Shadow's Fury

[Daegan]

Daegan had moved away from the portal that Lomes had opened, his attention shifting to one of the windows that faced to the north. He was no mage by any stretch of the imagination, but he still touched the Aether in the way those of the magickal arts did. He could feel the light ebb and pull deep down in his hearts and it brought a scowl to his face. The Sage stood at the window with his arms folded behind his back, glaring towards the lake barely able to be seen in the horizon.

Just as he was going to close his eyes and find out what the sudden disturbance was through the shadows, he shuddered and felt the rush of his element fill his chambers. He turned suddenly to see Lomes and some strange looking child-like creature stride from the murky, dim light of his bedroom and winced slightly as the Arc of Shadows fell to the ground.

He didn’t speak at first, watching the obvious exhaustion of Lomes and the bizarre thing she brought from – at least as far as he could tell – the Dryad Woods. Daegan watched as the smoky purple substance slowly seeped from the cracks in Lomes’ flesh and took several steps forward, glancing back at the large window one last time. He sighed softly and only nodded to her, covering the stretch from the window to his bed in only a few strides.

“Rest, dearest… I’ll see to this, thing and make sure your new friend is supervised.”

Gingerly he knelt down to retrieve the Arc from the floor before he turned to study the child. The things ears looked almost Elven, but seemed to be too round for that species. The pale skin and dark eyes told that it wasn’t of the Dryad blood either. He raised an eyebrow questioningly before shaking his head and dismissing the notion altogether. The Dryad Wood was a vast place; it was highly possible that some small, secret race had gone undetected all these years. And if all of them were this short it was even more probable.

“You stay here, little one. I’ll have food and drink brought to you. You’re safe now. Here. Nothing is going to harm you. My name is Daegan Aquarius and this is my City. Go on now, rest if you’d like. I’ll return… shortly.”

Daegan sighed once more and moved to pat the little creature lightly on the head before he turned his attention back to Lomes. The strain on her body and mind had to be something fierce with all of the energy she had been using throughout these – what seemed to be – endless days. He noticed that she was steadily getting weaker and weaker with each passing day. Nothing too major, it seemed, but enough to warrant concern from the Sage. He watched her silently for several more moments before he turned away, moving to retrieve the bizarre corpse of the thing Lomes had thrown through the portal.

His motions were like that of water. Daegan knelt down to pick up the Sliver corpse and in two more strides his form vanished completely, as if he had disappeared into one of the walls. He flashed into existence for only a second, issuing orders to a few of the servants in one of the main halls of the Tower of Shadows to prepare food and to bring it to his bedchambers. Once more he then flickered away into nothingness, appearing a moment later at the very depths of the Tower in labyrinth like catacombs below the earth. He took several steps forward and snarled, chucking the corpse of the Sliver hard into one of the cold stone walls.

Within Daegan’s bedchambers, the shadows began to stir. He glared angrily at the Sliver as he gripped the Arc of Shadows, forcing his energy upwards. Daegan had not watched everything that happened within the Wood, but had derived that somehow these fell beasts wore Lomes to the point of utter exhaustion. Obedient as ever, tiny tendrils of his element began to drift from the darker corners of Daegan’s bedchamber, slithering towards his bed and ultimately up onto it.

“You’re quite lucky she wishes you some sort of study, wretch. I’d just as soon crush you into nothingness with a mere thought.”

His form wavered for only a second, and as if throwing the Arc upwards it shot towards the high ceilings of – what appeared to be at least – the dungeons below. It vanished into the shadows before it struck the top of the room, appearing on Lomes’ steadily rising and falling chest. As the artifact appeared, the shadows of the room lurched forward and began to caress the delicate cracks in her flesh. They licked over the wounds like the tongues of a thousand snakes, desperately trying to halt the steady seeping of the purple mist.

Daegan roared with frustration as he watched the shadows try to overlap one another, the Aether within still leaking out. He overturned what appeared to be a thick torture chamber before moving to pick up the body of the Sliver, smashing it into the wall over and over again.

“WHY?! WHY?!”

He howled with fury before grabbing an old, rusty and broken pike that had clattered to the ground, apparently lying on the table that now lay broken in many pieces on the cold floor. Daegan hissed through his teeth as he slammed the old steel through the center of the creature, imbedding the wretched thing and leaving it suspended about half way up on the far wall of the chamber.

With one final roar and a solid punch to the wall that had the Sliver suspended from it, Daegan once more vanished into the shadow. His element wasn’t enough to fix, or even slow down, the wounds Lomes had sustained. Daegan was going deeper and deeper, down into the ancient tombs of the Tower. The long since forgotten dead from ages ago.

It was time to experiment.

[Lasius]

Lasius turned from the sight of his sons wife giving birth and walked towards the rapidly rising camp that his men were creating for the Alisandre survivors. The life Sedi and his son could handle that situation better than he could, and it gave him an excuse to avoid a situation he truly wasn't looking forward to confronting.

He stopped next to several high ranking officers in the Sedian camp making sure that things would proceed along as smoothly as possible for the refugees. If what he had been told held even an ounce of truth, then these people had been through far more in the past few months than most people could handle. They deserved what sanctuary he could offer them. His mind turned to thoughts of life in the rest of the continent, These strange new creatures that had wiped out the dryads, the large bull like creatures roaming the deserts of the east. Things that could potentially spell devastation for the barely put together Sedian empire that had so short a time ago teetered on the brink of extinction.

His eyes turned to the distant shadow of the Wood to the south, Lomes had been there earlier investigating what had happened, his brief glimpse had showed him much, but it would be time soon to go and ask her about what she had discovered, and reveal his other news to Daegan, try to figure out what needed to be done for the Sedi and the world now that so much had changed.

He glanced back at the commotion that had assembled around the elf and his son, and the inescapable thought that the Shadow City seemed like a vacation at the moment entered his mind. He opened his soul to the aether and let the energy pour through his body, his soul converted it to the Lightning Element and he unleashed it in a short burst causing his form to flicker and vanish small bolts of lightning crackling across the ground where he had stood mere moments earlier.

His form solidified in front of the entrance to the Tower of Shadows, energy crackling across his body as he made his way up tot he guard outside. It only took a glance in his direction to get him to move out of the way, practically all the Sedi in this tower knew him on sight now. He paused and thought for a second before turning back tot he guard who watched him cautiously. “Send someone to find Daegan for me, tell him Lasius has arrived and will be awaiting him in his war room, at his earliest convenience.”

Turning back to the entrance he made his way through the Tower of shadows and to Daegan's war room. He thought about asking them to find Lomes for him, but he would talk to her later, chances were that anything she herself had discovered she would have told to Daegan or that perhaps the two of them were together. Entering the large empty room brought back memories of many conflicts, some long past some recent, but regardless they were there. He crossed to the opposite side of the room and held out his hand, a brief flash of light and a large map of known world appeared in his hand summoned from his own war room. He didn't feel like searching through Daegan's maps to find one of his to use.

He unrolled it on the table in the center of the room and sat in a chair studying it silently as he waited for Daegan to arrive. His thoughts were hectic and it was tough to focus them through all that had happened that day, on top of the emotional burdens he was exhausted from the training he had endured. It wasn't long before the lines of the map became blurry and his head slumped down tot he table as he lost consciousness.

[The Hive]

The Hive Slivers howled in the depths of the Earth at the deaths of the drones in the Wood of the Dryads by the scarred creature Lomes. They decided it was time to test these creatures above them, they now had ample food in the Woods tot he south, the Dryads death had removed the only other equal hunters in the area. This allowed the Slivers to breed in numbers previously not possible, their main target would be the city above them, these creatures were too close for comfort, discovery of the Hive simply could not be permitted.

Thousands of Eggs were laid, Thousand of drones hatched and and fed with food brought back from the Wood. They were cunning hunters now, able to reason and use tactics, a gift from the highly developed mind of the dryads they had devoured. Once over forty thousand Slivers had been bred and raised within the vast underground caverns the first scouts began to rise out of the ground in the city of Shadows. It was night, and in the cover of darkness they rose up out of the earth and moved through the city like stalking panthers.

They didn't move around unnoticed for long however even in the cover of darkness the Shadow and Darkness Sedi spotted the creatures almost immediately. The battle was fierce but quick, several Sedian soldiers wounded, all the Sliver scouts dead. That did not however deter the will of the hive, within minutes of the first assault Slivers were forming up from the Earth all over the city in thousands, Within minutes the entire city was in full pitched battle. The Slivers ripped through Sedi rapidly, most of the cities defenses being arrayed to keep things out and the Slivers simply appearing from within.

The combat was far more savage than anything the Slivers had encountered before, as Sedian soldiers and elites tore them limb from limb using weapons, elemental powers and even bare hands when necessary. The fight was pressed, there was no time for the Slivers to stop and hold any area for long, as Sedi were far more experienced at close quarter combat, and the Slivers were still more or less animal in their instincts and actions. Still they managed to consume 3 fallen water Sedi and a light Sedi. The Hive Slivers took time to digest the powers and genetic abilities of the Sedi, but it was only a few moments before the Slivers began to mutate. They developed the duality of Sedian physiology, became faster stronger and resistant to light and water elemental attacks within several minutes.

The conflict in the city was a diversion really, tens of thousands of slivers were dying out there so that a few hundred could reach their objectives. Several hundred had overwhelmed the Guards to the Tower of Shadows and were moving through it searching in small parties of 10 or 12 for Daegan's quarters, the goal was to reach the Creature they had found in the woods, The Hive felt the power from her, and its kinship to the Artifact they nested around, the idea of more of that type of power appealed greatly to the Hive and thus these Slivers had been sent to find the creature, kill it and retrieve any artifact it may have near it.

These Slivers encountered Sedi in the Tower, and fighting burst out in small clusters everywhere throughout. Sedi fell with gaping wounds from bladed appendages of the slivers, and Slivers were cut torn and burned into cinders in response. The sound of battle echoed through the night in Cyrida and the Tower of Shadows.

[Lomes Artelias]

Lomes was aware of Daegan's efforts to heal her wounds, she could have told him it wouldn't work, but secretly she hoped for a miracle. The damage to her body was horrific, and it was slowly sapping her strength, she didn't know why the Arc of Life continuously failed to heal her, she could feel its energy in her, keeping her life force going, but slowly she felt weaker each day, progressively. She meditated on it and the answer slowly made itself known to her in her mind. The Arc of Life was keeping her body alive, but the damage to her was causing her living soul to seep away, She was only a shell of a body and soul, there was little else inside her, and her body was made of all the elements, Life alone could not heal these wounds.

She continued to think on it as her body restored what strength it could to her through rest. There had to be a way, some possible thing she over looked, something that could repair the damage, after all if the damage could be caused it could be reversed. She didn't know what would happen if her Soul seeped away completely and the Arc of Life continued to keep her body alive. It was possible she would go into a vegetative state, she doubted the Rod of Souls would perish, as it was her body and the Arc could keep that alive indefinitely, but the thought of loosing everything she was on the inside chilled her to the bone.

She wondered if she could repair her own body, in truth she possessed all the necessary elements, but she feared that she was already too weak to draw the power necessary to accomplish anything of meaning...

Her eyes shot open as her thoughts were interrupted by an eerie clicking noise in the hallway outside the door. She got to her feet just as the door burst open and a Sliver drone looking far more deadly than the ones she had dealt with in the woods leapt for her. She didn't have time to react before it slammed into her with sufficient force to shatter the bed behind her. She caught its blade like claws mere inched from her throat. In a flash he channeled existence energy through her body, encasing the small odd creature sharing the room with her in a small existence shell, then channeled again barely able to maintain the flow as it encased her own form in a shimmering crystalline second skin. The Strain of maintaining it took strength from her arms and the sliver sliced and bit at her, to no avail. It could not pieces the shield.

It grabbed her and flung her about the room, the impacts were dizzying, but she was able to make out six more Slivers as they crept into the room with her. She couldn't spare any more energy to channel even a lick of power through another element. Existence was an especially taxing element, and keeping two shields even this small running was all she could manage. They surrounded her slashing and biting, their attacks didn't hurt her, but they kept her pinned to the ground unable to move, it was only a matter of time now before her strength gave out.

She embraced power through the Arc of Dreams and sent a waking dream to Daegan showing his mind what was occurring inside his quarters if he was not already away, and continued to struggle with the large creatures that looked so much different now than the one she had brought with her.

[Sitherack's Soul]

Existence after death for a Sedi not lucky enough to be resurrected had two options. At the point that the soul left the body it had 2 choices, it could choose to move from this plane onto an ethereal plane where they could join the dead of their race since they were created thousands of years ago. Or it could choose to remain tethered to this world. This decision had little to do with deeds of life or moral choices and more with the Souls conscious desires at the moment of death. Needless to say very few remained when given the chance to join family and friends in a land of ethereal bliss and joy. For some however the very idea of this was repulsive, and they chose to remain to observe the sufferings of mortals within this world, they had little or no ability to influence events here but they could observe, and so it came to be that one such soul chose this path, and found himself in a very precarious position.

He had wandered more or less aimlessly since his defeat at the now shattered Temple of Darkness. The very thought of his defeat brought joy into his mind, for the first time in as many years as he could recall he was of one mind one soul, if not one body. The Sage of Darkness was gone from his mind, and the peace that came with that was unparalleled. He could move more freely without his body than he could even with the power he had amassed previously. It required only a thought to be somewhere and he was there, even if he had never been there before, a thought of Lasius brought him to his brothers side, wherever he so happened to be at the time. It was this thought that brought him to Daegan's war room.

His ethereal form left him aware of everything around him and he was very cautious to remain at a reasonable distance from the Necromancer. Death had not addled his wits completely, he had no intention of of becoming some slavish undead for the man's sport. His brother was passed out from exhaustion, it appeared that he was dreaming, the was a certain flicker to his aura that indicated consciousness that extended beyond the physical form. He could peek into the mans dream if he chose to, death and dreams were very closely linked in ways, but he chose to leave the man alone for now.

This was not in anyway out of respect for the man but rather because something intensely powerful and drawing had pulled his attention. He let go of the control that he used to hold him in one place, and his form shifted into Daegan's personal quarters. The Form of Lomes meditating on the floor infront of Daegan's bed drew him in ways he couldn't control. Perhaps it was the damage that had been inflicted on her body which was in fact the reshaped Rod of Souls. His ethereal form mingled with the Aether that drifted out of the cracks in the creatures form and he could feel his soul tingle with the power there in.

He was caught up in it so deeply that he was caught off guard when the strange looking creatures burst into the room and attack Lomes. There was of course nothing he could do to intervene, having no body really limited an individual, being invisible and non-corporeal at the same time made him sometimes question if he was even real. But he could feel the call that Lomes sent to Daegan through the Arc of Dreams. If that man was coming here now it was entirely possible he would sense his soul, it was time to move out of the area.

He focused his thoughts on the abandoned crater that used to be Tarthia, but nothing happened. He tried again but still he was stuck. Something was wrong, it felt like his soul was made of lead, it took all the effort he had to move even a few feet. It occurred to him then that coming here was a worse mistake perhaps than seeking out Daegan, the Rod of souls acted like a vortex, it pulled on his Soul, unconnected as it was to any body there was nothing but his conscious will to keep it from being pulled into Lomes.

[Daegan]

“Son of a bitch!”

Daegan snarled as he whipped around. He heard the clicking sound several moments before and as the creature went to dive at the Sage, Daegan merely closed his eyes. The shadows embraced his body immediately and the very second the charging Sliver passed through his shadowed body; he slammed the Arc of Shadows down hard into the center of the creature. He hissed as two more lunged from what appeared to be utter nothingness, camouflaged wonderfully in the dim light that was ever present in Cyrida. Again, Daegan embraced his element and the two Slivers passed through incorporeal shadow where the Sage had been standing just moments before.

“When it rains it bloody well pours…”

With fluid motion, Daegan ripped the Arc of Shadows from the carcass of the first Sliver and whirled around in a flurry of dark steel and eerie shadow. The second and creature caught the Arc of Shadows directly under its neck, the head of the creature crashing into the stone alleyway a few seconds after the body thudded down. The third Sliver met a much more gruesome end, hundreds of tiny tendrils of shadow exploding from the Sage’s clenched free hand. They rip and tore through the hardened flesh of the Slivers without much difficultly and it seemed several others were preparing for attack, desperately trying to stay out of sight within the shadows.

The Soul Fire exploded from around Daegan’s entire body, a silent almost sonic boom causing the other five Slivers to hesitate their attack for only a second. Daegan’s grip around his Arc tightened even more as he crouched down slightly, his legs becoming tense in preparation for the remaining Slivers advance. He could see them as plain as day lurking in his element and it almost brought a smirk to his face.

Until the image of Lomes exploded into his mind.

Daegan’s eyes narrowed as all caution and thought was pushed to the way side. He had always been some what of a sadistic person and even with the touch of Lomes and the Arc of Dreams his mind bordered on insanity. All of the rage that had been bottled up for all of his years of peace began to rumble in his core as Daegan’s lips curled into a snarl. It was as if time had frozen for a split second as, all at once, the Slivers hurled themselves forward, and were brought down suddenly. With only a thrust of the Arc into the air, the Slivers were utterly crushed into nothingness, the shadows they were attempting to hide in quickly becoming the last thing the creatures would ever see.

With the explosion of shadow energy, Daegan’s form also vanished, appearing a mere half second later in his bed chambers. The Sage quickly assessed the situation and reacted on sheer instinct alone. Every spec of shadow within his chambers shuddered at the sudden arrival of the Sage and with a mere thought and motion of his free hand they burst forward. From all sides thousands upon thousands of miniscule tendrils of the inky substance burst forward, savagely screaming out at the creatures in his room. Much like before in the Dryad Wood and in the alleyway, the shadows tearing relentlessly into the small bodies.

Daegan snarled loudly as the Soul Fire flared around his body, the braziers in his chambers responding accordingly. His eyes were wide with rage and fury, and then narrowed as a chill swept up both of his spines. Daegan could feel something. He knew that presence, and it made him ill to think about it. But something was different. Much different now.

“Vulnerable… you made a mistake coming here after your defeat…”[/i]

[Daegan]

Daegan took several steps forward, and with each motion the Soul Fire that burned brilliantly around him pulsated. The braziers that lined the chamber walls surged as well as more and more shadows began to snake and gather about his form. It was like a maelstrom of some dark colored wind as the shadow surged around its master, the Arc of Shadows clutched tightly to the Sage’s chest.

His eyes flickered once, and for a brief second his light eyes were visible. An almost sinister smile spread over his crazed looking face as the whole of the room rumbled. The shadows pulsated in rhythm with the Soul Fire around Daegan and within the braziers as one by one the attacking Slivers began to disintegrate into nothingness. The element tore violently at the foul things as Daegan forced his will through the Arc of Shadows.

Taking several steps forward, Daegan sneered at the location where Sitherack’s soul would have been, the faint outlines of the specter becoming apparent as tiny bolts of Soul Fire would began to dance around it. The Necromancer paused only once as he knelt down to retrieve a half dissolved Sliver – the last that remained in the room – and with a thought the rumbling of the room and destructive shadowed veil halted.

“Found you.”

With the force of what would have been a thousand hurricanes, the silently burning Soul Fire burst forward, the braziers and Soul Well winking out completely as Daegan closed his eyes. Ages upon ages of Necromantic ritual and knowledge flooded forward into his mind as he focused on the image of what Sitherack was. All the times that the Necromancer had ever born witness to the former Sage of Darkness were willed forth; every waking memory of the places and people that the man had touched.

Daegan thrust the half-gone Sliver body forward with a sort of half yell, half word that didn’t seem to make any sense. It was some bizarre phrase that would blur to the untrained ear; but a phrase that would mean unending agony if only for a brief second for the soul of Sitherack. As the creature’s body was pushed forward, the soul would have reacted almost instantly, the fierce pull of the Necromantic energy from Daegan enough to force the formerly intangible entity into something quite tangible.

“You just made my day, Sitherack… ohhh, you just made my day.”

He then vanished and appeared almost as soon as his form became incorporeal before the altar that Lomes had created. Savagely, Daegan swung the Arc of Shadows down into the center of the creature, effectively pinning the thing to the altar. He had hoped that the wards Lomes had placed upon the altar before would still hold true with keeping anyone from tampering with his creation, but didn’t have time to do much else.

“Sit. Stay. Good boy.”

As quick as possible Daegan moved to Lomes, looking at her for only a second before wrapping his arms around the small framed woman. Closing his eyes, the two vanished into the shadows as the braziers and Soul Well flickered back to life, the same faint aqua color glowing in the impaled Sliver’s eyes that was the new husk of Sitherack’s Soul. The two would have flashed into the war room for only mere second, Lomes’ form remaining as Daegan once more vanished into his element. He had been alerted to the presence of the Lord General, and the equivalent to a shadowed smack in the face and his words told he was slightly busy for council.

“Make yourself useful; don’t let anything happen to her, she’s weakened.”

Daegan’s form appeared once more outside the Tower of Shadows as the Sage once more focused on what was once more happening to his city. Rebuilding had become almost routine by this point, and he loathed every second of it. With primal fury over that thought alone he burst forward, exploding into the shadow to deal with the animalistic intruders.

[Sitherack's Soul]

Sitherack's soul flinched as Daegan arrived, he knew there was no way out now, but still he tried to wrench himself from the incredible pull Lomes presence had over his essence. It was impossible, like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands, if there was a way to escape he had not the ability, nor the time to figure it out. Before he knew it the Necromancer had hold of him and then there was something familiar, something he couldn't experience when apart from a body. Pain. It flooded him a he was thrust into the dead body of the creature.

That was the last real conscious thought he had, whatever this thing was it was more intelligent than an animal but it had serious limitations to cognitive thought and contemplation. The pain doubled as Daegan slammed the Arc of shadows into the Slivers body pinning it down. He writhed and tried to get free as Daegan left, and maybe if he had been whole he would have been successful tearing a gapping wound in itself and crawling off. After awhile he resorted to animal like instincts and gnawed viciously at the Arc resulting only in slicing himself more.

Eventually after 30 or so agonizing minutes he managed to tear himself through the Arc ripping his body away from the blade and leaving a massive gaping wound in his side which bled heavily all over the floor. The Body was undead however and didn't require the necessities of Life, he used what good limbs he had left to begin the long arduous crawl out of the Tower of Shadows. He didn't take any rests or pause for even a second, but the movement was painstakingly slow in the ruined body, he slid literally a few feet every several minutes. It was only a matter of time before he was discovered, he didn't have the strength or the time to actually escape the tower, that didn't stop him from trying however.

[Lasius]

Lasius jerked awake at the slap from the shadows, his mind was still clearing itself as Daegan spoke and vanished abruptly. He wasn't happy at the rude way he had been awoken, but his irritation was rapidly replaced by concern at the sight of Lomes. Her eyes were paler green than they had been last time he had seen her, she seemed to be wrapped in some skin tight existence shell, an attempt to keep the Aether in perhaps, he was completely unaware of the attack on the tower or city. But even the brief rest he had restored strength to his body far faster and more potently than he had anticipated. It was apparent that his body was recovering far faster as a result of his training as well.

He rose to his feet and helped Lomes to a chair watching her very carefully. Her weakness shocked him, he was curious what had so rapidly used her energies, even as damaged as she was she should have been able to hold out years before needing to be fixed.

“You look like hell Lomes, let me see if theres anything I can do for you.”

She watched Lasius curiously as Daegan left, she wasn't strong enough to even really move much on her own at the moment, working with Existence on top of loosing the Aether, and manipulating the Arcs she had been using for so long had left her drained, and rest wasn't enough to restore this kind of loss.

”Hate to break it to you Lasius, but you aren't a God anymore, and you dont even have the Arcs with you, unless you have somewhere else to hold them I dont know about?” She smirked suggestively and slumped back in the chair sighing as she released the Existence shield around her body out of shear exhaustion.

Lasius smirked and shook his head ruefully at the poor damaged creature. Opening his soul tot he Aether required no conscious thought anymore, the power came in response to his needs now and it readily raged through him in amounts unprecedented. He examined her tracing his fingers through the drifts essence of the Aether around her body as it pooled and dissipated away into the air. Examined the cracks in her body closely not touching them but mapping the pattern in his mind.

”You know a lot of things Lomes, I created you with knowledge superior to y own in many aspects of the world, but in one thing I am still superior, and this is in my knowledge of you.” Stretching back in his mind far enough to remember the powers he had found it necessary to call upon to create her was difficult enough but to see the obvious weakness of her was alarming as well. ”I see the problem, its rather simple really, you see you aren't actually injured, hats why the Arc of Life cannot heal you, you and your being is perfectly fine, its the Rod of Souls that is cracked, and those cracks are manifesting through your body. So we try to heal you, and it doesn't solve the problem.”

He stepped back and released the powers roaring through him and closed his eyes rubbing his temple with the forefingers of his left hand. It was entirely possible that in addition to the slow seepage of the Aether released by the Rod of Souls, that the crack could widen under undue stress and eventually shatter the Rod leading to Lomes death and the end of all souls. The thought was alarming to say the least but now that he knew the problem solving it or at least patching it temporarily wasn't that much of an issue.

Her usual sarcastic and calm undertones were replaced by a look of alarm bordering on panic. Her breathing increased and she clenched her fists tightly squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, everything her life had ever been was in her mind, she knew that her body was the manifested Rod of Souls, the only true duty she had ever been charged with upon being created was the protection of the artifact that held withing it the key to all life's existence both alive and dead. It took effort to keep her voice from trembling but her words still came out with panic in the undertones.

”But thats not really possible I had considered that, but the energies of the barrier couldn't have damaged the Rod of Souls that severely could they? I mean its an Artifact that predates the Arcs, surely its got the same properties as they. How could something created by the Arcs hurt me so badly?”

Lasius nodded and smiled reassuringly moving to the chair opposite her, he sat down and looked her in the eyes smiling slightly. He was quite proud of her, she had come really far from when he first created her, He had debated heavily on granting her free will, but it had worked out rather well in truth.

“We as mortals tend to view artifacts from a biased perspective, We look at the Arcs and see ultimate power, but they have inherent weakness in them, see the gods created the Arcs as extensions of themselves, with the gods now dead, the Arcs remain as the sole focal point for concentrated elemental energy in existence. But as such they have no life to speak of, they cant make any choices cant use their power for a greater good, the Arcs themselves are but slaves to whatever master holds them at any given time.”

He paused and looked at Lomes sympathetically, he knew that what he was going to say would hurt, it never was easy hearing things about yourself that you didn't believe to be true, but ultimately he hoped to show her that it wasn't what you were more who you were that defined your existence in this world.

”We assume that because an Artifact is older, that it must have more power, must be stronger, but this is not the case. The Rod of Souls from what I was able to tell was a flawed prototype of a weapon created far before the Gods perfected the Arcs themselves, the properties of the Soul that result are merely a byproduct of the Artifact's intended use. But being such it lacks all the indestructible qualities of the Arcs, hence why I created you in the first place. The energies I wielded when I created you were lesser Magicks of all other elements save the ones that I had access to naturally.”

“Your contact with the barrier pushed through that outer shell that I placed around you to protect the Rod and cracked it, You healed but the Rod didn't it had to be repaired, but the power to do that would require Either the Arc of Existence itself, or a combination of the twelve remaining elemental Arcs. I dont Believe that we really have time to procure either, however not with you in the state that you are in now. In the mean time however we can't have you walking around leaking out the primal substance of all existence into a world that was not designed to directly interact with it, the results could be... unpredictable.”

[Lomes Artelias]

Her eyes widened and she glanced down at her body sadly, she had been designed to protect things, the Sedi, the Rod of Souls, the known world but it seemed lately like she was the instrument of one peril after another. She mulled over what Lasius had told her in her mind, if the Rod was truly cracked, and it was manifesting through her then the small leaking of Aether that she experienced now was just the seepage before the damn burst, eventually she would weaken to a point that the cracks would widen, the the force of more Aether would widen them still further.

She glanced towards the door and then back at the table sighing deeply, her mind was tired of searching for answers, it seemed now that her almost selfish feeling desire to simply be whole again was actually a necessity for all creation once again, yet increasing the importance of her desire did nothing to present new solutions to the problem.

”So then what exactly am I supposed to do about this then Lasius? Obviously you must have something in mind otherwise you wouldn't be sitting there with that self righteous grin on your face that you always have whenever you know the answer and are simply waiting for others to figure it out.”

He chuckled softly nearly under his breath, he had forgotten how many years he had spent locked away with Lomes in the Keep of Lightning, the woman could read his expressions as easily as if he has spoken plain as day what he intended. He folded his hands and leaned on the table half lost in thought half here in the moment.

“Well we can't repair the Rod here, not with the abilities we have and the Arcs that are possessed by us. We could however by ourselves some time, You hold the Arc of Dreams, if you used it to Enter the World of Dreams physically you can control everything there by thought, including the Rod, your body and everything about yourself. While there you could become whole again, and exist that way until all the Arcs or sufficient powers were gathered to make repairs to the Rod here in this world.”

He paused and shook his head slightly then glanced at Lomes seriously his eyes narrowing slightly and his tone taking on a more serious quality.

”You have to be careful though, If you lose control of your thoughts at any point for whatever reason you will be at the mercy of your own mind there alone and in a world where your deepest nightmares can come true in a heartbeat. Being there physically would leave you at the mercy of these thoughts in a mortal way, if you thought the rod was broken, it would be just as you thought it was whole it would be there. You must keep the thought in your mind and not release it, which also means you cant sleep for however long it takes to accomplish this task.”


So be it I will wait for Daegan to return say my farewells and then depart, do your best here to find the Arcs swiftly and hopefully we can put this whole business behind us rapidly. I dont relish the idea of being subject to my minds whims, I have always had a rather active imagination.”

[Daegan]

Daegan appeared atop the Tower of Shadows almost instantly after depositing Lomes in his War Room and awakening Lasius. He looked around his city and could see the remaining Slivers. Few Sedi had fallen, but it seemed as soon as one dropped the creatures adapted. They started moving faster and began to group up, resorting to group guerilla-like attacks instead of solo tactics. He watched with an almost glee, his mind reeling over the events that had just occurred. His mortal enemy, for whatever reason, had returned and now was at the mercy of his Necromancy. That thought in and of itself was enough to fill him with utter ecstasy.

He then shook his head, eyes narrowing slightly as he brought himself back to the here and now. Much like Lasius, and every Sedi really, Daegan longed for combat. He was much more reserved than some in his desires, but the initial drive was there never the less. And now was a time to release some aggression.

The Sage’s form vanished from atop his Tower and appeared a second later in a darkened alleyway. There were a pocket of seven Slivers apparently regrouping and hiding from a small contingent of patrolling Sedi. The creatures were quite unaware of Daegan’s appearance as he watched deep within the shadow and as the he strode forward, the Slivers dropped almost immediately. Much like before, the shadows that they so desperately used for cover would be the very same thing that destroyed them. With a mere thought, Daegan’s element became devastating, the crushing power rendering the once animalistic creatures into piles of mushy organs and other remains.

Daegan’s form flickered here and there, dodging through the city like some darkened Lightning Sedi as he stepped through his Realm. It seemed where ever there was a shadow long enough to conceal his form, even if only for a second, he was there and then gone again, dispatching whatever little creature that had been there mere moments before. He watched as the primitive creatures desperately tried to regroup and communicate with one another, but it was to no avail. They were within the Sage’s city and virtually everything that happened within the walls Daegan saw. It was as if he was every where and no where at the exact same time.

Steadily as the night continued on, the strange clicking and shrieks became less and less as one by one the Slivers were destroyed. Either by Daegan’s own hand or the ranks of the military that had so recently been reestablished, the intruders were slaughtered. Ranks were once more formed and set up around the perimeter of the city and Elites were hard at work forcing their will and strength into the Aether and their elements to erect wards and shields. Magick and Shadow Sedi weaved there energies together, raising a semi-transparent dome around the city in an effort to thwart other attacks.

Satisfied, and breathing quite heavily, Daegan’s form once more vanished from the center of his city, flickering back into existence within one of the corridors. He had focused his mind on the small little creature he had raised and infused Sitherack’s soul within, following the trail of the burning Soul Fire to find the pathetic thing attempting to crawl to freedom.

“You think it will be that easy, slave? You decimated everything I held dear and you honestly believe you can just crawl away? No, no, no. I have plans for you, former Sage of Darkness. Big plans.”

He smirked as his hands shot outwards. One was aimed at the carcass of the Sliver and the other shot out to the wall. In a moment the shadows had embraced both creatures and Daegan suddenly reappeared within the War Room once more. The Sliver with Sitherack’s soul inside of it was clutched in one of Daegan’s hands, the Arc of Shadows gripped tightly in the other. A tiny rivulet of blood trickled down Daegan’s nose, but he paid no mind to the exhaustion he was feeling.

Scoffing slightly, and taking a deep breath, he surveyed the situation, looking at both Lomes and Lasius before chucking the Sliver onto the table and once more smashing the Arc of Shadows down into the creature, pinning it to the table once more. He then turned to Lasius, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Lord General?”

[Lasius]

Lasius glanced up at the appearance of Daegan holding the remains of the Sliver in his hand. He knew not what resided within the slivers body, and it was probably better that it remained that way. He did however push his chair back as the Sliver was flopped on the table, blood having streaked across the room from its mangled carcass. He wiped blood from his face and grunted at the sight of the wicked little thing. He studied it for a split second before rising to his feet pacing restlessly he had had a mere few minutes of rest, and his body was jumping with energy as though he had rested a full night and he yearned to use it. Steel soled boots chiming softly with each foot fall he continued to pace as he formed his thoughts, there was a lot to tell the man, but the order in which he presented the information was almost as important as the Information itself.

Lightning crackled across his form randomly without thought, he had called no power to his soul it had simply summoned itself to him at its own whim in case he should chose to make use of it. It was taking more and more concentration to maintain control over the new levels of power he had available to him now.

”Well I assume you wouldn't believe me if I simply told you that I yearned for the pleasure of your company once again, so I'll just get right to the point. There have been eh complications, over the last 24 hours. In addition to these small vermin you have here there are at least two other races that have spontaneously appeared, I believe you have been introduced to the child like creatures dwelling in the Wood. However there are Large brutish creature half bull half man that now wander the desert wastelands of the east.”

He frowned thoughtfully and locked his hands behind his back as a he continued to speak energy crackling across him in haphazard and chaotic nature his eyes were focused however there was no randomness of thought with him now despite the chaotic nature of the energies ripping through him uncalled.

”It gets worse than that I'm afraid, the creations of the Dark god that we wiped out long ago seem to be alive and thriving on a continent across the great sea from us in fact they seem to have bred and mutated into ever stronger forms. The few hundred remaining human and elven survivors have fled here, which of course means that it is now only a matter of time before they figure out a method with which to follow.”

He turned and stopped in his pacing leaning his hands on the table his eyes darkened as though clouds were passing over them inside his body, lightning flickering occasionally lit them in an eerie light.

”There were Sedi among the Human survivors from across the Sea, apparently they are all my descendants, my Son is with them.”

He turned away tightening his fists till he felt blood trickle over his fingers before releasing his grip he ignored the pain it was incredibly minor almost nonexistent in the storm that raged within his body.

”You were sorely understating the fact of how Weak Lomes is She's in mortal danger, So we need to undertake an expedition to gather the rest of the Arcs, only their combined strength can return her to her natural state. In the Mean time She is going to have to leave this plane and exist solely within the world of dreams for however long it takes us to find a method of healing her.”

[Lomes Artelias]

Lomes sat quietly and listened as Lasius filled Daegan in on things she was aware of as well as some things she was not. She found it hard to be moved by his words or even find a particular point of interest in any of the goings on of the world, her thoughts were preoccupied with the time she would have to spend in the Realm of Dreams. It worried her, what could happen there if she were to lose concentration for long enough. Of course the Arc of Dreams was in her possession so she would have complete control of the world around her, but still Dreams were not meant to be lived in, only visited, and however long she was forced to be there would open all sorts of scenarios as to outcomes she couldn't possibly fathom.

Other things were bothering her as well, The level of power that Lasius channeled now freely without the aid of the Arcs was significantly more than he ought to be capable of, it seemed he was trying to awaken hidden abilities in the Sedi. She understood the reasoning but he would fail if he didn't have someone to compete and measure his power against, she decided it was time to reveal some things to Daegan that would shift the balance of power in his favor. She wished Lasius no harm, but pushing Daegan higher would only serve to strengthen them both, and Strengthening them both was for the good of the Race.

It was Ashame she was too week to use her abilities to push Daegan to the limit herself, the thought was almost appetizing, and it brought a brief predatory smile to her face. The smile faded with the thought that these few minutes might very well be one of the last memories she had of the man. She tried not to dwell on the difficulty of the task ahead of her, but having her full strength back, if even in a dream was comforting at least. It had been long since she last tasted the power of her complete and unscathed form.

She tried not to dwell on that either, She didn't recall Daegan ever witnessing her in her full power and unscathed form, the ideas that that brought to mind were definitely best not dwelled on when she ought to be focusing her thoughts for the trials ahead. Instead she focused on forming the image of her complete form unscathed and locked it in her mind becoming it in her mind, something she would have to do a lot here shortly. She closed her eyes and waited for the two to finish their discussion patiently.

[Daegan]

The shadows quivered, if only for a second, but they shook. The braziers within the War Room extinguished for only a second, and then exploded to life with an untold force as Lasius finished his debriefing. The rage burned as brilliantly in his eyes as the aqua Soul Fire as Daegan’s hands tightened into tight fists. A silent snarl curled over his face as Daegan’s eyes darted down to the stump of a Sliver that lay pinned upon the large table within the center of the room.

Daegan’s form flashed for only a moment, moving from the position he was standing in to the table and then back to where he was standing before, only this time he was holding the Arc of Shadows. The Sliver body trembled with a force that one would believe it was alive again, but like every thing else of the shadow world; it was for a fleeting moment. Almost more violently than expected the creature’s body was torn to utter shreds, tendrils of shadows erupting from the center of Daegan’s body.

He stared blankly at the now empty space where the Sliver body had once been, blood trickling over the cold grips of the Arc he held so tightly. One by one, the Soul Fire braziers burst to life and then faded to a calm burning like they had been previous to any interruption, a faint glimpse of what could be construed as the face of Sitherack screaming in each dancing flame before dying down. Throughout the whole of the Tower this strange anomaly would appear, jumping from one brazier to another before ultimately stopping within the massive Soul Fire well that burned above the shadowy ante chamber within Daegan’s personal quarters.

“Very well. I request only two things. I understand your hesitance, but I must insist if this endeavor is truly to be undertaken. I would like the Arc of Lightning and the Arc of Death.”

Daegan’s voice was as stone cold as the very foundation of the Tower the three stood within. His eyes never moved from the spot the Sliver body was at, and his grip remained fiercely closed, blood dripping drop by drop onto the floor below. His mind was locked upon the decaying form of Lomes and the wretched that had caused all of the devastation in the first place. It whirled with thoughts of what would become Sitherack’s soul after this endeavor had been accomplished, and just how much the Necromancer would make the former Sage of Darkness pay for his misdeeds.

The Sage closed his eyes, finally, and turned away from the both of him. The shadows shuddered with his movements as Daegan channeled his will through his element. His fury built up steadily within the murky substance and soon even a Darkness Sedi would have been able to distinguish the intense feelings brewing throughout the city, manifested and personified by the twilight that encased Cyrida.

“At your command, Lord General.”

Loyal soldier. Until the last.

His body shook once, and likewise the whole of the city seemed to vibrate singularly like a brief pulse of some unforeseen earthquake. Daegan’s eyes were narrowed and cold, the Soul Fire burning duly in the still aqua ring around his eyes. The tendrils of shadows that had lashed out at the Sliver so violently before now cocooned around his body, desperately trying to comfort the primal rage that was overtaking their master. He kept his back to Lomes and Lasius, his grip iron around the Arc of Shadows.

[Lasius]

Lasius frowned slightly at Daegan's reactions, particularly at his mentions of the Arcs he requested. The banishing of bis brothers soul escaped his notice, he simply had far too much on his mind at the moment to pay much attention to peripheral things. He thought for a second and then made his decision.

”You want Lightning and Death do you? So be it I will retrieve them from the keep in Sethia shortly and return them to you, however you should know that the Arcs are going to continue to weaken you the more you rely on them. However I am not here to decide your path for you Daegan.

He turned preparing himself to depart but paused for a second his eyes going distant as thoughts consumed him momentarily. He sighed heavily but didn't bother to turn to face Daegan as he spoke.

”This is not going to stop you know, peace, prosperity, safety for our people will always be little more than a dream, soon we will begin to tire and fail at our task of protecting this world, we can only hold the storm back for so long Daegan, but what is there left to do but try right?”

He didn't wait for a reply, he simply vanished without warning in a flickering crackle of lightning.