The Day Radasanth Sank

[The Architect]

Continued from The Blueprint (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=5458)

Now you show me a man, woman, child, human, elf, troll or any other creature whose life goes as planned and I’ll show you the universe at your hands! Whose life here has gone completely as planned? I dare one of you to speak up, you filthy bags of skin and lies. You wouldn’t be in this pub if it did. You’d be sitting in a mansion or a castle sipping on some Raiaeran wine. Dylan was no different. His plan was simple, to go to Radasanth, get this project done, and go back home to Scara Brae and wait for another job to come his way. Ha! Not only did his plans change drastically, they changed on his very first full day on Corone soil. You guys may remember this as The Day Radasanth Sank.

Ginger and cinnamon filled Seti Dylan’s nose as he took an endlessly deep inhale. The still air only made one move, to wrap him up in its thick warmth. The soft threads of the mahogany and maroon carpet tickled the spaces between his toes as he sauntered forward to his giant desk, a desk meant for an architect. The wooden oak surface was completely buried under a thick layer of parchment and paper. Various drawings of structures were weighed down by pens, pencils, rulers, compasses, and other tools of his craft. It was time to work, but it was a dark hour and light was scarce as it was provided by a crackling fire on the other side of the spacious room, and the night sky through the glass ceiling. Seti reached for a gas lamp and a match and lit it with ease, but before he went to his work a slender feminine silhouette caught his eye. She stood just beyond the light of his lamp. Her hips, outlined by the fire, swayed as she approached.

“Seti.” She said with a raised volume and a hint of annoyance. That definitely wasn’t sexy. However, everything but the voice wasn’t even real. At least not yet. Seti’s perception returned to reality. Visions of his future home merely melted and rose away like steam as his eyes squinted at the light of the afternoon sun. The ginger and cinnamon where nowhere to be sniffed as they were chased away by smells of freshly cut grass, the lamp he held in his hand was only his family blade, and the approaching woman was not who he’d hoped for. It was the obnoxious but reasonably attractive Elmira Doris. The advisor to his client stood in front of him with crossed arms and a perturbed glare. “What are you doing?”

“Cultivating a vision no thanks to you!” An enraged architect strutted down the hill with haste, ramming his way through a cluster of aristocrats and their advisors. One of which was his client, Benasik Tameran.

“Wait! You’re blaming me?” Elmira chased after him. “Everyone else here is talking.”

“But you were speaking directly to me.” Seti said as he turned to meet the advisor and envoy nose to nose. Since meeting the two had quickly become comfortable with each other in an odd fashion. The current situation left the two young adults a minority among older members of the well established. It was implicit that they were equals in respect, so neither had any problem literally getting into the other’s face. “It’s not like I forgot what I saw, but if you had left me to my own devices I may have been able to draw more from my imagination!”

Seti started down the hill again and Elmira followed with gusto. “I can’t say I believe you, architect. You just did that because you just don’t like...”

“Shut up!” Elmira did so, but at the signal of her superior. The grey stone road emerged from the emerald green sea of grass like a whale emerging from underwater. Tameran and his entourage fell silent as they watched the architect stop and slowly look around him with a blank face. He decided to share his vision this time. “With approval, we’ll go retro. The streets will be made with grey stone and white paste. It’ll contribute to the overall theme, an ode to the night sky.”

The architect pointed up and punctured the fabric of the blue sky, from which the black night seeped in and stained every thread until the stars and nebulas glimmered above him. “The homes will be dome shaped and at least two stories. Every top storey will have a glass dome ceiling, an observatory where every resident can see the sky and...” He pointed to the city, which was radiant gold in the darkness of Seti’s imaginary night. “Radasanth herself. Imagine eating, sleeping, and making love under the stars.”

“What would we call this borough?” The vision ran from Seti’s eyes as Benasik interrupted his train of thought. He wanted to shout at his client like he shouted at his client’s advisor, but he knew he couldn’t for many reasons. The most prominent of which being Benasik was intentionally gauging his patience. The bald man in clad in silk stared at him. His well kept white goatee shook as he continued. “It would have to properly match the theme.”

The name came to Seti instantly. “Celestial Hill.” The nobleman approved with a smile and a nod. Seti picked up where he left off, the city. “Since this gated community has an almost panoramic view of the city, we could make an abstract map to the landmark locations using the main gate...”

Just then as the architect directed the entourage’s attention to the metropolis, a beat similar to the strike of the lowest percussion filled their ears. Not but a second later did vibrations from the earth tingle the bottom of their feet. The party braced and searched in confusion. What was this sensation that hit their ears and nerves? It was soon to be answered by their eyes as they watched the great Library of Radasanth collapse into itself. The center fell first, pulling down the outer sides of the building until there was nothing. Seti and the Tameran entourage watched motionless and stunned. It was Elmira who broke the statue trend as she made a dead sprint down the hill and into the city. Everyone frantically followed leaving capes, pouches, and other possessions behind, but Seti lingered for a moment still staring at the ever swelling cloud of debris. Something about the collapse troubled him. Elmira had the moral idea though. Lives hung in the balance, and a rescue mission was now under way.

[Sighter Tnailog]

Findelfin pulled the last musty scroll from the shelf, dusting it off with a careful hand and a quick puff of breath. So far, his morning had been quite productive. He had found his books and things quickly and easily. Although this library wasn't quite as massive as the one in Ettermire, it was considerably better-kept. But nothing compares to Anebrilith, that's for sure.

Walking back to his desk, off in a secluded corner of the library, he brushed one last speck of dirt from the scroll and spread it out. It was written in a tongue he did not know, but he had come prepared. Pulling another book closer, he opened it up and began cross-checking the index with the symbols scrawled across the page. Every once in a while, he paused to pick up a nearby quill and scrawl a few notes on a blank piece of parchment.

He worked for another hour or so, pausing only to stretch. He was closer to solving his riddle, so much closer. But he still was not sure. Leaning again over the scroll, he rolled it out a little bit more, moving his eyes between its cryptic letters and the pages of his translation-book.

Suddenly he gasped audibly, leaning back in his chair in what appeared to be dawning amazement. Almost as quickly as the gasp had come he leaned forward again and began scribbling furiously. Hunkering forward like a hungry child over a hot meal, he was now more intent on his work than he'd ever been. From time to time he would leaf madly through the book, keeping one finger moving rapidly across the various enigmatic runes inscribed on the scroll. Whatever he had discovered was clearly of utmost importance.

And then he heard an ominous, threatening crack. He scarcely had time to look up quizzically to see a librarian frantically running towards him, a dozen people close on her heels, and the library building falling down around his head.

Before he had time to sweep his books and his notes to safety, they were buried by an avalanche of debris. Even worse, the world went suddenly dark as he found himself buried along with them.

[The Architect]

The Rescue

Seti and the grey wall of dust and debris charged at each other like the front lines of opposing armies. Neither retreated and neither hesitated. Those ahead used their handkerchiefs and other loose cloths to shield their eyes. Seti did the same, lifting the front of his shirt and preparing to make contact. Elmira disappeared into the cloud of matter ahead of him, then Benasik. The architect was next, so he covered his eyes with his copper tunic just as the cloud slapped his body with countless particles of dust. Inhaling was not an option for a quick moment. His eyes were protected, but there was nothing stopping the debris from clogging his nostrils. This must have been what a sand storm in Fallien was like.

After a moment of running blind and colliding with other bodies the afternoon sun shone through the thin cloth to let Seti know that his eyes were safe. He dropped his tunic to realize that his eyes in fact weren’t safe from the sight of destruction, but he didn’t stop his sprint towards the mountain of rubble. To his left several people had already pulled out some injured from the very front of the building. To his right a mob of women and children whaled and screamed helplessly at the scene. In front of him lay the fallen library. At least two dozen brave souls were already lifting, pushing, and rolling fragments of the great building to the side, and pulling out anyone they could find.

“Start an assembly line!” Tameran shouted as they all leaped onto the fresh ruins. “We have to get the rubble off the destruction site. Otherwise we’ll be saving lives at the expense of others.”

The practical strategy was immediately agreed upon and a line was formed with Elmira in front. Seti quickly objected. “No! Get out of the line and tend to those pulled out.” Elmira opened her mouth to retort, but he already knew what was on her mind.

“How much can you bench press?” She didn’t answer.
“How much can you curl?” Still she remained silent.
“How much can you pull? This isn’t a matter of honor or gender. Simply put you can’t lift as much as we can and we need to lift quite a bit.”

“He’s right, Elmira.” Tameran said stepping up beside Seti. “You can lead those onlookers to assist in tending to the injured.”

Elmira begrudgingly nodded and leaped down to the street. Seti was now first in line and his client second. Instead of pulling out the first fragment in front of him the architect used it as a stepping stone to reach a giant piece of the roof on top of the pile. It didn’t take long for the others to realize he was strategically getting rid of the topmost fragment. Thus they would release weight from the pile below making the mission easier on them and the victims below. Alas the fragment was larger than he’d thought, so two other men came to assist. They pressed on dragging the piece out. Meanwhile Elmira had formed another line of men on the other side of the building. Luckily for them there was no significantly large obstacle in their way, so they were able to pull out several victims almost immediately. The bodies of the bloody fallen and injured were passed along the line and down to the street where several civilians were ready to stitch up wounds with knitting needles, kitchen knives, and other useful household objects.

After several heaving pulls, the piece Seti chose to rid them of was revealed not to be a piece of the roof, but an entire column.

“Over there! Go!” Elmira shouted as her line came to assist in removing the colossal object, and they all kept pulling, passing, and lifting until the entire twenty eight foot thick and seventy foot long column was entirely in their hands. As disastrous as the situation was, the sight was a picturesque symbol of hope. Elmira stood at the top of a pile of rubble overseeing and encouraging the direction of the column as more than forty men of every shape, size, and class did what seemed impossible in a unified effort to move a giant. They carried it safely away from the rest of the wreckage and set it on the ground. They all knew they would eventually have to do it again, but now they knew they could do it. Without little words they all went back to their assembly lines and continued their rescue effort. Now that the heavy column was out of the way Seti could lift the stepping stone in front of him. Behind it was a small cave in completely devoid of light. He passed the stone along to Benasik behind him and continued the process, selecting pieces that would further unveil what was beneath.

“Sir Tameran, tell me about this building.” Seti said as he handed over another large chunk of granite. “What was the main hall like? One floor? Two floors?”

“One floor.” Strain hit Benasik’s voice as he took the weighty stone in his arms. From what Seti knew he assumed Benasik to be in his mid to late fifties. The man had gray hair and a few wrinkles, but he was still physically fit. Besides, nothing could stop a strong will at full charge. “The columns held up a very high ceiling, under which very tall bookcases were kept.”

“Like this one?” Seti began pulling a seemingly endless plank of flawless oak. When it finally did end it was at least thirty feet long. This was beginning to become disheartening. Elmira’s team had already pulled out at least ten victims, but his team had yet to come across a soul. Perhaps they were looking in the wrong place.

Just when the architect considered suggesting a new place the sun conveniently placed a ray on a head of hair in the dark void. It glimmered in his eyes like a golden scarab illuminating his hope. It was just beyond his reach. All he had to do was remove a few stones and he could work to reverse the burial of the victim. Hopefully the victim would be capable to some degree. “I see someone!” He screamed, and the men behind him cheered as he continued his effort.

[Sighter Tnailog]

As he slowly came to, he realized he could breathe, but barely. It was as if a heavy hand had been clamped across his mouth, but odder, more distant: instead of feeling the clutching against his face, he felt the hand gripping his chest. And each desperate breath was thicker than it should be, with tiny motes and specks of dust clinging like little hands to the lining of his mouth and throat. But the breathing was not the only thing he noticed. With a sudden wave of appreciation, he realized he could feel every part of his body. He couldn't move a muscle, but at least he could tell that all his muscles were there. He could feel air right on the top of his head, almost a breeze, but he was so tightly squeezed that he had no idea what might be causing it.

He tried for a second to struggle against the debris, but it was simply too much. And the more he fought, the harder it was to breathe. So he just stopped and laid still. He realized then that the area around him wasn't totally dark, but small veins of light trickled down through his vision, outlined clearly in the thick floating dusk. His head was positioned just perfectly so that he could see through two thick beams into a little clearing of rubble, and above that -- or was it to the side, he couldn't tell which direction he was facing -- he thought he could make out the faintest chink of blue, as if the sky was beckoning him.

And then there were voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he began struggling again, trying to shout in the muffled half-light. He knew they were nearby, but he also doubted they could hear him...he couldn't take in the air he needed to truly bellow out a cry for aid, and the pitiful sound he made seemed to die as it struck the nearest board. He fell silent again, the voices fading away, and he cursed to himself. He closed his eyes, truly desperate. Galatiriel, whose light gives life overwhelming...

It is strange how faith appears. There were few Raiaerans who prayed regularly to Ardunnwë or Cuaryë, who offered daily supplications to Aurient Sky-Mother or Selana Youngstar. But now, buried alive by one of the very buildings he most cherished, Findelfin's mind strayed to nothing more than the simplest incantation to Galatiriel, the first words an elf heard upon leaving the darkness of the womb.

And then suddenly, before he could finish, the breeze at the top of his head seemed to intensify, and then colors like solid blocks of light hit his eyes, as the dust cleared for a moment as one of the beams holding his head in place was removed. He could see strong hands working around him even as the dust swirled again and obscured his sight. No one spoke, but they worked quickly, freeing his arms until all that was left was his midsection.

The dust was now a bit easier to see through, although billows of it kicked up from time to time. The workers were now going more slowly, for to free Findelfin's legs would require clearing away larger pieces of debris than before. Waving them off, Findelfin said, "No, no, I'm fine, really, I can feel everything. And where I was when the building fell...I remember it...there weren't many people in this section." He remembered the people running towards him, though. Pointing, he said loudly, "Go that way, leave me for now, I'm fine, but there could be hurt people in that direction!"

[The Architect]

New days would bring new elements of life, but for now there was no possession, no pleasure, no prize more satisfying than being yanked up from the obsidian fear that the universe could curse one with. After what had seemed like an eternity of searching for a victim, Seti’s line had finally found one, and that victim had the audacity to refuse further assistance. This Elf looked to be one of distinguished status. Then again even the poorest of Elves looked that way to Seti. Judging from the proportions of his upper body, he was probably much taller than the architect, and even in the scene of ruin the Elf looked clean and regal. It was his golden hair that gave Seti a speck of hope so he wasn’t going to leave him there. Besides there was a practical reason for getting him out.

“No. We have to continue.” Seti said as he signaled for the other men to assist in removing the remainder of the rubble. “The building might further collapse. If that’s the case then leaving you here would do no good. Plus we could use some help if you're up to it.”

In no time the team of many men had rid the victim of any significant hindrance then they immediately relocated to the designated location of the other victims. Tameran stayed behind to introduce himself to the Elf. “I am Benasik, head of the Tameran Estate here in Radasanth, and that there is the architect, Seti Dylan.” He glanced at the young Seti, who was already tirelessly working at the front of a new line only a few yards down from them. “Forgive him for his lack of courtesy. In the short time I’ve known him he seems to be more task oriented than people oriented. Tunnel vision as you might call it. In any case are there any significant wounds that need tending to? If not there may be a way you can assist.”

“Sir Tameran.” Seti said as he tossed a light chunk of granite to someone behind him. “I have reason to believe this was done intentionally.”

The nobleman turned with a confused eye. “How did you come to such a conclusion?”

The architect squinted with disappointment. How could Benasik not see? “Besides the explosion that we all felt and heard, the building dropped systematically starting with the very center allowing the rest of the structure to force its weight down.”

“Who would commit such a heinous act?” The nobleman narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in a mix of sadness and angst.

“That’s difficult to say.” Seti continued to lift. The strain could be heard in his voice. “Anyone could benefit from taking down Corone.”

“Correction!” Elmira said from atop a mound of debris. “Anyone could benefit from taking over Corone. Leaving the country in a state of chaos wouldn’t bode well for anyone. Alerar, Salvar, Raiaera and even Fallien would suffer economic losses. If this was done intentionally it was not necessarily strategic nor was it smart. With a handful of communiques one could singlehandedly restock the entire library. Believe it or not very few of the writings here were one of a kind. This act was a statement.”

“What message could the culprit be sending by destroying a replaceable library in the middle of the day?” Seti paused. He was stumped. There was no string of logic and no point of view he could adopt that would help him. Seti was certain that this was done intentionally, but by whom. If he couldn’t find that out how could he stop anyone from doing this again somewhere else?

Perhaps the criminals were reading his mind. From under the bowels of the city came yet another great beat... then another... then another. Each time it was followed by a unique blast, the unmistakable sound buildings crumbling. It was as if a titan was slamming his fist to the surface of Althanas yearning to escape from his tectonic prison below. The volunteer rescue crew halted their mission and watched as plumes of smoke rose to the sky. The library was the lucky target. Nothing flammable was being operated at the time of the destruction, but the case was different for these other target locations. Something had caught fire and exploded in all three cases, and the results could be seen in the sky as the incandescent mushrooms of flames rose, expanded, and parted. The anonymous enemy had struck again, this time simultaneously in three different locations.

“Someone has to stop them!” Elmira said with an awed face.

This time Seti broke the statue trend and started down the ruined mound. “Contact the city guard, and tell them to get here before we have great grandchildren. I’m going to gather evidence, so if anyone here feels like they’ll be useful they can tag along.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((I have permission to post here from Seti himself. I hope you don't mind this Madison. It'd be nice working with you))

From his position in Underwood, Alberdyne awoke to another fine morning. The Concordia Forest's bosom lurked all around them somehow offering an erotic view of nature embedded in the human civilization. Working with the black-smith Karxen and his partner, Iorwerth "Io" Beauregard, another member of the House of Sora. Getting himself ready to go to work, the eager student placed his equipment on when suddenly, a terrible sound filled his ears from the distance.

At first very little went on after the sound. But, Alberdyne Cormyr's stomach filled with a very bad feeling indeed. Gripping his well-calloused hand (Already from intense black-smith training) around his weapons and pieces of equipment several subtle sounds filtered their ways into his ears. In the distance, he imagined people screaming in agony, buried underground in deadly layers of darkness. Soon several more pulses of the vibrations hit his ears and the boy heard screaming from outside. All of Underwood, a town of constant motion and work seemed to stand still that faithful day.

Running outside, Alberdyne saw Karxen and his wife already trying to assess the situation. Several other large men and their families hit the streets as well looking at the distance. Even this far away from Radasanth, the majestic sky-light was visible. But the skyline this afternoon was twisted with gnarled plumes of dust and debris. Smoke flowing into the air visible as far away as the fishing district of Dressed Metropolis on the coast.

Alberdyne's head suddenly hurt with the pain that something terrible just happened in Radasanth. The voices of people crying in agony filled his ears sounding very far away indeed but audible just the same. Spirit Energy burned all around the boy as he saw the destruction in the distance. Some Magus that knew how to teleport started whisking people towards Radasanth quickly to assist in the rescue mission. Alberdyne entered with one of the forward support parties despite the migraine head ache he felt. Lives were on the line. Karxen, Alberdyne, and several other warriors from Underwood made their way to the destruction.

Alberdyne saw a man named Seti Dylan helping out several others. "He's our target!" Alberdyne said following his gut instinct. The boy went over to Seti, flashing his House of Sora medallion. "I am Alberdyne Cormyr. I am here to help! My House of Sora name is Dyne Corona!"

[The Architect]

The silver medallion of the Sora eclipse reflected the sun’s light blinding Seti for a quick moment. He found personal security knowing that a fellow family member of the House of Sora was present. He now knew there was at least one person he could trust. A heard of civilians followed behind this Alberdyne. Seti put two and two together and realized that these were the future artisans of the House. As Patriarch of the House, Seti had to make a decision. It would be wrong to send them away, but as valuable members they needed to be safe. He had to weigh his options, either keep them here to risk the hazards of a crumbling building or investigate the other sites and search for a culprit, and risk a possibly dangerous encounter.

Then Seti realized they weren’t here to follow his guidance. They were here to help. This was a situation when they were Coronian residents before members of the House. How dare he mix his priorities? All he could do was voice his recommendations.

“As members of the House of Sora I’d like for you to take special care of your lives, but it’s your choice as to what you do in this situation. You can either come with me to investigate the other sites or stay here to assist in the rescue operations.”

“I’m tagging along.” Elmira said as she ended her sprint in a sliding halt. Before Seti could open his mouth she continued. “Now don’t tell me I’m not useful going with you. I know more about the social state of Radasanth than you do, and I’m not as valuable as a man here. I’d might as well go with you. Besides you need to know what’s going down.”

It seemed like everyone was reading his mind today. Seti was in fact going to tell Elmira that she wouldn’t be useful, and she used his previous words against him. He sure as hell didn’t like the lady, but he could respect her. Her wit and spunk were formidable, which was something he admired in others especially women. Her intentions were kind hearted as well.

He simply nodded, “Alright.” Then he turned to the others. “Would anyone else like to come?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne Corona listened to Seti. He turned to his companions, Karxen and the others, consulting with them for a moment. With a reached decision, Karxen and his friends from Underwood decided that they might best help with the recovery operation here. They decided to stay. Dyne looked at Seti and nodded for a moment adjusting his bandanna since it felt a little tighter than usual. All around he could sense the spiritual energy of the place acting in an out of control fashion. He could only guess at how many lost their lives on that fateful day.

"I'll go assist you Seti. You'll need a strong arm at your side at all times."

Dyne said keeping himself well composed for someone so young. His recent battle against fellow House of Sora member, Anila at the Dajas Pagoda made the boy somehow much older. His recent tragedy at the hands of his Mother, Alma Cormyr, confirmed the youth's unusually high maturity level. He understood how precious life was now and right now it was being wasted.

The person or persons responsible needed to pay. Not only did they need to pay, but they needed to be JUDGED. The youth understood the life-flow of spirit energy deeply now ever since the tragedy occurred he could see the spirits of the dead all around him. Dead and dying gave off a symphony of a wail all around the youth. He needed to avenge those because the living often ignored the dead.

Dyne Corona took his place by Seti's right hand side. It was time to make some good come out of this tragedy. Corone wasn't an Empire yet, and the enemies of freedom lurked in every shadow. Dyne felt a burst of pride in his chest cause finally, the time to prove his worth had come. All of his combat training, reading, and personal training as a black-smith came down to this one fine moment. He looked at Seti and nodded.

"Whatever you need I will do my Lord."

[The Architect]

“First of all please don’t call me ‘lord’.” Seti said with a courteous smile to the teenage boy. He was glad this young man was at his side, for upon seeing him Seti felt an immediate responsibility to keeping him safe. Absolutely nothing was safe about the situation at hand, but at least Seti could do something about it. “The House of Sora is meant to be an extended family, not a kingdom.”

“Extended family eh?” Elmira said as she started for the closest disaster scene. “Does that mean he can call you ‘daddy’?”

Seti shook his head in disappointment at the noble envoy. At least someone could maintain their sense of humor in this terrible occasion, the very person who was the most eager to help. Perhaps the humor was a defense mechanism, the only thing keeping her from breaking down. He started for the closest sight with his blade in hand.

“I think we can all agree that this was done intentionally. The mystery is by whom, and why?” He glanced back at the fallen library. “I mean what would be the use of destroying a library that has an almost completely replaceable archive?”

“Well…” Elmira stared into the sky with a flip of the hair. “Let me withdraw the comment I made earlier. One could restock the entire library, but he has to have friends in high places. The local nobility would have to be willing to give up their personal collections.”

“Would they be?”

“With the exception of a hand full of extremely generous families, hell no.” Elmira said with a shake of the head. “It’s not necessarily because they’re selfish, but I suspect most of those personal libraries have emotional value, so the nobility shouldn’t be the highest suspect on the list. We’ll learn more when we see the other target sights.”

Seti looked over to his new partner. He wanted to look into Alberdyne’s eyes out of respect, but his long hair and that special feature on his forehead kept the architect’s attention “What’s the social situation in Corone as you see it?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne observed the dynamics between Elmira and Seti. They acted almost like a married couple might act. Watching everything Seti said and did, the youth simply nodded upon Seti's request. He knew now not to call the man a Lord by title but considered him one anyway. An exchange of dialog took place between Elmira and Seti for a long moment, the chaos of the situation still not quite sinking in. Radasanth was hit--and hit HARD.

Perceiving spiritual energy all about the area at hand, the youth saw felt the weight of the dead and dying on his shoulders. He looked up seeing plumes of dust and debris erupting from the newer attack sites. Whoever did this coordinated a series of attacks with uncanny precision. Dyne admired the devastation and sheer lack of respect of life. It took considerable skill to pull something of this magnitude off. Dyne guessed their enemy was probably extremely dangerous and extremely angry.

He trusted his first instincts and once he was spoken to, the youth responded.

"We're facing someone who is very angry. This attack was a statement, there was a logic to it." The boy looked around at the current state of Radasanth. Corone made a bit to become an Empire, and its very capitol city was hit hard by shadowy enemies. "I think that Corone is in a lot of trouble, many people are angry with the way that its dealing with its transition from democracy to an Empire." The boy kept looking around his eyes picking up matters no normal mortal could.

With the plumes of dust and debris the young apprentice swore he saw displaced Atmas floating in the sky with the dust clouds. It was a sorry state to die in. There was no honor in this. "Whoever did this was skilled." That was the immediate first statement Alberdyne made. He knelt down by one of the chunks of a building that fell near the library. He placed his hand upon it sensing the spiritual energy that flowed from it. He could see the residue there, it was particularly thick and powerful. The youth knew many died at this spot.

"We have to stop them quickly before it becomes more. I think they are attempting to crush Radasanth." The young man said keeping his speech to the point.

[The Architect]

“Democracy to Empire?” Seti looked at Alberdyne with wide eyes of astonishment. He knew the government of Corone was in a transition, but he didn’t know exactly what the situation was. He knew his history though. A self proclaimed Empire was never an entity that served the people. Progression was in the hands of the people, and that’s what Seti stood for. “Whose side is my client on, Elmira?”

“I never took the time to probe him about such a thing. It all happened so quickly. Knowing him as well as I do I would think he's in support of the Republic.” Elmira said with a shrug of the shoulder. “I’m not sure if that has anything to do with this attack though. Such things have little effect on the common man.”

“You know so little.” Seti didn’t bother to look at the foolish woman beside him, not because she didn’t deserve his eye contact, but because he was fighting back tears and didn’t want to embarrass himself if he was failing. “Everyone’s effected.”

It hadn’t been three years since he learned that lesson all to well…


Now this is it. The event people believed truly changed Seti’s path in life. Had it not been for this tragedy he probably wouldn’t have done the things he did. The House of Sora wouldn’t be where it is today. The world wouldn’t be what it is today. Some say we should be thankful for it, but I’m sure even to this day the architect wouldn’t agree. Should we be thankful?

The room halted to happily greet Tulmatra “Luna” Methadras only to realize that she wasn’t going to mirror their joviality. She entered the spacious atrium of the Scara Brae Theatre where the House of Sora was having their monthly meeting. The room of three dozen went silent as they observed her wide eyes and blank face. In her trembling hand was a letter with a raven seal. They all stood up and approached her with slow caution as if she were a rabid beast. They stayed silent awaiting her announcement.

“Velinital. Ian was there in an outer suburb building a home when Alerar attacked. His clients, a family took a particular liking to him so they felt a responsibility to send this letter.” Luna’s jaw twisted as she failed the fight to hold back tears. She blinked and wiped her cheek with her left hand. It was the first time they saw the silver wedding band on her finger. She and Ian had eloped out of haste. They all knew this, but the dishonor of the lack of a full fledged wedding and the parents’ blessing kept them from publicly announcing it.

They knew what was coming. Seti’s breathing was heavy as he placed his hand on a table to maintain balance. Ken “Ol’ Sol” Kilpatrick was on the other side of the room already attempting to comfort someone in a tight embrace. Akhanatin “Aurora” Ra was squatting on the ground with a balled fist of tragic frustration. Various sniffles could be heard from all sides of the room.

Luna continued. “The family was pretty nationalistic. When they saw the Alerarians they took up arms, rounded up their neighborhood, and attacked. Ian refused to fight, and they understood, but once they provoked the Alerarians… A stray arrow.” She balled up the letter and threw it on the ground. “The rest of it is a sorry attempt to get me to join their cause.”

Several House members surrounded Luna and embraced her, but Seti couldn’t find the strength in him to take even one step. His knees and hands hit the marble floor and he watched his tears drop. His lips trembled as he struggled to hold in a cry of pain. He failed. His cry triggered a chorus of agony. A room of more than thirty members of the House of Sora became engulfed in a frenzy of mourning. They all cried themselves to sleep in the vast atrium of the theatre that Seti himself built.

Seti woke in the morning with a harsh realization about the House of Sora. His coalition was no longer just a group of collaborating builders. The House of Sora was a family now, and Ian “Supernova” Methadras was his closest brother. A coalition was worth fighting for, but a family was worth dying for.

Why’d you guys stop drinking? Where I come from a tragedy like that could drive a man to drink. I guess it drove Seti and the House of Sora to do something else. So I’m going to ask you again. Should we be thankful for the martyr, a sacrificial lamb, should we be sad for Seti and his family, or both?

… Keep drinking. We’re not done yet.


Seti wiped his cheeks as they entered another alley. He was surprised to see that his hand was dry. That was the first time he made a detailed recall of that event and hadn’t drawn tears. The next site was in view now, but they had to emerge from the alley to truly witness the full extent of the attack. The site was much smaller than the library, but the flames were still raging as citizens were attempting to tame them. A sign fell from the skeleton of the building.

“The Silver Pub.” Elmira shook her head as she made a gesture to bless the structure. “And they were just beginning to rebuild it.”

Aside from the flames the scene was exactly the same as the library. Judging from the frame of burning stone of the front porch the building had sunken at least ten feet. Seti turned to the left and the other two plumes of smoke were rooted in piles of debris completely leveled with the ground.

“This is the central district of Radasanth. The basis of the city’s culture lies here." Elmira said with wide eyes filled with strife. "That other site was the Radasanth Playhouse, and next to it was the Farmers' Market."

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Moving in a kind of crazy calm, the youth collected himself. Any other person viewing the lad's surreal discipline might show concern. The recent tragedies in Dyne's life made the young man cold, detached. He still had a kind heart, but the heart was heavy. His Mother's betrayal burned him with a terrible scar upon his forehead. He touched the piece of the building for a moment and noticed something awkward.

Turning to look from the position of the library straight down the epicenter of the attack, Dyne noticed something incredible. Standing up, the youth proclaimed the words that might seal all of their fates. "THE ATTACK WAS IN A STRAIGHT LINE LOOK!!!" Dyne said tracing the coordinated terrorist attack with his fingertip. It went all the way down, several districts, especially affecting the poorer provinces. Dyne noticed with disgust that the Slum District was hit particularly hard.

Looking around, still holding the piece of cement in his hand, the youth noticed one other thing. A strange individual standing atop one of the few standing structures as if he approved of the wanton devastation. The Stranger, as Dyne might call the person from that day forward seemed to wear a hooded cloaked that covered his person completely. Dyne's eyes narrowed as he attempted to make out anymore important details. The figure was so far away though that no more details were identifiable.

The youth continued to look around. He saw that no military, or local police force attempted to maintain the peace. Instead they were suspiciously absent leaving the locales to fend for themselves. Good this will give The House of Sora a chance to claim all the credit of heroism on this day. A part of him that was still a 19 year old boy wanted to cry. He fought that part of him back, there was action that needed doing.

He needed to be strong in the face of disaster. Taking the large piece of cement in his hand, he suddenly threw it for no particular reason. He knew that anger was more useful than despair. The Monks of Ai'bron taught him that and taught him to face his fears, always. He looked over at Seti for a moment and decided to firmly take his role in the House of Sora that day.

He moved over to his emerging friend and attempted to place a hand upon the lad's shoulder. The idea was to calm him down. Dyne rarely spoke but made sure whenever he did, his words might have impact.

"Seti, pull yourself together. You're a person of considerable influence. You have to act like you're such. I know you don't like being called a Lord but you're in a position of responsibility. You have to push your own personal anguish aside. Lives are on the lines. There are answers for us somewhere and we need to get them, lest we risk them being lost forever." Dyne continued. "There is someone strange standing on that building. I don't know if you can see them or not, but take a look." He pointed towards the stranger on the roof.

[The Architect]

Seti chose not to take offense to the insistent insinuation that he was a lord. He did not want to be called that. Leader? Perhaps. Influential. Maybe. But he wasn’t about to be called something that was based on a class structure. Once a man accepted the title he submitted himself to a class structure and all the disadvantages that came with it. But once again Seti chose not to take offense to Corona’s statement. There was no time to argue over something as petty as titles. There were more important things to deal with. Like the destruction of the buildings progressing in a straight line, why they sank, and who the onlooker was from yonder rooftop.

Did he insist on being noticed in the cloth he chose to wear? Did he insist on being conspicuous in his actions or lack there of? A brigade of common men rushed to the scene with wagons filled with buckets of water, and the ranks of desperate civilians picked up the buckets as they passed by. There were many, no less than a hundred Radasanthians risking their lives trying to save their fellow people and their city. They would be mighty angry if they saw that someone didn’t bother to assist them in this noble task.

“Elmira, stay down here and wait for my wave. When I do, alert these good citizens to the presence of this cloaked figure.” Seti said as he started for the building. His boots hit the gravel street with a passionate determination. The architect should have taken note of his own conspicuousness. The cloaked figure took notice and disappeared into the building.

“Corona, take the back door if there is one. I’ll take the front.” Seti sprinted to the door as he drew one of his swords, the reflective blade of Lux. Luckily for them the building was a good ten feet away from any other structure, so the anonymous watcher was forced to leave the building the normal way, run out.

Seti came to a sliding halt as his hand wrapped around the sun cooked bronze of the door handle. He knew he wasn’t some great brute that could kick down doors. Corona perhaps was, but he knew he wasn’t. The smell of fresh lumber rushed into his nose as he crossed the threshold. His peripheral vision screamed at him before he leapt up the stairs, and for a moment he considered several alternative escape routes. His ears put him back on track as they alerted him to the sound of hasty footsteps descending the building. They did not come from the flight of stairs he was on though.

Through deductive reasoning Seti could assume that there was a back door, and a back flight of stairs, and Corona was waiting to intercept. The architect took the steps up to the roof and calmly waited for his suspect to arrive.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne nodded towards Seti once the order came through. Drawing his melee combat batons, the warrior made his way quickly to the back of the building. He felt his adrenalin pumping and thusly had no time to take in the sights of the destroyed city all around. This one standing building stood out amidst the havok of the day. Dyne swallowed a hard lumped that developed in his throat.

He kicked the door in, noticing it was wood. His kick was true and the door was knocked off its hinges thanks to his training from the Warrior Monks. Dyne looked around in the structure and heard several angry shouts. Must be servants of that man on the rooftop. Dyne thought and prepared himself for imminent battle. Several men rushed at the youth, his body reflexively moving to intercept them.

One of them lunged forward and met with a knee to his sternum. Knocking the wind out of the first attacker, Dyne heard a satisfying grunt. He leaned down with the butt end of his melee baton and sent it at the small of his back hoping for a secondary impact. The other warriors came in fast. He connected just like he'd hoped for and the man fell face-first to the floor.

"TRAITORS, ALL OF YOU!"

Dyne noticed Corone cheek-bone structures on some of the men and this made him angry. Six of them. Three were clearly from Corone. The rest were humans from some other land, one of them was dark-skinned which suggested Fallien origin. Dyne moved to the side evading an on-coming attacker and sent a swift kick to his side.

Continuing his mad-spring forward, Dyne attacked with all the skill his training allowed him to have. The warriors fell to his attacks, each one well placed and precise. Seti needed him. He knocked down the last of the warriors with a strike to the knee from the melee baton and left him incapacitated. Sounds of moans and groans filled the youth's ears. He wanted to interrogate the suspects but decided that Seti's orders trumped that matter. He kicked one of the nearby men once more while they were down, and made his way towards the secondary stair-well.

He found it quickly and ascended.

[The Architect]

Seti looked down at his feet and dragged the toe of his boot along a shallow layer of sawdust. He had already known by the smell of fresh wood that this was a new building, but this confirmed just how young it was. It had to have been less than a month old, because a light rain would easily wash the roof of any sawdust. He wondered if it had something to do with the plot at hand.

The vibrations of the floor indicated to him that someone was approaching. With light almost feminine steps a cloaked figure of obsidian abyss rose from an attic exit from the other side of the small roof. Seti raised his blade and the figure froze. Two pale hands rose decorated with rings and bracelets. A masculine voice pushed past the cloth.

“I think we can come to a compromise here. What is it you want? Money? Property? A labor force, architect?” Seti titled his head in confusion. The man, whose face was still hidden from view, relaxed a bit as his shoulders bounced in a laugh. “Oh we know who you are. We make it our business to know of everyone who’s anyone venturing to Corone. You’re the ruler of the House of Sora.”

“I’m not the ruler. I’m the Patriarch of the House. There’s a difference.” It was almost a quick reflex to correct people who mistook his title.

“But you can be ruler. I’ve seen you rule over construction sites. Many of my brothers have. You run a tight ship. I could see you ruling over an entire country, an empire even.”

“Unfortunately for you I have no such desire. Now that I have all the information I need I’ll be turning you to the justice system now.” Seti took a few steps towards the man and he took an equal amount back as if they were doing a ballroom dance.

“Wait! Don’t you have questions?”

“Like you’re going to answer them? Anyways I’ve got what I need from you.” Seti could tell by the hood that the cloaked man now tilted his head in confusion. “Only noblemen walk like women. Only noblemen have hands that haven’t seen a day’s of honest work in their lives. Only noblemen have their family crest on a ring so they can seal letters. I can even see the crimson wax from your last letter. Your intention was to keep a tight rein on the mind of the common man of Radasanth. Eliminate his free education by destroying the library, cut him off from your culture by destroying the discount playhouse, and rob him of his identity by destroying the local pub where everybody knows your name. Luckily for you they were all in a straight line so that it would look like…”

“Radasanth is sinking. They’re actually quite lucky. Those places just so happened to be in a straight line. We would just as easily sink the entire city.”

“So is it safe to assume that the general population should take up arms against the rich? Should I slay my client?”

“No!... No. He’s not involved. Some, but not much of the high class isn’t involved. He’s one of them. I can honestly swear on my father’s grave that Benasik Tameran is not behind this plot in any way whatsoever.”

Such a strong defense confused Seti. If this man was telling the truth, what could he stand to gain from convincing Seti that Tameran was innocent? Even though his face was completely sheathed by a long hood, the architect was convinced that the man was sincere. He shrugged it off. “Oh well. Now it’s time to detain you on citizen’s arrest.”

“And take me where? To the city guard who’s nowhere to be found?” So the guard was with them too. This man’s noble arrogance was his worst enemy. His cohorts would soon long for the day they hired mercenaries to do the dirty work instead of doing it themselves.

“Well then perhaps we should take it upon ourselves to enforce justice. I’m sure my friend Corona here can think of many creative ways to torture you.” Seti directed the man’s attention to Alberdyne, who had long since emerged from the same rooftop door. Hopefully he looked tough enough to intimidate. Seti continued just in case. “We have a House member who owns a ship. Maybe we could take you out to sea and make you walk the plank. Or maybe our friend in Fallien can leave you in the middle of the dessert with no food or water. No. Wait. None of that would be as brutal as leaving you to the people.”

Seti raised his hands up and gave the signal. Elmira’s voice could be heard from afar, and a chorus of angry chimes followed soon after. “Listen to that, nobleman. Once they gat a hold of you they’ll find out who you are, and where you live. No red carpet Radasanthian will be safe. Not your family, not your friends, innocent or guilty. Think of what they’ll do to your children and your wife.”

In a panic the cloaked man buried his hands into himself and out came two blue cylindrical sticks about the length of his forearm. Seti lunged toward him with his blade at the forefront, but it was too late. The cloaked man had tossed one of the sticks off the side of the building. With a quick snap of his finger and a flash of one of his many rings the stick exploded. A thunderous clap crushed his ears, and a force pressed his back until he was launched forward and onto the nobleman.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne Corona entered on the rooftop and saw Seti arguing with that hooded stranger, he felt his fury burning his gut. So many people dead, why? The youth wanted answers but more importantly, he wanted them NOW. Still, Seti's presence allowed the young man to control his emotions considerably. He thought of the situation with the guards downstairs, all of them were immobilized in one way or another thanks to his Aikido (Note; An Althanas equivalent, I'll make that clearer at level 1) skills. Unarmed, Dyne was dangerous. Armed, the youth was even more dangerous using his sword arm technique to disable opponents quickly. A strong breeze blew across the rooftop.

Rotating his combat sticks around with the anger of a tiger, Dyne stared at the confrontation closely. Suddenly, his eyes went to one of the many rings upon the cloaked noble's hand. One of them was a signet ring that bore the CORMYR HOUSEHOLD INSIGNIA upon it. This turned Dyne's fury into a blinding rage but he thought of Seti's personal safety first. A close-range confrontation now might place his leader in danger. Dyne sheathed his melee batons.

He immediately recognized the Cormyr symbols given to each member of his exiled household. Though they were FORMER members of the Aristocracy, Dyne was certain that people besides his Father worked to restore their former glory. Dyne's deceased Father used honorable methods to obtain this, but some members didn't. He thought about the symbols for a moment and recognize the man to be his UNCLE! The very Brother of his Father! Uncle Darren Cormyr. Dyne thought back to the moment of his Father's death freshly remembering the betrayal at the hands of his Mother. Another betrayal was way more than the young man could handle at this point.

Especially a betrayal of this magnitude! Feeling the cloaked man's eyes on his person for the briefest of moments, he only vaguely registered Seti's implied orders. Dyne's eyes twitched with the anger he felt. But in a moment, it all went to Hell. Seti lunged at his Uncle and the man THREW something which later exploded with a loud sound. Dyne felt his typical migraine headaches, and blood trickled down his nose. The boy temporarily passed out from the weight of the vibrations that the loud noise passed across his skull.

Dyne hit the floor hard. Pain coursed this his skull. The blood trickled down his nose, but as he felt the half-faint something he didn't expect happened. The marking on his forehead hurt with a different sort of agony, increasing the migraine headache exponentially. He felt a cold piercing shiver penetrate his spinal column and looked up from his position on the ground. The side of the building took considerable damage from the pieces of dynamite, and the boy landed alongside one of the many ventilation structures on the roof. A lucky twist of fate right there. Debris and nails from the explosion rained down on the bystanders below. The structure contained some sort of large fan responsible for keeping the air in the building clean. He looked for Seti in his semi-conscious state but found something else instead. A specter wandered in from outside. Dyne vaguely noticed the gray texture of the area before him, the Anti-Firmanent. The cries of many lost Atma's filled his head but this noise didn't cause him any further migraine headaches. It was a spiritual sort of sound. Dyne saw the ghost approaching him, a man in his mid-thirties. He'd been exploring the building for a while and part of his sorrow enticed him to stay while many of his ken moved on to be judged.

Dyne waited to hear what the ghost had to say. "You're that one right? The one that can mediate for us?" The phantom said suddenly. It knelt down and touched Dyne right on the mark on his forehead. At this, Dyne felt a blinding pain burn across his skull once more but it quickly faded. The boy was able to sit up and look upon the specter eye to eye. "I'm Dyne Corona." Dyne said. "It doesn't really matter what they call you in life. Just know that you are to be a Mediator between our two people. I passed today in the events that proceeded but I decided to ignore The Call. I knew somehow, I had to stay behind and help you." The ghost said to Dyne.

"Do you understand?"

Dyne nodded. "How can I help you?" The youth said, the desire to help was almost overwhelming.

"They were making explosives in the building, I found the hidden bomb factory and needed to relate to someone that can help. But I'll need a favor from you in return."

"Anything." Dyne said, eager to help. "I just want to help people."

"I have a daughter in Underwood named Stacy. Maybe you know her? She works in the Peaceful Promenade. She often spoke of some guy named Alberdyne. Alberdyne Cormyr. She said she liked him a lot. Anyway, tell my daughter that I passed during the explosion so she doesn't worry. My body will probably never be found. I just want her to know that I met you Alberdyne and I give you two my blessings. There is something else I need to tell you." The ghost continued. "There is a bomb factory underneath the basement level. You heard of the Under Dark? That's how they were able to coordinate these attacks so effectively. You must work quickly before all of Radasanth is destroyed. By the way, the man has several more sticks of dynamite on his person. You'll want to get rid of these." The ghost said. "You tell my daughter for me, and we're even." Dyne saw the ghost nodding and then travel off to other places where his presence was needed.

Dyne suddenly woke up with a start. He coughed several times at the thick layer of dust and debris in the room. Collecting himself together, the migraine headache still plagued his person but he was able to get up. He saw Seti on top of his uncle. The entire conversation took place within his head. But Dyne would never tell you that. To Dyne the whole event was a spiritual experience, one of deeply important consequence. The youth stood up from his sleeping position gathering the strength to rise.

"DARREN CORMYR! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST BY CITIZEN'S ARREST!" Dyne suddenly found himself shouting. He ran quickly over to Seti's person to attempt to help the man get up from the dangerous traitor. Suddenly, the terrorist grabbed Dyne's shoulder. He attempted to plead with Dyne. "ALBERDYNE, I'M ONLY TRYING TO DO WHAT YOUR FATHER ATTEMPTED TO DO! I'M ONLY TRYING TO BRING HONOR BACK TO OUR EXILED FAMILY! I'M TIRED OF LIVING WITH THOSE BANDITS IN CONCORDIA FOREST! THE ARISTOCRACY EXILED US ALBERDYNE, IF ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND THIS I EXPECT IT TO BE YOU WHO WAS SO CLOSE TO MY BROTHER! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM FEED ME TO THE MOB!"

Dyne thought about his words for a long moment as he attempted to escape his Fate. He looked over to Seti. "Seti get up, I'll handle this."

And he suddenly sent a back-hand towards his uncle with those brass knuckles of his. A moment later, the sound of a large impact hit across a cheekbone filled the room. The hood inevitably fell back revealing a man with the Cormyr features. Red hair, green eyes. Dyne waited for Seti to stand up. "Seti there's a bomb factory hidden in the basement, I'll talk to this creep."

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THAT!" Darren asked, sheer terror on his face now.

"If I told you, you would probably go crazy." Dyne said with a smirk on his face, he only waited for his leader to give him the necessary orders. Dyne wanted a go at him before the crowd him. Despite the explosive attack, Dyne heard the large crowd coming closer now. "They are coming for you Darren, you're safer with us than with them. At least we'd feed you to justice system."

[The Architect]

Seti’s rapid heart beat resonated through his body and filled his head with agonizing pulsations. He was too disoriented to immediately stand up. Instead he rolled over only to subject himself to the merciless glare of the white hot afternoon sun. His eyes batted in reaction. Standing up wasn’t the most important thing to focus on at the moment. Judging from the tone in the noble’s voice, Alberdyne had subdued him. It was more imperative for Seti to filter out his heartbeat and listen in on the conversation.

Seti listened as Darren Cormyr pleaded his case with a shivering voice of desperation. He wasn’t the only desperate one. It was clear, just by hearing his voice, that Dyne Corona was also desperate. He was desperate for answers, for a confession, for an end. As strong as the boy was, it was painfully obvious in this moment of betrayal that he was still a boy. Seti imagined a child being orphaned by his parents or chastised too deeply by his extended family. Whatever happened to this boy had to have been much worse.

“No.” Seti said just before he spit his mouth clear of tasteless sawdust. He pressed the temples of his forehead as he slowly got up and looked straight at the traitor. One of the Dylan family blades found their way into a crack in the wood. Seti yanked it out of the floor before he continued. “You won’t be going to the justice system.”

The architect suddenly took hold of Darren’s hands and pulled off each of his rings with haste, ignoring the noble’s muffled cries of agony as his delicate skin was twisted and burned with friction. As each came off he placed it in his pocket. Buttons of the cloak shot in every which direction like bullets from an Alerarian firearm, and its orchid cloth hissed like a snake as it ripped at the hands of Seti Dylan. Three more sapphire sticks of explosion were attached to Darren’s belt. Seti yanked them from their snug chambers in turn breaking the belt and leaving the tunic hung open. He then took all three sticks and made them his own by sliding them under his sleeves.

With wide eyes of rage Seti seized Darren by the hair and pulled him down the rear flight of stairs. The footsteps of the mob descended upon the damaged building like a heard of wildebeests, and the building reacted as key wooden supports moaned low notes of agony. The avenue before them was devoid of life like a freshly deserted ghost town. All residents had either rushed to or from the scenes of disaster. Alberdyne followed behind with terrified wonder as he watched his uncle stumble along as he kept up with the architect’s hasty walk. The noble even fell off his feet a number of times only to find that the surprisingly strong Seti did not yield.

Seti finally released Darren as he shoved the noble towards a bronze street lamp. That snaky hiss of ripping fabric returned as Seti ripped the noble’s silky tunic into several pieces. He used the lavender bands to tightly bound Darren’s limbs to the pole. He then placed all three sticks of dynamite neatly on the ground beneath Darren. It looked almost as if the traitor were being burned at the stake as a witch. Seti took to the middle of the gravel street, and when it was clear he gave Alberdyne a quick wink to assure him that all would turn out fine.

“From what I’ve seen these explosives are detonated by one of these rings.” Seti said as he reached into his pocket and exposed several shinny trinkets on the palm of his hand. His voice was much more deep and sinister in tone than before. Circumstances made the noble’s reality more ominous as the sun reflected each ring’s glare directly into his right eye. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. “So you can either tell me exactly how they work, or I can find out myself.”

“This one.” Seti said as he held it up to show Darren. “Is silver and plain like a wedding band. Is this the one, Darren?”

With no immediate response Seti placed the ring on his right pinky and snapped. There was no explosion. He snapped his fingers five times, once for each finger, and then placed the ring back in his pocket. “I’m not going to even bother explaining this one to you. You don’t deserve the mercy.”

Before he could snap Seti felt another hand grab his. “My Lord.” Alberdyne said. “Please think about…”

There was that lord thing again! Seti snatched his hand from Corona’s grip and allowed his voice to burst out with the power of his livid heart. “I am not a Lord! I am the Patriarch of a family!”

Seti snapped his fingers and even from that distance he could see Darren flinch in fear. “Did you hear that? I am the Patriarch of a family, a member of whom you have hurt, and betrayed, and dishonored!”

He snapped his fingers again and Darren flinched. The traitor’s body was now shaking. Seti began to pace back and forth, pivoting on one foot and kicking up dirt along the gravel. He couldn’t keep still. Not with such anguished thunder filling his body. It was a familiar feeling, but it was one he hadn’t felt in quite some time. “He may be a Cormyr, but he is a member of my family too now, and no one…”

*snap*

“Absolutely no one…”

*snap*

“Fucks…”

*snap*

“With my family!”

“It’s the silver one with the sapphire diamond!” Darren screamed with a shaken voice. The fearful tremors of his body were so intense now that the hinges of the bronze pole could be heard rattling. “It looks like a woman’s ring. Use it on your right ring finger. Think of the specific stick or two at once. Then snap.”

With his breathing still heavy and hard, Seti started for Darren as he placed the stash of rings in his pocket including the detonator ring. Tumaltra’s voice filled the architect’s head as he approached.

As the widow of Ian “Supernova” Methadras my wish is simple.
The House of Sora must not avenge his death, but learn the lesson that could only be leaned through his death. A bitter vengeance inscribed in a people’s very fiber is what killed him. We must find something else to live for. We must find something else to die for.

Seti’s heart made a thump that rattled his ribcage at the thought of what he had just done. He knew from the beginning that Darren was not going to let such menial information end his life. He knew it wouldn’t get that far, but the way he went about it was filled with vengeance. Seti “Astrophel” Dylan had put the cataclysmic death of a star in vein. The noble was slouched over a puddle damp with tears and sweat. A sunburn red line went down his pale back from the heat condensing bronze.

The Patriarch cleared his throat before he spoke in a deep authoritarian voice now devoid of the sinister roughness and rage it previously carried. “Apologize to your nephew.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne kept a look out the whole time making sure that they weren't caught acting the way they were acting. He felt the fury in his stomach as he attempted to calm himself down. Even though the traitor was family, the youth's strong sense of justice crept up like a monster. He wanted to preserve Radasanth's way of living, the very things Radasanth stood for. Democracy itself was under attack by these heathens. Dyne wanted more answers than his uncle was willing to provide. Hearing the mobs drawing closer the youth knew that they had to stash his Uncle someplace safe so he could face a proper trial.

"Nothing he can say will earn my forgiveness. The atrocities done this day are too numerous. Too much loss of life. I curse the day I was born a Cormyr. You place a blight on my Father's memory you bastard!"

Dyne couldn't stop himself this time. A loud resonating THUD from where the youth struck his uncle in the stomach with his fist. It was a simple strike really showing not much skill but more emotion than anything else. He didn't fall back unto his Aikido training for that maneuver. He simply just wanted to hurt his Uncle to alleviate his own pain. Though this was too great. He heard the suffering of the dead as they tried to cling to the mortal coil. Cries of anguish, feelings of torment, throes of woe.

"All those people dead! WHY!"

The words hung in the air as he looked at his Uncle. Dyne Corona forged his identity that way through the blood sweat and tears of others. He hated the fact that he was a nobleman, but understood the responsibility on his shoulders now. Someone had to fight the war. He'd rather it be a group that had honor like the House of Sora, his now extended family. He looked over at Seti. "Nothing he can say will earn an apology from me. He deserves to face trial for his crimes today. But I understand now that Radasanth is currently too corrupt to hold a proper trial. We need to extradite this--individual of interest to some other place where he can face the law and ultimately proper justice. If need be, The House of Sora should put him on trial itself. We can take over Radasanth in the name of the people and put a temporary government in place in this current state of emergency. I can see now that we've been abandoned by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us. We must take matters into our own hands Seti."

The youth waited Seti's words while the crowds drew closer. "Time is of the essence we have to decide what we're going to do to him but he should face trial and a jury of his peers." That was Dyne's conclusion. The man should be tried for his crimes. No other solution presented a fair tribute to those that passed on this terrible day. Dyne stood determined to represent the cause of justice. "We cannot feed this man to the mob. Or we loose everything that Radasanth stands for." Dyne said.

[The Architect]

“Architect!” A middle aged masculine voice invigorated by urgency carried across the street. A large herd of footsteps filtered through the alleys between the townhouses. Apparently Seti’s client managed to ascend to the role of defacto leader of the citizen rescue force. “We managed to clear the library to its foundation. Those still living are getting the help they need. We should count our fortunes. Not many people were in the library when it collapsed.”

Benasik’s eyes locked onto the sight of Darren tied to the light pole. “What’s all this?”

“Sir Tameran, meet Darren Cormyr. He and his group of nobles are behind this disaster. They used what looks to be magical explosives from under the buildings’ foundations to make it look like they were sinking.”

Tameran stepped forward and bent over to level with Cormyr. He lifted Cormyr’s face by the chin so that they were eye to eye with one another’s noses almost touching. Darren’s face was moist, glazed with sweat and dripping with tears. His lips trembled as he looked into his fellow nobleman’s grey eyes. With utmost intensity Benasik said only one word. “Why?”

“Security.” Darren said with an unnatural calm. “For the new power.”

“You mean?”

“Exactly who you think it is.” Seti said with wide eyes on Tameran, in hopes he didn’t speak the word ‘empire’ in front of all these commoners. He held out his hand, and on his palm lay Darren’s many rings. “The ring I have on activates the explosives. I’m going to hold on to it as leverage over him. He might be involved in risky business, but he’s not brave enough to die. Tell me if you recognize any of these.”

Beansik reached with a rough and dusty hand and Seti pulled back. “Just tell me.”

Benasik looked at the architect with wide eyes of shock. They quickly cringed with anger, but then just as quickly dropped with sorrow as he realized the reality of the situation. Seti sighed as he watched his client’s heart break. He honestly believed Benasik was not a part of this plot, but Corona probably didn’t suspect his very uncle to be a part of this plot either. He didn’t want to take his chances. As much as he wanted to trust him, Benasik was not to be trusted with anything critical to the situation such as evidence or a suspect. Seti slowly opened his hand again, and his client tilted his head and leaned in to further see the rings.

“The golden one with the seal is obviously the Cormyr family ring.” He stared and pondered some more. “The silver one with the violet diamond! That’s the ring of the Landed Gentry. It’s a fraternity of aristocrats who seek to preserve their way of life.”

“And you’re not a part of them?”

“He fails to meet one important prerequisite.” Darren said. “You must be at minimum a second generation noble to be a part of the fraternity.”

“I wouldn’t put this kind of deed past them.” Benasik said as he turned to the crowd. “Everyone go to the next site. Go!”

The massive volunteer rescue force continued on, following the towering columns of black smoke. They waited for the crowds to move on to continue. All but Tameran’s entourage of tattered silk and ripped cotton stayed. Seti spoke first, “What’s your next target?”

“I don’t… Ah!” Tameran’s knee made quick contact with Cormyr’s jaw with a blunt sound of force. “Honestly I don’t know. They didn’t give us every target just in case something like this happens. What I can tell you is this. All the targets are in a straight line, and the purpose of this attack is to guard the Empire against the common mob.”

“The courthouse!” Tameran said with revived urgency. “It lies just between the theatre and the aqueduct. We need to warn the people, and preserve the documents!”

“Okay. Okay.” Seti said as he nodded his head and pondered with an obsessive look on his face. “Why don’t you do that? We’ll go underground and attempt to stop the culprits from down there. Corona, lead us underground.”

Seti picked up the three explosive sticks, and proceeded to tie one to Darren’s arm. He looked at the men of Tameran’s camp. “Watch him. If I even think he’s moved I’m snapping my fingers!”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Lost in his own thoughts for a long moment, Dyne simply stared at his uncle in utter disbelief. In one second his entire life was turned upside-down. He thought about the dual betrayal of his Mother and now the betrayal of his Uncle as well. Was his Uncle in cahoots with his Mother? Questions unrelated to the events of the day flowed in the youth's fragile mind. Already, he'd taken upon more responsibility that perhaps was fair, but nothing about this day was fair.

In order for one to claim their destiny, they had to overcome huge hurdles along the way. Suddenly, he remembered things of the past. His mind cleared and he remembered a time of training as his Father lectured him.

The Past--

It was a day like any other. Alberdyne Cormyr just finished his training and was dismissed from the Dojo for the day to go about the rest of his duties. He was accompanied by his long time friend, a local girl named Jessa who was born in Underwood. Alberdyne recalled her long black hair, curly in nature, her silky skin, her intense green eyes. She had darker skin which was common to those who lived in the harsh lands of Concordia. Her family was a poor family that originated from Underwood. They'd served Alberdyne's Father seeking steady employ like so many back then. Even back then, Alberdyne's Father always worked to help people, especially the poor.

Alberdyne, in his arrogant youth, hadn't seen the blessings of that training up until this day. When so many had to die at the hands of nobles. Alberdyne remembered that day well, it stung him like a hornet. Tears swelled in his eyes and the youth attempted to fight them back as he remembered the haunting past. Accusing Alberdyne. The memories of his Father were now threatened as well. He looked up at the sky as the memories came to the surface, every sight, every smell. The image of her, Jessa Reyes. She was there with him that day and was surprised at Alberdyne's reaction.

It happened all at once really, could anyone have blamed him? Heading back to his personal quarters from the Dojo, the young man attacked him all at once. One of the many refugees that came from the Second Uprising. Every famous war that ever took place in Corone wrought havoc on the poor and homeless. Men like Alberdyne's Father tried to help against overwhelming odds even in the face of crime. Alberdyne remembered that burly boy to this day. The boy stood at six feet in height and sized up Alberdyne in his moment of distraction. "You don't look so tough! I don't see what all the talk is about!" Suddenly, Alberdyne found himself separated from Jessa and surrounded by a group of locals.

They were refugees that came into Father's castle. The boy before him had brown skin, lighter than Jessa's own skintone. Alberdyne saw the hate in the lad's brown eyes and prepared himself for self defense. "Let's get him." Was all that the boy said. And the crowd jumped him, stomping on him and punching him in various parts of his body. He could hear Jessa's cries in the distance as his body became bruised and battered. The assault happened so suddenly that Alberdyne had very little time to react. Blood flowed down his chin from a busted lip, and his nose broke. Alberdyne could hear the crowd chanting "Fight, fight, fight!", but none tried to assist him.

Father's words of assisting the poor bit him hard that day. In a lot of ways he grew to hate the savagery that they represented. Yet, there was a strong sense of justice in his heart. Once they relented, Alberdyne struggled to stand, despite his injuries. "Oh you want some more!?" The main boy said and punched Alberdyne hard across the face. He saw where Jessa was in the crowd attempting to fight her way in, but she was easily pushed away by the numbers despite her own training. Alberdyne felt the impact on the day of the attack on Radasanth just as easily as he felt the impact of that boy's fist.

As the assault continued, Alberdyne was stripped of his valuables and further humiliated. He was unable to defend himself. None of his advanced training mattered at all when he was forced to face the mob. "JUST DO IT YOU COWARD!" Alberdyne managed to yell thinking that this was the end. Finally, a miracle occurred. Alberdyne's Father received word of the event and made his way to the battle. "GUARDS STOP THIS INSANITY!" The guards made their way quickly into the crowd and worked to disperse the mob. Now, the boy had to answer to Alberdyne's Father and his bravery, bravado, and courage vanished at that thought. The youth became a cowering lad when he looked upon the imposing visage of Lord Gallen Cormyr. An entourage of guards surrounding him.

Alberdyne stared up at the confrontation between the bully and Gallen. "Just do it already you've clearly got me beat." The young man said. He stared up at Lord Cormyr with fear in his eyes. "You nobles are all the same you only protect each other and spoil your children!" The youth said with arrogance, uncaring of his words. Gallen simply smiled in his seemingly ancient wisdom. "How little do you know of anything. True I have the power to destroy you and your little rebellion right now, but what would that prove to anyone? How would that benefit anybody?" Lord Cormyr said. "No, my purpose is to help the poor, not punish them. They've already been punished enough. No, you will get a WARNING this time." The boy laughed at that, looking at Alberdyne who was on the floor staring incredulously.

"However I will ask that you join the local police force and do something constructive with your time." And with that, Gallen gave the boy a JOB A DAMNED JOB! The youth agreed, stared at Alberdyne one more time, and was off with the guards. Gallen looked over to his son and walked to him, kneeling down towards him. By now, Jessa made her way towards Alberdyne and had her arms wrapped about his person. "Do you understand why I did what I just did Alberdyne?" Gallen asked. But Alberdyne lost the moment due to his own pain and suffering. "YEAH I UNDERSTAND! YOU LET HIM OFF WITHOUT ANY JUSTICE, I HATE YOU!" Alberdyne found the strength to stand and ran towards the nurses to get himself healed. He left Jessa and Gallen by themselves the last thing he heard was Gallen calling to him. "ALBERDYNE WAIT!"

The Present-

And that was one of the last memories Alberdyne had of his Father. He'd yelled at his Father that day little knowing what lurked ahead. He didn't actually hate his Father, he'd spoken in a moment of betrayal and anger. He turned to look his Uncle Darren Cormyr. His eyes had a certain visible fury hidden in them. The tears threatened to come but Dyne Corona bit his tongue hard until he drew blood. He tasted the metallic sensation of his own blood and looked at Darren. "Seti we can't leave Darren unattended with anybody but ourselves. Darren comes with us!" Dyne said.

He remembered his conversation with that Phantom earlier. There was an entrance to the Under Dark beneath the building where the terrorists planned their assault on the Slums District. He looked at the building. Then he pointed towards it. "In there. There's an entrance to the Under Dark in there in the basement." Darren, upon hearing those words looked upon Dyne with utter shock. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT, I NEVER SAID ANYTHING!" Dyne looked away from his Uncle for a moment. "It doesn't matter how I know." He said deciding to keep his secrets. He made his way towards the building again knowing that Seti and the others would follow. Dyne drew his melee batons, knowing that the rest of the terrorist wouldn't go as easily as this lot did.

[The Architect]

Seti reached for the traitor and yanked him from the grips of his captors. Alberdyne was right. They were to be the only ones who could rightfully hold Darren in their custody. In the unlikely event that Benasik was a traitor they’d be playing right into his hands. He directed them to follow their master, and he followed Alberdyne back to the broken building. A medley of feet drifted from the Cormyr’s fresh wooden structure. Tameran and Elmira had the mob in their direction. Neither had mentioned nobility so Tameran was safe for the time being.

“There’s nothing that would allude to that fact.” Darren said with a trembling voice as he stumbled along with them, “You need to find out how he knew.”

Seti ignored the man as Dyne Corona led them into the back room where he’d first entered. The smell of fresh wood was now mixed with the smell of fresh blood that saturated the oaken floor. The entire ground floor of the building was now decorated with burgandy polka dots. There were no bodies to be found, but the carpets made of red blood leading out of the door told them enough.

“I’m just going to let your imagination work in favor of your cowardly fears.” Seti said as he covered his nose. The smell of blood wasn’t particularly unnerving. It wasn’t like he feared blood. He just didn’t like the smell, just like he didn’t like the smell of raw onions. An overturned carpet revealed a square trap door cracked open. “So there’s your evidence. Dyne must have seen this as he came around to intercept you.”

The young warrior lifted the door to reveal a wooden flight of stairs leading into pitch black oblivion. They stepped down into the orifice as it exhaled a cold damp wind.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Memories lurked in Dyne's mind as he thought about everything that the Phantom told him. The Phantom must've done more than he cared to understand at that point because he somehow felt like HE KNEW how to traverse this place. The memories functioned like a feed-back loop and they were placed in his head by the Phantom. Dyne felt his way through the dark knowing which passage to take and what hallway to follow. In that fashion he walked in the darkness eager to find his answers.

He somehow knew in the back of his head that Seti might follow with his Uncle in tow. It made the youth bitter that it was his Uncle responsible for the entire ordeal of the day. No. It was worse than that. Other men were involved in the betrayal of Radasanth and Dyne knew this to be true. Someone somewhere consciously plotted the deaths of many innocent people and this angered Dyne's sense of justice. He walked on in silence not wanting to face the cowardice that his Uncle represented.

He found himself thinking of his Father as he traveled through the dark. Father, I've wronged you. I was a selfish brat. Now I'm paying for it cause I didn't heed your lessons. I miss you Father. What am I to do without your guidance? You had the answers I need and now you're gone and Mother is still at large. Mother. I curse the day I was born a Cormyr. Why did it have to be me? Why did I have to be burdened by the gift of my people? This Artifact that they call The Sight?

Dyne found out a little more about his unique powers as time went on. He found out that he could see the dead and enlist them to his service. He found out that they could talk to him, and in turn, they revealed their secrets to him. Dyne was a very special youth. One of a rare line of humans native to Althanas. The Psion slowly came to grips about accepting the truth of who he was. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. That doesn't mean I have to accept the Cormyr name. I'm going to live by my own rules. Dyne though to himself as he walked, and then he felt movement somewhere up ahead. He felt movement and he heard voices that belonged to the living.

Somehow, the implanted memories served as a guide for Dyne. He heard and felt the people up ahead, his senses acting more acutely than normal because of his adrenaline rush. He knelt down by some rocky wall, his eyes finally adjusting to the dark. All around them lurked a rocky outgrowth of the Under Dark. They were in one of the many long series of networks and tunnels that thieves and Assassins often used and suddenly, Dyne understood the plan. He angrily stood up and turned to look at Seti and his Uncle. "They are up ahead." The youth whispered.

[The Architect]

The smell of raw blood finally left the dual canals of Seti’s nose being replaced by a salty scent. His ears, focusing on Alberdyne’s rock grinding footsteps, led his feet. With his free hand he rounded the corners of the subterranean columns and pulled himself along the steep rises all the while yanking the rogue Cormyr along by his arm. The temperature was at a noticeable low, forcing a warming quiver to go down Seti’s body every few minutes. Darren must have been quite uncomfortable without a shirt, but the architect had no sympathy for him.

Alberdyne confirmed the presence of others and Seti knew through the emotion of even the faintest whisper that the boy was itching for a fight. Seti couldn’t blame him. Never in his life had he wanted to kill so badly, and he was on proper moral grounds to do so, but they were at a definite disadvantage in these subterranean corridors. These saboteurs had probably been spending weeks or even months in these caves and probably knew them very well, whereas Seti and Alberdyne were here for the first time. They were also visually impaired, working off the dim light that entered through a distant entrance and bounced off the cave walls barely making it to where they now stood.

“We follow them. As soon as we find light, we attack.” He whispered with elaborate hand gestures hoping to visually depict the plan. “I’ll use the explosives if I have to so watch for me.”

Seti passed Alberdyne to lead the pursuit, but before he continued further he drew one of his blades and pointed to Darren, who calmly nodded in compliance to the message. It was not an idol threat this time. Seti had no reservations about killing him even if he was Alberdyne’s uncle. To hold him hostage was an act of mercy. Seti knew how to use the explosives now and Darren had no critical information useful for the immediate situation. He was just slowing them down, and if he proved to be a liability Seti would most definitely put an end to his life.

They started for the sounds of voices creeping along a curving wall. Within the dominance of darkness there came a faint tint of incandescent tangerine. Soon enough the burning grave of the Silver Pub came into view and six figures stood by the pillar of flames. If Corona could take on a handful of them the two of them could take on six, or so Seti thought.

“Architect. Leave the sticks here.” Seti looked at Darren with crunched eyebrows of disbelief. Darren continued to hiss critically. “If any of them has a detonation ring all they have to do is think and snap and the sticks will explode. That’s all one needs. To have them so apparent on your person is going to get you killed. At least hide them.”

Seti nodded as he slid the sticks in the side of his boots, and allowed his pants to drape over the obstruction of the footwear. He signaled for Darren to stay in place, and with only one of his swords drawn he looked at Alberdyne and waited for him to confirm that he was ready.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Today was a day of change for many people in Radasanth. The terrorist attack dawned a new age for the history of Corone. Never in all of its years had such an atrocity been committed in its own shores. Even during the Demon Wars, Radasanth was saved by many heroic warriors. Radasanth's sword still lay in hiding someplace in the majestic city. Today, the city lay in ruins and now only a handful of men had a chance to avenge all those that lay dead. Alberdyne Cormyr cursed the day he was born a Cormyr.

He was quickly developing a deep hatred of the aristocracy the deeper he went into the Under Dark's cavernous network. His eyes soon adjusted. It took some time, but crawling through the darkness ensured that at some point it would happen. Dyne kept his eyes peeled in the direction of the large cave in front of them. There was some glowing plants all over the walls that the youth had no name for. These plants glowed in an incandescent blue. They pulsed organic light and somehow, the youth welcomed even that ambient source of light against the pitch black.

There was a beauty to the caverns. It wasn't all just sedimentary rocks and granite. Various oxidized ores created colors and textures to the walls unique to the Under Dark. Dyne looked up and could see that the "ceiling" went on for miles. He couldn't even guess how deep underground they were at this point. But looking at the remains of the Silver Pub, he only guessed that the structure had fallen far. There were dead all over the place. Dyne knew that these "men" attacked during peak business hours in order to ensure maximum carnage.

Dyne saw that Seti drew his blades and the youth did the same thing. He drew his own brass melee batons, eager for some action. He heard the terrorists up ahead but something didn't feel right to him. He felt like there was something else he was supposed to do. What is this feeling in my gut? Dyne's instincts pestered him greatly but he wasn't sure the general direction they were pointing at. He only had the feeling in his gut that there were overwhelming numbers against them. Dyne stole a glance to Seti, who was just as eager as he to wreak some havoc.

But still, why did Dyne feel this way? The danger they were about to get into was apparent, especially if there were more of those explosive sticks in the inventory of the enemy. Dyne crawled forward, into the large room. He tried to step as lightly as he could, there was moisture on some of the rocks from the various plants. Dyne's gut instinct made him think that there was a greater threat behind all of this madness. All he could do at this time was trust his instincts and move forward.

The first of the terrorists lurked several feet to his North. There were three fully armed men. Again, Dyne recognized native Coronians and this renewed the sense of anger. As a betrayal, the day's events stung worse than a hornet. Dyne felt his two batons in his hands, and the brass knuckles that wrapped around his hands as a comfort. For now they'd served him well up until this point and it was time to put them to the test. Dyne Corona charged the three men ahead of him without fear. Seti would either join him or not.

Dyne knew he had to take them down quickly. They never even had a chance to draw their weapons. Dyne ran without making any noise from his mouth. Even though his foot falls made a considerable amount of noise against the rocks beneath him, the bandits never bothered to look up. They were distracted with the examination of the Silver Pub's remains and attempting to salvage what they could of its structure. That made Dyne even more furious.

At the last possible moment, one of the men turned around and prepared to say something. "WHAT THE HELL!?" The young warrior was already upon the rogue. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN, FILTH!" Dyne leaped forward and prepared his Aikido teachings, combined with his knowledge of fencing. He sent a deadly strike towards the man's thorax by the pectoral muscle region and thusly, the battle began. The man grunted a few moments later, and that was all Dyne needed. He pushed his momentum forward using the melee batons for leverage against his opponent. In one moment, he'd flipped the larger man over his shoulders and slammed him hard against the ground with his forward momentum. The youth went over to the older man, and sent a powerful smack of his melee baton in the general direction of the man's temple. A moment later he heard a satisfying crunching sound as his baton impacted against the side of the man's head. The bandit was knocked out cold. This sudden attack made the other two bandits hesitate as they feared the same thing happening to them.

A few moments later they drew their swords upon Dyne Corona. Preparing himself for battle, the young Apprentice grinned. "I am going to make you pay for everyone that you've killed on this day. You're nothing but scum, every last one of you!"

[The Architect]

Seti matched the footsteps of his partner but approached the other three rebels. Their black silhouettes stood against the canvas of the blazing Silver Pub. The rebels were keen on their approach as soon as their footsteps were within hearing range, as indicated by their alarmed body language. Nevertheless they stood ready in variations of a sloppy battle stance ready for Seti’s impending attack.

The architect struck first, not with his sword, but with a flying kick aimed at the center rebel. His foot made contact with the rebel’s forearm, which protected him from a strike to the head, but with an extra thrust of the leg Seti sent he man stumbling back and off his feet. Seti hit the ground running with a prepared stab of the sword and a few intent steps towards the fallen man. Pebbles on the cave floor crunched in his left ear, and he turned to face the source, another rebel in mid swing.

Seti hopped back with wide eyes as the fist slapped his tunic but barely missed his stomach. Almost instinctively Seti retaliated with a swift horizontal swing of his sword. It made contact with the attacker’s fist, but it made a peculiar ringing sound and bit back at Seti’s right arm with forceful recoil. The architect took a few defensive steps back and quickly assessed the situation. The golden fire light now revealed three males, each with a glimmering fist of brass knuckles. It was indeed an unexpected revelation, but he had secrets of his own.

Once again he charged, knowing that they would use their knuckles as defense mechanisms. Another horizontal strike initiated the second round, but this time the blade’s ricochet was directed past the throat of the adjacent rebel. The end of the sword sliced through the man’s skin with ease as if it were sliced bread. Blood followed suit like butter and its smell filled Seti’s nostrils once again.

Another came just as the sound of his comrade hitting the ground hit the walls of the cave. A shining fist approached the architect with deadly velocity. Seti lunged backwards with matched speed and watched as the new attacker stopped himself. The light of the blaze only revealed the rebel’s right eye, but Seti could tell the man wasn’t looking at him. He turned around to see the third rebel holding a large plank of wood with a burning tangerine end aimed at him. The architect dodged a thrust while simultaneously ducking from a brass laden jab.

The plank was heavy, and the fist was fast, so he committed himself to a pattern of dodging the plank and blocking the fist, until a foot suddenly came up to meet him in the face. A force passed through his head from left to right, a tremor in his vision caused him to stumble and suddenly he was within range of the plank. With a mighty and laborious grunt, the rebel slammed the plank down catching Seti’s sword in its splinters. As he refocused his vision he saw an empty hand and a charging rebel. The terrorist man screamed as he reached Seti, but that scream was one of pain as Seti’s second blade pierced his skin and stirred his internal organs about.

The sound of rapid footsteps gained their distance and lost prominence over the roaring of the flammable spirits of the dying Silver Pub. The last of the six rebels was on the run, and Seti turned around just in time to see the man fleeing into the darkness.

“Corona, go!” Seti said with a point of the finger. “I’ll get Darren.”

chase him to the exit of the cave, which is at the base of the city aqueduct.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Obtaining a few cuts from the blades, Corona's battle fared miraculously just as well as his leader. Dyne was cut across the right leg upon thigh, and suffered a cut across his shoulder. There were some other minor cuts as well, he was bleeding freshly. The two remaining lads were taken down with a combination of his aikido skills and some fencing with his melee batons. Dyne used an unorthodox fighting style. It shown through his combat prowess.

Dyne listened to the sounds of battle as his leader fought. Fire pumped through his veins. He pondered helping his leader out. Dyne knew that Seti would command him if he needed it. The earth beneath him was littered with the remains of the Silver Pub. Dyne saw bodies of patrons caught unawares within the remains of the Silver Pub. Some of the Bouncers were legendary heroes of Althanas. He wondered if they'd ever expected a terrorist attack on dear old Radasanth.

These heroes were nameless unlike some of the more famous Silver Pub Bouncers that came across that establishment. Dyne moved through the remains of the Silver Pub desperately trying to find some survivors. He found none. In one fell swoop the terrorists had crippled Radasanth. There had to be some inside help for the job to have been pulled off so smoothly.

As Dyne searched through the remains of the Silver Pub he suddenly felt a swift kick to his backside. He groaned in pain and turned to see who his attacker was. It was Darren Cormyr himself! In the one moment he'd turned his back upon his Uncle, the bastard struck like a snake. Dyne winced from the pain to his lower back area, near the latissimus dorsi region. He prepared to chase his Uncle down but another priority was placed on his lap.

He heard Seti's orders and nodded to the other. Quickly grabbing one of the steel swords from the nearby fallen bandits, the youth chased after the last terrorist. He held the sword in his hands after sheathing his melee baton. He ran like a fencer might run. The cavernous stretch of earth surrounding them in every single direction. Dyne wondered just how deep into the ground they were? He ran forward seeing the bandit just ahead.

Once the youth caught up with the bandit he yelled. "STOP AND FACE WHAT'S COMING TO YOU! STOP I SAID YOU COWARD!" Taking a dive, the youth suddenly burst forward by ducking down and leaping the rest of the way towards his opponent. The structure of the earth changed into a more man-made structure as they ended up in Radasanth's aqueduct region. After a few moments of sailing through the air, Dyne slammed against his opponent with his shoulder blade.

They were in a sewer now. Sewer smells wafted up his nostrils suddenly and both of them gagged. "What the Hell is this!?" Dyne thought out loud. "We are in Radasanth's aqueduct you dolt. The plan was nearly perfect. We were going to poison the city's water supply next..." He realized what he'd just done and he shut up quickly staring up at Dyne Corona. The man's brass knuckled fist was sent flying right to the face of his enemy. There was a loud crunch when Dyne hit his opponent. He'd knocked the lad out cold.

Dyne stood victorious over his opponent for a long moment. Pain coursing through his body from the various injuries he'd sustained. He clutched at his lower back. Maybe that flying lung maneuver hadn't been the best plan Dyne thought of. He held his position there until Seti caught up to him. Out of spite and anger, he kicked the man while he was down. "You don't deserve to face trial but you must to preserve our way of life." If Dyne had been angry before, he was furious now.

[The Architect]

Having retrieved his dropped sword, Seti took pursuit of the runaway Cormyr, but after the a few turns the burning grave of the Silver Pub no longer provided sufficient illumination. The light that bounced off the rough cavernous walls had dimmed into the black void. Perhaps – for Seti’s sake – they would reach another ruin, but it wasn’t for certain that the other buildings were burning as brightly as the last one. His youthful agility was no match for Darren’s knowledge of the subterranean network. Luckily for Seti his ears were keen on the footsteps echoing of the walls and the chase was on a relatively straight path. Nevertheless his limbs were suffering a pesky amount of damage from collisions with the ever narrowing walls. Even his palms were bruised from tripping over sudden changes in elevation.

Then the cave became a narrow corridor. After a turbulent run through the winding maze like path – where Seti ran face first into the walls more than he would like to admit – Darren finally led them to a spacious atrium with another sufficient light source. It wasn’t another sunken edifice, but a high ceiling covered with countless glowworms. Their luminescent bulbs flickered as they dangled high above Seti’s head creating a dim cerulean twilight complimented by stalactite pillars. He couldn’t help but be grateful in the back of his mind of the work of art nature took eons to sculpt. He could only hope that one day he could match the beauty, but he could only guess how strange he looked sprinting forward with his head pointing straight up above him. With that thought he refocused back onto his target and continued.

With another burst of speed and a bound over a fissure Darren was only centimeters out of reach, but just as Seti’s longest finger brushed up against a piece of ripped silk Darren made a juke around the corner and into yet another corridor. Once again the Radasanthian Underdark issued out a sound beating to the architect, but this time it ended quickly as the corridor emptied out into another large atrium. Seti breathed a sigh of relief as the exit of the cave was in sight no more than a few hundred yards away. Carroty orange flames and sapphire bioluminescence couldn’t compare to the pure radiance of the afternoon sun. Now it would only be a matter of time before the noble terrorist was caught. Newly invigorated Seti burst forward in. It amused him to see Darren look back in fear. Perhaps he had done that several times but it couldn’t be seen. Suddenly the chase was brought to a halt.

An enormous and terrible pound pulsed through the cave’s ceiling and rounded about the walls and floor. Seti’s ears and feet tickled as the vibration ran through his body and set him and his target off balance. Then Seti and Darren watched in disbelief as a pillar of sunlight escorted the island of the local courthouse down to its grave. The vision seemed to last forever as it was accompanied by a choir of horror-struck screams. The otherwise sound structure of crimson brick and earth tone timber collapsed like a blown over house of cards when it hit the ground. The requiem ended with a soprano high note of panic coming from the breach above. It came from Elmira standing among many at the edge looking down at the terrible scene. Her reaction could only mean one thing. Her master and Seti’s client was a member of the hell bound choir. She disappeared along with the others.

Having recovered from the shock of the event that just took place before him, Darren now realized he had nowhere to run. The remains of the courthouse were sprawled out before him. He would have to climb over them to escape, and in the process of doing so would allow Seti to close the distance and capture him. Behind him stood Seti, and although the atrium was very wide he wouldn’t be agile enough to shake the architect.

“You mustn’t blame me for trying.” Darren said with fast breath as he slowly turned around to face Seti. There was an unfamiliar look of contentment on the noble’s face. As if he were glad the chase was over. “I won’t run anymore. I can’t run anymore.”

Seti said, mirroring the noble’s face as he reached into his pocket. “All I needed this entire time was a reason to end your life and you gave it to me. I never thought I’d be capable of this but you brought me to this point. You’re right. You won’t be running anymore, Darren. You’ll be too busy in the Anti-Firmament.”

Seti’s hand emerged from his pocket with the detonation ring on the correct finger. Darren sighed and nodded his head. He did not beg for mercy or cry. He simply sat on the ground with crossed legs and closed his eyes…

*snap*

…Nothing…

*snap*

Darren opened his eyes, and to Seti’s surprise he had a frustrated look about his face. The architect turned his hand to show Darren the ring. Its sapphire jewel reflected the sun’s light. Darren nodded in confirmation “That’s the one. I’m not lying to you.” Seti snapped his fingers once more, yet there was nothing. He approached Darren and looked to his arm on which the explosive had been tightly tied. A large crack ran down its cylindrical side, outlined by several scratches and a trail of onyx black powder. The stick had been damaged beyond function.

“Master!” Elmira’s voice was followed by her figure emerging at the peak of the courthouse ruins. Her head darted every direction with desperation until she’d located Benasik Tameran near what used to be the front colonnade of the building. Seti directed Darren to stand and led him to the devastating scene. The civilians, several of which Seti recognized from the library rescue, were already initiating the rescue operation. Certainly for some this was now a well rehearsed scene. Such was made evident by the specialization of tasks and the assembly lines. Men tossed bricks and wood along lines and women stood outside the cave waiting for victims to be carried into the sunlight where they could clearly see if there was hope. Unfortunately for Benasik moving him would be dangerous.

A wooden column had pierced his side and gone straight through. To attempt to take it out now would result in death from blood loss. He would eventually die due to the constriction of blood anyways, but if they were to remove the column, he would have died too quickly to have a last word with. Elmira was standing stunned as she looked at Benasik only a few feet away. His eyes were wide open as they studied his hand, which was covered in blood from a tactile examination of what had been done to him. Seeing Seti, he nodded his head to the side, and a few feet away lay a copy of the Corone National Law document. With the exception of a few tares and stains it was mostly undamaged. Seti looked at Benasik with a somber smile of gratitude and immediately Benasik returned it. He had proven himself to be on the right side, but it would cost him his life.

“Elmira.” Benasik said as he slowly waved for her to come closer. She did so with and sat on her knees beside his head. Her lips were trembling and streams of teardrops made their way down the canvas of her face. Benasik spoke. He had quite a smooth voice for a quickly dying man. “I changed my will about a month ago. It was made official just a week ago. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps a part of me knew my time was coming one way or another. Perhaps it was just strange circumstance. Nevertheless in event of my death, you will inherit my estate. You get everything. The property, the workforce, the manor. All of it.”

A gasp of astonishment escaped Elmira’s lips. Seti’s breathing grew harder as the vivid memory of Supernova’s funeral came to the forefront of his thoughts once again. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was like when his friend died.

“This is good.” Benasik said with a poignant smile as he glanced down at his fatal wound. “This is a good way to go. Don’t put it in vein by blaming anyone for this.”

Tears flooded the man’s eyes and his voice began to tremble in the advent of emotion and death. “You’re like a daughter to me. You’re more like family to me than my son or my wife has ever been, and I hope you can find the same happiness that you have blessed me with.”

“I already have.” Elmira said with a trembling smile. “I love you.”

“And I you.” The civilians, having failed to find anyone in a remotely hopeful situation, had gathered around to witness the death of their de facto leader. Some descended on one knee. Others took their hats off in his honor. “Bless you all, and may Corone find her way through these turbulent times.”

With that final word Benasik Tameran closed his eyes and retired to a peaceful sleep.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne suddenly heard a crash in a nearby tunnel. The psionic turned his attention towards the general direction of the loud sound. His body shook from the weight of the incoming debris. Something told him to head in that general direction. I'd better get a move on if I'm to reunite with Seti. I don't want to stay down here. Dyne thought to himself as he reached down and grabbed the form of the man laying at his feet. Dyne nearly pulled a muscle as he dragged the man with both arms down several yards. He made it to the secondary atrium where Seti and the rest of the group awaited.

Sunlight greeted the youth as he stared at the end of the tunnel. People were pouring into the tunnel and attempting to rescue potential survivors from a fresh set of remains. Dyne recognized the forms of Elmira and Seti as they worked over a particular individual. He also recognized the form of his Uncle, who still seemed to be very much alive. Good. Darren will face trial. We must ensure that all of these criminals face trial. There's a huge mess back there but I'm sure that the civilians have gotten the other members of the terrorist cell. Dyne knew that Corone, and ultimately, Radasanth herself had never faced such a serious threat to her very heart before.

As Dyne dragged the body behind him, a thought occurred to him. We are going to be nation heroes of Radasanth after this. What will happen to me now? What will this mean? The youth thought to himself as he walked in silence. Soon, he caught up to Seti. "Seti. I've captured this man alive. We need to go back to the Silver Pub site and make sure that the others haven't gotten away. They must all face trial." He told to Seti, trying to remind him for the umpteenth time where the values and laws of Corone stood.

Dyne saw a copy of Corone's laws on the floor and saw that Benasik managed to save it. He knew that ultimately, the terrorist were trying to attack a set of ideals. They were trying to destroy documents and a way of living. The noble side of Alberdyne Cormyr understood his purpose that day as he observed the crying form of Elmira. Dyne took the important documentation in his possession, becoming one of the most important men in Radasanth currently alive. He decided to make it his mission to protect these documents with his life, since freedom belonged to everyone. He looked at Seti's general direction.

"Seti, we must provide support to the people and hold an emergency session of Parliament. We are the only ones who can do this now." He said after he secured the documents in his hand. In the possession of the House of Sora, the Clan became the muscle of freedom. Dyne felt a breeze flowing through the tunnels that made the boy shiver. In one fell swoop, Dyne Corona had matured into a man. He waited for Seti's next set of orders. "What do we do now?" He asked calmly.

[The Architect]

Seti stood there with eyes closed as he took a deep breath to hold his frustration in. A part of him – the id in him no doubt – wanted to beat both Darren and this newly captured terrorist to within an inch of their lives for participating in the genocidal plots. He wanted to leave them to the streets in the city’s most dangerous districts with their aristocratic rings and jewelry on for bait so that the merciless muggers and thugs could come and have their way with the two of them. Then when they thought they would find solace in death, Seti would find a way to yank them from their high loft in Hell only to repeat the process six hundred and sixty five more times just to anger all powers that be just for allowing this sort of atrocity to happen. There wasn’t one thing or person in this world he wasn’t angry with. He was even angry with Alberdyne for interrupting this moment of silence in Benasik’s honor.

It was for the best though. Corona’s sound values of the state reminded Seti that although he could (using the various magic and arcane of Althanas) act out his vengeful fantasy he shouldn’t. Every sentient being walking the face of this world had thoughts such as the one he had. What separated right from wrong was acting on them. Seti opened his eyes and stood up. He approached Elmira and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. Those were good last words from Tameran. He didn’t leave bitterness in Elmira’s heart. Instead he left hope and determination as a martyr to a just cause. The people all around him had gotten to know him very quickly within the last hour, and Seti could see that his death did affect them. The despondent faces of the men were in direct contrast with the inflated chests of bravery and strength, and the doleful eyes of the women were nothing to the upturned chins of pride.

Supernova’s death had the same effect, but it took months for those close to him to recover from mourning to find strength. Benasik’s onlookers immediately found strength in his last words. It was time to get to work in his honor. Elmira stood up and spoke as she wiped her cheek with a handkerchief. “What did you two find down here?”

“We encountered six of them at the Silver Pub sight, but the cave system is vast. It’s likely that they could attack anywhere in Radasanth from down here. In an idealist’s world, we’d capture them all and take them to trial.” Seti made sure to look at Alberdyne when he said the word idealist. “But it’s impossible. They know the network better than we do and we don’t know how many there are.”

“Knowing them they won’t stop.” Darren interjected with a timid tone. “If they do no more today they will continue tomorrow, or next week, or next month. It all depends on how the people react. The most extreme measure would probably be to sink the entire low to middle class residential sections of the city. It would only be an extreme measure, but they almost always find some justification to resort to it… Mind you this is only speculation on my part.”

“Is there any way to stop them?” A man from the crowd said. The citizens began murmurs of deliberation back and forth. All of that was muted in the architect’s ear. His eyes were averted to something just outside the mouth of the cave, a pillar made of stone and brick.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne saw that look in Seti's eyes. He knew what the other wanted to do and knew that it was taking significant self control on Seti's behalf to prevent himself from doing it. I can't say I blame him. Me with my philosopher's ways I don't have any answers either. But I know that we must protect freedom at every turn. That is the right of every man alive on Althanas. Those like my Uncle would take it away from everyone. He looked at his uncle with a sort of visible sadness in his eyes. Shaking his head, he walked over to Seti and attempted to place a hand of comfort to his leader's shoulder.

"In a way we've already won. We've secured the very thing that they were attacking. Besasik worked with his very life to protect our rights. We should honor that." With that, he procured the documents representing Radasanth's laws and rights. The constitution of Radasanth itself, written by the people, for the people. As a bastion of hope, Dyne Corona understood that freedom itself was under attack. He got the message quite quickly. These hooligans would stop at nothing to destroy the proud leniage of Radasanth's history.

"We have to find a way to secure these documents from harm." Dyne said calmly. He recalled the memories of his Father, Gallen Cormyr. Nobles are servants of the people. People aren't servants of nobles. He looked in the general direction of the cavern's entrance and then looked back towards the depths of the cavern. They seemed to go on for miles and he knew Seti was right. It would be impossible to find them all on foot. Even with Darren in our possession it seems like this is a vast conspiracy.

The warrior philosopher fought with himself as he tried to find answers. He only thought of the image of his late Father. Would he be proud of me now? As I've passed from being a snot-nosed greedy kid to a true nobleman of the people. I wonder how he would see me now. He held the image of his Father deep in his heart. Darren has betrayed our family. Am I that much different from him? I wonder if my Mother had a hand in this? The youth thought. He held the documents in his hand and then placed them back in his packs. They would be safe with The House of Sora whilst the damage from this horrible day was correct.

Dyne walked over to Benasik's body. Leaning down towards it, Dyne reached with his hand and closed the brave man's eyes. "He died for the people." The youth said calmly. Then his eyes became hazy. He looked over to his right and saw a ghost that looked just like Benasik's displaced spirit. The youth understood what was happening. To all others, it would seem like Dyne was talking to himself. The ghost walked over to Corona. "I know you can see me, you have the mark. The True Sight. There is much more work to be done, Corona. I see the goodness in your heart."

"Thank you for the kind words." Dyne responded as he addressed the Phantom. "I am unworthy for such kindness, I am just following my orders from Seti. I've done nothing." Dyne said calmly. He continued to address the Phantom of Benesik. This time, Darren saw him talking to the Phantom. "By the Thaynes! You're one of them Alberdyne! Why didn't you ever tell me before that you had the Gift!?" Darren asked with exasperation. He allowed himself a single moment of elation before all the darkness that Darren knew he would be facing. Without thinking about it, Alberdyne reached back with a back hand and caught Darren in the face, off guard. "It's none of your damned business. My curse is my own." Dyne said angrily.

Dyne stood up and gave the Phantom his full attention. "What would you have us do?"

"You can't stop them all. But you've protected that which you were able to protect. Focus on saving the people. The enemy will reveal themselves in time. And just in case you were wondering, your Mother didn't have a hand in this." He said and then walked off into the shadows.

"Good bye Benesik." Dyne said calmly letting a single tear flow down his face for the gentleman.

[The Architect]

The conversation around Seti became nothing more than muffled static. His ears pinpointed the sound of flowing water, and lots of it. The water confirmed his suspicion. That stone and brick pillar outside the cave was the foot of Radasanth’s aqueduct, which ran parallel above the cave until it went underground somewhere in the center of the city. The architect’s vivid imagination kicked in again it fooled his senses into witnessing the catastrophic conclusion before it happened. A deafening clap came from the base of the aqueduct as it exploded and collapsed. Giant boulders and chunks of the structure fell to the ground only to be followed by a waterfall. With a roar of anger a wall of water came crashing into the cave like a stampede of wildebeests, and just as it reached out to embrace Seti, reality took over again.

He awakened from his epiphany seeing the brigade of citizens watching Alberdyne in amazement as he stared into the distance and bidding Benasik farewell. He would have to explain this to Seti later, but time was of the essence at the moment. Seti used lethal methods to dispatch of the suspects at the Silver Pub site. He knew his wouldn’t be going anywhere because they were dead. Alberdyne on the other hand was of humane doggedness and only temporarily disabled his aggressors. They would soon be conscious and ready to act accordingly if they already hadn’t done so. Seti refused to accept an escape, but it would be unlikely that they could capture every operative under ground. Not only did he and Alberdyne know nothing about this place, they didn’t know how many men they would face. In addition to all of this, the rosy eyed Corona insisted on giving them a fair trial.

Seti cared nothing for sparing the lives of a group of rich terrorists he didn’t know. He had to make a choice. How could they give a fair trial, but dispatch of the terrorists at the same time? It came to him in a flash, but first he had to know if it was feasible. “Elmira, how much water does that aqueduct bring in from the Comb Mountains?”

“Quite a bit.” Elmira cleared her throat and wiped the tears off her cheeks. Her voice was much smoother the next time she spoke. “It’s the largest aqueduct in the world thus far. Hundreds of thousands of gallons per minute I’d say.”

Just enough. Now it was time for the crime. “If you could get the National Law document over there and refer to either homicide or crimes against the state.” Seti bent down and stared her in the face with a genuine apologetic look on his face. “And may we leave your master here?”

Elmira looked up at Seti with a firm look of determination. “He’s already gone.” It suddenly turned into a whimsical smile, but still had a touch of mourning in it. “Just ask your House brother.”

“Alright.” Seti waved everyone towards the cave opening. “Everyone, let’s move! We need to get out of the cave.”

He grasped Darren by the arm and took leave with the rest of them. Darren had convinced Seti that he didn’t intend on attempting an escape anymore, but Seti didn’t know exactly why. There was a possibility that he only chose to give up because they were in closed quarters. Now that they would be in the open, Seti had to be prepared just in case that was Darren’s reason. The nobleman finally learned to keep with the architect’s hasty walking.

That intent walk was familiar to Alberdyne. “What are we going to do, Seti?” The young man asked as he dragged his captive terrorist along alike a child dragging their teddy bear or security blanket. “What’s you’re plan? We can’t get them all, we can try.”

“On the contrary. Not only can we get most of the operatives underground, but we can give them their speedy trial as well.” Seti looked over to Elmira, who nodded. “Read their charges.”

“Culprits of the sinking city of Radasanth, you have been charged with at least fifty counts of intentional homicide. Such a death toll is extremely heinous and can be considered genocide – the mass murder of a targeted group of people. In this case the victim would be Radasanth and her common citizens.” She continued to read, but Seti tuned out as it was unnecessary after that point. It only explained why killing was encroaching on one’s right to life and how it was unproductive for society at large.

The combination of sunlight and pollen created a curtain that hung off of the cave entrance’s top. The cast of Radasanth’s latest epic tragedy stepped out into the sky’s spotlight, tattered, bruised and sweaty. First the two tragic heroes stepped on stage with the fatigue equivalent to emotionally worn out actors at the end of a curtain call. They carried with them their defeated nemeses, but also the defeated portion of their souls. Beside them entered the innocent bystander, the victimized woman, and behind the principle roles came the massive company of citizens.

The massive pillar stood thick before them casting a wide shadow to the east. It stood in a line of countless pillars that carried the manmade river of water far from the Comb Mountains to the metropolis of Radasanth. Seti could have imagined how far they went, but he didn’t have the time to daydream again. He warned the rest of the cast to get some distance between the aqueduct and themselves as he padded his soar palms on the base’s rough surface like a blind man. Darren was released to Alberdyne’s custody.

This structure had been well kept. It had been cleaned and weak sections were constantly being replaced, but that was the flaw. The reason the base was a collage of brick and stone was that the aging stone was being replaced by fresh brick, and the past between was full of holes. The sapphire dynamite sticks slipped out of the architect’s sleeves and he placed them in their proper places. Elmira was still reading the law as Seti reunited with them several yards away from the pillar.

“Read them their punishment, Elmira.” Seti said as he nonchalantly twisted the detonation ring.

“… Their punishment, unless absolved by a judge, is death. In this case it shall be death by drowning.” Seti snapped his fingers and a great clap echoed throughout the land. The ground shook in agony under them as it sustained the wounding explosion of two explosives. The rock and brick turned into an expanding dust cloud of muted silver and crimson, and like a shattered shin the pillar holding up the aqueduct went limp. Its fractured sections hit the ground with a blunt but loud thump and the water fell and poured into the cave with the familiar roar one would hear in the beach. Radasanth would be without water tonight, but it would also be without fear.

Elmira finished. “They say the last moments of drowning are like euphoria. In such case, we are granting you criminals a bit of mercy.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne listened to Emira reading the sections of the law that he hated to admit to himself were part of the law. Enemies of the state. Is that how we were going to deal with them now? He didn't know why, but tears of sadness flowed down his eyes as he finally realized how many had truly become victims of this day's awful events. The brilliant sun overhead hurt his eyes and he was forced to cover them. When one was so connected to death, one had a specific set of feelings for it.

Feeling the ground shaking beneath him, the earthquake was not subtle. He saw nearby buildings, ancient structures, start to fall underneath the pressure of the resounding earthquake. The resounding explosion triggered the tremors traumatically as it tore through the earth's crust. Gallons upon gallons of purifying waters rushed through the Underdark, drowning out whatever life it could claim. Dyne looked over at Darren, that could have been him down there if they'd left him there. Blood was still blood.

They'd obtained a significant number of the hooligans that day and could interrogate them to find out more information. The Phantoms of the dead whispered more information to Dyne and that's how they'd been able to stop the cell in the building, lifetimes ago. Dyne felt himself changing. He wanted to stop Seti from performing the harsh deed, but it would had been no different if the House of Sora held the emergency meeting.

He felt his fists clenching tightly. I feel useless. The boy suddenly thought as he felt that his very ideologies were under attack. Seti had done a tremendous act to get rid of the vermin underneath the city, and it was possible that some would escape the flooding. The Underdark had many nuances that were unique to it. Dyne looked upon Seti for a long moment as he studied the man's face. They were following the law and executing enemies of the state, weren't they? Why does this feel so wrong? He held the legal documents in his hands and would study them to familiarize himself with Radasanth's law. He knew they would have to face trial eventually, but the House of Sora was also a military organization.

"Sometimes we have to solve situations with military solutions." The youth found himself repeating the code of the House of Sora. "In an idealistic society we could resolve everything politically, but this is not an idealistic world we live in." He said and walked over to Seti, determination was in his eyes. "Now that we've secured the law in our hands, what do we do next to save Radasanth? We need to start the rebuilding process, amongst many other projects Seti. There are many who need our help." Dyne said. Rather than focus on the terrorists that escaped, Dyne tried to keep his mind on the ones they'd managed to capture alive. They could face a trial of their peers. Dyne looked over to his Uncle, Darren. "You brought this on yourself for siding with them. You forgot your role as a nobleman." Dyne merely held his uncle in place with a powerful hand, despite the fact that the other man was taller and much stockier than Dyne was. Dyne was built like a small house.

He waited for Seti's next set of orders.

[The Architect]

The roar of the turbulent water didn’t withdraw as it continued to pour into the cave. Seti heard the words of his House relative, but what plagued him more was the tears rolling down his face. His intense mournful expression was the same as Elmira’s only moments ago. It was the same as Seti’s years ago. Why did such a memory plague his mind? Today was the first day he didn’t shed a tear when he recalled that day, but now he wished he could. He took a deep breath hoping for that push, that fogy sheet of salty tears, but it didn’t come. Until now it served as a relieving albeit embarrassing catharsis, after which he would feel lighter at heart and stronger in resolve. There was no relief today. As much as he wanted to he couldn’t cry.

Once again Alberdyne turned to Seti and requested that he lead the way. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do. The deed was done. They had done all they could do for today, but as for the big picture… “We go home now. If Elmira would be so kind as to put us up for the week?” She nodded as they walked. “As soon as we get there we’ll send for the rest of the House of Sora. Elmira, if there’s any way we can at least speak to a representative of the new government that would be great. Other than that there’s nothing left to do but keep an ear out. If rumors about bodies being found in the water then we’ve done something right. As for these two radicals, we’ll give them their trial. Since there’s no courthouse, we’ll have to host it elsewhere, and we can gather a jury tomorrow.”

What did I ask you before we started? I asked you if you wanted to know about the man, Seti. Not the villain, not the hero, not the legend. Well here it is, the real live account instead of the myth. What I’m telling you about is life, boys, grey life with no black or white, no good or evil. It is what it is, people making tough choices and having to live with the consequences. In order to save the city, Seti and his crew had to commit the same genocide that had been committed earlier that day. You know, everyone thinks that was the victory, but no, ask him yourself and that was more like a damn compromise. The true victory came three days later. It was a busy busy day, but it was a good one.

Over the next few days more than one hundred and fifty bodies would turn up in the various water disposal points around the city. They weren’t all operatives of the radical group so Seti wasn’t going to flatter himself. At least half of them had to be occupants of the buildings that had fallen. Benasik’s body was yet to be found even as similar civilian corpses from the courthouse were recovered from the catacombs near the Citadel. The initial belief was that the city was beginning to sink into an ever widening subterranean fissure or fault, but the eyewitness accounts of the forty or so men and women a part of under Benasik and Elmira’s leadership was enough to squash those faulty rumors. By the third day after the incident, everyone knew it was intentionally done, and the story of Benasik’s sacrifice quickly made him a martyr. He was a local hero now, and rightfully so.

The funeral business experienced the beginning of a month long boom as widows, widowers, and other relatives of the dead held private funeral services. There would be a public memorial service held tomorrow, but today everyone had a more pressing task on their hands, the trial of Darren Cormyr. It was a daunting task finding someone who didn’t have some direct connection to the incident. Everyone either knew someone who died, or knew someone who knew someone who died. It took them two days to find six jurors in the city, so they resorted to the rural outskirts and found the other six in less than two hours. Elmira, having crammed the National Law document for the past two days would act as judge. Such a contradiction perplexed Seti, to waste all that time to find an unconnected, unbiased jury only to have a judge who lost someone in the incident. But what harm would it do that the system didn’t? The worst she could do was sentence Darren to death, and that was the designated punishment to a crime such as this one.

The trial was held at the Tameran estate a little after sunrise three days after the incident. The property was minimalist compared to other wealthy estates in the region, but it revealed the late master’s source of wealth. Instead of lavish gardens and stretching plains, the land was dominated by a violet and emerald labyrinth of a vineyard. Trellis walls winded in and out of each other to create complicated paths and puzzles. Trespassers could be lost for days in the walls of bird netted vines despite the sun shining straight through. The only surefire way to the tan stucco mansion was a whitewash brick road that led straight to it from the gates. Two complex cascading fountains guarded the high flight of stars at the front of the home. Seti and Alberdyne were making their ascent just as the late master’s widow and son were storming off for the last time. After reading the will Marcie Tameran made an ultimatum. Either she would be the mistress of the estate, or she would not live on the estate. Elmira welcomed her to stay for as long as she needed, but would not give up rule. Marcie took no interest in how Benasik amassed and maintained the wealth that he had, but Elmira did and she had the expertise to keep the estate on its feet.

While Benasik was of common origin, his wife was not. Their marriage was of free will, but novelty and haste as well. They soon came to realize that their values were polar opposites. Although Benasik enjoyed the wealth he’d earned over decades of work, he planned on keeping it. Almost every gold piece not being stockpiled for a rainy day was either for charity or to further his miniature conglomerate of real estate and wine production. His aristocratic born wife saw his generosity, but unfortunately not for her, he wasted it on the poor. He paid his employees triple the standard salaries. Anyone who worked on Benasik properties were paid well. With Marcie’s material appetite completely unsatisfied, she turned into an adulterer, and she gave birth to a boy with a scarlet letter in her heart. Young Jess Tameran was his mother’s son. It was uncertain as to whether he was Benasik’s son in any way, and he knew that. Jess possessed his mother’s taste, her insatiable appetite, and her hate for Benasik. He even resembled her in looks. Seti could see that as they passed on the mountain of stairs, but something even more shocking caught his eye.

It took all the will in his heart to not drop his jaw. Seti nudged Alberdyne on the shoulder to make sure he wasn’t the only one to see what he was seeing. Even in the dim light of the rising lemon sun, Seti could see the ring of the Landed Gentry on Jess’ finger. Seti put a finger up to his lips signaling Alberdyne not to tell anyone.

“They never liked me.” Elmira said as she crossed her arms and watched mother and son depart from the top of the stairway mountain. “She even accused me of sleeping with Benasik a couple of times, although I didn’t. I always feared the possibility of Benasik dying unexpectedly because I knew I would be at her mercy. I guess I have no reason to fear that now. Well let’s get this trial over with. We all have a busy day.”

The trial was to be held in the private amphitheatre near the rear of the property. It was a perfect stone oval crater surrounded by trellises, large enough to hold more than five hundred. On warm nights, the late master would invite his friends, commoner and wealthy alike to enjoy concerts and homemade wine. The night before the trial Elmira invited them over one last time to honor him. Seti enjoyed as they reminisced over humorous and touching memories of Benasik. They danced as a band of violins hand drums and classical guitars accompanied the dialogue. Seti smiled throughout it all, getting to know his client more when he was dead than when he was alive, and he wondered why he hadn’t seen the jovial, clumsy, and mischievous side of Benasik. Elmira provided that answer.

“Because he saw you like he saw all creative geniuses, pretentious, egotistical and all around unpleasant, but he’d seen your work and admired it. Needless to say, he didn’t like you, but he respected you, so he made sure to maintain a workable relationship with you.”

Seti was somewhat taken back by that answer, and he asked with wide eyes of shock, “So it wasn’t because he didn’t know me that well?”

Elmira’s eyes traveled off in ponder. “Oh yea. You’d only been working for him for a few weeks, a month at the most. Yea that was it too. Maybe if he’d known you longer he would’ve seen the more… more… another side of you… Yea.”

Seti shrugged it off. “Elmira, I know this is probably a rough time for you right now, and this may not be the best place to do it, but I don’t think I’ll ever get another opportunity. I feel responsible for Benasik’s death, and for that I must apologize. If I hadn’t sent him to the Courthouse he’d be alive right now, it’s just my suspicions got the best of me…”

Elmira raised a hand commanding him to stop. “And if your suspicions hadn’t gotten the best of you we wouldn’t have been able to put on these trials, right? The way I look at it, someone had to pursue the radicals underground, and someone needed to get those documents. Even if you hadn’t suspected Benasik, you and Alberdyne were the young and fit ones with the best chance at success down there. He would’ve gone anyways.”

She pranced back down the stairs to rejoin the informal eulogy.

Now this morning the very same amphitheatre was to host something completely different. Once occupied by band just hours ago, the stage area was now furnished for the official parties of the trial. All those who came in contact with Darren that day took turns speaking in the makeshift witness stand and took turns recalling the day, even Alberdyne made an emotional appeal, but Seti chose to sit this out. His statement wasn’t necessary given the overwhelming amount of evidence against Darren. Even the suspect made a candid summary of, not only that day, but of the events leading up to that day, how his desperate struggle to restore his family name led him to this secret society. Darren admitted it was he who set the Silver Pub ablaze with gunpowder laden explosives from Alerar. He pointed out it was the same technology the Alerarians used for their firearms, and the same technology in the newly imported cannons for Corone’s navy. Like flowers to the sun all the heads in the sloped gallery leaned forward with intrigue. This was the first time anyone had heard this. The jury deliberated for a short fifteen minutes, and came to a unanimous vote of guilty. A quick and equally quiet sound of approval came from the gallery. Acting Judge Elmira struck her gavel to silence them.

She spoke with a voice of subtle resolve. “Darren Cormyr, before I address you I’d like to speak of one of your fellow operatives. Shortly after he woke in our custody he took a vow of silence, only telling us his name, Erok Diamoz. His and your crimes against this city can only be viewed as atrocious, but he has shown absolutely no remorse. The radical cause he supports by choice is highly destructive to the community and the country. Since I saw no hope in rehabilitating him, I had no other choice but to put him to death after a speedy trial. He is now among his radical brethren in the Niema river. But you Darren, your situation is different. Ever since the fall of your family you have been looking for an easy way out of your troubles. That’s why you joined that organization. They tempted you with your long gone status and way of life, and drew you in by promising redemption. Just like all of that, death is an easy way out, and I won’t allow you an easy way out. Instead I’ll offer you redemption, but it won’t be easy. My late master was a living success story. He began at a bottom much lower than yours, he found a trade he loved, and he pursued it. This is what came from it, a four hundred acre estate, a successful business and a handful of properties in downtown Radasanth. Your sentence is life in redemption. You will live the rest of your life in Tameran custody and do as Benasik did. Find a trade you love, and pursue it within these walls. Security measures will be taken to keep you here and under control. This trial is adjourned.”

The crowd dispersed and two property guards escorted Darren to one of the mansion’s empty wine cellars. Retaining her calm disposition Elmira stepped off the stage. “Do you mind if I stay for your meeting?”

Seti nodded the two of them switched places. Now Elmira sat in the front row, and Seti sat in the judge’s podium. The courtroom setting remained, and served as a parallel to what was about to happen. The House of Sora meeting about to convene was just like a trial, with a jury, a gallery, and a judge. Seti had to remind Alberdyne that he was the new Patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm, the House’s tactical division. With a blush the young Patriarch relocated from the front row to the jury box. Standard members began to trickle in, so Seti decided to sit at the edge of the granite stage, legs dangling off as he made light hearted conversation with them, compelling them to sit closer to the front to speak with their leader. Seti hadn’t seen the majority of them since he welcomed them to the group, so greetings came complete with enthusiastic smiles and the occasional hug. It was almost like a family reunion. Seti was especially glad to see Banda ‘Nimbus’ Utako strut down the flight of stairs with his pendant of the eclipse high above his head. He was one of the newer members, but Numbus had done more in his first few months than most members did in a year. That smile was quickly brought down to a mug of concern when Nimbus informed him of Christina Bredith’s involvement in the civil war conflict.

Of the lodge leaders Brynhilde ‘Elding’ Darkthorne was the first to arrive in all her divine glamour. Even her daughter in her arms had a holy aura. Not long after, the House ancestors, Ken ‘Ol’ Sol’ Kilpatrick, Akhanatin ‘Aurora’ Ra, and Tulmatra ‘Luna’ Methadras came in. Along with Seti they were among the original group of fifty builders and designers who created and maintained the House of Sora in its first incarnation. Ken and Akhanatin both greeted Seti with a smile, but Tulmatra did not. In an awkwardly silent moment that seemed to move in slow motion, she went on stage and took a place beside Brynhilde. She buried her head in her chest and twiddled her thumbs. As Seti and the male Ancestors made conversation, Lillian ‘Welkin’ Sesthal crept in. He didn’t even notice her until he felt a timid tap on the shoulder and turned to see her wave bashfully. The last of the leaders to arrive was Rajani ‘Stardust’ Aishwara, with his entourage of Peregrine officers. He arrived to a nearly full fraction of the amphitheatre. The grey stone was almost completely covered by molded clay of skin tones and a kaleidoscope montage of dyed fabrics and shining armors.

The sun reached the tip top of the sky and there were no shadows. It was time to begin the meeting. Seti went to the podium and struck the same gavel Elmira used to silence the crowd. “Welcome everyone. I’m glad to see so many of you here. This looks like almost all of the House, which is impressive. Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”

“No problem.” Ahead popped up from the crowd. It was Wrae ‘Pegasus’ Launcey, who’d attempted to acquire a base of operations for the group. “We saw what you did to those rebels. I’m not getting on your angry side.”

The audience reacted humorously to the statement, but Seti knew better than to laugh along with them. He looked to his right, into the jury box to see Tulmaltra’s eyes dead on him like a stalking tiger. Seti turned back to the audience and continued. “Nevertheless you’re here and I appreciate that. We’re here to discuss recent events and the role House of Sora should play in all of them. All of the Ancestors and Lodge Heads will be given time to make their own statements, but I’d like to begin with you all. Everyone will have a maximum of five minutes to speak so get your point across quickly. If you have something to say or ask just stand and I’ll call you to speak.”

Caduceus ‘Azoth’ Grimaldi was the first permitted to speak. He was quick to point out the possibility of conspiracy on both sides of the Corone conflict. The Rangers were quick to denounce the new power and their handling of suspects at Gisela, and the government seemed like it was just looking for a reason to convert to the Empire. The question then arose of exactly what government model did the new Empire use. The word ‘empire’ had its standard meaning among the vast array of informal meanings. They all agreed that an empire is a state that controls regions beyond its original boarders, and if that’s what it was in this case then the rulers who renamed the Republic either had another idea behind the meaning or intended on taking over some land other than the island nation. Throughout history though, consistencies could be found among all empires.

For nearly two hours they were in a stalemate, stuck on whether or not the House of Sora should get involved with the civil war. If this is what democracy entailed, Seti could see why it was so fragile. He sighed with exasperation then struck the gavel with all his might. He wasn’t angry, but the loud strike was necessary. The amphitheatre had turned into a battle royal of ideas and voices dueling with insults and volume. They calmed down at the sound of Seti’s gavel, but some were still arguing until Seti spoke in a projected but calm voice. “Might I remind all of you of the mission statement of our interest group? We are here to further the progression of world civilization. The question isn’t whether or not should we get involved, but how. Don’t bring that question up anymore, and if you have to keep bringing it up toss the heirloom on the stage right now.” His voice then became much more desperate as its tone shot up. “Don’t you understand that this affects us all? The majority of you weren’t here when this happened but the group lost a life in the last war between Alerar and Raiaera. Christina ‘Rosette’ Bredith was in Gisela when the massacre happened and she hasn’t been seen since! It’s all happening again.”

The amphitheatre was reduced to a silence filled to the brim with shame. The Patriarch of the House continued. “In a matter of days the Corone Republic, which held up the world’s greatest economic powerhouse, was reduced to a fragmented island. I didn’t even know until yesterday. Rosette’s whereabouts weren’t even suspect until this morning.” He let his words simmer in their mind for a moment. “Has anyone seen the latest edition of the Radasanth Reader? There’s more to the world than just this situation. Raiaera’s falling to Xem’zûnd… again! Salvar is caught in the middle of a struggle between monarchy and theocracy, and if you think Alerar doesn’t have its problems or isn’t involved you’re wrong. If you read the interview with their new king about a month ago it’s clear that he’s an idiot. Any nation ruled by an idiot is in grave danger, which is not to mention exactly who’s supplying who with firearms in Salvar.

All of this is going on in the midst of other interest groups fostering conflict. Is it a coincidence that a group called Imperial has emerged in the midst of this Empire? Is it a coincidence that the Red Hand, the same group that imposed taxes on our market has made a return? Then there’s this.” Seti held up a long sheet of white parchment filled with black ink. “This is a public appeal by Thoracis Rakarth attempting to galvanize the people to join him in Valandil Telemnar. He dares mention our name among the list of leagues who allow the status quo of misfortune to persist. But besides wining tournaments here and there, what has the fallen hero of Alerar done for Althanas lately? Nothing!”

The House relatives erupted in fervent approval of Seti’s convictions. After a few seconds he signaled them to silence themselves. He spoke now in a softer voice. “I have to conclude this meeting with an unfortunate revelation. Thoracis is right. We’ve done nothing to change things. In our frenzy of preparation, gathering resources and personnel we have become a group of consuming self interest. I take responsibility for that. Time for preparation is over. We’ll begin with humanitarian missions. I have a meeting with a representative of the Empire later today. I’m going to seek permission to rebuild what was lost three days ago, Irrakim could still use assistance as ‘Elding’ here can tell you, and we have some refugees in Raiaera who need sanctuary from the necromancer. The world will know we are Sora by our love. But for those who insist on bloodshed, poverty, and backwards civilization in order to fulfill their desires, they will know us differently. They will know we are Sora by our wrath. This meeting is over. You’re all dismissed. Return to your lives but be on the look out for new House missions.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The entire event of the trial and everything that followed was a blur. He was shocked to hear Judge Elmira's sentence but was pleased after his own appeal was heard by the general populace. Dyne's heart was heavy as he sat on the chair in the amphitheater listening to the people's reaction at the sentencing of his uncle. Some people showed discontent at the sentence but deep down, Dyne was glad that Elmira proved herself unbiased and impartial. The trial went off without a single hitch. Dyne looked down at his feet and felt his Uncle's eyes upon him throughout most of the trial. He hadn't slept since the nightmare attack on Radasanth happened. Dyne kept thinking about all of the Phantoms that he'd seen even at that moment. The most important Phantom he'd come across was Benasik's Phantom. For some reason, he thought a lot about the sacrifice Benasik made, it played on his heart making it heavy. He'd cried a lot in his own personal time. The weight of knowing that his own family had betrayed Radasanth made the youth think about the situation much differently than the rest of the gathered members of the House of Sora.

In a way, Dyne felt responsible for the entire events. His family was responsible for what happened three days ago. The trial was swift and fair, Dyne knew that his uncle deserved death but was given life instead. And now, Dyne's family was marred further. Benasik became the true martyr and hero for the hour. Throughout the ordeal, once it was revealed that a relative of Dyne was responsible for the enemy attack on Radasanth, Dyne got negative treatment as a result of it. He didn't complain much about it either. He got used to people booing at him and throwing things in his general direction like stones and heads of cabbages. It was only after Seti informed the gathered audience that he was now the new leader of Lodge Bladestorm that the insults and the attacks on his personal safety stopped.

Dyne didn't even make any effort to prevent them. His atma (Soul) was oppressed and weighed down with a darkness. Everywhere he looked he saw the Phantoms of the dead. Some looked upon him with accusatory glances, as if blaming him for the deaths that were caused. The dead were the harshest judges of all. Dyne kept his eyes upon his feet the entire time of the trial, and then later, the delegation of Seti. He was riding a wave of sadness and negativity. His heart felt cold.

Long after the gathered congress departed from the room and people went to take care of their various matters...Dyne stayed in the amphitheater by himself. He listened to the calls of the dead still trying to cling to life desperately but to no avail. His eyes carefully observed the Phantoms that made their way to and fro the warehouse, a few of them observing the solitary man suffering with his own insanity. Somehow, Benasik's Phantom stuck with him the entire time. A strange sort of companion, Benasik returned to speak to the medium before and after the trial was over. When he was alone, Benasik approached the psionic a sad look on his face.

"You're young, why are you so sad?" Benasik asked.

"It's all my fault Benasik. My Uncle, my own family was somehow responsible for all of this. I bare the weight of the events that happened. I bare the guilt." Dyne said, the crow's feet underneath his eyes quite visible due to the lack of sleep. "Elmira was a great judge wasn't she? She gave your uncle an unbelievably lenient sentence. You were wise to spare his life. It was the best thing that the House of Sora could've done. You don't want your people to be viewed as tyrants." Dyne suddenly looked up at the Phantom for a long moment. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "But we are tyrants, we killed all those people. When they could've been brought to justice. I understand that maybe there was no other way, but regardless of the matter, Seti acted in such a final way. I couldn't stop him." Dyne looked away from Benasik's cold eyes. "You did well on this hour of great need. You will prove what it means to be a Hero in Radasanth. They will sing songs of your heroism Dyne Corona. Trust me on that. People love a Hero. There is too much darkness in this world." Benasik said.

"I agree with you on that. There is way too much darkness. What do I do now Benasik?" Dyne suddenly heard someone approaching the amphitheater's gathering room. There was an eerie sort of silence that clung to everything without an audience there. Dyne sat in the judge's box having not moved an inch since after the delegation with the Seti took place. "Hey Elmira. You did great today. I am proud of you." Dyne looked over to Benasik's Phantom, it remained in the room as it stared in Elmira's direction with a mournful expression on his face. "I heard you talking to yourself, and I saw you say goodbye to something that day of the attack. I wanted to talk to you in private." Dyne nodded calmly and sat up in his chair trying to get a moment's stretch. "All right I'm here. Though I don't know what good I can be." Elmira grabbed a chair and pulled it up towards Dyne. "I heard you can talk to the dead, is that true? I want to tell something to Benasik. Is that who you were talking to?" Dyne listened to her words. He nodded calmly. "I'm not sure how you knew that but yeah. I was talking to Benasik, he's still here with us. Phantoms are around us all the time its just that most tend to ignore the activities of the dead."

Dyne found himself becoming more like a teacher at that point. He was talking about a subject he knew a great deal about seeing that he saw Phantoms all the time. Ever since his Mother struck him with that enchanted dagger, Dyne was able to see the activities of the dead and speak to the dead at will. To others, it would appear that he was talking to himself. Unless they were also gifted with the abilities to see the dead. Dyne spoke to Elmira and tried to calm her heart as best as he could. The impromptu seance lasted for several hours. Elmira gained a better understanding of the new Patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm, and Dyne gained a better understanding of Judge Elmira. Soon, Benasik was called to some other place and had to depart leaving them alone. "Thank you for that Dyne." She hugged Dyne and stood up. "Do not blame yourself for Darren's actions. Darren has free will. He chose those actions for himself. I could've sentenced him to death but I chose not to. I felt there was enough there for me to sentence him to a life of servitude. I think Benasik would be proud of that."

"He is proud. You've done far better than I could've ever hoped for. You were really great today." Dyne started. "I wish there was more I could do to help out but I feel so useless sometimes." Dyne still didn't understand why he was the Patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm but he vowed to prove himself worthy of the title. Now the repairs would begin, now the true story of the House of Sora would begin. People would wonder what I thought about during this terrible hour in Radasanth's history. If you were to ask me, I thought about petty things and petty decisions, but I attempted to defend freedom from oppression. Even when that oppression came from fellow House of Sora members. I tried but failed miserably. Yet despite all that, I found my place in the world. I found out what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be. We protected Radasanth's legal documentation with our lives. That, along with Benasik's sacrifice proved to be something. After a long moment he continued to talk to Elmira. "Just know that Benasik is proud of you." She hugged Dyne and the warrior smith hugged her back. "I'll always be there for you if you need council from a medium Elmira. Don't deal with you sadness alone." Dyne concluded. She nodded.

"I know that Dyne, you're a good man. There aren't enough out there like you." She smiled and left Dyne to his own vices. Dyne would stay in the room for many more long hours to come until he finally became determined to do what he needed to do. The military wing of the House of Sora needed to be strong. Warriors needed weapons. He would go back to Underwood and focus on his blacksmith trade. Gathering up his personal belongings, Dyne went off into the night to return to his home in Underwood. The Sleepy Willow awaited him. And with it, the promise of a new story yet unwritten.

Spoils Note: I just want Experience, thank you.

[The Architect]

The Victory

The lobby of the Capitol Building in Radasanth was not the headquarters of a Republic. It was a plush golden medley of organic shapes and lavish statues. The receptionist explained it was only a month ago that this was quite a humble room, but now that there was less bureaucracy to deal with the Viceroys needed only say a word and it would be done. Within days the plain lobby was transformed into this. Golden drapes with Raiaeran embroidery hung as low as the windows stood tall. Yellow sapphires surrounded the gas lamps on the chandeliers to create a jeweled glow to the room. Seti sat on a bronze couch of the finest Alerarian factory textile, as he reviewed his notes on a table made from Fallien glass.

“Mr. Dylan?” A man in his late thirties stopped at the table. He was dressed well for a simple representative, clad in velvet and silk, but as Seti had already seen things were changing fast in the Capitol Building. Seti stood up and nodded with a courteous smile and met the man eye to eye. He felt somewhat uncomfortable smiling when so much was at stake, but that’s what was written in Rajani’s notes to him. Smiling and eye contact was the key. The representative shook hands with him. “I’m Representative Gibon Treiz. May I say it is a great honor to meet someone so instrumental in bringing the people together to save our dear city.”

“That was more the late Tameran’s doing, sir. Speaking of which…” Seti reached in his portfolio shaped case and pulled out the National Law documents. “He recovered these from the Courthouse just before it fell. We made several copies just in case this got lost too.”

“Oh! Why thank you! We appreciate that. We actually had two copies of these documents. One was in the Courthouse. Do you know where the other one was?” Gibon paused and smiled. Seti tilted his head, but remained silent. “The other one was in the library. You really have saved us in more ways than one.”

“Benasik.” Seti didn’t bother to keep the smile. Gibon needed to see how serious he was. “Benasik Tameran saved us in more ways than one and traded his life for it. A statue should be erected in his honor for the courage he showed that day.”

“Believe it or not it is likely that we will make a statue to commemorate him. Now let’s get down to business. Do you mind having the meeting here? Everyone in the city’s focused on the public memorial right now so you’re the only appointment we have.” Seti nodded, although he felt compelled to shrug his shoulders, and sat. Gibon continued as he took a seat in a large leather chair across from the architect. “So to what do we owe the pleasure of meeting you?”

“I just wanted to let you know that whoever did this was attacking the Empire.” Seti looked into Gibon’s eyes with a glare of cold hard honesty.

Gibon’s brown eyebrows rose in surprise although his voice didn’t indicate so. “Attacking the Empire, you say? And what leads you to believe that, good citizen?”

“Besides the fact that I met the attackers face to face, captured one, killed several?” The architect’s eyes squinted with disappointment. He made sure Gibon saw this in hopes of provoking him further. “They destroyed what was essential to the survival and progression of a civilization.”

“This coming from the ruler of an interest group focused on civilization.” Gibon bit.

“You don’t have to be an expert or scholar to see what the attackers’ intentions were. The five targets were the Great Library of Radasanth, the Silver Pub, the local farmers’ market, the Radasanth Playhouse, and the Radasanth Courthouse.” Gibon motioned him to continue. “Look, you’re an Empire now and your support structure has just been taken away. How are your farmers, and builders, and seamen supposed to be able to feed you, put a roof over your head, and trade your goods if they don’t have the information on how to do it.”

“The ones that know how to do these things won’t suffer because they don’t have a library.” The courteous façade was gone now. Gibon’s voice was now filled with a sense of cynicism. “Most methods are taught through passing down.”

“But most methods are updated through the free flow of information. Take me as an example. My father was an engineer, but I’m an architect – an engineer with style. He taught me everything he knew, but I became an architect by learning more through a small library in Scara Brae.”

Gibon remained silent.

“The Radasanth Courthouse was an attack on your sense of order. Besides the due process your city troops know, how are you supposed to give someone a trial by murder if there’s no law against murder? Even as we speak some citizens are running out of food in their storage because they don’t have a farmers’ market to go to. I’m not saying it’s a starvation situation, but one day it could be. Some of the greatest citizens of this city attended shows at the Radasanth Playhouse and the Silver Pub. They were attacking your identity there.”

This was the partial truth. The whole truth was exactly what Darren told them on that day. The attack was for the results he’d just stated, but it was mainly against the people. Gibon looked away for a moment as he crossed his arms, an attempt at being nonchalant. “And what would you suggest we do to remedy this?”

“Rebuild.” Seti reached into his portfolio case once again. This time he exposed several large sheets of paper. “Immediately. As the new power I’d think you’d want an opportunity to prove your valor, not only to your enemies but to those who support you. Here’s your opportunity, and I’ve done half the job for you. I’ll sell you the blueprints for newly updated buildings for a very modest price. Consider it a declaration of where the House of Sora stands in your conflict.”

“Where do you stand exactly?” Gibon uttered as he scanned the sketches and measurements of the new Great Library of Radasanth. Lines and numbers combined at angles and heights to create a truly wonderful vision. The new library would be just as grand as the last, but with a more updated style that complimented the city’s newer buildings. “I wouldn’t want for you to be on the wrong side.”

“The House of Sora is officially taking a neutral stance in your conflict and the conflicts all over the world. There are innocent bystanders to these wars, representative. We’ll play a purely humanitarian agency; build homes for the uprooted, give food to the starving, missions to that effect.”

“That’s very noble of you, all of you?” Gibon looked up at Seti with a wide smile that caused his eyes to squint. It was the first genuine smile Seti’d seen from the man, but he no longer liked that word ‘noble’. Seti attemted to mirror the smile but dropped his eyes in embarrassment. Gibon looked back down at the blueprints. “As for the Silver Pub, that was a private property. You’d have to find the owner or owners, and get their permission to rebuild it. The Radasanth Playhouse is private too, but we know the owner very well and I don’t think he’d object to this. The Courthouse and Farmers Market are fine, but we’d have to restock the Library.”

“Your city has a reasonable amount of wealthy people with personal libraries of their own. I know that the Tameran Estate is willing to donate more than half their collection.”

“Not everyone is as charitable as Benasik’s heir. As you said these are personal libraries with sentimental value. I’m not sure if many people are willing to give their books away to a place where anyone is able to read them for free.”

Seti leaned forward and smiled. “You see that’s what’s so great about being an Empire. You don’t have to wait for anyone to vote for anything. If they won’t give you the books just take them. Send out a mandate.”

Gibon shrugged his shoulders. “Forgive us if we’re still a little stuck on our democratic ways. We all have to get used to this new ship we’re running.”

“It looks to me like some of you are adjusting well.” Seti made a gesture referring to the grand lobby they sat in. They both laughed with bouncing chests and followed it up with a quick moment of silence. “If anyone gives you any problems donating books just let me know. The House of Sora has a humble security force, and we’ll be willing enforce such a mandate if need be. That way you won’t have to pull your forces from the conflict down South.”

“That would be useful, thank you.” Gibon dragged the blueprints across the table with gloved hands. “Take these for safe keeping. I’ll run all this by the Viceroys. I think they’ll approve of your proposals. Will we be able to find you at the Tameran Estate?”

“Yes.” They both stood up and shook hands. “Thank you.”

“You seem like a good young man, Seti. Level headed, priorities straight, well intentions. I wonder if there are any other good men your age.”

“Younger, Representative.” Alberdyne’s face appeared in the back of Seti’s mind. When the other Lodge Leaders questioned him about his choice in a new Patriarch he defended it by citing his passionate devotion to the House’s cause. “Much younger.”

“Well if you need anything from the new state, architect, it’ll be my pleasure to open the Triumvirate’s ears.” Gibon said with a nod of confidence.

Seti nodded back. “I’m glad the House of Sora has your faith.”

Seti stepped out of the Capitol Building with his materials in hand, and a smile on his face. Representative Treiz was now the lowest caste in a seraglio built by Seti. Rajani was right. A meeting of convenient half truths could get one far with a disliked party. It was true that the House of Sora would work in humanitarian ways, but under the surface it had already taken sides. This meeting with the representative was the first step in dissecting and poisoning the Empire. The charitable effort would be the House’s front all over the world. Now the true work would begin.

And there you have it, the true story of the Day Radasanth Sank. Now do you see why I started here? I started here because this is the catalyst for all the events that follow in the architect’s life. I gotta ask you guys something though. Call it a question of morality. You all know the stuff he did afterwards, but even here he was using the enemies’ inhumane tactics against them. Corrupt kings do the same thing every day as he did on those days. He killed, tortured, committed genocide to an extent, and three days latter deceit was the cherry on top. Was he right to do all of this? Do the ends truly justify the means?

I already know the answer to those questions. But I’m asking you to keep you from sleeping easily…

Spoils
GP – Seti Dylan sells the state his blueprints for a sum of money, whatever you deem appropriate.

NPC Elmira Doris – After witnessing their moral fiber and passionate resolve the new head of the Tameran Estate is now a devoted member of the House of Sora. Not only has Benasik taught her everything she knows about business and finance, but he’s left a network of influential figures of all professions and classes behind for her to utilize.

Tameran Estate – Upon joining the House of Sora, Elmira has also offered the Tameran Estate as a sanctuary for all those in the Sora family.

Labor Force - Benasik had a standing labor force ready to build the planned neighborhood mentioned at the begining of the quest. That is now the House of Sora's permanent labor force.

[Karuka]

You asked for lots of detail in your judgment, and I happened to feel it pretty necessary. Normally I work under the policy that no news is good news, and a lot of the things I chose to pick on have so far been attention to (big) detail issues. Since you requested a lot of criticism and commentary, you'll get a lot. It's probably going to feel a lot worse than it actually is; I lay it on a little harsh so that you remember it for next time.

First off, I'm going to start with the details you asked about specifically in the judging request.

Alberdyne's Age: Is assumed to be whatever it was on the profile under which he started this quest. It was level zero, so he was still assumed to be a teenage boy.

Bunnying: It's good to know that the bunnying in post 33 was approved, but what about the bunnying throughout the thread? I need a little OOC tag at the beginning or end to tell me "hey, all bunnies were approved via PM or IM." And you did some major bunnying of Dyne's character, Architect.

Civil War Continuity: Unless you got approval from Letho (the Corone writer), I'd assume this isn't likely to be seen as canonical in the history of Corone. If he sees it and decides it's good, then it might be.

Rewards: well, that comes last.

Now for JUDGMENT. Which was an underlying theme in your thread, I noticed. I'll put brief notes up to let you know what each section is all about since it's The Architect's first completed quest.

STORY

Continuity: 7

Continuity is basically where your character's been, where you're character's going, and most importantly, why your character has come to this point.

Architect, you brought Seti in under a logical premise, and showed some of his whats and whys through flashback. This is actually pretty good, and I got a very strong sense of the future from you, also very good.

Alberdyne, you keep bringing up his mother and treachery, but never really make that solid. You can't assume your reader knows what happened. I've judged some of your stuff before, so I know the grist of it, but you need to make sure that someone entirely unfamiliar with the story could pick it up and know where you're coming from. You did a lot better here than when I first started judging your stuff, though.

Pacing: 5

Pacing is how the thread flows, whether it's dragged or rushed (or both, in places).

This thread really didn't need to be quite so long, I felt. Other than that, there were times that the action was going, and then instead of keeping it going, the next person, whose responsibility it was to keep things moving, all of a sudden decided that it was time to do a bit of reflection. While reflection is good, when it came in the middle of an action sequence, the effect on the reader is akin to "YOINK! Holy INTROSPECTION, Batman!"

It was really distracting.

Setting: 8

Setting is the environment, whether or not you're more akin to Shakesperean actors in a void or modern movie actors in beautifully rendered areas; but more that that, it's how you interact with that environment, whether or not it shapes what you do.

You guys actually did really well here. Most of the time I knew quite well where you were, although there were many times that the setting was merely backdrop. Architect, you do very well here, I had no complaints with your imagery.

Subtotal: 20/30

CHARACTER

Persona: 6.5

Persona is the characters, and how well they stay in character. Also included are NPCs.

Architect, I want to say that normally I really nitpick at NPCs, since they are characters in their own rights, but yours were beautifully realized, so we'll skip that. I liked how good a handle you had on Seti, despite this being the first thing you've ever done with him

Alberdyne, at first Dyne came off as very flat and you really only portrayed his anger effectively, and that was through temper tantrums. Later on in the thread, when he took on a more melancholy tone, you got better with his personality, and he became more real. Good development.

Action: 4.5

Oh dear gods, do I have notes here. Action is basically how much what you do and what all happens makes sense within logic and within the flow of the story. Hang on to your hats, this part is a full page and a bumpy ride.

The first issue I had in the thread was that 70x28 foot column you had 40 men dig out. I went and did some research and number crunching. Here are the results:

Column is: 43,081 feet cubed. That means if it was made of marble, it'd weigh 3,446.5 tons. If it's made of concrete, it's 3,188 tons. If it's made of cement, it's 1,938.6 tons. That's more than 40 men can lift. You'd need a couple hundred Dan Lagh'rathams and Godhands, or some heavy machinery.

The second issue I had was with Dyne hearing the explosions and seeing the smoke in Radasanth ALL THE WAY from Underwood.

Underwood is: DAYS away from Radasanth, so it would have been much MUCH more logical for Alberdyne to have found out via messenger than have the explosions rock Underwood. It'd take the force of a big earthquake with Radasanth at the epicenter to make any sort of commotion in Underwood. Here (http://www.althanas.com/images/maps/coronelarge.jpg) is a map of Corone, in case you doubt me.

The Stranger: Was introduced like your typical cliche villain in a fluttering cloak standing on a high place and gloating. He never did get a real three dimensionality to him, but it was an interesting backstory once the pieces all fell into place.

Cheekbones: (Alberdyne, post 14) Who pays attention to cheek bones in that much detail DURING a battle? Nobody. Especially a 6 on 1 battle. Heck, you shouldn't have even been able to get through with that much ease, even if they were skill-less bums. You were a level zero when this thread started, you were thus level 0 throughout. You weren't that good.

Architect: I liked the threat on the rooftop with the noble, even though I think you got there too easily. No threat at all, despite the fact that you went in through the front door?

Alberdyne: I'm pretty sure that there's no such thing as air conditioning on Althanas, meaning that a ventilation shaft is unlikely. I saw your mention of a fan, but there were other systems of keeping cool. And since Darren's a noble, he could probably afford an enchantment of some sort to that effect, and a lot less a security risk than a ventilation.

The Underdark: Is the subterranean system used by Drow to live and travel in, particularly in the Forgotten Realms series/DnD. Even Alerar doesn't have much of an Underdark these days. Maybe there's a network of tunnels or catacombs beneath Radasanth, but NOT the Underdark.

Ring of the Landed Gentry: Alberdyne, you keep mentioning that the Cormyr clan is outcast among nobility. So why would they have Darren as a member of a fraternity? That makes no sense.

Anachronism: "feed back loop" post 22. No such thing on Althanas.

"Some of the Bouncers were legendary heroes of Althanas." - Why would a legendary healer need to work as a Bouncer at a Pub that's been burned to the ground and is starting to be rebuilt?

In post 28, Alberdyne mentions calling an emergency session of Parliament. Corone doesn't have a Parliament. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showpost.php?p=986&postcount=7) And Radasanth is under the control of the dictators. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4355) Do your homework.

You keep on stressing the importance of the documents in the courthouse, but forget that multiple copies of such important judicial works ALWAYS exist. I mean, I understand the sentimentality around the originals, but they aren't completely vital. You mentioned in the last post that there was another copy, but there WILL be other copies, if the Viceroys hadn't already decided to discreetly confiscate them.

Also, Alberdyne, this thread took place under your level 0 profile. It mentions that the psionic abilities you keep using, although not powergamed, should have still been locked...

Flooding the catacombs: Would unleash a flood of rats and pestilence upon the city. I'm not sure what's worse: big explosions or an epidemic.

That's not to say that there wasn't good action; quite a bit of it was great. I liked how protective Seti got of Dyne, and I liked the interactions with Elmira, and I liked how in-character both of your guys acted. There was just...a great amount of detail that should have been looked to better.

Dialogue: 8

Dialogue is verbal interaction between and among characters.

You actually both did fairly well here. Seti's seemed to flow naturally, and Alberdyne's matched what I've seen of him elsewhere. No real complaints.

Subtotal: 19/30
39/60

WRITING STYLE

Mechanics: 6

Mechanics is how well you use the language in a purely grammatical sense.

Architect, sometimes you would use homonyms in place of the word you were looking for, like "whaling" for "wailing" and "vein" for "vain." Other than that, you sometimes drop commas and I saw a few spelling mistakes.

Alberdyne: I have nothing to say here that I haven't said to you before, save for this: Do NOT put OOC parentheticals among text. It's highly distracting.

Technique: 6

This notes the use of literary devices.

I like how you keep juxtaposing the ideas of justice and judgment, and mention democracy and empire. Other than that, I saw some nice similes.

Clarity: 6

It's how well everything written can be understood.

I really didn't understand some things, like Darren going into the middle of battle to kick Dyne in the butt, and there were a couple of times reading that I read back and still didn't get why what HAD happened, did happen.

Subtotal: 18/30
57/90

Wild Card: 7

Wild Card is basically how we reward that sort of unspeakable quality of a thread (or not), depending on a complex formula which I am not at liberty to reveal.

It wasn't a bad first quest, although I feel it could have been more succinct. There was obviously a great deal of thought put into it on both sides, and the effort showed.


TOTAL: 64 Congratulations:

Rewards:

Don't abuse the House rewards, or they will be taken away, but they are granted.

Other than that:

The Architect receives: 1000 EXP and 350 GP
Alberdyne Cormyr receives: 1430 EXP and 250 GP
Sighter Tnailog receives: 920 EXP and 0 GP.

EXP/GP added!