Year 16

You and four of your fellow Eternals stand once again before Brother Gray this time though he is joined by another one of his fellow shadows. This man is almost indistinguishable from Brother Gray, similar robe, head covering hood, the only thing really different about him is that he's slightly taller.

"Eternals, you have survived this far when some of your fellows have not. This means you show promise in joining our order, but it does not yet mean you belong. There is one more test that you have to pass through, before that can happen. I shall let Master Ebon explain more."

With this, Master Ebon steps forward and begins to speak, it is at that moment you notice that something is slightly off about him. Like part of him is becoming translucent momentarily.

"Eternals, I have heard much about you and how skilled you all are. So far I am not impressed. You have been given gifts and advantages from birth yet only a few of you actually made it this far. However, given Brother Gray's sterling assessment of all of you that do remain, perhaps I just need to see it for myself. In any event, all of you shall be undergoing the Ritual of the Shadow. It is in this important ceremony that you will gain abilities such as this…"

Master Ebon, suddenly disappears completely and before you know it, he is behind all of you, forcing you all to turn around.

"This is just a simple ability, compared to others you will gain in time, assuming you survive the ritual. I should also mention this ritual will also open your eyes to the truth and bind you…all of us in a way you have never even pondered before. I am not sure if you Eternals have bonded despite growing up together, but you even if you have, that bond will not compare to that of the shadows. Our order has existed for a very long time and will continue to do so long after other systems haven fallen to the dung heap of history."

Master Ebon at this point turns around and begins to chant in some strange language. After about five minutes of this, a shimmering portal opens up, though it sort of fades in and out of existence.

"And now Eternals, the ritual begins. You two, enter the portal together." Ebon says pointing at Cyrus and Brian. The pair of them nod and walk into the portal.

After a few moments have passed, Ebon speaks again.

"You two, enter the portal together." He says and Talia and David enter the portal leaving you by yourself.

A longer stretch of time passes and even you begin to feel a little anxious despite your best efforts." Master Ebon naturally notices this.

"Since you have been spoken about in such high regard from Brother Gray, I have decided that you do not need to take this test, you are already skilled enough. In fact I believe that you probably do not belong in our order, and you would best serve the Emperor as a soldier. I will inform Mr. Mol of this and he will probably have you transferred to an appropriate post of your skill."
"Master Ebon, I'm not afraid to go through the ceremony! I want to do this!" you protest.
"Hmm, didn't expect you to protest. I was told that you have a habit of not questioning orders almost to a suicidal degree, though due to your skill, you manage to survive, so I know you are not afraid. However, while loyalty and obedience are certainly important traits to have, I believe that your particular mindset really would serve the Empire's military instead. The military is a very simple place. Your superiors tell you to kill and you kill. They tell you to die, and you die. The Shadow Guard is a less…absolute branch that requires questioning and deeper thought at times. Contrary to popular belief we do not just snatch people off the streets because someone criticizes the Empire. Such a policy would undoubtedly depopulate countless cities and towns. No, we only seek out those that truly desire the fall of the Empire and sometimes that requires investigations."
"So you are telling me I am not intelligent enough to be a Shadow Guard."
"I didn't say that. Again from what I've heard, you have exceptional intelligence. No, what I'm saying is your mindset is different. Now I know Brother Gray said he spoke to you about maintaining a survival instinct, but mere survival isn't enough."
"I know this. I survive so that I may serve the Emperor longer."

Master Ebon at this point raises his hands and drops them.

"And that's exactly why you would better serve in the military. There is no shame in this, not everyone is meant to be a Shadow Guard, not even an Eternal. I will make the preparations to have you transferred."

Master Ebon turns from you to speak to Brother Gray and you're left speechless. You're also left with a lot of conflicting feelings. You feel disappointed, angry and confused all at the same time. Part of you is content on accepting Ebon's assessment. He may even be right. He's talking about questioning and complex thought and you don't exactly know what he means by all that. What else could there be other than serving the Empire?

Another part of you feels defiant. You want to prove that he is wrong, you want to jump into the portal before he can do anything about it. Maybe he's expecting you to do that though. Maybe this is a test? But why would there be a test that encourages disobedience?

In any event, if you're going to make your move, you need to do it now.

You run into the portal

Test or not, you're not going to stand here and accept the judgment that Master Ebon has passed on you. You're more than strong enough to pass through the ceremony, you know you are and to prove it, you immediately make a run for the portal.

"Master Ebon, the Eternal is running towards the portal!" you hear Brother Gray shout just as you make a leap into the shimmering portal. If Ebon said anything you didn't hear it, in fact as soon as you pass through the portal you don't hear anything. You also don't see anything or even feel anything. It's like you've stepped into a place that has sucked out all your senses. You even attempt to speak out loud, but nothing comes out, of course you wouldn't really know since you can't hear anything. You don't believe you're standing on anything and feels like you're "floating" in some sort of void.

As for your mental state of mind, your feelings have become muted. You still have them, but they aren't as strong as they once were. Even before when you suppressed your feelings yourself, you never managed it to this degree. Everything has become deadened.

All of this is so strange and you briefly wonder if you've made a mistake, but then you hear a voice, but it's inside your head. It isn't some sort of subconscious either. It's a very real external force speaking to you in your mind. The voice is a whisper, but loud at the same time, almost overpowering.

"You were not given permission to be here. Why have you disobeyed your superior?" the voice asks.
"I…I wanted to prove I was worthy." You answer. It is a strange sensation to speak with just your brain.
"I see…so do you think you are worthy?"
"Yes."
"Your confidence is admirable. Yet, you do not even where you are, let alone WHO you are."
"I am an Eternal."
"Are you? Tell me, how can one be an Eternal, when one has not even experienced life outside what your superiors have told you? How can one be eternal when one is a mere baby in terms of existence? How can one be eternal when you are before a being that has existed longer than you mortals first came up with the idea of your primitive methods of measuring time? No, you are not eternal. You are confused."

The voice is absolutely oppressive. Any feelings that were dead before are replaced with an extreme feeling of hopelessness and as the voice stated confusion. Within that moment you start to question everything you were taught. Not the skills, but the ideology. Still, you try to maintain your mind, by asking questions.

"Are…are you the god of the Shadow Guards?"
"That designation I suppose is accurate in a sense, but one should not get stuck with just one description, lest it confine you. I am many things as are you, even if you do not realize it yet, despite what your superior believes. Not to say he is wrong, just that he does not have the…insight I possess. Now your fellows that entered before you did are limited in their thought processes. Some have already failed due to their lack of complex thought. Tell me, are you loyal to your Emperor and your Empire?"
"…of course!" you say, though due to your experience in this place, you feel a lot less certain of that, for the first time. This whole event is troubling to you. You almost feel suicidal for not answering with absolute certainty.
"One cannot serve two masters, or at least not for long. The ones your Empire has designated the Shadow Guard are my loyal servants. They are loyal to ME, first. You cannot be a true member of this order if you place your Emperor above me. My followers have survived by hiding in plain sight and making themselves indispensable to the Empire. They have done this for centuries, but there will be a reckoning some day soon and the question is, who's side are you going to be on?"

You cannot answer. The concept of not placing the Emperor about all is so abhorrent to you that you can't even comprehend it. Yet here you are being asked this question by a god no less. He's even suggested a reckoning of some sort that indicates the Shadow Guard will betray the Empire in the future! How can you argue with such a being though? If you disagree it is likely to destroy you, but in this place you almost can't help but to swear subservience to this god. You feel so helpless that it's almost like the choice Mistress gave you except even worse.

You swear to serve the god to survive

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 confront Cyrus and Talia

Cyrus and Talia are still Eternals and you have to believe that despite whatever divine indoctrination has taken place that they still have some sort of loyalty to the Emperor and not the Shadow Guard and certainly not Dendrin.

In any case, you're going to try to get through to them and you don't know how to do that except just by being direct.

"Do you two really think Dendrin is more powerful than the Emperor?" you ask.
"Of course! How could he not be? Why would you even ask such a thing?" Cyrus says.
"Dendrin showed us…all of us that the Emperor and the Empire is a lie and corrupt! He is the only true path! You were in his presence! How can you doubt him?" Talia adds.

"I might ask you two how you can you suddenly revere Dendrin and turn your back on all of what has been taught us? Dendrin…whatever he is obviously is going to show us, or tell us whatever he wants for his own purposes, that doesn't make it true! We're Eternals first remember? We swore to serve the Empire, it's why we were born!"
"Stop it! Just stop! You're speaking heresy and foolishness! I think your mind was too weak to withstand the greatness of Dendrin and has been damaged!" Talia says.
"On the contrary I would ask how is it that I have maintained MY ability to question the Shadow Guard agenda? Why is it that Dendrin did not just destroy me if I wasn't worthy? Perhaps I'm the strong one. I managed to hold on to my beliefs against a god while you two quickly abandoned them completely. Now you've got two options, you can either leave this place with me and we shall report this treasonous organization to the Empire and I swear I will not mention your own doubts in the Emperor."
"The only reporting you should be doing is to either Brother Gray or Master Ebon about your sickness and hope they know how to treat it! I'm warning you, continue to speak the way you have been or…"
"Or else what Cyrus? You'll kill me?" you ask and shake your head. "Do what you must then, but see now that I will not be able to get through to you. Now what about you Talia? Are you completely…"

Before you can complete the sentence, Cyrus attacks you. You narrowly miss a blade to your chest and throw Cyrus face first into a nearby bed. You then follow up with a stomp to his spine though you fail to break it and instead he just grunts in pain. You pull out your own sword and then that's when Cyrus starts using his new shadow powers. He rolls out of the way and turns invisible.

You begin swinging at his closest location, but he slips by and stabs you in the foot. You wince at this pain and kick forward with your other foot. I lands somewhere into Cyrus, because he makes another sound. At this point he's flickering in and out and also breathing heavy. His inexperience at the shadow magic has reared its ugly head again to your advantage.

Unfortunately you were so focused on fighting Cyrus that you completely forgot about Talia, she however hasn't forgotten about you. You feel two daggers go excruciatingly into your back and puncture your vital organs. You yell out in pain and collapse on to the floor.

"(Wheeze) Thank you my sister. (Pant) Only a shadow for a little while and we've already managed to kill an enemy of Dendrin! I'm sure someone heard our fighting, but I'm going to go find Brother Gray, you stay here and watch his body, though I imagine he won't give you anymore trouble." Cyrus says and leaves.

You aren't dead yet, but you soon will be. Talia, stands far enough away from you so you can't do anything sudden to her in your last moments.

"Why did you have to say anything? Why didn't you just submit to the will of Dendrin? You made me kill you!" Talia says with a tone of regret in her voice.
"No I didn't…I did my duty. You chose to abandon yours…"
"I didn't! I…"

Talia's voice quivers a bit, like she's genuinely upset about having to kill you. You didn't expect that, maybe it will cause her to question her priorities now. Perhaps your actions here have accomplish something after all and the seed of chaos has been planted to destroy the Shadow Guard from the inside before they can carry out whatever plans to betray the Empire.

You comfort yourself with these thoughts as you pass from this world.