The Rage of the Shadow

[Daegan]

Daegan chuckled as he walked with his daughter and Lasius back to the dining hall. He could hear the distance in the Sage of Light’s voice and knew that something beyond the destruction of the Sedi was haunting him. Daegan didn’t know what it was, and figured it would be best not to pry. Lasius had just been through more than anyone in Sedian history; it wasn’t the time for twenty questions. Instead, the Sage of Shadows tried to lighten the mood.

“Cynical bastard… at least that hasn’t changed, eh?”

Another smile from Daegan. He motioned to Lasius to gather his food and drink and pointed to a table. He was going to speak again when he was interrupted. Quickly, a Shadow Guard stepped into the dining hall, cleaning his throat to be recognized. Daegan whirled around, the shadows following suit a second later as he eyed the man. Daegan saluted the guard.

“What news do you bring us, Centurion?”

Slowly, the guard moved forward, his hand shaking visibly. The aqua ring around Daegan’s eyes quivered, his skin losing what little color it had left. The guard held a rolled up scroll of sorts, a parchment from the Dryads. The Oracles had finished there work. Daegan could feel his stomach flop, his heart skipping beats and breathing becoming erratic.

“Th… thank you Centurion. Dismissed.”

As fast as he could, the Shadow Guard saluted Daegan and ran off in the direction that he came. Daegan stood still for a moment, his back to Lasius and Wynne. The Soul Fire began to burn brilliantly in his eyes, tiny bolts arching over his shoulders as the shadows seethed around his feet. The Sage opened the parchment and began to read it to himself.

-Hail, Lord General of the Sedi and Master of Shadow!
Our most skilled Oracles have worked day and night to discover the location of your missing daughters, my dear friend. I wish my words could wash away your pain, but I know they cannot. I now know the destruction wrought across your lands. The carnage wrought from the Darkness. You have suffered much loss in such a short period of time. If I or any of my kind can be of any service to you, please let us know. We burn our candles for you this eve. Herein lies the discoveries we have made:

Wynne, Daughter of Air: She is within Shadow and safe.

Raeghan, Daughter of Earth: She lives, but not as the daughter you knew. Her mind is ravished from the power of Fire and Earth. We fear she may be lost to you.

Zinerva, Daughter of Darkness: She is lost to the Darkness, at the side of her Sage.

Deirdre, Daughter of Death: She has been claimed by Death Eternal and is Returned. She, too, is claimed by Darkness.

We shall not write the fate of the Others, for it is not a happy tale. May they rest in peace. My heart is broken for your loss, Daegan Aquarius. We weep for you.
-Khait Tanafriti, Queen of the Golden Wood

Daegan was shaking uncontrollably now. Tears streamed down his face as the Soul Fire burn wildly within his eyes. His hands curled around the parchment, crushing it as he slowly turned around. His face was white as a ghost, the Soul Fire suddenly exploding over his shoulders and arms, blazing as wildly as it had before when Daegan confronted Sitherack. The shadows leapt up around his body, desperately trying to calm the Sage’s rage.

The Arc of Dreams flickered and began to burn brilliantly, the small silver disk and purple fire standing out from the shadows and Soul Fire that raged about Daegan. Tears kept flowing down his face as he went to speak, but no words would come. The whole of the Sedian Nation was destroyed, the Gods slain and fallen. And now more than half of his beloved daughters were dead.

Daegan collapsed, falling to his knees as he sobbed. Soul Fire burned intensely around him, as if it were some sort of guard dog trying to keep an enemy away. The shadows wrapped around the crying Sage, concealing his form as best they could. The Sage of Shadows was devastated.

[Wynne Siusan Sedi]

As her father scolded her, Wynne dropped her eyes though she knew he was teasing, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. She moved to stutter something out but Daegan was motioning them to move, with a smile on his face. Wynne innocently reached for Lasius’ hand, and Daegan’s, and if they’d take it, she’d happily swing them between her as she moved, her blue eyes focused forward as they did, though something was nagging at her mind – ill on the winds that filled her and brushed her. She half paid attention to the adult’s talking – it wasn’t like her to ignore much of it but at this point her mind was moving over everything that had happened – and is the nature of children – her semi pretense that everything was okay. In her mind, even with all that had happened, the fairy tale would come around; her sisters would all return and everything would go back as if nothing had ever happened.

Of course, this illusion was broken at the rushing up of another man shortly after they had re-entered the hall. Wynne’s eyes were curious, and something more than an innocent girl filled them, a kind of weary sadness mixed with hope as he spoke to her Father and rushed off. She looked away from Daegan, unsure of why he turned his back to them so quickly. Her hand, (if Lasius allowed her) would tighten on her Uncle’s as presumably, her father had easily dropped hers for the need. She didn’t notice the shaking at first – her little eyes were moving to Lasius’ questioningly, and then out towards the food that she was hoping to consume. She did notice, however, when the scent of tears caught the breeze about her and her head turned towards her father, questioning more.

The crackle of paper was audible as a gunshot though she wasn’t sure what had shaken him so much. Her little mind denied, denied, denied that it had anything to do with her father talking about her sisters. It had to be something else – but what else in these times would shake him so bad? Wynne’s hand slid like weight to her sides, her pale blue eyes filling with a kind of deep fear as she stepped forward towards Daegan, hesitantly. She saw the shadows snake him – hide him – but not before she realized that inside that small mirror was shattering somewhere. She rushed forward, moving to try and throw her arms around her father as tears slid down her own small cheeks – she was crying for him. Her mouth moved to kiss at his cheek, and like some kind of maternal instinct within her, she moved to hug his head to her chest – as gently as she could.

”Don’t cry Daddy.. it’s going to be okay..”

No questions – not like a girl her age would do. Simply comfort, simple ignorance.. solution and problems. Survival aged most children.. in different ways.

[Lasius]

Lasius was stuffing a dinner roll in his mouth when the centurion brought the communication from the Dryads. He watched Daegan read it as he chewed the sweet and succulent bread, and frowned as the Sage of shadows collapsed in upon himself. Quietly he lay the Arcs of Light and Lightning on the banquet table and watched the daughter of Daegan try to comfort her devastated father. There was no real need to look at the parchment, it could only be news of the worst kind concerning Daegan's children.

Again Lasius felt the kind of helpless lack of power he had never had to deal with in godhood. Had he still been transcended he would have pulled the souls of Daegan's fallen daughters back to this world and made the Sage's pain vanish, but he was mortal now and there was little comfort he could offer the man aside from words which they both knew would be a lie.

Closing his eyes he leaned heavily on the wall next to him and took a deep breath. Things were looking grim indeed, the Sedian nation devastated and their Lord General injured in a way that would take more time to heal than the race likely had left in it. Comforting his friend was something he felt obligated to do at this time, but where to begin was something he knew not. Wynne was here, at least, this meant not all was lost to the man, he had something left to strive for, to try for, the only question was if he could pull forth the strength to press through this darkest of times. That kind of strength had to come from inside.

He remembered all to well the day that his own life had changed for him, when Sitherack had murdered his wife Alexia and daughter Myla. The ensuing carnage and personal vendetta had dominated his own life for centuries to come. Thus saying meaningless words would almost have been offensive. He opened his eyes and walked over towards Daegan, his gray eyes locked on the suffering man.

“It's not over Daegan, when things seem their Darkest is the time to remember, that Darkness is only the absence of Light.” He rest his hand on the man's shoulder. “It seems all hope is lost, but don't forget that there are still the living for which to care.” His eyes glanced to Wynne and then back to Daegan.

He turned and walked back to the banquet table, having lost his appetite, he picked up the Arcs of Light and Lightning and turned to stare at the door to the corridor. His eyes were wet but he didn't acknowledge it, time was slipping away, his people were conflict ridden by nature, and the more power they gained the more they sought, but they were still his people. If they were to be saved he needed to act quickly, it always seemed that way, never a moment to slow down, not even in grief.

“Rest Daegan, keep those here safe, I am going to find out whats going on in the world, and see what we need to do, I shouldn't be gone long my friend, be mindful of yourself, always for more people count on you than you give credit for.” He started towards the door tot he dining chamber.

[Daegan]

The words meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not from Wynne and not from Lasius. Daegan was young compared to Lasius, a mere baby. He had come across much power in his short life span, holding at one time the combined Arcs of Lightning and Shadow and the Arc of Death. He took over an entire city and bathed it in Shadow Eternal as a refuge to the feared and misunderstood Shadow Sedi.

But he was young. His power wasn’t as strong as the older Sage’s, or his twin brother’s. Even with the Arc of his Element. He was a Shadow Master, excelling at his Element at a very young age, but it all meant nothing in the sheer years of experience he lacked. His Soul Fire damned heart felt extreme pain, physical pain that he never thought he could feel. Death would have been better.

“Wynne… you stay here.”

His words were barely audible, said through clenched teeth. Rage was overtaking grief by the second. The tears still flowed down his face like waterfalls, the Soul Fire blazing brilliantly over his entire body, burning savagely in his eyes. The shadows seemed to be taking on images, terrifying serpents wrapping around Daegan. He looked horrifying, like some beast from beyond the grave.

Then he was gone, the shadows falling in upon themselves. The Soul Fire lingered for a second, but then flickered out of existence, the shadows springing back suddenly to their original angles and corners. Flowing back into their cracks and crevices.

-Continued in Sethia-

[Wynne Siusan Sedi]

Wynne’s eyes fell to the parchment as her father turned, his whispers hitting her ears and shattering a piece of her. As he disappeared, as Lasius walked off, the young girl stood alone, shocked, within the dining hall that suddenly seemed so terribly, terribly cold. Cynicism from a younger childhood flooded her, memories of being a smaller child out of twelve, of always being shadowed by the efforts of her other sisters. The pain her father felt now was something compared to the small bubble of fairy tale that surrounded her, and she felt as if she were stuck in some kind of time rift as she looked down at the rumpled parchment at her feet, discarded and forgotten. Her hands bent down, and slowly lifted it up, her heart hammering in both her ears and her head, a steady rhythm.

Her eyes went over the words as denial sunk in, and something inwardly shattered. The stress of disappearing, of fighting, of surviving, of coming back, and the loss just broke something within the little girl that would never be repaired, no matter how many years passed. Her hands didn’t shake but there was a new cold numbness that raced through her veins, as if there was a darker side whispering to her. Tears slid down as a river against her face, and her blue eyes hardened into an emotion no parent ever wishes to see upon such a young face – hatred. Sheer hatred, anger, the kind of dark emotions that weave their way into a vulnerable heart when grief seems too much to take for the mind. Daegan took his rage out upon the stones, upon the land itself and Wynne’s little heart focused its rage elsewhere.

When denial hits the biggest thing to do is point the finger somewhere – the blame must lie with someone and where else could it lie? Her father’s hatred twisted into something of her mind, and she knew without ever having to follow him where he went. Her hand curled tightly around the parchment even as one of the servants of the tower approached her, almost scared as the sound of the winds picking up in speed could be heard. A soft roaring at first, but then it would increase in speed as her face hardened, and things around the hall that were loose began to snap and eventually be torn that weren’t held down. People rushed to hold trays, items, anything they possibly could as Wynne turned, silently, and started moving out of the hall. At the center of the Maelstrom was this tiny piece of love and light that hardened into something darker.

Her feet carried her into the halls, where the winds raged outside of her; primal, uncaring, calling to her whim. Normally she couldn’t manage this much pristine control or sheer power – not at her age. However, even as the feel of the winds snapped around her, she felt her body lifting at the actual amount of current’s she was controlling – her gown snapping like some feral animal in the breeze that actually levitated her. Her eyes never lost their darkness as she moved, outwardly smashing any window that might be in her way with a glance of her eyes as her small body was carried outwards, out into the sky, out into the courtyards of the City of Shadow. Beyond the grief of loosing her sisters, was that part of her that admitted her father turned away from her. Beyond the rage of everything, he turned away from her. Some part of her knew that it wasn’t a personal front, but children are delicate things and this was a smudge on a list of things that she was always teased about.

The winds dropped her to the ground, and her eyes were almost completely cold to the world as her body started shaking from the physical excursion of this much power going through an untrained and small body. Primal, wild, untamed. It was everywhere, in everything, bodies needed it to breathe. Used right, even if one took out the oxygen within bloodcells body could shrivel up and turn into husks of things, and with the intent she had now, if Wynne could see the object of all that hate, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t do just that. Tears were still streaming down her face, never touched by the winds that seemed to curve just outside of her, taking the dress but never the flesh. Her head tilted back and she screamed, a primal sounding thing – a wild banshee, a baying of hounds on the hunt – and a small girls scream of pain before her body completely collapsed and the winds died completely.

Her hands and knees hit the ground hard enough to smart, and her small body collapsed into raking sobs that shook her entire frame.

[Malkate Rose Sedi]

She could feel it everywhere. The shaking of the earth, the destruction, the unnatural rise of bodies, the call of powers, the hurricanes of wind and the absence of shadow that was snaked away – and it hurt her almost to hear the call of the earth. Even as she traveled through the planes at an alarming rate, her way of ‘jumping’ from place to place, she stopped and dropped at the place that the storm had come from, cloaked and concealed away from the world only in face. The long edges of it snapped in a wind hard enough to rip away the cloak she had worn as she reached up her arms to cover her face, trying to shield from the powerful torrents that snapped and whipped around her. Within it, somewhere within that storm a little girl’s scream raged and died.

Malkate always had a weakness for children. Not a normal kind of weakness that most maternal women had, but in the fact that even heartless she could never turn away from a crying child that needed her. Even as she sought out news of Lasius, perhaps something else – she had found herself here at this place – and now she saw faintly the image of a small body shaking. Her first initial desire was to run and cradle the child in her arms, which brought back a flood of memories about Lasius’ daughter she met, the girl who warned her before she confessed her true feelings for him the first time about his affection to another woman who had supposedly been sent to kill him. She took in a deep breath and moved towards the girl as slow as she could make herself move.

”Are you hurt?”

She recognized the girl – a bit. Her face seemed alien but her presence was familiar. Then she remembered the thing cloaked in shadows and realized this is what Daegan was hiding. A glance at the building confirmed that she was where she thought she was – but she didn’t want anyone to have the advantage of her bearing her back to the world even as with each sob she felt that once cold heart wrench. She stepped forward, as the girl hadn’t even answered and lowered herself slowly, reaching out to touch the girl’s shoulder. A startled look up, but the girl was barely understandable in her grief, she simply kept crying – though a flash of recognition made Malkate sure that the girl remembered her from earlier.

She moved to pull the girl against her chest, gently, calmly, trying to calm the sobbing down. The girl didn’t melt in her arms, but remained stiff, but she let her old her. Mal closed her eyes, gently rocking her as much as she let her, humming a soft song of comfort in a language so lost and alien to this world – but it worked. The noisy sobs turned to a shaking body that was still gasping for air between tears – but even as she tried to calm her she felt the girls cold body warming a bit as emotion and grief tore at her. She didn’t stop however, rocking, humming, kneeling as she held the girl within her arms and moved, ignorant to the world outside, stupidly open if someone where to try and take advantage of her.

[Lasius]

Lasius paused at the door for a second as Daegan vanished, then longer as Wynne stormed out. He sighed softly and continued on his way down the corridor silently, his people were impetuous in the best of time, hurt them emotionally and they were likely to crack the world in their anguish, still he could not blame them, not when he himself had been the same way for so long. He made his way to Daegan's bedchambers, and arrived shortly before the Sage of Shadows, he had stopped by only to retrieve the ring he had left here earlier. In fact he picked it up off the bed mere moments before the Shadows deposited the exhausted and unconscious Sage on the bed.

“Well, That's one way to go about it...” He turned silently and exited the room, closing the chamber door behind him before resuming his path out of the Tower, through the main corridors. The devastation the winds had wrought throughout the tower was apparent, servants scurrying to try to repair and clean the mess that had been created, but Lasius paid it no mind, none of it really mattered, not in the end, the servants would have more work for a couple days than normal, and when they were done nothing here would have changed. At least that was what he hoped, because the only thing that could truly wreak change on the City of Shadows at this point was some form of catastrophe, and he truly hoped that his people had seen enough catastrophe for awhile.

Just how in vain that hope was he had no idea, but a general feeling of dread descending was in the air, that tense moment before the breaking of a heavy storm. His muscles were tense, the hair on the back of his neck lifted and goosebumps visible on his skin. He had no Idea of what was happening in the world, but time had to it a pattern of things, and he was old enough to recognize when things were inevitably going to crumble to shit.

He was so completely lost in his own thoughts that he had not realized he had exited the Tower and begun wandering the streets. It was obvious that the winds had raged here as well, Wynne must have been heavily distraught. More so than he feared for her to have inflicted this kind of damage. Someone her age, well it was dangerous to say the least to let ones element push farther than the soul controling it was ready to go.

He wondered if she was alright, it certainly wouldn't do for Daegan to loose even more family, if such a thing happened he might need to relieve the Sage of his Arcs for the safety of the Sedi as well as himself. There was no telling what the man could be capable if you stripped everything from him at once. He cursed the fates under his breath for imposing such a harsh turn of events on his friend when he was powerless to do anything about it. Perhaps it was best that Daegan was sleeping now, better him to rest than face trauma after trauma, till he broke.

He was so distracted by events and thought, that he didn't see them at first as he rounded the street corner, and then when he did, he almost thought he was hallucinating again. Her back was to him, but there was no mistaking her, no one else was that... red... no one he had ever met anyway. His hand slipped open and the ring slipped from his grip, falling in what seemed like a slow motion daze of eternity as it left his hand. It spun end over end, as he gazed at her. Her body was sheltering Wynne, and he could barely make out the child's form, but his eyes could not leave her body.

Like a thunderous detonation to him though a soft sound in reality, the sharp almost musical sound of metal striking cobblestone reverberated through the street, as the ring struck the paving stones. The sound might as well have been a mile away, nothing seemed real anymore, every time he thought he had a grip on reality something else shocked him to the core. Desperately he wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't, he was paralyzed in place, gray eyes reflecting the stunning red of the woman before him.

[Malkate Rose Sedi]

Wynne stirred slightly in the woman’s arms, as she started feeling the warmth lull her into a sleepy haze. She just wanted to curl up with her father, her entire body was shaken to the core and she felt physically drained. The woman’s hands were warm and she realized that the heat from her body was melting into the heat that stroked at her blonde hair, and as her eyes turned she realized it was the woman in red who had helped heal her uncle before. Confusion filled her eyes, as to why the woman was helping her now but even as she saw the smile on the woman’s face she noted that it never reached her eyes – which were so sad. Wynne sighed and dropped her eyes before the sound of metal clattering hit her ears and her sleepy eyes turned to see her Uncle staring at them with the most stricken look on his face. She felt the woman’s body, once so warm and comforting stiffen, every line of her body speaking of a kind of fear and hope, but the woman didn’t turn yet.

Malkate sighed, softly, barely audible before her hand moved to brush back a strand of the girl’s blonde hair. She leaned forward, and whispered, softly into the girls ear before a soft red light took her and the girl disappeared, only to reappear next to her father, between him and Lomes, half turned on her side, as she fell into slumber herself. Malkate didn’t want to move, she wanted to flee, to run – but she had come for this reason had she not? Her eyes, turned slowly, as if time indeed were slowed and saw the small metallic ring glittering on the surface of the stone, and felt her heart fall down into her stomach. Her hands reached up to the neck that was bare of its weight, and closed her eyes as she cursed herself for the stream of tears that threatened to overspill so soon. Her eyes moved first to the feet of the man, and she didn’t move off of her knee’s as she slowly turned, an almost awkward kind of shift, her hands laying limp upon her lap as she moved upwards, slowly moving to his face, the shock upon it.

Her mind threatened to crumble on her, and she felt her body start to shake from the repressed emotions within it, a leaf caught in a turbulent wind. Her eyes moved to his, and she found herself drowning in the steel gray, falling a thousand miles again. She felt her hands flexing, as if they could still feel the blade, the blood stained upon them and she gasped, taking in a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. She felt her legs start to unfold beneath her, slowly, as if she were almost afraid that any movement would be hostile, her hands closed in front of her, grasping – twitching, fumbling trying to grasp onto something. It wasn’t a nervous high school girl – it was a woman moving to her execution. Her eyes dropped, suddenly, as if she couldn’t hold his gaze, but she never moved forward, her heart was in her throat. Even after all these years he still made her heart race.

”I.. I wasn’t hurting her.. sh..she she was crying – I.. she’s in the tower now, where.. where she wanted to.. b..e….”

Anything, anything but the past behind them, laying stretched between them like a great distance… Her eyes closed and she felt her legs threaten to give out – and a single last word escaped her like a dying breath - “Lasius…” - before she fell to her knees, her hands moving to her eyes as she started to loose all the repressed emotion that she had held in for years, that hope that haunted her, that desire that burned her, that blood that stained her – everything burning and coming back to her too fast. She couldn’t look up at him, couldn’t see if that love that had burned in his eyes even when he died had turned to hate.

“I’m so sorry.”

[Lasius]

Lasius simply couldn't break gaze from her, it was sincerely an impossibility, paralyzed almost, in body and soul, but for certain his mind raced. Between these two people... beings... entities, whatever one would call them at this point there was quite possibly more history and involvement than between any other two people on the planet. Almost everything conceivable that could happen to two people, and quite a bit that was not, had happened to these two. His mind couldn't sort feelings for her, it was simply impossible, a tangled mass of love, hate, pain, joy, rage, anxiety, desire, fear... it went on, and on into insanity. Still he could not take his eyes off her, as though her form pulled him, unerringly to his own destruction the way a moth sought the flame.

Her eyes, like two small blood rubies in the pale softness of her face, her slightly parted lips as she spoke words he only barely heard so red they reminded him of his own blood spilled over her hands as she took his life from him last time they met. Oddly there was no resentment in him towards her for this action, it had set forth a chain of events that had taken him on a journey he had to embark upon and could not have begun without her. Of course she didn't know this, couldn't, at least he thought she couldn't, but then he had made a life time of underestimating her.

He was a wreck, and a small portion of his mind rebuked him for not taking the time to clean up before leaving the tower, still caked in dried blood and dirt, and wearing the shredded Sedian battle armor he had worn upon arriving to this dimension, he looked like some outlandish refugee, but at the same time he knew it didn't matter. She had seen him worse than this, she had seen him dead, dismembered, beaten, broken, and torn. The fact that she had seen so much of him, inside and out was both comforting and disturbing at the same time, adding its own little chaos to the turmoil that boiled in his mind.

The last time he had spoken with her, she was intent on the destruction of his entire race, now he comes across her caring for a helpless Sedian child. The woman was a walking contradiction and it drove him mad, everything always changed in what appeared to him as the blink of an eye, yet in reality so many years had passed that it was hard to keep track of the continuity of events any longer.

Finally he pulled it eyes away from her, there it wasn't so bad... only about as difficult as peeling the skin off his body... He looked down at the paving stones, the soft glimmer of metal in the last barely shining rays of the setting sun, and it reminded him of his dream. He raised his left hand and looked down silently at the palm, where the puffy pink skin of the newly formed brand was still sensitive. Memory flooded back to him clear as day.

“Where were you?” The voice jolted him, penetrated his soul and his eyes snapped open in the darkness, he spun left and right, the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

“Malkate? Is that you?” His own voice sounded weak and hollow in his ears, an echo of an echo at best.

“You made promises Lasius Riley.” The voice burned him, his hand felt on fire, he looked down at it but could see nothing, the darkness was still absolute.

“I did the best I could, I told you I was sorry!” The burning was unbearable he couldn't believe his hand wasn't on fire, almost he wished it was, anything to see in this infernal darkness.

“Your sorrow is worthless, it didn't end the pain, it didn't save me from what was to come, fulfilling your promises might have done that, you know its your fault.” The words cut like a knife, a knife to the heart and he sank to his knees.

“I can't fix it, I don't know how” his weak voice was choked with pain. How many lifetimes of decisions, how many years upon countless years of regret and pain, never dealt with never faced until now.

“I killed you for it once you know” The voice was cold, chilled him to the bone, not for the first time he wondered if perhaps he really was dead, and this was his own personal hell. “No, it's not that easy Lightning Childe” The voice responded to his thoughts as though spoken aloud.

“This can't be real.” The denial was desperation, truth in fact often was desperate, yet all seemed honest in this place, every word cut to the soul. His hand was agony, something about his hand if only he could focus on that.

“Oh but it's real alright, more real than you have existed in time without memory. Its the real guilt that has resided inside your soul since you first came into your most basic of powers, the real pain of the real responsibility that you failed to live up to.” The voice, Mal's yet filled with a malevolence that he did not recognize as hers, seared him, and with each word the pain in his hand flared anew.

He staggered under the onslaught of the rapidly returning dream, and reached out instinctively to catch his balance, his hand slapping bare palm against the rough wall of a nearby building. Pain seared his soul, emotional agony, as it tore at the heart of him, his own mistakes taken in context throughout countless millennium. An average man suffered under the regrets f a lifetime, how much more must a man Like Lasius suffer under the weight of all he had seen and done across time eternal that he had lived, and here the breathing embodiment of one of his most potent regrets and painful losses sat here crouched in front of him and professed her apology to him.

It was all he could to not to turn and flee right then and there, death was a simple thing compared to the pain that he could potentially face here, eternal sleep in the ground with worms for companions almost welcomed as a relief from the unbearable anxiety of this eternal moment. He had endured so much in his life. Fought immortal gods, died and been reborn, wielded weapons of insane power, and enshrouded the world in light, raged a thousand furies of the hearts of the eternal storm, but this moment was too much for him. He needed to do something, anything to escape from the potential disaster this could turn into.

He found his eyes playing across her body once more, he had to wet his lips when he realized his mouth had gone dry. He tried to think of anything that could distract him from memories of her, and almost asininely his mind provided him a solution. Something, was intensely wrong about this meeting, something that was making it surreal to him, something that just wasn't right to him and then his mind connected on it. It was so simple that it brought the tiniest of smiles to his face. He could achieve this small thing with only the tiniest flow of power that embodied him.

He straightened from the wall where he was supporting himself half haphazardly and stood facing her. The smile remained softly playing across his lips as he raised his right hand in her direction, the soft ring of burned flesh plainly visible, as his eyes focused intently. Rapidly, the alleyway felt heavier, moist in a way, and a small black thunderhead appeared above her head, it flickered slightly as an internal bolt of lightning flashed inside the small humorous looking and utterly asinine cloud, and a tiny peal of thunder, more like the rumbling of someones stomach would be audible. Then without warning, it would start to rain on her head.

“I'm sorry, its the best I can do on short notice, I'm afraid I don't know where any local lakes happen to be.” He lowered his arm, but the cloud and the rain remained.

[The Captain]

The Krakkan rocked back and forth in the light waves of the open sea, causing the damaged ship to creak loudly. Yet the crew managed to find sleep, slipping away into unconsciousness from the sheer exhaustion of defending the ship from the sudden eruption from the new edition to the Tre Betal port. It still confused the Captain as he watched his men work from the helm of the mighty war ship, keeping the ship on as steady of a course as possible.

Thankfully, none of his men had been lost. They were idiots some of the time, but he hand picked every man aboard his flagship. These men and this ship represented the elite of the Sedian sailors, the ones that could fly through a hurricane unscathed laughing the whole time. They were fierce warriors and loyal to their captain to the death. He was harsh on them at times, but he was always fair and always honest. The relationship he had with the crew was as thick as blood.

It made him smile as he watched the crew work together to rebuild the ship. Life and Death Sedi closely monitoring the Earth Sedi as they repaired the damaged wood. Placing their hands upon the splintered timber and forcing it to grow again, to stretch out and patch the holes and gashes in the ship. The day whirled by, but by night fall the hull was completely repaired and the masts restored. They towered over the ship once more, like mighty oak trees. The ship was as solid as steel inside and out and refortified. A good day’s work.

The Captain allowed the Earth Sedi to rest for the rest of the repairs, the securing and mending of the sails, fixing the ropes and restoring the ship to its pristine order. The other Sedi worked hard over the following days, sewing fresh sails and hanging them from the sturdy masts. They retied rigging and secured all of the ropes with fresh knots. They scrubbed the ship clean and by the next night fall The Krakkan was restored to its former glory.

That night the Captain and his men feasted and celebrated. They had achieved no victory or any real goal in fact. It was just a celebration of repairing the ship, a clever strategy and moral booster often used by the Captain. Yet another reason the men aboard the ship were so loyal to him. The crew sang and danced, ate foods they’d stolen from huge merchant ships from all parts of the Sedian lands and reminisced about times long past. Many of the crew drank heavily that night and as the sun broke the horizon of the open seas almost all of them were scattered about the deck of the ship, passed out and drunk.

All but the Captain. He remained at the helm of the ship, still holding onto the Arc of Water. He stared at the strange weapon, the bizarre looking trident that had smashes into his ship several days ago. That’s what didn’t make sense to him. The last he knew, the wretched water peoples held the Arc, and it was lost to Sedian peoples forever. But that was the last he knew, the last his web of spies and scouts reported to him. He couldn’t figure out what happened while he and his crew were out at sea.

“What power could scatter the Arcs? They were all claimed, and had been for ages. Longer than I’ve been alive, that’s for sure. And now I’ve got my hands on one of them. The Fates aren’t this generous and I’m not that stupid. Something happened, but what in the name of the Depths was it?”

He furrowed his brow, trying to understand what had happen those weeks he was gone. But the Captain was unable to determine anything, other than whatever it was that happened was caused by an insanely powerful being. It would have taken the very Gods to raise such a monstrosity in the center of Tre Betal. But why would the Gods return now? There was no reason. It didn’t make sense still. Something more powerful than the Gods had come to the Sedian Lands and was laying waste to them. His grip around the Arc tightened his face growing stern as this thought crossed his mind.

“Not while I have this. The Lord General needs to hear of this, and see this artifact. And it’s time to return to our Island anyway, we need fresh supplies and the men need a few weeks off. Yes…”

The Captain’s thoughts strayed off as he nodded. The Arc of Water shimmered in the rising sunlight as the ship lurched forward, once more beginning to pick up speed in the absence of any intense winds. Within moments the ship was sailing at top speed through the seas, the currents being altered as the Captain focused his element through the Arc. He knew the seas of Terra Centilina better than any Sedi, and knew it was going to be a bit of a haul to make it from Tre Betal to the island he controlled.

[The Captain]

It was a good sized island, fortified naturally by rugged mountains and dense forests. Within a ring of mountains in the valley was the sanctuary to his pirates. The home they had come to love and cherish. He was the king of this island, and his word was law. As rowdy as the pirate’s cove became during the nights, every Sedi there adhered to the Captain’s words, both out of respect and fear. It was a self-sustaining city, using the forests on the island to hunt and the waters for fishing. Water was purified by the few Water Sedi on the island; the Earth Sedi monitored the borders of the island while Fire and Lightning Sedi patrolled the whole of the island. Shadow Sedi kept a watchful eye on the city and the Darkness Sedi tended to the ships of the Captain’s Armada. It was a society of thieves and killers being utilized with ruthless efficiency.

It brought a smile to his face, thinking about the island. It had been a long time since he had been there, a long time to be away from home. He wished to see his ships again, to admire the vessels he plucked from the seas one by one. In total, the Captain commanded thirteen war ships and several smaller vessels. Each was heavily fortified like The Krakkan, and each commander of the ship had vowed their life to the Captain. Loot was divvied up evenly, supplies traded freely and every one of his commanders held large homes in the forests of the island. It was utopia.

It was a lazy and tiring journey across the vast waters, the Captain draining himself daily to sail the ship as quickly as he could around the land mass of Terra Centilina to the island that he called home. He forced his energy through the Arc of Water and in turn shifted the currents of the sea, making The Krakkan fly through the water as if a hundred hands were rowing. And within three days time, the ship had arrived at the bay on the eastern part of the island, one of the most heavily fortified ports ever created. The very air of the bay was thick, the Elements constantly being harnessed and focused. Hardly anyone knew of the islands existence, and the people of the island liked that. Even still, they wouldn’t have any surprise guests without knowing first. They were, after all, pirates and sooner or later every pirate crosses the wrong person.

Cheers hailed the ship as it glided majestically into the docks of the lagoon, the crew jumping out to secure the large ship to the pier. The Captain smiled, cheering with his men as the people of the island rushed the ship, quickly unloading it. The Captain had been gone for a month and during that time had obtained a small fortune from the ships he plundered. Small chests of gold and jewels were carried from the ship’s hold to be deposited into the city treasury, crates of food and casks of drink carted to the city center for distribution. The citizens were ecstatic to see the Captain again.

But the cheers and salutes were cut short as the Captain stepped off his flag ship, explaining the situation at hand to those gathered around him. Word spread to the city quickly and within a few hours a smaller ship was prepared. The fastest ship to sail the Sedian Waters, The Weeping Willow was the perfect vessel to traverse the rivers that emptied into the southern deltas of the Sedian Sea up and into the lake that Cyrida rested upon. It would be dangerous as the Dryad’s didn’t care for intruders and the Captain’s ships often seduced the females away from the wood to come back to the island with them.

“Wretched wenches…”

The Captain mumbled to himself as the Willow lurched away from the bay of the pirate’s cove, his crew smaller than before. Only three Earth Sedi, three Fire Sedi, two Life Sedi, a Death Sedi, two Shadow Sedi, a Darkness Sedi and four Lightning Sedi. Still no damned Air Sedi. That thought made him frown and sigh. Never any Air Sedi.

Within half a day the Willow had sailed from the island to the southern deltas of Terra Centilina, and steadily began to work its way up river. The Captain warned his crew to watch the forests carefully, and be prepared for attack at any time. But the journey up river was quiet and uneventful, much to the delight of the Captain. Dryad women could be vicious fighters and in the close quarters of the wood, it was only a matter of time before a vine wrapped around the throat. The Captain shuddered at that thought, not caring to be strangled to death by a plant.

Finally, a day after leaving the pirate’s cove, the Willow arrived in the crystal lake that rested to the south of the City of Shadow. The winds seemed unnaturally strong as the Willow pulled into the ruined docks that rested along the northern shores of the lake, making the docking of the vessel difficult. It took five separate attempts before the ship was finally secured. It irritated the Captain, but he kept his words to himself for a change, curious as to why the winds were so strong so far inland.

“Some pompous Air Sedi throwing a fit I bet.”

The Captain made sure the ship was secure and then gathered his party of a Death, Life, Lightning and Earth Sedi; stepping off the ship. The rest of the crew would remain with the ship to watch over it under, being left under specific instructions to leave the pier in three days if the Captain didn’t return. Then, the Captain and his party started off towards the north east towards the City of Shadow. It wasn’t exactly a short journey, but within several hours they had arrived at the damaged city.

“Cyrida seems to have gotten hit with whatever it was too. Although not nearly as bad. I wonder if the Lord General is even here…”

Slowly, the Captain made his way through the streets, holding the Arc of Water in his right hand. The city was terribly still, and that did not sit well with him. Whatever caused the emptiness could still be lingering around, and that was never a good thing. He groaned at this thought, shaking his head. He then stopped, motioning for the Sedi he had with him to stop as well, seeing the figures of Lasius and Malkate in the empty alleyway.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt. I’m looking for the Lord General; I need to speak with him. I have dire news he needs to hear.”

His men stood on either side of him, the air shimmering slightly as they began to invoke there Elements. None of them recognized Lasius, and for all they knew these two were the ones that caused the carnage. The Captain was dressed simply, but extravagant at the same time. He still wore his brown leathers and black boots with his rapier and daggers, but now his pale white chest was covered in a simple tan shirt. He wore leather bracers over the shirt, and his fingers were adorned with several rings. Necklaces dangled down his chest, one being a large golden anchor. His white hair was tied back in a lose pony tail, and it was obvious he was a creature of the sea.

His pure white eyes observed the two standing there, resting his weight on the Arc of Water. The crew behind him had their hands resting on their weapons, ready to harness there Element at a moments notice from the Captain. But for now, they all waited.

[Malkate Rose Sedi]

Malkate’s face was that of utter and stunned disbelief. A mirror almost to what Lasius had shown on his sight to her, only it wasn’t a kind of reserved shock – it was an open almost agape. A creature as powerful as her – for surely somewhere along the line she’d lost her humanity – had little reaction left to her besides the bitter emotions that constantly rampaged through her since the return to feelings; and this above all was an open shock to her. The water that soaked down those wild curls, taming them in a way, soaking through until her robes clung to her body as if a second skin, her body didn’t move, barely twitched as she thought that somewhere he’d have struck her down – but this in a way was almost worse.

Flooding of memory came to her, and she started laughing then, an uncontrollable half-sob laughter that probably could easily be mistaken for a mad-man’s cackle. Tears streamed freely down her face, mixing salt with the rains that soaked through her as she stood there, completely oblivious at the moment to the outside world as her own little personal cloud rained upon her head. She stepped forward, half hesitant, reaching out for him as he was still bloodied and ragged. Her fingers stopped just inches from his face, if he’d even let her get that close. Her face was a blank canvas for a few moments, as the memories assaulted her, the tears slowing in decent but never stopping – she just stopped taking note of them.

“Lasius…”

Her hands dropped, silently, and she reached for the hand that her eyes had noticed the burn mark on. Her eyes didn’t skip over the fact it was where she had placed the ring, nor the fact that it was the perfect imprint of it within his palm. Her hands reached, if he’d let her – to soothe over the burn, a soft red light emanating from her palm. As before, it was like a cool breeze on a hot summers day, the red burning ball of energy that was her filling and moving to heal and soothe the skin; but with most things it wouldn’t completely heal right it would merely re-knit and leave a small red mark where it would possibly scar depending on his body. Her fingers traced over the mark after the healing was complete, before she looked back at him again.

“I’d offer to show you the nearest lake, as it looks like you could use the water more than I could.”

She smiled, almost shakily, as if she were afraid he’d still strike her down. Her hand raised, once more, as if she’d cradle the side of his face – but it faltered as a voice boomed against her ears and she half jumped, reaction taking over her body as she threw her arms in front of Lasius, spinning on her heel and threw up an energetic shield that would make an almost silent ‘boom’ as the pressure of the magic rose slowly about them. Her eyes searched the ally before they came to rest once more on the form of the white haired man. Red eyes narrowed slightly as she felt her magic calling up to her fingers – the Nectrite of her still could feel each Sedi like a mirage of colors in her brain, she simply knew what they were. She could extinguish them with a thought – but she stilled that part of her brain, burning it with the red fire as she did.

It was exhausting.

“Who are you?”

[Lasius]

Not the time, simply and always seeming to be, there never was time to do as he wished, to explain the unexplainable, to set right wrong paths taken so long ago. The present always intruded upon things, sometimes he just wanted to level everything around him into a barren harsh and uninhabitable wasteland to ensure 5 damn minutes to himself, however such was not his way. He turned to face the Captain even as Malkate stepped in front of him, it was interesting to him, someone stepping to his defense. He almost let the confrontation continue, but again the thoughts of what needed to be accomplished, and all the things that weighed on him in the present intruded itself upon his mind.

He stepped out from behind her outstretched arms and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Leaned his head low to her ear and whispered softly. “It's ok Mal.”

He then lowered his hand to his side and took in the Captain and his guards, his eyes weighing each of them in a sub-conscious way, age and experience giving him the ability to read their elements with no other clue than the simple way they were standing. He did not miss the significance of the Arc of Water in the white haired mans hand but his eyes showed no cause for concern at being faced with such a powerful artifact. He didn't know whether the Sedi in front of him would recognize either the Arc of Lightning or that of Light that he was carrying, however he made no move to unsheathe either. Of course Malkate was carrying the Arc of Magik on her, the situation was provocative to say the least. 4 of the worlds most powerful weapons in a dingy little alleyway.

“Dire news, you don't say... seems that is all there is lately.” He frowned thoughtfully at the small group of Sailors in front of him. “I see you have found the Arc of Water, you are indeed bold to bring such an artifact into Cyrida, and intending an audience with Daegan no less.”

His eyes went back to Captain thoughtfully, “Death, Life, Lightning, Earth, and Water, a diverse if small party, cautious enough not to appear threatening, yet enough to be prepared in case of trouble. Unlikely then you are here to cause trouble, however If you are not competent in the use of that Arc you take an insanely foolish risk coming here with such a valued treasure. You must be aware that there are those here that could take such a thing from you with out even expending a fraction of effort.”

“The only real reason for you to be here then would be if you felt safe in coming here. That tells more about you than anything else.” He sighed deeply and ran his left hand through his dirty and bloodstained hair. “Go to the Tower of Shadows, ask for rest quarters for you and your men, tell them you are to have them on the authority of Lasius al'Sedi. I will meet you there shortly, I have things to take care of in the mean time.” He turned to walk back down the alley, but paused. “Oh and I wouldn't Disturb the Lord General at this time, he just found out the majority of his children have been slaughtered, and might not be in the mood to speak. I will however arrange a meeting of war within the hour, and you are invited, a servant will bring you to Daegan's war room after you have had a chance to rest.”

[The Captain]

The Captain smiled softly at Malkate, feeling the energy she raised as the water dripped off her body. He then sighed and turned around, smacking the Death Sedi that was closest to him lightly in the back of the head. He mumbled to himself about how it was hard to find good help these days and just as he went to speak aloud to the woman to answer her question he stopped. His mouth was agape as Lasius turned to face him. His eyes went wide.

“By the Abyss… Lasius…”

He’d never met the Lightning Childe before, but the Captain was a well-traveled man. His web of spies and scouts covered every part of Terra Centilina and on the rare occasion he was at some port he soaked in all of the information he possibly could. He knew this man, knew of him. He noticed the Arcs at the side of Lasius, but paid no attention to it, listening to Lasius’ words. His brow furrowed and a deep frown took the place of his soft smile.

“I, simply am, the Captain. I command The Krakkan, the most feared vessel in all of Terra Centilina. These idiots are my mates; they command several of my other ships I’ve… commandeered throughout the years.”

He paused, glancing at the Arc of Water. He sighed again, and shook his head. Lasius words troubled him.

“I know this is no mere toy, in fact, it is our Savior. It smashed into my main deck some days ago and we tried to make port at Tre Betal. Only, well… it’s nothin’ but a raging volcano. Damn near destroyed my flagship!”

The Captain grunted and shook his head, bringing his all white eyes to meet Lasius.

“But apparently that is now the least of my worries. My heart greaves for the Lord General. I’ve never met the man, but I have often heard tales of his valor and strength…”

He grinned slightly.

“…makes me wish he was a sea lover like me. He’d be a fierce hand to have. But that is neither here nor there, I am taking far too much of your time and I’m sure you have much more important matters to attend to than the affairs of a simple and humble pirate.”

The Captain’s face seemed to shift, his facial expression changing to be nothing but business. He nodded as Lasius finished speaking; bring his free hand to his chest in a salute.

“The fact remains I am loyal to the Lord General of the Shadow Lands, and especially to Lasius the Savior of our People. Consider my Armada yours, but we’ll talk more later.”

The Captain motioned for his men to follow him as he started off towards the large Tower that stood at the city’s center; the Lightning Sedi that was with him saluting Lasius as they walked past. The Captain then stopped and turned to look at Lasius one more time.

“Call me Ishmael.”

He winked slightly and then started forward again towards the Tower, disappearing around the corner. He and his men arrived at the Tower a few moments later, the Captain striding in and as quick as he could explain to the approaching Shadow Guard what Lasius had just said.

Shortly there after the group was led to a fair sized chamber filled with a few simple beds, several tables and a basin with water and washcloths. The Captain sighed as he sat down on one of the beds, running a hand over his white head. Lasius words stung him. The situation was much worse than he had hoped and it was going to take an insane amount of work to rebuild what destruction he had already seen. He then smirked to himself.

“Not knowing how to use it… he’s not much older than I am. I think.”

A puzzled look swept over the Captain’s face as he leaned back on the bed, tapping his chin. He shook his head and closed his eyes, resting his head in his cupped hands. A nap sounded good, and the way things were sounding it’d be a long time before he’d be able to enjoy another.