Fire Dreams (Leo Varniak)

by **Leo Varniak** on February 15th, 2012, 9:22 pm

Leo paused at Taln's answer, which was different than he'd expected. He had never thought of it in these terms. He'd never imagined a Dek embracing his station in life and being thankful for simply being alive. He could easily imagine a pride to command, but a pride to obey? A genuine desire to do something no matter what, for no other reason than it must be done. The man was full of surprises. He may not have been of the blood of gods and kings, but Leo could learn a lesson from him. The Azenth grinned underneath his mask. "Think like a Dek, you say? Maybe. Aren't we all Dek to one thing or another? Maybe the wise man is the one with a Dek's left eye and an Endal's right. Master and slave both, player and piece. Thank you, Taln. I shall remember that."

He turned back towards the gold-glowing waters. That they hadn't reacted to his blood didn't overly worry him. The writing mentioned multiple keys, and getting clues that his plan was working would have defeated the whole point of a test of faith. Speaking of keys, there was the one Glav had mentioned, which was supposedly in one of the bags. Leo supposed they'd need it shortly, but first they needed a doorway to use it on. He peered down into the water, Taln's words still ringing in his ears.

Blood had been shed. Breath was next, and will and faith. Suddenly he felt a heat invade his entire body, a fever like he'd never felt before. "We are getting to the bottom of this even if I have to boil this entire thing over. Taln, do a quick search through Glav's bags - the smaller one, I think - and see if you can't find something that looks like a key of sorts. We're going to need it." And with that, he took the first step into the Lake, towards the back of the cavern where the temple awaited. The entranceway was probably submerged, far beyond the grasp of surface dwellers. Yet they had received masks they were meant to keep and wear. Things had happened ever since that defied reality. It wouldn't be too much to believe there would be one more.

"We have come this far," he said as he waded through deeper and deeper water, knowing it would soon submerge him, and still unrelenting, "and the answer is yes. We'll play your game, and I pity whoever we are playing against." Deeper. Deeper. Ivak had been cast down into an abyss of loneliness, but all it took was another to share it with, and it wouldn't be lonely anymore. Suppressing every survival instinct, Leo pushed on. His body shivered, as if physically attacked, but he did not slow. He was not without fear, but his desire to right the wrong was stronger than his fear of drowning. He believed in Ivak, Ivak's captors, the statues in Lina cave, Taln and himself. They were all truer than a bunch of water.

Who would have imagined that there was pride in being a Dek?

by **Taln** on February 15th, 2012, 10:27 pm

You could have knocked him over with a feather he was so surprised. His whole life, he'd never got the chance to explain what it meant to be a Dek. And Leo understood completely! An Endal could fail at half the tasks he or she tried at and still be the same status. If a Dek failed, a Dek died. If a Dek failed, he or she would was beaten or dead. Any other caste could fail except his. The sole fact that he was alive at this very moment was proof that he'd succeeded at everything he tried, and nothing made him more proud.

He smiled beneath the golden mask, gratified that at least one person in this huge world knew that he was not ashamed to do his tasks well. Taln had no resentment toward the higher castes because he knew -every- caste had an important place in Wind Reach; all of the Inarta are necessary and valued in their society.

The solemn hush seemed to crowd in on him and he tried to quiet his breathing so as not to disturb something ... or someone.

Leo recalled his attention to the key and he went in search of it. When his hand closed over the cool, smooth object, he said quietly,

"I've got it..." Taln's voice died off as he watched the Azenth enter the shimmering waters. The guy steamed in it! The air seemed to shimmer in the waves of heat the man gave off as soon as he entered the water! For just a chime, he felt an almost filial pride that Leo faced his aversion and literally just waded through it. He was definitely acting like a Dek now. If the ugly, difficult or impossible needed doing then have a Dek do it; because no one else would even try.

The Inarta followed as close by Leo as he dared with the heat coming off him so ferociously. Taln watched the man's neck and shoulders tensed in determination to face his fear of water--especially something this huge, deep and intimidating.

Were they going to just walk along the bottom and drown? Would those whispering, scaly reptiles help them? This could be the last breaths they drew, but Taln walked confidently by his companion's side as the water raised up to his knees. Admittedly, neither of them could swim but there was nothing on the surface to reach. Boats or swimming wouldn't help if what they sought was underneath this bottomless watery cavern.

Taln shrugged at his own thoughts. Leo and he had been asked to do the impossible and if that meant walking the bottom of an infinite lake then that's exactly what they were about to do.

The tall red haired man had no idea who the Azenth was talking to, but he supposed this was probably just a way of keeping the fear at bay. He made sure to keep himself even with Leo to let him know he wasn't alone. If they were fated to die doing this, they would do this together. If courage didn't carry them through, it wasn't from a lack of effort on both of their parts.

by **Gossamer** on February 23rd, 2012, 7:24 pm

There was no key in Taln’s backpack, at least not the smaller one from Glav. What rolled out into his hand instead was a star shaped thing that was carved with more negative space than positive space and interlocking forms so that it all but glowed with a magical aura of being ‘important’. Taln could wrap his fingers into it and hold on tight. Taln did, wading into the water after Leo who slowly moved outwards ankle deep, knee deep, then chest deep taking the All Key with him.

Both men were deep within the water when it happened.

It was as if they fell into time, or a branch of it. It was almost as if the Deep Lake was only a dream or an illusion and the reality was that here and now Tanroa’s mighty River of Time had a finger branch into Wind Reach that pooled in the form of a lake like a mighty eddy off the main flow. And it was straight into this flow they fell, images swirling by them, too fast to interpret. The images illuminated their bodies that twisted and writhed, though painless, into forms and shapes they’d worn in the past, and ones they would wear in the future. Gnosis marks on Leo’s body flared to life and became tangible, but he also sported others, ghostly ones, that represented both past and present. Taln was the same, though his were all ghostly, all in the past, as if his future was empty.

They drowned in power.

It started with no particular sense isolated, but rather all senses at once. A tingling of their tongues, an influx of their breath that was flavored with the most unusual scent, a feeling that swept up their wet legs and infused their spine. The water was tangible, powerful, and reached out and snatched them as if a hidden current captured them. Time stopped having meaning as the waters sucked them under and they were dragged deep down. They lost all access to light, to sound, to everything. The water inundated everything, every part of them, completely and utterly taking them into it. The tumbled, tossed and turned, soaked through and no longer what they were when the stepped into the water. It remade them, turning them into what itself was made out of instead of letting them remain human. They flowed, only parts of a greater whole, swept back and forth through reality in a place where none existed.

There was no quest where they were. There was no burning urgency to find Ivak and release him into the world. Very little of their old lives really mattered here. There was a never-ending flow of energy that they were surrounded by and wholly apart of and both of them knew peace. They knew core deep contentment in a way that was only rarely known to men. It soothed them, healed them, and grounded their inner struggles in a way no God or Goddess could truly understand. Being mortal where they were was just not possible… and it should have destroyed lesser men. But instead, it seemed to welcome them as if they were expected.

After a time, a long time, perhaps seasons in the real world, all the water around them slowly started to change, drying out and becoming the wind. It left its heavy energetic mode and became airborne, somehow finding an outlet to another time and place, not really where they were from, but some celestial land. They soared across the face of the new world, twin zephyrs mirthful and eager. They passed homes and cities and cultivated land that was unknown on Mizahar. They joined storms and savaged the land with a glee that made them inhuman. And later, when the winds had calmed they played as breezes and enjoyed the freedom therein.

This lasted so long… a lifetime or more until their mortality was only a hint in the back of their mind. Long past any sensible time, they’d had no bodies to play in and were things freer than freedom could define. The masks were gone, so too were any confines of flesh. There was only what they were at their core that drove them onward, giving them no sense of life, no sense of death, no sense of anything but seeing what was beyond the horizon.

And after a time, they found the horizon and the nothingness beyond it. And when they blew as gusts of wind across that line and into the void of space there, they began to fall as the world unmade them once more.

Plunging downward, they tumbled as the air dried and warmed about them. They felt like they were awash in a great flood of wind that carried them infinite lengths of time and space, forward though, only forward. The blackness of the void they fell into kept them tumbling which meant, in some ways, their bodies had reformed around them after their time away. Limbs sprawled awkwardly, scrambling for handgrips or anything to stop their fall. It was as if the void itself was some giant womb of rebirth and they were passing through it and being reborn. They fell down, down and ever down. End over end until there was no sense in the world and only an agony of the fall. No Eth would have experienced such a thing as they did, falling from nowhere to nowhere.

The fall lasted seasons. It might have lasted lifetimes. It might have lasted who generations of worlds who’ve come and gone. Their mortality was shredded and they were reformed as something else… something more powerful that could exist where they were intended to go. Because as they fell, they fell so far, so fast they caught fire. They became fire itself, consuming, burning, needful, and very very hungry. Twin blazes lit the void of darkness revealing nothing around them but the weight of stone.

And still they kept falling until they grew from fire to something even hotter, something molten and splashed down. It was another lake, the twin of the wet one from Wind Reach’s word. It seethed with lava and they were the lava. Flowing into it, through it, an eddy and a single drop, they moved through their kin and filled the veins of the world. And in that instant, the heartbeat of the living world they had so suddenly joined filled them. Mizahar was alive and they were her blood. Pushing through her veins, they reveled in the sensation. There was no Ivak, no Tanroa’s River, but instead there was the cognitive sense of being something infinitely bigger, something wiser, and something more alive. And in their molten depths they carried the world’s thoughts. They flowed through her, a huge part of her, and carried her will and her dreams and her longings. They knew the planet in a way that no one else born mortal could ever dream of. They were her and she was them and everything was as it should be.

They spent time unaccounted in that place of molten fire. They burned with her passions and flowed with her will, thinking her thoughts and being only one giant among many singing together in the whole of the universe. The things upon her body were inconsequential. The mortals occupying her face were only parasites that grew alongside the other things that infested her… trees, rivers, mountains, the deer in a meadow, the slumbering Gods no one even knew names to lurking below her surfaces waiting for a time to be released. None of that mattered though they were aware of all of it. They could feel pinpoints of her power across her surface, and the small hidden stashes of Alahea’s last defenses buried to prevent Suva acquiring it.

None of it mattered. None of it meant anything. Even when they hosted burning Velispar who swam in their fiery rivers they paid no notice. These creatures were so wise that they marked time by thousands of years where mortals marked it by seconds. And still they paid no notice and the Velispar had no consequence to them. Their lives were something different, something outside of the living, even to those who have lived so long as to shed mortality forever.

The pair, Leo and Taln, too had shed mortality, but it had been ripped from them, not voluntary. And as they remembered slowly, balancing in a column of fire deep beneath the surface, they understood something precious had been lost. The column of molten fire slowly cooled as their awareness became more focused. It took a long time… a terribly long time, but as they cooled they became solid rock. And that solid rock formed awareness around them and linked them not exactly to Mizahar herself but to the powerful sense of ‘containment’ that was all around them. Djed flowed through them, around them, containing something important, something long taken from the world.

And as they kept cooling the rock fell away to nothing and they found themselves standing, solid as stone, in a pitch black courtyard illuminated only by fountains of molten lava that filled the four corners giving off an eerie golden flickering glow. Leo and Taln found themselves standing on the inside of a barrier – a large arch of black stone like the walls though as solid as the walls – like soldiers guarding a gate. Their bodies were made of solid black stone and just as rigid. Taln had the All-Key in his hand upraised on his palms like an offering to the God Ivak. And Leo had his hands up, flames licking from them, where once his skin was stained black, the stone was now white. Both men’s bodies were etched with runes. There seemed to be no difficulty moving, breathing, even speaking here. It appeared to be a room like any other.

What was different was the company.

Ivak stood before them, blinking in surprise, his eyes fierce as he studied each of them in turn. He looked at them, unmoving, for a lifetime, and gave them an equal chance to look back. If, no when, either of them decided to try and move, they’d find the black stone falling away from them, crumbling off their once-move living forms as if it were nothing more than caked on mud. Both still wore the masks.

Ivak said nothing. He simply watched his molten yellow eyes curious.

Mod NoteSorry this took so long - I cut it in half from what I did have it doing - because I kept second guessing myself.

by **Leo Varniak** on February 26th, 2012, 2:30 pm

Nothing could have prepared him. His idea of failure encompassed a multitude of different deaths, garnished with suffering and fear. He was expecting the bitter sting of failure burning his lungs as he drowned, so close to his goal and yet so far. He was ready for all that - the guilt, the fierce disappointment, the despair. But he was not ready to become all and nothing at the same time.

Leo Zaital knew he was just a tiny worm in spacetime, only one placed conveniently enough to affect great change around him. He had a clear idea of who he was, what forces moved him, and what goals he had in life. He thought he understood the difference between form and meaning. He believed he knew his boundaries, and believed in knowing what lay inside as well as having a good grasp of what was outside. He was a creature with five senses, a mind, a heart pumping blood and heat through a four-limbed body. He had a front, a back, several sides, multiple perspectives. Not all of which could be seen at any one given time. Similarly, when judging someone, you could only focus on one aspect at a time - then turn them around in your hands as if inspecting a piece of pottery and telling first quality from seconds or wastes. If it passed muster, you marked it as a first and sold it for a higher price. That will be three silver Mizas, if you please, thank you very much, have a nice day and come again. Defective pieces were discarded. Your product spoke for you. You had a reputation to maintain. Judgment was important.

Lies. All lies. All illusions. All delusions.

Do not judge lest you be judged. And, as the stream of time devoured his humanity, he was forced to witness every memory before it was stripped from him. Every decision, every step of the way, down to the most inconsequential, yet each of them important in its own right. And what had always seemed like the best choice at the time, the most solid, the most suitable path to tread, the just thing to do… now, from the point of view of the absolute, was simply trash. It was like being able to see oneself entirely, left and right and top and bottom and inside and out. A maze of mirrors right between his temples. A string of blind mistakes, laughable excuses for insight. Thankfully, the memories faded quickly enough for Leo to retain his sanity, or the weight of his shallow existence would have crushed him from his current vantage point.

And he was less than human and much much more than any god. Devoid of purpose and needing no purpose to justify himself in front of his own eyes. No higher freedom than needing no flag to rally under. No cares, no worries, no petty concerns in the greater scheme of the world. No words, incomplete definitions, half-truths that looked like half-lies if you turned them upside down. And he was time and outside of time, contemplating the nature of everything out of no particular to do so, but simply to exercise his own freedom. And the water changed into air, and he was in the wind and he was the wind, blowing across countless worlds and possibilities. There was no Ivak here, for even Ivak was but a minor piece compared to the ocean of what could be and would be, given a chance.

And he was in the rain and he was the rain and fell down to meet unfamiliar soil. The high point of their trajectory was past him and Taln. Already his body was reforming around his core as he fell, not understanding where from and where to, only that a first notion was resurfacing from the Undivided: up and down. And he fell and kept falling until he hit unfamiliar soil, plunging into vast seas of fire and magma. Distant memories came back to him then. I am supposed to be here, somehow. And he was in the fire and he was the fire, flowing through the veins of a largely uncaring womb that had far greater concerns than a flea or two. He swam with the Valispar and he was kin to them in his own way, and he caught glimpses of critters dwelling in unfamiliar lands. He saw all, but cared nothing, until things started tricking back into him.

I used to be something petty and trifling. Too small a container for what it was I had to hold…

One memory after another returned to him. He remembered who he was, what he had done, what he was to do. He remembered all the people he had met, the judgments he had cast. This time, however, he no longer grieved at the list of his mistakes. He understood them, he understood why he'd made them, and he understood there would be mistakes as long as he was a human of flesh and blood.

And he forgave his old self, and he buried him in the fire, and he was with the stone and he was the stone.

And when he opened his eyes, Taln was beside him and Ivak stood in front of the both of them. He looked surprised. Leo felt a pang of nostalgia at all the things he had lost, the wisdom he'd been a part of, the feelings he would never be able to recall so vividly and completely or even describe adequately with mortal words.

Then he shook himself free of his skin of stone and saw that the stain on his hands was gone. He brought them to his mask and looked at the fire god in the eyes for a long moment.

"We are here to keep my promise," he said, uncertainly, words coming out slightly slurred from a lifetime of silence. "I don't know if you are thinking clearly now, but you need to be out and about. If I can learn forgiveness, then the entire world can…" He turned to the Inarta and added. "This is Taln. He's a part of this as well. Together we'll get you out. Somehow." He hoped Taln's brain would not melt from meeting the one he could absolutely not remember at all.

Leo Zaital, now reborn, no longer a man but a force, stood ready to assist in the liberation of Ivak, to do what must be done.

by **Taln** on February 26th, 2012, 6:33 pm

As the water grew deeper, he held his breath, knowing it might very well be his last in this world. He screwed his eyes shut tightly, waiting for the drowning feeling he fully expected. When he opened them, Taln was more than a little surprised to see his own body twisting and morphing. Strange marks appeared and disappeared, leaving him sad. It must be his final death experience to know that he had no future.

Water. For the first time in his life he felt truly alive and painfully aware of so many things at once. Every sense was inundated in a flood of sensations so strong he couldn't define one from another. Fluid motion made him slowly aware of his own change -into- water! He felt himself easy and relaxed, flowing back and forth, rising and falling with life's natural rhythm. It was like being in a giant womb, so comforting and safe. Sadly, the feeling faded and Taln was sad to feel it leave.

Air. The red haired man felt he'd inhaled a deep, sweet breath of air and didn't have to exhale. Did eagles feel this way? He moved swiftly without effort, his whole being nothing more than a racing spring breeze. Taln was free! No longer was he shackled by the ideas of humanity or the prison of his own mental make up.

It was at that eternal chime that he felt himself falling, falling endlessly into nothing. At first he was afraid because falling meant landing and that was the part that hurt. The dark void comforted him, rather than disturbed him and he relaxed into the fall. He was dead already and had the chance to -be- water and then -be- air. Mortality no longer held any meaning for him as it usually held his interest every waking moment. Just as the sensation of wind became soothing, it once again changed.

Fire. Surging, burning, powerful fire consumed him and turned the Dek into something far more immense. Molten lava coursed through his very being, lifting him higher and stronger than he'd ever felt! If this was dying, he was amazed that he'd ever feared the process! It was amazing and terrifying at the same time--like the slide chute, only of course a -little- more intense.

Numerous thoughts not of his own making, surged wildly through him. He was at once, fiery and strong and vibrantly alive. Taln saw the reptiles forming around him and wondered at their existence. But then it mattered so little, that he dismissed the thought in the countless passions, flames and figures writhing around him.

Earth. All the frenzied kinetic energy drained from him, taking away the God-like feeling with it. The absolute and sudden stillness of mind, body and soul reminded him painfully of each millennium he'd passed in fluid motion, sheer energy, and burning passion. Something was gone now, missing; and Taln mourned its passing though he knew not why or what it was.

After a while the solidity felt strangely good, making him stronger. The more still he grew, the more his awareness expanded. Something powerful fluxed through him, reminding Taln briefly of the lake they'd entered so long ago.

'We are insignificant in relation to the elements that support us. They watch our short, meaningless lives with barely a flicker of interest.'

A dark courtyard showed itself by the glowing embers of molten lava flowing in four corner fountains. Taln's white eyes caught sight of the All-Key in his hand and he moved his arm to stretch it out. Solid stone crumbled and fell from his long frame and he was more than a little surprised.

A fierce looking man stood before him and Leo, silent and unmoving as the stone they'd just come from.

Try as he might, Taln just couldn't place the man before him as anyone he knew. But it was important somehow; as if he must know this man. It took him a few moments to understand Leo's words after infinite lifetimes of elementary existence.

He was here to help the Azenth rescue someone! That was the imperative thing he was supposed to remember, right?

The water had taught him to flow and seamlessly adjust to whatever happened. Reconcile.
The air had shown him the freedom of expression through movement. Will.
The fire had lit passionate emotions within him. Courage.
The earth had given him the knowledge to accept, not judge, to be calm and still. Acceptance.

Taln nodded noncommittally at Leo's introduction to this unknown man. While there were admittedly a million things he could ask the stranger, he found no reason to do so. Everything had changed, including himself and he still didn't quite understand it all.

Secret :

by **Gossamer** on February 27th, 2012, 4:26 pm

The God of Fire studied them both, his luminous molten golden gaze falling first on Leo and then moving on to study Taln. His face showed surprise and pride in equal measures, strangely human for all that he was of the divine. It was the reason he felt so deeply. Of all the Gods, the one in charge of emotional upheaval was perhaps one of the most human of all. It gave him an almost personal countenance. Missing nothing, he knew they hadn't unlocked the doors of his prison, but they had somehow became something that flowed through and reformed. He looked thoughtful, surprised, and then smiled.

"Sylir was always a sly one. People never gave him enough credit." He said softly, his voice strangely rich, colored with the pops and crackles one found in a raging fire. "Divine flesh isn't so flexible as mortal flesh. You can twist your bodies, unmake them, remake them, and let them be something that can pass through infinite levels of Djed. How was the journey, I wonder, to such as you? Being Djed, I imagine, would be what he'd have to do to get you through. And you brought me a gift. Interesting." The Fire Lord said, walking up to Taln and gently reaching out to take the All Key from where it was lodged between Taln's fingers. Ivak moved like fire, his long dark auburn hair crackling like fire. He took the key gently, leaving Taln his other things namely the pack of orbs. When he turned, he smiled, caught Leo's eye, and continued. "I don't suppose either of you can tell me if out there is any better than in here now? I used to love watching Syna melt into Laviku in the evenings and rise from him in the mornings. I used to appreciate Ziltila's stars and Akajia's darkness. There was so much beauty and light and love in the world. But Cheva was all but slain for me that day, the day I came to be here, when Kova left this world. How do you bear to be mortal and love like they do? It is the hardest thing I can think of in the world." He said, slipping past them finally and walking to the gate behind them.

It was really nothing special. The walls of his prison were black and smooth, unadorned, and the only thing that indicated this was a door of sorts was the fact it was framed by pillars of stone that arched up and over forming a keystone.

"But I am sorely done of this place. I find myself longing to stand in Leth's light again and banter with Semele while Zulrav unfairly takes sides like he always seems to do." The Firegod said while he held the All Key aloft and flat in the palm of his hand. He faced the door and began to chant in a language neither of them understood. The All-Key began to spin in his palm, rose up out of it, and glowed with a piercing light.

Then, without fanfare, it unlocked and opened the door to Ivak's prison.

Power exploded around them. Ivak seemed braced for it, but the two mortals were not. What was contained and controlled exploded into a massive upwelling of djed that seemed to lash all around the chambers and beyond. The orbs so carefully in Taln's possession shattered one by one and the figures they represented all materialized around them. Glav and Akvin, which were there in the flesh, snatched at Leo and Taln, sheltering them from the worst of the blast with their bodies. It felt like, in that instance, both Alvina were larger, faster, stronger... and that the two mortal men tucked against them were children. It was like being in a sea cave that had collapsed with the waves of the incoming tide slowly flooding it. They were in a bowl, washed violently around, the Alvina protecting them as the beautiful woman laughed, awash in the power, and began to absorb it.

Ivak blinked, stunned that there were others here, and turned to defend Leo and Taln from those that held him, but seemed to do a double take when he recognized at least Akvin. The pairs eyes met, Ivak nodded, and Akvin grinned as if to say 'We've got this...' and Ivak turned staring at the door, taking one step, then another, bound to walk out of his prison.

The woman who had bound her eyes with a fine cloth now wore nothing, revealing the pupiless white orbs that marked her as Druvan, the most powerful one of all, something Leo would recognize. She laughed as a deep blue and malicious looking purple aura began to writhe around her, growing larger and more divine as the power unleashed. Meanwhile the Gasvik unfolded its wings, screamed, and began to absorb part of the power as well.

Glav and Akvin cursed as one. They exchanged glances as the storm raged about them and seemed to make a decision. Both men released the mortals at the same time with uttered apologies, knowing if they didn't act now their time would not come again. They made a choice, deciding ultimately to ascend using the power here rather than linger and protect the mortals while others did so in their stead.

At that point, a great deal happened all at the same time. It was difficult to follow, especially for the mortals. They could feel the djed washing over them, changing them, flowing through, around, within... they screamed together, as one, the pain and pleasure of their secondary sundering very real to them but not nearly what it would have been had they not been changed to be able to bring Ivak his key.

Ivak's lifted his foot, took one last step and crossed the threshold of his prison, stepping out of confinement and into freedom. Outside, the peaks all around Mt. Skyinarta began to erupt as the earth swelled and and began to rock. The whole of Kalea, all its pent up energy, suddenly slipped and exploded into action, its five hundred years of silence over. Ivak sighed with relief, flexing his gift and releasing his power, resetting the whole of the region as it had been needing for five hundred years. Like a chiropractic patient properly adjusted, the land groaned in pleasure, sending aftershocks outwards like ripples from a pond. Wind Reach, as a whole, collectively opened their eyes and cried out his name, suddenly flooded with the knowledge of who Ivak was.

Ivak turned then, faced the threshold he'd just passed through, and watched the events unfold. The truth was, besides Leo, the only person he knew was the dark man all horribly twisted and Isur King crowned with Steel. He appreciated both, understanding one's circumstance while wondering at the others. It was the Gasvik that surprised him, not thinking any were left in the world. The woman too, was another surprise, one he did not care to have trust upon him. He lifted his hands and a blade of pure fire erupted from them. Advancing on her, Ivak engaged as the woman, sword high, more than happy to cut off her head. But it was confusing, and he was weaker than he'd liked to admit. She advanced on him as well, laughing, the darkness seething around her housing horrors now.

"Late, you come too late..." She said, turning suddenly and pointing at Leo and Taln. "They might be yours, but they will be mine as well. " Deep burning painful marks appeared on both Taln and Leo's skin. They swirled around on their shoulders, beneath their clothing, branding both men. King Sultros cried out an Izurdian war cry and engaged the woman then as he invoked Izurdin's name and two more marks appeared on both Leo and Taln's skin. The Gasvik screamed, its appearance shifting, altering, taking on that of a man's... no Gods...visage. A long dead and forgotten God became living again, and he shouted as well, stepping back from the battle that seemed to ensue almost immediately after the first battle cry.

The dead god gestured, marking Leo and Taln, before withdrawing from the events. He was no God of War, no one that drew weapon. He was instead Xhyvas, transcending as was his custom, to something more. All around the world, as Xhyvas did so, men of a certain bloodline screamed and Gasvik's disappeared, taking wing to flock to their master, no longer needing to guard their charges.

With the new marks, one remained inactive, but both Leo and Taln could feel the possibilities in the room. They could see the potential outcomes and knew the battle around them was no place for mortals. Along with what they could see as possibilities, they could also tangibly see fears. Each of them knew what every single other person, mortal or immortal, felt as fear. Ivak feared he'd never be free of the place or the pain of Kova's loss and that in the others setting him free the situation was even worse and that was something he didn't want. Xhyvas feared all the potentials in which the Alvina known as The Voice would ascend. All scenarios in the room showed her doing so, and what she would.. no had... become was the stuff of nightmares. The newly formed Goddess of Fear feared nothing for it was her domain and she was immune to all its effects. That in and of itself, in their new found power, was staggering.

King Sultros feared that Glav and Akin wouldn't ascend. Akvin feared no one would understand if he did ascend. Glav feared he wasn't up for the task and that he could never live with the fact even though he was taking Sylir's name and place, he'd never be as good as his father was. The hideously twisted creature feared Leo would never recognize him as his father or that he was the prisoner that day chained to the opposite wall and who had taken the blunt force of the Black Hand's demise to shelter Murdock from it. The list went on... as The Goddess of Fear's new mark activated and granted them power.

Glav and Akvin ascended almost together as they finally absorbed enough of the violently releasing djed to do so.

Akvin and Glav rose up. Though no bigger than the Alvina Leo and Taln had met, they were something now, something far more, as more and more djed soaked into them. It flowed violently around the room still, like tide sluicing a sea cave, but within them seemed to be a drain the djed poured into, finally finding an outlet. Glav rose, taller, broader, wiser, far more powerful. Akvin was right along side him. The woman was someone he did not know, nor did he care to trust. With Ivak and the heinous thing engaging her, Akvin turned to Glav. "Lingering here is not the way of things. We must end this battle and quickly." The two men turned Gods faced the mortals momentarily, gestured at them, and more burning marks appeared in mortal flesh. One, the sign of peace, the other an unusual sign with no apparent meaning.

Then the two men engaged just as the newly risen Goddess of Fear reached out and tore the head off of the greatest king the Isur had ever known. His blood splattered as the head rolled free, bouncing off across the room. They weren't in time to save Sultros from fate a second time. Fear laughed, a cruel and joyful sound, and advanced on Ivak. Glav - still absorbing djed, still growing - joined in followed with Akvin on his heels. The two men defended the Firegod and drove the goddess of fear backwards. But she was strong, so strong, having planned for this for ages. Ivak was weak, having been penned up for five hundred years, and Glav and Akvin were united. He fought well, but the Druvan turned Goddess was a skilled fighter and better still in magics. She attacked mercilessly, fearlessly, and with a reckless abandon that was all controlled destruction playing on their fears and using her newfound power to its fullest. When Ivak engaged her, he saw not Fear itself, but his Kova, the iron gates of Suva still thrust through her breast holding her in the air aloft. Glav and Akvin saw similar things, things that scared them to their cores, and it was a struggle fighting her, unprepared, unanticipated.

Power was thrown back and forth, frighteningly fast, as the Gods both new and old battled each other fiercely. It was obvious after a heartbeat or two that the new Goddess was behind most of it. She seemed to want Ivak dead, while the whole host of newly ascended wanted him protected. Ivak seemed to pay no mind to what she wanted and instead seemed to be enforcing his own will by his actions. They used blades that manifested their power, threw raw gnosis back and forth with an blink of an eye and a single instant thought. The walls melted, crumbled, and the whole area became very unstable. Leo could feel Ivak's growing rage, not uncontrolled, but at the manipulation The Goddess Fear was doing to him.

She raged, they fought, and the very foundations of Wind Reach took a severe beating.

The hideous creature, the one so twisted, winged, and last seen leashed by Yshul joined the fight as well with Xhyvas being the only one sitting the fight out. With Ivak's marks burned on his body, three of them, and he had no choice but to defend his lord. But before he did so, the creature turned to Leo and Taln. "Make a stand, sons. It is here and now we fight for waht we believe in. Don't let them push you aside. Mortality is not immortality but you are not their lessers either." And with that, he jumped into the frey, throwing fiery orbs at the goddess, pelting her over and over again, distracting her enough that the others got closer.

As the battle raged on inside Wind Reach, deep in the bowels of Semele, the power that was not absorbed was released. Though Sylir's death had set into motion Ivak's cage, the mere presence of the cage and its massive djed structure had been attracting like wild energy for five hundred years. It wasn't that the amount of power that was released was the same as the power put into it via the Valterrian. Instead it was greater, oh so greater, and it rippled out across the land from Wind Reach in all directions, a djed storm of enormous proportions.

by **Taln** on February 27th, 2012, 9:42 pm

Taln watched Ivak intently, or more importantly, his way of moving. It was like watching the effortless, burning glide of lava coursing down the sides of a volcano. It was almost hypnotic, the compelling way he spoke and moved.

This calm and controlled person was the one that needed their help?! He was so self-possessed and confident that it would seem help would be needed the other way around. There was something familiar about the man that he just couldn't place.

"Djed? We.. we became ..?" Taln paused, searching for the words to convey the immensity of what had happened recently.

"Everything occurred each one at a time, and then something.. uh.... effortlessly huge came over us."

Ivak's voice was compelling in its deep, rich timbre; his words both soothing and strangely wistful at the same time.

Leo would definitely know more about all this crazy stuff and could probably explain it much better than Taln could. The Dek had complete faith in his companion. Taln looked at Leo, pausing for him to answer first and then replied himself,

"I don't know who those people are, but the night sky fires are incredible. Where I come from, you can sit on top of The Edge and almost feel the burning diamonds in an ebony velvet background. The air all crisp and cool just before the sun rises and everything is touched with dew like jewels. It's well, magical."

"...How do you bear to be mortal and love like they do? It is the hardest thing I can think of in the world." The strange question puzzled him for a chime and he thought hard on it before trying to answer.

"The hardest thing in the world? Actually it's the opposite. If you have nothing to love or care about, then nothing really matters or is worth doing. When you stop loving, you stop living."

Taln stepped back next to Leo as the All-Key shone brightly in its purpose. The world exploded all around him, ripping apart the bags of small orbs and shattered them to miniscule shards that whipped in the winds.

Two of what had once been statues, now come to life, grabbed him and Leo, sheltering them from as much of the blast as possible. Light, power, all the elements, magics, Djed, and passionate emotions all combined into a mind bursting maelstrom. A powerful surge of energy, of something massive washed over and through him, like the water had an infinity ago. He screamed until his throat turned raw and his mind went numb in the agony of it. Something scalded his back and his eyes widened in surprise. The red haired man shuddered as the flaring brands marked him repeatedly like the endless whippings of an angry Endal. He'd felt those painful shackles all his life, even though it felt so very long ago.

Taln had actually been each element for a lifetime and though he was still just a mortal, it had left an indelible mark upon him more lasting than each biting brand added to his living flesh.

An ugly, oily aura crawled over the Gods before them and Taln glanced at his mortal companion, wondering if Leo saw it too. A dark and poisonous looking thing looked like it was sliming everyone around them! Fear. It was stark, naked fear bared for them to clearly see.

The Goddess of Fear was of course immune to fear and Taln thought frantically on it. This was no small feat considering the difficulty of just surviving in this absolute chaos. Any concentration on his part was rapidly broken as yet more flesh smoldering marks appeared on the pair's already much abused skin.

Ivak's statement spurred Taln into action, making his thoughts clearer at once. The masks! He and Leo wore masks and anger was only a mask to a truer emotion! That woman's power was purely an illusion then! She could only have power over you if you believed that fear was the only thing you felt.

He'd been sent here to get this guy out and that's what he was gonna do. Somehow.

Taln yelled over the rising fury of the battle, addressing the raging female.

"Hey ugly! Your fear is only a mask to deeper emotions and not the real cause. You're a fraud you old hag! Just a vulture trying to feed off the carcasses instead of a true predator! You're weak! We are here to protect that guy over there, so we -will- no matter what. Me and Leo ain't afraid of you!"

With his flesh searing in so many places from the freshly anointed marks, it spurred on his anger to new heights. Taln's temper had always been hair trigger sharp, but now it burst into flame. He'd had enough of these gods-damned bullies everywhere he went. Even one of these high and mighty immortals was nothing more than a mental child throwing a tantrum! He really hated bullies.

He had no exact plan in mind other than to spontaneously react with his own long repressed temper. Heedless of the danger of attacking a Goddess, Taln ran at her in sheer fury with his fists clenched and his teeth bared like an animal...

by **Leo Varniak** on March 2nd, 2012, 11:08 pm

Ivak was fascinating to watch, now that Leo could spare a longer look at him. The last time, he'd been dizzy, hurt and desperate, but now he could afford to study the face of the fire god at leisure. There was longing on that face, regret, desire and other emotions that were all too human. Leo caught himself staring and kept listening to Ivak's crackling voice. Slowly, he came to understand how they'd made the journey to his prison, being remade as beings of pure Djed. He felt reborn, as if he'd outgrown his old skin and shed it in the process.

"I am no love expert," he said quietly after Taln responded, "but I suppose we all love equally - mortals and immortals alike. It's a law of the cosmos, like things falling down." There had been love in Leo's life, but always in the solitude of a corner of his soul. A concept without words, a picture without lines. He could see himself clearly now, understanding the man he'd been. The mention of Kova brought up something in his mind, something he felt like sharing with Ivak, but there wasn't time for that. After his release. Then there'd be time to talk.

Ivak expertly took the All-Key from Taln's hands and approached the door of his black prison. As expected, the god knew how to use the key. Leo suspected something major was about to happen, and braced for it. Needless to say, he hadn't been expecting anything of this magnitude. Power erupted around them, forcing him to take a step back and cross his arms over his body to protect it from damage. He saw the orbs fly away from Taln's care and shatter one by one. And there they were, the entities those simulacra represented. Glav and Akvin immediately moved to the mortals' protection, but also absorbing wild Djed at the same time. The memory of Glav saying he intended to ascend flared in Leo's mind with incredible clarity. That Akvin planned on doing the same came a surprise to him. Was the Magecrafter an Alvina, too? Who were his parents then?

But there were others, of course. Leo had made his choice back in Lina cave, carrying no fewer than six orbs. It was only when the woman appeared, and her blindfold fell away, that the Azenth realized just who he'd brought into this realm.

The old Leo would have judged himself harshly, realizing just how much pain and suffering would come from this. The Voice of Rhysol, greatest of the Druvin, here to ascend with the others in a mantle of pure evil... Leo saw this, and didn't judge himself. 'This was also supposed to happen. I must acknowledge this,' he thought as the battle for the future broke out inside Ivak's sepulcher. Others appeared, including the deformed creature, the book-reading monster and the great Isur. The entire party had shown up.

Then, chaos.

Before Leo knew it, the newly ascended goddess of fear was engaging the newly ascended gods as well as the imprisoned one. And new marks were surfacing on his skin, one certainly from Glav-that-was, one from Akvin? One from whatever the Gasvik-creature transformed into, and one from Fear herself. Leo had a flash of Glav's body, a patchwork of Gnosis marks, and imagined himself walking the same path. With each mark, new awareness flooded him. He saw fear, he saw possibilities. He was more than he'd ever been. He scanned the place with his new senses, and the fear emanating from Yshul's chained creature caught his notice.

He's afraid I won't recognize him as my...

"... father?" he whispered, eyes going wide. It all came back to him now. There'd been a man in the Black Hand's dungeon that day. That man had tackled the dying Druvin, shielding Leo and Murdoch from the worst of the corrupted blast. It had been Alvias. No wonder he hadn't wanted to reveal himself afterwards, bereft of his humanity. Regardless, he was like that because of Leo. To protect his son.

All it took was a blink, and King Sultros' head was parted from his body in a spray of blood and gore. His death is also upon my shoulders. I owe his race a great debt. Leo felt almost paralyzed, things going so fast he could barely follow them with his eyes, let alone intervene in this giants' playground. He saw all, though. He saw Fear's manipulations, taking the guise of Kova to wound Ivak's heart and take his life. She was messing with everyone's minds here, casting terror upon every shadow. She was a nightmare made real, horror made flesh. She bore Leo's name.

'You were meant to be. As I am meant to be the one to kill you.' The thought was devoid of rage or bloodlust. If anything, Leo felt sadness wash over him. He knew what he'd done, and he knew the power of a debt owed. 'I will unite Mizahar against you and your husband. Together we'll defeat you.'

Alvias spurred them into action before heading into the fight himself. "Yes, father," Leo nodded while Taln sprung to assault the goddess of fear. He was no fighter. Instead, he knew exactly what he must do. Before, he'd been afraid to use his power. He had been weak, unwilling, scared by its boundless nature.

No longer.

When he joined his hands, there was no tremor or hesitation. Anger did not move his heart. Activating all his gnosis in unison, he saw the possibilities, he saw the fears.

An Endal in his right eye, a Dek in the left.

"Release."

And he sent the wave of purification across the flaming prison, lapping at everyone's fears and telling them there was nothing to fear but fear herself. It was only human to be afraid. It was only human to overcome a fear. The goddess was nothing without her power. And to Ivak he screamed, to the top of his lungs.

"Kova's spirit, a part of it is still waiting for you! In a wishing well in a city called Syliras, you can meet her one last time... but you must live!" It was nothing but the truth, and the truth Leo had wanted to tell Ivak all along.

It was a truth that could change the world.

by **Gossamer** on March 25th, 2012, 4:25 pm

Taln died suddenly, his move towards the newly born Goddess of Fear the last he'd make in that particular mortal life. Throwing himself at her, his teeth a flash of enraged white in the otherwise luminous darkness, Ssena lashed out, threw all her energy at him and stopped his heart by seizing it with fear.

Death was a kindness after the flash of what he felt the moment before his heart gave him an out.

Akvin acted, having lived his whole life among mortals and being in love with the idea of what they represented to him. The newly born God of Creativity, Innovation, and Invention unleashed his own essence, lit up the inactive marks he'd just branded the mortals and did something unprecedented to save and acknowledge the courage the mere Dek had shown. The ghostly, nearly forgotten Velispar acted, coming to the aid of the newborn God because he called and demanded it. Of the pair, one peeled off from the other and sliding into the shell of the Dek and reaching out to capture Taln's soul before Dira herself could collect him. It was instantaneous since Death already walked the halls of Wind Reach, come at last for the once mighty king of the Isur.

Taln's heart started again, his soul twisted and blended as two creatures united into one. Taln and the Fire Velispar known as Inferno melded, each becoming something more and something less than both had been separate. Akvin poured more power into the process and Taln Inferno began to shift form sliding from human to Velispar and back to human as both sides of the meld fought for control. Eventually, separate from the fight, Taln found his human form but knew he could take Inferno's - no his - at a moments notice. He felt the weight of the Velispar's years and was flooded with all the Velispar's knowledge and an acute longing for Serenade, the female Sea Velispar who's ghost had been with him.

Taln wouldn't have lived and Akvin would have acted if Leo hadn't done what he did, buying everyone time. The room stood still while Taln writhed. Xhyvas, having seen this potential and possibility, had long since departed, knowing no matter how powerful Ssena was, she was still facing Ivak, Akvin, Sylir, Leo, Taln, and Alvias. He saw the possibilities and left the others knowing what the outcome would be, in a general sense.

Then, as Leo released the entire room, Ivak and Alvias moved in unison, striking at the heart of the Goddess of Fear and bringing her down. Akvin almost couldn't do what he did, so enthralled in the Release like everyone else gathered was. Leo may have wanted to release Ivak, but the God wasn't easily influenced by his own sphere. The information Leo shouted, however, had almost the same effect and Ivak seemed to reinvigorate, his blade gleaming, and whirled. Akvin and Glav gave him room, Glav being somewhat useless in a fight like this though he was there as definite backup. He could counter what Leo was doing, of bringing all the emotions to the forefront by calming nerves, but that was the last thing they needed in this situation.

In the distance, Taln lay on the floor, still writhing, still shifting forms, still settling into the new twist of his reality. A ghostly velispar hovered over him, having witnessed her mates molding with the human.

So instead, the Gods battled, and Alvias joined in as well, being something more now that he'd lived through the prison walls coming down and the djed being released... and even Leo's utilization of his gnosis. It was four against one, and regardless of how powerful she was, there was no contest with those odds in the confines of Ivak's former prison. Ssena gave a shriek of rage and made one last move. She repeated with Alvias, who was closest, what she'd done to Taln, and only this time there was no Velispar ghost nearly close enough or paying attention to notice. Alvias went down and she ran him through with her weapon just as Glav reached out and simply touched her, trying to intercept her before she could make the killing blow. He was too late, even though he made contact. And when he did, her face went blank and serene and she started to crumple just as Ivak brought his sword around and started to run her through.

A vast chasm opened up in that instant and time seemed to stand still. Even as everyone moved in unison the void seemed to swallow her whole. It wasn't that the rocks around them parted to accept her form and steal her away from Ivak's wrath. But instead it was as if reality cracked open and she was stolen away. Ivak's sword thrust did connect though, running into her immortal flesh as she slipped from the reality of where they were to someplace new. It released as she vanished, his response only a simple snarl of rage. His sword tip, though still flaming, was coated with a black sticky substance almost like blood leaving them all to believe he had wounded her deeply.

Sultros and Alvias were obviously dead. Glav who was now Sylir and Akvin stood together. Ivak was somewhat further apart, moving to kneel over Taln and attempt to sooth him. He shook his head, stroked the long fiery hair out of the newly made creatures inhuman looking eyes and made a soft noise under his breath. Taln had finally settled into human shape, but nothing about his expression nor his very molten gaze looked very human. He tried to speak and foreign words, words only Velispar and the God knew, tumbled out. Ancient Tongue, fluent, flowed from his lips tinged with pain and confusion.

"You are foolish to attempt to tackle one such as Ssena. But brave nonetheless. I do not know how easy you will settle into this new life, Taln, but it will not be easy. Most of you is Inferno. He's guarded me and kept me company well these long years. Serenade is his companion, though I doubt you can sense her any longer. Thank you... for coming. For trusting Leo and bringing my companions to me." Ivak looked up and took in Glav and Akvin's presence. He gave them a nod then ran his hand down Taln's back. It was bare, like most of the rest of him, his clothing in tattered rags due to the fight and the transformations.

Flames appeared along Taln's skin at Ivak's touch, lighting up his spine with three of Ivak's marks. "They can no longer mark you. You are mine in all the ways that matter to them. Wear them well, Taln, you have earned each and every one of them." Then Ivak, The God of Fire, caught Talns hand and helped him to his feet. He attempted to brush him off with a grin then flicked his liquid gaze over to Leo.

He moved like fire, flowing over to where the young man stood. "Historians might say say this is an ending of a tale began long before. But everyone here knows that this is just the beginning, Leo." And he reached out then too, took Leo's hand, and a warm surged from Ivak into Leo causing the blaze that was on Leo's spine to double in size and make him the first Champion of Ivak to walk the world since well before the Valterrian. And Leo, while the marks were branding themselves on him, felt Ivak take the exact knowledge of the Well from him, down to every last detail for his mind ran through what he knew about the Wishing well of Syliras involuntarily but gently.

"Your road won't be an easy one, Leo. Many will blame you. The outside world is not what it was before you started this trip. Time has passed while you were here. It is the first day of Spring in the year 512 and the world has been shaken once more. But you did well, both of you, and my marks will protect you from other such marks, so that Ssena and her cohorts cannot own you ever. You own yourselves." Akvin stepped forward then, laying a hand on Taln. He flared green for a moment, then was gone. The young godling then moved to Leo, and with Ivak's nod of approval, touched him as well. Leo vanished as well.

Both materialized on the shores of Deep Lake, the battle well over and its waters calm. Both had new powers, new abilities, but in Leo's case he also had a whisper in his mind, Ivak's voice and Ivak's will. He knew it and could tap it with just a thought, his Lord's attention always ready to focus on him if needed.

As for Taln, he wasn't human any longer. He shuddered, and for a moment his control was lost and he shifted his shape into that of a long sinuous serpent like creature that blazed deep ruby. The Velispar shape he took was liquid and warm and everything a crimson fire velipsar should be. He clawed at the ground, and his talons sank into it. Taln turned Inferno knew he could swim through it like a fish could water, and he had to concentrate to stay on the surface rather than meld into the ground. It took him a moment to gain control, then he stood before Leo a man again, shuddering though his eyes were still liquid fire.

There was silence all around them and if they turned and looked back down to where the Underground Forest was, they'd see significant damage, reflecting within, the damage without. It would take them both time... to absorb and recover. To understand, as well, what they had lost. Leo could feel Ivak retreating, heading towards Syliras to look for himself at hte information he'd gotten from Leo's Mind.

For now they were safe. Ssenra had retreated. And they had time to decide what to do next.

by **Leo Varniak** on March 26th, 2012, 2:31 pm

This battle of titans could have crushed the hearts of most mortals, but ironically, it was Ssena's own gift that kept Leo's heart firm throughout the fight. She may have marked him to keep tabs on him, but her mark could and would be used against her. The fears that gripped the hearts of everyone else in the room had no place in Leo's mind. And being able to view those fears in the others gave him the focus he needed to soothe and placate them through release.

While the Azenth had correctly judged that he'd be useless in a frontal assault, Taln charged bravely at the goddess of fear and was struck down by her power. His body had barely fallen when Akvin did something to the Inarta, who sprang back to life and turned into something closely resembling the creature that had thrown a pebble at Leo. There was no time to contemplate this, however, because Ivak and the newborn gods were attacking Ssena with all they had, and the new clarity of Leo's own making. He caught a glimpse of what Xhyvas must have seen, that the odds were clearly against Ssena now. It was just a matter of time, and being careful enough not to lose anyone else.

But just as Leo caught himself with that thought, the goddess of fear - his creature, his responsibility - played one last, cruel card and ran Alvias through with her blade. Leo's jaw went slack, but he let out no sound. He knew instantly that the wound was lethal, death sudden and inevitable. He only had time to wonder, if Alvias had heard his son call him father before he charged the enemy. Had he known? Had he seen? Had he heard? Had he died with his greatest fear ringing true in his mind?

Leo had spent his life wanting to punch this man in the face upon their reunion... for abandoning Lina, mostly. But now this. He'd never hear the reason why, not from Alvias' lips. Why he'd challenged fate itself, playing with his own chavi, descending into the hubris of dreams, and finally taking it upon himself to free Ivak.

Ivak partially avenged him, his blade black with Ssena's foul blood. And with that, it was over. The goddess retreated hastily, disappearing from the fabric of reality. There was always something strangely comical - despite the gravity of the situation - about these gods when they ran. Just like on the Blue Horizon. Leo stood silent, for his mourning would never be loud, or showy. Most people wouldn't take notice at all, but he would mourn. He felt tired with the weariness of the ages. He watched Ivak comfort Taln and offer him his marks, which was only fair: Taln had made a difference today, not just for Ivak but for everyone here. Leo might not have found the courage to sink into Deep Lake if not for the simple courage of this Dek, and his sacrifice had distracted Ssena long enough for the others to be able to attack her as they did.

When Ivak came over and marked him, Leo felt unlike any of the previous times he'd been marked. There was a connection, the echo of a god's thoughts. Information going back and forth, but especially forth towards Ivak, obviously eager to know about the wishing well in Syliras. "She showed me a baby," he said, knowing words were unnecessary. Ivak's words were hard to bear, as the truth often is. Leo had unleashed great suffering upon the world, and in more ways than one. Thankfully he couldn't be afraid of the consequences even if he'd wanted to be. "It is true what they say, that only the dead have seen the end of the war... but I'll do my part." What else did he have left? Not much. His last blood relation severed, Ivak and his allies were all he had.

Suddenly he found himself near Deep Lake with Taln, or the being that had once been Taln. Leo looked at him for a while: his transformations were enthralling to watch. It was as if he couldn't decide what he was just yet. Leo wasn't too surprised: stranger things had happened. "Well, it's safe to say you have been where no eagle dares to fly. You have my thanks, Taln. What are you going to do now? Somehow I don't think you can just go back to being a Dek after this. They'd have to come up with a new caste just for you. As for me, I guess I'm going East. There's... work to do."

Yes. So much work to do.