Wan and his companions,
Alyxia of the Fall of Night and Godark the Destroyer of Worlds,
have entered the Idiom and its myriad alternate realities.
There they witness the birth of Sapphiria,
a powerful spiritual hybrid and entrust themselves to the
wisdom and guidance of the mysterious and ancient Methos.

The search for Harmony continues as they find themselves pursued,
by Ashar, by the Foe and its dogs, the Alfar, by the Wraith-like Mongers
and last but not least, the encroaching Hand of Chaos.

*Note - Unfortunately due to a harddrive crash, some session notes were lost.
I have tried my best to fill in the missing gaps from memory.*

Castaways of the ID.
The Green green pastures of Not quite Home.
The Host of Heaven has descended upon the Holy Hill of Wan in Eastern Daas, seeking vengeance for the terrible destruction wrought in Elondil and centred around the rejuvenated Temple of the Dusk. Wan and his companions find themselves in a green freshly ploughed field, hemmed in by hedgerows. A cloudless blue sky shines down on them hand in hand with a warm summer sun. At first glance, the scene is idyllic and peaceful, a far cry from the turbulence and horror of the Eldahar they have left behind. But as each of them looks a little further into the scene, they begin to see that things are not quite right in the countryside.

Several miles away the sky is smudged and gray with smoke from a burning village. On the Eastern horizon they see more smoke and more ruins. But it is the North that holds the most unusual and worrying sight; an army of dogmen some twenty thousand strong, encamped across the fields awaiting orders.

Wan does not recognize the dog headed humanoids that make up most of the army, but he does know their name from the information he has gleamed in his few hours of existence... Alfar - foot soldiers of the mysterious Foe.

It is Godark who seems the resident expert though. "They're Alfar. The realities are riddled with them, like a world travelling cancer. They have as many armies as trees in a forest and know no fear. Their masters are Mongers, black soulless creatures who drive them with whips of cold fire. And behind the Mongers, is the Foe itself... an entity that no one has ever seen but who drives these dogs of war across time and space." Godark lets his words sink into the faces of his companions.
"They look mean. Kinda like Ogres or Orn like we get up North in Doom."
"Alfar aren't born like humans, they're created, without parents. They mature to full grown fighting adults in a matter of days and have over a thousand generations had fear bred out of them. They are utterly loyal, obey without question and never surrender or retreat. Those dogs have ground the bones of far more world's than I under their feet," Godark continues, almost in admiration of the army that faces them.
"Well, we can't stay here," pipes in Alyx. "We don't know how long we've got. This is another reality, right? It kinda feels too normal."
Methos nods profusely. "Yes, yes. This is another reality of the Prime. We appear to have traversed quite a distance, but exactly how far, I cannot say for sure. I suggest we do what we must and then journey on."
Wan sets the Keystone of Wan down at his feet. "We must open this and release what is inside." But as Wan says it, he realizes he doesn't know how to. The 7 Seals binding the keystone together are tremendously powerful. As he sends power at it, the seals simply deflect it away. He invites Methos to examine it, in case the Ancient one can shed some light on the matter.
Methos leisurely peruses the keystone while Godark moves a litter further away. "How interesting," the Ancient comments. "A superb piece of workmanship! You won't unlock this or break it easily. These seals are designed to be self energy sufficient."
"Could Kranatakyn open it?" asks Wan.
"He could break it, not open it," says Godark.
Wan thinks for a moment, trying to come up with an alternative idea. He doesn't. "Very well Godark. Please break the stone. But be careful, there are powerful beings locked within it. When the stone breaks, they will emerge."
"Just stand well back then," says the black warrior.
Wan agrees; the keystone is likely to explode so they will need some cover. Using his aura as a large hard shovel, he scoops out a trench for him, Alyx and Methos to shelter in. Godark then stands back and allows his sword to hit the keystone dead centre.

There is an explosion of light and darkness in the middle of the field. Wan sees the keystone shatter into a thousand pieces and then implode. He also sees two distinct patterns in the implosion; a cloud of light that seems to hover to the left and coalesce into something solid and a cloud of darkness that hovers to the to right before being evaporated in a burst of darkfire. Wan is convinced he hears something or someone briefly scream as the darkness goes "pffft".

At almost this exact same instant, Wan sees an image of High Doman Gray floating before him. He feels a strong connection with the image, almost a compulsion to reach out and rejoin with the holy child. But Wan stays his hand and remains unmoved; he is concerned about the consequences of rejoining with Gray. Yes, a part of him would become whole, but how would it affect the Jixiliah in him, or the Altur? Whatever balance of souls that brought about Wan's creation and return to the world might be jeopardized by becoming one with Gray.

Wan watches sadly as the image of the High Doman fades, absorbed into the glowing cloud of white light.

The light begins to take on shape and substance. As Wan, Methos, Godark and Alyx watch, it becomes that of a young woman in her late teens with brilliant blue hair.

Gorgormorfin Giant - 25' tall. STR 70. SIZ 65. CON 70. MHP 70. NAP 10. Attack% +75 A/R 5. Dodge% +45. D/R 4. 50% resistance to fire. 25% resistance to lightning. MR% +50. POW 32.

Godark doesn't leave it there though. He orders Kranatakyn to release two more spheres. Both float away, expand and pop, depositing more of the Gohde's unusual prisoners.

First up is a Fire Hawk; it appears as a large flame red bird about the size of a normal hawk but soon proves it is everything but. Wan sees the bird burst into flame and take to the sky. It flies majestically, swooping back and forth over the bewildered Alfar that have never seen a burning bird before. Then, on its third pass, it screeches like the bird of prey it is and dives. The fire hawk crashes headlong into the front line of yapping dog men. To their horror, it's wings ignite their shields and cause their limbs to burst into raging hot fire. As the bird begins climbing back upwards, at least six Alfar collapse, unable to put out the roaring flames spreading over their bodies.

From the second sphere, fifty skeletons appear. Dressed like ancient armoured knights, these skeletons have small bone horns growing from their foreheads, clearly showing their inhuman origins. Each of the undead turns to regard Godark with fierce green eyes; if Godark could feel such things through his armour, he would feel a hatred strong enough to burst a man's heart from these creatures.

"Exterminate, Annihilate, Destroy - and you can go FREE!" Godark bellows.
The skeletons raises their archaic blades, snap to attention and shuffle around to face the charging Alfar. Then with a creaking of bones and a rattle of steel plates, the Legion of San'Ax heads into battle.

Legion of San'Ax - x50 Protean Skeletons. MHP 40. AP 12. Attack% +65 Dodge% +65 Shield block / parry +60% A/R 4. D/R 4. Special attack = Fear at 6th level, save or be at -25%. Fail by 100% and make a system shock CON vs Failure%/10 or suffer a fatal heart attack. Half damage vs slash or thrust attacks. Immunity to Normal weapons.

As the legion engage and begin cutting a swathe through the first Alfar ranks, the fire hawk descends again, straight towards the burning Alfar. As it passes them, the fire around the Alfar bodies leaps after the hawk and merges with it, causing the hawk to swell to more than three times the size. To Alyx's amazement, the fire hawk then flies straight through another rank of Alfar, but this time sets more than two dozen alight!

Mesmerizing to watch, the fire hawk swoops down again, absorbs the fire from the two dozen burnt Alfar and grows even bigger still. This is its pattern and Wan has to wonder just how large the bird will get.

Fire Hawk - Fire points = Absorption of 25% of MHP of its victims. SIZ of Fire Hawk = Fire points / 10. Thus, 12 Alfar of 40 hp each = 12 x 10 = 120hp, = SIZ 12. Once hit by the Hawk's fire, target has to save vs 14th level or the fire does not go out until they are completely burned or the Hawk reclaims it. The Fire Hawk's "ever burning" flames are deadly and inflict 3d6+6 fire damage per round. It is immune to normal weapons but takes x2 damage vs ice / cold attacks. Wind attacks also inflict damage, draining it of fire points. The Fire Hawk cannot be slain as such, but can be drained of fire and shrunk back down to a more manageable size.

Black Sword Monger Hunger.
Five thousand Alfar continue rushing forwards across the fields towards Godark’s position. Above them, the screech of the Fire Hawk pierces the clear the blue sky with an accompanying wave of heat.

Godark grinds his boots into the earth and sniffs the air, arching his back and stretching until his neck clicks. “I love the smell of burning dogs in the morning…” he mutters to himself.

“As do I, Masssssster,” croons the Gohde.

The Fire Hawk swoops down, drawing its wings back and to its side so that it plunges to the earth like a flaming arrow. At the last moment it angles upwards and tears its way along the front-line of the snapping barking horde. The dog soldiers momentarily disappear in the fire and heat; when the Fire Hawk ascends again, Godark allows himself a slight smile of satisfaction.

Mean while, behind the black Titan Warrior, Wan crouches over the unconscious form of the newly born Rising Star, giving her some of Methos’ sweet smelling water.

Almost immediately her eyes flutter open and she looks up, with beautiful multi-coloured flecked eyes at the three people stood over her. Wan, in his simple gray smock. Alyx in her glowing ethereal ancient white armour and Methos, in his scintillating robe of many colours and flowing white beard.

Wan asks her, “Do you recognize us?”

And the woman shakes her head. “Where am I?” Her voice is melodious but that of a woman, not a girl. She appears in her mid twenties, 5’8” in height, with light blue hair and at least 50% Daasin blood. However, looking at her aura, it in no way matches her outward human appearance. Instead, Wan sees Dragon, some unique human spiritual strands (unique because Kerri Dhwen was unique) and other striations of energy that could only be the presence of Jixiliah power.

Alyx – “What do you remember? What’s your name?” She bites her lip.

“I do not know,” the woman replies, her face showing some confusion. “Should I know? Who are you?”

Alyx – “I’m Alyx, this is Wan and this is Methos. That guy over there is Godark.”

As Alyx gestures off toward the Titan Warrior, she notices the earth, grass and flowers around Godark darkening – as if the Gohde is leeching the very essence from the ground. This darkness seems to be expanding and is nearly upon them.

Wan – “We should move…”

Methos – “I agree, your friend over there is attracting a lot of attention.”

Sure enough, a leader of the Alfar army has stepped forth to confront Godark. As they look over, the ranks of yapping savage Alfar part allowing a black robed and hooded (aren't they all) figure around ten feet in height, to pass through.

The figure has lengths of chains attached to its robe, dragging along behind it, and attached to the ends of these chains appear to be silently screaming, tormented spirits.

Godark signals the Fire Hawk. It descends and blasts the ground with its wings. The Alfar around the Monger are burned where they stand, but the Monger continues walking through unharmed.

Next Godark orders the skeletons to advance. They charge, their leader Liscivar Elk, bellowing battle orders to his bone ranks. The Monger makes gestures in the air and more chains appear. The chains snap out like spears and begins wrapping themselves around the skeletons. As the chains touch, the skeletons are first paralysed, then drained to collapse into piles.

Godark chuckles. “Not bad.”

“I am Kilgamermora of the Talisman Alliance. I am a Soul Monger. You will surrender yourself immediately,” the hooded being rasps.

In the distance, a flash of magical energy seems to strike out at Godark’s purple giant and it falls to one knee. A few moments later, an Alfar armed with a crackling energy spear, drives its weapon into the Purple giant’s chest.

Kranatakyn – “Shall I release more?”

Godark – “No… Let’s go cut the balls from this cock.” With that, Godark walks towards the Monger.

Wan and the others retreat to where they first came through.

Methos – “This is a node. Every Id in the Idiom has a node. Most Id’s have multiple nodes. A node, simply put, is a place where Id’s overlap. Luckily for you, I can sense these nodes – which is an extremely rare and powerful ability.”

Wan looks at the air and finds that he can sense something too – a distinctive bending in the astral plane. Wan says – “I can see it.”

Alyx nods too. “I can feel it. Oh yeah, I can see it as well.”

Methos grunts. “Yes, well, it’s obviously quite a BIG node. We can use this place to travel to other realities as there is no need to remain here.”

Alyx – “Can we use this to get back to Eldahar?”

Methos – “I don’t see why not. You came through ok didn’t you. The Prime should be just a few realities away. YOU did just step through didn’t you?”

Alyx – “Kinda got hurled actually. And Ashar was right behind us.”

Methos looks left and right for a speeding lorry about to run him down.
“Well, he’s not here. Which is a good sign AND a bad.”

Alyx – “How so?”

Methos – “It means that when you were “hurled” through, you may have inadvertently traversed multiple realities. The pathways between Nodes are compressed distance. A five minute walk between them could mean passing by a thousand sub realities. Hmmm… If Ashar really wanted you, he could have dispatched a part of himself to bring you back. The fact that he isn’t here, can only mean one of two things… That the node on the Prime has been destroyed or “locked” preventing him from following, which would make your return to the Prime a little awkward, or that we are actually further away from the Prime and “off the beaten track” so to speak. What happened when you came through… please give me some details.”

Wan and Alyx quickly brief him.

“Hmmm… Perhaps Tomorrow not only hurled you through, but erased your passage as well – making it impossible for Ashar to track you. Nodes split into multiple pathways. If you were hurled along a path and it split, your momentum may have carried you down multiple branches. Ashar wouldn’t know which and would have to explore them all. This may buy you some time.”

Alyx – “But how are we going to get back?”
Methos – “Well, assuming that HE is still after you, you will need to approach Eldahar from a different direction so to speak. Otherwise, you will fall into his hands.”
Alyx – “Great! Just bloody great! I didn’t even pack a change of clothes.”

Godark walks towards the Monger of the Foe.

“Kneel before the Power of my Master,” the Monger commands in its rasping death rattle of a voice.

“Ok,” Godark nods. “You’ve killed my creatures and are immune to my fire. I guess I’m defeated. Bugger it. And I was having so much fun.”

The Monger nods. “You are indeed defeated,” it announces, full of religious conviction.

Godark kneels about twenty feet away from the hooded figure. Chains snake out and entwine themselves around Godark’s armoured body.

“Please, I beg forgiveness. I just like killing stuff. It’s in my nature,” says Godark, assuming a prayer like position with the Gohde on his back.

“You and your allies will be taken before the Lord of all Mongers. HE will show you the darkness – show you it lives.”

“Darkness? He will show me darkness?” Godark starts to laugh as the chains constrict even tighter around him. “You Mongers are all the fucking same.”

Godark grabs one of the chains and gives a hard yank on it. The Monger stumbles forwards and about 5 feet closer to where Godark is kneeling. It hisses and lashes out with more chains at Godark’s body, but the chains suddenly pass into the Void Armour and do not re-emerge.

Godark yanks again, this time hand over hand, until the Monger is struggling like a fish in a net. When the Monger, writhing and in an obvious panic, is only a few feet away, he stands up and looks directly into its hood.

“GAZE INTO THE DARK. I AM A MONGER. I AM A SERVANT OF ALL SEEING EYE OF OBLIVION!”

A torrent of black energy pours out of the hood, directly at Godark’s armour… but it just seems to pass into Godark’s helm, rather than impact against it. Kranatakyn leaps into Godark’s hand and plunges into the Monger’s hood.

Godark hurls the Monger’s smoking empty hood and robe away. “You didn’t see that coming though did you…” Then as an afterthought, in true Esium style… “…You cock.”

The Think Tank.

Wan and his companions decide it is time that they left and continued on their way. With Methos up front, the group enter the Id corridor and begin walking between the realities, which proves surprisingly easy. The corridor stretches across hundreds and thousands of realities so that every few steps, another reality appears to either side of it. As Wan watches, the realities change ever so slightly at first but the further they walk from Eldahar, the stranger they become.

Fifteen minutes pass and then Methos abruptly comes to a stop ahead of them, bending forward and scratching his head with curiosity. "Well this looks mighty peculiar," he mutters to himself.
"What does?" Wan asks, unable to see anything ahead of them other than hundreds of landscapes all blending into one another.
"Well," Methos takes a deep breath, ready to once again plunge into the classroom. "You wouldn't be able to see it would you, as I am standing on the verge of one Id and you are standing on another. We may only be a few steps away from one another upon this path, but our surroundings are literally world's away."
"So, what is it?" asks Alyx wearily. "What's got you so flummoxed?"
Methos ever so slightly turns his nose up at that comment and peers intently ahead. "It looks like a..." But that is the last thing he says as suddenly he vanishes into thin air.
"Oh that's just great!" Alyx exclaims, flapping her arms around. "The great and all knowing one who is meant to be leading us through this has spontaneously gone poof out of existence!"
Wan cautiously steps forward to take a look himself. One step, two steps, three and he finds he can see an eerily beautiful red glowing flower comprised entirely of crystal, spanning from petal to petal the length of a man. "It's a flower of some kind," Wan tells his companions. "And it's moving..."
The petals are indeed moving, pulsing and unfurling as if it is reacting to something; as flowers turn and open towards the light Wan correctly concludes that this flower is opening towards him. But before he can do anything other than tense his own aura, he too vanishes.

Alyx looks at Godark who looks back at Alyx. Sapphiria simply looks at both of them. "You first," says Godark to Alyx. "I'll bring her."
Alyx sighs. "I hate jumping into the unknown."
Godark's helm shapes itself into a slick black grin. "Who wants to live forever?"
Alyx pauses for a moment. "Yeah, you've got a point." She steps towards the flower and in a flash of light vanishes as well.

Wan finds himself squeezed through a tiny spiritual hole and unceremoniously dumped inside a large plain square room some fifty feet across. At one end he sees Methos, with his bearded face pressed against a glass wall, trying to peer through it to the other side. Methos looks around and gives him a wave. "Hello, sorry about that. How curious. We appear to have been transported somewhere."
Wan sighs, moving quickly out of the way as Sapphiria, Alyx and Godark all pop out of thin air behind him.
As the rest of the room is stone, floors, ceiling and walls, everyone gives their attention to the glass wall.
"Where are we now?" Alyx asks.
Methos scratches his beard. "Ahhh... something is happening."

Sure enough, as they stand and watch, the glass wall is slowly illuminated from the other side, revealing four hideously alien creatures staring back at them.
These creatures have the bodies of men, but the heads of giant squids, complete with a neck full of writhing moist tentacles and massive membrane covered skin sacks hanging from the backs of their skulls. As Methos gives the strange creatures a wave, their jet black eyes regard him with cold scientific curiosity.

Methos stiffens and wags his finger at the creatures. "Now that's not very nice. Very impolite. You could just ask."
"Huh?" says Alyx. But then she experiences one of the creatures gazing at her, it's tentacles caressing the air but feeling as if they are crawling across her brain. "Urrg!" Alyx staggers backwards and clutches her head. "What the fuck! They're trying to get into my mind."
Wan feels it next; something snaking its way across the inside of his skull, dragging a thousand pin like feet through his thoughts. He fortifies his aura, remains calm and expels the intruder. "Let's get out of here."

Godark runs forward and slices a hole in the glass wall. As he does the four Mind Delvers slowly shuffle backward, waddling like oversized penguins towards a line of stone alcoves. Once the hole is cut, Wan ushers everyone through, starting with Methos then Alyx and Sapphiria.

But the Mind Delvers have raised an alarm. In the distance Wan hears bells while behind him, the ceiling of the Think Tank room is splitting open.
Godark moves back from the glass wall to gaze up into the new space above the ceiling. What he sees makes him shout at Wan. "Get going! Now!"
At that instant a giant green and gray tentacle, nearly three feet thick, strikes down from the ceiling at Godark. Kranatakyn anticipates it and moves with relish to meet its blow. Black otherworldly metal meets sticky flesh and the tentacle drops severed to the ground.
But where one falls, another dozen suddenly erupt from the opening overhead. Godark catches a glimpse of some monstrous bulk suspended up there and realizes they face something titanic. He slashes back and forth sending the beasts flesh flying and quivering to every corner of the room, but for every one he cuts, another five spring out striking him from different sides. Eventually, after scant seconds, he sees that Wan and the others are safely through the glass and dives after them.

Meanwhile, Wan has faced the Mind Delvers and won. After continuing to try and fail meddling with his mind, the Delvers attempt to flee. But Wan has other ideas. He punches each one in the head, dropping them like sacks of potatos.

Godark rolls and springs up behind them, hacking at another tendril trying to follow him through the glass hole. Only one door seems to lead from the Delver's observation room but as Wan approaches it he senses movement on the other side. The door bursts open so Wan pushes back at it with his aura. For a moment he sees a tall armoured and very surprised looking lizard man ready to rush into the room. But then his aura slams the door shut again, right into the lizard's face.
"We have company this way," says Wan.
"No problem. Let's make another exit," says Godark.

Methos potters over and into one of the Delver's alcoves. "How interesting. Ahhh, I see. This alcove is a commune device. Let me see, yes... this Citadel belongs to a follower of Chaos. Id travellers are sent here by the crystal flower and processed. Interrogated... yes... they are asked about... oh, they are asked about "The Prime.""

"We need to escape," says Wan. "Come on Methos."
"Maybe we should attack and wipe them out instead," suggests Godark. "You (looking at Wan) and I could take the whole lot. We might be able to learn a few things about their plans. Maybe even release a few other prisoners along the way."
"No," Wan shakes his head. "This will distract us from our mission. It's too dangerous. We could end up being pursued by a Lord of Chaos."
Godark evidently doesn't agree with Wan's decision but gets the Gohde to cut a tunnel through the stone. Thirty seconds later, Kranatakyn has disintegrated a thirty foot passage to the outside and daylight. It emerges half way up a cliff with the Citadel perched on top about two hundred feet above them.
"How do we get down?" Methos asks.
"We climb," says Alyx, beginning her descent. "You're not too old are you?"
"Impudent whelp," Methos scowls, reaching out for a hand hold.
Wan gets Sapphiria to hold onto him; he then follows Alyx down.

It's a relatively easy climb and everyone makes it to the bottom safely. *Godark could have made his sword make a black disk to carry them. But he is unhappy at Wan's decision to not stay and fight.* At the bottom though, they see the bleached bones of others who have not been as fortunate. The remains appear to be from dozens of different races, each hurled to their deaths from the top of the cliff.

Seeing these bones, Godark raises his point again before they set off after Methos, who is holding a gnarled finger in the air, supposedly sensing on the wind where the closest ley line of power is. Godark steps in front of Wan. "Look, I'm not used to leaving stuff alive behind me. They will try and follow us. At least if you and I go back and take them out, we'll end it, here and now. We could even save a few people, gain some intel..."

Wan pauses and thinks, looking at Alyx and Sapphiria. "No, we will go on. This is a distraction."
"Suit yourself," Godark mutters, falling in behind.

Methos mumbles into the wind. "Ah, yes, the closest ley line is just over here. Ley lines flow everywhere. It's possible you know to follow one and then leap across to another one. If you know how, which of course I do. They aren't the fastest way of traversing a world, but they are solid and reliable. We should all hold onto one another en route."

Minutes later Methos is leading them at tremendous speed across the land; the ley line seems to compresses distance. In actuality, the ley line flows at tremendous speed across the landscape. It is completely invisible and normally hard to detect, unless it becomes bottle necked at a node or you discover one of its ends. But Methos navigates the group along it and across to another one running parallel to it with extraordinary ease.

Within fifteen minutes and over 800 covered miles, the group arrive back in the vicinity of their Id door. "It's just a short walk now," Methos explains. "Just over those hills."

Wan and his companions have now escaped the Citadel of Lord Tarikos the Inquisitor.

Godark wants to stay and make sure nothing is left alive to pursue them, but Wan presses the group on, refusing to become side-tracked from the greater goal. Godark is becoming increasingly restless; all this sneaking around and running away just isn't him. Aside from Kranatakyn, he possesses Creations of the Titans and their now extinct races that beggar belief. One of the reasons he got them and became Kranatakyn's wielder, the Herald of the Ordainer himself, is that Goruan just doesn't back down or know the meaning of subtlety.
"These people are just so... so... careful!" he moans to the Gohde.
"Yesss..." it hisses into his mind. "They are. But sometimes you have to follow an animal for a while, keeping your distance. At least that way, it can lead you back to its lair and the rest of the feast."
"I'm not plodding along behind them so that you can eat them," Godark grumbles. "I just want the killing to start - and soon."

Those every day little annoyances.

Raanslaad D'Slevi was definitely nervous as he entered his Lord's chambers. He could feel his scales sweating and for a Lizard man like himself, that meant under certain light conditions, he would be positively glowing. Nothing today had gone well and it had all started to go wrong with picking the one helmet in his wardrobe that was too small. What could he say? Raanslaad D'Slevi liked to feel comfortable on the job and right this moment, he was all but.

Debasing himself before his Lord's ooze tank, the lizard man commander held his breath, waiting for his Lord and Master's mental voice to acknowledge his presence. It came all too swiftly.

"D'Slevvvvi... it has come to my attention that I have had prisoners escape from the Holding cells. Tell me this isn't so? Tell me that I haven't lost my Mind Delvers after waiting so patiently for them to be sent to me. Tell me that the prisoners are already dead or back in custody and that I do not need to concern myself about such trivialities."

D'Slevi gulped as Tarikos' thoughts crawled across his mind and let his tongue flick back and forth for a moment, so that he wouldn't stumble on the words. "My Lord, the prisoners in holding cell 3 have indeed momentarily escaped. They were travelling along the Canyon World Pass when they encountered our Net. All mind delvers in Cell 3 have been slain. Information is still being gathered from the scene but we do know that the prisoners comprised of 2 females and 3 males, all of human appearance. They escaped by fending off the Gro'atchen, cutting their way through the Observation wall and then using magic to burn a tunnel to the outer cliff side. At this point they climbed down and evaded immediate pursuit by using Earthlines. I have ordered First Commander D'Sleer to intercept them by taking the Hill Pass as I predict they will attempt to continue on their previous course and return to the Canyons. I assure you, these World Walkers will be apprehended within the next Harn and I will personally see to their physical torture."

D'Slevi took a breath and focused on his Lord's tank. It was a large glass walled bell bottomed structure over twenty feet long, suspended on giant bronze feet and filled with bright green illuminescent liquid (which D'Slevi knew to be the blood of his kin). Floating on the surface of this liquid was his Lord and Master, Tarikos the Inquisitor, a sight that periodically gave even D'Slevi nightmares. Stories told that Tarikos had once been a humanoid but that now, after centuries of floating in liquid, had become more squid like than anything else. Tarikos' skin was spread across the surface of the liquid like scum on top of a frothy puddle. D'Slevi could make out beneath the water, a pair of bright eyes attached via stalks to the floating flesh and dangling here and there around them, veins and arteries that would writhe and move as Tarikos spoke like ravenous worms cavorting around a morsel for lunch. "I do not like it when things happen that are out of the ordinary D'Slevvvi. I like thing to run smoothly here. Capture them and bring them back. I want at least one of them alive. I will handle the interrogation personally. Do you hear me, personally."
"Yes my Lord."

Forked Tongue Ambush

Godark and Wan walk slightly ahead to get a view of the area around the Id door. Just as they suspect, lizard men have arrived there before them and are setting up an ambush. They watch the lizard men sink into the sand covered ground and conceal themselves. One of the lizards, a slightly taller and more fearsome armoured specimen actually disappears through the Id door and out of sight.

"Shall we?" Godark offers Wan to go first.
Wan accepts and the two men walk casually down to ambush site.

Suddenly lizard men spring out of the ground around Godark who stands there feigning surprise. Cruel thick blades rain down on Godark's pitch black armour and for a moment he appears to cower. But then he straightens up and laughs. The blades shatter on his metal body and his own black venomous sword writes its own tale of blood and pain upon the sand.

Wan doesn't linger around to engage the normal lizards though. Stepping out of the air in front of him is the Lizard man leader who raises a glowing red metal fist to strike him. Wan ducks and delivers a devastating blow to the lizards size, sending it reeling. It retreats back into the invisible Id door and out of sight, but Wan pursues. He finds himself standing for a moment back in the corridor between the Ids. The lizard seems to vanish into another Id but then an instant later re-emerges to take another swipe at Wan's head. Wan ducks and grapples the offending gauntleted arm, dragging it and its owner back into reality.

Wan twists and avoids one last desperate punch before delivering his own coup de grace that sends the Lizard man crashing dead to the ground.

Godark dusts off his hands and plucks the Gohde from the chest of one of its victims.
Wan then looks up towards the nearby ridge and sees Methos leading the two women towards them. He aims a powerstrike at the lizard leader's red chaos gauntlet and smashes it.
Methos glances around at the carnage. "What about the flower? It's still in there. Still active."

"Let me," Godark volunteers. "Kranatakyn can destroy it." The Void Warrior then partially enters the Id doorway and waves Kranatakyn around inside like a can of air freshener.

"It is destroyed..." Kranatakyn informs them with barely contained glee.

The party then sets forth again with Methos in front, followed by Wan, Sapphiria, Alyxia and then Godark at the rear.

Methos hasn't seen the golden disk from the Arch Angel who died yet, so Alyx gets it out.
"Could be a tablet, or a key..." admits Methos. "Not seen anything like it before. But these symbols on it are definitely a language of some sort. Almost mathematical. Yes, numbers. It looks like numbers."

As the group press on, a few hours later, Methos slows down and rubs his chin. As Wan cannot see what the Ancient is looking at, he fidgets and prepares for the worst; perhaps another Chaos flower... perhaps a fight.
"Ur, it looks like something big has burrowed its way right across our path," Methos mutters. "Cut a huge swathe through the Ids and left a trail several hundred feet wide in its wake. Here, come a little further ahead and look."
Wan and the others do as Methos says and advance. Up ahead of them they do indeed see a gigantic trail crossing directly across their ID corridor. Even with Wan's lack of hunting skills, it was clearly made by the passage of thousands of feet and rolling engines of war. Alyx holds her nose. "That stench. It's like mangy dog. I'd recognize it anywhere."
"Indeed," agrees Methos. "This is an Alfar army. Id corridors like this one are too small and narrow for the Alfar to travel. Instead, they appear to make their own. Exactly how, I am unsure of; maybe their masters have the knowledge."
"I've seen this before," says Godark, drawing everyone's gaze towards him. "They travel like this. Great armies of them, moving from one reality to the next. They conquer, devour what they need and then continue."
"I had no idea," says Alyx. "I thought they just had one army."
"No," Godark firmly shakes his head. "They have many. Perhaps too many to count. We could follow them, destroy them before they attack someone else."
Wan shakes his head now. Methos then gives his beard a short sharp yank and smiles. "Well, no sense hanging around. Let's carry on."

Leaving the Alfar trail behind, several more hours pass until a few of the group start showing signs of tiredness.
Alyx wants to stop for a hairbrush.
Methos - "Did anybody bring any food? I'm getting a bit peckish."
Sapphiria - "I think I'd quite like something to eat."
"Mmm...cake, I could eat cake," says Alyx.

Wan agrees, grudgingly, as the notion of stopping for a meal seems strange to him. He cannot remember the last time he ate or slept.

Godark offers to forage for plants and berries. He like Wan cannot remember the last time he ate proper solid food. The Gohde has fed him energy for so long that the idea of eating cake disturbs old memories of his tenth birthday. Not that he doesn't like the energy Kranatakyn flows through his body, revitalizing his veins, charging his heart and keeping his mind alert. It's just that after a few years, the "taste" of it becomes bland.

Alyx frowns - "So you want the first meal Sapphiria to have to be a bunch of weeds."
"No," Godark admits. "I would not wish that."

Wan is anxious. But Methos explains about Time distortion. "As we move further away from Eldahar, Time is being stretched. One minute on Eldahar could very well be several hours now out here where we are. The further we go from the source, the greater the distortion. Thus, it's possible to spend a lifetime out here, wandering around, while only an instant has passed back on the Prime."

"Oh, this is new," - Methos comes across a large swathe of terrain churned up by a passing army, crossing their path on another Id Corridor.

"We could walk in their direction and wipe them out," Godark suggests, half heartedly. After all, no one in this group is going to actually take him up on the idea.

Wan spends a few hours trying to teach Sapphiria to think to him aura to aura. She succeeds, after several dozen attempts, which opens up the possibility for Wan to transfer images and memories; he hopes to trigger something inside of her - awaken her potential.

Wan explains where she has come from, who she is and the 3 beings that make her up. "Will I be those 3 beings again?"
Wan - "I do not think so, I think you are you."

As they travel Alyx talks to Godark about various fights he's had. Wan tries showing Sapphiria how to communicate with her aura.

5 hours later. Methos stops, seeing a town a few miles off of the Id-way.

A Three Course Meal.

Stop off on Reality of Andurin at the Town of Flarin. Everyone sits down and has a meal in the "Golden Fields."

Alyx has really needed the break and is enjoying relaxing.

"What is the truth behind the manifestation of Skathen?" Wan asks Methos.

"How did he repel my power and why will Crown wielder's not go up against him?" asks Wan.

"Truth be told, I don't know exactly," Methos admits, "but I do know this, Skathen has swallowed 11 other Demons that are bound together by some ancient ritual or other. These "Demons" are not your typical Chaos kind either, but evil and destructive spirits native to Eldahar itself, called by the Homé of Khur as Drey'sala, or Dark Ones. In all likelihood, they once lived like you or I, but upon their death, remained weighted by evil in the mortal realm as damned souls. At some point they were rounded up and put to use, becoming part of a diabolical plan - The End of the World! A time when their talents at mischief, destruction, madness and suffering could be used and exploited to its utmost."

In the year 2601, Skathen, with the help of a Dark Spiritualist called Mabdab the Maylark, managed to free himself of whatever constraints had previously kept him quiet and out of the way. One by one he "ate" his fellow demons and stole their powers. Now, ever since that day, he has been waiting for Armageddon. It is possible that Mabdab was serving someone like Ashar. The reason is obvious - if you don't want these demons interfering with your plans to replace them, then what better way than to appeal to one of them and its greed, then interrupt their role in the ticking of the hours by having said greedy demon eat the rest.

That would be my guess anyway. But, as for his powers and just how powerful they are... well, they are as powerful as they can be. Skathen and his kin draw their strength from Armageddon in the same way that a God of Love draws its strength from romance and kisses. As the World circles the drain, Skathen's power grows. He cannot be truly stopped or destroyed... the boat has sailed on that one. If people wanted to kill him, they should have done so before the clock started ticking.

And why didn't they I hear you ask? Well, the only reason I can think of is that Ashar wanted to simply play safe. If anything went wrong, he knew that the original Demonic Hours were still in tact on standby.

If Skathen succeeds in becoming one of the hours of the clock, by his nature and the nature of his kin, he will make that hour true Hell on Earth. There will be earthquakes, fire raining from the sky, hurricanes - apocalyptic destruction beyond anything anyone has ever witnessed or imagined. Let us hope that doesn't happen... because if it does, Skathen may be able to hijack the next hour and the hour after that, by sacrificing the demons inside of him. I'm not entirely sure how it all works but he is a very real threat to matters...

The real question though Wan is... is he really your problem or Ashar's and those who possess the Crowns? They do not want to attack him because he represents a very real threat, able to draw on immense amounts of power. Nobody wants to start a chain reaction that no one can win, so it is much easier to just leave Skathen moping around trying to find things. It's easier to hide things from him than to take him on.

Wan doesn't agree with what Ashar does...

"Mongers live with a spot of darkness inside of them, draining them dry to husks," says Godark.

"That sounds like a Priest of the Living Dark to me," says Wan. "It sounds too similar to be coincidence."

"Most people think of "The Foe" and the "Devourer of Worlds" as two distinctly different entities," Godark explains. "But hardly anyone outside of either camp has seen its master. Most so called facts are nothing more than frightened guess work. I have tried on occasion to take Kranatakyn back to worlds recently ravaged by the passing of Alfar armies. They haven't been there, the Worlds that is. They've simply gone."

Alyx looks up from her beer and wags a finger at Godark. "You went back there to drain those worlds didn't you."
"Of course," Godark shrugs. "Even a world devoid of obvious life, contains energy. The worms beneath the earth number in the billions of billions. It all adds up."
"But something, or someone got to them first," Alyx lowers her finger. "The Devourer!"
"Yes," Godark confirms. "I thought it strange that this being would follow along behind the Alfar. It now seems more likely than ever that the two are deeply connected."

Methos warms his gnarly toes by the fire and inspects his boots.

Discussion of the Darkness... and the possibility that the Foe is the Master of the Hollow.

"Something's just gone along and eaten it..."

"The Darkness couldn't get into Eldahar, after following Orion there, so it floated around in the Idiom instead... draining realities and biding its time, waiting for the right moment, when the World was at its weakest."

"Orion shattered the World's Heart, the World fragmented... a crack formed in the Idiom and beings from outside (Law / Chaos) were drawn to it like moths to one bit of light in existence."

The idea arises in conversation that like a priest of the Living Dark, a piece of the "Darkness" has attached itself to the "body" and "spirit" of Eldahar. This dark infection will continue to grow in power and expand until just like a priest, all of its positive energy will turn negative and the World will be no more.

"Am I correct in assuming that we should go and attack the Foe?" asks Wan.

Methos doesn't answer, but stokes the Inn's fireplace instead.

Wan talks to Alyx about declaring herself to the rest of the ANU.

"Me? Declare myself? Declare myself as what?" Alyx laughs a little too loudly and draws some odd looks from the locals.
Wan explains his reasoning behind this but Alyx still isn't convinced.
"I'm a mess. I'm not sure of many things at the moment. How could I do all that? Unite the spirits.... Doesn't Red have all the ANU of Light with her? She's a Living spirit too, of the House of Dawn. That's why she can spirit shift and stuff. I think her having the Annex Animus, unconfirmed of course but more than bloody likely, her having half of the World makes her a more likely candidate to do all that than me!"

The Will of the Warrior.
Alyx chats to Godark about his adventures in the Ids...

"I have seen Worlds where the Sun burns its way into the ground, turning the land to molten rock as it sinks down into the heart of the earth. I have seen a world of crystal, full of crystal beings who communicate by singing to the stars themselves. I have seen worlds... many worlds, but none rival what it feels like to be back home, on Eldahar and in Esium. It is a good place to come back to at the end," says Godark softly.
"After all this is over, you'll be off again. As Methos said, the Idiom will need people to help restore it."
"Not me. I have destroyed too much. There will be no place for the likes of me in a new creation. I no longer remember what it is to fix things. Eldahar is where I will end my journey Makailla. I've grown weary of it all. Kranatakyn needs one last battle and so do I."
"You're talking like you're resigned to die in all this. You have perhaps the most powerful weapon I've ever seen or even heard of. I doubt you'll be dying anytime soon. Nothing can touch you in that armour anyway!"
"This?" Godark taps his black metal chest. "This is the Armour of Thame. Armour Kranatakyn called it." Godark laughs bitterly. "Kranatakyn neglected to mention its real purpose. The purpose it was made for. It was made to be Thame's Sarcophagus upon his death - to perfectly preserve his body and protect it from the harshness of the Void and any fluctuating bursts of energy it might encounter. Thame wanted his body to remain in one piece until the End of Time. It's a shell... to glorify and display a corpse."
"But you're no..."
"Corpse?" Godark allows the hood to fall back from his gray, hollow looking face. Alyx stares into the man's black eyes. For a moment she sees a spark of energy but then it is gone, leaving only a bottomless blackness. "I have been a corpse for some time. Kranatakyn sustains me. Any life you see is courtesy of another relic I found, before I took up the Gohde. I learned it was called the Will of San... it allows any one fundamental truth to be defied."
"You're dead? You can't be?"
"I am a corpse... but I am not dead," says Godark gravely. "When the Gohde would have consumed me and turned me into a minion of its master, I sought to defy it and keep my own will, my own soul. The Will of San granted me this and nothing, not even the Gohde can defy that request. That is why I, a mere human, can wield keep such a monster tame."
"Gods! With something like that Godark..."
"Call me Goruan," the man manages a slight but sad smile.
"...Goruan... with a sword like the Gohde and this Will of San, you're unstoppable!"
"The greatest foes a man can face in his life," says Goruan, looking solemnly into Alyx's own eyes. "are Time and himself. I have fought a battle against one of them that now nears completion, but my final challenge is still to come." Godark excuses himself and stands up. "I'm sorry. It's been a long while since I sat and spoke like this with anyone... far too long. Forgive me. I will make myself useful and stand guard tonight while you all rest. I will not be far, my Spirit Queen." Godark bows to Alyx and without waiting for her response, turns and swiftly leaves the inn.

All the broken people... where do they all come from?

Methos continues spinning his fireside tales… but in response to Wan’s comments about himself and his abilities, Methos has this to say.

“You have human emotions and memories. Not just one lifetime, but at least two. So tell me Wan, what do you want from your life? Is there anything you desire that isn’t about saving the world and defeating your enemies?”

“It strikes me that you, Alyx and Sapphiria are all suffering from the same affliction – you’re unsure of your identities. I don’t mean the questioning and soul searching mumbo jumbo that everyday priests have to deal with in confessional, but a far far deeper problem that is actually preventing the three of you from being everything you can be.”

“And that problem isn’t just affecting the three of you, but beings all across the world… because it is a reflection of the broken Heartstone and the mind of Orion.”

“Now, on Eldahar, I wouldn’t give you much of a chance of overcoming it… mainly because you’d be trying to overcome the symptom of a much larger disease. But out here, in the Ids, that disease has been subject to thousands of years of change. Out here, you might stand a chance.”

“You all have a missing link in you. Imagine yourselves as broken inside. Until you find how to heal your separate parts and bring them together into some kind of harmony, you might as well be a square wheel.”

Methos asks Wan to talk about his background… about the “God” Wan, about his life on the holy hill as High Doman and about any other past lives or beings that might make who he is today… i.e. Altur.

“So, the High Doman was devout, dedicated, young, determined, loyal and especially vengeful for what he learned had happened to his hill and religion every several hours. Wan was rigid, intelligent, unbreakable and full of purpose. And Altur? Have you considered him in this mix? You are so comfortable being Gray and Wan that Altur is an unknown to you… Yet, these visions you have had and memories of his life would suggest he is now a much larger part of you than you know.” Methos regards Wan with a long and serious stare…. Letting it sink in.

“I’m not saying that you’re going to transform over night into a wonderful spiritual butterfly if you fix yourself… but you will find things a lot easier… yes, you will. Of that I have no doubt. So find out what is missing and fix it. That is the best advice I can give on this... your best chance at standing when everyone else stumbles.”

Methos nukes the Arda.

"The High Doman of Wan, for many generations, reached higher and higher with his faith until he could attain the 22nd level of the Arda - that being the highest level of spiritual achievement and the greatest enlightenment of the soul. Is this correct?" Methos asks Wan.

"And do you think that as Wan you have achieved that? I get the impression that you do..."

"Well, let me ask you this... With all your confusion, powers not working, lack of knowledge, inner turmoil, the Altur thing etc... does that not tell you something? That you're no where near the 22nd level? Wan, you have the spirit, the body, the ability now to no doubt attain that zenith of astral-dom, but from what I can see, you're a long way off from understanding it. Floating around high up on the astral plane is fine. Not many beings can do it... but it's not enlightenment that is getting you up there... it's raw power. It's a bit like playing a game of skinball because you can kick it around the field, but not knowing any of the rules."

"And let me ask you this as well, before you answer. I'm not faulting any of the teachings of Wan or the Domans. They had it right. You do need dedication. You do need purity, determination, unwavering faith and all that to free the earthly shackles of one's soul and become at one with the world... which is essentially what you're trying to do isn't it... what Orion did? You essentially want your soul to become so enlightened... Well, what do you think that enlightenment will involve? Do you think it won't involve understanding about emotions? Do you think it will not involve what makes people human? Do you think that being enlightened will just be a pure moment and nothing else? A single pure thought? Sounds nice, but it's not very enlightening is it.?"

"And when you are up on the high levels of the astral plane... what do you experience? You sense the world. You see things, feel things, hear things.... For a moment, you are all the people and their hopes, dreams, thoughts, pass through you."

"Wan..." Methos looks at him very seriously again. "You have the body, you have the spirit, you have the faith. The tools are all there. But maybe, just maybe, somewhere in the past, someone lost sight of what enlightenment might really mean and became so obsessed with the journey to it... that they gave no thought of what to do when they got there."

"Gray couldn't make it... because he was unable to "grow" and adapt. The original Wan wasn't allowed to and probably couldn't either, because it wasn't human. And this Altur chap, well, he never tried on his own; he saw reaching out as a communal thing - a thing to do with family, friends, loved ones. And at the end of the day, despite being very human, he was just that... human. I would like to think that being "just" human would be enough... but unfortunately it probably isn't."

Wan thinks deeply on what Methos has just said for several long minutes. Eventually he speaks. "Methos I would rather face a dozen Wraiths than answer some of the soul searching questions that you raise. I see the truth of what you say, I do have turmoil and that does not stand with how I would imagine a being of the 22nd level should be? Enlightenment must encompass ALL human emotions and that being must understand & face them.

I could feel, experience etc this torrent of mixture encompassed within the Arda  and possibly help steer humanity in this time of strife? Would not this balanced person be DAYCASTER?  (a being able to help steer the Day based upon the morals of the Eternal soul?)

"I am evolving, as Gray my feelings were static, relationships only consisted of 9 hours and then they were just words, not memories of people. Methos I am scared to bring my altur memories to the front, the recent occasion when I thought that I had lost Alyx has shaken me, but also awoken an emotion that I thought that I did not possess. For hundreds of years I cared for my family and wife,  this element of the evolution of the soul has been lost by the Domans."

"I also hope that Sapph is less troubled, a reflection of the fact she was reborn in the less traumatic IDS and thus is less fractured.
I shall recall the memories of Altur that I have and let my meditation lead me to other thoughts and feeling, I fear that this will be like a raging river against the coldness of Gray and Wan but I see the truth of your words."

Alyx offers to share a room with Sapphiria. As Alyx removes her ghostly white armour and slumps heavily onto her bed, she sees that Sapphiria is still just standing by the door.
“Are you going to stand there all night?”
Sapphiria appears embarrassed. “I do not know what to do.”
Alyx gets up, heads over to the blue haired girl and takes charge. Within 5 minutes both are ready for bed and Alyx is washing her hair in a basin of water, with Sapphiria still staring intently at everything she is doing.
“What are you looking at now?”
“You have markings on your body. I have none.”
“They’re scars. These ones on my shoulder are burns from a dark fire blast. This scar on my side is from an Emonra sun arrow. This one on the back of my neck,” she lifts her soaking hair to one side, “is from jumping off of Citadel Doom’s wall and having a bad landing. I was unconscious for 3 days from that.”
“Why do I not have any?”
Alyx rinses her hair. “Well,” she takes the younger woman's hand and inspects it. “Hmm, you don’t have lines or creases on your palms. You don’t even have any finger prints.”
“Is that bad?”
“No, it just makes you different that’s all. You don’t have any of these things because you’re new-born. You have just started your life. After a while you'll probably get some.”
“Who were you… before you were you? What were your names?”
“Ur…” Alyx leans back with a towel on her head. “Normally I wouldn’t be able to answer that, but things have just become a whole lot more complicated in my life. Makailla has awakened memories from other lifetimes in my head… I’m basically part Goddess, part Undead Queen, part Spirit of the Darklake and Sister of Sorrow. Stick those three parts together and you get me, Alyx. At the moment I’m trying to make sense of it all. Hey, three parts, how about that?”
“I know who I was. I was Gray, I was Shefanhow, I was Kerridhwen. But I do not remember them. I remember nothing from before I woke up in the field. Wan thinks that I should and wants me to soon.”
Alyx nods, scrunching her hair up with the towel and then wishing she had a comb. “Well, you’re Wan’s big hope. Gray was a part of him and a very close friend to me. His life ended in the keystone fighting the Living Dark but from that end, you began.”
“I do not know what I am meant to do. I feel… lost.”
“That would be the Gray bit of you. He never could remember much, poor sod.” Alyx proceeds to spend the next hour telling Sapphiria all about Gray, Shefanhow and what she knows about Kerri and Ceraph.
“Thank you for sharing these memories with me,” says Sapphiria.
“No problems. Was fun remembering them.”

After a little while more, Alyx manages to get to sleep. But not before Sapphiria asks her how to. “Just lie there, close your eyes and let your mind drift off,” says Alyx. “Then you'll dream.”

It is the middle of the night and Godark is patrolling outside the town. He has watched a group of Alfar soldiers march by and seen a young couple canoodling in the woods, but otherwise had an uneventful evening; Uneventful except for the relentless and insidious whispering in his mind.

“We could black shift to another more gripping settlement,” suggests Kranatakyn. “Or I could cast a long range detection and find us a conflict. We would be back before dawn with our appetites whetted.”
“No,” Godark shakes his head and spins the blade’s hilt between his fingers. “We stay with Makailla.”

Suddenly something causes Godark to stiffen. The Gohde croons like a wolf smelling a fresh meal for the first time in days and springs upright and alert. “What is that?” Godark asks aloud.
“The town,” says Kranatakyn… “A presence.”
But before the sword even finishes speaking, Godark is bounding over the fields and between the houses, back towards the inn.

Wan has now been "around" for at least 9 hours. Wan is concerned about heading back into the Chaos occupied Eldahar... and what that might entail. "Assuming nothing happens, I'll see you in the morning." Alyx lays a hand on Wan's shoulder before heading up to her room with Sapphiria in tow.

Wan meditates and tries to recall memories of Altur.

The Henbelah Market in Gost Yaroch was and still is the place to experience and sample exotic herbs, spices and Suraanese delicacies. As Altur wanders through its bustling stalls, full of brightly dressed people haggling and perusing the various wares, he moves like a ghost through their midst, concentrating only on the warmth of the sun upon his shoulders and the feel of small pebbles between his toes.

Up ahead of him, darting back and forth between spellbound shoppers, moves a small shaven headed man in his late forties called Harklim, hints of his yellow priests garment flashing every now and then from under a very plain but voluminous robe.

Eventually, after weaving a pattern through the human discourse, Harklim leads him to their destination, a mud walled building off of the main thoroughfare. Ducking inside after the incognito priest of Rysha, (later known as Rian), Altur is momentarily overcome at the stench of human suffering greeting him.

Inside the simple room he sees perhaps a dozen dead bodies and another thirty extremely sick people, men, women and in a few cases, children. Each of them has hollow cheeks and half dead eyes, their faces and extremities covered in scabs and blisters from some unknown pestilence. Altur doesn’t recognize their symptoms, but doesn’t have to; their eyes tell him all that he needs to know. They are dying and know it.

Altur reaches out unconsciously and senses the life-force in the building, gauging each disease ridden body  upon some imaginary scale between life and death. He “reads” their colours, their auras, their spirits, interpreting in his own mind, using years of experience, which are the weakest and which most deserving. Not that any of this matters; he has asked to help and cannot refuse.

A man approaches him, dressed in the filthy robe of Rysha, the God of Healing. The man appears deeply worried, with great dark pits beneath his eyes and trembling hands. “Altur! You have come. Thank you. I am Mezzek of Rian. As you can see, things are quite dire. Nothing we have tried has worked. Now, if the guards learn of this sickness, they will come here and burn this place. Many people will die.”

Altur approaches a 14 year old girl who looks up and asks in a sickly voice, "Am I going to die?"
He shakes his head and reaches out to her. His touch warms her skin and spreads throughout her body, causing her to relax slump peacefully backward. Altur "feels" her aura, sees her spirit, senses her memories and experiences them flooding like a stream through his mind. He sees her as a child and then himself as that child, running home with a scraped knee after falling from a fence. He sees her parents but then feels the anguish of their loss and himself, as the child, laying freshly picked flowers upon their grave mound.

After a minute or so of growing close to the child, sharing her thoughts, her dreams, her memories, her life, Altur senses his aura mingling with hers; a small part of him now overlaps with Kara's, for that is her / his name and he knows, without any doubt, what she felt like when she was fit and well - before the infection began ravaging her body.

He closes his eyes and concentrates on what is different. The infection is a blight on her spirit; but he now knows its size, it's depth and it's nature. He wills it to him and as he does, it moves, flowing between Kara's aura and his until he feels it's weight and poison coursing through his body. The girl gasps, but immediately shows signs of improvement.

Altur on the other hand feels himself weakening; his heart struggling to beat and his blood turning to syrup in his veins. He knows he must purge his body of this invader and focuses his will upon it... but an idea hits him. He now "knows" his enemy, intimately. He has its measure. He musters his will and strength, takes a few deep breaths and then....

Then... a miracle happens. Altur's aura purges the infection from his body, but not just his body. It sweeps across the room, hitting the infection in everyone and eradicating it.

Everyone is suddenly cured.

Mezzek is astounded but rushes Altur towards another exit. "Go, go, I hear the guards. Thank you Altur. You are a blessed man. Thank you."

Outside, in the glare of the sun, Altur stumbles slightly, overcome by tiredness and severely weakened. He grasps a wall to steady himself, waits a few moments and then stands tall, continuing on his way.

Wan finds himself as Altur once again, but this time in a ramshackle hut, sat at a table eating some plain bread and water. He hears suited and booted guards stomping their way closer until with dramatic flair, the guard captain pushes aside the hut door and his men encircle the table, hands on sword hilts.
“Altur, I hereby arrest you, by order of the God Ones, on charges of blasphemy. Your words and beliefs are an affront to the pantheon of Ortha and will no longer be tolerated by the Godly citizens of Gost Yaroch. You will accompany us now, where you will be brought before the Bishops.”

Altur remains silent. He stands, rising head and shoulders over the guards and slowly raises his hands in compliance.

The scene cuts and Wan now finds himself being walked very publicly through the outer arches of an immense building. Wan recognizes it as the Hall of Judgement, a building belonging solely to the Temple of Ortha in 2600 but in this age, erected to honour and give voice to all the Gods and their temple masters.

A crowd of people has gathered just inside of the main chamber and as Altur is led through them, Wan recognizes the priests who Altur aided when he cured the plague. Altur recognizes them all; everyone there, showing their outrage at his capture and the charges laid upon him is there because he has helped in some way. Altur’s “miracles”, his refusal to credit them as coming from a God, along with his refusal because of his beliefs to be condemned as a Wizard or Mage, have placed him in a very difficult position. If Altur’s “miracles” are to be recognized as such, then they must come from a God. The alternative is that he himself has performed them and that idea frightens the priests in power.

Twelve of these priests look down upon Altur now, ready to judge him. Yet even they hesitate, as behind him they see the angry faces of those he has helped. This Altur is a very very dangerous and popular man. To condemn him to death is out of the question. Yet somehow, he must be silenced. He has refused offers, ignored threats, turned away bribes… Now the priests have no choice. Altur is to be imprisoned, for the rest of his natural life.

"Altur. Despite frequent warnings, you have continued to practice your art and encourage people to believe in your teachings. Your beliefs are not recognized by this Court or any of the religions that come under Ortha. We, the God Ones, work together for the common good, united under the Sky Father as One. You however, stand alone. You are but one man and one voice, yet a voice that must be silenced for the good of us all."

After being accused, Altur addresses the court. "I have no religion, I have a belief, I believe in the human soul. That each of us, is a miracle. That we are here on this World, to interact with one another. Only by becoming one, by learning, sharing, experiencing, can we hope to understand our place in this great creation."

Judgement is passed by the Archbishop of Ortha. "You will be imprisoned in the Kan'tagia Dungeons, beneath the High Temple for the rest of your natural life."

The scene changes again and this time Wan finds himself as Altur, locked in a bleak and barren stone cell. Time seems to pass with Altur in meditation, contemplating the World and its spiritual realms. During this time, a period of two dark years, Altur has a few momentous insights into himself and his place within the world. He also, without the knowledge his jailers, projects his body astrally over great distances, observing life beyond the dungeon and in a few cases, interacting with it.

Something else occurs during these two years; people come to visit him, paying his guards for the privilege. Influential people, whom Altur has helped or cured, come to sit and listen to his words. By the end of the 2 years, more than a hundred people are crammed into the dungeon, just outside of his door, listening on a daily basis.

Altur's words are not exactly teaching per se, but they capture the imagination of his listeners. He describes a world of colour, like an artist's painting, where every being is made up of light and at the centre of this light is their eternal soul.

At the end of his first year in the cell, he receives a different visitor though. A young woman enters and places his latest meal down. As she turns in her simple black robe to leave, she pauses. "I have heard your words. They are quite incredible."
"Some people would describe them as that. I am a guide to people's inner light."
"I will be coming here daily from now on. My two sisters and I have decided to help prisoners such as yourself. You may call me Aiah..."

And so Wan learns how Altur and Aiah first met.

More months pass with Aiah visiting Altur every day. He finds himself looking forward to her arrival and a little sad to see her leave. For Altur, it is the first time in many years that he has felt like this, but something about Aiah's honesty and openness makes him smile. She pulls no punches with her opinions and unlike others, who see him as a worker of miracles, she looks at him as a man. When he preaches his beliefs, she meets them head on, putting them into simpler words and unafraid to say when something seems wrong or unbelievable.

He also finds that he and Aiah have something in common. Both of them have tremendous spirits; her spirit shines out of her, bringing light into the depths of his cell.

Now two years have passed and Altur is still imprisoned. The Arch Bishops and heads of the Ortha Pantheon are still frightened by his influence, reaching out to them from the depths of the dungeons. After attempting to re-locate him to the island prison of San'tagia (a tiny island off of the Daasin coast), but being blocked by others in power, a nefarious plot is woven to poison him instead. Altur's food is laced with a lethal dose and sent to his cell with a bought off guard. Altur smiles as he takes the cup and plate saying "Thank you for this food and water." He then proceeds to eat it all. An hour later the guard returns, expecting to discover a body but instead finds Altur sat looking fit and well. The larger than life self proclaimed Priest of the Soul once again thanks the guard, who struggles to look Altur in the eye. "Spend your money wisely," says Altur softly. "Do not squander it on gambling as your eldest child may need it more. Go in peace."

Then, one fateful day, Altur is visited by destiny. He hears guards marching towards his cell. When they arrive outside, the door opens and a middle-aged man in fine scale mail armour enters. The man kneels before Altur with no trace of discomfort or dishonour in his heart. He speaks to Altur as if Altur is a holy man of great reverence... because he is. "I am High General Malaki of the King's Army. I come before you blessed Altur to ask for you aid on behalf of the King. The King is very ill and no one has been able to cure him. The temples have sent their best healers but nothing has worked. The King knew your name; people say you can perform miracles where others cannot. I ask you, please come with me to help him."

"Stand up General Malaki, I will come with you," says Altur.
The General stands and nods, leading Altur out of the cell and towards the beginning of a new life.

Seraphir, Dragon of the Inner Id. 

Wan wakes up from Altur’s memories to find himself back in the Inn with Methos moaning slightly and asleep in a chair opposite him. For a moment Wan considers trying to continue with the life of Altur, but a strange presence somewhere outside of the inn brings him fully to his senses.

At that moment Godark’s black armoured foot comes through the front door of inn, sending it flying open. He stands there with the Gohde cradled firmly in the nook of his arm. “Wan, there’s something in the sky over the town.”
Wan quickly heads outside to take a look; what he sees is a colourful display of spiritual lights, resembling a cloud. As moments pass, the cloud coalesces into a distinctive shape and begins floating at speed across the sky and away from the town.
“A dragon…” Wan thinks aloud. "Time to leave..."
"Why not just destroy it...." asks Godark.
"We don't know what it is..."
“Shall I pursue it?” asks Godark, concerned that it might be a spy of the Foe ready to give away their position.
“No,” Wan replies, considering how the bulk of the cloud was blue. “I think this may have something to do with Sapphiria. You need to stay here and protect the inn. Monitor it if you can though.”
“Fine,” Godark shrugs, looking down at his eager blade. Even before Godark can give the instruction to “Track it,” one of Kranatakyn’s multipurpose black spheres floats out of the pommel and soars into the sky.

Wan goes back inside, upstairs and to outside of Alyx and Sapphiria’s room. Once there, he probes inside with his aura, trying not to disturb anyone.
Sapphiria’s aura seems to be spiking in an unusual way, suggesting a great deal of mental and spiritual activity, but Wan cannot pick up on any of it. The girl is in a deep sleep and whatever is happening, is happening in her dreams.

Alyx yawns, stretches and plods to the door. She opens it and looks Wan in the nose. “What you doing lurking outside my door?” she asks sleepily.

Wan explains about the dragon shaped cloud but doesn’t manage to raise one of Alyx’s eyebrows. Instead, the Living Spirit of Vengeance traipses back to bed with heavy feet. “Are you just going to stand there or come in and sit on a stool?”

"Sapphiria is dreaming...  I think she's just created something very unusual."
"A dragon?"
"Well, she is part dragon... Dragon's sleep and dream things."
"They dream in their heartstones..." says Alyx.
"She doesn't have a heartstone," adds Wan.
"Do we know that for sure?"
"No..." admits Wan.
"What shall we do?"

Wan enters and sits, feeling a little strange to be around Alyx and Sapphiria in such a normal place. He monitors the blue haired girl for a few minutes before speaking again… “She does not appear to be in danger. Let her sleep. It's best not to interfere. I will keep an eye on her.”

“When this is all over, will you rebuild your temple?”
Wan is a little taken aback by the question. “When this is all over, things will be very different,” he replies. “The whole world will be changed.
There is no answer to that question... the soul has finally reached a cross-roads. We are now in a period of judgement."

Over the next two hours, Alyx drifts off into a Makailla filled stupor and Sapphiria remains deeply asleep. Then, to Wan’s mild surprise, a small black sphere passes through the bedroom door and floats up to him. Godark voice emanates from it, sounding like noise passing between two tin cans and a piece of string. “Wan, it’s back. It’s here in the centre of the town. You’d best get here… fast.”

A quick glance out of the window and Wan confirms it; the ghostly glowing cloud has clearly descended into the town square. So, without wishing to disturb Alyx or Methos, Wan quickly runs out of the inn and towards it. When he arrives he sees Godark propped up against the side of a house, six town guards lying unconscious at his feet. With a peremptory wave of his hand towards the apparition, Godark settles back to watch Wan at work.
“If he wants to talk to it, fine,” Godark mutters to his blade.
“But it’s a Gre’alo’diegn. It should be destroyed,” Gohde hisses back.
“Leave it alone. It hasn't done anything to us… yet.”

Wan cautiously approaches the town's fountain and takes a good long look at the apparition. For all intents and purposes, it is a blue and white dragon some sixty feet from head to tail. It’s scales are smooth, without the cracks and ripples of a dragon who has weathered the ages. Its head is slightly longer, thinner and if such a word could be used, more elegant and noble like than some draconians Wan can recall. As he watches, it moves, in a slow, almost languid manner, raising its pearl white wings and exposing their radiant blue under scales. The dragon’s eyes gleam with a preternatural light and intelligence like two giant sapphires and regard Wan with a sparkle of curiosity.

Wan also notes that the dragon isn’t fully corporeal, only perhaps 90%. This gives the creature a strange even more supernatural appearance and dampens its noise.

"Do you know who I am? I am pleased to meet you..." begins Wan.
"Who are you?" the she-dragon asks, sweeping her aura around Wan to better "see" him.
"I am Wan."
"Where is this place?" she asks next.
Wan explains, but seems to confuse the creature with talk of Ids and realities.
"What is your name?" he asks it.
The She-dragon thinks for a moment before answering. "Seraphir."
Wan doesn't know how to proceed; how do you converse with a dragon that seems to have no memory.
"What is Eldahar?" Seraphir asks.
"The place you originated from... where you were once 3 beings..."
It then occurs to Wan that if the dragon is a female, perhaps even a Queen, he could flatter it.
"You are a very beautiful dragon..."
"I am?" Seraphir lowers her head to inspect herself. "I have come from her mind. I am what she dreams me to be."
It makes sense to Wan; Sapphiria is projecting spirit / energy in her dream state and creating this dragon. But is Seraphir a reflection of the multiple souls that joined to make Sapphiria? Is Seraphir actually Ceraph? Or Shefanhow? These questions Wan cannot answer, yet.
The dragon spreads her wings and enfolds them around the fountain. She then reaches out and touches the flowing water with one claw. As she does, the water suddenly freezes, turning to sparkling clear crystal. The transformation quickly spreads, encompassing the entire fountain and turning its stone statue into a spectacular giant sapphire.
Wan is quite impressed but Kranatakyn has another opinion. It hisses to it's wielder... "Alondian creators are so unimaginative."
Godark thinks back, "I don't know, crystal is a new one on me. Normally it's lightning or fire."
Kranatakyn chortles, like a snake gobbling up a cow. "They've always loved crystals. Why do you think they made the Crystal Kin?"
"Oh. I forgot about that. That was weird. Anyway, you make crystals too. I guess you're being unimaginative."
The Gohde swallows the imaginary cow and falls into silence.

"I must go now. I must return," the dragon says, spreading her wings and beating them. She jumps and rises into the air over the town, circles a few times and then evaporates back into a cloud of sparkling light, before fading completely into the star filled night sky.

Amazingly, no one else in the town seems to have noticed the encounter, but Wan knows that people will soon be waking up and the new crystal fountain with its giant central sapphire stone will cause a huge stir. He signals Godark, "It's time to leave."
Godark agrees. "I can go and fetch all the stuff we need. There's no need to wait until the market opens."
Wan gives him the go ahead and returns to the Inn.
Godark rattles Kranatakyn; "Time to do some shopping." Dozens of black spheres bubble forth from the sword and fly off in different directions.

Back at the Inn, Methos is now awake. Wan enters through the broken front door and quickly explains what has happened. Methos nods vigorously, "Yes, yes, yes, let's be off then. An early start is probably for the best."

Wan then heads upstairs to get Alyx and Sapphiria. He notices the strange aura activity around the sleeping blue haired girl has gone. "I'll wake her," Alyx volunteers, giving a gentle nudge.
The girl opens her eyes and looks around. "Hello."
Alyx asks if she is all right.
"I was moving, through trees and the sky. I think I must have been dreaming. Is that what I was doing?"
Wan nods and says yes. "Did you dream of a dragon?"
"I saw a large blue and white bird..."
"That would be a yes then," says Alyx. "Come on, let's go."

As everyone gathers outside of the inn, the sun threatening to crest the horizon in the next hour, Godark returns with a slight smirk on his black metal face. "I come bearing gifts." The Gohde releases its collection of spheres that float into the air, expand and then contract again, depositing their contents in several large heaps on the road.

Alyx gawps at what the Void Warrior has stolen from people's homes, without even raising an alarm; there are five wardrobes, complete with their contents. Boots, shoes, bathroom utensils, kitchen cupboards, pots, pans, supplies of meat, vegetables and every other imaginable thing they might need for travelling days on the great Id Highway.

Alyx grins, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You even got a comb!"

Methos grabs himself a walking stick and starts off along the road. Wan watches Alyx grab bags of things for both herself and Sapphiria as quickly as she can. He also takes a few bits and bobs, mainly survival gear. For a moment he contemplates a change of clothes but decides he is comfortable in his simple robe.

As the group leave the town, people begin to rise and head off to work in their shops and fields. But this morning turns out like no other. A thief has stolen furniture and belongings from over twenty houses without making a sound. The same thief seems to have also knocked out at least 6 night guards and then left, most bizarrely, turned the town's fountain of Saint Bartholomew into precious crystal!

Methos leads the group into the trees, back towards the Id door. "Right, we should reach Stoneheart by midday. He lives inside a large plateau, or used to live I should say. It's been quite a while since I visited him, the old koot. He's not like you or I mind, but you'll see when we get there."

The Journey to Stoneheart.
Methos leads the way to the Alternate Eldahar called Anuth'ken. En route, Wan absorbs himself in theories about Daycaster and his (Wan's) place in Eldahar's various mysteries. Wan ends up going into a tremendous amount of depth and detail - so much detail in fact, that feels compelled to speak up and give his view on things.

While Methos and Wan debate the pro's and cons of involvement and facts vs faith, Godark feels himself slipping into a boredom induced coma filled entirely with an imaginary Kranatakyn slaughtering monsters. As for Sapphiria, she finds her mind drifting along with the ever changing scenery. The beautiful woodlands, rolling hills, arid plains, sweeping grasslands, majestic mountains, crater filled wastelands - All the realities that they pass are fascinating to her.

As for Alyx, while the great debate goes on, mostly over her head... Alyx focuses on how she feels different, inside. How different her skins feels, her blood and her muscles. She finds herself listening to her own thoughts instead.

Methos's jigsaw puzzle... "Have faith Wan, have faith..."

The Anu - No forwarding address.

"Orion wanted to see the whole jigsaw puzzle. He was the first being to ever do this..." Methos continues talking and walking, trying to impart some wisdom to his four followers. "It's not so much what has come before, but what will come next..."

World's that have gone passed as Methos leads them... devastated worlds. Arid wastelands. Many have no habitation. Others have settlements. Humans with bony ridges, Fish swimming through the air with their fins.

Eventually they step off of the Id corridor into a barren but quite breathtaking landscape of rock. Methos turns to them and explains what will happen next. 
Surrounded by earthy coloured rocks, dry windless air and a strong sun overheard, Godark scouts around looking for trouble but disappointedly finds none.
"I am going to collect some stones from the area," Methos mutters, bending and scooping up some pieces of normal looking rock. "Ahh yes, this one is good for starters. Once I've found enough, I will give each of you a stone; your stone will be YOU. Then I'll put a larger pile of stones between us all. This pile of stones will represent the World and where we would like to be. After that, it's a simple matter of sleeping for a bit and waking up where we're meant to be."
"Just like that?" asks Alyx, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Yes, just like that!" Methos defends himself. "It's old magic." As if that explains it.

"This is all cock!" says Godark, minutes later as he grips his very non magical and normal looking pebble.
"I think this will work..." says Wan with all the faith of a man wearing little more than a bath towel.
"Yeah, well you're a priest and I'm a smith. To me this is just some fucking pebble."

20 minutes pass... with Godark staring at his pebble.

"Don't try and be a smartass..."

"Are you sure that is such a hot idea..."

Alyx white blood. Sapphiria red blood.

Stoneheart ; The Ancient Mythron.

After arriving on Anuth'ken, Methos guides them via a stone ritual to the Plateau of the One Thought. The ritual he uses involves gathering stones from the surrounding area, piling them together and creating a harmonic resonance between them. Methos then gives everyone a particular type of stone and tells them to put it against their skin and go to sleep.

Godark is very sceptical, but Methos assures him that it will work. "This is old magic Mr Godark. Even far older than anything you possess. No one I know even remembers how it is done. But as long as someone remembers, the magic has a home, in here..." Methos taps his chest.

Godark gives a derogatory snort. "Very poetic old man. Fine, I'll give your pebbles a try."

Godark and Wan make no attempt to go to sleep, which Methos is happy with as the prospect of trying to make those two dose off is a task even he can't be bothered with. "As long as Alyx, Sapphiria and I go to sleep with the stones, it should be enough. The stones will draw us across this reality to Stoneheart's Plateau."

Godark asks "What if Wan and I resist this magic?"
Methos' face twitches with annoyance. "You won't. You won't resist because you can't. It's OLD magic. Stuff you just won't understand."

The Gohde growls softly into Godark's mind. "When the time is right, you are going to let me impale him aren't you?" it asks.
"I'm considering it," admits Godark with his thoughts.

Excitedly approaching the side of the plateau, walking in its shadow for no reason it seems other than to make everyone paranoid that they are going to be crushed when it falls on them, Methos manages to persuade whatever is inside to open a hidden doorway. He stands at a solid wall of rock and gives it a few whacks with a stone in his hand.

Inside, Wan and the others meet Stoneheart (a.k.a Mythron.) Stoneheart is literally a gigantic stone (over sixty feet across) covered in cracks.

Over the thousands of years since Methos has last been here, Mythron has grown very dry and fragile. In order to obtain information and help from this ancient entity, some of Wan's companions will be asked to donate blood.

Godark and Alyx are extremely sceptical of Methos and his "old friend". As everyone ascends the fissure's stairs to enter the cavern of Mythron, Methos turns to them and snaps. "This is an ancient being, worthy of respect, if not for the fact that it has existed longer than anything any of you have ever encountered before, then for the fact that it is my friend. Now please, exercise some self control and refrain from your snide remarks."

Methos swiftly continues. "Stoneheart doesn't hear sound as such. He hears things in an entirely different way - one that you would be unable to fully comprehend. He cannot hear conversations or identify the names and times of places or events. He cannot supply us with secrets or gift us with great powers."

Entering the great cavern, Wan senses it is nearly five hundred feet in height and over 600 hundred feet wide. At the centre of the cavern, the floor gently slopes upwards about fifty feet until it levels out into a sixty foot square slab. Methos guides them up to the very top and walks out to stand roughly dead centre.

Now that Wan and the others are up on top of the slab, they see it is anything but; the ground is a remarkable geological slice of history, depicting thousands of years of erosion, decay, compression and change. Colourful precious stone striations run through the surface and plunge down deep into the stone's dark fissures and cracks. Even without real light, just the glow of the spiritual plane, Wan finds himself standing on a thing of timeless beauty.

"Where is this Mythron then?" Alyx asks, trying not to sound too unimpressed.
Methos huffs. "Here!" He points down at the rock beneath his feet. "He is here. He's the rock. Did I not make this clear?"
"Oh, sorry..." Alyx clamps her mouth firmly shut at this point.
Methos regains his composure. "Now, let us sit. This next part will need us to be close contact with the ground. Stoneheart needs a physical link to you in order to know you and blood is the best way that this can be helped, as Blood is a mix of the elements and is unique to each and every individual."

Wan is concerned at first. "Is this wise?" But a stern glance from Methos sways him. "What about Godark?" Wan wonders if the Void warrior even has any blood left.
"I think we can make an exception for him. After all, we didn't come here for him did we," dismisses Methos. "Now, let your blood drip down into the cracks. That's it... yes..."
Alyx cuts Sapphiria who winces. It is the first time she has felt pain since being "born." Alyx shows her how to apply pressure on the cut until it stops bleeding and explains that it will soon heal.

Mythron Speaks.

Stoneheart tells them a little about Harmony - but not much.

Mythron - "I HAVE HEARD OF THIS CHILD OF MAN. SHE WAS SUMMONED BY THE PLAYERS. BUT WHEN SHE GOT THERE, OTHERS INTERVENED. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE SHE WENT FROM THERE. I HEAR MANY THINGS. I HEAR THE FOOTSTEPS OF TIME ITSELF. BUT I NO LONGER HEAR HERS. SHE WENT SOMEWHERE.... SOMEWHERE BEYOND EVEN MY REACH."

Wan asks "Who are the Players?"
Methos chooses to answer this as Mythron is still juddering from the effort of 'speaking'. "The Players... to be honest, I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I journeyed out here. I spent many years exploring these worlds. Oh wait, Players! It could be them yes..."
Godark groans... "Here we go..."
Alyx grins... "A long time ago, in an Id far far away..."
Methos arches a brow and gives Alyx a stern glare. "Exactly... a long time ago, as you may or may not already be aware, the Idiom was created with music and song. I don't mean your modern day drum flute and lyre stuff, but the music of creation itself, filled with a thousand notes and voices that could reach Eternity... and actually did. Well, like all 'sound', this music and the voices that accompanied it still echo's around the Idiom today. Some objects, places and people have tiny echoes of the original music and song inside of them. To someone with a very special kind of ear, these echo's can be learned. He or she who possesses an understanding of the Song of Creation can use it to accomplish great things! The Players were five such beings. They dedicated their lives to piecing pieces of the Great Song back together and the more pieces they uncovered and learned, the more power it gave them. There are numerous worlds out there that revered the Players as Gods; they went by many names... I knew them as the Quintet, others as the Overtura. But the last I heard of them, they had vanished from the world's that knew them and not been seen since."
Alyx asks "Were they evil or good?"
"They were neither," says Methos, appearing to remember something. Deciding that now would be a good time change the subject, Methos addresses Mythron again. "Can you find us some clue? Is there someone out there who can lead us to her?"

Mythron - "LET ME LISTEN TO THE ETERNAL ECHO’S OF THE IDIOM. GIVE ME A SHORT TIME; PERHAPS SOMETHING WILL WASH UPON MY STONE.” 
Some time passes... until eventually, fifteen minutes later, Mythron rumbles into life again.

Mythron - "I HAVE FOUND AT LEAST TWO BEINGS WHOSE ECHO'S HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE ONE YOU SEEK AND ARE IN SOME WAY BOUND TO HER FATE. METHOS, YOU MAY TAKE A PART OF ME WITH YOU. TO YOUR KEEN EAR, IT WILL GUIDE YOU TO THESE BEINGS, WHO ARE CLOSE IN DISTANCE TO ONE ANOTHER. THEY ARE NOT FAR... THEIR ECHO'S LEAD BACK... BACK TO THE STONES OF YOUR BEGINNING. BUT THEIR PASSAGE IS BLOCKED. ECHO'S ARE ALL AROUND THEM BECAUSE  ONE OF THEM CARRIES A STONE, A STONE TO RIVAL ALL STONES. THIS STONE COULD CHANGE THE IDIOM. IN THE WRONG HANDS, IT COULD END US ALL."

Methos - "They are moving towards the Heart." Methos turns to Wan and the others. "Whoever or whatever these beings are, they are moving towards Eldahar. Can you tell us any more?"

Mythron is silent for moment more... "NO. IT IS TOO... TOO..." Mythron falls silent. A few more cracks appear. Methos pats the rock and says "That's all right Mythron. You have done your best."
Wan doesn't like the sound of this as anything that can block this old type of magic is powerful.

"We need to intercept them before they encounter Chaos," says Wan. "Can Mythron make the return quicker?"
Methos raises a finger to put Wan on temporary pause. "All in good time Wan. Let's see what can be done for Sapphiria first."

Can Mythron help Sapphiria come to terms with her new identity and being? The answer is no, not really. However, Mythron can tell them who can.

Methos - "Can you suggest someone to help this young woman find her way? Where do you see her Echo's having the best resonance?"
Mythron - "THE WATCHER."
Methos looks a little surprised. "I thought that being had faded out of existence aeons ago."
Mythron - "THE WATCHER STILL EXISTS. I HEAR THE ECHO'S OF ITS PAIN."
Methos nods. "Yes, perhaps. Perhaps that would work. But that being is renowned for staying neutral. Even more so than I."
Mythron - "THE ECHO'S SUGGEST A CHANCE OF CHANGE."

Again Wan doesn't like the sound of this as they could end up chasing around the Idiom for shadows. Wan asks Mythron a direct question - a very important one too. "Are we being chased by anything?"

The stone beneath them is silent for a few minutes. Then it's smaller stones vibrate together, small cracks form inside its structure and sound reverberates back and forth until gathering enough intensity and shape to form intelligible words that rise from its depths. "AN ECHO STEPS IN YOUR STEPS. BUT THIS ECHO MOVES BACK AND FORTH, ON AND OFF OF YOUR PATH. IT IS A HUNTER; A SEEKER AND IT BRINGS SILENCE TO ALL IT MEETS. YOU ARE IN DANGER METHOS."
"I know old friend. But out here I can run for a damn sight longer," says Methos, giving the rock another pat.
"Silence...?" asks Alyx aloud.
"Death..." says Godark flatly.
"Oh. I thought that, I just wanted to make sure." Alyx pulls a grimace. "I thought we couldn't be followed..." She looks at Godark accusingly.
"If we are being followed, I don't have a clue how. I'm destroying any trail we leave; absorbing any energy that might imprint into the background. No one can track after that."
"Well HE (points down at the rock) says we're being followed!" says Alyx, raising her voice a little. "That means whoever or whatever is following us is cheating somehow."
"Not possible," Godark stresses. "Nothing to track. It's as simple as that. Even IF you had an item on you sending out a signal or something, Kranatakyn would still be erasing it."

Alyx decides to ask about "The Watcher."

Methos takes a deep breath. "I knew you'd ask that. As you may be becoming aware, although I think Godark already knows, the Idiom is an absolutely vast place. Eldahar may be a pivotal piece central to the Idiom's development and continued existence, but the Idiom is art, unbound by any single limited imagination, painted with Eldahar's colours upon a canvas of life. At the moment, every single reality in the Idiom exists in some part as a reflection of Eldahar. Some of the reflections are almost identical while others are so wholly different and bizarre that your mind would probably liquefy just trying to cope with it all. But at the end of the day, every Id has a little bit of Eldahar in it, large or small. That's the Idiom of today, albeit a little more fragmented recently due to the events on Eldahar, but that is the Idiom. But it wasn't always like that.. oh no. A long time ago, don't ask me to elaborate or scribble a calendar or I'll hit you with this stone; a long time ago the beings you call dragons went about having a jolly old time creating things. They didn't just create furniture or objects, they created races of people and worlds for them to live on. But like all art, there is always someone who doesn't appreciate it, more often than not the artist itself. So for every world created, another was uncreated and so on. Eventually this became just plain silly. You had one creator make something and another creator get jealous of it and either copy it or erase the idea all together. Poof... gone... just like that. One thing led to another and it all got out of hand, spreading back and forth across the Void until finally erupting into a colossal war."

Methos pauses, lost in some far off thought. "This is how it went on, until finally someone had the great idea of establishing some ground rules; a code of conduct if you like for all these creators to follow. Thus, Laws were made and for a time, things flourished. But... Laws are an open invitation for certain characters to try and break and... and that's another story for another time because that talks about Eldahar and Eldahar is just a big headache. Now, I digress, ah yes, the Wars of the Creators. All these worlds that were destroyed, all these races, all that history erased and potential thrown away... gone for good... or was it? You see, coming along and uncreating something isn't as easy as it might first appear. Not all Creators were equal in their attention to detail and during their conflicts, things got overlooked. Why erase a World and its history completely if it's one hundred times quicker to simply blow it up by hurling a giant tortoise at it or send a sun crashing into it to melt the whole thing into tomato soup? This is why things like Kranatakyn survived - ancient long forgotten and supposedly destroyed relics of an age that should have had a future but instead was prematurely squashed on the whim of titan. You have no idea how much flotsam and jetsam is floating out there in the between spaces; imagine an endless cosmic junkyard, chock full of debris from thousands of worlds - and not just debris, but occasionally entities, imprisoned in a timeless state like macabre museum pieces."
"The Ways..." says Godark darkly.
"Yes," Methos nods. "The Ways. That is what they are called on Eldahar. They cling to Eldahar like dirt. The Watcher is a being who should have been destroyed or uncreated if you prefer many aeons ago. I know you like that word - "Aeons..." Methos chuckles. "He, she, it, escaped the destruction of, I shall call it a he, of his world and managed to survive by hiding in the Ways; in the debris of other worlds. He is an old and extremely wise being..."
"Aren't they all," Godark mutters.
"...who Mythron feels might be able to help Sapphira. I am inclined to believe him as he is never wrong in these matters, or nearly never wrong. One thing the Watcher can do that no other being can, as far as I am aware, is travel freely at tremendous speed throughout the Idiom. He can reach any world and speak with beings there, should he choose to. He has dedicated his existence since the destruction of his world of Wren'shy'lar to journeying the Ways; you could say he has made them his home."
Godark pipes up. "I've heard his name before. The Roxshelsh of Adaminah worshipped him as a God. He appeared in the sky over their world one day warning them of a terrible disaster. Without his warning, their entire civilization would have perished in some sort of huge solar flare. They never saw him again but built one big mother of a temple to him."
Kranatakyn purrs... "That's where we stole their Sun crystal from."
Godark slaps the top of the Gohde. "We didn't 'steal' it... we borrowed it."

Methos squints down his nose at Godark in a disapproval. "Yes, well. He doesn't do stuff like that very often. He's a bit of a loner. A bit like me. But I severely doubt he'd have the patience that I have."

Methos now suggests something to Wan, Alyx and Godark ;- He suggests taking Sapphiria with him, out into the Ids. "As I move further away from Eldahar, more time will pass. Sapphiria could end up with many months, even years to come to terms with her existence and grow as an individual. I would ensure her safety and seek out the Watcher too. The Watcher would, how can I put it, provide her with a unique perspective on life - If I can be persuasive enough."

Methos continues - "When the time is right, I would return her to you, to provide whatever help and support she could. Who knows, maybe with guidance, she might be able to locate Harmony for you too."

Methos lets this sink in for a moment. "Wan, you asked if Mythron could speed our progress either back or forward. The answer is, no, not on his own. Using some "old magic", things become a lot more possible. Mythron can "hear" the Echo's of things and place, in the same way as I did with my pile of stones, a smaller version of these Echo's in a part of himself. Using my understanding of the "Old magic" and Mythron's stone, I could send the three of you back to where these other beings are, give or take say..." He seems to calculate something in his head..."say fifty miles."

Alyx puts her hand up, like a schoolgirl eager to ask the teacher something. "How would we know who we were there to locate?"
Methos smiles. "The same stone that would send you there would act as a compass. I'd show you how it worked."

Methos then looks very seriously at Wan. "This is my suggestion. What do you say?"

Wan's expression is very serious and full of thought. "Well Methos, I have listened to your advice and I thank you for your help. It appears as if Ashar has sent a shadow of himself out into the Ids to chase us, or it could be linked to Chaos or the Foe? Either way, whoever or whatever it is will not be searching for Sapphiria or you. It's very unlikely with Kranatakyn erasing our path they have even picked up on you. Instead, this shadow is tracking our location by some similar old / cheated magic relating to one or all of the Triumvirate...." Wan pauses.... "Probably my link to the Eternal source." Wan knows that this link still exists, despite Godark's efforts to erase its trail and that if anyone can attune themselves to it, it will be Ashar. Ironically, it may be Wan's own guiding light that is threatening to cast them into darkness. "It's allot earlier than I expected to separate from Sapphiria Methos; I had hoped to spend more time with her."
Methos shrugs. "Well, it's only a suggestion. We know very little about this terrible stone approaching Eldahar. It doesn't have to fall to you to intercept it or investigate. If you wanted to, I could ask Mythron to find an echo near this North's Eldahar instead."
Godark, who has got up and walked the length and breadth of Mythron's surface, whirls around a Methos' suggestion. "A stone that powerful is going to provide us with a big advantage when we return. It's too good an opportunity to miss. We find it, take it and use it against our enemies. It's as simple as that."
Alyx raises her hand again, not wishing to be on the receiving end of Methos' glare. "Could it be the heartstone of one of these other Eldahar? Do they even have heartstones? I mean, it must be an item from one of these worlds, right?"
Methos shakes his head. "No on all counts Alyxia. Other Eldahar's do not have Heartstones like Eldahar's. They have poor imitations but they're not the same by any means. Mainly because Orion was the only being to ever be able to make one. As for this strange and worrying stone being an item or artefact indigenous to the Idiom... who can say. It could very well be something like the Gohde."
Wan glances at Godark and his black sword, considering Methos' plan and its pros and cons. "Godark have you got any one or thing in your bag of tricks that could help protect these two?"

Wan has seen how much Alfar & Chaos is out in the IDS, they could probably do with some form of Warrior or item to help with the basics.
Methos has allot more to offer, but he rarely shows it and Sapphiria is like a new born child. Wan hopes that Godark can give something...

Godark is a little taken by surprise by Wan's request and takes a moment before answering. "Why would I want to help them? They mean nothing to me or Kranatakyn."

Alyx answers before Wan can. "Because Wan and I aren't going to be happy leaving them alone and returning to where the big battle is unless they are given help in some way."

Godark nods, very slowly. "The things Kranatakyn has imprisoned can only be commanded while we are present; it's the fear of being imprisoned again that keeps them obedient. If we released a warrior or monster, it would quickly turn. As for things I've picked up along the way, I'm not the gift giving type."

Alyx tries one more time but hopes Wan might be able to sway Godark if she cannot. "If you don't have anything that's fine. But I will have to give Sapphiria the Armour of Phanes and trust that the two of you can keep me in one piece."

Godark doesn't answer as Alyx would like. "I have nothing that would be useful to them. The things I personally possess are neither offensive or defensive."
"Ok," then says Alyx. "Sapphiria can have the Armour of Phanes. It's the ideal choice."
Godark speaks in a slightly metallic, monotone voice. "You won't come to any harm Makailla."

Wan establishes a private aura link to Alyx, "They will be OK, we will never get him to admit it, but if anybody was Baphomet then he is, Ancient, Draconians (well hidden), Creator? How does he know so much? Without the Dragon Crown, what would he look like? Just as restricted as everybody else, but with tremendous insights." Wan is confident that Methos is / was Baphomet and as such, capable of protecting himself and Sapphiria.

Alyx replies mentally to Wan. "Yeah, I agree he's wise and insightful. But hey, this guy wanted to flee Eldahar. He's on the run! Just how powerful can he be? And even if he was Baphomet, he sure doesn't seem like this great Creator being at the moment. Maybe he's broken along with everything else and the only bit we've got his dodderyness. I'm happy for him to take Sapphira, but we can't dismiss the idea that he may have his own agenda in this. What if he picked us to get him off of Eldahar because no one else would? Maybe the Crown wielders would have seen through his disguise and exposed him for some really bad guy. Now he's out here in the Ids again, he could be looking to gather power and assault Eldahar himself - reclaim back his original position and power. And now we're about to send him off with Sapphiria; what sort of hidden potential does she have? Does he want to beguile his way into using her in the same way that Ashar has with Harmony? Before we jump, let's check the pit for spikes."

Wan - "I am also keen to keep moving, action is key/ Eldahar needs us, Sapph/Methos need time if they are to help, so we must keep Godark busy.
Goruan must keep Kranatakyn focused on his supposed enemy (I think that the Foe has searched the Idiom, destroying worlds looking for KK). I think the Foe has to absorb worlds to keep his power going (there will be a weakness there), he has shot the Hollow cancer to Eldahar to keep us occupied.
It still fears Eldahar, the World has the ability to expel the vacuum and reseal itself. This will probably cause the Foe to gradually decrease as it cannot tap energy and will fold in on its self."

Alyx - "You're right of course. How long would we have to escort Methos for? How many weeks, months or even years? And how long until Ashar catches us up? Probably a darn lot less. By separating at this point, we're keeping Sapphiria safe and giving her enough time to mature a bit. So, putting my own doubts about Methos' ultimate goals aside, it looks like the best option. I just wish we knew more about this stone before chasing off after it."

Wan continues musing on his ideas behind Kranatakyn and the Foe. Kranatakyn allows the Foe to continue on this transfer of substance from positive to negative; it is the ultimate weapon for the Foe and because of that Wan believes he (we will call it that) has been searching the whole Idiom for the weapon and here is Goruan walking around quite happily with it.

Alyx suddenly has a thought but keeps it to herself, hoping to share it with Wan when they have a more private moment.

Wan considers it vital to keep Kranatakyn occupied to help Goruan focus his will against the Foe (after all Kranatakyn would be able to destroy world upon world if in the hands of the Foe?). Goruan has done an excellent job of focusing KK against the Foe as the enemy, so Wan knows that they need to keep helping him (hopefully an answer to the problem will ultimately arise).

"Methos, I thank you for your help so far, our limited conversations on various insights of the Soul have helped to focus me. It has helped to provide a light of hope along a pathway of darkness and despair. I do not have to stress to you how precious Sapphiria is to me, but I trust that you will try your best to protect her (He does not want to see any more complaints from Alyx)."
Wan now faces Sapphiria with an intense but friendly stare, "Oh my child, what sights you will see, but our paths lead in different directions."
He takes her hand. (Aura link to Sapph) "Please do not fear, the source will guide you." Wan tries via his link to the Source to bless her Aura. "Sapphiria reach for this link to the Source and it will help you." Wan then tries to gently merge Auras and imprint his image to Sapph, imparting a few choice memories, so that no matter how long she spends in the Ids. she will remember him. "Remember this Sapphiria, allow the Source to totally envelope your being and you will return to Eldahar; focus on me and you should find me."

"Sapphiria, when you find Harmony please remember she has spend the last 16 years with Ashar. Ashar may have a brilliant plan, but it is evil. There are other ways, you are her Mother, speak to her. I appeal as her Godfather that she listens."
"I will try," says Sapphiria.

Wan then turns to Methos. "Have you anymore information to give before we enter another gateway and follow this stone?"

Methos smiles. "No, not really. I'm not surprised though that something as powerful and worrying as this stone is on its way to Eldahar. Things out here have been looking for the Prime for some time. And now that time is nearly here, when all that was shall be Unwrought and Undone, Made new but Unsung, the World named anew and the Song be sung, you'll need to have your wits about you. If you do go after this stone be extremely cautious. If Mythron is worried about it, I would be too. Personally, I think all three of you should take a little time to explore your abilities. I know individually you all have your strengths, but as a Triumvirate, you have not yet realized your potential."

Wan would like to do that, but is too conscious of everything that still has to be done. "What time do we have Methos? Each world effects different abilities, some do not even have an Astral Plane. Have you any immediate advice, as I feel that the last thing we want is this Stone falling into Chaos hands, if it is not already possessed by them. Please note that these beings have already touched Harmony? Now not even Mythron can hear her movement in the vibrations of the IDS."

Methos smiles. "Yes. Yes of course. I understand. Humans are always very quick to adapt to change, so I probably shouldn't worry about you." 

Godark admits that he visited the Alternate Eldahar, briefly. "I didn't stay long. I came back."

Wan - "Good luck..."
Methos - "We'll be fine. We'll be fine."
Wan doesn't see the logic to Ashar forcing people to do his bidding. Wan thinks he should have discussed it with them first.

Methos thanks them all for getting him out of Eldahar. When all is said and done... Pinkish tinge. 

"May the Source be with you..."
"I hope I see you all again... you are made up from great people. I know that their morale fibre will come through and lead us to a better future," says Wan.

Methos takes the stone from Mythron and alters it to become a compass by placing another stone on it letting the stone spin. As for finding these beings quickly, Methos has an idea.

Using Mythron's echo's, he creates another stone moving ritual (a pile of pebbles)... He gets Wan, Alyx and Godark to help. If they fall asleep, the ritual will shift them to the vicinity, give or take say a hundred miles, of these beings and their strange stone. The compass can then guide them the rest of the way.

"I'll see you on the other side..." says Alyx.
Wan - "Wake us up when we get there..."
Godark - "Of course..."

Wan eventually drifts off, unaware but suspecting that Kranatakyn whispers to Godark of nefarious deeds.

Battlefield!

Wan abruptly awakens to the sound of nearby explosions. The ground beneath his robe shudders and distant cries of anguish permeate through a strange fog to snap him into alertness.

He quickly rises and looks around, seeing Godark standing ten feet away grasping a humming Gohde in both of his hands. Alyx lies near his feet, she too beginning to come around and glance around wild eyed. "Are we here?"

Wan surveys the decimated landscape and nods. "I think so."
Despite the strange fog that seems to cling to his spiritual senses like treacle, Wan sees that they have arrived in the middle of a battlefield. Craters are dotted as far as he can see, some deep, some shallow, but all of them blasted by intense heat and tremendous force. Hundreds of plumes of smoke drift up into a thick churning soup like sky that flickers and bursts with bolts of lightning and blazing fireballs every few seconds.

Wan immediately flexes his astral form, shifting his perceptions to that higher realm of sensitivity to test his powers. Instead of the clear, intoxicating spiritual ether he is used to on Eldahar, he feels an oppressive weight all around him; the astral plane is smothered in a thick spiritual fog that clings like glue. Wan "tastes" the energy and grimaces at its uncleanness. He attempts to leap upwards, shedding his physical body for a moment, but despite being successful, the thickness of the ether weighs heavily on his soul, practically chaining him to the floor. Wan shakes his head, taking a second to clear his mind and cleanse his aura before trying to move with immortal speed, but it too seems beyond him. "There is a pollution here," he says to Alyx and Godark. "They have done something terrible to the astral plane."

Near Godark, strange razor wire fences that look more like giant metal bushes drip ominously with the blood of freshly mutilated and severed body parts. There are so many pieces of flesh that Wan cannot tell what is humanoid and what isn't.

"This is more like it," says Godark. "We like battlefields."
"You've seen places like this before?" Alyx asks wide-eyed.
"I've seen things that would give nightmares to Gods. This is just a stage, like any other and we are but players."
Wan takes out Methos' Way stone and puts the smaller compass stone upon it. It hops around for a moment before pointing in the direction of what appears to be a trench. "This way," gestures Wan.
"Any idea how far?" Alyx asks, holding her sleeve over her nose as a change in wind direction sends something foul blowing her way. "Ughhh."
"No, it's just pointing," Wan replies. "We should move."

As the three of them start trekking across the war ravaged terrain, more horrific sights reveal themselves. Body parts, all similarly clothed, litter the way ahead; dead soldiers, who appear to once have been very similar sized men, who died as a result of some terrible explosion. As Wan moves around crater after crater, he sees more and more bits and pieces, charred, maimed, unrecognizable slabs of blackened flesh.

Then, looming, silhouetted against the fires and smoke, Wan suddenly sees giant black scurrying spiders striding across the bleak horizon on immense spindly legs, spewing clouds of liquid fire down into trenches and holes. Periodically the whoosh of the fire is drowned out by agonizing screams and shapes rushing out of the ground, flailing like rag dolls in balls of spitting fire.

As Wan forges on ahead with Godark ushering Alyx along behind, the trio see flashes of lightning in the smoke off to their right. Soldiers, all dressed in dark blood red jackets, wielding strangely designed swords and telescopic steel spears like explosive whaling harpoons, rush across their path shouting and screaming at one another...

"Retreat to the trenches!"
"HQ, HQ, this is Mal Unit Brethero reporting a wave of Skullion Arachnids. Request immediate assistance from a Bolt phalanx... HQ HQ... respond."

Soon after the strangely identical soldiers rush by, Wan hears the baying of strange dogs. Then rushing at him out of the smoke comes a dozen squat and ugly creatures, their faces the result of a run in with a mallet. Bounding on all fours, the creatures howl and bark, snap their teeth and drip rabid foam as they attack.

Against her instincts as Vengeance, Alyx finds herself stepping back to let Wan and Godark engage. Wan begins to use his aura but quickly reverts back to type and punches the first dog in the chest. The creature howls in pain as its ribs shatter from the tremendous blow and it's sent flying away.

Another hound bunches itself close to the ground and then catapults itself with great speed and force directly at Wan's face. Yet, even without his immortal speed, Wan's body is a finely tuned creation with lightning fast reflexes; as the creatures teeth snarl scant inches from the priest's face, he delivers a crushing uppercut to its jaw, pulverizing the bone, sending splinters like knives through its brain.

Godark, the Gohde in one hand, moves among the squat hairless dogs like an artist with a brush, creating broad brush strokes of red against a background of horror.

Suddenly the dogs realize as one that their prey are no ordinary soldiers. Half their number already dead or dying, the remaining creatures begin shuddering and convulsing; Wan notices that on each of the dog's backs is a sack of stretched membranous skin filled with liquids suspended in pouches. As the dogs start to shake, the liquids burst from their pouches and mingle with each other to begin bubbling and frothing.

Then suddenly, the dogs closest to Godark explode into fireballs, showering earth, stone, flesh and bone in every direction. Godark instinctively shields his helm with one hand as the first dog detonates in front of him. "Fuck!"

Another two dogs explode at Wan but he hurls his aura up in the nick of time to protect him and Alyx from the blast.
"Exploding dogs!" says Godark incredulously. "That's a new one on me."
Alyx thinks to him, "So, you can teach an old dog new tricks."
Godark laughs. "Ha ha. I said I'd seen a lot of shit before. Not that I'd seen everything."
Alyx smiles and gives a thumbs up to Wan to show she's ok.

Defeated and unable to feast, the remaining dogs yelp and run off, leaving Godark shaking his head. His armour liquefies for a moment to allow the dog remains to fall away from its surface and then returns to its deep black, flawless self.

Cities laying in ruins... creatures lurking in the shadows. Demons, hideous, mutations of human beings.

City of People - Elandia - Elan... Distance... Red...  Priest with horns and a staff made from flesh (like a stretched out maggot) - blows its way through 3 quarters of the city.

Only minutes after the attack of the strange dogs, the group have another run in, but this time with more human foes.
Twelve identical looking soldiers in dark red uniforms charge out of the fog brandishing weapons, ready to engage. As they rush forward, Godark steps out to meet them with his sword like a bloodhound straining at an invisible leash.

Wan grabs a lunging sword arm and throws the startled soldier over his shoulder and through the air before the man can blink as Godark severs a jabbing blade and prepares to thrust his own black weapon through the attacker's chest.

"Don't attack them!" Wan shouts, expanding his aura to form a protective fifteen foot barrier around himself, Godark and Alyx. 

Godark pauses, mid thrust and wrenches the Gohde to one side, turning a fatal blow to a sharp smack on the side of the man's helmet. "Why?" he calls back to the Priest. Three blades beat down on Godark's armour, showering him in slithers of metal as their edges slip and slide uselessly off of its surface.

"They may be of some use," says Wan, ducking an attack and grabbing at the soldier's wrist. As the other soldiers beat frantically at Wan's aura, Wan twists his attacker's arm and forces the man into an iron like lock.

"RELEASE ME..." the soldier growls. Wan hears strange magical undertones flowing through the command, attempting to befuddle his mind. Instead of succumbing to them, he tightens his grip.

"Let me try something," says Alyx, memories of Makailla drifting from the depths of her mind, suggesting an idea. She takes the dagger of Phanes and makes a small cut across her palm. As the white, milk like blood flows from her, she touches a drop of it to the struggling soldier's lips.

To Wan's amazement, the soldier immediately stops squirming and stares at Alyx in a profoundly new way.
"We're not here to harm you. We've just arrived and don't know what's happening. Can you help us?"
"Of course," the soldier says. "I am Mal Malekin of the 14th Regiment of Bolt Blades." The soldier tries saluting but Wan's grip prevents him.
"We have made a mistake," the soldier addresses his comrades. "These are allies." The other soldiers, without question or suspicion, sheathe their blades and assume formation.
"Where are we exactly?" Alyx asks.
Mal Malekin - "We're on the Front-line. We should move from these co-ordinates as they are extremely hazardous. If you would like to accompany us, we'll escort you to our forward command post."
"Ok," says Alyx, shrugging at Wan. Wan lets the soldier go and watches another one of the soldiers heals itself... causing Wan to pause and marvel at how resilient these Mal soldiers are. Their similarity to the Dreamwatch and Ashar's clones is unmistakable. Despite being physically different, their identical features give Wan due cause for concern.

The Mal suddenly seems very willing to talk and walk. Alyx can't believe how a single drop of her blood has effected such a huge change. "We the Allied front are fighting the forces of Xercifare, first servant on this world of Arch Duke Morgrim of Chaos."

"Duke Maloth of Chaos and the Supreme Commander control the Allied forces."

Following the Mals, Alyx and Wan continue asking questions, learning more and more about their surroundings and the two sides engaged in an all out Chaos War. As they move through the trenches, further and further behind Mal occupied lines, one of the Mal's takes out a small glowing Red Orb and calls for silence. "The Supreme Commander wishes to address us all."

Red orb... "THIS IS THE VOICE OF YOUR SUPREME COMMANDER... ALLIES IN THE CHAOS ALLIANCE, WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF THE FRONT LINE. THE FORCES OF MORGRIM ARE FALTERING UNDER OUR SOLID ADVANCE. WE WILL SOON BE IN POSITION TO ASSAULT AND DESTROY THE FORTRESS OF XERCIFARE. LONG LIVE THE ALLIED ALLIANCE. LONG LIVE THE RULE OF KING NORTH AND THE DEFENDERS OF ELDAHAR. DUKE MALOTH ALSO SENDS HIS BEST WISHES."

Xercifare has the power of the World and supposedly possesses the Rib of Morgrim (though this is unconfirmed and may just be wishful thinking on Xercifare's account). The army of Maloth's has been travelling through the Ids for 2 years. *Note - This is not a lot of time considering how far it has come (from the Nexus) and the time differential involved. This suggests that it has come very directly; that it's rulers know where Eldahar is and have wasted no time in getting to it.*

The battle has been raging on Eldriah for 6 months. Both sides have taken innumerable casualties but come to a stale-mate. The Supreme Commander and Maloth cannot produce troops fast enough to overtake Morgrim's own demonic creation. Morgrim blocks the only way to Eldahar - Eldriah's Master Gate / Id Portal. Xercifare wears it on his head as a Crown - called the Crown of Fulfilment. He actually warped and changed the gateway into an object.

Wan has many questions and as it is going to take a while to traverse the battlefield back to the Commandant's HQ, he starts asking them...

First though, he speaks privately to Alyx and Godark. "Alyxia, you may be be able to Charm people, but we must be careful what info is said around these Clones. We do not know what element of our interaction can be relayed back to HQ. The Clones may not be conscious of a connection and it would be difficult to monitor all Clones, but certain key words may activate investigation."
"What? Like 'Eldahar' or 'Ischandi'?" says Alyx. "Ok, we'll avoid stuff like that. But if Chaos is fighting Chaos, it may be in our best interests to help them a bit. The more one side can weaken the other, the less we have to contend with on our own you know what world." She smiles.

Wan nods. "I Agree, hopefully they tear each other apart, it seems to me as if a quick subterfuge mission here to gather info maybe needed. This Alliance seems to be working towards the same goals as us, I would rather not put my head above the parapet when Chaos lords are around. By the way Godark, why didn't you mention that you've been to Chaos Eldahar before, you don't think that was a crucial piece of Info?"
Godark just shrugs at Wan. "Like I said, I was exploring the Master Gate and the branches that led from it. After this black and gold armoured guy came and took the Wizard and the Thief through, I tracked them. I took a quick look around and then came back; I didn't want to leave the Hollow unguarded for too long, in case something came out."
Alyx thinks back through Wan's aura to Godark. "But you're not guarding it now. What's changed?"
Godark gives her a long and lingering look.
"Oh..." Alyx turns away, a little embarrassed.
Wan Aura's to Alyx - "He now has a new priority, looking after his Queen, in that of you. He was only there to stop the Hollow from absorbing Eldahar as Kranatakyn was intending on taking the power first to stop the impostor from getting its hands on it."

Wan continues with his questions. "Did you meet North or any allies to North? How are there defences, what are the Chaos worshippers powers etc. This could be Crucial info to us and possibly used as bargaining power with the Supreme Commander?"
"Like I said, I just popped in, looked about and then came back. I did see a really impressive citadel of some sort though, with walls like mirrors. But that's it."
Mirrors? Wan wonders if North has some Mirrormir Wizards with him. That type of magic could repel Chaos attacks.

"Also what other Items have you got stashed away in that Armour that maybe useful? Plans cannot be carefully calculated without full disclosure."
"Well, your plans can't, but that doesn't effect mine... does it?"
Alyx shooshes Godark. "Boys. We're a team in this. Let's work together. Tell Wan. He likes to know all the facts because he was a victim of an over zealous educational system."
"I have the Skara Axis of Temoa'kain. It's a planal device. It creates an impenetrable planal barrier around a new zone of reality exactly 20,000 feet across. Everything within the barrier but not touching the Axis is subject to the zone's new environmental and spiritual laws. The Axis can be configured to create different zones but I just tend to randomly hammer at it as it makes things a bit more exciting. Kranatakyn and I use it to manufacture private battlefields where we can go one on one with the most impressive of enemies. It's also good for stopping things from running away as it expands almost instantly. And before you ask, I'm not telling you anything sodding else!"
Wan considers what Godark has said. "I'm glad that you understand what that thing does, most of the words that you used were completely alien to me.
Basically it creates a sphere of protection or prison if you want to stop beings evading the situation. This item may have been very useful against Skathen?
Methos was right, we are still not working as a team. I know we are used to acting as Individuals, but we would be more effective if we worked as a team."
Godark shrugs. "I didn't use it for the simple reason that it would have cut that whole area off from the rest of the world. Including the guy channelling all the power and creating that giant hurricane. I expect that would have had major repercussions. So why would I expose a secret weapon like that to my enemies while going after a piss arse demon? I wouldn't. And you wouldn't have wanted me to either."

Wan really does not like the sound of Chaos versus Chaos, they are deceivers and liars. Who knows what twisted plan has been devised. North and Kitara had an alliance before, maybe it's pay back time for Maloth, big time? Again Wan feels pretty powerless in the current situation as he is scrambling for an angle that he can use to his advantage.

"Godark as we travelled, did you see any images?" Wan aura links to Alyx showing her the 5 Armies (2.5 Million etc Alfar ,also Chaos worshipper blowing city away etc).
Alyx's face shows even more signs of concern after seeing such things. Godark shakes his head though in answer to Wan's question. "See what?"

This is very interesting as it shows the link that exists between each Id and the Source. Wan is very sad at the prospect of so much pain and suffering.
He is also very interested and worried about the Supreme Commander and the Eye of All Magic.

Wan starts asking the Clone a few more questions.
"How high does this pollution of the Astral realm extent, Is it to stop mass effecting abilities of Mor?"

"The 'pollution' exists only within the dimensions of the battlefield. Beyond the battlefield, nothing exists. Arch duke Morgrim (coughs) has completely conquered all realities connecting directly to King North's Prime and altered their substance. This battlefield is one of eight gateways to the Red Wheel; eight roadways carved through the Ids that lead straight to the Heroic Defenders. Long live the Allies!"

"Has this been the usual tactic when they Invade a world. In the last 2 Years how many Battles have been fought against Mor?"

"In order to limit the powers arrayed against us and provide us with a more equal field of battle, the Supreme Commander and Duke Maloth (salute) created the Fog of Burden. The Army of Mal has no interest in invasion. Invasion is not our mission. We have moved expeditiously through the Idiom with the sole purpose of engaging Archduke Morgrim (coughs) and his armies. All of the enemy's forces are gathered around the Prime. We encountered no resistance en route until we arrived here on Eldriah. We are now in the 18th day of battle."

"Have they also been fighting Alfar?"

"The Army of Mal's have encountered the forces of the Foe and its dog soldiers. We have fought two battles against their forces on our journey here and been victorious in both, with minimal casualties. The Alfar forces know to avoid us."

"Are the bolts of white energy coming from the Eye of All Magic?"

"Yes, that is correct. The Great Eye shone forth and blessed this sky with lights that keep the enemy's aerial servants at bay, effectively confining the rules of engagement to ground based assaults only. Occasionally a few of the enemy's aerial combatants break through but the numbers are manageable."

"Just to be clear, Maloth attacked the Nexus, which in turn brought the Supreme Commander to its defence with the Eye of All Magic."

"Duke Maloth..." Malakin salutes... "gained entry to the Nexus when its protective barrier against Chaos was breached by another power. I do not know what power or have any other information about this. It wouldn't be appropriate for a front-line soldier to possess such things. However, I do know that the Supreme Commander was in the Nexus at the time and negotiated Duke Maloth's (salutes again) withdrawal by forming this Alliance. The Supreme Commander had the Eye of all Magic in her possession at the time and it was instrumental in the negotiation."

Very Interesting Wan thinks. It sounds like something VERY Major has occurred elsewhere. This breaching of the Nexus would be the same as breaching the Prime? The nexus would be all about tranquility and contemplation. How would the very presence of Chaos have effected that? "Guys I'm not too sure if we want to meddle with this Eye, if it can create allies out of Chaos Lords, this Supreme Commander may decide to make us also part of the Alliance.
This eye may make us feel that it is a very good idea to join this group?" (Not sure what effect it would have on Godark)

"The Nexus has changed Duke Maloth's perspective on life?"

"I could not say. Duke Maloth (salute) was unable to exercise any Chaotic abilities within the Nexus. This is why he brilliantly chose to exponentially copy himself to fill the entire Nexus and gain a majority rule over its power. Ultimately though, the Nexus would never have been compatible with Duke Maloth's powers (salute)."

To Wan, it sounds like Maloth was hoping to take the World's power by having the majority of people, but this Supreme Commander with the Eye intervened and convinced Maloth otherwise. Logically the other Chaos Lords would have tried to counterbalance Mor's grab for the Prime by seizing the Nexus. But it appears as if these plans may have been foiled, we could be looking at the first ray of good luck in the whole messy situation we find ourselves in (Or if Wan is wrong, something with the power to destroy the Idiom?).

"Since then an Alliance has been formed between these 2 beings that is gradually leading them back to King North?"

"Yes, that is correct. The Supreme Commander agreed to guide the Army of Mal's back to Eldahar as long as she had military control."

"It was the Supreme Commander who has met North and is now returning to his rescue?"

"The Supreme Commander has issued proclamations saying that she has seen King North, his Queen and his son. King North defends the Prime against the evil forces of Archduke Morgrim (coughs) and is in desperate need of our aid if he is to prevent the enemy from gaining Domination of the Multiverse! Long live the Allies!"

"Are there any other beings of note in the Alliance other than these 2?"

"The Supreme Commander has a personal bodyguard called 'The Handmaiden'. She possesses a black blade of the Balance and the Hand of Naveh, Chaos Lord of Dreams. She is a fearsome warrior who accompanied the Supreme Commander from the Nexus."

Alyx suddenly interrupts. "Hang on a mo, how many Chaos Lords are in this Alliance of yours? All these body parts are getting confusing. You've got Duke Maloth (Alyx salutes which pleases the Mal clone no end), this Naveh person, a rib of Morgrim on the other side. Anyone else?"

The Mal answers immediately. "Why yes, there are three Chaos Lords in our Chaos Alliance. There is Duke Maloth (salutes passionately), Lord Naveh and the Supreme Commander's Chaos father, the Blood Baron Kûtal."

"Whoah nelly!" exclaims Alyx. "The Supreme Commander's Chaos father?"
"Yes, the Supreme Commander is a direct blood heir to all of Baron Kûtal's power."
"Ok, now I'm not thinking this is a good plan at all. Both sides are just as evil as the other." 

Godark starts muttering... "Do you remember Evost Derry Makailla? Before I vanished and to my shame abandoned you to your fate? I felt sorry for that little orphan girl Ruth and made her a living spirit like me. She called herself Eclipse..."
"I vaguely remember," says Alyx. "The memories are there but foggy. Why? What's it got to do with here?"
Godark shoves a pile of mutilated bodies out of his way and steps up to Alyx's side. "Well, Eclipse and I encountered a minion of Chaos under Evost Derry calling itself something I can't remember. But it was a Servant of another Chaos Lord called Saxon. I think this Saxon was pretty mundane as Chaos Lords go but I learned something about Chaos back then. They aren't all teeth, fangs, fur and horns. Some of these things are actually really civil and polite,  to their detriment of course because I expect they get their asses kicked. But this Saxon believed that in order to properly represent true Chaos and its true randomness, every possibility had to be given merit. So, he had formed a Chaos Order dedicated to the pursuit of Law. What a pillock. Ragnek's people told me that Ruth joined up with them after I left..."
"Where's this going Godark?" asks Alyx.
"Chaos can be good, bad, honourable, sick. I'm not saying it can be trusted as ultimately everyone has their own agenda these days, but this side may not be evil. It may actually be acting out of a desire to do good. Ultimately, it will still benefit Chaos as Chaos will thrive off any victory, no matter how that victory is achieved. But personally, I don't give a fuck about that or any of this and I don't even know why I'm talking. All this Chaos stuff has just reminded me of Ruth that's all. Good or bad, both sides in this war could learn a thing or two from me."

Wan remembers Saxon and his Pit Fiends; but basically Chaos is Chaos, just as splintered as the rest of the Idiom (if not more by its very nature). "The problem I have is that ultimately this Chaos faction is helping our cause, even if some of it is being coerced. What happens to Chaos and Law if the crack in the Heartstone of the Idiom is fixed? We are trying to expel the Darkness and universal powers like Chaos and Law. Thus no more Supreme Commander and Handmaiden. Will that go down well with them? They probably like the idea of saving North to stop Mor from gaining total control, but fixing the issue may be another story."

"Alyx how do you propose that to gain access to the Commandant, pass the guards (basically close enough to Charm him?)"

"I have no idea," admits Alyx. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I thought we'd see where talking got us first. Yeah I know, not really my strength is it. But the moment we start fighting, Godark and you are going to bring destruction and mayhem. We'll be sandwiched between two Chaos forces instead of one. So... the longer we can talk, the better."

"Please remember that I do not have Immortal powers here? Godark cannot be everywhere, yes I may not die, but I struggled with just 1 of these soldiers.
I have come to realize that these people are doing more good than harm and that an attack on the Eye would probably be foolish?
I think that we should gather what info and Messages we can and then try to find North so that he is aware how close this army is. It maybe that this Chaos Alliance has another motive to find North if Mor is defeated?" Godark and Alyx both agree.

"How many Mal's in this army?"
"Came to this reality with 500,000!"
"What sort of abilities do you Mal's have as individuals..."
"We know an assortment of Command Words from the Tongue of Azeureus. These command words control lesser beings and allow us to manipulate lesser creations. We are also tireless, we do not sleep or need rest. We are highly intelligent and have a single purpose."
"Isn't that a bit, unties like?" Alyx.
"Perhaps. But that is how we have been made."
"I have duty. If I uphold my duty, ultimately, I will rejoin with the Duke and we will be triumphant together."

Advancing ahead of the Beholder and its Servants are 8 large Cyclopean fighters. They stand 8 feet tall and are heavily armoured in strange animal skins.

Wan leaps forwards, propelling himself over the eight one eyed monsters to land right in front of the giant eye. The Servants pulling the eye along like a gigantic hot air balloon hiss and recoil from the sudden intrusion, trying to block the path around their Master but Wan is far too quick; Wan releases a surge of spiritual energy that blasts at the eye and buckles its protective metal lens. To Wan, attacking the eye feel likes plunging his hand into a nest of stinging red ants... and even though he only attacks with 25% of his power, the eye is hurled backwards, forcing its servants off of their feet. 

"You are full of the energy of Chaos..."
"What have you done, made a pact, sold your soul?"
"Well done brothers! Who are you? And who is the fair maiden you are escorting?"
"We are here to help!"
"It was brave!"
"I think I've embraced the Source of this world..."

Wan warns Alyx that this Blood Lord might want her blood.
50% next. Goo bursts out of the front in a fountain...

15 minutes pass.

Greater Beholder - Bechariuu. Demon Class 5. AP on main eye 15+4.
Main eye function - Paralyse at 14th Level! Can only be used once every combat turn (10 rounds).
Any 4 eyes can be used per round - i.e. The same eye can be used up to 4 times or any other combination of eyes.
Eye 1 - Disintegration 10th level. Beam 500 narrow feet.
Eye 2 - Disintegration 10th level. Cone up to 75 feet and 40 feet across at end.
Eye 3 - Seeking Missiles 6th level. Fires 6 seeking missiles +100% to hit. Range 200 feet. Dmg 2d6+6 bypassing all non magical armour (+3's apply only!)
Eye 4 - Chaotic Flash 10th level. Strobe red flash. Anyone seeing it has to save WIS+POW/2 vs 20 or suffer insanity.
Eye 5 - Blinding Flash 10th level. Save or be blinded. Failure by 100+ and victim's eyes are fused in place, permanently open and staring straight ahead.
Eye 6 - Incinerate 10th level.
Eye 7 - Dispel Bone 10th level.
Eye 8 - Healing Light 10th level. Heals any one Critical wound or 2 Major / 4 Minor.

Servants of Bechariuu - Blind followers who have eyeballs stitched into their hands. The chains of Bechariuu are wrapped around their waists and chests. They pull their master along (who floats behind them). They have no eyes, only empty red sockets. Each Servant though can see out of their hands. Their vision is acute and they have one quite powerful ability - Combustion 8th level. Anybody coming within 50 feet of a Servant can be affected. The ability can be used once per hand, per round (2/rnd). Failure to save causes 3d6+6 fire damage each round until the person saves. A person can only be under the effect of one Combustion spell at a time. Objects of 3 POW or less automatically fail. For these things, anything within 25 feet of a Servant automatically combusts.

The Many Eyes - Bechariuu and his Servants survey the battlefield by using the eyes of the dead. Wan and his companions may notice the corpses around them staring. They may even notice some of the dead men's eyes, moving left and right.

Wan and his friends get involved against the Beholder, earning the thanks of the Mals. The Mals then escort Wan etc back to their Bunker.

As Wan and the others head underground, they pass chambers cut into the earth. One chamber has three Mal's beating a green skinned creature with truncheons. One of the Mal's sees them looking and slams the door. Another room shows two Mal's attaching a helmet device to a Morman's head. As they screw in the last bolt, a worm is dropped into the helmet. It crawls up the Morman's nose. Other dead Mormen lie on the floor with bloodied nostrils. A Mal has a worm suspended between two electrical pillars and is twisting a dial. As the worm is electrified, images appear in the air behind it.

A third chamber shows Mals getting into armour and metal plated vests. A squad of 12 Mal's march by. Eventually Wan, Godark and Alyx are led into the war room.

Malekose is initiating a surgical strike on Xercifare's forces at the time in a war room.
"Commander Malice, what is your current position?"
"We are two hundred yards from the Mission objective. I can see the portal. It is anchored in 3 places. There is a fiend guard - It looks to be 5th circle in power."
... someone, another Mal, shouts in the background... "Sir, our left flank is failing. Morxurian Tuskmen have broken our formation."

Malekose - "Can you reach position. That portal must be disrupted Commander! At all costs!"
"We're nearly there Commandant."
Something roars. "By the Life-giver! Take that fiend down!"
Rush of fire. Screams. "It's not 5th circle! I repeat not 5th circle. The fiend is 6th circle or above! We don't have anything that can touch it."

Malekose - "You know what you must do."
"Our protections are failing sir..."
Another ROAR and crack of a whip. Screams. "Destroy the Inverter!"
Silence...

"Mal - Malvojeri reporting sir."

"To whom do I have the please to speak to?"
"My name is Wan, a Priest of the Source."
"Godark - Bad arse mother fucker."
Alyx is stuck on what to call herself.
"Lady of dusk."
"Sounds like a prostitute," says Alyx.
"And what brings you to our battlefield?"
"Your battlefield was in our way. We too are making our way to meet General North."
"To who are you allied? Who has sent you?"
"The Source? What prey tell is this?"
"It is a power from another world. It defeated the chaos lord Mor's invasion of Eldahar."

Chant of the Mal's - "Eldahar - Gateway to Victory."

Malekose swears and slams his fist on the table, making a lot of small lead figures jump up and fall over. "It will be hours before we can enchant another. Xercifare is no fool. He's positioned his most powerful fiend in front of that gateway. As long as it's there, he's driving a wedge right between our forces."

Malekose is willing to accept help. Especially as there is no way off of this Id unless Wan and the others do help. Yes, Wan has a connection to the Source, which is fine for him. But not for Alyx or Godark. If Wan elects to travel back by embracing the Source, he could be in for a surprise. The Source of North's Eldahar has primarily been tainted by Chaos, meaning that Wan can draw power from both Eldahar's. It is just as likely for him to draw Chaos tainted energy as normal. There is a very good chance that Morxul will intercept Wan's journey back to Eldahar... and Malekose will make this clear if it comes up in conversation...

"Xercifare wears the only way out of this Reality upon his head. He calls it the Crown of Fulfilment. After conquering this world, he took every gate bar one, every door and every portal and bent them to his will. They have been brought together and shaped into one single object - his Crown. Then, the Alliance gained entry through the only remaining gateway, that leads back out to the Idiom."

On Anuth'ken, a brief time after Wan's departure, a distant rumble grows steadily louder until the stone floor shudders and cracks open. A shadow moves into the cavern, quickly expanding to fill its dimensions.
"Tell me spirit, where have they gone?" the darkness asks.
Mythron remains silent.
The darkness seeps into the giant stone's cracks. A few seconds later, the cavern shakes violently. "Tell me spirit, or I will be forced to pull it from you."
"YOU WILL GET NOTHING FROM ME."
"So be it. I have no time for idle chat and pleasantries. For one so ancient as you I would like to out of respect, do something creative, but forgive me, my patience has already been sorely tried this day. I am feeling quite brutal."

The plateau of Anuth'ken rumbles and shakes. Hundreds of miles away, indigenous life forms of that vast rock plain suddenly look down, frightened, as the very ground beneath them seems to moan with pain.

Wan's quick thought's ;- The Army of Mals seem to have accepted the Tri very quickly? Maybe the blood of Alyxia has had an effect on ALL the clones?
Perhaps they are linked in someway?

Alyx and Godark have picked up on the Commandant's immediate acceptance too. No interrogation, no major questioning or obvious suspicion... instead, the Mal's seem to have just accepted Wan and his two companions as allies against the enemy. The obvious reason Wan thinks is that Makailla's precious blood has influenced them all... which may well be true. However, the main reason is typical of Chaos in so many ways...

The Mal's are fighting a war. They don't care who Wan, Godark and Alyxia are, only that the three of them can become new recruits against Xercifare's forces. Alyxia and Godark do not radiate Chaos, therefore they represent no significant threat to the Mals (or so the Mal's believe). Wan on the other hand does radiate Chaos, but again the Mal's don't really care. As long as Wan and the other two attack Xercifare's minions, things will be fine and dandy.

"The Commandant gestures to one of his Mal Commanders. "Brief our new allies. Show them our battlefield."

Wan, Alyx and Godark are beckoned to take a look at the giant table map. Hundreds of coloured flags denote troop movements along with larger flags symbolizing current conflicts. The Mal Commander clears his throat, puffs out his chest and adopts a very self important pose.

"This is our Battlefield. As you can see, it is completely enclosed by impregnable mountains, created to form an unnatural barrier around this part of the World. We are here and Xercifare's forces are directly opposite of us. Xercifare has 8 gates with each gate capable of bringing in reinforcements from other connected Mor conquered realities. We have no gates as such, but do have an endless supply of energy to draw upon and engage the enemy. As if Day 18 of this battle, we have reached an impasse - a stalemate, with neither side able to gain a significant advantage over the other."

"Our goal is to bypass Xercifare, gain access to the Red Road that leads to Mor's Eldahar. Once there we intend on supporting King North and driving Mor (cough) and his minions back from whence they came. Xercifare's goal is to defeat us and gain the Supreme Commander's Eye of All Magic. As far as we can tell, he has not told his Master, Morzul, about the Eye. We believe this is because he seeks to gain it himself, overthrow his master and his master's other Lord's of Mor, defeat King North and gain favour with the Arch Duke, thus becoming the new First Eternal."

"So far, the battle has proceeded as follows ;-"
 

Wan contemplates the situation of Chaos vs Chaos. It appears as if this army of Mal's is very useful. Wan believes it would be good if they could reach North. (Aura to Alyxia, "I think we need to help these guys, even if all is not as it seems, at least it results in Chaos fighting each other.")

Wan continues speaking to Alyx and Godark using his aura. "An Army of half a million men would be very much needed; it could help North defend the Chaos Eldahar for longer, maybe buy more precious time before Chaos spills over to the Prime? Or help provide an army on the Prime?"

Godark thinks back. "This place is completely different to Eldahar. You can't apply an army there. Someone with a Crown of Power or the equivalent could decimate an army like this is no time at all. And I don't mean just blowing it up - it could be taken out by any number of means, from lethal airborne plague or poisonous air to infectious insanity. Here, someone, I suppose whoever created this soup bucket over the spiritual realm, has deliberately crippled magic. I don't see that happening on Eldahar to be honest. Hence, an army there is pointless."

Alyx retaliates, not entirely agreeing with Godark's point of view. "I don't agree. You're saying that the fate of Eldahar will be decided by just a few individuals battling a few others. But that doesn't take into account the belief of the masses. If the few start wiping out the many so that only a handful remain, who will fuel the Crowns and the Heart with belief? What will stop Chaos and the millions of entities sworn to it out here and in North's Eldahar from simply making those few individual bow to their supremacy of numbers. If the Crowns and the Heart are belief based items, everyone is screwed if no one believes."

Godark smiles darkly. "You wipe everyone out Makailla... so that only the handful remain. That way, you get to fight without interruptions."

"That sucks," Alyx glowers. "If something like this spirit fog works here, maybe it could work there too. I have to believe that somehow we can have an effect. So does Wan. If we can't believe that, then what point is there to anything? If the two halves of the world are just going to battle it out against one another regardless then that's just crap."
Godark shrugs. "Destroy everyone and this world's heart will only have the belief of those that remain. It will be weak and vulnerable."
"You don't want to save Eldahar do you? You just want to stop someone else from blowing it up so that you can do the honours instead." Alyx raises her mental voice. "Enough of this. All this talking amongst ourselves and we don't know what or who could be eavesdropping. I'm more bloody paranoid than the two of you."

Wan considers what his two companions have said before moving on. "I have studied the map, it would seem that Xercifare believes himself invulnerable in the middle. If an attack on the Portal is planned, then it must be accompanied by a strategic push in the middle. Thus a Commando raid on the portal, which I assume can move his demons into play anywhere is required."

"You are correct," says a Mal commander. "The Fiend Portal is a mobile Demon Gate. Many chaotic entities are capable of opening gateways to other planes of existence. These gateways are fuelled from their own essence and link to Chaos. An entity's power dictates the size and number of possible Demon gates. The Fiend Portal may be guarded by a Fiend of the Burning Pit but the portal itself is alive too. We have been unable to identify the demon at its centre but whatever type it is, it is extremely powerful. Our intelligence suggests that the Portal entity is bound to the gate and being forced to keep the gate open. Such an action requires a tremendous amount of energy and is extremely painful for the being concerned. Gates are only able to be maintained over short periods of time. The Fiend Portal has already been open for 6 days; though fortunately we have kept its advance to a crawl."

Another Mal speaks. "The Gate Inverter is a device designed to invert any Demonic Gateway created in this manner. It has to be placed directly in front or on the entity making the gate to work. Once in place, it forever alters the direction of the gateway, drawing things into it."

"If the portal is destroyed it only leaves this fire Storm." "I know its going to be difficult" Wan thinks to Alyx. Then aloud to the room of Mals, "Can the Eye not blast this area so that if the portal is destroyed it leaves a straight run at the Heart of Xerifare?"

The Commandant listens to another announcement from two of his Mal commanders... Mal 1 - "Our troops in the Northern trenches have just successfully repulsed an attack of Benzali Leaping Spawn. Long live the Alliance!" Mal 2 - "Mal Commander Mal'mannen reports that the 53rd Legion is now battle ready. Training is complete with Mal's proceeding to weapons and armament."

The Commandant turns back towards Wan. "We are but soldiers, here to follow our orders and fight. That is the reason we exist and that is why we do what must be done. The Supreme Commander (salute) and our Duke (salute) do not share their battle plans with us. The Eye of Magic is a powerful device but it has, by its very nature, no master or mistress. The Supreme Commander (salute) does what she can to aid our cause, but on occasion, in the past, when we have relied on the Eye to solve our problems, we have been disappointed by the outcome."

The Mal's around the war room lower and sadly shake their heads in unison. One Mal, Malekin (Alyx's best friend) speaks in a sombre tone. "May the Legions of the Eye one day find their way back to us..."

"What about the Duke, this Supreme Commander (room salutes) and her Handmaiden?" asks Godark. "Don't they have powers or abilities other than the Eye to fight against Xercifare? Why haven't they taken the fight straight to this guy?"

"Our Duke (salute) cannot act directly against Xercifare without invoking the wrath and intervention of Morgrim (cough). He uses his wisdom and experience to guide the Supreme Commander and inspire us with his greatness!" declares the Commandant proudly. "The Supreme Commander carries the Eye. It is a tremendous burden for her. Without the Eye we would have no power to challenge Xercifare and those like him as Arch Duke Morgrim holds the monopoly. Ultimately, she must remain safe, lest the Eye fall into our enemy's possession. When the time is right and Eldahar's sacred earth lies beneath our feet, the Supreme Commander and Duke Maloth will directly challenge the Arch Duke! Long live the Alliance!"

"Long live the Alliance!" the room cheers.

"And this Handmaiden?" asks Godark wearily... all the saluting and cheering grating on his nerves. "What about her?"
"She is a fearsome warrior with many powers at her disposal. She has lead many Mal's to victory in the name of the Supreme Commander. However, she is but one heroine against a horde of fiends. Xercifare has thus far kept her at bay, refusing to meet her on the field of battle. Instead, he chooses to cower behind the walls of his impregnable Citadel."

"The key is to destroy this Crown (probably need to cut his head off?)," says Wan, trying to get back on track. "Xercifare has his army on the wings, so he obviously feels that a strike in the middle is not possible (he probably has good reasons for his assumptions)."

"This battle could last for months, with no side gaining a strategic advantage, North ( salute ) needs help NOW!"
Another ranked Mal speaks up. "We are doing the best that we can. Xercifare has a firmly established power base. His energy is seemingly endless; it flows from the First Eternal Morzul and the Sorcerer's master Morgrim (cough). For every attack we are counterattacked. For every foot of ground we gain, we find ourselves beaten back again."

"It is a risky plan, which if the objective of the Crown is not reached could result in encirclement, but I believe the Army of Mal is up to the task," says Wan encouragingly.

"Here here Sir Wan. That's the spirit! Spoken like a true believer," cries the Commandant excitedly.

"My companions and I will lead the attack on the Portal. Can the Commandant organize the power of the Eye to be focused on clearing a path through the Firestorm?" (Wan is not keen on encountering the Supreme Commander or Maloth).

"You and your companions?" asks the Commandant, raising a black bushy eyebrow of scepticism. "Defeating Bechariuu is one thing, defeating a Fiend of the 6th circle, or Eye save us, the 7th, is another thing entirely. Are you sure you are up to the task? It will not fall easily; it's ability to gate in virtually unlimited reinforcements would surely be enough to cause you severe problems."

Godark speaks. "Things are a little different where we come from. We don't give a roasted ogre's bollocks about stuff like that."

"Your willingness to join our troops in the next front-line assault has been duly noted. I am more than willing to allow you to accompany my troops. As for clearing the Firestorm from behind the Fiend Portal, that is something our Supreme Commander has been attempting to do for some time."

The Commandant takes his seat again above the war map and reaches for the tubular phone hanging above his head. "Our next Inverter will be ready for deployment in one hours time. I will notify the Duke of your willingness to assist..."

Alyx aura talks to Wan - "He means the Duke of Chaos right? Do we want that? To be honest, I don't see how we're going to avoid meeting one or both of these leaders anyway... Everything about this battle and these copies seems a bit off. They're not acting like normal humans would. Or maybe that's just me." 

"...Rest assured though that during your valiant attack upon the Infernal Beast, we will keep your Princess safe and secure. The Supreme Commander would dearly love to meet such a wondrous creature as she is especially fond of the fairer sex." The Commandant gives Alyx a gleeful grin and perhaps a hint of a wink.

Godark moves defensively forwards.

"Hold on," says Alyx. "I'm not going to sit back and let these two reap all the glory here. I'm just as capable as they are."
The Commandant continues smiling. "Of course you are your highness. But the hordes of demons that face us are many and myriad. They come in all shapes and sizes with each possessing the deadliest and most despicable of ploys. You appear to have no protection other than that offered by your wards. In the ferocity of battle against Xercifare's greatest and most malevolent of fiends, I only fear for your safety and the success of the mission. If your wards are to be protecting you, they will not be working as one with my troops. There is no shame in remaining here to oversee things from the safety of our bunkers. You would be kept fully informed of events as they transpired and made as comfortable as Malean possible."
"But I'm a warrior!" Alyx argues. "I just don't have a sword or any armour at the moment. Maybe you could lend me some? Because listen to me, I'm not the sit and sup tea type. I am the front!"
The Commandant considers for a moment. "Then I suggest I contact the Handmaiden. She has weapons and armour that might fit your frame, though she is shorter in stature and less womanly in shape."

"Onward to Victory, may the Source save ELDAHAR!" yells Wan. He then gives the salute.
"ELDAHAR - GATEWAY TO VICTORY!" the Mals cheer in unison.
"I'm too old for this crap," Godark says privately to Alyx.
"I might look in my twenties, but I'm sodding thirty two this year going on eight hundred if you count the fact that I've absorbed the essence of one of the original Lords of the Undead. Not something I was expecting I can tell you. You're old? If I looked my age, I'd be one giant flaky life sucking wrinkle."
Godark gazes at her for some time, even after Alyx turns her attention back to Wan's army and doesn't hear what he says next. "No, you are Timeless my Queen. I will make sure of it."

"Long live the Alliance..."
"Yeah, long live me!" mutters Godark.

Travel further behind Allied lines. Wan checks Mythron's stone as they walk; it shows them to be headed in the right direction.

After being led through a sealed door, down a shored up earthen corridor and into a circular waiting room filled with stools, Alyx starts to fan her face as she suddenly comes over extremely warm. "Phew... it's hot in here." She looks over at Wan and to her surprise, sees him emitting a heat haze.
"Wan, you're letting out heat!"
"Am I?" Wan asks, just as surprised as she is. He tries to sense why through his aura, but nothing seems amiss - apart from this new "Chaotic" energy flowing through him. But as more seconds pass, the heat starts to become even more uncomfortable and Wan begins to become genuinely concerned.
"Tone it down Wan will you!" says Alyx.
"I don't think I can," Wan admits, trying to reverse whatever is happening. Despite being in complete control of his aura, the energy that flows through his aura seems to growing in density and power with each passing second.
Godark shuffles closer. "Your aura is ten times it's original power and growing. You MUST control it now or you will endanger this bunker and everything within two hundred feet. Possibly far further."
Wan continues to try and grasp what is happening to him; now he sees the heat and red light of his contaminated spirit shining through his skin.
"You are now exceeding fifty times your original power..." advises Godark. "Reality is beginning to warp around you. CONTROL this or I'll have to kill you..."
Wan looks at Godark's metal face and knows the warrior means it. "Great!" says Wan. "Maybe if I get outside and into the air."
As Wan moves out of the room and along the corridor, the walls bend and melt backwards; the doorway that they entered through buckles and flies outwards; the trench beyond it flattens and Alyx takes shelter behind Godark's invincible armour.

Wan shift's astral and rises into the air... still trying to ascertain what is happening to him. He knows that he is not drawing energy from the Source. Whatever it is, it doesn't feel like that. But the energy within him is being magnified and intensified in an incredible way. Something must be causing it but Wan is at a loss to explain it.

Godark turns to Alyx. "He's having some form of spiritual reaction. His energy is reacting, generating more energy and so on. At some point, he'll reach saturation point..."
"And... then...?" Alyx asks.
"No more Wan."
"Oh shit! How can we stop it?"
Kranatakyn hisses to both of them. "Let me impale him. I will drain him of energy to within a heartbeat of his death. That should be sufficient to cool him off."
Alyx bites her lip, intent upon Wan's bright burning body. Wan bursts into light as multiple detonations of energy surround him. Curiously, a small pot plant sizzles into being and drops to the ground, followed in the next detonation by a frog and a horned, cloven hooved demon. The demon growls but is disintegrated a moment later in the next seemingly random burst of light.
Wan begins heading away from Alyx and Godark. He has a plan but needs to land somewhere first. "Help!" he calls out.

As he moves downwards, the ground crumbles underneath him as his highly charged aura melts it into a one hundred and fifty foot crater.
More bright flashes of energy cause part of a house and kitchen table to appear as well as a badger. Yes, a badger.

Then Wan sees them, two human females standing at the edge of his crater and walking towards him. One calls out - "You're unstable! Control your Chaos Power!"
"I don't know how," Wan shouts back.
"What do you mean, you don't know how. You are a Servant. Who is your Lord?"
"I'm not of Chaos. I am a Priest of the Source."
“Focus your energy; imagine a specific object, something quite simple. Imagine the energy flowing into that object, becoming real, becoming solid with depth and weight.”
Wan concentrates, picturing a simple grey ring in his mind. As he does, the bright red and black haired girl closes her eyes and concentrates too.
A moment later, air pressure builds to breaking point and makes Wan’s ears pop. At that exact instant, a small grey ring drops out of thin air onto the floor between them and Wan feels the unstable power flood from him. *Wan has created a plain grey ring engraved with the 8 spoked spiralling symbol of Allied Chaos. It contains raw energy as a Power store device. Once the energy has been used, the ring will be destroyed.*
“Mind if I?” the girl asks, gesturing towards the ring.
“Go ahead,” Wan sighs, relieved to no longer be blowing up. As he assesses himself, he realizes that all of the Chaos energy has left him too, which can only be a good thing.
“I am Wan,” he announces, aware that Godark and Alyx are hovering closer now, onboard an inky black disc.
“Sin,” the girl replies. “That’s Tanni.” She waves at the second black armoured girl, who as the danger has passed, is also now approaching. “So, you’re not from around here. But where did you come from? Not from Xercifare, I’m pretty sure of that. Not through the Id-gate either as we’re guarding that. So how?”
“We used ‘old magic’” explains Wan.
“Ahh… well, it doesn’t really matter anyway. Anything is possible where Chaos is concerned. It has a tendency to break tradition and do the unexpected.”
“What is that stone in your chest, if I might ask?”
The girl smiles. “It’s the Eye of Chaos. It’s what is allowing us to go head to head against the force of the Arch Duke. Without it, we'd be bird food.”
Wan considers the girls words and the way she is reacting. She seems very energetic and trusting but Wan doesn’t automatically assume that he girlishness is a sign of weakness. Instead, her relaxed and seemingly unguarded approach to Wan seems more likely born from confidence. Wan also notes that the Handmaiden ‘Tanni’ is far more reserved, stalking back and forth on the fringes of the conversation maintaining serious concentration on Godark and Alyx.

Wan continues to speak privately via his aura with Godark and Alyx. "There is so much to find out. It's difficult to know where to start."
"I'd say that nearly destroying the whole planet is somewhere to start," says Alyx, slightly smirking.

The group follow the Supreme Commander back inside a bunker. Back safely inside, they continue asking questions. It isn't all one side though with Wan and his friends doing all the asking. The Supreme Commander enquires about Eldahar, their own abilities and what they know of King North. 
Supreme Commander - Sin.
Aged 16. Long wavy red hair with black streaks - halfway down back. 5'8" tall. 125lbs. Blue eyes. Pale flawless skin. Moves lithely and with a natural grace. Seems to have an inconsistent heartbeat. Aura is bright and full of swirling colours - like hundreds of rainbows caught for a moment in splinters of glass - the depth of the aura seems to go on forever and most likely has something to do with the greatest concentration of them - a circular glowing object somewhere within her chest, just above her navel. Is dressed in a loose fitting red top that is sashed at the waist. Is wearing a chain mail eye hooked vest over this top that is more akin to an open waistcoat. Has on a pair of thigh high black heeled boots and web patterned thigh length skirt over the top of bare legs. Carries no visible weapon or other items. Personality - Talkative, full of energy and full of odd terms / "cool" abbreviations. Very modern and girlish. Likes to have fun but gets very serious about those she cares for - friends and family. Alignment is Chaotic Good. Items of note include;- The Eye of Chaos (see Xenon timeline for alternate names), a Ring of Ithillan (see Tanni below for wearer of other ring), a laser sword +4/+4. Abilities include;- Speak to Avians, Tongue of the Dragon God (stolen from Tachiomatra), Voice of Command (stolen from Maloth) - gives absolute command over Demonic entities of 3rd Circle and below, plus 50% chance of command over 4th Circle, 25% 5th Circle and 5% 6th Circle; Gate Control - allows Sinsifel to manipulate existing gates or gates that are opened in her vicinity (See below for better description).

The Handmaiden - Tanni.
Aged 16. Jet black hair cut into a short but stylish spiky style. Petite of build and height, at only 5'6. Slightly Eastern appearance. Has pale gray eyes. Carries a huge two handed black blade, longer than she is tall! - called "Blackbone". Note - Blackbone is a blade favoured by Servants of the Balance but does not possess specific Balance imbued powers. Tanni also possesses a peculiar and monstrous left hand; instead of her own, she has the Hand of Naveh - that appears (under her bandages) as a hideous demonic claw (enough to give people nightmares - literally). Naveh, the Chaos Lord of Dreams and Nightmares had his hand severed by Tanni after being defeated by Sin in a battle of Dreams. Tanni carries it now (in place of her own) as a symbol of Naveh's obedience and aid in their cause. The hand is 150% the size of Tanni's normal hand and jet glistening black. She wears black scale and plate armour. She moves like a trained warrior and someone skilled in the martial arts. She appears serious and focused - the complete opposite of Sin. Loves Sin with all her heart and would gladly sacrifice herself. Petrified of her father and her brothers. Possesses unnatural speed, endurance and strength as the Blood of Saya flows through her veins. Immortal - ageless - with rapid regenerative capabilities. Alignment is Lawful Neutral. Hand of Naveh allows Tanni to reach out and pull beings into her own Dreamscape - anyone trapped in Tanni's dreams has to battle her on her terms. *Note - Tanni is not an expert "dreamer" but still learning. Nevertheless, her Dreams also connect to the Dreamscape of Naveh himself. As she and Sin have forced Naveh's co-operation in current events, Naveh can reluctantly be called upon to intervene / assist if things go bad. However, each time the Dream lord is summoned, Tanni's dreams become more twisted and strange - losing part of her imagination to the creature until nothing of her remains.*

Wan warns the Supreme Commander that the Eye of Chaos could prove very dangerous to Eldahar; "It would be best if you left North's reality before it joined with our own. The Annex Animus could have an adverse reaction to your Eye." Wan only has to think about his own volatile reaction to know that is the truth.
"You may be right," says Sin, thoughtfully. "But we came to help North against the Archduke and that's what we're going to do. I'm not willing to turn back now, not after coming so far."
"You could narrow the odds..."
"I laugh in the face in the danger."
She taps her chin with a finger. "Tell you what. If you guys help us break this damnable stalemate and let us take the fight directly to Xercifare, we'll do the rest and open the gateway to the Red Road. Once the way is open, you can either come with or make your own way. Xercifare is just a glorified, self inflated gatekeeper; it's Morzûl who has the real rocks. Once he senses Xercifare's defeat, he'll launch a fullscale assault against us. But hopefully, by then, we'll be on the Red Road. He won't be able to face us directly there but will try and force us off into one of his other seven Ids."
Godark - "Why are you locked in this stalemate anyway? Can't you wipe out some minor servant?"
Sin - "Xercifare just wants to delay us..."
"Sounds to me like its not much help," says Godark.
Wan is fascinated by it as it is another source of life and energy.

Alyx asks a question. "You say we could go on ahead. Won't this Red Road open directly into Morzûl's lap?"
Sin grins. "Absolutely. This is no walk in the park. We're dealing with beings that have had way too long to massage their own egos. But I've never been one to work on the odds. I say, "Live and Let Live." There's no point worrying about what might happen. You've got to seize life by the horns and knee it in the groin!"

Alyx mutters via her aura to Wan and Godark. "This girl is nuts."
Wan - "We maybe help you bypass the situation and then I make a link back to the source and home in on Need."

Godark pulls a face. "Reckless, maybe. Free and unburdened by the weight of decisions... yes. I was once this way. But Time has a way of wearing you thin to the point of transparency, until finally, even though you know you still exist, the Universe just flows obliviously through you."
Alyx stares at the Void warrior for a moment. "Godark, sometimes you scare the crap out of me more than that sword of yours."
Godark smiles, ever so slightly.

Wan asks the SC - "What exactly is Chaos trying to achieve?"
Sin - "Whatcha mean?"
Wan - "Well, at the moment, you've got one bit of Chaos trying to spread itself across the Prime. What does Chaos hope to gain by conquering the Prime and what do the Allied Chaos Lords hope to gain by opposing Morgrim?"

"Need must somehow be drawing energy from our Eldahar," Alyx concludes. "Stormcrow said that they (the Crownies) first entered the other Eldahar because they were summoned by Need. That means that even if North's Eldahar is totally Chaos, he can still draw upon normal energy from our Eldahar to help hold it at bay."

In brief, the SC says the following ;-

"Some time, many many eons ago, the Lords of Law and Lords of Chaos decided to work together. It doesn't happen very often, as you can imagine, but on this particular occasion, their reason was that of the Balance. They didn't like the way it just kept on interfering with everything they were doing and wanted to get rid of it altogether. Recognising the need to have something fill the void if the Balance was removed from power, the Lords of Law and Chaos decided to make their own version of the Balance; one that would be easier to control and less frustrating. So, they combined their creative powers and created a being to rival ANU; they created Tharizden."

"However, as soon as they had made their new Cosmic Balance, they realized, to their dismay, that it was flawed. Tharizden, in being the opposite of the original Balance, manifested as a being of Anti-matter... that is a being of Anti-Life - The opposite one could say of the Balance. Tharizden also decided on his own agenda and despite the wishes of his Creators, began bringing everything around him into his own form of Balance. Picture in maths the number 1. The number "1" can be balanced by the number "-1" - resulting in Zero. This was Tharizden. Wherever and whatever he touched, he brought into balance by creating an equal and opposite entity / shape. When the two entities, positive and negative touched, Tharizden erased both of existence, resulting in the ultimate and most final Balance possible - Zero - Nothing - Void."

"As Tharizden began spreading across the Multiverse, "Balancing" whole worlds by erasing them from existence, the Lords of Chaos and Lords of Law united once again out of self preservation to stop him. Eventually Tharizden was imprisoned, which is another story all together and there he remained for many thousands of years. But then one day he was released and once again took up his Purpose of Balancing the Multiverse."

"This time though, the Lords of Law and Chaos were disjointed and unwilling to help one another. Thousands of years of mistrust and war had caused tremendous hatred amongst them. This is where my Uncle, Kutal comes in; Kutal isn't quite like other Lords of Chaos - He can see the bigger picture and has chosen to work with Servants of the original Cosmic Balance to stop Tharizden. My father is of the Line of Dawn, a family closely linked to the Eternal Champion, who is the most powerful Servant of the Cosmic Balance. Working with Kutal, our allies hope to face Tharizden and ultimately destroy him, but the problem is we don't have a lot of Time to do it in."

"My father's homeworld is Eternium. Eternium is one of the first worlds to come into existence and supposedly one of the last to be destroyed at the End of Time. Hence its name. Because Eternium spans such a huge chunk of Time, Tharizden targeted it first. You see, Tharizden not only "Balances" a World with its dark opposite but he also erases it from history - from existence - so that it never existed in the first place! This is how Tharizden spreads. He doesn't just spread through the normal dimensions of width, length etc. He spreads backwards and forwards through Time too. His ultimate goal is not just to erase everything from existence but erase the whole of Time! He uses the "Balancing" of Worlds to travel in Time, taking leaps of millions of years with each victory. Eternium could have allowed him to leap to the very beginning and the very end of the Multiverse. Taking Eternium would have been like taking Eldahar - an endgame scenario. Fortunately though, Eternium is protected by a Temporal Rift. A Skarrion Time stone was shattered, causing Eternium to fragment in Time and Space. This has made it impossible for Tharizden to gain control of it and also provided a safe haven for those who want to oppose him. My family has been hiding on Eternium for some time, but now we've decided to take action."

"Tharizden has created some sort of connection to the Annex Animus. Many of his his non-corporeal servants appear as black beings with glowing eyes. Each of these beings is in reality an Anti-person; a direct copy of someone made out of Anti-matter. Tharizden keeps them from their positive counterparts so that they can serve him, but if they fail him or are no longer required, he makes them face their opposite and vanish!"

"If Tharizden captures Eldahar, he will attempt to copy it. If he does that, he will be able to destroy it and at the same time, bring desolation to the whole Multiverse! Even if that seems a long way off, by being able to spread his Anti-matter from Eldahar, through the Idiom and beyond, Tharizden gains a huge tactical advantage. He knows he doesn't have to rush to win because he's expecting Chaos and everyone else to destroy themselves first. At the first sign of weakness, he will move - expanding his darkness to smother Creation!"

A crucial piece of info that was not discussed was that Sin has been to North's Eldahar, but at the time she had the eye?

Tale of a World Gone Bad.
The Supreme Commander confirms that this was the case. "Yeah, I had the Eye when we arrived and still had it when I left. If Morgrim could have taken it from me, I'm sure he would have. As it turned out, Mennekra (Morgrim's first eternal at the time) tried to be very entertaining. When we arrived, we were attacked by your typical Chaotic welcoming commitee. Eventually though we made contact with North's Mirrorguard and were transported through a magical mirror to his Citadel. The Citadel was completely surrounded and besieged but protected by a magical forcefield powered by the King's sword. We were only in the Citadel a brief time before stuff suddenly started going wrong. Istar, the King's Wizard, decided to opt for the everyman for himself approach."

The Supreme Commander sits down and takes a deep breath. "Basically, I didn't actually have the Eye as I do now. When we arrived I was hiding it from my parents and they found out. It wasn't a part of me as it is now, but a seperate object that other people could hold and use. My mum and dad confiscated it from me and then lost it. We soon found out Istar had nabbed it in order to negotiate getting his body back from Morgrim. Did I mention Istar was just a floating head in a jar. No? Well, he was; Morgrim had stolen his body a few years back. The real twist to it being that Istar could still feel everything that happened to the body, despite being decapitated. Morgrim's demons would commit terrible atrocities to it and inflict horrendous pain. It's no wonder the Wizard had a few screws loose. Anyway, he stole the Eye and went on a big power trip. He did loads of stuff that endangered everyone and the Citadel, but eventually it was North and his sword that saved the day. Of course, Istar had charmed everyone into obeying him and banished North to some savage Chaos plane somewhere, seperating him from his sword, but we eventually managed to sort all that out. Istar was defeated and I got the Eye back."

"I don't think I ever actually lost it, not really. My Uncle thinks that it wants to be around me and with me. It's a fickle thing. One day it will decide to go off with someone else but for the time being, it seems to like hanging with me. After the Istar stealing it fiasco I thought about trying to find a way to stop anyone from taking it from me again and this is what happened... it just kind of melted into my body."

"While North and Ashar and Christian and my mum and dad etc call fended off Morgrim's demons (Istar had seriously weakened the Citadel's defences), I was in a coma of sorts, being whisked through various planes to have dinner with Menekkra. He knew about the Eye and its power. He definitely wanted it for himself but seemed to want me to join him. Of course I refused and he got a bit upset about it, saying that I would eventually come around to his way of thinking. I think he intended on trapping me there but my family woke me up. And then we left the world, with the Time Stone and I promised Christian that I would try and find a way to help them. They only had one day left before the army of Morgrim invaded the other Eldahar. North and his people had unanimously agreed to give up their lives defending the Gate."

Thus she had conversations with Morzul, but this means that Eldahar as we know it did not blow up instantly when she entered it?

No, the World did not blow up and Morgrim did not seem to gain significant extra Chaos power from the Eye being there. Basically, the Eye is utterly unpredictable. Just because it's there, doesn't mean it will do anything. The only person who can call upon its power is its owner - Sin.

There has to be an area of influence when not being activated or attacked (if aggressive then area of influence is finite probably?).

The SC says this ;- "I've never seen anyone or anything react like that to me being near them. The Eye only does stuff when I try using it and half the time, what it does is a right pain. Either you're a really odd person or it wasn't the Eye you were reacting to, but the Chaos you had attempted to absorb. If you're not inherently a Chaotic entity, taking on raw Chaotic energy like that could result in anything - absolutely anything, happening. I'm at a loss to explain it. I'm just glad you didn't go kaboom!"

Wan would have asked more questions about North's world, and what we face, what items they have etc, but limited by time, can Sin protect them when they arrive so that they can contact North before Morzul crushes them?

Sin waves her hands. "You have so many questions. Some of this might have to wait a bit. I'm telling you an aweful lot of stuff. How about you guys tell me a little more about yourselves first? Like, how did you get off of your World? Why did you react so badly when I said Ashar? On North's world he seems like a straight up kind of guy. He helped us defeat Istar and is North's advisor. Also, how do you know Queen Red? And, what do you all know about Tharizden? And... just how bad is everything on your Eldahar? Is there a chance it can be saved? Is there any Law there? Any Balance?"

"As for protecting you when you arrive on Eldahar..." Sin shrugs. "I don't have a clue. I guess if you stay with the Allied Forces, you'll be less of a target."

Wan would also be very interested in any info of Tharizdan (he has a name, not just the FOE), he needs to be careful because Godark is very ominious by his silence. This presence needs to be expelled from Eldahar, and the world sealed from multiverse influence (not sure how?).

The Commandant answers this. "The Gate Inverter is a creation of our Duke. Hail the Duke, Hail! When primed and placed directly infront of an open gateway, it counts down from 10 seconds. Once it reaches zero, it emits a powerful pulse that if our scouts have done their job, is attuned to the gate creating a  sympathetic wave. This wave turns the gate inside out, causing things coming through it, to be inverted back upon themselves and trapped between dimensions. Basically, nothing can come through from the otherside while the gate is inverted. It is essentially neutralised. However, there is a delay of about 30 seconds before the gate is inverted. During this time, things are sucked into the gate from our side to balance the energy and substance coming in from the other. This is a very dangerous time to be anywhere near the gateway."

"As for using an Inverter to prevent the Arch Duke's forces from coming through to your world - it appears to be a completely different scenario. Firstly, your two Eldahar's are actually the same Eldahar. They are meant to be rejoined. Furthermore, they will rejoin through your Mastergate. If you attempted to Invert that gate, you would be attempting to balance the entire energy of your world. Even if it were possible, the result would be undesirable as it would essentially seal all gateways to your world, from both sides. It would also interrupt the natural flow of energy to the Idiom beyond."

Wan is fearful of what might happen if he draws upon energy from the Source (or its Chaotic counterpart again).
Godark - "Just point me in the right direction... and wave it all goodbye."
Wan - "We have come to the conclusion, that we will go forward with you, to allow you to be a hindrence to Morgrim."
"I'm not too sure whether it would be wise for me to do anything, unless I really had to."

As Kranatakyn works best with raw energy to feed from, Wan asks the Supreme Commander if Godark can have the newly created grey ring back.
"Of course. Help yourself. It seems quite stable now," says Sin.

She hands it across to Godark who tosses it up and down in his black armoured hand a few times. "What do you think?" Godark telepathically asks his blade. "It seems quite heavy... maybe a 5?" Kranatakyn strokes the ring with invisible spiritual fingers. "It is a meal, nothing more. Certainly no feast." Godark allows the sword to suck the ring dry until its newly created substance erodes into nothingness. "When will I be able to properly feed and not have to subsist on these charitable morsels?"
Godark does not reply. Instead, he lets the last vestiges of the ring slip away between his fingers.

Meanwhile, Wan is delivering his mission statement to the Supreme Commander... "Our paths are very similar... as you know, my name is Wan. In my capacity as a Priest of the Source, I am a defender of the Prime. My enemy is this devourer of worlds. I defend the Prime from this negative energy. Any help I can give will be at your disposal."

The Supreme Commander has her own theory on the Source and how its energy radiates outwards. "Everything in the Multiverse is in motion, or at least begins in motion. At the Source of all things, creation is like a liquid, fluidic and ever changing. But the further you travel from the Source, the more solid reality gets. Until I suppose, you get to the very outer rim of the Multiverse and find matter completely frozen and devoid of life. In many ways, it must be similar to the life cycle of humanity. As a baby we are full of so much potential but unable to express it or give it proper form. Our creative abilities are raw but as grow into children they are unleashed. Then as we mature into adults we become more set in our ways until eventually as old ones, we slow back down to a crawl and eventually stop moving altogether. I'm sure it's no coincidence that a few of the Chaos Lords I've met have been in form of children."

Godark has kept very quiet during the whole conversation about Tharizden, showing no sign of a reaction. His silence has given Wan cause for concern, as well it should.
Godark has listened intently to what the Supreme Commander has said and privately focused his thoughts upon the black sword. "What do you know about this Tharizden? Is it a name you recognise?"
The black sword remains eerily silent... unusual for it as it always has something to say on such matters. Godark asks it again, but this time raising the intensity of his question. "Gohde... what do you know about this being? Is any of this girl's story true? How does Tharizden fit into your creator's rule? Are Satule and Tharizden connected? I demand your answer."
The blade judders, almost slipping from Godark's grasp. "Do not demand anything from me," it hisses. "There are similarities here between what I know and what the girl speaks. You know as well as I my memories of such times are incomplete, mere fragments gleamed from the thoughts and lifeforces of others or read by our collaboration upon the ancient ruins of a dozen shattered realities. I bond with my wielder, gaining that individual's memories and mental strength. When my wielder is no more or that bond is severed, I return to a dormant, mindless state, once again awaiting release."
"Yeah yeah, I'm such a disappointment for you. Satule was a tremendous mind and that meant you were just like him. Bad luck, you got stuck with me. If this guy Tharizden is so well known, who do you think he is? Could he be connected to Satule in some way? I wonder where Satule got the idea of how to create you in the first place. Maybe this Tharizden contacted Satule and showed him how to make you... to give him an edge; which would make Satule Tharizden's servant... no wonder so many of the ancient races rose up to kick his arse."
Kranatakyn seethes at Godark's mind, causing the warrior to mentally recoil. "Satule had no master. He was the True ruler of everything. He was the Ultimate Destroyer, the End of all things."
"Truth be told Gohde," Godark retaliates, sarcastically... "You know as much as I do about who he was. Which is bugger all."

"We're going to the front..." Alyx declares, trying to make light of the situation as they re-enter the Mal forward base war-room.
The Commandant bellows upon their arrival with gusto, "Welcome back allies.. May the blessings of the 8 fold 8 fold be you!"
"Commandant," Sin addresses the room, "Are your Mal's ready to advance?"
"They stand ready Supreme Commander!"
"Excellent, then order the advance. The Shield Maiden will be leading this assault with the support of our new allies."
"For the Alliance!" the Mal's shout as one.

As the discussion of armour comes up Godark bestows some Black Armour upon Alyx from Kranatakyn's abundance of spells. "How strong is this stuff?" she asks. "It feels kinda light, like it isn't even on me."
Godark gives it a prod with his hand, sending slight ripples across the suits surface. "It's not real, it's more like a magic shell. It can deflect a certain amount of force, then once that force is overcome, it recoils and absorbs another similar amount. Anything that exceeds that will cause the shell to bend and hurt you inside, like a hammer or mace. You won't get cut or grazed but you get smacked. There's a chance the armour will rupture or burst if it sustains a big blow or is pierced by a magical attack and that chance increases the more it's brutalised."
"You mean the more I'm brutalised?"
"Yeah," Godark admits. "Don't worry though. Armour like this is cheap in the grander scheme of things."

On the way to the front, Alyx and Wan chat to the Shieldmaiden Tanni. The young woman strikes Wan as extremely focused and dedicated to the task. "I am here to do what must be done, no matter what. In this capacity, I serve Sin and only Sin."

The plan is simple; get a small group of Mals carrying something called a "Gate Inverter" close enough to the gateway behind the Pit Fiend. Once in position, the Mals can use the Inverter to close the gate and prevent Xercifare's advance into Mal occupied territory. Once the fiend and the gate are gone, the path through the Fire Storm to Xercifare's Citadel will be open. However, getting close enough to the fiend proves easier said than done.

As Wan, Godark, Alyx and the Mal's approach the Pit Fiend, fireballs hurtle out of the fire and smoke ahead and whistle passed. One fireball strikes the Mals, exploding and melting the flesh from their bones. A few survive the blast by sheltering behind their magical shields but quickly charge on once the fire clears. "For the Alliance!"

Wan feels exhilaration as he charges into the unknown, surrounded by soldiers and with his companions at his side. Everything seems in focus, every detail of the Mal's and their grim determination captured in his mind's eye. He senses everything around him, the heartbeats, the pain and the incoming fireballs.

Some of the Mals split to the left and right flanks of the charge and unsling heavy metallic tubes from their backs. They position these devices on the ground at thirty foot intervals and then as one pull down a metal arm on the side. Moments later, the earth vibrates and lowers, forming trenches twelve feet deep and ten feet wide.

Up ahead Wan senses a presence - a powerful mind filled with rage and a primordial desire to destroy. He glimpses it's outline, framed in white hot fire and perfectly understands Alyx's sudden religious sign of protection because it, unlike many of Chaos' servants or minions is truly "demonic" in stature and appearance.

It towers forty feet over the landscape at the heart of a swirling inferno of hellfire. It's skin like lava, it's horns jet streams of otherworldly heat. In one hand the fiend wields a whip of living fire that twists and snakes it way through the air, while in the other it grasps a great sword, over twenty feet in length. Behind its monstrous visage is the gateway, standing like a giant oval shaped eye of fire while behind it, the whole landscape, air and sky seems to burn. This is the Firestorm, a lifeless plain permanently set on fire by the Fiend's supernatural powers.

Suspended in the centre of gateway, Wan sees a naked male body, thrashing wildly as the gate's powerful magical forces buffet and tear at the howling man's flesh. The man is fastened to the rim of the gate with long red metal chains and has flaps of skin pulled back away from his chest, leaving still beating and pulsing organs exposed to the air.

With a thunderous roar, the fiend hurls another ball of fire, far larger than the others; as the ball tears its way along the ground, it rips up earth, adding stones to its substance like a blazing snowball. Wan sees the ball strike the Mal charge with the force of a bomb, crushing their shields before exploding with devastating effect.

Once again the fiend roars and this time the air around it distorts. Wan sees three gateways open, just at the edge of the fiend's fiery aura and almost immediately lizard men flood forth, screaming and wailing like a herd of scaly banshees. The Mals meet these new demons head on in a clash of magical bolts and locked blades. "For the Alliance!"

The fiend roars yet again, gesturing with its sword to weave another fireball. The ball rolls along the ground, gathering momentum and weight to bowl into the Mals and inflict a hundred more casualties. Things look bleak, but Wan has to remain and guard the Gate Inverter. Other smaller fireballs hurtle from the fiend; some are deflected by Wan's aura while others whizz over the heads of Mals' seeking refuge in their hastily created trenches.

"Leave this bastard to me!" shouts Godark, charging right up to the creatures hellish heat. Standing where no normal metal or being could survive, Godark barks an order to Kranatakyn. "Black Lance!"

Eight lizard Men rush towards Wan. He retracts his aura and then pushes them back, knocking them over or back into the fiend's aura.
Should physical strength effect the power of an aura punch...? This is something Wan momentarily considers.
As more lizard men attack, Wan continues to shelter the Mals and their Inverter by trying out new things with his aura. He thickens his aura and slows the Lizard men down, making it seem like they are running through quicksand. Alyx jabs passed him with her dagger, causing a Lizard to vanish into thin air as Mals fire their magical bolt swords and drop the rest.

A fireball hisses down and hits Wan's aura. He slows it right down until it hovers spinning a foot away from his face and then uses his aura control to move it to one side with a swipe of his arms as if turning the page of a book. An idea suddenly occurs to him as the fireball continues on its way; what if he bent his aura so that the fireball moved back the way it came? In an instant he adjusts its movement and flings it back at a group of battle hungry Lizard men, watching them with some slight satisfaction explode into pieces.

Sensing Wan as a potential threat, the Fiend creates another fireball and throws it with a mere nod of its head directly at the robed priest. Wan sees it coming and thickens his aura like before to slow it. But this fireball has a surprise behind it. At the last instant Wan senses another smaller more compact ball of yellow spiritual fire hiding behind the first. This yellow fire speeds through his aura unabated as Wan isn't expecting it. It's not that Wan couldn't have stopped it, it's just that he wasn't expecting it at the time. With no time to act and the ball only inches away from hitting him, Wan pulls his aura in in a clap of thunder.

For a few moments he feels his heart stop as his aura contracts around both fireballs, forcing them into a smaller and smaller space until the energy contained within them cannot be crushed any further. At this point, the energy has to go somewhere as it certainly can't escape Wan's vice-like aura. In a somewhat anti-climactic "pop", the energy from both fireballs is forced out of Wan's plane and into a completely different one - and who knows where it ends up?

Infuriated by the Mals, Wan and the annoying black beetle man at his feet, the Fiend roars, beats its great leathery wings and brings them forward in a sudden hurricane force concussion of air. The raging inferno around the Fiend is propelled forwards in a terrifying wave. Mals scream at one another to take cover as the Lizard men before them are caught in the blast and instantly incinerated. Some Mals reach the safety of their trenches but most are turned into molten heaps of slag and bubbling flesh.

Wan hardens his aura as the wave hits him. The fire travels by, leaving everyone inside of Wan's aura safe, but with frayed nerves and more than a little hot.

Kranatakyn at this point has been building up a huge energy burst for nearly half a minute - the energy flows from its black orb pommel, up along the blade, making the blade elongate into the appearance of a long black lance. The more the energy throbs and grows, the more vicious the tip of the black lance becomes; it expands, grows extra blades and glistens as flames reflect off of its skin of unnatural darkness. "Are we ready?" Godark shouts at the mind of his sword. "Soon... six seconds..." the sword croons.

The fiend gestures again, invoking another power from its seemingly endless repertoire of insults and death. This time the air churns in front of it, spinning downwards to form a funnel of fire. Moments later a tornado howls its way towards Wan and the Mals, growing in size and ferocity with every passing second.

"Holy shit!" Alyx screams above the deafening roar of fire, wind and deep demonic rumbling. "What else is this thing gonna throw at us?"
Wan stands perfectly still as the tornado looms closer, its base burrowing into the ground leaving a trail of destruction. As it already appears too big for his aura, Wan decides to try another tact. The Shield maiden and Mals retreat further behind him but Alyx stands firmly by his side. "I hope you know what you're doing... oh shit."
With a sharp cutting motion of his hand, Wan splits the astral plane and creates a portal to "somewhere else". Normally Wan would have a destination in mind but without knowing many places on this strange Chaos infested realm, he couldn't really specify. The portal rips open just in front of the tornado, at first drawing just its base inside but seconds later swallowing the whole thing.
"Yay for our side!" thinks Alyx.
But Wan isn't ready to celebrate. Without a destination, the portal is still open and seems to be expanding. All manner of disastrous scenario's rush through his mind; what if the thing grows larger and larger? What if it can't be closed? Wan knows how his portals work on Eldahar, but this is a Chaos realm.
Wan has just one thing to say on the matter.... "Oops..."

Godark is now the proud wielder of a 15 foot long, jet black, shiny weapon of mass destruction with more sharp edges than a Yarilian sword dancer's tournament. With a slight smile he levels the thing at the Fiends chest. "...two... one..."
"Bye bye you crazed fuck!"

The Lance suddenly expands forwards, skewering the Fiend in the chest. "Yeah!" Godark screams at the demon's anguished face. "Can you feel that? That's your life force being flushed down the cosmic toilet you ugly fuck."

As Wan and the allies watch, darkness spreads from the lance across the Fiend's chest, turning its lava like skin to solid cold black crystal. Steam hisses and spouts into the air as the darkness continues its rapid conversion of the fiend's body; its shroud of fire begins to thin and flutter like the pilot light of an oven until several seconds later, contorted and misshapen from pain, the last of the fiend's extremities transform and the flames splutters out.

"Now, the Inverter! Before Xercifare can can reinforcements through the gate!" Tanni shouts.
Mals rush forward and plant the strange metal box in front of the gate. One remains there to activate it and then high tails it out of the area just in the nick of time. The Inverter literally causes the gate to invert; at first it seems to destabilize; the wind picks up and for a moment the Allies see more demons travelling through it towards them. But then the gate seems to collapse into a funnel,  sucking air and debris into its unstable maw.

Wan braces himself but then notices everyone behind him running for the cover of the trenches and decides to do the same. He drops down just in time to see the Fiend splintering into smaller and smaller pieces of jagged black crystal and being sucked into the gateway. The wind howls and Mal's grip one another for added weight, especially as one or two are sucked right off of their feet.

Alyx braves a peek above the trench top to see Godark struggling towards them. She shouts for him to get a move on but her voice is lost in the bedlam.
"It's nearly at saturation point!" a Mal shouts into Wan's ear. "It will balance any second now."
Godark finally drops down into the trench, nonchalantly shoving a pile of dead Mals out of his way, just as the wind begins to subside.
The Mal's cheer. "Victory! Victory! Victory!"
Wan looks out; the gateway seems to have closed but more importantly, so has his portal. With a small sigh of relief, he clambers up and surveys the damage.

The fiend is gone, the gateway closed - now all that lies between them and Xercifare is miles of burning earth and air in the form of "The Firestorm."

Wan's question of the hour - How many different types of energy can KK absorb at any given time?

The Shield Maiden moves alongside Wan to gaze at the Firestorm. She has seen many strange and awe inspiring sights over the years with Sin, but something about that wall of fire still makes her anxious. "On the other side of that is Xercifare's Citadel. He'll be mobilizing his forces even as we speak. At least his front line gate is closed; without it pressuring us he'll assume that we're going to carry out a two pronged attack on his flanks. As long as one force breaks through, we'd stand a chance of reaching his walls and be able to end this. He won't expect us to come straight through the storm... he's too arrogant."
Wan continues staring at the wall of fire. "How long until your troops are ready?"
"They're pretty much ready now. We'll advance using shields to keep the fire back. We estimate it'll take twelve hours to reach the far side. Once there, it's a very short distance right to his gates."
"Twelve hours!" Alyx shakes her head in disbelief. "That's giving him an aweful lot of time to prepare."
"Yes, but it's the quickest that we can reach him. Even now he's strengthening his other forward positions. We need to distract him by attacking them so that he doesn't suspect us coming through the Firestorm."
Wan nods. "How long would it take us to cross the Storm if you didn't have to build shields along the way?"
Tanni stares at Wan for a moment, a little taken aback. "Ur, it would take an hour, perhaps less if the troops ran."
"You're not thinking of..." mumbles Alyx.
"Yes," Wan nods. "I can shield you with my aura. I should be able to shield a few hundred of you, perhaps more if everyone forms a tight formation."
"You can do that?" Tanni questions, but realizes how silly it sounds in the light of what she has already witnessed.
"Yes. This way we would be more likely to surprise him," says Wan.
The Shield Maiden smiles. "I'll bring up some troops now. What are the dimensions of your shield?"
Wan does a quick bit of maths, adjusting for a lower aura ceiling. Armed with the figures, Tanni heads over to a Mal commander and passes them on. The Mal pauses, performs a quick calculation and announces "505 humanoids would be capable of travelling under our comrade's protective umbrella."
"Let it be so," orders Tanni. "Bring up the troops."

Within fifteen minutes 500 Mals have gathered around Wan. On his signal, the entire force begins shuffling its way into the Firestorm. Wan has no idea if his aura will be strong enough and puts his faith entirely in the Chaos tainted source to refuel his power. But several minutes in, completely surrounded by eight hundred degree fire, things seem to going well.

The five hundred strong force is making good progress and due to exit the Storm in just over thirty minutes when suddenly something skims over the top of Wan's shield, exposing its metallic underbelly through the fire. The Mal's cry out in alarm - "Fire Serpant!" - for indeed, as the creature comes back around to make a second pass, Wan clearly sees it for what it is - an enormous, fifty foot long snake make from interlocking scaled metal links; its eyes burning bright like twin suns through the storm. The snake thuds into the top of the shield, sending a ripple along it that dents a few helmets.

Godark, positioned at the rear to absorb any fire that might stray his way, makes a leap for the creature with Kranatakyn but misses. Wan quickly recovers from the attack and glances over at the Shield Maiden.
"It's checking us out," she calls back, vaulting onto the shoulders of her Mal soldiers. As she moves, Wan adjusts the height of his shield to protect her and urges the Mal's at the edge to move in tighter. The snake returns, writhing its way through the air towards them on a head on collision course. Wan concentrates, offering a prayer to the Source as the snake is about to hit but at the last instant it veers upwards to strike the aura shield with its tail.

Tanni chooses that moment to leap and strike with Blackbone. Her heavy sword pierces Wan's aura and severs one of the creatures scaly hinges. It instantly convulses and exhales steam, sounding like the horn of a train, before disappearing into the storm and not coming back.

Tanni sprightly drops back to the smoking ash covered ground and raises her arm in a forward motion. "Resume March!"

One small leap for Wan, one long fall for Demonkind.

Surrounded by fire, all senses shut off from the rest of the world, it becomes easy to lose track of time. After what seems like an eternity, an eternity where Alyx feels her aprehension reaching breaking point, the front of Wan's shield suddenly pierces the storm, lifting a tremendous weight off of everyone. Even the Mal's, normally stoic and all about military efficiency visibly relax - but not for long.

Alyx gazes between a pair of rigid "T" shaped Mal shoulders at another typically uninviting bit of Chaos scenery and casts her mind for a moment back to brighter, happier days with her six sisters in Daya, forgaging around lake Rhun's hills, gathering stones and fragments of animal skull for their offerings to Akilla. The memory is fleeting, more than a lifetime distant and quickly confused with those of Elaida Kalim, the woman who for the love of her brother, read from the Canabrium of the Dead and consigned herself to eternal damnation as an unholy spiritual milk giving cow. Yes, Alyx felt bitter but couldn't say for sure whether it was her of Makailla; perhaps a little of both.

Stretching out before them, the Firestorm at an end, was a barren strip of land, leading three miles due East to a chasm, a stone bridge and on the otherside, an imposing edifice of ice, glass or possibly crystal. Alyx couldn't tell; whatever it was it glistened and shone like the Esian crown jewels, promising great things but no doubt cheap and tacky upon closer inspection.

Between them and the chasm, dotted across the land like anorexic trees, were tall slender pieces of wood with bare and gnarly branches at their very top. And squatting on these branches, Alyx could see dozens, no perhaps hundreds of hunched over shapes. Something about the shapes didn't feel right.

The Shield Maiden, upon seeing Xercifare's citadel, begins shouting orders again. The Mal's break formation and start picking up the pace, casting wary eyes to the ground and the sky. As Alyx jogs alongside them, protected by Wan in front and Godark behind, she finds herself staring up at one of the squat shapes, unable to avert her gaze; was it her imagination? Did it just move?

A Mal shouts out, pointing to the some of the shapes nearby, their black hunched forms beginning to unfurl and stretch, the sound of bones creaking and popping sickeningly back into joints as wide leathery wings tipped with jagged claws begin beating at the air.

Alyx holds her breath as the shape above her twitches, moves ever so slightly and exposes a single bloodshot inhuman eye. It is then, as the skyline suddenly comes to life, that Alyx realizes these shapes aren't sat on trees, but giant perches. An insane chittering suddenly rises into the air as the demons take flight and the Mal's steel themselves for the inevitable.

The Shield Maiden shouts to Wan, "If any of you can reach it before we can, secure the bridge. Xercifare may try to destroy it!"
Alyx sees Wan glance back towards her but she doesn't have time to say anything to him. Instead she just waves him on, aware that Godark is suddenly by her side. As she runs by one of the perches, her eyes fall upon a pile of picked dry bones heaped below it. 

The first of the bird demons swoops down, extending filthy blood stained claws towards her face, but she ducks and rolls out of its way. A quick look back and she sees it spitted on the end of Kranatakyn, writhing and clawing helplessly at Godark's invulnerable armour as its skin grows blacker and blacker until it seems to melt into nothingness.

Alyx leaps back to her feet, every Vengeance trained instinct suddenly hers to call on. For a moment she is surprised; how long has it been since this whole adventure began? How long since she knew who she was or what her place was in the scheme of things? It seems like forever, but the pathetic truth is that it is measurable in hours. A Mal to her side gurgles and collapses with his throat torn out. Alyx bends, grips the soldier's sword and continues running, striking at anything descending within reach.

For a second she scans the running people ahead... where did Wan go? Then she sees him, a tiny speck flying through the air. Alyx stifles a sudden laugh; despite the horrors around her, seeing Wan leaping like a human frog, hurtling a mile with every superhuman bound, seems strangely normal.
"Do you see that?" she asks Godark, who is keeping pace by her.
"I see it. He's propelling himself like a human cannonball."
Alyx laughs again, this time not bothering to hold it back. "I hope he's got some underwear on!"

Wan lands with a loud thwap just two hundred feet from the bridge. It stretches four hundred feet over the chasm, a deep dark and potentially bottomless place if looks are anything to go by and ends at the very front doors of Xercifare's citadel.

Wan rushes forwards to its edge but slows as two statues, seemingly part of the bridges structure, suddenly animate into life and starting moving towards him.

As the remaining two Demonicans try to advance towards Wan, he traps them in his highly versatile aura and turns them 180 degrees around; Wan has had an idea - as he advances towards the Citadel's immense glass doors, he gently nudges the two bridge guards ahead of him, delighting in the vicious snapping of their claws, like twin lawn mowers ready to trim some hedgerows.

The doors to the Citadel stand shut, tall and very thick... but not for long. Squinting at them down his perfectly symmetrical nose, Wan once again musters his aura; what mere edifice, no matter how large or mighty can withstand such an aura? Certainly not the glass doors to Xercifare's realm. As the power hits the glass and passes through it, the substance is disrupted, weakened and finally shattered in a blizzard of tiny glass shards. The way ahead lies open... inviting Wan to enter.

Deep within his scrying room, Xercifare, Lord of the Glass Mind, shifts awkwardly on his cushionless glass throne and purses his thin, bloodless lips at the scene unfolding before him... "Who is this robed figure that so rudely announces himself at my doors?"
Dozens of Mormen soldiers, with slightly more thawed out minds than the typical automaton in Xercifare's army, shuffle and struggle to find the answer to their Lord's question... but even if miraculously they could find it, the very words would still confound their ice weighted brains.
Xercifare adjusts his scrying mirror to afford a slightly better view of the robed intruder. "Why do I recognise this man's features? Where have I seen his visage before?"
A stiff backed elven soldier announces his presence before the Lord with a salute sharp enough to snap a man's neck and a voice so shrill that Xercifare feels his teeth tremble. "Shall I order General Kal to go forth my liege?"
Xercifare moves his mirror's sight beyond the robed figure to a group of noisome Mal's, charging intrepidly closer. The mirror lingers momentarily over them, then over the Shieldmaiden and another dark haired woman in black. "Where does Maloth find these people? Yes yes, tell Kal to crush them... crush them all, but bring me back something shiny... something magical."
"My liege!" the elf screeches in a glass shattering voice, once again slicing the air with its salute.
The mirror soars over the black clad woman and for a moment focuses on something else... something dark... but then it goes completely dark. "What...?" Xercifare moves a little closer to it. "What have we here?" As he reaches out to adjust it, he sharply snatches his hand back as something corrosive spills out of the scrying window, hissing and bubbling onto the floor. With a cry of panic and anger, Xercifare stands up and moves away... his scrying device melting before his eyes as a horrible, utterly evil voice, full of relish and inhuman hunger, hisses from the darkness... "We are coming to get... YOU."

Wan cannot resist the temptation to walk a little further into the glass horn that forms the Citadel's entrance. As he reaches about one hundred yards in, he hears a loud clammer from somewhere up ahead and sees shadows thrown up upon the walls and ceiling. Seconds later, he sees a mass of stumbling, stiff bodies rushing headlong towards him... a thick tidal wave of pale animated flesh, ice blue lips and blank, lifeless eyes. Wan stands, waiting, as six hundred Mormen, the undead frozen servants of Archduke Morgrim, are driven forward and with grim determination, he digs his heels in.

The army of Xercifare hits Wan's braced aura wall, slows and then comes to an almost complete grinding halt. Bodies begin to pile on top of one another as those behind, unresponsive to orders, continue to press forward and crush those in front. Wan holds both his hands up before him, palms outward and fingers wide, stretching his aura across the fifty foot wide horn... his singular thought... "Back!"

As the horde collapses into Chaos, arrows and missiles hurtle from its midst, speeding their way towards Wan's head and heart... but his aura holds them fast, draining their momentum until they fall like leaves from a tree at his feet.

"Now," Wan thinks, his mind rippling through his aura and touching the two Demonicans who have so far been held back in a contained frenzy. He releases his grip on their bodies, pushing them forward even as the Mormen stumble slowly through his thick as syrup barrier. The result is dramatic and gruesome as the Demonican's mow an undead lawn.

This continues for nearly one and a half minutes, the Demonicans slaughtering their way forward whilst sustaining little or no damage themselves. But eventually, even they, in their thick shells, fall victim to stray arrows or lucky blades. First one and then the other falls, leaving Wan still facing an indeterminable number of still twitching limbs and hacking blades.

Wan closes his eyes for a moment in silent prayer, a sense of complete calm flowing through him from his very soul. Then, when the calm is absolute, he lowers his hands and the aura wall before him. In a rising wave, the bodies rise up to overshadow the Priest of the Source and from somewhere behind them, a cry of exultation heralds imminent victory.

But they don't know Wan...

His aura coiled and poised to be unleashed like a striking viper, Wan punches at the air in front of him with two open palms. As he does, his spirit blasts out, throwing the entire front line of the enemy army up and back over the heads of their pale faced comrades. The power continues to flow from Wan's palms, out, through the Mormen, disrupting the ritual that animates their already lifeless bodies so that line after line of them stumble and fall unmoving to the floor.

Then, as Wan's power recovers, the energy of the Chaos tainted Source flowing back into him, he pulls back his arms and punches out again. A second wave of power hits the onrushing army; this time, the Mormen already falling lifeless to the ground have the very energy holding their flesh and bones together disrupted. The wave of power blasts through the army causing those closest to Wan to disintegrate into clouds of dust and crumbling bone.

Still the enemy advance, clambering over their fallen, reaching out blindly through clouds of decaying skin and bone dust with the relentless determination; Mormen have no fear, have no morale to falter and no will of question.

Wan strikes the army one last time, watching the wave of spirit either disintegrate or incapacitate everything in its path. And then, it is over. More than 600 Mormen are no more along with their slightly more thawed Mormen commanders and a battallion of dark elven swordsman.

Finally, after Wan is kept waiting nearly ten minutes, the force of Mals catch up, stepping over or in some cases through, Xercifare's Morman army. Wan stands in the great entrance shell of the Citadel, surrounded by clouds of settling dust, the last vestiges of the horde he so easily dispatched only minutes before.
"Was that an army back there?" asks Alyx, as the group plunge forward, deeper into the Citadel's depths.
"Yeah," Wan replies, a little sheepishly.
Alyx rolls her eyes at him. "No one round here seems to want to share anymore!"
"Sharing is for losers, or pacifists. And I hate fucking pacifists," Godark mutters to her as Wan quickly trots on behind the Shieldmaiden.

At the end of the burning plain lies Xercifare's fortress. It appears to be made out of warped molten glass, elongated, twisted, dripping from the walls etc.
Guarding the bridge to the Fortress are 12 Voraces Demonicans.

With the Shieldmaiden taking the lead, she guides the remaining Mal's and Wan's group into another glass hall over three hundred and fifty feet in length. The hall is filled with tall, floor to ceiling glass pillars, some of which have ledges at regular intervals positioned thirty feet up. At first glance, the hall appears to be empty, but Tanni raises her hand to signal danger.

Wan reaches out with his aura, sensing humanoids behind the closest of the pillars.
"Erekeshe!" shouts one of the Mals.
"Close formation. Interlock Shields," shouts another Mal commander.
As orders are given, the concealed Erekshe step out from cover with drawn back bows and deadly arrows nocked ready to fire. Wan counts at least fifty of the dark elven marksman, thirty on the ground and another twenty suspended halfway up the pillars, their legs and feet attached to the glass like nimble acrobats. In one precision movement fifty arrows cut through the air but only half make it to their targets; Wan stands at the forefront of the allies, his hand held up defiently against the flght of arrows, his aura soaking up their momentum until they fall harmlessly around him.

The remaining arrows pierce the Mal umbrella shields, impaling through their armour to inflict grievous wounds. An arrow strikes Godark's void armour, but richochets harmlessly away as Alyx takes shelter behind him.

"Engage them at close quarters!" the Shieldmaiden shouts, leaping forward to push herself off of a pillar and go soaring through the air. Her sword, Blackbone, crushes through an enemy sword parry to bite deep into shoulder bone.

Wan focuses his aura again, using it like a wave, pulling and pushing it back and forth to knock the Erekeshe from their perches or send them flying into the hall's walls. Behind him, Godark takes hold of Kranatakyn's ribbed hilt, gives the black sword a tight squeeze and says "Go take some heads."
Godark hurls the malicious blade ahead of him so that it behins spinning; Kranatakyn gains momentum, spinning faster and faster like a helicopter blade to strike the first pillar and completely cut through it. The Eerekeshe, having delivered their first volley, retreat behind their pillars to reload and fail to see the Black sword coming; without slowly, it slices through each pillar, severing the heads the archers sheltering behind them, all the way down the left hand side of the hall. When it reaches the far end, it angles itself to spin in a wide arc and to begin cutting its way back along the right hand side of the hall. By the time it returns with pin point accuracy to Godark's outstretched hand, twenty archers lie beheaded on the ground; Xercifare's Elite, decimated.

"That was impressive, you're showing off again aren't you?" says Alyx, still sheltering behind the Void warrior.
"That was boredom," Godark shrugs, watching Wan flex his aura intently.

The Mals descend on the last of the Erekeshe, who put up a valient fight to the bitter end. As the last archer gasps and falls, several Mal spears jutting out of his body, an explosion suddenly rocks the hall, showering everyone in tiny pieces of glass and actually bringing three of the pillars shattering to the ground.

Wan doesn't look up. Instead, he braces his feet, crouches and launches himself upwards in an aura powered jump. As he flies towards it, the creature flicks a tentacle in Wan's direction. Like the flayers back in the Citadel of Chaos in the Ids, the tentacle heralds a psionic blast; unlike the previous blasts though, this one is immense, able to liquify even the strongest of minds or at the very least plunge them into an eternal night, filled with horror and insanity. Fortunately for Wan though, his will is unshakeable, his aura unbreakable. The psionic blast hits him like an open oven and he flies straight through it.
Drawing on his spiritual reserves, he delivers a crushing power strike to the creature's main body, sending shockwaves rippling along it to the very tips of its tentacles. Whatever it is, it is perfectly camouflaged and blended with the glass of the ceiling, but Wan's energy illuminates its monstrousness for a few moments, causing a few of the Mals below to cry out in horror as they see it. Yet even as it physically recoils, its mind stabs blindly into the hall, plunging like hot knives into the minds of those Mals unfortunate to be nearby. They scream then as their minds teeter on the edge of a precipice of sanity stealing terror. They scream... and many plunge, never to emerge again.

Wan realizes that his battle is not over; the creature wraps its tentacles around a pillar and begins sliding its way down to the hall floor, even as Wan continues hurtling upwards to go crashing through the ceiling into a chamber beyond it. Using his aura as a parachute to slow his speed and come to a safe landing near the hole he has just made, Wan throws himself headlong back through the ceiling and after the creature before it can lash out with its psychic flails and shred more minds. Again, using his aura as an anchor, he hangs upside down from the hole, senses the creature's trajectory and propels himself towards it, twisting in mid air to avoid the spasmotic, desperate defensive thrashing of the monster's limbs. An opportunity presents itself, a perfect alignment between Wan's fist and its leathery heaving bulk of a belly; Wan's strike blasts a hole through it and the pillar beyond it; flesh boils and energy overflows from the spiritual realm into the physical; ancient alien arteries rupture, spewing forth black ichor and steaming hot juices that bubble and froth upon the glassy floor. Wan flies backwards and comes to a gentle rest on one knee as the beast suddenly sighs; like a baloon exhaling the last of its air it folds in upon itself, deflated and empty... a once terrifying Servant of Evil rendered in moments to nothing more than an empty sack of rotting flesh.

Wan has no time to savor his victory or his new found confidence in his aura powers for behind him, further down the hall, Xercifare, Master of this Citadel of twisted glass is dismissing his enemies in timely fashion as a man might step on ants.

The Shieldmaiden has been drawing a lot of Xercifare's fire, but her speed and agility has so far evaded the Sorceror's deadly assault. Her sword, virtually weightless in her hand and her own telekinetic power allowing her to virtually run on the air has helped; but as bolt after bolt hunts her from pillar to pillar, she finds herself struggling for breath and unable to approach close enough to strike her enemy. "Commander! I order you and your troops to advance."

The Mal commander, suddenly under direct orders, bravely steps forward, managing to shout "Onward Mals, onward!" before being vaporised in a flash of prismatic heat.

Alyx too finds herself struggling to escape Xercifare's over the top magical bolts and in desperate need of reprieve. She concentrates on the Dagger of Phanes, which causes her to shift down a layer of the astral plane and effectively vanish from sight. Her perception shifts too; she no longer sees living beings but does see the bolts spreading like frost through the air. Carefully, she steps her way closer to Xercifare, who she knows stands at the centre of the swirling ice storm ahead of her. She gets within ten feet, the dagger ready to stab him in the neck, when suddenly the frost changes direction. A branch of it expands through the air and touches her shoulder, causing her to scream out in pain. She feels cold, extreme cold as the frost continues to spread across her body. In a panic she wills herself back to her native astral layer just in time to get hurled backwards by a searing bolt.

Godark, seeing the enemy he has wanted to face for some time now, begins picking up speed towards the fiercely burning Sorceror. But as he draws within the range of Xercifare's searing bolts of energy, Godark becomes a popular target. Dozens of deadly, incinerating bolts blast at him from seemingly every direction at once. Xercifare laughs at the futility of the Void warriors actions, expecting that to be the end of it, but like many before him, Xercifare underestimates the resilience of Old Magic. Unable to dodge the bolts as they veer back and forth, homing in upon his energy and that of his sword, Godark is repeatedly struck. Some of the bolts strike Kranatakyn, crackling back and forth upon the sword's black blade making its very edge glow with an unnatural and otherworldly heat until one bolt seems to actually overload the sword and arc from it to strike and crack a pillar. Others strike Godark's impervious and complete black armour; armour forged by no hand, but by the mind of an Ancient in a Time before, without definition, dimension or description; armour given shape and form by the mind of its symbiont, the mind of a Blacksmith from the Southern hills of Esia. The armour swallows a great deal of the deadly bolts but not enough to stop Godark from being thrown backwards as if struck by point blank gunfire.

"Gohde!" Godark screams out with his mind to his black sword. "Why aren't you draining these bolts!? Why the hell isn't my armour working as it should?"
The black sword makes a bestial grunt and replies, its mind agitated and full of exertion... "These bolts are alive in some way, a part of Xercifare's living aura but turned through magic into a lethal weapon. It's as if this being's aura has been set on fire. As each bolt... grunt... grrrmph... strikes, it probes for our weakness... ever shifting... ever adjusting... extremely fast. Your armour is not designed to absorb such sentience... and I... ackkk... need time to adjust."
Godark stumbles but rises back to his feet and presses on. "Start casting something... anything. In the mean time..." He reaches into his left arm greave and produces a small silver ball, the size of a golf ball but perfectly smooth and shiny. "Let's see if these bolts home in on something lifeless."

Turning his back on another incoming bolt, Godark spins, crouches and hurls the silver ball along the ground, directly at Xercifare's feet. The power crazed Lord pays it no heed, unable to sense it through the Eye of his ritual's magical storm. Then before the ball comes to rest, Godark produces another identical ball from his other arm and twists it at the centre. In a flash, the Void warrior vanishes and reappears directly above the first sphere, mere inches away from Xercifare's snarling face.
Kranatakyn thrusts forward like a bull out of a gate; Godark's poise and fluid movement deadly, accurate, perfect, but fractionally too slow. As Xercifare raises his arms in shock and fear, the black sword coming within an inch of his chest, ferocious bolts of energy converge and blast Godark backwards, sparing Xercifare's life for a few moments longer.

Godark lands awkwardly twenty feet away, shouting angrily as a a barrage of continuous bolts pummle into his chest and Kranatakyn's blade. "You absolute fucker!"

Now it is Wan's turn. Lowering his shoulder and drawing on every ounce of his spirit as a shield, he moves his hands in a flurry of spiritual parries to deflect as many incoming bolts as he can, whilst still pressing forward, one step at a time. On one side Xercifare sees Wan getting closer and on the other he sees Godark; things do not bode well.

It doesn't take alot of intelligence or common sense to realize when things aren't going as planned. Xercifare, having used up every last bit of magical power to fuel his Sunfire Ritual and having just witnessed the destruction of his allies, his Erekeshe elite archers and Morman army, quite rightly decides to call it a day and make a break for it. Activating his Crown of reforged gates, he opens one up right behind him to the Red Road. With no intention whatsoever of returning to the Broken Realm and facing Morzul to explain his failure, Xercifare figures that a brief stay on one of the other Ids off of the Red Road will give him time to rebuild his power base.

With Wan only a few feet away from punching his lights out, Xercifare takes a fateful step backwards, putting his neck right into the path of razor edged short sword. His head falls to the floor, bounces and rolls, affording his shocked but dying brain the momentary view of Sin, the Supreme Commander, stepping out of his gateway and sheathing her sword.

While Xercifare was distracted by the rapidly approaching Godark and Wan, Sin shifted, using the Rings of Ithillan and her power to manipulate gateways, right up behind Xercifare. For a moment she considered trying to drain his power over energy bolts, but at the last moment decided to not even bother. Instead, with one swift cut of her short sword, she severed Xercifare's head and brought to an end his rule over the plane.

*Note - Sin and Tanni possess the Rings of Ithillan, as bequeathed by Kutal upon Victor and Valris and then gifted to Sin and Tanni with Harmony's help. (Boy, do these rings get around!) The rings allow the two young woman to exchange aura's, communicate and teleport to each other across tremendous distances (in a similar way to Gray's rings with Alyx back in 2601 - what a coincidence!). Under fire from Xercifare, Tanni relayed the Morlord's exact position to Sin. Then, as soon as Xercifare attempted to open a gateway and flee, Sin channeled her innate power and mastery over gates to alter the gateways destination. She could do this via Tanni as for all intents and purposes, a complete copy of her aura was there, in the room, line of sight. When Xercifare opened the gate behind him, supposedly to the Red Road and safety, little did he know that Sin had diverted it directly into the Allied HQ, giving her the perfect surprize attack on his unsuspecting neck.* **Note - Sinsifel's mastery of gates only applies to their detection and opening. She cannot for instance close a gateway that she hasn't already opened or alter an already open gateway's destination. If it is a gate that she herself has opened / manipulated, then she can close it.**

1st Circle - Lowliest of minions / creatures - normally mindless and bereft of their own will. A good example is maggots or simple reactive organisms like giant amoeba etc.
2nd Circle - Semi intelligent, instinctive beasts or monsters of a lowly order - i.e. Dinosaurs or savage blood thirsty plants.
3rd Circle - Beast men, Mormen, Muddrok (clay men) etc... Entities of the 3rd circle tend to be less than human - a cross breeding of races designed to increase their chaotic nature or in the example of Mormen, mock their humanity by taking it away to leave only an animated shell. 3rd Circle creatures tend to be the primary fighting force in any Chaos army as they are easily made or replaced. 3rd Circle entities can also be created creatures (demons - though they may not necessarily appear as such).
4th Circle - Intelligent races, twisted to the cause of Chaos by belief or mental coercion. Human beings turned into priests or shamans by false promises of power or eternal life; scholarly beings driven mad by visions of Chaos, projected into their minds by nameless horrors from the pungeant depths of long lost and sunken lands.
5th Circle - Demons of a higher order of intelligence and more sinister nature. 5th Circle beings tend to be far older - of long forgotton races and instilled with great powers.
6th Circle - Greater Servants who are normally Lords of their kind, instilled with the greatest powers of their race and in direct service to the First Servant or Champion of one or more Chaos Lords. Cho'cheru'kinta and Xercifare are examples of this 6th Circle of power.
7th Circle - A Lord or High Priest appointed by the Lord of Chaos his or herself. Directly answerable to the LOC. Normally placed directly in charge of a Campaign or World. i.e. Morzul.
8th Circle - Lesser Chaos Lords - unique beings created by the LOC - progeny of the LOC and as such, virtually immortal and indestructible. Each 8th Circle entity possesses abilities derived from its creator. It has been known, on occasion, for 8th Circle entities to directly challenge other fully fledged LOC's and win - however, an 8th Circle entity can never truly ascend to become one of the original LOC as the LOC (out of pride and self preservation) would never allow it. *The exception to this rule is Kutal - LOC of Blood, whose children each have the same potential power as he himself. Instead of keeping his children down trodden or enslaved, he nurtures them. Kutal as an individual is no match for other more violent and singularly powerful LOC's, but his offspring remain a constant thorn in their side; Supreme Commander Sinsifel of the Chaos Alliance is a prime example of an 8th Circle entity.

Gate in Chaos 90% (-10% per additional Gate). 1 gate can be opened per round. Failure one round means it can still be attempted the next.
Additional spells / abilities - Flaming Tornadoes 12th level; Fire Wave 14th level; Meteor 12th level (1 per round); Fireball 8th level (6 per round); Melt Earth (1500 foot radius);

The Rib of Morgrim; Body part of the Chaos Lord Morgrim - This rib bone is the length of a sword and slightly curved like a scimitar. It delivers blunt damage however like a mace - a whopping 8d8 in fact. It strikes as a +4 weapon does triple damage vs ice. It gives the wielder immunity to cold and cold based attacks as well as half damage vs all types of fire. Side effects include - mutation. Every life taken with the bone causes another mutation to the present itself - i.e. Growth of extra head, extra limb, extra eye, tail, claw, skin change etc... After 8 mutations, the rib bone seeks to go to another wielder.