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Posted: **Mon May 05, 2003 1:13 pm**

"In the Chamber of the Guardian, I tasted a measure of freedom at last. How exquisite it was, to shed my bonds and walk the confines of the world unshackled as it were, even if only for a fleeting moment in time. What I would give to be free of this prison forever..."

Breathing deeply, Thalimon regarded his dark self, now but a ghost of what he was upon the sands of the midnight Sea. He was fading, quickly becoming part of the mist that surrounded them. A sense of urgency clawed at him from within, for he knew the hour came quickly...his time within the prison was about to end.

"Your words are true. Long have I forsaken the gift of my lord, that I would be the master of my own fate. And long have I also rejected the gift of my father, and my mother. Their love gave me life, that I might know the joys - yes, and even the sorrows - of the living. I will do this no longer, Thalimon Shestare."

"Then you know what you must do, Dark Guard?"

Grasping the pommel of Fiendslayer, the paladin looked to the crimson tide of despair beneath his feet. This he understood the glass floor of his prison to be - the despair of his divided existence, the denial that he was a demon, and a man.

"Yes. I know what must be done. I shall be free of this prison forever, for I cannot abide it's existence for another moment. I have suffered greatly because of the bonds I have placed upon myself. The irony is not lost upon me...for the very thing which I abhor has set me free. The gift of my father has served me well, in the hour of my need."

Wordlessly the spectre of his splintered self extended his hand once more in the gloom...only this time, both were standing.

"I am to be free...free at last."

Grasping his transparent hand, Thalimon experienced purifying tears...tears of silvery dew, tears as his mother had desired for him from the halls of blessed Elysium. He would not squander the gifts of those who loved him ever again.

"Farewell, Thalimon Shestare. Or, perhaps it is more fitting that this is but a greeting? Yes, I think that it is. The prison is no longer...it is done."

Releasing his hand, Thalimon drew the blade from the scabbard. For the first time, the prison of his soul knew light....blinding light. Avenger shone like the sun, chasing away the mists as the golden radiance flooded the plane of imprisonment. Gripping the sword in both hands, he fell to his knees...

...and plunged the blade directly into the crimson tide of his despair. It was done.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2003 12:06 pm**

Her discorporate form hovered close to its broken and mangled body. Once majestic wings, which had carried her to ephemeral heights, now lay crumpled against her tortured remains. She stared at the lifeless mass, knowing it was hers, yet the attachment was strained. The connection so faint, that it left Nova to wonder if indeed she had passed from existence, yet she knew, this could not be. In this realm of death, there was no life and therefore, no life to loose. There was only existence, and her every sense told Nova that she continued to exist.

Blinding light erupted from the portal in a shockwave that shook the very atmosphere of the abyss startling Nova into consciousness. Her mind lurched as the energy passed through her essence. With a start she searched the direction of the blast. Light energy emanated from the portal. Electric tendrils danced through the void. Thunder shook the very ground beneath the forest of the Ssythkakru. In the center of the source of this all, stood the Dark Guard that Nova had been watching. Silently he knelt, twinned beside himself. Each phasing in and out of time and space. Each fading in and out of Oblivion. His consciousness permeated the void. The portal stood open.

Nova knew this would perhaps be her only chance for escape. She looked down once more upon her body laying still against the ooze and mire of the Abyssal floor. She new that if she stayed, given time, it would heal, and she would be the creature she had once been. Looking to the portal again, she made her decision.

Nova left the form behind, and allowed the collapsing shock wave to carry her back with it, into the portal.

Into the Void.

Posted: **Fri May 09, 2003 2:08 pm**

Carried into the portal on the collapsing shock wave, Nova was swept into the maelstrom of the Void. Blue-white light swept her along at speeds only a being of pure energy could withstand. Tendrils of electricity whipped and snaked their ways through the limitless expanse of the vacuum of Oblivion. Chords of consciousness emanated from the place where the Dark Guard knelt, reaching into the expanse of nothingness that permeated the Void. One of these pulsed with particular intensity, stretching back through the portal in umbilical fashion. Nova perceived this to be the Tiefling’s link to the other side.

The portal resonated with his consciousness. At once Nova could sense all he had ever been, everything he was, and the purpose which had drawn him to this plane. The only thing that did not avail itself to her, was what was yet to come. Chaos roiled about him like an oceanic storm. In this, she only sensed confrontation. Paradox and urgency surged through the antimatter that surrounded them. She heard the screams of Toryana, the creature of the ziggurat radiating from his mind. He was here to answer her call. She understood at once the urgency, for justice was something that called to her as well.

How could she tell him that his quest was useless? There could be no justice in any world as long as Justice remained the captive of Demogorgon. She was too weakened to do service for any one. Nova had drunk her fill from the very font of the creature, and in its most pure and undiluted form, it had been impotent against the barriers of the Abyss.

Looking to the brightest of the pulsing chords, nova raced along its energy to where ever it would lead her. Her only desire was to emerge on the other side.

Posted: **Sat May 10, 2003 12:48 am**

Time folded upon itself as the portal collapsed around her. Nova found herself being pulled along the pulsating chord of energy as it whipped its way through the expanse of the rift. In that place where time does not exist, time seemed to stretch on forever, and at once, all eternity coalesced in an instant. Emptiness and blackness reached out without end, while light and energy danced through the void washing the emptiness with endless possibility.

Abruptly Nova found herself standing near a clear pool, radiant with a soft blue glow. Looking up, she stood transfixed, staring into eyes of the same iridescent hue, and new that this was Tashara, the Dark Guards sister. The chord of his consciousness ending abruptly before her, centered on an amulet suspended about the woman's neck. She knew this to be the talisman of their mother, Shalimare.

Grief hung about the woman like a thick dark shroud. By the conduit that linked her to the Tiefling of the portal, Nova ‘knew’ her thoughts and despair. She saw in her own mind, the image of the Drow woman's body. Her consciousness was flooded with a small child's memories of her mother. Then filled with the memories of a Love, now lost. She knew the woman's emptiness and the gut wrenching pain that pulsed in her chest. Now the fear she felt for her brother was more than palpable.

Standing upon the water’s edge, Nova drew on the energies surrounding them, and took upon herself the visage of her former self.

"There are fates worse than death.”

Posted: **Sat Jul 26, 2003 6:55 pm**

"My child, we need to talk" In a snatched moment of reverie, her beloved Mael appeared a ghostly visage before her, stronger - it seemed - than before. In quiet desperation, she opened her heart to him "Yshania, there are ancient powers at play here, a darkness you know so well has returned to taunt and to plague you. Your very terror of this dark place is what has drawn you back and your love of your comrades and your conscious reasoning is but a desperate shield, for none of this is real, none of what you perceive to be the terror is what is gnawing at your soul right now. Your place here is destined by your never having previously faced the dark"

"No..."

"Yshania, tonight you thought to run, to deny it all and escape nothing. The demons you fight are of your own. For as long as I have mustered the energy to bridge the gap between dimensions, I have managed only to advise that one will die, and that you will be instrumental. My energy now is maintained only by your increased fear, and my need to be by your side, for soon - one way or another - I will be gone for good from this plane"

"Mael..." silently a tear of absolution traced it's way across her grubby cheek

"The one that is to die, Yshania, is you. And no longer can I play god to cryptic clues...I reached you as I could, when I could, and hoped that you might champion the freedom of thought. What is at stake here is the past or the future, and one of these must die...and whichever way your mortal soul is destined to parallel. Beyond that, I have no knowledge, all I know is that one must succeed"

For a moment his presence wavered

"Free your mind for a moment, child, and picture the beauty of the sunset, of the rise of the reddest hunters moon...for this is where you are at, my friend, the red which bleeds across the Lady is not blood, but tears for the suffering, the suffering that selflessly is not her own. Captured within the illusion it is easy to conclude that the fate of the red sky is yours, but wait! ...see through the darkness...feel for those wandering in the night...for those who fear the sunrise, will be forever trapped in the shadows.

For as long as we have been close, together we have sought the beauty...alone now, my friend, you only seek in desperation. Beauty is there, it is abound, through all pain and suffering, through all happiness and joy...to seek it as a cushion only when we fear, is to lose momentum and eventually value. There is beauty in love, there is beauty in pain, and there is a beauty to be sought within fear. To come this far, my friend, and allow doubt to question, and allow fear to darken, is to lose balance.

Red skied sunrise with the fresh winds across your skin...imagine it, Yshania! Seemingly so far away in this dank and darkened place. But it exists outside of your perception..."

Again he wavered, more definitely this time

"I love you, Yshania his voice called from a distance "You are not a child of the dark, you are a child that seeks the light - as do we all! Seek the real beauty, for we will find it within ourselves...."

She slumped forward, exhausted.

Posted: **Sun Jul 27, 2003 2:29 pm**

Scayde drew a ragged breath and looked about the cavern chamber. Such destruction, such carnage, it was more horrible than anything she had ever witnessed. Tears still staining her face, stinging her eyes, she wondered how a simple ride in the hills had turned into this hellish nightmare. Her heart ached at seeing the condition of her new companions. Nippy and Bloodstalker, broken in body but not in spirit, remained ready to defend the group until even their last breath. Thantor and Gwally, making their way through the group, healing the bodies of the companions, but unable to heal the scars which had cut even deeper into their spirits and minds. She felt so lost. Her gaze followed Tashara and she watched her friend dive into the azure pool that had brought her to this place. Her heart caught in her throat as the fear suddenly occurred that she might not see her again. She shook with relief when the woman resurfaced.

Galdervan, the gnome, sat silently above them on his rocky perch. He too was lost in this place. There were others, AC, Mysteria, Aegis, She wondered if they felt as lost as she did. She sighed.

Turning to make her way back to the group, she saw Yshania standing transfixed, as if taking to someone only she could see. Her expression of both pain and relief stirred something and gave rise to a new tide of fear. Suddenly the woman slumped to the ground.

"YSHANIA!!!"

Scayde raced to her side, terrified, not knowing what was wrong, nor what to do, hopeing against hope it was not the worst of her fears.

Posted: **Sun Jul 27, 2003 4:07 pm**

Distantly, she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder "I need to stand" was all she could manage. Silently she begged a slap across her grubby face to bring her to her senses, since following Mael's words of truth and threat, she felt exposed and resented his intrusion now...as much as she loved him, he had always offered respite! she now raged to deny his prophecy. She could have handled this! She could have promised all of herself to battle this that was obvious!, to stand by her comrades and meet this foe head on!...but the evil dwelled deep enough to itch her skin from the inside out, and in slow realisation, she acknowledged that it had always been present, that Mael had indeed spoken the truth...and the poison ate her from within...but the "parallel" she could not comprehend! Numbly she accepted the hand and stood, desperately trying to collect herself, and to accept that Mael was now lost to her in a wave of sadness and confusion and permanence

Posted: **Sun Jul 27, 2003 6:58 pm**

"There are fates worse than death.."

The words sought her as if from afar. She stirred, in her mind sorting through the shattered shards of a myriad thoughts. Dragon Wench turned her attention to the owner of the voice.... She saw a winged creature... Fragile... violently ripped parchment folded against bloodied flesh....

Her first instinct, born not of fear, was to reach for the amulet about her neck. Without thinking, she closed her eyes and spoke the words that she knew would heal... Then she responded to the statement uttered so simply...

Her reply, when it came, was savage... "Yes, there are worse fates, much worse... sometimes those that fall are caught in between... in a realm that is neither living nor dying... and they beg desperately for release... or they long to re-enter that nether world.. even when, by the grace of the gods, they have been granted a return.... " Her words, bitter and ragged, trailed... and slowly receded into the cauldron of her heart.

Once more... she returned her attention to the female form that hovered against rock and shadow.

"What are you.... why are you here?"

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2003 8:21 pm**

I am Nova, and I thank you for the healing.

You seek Justice, but she is not to be found here.

Let me say first, that I did not design to be here, but it seems fate has intentions for us both. I am a being of the abyss. I believe in your world I am called a succubus. In my world I have no meaning other than a diversion for Demogorgon, Prince of Demons. Thousands of years have I spent feeding his various ......appetites. I have recently escaped his grasp, and it almost cost my existence. For as long as I can remember, I have sought my own freedom, now that I have found it, I realize that there is something I must do. This will require my risking that very freedom. But what is freedom with out justice. Unless this thing is accomplished, there can be no true freedom for any of us.

You have a part to play in this as well, and so does your brother. The dark Tiefling stands in the portal now, locked in confrontation with himself. He is strong......and cunning. Justice calls to him, but she is weak, and without our assistance, he will not succeed. You must heal her, as you have healed me. Only at her fullness will she be strong enough to assist him in his task.

Will you help?

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2003 8:52 pm**

Deep in the caverns of the Undermountain, Galuf Redstein, a half-bread of Gold Dwarf and Shield Dwarf, and of some renown among his former clan, rose to see the sunless morning again. How he knew it was morning was beyond him, for he knew deep inside that instinct is only a part of the deepest feelings in a mortal.

Deepest. Deeper than reason and rationality.

The Duergar had surprised him just a fortnight ago. He was by himself, pondering a contraption in his mind to help forge finer, stronger steel than was possible to the very age that he existed in. As the grey dwarves had lain in waiting, invisible to the common adventurer or common alike, their devious plans to enslave one of their distant bearded kin began to unfold without a word. Despite the squinting and gritting their teeth behind cowled heads from the sunlight of Faerun's surface, those survivors of the Underdark had a prowess at stealth and cruelty that could rival the infamous drow elves that inhabited various areas of the wild, unpredictable realm underneath Toril's massive topsoil. They sprung into action as Galuf wandered into their trap, their exact method of subduction and capture all a blurr to him.

Now he lay in chains, on a cold, rough stone floor. Visions of his friends came to him without thinking. Friends of various races - Dwarves, humans, gnomes, even elves - came into his mind. So many that he struggled to name stirred in his mind, almost making him feel that they were there with him, perhaps to rescue him in his plight. No, he said to himself, my rescue is my doing. And with that, Galuf's great attempt at escape began, with a grunt of pain and lifting himself to his knees by his arms, which were just beginning to find their strength.

Somehow, he'd have to find a crafty way to excape his crafty captors.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:11 pm**

Reaching into her pack, her hand closed on a small bottle. Yshania could not remember the last time she had properly rested, and she was sure that this contributed to her current frame of mind, she was becoming despondent with this seemingly endless dungeon crawl and constant bloodshed whilst only fighting minions. At this rate they would be exhausted before they met their true foe! She held the vial up to better read the contents, then smiled before discretely pouring the potent amber liquid into her now empty water flask. She felt it heat her throat and warm her through as she took a deep draught from her flask. She felt her skin flush with warmth and absently wiped her lips with the back of her hand. A curious Bloodstalker limped over, seemingly slowed by his recent injuries, but in no apparent pain

"What?" asked Yshania, amused and embarrassed by his interest.

"May I?" Bloodstalker smiled, reaching out his hand towards the flask, his expression open and friendly. Yshania scowled playfully

"What's up Bloodstalker? Are you low on supplies yourself?"

"Come now, Yshania, I did try to share with you until you spat it all over the cavern floor!"

"Hah! you dare to compare?" She was embarrassed to recall the incident. "That was varnish stripper!" She planted her free hand on her hip and drew the flask protectively towards her bosom.

"How could I possibly compare without having tried as much as a sip?" his happy expression dropped, Yshania could almost imagine that he would be pouting his lips if this conversation continued. She thought the prospect amusing, and without a word screwed the cap back on her flask and replaced it inside the leather holder on her hip.

Posted: **Wed Sep 10, 2003 4:32 pm**

Opening his eyes, Thalimon Shestare at last beheld the nightmarish vistas of the world that had spawned his mighty father....and ultimately, himself. He had crossed the limitless expanse of the Void into the unimaginable Beyond, breaking the bonds upon his weary soul that had held him prisoner to himself for his entire mortal existence...only to set foot upon the blood-gorged earth of the very heart of Evil incarnate.

Though he was, he was not. He was Thalimon Shestare, and he was not. Deep within the unassailable fortress of Will the rau'thazon gazed outward with eyes different than those he had possessed before. All about him swirled a miasma of mist issuing forth from the tormented earth below, a sea of hopeless despair and unspeakable suffering infused with the malicious presence of the Demon Prince himself. The taint of evil assaulted his new awareness like a pernicious disease, seeking the slightest purchase in his shining armor to consume his living soul. In fear Thalimon recoiled.

Yet safe he remained within his Iron Tower, and comforted he was by the voice of his Master, who spoke to him now as if from a dream...

Arise my Knight, heir of my faithful servant Cothindar. His mantle is yours by right and by deed, for you have accomplished what your brothers before you could not. I speak not of the sword, nor of deeds valorous and true, warrior. No...you have done that which has brought about the ruin of both the great, and the small: you have faced yourself, and have emerged victorious. Thus you have been weighed upon the scales of Justice, Thalimon, and have been deemed worthy to wield the Holy Fire.

Keep it well, my charge....and in so doing, the power of my Avenger shall keep you. As Justice has served you, paladin, serve her. She calls for you...

Like the fire of a hundred suns, the holy sword-shard in Thalimon's mailed fist blazed forth into the crimson gloom of the Abyss as the golden dawn, burning the poisonous mists of the reeking Jungle away in a circle directly around the paladin. The ground beneath his feet trembled at the touch of the holy light, rotting vines and fiendishly barbed undergrowth burning to cinders as the shining warrior began to slowly make his way towards the black Ziggurat looming in the distance. Shrieks and cries, guttural howls and bellowing roars of frustrated rage arose as a wracked chorus at his approach, for it was perhaps the first time in thousands of years that the wicked tanar'ri of the Abyss knew fear in their own world of nightmare...for a Knight of Torm had come.

Posted: **Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:30 am**

As fate would have it, Galuf's plans had no nothing to do with stealth. Of the warrior-like surface dwarves, Duergar were as much like thieves as fighters. If the bearded surfacer were to try to sneak his way out, he'd more than likely be caught and suffer an even worse fate.

Like he humans said to him many times, "It takes a thief to catch a thief."

His frustration at this capture soon began to mount. The fire behind his eyes was recieving the fuel and air to make it burn brighter, hotter. It would become an inferno, beginning to make its way to the outside world. Hotter, brighter, furiously! HOTTER, BRIGHTER, BURNING!!

What the gray dwarf jailor saw next made even his stone-hard heart soften in terror. His quarry's eyes were aflame! His beard and hair were appearing to do the same, roaring alive with the fiery blood in his veins! Gods above and below, this was no ordinary surface relative at all!

The sight and sound of his prisoner melting and tearing away the bars was the last thing he saw before his eyes met the tunnel he was running down in full flight. Though dwarves are known for courage, such displays of fury as this are beyond reasoning of the heart.

Posted: **Thu Sep 11, 2003 3:49 pm**

Relief washed over Scayde as she stood at Yshania's side. What ever it was that had sent her companion to her knee had passed, and it was evident that she was again herself, and mischievous as ever. Scayde had to suppress a shocked giggle at the way Ysh had rebuffed Bloodstalker. His expression of shock and disbelief were so intense it was comical. If it had not been so funny, she would have almost felt sorry for him. She remembered the flask of tequila she kept in her hip pocket and for an instant, thought of offering him a swig.....but then again. She grinned, and instead gave Ysh a quick *HUG*.

I am so glad you are ok......you really had me worried there for a sec. Suppressing a sniggle, she turned to Bloodstalker. It's good to see you up and about again too. How's the arm?

Just then a flicker of light from the direction of the pool caught her attention. She turned to see Tashara speaking with a woman that looked to be as much demon as angel........With dark skin, horns and wings, could this be another being like Thalimon?

Tashara seemed not to be afraid though. In fact, she seemed almost irritated. Scayde swallowed hard trying not to let her fear get the better of her. Still, reflexively she moved a little closer to Bloodstalker.

Posted: **Thu Sep 11, 2003 8:19 pm**

Maddening. Simply maddening. The thought crossed BS's mind that a man had to be dead to get a drink around here...no, wait, he'd already tried that. He had just decided that perhaps he had over rated the idea of mingling with his own kind, especially these ornery females he was in the company of. About that time his eyes, still on Ysh's flask, followed as she clutched it to her bosom. On second thought, it did have it's advantages.

Still, he watched as the precious dissappeared into the pouch, and wished he had taken the time to learn a bit of pickpocketing. hmmmm, maybe he could get Ac to...no, she'd just steal it back from him before he got a chance to indulge.

Just then Scayde's voice brought him back to the moment.

"My arm?" he said, suddenly grinning at Ysh. "Well, it's well enough to lift a flask". odd, his endearing wit had not seemed to have it's desired effect.

As Scayde moved a bit closer, BS followed her eyes to find her watching a conversation taking place between DW and some strange being.

"Who do you suppose that is?" He wondered idley as his hand made it's way towards Ysh's hip.

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2003 12:54 am**

Quietly, Dragon Wench absorbed Nova's words, and she shifted uneasily as the many layers of meaning they held washed over her. Despite all she had experienced, she still wrestled at the notion that she might have a role in something beyond her control... something that she did not entirely understand...

Her emotions were mixed. Too much had happened in far too short a time... and now this... a succubus who claimed that the brother she had so recently discovered was off fighting a demogorgan to whom he could forfeit his life. She felt overwhelmed. Adding to her frustration was increasing irritation... an almost uncontrolled need... to finally fight a battle that had loomed for what seemed an eternity.

Images... multiplied and magnified... traversed her mind... the haunted intensity of Jerren's eyes, her brother's resolute desire to hunt a demon of his past, present, and, possibly, future, a mother whom she had never known. A kalaidoscope of pain and hurt... amplified by visions of the Drow woman she had slain... the woman's unborn child.. who would never experience the sunlight of her surfacer father's world. And why! She wondered if anything positive would ever emerge from the suffering... this ceaseless snuffing out of life... all for the sake of what?

Finally, feeling powerless, she raised her eyes, and met Nova's gaze. "Yes, I will help, show me what I must do." Her voice, however, was edged by anger. No matter how much she struggled against it.. barely restrained fury battled against her breast...demanding release. She spoke again, her expression darkly hooded, "show me."

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2003 8:14 am**

Yshania returned Scayde's hug warmly and tipped her a sly wink. This woman, a relative late comer to the group, had already proven herself an integral and valuable part. Despite the alien environment she had found herself in, she had adjusted admirably. She exuded deep inner strength and calm and warmth, and the druid admired her a great deal.

"Thanks for helping me up" Yshania said, quietly, "I guess sometimes I get to thinking too much, best to keep the mind busy. So much for balance, eh?" She smiled at her friend before adding "When we get out of this place" (ignoring the echoes of Mael's prophecy) "We will indeed share an ale and a tale and neither shall be contained!"

Scayde didn't respond, she seemed suddenly distracted and stepped back towards Bloodstalker. The pair exchanged a few quiet words as the druid stepped forward and followed their gaze mutely. This time, recalling her first meeting with Thalimon, she resisted the urge to reach for her blades, but took a couple more steps towards Tashara so as to catch the mood of the interraction between her and this strange newcomer.

A slight shift behind her caused Yshania to glance back in time to see Bloodstalker reaching towards her hip. Pretending not to notice, she cleared her throat and adjusted her stance a little, enough to cause him to freeze in position and pretend to strain to hear the conversation between Tashara and her companion, and giving herself enough time to turn her belt through 180 degrees. Moments later, as she felt the alternative flask lifted from her hip, she smiled and stifled a chuckle.

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2003 8:22 pm**

Show you.....yes, perhaps that would be easiest...If you will allow me. Nova flexed her magnificent wings, ruffling them briefly, and in an instant, moving so fast she seemed not to move at all...appeared within inches of Tashara.

She looked deeply into Tashara's clear blue eyes, and in a voice so commanding....it was felt rather than heard.

Give me your hand.

She did not wait for a response but lifted the woman's hand in hers...bringing it to her own forehead. Briefly Tashara resisted at the intrusion by this creature...but with that initial contact her mind was flooded with images.....images of a tortured being, a planatar, chained to an obsidian dais.....Images...of Thalimon, confronting himself in the portal..images of Nova..as she feasted on the same planatar which she now sought to save....and thoughts...reasons.......pictures and stories....Demogorgon.

Nova saw Tashara shudder visibly as her memories assaulted the woman's mind. Together, in moments, they re-experienced all that had transpired not only over the past few days...but for thousands of years.

At the same time, Nova's mind was absorbing more and more of the world outside the Abyss. She was flooded with images and stories, emotions and dreams....desires and pain...friends and loved ones...The abomination

All of the memories of Tashara, flooded her mind...giving her in an instant...the perspective of a lifetime...that lifetime was Tashara's. She would forever see the outside world through vision colored by this woman's experiences.

This pool, and the amulet of Shalimar.....which you wear around your neck.

We must heal her.....do you understand?

Tashara collapsed as her mind imploded upon itself, processing all that it had absorbed. Nova caught the woman in her arms. Gently she laid her to the ground, and dipping her hand in the pool, brought the precious healing drops to her lips.

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2003 9:52 pm**

Gray Dwarves of the Underdark were always known to be cold, calculating and courageous individuals, but this moment seemed to them as if all nine hells had frozen over! Many of the ash-skinned folk were running in terror as excitedly as if they were in full battle frenzy, eyes and jaws agape in terror at what followed.

The raging, enflamed surface dwarf known as Galuf Redstein had shown a great fury even unnatural for Dwarves. His eyes, beard, hair, even his mouth aflame, he ran howling at the top of his voice for bloody vengeance, looking as if his mind were consumed as fuel by his fiery hunger for battle. Muscles tensed and corded, any who sought to stop him before saw their end in barreling gait, even without any apparent weapons or armor of any sort.

The halls leading from the dungeon were dotted here and there with the bodies of unconscious or dead Duergar, all having lightly charred and blackened spots from where they recieved massive, flaming hits from their maddened assailant. The groans of the living victims filled the air in one of two spots, their heads aching from the unnatural power behind the overpowered prisoner. To them, it would seem as if Avernus suddenly came knocking at their door, and hard.

Galuf, still enraged and aflame, was rushing blindly like a terrified horse, having plowed through more than four massive metal doors like they were made of green wood, splinters and half-molten metal bars left in his wake. After the fifth, though, his greatest challenge awaited him.

An army. His biggest challenge yet. Orcs and kobolds, led by burly, stout gray dwarf slavers armed and armored in massive mithril stood in a massive blockade before him, ready to see how powerful he'd truly be, outnumbered over 200 to one.

One kobold, however, was the first to make the mistake of underestimating the one opponent, getting a shattering punch to his chest in the initial charge of the opposing one-man army. A cloud of 20 Kobolds and 5 orcs were swift to descend upon him, slashing with their crude mithril axes and knives. An exploding rebound of bodies was the product of such a charge, the thud of such an impact sounding like a battering ram hittting a stone wall at full force.

Galuf was beginning to enjoy this, holding two kobolds by their rat-like tails and spinning them through the air, his fiery influence already starting to make its way onto their lightly hairy flesh. Yips, shrieks and squeals begin to fill the room. Kobold arrows and mithril bolts streaked and swished through the air, some shots better than others by the squeals and squawks of pain that followed some flying projectiles. Galuf, for how many he took, showed now signs of acknowledging a moment of it.

Ten minutes passed. The seemingly ambitious army of Duergar slave fodder was faltering, scattering like a flock of birds at a predator's approach. Galuf was the predator, and he was showing no signs of weariness at all. The slavemasters, distraught and unable to control their quarry, begin to feel no choice, and charged with hammers, axes, and brutally sharp short swords, shouting prayers to Deep Duerra to protect their souls. Much to their dismay, they met something much less than they hoped for. Galuf's barehanded swings seemed like that of a fire giant, reminescing of their fiery domains as well as his fists connected with their armored bodies. One slaver heard the deafening clang and crash as his comrade was smashed into a natural wall, the crumbling of some stone attesting the force of such unnatural strength in the dimuntive captive-turned-berzerker. The chamber began to shake with such force as if ettins were charging the chamber. Gods! How would they survive?

Failure was not an option. It was a necessity for survival now.

And so, as the remainders of the slave army fled, so did Galuf's fury. Weariness set in his limbs, as did the bleeding of his many scratches and arrow wounds.

"Oiy, never thought I had it in me" regailed the lone dwarf as the fatigue of the unexplainable incident went to work. He smirked at his own joke, alone again for more than a fortnight. Alone.

Posted: **Fri Sep 12, 2003 11:54 pm**

She quickly regained consciousness as the restorative powers of crystal waters made themselves felt. Moaning softly, Dragon Wench cradled her head in her hands and attempted to comprehend the visions to which she had become witness. Reeling, nearly unable to fully absorb the horrors she had seen, Dragon Wench desperately considered a means of escape... Faintly, she wondered if she would ever again see the natural light of day... Simple beauty and tranquility seemed a remote and inaccessible realm. Although their time in the caverns had in fact been fairly brief.. it felt far longer.. as if they had somehow become suspended.... locked far beyond time's reach.

Glowing eyes stared intently and Dragon Wench looked back. It was clear, from her expression, that the succubus, during their exchange, had acquired her own memories. Just as she had seen a suffering more infinite... more sweeping than she had ever previously imagined.. the being standing before her had gazed into the mirror of her soul.

Dragon Wench turned her head, it was disconcerting to realise that this creature knew everything she was, and everything that she would never be. Yet... this was all insignificant. Indeed, confronted by the unending horrors the planetar faced... and the possible death Thalimon could encounter.... her private agonies seemed inconsequential... a mere microcosm...

Shaking slightly she addressed Nova, "I will do what I can, let us follow the path that awaits."

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The Order of the Dark Flame: Book 5. (story, no spam)