Sai Jon recognized the tone and the emotions, he didn't know the specifics but few things would elicit this type of explosion. "Tell us everything," he said quietly. "We need to know it all if we're going to help you get them back."

Jacob looked around confused, "Get who back?"

It was a long time coming? but once it did, the breath that he took in wracked his body. He knew his anger was better focused than left in a torrent fury. He would find them, and those that took them, and teach them that there were worse things that the Hells and death.

He turned his attention to Sai Jon, and gazed long into those eyes. During that time, he slowly drew his body back into that of the human form. Phal continued to hover near him, and finally, came to rest on his shoulder. The dragon, though little, held just as much worry and fear as he did.

His voice came finally, and it was still etched much as it was when he was transformed. "My wife and daughter, brother. They have been taken." His gaze shifted and looked to Alais, and nodded. "Yes, we need a place to organize. It will not be the Pearl though. I cannot divert my energy to keeping you all protected from the elements, and, if you have forgotten, the Pearl is the Place of Origin for this plague. We will build our forces here, for it is here where I can garner the most help. As for the Third? Alais, I do not have it. Surely the Elder informed you how to aquire it?" He left the question hanging, his eyes knowing the answer.

He then looked to his shoulder and at Phal. "Summon my generals, little brother? at least those that are still with me. We will be in my office." He watched as the little dragon took off and then turned, looking over those with him. "Lets us see what we can do to save this world."

Ozymandias felt it important that we have an idea of how many we were facing, and I agree with him. As Tass invited us into his study to plan our defense and the re-taking of his world, Ozy flew off.

The automaton spent the next several hours over flying Kadir, Matlal, and finally Odhran.

As each minute dragged on, I worried for the sentient automaton. Technically, he has no soul for these things to steal, and even if he were
captured, they'd have to destroy Ozy rather than be able to turn him, but I
do not wish him to come to harm. Ozy is all that remains of Uly aside from the starfire ring I wear.

At length Ozy returned. He had singe marks on some of his golden alloy exterior, but he was otherwise unharmed. His news however was daunting! The automaton's voice relayed what he'd seen, and his extrapolations from those actual sightings.

"On Kadir: Undead forces estimated at 82,000 with at least 400 demons of various types and sorts. Dracoliches predicted at 340.

Matlal: undead forces in excess of 110,000, highest concentration appears in that island right now. Demons here number in excess of 1100, with dracoliches in excess of 900. Main leadership housed on Matlal at this time.

Odhran: undead fluctuating, but best estimates on presence around 43,000, with varying numbers of demons estimated at this time to number between 400-500 as they fan out and seek space of their own once clearing the tear from Riverbend. Dracoliches here number fewer than 200."

Ozy continued, "Please keep in mind that these numbers are based on encampments, observations, and raiding parties I have seen. Numbers are not an accurate census report.

Further on Matlal there are several compounds where dragons are being held. Conditions are poor, and the captives are not being treated well. Estimated dead for the dragon population based on unburied remains, over 6300. There were no traces of human or elven remains found."

I glanced toward Tass as Ozy relayed what he'd seen.

Sai Jon ignored the whispered curses from Jacob as the the little robot spouted more and more depressing estimates. Perhaps the dragon generals would have better news.

The dragon generals arrived and Tass began the meeting, Sai Jon studied the map before him. There was something familiar about the way Malchor was running his invasion. He was concentrating so hard that he hadn't noticed Tass talking until he heard his name spoken. He raised his head to find the dragon lord pointing at him "...will be the new general to the Blacks. And as Garl is missing, Alais will stand his place." Sai Jon had about as many objections as the dragons did but Tass squelched the dissent quickly.

He glanced back at Saltera who just shot him a tight grin. Sai Jon sighed and looked back down at the map. There was a pattern but he couldn't quite see it. His mind was absorbed in the problem to the point that he didn't even think to ask if there was a order to a meeting like this. "Where are our forces now."

The generals all began speaking at once but one look from Tass silenced them. The red called Smaug finally spoke up, "We have taken serious casualties. Currently we have a little over six thousand troops. Maybe five thousand are uninjured enough to fight."

"So five thousand against..." he looked to the robot.

"Approximately two hundred and forty thousand humanoid combatants." Ozy piped up.

"Well a war of attrition is definitely out," Tobias whispered. He too had begun to stare at the map intently. "Old man, look at the position of the encampments for a second."

Suddenly Sai Jon saw it. He cursed loudly and stepped back, that's when he noticed that everyone in the room was staring at him. "We've seen this before. There are beings, like your enemy general, who invade other worlds to steal the worlds power, it's life force. They use objects of power to drain the world of it's power and bend it to their will. We can't take them in a straight up fight but if we can destroy his method for gathering power it will help. Also we brought along a few surprises, Jacob." Jacob stepped forward and with a grunt hefted a large metal case up onto the table. He opened it revealing twelve small metal cylinders well packed in the foam. "These will destroy everything around them in about a five mile radius, we just need to get the enemy to concentrate his forces and drop this in the center of his formations."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Ruug growled.

Sai Jon looked up at him, "By making him think we're stupid." The dragons just looked at him. "Ok, we know we can't win a head to head fight, but if we can trick them into thinking we're dumb enough or proud enough to try it, then we can get them to swarm us. The tricky part is making sure we're not in range when these things go off." He looked around, "any ideas?" That's when the planning began. Several hours later they still were working.

Finally Tass called a halt for dinner despite the fact that they had worked well past that time. He unsealed the room and several servants hurried in with food laden platters.

The servants were on the way out when one of them stopped in the doorway. She said several words in a harsh language that Sai Jon didn't recognize and a sharp pain lanced through his body. The servant turned as her head split in half followed by the rest of her body splashing blood and entrails over everyone. A dark mist rose from the steaming carnage and formed into a humanoid shape with blazing red eyes.

"Ahh, welcome home dragon lord. I hope you don't mind that I made myself comfortable in your absence." Tass growled, "You really must allow me to make you dinner sometime, you wife has enjoyed several meals with me. She wasn't very receptive at first but it's amazing what you'll eat if you become hungry enough, she held out for quite a while actually. You are a lucky beast, she really is quite beautiful. I was waiting for you to return before I expressed that to her though, I wasn't sure if you'd hear the screams from another world. Across this one you should be able to though." it turned to Alais, "But you have another elf woman here who should be able to keep you sated. Just imagine the things I'm doing to your friend and just know that I'll be thinking of you. It's been a long time mage, soon we'll be together for a long time" Without warning, Jacob raised his shotgun and fired into the figure to no effect. "Ahh and the Guardians." The figured turned it's gaze to Sai Jon, "You might want to keep your pet on a leash, though considering your past maybe you're the rabid one. Yes I know of you and I have a friend who is just dying to taste your blood as it drains from your veins. Come and get me, we're waiting for you." And the mist evaporated.

"Malchor I presume?" Saltera asked without really needing an answer.

Saltera looked to Sai Jon, this Malchor seemed to be familiar to Alais and him and Saltera could guess how. "Milady, I can help. I'm familiar with several banishment rituals and have performed them numerous times." He paused before adding, "Tobias is also proficient." Saltera knew that Sai Jon would be staring daggers at him for that last bit but he kept his eyes on Alais, "We can aid you." He waited for Alias' response. It was a suicide mission, she had said as much, but he knew this might be this worlds only hope so he prayed Sai Jon would stay quiet. Finally Saltera glanced at Sai Jon. His eyes had turned black and his jaw was clenched but he said nothing and stared at the wall waiting. Several of the dragons were watching him warily. Saltera wondered again what the strange curse had done to his brother.

Saltera spoke up, telling me that both he and Tobias would be proficient, but proficient wasn't what I needed. I needed a mage with strong skills, strong enough to be the anchor for the banishing I would do. I needed someone who could learn Annaran spells quickly. Besides, while I know Saltera would stand at my side for the dangers here, it was he and Tobias and Jacob that were part of Sai Jon's contingent and knew more about fighting and how to hit them hard with those odd looking cylinders.

"Saltera, I appreciate your offer, but will you not be needed more to use those?" pointing at the cylinders. I could not look Saltera in the eyes for that final casting and fade from his sight knowing he would be blown to bits by those cylinders because he couldn't get a safe distance away.

Tass spoke up then, confirming my suspicion that his friends were more needed elsewhere. He re-directed them toward seeking his daughter. I would not want to be responsible for their deaths. We may all die, but we all chose to be here.

Tass' next words stopped my world, "If my understanding is correct, I will not allow another to sacrifice themselves for this place. I will be your anchor. I will be death."

I cannot allow Tass to stand in my old place and not be able to escape Sai Jon's tools. Tass was needed to direct the defense of the Emerald Isles. "Nay Tass. You are needed here. You ARE the isles, and the odds for what I propose will not be for you. It must be another, a volunteer that understands the risks."

I leveled argentine eyes on my old friend. "Another Tass, not you."

"I have become Death"

Those words repeated themselves in my mind as Sai Jon offered Saltera as my anchor. Didn't they understand? Whomever stood opposite me for this would never escape the explosion.

Ozy blinked as Sai Jon told Tass that he was needed for his people. "Lord Momus, the successful outcome of this conflict would be enhanced if you were to remain alive to lead your forces. The probability of escaping the explosive power of the devices here are less than 1:11,465,019"

I shot Ozy a silencing glare. The last thing I want is for him to point out the probability of mortality for this diversion.

As I listened to Tass and Sai Jon's arguments, Ozy was busy doing timing calculations. No one had argued the logic of my diversion and plan to get the hordes to swarm. Good. If we can lure them into amassing to attempt to take us out while we seek to banish the Annarans, the loss of 2 would be worth it.

One Annaran remained behind the first time, and with that Annaran remained Daemonbane and the books. Would this time be different? If no Annaran's remained behind, would those last items finally be removed? Could I finally destroy Daemonbane? The prospect has made me realize that I must finally take up that accursed blade. Wield it as Morrin had.

I wonder if Khirsah had seen this moment of realization.

I wonder.

I simply shook my head. Ozy had given them the rational odds of ''success'', and none of them had missed that. Saltera stated that he did understand, and wanted to know how long I needed, and what was needed from him. "Saltera, how are you at learning new languages? These spells will have to be said simultaneously, and we will not be close enough to hear one another. It is crucial we be in absolute sync when we cast these."

I whispered in Annaran, summoning the first two books to me from Matlal. They had been left undisturbed where I''d put them for safe keeping. My eyes met and held Saltera''s before I handed him the two books. The first book was bound in fine leather, the texture was ultra smooth, with very fine texture that did not resemble any animal but one - human. It was dyed in a rich tan, and had Morrin's sigil blended with Alais'' in bold relief on the cover. This book contains Morrin's spells for mass destruction of life. His most encompassing spells for killing life in more ways than most people could imagine. The spells within covered some of the most gruesome means of killing imaginable, and Alais wondered if the demon would be as sickened as she had been initially. The second book is bound in fine grained plagioclase, a pale stone that binds the pages together. The blended sigil also graces the cover of this book. This one embodies famine, plague, and the destruction of environment. The abilities to take "scorched earth" policies to new levels that may shock even Saltera. This book held the keys to utter and complete annihilation of every living organism, from single proto celled life, to the complex interaction between air and water. It would destroy the land and the environment to the point that it could never, ever support life again. "Saltera, I need you to learn these quickly. You must be able to recite them with the inflection and music of the language, or they will not work for you."

Jacob had started to say something, but Sai Jon had cut him off. Saltera took the two books, and I knew I had to get to Matlal, I needed Daemonbane. I had to find a way into the shrine, because now that I know the image that had been on the foundation stone was not really Daemonbane, and Khirsah had shown me what Tass had done.

Sai Jon was talking about finding the right place to pick the battle ground. I would leave that to him, but before I turned to depart, I interrupted him, "Sai Jon, when you pick that battle ground, please keep in mind that Saltera and I must be surrounding them. One on either side of the host we must be, and on high ground. Other than that, I have no further input into your site selection."

Jacob prepared for his portion, the recon work for which he was so very well suited. And Sai Jon continued his planning. He wanted to get Tass focused on finding his daughter. Tass'' anger at the taking of his wife had blinded the old dragon, and Sai Jon was trying to focus him productively. I wanted to ask Tass for help getting Daemonbane, but everyone filed out to begin their part in the preparations. Sai Jon waited for me, and as I began to leave as well, his voice stopped me in my tracks, "I know you don''t want anyone else to die, but we''ve been at this a long time?sometimes the price is worth it. Saltera won''t let you down."

I turned slowly to face Sai Jon, "It is not Saltera that I worry about letting anyone down Sai Jon. If this goes as it did once before, I will fade off of that hill, leaving Saltera to die in one of your explosions. This will weigh upon me for eternity." Sai Jon had heard Ozy''s calculations. There was no escaping the fact that they would lose their friend and ally. Escape was nearly impossible.

I had to claim Daemonbane, and once that was done, reclaim the third book. Khirsah had said I needed to accept what I am. What I am is eternal damnation for Morrin''s people once again. What I am is worse than death.

"I am become death."

I left the study to walk the halls of Momus Estates. Ozy flew beside me. I should go now to Matlal, and seek entry to the shrine buried deeply in the forest there. Daemonbane must rest there.

The sky overhead was black velvet, and stars too numerous to count glittered down.

"I have become death"

Memories, thoughts, whatever you wish to call them flooded my mind. That day, so cold, standing on the hill opposite Morrin. When every vestige of elven conscience died within me. The sounds of death and dying. The withering of a world into nothingness. I would do it again. I would willingly, knowingly, do it again. Only this time, I too would vanish with the damned.

Part of the Island Tass has given me will vanish. It will simply be as though it had never been there. No history, no hint, no trace. Gone.

Saltera must be completely disgusted by now. The spells I've asked him to learn would nauseate any creature with a soul. It could not be helped. Saltera would be my anchor, and he would die for that action. The spells will die with him.

I sat down on a balcony overlooking the water. I could feel Tass' wards around his estate, and I permitted remorse to intrude. I've no idea how long I'd sat there, but in the blackness I could make out Saltera's figure moving toward me.

"G'e'en Saltera," I would await his pleasure, for I cannot imagine what he must be thinking right now.

Saltera came, I knew he would. It had been several hours since I'd handed him the first two books, and now he approached in the stillness of the night.

He told me he'd memorized them, the cadence, the 'song' of the spells. He'd never felt magic like that, but then, there was only one left who ever had felt magic like that contained in the books.

He was also outraged by what he'd learned. Imagine outraging a demon, though Saltera seems a good and decent sort, the irony of managing to outrage a daemon simply drove home the utter monstrosity of what we'd done. What I would do again. He could not believe that Morrin and I had done each of those spells on our own people, and even now, Saltera cannot imagine doing such again.

Saltera looked at me in that darkness, asking me what would happen to the books when I faded.

I hope, no, I believe that when the last Annaran finally goes, the books as well as Daemonbane will go with me. That is how the spells were originally designed. They should have gone with Morrin. Lord Momus should no longer have to hide them, nor protect them if everything goes as planned.

He asked me about the curse Daemonbane had left inside of Tass, which now is carried by Sai Jon. I tried to call it back, but it is changed into something no longer purely Annaran. It is not mine to command any more. It would be up to Tass and Sai Jon how to rid Sai Jon of the modified curse. However, it was working on Sai Jon, changing him. I could see it day by day. There is a dragon influence at work. Altering, changing Sai Jon slowly. If my sight is correct, he will have centuries to figure out how to deal with the curse.

Saltera continued to press me about Sai Jon. My vague answers not enough for the tenacious demon. "He'll be changing Saltera. Changing into something you may not expect."

He asked if Sai Jon would become a demon, but that is not to be Sai Jon's fate.

Saltera admitted that he saw something that frightened him in Sai Jon's eyes, and so I asked him if he feared Dragons.

"Not really, I respect their power, but I've faced them and defeated them before."

He asked if Sai Jon's mind would be affected. No doubt it will be, but I cannot see that eventual outcome.

He changed the subject, "I know I will not survive this, will you?"

I couldn't help but look away sharply. That question is the most terrible I will not tell him what is to happen next for me, for I fear they would not allow me to continue if they knew. Saltera will know soon enough, when the Third is regained, part of what he and I will condemn me to will be shown. He told me he needed to know if Sai Jon would be alone to deal with the curse and the changes. I looked at him finally and told him a part of what would happen; that I will be bound to hell for eternity. I cannot bring myself to tell him all.

"He'll not be alone Saltera. He'll have Lord Momus, and Jacob, and his son Tobias." I tried to console him. And then, mostly to myself, "and I shall have Morrin for eternal companionship." But, our binding will be much different from the Annarans. Our binding will be eternal tying to the very roots of Hell. Our binding is what will keep the Annaran's from moving out once more. Our binding will be beneath the crushing weight of Hell, cognizant of all, yet unable to move, to breathe, to see. Locked for all time in that state.

Saltera spoke again, pulling me to the present. Telling me that he felt as though Jacob and Tobias are as wee children, and that he did not trust Lord Momus and his intentions.

Saltera has not spend much time with the dragons. He believed Tass would sacrifice his world for his wife. I know better, but Tass has compassion and feelings. His love is without limit, and equally, his rage is without limit. He WILL kill Malchor for this. He will save his people, but Tass' emotions will complicate things and will not always be the most logical to the rest of us.

Khirsah on the other hand is all logic. All reason, cold and harsh reality. I have never seen nor felt emotional intervention in Khirsah.

I looked at Saltera, "you have not reckoned with Khirsah yet."

Saltera didn''t know who Khirsah was, and so I set about telling him of Tass'' elder brother. The First dragon.

Saltera couldn''t understand why Khirsah was not here, why he remained in the Primordial Darkness with the Third. His questions flew, "will he surrender it? Why does he not aid us?"

Those are questions I have asked for some time myself, but I needed to re-assure Saltera, and so I told him what Khirsah had told me. The Third would come at my summons once I had accepted what I was. And as for his giving us aid ? he would come when the time was right. I cannot explain Khirsah''s reasoning, I can only trust him and his word.

Saltera''s voice dripped sarcasm, "so while he sits and waits for his own time, his people are dying, and my family may die because he wishes to play scholar?"

I sighed inwardly, Saltera''s words are too close to my own initial feelings. "Dragons are not people Saltera. Lord Khirsah will come when it is the right time." Dragons reckon things in time spans even elves do not consider. Our views of right and wrong pale in the light of their longevity.

I believe that with every bit of my heart and soul. Saltera''s faith is not as strong as my own, but I cannot blame him, he feels the same way I did. His words were bitter as he told me that perhaps it was a good thing that he would not live to see his brother become a dragon.

As he turned to leave, he told me he''d be in his rooms when I had convinced ''the powers that be to get off their asses and provide the book." I wish it were that simple, but Khirsah had shown me it was the book that needed to be convinced.

I called out to him, "Saltera?"

He turned back toward me, and I asked a favor of him. He would not give me his word until he heard my request, and there was a bitterness in him that I would give much to repair. "Please take Ozymandias into your care, and that of your family. He''ll be alone when I am gone." Ozy had been through the loss of his creator, and lost his homeworld, and now I would leave him. It was my responsibility to find a good caretaker for the loyal automaton.

Saltera then promised to advise his family for in all probability he too would be gone.

He gave me a last beseeching look, "is there any other way to do this? A way in which you do not have to give your life?"

I truly wish another way could be found. I''ve thought and thought, but this is the only way for me to force the Annarans out of this war, and back to their consigned place. I cannot imagine using these spells twice, but here I am preparing to do just that. Then Saltera surprised me, "I don''t know if it is reciprocated, but I count you as a friend. I don''t like to lose friends. I don''t have many to lose? you will be missed."

Saltera the Demon from Tharkold is a finer friend than many a human or elf I''ve known in my lifetime. It should have felt odd to say such to a daemon, and yet, my words came straight from my heart, I do consider Saltera my friend.

After Saltera left, I sat alone with my thoughts, the resolve I would need to reclaim the Third. Short of complete acceptance, according to Khirah, I could not claim it.

As dawn began to turn the black to grey, I summoned the Third once more. It was time.

The Annaran summons reached across space and time. I put out my hand as the spell concluded, and there rested that third and final book. Damnation would be complete.

Closing both hands around it, I sat down to re-read the single triad of spells within. There is a new flow to the sorcery within these pages. Nuances I''d not heard and felt all those years ago. New secrets revealed as I studied the pages. New terrors added to the old.

The sun rose behind a murky layer of clouds. The day was starting out as it had that fateful day Morrin and I stood on opposite hills, but there would be no snow or hoar frost. Only rain and dampness.

I headed for Saltera''s room, knocking lightly. It was time to give the demon a book even he would find astonishing after all he''s seen.

I had intruded upon Saltera's prayers to bring him a book of blasphemy and nightmares. It was very difficult for me to hand over that innocuous looking book. He will think me a complete monster after he sees those spells. Yet, there is no alternative. None. And I accept that fact.

Saltera told me to let him be the judge of what is monsterous, that only a monster does not regret its actions.

I handed Saltera the book. It sucked all light into it, and reflected none as we stood there in the early morning. We had to change only one thing, where the spell called out for the Annaran's, we were now calling to the 'nathan-Annarim', the undead Annarans must be called this time.

It was time for me to go to Matlal. I suspect Daemonbane resides within that shrine that Garl and I had discovered at the same time Tass had gone missing.

I told Saltera where I was going, fully expecting to go alone, but he went for his sword, and announced that if I was going for my sword, he would probably want his as well. He intended to join me. I reminded him that Matlal has the largest number of invaders, and he still insisted on joining me.

Summoning my staff, I bade him take a hold of it firmly for the transport to Matlal. We dissipated from his room, to coalesce not far from the shrine. We'd probably tripped warning wards, but that could not be helped. The shrine was surrounded by an old growth virgin forest, but was now standing alone in an island of green amidst a dead landscape. The forest had been burned, and now was a grotesque parody of what were once majestic trees with lives and voices of their own. Now silenced forever.

The shrine stood untouched though. Unseared by fire or other dessecrations. There were no windows, and no doors visible, as before.

Saltera looked around, "inside I presume?"

Nodding, I studied the shrine, "I do suspect, yes, but the last time Garl and I were here, we could not find a way into the building. Come, the wards are done with the blood of a dead dragon. Tass made them to last, and to hold whatever is within. These wards cannot be turned since the dragon whose blood was used is not alive to influence."

I was testing the wards as I spoke to Saltera. He wondered if I could sense Demon's Bane, but through the protection wards, I could not. this was a construct unlike any I'd ever seen previously. I told Saltera that while I could not feel the blade within, I was reasonably certain it was there. The shrine had not been on Matlal when I'd come here, it had appeared at the same time Tass had gone missing. It was too much of a coincidence.

Saltera suddenly perked up, "is this the source of the curse?"

"Yes, if indeed it is within that shrine," I continued to walk around the shrine.

"And it's protected with blood magic?" Saltera was clearly following a lead now, and I nodded affirmatively. "I never told you about my magic - the magic of my people doesn't come from land or ether - it comes from blood and pain."

I paused, turning to study him a moment. He slowly drew his sword across the top of his arm, cutting himself open, and I winces as his blood dripped down his arm onto the sword blade he held. At that moment, the sound of rustling reached my ears. I do not know if Saltera heard it, but our time was running out.

He began a chant in a grating, ugly language, one I can only assume must be from his demonic heritage, and he raised the sword toward the shrine. The blood dripped down the blade, and then sideways toward the shrine. It hit something and rolled along an invisible barrier. Saltera opened his eyes, and they glowed red, like the pitts of Hell as he said, "The way is barred without the key. I can't find the key, it..."

He never got to finish as a blast from the shrine threw him forcefully back and to the ground. Hurrying to his side, I asked if he was alright before offering him a hand up. The blast from the shrine was more than either of us expected.

I mused thoughtfully, "Tass did set this up to last a very long time, and to keep everyone out it seems".

Saltera growled, his eyes still glowing red, "well, that won't help us now since he's not around to ask him where he put the doormat."

I reached out once more to touch the wards, seeking the music, the structure of the ward, and then it hit me. The music was ancient, the language of the Third! I looked at Saltera abruptly, "the book!"

The words flowed, the feel of the wards all sang the same as the new voice of the Third. Annaran is an all but dead language, but Khirsah has had the Third for months. Khirsah has studied everything the Third could teach him, and Tass and Khirsah usually have a connection that shares what each one knows or discovers. Could Khirsah have lent Tass the old Annaran language to create the ward? The language that one day evolved into the Annaran I speak?

Saltera handed me the book, and at once the song from the book was harmony to the shrine's wards! On the seventh page, a new spell shimmered where none had been previously. The fine lettering done in a beautiful flowing script, and appeared to be written in dragon's blood, just as the ward was wrought. I looked at Saltera and told him to step away from the ward, and I began the spell now written in the Third.

Stabbing the point of the Rouwanwood staff into the blood ward as I sang the spell, my words rippled softly in the grey light as the spell faded into silence. Only that ominous snapping of feet in the debris around the shrine could be heard. Louder now, clearly approaching.

But, the walls of the shrine rippled and went translucent. What had been solid and impenetrable was now a fog to easily walk through, and there in the center, laying upon a trilithon was the great black blade. It's song luring me into the mist, calling to me with the promises it had made to generations of Annaran Kings! I should have realized the blade that had lain upon my foundations stone was not Daemonbane. It's song is never silent.

I gave Saltera one last look before taking my staff and crossing the complex wards wrought by Tass, and from the feel, one other. Old memories stirred. Tass and Rhaine were mutually antagonistic, why would he have brought her here for this? Another question for another time.

The blade writhed upon the trilithon. It beckoned.

The walls behind and around me went solid as I crossed through them. I was alone beside the huge broadsword. It was a full meter and a half long. It was a blade meant for a conquering warrior king. this was no ceremonial saber or dueling foil. This was a blade meant for use in conquest.

But I have accepted what I am. and what I am is the sorcerer who will once again banish the evilness that has ruined an entire race of people. I am the last Annaran. It is my responsibility. With that last thought, I curled my fingers around the hilt of Daemonbane. Elven hands curled resolutely around the well worn leather wrapped hilt. I was instantly drawn into the sentient blade's power.

The room became the fiery pitt of hell itself. The core of a volcano, searing heat, and the wail of the damned flooded me. I couldn't breathe. Agony washed through me. I had to get out! Everything glowed a surrealistic red, as though everything were molten. Still Daemonbane sought to pull me deeper into the maelstrom. I tried to let go of the blade, but I could not. It now has a hold on me, and it is not about to release me. It has been untouched for nearly a generation of humans. It thirsts. It hungers. It demands!

I do not remember where the words came from first, but I recall the soft chanting of a male voice. Daemonbane's demands eased, and I learned the lyrical chant quickly. The blade obeyed. Settling into a companionship rather than a dominance.

It was time to go. Get back to Saltera and get out of here before our unwanted guests arrived.

I do not know how long I was inside, but I hefted the black blade and scabbard over my shoulder, settling the blade down my back. My staff leaned against the trilithon and I gave the shrine a long last look before whispering, "thank you Tass." Turning on my heels, I began the spell from the 7th page once more, and the walls shimmered translucent once more.

The sight that greeted me was one of chaos, blood, and death. Saltera was engaged with a demon, who was gripping Saltera's throat one minute, the next Saltera became what his heritage makes him - a DEMON! He kicked out, stunning his attacker before sliding his sword free from a whip wielded by the other demon, and in the process, he had severed the thing's arm. His free hand grabbed the things head, and Saltera wrenched back, baring it's throat, and what followed stopped me in my tracks. Saltera sank his teeth into the creature's throat.

Blood sprayed all over Saltera and his sword. Daemonbane writhed, feeling the blood letting, feeling the presence of daemons. I fought to maintain control of Daemonbane as a harsh cry ripped from Saltera's throat as he charged two more approaching demons.

Immediately I summoned the ley line power to my staff, and the Annaran words sang from my lips as a sizzling bolt of lightening ripped into the second demon attacking Saltera.

It was past time to go. We'd made enough noice to garner Malchor's attention.

Saltera turned toward me after finishing off the demon he was engaged with, his face and body covered in blood presented a horrific visage. I could not stop the shudder that rippled through me. His voice was a near growl as he said, "we all have monsters inside. Mine is just a bit more obvious."

His methods were perhaps more bloody than mine, but the end result remains the same.

He sniffed the air, "we need to leave quickly unless you really want to deal with a whole army of these things."

I could hear the tramping of feet advancing through the ruined forest just outside the ring we were in. Ozymandias flew out of the tree line, "Lady Alais, there are 136 advancing on your present location. They are fanning out to cut off your most probable escape routes. They are currently covering an arc of approximately 187 degrees. If they surround this location, at their current attack formation, they will have 1 demon or undead every 2.6 degrees."

I looked at Saltera, "We do need to go, but I want a look at those holding pens Ozy told us about. Come, take hold of the staff. I've no wish to wait around for them."

I held up my arm for Ozy to perch upon as we dissipated from the area of the shrine. Daemonbane writhed violently as Saltera approached, and whether it was the fact that Saltera is a demon, or all of the blood covering him, I cannot say.

We coalesced about a hundred meters from one of the holding pens on Matlal, behind a small escarpment. There appeared to be about 150 or so dragons here in filthy pens. Their wardens were a grotesque group of demons from a region of the Hells that I could not begin to guess at. They had one dragon, a red, separated from the group, and their sport with her was vile. I looked away, bile rising in my throat. If I interfered, we'd draw attention that Ozy, Saltera and I were not prepared to deal with, and yet, how could I leave them to their sport?? My conscience warred with my reason as I turned to Saltera, "Stay here, we'll be right back, but be ready to grab the staff, we'll be leaving in a hurry."

Ozy and I moved toward the jailers behind a cloaked fa?ade. Ozy produced one of the laser weapons Uly had used, and I aimed for the biggest jailer. As I fired, the spell ended, and Ozy and I became instantly visible, but the blue laser beam hit it's mark, freezing and then shattering the demon. I took quick aim at a second, but my shot went wide, and it was past time to go.

As I turned back to race to where I'd left Saltera, I almost ran into him. "Come on, we're going!"

He growled and grabbed the staff, Annaran words uttered hastily sent us into a silvered mist just as a group of demons reached us.

Well, I''d gotten their attention. Not that that was a good thing.

Running into Saltera wasn''t a good thing, but I wasn''t expecting the daemon to be where he was.

We dissolved as our pursuers reached the rock escarpment.

"Filthy, vile wretches!" I was cursing in Annaran as we reformed in a small hollow where I''d stored the first two books. The chamber had been undisturbed and the two books sang to me as Ozy, Saltera and I arrived. The volcanic nature of the island was in full display here. The mineralogy of this hot spot was stunning. The creation of this room had resulted in some extraordinary new minerals growing into their crystalline forms to fill in the space I''d created deep within the heart of the mountain. If I had not set wards, sooner or later, these crystals would fill in my space here with their glistening, faceted surfaces.

I was muttering mostly to myself as Ozy began translating for Saltera, who had already gained more of a working knowledge of the dead language than any other living being. I had lapsed from common into Annaran as I perused the minerals I now found in the chamber. Growing, almost a living creation were these crystals. They resonated each at their own frequency, and the song from the books whispered through the crystalline room.

The first thing to attract my attention were the staurolite crosses, which would be useful against the demons. They are commonly called ''fairy crosses'', the old legends have fallen into the mists of memory. I remember.

Staurolite has been created by the deep places, forged twice in the fires of creation, and here were the pleochroic forms in golden hues. Mostly the twinned crystals are of the {231} axis crosses, but there are the more rare {031} form visible. If you asked today''s society about staurolite, they would likely tell you that it is simply a metamorphic rock of iron, aluminum and oxygen that has been compressed under great temperature and pressue with additional silicon and oxygen.

But they forget.

In ages long gone, the magic of the land was known to be focused by certain forms, and a sorcerer who knew the features of each crystal could command unexpected power. This knowledge has been kept by the Tuatha de Danaan. This knowledge I will use with darker purposes than my forebearers, but our need is dire.

I set Ozy seeking two of the most perfect of the pleochroic interpenetrating twins of Staurolite, with both forms, the {231} and the more rare {031}. Ozy''s ability to analyze purity and dimensions lend him to that task.

Next I began looking for the best Cerussite matrices. It is the twinning property of this lead mineral that causes it to be the most perfect of soul traps. The luster is adamantine, and the crystals are translucent in the purest forms. It is the cyclic twin of the {110} form that I seek.

Many believe diamonds are the finest soul traps, yet the wisdom of old has shown the Cerussite to be superior for the already dead. Their souls already missing in many cases, a different trap is needed, and Cerussite is unsurpassed if you know how to prepare them.

Finally, before we leave to go see how my home if fairing, we need to find one last crystal form.

Beryl. By modern definitions, Beryl is a cyclosilicate with six rings; the most complex crystal of Beryllium, Aluminum, Silica and oxygen. Be3Al2Si6O18 We are seeking large crystals of the {1010} form rather than the {0001} form. It is the dark green crystals most prized at the moment. The unique property of the beryl is the tubular channels created by the molecular structure, and when Lithium substitutes for the Aluminum, the charge imbalance seeks to be satisfied by Sodium, Potassium, or Cesium. It is this chemistry that allows the beryl to be such a formidable means of draining life and energy for what living creature can survive without sodium or potassium in their bodies?

The effects of Beryl had been known for centuries, but from my connection with Rhaine, I have gained an understanding of how the system accomplishes the end result. I can ''see'' the molecular sized hollow tubes formed by the six ring matrix. I can understand and picture the substitution that has to take place to make the whole thing seek the life chemicals to the point of destruction of that life. The clarity was startling.

It was time to go. The crystals were safely wrapped for later, and I set the two books once more upon the pedestals. I pray that when I go, they will be compelled to follow me. The Third I handed back to Saltera. "We need to see how bad it is Saltera, shall we go have a look at the house?"

The pure malice in Malchor's voice chilled him. It had been a long time since he had stood against a High Lord and he was not looking forward to a repeat performance. He silently placed the womans unconscious form in Tobias' arms and turned towards Malchor. "I'm sure your hospitality is quite impressive but we have a prior engagement so we'll just have to take a rain check." Sai Jon snarled as his hands inched towards his pistols slowly.

"We have seen your kind on a hundred worlds guardian. You shall not stand between us and the power this world holds. You and your kind shall die and we shall drink your blood to toast the destruction of everything you hold dear."

"Yeah, that's why you've been trapped in hell for four hundred years. Oh and your friend...I've met his kind before on a dozen worlds and the people that they tried to set up as gods died just as easily as you will."

"We survived our setbacks and now we are powerful, more powerful than you can imagine. We will destroy..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those pesky kids right?" Malchor stopped and an almost comical look of confusion crossed his face, "Wait. A five hundred year old undead warrior and a aeons old king maker and neither of you has ever seen Scooby Doo. Damn." Sai Jon held out his hands as if trying to calm Malchor down, "Now I'm only saying this for your own good...you need to get out more!"

"ENOUGH!" Malchor roared.

"Maybe a shower and some breath mints first though cause you are pretty rank." Sai Jon continued. Malchor's face turned a disturbing shade of red and he leaped forward swinging his axe wildly. Sai Jon jumped back out of the way as the axe bit into the blackened stonework of the giant table that dominated the hall and pulled out his pistols catching Malchor in the chest with twin blasts of light. "RUN!" Sai Jon screamed at Tobias as he barely dodged the back swing of the enraged warrior. Tobias had looked down at the woman in his arms and back up at Sai Jon, the indecision on his face was obvious. Sai Jon rolled back over the table as Malchor's axe swept through the space where his legs had just been. "I said run kid. Get her safe. I'll make sure this piece of rotting flesh gets back to where he belongs." Tobias hesitated for only a moment more and then ran for the door carrying the woman carefully.

"You know I'll just track them down and kill them both once I've finished with you guardian. Their death's will become the thing of legends among my horde." Malchor hissed.

"Yeah but first you have to kill me." Sai Jon said with a grin as he hopped down on the opposite side of the table from Malchor.

"Not necessarily." Malchor smiled and nodded. Arms wrapped around Sai Jon and held him tightly squeezing the breath from him. "You've met my faithful man servant Giles haven't you?"

"Giles?" Sai Jon asked uncertainly.

"Yes sir. I'm afraid that I'll have to detain you sir." Giles said as Sai jon struggled against him.

"But why?" Sai Jon asked bewildered.

Malchor's grin grew to Jokeresque proportions, "Oh don't blame your friend. You see I have always had a taste for souls and dragon souls are oh so tasty. In fact that's why I created this." He pulled a dark purple stone from the front of his armor. It hung from his neck on a thin gold chain and seemed eat the light around it as he spun it playfully. "I've collected many souls since I came to this world, and now their owners serve me. Much as you will soon. You see once I've taken your soul guardian, you will fetch the boy and and the elf and then we will dine together. I don't care for...what did you call it...oh yes, rain checks."

Sai Jon tried briefly to escape Giles' iron grip as his mind raced but he couldn't break free.

Not again...

Sai Jon felt a pulling, a tearing deep inside of him. Malchor stood before him with a malicious grin that promised torments to last eons. "I will have your soul as a plaything guardian. I will drink toasts with the blood of your friends to the destruction of this world and then I have been promised worlds beyond this. You will come with me and serve me. Do you like that idea?" Sai Jon spit in Malchors face but Malchor simply wiped the spittle from his face and laughed, "I'll consider that a no. Too bad you have no say in the matter."

Sai Jon could feel his will slowly leaking away and he ceased struggling against Giles' enfolding arms. His head drooped while inside he was screaming in defiance. He couldn't survive an invasion like this again.

"Give it all to me guardian. Give me your essence, your spirit. You have no choice." Malchor laughed coldly.

Sai Jon searched himself for something to stop the process then he realized. There was one thing inside him that he would gladly release to the monster before him. Sai Jon slowly raised his head and Malchor took an involuntary step backwards when he saw the change in his preys eyes. They had turned completely black. Sai Jon's arm wrenched free of Giles suddenly and grabbed the gem in Malchors hand holding it tight to his own face so Malchor couldn't pull back. "You want what's inside of me? May it damn you too." Without quite knowing what he was doing Sai Jon pushed the essence of the curse he had pulled from Tass into the gem. Power raged through him hungrily flowing into the gem in a torrent of filth.

Malchor tried to pull away from Sai Jon but he was held fast. He watched in confusion as the skin on Sai Jon's face and arms slowy darkened and turned black and the scarred skin turned scaly. Suddenly Sai Jon released him and he stumbled back into the stone table but he could still feel the ravenous power pouring into the gem. He couldn't stop it. He turned and threw the stone away from him just in time as it exploded in a rainbow of sparks and flame. Malchor felt his control over those enslaved by the stone slip away from him and he turned and ran from the thing growing behind him.

Chaos burst through the front entry of what had once been the graceful arches of entry to my unfinished home. First the muffled explosion, and then the fleeing figure of Tobias, followed shortly by Malchor and some of his cronies. Seconds later, the unmistakable roar of a seriously enraged dragon echoed from the structure.

The ground shook as stone exploded into rubble as a great black dragon erupted into view, closely followed by 2 others. A silver that now looked more like a dracolich grabbed a fleeing demon and tore it in two.

I threw up a wall between Tobias and Malchor, but Malchor was not intent upon chasing the boy down. I sent Ozymandias to bring the lad to where Saltera and I stood watching.

The muffled explosion had reverberated through my Annaran link before vanishing. Whatever had been going on, was now over and I was left watching in horrified fascination as the great black dragon turned our direction. There was no mistaking Sai Jon. Even now, with ebony scales covering his body, his implants were unmistakable.

"Sae, th' transformation ist nae complete." My voice was soft, perhaps Saltera heard, perhaps not, but now the demon knew what changes have come upon the man he calls 'brother.'

The dracolich silver moved in our direction, and as he neared, the ruined features resolved into a familiar visage. Garl!

Picking up my staff, I raced with elven lightness and speed across the debris strewn ground toward my old friend and almost constant companion since my arrival in the Emerald Isle's. A prayer ripping through my mind as I closed the distance between us. "Goddess, grant me the power to undo this!"

He shifted into his humanoid form as I reached him. The once elegant and handsome creature was now a ruin. One arm was broken, hanging uselessly at his side. Malchor's sorcery was partially gone, and now the ravages of combat before the conversion returned.

I reached up slowly to trace a long gash across Garl's cheek. No words needed to be spoken. We needed to rejoin Saltera, Tobias and Ozy before Malchor returned with reinforcements. While Sai Jon may have startled the Annaran General, he would not vanish and leave now. He would return. We needed to return to Tass' refuge on Odhran, but that instant seemed frozen in time, Garl's return to us would mean the Silvers would no longer need me, and I could go at last. Do that which has to be done once more.

Saltera had seen what would become of Sai Jon before his demise, and I had seen Garl's return once more as the leader of the Silvers.

He had left the problems of the war to the hands of the generals. He, a general himself, had left the defenses of the Manor to the Silvers. They, of all the dragons that survived the initial attack, were the most in number. This was due to the fact that they were in and around the manor at that time. It was fortune, if one could call it such, that they were. It, too, was also their curse.

They had been there when his wife was taken, and his daughter went missing.

His rage was better placed at others at the moment. He turned his focus, honing his rage into a thin line. It was time to find his daughter.

She had learned well through her studies. The Elder had taught her well. She had masked her signature and had completely removed all traces of her tracks from those that would think to find her. All save one. He knew his daughter. He, too, had a hand in her learning. And though, even if she was not his biological father, the link he had forged with her was one which would never be broken. He was her father. He would find her.

It was this link that he turned his mind to.

Quietly, he sat in his office, locked off and away from the rest of the manor. Carefully, methodically, he combed the isle of Odhran, searching for a trace of his daughter. Each night, thus far, had proved useless. He knew she had learned well, but it was a tribute to the Elder, as well as himself, how well she had covered her tracks. It would prove to save her if word were to reach Malchor, and this Ashen.

There were nights that he needed to relax, but there was never a relaxing moment. In the times which he sent his image to the city-proper, he kept searching for her, thinking that she would take refuge there, or at least seek out the duels which she had always done. But to no avail.

There had, however, been Byz. She was one who he knew he had to look out for. His words had been harsh, but they were necessary. She was, if all went wrong, the last remaining dragon of his kind. She would be, if all life failed here in the Isles, the mother of his race. He could not afford to let her back into the Isles until all was safe. She was still young, but she would learn. He had faith in his kind and their thirst for knowledge. She would understand?eventually.

He shook his head and set it back on to the path of finding his daughter. He could not allow his thoughts to wonder as they had. He had need to concentrate totally on the lore which he manipulated now.

Hours passed, and yet he still found nothing. He could not help but chuckle. Had it been the Elder sitting here doing this, the office would have been torn asunder. The Elder had little patience for things such as this. But then, the Elder had changed. He had grown? If he so wished, the Elder could challenge him on equal footing. No? The Elder would not do that. He did not know how, but he knew that the Elder would not.

Again, he growled and shook his head, finding his mind wandering to other matters. He forced his mind to the task at hand once more.

Another eternity of hours passed. He had come to the last area of the Isle of Odhran. If she was not here, he would proceed on to the other Isle''s. He would do what he must to find his daughter.

Grain by grain, he sifted through each atom that his mind touched. Then the world stopped. He could tell that there was something there, something close to where his mind was? something, familiar.

Then the image, the information, the trail shattered as the door to his office was kicked open. He closed his eyes, and took control of the rage that had exploded within him. It was too readily available as of late. When he opened his eyes, the rage evident within, he set his gaze on Giles, Alais, and Saltera, who had a bundle wrapped in his arms.

A million memory fragments raced through my mind.

Tass' rage was thinly leashed as we faced him in his library. I had never told Tass about Annara. Never shared the details of why Morrin had done what he had, and why I had agreed to help him. Had he known, I am certain that rage would not be leashed even slightly now that we had Spike retrieved from one of the worst monsters ever to come from Annara.

I stepped back from the group. There was much to do before we could hope to use those Morrin's work, and the pain I would see in Tass' features was not something I wanted to witness. I knew what he would find in Spike's eyes.

Another step back.

Perhaps that he does not know is a blessing. His hope will not be tested as strongly as it would be had he known.

Another step back... the door stood ajar.

I left Odhran behind, coalescing upon the black sand of Matlal. A place I had begun to think of as home.

The surf crept lazily back and forth across the sand with a soft whoosh as I took a moment to stare up the mountain to where the abomination to my construction now stood. The graceful elven curves, the fluid stone carved with such care to look so much like my homeland was now turned into something grotesque and twisted. Malchor had destroyed even that last project I would undertake.

I knelt down, taking a handful of the black sand. Curling my fingers around it, this was the place I had stood when I tried to reach out to Khirsah. It was here I had touched primordial darkness not once, but twice. I slid the handful of sand into my robes. I would have a rememberance of my time with the dragons in this mystical place.

The sounds of reorganization drifted down to me. They could not see me here in the darkness, alone on the sand. Good, they were forming up after the attack by the blacks. Sai Jon had left us to harass and harangue, and I can only guess how much success he may have had.

I moved across the sand in silence, heading for the small cliff that rose above me. From there, it should have been the lush green grass of the Emerald Islands, but was now nothing but charred and blackened waste land. With a soft whisper, I pulled the blackness around me before moving onto that open ground between myself and the pile of obscene rock that Malchor had twisted and defiled.

The corner stone where Daemonbane had once rested remained and I paused, standing upon the now empty surface, cloaked in darkness to listen.

Groups of undead, demons and other fell creatures moved in groups over my island. Their filth and destruction have turned my once beautiful home into chaos and ruin. The island, even by the faint light of the waning crescent could no longer be called beautiful. A part of me bleeds for this land and what it has suffered. My instincts scream for me to do something to relieve the suffering I feel in the ground beneath my feet, but that must wait for others. My resources must be used for other purposes, and yet....

Movement behind me, and a low voice nearly had me jumping from my skin! "You shouldn't be out here alone."

I whirled around, pulling an Annaran dagger from my sleeve at the too close voice. Saltera's cloaked form resolved before I struck, but where I would have reflexively struck for a throat, would have reached only to his chest. "Saltera, forsooth ye didst giff me a fright!" My own words were a harsh whisper.

I turned and pointed toward the growing numbers gathering upon the mountainside. "This ist good fer us Saltera. Th' gatherin' o' th' 'ordes. 't wilst make our job tha' much easier." A pang of guilt stabbed at my heart, knowing that Saltera was not going to get clear of the area before Sai Jon and Tobias would drop their cannisters on the remaining hordes. He couldn't get clear. The spells we would use to send the Annaran's back would drain him, leaving very little for him to use to displace to safety. I know. I was once the very same anchor.

A small group of Annarans headed toward where Saltera and I stood cloaked in darkness. They spoke in Annaran, and their words chilled me. Malchor was rising fast in the ranks, and soon there would be confrontation between Malchor and Rael. I had not seen nor heard anything from the General that the Annaran's had spoken so highly of in Riverbend. I had almost forgotten about the one who had promised them this freedom, and that was not a good thing to forget. Malchor was not the original leader, but by deed, he has grown in stature. And that had left Rael to his own devices, unnoticed, and unfollowed by us. The fact that Malchor was growing fast enough to present a challenge the followers knew about presented problems we needed to face as a group.

"Saltera? Prithee, didst ye ken wha' they didst say? Ah thin' ye shouldst giff this information tae Sai Jon 'n Tass, neh?"

I was hoping Saltera would leave me for some time. I have a score to settle before I go.

I turned toward him, the sliver of moonlight reflected off the water, and probably off my eyes. He wanted me to leave, but I've just gotten here.

"Ah've nae intention o' dyin' 'ere Saltera. Bu', Ah've soomethin' tae dae b'fore ye 'n Ah dae our part 'n this thin'."

I summoned my staff into my hands, the white wood shimmering faintly in the darkness.

"Tha' was tae haff been mine 'ome Saltera. 't was tae haff b'coome th' start o' growin' 'n d'velopin' Matlal. 't was Garl's 'ome, 'n th' 'ome o' th' silvers. 't was tae haff been th' start o' great thin's fer th' dragons 'ere.....bu' nae, 't willnae be. Ah've a debt tae settle this night Saltera."

A personal thing that would take stealth and conviction. A strike at these filthy beings that would be remembered by any who might escape and survive the plans Sai Jon has for them.

"We haff need o' findin' Rael. Dae ye thin' ye mayst ge' word tae Sai Jon?"

It would do me no good to vanish from him, his tracking abilities were better than I had expected. Were I to leave him here in the dark, he would follow. He needed to go because he wanted to go, and then I could move.

Daemonbane whispered, and I nodded to the voice of the blade.

Saltera wouldn't leave, and what I had in mind was not something pleasant. The deaths I would have tonight would be ugly.


Malchor had his old cronies with him. The same monstrosities that had been there in Annara at the 'feast' to celebrate their victories. These were souls I would see wiped out forever rather than returned to Riverbend.

I looked across the space that would have been my courtyard long minutes before looking Saltera in the eyes. "Dae ye d'sire tae coome wi' me, Ah cannae stop ye. Yer trackin' o' me usin' mine oon transportation spell was unexpected."


With that, I vanished from sight and re-formed inside the crumbling ruins of my creation. Malchor was not present, but his support leaders were seated around a table in deep discussion.

I coalesced, my staff in hand before addressing them in Annaran. Their shocked expressions told me they'd thought themselves safe, but they were not.'

The spell was one of the cruelest I could devise. They were frozen in their positions, as though a photograph in three dimensions. They could see and hear everything around them, but not interact. They also knew, because I told them, that their suspended animation would end when they were touched. They would disintegrate into dust the moment they were touched by another living thing. Whether it was an insect, or one of their own, it would not matter. They would be reduced to fine debris to blow away on the winds.

I walked among them as I described the effects of this spell. I couldn't look at Saltera. What I was doing was cruel. It wasn't a clean kill.

It was however, better than they deserved. My only sorrow, Malchor was not here to share their fate.

There were 36 monsters lounging in my former home. I reached out and touched Lord Targorrin. There was a shattering of his image before minute particles of him drifted into a pile of dust at my feet.

Without another word, I turned toward Saltera, and as I walked toward him, faded from sight. I did not wish to see his expression.

I left behind the shells of Malchor's cronies, knowing that what I had done was wrong. I should have killed them outright, not tormented them and left them to consider their fates. Daemonbane stirred against my back, "for what they had done, they had not suffered enough," the blade whispered insidiously.

I had toyed with them! Only the Goddess could forgive me for that transgression.

I solidified once again on the beach near a series of deep caverns created when molten rock had run out and left hollow tubes behind. I would spend the night here. Surely Saltera did not expect me to return to Odhran after Tass' clear orders for me to leave. I would ward one of the tunnels, it would suffice.

I heard movement inside the cavern, and I listened, going motionless.

Then a smile lit my features. Garl and 2 other silvers appeared at the tube entrance. I dropped my cloak of darkness and greeted them. Garl had drawn a wicked looking blade, but sheathed it just as quickly. I found myself enveloped in a hug that might have crushed bones. The great dragon was genuinely happy to see me, and we entered the cavern they had been using.

As he reset his wards, Saltera appeared a step behind where I had coalesced. Garl gave very little outward sign of surprise, but Saltera's manner of arrival looked very, very Annaran.

They let him into the cavern, and we sat to discuss what the morrow would bring. Saltera and I would send the Annaran's from the battle field tomorrow at sunrise. We would have to be in place before then. Timing was everything, our words and casting must be in sync, despite the distances being too great to hear or clearly see one another. We had one last run through, without words to make certain we were in concert.

The black sand was warm, and as I curled up in my cloak, I let exhaustion take me into the realm of dreams.

Dark dreams.

Pain and torment.

Memories relived.

Suffering.

Something had touched Annarans, bringing forth the agony of millenia of destruction and havoc.

I woke abruptly, to find Garl had curled up at my back. My friend and protector once more.

Resting my head upon my arm, he shifted to wrap one around my shoulders before sleep came once again.

I stood amidst carnage and destruction. In my hands, I held Daemonbane before me, soaked in blood and ichor. Smoke clouded my vision as a horseman rode at a hard gallop toward me. A great black destrier, with a man dressed in unrelieved black rode the beast hard. Foam dropped from the horses mouth and bit as they halted. The man slid from the war horse, familiar eyes swept over me, coming to rest upon the blade in my hand. He took a step toward me, his hand outstretched....

Garl shook me awake, "we must be going."

They were engaged in discussion regarding why I had come to this place. I might inquire the same of them given the situation in their home islands. Pausing before the image of the one I recognized as the entity that had come to remove Alais from Riverbend, I stated simply that it was his home where my people now resided.

He gave me a stiff bow of acknowledgement. I do suspect it is not something he regularly does. Thus, he knew as well who I was. Good. This would make things more direct and reduce the need for explanations.

There was no point in opening with inane chat, and I told him that his guest did not know of my release. Neither did my people. The fact that my bonds had been broken as well needed to remain unknown until my appearance upon the ridge where Alais would attempt to send them back, and where she expects to join me in my place among the dead in a world she is not fated to join.

The other stood beside the ruler of the invaded lands. His smile was a thin parody of humor as he listened. This one I knew had held my books, I could feel the touch in his presence. This one had taken them to places they never should have gone. This one had made matters worse.

The Lord of the Islands asked me what about Alais. He seemed to understand the meaning of my presence. I would send my people back, and Alais would once more be the anchor to hold what would remain of his land in this place while my entities would be removed. However, she did not need to know this yet. The morning would be soon enough for her to learn that. And, the reason I have come to Rhydin must be seen to conclusion before the morning. My answer was somewhat quixotic, but I did tell him that anchors for my art would not ever be removed. In short, Alais would remain in his world when I was gone.

The other spoke up, informing me that my items were not his to give me, he misunderstood. I was not asking. I was informing. It was courtesy that they know that after tomorrow, the books and the demon blade would be gone if there is any way I can manage it. He was affronted at my announcement, telling me that they were in his care for a time. He knew the books, he knew the contents, and more, but the other did not. At which point he informed me that were it not for his care, they would have done more damage. The reality is that had he not opened the hidden workings of them, the real damage would be lessened. But, he has opened Pandora''s box. Time alone will answer how severe that impact will be.

The other persisted about what brought me to Rhydin. What article of Alais'' did I seek. The article is of greater importance than I care for any to know. Even the recipient has no idea how important this medallion is for both of us. I told him it was a very special medallion, which he had no knowledge and had not ever seen. This is not a surprise. Alais will have stored the medallion as she was told, and now I must only need to retrieve it from her home. There are threads that bind us, and the wards to her home are no hinderance.

The lord of the islands informed me that I could not reach his lands due to the wards I already know are in place. Most entitities could not reach his world, but he forgets, I have no problem arriving through the tear that remains open to Riverbend. Should he close it, he cannot remove the invaders from his land, and so my entrance is not an issue.

The quiet one is wearing black gems that could come from only one place, and as I discussed how I would get the medallion to Alais, I also commented about the danger of the black gems he wears with such recklessness. He courts a danger not even he completely understands.

I left them to retrieve the medallion. Glum''s time at I'' Taurn would serve me well.

I found the house easily. Glum''s influence was at once recognizable, and the medallion formed in my hand at my summons. The wards around the house were good. Designed to keep out anyone, but they did not cover the exodus of any, I will leave Alais with that reminder tomorrow.

The medallion sat warm in my hand. Our blending was now required. Sadly required.

I was pulled from the dream/vision by Garl as I had requested, but his timing to the dream was undesireable. As I prepared for the ritual and casting, I cast a look at Saltera. I needed to tell him. I believe he knows, but I have yet to tell him personally. Those spells will leave him too weak to escape.

I approached him, resolved to tell him not only that he will not likely survive the day, but how much he had come to mean to me.

He knelt at my approach and would not permit me to put into words what must surely have been written upon my face. He handed me a silver cross that he said his mother had carried. It was a touching gesture from a Tharkoldu and friend. I slipped it around my throat before reaching out to touch his face, whispering an elven blessing upon him before laying one of the staurolite crosses into his hand. I gently closed his taloned fingers around it, "'t ist a soul stone Saltera, 'n a part o' ye ist wi'in 't."

It would keep his soul safe from whatever outcome this war would have.

Garl summoned us. We needed to go. I slid onto my old friend's back, just before his wings, and gave a last look at Saltera before we lifted into the crystal clear pre-dawn sky winging toward the far ridge.

Jacob was hiding. Outside on the plain some of the dragons were forming up into flights and others would act as ground forces. Across the valley Malchor had assembled his monstrosity of an army and in mere hours the two forces would crash together. And many of them would die. Jacob hated the hours before battle. They always seemed to both take forever and end far too soon. He was hiding from the moment that he'd have to go out and watch his friends die. Adventures were fun, war sucked.

He'd strapped the bombs to his chest over his bandoliers of shells, he laughed to himself that he was a walking bomb himself. If something got to him before he could drop his charges there wouldn't be enough of him to pick up with a sponge. He wondered if they had sponges on this world, and if they did were they natural sponges or like the green and pink ones Giles used to make him use to clean up the kitchen after midnight snacks. He hoped they were the green and pink ones, the natural ones were always so itchy.

He was pulled out of his reverie as Sai Jon burst through the door, "You ready to go?"

Jacob put on his best 'ready for anything' smile and reveled in the slightly green tinge that came to Jon's face at the sight, "Of course. I am a bit worried about what type of sponges they have on this world though." Sai Jon stared at him as if he'd grown another head. He felt the urge to check his neck quickly just in case but the expression was familiar enough that he figured it would have happened long ago if it was going to. "Never mind. Yeah I'm good to go."

"Ok." Sai Jon drew the word out as he struggled to push the sponge comment from his mind. He just knew that one would be waking him up in a cold sweat for days. "Giles is going with you as escort to make sure nothing stops you from dropping the charges at the right time."

Jacob grinned even wider, defying several laws of nature in the process, "Good deal. He'll know about the sponges for sure."

Sai Jon shook his head. Forget cold sweats, it would be screams. "Go on then. And take care of yourself."

"Hey Jon, look at it this way. I survived your brain, I can survive anything." He slipped past Sai Jon and out of the tent before the comment had even sunk in.

Sai Jon smiled ruefully, "The crazy lizard may have a point."

The medallion was warm as I slipped it over my head, and it lay against my skin as though it belonged there, as if it were a part of me. A calm descended over my thoughts as I turned away from Garl and looked out over the horde of invaders. I did not need to look at where Saltera stood. I knew he was there, I knew he was prepared.

I drove the point of my staff deeply into the ground at my feet as I began the first incantation. The first spell. The one that would slay the dead. The voice of conscience that would have risen in my elven self was silent. There was no remorse this time. Cold purpose drove the casting of the first book''s spells, and there was no doubt, no reluctance, no reservation as the words sang out across the ether to settle into the masses below.

Daemonbane whispered to me from the place it occupied against my back. Coaxing, luring, hoping, it''s voice joined with me as the first book''s spells began to take effect. But I could not watch, there was too much yet to do, and concentration was everything as the power flowed from the ley lines of the island into the staff and was shaped and formed by me before being released into the Annaran''s who had come here with the promise of freedom Rael had given them.

Jake and Giles watched as the advancing army began to falter. It looked like the spells were beginning to work. Jacob scanned the forces and almost fell out of the sky when he saw Malchor's chariot out front of the formation. Tobias was tied down to the front of the chariot with large bone spikes impaling his shoulders. "GILES!" Jacob screamed over the rushing wind, "WE HAVE A PROBLEM." He pointed down towards Malchor.

Giles roared, attracting the attention of several of the low flying demons.

"Don't worry old boy, I've got a plan." Jacob said with a crazy laugh. Giles shot Jacob a look that was so filled with disbelief that it was almost comical. "Come on, I always have great plans. Besides the jello incident was not my fault! Who knew that dread wolves wouldn't like cherry, and besides they were out of the orange flavor. Oh, you might want to watch out." Jacob dropped like a stone towards Malchor as Giles twisted out of the way of an onconing fireball. The demons had come up to meet them.

Giles lashed out with his claws crumpling one of the nearest demons wings and his breath engulfed a second one. He hoped this plan was better than...well every other plan the lizardman had ever come up with. Somehow he had his doubts though.

He felt the shift in the winds as the man stepped through the tear. He knew the time was fast approaching, but the unfamiliar feel of the man''s presence screamed that the time had already come and began.

He shook his head, clearing it from the feeling of time lost. He had spent too long lost within the sights of the ether. He had found his daughter, and had sheltered her signature more than it already was. She was safe.. for now.

He turned his attention once more to Sai Jon. "Tobias has been located." He had felt the cry as it ripped through the winds from the lizard. He knew that the Guardian would know this as well. "We have another issue to face, if there were not enough to deal with already. To this question I give you?" His voice trailed off as he watched his brother. He knew the answer already. "Go to Tobias, brother. Face the one who took him. I shall return Saltera to you. One has returned who should not be, and he will take with him the hoards of the Annarans."

He stood, and his body both grew and shrunk. He took on his true form, a form he did not often take. The silver scales crawled through his skin, and the great golden wings speared from his back.

He turned his gaze to his brother, his Younger. It was good to have Blood around again, though it was still not his opposite. "Come, brother. Let us safe our friends and family, and destroy our enemies."

The ground was wet. It has been churned into a morass by the clash of armies. Where once there had been verdant hillsides, there was now only torn soil, mud, and blood churned together to form a slippery slope that leads toward the sea. In the setting sun, the silt from the destroyed hillside looks like a trickle of blood as it flows into the azure waters. A wound dissipating into the vastness of the ocean.

The mud covered everything. Nothing escaped it. It found its way into the joints of armor, through leather, soaking into shoes and coating the legs and feet of man and beast alike. It was insidious, creeping of its own volition, and no place was safe from its incursions.

It fouled weapons, leaving a brownish reddish stain upon everything it touched. It rusted even the best steel instantly. Even mithril is dulled by the foul mess and loses its radiance. It is subtle as it coats and covers anything and everything that waded into the battleground. Moving too slowly to be seen, but surprising all with the vastness of its reach.

I feel it. I feel the slow creep of the land. The timeless and inexorable movement of the land as it seeks out the sea. It seeks to rid itself of the contamination of blood and hate and war. We have fouled it. Turned what was green and lush into mud and slime. Corrupted it, turned it into something hideous and ugly and unproductive.

We have done this.

The land spoke to me as I lay curled upon its surface, awaiting the fate I knew was coming with Sai Jon and his group. The land had spoken to me of its suffering. We had done this.

Sounds of battle and chaos echoed across the valley, and yet I cannot find it in me to lift my head. I do not want to see the end coming. I do not want to know when Sai Jon looses his weapons.

The ground beneath me is cool. Not the cold of Riverbend, not the chill of something dead. But it is not the warmth of life either. It has been damaged deeply by these invaders.

The clash of weapons, and the war cries of charging demons is countered by the scream of dragons engaging the invaders. They are terrible sounds. Sounds of challenge, and of dying.

Morrin had come.

I lay curled into a ball upon the suffering land of my island listening to the sounds of battle and confusion below me. I was too weak to rise and join the fight, too exhausted to care when death would take me, too miserable in the knowledge that Morrin's words held a finality I did not wish to face.

The land was crying out beneath me, and I had nothing left to ease it's pain. That pain radiated from the ground into my very bones.

The end would come for me, but I prayed to the Valar that the land would be healed.

My fingers curled around the white staff within my reach. Slowly, painfully, I willed my fingers to close around the warm wood. The dragonette gave a soulful chirrup as it pushed it's head against my cheek. My words were a mere thread of sound as I tried to reassure him. The end would come soon. Soon we could sleep.

Explosions began to roll across the valley. The land rocked beneath me and then long talons curled around my body, lifting me from the place I awaited death. Leathern wings swept upward, and away from the flashes of destruction that had begun on the far side of the valley.

The air reverberated with the manmade thunder behind us, and then the starlit night folded around us as we made our way to the sanctuary where Daemonbane had been held.

He could feel Alais deep within the magic of the ground. She had sunk there, broken by the sight of her former mentor, and what that sight had meant. Garl had come and took her for the torn land, and returned her to the home she had started here on the Isles, but she was still within that torn land.

It was a home that had been twisted under the dark hand of a twisted demon? It was something that would take time to change. Yes, it could be simply changed with a few spells, bit it was never good to just forget. Everything needed time to heal? everything.

Heal? Would his wife heal? The days that he had been with her, had worked with his? with the magic of the Isles had shown no change, and in truth, he did not know if she wanted to be healed. That was the only reasoning behind it. His wife did not want to be healed. Perhaps, she would choose it in time, but that was something even he could not see.

And what of his daughter? She had vanished from the Isles. As soon as the boarders were loosened, she had slipped free. He had felt it. She had ran from the destruction that had been cast upon her home? and he feared she would not return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The war had cost many lives. It was a war that did not need to be fought, but for the foolish act of an old dragon who carelessly had left a door open to a world that needed not see the light of day.

The war had cost him much and more?



(Cross posted between the RDI and RoH boards)