Immortal Meetings

I had called them all to meet me in a room perched in the immortal realms. The large circular room was carved from the peak of a mountain, the smooth rock of the floor and ceiling inset with intricate patterns of different colored metals creating magnificent designs. The ceiling's motif was that of a sun radiating light throughout the realms which lay beneath it. No pillars held up the ceiling and its magnificent design, rather, it was held in place by magiks woven strong against the weight of the stone.

I waited silently, patiently, as the rays of dawn began to lighten the open-air room. The large circular table that sat in the middle of the hall was laid out with quite the spread of food. I had made sure everyone would get what they liked before I went into my story. After all, this was an occasion to celebrate. I tried to get the details of the encounter and the last couple of days straight in my head. Everything seemed perfect, every last detail accounted for and things were moving on their course for that Mentor. They would want and need to know all the details of what had occurred so that they could assess for themselves what was to come for the vampire.

As I waited, I lifted my hand to the bandage on my neck, feeling a slight pain as I touched the wounds. I had tended to the bite in my neck quickly after my meeting with Xodus. A simple matter that I decided to deal with as I would have in my mortal days, breaking out my bandaging equipment, cleaning the wound, and wrapping it up to stop the bleeding. I could have cured the wound easily enough with the immortal powers I wielded so easily now, but it was fun to return to the roots of my ranger ways now and again.

Sitting there thinking things through, I felt the tell-tale tingling around me that announced someone approaching through the ether. A bright light broke into the room, and slowly formed into Ganat.

"Greetings ranger of light," I said rising to meet my old friend. A broad smile began to crease my face as the excitement of telling all of them my tale began to hit me.

"So, what brings me here Barset? What is so important that you call me way up here?" Ganat grinned as he looked about the room..

"All in due time my friend. Let us wait for the others, I do not want to go through this story five times today!"

We fell into an exchange of pleasantries and talked about old times, but my mind was far away, still drifting over the events which had been and were occurring. The excitement of the possibilities seemed truly overwhelming. We did not talk for long before the tingling began again, only this time, many were making their way to our location.

Sandoz was the next to enter the meeting hall, colorful swirls of light raining in from above, then forming into the immortal. Quickly afterwards tendrils and wisps of shadows came together from all corners of the room forming into Ksilyan. I couldn't help but allow the smile to grow across my face as their excited eyes fell upon me. Before they could start their inquisition, a star cut through the heavens, glittering and glimmering as it rushed into the open room, Tatianna riding upon its tails. The goddess smoothly descended from its wake, as the star raced off again towards the sky.

The Star Goddess's gaze traveled about the room quickly, then her smile met Ganat, Sandoz, and Ksilyan's in turn. Her eyes then moved towards me, and the smile changed to a stern look, seeming to peer into and through me. My mind reeled. What could I have done? What did I do to Zendel this time?

Before completing my thoughts on the Goddess's look, all of our attentions were diverted to a spark of light that formed and pulsated at one of the chairs around the table. The light grew with each pulsation, gaining brightness and power. It became so bright the light blinded me and I had to hold a hand up to shade my eyes from the intensity of the glare. I looked around at the others who only smiled at the growing presence. The increasing radiance stopped pulsing and formed into Tarin, sitting coolly composed at one of the chairs. His form still emitting a great internal light, but its power had diminished from his entrance, and I was able to lower my hand.

The great god of light smiled warmly, his presence filling the room, enveloping all in an embrace of light. He looked about approvingly at those gathered, then nodded to all the immortals of light, "Greetings all."

"Excellent! Thank you all for coming here on such short notice, as this news is of great import. But truly, we should all be well fed before getting such news!" I chuckled as I rubbed my belly for emphasis, "I believe I have here all your favorites."

Tarin looked from me, to the food, then back to me, "No Barset, you called us here with such urgency, you must go on. You must tell us your news; the food can wait. You surely have some great reason to bring us here. Please proceed good ranger."

Put off by his request, after all this was my occasion, it was me that had gotten Xodus to bite me, and I had put together the food, their favorites even, and they couldn't wait for a full belly to begin? As I began to recount the night and days' happenings to the gathering, starting from Seria's prayers, I quickly forgot my anger with Tarin and became wrapped up with my story. I covered every angle, every possibility, and told them all the intricacies of Seria and Xodus's plan to bring the vampire back, and my plan once I had learned what they were about. It took many hours to get every detail correct, and when I finished, the sun was riding low in the sky, an orange flare setting in the west as it began its descent behind the mountains.

Looking around the room to see the reactions from my tale, the first I caught was Ganat smiling broadly, "So, he will become good then and he has already shown mercy!" Ganat chuckled. "Yes, I knew he would make a mistake one day. I will soon send him a message to assure things go well."

"Indeed this is a grand occasion, perhaps the greatest news in quite a while!" Sandoz said as he clapped me on the back. "Maybe this will turn the tides as the final blow to the darkness."

"An excellently laid out plan Barset, but you know, I saw it all in the threads long ago," Ksilyan grinned at me.

I then looked to Tarin who was peering intently at me, doubt creasing his forehead, "Barset, could you please go over the bite once again? I would like to here some more about it."

Perplexed by the question, as I had gone over that particular area many times, the only response that came to mind was, "What else can I say? I got the dark lord's son to start becoming good."

Looking to Tatianna for some confirmation, some hope that she would see the good of what was happening and what I did, I met a stare that bored through me like hot water through ice, "Indeed, many things will change from this Barset...many things," was her only response to my inquiring look.

Tatianna and Tarin exchanged a brief glance then politely excused themselves. As Tarin faded in a flash of light, and Tatianna's star came and whisked her away, I couldn't help but feel oddly angry at their reactions. I expected excitement and enthusiasm. After all, Xodus was becoming good, what larger blow could come to the darkness? Muttering to myself and wondering what was with those two, I looked back to the three remaining immortals.

"So, there is all this food, and we surely don't want it to go to waste," Ganat says as he looks eagerly to the large table overflowing with food.

We ate and joked, excited about the fall of the darkness. We talked late into the night, the four of us young immortals. Good food, good wine, good friends, and falling darkness, what more could one want?

After quite a while with the three, I finally had to call it a night. I made my way back to my forest sanctuary, the tall pines greeting me and calling for me to rest. The time since the bite had been restless for me and the events continued to swirl in my mind. Ganat, Sandoz, and Ksilyan, they saw what was happening. They saw my plan and how it had worked to perfection. What was wrong with Tatianna and Tarin? I couldn't understand it.

I had to forget about it. My plan would work. I already saw its beginnings. Xodus showed mercy. Everything would be great, and the darkness would surely fall. I just needed some rest. A long couple of days it had been, and even immortals needed their rest.

The pain in my neck reminded me of the night when I was bit. Looking up I saw the moon high overhead, again calling out to the all who looked up that midnight had descended upon the realms. I touched the bandage, wondering why the wound still ached. Even with just my rudimentary ranger ways, my immortal body should have healed by now.

Removing the bandage, puss oozed from the open wounds, I felt the wet and sticky discharge from the wound on my hand. Wondering about the bites, I created a mirror from the ether. Peering into the glassy surface of the newly created mirror, the darkened wounds stood out strong upon my neck. Two stark holes open to the world, cutting through my weathered skin. What kind of wound was this? My bandaging surely should have taken care of the bite. It was of no matter. Xodus was turning to the light; my blood would change him.

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