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Dreams. To a mage, these are simply practice grounds, places to expand on their knowledge gleened throughout the day and to relax and unwind in wonderous surroundings. Darrius was making full use of the relaxing part of his dream, having seen little to no point of working twenty four seven.

The vulpine was currently taking in the warm sun from his dorms small courtyard while curiously donning his old set of robes, the scent of flower pollen hung in the air like a heady mist, filling his head with thoughts of the lazy summer days he had at the guild before he was shifted out to the marshes. It wasn't all bad, he mused. He did meet Cha'kaar, and he felt more at peace with himself than he had in years. Well, his entire life, to be exact. Like some kind of heavy weight had been lifted, removed from his sight and allowed him to see the world clearly.

His relaxed thought processes were interrupted as the ground shuddered beneath his feet, a cacophony of screams pierced the subtle birdsong, silencing it alltogether. The sound was agonizing and jarred him to his very soul. He'd only heard and felt such a force before, and that was the transformation of Sirus.

Another has been turned.

The second scream knocked him to his knees, hands clamped firmly over his ears as the ground shuddered, the buildings gaining several cracks in the infastructure, even knocking a few bricks loose. A third scream shattered the windows above him, showering Darrius in glass shards and brick dust, his head pressed against the ground, tears rolling down his face as his private world crumbled around him. He blacked out as the fourth scream rolled over him.

He was mildly surprised at himself; blacking out in a dream? Was that even possible? When he regained conciousness, he was still in the courtyard, that much he knew. The plants had been crushed by falling masonry and looked half dead with the dust scattered over them. The upper floors of the guild had caved in on themselves and the buildings looked halfway to collapse. His eyes slid up to the sky to reveal the sun was hidden by heavy, iron grey clouds that hung low in the air, like they threatened to brush up against what was left of the rooftops.

Before he could pick himself up off the floor, something shot past overhead and out the archway towards the main street, the vague image of a humaniod was visible, and it was followed by another, and another. A final one snatched ahold of the arm of Darrius' robe and nearly dragged him through the archway as it clung on for dear life itself.

"Help us!" It whispered. The short glimse he caught of it's face before it was torn from his robes and out the archway, the same ways as it's companions. It was female, and it wore the robes of the mage's guild! Darrius broke into a shaky run after it, still woozy from the effects of the magical disruption.

As he broke into a full sprint after the spirit, he could seed the street outside didn't fare any better, the whole place looked like an earthquake had hit, but Darrius didn't notice or care. This creature, this... girl needed his help! Their eyes locked as he began to catch up with them, his arm outstretched, their fingertips almost touching as her face lit up with hope.

The vulpine could barely see anything through the girl's slight blue sheen, and it was too late when he ran straight into the back of a gentleman, the poor girl phasing through with nary a whipser of hair being knocked out of place. Her cry of help was lost as she sped down the street and into darkness.

Darrius could see stars, he shook his head, as if to clear them from his mind, and looked at the person he ran into. A cold pair of brown eyes stared down at him distasteful look. The gentleman was a vulpine, just like him, however, his fur was black, and his hair a shocking white, the cane he carried was made of polished wood and looked highly expensive. However, the rest of his outfit was... odd. Every time he focused on an item of clothing, the words would pop into his head. A pinstripe suit and a pair of leather driving gloves, shoes polished to a mirror-like sheen... He had never seen anyone like him before in his entire life. The cane bapped his leg idily.

"Get up, Darrius, no time to be lying down on the job."

The words seemed to be hardwired to his brain, finding himself standing, straightening up without so much as a fowl word spoken against this strange man.

"W-who are you...?" The gent examined a pocketwatch for a few moments before answering.

"I'm you. Well, the Intelligent side of your being. It's all very complicated, don't bother trying to work it out." He waved his hand dismissively. Darrius could feel his anger rising at this posh git as he flicked open the pocketwatch again.

"Just... get out of my way, I need to help that girl!" He snapped and made to stride past the dapper gentleman, but the cane jabbed into his gut, sending him back onto his arse, wheezing.

"You really don't want to go any further, child, for both of our sakes." The pocketwatch snapped shut as the ebony vulpine slipped it into his coat, the silver chain disappearing under the jacket. The tip of the cane lifted up Darrius' muzzle, his eyes watering from pain.

"If you took a look at the streets around you..." The stick whirled around to direct both sides of the streets.

A glance told the fox everything. The ruined buildings had given way to a much more grotesque sight. Gore, blood and a number of tumorous lumps of gristle soaked the walls and the street, spilling into the drains. It looked as though someone had painted over everything in liquified remains. And the stentch! Darrius doubled over as he gagged. He'd not noticed it all until now, and he had no idea how he'd miss such details. It took a while to register the dreary voice above him.

"You passed from one dream to another. This world belongs to that of the diseased mind. What you saw were quite obviously the spirits of the fallen, who travel better through the dream plane to their destination, wether they want to or not, most likely." The gentleman cleared his throat at the look that he recieved from the man at his feet.

"I'm all your logic and reasoning summed up in one being. A cursory glance of what I've seen has told me, and also you, all of this in but a fraction of a second. You should do well to examine the world more closely and use your logic more, child, for you nearly came to a sticky end..." He turned to tap at a set of cobblestones, raised up slightly higher than the others.

"If I had not stopped you, you'd have crossed into his realm, and you would be unable to return to your body... Or your dear, sweet Cha'kaar." Darrius paused halfway through picking himself up off the blood-drenched street.

"You mean I nearly died?" Intelligence shook his head.

"No, your body would still be alive, it would just... never wake up. Your mind, on the other hand, would be stuck in whatever dream that diseased mind had created. By the look of it, it is not a very nice place to be." Another glimpse at his pocketwatch, and he suddenly snapped to attention, clicking his heels.

"Well! Time's up for our little chat. Try to stick to your own dreamscape next time if you would, child?" With the faintest tap of his cane on Darrius' chest, he felt a tug, as though some invisible line had suddenly yanked him back, the scenery whirling past, his vision going a blinding white... He snapped back into the real world with a jolt that shook the bed, his back arched as though wracked with pain, and let loose a scream.

The pain, the horror of what he'd seen washed over him, flashes of horror he'd never seen, never thought, and the screams... They echoed in his skull and right down to his very soul. It was as if every single feeling and sight he'd witnessed in the dreamscape had been waiting for him to wake. Now, they pounced all at once, never relenting for a second. Another scream tore itself from his throat as he thrashed on the bed, unable to control himself any longer.

He was alone, scared and unable to hold himself still, and cha'kaar was nowhere to be seen.

~***~

Cha'kaar was well past the treeline before he heard the scream behind him. Darrius!

A rustle snapped his head back to peer into the gloom of the marshes and trees, a familiar figure, all too familiar, stepped out from behind a tree. It was Sierra, or what was left of her.

The wet gravedirt clung to her robes and fur, her face was gaunt with her eyes slightly sunken. The magic placed on her had been kind, preventing her from looking any worse than a few meals and a bath short of a healthy weight and a clean face. Her only other notable feature was the small hole in her chest that was glowing blue. Char'kaar couldn't bear to look at her, not like this. Tears welled up in his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and anger burned at his soul.

"Nice to see you again after all this time, Cha'kaar..."

The voice cut through the mysery that clouded his judgement, memories flooded back of how they used to be not too long ago, yet it felt like an eternity for himself.

"You... you're still you... right...?" he mumbled, wiping away an errant tear. It wasn't fair that she'd be tortured like this and made to dance to the tune of some sick and twisted individual like Sirus. Sierra nodded slowly, leaning against a tree out of exaustion, placing a hand on her heart.

"I'm in control... It's a... weak willed creature, I can do what I wish, until... given a direct order by those two..." She jerked her head back, motioning to the marshes. The lupine was about to speak when he was taken aback.

"We-wait, two? I thought it was just Sirus!" She shook her head slowly and clung to the tree. Everything ached, her bones felt like glass and a headache was getting settled in behind her eyes quite nicely.

"You mean that ferret? Yeah... He's there, but their's this... rock golem, or something... He's got the others channeling for him... I managed to... to get away as they rose the others, but Sirus will be... looking for me..." Both of their ears pricked up at the scream behind them, back towards the church. Fear made his stomach lurch.

"Darrius!" The panic began to set in, torn between the cries of his lover, and his old flame in need of help. Sierra could sense the urgency and worry in Cha'kaar's voice, the same she heard the night she passed into the afterlife. She waved her had slowly, as though shoo'ing him away.

"Go... Go to him, I'll be fine..." She could hear the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs, signaling the approach of Sirus.

Cha'kaar gave her one last, longing look before running back the way he came at a sprint, calling back to her. "I'll come back for you, for you all! I promise!"

She smiled weakly, slumping to her knees as Sirus approached and gripped her by the neck, lifting his quarry to her feet without remorse.

"Found you..."

~***~

Cha'kaar returned in record time, the screams still ringing in his ears as he made for the stairs, nearly knocking Niles back down into the basement. He left the bird in the dust and went barreling up the stairs. Darrius had tied himself in knots with the bedsheet from his constant kicks and twitches, his shouts and screams had slowed and dimmed as he wore himself out. The appearance of his lover only served to soothe his tattered mind, the stroke of his cheek calmed him further.

"It's alright, child. Hush." The lupine's words were comforting, and only seemed to set his mind at ease, the niggling thoughts soon began to quiet and settle, but not before they were heard.

"There was a.... girl... Spirits and..." Cha'kaar pressed his finger to the boys lips.

"Rest, child, before you wake the dead." He pressed two fingers against Darrius' temple and whispered something under his breath, and Darrius was out like a light, slowly curling up in a corner of the bed. Niles appeared in the doorway as the vulpine was tucked in, holding onto the doorframe for support while bent over slightly.

"Does that whelp of yours ever cease to be a nusance?" Growled the bird. "Always butting into peoples conversations, getting into trouble... And now he starts screaming the place down!" Cha'kaar fixed him with a cool gaze.

"Their's a reason he's so inexperienced with life, we all were at one point." Niles broke eye contact at this point, his words laden with bitterness.

"If that was a jab at me, at what happened..." He sat gingerly on the only available chair, shaking out his tailfeathers a little, directly opposite the man he'd known for so long. The wolf simply tilted his head, his face blank. The emotions of the past twenty four hours had taken their toll on his mind, sending him adrift in the small shelter in a bay of calm from the stormy oceans that threatened to tear him apart inside. The lupine leaned forward, steepling his fingers.

"What did happen all those years ago?" Niles spluttered, glaring back at the man.

"You know what happened!" He cried. "You remember that night! You remember everything!" Cha'kaar nodded almost idily.

"Indeed I do. I can remember it clear as day. What I am unsure of, is why a young man would follow me across the land like a love-sick pup after realising he wasn't gay?" The words, although carefully delivered, felt like a blow to the stomach for Niles, knocking the fire right out of him.

"M-my rites-" He stammered.

"Force you to follow gay men across countless miles? To spring up in long-forgotten towns and villages? To spread the word of the gods not a few miles from where I currently stay?" He snapped, a glare of his own boring into blackbeak's hurt expression. "How about you actually tell me what it is that's causing this? What it is thats... thats making you follow me like this!" Niles' gaze fell to the floor as he stroked his elbow, his fingers idily trying to hitch up the black silk robes to keep himself decent.

"I know that walk Niles, you had that same damn limp the night we were together..." Cha'kaar motioned bitterly to the seed stains that had dried on the silk garment as well as some of his feathers. "That as well..." He sighed, anger subsiding at the sight of the poor creature in front of him. "Just... just tell me why... Why these rites make you act like this... Please?"

The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of cooling floorboards and the rustle of cloth until the crow finally breathed a sigh.

"Our people... are very religious, as you may know..." Cha'kaar leaned in, nodding softly. "What you may not know, is that it's not a choice. Our people have believed... Well, known that the gods watch us from above. They... don't so much communicate it in the broadest of terms but..." Niles shook his head, grimmacing.

"No offence, Dan'kir, but this is just going to confuse you... so I'll try to give you the short version and you can... ask questions later, okay?" Another curt, precise nod. "Very good, then lets begin."

"The gods pair us in the heavens. We have always known this because it is impossible to go against, as I found out much later down the line..." His fingers twitched his robes closed as he spoke, yet he plunged on, uninterrupted. "On our first coupling- err, thats fancy talk for having sex the first time... Our elders tell us of the bond forged between us in the heavens. We are bound to our first love until death."

The wolf made to speak but Niles cut him off. "Before you make some quip or smartalec comment on how such a practise possibly works, it has, for over a thousand years of recorded history, and long before pen was first put to paper, reinforcing the belief one thousand fold." Another deep breath followed.

"And this is where the trouble with us began... You see, the night we... we..." Niles stumbled over his own words as a blush warmed his cheeks. "The night we... spent together... it was in the nearby village, far enough away from my elders so they would not know I was... experimenting... with you, for the first time..."

Realization dawned, the wolf holding his muzzle in his hands as the explination unwound above his head, Niles slipping into the nostalgic past. "I remember you changed your name, On the night just before the act... The act in question was... energetic, and very... creative and very enjoyable, even if I woke up afterwards not wishing to do such things again... Except maybe that one with the-" Cha'kaar cleared his throat. "... Nevermind, you get the picture... And I mean to do it with a girl! Not you! Especially not with you with him and-" The bird became so flustered, his feathers were in danger of over fluffing out of embarrassment before he was cut off.

"So, in short, you're a straight man bound to be my lover until one of us passes on?" Niles' cheeks glowed through the dark feathers.

"W-well... less a lover and more a partner, I suppose..." Cha'kaar waved a hand in vague suggestion to continue.

"And this... punishment should you go against the gods?" Muttered the wolf. Blackbeaks fingers clentched tighter around his robes, trying to hide away his scar.

"Their was... a girl once..." A pained expression settled over his friends face as he spoke of what happened.

"I had... become tired of chasing you... Following trails long cold, asking the church for postings in far-flung areas." A smirk crossed his face. "Technically, you're the reason the church has been branching out these past few years. But I digress... I broke from the trail set by the church, having grown weary of looking for you due to a custom I believed was a formality. I found a quaint village not too far off the trail. The name was... awkward to pronounce at best, the roughest translation of that barbaric tongue would be... Some-Such-Place?" Cha'kaar quirked a brow at that. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I ended up staying in the single room of the local inn. It wasn't too bad, mostly friendly locals and a quaint, if boring existance. After a few days, she turned up..." Niles grip on his robes redoubled, despite the slight blush on his cheeks.

"She was beautiful... If slightly twitchy, and she took quite a shine to me. We... bedded that night in that tiny room on that warm summers night. Well, she had to, only one room and she didn't live in the area... Anyway, after a few days, I'd decided that she was the one, the one I would spend my life with, not only to be rid of you, but also this "curse" of my people..." The bird sighed and released his robes to reveal that pale scar of his.

"She... well, she didn't take it too kindly..." His fingers trailed down the scar. "...She tried to gut me, and nearly succeeded..." His fingers shook slightly. "If the inn keeper hadn't heard my scream of agony, if he'd not pulled her off, not called for a healer... I wouldn't be here today with the irrifutable proof of the gods laws, and their consequences..." His whole body shook as his fingers moved down near his groin where the scar ended.

Cha'kaar to his quaking hand to steady it, the grim tale of his friends brush with death unfolding before him. What had he been doing while his friend- well, partner had tried to deviate from the threads of fate and nearly paid for it with his life? He'd been merely eight miles away in another village, lodging in a hay loft with the pleasureable company of a twin brother and sister. It seemed stupidly meaningless now, and horribly vain, realising the man who had stuck with him for years was but down the road, struggling to cast healing spells to holds his blood and innards in until a proper healer arrived. All while he sat in lamplight, teaching the young pair the intimate beauty of his love making.

Wordlessly, he pulled the crow into his lap, the beak pressing against his throat as if to nuzzle into the warmth. "Turns out she had a vendetta, a grudge against men... Four others had met the same fate in nearby villages from the same girl..." A few tears rolled down his beak and into the wolf's thick chestfur. "... I was unconcious and being tended to by the local healer when they... they hung her..." A bitter chuckle escaped his beak. "Turns out that harming a man of the cloth is a hanging sentence, and the other deaths were merely something more to add to her eulogy... By the time I woke, she was dead and buried..." The tears were coming at a steady pace, Cha'kaar's fur was damp with the poor mans woes.

"The... the ring sits atop her grave..." He sobbed, his chest heaving. The wolfs paw wrapped around his beak, cutting him off in mid sob.

"We've all lost someone we love, child. Today, I lost another, and I will not let you or Darrius come to harm..." He laid the sobbing man beside the vulpine, casting the same spell he'd used mere minutes ago. He sat at the desk, watching the slumbering pair. Niles was fairly restless until he put his arm around Darrius, turning onto his side. The lupine stifled a chuckle as he brushed away Niles tailfeathers to reveal the end of his toy.

"Niles, you strange creature." With that, he gripped the end of the wooden shaft and shifted it slightly. The birds entire body twitched in a pleasurable way and the faintest moan issued from his beak, the mere act flushed the wolfs cheeks.

Despite the horrors, the worry, stress and lack of sleep, not to mention the ethical ramifications of what was running through his head, Cha'kaar was sorely tempted by the display. Another twitch of the toy released another pleasureable moan before he gripped the base, and pulled it out with a slick pop, releasing a shuddering twitter before the bird calmed down, pressing himself close to Darrius. He set the item aside in a drawer after wiping it clean before returning to the desk to think. The other two dozed happily in each others arms, unaware of each other, yet happy for the warmth and comfort each provided.

Cha'kaar watched them both for a moment, knowing their was going to be a heck of a lot of confusion when they finally woke up. But, for now, he had time to contemplate on what Sirus wanted with his deceased pupils and how he was going to get them back.

Niles was a clever chap, even before the church got his hands on him, and knew how to read and write fairly well before he was brought into the fold. The lupines eyes fell on the inkstand and neat stack of papers. Pulling one sheet aside as well the ink pot and quill, he took notes, scribbled out probable battle strategies, and planned for what was coming on the horizon.

~***~

The ragged bunch of grave dwellers limped past the sordid collection of relics and macabre items with Sirus leading up the rear with Sierra, dragged by the neck. Her futile struggles meant nothing to the ferret who barged his way through the recently reanimated pupils and threw his prize down on the steps. It was then he knelt and did his best to suppress the fear seeping in from his masters collection. He did not wish to loose face in front of his new slaves.

The golem simply looked from him and up to the dirt ridden people before him. "I leave you to gather mages, people with the power to bend magic to their whim, and you return with a bunch of dirt-splattered children who look like they only learnt to stand upright this morning!"

Sirus glowered at the floor and gritted his teeth a little, mumbling; "Technically, they only just did-" Arcane energy whipped out and tore apart his cheek and half his maw. He yelped and skittered back, trying to stem the bleeding and the pain by pouring his magic into it. The whip lashed at his wrist and severed it cleanly. "No!" He screamed, before continuing in a calmer voice. "Let them prove their worth. Order them."

Sirus nodded, trying his best to ignore the searing pain coursing through his shattered muzzle and stump of a hand. He pointed a shaking finger to a dazed looking snowleopard. "You! 'elp meesh!" His cracked teeth and torn skin made it hard to pronounce anything with accuracy, and yet the moment he was given the order, the boy jerked to life. He knelt down, snatched the ferrets hand off the floor, and reattached it with very little fuss, the pain dying away almost instantly as the bones and sinews knotted themselves back together. He flicked a rune into the air around Sirus' shattered face and began drawing magic from the surrounding area rather than his own reserves.

As the skin knitted itself back together and the pain subsided with every passing second, Sirus had to admit, the brats had much better training with runes and magic usage than this clumsy sod of a body did. His eye focused on the boys face, which gave away nothing. A blank expression with the slightest hint of concentration. His own fault, because their souls were still intact. The pearls he'd inserted were weak and had no desire to rend the wretches souls apart. Thus, he was stuck with a bunch of whining children who struggled to understand they had died, and had even tried to tell him about their deaths! That is, until he ordered them to shut up unless spoken to.

The faintest tinge of blue led Sirus up to the boys hair. An obvious dye in his bangs had faded, but the colour was obvious. The ferret knew he'd have to spend a bit more time with these whelps, get them smartened up and maybe, just maybe spend some quality time with one or two of them.

With the healing finished, the boy stood back up and faced forward, albiet more alert this time as his pearl began to bring his form some much needed life to his weary bones. The master chuckled at this display and the lingering looks of Sirus on his new pet. "Good, very good." He settled down on his throne and steepled his fingers with a few faint clicks of stone on stone. "They will be useful... Very useful." He waved his hand. "Leave me Sirus, and take your new whelp as payment. Clean him, dress him, plough him, whatever your ruined heart desires. The others are mine." He sneered and clicked his fingers, the sound echoing throughout the room. The students limped towards their new master, unable to resist. Even Sierra was pulled to her knees by the order despite the look of disgust and horror on her face.

The ferret stood and bowed, leading his new toy out by the shoulder, murmuring thanks as he left. The master, finally alone with his new playthings. He stepped into the light, each footfall clicked against the stone, his new puppets watching his every move into the dim light. What emerged was far different from what Sirus had encountered in the swamps. The squat, imp-like creature had grown into the body of a male vulpine made of stone. Slight cracks formed whenever he moved, spilling tiny glimpses of blue light across the floor and the faces of his audience, only for the material to knit itself back together almost instantly. He turned and fixed them with a grin only a golem could provide, spread his arms wide and screamed. "Feed me!"

The mages responded in kind and spread their arms, arcs of energy swelled from their torn hearts and to that of their new master, lavishing him with their excess arcane energies. The stone softened, smoothed out and began to take on a life-like hue. It spread, removing the rougher edges, dulling the thickness of his hide to that of the creatures more common to this world. The white fur filled in next, and one by one, the senses he'd only heard, nay, drempt about began to filter in.

He could see, where before he could only sense movement and energies before. He could hear, the most subtle of sounds only the living were privy to. He could feel, the faintest of breezes in his new-found fur felt wonderful. He could smell, the breeze carried the scent of pollen from the world outside, of new places waiting to be discovered once more.

Every sense was bombarded with new information, all the subtle nuances that made the world what it was. He breathed deep, his eyes tightly shut. "My name..." He murmured. "... Is Anasazi..." The vulpine opened his eyes, revealing nothing but two jet-black marbles in a sea of white fur. A twitch of his hand and the shadows drew themselves to him, forming a bolt of the darkest cloth which wound itself across his midriff, covering his chest up to his nipples and then darted down to a loincloth that almost touched the floor.

"...And I... Am alive..."