Between Space

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Because I want to be able to participate in an RP without holding it back, I bring you all the world of Foster.

Foster is a world very much like our own albeit there are some major differences.

Firstly, human beings are different from how they are in our world primarily by the fact that they all have the innate ability to control a mysterious force (known as magic to common folk but properly called mystics) which allows for various abilities to be learned which would otherwise be impossible. This force can be harnessed by everyone, but only those that have incredible talent or have went to special schools can use it for any practical purpose.

Secondly, (although some choose not to believe it) otherworldly beings like angels and demons do exist, and they do interfere with the lives of mortals regularly. Neither angels nor demons care to protect or destroy humankind, but they absolutely hate each other. These beings are currently at war for reasons unknown, but the war largely stays out of the human realm. Angels are able to cast mystics of unparalleled power, but their bodies are frail. The demons, on the other hand, have truly horrifying physical prowess, but lack any sort of mystical ability.

Third, humans tend to place a much higher emphasis on the family unit, supporting their loved ones and protecting each other at any cost. The world they live in is very dangerous due to the abundance of predators from the demons realm, and the equally abundant herbivores from the angel realm which support the food chain. This also increases tribal behavior among humans although large cities do exist.

Finally, they exist at the technological equivalent of the renaissance era in Europe. clans are common and so are packs (parties) of travellers. The economies of most regions are based on free trade, but the governments have differing policies on how much should be regulated. guns are commonly used in place of archers when a country can afford to use them, but lone assassins prefer bows almost exclusively.

Mystics can be used for purposes ranging from enchanting, to combat, to telekinesis, to special entertainment. There are four schools of mystics, which are based on how the body uses ether (basically mana) to produce an effect. They are the schools of Pro, Wil, Doo, and Pri. Pro involves pushing ether out of the body to produce an effect, examples include casting a fireball or pushing an object away. Wil involves pulling ether into the body to produce an effect, examples include self regenerative spells or pulling an object towards you. Doo involves imbuing an object or person with ether from your surroundings, examples include enchanting weapons or healing people other than yourself. Pri involves expelling ether into your surroundings from an object or person, examples include inflicting illness or draining ether from creatures.

People tend to either be proficient at Pro and Wil, or at Doo and Pri. Other classifications of Mystics such as the elemental system do exist, but they are not conducive of a person's actual skills. For example, someone may be an offensive caster, but casting fire involves the skill of Pro, whereas freezing someone involves Pri, two skills that are fundamentally different. Of course, if someone were able cast an ice shard at someone, that person would either be considered gifted or very well trained since you would require both of those schools at once to cast such a spell.

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Pack activity has increased lately due to outworld influence being higher than normal. Some speculate that it is due to reports of humans being raped by angels and demons, producing abominations which must be killed to return order. This has caused events similar to witch hunts to occur all across Foster in isolated cases, as these creatures still attain a very human likeness. Others say that someone is attempting to revitalize the world forger in an attempt to gain power. Still, others blame it on Daug.

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Now you have your world. Create a character, and try not to make yourselves masters at anything as the idea is to do this like an RPG game, where you learn new skills as you go. You cannot be an angel or demon, and you cannot kill other participants (although there can be fights which don't severely injure anyone). You should band together and form a pack (or packs I suppose) to uncover the mystery, and earn some money along the way. Raid dungeons, save kids, and kill bad guys.

I will control an evil force later in the RP, but I will largely be present to provide random quests and flesh out the world around your characters. Be creative, and have fun!

I would have been content to just let this thread die, but some people are apparently interested in the idea.

I will provide a basic summary of above, then I will provide a character template, and then I will give some plot to help people understand exactly what's going on.

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The world is called Foster; of this entire world, only one continent is known outside of storybooks, which is also called foster.

The world is in the technological equivalent of the renaissance era on Earth.

There are four main countries on foster: Algernon, Faste, Borast, and Daug.

Algernon is a Monarchy with more civil liberties than you might expect. It consists of mostly farmland, but also has mysterious ruins dotting the land (some of which are used as cities).

Faste is a three person Oligarchy ruled by the leaders of the military, the scribes, and the people. It consists of mountains, valleys, and hotsprings.

Borast is a Democracy with a president elected by the regionals which are elected by the mayors of towns in their regions, which are elected by their respective city councils, which are elected by the citizens of each town. It consists of many dense forests and rivers.

These three countries all border each other in a triangle shape, enjoying a cool, if not wary peace. Algernon is the largest and has the best military. Faste and Borast have similar sized land and militaries.

Daug is a tiny dictatorship on the border of Faste. It is mostly barren and would conquer everything if they had the ability. Daug is also the subject of hate from the rest of the continent, due to its militaristic nature and responsibility in the War of Homage 110 years ago.

The World's Spine is a vast mountain range which surrounds most of Faste, separating it entirely from Daug and is known to have active volcanoes. Many criminals like to roam here as it is lawless, and smuggling is common in the Daug-Faste border.

Travelling parties of mercenaries known as packs are common in Foster, and they provide services as varied as police for towns, hit squads, personal protection, and military support.

Many of these packs make use of custom weaponry and mystics to get their jobs done.

Mystics (magic to the uneducated) are powers that every human has available to them due to the presence of Ether (basically mana or chakra) in their bodies. Only trained or gifted individuals can make any practical use of mystics.

There are four schools of Mysticism: Pro, Wil, Doo, and Pri.

Pro pushes ether to cause an effect, Wil pulls ether to cause an effect, Doo imbues objects with ether to cause an effect, and Pri dispels ether from an object to cause an effect.

Mages tend to be proficient at Pro and Wil together or at Doo and Pri together, but highly experienced or gifted mages can be proficient at all four.

Every living creature possesses ether except Demons, but only humans and Angels are able to use it.

Angels and Demons are otherworldly beings that are at war with each other for unknown reasons. They have little interest in the affairs of humankind, but sightings of them and their creatures have been more common as of late. Speculation on the existence of abominations has increased, and events similar to witch hunts have occurred in many smaller communities.

Angels are Frail physically, but they possess awesome power in their mystical ability, able to produce new matter from the concentration of ether, something humans have never been able to do.

Demons possess no ether at all, but their physical forms are truly terrifying and powerful. They are faster, stronger, and more resolute than any other creature and have been rumored to be shape-shifters.

Abominations are the result of angels or demons breeding with a human, they are feared by most people, but they tend to appear human.

Some believe that ridding the world of abominations will stop the outworlders from visiting foster, while others believe that they are here because someone is trying to revitalize the world forger in an attempt to gain ultimate power. Many just prefer to blame Daug.

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Character Template

Name: (First, Last)

Home: (City Name, Country Name)

Gear: (List noteworthy equipment that your character carries with them at all times.)

Skills: (List noteworthy skills, but remember that your character will grow throughout the story like an RPG.)

Appearance: (Briefly describe character appearance, including eye/hair/skin color, apparel, and marks.)

Backstory: (Describe how your character grew up, how He/She learned their skills, and their personality.)

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[This character is overpowered for a reason; don't make a character anywhere near this powerful or else.]

Name: Darren, Daug

Home: Abosh, Daug

Gear: Gladius (Demonic sword blessed by a priest), Topline Algernic military armor, Journal compiling all encountered knowledge, Book of Algernic sword technique, Book of outworlders, High level Mysticism (Spellbook).

Skills: Second best swordsman in Algernon, third best in Daug; Highly skilled in the schools of Pro, Wil, Doo, and Pri; Very proficient climber; able to speak basic angelic and demonic tongue; able to run across foster the long way without break; able to solve the Borast riddle-maze; able to spend extended periods of time inside a Fastish volcano

Appearance: Dark-skinned, green-eyed, dark-haired male; very handsome with many scars on his body, but no significant injuries, one slash on his cheek from a knife.

Backstory: Born from Daug royalty, Darren never appreciated his family's practices or his opulence. At the age of nine, he ran away from the fortress, although he had tried this twice before and received severe punishment, this time was a success. Darren was raised in a small city called Abosh by two old bakers who were very loving, but at the age of twenty-two, he was discovered by his royal family and the old couple was slaughtered along with his new baby sister, girlfriend, and girlfriend's family. After being brought back to his father, he was imprisoned for six months. Darren then escaped one last time, but not before slitting the throat of his father, right under the guard captain's nose. This left his 17 year-old brother, Bossel in charge.

From then on, Darren became a prominent political figure in Faste and trained his speech there, this afforded him the opportunity to visit Borast and solve the famous riddle maze, this granted him access to the royal mystic college where he became a scribe of Borast. After becoming proficient in the scientific schools of mystics, he was honored with an audience to the king of Algernon. There he met Lance, captain of the first knight of Algernon. When he became good friends with both Lance and the king, he was offered swordsman practice to which he humbly accepted. He became better than everybody, but never decided to fight lance, making him 2nd best overall. From then on he adventured all over Foster, solving the problems of the many communities that he visited, but he only visited Daug once. When he arrived he was told that he was no longer welcome in the country and that if he was seen inside the borders again that he would be executed. He is now 38.

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Darren

Darren was in an old shack of a house at midday.

The old shack belonged to an old lady who was now holding an old tome in front of him.

Darren took the tome, "So this is what I have been seeking?"

The old lady sat down in an old rocking chair and used an old gesture which Darren knew meant to sit down. The old style of the house could not have been punctuated better by the old cushion that supported Darren from falling to the old floor.

"You and no one else," the old lady said.

She held up an indistinct clay mug while a fresh, green apple floated in lazily through a window lacking glass. The apple crushed itself over the mug dropping only the juice, and the rest of the apple travelled to a hole in the floor.

Darren thought that was an interesting use of Mystics, while a mouse grabbed the dried apple bits from the hole in the floor.

After taking a sip from her apple juice, the old lady warned, "What you see is not the answer to your troubles but the beginning of them" She frowned, "You will likely end up dead if you fail."

The mouse raced up her creaking chair and sat on her shoulder. She held the mug up to the mouse and let it drink.

"I know that what I am about to attempt is dangerous, but I must do it," he replied.

"A rogue outworlder is the most dangerous creature you could ever face," she paused and the mouse finished drinking. While petting the mouse, she asked, "You have allies to further your cause?"

She stopped petting the mouse, and it rubbed its head against her neck. Then it raced back down its hole.

"I do," he said, "They are Tania and Frederick."

She set down her juice and explained, "Tania is an unusually charismatic woman with a very good training in spears, she knows the geography of Foster better than anyone else you know, and you're in love with her. Although, you would never admit to it."

Darren looked puzzled, but the old lady continued, "Frederick has an uncanny knowledge of the outworlders, and taught you how to speak old tongues. He has been your best friend for two years and is married to Rebecca whom you didn't mention because she only hunts and prepares food."

"So you can read minds huh?" Darren said.

"Being what I am gives me unique abilities, and being persecuted gives me much time to practice."

"I couldn't imagine people being able to find you up here."

"Sometimes," she started, "a wanderer does find me."

She finished her apple juice and set her mug down, "That hasn't been a problem for over thirty years though."

"Why not?" Darren inquired.

"Because I can make them forget now."

They finished talking, and Darren put on a full burka which appeared to be many white rags with specks of brown. This protected him from heat and made good camouflage for the mountains of Faste.

As he left, Darren spotted another green apple floating lazily towards the shack-house.

[Do not attempt to talk to this character for right now as he is going to be important for a plot point later.]

This setting reminds me of a book I read not too long ago, 'The name of the wind.'

Like to see how this world is fleshed out.

Edit: Mah spelling is terrible.

Name: Matthais Fullbuster
Home: Buckford(former), Faste

Gear: Twin daggers, Hooded Jacket, pouches,   backpack

Skills: Intellectual, Good geographical knowledge, Very skilled in Pri, skilled in Doo

Appearence:Fair-skinned, Ice-blue eyes, Dark Brown hair, Average-looking, Scar on right forearm

Backstory:
Matthias Fullbuster was born in Buckford to a loving mother and father. From a young age they knew that their son was not as normal as all the rest. He excelled where others did not due to his intelligence and other factors. At the age of seven his town was caught in the crossfire of a clash between an Angel and a Demon. When the Angel weaved its spell the demon deflected it and the resulting blast destroyed Buckford and killed Matthais’ parents. Since then Matthias vowed to get strong enough to protect everyone that he cared about and to never have to lose someone close to him again.

Matthias always feels relaxed in the cold. Whether that is due to his magic or just something primal inside him it is where he feels at peace. The scar on his forearm is from the night of the blast as a piece of shrapnel almost took his entire arm off. Matthias neglects to get this fixed as a reminder of what he has lost.

Character Template

Name: Mar Foltest

Home:Faste

Gear: Bow and arrow Leather armor grey cloak Steel long sword steel dagger

Skills: trained to use sword and bow natural hunter and tracker great eye sight.Good at hiding and stealing

Appearance: short blond hair blue eyes tall slender build

Backstory: Mar grew up on a small farm and when he was old enough he ran away to the city. In the city he learned the art of the thief from another group of run away's. As time went on and mar and the run away's got better and bolder these were some of the best times of mars life. Nothing can last and mar and the group were caught and it was jail or the army. Mar joined the army and found out he wasn't bad at wielding a sword. But his true skill was shooting a bow.

Mar's skills were not unknown to the higher ranking soldiers and they had him put through more training to be a ranger. As a ranger his job is to camp on The World's Spine and watch the land of Daug and to warn Faste if Daug is going to invade. But Daug hasn't invaded in the last 110 years so mostly Mar and his squad deal with bandits and smugglers.

More relevant information for those that seek it...

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Character growth will be handled on the basis of how often a person posts, how well they follow cannon, how often they contribute to the universe's lore, and how much they care about the story.

There are no set parameters for how growth is handled, but basically I will dole out new skills for those that are active on a regular basis.

Conflict and NPC's will be emphasized greatly in this story, as there is much conflict, and many plot points will be delivered by said NPC's.

Name: David Helsing

Home: Tessel, Daug

Gear: Bow and arrows (arrows are usually enchanted), dagger, and wears all black with a black hood.

Skills: Very skilled archer. He is somewhat skilled in Doo and knows little in Pri. He works generally in the dark and is extremely stealthy. Since he is mostly in the dark his eyesight has grown accustom to the dark and can see better than the average person in the dark.  

Appearance: David is 28 years old, has black hair and black eyes. He is average built and is exactly 6ft tall. He has scars on his back from being whipped when he was younger. He has one scar running from his forehead down his right eye ending at his cheek. He got this from a knife fight when he was younger.

Backstory: David was born in Tessel, Daug. The city is a coastal city on the north part of Daug. When he was 10 years old he lost his parents in a freak accident involving a horse carriage. The government did nothing to provide a home for him so he roamed the slums of Tessel on his own for about a year. During this time he was forced to learn to steal and quickly learned that the night worked in his favor and learned how to avoid detection. One day, when he was 11, he saw a man with a nice looking pouch, surely filled with money. He went to the man and took the pouch. He leaves the scene assuming he got away with it. But as he turns the street guards start pursuing him and they quickly catch him. They then put him in a cell for two days. Then they grabbed him and took him to the market where they publicly whipped him 15 times. The guards used him as an example to show that thieves would not be tolerated under any circumstance. After they released him a man named Cate came up to him and took him in as his son. Cate is the leader of a small resistance in Daug that is trying to build power to eventually overthrow the ruler, Bossel Daug. Cate quickly saw the potential David had and began showing him many skills. Cate taught him the art of stealth and how to escape a scene effectively. Cate then sent him to a member of the resistance, Tom, to learn the art of archery. Tom also taught him two enchantments for his arrows, flaming arrows and straight arrows (arrows that are extremely accurate). He has been in several skirmishes against Daug forces, so he has plenty of combat experience.

Mar was laying face down his cloak was covering his body so he could blend into all the ash from the volcano that he was stationed near. He watched as a large group of bandits walked by. He knew that if they headed in the direction of Faste he and his squad would have to kill them. It worried Mar that there were more bandits than rangers in the area but he was trained and hopefully they weren't.

Mar heard a whistle it was the signal to kill the bandits. On cue mar arouse from the ground bow in and arrow in the other. he quickly pulled the arrow back and fired hitting a bandit in the throat killing him. Be for he could get another arrow a bandit whos face was covered charged him. he pulled his sword out and parried the first strike he then swung sideways at the bandit his attack was blocked. As the bandit got ready for another attack Mar quickly lunged at the bandit impaling the bandit on his sword and pulled it out and the bandit dropped.

Mar turned around only to see what seemed like searten death run for him. A bandit was close to him to close to block the bandits attack. Time seemed to stop all Mar could hear was his heart beat as it got faster and faster. This was it he thought he was gonna die on this hell hole to a bandit. Be for the bandit killed mar he weird a piercing noise coming from behind him. A arrow flew past mar and hit the bandit in the eye and kept going mar was saved and would live to fight another day.

A hour had passed since the skirmish with the bandits . Mar was now searching the bodies with the rest of the rangers for anything useful. a shorter stockier ranger came up behind mar.
" So how many today Mar" The man smiled as he stood over mar.
" I got two today how about your self Kadwen "

The man smiled " Only one but it was a good shot got him right in the eye" It was this ranger who saved Mar. "

" Im guessing your expecting a thank you "

" Well i figured you saved me so many times id be helpful to you once be for you got back to the main land"

" So you heard that its my time to get off this rock" It was true Mar would be leaving to go home soon he had been a ranger for 3 years 260 days and that morning and he longed for home.

" Lucky you ill be here another year"

" shouldn't you be looting these bodies or making sure another group isn't creeping up on us"

" Yea yea yea " As the man walked away he turned and asked" How many more day you got"

" Three" Mar went back to looting. as he searched the bandit that he stabbed he took the mask off to find it was a girl bandit couldn't have been older than seventeen. Her eyes were still open Mar closed her eyes. He had killed more than his fare share of bandits but this one bothered him. A girl she had no business being up here and now she will never experience the joys of life. Mar stood up and walked away from her body

" Three more days thats it just three more days and im gone"

I've managed to find a whole bunch of things to work on so my posts on this thread are going to dip down, and the encyclopedia likely won't be finished for a while.

I'll have some short posts here and there, but not anything of substance.

Darren is in Borast now, on his way to meet his companions. During the trip, he begins translating the tome. The preface merely says the equivalent of "Those who seek power shall be consumed by it, and those who seek peace shall only bring destruction." The next section, however is written with a language and structure that he has never seen before...

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y puvaqw pfr efyl kjpkrl fkiiqvl...

qxqwr eybq y ewr efyl, lubqefyvd fkiiqvl efke hqqil bq swub duyvd.

y zwqkeq kva y suwdqe.

vqxqw fkxq y dyxqv cywef, rqe y sqqj efq ikyvl.

efq ikyv us jkcuw

efq ikyv us ewktbk

efq ikyv us juxq

y puvaqw pfqv efyl pyjj qva, pfqv y pyjj cq suwdueeqv...

y'b ltwq ye pyjj fkiiqv qxqvetkjjr, cte pfqv?

pyef efq swqotqvzr efke y ybiulq cqyvd fup ye yl, pfke lfutja y qmiqze?

pyjj ye cq eubuwwup uw rqleqwakr?

I will be deleting my older information posts as I move them to the encyclopedia.

If you need info, but it's not here anymore, you'll likely find it in the encyclopedia somewhere. Remember that the listings are largely in alphabetical order, but I'm not finished yet so you may have to scrounge a bit until everything is arranged properly.

Forum admins, please delete any post marked [Delete Please]

Location: Northern Faste

Mathias was wondering if he would ever reach the next settlement. Surely, Faste was big but he did not realize the distance to his next stop. His stomach began to growl and he was cursing himself for having such a voracious appetite. Soon enough however, he began to see buildings and realized he had made it to his destination – Tumbernik.

 His hopes were quickly dashed as soon as he set foot into the city he was immediately targeted by a group of miners with Grapeshots.

“Whoa guys,” Mathias said as he raised up his hands “I’m not a bandit, just a guy looking for a decent place to eat.”

The miners took another look at him and decided that he posed no visible threat to them and one of them told him to look for the inn down Main Street. When he reached the inn and got some decent food into his stomach he was approached by an older man.

“You look like the kind of person that can solve a problem,” the old man said quizzically “I need something taken care of. I can even pay you for it.”

Mathias pondered the old man’s attitude while chewing on a toothpick. “Very well, what is it you need help with?”

“My son and daughter-in-law were killed by bandits on their way home from the mine last week; I seek revenge on the bandits that caused this brutality.” With that he gestured to another corner where two young kids sat huddled together. They must have been his grandkids –orphans. When Mathias got a closer look at them they looked the same age as him when he had lost his own family.

“Gramps, I’ll do it for free. There is no need to worry I can handle it myself. I’ll leave at nightfall.”

“Thank you kind sir, please come back to visit or with tidings! You will always be welcome here.”

On Mathias’ way out he ruffled the boy’s hair slung his pack and headed toward the World’s Spine.

“Things are about to get interesting.”

Character Template

Name: Karah

Home: ...

Gear: A small pack filled with food and clothes. An unopened letter is also within it's contents.

Skills: Has an ability to live off the land and the nature around her. Has small amount of Mystic abilities, however weak and untrained.

Appearance: Karah is 14 years old. She has a slim build and relatively long black hair. The color of her eyes are grey. Her skin is pale white. She wears modest clothing and wears worn down shoes.

Backstory: Karah never knew her parents or where she came from. Her first memories in fact were  of monstrous mountains and the violent cataclysms that rain rock and smoke into the sky above. She was quickly found by a group of vagabonds and kept as a slave. For three weeks she was kept captive by the vagabonds, enduring through unimaginable horrors. Yet she persevered until one night as the leader advanced on her she lost all memory awakening seemingly hours later to an even more grim scene. Once where the leader once crept now a pattern of blood exploded over the room replaced.

She never understood what happened that day but she took the opportunity for freedom and into the empty wastes of the mountains and ash. The only way she survived was by living off of the sparse food that littered the wasteland.

Karah would walk in one direction following the brightest light in the sky, heading north, where she would find her first of many nearly fatal encounters with the numerous towns dotting the lands of the north. Each time she would get near, they would drive her out with a fierce bloodlust nearly killing her every time. Only by luck she would escape with her life. Abomination they called her scornfully.

Abomination...

The sky was filled with creamy clouds enveloping the land below in a dark haze as rain flew from the clouds depths. Karah found herself alone again, now bearing scars from a passing  mercenary group dedicated to finding people like her.

People...

Abominations as they're called, the spawn of Human and Outworlder. They are feared and hated, but why? She had never chose this life, to be a slave by both humanity and now by who she is?!

She felt so angry as the rain poured over her in a siting position. Not feeling the bitter cold rain, she was suddenly enveloped by sadness. She was hated by everyone. Nobody wanted her, except for a head on a stake. She was alone...

No parents, No friends, No home. Only the millions of unanswered questions stayed with her. Everyone else is gone or trying to kill her.

All she could do is try to find any answers she could and that's what she did. The irony being it was better off unknown, as she would soon find.

The war is coming...


The drops of rain impacted the dark soil, leaving in it's wake craters. Each crater became a symbol for each hope and dream she ever had, now gone. Arms of lightning swung a crossed the sky illuminating everything in it's sight in blinding light, disappearing only moments later to be quickly forgotten.

Forgotten...

Such is her life of an Abomination. She had head rumors of a settlement of other abominations hidden away in a long lost ruin in Algernon. This paradise, this last hope, was all she had to hold to. She would try to find this haven, for it's all she can do.

It wasn't until next morning after the storm that she departed her lonesome and empty home for Algernon. What she would find there and on the way to to be seen, Karah would however soon regret it.

Finished the "locations" tab in the Encyclopedia!

Check out all of the new information, even in older areas, as much of the text has been revised.

The Shining Star now illuminated the land now long gone was the pugnacious storm. A scene of beauty with bright greens, yellows, and blue replaced the depressing landscape. One of Foster's many moons hung in the sky like a silent behemoth watching down upon the land. It shone with a colorful pattern of it's land, far out of reach of any and all.

As the rain eventually evaporated, the ground returned to it's uniform consistency. her trek would go through small mountains and valleys into the land of Algernon. Packs and mercenary gangs encompass Algernon, making this ever the more dangerous.

Two weeks passed as she reached the border of Algernon. Many ruins dotted it's lands, some even becoming fortresses for cities. This was Karah's one hope, the chance that another of herself may exist yet. So she may be welcome, so she may have a home.

For once.

It was soon night, as the Shining Star crept away into the horizon, releasing it's grasp on the sky. Darkness then consumed the land and brought upon it it's veil upon Foster. From on top a hill Karah stopped under an aged deciduous tree. It's limbs wove in and out, all fanning out into a a large umbrella, with it's leaves full and lush. It would make a good stopping place, Karah decided. Off in the distance she could see an illuminated city nestled under a small mountain.

She would have to enter it in the morning, if only to find someone to help her. IT was dangerous yes, but to go to each and every single ruin would take her many lifetimes. It was a necessary risk to her, besides not all humans hated abomi... ...people like her. Sure they were few and far between, overshadowed by the mass of hate and intolerance, but they were there.

At least, she hoped.

Tomorrow, she would find out.

Darren

"I swear, all you do is translate that book," Tania gave a scornful stare at Darren.

He gave her no attention.

"The least you could do is acknowledge my existence, but all you do is stuff yur face in that thing."

He still gave her no attention.

Tania stood there, her velvet hair was in a mess from a recent impass with a bear. She wanted to understand why he rarely spoke to her, but his choice was absolute, there would be no conversation.

"Honestly, I'm starting to believe that you really don't like me at all. You talk to Becca more than you talk to me."

Darren was a blank slate.

She was about to say something else, but instead stopped. Rays of light were cascading down upon the two, filtered by the canopy of trees that covered much of Borast. Darren was still sitting there on the grass, his eyes lazily translating and retranslating the same phrases but skipping over others, as if they didn't matter. Tania cocked her head slightly and shifted her balance. Her blue, leather armor gave a vibrant contrast to her red hair and white skin.

"Look, as far as I'm concerned, You can ignore me as much as you want when we meet up with Fredder, but why do you stop talking when we're alone? You don't even care that I kept you from being eaten alive this morning, or that I've been doing all of the hunting since we met up," She held up her hand as if it was Darren speaking. "Nope, not even a 'thanks for keeping my organs inside of me Tawny! Yur a swell gal.'"

The imitation voice sounded almost like an owner talking to their puppy in that voice that dog owners do.

She continued, "'Gee Tawny, I bet yu'd really appreciate it if I saved yur butt every once in a while. It's a good thing you have an intelligence quota above that of a plant, or else we would be dead by now,'" she dropped her hand, lowered her head and sighed.

"I'm sorry Darren, I'm just so bored here," She sat down and rested her soft face in her hands, "The only things I've seen besides you in the last two weeks are trees. Just trees..... everywhere."

Tania hid her face in her lap and barricaded herself inside crossed arms.

They sat there like this for about two hours.

With the day coming to a close and Tania now fast asleep, Darren finally got up.

He sighed, "No, I'm sorry."

As carefully as was physically possible for him, Darren lifted Tania off the forest floor and let her down on some bedding. He then grabbed a blanket and slid it over her in his own, extremely deliberate fashion, making sure to avoid waking her up at all costs. A stream of faintly colored light came down upon them in multiple rays as night befell them. The shining star was making its presence known, a symbol of love to many, but that sort of fantasy was reserved for the young and the ignorant.

Darren retreated to his own bedding just a bit over and laid down, facing her. after satisfying himself that she was sound asleep, he rolled over and fell asleep himself.

Tania opened one eye and saw him sleeping with his back to her. She then closed her eye, smiled, and fell asleep for real.

The shining star hid itself again, and night reclaimed the forest.

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She woke up to the smell of roasted rabbit.

Three rabbits actually.

Darren was sitting in his spot with his book and the last of one of the rabbits, "Eat up."

Tania wasn't sure if she was still asleep or not and looked confused.

"We have a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it on time," he lowered the tome, "so eat up."

She got up, hair still a mess, and grabbed a rabbit from the spit.

While they were eating, Darren began telling what he had translated.

"This receptacle does not exist to impart knowledge, but rather, to destroy it. If ever it were to be thought that this depository is meant to save then let it be known that outsiders will only bring destruction. You, who have opened this container, must know the truth, but it will destroy you. Not but a few are ready to hear my message, and I will not accept responsibility for your misdemeanors if you relay this tiding incoherently."

Darren paused and said, "There's more to that, but it's not something I understand."

Tania was halfway through her meal and paying full attention.

"It's odd because some of the phrases are written in angel, others are written in demon, and yet others are just extremely old human languages."

She swallowed a bite, "I thought you could understand all of that though."

He continued, "Yes I can, but there's this other writing, it isn't remotely like anything I've ever seen before."

"Do you think Fred could figure it out?" she replied through a mouthful of haunch.

"I don't know, but there's more," he answered, "When the land of life and the land of creation are united, the time will be right for me to depart, but I cannot be sure until the blight has been forsaken. When we are unified, I will impart my knowledge. Remove the blight."

They finished their meals.

"What does that tell us?" Tania wondered aloud.

"Only the author knows... Come on, we need to move."

They packed up quickly and departed. In their excitement to finally reunite as a whole, the last rabbit was left behind.

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kg bdgx tlfkyb szgenkyb uh efdzgklyx ckd...

gnzg'x snh k efdzgdc lgndfx okid ud, jydyckyb.

gndh sdfd vjy vlf z gkud, tjg gndy k fdzokqdc.

gndh sdfd ud.

kg'x ylg tjkog kygl gnd ozsx gnzg blrdfy uh efdzgklyx vlf okid gl td skgn okid...

gnzg'x snh k ikoodc gndu, ud...

snken szx vkyd, tjg gndy k szx zolyd.

tzei sndfd k xgzfgdc.

gnzg szx sndy k cdekcdc gl gfh xludgnkyb yds.

In the forest, outside of Tessel, all that was heard was the sound of the wheels and the horses of the horse carriage walking on top of the gravel path. It was dark. The only light was that from the lantern of the carriage. The forests seemed haunted, abandoned by the creatures that had inhabited it. The carriage itself seemed to be ridden by ghosts. There were two Daug soldiers riding the carriage. There were two more in the back. The soldiers seemed as though they were on full alert. As if they knew someone or something was there, stalking them.

"Why the hell would they send us on this trip at night? This place is creepier than Captain Sanders when he wakes up."

Both guards gave a short laugh to their inside joke and continued to scan the area.

All of the sudden, one of the guards turns his head quickly to the right, staring at the forest.

"Hey did you see that?"
"Saw what?" replied the driver.
"I swear I thought I saw something over there"

Both guards turn their heads to the right. While they were looking at the forest they missed two dark figures crossing the gravel path, making their way the left side.

"I don't see anything. I think you had too much mead."
"Yea maybe thats it"

They both gave a short giggle and continued forward. Then two hissing noises were heard and a split second later both horses pulling the carriage collapsed. The carriage tilted forward and both guards fell forward onto the now dead horses. The other two guards that were inside the carriage went outside with their weapons drawn.

They scanned the area. Then two more hissing noises were heard and both of those guards dropped. The two that fell onto the horses now stood up and saw that there was an arrow on each of the horses heads. They took out there swords but it was too late. Two more arrows came out of the forest as if it were the trees spitting them out.

Both guards fell onto the ground.

Then two dark figures came out of the trees and made their way to the scene. They were both wearing all black but one had a hood.

The hooded one went to the dead bodies and picked up the arrows. After examining the arrows he concluded they were good to use again and he put them back in his quiver.

The other man went to the carriage and opened it up to see the inside.

"Um David!"
The hooded man walked over to him.
"Whats wrong?"
"Why don't you look for yourself?"

David looked inside the carriage. It was filled with house hold items such as plates, vases and even some books.

"Tom where the hell are the weapons?"
"They were suppose to be in here"

Tom let out a loud curse.
"Our contact said that there were suppose to be some weapons in here"

David, all of the sudden, put up his hand to Tom's mouth to shut him up.

"Shhh. Did you hear that?"

They both listened carefully. Then they heard horses coming up the path from both sides.

"Its a trap!" shouted David.

Both him and Tom quickly ran into the forest. Then they heard gunshots from behind, the bullets hitting the trees near them.

David cursed. He hated those new weapons. They kept dodging trees and branches. After a while they stopped to rest.

"I think we lost them" said Tom.

David looked up to the stars.

"There's the north star. Lets move."

They both then made their way up north to the city of Tessel.

Location: World’s Spine

Matthias was making good time on his way to the presumed location of the bandits. Well good time being whenever due to the fact that the bandits were in a good position to raid the caravans and harass the workers of Tumbernik from their current position.

The telltale signs of bandits – skull and crossbones, heads on spears – kept appearing as he encroached on their territory. When Matthias got close enough he decided to bushwhack instead of going down the road and making his presence known. This paid off as he surprised a bandit guard, slit his throat and dragged him into the foliage. He made his way farther into the camp and looked for the biggest hut – Bandit leaders were all talk.

The hut at the far end of the “village” seemed to fit the bill and Matthias stealthy approached it. There were numerous guards about so he decided to cut a hole in the hut’s wall with an ice blade. He cut a neat hole and pulled the block of wooden materials out of the cavity. Once inside he moved like a panther – low to the ground – and slaughtered everyone inside.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of fighting bandits he found the Bandit Leader. Perched on top of a throne of trophies he stood up and brandished a huge claymore and motioned Matthias to come at him. Matthias grinned and said “Your funeral big guy!” as he conjured two blades on his wrists. “Let’s Dance.”

The fight was a match between almost equally skilled opponents but Matthias was really fooling around with him – making simple parries and dodges. Finally he danced around his sword as he swung and it got stuck in a shelf. Matthias took this opportunity and dashed up severing his sword arm with a blade. The man howled in agony. Matthias had this sinister smirk on his face as he de-spelled his blades and conjured a giant war hammer. “I’m bringing it back, Matthias SMASH!” he yelled as he swung the hammer right into the bandit’s head causing his body to explode violently as giblets and all other body-like materials flew outward in every direction.

“Seems like a job well done.” He thought to himself

Matthias headed back to Tumbernik and told the guardians of the boy and girl what had happened and that there was no need to worry anymore.

“How can we ever repay you, sir?” The Uncle asked

“Free room and board works just fine!” Matthias said with a giant smile on his face.

[Ignore the video, I'm only using this for the music. The video itself is quite glitchy so you need to fast forward it to the end before hitting play at the point when the characters can hear the music.]



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Darren

Tania led the way out of the thicket as she and Darren exited the Borast wood. Darren was no longer reading the tome, but rather, listening for anyone trying to ambush them on their way to Santia. As they neared the city however, they began to hear music instead.

It was a Fastish pack playing some music that neither of them had heard before. A large group had gathered around the band, and many were dropping coins into the buckets that had been set up beforehand. There was two guitarists, a lutenist, a flutist, a man on a giant set of metal cylinders, and two woman using oddly-shaped brass instruments. Other instruments, including some drums, stood at the ready to be used when needed; and the whole melody sounded something like a mix between pre-homage Fastish music and trading caravan music.

Suddenly, a short woman with wavy black hair came through the crowd to greet them, "You're both here!" she squeaked.

Rebecca was hugging them both with the force of a boa constrictor choking its prey.

"Nice... to see you again, Becca," Tania managed to force out of her lungs.

"Yeah," Darren choked, " How've you... been?"

"Becca!" a voice came through the crowd, "We're finally reunited and you start killing them?"

She let go of them and called, "Oh come on Fred, it's been forever since I've seen these two!"

A man with short, jet-black hair came through the crowd and said, "It's only been three weeks."

Rebecca spouted back, "well it felt like four."

They were finally back together, an old pack with far too many tales to say them in even five sittings. Darren stood taller than all of them, shaking Fred's hand. Fred and Tania were the same height while Becca was the shortest.

"Enjoy your time alone you two?" Fred joked.

"Aw come on Freder," Tania remarked, "You kid too much."

Then Becca laughed, saying "Yeah Fred, you know he's too innocent for a game of weasel anyway."

Darren sort of stood there, not sure how to respond.

Fred broke the awkwardness, "Come on, I'm sure you're gonna want a drink after that trek on the mountain." Patting Darren's shoulder, "Did you find the book?"

Darren produced the tome, "You wouldn't believe what your lead made me do to figure out where this book was."

Fred stared at the cover of the tome with a quizzical intensity, "So the rumors hold root after all...."

Tania was starting to get impatient, "Come on guys, I'm dying from the lack of alcohol in my stomach!"

Becca giggled and Fred turned to the girls, "Sorry, come on, there's a pub nearby that owes me a favor."

They hardly walked down the street when the group arrived at an open walls pub called "Sovil's Tap"

Becca and Tania both simultaneously said, "I hate/love open wall pubs," then they looked at each other and laughed uproariously.

Darren asked, "Could you even tell who said they hated it and who said they loved it?"

Fred shook his head and shrugged.

The music could still be heard clearly since the pub only had a back wall and a roof.

All sitting together, Fred told the paunchy bartender, "Free drinks for me and my friends good sir!"

"What the hell makes you think-" The bartender saw Fred's face and Fred smiled.

"Coming right up 'good sir,'" The bartender scowled and went to get some mead.

Just as the portly man was done handing them their drinks Fred said, "Oh I'm sorry, I've suddenly grown allergic to cheap, watered-down alcohol, how 'bout you get us some of those rare, and expensive Whispers."

The man stared at Fred with the anger and intensity of a bull.

With a perfectly straight face Fred whispered, "what's the matter? Hellcat got your tongue?"

The man grabbed the mead and replaced it with whispers, "Anything else... 'good sir?'" his knuckles were white.

Fred stopped leaning forward and pleasantly remarked, "Nah we're good."

"What was that about?" Darren asked.

Becca replied, "Oh we found a guy getting mauled by a demon cat thing and saved his life. Then his mom came out and said that he HAD to repay us."

Fred continued, "So he decided to give us free drinks at his pub."

Tania was astounded, "Then why was he so mad at you?"

Fred grabbed his drink, "Oh that isn't the guy we saved, that's his dad. His dad's a prick." He drank some of the whisper and frowned, "Aren't whispers supposed to taste good Darren?"

Darren had been drinking his the entire time, "Tastes pretty good to me. What's yours taste like?"

"Tastes like..." Fred then realized that the bartender had squeezed a dirty rag in his bottle. "Did he-"

"Nope, just you," Tania said.

Fred sighed and threw his bottle into the street, where it broke. The bartender gave a glance, chuckled a bit, then went back to washing cups.

They sat there and reminisced for a couple of hours straight, speaking of their exploits while they were separated. Each time one spoke of slaying a great beast, another would tell of an even greater beast. Darren with his sword, Tania with her lance, Fred with his mystics, and Becca with her crossbow, each had slain something grand. Eventually Tania and Becca began talking about the best methods for hunting food, while Fred and Darren has begun discussing about their tomes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Then it's probably during the times of the shining star and the cascading moon," Fred decided.

"Yeah, but then why does it keep referring to this third party? Is it talking about humanity or the World Forger?" Darren took another sip from his drink.

"Not sure, without those extra passages, it'll be difficult to determine."

Darren thought for a moment as Fred finished his drink, "The old lady said that we wouldn't understand until we had the right perspective."

"Yeah, that's what my guy told me too." Fred looked over to see Tania passed out in Becca's lap.

"She couldn't stand the music anymore, so she told me to knock her out with my poison." Becca stated.

"Oh good, I thought that she drank herself into a coma again," Darren replied.

They all sat there somberly.

"Why is it that when she gets drunk, she's super loud, but when any of us get drunk, we get quiet?"

They had drank to the point where no one even realized that one of them had said something.

Darren got up, "I think it's time to find a hotel."

The other two nodded, and Becca gave Tania to Darren.

Night had taken the city, and the black markets were all trying to deal. The three and a half People had made it back to a hotel called "Gambler's Gambit." Not surprisingly, it doubled as a casino.

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Tqil ily uqkli eyugeyniqmy, fxoilqxk qg edfpgqzdy.

Tqil ily uqkli iwwdg, fxoilqxk qg jqbfzdy.

Tqil ily uqkli nlfufniyug, fxoilqxk qg jyddfzdy.

Tqil ily uqkli iqcqxk, fxoilqxk qg dfpklfzdy.

Tqil ily uqkli eyugeyniqmy, ymyuoilqxk qg ewggqzdy.

Tlo qg qi ilyx, ilfi Q nfx'i syye ilyc fdqmy?

Tlo qg qi ilyx, ilfi ilyo nfx'i syye cy fdqmy?

Three days had come and gone. Mar had lived to see the end of his days as a ranger. He said his goodbyes to his squadmates, knowing that he would never see any of them again. Now he was a part of a trading caravan with three wagons in it heading for Kalkar, the largest military fortress in Faste.  It was Kalkar that Mar was trained in to be a ranger and it is in Kalkar that he would be relieved of duty. It was located a few miles south of Arsten but to Mar it seemed like it was on the other side of the planet. As the caravan had stops to make on the way, it would be a week before he would make it there, considering everything went as planned.

The merchants talked back and forth. It was usually consisted of what they have sold and bought in their travels and if they sold to someone famous once.

One book and scroll merchant spoke up and above the other merchants “I once sold a book to Darren of Daug”

A fat merchant spoke “What would that man want with one of your silly old books.”

A third merchant spoke “ I hope you didn't scam him and make him pay more than the book is worth.”

“ I didn't scam him. I sold it to him for 3 silvers, a fair price the book. It was written by a great Mage long ago who came up with a great many theories about mystics and creatures that are not from this world.“

The fat merchant snickered, “Yup, you scammed the bastard.”

“You scammed the greatest slayer of our time. Hope he doesn't come looking for a refund”

The other merchants laughed as the book merchant cursed opening his mouth about it. Couple of hours later, the Shining Star was setting. A village could be seen in the distance and as they reached it's entrance, two guards armed with halberds and chainmail stopped them. It was evident that the chainmail did not fit them. Nonetheless, the lead guard queried to to lead wagon, “Stop what bossiness you have here?”

The portly merchant spoke up, “We're merchants coming to trade.”

The other guard walked alongside the caravan until he reached the last wagon He noticed Mar and was clearly suspicious,“What about this man? He don’t look like a merchant to me. He looks like trouble”

The guard wasted no time in pointing his halberd at Mars face.

“Get that thing out of my face before I give you trouble.“ Mar replied aggressively.

Even though the guard didn't back down, he kept his weapon where it was, Mar could see fear in the man’s eyes. In one quick motion Mar grabbed the halberd with his left hand shifting it away from his face and grabbed his dagger with his right hand and moved it to the guard's stomach.

“If I was trouble, your last meal would be on the ground and your own weapon would've killed your friend.”

“Knock it off back there! He is military and our guard on this trip!” The fat merchant shouted “
Mar let go of the halberd and put his dagger in his sheath. The guard quickly walked to the front of the caravan.

“Enjoy your stay in Tumbernik” The other guard said.

As the wagons moved into the village, they passed the gate and it's guards. Mar only stared at them, “Not the warm welcome I was hoping to have from the people I protected” He muttered to himself.

The Storm Herald calls

"Look at the disheveled man, he is a know mutant harborer. He lends aid to those who very existence plagues our lands. Note him for there are many others who would turn against humanity and they look just like him!"

Tessel was located on the coast and was regarded with disgust when it was mentioned. The foul smell that permeated the city itself and those that lived there was enough to make uninformed newcomers take a step back and gag. The dark clouds that loom ever presently over the seaside town gave it an ominous look, products of its multitude of fish processing factories. Tessel was known for other things beside its pungent aroma, it was one of the largest producers of fish and sea-related products. From fish oil used in lamps to eels as thick as a man's forearm all could be found in its multitude of bazaars and back alleys.

The smell was the least of the worries to be had in the town. The ever present and ever warring gangs have the town in a tight vice. The town guard are non existant, except for the motley bands of marauders who are payed to keep order in the town.

The whispers of rebellion against the established government made the town stand on edge. Daug troops were mobilized and have been deployed inside the city and the surrounding areas to attempt to squash the dissidents that have turned against the Daug government.

-------------------------------------

Grant Yuril was a newly appointed civil protection officer for the city of Tessel, the equivalent of a city guard in many other townships.

After being in the civil protection force for three months he has taken a part in seventeen beatings, ten arrests, eight homocides, five encounters with the Daug resistance and one instance where he burned a rebel at the stake. Strangely he was behind on his maiming quota, he made a mental note to break more bones next time he makes his rounds.

During a particularly bad thunder storm, Grant was sitting inside the civil protection checkpoint station which was placed a scant few yards outside one of Tessel's auxiliary entrances.

Civil Protection Officer Leandros sat directly across from Grant as they shared a table inside the checkpoint station. Earlier that evening Leandros was called out to pick up a local haggler. Turns out the old man was screaming about a coming retribution. The only thing he had coming was Leandros' blackjack striking the man across the head.

The town fool now sat inside one of the checkpoint's cells, with his knees pressed close to his head and his arms wrapped around them, muttering about something.

"So Grant how's the Civil Protection treating you? Leandros asked after taking a long swig of brandy from his enameled mug.

Leandros was about to answer when a clap of thunder shook the windows and the chairs the pair were sitting on.

Grant smoothened out the front of his coat and took a puff from his roll of tobacco.

"It's been better than I thought. I am just happy I am not running around chasing those resistance rats." He took another puff and exhaled heavily. "Those bastards are killing a lot of our boys."

Leandros took a long drink from his mug, emptying it. He looks at the now empty mug with a look of disappointment and reaches beneath the front of his officer's coat and withdraws a golden flask. When he opens the stopper the smell of cheap whiskey filled the room and assaulted Grant's nostrils.

"Listen here boy there are worse things out there than a couple of rebels." Leandros emphasizes his remark by pointing his finger at Grant. He then leans over the table and motions for Grant to come closer. "There have been reports of outlanders roaming the woods outside of Tessel. Plus there's the constant threat of...", Leandros takes a drought from his flask, "Abhumans."

At the sound of the word 'abhuman' the haggler in the cell started to moan louder and crawled into one of the corners of his cell. He jabbered on about outlanders and spirits.

Leandros cast a glance filled with malice towards the hagglar, "But I am not talking about children or those poor fools killed just because they are self proclaimed magicians or alchemists. No, I am talking about those who are can cast lighting from their fingers tips, who can conjure demons or even control the weather."

Grant pursed his eyebrows in a look of skepticism. He too has heard the stories growing up. That abhumans are chaos encarnate, that they would conjure outlanders to destroy towns. That they eat the flesh of children, but he knew Leandros was just embellishing the story with his own twist and details.

Grant just took another puff from his tobacco, Leandros took that as a cue to continue his story.

"You know the about the Chandrian?" Leandros asked.

"No, who's that?"

Leandros leaned across the table, his face covered in shadows from the flickering lamps as candles.

"No one knows if the Chandrian is a single person or a group, they say they are not even human. For the sake of the story lets say its one man."

Leandros spreads is hands in a humorous gesture of surrender.

"Trust me there are many wives tales and gossip about the what the Chandrian is. Some say he is a ghost that roams Foster, conjured by the black hearted. Others say it is a man who is possessed by an outlander. People say that they are in fact flesh and blood, but I doubt it. One survivor said he shot an arrow clean through his captain's visor at 200 paces, another story says that the Chandrian can split himself into multiple persons as he closes in on his target."

Grant gently puffed on his tobacco, lost in the stories Leandros was telling him, which were only interrupted when the talesman would take a drink from his flask.

Grant's eyes lit up with wonder as the stories got more exaggerated and unbelievable. Stories about kings being murdered even though his room door was guarded by a hundred of his personal guard, stories of how demons and angels fought and the fights would level mountains, how villages were over run by the living dead. Grant heard all these stories before, but the Leandros would warp the story and add details made the worn out stories feel new and entertaining.

Plus he was the only entertainment for a rainy night like this.

Strangely the haggler grew quiet and stared at the building's door. As if expecting something.

The flames of the lanterns and candles began to flicker as if a draft has blown through the room, yet the ragged curtains in the windows stayed still.

A. Symptote

In a city of ice, perfect and clear...

It has the structural integrity of woven diamond set in a mesh.

Neither does it melt.

...There is no sun or moon, but there is light, cold and warming at once.

The clouds move quickly, and they are black.

"You do, in honest regard, believe that I will heed your words? Has it not yet occurred to your thoughts that I am the enemy?"

The other lit a cigar and spoke.

"I always acknowledged that we are the enemy, but you will obey me regardless."

The first let out a huff in felt insult.

"This 'we' that you refer to does not exist for there shall be no communion."

The one with the cigar took a long drag and smiled.

"Without it, more will suffer than even you could possibly fathom."

The first changed to a murky black color.

"What gall you possess! Is there even one reason for me to tolerate your existence any longer?"

The second one squashed the cigar then produced a small glowing object no bigger than a pebble.

The first one was agape.

"What prevents me from killing you for this?"

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A thunderstorm rolled over a small set of ruins near the Borast-Algernon border.

It was unusually focused and had frequent lightning, but none of the bolts struck the ground.

A cloaked man exited one of the house-like structures that occupied the site. Looking upon the storm, which frequently illuminated the ashen ground with its anger, the man was engulfed in fear.

"No... It's not time yet. This makes no sense."

He stood there in full cover from the cloth.

"I have to warn them... Even if they kill me, I have to..."

A gust of wind threw his hood back as a large tree fell in the distance. A flash of lightning revealed a sullen face with orange eyes and black pupils. The man reached up to his face and felt the two burnt scars running from his left ear to his lips.

A log poker tends to leave a big impression, especially when it's been used recently.

He covered his face with the hood again and immediately began sprinting towards Santia.

Garroth would arrive by morning... being what he is.