< SomeWhere: The Undrian Council >

*The time has arrived.*

*Indeed. The recent events have set this path in motion.*

*It is coming to fruition.*

*It is time to call in our ‘debt’.*

*Yes.*

The gathered manifestations, known to corporeal beings as “Wisps”, turned their gaze toward the land of destiny. The Land of Britannia.

 

< ElseWhere: The Spacetime Nexus >

“Another prophecy involving Britannia?” the Time Lord mused. “What could possibly draw the entire Council of Undria into collective action on a single world?” He peered into the mists of the nexus, and a scene appeared…

 

< Britannia, the Deep Forest >

In a mountain fortress, long abandoned, several Wisps appeared. Taking a moment to orient themselves in the physical realm, they then began to confer.

*We must seek them out.*

*Not all remain. Corporeal life is transitory.*

*Then we must gather others to take their place. The future is clear on that.*

*Yes, they must assemble, and quickly.*

*The castle, ‘Stonegate’?*

*Yes. The artifacts are still there.*

*Then our course is clear.*

 

< Britannia, South of Trinsic >

A paladin was making his way homeward from the Shrine of Honor when a floating blue light appeared before him.

*Greetings, ‘Lumina’.*

Sighing, the human said, “At least call me ‘Kenneth’ while I am in human form. Everyone else does, Xorinian.”

*Then, ‘Kenneth’, you should know that I am not of Xorinia. I am of Toranir.*

Kenneth of Trinsic’s surprise was evident. “I thought all Wisps were Xorinia?”

*Xorinia are those of us which interact in this ‘world’, among others. Many collectives combine to form the Undrian Council. But I will not charge you for this information, as more pressing matters dictate expedience.*

Briefly bemused that a Wisp, regardless of name, would charge for knowledge that it itself volunteered, the mention of “more pressing matters” snapped the paladin’s attention back to alertness. “What matters would those be? Something to do with the events of five months ago?” He was, of course, referring to the time when the Shadowlords walked Britannia once again, and Amsereth plotted… something.

*Yes. That incident, and others you would not be aware of, have set into motion a new… your word would be ‘prophecy’, but to us it is something clearer. Events will happen in ‘Britannia’ which shall shape the ‘destinies’ of many worlds. We cannot say more, lest our own words affect the outcome.*

Toranir’s words were making Kenneth increasingly wary. “So what you’re saying is, I will be moved around according to some prophecy of yours, is that it?”

The Wisp, of course, displayed no change in its own tone as it said, *You, and the others who took part in the previous incidents. They are being gathered by the Undrian Council even now. This is an important matter, whose ‘resolution’ is still not decided. What you must do now is travel to the castle of ‘Stonegate’, where you shall meet the others we are gathering. There, Xorinia shall explain what you need to know.*

Stonegate. A two hundred year old ruin until five months ago, when Amsereth raised it anew in a blackrock form. “Very well, Wisp. I shall go.”

As if that outcome were inevitable, Toranir replied, *Yes.* Moments later, the Wisp faded away.

 

< Outside the North Gate of Trinsic. >

As Kenneth headed up the long road which would ultimately lead him to Stonegate, he saw a fellow paladin slightly ahead of him on the road.

“Goldenflame, fancy meeting you here.”

The other knight turned and waved. “Hail, Kenneth. You won’t believe it, but I had the strangest encounter just now…” He trailed off at the look on Kenneth’s face. “You too?”

“Aye. Shall we travel to Stonegate together, then?”

“Who not?” After a moment, Goldenflame mused, “I wonder what awaits us there.”

“Who knows,” Kenneth answered, “besides the Wisps, of course. In the meantime, why not tell me how you got involved in all of this?”

“Ah, yes. If you thought your journey was strange, you wouldn’t believe the events I took part in.” And so, Goldenflame regaled Kenneth with the tale of his sojourn on Tideron/Balfas, as the two made their way to Stonegate.

 

< Britannia, Stonegate >

Resting on a plinth in the upper floor of Stonegate Castle were two rings.

*Have they been altered for their new purpose?*

*Yes.*

*Now we need only await their arrival.*

 

<Cave of Innocent's Proof, Britannia - localized dimensional pocket>

In the cerulean depths, all was one and the same. But there was a difference. Felucca and Trammel outside were high in the night sky, Felucca waxing toward full, Trammel waning away from it. It was time to attempt contact again.

The figure rose from the chair in the study, crossed to the door and threw it open. As always, just beyond stood a more solid wall of the wispy cerulean which invaded everything here. With practiced concentration the figure stepped into and through the barrier, seeming to leave a copy of himself behind as he does so.

Outside the sword, though invisible to an eye not specifically attuned to its presence, a mind slips through the confines of the cave, no cares for the beauty of even this dim part of the realm, moving through the rock walls, emerging under the night sky. Illumination comes from the two moons, but also by the standing gateway, and it is to here that the mind drifts.

A shaping, though barely noticed in the ebb and flow of the ether. It flies through the moongate, drawing on the power of the gateway to provide the propulsion it needs to reach its destination.

/Nicodemus./

In Yew, the sorcerer, having been expecting the call this time, replies.

\Helgraf. Why do you seek me?\

/It is time. Already the Undrian Council is gathering them. Seek them out Nicodemus. They will need me - and soon. Not all is as the Wisps will paint it to appear./

\But where?\

/Where else? Stonegate Reborn. Where all of this started, so very very long ago. And it must be soon - every moment from now on shapes what will be./

It is clear from Nicodemus' 'voice' that he is unwilling.

\Is there no other way, then?\

/You know I would not lie to you about a matter this important Nicodemus. If I could trust anyone else to the matter with less contamination, I would do so./

 

< On a river that flows on another world... >

"Fishing, my friend, has grown very boring. Is there nothing else you think we could do?" Qu-han said, making a fish levitate out of the water.

"If you did it properly you might have more fun," the Enemy said.

"'Tis boring to use a rod and line. Is there nothing else you could do?" Qu-han asked.

"I could try to take over a world again, I suppose." The Enemy grinned. "Not that I want to go against any prophecies you might have."

"Anyway, you've retired. Why don't you take up teaching? You're a power, you could live quite comfortably at some school of learning in class three, maybe even four, society."

"I have an overwhelming desire to burn idiots alive. I doubt I would do well at teaching." The Enemy cast his line again. "Anyway, my little evil plan is good enough for me. I plan to fish this stream dry and then start on the next one, and the next one, and eventually kill off all the fish of this world. If anyone actually lived here it could destroy their entire economic system."

"But no one does, so your evil only goes noticed by me." Qu-han stood warily. "Incoming wisp. You may want to hide; they're still understandably upset over that art theft of yours."

The Enemy nodded his head and faded away, his line and rod falling to the ground.

"Kol." The wisp flared green as it appeared. "Good day to you."

"Hello, wisp," Qu-han said. "Doing the menial work for the council?"

"Yes." The wisp hovered over the fishing rod. "You are needed back at Stonegate."

"Needed, but not wanted. This will be Dracos' kith then?" Qu-han made the lich appear at his side.

"Yes." The wisp lifted the rod into the air and spun it around before itself. "May I have this?" it asked.

"A fishing rod? Why would you want a fishing rod?" Qu-han asked.

"It has been a long time since we needed to gather food, and even longer since we gathered food like this. It would make an interesting study."

"Yes, I'm sure it would. No. I'm afraid it isn't mine to give away."

"Oh," the wisp said. "When will you leave?"

"Soon. I have a little business to do. You may go, wisp. Your green colour offends me."

The wisp turned a deep shade of purple before fading away. The Enemy walked out from behind a tree.

"You'll be back to Sosaria, then?" he said.

"Yes..." Qu-han rubbed his chin. "Look, I don't like this. I know wisps are pedants when it comes to getting others to do their dirty work, but this is most peculiar. If I was really needed on Sosaria one of my own kind would have told me. Which means someone is fiddling the prophecy books, and I'm out of the loop in regard to who. So I won't be going to Stonegate; I'll leave that to the Britannian munchkin brigade. Instead I shall have a gander around the place and see what is happening..." Qu-han paused. "Could I get you to look after Amsereth for me? He's probably persona non-grata on Sosaria, and a stranger walking around with three stiff-legged friends could be suspicious. I'll take Dracos; Phezzub I will leave with another friend south of Skara Brae in the underground city."

"Lich, eh... Hmm, this could make my fish-killing mission more efficient. Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Yes..." Qu-han took a ring from his right hand. "Look, can you come and visit me at the usual time? I've got a suspicion something is up, and I might need help."

"As you wish." The Enemy took the ring. "You really are worried, aren't you?"

"Yes..." Qu-han nodded at the bank of the stream where a portal had formed. "I'd best be off. See you soonish, my friend."

The Enemy nodded and Qu-han took his leave.

 

< Sosaria... >

"Well, Dracos, it's just you and me. Mainly you, of course, since I really can't afford to use my own powers here, not knowing the limits of this prophecy and the like. Now for a little discreet scrying on your friends. They shan't mind, and they shan't even know..." Qu-han took a sip of his beer and bade his lich to do the same. The barmaid smiled at them as she strode past. "Think I'm in there, don't you think?" the Kol said to his lich. Dracos' face did not even twitch. "Well, suppose you aren't that much of the ladies' man these days, so you probably can't tell." Qu-han stared into his beer and watched the events at Stonegate unfold.

 

< Elsewhere >

Near Stonegate, in the woods, a path forms where it had not been before. Leaning on her staff, Saeihra pondered as she felt the forest go about its business, her robes shimmering green in the light, tinged with hints of other colors. Her right hand, as usual, was curled in a fist, threefingered. The gray skin of the hand lightened to pale tan along the arm.

Saeihra listened to the song of the greensward. The forest called her and the path it laid before her she was bound to follow. Where the wisps had met, the forest remembered. What had been spoken, the forest remembered. And the Heartwood bid her follow to the castle of dead stone, and had opened a path through worlds so she could come.

 

< Britain >

Daria didn't feel well at all, as her entire body shook and twitched beneath the sheets, helpless in the grip of a terrible nightmare that has been plaguing her sleep for weeks. Not that her days were any better since she left the Serpent's Spine mountains in search for a new home that would suit a lone kinless dragon better than the spacious cavern Daria left behind. All the daily worries of the adventurer's life could not quite mask the sickening feeling of restlessness and unease nagging at her mind, as if there was something she ought to have remembered but just couldn't. Now that her body was resting on the not-so-tidy bed of the not-so-respectable Britain inn, that feeling grew in strength, unfurling like a black cloud, filling every corner of her mind, until there was nothing left to do but wake up in the middle of the night with a scream stuck in her throat. But instead of the familiar darkness of the room, Daria's eyes met with a ball of shining blue light floating noiselessly just above the bed.

*Greetings, 'Daria'.* The girl couldn't be sure whether the strange creature has actually uttered the words, or whether it has used the mind-speech. *There is no need to be afraid.*

"I'm not afraid of you, Wisp," Daria said.

*Good. There is no need to waste a valuable time on explanations, then. We can get straight to the matter. Because of your participation in the recent events, your presence is required at the castle of 'Stonegate'."

"What recent events?" Daria said sharply, feeling her heartbeat going faster.

*Once you are at the 'Stonegate',* continued the Wisp with no change of tone, *You shall meet the others who are gathering right now. Some of them will be able to provide you with the answers to questions about your past, while Xorinia shall explain the quest of your future.* With these words, the Wisp faded into nothingness, obviously confident that the fish has swallowed the hook. The calculation was correct: half an hour later, Daria left the inn and started to look for some quiet place to transform into a dragon, ready to take her flight to the Stonegate.

 

< Another World >

Although midnight could be considered the hour when light is furthest from the sleeping world, there is a precocious period just before the sun sets when the land appears to be made of shadows, and darkness tricks the eye into believing that it is not the sun that is setting, but the night that is rising.

It is during this twilight-to-be that one may spy a lone figure dressed in robes walking slowly through a dark green forest, heading towards a small hut a distance away.

The figure treads with slow, firm footfalls, and in his hand is a long staff nearly his height, and made of well-aged bamboo.

Something about him tells you he must hold magic close to his heart.

Upon reaching a small brook gayfully dancing its way to a larger river not far from him, the mage stops, peers into the running water as if there was something buried in the banks, and suddenly throws his staff into the creek.

He then slowly lifts the staff out of the water, revealing a fish, still struggling faintly, impaled by the rod.

Noting that today's catch is significantly smaller than what he got yesterday, the hooded man continues on his journey home.

The sweet smell of fresh barbecued fish fills the air, mixing with less palatable aromas of spell components. The meal is nearly done, when there is a sudden blink of blue-white brilliance, and a pulsating mote of light bursts into existence. Precariously close to the fish.

"Get away from my dinner, Xorinian."

*Xorinia has no "desire" for "fish". Xorinia would speak to the entity "Destrius".*

"Destrius I am, as you already know. What for do you visit me at this point in time?"

*"Destrius" is to appear at "Stonegate". More information will be supplied at that location.*

"Do you want me there now or can I finish my dinner first? Wisps are supposed to be more precise than this, you realize."

*"You" will be there when the time is right. That is all.*

Destrius frowns slightly, then relaxes.

"Be there I shall then. Now away with you, I wish to eat in peace."

The mage returns to watching over the fish, before noticing that the wisp was still floating somewhere near his shoulder. He stares keenly at the blue light, and it wavers slightly under his gaze.

*Xorinia would request information from "Destrius".*

"Information comes at a price."

*"You" are inquired as the what "you" may want.*

"Well... there is nothing I need at the moment from the Undrian Council. Although I do need something from Sigil but won't be able to get there for another year or so... no, I'll keep the favour for the time being. Ask what you will."

*Recent events in the "Tideron" dimension were initiated by "you", but strangely absent of "your" presence after a period of "time". Explain this.*

The mage's face darkens as he recalls the time he gathered aid in his exploit to Balfas.

"You could say that I was occupied with other happenings while I was in the other half-world. While dealing with Amsereth was of importance, there were other domestic matters I had to settle as well. So I created a simulacrum of myself, left it with the group, while I headed on towards the Darker Lands to seek the last remaining crystal of Sagethus."

Destrius pauses to place his fish on a wooden plate, and begins to consume his meal.

 

< The Mortuary, City of Sigil >

The Nameless One slashes again at the zombie with the scalpel, finally felling the undead creature. As the animated corpse falls once more into death, it drops a key, which the scarred man picks up. He is walking towards the door when all goes black for an instant. The blackness is dispelled by a blue glow, reflected from a plane of glass.

The man turns away from the monitor to face the Wisp. "Your timing is impeccable. The first chance I get to sit down and really play that game, and you have to show up and switch it off. What do you want?"

*Prophecy requires your presence elsewhere.*

"Where? And why?"

*Stonegate.* The wisp does not clarify further, but simply vanishes, leaving a blue portal shimmering in midair where it had hovered.

The one known in Britannia as Paulon eyes the moongate for an instant, then looks inward to a place he found upon his last visit. Silver haze, the energy of the portal, and through it, dimly sensed, the familiar pattern of energies of the moongates of Britannia. Why? Curiosity gnaws with hungry teeth...

"Damn it. When will I ever learn?" Paulon grabs a jacket, and his pack. His umbrella flies across the room to his hand, and he jumps into the moongate, vanishing from Earth.

 

< Britannia >

With squeals of terror, a pair of goblins burst out of the undergrowth of the forest in the hills above Trinsic. Lightning flashes about them dangerously close, as they bound down the hillside. Finally, one of them pitches forward and rolls several times before thumping into a tree. He makes no sign of rising.

A couple of horses crash out of the same bushes the goblins had just vacated. The rider of each is a man, both are armoured and carry a massive array of weaponry. One is wielding a crossbow, the other a lightning wand. As they approach the felled goblin, the man with the crossbow notices the bolt protruding from its body and gives a shout of triumph.

"My kill, Tailrace!"

"A lucky shot, Durmast," replies Tailrace as he reins in his horse and looks about for the other gob.

Durmast dismounts, walks over to the goblin, checks it's dead, then slices off its left ear with a dagger. As he puts the trophy in a pouch on his belt, he gloats, "Lucky shot, eh? That's my tenth today? How many have you got, may I ask? Hmm?"

"Ssh. There's still another one out there" Tailrace replies.

They stand still, listening, but hear nothing of the goblin's wailing.

"He must have gone to ground," observes Durmast.

"Then let's find him," says Tailrace. "You take that thicket over there; I'll try down here." Tailrace points at a nearby gully.

"Twenty gold says I get him."

"Done."

Tailrace dismounts and walks over to the gully, and carefully makes his way down to the bottom. The walls of the gully contain many possible hiding places, so Tailrace proceeds slowly. Before he has gone far, he gets the feeling he's being watched. Then he notices a blue glow

reflecting off a wet rock. He spins around, drawing a second lightning wand... and comes face to "face" with a Wisp.

He lowers the wands, knowing that attempting to kill a Wisp is a recipe for disaster. As he does so, the Wisp's words form in his mind.

*Again, Toranir begins transaction with a local manifestation of the world known as "Britannia. "You" are the entity known as "Tailrace".*

"I am," replies Tailrace, although the Wisp had made a statement rather than ask a question.

*"You" are to travel to the location known as "Stonegate". At that location "you" will receive further information.*

"Stonegate? What for?"

*As "I" have said, "you" will receive further information upon arrival at "Stonegate".*

"Listen, do you think that I'm going to traipse across half the country just because some ball of light tells me to? You'd better come up with some better reasons."

*Toranir recognizes "your" reluctance; but it was expected, and further persuasion has been allowed by the Undrian Council.*

A leather pouch appears at Tailrace's feet. He picks it up, hearing coins clink inside it, and peers inside briefly.

*The probability is high that if "you" proceed to "Stonegate", "you" will acquire further "money",* the Wisp adds.

"That's what I call a better reason," Tailrace says with a smile. "I'll be off immediately

*Toranir has one further item of free information for "you": a "goblin" is rapidly approaching "your" position with intent to cause "you" physical damage. Transaction ends.*

As the Wisp fades away, Tailrace whirls around to see the other goblin within a few steps of him, about to throw a large rock. Just as he raises his wands, a bolt erupts from the goblin's chest, bowling the monster over. Durmast descends into the gully to collect his trophy.

 

< Inside a Trinsic Barracks >

"Matthias, fetch me my sword."

"Yes, Sir Yonathon."

A young man, around 26 or so, walks deliberately over the the weapon rack hanging on one of the thick wooden walls of the barracks and picks out a wicked looking saber. He brings it methodically to a young knight mounted on horseback, who takes it with a sneer.

"You may take your place, Matthias, until I have further need of you."

"Yes sir."

Matthias turns around, rolling his eyes once Yonathon can no longer see him. He walks over to a bench and sits down, waiting for more orders.

Matthias was the son of a great paladin, but his father had come into ill repute with drinking and whoring after his wife died. The other townsfolk, because of this, have always looked down on Matthias, not allowing him to become a knight as was his father before him. They made him a page to the other knights, in their minds putting him in the category with the lowly peasants. They would send him out to tend to the horses while the other knights were taking sword training or studying their lessons. Matthias, only from sneaking books from the other men and going into Britain when he had the chance, has kept up, if not exceeded, the knights not only in learning, but in training as well. His charismatic personality has made him well liked in other towns, unlike in Trinsic, where he is scoffed upon.

Suddenly, a bright blue light flies in through one of the windows and hovers a few feet from him.

"What the!?", Matthias nearly shouts, and rises to his feet.

*Sit down*, orders the light.

"What are you?", he asks, still standing.

The other knights are by this time looking at him, wondering why he has spoken out of place.

*Sit down*, the light repeats. *They cannot hear or see 'me'.*

Matthias sits down, and the light continues. The knights, after a few odd remarks about madness, return to their practice.

*'I' have come to talk to 'you'. 'I' am what 'your' people call 'Wisps'. 'I' have come with information regarding 'you'. The 'Time Lord'-*

"What does the Time Lord wish with me?", Matthias whispers.

*'He' has instructed 'me' to inform 'you' of 'your' destiny, in part. You need to travel to a location 'your' people refer to as 'Stonegate'. There 'you' will receive further information.*

"Stonegate? Why there?"

*'I' am not at liberty to tell 'you', 'You' must go as soon as possible. Transaction complete.*

The Wisp floats around a bit, the flutters out the window just as quick as it came in.

"Stonegate..." Matthias mutters. "I'll think on it. I can't possibly just leave..."

"Matthias, get over here you lout!" one of the knights calls.

"Yes sir."

Matthias gets up, and goes to do the bidding of the knight.

The next morning, Matthias and his horse, Shadow, leave.

 

< Worlds Beyond >

In a far away world, in a nondescript flat, a very unshaved man is trying his best to make a baby sleep. He's telling the baby stories of faraway adventures, singing lullabies, telling more stories, singing lullabies that he makes up as he sings them, telling the baby the news out of today's paper, falling asleep bent over the crèche...

...when suddenly a great light startles him; and he is wide a wake. So is the baby, which starts to scream in panic.

*Xorinia! What are you doing here?! I'm trying to put my son to sleep. See what you've done.*

*'Xorinia' greets 'Ibn'. 'Xorinia' has done nothing. The 'baby' is afraid because 'Ibn' jumped. 'Xorinia' is on 'earth' to summon 'Ibn'.*

"And why did Ibn jump? Tell me that! Wait, summon?"

*'Ibn' jumped because 'Ibn' had fallen 'asleep', and was about to fall to the floor. 'Ibn' is summoned to 'Sosaria', to a castle called 'Stonegate'.*

"I can't go to Sosaria. I have to get my baby sleeping!"

*'Sleeping?' Like this?*

The baby promptly gets silent, closes its eyes, and falls asleep.

"What did you do to him? Did you hurt him?" Ibn demands.

*'Xorinia' did not hurt 'Ibn's' offspring.*

A moongate appears, the wisp starts to fade.

"Wait, I can't just leave! My wife'll wonder what happened. And who'll take care of the baby?"

The wisp unfades a bit.

*'Ibn's' 'wife' will not notice the absence of 'Ibn'. Only a very short span of time will flow before the return to 'earth' of 'Ibn'.*

The wisp starts to fade again. Ibn turns on his heel and takes a step away from the moongate, fastly determined not to enter it, and into the second moongate which was right behind him. Before Ibn gets a chance to react, he finds himself just outside Yew, with the distinct feeling that he had heard a giggle just as he left earth.

 

< Elsewhere >

It had taken far shorter than by rights it should have to travel to Stonegate, vast tracts of land passed over as nonexistent. Saeihra halted at the edge of the forest, calling in a high creaking chirp. The hood of her robe fell down, revealing blank skin where on a normal human eyes would have been. A buzzing was heard around her, and a varied swarm of insects descended on her, crawling onto her auburn hair and deep emerald robes. The robes shifted color as she held her staff horizontal with both the normal left hand and the grey, gnarled, three-fingered right. No sound except the buzzing of insects was heard, but an observer would have seen the colors of the robe quickly shifting into many colors before fading back to green. A golden stream of runes seemed to crawl though the wood of the staff. The staff itself was a dark mahogany, liberally inlaid with other woods, in a twisting, flowing pattern. If one looked closer, it seemed like several discontinuities flowed through the wood, adjusting its outlines minutely as they passed.

Saeihra stepped out of the forest, and her robes began dimming from the emerald green they had been before. By the time she entered Stonegate they were a drab grey, with only the barest hint of green. Glistening black, also, from the insects still swarming over it.

 

< Britain >

In the corner of a inn near Britain a shape watches the Collector. It is largely featureless, having only two-dimensional mass that tries to exude itself into three dimensional space. Kol-qu-han cannot sense its presence, and it feels something akin to gladness. The others, it notes, can see it, but as various things. The barmaid thinks it is a potted plant, while a drunken bard sees it as a lyre left on a seat. Nystul thinks it is a farmer.

But the Kol cannot see it, cannot sense it and therefore cannot know it.

"Damn wisps," Qu-han muttered. "They're deliberately fudging my spell... well, your spell, Dracos, to be honest... Anyway, they're forcing me to watch the arrivals all over Sosaria and not letting me watch preparations in Stonegate. Now if you had been a class three," he said to Dracos, "I could have bypassed this, but as your only a class two, and heavily resistant to magic, I can only get away with this measly scry..." Qu-han sighed and then drained his beer glass of drink. "Think I'll have another... Hang on, you haven't even touched yours." He swapped glasses with his lich. "Don't want anyone thinking you're a shandy-arse now, do we." He stared into the vision in the drink. "At least I know the wisps can't be sure who's watching them; I do hope they get suitably annoyed by my lack of punctuality."

Qu-han looked up and called for the barmaid, his eyes sweeping over the room, noticing and cataloguing everything. Had he looked through his liches eyes he might have noticed something more.

 

< The Deep Forest >

In the depths of the Deep Forest, a wandering druid was looking for mushrooms for his stew. It was starting to get dark, and he would have to find those mushrooms quickly, otherwise he wouldn't be able to find his camp and get lost in the forest. Who knows what might be lurking among those trees?

He had been living in the forest for 20 years, almost all of his life, and had hardly met any other people. His parents had been living in the forest, until his mother became pregnant, and they decided to stay in Yew for a while. As soon as he had learned how to walk, they had gone back to the forest, and taught him to hunt and which plants that were edible, before they passed away when he was fourteen. Since then he'd been on his own, always looking for something new and exciting he hadn't seen before. He didn't know how to read, but he didn't care. He found books boring, he had seen lots of them in the Empath Abbey. The wine the monks make is delicious, and he had always stopped by for a bottle or two when he was near the northwestern part of the forest, but had never even found the slightest interest in the books. Besides, why should a woodsman know how to read? Anyway, he hadn't been outside the Deep Forest for a few months by now, and had almost started to feel a bit lonely. He started to think of paying the monks a visit again, and perhaps bring a few bottles of wine along...

Carrying nothing but a simple staff, and dressed in an equally simple, and very humble, brown robe, he walked through the dense forest, climbing across fallen trees and stumbling over roots, and eventually he came to a small clearing. Then, he discovered a small mushroom patch in the other end of the clearing. The moon and stars had started to appear, and it was quite dark. Just as he was about to pick some of the mushrooms, a blue light suddenly appeared. He jumped up and stared amazed, and frightened, at the blue... "thing", that was slowly fading into existence.

*'Wolf'* a completely neutral, and very boring, voice called out in his mind.

He was in shock, never before had he seen something like this. Almost paralyzed, he could only nod.

*'Your' presence is required at the place known as 'Stonegate'* the voice continued. *There, 'you' will receive further information.*

Wolf kept staring at the blue light as it slowly returned to where it came from, picked some mushrooms and headed back to the camp he had set up. He ate his stew, which had been boiling all the time, unrolled his bedroll, and fell asleep. The next morning, he set off for Stonegate. Still, he didn't know what the blue light had been, or why he had been summoned. However, he did know that his presence probably really was required. He sighed, and started walking towards the southeast.

 

< Minoc >

Saint George's Dragon basks lazily in the light of the twin moons on a rock overlooking Minoc, where he makes his home, allowing his draconic form to shift and swirl as it wills. He is listening to the ether shifting and swirling around him. Suddenly things changed.

A wisp pops in. "'Saint George's Dragon', your presence is required at 'Stonegate'."

"Mmm, and why should I care. I was thinking of hibernating for a few months, been pretty busy lately." SG'sD replies rather grumpily rousing from his revelry.

"'Prophecy' demands your 'presence'. 'Others' wait there."

"Damn, well I better get over there something tells me the others are going to need all the help they can get."

The wisp having completed its 'mission' leaves.

"Shoot, I guess I am going to have to assume human form. I am going to get pretty sore. I don't even believe in Destiny."

At this point his form shifts and shrinks into a rough human form. However, it continues to shift between different human appearances.

"Well this will have to do, no point in pulling something."

He begins the walk to Stonegate.

 

< The Tower of Stonegate >

Nicodemus had traveled far in a short time; taking the gate back to Yew, he had then begun a series of Blink spells, careful to conserve enough energy for an escape should he come under assault. And now Stonegate loomed before him. He walked in quietly; he knew what would have to be done, and he knew the Wisps would not likely be pleased to see him. Too bad. He'd taken precautions against being relocated against his will, and it should be interesting to find out what would commence.

He entered Stonegate, and joined the others who had already arrived, weathering their glances and greetings with a faint smile but no spoken reply.

 

<South of Stonegate>

"Quite an adventure, indeed." Kenneth sighs. "So we lost Dracos, and Helgraf's fate is.... undefined." The paladin wasn't sure which was worse: to be an undead liche, or to be... undefined.

"Yes. But don't worry; the other's are hale and whole, and probably mostly gathered by now." Goldenflame points at the blackrock keep of Stonegate, where he sees several figures milling about. "Shall we make some reacquaintences?"

Kenneth nodded, and the two joined the people assembled in front of Stonegate, exchanging greetings and pleasantries, as well as introductions with a few he did not previously know. In the back of his mind, however, he wondered what was in store for the group this time around.

 

"To take leave of Kenneth." The slim creepy figure seemed to stare at the two paladins, even with just smooth skin where eyes should be. Insects crawled in and out of her grey-green robes. She nodded, curtly at them. "The wisps have arrived soon. Not even in two hours ago."

"Excuse me?" asked Kenneth, in mild perplexity.

The confused tenses of the newcomer continued. "To have completed great endeavor now starting. To have served the Heartwood. Expression: satisfaction. Saeihra regrets end of journey."

There was a frown, and a pause. Then she spoke again as if replying to some unknown voice, "Time is of the essence. Not much left, hah!"

Goldenflame frowned. "What about time?"

However, the strange woman had melted into the growing group of people surrounding Stonegate.

 

"Ah, finally a look at Stonegate..." The Kol dipped his finger into his drink and the vision changed to an interior view. "You, my little lich, have technically never been to Stonegate, just come from it. You entered as Mondain and exited as Dracos; these things can be important." Qu-han swirled his finger in the beer once more. "Interesting view..."

The shape moved across the room to the Collector's side. A tendril snaked out from its form and gently stroked the Kol's neck before disappearing.

Qu-han jumped from his seat, spilling his drink everywhere. Mentally he made Dracos jump up too so as to not look suspicious and obviously dead to the world. The barmaid walked across the room.

"What be the matter with you?" she asked with slight annoyance.

"You've caused worry amongst the other patrons."

Qu-han shook his head and then rubbed his neck. He stared at the barmaid for a few seconds before speaking.

"Sorry, I must have been about to doze off. Long day..."

"Aye, that it might have been, but if you're likely to be sleeping then you'll be wanting to go home and do it where you're meant to." The barmaid retrieved the glass from the floor.

"Yes, yes..." Qu-han motioned towards Dracos. "We'll be going."

Dracos' eyes turned bright blue for a second and scanned the room.

Qu-han could see nothing suspicious through them. "Thank you for your hospitality.

Kol-qu-han walked for about twenty minutes before stopping at a crossroads. Dracos came to a halt behind him. Qu-han motioned for him to sit before placing his hands over the liche's forehead.

Good evening, the Kol broadcast.

Hello Qu-han.

Something just happened. Something touched me; something was able to touch me without my knowing it, Qu-han broadcast.

Really?

Yes...

This is most perplexing. What was it like? Cold? Hot?

It felt... indifferent. As if it were a touch that was only an approximation of sensation. As if whatever touched me was trying it for the first time... the Collector broadcast.

Oh... Where are you?

Sosaria.

I will ask around. See what I can find out.

Thank you. How will you be in touch? Qu-han broadcast.

I will send someone. An emissary. Go carefully. I suspect you have an idea of what it was that touched you. Certainly I have a few hypotheses. Let us hope that it isn't what we think it might be.

Speak not the name...

Aye, speak it not.

Qu-han took his hands from the lich. "To Stonegate," he said to the lich. "We will be, surprisingly, safer with the wisps..."

A moongate rose before the Collector and his charge.

 

Wolf wasn't used to people. He stopped for a moment at some distance from Stonegate and looked at the people that had gathered there. It wasn't a very large group, but in Wolfs eyes they seemed to be at least ten times as many as they really were. He looked down on the ground for a moment, shook his head and started to walk towards the castle.

 

As the rather small bronze coloured dragon got close to the keep, it located a good and discrete landing place. No need to draw attention, some people have such misconceptions about dragons! When it had landed, it transformed into human form. Taking a look at his clothes, the man decided that they would seem a bit odd - but not too bad; and since he had not had any food for quite some time (somehow a dragon just can't manage to get away with stealing even just one sheep, without getting the attention of all sorts of knight wannabes; and there really was no time for hunting wild animals) he decided to approach the other people that the wisps had asked/forced to come to Stonegate.

As he came close to the keep, he saw two paladins which somehow seemed to inspire his confidence, so he step forward and introduced himself to them:

"Good day my gentlemen. My name is Ibn al-Hazardous, and I'm a bit of a stranger in these parts. May I inquire about your names?"

"Yes you may;" one of the paladins said, "My name is Kenneth and this here is Goldenflame. That you are a stranger can be told from your garments, have you too been summoned here?"

"Yes I have, or perhaps forced would be a better word. I was tricked to enter a moongate, and I lack the magic abilities to return to the place I came from, and where I have my family. So my only alternative seemed to do as the wisps asked me. By the way, would you have some rations that you would share with me sir? I haven't eaten for quite some time."

 

Before Kenneth can answer a blue moongate appears at their side. From out of it steps Dracos and a figure dressed in black finements. Kenneth almost steps forward to shake Dracos by the hand until he remembers what Goldenflame had told him. Goldenflame simply watches the Kol and his lich with some interest.

"You must be the Lich Collector," Kenneth says.

"I am Kol-qu-han, yes. You know Dracos." Qu-han looks around, virtually ignoring the people in front of him.

"Yes..." Kenneth stares into the liche's eyes. They are glassy and unmoving. "We were, or at least should have been, friends."

"Ah, the Mondain Event," Qu-han says knowingly. "It is hard to form a close bond when someone you know becomes Sosaria's only true great mage and an evil force to boot." The Kol finally focuses upon the people in front of him. "Goldenflame. A pleasure to see you again." The Kol's words are empty of empathy. "And Ibn al-Hazardous; I do not know you, but I have met your kind before. I spent a tenday of my novitiate with a group of your kind. I wonder why the wisps brought you here..." The Kol smiles. "I suppose all will soon become clear." He faces his lich. "Close the gate; this place is safe for the time being."

The moongate slides into the ground.

 

Daria's journey to the Stonegate was as uneventful as uneventful can get. During the daytime, she stayed at the various inns scattered along the road; at the dusk she reverted to her swift silver-scaled self, her leathery wings slicing through the cold air of the night. As she got closer to the Stonegate, however, she decided to take a precaution and travel the rest of the way in her human form: you never know when you may stumble on a bunch of fanatical dragon-haters. A few hours later, a tall fair-haired woman dressed in plain dull-grey robes emerged from the nearby woods to join the strange and diverse group of travelers gathered in front of the castle.

For a few moments Daria stood in one place, studying the new and unfamiliar faces. She nodded and smiled courteously to whoever offered their greetings, yet didn't initiate the conversation herself. She maintained this passive stance, until her gaze met with that of a tall paladin, whose name, Goldenflame, she has overheard during his conversation with the mysterious black-clad figure that for some reason gave her the chills. Obeying a sudden impulse, Daria walked towards him with a strong feeling of deja vu.

"Pardon me, good sir," she said with a slight hesitation in her voice, "but is it possible that we have met before? My name is Daria, by the way."

"Daria?" exclaimed Goldenflame. "Daria of the Great Siberian dragons?" As the girl nodded, he continued in disbelief: "But of course we have met! Why, don't you remember our adventures on Tideron and Balfas?"

"I'm afraid not," replied Daria with a rueful sigh. "For some reason or another, whatever memories of that quest I possessed, have been wiped out completely. All I can sense is that there is a void in my mind where memories should be, and I have been driving myself crazy all these weeks trying to recall something I couldn't even grasp." She looks at Goldenflame with a hope in her eyes. "The Wisp has told me that I would find the people who could help me fill that void here at Stonegate. Can you help me, please?"

"All right, I suppose I can", says Goldenflame, "although it feels strange telling the story to the one who had witnessed it all..."

Daria listened with growing disbelief and bewilderment as Goldenflame quickly recounted the tale of the Balfas adventure, adding that he had no idea about what happened to her after she had suddenly disappeared from the place of the final battle. She thanked him heartily, then excused herself, saying that she needed some time to come to terms with this new period in her life she was not aware about. She felt, however, that the impending future will not give her the time to ponder over the past.

 

In a small clearing some distance away from Stonegate, a crow picks up a small berry from the ground, leaving behind a small mark in the sand. Accompanying this mark are quite a few others, some products of the strong winds that hurtle through the area on some nights, others formed by creatures such as the crow.

Together, the marks on the sand form what you could construe as a kind of symbol or rune, with the crow's final scratch completing the picture.

The rune slowly begins to glow, increasing in intensity till the trees surrounding it appear drenched in blood. The crow gives a terrified screech and flies off, the berry in its mouth falling to the floor.

As the crow speeds off to seek forage not requiring such vivid descriptions, a hand reaches out to pick up the small berry, and places it into a pouch.

Attached to the pouch, and to the hand, is a man dressed in dark blue robes. He looks ahead towards Stonegate and sees the large crowd gathered at the peculiar fortress.

"Hmm. Just in time, I see. Here we go again, then..."

Destrius closes his eyes, murmurs a minor spell of protection, and then heads forth to Destiny.

 

Wolf barely returned the greetings from the people he met by the castle. He stood some distance away from the others, which had gathered in something that vaguely resembled a circle, looking at the mountains. There had been some time since he last was in this area, and he had missed the view of the huge, majestic mountain range northeast of Britain. He looked down on the ground, noticed a small piece of bloodmoss, which he carefully picked up and placed in a small pouch in his belt. He looked at the mountains one last time.

Oh well, he thought, picked up his staff, and started to walk back towards the growing circle of people outside Stonegate.

 

Matthias and Shadow ride into the courtyard, a sort of beguiled shyness... a remnant of the way the knights had been treating him. He goes about eating his meal, staying away from the greater part of the mill of people. He doesn't quite know what he is doing here, but he has shown up all the same.

'Perhaps later', he thinks 'I shall get to know some of these folk. But that is for later. For now... I shall wait.'

And wait he does.

 

In a cavern nearby a mature silver dragon awakens after a millennium of dormancy.

Amthet, upon hearing horses, went to the entrance of his den. From there he saw a group of what appeared to be humans at a fortress that, to Amthet, was recently built.

'Now why would they be there?' the dragon thought to himself, 'Nothing of note has...'

A familiar odor came to him in the breeze, "Other dragons?" he asked aloud, "IMPOSSIBLE!" he roared, "I am the only one left, after a compassionate person declared that at least one dragon should survive."

He wasn't ready to face anyone just yet. 'It will take a while for me to regain any of my abilities,' Amthet thought to himself, 'Right now it would be best to be cautious, and not reveal myself.'

 

< Earth, a few days ago >

A young woman sits behind a desk, next to her is a clock. It is 4:15 AM. Putting a book away and finally feeling sleepy enough she turns towards her bed, only to find herself staring at a ball of soft blue light. *Greetings Mythril, your presence is required in Britannia.* Recognizing the creature for what it is, she backs away. "This is a dream, it can't be, can it?" *It is*, the wisp simply states. "Ok then, prove to me that you are real!" *If proof of 'Xorinia's' existence is needed, then 'we' are willing to supply it. . At no further cost* the Wisp adds. "Well, you certainly talk like a wisp."

The wisp glows briefly and then it sends a small jolt of lightning to Mythril. "Auch! Why did you do that for?" *Proof was asked, is this sufficient?* "Yes, very. What do you want from me anyway?" *What 'you' would call 'a prophecy' shows that events in Britannia may require your aid* "My help? What could I possibly do to help?" *Unknown, but you have certain skills that may be useful. Tools and clothing will be provided for if you want. Skills will be awakened when in Britannia.* "Oh yeah, and you'll so this out of the goodness of your heart," Mythril responds sarcastically. "I know how Xorinia works, what is it going to cost me?" *Absorption of all information in written and digitized form in this dwelling.* "Everything? Ok, fine, but only if nothing is harmed or altered AND as long as my parents don't see you."

As the wisp moves from bookcase to bookcase, Mythril gathers a few things: A backpack, extra shoes, a few notebooks, some pencils, a pocketknife and her pocketwatch. When the wisp returns, a moongate opens in the middle of the room. "I must be totally crazy!" With those words she steps into the moongate...

...and onto a forest clearing. She looks around and finding the area safe, checks herself and her belongings. A longsword hangs at her side and bow and arrows are strapped to her back. Her clothing has changed to Britannian style, suitable for outdoors and in greens and browns. In her backpack she find a spellbook, a bag of reagents and a map. "Great, looks like I'm a ranger. Let's hope I'm good at it."

She feels a pull towards the northeast, and something inside tells her that that is where Stonegate lies. On the way she learns that she is rather good with the sword, but a bit better with the bow. Creating food and arrows by magic and healing herself work well, but she hasn't had the opportunity to cast higher level spells when she nears Stonegate. Having no idea what will meet her there, she climbs into a tree and walks over the branches to have a better look and listen to the conversation, while not being notices herself . she hopes.

She is just in time to hear the Wisp explain the situation to the group.

 

< Outside Stonegate >

All the the chosen were gathered and reminiscing about what had happened the last time they were together.. Some were a bit reluctant to join in the conversations, but listened just to gain some information of what is to come...

Sitting on the ground and leaning back against the blackrock wall, Paulon sits and waits, appearing almost as if he has been there for hours. He grins as he recognizes some of the folk who have arrived. It is good to see old friends arrive.

 

*You have arrived.* Xorinia states.

"Yes, what is this 'pressing matter' you spoke of," Kenneth asked.

*The events surrounding the actions of the mage 'Amsereth' have disrupted the 'fabric of reality' in the local ether. The one known as the 'Time Lord' has been attending to these disruptions, but the results of these 'disruptions' are beginning to manifest in this world. Among these manifestations is an energy vortex - what 'we' believe 'you' call a 'gate' - to a section of the Ethereal Void known to some of 'your' best 'scholars' as the 'Heart of the Void'.*

"The Heart of the Void?" asked Kol-qu-han. "The nexus of the fabric of realities?" *Correct, Kol. The disruptions in the Void are significantly affecting the 'Heart of the Void', which could result in the annihilation of all planes of existence. Due to the nature of the nexus, however, none of the Undrian Council can interact with the disturbance.*

"So, how are WE supposed to be able to do anything?" Paulon asked. "And how, exactly, can these disturbances cause the destruction of all existence?"

*The disturbance in the nexus weakens the barriers that hold all universes apart. If allowed to continue…*

"It would cause all realities to merge," Nicodemus said, aghast, "and eventually cause the result to lose cohesion, and then its very existence."

*Correct again. And the 'chaos' caused by such a merging would cause great amounts of damage.*

"So, uh, how are we mere mortals," St. George's flickers momentarily, "er, and other beings, supposed to handle this kind of a problem. It sounds like a job more suited to the Time Lord, or someone."

*The "Time Lord" cannot repair this disturbance for the same reason we cannot. Our natures allow us to experience the 'Heart of the Void' objectively, as we are transdimensional beings. This prevents us from manipulating events within the nexus, as it is a wholly intangible realm. Physical entities such as yourselves will experience the nexus subjectively, which will allow you to manipulate elements within it.*

Kenneth addressed Xorinia. "I have a question - What do you mean by 'we will experience the nexus subjectively'?"

*The nexus appears to those within as something 'familiar' to that being. Elements within the nexus, such as the 'disturbance' now plaguing it, will manifest as correlative elements in the familiar illusion.*

"Well," Goldenflame spoke up, "Wouldn't that mean we'd all see this nexus as something different?"

*This has been foreseen.* Xorinia and the other Wisps suddenly glow brighter, illuminating a stone plinth beneath Xorinia. *Some of you may recognize the 'artifacts' on the 'plinth'.* Both were rings, differentiated in that one glittered green, and the other blue.

"The Rings of Xiesh and Haeth!" Destrius exclaimed. What have they to do with this?"

*The artifacts before you have been 'altered' to aid you in what must come. Their functions as you knew them have been negated in the 'conflict' between you and the Balfasian mage 'Amsereth'. The 'Ring of Haeth' has been enchanted by the Undrian Council to allow you to share one illusion, something familiar to all of you.*

Kenneth chuckles. "The only setting I know of that everyone here is familiar with is Britannia itself. Are you saying we'll all be in an illusion of Britannia?"

*No. The illusion will be noticeably different from the plane 'Britannia' because it will be influenced by other common elements, as well as occasional incidents of elements that only a few of you may be familiar with. The enchantment on the 'ring' cannot work as intended with large numbers of entities. Also, the illusion will only hold within a certain range of the ring.*

"How close do we have to be?" Destrius asked.

*Unknown. With this many entities, however, we estimate the Ring's 'effective range' to be 'one hundred meters' in your measurement system.*

"And the other Ring? The Ring of Xiesh?"

*The 'Ring of Xiesh' has been enchanted to allow the one who 'wears' it to telepathically contact the Undrian Council with the intent to 'ask for help'. However, do not make use of this often, or we will consider you 'indebted' to us for the knowledge.*

Before anyone could comment on that last remark, one of the Wisps in the room said, *One more thing, travelers. While the Time Lord cannot directly interact with the nexus, he has been known to enter it. He may be able to provide assistance to your quest, even though he cannot act directly.*

The gathering of Wisps then pulsed in a rhythmic pattern, and abruptly a moongate appeared behind the stone plinth. *Prepare for your journey,* Xorinia said, *then return here. The disturbance within cannot wait forever.* That said, all of the other Wisps winked out of existence, leaving only Xorinia and the assorted travelers in the castle Stonegate.

 

< In a nearby cave >

Amthet, hungry for some food, decides to go hunting carefully for deer.

/The Dragon scent is strong in this area for some reason,/ he thought to himself, /I was the last one that survived, but../ "Could it be that I am not alone here?"

Amthet finds a couple of grazing deer and makes a meal out of them.

 

< Meanwhile, back at Stonegate >

"Curiousier and curiousier, said the cat. That's a quote from your world, isn't it, Paulon?" The Collector does not wait for a reply. "The Wisps are being their usual obtuse selves... I must get in contact with my people as to the urgency of this prophecy. The Dracos Lich will act as my essence for the short time I shall be away."

"Could somebody tell me what the hell's going on?" asked the man who had identified himself as Tailrace to the more socially-inclined members of the group. "I mean, who is this Amsereth person? I've heard various stories in pubs... just never the same one twice. Is he something to do with the Guardian or what?" A few of the others nod, also not having been along on the previous quests.

Four hundred meters away from the meeting place Kol-qu-han materializes. In one eye he can see the verdant greenery of the small grove, in the other he can see the various companions talking amongst themselves.

/Qu-han, you wanted to speak with me?/

Yes.

/About the wisps?/

Yes, the wisps. Are they on the level? /No. Sources in the database indicate that they are, once again, serving other means in the disguise of altruism./

So the danger is exaggerated, then?"

/No. The danger is clear, it's just not definite. Anyway, your clean- up job both here and on Balfas was exemplary, in the end. I'd recommend you keep a connection with Sosaria open the entire time; if the phenomena collapses.../

Aye. There's something else...

/Yes?/

Dracos, my lich, there are visual artifacts... He's seen something that I haven't noticed recently.

/Oh. Oh.../

Precisely.

/A Class Six?/

I should hope not.

/Someone is about to cross our line of communication. I should go./

Levitating just above the Kol's left shoulder it watched.

 

A the Kol speaks to his unseen associate, the paladin, Kenneth, spoke up in reply to Tailrace.

"Ah. I can answer that. Some five months ago, I believe, you recall the Black Moon that appeared? It was caused by Amsereth, a mage from another world, who had freed the Shadowlords -- yes, THOSE Shadowlords -- for some unknown reason. Myself, Destrius, Paulon, and a few others, such as Dracos, who wasn't a liche then, and Helgraf, who is absent at the moment... we set about trying to figure out why and to stop Amsereth and the Shadowlords. Along the way, the Shadowlords, with the unwilling aid of Dracos, refused the shards of Mondain's Gem and summoned that old mage's spirit back, further complicating our problems. Yet also helping us, as he did help us to defeat Amsereth. That ends the Britannian half of the story, but there was another side to the tale of Amsereth. I, however, was not a participant in those events and only heard of them recently myself, so I suggest you ask one of them for their tale.

"Oh, and, after the tale is finished, I do have a preparation or two to make before we enter this "Heart of the Void" place. So if you don't mind, I'll head off to do so. Just don't leave without me!" With a grin, Kenneth turned and departed Stonegate, then morphed into a dragon with luminous yellow scales, and prepared to take flight.

Yet before he could take off, he noticed another dragon in the trees nearby, of a silvery hue. *Is it friend or foe?* Lumina wondered, as he noticed the Dragon's gaze turn to him...

 

As the paladin turned dragon left the old construction, Destrius stepped back from the crowd and walked to the clearing from which he had appeared a while ago.

"Hmm."

A trip to the Heart of the Void, it seems. He had brought along some items he thought would be useful, but this journey was slightly different from what he expected. Perhaps he should consider some additions to his inventory?

The mage made a mental projection to the cave storehold within Spiritwood, bringing up a list of magical contraptions he had stashed there. Amulets of minor enchantments, a shelf of flasks filled with numerous potions, ether shards, singing stones...

His mind focused on a particular object, a metallic orb, rusty with age.

"This should do." Fingers move in a teleportation spell and the orb is now in his hands. Destrius peers at it, and puts it up to his ear, as if listening to see if it was producing any sound.

It was not, and the mage nodded in satisfaction while placing the orb somewhere within his robe. It disappeared into one of the pocket dimensions that mages appear to have sewn in between the fabric of their clothing.

Deciding that he has no need for anything else, Destrius returns to the group.

 

A long dark green shape watched from a group of young pine on the slopes of the valley around Stonegate.

/So that is what this is all about. That moon was certainly a great help to my research, if only it had been less disruptive to my magic I might have learned even more./

Hai-Etlik drew his head back into the foliage to think. He had come when he had sensed that the wisps were up to something, hoping that he could find some way to gain the knowledge he needed for his experiment.

/The wards are holding, the wisps have probably already sensed me, and that being with the pet liche would have no trouble, but the other mages are about as strong as me and would only sense me if they thought to scry the surroundings/

Hai-Etlik stuck his head back out to listen for the second part of the story, whatever it might be and saw Kenneth looking into the trees further down. Following the gaze Hai-Etlik caught a flash of blue and sensed something he hadn't sensed since before the cataclysm.

/...Well, that makes things a bit more interesting./

 

Amthet notices a strange dragon looking at him. Curiosity gets the better of him, and he advances asking himself *How can there be another dragon when I am the last one to survive?* In 'Dragonspeak' he asked /What matter of sorcery is this?!? A compassionate king ensorcelled me into dormancy to save my life. Yet there are more of my kind?

/How can this be?/

Lumina turned to the newcomer in surprise, and says, "Now there's something you don't hear every day. I don't think Olde Dragish has been spoken in nigh 300 years. And judging from what you said, you go back even farther. Come, join me in flight; I have an errand to run, and talking will help pass the time." As Lumina launches himself airborne, he calls back, "What be thy name, Dragon?"

Joining Lumina in flight, the dragon responds, once more in the ancient dialect. "My name is Amthet. But tell me, how is it that Dragons have survived? I was the last one."

Nodding to himself, Lumina replies, "So, you date back to the first Exile." Seeing the puzzled look, Lumina continues, "Let me explain. It was, oh, about five hundred years ago now... The Ages of Darkness... you wouldn't know about them, would you?... ...Well, they hadn't started yet at this time, but it was a dark age for us Dragons. The humans of Sosaria - which, by the way, is now called Britannia - were fearful of the Dragons of the time, most of which were vicious beasts. They were hunted down to the last, but some of the more peace-minded dragons, led by a golden-scaled youth, made their way into what men now call the Serpent's Spine mountains, and built a system of caverns. We survived in there until our numbers grew too large, at which point Dragons were once again seen on the surface. So obviously, we were quite capable of evading true extinction. We never knew, though, that any others had survived this time. A compassionate king, eh? Sounds like Lord British, who yet lives to this day. No one knows how, but it seems that being from a different world keeps him from aging as most humans do."

"500 years!?!" Amthet was shocked at the news, *I've been dormant that long?*

Lapsing into dragonspeak he asks /What events shouldst I be made aware of?/ But the younger dragon had something else on his mind.

Glancing down, Lumina gestures to a cave entrance at the base of a mountain. "Set down here; I must retrieve something from within."

The Dragons land, and as Lumina is about to enter the dungeon of Destard, he sees a flash of light within. Rushing into the room, he notices a familiar mage within the chamber, standing over a black-hued blade.

*A mage with a sword?!?* Amthet thought to himself.

/When hath mages used swords?/ he asked the curious dragon before him,

/What is the urgency of thy task here?/

 

< Just after the Wisps initial speech, Just before the opening of the Heart >

Nicodemus had managed to deliver the message he promised to Kenneth; although conceptually studying the Heart of the Void was a fascinating idea, the ever-present Wisps ... and certain other concerns ... made it a lamentable impossibility. He drifted a long distance away before incanting the Gate spell to carry him back to his home in the Deep Forest.

 

< Destard >

Within the strange pseudorealm of the Crystal Prison of the Shade Blade, Helgraf sits in quiet meditation. Having read all the books available too many times, successfully beaten himself at chess and spending inordinate amounts of time determining the exact parameters of his prison home.

Then the Heart of the Void was opened.

He _felt_ it ... deep in his bones. Even here, in virtual exile, he would not have been able to miss that occurrence. This was a change, and a significant one, so much so that he could feel the prophecy he had come to make sure was fulfilled fade into obscurity even as another, one long unstudied, rose to prominence.

It did not bode ...Well Most worlds and significant localities had scores if not hundreds of prophecia, which tended to bind into common patterns. The Heart of the Void had three separate and distinct prophecies connected to it, and they all were writ heavily in the hand of doom and disaster. And, of course, none of the books which were replicated in this eerie copy of his study were the ones which contained these exacting prophecies.

He would be going in blind, with only his instincts and the natural talents of his training to guide his hands. Presuming, of course, that the blasted destined would get here and retrieve the blade. He cursed, roundly, profusely and feelingly. He cursed the Wisps, the Undrian Council, the Kol, the prior void sorcerers. He cursed Amsereth and Tideron and its gods, and he cursed at himself.

"Who in the forty two hells of judgment opened the way and why?"

He rose to his feet and began to pace, still cursing every imaginable entity which might have had the power to do this thing. "Oh, it's not enough to destroy themselves, no, they have to muddle with things on the _multiversal_ scale! Reindeer Pox take the lot of them. May the boils of the pestilent followers of Trzi'kan/vonine take,"

His vile imprecation died in midsentance as he felt the distinct sensation-echo of the passage of a creature of potence and density. When a second followed, mistaken at first for an afterbirthed echo, he let his hands, which had this whole while been taken to the performance of lewd and insulting gestures to give emphasis to his curses, fall to his sides.

Lumina ... and another whom he recognized, though they had never met. And they were close, since he had been able to sense their passage in what little rippling ether managed to penetrate this cerulean cell.

He sat down and concentrated ... pushing his mind into and through the gelid barrier of his prison, forcing his awareness into the cavern beyond. Finally, he is through, and although he has no body or true need, he takes several deep breaths as if he had just surfaced from falling deep into water. His peculiar sensitivities scream at him now; his mind can feel the Heart of the Void and he has no body to dampen the impact.

Under assault, his mind assumes a forced calm, a thing ingrained so deeply by training as to now be indistinguishable from instinct. He reaches out toward the source - not in the conventional sense, but instinctively, knowing the barrier will be weaker and draws an infinestimially small amount of what exists there, bringing it back and using it to form an illusion. He would not be able to speak, but he could gesture. Hopefully it would be enough. There was neither time nor opportunity to do more; he felt the massive life-mana-presence signatures of the two dragons as they entered the outer part of the cave...

In a flash of light, Nicodemus appeared, startling Helgraf The mage was unaware that two Dragons were approaching the cave, and went over to retrieve the Shade Blade. Just then, Helgraf communicates to him.

/Two dragons are coming. One is Lumina./ "He knows of your predicament?"

/Unlikely. However, he does know that I stored the Shade Blade here after the initial battle against Amsereth./ A pause, then, /Was that the Heart of the Void I sensed... still sense?/

"Aye. The inter-dimensional troubles with Amsereth appear to have weakened the fabric of what is. This is the reason, apparently, for the Wisps' call--" Nicodemus falls silent as he hears the Dragons' footfalls upon the stone of the cave floor. "It appears they are here."

Lumina recognizes the voice as Nicodemus's. "Nicodemus? What are you doing in this place? Or did you also know of the sword?"

"It seems I know more than thee, Lumina. Since you last saw the mage Helgraf, he has gotten himself into quite a predicament."

Quick to pick up Nic's inferred meaning, Lumina asked "He's in the sword? All the more reason to take it, then. We could use his help."

Before Lumina could continue, a telepathic voice interrupted his thoughts. /Aye, indeed. The nexus of all reality is not to be trifled with. Why would the Wisps send mortals there, anyway?/

Nicodemus spoke up, "As I said, Helgraf, the events surrounding Amsereth on this world and others caused an instability in the Heart of the Void, according to the Wisps. As their existence is different from ours, they cannot fix it themselves, and came calling on those who took part in the events responsible. As ...Well as some who did not." "I presume then, that you'll be joining us again?" inquired Lumina.

/Of course. Two questions, however... would you happen to know the disposition of my body in this world, or why there are songs being sung about my earlier adventure here?/

"Unfortunately, Helgraf, I know neither... why do you ask?"

/Nothing... merely a matter which had been preying on my mind since hearing of it. Let's goo then./

Lumina reached forth and drew out the Shade Blade from the cavern floor. As he did so, a new voice interrupted.

"So, you're finally getting that thing out of here? About time. Tell that mage to pick an uninhabited cave next time." With that, the unicorn, Lasher, snorted and went back into whatever room he had come from. Lumina shrugged, then took the Shade Blade outside.

Noticing he was departing alone, he turned to Nicodemus and asked, "Aren't you coming along?"

Nicodemus shook his head. "I only came to find out what the Wisps wanted for Helgraf As for the rest, you have Helgraf himself." That said, Nicodemus chanted a spell to take himself back to his home.

Back outside, Amthet saw Lumina returning with an unusual black sword. "That is all you came here for? What is so important about this sword? And who was that mage?"

"The mage was Nicodemus, who was at Stonegate with us. This sword is enchanted to hold a soul in it, and it seems that soul is Helgraf, a mage who accompanied me on my last quest. Seems he'll be joining us again this time." Leaping airborne, Lumina continued. "Come, I'll tell you all about it on the way back."

As the two fly back to Stonegate, Lumina tells Amthet the events of five months ago, and of the mage Amsereth. He finished by telling Amthet what the Wisps had told him and the others earlier that same day. As afternoon turned to evening, the two landed just outside Stonegate, and rejoined the group there.

While Lumina fills in Amthet, he feels something akin to a mental 'knock', and then the briefly disorienting feeling of someone inside his head.

~My pardons; you have no idea how utterly dull it is inside that prism. Interesting landscape you have in here. Don't worry, I'm not looking for secrets or anything; just testing the expanded limits of my capabilities now that I'm "owned", so to speak.~

By Dragonflight the journey is fairly quick; only a few hours pass. Sensing something of the nervousness of the other dragon, Helgraf opts - for the time being - not to try and communicate with him; at least, not while they are in flight.

Some of the group were startled to see a dragon in their midst. Amthet was suddenly afraid for his life when he saw the change in his companion.

/If it is thy want to destroy me do so for I am ready./ he announced in dragonspeech to the assembled at Stonegate. /But know that I was once protected by a compassionate king nigh 500 years ago./

At least one other, amongst the chosen, understood what Amthet had just said and gasped...

 

~Lumina, I'm carrying something of an excess of .. magical charge. Entering the Heart like this could be ... mmm ... likely to cause certain side effects. However, if you could point my blade at ... say that clump of boulders over there, there's something I'd like to try which should also take care of the problem~

Lumina points the blade as requested, though seeming .. unsure .. "Do I need to command you t-

His question is cut off as a voice akin to Helgraf's, but deeper and with echo-reverb set at about 30% intones "GravSanct AnLor Por". The blade quivers, then a ball of inky black, crawling with blue lightnings fires from the tip and slams into the mass of boulders with a mighty thunderclap.

"What the hell was that?" someone inquires.

~Ahh, I'd hoped so. It seems the powers we can draw upon are dependent upon both prisoner and wielder. I shall catalogue the nature of our power while you chosen decide how to tackle this latest insanity.~

Helgraf's mental 'voice' falls silent, but Lumina can still feel something vaguely like amused humming.

 

*A power of this magnitude was around when I was..* Amthet mused, *But why would it resurface around the same time as my awakening?*

"There is much for this old dragon to learn, I guess," he sighs.. To Lumina he asks "How many of our kind *did* survive that holocaust? The numbers you gave me before were a little vague."

 

Rejoining the others, Lumina morphs back into Kenneth of Trinsic, and sheathes the Black Sword at his back. *Would that I had a scabbard for it*, he thinks, then creates one with a minor spell. *Rather plain, but it'll do.*

Turning to the group he says, "Everyone, meet Amthet, a dragon who has been... hibernating, shall we say? Don't worry; he's with us." Shifting his gaze to those in the group who had not participated in the original quest of five months ago, he continued, "And yes, I, too, am a Dragon, although I find it more convenient to assume human form in the midst of humans." He finishes by asking of Amthet, "I don't suppose you have the ability to dragonmorph?"

Amthet shakes his head, surprised at the sight of a Dragon turning into a human.

"Not surprised. From what I recall of the histories, that talent was either rare or as yet unknown. To answer your question... I do not recall the exact numbers; I haven't been to the Weyrmount caves for any long time in years now.

"So? Anyone else have business to take care of? Oh, and before I forget..." Kenneth jabs a thumb to point at the Sword on his back. "Everyone, meet Helgraf Helgraf, meet everyone."

Recognizing the name, Kol-qu-han's eyes narrow.

As did the eyes of Destrius.

 

The group, somewhat stunned by a dragon in their midst, pays little attention to anything else going on around it. The Collector smiles. The best kind of deception is the one you do not cause. As people approach Amthet and ask after him the Kol extends his right big toe, elongating it across the floor towards Kenneth. It snakes its way between people, flattening itself where people seem just about to tread upon it. As it closes on Kenneth it becomes as fine as silk, although as strong as a spider's, and rises into the air, touching the enchanted blade upon the paladin's back.

"Hello Helgraf I thought I should say hello before the Sosarian Virtue Brigade venture into the depths of peril. You're looking ...Well, for what you are. You'll be happy to know that my people have been examining our somewhat scant records on your people; further study has been advised, although the coming war with the Class Sixes might put a halt to that... Might put a halt to all of this, in fact. When those who act like gods meet what might ...Well be gods to them the actuality shakes... I could break this, you know. You could easily break the blade open and venture out. I wonder what keeps you there... I could so easily suck you out and give you new form, or trap you permanently within my lich... But those are... unvirtuous thoughts, and, besides, you are the closest thing to an ally I have here, since you are not bound to the ethical system of this world as closely as, say, your wielder."

Helgraf hears the query, absorbs the words, his senses, enhanced by the nature of the blade for once instead of dulled by it, dance lightning quick down the filament connecting; he does not attempt to take control; just for a second looks out from the Kol; but in the manner of his training. The dragons pass as little to him; the wisps moreso, but they are caught in the net of their own weaving. He scans ...

It watched the Kol, watched him stretch his fribona through the lesser- substrate and caress the loka. The pesila in the loka listened; it knew of the pesila, had touched one once and absorbed it entirely. The Kol was not pesla, 'twas puop. The puops knew of it, knew of the other, but had not touched it, never sensed it, only seen where it had been.

It moved over the lich, reaching into its body and grabbed the unbeating heart and gave it a brief moment of life. Dracos screamed.

For a second, Helgraf saw something .. not as a thing, but in a ... occlusion of the air ... almost invisible to even his highly trained senses. He tried to get a lock on it...

Qu-han dropped his connection with Helgraf as he sensed his lich cry out in pain. In his mind he could see the dying embers of life once again subside. There was no soul there, no energy of the life, yet the body had been... animated by something other than magic.

.. and was suddenly cut loose; the reverberation throwing Helgraf back into blade.

It watched the fribona die in the lesser substrate, watched a part of it return to the Kol, the puop. It attached itself to the fribona, making itself look and feel like a part of it, and it moved closer and closer to the Kol until it covered him, permeated him and knew him. Then, once it was done, it faded away, leaving no trace, no memory, no past.

"What in the Hells was that?" someone called out as some others rushed to Dracos' side.

~Kenneth...~ demands Helgraf

~Kenneth! I need to speak to Caulky Hands. Now.~

"I know not." The Kol stroked his chin as he answers the question. "This is not usual, not usual at all. Part of me thinks that one of those damned 'baby-talk' wisps has been up to tricks, but they wouldn't dare touch my lich, even on their world. No, something was here." The Kol cast his essence around the tower, feeling for something unusual. Nothing. An absence of the peculiar, a gentle sense of normality. Nothing had occurred.

Kenneth twisted his head towards the blade.

"The Collector? The Lich Collector?"

~Yes,~ Helgraf emoted.

"As you wish," the paladin said, resignedly. "Collector, I wish to speak with you a moment."

The Kol looked up from his thoughts. "Paladin," he said, chewing the words with a smile. "What has a man of honor like yourself wanting with such a despicable creature like myself?"

"Enough, Collector. Helgraf wants to speak with you?" Kenneth said, straightening his back as spoke.

"So soon?" Qu-han said.

Puzzlement flashed across Kenneth's face.

"Oh, worry not. Give me the blade," the Kol said.

"I'm not sure...", the Paladin began.

~Give him the blade, Kenneth. Trust me. No harm will come to myself or it, I promise you.~ Helgraf's words carried sincerity in them.

Kenneth shook his head and then, carefully, drew the Shade Blade and handed it to the Collector.

Qu-han bowed as he took the blade and then, with one fluid motion, threw the sword high into the air, catching it with his right hand, the blade cutting into his flesh. For a brief instance both the Shade Blade and the Lich Collector were no more.

It looked, to Helgraf, like the tower upon which Dracos had given his life. The sky looked like a painting several leagues distant, a huge canvas painting by some talented, and powerful artist. The air felt... tinged with magic, and the stones beneath his feet vibrated with accumulated power.

He had feet...

"Ah, Helgraf Welcome to the simulacra. I thought I'd recreate the first place we met. I've given you the form you had then; this is all temporary. You're currently sharing my blood, you see, although we're frozen in a single moment of my own pain, so don't think you can pull anything with my life essence..." The Kol emerged from the stairwell set near the edge of the parapet. "Anyway, you wanted to speak to me.

Helgraf began to open his mouth.

"Before you begin, one thing. We are not enemies. You might feel some enmity towards me due to the way I've treated you, your friends and now my keepsake, the once-Mage Dracos. I must admit I've enjoyed this... passion, even worked with it. Aside from the mage Destrius, who technically I have never met, the Sosarians and their Earthling kin are so narrow minded in their... ethics. But you and I, we are not so different. I do not wish for our adversarial tones to complicate matters. I propose a truce. But I am doing all the talking. Speak, Void Sorcerer. I would hear your wisdom."

Once Kol-qu-han finishes speaking, Helgraf begins. "At this point, my personal feelings for how you and yours manipulate matters are immaterial. We are being watched by something - it has hidden itself ...Well; even with my senses sharply attuned and enhanced by the proximity of the Heart, I could see it only as a .. distortion .. of things around it - as soon as I spotted it, whatever afflicted Dracos occurred, and I was abruptly dumped back into the shell. I don't know what it is; and frankly that concerns me far more than anything else, especially if it follows us into the core.

"To answer your earlier query, you may perhaps remember that within a realm, I do my best to follow its rules to minimize any .. interference .. caused by my actions. Additionally, there are certain benefits to this vessel - moreso now that I have a "wielder". A dry chuckle.

"Once we are inside ... if it truly must become necessary I can manifest a form. But I will not create new matter - not in that place, and not here. Contamination is already a problem in this reality, one which I will have to attend to.

"There is more which needs to be said, but the specifics will depend greatly on what we find in the core."

"Interesting..." The voice came from the Kol's mouth but did not belong to the Collector.

"You, you would be?" Helgraf asked.

"A Youl. One of the Kol's former... superiors. Now sadly dead. No body to call my own, no liches to perform my tasks... But enough of my sadness. We Youl tend to live in the minds of our society, hopping from one moment to the next, acting as advisors and willful playmates. Until we get bored and really want to know what happens to graverobbers in the afterlife." The voice laughs. "The Kol does not know we are having this conversation."

"Why are we having this conversation?," the Void Sorcerer. asked.

"Because there are things you need to know. I am tied in the prophecies; with death goes the passing of time and I know a lot of what is to happen. It changes, of course, every action you make alters a tiny bit of the future, and so my information is useless to you now. But I am not here to tell you of what will happen to you, only what will happen to him, and why.

"Qu-han, I am sure, has muttered of class fives and class twos and the like. ...Well, we now know there is something above my own people, the Fives. They would treat us like ants or flies, these 'things', so much more powerful, so much more... alone. The opened nexus point in the tower has let one through. They disobey time, they disobey everything, and they seek to know more... They will seek to know via the Kol. Remember, Helgraf, a Collector is not a Collector when he is dead."

The blade slid from Qu-han's hand, covered in blood, and began to fall to the floor. The Kol turned to his lich and before the blade could strike the ground Dracos had hold of it. The metal was clean.

"Paladin, take back your blade. I would suggest that unless anyone else has business we take leave of this place and venture inwards." The Collector's hand was now unblemished.

Saeihra had started to scuttle towards the Lich even before the precise moment his Collector vanished. One of the swarming insects that had repelled the other adventurers detached itself and fluttered over to Dracos, landing in the instant of time that the Collector was not there. Turning aside, she utterly ignored the dragonforms present, sitting on the ground and staring eyelessly into space in a meditation that was punctuated by bouts of disturbing cackling.

An enormous cockroach crawled out of her robes and onto her bare arm, but seemed to sink into it, struggling somewhat as the woman's flesh swallowed it. The chitinous outline was visible for a few moment writhing beneath the now knitted skin, before disappearing like it had never existed.

Noting the quiet revulsion exhibited by one of the paladins, she snapped "Saeihra" moments before Kenneth stiffly asked her name and business. Showing yellowed teeth that were faintly pointed, she turned her head to a point just behind him and was very attentive, as if she was "seeing" something that wasn't there.

 

< A few moments ago... >

Helgraf

The name spins through Destrius' mind, like a sentient key desperately finding its fitting lock. He loses sense of the world around him, enshrouded by his own troubled thoughts.

I must know what happened in Balfas. The simulacrum is lost to me; perhaps the Collector may know something about that. How much does he know, though? He is one of the powerful; not one I should trust.

The rest cannot know what I have done.

Helgraf, however... is different, just as I am different. He is also a friend, however short our acquaintance may have been. Perhaps... perhaps he may be of help. He has somehow been trapped within the Shade Blade, however. I shall talk to him when the time is right.

A sharp cry pierces through the mental clouds that surround him, and Destrius is pulled back into the present, just in time to see Dracos (the mage made a mental note to find out what had caused his former companion to be gathered by the Collector) lie limply on the ground and the man beside him probe the area with a look of puzzlement on his face.

Hai-Etlik watched on from his vantage in the trees.

/...Well, the humans seem rather excited now what with Amthet, Lumina's little stunt with the Black Sword, and the bizarre behavior of that Liche. What better time to add another dragon to the mix, they will just accept it as yet another in a string of strange events./

Hai dropped his warding spells and pushed through the trees. In Dragish, he addressed his kin "Greetings, I may not have been summoned by the wisps, but if you will have me, I would be most pleased to join you in saving all that is."

To Amthet, "It is good to see thee again, though thou might have considered traveling to another world rather than going to sleep for half a millennium. There is an interesting world named Earth, thou doth spend just a month or two there and when thou doth return, all the humans who may have wanted to kill thee are now dead of old age."

Kenneth turns to the new Dragon, and asks, "What is your name, and how do you know of what we intend, if you have not been summoned?" Getting no response, and seeing a disdainful look on the Dragon's face, Kenneth repeats his question in Dragish, and adds, "You might consider speaking in the humans' tongue. It would facilitate matters greatly."

Hai-Etlik sighs with resignation and begins speaking in plain Sosarian.

"I am Hai-Etlik, a mage, though most of you seem to have magic enough to sense that. I came when I sensed that to wisps were up to something in the hope I could find some way to get some information I need. Of course when I heard what this was all about, my research is not of much concern when compared to the destruction of all the worlds. I am not the most able of fighters relative to my larger kin, but I have much knowledge and have traveled to many worlds."

The new dragon did look familiar to Amthet, but where and when he may have met him is a mystery...

/Do I know thee?/ Amthet asked the newcomer in dragonspeech, /What is this 'Earth' you speak of?/

Reverting to Dragish, Hai addressed Amthet "We met about 650 Sosarian years ago, though I was but a hatchling of 50 at the time. At about the time that thou didst enter thy slumber, I found an Orb of the Moons and used it to escape and travel the various nearby worlds. Earth was one such place. It is the home world of the King who put thee to sleep and is devoid basic magic, I had to use a transformation spell while on another world and return after I discovered it was populated by humans with technology as potent as many spells. I picked up a number of devices there on my various visits and have even improved a few with enchantment."

"An interesting tale, Hai-Etlik." Lumina said in Dragish Then, in Sosarian, he addressed the assemblage at large. "...Well, if there is no further business to take care of, or introductions to be made, shall we proceed?"

 

Hearing the name Helgraf Saint George's Dragon makes his way towards, Kenneth. But is interrupted by the flurry of events.

Finally arriving at Kenneth's side he quickly asks "Did I hear you right, is Helgraf in the blade?"

Kenneth nods.

"I knew their was something amiss with the body. Luckily I prepared for just such an emergency." Triumphantly SG'sD reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small dull red stone.

"Helgraf's body lies in the mountains in a magnificent, if I do so say myself, tomb protected by stone, traps and magic. And preserved by magic so that he does not rot. However, I foresaw that it might be necessary to retrieve the body, if for example his essence were found. Rather than weaken the defenses by designing a way in I created this. This stone will gate Helgraf's body to it. The other advantage to this thing is should against all odds the body be removed from its tomb this stone will still summon it forth from anywhere." SG's D expounds on all this with a childlike excitement and satisfaction. Suddenly he shakes his head and takes on an apologetic tone. "But I digress. The easiest way to active the stone is to bring it into contact with Helgraf's essence, in this case just touch it to the shade blade and that should be sufficient. The stone is also enchanted to try and reintegrate the body and essence, but I had not reckoned on enchantments as powerful as those in the blade."

Kenneth takes the stone, considering it and the Shade Blade.

Meanwhile, Saint George's Dragon turns his attentions to Kol and Dracos. "I would hope you would take better care of your charge. It seems that fate has decreed that we should work together. I never really liked fate. But be warned the dead need their rest and I like to see that they get it and besides me their are forces far more potent you might do ...Well to consider."

Throwing caution to the wind, Kenneth brings the reddish stone to connect with the cerulean gem in the Shade Blade. A rush of sound issues from the point of contact, and a body in a hooded cloak is abruptly where there previously was nothing. Helgraf looks around, momentarily disoriented by the sudden change, but quickly regains his bearings. His eyes fix on St. George's. You did this? You were the one who entombed my body?.... No matter. Now that it is once again mine, your caretaking of it is of no concern." He then advances on the ethereal St. George's. "However, you wouldn't happen to know of any tales regarding my deeds on this world, would you?"

As St. George's. tries to formulate an answer, Helgraf notices the Black Sword, which had been in his hands since his body was restored. He moves to give it back to the paladin, but the attempt to do so fails; the sword remains within his grasp. "Hmm. How vexing. The enchantments seem compelled to keep the sword with me, despite the fact that I no longer need it as a host..."

The significance of the Sword's reluctance to part with Helgraf is not lost on Kenneth. He unstraps his scabbard and proffers it to Helgraf "I have the feeling you'll be needing this. Don't mind its plain appearance; magically created material can seldom afford to look good." Kenneth then shrugs. "...Well, unless you have plenty of time to fine-tune it. But I only needed something functional."

 

When she saw the Dragons leave, Mythril needed a little time to let things sink in. "What in the world did I get myself into!" Sitting back against the tree, she tried to get things ordered in her mind. Just what had happened, she didn't know, but something inside her told her that this was most definitely not a dream. By the time the Dragons returned, she had come realize that trying to rationalize the appearance of a true dragon was futile. She needed to just accept things as they were and go from there. In any case, she *felt* that she needed to go with this group.

She jumped out of the tree, and landed more gracefully and silently than she had expected. Trying her best not to think about that, she walked towards the group. Trying to gather all her courage, she introduces herself to the group.

"Ermm...Hello. Sorry for not showing myself before now, but when I got here I saw so much that I needed a little time to cope with it, most notably the Dragons. I'm known as Mythril, and am not from here but from a world called Earth. A Wisp came and brought me here and included most of my equipment in the travel-arrangements. I have no idea why I am here, but I feel that I should go with you. As for my skills, I can wield a sword and bow ...Well and am able to cast some spells. I don't know if I can cast high level spells, because I haven't tried it yet. But healing myself and creating food and arrows work ...Well Oh, and I'm good at climbing."

As she speaks, she seems to grow more comfortable and gains confidence.

"If anyone wants to know more about me, you'll have to ask. Because I have no idea what kind of information would be useful to you. But I would appreciate some help in checking my equipment, as I have no idea what would be of use in this Heart of the Void thing."

Lumina then led the way into Xorinia's moongate.... into the Heart of the Void.

 

<< Back at Stonegate in Britannia >>

A flash of black light, and Stonegate no longer stands empty. The newcomer immediately dips into a crouch, and looks around him cautiously. Only once he is satisfied that he is alone does he relax slightly. "Master, they have already gone. Now what?"

There is no response. "Ah yes, you cannot speak with me here without help." The dark figure reaches down to the ground at his feet and picks up an amulet, black, in the shape of a triangle. His hand also finds one other item- a small vial, half-filled with a strange liquid that glows silver. The vial he places in his beltpouch- the amulet he slowly pulls over his neck.

*Find the focus of magical instability, Kry-Terimis.*

"Yes, master." Kry-Terimis moves slowly through the keep, occassionally pausing as though sniffing the air. As he searched, he said, "How did I get here?"

*A shard remained from the great crystal under Castle Britannia. It sufficed. It was, however, destroyed in the effort- you will, therefore, only be able to return home if you succeed.*

Kry-Terimis stiffened, then bit his tongue. "Yes... master," he said, not bothering to hide his anger. He heard laughter echo in the back of his mind.

*Worry not, my ward! Your chances are good. The instability in the Heart of the Void _can_ be turned to my advantage... and when it is, you _will_ be rewarded.*

"Master- I have found it." Kry-Terimis stopped moving and looked around the room. "It was from here that they left. Their spoor is still here. I can trace them from here into the Heart- with your assistance."

*Be wary. You follow a large party of Britannians who, should they learn your nature, would attempt to slay you. Even you could not stand against them. Make your way to the center of the Heart. I do not know what it will appear to be, to you, but you will know it. Then... you know what to do.*

"Yes, master." Kry-Terimis closed his eyes and concentrated, and slowly, a gate began to rise from the ground, reopening what had closed earlier that day, glowing a mix of black and red. Kry-Terimis then took forth the vial from his pouch, and looked at it curiously. He unstoppered it, and took a sniff. Its smell was unidentifiable.

The Voice sounded amused.*You could consider that... blood of this world's Time Lord. Sprinkle it on the Gate. You will arrive in the Heart of the Void _earlier_ than those who entered, though it is impossible to know if it will be hours or mere minutes.*

*The group you follow and precede contains some... particularly chaotic elements. It is possible that they may do some of your work for you. This is acceptable to me.*

"I know what to do, Lord," he said as he emptied the vial on the gate itself. The gate began to glow a slight silver.

*You will not fail me.*

"Yes, Guardian."

Kry-Terimis stepped quickly and confidently through the gate, and with a flash of silver it imploded behind him.

 

<< Within the Void >>

Once more into the breach...

Amthet follows his new companions into the moongate and suddenly sees around two hundred angry people with various weapons ready to kill him.

/This doth not bode ...Well for me./ Amthet muttered in Dragish, "Have at thee then, murderers!" he exclaimed to the illusionary mob, and flamed them.

Luckily none of his companions were close enough to him to get singed. Unluckily the mob continued to attack him.

Lumina and the others, most knowing about the illusions, tries to help him...

Hai-Etlik followed his two fellow dragons through the gate. The scenery was exactly the same, but the occupants are quite different.

Around two hundred angry humans filled the valley and as he looked more carefully he saw a shimmer around them as the livery of a lord of Moonglow who had tried to wipe out the dragons of Dagger Isle 496 years ago, before Lord British had united all the continent. In addition, a number of them now wore mages' robes.

"I fear my contribution to the shared illusion may have made it worse. Though if we are fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate, the level of threat is determined by whatever it represents rather than the representa..."

Hai let out a roar of pain before finishing as a large human sank a battle axe into his tail. The foul biped did not survive his attack though as a loud crack sounded and he was thrown backwards, dead and covered with electrical burns.

Taking the runes Por, Ylem, and Jux (the runic adaptation of the Shatterstone spell he wrote for a friend) from his rune bag, Hai began to cut a swath through the mob, felling humans with lightning breath, blows from his claws, wings, and tail, and spinning storms of amethyst shards.

Kenneth sighs, morphs into Dragonform, and releases a Lucent Beam at the illusory warriors. He then calls upon various draconic magics to deal with the threat, and hopes that as the others file in, their perceptions would add more beneficial illusions to the scene.

 

Helgraf steps through the gate. To him, the chamber is empty... he flexes his hands and 'takes hold' of the 'air' around him, and slowly begins to speak in the Gargish Tongue.

VAS KAL BALSIFER DE BRITANNIA, DE TIDERON

A rippling begins in the dark matter around him - and the words begin to echo of their own accord as he continues to speak.

/VAS KAL BALSIFER DE BRITANNIA, DE TIDERON/
VAS KAL VASVOLSARP HAI-ETLIK, LUMINA, AMTHET, DARIA KU SYCLITH, IBN AL'HAZARDOUS, ST. GEORGE'S.

/VAS KAL BALSIFER DE BRITANNIA, DE TIDERON/
VAS KAL SUMMLEM GOLDENFLAME, BEHLEM WOLF
VAS KAL OMLEM MYTHRIL, RALEM TAILRACE
VAS KAL RALEM MATTHIAS

/VAS KAL BALSIFER DE BRITANNIA, DE TIDERON/
VAS KAL INCORPANMANILEM KOL QU'HAN
VAS KAL ORTANAHMLEM DESTRIUS, PAULON
VAS KAL BEHLEM SAEIHRA

/VAS KAL BALSIFER DE BRITANNIA, DE TIDERON/

Upon the battlefield of illusionary warriors and mages, there is a great crackling of black lightnings and people begin to disappear...

... only to rematerialize in the blackness which is how Helgraf perceives the Heart.

As the magic takes hold of Mythril, Helgraf notices a slight imbalance in the spell's magic. He compensates quickly for it, so quickly it seems like something is helping him. The spell now takes full hold of Mythril and brings her to the blackness as ...Well

But right now Helgraf has more important things on his mind, and has no time to wonder about what just happened.

The ritual is draining massive amounts of power; without the reservoir which had accumulated in the Shade Blade, it never could have been successful; and assuredly he will not be able to sustain it long.

"The Ring," he hisses, sweat pouring from his limbs as he attempts to keep everyone in _his_ reality...

"Put on the Damned Ring already, I can't hold you here much longer!"

 

Morphing back into his Paladin form, Kenneth puts on the ring.

"My thanks to thee my fellow dragons, and to you mage, for your assistance in my ordeal." Amthet says in Dragish, "I only hope that I do not become more of a burden to our party than I may be..."

/I should learn the spells that these 'youngsters' know nowadays./ Amthet muses, and continues on his journey with the others.

"Yes, you should," says the Collector as he and his Lich enter.

Amthet looks at the Kol strangely. He had been thinking that comment, and in Dragish Qu-han simply smiles at him and joins the others.

t follows the puop, watching the very nature of the substrate change as it enters the hole...

Even it is bewildered at first; the competing fluctuations of the fibrona blind it for a mere instance, but the instant seems enough to hide the puop; it can see its avatar and it can sense the others, but the puops is gone, hidden.

"Interesting..." The Kol runs his hand through a manifestation. "I've effectively turned off my mind to this place; I am seeing purely through the eyes of the dominant personality of the group... which would be Helgraf, at the moment. Partially because home is not somewhere I'd want you to be seeing, especially since St. George's would probably see you all as liches, and mostly because if I make as few ripples here as possible the more likely am I to find out what is trailing me."

The group stares at Qu-han.

"No need to look askew; I can't help it if being all-powerful comes with awkward social costs like stalkers," the Collector says.

"Collector, Kol, whatever you might call yourself, I suggest you learn some decorum. If we're going to be traveling together..." Paulon says, stepping forward.

"Yes, yes, I know. Virtue and all that claptrap."

"Not claptrap," Kenneth says, interrupting. "It is a powerful force."

"In the right hands, yes. Then again, everything is. Mondain's little trick surprised even me. I was Lok then, though..." Qu-han stops his reverie. "For the purpose of our journey I shall try to be as quiet as possible so as to cause as little concern to you all as possible."

It is hard to grasp the flow of time in the void; suns rise and set over the party as they stand talking. Helgraf's spell, though powerful, pales in comparison to the sheer energy of the place, and so it, while keeping a semblance of shape and form, perverts the natural order so that nothing is ever stable.

"So where to now?" asks St. George's Dragon.

"I suspect that, since we're in Helgraf's 'world', so to speak, wherever we're meant to head will accord with what Helgraf knows," Paulon says. "A sort of hint; what Helgraf recognizes will be some pointer towards whatever lies ahead."

The party turns to face Helgraf

Who turns to Lumina... and lets his spell lapse... the world shimmers... taking on that which is seen by the wearer of the Ring; what is seen by Lumina is shared by them all through the ring he wears.

"It is not ... my place to lead the way. Else the ring would have been placed upon my finger. My role ... ...Well, it will become clear in time."

Blinking, Kenneth notices that the group is now in a mountain valley, suitable for any number of worlds. Looking around, however, he sees a mountain he knows ...Well "That's the Weyrmount. We're in the Serpent's Spine range in Britannia."

Wondering what this locale could be representative of in Void terms, Kenneth suddenly was struck by a thought. *The Weyrmount is in the west part of the Spine. Mountains surround it in every direction. Perhaps the mountains signify that getting where we're going will be difficult?* After all, the group could not fly across, since not all members were dragons or mages. But this line of reasoning left one question unanswered. *If this does mean that it will be hard to get where we need to be, then where do we need to....* Kenneth looked up and around, gauging his directions by the familiar environs. He turned east, away from the Weyrmount. "This way."

The rest looked at him, confused. Of course. Even those who knew where the Weyrmount was located would wonder why he had apparently chosen a direction, seemingly at random. After all, what made east a better direction than any other?

Noting the general confusion, Kenneth elaborated. "The Weyrmount here is near the west end of the Spine. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that our destination lies at the east end of the mountains, in a locale we all know ...Well by now.

As looks of comprehension dawned on almost every face, Kenneth nodded. "Yes. It seems that we must journey once more to Castle Stonegate."

And as the group set out on what was sure to be a rocky path - in more ways than one - Kenneth idly wondered what would await them at the castle this time, in this place. And what would it represent?

"Nothing at all like home; we've built up all these areas into residential sprawls and schools. I hear we created a new wilderness on the edge of one of the plates, but I've never been there. Off-world excursions were the order of the day when I was Lok," Qu-han says as he falls into step with Saeihra.

Saeihra blankly looks at the space where the Collector is.

"This, I believe, is yours," the Kol says as he flicks an insect into the air. It flies back into Saeihra, merging. "I found it on my charge. Don't let it happen again." Kol-qu-han's smile is humorless.

"Yes..." Saeihra says.

"Hmm. I'm not entirely sure what you mean with that affirmation. Acknowledgment, regret, obedience. No matter." Qu-han falls back slightly, watching the group. His lich comes to stand beside him.

"Ah, Dracos. I have a task for you to perform..."

It floated behind the group, watching. Then, without warning, something passed through it. The puop appeared briefly in its view, fading next to the fibrona vessel. It looked again, but there was nothing.

 

She had no eyes, but she watched him anyway. The void sapped at her...the nothingness was feeding the Other, but its hunger could not be sated, and as it was fed it grew hungrier from the empty food. The little ones she had brought were food of a more conventional sort, to keep her control. But it wasn't enough, and she was at the brink. Her skin grey and leathered, the white hair in disarray, the gait hunched. Peering at the dragons eyelessly, something -old- snarled through her mouth. It did not sense the illusion, only the warm bodies...prey. Several insects fed this hunger to start, but their energy was tapped by Saeihra, sad for their sacrifice but knowing it was the only way. There wasn't much time. She needed -life-. One of the few remaining insects took flight, alighting in Helgraf's robes, so Saeihra could "see" the illusion, and react accordingly. But the illusion was empty for her otherwise.

 

Meanwhile, St. George's Dragon trudges along with the group, as they have progressed a grimace of discomfort has grown on his face. He walks up to Kenneth and says, "I think your guess was correct. The Ether field here is incredibly strong, for me it is like diving deep into the sea, like an enormous pressure. As on Belfas I fear losin