Desert Rose

[Chidori Draconid]

(CHECK HERE BEFORE POSTING (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=23019#post23019))

Kyshini was a small town when one looked at the universal spectrum of cities and size, but Kyshini, and its dilemma, was significant enough to catch the eye of a god, two gods for that matter. It was unique though, being one of the only “civilized” settlements in Survani’s Oasis to never fall prey to the indigenous tribes. Much to Chidori Draconid’s surprise, he was significant enough to be called on to assist those two gods. Well maybe not that significant because two mere mortals were called to assist as well. He was happy nonetheless because this would be the first major task on Althanas to which he was requested without the help of his parents (Nymph of the Sky & God of Dragons), his landlord (the goddess Nu Gua), or his girlfriend (daughter of the ocean). He was excited even as he looked upon the dried cracked land of the drought ridden farmland of Kyshini.

“This may be the reason Survani’s kin have called upon you and your allies.” said Lodek.

This particular strip of three acres was his farm. Before three months ago it was green and fertile with wheat in one acre, tobacco in the second acre, and a chicken farm in the third. But now it was just as arid as the majority of Fallien. Even as the rains regularly fell, Lodek and his fellow townsmen saw nothing spring from the earth. Everything just withered up and died as if the boarders of Survani’s Oasis decided to stop and go around Kyshini. This may have been a natural phenomenon. Chidori could have sworn the weather trackers claimed to see less and less rainfall every year in Fallien, so the receding of fertile land would be natural. Chidori had to keep his mind open for the moment though. Those who called him here couldn’t have called him here to simply observe. He then began to speculate why they may have asked him here.

He may have had an herbal solution to the conflict for he had been reading into alchemy and plant biology these past few weeks. There were many edible plants native to Raiaera’s Black Desert that could be brought here, but Chidori was sure there was someone more skilled at such a subject than himself. Perhaps they desired his diplomatic skills to negotiate food provisions for the town while they bounced back from this predicament. Once again there had to have been someone in a better position to help them with that. He had no connections yet. All he could fathom now was the valor he had shown in the face of adversity during his stay on Althanas. He had faced two dragons, eight immortals, a full fledged god, the Black Desert, and some of the greatest mages in the world all while refusing the helping hand of the gods themselves. Rarely did they interfere when Chidori was in grave situations. It was true that they put him in most of those revolting situations, but he was determined to get himself out. So that had to have been it. These two gods were expecting a battle.

Chidori sighed at the revelation that he was being used as nothing but muscle. He wasn’t even that big.
Lodek noticed the annoyed look on the young deity’s face after hearing the audible sigh, “Is there something wrong?”
“This must have been a beautiful land before.” Nice save.
“Why yes it was. And to think I took it all for granted every now and then. I tell you if I ever get it back I will love it like a child and never let go. Oh there they are.” Two figures appeared atop a sand dune in the distance. “I have to go to Irrakam to assist a merchant friend with his sales.”
“That’s what you’re doing right now for a living?”
“Yes.” Lodek said with a sigh. “It doesn’t make nearly as much money as selling my own crops, but it’s a living. If I run into the others I’ll tell them where you are.”

Lodek departed and Chidori made his way across the three dead acres of farmland. Had it not been for the sheer novelty of this being Chidori’s first independent mission looking at this dead farmland would have been depressing. But it wasn’t, and he felt a little guilty that it wasn’t. Maybe that guilt was the depression peeking through the mounds of excitement? The sand began to rise steeply as soon as the dried dirt began to end. Two men dressed in white desert robes stood at the crest and waved down at Chidori as he almost went on all fours making his way up the steep mound. The sand seemed to roll upon itself as he lost traction with every step. The two men looked almost exactly alike. They stood there with tanned sun beaten skin and their faces were well defined and manly. They both had an inch on Chidori, but they had to have been thin. Not the fighting types for sure. Their eye color however was different. They each greeted him with a handshake.

“Bhumiya, God of Fertility.” said the man with light brown eyes.
“Embilulu, God of Farming.” said the man with light green eyes.
“Chidori, God in the making.” The three of them laughed.
“So, Chid. Chid is what they call you for short, right?” Chidori nodded to Bhumiya, “How has Althanas treated you so far?”
“Should I really answer that question?”
The twin gods looked at each other and laughed.
“We had a great time here.” Embilulu said, “I guess it’s easier when you have a twin by your side, but I hear you have a good woman by your side, so it should be even easier. Either way one day something about this world will bother you and you will fight to the death for a cause. I can guarantee you that you will go back to heaven representing that cause.”
“As long as I can do that I’ll be happy.” Chidori pointed behind the twin gods at a narrow ten foot strip of green grass, palm trees, and birds stretching all the way beyond the horizon. That was the trail that they left, much easier to track in the desert than footprints.
Bhumiya sighed, “That does lead us to our predicament. Observe our trail of life. It ended ten feet behind us. Our powers are useless within the mapped boundaries of this town, and the god of the sky has poured all his being into this area with no results, which leads us to believe that this predicament is of divine origin. We think Mitra is the prime suspect here.”

That was an understandable conclusion. Ever since Survani’s rise the vengeful Mitra, God of the Sun, had been desperately vying for a place back in the spotlight. He had forgotten that he was the spotlight. Chidori didn’t ask them if they made inquiries on the ethereal plane. Even there gods kept to themselves or within their own secretive cliques, which is why all this mess and conflict came to a head in the mortal realm. Althanas would be a much quieter place if the gods just had a chat every now and then. That wasn’t going to happen. Even if Bhumiya and Embilulu asked Mitra to stop his wrongdoing, he would probably respond with some profane gesture and proceed to lecture them as to why Fallien was rightfully his. In all honesty this entire planet belonged to Survani. She was Althanas, and she simply asked for this piece of dry scared land where her favorite people dwell. Chidori crossed his arms in realizing that they truly needed him. Althanas needed him.

“You know I’ve dealt with the gods quite a bit recently. I haven’t gotten much out of these ventures, while I could be making money at the adventurer’s board at Scara Brae.”
“What? Are you asking?”
“I can’t believe this little…”
“He’s on spices! He must have hit R’uuya on the way here.”
“Boy!” the green eyed Embilulu stepped up to Chidori, “You are being asked by the gods to do this for them, thus bringing you one step closer back to heaven.”
“One step out of how many? If what you said was true, and I need a cause to fight for how is this mission going to help. Look at me fellas. My equipment no greater in number, my powers no stronger.”
“Let me guarantee you one thing. You get something out of everything you do on Althanas. Take that encounter with the immortals for the example. You got a woman from that debacle, a monogamous woman, the unbelievably beautiful Avakra Ambul. You have a permanent piece of ass on Althanas, which can’t be said for the vast majority of the hundreds of gods that have gone through this ritual already.”

“What the hell!?” a frustrated Chidori walked in a small circle once and flared his arms about. “What is it with the gods and their infatuation with my relationship with Avakra? Do you two hate me for that? Don’t hate me for that. Hate me for having these good looks and unbelievable charm from my mother. Hate the tactical prowess from my father, which you two clearly lack. But be happy for the fact that I have feelings for someone and they reciprocate those feelings. You should fear for us too. We’re in danger twenty four hours a day seven days a week because we’re just above mortal, and my so called wife is an angry and vengeful goddess.”

“Shut up, you two.” Bhumiya said as he hit the two bickering men on the side. “The other two are coming.”

[Still]

The desert was one of the few places in the lands of his mother that he did not feel at home. Though still on natural soil, the sand was lifeless and sullen. The scattering of bugs and minor vegetation was not even connected, only small islands of life from place to place. Whilst standing on the edge of this great body of loneliness, Rain could barely fathom why his mother loved the people whom dwelled here so much. Why, among all the races she bore into life, did she love these so? It, in his young eyes, made no sense. If they lived in such a place, they must be a desolate and solitude people, reflecting back their land’s lack of heart.

Yet, Rain had been conveyed the knowledge that deep in the emptiness of this sea of death, there laid a well of life. An ‘oasis’ as the villagers he spoke to called it, and directions had been given. Not as if he needed them, but he feared that there was little contact with other loyal creatures in a desert.

The well of life was his destination, for his mother willed it, and he obeyed her.

With a final glance over the terrain, Rain sighed then slowly shifted into a form more suitable for travel. His tan skin rippled with the energies granted to him in birth, white fur spreading out across his hide as if curing his humanity. The boy’s nose elongated, eye’s shimmered to gold, and fingers became paws. Within moments, an enormous white wolf stood where a man was once. Rearing its head up, it howled to the sky, listening to the dull echo of sound over the empty plains of sand. Rain wasn’t ready to be along, not yet, but he would have to bear it.

Hours later, an unexpected change in the terrain met him. As he dashed along the tops of dunes, a sudden mirage of green formed at the edge of his wide vision. For a moment, Rain thought it an illusion, a trick of the heat. However, he didn’t wish to risk the chance that it was real and quickly head towards what appeared to be a wall. Buildings marked civilization, and if it were a construction of some sort then the people of his mother’s oasis would not be far. A swelling in his chest bubbled forth as his panting increased along with his pace, speeding across the soft sands on burned paws. Hope was rising in his throat, ascending to a happy growl.

Only to be smashed as he came within sight of the ‘wall’; not a wall at all, but instead, a strangely out of place line of vegetation. It was as if, in that small strip of land, the lack of water and heat of sun was ignored and life grew abundant. Slowing to a prance, he approached the suspicious line of forest with caution, not knowing what to expect. From this range, his body’s lupine senses could detect no animals that would habitat such a place, only the sweet scent of a forest after a renewing downpour. A wolf’s instincts about danger were keen, and much stronger then a humans, -even a human female’s intuition- but Rain sensed nothing wrong with this place. In fact, it felt harmoniously good, and welcomed him presence more and more as he approached. One step from the grass the sprout in spite of the deathly pale sand next to it, the son of the ground hesitated. What if it was a trap? If they knew a Hunter was coming and set a trap to get rid of him before he could interfere.

If it was a trap, then they were underestimating him! A single touch to the blade of grass would connect him to the song of the entire strip of land, knowing every secret and every tale the trees had, a cacophony of symphonious life in his soul. With a grin of confidence, the wolf leaped onto the strip of land and was, not for the first time since he was born, incredibly surprised. Their song was filled with whispers, whispers of a name that he did not recognize. By each and every type of vegetation here it was whispered the same way, an unearthly thing for different plants sang in different voices. The name echoed to him, over and over, until he finally understood.

It was their father, and they were babies.

Though the plants looked to be full grown at first glance, he could see that they had not in fact aged. Their growth was unnatural, and they were no more then a day old. How this was possible was beyond him, but some sort of magic was occurring here, and it didn’t seem to be contrary to his mother’s wishes. After reigning in the strong newborn emotions of the forest, he asked them a solid question. Where is your father? and a solid answer came back. Now he had a direction, no more aimless wandering. Bursting into a heated dash, Rain made his way quickly through the jungle, able to travel faster on the solid grass-held ground then the surrounding uncontrollable sand. The whispers were still filled the ecstatic joy, unbridled by his presence and solidified by their youthful ignorance. Their father was not in their midst anymore, but was close enough for them to sense. He had left them to enter a place they dreaded, a place where nothing grew. The Dead Land they sang, a jeremiad of misery.

If they are calling a place the Dead Land, then it must be enormously worse then the desert surrounding them, for they don’t even notice it. Queer, and curious all at the same time.

Of course, Rain’s anxiety to see what was going on only increased, as his own youthful energies pushed him to the limit of his lupine body. It only took a few more minutes before he abruptly reached the end of the forest, staring out from the shadows of the canopy. Three figures, wavy and hidden by the heat, stood at the top of a dune a short distance from the edge of the forest. One of them glowed in life through the eyes of the forest, and the other was a calmer lover, though in no way lesser. They must be the cause of this unnatural growth. The third was a creature the forest didn’t recognize, but the fact that he spoke to their father seemed to make him a friend.

Sad that he must part from the harmonious warmth of the forest’s embrace, the wolf stepped back into death and instantly felt more lonely then he had ever been before. They land spoke true, nothing lived here. Not a single animal nor plant, except for the dim feeling of nearby humans. Something stronger, more powerful lingered nearby as well, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. Placing the thoughts aside for a moment, Rain thought it best to introduce himself in a familiar form, and slowly shifted back to a man as he approached the three. When he stopped, his bare feet had mounted the hill, and he stood among them as a familiar form. A human.

“I am Rain, a Hunter. I don’t truly understand what is going on here, but my Mother sent me to hunt down the cause of this…”

Rain casually glanced between the three, realizing that the two the forest recognized must be deeply related, then asked them as a whole, “Who am I speaking to?”

The great presence was closer now, and he feared it was these men.

What are they?

[Iriah Caitrak]

Months had passed. Months where Ira’s boots had not passed upon familiar land, where the treads of her soles had not sunk into the deep sands and hardened soils of Fallien. How she’d missed the heat, how she’d missed the sun and how she’d missed the tribe and all the people within it. Most of all she’d missed Gereint and Revor…but Revor wasn’t here, he was away exploring his own Althanas and finding his own understandings. That pained her but she didn’t mind, she’d see him again one day though she was surprised he hadn’t come back for the festivities.

Leaving the tribe those months ago didn’t mean she’d never be back. Connecting with Gereint a few weeks ago she’d learned that it was getting closer to one of the more important festivals in her tribe, a day when they celebrate the dead and honour all that they have done for the world. Dancing under the open night sky on this particular day, a lot of the people in the tribe believed that you could dance among the souls of the tribe’s ancestors. None of the Calerian’s in the tribe had ever confirmed these beliefs, yet none of them had ever denounced them, however Ira had never witnessed a single soul at these gatherings.

Of course, things being the way they were, Gereint had been extremely pleased to see her come back and had then sent her on another mission. Back for less than a day and already he was sending her off to areas of Fallien she would rather not venture into. The Oasis was filled with unruly tribes that fiercely protected their lands and killed almost anyone who dared to trespass. Though her tribe had it’s own piece of land and meant no offence to these nomads they weren’t on the best of terms. They traded and most of the time if a Calerian was caught in Oasis territory they were usually let go…usually. And that was where Gereint wanted to send her and to a specific part of it too. The old man must have had some kind of vision of what was to come but he wasn’t sharing it with her.

So here Ira found herself, in the open deserts of Fallien traveling to an area she’d never been before. Her rucksack slung over her shoulders pressing tightly up against her back, the sun beating down on her from high up in a cloudless sky and a gentle wind passing over the area. It stirred up the lighter dust and she could watch it swirl over the dunes.

Pushing fingers through the short strands of light purple hair, Ira continued on her way. She’d already been travelling for two days and knew that she should be reaching her destination anytime soon, unfortunately she didn’t know what her destination looked like if it came up behind her and stabbed her in the back.

Reaching the top of another sand dune, Ira looked out over the wasteland that was Fallien and spotted the weirdest thing…a line of vegetation. Not a small Oasis or a few bushes here and there in some fertile ground, nope, a line of vegetation. It wasn’t a mirage either, Ira was rarely subjected to those since she knew how the heat could play on the land, nope, this was real and what the heck, why not take advantage of it? Stepping onto the lush grasses Ira wasn’t too surprised when it didn’t disappear from beneath her feet or try to eat her, though why she thought that she had no idea.

Following this little trail proved something because after a little while Ira found herself walking towards a group of four people, oddly enough the line of vegetation stopped ten feet short of where they were standing for no reason.

[Chidori Draconid]

Instead of directing their attention to the town of Kyshini, Bhumiya pointed out to the desert, where two figures in the distance followed the trail of vegetation left behind by the twin gods. The closer one was a male, and the one as far back as the horizon was a female. The both of them seemed to aimlessly wander along the miniature forest. It looked like the both of them didn’t know where they were going. Before Chidori could ask, Embilulu answered.

“We aren’t sure how much they know about their mission or us. We invited you on Survani’s behalf but she dealt with getting these two here. It is likely that she did what many gods find amusement in doing, leaving a ‘trail of coincidence’, triggering events that eventually lead them to their ordained task. For clarity sake let’s assume that much. What we do know is that the male can communicate with plants and animals, and the female has extensive knowledge of the region in addition to limited planar abilities.”

Chidori rolled his eyes at the information. He was teaming up with two mortals that made him look mortal. “So what the hell am I here for? I’m pretty sure they could figure this whole thing out.”

“They probably could figure this whole thing out on a mortal level, but I think things would move much faster with your third eye.”

“Third eye?”

The twin gods looked at each other and sighed with exhaustion and aggravation. They quickly and quietly exchanged words in a language Chidori could not understand, possibly Fallien’s native tongue. It was easy to see that the jade eyed Embilulu was in the most distress. His hands flailed about and his tone was highest. Bhumiya was attempting to calm him down. This situation was direr than previously indicated by the twin gods. This meeting started with a light hearted tone, with both of the twin gods smiling and calm, but now the sense of urgency had been elevated especially since Chidori had no idea what a third eye was. They finally stopped and Bhumiya turned to the young deity.

“Your third eye is located between your eyebrows.” The brown eyed god said as he poked Chidori in that spot “It allows clairvoyance through divine perception, allowing you to perceive distant objects, persons, or events, including "seeing" through opaque objects and the detection of types of energy not normally perceptible through the naked eye. Although anyone can utilize it through meditation and divine association, your father’s family line is particularly gifted in developing the third eye.”

Embilulu interjected, “Your father’s third eye was so advanced that he was able to achieve omniscience for moments at a time. He was able to do that three years before he made it back into heaven.”

“That’s right, and you should be able to use it too, Chidori. But I guess you weren’t informed of this talent, so we’ll just have to alert you to it. The first type of energy you should be able to detect is the energy that you are most native to, which is divine energy. Luckily that is what we need from you. Close your eyes.”
Chidori did so.

“Now imagine a large purple lotus flower on the top of your head. It blooms slowly revealing a thousand petals in twenty layers of fifty, and as it reaches full blossoming think of your mother, your father, your wife, the two of us, and yourself. Imagine a plane beyond this one, beyond measurements of time, size, weight, or distance.”

Chidori did his best to visualize this environment, but it seemed like whatever he imagined may have been wrong. At least he didn’t have an issue visualizing the people he knew in mortal form, but he decided to add one more person to the list, Avakra. He had a very easy time visualizing her. She was hard to forget. Her amber eyes were soft and piercing, and her honey-like skin seemed to possess a natural radiance. Her silky black hair hung straight until it came down to her back, where it began to twirl and curl like the waves of an ocean. It was then that the dessert heat of Fallien was no more. His throat became moist and his thirst was clenched, and the smell of the barren wasteland was replaced with the scent of a lotus flower.

“You catch on quickly.” Bhumiya said. “I’ll let you handle the rest.”

Suddenly the young deity felt six focal points of energy within his mortal vessel. They felt like pinches inside his body. The first was inside his brain in the dead center of his head. The second emerged in his throat, and he opened his mouth to exhale. The third pinched his heart, which began pumping with increasing intensity. The fourth clenched about his stomach as it quickly cocooned. The fifth was located at his groin and the sixth somewhere in his reproductive system. His feet began to hang indicating that he was no longer on the ground. Suddenly a new focal point in energy emerged between his eyebrows. Then he opened his eyes to see his feet firmly placed on the sand. His feet never left the ground. The plain smell and dry heat of the dessert returned and the seven focal points of energy had disappeared from his body. Chidori looked up to see a man nearly a decade his biological senior introducing himself. He didn’t hear a word the man said. What was truly interesting was the violet white aura radiating about him, and the young woman approaching.

Chidori looked at the twin gods, whose violet energy radiated from a core inside of them. He smiled and said, “Survani certainly did send them.” He then stepped forward, “Pleasure to meet you. My name is Chidori Draconid and I will be leading you and…” Chidori pointed to the woman approaching, “Her in this investigation. Kyshini here is in the middle of a drought, but for no natural reason. The weather has been good, but it hasn’t brought upon any results. We suspect the Sun God Mitra is behind this probably seeking to take Fallien back from Survani. While this isn’t news, this method of war is, so we’re here to figure out why and how this is being done and stop it. I’ve been told that you’re able to communicate with plants. What do they say about Kyshini and their refusal to grow there?”

[Still]

After a strange tingling on his skin waved over him, Rain watched the third, calling himself Chidori, more carefully. A strange tugging feeling inside his body, pulling from a place he didn’t recognize, brought forth feelings he couldn’t recognize. Warmth spread throughout his body, and his tenseness relaxed. Somewhere, a small unheard voice whispered in his head, friend. Then, his sharp ears remembered the words spoken before the strange man introduced himself.

Survani…Mother!

Excited, he spoke up, somewhat ignoring the request the man made and his claim at this being an investigation. That was none of his concern now.

“You know her too? You called her Survani, but in her language she calls herself Gaea, which means “The Mother”. You are right, she sent me here, because she told me a great prey lied among this place. Betrayers linger here, and she wants me to prove that I can handle her tasks. I must not fail her.” The last was spoken as a vow, his gaze settling on Chidori’s.

Then his subconscious pricked him and he realized that there was more to what Chidori said, and in his haste he had forgotten.

“Oh…the plants…yes. One moment.”

Turning, Rain glanced at the approaching woman for a moment then continued on to the closest life he could sense. Strangely enough, it was a scorpion that had wandered into the newly created forest with the innocent curiosity most of nature had. Reaching down, he coaxed it into his palm then walked back towards the three men. Though he knew they wouldn’t be able to hear his words, he wanted to be nearby to convey the message.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he held the small animal up to his face and smiled, meeting its eyes. Direct contact allowed for a more thorough and realistic conversation, instead of the bits and pieces he got when connected to a forest.

’These people are trying to help this land come back to life. They want to ask a few questions’

The animal cocked its head to the side for a moment, then a picture formed inside Rain’s head. A cool, inviting oasis. A mother trusting her youth, and a brother trusting a brother. It was inviting him to ask away, and to trust his answers, and telling him he was a brother, connected through their shared Great Mother. His smile grew warmer, and he continued forth.

’They wish to know why no plants will grow, despite rain, and why no animals dare enter this place.’

The scorpion struggled for a moment, seeming to be thinking and hearing other voices. Finally it answered, but the images were quick and a confused mess. A black cloud, covering and spreading over the land. Locusts eating. The sun rising and setting. The dying cries of a mother. A lost child. It didn’t make sense, shaking his head, he suddenly caught another image, something that surprised him and chilled his blood. Unlike the other images, this one was insubstantial and was more a ‘feeling’ then a picture. The only imagery associated with it was a black shadow of a figure, humanoid, standing in front of the rising sun so that none of his/her features could be seen. Yet, a strong cold fist punched into his gut, freezing his blood and slowing his mind. Fear arched across his back, and he suddenly leaped away from the scorpion, dropping the poor animal into the ground. Even disconnected, the image lay and he fell back to his knees, panting and sweating profusely. Before now, the heat had no effect on him and he was dry as the land.

Coughing a few times, as if trying to spit out the icy chill that ran through him, he stared at his fingers. The waves of heat from the sand had dimmed and the ground itself began to grow a light blue. Lifting his hand in confusion, Rain stared at a cold patch of sand, and poked it to the realization that it was painfully icy. With this revelation in mind, he stared up at what was probably concerned looks on the faces of the others.

“Some…thing…is doing this. Something strong…something that scares the creatures so dreadfully. But…everything was…confusing…jumbled…they…they don’t know why its happening. It might not even be a being…just a presence.”

Rain stopped speaking, unable to explain further, and simply stared at his hand. The icy sensation was dissipating and the warm embrace of his Mother’s magic quickly filled his blood. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew of auras and had felt his life force dwindle to but a spark during that episode. If he hadn’t broke away when he did, that mental connection might of killed him. Something dreadful was going on, and he only had a puzzle as a clue.

He didn’t like this at all.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira paused as she watched one of the men in this little gathering group of wandering weird people; pick up a scorpion from the ground. She had the immediately instinct to warm the man that scorpions are poisonous and that he should probably return the creature when the sands but kept her mouth shut when the odd man sat cross-legged and then held the thing up to his face. She was certain it was going to just stab him right between the eyes with its stinger but the creature made no move to do it.

Stopping in the sands but a few feet between the odd growth of nature and the four men, Ira reached out with what little senses she had and poked around at their souls, none of them felt human. Her eyes narrowed and an immediately discomfort grew in the pit of her stomach. These were powerful souls and she really did not want to get mixed up with these people, however, Gereint had sent her here and here she was and…not what? Was she supposed to just saunter up to these people and introduce herself? ‘Hey, my name’s Ira, my tribe Shaman sent me here either to help you, to ignore or to possibly kill you, I’m not exactly sure which one, think you could help me out in that department?’

Yep, this was going to go over very, very smoothly.

Suddenly, the man sitting on the ground, dropping the poor scorpion and landing on his hands and knees coughing and clearly in some kind of distress. She wondered if perhaps he’d been exposed to the sun too much and was hallucinating or if the scorpion had actually stung him and he really was about to die. Poor man.

“Some…thing…is doing this. Something strong…something that scares the creatures so dreadfully. But…everything was…confusing…jumbled…they…they don’t know why it’s happening. It might not even be a being…just a presence.”

Ira arched a brow and stared at the man, she had no idea what in the name of Survani and all the grains of sand in Fallien he was talking about. But she was sure he had just mentioned something about talking to that little scorpion so the sun had most likely gotten to the man’s head and fried whatever functions he had upstairs.

Looking from the twin dressed in white robes, very fitting for how hot it was, to the other…person, though she knew from what little she could gain at poking at a living soul that he wasn’t really a person, Ira decided it was time to speak up. She chose Fallien; seeing as how they were in her native land she assumed they could all speak it even though the man on the ground had spoken common.

“Has he been exposed to the sun for a long time because I think he needs shade, water and rest before he passes out. That aside, what in the name of Survani and Purgatory is going on here and why is there a random line of vegetation growing so far away from the Oasis?”

Oh yeah, she was sure she was going to get just the answers she was looking for all right.

Folding her arms under her chest, Ira leaned heavily on her right foot and waited for her answer, or lack there of an answer she really wasn’t sure what was going to happen but she was ready to defend herself if these people proved hostile, after all, The Oasis was not a place she liked to traverse near.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori was somewhat disappointed at the events unwrapping wound him. It was obvious who that being or presence was even as the icy chills possessed this man. It was Mitra, and they knew that, so all he did was confirm their suspicions. Then entered this colorful woman, who spoke in Fallien’s native tongue. Did Survani set him up with a woman who could not speak in common tongue? Was this a game to her? Hell this was her land and if she wanted to lay a wager on it like she seemed to be doing then it was hers to do so, but she wasn’t going to make Chidori’s life harder. If she took Fallien seriously she surely understood that she needed this unlikely trio to keep it under her rule, just as Mitra needed his followers to usurp her rule. Strangely none of that truly frustrated him more than the fact that this man hadn’t introduced himself. Chidori’s name was known, but he knew no one’s name, and this wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t too long ago that he was in Scara Brae facing a pair of dragons and a group of hooligans, and it wasn’t until near the end of that skirmish that he had learned the name of his unlikely allies. It seemed as though no one on Althanas had the courtesy to bless Chidori with their name when he gave his, and this was becoming a pet peeve.

Despite all this Chidori didn’t show his frustration. He couldn’t address the woman, but he was sure one of the twin gods could. Instead he simply gave her an apologetic nod and motioned for one of them to address her, and so they did. Embilulu stepped forward.

”Our friend here is actually quite fine. You see he has the ability to communicate with plants and animals. He made an inquiry to one of them as to why this land is without life.” He motioned towards the town of Kyshini, “And it seems as though he’s suffering from an information overload. Are you able to speak in Common? It would be a little more useful in this situation.”

”And I believe there is no hiding it.” Bhumiya said. ”I’m Bhumiya and this is Embilulu. We are not of this world. That trail of life came from our footsteps. See?” he grinded his sandaled foot into the ground and the surrounding inches of his foot changed from lifeless yellow sand to fertile brown soil. Green grass and flowers began to sprout up as if years passed in a matter of seconds, but then it dried up and withered away as quickly as it came. The sand overtook the soil like miniature tidal waves and covered Bhumiya’s foot. He yanked it out and continued. ”That is the eventual fate for the rest of our trail. By tomorrow the leaves on most of these trees may loose their pigment due to a lack of moisture, but we need to figure out what is forcing the vegetation to die here so quickly. In fact, why is it dieing at all? We’re within the boundaries of Survani’s Oasis. This is why you’re here. This is obviously Mitra’s doing but, we need you, Chidori, and this man to find out exactly how he’s doing it and stop him.”

Chidori patiently sat down beside the whisperer, “That presence was the Sun God Mitra. What you experienced was his temper, as hot as the sun, and his demeanor, as cold as ice. While all the gods are vengeful to a certain extent, he’s a special breed of bitter, and he intends on taking over Fallien. We suspected it was him and you confirmed that, but the gods work through worldly agents just like Survani or Gaia has called upon your aid. We need to find those agents and stop them from spreading this affliction through Fallien. We’d be blessed if you could give it another shot and see if you can find out more for us. That is if you have it in you. If not we can wait a bit and rest up.” Chidori gave the man a pat on the back and stood up.

“You know,” Embilulu said in a hushed tone as he came to Chidori. “I think this is Survani’s boy. The signs are all there. Communication with nature, Gaia is his mother, the proficiency in survival, the… tree huger disposition.”

Chidori crossed his arms and stared at the man in contemplation. Perhaps Embilulu was right. Survani did bear her own children every now and then and this man seemed to match the description, but he had always thought of Survani’s child as being a little more sentient and meditative. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira listened silently as the twins explained the situation to her. Even after all of that she really wasn’t too sure why she was here, her tribe had long ago stopped worshipping the Gods and Goddess’s of Fallien. She really had no idea why her people had stopped, perhaps something had happened to drive them away from worship, perhaps it was something else, she didn’t know and she didn’t really care. Her job was to look after the dead not deal with the Gods, she’d leave that to people better equipped.

After everything had been explained to her, Ira watched as they conversed silently among each other and tried not to eaves drop into what they were saying. One of the twins left and moved closer to Chidori, leaving her with…Bhumiya, she really couldn’t tell them apart.

“I apologize for addressing you in Fallien earlier, this region doesn’t get too many strangers so I naturally assumed you were all from here and spoke the language. My name is Ira of the House of Shinkara from the Calerian tribe to the north. I don’t think I’ll be of much help in this situation, however my shaman sent me in this direction a few days ago and it’s my guess I’m here to help you…”

Help with what she didn’t know. She knew of the Gods that inhabited this land and protected it and did their whole ho-ha and mightier than the average mortal thing but she didn’t really care. She dealt with the dead, she dealt with souls and Purgatory, this was not her forte. She did know that the twins standing before her were Gods though, Bhumiya, God of Fertility, Embilulu, God of Farming. If it wasn’t for the fact that their souls felt different than anything she’d ever sensed before she would never have believed them when they’d told her their names. Come to think of it, everyone here, Chidori and that other guy on the ground who communicated with plants and animals, all of them had souls of a different kind she’d never sensed. Were they all Gods? If so then she was really out of her league.

Ira glanced down at the barren soil where Bhumiya had moments before sprouted plants from nothing, then glanced at the small village behind them. She didn’t know what was going on or why things were dying this close to the Oasis, everything here should be flourishing, not fading away to nothing and definitely not that fast. Chidori was bent down talking with the other guy, the plant talker, and he seemed convinced that whoever was behind this was Mitra, Ira knew him to be the Sun God, so if they already knew who was doing this why did the need her help?

“Not to be disrespectful in the presence of higher beings,” Ira directed that comment to Embilulu and Bhumiya, “But I really don’t know why I’m here. Unless you need someone to take you back and forth from the other side or you’ve got a few pesky souls that just won’t leave you alone I can help. Buts Gods and dying plants are not really my thing. I only deal in the dead.”

Adjusting the straps of her rucksack, Ira rubbed her sore shoulders. She really wanted to get back to her tribe, finish with the festivities that were going on and then depart for other areas of Althanas. Standing in a desert, even her home desert, with the sun beating down against her head was not her idea of fun unless she was training and she certainly wasn’t doing that. The constant silver swirl of her eyes changed to a more vibrant green colour, the greens of Concordia, which she was missing standing here.

[Still]

Rain sat on the ground for a moment, still catching his breath. Quite a bit of talking was going on around him and he tried his best to listen, not recognizing the change in languages and thus a bit confused. Due to his mother’s nature, he automatically understood all languages spoken by any living creature when he was in human form, and didn’t fully understand the true concept of learning a language. When ‘Common’ and ‘Fallien’ languages were spoken about, it all sounded the same to him, a sure understanding. The scorpion he had communicated with was resting on his knee, sending soft emotions of forgiveness for sending him such a strong signal. However, it itself was tired and didn’t have the strength to communicate more, so the idea of trying another round of chat with this fellow was out of the question. Though, however, he had an idea.

Somewhat ignoring all the chatter that still went on between the others nearby, he pet the black creature on its back gently then pulled himself back into a cross-legged posture. Breathing deeply, he reached down and placed both palms on the soft, hot sand. Small presences were all around, some far some near, but he called to them. Deserts were massively abundant of small scorpions and beetles, and for a creature like himself, it was equivalent to a small spy network. Rain grinned as a miniscule shake, almost undetectable, shivered through the sand dune. After only a few seconds some small bumps appeared in the dune. These swelled into large welts of sand, reaching up to the size of a closed fist before they were breached. From each, a large scorpion, brothers and sisters of the one that rested on him, emerged. Now surrounded by a small army of black scorpions, he grinned and focused his concentration to them.

’Brothers and sisters of the desert, I need your assistance. This little one is too weak to speak with me again, so I plead that you give me more information. I know who is doing this, but now I need to know exactly what he is doing, and what is happening. Try your best, please.’

Rain was going to try his best to fulfill Chidori’s request. Though the man, if he was a man, had seemed to be reluctant to address him by the name Rain gave, Gaia’s Son didn’t really mind. Rain wasn’t here to make friends, only to serve his Mother. As he listened, the scorpions, as a whole, sent him what they knew. Hunger. Starved bodies lying in unmarked graves. New humans appear in the shadow of those whom have fallen. Chanting, a vibrating seeping chanting. A deaf man and a listening adder. Fear. A poisonous snake hiding in the skin of a calm jackrabbit. Nodding, he opened his eyes. Thanking them with a calm secure emotion send across the link, he slowly moved his concentration back to the others. Rain didn’t really mind that he was interrupting their conversation, so he spoke directly to Chidori, the one whom had asked him to try again.

“If I understand correctly, they speak of many things. People and animals die of extreme hunger, but every time a human dies, more come to replace them. Some sort of chanting haunts their ears constantly, though I think they say that only the animals can hear it, for they are closer to the ground. Fear once more was prominent in all of it, and the last thing they sent me was chilling. I’m not exactly sure what it means, but I think they are trying to say that not everything is what it seems. There is something malicious here that pretends to be innocent. The area is, however, filled with scorpions, so I will have them thoroughly look for more information.”

Before Chidori had a change to reply, he closed his eyes again and sent out his request to the scorpions. All of them, except the calm one that had now climbed to his shoulder, burrowed back into the ground and headed in different directions. However, this time, instead of simply disappearing, they kept a link with him and didn’t break contact, so that he could speak to them when he needed. That string of consciousness fell to the back of his mind as he oriented once more on the world.

Rain’s attention snapped next to the girl, the only one he was sure was human. Her presence felt loose, as if she wasn’t fully here, but the creatures here knew her. She had been to the Oasis before, and was a part of Fallien. Smiling, he greeted her with a kind wave and spoke.

“Hi, Ira. I am Rain, a hunter. And I also do not entirely know why I am here, other then my Mother wanting me to resolve some conflict.” Rain simply hoped, however, that his target wasn’t this ‘Sun God Mitra’. If that cold and powerful figure was the one he was sent to kill, then the young Hunter feared he was in for a hard time. Gaia didn’t make his first mission easy, that’s for sure.

[Chidori Draconid]

The young deity tilted his head in confusion. Although this was just the beginning of the investigation the two guests’ roles now seemed to fit perfectly like pieces in a puzzle. What confused Chidori was how Rain and Ira didn’t understand why they were here.

“Well its obvious now, Rain. You’ve just provided us with valuable information. There’s the chanting business. When one’s ear is to the ground they can hear vibrations and sounds from a long distance, but this is the only place affected. We’ll deal with that later, though. I’m a little more interested in this population issue at the moment. If Kyshini is in such a famine then why is it still experiencing a steady influx of citizens? There’s no food, which probably resulted in the vacant lots in which they inhabit right now. There’s no industry here but farming, and since that’s gone for the moment they have no way to make a living. Why would they possibly want to move here? This leads us to you, Ira. You can communicate with the dead, right? I’m pretty certain there are a few malcontents among the passed that we could get some information from.”

Embilulu rose from the ground and looked at Chidori with emerald eyes of disappointment. “I can’t hear anything, Draconid.” He then turned to Rain with a humorous grin, “I think one of your scorpions attempted to sting me though. Luckily they have no effect on me. Maybe you should have them sting Chidori here. He’d surely die.”

Chidori struggled to wrap his head around the joke. No one was laughing. “Like I said, we can get to the chanting later.” He said as he shook his head in shame at the God of Farming and his warped sense of humor. “No wonder you never had anyone when you were here on Althanas. Do you regularly make jokes like that?”

“He does. Imagine how well it goes over in a rough tavern in Corone.” Bhumiya said as he looked Chidori up and down. “Are you not hot?” Now that he thought of it, the young deity was quite uncomfortable in his black silk ambiance. The suit was light and thin, but that hadn’t stopped him from sweating as he made his way through Kyshini. The sweat made the silk stick to his skin, but he had long since taken his mind off of it allowing himself to become distracted by the situation at hand. He looked down at the sticky black suit and shrugged. Bhumiya nodded his head, and Chidori felt a tingling on his skin, “I’m changing this suit for you. It will be light weight and white so that it will reflect the sun’s rays.”

Chidori stood there waiting for the slow transformation to finish. Just as it did, he felt a pinch on the side of his head. He turned to see what he thought was a purple speck on the horizon, but his vision was distorted by the heat waves rising up and rippling in the air. He blinked and it was gone. There was something out there. If it was his newly acquired third eye that alerted him to it then there was something divine out there.

“The change is complete.” The God of Fertility said as the young deity looked down to see a white cotton robe with elaborate golden embroidery dominating the right site. The light desert breeze crept up from his feet, into the lightweight pants and swirled around his torso, which was bare underneath the comfortable robe. Chidori opened the robe and found his sword cane strapped to the inside. It too was now white. “Other than that it looks like you have everything under control here. Embilulu and I will get going.”

“Will you be gracing the Fallien desert with more life?” Chidori said with a smile. He was actually hoping the two of them could serve as his unwitting scouting party. He was still curious as to who was out there.

“Nope.” Embilulu said as their bodies disintegrated from the foot up. “It’s back up for us. Good luck.” Their disintegrated forms evaporated into a violet mist that disappeared seconds later.

“Ira, are there any conditions that are needed for you to communicate with the dead. Do we need to take you to their former homes, acquire items of interest, speak to someone they once knew?” Chidori spoke in a half distracted tone as he stared out upon the horizon of the desert. That purple speck was gone, but its memory haunted him. He wasn’t going to mention it though because it would distract the team from the investigation and (more importantly) he was too lazy to go all the way out there.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira nodded her head in acknowledgement to Rain as he introduced himself to her. Then her attention was drawn to Chidori as he began addressing her concerns with why she was here. So he wanted her to talk to the dead in the area and see what kind of information they could provide for them. As Chidori began addressing the two Gods, Ira tuned them out, now that she knew hat she was here for she just planned on focusing on that aspect.

Opening up her senses, Ira probed the area for any souls wandering around. It didn’t take her long to sense a few of them in and around the town of Kyshini and she knew more of them were in Purgatory, however, traveling there with Chidori and Rain would be dangerous.

Her attention snapped back to the others around her as she heard her name being called and almost laughed at the things Chidori thought she needed in order to commune with the dead. It wasn’t his fault, he just didn’t understand the fact that she didn’t link herself with those already passed; she talked directly to souls still wandering around this plane of existence.

“It is not so difficult. A Calerian’s job is to release souls that have not traveled to the other planes of existence and their proper resting places. We can hear and see them in this plane and we can also travel to Purgatory to further release those who are being corrupted. However, I’ve been able to sense some souls in the town so I won’t need to take you to Purgatory, which would be very dangerous to the two of you.”

Though she’d not been listening very intently to the conversation the others had been having, she had noted the departure of the two Gods, as they’d slowly disappeared. It was an interesting exit and she wished she had abilities like that. Then again, she had the ability to help lost souls go to their rightful place, when was the last time she could think of the Gods doing something as helpful as that?

Looking across the small expanse of desert between where they were standing and the outskirts of the village, Ira spotted exactly what she needed. The faint silhouette of a man passed her line of vision and disappeared behind one of the farmer’s houses. Walking passed Rain and Chidori, Ira made her way into the village, walking passed the farmhouse she saw the slightly translucent figure of the man standing in the shadows looking out at the rest of the village. She didn’t say anything to him, she walked over to where he was standing and leaned against the wall, pretending to be resting in the shade.

The first thing the dead did once they left their bodies and found themselves incapable of journeying to the other side was try to contact a living person. She’d watched them try to do it over and over again, screaming at the top of their lungs to get a person’s attention. They’d never turn, they never saw them, they never even sensed their presence nearby. It was heartbreaking and on more than one occasion it had brought tears to her eyes. Because of this, trying to jump into a conversation with a soul was tricky, most of the time they ignored you and thought you were a crazy person and it usually took them a few minutes to realize you could actually see them.

So Ira casually rested in the shade the house provided, thankful even to get out of the sun for a bit.

“It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way…”

The dead usually talked to themselves too since they had no one else to talk to.

“I thought it would be better…”

Ira glanced at the soul of the man beside her. He was floating above the ground not but two or three feet away from her. His body was slightly translucent and covered in the clothes he’d died in, desert clothes. Long robes of protective yet breathable material meant to keep him cool in the harsh conditions while traveling throughout the desert. The man glanced at her for a second then looked away but Ira didn’t. He looked back at her for a second time unsure and Ira let a small, sad smile grace her face.

“You can see me, can’t you?”

She nodded her head. The surprise in his voice, the sound of hope, the light that always entered their eyes whenever they finally realized someone could see them, someone could hear them. She never got used to it, no matter how many years she did this for and how many souls and Fallen crossed her path, that one experience would always touch her heart.

[Chidori Draconid]

Well that made things much easier. Ira needed no rituals, no materials, no spaces. He was under the impression that one would need something elaborate while communicating to the dead, but that went to show how much Chidori was the victim of popular belief and suspicion. Maybe solving this case wouldn’t be as difficult as the young deity thought it would be.

Ira broke off from the group and headed into the town of Kyshini, and Chidori eagerly followed hoping to see how the Calerian did her work. He stumbled clumsily down the steep mound of rolling sand and stepped heavily upon the crackled dry farmland. The town of Kyshini, though still fully inhabited, seemed like a ghost town. The wind carried a sheet of golden sand over the ground and around the stucco foundations of the public buildings. Chidori casually brushed his hand along the brown stone walls as they passed. No one was outside, but who could blame them. Although the heat didn’t necessarily bother Chidori for the time being, he could imagine it having detrimental effects on even the most hardened desert trekkers after a long enough time.

As Ira turned the corner Chidori felt something grab his right ankle, and he stumbled forward. Looking down he saw a hand the color of the sand reaching out of the ground and holding on to him tightly. One was reaching up to grab Rain as well.

“Hand! Ground!” The young deity yelled incoherently as he yanked his leg attempting to free himself of the vice grip. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say to get his comrade to notice and act quickly enough. There’s a hand emerging from the ground to grab you took far too long. So he panicked and said two simple words. He turned his attention back to the hand grasping him and whacked it a few times, but to no avail.

He was afraid to hit it with his Stellar Energy because he could have easily burned himself, and he was afraid to cut it with his blade because he could have easily cut himself. Both fears were well enforced as he made contact with his own shin several times. Finally the hand let go and sunk back into the sand, but only as another came up to grab his left leg. He was ready for it this time as he jumped up and down allowing his knees to hit his chest. Then he sprinted to the other side of the road hoping to have escaped the thing.

There Ira was leaning on the wall in the shade. Nothing was attacking her. Perhaps they were safe.

[Still]

“Hand! Ground!” Chidori yelled, looking scared and baffled at the same time. Confused at first, and trying to wrap his head around the incoherent yelp Rain glanced at the ground. There, as the man had said, was a hand. Cocking his head to one side in open display of his confoundment, the hunter didn’t really see the threat in a simple hand. As if it had read his thoughts, the desert aberration leapt out and grasped his ankle, trying to pull him to the ground. The hunters eyes narrowed, a deep growling emitting from his throat as he kicked his foot, trying to free himself. One final kick loosened the fingers for a moment, followed by a quick roll away, drawing an arrow all at once. Notching and pulling back his bowstring, Rain let loose the first arrow into the palm of the sandy hand. It quivered then fell into simple sand.

A brother surrounded by hidden snakes.

The scorpions! Their warning did not go to deaf ears, Rain leaping from the ground and following the white-robed Chidori to the street of the village. A few lumps had formed in the ground where he had crouched, and just for cautions sake Rain let loose a few arrows into each, watching them halt their quivering.

“Magic?”

Not daring to take his eyes off the ground, the Hunter uttered that single word out of the side of his mouth. It was more of a question then a statement, for he didn’t understand this place and didn’t know if it were natural for hands to grasp at newcomers. While waiting impatiently for the answer, a cold rush fell down his spine, followed by a babbling and mummering from all the scorpions in his link at once. It was chaos, a different image from each and strange emotions, some scared, others serious. Closing his eyes, he sent out a strong signal to each, trying to calm them. Gradually, the messages dimmed and the scorpions spoke amongst themselves, coordinating their claims. After a few moments, Rain opened his eyes again to an image so solid he could almost see it.

A black-maned wolf, blood red eyes staring out in hunger

’A wolf? How would scorpions know of wolves?’ It was indeed a good question, yet the meaning was not lost. Turning to his closest companion, he drew and notched another arrow. Swallowing hard, Rain cleared his throat then spoke up.

“Something comes…something evil…”

[Chidori Draconid]

“Rain, if we’re going to work together, you are going to have to understand that I don’t exactly believe in using the term lightly or frequently.” The young deity said with wide eyes as he drew his sword and stepped closer to his ally. “You see, evil is a highly subjective term. High Elves think Dark Elves are evil, vice versa, while I have had the pleasure of interacting with both. Neither is evil. The lion thinks the hyena is evil, while both are only serving their role in nature, as you ‘mother’ so intended. Mitra, although bitter, bitchy, and selfish, would not fit my definition of evil.”

A loud growling echoed throughout the small village of Kyshini. It sounded very much like a wolf. At the same time the pinch on the inside of Chidori’s skull emerged again, directing his attention back to the spot where they encountered the animated hands across the street. There they were again in two pairs. This time they were pulling bodies up. Two identical bald heads reflected the sun’s rays as they shook the sand out of bushy brown eyebrows and bright yellow irises. Chidori could already tell by their broad shoulders and the well defined faces that they were muscular men. How he wished he had more muscle.

“But you see. Mitra is too petty.” Chidori said as he got into a low battle stance. “That’s why he can’t just let Fallien go.”

The men pushed their torsos out of the sand showing that they were clad in brown leather armor from their forearms to their abdomen. Their belt buckles bore the signet of Mitra, which glowed an incandescent orange. It seemed to them as though the sand was the water and they were stepping on to dry land as they lifted their knees to their chests and stepped onto the ground with their heavy looking brown boots. They stood as identical muscle bound twins towering at least a foot over Chidori and Rain. Was this a theme Chidori sensed here? First he was called here by the twin gods and now he had to face two twin disciples of Mitra.

“Mitra’s really petty.” Chidori felt the seven points inside his body tingle as he mustered up his Stellar Energy. It wasn’t apparent to anyone else but him, but he would be able to use it at a second’s notice if need be.

The twin sandmen bent over and buried their hands in the sand to pull out six foot long curled cycles. They shook the sand off of the blades to reveal their highly reflective finish. The sun glistened off of them and nearly blinded Chidori with their light. The young deity blinked his eyes with annoyance, and that was when they decided to attack. He could see the faint outline of the sandman’s body past the glare of the blade dashing towards him.

Petty… Yea, that was the right word.

[Iriah Caitrak]

“How is it you can see me, and even hear me when I’ve screamed at others who have taken no notice?”

She felt sympathetic to the man, truly she did. If there was something more she could do for him besides tell him to just move on, she would do it, she would do it for every soul that crossed her path. Even every Fallen who tried to kill her.

“It’s what I do, I’m from the Calerian tribe up north…”

“I’ve heard of that tribe, cursed to see the dead…”

Ira smiled lightly at him. A lot of the people who knew of the Calerian tribe thought they were cursed but no one Calerian she know looked at it like that. A Calerian always had the right to stop their training and live as normal a life as possible within the tribe without any repercussions. Not everyone given the ability to see and talk to the dead could deal with it on a regular basis, not everyone was born to fight.

“We do not look at it that way, we look at it as a way of helping those in need. Where as others help you in life, we are here to help you in death.”

The man didn’t say anything, he just turned his head from her and looked out over the farmhouses scattered throughout this small town.

“However, I am here to ask for some help from you…”

His gaze snapped back to her, “What do you think I can do to help you?”

“I need you to tell me if you’ve noticed anything odd going on, despite the land becoming infertile. Also…tell me how you died.”

He looked at her a long moment, eyes searching hers as if trying to find something within them that would help him. Her swirling irises gave away nothing though.

“I don’t really understand much of what happened myself. I left Kyshini, with my family, my wife and two children; we went in search of fertile land. Our home was bought from us for a very generous sum of money, we had more than enough to start over, and they even brought gifts of milk and foods for the journey. Days into it we started feeling weak and worn, as if there was no energy within us. After a week we just…died. I couldn’t say it was sudden, no matter how much we drank or even ate we felt tired, dehydrated and I must have been hallucinating because I’d heard the sound of a choir before…before this. And after I died…”

He trailed off; his eyes were full of tears as he stared out into the barren fields before them. She didn’t try to comfort him, she said no words of encouragement, Ira just waited for the man to continue.

“I looked…you know, I wanted to see, so after…I looked. Our lungs were filled with sand; our mouths were filled with sand. My children…my wife, they were just lying there and they wouldn’t get up no matter how much I yelled at them.”

“You didn’t see your wife or your children?”

“No…”

That sent a cold shiver down Ira’s spine. Either they’d moved on after they’d died or…they’d gone immediately to Purgatory.

“How many others left for fertile land?”

She was afraid to ask the question, she wanted to know yet hated knowing at the same time.

“Three other families and a few lone ones before, since us I don’t know…”

Ira cringed; so many people dead and all of them could be trapped within Purgatory for all she knew. Was this why Gereint had sent her here? Had he sensed the abundance of souls within the other plane?

“You have to move on.”

She said it with more conviction and perhaps a little harsher than she should have for she could see the shock in the man’s face as if she were asking him to commit sin against his family.

“You have to stop regretting and go to your rightful resting place or you’ll never see your family again.”

“But I…”

“No, you have to leave. Stop regretting, stop thinking of the could haves and should haves. Just realize that it’s over and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“I cannot leave without my family…”

Longing eyes traveled to a distant farmhouse and Ira realized it was his old home, the one he had sold, the one now occupied by strangers.

“Then I am sorry…”

“What are you sorry ab—“

Ira formed a short sword within her hand and before the man could finish his sentence she slashed him across the chest, enchanted steel meeting the large, black hole where his heart and his humanity lay. His soul disappeared in a flash and where it had once been a black and red butterfly now floated there before it too disappeared on its way to another plane of existence.

Now, she just needed to find Chidori and Rain and then from there, Purgatory.

[Still]

“Wha…what is going on?!”

The sharp, long howl of a wolf seemed to make the Sandman facing Rain a bit nervous, and he swung his blade or twice in a menacing manner. Shaking his head in confusion, the Hunter simply notched a few arrows and let them loose, thinking it could be ended right there and then. After five arrows were in the air, he simply leaned on the wall and watched. What came next was most unexpected.

The Sandman, seeing him notch the bow, had reached down and grasped a handful of sand. This was of no consequence at the time to Rain, and he had basically ignored it. However, he did notice it. As the first arrow let fly, the man flung the handful into the air, creating a dust cloud of golden sand before him. The view of the man was obscured, so the next few arrows were shot in blindly, hoping to hit. As the first arrow punctured the screen of sand, then was when it began. Instead of the arrow piercing through as would be expected, a portion of the cloud imploded around the arrow, coating it with a heavy layer of sand and sending it crashing uselessly to the ground. The others followed, except instead of crashing to the ground, they simply hung in the air. Finally the cloud was used up, and the last arrow barely nicked his shoulder.

Not even noticing the tiny bleeding cut in his skin, the Sandman held out one hand, closing his eyes in concentration. Rain stood, worried now, his mind racing. Waiting to see what this devilish sand demon would conjure next, the hunter held one anxious hand over his half-emptied quiver. Suddenly, another sand-hand grasped his ankle and, as he looked down, he heard a strange word muttered by the man. Though he didn’t understand the word, he soon saw its meaning. The sand-covered arrows spun in mid air and blasted out; flying at him at twice the speed he had sent them. Crying out in surprise, Rain kicked with all his might at the hand, barely coming loose. A quick roll to the side seemed the best choice, and he was hitting the sand in seconds.

In any normal situation, he would have been decently safe, but despite all his efforts the Hunter felt a blast of pain arch up his back, spreading through his body like a plague. Sticking out of his shoulder like a flag pole was one of the arrows. He had gotten somewhat lucky and it had not hit bone, but only pierced skin. The sand coating had reduced the effectiveness of the steel tip. As he watched, the sand slowly trickled off it. The other arrows were in the wall where he had been standing. However, he felt sand swirling around in the wound, causing serious grievance to him. Ripping the arrow out, mad now, Rain stood, somewhat panting.

“Mother…forgive me…”

Bursting forward at the fastest his human body could handle, Rain tossed his bow aside and grasped another arrow from the quiver, holding them like daggers. At the last moment before reaching the range of the Sandman’s scimitar, he thrust one arrow at the man, watching it land dead in his thigh. Having caught him surprised, the man fell to his good knee, and didn’t see Rain circle around him. As he stood, the man turned to watch the other Sandman for a moment before he cried out in pain. Falling face-first into the ground, Rain was on his knees behind him, tears running down his sandy face. A monument to his anger, the other arrow stuck out of the man's throat, blood draining into the sand.

Without the energy to even stand yet, Rain glanced over to his companion, hoping that Chidori would be having a better time handling the lackeys.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori stepped to the left to first and most importantly get the glare out of his eyes. Once he did get far enough he saw that the sandman was coiling his scimitar back for a massive swing. With ten hasty backwards steps he was just far enough to get beyond the blade’s range. The great mass of air picked up by long and heavy scimitar blew sand on the young deity’s pearl white robe as it came behind. There was an opening for Chidori as the sandman’s entire body turned with the heavy blade, so he ran in with a great lunge and swung aiming for his adversary’s ribs.

He made contact, but his blade fell on a piece of brown armor that was hard as rock. Sparks flew as his blade its way across it. He ran out of the man’s reach once again and stood there watching as the small shell that he struck blow away like sand. It was sand. Within seconds the sandman had summoned a shell of sand that was so condensed that it became sedimentary rock. This would be a difficult battle if he was able to use sand to his advantage a quickly as his reflexes would allow him to. Every time the young deity would come in for an otherwise successful strike the, his enemy would summon a guard of some sorts against it. He almost had a third arm of sorts. While his other two arms were occupied with this massive blade, this mind’s arm of sorts would guard against any attacks, summoning a shield every where it was needed.

The blade came around again, faster than Chidori had expected. He put his sword just in time to block the attack, but the swing had so much velocity that it pushed the young deity back until his back hit the stucco wall of one of the local buildings. The back of his head made contact with the wall and for a second his vision became fogy. That second was long enough for the sandman to take another powerful swing, and Chidori’s eyes returned to focus watching a blade close in fast. He instinctively kneeled to the ground and the scimitar passed over his head. Pebbles from the collision between the wall and the blade sprinkled his hair and neck. He took another attempt to pass Mitra’s warrior with a running slash, and just like before his blade made contact with the summoned sand armor.

Two spheres of sand rose from the ground behind the sandman as Chidori left his range again. This was his opening. The two projectiles shot towards Chidori. He waited for just the right second. Just as he could touch them with the length of his arm a beam of blue white heat shot through the spheres, reducing them to their true powdery form as they showered face. It had also shot through the left side of the sandman’s head melting almost a quarter of the left side. He dropped to his knees and fell face forward dead into the sand he’d commanded just a few seconds before.

“Rain?” Chidori said as he looked around for his partner while rubbing the back of his throbbing head. There Survani’s boy was, not far from where they had been before. It seemed as though he’d dealt with his enemy in a little more direct manor than Chidori. The young deity waved him near as he walked across the way and around a building to see Ira.

“So did you get anything?”

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira glanced up as Chidori and Rain came over to her. Both of them looked a little tussled like they just may have been in a battle. Chidori especially looked a little out of sorts and Ira got the feeling that he wasn’t one to battle very much and that he might be uncomfortable in a situation where he has to use his steel and strength instead of his brain, or whatever else he may use to get out of sticky situations.

“I found out a little bit…but, we’ll have to go to Purgatory to find out more.” That was an almost truth, they could find out more in Purgatory but she was really going there to release the lost souls.

She didn’t want to ask for them to come with her, Purgatory was not a happy place and if Chidori got a little flustered over a battle it was especially not a place for him. However, there were souls trapped there that needed her help and he wanted their information. Souls in Purgatory were never very forth coming when it came to sitting down and chatting over a cup of tea, however she could try and in the end she’d release them all if she had to.

Without wasting another moment standing around talking, Ira summoned Purgatory and watched as the world around her froze in place and only she, Rain and Chidori could move. Colour slowly began to seep away, leaving everything in shades of grey. Purgatory was between Sanctuary, a place of light, and Abyss of place of darkness, there was no colour here unless you are alive and there was no black and no white for it is between and therefore everything in it is stuck in between.

As the colour faded pieces of the village too began to crumble away until Kyshini, in Purgatory, was nothing more than a ruin. Just how everything in Purgatory eventually ended up. A ruin of what it formally was. Especially the human soul, it can’t last long here without the humanity slowly being stripped away from it and once that happens, it becomes nothing more than a hollow shell. It could become a plague upon humanity if it ever succeeded in breaking the boundaries between this plane and the physical one. After all, how can humans fight what they cannot see?

The crystal resting in the underside of her armguard came to life protecting the Calerian warrior and covering her chest and left arm in armour. It thickened her right armguard and both of her shin guards. A piece of material also came down to cover her face from the bridge of her nose down.

“Welcome to Purgatory…” Her voice sounded a little muffled through the material.

The ruins of the village they were now standing in provided plenty of cover for any Fallen nearby to hide in. Stretching out her senses Ira immediately felt the presence of roughly ten souls in the area. They were all rather close and she couldn’t tell if they were corrupted or not. At least there weren’t very many of them, meaning most of the people who died in the village had passed on to their rightful resting place.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori turned in a circle, watching in amazement as the colors of the world around him drained down like multihued water pouring out of a cup. It seemed as if the loss of color symbolized the loss of life as the tensile strength of every edifice drained away with it. The walls of the buildings folded over submissively to their loss. However, the loss of life did not happen with the three of them, as they lost no hue whatsoever. They were like three white dots on the black side of a warped yin yang. He looked at his partner and noticed the armor over her face, leaving only her beautiful silver eyes. They were highly expressive, as were the eyes of all living things.

The young deity could appreciate that, and he could appreciate the fact that he would never have to experience this realm of Althanas if he ever met death. Yes, he would be sent back to heaven as the only deity to ever fail this right of passage thus experiencing his own personal hell, but at least it wouldn’t be the lifeless Purgatory. He looked past Kyshini where Survani’s Oasis began. Even her blessed land was not exempt form the expulsion of life from this dimension. Therefore, in this world even the Gods and their trivial disputes were no longer laws of life. This realm was an authority in and of itself. As far as Chidori was concerned the only true sentient command over this place came from Ira. It was only right that she lead the group in this place.

“Alright, Ira, what will you have us do for you?” Chidori said with a slight bow to signify his submission.

[Still]

A slow feeling of draining washed over Rain as he stood, dizziness striking him unexpectedly. This was his first kill, his initiation as a hunter. Of all things, he had slain a servant of another God. Unsure of his footing anymore, he stumbled after Chidori, only half aware of what was happening. Everything that was being pushed onto him at once had too many consequences, more than he could handle on short notice. Though wanting to simply sit and think, the hunter knew by the blood on his hands that this moment, this day, was not a day of contemplation. People were dying when they shouldn’t. Maybe they weren’t the most innocent are pure of people, but they were still living creatures, disrupted by a dark and petty divine force. It is for events like this that Gaia sent him out, and Rain was slowly beginning to understand that.

Gifted with communication and the powers of nature, Rain was still no greater than average when it came to intelligence. Yet, when he stepped near Ira and Chid, the trailing chill that walked down his spine, siphoning his breath and slowing his pulse, needed no contemplation. Feeling as if he was underwater, swimming in waters too cold to contemplate, the hunter watched as the world crumbled in slow motion around him. Blurry short-term memories of a realm called ‘Purgatory’ were dredged up, realizing that they were traveling into a place that he would never have seen. Ira was showing Rain a land not meant for him.

Unable to fully cope with all of these new revelations, Rain stumbled forward and held onto Chid’s shoulder, trying to stable himself. Glancing up, he stared at Ira for a moment as the transformation completed, leaving her garbed in armor that was not there before. After gaining a semblance of his bearings, he moved to speak.

“But…what can we possible do here? Are we not ghosts to them as they are to us in our realm?”

Being unable to effect anything, to see but not touch in a place where they could touch back was a dreadful thought. How could he defend himself against something that was already dead? What does one do to destroy a dead soul?

’Why do you test me so, Mother? Do you wish for me to fail?’

Even with the knowledge that it would probably do nothing in this place, Rain restrung his bow that he had haphazardly flung aside earlier and drew an arrow. Gulping audibly, he eyed his surroundings, feeling unsafe and naked without the eyes and ears of nature. It was cold and lonely in this place of death; where life was not destined to walk.

[Iriah Caitrak]

“What we do here is help the lost souls that the Gods of Fallien and all of Althanas have forgotten, or could just care less about.” The words were said laced with malice. Ira hated the fact that the Gods chose to ignore Purgatory and those who had fallen victim to it. It was one of the reasons she worshipped no God.

Ira looked from Rain and Chidori, assessing each of their weapons. The ones they carried with them would do no good, in fact, they would pass right through a Fallen without doing any kind of damage where as the Fallen could do as much damage to them here as they wanted to. The rules were twisted within the realm of Purgatory.

Forming a quiver with twenty arrows in it, Ira walked over and handed it to Rain, “Your arrows will do no damage here. You must use these ones instead, when you run out; I’ll make you more. If you drop the quiver, it will disappear.”

Chidori’s sword cane was not as hard to fashion as she thought. It was like making a sword and sheath only changing the handle slightly.

This she gave to Chidori as well, “Same thing, your weapon is useless, however if you drop this one it will disappear.”

Bringing people into Purgatory who were not Calerian’s could always get messy, but Ira wanted them to see first hand how bad things were here. She wanted them to witness the pain a soul went through in this place and their inability to do anything but attack and kill once they’d been corrupted beyond recognition. Perhaps then the Gods would realize that Purgatory needed their help and that Calerian’s could not handle it on their own. They were, after all, only one fighting force, there weren’t that many of them and the danger of being corrupted was a great one.

“Whatever unfortunately souls found their way here will be corrupted by now. If their appearance alone doesn’t make you wonder the fact that they’ll attack with without warning will. Do not bother talking to them, they won’t listen to you; just aim your weapons through the black holes in their chest where their hearts and humanity once lay. That will release them from this place.”

Ira glanced down at the crystal embedded in the centre of the chest plate. It was a gentle blue colour, a small dot of red in the centre. Her indication of how much she’d been corrupted by the regrets and evils the souls had committed while in Purgatory. She was safe, nowhere near danger, and if what had happened during The Festival of the Dead had helped her then she should no longer have any accidental corruptions.

Guiding her little band of souls slayers deeper into the village, the Calerian warrior didn’t have to walk far before the Fallen found her. All ten one of them packed into one nice little group, ready to be released. All of them were completely corrupted, once normal healthy skin was now blackened as if it had been through the flames of Hell. They were deformed beyond human recognition, some of their limbs turned into weapons themselves. Steel protruding from skin; the ones without them would use whatever they could to beat down their opponent. Fists and feet, whatever was left of them, teeth, anything, even items they could pick up from the ground.

“Release your regrets…”

Ira formed her half Swallows, one in each hand and charged into the group of Fallen. She kicked one out of her way, caught another one in the shoulder with the blade of her weapon and ducked down as something shape flew by her head. The familiar feel of adrenaline began to burn in her veins, the beating of her heart increased and she broke out into a slight sweat. Coming up from her crouching position, Ira blocked the arm of a Fallen, twisted and grotesque, it had something sharp protruding from the forearm. With her free weapon, she shoved the blade into the Fallen’s chest and watched as it disappeared in a bright flash, a red and black butterfly in its stead that quickly vanished as well.

One down, nine more to go.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori didn’t know what to call these creatures. Ira had given them a definition but no formal title came from her. Perhaps it was to avoid alienating these fallen souls, to keep from nullifying one by their situation, to keep fresh in one’s mind and heart that they were unfortunate people, and not just zombies. He couldn’t help but look upon these men and women with sadness. There was an iota of regret in his heart knowing what he had to do, but there was also a faint glint of hope.

They were doing right by these people by taking them down, but what did this have to do with their mission of saving Survani’s Oasis from the disciples of Mitra? If everyone was void of all heart and humanity like Ira said then what was the use of interrogating them or even being here? There may have been more to this than meets the eye, so Chidori kept his mouth shut as the first of the tortured Purgatory souls appeared.

Having seen Ira take down an enemy Chidori proceeded to do the same with his new Purgatory sword cane. The young deity charged at one of the charred beings and swung his blade out from its cane scabbard aiming for the void where the heart used to be.

His swing was met by the forearm of his target, which had a blade protruding from the skin of the forearm. The vibration of the impact of the two blades ran through Chidori’s arm with a vengeance. Action around him churned up sand that sprinkled the side of his face like a light splash of water. He dared not look away from the lifeless face of his target, and the dried out crusty streaks were the footprints of tears and the only remnants of the humanity that fell victim to this realm.

Ira’s bitterness towards the Gods was well motivated, but Chidori, unlike most mortals understood that their neglect of this realm was not just a matter of jurisdiction, but a matter of ability. If Bhumiya and Embilulu were able to deal with this realm then Ira wouldn’t even be here. Even the Gods were limited to what they represented or symbolized, but Chidori would definitely have a talk with a certain Elder Thayne after this mission was over.

The dead man proceeded with an overhead strike and Chidori swiftly stepped to the side with grace. A peculiar but unrecognizable smell was carried by the wind of the fruitless strike, but Chidori took no heed. He took a fast step forward, planted his feet firmly into the lifeless grey sand and let his blade plunge into the heart of oblivion. Two more soulless beings came from behind the fallen enemy, and swung at Chidori, one with what seemed to be claws extending out of every knuckle, and another with nothing but her burnt body to attack him with.

The young deity used his hard scabbard in his left hand and his blade in his right hand to ward against the dead man as he pranced backwards with haste. This soul was particularly angry, slashing frequently with vertical and horizontal strikes, each of which was followed by an incoherent roar. When the dead man came in for a stab Chidori ducked, and the sharp claws met and cut the lengthy locks of his wavy orchid hair. It was a small price to pay for survival, and the young deity stabbed into another void of heart.

In the midst of all this he had forgotten all about the female. Suddenly a pair of charcoal hands grabbed hold of his hair and forced him to stand up straight as a shin beat into his stomach. He was now at the mercy of the people of this realm as his breath ran out of his body like a deflating balloon loosing air with every hit. He envisioned simply swinging his blade to rid himself of this nuisance, but he was using all the energy he had to hang on to the purgatory weapons.

[Still]

Rain stood, speechless, watching the battle unfold before him. Ira so casually had burst into battle, treating these battered souls as fodder for her blades and nothing more. With the quiver over his shoulder, the other hand holding the bow at docile, the hunter could barely comprehend why they were here. How could destroying the pitifully corrupt souls of the shadows of the previous residents help them? Though it might be a noble act, it couldn’t further their goal here much. Unable to ask to this end, for the others were in battle, Rain reached for an arrow, taking the dark spirits’ ignorance of his presence as an advantage. His fingers brushed the soft tips of one of the arrows, feeling the spectral feathers and sensing the beginning of a tingle running down his form.

With slow, deliberate movements Rain drew a shimmering light blue, almost transparent arrow from the matching quiver. An aura of blue mist billowed off it, leaving no question as to it being an unnatural weapon. Staring at the arrow, the hunter finally raised his head and placed the shaft between his fingers, pulling back the cord and holding it against his cheek. Closing his left eye and concentrating, something clicked inside him. Suddenly his eyes dulled and all his nerves softened; it felt right. This was a lesson the Son of Gaia, the Hunter she had designed for this world, needed to learn. This is his duty; they are targets. They must be removed!

His mind lapsing into a trance, Rain drew back the arrow even farther, pulling until the arrow tip scratched his fingers. Centering his aim on the heart of a dark spirit that leapt through the air, about to bring a claw down on Ira’s unsuspecting back, he released. Slicing air, silent as a whisper, the spiritual arrow lodged itself in the heart of the beast, exploding into the darkness and filling it with the light blue of the spiritual energy. With only a slight delay, the darkness that comprised the translucent being’s skin dissolved upwards, being lifted into an inexistent wind. From the spiritual ashes, a butterfly awakened, floating off to fade from sight.

The dullness in Rain’s eyes increased, and without hesitation two more arrows flew through the air, slicing deep into the chest of a what used to be a young woman and her boy. The boy’s mouth burst open, a silent scream, before bursting into shards of darkness. The woman turned fully around even as the spiritual energy released its essence. Staring at him with empty eyes, that dark gaze broke whatever held the Hunter and the life returned to his body and eyes. He watched with awe as the spirit faded away. In those last moments, before she disappeared, he could of sworn he saw the shadow of a smile.

“They want this.”

With only a few left, Rain casually drew the next arrow, searching for an opening to fire from. He had remembered counting ten when they first started this confrontation, and a slow smile had formed in place of the apathy. Though he was destroying, in a way, it was giving freedom to continued existence somewhere else. This was a duty that was both needed, and noble enough to pursue. Chidori, Ira, and he could not possibly release all the corrupted souls, but even a few was worth the delay. Rain would be thankful if it was his soul corrupted.

Just before letting loose the arrow into another preoccupied dark spirit; the sound of a muffled growl behind Rain caught his attention. Dropping the arrow, he watched the threads of spiritual energy unravel, becoming nothing but emptiness before ever hitting the ground. Gradually he turned, facing what must be a new threat. In the street where they had come from, the place they had entered, stood an enormous black wolf. Matted fur, surprisingly dark, as if woven from shadows, covered the beast. It’s shoulders, elongated and ending in exposed blood-red bone, reached to the hunter’s head. Massive was an understatement, for the thing could probably have eaten the Son of Gaia whole without trying. Wisps of dark energies floating up from around its paws, blackened portions of soil marking the trail it had taken while stalking the group.

Knowing it was something alive, though not what, Rain spoke.

“Who are you?”

Only silence was a greeting at first, and its head cocked to side as if thinking. Finally the connection between their minds formed, and he felt a rush of darkness as if a dam had broken in his soul. Soon the tide ebbed and instead of images, words entered his head. Never before had this happened, and it scared him as the vowels reverberated throughout Rain’s skull.

“Cerberus”

[Iriah Caitrak]

This was natural to Ira. Unlike Chidori and Rain she did not have to come to terms with attacking the Fallen souls. She knew what happened when her blade passed through them and she knew she was helping them more than anything. If they had to feel a brief amount of pain before they could move on to a better place, so be it. It was a small price to pay for their release from this realm. She just hoped that wherever their souls next travelled to, they found the peace and happiness they’d been looking for there.

Ducking under the blow of some Fallen with some blade, Ira came up using one of her half swallows to attack the creature’s arm and distract him, then she plunged the other half swallow into his chest. Light exploded and he was release, turning from Fallen soul, to butterfly and then to nothing on his way to Sanctuary. That was just one more down in this small group.

Looking to her left, Ira spotted Chidori having a little bit of trouble. Smirking and shaking her head, Ira raced over to him, dropping one of her half swallows and forming a small throwing knife in its stead. Carefully aiming, Ira threw it at the Fallen and watched as her weapon his home and the Fallen released Chidori before disappearing from this realm.

“And here I thought you’d be able to handle your own.” Ira said to him, jokingly.

Feeling something odd tickle her sense of the surroundings, Ira looked behind her and saw Rain standing almost frozen in place. Knowing it was not him who tickled her senses her eyes travelled to where he was looking and perceived an extremely large wolf at the end of the ruined street. She knew not what it was, she’d never seen it here before, but she knew it was not Fallen. The wolf had colour to it and therefore was alive, but whatever it was it didn’t feel like anything she’d sensed before. She had no time to worry about it though, Rain would have to deal, with it for now, whatever it was. She had three more Fallen to take care of and she wanted them taken care of quickly, no more playing around in Purgatory for these Gods.

Forming another throwing knife in her free hand, Ira raced off towards the last three Fallen. She threw the knife and watched it plunge into the blackness of what was once heart and humanity, releasing the creature. Then she formed the other half of her swallow and quickly began tearing into the last two. One of them got a quick attack in, slicing into her arm and producing a small trail of blood, but she barely noticed it. She just quickly finished off the two in a flurry of dodges and two quick stabs straight into their chests.

With the last of the Fallen defeated, Ira raced over to Rain, her eyes locked on the massive wolf. She didn’t know what to make of it, was he a God like these two or perhaps something else? He certainly was not a Calerian, no Calerian she knew could turn themselves into wolves and his soul did not feel like that of a Calerian. He left like something closer to a God, but an assumption was not something she was about to make.

Standing by Rain’s side, Ira eyed the creature warily, her weapons still in her hand. If she had to she’d protect Chidori and Rain with the last of her strength, after all this was her realm and she’d brought them here. They were her responsibility.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori stumbled forward after Ira saved him from certain defeat. She and Rain quickly dispatched of the rest of the Fallen before he could repay the favor. No matter. It was likely that he would have the opportunity to do so later on during the mission. For now he would have to work on his recovery from the series of hits that had taken his breath away. He waited there as his breath went from shorted to full and deep as he recovered his composure and stared at the ground. The color of his hands on his knees jumped out in his vision in contrast to the dull lifeless surroundings.

Suddenly a growl echoed about the area, the same growl that had intimidated the powerful sandmen earlier. That same pinch emerged inside his skull again. His third eye had been triggered again. A divine entity was in the vicinity. When he looked up he saw Rain frozen with eyes locked on a wolf about fifty feet away from them standing beside a crumbled edifice. It was the source of the intimidating growling.

Ira buried her blade in the last of the Fallen, and they began to slowly seep away in a mixture of light and shadow. She quickly came to Rain’s side. Chidori followed suit, but more calmly. Sudden movements were only going to excite the animal. That is if it was an animal. Casual confident movement was the best way to calm it down, but why was an animal even here in Purgatory? Animals had souls too, Chidori was sure of it, but were they made to suffer the fate of intelligent beings?

Suddenly for some unexplained reason the wolf stopped growling. A divine violet aura that only Chidori could see began to emit from its brown fur… brown fur? It was alive! Plus that same aura formed a purple core where the heart was assumed to be, just like the twin gods earlier. This wolf did not just have a divine connection. It was a God, and it was no longer bearing its teeth. This God was benign, therefore it wasn’t Mitra.

“No worries, you two. This is an ally, a God to be exact. Unfortunately this is not his or her realm so they're powerless here. All that can be done is what has been done, so let's get back to the matter at hand. What's our next step Ira?”