You want to live so much that nothing else matters to you, and no matter how much it sickens you utter "I…I will serve you…" with great effort.
"Yes, you will serve, but do you mean it? I don't think so. You're lying to survive this encounter. This is interesting. I was correct in that you are not as rigid as your fellows. If you are willing to risk lying to me in an attempt to save your life, then you are possibly willing to do ANYTHING to save your own life…that means there is still hope for you. I'd advise you though, do not wait too long to pick a side, otherwise you may find that even your will to survive won't be enough to save you.

The feeling of oppression leaves you, and it's instead replaced by a surge of pain jolting through your body. You'd probably cry out if you could, instead you suffer in silence.

"You will be given the powers I bestow to all my worshippers. Whether you will use them to further the cause or not, is another matter, but one that shall be interesting to see unfold. I have a feeling we shall speak again Eternal."
And with those last words, you blackout and lose consciousness.

When you wake up, you find yourself back in the room where you first stepped into the portal. Master Ebon, Brother Gray, Cyrus and Talia all stand around you.

"He's awake." Brother Gray remarks.
"Hmm, it truly is the work of Dendrin that he survived the process. Dendrin must've seen something in him that I did not. I will have to ask for forgiveness of my lack of vision tonight in my prayers. You two, help your brother up, he has proven worthy to be called a shadow and passed Dendrin's judgement."

As Cyrus and Talia help you up, you're feeling a little groggy and you ask who Dendrin is. Everyone goes silent as if you've said the wrong thing.

"Who is Dendrin? Are you jesting? Dendrin is our god! Surely his name appeared in your mind when he spoke to you during the ceremony." Talia exclaims.
"Huh…oh…right…I dunno I feel so drained and woozy right now." You sputter, so as to cover up your less than typical experience with Dendrin.
"Hmm, well that does happen. Some new members take days to fully recover after being in the presence of his power." Master Ebon remarks. "In any case, I welcome the three of you to the fold and you are now truly as brothers and sister to us. Our bond is stronger than any can hope to imagine and with Dendrin's guidance there is nothing we can't accomplish. You three shall report to Fortress Gloom, from there you will receive your future assignments and even additional training on your new powers. I shall take my leave now as I have other more important duties to perform. Brother Gray I trust you can take it from here."

Master Ebon leaves, and Brother Gray does indeed take over. He mentions that the four of you will be heading by carriage to Fortress Gloom, which is located in Quala, the home province of the Empire. Fortress Gloom is apparently the sole head quarters of all the Shadow Guard.

On the carriage ride there Brother Gray speaks more on Gloom.

"Personally we'd prefer it if we were located in the Delerg province, but since most of our assignments are in Quala, the Empire desires that we stay close by, still our home at least borders on Delerg so it isn't all bad and things will be set right one day.
"What is so special about Delerg?" you ask and once again you've said something that causes disapproving silence followed by scolding.

"Sheesh, you really are out of it aren't you? Delerg is the original home of the Shadows! You should know this when Dendrin open your mind to our history!" Cyrus shouts.

Once again you apologize and claim you're having problems with gaps in your memory and continued disorientation. Brother Gray is a little more understanding and says that you'll soon recover and remember everything and that in the mean time you can refresh your memory with the books at Fortress Gloom.

You thank him and decide to stay quiet until you can get a better understanding of your situation. It is apparent that you did not pass through the ceremony like everyone else did. Cyrus and Talia seem like they're dedicated converts now. Brian and David are no where to be seen and nobody has mentioned them. You can assume that Dendrin destroyed them for some reason. Presumably because they refused to serve, but still that doesn't explain why you were spared. Dendrin obviously knew you were just paying him lip service to save your own life, and he passed you anyway. Is there something else in store for you?

You don't know and you can't do much about it right now. You just hope you can make it through this.

Eventually the carriage stops at the edge of a forest area.

"Okay we have to walk the rest of the way; it's not too far though." Gray remarks and all of you get out and the carriage driver quickly makes his way out of the area.

Gray leads the way through the dark forest. The trees have so much foliage that they're blocking out most of the sunlight. Several times you could swear something is watching you in the trees, but nothing attacks. Gray, Cyrus and Talia, aren't on edge as you are, but then they wouldn't have cause to be.

Eventually you all an area with a large rock formation in the forest. Gray mumbles a few words and then another portal opens up in one of the large rocks. He tells you all to follow and you do. After a long flight of stairs downward, you finally reach Gloom proper. It certainly lives up to its name as you travel the corridors the entire place is barely lit, the place is also very quiet. Gray goes on to explain that the place used to be a former Derro stronghold, but they abandoned it for unknown reasons long before the Shadow Guard started to use it.

After a small tour of a small portion of the fortress, Brother Gray tells you all that you will all share the same room with some of the other newer members for now, though he says that the room itself might currently be empty as they are probably on their duties right now. He also goes on to say that he wants you to test out your shadow powers in the training are tomorrow before you go on assignments, so you should try to rest in the meantime.

You, Cyrus and Talia retire to your room and sure enough it is indeed empty of any other members right now. You all grab a bed that doesn't look like it has been taken yet. Cyrus begins to speak.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to test some of my powers now. I figure I should get a head start on the practice." He says and then attempts to make himself invisible. He flickers for a moment, but then fails completely causing himself to collapse on the bed.

"Wow, maybe I shouldn't have tried something so hard at first." He says breathing hard.

Talia does something a little different; she begins to run from one end of the room to the other. For a brief moment she is a barely visible blur, but she too is winded from the effort.

"I think we should wait until we have proper instruction first. You two are going to hurt yourselves." You say.
"Proper instruction? All the knowledge is right here! Dendrin saw to that!" Cyrus says pointing to his head. "All we need to do is practice."
"Leave him be brother, he's still recovering from his experience being in the presence of Dendrin."
"Yeah, I guess. What an eye opener that experience was though! Seriously, all that stuff we learned was really enlightening. Don't you agree sister?"
"Oh yes. Just think, all those lies they told us just to try to keep us loyal to the so called Emperor. Murderous tyrant is all he really is and his day will come." Talia says.

You can't believe what you're hearing. It's unreal to hear two Eternals you've practically grown up with to speak such…treason! You don't know what they heard when they went through the ceremony, but it's very apparent they have been corrupted. As much as you've been trying to keep your feelings on everything secret, you almost feel like you must speak or do something about it.

You remain silent

As much as you want to, speaking about your own thoughts on this situation would be folly. Cyrus and Talia have obviously been brainwashed and you're deep in a fortress that contains traitors that would undoubtedly overwhelm you even if did try to escape. No, your time will be better spent waiting until you are at least able to get out of the fortress and report to someone of importance in the Empire.

It's about the only thing you can do. In the meantime you're going to have to do your best to fit in and learn. Instead of engaging in the practicing of your shadow powers (Which you're still too worried about using to be honest) you take one of the books in a nearby shelf and begin reading about the laws and scripture of the Shadow Guard seeing as you didn't experience the immediate knowledge of all this stuff during your encounter with Dendrin.

You fall asleep reading, but you don't exactly have a restful sleep. The next morning you are awakened and the three of you are taken to the training room as discussed the day before. Talia and Cyrus seem to master their new powers relatively quickly; you on the other hand have some problems. Your trainer, Brother Shade doesn't understand why you are, but is somewhat frustrated that he has to spend more time with you. He never threatens you with any sort of physical punishment though, which is a relief.

After a few weeks Talia and Cyrus have been sent on various assignments, meanwhile you're still confined to the fortress due to your sub-par shadow magic (Though not your fighting skills) Brother Shade insists that you stay another few months before being sent on any mission. This gives you more cause for some anxiousness since you really want to leave in order to tell someone about this place. Instead you continue to try to learn as much as you can through reading.

You don't mix too much with the other Shadow Guards and mostly keep to yourself. You just don't feel any connection with any of them even after studying more of the history and beliefs. You just look at them and see traitors to the Empire. The eeriest thing is how the Shadow Guard occasionally makes passing treasonous remarks and will mention how the Empire will fall soon, like it's a foregone conclusion.

Even Cyrus and Talia, are sort of distant now. The only time they really speak is to taunt you about your magic training. You have to wonder if they is a little revenge going on there as you were always a better close combat fighter than either of them. They of course are fitting in very well with the rest. Cyrus especially seems close to another Shadow Guard by the name of Draven.

You try to remain positive though that you'll eventually get the chance to leave this place. While to most people in your situation feeling fear and nervousness would be pretty natural, but for you it is definitely something that isn't natural and you don't like it at all.

Eventually that day comes and you are summoned to Brother Gray's office.

"Okay, I believe you're ready. I don't understand why it took you so long though, you showed such promise during our initial training exercises."
"I suppose I'm just not magically inclined Brother Gray."
"Perhaps, but the power and knowledge that Dendrin infused into you, should've circumvented any of that…no matter I've been told by Brother Shade that your skill is good enough now. Still, I'm also trouble by the reports that you've been distant to your fellow Shadows. This is your family now, you shouldn't be stand offish to them, you need to embrace them as your brothers and sisters because that's what they are."
"I'm sorry Brother Gray, I guess I've just felt self-conscious about my lack of magic skills. Everyone else picked it up so easy compared to me and I didn't feel like I belonged."
"Hmm, well I suppose you probably received some taunts, but family members do that too. You shouldn't have taken it too personal, and I think if you would've asked, one of them would've helped you. Surely Brother Cyrus or Sister Talia would've helped given that you have the most in common with them."
"Maybe…I dunno. They fit in better."
"(Sigh) This won't do at all. Here I am thinking that you were ready, but apparently you have some deeper issues. I swear you are the first to have such a problem. I mean you know that we are all on the same side here right? You know that we will stick together no matter what correct? We all have a duty to Dendrin and we are going to see to it that his glory be restored and that means teamwork, community and family."
"…yes I suppose you're right."
"Well I'm not right about everything. I think you need to be involved in some more socializing around here, before we send you out."
"What? But I'm ready! I want to leave!" you say with a loud tone.
"And I don't think that's a good idea. You obviously don't feel welcomed by your fellow Shadows, and that's not a good mindset to have out in the field if you don't trust your own family."
"But…"
"No buts! I know you're probably anxious to start serving Dendrin in a meaningful way, but I still think you need to stay a little longer. There will be no more debate about this. Dendrin demands that his worshippers trust one another, for it is our unity that will ensure our struggle will succeed. I think you'll need to stay in here for the remainder of the year, then I think you should be ready. You are dismissed, brother."

The remainder of the year, your heart sinks into further hopelessness. You don't know if you can stand this place much longer, let alone have to make "friends" with the people here.

Yet you must if you want to survive. And that's what you did when you met Dendrin isn't it? You did what you had to, to survive. You leave Brother Gray's office.

"By the Emperor, give me the strength to exist in this lair of traitors that seek to do you harm. May I be strong enough to survive and warn you in time." You quietly say to yourself.

As you head back to your room to attempt to make friends. You wonder why Dendrin let you live when he knew you would seek to destroy his followers. Is it some sort of sick game that a being like him finds amusing?

It must be, because it's the only rational explanation at this point.
Year 18

"And so I said to the blacksmith, well if you're intending on killing the Emperor, you better damn well have a better plan than those group of thugs you've been supplying with weapons in the sewers. At least supply them to some thugs who the Emperor wouldn't be able to smell six miles away!" you say, and this is followed by a few laughs from some of your fellow shadows.
"Hah, good one brother! Tell me, what did you do to the blacksmith?" Brother Murk asks.
"Oh we relocated him to our safehouse in Derlerg along with his buddies, reported that we eliminated him as a dissident…you know the usual. I must say, their surprise that we aren't going to kill them is always amusing though." You reply.
"Yes, given our reputation, I imagine it is. Still, it's all for a good cause eh, brother?"
"Yes brother, it certainly is." You say to Murk with a nod and take another drink of black tea.
"Well I have to say I'm very glad you've finally managed to settle in brother, I have to admit, for awhile I was getting a little worried about you. You just didn't seem like yourself after our ceremony initiation." Talia says.
"Yeah, well I guess I was just a late bloomer or something."
"Don't worry about it brother, it's all in the past. What matters now is that we're all on the same page now." Murk replies.

On the same page…the problem is you really aren't on the same page. You haven't been since you got here. The other problem? You're starting to feel like you might be getting there though. During the time you were forced to socialize you just swallowed your fear and self-doubt and proceeded like it was any mission. And you were successful. Perhaps a little too successful.

Once you actually got sent out on a mission, you were paired up with Brother Murk. A fellow you had become semi-friendly with during your months of socializing. Your original plan was as soon as you left Gloom, you were going to run to the nearest Empire fort and make your report.

Though for this plan to succeed in any meaningful way you would've had to kill Murk and despite your better judgment, you couldn't bring yourself to do it. You later cursed yourself for this temporary weakness and the next time you were sent out, you vowed to yourself that you'd do it again, the problem was you had only become friendlier with Murk within that time. You failed again.

By the time they rotated your partnership and you were paired you with someone else, you still couldn't do it, because now you actually started to feel like the Shadow Guard really was like a family to you. And you liked that feeling. In fact it was the best you've felt in a long time.

Yet, now you are in a difficult position. You are still loyal to the Empire and the Emperor first, but you haven't been able to find the fortitude to expose the Shadow Guard for what they are. You attempt to rationalize it in your mind, by claiming the longer you stay the more you learn about their exact plans, and while that's certainly true, it really isn't the TRUTH.

The real truth is you're starting to believe in the Shadow Guard's cause slightly. You don't know if it's because you've spent so much time here that you've developed some sort of emotional attachment or some odd sort of subtle indoctrination.

Is this what Dendrin really had in store for you? Did he know you could be turned even without his intervention? Before you had that experience everything was so certain, your feelings weren't a constant source of ups and downs. Even under Mistress, you don't remember ever feeling this. It was either success or death. It was very simple and you preferred it.

Now you don't know what the hell you're doing. Are you a traitor? Are you still loyal? Are you both? Are you neither?

You excuse yourself from the rest of your brothers and sister and say you have to get some rest, though in reality you have to take a long look at your priorities. Once again you spend a few more months going through your usual routines and quietly suffering in silence.

That comes to a halt when Murk comes into the barracks one day…

"Hey, where are brother Cyrus and sister Talia?" he immediately asks you.
"Uh, sister Talia I think is in the library and brother Cyrus is probably with brother Draven somewhere." You reply.
"Oh, well I'll go get Talia, someone else can look for Cyrus, but you need to report to Master Ebon right away."
"What's this all about?"
"I don't know, just that he wants you, Talia and Cyrus to see him. Something about someone from the Empire wanting to meet with all three of you. Sounds important."

You get up and walk to Master Ebon's office which remains closed, so you wait. A few moments later, Talia joins you.

"Hello, brother. Isn't master Ebon here?"
"If he is, he isn't answering his door, so I've been waiting outside."
"Do you know what this is about?"
"Dunno, just that someone from the Empire wants to see us."

Talia nods and remains silent. Soon Cyrus joins you and asks a similar question, to which you answer in a similar manner. He grunts at you and stands as far from you as possible, though he says something polite to Talia. Same old Cyrus.

No sooner has Cyrus got there, when Ebon's door opens. You hear a voice that tells you to come in. You didn't even think he was inside, but you guess he was really waiting to see you all together. When you all enter, he tell Cyrus to close the door and gets right to the point.

"You three have been summoned by Mr. Mol. Apparently he wants to ask you a few questions and is insisting on doing it somewhere in the capital I believe. In any case, he claims he wants to check on your progress as an Eternal, but I suspect he's fishing for information about us."
"You don't think he suspects anything do you?" Talia asks.
"I do not believe he knows anything about our true goals, if he or anyone did, I have no doubt we would've been moved upon by now. No, I think this is just another Empire ploy to try to get more inside intel on our organization, which for the reasons I just mentioned they cannot know about."
"I won't say a word to this running dog of the Empire! My eyes have been open a long time and my loyalty is and will always be to Dendrin." Cyrus says.

Master Ebon nods. "Yes, I know it will be. I have no doubt, but I still would like you all to just be on your guard when answering questions none the less. It probably won't come to this, but kill yourselves if you have to. It won't be ideal, since it'll arouse suspicion, but it'll still give us time to go ahead with our plan anyway, even if it would be a few years early. Anyway, the three of you are to make your way to the town of Lenet and from there you'll take an Empire carriage to the capital. Return immediately if you are able. May Dendrin and the shadows hide your true intentions."

With those last words, Ebon sends you away and the three of you set off on your journey. You begin to feel nervous as soon as you leave Gloom, you weren't expecting this happening, but deep down you did know that something like it was going to happen eventually. You remain mostly quiet during the journey as you try to get in a certain frame of mind of what you're going to do or say. Cyrus is mostly silent as well, though you're guessing that's because he's so firmly entrenched in his belief in Dendrin, that he knows what he's going to say and do.

Talia is the only talkative one and that's mainly questions about what you both think Mr. Mol will ask you. You know she's dedicated herself to Dendrin, but you sense that perhaps she's a little nervous too, though you don't know if it's due to her new loyalty to Dendrin or because she's been harboring secret loyalty to the Empire like you have. You decide to imagine it's the latter, mainly because you want to make yourself feel better.

Eventually the carriage from Lenet reaches Qale, the Empire's capital and several soldiers immediately step forward to say they are here to escort you to Mr. Mol. The three of you are taken from the opulence of one of the main streets and quickly through a system of back alleys until you eventually reach a non-descript building. You enter and there you see Mr. Mol. It's the well dressed man you saw speaking to Brother Gray six years ago. He's also wearing the same formal black suit he was back then.

"Ah, the Shadow Eternals. I've so wanted to catch up with your progress, but my attention was on your less subtle peers for a while. I think we've sorted them out though, so now it's time to sort you out as well. Just a formality really, we just want to see if you're achieving your full potential in the Shadow Guard. After all you're Eternals first, and we wouldn't want your talents to not be used to their fullest potential in the service of the Emperor, right?"

Cyrus and Talia say nothing, but you feel obligated to acknowledge that question if only to not look suspicious.

"Correct. All that we are, we owe to the Emperor's will." you say.
"Glad to hear it! Now then we're just going to be asking you some questions, these soldiers will take you to a place to wait. Off you go."

At this point the three of are marched out of the room and down a long hallway. The cold broken stone walls and desolation of this place almost makes Gloom look cheery by comparison. Eventually you reach a door on your left and Cyrus is told to wait inside the room. He enters without a word, but gives you and Talia a look like "Say nothing!"

A few moments later you reach another door on the left, this time Talia is told to wait inside. She hesitates for a moment, but enters. She gives you a look as well, though this one is more of concern.

Finally you reach the last door on the left and you are told to enter and wait. You do so without looking at anyone. The door shuts behind you and the ominous sound of a lock is heard.

There isn't much you can do, so you sit down at one of the chairs in the middle of the room and wait.

And wait…and wait…and wait…and wait…

You don't know how much time has passed, but you get up and move about several times before sitting down again. You don't quite panic as much as you think you would, but being alone with your thoughts is definitely not the best thing for you. Right now you're already thinking they've managed to break Talia into talking and probably killed Cyrus.

Maybe if you cooperate right now, there will be leniency? Why shouldn't you cooperate? The Shadow Guard ARE traitors after all, and this is just the kick in the ass you needed to remind you of that.

But then there's the other part of you that feels loyal to the shadows and how you shouldn't betray them. You go back and forth what you're going to do several times, and then you hear the lock on the door. Mr. Mol enters…

You tell him everything

You're going to tell him everything. Yes, it is true that you've bonded a bit with the Shadow Guard and you can even understand their motivations, but Mr. Mol is right. You're an Eternal first and your duty is ultimately to the Emperor. If you suffer any punishment due to not coming forward sooner then so be it.

Mr. Mol sits down in the other chair in the room and before he can even say anything you get straight to the point.

"The Shadow Guard is planning to betray the Empire. They have been for years. Centuries even. They've just been biding their time for the right moment to strike, and that moment is supposed to be soon."

Mr. Mol sits back and exhales deeply.

"Well, I guess that saves me a little time. I certainly thank you for that, your fellow Eternals were disappointing in that regard."
"Are…are they dead?"
"Dead? Oh no. They're very much alive. Knew they were hiding something, but I assumed it was just typical Shadow Guard bullshit about their god and rituals. Possibly even manipulating things to benefit their order, but that's certainly to be expected. (Sigh) We really should've been doing something about them a long time ago, and to a certain extent that's why you Eternals were created. I'm glad at least one of you managed to avoid brainwashing…which brings me to another question. Why didn't you come forward with this information before?"
"I…I have no excuse…I felt very influenced sir. After I went through the shadow ceremony and their god spoke to me…I…"
"Hold on, you actually spoke to Dendrin?" Mr. Mol stop you.
"Yes, you know the god's name?"
"Of course I do, it isn't as much of a secret as the shadows like to pretend. It just isn't spoken out loud in public because that's part of the original agreement. Certainly don't need a bunch of religious fanatics gaining any more power by speaking highly of their god to the masses. Even if said fanatics are loyal to the Emperor, which apparently has never been the case if what you're saying is true. Now start at the beginning and ALL of what you've learned."

You start from the moment you ran into the portal and continue about your experiences from there. Mr. Mol makes several notes and tells you to explain in greater detail on certain things. As you tell him all the shadow secrets you know, you feel a great weight lifted off of you, but you still feel very anxious since you don't know what's going to happen to you afterwards.

"Okay…this is great information. Makes a lot of sense now any past attempts to infiltrate the Shadow Guard have never worked when their own god is indoctrinating them completely in their ceremony. Well except you of course. Guess nobody's perfect, not even a god. Still, we shouldn't have been so complacent either, but with this information I think we can get this under control within time."
"So what's next?" you ask.
"Next? Well you and your fellows go back to Gloom like nothing has happened. I'll be in touch with you in the future to give you further instructions."
"You're not going to destroy them now?"
"Heh, well we certainly could with this information alone, but from what you've told me, the dissention is more than just the Shadow Guard at this point. They've got safehouses of dissidents in various locations…this is a big job and ideally, we want to neutralize the majority of this threat in one swoop. If we moved now all it would do is tear the Empire in half sooner rather than later. This isn't going to be pretty even if our counter plan goes right, but the best thing is we do know that we need to focus internally now. Plans to invade the Felkan Kingdom again will have to wait unfortunately."
"So, I'm not to be punished?"
"Punished? What for? Oh you mean because you felt influenced? Well, that is concerning, however considering you just told me everything after constantly being bombarded with shadow propaganda not to mention Dendrin's own words I'd say your willpower is strong enough to resist anything. In fact I need to make a note of that too, it'll help to know for future Eternals."
"Future Eternals?"
"Oh yes, the project is still going on. In fact we'll need more of your type to fill in the gap that will be left by the Shadow Guard when they're gone. Those that know the value of loyalty and duty to the Empire like you of course. We'll try to prevent mistakes like Talia and Cyrus this time. Like I said nobody's perfect, but we can still strive towards it."

Mr. Mol then sits forward, puts a hand on your shoulder and stares into your eyes.

"The Empire needs you more than ever to defend it from its enemies and you're in the perfect position to do so. Is your duty clear?"
"Yes, I live to serve the Empire and the Emperor. They will always come first, before everything else." You confidently reply.
"Good. Good. I'm glad to hear it and I certainly hope now you feel better and less alone knowing that you have the entire might of the Empire supporting you."
"I do. Thank you."
"Now then, I want you to go back with your fellows and carry on as normal. As I stated I will be contacting you in the future and your official mission now is to gather as much information of the Shadow Guard as possible. I know you've given me a lot already, but there's always more that can be acquired."

This new sense of encouragement, purpose and direction coupled with telling Mr. Mol everything makes you feel a lot better about your choice. So much so, that you even volunteer to go beyond what he asks.

"Did you want me to assassinate anyone?"
"Heh, I like your enthusiasm, but it might be best for you to concentrate info gathering first. Though I suppose if you can somehow arrange a group of shadows to face with an accident without getting caught, I'm not opposed to it. Simple sabotage is good too, as long as they don't get the impression that anyone is on to them."

You understand, and you are lead out of the room and back into the main room where you see Cyrus and Talia waiting with the soldiers.

"Okay I believe we are done here. I am pleased to find that all of you are obviously living up to your potential. I was a little concerned only because a couple of your non-shadow Eternals already have proven to lack the discipline we thought they had. One was executed for killing his superior officer and another one died by breaking a solid fighting formation during a battle. I'm glad to see all of you are much better in that regard and I can only chalk that up to the Shadow Guard's superior training techniques. Perhaps more Eternals in the future will join as it is obvious you all have tremendous willpower and great loyalty to the Empire." Mr. Mol says glancing over at you with that last line.

And with that, the three of you are lead back to the carriage, which takes you back to Lenet, and from there you walk back to Gloom. You're all more talkative at this point, Talia and Cyrus go on about the questions with each other and you. Of course you lie and state you were asked similar ones.

"So do you think he suspected anything?" Talia asks.
"Doubt it. The Empire fool didn't even ask anything remotely important. It is obvious Dendrin's shadow covers his eyes from the truth. So much so that it required minimum effort on our part to even lie to him. I mostly just omitted truth." Cyrus mocks.
"Omissions of the truth are usually better than outright lies anyway. Less of a chance to get caught up in a web." Talia comments.
"Yeah, I didn't even need to lie at all." You say which causes you to laugh inside your head given the double meaning of that remark.

After the three of you report to Master Ebon, he seems pleased with how things turned out, but states that he's pushing to enact the plan sooner for concern that the Empire may still suspect something. He then says to expect things to get hectic soon, but with Dendrin's guidance you all will surely prevail and the Empire will collapse.

You retire to your bed to get some rest as it's been a long stressful day. You're finally glad to have settled your crisis of loyalty though. With these comforting thoughts you drift off to sleep…

As you sleep you begin to dream. You dream that you're in the same void like space when you walked into that portal two years ago. You feel nothing and you sense nothing for a long time then you hear the voice, that oppressive voice that invades your mind completely.

"So Eternal, you have chosen to betray me."
"You said yourself that I was only saying I'd serve to save myself in your presence. Why are you so surprised?"
"I am not, I'm merely observing your motivations which were equally unsurprising. I'm fascinated that one such as you would have the willpower and strength to defy a god, yet still be narrow minded enough to trust in a mortal government. You may as well be a golem."
"The Empire hasn't threatened me with death, unlike you have."

The whispery voice suddenly lets out a hearty laugh to loud in your mind that it's painful.

"And you believe that? The Empire has done nothing BUT try to kill you from birth! Wasn't until you arrived to train under the shadows that your risk for death was lowered! Even when you met me, I never directly threatened you with death, I gave you a choice for which you should be grateful!"
"Deity, if I offend your omnipotence so much, then why not kill me now? You obviously have the power to invade my dreams and if I'm a threat, you should do what needs to be done."
"Eternal, Eternal, you are no more of a threat to me than your beloved Empire is. And your insolence does not offend me, it is your ignorance that offends me. If you believe this path is one of survival you are sadly mistaken."
"And joining a hopeless cause like your cult of fanatics is?"
"Eternal, you will see. Eventually you will see. You ask me to kill you now and though I could, I wouldn't because it will be interesting to see you running about trying your best to undermine my loyal followers. However, the major question is, will you survive in the process? The odds are against you Eternal. Severely against you."
"I will prevail."
"Perhaps, but at what cost?"

With those last words, you wake up. You try to go back to sleep, but it isn't easy. Just like actively spying on the shadows isn't going to be easy, especially since Dendrin himself knows what you're doing. You just can't figure out why he is insisting on tormenting you like this, what can he possibly get out of this other than sadistic pleasure? You can even comprehend that aspect, but what you don't get is why he wouldn't immediately get rid of you in order to help his own followers.

Is this an elaborate trick or does he just not give a shit about his worshippers? You don't know. The best you can do is what you can achieve in the mortal realm and leave the motivations of any gods out of the picture.
Chapter 2B1: The Emperor's Shadow


Year 20

"So you say, Brother Cyrus and Brother Draven are going to be assigned to Rask soon?" you ask.
"That's what I've heard from Brother Gray. Them and a few others. Next year at the latest." Murk says
"What's the reason, from what I've heard it doesn't seem like the Empire has a good grip on Rask anyway."
"Well that's sort of the point! By weakening the areas where the power isn't as strong it causes the Empire to divert resources from other places and making those much easier to bring down as well. We're going to need it too, Master Ebon was sure the Empire would've started another war with the Felkan Kingdom by now, but as it stands they're practically friends with them, well as much as the Empire can be. Oh well there's still time I suppose."
"We don't have that much time, we should push things along in our favor with some international incidents." Brother Shade says. "In fact, I'm going to mention that to Master Ebon next time I see him."
"You don't think that he hasn't already thought of such a plan?" Talia asks.
"Perhaps, but let's just say I've been here a little longer than the rest of you, and while I know Master Ebon is just waiting for the right time to strike, he's been playing the waiting game a little longer than I think is necessary. In fact I think he's been playing it so long that maybe his vision has become clouded from certain opportunities."

This statement from Brother Shade gets a lot of looks, but nobody says anything. The shock is too great. Even you are surprised as this is the first time you believe you've heard something close to an open criticism about Master Ebon or the leadership structure in general

And that's something you can definitely use.

Soon after his statement Brother Shade leaves to attend his duties.

"Brother Shade should watch how he talks about Master Ebon. Ebon speaks directly to Dendrin on a daily basis and knows best on how to proceed." Murk remarks.
"Then why did you not speak up, instead of just sitting there?" Sister Bianca asks.
"Uh…well…"
"Always trying to impress the ladies, eh Murk?" you chuckle and take your leave as well to go seek out Brother Shade, he hasn't gone far and you catch up with him in the hallway. Fortunately nobody else is around. When you get his attention he's not exactly cordial.

"Oh it's you, what do you want, I have duties to attend to brother."
"Nothing excessively important brother, I just wanted to say you aren't alone."
"Aren't alone in what?" Shade asks.
"You aren't alone in how you feel. I think we should strike against the Empire now as well. All this waiting around isn't helping our cause."
"Well I suggest if you want to help our cause, you keep your feelings to yourself brother and focus on your responsibilities…and your magic skills."
"But brother, you said…"
"Nevermind what I said! I spoke in haste to a bunch of snot nosed shadows that barely know what it truly means to serve Dendrin. Now leave me be!"

Shade at this point pushes you aside and walks off. Well that didn't go like you hoped; still, you can report this to Mr. Mol who you have to meet in a few days anyway.

When you meet Mr. Mol at the usual spot, you tell him everything you know as usual.

"So, planning to destabilize Rask, eh? Well I'll see what we can do about that…tell me have you heard any plots involving orcs?" Mr. Mol asks.
"Mmm, I don't believe I have. I would've told you."
"Okay then, maybe it's not related, but some of our orcish troops have been getting restless lately, mostly those stationed in Rask too. If we had proceeded with our invasion of the Felkan Kingdom like we wanted, we could've thinned out their ranks a little. As much as we need them in the far northern reaches of Rask right now, I fear that having them all in a large group is asking for trouble. I guess we'll transfer some to Nalin, I hear they're having problems with the usksha nomads and kobolds down there. Speaking of the Felkan Kingdom tell me about this plot to start a war with them."
"There isn't one, so much as there have been suggestions to do so by a Brother Shade."
"Ohhh, dissention in the order. I like it. So is this guy losing his faith or something?"
"I do not believe its that more so that he feels Master Ebon is being too cautious. He wants to strike now and he knows that Ebon's plan hinged on the Empire being distracted with the Felkan Kingdom, so he suggested starting one ourselves in passing, though when I approached him about how I agreed that we were being too cautious, he told me to not speak of it again and to leave him alone."
"We can still possibly use this. The fact that he mentioned it says that he's thinking about it, even if he himself isn't totally committed to the idea. Try to speak to him some more on the subject of starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom."
"But if he does want to go through with the plan, won't starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom be exactly what they want?"
"Well, it's a gamble to be sure, but quite frankly we were going to invade the Felkan Kingdom again anyway, but…ha ha I got it." Mr. Mol says with a big grin on his face.

"Okay forget what I told you about speaking with Shade, I've just gotten a better idea. I'm going to have to discuss this with a few others and the order is going to have to come from the Emperor himself, but I'm pretty sure he'll agree to this."
"What the plan?"
"I think we should send several Shadow Guard into Felkan territory to assassinate their king and other high ranking officials. We should even demand the best. This will occupy some of the shadows and hopefully this puts the Felkans in a state of chaos as well. While this operation is taking place, I doubt the remaining shadows will act just yet with several of their best fellows gone. In the meantime, we can start wiping out those safe houses and dissident hideouts you've been giving us the locations to over the years. This will no doubt alert what remains of the shadows that we're on to them at this point, but it won't matter. Thanks to you, we also know the exact location of Gloom and let's just say we've got some allies that can help us with that underground fortress."
"That sounds like a good plan."
"Thanks, just thought of it, but like I said, I need to speak with a few others first. As usual I'll be in touch, but all you need to do for now is go about your usual duties within the Shadow Guard. You've done excellent work as usual."

Mr. Mol shakes your hand as you part ways and you feel a great sense of pride in your accomplishments. You also feel better that this charade may all come to an end soon and you'll be free of masquerading as a shadow.

When you get back to Gloom, Brother Shade suddenly surprises you on your way back to your bunk.

"Hey you, where have you been?" he demands to know. You're so taken by surprise; all you do is stumble over your words.
"Uh…well…"
"Uh huh. Probably slacking with some cheap tart as usual. I know you sneak off sometimes to the nearby villages. I know you're young and full of hormones, but you know very well that making yourself unclean with non-shadows is frowned upon."
"I…I'm sorry, Brother Shade." You say.
"Well you can ask for Dendrin's forgiveness in your prayers later, right now I want to discuss something with you. Come with me."

You follow Brother Shade through the winding halls of Gloom until you eventually reach a small empty storage room. After doing a quick perusal, closing the door and casting a cloak of shadows spell, he speaks to you again.

"Okay, it's safe to speak. You and me are going to start a war with the Felkan Kingdom."
"What…you spoke to Master Ebon, about this?"
"Yes, and the old fool is too set in his ways just as I thought he would be. Says it's too risky. Bullshit. What better time than now?"
"Well I suppose, but…uh…just us?" you say in an attempt to stall.
"As far as I know you're the only one who feels we need to do something now and I can't wait around and investigate if others feel like you do. Besides we can easily do this. I know your shadow magic is weak, but your fighting skills are excellent."

You didn't expect this.

"Okay, so just us…sure. Dendrin shrouds us in protective darkness right? We can easily assassinate the Felkan king…"
"Hold on there brother. Now we're just starting a war, not destabilizing the government. Well, not their government anyway. Heading deep into Felkan territory to kill their leader isn't necessary and will just serve to waste time. No, we just need to go in, make a statement and get out. Maybe take out a large portion of one of their outposts and leave a maimed survivor to tell the tale."

Sounds like Brother Shade has already planned this out. The problem is his plan doesn't exactly fit your own. Mr. Mol wants to assassinate the Felkan King and possibly some other high ranking types. It'll also bide a little time for him to get things in place. Brother Shade's plan probably won't throw the Felkan Kingdom into chaos, but will serve to anger them and that might distract the Empire too much if the Felkans are focused. Who could've thought starting a war would be so precise?

In any event, you agree to Shade's plan and he says the pair of you will head to the village of Venji in the Arat province near the Felkan border. From there, you'll cross the Felkan border and infiltrate the nearest Felkan outpost to carry out the plan. When you ask about the others, Shade dismisses the consequences of his fellow shadows. He says when things have been set in motion they will have no choice but to accept the reality. He then mumbles about there possibly being some more changes before leaving.

Of course you don't want to carry out that plan, so you're going to have to kill Brother Shade on the way. Not exactly an easy task, so you might try reporting him to Master Ebon or Brother Gray instead and try to have him taken care of using the shadow's own code of conduct.

You kill Brother Shade

His plan is going to mess everything up and reporting him probably will just result in him getting scolded and he'll sneak off later anyway. You need to kill him. It's part of your overall goal anyway.

The next few days you spend mostly in the training room, trying to get yourself ready for what will probably be a grueling battle. Quite frankly if you do it right, you won't have to fight him at all as you're going to try to catch him completely with his guard down, but if that doesn't work, you're going to have a struggle on your hands and you need to be prepared.

Brother Shade helped directly train your magic skills, so as usual you're hoping your combat skills will be the deciding factor, but your major advantage will be the element of surprise. You make sure your blade is extra sharp and your arm crossbow is in good working condition. You fully expect Dendrin to harass you in your dreams, but that doesn't happen.

When the day finally arrives you and Brother Shade take your leave of Gloom and head to Venji. Brother Shade and yourself travel under the cloak most of the time, though up keeping such magic is tiring business, so you rest a few times on your way. During your time together, you find out more about Brother Shade's thoughts. He goes on about how Master Ebon is not fit to speak for Dendrin anymore. Shade believes the old man isn't even in contact with Dendrin anymore as Shade knows that Dendrin would not want to wait any longer for the shadows to live under Empire rule. Shade knows that Dendrin would want action to be taken right now and that only those that prove themselves to be proactive in these times will be rewarded when the dust finally settles.

You can't speak for Ebon, but from what you can tell, Shade doesn't really know shit what Dendrin really wants. You don't either, but then you aren't one of his blind sheep that follows his orders. Still, it's somewhat fascinating to see one of the shadows not fall completely in step with the rest. If Mr. Mol hadn't suggested his idea, you probably would've gone through with Shade's mission and try to sew a little more dissension on both sides to flame the fans of a shadow civil war. As it stands though, he needs to die, but you're still trying to build yourself up to do it. You have no idea why either, you've had the opportunity a few times and you're far enough away from civilization since you've been sticking to the back roads.

Eventually the humble village of Venji is in sight, and you're going to have to kill Shade soon. You think you're going to pass the village, but Shade starts heading towards it.

"We're not actually entering it are we? So far we've managed to stay out of sight."
"And we'll continue to do so, I can maintain the cloak, but if you're feeling weak you stay here. I'll be back soon anyway."
"But why are you going into the village?"
"Because there's bound to be a couple of Empire soldiers stationed there. We're going to need a couple of disguises."
"You're going to kill Empire soldiers?"
"Yes, and why is that a problem?"

It's not. Actually it's a perfect excuse for you.

"No, I just didn't know the entire plan. I guess I'll wait here I am feeling a little drained from the magic and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the mission." You answer.

Brother Shade grunts and turns his back to you, and just before he cloaks again, you raise your arm and fire your crossbow at him. Your aim is true and the bolt lands directly into the back of his skull. He's dead even before he falls face first into the ground .

It's done and it was so quick. He didn't suspect anything or even see it coming. Now you've got to get rid of the body and think up a story. Nobody saw you leaving together, you made sure of that, but you've both been gone awhile. You figure you'll think of something on your way back to Gloom.

You strip Shade of his robe, weapons, then you cut off his head and dig a small hole to toss it into along with his robe and weapons. You figure nobody is going to recognize him now and that's not even counting the wolves or other wandering animals that will probably find the body to feast on first.

When you finally get back, you get several people asking you where you've been.

"Where in Dendrin's name have you been? You just left without reporting to Brother Gray for assignment!" Brother Murk exclaims.
"I was doing my usual patrols in the Quala province. I didn't think I was being switched from them any time soon, so I just left. Was it a problem?"
"Well sort of, Brother Shade is missing as well, you weren't with him were you?"
"No, I wasn't, I haven't seen him since I left Gloom a couple days ago either."
"Okay, well you're going to need to explain that to Master Ebon, he believes Brother Shade went and did something rash."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Like defying Master Ebon and the will of Dendrin. Anyway, you better hurry to Master Ebon's office."

You do as Murk suggests. You just hope you can convince him as easily.

You enter Master Ebon's office and see him, Brother Gray AND Cyrus. You can guess what the first two are doing here, but you don't know why Cyrus would. He's giving you a dirty look from underneath his hood as usual.

"At last, we can get to the bottom of this." Brother Gray remarks.
"I certainly hope so, because there are some serious allegations going on and conspiracy in the air." Master Ebon says while looking at you.
"I'm telling you I saw the pair of them together several times and the day they both left, he made sure to leave several minutes after Brother Shade." Cyrus remarks.

And there it is. Cyrus is on to you, well maybe not entirely, but apparently he was skulking around spying on you when you thought nobody was looking. And here you were thinking he was on assignment or with his boyfriend most of the time.

"So what if I left several minutes after Brother Shade? What does that prove? Am I supposed to wait hours? A day? What would be enough time for you? And what's this all about anyway? What did Brother Shade do?"
"Oh like you don't know."
"Brother Cyrus, quiet!" Master Ebon says before continuing. "And to answer your question, I'm sure you're aware of Brother Shade's recent behavior and his desire to move things along as far as our plan goes. He approached me not too long ago, about starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom, I told him no and he got very angry. Then he disappears for a few days when I specifically told him to stay here and concentrate on his prayers to Dendrin. We believe he's gone and tried to do this himself. You being gone without reporting to Brother Gray wouldn't normally be held to such scrutiny, but Cyrus here has said he's seen you speaking with Brother Shade several times before his disappearance."
"So I shouldn't have spoken to him? I can't be the only one that spoke to him before he disappeared."
"Yes, but you are the only one that left without reporting to Brother Gray first, not to mention up until then I've been told that you and he never interacted much. All of this seems very suspicious and it grieves me something like this is being brought to me, especially when so much is at stake right now."

You're trying to remain as calm as possible, but the pressure is on. Cyrus looks on with a faint smug expression like he's anxious to see you get into trouble. You need to come up with an explanation and you aren't sure if outright lying is going to help you. Maybe you should tell them the truth…up to a point of course.

You stick with your lies

If you tell them you killed Brother Shade because of what he was planning to do, the first thing Master Ebon is going to ask is why you didn't report it to him sooner and you're libel to get yourself into more trouble. The best thing to do is just lie; after all it's what you've been doing the whole time you've been here.

"I tell you honestly and under the ever watchful gaze of Dendrin, that I was on my usual patrol in the Quala province…but…"
"But what?" Master Ebon asks.
"Well, I'm embarrassed as I have strayed from Dendrin's lessons in restraint."
"What're you talking about? Speak!"
"I…uh was with a woman. A couple of them in fact…"

This explanation isn't one any of them expected.

"In fact that's why Brother Shade was speaking to me so much, he said he knew about my dealings with women of uh…low moral fiber and told me to stop it at once. I did and I tired, but when he left I assumed he was going on his own usual assignment in the Delerg province and wouldn't know if I left to go meet with my…uh favorites…"

At this point Master Ebon puts his hands over his face. Brother Gray gives you a stern look, and Cyrus starts shaking his head.

"No, I don't believe that. He's lying!" he says.
"Brother Cyrus I told you to be silent! I won't tell you again!" Master Ebon snaps.
"I'm not lying! In fact I assumed that's partly why I was being called in here, I figured Brother Shade somehow found out I'd been whoremongering again and told all of you."
"Well you didn't need Brother Shade to tell on you, because you've done a fine job of it yourself!" Brother Gray remarks. "I'm very disappointed in you."

Master Ebon stands up at this point.

"Okay, enough. Obviously the only thing you're guilty of is not keeping your dick in your robes. We've got more important things to worry about though. Brother Shade is still missing and possibly going to ruin our plans because of his own foolish impulsiveness. I want all available shadows to go searching for him and for Dendrin's sake keep this dead silent! We don't need the Empire suspecting anything."
"Understood, I'll inform them now." Brother Gray says and leaves.

Master Ebon then stares at Cyrus.

"Well? What're you still doing here? Go find Brother Shade!"
"But what about him? I know he's lying and hiding something! My instincts tell me I'm right!"
"And I suggest you stop listening to your instincts and start listening to Dendrin's orders. Now I know you thought you were protecting the order, but I would remind you that falsely accusing a brother is considered forbidden. Next time you get the urge to do so, I'd advise you to have better proof or else it'll be YOU who is in here facing the judgement of Dendrin. Dismissed."

Cyrus is obviously angry at this verdict, but merely nods and leaves. You're about to as well, but Master Ebon calls you back.

"Oh no, you stay. I'm not done with you just yet. There are still a few questionable things about your story and the only reason why I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt is because I hardly believe Brother Shade would've asked you of all people to help him. His open criticism of your shadow magic abilities displayed exactly how he felt about you, which wasn't very fondly. I believe he would've asked Sister Dusk if he would've asked anyone to help him considering that was his lover. She's already been cleared though. And speaking of lovers, I'd warn you to cease your whoremongering RIGHT NOW. If I find out you've relapsed, you'll be undergoing the long abandoned ritual of the sexless shadow. I'll let your imagination fill in the details."

You give a minor wince and nod.

"Understood, Master Ebon. I shall pray for Dendrin's forgiveness and strength to guide me."
"Very well, now go help your siblings search for Brother Shade."

You leave Master Ebon's office and you don't get far when Cyrus suddenly appears next to you.

"You think you're really clever don't you?" he sneers.
"Shouldn't you be helping in the search for Brother Shade instead of spying on me?" you reply.
"The search for Brother Shade…hah…that's a laugh. I think we both know what happened to him."
"Well if you know then maybe you should tell Master Ebon, because I sure don't know."
"Yes, play your little game. But I know you…we're Eternals and we grew up together long enough for me to know you're hiding something. I've noticed you leaving and disappearing during your off hours, this incident with Brother Shade isn't the only thing you've been hiding. Something is going on."
"Cyrus, why the hell are you stalking me? Things not going well with Draven or something? Well I'm not interested, in case you haven't been paying attention, my preference is female whores, not boys."
"Cute, but I'm going to find out what you're up to, and when I do Dendrin himself will see who you truly are." Cyrus says and then walks briskly past you.

"Oh I think Dendrin already knows better than any of you who I truly am, which is why all of you are fucking idiots for following a god that doesn't give a shit." You mutter quietly.

You time passes...

Year 21

"So do you think you'll be going on the assassination mission?" Talia asks.
"I dunno, I think I'm still under watch for my past indiscretions." You reply.
"Oh come on, even Master Ebon can't believe you're going to find some Felkan trollop to lay with while on your way to kill the king!" Murk laughs.

You give a small chuckle and go back to poisoning your bolts. When Mr. Mol explained to you that the plan was going through, you wondered if you were going to be one the assassins. Mr. Mol said he was leaving it up to the Shadow Guard to pick "their best" as requesting you, might give you away especially given the mess you told him that followed with Shade. Mr. Mol congratulated you on how you handled that and as far as that event is concerned to the Shadow Guard, it's still a mystery. His body was never found and it's known he didn't start a war with the Felkan Kingdom. The general consensus is he just left never to return due to his disagreement with Master Ebon. Brother Murk remarked on the irony that if he'd only waited a little longer, he could've been one of those sent to kill the Felkan King now.

In any event you know the plan on both sides. As soon as the assassination mission is underway the Empire is going to start purging the shadow safehouses and all known dissidents before moving on to Gloom. From what you know, orc troops are going to be used liberally in this. Mr. Mol said it will thin out the ranks and put their restlessness more at ease. He also mentioned that he's going to be sending in some of your former classmates as well. Your mission will differ depending on where the Shadow Guard send you. If you're going on the assassination, then you'll carry that out, but it will also be you job to eliminate all the rest of the shadows with you. If you're left at home, then it'll be your job to start sabotaging Gloom and taking out any shadow that gets in your way in the process. Mr. Mol mentions that some allies that owe the Empire a favor will be taking down the brunt of Gloom.

Master Ebon has decided to make the move when the Felkan War is in full swing. Fortunately their plan to destabilize Rask was abandoned as all shadows were "suddenly" transferred out of there by decree of the Emperor. The Shadow Guard's plan won't even get off the ground if all goes well, at best, there will be a few major battles and then the hunting of escapees.

Everything should go well for the Empire. The only perpetual pain is Cyrus. He's only gotten more hostile since the Shade incident and even more so when he found out he wasn't being sent to Rask. He claimed it was your fault and the pair of you had to be separated. He didn't make any more accusations further than that, but he knows something is going on. You're guessing he'll probably be one of those on assassination mission. If he's not around and you're left behind, it'll make your job a whole lot easier without the possibility of him spying on you.

Then again if you're both on the mission, it'll give you an excellent chance to kill him, because at this point you want to as much as he probably wants to kill you and that idea certainly appeals to you. Later that day you pay a visit to Brother Gray.

"Can I help you brother?" he says looking up from his desk.
"Brother Gray, I know you're still disappointed with my indiscretions, but I would like to prove myself that I am dedicated to Dendrin's laws and commandments and I feel the best way to do that is to be on the assassination mission. I've even been practicing my shadow magic and while it isn't as strong as say Sister Talia's, I'm confident that it will be sufficient for the mission."
"Hmmm, well you were being considered, but you were still on the fence as it were. As for me being disappointed, you shouldn't have been concerned with that, so much as you should've been concerned with offending Dendrin. However, if it puts you at ease, I ceased being disappointed a while ago. I've noticed that you've been more focused lately, so I know you're trying to atone for your actions. It's mainly why I was considering you for the mission. As for your skills, I'm still baffled to as why your magic abilities aren't as strong as they should be, but I suppose your combat abilities make up for it and I think you'd be more than suitable for the mission in that regard, but I'm a little more concerned with sending you on any mission with Brother Cyrus since he is being considered as well. I'd rather not risk jeopardizing the mission, so I need to leave one of you here."

It's apparent that whether you stay here or go on the mission that you probably won't be dealing with Cyrus, which is a little disappointing and a minor reason to as why you wanted to go on the assassination mission in the first place.

"I understand brother and I accept your judgment." You say humbly.
"Well I don't have the final say, that honor belongs to Master Ebon and he ultimately answers to Dendrin as do we all. He will determine if you're worthy or not, but I'll see what I can do for you. So is that all brother?"
"Yes. I shall take my leave and return to my duties."

You leave Brother Gray's office, shaking your head at it all. Not about the mission, but more about the fact that Brother Gray still believes very much in you. In fact other than Cyrus and perhaps Draven you still can't believe how you're so accepted here, it never seems real to you. You can't be exactly sure, but you think Talia has been examining you as a potential mate. Especially after all that business of you sleeping with countless whores became public knowledge. You can only guess she figures you've got a lot of experience, well that and the only other Eternal around is gay.

Even Master Ebon hasn't doled out any harsher punishment on to you more than what he did during your false confession. If you were in his shoes, you would've had yourself executed for the slightest possibility that you were involved in Brother Shade's disappearance. Strange that the shadows' treacherous nature would be so blind to someone so close to bringing them down.

Their deity Dendrin hasn't spoken to you in any dreams lately, or for quite awhile actually. Perhaps he got tired of taunting you or whatever game he's playing. Though
perhaps he's lulling you into a false sense of security. You still always expect him to visit you any time you sleep. Of course maybe that's part of his way of fucking with you as well.

In any case, you return to your room and engage in your routine fake behavior of friendship. You'll be so glad when this will be over, it sickens you when you actually start feeling like you're actually friends with these traitors rather than crushing them under foot in the Emperor's name.

A couple days pass and you get called to Master Ebon's office and when you get there, you also see Talia, Murk, Bianca and Dusk. He mentions that you've been chosen to go on the mission. He wasn't sure at first, but after Brother Gray's recommendation on your behalf and after consulting Dendrin for a sign, he says that you were chosen instead of Cyrus. He goes on to say he hopes that the pair of you straighten your feelings out soon, because there is going to be a great need for solidarity more than ever after this mission.

Master Ebon also goes on to explain that Sister Dusk will be in charge of this mission and that you all will defer to her experience. Ebon brings up a bit of a change in the mission too, a change you're not too pleased to hear.

"We're not assassinating the Felkan king. Dendrin showed me that our cause would be best served by deliberate incompetence."
"What?" you ask out loud, feeling a very real sense of having heard this plan before a year ago.
"Killing the king would only throw the Felkans into disarray. We want them to be focused when they declare war on the Empire. Instead I want you to infiltrate the palace, kill a few guards and then get out as if it was a failed assassination attempt. This will definitely alert the Felkans to start beating their war drums and it hinders the Empire's own plans. You all will be assumed dead by the Empire for obvious reasons, but in reality you will just return to us and will have to stay out of sight… which shouldn't be too hard given our nature. When you do return, we shall put the final part of our plan in motion when the Felkans retaliate."

Maybe he's not visiting you in your dreams anymore, but he's definitely still fucking with you. Now you've got two things to take care of personally. You have to kill the shadow squad AND the king.

Master Ebon tells you that the mission will be underway in the next few days and dismisses the lot of you.

"Hey you got in after all!" Murk says after you leave the office.
"I'm glad, you certainly deserve it." Talia adds with a smile.

When you return to your barracks, a death glare comes from Cyrus and Draven doesn't look too happy with you either. The pair of them immediately leave the room. You can only imagine that he's super pissed because you've been chosen to go on the mission rather than him. You wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill you in your sleep tonight.

Not that you're going to get any sleep, since you're going to be up all night trying to figure out how you're going to pull off your additional assignment.

The day soon arrives and everyone gathers in the assembly hall to see you off. Master Ebon makes a small speech.

"Brothers and sisters of the shadow, today is truly the beginning of the end for the Empire. These five have been chosen by Dendrin to carry out his plan. May their mission be a success and may all of them get back safely so that they may help the rest of us continue the fight at home. And if they should fall, know that they fall for a worthy cause and will pass from this world to serve in Dendrin's shadow realm forever and there is no greater honor."

"Death to the Empire! For Dendrin!" Master Ebon shouts and everyone else follows suit, then the five of you leave.

The first part of the trip to the Arat province is fairly laid back and the usual friendly banter goes on during this time, though Sister Dusk is consistently telling the rest of you to knock it off as your minds should be more focused on this mission. You've never really had too much interaction with Dusk before, but it is apparent to as why she was Shade's lover. She seems very much like him in some ways.

Yes, this mission is starting to feel all too familiar.

In between the party banter, you've been coming up with various potential plans. One plan involves continuing the mission and during the infiltration of the palace you'll try to kill them or get them killed by the guards. This allows you to get inside the palace with their help and you're still in a good position to try to kill the king, of course this also means you're going to have to be quick if you want to kill everyone without anyone getting away.

The other plan would be to try to convince Dusk to split up the group and meet up at the Felkan palace. This would allow you to pick off a few of them before you get to the palace and perhaps make it more manageable. The problem is you're going to have to come up with a good excuse, not to mention you'll be a few bodies short in case you do run into trouble with the Felkan soldiers. Never mind the fact you're going to have to convince Dusk of this in the first place.

You continue with the original plan

Too complicated and too much can go wrong. It'll probably be better to just play it by ear. You're fairly confident that so much will be going on that you'll be able to pull it off.

The next part of the journey is your first big step. Crossing into Felkan territory. This is actually very easy. The outposts aren't nearly as well guarded as they should be and combined with sticking to the wilderness and using magic to cloak yourself and its incredibly simple. The five of you camp out in a secluded wood where Sister Dusk addresses the situation.

"Okay, now this is focus time. The Felkan capital Dessle, is still a long way to go, but I think we can get there by tomorrow night. It's just as well since night is when we work best. Now remember we're just breaking in, killing some guards and getting out. Don't actually kill the king, assuming we run into him. Good thing we don't have to, it's not like we exactly have a map of the palace to go hunting him down."
"Can't we just take out one of those outposts we passed by? I mean it would still start a war." Murk jokes, but Dusk isn't amused.
"Brother, I suggest you stop joking about such things, you know the reason why, we're doing things the way we're doing them, but more importantly Dendrin wants it done this way!" Now get some rest, we're going to need to be at full strength tomorrow."

Murk shuts up and mentally chalks up yet another way he embarrassed himself in from of Bianca. You also make mental notes, namely on who you should kill first. You wonder if you should take out the strongest or weakest first. You could probably easily dispatch Murk and Bianca without too much trouble. You aren't aware of Dusk's full abilities, but you know she is at least accomplished as Shade was. Talia, however is an Eternal and you know how strong she is.

"You thinking about how you're going to handle things if everything goes wrong?" Talia suddenly asks.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah I guess you could say that."
"Figured. You're always deep in thought, I've noticed you've been doing that a lot lately, especially at night in your bed."
"Hm, glad to see Cyrus isn't the only one spying on me." You answer.
"I wasn't really spying, so much as I was studying you, besides I think you noticed that I was."
"Yes, I did notice."
"Of course you did, because you're always alert. You're always aware. And I think you know of my desire."

Talia sits next to you very closely. While you were certainly aware of her interest, you didn't expect it right now! You react immediately to her advances.

"Talia, stop for a moment. Do you really think this is a good idea right now?"
"What better time than now?"

You've heard that line before though the situation is completely different than the one a year ago. This state of affairs is a little weird even for you, considering you were thinking about killing her not a few moments ago.

"Talia, I really don't think we have time for this. We need to get some rest, we've got a very important mission tomorrow." You reply.
"Well it won't take that long will it?"
"Won't take long?"
"Well I mean I know you've been with all those trollops, and your goal there probably wasn't to make them feel good, but rather yourself. And I imagine you wanted to do that as quickly as possible. I don't need to be pleasured…I mean perhaps I will express some interest in it during the act and maybe we can try for fun if the mission goes well, but right now I just want your essence."
"My essence? Wait a minute; you just want me to impregnate you?"
"Well I want you to try. I suppose I should've come to you sooner with this, but I do see you as a potential mate. Even though we are all siblings and equals in the eyes of Dendrin, quite frankly WE…" Talia grabs your hand and puts it to her heart and then your own. "…are Eternals. We still have a bond that the others don't and you're the only one I believe is worthy for me. Our child will be an Eternal and a Shadow like us and we will raise him or her to follow Dendrin as we do. Now I believe you will come out of this mission alive and we will probably talk about our future together in greater detail later, but like you I also prepare in case something should go wrong. If you should fall in battle, then I want to at least have a part of you to live on through me."

This was definitely not something you anticipated. All these years of managing to distance yourself emotionally from all of these traitors and it's been cracked within a few moments. Or maybe you still had the feelings and you never got rid of them, only buried them deeply. Doesn't matter, you're still left with the same problem, pangs of conscience. Weakness.

Though perhaps it's due to Talia being a fellow Eternal that has caused it. She obviously hasn't abandoned all of her superiority complex. And she's right; you do still have a bond. You just wish she was on the right side, because you don't have time to convince her.

You hope Dendrin's having a good laugh at all this, because this is the best twist yet. Bastard.

You could decline her advances, no you SHOULD decline her advances, but for whatever reason you accept them. Maybe it's your weakness of will, maybe it's your hormones or maybe it's just your own twisted way of granting a dead woman her last request, even if she's unaware of it.

The pair of you leave the camp far enough away, cast a spell for privacy and embrace. At least neither of you will die not knowing the pleasures of the flesh. You have to admit, you were always a bit curious. How funny that your reputation as a whoremonger couldn't have been any further from the truth. After it's over you both return and go to your bedrolls without speaking another word. You notice Sister Dusk sleeping against a tree and open one eye as if to let you know what you were up to, but she doesn't do anything else. Perhaps she understands the need for hasty copulation, having lost her own mate only a year ago.

The next day, you set off. Murk tries to speak to you and makes a few comments about noticing that Talia was eyeing you a lot yesterday, but you tell him to leave it alone and focus on the mission. Dusk tells him the same thing when she sees him jabbering on as usual. As for Talia, she hasn't spoken to you, though perhaps her mind is focused on the mission like it should be. Where your mind should be actually.

You try to get back your focus and are finding it difficult. What are you supposed to do now? Throw everything away just for a one night with a woman? Even if she is an Eternal and you could reconcile yourself with being a traitor, you don't fit in with the shadows and you never will. You've done too much to go back and the shadows are doomed at this point anyway.

No, the Emperor and the Empire need you, and that's who your life is dedicated to, nobody else.

You spend the remainder of the journey cloaked and sticking to the less populated parts of the Felkan kingdom, though you eventually reach the capital and sneak over the walls of the city. Fortunately night is falling by that time. While you're still struggling with your own dilemmas you do take the time to notice how much different the Felkan society is. A lot less soldiers first of all, though their soldiers all carry gunpowder based weapons in addition to their normal weapons. In fact their whole society is slightly more technologically advanced than the Empire, but that won't mean anything compared to the sheer might of the Empire when they bring their full force to bear down on the Felkans. You hope that you'll perhaps be part of that after crushing the shadows.

Eventually the five of you are just outside the palace walls of where you presume the king is located. It is here where Dusk addresses the group again.

"You all know the plan, get in, cause some havoc, don't kill the king and get the hell out. Still, I think we'll do a better job with the last part if we're not all bunched up as a group. I want some of us to go to the other side of the palace and start from that side, the soldiers and guards will be less likely to gang up on all of us that way. I'd say about thirty to forty five minutes should do it and afterwards, we'll meet up at that wood where we made camp yesterday, then we'll continue the rest of the journey back to Gloom from there. Now I just need someone to volunteer to come with me and the rest of you can scale the palace wall here."

Well it looks like your original plan of trying to split up the group is going to come true after all, the question is do you want to take care of Dusk first or whoever decides to be on the second team?

You volunteer to go with Dusk

This is a perfect time to get Dusk alone, so you immediately volunteer.

"I'll go, unless you'd prefer someone else." You say.
"No, you'll do. Come on, we're going around to the other side, as for the rest of you, wait about five minutes before scaling that wall, afterwards, I leave you to use your best judgment on how to handle things. May Dendrin's shadow keep you safe."

You and Dusk leave the group and hurry as fast as possible to the other side of the palace. When you arrive you both cast your spider walk spell to scale the wall. The pair of you find yourself on the edge of some sort of palace garden. Farther away, a couple soldiers stand guard on a stone patio area near an entrance to the palace proper where some steps lead up to.

"Well that was certainly convenient. We can use all this shrubbery to hide in, give our magic a rest for a moment." Dusk says.
"Great, I was getting drained anyway." You remark.
"Oh I don't know brother, I think you've held up better than most give you credit for. I think after all this is over, I owe you a big apology."
"What for? Until this mission, we've never interacted for good or bad."
"Well let's just say someone told me to never trust you because you were responsible for Brother Shade's disappearance."
"(Sigh) Cyrus." You say.
"Yes, but I think your actions on this mission so far have disproved him…especially your meeting with Sister Talia yesterday. I believe if you really had any ill intent, you wouldn't have submitted to her plan to be impregnated."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Sister Talia has spoken to me about her plan to have you as a mate before, though I didn't think she'd act on it during the mission. Obviously you have some connection to her as well, I guess it's an Eternal thing. Anyway, let's get on with the mission."

Sister Dusk slowly crawls through the bushes in the garden, steadily getting in range where she can take out the guards. Her back is to you and you slowly draw your blade.

"You know these bushes are also good to hide bodies in so no wandering guards suddenly come across them." You say and suddenly grab Dusk roughly with one hand over her mouth and then slashing her throat deeply with your knife.

Dusk attempts to flail about, but you keep her from doing too much of it, but putting all your weight on top of her body and slamming her face into the ground. The gurgling death sounds she makes are muffled by the soil, which is now being watered by her blood. Eventually she stops moving, but apparently it was enough to move the bushes enough that one of the guards noticed something odd. You see the both of them through the cover of the undergrowth approaching your position.

You wait until they're close enough then stand up and throw your knife into the eye of one of them, and then before the other can lift his firearm, you fire your own bolt from your armbow. It strikes him in the chest and he falls down dead instantly. The one who got hit in the eye is still on the ground, groaning, but you quickly silence his moaning with a sword to his neck. You drag both of their bodies into the bushes to keep Dusk's body company.

Now you just have to figure out where the hell the king is in this big place. Hopefully you'll bump into a servant or maybe even a royal family member who you can scare into giving you information, so you're not wandering around while more Felkan soldiers pour into the place.

You systematically search nearly twenty rooms, which probably doesn't take you very long, but it feels like forever given how precious time is. You still can't believe you haven't run into any more soldiers yet, the Felkans seem to have a false sense of security with their superior weaponry and in general.

About ten minutes pass of searching and while you're in a spare bedroom you hear noise and shouting. Something about there being assassins in the palace and to get the king to safety. Talia and the others must be doing their work, and now you've got even less time to do your job. You curse and cloak yourself in a dark corner of the room fully expecting a guard to step in, but instead you finally have a bit of luck.

"Come on inside here, lock the door and got through the secret passage in here." A well-dressed young man says.
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we be with the guards?" a young female in a fancy dress says, locking the door.
"Nah, we'll be fine. These passages go all over the palace, even outside the city. The gnome builders did a good job of making sure this place had escape routes everywhere. Besides, you're with me and I'll protect you." The young man says patting a flintlock pistol by his side.

He pushes the bed and feels around the floor until you see him open up some sort of hatch. He starts to climb down and that's when you make your move.

The young man looks up just in time to see you materialize behind his girlfriend and slit her throat. He doesn't even get a chance scream out, when you use your unnatural speed to kick him in the face. He loses his grip on the ladder and falls. You follow him down by jumping down the hatch, landing on top of him hard feet first. A crack is heard and you're pretty sure you've broken one or two of his ribs.

Despite the pain he must be in, he still tries to grab his pistol, but you easily take it from him and continue to kneel on top of his chest. He's too busy trying to catch his breath to be able to scream now.

"Don't cry out and you might get out of this alive. You look like you might be important…you a royal or a noble or something?"
He painfully nods and wheezes.
"Okay, good then you probably know where the king is. Tell me or the pain you're feeling right now will become ten times worse."

These royals must not have any sort of disciplined upbringing or even have the concept of honor at all, because the only thing the prevents him from telling you immediately is the extreme pain he's suffering. You're actually surprised he told you at all, you figured it would be a long shot. You also ask him where the exit to outside the city is from this passage and he tells you that as well. After you've gotten all you feel you need, you finish him off with a dagger to his throat.

You run down the twisting dark passageway trying to look for the door that leads to the king's room, and eventually you find it. You search and listen to the door first, just in case the young royal wasn't as soft as he seemed and actually lied to you. You do hear some talking, but you can't quite make out what is being said. Having little other options you unlock the door and enter.

You exit through a big painting and find yourself in a very luxurious room with very fancy furniture. Two figures, a man and a woman, in regal clothing stare at you in a mixture of terror and disbelief. Four more figures are dressed in standard guard gear.

"GUARDS! ASSASSIN!" the male figure shouts at which point all his guards lift up their firearms and point them at you. You speed up again and duck as the musket balls fly in slow motion above your head. You return fire on your own with your armbow. The bolt flies true and it strikes the male figure in the head. You're going to take a guess that you just killed the king.

You quickly run out of the entryway, before you even see his body hit the floor. A scream is heard from what is probably the queen as you run down the passage. The sound of guards chasing you soon follows. You feel like you're going to pass out just by running and stopping to fight them isn't an option, there's going to just be more of them and they'll easily overwhelm you in the state of exhaustion you're in. You're going to have to use your magic again, but that's part of the reason why you're feeling so drained. You've probably tapped into that blasted shadow magic more than you ever have for the past few days.

While speeding yourself up seems like the logical thing to do, it drains you a lot more than merely cloaking yourself, which is aided by the natural darkness around you. You nip just out of sight and cloak yourself and continue on your way. You hear a couple guards shouting orders for some of them to go one way and they'll go the other.

You can hear three of them heading in your direction, though they obviously can't see you and believe that you've ran so far ahead of them. You step into one of the passages entryways and hide, hoping they won't think to examine it. Fortunately after one of them briefly glances at the entryway and sees nothing has been disturbed, they all pass you by. You could try to pick them off now, or you could go through the entryway and hope it leads somewhere secluded so you can rest a bit more.

You dispatch the guards

You can't afford to linger, you need to get out of here, if not only to escape but also to catch up with the other shadows so you can kill them before they reach Gloom.

You head in the direction where the young royal you killed told you where an exit existed, or at least you hope it does.

Along the way you see some of the guards up ahead still searching for you. Their backs are towards you, so it's a simple matter of picking them off even in your exhausted state. A bolt hits one in the head for an instant kill, by the time the second one turns around to see his partner slump to the floor you've already run up and dispatched him with a dagger to his throat. The third one shouts for help and attempts to fire his weapon at you. You feel the hot burn of lead graze the side of your leg before tackling him and shoving your sword through his chest.

You quickly examine your wound which isn't life threatening, but it's enough to cause you to limp a bit. You can hear more guards heading your way, so you continue to press onward, hoping you'll get to the exit soon. Unfortunately you never make it. You're so tired from all your magic use that you're having trouble even staying awake, combined with the fact that you just used up your remaining energy dispatching those soldiers and your limp, you aren't going very far.

You pass out before the soldiers even capture you. When you come to you find yourself in chains and in a cell. The regal woman you saw when you killed the king stands before you with several soldiers and a dagger in her hand.

"Good, I wanted you to be awake for this. Soldiers, open his mouth. We'll start with his tongue first, I don't feel like hearing whatever lies or final attempts at taunts while I show this Empire scum the true meaning of pain."

You attempt to struggle, you even bite part of a finger off, but it's about the last damage you ever do to anybody. Some of your teeth are knocked or pulled out and then your tongue soon follows.

The woman…the queen as you come to learn is quite upset with you killing her husband, but even more upset that the young royal you killed was apparently her son. She mentions how bloodshed for its own sake or revenge is mostly frowned upon in the kingdom, but in your case she's making an exception.

The queen puts you through a long list of agonizing tortures; she never does get the satisfaction of hearing you scream though. She begins to get angrier, which would cause you to laugh if you weren't suffering in silence. The suffering you feel isn't from the torture though, it's from the fact that you only half completed your mission. You can only hope that your deeds will be enough for the Empire to bring down the shadows and the Felkan Kingdom. It will have to be.

Eventually, the queen tires of torturing you and orders her men to put an end to your misery by slitting your throat.