A Faceless in Althanas (open)

[Typheus]

Typheus was falling through a blinding light, unsure of what would happen next. The last thing he remembered was using a black hole to destroy the Faceless, but it crumbled in on itself and a blinding flash lit the space around him. Perhaps he was traveling through a wormhole that was keeping the bright light active, or maybe he simply died. Either ways, he knew that he was moving very quickly.

“Typheus,” he heard a soft voice call, “are you there?” He tried to answer, but found himself unable to speak. His mouth worked, but his voice was either being sucked away into a vacuum or else something was blocking it. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to say a word.” The voice was much closer now, but still just as soft. Typheus couldn’t see anything, but he soon felt a nudge on his shoulder and then blacked out.

When Typheus awoke, he found himself in a grassy field that was surrounded by forest. It in the middle of the day as far as he could tell, and it also seemed to be in either spring or summer due to the temperature. The grass was the only thing cool to the touch as his clothes and the air around him was warm. He could have laid there for hours had he not been rudely interrupted by something about as shocking as death itself.

Standing over him, forming a blade from its arm, ready to strike and kill Typheus for getting rid of its brethren, was a Faceless, a remnant of the countless others that Typheus had slain. Typheus jumped up and drew his sword just in time as he clashed with the Faceless monster. He then smiled, realizing that it was no match for him. He pointed his hand towards it, ready to obliterate it, and it stepped backwards, scared for its life. But, something was wrong.

Typheus willed the death of the Faceless, he willed its obliteration, its cease of existence, but nothing would happen. He willed it even further, but still, nothing would happen. The Faceless then stopped retreating and held still. Since it did not have a face, Typheus could not tell whether or not it was aware of what was happening, but the fact that it stopped retreating was a bad sign indeed.

“Don’t move an inch,” Typheus said, hoping to buy himself some time to try and figure out what was wrong, but the Faceless was too smart. It advanced on Typheus, and slashed at him, forcing Typheus to take a defensive stance. His strength was giving out too quickly, and it was then that he realized he wasn’t as strong as he used to be either. His strength and abilities had been sapped from him. Was it the voice in the light?

He was forced to continue defending as the Faceless was now bearing down on him with blow after blow, turning its other arm into a sword and increasing its relentless attack. It knew that Typheus couldn’t hold out much longer, and Typheus knew it as well. He needed light, he needed something to destroy this thing, but he had nothing except his forged light sword.

“AAAAAAAGHHHHH!” he screamed as he used every bit of his strength and threw the Faceless off of him. It hit the ground with a soft thump and immediately got back up to return to its assault. Typheus would be doomed if he could not find some way to fend it off on his limited power.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((Very good Typheus))

Cocnordia Forest was a breeding grounds for all type of predatory beasts. One of these Predatory beasts was Lorenor, on his way back to the Gol'bron's town after completing an errand in Radasanth for the St. Denebrial's Cathedral. He was battle weary. His recent induction into the Dajas Pagoda of Scara Brae as a Warrior drew upon the ghoul's energy. Sapped at his very heart of black hearts. As he wandered the forest aimlessly a situation presented itself.

Lorenor heard a scream coming in the distance. Bandits? Came the immediate first reaction. The battle weary small warrior new fights were erupting everywhere because of the Civil War in Corone. Trees surrounded the ghoul of every class and make. Their fruits visible upon their ancient branches battle for supremacy of the sunlight. Even the trees waged their own war for survival. Lorenor sprinted towards the sound of the scream he'd heard.

He was moving more on a gut instinct rather than anything else. Helping people usually meant a reward was due. Lorenor wasn't trying to be heroic, it was simply his primal instinct to save someone when he knew that he could get paid for it. Crossing several yards, he made it to a clearing where a battle was indeed taking a place.

A lad owning a scent he'd never smelled before was engaged in combat with a creature that reminded him strangely of The Endless. An entity with no face fought against the apparently weaker warrior. Lorenor knew that the entity posed a threat to himself and to others. This threat had to be stopped immediately before it spread. Drawing John Mattis' longsword from its scabbard, the ghoul prepared himself for yet another fight.

He gasped for air quickly and dashed forward approaching the backside of the creature. When Lorenor was well within several paces of the Faceless, he leaped forward covering the rest of the ground. At the apex of his jump, the ghoul swung forward with his sword aiming for the upper trapezius region of the Faceless. The Endless sang songs of destructions. He hoped that his attack would connect. The ghoul didn't want another long, drawn out battle.

But he was prepared for one just in case it happened.

[Typheus]

The Faceless approached quickly and Typheus resumed his defensive stance, not knowing what the hell he was going to do now that he had drained almost all of his strength from his body, and the Faceless was still near its peak. Typheus prepared to die at the hands of possibly the last Faceless left in the universe...until he had to cover his ears.

The Faceless had let out a loud, high-pitched shriek which drowned out all of the noise around him, including the sound of his own, now frantic, heart beat. A strange creature had just sliced open the Faceless in one fell swoop. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to slice open the back of his faceless, mortally wounding it.

It turned to confront the one who had hurt it and formed another blade from its other arm. It seemed ready to take both Typheus and the stranger until Typheus got his second, and final, wind and thrust his sword at the Faceless. It dodged the fatal blow, but the sword still nicked it, and a large light burst from it. As far as Typheus could tell, it was as if the Faceless was being burnt by the light, and rightly so, as they always seem to exist in shapes of darkness.

The Faceless backed up from both of the warriors and eyed the forged light blade, at least as far as Typheus could tell, the Faceless not having any eyes to indicate where it's looking, and darted off into the forest at top speed, letting out the same high-pitched shriek as before.

When the shriek died away, Typheus half sat, half fell onto the ground. He simply dropped his sword at his side and tried to rest for a bit. Looking up at the stranger, he could see that whatever planet he was on housed some strange creatures. Saying it was like a human was stretching it. Its purple eyes were somewhat laid back into its sockets, and it seemed to have fangs and sharp claws as well. It was much shorter than Typheus, but he wouldn’t put it past this creature to be stronger.

“The name’s Typheus, and that thing back there was your worst nightmare come to life,” he said, attempting to take off his trench coat while sitting down in this warm weather. “Judging by the fact that your kind has never been documented…I take it that you’re not with Wise or the Federation? And speaking of which..." Typheus concluded pulling a little radio out of his pocket and speaking into it. "This is Typheus, aka Guardian of Light, yada yada yada, I'm stranded...could you come get me please?" There was nothing but static. "Can anyone read?" Static. He put the radio back into his pocket. "It seems that I'm too far away. I'll have to wait for a passing scout. Trying once an hour should work."

Typheus continued to sit, lacking the strength to stand.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

When the Faceless ran off, Lorenor pondered pursuing it. He clutched his weapon with some degree of skill in the art of swordplay. Hearing the lad's introduction, Lorenor stopped everything he was doing. He rotated his weapon and sheathed it properly at his side. The ghoul was silent for a long time after hearing the man's rant. Wise? The Federation? Just what exactly was he talking about? Lorenor wondered. He was no stranger to high technology but seeing a HUMAN using a radio was something new.

Lorenor considered that Typheus was most likely another Off Worlder. He'd encountered them several times before in his long life only the memories were still fragmented. The ghoul observed Typheus casually as if he was expected more Faceless to come at anytime. Lorenor waited until the lad finished using his device. "They probably won't come." Lorenor said.

He understood the meanings of the phrase scout when used in such a way. "You've ended up on Althanas for a reason. You should thank the Thaynes that you are here. What was that thing I was fighting? It reminds me of The Endless. My name is V'halkulus. Lorenor V'halkulus." The ghoul said and extended his arm so that Typheus might grab it. He was hoping to help the lad stand up. Lorenor noted that Typheus was a handsome man.

[Typheus]

"They'll come...eventually." Typheus said, hearing Lorenor's words of doubt. "Their fleet is far to big for them to not at least pass within a solar system's length of here, but in the meantime, I'll thank Thaynes, if that's your god, that I'm not dead."

Typheus took Lorenor's hand and stood upright, and pondered for a bit on how to best explain the Faceless. They moved in the shadows, they used the shadows, they WERE the shadows, but even though Typheus understood this aspect perfectly, it may sound strange to one who had never encountered them, but then again, Lorenor did say that it reminded him of another race called the Endless. "They're evil. They came from some kind of twisted universe and they want to consume this one...or at least they did until I killed all of them, except for the one that we fought today. If I were at full strength, you would never have met me because the faceless would have been obliterated, or thrown into a micro version of the black hole I made to kill the rest of them, and I would have been on my merry way."

Typheus wasn't really into the mood to willingly go into the story of death and destruction and genocide that led up to him encountering the Faceless and finally acquiring his body. "Let's just say that out there somewhere," Typheus said as he pointed to the sky, "there was a tremendous battle going on, and in the midst of it, the Faceless came because I was born-not really born...more like spontaneously generated, but I think it's a mouthfull already-and...well...they wanted to kill everyone off and I found my true strength and killed all of them."

"Enough about me...perhaps you can tell me about this place? This must be an important planet if you would think I'm on it for a reason. I've already seen that it has people strong enough to fight off a Faceless. I mean you ob-"

"-Get going..." said the same voice from the light. "the longer you wait, the smarter it will become of this world."

Typheus's jaw dropped, and he stood there blank for a few seconds. "L-lorenor...is Thaynes a woman?"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Typheus spoke of concepts that Lorenor couldn't understand. He gleamed out the word fleet and vaguely understood from his days with the Black Sails Armada that he was taking about many ships. Since there was no point of reference, the ghoul couldn't imagine a star fleet of ships flying through space. The only such vessel he knew of was the Golems' Ark. Lorenor thought about the situation for a moment. The questions that were suddenly asked of him were deeply philosophical in nature. Lorenor was not the expert on the way that the Thaynes worked. But he could give Typheus at least a brief run down about the situation.

"You're on a world called Althanas. It's very big and large regions of it remain uncharted. You asked about the Thaynes right? They aren't necessarily any gender. I'm not sure how to explain it. The Lesser and Greater Thaynes originate from an entity called The Thayne. Each one has its own personality and appearance. They are worshiped in a different place. Right now we're in a Nation called Corone. It's like a big super island."

Lorenor felt it strange that he was explaining Althanas to an Off Worlder in such a way. He knew that the man had questions. There were questions to be asked about this thing that Typheus called a fleet. Where do I begin? Where do I start? Lorenor wondered. He wants to know about Althanas and though I've been to a lot of places I'm not the expert on this matter. Someone like Ranger Nailo and Lord Sorahn might be better able to talk about such matters. Lorenor placed a hand underneath his chin. His stomach still burned with the desire to fight.

He wanted to engage The Faceless in combat eagerly. "On Althanas there is a balance to power. You will grow strong as you journey with myself and other Adventurers. When you're done with your journey you shall acquire a substance called Experience. When you gain enough of this substance you will obtain more power at various intervals. I myself, have only gained a small portion of this substance. I am on my way to ascending to a higher state." Lorenor tried to explain really well how Althanas worked. It was difficult to put something so natural into words. The grass beneath him waved in the wind.

Lorenor felt a cool afternoon breeze as he talked to the strange lad. Somehow, Typheus reminded him of Tenki. Tenki was one of Lorenor's closest companion and fellow member of the Power Group known as the Gol'bron, or, Cult of the Thaynes. They were formally an organization known as the Red Hand. He thought about the Power Group for a long moment. He'll be better suited asking more questions to someone like Ranger.

"I'm not the best person to ask about life on Althanas but I can tell you basics. Like I said before you're in a place called Corone. The largest city here is Radasanth which is also one of the largest cities in the world. You can train your combat skills in a place called The Citadel. Underwood lurks in the North. That big forest you see over there is called Concordia. Many monsters and bandits live within the forest. If the Faceless can breed they'll find no better place to acquire a foothold in which to survive." Lorenor said calmly. He tried to think about everything that Typheus might need to know in order to survive in Althanas.

[Typheus]

Oh great. THE Thaynes. Typheus had assumed that "Thaynes" was the name of a single entity. It was making a bit of sense now, but what had called him. Was it a greater or lesser Thayne? Or the king Thayne itself? Whatever it was, it had guided Typheus through the light and to this planet.

"This Experience energy sounds rightfully named considering how it enhances its users. Perhaps I could make use of this until I can regain my actual strength, IF I can regain it, but the story of my creation is for another time, and would take a long time to explain."

Typheus picked up his blade and held his trench coat under his arm. He took a few steps towards the forest, trying to peer in through the trees. "Bandits and monsters eh?" Typheus said, repeating the words of Lorenor. "If they start to breed and regain their old numbers, then I'm afraid that the bandits are going to be all wiped out and the monsters are going to hide in fear. However, I am fairly sure that more than one is required for them to multiply."

Typheus smiled and sheathed his sword. "Would you mind leading me to the nearest town, or whatever your destination is? I think it would be in my benefit to find a nearby place to try to recover my powers, and then perhaps I, or maybe we, can pursue this fiend."

Typheus looked around, and he wondered if the Faceless would hold still or if it would try to go after him. Such a fiend isn't going to simply wait to die, and if Lorenor wasn't exaggerating about that forest, it may bring some friends...the true strength of the Faceless wasn't in their muscle or ability to form things such as blades from their arms, but it was their manipulation abilities. From the moment they entered the universe, using their possession abilities, they began to push the war between the Wise and the Federation to include more and more destruction, until eventually, planet-wide destruction devices were crafted. The Faceless wanted to bring about the destruction of most of the inhabitants before they made their move. They wanted an easy target. It would be possible for this Faceless to attempt something similar.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor eyed Concordia for a moment. He knew that she had her own defenses against such a new type of predator attempting to gain a foothold. It would be an uphill battle for the thing to try to establish itself against the more powerful monsters that lurked within the depths of Concordia. Concordia wasn't just a physical forest, there were special places where one could cross dimensions if one were so inclined. Lorenor knew that this Faceless entity was probably better off and worse off at the same time in Concordia. A part of him felt sorry for the creature for it was just trying to survive. Lorenor knew that Typheus considered the Faceless his enemy. Would The Endless consider The Faceless a friend or a foe? Lorenor wondered to himself.

He turned back to face Typheus calmly. "The best place to train is right here in Concordia. You will find a readily available supply of Monsters and Bandits like I said. If we travel North a ways we can get to the Township of my Clan-Mates in the Gol'bron. We could offer you a job there." Lorenor said briefly knowing that it was easier to travel in a pack than to fight alone in the harsh wild lands of Althanas. "You could try to join our Power Group rather than deal with the Faceless alone. But if you wanted to get to the nearest towns, they are Underwood, Radasanth, and Gisela." Lorenor said in response to his questioning. "You can stick with me if you want to. I'll help train you."

[Typheus]

"Perhaps we should take a look at this 'Power Group,'" Typheus said, noting that he should find as many allies as he can, at least before his forces arrive. He wondered what everyone would think we he disappears and then randomly turns up on a planet that he'd never been on before. Shocked indeed. He just hoped that he wasn't behind Wise lines. The war seemed to cease during the great battle with the Faceless, but he could never tell.

He threw his trench coat back on, and immediately felt the heat start to build back up. If he walked all the way to the town like this, he'd either turn into a steam engine, or he would pass out from heat exhaustion, so he figured he would take it off a little ways down the road, or if something unexpected happened, such as a bandit attack, a monster attack, or even a second encounter with the Faceless.

"Let's go," he said taking a few steps towards Lorenor, "Perhaps you can fill me in on this power group as we walk. I'd hate to be out here at night with the Faceless still alive...and maybe I'll enjoy a stroll through the country side for once. I've been almost constantly fighting for a few years, so I've at least earned that much."

Typheus looked around for a bit, to the forest, to the flat grass, to the horizon. This seemed to be a really nice place, and he hoped he could keep the Faceless from corrupting it the same way they tried to do to the entire universe. "I hope we kill that bastard soon. I'd hate to see another planet die because of them."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Hearing the lads' comments, the ghoul couldn't help but to laugh. He doesn't understand the way this place functions. He'll learn soon enough. There are always heroes to stop a menace. Lorenor thought to himself. It was a friendly sort of laughter, one that came from a certain kind of wisdom. Lorenor fancied himself an adventurer. A reasonably skilled one at that. There were many things he was learning about his own existence and about the greater Althanas as a whole.

Things just seemed to coast along. I like this kid. He reminds me of myself when I first woke up. The ghoul thought to himself. He eyed Typheus for a long moment before he responded to his further comments. I don't know what to tell him. I only know so much about Althanas. I suppose we can talk about the Gol'bron for a while. Lorenor's hand went to the handle of his weapon, ever at the ready. He eyed Typheus a little bit longer and then turned his gaze ahead of himself, never really needing to look in any one direction to know what was happening around him.

Lorenor's sensory array was a potent one even at the short distance of its current stage in evolution. (Or lack thereof) Lorenor remained silent for a while letting his words hang between them. The ghoul thought about what to say, what he SHOULD say. Lorenor's emerging leadership skills were being called to question. I want to give this kid the correct information. I don't want to lead him astray from a potential right path. He could serve my purposes down the road.

"There are several sects of us. The Red Hand, The Black Hand, and The Gol'bron. I'm one of its Senior Members. Its a group having heavily to do with trades and markets. You pick what trades you want to specialize in and receive training in accordance to the trades you choose. We're privy to a town that we have access to. You're welcome to stay there until you decide whatever it is you're going to do to get the training you need. Right now you're still young yet. But eventually you'll obtain great power if you allow yourself a chance to grow." Lorenor said. I can't believe those words are actually coming from ME. Lorenor thought with a soft, twisted smile on his disfigured face. He turned his gaze away from the lad and kept his eyes forward.

[Typheus]

Typheus considered the offer to stay in the town that they're connected to. "Alright, it sounds like a plan," he said, picturing what a "town" would look like on this world. "I hope that they have an inn that I may use, or does your 'Power Group' have some kind of building that they themselves call home?"

As they walked, Typheus noticed that this planet's air had a certain feel about it. Powerful in itself, almost like a living entity, but hopefully not like Argnos, which was a biological planet-sized weapon crafted by Wise. It was built to consume Federation worlds, but Typheus and a squad of fighters managed to introduce their own superweapon into it and blew it up before it could be activated.

As the walked, Typheus took a few glances at Lorenor. He was somewhat strange, and Typheus could feel something else coming off of him. The armor gave him an awkward feeling, as did his eyes. Typheus tried to think of a polite way to say this, but it was rather difficult, but he really wanted to know what the hell Lorenor actually was.

"Hey, Lorenor. I've not seen anything like you where I've come from," Typheus said, trying to keep this as casual as possible, "and I can't help but wonder what you are. Not to be rude of course."

Typheus was also eying the armor. He got some kind of bad vibe off of it, and it seemed to be something that would be against Typheus's best interests, but Typheus couldn't put his finger on it...it was as if there was an energy coming off of it. "Also, that armor that you're wearing. Does it have any special abilities?"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The Endless, of course, had a mind of its own. It was a living organism that surrounded Lorenor at will. Sometimes for positive effects but more oft then not for the negative. Lorenor asked it to recede beneath his epidermis and it did so, reluctantly following his mental command. The second skin vanished beneath Lorenor's flesh. The ghoul stopped walking when he heard the man's strange line of questioning. Lorenor waited a moment trying to find the right words to the man's questions. As a species, Lorenor was unique in everyway.

"How does one breathe except to breathe? How does one walk except to know how to walk? How does one bathe? How does one take a crap? Or urinate? That's how you could kind of explain me. I'm an anomaly. By all rights I shouldn't even exist, but there's a purpose for everything in this world. I just haven't found mine yet. The closest thing to my 'species' that you could come to is the term ghoul in the humans' tongue." Lorenor paused knowing his origins never lay with the hominids. Lorenor folded his arms across his chest for a moment as he continued the complicated answers. There was no easy way to answer his question. How can I answer him accurately when I know precious little myself?

"Its a living organism called The Endless. I've mentioned it already. I don't know much about it except that it thinks on an astronomical level and adapts to situations rapidly. It's very agile. When bonded to a host it evolves the host quickly but has its own agenda." Lorenor said trying to recall everything that he knew about The Endless from firsthand experience with them. He could compare The Endless to The Faceless in a lot of ways because they were similar. Lorenor knew what to do when facing such a dark entity. I can't tell him too much about The Endless. There are secret roads better left unexplored.

"Let's just say that there are secrets. Secrets I can't divulge when it comes to The Endless. Unlike most I am a--willing host. I have a particularly special bonding to The Endless I don't yet quite understand. As far as powers and attributes goes, it all depends. Depends on the host. I can't say much more than that. In order for you to find out all the secrets you'd have to be bonded to an Endless yourself. But I really do not recommend that path for you since you have a pure heart." Lorenor said in a matter of fact sort of way. "There are better paths for you out there to choose than The Endless. The Endless require a dark heart to function at their full capacity." Lorenor concluded. He relaxed his arms and waited for Typheus response. "I hope my words don't confuse you too much Typheus but there is only so much I can reveal."

[Typheus]

Typheus listened to the words that Lorenor spoke carefully, because he was interested in the armor and in Lorenor, but one sentence in particular struck Typheus. "There are better paths for you out there to choose than The Endless." Typheus had already chosen a path to follow, which was bringing peace to the universe, and he had followed it clear up to the last stepping stone, especially with the possible truce between Wise and the Federation as well as the near elimination of the Faceless. But, what would happen if he finally crossed that stone? Would he fall off into eternity, or would he find a crossroads of other paths to follow? The only thing he had ever worked toward was peace, and if that is achieved...then is he without a purpose?

These thoughts came so randomly that Typheus, for a moment, felt as if everything was soon coming to an end. However, he realized that before he could worry about a new purpose, he had to fulfill his current one and destroy the last Faceless.

"Well, I suppose you're right. I've chosen my path, and I intend to follow it through." he said, thinking about the task ahead. "Let's hope that I don't run out of things to do after I fulfill it, eh?"

Typheus could see something resembling a town in the distance. He hoped that it wasn't some kind of deserted ghost town or an illusion. He had been to places before where fake towns were projected in oder to lead entire armies into lethal traps. However, the Wise forces were most likely occupied either in battle, or returning home at this point. He would not have to worry about anything like that, and even if they were in the area, why would they use something like that for Typheus? They would try to blow the entire planet apart if they knew Typheus was in a weakened state.

As the walked, the image of the town grew bigger, but, due to its position on the horizon, Typheus could not tell whether it was a town or some other group of structures. Lorenor DID say this was an island, so that could very well be a port, but then when there's a port, there's usually a group of other buildings to accompany it, right?

"Hey, Lorenor. What am I looking at right now?"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((We're like in the middle of the forest dude there wouldn't be a port city anywhere near us. BUT there would be other types of towns like what I'm about to do now))

They walked further into Concordia heading in a generally Northern direction towards the Gol'Bron township. The fledgling town lurked near the Dagger Fall Mountains and was a good ways ahead. Many miles and several days of travel lurked before the two stalwart warriors. Lorenor made the trip on foot several times from the Gol'Bron's township to Radasanth finding that the air in Concordia Forest helped to clear his head up.

Lorenor heard the lad's line of questioning. He probably saw something other than what he was intended to see. The Wood Elves of Concordia often placed wards and sigilliums throughout their territorial divides within Concordia Forest. Of course, only a skilled woodsman would know of such things or someone with the levels of psychosis that Lorenor possessed. He turned to look at his companion who was obviously having sensory delirium from exposure to the archaic power of the Elves. There were other forces at play in Concordia as well, once a bastion of peace and love.

"I'm not certain what your eyes see but in Concordia there are many places that the Elves of the Trees have touched. Concordia is a war-torn land as most places of Althanas are. We are constantly having some war or another. Even now, the Civil War marches on in Corone." Lorenor said calmly as he walked. He looked up seeing the villages of the tree faring folk lurking in the higher canopy areas of the trees. Lorenor stopped everything he was doing and faced his companion. "Don't trust your eyes. There are forces in play that will deceive them." Lorenor said calmly. "I'm not sure what is that you THINK you see but we're looking at a Wood Elf town above us. There should be trees everywhere, we've just started to venture into Concordia Forest." Lorenor said keeping his tone flat and relaxed trying to keep any sort of impatience from his voice.

[Typheus]

"So, are these elves...aggressive by any chance?" Typheus said, not wanting to use the word, "evil," for fear it may be a little harsh. Besides...it would be hard for him to consider many things evil anymore unless it was a shadow with no face. "I don't believe we have any intel on them either...strange."

Typheus shook his head a few times, but even when he did, he still saw signs of a town, although, it was a bit out of place he admitted, considering that they had not really traveled far and the forest DID seem to end quite abruptly. It seems that things here were not so different from the war between Wise and the Federation. A civil war around here and yet the Faceless persist. It took the entire Faceless species to stop the fighting between Wise and the Federation...perhaps one could stop the Civil War here. Who knew.

It was ironic, really. The Faceless wanted Wise and the Federation to destroy each other, but they ended up causing a cease-fire and a possible truce just by being present. If everything is truly relative, then the Faceless were so evil that the Wise and Federation saw each other as nothing more than simple opposing forces and went together to stop the carnage that was the Faceless.

Typheus decided to let Lorenor in on his funny thought. "Well, who knows about this Civil War. The Federation is staying out of those unless they start affecting neighboring planets, but that doesn't mean the Faceless won't interfere. The Faceless stopped a much bigger war just by being present. Maybe this single Faceless can halt the Civil War if it makes itself known."

Typheus realized something just then. "Hey...let me know if I'm bugging you with my questions," he said, somewhat embarrassed. "To make it fair, you can ask me just about anything you want."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor listened to the man's musing. He didn't know about Althanas and how things seemed to run. Lorenor knew that there was a pattern to everything, a balance in all things. If the Faceless started to upset that balance, something new would happen. The Civil War was started by man's own devices Lorenor knew that to be true. After all..., he thought to himself, We are the product of our own sins. Lorenor felt the humidity of the forest making his clothing stick to his flesh while he walked. Giant bugs gathered about the duo but mostly avoided Lorenor's person. Very few of those insects would try to bite me anyway.

Lorenor let the man's questions linger in the air for a long time. He concentrated on the road ahead, well what could pass for a road. They were in a portion of Corone that saw few outsiders so no visible roads were presents. Lorenor knew how to navigate the forest from his constant visitations to his favored hunting grounds. Alongside from Concordia Forest, Lorenor favored the cold northern lands of Salvar. He's asking a lot of questions and I don't know how to answer them. The Civil War was started because members of the government were assassinated...he doesn't know that. How do I tell him of such sordid matters?

"Insofar as the Elves go. We're treading on their territories. It might be viewed as trespassing on their behalf. If we engage them that's all the better. I personally have no problems with robbing any Elves we might defeat in battle. Mostly though they tend to keep to themselves unless they are threatened in some way. But that's neither here nor there. I personally don't mind your questions though I'm not sure how to answer some of the more profound ones. When you get tired let me know we can take a break this land is harsh on anybody."

Lorenor had questions about Wise and the Federation. Were they Power Groups from Raiaera? Or perhaps Dheathain? He hadn't heard of such groups before. I'll get answers from him later. Right now its not important. He seems to be holding up, I'll stop him later to resupply our water and food. We've got a long journey ahead of us until we reach the Dagger Fall Mountains. Lorenor stopped for a moment and took a stretch. His leather clothing made him sweat profusely. He took out a jerkin filled with water from his supply packs and took a deep pull of the refreshing substance. That feels better. I see a lake over there. He waited to see what Typheus wanted to do next.

[Typheus]

As they walked, something weird started to happen. As far as Typheus could tell, it was a fuzzy effect on his eyeballs, but he knew it was something more. He turned to ask Lorenor about it, but he was nowhere to be found.

Panicking, Typheus spun around, looking in all directions for Lorenor. He looked behind a few trees in the mad chance that Lorenor would be playing a poor joke on him, and even looked up into the canopy in case Lorenor was good at climbing, no dice. Typheus was really starting to worry. It wasn't that he was afraid of being alone on a strange world, he had done that plenty of times, but it was the fact that he was in the middle of the forest, with no flight powers, and without any guide of any sort that racked his nerves.

Everything about him was dulled down by the desperate attempts he made to contact Lorenor, even shouting out, but nothing would come of it. He started walking backwards, turning as he went, as if it would actually help, but then he felt as if he bumped into Lorenor, but there was nothing there. Something was messing with his mind.

He was soon interrupted by a slight twang sound and soon felt the feathers of an arrow pass by his head. He then saw the culprits. Two bandits, hiding their faces behind masks, advanced on Typheus, weapons drawn. One of the bandits used a bow and the other used a short sword. They both looked equally deadly with their weapons and Typheus cursed not being able to incinerate them on the spot.

"Who are you, what do you want, and what did you do with the other guy?" Typheus said, knowing that he had a slim chance of having any of his questions answered.

One of them raised his bow and the other advanced on Typheus, his sword not really in a killing position.

"Your money or your life, or preferably both." The man said in an obnoxious and strange voice, holding out his hand. Typheus had a very strong urge to draw his sword and cut it off, but the man with the bow told him otherwise. It seemed as if he couldn't take these two on without Lorenor.

Typheus acted as if he was searching his person for any money he might have, even removing his trench coat and searching the contents. The two bandits weren't stupid, however, and caught on rather quickly. "Don't expect your friend to help you," he said. "We've placed a curtain around this place. He's probably right next to you, but he can't see us, and we can't see him."

Typheus suddenly remembered bumping into thin air.

"Now, give us THE GODAMN MONEY!"

"Shut up, Bordor, I'm just going to kill him." said the other bandit, in a more polite voice, yet kind of strange. "Step back."

The man for a second looked over at his partner and this was when Typheus grabbed the him with his left hand and with his right, drew his sword from his sheath, and ran it straight along the man's torso, almost gutting him, but killing him none-the-less, and then kept the man in front of him just as the other man fired his arrow, hitting the corpse in the back.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he cried as he drew a strange arrow, covered in what looked like a fire design from his quiver and aimed it. Typheus had a feeling that this would do more than just puncture the dead corpse that he was using as a shield.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor was talking to Typheus when suddenly, something happened. A rippling air passed across his eyes. His peripheral vision went to darkness for a brief moment. Seconds later, the world returned to "normalicy" for the ghoul but one key element was missing. Whatever had happened, Typheus was physically no longer next to the ghoul.

In a panic, Lorenor deduced that it must've been some hidden Wood Elf trap that they accidentally triggered. Or bandits, or any other such force on Althanas with the power to besiege the senses. Lorenor knew he could no longer trust his eyes so he shut them. The eerie purple energy that flowed from his eyes vanished and only dark eye sockets remained.

The ghoul focused.

Concentrating carefully on the area around him, the ghoul used all six of his senses to extreme accuracy. Within the sensory grid, the ghoul would be able to see through any physical illusion that might trick the eyes. Catching the one thing he could rely on, Lorenor detected the lad's scent right next to him. Most importantly, something else happened. A newly acquired ability to detect the blood within living vessels acted up.

He saw the physical forms of two individuals who'd laid the trap directly in front of them. One attacked Typheus and the other man reacted. In a moment, he saw that Typheus had slain the enemy. In that instant, the ghoul realized that they were being attacked by bandits. Loenor swore in anger as he'd allowed himself to grow so careless in front of Typheus.

Damn! This is my fault! Lorenor lunged past Typheus and rushed towards the second bandit, the one with the bow and arrow. The ghoul rushed at the best speed he could muster and was able to intercept the arrow that was launched towards Typheus. Summoning up the power of his Aegis Bracer, an invisible wall of energy was invoked in between Lorenor and the speeding arrow.

An archaic burst of energy stopped the arrow dead in its track. The bandit looked stunned as their illusionary trap faded all around them. Lorenor was no longer held prisoner by the clever trap. The ghoul opened his eyes and glowing purple energy flowed like a cataracts from the eye sockets.

"You've made a fatal mistake today bandit." Lorenor lunged once more as the arrow fell to the ground without a sound. Lorenor made a grab for the man's throat with lethal intent. He planned to feast upon the bandit's flesh even as his deformed maxilla opened up. Lorenor felt the maxilla region of his jaw unravel upon itself like some twisted leech. He reached for the man's throat hoping to finish him off.

[Typheus]

Three things happened in quick succession: first, Typheus felt a wind rush past him, then the archer fired his arrow which was deflected by some kind of barrier, and finally, the illusion came tumbling down as Lorenor stood in between the archer and Typheus, apparently the one who had made the barrier in the first place.

Typheus was about to advance when he saw something rather horrifying. Lorenor was strangling the archer to death in what looked like a blind rage, but this is not what got to Typheus. It was the fact that Lorenor's lower jaw looked as if it was falling apart the best he could describe it. At first, Typheus thought that it was some kind of spell the archer used on Lorenor, but after a second, Typheus knew that it was something that Lorenor was doing by himself.

Typheus found it hard to watch as Lorenor's jaw unraveled itself like a damn worm and formed a grotesque image. Typheus fought the urge to step backwards until he was out of sight and instead, did the only thing he was trained to do. Make like a brave soldier. "Hey, Lorenor, what the HELL!?" Typheus shouted, advancing on him, his sword drawn. It seemed that Lorenor was some kind of monster, complimenting his looks. At first, Typheus wanted to believe that this being was not of an evil nature as it had saved his life, but now he started to wonder what was it that it was saving him for? If it was nothing more than a mere cannibal, Typheus would take his own chances in the forest.

"Last I checked, we killed the enemy, we didn't GODAMN EAT THEM!"

"Calm yourself...-" came the female voice once again, but Typheus was not in a listening mood.

"-And YOU can shut up if you're not going to say anything useful!" Typheus shouted, pointing up at the sky.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Blood sprayed everywhere as Lorenor consumed his meal. He hungrily tore at the flesh of the his victim's neck and shoulders consuming everything he could. The horrible sounds of a grown man eating another man filled the clearing as the blood gushed into his mouth. A scent of death touched the air. Lorenor consumed what he could of his victim. Making sure he left the use able parts of the bandit alone. Standing up, the ghoul's lower jaw fixed itself of its own accord. Lorenor grabbed the long bow and quiver of arrows. "Here you'll need suitable weapons if you want to survive." Lorenor hadn't heard anything Typheus had said.

When he got up from the ground he saw Typheus pointing up at the sky and looking rather pale. Lorenor sighed understanding just what happened. "I mean you no harm. I don't attack my friends. He had it coming. Bastard tried to snipe you." Lorenor kicked the fallen bandit as if emphasizing his personal frustration. The ghoul walked over to his companion and handed him the longbow/quiver combination. The bandit also was equipped with a small steel dagger. Lorenor handed this to Typheus as well. "You should take that longsword that the other bandit was using. You have to learn how to survive out here by using any means necessary. Robbing the fallen is one of those means. You'll do well to remember that." Lorenor said. "Now unless there are more bandits out there, we should be on our way." Lorenor said that last part matter of factly. As if consuming the flesh of his enemy was a matter to be taken so lightly. Lorenor had severed the spine of his foe, so the bandit would not reanimate.

[Typheus]

"Robbing them, yes, very much, especially on a battlefield when you need ammo. Killing them in brutal ways, sure, but not just for the hell of it. Killing them when they're defenseless, only if they are bound to have a hidden gun and will shoot you in the back. But eating them, NO!"

Typheus, even while witnessing horrid acts of war, had his own standards. This isn't to say that he didn't feel the same way about the super weapons that they used in the war. He cursed any general who wanted to destroy an entire planet full of both Wise and innocents just to blow off a chunk of the Wise army. And if he ever saw a man eating another man out on the battlefield, ally or enemy, that particular man would not make it back to base either alive or in one piece, or both.

It really pained Typheus that he did not have his usual strength at this point or he would have injured this...thing and would have been on his way. Course, if he had his usual strength, he would have probably flown out of here and none of this would be happening.

"Do you NEED to eat them? Is it something your species needs to survive, which in that case, God forbid I stay around you in a place scarce of life. Or are you just a sick fuck who enjoys killing his enemies in really bloody ways?"

Typheus looked at the quiver and bow he had been given and saw the strange arrow on the ground, half covered in dirt, and picked it up and dusted it off. It gleamed with the fiery pattern and Typheus kept it in the quiver. If anything bad happened between him and this thing, he could probably either shoot him, quickly without letting him realize it, or stab him with the arrow, unleashing whatever magical potential it had.

Sadly enough, Typheus needed him to get out of here and stayed with the mindset that he was simply using this creature until he could get to a civilized town and rest until the fleet came within communication range.

"Sure, if it makes you feel better..." came the voice again.

"Lorenor, let's continue on. I think I've had enough of this place, and this voice in my head is getting on my nerves. I'd be willing to do a ritual to the Thaynes just to tell them to shut the hell up at this point."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

And just like that Typheus said a very dangerous thing. Lorenor heard him rant about his people like it really mattered in the long run. He WAS about to answer some of his questions when the ghoul heard the dangerous remarks geared at the Thaynehood. Is it possible? Is this man communicating with the Thaynes in a natural way as that? Or can it be that he carries false deities with him from that place that he comes from? Off worlders often follow many false deities. Lorenor felt a little bit angry at the fact that Typheus was insulting him after he'd just saved his ass.

He talks to the Thaynes. Or at least something like the Thaynes. He shouldn't be speaking of such matters so lightly. Especially not to a follower of a N'Jal. Lorenor thought to himself. The dangerous words lingered in the air for a long moment. Lorenor had mostly picked out that part of Typheus' diatribe. The ghoul folded his arms afore his chest and looked away from Typheus trying to remain calm.

"Hearing voices now? That's never a good sign. Is everything all right with you? We better get you some help before you go all insane on me. I can't have you trying to stab at my back if that's what you're planning by the look in your eyes." Lorenor said calmly after observing him for the past few moments. His hand went instinctively to the hilt of his sword.

Lorenor clutched at it for a moment pondering drawing it upon Typheus. Yet, he held back. Lorenor knew that others took a great deal of considerable danger to themselves in trusting him. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. How do I know he isn't lying? I'm no mind reader. Lorenor loosened his grip on his sword. "Piece of advice. Lots of people follow the Thaynes but some don't. I suggest you don't go around saying such things until you meet someone who is an expert at such matters. There are those who would kill you for speaking such heresies without a second thought. And they would be well within their rights to. The whole world is locked in a war right now. You'd be wise to know who your friends are."

The ghoul said and decided that he was done lecturing. He released his grip on his weapon and kicked the bandit once more. He looked upon Typheus briefly and started to part ways with him. If Typheus wanted to keep Lorenor around he would have to earn his trust. The ghoul had just saved Typheus' life and this was his thanks? Thanks but no. I have other things that need doing right now. Such as training for the war. Lorenor started to walk away from Typheus seeing how the other would react. He kept a little bit of faith in the man hoping that he would quickly see the error in his ways.

[Typheus]

Typheus was able to draw his sword when Lorenor went for his, but it was not needed as Lorenor simply decided to walk away, leaving him to stand there looking stupid in the middle of a forest that could only be navigated by the one who is storming off in a huffy mood. This was a bad spot indeed, as Typheus dared not try to stalk Lorenor in the hopes that he find a town sooner or later, for he did not know exactly how strong he was if he decided to turn and fight and Typheus did not want to end up like his attacker.

He looked down at the corpse of the bandit, who had been slain by him, a clean cut through the chest, ending his life quickly from trauma and blood loss. He then looked at the archer slain by Lorenor, bloody, gory, and without any needless violence, all so he could have a meal. "Definitely not in Wise or Federation territory," he said to himself.

"Typheus?" came the voice.

Getting fed up with the distracting voice that never wanted to speak directly to him, Typheus drew his sword and swung it around madly. "What the HELL do you want!?" he said through gritted teeth, sounding half-psychotic.

"Apologize to him, and have him lead you out of this forest," the voice said, sounding very demanding, but in a quiet way.

"What if I don-" began Typheus, but the voice lost every bit of its softness and sounded more like a hatred bearing down on him.

"DO IT NOW!" it yelled, sounding inside his own head, yet incredibly distant. It then became very silent, as if recoiling from its outburst.

"Thayne or not, when I find you....well, you'll see."

"Fine, maybe you'll see as well. I'll meet you in your next dream. Be sure to bring your full power with you."

Typheus was horrorstruck. He had just made a threat that the being intended for him to carry out on. Bring his full power? Was this thing really so strong that it could take him on at full power? And was it expecting him to re-acquire it in one night? Typheus couldn't stop looking at the sky, as if expecting some god awful monster to descend and obliterate him. The only sound snapping him out of his trance was the breaking of a twig not far away and he saw that Lorenor was continuing on his way.

Typheus hurriedly caught up to Lorenor, swallowed his pride, and bowed down in a Federation greeting. "I apologize for not understanding the ways of this planet, but please understand that I have always fought according to honor codes laid down by the soldiers that fought with me and against me. Seeing something such as that was new to me," he explained, trying to make his insults not seem so personal and more of a shock to his system. "Would you mind forgiving me for my hasty actions?" Typheus's gut wrenched at doing this, and it was only half true. He still thought this thing was disgusting, but he needed to find a town, to get out of this forest.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor mentally applauded the lad for at least trying to apologize. Althanas was a world of many strange things, many strange customs. There were places and lands with all kinds of strange peoples. Off the back of his hand, Lorenor thought of the Drow of Alerar who were boarder line vampires. The ghoul paused his movements for a moment whilst Typheus went out of his way to graciously apologize. Honor. Codes. These were universal concepts and concepts that Lorenor himself understood. After all, he followed his own particularly strange code.

Lorenor preferred to feed off monsters than humanids. However the meal had presented itself. The ghoul took advantage of the situation as it was in his nature to do so. Shrugging calmly, Lorenor's eyes danced about constantly as he waited for the next threat to appears. Bandits were just one of the many dangers of Concordia Forest especially with the recent incline of refugees fleeing the Civil War in Corone.

"I apologize too. Perhaps I was too quick to want to leave you out here by yourself. But I applaud you for apologizing I know THAT must've been hard for you." Lorenor looked in the general direction of the bandits. "There will be more. Bandits tend to work together. Once we get to the Gol'Bron's town you can ask Sorahn or Ranger about the Thaynehood. You're probably getting taunted by Lord Draconus or Lady Y'edda. They are the rulers of Greater Concordia and Corone Proper." Lorenor said calmly trying to recall what little he knew of the Thaynes from different stories he's heard about them and his own rape at the hands of Lord Draconus. Some scars never healed.

"We got a ways to go before we reach the Dagger Fall Mountains. Let's go man. We can talk plenty on the way there. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll try to answer them the best that I can."

[Typheus]

Typheus gathered himself for the long road ahead. These mountains that Lorenor spoke of did not seem to be anything that you wouldn't be able to see from far away, but Typheus prepared to keep blindly following Lorenor.

He dreaded nightfall. What was going to happen as he slept? Would he be attacked by something that could defeat him at full power? Such a power is unheard of, but then again, so was his until he achieved it. What the hell kind of a being could possess so much power? Would it be something like him that was somehow created instead of born? Typheus had always considered himself the champion of the light, perhaps this is the Faceless's champion or the champion of darkness.

The world around him seemed to shrink and fade away as he tried to picture the entity he was talking to. Was it a human? A faceless? Something more? Would it be some kin of strange creature Typheus had never seen before, bringing omens of death and destruction? Could it have possibly been a Thayne, or the lord Thayne or whatever it was? It couldn't really be one of them could it? Different forms approached him from the blackness of his mind, humanoid, facelessish, monstrous, and even a clone of himself. Whatever it was, it was strong to know him at his full power and want to fight him.

"Lorenor," he said finally, "whatever is talking to me, is either going to die by my hand tonight, or I will die by its own. It's challenged me to a dual while I sleep or something of that nature. The exact word it used was 'dream,' and I'm assuming that means in my sleep. It's female, apparently. Maybe it's the woman you were referring to before."

"I wonder if it's a Thayne," Typheus added in a curious tone as if it didn't matter what it was.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Once again Lorenor stopped moving. The Thaynes toy with his mind as well. Its what they do. Now Lady Y'edda torments this poor off worlder. What if he hears N'Jal's voice? Then what? These matters greatly troubled the ghoul as he thought about them. The forest seemed to be hushed with the anticipation of the Dark Mother's realm. It lurked afore them now. Soon they would both have to find shelter from the various predators of the night. Lorenor knew the dangers within Concordia Forest well from his first hand experiences within them.

He looked at Typheus for a moment. The lad described a female voice. It can only be Lady Y'edda or N'Jal. I am certain of this. Unless he brings a different entity with him like The Endless. I will have to observe him casually and find out the truth for myself. If he poses a threat to myself or to others I may have to end him. Lorenor was at a loss. He only knew some of the legends of Lady Y'edda. He knew from first hand experience that the Thaynes were capable of doing terrible things to their subjects.

"A challenge you say?" Lorenor began. "Well then we'll just have to find some way to keep you awake of course. If they need you asleep then we'll just make sure you don't fall asleep. Chances are that if this is Lady Y'edda they want to do something bad to you to test you. If this is the OTHER individual I think it might be they DEFINITELY want to do something bad to you. Its better that I don't speak her name to you." Lorenor looked up as he felt the subtle temperature change from day to night.

The sun was starting to set in the east. Observing the clouds shifting as Althanas rotated on its own axis, Lorenor sighed. He knew now it was time to find shelter. He drew his weapon on instinct and kept it on the ready. "We have to find some shelter for the night. Keep your weapon ready, things will come for us. Things that your eyes maybe shouldn't see." The ghoul said hoping that his warnings would be enough to prepare Typheus for what lurked ahead. Lorenor felt weary of traveling through Concordia by night but knew they had no choice. It was unsafe to stay in one place. The ghoul sucked up his personal anxieties and started to walk straight ahead as the realm of night slowly took over.

[Typheus]

Typheus thought about what Lorenor said. How the hell should Typheus constantly stay awake? I mean...he's stayed up for a couple days in a row before because of military actions such as recon in enemy territory, but this was different.

He took the opportunity to think of something else as Lorenor mentioned the things that lurk in the forest. Unsightly things, probably one hundred times as frightening as Lorenor when he devours a human. Typheus remember such a time. He remembered a few, but the worst was easily the worst. Never had Typheus been so afraid, and every other horror is simply bitter in comparison.

"Things that my eyes shouldn't see, eh?" he said as he drew his sword, keeping his ears peeled as his eyes may trick him. "You weren't on the Macabre mission then I take it."

Typheus talked as they moved so as to keep their spirits up in this darkening forest, but he kept his voice down so as to not attract the attention of any nearby entities that may flow from the darkness.

"Sent in to recover a vessel called the Macabre. Damned thing was using some kind of experimental teleporting device. Well, it disappeared and then reappeared in the same exact location, so everyone thought the idea was a bust. No communications were coming from it, not a sign of life, so they send us in."

Typheus almost tripped over a root that he didn't spot in the dark and it gave him all the more reason to trust his ears. The light was fading quickly.

"Well, when we get in, everything's fine. We get to the control room, and all hell breaks loose, quite literally. Now, we STILL don't know where that thing went to, but it brought some serious shit back with it. Nasty stuff. I'll talk about it during the daylight when imagination is at its dullest. No need to imagine things approaching us from the darkness that aren't really there."

The light was growing dimmer now and the world grew thicker. The trees grew thicker, the air grew thicker, the roots grew thicker it seemed as it was getting harder to avoid them. The only thing that seemed to thin was the sky itself. The sky darkened enough to faintly reveal outer space above. The stars shown along with a subtle beauty of the rest of the cosmos. Somewhere, probably within viewing range of the farthest stars, the Federation fleet was looking for Typheus. Typheus was half tempted to get out his radio again, but did not want to for fear that it might attract some unwanted attention through either the sound of his voice calling for assistance or the high-speed waves emitted by it. There was nothing worse than having to keep quiet when your friends can be one click away on a radio.

Typheus's mind then came to rest back on the topic at hand. Lorenor suggested keeping Typheus awake to save him from whatever is communicating with him. Apparently the Thaynes were bastards if that's what Lorenor was referring to. Even if it wasn't the Thaynes, Typheus couldn't run away. He didn't run from the Faceless, even when their leader almost killed him, even when a super weapon laser hit him head on, even when he almost fell into a black hole, he kept on fighting.

"Lorenor, I'm not staying awake and running away from whatever this is. If they want to try to test me, then I plan to pass with flying colors, if they want to beat me, then I shall deliver a crushing blow." Typheus kept his resolve, understanding that it was probably listening in on his conversation. "No insult to you Lorenor, but I've lived too long and seen too much to be afraid of them, he, she, it, whatever. I didn't run when I faced the bowls of Hell, Satan himself, every demon ever conjured, and I won't run now. That's not a code of mine...that's just the way I am," he finished, wondering if Lorenor would accept it or simply laugh at what he may call naivety.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The world subtly transformed from its daytime manifestation to the realm of the night. Creatures of the night now lurked in every nook and cranny of Concordia Forest emerging from their hiding places. Lorenor felt eyes upon them lurking in the shadowy regions of eternity. Some were physical eyes and others were products of a broken psyche. The ghoul walked in silence while his friend spoke. I am developing a deep respect for this guy. He's much too proud for his own good but he's been through a lot of shit where he's from. I perhaps have misjudged him.

Lorenor's thoughts were on making sure that they both survived through the night of Concordia. Many dangers now lurked in every direction. The wind took upon a slightly colder chill. A shiver traveled up Lorenor's spine as the wind touched his person. The ghoul thought about what Typheus was saying.

Lorenor realized that it was quite possible that the stress of traveling from one dimension to this dimension was making Typheus hallucinate such matters. Lorenor didn't know what to make of the situation. Rarely do the Thaynes act so directly with hosts. Something bad is going to happen very soon. I can feel it in my gut. How do I warn him about how dangerous The Thayne can be? Lorenor didn't know. Typheus' own pride would prove his undoing.

"Well whatever you decide to do, I will fight alongside you. It is better to face these bastards with friends than by yourself. If the Thayne has challenged you to a duel, however unlikely, there's obviously some reason for it. I intend to discover it since I have declared the Thaynehood my mortal enemy. It should be obvious by now that I hate them."

Lorenor bluntly stated.

It was inevitable now. His war with the Thaynes was about to begin.

[Typheus]

Typheus half heartedly took Lorenor's counsel. If this thing was able to fight him at full power, what the hell kind of chance did Lorenor stand against it? Typheus wasn't about to say this out loud, though, in fear of sounding insulting. He knew what it was like to be powerless now that he was stranded on this world.

The trees thinned just a tiny bit and soon they parted and a clearing was revealed. The moonlight shown down on this area and it looked about as peaceful and calm as an empty attic with sunbeams shining through small holes in the ceiling. There weren't many calm places anymore, but Typheus welcomed all of them. Even with this place so tranquil, there was no way Typheus could sleep with a possible doom coming upon him. So did this thing take this into account?

"I have." came the voice. "I think it is time that we met. It's time for me to teach you a little lesson."

Typhgeus looked around wildly, as if expecting some grotesque image to jump out at him from nowhere. He drew his sword and held it in a defensive stance so that he could have a chance to block a sudden attack. He waited and waited, and the air around him seemed to be growing thinner. The water was growing fuzzy as well as everything else. Feeling light headed, Typheus stooped down to one knee. The entity was sapping his energy, trying to put him into a sudden sleep and it was winning. Typheus fell sideways and saw the whole world disappear from him as the last of his strength drained out. What the hell was Lorenor doing at this point? Would he be trying to wake Typheus up? Typheus didn't know.

The world came back into focus and this time, it was broad daylight. The sky was clear and Typheus was lying next to the very same pond as before. Lorenor was gone and Typheus felt his strength returned to him the moment he decided to stand up. It was obvious what was happening. Whatever it was, it had made an arena for them in Typheus's head. This was the time to fight.

Typheus sheathed his sword and fly straight up into the air to get a few of the surroundings and locate the entity. There were too many places for it to hide, so Typheus charged up an energy ball shot to incinerate the forest around him. What was there else to do? It's not like this forest was real, so he wouldn't really be killing off anything.

Just as he unleashed the ball, an even stronger one missed his head by inches, the heat from it singeing his hair and irritating his left ear. Typheus redirected his blast towards the source of the other one, but it was no use. A large rushing thunderous noise echoed above him. The entity had already maneuvered above Typheus with lightning speed. A feet which had not been done since he fought the Faceless leader.

A large beam shined down and Typheus was forced to try to nullify it with his own energy. The amount of energy was child's play compared to what Typheus had used to destroy the Faceless. There was no doubt about it. This thing was toying with him.

Its figure was unseen in the sun's glare until it made its first physical attack on Typheus, which was so well executed that he didn't stand a chance. It launched multiple balls of energy which circled Typheus, catching his attention and then rushed downward at full speed, passing Typheus with a shockwave which sent him crashing into the ground.

As he got back up with the intent of using every last bit of his power, he saw the figure at last, without any glare from the sun or any interference from its blurring speed. Larger than Typheus, able to reach to the top of the trees, was a giant shimmering bird. It stood there, in the middle of some uprooted trees, eyeing him like some kind of insect. It bore the same colors as his attire. White and silver, with blue eyes just like him. How could something like this be an evil Thayne?

"Who are you?" Typheus asked, subtly steeling himself for a massive attack.

"The closest friend you are ever going to have." it said, starting to smile.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

For the second time during their strange adventure, Lorenor saw Typheus vanish afore his eyes. Looking about the clearing for a moment, the ghoul attempted to find any sign of Typheus that he could. He couldn't. There was neither sight nor scent of the lad anywhere around the clearing. It was as if something plucked him from Althanas and took him someplace else. Was it that thing that Typheus mentioned earlier? Did Wise or the Federation finally come looking for him? Will I never see him again? Lorenor felt a sudden sadness pierce his heart.

He paced back and forth for a long moment. When the moment passed, Lorenor walked around the entire circumference of the clearing. He walked back to the center of the clearing where his companion was just a mere few moments prior. Frustration touched his face. He was at a loss for how to proceed next. Feeling tears flowing down his eyes he had no idea if he should just leave or wait for his friend to reappear.

So he yelled in anguish.

"TYPHEUS!"

[Typheus]

Typheus stared at the bird for a moment in disbelief. He expected her to say something along the lines of "executioner" or "tormentor" or simply "enemy." Her words caught him completely off guard.

She was not something that Typheus would have enjoyed killing. It was either her beauty or her voice that he did not want to extinguish. She was like a hawk, but different in the sense that her tail feathers were very long, and she was a bit slimmer and looked faster. A large white crest appeared above her head and her wings were mostly white with shimmering silver interlaced in them. She continued to eye Typheus like an insect and he wondered if she felt any urge to eat him.

"So you will be the closest 'friend' I ever have?" Typheus asked, almost sarcastically.

"Correct. In case you haven't noticed, I have not killed you yet, even though it would be very easy." she said, demonstrating her speed by instantly appearing in front of Typheus with her sharp beak dangerously close to his face, breathing down on him.

She then pushed her head past Typheus until her left eye was almost right up against his face, and eyed him closely. He looked back into her eye and saw some strange form of kindness. He kept on staring and the void of her pupil grew bigger and he succumbed to some kind of trance, either drawn on by her powers or something in his mind. When she finally blink, Typheus broke free of his trance and looked away to avoid it happening again.

"You're destined for something greater than this world, or your last. Please, just trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"You've never really had a chance..." Typheus said, half-joking.

"Well, then I guess this is the moment of truth," she said, "and I hope that you're able to handle that truth. I am your guide, your guardian, your mount, your weapon, and your friend. Never forget any of that, and we'll get along just fine. Forget it, and I'll make it the worst time of your life...my name is Ramia."

"Now, perhaps we ought to do something about the loss of your powers," she said, looking at Typheus and from the looks if it, it didn't really seem something insurmountable to her. "You lost your powers, because this world has different metaphysical traits than the previous one." Typheus shot her a bewildered look and she sighed and spoke directly towards him, "The reason Wise and the Federation will never find you...is because you are in another universe. Another multiverse as a matter of fact. Each infinite universe connects to a multiverse, each infinite multiverse connects to an omniverse which is also infinite. You've left both your universe and multiverse, and now things are much different."

Typheus couldn't believe what she was saying. Flashes of Lorenor came back to him, the bandits, the fire-arrow, the ways of Lorenor devouring that bandit, the way he mentioned this world having energies of its own, the fact that he did not recognize space at all when he looked up into the sky, the fact that he had never seen anything like Lorenor and even the bandits, who looked almost like Typheus were alien somehow. The world he was in had nothing to do with his previous universe and that is why he had grown so weak.

"How do I get back!?" he asked, panicking, for he feared that he already knew the answer and she spoke his own thoughts aloud, scratching against the barrier of his mind, throwing him into a loop.

"You can't," she said, blowing everything away and causing Typheus to drop to his knees. Just as he brought peace, just as he had fought of the Faceless, and even gained the power needed to maintain peace for eternity...he's kicked out of his own universe? He dropped down to the ground, dumbstruck. The Faceless killing him sooner seemed a bittersweet fate compared to his new discovery. Tears started forming in his eyes and Ramia caught on immediately. "Typheus!" she yelled, her beak an inch away from his face. "It's just one universe of an infinite amount..." she said, trying to comfort him.

"IT WAS MY GODAMN HOME!" he shouted back, resisting the urge to attack her. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!? YOU'RE SOME KIND OF FUCKING BIRD IN MY HEAD! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LECTURE TO ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER HAD!"

Typheus buried his head in his hands and did not dare look up to see her. It wasn't until he heard a large rushing sound above him did he look up to realize that she put a wing around him and was looking directly at him with those eyes that penitrate to your very soul.

"Your friend wants to speak with you." she said and he could distantly hear Lorenor calling his name. "I think he should be allowed to see me, to know that I'm not something he should fear. Maybe he'll help me talk some sense into you. Let me bring him here." And she seemed to concentrate for a few moments.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

After Lorenor called out to his companion something strange began to happen to him. The ghoul felt his senses go blank for a moment and then all was consumed by darkness. When he came to, he felt a pain rushing through his system as he was transported to some other location. A location existing alongside of Althanas. One of many possible pocket dimensions. Lorenor's senses rescrambled themselves into focus. For some strange reason, he expected more pain. But, instead, he found his body working exactly as it normally should.

In the center of this strange clearing he saw Typheus talking to a giant...bird. Of some sorts. At first he mistook the huge bird for some incarnation of Lady Y'edda and panicked. "What the HELL IS THIS?!" The classical descriptions of Lady Y'edda were that of a bird-like woman. However this thing seemed like something else. Lorenor tried to remember where he heard of such a creature from and remembered the word Phoenix. He was staring at a Phoenix of some sort. Lorenor looked from Ramia to Typheus and back again to Ramia.

He had no idea what to make of this situation at all. He was still feeling the panic in his heart. However, when he saw that the large creature wasn't going to attack him, the ghoul calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths of the clearing. The wind here flowed in from a different direction than it did in Althanas proper.

Lorenor bent his knees and hunched down for a moment trying to get a hold of himself. He knew that the creature meant him no harm. He also knew that the creature wasn't a Thayne. At least not one of the Greater Thaynes, but maybe a Lesser Thayne of some sort. Lorenor was trying to get a hold of himself as he'd seen the being of power before him. Something about the moment was overwhelming to the ghoul.

"Typheus, man! What the hell is this place?! What the hell are you talking to!? I want some answers, and I want them fast!" Lorenor was less hesitant than Typheus was and drew his weapon to emphasize the point that he wasn't afraid. He respected the obvious power that Ramia wielded but he wasn't afraid of death. "Just what the hell is going on here?"

[Typheus]

Lorenor appeared in the clearing near Typheus and asked him what was going on, before drawing his sword, ready to attack Ramia. Typheus wouldn't have it. Lorenor was no match for her, and he would easily be obliterated, as would Typheus.

He decided to stand by Lorenor's side for this. If Lorenor wanted answers, he'd get Ramia to give them to him.

"Ramia, why don't you tell him what's going on you dumb bitch?"

Ramia nodded, ignoring Typheus's insult. "Typheus here isn't from the same world as you, as I'm sure you're aware. He comes from another where he was created from the universe's energies concentrated into a crystal and then released into a human form. The war he was in was a tragic one indeed and you would do well not to take him likely. Other than that, I can assure you that I am no threat and I was assigned the specific task of watching over Typheus no matter what happened." She turned her attention to Typheus. "I enjoyed your final battle with the dark ones. The ones you call the Faceless."

"You were there!?" Typheus asked, coming into a sudden realization. She was there before and during the light and after...could it be? "Did you send me here!?"

When Ramia nodded her head, Typheus felt himself the same way as when he destroyed the Faceless, save for the single one that followed him into his current world, his current hell. He swore at her and fired a blast to destroy the heavens. She took it full on and the beam engulfed her completely, and Typheus was sure he had finished her off.

The light in the area faded away and Typheus felt to his knees, out of breath. There was no way he was at full power. At full power, he could have destroy this entire planet easily. Ramia had reduced his power to be below her own and this was proven when she appeared unscathed by the blast. Correction, one feather on her wing edge was blown upwards and she absent-mindedly groomed it back into place before speaking again.

"Are you finished?" she asked, forcing Typheus to nod. "Good. Now, down to business. You're here for a reason, just as Lorenor said. However, it may not be what he thinks. And I am not entirely sure what it is either. That is what will make this so difficult." She paused, pushing another loose feather into place. "Perhaps it would be best if we found each other in Althanas. Maybe then we could determine our goals for-" She was cut off by a loud screech that seemed to shatter the skies and beyond.

Typheus had to cover his ears to dull out the noise, but yet it continued. When he looked up at Ramia, he noticed that she was covered it what looked like chains that were emitting some type of energy. Her wings were being pinned against her and he beak was being kept shut. She tried to struggle, but more chains shot out of the ground and drug her down, pinning her against the dirt. She struggled and even more chains shot out and wrapped around her, making her almost immobile completely. Typheus was in her line of sight and he saw her eye again. It had lost its paralyzing wonder, and not it was replaced with fear. She looked at Typheus as if asking him for help, but he didn't know what to do.

A shadowy figure appeared behind Ramia and addressed Typheus directly. "Oh, what a strange specimen indeed," she said, patting Ramia on the side of her wing. "I think that I should learn of your universe crossing ways. Maybe I can find a place where I'm worshipped as a god and bring my followers back here to overtake Althanas. A good plan if I do say so myself."

The figure finally stepped into clear view, or, more like some kind of shadowy veil was lifted from her. She was sort of like a human, sort of not. Sort of like a bird, but nothing like Ramia. What the hell was she?

Typheus drew his sword to charge at her.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Save for the inhabitants of the clearing it was a typical clearing like any other you would find in Concordia. Except with one subtle different. Thanks to the energies of the pocket dimension, the clearing was twisted. On a subtle level, everything within the clearing appeared twisted to Lorenor right down to the grass and the small stones gathered in the landscape. In the distance, Lorenor could see the Dagger Fall mountains. They were still at least two or three days off from their current destination in the physical world of Althanas. Even this legendary mountain range looked crooked and twisted in this pocket dimension.

Lorenor observed the interaction between Ramia and Typheus for a long moment. The wind came in from several different direction making it hard to tell the general direction that the wind came in from. Lorenor felt his hair flowing in several different directions. The ghoul watched Ramia for a long time trying to identify what the big bird was. He'd read a lot in his time with the Gol'Bron and remembered reading some passages about giant birds called phoenix. That's possibly what I'm looking at right now. I never thought I'd ever actually see one.

Staring at Ramia Lorenor caught a different scent as he stood there with his sword drawn. It was the scent of another woman. The scent of the matron goddess of Concordia. Lady Y'edda herself. Mushrooms sprung up on the ground, blue tipped in color, which were the undeniable sign that Lady Y'edda was present or at least about to be. Lorenor looked from where Ramia was towards the manifestation of the newcomer. The Thaynes were playing their games now. Oh now, this can't be! If it IS Lady Y'edda then we are in deep trouble right now. Lorenor suddenly felt The Endless go quiet in his head as another presence manifested itself within his mind. "Argh!"

The ghoul clutched at his head, dropping his sword prior to the movement. One of his knees went to the ground as he felt the psychic penetration from the Greater Thayne as she manifested. Lorenor understood, from his encounter with Lord Draconus, the acts that these beings were capable of performing. In a lot of ways the Thaynes were like children. Blood trickled down the slits where Lorenor's nose once was. It was now replaced by a hideously deformed scar.

As the psychic feed back loop presented itself before the ghoul, Lorenor heard a terrifying sound. He clutched, instinctively, where his ears once were. He screamed loudly in pain as the legendary bird was trapped by Lady Y'edda's power. When the chains came up from the earth, the ground shook against the Thaynes' powers. Lorenor finally opened his eyes to see that Ramia, with her answers, was no longer there. The ghoul stood up and saw that Typheus was running towards Lady Y'edda. It was already too late.

"TYPHEUS! DON'T! FALL BACK SOLDIER!"

Lorenor found himself yelling the command without realizing what he was doing. He just wanted to save his friend's life. Lorenor knew the power of the Thaynes was legendary so much so that they rarely needed to manifest before individuals. They simply sent powerful servants after you these days.

Lorenor was shocked that he was seeing the true form of Lady Y'edda. His senses did not trick him. He knew what he was looking at. I am staring at the visage of my enemy and I can do nothing about it! Damn you Thayne. One day I shall exact my revenge upon you. He watched the precious seconds passing by whilst the Thayne observed Typheus running at her. She merely laughed at the poor boy's approach. Before she did anything else, the Thayne looked over at Lorenor.

"I know your thoughts Lorenor. I read them. I can steal them with the ease of a graceful dancer. I know what would cause you the most pain. What would make you bow down to our will and deny all other False Gods. You shall pay homage to the Lady of the Forest." She called out. And then she attacked Typheus with but a small fraction of her power.

((Bro you can say what happens on your own I wanted to leave that up to you))

[Typheus]

Why Typheus would charge towards something that could defeat Ramia was beyond him. Perhaps it was in the hope that the defeat was solely thanks to a sneak attack. Perhaps it was because he had too much anger left to spare. Perhaps he wanted to prove to Lorenor that he was afraid of nothing, even when Lorenor shouted for him to retreat. Perhaps he actually cared what happened to Ramia.

As Typheus charged, Lady Y'edda swung her arm in front of her like a sword and a huge shockwave radiated from her on all sides, tearing up the dirt and uprooting the trees. Typheus took it head on, slowly advancing as he was burned and seared by the energy of the force. He wanted to do her in, somehow. Typheus had proven that immortality didn't exist before, and now he was going to do it again, if only he could fight through her barrage, which was raging on, even after the initial impact.

Ramia's voice entered his mind once again. "Remember everything," she said in a very weak and frail voice. Typheus knew what she was saying. His fight with the Faceless leader was one that would shake the heavens, even before Typheus found his true power. He was on par with his power at that time in this alternate world, and until he somehow got ejected out, he planned to use his power to the fullest.

He put a massive amount of energy into his sword and unleashed it in a small slicing shockwave. It bore open a small tunnel in the wall of energy and Typheus shot inside at full speed, charging up his sword yet again. Y'edda stopped her relentless assault and caught Typheus's blade with one hand. It was aimed at her breast, and didn't seem like she would have good leverage, but she was keeping Typheus at bay.

In a last effort, he charged energy into the tip of his blade and shot it forth like an extension of the sword. It made contact with Y'edda and she backed away in that very instant.

She looked down...a very small trickle of blood escape her and she started laughing. "That's it?" she asked, mockingly. "Please, don't think you've scored a victory. Had I been using my full power, you would have been incinerated." She paused as if contemplating something. "I think I'll go ahead and do that now. Perhaps you'll see your false god as you breath your last breath."

Typheus shot a massive beam towards her which she effortlessly knocked away and pointed her finger at him. She was about to fire but then stopped and smiled. Typheus was about to attack again, but then he felt a firm grip around his throat. "Your bird friend may be more willing to give up her secrets if your life was at stake."

"NO!" shouted a distant Ramia. "TYPHEUS, LORENOR, GO!"

The disturbance was not in space itself, but rather it was space, as everything was becoming very unstable. The feeling was familiar to that of being just outside the reach of a black hole. When Typheus looked into the sky, everything was bending and wavering and some of it was even stretching. The planet he was on was doing the same motions. It was clear. This pocket universe was now collapsing in on itself. The grip on Typheus's throat loosened as Y'edda saw what was happening. He could see everything fading like a movie going out of focus, Lorenor was most likely fading with him. The last thing he could hear was the loud scream of Y’edda.

“HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT YOU DUMB BITCH!?” Typheus screamed with all of his might as the universe crushed itself into a singularity at the same time he was leaving it. Hopefully Y’edda was caught in it, and even better would be if she was immortal. Being in a singularity for eternity must not be a fun experience.

The next thing Typheus knew, he was on the shore of the lake and it was early in the dawn. Small waves were crashing and the sounds of small birds could be heard just now starting to fill the forest. Typheus fell onto his back and felt as if he could lay there for eternity after what had just transpired, but he lifted himself up to make sure Lorenor got back alive. It would be very unsettling to know that he would have met the same fate as Y’edda.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor felt powers beyond his comprehension at work. Two deities locked horns with one another. It was more than Lorenor could bare. In the one hand, he wanted Lady Y'edda to come out victorious so that he could defeat her down the road. On the other, he wanted Ramia to come out victorious so his friend could cling to his false deity. Lorenor looked upon Typheus for a moment, the only sense of normalicy in this crazy dimension. The Thaynes had their tricks and their ways. Lorenor knew this to be the case. Ramia could not hope to defeat Lady Y'edda so easily.

So when Lorenor was grabbed in the wave of Ramia's power, something peculiar happened. Rather than sticking around to enjoy Ramia's pointless sacrifice Y'edda did something very strange indeed. Sensing The Endless locked inside of Lorenor's person, Y'edda was able to syphon her energies in complete synchronicity towards Lorenor's own energies. The Thaynes existed as long as Althanas would exist. Barriers were in place to ensure the livelihood of the True Immortals.

In short, these deities had insurance. Their servants. Both the mortals and the immortals. Linking her energies to the distinct energy patterns of The Endless, Lady Y'edda used her craftiness to escape certain death. She knew she would've eventually figured a way out of the singularity but she'd rather leave the dumb bird to her own devices. Pity. She would have made a fine specimen. Lady Y'edda road out of the singularity being carried by Lorenor's own energies, the ghoul was never even aware of the treachery.

Waking up in the clearing next to his friend, Lorenor drew his sword on instinct and slashed at the air yelling at nothing. Yelling at everything. He moved quickly as he slashed to and fro at the emptiness shaking his will against his own demons. Once the outburst was done, the ghoul knelt down against the ground gasping for air. He turned to look at Typheus' general direction never noticing a peculiar thing.

A form, no larger than a tick, leaped off of Lorenors' person. It hopped along the nearby grass blades, graceful as a bird for a few paces and then stopped, turning around like a dancer. Upon closer inspection, one would see the form of Lady Y'edda herself having ingeniously escaped the singularity of the pocket dimension. Back in the native dimension of Althanas Proper, the deity was not limited in anyway what so ever. She grew to her full size and stared at Typheus with anger.

Lorenor felt the presence once again. Will this never end? He clutched at his sword angrily as he stared at Lady Y'edda. How did she escape such an act of desperation? The Endless sang songs of triumph for the Lady Y'edda as she stared a tthe duo. Lorenor eyed Typheus for a long moment and then eyed Lady Y'edda.

"What do you want!?" Lorenor found himself asking of the lady of the forest. She simply laughed in return. "I have what I want. I wanted a sample of that specimen and I got it." She raised her hand, and within it, were several of Ramias' feathers. She'd won the day. Lorenor cursed in silence. Lady Y'edda laughed and simply skipped off into the forest, vanishing for the time being.

[Typheus]

Typheus got up and started to walk away from Lorenor. There was nothing to be said. There was plenty to be said. Typheus could go on and on about how he could have destroyed her in an instant if fate hadn't been so keen in taking away his abilities. About how Ramia should have not died like that simply to save him. What was there to do no anyways? She was his guide, and from what she claimed, also his trump card, but even that was not enough.

He thought of why this was all happening. What purpose could it serve to move Typheus from the universe he was defending to one completely alien to him where he could not even lift a finger towards the ones plaguing it with their disgusting habits, their sin, their malice.

"WHAT I NEED IS THE FINGER OF GOD!" Typheus suddenly shouted. "I SWEAR I WILL FIND A WAY TO KILL YOU! YOU WILL FEEL PAIN LIKE NONE BEFORE YOU AND I SWEAR TO GOD YOU WILL NOT COME OUT OF IT UNSCATHED!"

Typheus paced back and forth for a bit, wondering what to do next. "She said the goal was undefined, but I think I know what it is. This is a test. 'They' want to know if I care enough about Ramia to avenge her." Typheus stopped for a moment and began pacing again. "That means that we need to find Y'edda, the TRUE false god, and Lorenor, don't tell me not to say that. If I have to slaughter an entire village, city, country, of her demented followers then so be it. We need to find her, and somehow kill her. PLEASE TELL ME SHE CAN BE KILLED!"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor felt true sympathy for his friend. Lady Y'edda, as well as the rest of the Thaynehood were natural tricksters. They excelled at manipulating the wills of others to do their bidding. (Sometimes against their wills) Even though Lorenor had declared a war against the Thaynehood and thusly, made himself their enemy, Lorenor knew the truth. There was naught he could do against the Thayne, it was a foolish battle. Lorenor chased the alchemists' stone in attempting to destroy the Thaynes. That's just the way things were. The Thaynes were a part of the balance of Althanas' natural reality. They were a part of the grander scheme of things. Lorenor wanted to say these thoughts to Typheus but his partner was in a maddened state. All he could do was shake his head and offer a comforting expression of the face. All he could do was be a friend.

"If it helps any your friend got us out of there. Its not necessarily the truth that she is dead. Deities have a funny way of escaping fates that are handing to them by something else. You shouldn't hold out hope that your friend is completely gone. Maybe one day you will meet her again. Lady Y'edda got what she wanted and that was a sample of your friend, if not the whole entity herself." Lorenor understood Typheus' plight well. The ghoul had his powers stolen from him many times in the past by the powers that be as well. They called it a balance. I call it hypocritical bullshit.

The ghoul thought to himself.

He knew he wasn't very good at socialization but this situation called for him to adapt. I want to maintain the friendship of this individual. He shows great promise and isn't afraid to speak his mind. He would be an ideal member of the Gol'Bron. All he needs is a proper trade and skilled training at the hands of the Monks. If he trains everyday he will acquire some of what he seeks but what he once was is forever gone. He needs to accept that truth. "Don't loose out all hope. As far as the Thaynes go, they can be beaten but not like you think. All we can do is slow them down, thwart their plans. That's all we can do. No Mortal can kill a God. That's just the way things are. The sooner you accept it the better off you'll be."

"Come on man, its still night. Let's find some shelter and rest. We still got a long way to go before we reach the Dagger Fall Mountains." The ghoul said and waited for his response. That's not the best possible answer I could give him but its a start. He might try to search for a way to rescue his friend from the pocket dimension if he can. There are many mysteries in Althanas. Perhaps she escaped using Typheus in some way.

[Typheus]

"The laws of each and every universe are different," Typheus said, mimicking Ramia. "The Thaynes are immortal here because of something from their birth that intertwines with this plane. If they were to set foot in my universe...they would be as helpless as children. Of course, pity on their weakened condition would not stop me from grinding them to dust."

Typheus put his hand in front of him, and a small ball of light appeared. It was about the size of his palm, and seemed incapable of anything of his former powers. It was probably a last gift from Ramia. She was his guide, and his friend, and she had proven that beyond a doubt.

Lorenor was right. Typheus could not fight with his old powers, but he would find a way to fight with the new ones. The ball of light shot from his hand and went a few feet before disappearing completely. It seemed that even though Typheus understood WHAT to do in this world, he didn't know HOW to do it.

Typheus sighed and held his sword in front of him vertically. Typheus suddenly realized that he was the same as the greatest Thayne in his own universe. He could take the lives of an entire race and no one could stop him. He technically could be killed, but there is nothing powerful enough to do so. He basically owned that universe, and even though he swore to uphold its laws and protect it, something such as the Faceless only see him as a terrifying menace that can't possibly be stopped. And still, they tried. They tried their hardest to stop him even though it was futile, and he could only imagine the remorse that final Faceless must be feeling knowing that he failed his entire race. Despite the fact that they were bitter enemies, Typheus was finding a sort of respect for them.

"Can't be killed, huh?" Typheus said, putting his sword away and looking into the sky. "Is that what the Faceless thought? Is that what they thought even when they never gave up in trying to kill me?" Typheus put both of his hands together in front of him. "Were the completely without hope? Did they surrender so easily?" Typheus formed a ball of light in between them. "Or did they continue on, chasing me to an entirely different universe?" He fired the ball of light, and it traveled a bit further, flying to the other side of the pond before disappearing.

Typheus would never accept the fact that a vile one, who only caused pain, suffering, and killed for the joy of it, could not be beaten down until they were lying under the soil for eternity. "Lorenor, I know you've lived here longer than me, but every universe has its secrets. Maybe there's some that none of you have unlocked yet. Maybe there's a failsafe built in to stop a Thayne that goes too far, and If it exists, I'll find it."

Typheus could not bring himself to create anymore balls of light. His strength was depleted by the second one, and he was unsure whether or not you could kill yourself by pushing your energy to the limit. "About setting up camp."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor simply listened to his friend. He nodded or shook his head every so often when his friend spoke. He was still in shock at what he'd just been forced to witness--against his will. The irony of the matter is Lady Y'edda might JUST MIGHT have fallen if Ramia hadn't thought to bring Lorenor along for the ride. But the ghoul doubted that. She's a Thayne they have their ways. He is not understanding the way things work here. Even though I am an Immortal myself, I still haven't learned all the secrets. I've barely begun to unlock my own potential for power.

Lorenor really respected where Typheus was coming from. It's easy to assume things when you're an outsider. No. The Thaynes are the Thaynes it's better to leave that pursuit alone. Lorenor thought to himself. When his friend conjured the glowing balls of energetic light, he hissed. Covering his eyes against the pulsing energy he felt his skin begin to burn. Lorenor stepped away from his companion, instinctively retreating from the orbs of energy.

When the energy subsided the first time, Lorenor breathed a sigh of relief. Then, his companion released a second, more powerful blast. This blast gave off more energy than the first. Its radiance touched the ghoul attempting to incinerate him. The ghoul receded further away from his companion as he attempted to move away from the hotly glowing energy. Steam started to flow from his person and he knelt down in agony. He felt pain flowing through his vessel as the energy ball continued to grow stronger.

Then, Typheus released it and it singed through the air, cooking it. Lorenor was having a hard time breathing. Energetic residue, like radiation, touched the ghoul harming him further. Lorenor took a few more steps away from his friend attempting to get out of the range of the energetic presence. They were heading down two separate paths now. One of light and one of darkness. Lorenor stared up at Typheus as he asked his final question. With a start, he saw a glowing halo flowing about Typheus' person. No it can't be, he's a Light Elemental. DAMN. Lorenor closed his eyes but could still see the radiance around his friend.

What does this mean? How come I didn't notice it before? Were his powers really that weak when I first met him? Lorenor couldn't even stand near his friend anymore. He stood up once he was safely within range to do so and looked at his companion. Set up camp. Right. Focus on an objective. Not the fact that a friend just became a mortal enemy. Still. With powers like his he will be very useful to the Gol'Bron.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stay right where you are. I can't have you coming to close to me. My life is at stake." Lorenor said calmly, and he was perfectly sane when he did so. He was staring at Typheus with a pained expression on his face. Steam still flowed from his person, but this lessened. "You use your powers without remorse. You bring dishonor to the memory of your fallen friend." Lorenor continued to talk to his friend. "You have to learn to control your powers. That should be the first goal. I can't even stand near you otherwise."

"You're walking down a path I can't follow." Lorenor finally said.

[Typheus]

Typheus could not understand Lorenor's fear of him until he saw what he had done. The balls of light, as weak as they were, managed to wound Lorenor to an extent. Typheus had no idea that light had THIS much effect on the ghoul. Lorenor told him that he was using his powers without remorse. Typheus felt a lot of remorse after seeing what he had done to him.

"My apologies. I was unaware of how extensive your weakness was. I assumed unless I directly attack you, you would merely feel uncomfortable, and as for no remorse, I was merely practicing, getting a feel for it. I meant no harm."

Typheus was about to go take a look at the damage he had done until he realized that he was radiating a steady amount of the light energy. The aura itself might be enough to burn his friend. Then Lorenor mentioned that Typheus was going down a separate path.

"So light and darkness cannot coexist here?" he said, feeling as if he had done something wrong in choosing a side. "Light and darkness are eternal polar opposites, it seems, like good and evil, but I don't think I'm willing to accept that you're evil or I'm necessarily good."

Typheus sat down crossed legged and concentrated. He put his hands together in front of him and tried his best to seal his power for the time being, for Lorenor's sake. It was difficult, because mentally, he wanted to test this power out more so every time he thought he put his power away, it started coming back again. "It's no use. I can't seem to put it away. Just stay away from me for a bit."

Typheus stood back up and started to walk to the opposite shore of the pond, until he remembered something that may be worth mentioning, and may save the ghoul's life.

"Lorenor, just one thing. Never try to use my sword. I made it back in my old universe. It's pure light concentrated so much that it has taken a solid form. Trying to wield it may just incinerate your hands."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((Unless you got something big planned we should be wrapping this thing up pretty soon. We can do a separate thread to continue the story afterwards))

Lorenor understood his friend's meaning. It was a difficult time for the ghoul as he realized his place in the world. He was a creature of darkness and belonged in dark places. How can I continue forward at this rate. He will be the death of me if I'm not careful. Eventually we won't see eye to eye on something.

A wind came in that took him out of his deep thought. He let the wind caress his tired person, dancing about him. It danced like a waltz partner might dance. Eternally graceful and forgiving of the situation at hand. Lorenor closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about what to do next. Of course, he took his friend's warning to heart. I don't know how I've been able to even come near him up until this point. He must've been much weaker than he let on. The ghoul thought to himself as he felt the wind flowing around his person.

Lorenor observed his friend for time letting the words linger in the air between them. He had nothing to say now, his companion had chosen his path. The ghoul found his comfort zone in terms of the distance he was able to be away from the other. As he stood there he realized that he would be denied the comfort of his friend's touch. He also would be denied his friend's closeness in general. It's irrelevant, I found myself a good ally. He will be useful to me. Lorenor thought to himself as he walked as close as he possibly could without causing himself damage.

The ghoul stood approximately ten paces away from Typheus looking at his general direction. The day had been eventful, it was time to set up camp now. He looked around the clearing deciding that this place was too exposed for his own liking. "We should find a more secure place to set up camp. This place is too exposed for my tastes. Anybody with half a heart can find this clearing and try to do us harm. We'll sleep in shifts. I'll watch the camp first since my powers are weaker in the daytime." Lorenor said calmly and moved around Typheus to a nearby location. There were more trees up ahead and a more secure area to set up their camp.

"That spot over there should be good." Lorenor said and pointed to a well secluded area. Many trees decorated the landscape of various yews and pines. Birds sang in the air of various species. Lorenor took out his supplies, things he'd gotten from the Gol'Bron's township and prepared himself for a long stay in the wilderness. The journey towards the Dagger Fall mountains would cover two more days. At the very least, even at best speeds forward.

[Typheus]

((I was planning on stopping it the moment we get into town, but I think that if you really want me to end it here, I could make that a part 2. Bare with me on this, and perhaps in your next post, we could travel uneventfully for two days and get that out of the way, k?))

Typheus agreed with Lorenor on the location and since Lorenor would be taking the first shift, there was nothing to do but try to sleep. Thanks to the two energy orbs he tried to fire off earlier, there was not much energy left in him to keep him awake and he found himself able to drift off almost as soon as he laid down in his trench coat with his sword in his hands.

His dreams were invaded by thoughts of death, panic, and various birds, along with a new worry about what was happening back in his own universe. There was also a bit of remorse mixed in for what he had done back in his own universe before leaving it. Genocide should have been below him, but because of his anger at the Faceless, it was not. His dreams finally ended with the last Faceless getting its revenge against him, leaving him to awake in a cold sweat.

When he looked up into the sky, he saw that it was much brighter than before. Daylight had broke and he was feeling better. The haunts of last night had left him, only to leave him wondering what they should do next. Lorenor would take him to the mountains, and a town. If that's true, then that means that he would finally be able to rest, and contemplate how to go about getting his revenge. "Lorenor, do you need to sleep? I'll take the next watch."

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor sat upon a rock for the remainder of the night. Creatures stirred in the wilderness as he contemplated the events of the day. At some point during his shift, the ghoul decided it was time to keep his skills sharp. He drew his longsword and began to practice his attacking maneuvers against a nearby tree. Lorenor slashed with his current degree of skill moving just as gracefully as he could possibly move. Everytime that he swung his weapon, he became slightly better at the movements. The hours passed as Lorenor swung his weapon at the tree. At some point during the night, Lorenor was visited by an individual that breached his sensory array. The ghoul turned towards the stranger as he moved towards Lorenor.

Lorenor saw that the man was an Elf. A Wood Elf at that. The ghoul lowered his weapon stealing a glance towards his sleeping companion. Lorenor then turned his attention back towards the Wood Elf. The lad wore all green which was a common set of attire for the Wood Elves of Concordia. He wore a simple cloth tunic and matching pantaloons. His boots were made of hide, probably an oxen of some sort. He had sharp facial features common to the Elves. Lorenor studied the lad for a long moment. He had brilliant green eyes. They made Lorenor swoon. The Elf walked atop the blades of grass impressing Lorenor greatly. The ghoul bowed his head to show the Wood Elf some respect.

The Wood Elf nodded back. "The trees speak your name Ghoul. They say you are called Lorenor and that you are a carrier of The Endless." The Wood Elf said calmly, no malice in his voice. Lorenor could only nod in response to the Wood Elf's observation. "And what do they call you friend?" The Wood Elf paused for a moment, as if hesitant to reveal his name. "They call me Marion. I am here for a reason. You and your friend defeated some bandits that were most troublesome. We've kept an eye on you as you've traveled through our home. You pay homage to the great weave. I bring to you a gift from my people." Marion said calmly. That caused Lorenor to raise an eyebrow. "What sort of gift Marion?"

"You carry a bracer of the Aegis. The archaic forces within that device are known to my people. It is incredibly advanced magicks. Magicks that will evolve as you evolve. What I came to give you is a ring of power. Your actions earlier were noticed by my people. You have our permission to tread through our territory so long as you help get rid of the evil monsters that have started to plague our lands." Lorenor nodded. "I mostly fight against the Monsters. I dislike the way Mortals taste. I have my reasons for such fancies." Lorenor said calmly in reply.

"Your words are spoken wisely. Here is your ring. We hope that it can protect you as well as the power of the Aegis protects you. The ring boasts the power to manipulate the shadows. We have no use for it. Hopefully you can make better use of it than we." Lorenor was handed an obsidian colored ring. "Go ahead and place it on your ring finger." The ghoul did as he was commanded and placed the black ring on his Aegis device. Immediately, Lorenor felt a surge of great power. Darkness manifested from within the ghoul's heart and he screamed in agony. Rippling power flowed from the ring attempting to usurp the ghoul's control of his own faculties. However limited that was. Lorenor's arm was taken over by the ring and thrust forward.

A burst of potent dark energy flowed from the ring. It shot outward in the shape of an arrow bolt and singed a nearby tree leaving it completely dark and burnt. The power of the ring dimmed down afterwards until Lorenor glowed with an aura of darkness. His path was now chosen. Lorenor clenched his hand and turned towards Morians' person to thank him. However, the Wood Elf was gone. Did I imagine the whole thing? Probably not, the Ring is real. What should I call this ring? Black Ring? Ring of Darkness? Obsidian Ring? I'll have to think about a suitable name for such a thing.

"I'll call you Ring of All Shadows." Lorenor suddenly said to himself and he felt that the ring liked its new name. The ring glowed with a particularly strange glow after that. Lorenor noticed that his entire person had the same archaic glow about him now. Just like Typheus glowed, so did Lorenor glow with his own darkness. The ring had been the trigger to the powers lurking within Lorenor's own heart. Lorenor knew that it would take time to master his newly acquired abilities. When the sun started to rise and the ghoul felt that subtle temperature change, Lorenor's powers greatly weakened. He felt the shadows diminish around him until they were but a thin halo of energy around his person.

When everything was said and done, Typheus awoke. Lorenor realized that he could in fact use some sleep. "All right, we're start on our way towards Dagger Fall Mountains tonight. Its easier to work in the cover of darkness anyway. It should be about two days to the North if we keep up a stiff pace. I'll rest right now for a while. You can do whatever it is that you need to do." Lorenor said and moved towards the shadowy side of a nearby tree. He rested within the shadow. Without saying a word, the ghoul kept his sword in his hand, and went to sleep. The purple energy flowing from his eye sockets vanished. Lorenor fell into the deep slumber of his people.

The End.

*****Spoils Request****

001--Obsidian Ring. The Ring of All Shadows. A ring made of pure obsidian. This ring was long ago crafted by the Wood Elves of Concordia. The ring will imbue the host with a terrible darkness. It is a living entity. Functioning just like a wand, the ring can fire off 3 small bursts of dark energies upon a single target. Eventually, these terrible bursts of energies will become stronger. They can cause minor burns upon a target. Or push a target back. The ring also generations darkness and Lorenor may use it, optionally, to recharge his own energies if he's lost them somehow. Using the ring in that fashion nullifies his 3 blasts for the day as it takes considerable amounts of energy to recharge.

002-- Dark Aura lvl 0. ((Passive Ability. Locked until level 3)) Lorenor has begun to understand the use of Shadowmancy thanks to coming in contact with the Obsidian Ring. His basic most ability is the power to channel darkness around this person. This creates a basic aura around Lorenor that can be used for a number of purposes. This aura can inflict fear and panic in others when coming across such terrible darkness. This is of course up to individual(s) coming across Lorenor. It is more effective on NPC's than PC Characters. For now, it just makes Lorenor appear very intimidating.

[Typheus]

Typheus took the guard as Lorenor decided to slumber. He mind wasn't focused on anything having to do with keeping watch. Everything was about what to do next, what the town would be like, how they would find a way to kill a Thayne. Typheus would never accept the fact that it was impossible. The mere thought of such a thing was outrageous. There had to be SOMETHING buried deep within this world that would allow him to destroy Y'edda. He was not going to forgive her for Ramia.

The sun rose further into the sky and Typheus retreated a little bit into the woods and decided that he was going to test out his pwoers again before Lorenor awoke. He put his hands together and all of his rage from the thoughts of Ramia, of being whisked out of his universe fueled his power. He formed a ball of light about the same size as the others, but when he let it go, it flew with a whistling noise, and disrupted the air around it. It finally came into contact with a tree and bored straight through it, leaving a smoking hole. The ball finally dispersed with a loud noise that was like a cross between a bang and a boom and Typheus finally felt that he was getting the hang of these light powers.

He sat down and felt that it was hard for him to move, but it was definitely better than yesterday. There was nothing left to do now except rest and hope for the best. Oh their way to the mountains, Typheus planned to train himself in the ways of light, preferably without killing Lorenor, so that he could have a feeling of power once again.

There was hope, there was determination, there was a will, there was a way. Typheus WAS going to destroy Y'edda. The day suddenly seemed brighter to him as he felt his energy slowly starting to return. He wanted to see if he could even mimic his former self, and he was going to do what Ramia wanted him to do. There was a way to have powers that were similar to his own even if they were not the same level.

He stood up and put his hand out in front of him, and his time, instead of forming a ball in his hand, he ejected some energy from it, and he felt his arm being pushed back. To an outsider this may not seem like a grand revelation, but to Typheus, who had large amounts of experience with power before, knew what it meant.

If he trained hard enough, and let his energy manifest itself...he could fly.

The End.

----Spoils Request----
(I'm new at this so go easy on me)

001 - Yew Bow, taken from a fallen bandit that had attacked Typheus and Lorenor while they were in the woods.

002 - Quiver of yew arrows. 10 in all. Bolt tipped. Also taken from the same slain bandit.

003 - 1 fire arrow, one last item taken from the bandit.

005 - Steal longsword, taken from the second attacking bandit.

006 - Steel dagger, second object taken from the bandit.

007 - Light Element, given to him as a final gift by Ramia. His abilities are low at this time, but as he trains, he will steadily learn new ways of manipulating the energy around him.

[Call me J]

Total Score- 63

Typheus, are you new here? I was really impressed to see how well you hung in there with a seasoned vet. Good job.

• STORY ~ 20/30

Continuity (6) ~ Typheus, since the Faceless was such a big part of this opening, it would have been helpful if you had given me a better idea of what a Faceless is. You did a great job of telling me why I should care about this Faceless, but I didn’t really get a good idea of what a Faceless was. I went to Google, and that didn’t really help me either. When you use something like an orc, demon or dragon, I know what those are. Since you invented the Faceless, you need to let people know what they are. By post five, I started to get some idea, but you needed to convey this a bit earlier. Additionally, a physical description would have been nice.

Outside of this issue, I felt you guys did a really good job of starting out with an exciting moment and then getting back to the basics and giving the reader important information. The thread also ended well, in particular with the way you made this seem like a prelude to more adventures for both of you.

Setting (8) ~ This was very good. I really liked the way that setting became so integral to the plot here.

Pacing (6) ~ I really feel you guys did a good job here even in the moments that could have been dull, because you had already drawn me into the thread by the time you guys had started getting to the expository parts of the story. The early conversation on the first page is a good example of how when you have compelling characters, even less action packed scenes can hold the attention of the reader. There were a few moments where there was a bit of a decline in my interest, but these were few and far between. The one thing that did strike out to me was at times, the story did tend to meander. Tighten up, it’ll help you!

• CHARACTER ~ 18/30

Dialogue (6) ~ Lorenor, your verbal dialogue is considerably stronger now than I remember it being. Good work on your improvement. I really felt that just by reading Lorenor’s thoughts and statements that I could get a good idea of his character. There were a few points where I thought both of you were a bit inconsistent, but I was generally pleased with what I saw here as far as dialogue goes.

Action (7) ~ There were quite a few little things here that I appreciated, but most of all, I liked the way that Typheus dealt with the uncertainty with his character’s fate and Lorenor’s reaction to the light magic.

Persona (5) ~ Lorenor’s persona was at times not clear. Many times it was hard to grasp his motivation beyond much more than a superficial level, and at that superficial level, many things didn’t seem like they fit together as well as they should. Typheus did a bit better in this regard, but the character definitely needs to be fleshed out a bit more. However, these are two very unique characters, which is something I appreciated.

• WRITING STYLE ~ 17/30

Mechanics (6) ~ Silly errors and misspellings cost you from a higher score.

Technique (5) ~ You are both quite creative and you have a good enough grasp on mechanics that you can start to challenge yourselves. Do it more.

Clarity (6) ~ Sometimes, I felt that both of you got caught up in little idiosyncratic details that it detracted from giving the reader a better grasp of the whole picture and this detracted from the clarity of the thread.

• Wild Card (8) ~ Lorenor, I really liked the creative way you incorporated concepts like EXP into the thread. You managed to do it in a way that neither seemed cheap nor cheesy, and that was quite hard to do.

Spoils
Mutant_Lorenor receives 1473 EXP and 140 GP
Typheus receives 1000 EXP

Typheus, Lorenor received more EXP because he is a higher level, in case you were wondering why. As far as spoils go, I will grant all of them. However, as a result, I am not giving Typheus any GP, because I felt the quest did not merit all those rewards by itself.

[Karuka]

EXP/GP added!