The Dreaming Sage

[Daegan]

Daegan’s mind was whirling. Outwardly the Sage was still and calm, his skin still deathly white. He gripped his Arc tightly in his right hand, causing the shadows to continue to snake across his body. The Arc of Dreams remained burning brilliant, the purple fire blazing like the Soul Fire in Daegan’s eyes. Stoic on the outside; it was utter chaos on the inside.

Everything seemed to start like normal. Daegan often remembered dreaming and he remembered almost every one of them, even the little flashes of images that occur before deep sleep is reached. That’s how to began; random images that seemed to make no sense. A picture of his mother, flash to his Master at the Abbey, an image of the Arc of Water. Nothing seemed to quite stick together. Just then, outside of his own mind, the Arc of Dreams flared brilliantly, like a solar flare exploding away from the sun - only for the smallest of seconds.

Then it was real. Daegan could seem himself hovering high above Terra Centilina. He could see his body from the back. Confusion sank into place hard as he seemed to hover above himself hovering. A paradox of sorts. That’s when the Arc of Dreams flared, and like hitting a brick wall Daegan found himself standing in the Sethian Courtyard. Where he had just shifted too, released an extreme amount of rage and energy and then melted back to his bedchambers. But it was different. There were far too many people around and the buildings were pristine.

Then Daegan felt as though his enter body was suddenly plunged into ice cold water and like a strong wind smacked him in the face. The pain was getting to be extreme, the initially head trauma coming from him being forced deeper into a dreaming state by the Arc of Dreams. Daegan was witnessing history, as a silent observer. The strange feeling he felt was Xadaxixorix walking through his incorporeal form. That infernal Raptor himself walking into the Sethian Keep. But Daegan could not move, could not scream or react. He could only look on.

The image became fuzzy then, flickered, and faded into blackness. It was as if Daegan was standing in complete darkness, a feeling that did not sit well with the Sage of Shadows. Another flare from the Arc of Dreams and the blackness flickered and then faded into view.

“Good Evening.” The deep booming voice of Xada echoed through the streets. He held the Arc of Earth in his left hand; it had grown to become proportionate to his size so that he wasn’t wielding a toothpick against his enemies. His eyes traced over Sitherack’s outfit and smirked, opening his wings. He glided down into the street near the dark sage and glanced around, holding his hands up.

“We have a bit of a problem here, I would say. But let me welcome you to Sethia first and foremost. This is my base of operations in figuring out where we are at, exactly. I have deduced several possibilities, but the one that seems most likely – and I’ll allow you to verify this – is that your world has been barred and surrounded by a large barrier that does not allow entrance, but instead acts as a mirror, redirecting anyone trying to enter….to here.” At the last word, he spread his arms and gestured around.

“Please feel free to peruse the city. You’ll find that everything you affect here will be re-placed when someone in the mirror world moves it. So we are at a bit of a bind, you see, we can drink the water, but any food we find – if we can find any – will be ripped from our stomachs as soon as they decide to cook it.

“I assume that since I brought you here, you know that we can bring the rest of the people here also. And I’m hoping that we can bring over game and the like as well…transposing the entire world, if you will. That’s why I brought you. I assume that we can strike a deal for the good of our stomachs?” Xada smirked and waited for Sitherack to respond, having not given him a moment to speak through that whole gust.

Raptors… The thought was a disgusted one. Only his sheer age prevented him from drawing on the combined powers of the Arc’s of Magik and Darkness to destroy this inane creature. However he realized, through centuries of having to deal with their race at one time or another had taught him that they all reacted relatively the same. They all seemed to have this inane need to be pompous and long winded, as well as the assumption that anything they stood in or around was their own personal property.

“The City of Sethia, which you so readily name your base of operations is mine Raptor, the entire northern portion of this country is mine, as well as the former Nation of Tarthia.” His comment was matter of fact, he stated it in the way of something that was not an opinion, just simply something that was and always will be, like saying the sky was blue, or the sun was bright.

“As for your assumptions as to whether there is some form of barrier surrounding my home realm I can neither confirm nor deny such a thing. My assumption would be that the only two things in that realm that could create such a barrier is the combined might of all the Arcs or perhaps my dearly and well missed brother.” His tone in speaking of his brother was a twisted one. Respect mingled with hatred and a kind of content satisfaction with the man’s death.

“If it were to be the latter of the two possibilities I would assume his rather clever warding or barrier or however you choose to describe it would have failed with his rather timely demise. However seeing as how there is a barrier of some kind…” He trailed off as he thought of something for a second and his eyes narrowed “It could however have been her…”

“Back to the point, Sitherack. I want the people brought here, you must want something in exchange for assistance, so name it.” Xada slung the Arc of Earth into the strap on his back that was designed for it and waited, looking around. His brows furrowed slightly as he felt something was wrong.

‘Elites, fall in to Sethia.’ His mental voice echoed out to the Raptian Elites that he had brought with him and left with Noki. Though he expected a response back, none came. He paused and shook his head very slightly. It must have been a different Raptian dimension than the one he left…it was entirely possible, but they would have to be brought over as well, which would be a bloody pain once again.

He frowned slightly; he wasn’t really paying attention to the Raptor as he spoke to him, the possibility of that winged horrendous creation that had so made a fool of him on the Plains of Mareth having the power to lock up an entire dimension so unnerved him that it had taken his concentration completely off the conversation.

He glanced back at the Raptor for a second and saw the large creature looking at him expectantly. Quickly he ran through his mind, bringing forth the words that the Raptor had spoken to him and contemplated their meaning. There was something to be gained by the whole deal, as far as he could tell there was no difference between this realm and the one from which he had originated, save of course for the lack of people. If the people were brought here, all except for one rather annoying one, he could gain control of the country with little or no effort extended on his part.

He raised his eyes to meet the Raptors and grinned, “I’ll take a small price for this aid that you require of me. In return for my cooperation in this small endeavor I require you to leave a certain individual behind. I believe you are acquainted with him, he goes by the title of the Sage of Shadows?”

“Consider it done. I’ll be prepared to initiate the transfer as soon as you are. All save Daegan Aquarius Sedi, who will find himself sitting on his throne all alone.” Xada smirked and pulled the Arc of Earth from his back and pressed it to the ground, beginning to draw any energy he could from the ground to assist their cause in this escapade.

“Nice to work with you again, Sitherack.” Xada smiled whole-heartedly as he drew up the energy and stored it, making his preparations.

Daegan twitched visibly on the outside, his grip around the Arc of Shadows tightening. The dreams were getting more intense. Beads of sweat began to spring up along his forehead. Yet the Sage dreamed on.

[Daegan]

The Arc of Dreams flared again, this time the brilliant purple lighter lingered for a bit longer before flickering back down the small purple flame burning on Daegan’s chest. His grip around the Arc of Shadows was like a vice, his hand trembling slightly. Sweat began to drip his brow. The dreams raged in his mind.

Brenna had not stopped running since she had left the body in Tarthia. She closed her eyes as the world shifted, but as the she opened them the world look just as it did before. Well, almost like it did before. Looking behind her for a moment, she bumped into something. This something was large and reptilian. Turning to face what she had hit, Brenna jumps back and away from the huge Raptor. A blood curdling scream was released from her lips as her hand instantly went to the Arc of Time at her hip

"Do not hurt me.. I didn't mean to bump into you..."

This being looked just as the raptor did that father always complained about. Could this be the famous "Stupid Fucking Raptor?" She did not really want to find out. Her eyes came over the other Sedi and then Lomes. Everything had changed and she had a feeling it would never be the same again.

Tiny bolts of Soul Fire seemed to slither from his eyes, jumping across his closed and quivering eyelids. The sweat began to intensify. The sheets the Sage lay in start to become damp, the dreams continuing.

Brenna stared that the frail looking girl for a few moments before the words completely struck her. Her father? She did not notice until now that she could not sense him in this world any longer. Her eyes snapped back to Noko and Xada, they were no longer frightened but now were twisted with anger and hate. Withdrawing her hand to her body, she held the scepter tightly. Whatever these people did to Deagan did not feel right and she would never give the arc over to them, especially now.

"What did you do to my father? What did you do, you evil Raptor!" Turning to Noko, her eyes were no less full of hatred "You want this, Arc? Your hands will never grip this Arc as long as I still breath."

With that the shadows collected around her like tiny tendrals of smoke then thickening to cloak her body. Within a matter of moments, she was gone.

[/center]

A tear slid down his eye as Daegan continued to lay there. Several more followed as the sweat all but stop, a cold feeling sweeping over his body. The Arc of Dreams had showed him how his most beloved daughter died. The young girl was an adept at the use of her Element, but she was also proud and arrogant like her father. Often she took on a task with the shadows that was too great. That’s how it happened. Another tear slid down Daegan’s cheek.

She had tried to meld into the shadows, shifting into the Shadow Realm to find her father. But when there was no Daegan, Brenna’s form was trapped in the Shadow Realm. With no destination, she was unable to meld back into the corporeal world through the shadow. And when the barrier was shattered and the Sedi returned, Brenna remained in the altered Shadow Realm. Trapped for all eternity. A final tear fell down Daegan’s cheek, the Arc of Dreams flaring once more. More nightmares to plague the Sage’s mind.

“My name is Aleris, child, I am a Life Sedi with the thirteenth out of Sethia. Can you tell me your name? I will do my best to find your unit for you, get you back with some familiar faces.” His eyes narrowed at her, seeming to see something familiar but not quite placing it yet.

“No, I don't know... I mean, I cant remember, I'm not sure who I am, but something feels weird, something is calling me inside, I can't...” She sat up slowly despite the cautions of Aleris. Her head turned in the direction of Sethia, Something inside her resonated in time with something there, she couldn't quite place it but it was strong. “I have to go...”

“You need rest child, your wounds are healed, but if you have amnesia there is no telling how deep your wounds really go, there could be more wrong with you than I can find...” She ignored him as she pushed herself off the stretcher and stood wobbly on her feet facing towards Sethia.

“No, I'm going, It pulls so hard...” She took a step forward and darkness engulfed her body, shrunk in on itself and collapsed to a pinpoint then was gone…

Zinerva's eyes opened slowly, once more to the face of a stranger, of course with her memories gone every face was strange to her at this point, but there was still something vaguely familiar about the dark man, his piercing gray eyes staring through her soul. The sensation filling her chilled her to the marrow and thrilled her soul at the same time. The power was incredible, and in some vague way she could sense that it was only a fraction of what the man could bring forth.

“Who... where am I?” Her voice was slurred almost drunken from exhaustion which was fading rapidly, and power which was filling her being in ways she had never before thought possible.

“You are in the Capitol city of Sethia young Darkness Sedi, and I am Sitherack, Lord General of the northern forces of the Sedi, and Sage of the Darkness. You used quite a bit of your power to reach me child, I am restoring it to you now.” Sitherack's voice was distracted, his real attention less on the conversation and more on the work of channeling the energy into her in a manner that would not harm her.

“I see, I must tell you I don't remember much, I was injured in an accident, I'm not sure, just what any of this all means..” Her voice was becoming stronger, power overtaking exhaustion, alertness drawing on itself and making her more aware of her surroundings. “I don't know exactly what I am doing ere, I felt an uncontrollable pull, something inside me made me come here.”

“It is understandable, You are of the Darkness, it is only natural for you to gravitate towards a source of greater power when weakened, there is no greater source of Darkness than me at this point, Not with me holding the Arc.” He removed his hand from her, completing the transfer, and stood straight looking over her. “You may accompany me until we find where you belong child, I will keep you safe, in the mean time lets get you some armor, things are quite dangerous right now.”

Zinerva nodded silently and followed Sitherack as he escorted her to the Armory and got her a set of armor similar to his own, bleached in white, and inscribed with identical protection and warding spells. The Armor fit her form nicely. He took a legionaries sword from the weapons rack and pulled darkness power through the Arc, infusing the weapon with a small fraction of power before giving it to Zinerva.

“This will act as an amplifier for you, Like a well of sorts, you can draw some power from it to add to your own significant natural abilities. It will help you face any of our enemies should they come upon us” He glanced at her once over and nodded satisfied with the result. It wasn't much but in these times any allies were better than none.

“Enemies? Her tone was questioning as she looked at Sitherack for explanation.

“My brother, Lasius, the Sage of Light, and his ally Daegan, the Sage of Shadows, They will seek out the other Arcs and come against me, I am their greatest threat. It is only a matter of time.” He turned away from her. “And that wench too, that mage filth Malkate, she has thrown her lot in with the likes of my brother and his puppet shadow man.” He strode from the Armory disgustedly forcing his thoughts from his enemies.

Zinerva frowned thoughtfully, The names sounded familiar, all except the last, Daegan especially sounded close to something that seemed a part of her, but she angrily pushed it away. So much seemed familiar yet strange, she was fed up with lack of memory already, and besides there was something real and true here in front of her. Something she could grasp onto and something the element of her soul told her was right.

“As you command Lord General.”[/center]

More tears slid down Daegan’s face as he witness Sitherack overcome his daughter. Tiny bolts of Soul Fire crackled over his eyelids every now and then he the Sage cried silently in his dreams. Claimed by Darkness, allied with the very man that killed her sisters. The Arc of Dreams flickered for a moment, as if sensing Daegan’s extreme pain. But that moment quickly passed and the Arc flared brilliantly again.

[Daegan]

“It is complete.” The voice was a whisper of her own deep in her mind, she was dead, she knew it, her heart no longer beat in her chest, her lungs no longer filled with air. Pain was gone completely now, and she could no longer smell the sickly sweet aroma of rotting meat around her body. But something was not as it should be. Her soul was not free to leave her body as the other ones were. She was pinned here, by something.

Her cold dead fingers twitched slightly, then rose, curling around the bone blade, and pushed it out her back, the sword coming free and falling to the side with a sharp clatter startling away the vultures and ravens starting to close in on her body. Her dead eyes opened and fell upon what she had been impaled upon. The Arc of Death, it could only be, and her a Death Sedi, dying had attached her soul to it, yet since no one had killed her with it it belonged only to the body last living touching it... Her own. So even in death it had reanimated her, to give itself its own purpose.

Her hand clasped around the hilt of the weapon, and power filled her corpse, surging through her, bones snapping back into place, body parts regenerating skin sealing up as if never wounded, the whispers of the dead around Tarthia turned to screams of horror as they suddenly were bound to the land, unable to escape or ascend to the after life.

Her mind raced trying to hold onto itself in face of the power that undertook her, but failed and snapped. She was dead, surrounded by the screeches of the damned, in a field of dismembered body parts, and now to top it all off completely insane. She rose to her feet, ruined clothing falling in rags around her, her pristinely healed naked body glistened with the blood of herself and her fallen comrades in patterns, the patterns slowly moved about her flesh, the blood sinking in and turning black like the ink of tattoos, depicting horrible beasts and symbols. She turned the blade downward and gripped it with both hands.

Her lungs filled with air and she screamed. The deathly scream of a banshee, dead in soul and mind, insanity incarnate, ripped forth from the land of eternal night, and the Arc came down. The point buried itself in the soil and an unearthly green flickering light streaked the heavens above Tarthia. Like incandescent ethereal flames.

“Rise! You fight once more, never to rest, never to fall! The Sedi will never die!” She laughed as the flesh melted away from the bodies of the fallen Sedi. Bones snapped together, and pushed themselves up out of rotten fleshy hulks, eyes glowing with the same eerie green glow that the sky held. Slowly ¾ of the Sedian Population, rose to their feet, souls trapped in skeletal remains, soft auras of their individual elements rising up around them.

It was into this madness that a midnight black sphere of Darkness exploded. The power was intense, the light of the sky and the eyes of the risen undead Sedi was the only light visible. As the sphere melted away. Sitherack and Zinerva stood facing the undead hoard, Deirdre at their head, and gaped in shock.

Shock quickly turned to rage as Sitherack looked at the Fallen Sedi and back at Deirdre. Then his eyes caught the Arc of Death in her hand and he smiled softly. The look of fresh insanity was clear in her eyes, and here she was in the land of eternal night, the darkness here was his, her experience with the Arc of Death was minimal at best, but with such a fresh field of corpses... he flung out his left hand, and Darkness enclosed Deirdre's body, slowly shrinking into her, If she had had her sanity she could have consciously fought it, but insane there was nothing she could really do against him now.

The legions of undead started forward to protect their mistress but stopped short at a sharp command that resonated from her throat.

“We are your's Lord Sitherack, may Death and Darkness reign in this land forever, command us.” Her voice was hollow, her eyes empty, the darkness had infected what mind she had left, and he was now her puppet to do with as he pleased.[/center]

Daegan’s eyes flashed open and for a moment, it looked as though he was awake from the hellish nightmares. But the Sage did not move. He continued to lay exactly how he was, his eyes reflecting the horrors he was experiencing in his dreams. Like tiny viewing portals into his nightmares. Tears slid down his face as the vivid dreams continued to play over and over again.

He was trapped in his dreams, essentially. The Arc had bonded somewhat with the Sage upon contact. It knew what haunted Daegan. What Daegan wished to see most; channeled through the Arc as he slept. The Arc of Dreams showing Daegan what really became of his daughters. The knowledge infesting his subconscious, driving him mad. He simply lay there, continuing to dream until he had the strength to finally awaken.

[Lucretias Sedi]

Lucretias footfalls had carried her somewhere physically, outside the city of Shadows. That’s where she’d set up a sort of makeshift camp, a kind of pause in her travels mostly because her feet were sore, she was tired of walking, and was missing the snug comfort of pants. Her hair was down, blowing in the breeze as a sort of meditation took her body, her back straight as the breezes claimed and whipped outside the city. Her mind was free, relaxed, moving through that twilight landscape that rested between dreams and reality, projecting herself into that third realm like a walking dream. Some minds were asleep even at these hours – she could see little beyond the colors of each element and power of the dreamer – if they were Sedi.

Though even as her spirit walked, it found an interesting sight. A sort of energy that pulled to it, recognizing it though she was sure she’d never felt it. A turmoil in the land of twilight, a bridge too close between dreams and reality. A dark brow arched as she moved towards the flickering shades of the shadow dreamer, the turmoil that broke out upon him, and even as her body would seem a shadow for a moment besides the Sage, before her hand went out and slid between that protective barrier between mind and outsider. It would be a flicker of something, and nothing – for Lucretias was good at her element. She wasn’t as strong as the man and probably, armed with the arc, would have had no chance of entering the man’s mind willingly.

Problems with dreams are they were manifested from all kinds of inner emotions – and the arc seemingly was pulling from it his desire to know truth – acting as that bridge. This wasn’t something that she’d ever seen before – beyond the kind of dreams that act as a precognition to an act that could bring about change. She’d seen men that desired a kind of succubus, men who desired friendships, mothers, men who wanted power, darker, savage things – from all walks. She’d seen someone who simply just wanted understanding and solitude, and it was a kind act to control or distort these kind of things. A dream Sedi could be used to interrogate if a man was rendered unconscious because from the stem of the dream they could pull the right emotions to find out things that the waking mind would readily fight.

However, this had been a mere walk, to try and find information out for herself. She knew little of this man, little more than a recognition that most Sedi would have for a Sage. A kind of almost pity stirred at her for the man’s loss, her mind rapidly moving over possibilities. She could leave, but she was sure now that she recognized what was doing this far beyond latent abilities within the Sedi’s body. So she instead, moved into that element that was purely her own, embracing her power. It wasn’t like manipulating control for her – it was more like just simply releasing that hold she had on her abilities to create and inspire dream states. His body reacted almost willingly as she gently coaxed it away from nightmares, pulling gently a desire from the base of the dream, turning it away from the raging nightmares and memories as something more pleasant filled it. It would be almost automatic in dreams, like it made sense, not rough or blotchy like some Dream Sedi was corrupting it.

No, the landscapes changed, flickering, and Daegan would find himself standing above the fallen body of the Sage of Darkness. Lucretias’ blinked, her form invisible yet to the mind’s eye of the dream. She never knew what she pulled, only moving with the desire and pulling it to surface. This in itself was a dream that interested her. A desire so deep that it came forth before simple primal cravings – desire, power, strength… and instead she watched the landscape take place as she gently coaxed and built it. She would work her way into it eventually, but stepping outwards might seem too sudden, to outwardly and she’d risk the possibility of being evicted. She’d not yet attained the grip on his mind she was hoping for – for he was far more powerful than she at this point.

She weaved around him the emotions that would come with the dream so he’d do more than see it – he’d feel everything that he’d feel if it were reality – she shaped it as a strong image, pulling the desires forth like a kind of spider weaving it’s web to the tangled fly that was unaware of the world outside. Her physical body was still, completely rigid, pale as her mind worked, her eyes moving rapidly behind her eyelids as if she were actually moving. The other problem in dream walking when she didn’t do it asleep was leaving her body bare to the world. Her spirit was protected even as she almost pulled silently from the power surrounding her, from the very element that she was built of. She knew he had it now, and she would come here in person as well... But she didn’t need to let him know that yet.

So even as the blade he held dripped with the fallen man’s blood, Lucretias manifested herself in his mind – taking the risk of actually showing him her true face. The long dark curls, the almost ethereal seeming gown that was like a ghosts, her form was more that of something as a memory than a physical flesh and being in this dream. Offering him the power to do this was out of her reach, to offer him the ability to be able to do this was simply more than that. To him she wanted this to seem nothing more than his dream – his dream even with a woman he’d never seen approaching at the time. She said nothing as she appeared, manifesting herself as the ghostly formed moved towards Sitherack, a kind of almost sad smile upon her lips.

[Daegan]

The tears continued to flow down his face, eyes stuck open as the repeating images of his dreams raged on. It was as if he was frozen in time, mid-scream. His flesh was slowly starting to regain some of its color, but it was still a deathly pale; much lighter than the Sage usually was. The grief ran through him completely, sucking the very color out of his flesh – as if he was some undead fiend like his fallen daughter.

Then his eyes slid shut, his muscles relaxing. A tingling in the center of his forehead, but nothing he could actually feel. The seemingly unending dreams suddenly seemed to pause and flicker. Once again the image went blurry and then faded into darkness. Lucretias had his mind.

Daegan roared with a sort of primal fury and rage as he swung his arms with all of his might. The shadows followed suit a split second later, following the trail of the flashing Arc of Death. The battle had been long and fierce between the Sages of Darkness and Shadow, but in the end the vengeance and hatred that had infested Daegan’s heart had caused him to prevail. Giving him the last little boost of energy he needed to complete his vendetta.

Blood spattered Daegan in the face, the Soul Fire burning bright in his eyes. Tiny aqua flames burned along the Sage’s shoulders and arms, bolts of lightning cracking up his right arm mixing with tendrils of shadow. Once more Daegan wielded the combined Arcs of Lightning and Shadow as well as the Arc of Death as it had been before all of this madness happened.

The blood continued to spray as Sitherack’s head rolled down the fallen Sage’s body and landed with a loud thumping sound on the ground. Sitherack’s body slumped over and fell, the blood pooling from the clean wound the Arc of Death had made in severing Sitherack’s head. Daegan’s eyes were locked on the fallen body, the Soul Fire beginning to burn brighter and brighter as the Sage of Shadows moved to stand over Sitherack’s body.

Daegan spun the Arc of Death around, clutching it tightly in his right hand. Bolts of lightning and tendrils of shadow wrapped around the bone blade as Daegan held it above the chest of Sitherack. Then the Soul Fire flickered, and Daegan thrust the Arc into the chest of the Sage of Darkness. Sitherack’s body seemed to convulse as the quickly dying flesh responded to the Arc.

“There will be no rest for you, Sitherack Darken al’Sedi! No eternal slumber or great beyond! You shall suffer for all time, damned to the Arc of Death itself. Vengeance is finally mine.”

A surge of Soul Fire arched down the blade of the Arc as Daegan shouted into the winds. It exploded into the body of Sitherack, making the body glow ever so slightly. The Soul Fire then flickered away from the body, the blade of the Arc of Death glowing faintly before returning to its normal sheen. The soul of the Sage of Darkness was trapped within the Arc.

Slowly, Daegan turned around, rubbing the blood from decapitation of Sitherack down his face. He had a crazed look, the Soul Fire still burning in his eyes as he began to walk, not seeing the woman who had suddenly appeared until he was almost on top of her. His mind was consumed with his victory. For avenging his fallen daughters he did not see the image of the Dream Sedi form before him.

“Speak your name and quickly, I haven’t time for foolish games.”

He raised the Arc of Death upwards, pointing the tip of the blade at the Dream Sedi. Lightning and shadow wrapped about the Arc as the Soul Fire once more began to burn brilliantly in his eyes.

[Lucretias Sedi]

Lucretias watched the blood soaked man still within the insanity of battle stalk towards her like a movement of death. It was impressive, like a large cat stalking after a kill with a satisfied almost march forward. From a battle woman’s point of view – it was pretty damn impressive. She shifted her footing, wondering which might appeal to this man more – the damsel in distress or the feisty tigress. Deciding on one, she gently coaxed the aroma of the dream into something that would appeal to that primal side of a male still on the edge of bloodlust – turn his attention to her as a kind of solid object. Her hand moved, gently and she tried to step back, dark edges of her curls swaying as if caught in the wind that blew across the landscape.

Her eyes half narrowed and she pointed at Sitherack’s corpse.

“I am Beliathael; I am merely your tool.”

Her hand moved back to her body slowly, and she bowed, slightly, lowering her eyes before she straightened again. She didn’t want him to realize exactly who she was, at least not yet. She pulled gently upon the dream again, pulling the haze in so that his conscious mind would not be so much more in control, loosening his grip that much more on the dream as she kept him within it. She wanted him to feel like this might be some kind of premonition – as if he were somehow seeing a future that he needed. She wanted to weave the suggestion heavily enough in his mind that even upon waking it would linger like something important yet forgotten in the back of his mind. It wasn’t all at once – it was the subtle weaving that his mind wouldn’t recognize it all right away, her form moving forward towards him slightly as she reached to place a hand on his shoulder and turn him back to face the body of Sitherack.

“You’re power lies within his demise, and once he is gone, what stops you from uniting the entire Sedian race? With you as a leader, you can unite the people as one, to rebuild what has been broken. He stands in your way…”

She stepped back gently, her fingers lingering where they touched him, gently, another soft whisper, a faint power of suggestion that made it almost a woman’s promise to a man. For all his rage, for all his anger – Daegan was still a full blooded male. Lucretias was aware of how most men thought, and in these rages primal bloodlust could be turned to something more sensual. She didn’t want to change the world too drastically, at least not yet – not turn his mind to accepting more than her – the time wasn’t right. The ambition was there, proven as the body of Sitherack was animated with the Arc of Death within this could-be landscape – she merely needed to nurse it as a silent voice just in the back of his mind.

“..but not for too much longer.”

She slowly released the dream weave she’d been building, leaving that suggestion there, a faint image of face and little else, as she let go of his mind, trying to release him from the dreams and ease him back into wakefulness. The Arc burned her in a way, called her to it but she knew that it wasn’t the right time and to linger too much would be a foolhardy wish for death. That didn’t mean that the next time the Lord General dreamed that she wouldn’t be back to keep the suggestion strong.

Her image faded, slowly, dimming into nothingness with the dark landscape as she returned his mind to himself – leaving only in the back of his mind – that faint feeling upon consciousness there was something important that he should remember about the dream but couldn’t, only the impression of a woman’s face… and touch.

[Daegan]

His eyes flashed open, bloodshot and painful from being open for so long. Playing the wicked dreams over and over again in his mind. He groaned, instinctively closing his eyes again. His face was still damn with tears, staining his cheeks with the salty rivers. He felt confused and utterly alone, and yet at the same time there was a voice. Some vexing siren that called to him. A voice that soothed his broken heart. That made everything seem okay. It was like the rising of the sun, breaking up a nightmare.

He groaned again, rolling over in his massive bed. His eyes flashed open again, but still it seemed too much for him. The dim light of the Tower of Shadow hurt his eyes. The dryness that had accumulated after hours of having his eyes wide open was extreme, and it begged Daegan to close his eyes again. Just for five more minutes. Just for a little bit longer.

The Sage’s breathing was steady and full. His mind was still racing and he was still locked in the hell of his dreams. He slipped back into the deep dreaming state, the Arc of Dreams flaring once more on his chest.


He arched a brow at the approaching female. Few were as bold as she to walk towards a Sedi brandishing three Arcs. He may as well have been a god. Yet she walked towards him, touched his flesh. Her scent was intoxicating. Like a thousand wild flowers growing in the spring drizzle. It had been a very long time since he experienced anything like her. She was beautiful, enticing, but it all seemed too perfect. Something was amiss.

Her words lingered in his ear, her scent in his nostrils. He wanted to speak to her, to interrogate her and break the viscous hold she had on him, but he couldn’t. Daegan couldn’t muster the energy and simply did not want to shatter this pale illusion. He had been through so much, and he didn’t want to watch it all again. He took comfort in her, trying to conceal the lust that he felt. The primal urge he wanted to fulfill still covered with the blood of his slain enemy.[/i]


But then everything flickered and faded into blackness. Daegan’s eyes flashed open again, and it felt as though a war hammer had smashed into the side of his head. He winced at the pain, rolling over again in his half awake half asleep state. He had forgotten where he was, when it was, and everything he had just experienced. But he could smell something. Something that was like wild flowers in the spring. He sat up suddenly, his brow furrowing. Her words lingered still.

He blinked a few times, glancing at the fallen form of Wynne. Delicately Daegan went to move the girl, to pull her into his arms. To cradle her against his own body as his eyes once more slid shut. His energy was almost completely restored, but he was not yet ready to deal with the madness that surely was about to unfold. He didn’t want to hear reports of the dead, of the churning and twisting landscape. The acclimation of the Arcs by Sitherack or the sudden reconstruction of his dark Empire.

For now, the Sage wanted only sleep. Sleep with his daughter. He held her in his arms, wrapping slightly about her small frame as the Sage drifted back off to sleep. His breathing became steady again, the Arc of Dreams shimmering and flickering, the bright purple flame dissipating.

There Daegan remained, sleeping with Wynne in his arms like a child holding a stuffed animal. He was on his side, the Arc of Shadows at his back. Tiny tendrils of the inky substance snaked over the two sleeping Sedi, writhing around there forms as the Arc of Dreams began to burn brightly once more.

Daegan began to dream again.[/color]

[Daegan]

The Sage, once more, seemed at peace on the outside. He lay in his massive bed, Lomes still unconscious at the foot of it, Wynne in his arms. It was almost as if he was trapped in this state, the Arc of Dreams flaring again. Daegan’s muscles went tense and sweat began to form over his brow once more.

She wore plain brown leathers and looked very much like a ranger. Her hair was long and blew in the wind that was blowing again as if nothing happened. She wore a band around her head adorned with ancient symbols and markings, telling that she was one with the earth. A druid perhaps or one of the mystic Dryad that lived near the City of Shadow. She was, in fact, neither and the eloquent staff she held in her hand told exactly what she was. An Earth Sedi, gripping the Arc of Earth that she had just plucked from the destroyed building.

She smiled softly, feeling the raw power of the earth fill her body. She smelled things she could never smell before; hear things she could never hear. Her vision incredibly acute. It was as if she had become the very animals of the lands, the majestic creatures of the forests and mountains. Her smile quickly fell into a frown as she began to tingle. There was something else here in the ruins of the Port City. Something else that called to her Sedian nature. Something that screamed out to her, searing her ears. She cried out, her form suddenly sinking down into the earth once more. The ground vibrated in an obvious path as she soared through the rich soil, moving towards the cause of the intense sensations she was feeling.

Once again the calm. The winds stopped, the sea froze and everything was insanely still. And, like before, debris suddenly exploded outwards. The Earth Sedi’s form surged upwards, her hair whipping violently about her head. There was an intricate pattern that seemed to be glowing red hot under and around her left eye. Her lips were curled back in a silent scream, yelling upwards towards the heavens as another power suddenly filled her thin frame.

The scream suddenly became audible as a massive pillar of liquid earth erupted from the center of where she was standing, surging upwards towards the sky. The waters around the Port City began to sizzle and boil as the fiery earth fell from the skies, the waves seemingly unending as the pillar of lava stretched higher and higher into the skies. The earth rumbled horribly, the piles of rubble breaking up more and more until chunks of rock were ground into sand.

And then the stillness as the terrible scream stopped. The pillar of fire stopped erupting and eventually the rain of fire had halted as well. Tre Betal was nothing now. A flat, arid landscape covered with pits and craters where chunks of molten earth came crashing down. The lagoons and bays around the Port City all boiled and bubbled, as if the very earth the water rested in was on fire.

But it was quiet and still again. Quiet and still because the creature that had caused this carnage was now unconscious. The surge of power from the Arc of Earth and then the Arc of Fire was too much to handle at that moment, and she had exploded outwards. The raw power of fire coupled with earth in primal destruction. She lay there, flat on the ground, the Arc of Earth clutched tightly in her right hand, the Arc of Fire burning softly in her left.

Slowly, her form melted away into the earth, as if she was being swallowed by quicksand. She was vulnerable now, in this unconscious state, and the manifestation of the earth would not be vulnerable. And so, like a mother putting a child to sleep, Rae melted away, the volcano like landscape being left behind as she regained her strength below.

Daegan’s eyes fluttered and flashed open again, but only for a brief moment before sliding closed. More tears ran down his cheeks as he lay with Wynne in his arms, watching in his dreams as Raeghan claimed the Arc of Earth and Fire and utterly ravished her surroundings. All was not yet lost for his daughter, but it was a grave situation. Few Arcs were as furious as the Arc of Fire and coupled with the Arc of Earth it was a deadly combination. But there was still hope. Still a chance that Daegan could rescue his daughter from the raw power of the Elements she was virtually enslaved by.

Then the Arc of Dreams flared again, and Daegan groaned, his mind being thrust back into deep slumber. As if he was unable to escape the dreams. The Arc was going to show him everything.

[Daegan]

His breathing was calm and light, his chest rising and falling evenly. The Arc of Dreams burned upon his chest, the fire dancing across the silver disk it hovered over. The pupils behind Daegan’s eyelids seemed furious, darting all over the place in erratic patterns. He was still locked in his dreams.

Maeveen smirked slightly as she saw the portal begin to flicker. The chaos that was exploding around here brought glee to her heart of hearts as she stood firm, watching as other Sedi ran full sprint towards the rip in dimensions. She folded her arms over her chest and watched, laughing softly to herself. The sheer feeling of the energy was utter ecstasy to her as she could feel it whipping around her form. Feel it penetrating her very pores.

She then blinked, and her eyes narrowed for a second. They locked onto the portal as she closed her eyes, picturing the flickering and flashing portal in her mind. Her muscles tensed as her hands curled into firsts, her closed eyes tightening as she focused her Element in this chaos. She forced the tiny crackling bolts of energy out from her body, tiny static bolts crackling over her arms and up her face before she vanished altogether in one brilliant azure lightning bolt.

A second before the bolt struck her body, Mae’s eyes flashed open, her entire body tingling. She could hear an insanely loud ringing in her ears and her mind flashed images of her sisters and finally her father through her head. Once more she closed her eyes and as pieces of the Sedi began to fall from the sky in Terra Centilina the bolt of lightning took her. She was returned to the very Element she was spawned from.

[/color]

Daegan groaned again as he rocked in his sleep. Tiny bolts of Soul Fire crackled across his eyelids as his eyes tightened, as if trying to block images from his vision. But no matter how hard the Sage fought, the images came, flooding his mind as he watched each of his daughters perish. Once more, the Arc of Dreams flared brilliantly, the purple fire still burning silently on his chest.

She had made it through the portal some how, and actually didn’t feel too terrible. She watched as hundreds of others poured through the surging portal and soon thousands. She frowned, glancing upwards as to where she was and the feeling of dread sunk deep into her heart. Evelina was in the heart of the Land of Darkness, and out of all of Daegan’s daughters she was the least proficient in her Element. A brilliant child, understanding most of the Sedian history by the time she was ten, Evelina was more fascinated with reading books then using the Light.

The Light Sedi ran as fast as she could towards Tarthia, but she quickly became tired. Fear swept her as she could feel the darkness encroach upon her, as if it were tugging at her legs trying to drag her away into the blackness. She cried out, and in her fear she tripped and fell, hundreds of other terrified Sedi quickly trampling her. She moaned out in agony, but the pain quickly became too much and she strayed from thought, slipping into the darkness that threatened to take her.

Her eyes flashed open as a savage screamed ripped through the lands, making her head pound as blood trickled down the side of her face. Evelina’s temple was gashed open, her legs and arms virtually useless, crushed from the stampeding Sedi. She couldn’t move and could barely breathe, lying under pieces of flesh and muscle, bone and tendon. Chunks of Sedi that had fallen through the portal. She cringed and gagged at the stench, vomiting as she felt it quiver and snap back together, forming the Undead Legions. She cried out in agony and fear as one of the skeletal entities clicked back into place, looking down savagely at the crushed Evelina.

Within seconds the undead Sedi was on her, ripping into her flesh and tearing it from the bone. She screamed out, like some sort of banshee, but the scream was cut short. The skeletal minion made short work of the crushed Light Sedi, ribbons of her body staining the dark lands as the undead armies assembled.

More tears slid down Daegan’s face as the images flashed through his head over and over again. It seemed as though each passing moment were a thousand lifetimes to the dreaming Sage, his heart being stabbed millions of times with red hot knives as he watched his daughter’s fall.

Etain sat high in the freshly constructed citadel in the heart lands of Tarthia. She stared blankly at the wall, completely drained. For the past four days she had been inscribing runes into armor and weapons alike, blessing them with what skill she had with her Magick. All of the words to the incantations she recited were meaningless now, having said them so many times over and over again. She was exhausted and her mind was tired. A dangerous combination for any Magick Sedi.

She then sighed and turned around, grabbing a battle axe that she had been working on. All of the runes were carved into the heavy weapon, now it was just time to enchant it and bless it before she started on the next piece. It seemed unending.

Closing her eyes, Etain waved her hands over the surface of the axe, murmuring to herself the words to begin the incantations she would infuse the axe with. The words fell from her mouth with no feeling, as if she were a machine spitting out the desired result. And more or less, that’s what she’d become.

Then there was a loud crash, and her eyes opened slowly, her words slipping. She gasped and stopped mid-phrase as she uttered the wrong word, eyes going wide and her hands going up to cover her mouth. Her body trembled as she watched the axe begin to shake on the ground it had fallen too, rumbling against the floor as it reacted to the wrong words.

Suddenly, the axe exploded outwards, shards of the metal flying everywhere. The force was intense, and Etain’s body was blasted back across the small room she was in. Shards of the axe pinned her body to the wall as her head slumped down, her chin smacking her chest. Shards of the heavy axe riddled her body, blood quickly flooding from the wounds. She gasped for air as a single tear formed in her eye, and then the darkness consumed her.

More tears came from the Sage as his muscles tightened. The Dryads were wise in sparing Daegan the knowledge of what happened to his other daughters, for he was in hell now. He was trapped in a prison he could not escape, witnessing things that had already come to be with the people he loved the most. He watched his beloved daughters drop like flies. And yet it raged on.

Aingael’s eyes, well the one that was still there, flickered open slowly. The lid that rested over the vacant eye socket seemed to shrivel and peal away as the undead Life Sedi’s jaw snapped back into place. Her leg reattached itself and her shoulders popped back into place. She still had the huge gaping hole in her stomach and her entrails were hanging all over the place, but it was something. Groggily, the undead Aingael rose from the pile of flesh and bone she had been just moments ago, having been torn to pieces from the portal. She heard the call of her master, of the Arc of Death. She was reborn and lost to the world, the image of her former self destroyed. A Life Sedi, lost to the eternity of the undead.

[/center]

Daegan wretched. The bile in his throat rose as the smells of the field of death filled his nostrils. Even in his own Necromantic practices he had never smelled the dead like this before. Never felt so sickened by the ravenous undead. His stomach churned and lurched as he groaned, head flipping from side to side as the Arc of Dreams flared again.

She raged forward in a fit of final fury. The wounds she’d sustained from the battle her severe, but it was sheer pride that was driving her on. Pride in who she was, in what she represented. It gave Edana an almost arrogance. Her hair seemed to burn like the small balls of fire in her hands, a light wisp of smoke following her trail as she moved. Her eyes told of the hatred in her heart. The hate the plight of the Sedi had endured at the hands of the Gods thus far. She’d end it now.

“NO!” Coventina reached for her sister but was too late, the fiery warrior exploding forward. Tears raged down the Water Sedi’s face as she clenched her fists. She stared at the form of her sister, the fire slowly building around her running form before it blinked out altogether.

Edana winched only once as the hand of the God of Fire smashed into her body. Like a ragdoll she flew, killed instantly from the snapping of both her spinal cords. The fire that once burned around her completely blinked out, her crushed form smashing into a crumbling stone pillar. Her ragged form slumped down on the ground, a twisted bag of flesh and crushed bone.

She dropped to her knees, staring with mouth agape as her sister was hit by the God of Fire, watching her mangled corpse bash into the remains of some temple. She sobbed violently, falling face first into the rubble the desperate Sedi fought in as the War of the Gods raged on around her. Within mere moments, the God of Fire was on Coventina, crushing her head beneath his giant foot. Her skull cracked loudly as it was smashed into the ground with little regard, the God of Fire craving more victims.[/center]

Once again the bile rose in Daegan's throat as the gruesome scenes played over and over again. He wasn't used to this kind of torment. Yet his eyes still fluttered under his eyelids, his breathing still steady. The Sage dreamed on.

[Daegan]

Daegan groaned yet again, his body shuddering as the Arc of Shadows shimmered. More and more shadows snaked over the sleeping bodies of Wynne and Daegan, a few lapping over the little frame of Lomes at the foot of the bed. Yet again the Arc of Dreams flared as the seemingly evil purple flame burned on.

“Hello Daddy.” Her little figure smiled at Daegan, as if she was sitting wait across from him. She was dressed in pink, a beautiful dress made from the finest silks. Her hair was done as if she was a Queen. Her little eyes twinkled like sapphires, her pearly white teeth glistening in the light. “I miss you. I’m not going to let you see what happened to me like all the others. I want you to see me happy. I didn’t feel anything Daddy. It was like I just fell asleep. That’s where I’m at Daddy. I’ll always be in your dreams. I love you Daddy. I’ll see you soon.”

She smiled again, bringing her hand to her lips and kissing the tips of her fingers, blowing it towards Daegan before she waved and flickered from view. Moments later the hazy light Keelin was just standing it faded as well and there was nothing but blackness.

The Arc of Dreams suddenly seemed to stammer and then fade, the once bright flame now burning softly on Daegan’s chest. One last tear slid down his cheek as he was once again thrown into darkness. Imageless sleep. The soothing blackness Daegan needed to completely restore the energy he had used. He was going to need it.