Lord of Chaos

Ganat Venstar stood discussing matters of religious importance with the resident priest of the temple. The religion had come on hard times of late, as the followers of the temples namesake had been slowly decreasing. The great ranger assured the priest that while Dawnbringers still stood, so to would the Temple.

"I'm not so sure, Ganat. I've had disturbing dreams of late. Fire raining from the heavens, young ones dying in the streets and worse...a deep maniacal laughter." said the priest.

It concerned the ranger to see one who had had helped he and so many others grow to the powerful leaders that they were today. He patted the old man on his arm.

"Father, do not worry. Times could not be better. Seluctruh has been quiet recently. Siuanne is no where to be seen and better yet our friend Sandoz no longer protects truth through mortal means."

The old priest had to nod in agreement to that statement. Yet, his head still creased into a frown and his voice dropped to a whisper.

"It's not evil. It's madness that I worry about. I think, that even I have been touched by it. Yesterday, I swore I saw his high holiness, the Great god, before me. He told me that someone had stolen his hammer. Someone stole the Hammer of the World Forger. Someone was going to use the lords hammer to create chaos. I couldn't believe my eyes...and the next thing I knew, he was gone."

Ganat consoled his old friend quickly and pledged that he would be extra vigilant this day. With that he was off, into the forest, to get a feel for what nature sensed.

A figure floated quickly and quietly over the tall grass. Cloaked in a spell on invisibility, no one would be able to see what it was that someone of his stature was doing out here. He stopped occasionally to examine the ground as if he had lost something very important.

A plains panther also moved through the tall grass and with its sharpened sense of smell it did think it had found someone or something in its territory. It growled at it sniffed around what it could not see. This was unfortunately a grave mistake.

The figure could not have anyone know what he was looking for, and he knew well that even animals could reveal information if asked by a powerful ranger or druid. He knew this because he was the most powerful magic user in the land, and one did not become this way by being careless.

Long into the morning he continued to search the grasses, and the living beings of the plains grew quite a bit smaller. Finally his efforts were rewarded.

"I realize this is extremely short notice, General, but I need your guild to help me defend this city. My soothsayers seem to all have seen the same thing. Chaos and Disorder. I need to protect my people and this palace. And I will pay good money for it. But I need you and all your people today!" He was clearly desperate.

Rezyn Omen looked deeply into the King's eyes. He knew that the king was a coward that loved to hide behind his elite guard and high walls. Kettin had not helped the Katrin people in their wars with the Minotaur. That however, should not matter to a mercenary he reminded himself. And the fabled coffers of Kettin would supply his troops with much needed equipment and even more needed gold.

"I will consult with my assistant. It wont be but a moment." said Rezyn. He looked over at his number two, Stych, and the both took a few steps back and spoke in the secret language of their guild.

"Its quite an offer, don't you think?" asked the general. He was curious to see what his captain had learned about the situation in Kettin for he had recruited him as much for his prowess in battle as his ability to get information.

"Yeah. Here's the problem. Last night I stumbled across a young warrior from the tribes of the plains. As is their custom he went to the most accurate fortune teller in the realm to see what today would bring as today was his hunt to pass into manhood. He was very distraught because Madame Sylvia had seen the future and had screamed in pain. She told him today would be chaos. I didn't think anything of it until the King started going on about his soothsayers."

Wise leaders usually take into consideration everything their advisors say before acting. But, perhaps even more than that, they follow gut instinct. Rezyn's sleep had been troubled of late by dreams of his youth in the land...killing as the one man army..killing with an old friend...but more than anything he dreamed of chaos and disorder. His gut told him something was deeply wrong. He nodded at Stych and walked towards the King.

"King, I think the guild of fighters will pass on your offer." he said casually and began to walk out, stych following behind.

Not bothering to even turn around, the general responded, "Think of it as pay back for all Kettin did for the Katrin people."

The King motioned for his guards to arrest the two mercenaries, but the guards valued their lives more than they valued their king.

Halvos stirred from his daytime sleep. The mental call of the Arch-mage Saperio had his full attention. The time was close at hand...He had work to do.

The elder druidess, Eftienne, sat in the library of Guardian Tower deeply engrossed in one of the oldest druidic writings: "Kzal Gudaby Fy Ryllnyi "(or in common "The Prophecy of Villani"). She poured through the book trying desperately to find the passage that she had heard in her dreams.

The library in which she sat was perhaps the greatest collection of knowledge since the one built by the followers of Jodan had fallen in the great reforming of the world. On a ghostly trip to the nether world, the cleric Galdren had found scrolls, parchment, and this book. Lost knowledge from a long time past. While it was a harrowing experience, the cleric still found it ironic that the followers of the dark had sent him to a place where he could retrieve items of such value.

This book had been poured over by many members of the clan in hopes to gain insight into balance and the state of the land. However, it always seemed that the druids were the ones that grasped the concepts best. Eftienne and her immortal husband, Jieni, had spent hours reciting passages from the great book. Whenever she thought of the book she would smile..that was until the dream of the previous night.

"In the second phase of the new beginning, the darkness will burrow a hole deep within the heart of balance. There it will fester and grow. It will pervert meaning and drive logic to insanity. The three will release the one. The one will consume his jailor and become him. He will gather an axis of seven and they will rain fire from the sky and be the scourge of the land."

In her dream a child had read that to her. The child was covered in burns and tears of blood ran down her cheeks. As Eftienne read the passage again, she realized that she was the child.

Safe from the rays of sunlight beneath the waters of lake Tilbar, the Leader of Clan Vampire stepped out from the mist and in front of the Executioner. His fang filled smile taking the normally giddy madman by surprise.

"W-h-a-t dooo you hehehehehe want with m-e..Vampire..hehehe..Can" his words were cut off as Xodus slapped him hard across the face.

The Vampire mentally called out "I am about to get the essence. Saperio has the Shard. Its up to you to finish this, Halvos"

"M-y..mi hehehehe mind? Hehehe, but I've lost mine, hehehe" was the crazed reply

In a geyser of blood, the vampire parted the mans head from his body and the corpse crumpled to the floor in a twitching heap. As the last of the life force was leaving, Xodus pulled a flask from his belt pouch and cast a spell of entrapment. Suddenly the bottle was filled with shimmering liquid.

Zaradali Blackrose lay balled up on the floor in agony. He had only felt pain like this once before, and that was when he was trapped in his magical prison with Golan Loman. This pain, however, was maddening and continued to grow.

He screamed and lashed out with all his power at whatever it was that was closing in on him, but to no avail. He realized at this point he would do ANYTHING to make it stop.

Ganat noticed an unnatural silence as he stepped onto the plains. The animals were hiding from him it seemed. It was a very disturbing thing for a ranger as renowned as he for this to occur. So he started to track the prints he did find only to watch them disappear out of nowhere.

Then movement caught the corner of of his eye. He pulled out his trusty blade and whirled to face it. It was then he realized that it was a small and frightened gazelle that had recognized him for a friend. As quick as he had pulled the weapon, he slid it back into its scabbard and showed the small creature he meant it no harm.

The young gazelle was obviously in shock, but after only a few moments with it, Ganat realized it had witnessed something horrific. While his power with animals was formidable he still could not determine exactly what had caused the trauma. He was determined to find out though, and so he resolved to seek a druid to interpret the gazelles thoughts. The closest druid of any power was residing on Guardian Island, and so with the Gazelle in tow he went to see Eftienne.

"Truly. If my body must rot in this cell then my spirit must find another to inhabit."

"Do you think the three will succeed? I once lead them to glory, but they were not present for my defeat."

"You've not doubted my power before, thief. Don't start now. When I am free in spirit I may still be able to bring some form of whatever you are now back as well. I'm sure the god of balance is feeling my pressure as we speak. We will succeed."

Whether it was a smile or a frown, was impossible to tell. But something changed with the thieves horribly disfigured face.

"A pleasure doing business with you." He said and then moved back to Stych and Jonesy, who were also enjoying a glass of Redeye's best ale.

"Nothing really. A future commitment. The present situation is, however, very pressing and future deals wont mean a thing without it being resolved. We need to gather the entire guild."

Stych nodded, knowing that his leader had information that he did not need to know. Jonesy, was a old vet though, and was less apt to simply accept orders of this size.

"The entire guild? Are we going to go back to the King of Kettin, or do you think the Guild is in danger?" he asked.

" Neither. I just know in my gut that we are going to war. Not sure who for, but the battle hymn is starting to be carried on the wind and we best be prepared."

In the swirling mist that separated the realm of the mortal from the immortal, Halvos stood calling to the gods. This was the crucial part of the mission. He could not falter here if he and his companions were to be successful and thus be rewarded accordingly.

"Immortals!, hear my call and answer me. I come with an urgent matter. One too great to simply bring to Avatars. I have a way to cure the Blackrose' pain."

Seluctruh heard the call, but had little time for mortals. Sandoz heard it as well, but his separation from the mortal realm had been so short he had not yet given up his hate for all shadow clan members. So it was that Halvos cry came to the star goddess.

As the goddess Tatianna appeared in a swirl of sparkling shimmering stardust, Halvos fought hard against the grin forming on his face. He knew well that the goddess was able to see into the hearts of men and quickly determine the truth, or lack thereof, in their words. Halvos had the truth on his side. It was an evil truth, make no mistake, but truth it was.

"Halvos, Leader of the Shadow Clan, a thorn in my side for years. What possible cure can you have for the god of balance that he cannot do for himself?" she asked with the the divine authority she was so well known for. Her voice hid well the concern she had though. She herself had not been able to so much as get close to Zaradali -- the light of her presence somehow brought even more pain to him.

"It is well known that while the god of balance has never chosen sides, he did keep association with the Raven goddess Siuanne. I am the leader of Shadows, her clan, and I have a message from a follower of hers in the nether world that will end his pain." He said.

Tatianna could see that he plainly spoke the truth. She knew there must be more to this creature of evils words, but the crippling pain she saw in Zaradali's eyes as he pleaded for her to leave him left her no choice. She would have consorted with her mortal husband and her Tiger's but this was no time for hesitation.

"I sense there is more to this than you say, Halvos. I will take you to see Zaradali and you can give him your message" Halvos started to smile, almost unable to contain his happiness until Tatianna added "but if I see ANYTHING I don't feel comfortable with you will regret this day for the rest of your short life. Are we clear?"

"But of course, star goddess. You know I could never lie to you" Halvos replied.

The hallowed halls of the main tower reverberated with chanting as Eftienne started the ritual. Spirits of Guardians long past swirled around her as she divined the memory of the frightened gazelle.

In her mind she was one with the frail creature as it had watched an invisible force move through the plains slaughtering every form of life it came across. Calling on the powers of nature and tracing the vision over and over, Eftienne was able to to slowly make out the figure in the centre of this huge assault. She also noticed that at the end of the onslaught, a shard was pulled from the ground. Quickly she snapped back to reality.

"Ganat!" she exclaimed, "I have found the responsible party. The vile one, Saperio Alkanor is responsible for this assault on nature."

"Strange" was the big ranger's reply, "he is not the kind to dirty his hands killing "meaningless" creatures such as those of the plains"

"He seemed to have other motives, as usual. He grabbed a shard at the end of it and then left the plains as fast as he had come."

The puzzle deepened for the ranger as many things were starting to go strangely awry. First the temple priests dreams, then on his way to the Island he had heard a disturbing tale from one of his members:

As was the case with many days, Ganat had his agents constantly surveying the power structures of evil in order to always stay one step ahead. Koell Lerdanis reported to him that on his routine scrying on the Temple of Water he saw that the mad and evil executioner had been slaughtered and left headless. Furthermore, a trace of evil still hung in the air where the body lay. A trace that is only left by powerful undead. Which meant it was the work of either Xodus Mentor, Ifrit Andros or the Leader of the Shadow Clan. Koell had guessed the first based on the brutal nature of the act.

Normally Ganat would have celebrated the death of one such as the Executioner, but this was not a day to take chances. He decided he should share this information with Eftienne. She listened patiently and reflected. Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she ran to library.

When Ganat caught up to her, she was locked in a trance like state with the great book. Only mumbled words came from her mouth,

"Shard....The Three..Xodus, Saperio and who...A madman dead..dear gods..a spell of possession..balance.."

Her head snapped up from the book as if all the pieces had been dropped together and now made sense. Quickly she told Ganat what she had discovered.

"If what you say is true, we need to get a force north of Eria at once. Gather those of your clan that you can and I will call mine. War is coming."

Eftienne agreed, but her face revealed her doubts, "Many of both mine and your clan are off on business throughout the realm. If we are right, we maybe facing the full might of both Shadows and Vampires. I dont think we will have enough." she said.

"This is true. We need a force not so scattered and we need it quickly. Our small force will not be enough."

He quickly pulled a piece of parchment from his pouch and gave a loud whistle. As he finished the note a great hawk landed on his shoulder. He tied the note to the hawk's leg and spoke one word, "Zendel"

Barset and his contingent rode hard and fast to meet with Galdren's small force which was coming in from an excursion into Ki. He had often wanted to go into battle with the wizened and battle hardy cleric that had once redefined the word crusade when he went after the Shadow clan. While he didn't have all the details, he had faith that whatever the forces of evil had brewing the combined force of Guardians and Dawnbringers could thwart it.

When he arrived in the Orcish village. His optimism was rewarded. Galdren sat tall in the saddle and nodded at him. He exuded power and sanctity, and immediately took control.

"Greetings. We have little time, so I am going to cut the pleasentries. We are to meet Ganat and Eftienne within Eria. We have it on good authority that there is a massing of evil forces north of that city. If it comes to battle, and you all better be praying that it doesn't, stay close to me. I will do what I can to keep as many alive as is possible. I am not sure what foul business is about, but I have fought these ones before and if you do not keep you wits about you and your mace handy your time can be short."

"We draw closer to midnight, when the undead have their greatest power. We dare not waste another moment. Ride brothers! Ride well!"

Out from the shadows and in swirls of mist they arrived. The creatures of the night, both undead and black hearted formed. They all waited. They organized in ranks. Saperio and Demron stood before the murderous Shadows while Xodus and Arcum sharpened the supernatural edge of Clan Vampire. Their numbers easily doubling those heading to Eria.

Tatianna and Halvos appeared in a stone hallway to find Zaradali sitting in a high back chair, his head hung low in pain. He slowly lifted his pounding head to see his visitors. The light of Tatianna's presence inflamed his headache a hundred fold and forced to him to hiss and look down immediately. His mind, however, still noted the vampire that stood with her. He said not a word though, as fighting his pain took every ounce of his strength.

"Zaradali, I would not have returned save this mortal claims to have a way to end your pain. I will stay here and watch as he delivers his message." Said the star goddess, and she gave Halvos a stern glance and motioned him forward.

"N-o. You..must..leave..I c-c-annot take t-h-e light..I may be weakened..but..I have more..than enough power..and rage..to deal with..this one..should he prove false." the god of balance said almost falling from his chair.

Tatianna sighed. She could sense, however, that nothing had diminished in terms of Zaradali's power, just his focus. She took another long and meaningful glance at Halvos,

The master and the thief sat waiting. The fact that the master was able to hurt someone outside the shard was impressive to the thief.

"We are close, my thief. I'll be free soon and will punish this realm for my captivity. They will all pay."

The thief thought about the rain of acid from Zaradali's hands that had disfigured him so badly. He thought how if not for his master it would have been the end of his existence. He lived for revenge with this cell.

The great hawk flew in low and gave shrill cry that notified other creatures she had arrived in the area, but more importantly alerted those who knew what to listen for that a messenger had arrived.

Riding next to his Order's leader Sarvulis, the ranger Zendel raised a gloved hand and the hawk landed, eying its handler respectfully.

"What do you have for me this late at night, friend?" He asked the bird as he removed the scroll attached to its leg. He read the scroll quickly and gravely called for a halt to the tiger's ride.

"This is something you have to read, Sarv." he said and flipped the scroll towards his leader.

The huge Katrin warrior snagged the scroll out of the air with the grace that his race was known for and in his deepened voice began to read:

Zendel,
I am sure you have noticed the stench of evil which has come to the land these past few days. I have found the source. The clan members of both Vampires and Shadows have locked into a unholy union for the purpose of freeing Golan Loman from his prison within the shard of Darkstone.
Eftienne has found it in a book of prophecy that the only way he can return is to take possession of an immortal soul. There is an arcane and horrific ritual that will complete this process, and I now believe that Xodus and Saperio are in possession of the two components needed to do this. I do not know who they plan to use as the host, but it could be your wife. Even if not, should Loman return with the powers of an immortal he would surely be a threat to her.
According to the prophecy, the ritual is to take place at midnight on the ruins of what used to be an evil temple to the moon. I need your help. I need White Tigers help. Galdren and I will be leading a small force against this evil, but we are doomed without you.
Yours,
Ganat

Sarvulis surveyed the looks on the faces of his Tiger's. He did not need to ask or even to voice an order. He simply turned his mount towards the ruins of the temple and took off at a Gallop.

The forces of the dark worked quickly to prepare for the ritual, doing exactly as they were directed by Saperio. A large hexagonal summoning rune was to be made. First the outline was to be traced out by innocent blood on the ground, and then burning logs were to be placed upon the outline.

Arcum and Ifrit had taken care of snagging innocence from the city of Eria. The two citizen's struggled against their bondage as the princess of vampires, Seria, slowly drained blood from their throats and spat it into large ornate vessels. Vortin poured the outline.

The numerous members of the Shadow clan ravaged the surrounding forest, tearing down trees and starting a massive fire from which to light the lumber.

The hexagon was in place when Xodus' supernatural eyesite caught movement just south of their position.

Instantly the two clans came alert. Weapons ripped forth from their sheaths and the vampires imbued their allies with their own strength. The evil cleric Tavyonlyl traced the black light of evil sanctuary quickly amongst the troops.

Saperio, Seria, and Xodus stayed by the place of the ritual, while the rest of the force moved to intercept the invaders.

As Ganat and his small brigade came through the clearing, he instantly realized that they had been spotted. He put up a gloved hand to call for a halt and quickly pulled his blade. From the all around them he heard footstep and quiet snickering. He also saw no sign of the White Tigers. Perhaps today would be his day to enter the afterlife.

Across the clearing, he saw the two glowing eyes of Ifrit Andros staring with contempt back at him. A grin on his face, it seemed the big Vampire was eagerly anticipating a feast of sorts.

"Where would be the ritual point" He whispered quickly to her. Then he yelled back, "Foul creatures of the night. I have come with the eternal flame of dawn to drown your evil plots. I give you this one chance to stand down, or you will all die this night!"

As if to emphasis this, Galdren moved to the Rangers side and held high his dragon mace.

All they received in response was laughter. Ifrit's body rocked with it. Next to him stood Arcum, Demron, and Zeruel. They too laughed. It seemed that everywhere and around them, all they could hear was laughter, echoing through the ruins. The clan of balance and light finally understood how badly outnumbered they really were.

Arcum made a gesture to the surrounding forces and bellowed, "Let the ground run red like a river of blood. Kill them all!" He screamed.

From out of nowhere it seemed like shadows and vampires came. They circled the small band and forced them into an ever tighter bunch. Ganat whispered a prayer and then dismounted, holding Dawnbringer like a holy ward in front of himself. The sounds of steel on steel grew louder as the Shadows and Vampire closed in for the kill.

Then a shrill cry was heard echoing from behind were Arcum stood. The cry of a hawk.

There on the ridge, with their tiger pelts wrapped tightly around them, was the united might of the Order of the White Tiger. At the forefront stood Sarvulis, his body outlined by the protective glow of the legendary Eye of the Dragon Amulet. The battle pendulum swung to the other side.

"So. What is it? What do you know that can st-st-op this pain?" he demanded through clenched teeth. His eyes were partially glazed over and it was clear that his focus was not fully on any one thing.

Seeing this, Halvos spoke slowly, "You were once imprisoned with a shard of the Darkstone with Golan Loman. The shard has resurfaced, and from within he is causing your pain. I know where the shard is, and you can destroy it and him."

Zaradali knew that the shadow leader would not offer this information without some kind of compensation, and in his current state it would be to great of an effort to force it from him.

Halvos and Saperio had discussed the lie he was to tell in depth. They just needed Zaradali to trust him enough to goto the ritual point.

"Very little for someone of your power, my lord. I just wish for a treasure, a suit of trillian armor as they wore in ages past. If you promise me this, I will tell you the location." Halvos lied.

Zaradali tried to focus on balance. Tried to focus on why some of the power relics of old were now gone..tried to gauge if the blood lord was being truthful..but the pain was too much.

Halvos nodded and then told Zaradali about the ruins of the temple of the moon. They instantly winked out of existence.

Zaradali and Halvos suddenly appeared in a flash before the three standing at the ritual point. Saperio knew his role and immediately cast the spell of binding on the immortal. Zaradali would have normally shaken free of this spell like snake through a spider web, but it required a quick focus of concentration, and concentration was something that was impossible in his current state.

A small smile creased the face of Seria and she looked proudly at her husband. Xodus, however, was all business. He and Halvos moved quickly and grabbed the now spellbound immortal. They lifted him over the burning logs which formed the octagon ritual point, and placed him in the centre.

"Excellent" said Saperio as he reached within the pockets of his robes. He pulled free the Shard of Darkstone in which Golan Loman was trapped.

"Now force the liquid down his throat. His mind will need to be completely occupied if the master is to enter."

Halvos roughly grabbed the immortals face and forced his mouth open. Xodus pulled the vial of the mad-man's essence from his pouch and poured it in. To Zaradali's credit, even in the spell of binding he fought to keep from swallowing the liquid, but Halvos ended that with a precise chop to the esophagus.

Saperio had to laugh at the ease of it. Halvos bared his teeth and said, "Let us gather the others. We have a few minutes before the night has met its mid point. We can bathe in the blood of the Dawnbringers and Guardians before we start."

"Oh" called out an unfamiliar voice "I don't think there will be any bathing for this evening, Halvos."

The blood lord spun around to see his and clan vampire marching towards them with swords at their backs. Twaine stood at the forefront, and it was his voice that had called out.

Halvos cursed and quickly scanned his clan members focusing on the gypsy, Amonya. He had told that one to make sure the White Tigers were distracted. If Halvos got out of this one alive he would see the gypsy dead, that was for sure.

As it was, he had no choice. He and Xodus stepped back over the logs towards Zaradali. He watched bitterly as Ganat, Sarvulis and Galdren shared a smile of relief.

The goddess sat high above watching proudly as her clan and the forces of Dawnbringers and Guardians handled the agents of evil. Thankfully they had averted this near tragedy. She prepared to descend upon them to take Zaradali back to his hall.

Suddenly, with a cloud of smoke, The Lord of Darkness himself appeared. His power was awe inspiring and the evil within him made the star goddess cringe. A second later, a flash brought forth the evil goddess Siuanne. Seluctruh laughed and then looked down at the cornered Tatianna and said,

"You are not going anywhere, my dear. This event is yet to play itself out. Here you will stay till tomorrow's sun does rise."

The two forces of evil both concentrated their power and Tatianna was bound in a spell not unlike the one that the god of balance found himself in. This spell, however, was fashioned by two powerful immortals. There would be no movement, no communication, and no escape.

Ganat was still ancy about the situation, however it did seem that it was finally under control. The forces were now taking position behind the Shadow-Vampire alliance and now they just had to free the Blackrose.

So far though, Halvos and Xodus had not made a move to actually rouse the fallen immortal.

"Alright Halvos, I think you can give up now. Release Zaradali from whatever hold you have on him. Do it now. I grow weary of your stalling." yelled the Ranger.

The two still stood there, looking over at the mage Saperio. This frustrated Ganat. He looked over to Zendel to see what his fellow ranger thought. Zendel nodded as if he understood. He leaped off his stead and grabbed Seria by the throat.

"You push us too much and see what happens. I see what you are doing as a threat towards my wife. As such, I am fully willing and capable of killing to stop it. Xodus, you will release the Blackrose or I wi.."

"You'll do nothing, to be precise" was the snickering reply which came from behind Sarvulis. The Leader of White Tigers tried to spin to see who held him, but the cold bite of steel on his throat prevented that rather quickly. Suddenly Ganat felt steel on his throat as well and heard Galdren choke out a quick cry indicating the same had happened to him.

"Indeed they wont, Jonesy" said another voice. From behind some of the ruins stepped a figure donning a shinning breatplate that reflected in the moonlight.

Rezyn Omen smiled as he strolled in, "Sorry about the delay. It took us a while to find the gold you had buried, Amonya."

Rezyn looked at the mass of troops from both side that were standing before him, "Lets make this simple. If your leader has a silver looking neck tie, you'd do well to drop your weapons and kiss the dirt. If you don't: I let Jonesy and his boys have some fun."

He made a sarcastic bow towards Xodus, Halvos and Saperio then said, "I believe you gentlemen were in the middle of something. Don't let me interrupt. You pay the coin, we do the job."

The three did not waste time reveling in their victory. They made the final preparations.

"Almost. I am so close. Soon I will return in all my glory." Said Loman through clenched teeth. His attention and abilities were firmly focused on escape. His eyes were closed.

So intent was he that he didn't notice that the thief had scrapped away a long sliver from the shards interior wall, and was sharpening it to a point on the floor.

"Yes master. Soon they will be ready to pull a live life force from the shard." said the thief.

Loman was absorbed in his task, but he did manage a mocking reply, "I hope you enjoy it here. It may be a very lone while before I can free you as well, Drakan"

The Guild of Fighters quickly went through their standard routine. Trained specifically for this situation they quickly bound and gagged the spellcaster's while disarming the other warriors. All the while Jonesy and his selected assassins kept blades at the throats of the clan leaders, forcing compliance.

Rezyn surveyed the scene quickly and then his vision shifted to the large number of vampires and shadows that were all too willing to dispatch those he had captured. He beckoned Arcum to him, "The agreement I had was that I was to capture those who would interfere with your plans, but I will not be party to slaughter. Are we clear." he said it as a statement of fact, not question.

The big vampire nodded in dismay, and spread the word that there would be no feast this night. He approached the ritual point to speak with Xodus on this but as he grew closer he realized that the magic being wielded in that area was not something he should not interfere with.

Saperio floated high above the circle. The rush of magic that surged through him was not unlike when the dark lord has instilled magic within him. It flowed through his veins, poured through his eyes, and filled his mind. He was now magically linked with Loman within the shard and the power was intoxicating.

His voice had changed. It was deeper and hollow with evil. He looked down upon the unconscious immortal and his two brothers in darkness, "Do it now!" he bellowed.

Xodus spread Zaradali's arm out wide and with two large knives staked him by the forearms to the ground. Halvos pulled free a wicked looking blade with a sharp cutting edge. He placed the tip of the blade just below the throat and then plunged it in and ripped down, tearing open the immortals chest cavity.

Above them Saperio chanted words of magic he himself had never heard before. Ancient and awful the words reverberated throughout the realm. In Windy Bluff, the temple priest screamed in agony as he heard them. In the immortal realm, Tatianna screamed from within her prison. And only a few feet away, Sarvulis felt the words go through him.

The Katrin Warrior had once lead the Guild of Fighters. He was one of those who had helped develop some of the very tactics that were being used against him and he was now trapped by them. He had been thinking of ways to get out of this situation that would be safe to all, but the words changed that. Sarvulis knew it was time to act, regardless of peril. Jonesy still had the blade at his throat, but he would use that to his advantage.

He had two other things going for him. One was that in the confusion following the Guild of Fighters entrance to the fray, no one noticed a lone vampire appear in mist behind some of the ruins. Sarvulis himself would not have noticed had it not been for the fact that Jonesy's grip on the back of his head forced to him to look away. Vulcan was an old and powerful Guardian, known as much for his age as his accumulation of powerful artifacts.

The second thing he noticed was how still the normally restless Faerylyn had been. Then he remembered the spellcaster's Familiar Tyraele and realized that both the gag and bindings on the mage had already been loosened by the creature. Faerylyn was simply waiting to act.

Sarvulis felt confident that his sacrifice would spur the rest to action. He took a deep breath and yelled, "For the glory of Ta..." the rest was cut off as Jonesy's blade ripped through his vocal chords and into his throat. Sarvulis ignored the pain of his life blood slipping away and spun on the thief. He had no weapon, but he had no intention of using one. He launched himself at the thief, his shoulder catching Jonesy square in the jaw and knocking him cold. Sarvulis tried to grab the dagger in the thief's now limp hand, but it kept slipping out, his hands were coated in a slick liquid. He looked down at the river which flowed from his throat and realized it was his own blood. He blacked out.

Saperio started his decent. The shard was aglow in his hands. Halvos and Xodus had ripped the chest of the immortal open and Saperio was ready to place it within. He uttered a few more words and looked towards the moon. It had not yet reached its apex. There were a few precious moments more they would have to wait.

Galdren watched as Sarvulis fell and prepared to face the same fate as he felt the assassin behind him tighten his grip. Then, all of a sudden it released and was replaced by a gurgle of blood.

"Brother" said the voice behind him of perhaps the only vampire friend the cleric had ever had save the God of Balance when he was a mortal, "let us finish this."

And with those word from Vulcan, the cleric was in action. A holy flare caught the gypsy Amonya square in the face and a second hit the assassin holding Ganat. He was about to unleash another blast when a chiseled blade of ice sliced deep into his thigh. Galdren winced as the blade tore through muscle and looked to see who his attacker was. Ifrit Andros stood before him, a wicked smile on his face.

Close by, Faerylyn realized this was the time to act. He surveyed the action going on around him. Vulcan and Ganat were moving quickly slicing their allies free, but once on their feet they had to deal with a horde of shadows and vampires. A large group of vampires, lead by Vortin was now moving into position to flank Barset, Eftienne, and Janus as they tried to get towards the ritual point. Faerylyn knew what to do. He summoned to him an incredible amount of energy and released it in a huge nova directed towards the vampires. The light, like that of the sun, killed most of them instantly. He looked around for another target, when an elbow caught him hard, shattering his small nose and jaw and knocking him to the ground.

"Thats enough from you" said Rezyn. He pulled out his blade to end the little mage's life, when Zendel crashed into him.

"It'll be the dance of death for you, mercenary!" was the reply. Zendel launched into the attack.

The first two blows Rezyn expertly blocked, the last he ducked. He beckoned for more, and the Ranger obliged actually scratching the mercenary once with his next attack. It was then that Rezyn pulled forth a second blade, and it was then that the Ranger realized that he was simply being tested. Zendel was amazed at the speed, but even more at the strength behind the counter assault. The blades whirled in motion: twisting, slicing, and weaving their way through the Rangers defenses. Zendel had seen this before, sparing with Sarvulis, he knew this was not a battle that he could win. The Katrin General was relentless, all the while smiling, and blood ran from Zendel's many wounds. He called on the power of nature to heal his wounds, but he did not think his limited magic could keep pace with the amount of times he failed to block.

Ganat saw Janus leave Barset and Eftienne to help Twaine in his losing battle against Demron and Zureul. He knew they were trying to get to the ritual point to stop the foul magic. He saw them intercepted by Arcum and Crpytus and knew they were in for the fight of their lives. He also knew that he must make it to the ritual point and stop this madness. He took off at a run through the crumbled stone ruins towards the source.

As he rounded the corner he saw Xodus and Saperio standing above the open chest of the Blackrose. He pulled free the Dawnbringer and charged. As he ran he wondered where Halvos was. His answer came as the blood lord stepped out from behind one of the stones, his lance impaling the Ranger at the hip. The momentum of run drove the lance through the Rangers body.

The strength of the undead was unbelievable. He lifted the lance, with Ganat attached, into the air,

"Look what we have here" said Halvos with a grin. But it was wiped from his face as Ganat brought down Dawnbringer hard, slicing the hand which held the lance free from Halvos' arm and dropping the Ranger to the ground. Halvos screamed in pain and leaped at the still impaled Ranger. He spoke the words of magic and Ganat felt life being drained from him to the undead. In horror he watched, as the vampire's hand regenerated.

Ganat sliced out with Dawnbringer again, ignoring the pain of the lance buried in his hip, and caught Halvos in the mid section. The effort of the slice combined with the weight of the lance caused him to pitch forward. The bleeding vampire caught him by the shoulders and in the same motion plunged his fangs deep into his neck. Ganat felt blood flowing from his wound in his hip and neck, but he was powerless to do anything about it. The world turned black.

Saperio looked to the moon. He knew it was time. He looked to Xodus and the now returned Halvos and said, "Once this happens. This shell will be Zaradali for only a brief moment. He should be too dazed to do anything. You will see the body go limp, and then the master will come forth and we will have our reward. Are you prepared?"

Saperio placed the shard within the chest of the immortal, and then chanted the words,

"Born of immortal death
Forged of murder and fear
I call you forth
Primeval draw near
The mid of night hath arrived
Come now to us
I call you forth
Lord of Chaos!"

Golan Loman heard the call. He opened his eyes to see a beam of light in the middle of the chamber. He stepped into it. His time to return was here. The beam started to work its magic.

"Farewell Drakan" he laughed, but realized that he could not see the thief. Then he felt a sharp prick in his back and saw a sliver protruding from his chest, were his heart was. He tried to speak, but he could not. He crumpled to the floor.

"Farewell indeed" said Drakan. He stepped into the beam of magic and he slowly dematerialized.

Zaradali slowly blinked into consciousness. He instantly destroyed the stakes in his forearm in sat up.

Ifrit plunging his blade deep into Galdren's heart. Twaine and Janus hacking apart Demron and Zuruel. Rezyn decapitating Zendel only to be burnt to death by acid from Tarsis' hands. Eftienne and Barset being burnt to death by the flametongue sword.

This was not what he had worked so hard for. It was the complete opposite, and moreover it seemed like he was why all this chaos was happening. He had failed completely.

He felt a tingling sensation welling in his mind. The pain was gone, but he was slipping away with it. Something or someone else was taking over. He might be able to fight it if he used every ounce of his power, but he knew he would lose. His will to continue to exist was gone.

And so Zaradali Blackrose, The Vanguard of Balance decided not to use his power to save his mind and soul. He decided to use every last drop of it to restore the lives that were lost. And with that, lives were restored and the participants found themselves in clan halls far away from the ruins of the Temple of the Moon. And then..the Blackrose was no more..another took his place.

Drakan walked the halls in what used to be Zaradali's body. He looked at all the Vanguard had done, and he laughed. A deep and maniacal laugh.

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