EDIT: OOC: Post is kind of lame but I'm losing wifi in a few minutes. >.>

"You're right," she said, almost whispering, after a good few minutes. "It wasn't easy."

She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but it wasn't good. It seemed that Erik had had himself assaulted in some way, apparently involving strangulation. And each time it had happened, he'd slipped, and she'd felt his agony and terror and a thousand other things she desperately wanted to forget.

She sighed and sat on the ground, then lay down, not even bothering to find her cot and not even caring if she looked undignified. She lay there for a while, in almost as much pain as Erik had put himself through.

"Jake... Please... Stay here," she finally said. She took a deep breath and tried to explain how she felt, but couldn't. How do you explain feelings like that, especially another person's? "I would appreciate the companionship."

Aedre gave Isador an appraising look before returning her gaze out to the sea. "Thank you for not sacrificing me to that....thing that attacked you," she said trying unsuccessfully to keep her voice mundane, her voice thick with bitter amusement. "I did not see everything, but I felt a good deal of it. It was...different...perhaps this is why my mother warned me it would happen, that one day I would return to a land unknown. But why returned? It is a fascinating choice of words. I have not been here before, but I have been in many unknown situations, so perhaps that's what she means? I still do not understand why she insisted on us going to the temple...and then coming here. Were we meant to come here from the beginning? Were we meant to make your discovery in the temple of the mortal realm? Must we ascend? And what of Jyirmgadur - I feel he must fit into this all somehow. I have been wondering these things since you fell unconscious." She fell silent again for what seemed an eternity, "the only thing of interest in this puzzle are the layouts of the lakes - I have seen it before. But it was not of Tryvali. Time and Space move differently here, perhaps it is as you say you are not of our realm? But if it were true, if we were to step from this realm now and end on the other side of the world, it leaves many more questions open for answers," she said. She was smiling, intrigued with the riddles before her. Isador noticed that exhaustion lined herr deep eyes. "I suppose it is a fool's errand to try to figure these things out," she took another appraising look at Isador. "Do you need healing? I will not be able to fully close your wounds, but I may be able to soothe the pain," she held her hands over a gash in Isador's mid section, he felt a tingling sensation like ice.



Edwin felt them stop for the night, or he assumed so. This was the fifth day they had hauled him and two others, blind folded, gagged and bound tightly, in the back of a cart. He could rarely hear what they were discussing, and any voices he heard sounded unfamiliar but menacing. One of them grabbed his chin roughly and cocked it up. He felt a dribble of sour wine splash over his gag, a few drops making it past the obstruction and into his throat, the first form of substance he had in two days. He heard the two others face similar treatment and the laughing of several men. He felt a sharp kick in his side, sending his head into the side of the cart painfully. His captors left the cart then as they always did, on the edge of camp. He could smell their cookfires start in the distance, and knew they were far away and ignoring the cart. But he was in no shape to run, and wasting energy at this point would do more harm than good. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.



Jake pulled Pandora close and hugged her. "We don't know what the enemy is capable of...but we assume only the worst," he cooed softly, "he did a good and brave thing today, he will appreciate it and I am certain we will see the benefits of the training. I hope he will not have to go through it again, but I am sure he will....and not of our own accord." He was silent for a while, Pandora still unable to voice how she felt. She felt weak and miserable as if she had been the one choked...and then suddenly that feeling dissipated.

"Jake, is Erik asleep now?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I imagine he has made it back to his tent, and he will need a few hours of sleep before we head out," he said softly. "Why?" Pandora didn't immediately respond. She wasn't sure how she should describe what was happening, but it had become apparent that in their struggle she had forged a connection between herself and Erik, much like the one she held with Pryti. And right now, she felt that he was in a deep sleep from the exertion.



Athenos turned to leave, but Kardos pulled a spear and placed it in front of the door, "you surely can't believe I would just let you go?" Kardos barked. The spear looked humble, but Athenos could feel a deep power resonating off of it. "You find Edwin, I'll find Alaire, and then what? Do you truly believe those are the only misses pieces to this? Do you not realize that while you were split four times, he has only one to be split from? He guarded her closer than the deepest of secrets - I do not know who she was, or where she is, and that is our biggest disadvantage!" Kardos finished, Athenos stared at him and started to push past him. Kardos readjusted himself in front of the door, "and what of the mortal realm? Should we be leaving them to their own devices? We are their caretakers, Athenos! Perhaps you have forgotten your vow to them and to us, but I have not. If you do not plan on filling me in on the rest of your plan, I will have no choice but to bind you here and now so that you cannot cause any further damage." The spear glowed dangerously and sprouted two more heads like a trident, the two new spear heads writhing dangerously.

"That was an echo of Jhinheim, father of the Shadows," Isador murmured. "Any healing you can offer would be appreciated. I have... changed... in taking in the echo's essence. As Jhinheim himself grew, so must I evolve. There was much wisdom in his words, but the paths hereon have changed from his days in the shadow war. So much has become intwined in this riddle of ages..."

Isador studied the translucent outline of Vanaroch on his arm. The device hummed in his thoughts, but refused immediate connection with him. The Crown of Shadows, as the words had spoken. Jhinheim's echo had used it as a weapon... but Isador felt its purpose was not nearly so simple. Could it have been this device that allowed Jhinheim's echo to survive Kalkatha's assault?

Aedre placed her hands over each of Isador's open wounds. Ice formed in each of them, numbing the pain he felt. "I had hoped it would heal, but it may take more than this," she murmured with a frown, "you have learned much about the water elements, but if you are to claim dominion over them we must learn more, and we must move faster. I see now that I cannot trust my mother's words alone...she always did like to talk in riddles, to push me further to find the answers on my own. It could be that I am entirely insignificant to your plans." She smiled widely. "You are tired, are you not? Take my hand - we will jump from here. I will have a better idea of where we are from my realm. You have given me more than enough time to find my signature." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down like before - his lungs felt condensed under increased pressure, she pulling them quickly against the current.

It was harder for her to jump from here than it was for her to jump from the mortal realm, but eventually they found their footing again, this time on an island surrounded by water. There was a slight breeze that kept the balmy sun at bay. "Ah...that is more like it. Come on, it is nice inside," she said, pointing to a marble staircase leading down beneath the island. They descended, the walls and ground white and without ornament. "This is my home," she said brightly, "it is one of the few places not covered entirely in water," she said as they entered into a grand room. "If I want to go for a swim, there is a way, further down, but I have not used it since I was younger. My sisters and I are all allowed to come here of our free will, but the otehrs do not know how, or care not to come. It would appear that they did not embrace our mother's heritage as much as I did..." she said sadly. "But no matter, here if you follow me..." she escorted him to a room, "you must rest here. I won't take no for an answer." She looked him straight in the eyes, exerting the same powers she had before on him in an attempt to get him to sleep. "I must also rest, but in the morning we will visit my library, and we will found the true network - not the petty little sticks in the ground left by the mortals. We will find a way to fulfill your duty as master of the elements."

Isador opted not to bother offering any resistance to Aedre's demands. He needed the time, he considered, and admitted himself to sleep. The songs of the shadow realm remained ever prominent despite his departure, and granted him the peace he needed to ease his thoughts. The battle with Jhinheim's echo, the momentary dreams within the mysterious citadel, and the visions he had seen ebbed away. Only one prominent vision remained in his thoughts as his essence stilled itself and flooded his burning burning heart with numbness - that of Jhinheim's face when he was first created. Isador did not think less of his father for his desperation. He only acknowledged that he had outgrown such a simple ploy. The future was in limbo now, he considered. The elements were the route to his salvation and retribution. This he knew for certain.

~

A great sea of fire stretched beyond Esofar, who stood upon a stone plateau. The sky above churned in an endless, though gentle, storm of brimstone and sulfur. In the vast distance, volcanos and floating islands could be seen, obscured by haze and mist. His arms were folded, at ease as he watched a female fireborn dance around in a smoldering courtyard, just as the ocean's edge. Her skin burned with the same liquid motion as the flames around her, her silver armor glowing faintly beneath the waves of her motions. The embers and smoke surrounded her moved with her, as though an extension of her body.

"What are your impressions?" A deep, gravelly voice spoke from behind. Esofar's head lowered slightly in contemplation.

"She is stable. Her encounter with the Shadowborn visions seem to have piqued her curiosity even further. I apologize. I tried to deter her from looking into that accursed place."

"That she felt the essence of Jhinheim's echo resurface at all is an unsettling revelation."

"She showed me what she saw, through the Ocean of Stars. I did not think such a thing possible - for Jhinheim to have survived, nor that Shadow demon that had surfaced to continue existing. Jazera says there is more to him than I first anticipated."

"What did you think of him?"

"The Shadowborn?" Esofar glanced to his side, where the towering, armored silhouette of Kalkatha stood at arm's reach, deep-set ruby eyes gazing into the horizon beyond. "He has changed since we last met. He has stilled his thoughts, and he fought with tact. There was motion within him I had not seen in our encounter. His essence is growing stronger despite his world being asleep. He took within him the Echo's essence, too... that is when Jazera lost sight of him."

"Does not matter. The Shadowborn is Loha's charge."

"He was in some kind of... tower structure. I had not seen it before. Jazera said the communion there was strongest, and that was how she found him."

"The Starforged citadel, no doubt. Have I told you of this structure?"

"I do not believe so."

"It was the building the early immortals used to orchestrate their experimentation of elements. A hallowed sanctuary of the elements, a sort of a nexus. It held great power before it was used for misguided purpose. It was in that structure where Midnight was first born. The first structure to be consumed by the Shadows. Then it became an impenetrable fortress. You are one of the only fireborn to have ever stood within its hallowed walls, even if it was just through farsight."

Esofar's gaze returned to the ocean of stars.

"The Ocean of Stars is older than even I, Esofar," Kalkatha spoke softly. "It gave me life and protected me in my times of need. From its light this realm was born. To take from it a drop of that life, bind it to our blood, and that in itself give life..."

"You are reconsidering your plan?"

"We have travelled upon the same path that brought demented creatures like Jhinheim into existence. I do not wish to travel any further. Jazera is the first, and will be the last, of her kind."

"So be it. What of her?"

Kalkatha's gaze momentarily focused on the woman, but only for a moment.

"It is not my place to tell my son what to do with his daughter. If she is stable, then she is stable, and I will say no more. The time is soon coming when you will need her strength. Our oathbound are uniting even now for the impending conflict."

"Good, I will be happy to be free of this idling-"

"You will remain here, on my throne," Kalkatha curtly intercepted.

"Why? Why do you deny me the battlefield, where I belong?"

"Esofar, all of my other sons are bound by duty, save that bastard whelp. The war will find itself on the doorstep of our homeland while I am gone."

"How can you be certain?"

"The Father of Chaos seeks to divide us. A simple stratagem. An effective one. His offer for power did not go unheeded. More distant clans, those envious of our covenant, will strike at us. I will hunt them all down, one after the other. I will deprive him of his servants. But I cannot be everywhere, and this citadel cannot be anywhere but here."

"I... understand. Though I am reluctant to see my father off on such a dark time."

"Esofar," the Fireborn warlord turned to his son. "If the battle turns ill, and I fall, the Shadow realm will awake. This fortress is the only immediate gateway between it and the fireborn realm that still stands. You must weather the assault of Chaos' newfound armies."

"But-," The Caretaker caught his tongue as Kalkatha turned back to observing the woman's endless dance. Esofar glared at his father in disbelief.

"I am leaving soon. A bloodsworn contigent will remain in garrison, along with the battleship Kohagoth. Have the Eye of Fire at reach at all times. They are coming, of that there is no question. Fight well, caretaker. This is your castle now," Kalkatha concluded.

"I will guard it with my life," Esofar muttered.

"One last thing. Should Jazera manage to locate my youngest, inform Loha and the huntsmen. Do not intervene yourself."

"As you wish."

Isador slept restlessly, his deep slumber constantly interrupted by terrible and conflicting dreams. In one he was made of pure ice, plumetting to the ground with break neck speed, knowing soon that he would die. In the next dream he was rooted to the ground like a tree, a wild fire spinning in his direction. Our sister of water trusts you...but we do not. Not yet. We both fear you and need you...but when bound together surely you understand the sacrifice you must be willing to make? The question is...when it comes...will you make it?

The dream is suddenly interupted by the hunter party that had chased him before, Aleiya seated on a cougar now, glowing of gold, sleek and radiant, towards him. He was still rooted, herarrow pointed straight at his heart, his weakened body unable to flee....

Isador awoke with a start. His room was dark and the rest of the dwelling silent. He thought he heard Aedre's rhythmic breathing in a room nearby. He lay awake for a few moments,waiting for the fear of his dream to subside.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 19 2012, 3:13 pm by Fire_Kame.

There would be no consolation for Isador. Too much had happened in too short a time, more than had happened since his first steps upon the mortal world. For all his years, Isador could not formulate a plan for what laid ahead. Furthermore, the more he learned and heard from the elements, the deeper their riddle played. As an alien organism at best, an old enemy at worst, Isador had few options available to him. In the solace of night he could find no truth, not as he once knew it.

Consuming the essence of Jhinheim's echo opened a twisted network of memories seeding back to his creation, twisted by the length of time that the echo had remained adrift within the shadow realm. Amongst these memories were the words of songs that granted Jhinheim enormous power over his communion, and yet a maddening symphony that threatened the stability of his every step. Beyond the gates of the mortal realms, however, madness awaited in many forms anyways.

Isador sighed to himself, and focused on meditating, trying to clear his thoughts.

Athenos glared; he did not enjoy being challenged.

"You speak of honor and self-sacrifice, but Chaos would have that turned against you."

"Put away your weapon, Kardos," Serena intervened, "he isn't the same little knight as before, isn't that right? You have my memories, and I have yours, Athenos. I know what unspeakable horrors you underwent."

"Neither of you are fit to face the shadow princess," Athenos explained, "Your magics are antagonistic. Should either of you face her in combat, the very fabric of the realm around you could be ripped asunder. Or worse, the energy created would only help our enemy grow stronger. You must find Alaire, Edwin, and Njorthbiartr and join the united front against Chaos."

"Your 'special bond' has made you both weak and near sighted," Kardos spat, looking from Athenos to Serena, "you say it is honor and self-sacrifice that Chaos will use against us, but those two are the only constants left in this world that I see. Instead you suggest we split - what better foothold for Chaos then for us to split? Is not the opposite of Chaos Order?" Kardos stopped for a minute before continuing, "perhaps you aren't as vital to all of this as I thought...no, what am I saying." Kardos shook his head and concealed the spear. "I will speak to our host and see if she will allow for this place to be a base of operations. This appears to be the only place void of the parallelism of the attacks, though why I do not know. When I retrieve Edwin and Alaire I will bring them here, but Njorthbiartr? He has already most likely joined his realm once again.

"I know you chose to commune with the elements only on a selective basis...only when you had something to gain, I would say. But I have communed with them every night," Kardos said. "Kriste, Brayyn, even the Tryvali...they were all full of backwards mortals, full of people who thought the elements were there to use and use explicitly. They never gave back. But the tribes of the far west, far across what you know as the Sea of Leaves. That is another story."

"Stop your monologue and get to the point."

"My point is...I have talked with the elements. All of them...and there is someone else out there who seeks control of them. The elements are going to this - thing - willingly. For what reason I do not know, but I do know that our reliance on the elements for power is dwindling. I have felt it in the water. It is for that reason that I believe Njorthbiartr has returned to his realm of fire, to rally behind his new leader whoever that may be...and for what consequence? We face a nameless foe, but I doubt that they understand the haphazard balance the elements face - and without that knowledge they could starve this world of it's nutrients and beauty. Even if we should acquire a few token allies such as our own, we will not be able to save the world from the barren desert it will surely become."

Isador's mind drifted in deep meditation. The memories of Jhinheim's echo lead him across peaks of sapphire stone, starswept canyons, clouds of sulfur and seas of brimstone. Cities of men, Gods, demons, kingdoms of old. Faces, words, memories faded to a dull stream of motion.

His thoughts settled upon a great peak amongst a perpetual storm. Here the phantom remains of a shadow dragon were frozen, entwined in twisting arcs of lightning that spiraled upwards. He did not know which realm this was in, but he could hear a distant song resonating from within. The element of Air was powerful here, and through his meditation he could feel its communion, even now. How the shadow dragon had arrived here, did not know. But its song spoke of winds and seas, the shaping of worlds and dreams. It brought silence to the emotions stirring within, calm to his essence. Here he remained for a time, absorbing the motion of the infinite peaks, allowing their unity to flow through him.

Isador drifted from meditation back to sleep, allowing the song to carry his weight through the turmoil of a darker world.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 22 2012, 11:24 pm by IskatuMesk.

Pandora awoke to screams and the sound of bewildered hooves slamming into the ground outside her tent. She smelled smoke, but she knew the fire was far enough away that she was not in immediate danger. They had been on the road for three days now, with her training the men every day as they proceeded towards their skirmish. But the training had gotten the best of her, and she had slept through whatever had spooked the horses. "Pan? Are you in - oh Pan," Jake's voice called, his tone relaxing when he saw her and helped her to her feet, "we have to leave. They found our camp and ambushed us in the middle of the ni-" he screamed in pain suddenly. He was still alive, but obviously wounded.

"Stand aside!" an unknown voice called, Pandora heard steel draw - both from Jake and from the unknown voice.

"No! You'll have to kill me first!" Jake said, but with his wound he was quickly overpowered. The unknown voice screamed out in pain suddenly, before sagging to the ground presumably dead, leaving Jake completely bewildered.

"Come on," Erik said from the tent entrance. He had taken his training to heart- Pandora had no idea who he was until he had spoke. Erik, Jake and Pandora ran towards one of the horse, the two men working to eventually calm down the creature. Jake and Pandora climbed on. "We have to keep you safe, you know where to go, Jake?" Erik asked, Pandora felt him readjust himself, "good. Be off then!" The two fled into the clearing, away from camp, and over a river. Just as Pandora thought they were in the clear, she heard horses gaining on them.

"That's impossible," Jake murmured, "their horses can not be so fresh as to keep up with us -" He yelled in pain again, the horse bucking in protest. He fell off the horse, leaving Pandora clinging on for dear life. The horse was still spooked and broke into a gallop far away from Jake. After a while, she was too far away to sense him. With great effort she was able to calm the horse down, beads of sweat drenching both the horse and rider. They were alone.



Athenos, Kardos and Serena halted as they heard a loud cry that shook the foundation of their building. "Where did that come from? We and our host are the only ones that reside in this realm, and this did not come from her." Athenos noticed cracks in the ceiling and supports of their room.



Isador's dreams sent him on an air current that drifted him over seas and land masses, gliding with carefree ease towards an island in the distance. As he neared he began to recognize it as the location that Chaos had brought them all at one time. What was before an open clearing swarming with huddled and confused masses was now a source of celebration - music, dancing and drink flooded from every corner of the creatures that were there. Sitting on a thrones made of dark and well shaped wood was Psamathe, Chaos, an empty chair, and Tiev, with Chaos and the empty chair being the most extravagant. Propelled by the hot hair emanating from a bonfire in the middle of the procession, Isador found himself raised up slightly before he drifted carefully into the shadows of the Psamathe's throne. She was giggling like a maniac at something Chaos was saying to her, completely unaware of her new audience. In fact, no one seemed to notice his sudden appearance.

Chaos stood up after a moment, raising his hands to calm the crowd. They silenced almost instantly. "I will not bore you with speeches, as you all know the importance of this day. You, too, all know how long I waited for this, how fortunate I was that the Tryvali agents let slip in my presence the location of what they though held the ying to my yang - Order," he said the name with malice that warranted chuckles from the crowd, "but no - only I knew that Order and Peace fled the realm when I was imprisoned, and who they had found was indeed my sister!" He finished with a mighty crescendo nearly drowned out by the crowd. "We have found her at last, it is true - she is here, on the Island of Pyrie, closely guarded by the finest mortals and creatures of this world!" He nodded to Tiev, who rose a goblet in gratitude before draining it. "And now, not only have we found her, but we have the power source we so desperately need!" He paused dramatically, the crowds anticipation raising, "bring out the first prisoner!" The King of Kriste, now meek and in rags, was escorted out by armed guards. There was booing and heckling from the guard.

"And now, without further ado...we have found the second piece to our puzzle, yes! We have found his daughter, the princess!" The crowd rose and cheers and chants, bet fell silent as the princess, glowing with her godliness, was escorted out instead of by guards but in a rolling prison made of wood like a caged animal. She looked vicious, for some reason unable to break her bonds or the cage she was in. "Well then, my retainers, let us be off," Chaos said, grabbing his ornate staff and leading the party off into a forest behind his thrones. Isador found himself at the back of the group, unable to keep up with the mass of people desperate to get closer to Chaos. When they stopped, Isador saw only a glimpse of a stone statue, covered in slimy mold. It was of a woman, except she had three heads, with scorpion tales for hair and a forked tongue. Isador saw a flash of light and heard a cry emit from Chaos, the shock of which woke him back up in the water temple in Tryvali.

He was in a cold sweat, Chaos' cry echoing off the walls. Aedre ran into his room with a lantern - she appeared to have not fallen asleep yet, and it was clear that she had heard the cry as well. She looked at him bewildered. "That wasn't you, was it? The world is changing rapidly - we need to leave the temple before it caves in."

Isador didn't fully understand what was going on. The temple was collapsing? How? Did his vision of Chaos send some kind of feedback through him? Aedre's concern was genuine, culling his confusion.

"Very well, lead the way," Isador complied.

Athenos's eyes narrowed and he quickly analyzed his surroundings. Buildings such as this do not simply fall apart.

"Move!" he shouted as he darted out of the door, sword shimmering into his hand as he rushed out of the door. He did not know who it was that had come to disturb them here, of all places, but it was a powerful force to be reckoned with. Athenos stifled his energy further, both to avoid the conflict between the starforged, quickly appearing behind him, and so this new foe would not be aware the extent of his power.

Isador followed Aedre out of the temple and up to the surface of the water, the temple crumpling behind them in a plume of sand, causing a vortex that pulled against their fleeing bodies. Finally breaching the surface, the vortex not far behind, they swam away from it as it invariably sucked the lack down into it. At some point the sun had broke so that it was barely twilight, and dark clouds masked the sky, sending pelting rain down around them. "The elements are returning to their world," Aedre yelled over the rain and roaring vortex. The pull of the water was causing trouble for both of them to stay a float. "Come with me, let's hope that the shore is near by." She dove under the water by a foot and swam agilely away from the vortex and the water it sucked in it's path, Isador quickly behind her. Her broad strokes helped to pave his path, making it any easier swim than it should have been for him. She surfaced again after swimming for several minutes, her eyes darting around for a sign of land, before she dove again. This continued for nearly an hour, the rain incapable of keeping up with how fast the lake was being drained. They finally reached the lake's shelf two hours after their initial departure, Aedre pulling herself as far as she could away from the new shoreline until she finally collapsed. With great effort she pulled herself up and sat, watching the lake drain. "The elements are abandoning this realm. They sense destruction is near. I feel them pull me, and try to call me home - but I am only part element, so I must go only of my own volition, they can't force me. Perhaps you feel the same way?"



Athenos, Serena and Kardos ran down the long hallway in the direction their host had disappeared. They were barely avoiding the structure's collapse, Serena and Athenos' feet and legs being cut by the marble shrapnel falling pillars caused behind them. They were in a walkway meant to overlook a courtyard, but it appeared that the world around them itself was crumbling; great chunks of earth were missing, replaced by a red celestial visage, several moons floating aimlessly, crashing into each other and other bodies, sending fragments out into space and tearing through the estate they were in. "Look!" Kardos called out over the collapse, point down into the center of the courtyard, where a ball of electricity sparked with static energy. It pulsated violently and was difficult to concentrate on, but after looking long enough Serena could make out the form of their host in gridlock with what appeared to be a horrible three headed beast. There was another horrific cry like the one that had compromised the structure around them, and the walls caved in, blocking any escape. Kardos lifted his trident, striking the rocks violently. At first they started to turn to powder, but the effect seemed stop as fast as it had started. "No, don't fail me! The elements...where are they going? Why have they left me?" he mumbled, stabbing the rocks again. Nothing happened. "Well come on then," he said, lifting a large boulder over his head and throwing it behind them. It took over an hour for the trio to remove the rocks, and by the time they were back in the walkway the ball of energy had disappeared. Before them was a doorway to the mortal realm, the realm they were in crumbling to no more than a few rocks before the doorway. Stepping through it they found themselves in a barren world, with only sand as far as they could see.

"I sense... a great disruption in the communion... but still it remains strong," Isador murmured. He studied the dancing lights within his shadowy skin, then gazed back at the water's edge at it slowly vanished. Something nagged at him... a memory from Jhinheim's essence. In he the elements willingly confided. Were they truly running, or were they merely withdrawing? Isador could still sense their presence between the waves of motion within his thoughts, but his communion had not yet strengthened enough to summon their presence within him. He had to find them, bring himself closer to them in mind and body. The garble of memories drifted to the great citadel within the Shadow realm. Jhinheim's birthplace. Did it have such significance still?

"Our enemies move to divide our strength. We must unify it, and with haste. Should they splinter the elements, we may be unable to bring them together," Isador mused outloud. He turned to Aedre.

"With my diminished strength I can only accomplish so much. I must bring the elements to me, through a stronger communion, that I may draw upon their strength. Through the memories of Jhinheim's echo I may know how to accomplish this. However... I do not know for sure what will happen if I try to activate the Starforged citadel that gave life to midnight. Our options seem limited."

"So, we are to go back to the shadow realm then?" Aedre said to Isador, her attempts at hiding her irritation thwarted by exhaustion. She laughed softly to herself. "Very well, but I want you to know it is cold there for someone like me. Water left in the shadow for too long usually turns to ice. We have no time to lose."

The once lightless depths of space beyond the Shadow world crackled with activity. Violet flashes flickered to and fro, as though the onset of a great storm had been signalled. Mirroring the fury of the depths, the terrain, too, was alive with activity. Deep rumbling and faint tremors hinted of power at work, sending flashes of light across the surface of the sleeping world.

Entering and maintaining his communion in the Shadow world was unexpectedly difficult. It felt to Isador as though the world was awakening, or perhaps in a state of flux between dream and naught. It was an exciting feeling, but the conflicted motions around him made locating the citadel extremely difficult. He had followed Jhinheim's shadow tunnel, a spiderwebbing imprint left behind on the world when it was first born, and was able to bring Aedre and himself directly into the citadel. But upon arrival, he immediately began to reconsider the safety of his ploy.

"It may be cold now but," Isador rose his hands to the citadel halls around him. Faint flashes of magneta flickered across the dull surface of ancient stones comprising its enormous, circular interior, ribbed with elegant arch-like extrusions. A lengthy, funnel-like spire descending from above, its point just a few feet above a pedestal of some nature in the center of a four-way pathway. Words echoed through Isador's thoughts as his arms lowered and settled upon this construct. "we shall breathe warmth into it through conviction. As as iksath, the song here is warped by the winds of chaos."

The air was alive. Twisting fingers, as though alive with electricity, caressed Isador's thoughts. The elements were here, at least in part. Jhinheim's memories of this structure were distant and scrambled. Yet, as Isador stepped forward to the pedestal and rose his arm, the armblade manifesting and its blades folding into a star shape, he felt as if every action he was taking was natural, recited though countless repetitions. The armblade was a component of an enormous mechanism. A keyhole. He placed the contraption within the pedestal and, with a metallic snap, it molded to a perfect fit.

"Our time here is ending," Isador recited words from memories not of his own. Images flashed by his thoughts. The old man who had killed himself in the swamp. Jhinheim's last stand. The battle with Esofar. "There can be no fear of a certain future."

Isador drew Excellion. As its blade rose into the air, a soundly ringing echoed from the halls of the citadel. Hieroglyphs flashed on the flattened surfaces of the inner walls. They were not written in the language of the Shadows, but a language he did not fully understand. They spoke of elements mostly. They had been scribed here unintentionally, perhaps when Midnight had first been created and branded the temple with its life. Since then the citadel had likely never been accessed again, drawn into the shadow world unwittingly by Jhinheim's birth. Isador banked on one important detail - the citadel was still linked to the elements in some way. He had no idea what activating it would do in the shadow world, much less with the disruptions caused by Chaos. At the least, he hoped to bring communion of the elements to him.

Excellion hovered above the armblade centerpiece in anticipation, casting a violet glow on its shimmering surface. The weight of the world seemed to pin Isador here, to this moment, where every moment was drawn out in his ceaseless calculations.

Isador found that he had no choice at all. If he turned back now, everything he had ever done would be in vain. He gripped the spear with both hands, and thrust it into the armblade centerpiece. Its shadowy surface warped to the touch of Excellion, and magneta lines blazed across its surface, spiraling outwards from the device and across the pedestal. Violet light traced the stonework and into the floor, spiraling across the pathways in an ever-hasty march, crawling up the walls above and the depths below. A thunderous heartbeat flooded Isador's ears, and the airspace visibly distorted for its duration. The words on the walls shifted. Again the heartbeat sounded. Again the air distorted, and the walls shifted.

It has begun. We've done it! a memory flashed by Isador. It was a memory of Jhinhein's birth.

Sensations flooded through him as he stepped back. A third thundering beat. The floor vibrated. A slow, rocky grinding filled the air, and the walls began to move. The outter structure began to rotate a slow clockwise spin, but the pathways and the center structure remained idle.

Here the songs of the elements are scribed... and here they shall be written, another voice from a bygone era whispered.

"What have you done?" Aedre asked inquisitively, although she was clearly concerned. All at once, Isador's thoughts came to a stop. He knew what it was Jhinheim had asked about. The Hymn of Ruin. The words on the walls. The songs of the shadows. It was the inscriptions of the elements. The communion of the worlds made manifest in words and thoughts. The language of the stars.

The citadel began to emit a deep hum that warped in frequency until it settled on a cello-like vibration, flowing back and forth before it deepened in complexity. Around and round the walls slowly rotating, releasing a rhythmic solo. One by one, chords entered the motion, and the sensations of the world grew in their presence.

The Shadow world was singing to them.

The citadel rumbled lightly. Chaos' interference was something Isador did not understand. It was as though he had worked his fingers into the very mechanism that gave energy to the shadow world. If he tried to use the citadel, it could send that energy through him, or worse... he growled, lowering his head.

"I have set in motion the final chapter of the shadow world. From this womb we were born, the seed of Midnight, Jhinheim. The songs of the elements were warped by the hands of the starforged and turned against them. This place... is the first nightfallen monument," Isador whispered. The citadel was moving. Panels on the walls opened, revealing the frenzied sky above. The citadel was emitting a beam of light, piercing into the deep darkness above.

Isador tuned his thoughts to the communion of the world. Through the citadel, his mind's eye was able to see beyond the realm of the shadows. The universe itself was twisting in chaos' grip. The elements were present here, but only in one direction. The interference meant that Isador could not communicate to them, only them to he. He could draw them to him, but not the other way around. This meant that if the connection was disrupted... the feedback would hit him first.

The citadel's vibrations intensified. Lightning crackled from Excellion, coursing across the central spire, casting it in sheets of ice. The ice spiralled outwards, much like the shadowy veins, forking outwards like a tremendous tree coursing with lightning. With his very touch, the citadel's communion reeled within his thoughts, sending a shockwave of magneta light across the mountains and crystalline forests beyond. The continent shook, hurling both Isador and Aedre to the ground. The mountains beyond fragmented into a thousand chunks, caressed by animated tendrils of magneta, and rose into the air. The citadel shifted slightly as the ground around it deformed, hurling enormous arcs of lightning into the sky.

"Do you trust me, daughter of the elements?" Isador whispered to Aedre as they both rose. She hesitated for a long time before slowly nodding. She knew, he reconciled. She knew the die had already been cast. Be it through the citadel or the hands of Chaos, the fight would begin whether they desired it to or not.

The infinite, winding chasm of Jhinheim's hunger, the songs of the stars and the wars of old, all lead to this one point. Isador turned to Excellion, now vibrantly glowing. Strings of colors danced in the air across it as its surface shimmered with a light that danced in colors. The elements were here. They were watching. With one final push, Isador's thoughts impressed upon the citadel a single command.

"

Ista ista hasheesh nagash,
As as ikragul,
Naz naz osath annath.

Words reverberated through the citadel. A shriek filled the air as the Jade Sea erupted into a sea of glass, hurling a shower of splinters into the abyss above. The citadel shifted again, placing the terrain at a slightly deeper angle. The beacon of light above exploded, hurling a shaft of lightning upwards, and tearing the stonecraft of the upper dome in half. The hymn of the shadow world was accented by a deep voice, a resounding horn, and a distant Erhu. Isador felt a sensation course across his body. The citadel had connected with the elements, but the connection had already been disrupted. Chaos' disrupts had sent feedback through the structure, building up within the starforged halls every moment. In a matter of seconds this became audibly apparent, the song twisting beyond recognition and into a demented, piercing drone.

Isador risked the entire shadow world. If he did not immediately sever the connection, the realm would be destroyed, Aedre would die, and the mission his father had set him upon when he was first created would be a certain failure. Without hesitation he stepped forward, reaching for Excellion, and took within himself the bondage of the citadel. The pedestal exploded into molten shards, and the icy network shattered. Isador was hit with the full force of citadel's connection as the weight of the elements transferred to him, and sensations disintegrated around him as light erupted from his essence.

Athenos quickly assessed his situation. He was stranded in a desert without adequate supplies. His two faerie companions had lost their magical abilities. Their fate was mildly grim -- but just this wasn't quite enough.

Athenos could still feel his power, though it was of not much use in the present situation. The faeries had very enduring bodies, and even without their magic, the two guardians shouldn't be the least bit underestimated, perhaps even more fierce than he had been as a human. Which left them to only to find their way back to civilization.

"Any ideas?"

Kardos slumped forward onto the sand, at his wits end. "We pray for forgiveness until the elements return," he said, clawing at the sand until his hand hit something firm. "Look, this was once a road marker. We are in Kriste, but Kriste has changed. We should be in a prairie. We have been abandoned. We could look for survivors, but how we would do so, and to what end...I do not know. I do not know how far the abandonment stretches - even if we found someone, how would we tend to each other?"


Isador and Aedre found themselves surrounded by wispy figures, each one clearly representing an element of their own; the water element gleamed of ice, the fire element burned white hot, the earth element a green light surrounded by falling leaves. Behind them was another row of elements, and behind them another. Every element in it's every form was present here. "You have come for a reason, I believe?" A whisper of a voice echoed down from above. An orb of light dropped down, illuminating Isador and Aedre. "What business to you carry with you?"