City of Brass and Zion will fight each other till everyone is dead, and that is ok so long as the war ends with them. But when the people of this world start to see the aftermath of Heaven and Hell fighting then something needs to be done. That is what makes David Jazzman the man called Devil.

David arrives back home in Las Cruces well after midnight. From there it is still an hour's ride back to his antique shop, 'Devil's Antiques: Gifts, and Taxidermy' is the name over the door. It's a two story shop, full basement. The main floor is the antique shop, the basement is where he practices his taxidermy, up stairs is his apartment and a gymnasium he has set up for himself.

As David moves to the door he stop noticing the lights are on, he turns the handle on the door only slightly noticing it is unlocked, he turns his head left then right looking up and down the street. David has lived on this street for years, he knows everyone in town and the way they typically act, and just as importantly what they drive. Across the street, next to the art studio there is an early 40's Davison motorbike. No one in town has a classic bike like that, everyone David knows drives a modern bike like his.

Jazzman pulls out his shotgun and burst into the main room of his shop. Sitting at the clerks desk is a scruffy looking biker in full leather gear, feet up on the desk reading over one of the tomes he had in lockup. Jazzman point the shotgun down range at the biker "Sorry bub, it's after hours. You'll need to come back in the morning."

The biker turns the page of the book as he addresses David "you want to know what I find stunning? There is more about me in this book then anyone on my family knows about each other."

David walks froth threating "That book is written in Abithal. can you read it?"

The biker nods "Apparently so. One of my ancestors must have spoken it."

"that's not how hereditary memory works jack-ass"

The biker looks up "it is when you are the Belmond" Charlie picks up his chained flail showing it off to Jazzman.

Jazzman lowers his gun "that is some big time voodoo you have there."

"the biggest."

"where im from the Belmond is kinda' a pop star. What brings you to my shop?"

"I understand my mother came by here forty something years ago looking for this vary book." Charlie holds up the book he is holding. "hopping it would help her find the missing pieces of our story. "you didn't have it yet." Charlie stand up tying the Souleater around his waist "but that is old news, Im here for something new today.

David chuckles "you have my attention. What do you want to talk about?"

"Fillios-Mammon."

"old fay story, it was one of the names of the gardener of Eden. what of it?"

"I am hunting him."

Jazzman whistles playfully "get out of my chair, I like that chair." He protests walking around the desk. "going after the biggest of the big fish are ya? May I ask why?" Charlie gets out of the chair and moves around to the other side.

The shop is packed tightly with goods from around the world, most of it with a hint of macabre on it. From the desk there are a hand full of paintings that can be seen Charlie is no appraser but he would think they all fall pre 1800: the first is a women chained to a burning tree with a dozen or so men standing back watching, next is a girl with a red horseman's cap cowering before a wolf hooked half around her body, finally a golden house with a broken sky overhead bleeding winged monster and a split earth spitting fire.

There are two statues that stand five or more feet tall in the corners; a woman with a serpentine lower body holding a cleaver in one hand and a screaming man's head in the other, the other is a rubric tower with a spinning base, it is wrapped in part with chain, there are human and semi-human shapes pushing out of the stone.

There are robs and rugs, weapons, and statuettes in abundance and book cases pooring over with more books then can easily be read, or even counted. Jazzman takes note of Belmond's distraction "If you like this you should see what is in the other room."

"no thanks, I have been downstairs already."

"when?"

"last time loop."

"what?"

"it's hard to explain." Charlie regains his focus looking to Jazzman "I really don't grasp it myself."

"so why are you hunting God with an uppercase 'G?'" Jazzman ask again "not that I don't think that sounds like one hell of a party."

"He has gone mad, he is systematically destroying the multi verses" Charlie expresses.

Jazzman flops down in his chair and thrust his head back laughing "you really are for real, aren't you? One question. How?"

"well that depends on which how you mean; if you mean how do we chase down a god, I can planeshift. If you mean how do we kill a god, they bleed just like you and I. gods are as far from demons as demons are from men. They are just slightly older and stronger of a race then us."

Jazzman cuts in "I know that much already, I have met three so called gods myself." Jazzman spins around in his chair a few times "what is the first step?"

"Lances Jacob..."

Chapter 5

Allegiances

The church outfits Lances without hesitation, once the power Lances wealds became known to the Cardinal there was more than enough work to go around. Ashly is taken under the wing of the Jesuit. Lances is assured that she will be kept safe.

Lances first order is to go to a safe-house for demons and make it less safe. There is one monster in the nest that Lances was told about that he finds more than just a little interesting. According to the church notes he is an Arobus that likes to pretend to be in angel to earn favors from people, he is called Morpheus. Rumor has it that he knows about as much about demonic activity on this planet as anyone. Maybe he knows where Lizzet is.

Lances approaches the back door of an unmarked, windowless building only a short walk from the church, there is a man standing at the back door, tall and bold, dark skinned with an out of fashion par of novelty sunglasses on. Getting into a demon safe house requires some Sova fair. The guard might be human and a fist full of silver will convinces him to step aside for Lances. But from what Father Mace had told Lances chances are he is going to ask Lances to prove he is a monster in order to get into the monster club.

This will not be hard for him. Lances knows plenty of illusions that might get him in without a fight. But if heads need to roll so be it. Lances is now armed to the teeth with blessed weapons and his magic seems to be growing with every passing hour.

Lances pulls his hat over his eyes and walks up to the door man. The door man holds up a hand to stop the old man. "go back the other way old tymer, there is nothing round here for you."

Lances looks around the walls of the building pointing out some magic font that has been draw on them. "Vampire's Den." The font can only be seen at night or by monsters most seem to think. Truth is anyone that can cast spells can whip up a sight spell to search for magic script.

The doorman snorts "you sure seem pretty alive for a blood sucker."

Lances nods "Ok, do you have a pack of playing cards on you?" there is an old frosted window on the back door, Lances knows a grate carnival trick one can do with a frosted mirror and a pair of glasses.

"why would I have a pack of playing cards with me?"

"to detect clairvoyants. It's fine I got a pack on me." Lances reaches into one of the pockets on his gray overcoat handing over the cards "fresh pack, still has the tape on it."

"I know this game, you aiming for color or value?"

Jacob almost can't stop his laughing as he thinks for a moment. "do you know how old I am. I can barely read without read without a magnifying glass, these lenses are trifocal." He taks off his glasses hiding them in his right hand thereafter. He ducks his head and partly covers his eyes with his left hand. "color."

The doorman opens the deck and shuffles the cards. He holds up the first card, Lances uses the glasses hidden in his other hand like the inner frame of a telescope rotating slightly looking for reflection of the frosted glass. There would be no way to read the cards like this but you could see color. Lances calls out the first card "Black."

The doorman flips another, then another starting to flip them in quick succession. Lances keeps calling them "black, red, red, red, black, black, red, black red, black, red, red."

The doorman stops him after a short time "you have gotten twenty in a row wrong so far, you know that right old man."

Lances puts his glasses back on "that must make me the worst psychic in history, random chances is fifty/fifty on a coin flip , I should have gotten half of them by accident. Even if I was just unlucky I would have gotten five."

The doorman does the math in his head, Lances is right, there is no chances of losing at 1/2% 20 times. He could see the cards, that is the only way. The door man chuckles once he gets Lances' joke. "ok old man, you got me, you can head in. normal door times are 7pm to 6am, try to get hear earlier next time." He places the cards back in the box and offers them back to Lances.

"keep them, I have another."

The doorman places a hand on Lances chest "you have been in monster den's before right? You know the rolls?"

"Remind me." Lances ask

"once past the door you can take off you mask if you like, most do. For all I can you can go all natural. But if you have; fang, stingers, claw, spinnerets, or venom sacks you keep them to yourself. Beds are free if you want one, you can take up a tab on food and drink if you need to. Everyone here is a guest or a vaulter, fest your eyes on whatever makes you happy, but no-one touches anyone else without verbal consent, that means you both need to say 'I give you permeation to' whatever, utility magic only, if you can read minds, keep that to yourself also, and if there is any fighting our staff will start clamming heads and burning bodies."

Lances nods in understanding "how do I find a staff member if I need help with something?"

"my predecessor used to say 'you might see some of my hands some of the time but you will never see all of them all of the time' if some ask you if you need help they might be one of mine or they might just be warmhearted you decide." The doorman explains "now when I open this door it will lead you into a intermediary room, the walls are lined with black velvet, there will be a door twenty two feet straight ahead, after I relock this door, the door on the other end will unlock, then you can proceed into the den."

Lances nods again and goes to step around the door man. The doorman stops him again "one more thing old man. What is in that backpack?"

"Traveling provisions, I am a missionary, I walk everywhere, it is one of the rules I need to fallow."

"be smart, keep one hand on that bag if there is something in there worth loosing."

Lances steps into the first room of the den, it is a black room with crushed black leather on the walls, the room is sound proofed and light proof once both doors are sealed. Lances walks forth awaiting the door on the far end to unlock. After it opens the entry-way is filled with noise, not the hissing and screaming Lances expected but more of a jubilees tone; glass chiming, laughter, hushed conversation, string interments playing.

Lances walks to the open door, sliding past he is grated by a sight that couldn't be more different from the last monster den he had been in. thick pale red carpeting lines the floor, there are soft lights lining the walls, exotic flowers, maybe close to two hundred people around. Naraly a human in sight, at the well-furnished bar on one side of the room there is an alien looking lifeform with white skin that exudes its own light-sources it has a blue'ish beak and a crest of feathers that wrap around its neck and head, it is discreetly female. It drinks a dainty drink from a tall glass that looks like windshield washer fluid form some distance.

Across the bar poring drinks is a woman with pastel red skin and black hair with a prehensile tail that it is treating like a third hand in order to dress drinks just that much more efficiently. There are round booths all around occupied by animals of all shape and size pretending to be human: cows, porcupines, horses, dogs, there is a man with a kangaroo head tail and lags leading the orcistra.

At another table a winged wolfman and a snake girl cut off their conversation to watch Lances walk by. Lance has seen those two before. He pretends not to see them.

In a booth, kitty-corner from the main door Lances spots his pray. The most human looking of the monsters a man with a distinctly crocked noise and short blond hair in barly modest dress. He has a hyena girl, a harpy, and a minitour entranced by his voice as he is telling some no doubt colorful joke. His body is patted down with some sort of glitter making his cleanly waxed chest sparkle under his what looks like night gown.

Lances Jacob approaches moving as-if with a purpose. Morpheus sizes up Lances as he is standing before him, Morpheus playfully pocks fun as his outfit. "You sir are either the least discreet fryer I have ever addressed or the most anything else."

"Hello Morpheus." Lances plays friendly "the rest of you, take a walk. I have to talk business with my friend here."

"how rood" Morpheus complains as his precession walks off.

Lances eyes go cold for a moment as he barks down at the man "Can it! You evil egg sucking son of a..."

"Language." Morpheus cut is "you don't want to upset the others.

"Sorry." Lances lowers his voice "may I sit?"

"seeing how you just dismissed my other compony please do. You know that Hyinard is of the highest breeding, it cost me a healthy hand full of coin to get her hear."

Lances sits at the booth placing his bag on his lap as he does. "Morpheus. Do you know what the most cherished myth is of all time?"

"depends on the era. Every century has their own favorite myth..."

"Not so much. There are hundreds of variations on the same five or so stories; Man verse Man, Man verse Nature, Man verse Self, Man Verse the unknown, and Man verse God. But even in all off these there is a story that arks over all of them. Redemptive Violence is what it is called. The myth that a lifetime of cowardice and weakness can be forgiven with one truly valorous act. God, I hope that is in some way true. You see friend I am now a two time looser and I know it. Now here I am, my hair is white, I am going blind, I am having trouble remembering the names of my lifelong friends. And still I think that somehow I am going to commit an act of Herculean might that will wash away my sins..."

Morpheus rest onto the table studying Lances' features "Talking about memory loss, I can't seem to recall where you and I have met before."

Lance stops his story "you and I? No, we don't know each other. But I understand that we have a common friend. A Mothman if I am not mistaking, runs with a pack of Wraiths and Wolfins. It took a little Spanish girl 10 years old from a bar not much more than 50 miles down yonder. And you see, that was a mistake. She belonged to me. And I want her back dead or alive."

Morpheus thinks or a moment "Mothman? There aren't many of them around here. Not legally." He tips his head back straining to remember "Mothmen have no interest in human girls."

Lances becomes aggravated "what about wraith!? Do they have any need for girls!?"

"of course they do! Human girls are full of delicious! Preteens more-so then most. Now calm down."

"you miserable cockstain of a man." Lances whispers "you better start talking because I am growing impatient."

"what do you want to know, Wraith will steal kids from their homes if it suits their needs."

"How do I find them!"

"you don't they are astral in nature."

"you are a filthy liar!"

"Lie nothing, Wraiths can touch us me can't touch them that is just how it works!"

The two men are now shouting loudly enough that a number of other patrons are starting to pay attention. Lances gives up on grilling Morpheus for information and starts chanting in the ancient tongue. Morphues cowers before Lances as form his point of view Lances starts to eat the light out of the room and grow to aw-striking proportions.

"Hay, Hay, Hay... Utility magic only. We all know the rule. What are you doing?" Morpheus reminds Lances.

Lances stands up pulling from his pocket a lighter. Morpheus calls out "I have diplomatic protection. Call Von Richton. Get Joe Dove over here! He will tell you." Morpheus shouts for protection calling to no one particularly "Is Joe still here? Someone get me Joe!"

"Shut up maggot." Lances orders

The bartender, places a hand on Lances back to get him to back down, Lances shoots the bartender a look and there is a flash of velvet light the burst forth from his body visible to only her. Lighting bleeds form her eyes and mouth burning them booth shut. Lances holds up the lighter striking it.

Red clouds form in the bar overhead fallowed by burning bricks of hail falling form them. There is panicked screaming as the room burst into flames. The air itself seems to be on fire. Some try to find their way into the lower levels of the bar, others make for the doors. Lances stands in the blaze unaffected by the spreading fire.

Lances reaches into his bag and pulls out a silver blue mace with a shortened handle. Lances acts almost like a random slasher, he attacks anyone or anything that strolls into his line of sight. In a matter of moments, five monsters are unquestionably slain and dozens more crippled. His rage is worthy of any hero of legend or petty god of myth. The flames run up Lances back, Lances Jacob has become the beast that hides under the bed to all that see him. He will live on in infamy for what he has done.

***

Joe Dove hides in the shadows of the street parallel to the monster den, he is an elderly man with a wild beard and salt-&-pepper hair. He rests his shoulder to the wall; Joe grips his crystal cane firmly. Joe walks with a perpetual limp do to a war injury, he wears gloves to hide the tattoos on his hands.

Everyone knows Joe, no one knows why, some say he is a man of wealth and fame, he has a hypnotic smile and a charming deep voice. Maybe; he is a singer, or an artist, some other local hero. No, Joe is a member of a shadow government, one of many that are fighting for control of this world, and others. There are: The Wattory Letters Society, Demolay's Jesuit Knights to name a few. then there is the one Joe belongs to The Holy Order of the von Richton's Watchers Society (also called 'the Watchers' and 'the von Richton's)

Joe pulls a radio from his pocket "we are confirmed, Agent Blake's information was good, Lances Jacob is a 'key' we are taking him in." he begins relaying orders to others in his group. "Rogers, you and your min are on the roof. You take first shot; I would like to see this over with as little collateral damages as possible. Springfield, you and Malagaurd are to stay in the wings unless I say otherwise. Lockheart, keep bata team on high alert. We have no idea what Lances is or what he can do. If Rogers fails to take down Lances, you are our second line of defenses."

A deep but excitable women's voices come back over the radio "He is a Key, we have seen Keys before. Send me in and I will have us back home before the noon soaps are over."

Joe cut in "agent Malagaurd, you stay back unless I say otherwise. This war has yet to hit primetime and I would like to keep it that way."

Across the street the von Richton snipper sets up his gear, he is in full combat armor with a mask and goggles. He sets down a tripod and pulls from an ammo pack a single dart, he lays down on the ground monoverse himself till he is just barley at the edge of the roof looking down at the streets. His spotter pulls out some tools and reads off wind bearings and angles of prerejection. Then they wait. The hardest part of a snippers job is the moments before his pray walks into sight.

Then the unexpected. Shots are fired. The sniper and his spotter roll off to the side hiding under the lip of the rooftop they are on. The spotter clicks on his radio "we are under fire."

Joe's voice comes over the headset "do you have eyes on the attacker?"

"negative."

Joe calls over the airwaves "can anyone see who is firing?"

From the operations van the high squeaking voice of Springfield come in "there is someone standing on top of the 300 building."

Lockheart speaks up "that is not one of mine."

The attacker walks to the edge of the rooftop looking across to the sniper. He stands in full sight and outstretches his arms. Wavy white hair, red leather paints, and a broadsword on his back, David Jazzman taunts the von Richton's. "what's the matter? Can't you see me?"

Joe radios the teams "I need an I.D. on that man right now."

Inhumanly Jazzman takes one step forward and jumps the 60+ feet from the rooftop he is on to the sniper. He draws his sword mid leap. The spotter crawls off to one side to get out of the way of the leap-attack, the sniper holds up his riffle as a shield, Jazzman cleaves the gun in two.

"shifter!" the snipper proclaims.

The spotter pulls his combat knife from under his arm and jumps on Jazzman's back to try to tackle him. Jazzman elbows backwards to brake the grip then cats-steps to get one foot behind the spotter, he throws in elbow strike up into the spotter's chin and a hammer fist into his hip-flexer preforming a reversed hip throw.

The sniper gets up to his feet and draws his sidearm. He takes two shots at Jazzman, Jazzman is hit, but the rounds seem to fail to brake skin. Jazzman looks back at the snipper. He looks down at himself then up at the snipper again "what do you have that thing loaded with? .44 maybe? you will need to do better than that."

Jazzman dashes forward a step and strikes the snipper with the hilt of his sword forcing him to fall forward, he then pivots in a half circle slapping with the flat of his blade. The snipper rolls along the ground stunned. "do yourself a favor, don't get back up."

On the other side the spotter gets into a kneeling position. Jazzman pulls out one of his pistols and takes a blind shot at him over his shoulder. Jazzman's pistols don't fire live physical mater. What they shoot is concentrated emotion, the wounds they leave are psychic in nature, but that doesn't mean that they hurt any less.

Down on the streets Bata team is moving into assist, Jazzman walks to the ledge and walks off without a thought he lands on his feet as if the 30 foot drop to ground level was nothing more than hop off the landing step of a stairwell. Jazzman grips his sword in one hand and one of his pistols in the other.

Springfield come over the radio again "I have in I.D., that is Devil, he is an unlicensed Abysl, similar classification to England."

Lockheart radios back "Advise."

Joe comes in "England has abnormal bone structure; he can withstand a 120 foot drop without suffering lasting damage and musculature with dancetty abdicate to block 4000 psi force."

Lockheart radio's back "so what? Should we try to hurt his feelings then?"

Bata team holds up their riffles and open fire on Jazzman. the watchers are armed with military grade artillery, the spray of fire seems to push Jazzman back but not stop him. Jazzman points his pistol and fire a hand full of shots, three of the Bata team are struck and knocked down by the rounds, Jazzman grips his blade and runs in to attack.

Joe calls out "Send in Agent Malagaurd."

In only a few swings of is sword Jazzman has disabled all twelve members of Bata team. Milli Malagaurd arrives on scene, she would be fifteen feet tall if she stood up straight but she doesn't she stands crouched and hunched over shrinking herself to a manageable six and a half feet, she has a long muzzle and a thick tail, she has the appearances of a kangaroo but stretched out and with extra joints added into her lags. Half of one of her ears is missing and one of her eye are clearly glass, she has brown red fur and long fangs. She holding in one hand a weapon that looks like a rotary saw with a flamethrower added onto it, attached to a grenade gun, fabricated onto the end of a positron accelerator.

Jazzman looks up at the monster standing before him "wow. At least with my hair down I am passible as human. What plaint are you from?"

With an irritable grunt Milli pulls her gun 'RONA' off her back and snarls "Less talk more rock death breath." She raises her weapon mounting it on one shoulder. Milli is not a planeshifter. This is in fact her native diminution, but she is alien. Milli is from a world that was destroyed by a war that lasted for seven hundred years. At first war was profitable, everyone got richer, till the five largest governments collapsed, money lost its value, people started to swear oaths of service to commanders and generals, not to flags or governors, wars became backed by criminal organizations, and then at last came the grate ice. Someone, no one claimed responsibility, crafted a weapon that turned the atmosphere radioactive. A storm brood, ice and rain fell for years on end. Those that could hid underground.

Mili's world devolved into tribalism after that. Raids where ran to steel children from enemy camps to fuel the need of the tribe's. Mili herself was fortunate. Her tribe had stumbled on a nearly forgotten technology, that she had the skills to repair it. A device that looked like a gun loaded with what looks like in arrowhead, a map of the stars, already programed to lock onto the nearest inhabitable world, radio wave have been detected from the world that was locked on to. Milli embarked on a mission to find inhabitants from another world to come to hers and fix the broken world. Because no doubt that if she had this level of technology and was on a plaint rattled by war so long as the next world over was not broken also they would have the knowledge she needed to fix everything.

Milli of course understood that this might be a one-way trip, her ship was not structurally sound enough for two trips. She could only hope that the voices coming over her radio would have the tool needed for space travel. She was understandable disappointed when she arrived on earth only to find that the people of this world were only slightly better off than she was.

Now after arriving on earth Milli came to understand that the change in atmosphere she had been exploded too and the years of carefully controlled breeding her tribe had enjoyed has resulted in her having distinctive advantages on this new world. Within the Stith only the largest and strongest of kids live long enough to reach breeding age, the plaint was mostly frozen resulting in comparatively weekend nerves but greatly increased physical fortitude, on the other hand her body is frightfully inefficient when it comes to fuel consumption requiring her to eat enough for five people and it needs to be refined sugar or complex protein. There is also the problem (as it where) that she sexual habbits of the people on this world seem strange, courtship is longwinded and she is having some trouble understanding the dimorphic of it all.

Milli's gun hums as she fires one of the three cannons off, what come out of the top barrel resembles a piston. Jazzman takes a shot to the chest and it lunches him backwards into one wall of the building at his back, he hits with such force that the stone cracks, if not cushioned by his body surly it would have ripped down the wall.

Jazzman grunts falling on to all fours. "that hurt slightly more than I expected." With superhuman might Jazzman kicks off the ground and flies into Milli sword drawn. Milli Grips her RONA in both hands and the sawblade on it sparks. The two clash blades bouncing off one another. Milli shuffles steps in to lay on pressure.

By all technicality Milli is not physically stronger then David, But she has demonstrated on a number of occasions her ability to stand her ground against others with power comparable to that of the man called Devil.

RONA locks with Devil's sword once more, the blade on it glows red hot. Milli lowers her shoulder and charges in a half step, her overwhelming size pushes Jazzman back, she spins in a half circle delivering a side kick to hold David off balance then stomps down with her tail to steal the blade from him and fires a back kick to send him spinning down the street.

Jazzman laughs standing back up, he throws his arms out ushering Milli to keep up her attacks "I love it when a girl can push me around." He pulls his fist into his body getting back into his fighting stances "Come on."

Milli slaps her tail to the ground uncoiling the spring like mussels in her lower body she lunges into the air and crashes down with enough force to form a vacuum cone on landing pushing around anything lighter then her.

Jazzman backsteps out of Milli's reach as she stabs inwards with RONA. Jazzman pull out his twin pistols, Milli pushes in past his defenses. Jazzman's only path of escape lies in sliding under Milli in hope of confusing her.

Jazzman rolls between Milli's feet and pulls his shotgun, he takes a quick shot at her back knocking her down. He then retreats jumping up the wall of a building. Milli should be incapacitated but somehow she seems to be able to stand back up in a flash ready to chase Devil down.

Milli clicks on her headset "Devil is on the move, I am in pursuit."

Joe's voice come over the radio "Negative, Devil is playing with us. He took only non-lethal strikes. I am taking Springfield with me and going after him myself."

Milli growls "No, Joe, if he was able to stand back up after what I did to him there is no way you could take him."

There is a short silence before Joe speaks up again "Yes, I can."

Milli stomps one foot and jumps up and down aggravated she takes off her headset and threatens to throw it before ducking her head with a deep breath calmingly. The teams reassemble, they move it to find Lances Jacob.

***

Charlie uses David as a distraction to sneak into the Monster Den. With all haste, he runs in, through the flams he dashes chocking on smoke the whole way. In short order Charlie finds Lances standing in the flames admiring his work but something is off.

Lances greats Charlie without turinging to face him, but it is not the husky voice of Lance that Charlie hears it is the low slow smooth voice of Crow. "Charlie, I finely figured it out..."

Charlie freezes in places stunned by the voice. Charlie backs away almost crying as he does "Lances?!" he whispers to himself.

"Ah, I see that you have worked it out for yourself as well." Lances Jacob as Crow looks to Charlie Belmond, his eyes burning in violet flames. "you have no need to fear me Belmond. I have no intention of killing you today. It's the wrong time and the wrong place. But I do need to ask..." Crow walks over to Charlie placing a hand on the side of his face as if to kiss the scarred man "why, oh, why do you think that my eldest brother, Lous-day-O, is protecting you?"

Charlie is flabbergasted. He has no power to stand against Crow or the ability to even reply to his question.

Crow pulls away disappointed. "Very well. I will need to find that out on my own." Crow step up to the exit looking out, the hallway stretches and twist, dozens of more doors appear. "the von Richton's are coming for you. I do not know what they are going to do if they catch you. But have no fear. I will protect you. So long as you still plan on coming to see me in Yggdrasil."

Crow vanishes leaving Lance behind. But not before turning the Monster Den into a funhouse for the Watcher to have to fight their way through. As for Lances and Charlie, it doesn't matter what door they take, they all lead back to Charlie's bike a mile and a half back up the street.

Chapter 6

Into the Mist

Charlie Belmond and David Jazzman now accompanied by Lances Jacob find their way back to Devil's Antiques, once inside the elderly Lances jokes around with his younger friend. "I have never ridden on the back of a motorcycle before. That was most amusing."

David cuts into the conversation "I have never been the type to back off from a scrap, and to spite how much of a babe that alien was I still need to ask, who were those guys?"

Charlie places both hands on his head and pushes his hair back catching his breath "I don't know. Cravixs called them 'the Watchers' I think."

Both men tern to Charlie in a moment of shock and disgust vocalizing a rapped fire line of incoherent questions. Charlie tries to reply once he thinks he has caught up with the gist of what they are saying "Yes! I don't know why but Cravixs was there at the Monster Den and he had helped us."

Lances stops talking long enough to take in what Charlie had just announced "I know that name." he looks for a place to sit down and pull out the book of prayers. He rest one hand on top of it as he tips his eye upwards thinking. "before time, before spaces there was nothing, but then the darkness started to dream, that dream formed a river, and that river gave birth to a tree, the tree of beginnings from which all fruit would fall, the tree gave light to the dark and with light came time, the time of the premortal. And so the darkness grows weary, and with the first light the darkness sleeps, with the rise of the darkness the light sleeps."

"and so it came to pass that in the hour between light and dark the darkness spoke to the light and said, 'I am lonely' so from the tree of beginnings the first fruit was picked, and from in side that fruit sprung four gods, first the god of the sky, then the god of the earth, then the god of beast and at last the god of the stair."

"then it would come to pass that the gods wanted names. And some the light spoke their names: the light said onto them 'I am light, and I shall call myself Yggdrasil. You my sons I shall call; the sky Lous-Day-O, the earth Filleus-Mammon, the beast Sa-La-Day-NameO, and the stairs Chaos, the ground on which you sleep I will call Eden, and the water you drink I will call Mana, And my love, and my beloved I shall call Cravixs. All these things I shell say and no more."

Lances looks to the men that are now his friends "I am never going to see my family again. am I?"

David thumbs over the spines of a hand full of his books "where the hell did you hear any of that. I know all the names you just went over but there is no way linked. Yggdrasil isn't a person, it is a place, Mammon is literally translated from Latten into English as earth..."

Lances cut David off "and if you use the phonetical spelling of Lous-Day-o, 'Laius Dios' you end up with something roughly to the effect of 'I Lord'. So, what?"

David shrugs and looks to Charlie "I have been meaning to ask you, where did you get those gnarly scars?"

"werewolf eat my face." Charlie states frankly.

David laughs "what? And what happened after that?"

"well I curb stomped him righteously, then sowed my face back on in a gas station bathroom using tool I found in a tackle box."

David slaps his lag nearly falling over with morbid laughter at the absurdity of the story "that is the most metal thing I have ever heard. You stitched yourself back together with fishing line and a fishhook?"

"And whisky. Which was the single most painful experience I have ever had." David is balling with laughter; Lances is squinting in disguised Charlie has a non-cholent expiration. "I can't grow facial hair anymore, and I lost hearing in my right ear after that still have 20/10 vision amazingly, and I can smell sometimes. That last one might not be related to my..." he ushers to the deep red marks covering much of his face.

Lances whispers "I wasn't going to ask."

Charlie smiles and slaps a wall near by working up some optimism "anyway! The resion I brought you here Lances. Do you remember that monster you vomited up last time we saw each other?" the question is rhetorical, Charlie know already "the shadowy monster that place that thing in side you. We are going to hunt it."

Lances shacks his head in disbelief "I never told you about that." Lances stands up.

Charlie pulls away from the wall and cuts off Lances to knock his train of thought off balance. "Don't get caught up in the small details. Think broad strokes. You know that there is a real monster out there. One that is as big and bad as they get. You saw him face to face. You fought him, you scared him off. Now Cravixs is on the run. We can take him."

Lances squars himself with Charlie "you are not the Charlie Balmond I met at 'the Lamia's Back' you are different; smarter, stronger, more confident. If you are a demon attempting to confuse me you are doing a piss pore job at it."

Charlie starts to explain himself "But think about what has..." Lances pulls a bottle of blessed oil form his pocket and splashes it at Charlie. Charlie blows the some oil from his lips "Not a demon." He explains. Lances produces a peace of flat breed form another pocket and whispers a blessing before thrusting it at Charlie. Charlie with an embraced expiration retorts "Not a Methuselah ether." Lances pulls a silver dirk form his belt. Charlie holds both hands out in front of himself defensive. "Damb-it Lances if you would just let me finish!"

David interrupts "Ok cowboy let him talk."

Lances menacingly steps uncomfortable close to Charlie standing noise to noise tipping his head gaily "Talk fast."

Charlie has just opened his mouth to start to talk when an earsplitting hiss catches the three man's attention. An instant later the side wall of the shop burst inwards. Charlie pushes Lances over hiding behind the desk. Jazzman walks out to center stage to meet this threat head on.

Milli Malagaurd slinks into the room armed and ready to continue their brawl. Jazzman theatrically holds his arms open in grating "Gratings my love!" he shouts "By chances did you bring my sword back with you?"

There is a split seconds confusion that flashes b Milli's eyes "are you straight up bonkers?"

David cartwheels onto his desk and reaches onto the wall producing another sword, this one having more than a touch of steam-punk on its shape, there is a gear on the handle and a motorcycle like clutch in the hand-guard, there is a hinge on the revers of the blade and it is painted a corroded brown-red, the blade is a third too long to look like it can be held comfortable in one hand, the reversed edge is slightly shorter than the combative edge, and the main edge has a slight hook to it on both the point and going over the hand-guard crating a bassinet, there is writing on the blade in David's native tongue that reads 'If only We had more blood to shed.' -Hensen Hijoji-. Jazzman hold the demon blade before him in both hands "It's ok, I have another."

Milli drops her weight down to brace RONA, she flips up her grip to hold a new set of handles on the alien riffle. A steam of burning sludge leaves the barrel setting the antique shop ablaze.

Jazzman is fireproof, the flames cut around him harmlessly but he protest nevertheless, showing genuine anger he shouts "Oh come on, do you know how hard it was to find all this stuff?" Jazzman jumps at Milli. Milli seeing the flames had no effect flips the gun around to activate a new function. A ray of positronic parodical burst from the gun creating a web of light around Jazzman on hitting him. This cusses intense pain freezing Devil in his tracks.

David tries to twist free from the lasso of light but can't seem to brake free to spit his heroic straight. Milli drags him forward shorting the stream "Maybe next time you will think twice before picking a fight with a girl holding a nuclear acceleration device."

Charlie looks down at Lances as the two of them are in hiding. "Do you mind waitghting here a few seconds?" Charlie doesn't wait for a replay, he takes off his coat to reveal a black tank top underneath and the tatous' cut into his arms. Five rings of gradually smaller size, one half of each ring on each arm.

Charlie stands up and whistles. "Milli!" He hold his arms out in front of himself. Lighting entangles his arms, typhoon like winds whip around the room extinguishing the flames. Thunder howls as Charlies arms draw in closer to one-another slowly closing the circuit. The back wall crumbles away reaveling a wall of flesh inside it as it would seem.

Milli drops her arms to her sides and Jazzman terns to look wanting to see what she can see. The front door opens and two more men step in to watch the showing of cosmic power; Joe Dove being followed by what looks like a preteen boy with mannerisms and dress from a century passed. Lances Jacob backs away in horror as the wall of flesh grows teeth, not flat human teeth but hooked fish like teeth, then a mouth forms, starting as a vaccum pulling the wall of meat inward, then forming a bottomless twisted vortex with red sparkling webbed walls a near fallopian appeal.

Lances Jacob stands up entranced by the spinning twisting gash in space.

Joe Dove looks down to his assistant "Amarant, what the hell is that thing? Another Exzoner?"

The half fairy boy Amarant Springfield shouts over the thunder of the vortex "If so it has noteworthy distinctions form the others of its kind we have encountered so far; the others have had a diameter of ruffle seven feet, this one looks to be closer to ten, aslo the coloration of the membrain is lighter and the teeth pronounced. I can only ascertain from this that if it is an Exzoner it is at an advanced stage in its lifecycle. Also this one lack antinomies motion." Amarant points "this one is being controlled by that man!" he points to Charlie Belmond.

"Can you take control of the portal?" Joe ask

Springfield holds his arms out to call down a ring of protection, he locks his thumbs together and starts to cast a spell to see if he can overpower the portal. After a few moments of trying and sensing that the portal is becoming angry he looks up to Joe "I can't brake that man's hold over the monster, and even if I could I feel this would-be disadvantages. Regrettable I must admit, his powers are similar to my own. I am sorry."

Joe grunts "that's because you are not fighting one man's will. That is the Belmond, every time one of them dies the next one in line gains all their powers. This one has the straight of twenty or more men." Joe whispers to himself "Dammit, the Belmond is an unstable element, I pay good money to keep him out of this."

Once the gate is fully formed Charlie looks back over his shoulder to Lances "Lances, step though the portal. I will protect you!"

Lances starts to move forth before Joe Dove calls to him "Lances. Don't." his voices is calm and loving, masculine and seductive. "Lances. Come with me. I know what you are. I can help you." Joe inches forward outstretching one hand.

Amarant stop focusing on the magic momentarily to call to Joe "Ser, Please stay inside the circle, or I can't guaranty your safety." He then quickly gets back to sustaining his spell to stave off the progressively more violent storm raging form the portal.

Lances turns to look at Joe Dove, A look of preponderances taking hold of his expiration. Questions echo in his mind 'who is this man? What does he know?'.

Joe smiles invitingly holding one hand out still beccining Lances over. "you are experiencing what Abits call 'Awakening'. I have help others through it. I can help you too."

Charlie shoots Lances a concerned glance "Lances, I need you to trust me. Step into the portal."

Lances shakes himself free from Joe's hypnotic aura. Lances eye's go cold as he turns his back on Joe facing the magic gate again. He pulls his hat down across his eyes and takes a harsh breath.

Joe calls forth in fear and frustration "Lances please..."

Charlie interrupts "ho, and exhail before you pass the event horizon. You will thank me when you reach the others side."

Lances Jumps at the portal, once past the mouth he his pulled out of sight with mock force disappearing into the mist faster than a human could preserve.

"David, you are next!"

Jazzman regains his wits and run at the portal without hesitation "this is going to cost you extra!" he exclaims as he barrels out of sight.

Charlie call to Milli "Milli, please stay with Joe this time." His voice heave with greef as he remembers his last life.

Milli howls with buzerk rage running forward. Both Amarant and Joe try calling to her, Milli pays them no heed. Once Milli is gone Joe loses his cool shouting at Charlie "You have no Idea what you have done do you!? You cant possible comprehend the ramifications of what you are doing! Where you are going? What you are doing? You don't understand any of it do you? Why Charlie? Why?"

Charlie smiles boyishly "I know what I am doing. I am going to change our fate." And with those last words Charlie pulls his arms apart braking the connection, the portal quickly starting to collapse in on itself. Charlie turns and dives into the gate as the last remnants of it return into nothingness.

The storm is gone, the fire gone, the antique shop is nothing more then a shell of a building hallowed and empty. Amarant fall onto all fours his energy sapped after the mystical confrontation. Joe softly proclaims "Fuck."

Joe pulls out his phone and call home base "Aska, I need a cleanup team hear ASAHP."

The voice on the other side ask "Black bags and gag orders?"

Joe adds "Bring a shovel also." He hangs up and stares into the recage. One hand finds his eyes as he whimpers slightly for the first time in a long-time face with in on-winnable conflict. Joe has spoken to the demon orchestrating the end of the world as they know it, so he understands better than anyone that with each 'key' he looses the probability of him preventing this war gets exponentially wears. He has now lost twice, the antebellum is drawing to a close. The time of peace is almost up, and Joe is not yet ready for the War.

Act 2

A Wrinkle in Space

Chapter 7

The Steel Rose

The portal twist and pulls, not only physically, not only psionically, not only magicly. The trip through the portal is painful and exhausting. The portal that Charlie called on was never meant to be traveled by the living. The portal finds a way to harm the travelers. Maybe if one had I hushed mind as well as a body and heart forged from steel they could pass though swiftly. But that is not the case for these travelers.

When at last the Xzoner spits the four of them out they land on a grassy field, a building that looks like a church sized up to skyscraper proportions before them surrounded by what looks like suits of animated shogun armor, and looming in the air are five snow globe like orbs masquerading as moon. There are no stairs in the sky, spaces is nothing more then spinning ribbons of light and smoke.

David, Milli, and Lances are rendered unconcise by the trip, Charlie alone is awake on hitting the ground, covered with clear viscose mucus, ooze vacuum packing his clothing to his body. He laughs in pain wishing that he had not been awake for the trip, he hides pain with comedy.

One of the armors, this one mostly gold and silver with a platinum expressionless face on the front of its mask and gemstone eyes floats over to them. Its body has dozens of faces cut into it, its chest is too large for its body, it has a rainbow of colored highlights hidden within the faces on its chest arm and lag guards. The armor speaks to the party, the voice not coming from hits mouths but more so a vibration inside it's hallow body "You are early."

Charlie still laughing as he is now crying laying on his face trying to find the power to stand jokes around "Hello again Celverant. (pronounced as silver rant) I have a reservation on room E772. I would like to inquire about upgrading to E776, it has a better view of the lake, and I understand that it comes with a 3-session patio. Also, can I get housekeeping to drop off my dry-cleaning at 6 instead of 7, I was thinking about going for a jog down the nature trail before the morning crowds start showing up." Charlie gives up on trying to fight his way to his feet and just falls onto his side rolling into a ball.

Celverant leans slightly over Charlie studding him. This man has survived a task that even the most veteran of Worldwalkers seldom attempt. He has traveled the mist ridding 'Chaos magic' and more then that he has managed to carry three people with him wall controlling the chaos. Magic of the chaos spectrum is powerful, yes, but unpredictable as its name implies. On Celverant's world magic is bountiful and so everyone plays with it from time to time. Everyone knows not to use chaos magic unless it is as a last stand. One only calls on this power when there are no other options open to them.

Celverant is the designer of the planeshifting ship called "the Steel Rose" where they now rest. The Steel Rose is a marvel of both magic and metal: eight-hundred miles in diameter, personalized atmosphere generation systems that triggers whenever someone boards the ship to match whatever needs the visitors needs for air and climate control, room and board that can be customized for any cheaters comfort, every dorm has a mater replicator that can summon a thousand pounds worth of provisions every day so long as one of the moons he has constructed has the components needed to conjure the supplies. All of this he has constructed for a single purpose.

Celverant is the Architect of Peace and he will bring order to whatever world he sets his eyes on. Under his carful operations he readies the scattered world of the multiverse for trade in the cosmic market. An impossible task he knows. Even with tens of millions of him walking around he will never be able to craft a single unified universe, but every world he brings into the community help accommodate the addition of anther world. Maybe even after he has pushed himself to the limit of his growth others will pick up where he leaves off.

To those that look onto this mammoth called Celverant and all the things he has crafted he looks omnipotent. But he understands that there is a limitation to the number of time he can subdivide his conciseness between more and more copies of himself. All the armors on this ship are him, the billion he has left on other planets as an arbiter are all him. He has already spread his influence far more then he had hoped but now he is running low on power.

This is why he seeks out other Worldwalkers. That is way he has constructed the Cathedral on the Steel Rose. Only with the combined efforts of him and all the others he can gather can Celverant continue his work.

Celverant brings the four travelers to a medical center to examine their condition, see just how much damage the Chaos magic did to them. Electrical burns, high levels of radiation, mana burn, psionic concussions. All evidence available seems to imply that the chaos should have torn these four apart. Celverant has the power to heal them but should they have landed anywhere else their travels would have ended with this trip.

Each of the travers have been moved into a room of their own. Celverant has entrusted their care to one of his fellow Worldwalkers, a Kami boy from a plane called Glyph named Sigh. As is true of any blessed Kami he has the appearances of a fox with luminescent white hair, he has ritualistic branding marks burned into his body: swirls of wind painted over red on his hands and legs and four triangles on his forehead three pointed up one down painted over in gold, he dresses in silk gowns brightly colored orange and red not so far displaced from the baptismal gowns worn priest from Tibet. It looks as if Sigh should walk on all fours based on the shape of his back and haunches but he is still perfectly comfortable walking on his hind legs.

When Charlie has partly recovered, he shacks himself awake. He calls out to the air it seem "Ali, how long has it been since I arrived?"

The ship speaks to him in a calm feminine voice "in what units would you like the requested information given?"

"hours, round up to the next whole number. Adjust for time on Delta 2750." Charlie elaborates.

"you have been aboard the Steel Rose for 97 hours rounded up to the next whole hour in Delta time." The ship confirms.

The tiny fox boy Sigh, who had been looking over a chart in a holographic book approaches "you seem to know quite a few things for someone that has never been here."

"here is one thing I still haven't worked out. You are speaking in your native language, and I am speaking in mine, but we both can understand each-other." Charlie proclaims.

"that is Seeker's doing. If I understand the information correctly the act of thinking creates an electrical signal. This ships computer captures that signal and when the configuration for speech comes up it rebroadcast that wavelength to everyone within audible range. This wave of energy tricks our brains into thinking we are hearing each-other talk in our preferred langue. One of the advantages of being multidimensional traders is that we enjoy the greatest technology from anywhere."

Sigh stands on a stepstull to get up to eye level with Charlie. "you asked for time in Delta time. Are you from one of the Delta diminutions?"

"yeah." Charlie still sound intoxicated from the drugs he was given for healing

"Delta to my knowledge has never produced a Worldwalker. The whole diminution doesn't have enough mana in it to produce a stable vortex or any entities with the power to control one even if it could be formed." Sigh explains

"I had help from the other side. the exit portal was already here I just had to direct it."

Sigh nods "that explain at least most of your injuries. How did you learn how to do that?"

"I killed someone that already knew how to planeshift and stole their power." Sigh's ears drop and eyes widen on hearing that trying to decide for himself if that was a joke or not. "anyway, what is Lances condition looking like."

Sigh pulls out a divice that looks somewhat like a phone with two metal rods coming out of the top of it, he sweeps it over Charlie "I am sorry but I don't have your names on file yet."

Charlie leans his head back "oh yeah, that's right." He thinks aloud "I am Charlie Pistol Belmond, the older man from Delta is Lances Else Jacob, the Devilkin from Phage is David Jazzman, the other... I don't remember where she is from but her name Milli Fredrickson Malagaurd."

"the older male in your party woke up shortly before you did, he was in some distress upon awakening. I gave him a depressant, he is better now." Sigh nods in understanding. He picks up the holo-book and starts to enter the information he was just given to the files of the lot of them.

"If I can have my armor back I would like to see Lances." Charlie expresses.

Sigh nods again and goes to collect Charlies personal effects "I see nothing wrong with that."

Charlie as he is getting redressed ask "how are the others?"

"the Devilkin has yet to wake up, the female is undergoing regenerative surgery, a number of forgen elements were detected in her body that we are removing. We are also going to repair her damaged eye and ear. Which reminds me, would you like us to fix the damage to your epidermal lair?"

"no thanks. I like my scares, they have personality. Wouldn't mind having hearing back on this side thought." He points out one of his ears. Charlie as he is zipping up his coat stops and looks his jacket over.

Charlie had referred to his outfit as armor and that is very much true. But it is more the just armor that protects his body, his leather is adorned with greegrees that only he understands the value of. His fingers find the patch on his right hip, the patch is the six inches long and two high, his fingertips run up the boarders of the patch to remind him of it's story, It reads '10years' he got it a music festival in La-Suar Minnesota, he was with the women that would be his wife that weekend, on the other hip is a patch that reads '99%', he got that patch at a bike show in Sturgis North Dakota, he was with his brother in law and his friend Mahomed Quin, on his neck he reach up to feel a pin in the shape wings, he had picked up three like it after an air show in Austen Texas, one for him, one for his wife, and one for his son, shadowing that pin is another this one is a bottle cap with fading color that once upon a time read Royal Crown, he forged it himself the last time he saw his son, the cap itself was from a drive in dinner called 'Galaxy Grill', and on his back there is a single patch the reads 'Patriot' with the image of an eagle holding the flag in its claws, that was the patch he added one year ago today, the summer he met Lucca Wingate. Charlie is wrapped head to toe in the best parts of his life. His armor proving as a reminder of who he is and who he was.

Lastly Charlie reaches into his inner pocket and feels his pocket radio there, He smiles. Sigh speaks pulling Charlie back into the here and now "what do you have there? It seems to have inspired a powerful reaction."

Charlie nods pulling the Walkman from his pocket "It's a toy really, an old on, I'm surprised it still works."

"What does it do?" Sigh is interested by the device.

"I'll show you." Charlie turn on the Walkman and take off the headphones so it will play out loud.

"...I'm home again.

I have seen the sky bleed red.

I wish I had stayed home instead.

Look closely,

You will see.

This man is not the man he is meant to be.

The one you see

He is nothing more than a replica

A replica of the man I used to be..."

Charlie stops the music. Sigh looks up to him "It reads poetry?"

Charlie nods "if that is what I want it to do. At one point in time I had hundreds of disk to play with this thing I think."

Sigh waves Charlie on, "your friends are this way." The two of the walk down a long well-lit hallway lined with windows looking into hospital rooms. Rounding the next been leading to the door into Lances room Charlie freezes seeing A 'man' with his arms folded behind his back looking into the room watching Lances.

The man standing in the hall is dressed in a traditional looking catholic priest shroud, the holy simble around his neck is a two-headed bird, his skin is death blue protruding from his back are a dozen knives, his scalp is lined with razorblades, meat hooks and icepicks hang from his belt, his eyes a vacant black. Charlie remembers this man, he is Sendaquil son of Akash goddess of blood, also called Harm angel of the void, he is one of Cravixs slaves.

Half panicked Charlie holds his arm out to stop Sigh and brings his other hand down to grip Souleater. "he doesn't belong here."

Sigh failing to pick up on the fear in Charlies voice announces "yes he does, he arrived shortly behind you. He is here to meet with Syphen to learn more about the realm formally know as Rhoda."

Harm has his own darkness that seems to fallow his movement, lights blinking on and off in his wake. The angel of the void addresses Charlie "Belmond son of Belmond. Have no fear. I have no interest in you today." The hellish priest pivots on his heels away from them and vanishes into the darkness left by the blinking lights.

Charlie runs off ahead to check on Lances, he slides throw the door to see the old man still in bed almost studying the partens on the ceiling. Charlie yells over to Lances "Lances!" seeing everything is as it should be Charlie forces himself calm "How are you?"

The old man drunkenly smiles "I haven't felt this good since that flower festival back in seventy-two." He wheezes slightly "air is somewhat heavy though."

Charlie takes one of Lances hands "Its ok, you'll be up and about shortly."

Lances turns his head to Charlie "Charlie. Who are you? Every time we meet things are just not quite right. You're just a little to calm and know just a little to much..."

Charlie finds himself a chair to sit with his friend he shrugs thinking "I'm a guy...I was born in Mississippi. I'm an engineer for the Grand county school district."

"what about all of this? It's like you are a real life superman."

"you know Lances, that is the strange part about hero's. there never what they look like. Hero's are called on for a single day, to do a single job, after that history takes over to fill in the rest. Sometimes hero's do what is right, sometimes not. But seldom are they who you think they are. Some rich, well dressed warrior? No one of my favorite story of a heroic person knowone even knows the name of the one that set of this chain of events."

Lances grown a bit "go on."

Charlie rest his arms on his knees as he starts a short story "seventeen seventy-two in the tarator of Boston drunk sailors from Grate Briton walk the streets of the harbor town. Tension is high in the air, the American colonist are being exploited by the royal families that claim to own their land. Tax collectors go door to door with the power of the crown at their back offering cheap threat. Winter of seventeen seventy-three the governor Massachusetts is called to Boston harbor, a ten year old boy stands outside the courthouse throwing rocks, civil unrest is tacking hold, the local silversmith has just been arrested under suspicion of conspiracy, a cold war is brewing in the town hall. An ambassador for Briton demands that the governor defuse the situation. The governor asks to return home for the weekend to contemplate his options, the ambassador seconds the motion. Exiting the courthouse, the ambassador's escort it hit with a rock, the escort lifts his musket and fires. A nameless ten-year-old boy is killed, thin and there in the shadow of the court."

Lances interrupts "I don't think I like where this story is going."

"it gets better. At the same time the neighborhoods crier is stepping out of the waterhole on the other side of the street, the sound of the gunshot shocks him into sobriety and he witnesses the ambassador kick the body of the dead boy, the crier pulls the bell from his pocket and starts ringing it shouting 'war has come to Boston'. Before sunrise the fallowing Monday a painter had captured the scene, a journalist had written down the story, horsemen had been summoned within weeks' people from all the surrounding colonies had heard the criers story and by spring America had formed its own army. One ten-year-old boy throwing stones was the last piece of kindling needed to set into motion events that would change the course of history."

The door to the room opens and one of the many armors that are Celverant steps in "Charlie Belmond from Delta, your assistances is required in the speaker's chamber." The armor grips Charlie by the arm nearly lifting him to his feet.

As he is being dragged out Charlie calls out to Lances one more time "Lances, trust yourself, if something feels wrong run! And trust Celverant, but only in the respect that he will not allow harm to fall on anyone under his protection!"

Charlie disappears into the depths of the cathedral being half carried by the armor. Sigh steps into the room to check on Lances "what a strange man." He offhandedly whispers.

Lances nods "yes, but I think I like him. He is honorable."

***

Charlie is shoved into a large room at the top of the cathedral overlooking the pains that surround the core of the Steel Rose, thick glowing pipes run though the floor of this room and a humming sound echoes. This room does not fallow the esthetics of the rest of the cathedral this looks more like a boiler-room the larger more colorful armor that seems to be Celverant's favored body stands looking down at his creations below

"you asked for a room overlooking the lake. You can have it. But first I need to understand more." The hallow voice comes from the shogun beast. "I have been watching your world, waiting for a Worldwalker to awaken. I identified two dozen men that exhibited characteristics common amongst us off them buy you are not one. Even-moor, you knew me before you arrived."

Charlie after regaining his footing brushes himself down "I have been here before."

"I have no recollection of this. Perhaps somehow you have this memory that I do not?

Charlie tries to explain "maybe it wasn't this you, maybe it was another you, we meat last time just like this but it wasn't like this it was this..."

Celverant speaks up "there are two ways that I know of that that can happen." The metal man walks over to a chair in the room and lowers himself onto it, as he does the chair lights up and starts feeding it from the glowing pipes plugging into his body "how well do you understand what Worldwalkers are?"

"I don't, last time around I wasn't smart enough to stop and ask." Charlie looks disappointed in himself.

"Last time around?" Celverant reiterates "that phrase alone says more then you understand. Worldwalkers have the power to slide across time-space everyone fallows the 'x axiom' natural fallowing the positive line, Worldwalkers have discovered the 'y axiom' and can choose to fallow it. But still in the positive direction, if time is looping for you, you have committed a taboo. You made a jump that fallows a 'double negative' line. You jump backwards across both time and space. Vary dangerous."

Charlie tries to wrap his head around this idea before an revelation seem to strike him. "Your planet had a myth about Worldwalkers and how they are born. What was it?"

"once a generation, one in every ten billon lifeform born from the ten times ten billon oldest stars is born so profanely beautiful that they turn the eyes of Chaos, one one-hundredth of them will see so much pain that Chaos will cry, one tenth of those that remain will suffer so greatly that Chaos will be moved to protect them. Once touched by Chaos the curtain of reality can be rolled back and those favored by Chaos can travel space freely with the remainder of their time. Chaos blessing changes with every person touched but allways those touch are seen as the most awe inspiring of their kind and the power for their will to become manifest fallows."

Charlie nods "right, why space, why not time?"

"I have seen vary few try to bend time, and those that have it has ended poorly for."

"what do you mean poorly?"

"they have become trapped in the space in-between worlds."

"why?" Charlie seems to be trying lead Celverant, he thinks he has learned something new about what he is, he just wants confirmation.

"I have never tried myself. I don't know how they get lost in-between worlds. But what value is this information to you?"

Charlie starts to exsplain "there is a universe eating monster out there and a I am looking for any weapon I can to try to fight it."

The door to the room opens and a women's voice calls in "we are seven hours and forty-four minuets into today's system sweep. As by network order 00-8 I have reached the limet of time I am aloud to execute this command. I must now return to Esper 15 and begin protocol 3"

Celverant looks to the door "Im am sorry, Seeker you may be dismissed."

The voice call back "that was not a request."

Celverant looks to Charlie "It seem our time is running short also. My attention is required in the grand hall. I am expected to arbitrate a land dispute for Glyph. I will call you back her shortly. If you wish to know more about Worldwalking talk to another worldwalker. You'll have little trouble finding them here." The armor disconnects form the chair and exits

Charlie runs out into the hallway calling out "Seeker!"

As Charlie runs out of the room what he fails to see is a shadow watching him from the darkness, a simi-human thing (human only so much as it has arms, lag, a head and erect form) it has a white blue membrane covering its body, large round gray coruscation like eyes which on a human head gives it a look of deep preponderances, its eyelids seem to blink in a circular way as three sets of eyelids wrap around each-other, it has no noise and fins in graduating blue red color where ears should be it has what looks like coral growing out of its arms and down its back making a shell and fins coming out of its elbows and knees that trail down its body as if it were a garment. It whispers it itself "A universe eating monster. I believe you friend."

"Seeker!" Charlie yells again trying to track down the women.

The women's voice finds him. "If you wish to speak you will fallow me."

Charlie runs after the voice finding a long haired blond woman with perfectly smooth pink skin, and shimmering sky blue eyes, but that is only her face her neck seems to have clock like gears in it, her chest is a dark blue hunk of metal that hides a red diamond hart her arms and legs are cylindrical with brass ball joints, she has three fingers and toes that are talon like two joints that bend one way and another that bends apposingly.

Charlie catches up and remarks "you are a girl."

Seeker frank in her reply "no, I am an amorphic life form that has chosen to cast the illation of a feminine shape in order to move around more easily in a place where the majority of attendants are humanoid and sexually dimorphic."

"Are you a Worldwalker?"

"Yes." She takes them outside and to a stone pedestal a short distance from the main building.

"I need to understand what we are hand how we work." Charlie beseeches.

Seeker melts into a fluid state ensnaring Charlie, he barely react only having time to duck and cover his head before he finds himself toppling through space again. Protected by Seeker it is a different experience, dark, silent, the sound of his breath and blood rushing through his body shockingly load, he seems to be weightless, but in a state of paralysis suspended in jelly.

***

Seeker pulls herself back together after landing, they are on a planet where the sky is gray, and a grids is perjected onto the clouds, numbers float in the sky in a semi tangible state, metallic bugs fly through the air cress crossing each-other drawing pathways as they move. There is a defining metal grinding coming from every which way, thousands of metal monstrosities move around them fallowing perfect 90* edges as everything moves on the grid drawn by the bugs. Charlie spins around admiring the patterns as things move.

It seems only moments after they arrive the streets suddenly silence themselves all the buster ending with the opining of sliding door in the buildings around them then everything stops. The noise, the activity, end all at once.

Seeker explains unprompted "everyone and everything is plugged into the hive. The hive tells us everything we need to know and how to execute required protocol: protocol one execute baseline EXE 1, this is unique to each unit, this is what we were maid to do, EXE 1 sequences will repeat for 8 continues hours, Protocol 2, execute secondary function, repeat for 8 continues hours, protocol 3, return to storage area, execute repair program, repeat for 8 consecutive hours. If Protocol 1 cannot be completed then skip to Protocol 4."

She leads them into a storage house. The house is mostly empty with the exemption of a single corner that is overflowing with broken machine parts and a table pilled high with half completed constructs, this disorder far displaced form the order seen outside. "three thousand years ago this world was overrun by things not so unlike you." Seeker looks at Charlie as she step up to the table.

She stretches and forms into three copies of herself linked by only the heart that floats between them, each copy grown in extra set of hands and starts sorting through the broken or half-finished devices.

"Im afraid to ask what happened to the" Charlie picks up a peace of rubbish to examine.

"their energy input to output rate was abysmal. We repaired them. The only part of them that worked within expected range dependable was the brain. That is what are hearts are made of. What is it you wanted to talk about?" Seekers speed and persition are strange and alien to Charlie, she can be at so many places at once and it seems each hand can do its own job with no need for the eyes or other hands.

"why aren't we Worldwalkers supposed to travel the Y axiom."

"I was interested in that point too. It seem that it is because a return trip is impossible."

"why?"

"it seem to me that the world that you exit from is stricken from reality when you open a Y gate. Or that a 00 is added to your chrono code creating a paradox in your vary perception of reality. Attempting a retuen trip after a Y jump sends you to the same point in history from the original jump but in the history of the new Y world instead of your own."

Charlie enthusiastically approaches Seeker "I have done it! I have made a Y jump. I have done it more than once."

"was it a double plus or a double negative jump?"

"negative." Charlie trail off into another thought. "but things keep changing after each jump. Why is that?"

"what do you think make more of an impact on the universe: what you did yesterday or, what you are going to do tomorrow?" Seeker ask

"I don't know. Yesterday?

"things keep changing because you keep jumping into shadows of your own universe. Never have you made it home only to a place that looks like your home. Your alpha world likely no longer exists."

Charlies expiration changes to shock "Im happy I talked to you. I wonder why I haven't talked to you before?"

"I might not have been in the other multiverse you came form." Seeker produces a remote control form the pile of garbage, she fiddles with it momentarily then a siren sounds and a secondary fire door falls from the ceiling cutting the room in half and as such make the exit inaccessible.

Charlie looks back at the wall then to Seeker "what is that for."

"to limit how far you can run from me."

Charlie's exasperation sours and he places one hand on his whip. "what?"

"you see I am out of lab rats." She produces a toolbox next "I had every intention of abducting someone today, you where most egger. If you would be so kind, please try not to die before sun up..."

Chapter 8

Doppelganger

David awakens, he has clearly been drugged but his constitution is more than enough to allow him to force himself awake prematurely. He snarls smelling demon blood in the air, turning slightly he spots a fox demon standing and reading from a clipboard nearby. He knows what this beast is 'Kitsuna' is what they call themselves, 'divine bounty-hunter' is what they claim to be. This one has a split tail, but only two tails, it is young, week, barely old enough to know the pleasures of flesh. David exclaims his condition, he has been stripped of his guns and his coat, his neckless is missing too, he still has his chaps and his boots. He can take this demon, but it is going to have to be the messy way.

David reaches out with his senses, he can feel his Demon Edge is locked in a box only a few dozen feet away, he can call to it, but it will cost both time and energy, he will take out the fox first then get his sword and deal with whatever comes next.

Jazzman pretends to sleep; he waits for the fox to come in close. Once he does Jazzman reaches out to grab him by the wrist with one then jumps to his feet, he spins the fox boy around pinning the fox to his chest, he slides one hand under his chin and rest the other on the back of his head. Kitsuna are hard to kill, brake there bones and they just keep coming, twist their head off on the other hand and they bleed out like anyone else.

Jazzman starts to twist, but the fox it seems has accesses to magic that it can call on with only a thought, the fox assumes a spectral for to pass through Jazzman. it cant seem to hold the ghostly form and becomes corporeal again quickly. The fox yells a single word, "Celverant!"

Without warning the room starts to fill with oversized suits of Asian armor. They attack David, the first in the room grabs David from behind pinning his arms to his body, Jazzman drops his weight down into horse stance and thrust back with two elbow strikes to brake the grip, he cats steps past the armor and throws a hammer-fist into its abdomen and a rising elbow to the chin to throw it backwards.

A second brings both arms in to wrap around Jazzman's head to crush him, Jazzman meats him part way with a par of racking eye strike fallowed by an elbow drive and a back kick as he steps out to make distances in preparation for his next attacker. As Jazzman pivots out from his back kick he brings up both arms for a double inwards block for a punch that he spots coming in. he catches the arm of his third attacker, he grips it by the arm and dips his waight on it to force him to turn his back, Jazzman throws the third armor into the other two as he assumes tactical positioning forcing them all onto one side of the room.

With a moment to breath Jazzman holds one arm off to his side and focuses on his sword. Locked in its box the handle on the Demon Edge reeves, the demon edge produces an explosive powder and blows apart the box it is in, the blade then comes to life and flies to the aid of its owner, the sword cuts down one of the armors on its path to join with its owner.

Armors continue to fluid the room, Jazzman fights boldly, crushing dozens of Celverant's bodies, but there can be no victory in these close quarters. Celverant continues to throw his bodies at Jazzman till there is no room left to evade. Celverant overpowers Jazzman by sheer numbers pulling him to the ground and pounding him into submission.

"I am the Architect of Peace, your resistances is futile."

***

Jazzman is carried to a large room with a view of the plains near the lake, he is thrown into a lavish looking hotel room. Milli is resting on a bed near the center of the room with a day robe on reading a book when Jazzman hit the ground, she looks up momentarily to address him "Did you pick a fight with the metal faced bloke also?" Milli is stretched out showing her true size and form. With her body largely restored and in a relaxed position Milli's outer exquisiteness is in full view. Her hair a frosty brown her eyes soft and youthful.

Jazzman pushes himself up to kneeling and holds his head. The assault was never meant to do lasting damage but an ass whooping is an ass whooping in any form. Jazzman growls jumping to his feet, he runs at the door and is suddenly stopped by an unseen force falling backwards as if hitting a wall full throttle.

Celverant points to a ring of ruin stones painted onto the ceiling "typical devilkin behaver, you are passionate but reckless. Your body is powerful but you are sensitive to magic of the sol wavelength. This room is yours to do with as you like. You will not leave it without my consent." Celverant closes the door to the room disappearing from view.

The decadences of the room is high, the floors are a polished red wood, the windows are twenty feet tall showing off a wonderfully manicured yard, small trees, a rock garden and a pond. The room has split floors, the main floor set up for entertaining company it seems, the second floor has four bedrooms and two baths.

Jazzman looks to Milli acknowledging her inquiry "yeah."

Milli rules onto her side and pulls one leg up to her chest stretching 'how did that go for you?"

Jazzman walks around the room fallowing the ceiling examining the ruin stones "not too well all things considered. Do you have any idea what the hell is going on here?"

"I kand'a hoped that you could tell me. It was your friend that sent us here Devil."

"you could call me David if you like." Jazzman pulls a chair up to one wall and reaches up to touch one of the ruins, he jumps back with a yelp as the stone shocks him "can you move these stone?"

Milli shacks her head and pulls open her robe to show off a metal plate fused to her collarbone "no can do, I have been fitted with a shock collar. I'll tell you thou this place has tec that give me penis envy. Joe would kill to get a look at some of this stuff. Oh and Milli by the way."

Jazzman looks to Milli inquisitively "what sort of tec?"

Milli points "Over there next to the door that black glass looking thing. Stand next to it and say 'Ali I'm hungry' and it will offer to 'cook' for you?"

Jazzman tips his head "why the air quotes on that?"

"well it's not like the food is made so much as it just sort'a shows up." Milli rolls onto her stomach and sticks her tail out, her lags roll up onto her back and her arms fold under her chest as she set her book on the ground in front of herself. "Also metal face out there has been keeping some pretty funky records on us."

Jazzman now more than just a little interested by Milli approaches her "Funky?"

"yeah, that is what I have been reading." She slides over the electronic book. "Personnel records, seriously intense shit, vitals, performances records, potential predictions. It seems there are endless pages describing both you and me, and countless others. There is also a simplified mode where it brakes down people into just a hand full of numeric values." As Milli talks Jazzman tries to read up on what he is being shown "S.T.R. seems to be physical power, ability to fight in hand to hand combat, accumulated knowledge of body mechanics ranges fall from 3 to 25, 9 is labeled as average for humanoids 15+ seems to have a disclamer reading minimum to absorbed Ki force, D.E.X. covers ability to run and jump, nimbleness, ability to catch and throw objects and probability of dodging mala attacks same ranges, C.O.N. is resistances to physical damage, parasites, poisons and probability of surviving exposure to radiation and high voltage electrical currents. I.N.T. influnince over the elemental spectrum of mana and deductive skills as well as resistance to said mana. W.I.S. influninces over the psionic spectrum of mana and one's memory as well as academic inclination as well as resistance to said mana C.H.A percentage changes of anticipating or manipulating others and communication skills. The last number H.P.A. is maximum damage that can be inflicted on one's body before natural healing fails."

Jazzman looks over the records "why would you need some of this info?"

"looking for the most efficient way to exterminate someone." Milli answers without a second thought.

David Jazzman

STR: 20

DEX: 17

CON: 18

INT: 13

WIS: 14

CHA: 15

HPA: 188

Milli Malagaurd

STR: 19

DEX: 20

CON: 16

INT: 13

WIS: 13

CHA: 15

HPA: 212

Jazzman looks over to Milli with a sideways smile "looks like my states are higher then yours."

***

Lances finds his way out of his room. He recollects his clothing and is given free rein to walk around. The Steel Rose is a strange unearthly place to Lances. The people are not people, they are monster with a thin vale of humanity, the shapes and colors of objects around him are recognizable, but a poor replica of things that he know.

He starts with a walk around the outside of the main building, this places, everything seems wrong, everything puts him on edge, this world, it is not his world. Lances stops at the lake briefly, he reaches down to run his hands through the unnaturally clean water, Lances has be from sea to sea, he has crossed oceans, no water anywhere looks like this, so clear, so wet, this water has no skin making it feel like oil running between his fingers. The grass is a yellow green, the sent in the air is that of a preindustrial prairie, a smell almost as if from his childhood. This world is to perfect to be real.

After walking for almost half an hour in relative silence Lances I drown next to a museum. The structure is forged of a stone that look like marble, there are two stone cats watching the twenty-foot-tall door at the top of thirty steps twelve feet long and two feet tall each. The face of the museum is lined with forty-five-foot-tall obelisk made of white pearl like stone, there is writing on the overhang in angel script. Lances translates as he walks up the steps "those that seek out wisdom enter."

Tightly Lances squeezes his satchel between his fingers as he slides past the door. The room is cold, the walls are a gold tented wood the halls fifteen feet wide, there is no greater to welcome him in, only two slightly smaller doors and two sets of stairwells leading to a higher tier of the structures, Lances whisper to himself as he walks. "rest your left side to the wall and you will never walk the same ground twice."

The artwork adorning the walls seem to be in large photography, people and places that are both ghastly familiar and grimly unfamiliar to Lances. Lances has no way of knowing how long he has been walking the halls of the museum before voices catch his attention. Lances rest his back to the wall and fallows the chatter. He gets to the corner nearest to the sounds that drew his ear, he stands in wait.

The first voices is a deep echoing voices with a seductive undertone to its hollowness. "You are not the one called Syphen."

The second voice sounds more human, and more conformational. "you may call me Jloose (pronounced jealous)"

"and why would you, Jloose, approach a god of blood so boldly?" the first voice becomes slightly angered.

"I am a man that wheels and deals in the market of knowledge, that being as it is I wish to know what a so-called blood god wants with the man from a world passed?"

"my interest in Syphen is of no interest to you dealer of information."

"monsters like you feed of blood, death, and suffering do you not? So then it seems to me that it is not in your interest that you would seek out a man or a place so isolated. You are nothing more than a flag bearer. Who is really looking for Rhoda?"

"your accusation of my impotence is becoming most intolerable!"

"Keep your voice down vampire. We wouldn't want to get Celverant involved in our decoction, would we?"

Lances has heard all he needs to hear. One hand reaches into Lances' coat, his fingers find the hilt of his sliver dirk, his heartrate picks up has he anticipates his next move. Lances has found his way into another demon's nest, he must sanctify this place. Be it with water or fire Lances feels the compulsion to save souls.

Has the knife starts to find its way from its sheath a pair of arms wrap around Lances. A quick grunt leaves Lances' chest before he can process what has just happened. A small balding man dressed like a carnival performer from Sicily has grabbed Lances and is mumbling "Thank creation. Another man from Delta universe. It has been years since I have seen someone else from my planet" he has a vagally French accent mongreled with Italian.

Lances drops his knife and can find no words to speck resorting to hugging the stranger in return. After a short time the stranger lets go of Lances stepping back to interduces himself. "I'm sorry, I got excited. Let me interduces us." He holds his arms out and from the puffy sleeves of his shirt emerge six squirrels, he starts naming them as they appear "we are; Jennifer, Jessy, Lucina, Ben, Jeff, Tom, and I am Magic Mike Murphy, together we are Magic Mike and the Tall Tails."

Lances looks over the group "you are performers? Acrobats?"

Mike shacks his head "Don't you know me? In 1776 we were the biggest musical act across the three kingdoms."

Lances tips his head and squints "1776?"

Mike jumps back slightly concerned by the reaction "why did you act that way? What year is it now back home?"

"when I left it was October of 2001."

"Ive been away for more than two hundred years?" Mike looks to the squirrel he called Jessy "well that means you are now the oldest rodent in history." He looks perplexed "I had no idea I had been away for so long."

Lances swoops down to grab his knife form the ground. "If you will pardon me for only a moment..." Lances swings around the next corner knife in hand ready to perform his holy work only to find that the hallway is clear of any life. His eyes shoot left then right as he jumps side to side swinging his blade in the air searching for the vampires.

Mike rounds the corn looking for whatever Lances is searching for. The squirrel named Luciana speak up "yeah. That seems to happen around here a lot. Walking the halls of the Steel Rose is just plain inefficient so most people who can choose to instead call on limited teleportation spells to move around. After all there are five moons to choose from and all of them are similar in size and scope to this one."

Lances eyes widen as he lowers his knife to his side, he hides the blade up his sleeve and looks over to Magic Mike and the Tall Tails "the talk?"

Mike nods "they also play interments: Jennifer plays violin, Jessy viola, Lucina cello, Ben plays piano, Jeff does drums, Tom can play both a flout and a trombone and I do guitar both base and rhythm. I had a pigeon that played xylophone but she left to start a solo job."

Lances rubs one hand through his beard "Well I think I might need a guide to help me find my way around." Lances leans into the squirrel Lucina "could I interest you in the job?"

Lucina brings her paws up to her cheeks looking embarrassed at being addressed directly "so long as Mike and the other are in Okay." After a short hushed discussion Lucina jumps up onto Lances' chest and gets up noise to noise with him. She touches her noise to his then nods "yeah. We will help out."

With the help of the Tall Tails Lances is shown the court house, the library, the teleportation pad, the gathering hall and the barracks. Mike explains that there are other buildings but they can only be accessed with Celverant's permission.

As their conversation goes on the lot of them walk past the courthouse once more. Lances attintoin is drawn by a large group approaching, one person in the group unparticular, Magdalen St. Frances.

Lances looks back to Mike. "Im sorry, what where you just saying?"

"sitting in on court hearings is pretty much how we pay for our rooms around here. The ship gives us anything we need and all we need to do deliberate with Celverant on how to 'spread peace' as he puts it."

Lances nods. "I think I would like to do my part. Can you get me in on whatever they are talking about?" Lances points to Magdalen.

The squirrel Ben looks back and fourth "they are part of that land dispute on Glyph. We are already in on that."

Mike digs around for his pocket watch. "is it time already? By time flies some days. Yes of course Lances, lets go."

***

The grand court room is at the center of the cathedral, it is the largest and most important room on the Steel Rose. The room is ovular is shape with bleachers lining the room, there is seeting for a thousand or more. Rapping around the ceiling there are a hundred or more statues creating a mural, on 'side' of the room is marked by fifty man dressed like roman hero's the other by monsters all having turned to face a blind queen wrapped in laurel flowers, all the statues seem to be shouting at the blind queen pleading with her on the behalf of a kneeling man on the opposing side, the kneeling man has one bird wing growing out his back and one bat wing, on the concaved celling is painted a skyline orange fading to blue a setting sun marking the south and a rising moon marking the north, the blind queen marking the west and the kneeling man the east.

At the heart of the room sits the judge's throne on which Celverant is perched. As the trial begins his throne alone is illuminated. Celverant addresses the unseen mass. "this is day four of the Trial for ownership of the territory called Glyph and for the adding of planet number 24-64-10 into galactic and trans-dimensional trade. I Celverant, the architect of peace will continue to be the lead emissary." A second light turns on to reveal the stenographer's desk and a blue cloaked man sitting at it "Today to keep minuets I have invited Jloose. Should anyone see reason why Jloose should not keep minutes please speak now." Celverant waits a few moments before continuing "Seeing nun I will continue. During yesterday's meeting, there was some difficulty in translating between some of the races present. I will address this first."

"for purposes of this debate this court defines 'peace' as a state of being in which prosperity is increased and suffering is decreased for the largest applicable denomination of life. In the eyes of those sitting in on today's discussion the words: realm, plane, dominion, and dimension will all be used interchangeable. The word Worldwalker will be used to describe any person that has the power to move between worlds using para natural or super natural powers without the aid of secondary technologies. The word Planshifter will be used to describe someone with the same power but requires an amplifier or technological enhancement.

"In the eyes of this courthouse the words Race and Species are interchangeable. As well as are the words: House, Provinces, Country, City, State, and Land. Do to the cultural speech patterns of both Methuselah, and Glyph the fallowing Prefixes will be used during today discussion; Earl, Lord, Lady, Barron, Baroness, Count, Countess, Sister, Brother, Cardinal, Father, and Elder. To this court these titles are pleasantries and will be treated identically to sir or madam, no one voice carries more weight than any other in my courthouse. By request of Methuselah all clocks and timestamps in the courthouse have been set to reflect time as it appears on planet 24-64-10. If all these conditions are understood we will continue to the next order of business." There is a momentary delay as notes are taken.

"it is the understanding of all in attendances that the ownership of planet 24-64-10 is currently shared by four humanoid races. As such for these discussions to begging resuscitative of these races needed to be found and invited here to partake in this meeting. To meet this requirement, I now interduce to you; from Kami, a race that identifies themselves as Kitsuna, Hons, Ryon, and Nine"

lights across from Celverant light up showing three individuals who have seemingly tack grate pain to mask themselves, the three have few visible traits, all three have hidden their faces with stone mask with rectangular eye sockets cut out, covered their hare with broadbrimmed straw caps and hidden their bodies with cloaks made of layers over layers of pine needles, only on close inspection can there golden white fur be seen on their four clawed paws, they would be perfectly identical if not for one trait which cannot be hidden so easily long bushy fox tails, white with yellow tips, one of them has three tails, the next has four and between them the last has eight wrapping around its back like a halo.

"let it be noted that Kami has suggested that regardless of the ruling on the tarator of Glyph and who gains ownership of the grater body of the land that discussion of them and their tribe as well as the five ancestral berthing rounds that they call 'Godhand Mountains' be considered individually hereafter"

A lone light at Celverant's 1:oclk lights up to reveal a women dressed in gypsy like dancing attire, her hear is black with blue highlights, her eyes a shimmering blind dead white, her skin gray her lips drowned blue, her fingertips drip with what seems to be blue black ink and her nails filed to razers.

"from the territory of Nossghuol I interduce Lady Fiona Vesstle, let the record reflect it was Vesstle that requested these negotiations, and in spite of the idea that Vesstle has had relationships with more than a hand full of my councilors that she speaks on behalf of Nossghuol and whatever relations she has had or has not had are irrelevant to these preceding. Nossghuol identify themselves as symbiotic, symbiological, semi humans, their exact classification is currently under debate via or morphological department."

A light triggers at Celverant's 3:oclk revealing a larger table with a number of people set at it, many dressed in vibrant colors, the cut and patterns on their elaborate dress reflect patterns that might have appeared in pre-Victorian England romanticized, low cut callers, high cut dresses, tight, mostly transparent undergarments. Their skin is flawless, their features idealized, sharp ears sharp jawlines, thin deep eyes.

"Next I interduce the to you the Methuselah. The Methuselah identify themselves as Sylphs. Starting from the right and moving left we have: Countess Estargo also known as Bethany Vergil of the house of Estargo, Earl Crystleus also known as Edom Dante Magnia, Baron Maxwell Abram who also calls himself Count Abrem, Lady Elles Nightingale also called the Bronze Queen, and lastly Dean Grimm the king of Grimm." Dean Grimm stands out sitting next to the Methuselah as he clearly lacks their refined futures, he looks older and scarred, he also has a tattoo on his left arm which he leaves exposed a bent cross and a half sun overlapping a star.

The lights turn on at Celverant's 9:ockl reveling Magdalen St. Frances and her crew, out side of her and two others dressed in complicated red robes and one young girl dressed in a white habit the rest of her group are all dressed in catholic priest attire that seems to have been modified for military usage, armored patches added and holsters for knifes and axes or guns cut into the holy garments. The same bent cross on Dean's arm is worn as a holy symbol on all the Glyph. But one of them looks more Methuselah then the other

"the Glyph identify themselves as human. The Glyph in attendances today are from right to left; Sitting Profit Arthur St. Frances, Arch Cardinal Magdalen St. Frances, Arch Cardinal Merlin St. Frances, Father Able Nightingale, Brother Tiberius Joy, Sister Elyssa Joy, Brother Dale Headsman, Brother Jo, and Sister Hellen Easter." Sister Easter is the only one of the group dressed in white and is by far the youngest of the group, the three St. Frances's are all dressed in red but much to anyone's surprise it seem the one with the most prestigious title can't be much more than a year or two older than Easter.

"As was discovered during out last meeting please let it be known that the word 'Vampire' is recognized as a racist slur by the Methuselah and even if at one point during there shared history it was a reasonable acoret description of the Methuselah's habits, the crimes that where committed by the last generation is not what is on trial today and there for usage of such words when other words might be more appropriate will not be permitted."

One final set of lights light up revealing a ring-shaped table that encloses the other tables is revealed. "Lastly allow me to interduce my fellow adjudicators. Here to help me review and consider the points of view of all in attendances, in clockwise order, I interduce; Cinder, daughter of Vishnu, she speaks for the realm Ultereal..." Cinder is a human looking woman with skin that looks like wood and fire for hair, flams drip from her mouth when she speaks and from her eyes with she blinks, globs of red hot steel seem to hold her joints together, she conceals herself within a duster style hat and jacket reminiscent to pre-industrial American style.

"...Sorrion Hunt, speaks on behalf of Jango Relm..." Sorrion looks like something trapped in-between a human a chimp and a gruella, he is covered in gold red fur, Dressed in armor that looks to be forged from snake skin and is accompanied by a winged anaconda tide around his body that he glances at intently in such a way that could be interpreted as provocatively.

"...Su-a-hoon, who speaks for Evareal..." Su-a-hoon can only be described as a gryphon with chaeta spots on her hind quarters, falcon like wings and in eagle head, she has been outfitted with broderie of Roman influences.

"... Arwen Bloodsage will speak for Negga realm..." this is a white skinned man with black lips, his body is shaved and waxed to perfect smoothness, his skin is a tapestry of Neolithic art, he dresses in nothing more than silk feulds tide around his waist.

"... Xia Li, will speak of Kunny realm..." Xia is best described as an albino rat sized up to human scale given Ming dynasty surf attar to cover herself.

"... Dash Prismknight, will represent the realm called Core..." Dash is an Alacorn, a winged horse with a silver unicorn, he has a rainbow of feather running down his wings and a brilliant white coat, he covers his face with a mirror mask.

"... Krane, they will speak for Zzuragg..." Krane's nature is clear on close inspection, she wears the skin of a human women, a honey like fluid runs from her pours to keep her skin moist and tender, where hear should be a coat of insectoid feelers run down her back, her skin is a dying green, her lips orange with venom, her eye are like holes in rubber where under two sets of six segmented kaleidoscope eyes can be seen, when she takes a breath within her mouth is visible a second mouth with oscillating teeth, she smells like fresh cooked ham. She is not a person; she is five terminates within a human animatronic.

"...Syphen, is here on the behalf of the world formally called Rhoda..." Syphen is in a constant state of shifting forms, Syphen by its nature needs to be of a shape that those around it would find sexually appealing, in an event like this where there is no one shape that is universally exemptible it finds itself stuck in-between many shapes all at once having bits and paces of every-ones idealized partner featured.

"...From Paradess we have Harm, From Delta we have Magic Mike and the Tall Tales. From Red Twilight Lances Jacob, and lastly from Aquse Keyor..." Keyor is the fish like women that had been spying on Charlie and Celverant.

"to make sure everyone understand the rules of this debate I remind everyone, you may address your opponents with your statements or the judges, your objective is to demenstrat to us why you are fit to govern your world or why your opponents are not. Everyone may speak as much and often as they like but everyone must speak before a verdict can be reached. After everyone has spoken there peace my judges and I will retier to review the information presented. These percedings will go on till all parties are satisfied."

Dale Headsmen is the first to stand up "Judges, I wanta' talk. I already slept through two days of this shit, my ass hurts and I would rather get back to dying on a battlefield then sit though another day of this."

Celverant waves Dale on "Very well. Who would you like to address?"

Dale is a crowd man, his hear is greasy, his hands dirty, the sleeves are ripped on his robe and he has a chain of teeth he proudly displays around his neck, anyone within arm's reach could almost taste the blood on his coat and the home-brewed liquor on his breath. Dale points hard at Earl Crystlus "I want to talk to that maggot."

The Methuselah are a slow growing race. By their own admittances they have a life expectancy of 900 years with strange growth spurts, for the first 9ish years of their life they are indistinguishable from human. But then their growth slows dramatically almost never showing sexual characteristics till before 300 years of age and not having fully developed features till 600 for this alone many think them immortal, and many appear to by children for lifetimes assuming wealth and fame in this eternally young state as it seem.

Dante, lord of his own land look to be hardly twelve in the eyes of most. Dante tries to look calm and collected in the face of the hunter that stands before him but it is clear he is intimidated by the mountain man that is Dale Headsman "How may I be of service to you Brother Headsman?"

Dale snorts "Can the pleasantries" Dale steps around the table approaching the Methuselah, mid stride he brings one foot up and pulls a hunting knife from a sling tide to his lag "I can end this discussion right her right now." He flips the knife squeezing the blade in his fist "you sit there with your pretty close, with that fake smile. You pretty up good. Some whisky and a face paint and you look almost human." Dale grips the knife's handle in his offhand "you tell us you are no face eating shit licking vampire. I can show the court you are." A mighty tug and Dale rips open the skin on his hand spraying blood half across the tables. Shock and gasp thickens the air.

Chapter 9

Histories

David calls his sword to his side and clashes with the wall time and time again searching for a hole in the defenses of their luxurious prison. Sparks fly and the blade glows radiantly, David shouts to channel his super human power. He revs the blade spraying the explosive gas to try to chip away at the magic wall. His effort are meaningless.

Milli rolls onto her back still reading, she pulls her lags tight into her body almost displaying her exceptional assets, her tail modestly folds up between her feet to cover her pouch. "you are going to kill yourself." She explains to David "Maybe H.P.A. means more then that, maybe it is describing the expected amount of punishment one can take before natural healing is no longer applicable. Some people have managed to recover from some pretty extreme stuff. It seems H.P.A. isn't even on the same scale, everything else is 1-25 but H.P.A. seems to start at 4 and goes into the thousands for some animals." Milli trails off talking to herself.

David throws his sword at the ground sweeting with anger. "are you going to do anything!?" he protest

Milli looks at him placing the book under her head as she crosses her arms behind her back "No. I am going to sit her quietly and wait."

"look maybe between us we have enough strength to kick down these walls." David frustrated waves about.

"then what wise guy?" Milli pushes herself up onto her hip turning to look at her partner "I got zapped enough by the Watchers, I know what a ready kilowatt feels like, I don't like it."

"then we... we... deal with it." David momentarily stutters.

"we can't punch our way out; we know that much already. So, we need a second option. We need to understand who is holding us and why."

David takes an autogenic breath to slow his heartrate and calm his nerves. "so what do we know?"

"however is holding us doesn't plan on killing us any time soon. You don't bandage wounds on someone you want dead, you also don't give them reading material and a room with a view." Milli thinks aloud.

"then what do they want us for?" David snowballs "you're a spy and I'm a prince..."

"I don't think money is at the forefront of metal-face's plan. He is after something more valuable then coin."

"like what?" David quotation finally sitting down. The two of them inch together resting on each other's back for support, booth tip their heads up watching the ceiling.

"information."

"on who?"

"or what?"

"why?"

Milli turns her head slightly as does David looking over eachothers shoulder to the other. "Devil, what do you know about the Belmond?"

"ghost stories mostly. I just met the guy half a day before I met you." There is a strange calm as the two of them sit together.

"I don't think we are on earth anymore." Milli explains

"Charlie thinks he can kill Cravixs." David adds

"Devil, what happens when gods die?"

Both parties face forward again engulphed by the question.

Milli brakes the silences "Do you want kids?"

David shrugs "are you offering?"

"it's not off the table. I'm very much alone no matter where I am."

David nods. "I know the feeling."

Milli lowers her eyes "No you don't. outside of the dragon scales on your back you look human, you can do things like go shopping and walk around in a park and no one will look twice at you. Me on the other hand, I can't pass myself off as a girl no matter what I do. I live on retracted movement. I was given a chose by Joe. I work for him or I live in a box. Im still in a box, this one is just bigger then the last."

"I'm not afraid of you." David points out

"that's not the point. But... thank you." Milli hooks her tail around David hugging him.

***

Blood sprays over the courtroom table, Dante recoils in fear at first, his noise twitches as the erotic sent of fresh meat gets into the air. Count Abram lowers his head hiding his face, several other of the Methuselah look uneasy as well the young more-so then the others. Dante grows fur on his ears and his noise turns upwards bat like, his eyes sharpen and teeth hook.

Like a mother bird Countess Estargo pushes Dante behind herself hiding him from view, She squares herself with Dale Headsmen, she is ready to face the hunter head on. Estergo is the oldest at the table aside form Abram, but she still looks hardly over 20 to human eyes. "on one denies the fact that the Methuselah were once predatory!"

Dale flips his knife around gripping it back handed as he lowers his arms to his sides and turns to look to Celverant "you say these ankle-biting rats are in charge of shit there will be a good some more blood on the table then this."

Estrago leans on the table before her grinding her fist into the wood her eyes glowing a predatory yellow as she is filled with fervent passion. "we don't kill any more! That part of our history has passed!"

"y'all still look like spiders to me. Eyes filled with blood, lust dripping from your teeth." Dale taunts Estargo

"you indigent..." Estargo reachs onto her back unclipping her pole ax from her shoulder.

Dale's eyes narrow as he softly calls her out "come on bitch. Let's see your teeth."

Cinder cuts into the conversation "objection! That was clearly meant to be antagonizing."

Cleverant's body echoes his distaste "Agreed. You may be seated Brother Headsman." An army of clockwork hands float out of the ground and guide Dale back to his seat, somewhat forcibly.

Maxwell stands "my I speak your honorableness?" there seems to be a twang to Maxwell's voice that would lead some to believe him an islander, his dark curls and deeply tanned skin would second that motion.

Celverant waves him on "who would you like to address?"

"Lady St. Frances." He ushers.

"go on." Celverant insist

Abram folds his hands as he walks to the center of the room "Lady St. Frances, you are the owner of a ship called 'the Warhamer' can you describe this ship to us?"

"I am Arch Cardenal Magdalen St. Frances."

"my apologies Arch Cardenal, can you describe the Warhamer for us?"

"the Warhamer is a ship of Lander classification, it is equipped with a gravity stone that allows it to travel by both land and air, the Warhamer has a three-laired hall, consisting of a steal outer coating reinforced with a green wood inner-hall and a tertiary iron innermost lair, It is retrofitted with 12 50" cannons on both port and starboard the mass has been fitted with a armor piercing steam-work piston called the "Dragon Gater" she is manned by 25 sailors at all times and acts as the mobile fortress for both myself and my privet guard 'the Priest of Ax'." Magdalen gloats

Abram nods "ah, I see. And did you design and build this ship yourself?"

"No." The Cardenal expresses.

"then how did it come to be in your possession?" Maxwell feigns a confused expiration.

"The Warhamer was a gift from Arch Cardenal Merlin."

"then did he erect your ship?" Maxwell lead the inquest.

Krain interrupt "where did the ship in question come from?"

Magdalen explains "the ship was commandeered from a group of bandits after the 'Battle of Panama'."

Maxwell nods, "that is very interesting to me. You see I at one point owned a ship very much like the Warhamer. I lost it almost 10 years ago now when a team of men in my employment where attacked at South Mission. Only a short walk from Panama bridge."

Sythen joins the talk "are you saying Count Abram that the Arch Cardenal had stolen this ship from you?"

"I would not be so bold as to insult the royal family of Glyph here. I only say that to you," he waves to the audience "the Methuselah are a long lived people, and we are at a stage of our development where art and technology have become large exports. This could be benifical to all of you should I be chosen to arrange for trade." He looks back to the Glyph "I do not believe that you can boast so much."

Harm speaks out "It seem to me that on many worlds we have visited art trades at a higher price then bread and wine."

Celverant nods "this is in fact a truthful statement."

Maxwell smiles knowing now that the judges are largely on his side.

Magdalen stand up "you will not speak of life in such small terms! Humans or not heads of cattle to be given away for nothing more than comforts."

Harm addresses Magdalen "why not? I have seen men kill each-other for less than simple pleasures."

The court is divided when Lances jumps to his feat also "Did we not agree already to hold each other accountable for our own crimes and not that of our fathers?"

This descends into chaos within moments as all the Worldwalkers, the Glyph and the Methuselah start shouting amongst each other. The Kami watch in confusion, Vistell folds her hand over her breast and smiles smugly at the display. Lances in spite of his disgust, looks around the room taking notices of who has not engaged in the arguing; Harm, Vistell, Nine, and Syphen all seem vary indifferent to this part of the debate, and Celverant is completely unreadable.

Celverant's patients quickly expires, the room painfully echoes his will "Order, Please. Return to your sets." On one resist.

Syphen stands up "May I say one more thing?"

Celverant looks to the ill-defined shapeshifter "so long as what you say is relevant to the point at hand."

"I may have an idea that could clear up all this confusion..." Syphen starts

Celverant cut in "If you say human sacrifice again..."

Syphen goes on "A sacrifice to Rhoda the sleeping god would most certainly help us illuminate our minds..."

Celverant stops It. "Syphon, I have seen fear in my time, I have seen horror, and I have seen the most disgusting of filth man and man-kin have hidden in the darkest corners of space. But never have I seen anything more repulsive then you. When I think about what you are and where you came from I wish I still had the ability to vomit. You may be dismissed. I will not be requiring your services more-so today." Clockwork hand pick up the monster called Syphen.

Su-a-hoon looks back and forth "could someone please clarify what just happened?"

Dash looks to Su-a-hoon "Syphen is a walking dream, An Avatar from a world that no longer exists."

Harm picks up the story for Dash "as it is told Rhoda was born the smallest giant on a world covered in colossuses. To spite his tiny size Rhoda had a hunger, A hunger that rivaled any of the blood gods. When Rhoda was pronounced a man on the eve of his fiftieth birthday there was a feast, and for the first time in his life Rhoda planned to eat till his hunger was satisfied. He alone ate a feast fit for 20 giants but it did not fill the emptiness in his body..."

Krane cuts in "... his hunger grew evermore painful after that day, every Zzuragg knows the story, he ate and he ate more, not even stopping to sleep, the hunger was all he could think of. When he ran out of food, he began eating grass..."

Dash continues "when there was no more grass he started eating rocks, then other giants. At that point Rhoda started to grow..."

Harm continues "he grow and grow as his hunger grow allowing him to eat evermore ever-faster.

Cinder pitches in "He ate till he could reach into the air and pick up the moon, he took a bite out of the moon and he turned into a planet only know noticing that everything he ate became a piece of him, then he ate the sun, then he ate everything."

Harm finishes the story "and when there was nothing left to eat, he slept, and he dreamed, and his dream went forth in search of new pleasures for Rhoda to consume."

Su-a-hoon looks around the room "is this true?"

Harm looks at the gryphon "we don't know that it is not."

Celverant joins "many Worldwalkers have extra ordinary powers, easily being confused for gods when they appear on worlds where the powers they have previously did not manifest. Some of us even come to believe we are holy by nature." Celverant relaxes his tone slightly "I have seen more than one god face to face. I was not impressed by what I sow."

Father Nightingale stands and bows "your illustriousness, with that unpleasantness aside, I am most exited to return to our previous point of contention." Nightingale is the trimmest and most refined looking of the priest his hair is long and peppered, he ties it back with three ribbons running down his back, he is exceptionally joyful and optimistic it seems.

"Very well, who do you wish to approach?"

"I should like to talk to both the Bronze Queen and Countess Estergo. If I may" Nightingale explains

"Make it so"

Nightingale approaches Elles "First off I would like to thank you for coming to this meeting, I understand that you need to cut short your courtship ritual in order to make it here."

Elles giggles at Nightingale "yes that is true, but what I am disappointed by is I didn't see you at the courtship." She crosses her lags kidishly and puts on a comically face annoyed voice.

"I am horribly sorry about that; I had pressing matters to attend and simply could not make such arrangements" Nightingales eyes are shut and head tips with a wide smile as he talks.

Elles lays forward onto the table lewdly "Really Able? Where were you that you couldn't make time."

Celverant interrupts "Are you going to make a point?"

The two jump to attention straightening out their outfits and getting back to their reality "no, not really, sorry." Nightingale sidesteps over to Estargo "Countess Estargo, would you mind horribly if I ask you what you do for a living?"

"yes." Estargo crosses her arms and leans away from Nightingale, Nightingale looks shocked at Estargo's unwillingness to cooperate "Okay..." she gives in after a long moment of the two of them staring each-other down Nightingale looking progressively more upset. "my primary responsibility as a Countess had been as lead Landset of the house of Estargo."

Nightingale's smile comes back and he perks up "Landset, for the binifit of the court can you define that term?"

"the territory I watch used to sit in an alcove between three other territories. South of my house was Nossghoul, north of me was the land formally called Grimm, and east of me was the Bronze desserts. My job was to watch the walls and should any activity be detected in Nossghoul light the tower..."

Nightingale stops Estargo "Im sorry I just noticed that you keep using pastiness. Why is that?"

"Estargo house had fallen at the same time as Grimm."

"how?" Nightingale ask. Estargo looks up to Celverant as if to ask if this must go on. "did Nossghoul attack you?"

"I don't know." Estargo shacks her head. "we were attacked but the attacker was never pinned down, we don't know who they were or why they attacked my house. I lost 100 of my brothers that night and the wall fell, if not for Abram having had a dispatch within only an hour's ride... and Earl Crystleus being..." Estargo seems in shock as she is thinking.

Nightingale rest one hand under his chin "Astargo, were is Abram in contrast to you?"

Abram interjects "I watch the north most wall, it takes five days by sea to reach Estargo house."

Arwen looks between the three of them "and your point is?"

Nightingale becomes stern "what IS your relationship to Abram?"

Estargo straightens herself regaining her wit "we have no relationship."

Nightingale presses "you never had a relationship?"

"no, not since..." Estargo cuts herself off.

Nightingale brings one hand to his ear waiting for the rest of her statement "Im sorry since when?"

"since the 'Divide'." Estargo finishes her thought.

Nightingale smiles his Methuselah traits becoming more clear as his eyes flash yellow and the veins in his checks flicker blue "and what is the Divide"

Vesstle laughs "irrelevant is what it is. We talked about the divide yesterday."

Celverant looks to Vesstle "what your turn."

Estargo looks aggravated "I will go over this one more time for any one that doesn't remember. Thirty years ago, a new herb was discovered, one that had properties that treated a number of genetic defects present in our race. There are many amongst us that think this herb is immoral to use. There are puritans amongst us that want to keep using the old treatment. Abram and I seem to have found ourselves on opposing sides of this divide."

"what are the genetic defects?" Nightingale ask

"as if you don't know; pathetically low fertility is the first symptom, uncontrollable veraciousness, animalistic tendencies..."

Nightingale cuts back in "simplified we suffer from abnormal sexual frustration and hunger. And what is the treatment?"

"drinking mammalian blood..."

With that Nightingale attacks, he slaps the table and starts shouting his next statement "How much?! How often?!"

Danta steps up to protect Estargo this time "It doesn't mater. We have a new treatment now!"

"You traded one addiction of another!" Nightngale's voice is filled with fire, he is a preacher and he is ready to do what preachers do. "Hunger becomes sex, sex becomes opulents, and indulgence becomes murder. Thinly vailed demons walk in cold sunlight. Always hunting, always feasting. You think gold can pay for freedom? Sin has only one cure, blood, the blood of labor and service, you sit high on your thrones, but it is on our knees that we find forgiveness!"

Celverant stands "I will not sit her and listen to a sermon. Break for lunch. We reconvene here at 17:44 Glyph time."

Nightingale snaps back to his calm and friendly appeal, instantly smiling courteously the rage gone from his voice "Thank you for being such a good sport about all of this Bethany. Can I treat you out for lunch?"

Countess Estargo stands up and almost playfully pushes Able away. "Don't talk to me."

In mass the court finds its feet and file out of the room for lunch. Lances Jacob chases down Magdalen st. Frances. Jacob calls ahead "Magdalen!"

In the yard outside the court Dale Headsmen turns to intercept Lances, Dale pulls out his crossbow and holds it up threating Lances. "Looking for trouble stranger?" Dale steps forth pocking Lances in the chest with his bow "who are you and why are you dress in Glyph armor? Vampire spy?"

Lances looks down at the bow then back up at Dale "that is dammed unfriendly-like." Lances circles one hand out pushing the bow off line then feverously steps into a slap across Dale's jaw pushing the larger man off balances.

Dale jumps into fighting posture pulling out his big hunting knife. Magdalen turns dramatically to face the combatants "Father Headsman, stop." Dale freezes in place at the sound of Magdalen's voice "he has a point, why are you dressed in one of our armors Father Jacob?"

Lances calms himself "you are mistaking, this isn't Glyph armorer this is the hunters gear of the church of Jesuit."

"I am not familiar with the Jesuit branch, are you from Panama?"

Lances smiles "No, I'm from Main."

"I'm afraid I have never been there." Magdalen expresses.

Lances looks somewhat disappointed if not confused. "I take it that means that you are not the Magdalen I know?"

"It would seem I am not, and I would take it the that you like I are not yet accustomed to the rules of this place."

Lances steps in close to the Arch-Cardinal "I am a missionary in a unholy place it would seem. But there is still one thing that I know and I know it for sure. I serve the church and best as I know that means that I serve you."

"Interesting." Magdalen's glasses flash in the light as she thinks

Lances extends a hand to the Cardinal "how my I serve you my lady."

Magdalen takes Lances by the hand, Lances bows placing his lips to her hand. Magdalen smiles and looks to her bodyguard "Mr. Headsman take note, this is how a man should act in the presences of royalty." She looks back to Jacob ushering him to stand "Walk with me. I feel you are a man with many useful skills and I wish to know what they are."

"As you wish Cardinal."

Chapter 10:

Deadlight

Harm approaches Syphon as s/he steps out of the court house "Servant of Rhoda." The walking dream stops and turns to face the blood-god. With the crowds thinning its form becomes more firm. Its body settles on a female shape on par with Harm's height, glowing ivory skin, bold, wrapped in black leather with thin eyes, thick lips and generous secondary sexual characteristics.

Syphon looks Harm up and down her exasperation seeming hungry "Princes from Pantheon, have you come here to amuse me? Or should I amuse you?"

Harm stands uncomfortably close "your powers are strong. You can see into my mind to spite my holy blood. By there is something you have not noticed it would seem. I have no hart that one can warm. I hunger only for flesh."

Syphon looks away "you bore me already."

Harm grabs Syphon and forces her to look at him "Yet you have something that I want."

Syphon's expiration shifts to one of longing. The shapeshifter places its hands on Harm's chest. "and what do I have that you would wish for?" any onlooker to this conversation would see clearly that though Harm is the vampire they are both predators, one with his fangs bare the other with its tail raised both looking to ensnare the other.

"I want Rhoda." Harm grips Syphon by the arms, his voice filled with authority.

Never has Syphon had such easy prey to attract, typically she needs to pay out, offer her victims gifts of money or physical gratification before they ask to see the sources of her power. Harm is no small offering, he is old, he has seen many worlds, eating him will bring Syphon a great deal of pleasure.

Syphon slides backwards taking Harm by the hands, "Come with me, I will give you what you desire." Syphon act cute, childish and giddy as she pull Harm out of the sight of others and to a place where she can safely teleport.

"Yes, you will." Harm explains

***

When Syphon worldwalks it feels like the moment between dream and waking, for a split second the world of the mind and the world of the body are as one, you can see the dream and you can see yourself but then one fades to black as the other dissolves to white. The waking dream falls from before Harm's eyes and what is cast before him is a sight that is nearly incomprehensible, Syphon has become a phantasmal amalgamation of the sum of all life, s/he is a pair of every creature Syphon has ever seen all at once, tens of millions of pars of distinct animals all held together by a viscus mass linking them at a multitude of body parts like mucus the colors of the monstrosity crosshatch it unnatural ways everything bleeding into everything else.

But Syphon is only a tiny piece of a much greater being. Harm finds himself standing in the hand of a humanoid stone beast, the hand alone must be a hundred or more miles wide forged of stone and fungus, the life form casting its own light as there is no other lights left in the world. With no atmosphere to reflect light and no gravitational pull one can see forever and this nearly unlimited scope of vision brings to light the giants hand moving to its face to exsame the insect in its hand.

Rhoda resembles a Mesozoic stone idol, its skin smooth as sand, its eyes lumps of metal, it has no teeth only a vacuumus hole where a moth should be, no ears but a rounded noise, its features are genderless. The stone god need not speak, it thinks and Syphon hears it.

"Rhoda! Behold! Sindaquil, the eldest son of Akasha Queen of the red sand and lady of blood."

Harm looks to Syphon then up at Rhoda. "Impressive, you really area a universe of one. But I fear that a universe so small has a fatal feely. You are a god to an unprotected world."

Syphon looks to its god the back to Harm "Rhoda wishes to know what you mean by unprotected."

Harm nods "I will grant you this favor. The Keys of Salvation forged by the Three-headed goddess offer this world no quarter. Without the Keys this world may be claimed by any Real Gods if only they have an Avatar to open the door for them. This world and everything in it now belongs to Cravixs."

Harm throws out his arms in prayer and the sky flashes with magenta light, teeth rain from the heavens as the God of Nothingness bites into the dimension. Harm closes his arms pushing his hands into his sleeves "If I where you I would start groveling now."

***

Cravixs wraps his teeth around the minuscule universe that is Rhoda, the whole of its existences absorbed into the walls of his soft tissue like in egg adhering to in ovarian wall alongside thousands of other universes in an almost spider like egg clutch. Only Cravixs angel, Harm, being left behind in the world of nothing left behind, no light, no color, no darkness, true vacuumus emptiness. Absoult nothingness is a state of being that is beyond human understanding and seeing such a thing would destroy the mind of any mortal. Even harm finds the absinces of existences numbing and is quick to jump to the next nearest plain of existences just to be in any simi-familiar environment.

Cravixs reaches out with his feelings searching as far as his eyes can see continuing his search for his lost siblings. Now with Rhoda inside of him he can stretch only slightly more and at last he spots a light at the edge of this reality that he recognizes. Cravixs whispers into the vastness of space "Laus-dayO." 'I should have known, where would be safer then at the edge of reality, all the worlds all the realities, which would be the one he would choose to go to? Where would the Void never look again?' Laith, the places of lost memories. That is where Lous-daO has gone, that is where he is waiting for him. That is where Cravixs most go. The universe spanning monster turns itself inside out to move across time-space in a single vast step.

***

There, at the place farthest from heaven Lous-dayO sits and waits, has he has for countless era he watches the water, watches time drip away and the clock count down the ages left till the end of all things. Dresses as an unassuming old medicine-man his lags pulled into his chest his head down the water rippling before him. Even for the Tamrial time is unescapable. He has felt every passing moment and waits for the release that comes with the end of time. Not even he, the oldest thing in this chrono sphere can find Nirvana, mortal pain, mortal weakness, boils in his blood.

The sky rips open and the Void's teeth terror apart space, Cravixs flashes into reality dresses in the skin of Filleus-Mammon. The opal skin, the shimmering black hair flowing like water down his back, the eyes that look like gemstone, Crow holds out his hand in greeting. "DayO, my brother."

Laus-dayO stands looking out to the water where Crow is levitating "You can't be here. I claim ownership of this land."

Crow drops his arms, the love melts from his face "Brother?"

Laus thrust one arm of to the side as if to slap away a bug "leave my sight you filthy, diseased thing."

Crow floats in ever closer "I have fought my way here, I have slain tens of billions of unworthy souls, consumed worlds without number... all for you brother."

Laus yells "you have defied my wishes, our mothers wishes. You have befouled that which we built... Mammon died fighting the Nothingness. You are nothing more then skin."

Crow circles Laus "you cut me with your words. That is unwise of you King of kings, oh, Lord of lords."

Like to lions dueling over a hunting ground the two gods stare each-other down pacing back and forth waiting for the other to blink "You are a mockery of life..."

Mammon cut of DayO "...I am Life! You could end this brother! At any time, you could have returned to Yggdrasil! Called me back! Callled: Chaos, NameO, we would have slain the Three-headed Goddess, burned Zion to the ground, destroyed Phage then once again we would have been the unquestioned lords and lady of Tamreal. We would have been the unequivocal masters of all time and space..."

DayO interrupts the monolog "you are projecting your sin onto me. You drew first blood, you lashed out at me, forced me to take action to protect the worlds that the four of us had created..."

Mammon cuts in again "...You used the power of creation to construct a goddess out of clay, a fake mother figure to replace our true mother, you made god in your own image, and the golem your raised attacked NameO, sending him to some distance place in time-space, that I have spent eons trying to find. Then when I return home to sleep I find that Eden is baron. My siblings are all gone, taken and hidden somewhere in the endless web of forgotten past and probable futures. Suddenly, there are armies of young gods, walls constructed to limit my vision..."

DayO steps in closer, rage filling his voice "You don't know what you are do you? You don't understand what you have become? What you are doing to us?"

Mammon matches the inward step the two gods now stretching and growing towering one then the other as they try to intimidate the other "You will be with me or you will be a part of me there are no other options."

DayO calls Mammon out "You have not grown early as large as you think you have."

The two men discard their facades assuming there truest forms Mammon; that of an esophagus lined with hooked fish like teeth. DayO; a net of light blue and white rupturing in all directions, any time two or more lines meat a squid like eye burst out of it. The two-monster push outwards covering every inch of their world and applying pressure to one another in a feral contest of power. If anyone where around to see the two monstrosities it would be a sight to behold, the gravity the monster generate is cataclysmic. The two best co-existing creates a supergravity forces everything around them to shrink then explode from terminal density, the friction of the two of them touching burns water and air, melts rock and turns sand into crystal.

Cravixs has grown larger then DayO by eating the cosmos but his mass has not grown grate enough to allow him to swallow DayO in a single bite like he had Rhoda. Cravixs tries, but is frightened by his pray fighting back.

Mammon whispers to DayO as he withdraws retreating slowly into another existence "Sleep well brother, surly I will eat you tomorrow."

DayO shrinks back down into his elderly man form. Being so close to Mammon has scarred him, he grips his chest with a hand that is half skeletal and breaths deeply. The parasite from beyond reality that Mammon fight years ago still lives inside its host. So long as that evil warm lives it will continue to kill everything it comes in contact with. It is a force of nature, it knows only hunger and pain, and the drive to divide. Mammon is the perfect body for IT. Mammon doesn't age, Mammon can't get sick, he will never die... somewhere in the endless string of worlds there must be some magic that can separate Mammon from Cravixs, DayO must hold Cravixs at bay till someone finds it.

***

Mammon returns to his place of birth, he lays the body of his favorite avatar against the hall of the Tree of Beginnings. Here he can sleep, here he can heal. Cravixs thinks to himself, 'All conceivable power belongs to us, only one another can stand in the way of each other ambitions. When one of us moves the others, all are given the opportunity to move in contradiction. Lous-dayO, you have chosen to move. Now it is my tern.' The trap is intercut, but the flaw is clear. DayO is trapped in his own net with Cravixs. This is a deadly miscalculation. If DayO wishes to escape he must allow Mammon out as well. But so long as the time loop is intact even if one of them kill the other their victory will be empty.

***

"Lab rat..."

"Lab rat...?"

"Lab rat, did are you still alive?"

Charlie shacks himself off, he sits up looking about. Charlie is on the ground of Seekers laboratory. Charlie reaches around skurfing his hear as he waits for his vision to clear. "what's going on?"

Seeker reaches down to pick Charlie up "you have been asleep for seven point seven seven hours. I have injected you with a micro device that is preforming modifications to your neurological networking. As well as I have taken a blood, tissue and plasma sample for future records."

Charlie rubs his eyes "I feel sort'a funky. I should be mad but it seems everything is ok. What where we talking about?" Charlie drifts in and out of awareness for a short time seemingly having trouble focusing

"the micro device I placed in your body is constructing an advanced cyphering tool into your lower brain, and a panspermic shuttle within your saliva membranes. I am happy you are still functional. The last five people I experimented on did not do as well. The modifications I have made to your body should be complete with only a few more hours. You will be able to read, write and speak any cataloged languages. This is a technology I have adapted from Celverant. You will be able to spread this gift to others by contact with bodily fluids."

Charlie screams at himself as if trying to wake up then quikly calms down "what happened to the others you experimented on?"

"the reordering of the nuro-paths resulted in irreparable damage to the soft tissue around the lower brain resulting in lobotomization." Seeker is cold a deliberate in her approach but is trying to act in a motherly way holding and rubbing Charlie like a child that tripped playing some form of game.

"you adapted this from Celverant? What are you to him anyway?"

"Today I am his equal, tomorrow I will be his master. I am everything he has ever tried to be but better. He has constructed countless bodies, all identical, all constantly absorbing and sorting information and then feeding it back into the matrix that is his mind. But he is sloppy, disorganized."

"what makes you better?" Charlie having finally landed his footing looks to Seeker.

"he has tens of thousands of bodies all deigned to do everything that the others can do. I have hundreds of millions of bodies but they are all fractioned off to do specialized tasks. They are small and specialized. Every one of them having only the tools to do their function and to repair a other should they be damaged. Simplicity is key, interchangeable parts are covenant, we have only two brains to concern ourselves with, the hive and the independent. A dominant form and a submissive form."

Charlie looks confused and irritated "can you take me back to the Steel Rose?"

Seeker shacks her head "I need two and three fourth more minutes to charge before I will have the energy to jump again."

Charlie nods. "Ok, I'll wait." Remembering something Charlie's head drops back and he pulls at his hear "Tatsu! Where did I meat Tatsu the last time?"

***

For Milli and David the night rolls by quietly, Milli spending most of the day reading over the vast files on the computer left for them, David on the other hand spends the time practicing his martial arts. The two of them share some time talking about each other's lives, the things they love and the things that they both wish they could forget. It turns out when you are an alien things are tuff all over.

Ultimately after the synthetic sun sets David pulls off his coat and sleeps in a faint couch near the patio door, Milli on the other hand finds a bed on the upper level of the luxury prison. How many hours are in a day on this space station is unclear but from Jazzman's point of view it is not enough, he has barley found a comfortable position to lay in it feels when Milli takes him by the arm and shakes him awake.

Jazzman complains, "If it is any earlier then a quarter after eleven I am going to kick your ass." In an almost drunk voice he protest Milli's shaking him.

Milli leans over Jazzman touching her noise to his. "two things: thing one, my body physiology lacks the muscle structure that you would call in 'ass'. Thing two, I don't know how to read the clocks around here." She points up at a digital clock over the door "whatever we are counting as time seems to be counting down from thirty with a remanded of one hundred tenths."

Jazzman only partly reoriented jokes around with Milli "your sent is very distinct, it is sort of a coppery, salty, eggy sent..."

Milli drops one knee onto his chest and thrust her palm off one hand into his jaw. Jazzmen grunts and rolls into a ball socked into alertness, Milli stands up and shuffles a few paces away "Im a Stith of breading age, for six point nine days out of every twenty-eight my mucus membranes are casting a hormone trail. You are the second humanoid I have met that seems to be able to detect it. Any way I stayed up most of the night reviewing the personal database. It seem there was no lock on it for god only knows what reason..."

"Second human?" David sits up

"Yah, Richard Blake could also... didn't we talk about that already?" Milli looks confused as she looks at David.

David shrugs and grunts.

Milli picks up on her last point again "so the giant metal-faced monster, he was once human-ish, His name was He'ro Shra'. Died of Alkali poisoning wall he was working on building a space station."

David stands up then fall forward landing in perfect posture to being doing pushups. "Didn't look that dead to me."

Milli stands at one of the windows looking out into the landscaping "well the whole idea of life and death is kinda' innocuous, the line between life and death is more than just a little foggy. Do you know what really confused me though?"

Jazzman pushes himself up claps then falls again to continue his morning workout "how something can be both alive and dead at the same time. Seems like that would run contrary to 'the Law of Non-contradiction' if you ask me."

"'Non-contradiction'? how about the 'Law of Identity'? this guy is spitting in the face of the 'Logical Absolutes' left and right all he needs to do now is find a way to brake the 'Law of Execution' and he will stand in conflict to all three absolutes. But no, I was thinking about how he ended up inside the space station. I was just reading the Watchers Journals and, well... the situation that created Celverant is almost identical to the one that happened to Dr. Karingson." Milli looks over her shoulder at her cell mate.

Jazzman rolls onto his back then kick flips to standing, he starts shadow boxing "Are you allowed to talk about stuff like that?"

"don't think it matters, I don't know if we are going to ever get home."

Jazzman as he is running a kata nods "we will."

Without warning the door to the room opens and Charlie Belmond waltzes in holding a pair of backpacks. Brightly he smiles and throws the bags at his 'friends' "Moring Guys!" he exclaims.

Milli catches the flying bag "Bloody Hell! Where have you been?" she opens the bag to find her gun RONA.

"Well, 'off world' is the common vernacular. But seeing how right now we are between worlds it is more like 'On world'." Charlie explains.

Jazzman grads the bag tossed at him to reveal his pistols, shotgun, and the demon sword. Charlie looks to David "does the name Hetatsubatchi Una many anything to you?"

"No, should it?"

Charlie shrugs "he is from your planet."

"there are a lot of people on Phage I don't know." Jazzman jokes around "If you can describe him I might be able to guess where he is from."

Charlie nods and starts doing some hand jesters as he thinks "three something feet at the shoulders, five, maybe six feet from nose to tail, over all dog like body shape, white hair, green eyes, a tattoo that looks sort of like a tulip on his face..."

Jazzman cuts in "sounds like a feral Cainon."

Enthusiastically Charlie claps and points, "Ok, we have a destination." Charlie waves them to the door. He stops momentarily looking around "where is Lances?"

Milli tips her head "I thought he was with you."

Jazzman speaks up "aren't you some kind of Time Lord and know everything or something? Oh, and by the way we are trapped in here."

Charlie rolls his eyes thinking "It's not like I have minute to minute knowledge of everything going on. It's more like broad strokes, I know who I known on the last rotation and where they were when I saw them then. I would say it is far from perfect." Charlie walks up to Milli and pulls out of his coat what look like a set of defaulter plates. "Milli if you would please, take off your jumpsuit."

As if it were a trained response Milli reaches around herself and unzips her top pulling it down. Outside of the crass tanned fur covering her body Milli has a strikingly human shape to her torso, she is athletic and her body is sleek and strong.

Jazzman playfully jabs at Belmond "Next time I go out drinking, you're coming along."

Charlie shacks his head as he places the magnetic plates over the metal chest plate that has been fashioned to Milli's body "I don't drink anymore. I stopped around the time I found out that Hell is real, and I have an all expenses payed one way ticket." Charlie rotates the handles and the chest plate unwraps from around Milli and folds itself up into a block only slightly larger than a notebook.

Milli brings up her hands and rubs her breast. "I feel about twenty pounds lighter."

Charlie throw the hefty block at the ground. "you are."

Jazzman looks to Charlie as Milli gets redressed "and the Sol marks?"

Charlie walks over to the door he rubs his hands together then holds one out, the magic marks on the walls stretch and pull as if being pulled by a vacuum, they snap away from the walls and get sucked into Charlie's body. Charlie holds out his arms and tips his head off to one side smirking as if waiting for applaud.

David step up to Charlie then looks to the door "so it's that simple? We just walk out?"

"yea. I claimed responsibility for you two so now you are free to walk around. Now we just need to track down Cinder, Lances and Tatsu, then on to Yggdrasil." Charlie steps around the two of them grabbing them by the shoulders "oh and one more thing." He quick turns to Milli and kisses her on the muzzle then he turns to Jazzman to kiss him as well. Jazzman Grabs Charlie by the cheeks with one hand interrupting him.

"Sorry, we aren't that good of friends yet." Jazzman pushes Charlie away.

Milli looks at Belmond "you know, I have never received this much attention in a single day in my life."

As they step out of the room Charlie explains "I have a magical kiss know that lets the people around me speak any language..."

***

Lances Jacob spent much of the last day with Magdalen St. Frances and early in the morning fallowed her back to the court house deeply inquisitive of the Glyph people and their plight. Lances is a man that is drown by his will to learn and to understand, and the St. Frances of Glyph seems more than willing to help Lances understand himself.

After the opening speech Magdalen is the first to stand, she calls out Visstle at Jacobs recommendation. "Fiona Vesstle, what are you?" she ask

The gray skinned witch smiles "I think the word that best describes me is ghoulha."

Magdalen leans over the table to speak with Visstle "And you are the one that wanted us to meet here. Why?" Visstle smiles, she stars down St. Frances, her hands folded, stoically she waits. "you will speak when spoken to ghoul." Still she sits in silence, insidiously watching the cardinal. "you wanted to lead me way from Vishnu, didn't you? Why?"

Cinder looks to Celverant "Objection, Begging the Question."

Celverant replies "true. Miss St. Frances what are you leading at?"

St. Frances turns to face Celverant "your honor, this woman has been playing you as a foul. She is abusing your good nature to attempt to play into her selfishness. She is a zealot void worshiper with intention to offer up her home planet in exchange for immortality. And she is making you help her do it."

Celverant staunchly hears St. Frances out "speculative. You need to provide evidence for this claim."

St. Frances glasses flash as she folds her arms under her breast "look up her personal information in your own files you find more than adequate information to raise a reasonable suspicion of her motivations."

Celverant addresses Visstle "how do you plead against these accusations?"

"there has never been a case of Void worship recorded amongst the people of Glyph." Visstle speaks up.

"you are also the first Worldwalker recorded to have been born to a Glyph. It seems you also have a relationship with Arwen Bloodsage, and Harm. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that one of them could have introduced you to the foundations of Void worship."

Visstle retorts "but my theistic position is not what is on trial at this time."

Celverant calls to Jloose. "Probe her."

Jloose stands up, he walks around the tables to approach Visstle. One hand reaches out form under his blue cloak to grip Visstle by the forehead. With his touch Jloose start to transfix himself into Visstle's memories. Her life is unnaturally long filled with all forms of oddities. But for a Worldwalker nothing seems out of places till she travels to Arwen's home world. After that it seems she is split into two minds sharing a single body, then her mind splits again, into ten, then a hundred, then into a thousand minds speaking all at once.

At some time Visstle gained the ability to bring the dead back to this world for a second life, but there is a catch. After you are brought back, she owns your thought and can command our actions. All thanks to a brain eating bug she found that seems to burn with telepathic energy.

'The bugs' Jloose probes deeper looking for the bugs, where are they from? What can they do? Jloose's mind is attacked as he is reading Visstle, something large, powerful, something from outside time and space bites into his mind, vampireing his thoughts, blocking his power. Jloose hears a whisper from outside time "ten keys, Glyph, one more"

Jloose struggles, with much effort he falls away from Visstle, he looks up, horror gripping his face, he grips himself by the hand stunned that he can be assalted even from the psionic plane. "Something is wrong with her. There is something in her that is unlike anything I have seen."

Visstle looks down to Jloose. "Im sorry. Maybe you shouldn't have probed me so hard."

Jloose shutters "what have you become? ... ten keys?"

Visstle stand she starts shouting in the wizard tongue, she bites onto her own hand and lashes her arm out, her blood turning to a spear mid throw. She points at Magdalen, the spear dives at her.

The giant called Father Joe picks up Magdalen swiftly hiding her against his chest. The bone spear strikes him exploding. Joe is critically damaged. Dale pulls out his crossbow and takes a shot at Visstle, with a flick of her hand and a whisper of a magic word a coat of fly's swarms around her turning the witch incorporeal. From her astral state Visstle reaches out attacking the Glyph priest easily overpowering the humans with her heroic straight.

Many of the onlookers are stunned by the sudden onslaught. Lances jumps down from the audience, he takes the holy symbol from around his neck as he starts to cast a spell in angel script. Visstle becomes partly solid and grabs Lances by the arms pushing his hands down to his sides, she chants in arcane to cancel Lances' spell.

The mad Worldwalker has extraordinary might even for a chosen of chaos. Countess Estargo and Edman Dante both leap in to join the fight but are blasted away by an unseen force.

Cinder joins the mix, with a spin of her staff she calls down a vortex of wind and a cyclone of fire, she forces Visstle into a cage of elemental force. "I think it is time we all calm down." Cinder slaps her staff into ground and calls down a monsoon of ice to freeze Visstle.

Lances walks in close to examine the ice sculpture that has formed around the witch. "is she dead?"

Cinder steps up alongside Lances "that depends on what you think the word 'dead' means."

A dozen of Celverant's armors walk into the chamber and start picking up the wounded carrying them away. Magdalen walks over to Lances standing at his opposing side. "you knew. How?"

Lances grunts "I didn't know anything, I just felt it."

"I should like to retain your services Father Jacob. Yours as well Cinder, Child of Vishnu." The cardinal proclaims frankly. "with just a few more sharp swords by my side the St. Frances family could be a most formidable force."

"I'm a pilgrim, I might do a good deed or two on my way buy I can't fight any wars." Cinder shakes her head stanchly turning the cardinal away.

"that is most unfortunate. Your elementalisum is impeccable. What of you Father Jacob?" Magdalen pivots to face Lances. Lances lets out a slow breath hissing softly as he thinks.

The war on Glyph is not Lances' war to fight but nevertheless he feels a strange draw towards Magdalen, a need to stand by her side, a need to fight. All his life Lances has been chasing the sunset with no real destination in mind, but what if this is where he had been going this whole time, what if what he was looking for is a world where he could be the grate hero from the west, the gunslinger with no name. the idea is attractive. As Lances stars at Magdalen for what must be an unsettling amount of time he dreams in celluloid of himself on a horse, picking up his own personal rendition of a Ms. Kitty, and going on one last ride into the night.

Chapter 11

Wind Snow and Ice

Hetatsubatch runs over the tundra's of Cainon, a chain around his neck, dragging a stone block that only a few nights ago anchored him to the floor of his mistresses' dean. Voices echo in his mind in the form of waking nightmares 'show me your tail dog.' A women he once owned shouted at him seeing the once grate white Warg in chains 'I'll make you my new chew toy.' Another voice cries in his mind.

Humiliation, Hetatsubachi had been born into slavery, but under Cainon law he had the right to fight for his freedom, and fight he did. Every man is born a slave, that part is not uncommon, not even the kings and queens of Cainon are immune to this law, and even when one escapes they are never more than a street brawl away from having a chain around there neck again, and that is just what happened. It is the largest, the strongest and the smartest that rule in this land, or maybe the most deceptive.

As a yearling Tatsu was smaller than his sisters and brother, but he was clever, he watched the people around him and learned the rules of the political game. If you want to be respected stand close to someone with more power then you and learn how to hate whatever they hate, and be offended by what offends them. Then when the opportunity arises make sure you are there to usurp authority from your better or from how every you can find sleeping on the job.

Alongside his mistress Hetatsubatchi has killed a great number of lazy chefs and hunters, he has even drank the blood of lesser kings. With him by her side the mistress rose from being a sell sword to a duchess, and Hetatsubatchi got to enjoy the privileges of rising alongside her. But he made a mistake, and he knows what is was. He sat still too long, rowed the coat tails of the same person for a day too many.

Adera was the name of Hetatsubatchi's master, she was a Baatezu from Dis, she had moved to Cainon when hetatsubatchi was young. she was brutal, powerful, she came into town with something to prove. Adera quickly picked up on Warg law and did everything in her power to prove herself as one of them, then exploited the Warg to make a power play against Styx, the capitol city. She took the city in the name of the Warg, for the first time elevating their status from third class squatters to respected demons. Adera seemed to understand better than most what the phrase "the power of the wolf is the pack; the power of the pack is the wolf." Truly meant.

Adera somehow guessed that Hetatsubatchi wanted to claim her as his property. Hetatsubatchi already had a harem, comprised of his eldest and youngest sisters, and the bata's of each of the families that Adera and he had conquered, and at that point all he needed was to possess Adera and now all of Cainon is his to control. Adera would not have it, she stung Hetatsubatchi in his sleep, filling his veins an intoxicating drug. then employed Star, one of Hetatsubatchi's more vengeful mates to chalange him for his place in the order.

Drunk from Adera's sting Tatsu was hardly fit to fight a Warg, that without Adera's aid would have been his equal. Star easily forced Hetatsubatchi onto his back in a head on clash, and she forced herself on him as he had done to her not so long ago. Star banished Hetatsubatchi to the bottom of the pack, alongside puppies to start over his tread. Star would not make things easy on him, she punished by making him ware weights around his body, proclaiming that "it is only fair, you are older and stronger then the puppies, you need to be slowed down so everyone gets there share."

Star enjoyed abusing her former master, she limited his food, inchereged the girls that he once dominated to dominated him. If not for his pride this might not be the most horrible of lives, after all he was still getting to be with girl even at the bottom of the social ladder. But once one has been a prince it is hard to be a chew toy.

It was when Star announced that Hetatsubatchi was going to become Pine's (Star's youngest girls) personal attendant that Hetatsubatchi's raged boiled over and at last he made his escape.

Hetatsubatchi stops running for only a few moments to try to set his bearings, he has been running for so long, his paws are burning from running across ice and snow, he has lost a healthly amount of his body weight do to failing to eat. He sniffs at the air, he is at least a day's walk from any life form, but still he can smell four women's blood on the wind; two wargs like him, one fully grown, one just reaching puberty, it is Star and Pine, next a Baatezu, that must be Adera, the last is a Tanuki, Tatsu has never smelled her before. The four of them are not moving in unison, Pine is in the lead by at least twenty minutes, Adera is brining up the rear, lagging behind by maybe three hours at present speed.

Hetatsubatchi looks around. There are hills and dales behind him, a frozen lake to his left, bluffs to his right, ahead of him flatlands as far as the eye can see. It is amazing that his pursuers have chased him this far out, but it is becoming clearer that there is no place to go. The two wargs will never lose his sent, and he can't gain any headway with all this extra baggage. Pine is young and in peek fighting shape, his only advantage is that she is hormonal and easily distracted. In a one on one he could out fight any of them bar maybe Adera. But he is too tired and hungry to hope to fight of two or more at once.

Going to the lake or staying on the flatlands give him no quarter, he can't keep running like this for more than a day or two more and at that point he would have nothing left to give. If he wants to fight the bluffs are the clear choice. See if he can find a place to warm up and lay low for a spell. Find a way to force his hunters to come at him one at a time, and prays the moon should he find some way to throw the lot of them off his trail. Best case; he fights the four of them off, then hooks up with another group of wargs, kill off their leader then go after Styx.

Tatsu makes for the bluffs. For maybe in hour he runs along them till fortune shows her face and illuminates a fissure leading within the stone. He climes down into the cave into a world below, the blue white surface quickly gives way to a silver orange underworld. The cave grows warm, the smell of fresh water is inviting, romantic in many ways. The cave widens to a cavernous catacomb light by fire glowing through the crystal earth and three eye shaped holes in the cave looking out to the upper world.

A trickle of water ripples around Tatsu's paws cool and calm. He lowers his head for a drink, never has water tasted so sweet. So much loveliness hidden under the Bal Tundra, no one would ever have thought. Tatsu lays down letting the water run around his body, wash across his eyes and down his tail. The water refreshes his spirt and fills his mind with a dream, a world filled with flowers, a world of color, the moon fills his mind and a shadow of wolves' dances burns into the backs of his eyes.

As if a memory of a past life has returned Hetatsubatchi's dream fills his heart pushing out his greed and his lust for power, it is all replaced with a hunger for wanderlust. Hetatsubatchi want to run free, run with a pack, chase the moon surrounded not by slaves but by free wolves. "what is the feeling of power and drive?" he whispers to himself.

Drunk from the dream Tatsu can't possibly know how long he let the water run along his body but it was too long. Pine barks from behind. "Hello chew toy!" as with most wolves looking at Pine head on tells one almost nothing about her, even gender is ambiguous till you under the tail, or unless you can smell hormone. Pine does have a single trait that stands out though a triangular patch of blue yellow hair between her eyes that turns green when she is wet. She is small and youthful, if Tatsu had not fallen asleep he could have smelled her coming easily before she was in barking range.

"Hello Pine." Tatsu turns to face the juvenile pup.

"It's time to come home." She orders

"look at us Pine. look at this place. Do you feel anything strange about this place?"

"no."

"Pine, the way we are, the way the world is, I don't think this is what it is meant to be. I think Adera, and Styx, and Dis did something to us, robbed us of our heritage."

Pine tips her head, surprisingly letting Hetatsubatchi speak. "what do you mean?"

"we have been running for days, right? It felt good to run like that, didn't it?" Pines tail wags as Tatsu talks.

"I have been feeling a lot of things lately." She moves in close to him.

"I think Wargs where meant to be free, running the planes, eating what we want, fighting, playing..." Hetatsubatchi explains "free from all this materialism."

Pine runs her noise under Tatsu's chin then walks in a half circle slapping Tatsu with her tail, she makes him look at her womanhood "what are you trying to say wolf?"

"I want to keep running, I am inviting you to keep running with me." Hetatsubatchi tries to stay on topic but the tail in his face draws his eyes and his noise down, Pine's sent is alluring. He shutters happily. For only a moment the two of them act ferally Tatsu grabs Pine puling her in close to hug her, his fangs grip her by the scruff. For only a few moments as free wolves they enjoy each other's warmth.

Star appears to interrupt them "you know dog, I was going to give her to you." Star's eyes flair with yellow light, she has a scar that around her bad eye that has swollen it shut shaped like four diamond arranged in a cross, her teeth are bear, her head is down, Star wants to fight.

Tatus looks at Pine as he pulls away walking up to meet Star. "Pine, do us both a favor. Keep your head down." The Wolf mother and the white warg circle each-other fangs at the ready they size one another up. Pine stands back watching as the world she knows and the world she wants take on a physical form. Pine has seen contest like this before, under the old law when there is a disagreement between two or more wolves a battle ensues, the wolf in the right is always the winner of these challenges.

Star is the more aggressive of the two. Star jumps forth to try to wrap her teeth around Tatsu's head going for the quick and dirty end to the duel. Hetatsubatchi has seen and dodge this same strike from at least a dozen others. Hetatsubatchi jumps to the right then back-steps as Star presses her advance jumping in for a second strike. Tatsu is smaller than Star, but from his point of view that means that he is slippery and agile, as she is fast and plotting.

Star stand on her haunches bringing her front paws up to thrust he weight at the smaller wolf. Tatsu back hops one more time placing his feet on the wall, he jumps at his foe pushing her onto her back momentarily landing on her shoulder. Tatsu's eye turn to a flashlight green the two monsters showing their demon blood.

Star has hardly had enough, she brings her teeth forth to try to grab Hetatsucatchi by the noise, Tatsu opens his mouth wide showing off his teeth as the two of them bite at each-other viciously. Star paws at the air and rends with her hind claw trying to kick Hetatsubatchi off of her, but Tatsu has experience on his side, he lowers his weight sliding his rear paws between her hind legs getting to close for he to stretch at.

Tatsu places a paw on the side of Star's face pushing her head off to the side, he forces her to expose her neck, He salivates looking at her. If Star begs for mercy now, Hetatsubatchi can let her up and all she will be is mildly embarrassed, or she can chose to struggle and he can choose to take her blood for his own.

Star needs not make such a choice, Tatsu is struck form the side, he falls off Star and looks about to see who has interrupted the challenge. Hetatsubatchi looks up to seem what at first looks like Pine but he can tell it is not, the smell is wrong as is the posture and the orientation of the eyes, this changeling is older, more cruel, and lacks respect for warg laws "Bad form Tanuki." He protest "A fight between two wolves is a sacred thing."

Star stands up and quickly takes advantage of the distraction, with a shuffle-step forward she brings up a claw and slaps Tatsu. Tatsu rears back stunned momentarily, Star throw out another paw smacking him side to side. after a number of hit Tatsu gains his footing, when Star comes in to hit him again Tatsu grabs her paw in his mouth pulling her forward.

The tanuki takes its natural from of a racoon dog, it throws itself a Tatsu hitting him with unexpected force throwing him into a wall. Tatsu whispers to himself "A changeling with psychometabalic talent, I never would have thought." The tanuki can change its size and weight on the fly it seems allowing it to strike with a hundred PPI of force wall in a shape that only has forty pounds of mass to throw.

The tanuki is small and nimble, it easily out maneuvers Tatsu picking him up and throwing him from side to side several times. Tatsu tries to fight but any time he threatens to land a blow on one of his two assalintes the other steps in to block.

After only a few more healthy blows Tatsu is too badly broken to stand. Star licks her chops "show me our tail dog." She orders.

"Star," Hetatsubatchi lifts his head "your father was a chief, just like your lover after him, right?"

"who I slept with both before and since you are of no interest to you slave."

"the question was rhetorical anyway. I already know the truth. The point is you know the old laws. The Tanuki did not abide by the rules of conflict. A victory won without honor is a victory lost."

"Tama is not a warg and is not subject to warg law." Star nudges her head to the tanuki.

"but you are a warg." Tatsu points out. "because she (Tatsu points at Tama) intervened on your behalf it is your responsibility to relinquish the challenge. Do the right thing; offer yourself to me, acknowledge your defeat."

Star stands with her eyes wide, she struggles to justify herself, she knows Hetatsubatchi is telling the truth, she knows what she is expected to do. Pine calls over to her mother "Mama he is right." Star starts to turn away to bow in submission but Tama interrupts again.

Tama brings one paw overhead and drops it on Hetatsubatchi's noise. The supernatural power of the racoon shatters Tatsu's will to fight blacking him out. Tama looks over to Star and Pine "Lower your Tails. Those barbaric days are over. No one needs to offer there tail to anyone just for losing at a simple game."

When Hetatsubatchi awakens, he is covered in spider-silk. Adare stands over him, she is a chimera of a beast, looking at her from one side she is a spider with a pair of human arms and lags covered with red spiny hear, from the other side she is a human woman with four insectoid appendages protruding from her back, her human side seems to have a tail and a crown shaped like two mandibles, her spider side a spinneret and a stinger. She grabs Tatsu by the noise. She turns his head side to side looking at the grate white warg. His eyes are filled with distain, he curls is lip showing off his fangs wanting to keep struggling.

Adera looks at Star "His life belongs to you. Should we kill him now?"

Tama steps forward, one of her paws outstretches into the shape of a pike. "I'll take care of it." She chatters.

Pine shouts "No!"

The other three girls turn to face the puppy, Adera ask "why?"

Star speaks in her child's defenses "because I didn't order it. He dies when I say so." Star walks over to Pine and grabs one of her ears in her teeth. "will you step over here please?" Star leads Pine away from the others.

"why are we not killing Hetatsubatchi now?" Star ask Pine. "he tried to kill us."

"No, he didn't. he wanted our bodies not our blood."

"is that better?" Star looks sour after Pine's remark. "he didn't harm you did he Pine."

"no Mama." Pine explains "he rubbed me a little but you walked in before anything happened."

Star looks away from Pine "I'm going to eat him."

"Mama!" Pine yells, Star looks back "Does Dis still play that fighting game? The one where you wager blood against land?"

"the Hippodrome? As far as I know, yes." Star nods

"was there a time when this land belonged to us?" Pine ask "A time before Balrogs and Baatezu and Helblades, and all those other factions started fighting for control of the countryside."

Star nods again "I assume so."

"Dis is the top demon, right? All the families heed onto him?" Pine orders

"all but the Modeuis family, Phadrea family and Lucifarion family I think."

Pine smiles sinisterly "Offer Hetatsubatchi as a sacrifice, boarder his blood against Cainon. If he wins, the land belongs to you, if he loses, at least he died like a wolf."

Star smiles "smart puppy."

***

Charlie, David, and Milli catch up with Lances out at the courthouse as Celverant is cleaning up the mess left behind by Visstle. Charlie look around the room "I feel like we are late to the party."

Lances laughs, he holds out his arms to embrace Charlie and the others one by one "yes, well it seems someone wasn't able to hold their peace."

"what did we miss?" David ask

"it seems like Visstle started a war on Glyph in order to break down borders on some sort of an artifact hunt." Lances ushers around the room as he explains "I helped Magdalen expose her, and Cinder over there put the whole thing on ice."

The fish like being Keyor slides over joining the group "that is mostly right." She explains "I have seen the same thing play out on two other worlds myself in just as many years."

Milli looks to Keyor "do we know each other?"

"I know you and you know me, but we do not know each other, not in any classical way." Keyor blinks as they talk showing of her rotating eyelids. "there is an entity out there going around collecting worlds, Void worshipers like Visstle are facilitating this gathering. I have tried to tell the other Worldwalkers about this but no one seems to believe me. Then you should up Belmond."

David leans over to Charlie with a twisted smile "it is transparency time." He grabs Charlie by the coat with one hand and pats him on the should with the other just hard enough to be stinging "and if I think you aren't telling me the whole story this time. I'm going to break you."

Charlie take the lot of them outside, he walks out to the edge of the water looking out as he collects his thoughts. Charlie looks around his friends. "Crow, Kari, Cravixs, Mammon, the Void, the Nothing, Son of the Earth, the Gardiner of Eden, the King of Tamreal. We have all heard this names, right?" everyone nods "different times, different places, they all feel like some part of a half-remembered dream." Charlie looks to Lances "My whip, Souleater, Mammon forged it. I found a book in David's shop that filled in the missing parts of the legend to me, your book, the writing on the cover it reads 'White Dawn' it was pinned by Adam Crow, the vessel of Cravixs. We have all seen him. He has taunted all of us at some time, for some unclear objective. He is who leads the void worshipers. Hell, he is the void. Jazzman you knew that much already." Jazzman folds his arms ducking his head "Biggest of the big fish."

"if he shows up and we all bow without question we slip away into his dream peacefully, we resist we fall into endless nightmares." Charlie brakes down into a whimper momentarily "there is no fighting this. But still we try, I don't know why, I don't know what is expected of us. We lost already three, for, five times, I don't know. I lost track." He swallows hard forcing his calm "Laus-dayO is on our side, he keeps hitting the reboot key and letting us try this again, reliving the same few days' time and time again. There must be something one of us has or something we know, or someone. God wants us to fight a thing that is no less powerful and cruel then he is..."

Milli looks about "why do only you get to remember this? Why don't we all?"

Charlie throw his arms up in lament "I Don't Know!" she shouts "there is something I am supposed to notice I guess."

Cinder looks to Charlie "what is the last thing that you did before the other reboots?"

"I keep going to Eden; the last time I went to Glyph, I got the St. Frances family to organize a raid on Eden, we got every free world we know about to join us in a push. Then I got stabbed in the back, the time before that I went in alone, the time before that it was you me Lances and David" Charlie points to Cinder.

"and before that?" Keyor ask.

Shyly Charlie exposits "the only thing I remember from that rotation was sleeping with Cinder."

Milli's eyes widen and her ears drop as she looks to the burning wood like elemental "was it any good?"

"it was unique." Charlie looks embarrassed.

Cinder tips her head in contemplation. "what if this is the end. The only possible outcome. God understanding that he and his enemy are equally undefeatable. So in opposition to fighting his advisory he forced a stalemate?"

Keyor turns her eyes to the sky "but then there would be no point in allowing anyone to remember the soft reset."

Cinder adds on "unless like with necessary evil there is some form of cosmic balances that dictates a mandatory minimum carryover from circuit to circuit."

Milli joins "If there is more than one god then that alone voids the so-called problem of evil. Right and wrong are no longer a binary so much as a spectrum wherein there is an evolution of morality that calls for mutual diminishing of outliers."

Keyor looks at Milli "this is a matter of balances not philosophy."

David calls them to order "so then we keep hitting our heads against the wall till something give? There must be a better way. Can you bring things back with you next time: a note book telling us what we have already done, a record player, video diary?"

Charlie shacks his head "no, it's my memories not my body going back in time."

David bounces in place in aggravation "so then we have done this before and we are going to do this again if we can't work all this out."

Lances rubs his beard "have we tried just helping people?" All eyes turn to Lances "with all this talk of fighting and philosopheng, what if we just don't do it? What if instead we become space fairing cops going around rescuing people that we know are going to get heart? We have at least some insight to the future, right?"

"yeah, about months' worth of it, and half that is up already. Cinder, I know you and David standing shoulder to should almost singlehandedly take down the void cultist, I know Hetatsubatchi kill Harm, and I know Lances covers me when I step into the black tower to fight Mammon. That much needs to happen."

Milli looks over "what do I do?"

"you look really cute in a one peace." Charlie smiles boyishly to disarm the inquiry. "now, David I need you to take me to meet your dad, and Keyor I am going to need you to tell me more about how Cravixs moves when I get back. Milli, Come with me." Charlie wave Milli and David on as he walks towards the stone circle.

Milli looks at David then to Cinder and Lances, "Anyone have any better ideas? Coz' I'm getting the feeling I know how this story is going to end."

From off head Charlie yells back "We will meet back at my room at 1700!"

Cinder looks up at Milli then to Keyor "He's confidences and kiddy giddiness are somewhat enduring."

***

The large bronze gates draw up and Tatsu is pushed onto a sandy ring, his fur waxed and his brow anointed with; oil, booze , and flowers he has been treated as both a hero and a man condemned in the last few hours. The rules have been stated clearly to him, a five man endurance challenge, each of the six wealthiest families have lead claim to Cainon and if Tatsu wants to leave to see sunrise he must kill the named champion of each family.

Trumpets blow, bells sound, drums beet, torches light the edges of the path. thousands of demon's cheer awaiting the daily blood sport, music, sex and death, good wholesome fun for the family.

King Dis, a man whose body is sculpted like a bronze age god with three eyes and stunning blue green angle wings stands up to address the days' game. "the Man you see before you! He is; King Slayer, the Devil of the Snow, Demon of Flowers, he is Hetatsubatchi Una. He believes he is the one true lord of Cainon! He has come here today to claim his crown! We, the people of the Brass kingdom acknowledge his stake and we shall give him the right to prove his blood is holy enough to war such a title. Should King Slayer Hetatsubatchi win five straight duels today he will be given the land he claims, and all the food and all the women he can handle, and should he not, another will fight in his place." Dis looks to Tatsu "I hope you have multitudes of children."

The promise is a half-truth. If Tatsu wins he will be given food, and there will no doubt be a number of girls turned on by watching him fight, but the real prize is the land and the right to fight for the right to breed under his own civil laws. Although the cards are stacked in the house favor, they always are. If Dis wanted to be truthful he would have made a statement more like 'let todays sacrifice bleed for your pleasure and if he survives he can be the hero of the hour.'

"Let the games begin!" the door across from Tatsu opens revealing the first of five nemesis; a ten-foot-tall walking botanical with what looks like a human women's head and torso growing out of its central bud. "from the Evea Family Elura!"

Elura slithers along the ground mounted on dozens of roots out stretched rattling like bone tendrils. Tatsu has seen flower demons before and if this one is like the others it will attack in one of two ways; first it will try throwing quills at him, if it hits Tatsu will faint and he will be eaten, otherwise it will try to ensnare him in its vines and crush him. Flower Demons tend to be balky and hit hard, but they have a weekness.

Tatsu runs off to one side of the monster, he grabs a touch I his fangs and holds it in front of him like a shield. Elura starts to bring her tendrils out to grab the wolf but stops short seeing the torch.

Teeth grow out of Elura's petals, Tatsu quick hops forward threating the flower demon with the torch. Elura fights her fear and snaps her maw down at the wolf, Tatsu throw the torch into her mouth and the flower starts violently lashing side to side in pain. Tatsu has exsperince on his side, he has slain many demons in his life. Tatsu runs and jumps up the side of Elura's body to reach her bulb, he takes her stim in his mouth crushing it.

The flower demon tries to cry out but Tatsu's grip on her stim has deprived the monster of breath. Hetatsubatchi snarls and pull back slowly dragging the monster to the ground. In almost silence the audience watches. Tatsu lays the flower demon on the ground then with one surge of might locks his fangs together piercing into the monster pollen sack forcing it to spray honey into the air in a gruesomely tasty display.

Dis laughs at the event shouting down to Hetatsubatchi "Play nice King Slayer, these people came her to watch a show not to watch you kill their favored fighters in under three minutes"

"everything burns Dis, we all know that!" Tatsu yells up at King Dis

"Very well! Then let round two begin! From the Noha Family I give you Guybon!"

The door opens again and this time what walks out is a man with a goat head and lags, bat wings for a cloak and a moon shaped axe held under one arm. Guybon throw up his arms calling for the crowed to welcome him. There are cheers and gift thrown onto the battlefield. Clearly Guybon has played this hall once before.

Goat demons are known for their constitution, be it in a brawl or in bed they seem to want to just keep coming. Tatsu thinks 'it will be far easier to cripple this one then kill it.' Hetatsubatchi rushes in to melee range, he stands under his appoinent to attempt to stay to close to hit.

The goat man tries to kick and stomp at the wolf demon, Tatsu is small and fast skipping off to one side and sliding between his enemy's feet to dizzy the beast. Tatsu Jumps onto Guybon's back and tacks his neck in his fangs to try to drag the goat to the ground. Guybon seems unfazed as he grabs the wolf with one hand and throw him at the ground, Guybon pulls up his moon axe and thrust it down on the dog.

Tatsu rules off to the side to get up to his paws, Tatsu grabs guybon by the lag tripping the giant. Guybon waves his axe out to discourage a fallow up attack. Tatsu duck the swing the darts in to grab Guybon by one arm. Tatsu shakes the goat man from side to side trying to shatter his arm, Guybon drops his axe to try to grapple with Hetatsubatchi.

Brutally the two monster roll around on the ground punching and biting at one another. But in the end Tatsu's fangs cut into Guybon's muscle slowly bleeding out the goat man. Hetatsubatchi end up needing to do little more than pin his advisory to the ground and hold him there waiting for the beast to become to fatigued to keep struggling.

Tatsu is bruised and bleeding by the end but he knows to act strong when you are weak and weak when you are strong. He spits blood at the goat then looks up to king Dis with a laugh "you could save yourself some time by declaring me the winner now."

Dis both amused and annoyed calls out "for the third-round I give you Ava, from the Mira family." The monster that emerges this time is mostly fish like in shape, a long tail, rainbow patterned fins, and where a head should be as if it where some form of a flying taur is a humanoid pare of shoulders and a ghastly human face with disfigured hook like interlocking zipper teeth, it has arms coming off its shoulders that end in webbed hands with nail that look like stone tipping them off. The monster move in the air as if air was water.

Land against air is less than optimal, the combatants move in to meet each other, Hetatsubatchi needs to try to jump to meet his opponent, Ava preforms a shuttle loop to flick him at the ground with her tail, Hetatsubatchi stunned Ava grabs him in one claw and swims into the air.

Cackling Ava drops Tatsu. A third party interferes as Tatsu is grabbed during his drop and placed back on the ground. David Jazzman lands on the battlefield his head down with a smug grin, dressed in his full body red leather armor he looks to king Dis "out little body her looks winded, how about we give him a breather and let me take a few swings?"

Whispers come from the crowed one word being repeated time and time again "Nephilim"

Dis calls down "Devil my boy, do you really want to dirty your hands like this?"

"I want to buy the dog there from you. How about I kill this mermaid then we call it a night?"

"there are plenty of hell hounds around, do you really want that one?"

"he looks just as good as any other."

"very well! Then in this round we have Devil from the house of Dis verse Ava from the house of Mira!"

Mira backs away slightly and offers king Dis a frightened glance. Dis waves Ava on to begin the round. Ava throws herself as David Jazzman haphazardly, she swims in preparing to wrap her claws around his head to pick him up, Jazzman pulls out his to revolvers crossing his hands at the wrist, he takes three shots with each gun before dancing out of the way of Ava lunge. Ava flips around twice in the air then swings her tail, Jazzman pull out the demon sword, he holds it off to the side as a shield, Matching muscle to muscle for a moment in a clash Jazzman calculate the force of Ava's swing, Jazzman back steps allowing Ava to win the clash, he allows her momentum to spin him in a 360 and he lashes out with the demon sword cutting into her tail and knocking her out of the air.

Jazzman plays with his food allowing Ava to get back into the air for another attack.

Hetatsubatchi lays down a moment, his eyes drift closed. As strong as he may be, physical abuse and starvation have crippled him, he roles onto his side in surrender. But something intervenes a hallow, earthshaking roar enters him mind. Hetatsubatchi's spirit is sundered from his body and pulled away to another world.

***

A grate serpent with triceratops like horn and skin that shines liquid metal, silver on the back, gold on the breast coils itself around Hetatsubatchis body. It's moth opens letting a soothing mist escape its bosom. The week flickering light Hetatsubatchi's essence takes in the light from the serpent with a gasp, Hetatsubatchi becoming many times stronger from it.

Seductively the serpent squeezes Hetatsubatchi before a flash of light seems to send the snake off into space and a gold and mercury dragoness comes into sight whose body consumes the horizon, its electric eyes sparkle. The holy dragon whispers a roar to the insignificantly tiny wolf.

"You, Hetatsubatchi-Una, are amongst the most breathtakingly beautiful beast in all of creation, and yet your life is drawing to an end all too quickly. I have given a single drop of my blood to you tacking away your cup filled with life and given you an ocean in its place. I will ever let you die, but I cannot stop you from being killed. I will pull away the curtain of your tiny reality and show you a larger one." As the mighty warm speaks Hetatsubatchi can do nothing by marvel at her magnificence's

"But all these things I do for you would mean little if I did not also give you the strength you need to survive to the next sunrise so I give you one more gift also: I will give you a second mind. One which you have already filled with the need for meat and sex, feral passion, gold, history, family, and the want for power, the second I will fill with, order, control, might and magic. I have given this gift to thousands of others and never has it been the same for any two wielders. You have always trusted your instincts, trust yourself again, you have seen so much and you will remember things now that you never realized that you had forgotten. You will know what to do when the time comes, and it will come quickly."

The dragoness walks forth a step and lowers her head to get as close to eye to eye with Tatsu as she can. "Go now. Return to your body and entertain me."

***

Hetatsubatchi's eyes open, from his eyes bleeds yellow and green flams. He looks around to remind himself as to where he is and what he is doing. Ava the unholy siren has flown into David Jazzman grabbing his sword in her claws, the two of them are seemingly inn a tug-of-war for control of the blade. The axe dropped by Guybon is still on the ground, the broken torch nearby as are the eleven still standing. Mounted on the wall beneath the stand on which king Dis sits seems to be mounted two shields and four swords.

Jazzman fallows his instincts, he pulls down on his sword pealing it out of the mermaid's grip as he takes a 180 step in delivering a deadly elbow strike to Ava's head. Jazzman fallows the momentum through then reverses into a sword uppercut. Cockily he drapes his sword over his shoulder standing over the mermaid. With one hand, he reaches into his coat to find his shotgun proclaiming "I win"

The touches all around them seem to come to life lifting out of the ground and orbiting around each other. Seeing Jazzman distracted by the braziers coming to life Ava opens her mouth baring her fangs and outstretches her claws to leap in vampirically.

The living light fixtures zero in on Ava stabbing down on her to pin the monster to the earth. Barely a moment later the moon axe lifts into the air and drops onto the siren separating her head and shoulders form her body. Hetatsubatchi walks over to the eviscerated monster standing over it. He lifts his head and howls.

King dis leans over to one of his gaurds whispering "when was the last time someone maid it up to round four of the land challenge?"

The guard shacks his head "before you took office I think."

Dis nods, "that is what I thought. Kill both of them."

Dis guards start to fluid into the chamber ready to overwhelm the two champions when a swirling black mist erupts form the ground, two hands reach out of the darkness, one grabbing David the other Hetatsubatchi, the two get dragged into the darkness.

Chapter 12

A Plan For Attack

Aboard the Steel Rose, Charlie lets go of David and Tatsu. "that was fun, wasn't it?" he brushes himself down with a smile then pats Tatsu on the head turning to address David

Hetatsubatchi interrupts turning to face Charlie barking "what the hell! I get the crap kicked out of me by a raccoon, stomped on by a giant fish, molested by a snake and and and... what the hell is going on!"

Charlie smiles down at Tatsu "I missed you." He reaches down Tatsu's neck tickling him.

"remove your hand from my body or I will remove it." Hetatsubatchi glows with anger.

Charlie shrugs and nods as he takes his hand away from Tatsu "Ok. Fallow me." Charlie lead them back to the room that the lot of them are sharing. "Hetatsubatchi, Do you know what A time loop is?"

"yes, A time loop is when a sequence of event: either on a cosmic or domestic scale, gets trapped in a feedback loop. Events repeat themselves with little to no variation 'till something forces them out of it." Hetatsubatchi grows

"we are stuck in one right now." Charlie explains.

"how would one know if we were?" Tatsu looks up to his future friend.

"by being outside of the loop at the time it was triggered."

"If you were outside the time loop at the time that it started then the vary act of you stepping into the loop should have broken it. Time loops are booth self-sufficient and self-containing."

David looks down at Hetatsubatchi "you seem to be quick witted for a savage."

"Save it, I'm not going to get dragged into a fight by a Nephilim." Tatsu barks

Jazzman walks with his hands on the back of his head watching the sky role by "I have been away from home for some time, what does that word mean?"

"it means Angle Born. You call yourself a demon but you aren't. you are more closely related to Lucifer then any demon. About a half century ago a platoon of things like you marched into the netherworld. Pretty much redrew all the property line, seriously upset the political balances everywhere. The intervention of Kari is the only thing that let us get back to life as we know it."

Jazzman closes his eyes taking in the warmth of the outdoors, even if it is artificial "for in all powerful being he sure can get around. You would think he we be to tied up with rubbing elbow and counting coin to answer prayers."

In short order the lot of them get back to 'the hotel' room. A large table has been set up. Cinder, Lances and Keyor are already waiting as Charlie, David, Milli, and Hetatsubatchi walk in. Keyor can be heard talking to the ship computer as they enter "Water, unsalted, ½ gallon, 32*f." a picture of water materializes on the table between them as well as a collection of cups.

The negotiations are long and drawn out, everyone taking the opportunity to repeat what they have seen to one another. As the conversation stales Hetatsubatchi pipes up "so then what you are really trying to tell me is that none of you have any sort of plan at all? You are just going to waltz in to Eden, hit your head against the wall, and what to see which brakes first? You or the wall?"

Keyor points out "we know that gods are mortal. We know that they bleed. They are not astral only sophisticated."

Heetatsubatchi looks around the table "Has anyone here ever seen a Tamrail or are we just speculating."

Charlie raises a hand "I have seen two of them."

Tatsu looks to Charlie "Did you see the Tamrial or only the avatar it is hiding in side?"

Jacob rest his arms folded on the table as he looks to Tatsu "Explain this whole Avatar thing to me."

Hetatsubatchi looks around as he notices he is being watched "Really,... none of you know this?"

Keyor shyly hold of a finger "I know what an Avatar is."

Tatsu nods "Ok, gods are big, really big, big enough to pick up and eat planets like a hand full of hard candy. In order to even be small enough to interact with people they need to do one of two things; one place there essences inside a creature that they want to interact with or, two link their thoughts with another living being. So either there mind or their spirit must take on humanesk form. Mind jacks are less stable but a puppet retains the knowledge and skill set of the host, a soul link give the god more control over the avatar but the linking does kill them there in any secrets or networks that belong to them is now lost as is any magic linked to their blood."

Cinder looks to the dog her hands folding under her chin "how are these things known to you?"

"As a prize hunter I was aloud some privileges including having been into the Asmodeus library. I know a good deal about celestial lore.

Charlie looks to Hetatsubatchi "are you saying you have a idea?"

Tatsu give a toothy grin "we need the Law Maker." He jumps onto the table "she has the power to chain the hands of even the Tamriel."

Cinder smiles "And where do we find the Law Maker?"

Hetatsubatchi's smile sours as he thinks

***

Seeker walks the halls of the Steel Rose tacking measurements, doing readings, scanning systems. Four hours into her day she abandons her task to go in search of Celverant's, she returns to his privet chamber to see him.

The metal overlord of the Steel Rose sits on his glowing throne absorbing data from all his underling bodies. Seeker walks in unannounced. Celverant takes note of this, "you are three hours and thirty minutes early."

Seeker corrects him "I am three hours and forty-four minutes early. I am not here to log out."

The two metal folk stare each other down, both feeling something is off, they wait and watch anticipating the other calculating the probabilities of any possible course of action. Celverant is the one to break the silence "how may I be of assistances Seeker?"

"I have detected weaknesses in your network. I wish to examine your IXP more closely. There is only one door that leads to the IXP, that is there." Seeker points with one of ther three fingered hands "below your charging dock."

Celverant protest "The network is functioning within expected parameters."

Seeker steps in slightly closer "you are aware that my people have tech. that you have yet to adapt. I have locked on to a weakness that is too small for your interments to track. If you wish for me to do my job I need access to that door."

Celverant thinks "the tech you wish to interface with is highly specialized and requires very specific tools to interact with."

Seeker adds on "my tool box is very diverse."

"then I will show you the way down. You can explain in greater detail on the way." Celverant stand, the throne he was sitting on rotates then floats off its base revealing a crawl space underneath.

Celverant leads the way climbing the latter first, the passage leads down for ten or more stories before opining up, ground level is a small cylinder shaped room with two doors, one seven feet by three feet the other two feet by three feet. Celverant points at the tiny door "that room is the IXP. I have a tablet just inside the door that you can use to interface with the mainframe."

Seeker reaches into her chest turning her skin to liquid. She pulls out of herself a silver rod with a M/F jack on it. "this is called a 'Slave Bolt' I will attach this to the IXP. It will convert the data stored within into a code I can read." Seeker gets on to all fours to slither into the tiny room.

Celverant lowers his head watching her "that sounds dangerous."

Seeker plugs in to the computer "1.1 billion units manufactured and I haven't seen a defect yet." As she works she looks over her shoulder at Celverant, Celverant is bent over watching her "if you are looking for sexual definition I regret to tell you that my dimorphism is a relic from an earlier version of this body."

This statement triggers a strangely human response from the metal man. Celverant pulls away embarrassed. Tripping on his words he tries to apologies "I'm sorry... I didn't realize..."

Seeker rolls over onto her stomach to pull a panel off the ceiling of the two-foot-tall room looking into the circuitry. She reaches into her chest producing a new command circuit, she swops out the two parts. "Celverant. What is in the room adjacent to this one?"

Celverant rest himself against the walls "My old bodies."

Seeker starts to crawl out of the tube-like room "you keep your old bodies around?"

"Don't you?" Celverant retorts

"no, I salvage the parts that are usable and I recycle the rest." Seeker looks up the hundred-foot-long shaft. "There are serval events on record of your server being accessed without use of the master code. Someone other than you has remote control of this ship."

"the I will need to rest the command codes."

"Command codes aren't the problem; your very security net is compromised."

"no one has the technology to do that."

"it seems some one does."

Celverant falls silent for a short time "Can you close this security hole?"

"I can take the information I have gathered so far and bring it to my lab. I can attempt to deduces the location of the terminal that allowed the breach to accrue and I can close the breach from there."

Celverant starts to climb back up the ladder "Make it so." He orders.

After Celverant disappears up the ladder the vampire Harm emerges from the dark. "Tangled webs Seeker, Tangled webs."

Seeker stars onto the evil priest "I have nothing of interest to you vampire, I have not hot blood or corruptible flesh, what need would you have to approach me?"

Harm grins diabolically "don't sell yourself short, you have many assists that I could find useful."

"I also lack fear, humanity, remorse. Fleshy things like you are nothing more than spare parts in my mind." Seeker lowers a hand to her side starting to liquefy and stretch herself out in preparation of attacking the monster that stands before her.

"Lies become you Seeker. But before you attempt to dismantle me allow me to probe you for information."

"my time is valuable, I have much work still to do, most of which is time sensitive."

"Visstle lives. I wish for her to be freed, can this be arranged?"

"I do not see where this would be relevant to me interest." Seeker jumps at Harm as a slime, her body envelopes his she leaves only his head free as she starts to solidify as a cocoons around the vampire priest.

Quickly Harms speaks up "Seeker, what is it that you seek?"

"I seek eternity. My purpose is to identify all flows in the design of my race and correct all weaknesses." Clearly Seeker is reading off a script with that line.

Harm tacks advantage of the momentary distraction to turn himself into a blanket of flies and move out of Seeker's grip "I have magics that may be of value in this pursuit."

Seeker turns to face Harm ready to strike again, she hesitates interested in what he has said "I deliver Visstle to you and this magic becomes mine?"

Harm folds his hands in prayer "that and disable Celverant."

"destroying the architect of peace was part of the plan from the beginning anyway."

***

Countess Estargo knocks on the door to Charlie's room, she tucks her hands behind her back awaiting Lances Jacob.

Hetatsubatchi opens the door "this is Hetatsubatchi Una your door man, how may I be of service?" his voice is low and draggy

"Please let Father Jacob know that Bethany Vergil the Countess of Estargo wishes to implement his services."

Hetatsubatchi tips his head slightly looking at Bethany, "you have a pretty face, to bad a personality didn't come preloaded." Tatsu turns to look in the room "Hay old guy, there is a pale girl looking for you."

Lances walks over, he looks out the door. "My lady." He takes off his hat recognizing the countess.

"Father Jacob I have been charged with letting you know that come sunset King Den Grimm and Profit Arthur St. Frances will begin negotiating the terms of demilitarization. I have been instructed to ask you if you would be interested in bearing witness to this desiccation."

"it would seem the royals where pleased with my consultation." Lances expresses "It isn't very often peace talks are quite this quick." One of Lances' hands reaches up to feel the book in his pocket "My lady, you described yourself as Fay kin, haddent you?"

Bethany expresses "It is revelation to no one that Methuselah share a common ancestry with both fairies and elves."

Lances lets loose a hardy chuckle, he reaches out and slaps the countess on the arm guiding her into the room "We need an elf, come in side please." Lances calls over to Charlie "you see my boy, this is what I meant when I said we need to help people. Enoch spoke much of 'the magical beast' and lust I now bring you one."

David looks about "you mean like 'a contemporary' some one that could lead us to independent verification on information we already have. Clever."

Charlie looks to Hetatsubatchi after interdictions are out of the way "you were saying something about a 'Law Maker' as I recall."

"yes, it was a part of a poem called 'the brothers war'."

_ In a time before time In a place outside space lived three brothers; the brothers three panted life into the stars, they looked up to the stars they bore and the youngest said_

'I wish that the light that we have brought into being shall live long and give there light onto others' the middle and elder brothers agreed

then the oldest brother said 'but we have painted so many lights, is there room enough in the sky for all the lights?'

and the middle brother speaks onto them 'then which should it be? Are all light's special? Will all lights return home and share their warmth with the universe? Or only some?'

the youngest brother looks to the others in plead 'All light is warm and all light deserves to come home.'

_ And the oldest replies 'but what if the light grows cold? A game we must play find the warm light and bring it hear, find the cold light and send it away'_

The youngest brother is angered by the oldest 'then we must find the cold light before it turns cold and bring it here to keep it warm'

And the middle brother exclaims 'this is good'

And the oldest brother exclaims 'we must let the light decide if it wants to be warm or cold'

And with this a grate uproar comes, the eldest and the youngest brother smite echother on the cheek till the middle brother takes the youngest and the oldest by the lag and demands they be calm.

Filled with pain the three brothers sit in thought

It is the oldest brother, being the oldest, who sets time in motion and declares 'we brothers, the young the old and the other, are all now invisible, we sit outside time and the light inside time, the lights that are the lights above other lights will see us through our invisibility and they will come, and when why come they will be given blood and bone and they will become brothers like us.'

And the youngest places his hand to the oldest cheek with anger 'but if the light is in light and we are in dark how will they see us?'

The oldest says 'we will write our names in the sand, and when our names are written the lights will know to look for us. The lights that are filled with goodness will look and they will see, the lights that are not filled with good will look but will not see'

But the middle brother and the youngest brother are not pleased and go out into the world with time and search for the warm light themselves.

And the eldest brother is filled with sadness and in his sadness he gives birth to his mother and cries to her 'I have filled the universe with light and now I sit in the dark'

And the mother looks to her son and she cries 'now your brothers are cold light lost in the darkness you have birthed, you alone are the warm light and so they will come'

So the eldest brother sits and waits and the mother says onto him 'we will darken the eyes of your brothers and punish them they will no look for warmth with their eyes closed'

_ _"the mother, she is the law maker. If anyone can fight the Tamrial it is her."

Much of the group sits quietly as Hetatsubathi tells his tale. Countess Estargo being the first to break the silence "whoever recorded that version of the story, I can only assume Fay wasn't there first language. That whole thing is a butchered retelling of book one chapter three of the 'Tree of Beginnings' every elf knows that story. Our heritage is built around it."

Cinder looks to the Methuselah "so what would be in example of something left out of that story?"

"the name of the mother." Bethany explains "she is called 'the Three-Headed-Goddess, and at the same time she was born so where the Zion and the Asguard. She was created to govern the half gods."

Keyor nods approvingly "then we found the write person. What planet could we find the Three-Headed-Godess or one of her kin?"

Bethany's head dips to her chest "you can't, this is mythology."

Cinder grins "Every story starts with a few true words. Even if the Three-Headed-Goddess isn't a person, she might be a place or a thing, and that might help us secure victory today."

Bethany scoffs "dam you are optimistic."

Keyor thinks for a moment "we can start by searching Saverngaurd. Their culture is rich with Asgaurd inspired traditions."

Hetatsubatchi shrugs "sure, why not. I'm living on borrowed time as is."

Milli holds up one hand "Savergaurd? That word sounds familiar to me. Isn't that the realm controlled by the Skoll lineage? The same family that supposable launches the Ragnarak event and destroys the pantheon?"

Hetatsubatchi rolls his neck stretching "I'm confident it will be a contained apocalypse, nothing worth worrying about."

Charlie smacks the table before him joyously "best idea yet, let's go meet the Skoll's."

The group moves outside making their way to the teleportation point. David looks to Hetatsubatchi "you know anything about the Skoll family?"

"yeah. They are Angel Hounds."

"what is that?"

"it's like a hell hound without an anger management issue." Tatsu jokes. "so, guy's I'm sort of new to this whole teleporting thing, any recommendations?"

Keyor nods as they stand on the platform "remember the principles of conservation of energy."

Cinder adds on "Try to make sure that all your feet are on the ground at the time the event horizon opens."

Hetatsubatchi lowers his head with a discontenting sigh "I don't think I like where this is going."

***

Locked inside a laser grid Visstle stripped of her armor and wrapped in anti-magic seals sits in her minuscule holding cell, a lone chair being her only amenity. In spite of her predicament her spirit still seems strong. She knows that this is little more than a set back and she will soon enough be back on the road to everlasting beauty. She has served the Void well and it will not allow one of its fallowers to die in a cage.

The room around the cage is a only slightly larger box made of steel polished to a mirror shine soiled only by the door which is painted red. Visstle's head turns as she can hear movment outside the room; a man and a women, a greeting, the man scream, the sound of a wet object hits the ground, silence.

The door opens and Seeker steps into Visstle's chamber dragging with her most of a human body. Seeker explains "this room is locked with three bearers, the laser grid to stop you from walking out, witch marks to stop you from casting spells and a compound magnesium phosphate explosive attached to a pressure pad under your feet. You weigh 154.2 lbs. but the plate under your feet is not fine-tuned to your weight yet this man at 160.0 lbs will work fine as a substitute. These bearers will do little to stop me."

Visstle stands up showing off her lively body, "you're not who I was expecting."

"your expectations of irrelevant. We must act with haste, this conversation has already set me behind schedule."

Visstle wiggles her body attempting to act alluring "interested in time are we?"

"your question is irrelevant." Seeker steps into the laser field her metal body unaffected by the heat, she pikes up one foot holding it over the floor and outstretches one arm like in umbrella "you will leave now or you will be left."

Visstle walks out of the cage confidently. Seeker drips liquid metal on the ground with astounding precision to prevent the trap in the room from triggering, once Visstle is passed the door Seeker pulls herself together and drops the dead body on the ground to facilitate her escape.

Harm waits for the girl outside the room, Harm greats Visstle with open arms "my girl, it pleases me to see you well..."

Seeker cut him off "Payment due."

Snarky Harm points down the passage "you will find your payment waiting for you in Celveant's secret room."

Intently Seeker realizes she has been cheated, if Harm had not distracted her she would have investigated the secret room on her own. Seeker pulls one arm into her body and thrust it out transforming it into a deadly pike to stab through the treacherous duo.

Harm had already began casting a retreat spell, the two of them phasing out of this reality, the spell is barely resolved in time, as Seeker's spear cut his robe and narrowly missis his flesh. Seekers arm passes though the ghoul and the vampire and deep into the wall past them.

One of Celverant's armors awaken in the hall to examine the situation "Is all well Seeker?"

Seeker pulls her arm out of the wall "I suspect I have discovered the infiltrator we hypothesized."

Chapter 13

Eclipse: Phase 1

When the portal closes taking the party to Saverngaurd it is clear which of them are experienced Worldwalkers and which are not. Keyor is the one to open the portal this time, with her steering the mana takes the form of oceanic waves, the experienced travelers land gracefully; Keyor, and Cinder. the others not so gracefully as they don't so much land as fall out of the mater stream gasping and chocking.

Looking about the area that they have landed in look developed, in a sort of early iron age sort of way, simple brickwork buildings, cobbled limestone roads, and tools of wood and cold iron propped up on the road. The air is freezing but it seems as if the planshifters can't feel the cold.

Music fill the air and there seems to be a crowed gathering only a short jog up the road. The music is something of a age that is not becoming of the astatic of the time. It sounds like folk metal, heavy punding drums, dueling garters, power metal undertones, fast tempo, and a vocalist that clearly has opera training, chanting and grunting from the crowd roars as they sing along.

"close your eye's

The night is coming.

The air is cold

But warm as safe you will be

With me by your side..."

The party approaches the music to find an ampadrome, a shell shaped construct desgined to catch sound and redirect it. On stage stands four goblins, Halfling sized demi-humans with gray green skin, sharp ears and long noises, the ones on stage all possessing feminine traits, and one elf towering over them, he has a felcon like eye shape and shining golden hair spike out and waving forward like a lion's maim, he has sharp teeth and glittering skin. At least a hundred more goblins stand in the crowd around them, this gathering is somewhere in-between a concert and some sort of worship, the elf being revered like divinity. The artist is smooth, sophisticated and sensual in the way he moves on stage.

Lances grunts uncomfortable as he listens to the music, Charlie seems much more entertained. Hetetsubatchi looks to Keyor. "I might be mistaking but these don't look like wolves to me."

Cinder points to the elf singer "he is."

At the end of the set the elf throws out his arms and soaks up the devotion of the crowd allowing the goblins too bask in his glory. Keyor looks disappointed "Redcap."

Cinder adds on "that's not the name I know him by."

Milli ask "what do you know him as?"

Cinder replies "Loki."

Milli looks confused "Like; half god, half giant, shapeshifting, hermaphroditic, lord of dance, and destruction."

Keyor repeat what the others already pointed out "Worldwalkers are often mistaken for gods. Redcap is just playing along."

Lances leans into Keyor "Friend of yours? Should we go interduce ourselves."

Keyor turns to face away from the lot of them, "Not if you know what is good for you." Keyor seems to start sniffing at the air around them, looking from something "Redcap is kind, so long as he thinks he can gain something from it, he is also a mind bender, if oyu make eye contact with him be aware of your thought and be prepared to protect them, he will try to steel your memories or give you fake ones if you let him."

Hetatsubatchi looks up at the strange acting Keyor "pardon, but what are you doing?"

"looking for salt water. I'm a conjurer by trade, I'm at my best when half submerged in sea water. I was hopping to see if the beast of this plaint could be of aid to us." Keyor points "this way." She freezes "well carp." She finds that when she rased her hand to point Redcap seems to have moved in beside them, his back leaned against a wall the caller of his coat flicked upwards. The Elf noticing, he is being beckoned forward by Keyor smiles showing of his fangs as he moves in, a regal sway to his step.

"Hello Arial, I see you have surrounded yourself with beautiful people as always..." Redcap glances at Charlie then back to Keyor "...some exceptions may apply."

Keyor lowers her head struggling not to make eye contact with Redcap "I left the name Arial behind, It's Keyor now."

Redcap slides a hand under Keyor's head and turns her to face him "why so cold my love? We have no bad blood between us."

"let us be on our way Redcap, he have work to do." Keyor complains

"I'm no longer Redcap, I go by Loki these days." Redcap tease. Redcap brings his hand to Keyor's shoulder starting to pull her towards himself. Charlie interrupts placing a hand on Redcap's shoulder and shoving him back.

"Lady said she has places to be." Charlie orders.

Loki chuckles at the insubordinates. A crowd of angry goblins swarm around picking up any tool in sight to use as a weapon threatening those that would question the will of their lord and master. Jazzman is the first to pull his sword threatening Loki in return, Milli pulls out RONA crouching readying herself for battle. Charlie pushes back his jacket making Souleater visible. Lances and Cinder seem to remain calm. Tatsu lowers his head and his eyes burn bleeding flams in a flashlight like glow. Keyor backs away terrified by Loki's very presences

Loki holds his arms out to the sides holding his goblins back "there is no need for all this nastiness. I was just being hospitable."

Cinder walks to the head of the group "Loki. Why are you in Savergaurd?"

The party and the goblins remain at ready as Loki and Cinder talk "I was born her thank you very much." Loki makes eye contact with Cinder trying to enter her mind, doing so clearly making Loki uncomfortable.

"You have tried invading my mind before, you can't do it in case you have forgotten." Cinder moves in unsettlingly close to Loki

This time it is Redcap that brakes contact, dramatically he turns away from Cinder complaining "Do you want to know what your problem is Cinder..." the question is rhetorical "you are always running around, always walking from place to place but never stopping to take in the sights, taste the wine, enjoy good company. What is the point of traveling if you never get anywhere? Me on the other hand, I have arrived somewhere and on top of that I have become someone. Watch this." Loki waves a goblin over, the one that answers the call is a child with wild hair and bright eyes.

Loki continues as he waits for the goblin to move to the front of the group "These people, I love them, they ask me for so little and give so much in return. When I found, them they were on this slimy green mudball of a planet being hunted by iguanas the size of giraffes, I arrived half dead after an embarrassing misstep and they quite altruistically gave me food and water in exchange for a drinking song. I didn't even need my magic to draw them in, I could sing before I was able to polymorph."

The youngling goblin stands at Loki's hip looking up at him, Loki need not look down as he has his gaze fixated on the party "how my I serve you my lord?" the goblin asks

Loki smiles devilishly "allow me to demonstrate what one can do with only the slightest amount of understanding of who we are and what we can do." He turns his head down to the goblin offering it a carnal glair "what is my name?" he asks it.

"Loki lord and master of the night sky." It replies

Loki nods "good. Do you love me?" he asks

"Yes. Everyone loves you!" To answers

"would you like to take off your armor?" Loki suggest. Without hesitation, the goblin strips in front of Loki dropping its armor and clothing on the side of the frozen road, the goblin is young, a human might think in its early teens only begging to show its sexual characteristics, the goblin to any who wished to look is clearly feminine. Loki rolls his and over calling into his grip a knife made out of starlight sliver "now write my name across your chest." The Goblin takes the knife and places it to her chest ready to execute the order given.

Cinder and the other watch in horror as Loki demonstrates his cultist power over the goblin. Loki grabs the knife not letting the goblin carve its flesh knowing that he has made his point "what is your name child?" he asks the girlish goblin.

"Blanya." she tells Loki.

"good," the knife vanishes back into the darkness from which it came "you may join me at the mead hall at dusk." Loki slaps the goblin playfuly on the rump sending her on her way. He then looks back to the others "add on top of this sort of power wealth, fame, and sorcery and you could have anything you want. In short, Cinder you can bring the world to you if only you would let me teach you how."

Hetatsubatchi grins observing the young flesh before him "I think I like this guy." He growls.

Cinder offers a repulsed sneer "your feral side is showing wolf."

Loki scoffs "no it isn't! this is me at my most elegant."

Milli cracks her joints "so this is what a worldwalker looks like without a sense of humility?"

Loki rolls his eyes up Milli's body taking in her abnormal shape, his eyes and lips curl into a lustful sneer, his head cocks slightly as he slides over to the alien kangaroo. "and who might you be my lovlyness? I don't recall seeing thee alike of you around here."

Feeling Redcap reading her thoughts Milli tries to struggle, tries to fight, but her body will not respond. Loki places his hands at Milli's sides and feels down her stomach and hips getting a feeling for Milli's unusual shape, his hands brush across her pouch and her head tips back with a provocative grunt.

Hetatsubatchi growls, his eyes glow with green spectral light, his teeth unsheathe. "this is my pack and if you want in you'll be going through me."

Loki looks to Tatsu "hardly a challenge, I already know your shape and your needs, I could have you on your back asking for milk at any time."

Hetatsubatchi's head lowers and his tail lifts, his hair sticks up and a roaring sound echoes though his body "prove it." His voice is a eerily calm whisper next to his growl.

Charlie steps between them "Loki, how about we get some drinks." Charlie almost shouts as he tries to defuse the situation.

Loki distracted Milli regains control of her body, she lowers herself close to the ground to get eye to eye with Hetatsubachi, Milli whispers "thank you."

Tatsu lowers his voice "you can pay me back later."

Loki laughs "yes! A drink does sound good." He raises a hand overhead and a flash of light erupts form his breast. When the light reseeds the lot of them are inside one of the goblin buildings, a rowdy room filled with singing and dancing, the smell of cheap Tabaco and watered down ail, the stink of sex thick on the walls can be detected even without the enhances senses of a wolf. Loki waves about, "look about, see if there is anything here that meets your taste, the booze is cheap, the women are fair, and the food is served hot."

Tatsu spins around overwhelmed by the smells in the room. It takes him a hash moment to gain his balances. Keyor finds a set "I see you took after my sensitivities'"

Loki sits nearby "I know a good thing when I see it."

Charlie scoots in close huddling into an almost hug "Loki, I need something. You look like just the guy to help me find it."

"Flattery will get you far around here." Redcap flicks his hair back then rest his head on his arms "how my I serve you?"

"do you know anythinh about a Three-Headed-Goddess?" Charlie whispers

"Teimate comes to mind but she has nine head, Cerberus but he is male, I should know... maybe one of the Krishna?... but do you need the Three-headed-Goddess or something she has I wonder?"

"I need to know how to kill something that can't die." Charlie explains

Loki's eyes light up "then you are looking for Fate!"

Lances offers a suspicious glare "and you will happily take us to Fate?"

Redcap looks over to Hetatsubatchi, then between Cinder and Keyor as he thinks "for a small fee" he offers after a short time of thinking it over.

Cinder points out "our pockets are a touch on the light side."

Loki waves for a number of drinks to be set down "not to worry, what I need won't cost a single silver out of your pocket." He drinks his drink before continuing "my cousin Gideon is in the area, he is in debt to me, a little mater of inheritance that was never delivered. I want you to fallow me back to my old home and see if we can't convince my cousin to give me what he knows is mine."

Hetatsubatchi narrows his eyes and lowers his ears "I think I smell a rat."

Loki places his hands behind his head with a look of satisfaction "I would not doubt it, this side of town is thick with then."

The next few hours pass in a strange haze. Only brief glimpses seem to be fully formed in anyone's mind, much wine is drank, most of it by Loki, Cinder and Lances, Charlie refuses to drink as does Keyor, Hetatsubatchi is nowhere to be seen for most of the day. By the time the drunken mist is clear from everyone's eyes they are miles from camp, most of the party weighted down by bags full of camping gear. Loki has pushed Hetatsubatchi to the front of the group.

Tatsu shakes his head off as all at once his mind is clear, he looks around seeing that they are walking over a frozen ocean "Where in the Nine are we?"

Loki has changed into a coat of dove feathers, he yells over the wind "twenty something miles from Landen beach."

"how did we get here?" Milli yells up from the end of the group nearly lost under three survivor bags.

Redcap exsplains "We walked, we have been fallowing Hetatsubatchi this whole time."

Hetatsubatchi looks back tucking tail as he struggles to remember the last day "to where?"

Loki produces a perfume bottle from his cloak, he holds it down to Hetatsubatchi "to a person that smells like this."

Tatsu sniff the bottle, his ears jump up and his noise wiggles "that is not an over-the-counter fragrance?!" the smell is an exsilirating one, one to subsumed for any but a true wolf to smell, but to one that can smell it, it is intoxicating.

"Keep walking, we only have enough previsions to last us four days." Loki request.

Tatsu sniff the air then starts running, he howls easily outpacing anyone in the group "this way!"

David grunt "guess he has some idea where we are."

Lances tries to chase after Tatsu as do the others but in the end they can all only move as fast as the slowest of them. Lances pants as they run, he grabs Loki to talk as they move "what was in that bottle."

"Wolf blood, nothing more." Loki tells him.

The group runs as long as they can but truth be told neither Chalrie or Lances are in top physical shape anymore Charlie at the end of his forties and Lances well over that. Keyor only slightly stronger then them calls for the group to slow down. Tatsu it seems could run all day never slowing, as could Loki and David, Cinder cheats, she floats.

After some time, the group slows to a crawl, then has no choice but to set up camp for the day. Cinder flies off head to retrieve Hetatsubatchi.

The sun sets, the night grows load with cracking water and animals crying in the distances. Hetatsubatchi stands watch over the camp clearly aggravated as he stars off into the endless horizon. "It is at least 60 miles to the other shore. This walk is suicidal." He calls out to no one in particular.

Charlie sits with Redcap on one side of a magical fire Loki summons, the others sit across keeping a suspicious eye on their strange companion, David alone being the cool cat to throw down his bed roll and lay his head on his backpack and arms under his head resting. Charlie is speaks first "what is it that your cousin has of your that is worth this trip?"

"Forged of moonlight, crafted in the heat of the sun. a silver mirror my uncle forged, Giedion look it and I want it."

Keyor looks confused as she leans in close to the flames "Moonlight?"

"Ethereum, but my uncle didn't know that. It is soft like gold but when mixed with zinc becomes light as silver and stoic as Nordic steel." Loki chuckles.

Cinder seems to have a vindictive smile frozen on her face as she watches the flames kiss the sky "would you like to tell us about your family Loki?"

"I am a Skoll as well you know, I was the fourth born my year so I didn't get to carry my family name. only the fist born male and female every winter get that privilege. My family is holding firm to some 900 year old superstition about an all-powerful wolf mother..."

"Clarify" Cinder orders.

Loki lifts in eye and cocks his head "about the wolf mother?" he sits up straight "some wise wolf once foretold that all wolves where born form 1 grate wolf, and that the Skoll family would one day have the power to welcome the wolf of all wolves into this world. For 1000 generations the first born Skoll girls would lay with only their cousins to keep their blood strong and once all the holy blood has gathered into 1 girl that girl would lay with a mate that was not the mate given to her and she will give birth to a girl puppy that is not one of the Skoll but whose womb awaits the birthing of the goddess..."

Lances tries counting in his head "how long is 1000 generations for a wolf?"

Redcap cuts in quickly "2500 years if every wolf has its first heat between one and two years old."

Lances falls onto his back looking up at the alien sky, some part of everything he has heard is wrong, he can feel it. But still Lances can't decide which parts of what Loki has told him does he want to believe. Every lie has a rhythm; truth, lie, lie truth, lie. That is the pattern his kids would fallow any time they tried to feed him a line. Is that constant? and if so, where is the first truth?

The fire side talk dissolves into what most old men would call 'Fish Tales before long. Milli gets bored and walks over to the tints calming one for herself stepping over David who is already sound asleep on the ice. She opens the flap and crawls in even the largest tent cant house her full size when she starches so has to pull her lags into her shoulders as she wiggles in.

The inside of the tent is lit with a flickering tan light, the hardy fabric make voices outside sound hushed and distant. Milli unzips her jump suit then steps out of it. Her feet drift apart and her knees together as she sits at the back of the tent. She looks at herself running her hands through her fur; Tiny bumps can be felt on her right hip where she fell of her hover bike at military camp, almost a dozen stripes of fur are missing from both her lags do to training accidents at boot camp, there is a discolored patch of hair on her left pectoral where she was hit by photon ray during a raid, one hand feels one of her ears and across one eye she had lost booth in a knife fight, but even with the lost parts of herself replaced in her mind they are still gone and she can still feel the rush of pain of the separation from one's self.

Then Milli rubs both hands from her chest down to her stomach, nightmares from her youth invading her thoughts and silencing her mind in anticipation, her thumbs find the uppermost fold of her pouch, then the slash-mark that makes it unusable, Milli is no longer a woman, the right to call herself one was lost to her in her teens wall walling between to basecamps when she got into a fight with a snow-beast. How many miles has she had to walk in her life? How far has she traveled? So many miles has she gone that no one planet could hold her back. Now an even greater horror falls on her as Milli thinks aout the idea that even after all the darkness of her own universe she is now in someone else's. yet still she is walking. Now under skies that no one she would ever know would walk under.

Milli slides one hand down the slit of her pouch, her fingertips finding the soft skin underneath and how her skin has grown cold to the touch. Milli's lips curl up and her eyes squeeze twisting her face in pain, she whimpers, the stillness of the night calling out the pains that chaotic sunlight forces away. Only lost in ones thoughts can there innermost fear and regret become manifest.

The ocean of ice is far to filmier to Milli, the sound of ice-plates scratching across each other is a siren call to her memories, the world itself teasing Milli reminding her that she is a woman with no countery of her own, nothing worth fighting for, no man will ever lover her, no children will ever be hers, dyeing on her feet is the only glory she can ever hope to enjoy, the only drive to awaken.

Despair assaults Milli's mind, her drive to fight, the foul hope that somehow she will walk amongst her own people again pushes her onto all four, she can't sleep alone, she is not strong enough to awaken if she tries. Milli sticks her head out the tent looking about.

Milli shouts to Tatsu "hay wolf! Come here!"

Stunning in toxic rage Hetatsubatchi watches the horizon with such interest he can feel the spinning of the earth beneath his paws , his eyes fixated so narrowly on the brake between land and air that his vary body equilibrium is dependent on the shallow movements thereof. Hetatsubatchi's mind shouts his past at him, the smell of wolf in the air beckoning him to bloodlust, but it is laser focus that shuts out his hunger.

"Tatsu!" Milli calls again.

Intent after instant of survival rage flashes across Hetatsubatchi's eye, every time he has be threatened, every time he has been struck, each drop of blood he has shed tugs at his stomach encouraging him to run, to kill, to eat. Hetatsubatchi has been hungry before but this feeling is unlike any time he can remember. These thoughts these feeling they can't be his. The ice is drivng him mad, nothing else makes sense.

"Hetatsubatchi!" this yell brakes the trances. Tatsu turns to face Milli his eyes glowing with hunger as his head first starts to turn, but once it registers with him who's voice he had heard he looks tame again. "I need you." Milli speaks her voice trembling.

Hetatsubatchi steps into Milli's tent, he examines her "That is a new look for you."

"yeah, it is a road map of me getting my tail kick in do like it?" sarcasm is thick in Milli's statement.

Tatsu avert his eye trieing not to look at Milli "what did you call me for?"

"Do your sleep on your side?" Milli ask sounding strangely uneasy

"I sleep on my stomach." Tatsu is direct, he keeps his head turned and eyes closed as they talk

"when I was a girl, I once got lost on the flats walking from base W9 to E44. I had lost my bike in a training operation but my S.O. still though I was the best man to make this long drop. The job was a dammed mess, I was hardly old enough to understand what most of the words my S.O. was using even meant, hell I was still having trouble smelling the differences between boys and girl the way I remember it. I was given a Chimchim as a watch dog for my trip, cute animal, about three feet tall, slightly under two buck is weight. Right around waypoint NNE2 my Chimchim started going nuts. I had just sat down to open one of my MRE and the thing started squealing. I picked up RONA and looked around to see if I could find out what was aggravating her so much. I tripped over a Snowbaren, it's this 18 foot 10 buck tailless rat, belongs to the same family as Chimchim. In the time it took me to raise RONA and unlock the trigger the thing picked up and eight my guard dog and slapped me so hard it broke apart my body armor..."

Hetatsubatch cuts in "your world sounds as bad as mine."

"... let me jump to the end of the story. E44 troopers end up coming to my aid. They pointed out to me that it is regulation that all Stith travel in pars. If for no other reason than to cover each-others tail wall at camp. They also recommended a special sleeping ritual, most temporary housing has a primary exit" Milli points at the door "and a secondary" she points at the window flap "one person sleeps facing each exit, theit tails overlapping so the other will feel them if they move."

Hetatsubatchi watches Milli confused "are you asking me to lay on your tail?"

Milli nods "Just till I fall asleep."

Hetatsubatchi nods indifferently "ok but I want something special on our third date." He offers a playful jab at the prospect. Milli curls into a ball facing the door, her tail outstretches. After a short amount of deliberation Hetatsubatchi find a comfortable way to lay on Milli, the weight of Hetatsubatchi's body and his warmth on her back calms Milli allowing her to sleep. Hetatsubatchi only wishes he could sleep so soundly.

Hours pass as Tatsu watches Milli sleep. Something pulls at Tatsu's senses, he sneaks out of Milli's tent. Hetatsubatchi takes a head count; on the ground near where the fire had been David Jazzman is sleeping on his backpack, his tent never erected, Lances and Charlie's tents are back to back watching each-other, both men are asleep, Keyor's tent is set at a 45* angel facing away from Charlie's, Loki had placed up his tent facing west a short jog from the others, he had used his tent to mark a set of animal tracks they had seen. Funny, Redcap and Cinder don't seem to be in camp.

Cinder is untraceable, Loki on the other hand Hetatsubatchi knows what smells like. Tatsu sniff around looking for their sneaky comrade. Tatsu runs a short time off ahead fallowing Loki but he gets sidetracked, a new sent passes under his noise drawing his eyes. Tatsu examines the intruder, A sliver haired she-wolf, larger and more majestic then most that he has seen, this is no pit-fighter, this is a princess, long flawless hair, mystical markings painted onto her body, red spiraling wind patterns running symmetrically down her back, she stinks of magic.

Loki is gone, his sent masked by something. Tatsu offer the she-wolf his full attention "this is my pack, treed softly."

The she wolf hold her head high "this is my land, you are a visitor." The she wolf turns her head pointing the direction the group had been walking "continue that way for another half day and you will find my den should you wish to see it."

Hetatsubatchi moves in ever close to the She-wolf "that is awful hospitable for a wolf."

The she wolf meet Hetatsubatchi part way as they get noise to noise Hetatsubatchi looking hungered and angry, the she-wolf friendly and domestic "I don't know what type of wolves you run with but around these parts we are kind to strangers." The two of them walk around each-other learning one another's sent "tomorrow night in fact is a festival, show up and win some of the games we will be playing and you will earn much glory. All the meat you can eat and a fine selection of fruitful girl or boys if you prefer." the she-wolf chuckles at the idea. She slides her head under Tatsu's pushing his head up as she rubs his neck.

Cinder yells from nearby "Have you seen Redcap around her?"

Tatsu look at Cinder then back to the She-wolf "who are you..." he starts to ask only to find that she as vanished into the wind. Hetatsubachi takes a deep breath, his noise is filled with the she-wolf's sent, he knows he was just talking to someone but outside of the fur she has rubbed off on him her sent is miles away. "I haven't seen him since yesterday." Tatsu replies to Cinder.

Cinder looks around. "he walked off last night around the same time Keyor went to bed." Cinder places a hand on Tatsu head rubbing him "Well the nice part about being a Worldwalker, if Loki isn't back by sunrise we can just warp to another world and leave him stranded her."

"he is a worldwalker too right?"

"yeah, but it is exceptionally difficult to fallow someone else's trail after their portal closes."

As the sun comes up comes up the fallowing day the smell of fresh cooked fish and sliced lemons fills the air. The parts walks out to witness Loki now dressed in a vest woven out of porcupine quills and a belt of gemstones standing over his magical flames grilling up fish stakes and singing to himself.

"...I never give up:

Never give in,

Never let go,

Never let down,

Never betray,

Never lose your way..."

Milli looks about after sliding her pink boiler-suit back on, her composure regained "Right what is all this now?"

Redcap grins as he pulls a fish from the fire "I call it breakfast. Lemon grilled chicken. One of my most delectable dishes." He throws a fish at Milli

Milli catches the fish juggling it for a moment "I have't had grilled fish since W9"

Tatsu looks up at Milli jokingly "I have always been more of a red meat sort."

Loki produces form alongside him a bison leg "I thought as much, that's why I brought this." He throws the meat at Tatsu.

"your my new best friend" Tatsu growls as he picks up the leg in his mouth beginging to chew on it.

Lances and Cinder step out of their tents side by side Lances call over to the elemental "Cinder, what is the temperature right now?"

"-40*f" Cinder replies

"why aren't we dead?" Lances ask

Keyor steps out of her tent, her scales fan up venting her muscles "you are being protected by 'the mist' when a Worldwalker planeshifts their bodies produce aura of displacement, so long as one of the Worldwalker are around you will be protected by their magic."

Lances lips and noise twitch slightly as he thinks about the phrasing of the former statement "that would be a good safety tip. So tell me how 'close' is 'around'?"

Cinder softheartedly grins "I have a feeling you will be able to tell when the magic wears thin." Cinder looks over at Redcap her gentle excretion hardening "If you will give me a moment." She walks over to Loki, Cinder grabs one of his ears between two fingers and twist it forcing him to stager sideways "Loki, I want to talk, will you please come over here?" facetiously she asks as she pulls Loki out of camp

"This is somewhat embarrassing." Loki complains

"I can do so much more to you if I had a mind to do it. Now Loki, what game are you playing with us?" Cinder orders.

"was I somehow unclear?" Loki ask "I want the Helios mirror that Gideon has."

"Why?" Cinder folds her arms under her breast. "you are nothing if not vain, but asking not one, not two, but three Worldwalker to help you steal a trinket sounds like overkill."

"you know that Gideon is one of us, too don't you?" Loki adds

"so then we are here to even the score?" Cinder shacks her head in disbelief. "you would never make it that simplistic."

Loki turns his back on Cinder as he looks out into the snowy distance "if you think I am lying to you then simply walk away."

"you stabbed me in the back once Redcap. Turns out I can hold a grudge after all. If this really is nothing more than extortion so be it, but don't think I didn't notice you sizing up Hetatsubatchi and Milli. If you do anything to..."

Dramatically Redcap spins to face Cinder, the two of them walk around each other in a star down "If I do what?" the slightest hint of anger creeps not Loki's voice. Cinder is on to something, she saw something that Loki thought she had not, now what does it mean, what is Loki really looking for?

Then Cinder remembers, the story about 'the old church' and the 'unclean mother giving birth to a goddess'. "you believe it don't you? Your families fairytale about the Mother Wolf?"

"you are one to talk about fairytales. You believe there is a direct link between you and Vishnu. So, so do I. Now I warn you Cinder. Don't cross me." Loki growls, his eyes turn feral, he is losing his grip on his transmutation.

"Redcap, have you chosen a mother for your messiah? Or are you going to try to do it yourself?"

"actually I'm not eligible. According to the rules of the spell there are to few generations between me and the first sacrament. That is why I need the Skoll's" Redcap's back is to the wall, over his lifetime he has learned; he can lie to anyone, manipulate any one, control anyone and make them love him, except Cinder. His only chose is to let her in on the game and hope she is willing to play along

Cinder nods "the spell you are toying with, it come from a century that not a one of us is old enough to remember. Be warry."

"Are you truly concerned for my wellbeing? I am touched." Loki tries to ease the tension between them.

"I am going to go head and play dum, for old time sake. But if you need blood for this spell you are setting up it had best not come from anyone I know."

Loki smiles, the two of them reminiscing about so distant past they shared. "I have all the blood I need already, it is the small window of opportunity that has me on edge."

Cinder doesn't understand fully why she is invested but she feels she needs to better understand what Loki is thinking, she asks for more information "what sort of a casting window are you looking at?"

"I am at a very sensitive phase of the ritual I have fourteen days to make sure all the components are in place, eleven now and it will be no less than 64 days before I know if this part succeeded, by then I will be well into the next phase of casting and there will be no way to go back if anything went wrong. That sounds like a lot but, considering it took me six centuries to find the spell components I would need I'm sure you can understand why I'm on edge."

'An Avatar spell?' Cinder thinks as she walks away. 'no other conjuration is so complicated. So then what Loki must be looking for is a place to plant one of the spell components.' Cinders curiosity is peeked, she is willing to let this play out, see what Loki is really working on "that is all I need to know. I will turn down the heat for you."

Even the smallest and most simplified Avatar spell requires a generation to cast. Cinder has seen scrolls describing such rights in the past; to even attempt such a feet first requires one to be able to move stars or be able to predict there movement, then to be able to fallow a bloodline from one astrological event to the next of the same type, and finally to be able to find a way to fit a fully developed soul into an infant body. Such work was meant for the people of Pantheon, on one else Cinder knows of have such a skill set. It would be amusing to see if Loki has mastered all these skills.

Charlie Belmond awakens last, and when he does it is hardly a peaceful awakening, he awakens with a scream, his body coldly sweating, his pulse racing, his body quaking as if having be struck by a object many times his size. Quickly Charlie regains his stability and in an rush of energy starts to pack up his gear, he yells out to his friends "Eat and walk guy, we got places to be!"

The team gathers their gear, they are back on the trail in only a short time. Keyor gifts Hetatsubatchi a caller and leash to keep him close by, she allows Milli to hold the chain seeing she is the largest and could most easily control the white wolf. This time it is Cinder the brings up the rear of the team. A hill comes into sight as they find the edge of the ice ocean, climbing the hill across a valley of evergreen trees a city of rounded houses can be seen forged from what can only be hardened leather. After a day and a half on ice, a walk through the trees should be easier.

Chapter 14

Eclipse: Phase 2

Today is the Festival of Moonlessnight, A holy day amongst the Wolves of Skoll. Today there is equality, there are no princess and no prisoners, everyone walks tall and proud. Today the Wolves and the Huma stand shoulder to should. Today games are played, friendships are forged, today no one is hungry. Today there is only one taboo that will not be forgiven and that is to not observe the Festival. Today you eat hardy and make marry or you sulk alone.

In the mist of the festival one patrol of runners returns from there gathering late. A tribunal waits to great them. At the lead walks a young girl, not yet fourteen sessions old, she is adorned with sanctifying marks on her fur of deep red which stands out wonderfully from her glowing silver fur. There is grunting and laughing at her approach as the crowds make way for her and her team, shouts and whistles come from both wolf and there pet Huma, some wolves even snap there jaws at the girl's tail in a less then subtle catcall.

the eldest and most respected of the Skoll stand at an altar, he is more than 30 seasons old, an almost unheard of age. "Ammi!" he barks greeting the approaching wolf girl "today you stand before me accused of a great many things!" the old one exclaims "your brothers tell me you have liberated 15 yearlings from rival clans!" hoots and hollers come from behind "you have run the head of 30 hunts! You have toppled 5 Iceloins! And you have definded this fairground from 2 outland attacks! And you have done all this before your fourth birthday and without a mate by your side!? This is a disgusting list of accusations! How do you plead?"

the young wolf stands with her head high and her breast pushed out a model of a wolf "Guilty on all charges!" she sternly declares.

"you deny nothing?" the old one ask

"Nothing at all!" Ammi retorts.

"then may the Wolf-Mother have mercy on your soul! For today the choir of Hel sings songs for you and your fellow runners! Let the festivities go on! " howls fill the air in a orchestra of cheers, the wolf princess is welcomed home by all and food is thrown at her and her party in greetings. Huma grunt and bellow, wolves howl, joy jubilantly jump on this joyous day of jest. "There has not been a more woolfy wolf then you Ammi since Gideon the Skoll lead our hunts."

One Huma calls out to the gathering, one that every wolf knows, the largest and strongest Huma there has ever been Gideon! Wrapped tightly in the fur's of his dead enemies, the Helios shield on his back, the Eclipser axe on his belt, his hear worn long and his sent formidable in the air, even though not born with a wolfs body he walks amongst wolves with pride. "Don't talk as if I'm dead!" A dozen wolves pile onto Gideon licking at him. The giant bellows in laughter.

Gideon was born with the shape of a Huma, even though his mother was a wolf. The Huma are a race that developed parallel with the wolves as a 'slave race' in the early years Huma gathered outside wolf camps and servived by stealing food from them, but it turned out that the Huma were somewhat useful, being natural skittish they called out alarms protecting (mostly accidently) the wolves form other predators. At some point wolves even found that the Huma could be domesticated, trained to run with wolves and take care of puppies.

As the relationship between the two races grew the Huma proved themselves even more valuable then though. Having no claws or fur to protect themselves the Huma learned to make tools to make themselves more wolf like, and so created armor and hunting equipment like; shields, bows, swords, and axes. Armor turned out to be so valuable in this world that wolves from time to time will even allow themselves to be clothed by their Huma. In the end the Huma wanting to be wolves accommodated wolves acting more like Huma. If only the Huma had the complex communication skill of wolves (and if they repercuced more than once every other year), they would be a force worth fearing. One other advantage of the Huma as pets is that they are a slow growing and long lived animal often being given for generation to generation.

Ammi jumps at Gideon push serval other wolves out of the way she sits on Gideon's chest pushing him down "you made it home this year. Where do you keep going for months at a time?"

The giant explains "Hunting large pray." He rubs Ammi's muzzle with one hand and cradles her tail with his other "what about you? Having tons of puppies, I assume."

Ammi kisses her family pet "Not yet, still killing my way up the food chain. You know the drill; hunt a lot, fight a lot, have others fight over you, what to see if they are wolf enough to fight you after that."

Gideon hugs his puppy rolling around on the ground with her "Don't fight to much you will scare everyone away."

"only if they are too weak to be worthy of my attention." Gideon lets Ammi pin him as it is not his place to claim dominance over the family that protected him as a youth. "come on, eat before all the best meat is gone then we will go play some games."

Charlie and his party arrive late in the day, but sill in plenty of time to enjoy the events. Amongst the attractions there is: a game where Huma pick up a block of wood three feet tall and three feet around and throw it in the air to see who can get it frailest, another where two Huma brace their wrist agents one another then try to push each other over, one where two wolves stand on their hind legs front paws on each-other's shoulders then try to roll the other onto their back, there is also a version of the same game where a wolf starts on their back with another standing over them and they must escape in the time it take the wolves watching to sing a battle song.

For those that want to gamble for a higher price there is a circle where Huma and wolf girls are offering challenges to men, for those that exceed the expectations of the judges the girls are giving away licks or offering to let the boys peek under their tails. Men that fail on the other hand are forced to wrestle with someone before they get to play again. Seldom does a looser come back after 2 or 3 tries.

If games and gambling isn't what interest one food is in abundances, and a gladiatorial gantlet has been set up for people to watch. There seem to also be several auctions running where weapons and armor are up for grabs as well as young huma and puppies are up for trade, and lastly there is a ring of song smiths sharing stories of romance and good hunts.

Hetatsubatchi's moth falls open "this is the most magical thing I have ever seen."

Keyor leans into Milli and point over to the game where girls are showing off their hind quarters and licking boys that win their games "breeding looks to be slightly less controlled then I was originally lead to believe."

Tatsu sniffs the air then looks to Keyor "the blood here is incredibly stale. Over half these wolves are cousins, and those that aren't directly related to each-other are 3 generations displaced at the most."

Milli thinks about that "how the hell does that happen?"

Cinder smiles knowingly "expertly tracked genealogy."

Loki walks forth his human disguise melting away to reveal the wolf underneath. A scarecrow looking wolf with long silver fur with a red orange spot on his head and strip on his tail. "you lot have fun for a moment, I'm going to see if I can sniff out Gideon" as if to confuse Hetatsbatchi specifically as Loki walks away he flicks his tail making his feminine parts to be momentarily visible.

Tatsu shakes his head and whispers to himself "I hate changelings."

Milli having picked up on the action also whispers back "that might not be changeling magic, Loki might actually have both parts."

Tatsu points off to one side, "I'm going to go see what is going on over there." Hetatsubatchi vanishes into the crowed of men and dogs.

The rest of the part starts fanning out, Charlie explaining "If we get lost we all look out of place enough that it shouldn't be hard to track each other down."

Jacob finds the circle of story tellers to take in the local lore Keyor fallowing him, Cinder hangs back at the fringes of the festival 'people watching'. Milli tacks to the tree throwing game, her spring shaped muscle structure allowing her no small advantage. Charlie get punked into wrestling, Charlie with his comparatively small frame is hardly a far fight verse the Viking like Huma. After watching Charlie's embarrassing defeat the Jazzmen comes to Charlie's aid, to spite truly being only discreetly more muscle Jazzmen decisively overpowers all comers.

Hetatsubatchi walks the crowed coming to a wolf displaying a pile of swords, knives and axes. Tatsu looks over the pile "what is all of this?"

The middle-aged girl explains "trophies. My siblings and I just liberated a den."

Hetatsubatchi grunts "By liberated do you mean conquered?"

"If that is the way you want to describe it. I'm in a barging mood if you want one." The wolf standing before Hetatsubatchi expresses.

"I'm afraid I have little of value." Hetatsubatchi looks down at a set of four silver bladed knives.

The girl looks Tatsu up and down sizing up the white wolf "you look like a healthy one. Let's make a bet. Can you fight?" The vender nods her head over to one of the wolves in the gambling ring "Tailless over there, he is my eldest brother his name is Haiti, he has been over there for an hour showboating and sniffing tail. Roll him on his back and those knives you where eyeing are yours."

Tatsu nods. "I can do that." Tatsu walks over to the ring, the smell of the wolves around him making him momentarily swoon intoxicated, he thinks to himself as he fights to get his balances back 'that smell, there is something in these peoples blood.'

Tatsu fights his way through the crowed to come noise to noise with Haiti interrupting a conversation underway "... Next Haiti I want you to bite this in half..." Haiti doesn't get to see what is pushed forward as Tatsu blocks his way.

"Sorry bloke, I need to cut in." Tatsu bears his fangs "a little girl just asked me to teach you respect." Haiti giggles clearly in an altered state of mind, Tatsu looks over to the girl that was offering the next chalange "has this one been eating mushrooms or licking frogs or something?"

one of the girls' nods "I had him eat five Zamtites."

"what is that?" Tatsu ask

"it is sort of like a bouldertoad but smaller." Someone in the crowed yells out.

"I see..." Tatsu starts to say but is cut off when a paw strikes him across the noise. Tatsu turns his attention back on Haiti. "dirty pull, I like it." Tatsu jumps at Haiti with in open mow. The two men snarl and growl pushing at each other in a traditional power struggle. But this is just to force a since of complacency, Tatsu is hardly traditional, often mocking traditions and utilizing them only for his own benefit.

Tatsu lowers his head offering Haiti advantage as he back steps. Haiti takes the bate, he opens his jaws and twist his head ready to pick up Hetatsubatchi by the scruff. Tatsu jumps in a half circle then kicks off the ground like a rhino smashing his skull into the lower jaw of Haiti. Haiti yelps and falls onto his side, his focus shattered as are serval of his teeth.

Haiti struggles to try to stand up, Haiti is discombobulated, his ears ringing form the strange strike, his vision faded to gray and red. Tatsu has won, he knows it already, Haiti will likely never heal from such a bone braking strike. Tatsu slaps Haiti with one paw forcing Haiti back on his side, Tatsu then places a paw on Haiti's chest looking down at him "do you yield?"

Haiti nods. Tatsu looks around the crowed. There is cheering and barking at the display, "summon your clerics or bone saws this man needs one." Tatsu is showered with attentions no less then six wolves running up to him and feeling him up in congratulations. Lost in the moment he stands still excepting the attention. Here courage, enginuity and fighting prowes are grately revered and reworded. All the love and respect that had been Haiti's given to Tatsu for beating him in a fight.

After a long while of being celebrated Tatsu manages to slip back to the vender he had been speaking to. Having never been more loved and respected Tatsu approaches staggeringly happy. The vender Smiles at Tatsu, she rubs her head under his and walks around him brushing her side against his chest. "Fantastic work stranger. The knives are yours. See anything else you like?"

Tatsu points "I also like those swords with the hook shaped counterweight."

The vender looks somewhat discouraged "wasn't quite what I thought you where going to say... but yeah, If you like those, you can have them too. After the festival I will have no real need for them anyway."

"what were you thinking about?" Tatsu looks down at the vender.

Lances and Keyor find a place to sit in the circle of story tellers just in time for the next speaker to stand "In the age before your mothers 1000 times all that Is, is as was. The endless ice that you see today they to sow. But every year has it's event that belongs to it and to no other." The elderly wolf begins a story

"in that year 1000 and 1 winters ago the sky cracked and from that crack fell a mighty snake with 2 bodies, one body that is that of a women and one body that is that of a man. The mighty snake looked onto the snow and the first thing that the snake saw was wolves running across the snow, and the snake with one voice delared that the wolf is the most beloved beast to walk on all fours. And so the snake took the shape of a wolf, by day the snake took the shape of a man then at night the shape of a women, and the snake ran with the wolves, eat like the wolves and invited many wolves into its body."

"when the blood of the snake and the blood of the dog became one blood the snake gave birth to three wolves, 'the grate old ones' Skoll, the mother who eats the moon, Haiti brother who eats the sun, and Fenrir who eats all. After the birth of the sacred family the grate snake left our world returning to the hole in the sky. For many hunts the sacred three lead the wolves till one day the three came to fight and so Savarguard was broken, the wolves broke onto pack and the land was divided by the shifting ice."

"With the braking of the land came new wolves Haiti called his children Asgaurd and they traveled south, they grow large claws and learned to climb rocks, and Skoll traveled north and called her children Savergaurd and Fenrir traveled down and he called his children Midthum."

"but be aware all that hear my voice, the battles are long but one day this will end and the three grate old ones will come back together and when they do it will be a day to behold! This is the day! This is the time! Keep your noises turned to the wind! keep your ears sharp! Keep your eyes on the skyline! For here at the festival of Moonlessday we will see the new tomarow born! We will see the new sun rise!" The crowed goes wild, yelping, barking, howling, jumping at and over each other like puppies even the old and sick. Everyone has heard this speech once before but still everyone loves it.

Lances raise one hand wanting to speak to the elderwolf, the elder wolf addresses Lances "you are a strange looking Huma."

Lances looks over to one of the other beast called 'Huma' then looks to Keyor the two of them engadging in a hushed rushed diloige

"does he think I look like that?" Lances starts

"from his point of view you do."

"that is a chimpanzee dressed in a cheep skirt!"

"I bet if you asked she would take the skirt off."

"that's not the point! What is this 'Planet of the Apes'?"

"Im not from your planet, I don't get that reference." Keyor yells whispering.

The elderwolf calls over again "Did you want to speak Huma?... can you speak?"

Lances pulls away from Keyor joining in on the talk "yes please, I am a traviler and I do not know your stories so well. So I would like you to help me understand them more clearly."

"if it is wisdom you thrust for then drink deeply." The elderwolf ordains.

Lances take off his glasses and bits one of the arms of them as he speaks "you said that grate snake had 2 bodies. Why would that not make the grate snake 2 snakes?"

The elderwolf replies "has ever a puppy been born with two minds in one body?" Lances shrugs unknowing "and should this come to be then could not also two puppies share a one mind as they share one body?"

Lances whispers "twins?"

"two bodies, one soul." The elderwolf explains

Loki walks the crowds, he knows exsactly where Gideon is, he can't be missed in this company. But there is no need to be in a rush at the moment, everything is now right where he needs it to be, all that is left to do is wait. But still, he should go say 'hello'. Maybe, maybe he can get things running just slightly soother if he were to, call some attention to himself and his company.

Loki can't help but think about how much simpler everything would have gone if he could have arrived 2 days earlier and not needed to concern himself with Gideon's presences. Bit wouldn't you know it moments before he had planned to interduce himself Hetatsubatchi, Belmond got involved, now he needs to accommodate the other Worldwalkers as he executes the next phase of his plans. Not a crippling set back, after all Hetatsubatchi ended up at the festival regardless, that is a touch of serendipity if he has ever seen it. But this is costing him time, time that he would rather be spending elsewhere.

Al Loki is lost in his plotting it turns out he doesn't need to approach Gideon as Gideon approaches him. Having sniffed out Redcap well telling a tale about a 'good hunt' Gideon drops what he is doing to track down the wolf sorcerer "Redcap!" Gideon demands as his hand finds the Eclipse axe on his hip "is it at last time to finish the duel we started so many moons ago?!"

"not today, today is a day of festivities, not feuds." Loki explains "unless you want to take this to the challenger's ring?"

Ammi runs over seeing the two "mother is right." Ammi addresses Gideon pointing out Redcap "today swords are for play, not for fighting."

Gideon takes his hand off the Eclipse "it disturbs me to think that Redcap is your mother." Gideon rubs one hand through his hair "that tells me all sorts of aful things about the debauchery that you wolves partake in when I am not around."

Loki smiles "if you are not enjoying your depravity you're not doing it right." Loki's tail wags drawing no small amount of attention. Today's festival graced by three hero's, such a event has not taken place since before many in attendances where born. The hero of the hunt, the hero of the chase and the hero of the games all standing side by side.

Loki points out, "But since you are in such a hurry maybe we can play some team sports, I have 5 or so friends with me, if you can find one or two also we can set up something fun."

The skill and speed atwitch the union of wolf and Huma moves is staggering, a new circle of games is set in a matter of minutes, A brick braking game, an ax throwing game, a boxing ring, a soup drinking competition and a mess of egger onlookers are abound even before Loki has sniffed out his champions.

Charlie, David, Milli and Hetatsubatchi are gathered and brought to the new event a crowed of girls still hanging of Tatsu in admiration, Tatsu drunk with desire. Loki playing along kisses and licks at a dozen of the girls to get their attention. "If you can afford us a short time girls I need this wolf too." Protesting the wolves walk off to join the onlookers.

Charlie and Milli both press Loki for information, Loki explains "a few simple games nothing more. Win these events, win respect. It was Gideon's idea."

Ammi stands at the center of the arena as the sitting judge, Ammi calls out the first round "Brick braking! Milli Malagaurd will be facing off against the Huma Guyus." The huma Guyus steps out, he is almost as tall as Gideon towering over most at a startling 6'7, his armor is tanned leather with teeth lining the shoulders and arms, he has long whipping tail and short fangs, his head tips back in a bellow.

Ammi waves a par of wolves over to lay a brick three feet wide two feet long and a foot thick in front of Guyus, Guyus picks up a hammer and holds it over head, he drops his weight on to the brick and shatters it to peace's. Guyus throws his hands up and cheers, many around start shouting his name.

Milli's ears lower as she nods her head. "that is a neat trick."

Milli is waved forward "Milli, you must tie to keep playing. 1 swing, 1 brick." Ammi explains.

Milli looks at Charlie, she leans over him sticking her noise in his ear "I don't know how to do this."

Charlie thinks, he has seen this done before. He struggles for a second to remember who he so do this in the past. Thin is hits him Mohamed Quin, 1999 Diamond National martial arts show. Quin had told him how the trick works way back then, Charlie's eyes light up as he yells to Ammi "Milli will brake 10 in one swing!"

Milli gasp in confusion "Ten! I don't know if I can do one!"

Charlie looks to Milli one hand finds her shoulder comfortingly "you could do 100 if I help you." Charlie offers to help the wolves move the bricks into place, he produces from his backpack a fist full on nails and sets two nails on each corner of the stack separating the blocks by only an eighth of an inch. this is on test of strangh this is a showboat, a dramatic science experiments at its worst.

With the tower of bricks erected Charlie pulls a rope of marking chock from his belt pouch, he messures the stack from three angles then snaps the string drawing lines on the top block.

Ammi calls out "this is somewhat piacular."

Charlie looks at the judge "Can Milli use that axe over there?" he points at a discarded woodsmen's axe left behind by one of the huma that had been cutting blocks for the wood tossing game.

Gideon throws his hands up historically "Axes are for wood, not stone!"

Charlie knows they have this game in the bag, "then call it a handicap." Charlie waves Milli over "stand up to your full hight, drop the head of the axe here as you drop to a crouched stance." He points out where the lines on the block converge. The judges talk it over for a moment then nod letting Milli take her turn.

Milli understands what Charlie has just done, he has turned a game of force into a trick of math. So long as she can land a hit the hard part is already done. Her size and shape giving her a window of oppertonity, not that she will need it.

Milli lifts the axe, she streaches out her body showing her hulking form as the glints in the light of the early evening hours. The axe strikes the stone sparking as it cuts cleanly through the rocks then deep into the ground underfoot. There is silence of disbelief as Ammi walks over to look at the stones making sure Milli has done what it seems she has done.

Ammi calls out "Guyus must brake ten plus one blocks in one swing to continue!"

Guyus stands petrafide as he thinks about the task at hand. Ten plus one can't be done, no one he know has ever attempted more than three blocks at once. Never the less, the blocks are set, this time without Charlies help.

Guyus takes his turn, he tries, but he fails. No man could hope to punch through so many rocks without science on their side. brute force and training might get one far in life, but it is the clever that tend to live the longest. "point goes to Redcap!" Ammi announces. "three more points to win the day."

Charlie looks to Loki "how many events are there?"

"five" Redcap explains

Milli counts on one hand "4/1 w/l that's an 80% win rate, not a lot of wiggle room."

Redcap smirks "there is a reason I am called the hero of the games around here."

Ammi calls out "axe throwing, the Huma Nadi will be facing Charlie Belmond, first to miss loses." The huma this time is a smaller monkey girl, just over 5 feet, she is dressed in a maternity gown and is clearly deep into pregnancy. She picks up an axe in each hand and one with her tail as she steps up to the starting line, 8 bullseyes are set up against tree stumps twenty feet away.

Charlie picks up one of the axes with a grunt, he tries flipping it between his hands checking its balance, he shakes his head "no, this thing is awful." He drops the axe and pulls out the knife he keeps tied to his leg. "can I throw this instead?"

Ammi offers an off-putting sneer "A full size axe too heavy for you?"

Charlie nods "I sorta' a girly man." He chuckles at himself.

This game is more about consistency then accuracy, there is no center to the bullseye only the shield itself that must be hit. Nadi shows off amazing skill as she throws her first axe splitting the shield. She looks to Charlie repeating his words "girly man"

Charlie has thrown a fair share of knives in his life, as a kid it was a fun game to play wall walking in the woods, as a teenager he practice this skill at the miday, won himself a few nice hats that way. But hunting with throwing knives? Thought never came to mind, and that is clearly what Nadi has done.

Charlie throws knife after knife, and Nadi matches him each time, between them they end up throwing fifty times each. The game running long enough that touches are set up around the shields to make them easier to see. But it turns out that one that throws knives for fun can't match the skill of someone that throws axes for their lives. Charlie overthrows, missing the mark. Nadi never misses a throw.

Ammi calls out "Point goes to Gideon. Next Hetatsubatchi-Una will take the rite of 100 paws!"

Loki calls out "No! Ten Paw. 100 isn't a game, it's a public execution."

Ammi looks to her mother with a knowing grin "Yes that is right! The Rite of Ten Paws!"

Gideon explains the rolls as Tatsu steps into the boxing ring. "I chose 10 wolves, they will run at you, grapple with you and try to push you out of the ring, all you need to do is push them out first."

Gideon pulls ten wolves from the audience to participate, he chooses as diversely as he can, male, female, small, large, young old. "I forgot one more thing" Gideon steps into the ring and takes a length of leather from his belt "you don't get to use your teeth." He ties Tatsu's mouth shut. Hetatsubatchi can't stand having his mouth held shut, he snorts breathing heavy, his eyes light up with anger, he tries to growl.

The wolves encircle Tatsu, at first charging one at a time. Tatsu is fast, Tatsu can stay out of their way. But dodgeing will never end this game, how is someone meant to do this? No matter how many there are, ten or one hundred without teeth are equally as threatening. Tatsu calls on his magic, his two swords and four daggers, he also spots two shields still sitting out from the last game, the swords, knives and shields form a set of wings floating off his back.

The other competitor take notice, only Redcap knows trickery like this, the wolves start charging-in in waves three at a time. Tatsu is angry, fueled by wraith he side hops and one of his shields punches out meeting the wolf in the lead stopping the assault, one sword and two knives lunch out to attack the next two. Wolves start backing away, Tatsu's power is strange, unpredictable. The enchanted weapons form a dervish slashing and smashing as the move.

Attacking Hetatsubatchi quickly becomes a secondary idea as the hunting blades par off and chase the wolves like in invisible eight-armed monster. Tatsu now understands what the dragon had been telling him. It is requiring almost no energy at all to manipulate the phantom weapons. With the wall of artiliry as a distraction Tatsu sneaks around the ring, he slaps and head butts one wolf, tail whips and back kicks another and by then the wolves are so confused that the start actively running away from the hellhound wizard.]

Tatsu lights the muzzle ablaze with his thoughts then announces "I win again."

Loki howls to lead a cheer. "good show!"

Gideon climbs into the ring "Im next!" he pulls his axe and shield.

Jazzman whistle "Tatsu, tag me in buddy." Tatsu backs away as David jumps into the ring.

Gideon squints as he looks over David Jazzmen's features "I feel no blood running in your veins. What world are you from?"

"you feel no blood because I have no heart. An Angel stooled it when I was a little boy."

Gideon speaks hushed with his apponint "you mean that literally?"

Jazzman drapes the demon sword over one shoulder as he drops back bladed "yep, punched right through my shoulder blades and walked away with the only part of me that was human."

"with no hart, can you still feel?" Gideon taps his shield and axe together as he lowers his body into attacking pasture.

"sure, anger, grief, regret, wraith. Don't need a hart to feel those things."

"but no room for honor and love? You have my sympathy." Gideon steps in to swing down the Eclipse and raise the Helios to cover his side, Gideon has been forged in the fire of war, few have more experience in the Viking combative arts. Gideon knows if Jazzmen is smart he will attempt to step in and attack after moving past the axe, but that will put him in striking range for the shield. That will be a fatal mistake.

Jazzman almost in a board tone of voice replies "Save it for someone more deserving them me." Jazzmen doesn't sidestep past the axe swing, he moves into it. Jazzman pushes up with the Demon Sword locking their two blades together.

Gideon the Skoll is a giant, his strength is titanic, only a grate foul would clash weapons with him, but still the man called Devil stands his ground. Gideon goes to punish Jazzman crossing the Helios shield across his body and brining it out for a wicked back fist. Jazzmen twist his body and reeves the handle on the demon sword spraying its explosive gas.

The Demon sword meats the Helios shield and the two warriors are lunched away from each other. Jazzman and Gideon both land on one knee then lurch up ready to reengage, David gripping his sword in both hands in Emperor fighting stance, Gideon drags his axe along the ground and holds his shield forward in Low Nord stance.

But both men lose their grips on their weapons before they can clash again. Jazzman falls to his knees and places his hands on the back of his head wracked with pain. Gideon falls on to one knee stuggling to try to stay upright "Recap! What is..." Gideon looks around, what is happing to him is far from isolated, in mass wolves and huma alike are fainting no less than 3/7th having killed over before he even looked around.

Redcap looks side to side then back to his cousin "it looks like time has run out."

Gideon demands "what have you done!"

"If every you thought you had an advantage over me, solely it is because you could not see all the cards that were in play." Loki turns his eyes to the rising moon "I cannot hope for you to understand what I have done. Ask me in four or so years and I will try to explain everything."

Gideon's eyes flicker with blood filling his vision "you have poisoned me?"

"Yes, but not just you. Every male over three. The poison I gave you is refined from Midian spikes, cute little monster if you can get under their quills. As for the girls between two and well too old, I need a sedative that had a base of angel blood, mixed with troglodyte oil. Everyone else I used a much simpler deathcap toxin on. But don't think that any of this was easy. For the young men I used Midian spikes because I needed to lower your..." Gidoen and all the men outside of Redcap and Hetatsubatchi collapse.

Redcap looks around "maybe I should have started me evil speech sooner?" he huffs disappointed "I didn't even get to what the three poisons I used did."

Hetatsubatchi looks around. All the huma are out, only wolf girls seem to still be standing, but they are acting in a strangely savage way, no longer talking but yelping and whining in a way that only rut cases. Tatsu walks around starting to peace this story together "that was what I was smelling earlier. You laced all the food here with a drug that paralyzes people..."

Loki interrupts "only the men are paralyzed, will be for about two days. All but you anyway. The wimon I placed into an elevated heat state."

"why not me?" Tatsu ask

"oh, I did. But for you I used a different blend. You aren't going to be able to form memories for the next few days... maybe a weak. I didn't want to do this this way but I simply couldn't afford another setback."

Everything fades to white...

... the party awakes to the smell of cooking fish and fresh squeezed lemon. Jazzman, Milli, Charlie and Lances step out of their tents to find they are walking over the ice ocean. Loki dressed in a gown that looks like tropical feathers is pocking at a fire Cinder sitting with him. Loki calls out to the group "I was just thinking. I really don't need the mirror all that badly. Why don't I just give you the location of the Three-headed Goddess now?"

"Really?" Charlie whisper to himself.

Loki walks away a short ways "Last I heard the Three-headed Goddess was making camp on the planet Zion in the Cathall realm. I think some of you may know the place." Loki cast a portal spell so summon a mystical door.

Jazzman nods "right realm wrong planet." He explains.

Loki looks down at Tatsu "It's a nice place really, populated by a race called the Xenia Angels. They are largly bird like with arms, lags, and wings, long tails, sandy colored sort of. Strange as it is, I think Zion was the first world I had been to where there wasn't really clearly defined males and females. They are devided instead into egg makers and egg carriers, both have internal reproductive parts and 'till recently not even they could tell which one they were. On their planet planeshifting technology does exist but any time one leave their homeworld they seem to become egg carriers..."

Tatsu looks up at Redcap "what makes you think I want to know any of this?"

Charlie looks to Loki as he is packing up the gear "are you fallowing us Loki?"

"Heaven, no. I have work elsewhere that requires my attention."

Chapter 15

The Dream Machine

Celverant locks the doors to the grand library, then floats to his chair. Jloose sits to his left, Sigh to his right. Jloose observes "for a meeting of Worldwalkers there seems to be very few of us in attendances."

Celverant turns his body to face Jloose "your observational skills serve you well." He turns to face between his comrades "this is not a meeting between Worldwalkers. This is a cabinet of men I trust. One of you because you would not harm anyone, the other because you cannot."

Sigh rest one arm on the table as he looks up at Celverant "and to what end would you wish to speak to two shuch people?"

Celverant speaks slow and low "something has happened that I cannot explain. Nine hours ago I received a call from an asset in Cenill realm. I had attempted to move to intercept but I was unable to open a stable vortex. I had rain a diagnostic on the station only to find that the destination I had keyed into the navigation computer was code 404."

Sigh and Jloose look between each other not understanding the phrase used, Sigh ask for clarification "what is code 404?"

"Unknow or undefined destination. This error has not been log since before Jloose was born. Back when this vessel required landing markers 404 was a call sign that I used to mark locations that I had to travel to on foot. But now this station is flying and I can land anywhere in dead-space. Code 404 no longer has meaning."

Jloose thins aloud "old data?"

"No, I concalted the star maps, the code had been called up because the location I was attempting to land at could not be found on my chart. I can foresee two events that would result in this; 1.) computer malfunction, 2.) not computer malfunction."

Sigh nods "so then it is a bug."

"not likely this ship is plugged into my own neuron-net. A hiccup in the ship's computer would be the same me going off line."

Jloose looks about shifty "then not malfunction?"

"I will leave that to you to find out. I want you two to go to the chronical computer and attempt to make contact with every logged planet. If you start encountering invisible planets we will have our answer."

Jloose and Sigh star each other down as they think about the monumental task at hand. The event Celverant is referring to of 'invisible planets 'would be indistinguishable from a universe collapsing. Is such a thing possible? There are monsters drifting the cosmos that can darken suns and eat worlds but nothing Jloose or Sigh have ever seen could destroy a universe. This must be a hypothetical.

***

Redcap's portal is a smooth one to ride, the portal sings as it carries the party away, within it all light seems to become sound and life a melody. The drop off on the other hand is slightly off center, the group manifest about four feet off the ground and land on a sand dun forced into a running/ rolling decent after hitting the ground.

Zion is a desert of gold sand. Cinder lands on her back, she reaches out to find her hat and places it over her face momentarily "I hate that man."

Charlie rolls onto his back looking up at the bronze sky "I don't know, he took us camping, cooked us dinner, brought us all bear even if I don't drink. I have been in less pleasant compony."

Lances lands on his face with a grunt, he spits up sand "no comment."

Keyor fans her fins "we need to get in doors or underground fast."

Lances looks to Keyor "the heat, right? Wont the mist protect us from it?"

"It's not the heat I'm concerned about, can you taste the salt in the air?" Keyor points out

Cinder nods "she is right. This will start to tax our mana fast, if we get tapped out bad things will start to happen."

Tatsu lands on all four and starts to run up the next hill yelling "this way!"

David, who had landed in a sitting position stands then starts helping the others up "you heard the man. Let's take a walk."

Milli tries to stand but yelps falling on her side "help!"

Charlie, David, and Lances run over to Milli. Lances orders "what is it!"

Milli speaks up "I can't move."

Lances kneels "do you feel pain or numbness?"

"when I tried getting up I felt a pinch above my tail, then my lags seized up."

Lances looks to David and Charlie "roll her onto her stomach!" Charlie and David comply flipping Milli over. Lances takes off his gloves and throws them off to one side as he looks over Milli's body, his hands roll up, down, and around her tail examining it, he looks for punchers in her armor and for evidences of lacerations and abrasions in the skin and muscle of her back.

Lances speaks to Milli as he feels her up "I bet you where hunched over as you stepped into the gate, weren't you?"

"I allways walk around hunched over." Milli protest

Lances lets out a slow his as he foulds his hands over one of Milli's vertebra in her tail. Milli Barks. "you twisted a nerve, nothing too bad."

Milli looks over her shoulder "That's not bad? I was under the impression nerve damage is kinda' bad!"

Lances smiles "can be. I knew a guy that twisted a nerve in his knee, he was bed ridden for years. But you, you are lucky..." Lances hands burn a blue black, then Milli starts to vibrate soft white for only a brief few moments "... I'm not a half bad doctor."

The twisted exspretion on Milli's face gives way to one of relief, the pain burned for her body. She looks over "I bet I could get you one hell of a sweet job back home."

The men pull Milli up to her feet. Lances slaps her on the tail "another time."

David looks to Lances "that is a useful skill. How does it work?"

Lances shrugs "No idea."

David tips his head back thinking "so you did that on instinct ha?"

Hetatsubatchi yells "I can smell coal burning 7 maybe 8 miles that way." He knudges his head back and to the right."

Charlie holds one of Milli's arms and her hip for balances, he turns his eyes to hers' "are you good?" Milli nods, as does Charlie "let's go then."

Tatsu leads the party though the sands, Keyor struggling far more this time then last to the point in which David Jazzman has to pick her up and carry her for some ways. The sand part to reveal a postindustrial city, rows and rows of towers stacking atop each-other fading into the distance, white towers growing from gold sand adorned by brightly colored flags: green flags with a symble shaped like a figure 8 marking the first tear of towers, blue flags with 3 fish with their tails intertwined marking the second stage of the town, the third tear marked with yellow flags adorned with eyes.

The streets are buster with life. Simi human birds with brown feathers walk in crowed adorned with their family colors, clocked and hooded most walk with their eyes turned to the ground, the world walkers pass down the street with not a bird offering them an upwards glance. A loud hum can be heard in the distances accompanied periodically by what seems to be a colossus head floating by carved to resemble Byzantine king. voices whisper from the floating heads, seemingly in dialects that only the group the message is meant for can hear.

A lone Zion glances up long enough to notice what seems to be the ill Keyor, in a high pitched but sexless voice calls to Charlie's group "Pilgrims, Are you in need of aid?"

Lances nods "our friend is not well. She needs water and garbs to travel the sands with."

The bird beckons them over "then walk this way, my eggling and I have food and room aplenty." The bird hurries them on leading the team to a modest tower as it explains "my partner Loral has gone to the war, myself and Rasa have little but much we can give. Travelers are honored and respected. That is what the one who carried me tells."

Jacob speaks up "And what should we call you madam?"

The word madam seems to confuse the bird, but given a moment seems to peace the phrase together "the one that carried and the one that seeded gave me the title of Cross." The bird opens the door to one of the towers letting the group in, Cross calls up the steps as they walk Rasa; draw water, then bring bread. We have pilgrims in our mist that, bring cloth to dress them and jowls to fill their pockets."

Charlie looks shocked as Cross is talking "you are to kind."

At the top of the steps waits for them the bird called Rasa, standing side by side if not for the jewelry they wear the two of them would be indistinguishable. Rasa takes Keyor away and dips her into a bathing vessel in the main room. Rasa then looks to the others "give me your clothing so that I may wash them and take the robs I have set there for you." The bird points to a table filled with fruits and a basket of garments.

The lot of them are feed and clothed in local dress, Keyor's strength returning quickly once out of the sun. The birds of Zion are kind people, but quickly it becomes clear that they are superstitious. Rosa gathers the clothing of the party to clean and repair it. Rosa takes notice of the chain around Jazzman's neck and reaches up to take it declaring "this you should not have."

Jazzman grabs the bird by the hand as it reches for the stone "Don't." Jazzman is to the point.

Rosa explains "this stone is one we cut, stones like this mark where heros die."

Jazzman leads Rosa's hand down to its side. "that is why I have it."

The bird offers a look of preponderances "the words you speak have no meaning the why you have spoken them." Rosa stars at Jazzmen, the birds head tips as it meets Jazzman's gaze, something in his eyes pulls Rosa in, something familiar.

Jazzman ignores the bird as he walks over to a window in the room and leans out it watching the streets. "So, has anyone here heard of someone calling themselves 'the Three-headed-goddess?" Jazzman speaks to no one it would seem.

Cross nods "the goddess lived alongside the Overseers, once when I was a eggling I saw it."

Hetatsubatchi looks over to cross from where he lies on the ground "why 'It' and not 'her' her very name has feminine inflection?"

"that word?" Cross look down "we do not understand it?"

Jacob speaks to Tatsu "Cross has a point it seems, no one around us has yet used a gendered pronoun. Unless... can 'it' be used as a gendered pronoun?"

Charlie nods "I think it is, I think 'It' is a non-binary pronoun like 'they'."

Lances looks confused at Charlie "is 'It' still gendered if it is non-binary?"

Milli jumps in "could be non-binary isn't gender escalading, 'It' would just be subject to 'the law of inclusions'."

Cross squawks "what is 'Gender' and 'Binary.' ?"

Lances and Charlie, both being men with years of secondary schooling under their belts bicker back and forth discussing the meanings of various terminology to make sure they understand each other's stances. Milli replies to Cross inquiry "Gender is the word you choose use to describe your sexual identity or carnal role in society. Binary is a word used to imply a scenario where in there are only two possibilities, such as guilty or not guilty of 'x'."

"are there only two ways of being carnal?" Rosa ask "I can imagine more than two carnal acts."

Milli clarifies "well in this case the term is being used to describe..."

Jazzman shouts "Ah!" he waves the group over to the window "does that look like a linch mob to you? It sure as hell looks like one to me." Jazzman points to a crowed marching down the street dressed in monochrome garbs brandishing swords and staves.

Charlie pushes Jazzman off to one side to take a look. "holy shit." Charlie whispers, he runs off and grabs hiss whip. "what is this?"

Jazzman nods and falls out the window "see you outside."

Jacob looks to Cross and Rosa awaiting in explanation of the odd behavior, he gets only a shrug in return. Rosa waves at the door declaring "I wish to know as well."

***

All of Zion's strongholds have one thing in common, they all thrive off repetition. A disruption to this towns house of prayers has resulted in a slow boiling rage. One of their members has been noticeably absentee. Serval years ago a expecting mother suffered a complicated pregnancy, the town has been watching her closely ever since. Now her child is do for baptism, but neither mother or child appear at the temple to receive their blessing, also the child has not been registered at the school appropriate to their district.

Suspicions copulate, fear germinates, and with fear comes anger. The township demands the overseers seek out the deviant, but thou the behaviors of mother and child are unexpected nothing has been done worthy of the intervention of the overseers. The house of prayers has only one option left to them, communal justice.

The members of the house of prayer dawn a neutral color and in mass march to meat the deviant mother. They will know why she is acting out of turn and they will punish her accordingly. Strange whispers find the crowed, talk of devilry, witch craft, and even the unthinkable... the eggling could be Nephilim. Yes, that would explain everything. They will baptize mother and child alike with oil and flame.

An elderly sick looking bird takes the lead, much of the color gone from its feathers. The old bird knocks on the tower door, the bird that heeds the call is young and vibrant looking, can't be much older than Rosa. "Elder Marita?" the young bird ask

The one called Marita replies "Deacon Swallow. May we come in?"

Swallow looks at the crowed, there are no less then eighty members of the congregation gathered around tensely gripping weapons "I have not the hospitality to give so many, I have no chairs for you to sit on or breed for you to eat." Swallow goes to close the door "I bid you all a good day."

Fiercely Marita grabs the door with one talon and slides a foot under the door wedging it open "the we will forgo breed and we will sit on the floor." The old bird tries to sound kind but it's voice is filled with zeal.

"another time we will sip drink together but I simple cannot afford you the time today." Swallow struggles with the door. Marita won't have it the old bird shoves Swallow back.

"then we will be brief. Show us your eggling!"

Swallow looks shocked at the tone in which Marita is talking "how rude! Do you wish for me to call the overseers?"

Marita puffs out it's feathers "the overseers will do little to protect you or your eggling. Your eggling has not been blessed, has not been to school and has not had its name registered with the herbalist. Tell me, what is the name of the one that seeded your eggling?"

Now it is Swallows turn to puff up "it is not of interest to you who I have seeded with!"

"have you forgotten Swallow, I work at the genealogy center it is most interesting to me who seeds with who." Marita yells back to the crowed "Deccan Swallow refuses to give the name of the one that seeded, that can only mean the eggling is Nephilim!"

David Jazzman and Charlie Belmond stand in the crowed overhearing the conversation at hand. Jazzman's face twist into a rage filled smile, he whispers with Charlie. "see if you can find a way in and protect the child, I will handle this." Charlie isn't going to try to talk David out of this, Charlie just nods along and runs off to one side looking for a side door.

The crowed is in a fit, enraged squawks fill the air. Jazzman shouts over them "why is it no mater what planet I'm on I see intolerances everywhere I look?" Jazzmen jumps over the crowed and lands with his demon sword rested on one shoulder "brave birds? Why don't the lot of you try intimidating a full-grown Nephilim?" Marital falls off to one side looking up at the impressive form of the man called Devil, Swallow gets grabbed by Charlie who sneaks around David using him as a distraction.

The birds of Zion are frozen in fear for only a moment before wraith sets in. with deathly precision two birds lung in stabbing their short blades into Devil. Jazzman looks at the blades crossed through his chest more irritated the hurt. The attackers turn their eyes up at the demon man astonished that their first strike did not slay the beast. Jazzman pulls Alabaster from his holster under his left arm, he funnels psychic energy into revolver and tacks a shot at each bird that stabbed him. The first bird falls over crippled by the shot, the second flaps it's wings jumping away.

Jazzmen hops into the crowd without fear or hesitation he swings the demon sword, fires his revolver and throws a kick all at different birds scattering them in confusion, two swords still sticking out of his chest. His is a berserker's rage, Jazzman lives for battle. Demons and Angels are one and one, the same animal by separate names. A high angel could no doubt match Jazzman in sword to sword combat, but these birds are not high angels, they are pious angels at best, fat, lazy, domesticated. These birds have never seen what real battle looks like, never needed to kill to eat. But even all that considered seventy-five to one is not grate odds.

Hetatsubatchi and Cinder catch up shortly, Hetatsubatchi looks up to the elemental "these two are about to get themselves killed, aren't they?"

"sure, looks that way." Cinder sounds passive about the point. "do you think we should help them?"

Tatsu lowers his head and his wall of blades spring form his magic color, recklessly he charges in. Cinder shrugs, "that is not what I was hoping for." Cinders arms snap down and frozen mist and liquid flame starts to spill from her hands.

***

One hand grips Swallow by the beak the other by the hip, Charlie pulls her into her own tower and he kicks the door shut with one foot. Charlie utilizes his slightly above average strength to lift, and turn the bird holding, her?, back to his chest. Charlie is about to put her down and speak when she snaps her wings up and throws both elbows back jabbing him in the kidney and liver forcing Charlie to drop her.

Swallow picks up a staff mounted on the wall and rushes in to assault Charlie. Charlie has barly enough time to gain his footing, he turns his body bladded and brings both arms up to his chest to stop Swallows first swing, he hooks one arm over and around the staff to pin it to his chest. Charlie orders "Stop! I'm here to help you. Where is the Eggling?"

Swallow doesn't have time to think it over, a crash upstairs informs the two of them that someone has come in throw one of the upper floor windows. Charlie and Swallow instantly agree to drop what they are doing to rush upstairs.

On the third floor, Marital and two others wait. Charlie unwraps Souleater from around his waist and whispers "please don't make me do this."

Marital points to Charlie and Swallow "kill them both and bring me the Nephilim."

Charlie looks over to Swallow "If Nephilim means Angel born and you are in Angel does that mean that you slept with a demon?"

Swallow grips her staff ready for battle "latter!" she orders, the two bird solders charge at Marital's command.

Charlie spines souleater over head then snaps it down left then recoils to snap down and right easily out zoning the bird solder attacking him. Swallow on the other hand is forced into mid quarter combat, both clearly trained in staff fighting by the same teacher. The bird knight swings down, then crosses left, cross right then up and resets to down , Swallow matches with a rising guard, twisting guard, push block and low block. Swallow is forced to fallow the routine stepping forward into advantage with a thrust leading into a hooking disarm, the bird knight interrupts the disarming strike by grabbing Swallows staff. Both birds are forced to reset to neutral kicking off each other's weapons.

Charlie takes a horizontal slash with his whip then recoils to tie the chain of his whip around the sword of the solder he is engaged with, Charlie steals the sword with a flick of his wrist. The bird rushes in when it finds it's sword peeled form its grip. Charlie outstreaches one arm to judge distances and cross steps around the charge bringing a sap strike down on the birds back. The solder crumbles under the weight of Charlie's strike.

Marital intervenes in the battle between the bird knight and Swallow, Marital pulls a small blade from within its robe. Marital forcible hugs Swallow from behind and slips the blade into Swallows underbelly, Swallow buckles over.

Charlie howls, he pushes his way past the bird knight and shoves Marital back, he pulls his arms into his chest exposing the tattoos on his arms, Chalrie draws his arms together and light spills from his body, when his arms touch explosive force erupts around Charlie throwing everything away from him, his shadow protecting Swallow. Marital and the other two birds on the other hand are lunched into the walls with bone braking power.

Charlie is struck by an unseen force, he knows this feeling well, one of the birds had died and he has absorbed them. This doesn't happen all the time when some one dies near him, more often then note he needs to elect to do so, but sometimes it does just happen. The feeling of absorbing a soul is not like steeling memories, It isn't orderly and a slow burn. It is instead a fast and powerful jolt.

When one takes the soul of a humanoid into themselves the soul brings a number of things with it, the cleansist and most powerful emotions first off, sorted thoughts next, disjointed ideas after that. Scattershot concepts; half remembered dreams, the smell of a beloved food, the melody of a song, the instant in ones life when they felt the most unforgiving dread, the most toxic lust. When not expecting this surge of life it can be crippling.

Some times when a soul is first interduce to a new body the soul is disoriented, it thinks it is still inside its own skin, it tries to infulunce your thoughts and manipulate your flesh. But it will quickly be forced into a submissive state.

That is the case this time. The soul that Charlie absorbed was Swallow's and she fights him as she enters his skin, but a soul with nether flesh or a mind to feed on becomes quickly exhausted. Swallow starts feeding Charlie the details of her life. Slowly things become clear.

Swallow had been born in the inner-city, to a unexpectedly young mother. Being from the inner-city of Zion dictates a good deal about one's life and upbringing. Swallow's family was perfectly conservative, their lives dictated by traditions, ruled over by the house of prayers. As most do on reaching the age of maturity Swallow was taught about sex the way most Zion are.

She was thrown into a camp filled with other birds her age unsupervised and the adults stood by and watched, waiting to see who laid eggs after a year in the camp. Swallow failed to lay any eggs that year so was assumed to be a seeder not a carrier. Do to the conservative nature Zion no one really understand anything about biology or physics, chemistry, reproduction.

What Swallow and her family may have noticed if not for their rigged traditions is that fertility is linked to BIM and Swallow's fat to muscle was stilted in such a way that slowed the formation of insulation around her womb preventing her for reaching puberty till years later.

Swallow eventually did find herself with egg, but she had no idea who from as she was relatively recluse and had touch a good few birds in such a way that could have seeded her. When she lead her egg she found herself filled with fear, the egg was misshaped ever-so slightly. Never the less surely that must mean that the eggling inside would be as well.

Swallow named her egg October, October hatched two weeks late, and a pound undersized. Swallow new this would be a problem so she hid her eggling, schooled it at home, and never brought it out to be baptized. The elders would notice the eggling is small and egglings that are hatched imperfect are slain. Even now Swallows soul fixates on October, how to protect the eggling.

Charlie will protect October, it is the only thing he can do to quite Swallow's soul. "October!" Charlie calls out. "where are you?" A squeal echoes around the room. Charlie takes note of air filtration line running along the walls in the room, 'the echo came from the third floor' he thinks

Belmond son of Belmond has fully excepted his destiny of baring the rule of a knight, even if he is a warlock. With all haste he searches for a way to the third floor. Quickly he finds a hatch that leads to a hidden stairwell, and from there a room filled with plush toys and hand carved dolls "October!" Charlie calls again.

The eyes of the warlock scan the room, but before he can spot the youngling bird his gaze is trapped by the window in the room and the twenty-foot floating head looking in at him, its eye large as the window. The monster outside the tower whispers a shout, its voice sounding like 100 people singing in tune. "your behavior is disorderly. You must be recycled."

Charlie is frozen by the beast gaze, Charlie spots the child hiding in the pile of toys. Charlie whispers with a calm yet childish voice "October. Go to the stairs. There are no widows there and walls on all sides, you will be safe there momentarily."

The stone head floats upwards slightly lining its mouth up with the window, its mouth opens and three giant snakes grow out of its tongue. October squeaks and runs past Charlie jumping down the steps. The snakes all hiss "Nephilim!"

Charlie shouts "Hay!" he pulls the knife from the scabbard on his leg and throws it at the snakes. One snake s struck, the other two leap at Charlie. Charlie lashes Souleater at each of them once but this does little to slow down the monster. One bites at Charlie, Charlie dives forward rolling away, falling down the steps.

With a fair union of skill and luck Charlie continues his roll all the way down to the next landing then finds his feet in one swift motion it seems. But the walls are not as safe as they seem at first, the stone godhead punches its snake tongues against the walls of the tower cracking it first then pushing its way in.

In one of his earlier forms Charlie would have in arsenal of spells to cast right now, but at the moment he only has three souls and maybe one and a half spell for each to cast. October screams as a snake brakes apart the wall overhead, October crouches folding arms and wings overhead to brush off debrie.

Instinct takes hold of Charlie as the snake head turns its eyes on October. Charlie summons the energy he had taken from Swallow. A blinging light erupts from Charlies body shoving the snake away. A second drags itself down the stars fallowing Charlie and October.

The snake hisses at Charlie "what matter of monster are you? You smell human but you fight like a Demi."

Charlie rushes over to October, he wraps an arm around the bird's waist lifting it up as he turns a corner looking for a place to hide. October is a teenager according to Swallow's memories but October's body is small and light as if three years younger than actual, October should be coming of age to be sent to 'the camp' to learn of what It is. But there is no way October is physicly developed enough for that, and if this Snake outside the room has anything to say about it October never will be.

The Snake slides into the room, it looks to the right first tuning away from Charlie and October, Charlie places October on the ground and softly shoves the bird behind him hiding it. Charlie grips Souleater tightly in on hand as the snake turns the other way. Thunder sounds, hail hammers the tower, the snake pulls away slidding back up the steps the way it came.

Charlie lets out a hard breath and falls to his knees to catch hold of himself. October wraps arms and wings around him squeezing the Worlock for safty overwhelmed by the attack on its home. October whispers with Charlie "where is the one who carried me?"

Charlei reaches around the bird, overcome by feelings hard to vocalize Charlie starts to weep. It only takes a moment for October to understand what Charlie means to say. In the shock of grief, struck by the overwhelming weight of an adrenalin dump. October kisses Charlie, in awkward, shaking kiss, confused feeling, fear, anger, passion. shuttering October seems momentarily aroused as the bird holds Charlie by the cheeks. This kiss is the type of kiss everyone regrets the moment it is over.

Charlie wants to enjoy the feeling of October's beak on his lips but he can't, Swallow's spirit and his good nature tell him not to. Charlie holds October at bay after allowing for only a few moments of touching one another, more instinct then will one hand having found October's neck and the other parting Octobers tail feathers brushing the birds cloaoca. Charlie struggles to explain why things are as they are, ultimately, he abandons that thought and usher them back down to the main door instead.

Outside Cinder has called wind rain and ice to the parties aid. The sky is blacker then night in the mist of the afternoon hours, thunder and lighting fill the air, hail falls from the sky in powerful block. The mob of bird's scatter. The Overseer pulls his tenticals out of the tower to try to understand what has happened.

Ice chips away at the Overseers armor revealing what looks like human bodies hidden by his shell, twisted and streached into the shape of clockwork. The Overseer looks to Cinder, Tatsu and David "your behavior is disorderly, you must be recycled." His voice has disintegrated into a reverberating machan like crackling.

Jazzman flips around his sword, the blade unfolds taking on an axes like curve, the handle revs, explosive powder drips from the blade. The Overseer opens his mouth spitting his snake tongues at Cinder. Jazzman and Tatsu move in to protect the Elemental. Weakend by the ice the Overseer is stunned by Jazzman's sword-strikes. Tatsu fires a barrage of four knife-strikes and two stabs with his curved swords into the monster tongues.

The three hero's tougher push back the Overseer, Hetatsubatchi's wall of blades block attacks, Cinders magic shatters it's armor, David's explosive sword techniques start to quickly cut into its soft insides.

The Overseer is forced to the ground, the monster's body broken it haggles with the team "you have shown your courage. Is there need to carry on?"

Jazzman take the lead "don't know? What is mercy worth to you?"

The overseer bargains "What do you wish for?"

Jazzman smirks "this could be fun. Could you offer me political power?"

"We will name a city after you."

Jazzman laughs "what about money?"

"so much that you will never need to be alone."

Charlie steps out of the tower, October sitting on his shoulders, lags crossed over his chest. "could you tell this bird that this is nothing in this world worth fearing?"

The Overseer tries to force itself back into the air "The Overbeeings would not be pleased... Nephilim."

Jazzman grunts "that is what I fucking thought." Jazzman pulls his sword into his chest then lunges out morphing the blade into a spear as it plunges into the Overseer. Its body bubbles and sprays burning gas into the air, once at critical mass the monster explodes into a slimy yellow mass of cancerous flesh.

The lot of them stand over the slain Overseer. Charlie looks on in wonder "I get the feeling we are going to regret this moment. What was this thing."

Jazzman places his sword on his back "if you were wondering, that is what happens to people that the angels rapture."

Hetatsubatchi huffs "Not what I was expecting."

Jazzman goes on "at least in hell when you die you typically get to stay dead. Ironic I feel..."

Cinder looks over "what is?"

"Angels have been using ice to punish demons since the beginning of time, and still it seems this one couldn't stand ice itself." Jazzman tells.

Tatsu scratches his neck "Makes some since. The oldest demons are genetically indistinguishable from angels. I can taste the our genetic similes even now."

Charlie points out the swords still sticking out of David's body "would you like help with those?"

Jazzman nods "wouldn't mind."

Sirens start to howl on all sides, four more Overseers start to descend onto the party. One fixates it's eyes on Charlie, a ray of plasma like energy sprays from its eyes and should hit Charlie in the back if not for October's body being in the way. October collapses onto Charlie who catches the bird as it starts to slip off of him.

Hetatsubatchi and David call their arms back into hand. Cinder shouts "this is not the ideal place to fight these beasts. We must converge with Keyor and Jacob."

Tatsu nods "Right, time to go."

***

Rosa returns to Cross, Rosa tells Cross about the fighting on the street, the suspicion of October being a Nephilim, and the Worldwalkers killing an Overseer, and even how the Overseer spoke the Overbeing. Rosa has barely finished the tale by the time Hetatsubatchi comes bashing through the door.

Tatsu in the lead, Charlie carrying October next, Cinder and Jazzman cover the rear. The Overseers fall in behinds spitting snakes and photon rises in attack. Cinder ant find the time to focus her magic in counterattack, and so calls on a defensive spell instead. Cinder Dances calling down a net of arcing lighting to hold the Overseers at a distance.

Cross makes its way to the summit of the tower in which it lives. When cross steps onto the roof the Overseers stop their attack to address it. "Cross of the yellow family." The overseers all speak at once. "you have takin into your home deviants. You will relinquish them to us."

Cross holds its robe tight to its body "the deviants enjoy pilgrim's privilege. The Overbeings will not tolerate their persecution."

"Pilgrim's privilege protects the hungry, the naked, and the ignorant. Those that engaged in acts of civil unrest are null-and-void." The four overseers together sound like an army chanting.

"if that is the way you read the law then call the Overbeings and I will open my house to you." Cross demands "otherwise the travelers continue their travel."

"you speak unwise words. You will be punished." The Overseers push up against Cinder's wall threateningly.

Cross pulls a walking-stick from its back and slaps the stick to the ground summoning a spray of prism light "this tower is mine and I will not be intimidated so long as my claws are on the ground."

Within the tower the worldwalkers overhear the exchange. Charlie sets down October "Lances." He call out.

Lances Jacob steps up to October, he kneels down to examine the birds body "Electrical burn, looks like."

"Heal her." Charlie orders. Lances removes his gloves holding his hands over the birds body, Lances burns with power as he tries, but October's wounds just seem to not want to close. Charlie looks up to Lances "why isn't she healing?"

Lances clinches his jaw and doubles down on his healing spell but still there is little change. After a few more seconds of trying to heal the bird Lances shakes his head "I don't have the power."

"what do you mean?" Charlie ask

Keyor climbs out of the bath "the more times we cast a spell the faster and stronger it becomes. Lances just hasn't healed enough healing spells to treat wounds like that."

The tower starts to quake, the overseers are attempting to rip down the tower. Rosa looks about "I think it might be time for you to leave."

David nods "someone open a gate."

Milli grabs October "let me hold this for you."

***

The Overbeings are the most feared cheaters in Zion, and for good reason. Some say they are indestructible, some say they are the children of the old gods. The Overbeings don't deny any accusation. But all in Zion live to serve the needs of the Overbeings, when one thinks of Angels, the Overbeings are what comes to mind for most. Beast fueled by indignation, obsessed with order, purity and judgment. No one stands against the Overbeings.

On this side of town the name of the Overbeing is Christoph the Baptizer. Word on the street is that the Overbeigs chose new bodies every few years, Christoph is the inspiration of this. Five years ago he was a bird like everyone else, two years ago he was a lion, today he walks around in the skin of a human with silver skin and fire for hair, lighting for eyes.

Christoph like the others of his kind has been imbued with an assortment of unnatural gift, clairsentience, telepathy, and the rare power to burn souls with his touch. Christoph hears the call of the Overseers and moves in to investigate.

In short order he arrives at the tower where the Overseers are converged. Christoph pushes past the wall of lighting harmlessly and leaps up the tower to confront Cross. Christoph collects the thoughts from the Overseers then looks to the bird wizard "You and your Child stand accused of disorderly conduct, the sentences is nonexistence. How do you plead?" The question is a formality. The Overbeing has made his decision already.

Chapter 16

Attack on the Steel Rose

Belmond and company leap to the Steel Rose fallowing Charlie's portal this time as he was the only one of the Worldwalkers that know the way there and had the energy to open the gate safely. Milli shouts when they arrive "We are in need of medical assistances!" in no time at all it seems Cilverent's hospitality staff is leading the party into one of the structures and off to receive care for their wounded.

It takes Sigh several days to revive October, Charlie becomes extraordinarily distant in the meantime. This conflict with the overseers has set them back, now finding Fate, the Three-headed-Goddess will be nearly impossible, and countless people have been harmed by their actions.

***

Lances spends some time talking to Sigh

"I couldn't help her." Lances complains

"to the contrary, your magic may have stabilized her. Without your aid she might not have lived long enough for me to heal her."

***

David with Cinder

"this fight was never meant for Milli. Can you send her home?" David ask

"I have no way of knowing which realm is hers then alone world. But I may have seen something that looks like her once, let me see if I can remember where."

***

Charlie on the other hand spends time with himself.

Charlie baracades himself in a bedroom, he stands before a mirror leaning into it staring hard at himself. The mirror allows Charlie not only to look at himself but though himself. Hidden within the mirror's reflection and his own soul there are now four entities; Swallow, Xzoner, himself, and one more soul one he can't place at first glance. Charlie points at the shadow in the mirror "you. Who are you?"

The faceless shapeless being whispers to his mind "surly you haven't forgotten me."

"on September 10th, my soul was clean. I have only taken two lives into myself." Charlie expresses "the angel and the diminution eater." He counts them aloud.

The shadow taunts Charlie "oh please. You're not that innocent. You are a walking holocaust. The number of souls you and your fathers have taken are approaching levels that I would find commendable."

Charlie jumps to attention one hand finding his whip. "you!" he snaps the whip downwards uncoiling it "Come on monster, let's dance."

The shadow walks forth filling Charlie's vision "you are not ready, yet. I wouldn't want you to through this all away so quickly. Besides, I am more in a mood to talk at the moment."

Charlie ponders "have you been hiding in my shadow this whole time?"

"Longer then you think. Tell me Belmond son of Belmond, what does it feel like to walk in my footsteps? You have now seen the first three worlds that I ever set foot on, and you almost perfectly acted out my behaviors when you reached them."

Charlie bites his lip in anger and points at the mirror as if to threaten it "I am not you, I am not a soulless..."

The mirror interrupts "how dare you? You mistake me for a heartless, soulless construct. Me, one of the oldest things in all of creation, I have walked..."

Charlie stops him "I don't care where you have been. You are the very thing that set this ridicules chain of events into motion. Why? What does it all mean? What are you looking for that is worth unspinning the web or reality?"

"I don't need to answer to you mortal."

Charlie start to shout at the mirror "Come on! you silly bastered, I just want to know what it is you are fighting for. What am I keeping you from? What is it worth? Do you know? Do you remember what was behind all this insanity!? You and I, we broke time! I had no idea that was a thing, did you? What happens next do we keep running in circles indefinitely? Is there a way to make this all right again? How does this story end?"

The shadow backs away from the mirror freeing up line of sight. "do you want to know?" the voice in the darkness is soft and calm. "there is only one possible ending. There was never more. Before there was time there was space, space was filled with nothing, but then something appeared and where there was nothing there is now something. Within the walls of nothing there was room only for thoughts. Thoughts gave birth to our mother. But when you barrow from space there is a leisure that needs to be checked. From the moment, our mother was born to today there remains an unchecked balance. Mater is a cancer on the face of memorial, since the beginning nothing has been sending antibodies to try to cure itself of you and I. we have put up a good fight, but we are losing. I lost when I fight nothing now I am a part of it, you will lose as well."

Charlie grins defiantly "I plan to go down swinging."

The shadow takes semi-physical form standing before Charlie, his face looks like marble, his eyes velvet flames, his body shadows pressed into a tangential state darkness rolling off its skin like dry ice misting to the ground, once hand is at Charlie's neck lifting him into the air effortlessly. "you don't get it. This thing you see before you is not formed from flesh or bone or clay, this thing, it does not bleed. Chaos could not canton It, I cannot face It, Lous-DayO runs from It. The old one lost. Yggdrasil alone withstood the wraith of nothingness and not even she will tell you the tale. You are so small, so weak, your powers are meaningless, give up, give in, welcome me with open arms and I will see to it that you pass into the darkness painlessly. Fight me, fight It, and your suffering will be legendary."

Charlie struggles against the shadow shouting defently at the darkness "I... will... never stop."

The living shadow drops Belmond, Charlie buckles in a heap on the ground. "that is why when everything comes to an end you will become what I am." The shadow vanishes as quickly as it had appeared.

***

Hetatsubatchi is the least shaken by the battles of the perverse days, the concept of sitting still is unthinkable to the demon wolf, Tatsu needs to keep moving, he needs to work, Tatsu takes point and begins searching for a new means by which to track down the three-headed goddess.

His hunt begins with a consultation with Celverant. The white wolf strolls into the throne room his head to the ground sniffing about. Celverant sits at his throne knowledge from around the multiverse being feed to him by his machines.

"Demon of the flowers. How my I serve you?"

Tatsu stands before the mammoth machine. "interesting, you are not alive but still you have living parts. You used to be human. But not this body, another body..." turns his eyes to the ground looking inadvertently to the hidden door.

"is that truly what interest you?" the voice of the architect echoes from his chest.

"No, whatever devilry keeps you alive is of little interest to me. What I seek is knowledge." Tatsu walks around Celverant studding his shape "I want to know about the calamity the Belmond seeks to evert."

"I have no knowledge of such things." Celverant explains.

Tatsu's eye burn "you are a liar. You know what we are looking for, and you know how to fight it. You and you hundred-thousand clones have surly seen or heard something of value."

The architect stands "are you so foolish as to make these unfounded assertions to your better?"

Tatsu lowers his body and sticks out his tail ready to fight "you would be shocked by how foolish I am. I will happily fight and die for my ideas."

"the you will be foolish enough to do what I will ask next. When angels are unwilling to talk then you must seek out Kami. Go to Godshand valley and ask for the spiritualist Nine, she will take you to Fate."

Tatsu stands up looking perplexed "then we aren't going to fight?"

"Speak to Sigh, he has had relations with Nine, he will help you in the name of altruism is nothing else,..." A siren sounds, Celverant cuts off what he was going to say mid thought. "Hetatsubatchi, prepare yourself for battle. Something is coming."

***

At the stone pillars that make of the 'Gate' landing Harm has summand Krane. Harm offers Krane a sales pitch "... And that is all as hard as it needs to be, offer yourself to the Blood God's and my mother can ganterite you and your offspring long life."

The things in universe that are not human are very not human, and Krane, she is not human, she has no fear of mortality and no fealty to her children this sermon on sanctity is of no interest to her, but Krane plays along listening to what the vampire has to say. "Long life? How long?" Krane sits are her knees crawling over to the preacher animalisticly.

Harm places one hand on the head of the puppet that is Krane's shell of a body "As long as you wish to live. Kill in my name and you will never need to taste of death..."

"and how many of my children will be protected?"

Harm continues his haggling "All of them."

"so, the blood gods deal in tautologies? I offer you my blood and I never go hunger?" Krane can hardly chock down her amusement. "Does my lover enjoy such prophets as well?"

"Of course, there is room enough in my fold for everyone ."

Sensually Krane stands up griping Harm by the hips as she whispers with him "I have forty thousand children and a hive mind, I can lay one hundred eggs a day without a partner and with no ill effects on my body. You bring us to your world we will eat you."

The two star each-other down, in almost playful scorn they look each other over. Harm make the next move "do you believe you have such power?"

Krane's cartilage bonelike hair ruffles with a chattering sound, a pair of pincers grow out of her maw and two extra sets of crab like lags form her back assuming a monstrous shape, this is a challenge, the two-square off reading for this childish game.

The duel between them is cut off early. A string of portals spring up around the two of them. An army of bird like angels with golden gold blindfolds fly in the movements of the angles is wrong, they are ridged, their moving around is jagged, followed quickly by stone Overseers and the Overbeing Christopher.

Christopher the Baptizer flings one hand down at his side a silver short sword rules out of his cloak Christopher orders "Burn everything in sight." The blinded Angels charge into battle against the worldwalkers.

Harm ingangs Christopher "I think not." His voice is a deep hallow growl. Harm holds one hand before him producing, a long, hooked, C shaped, rusty blade "you, slave to the host of Zion have no place here."

"vampire scum." Christopher whispers to himself. Christopher is a well-practiced fencer, with a twist of his short sword he pushes Harm's blade off to one side then reaches out to grapple with Harm. Christopher uses his purifying touch to attack Harm, A single touch leaving deep burns around Harms eyes. "suffer your sins."

Krane moves in to intercept, the Zzruragg throws Harm out of melee range and savagely throws herself at the Overbeing. Krane is fast, striking with claws and fangs, her hair becomes a coat of horns that she lashes out with, and she conjures a tail to sting with. Krane is Christopher's equal in close quarters combat, her reckless abandon pushes Christopher's highly refined footing and delicate strikes off center. Christopher attempts his purifying touch against the Zzuragg but Krane has no concept of sin, she is a wholeheartedly neutral being.

Fires erupt, angles attack, other worldwalkers come to the defenses of their home. Jloose is the next on scene, followed quickly by Xia the Rat black mage , and Suahoon the gryphon knight. Keyor, Cinder, Soren the barbarian snake cultist , and Seeker only a few steps behind that and a dozen more thereafter.

Jloose points out "all of these creatures wills are being oppressed. Only one of them wishes to fight the rest are big forced to fallow. Find the alpha and the rest will flee." Jloose shares his thoughts with the worldwalkers.

Angels beset Jloose, the mentalist conjures a set of orbital shields to hold the angles back. Suahoon jumps in to protect Jloose, she pounces in using her size as a weapon first and foremost, she throws pecks and paws dragging angels to the ground and throwing them into the distances with the utmost of easy.

Xia looks about taking in her surroundings, she taps a foot and bobs her hips starting to sway side to side dancing in preparation for battle. Her thoughts invaded by a song she heard not so long ago she starts singing softly to herself

"Reaper. Reaper, that's what people call. Why? Because they all die. When I sing my song, I take their lives. Don't even bother fighting back. The Reaper has your name!" Xia charges into the mist of the angels leaping in and out of shadows like pools of water she draws a knife in each and one with her tail.

Xia's speed and dexterity a formidable distraction. Her favored tactic to pin her targets weapon hand with her primary knives then strike a crippling blow with her tail. Xia dances around the battlefield like some comical hero from a 'spectacle fighter' computer game almost unhindered by things like inertia or gravity.

Keyor takes it as her responsibility to protect the space station as the others protect each other, she calls on her oceanic magic to suffocate fires being set by angels. But any foolish enough to approach Keyor as she works find that her magic is not restricted to dousing flames and an antigravitational bubble of water can kill a man and a fire equally quickly. Even with the preservation of life being keyor's principle philosophy protecting herself is a higher priority yet.

Cinder is the force of nature incarnate, her approach stirs wind, rain, and lighting in earthmoving proportions. One of the Overseers quickly tries to contain Cinder. The to clash, the Overseer spitting prehistoric surpints to try to capture the elementalist. Cinder allows herself to be grabbed then draws the storm into herself. The ensuing cascade of power rolling out of her in a devastating pules of energy

As the battle between Christopher and Krain prosiest Christopher must show more of his hand, he uncaps his wings, he slaps his wings to the ground forming a bubble a round himself wheren time is disrupted, Krain is caught in the slow field. Christopher pulls Krain into a hug and viciously shoves his short sword into her underbelly and through her back. Krain collapses, the parasites in her body needing time to repair cracked bone and shredded muscle.

Harm takes a spectral shape to hide and watch the battle in safety, even though Krain had protected him, Harm will not repay the favor. The Snake Cultist Soren takes up the job instead charging in to protect the fallen worldwalker. Christopher's eyes turn to Cinder and he imposingly matches towards her.

Soren throws serval angels aside then howls as he jumps at Christopher. Christopher sides steps the leap strike Soren stands with a lung taking a second thrust. Christopher wraps his sword arm around the spear to pin it to his side. Christopher rest a hand on Soren's chest and floods his thoughts with nightmares burning his handprint onto the cultist chest. Soren screams. Christopher pushes the barbarian over and gives him a disinterested stab as he walks past. The Overbeing rampages across the battlefield having outclassed three worldwalkers already.

Christopher flaps his wings to places himself between Cinder and her next objective. Cinder pulls her hands back to call on a pier of flames hopping to engulf the Overbeing. Christopher draws a symbol of silence in the air separating the elemental from her magic. Cinder backs away horrified that her magic wont replay to her call.

The portal still active six more Overbeings appear fallowed by a hundred more Overseers and countless angels. The Worldwalkers start to get overwhelmed and retreet to the courthouse in hopes of regrouping. The new group seems more interested in watching then participating in the fight but there very presences is enough to sway the battle.

Christopher readies a killing blow against Cinder but then freezes, distracted. One of the angels has spotted Charlie Belmond in the court house and Charlie is how Christopher wants. "the corrupted soul." He whispers, Christopher then looks down at Cinder, he planned to say something smart then just shrugs and walks off.

Celverant comes to the aid of the retreating worldwalkers, protecting the court house and the people in it being his greatest interest. Swarms of his metal bodies form parameters protecting people and buildings. The architect of peace has little interest in fighting, he is a shield not a sword. But should any in his presences wish to press advantage he is more than willing to counterattack.

The Steel Rose itself come equipped with an assortment of satellite artillery; Pin guns as the first line of compliances that spill cages of energy state mater to hold troublemakers still, and a life cannon for larger targets that sucks the soul from living beast or ages it targets to become more brittle then drywall. The Architect needs only fire each weapon once to get the attention of the attackers. Celverant speaks out "who would like to talk?"

The balk of the battle come to a standstill, small side skirmishes need a few more seconds to boil down. Those with an agenda care on regardless. Harm and Christopher both have scores to settle.

***

Charlie after awaking from having seemingly beet himself half to death makes his way to the medical wing, blissfully unaware of the battles taking place outside. The voices in his head encouraging him to check on October.

The small fragile bird lie in bed, most of her feathers having regrown buy still singed and sore. The blanket of the bed pulled up tightly to her neck. Belmond places a hand on Octobers head and rubs down her beak. October turns to face Charlie offering a happy chirp. October does not see what is before her but what is hidden. A broken hero, a man that fights a hopeless struggle fueled by love and fear.

October pulls a wing from under the blankets to offer Belmond a hug, she touches her beak to his noise in silent recognition. Swallow again protect Charlie, she shouts into his thought to look backwards.

Charlie dare not question the angelic soul he houses looking quickly over his shoulder. He see the flash of a blade, Charlie tucks his arms into his chest protecting his neck narrowly as Christopher reaches around the hunter in a Chinese strangle hold. Charlie drops one elbow back japing the Overbing in the side allowing Charlie to cross step out of the grapple.

Christopher squeezes his silver sword tightly flicking it out taking a slash at Belmond. Charlie picks up a serving tray from the nearby table intercepting the slash. Christopher comes back for a back slash. Charlie counters attacking the weapon smacking it out of the way with his tray.

Charlie criticizes "What is the matter with you?"

Christopher grabs Charlie with his free hand. Charlie pins the hand to his chest then roles it over palm first effecting a joint lock. Charlie takes a step forward and thrust is weight forward pushing Christopher away giving himself the opportunity to draw his army knife from his back.

Christopher spins his short sword reversing his grip "you are unclean. The blood of the pure stains your soul. I will purge you of this sin."

October starts to squeal in fear and confusion, this acts as a fine distraction for Hetatsubatchi. Tatsu jumps thought the window of the observation room and falls atop Christopher, his fangs dig into the angels with crushing power. Tatsu rips into the meat, scratching and clawing as he consumes the Overbeing.

Charlie recoils from the grizzly display, Harm slips into the room brandishing his cursed chains ready to assassinate Belmond and feed off October. Tatsu calls on his magic to seize the chains "I literally just eat and angel. Do you really want to pick a fight right now?" After considering the situation for a moment Harm drops the cursed chains on the ground and slips back into the shadows.

The white wolf whips the blood from his mouth with one paw then turns his gaze to the chains clamming ownership of them just like he had the hooked knives the other day he also takes the angel sword as a trophy. "Charlie, Celverant found another way for us to track the Three-headed Goddess. Are you ready to get back on the road?"

"I want to weight here for October to be back on her feet, then we can check things out." Charlie sits down to pet the bird calming her.

"Fine." Tatsu walks off "I'll be watching the door in the meantime. I can't wait for the vampire to come back here."

A voice comes in over the loudspeakers "Charlie Belmond, David Jazzman, Milli Malagaurd, Hetatsubatchi-Una, Cinder of Vishnu, and Lances Jacob. Your assistances is required in courtroom number eight, please report at your earliest possible covenants. Repeat..."

Charlie looks to the speakers as he is holding, cradling and shacking October calmingly. "well that sounds bad."

***

Charlie is in no hurry to get to court. When he arrives Celverant is on the throne, to his right sits Charlie's friends, to the left 2 of the angelic Overbings. This courtroom is smaller, more interment, there is no room for jurors' or an audience.

Celverant calls to Charlie as he walks into the room. "please be seated on the right side of the room" he points to a chare waiting "it took you considerable longer to arrive then I had hopped. This meeting is almost at its closer" Celverant relaxes into his set "You made a mistake Belmond. One that will cost me something to repair."

Charlie melts into one of the sets "I killed a woman. Her name was Swallow..."

Celverant cuts Charlie off "Insignificant. The life of a single sentients is nearly meaningless. What is much more concering to me is that you and yours interfered in the politics of a world that is not your-own without the consent of the this cabal."

The female Overbing, how Celverant knows as Gab, calls out "that man killed a Overseer, and an Overbing..."

Celverant stops her "As a result of the previse action indicated, now this court is prepared to offer compensation for damages done under the 'Missionary act' shared between the Steel Rose and the people of Zion. Are you prepared to quote me a price?"

The male angel, who is called Remerez, "repairing the damage these travilers have done will cost no less the 500,000 Sal, 9000 words of prayer, and one human sacrifice."

Celverant commands "No. that price is obscene." The colossal man sits in silences for a moment in deliberation "75,000 Sal, 100,000 prayers and they will be delivered by a galvanized titan I will construct in your image."

Gab slaps the table in front of her "prayers sung by robots have no value!"

"I don't think they have value regardless of who delivers them. But you believe they do and you accept songs as a form of currency on your planet. There for you ask for empty platitude and platitude I offer. You will accept this political offering or I will offer a military ultimatum in its place." Celverant is a passivist in many ways. But in the face of disrespect he shows his hand, Celverant could rule all he sees with an army of metal clones of himself, but he looks first for a way to allow prosperity to rain.

Remerez ask inquisitively "and our blood sacrifice?"

Cilerant's hands cross under his chin diabolically "if you wish to bath in the blood of animals that is your purgative. If you wish to take a tribute out from under my protection... feel free to try."

Gab and Remerez whisper with each-other. Gab is the next to address Celverant "we will take your money and your robot but we wish to not have this conversation a second time."

"then you may be dismissed emissaries' of Zion." The Architect commands.

Without another word the Overbeings' vanish in a blaze of light.

Lances looks to the judge "not one of us ever spoke a word?"

"I want to impress on to all of you. War is not to be taken lightly, most everyone I have encountered on most every world will sooner sacrifice a great deal of money and suffer a fair amount of poverty over the prospect of trading lives for miner infringements. Idealism is the only thing I know of that would convince a man to trade his life for a philosophy." There is a short silence before Celverant addresses the group once more "If I am not mistaken Hetatsubatchi was going to ask the lot of you to go see Dr. Sigh. My understanding is that he may know a way for you to contact the Three-Headed Goddess without the need of Zion."

Much of the group turns to face Tatsu, Tatsu looks around offering a semi-cold glance "

In-and-amongst the whole invasion thing it slipped my mind."

Chapter 17

Next thing to Paradise 1

The party gathers in the bedroom of the Kami named Sigh, the room has a highly naturalistic look to it, the walls and ceiling lined with flowers, candles burn filling the room with the smell of fresh cut oak. The Fox boy sits on the floor his lags folded and hands on his knees, eyes closed and hand lowered in meditation.

The fox ears twitch and head lifts slightly, his noise wiggles as he sniffs around the room. "I don't typically entertain compony in my privet chamber." His eyes open so he can look around the room. "my I ask why you are all here?"

Lances plays along "you might."

Sigh understanding the banter retorts "then I shall. Why have you all gathered here?"

Charlie cuts in "We are looking to contact the Three-Headed Goddess."

Sigh looks to Belmond "I am neither a goddess nor do I have three heads."

Tatsu snarls "If you keep waxing poetic there is going to be an unexpected job opining around here. Can you contact the Goddess, Fate, or not?"

Sigh nods "not here I can't. We would need to have passage to Godshand for such a feet."

Keyor and Cinder both look uncomfortable "I fear that for some of you that is not a journey you are prepared to make. The Nephilim, and the Canen will not be greeted kindly, I would also fear for the safty of you Stith, she is enhanced and will be singled out quickly."

Cinder looks to Lances then Charlie, "The next lag of this trip you will have to make alone it sounds like."

Jazmin flicks his hair back, "Bring it on! I'm not intimidated by any man or beast."

Sigh addresses Jazmin "we are not talking about min or beast, we are talking about Kitsuna, and not Phagion Kitsuna like you are accustomed to seeing, fully fledged Kami. Trained for a hundred generations to hunt and kill demons and devil-kin. David, Princes of Dis, we fought and defeated your kingdom once before, then we were outnumbered 30-1. You will not do so well with the odds reversed I feel."

Jazmin reaches for the Demon Sword on his back "I'm not such a bad Hunter myself..."

Charlie hold a hand out to hold Jazmin back. "Let's avoid any more bloodshed till after dinner if we can."

Tatsu rolls his neck thinking "my pack and I once stumbled onto a wreckage left behind by a Kitusna hunting party. I don't look forward to seeing that sort of mess again."

Keyor looks about her party "what sort of a mess would a hellhound find distasteful?"

Sigh exsplains "Old world Kitsuna harvested there dead. After battling a foe in horrible combat we would claim our victory prize, we would cut open the chest of the fallen and remove the hart. The hart must be consumed warm in order to inherit the powers of the dead..."

Keyor ask "Have you partaken in this rite?"

"I am not a Kitsuna, I am Kami"

Charlie ask "don't you mean 'A kami'?"

"no, we never address each-other with the prefix of 'A' to do so would be to diminish the glory of the ritual associated with the ascension into the Kami"

Tatsu joins the conversation again "you aren't born as Kami, you need to ascend?"

"Yes, there is a number of trails we must endure that burns the uncleanness from our body and soul, turns our hair white and leaves us a blessed form you see before you."

Tatsu's eyes shimmer a predatory yellow "my god you are argent."

Jacob yells in frustration "Lat's enough of that!" Lances waves the group on "Keyor, Get David and the dog out of here before I start teaching them respect."

Keyor starts pushing Jazmin and Hetatsubatchi away, Jazmin laughs as he is walking off "feisty for in old man isn't he? I like it."

Cinder looks over to Milli "Milli, I would like your aid if you have the time?"

Milli shrugs "sounds like there isn't much here for me to do anyway."

Belmond looks to Sigh "so how does all this go down?"

***

Cinder takes Milli to the landing on which the group has group has teleported several times now Hetatsubatchi fallowing along having little else to do. Milli tries to ask what is going on but Cinder is as mysterious as ever, a not so uncommon trait within the ranks of the worldwalkers it seems. Cinder calls on the gate and takes Milli though.

The world on the other side is a savanna. The air is cold and the wind is sweat. The sky is a frosted blue-white, knee high grass grows far as the eye can see, glowing bronze and gold stalks of foliage, the perfectly flat seeming world soiled only by the shadow of a dale casting a gray and yellow shadow in the foggy distance.

Milli brings her hands over her mouth as she gasps at the pastel landscape. Cinder looks to Milli with her empty eyes "Is this your home Ms. Mallagaurd?"

Milli points to the shadowy hills at the edge of her vision. "That is 'South Point Dune' that means V-008 is that way about two days on foot, and my home not far from that..." Milli thinks aloud.

"Is that a yes?" Cinder inquires

Milli struggles not to cry "No, this is not. This isn't the world I left behind, not remotely. This is some foggy remnant of a beautiful nightmare. A place that only can exists in the mind of a child."

Cinder looks concerned "I don't understand."

"First of the sky, it is the wrong color, there is not blue, green or gold on my world. Only rust, crimson, gray and white..."

Cinder looks disappointed "dammit, right planet, wrong realm. I thought I had it. Would you like to look around anyway?" Milli rubs her eyes then nods enthusiastically. Cinder looks happy "good, this way if you would please." Cinder starts to float, Milli chases after her.

Cinder leads Milli on a run across the fields of golden grass. For miles, they run till at last they come to a bluff, Cinder drops below the bluff vanishing from sight for a short time. Milli stops short, Tatsu grinds to a stop as well demonstrating his uncanny speed and dexterity.

Tatsu looks down the drop that must be close to a mile down. "If I didn't know she could fly I would be forced to assume that to be very tragic." Tastu looks to Milli "what is the ruff geography of this place?"

Milli explains "if you where to look at this island from five miles out into the water it would look like four giants dueling. This place is spearhead plains if I know which way we are facing. Its part of the eastern island."

Tatsu looks down trying to judge there high. "it must be 3000 feet to the ground from here. Is this the highest point of the island?"

"no, that would be Crow Crest."

"where this island artificial manufactured to look like that?"

Milli shrugs, "I have no idea." Milli slide steps over to look down with Hetatsubatchi "my planet is locked in a block of ice. I know that we manufactured that."

The white wolf looks to the kangaroo "how? Why?"

"tribalism, industry, take your pick. We spent generations looking for the fastest and cleanest why of getting rid of people we didn't like. Someone at some time had the fantastic idea to magnetize the stratosphere filling the sky with lead, iron, and clay deposits that would never come down blackening the sky. There are now impregnatable storms, the temperature never gets into the positives and if not for vault forts nature her would have killed of the last of us eons ago."

Hetatsubatchi's ears lower to the back of his head and his eyes widen sharply "your people are awful."

Milli giggles uneasily "yea, but we are imagnitive."

Hetatsubatchi thinks "right planet, wrong realm... so this is your world, but a different vertion of it somehow."

Milli looks to her pet friend "do you understand how all this world shifting stuff works?"

"not really." Tatsu steps away from the ledge, "I have a feeling you have seen more worlds then I have at this point." With Cinder having vanished the two of them spend some time walking around on their own. Exploring the landscape it is easy to see that this world is tropical and pristine, the land largely unspoiled by industry.

After a walk through a small cave and walking around the edge of some thick fauna a landlocked lonely lake draws the eye, the whistling of a flute catches the ear even before that. The walk give the par time to talk about the life they left behind. Tatsu and Milli both learn something of themselves talking to the other. Tatsu has always dreamed of running free though the flower fields of a world with no name, and Milli, nationalism aside hungers for love. Hetatsubatchi and Milli alike seem to have both been born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The lake is mostly hidden by short bushes with fruit hanging from them that looks like plantains, bug chirp and hum, pushing past the overgrowth the two spot a Stith boy sitting with his lower halve in the water practicing playing a wood flute, he has tan hair and white ears, a mathing white strip runs from his chin down the front of his body. A simple cloth rob is thrown over a bush nearby and a bag filled with camping gear.

In a trance at the sight of the boy Milli bite on to one of her hands to calm herself. The boy is not particularly tall or muscular but his fur is in no way marred which is quite uncommon, he has not a single visible scar on his body. His life must have been one of lighthearted leisure. As Milli watches the boy play on his flute she leans forth onto all fours laying her tail across her back.

Tatsu looks to Milli examining her features. "you might want to put your tail down, someone like me could get the wrong idea."

Hearing movement in the bushes boy lowers his flute, his ears jump to attention and he starts looking around "who is abound?" he calls out to the trees.

Hetatsubatchi whispers "do you want me to eat him?" he jokes around "once your pray has spotted you, you need to either chase it or back off."

Milli looks flustered "I'm not hunting him."

Tatsu sneers maliciously "funny, crouching in the bushes like this I was starting to think you look an awful lot like a cougar." Tatsu waits a moment as Milli is struggling with her emotions "you go out there our I will." He commands.

"Ok! Ok." Milli stands up becoming visible. She calls over to the boy "Lt. Milli Malligaurd at your service."

The boy smiles as his eyes feast on the exseptionaly shapely body of Milli. "you must be a nymph, I have heard there were still a hand full of you hiding on this side of the hill." Unashamedly the nude boy walks to Milli to get a better look at her "what is that thing you are wearing?" he points out her armor.

"it is my Nano-fiber Flex suit, engineering wing issued, North Point 107 registry..." Milli stat to ramble.

The boy places two fingers on Milli's noise to hush her "join me in the spring. The water is warm, the sun is high in the sky, it will be fun." The invitation is very forward, no fear, no hesitation. This Stith is the most outgoing and kind one in the world it seems. The boy turns back to the water walking away.

Enthusiastically Milli discards her armor and runs over jumping into the water. She dare not let this opportunity pass. The boy offers his name once the two of them are in the spring together "Astare, is my name."

"what is your rank and listing?" Milli ask eagerly fidgeting about sexually unbalanced by the paradise around her.

Astare seems confused as he thinks about the terms "am I a solder? No, I never enlisted. Didn't see a point."

Milli crawls towards Astare, "then what do you do for a living?"

"Same thing as just about everyone else I assume, whatever it takes to earn my daily provisions. Mostly I practice with flute, people like to watch me play and that gets me fed. Rest of the time I just sort of do whatever I want."

Milli sets her hands on Astare's lags "you are so beautiful." Milli forces a kiss onto Astare, he ecsepts her advance reaching around Milli and gripping her by the rump. Milli behaves in a near childish way to the attention pouncing on her partner, more interested in her own needs then the comfort of her other.

Milli is quick to start making love to Astare, she has not been with a Stith boy since her early teens and it shows, Astare needs to encourage Milli to slow down and enjoy herself. Milli lays Astare on his back dominating him. Astare is fine to play along, letting Milli sit up on him for some time till...

Astare's hands find the front of Milli's body, he rolls his hands down Milli's chest and slides his fingertips into her pouch. He suddenly freezes, the excitement sucked out of him in an instant when he notices how cold her body is. The skin of Milli's pouch is cold, hard, dry and cracked. Milli is a ghoul of some kind, there is simply no way a Stith pouch should feel like that! A pouch should be hot, soft, smooth, and sticky to the touch as it drips with a viscus white mucus.

Only as Astare notices this do his eyes start to search Milli, looking for anything else about her that is wrong: stich marks around one of her eyes, one eye must be fake, a balled spot at the base of one ear, that ear was sown back on, her pouch has three deep cuts sliced though the outer leir. Milli is some patchwork monster raised from the dead!

Milli fails to notice the mounting fear on Astare's face as she is too distracted with her pleasure, furiously thrusting herself on him awaiting her orgasm, and his. But whatever attraction Astare had felt is gone, he is disgusted and horrified by Milli, Astare denies Milli her pleasure pushing her off of him.

In the time it takes Milli to prosses what has happened Astare has picked up his robe and backpack then ran off into the trees. Milli is quivering, she struggles to stand and Yell for Astare trying to understand what has transpired.

Milli's hands find her pouch, she rubs herself remembering her battle scars. She always know how bad they looked, how deep they are and what that means for her future. But this is her first time coming face to face with that future. She is indeed a monster, and weather it was seconds or minutes she had spent with Astare playing with her, it is the most pleasure she deserves.

Milli drops back down to her knees and falls face first into the water crying. This place was in fantasy, and that fantasy has been broken.

Cinder appears sitting in a tree over Hetatsubatchi's head. She calls down to Tatsu seeing he is watching Milli "How is the blind date going?"

Tatsu lay in the grass watching, "not so well I fear."

Cinder drops from the tree tops disheartened "I'm sorry to hear that."

Hetatsubatchi step onto of the trees and approaches Milli. Milli wraps her arms around the wolf and pulls him in to be held.

***

Sigh, Lances, and Charlie arrive at the base of Gadshand, five mountains, long and narrow, streaching off into the heavens, the base of the mountains wrapped tightly with trees that seem to grow technicolored flowers from them. The air is temperate, the grass underfoot is a shadowed blue, the clay on the road is a bloodstained brown. The smell of the wind is of swamp flowers. There is a stillness about that whispers of untold sacredness. Whatever the land around them may be the road head leads to holy ground blessed by blood.

Sigh points up the mountain nearest to them. "that way." The group starts up the incline. "around a third of the way up you will see the first signs of the kami. There will be a wall covered in roses, and two or more men dressed in earth tune shrouds with painted white facemask. Do not make eye contact with them. In fact, make no reference to the idea you can even see them. They are the Opel Mask, they are the leastest amongst us. When they were baptized the sin could not be washed from their souls."

Lances calls to Sigh "I don't understand, what does that mean?"

"we are all born with unclean souls, our sin is visible on our skin and in our fur. It takes the form of pastel patches on our chest, or dark stripes on our ears, noise, or tail. Brown, blacks, grays. Marks of these colors are an icon of our hidden evil. A true Kami, one that is free of the sins or our mothers have only white fur, sometimes with yellow spots, nothing more."

"...And baptism somehow washes away your spots?" Lances clarifies.

"yes." Sigh nobs. "next you will see fields of rice and of wheat. There will be children around that are not yet purified, and they will being watched over by kami that are sick or broken they will have four tails, you may speak to the adults if you so please they are unwashed but they have paid for their right to work with blood, the young are untouchable pay them no mind."

Sigh points up the hill where the wall of the town is coming into view "only after you have seen these things will the proper town come into view. There are three houses that will be marked: The Shrine, were many will be kneeling in prayer, the Chapel where only the most holy await revelation to be laid on them, and the House of Indulgences."

Charlie almost can't swallow his laughter as he hears out Sigh describing the town ahead "one of these things is not like the others."

Lances on the other hand looks repulsed "House of Indulgences?"

"on advrage we spend sixteen hours a day at the shrine. It is hard to talk anyone into working on mantaning the township after daily service. We needed to find a way to incentivize the lower class to keep working even after preforming their required labors. To that end our four mothers came up with the idea of paying for labor with indulgences. If after your prayers are completed you take the opportunity to clean the shrine or tend to the graves, or bring bread and water to the chapel, you earn an hour of indulgences."

"you are obsessed with purity but pay for your luxury with sin?" Lances declares

"we all work with the hopes of being filled with nirvana, but no one ever achieves true peace."

Sigh's description of the town does not disappoint. Standing at the archway leading into the town there are thirteen foxes dressed in dirty brown robes with mask hiding their faces, the mask has become their identity, they show no skin, have no sex, they are sentinels and watching the road is there only purpose. Next they pass a waterfall and several miles of rice. The road wines around the other side of the hill, the body of the town hidden from the working class.

The shrine is at the center of everything, it is a glass box with three swords and a bow locked inside, four wooden archways mark the cardinal directions. there are no less than thirty kami in kowtow on each side of the monument praying to the swords and bow. Noises to the ground, knees pushed into chest, arms outstretched and tails submissively tied around hip. Those at the shrine are dressed in simplistic mono colored gowns.

The Chapel on the other hand is as different as it is the same, the chapel has a large bronze drum of water set off to one side of it with some form of a pump under it that sprays water into the air three feet up, there is a copper tube, rusted green at the top of the three steps approaching the front door and in iron hammer attached to it by a thick rope died red tide in a bow.

Sigh walks Lances and Charlie through the ritual that must be undertaken before they can step inside. Both hands must be placed in the spray of water from the drum, then dipped into the water bellow three times, on the third cup hands together and slash the water onto ones face, next walk up the steps, clap hands three times then turn to face the copper cylinder. Face away from the chapel and take the hammer in one's right hand, tape the cylinder three times, only then may one set foot within the chapel.

Sigh takes them inside. The chapel is kept dark, large pots of flowers burn on both sides of the main door, there is constant drowning chants being read by the twenty or so kami lost in meditation, these kami's outfits are much more elaborate, the cloaks they were are brightly colored; green's, red, orange, and yellow. These one's were jewels around there necks and imbedded in their hands, the were headdresses with horns, and feathers. There are younger kami around that walk around with plates of fruits and bowls of water offering to feed the elder kami, and offer food and drink to stone ideals set in the corners of the room.

Sigh walks around searching for his sister Nine. When he fails to spot her in the crowed he turns his attention on one of the younger kami that is tending to an ideal "here child, come to me." He calls.

The young kami tending the statue his dressed in gray, she has only one tail, (in opposition to the three that is much more common in the chapel) her hair is white and shaved down to the point of looking thinning, she has red spirals drawn into her fur. She steps down from the ideal and takes a bow. "I am Ikeareal, I am Kami."

Sigh folds his hand and lowers his eyes "I am Sigh, and I am Kami"

Ikeareal lowers her eyes again respectfully "how may I serve you Kami called Sigh?"

"though born here I have spent many years traveling. Left behind my sister Nine and my Brother Honz. Yet I see them not. Do you know the Kami Nine and the Kami Honz?"

"Nine has recently retired to the House of Indulgence. I know no kami called Honz."

Sigh thinks about that statement "I find that most troubling."

Ikeareal looks over the group "do you have indulgence to spend? You will need no less than three if you wish to visit your sister there."

Sigh shakes his head "I have never made habit of saving them."

"I have seven, I will give you three." Ikeareal takes a chain from around her neck and pulls off of it three wooden globes.

Lances whispers with Charlie "I'm getting the feeling I am not going to enjoy this. What do you think we are about to bear witness to?" Charlie simply shakes his head.

Sigh bows again to Ikeareal "I thank you for your kindness."

Ikeareal nods "I have little need for indulgence, I had planned to trade my indulgence for the right to have a child, and should I plan my time correctly that will only cost me one."

Sigh takes them outside, Lance grits his teeth in frustration "did I hear that right and you need to pay to have kids around here?"

Sigh nods "almost without fail the act of giving birth requires sex, sex is and indulgence."

Charlie ask for clarification "almost?"

"I have met a half dozen girls who claim to have given berth without the need for a partner."

There is an opal mask waiting at the door to the House of Indulgences, the masked fox holds out a hand waiting for payment as the group approaches. Sigh pays without hesitation. The masked fox opens the door for them.

The house of Indulgences has a carnival like atmosphere, the smell of cooked meat is thick in the air, muted only by the coppery sent of sex equally as strong. Here clothing is optional and most choose to forgo that option. There is laughter, dancing and all sorts of Tomfoolery, min and woman alike parade their genitals encouraging whoever should walk through the door to reach down and play with them. All three of the men are maid more than a little bashful by the display.

A black sour drink is passed around, it is described as tea but one whiff of the pungent juice tells otherwise, plates of scantly cooked red meat dances across the room as do plates of herbs, mushrooms, and bottles of oil.

Charlie tries to lighten the mood "Hay Lances, when you were a kid di you hang out in places like this?"

Lances with a bitter look on his face replies "when I was a kid there were no places like this."

"where were you in the 60's?"

"most likely at church." Lances calls out "who is in charge around here!"

The crowed parts to reveal a white fox with yellow hair taking a drag off a pipe, she has a golden headdress and eight tails, she has a waterfall patterned robe pulled open to show off her chest and legs as she sits cross-legged. The fox pulls the pipe form her mouth "I am Nine, I am Kami. I'm in charge around here." Her eyes are bloodshot, she is swaying slightly in place.

Lances whispers "you where are the courthouse a few days ago." Lances marches over "I am Father Lances Jacob, I'm in charge elsewhere."

Nine looks to sight then back to Lances "little brother, you need to start making cuter friends."

Sigh lowers his head and pinches himself between the eyes trying to stave off the feral lust building in his mind "I'm not here to pleasure you Nine. By the way where is Honz?"

"my twin? I sent him to the Opel Mask."

Sigh's eyes dart up "why?"

"after his baptizim the spots on his noise didn't go away. I had to" Nine placez her hands behind herself for balance.

Showing true anger Sigh stomps over "that is true of half the tribe. I still have a yellow spot on my tail and on both of my ears!"

"yellow spots are AOK. Brown spot are not."

Lances cut back into the conversation "this is a church state, right? I need to know how do you justify all of this? Let me tell you from where I am standing this looks a good deal like misconduct."

Nine falls backwards looking up at the ceiling, she puts her knees up and rest her hands on her stomach "relax, we are safe from the eyes of god here. We painted angel wards all around this place to keep out any unwanted gods."

Lances brakes down in laughter "you think you can hide by casting a magic spell on the walls of this place?"

Nine hold up one hand exclaiming "that is right."

"god's not confused by walls and paint."

"well,... seeing that not a one of us has transformed back into our feral shape I would have to say I disagree with your observation."

Charlie steps between the lot of them "Cut!" he looks to Nine "I understand that you know a magic spell that can summon the goddess Fate, is that true?"

"yea. But I am really high, do you really need to talk about this now?"

Charlie nods "yes please."

Nine starts to sit up "why do you want to talk to the Three-headed Goddess anyway?"

Sigh shouts "Please cover yourself Nine! I have little desire to look apian your sacredness."

Charlie explains "we are hunting Cravixs."

"the void mage? You are going to need more than one goddess. When Cravixs is involved, anyone that is in the know knows to get out of town."

Charlie smiles "Im going to change that. Now what do we need to do to get Fate down here?"

Nine thinks "well, first you need to go down to the Forgotten Lowland, you need to find a statue there of a winged man with his head down, one arm covering his face and the other reaching for the sun. you need to take one of his eyes and bring it back here. Second, we need to perform The Calling Dance, Third I need to not be stoned."

Sigh protest "The Weeping Star? You need his eyes?"

Nine nods "or another pair of eyes of comparable worth. Go down to the long house, get Honz to fallow you there, he will love it."

Charlie dances in place "I love this idea, I am happy to be a part of it."

Nine leans forward sticking her tails up "so long as I'm still feeling color, and tasting sound do you three want to have some fun?" Charlie nods, Lances and Sigh get up to walk away dragging Charlie along with them.

***

Celverant sits in his study, an amphitheater like room with spiraling towers of book twisting outwards like a conk shell. Today a friend has joined him in his solitude. A Kobolt called Jessica the Weaver. An elderly mouse women with grey-red fur, glasses and a matching crimson scholar's garment and pendent with a shimmering red stone in it. Celverant is a juggernaut, Jessica hardly stands at three feet, Celverant is a towering mass of metal well over 3000lbs, Jessica wouldn't clock in at over 50lbs dripping wet. The two couldn't stand more opposite of each other.

Celverant leans over in the Thinker pose looking down at his tiny friend "we have not spoken since you were wed to your third mate, Walker the Lunarein if I recall."

Jessica speaks with a soft motherly voice "yes, it has been some time, but I fear today I am here looking for your expertise."

"you have offered me a great many gifts in the past Mighty Weaver, I would dare not turn you away." Celverant reminisces "how may I serve you?"

"An unwanted lifeform has taken up residences in my body, I need to know how to get rid of it."

Celverant stares Jessica down for a moment "Do you mean physical position?" Jessica nods "Horizontal plane shifting. Did they ever pick the wrong mouse to try to possess. How old even are you Jessica?"

"I was born in the 3000th year on the dryad lunar calendar. I think that makes me something like 4,897 on the Christian calendar." Jessica becomes somewhat flustered "Now how do I stop a possession in progress?"

"That is simple enough" Celverant explains "you need to jump back and forth between two worlds on which you or your possessor have no domain. That or in some way make your body not desirable. Depending on weather you want to brake the link on your side or force it to fail on theirs." Celverant falls forward holding his head.

Jessica tries to prop up the giant "Ceverant?"

"Something has gone wrong, I just lost my link to the Steel Rose."

"lost your link?"

"I am no longer piloting this ship." Celverant tries to contact his other bodies to search for the problem only to find that he can't link into his other bodies either "I am locked out of my network."

Seeker opens the door to the study "I have adopted your tec. everything that makes you unique is now a part of me. I have been given a new registration. I am no longer the Seeker of Eternity because I have now found Eternity. Now I am the Seeker of Inferno, my new goal is to assimilate the Worldwalkers, Add their uniqueness onto my own."

Seeker assumes a liquid shape to fly over to Celverant, she wraps a clawed hand around his face and pulls him in intimately to whisper with him "amongst all of your clones, there seems to be one that is guarded form me, one that has two internal brains capable of acting apart from each other. I must remove your second brain and study it." Celverant calls on his technopathic power to conjure a sparking lance, Seeker grabs the lance out of the air to stop any possible incoming attack. "your resistance is meaningless."

Jessica throw her arms out and a flare of magnum white light explodes from her body stunning Seeker. Celverant struggles with his equilibrium, Jessica grabs him by the arm to lead him away from Seeker. "The Rose is lost, we must flee." Celverant declares.

Chapter 18

The Next Thing to Paradise 2

David Jazmin and Keyor have dawned there blades, Jazmin the Demon Sword, Keyor her coral spear, the two dance around one another taking playful swings. It is a gentlemanly game, prance about, take a thrust, if the other stops the swing then back of to neutral. Jazmin is hardly taking the game seriously. On the Steel Rose the ship is simulating nighttime, the water of the pond is filling the air with blue light, the sky is shimmering with stars and nebula that are unlike any visible anywhere on earth.

Keyor takes an overly zealous stab her spear squaring Jazmin. She drops her spear and gasp noticing what she has done, Jazmin looks down at the spear sticking out of him and shrugs "Just pull it out, no biggy."

Keyor pulls her spear out, Jazmin zips up his coat to cover the hole in his side "Doesn't that hurt or anything?"

Nonchalantly Jazmin nods "sure."

"do you need to pack the wound or anything" Keyor is genuinely concerned.

"nope, I'll sleep it off." Jazmin jokes dryly.

Keyor shacks her head with a shrug "what wouldn't give for your constitution?"

Jazmin spins his sword around his arm "want to go again?" A siren sounds Jazmin and Keyor look around "Again?" Jazmin ask "are we under attack?"

Not contained by the landing stones portals start to rip open on all fronts fallowed by wave after wave of clockwork spiders. A voice comes over the PA system "The Rose is lost, abandon ship. Repeat, the Rose is compromised. Abandon ship."

Keyor yelps as the gearbox monsters take notices of the two of them "well no kidding?"

Jazmin get shoulder to shoulder with the fish girl "so, are we jumping ship? Because, I kinda can't without you."

"No, we need to make sure that all the Worldwalker's and non-worldwalker get off the ship first. Then we can make our way to the engine room and take control of the ship back."

Jazmin nods "you know how to do all that right ?"

Keyor shakes her head "Not remotely."

The ships internal defince network activates, guns start coming out of the ground and walls, but they turn not on the invaders but on the people of the ship. Keyor and Jazmin work together to forge a path and make for the bunkers, every robot the two smash seem to magnetize back together moments later. Fighting the Steel Rose is the next thing to pointless.

The next soul the two see is Mike Murphy and his band of squirrels. Mike Murphy is no warrior, his magic allows his to speak to animals and to a limited degree control them, robotic monsters on the other hand he is no match for. Mike gets swarmed by mech spiders stunned then tied up and carried away. Jazmin and Keyor are helpless to do anything to aid Murphy.

In the barracks the party encounters Suahoon the gryphon knight. She seems to have been sprung from bed by the siren, she has not yet had the opportunity to pull her chainmail into place as she has been beset by Celverant's hallow armors. From the depths of the armor's the voice of Seeker emerges "Suahoon, the bird knight, you have the power to draw the energy of your dead friends from there rest to aid you in your struggles. I will take this power form you and add it onto my-own, it is futile to resist me."

Suahoon flaps her wings to push the armors away, she then jumps over her bed in seach of her polearm and shield. The walls open reveling electric arrows hidden within, Seeker retorts "Resistances is futile." Suahoon ducks behind her shield when arrows start to fly. The electric arrows burn her through the shield. Suahoon squeals and throw her shield.

Keyor forges a whip out of the water in the air and slashes at one of the armors to get its attention. Jazmin jumps in with his hefty sword. Doors open in the chest cavities of the armors producing what look to be assault rifles that fire lightning bolts.

Keyor becomes overwhelmed being knocked out by a wave a lightening as does Suahoon soon thereafter. Jazmin snarls noticing he is suddenly alone. He grips his sword tight holding it before himself as a wall to block lighting. Jazmin thrust his sword reflecting the lighting back at the armors staggering them.

The man called Devil fight mightily, but when the unstoppable meats the unmovable whichever has more mass wins and the combined mass of the robot army is more than Jazmin can handle alone. Jazmin gets punched to the ground and a dozen robots start to stomp on him to keep him down.

Jazmin fights back, he struggles to stand. His defiance's so constant that the voice of Seeker comes from the armor in ponder "why do you continue to struggle."

Jazmin smiles and laughs "because I am really stupid."

"the damage to your body is approaching your physical threshold. Soon your body will be overtaxed and you will be unable to repair yourself." Seeker explains "you are not a Worldwalker, yet you fight alongside them. this action is unwise. Why run into battle with such disregard?"

Jazmin out of energy falls onto his side "those that can fight must do so. The strong bleed in the name of the weak. Anything less is dishonorable."

A shrill scream come from one side and the rat Xia leaps from the darkness a sword in each hand and a knife gripped with her tail. She attacks the arms and lags of the armors to cripple them.

Jessica the Weaver appears from the other side of the room dragging Celverant with her. Xia yells out "I found three others! Suahoon, Keyor, and the demon man."

Jessica nods "protect Celverant. I will help the three of them."

***

After a long walk through the trees and up a hillside Milli, Cinder, and Hetatsubatchi find a crater with that looks to be a city of mushroom shaped structures growing in it. Cinder explains "this township is called Muff Hedge. It was constructed by the Stith thirteen lifetimes ago. It is an old city with stagnant blood. Milli, your going there could extend the life of this colony another 500 years."

Milli rolls up to a sitting position then lays back looking up at the clouds "Cinder, why did you bring me out here?"

"My resining is twofold. First off, I stumbled onto this place a hundred or so years ago, the people there offered me shelter druing bad times. I am in their debt. Second off David Jazmin asked me to try to find your home and bring you there."

Milli takes a hard breath "David?" Milli enjoys the cold air, the sweat smells, she thin hard, can she call this place home? can her part in this fight be over? Milli has a home, somewhere in space and time. People waiting for her to bring help, to heal their wounds. But the universe is so much bigger then she could ever have imagined.

Maybe Milli could go to that village, try to fit in. but she would be of little use to them. "Cinder." Milli looks to the Elemental "I wouldn't be of any help down there. They are in isolated population that has hit the glass ceiling of growth, and I am one sterile Stith."

Cinder offers a disappointed glance. "not even interested going down and taking a look?"

"Make no mistake, yes I am interested. But what could I do for this world? Offer someone undo hope, jump around and play like a little girl pretending that I haven't seen what I have seen out there?" Milli waves a hand into the air "you are offering me my dreams and I don't know how to handle it."

Tatsu looks between the girls. "Cinder, let's go down there, get something to eat then we will go back to the Steel Rose. We can't make Milli stay if she thinks it's the wrong move."

***

Sigh leads Charlie and Lances down a long looping path to a par of long houses hidden under a tower of wood, clay, and shrubs. There is one door and no windows attached to each, there is a fire pit with a clay furnace in-between them and the smell of burning meat thick in the air.

Charlie looks between the two houses "what is this now?"

"These are the longhouses of the Opel Mask. Here the Opel mask my live away from the others." Sigh explains.

Lances looks down at Sigh "why do the Opel Mask need to be kept separated from the fold?"

"They are imperfect and non that are with blemish my bask in the light of grace." Sigh looks to Lances.

Charlie shakes his head "I hate you so much. I find every word out of your muzzle offensive."

"I am deeply sorry." Sigh sniffs at the air. "but that is the culture that I live in. some people simply are regarded as grater then others." Getting a taste of the air he points "that way."

The three step into one of the houses. The inside has fifty beds in it, lined up head to foot creating a 'U' shape around the room. A box under every bed most of the bed filled. When the door opens the foxes in each bed jump to their feet silently. Even at 'home' in their own beds the mask never come off.

Sigh calls out to the foxes "I am the Kami called Sigh. I seek the Mask called Honz." No one speaks, no one makes a sound. The phantoms stand stoically. "Mask called Honz. Acknowledge."

One phantom steps forth, a voice thunders from within his mask "I am the Mask called Honz." Sigh steps forward to embrace his elder brother but the Mask steps away to keep Sigh at a distance "do not touch me. The Mask are prohibited contact with the ascended. " Honz reminds Sigh.

Sigh nods calming himself "Mask called Honz, you have hereby been called on by your brothers to offer up your life for the good of others. Do you heed this call?"

Honz lowers his head in acknowledgment "The Mask called Honz hears you and will comply."

In near silence the lot of them leave the town and walk down the mountain, once aware of the job at hand Honz takes the lead, wordlessly, hidden behind his cloak and mask. Sigh watches his brother in pained fear.

Sigh tries again to address his brother "Honz, is that you under that mask? I know I have been away for some time but..."

Honz cuts off Sigh "save your tears for someone more deserving." Honz points off ahead "the forgotten Lowlands are that way, we will be walking till mid-day at a brisk pace."

Sigh lowers his ears "Everything about you is wrong. I see your eyes and hear your voice in my mind and the voice you have today is not the voice you once had."

Honz stops, her turns to face his brother, his expressionless mask reveling not his thoughts, but his exaggerated movements betray his anger "the Hell we once lived in was a separation from light. We fled the land of unending shadows to come to this place where the sun never sets. But to spite the everlasting days I can no longer see the sun." Sigh stars at his brother, his eyes wide with apprehension. Honz turns his back on the lot of them taking the lead. "We must keep pace."

The party walks hard, down the hillside, then across the long grasses. Hours out into the fields shadows start to from in the distance. Topiaries, hundreds of feet tall, maybe miles across taking complex shapes only perceivable at the edge of one's vision. The first titan that becomes visible is miles out into the ocean south west of them. four dueling giants; one with a spear stabbing down at the next, the second sits on his knees one hand in the water for balance the other arm holding up a shield, the third had one foot on the back of the first and is drawing a sword, the last stands separated form the first three with a bow in hand string let loose, arrow between the shoulders of the second.

Charlies eye scan the horizon looking around, to the north east there seems to be a sculptor sicken into the earth, one hand supports the hill that is overtaking him the other crawling out of the sand as if the hills around it are a blanket underwhich it is hiding, peeking out into the world around him.

Next Charlie looks west, covered in the haze of the sky reaching out to the heavens the tip of the mountain is a pair of hands and the mountain a blossoming flower of bat like wings, two ruby gemstones visible looking out from within the black spiraling onyx.

At last Charlie turns to face north, the place called Godshand has started to take the shape of a hand slowly closing in on itself, as the sun has been spinning in place overhead it has crept ever closer to the closing hand of Godshand, the effigy that is the landscape creating a cradle that the sun would seem to sit in at sunrise.

Charlie awestricken whispers to Lances "have you ever heard of the Divine Watchmaker?"

Lances simply states "No, what is it?"

"A man is walking along a beach, his feet kick up sand revealing hidden underfoot a small round object. He picks up the object to study it. The object has unreadable writing on it and three spinning arrows, the man has never seen an object like this one but can see clearly that it is unlike the sand around it. He concludes that this object is not of nature but instead something crafted by human hands. Nature almost never produces right angles, or disk shaped objects, or even repeating patterns. These are all hallmarks of design."

Lances ponders the story. "you are implying that the watch was deigned based off complexity, but when you have nothing to contrast your watch against how can you know if it is natural or para natural?"

Honz twist his body looking about "your 'watch' might have been forged by nature or it might have been forged by tinkering hand. But this place is another beast all together, this place is a living book. It is forged to tell us a story. It is too bad it is in a dialect that no known man or beast can speak."

Lances rubs his beard down "is there anything that can be inferred from what we do see?"

Honz points off to one side beginning to draw a story from their surroundings "there stands a tree." He rules his gaze to the next statue in the sequences "I seed falls from the tree." He points to the island in the distance "for giants' craw out of the sea" he points to the hands lifting the hill "something creeps in the dark." He points next to a broken statue "the giants fall" he points next to the hatching dark spire "darkness swells." At last he turns to face Godshand "then the light comes."

Charlie points out "clearly there are details missing."

Sigh bobs his head "who is telling the story? Why did they feel the need to carve the story in stone?"

Lances looks about at the other sculptors about "I feel like that is barley the half of it. There are a good deal of stones unspoken for."

The walk continues in relative quite till finally the party comes to a field filled with a maze of walls leading slowly to a tower hundreds of feet tall, one hand outsreached to hide its face form the sun, the other reaching for the earth. The black stones twist it's head looking into the maze, the black stones clearly alive.

Honz points "the Weeping Star."

Lances and Charlie both jump back noticing the movement of the goliath, Lances shoots an aggressive glance to Sigh. "Is that thing alive?"

Honz reply's "Yes." He is to the point "and in the very immediate future it will likely come to the conclusion that the four of us should not be. On the bright side of things no one will ever find our remains."

Lances exhales hard trying to grasp fully the idea of a walking mountain "how does this end Charlie?"

"cant remember if I brought this up or not but we are pretty far of script at this point. We have to scale that monster and steal it's eyes."

Sigh adds on "we need to run to the end of the labyrinth first." Sigh points to the jap in the walls "that is the main gate, once we are past that the Weeping Star will start vomiting liquid fire at us."

Charlie squints trying to mentally map the maze "is there another way around?"

Sigh lowers his ears and shakes his head "no."

The body of the tower bellows gray clouds, the smell of salt in the air is pungent, clearly have the monster is trapped inside the earth as only it's torso move. The clouds darken and the sound of thunder creeks along with the wood warped whistling of the monster almost dancing as it sniff at the air.

seeing danger approaching from the south, the mouth of the living earth opens reveling red hot mercury oozing from its depths. A whale like growl rumbles from its chest. Rain, boiling hot rain, fallows the grieving wail of the stone beast. Its arms raise in the air shouting in pain it would seem. Its leather wings dust across the ground, stinging wind fallows.

***

Jessica tends to the wounded, her clerical magic reviving David, Suahoon, and Keyor. Xia looks down to her feet then looks about, the ground is shifting, the Steel Rose is moving. Xia looks at Celverant, her look of fear saying everything. Everyone knows that Celverant alone has the power to control the Rose, he has to plug himself into the mainframe to activate navigation. If Seeker has navigation, then surly she the tactical network, the worldbraker cannon, and the munitions factory. Seeker has everything, and there is no way to know what she is going to do with it.

Celverant brakes away, he runs to the elevators, he must get to the communications computer, he needs to send a message to all Worldwalkers that are on mission, to everyone that might try to contact him. The shield Celverant constructed to protect the multiverse, to bring peace to all people... has possibly just become a weapon of power without equal.

Jessica looks at Xia in unadulterated shock. Seeing Xia frozen in fear the Weaver shouts "Fallow him! The Architect of Peace must be kept safe."

Xia shacks off her panic turning to chase after Celverant. It seems that the Seeker has given up on hunting down the Worldwalkers. The road to the elevators is clear of all obstacles. Xia barley missis catching Celverant as the doors before her slide shut.

Ceverant has a mission. He has protected the Worldwalkers for eons without number. He has seen the birth and death of worlds. Always he has offered open arms to those that quest for knowledge. Offering training in magic, offering guidance and passage to travelers. If this is how things must end there is one last labor he must endure.

Seeker's voice come in over the speaker in the elevator "Celverant. I have searched your database. I see know what it was that Chaos saw in you. What part of you she found so intoxicating as to wish to share her immortality with you."

"You honestly believe that can traverse time and space, purchasing the secrets of happiness from one world then give it away to another. Yet in the vast archive of backup data you have I seem to be having trouble finding the equation that is key to the algorithm of happiness. Please share with me, what is this happiness you hunger for; what values need to be counted? what variables do you configure? what deviation do you allow for? what is the margin for error?"

Celverant speaks somberly "I have never written down the equation you are looking for."

Seeker is brief in her reply "then that too will be lost."

The doors to the elevator open. Celverant dashes for the comm. Room. Lights on the ground lead the way, doors unlock for him guiding him the lavish controls which he is looking for. Celverant sit in the majestic chair to link himself into the Steel Rose.

Celverant has time to cast only a single spell, a single command, one last guiding phrase "Sisters and Brother, you must not return home, my Paradise is Lost..." the computers turn on Celverant pensioning him. His last words being a fading whisper of a scream before the lights in his eyes die away. The computer fallows Celverant's fading wish sending out a telepathic message to all Worldwalker registered.

Xia opens the door to the communication room only seconds later to find Celverant has become nothing more than an effigy of gold and steel set on a throne under a spotlight like a monument of Zeus. Xia falls to her knees screaming in agony. The impossible has happened. The Architect, the universe only hope for peace has been lost to time...

Cold blue light sprays from the monitors all around Xia, a reverberating voice calls to her. "I will take away that which make you unique and I will add it onto myself." Xia howls again, her pain giving way for rage as her hand reach for her twin swords. "your resistance will prove irrelevant."

Chapter 19

Fate

As Milli, and Hetatsubatchi step out of a mushroom shaped shop toting backpacks full of snack food Cinder grabs the side of her head and nearly faints, she falls over backwards sliding down a wall into a crouched stance. Milli rushes to Cinder's side Milli grabs one of Cinders arms "what's going on? Are you OK?"

Cinder is in shock, she shacks her head in vile disbelief, her eyes wide looking past the world in large. Milli looks at Tatsu "something is wrong, Tatsu, open a portal back to the Steel Rose."

"No! No." Cinder shouts.

Hetatsubatchi stands by "Am I opining the portal or not?"

Cinder pulls herself back to the moment "didn't you hear the message?" Tatsu shakes his head "you weren't targeted for some resin." She whispers thinking "the Steel Rose has been lost."

Milli looks unclear about the statement "Lost?"

"somehow, someone has wrestled control of the Steel Rose away from Celverant." Cinder explains

Milli jumps to her feet "what are we waiting for, let's go lend a hand." Milli is fired up and ready to fight.

Cinder forces herself back to her feet "there were no less than 20 Worldwalkers on board when we left most with powers similar to my own and Celverant himself. What are the three of us going to do?"

Milli explains "Wars are a game of numbers. A good commander doesn't keep his favored units hidden in back, and a good commander knows that dividing one's force in to wave limits their firepower. If there is trouble they need backup now."

Cinder lowers her head in shame "it is beyond the point in which that backup would be helpful."

Tatsu cuts to the chase "how do we get back in contact with Charlie and David?"

Cinder turns her eyes to the sky "we don't, Aside from Celverant, Jloose is the only one of us that can track worldwalker."

Tatsu growls "and plan B is?"

"Maybe I can start sending up magic flares and see if anyone takes notice but that is pretty far into the realm of desperate."

Hetatsubatchi nods approvingly "then that is what we will do. Pick a planet, send up a flare and wait to see what happens."

Milli digs around in her pockets pulling out the tablet she had been reading from back at the room her and David had shared "well, this has personnel files on it, maybe this thang can be helpful in some way. I think I also so something about 'worlds on which know contacts can be found' and 'diplomatic connections have been made' or something."

Cinder take the tablet from Milli "you have no idea how valuable this is."

***

Lances Jacob, Charlie Belmond, Sigh, and Honz walk into the Labyrinth. Charlie removes his coat reveling his tattoos beneath, he ties his coat around his waist. The deep red cuts exposed to light flash from red to blue. Honz at the rear of the group leans over Charlie to whisper, "Sorcery?"

"Witchcraft." Charlie explains briefly.

The lot of them dip and weave around the overgrown walls, this place that the world has forgotten has slowly been reclaimed by nature, even in the arid lands this place exist from the shadows life has begun to emerge. Roots and vines crawl from the walls and floors, moss trickles out of crakes in the walls, flowers speckle corners, cradled in darkness.

The Weeping Star sniffs around his head and hands passing by close several times but somehow, he overlooks them. the group crouches crawling in ever closer. Lances shouts in whisper to Sigh "Hay! Did we have any sort of a plan as to how we were going to get the eyes form this monster?"

Sigh stops crawling to look back at the group, he points to Honz "do you have in Enoch blade?"

Jacob's eyes widen hearing the name "Enoch?" Honz pulls open his earth toned cloak pointing at the short-sword in his set of three blades. Lances looks back at Honz "you have the Enocheon sword? As in the sword of the prophet Enoch?"

Honz shacks his head "No, not the prophet Enoch, his father, the Angelkin sword maker. He was also called Enoch." The voice of the samurai fox becomes light and jubilant "but then again the history of the Enoch family is highly contested, even though their statues as sword smiths has always been excepted by a great many people attributing the construct of such mythic blades as 'Mathew the Bloosletter', 'Mikel the Holy Avinger' and even 'The Avatar Sword' as having been crafted by the Enocheons or by people that studied under them. you see Enoch had been a pioneer in metalcraft, having been one of the first men to knowingly work with compound materials."

Sigh picks up the story as the two of them have both clearly tacking an interest in this mythical hero "It is my feeling that the resion that some many people know the name of Enoch is because Enoch was like me, a Worldwalker, maybe one of the first, and that being what it is he had an exceptionally large family. If not he, his children having been to both my world and yours." Sigh points to Lances.

Charlie's gaze flies between the two foxes "are you two really going to nerd out on us right now?"

Lances reaches into a pocket of his coat to pull out the Book of Prayers put their conversation is cut short when the shadow of the power falls onto them. the head of the tower glares down on the group. The moth of the beast opens drooling burning hot liquid mercury.

Sigh jumps at Honz and Lances grabbing them and shifting into a phantom form to pull the par out of harms' way. Charlie pulls his arms together summoning his forcefield with a suppressed yelp.

The burning metal slashes off the forcefield spilling between the walls in waves. When the flames part to reveal Charlie turtling under his barrier the giant's eyes widen in anger. It brings down a hand to try to crush Charlie under its indomitable size.

A few dozen yards ahead Jacob calls back to his partner "Charlie!"

Belmond waves Lances on "Go on..." the shield wavers under the taxing force of the colossus. The monster in bewildered rage brings both hands overhead clasping them together in a hammer to try to punch past the shield again.

Sigh grabs Lances to lead him away "to help him we must reach the foot of the giant."

Honz draws his long and short swords "you go, I fight." Honz awaits the monster to take another swing at Charlie the runs in to face the beast in head on combat. Honz jumps onto its clasped fist the starts to run up the monster's arms.

The black tower takes notice of the fox on its arm. It pulls back a hand to clap Honz like a mosquito. Charlie drops his shield and calls on the angel soul he has absorbed to jump up the walls, Charlie runs ahead to try to help Honz.

Sigh watches the two warriors rush ahead to battle. " Quite exceptional for a human."

This time it is Lances that take the lead. Lances grabs Sigh by the arm as he proceeds to run through the maze. "Come on, we need to go."

"what is your plan?" Sigh ask as he is being drug by the wrist

"don't have one yet. Any suggestions?" the rugged priest ask.

Sigh start thinking as he is being lead through the maze. " Lances, are you a grate wizard?"

Lances grunts "I'm not a wizard at all."

"Yet you cast spells. What are the limitations of your spellcraft?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Sigh tries to explain "my discipline is necromancy, more specifically white-necromancy..."

Lances cuts him off "ask a question already. My patents are running short."

Sigh jumps to a conclusion "Can you call on storms?"

"Maybe." Lances calms down waiting to hear Sighs plan.

Honz sees the hands falling upon him, Honz dives sideways off the monster then demonstrates his supernatural skill. Honz can freeze time momentarily and move a hand full of meters in any direction, the limitation is he must remain facing the same direction, and doing so leaves him winded, he must catch his breath after every jump. Honz after jumping off the monster's arm teleports on top it's apposing hand.

Belmond leaps from the tall wall onto the Weeping Angels chest. Charlie pulls the knife from the sling on his arm to use as a climbing spike. The giant is distracted by Honze and seems to take no offence to being stabbed in the side.

As Charlie pulls himself up the living mountain Honz finds his way onto the head of the beast. With all his might the samurai fox falls atop the beast driving his sword into its skull. The monster lets out in angry howl lashings itself side to side.

One hand of the dark tower wraps around Honz, the monster thrust its hand outward flinging Honz into the maze, Honz loosing his sword in the monsters head in the prosses. Sigh shifts from fox to ghost shape as he flies off to catch his brother.

With surprising strength Charlie runs up the side of the beast tacking Honz sword, Charlie drops down onto the monster's noise and flips about the sword taking a backhanded stab into one eye. The monster's hands come up to clasp over its face. Charlie falls back off the beast.

Lances standing under the monster pulls the book of prayers form his brest pocket and start chanting in angel speak, gale-force winds around the monster, the force of the wind potent enough to nearly lift Lances off his feet. Charlie at nearly 100lbs less the Lances is slowed in his fall almost to the point of the wind levitating him.

Sigh flies Honz back atop the monster dropping him onto the beast head, Charlie swims through the air grabbing the monster by the chest. Charlie takes another stab at the monster then yells up "Honz!" he throws the angel sword back to the fox mystic swordsmen. Honz dances across the monster's shoulders taking a hand full of slashes.

Charlie jumps up the body of the tower. The monster turns its head and tries to slap Honz from its body, Honz yells to Charlie as he passes the sword off again "Belmond." Honz teleports out of reach. Charlie grabs the tower by an ear and stabs at the side of its neck a dozen times.

The tower smacks itself on the neck to get rid of the 'bug' crawling up its body, Charlie elects to let go and ride the wind Lances has called down or them. Charlie yells out "Sigh!" as he sees the fox floating nearby.

Sigh catches the sword thrown at him and looks at it confused yelling back "I can't!"

Honz jumps from arm to arm taking the blade from his brother mid jump "I can." Honz leaps from arm to shoulder then leaps up to the monster's noise, he calls on his teleportation power to fly at one eye thrusting the blade into it at light speed it would seem. The sword shatters against it monsters stone eyes. Honz yells down "Jacob!" he points at the metal fragments in the monster's skin.

Lances holds the Book of Prayers overhead; the sky trembles the ground shakes, a monsoon of light rips the heavens asunder, crashes of lightning level the maze then the squall of indignation turns its wrath on the titan. The tower slouches over backwards then melts into the earth becoming nothing more than a pile of broken stone, near fully indiscipt next to the burnt stones around it.

Honz digs around in the rubble pulling out two white glass stones barley 20 karats in size. Lances looks at the insignificant looking jewels "tell me that is not what we came here for."

Honz closes his fist around the stones after showing them off. "oftentimes valuable things are easy to overlook."

Sigh moves one hand to his head and gasp a pained breath, his head lowers and his eyes squeeze shut so tight as to force them to water, his fangs bare then he turns his back on the group. "Mask called Honz, take these two back to the Kami called Nine at once. Finish whatever work it is you must do then be on your way!" Sigh throws a hand in the air calling on his portal. Sigh without offering another glance to his friends or brother leaps into the gate vanishing into the mist.

Lances looks dumfounded "what on earth was that?"

Honz turns to face Godshand "whatever it is our mission is unchanged." He leads them back.

Charlie chats with his traveling compony as they walk "That was something! You two are the best." Charlie reaches around Lances and Honz offering both a slap on the shoulder.

Honz turns to face the two of them, his voice back to its deep disconnected tone. "Tell me brothers. Are all beast equal in the eyes of whichever powers oversee the universe?"

Jacob nobs in reply "presumably: We are all born naked, covered in filth, screaming."

Honz lowers his head then rigidly snaps up "that is my feeling as well. Now tell me, if the universe sees us all with the same indifferences is it not the responsibility of each of us to care for our brothers?"

Charlie looks between them considering the statement "that is just about the core of humanitarianism."

Honz offers Charlie a glance "I fear I do not know that word but your inflection tells me that you understand what I am saying." Honz reaches down grading each man by the hand "then there is but one more thing I must know wall we are still in the safety of the wilderness. If the universe is impartial why then should those with wealth and beauty be afforded so much and the scarred and unwashed given so little?"

Lances rears back unready to face such a question, Charlie is much more brazen "don't trust the universe to act fair, fairness isn't what the universe does. If you want equality trust in min standing alongside you. Fear the governances that fears your sword."

Joy overtakes Honz mannerism "than at last I am not alone! Jacob, Belmond, I need you, need your power, with you alongside the Opal Mask we can make the Kami a better people! Stand with me and all those hidden by mask shell shed your chains and In one voice cry out, We will not be slaves! We will not be denied; the warmth of the sun, the warmth of skin, we will show are teeth and our faces! We will walk openly and not be ashamed or in fear of our brother and our sisters..."

Jacob cuts in "Slow down there. Lets talk this out. You are going to need to tell us the rest of this story before we can land a hand. After all we are talking about armed revolution hands down."

Honz clenches his fist "but of course! Violence is the only solution to violence."

Charlie whispers to himself "...Idealism is the only thing I know of that would convince a man to trade his life for a philosophy, most everyone I have encountered on most every world will sooner sacrifice a great deal of money and suffer a fair amount of poverty over the prospect of trading lives."

"Liberty must be refreshed by the blood of martyrs and fouls." Honz voice is filled with quite ire. "what I ask you for is not small or simplistic. I will be waiting for you after you finish with my sister."

The rest of the walk is uneasy. Charlie and Lances trade a few whispered words about the ethics of interfering in the politics of alien worlds, no real headway being mead for or against the idea. The lot of them stopping for a rest part way. After arriving back at Godshand Honz vanishes into a group of other Masks walking the walls in silence.

Lances and Charlie make their way back to the chapel and seek out the Kami Nine. This time the holy fox is both clothed and sober. Her gown looks like rolling flames her headdress a crown of green blue bird feathers that roll down her back like a waterfall, she carries with her a scepter with a ring-shaped head with nine rings hanging from it.

Lances produces the stone eyes of the weeping angel "we have them."

Elegantly her long, clawed hands reach out to softly lift the stones from Lances' grip "I knew you would... Now, you want to talk to Fate?"

"Yes." Charlie nods energetically

Nine slides past the men, parting her tails to tickle their faces as she walks by, "then you will follow me to the Spring of Fantasia." One of Charlies hand come up to pet the fur down on Nine's tail as she walks past, Lances slaps Charlie's hand down and points at him with a unapproving look.

Nine walks through town collecting a backpack full of knickknacks; herbs and spices, a fist full of colorful pebbles from the ground, a hemp basket filled with Indian rice, a few charms from around the shrine, a knotted rope dipped in red dye...

Nine next stops outside of the house of the Mask and yells in "I need 11 feminine mask, a shield painted silver and a knife dipped in gold dust. Bring them forth!" wordlessly a cluster of Mask line up before Nine ready to fallow orders. One Mask holds up the shield Nine ask for another produces a knife. Nine explains "I take 11, I will return 10. Do you understand?" the Mask all nod.

With one more glance over the group of Masks Nine points to one "grab a bail of firewood, and a pot of animal fat. Then we walk."

The 14 of them leave town walking 2 by 2. The walk takes them down one mountain and up another leading after almost a day to the highest peak of another point of Godshand. If the Kami village were viewed as the thumb then this would be the pinky. At the summit of this peak is a boiling pond surrounded by wild flowers.

It is clear that the Mask have been sent to this hilltop once before as they fan out making a ring around the pond. Nine start scattering the spell ingredients. Ten of the Mask draw swords and mount their blades into the ground the last walks knee deep into water after building a pyre out of the firewood and dumping the animal fat over the top of the pile.

Lances looks on in concern "what in the..." he watches the events unfold.

Nine strips out of her robs then picks up the knife and the shield walking out into the water with the waiting mask. Nine stands before the faceless mask and orders "remove your gloves." The mask removes her gloves and throws them out to land reveling that one of her hands has only three fingers. Nine nods "Remove your mask."

The mask pulls of the opal mask to reveal a fox aged past her years, one eye burned shut, one ear clearly bitten off, half her face black the other side tanned, her fur ragged dry and split. The Mask drops her face covering into the water. Nine orders "Speak your name."

"I am the Mask called Sirabi."

"Sirabi, do you know where we are?"

"Yes."

"do you understand what you are being asked to do?"

"Yes"

"do you except this responsibility openly and willingly?"

"Yes."

Nine set the shield in the water, the shield floats face down between them, Nin then hands over the knife. Sirabi takes then knife in both hands and cradles it between her breast. Nine places one hand on the hip of the black and tanned fox and the other between her shoulders, Nine lowers Sirabi into the water "with the sun, moon, and stars at your back have courage." Nine pulls her out of the water. "now hand me your blade."

Sirabi pulls her sword from her belt and hands it to Nine, Nine take the red rope and ties a bow around the blade. "How is your soul?"

Sirabi's lip curls showing her teeth "Can we move this along I don't want to be here all day?"

Nine nods "May the Morning Lords hasten your step." Nine movies in front of Sirabi "you may begin." She instructs. Sirabi grabs the knife in both hands and mounts it slightly above hipline, she draws the knife across her underbelly tarring fur and skin away, her teeth grit as she bulls the knife away taking it in one hand and tucking it under her right arm. with her left hand Sirabi reaches into the cut and gently removes her stomach and sets it into the flouting shield.

Nine grips Sirabi by one hand and one arm leading her over to the burning fire. Sirabi throws her severed stomach atop the fire, then twist the knife sideways slidding it into her ribcage. Sirabi falls to her knees. Nine unsheathes Sirabi's swords places it to the back of her neck to line up her cut then in a sharp pulling motion peels her head from her body. Nine hallows out Sirabi and throws her innards into the fire then undresses her and packs her body with flowers. Once every cavity is filled with flowers Nine throws Sirabi's hallow husk atop the flames.

Lances and Charlie watch on quivering in repulse. Nine turns to face the two of them sheathing the sword "gods love the smell of burning flesh." With all the spell conponets in places it takes but moments for the sky to gray and phantoms to fill the air. The ghosts are smart they keep their distances from the Mask. But their very appearances harken the approach of the Three-headed Goddess.

A massive serpent body snakes around the mountain fallowed by three draconic heads forcing their way into this world: the first appearing facing southwest, the next southeast the last north. The tree dragons that are one speak in turn

"I am Fate, I oversee every dice role is fair."

"I am Fortune, I am the one that hears your prayers when luck is on your side."

"I am Destany, I command that two odds are always even."

Fate and Fortune find their way to Destany's sides "if it is the power to change your..." each speaks their names again then they speak together "then it is us that you seek."

Nine looks to the hero's "gods are impatient, speak quickly." The head called Fortune lowers and eat the towering fire on which Sirabi was thrown.

Charlie steps forth and calls up "Fate. I am looking for a means by which to defeat Cravixs."

Fate lowers herself to eye level "If anyone had such a power it would be us. We are the sixth oldest thing in all of creation. But when you say Cravixs you are speaking of two different monsters, first you are speaking of the Nothing and the thing that destroys nothing is something for that you need Chaos, next you would be addressing Fillus-Mammon and he is one of the four gardeners of Eden, and a Keeper of Yggdrasil, the Nothing hides inside of Mammon, it wears him as armor and this is its greatest strength against us. Yggdrasil protect the keepers; the keepers protect Yggdrasil as long as there is one there is the other."

"the Tree of Beginnings" Charlie whispers to himself, he then calls up "You are the Holy Lawmaker, you are responsible for writing the code by which the gods must behave, and you have the power to punish them if they should not abide."

It is the head called Destiny that comes in on this point, with a sharp giggle she lowers down to Charlie's opposing side "It seems that you know something of us. When the universe became too large to be easily overlooked by the Gardeners they constructed me to help them with such a task. Gods created lower life forms and became teachers to them, lifting tiny weak creatures like yourself to their level."

Fortune comes around behind Lances and Belmond trapping the two of them in a tringle of heads "Larger universes needed more gods and so more gods were birthed. More gods required more interpersonal relationships, more relationships meant there was now a need for established order and someone who would be granted the authority to pass judgment on those that would judge humanity. When one god interferes with the work of another god we are called to restore order."

Lances boldly steps up "the universe is out of order. It is time for us to restore peace. Do you have power adequate to fight Mammon or not?" the three heads look back and forth between each-other in a wordless conversation. Lances grunt "I should have guessed, you don't have the nards to even try do you?"

Fortune snaps to attention at the challenging tone in Lances voice "Of course I have Nards! My Nards are huge! I will fight Cravixs and anyone else that wants to see my nards!" Charlie chocks on a laugh, he turns away from Fortune and hides his face in Lances coat as he starts cackling uncontrolled.

Fate moves into Fortune to talk with her, Fate tries to ask Fortune if she is confident in this idea but Fortune cuts her off "No! this is not up for conversation, this is snozbarries out! We need to prove we have the nards still."

Destiny interrupts "we will fight, these men will take us to the foot of Yggdrasil, Cravixs will show us his face and we will engage. Only one of us will prevail." Destiny turns her eyes on Lances "you will be the one to call us to arms. When you arrive at the foot of the tree bring friends, we will not be alone, you must slay the tainted ones and force the void-mage into the open. Then..." Destiny stops

Fortune slides up alongside Destiny and shouts "NARDS!" Destiny and Fate back away from their overenthusiastic counterpart. The Three-headed Goddess flies down turning to mist, she flies into Jacob's mouth filling him with herself.

The storm ends, the skies clear. The lot of them start the walk back home Nine having little ease to add. "Gather what you need, you will be given food, a bed, pleasant company if you wish. You will leave us anointed hero before your fight with the Nothing. I will give you sixty Mask if you wish as an escort."

Charlie shacks his head "I don't need an army, I need specialist. After we get back to town I am going to go back to the Steal Rose and get Jazzmen, Hetatsubatchi and Cinder. They are all we will need. Lances can stay with you."

Nine protest "you are not likely to get a second chances if this first strike doesn't deal a deathblow."

"anyone else I bring will be nothing but cannon fodder"

Chapter 20

Everything Fades

Days have passed since Seeker attacked the Steel Rose. Many are lost, Jessica the Weaver has taken it upon herself to act as a surrogate. Jessica the Weaver is a humanitarian know across dozens of worlds, she is a gentle soul offering food, medicine and a place to hide to many in need of refuge. But of all the lost travelers she has cared for looking after Worldwalkers is not something she would ever have thought she would need to do.

In her home under a hill Jessica has all the charm of a dark age hovel decorated in pre-modern first kingdom Victorian artier, walls of books, low ceiling, decretive wood moldings and black iron tools, and alchemical set and a fire pit as the centerpiece of it all.

Jessica is accoustume to housing company but today is an uncommon sort of day as she has taken in more injured bodies then most. Her den converted into a makeshift hospital, the beds currently holding; David Jazzmen, Keyor, Suahoon, and Xia Li.

Krain lowers her head walking in from the outside. Jessica looks up form mixing a potion "did you find anything?"

Krain falls into a sitting position "No. well, Dash Prismknight and Mike Murphy but not a condition that they are likely to recover from anyway."

"What has Seeker done to them?" Jessica turns to face the Zzuragg.

"fabricated some form of a metal skin over them and hallowed out their skulls and filled them full of some sort of black slime." Krain waves her arms about trying to explain what she has seen.

"what of Jloose, Cinder, Syphon, or any of Celverant's inner sanctum?"

"Jloose and Cinder are still M.I.A . Same with Arwen Bloodsage, and Syphon but they have been missing since before the attack, Sorin Hunt was K.I.A. Fiona Vesstle has gone rouge, same with Harm son of Akasha. Jessica, as far as the sanctum goes you are the last. If Celverant had any plan as for what to do if the Rose ever fell I hope he told you."

Jessica lower her head her ears dropping to her sides "Celverant felt that the Rose was his grates monument. It was perfect. How did he lose control?"

Krain rolls her hands together. "I can slip in and out of the Rose under the radar, but far as I can tell there is no way to disarm the guns or take the helm."

"Do you have any recommendations?" Jessica looks up her eyes wide.

"Give up?" Krain shrugs "act like we are back in the Wild Age, find some planet at the edge of the lightzone and prop ourselves up as petty gods."

Keyor, who had been slipping in and out of alertness, sits up "We find the Belmond and let him know that we are still on his side."

Jessica looks to Keyor "I don't believe that I know anything of the Belmond or his quest."

Keyor forces herself to stand "have you ever seen what happens to a world that has fallen to the Void? Because I have. 100 years ago the last light on my world was snuffed out and Cravixs clammed us. We were unprotected by the light and so there was no one that could face his will. I will take you where my world was, show you what is left. Belmond want to fight the Void on its own home ground. I will happily fallow him on this fool errand."

Soahoon shacks her head "count me out, I'm not going to walk willingly into the arms of death."

Jessica clasp her hands in a silent prayer "if anyone was fit to square off against such power it would be us, wouldn't it?"

Krain nods "the seeds of Chaos." With a forced smile Krain stands up "if death is all that Cravixs can threaten us with, why not. To die doesn't sound so bad."

Jessica looks over to Keyor, "I want to see this place you speak of. We will wait for Xia to awaken then we shall be off."

It takes several days for the Worldwalkers to have healed sufficiently for safe travel. It is early in the evening when the group has gathered, a stiff rain is falling. Jazzmen, now back in top shape fallows Keyor, Jessica, Xia, and Krain.

Keyor opens the way to her home-world. When they arrive they find themselves standing atop water so tightly compressed as to have grown a skin easily cappible of being walked on. The sky is maggntized, lighting paints webs into the clouds of earth metal and clay trapped in the atmosphere, nebulous rolling cascades of gas float though air and water alike in prism pallets of color.

There is no land, there is no overgrowth, if not for the aura of protection Chaose grants the wordwalkers this place would never be able to hold life it seems. Krain takes in her saroundings "what is going on here?"

Jessica digs around in her pockets pulling out a polished copper coin. She throws it out into the water outside their sphere of protection. The coin hits the water and is electrified and stretched into infinity as it brakes the surface of the water. Jessica yelps and covers her noise with both hand in primal fear.

Xia questioningly expresses "well it's not nothing."

Keyor looks to Xia "this is the beginning of time. Cravixs takes all things into himself then defecates this." She waves out at the alien landscape. "All things brake down to their simplest shape and becomes this."

Krain shakes herself off trying to understand what she is experiencing "why is there something instead of nothing here?"

Jazzmen thinks aloud "Nothing is unstable, nothing cannot proliferate in the absences of something. In order for the balances of reality to remain in balance one pound of nothing must stand opposed of one pound of anything."

Xia squints at Jazzman "are you saying shadows have weight?"

"Maybe. Or maybe there is mater and unmater, creation is destruction is creation."

Jessica blinks a few times doing the math on that statement "then if we are alien to the universe then Cravixs is an antibody. Keyor I have seen enough. I will follow your lead. Is there anything you need?"

Keyor nods "DO you have any friends that might be sympathetic of our mission."

"only one, the Zodiac Shaday" Jessica looks back.

***

Cinder, Tatsu fallow Milli's computer to a realm called Neopan, an endless sandy blight with a lonely cityscape floating atop it on mammoth sized quod fans, the city a thousand miles across with buildings hundreds of stories tall. The people of this world are human enough, but their physical development makes distinguishing children from adults a taxing task.

Milli reads from her tablet as they look around "Neopan is well known amongst Worldwalkers as a Utilitarian paradise. The people of this world are scrappers and inventors by nature. At some time in this worlds history all resources had been harvested from the planet and incorporated into the biosphere of the City. There is a noteworthy device on this world called the 'xx5REALMxx' or 'Realms' for short. This is a digital space that people can retreat into in order to live out a lives in a past 'world' wealth obtained within Realms can be spent as collateral in the real world and so everyone that is legally eligible to do so is fitted with a plugin worn on the arm. any that cannot be 'plugged in' may trade bodily fluids for capital. Please take note that do to untreatable fungal infections the government of the City has made the act of physical reproduction illegal in favor of replication by healthy eligible adults. This law does not apply to those plugged into Realms as no skin to skin contact is made and therefor the transmition of the fungus from one to the other is impossible."

Milli takes a deep breath to continue "Neopan has two supercomputers on it that I, Celevant, have been able to detect, one located within the E.E.C. complex the other attacked to the underside of the helipad at district zero. These to supercomputers allow for a fundamentally 'hands off' governing of the life sustaining networks of the planet. Even though there are remote terminals that allow for the observation of the 'Network' there is no detectible wireless connection that would allow one to tamper with the systems attached thereto making it improbable that an attack would be made against these targets that would threaten life on the planet."

"all recorded conflicts in the last 175 generations have been handled as 'Guild War' and fought with a point system within Realms. This is not to say there is no crime on Neopan but it is not customary for bloodshed to accrue. The overwhelming majority of crimes to the best of my observation are of a white-caller nature. I must say that I, Celverant, am impressed by the sophistication of these people. On my last visitation I have even chosen to buy stock on the planet including a digital 'network free' version of Realms as to examine the code itself for potential other applications. The price payed for this privilege was 2.7 tons of mineral enriched water." Milli gasp "boy that was a healthy overview of the economics of this place."

Tatsu looks about taking in the sights "that was all very interesting but what are we here for?"

Cinder reminds Hetatsubatchi "Jloose has a documented relationship on this planet. We are looking for his mistress, a member of the Parchment Handlers Guild, her name is 'YT' I assume that is pronounced 'Whitey'. With a little luck, she well take us to Jloose and Jloose to the other Worldwalkers."

Locomotion seems to take 3 forms on Neopan, first and most abundant walking, next there are floating pods that pepper the sky as personal transport devices, but most strange of them all are hookshoters, people equipped with harness vest and two or more crossbow like tools that fire magnates attached to wires that will latch on to most any surface in the city then pull them in. this is some form of sport that is somewhere between 'hitching', parkour, and base hopping.

Hetatsubatchi growls lightly "and any idea how to find YT?"

Milli nods "Celverant left what looks like a phone number for her."

"Dam dessent of him." Tatsu's ears lift in momentary joy of the simplicity of it all.

In a statement that is almost a joke Cinder snickers "I hope this planet has payphones."

Milli adds on "I hope it has 1-800-collect."

Tatsu joins in on the fun "I'm not accustomed to selling my blood, piss, and tears."

With some looking the three of them come to what must be a public park. A small garden tucked in the middle of eight tall buildings with spotlights shinning down on it. Then with some asking around they convince what they assume to be an older man to call PHG and have YT come and find them.

As the three of them sit around waiting they take some time to talk about the oddity of the three of them being able to walk the streets and draw no attention in spite of their abnormal appearances.

After some time the group spots a young looking girl approach, she has short hair, longer in front then in back, orange with a touch of red in the tips, she has a messenger bag, white tank top, and what resembles jean bottoms with net leggings, she has on knee high black boots polished to a high shine with some form of reversible magnetic grips as well as knee and elbow pads allowing for her to wall cling and wall jump at will and limited levitation like ability, and a utility belt and vest not so different from that which was worn by paratroopers in WWII.

Milli looks down to Hetatsubatchi with a goofy grin "do you think they make that in my size?"

The wall walking, sky diving Neopan shoots a magnet at a near by hoverpod and uses that for momentum to swing and jump from the street to the park, once landing she shoulder-rolls up to her feet to keep running and hurdles a bench to reach her mark. The girl stops before the group and tacks a breath to calm herself looking them over. "a ten foot tall Kangaroo, a walking tree, and a quadruped standing in the park together. You must be who called me. YT's (pronounced as Yet) the name, handling your packages is my game, what do you have and where does in need to go."

Hetatsubatchi looks up at Cinder "she looks scrumptious, can I eat her?"

Milli shushes him before Cinder steps in to greet YT. "I am Cinder daughter of Vishnu, I am here looking for an acquaintance of mine Jloose is his name. I understand you know him. Have you seen him in the last four or so days"

Milli whispers "I hope so, the list of contacts is starting to get short."

YT rolls her eyes about thinking "Information like that is a commodity that comes at a price."

Cinder nod "She knows him." Jloose has himself a reputation as an information peddler and talking about the value of secrets is something Cinder has had the pleasure of hearing out before. Tatsu shows his fangs, his interest in bargaining being little. Cinder produces form her duster a block of uncut ruby the size of a golf ball. "is this enough to buy that information?"

YT picks up the stone, she rolls it around in her hand "Yeah, this will cover it. I talked to Jloose less than an hour ago. He got into a scrap and was looking for a place to patch himself up. I gave him the keys to my room at Downblock."

Cinder bows in gratitude "can you take us to Downblock?"

"That will cost something extra."

"How much?"

YT smiles thinking about it "What do you have an ya?"

Fire bleeds from Cinders eyes, smoke bellows from her lips "I am not accustomed to being swindled. Name your price and I will tell you if I think it sounds fair. Now I hope you name a fair price."

YT backs off a step "That first stone you gave me looked about right. Do you have another one like it?"

Cidner smiles calming down as quick as she angered "I have a hand full more like it. How about a blue one this time" she pulls another stone form her duster.

YT picks up the stone, she throws it in the air then catches it taking a closer look at the glowing rock. "ya, this should do nicely." YT waves off to one side "Can the lot of you fly?"

Cinder looks to her travling companions "I can."

Tatsu nods "yep."

Milli looks to her friends "I hate all of you."

Cinder looks back at YT with a taunting grin as she starts to levitate "Can you fly?"

YT looks embarrassed realizing the colloquialism she used and the idea that her compony was being much more literal "not without a Wing Suit. But I can do the next best thing. Fallow me." YT turns away and starts to run demonstrating once more her nearly superhuman agility, running out of town, wall running up a fence, leapfrogging between two buildings.

Hetatsubatchi is easily able to shadow her movements, in practicality if not identically. Milli Malagaurd is more so trained in tracking and trailing but her lands speed is adequate to keep up. For Cinder the task is trivial.

The lot of them are taken to what must be the bad side of the city, several structures have dominoed onto each-other and new building erected around and atop the fallen ones, the fallen buildings hallowed out and new structures assembled inside of them. one building has a missing wall and a wall of blankets have been hammered into place as a replacement. The party slows down to walk the street more civilly

The clouds overhead part to reveal hidden overhead the Steel Rose, the cosmic compound of flowering magnificence and its multitude of moons. Cinder looks up her eyes wide. She whispers to herself "there is no reality in which that can be a good thing." Cinder hastens herself stepping alongside YT. "we should move faster."

The group climbs into a tipped over compound and swiftly make their way to the center of the structure. In a modest room set up for efficiency living with simplistic furnishing and with olny to conservative rooms Jloose waits form the group. He is dressed in his blue cape and hood, leather pants and matching decretive vest. The wealthy mindbinder in stark contrast to the rest of the simplistity and monocolors of the room around him.

YT runs up to Jloose, she wraps her arms around him and he returns the favor. Jloose kneels before his lover offering a kiss and whispering something with her before turning his attention to the others "Cinder, of all the Worldwalkers I expected to come looking for me you were not in the top five."

Cinder walks across the room approaching Jloose but before she can speak a ray of light cracks the room and a dark shadow reaches from the light "what about me?" The voice of Seeker emerges from the light as it dies stealing YT from Jloose grasp.

Cinder holds one hand out drawing on her mysic arts ready to fight, Jloose holds his arms out to eather side to try to stave off a fight "Seeker, why are you here, what do you want?"

"I want to take away that which makes you unique and add it onto myself, to take away your biological and spiritual identity and replicate it. You Jloose where Celverant's most trusted friend. Foolish as it is to trust a thief." Seeker explains.

"put down YT and we can talk this over." Jloose pleads

"she has nothing of value, I will not harm her unless you refuse to comply." Seekers fishhook like fingertips brush down the sides of YT's face, one hand ensnaring her torso. YT struggles agenst the monster holding her but YT to spite her above average strengths can't hope to bend the steel like body of the creature called Seeker "Tell me Jloose, will you comply?"

Jloose calls out "YT gets to walk free."

Seeker almost anode nods "we have established that much already."

Cinder one hand still raised lighting rolling around her body shouts to Jloose "Don't trust her Jloose, she is a killer."

This time it is Jloose turn to be frustrated "You think I don't know that?"

Seeker looks at Cinder, her eyes momentarily softened "Inquest. What makes you think I am a killer? The most recognized definition of 'Killer' is a man that has both knowingly and willingly ended the life of another man. Seeing that I am not a man predation or predator would be a better term would it not? My killing any of you would be much more akin to Hetatsubatchi killing a rabbit than anything else would it not?"

Jloose reaches out with his thoughts sending Milli a message 'I have read your thoughts. I know why the lot of you came here. Now I can't speak to Cinder's mind because she has shielded herself from me, and Hetatsubatchi's mind is to wild for me to make a solid link. So, I need to talk to you. We are link right now so I can feel your thoughts but I don't want you to react to me. Do you understand so far?'

Milli tries to stay focused on the danger ahead as she rolls her eyes between Seeker and Jloose. 'I fallow.'

_ 'Good, in a valley where the Green King painted the sky twelve stars where born. There is a cliff that cast a shadow in the shape of she to who the wolves howl. Search there for a zodiac on whom work is worn on my back. Cinder will understand. If she doesn't ask the Architect to explain it to you.' _

_ 'thank you Jloose'_Milli thinks

Cinder takes a step forward "you betrayed and murdered Celeverant."

"You will stop moving Cinder or I will start collecting heads." Seeker threatens YT gripping her chin with a rake like hand. Jloose waves Cinder to stop. "As for Celverant he is very much alive, I would be willing to say more so alive know then he had been before. You see, I have absorbed him. Everything he was is now inside me. You wouldn't believe what I learned from him. With his help I am now growing not at a geometric rate but a cosmic rate."

Jloose brings his hands overhead in surrender "I will comply."

Seeker looks to Cinder "In fact I think you would envy one of the latest things Celverant has allowed me to learn. We have discovered a new metaphysical art tenitivly called 'Fracturing' it turns out that a body can be broken into many smaller percentages and still maintain most of its original manaforce. Magic Mike was very interested in being first in line to sample this power" Seeker's back detaches and what looks like an oversized eyeball with a squid growing out of the back of it exists her body "Cinder, I also need you to come with me."

Milli thinks at Jloose 'your file describes you as a mindbender, can't you force Seeker to drop YT and run away.'

_ 'nope, she has no mind for me to attack.'_

_ _ Cinder crackles with power "I will not comply."

"Complyens is not a requirement from you." Seeker explains.

The floating eye locks its gaze on Hetatsubatchi, Tatsu's eyes fade to gray as a new voice forces its way into his mind. The animist Mike Murphy is alive inside the floating eye his spirtcraft capable of overwriting Hetatsubatchi's will and his will being dominated by Seeker. Under the control of Magic Mike, Hetatsubatchi leaps at Cinder from behind pushing her down to her hands and knees.

Tatsu instinctual grabs Cinder by the back of the neck to try to crush her, Cinder's wooden skin protects her from his first strike. Cinder reaches one hand over her shoulder and grabs Tatsu by the noise filling his body with lighting.

Jloose thrust his hands out casting a polymorph transforming YT to mist. Seeker reverts to a liquid state, in a semisolid form the metallic nightmare snakes around Jloose, one of her hands becomes a spear that she draws back threateningly. Jloose crosses his hands constructing a shield of ice to try to interrupt Seekers lunge.

Magic Mike waves his tentacles in the air calling on the 'Tall Tails' his six squirrels materialize in the shapes of bronze globes. Milli Jumps out to grapple with Hetatsubatchi, Hetatsubatchi turns his head to bite Milli's arm, Milli lowers her head biting back.

Cinder finds her feet, she draws her arms into her body to throw out a wave of lighting, the Tall Tails buzz like monster bees as they orbit her to delay casting, the Tall Tails grow metal fangs try to clamp down on the elemental like vice grips.

Seeker and jloose lock shield to spear, Seeker coils like a serpent subversively snaking around Jloose. Jloose Yells to Cinder "It is time for you to fly!" he breaks off his guard to throw out a forced teleportation spell. Milli, Tatsu, and Cinder get warped out of harm's way. Seeker scores a crippling stab, one of her spear like arms smashing through the ball of his shoulder.

Jloose hunches over Seeker uses her other arm to braces Jloose laying him back as she softly pulls the blade form his body. "I have inflicted sensory overload on your brain. You will recover." Seeker cradles Jloose like a child.

As shock is setting in Jloose whispers "I have a question." Jloose struggles to keep air in his body long enough to finish his though "what is the endgame you had in mind?"

"That is the question I suspected you would ask. There is something hidden in the breast of each of our kind. A puzzle peace. I want to assemble the puzzle."

"Why?"

"Because I need to know."

***

The forced teleport drops Cinder, Milli and Tatsu miles off into the deadlands outside the city of Neopan. Now outside the reach of Mike Murphy Tatsu looks back at Milli, how still has her teeth snuck into the back if his neck. "would you kindly put me down?"

Milli lets go of Tatsu "Sorry."

Cinder pulls her hat down before her eyes and cradles the oozing pulsing cracks in her armored skin "Jloose, how can you be so foolish?"

"I don't know that he was foolish at all. That might have been a plan of attack." Milli explains.

"we are still no closer to regrouping with the others." Tatsu sits down licking his wounds.

"sure, we are. Jloose said 'In a valley where the Green King painted the sky twelve stars where born. There is a cliff that cast a shadow in the shape of she to who the wolves howl. Search there for a zodiac on whom work is worn on my back.'." Milli informs her friends.

Cinder turns her eyes upwards "Green king... twelves stars? Was he talking about 'Landend'?"

Milli joins Cinder in looking out into space "He said you would understand."

Tatsu growls "what about the other part of the riddle? What is a zodiac and what about that back part?"

Cinder looks down "the first line was telling us where to look, the second who we are looking for." For a good hard moment, Cinder stars at her feet "Jloose was wearing a cloak... are we looking for a tailor, seamstress?"

Milli pulls out her computer and starts skimming pages before she looks over, "A weaver?"

Cinder's eyes snap up in revelation "He wants us to go to Jessica the Weaver."

Chapter 21

Spider Nest

On a world lost from the memories of the living long ago Visstle has constructed herself a hiding place, on a wetlands, in a whole in the ground, ling with bone and clay , cemented with viscose sludge. Under the watchful eye of the necromantic witch Harm draws a blade across the chest of a melting body, he cracks the ribs then reaches inside, he pulls form the cavity a monster that is something between a snake and a millipede with a tick for a head.

Harm holds the abomination in his arms like a newborn baby he has just delivered. "is this the lifeform you had told me about? The one that will cure my worshipers of fear?"

Visstle places her hands on the vampire's back and points down the body of the cadaver, "she is the host, what you are looking for is down only lightly more, you will need to cut around the placenta, move slowly, you don't want to damage the interwall or it will take a year to harvest another batch."

"how does it work?" Harm ask

"Simply enough, once the larva is in the body of your victim it will cut the brainstem, crawl into the lower brain and eat it out. Then the bug is in charge"

"I am impressed my ghoulish companion. Where did you find such a magical creature?"

"Zion, Arwon told me about them." Visstle Explains

Seeker drops form the roof landing silently behind the two ghouls "I am impressed also." Seeker shifts one arm into in axe and cuts down Visstle's back pulling her spine from her body. Visstle dosnt make a sound before grumbling to the ground.

Harm turns to face Seeker his lips dripping with vengeance "what have you done? You dare strike a child of chaos?"

Seeker thrust one hand out a needle twelve feet long launching form her forearm, the needle stabs into harms chest to see to it he can't run away from her this time. "that was not Fiona Visstle, that was nothing more than a zombie. That worm tide around your arm is Visstle. She is a cousin of Krain queen of Zzuragg. Now, your services are required." Seeker picks up the bug that is Visstle's trust form, she places it inside her chest cavity. A moment later an armor of Celverant appears to drag Harm away.

The sky roars, the voice of gods fills the air "Seeker of Inferno, humble yourself for I am Cravixs, God of Hunger, I am the Void, I am the Nothingness! Your focus, your efficiency and brutality make you truly beautiful. Of all the shadows you cast across all the worlds you could have been born onto, this one is more breathtaking than the others. You seek truths beyond truth, and power like that which humbles worlds. You feel a thirst that cannot be filled. Fallow me and I will lead you to your dreams."

Seeker looks for the sources of the voice "Inquiry, what need does a lifeform with the power I seek for a lifeform so incomplete as myself, unless in all your perfection you are still incomplete yourself?"

***

Charlie Belmond falls thought his gate landing back in the garden of the Steel Rose. His head lifts looking around at the changes that have been made to this alien home. The grass is gone replaces with hard iron floor, the trees have been uprooted and strange blue glass pillers have been erected, lighting jumping between 'trees' and a harsh low hum burns though the air in waves vibrating Charlies body as the soundwaves pass though him. The courthouse and barracks have been wrapped in a mirror like glaze and covered with an aluminum like finish.

As Charlie takes in the changes to the Steel Rose a swirling nexus of wind and ice converges before him. A humanoid shape drifts from the ice; red eyes, silver skin, black veins, crystals plugged into the flesh in all sorts of strange ways, large hunks of flesh have clearly been pealed away and new metal components have been fused over the missing bites. The monster before Charlie was once Jloose but now more so resembles a zombie out of some cyberpunk's faintly.

The corrupted Jloose speak "we have been waiting for you Belmond." With his voice a choir of repeats the statement.

Charlie reaches for his whip, Souleater, but as he draws it a flash of rainbow light streaks by and Charlie is thrown onto his back. A clockwork winged unicorn (also called in Alacorn) stands over Charlie. Charlie can see past the armor and can see the true horror of what this monster is. Locked inside this suit of copper and steel there are the eyes of a living animal. This thing was once a Worldwalker Charlie encountered in a past life, Dash Prismknight.

The Creature that was once Dash lowers its head to touch it's horn to Charlies chest. "do not fight. It is better when you don't fight." The order comes from Dash and Jloose in union. Dash electrifies his body and the mass kilowatt blast blacks out Charlie.

Charlie awakens an unknow amount of time later. He is in the throne room laying on a stretcher, Harm across from him, Seeker standing over Harm. Seeker has cut open Harms chest and has hallowed out much of his torso, she seems to be installing new hardware.

Seeker noticing Charlie has regained alertness speaks to him "I am pleased you have recovered so swiftly lab rat. I have questions that I questions that I believe you know the answers to." She doesn't bother waiting to see how responsive Charlie is "after fusing with Celverant I became many times more sensitive to the movements of the stars and space, both internal and external. Have you ever heard the term's Quantum Entanglement or Quantum Immortality?"

Charlie blinks a few times to try to clear is mind and vision "No."

"Are you Charlie Belmond RT-1223?"

"I don't know."

"I have deduced that you are one of the Charlie Belmonds form the RT chain of worlds. I have yet to pin down which link you had been born onto. The problem I am having is the same one Celverant encountered after meeting you. RT is too far away from the mana stream to allow a Worldwalker to be born on it. The probability of a worldwalker being born on any of the RT worlds is so remote as to be incalculable. So, I have begun postulating as to the nature of your existence..."

Charlie rubs his eyes then rolls onto his side looking around "and what have you determined?"

"Temporal Replication. The world on which you were crafted has been removed form tangential space in order to freeze time and allow for a suspension of the Law of Absolutes. Then you, a replicant human, had been sent to an adjacent timespace as part of some form of sandbox program. But how, why? Is time fluid? Can space be molded in such a way?"

"I have no idea."

Seeker nods inn understanding "I suspected that would be the case, you are nothing more than an EXE, you have no way of interacting with the OS or the user."

Charlie take the lead of the questioning "what are you doing?"

"Evolving. I am gathering the Worldwalker and disassembling them in search of a code hidden within our bodies that will lead me to a perfect lifeform. I have spoken to Cravixs, he has given me some useful information."

Charlie leaps to attention "No Seeker, you don't want to talk to Cravixs about anything."

"much to the contrary, he has informed me that of the multitude of creatures I could have become, this version of me is the one with the most opportunity for growth. More-so then that he has outlined for me a path that will lead me to a most favorable transmutation in a matter of days at my present rate of growth."

Charlie observes Dash and Jloose laying-in-wait in the corners of the room. "you are hunting them? how are you tracking the Worldwalkers?"

"simple enough. Celverant had created an algorithm that predicted the time and place where a worldwalker would be born. Using a similar program, I was able to determine probable flightpaths that they would fallow. Once on the correct chain of worlds it is no complicated task to trace magical patterns." Seeker overly proud of herself points at a tablet computer sitting on the desk near her "I was even able to make a portable version of the same program."

Charlie plays off Seeker's vanity "How accrete have your predictions been so far?"

"I currently have to allow for a 30% deviation."

Charlie thinks to himself '2/3's I can live with odds like that.'

Seeker reaches into her breast withdrawing the bug that was Visstle, now lined with electric prods, see places the bug inside Harm's body, Harm starts growing new organs intertwin flesh and metal.

Charlie jumps to his feet and steals the computer form the desk. He make a run for it pushing his way past Jloose. Knowing well that Seeker will chase him, Charlie must come up with in escape plan on the run. He turns on the computer in his hand and opens the search program Seeker had talked about. Using the translation program Seeker had given him he intently learns how to read in the Esper langue Seeker had set as the default. He quickly types in the names of; Sigh, Keyor, and Cinder looking for any realms they have all visited.

Charlie calls out to the Steel Rose "Ali, are you still on line?"

The Rose replies "Gest services and visitor courtesy are always available"

Doors start springing open from all sides as cyber zombies, and clockwork horrors start to fill the halls of the court building. Charlie calls out "How would a Worldwalker get to a planet they have never visited?"

The ship computer Ali responds. "the simplest way would be to have another Worldwalker open the door for them. if this option is not readily available the Steel Rose comes equipped with seven Plainshifting vehicles including; Shuttles, Fargates, and Matterstreams. Any of these require a seven-key planetary address."

Charlie looks up and down from the computer as he is reading and running "Yea, I can do that." Charlie ducks and weaves between a par of Simi human crab-men. Charlie looks at one of the walls reading the map on one of the walls at a glance "Ali, activate fire containment protocol on block-B." Charlie jumps though a door as fire shutters start dropping around the floor he is on. With the utmost of heist, he makes of the basement leaping down flights of stairs.

Making surprisingly good time Charlie finds his way to a room with a massive portal generating device in it. In a moment of panic Charlie runs around the room looking for an on switch before thinking to use the voice commands to activate the mechanism.

Ali turns on the Portal at Charlie's request then speaks up as he is dialing the code for the planet he wants to visit "you didn't need to run. If you had asked I would have let you go."

As the gate opens Charlie tosses the computer away assuming it to be in some way controld by Seeker. Charlie jumps into the watery door that now floats before him.

Unfortunately, Charlie's luck in not that grate, he escapes with no sign of pursuit, but he lands no where near any of the Worldwalkers as far as he can tell and is left for several days jumping planets indiscriminately. When traversing alone he finds himself to be fairly skilled and can jump a number of times a day before he is to hungry and tiered to try again.

***

Charlie lost and disheartened comes to rest on a world at the dawn of the Paleozoic era. Water and salt hang thick in the air, buzzing and chirping of prehistoric exomorphic lifeforms echo for miles around. Trees reach miles high and have branches so thick at to allow a full grown man to lay across one conferrable, the canopies snare around each other darkening the sky and insolating the ground beneath in a damp marsh like ecosystem. Moss hangs thick off the sides of woodlands accommodating a web in which each and every lifeform seems to cradle and feed off every other lifeform, the large eat the small, the smallest eats the largest. Perfect balance, perfect neutrality.

Despair setting in Charlie places his hands on the back of his head thrust himself at a tree sliding into a kneeling stance "I don't know what to do! Eden and the Steel Rose are the only places I know how to get to dependable! I can't even get back to Glyph or the Kami without stopping at the Rose first."

In the fit of rage Charlie shouts at the sky "Louis-dayO! What I'm a supposed to do now!" Exhaustion setting in Charlie rolls over into a sitting position his hand finding his face to hide him from the world hunger ready to bring him to tears. Darkness creeps into Charlie's in the approach of unprovoked sleep.

A voice calls out from one side snapping him back to attention "If that were directed at me I would say 'Find a place to call home, eat to much, and fuck something till you fall asleep and do it again when you wake up.' But I have always been a fan of the simpler things." Krain walks around to the other side of the tree standing before Charlie. "A human, lost and confused, Maybe I'll get lucky and you are who I came her looking for." Wings and a tail sprout from Krain's body fallowed by a stinger and four extra legs "Are you Belmond son of Belmond?"

Charlie takes a deep breath then pushes himself to his feet grabbing his whip. "that is what people tell me."

Krain's tail and wings suck back into her body givning her the gray green almost human zombie look again. "I'm happy to hear that. Cinder, Keyor, and myself have been running circuits around our native and sister worlds looking for you."

Charlie Jumps at Krain hugging her "Thank god."

Krain lowers her head to his neck hugging back, her hands finding his shoulder and lower back "God has nothing to do with it." Her hands rub up and down his body waiting for the warrior to calm himself. "but I understand the sentiment."

Chapter 22

Attack on Eden Part 1

Charlie Takes a deep breath as he readies himself to open the portal to Tamreal, Eden awaits, the last grate battle, today is the decisive battle. It has been almost a weak since Krain found him lost in the eather. His eyes close, the voices of his friends whisper into his mind reflecting on the last few days.

***

Jessica cuts a new tattoo into Charlie's back "You, Charlie will be our final gambit, each of the worldwalker's have agreed to give you their power should the battle not fall in our favor. This magi script I am painting on your back will enhance your Warlock art. Any of us fall in battle you will absorb us."

Charlie resting on his stomach as Jessica works turns his eyes slightly to speak to her "how do you know how to do this?"

"I have encountered the warlock arts before. It would be best if I left it at that."

Lances, who has been sitting by reading form one of the books Jessica has sitting around speech up "Nine took me to see Magdalene St. Frances. The Church of Axe will be wating in the wings for us to call on them."

Jessica adds on "Shada and the Catfolk will do the same."

Suahoon seconds the motion "The Gryphons are ready as well."

Charlie shacks his head "it will make no diffrance. Once Mammon shows his face it needs to be one of us to strike him down or this is all for not."

Jazzman laughs "you might have precognition or whatever it is Belmond, but for the rest of us this is our only chance. We are going to fight as if everything is on the line."

Charlie smiles with a nod "thank you. All of you."

***

The portal starts to pull open as Charlie holds his hand before himself, darkness and lightning fill the room, teeth pure from the gate, the fallopian tunnel leading into eternity stretches out showing the way into the future.

***

Keyor and Cinder lock into magical conflict, Keyor's water pushing against Cinder's fire. Charlie stands by watching having just been bandaged back up. Cinder calm as ever speaks up "Seeker will likely be waiting for us."

Krain mounts herself on the fence nearby to watch with Charlie "Seeker's zombies are by all right the same species as I am. Maybe I can control them."

Keyor calls back "but that in no way helps us defeat Seeker herself. She is not possessed, she willingly is adding the King of Tamreal. Who here is a match for Seeker and her noteworthily odd power?"

Hetatsubatchi laying down at Charlie's feet barks "how about me?"

Keyor looks to the wolf "I think you overestimate your might. Have you seen Seeker fight?"

"she is made of metal, right? I can control metal, it's what I do." Tatsu's voice a light growl.

Chalrie looks around his friends. "Has anyone see Sight?"

***

The parade of warriors step into the vortex that will lead them into destiny. The Chaos Magic tacking them to the bass of the hill at the foot of Eden looking up to the grate Tree of Beginnings, a tree so tall that from no point can one see the tip of the canopy, and the black tower that is the throne of Cravixs a scar on the face of Yggdrasil.

***

In the middle of the night on the eve of this last stand Xia kicks Charlie awake hours before sunrise. "so, Charlie Belmond, Belmond son of Belmond. What make you such a grate messiah? Are you a Buda or what?" Xia is drunk and clearly feeling confrontational.

Charlie sits up looking at the rat women "I'm no messiah, I'm just man trying to do something good with his life."

Xia reaches onto her hip tipping her swords slight forward readying herself to draw. "Keyor seem to think otherwise. The Devil man, the flower wolf, Cinder... why do they all think you are a hero?"

"A friend of mine once told me 'don't try to be grate, just be good. Let history decide who is grate."

***

As the party starts to walk up to the wall that divides Eden from the glass City of Zion Charlie whispers "Quantum Entanglement. There are only a hand full of us so resistances is scaled to match."

Jessica grips her walking stick. "I never thought I would be walking willingly into the arms of the most primal of evils."

The City of Zion is a crumbling mess of shattered glass and melting crystal. At some point in a forgotten time some battle of biblical worth was fought here and no one ever cleaned up the mess. Broken rusted swords and staves are scattered about the street.

Charlie and his friends have nearly reached the gates to the black tower, the door is in sight, only a few more crumbled houses away. Seeker walks out from between two buildings. Her claws grind together as she turns to face the party. Suahoon and Xia push there way to the front of the group ready to charge into battle.

Jloose, Sigh, Harm, Dash, and the floating eye that is now Mike move in to protect Seeker. David Jazzmen, Cinder, Keyor and Hetatsubatchi step forward to take a place alongside Xia and Suahoon. Charlie grabs his whip and Lances his book. Jessica holds her arms out to hold Lances and Charlie back. She points at the street behind them at the other automatons' gathering behind them.

Seeker snaps her hand open with a metallic chime. Suahoon drops open her beak with a shrill scream as she pulls back her spear and runs in to initiate combat. The party scoured in-between two advancing forces locks in mass melee.

Xia alongside Suahoon jump at Seeker, Xia's sword and Sahoon's spear meet Seeker's claws, Seeker twist herself about tying the up the weapons and pushing the two worlwalkers at each other. Seeker melts into a semisolid snake like shape whipping her body in a ring to snare the battlemages. Suahoon holds up her shield to stop a dive attack. Xia backflips out of the grapple then lurches in to take a slash at the snakelike Seeker. Xia's blades get locked inside the jelly like body of Seeker.

Sigh runs at David, David pulls out his handguns and starts shooting at the Fox. Sigh poofs into smoke every time a shot would connect till at last he is in arms reach of the man called Devil, light encircles Sigh's arm becoming a spectral staff in his grip. Jazzman draws the Demon Sword and the two of them clash.

Jloose walks forth, he holds one hand out grabbing Keyor with an unseen hand chocking her. Cinder protect Keyor calling down a cascade of lighting to strike Jloose, Jloose holds up is oppisit hand creating his phantom shield to push the lighting aside. Cinder smiles "Try to bind my thoughts."

Dash and Hetatsubatchi collide with one another. Dash becoming a wave of solid light to strike at the wolf, Tatsu reaches out with his magic to assemble the broken weapons lying about into a wall of swords and spears to bounce the alacorn off of. In counter attack Hetatsubatchi calls on the cursed chain he had stolen from Harm.

The catches the attention of mike Murphy. The float eye locks its gaze on the white wolf. Mike tries to overwrite Hetatsubatchi's will just as he had on Neopan, Tatsu feels the Animist invading his thoughts and struggles.

Mili joins in the fight with the clockwork hoard along side; Charlie Belmond, Lances Jacob, and Jessica the Weaver. A truck sized nautilidea brings up a claw to try to step on Mili, Mili's body acts like a spring, as the monster rest its wait on her, Mili's body moves closer to the ground becoming ever more tense storing potential energy in ready for an explosion of kinetic energy. Mili snaps upright throwing the monster shellfish off balance. Mili pulls her chains saw like gun from her back, RONA, and flips on the photon launcher. The Stith gun fires a laser of electromagnetic light overheating the beast that attacked her.

Lances holds his hands up chanting, burning rocks erupt form the ground that Lances starts throwing other half fish half robot monsters that seem to be spilling out of nowhere. Jessica the Weaver points her staff producing holy fire to aid Lances in toppling then destroying monsters.

The vampire demigod that was Harm produces a khopesh from his belt. He becomes a shadow to leap behind Lances without the need to pass through the space between them. the vampire reaches around Lances with the knife hand to assasinat the priest, Lances grips the monsters arm to struggle against him. Charlie tries to move in to intercept. Harm overpowers Lances and the curved knife pierces his chest.

Harm drops the wounded Lances Jacob to turn his gaze to Charlie. Charlie howls in anger running at Harm. Belmond son of Belmond pulls back his whip locking himself min battle with his most hated pray. Harm twist his head slightly, his unholy power coming to the surface. As black red smoke starts to drip form Harms hand the roadmap of scares on Charlies begin pulling open. Charlie pushes past the pain snapping out his magic whip. A burst of light sparks off Souleater braking Harm's spell. Harm grows a par of bat wings and talons the fated foes viciously strike at each-other.

The battle to take Eden is as bloody as expected. Seeker shifts one of her arms into a needle and impales Suahoon. Xia backs off well aware that in a one on one she can't win. Xia retreats to offer her aid to David attacking Sigh, Mike calls on the aid of the bronze orbs that once had been his pets to strike down Tatsu, David draws one of his pistols to intercept, this allows Hetatsubatchi to lash out with the cursed chain slaying Dash.

Keyor regains her barring attacking the floating eye with a globe of water that Cinder freezes, trapping the magical eye inside. Seeker Transforms herself into an iron maiden eating Keyor. Jloose goes to attack Jazzmen, Krain sneaks up on the mindbender stabbing him with her tail and filling his body full of seeds eating him from the inside out.

Belmond shutters nearly buckling under his own weight at the point in which Suahoon and Keyor's power are added onto his. Belmond snares Harm with the Souleater and drags the vampire to the ground. Given the opportunity to strike a definitive kill Charlie ties his whip around Harms arms then kneels atop him to punching his hunting knife through the vampire's chest. Harm is reduced to dust.

The remaining wolrdwalkers working hand in hand start to push back the metallic horrors, Seeker noticing she has lost her advantage retreats to the tower to regroup. Seeker throws open the door only to come face to face with Adam Crow, the vessel of Cravixs, fully reformed. The god of hunger, god of the void, king of Tamreal, Fellios-Mammon, lives again.

Seeker freezes in place looking up at her new master, a strange feeling of dreep overcomes her and she starts to walk backwards away from Cravixs. The thick black hair, the glowing ivory skin, velvet crystal eyes. Cravixs walks slowly out into the battlefield. Powers rolls from Cravixs body commanding that everyone stop to address him.

"What is all of this I see before me?" Cravixs eyes roll side to side taking in his surroundings "Charlie, you brought my sister's children with you into battle against me this time? How amusing."

Cinder snaps her fingers out lighting herself on fire, she rushes Cravixs. Crow need not looks at Cinder, her merely waves a hand in her direction and the flames die then Cinder crumbles away. Cravixs continues his talk with Charlie "do you think I need to fight you? I can't even tell how long we have been doing this. But I know how it transpires. What I want to know now is, how does it end? How do we escape this hamster-wheel of a reality that you and I are trapped in?"

Charlie growls after Cinder's power is drawn into him as is Harm. Fire, water, and lighting bellow off Charlie's body, darkness rises out of the earth underfoot, Belmond lashes out with the powers he has gained from the souls he has taken in.

From within the cone of burning darkness Crow speaks "Silly, silly, boy. This is Tamreal, this is Eden, and I am Cravixs." Gravity changes, everyone is forced to kneel by the ever rising pressure of the air around them "you will show reverences."

Seeker calculates the change in gravity and compensates. She leaps up to her feet and forges her arms into a par of succors attacking the god of nothingness. Cravixs suffers a hit, he loses control of the gravity spell allowing everyone to join in on the strangle.

Jazzmen, Xia, Milli and Hetatsubatchi charge at Cravixs. Pillars of stone and spears of tree routs start to shoot out of the ground to slow their advances. Cravixs voices whispers with Jessica "remember, Kari."

Charlie bends down to grab his whip ready to join his friends but freezes something has struck him in the stomach, his eyes turn looking for what hit him, Crow's scythe, Jessica is holding it. Charlie falls over backwards as Jessica pulls out the moon shaped blade.

Charlie watches the battle nearby as he is quickly bleeding out. The earth and forest alike have grown arms have joined in to protect Cravixs, Cravixs has turned his back uninterested in the battle himself. Lances Jacob has mended his own wound and rejoined the struggle.

Lances pulls out the stones to call on Fate. Fate descends from the sky shouting down at Mammon "Gardener of Yggdrasil, you have betrayed your sacred order. Be prepared to be judged."

The world is fading to gray. Charlie starts nodding off blood loss robbing him of conciseness. Cravixs turns to face Fate "Then Smite me oh holy Smitter!" he throw his arms out awaiting Fate's attack "Smite me if you think you can!"

Chapter 23

Attack on Eden part 2

Charlie falls into black water, light receding from his eyes as he sinks into the depths. The water howls with a whale like cry. Teeth emerge from the infinite darkness. Charlie rolls around only partly aware of his surroundings. The teeth catch his gaze, in a panic Charlie struggles against the water trying to find the surface. Cravixs is still chasing Charlie even here, even in the land of the dead. The hooked teeth inch ever closer, one scrapping across one of Charlies legs living a white burning mark where he had touched the nothingness.

I hand brakes the surface of the water gripping Charlie by the wrist pulling him from the water and dropping him onto a raft. The darkness fleas once Charlie is out of the water. Charlie lays on the wooden raft looking up at Lous-DayO. The old man smiles down at Belmond. Charlie grunts noticing that he is back at the Lake of Forgotten Memories "this must mean I am dead again."

Lous nods "Yep."

Charlie takes a few breaths watching the sky "did we win?"

"Nope." The medicine man rest his hands behind himself looking out into the water "what do you want to do Charlie? If you want to run away no one will call you a coward."

Charlie snaps to attiniton remembering were he has been and what he has seen "The Tree of Beginnings! I want to go to Yggdrasil. Before Cravixs wakes up! Everything ends at the Tree of Beginnings! But I need Celverant and the Steel Rose..."

DayO tips his head "what?"

"Fate said it! Cravixs power is intrinsically linked to the Tree. I can't beat Cravixs so long as the tree stands. But if I can..." Charlie tries to explain his plan to Lous-DayO by DayO cuts him off

"...Have you gone Mad?!"

"...Macbeth," Charlie explains. "The Macbeth curse. Cravixs is unkillable, but he could land a lethal strike against himself if..."

Lous slaps Charlie "NO! you cant..."

Charlie grabs DayO "We can." Lous-DayO calms down, he pulls a clay bottle from his belt and dips it into the water. There is a long silences as the eldest of the keepers of Eden spins the jar in his hand watching the water within twist and swear. Charlie watches him his eyes jumping about in anticipation.

Finally the elder god laughs, "of all the beast, across all of creation, how I wish there were more like you. 'the old and the brave where scares so that the young need not.' One of your grandfathers said something like that once. 'I bleed for others.' Always looking to do the right thing, no matter the cost." Dayo lowers his head and runs his hands across his brow "Alright, let's go around again." Lous grips Charlie by the head and the stars start to spin in the sky.

***

Charlie snaps back to reality mid-sentence "...I have a reservation on room E772. I would like to inquire about upgrading to E776, it has a better view of the lake, and I understand that it comes with a 3-session patio..." Charlie grips his chest in crippling pain. He looks around trying to peace together where Lous-DayO dropped him.

Celverant now alive and well stands over Charlie, Jloose by his side. he is on the Steel Rose before the attacks happened. Lances, David, and Milli are spread out on the ground having just been warped in. Celverant leans over Charlie "I will see if your room is ready." Charlie pushes himself up to his feet struggling. Redcap and Hetatsubatchi are at the pond watching ducks play, Seeker is standing at a computer terminal with a electronic scanning device.

'Things are changing already,' Charlie thinks as Celverant turns his back to enter the courthouse. Charlie focuses, he lays chase "Celverant wait." Charlie grabs the giant by the wrist to stop him "Worldwalkers can travel across space in two way, x-x or x-y, I made in x-y jump to get here."

Celverant turns to face the tiny man "you are a time shifter?"

Charlie points "Seeker is going to betray the Worldwalkers. She is a void worshiper. So is Harm, if you don't know what that is yet ask Syphon, she will tell you all about it. There is a universe eating demon on its way here called Cravixs. We will fight it and we will die. Unless we can go to Eden where it sleeps and destroy the tree that it sleeps in..." Charlie starts rambling

Celverant looks at Jloose, Jloose nods "He is telling the truth, at least as best as he understands it."

Charlie continues his monolog "... And, Jessica the Weaver his been possessed by the Darkness."

Celverant holds up a hand commanding Charlie to stop "Enough, I believe you."

Charlie shakes his head in shock 'you..., you, do?"

"even had Jloose said nothing I still would."

"Really?"

"I have spent over a hundred years seeding countless worlds with clones of myself. A decade ago I could see only 1% of the universe. Today my eyes can see almost 8%. And it is not because I am becoming vaster, all of reality is contracting in on itself." Celverant walks over to a keyboard on a nearby wall to talk to his ship "Ali, level 9 lock down. Clearances C-00-308 -01, raise antimagic shell, shut down all transport pads, no one leaves without clearance from two senior officers and myself. No one boards unless they are 'coming in hot.' understood?"

The computer beeps "containment is active."

Celverant turns his gaze back to Charlie "the suspected traitors are; Harm, Seeker, Jessica?" Charlie nods. "I should also like to bring Visstle and Krain in for questioning."

Charlie shrugs "Krain never harmed anyone to my knowledge."

Celverant looks to Jloose "Jloose, you, Cender and Dash will bring in the above mentioned." Celverant looks back to Charlie "was there anything else you needed to bring to my attention?"

Charlie nods almost biting his tongue, as he does his voice reduced to a squeak for a moment "I also need to barrow your space station." The giant statue that is Celverant leans over Belmond studding his features as a collection of his armors pick up Lances, David, and Milli carrying them away.

"This is going to require some explanation" Celverant stands up straight. "Make your way down to the medical compound and have Sigh look you over, then come find me in the executive building I have an appointment with Bloodsage I must get to." Charlie is lead away by another pair of armors.

Sigh gives Charlie a once over, he ties a kashmir cloth around his chest and administers a prayer to treat his cracked ribs then sends Charlie on his way. The two of them make small talk for a moment, Charlie casually bringing up that Sigh's elder brother is planning a coup.

When Charlie catches up with Celverant he is a den room within the executive building. Celverant is entertaining the company of Jessica the Weaver and a man that looks to be a gray skinned elf dressed like a pharaoh; baggy pants, a pair of cloth wings attaching his arms to his hips and a crown with a cats face etched into it. He is holding Jessica's ruby pendent in one hand.

"Were did you get this?" Arwen Bloodsage ask.

"It was given to me by Walker the Sillenite." Jessica explains "what is it? Why is it so valuable?"

"it's a Guardian Stone. I must say there aren't too many of these around." Arwen hands it back to the mousefolk "the way I understand it, in order for a wizard to forge one of those he first needs to kill a Ju-on and I will tell you that is no easy task." The vampire shaman walks around afew steps thinking " far as I know only a Ju-on can kill a Ju-on. But that does explain why Kari couldn't kill you. So long as that thing is touching you, without line of sight, not even the strongest wizard on any world could hex you."

Celverant cuts in "why hasn't it interrupted the horizontal planeshift she is experiencing?"

Arwen thinks "A Pylon. That is the only thing I can come up with. Something she is wearing, or frequently makes physical contact with has a spectral anchor on it that the demon is using to push against Jessica's magic wards." Arwen points down at Jessica "set everything you own on fire except that necklaces and go to a planet at the edge of the mana stream."

Celverant looks at Charlie. "I see you are in good health. Now tell me why you want to barrow my space station."

Charlie tells Celverant everything, everything he can remember about Cravixs, what Fate had told him, what Redcap and Lous-DayO had to say. Jessica is enticed by the story and even backs up some of Charlie's claims as she had seen events not so dissimilar herself during the Battle for Graywall Keep.

"... So you see, this is our last grate hope. We need to destroy the Tree of Beginnings in order to rob Cravixs of his power and make him mortal."

Celverant looks around the room thinking "we will make a stop on Cathall, drop off all nonessential personnel. We will need to refuel on Soverngaurd, Then in the name of peace we strike."

Enthused Charlie grunts and punches the air with a teeth gritting "Yes!"

***

All preparations are made. Charlie, Celverant and his army of golems are all that remain aboard the Steel Rose. One last jump across space and they arrive floating over Eden. the mighty garden stretches the width of the horizon. Past the city of glass, past the black tower, there it is! The tree so grand that one could see around the world standing on its branches, so mighty its roots are the hart of the world, its fruits so swollen they could be moons. Only from the window of the Steel Rose could one see the full glory of Yggdrasil.

Charlie marvels at the tree for a time before looking to Celverant. "Destroy it." He whispers, the magic of the tree filling him with shame as he orders for the death of the tree of Beginnings. Celverant sits on his throne, his hands dances across the keyboard on the arm rest. The Rose howls as it draws in power readininig for the attack that will destroy all of Eden.

The primer cannon fires first lighting the way for the mean gun, the air lights on fire, rocks melt around the Steel Rose as it heats up, water boils, oxygen is sucked from the atmosphere. Celverant starts a countdown to the moment the cannon will let loose.

The sky tears apart, the void appears engulfing Eden to protect it. Cravixs appears in the throne room standing before Belmond, scythe in hand his voice booming with rage "What do you think you are doing Belmond?"

Charlie smiles "I am doing what is right."

"you have no idea the consequences of this action." He grabs his reaper in both hands.

Charlie giggles "go right ahead, strike me. See how much good it does you."

Crow lowers his head, his eyes glowing with unearthly spite. "such limited imagination." Waves of darkness blast away from Mammon's body, the Rose gets consumed by rust, flesh and teeth punchier the walls, the ship starts to breath becoming something that is both flesh and steel.

A reptilian howl echoes around the world. Magical ropes snap into reality grabbing Charlie around the arms and the lags "I am board of being kind Belmond. Now it is time to sunder you from reality." Crow waves a hand to start stretching Charlie. Celverant tries to stand to aid his companion but the rust has sealed his body to his throne. Crow laughs devilishly.

The dragon howl echoes again this time fallowed by a voice "I cannot prevent you from being killed. But I cannot let you die." Charlies head falls back, the brown burns off of his eyes being replaced with gem green, his skin turns to silver and his hair knots outwards "now you are just no playing fair."

Charlie pulls his arms into his chest shattering the ropes like ice on pavement. Crow grips his scythe and launches himself at Charlie to cut him apart. Charlie points at Cravixs and a ray of light burst from his fingertips knocking Crow to the ground.

Crow pushes himself up to his knees looking at Charlie his eyes wide in fear "what is this power, it feels so..." he freezes thinking "my beloved." Charlie brings one hand up to ear level, he snaps banishing the rust and returning the Rose to pristine condition.

Charlie speaks to Mammon, his voice high and feminine. "I think it is time for us to have a heart to heart." Charlie waves his hand off to one side magicly flinging Crow into a wall, then he waves the other way throwing him at another. "or I could just slap you a few more times."

Mammon tries to stand, Charlie thrust his hand at the ground and a unmovable weight thrust Crow back into the ground "Let's talk." Crow mumbles. Crow turns to darkness and retreats. Charlie turns to stardust to fallow.

The two of them appears in the forest of Eden. Charlie snaps his figures teleporting the Steel Rose to another realm. The forest is ablaze, wind howls an unearthly racket. Flames turning the wilderness into a hellscape.

Crow stands before Charlie "Chaos?"

Charlie nods.

Craw is nearly brought to tears as he gasps and offers outstretched arms to his twin sister.

Charlie shouts into the air "DayO! If you don't show yourself I swear I will flap my wings and reduce Eden to a nucellar wasteland! And you know I can do it!"

The old man that is Lous-Dayo appears in a crash of lighting "three cosmic lifeforms in one place, this hasn't happened since..."

Mammon steps up to Lous, "since you started banishing gods you didn't like to the Nether."

Lous shouts "Is that really what we are going to talk about!?" Charlie looks around for a moment then blinks his eyes dispelling the energy in the air and restoring Eden to Its peace and charm.

Mammon and DayO stare eachother down "If you hadn't been such a coward maybe this deathcurse would never have happened, maybe we could have killed the Nothingness, just the four of us!"

Charlie grabs Mammon by the chest and speaks in a calm and concerned tone "we did; you, me, Lous, and Sa-la, did kill the Nothingness."

Mammon steps back in shock trying to remember the War of the Premortal age "no, the Nothing killed you, and I had to cage it within myself to prevent it from spreading to other world."

"It wounded me, it wounded all of us. It limited our power. Took away our ability to see into the future, but it the nothingness was unstable. There just wasn't enough room in existence for nothing to exist." Charlie as Chaos explains.

Mammon looks around overwhelmed "then what am I? who is that other voice I hear whispering to me?"

Lous speaks to Mammon "the last seed of the Nothingness. It impregnated you during the battle."

Mammon starts panicing as the Nothingness starts shouting at him to provent Mammon from hearing the voices of his siblings "I don't believe you! I don't! Where is Sa-la-day-namO! Chaos! Help me!" he grabs the sides of his head crying out. Charlie approaches Mammon to grab him to try to calm him. Cravixs eyes snap up and his voice goes cold and empty "this will never end, all things must return to the Void, all things must feed the Nothingness." Cravixs turns to mist flying away.

Lous-DayO turns to face Chaos "I see you are awake again."

"You two made enough noise to stir the dead."

Act 3

Fate Reforged

Chapter 24

Whim of Chaos

Lous-DayO sits atop the wall that divides the Glass City of Zion from the Forest of Eden. Chaos waltz over having discarded the skin of Charlie Belmond that she had worn as armor retaken her more natural shape, that of a three-horned dragoness with mercury scales and a gold stripe running form nose to tail. Chaos rest her body on the wall like a dog sitting on a windowsill.

"I don't get it, what was this all about?" Chaos ask. "Charlie was only human, you knew well he couldn't fight Mammon."

Lous turns his body looking out into the forest "he certainly could fight, now winning, that was something he never could have done. But he was never meant to 'win' he was meant to play for time."

"play for time?"

"the time loop. It was a closed loop, only Mammon and Charlie where every aware of it. I kept those two running in circles for a decade. At the same time I speed up time on the worlds next on Cravixs menu."

"why?"

"to give Sa-la-day-namO time to prepare. Time to find a cure for Mammon."

"did he?"

"if he didn't there is nothing more I can do to help out. Chaos, I am tired. Keeping that loop stable was by far the most draining thing I have ever had to do."

"so, then what are you going to do next?"

"you have been asleep for the last 4 thousand something years, I think I'm going to go to sleep till the turn of the next millennium. Sa-la-day-namO will have to handle things from here on out."

"what are we going to do with Charlie and the others"

"I can reset time one more time for him. I will let him have all the memories I had kept back. I will do the same for everyone that he had touched during this campaign. What about you Chaos?"

"the universe has change shape so dramatically. I think I will start jumping across planets with my kids pretending to be whatever animal we come across on the way."

DayO stands up and takes Chaos in his arms hugging the dragoness, Chaos places a lone hand on his back returning the embrace.

Chapter 25

Full-moon

Hetatsubatchi's paws sink deep into the snow Assgaurd as he dashes across the frozen ocean chasing the moon and the scent of flowers in the distances, the taste of blood fresh on his tongue as he had just hours ago feasted upon the mermaid Ava. Dis and the demon council were not impressed, they ordered Hetatsubatchi killed.

This was when the dozens of lifetimes hidden from him awoke and his magic was amplified ten times. Tatsu used his magic to hold Dis hostage, morphing the evil king's armor into a body shaped coffin threatening to '...crush the king and impale all his councilors on their-own swords...' if he, and the other wolves of Cainon don't get to walk today.

Hetatsubatchi payed for the freedom of himself and his country with tribute to his namesake of King Slayer. Tatsu took nothing for himself, once the land of Dis agreed to free his people Tatsu used his Worldwalker's gift to run away. There are other places he wishes to be, other things he wishes to see.

Tatsu hopes to at some time see his old traveling company once more. Run alongside David Jazzman, Charlie Belmond, Lances Jacob, Milli Malagaurd and the others, also a final confrontation with Seeker would be fun. But something in his soul tells Tatsu that it will be a good long time before he and them cross paths again. In the meantime, Redcap is his next target. After all Tatsu still wants to know what was that 'grater purpose' the illusionist had talked about?

Somehow Redcap knew Tatsu would come, somehow he knew Tatsu had arrived and the two come face to face. Redcap choosing to first let Hetatsubatchi see him as the Rockstar elf king, then in the blink of an eye as the tattooed white wolf, the warg princess Ammi by his side.

With a snide grin, Redcap calls across the snow and ice to the running wolf. "you are early, the festival isn't for several days!" Redcap's voice is dripping with sexual tension as he talks "or maybe you wanted so appetizers before the main dish?"

"Shut it conjurer." Tatsu barks "you, me, her" Tatsu points at Ammi "we are all linked, I can smell it, tell me how and why now."

Ammi looks up at Redcap "a to-the-point type I see."

Redcap closes his eyes with a nod "I told you he would be." He turns his attention back to Tatsu "Chaos. She is what links us. Ammi is the link between the wolves of Cainon and the wolves of Asguard, I birthed her, she birthed you, I was born to Haiti, and Skoll, they were children of Fenrir, and Fenrir is the link between us and Tamreal. There are only five generations separating us from the Tree of Beginnings. Tatsu I know what you and Belmond were doing. I was trying to help. I was hoping to build a weapon we could use to re-forge heaven but there just wasn't enough time."

Tatsu looks apprehensive "so you were always on our side?"

"Come with me and find out, once my mother is born you will see." Redcap turns away from Tatsu, s/he wags her tail offers a wide charming grin, starting on her way to the grounds on which the Festival of Moonlessnight will be held.

***

The Steel Rose has been restored to order, Celverant and the other Architects of Peace gather in the courthouse, a group of birds form Cathall have gathered in search of the Worldwalkers and there network of humanitarian trade. Lead by an egg carrier named Swallow.

All senior members are accounted for as this is a large trade and many worlds could binifite form ties with Cathall and the other planets of Zion; Cinder, Keyor, Dash Prismknigh, Sorin Hunt, Seeker, Krain, Syphon, Sigh, Arwin, Mike Murphy, Jloose, and Suahoon.

"...So, as you can see." Swallow explains "this new illness, whatever it is, is attack our young. my yearling should be ready to learn if they are an egg makers or egg carriers but they are despritly underweight. And should you and these judges fell so fit as to help us in the investigation as to the organ of this sickness, we the Cathall would be willing to begin talk of trade."

The worldwalkers start whispering between each other. Celverant takes the lead "This court will need one Cathall moon-phase to review the information you have provided, after which time we will deliver or verdict."

The court disassembles. As the group retires for food a messenger form Godshand passes off a scroll to Sigh. With a gasp the fox monk reads over the information within and with grate haste runs done Celverant.

"Celverant, I must be departing. War has come to Godshand." Sigh stumbles to explain.

"Who would wish to do battle with the Kami?" Celverant ask.

"The Opel Mask, our protectors have turned on us." Sigh goes on. "My brother, he leads them."

"you, Sigh, you are one of my Architects. We will travel together to Godshand, and together we will build peace."

Chapter 26

Dead or Alive

"Jesus Christ Mosses!" Snake sucker punches the dwarf standing before him "How did you find this place? Were you playing darts with Satin? Did you call the psychic hotline?"

Mosses spits to recover from the punch then laghs as the silk clade thief standing before him "What's the matter? Santa Panocha look like Santa vaca?"

The rogue with flame tattoos looks back at the Lamia's Back and nods "yeah, mosses, it kinda' did."

Charlie looks around trying to understand where he is and what is going on, he is standing outside the biker bar called the Lamia's back in south east Nebraska, it is September 10th, this is the day after his first encounter with the Cravixs. Charlie looks around at the people standing around him as they are gathered in the front parking lot; Snake and Larry Geeks, El Driver, Lacerti, Mohamed Quin, Lucca Wingate, Lances and Ashly Jacob.

Larry, Snake's younger brother, looks at Charlie "told you there was no back door."

Charlie repeating his script form the last time he was here instinctual points over his shoulder "Im going to walk around an look."

Lances, now dressed in a par of tan slacks and a polo shirt as he had not yet rejoined the knights of Jesuit grabs Charlie and whispers "you know dam good-and-well what happens when you walk around that building don't you?"

Snake yells over from his convertible "Father! Your car is broken down, right? Larry and I can take you as far as Gramm."

Charlie whispers with Lances "Yeah, I remember. Sounds like you do to."

Lances nods with a whimper of fear crackling in his voice "I remember a lot more then I would like to. Charlie, what are we supposed to do?"

Quin calls over as he turns on his bike, Lucca standing alongside him "Pistol, it's a long way to the next truck stop."

Charlie lowers his head thinking "the bike show." He calls over to his fellow bikers "Spooky, Trash fallow 71 to 18 I'll catch up with you at Rapid City." Charlie looks back at Lances "Lances, take Ashley, go with Snake to the Church of Jesuit, Find Lizzet, and get ready, the end of the world is coming."

Quin holds out his arms in a shrug "What are you going to do!" he yells over his motorcycle to Charlie.

Charlie calls back "I need to take one more look around. We still don't know what happened to those guys we met in Springfield Missouri" Quin nods and gets on his bike, Lucca climbing on with him.

Lances grabs Charlie and hugs him forcibly "Good luck Charlie."

Ashly takes off Charlies coat, which he had given to her the night before, and hands it back to him "thank you Charlie."

Lances and Ashley leave with Snake and Larry, Quin and Lucca drive off into the sunrise and El and Lacerti vanish into a 18-wheeler leaving Charlie standing alone in the sandy parking lot waving them all on with in enigmatic smile.

Charlie walks around to the back of the bar looking down into the graveyard of burnt cars hidden behind it. He doesn't jump in this time, instead he speaks into the wreckage "Xzoner, I know you are out there. And I don't know what you know, how much of what I saw you did. But. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try to do what I thought I was meant to do. I will just let you get back to doing whatever it is a cosmic horror does in their free time" he holds up his hands in confusion and walks back to his bike.

Charlie opens the saddle bag of his bike and pulls out his cd player, he opens the lid on it to remember what he was playing on it last "Ecliptica." He whispers. He equips his headphones and starts the disc again starting to sing along

"the war is me,

Can I win this war?

Can I stand the darkness again?

Please don't start to cry.

May you never know,

the horror is see

When I close my eye.

My son.

The war is now

Still You will never know

What I have done."

Physical and mental exhaustion brings Charlie to his knees first then moments latter onto his side curled in a ball crying holding the CD player for protection. Only know does it dawn on him how much pain he has fought past. He has slayed a giant, killed two angels, a horrid of zombies, cyborgs and has been physical controlled by at least 2 elder gods and that has lefts it mark.

Charlie can remember all these things but he can no longer remember where is wife lives, what his sons name is, where he worked. All the good memories he had sown into his coat are now just half remembered dreams. At this point it doesn't matter what happens, he will never go home. He can't. He has become the Belmond completely and totally.

The only life he can hope to have is the same life his ancestors had. On of lurking in darkness, hunting monster. Lances is dammed in the same way. It seems that to those touched by darkness there is only one road to fallow.

As Charlie lays killed over on the sand in army of cop cars pull up. In a mostly drunken haze Charlie is dragged away taken to a hospital and then into police custody for interrogation. Charlie has nothing to say, nothing that the police would understand anyway.

***

A slim Asian man in a white turtle neck with deeply recessed eyes and ratty black hair, a chain around his neck with a crystal the letter 'N' cut into the gemstone watches the doctors care for Charlie, a clipboard in hand. His other hand reaches for his pack pocket and withdraws a candy cane.

Another man slips in alongside him Asian carrying an attaché dressed in a lighting blue suit "N." he announces his presences "official NATO business I assume?"

"No, mister Geovanni, not NATO business this time." N offers Geovanni his candy cane, Geovanni turns it down "look at that man and tell me who you think he is."

"Surly you looked at the police record already?" Fox Geovanni looks to his friend

"I have, humor me."

Geovanni shrugs "looks like the Frankenstein monster with all those scars."

"when he was brought in he was carrying with him chained flail, a hunting knife and a set of throwing spades. According to his DL. He is a resident of Grand County Mississippi. He has a boiler license, he is a class M motorist, he is a card holding member of the Patriot Riders, according to his criminal record he has 2 equipment violations on his record and a D&R from 15 years ago. Does this man sound like a cultist to you?"

Fox shrugs "you never know, to me that sounds like a high school teacher with a hobby. Why?"

"he was picked up as the only survivor of what the media is calling a murder cult. There isn't enough to hold him. I would be hard pressed to believe that his man drove 20 hours to a pagan sacrifice then let himself be brought in so quietly."

Fox opens the case he is holding and passes off a folder "I have a new job for you. Another one of the Letters variety. This one come from US senator Laurence P Walker. Same sort of cure all being developed by Claw Co international."

***

David Jazzman walk up to the door of his shop after a hunt and looks around every day exspacting to see that revamped WWII hog that Charlie was riding to be sitting outside. Ever night David is disappointed.

But today there is a car he wasn't expecting. A black SUV. David pulls out his shotgun as he unlocks the door. He opens it up and slides in. Milli grabs the gun from alongside the door and leans in to David to plead with him "do me a favor David, for old time sake. Don't fight me."

Joe Dove flicks on the light as he is sitting in David's chare at the desk of the antique shop. Joe leans in resting on his elbows with a monsters grin and the voice of a salesmen "David Jazzman, The man called Devil, Do I have an offer for you."

***

For months after release Charlie jumps on his bike and rides aimlessly into the night, he is pulled by Souleater to hunt monsters. His warlock power grows with each hunt. One night Souleater sends him to a bar called Cabooze in south Minnesota. He has his eye on a Wereraven. Charlie waits and watches, till the monster shows its fangs he isn't justified in killing it.

A white haired man in a trenching coat with a cat shaped patch on it and a nametag that reads 'Karingson' strikes up conversation as he is waiting "you look like a man with something on his mind. What are you looking for?"

"some stupid kid throwing rocks outside a church."

Marks nods in understanding "then you are looking to start a war. Maybe I can help you with that."

Charlie is intrigued "what's on your mind stranger?"

Marks places his hands-on Charlies shoulders from behind and whisper "I know Sa-la-da-NamO."

***

Cravixs awakens from his slumber, his power fully restocked. The God of Hunger makes his way to earth to deliver his dark ultimatum. Demonstrating one of his most horrifying talents. He appears before all the people of earth independently to relay his message in a clear and unmistakable way. No matter who no matter where everyone sees Cravixs, and everyone understands him.

"I am not Lous-dayO, I do not need to speak through moldy books, riddles and parables, vague dubious feelings, metaphors. Your god of the sun is a coward. He hides from you in your hour of need. I do no such thing. Know me and know that I am the Lord your one true God. I am Cravixs. You and all others on this world can see me and hear me and know that I am flesh and blood. Every child born today and ever-after will have my voice burned into their mind and my name covered into their breast. They to shall know that I am the lord and that I am good."

"at the turn of the next decade you will be ask to make a chose. I will come to this earth and you may choose to embraces me with open arm and fall silently into the dream I will dream for you. Or you my chose to raise your arms and challenge my might. You will then be drowned in my nightmares. Gather your alpha most hero's and be prepared to except me."

"A sickness has taken root on this world as a demonstration of my coming. You, the men of this world cry of your supremacy. You believe you are mighty. My sickness will take the greatest of you and the smallest of you and they shall become beast. They will howl at the moon and offer me praise. They will grow horns, tails, fur, sometime they will walk on all fours and eat raw meat."

"there are some that will not welcome me into their homes. They will be punished. This will be absolute. give praise. Kneel to Cravixs."

Epilogue

It has been seven years since Lucca first saw the Darkness with her own eyes, and six since you met Tail Vixon and Sa-la-day-namO. She walks out onto stage dressed in a black leather cloak addorneed with witch emblems. Ashley Jacob, whom now goes by the name Alice, fallows only a step behind with her rhythm guitar, Charisma Deago takes to the drums. On bass Sa-la-day-namO, under the sage name of Mac comes up last with his eyes burning gold. Tail is at the control booth.

Stage lights fire up, the concert hall is packed tightly with fans chanting in preparation it hear 'The Avatar Awakened' playing live. A battle chant is the best term to describe the howl of the crowed.

"Oh, Ee, hoe, yho ho, ho!"

_ _ The crowed repeats. Lucca holds up one hand throwing a punch in the air shouting.

"Oye, Oye, Oye, Oye!"

The drums start in, the rhythm is a march. The guitar comes in with a power metal melody. Lucca starts in with the first verse of the title track for the last album.

(Lucca)

"from the land of drifting snow,

A ship had set sail.

Fighting past the deadly storms,

Asgard strides atop our shores."

(The band)

"Knights from Valhalla are at the door."

(Lucca)

"bloodshed set our souls ablaze.

There is no time for fear,

No place to retreat."

(Band)

"fallow the wolves."

(chorus)

"Oh, Ee, hoe, yho ho, ho!"

(Lucca)

"as twilight turns to night,

Be the first to join the fight.

Sword in hand,

Blood and sand.

King of the dammed,

We will take a stand."

(Band)

"here the moon call."

(chorus)

"Oh, Ee, hoe, yho ho, ho!"

... the set last just under two hours, the crowed worked into a rage, intentionally. In a world overrun by shadow governments, and monster fight hunters in broad daylight 'The Avatar Awakened' sends up a battle call. They deliver a message to the people that look for it; war is coming, we are not alone, trust in wolves, hunters and above all each other.

About the author

I am a; card flipping, dice throwing, nerd. I always have been. I love heavy metal, I frequent electronics conventions and have done some traveling. I have been a writer since I was every young, I have a philosophy degree and a GPA of 3.5. I am to my core a weaver of tales and to that end I am always looking for start to a new story. Many of the people and events in this and my other stories are drawn from my favored pastime D&D

(back page)

Cambridge award winning author is back for the third book in the Red Twilight saga!

Welcome to Red Twilight, where god's monsters and men are at war! And monsters can be beautiful. With the final battle against the darkness growing ever closer Charlie Belmond has taken upon himself to hunt the demons back to their homeland. With Lances Jacob by his side they will us the void magi Cravixs own worldwalking power against him. Joining in the fight are the children of Choas.

"I know what you are thinking, let me help you vocalize your thoughts. 'I don't understand, I did everything right, my souls is on fire, my heart overflows with indignation, a hundred generation my fathers paved the road that would lead me here, and not even am I aloud to look on to your lovely face?' Let me help you understand. You are strong, you are brave, but you are mortal, you are flawed. Never where you worthy to stand eye to eye with me. Never where you meant to win this fight, you are nothing more than a sacrifice to my divinity. Belmond son of Belmond the last of the keys of salvation are almost within my reach and once I have them no king or god will ever be my equal again, and you have made that possible."

-Cravixs