The Gathering

[Black Shadow]

Time evolved into an illusion upon the open ocean. Black Shadow felt an utter blissfulness known to him only upon rare occasions. as the high sun of the day slowly set. What felt like mere minutes turned into hours. The sun which previously hung high above the ship now rested along the horizon. The blazing orange sun cast the most beautiful streak of fire across the shimmering surface of the waters. Sunsets like these captivated Black Shadow in a way only he understood. Nothing would ever compare to the multitude of colors spread across the sky. From red and orange, to yellow and even purple, Black Shadow would never forget this sunset.

Black Shadow refused to tear his eyes from the sight before him. The pure beauty captivated him, clearing his mind and focusing him on the moment. He hadn’t thought of the mission yet to come or what they may face - just this single moment that he could tell his daughter about when he returned home.

He already missed his daughter. Despite her size and age, Espoir hunted exceptionally well, and she understood how to barter with traders for supplies. Black Shadow trusted Maverick with her life, but a part of him always worried for her. He still did not know her lineage other than that she was elvish, but Black Shadow hoped to change that with this trip.

Black Shadow closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. This slow breathing calmed Black Shadow’s mind, a luxury he had not known in months. After a moment, he opened his eyes. A shadowy figure now encompassed the center of the blazing sun. Black Shadow focused his sight, looking far into the horizon to make out the shape. What appeared to be a large warship headed straight for them, dwarfing the R.S. Eluriand.

Black Shadow quickly snatched a telescope from a passing sailor’s belt. He extended the telescope and looked through it at the ship headed their way. The forty cannon ship was preparing for battle. The ship’s gold trim gleamed brightly against the dull black of the hull while the black sails furled in the wind. A large black dragon skull painted the sails, and the same dragon figurehead glard off the bow with the mouth open.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Black Shadow turned and ran for the captain’s quarters. The R.S. Eluriand was a mere ant in comparison to the titanic pirate ship, but Black Shadow refused to give in without a fight. Two men blocked the door to the captain’s quarters..

“You there, Captain Callahan wants to be left alone right now.” One of the men said, raising a sword.

“Come back in the morning. He’s… busy.” The other man said, shooing Black Shadow away.

Black Shadow shook his head in annoyance and tossed the telescope at the larger man, pointing towards the horizon. The guardsman raised the telescope and looked towards the horizon

“We see tons of ships out on the ocean every year, this one is not different.” He scoffed.

I don’t have time for this, we have less than an hour before that ship intercepts us. Black Shadow thought to himself. He attempted to push forward, forcing his way into the captain’s room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the one man asked, grabbing Black Shadow’s shoulder.

In an instant, Black Shadow pushed the guard’s arm up, twisting it over, and shoved the man’s face into the deck. The other guard swung his sword at Black Shadow, but Black Shadow saw it coming. He kicked the second guard’s chest with his left foot. The smaller guard stumbled backwards into a barrel, breaking it into pieces and struggling to remain on his feet. In one more swift motion, Black Shadow kicked the door open, half disgusted by the sight of the captain in his bed with two women, both wearing only their undergarments.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Callahan asked in anger. “I thought I said I did not want to be disturbed.”

“I’m sorry boss, he just forced his way in.” one of the guards started to say as he lunged at Black Shadow.

Black Shadow ducked and took a quick step to his left, sending the man into one of the women. He then picked up the telescope from the ground again and tossed it at the captain, pointing towards the horizon.

Captain Callahan pulled the telescope to his eye and looked towards the ship. His anger suddenly faded away as he saw the black sails of the pirate ship.

“All hands on deck!” Callahan shouted as he jumped out of bed and rushed to his wardrobe. “Man your battle stations!” He said, pulling an old war uniform from his wardrobe.

[drake]

"Drake?"

"He still isn't responding."

"He must have gotten it really bad. Poor kid."

"He is more than capable of handling himself, he is just too gentle."

Drake's teeth began to chatter, as a bone chilling shiver ran down his spine. He opened his eyes to see his two friends Gabriel and Seraphina staring down at him. Gabriel had a long thin face, emerald eyes, and short brown hair. He appeared nineteen years old, but actually had thousands of years of angelic experience. Seraphina, the most beautiful creature that Drake had ever seen, had long curly blonde hair, a longer, narrower face than Gabriel, and very geometrically recognizable features. Her skin gave off a faint glow, and she had glimmering pink irises.

"And he lives!" Gabriel exclaimed with a large grin across his face as he extended a hand for Drake to take.

"It's so cold here!" Drake grumbled as Gabriel helped him up. "What dimension are we in?"

"We were hoping that you could tell us that," Seraphina said in her bubbly voice. "Your astral body took you here for a reason."

"We felt your energy, and knew that we needed to come," Gabriel said. "We are definitely in one of the lower vibrational planes, so keep your guard up."

"I think I'll be safe," Drake replied, "I'm with two arc angels right now. I think you guys have us all covered." They all laughed. "But seriously. Why are we here?"

"Well, you're here for a reason," Gabriel said. "We couldn't take you out of this plane into heaven, your astral body just wouldn't exit. So I guess we have to find out why you are here."

"But what about my body?" Drake asked.

"You're in good hands," Seraphina said.

"We looked into the one who saved you. Koli is his name. He used to be a priest, but his monastery became corrupted and so he took his leave." Gabriel added. "The man hasn't sinned in over 20 years. You could really learn a lot from him."

Drake looked around. Thick fog loomed in the air, making it difficult to see beyond 30 yards in any direction. They currently stood on a dirt path with grass and trees to either side. On one end of the path, light shone through the thick fog. To the other end of the path, the fog grew darker.

"I assume we have to go into the looming scary fog of doom?" Drake asked, motioning to the dark side of the path.

"Yeah, that's usually how it works," Gabriel replied.

"Then onward we go," said Drake.

[Koli]

"Don't slow down now Jalaphar, we're almost there!"

"What do you mean Koli," Jalaphar puffed from beside him, "The gorge isn't even in sight yet."

The sun peeked through the budding trees as Koli and Jalaphar trotted through a large wheat field, causing their shadows to stretch far into the horizon. Beautiful budding and blossoming trees lined the edges of the field, and a tiny treeline slowly grew larger and taller as they approached. The spring marked the beginning of training preparations for the combat comprehensive exam which the two teens would take at the close of the coming autumn. They still had plenty of time to prepare, but Abbas Amo designed their training plan to push them to their limits early to prepare them for combat rather than a test. The comprehensive marked the culmination of every youth's life work at the sanctuary; it signified their rite of passage into the brotherhood. Upon completion of the week-long evolution each brother gained eligibility for deployment on missions.

This particular morning, the head priest sent the two brothers down to the gorge and upstream through the wilderness until they reached a colossal waterfall. The journey took about a half day's trek. Upon reaching the waterfall, they had to meditate until sunset. Following their meditation, Koli and Jalaphar would return, but one had to carry the other on his shoulders the entire time. Koli could endure more out of the two, so he would carry Jalaphar for 30 minutes or so, and Jalaphar would carry Koli for about 15 minutes at a time. On top of it all, this was to be done under a Black Fast, meaning they could not eat or drink anything for the duration of their training mission.

"We're almost there," Koli repeated. "Look for the light at the end of the tunnel. If there is none there, you will create some."

Koli kept his breathing slow and controlled as each foot hit the dirt. Neither the weight of the young man on his shoulder, nor the urgency that drove him towards the port city bothered the priest. Koli always found a calming sense of structure in the face of chaos. After dropping the boy in an inn, Koli could search for medical wares from a vendor, or make them from ingredients in the wild.

As the sun set and the moon rose, a non-celestial bright white light illuminated the night sky. Something about this all too familiar light drew in Koli's attention and attracted his spirit like a magnet. Its location detoured Koli slightly north of his westbound course.

As the priest approached this light, his energy rejuvenated, and his spirit began to swell, as if he teamed with power. Koli now traveled off the path and through the trees, pushing through tall vegetation and leaves. He sensed the energy nearby radiating life into the world. Without initiating it, his eyes changed into a shade of icy blue which sent him into an adrenaline rush. He accelerated into a dead sprint, as his heart started to pound in his ears. Faint chanting all around him grew louder and louder, and the icy phantom forms of 2 monks conjured next to him, sprinting with him on either side. Finally, he pushed through the last bit of vegetation and into a small clearing.

In the center of the clearing, a large geyser of some sort of magical energy spouted from the ground. Plasma-like energy that radiated bright white light with streaks of blue and red spewed up into the sky and dissipated into the atmosphere. The trees surrounding the geyser grew taller before his very eyes, extending several more feet in the air with each moment. New leaves grew back and the geyser blew them clean off with the power that emanated. Koli closed his eyes, and cleared his head.

Slowly, he extended his mind toward the geyser. As he drew closer, his spirit swelled uncomfortably so. The heat of the energy swelled in his body, and his mind clouded with trouble and discontentment. Focusing all of his willpower, Koli cleared his mind further and pushed on. In the split second before he touched the energy, time froze. Koli opened his eyes to find the entire scene halted. An eerie silence plagued the landscape. The auditory illusions of chanting that the energy created through Koli had ceased, both of the spectral monks had stopped dead in their tracks, and leaves had frozen in midair on their descent.

And then Koli's mind reached the energy.

Instantly, Koli felt the magical power channel through his entire being as if he was an extension of an endless pool of eternal energy that was left untapped for centuries. All of it attempted to escape at once, and Koli's head reared back in pain as he tried to shout. The magical plasma shot from his eyes and mouth, and his body became invisible. His eyes rapidly changed between many different colors ane he took on the effects of all the different colors at once. Swords and staffs conjured without his doing, and illusions cropped up without his creating them. Wolves and buildings, monuments and spectral priests cropped up all throughout the clearing. Koli heard a thunderous beating of wings from high overhead, and the leaves of the surrounding trees all flew to the ground, leaving the surrounding rainforest bare. The illusion of a mighty ancient dragon flew overhead. It opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, before incinerating everything on the other side of the clearing. The heat from the flames singed Koli's eyebrows, and burned the skin on his face.

On his shoulder, two bright golden wings extended from the boy he carried. They shimmered and gleamed in the glow of the magical plasma. He started to convulse, and seize on Koli's shoulder. Koli heard the dragon beginning to swoop down towards him from above, causing a rising sense of panic to form in Koli's chest. Closing his eyes, he drew upon all the willpower he could muster and tore himself away from the magical energy source. All of the illusions faded as quickly as they came, and the conjured weapons dissipated. The magical geyser gave one last spurt of energy, and faded down into the ground. A massive crater remained in its place, and a deafening silence rang through the night.

[Gavner_Nahs]

Gavner took a deep draught from the bottle of rum in his right hand, enjoying the sting as it went down. Vir said that rum would take away the edge from his seasickness. Vampires metabolized alcohol at ten times the rate of humans, so one bottle wouldn’t do much. Gavner sat on a chest that he had pulled up next to Vir’s rack, and the two swapped stories for the majority of the day. He asked Vir about war strategy, and commandship, as well as leadership over an entire region. Vir told him all about the pitfalls of conflict, and the code of ethics that his clan followed. Overall he led a very noble clan of vampires. They kept to their territory, and aided their allies when necessary. The sun posed a major problem, as the atmosphere made its rays especially deadly in Dheathain. The vampires combated this by living in the side of a mountain. They dug underground tunnels to the major hubs and cities where they could feed and carry out missions.

“Do you have any regrets?” Gavner asked.

“Countless,” Vir replied. “But only a fool keeps track of that which he cannot change. Staying upset about the past only causes pain to me. Nobody else can feel your hurt, so it is better to be apathetic to it all.”

Gavner noticed a growing sense of commotion manifesting on the weather deck. Footsteps and voices carried all the way to the second deck. “Vir,” Gavner said, “I think the captain just called General Quarters. I will go and investigate.”

“Be careful, dusk isn’t for another twenty-three minutes.”

“Very well,” Gavner responded. Climbing the stairs aggravated his headache, and as he stepped foot on the weather deck, a searing pain hit his face. The final rays of the day flew over the waters and burned Gavner. He quickly drew his hood, but his face already sported a pink burn.

“General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations!” Somebody called out. The well trained crew scurried fore and abaft the frigate, carrying powder kegs and rolling carts full of ammunition. The boatswain’s mates prepared the sheets for hoisting, and the Gunner’s mates primed the carronades for battle. The marines carried grappling hooks and boards, while the archers were climbing aloft. Gavner slammed back the bottle of rum, drained it and threw it at the base of the mast, smashing it into tiny bits and pieces.

"Yaar!" he said, wiping his mouth before he rushed aft and climbed the ladderwell to the quarterdeck.

Upon arriving, Gavner saw the captain and the first lieutenant quarreling, and Black Shadow next to them listening intently. The major, off to the side, casually sharpened his saber, as the Quartermaster hoisted both the Beinost crest, and the Raiaeran colors. Young gunner’s mates readied the two pound guns off the side of the quarterdeck, and the captain’s servant boy scurried past Gavner with an armful of maps and navigation instruments.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your ‘allocations and triage’ Lieutenant, I need the Gunner down in the powder stores, and the Carpenter down in the bilge!” The captain shouted.

“Sir, respectfully, back the fuck down!” The first lieutenant shouted back, “If the carpenter is down in the bilge he can’t oversee mast and sail repairs should we need it. Send the carpenter’s mates and a few midshipmen down there instead, we can’t afford to lose the carpenter to flooding.”

“Fine. I need somebody to send word to the master to heat the chains and 5 pounders in the galley fires. I want the Boatswain amidships, and tell the Surgeon to take on a few extra midshipmen. We can’t afford to lose many more crew members, or we will be sub-operational,” The captain commanded. “MAJOR!”

“Sir.” The major replied, standing up and approaching the group.

“Have you found a suitable replacement for the Captain Aloft? I heard your marines lost a good commander.”

“Right now we don’t have a head archer to be the Captain Aloft.” The major responded, “But my marines are the sharpest bowmen on the seaward coast of Raiaera. I’d put them up against any adversaries.”

“Actually captain,” Gavner interjected, “Black Shadow is a fine commander. He was a prince back in his kingdom, and he happens to be the finest archer that Raiaera has seen in centuries”

“Agh great,” The captain exclaimed in disgust, “Who let this blood sucker on my quarterdeck?”

“Sir, Black Shadow and I would like to help.” Gavner stated.

“And what do two backwoods Raiaeran adventurers like yourselves know about naval warfare strategy?” The captain said while rushing to the aft of the quarterdeck to the Navigation table. “You’re passengers, not sailors.”

“I am a General for my clan, and have commanded scores of infantry. Black Shadow has commanded an army at war. He can command aloft, and I can lead the boarding parties.” Gavner shot back. “We are here to help.”

The captain stopped and looked at Gavner for a moment. “Aye, well, I suppose we can always use more savagery, General. MAJOR!”

“Sir,” the major responded, still 2 feet away from the captain.

“Place the General in command of the boarding parties, and you assume command of the shipboard defense forces. Reallocate the infantry by 20 percent in favor of defending, the best offense is a good defense. Am I right?” The captain said. “We’ll give those Pirate bastards the fight that’s coming to them.”

[Black Shadow]

The sun set slowly on the horizon, turning the brightly lit sky into a black void. Dark clouds formed quickly, covering all forms of light in the still night as the temperature dropped rapidly. No moon lit the night sky. No moon, no wind, no waves, and the pitch-black ocean met the void of the sky so precisely that the two collided in a perfect canvas. You could not tell which direction your own ship headed without a compass.

Men moved quickly, gathering weapons, and manning their stations. Black Shadow took command of the ship's archers, quickly teaching them non-verbal commands. He directed his men to the fighting tops, bows ready for battle.

“Sir, take these.” One of the men said to Black Shadow, handing him a bundle of ten arrows. “They are explosive. These are all we have, make them count.”

Black Shadow nodded in thanks and placed the arrows in his quiver. The dark archer climbed the stays to the top of the mainsail where the crows nest was located atop the yard. While this was normally a perfect spot for Black Shadow to take in the beauty of the ocean, tonight was a much different story. Tonight he would watch bloodshed - men hacking down men for money. Black Shadow could never understand the point of such fighting.

Night’s all encompassing darkness obscured all vision; Black Shadow could not tell how much longer they all had until the battle started. The pirate ship had extinguished all lights on deck, sailing in utter darkness, only the R.S. Eluriand’s lamps and torches to light the way.

Black Shadow looked out over the ocean. His keen eyesight allowed him to see into the darkness better than most, but tonight he saw nothing but the impending void. He Squinted his eyes, trying to focus on something, no matter how close it may be. Then suddenly an orange glow appeared less than one thousand meters away, and began to grow rapidly. Just As Black Shadow suspected, a flaming cannonball, inbound from the dragon figurehead on the bow of the enemy ship, shot their way at supersonic speed.

Black Shadow strung one of the explosive arrows and let it fly. The arrow soared through the sky and intercepted the cannonball just before impact, sending a barrage of shrapnel and fire at the Eluriand’s crew.

Cannonfire erupted immediately as the merchants attempted to fire upon the pirate ship. Cannonballs wizzed the direction the fireball came from. Explosions erupted in the distance signaling a clean hit from at least one cannon.

Almost instantly the pirate ship lit up with hundreds of torches, illuminating the entire ship. The dark black sails lit up, illuminating the dragon skull stitched on it. Pirates and merchants alike tossed their grappling hooks, savagely pulling their ships together. A rain of arrows came from the pirates onto the merchant ship, and the merchants raised their shields, ducking behind cover, attempting to avoid the onslaught of arrows. The pirate’s war chant echoed through the night amidst the cannonfire. The merchants immediately answered back with a battlecry of their own, showing the pirates they were ready for a fight.

Black Shadow drew one of his steel tipped arrows and released it onto the pirate ship, hitting one of the pirates square in the chest. As his target clenched his breast and fell into the frigid ocean, a volley of arrows from the Eluriand’s archers rained down on the pirates.

Both the pirate and merchant boarding parties continued to place ramps, and Gavner led the merchant sailors' attack. Gavner embedded his black fingernails deep into the throat of a pirate, ripping his trachea from his body crushing it. He dashed forward at another pirate, quickly slashing at his face, leaving the man unidentifiable. Blood quickly stained the decks as men slaughtered each other. The clashing of swords rang out in the night, and men chanting and screaming in pain became indistinguishable.

Black Shadow waited patiently for large groups of pirates to rush at once. One boarding ramp backed up with nearly eleven men on it, all attempting to cross at once. Black Shadow strung his second explosive arrow and unleashed it upon the boarding ramp. The explosion destroyed the ramp, sending the survivors into the frigid waters below. When Black Shadow decimated one boarding ramp, the merchant crew replaced it with their own. Black Shadow only had eight explosive arrows left and would have to use them sparingly.

The dark archer surveyed the battlefield, defending the sailors whom death nearly seized from this forsaken world, giving them the opportunity to live another day. The major swung his sword engaging in a blade lock with another large pirate of similar stature. The two stared into each other's eyes with an everlasting hatred, trying to overpower the other. Three pirates snuck up behind the major as the larger pirate distracted him and they pinned him down. The larger pirate raised his sword, ready to end the major's life. Black Shadow laced an arrow and landed a shot into the forehead of the brute, killing him instantly. The major reared his head back, knocking one pirate off him, and threw the other two to his side. He picked up his sword and beheaded one, while Black Shadow impaled the other two with one arrow.

Black Shadow unleashed Another three explosive arrows, each decimating a boarding ramp. The two crews no longer focused on replacing boarding ramps and instead drew all their attention on the battle at hand. Unless Black Shadow miscounted, which he never did, he was now up to twenty-eight kills. Black Shadow turned his attention away from the forecastle and towards the fantail. He noticed Gavner, attacking with deadly speed devastating the pirates. He made quick slashes with his long, sharp nails, killing pirates with ease. Black Shadow noticed a battered pirate bleeding profusely from his chest sneaking up on Gavner as the vampire dug his teeth into the neck of a pirate he had in a headlock. The man lunged at Gavner, going for the kill in vain as an arrow struck him in the chest. The arrow missed Gavner’s face by an inch, and landed in the heart of the pirate. No man would smite Black Shadow’s best friend so long as he drew breath.

[drake]

When heaven's life shall end
And tear the world apart...

"Did you guys say something?" Drake asked Gabriel and Seraphina.

"No, I didn't say anything." Gabriel replied.

"Oh, I must just be hearing things."

Thick fog loomed over the plane, only worsening as the three angels trekked through the astral world. The dirt below their feet frosted over, and Drake's energy slowed down as his astral body grew colder. The plane darkened, and soon the landscape grew desolate, devoid of detail. Even Gabriel and Seraphina, who glowed brightly with their angelic light, faded beside him. Now, only Drake's intuition guided them.

The young angel strayed off the path to his right and through the grass upon noticing the sound of running water. Not far after, they happened upon a small stream which flowed with a glowing white magical plasma that illuminated the surrounding fog. He traced it back to its source, but stopped as he noticed a dark symbol.

"Is that a passage to a lower plane?" Drake asked, pointing to a spiraling eddie of black energy from which the plasma flowed into the stream.

"Yeah, that's a really deep descent," Gabriel said, "There's bound to be some really nasty stuff down there."

"Great..." Drake mused as he studied the whirling energy. "So I guess we follow the energy rather than going to its source."

When heaven's life shall end...

"What was that?" Drake asked, turning to his friends.

"What?" Seraphina replied.

And tear the world apart...

"I could be sure that I heard you guys say something."

"This is a very low vibrational dimension as it is," Gabriel replied. "It's possible that the energy here is messing with you."

"Right," Drake replied, "The sooner we get out of here the better."

Drake turned around and followed the magical plasma downstream. As the angels continued, the fog began to lift, and the stream started to flow up an incline. The landscape still contained very little; the hill extended in all directions with no contents or inhabitants other than the stream. Streaks of crimson red now stained the magical flow. After a while they reached the top of the hill, and the fog broke entirely.

"What does that mean?" Drake asked, pointing at the stream. "It turned completely red."

To sate wicked's demand...

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything," Gabriel responded.

Far off in the distance loomed a large ominous tower whose figure stood out distinctively on the landscape. It radiated an unmistakable energy throughout the plane. A mighty storm plagued the sky, raining fire and brimstone down onto the landscape. Lightning strikes scattered the land, and great meteors and fireballs tore through the atmosphere, ravaging the ground below. The stream of crimson magical plasma flowed far down the horizon, directly to the tower. Drake began to follow the stream into the storm, but a massive lightning strike blasted the ground in front of him.

And mate with power's heart...

To Drake's left, a light shone through the thick fog. To Drake's right, the fog grew thicker and darker. Drake looked at Gabriel and Seraphina.

"Follow me into the unknown?"

Seraphina smiled, and Gabriel nodded.

"You lead the way."

[Koli]

It took everything within Koli to keep to his feet. The power he witnessed encompass his body was so immense it took his breath away and expended the majority of his energy. His arms grew weak and his legs wobbly. He dropped to one knee to catch his breath, taking several deep breaths in to regain a small amount of strength.

What was that? In all of his years, and all of the magic that he had dealt with, he had never experienced magic as ancient and powerful as the one with which he had just interacted. And the most unsettling part yet: Koli's spirit told him that he had only experienced a mere fragment of the ancient power source. The geyser of magic held but a mere shard of the ancient power's capacity. No limit would be set on the dark- or light- that this source could be used for, if all shards united into one source like in the ancient days. But the longer Koli thought, the weaker he became. He could not go much farther.

But surely the nearest city couldn't lie too far away; Koli could carry the young man there and they could both hold up at an inn and recuperate. He drew another deep breath and rose to his feet, continuing his trek to a safe space. With every step, he could feel the weight of his new companion weighing him down. His vision blurred and faded away; Koli's monk intuition guided him now. A technique that he had learned as a boy, the priest drew in not only a breath, but also life from the surrounding organisms as he trekked. The priests had an understanding with the universe that they would freely share life force when in dire need; however, all that one borrowed, he would surely repay later.

The priest pleaded with the life around him; he couldn't make it by himself. He had the will; he had the driving force, although not his own, within him. He just needed the way. If only he could see. The priest lifted his head up, death nearly upon him as he slowly came to the realization that he would not reach his destination. Pure starlight came into focus amidst the black night sky, as the feeling of the ground's rhythmic pounding beneath Koli's feet reached his mind. He lowered his head to look on the horizon in defeat, and saw the gates of the city of Davenport ahead in the distance.

Farmland teeming with crops of all sizes, lie just over the fence that lined the path to his left, to his right, a rolling hill of grassland, littered by domesticated animals. Shanty shacks littered the base of the city wall just ahead, which rose about ten feet in the air. The gate barely remained in focus as the rest of the world blurred from Koli's vision.

"It's a traveler!" One of the guards on the wall said as Koli approached from about 30 yards off.

Koli slowed to a walk and continued without stopping, as he knew that if he stopped he would not be able to start again. He looked up in the direction of the voices, unable to bring them into focus.

"You there, state your business."

He used his green, soothing eyes on the men.

"He is a priest," the first voice came back in a much more relaxed tone. "He carries an unconscious boy. Open the gates."

As Koli reached the gate, a young boy took his arm and helped him to an inn, keeping him upright and preventing him from falling. There was a faint, spectral glow to this boy, yet he looked so real. Koli reached the door to the inn and looked to the boy to thank him, but he had vanished.

There was one room remaining in the inn. Koli sluggishly tossed the gold needed for a week's stay at the innkeeper. His vision went black, and even with help he barely made it to the bed. He placed the young man he saved on the bed and was unable to lay his own head down before he collapsed onto the floor.

"Jalaphar, you always push yourself too far. You know your limits." Koli spoke softly, tending to his friend's wound.

"But if I don't push myself, how will I get better?" Jalaphar answered, rubbing a lump on the back of his head.

"There is a difference between pushing yourself to injury, and pushing yourself to your limits." Koli responded, wiping the blood from Jalaphar's wounds.

The two monks recently returned from a training exercise focusing on balance with precision and speed. A large river flowed down stream past the monastery, and the monks had built a stone path across that one would jump from stone to stone to cross. Move too slow and the current would take your feet off the rocks and into the stream. Move too quickly and fall into the stream.

Jalaphar always injured himself on these missions. He wanted to push himself to get better, but always went beyond his limits. Koli crossed the river first, gracefully jumping from stone to stone on one foot at a time, until he was across. He made it look easy, and Jalaphar always wanted to appear to be as advanced as Koli. He did fairly well at the start, but very quickly got ahead of himself. His foot slipped from one stone and he fell into the river. His head hit the rock he jumped to on his way down, and the stream carried him a long distance, smacking his body against sharp stones repeatedly.

"You are lucky you did not die, Jalaphar. You must be careful."

"You always make it look so easy, Koli." Jalaphar replied with his head down low. "I will never be as great a monk as you."

Koli paused. Jalaphar never said anything like this before, and Koli could feel his body tensing in defeat. Koli lifted Jalaphar's head and looked him dead in the eyes. His eyes glowed a bright green and he calmed Jalaphar. A sense of peace filled the room, and Jalaphar took a deep breath.

"You don't need to be a monk like me, what you need to be is a monk like you. We need more monks like you."

[Gavner_Nahs]

The cool wind of Shadow’s steel arrow tousled Gavner’s hair as it whizzed past his head and buried itself deep into the skull of the pirate behind him. The sweet sound of gunfire and chaos from the cannons below deck on the pirate ship beneath his feet, and the shrieks and moans of dying men brought a smile to Gavner’s face. He bared his ebony black teeth in a twisted smile, as he smelled the blood in the air.

“Fantail squad advance amidships!” Gavner called out towards the aft of the pirate ship.

The creature of the night swiftly lunged at the pirate in front of him with supernatural speed, knocking the sword from his hand and grabbing the clothing on his hip and shoulder. Pushing the man back, the vampire swept the pirate’s right foot out from under him and sent the landlubber to the ground. As the enemy crashed backwards, Gavner slit his carotid artery with his razor sharp fingernails.

“Amidships squad move starboard, fantail push forward!” Gavner ordered.

Shifting his weight low, the creature of the night performed a 360 leg sweep, knocking 3 surrounding enemies to the ground. He pounced on one of the fallen pirates and sank his teeth into the man’s neck, tasting the salty forbidden nectar of the enemy's life. As he fed, the creature of the night sliced open his enemy's breast and plunged his hand deep into the pirate’s breast. The feeling of his fallen enemy’s beating heart against his own bare skin sent Gavner into a bloodlust. Time itself slowed down as all of his senses sharpened. Muscles contracted, pupils dilated, and a sudden surge of speed dawned on him. Gavner took a deep breath of cool, crisp air as a cascade of different savory smells dawned upon him- sulfur, steel, and carnage. The scent of nearly a hundred men’s distinctly different blood composition dawned with the sudden awareness of Gavner’s very heart, beating deep within his chest.

“Major!” Gavner called in a savage growl loud enough for both ships to hear, “Send half the platoon aft and 2 squads to port! Shadow, prepare the flaming arrows and be ready on my command!”

From the corner of his eye, Gavner saw the dark archer plain as day from the yard of the main mast’s topsail about 30 yards away as he nodded in compliance. Gavner trusted that his friend would figure out the general’s intentions soon enough.

“You better have a miracle hidden up your sleeve General, we’re taking heavy losses!” The major called over from the merchant ship.

“Aye mates,” Gavner heard softly from below, “I’ll come at the beast from head on and you three grab him from behind. I got a wooden stake in me’ belt!”

“Hold still you bastard!” Gavner heard far off from the direction of the merchant ship, “You lose your arm or you’ll lose your life! Hold him down mates. Midshipman spencer, get my tourniquet...”

“Captain!” A very faint voice reached Gavner’s ears, “They can’t stop the flooding in the forward hold, the Carpenter had to evacuate!”

“Has the gunner moved the powder magazines?” Replied none other than Captain Jack Callahan.

“They couldn’t save more than 4 kegs,” the lieutenant responded. “The Gunner ordered the firing crews to report topside for boarding.”

“No!” Gavner called to the quarterdeck of the merchant ship from the forecastle of the pirate ship, “Have them bring the powder kegs topside and place them at the base of the boards and grapplings. Order the Port Battery to take their powder stores topside as well.”

“Who was that?” Gavner heard the lieutenant say faintly.

“I think it was the General,” Callahan replied.

“How did he hear us? He’s over 50 yards away!”

“Just do as he says!”

Suddenly a pirate appeared out of nowhere and charged at Gavner from about ten yards away, making such a spectacle. He screamed at the top of his lungs with his sword raised high. Before the creature of the night engaged, he noticed a wooden stake on the man’s belt and stopped in his tracks. A twisted smile returned to his face.

“You fools,” Gavner muttered. “I can hear your breath,” he said, glancing to the pirate hiding behind the barrel to his left. “I can smell your fear…” he hissed to the man trying to creep up on him to the right. Taking a deep breath in, he turned around and leapt at the man behind him, closing the 15 foot gap in one swift motion, grabbing the man and placing him in a rear choke.

“THE SOUND OF YOUR TERRIFIED HEART POUNDING IN MY EARS MAKES ME THIRST FOR YOUR BLOOD!”

In one swift motion, Gavner spun around 360 degrees, lifting the pirate airborne and snapping his neck as the pirate soared, motionless through the air and over the edge of the ship. Gavner sincerely hoped that the man was simply paralyzed and would have to suffer a watery grave. With monstrous speed, the creature of the night savagely closed the distance between he and the charging pirate, snatched the wooden stake off of his belt and buried it deep in the man’s heart before he knew what had happened. The other two pirates ran away in terror.

Calling on a spurt of strength, Gavner leapt 30 feet in the air and landed on the yard of the mainsail, stabilizing himself with a stay. Here, he quietly observed the raging battle. He listened to the chaos of the battle that raged below. The merchant ship was visibly taking on water, and Gavner noticed the enemy captain sending a young Lieutenant below deck.

As the young lieutenant scurried down the ladderwell, Gavner noticed an increasing crowd of pirates surrounding the base of the main mast. “That’s the monster, lads!” a voice said below. “He can’t stay up there forever!” Gavner chose to ignore this and listen for the sound of the young lieutenant’s voice below.

“Gunner,” Gavner heard the lieutenant say from the gun deck underneath the weatherdeck, “Cap’n gave the go’head!”

The pirates below Gavner began to ram the mast with timber and firedthe occasional arrow, which Gavner dodged. He still focused his attention on the conversation below.

“Aye sir! Kill!” A voice responded to the young lieutenant. “Starboard Battery, fire at will you scallywags!”

“Major!” Gavner called. “All forward forces push aft and flank the amidships hostiles!”

“Aye General!” The major called. The major began giving orders to the friendly forces on the merchant ship, and the invading pirates began retreating aft until they were clustered at the base of the Quarterdeck on the Fantail.

“Major, retreat to the enemy ship!” Gavner ordered. “Starboard and aft squads advance!” He called to the merchant marines on the pirate ship. They all began a mighty push forward, shoving the pirates to the forecastle and clearing room for the onloading merchant ship sailors.

“Shadow, NOW!”

Not one second after Gavner gave the command, Black Shadow ordered a barrage of arrows raining down on the consolidated pirate forces who all clustered on the aft of the ship. Fire and fury from above rained from the heavens and down onto the pirates all at once, killing men directly and setting ablaze the deck beneath their feet. Gavner noticed the pirates below, now swaying his mast back and forth. Calling upon another great surge of strength, the vampire leapt from his mast to the merchant ship’s mast mainsail yardarm, closing a distance of over 25 yards, and stabilizing himself with the mast.

Unfortunately for him, however, he landed just as the Black Sails Armada vessel’s starboard battery unloaded cannonfire upon the merchant ship. The payload of several cannons struck a direct hit on the base of the mast and sent it toppling over like freshly cut timber. Just as it fell into the ocean, Gavner leapt off and rolled onto the deck, breaking his fall. Several of the marines aloft fell to their deaths, and some bailed and jumped overboard. Massive chunks of splintered hull and shrapnel soared through the air, making contact with merchant marines, sailors, and pirates alike. Officer or enlisted, friend or foe, object or person-none mattered. The payload ravaged all to their bloody deaths.

“Evacuate!” Gavner shouted “Captain get everybody off this ship!”

“One step ahead of you, general!” Captain Callahan called from the pirate ship. Most of the friendly forces had already evacuated. “Avast resting ye scallywags! Make ‘em taste steel!!”

"I don't know how you do it General," the Major said with a smile. "The men have never been this organized! What happened to your arm?"

Gavner looked down and noticed a deep gouge in his forearm and pearly white fat peeking through. A small pool of sticky black blood formed below Gavner’s soaked sleeve as hot, bitter smelling blood trickled down the back of his hand and stained his pale skin.

“Just a scratch,” Gavner said nonchalantly as he lifted his gaze just in time to make eye contact with the unfortunate officer as an enemy pirate engaged. An enormous mace made contact with the side of the Major's head, and he instantly crumpled to the deck in a lifeless heap.

“Major no!” Gavner shouted as he dropped to the deck to tend to his friend. Looking up, Gavner saw an enormous pirate who must have had the blood of a half-giant. Before Gavner could think, the pirate brought his mace down. His massive weapon swung in vain, however, as a shadowy figure leapt to the General’s rescue and deflected the attack. The figure kicked the pirate in the chest, sending him to the ground. Swiftly, the shadowy figure jumped on the half-giant, sank his teeth deep into the neck of the fallen enemy, and sucked him dry. The savior stood up and produced a torch from the quarterdeck, and hurled it at the powder kegs on the edge of the ship, blowing every single boarding platform to smithereens.

Vir Fortis turned to face Gavner, chin and cheeks covered in the fallen enemy’s blood, and bared his own ebony black teeth in a sick smile.

“You didn’t think I would let you have all the fun, did you General?”

[Black Shadow]

Arrow after arrow released from the strings of Black Shadow’s bow, each one taking a new target, defending a friend, and removing another meaningless life from this wretched world. Arrows lodged deep within the bodies of the dead, blood spilling across the deck. Bodies scattered over top one another, limbs and heads separated from their torsos.

Black Shadow’s senses heightened. As he searched for his next target, he noticed another group of pirates gathered around a merchant, cutting him down. With one swift motion, Black Shadow knocked an explosive arrow and fired it upon the group. As the archers in the pirate’s tops realized that Black Shadow was the head archer, they focused all their attention on taking him out. Newly fired arrows flew at him from the enemy lofts.

He reacted swiftly, grabbing one arrow out of the air, restringing it, and shooting another arrow out of the sky - a trick he learned when he was fifteen. A loud crack rang out through the horrific sounds of battle. Suddenly the mast lurched forward, nearly throwing Black Shadow off the crows nest. Several men stumbled off the fighting tops into their watery grave below, while others hung for their dear lives, frantically trying to climb back onto the crow’s nest. Cannon fire directly struck the base of the mast, and the shears and stays began to snap. Black Shadow grabbed the edge of the crows nest and hung on as it plummeted towards the ocean. His senses heightened and time seemed to slow. He waited patiently as the mast gained speed, toppling over to his potential fate. At the last moment he dove forward, stabbing an arrow into the side of the pirates ship and preventing himself from falling into the frigid ocean.

Black Shadow reached into his quiver and grabbed another arrow - only two remaining. He pulled the steel tip and proceeded to climb the ship by gouging the arrows into the hull. As he kicked his legs over the railing, a pirate swung his sword at him. Without hesitating, the dark archer quickly threw the arrow at the pirate, his inhuman strength wizzing it at super speeds, impaling the fool in the chest.

Black Shadow took a breath and felt a sharp pain in his side, as though he had been stabbed. He looked down at his side and noticed a piece of 2 inch thick wood lodged into his abdomen. Black Shadow left it, knowing it may cause more harm to remove it himself. Instead he stood, the pain worsening with movement, and took the scimitar from the deceased pirate’s lifeless hand.

Gavner... where Is he? Black Shadow thought to himself, looking for his friend. He could not see Gavner on the pirate ship. Turning back to the R.S. Eluriand, he saw Gavner with an unfamiliar figure standing by the fallen mast.

Damnit Gavner, This wasn’t the plan! Black Shadow thought. The two ships already drifted ten feet apart, and the distance grew exponentially with every passing second. Black shadow feared this would be the last time he would see his friend.

Black Shadow cultivated his fear of losing his best friend into anger at the pirates and blamed them for the loss of the only one who truly understood him. He sought revenge on the pirates responsible and longed for their sufferable deaths. Black Shadow saw three pirates attacking a single defenseless merchant. Black Shadow advanced on the group of pirates, sword in hand, and engaged with a swift cut. The pirate let out a shrill scream as his forearm hit the deck with a loud thud, followed by the clanging of his sword against the hardwood. The sight of blood up close sent the dark archer into a trance. He no longer felt the pain of wood protruding into his body, only the sweet sensation of metal digging into flesh. With another quick slash of his sword, black shadow severed the head of the second pirate, and ran his sword through the third. The two pirates fell to the ground in a lifeless heap as blood gushed onto Black Shadow from their wounds.

The first lieutenant engaged a tall muscular pirate twenty meters in front of Black Shadow. Their swords deflected each blow with bright sparks. The first lieutenant struck with the power of a grizzly bear staggering the pirate backwards. The pirate threw a handful of gunpowder from a nearby barrel into the lieutenant's face and kicked him in the groin. The First lieutenant dropped to one knee, defeated. The pirate raised his sword to deliver the final blow.

“Pyle!” A voice rang out above the noise of the battle. The pirate froze and locked eyes with Callahan. “You never played fair.”

“Ah, if it isn’t the traitor. Finally ready to face your maker?” Pyle responded.

“You’ve never beaten me, Pyle.” Callahan countered.

“You’ve never taken me on in a duel! You destroyed my ship and left me for dead!”

“I wouldn’t let you take that cargo, you knew how fucked up it was”

“They were slaves, we sell them all the time.”

“Children, Pyle, they were children!” Callahan shouted back in anger. Pirates and merchants alike gathered around the captains listening intently.

“Enough talk Callahan, you’re mine.” Pyle said, raising his sword.

“A duel then. You and me, winner takes all.” Callahan responded. “You kill me, you can kill all of us. I kill you, and your men answer to me.”

“So be it.” Pyle answered, lunging at Callahan, wasting no time.

[drake]

The fog thickened, and the grass grew stiff beneath Drake's feet once more as he and his friends continued through the astral plane. They came across a hooded shadowy figure, who hunched over, hissing and choking. Drake noticed the gray, clammy, scab-ridden skin, and long black claws protruding from it's fingers. He slowly turned his head and glared at Drake. Dark red skin with black streaks riddled the figure's face; he had glowing amber eyes and sharp yellow teeth. The demon lunged towards Drake, but stopped upon seeing Gabriel and Seraphina, who simply stared at him menacingly. He hissed savagely, turned, and fled off into the fog.

Once again, the fog lifted. A tall twisted tree, bare of leaves, towered ominously at the top of a hill directly in front of the angels. Drake and his friends ascended the hill whereupon they found the charred remains of a corpse, chained to a chair with an ancient rune inscribed on the tree behind.

When heaven's life shall end
And tear the world apart...

Drake looked around, but neither Gabriel, nor Seraphina had said anything. He stopped asking them at this point. The blocky top of the runes curved in the center and gave way to flat lines at the bottom.

"This must have been from the ancient era, Before Time..." Drake marveled. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Why do you assume that?" Gabriel asked. "It could just be something you're unfamiliar with. Or the ravings of a dying lunatic."

"No," Drake replied pensively. "I can feel it. It's almost like this is connected... deeply connected to the heart of the world. As if it affected the very life forces of existence itself."

To sate wicked's demand
And mate with power's heart...

"It feels..." Drake mumbled. "Almost, Torrential."

Drake and his friends pushed onward until the fog lifted again. Ahead of him towered a large, grandiose castle, with visible dark hazy areas high in the plane. A large wall bordered the outskirts, and the inner structure stood about 14 stories high. The main tower, a direct addition of the main structure, rose 3 times as high as the main structure, and four towers, one on each side of the main hall, loomed about- the tallest one only 3 quarters the size of the main tower. The castle's rough, gray stone stuck out amongst the black clouds of energy that loomed about the lofts. Black energy nebulae floated around in the plane in front of him, and patches of fire littered the brown, dead grass. Drake felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he grew frightened.

"So we have to go in there?" Drake asked Seraphina sheepishly, with his eyebrows raised.

"Is that where your spirit is pulling you?" She replied.

"Yes," Drake responded.

"Well, we can't enter through the front gate," Gabriel said, "That's a Dark Host's Castle."

"Great," Drake said in horror. "Any ideas on how to get in?"

"Well," Gabriel replied, "If your spirit brought you here, it has to know a way in. Close your eyes and think of an entrance."

Drake closed his eyes and thought of the castle; at first he saw nothing, but after a few moments, the image of a wooden door in a stone wall came into view. "I see a door, with symbols on it."

When heaven's life shall end...

"Concentrate," Gabriel said. "What do they look like?"

"They look like... Some sort of language. Scratches... Beautifully inscribed scratches in the door. So elegant, and they stand out at you. They're so distinct."

"Think of that door and imagine yourself standing directly in front of it." Gabriel said. "Imagine your astral body flying through the plane, and arriving at the spot in your mind."

Drake concentrated. His brow furrowed, and he imagined himself so vividly in front of the door, yet nothing happened. "I can't do it," Drake said, opening his eyes and turning to Gabriel. Drake was taken aback, however, to find the three angels standing on a stone floor in front of the same wooden door that he had envisioned. He looked behind and noticed a very long drop off. The angels were on a stone platform close to the top of the main tower of the castle. Dark energy floated by, and the fog obscured the landscape out beyond the castle walls.

And tear the world apart...

Gabriel placed his hand on Drake's shoulder. "Good job," he said somberly, "We still must keep our guard up."

"How do we open the door?" Drake asked, "It has no handles. Is there a secret locking mechanism or something around here?"

"You never learned to open doors?" Seraphina asked.

"Of course I know how to open a door," Drake said defensively.

"You can open doors with angelic runes on them," Gabriel said pointing to the door. "Didn't you recognize them?" Drake looked at the door.

To sate wicked's demand...

The scratches looked very familiar, yet alien to him at the same time. "Don't you remember what that says?" Seraphina asked.

Drake looked at them, and focused. "What does that say?" He muttered to himself. "It looks so familiar, but I just can't seem to remember..."

An image of the stone tower, and blazing fireballs raining down from the sky flashed through his mind for a split second, and then he snapped back to the door. "Oh, yeah," Drake mumbled. "I don't know what came over me, I just... forgot how to read for a second." He read the words inscribed in the angelic tongue, and looked at his friends. "Now what?"

"You have to reach out to the door and receive the door's permission to enter." Seraphina responded. "Then it will open for you."

"Okay, here it goes," Drake replied.

He closed his eyes and reached out to the door with his mind. Once his mind met the door, he felt a magical seal on it- an exquisite ancient form of magic that the world had long since forgotten. A beautiful form of forbidden magic, which he yearned to be in the presence of. He spoke the inscription of the door's seal in the angelic tongues, and the door responded to his mind. Great fatigue plagued the door; centuries had passed since anything had interacted with it. It wanted to open for him, but it simply did not have the energy.

Drawing deep from his spirit, Drake opened a well of energy from his direct angelic tether to heaven, and fed the door energy from the divine kingdom. He also augmented this energy with his own astral energy, fed from the vibrations of the surrounding plane. The magical seal drank in the energy gratefully, and Drake opened his eyes to see the door swinging inward into the depths of the tower.

And mate with power's heart...