Tales from Beyond the Scriptures-A Deity Tale

> "*For Xeaus, every word is a pageant.*" -SharpyArcher's January 22, 2018 comment on *Tales from Beyond the Scriptures*
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*Tales from Beyond the Scriptures-A Deity Tale* was a nine-part recurring story written by Xeaus Ranke, that was published on the Imdeity Forums from November 18, 2017 through June 25, 2018. The story was a work of fiction inspired by the *Imdeity Tales*, a set of stories set in a fictionalized version of the Imdeity Server. *Tales from Beyond the Scriptures* features sensationalized versions of the Council of Araluen, Alysandra530, bran\_bash, SharpyArcher, and Xeaus as well as an assortment of other players who play minor roles in the story. The story takes place ten years after the defeat of "the great beast of war" a euphemism for JWCuber who was permanently banned at the time the first three installments of the story were published. Imdeity has been killed by his brother, FauxLord, a character created for the story, and the "Triad of Trias" (Bran, Sharpy, and Xeaus) must defeat him in a game of DeityWar that stretches the entire worldmap of the server.

The story was left unfinished following the publication of "Part 9: Rage and Ruin" with no further installments or drafts existing.

#### **Part 1: The Triad and the Tragedy**

Ash and embers danced in the thinning air as the city burned to the ground overcome by the great beast of war. The horrifying sounds of crumbling buildings rung in the ears of she who searched for the three messengers of peace. Trias the goddess of triads, the daughter of one of Imdeity Kingdoms' ancient founders, paced the debris ridden road waiting. She knew they, the three saviors, would arrive, they needed to, it was destiny, outlined in the stars and written by the magicians of old. The charred flag of the fallen city still hung, waving in the ashen air, a show of strength and endurance, or one of defeat? That depended on the actions of the triad destined to end this war. From over her shoulder Trias sensed it, from the south, over the mound that used to be the town hall, came the first of three, wielding his bow, the archer, just as written in the tales of old. The other, the second, from the south-east holding a staff of ancient oak, the archmage. But the last member, the third, had not arrived. The first two greeted each other.

"It's good to see you again, Sharpy. I'm not disappointed to be working with you again." The bow master exclaimed.

"Yes, together we shall finally bring an end to this war, Bran."

"We're still waiting for one." spoke Trias softly. "The final member has not yet arrived."

The bell of the decimated church tower eerily rung. It's clanging echoing across the ruins. From beyond the fires, in the east, a figure appeared. Clad in a dark purple cloak and a golden chestplate, the figure stood on the remains of the town's tallest structure, now reduced to a pile of rubble. They carried a bow in their back and a sword in their sheath, but their grey gloved hands were empty and held, palms extended, towards the goddess and her chosen ones.

Trias called to the stranger.

"I know of these two, the archer, the mage, but you...who might you be? Trias shouted inquiring at the newcomer.

The figure steadily walked their way to the group, purple cloak swirling as the wind picked up. As they approached their green eyes examined the group. The stranger nodded and, smirking slyly, dramatically

replied, "Ranke, Xeaus Ranke."

Savie ran Troy's sandy roads in an adrenaline fueled rush. The terrible war had come to its bitter conclusion 10 years prior and now Xeaus Ranke, the mayor, had tried to put it all behind him. Torn between allegiances and believing the crown of the Kingdom of Peace to be rightfully his, he had fallen to his worst. His subjects, while loyal, still admitted, behind closed doors, that Ranke was a war-hero turned self-obsessed drunkard. He often drank imported ales and would only talk of the war in joke punch-lines and drunken rages. Time had taken its toll on his soul but not his body. He retained a youthful face despite the stress. Only a single scar, running from his brow to his chin remained to remind him of what had occurred during those traumatic times. Night had fallen now as Savie continued her run to the capital district. Ranke, having fallen asleep in one the town hall's couches was not expecting to be suddenly awoken by Savie with startling news.

"Xeaus." She shook the man awake.

"Ughh," yawned the mayor. "Mhm Savie, unless Bran has finally ceded the crown and I am finally king, there does not seem to be any reason why you've awoken me from my rest." He put his head back down on the couch, only for Savie to grab him by his hair and bring him to his feet. Xeaus groaned.

"Ranke! You've been drinking again, damn you! Cease your drunken rhetoric, we have a real problem."

"I'm listening..." Xeaus smoothed out his expensive garments with his left hand as he fixed his ruffled hair with a ring covered right. He placed his hand on the armrest of the couch to keep himself from falling over.

Savie took the deepest breath of her life."Deity is dead."

Silence. No ale was strong enough to keep Xeaus out of this reality. The darkest reality. A reality he had never imagined as even possible. A thousand different thoughts swirled in his mind.

"This...this wasn't predicted in the scriptures."

"No."

"I didn't think the gods could die anymore." Xeaus reminisced back the the Great War and Trias' sacrifice. It still hurt. "Deity, the great force holding even the bitterest of rivals at bay is gone. Troy has its enemies, I know they'll come for us if we don't act quickly, arrange for the army to..."

"They won't. Evil has returned to the world Xeaus, an ancient evil. It has wiped them all out. Without enemies we are stronger X, We all have to fight, you included. "

"Impossible, why wipe out those who would be allies against us? No, none of this matters. I can't go back, I can't fight another war. The last one..." He paused as he collapsed into the couch again. He sat with his hands in between his legs. "The last one left me in tatters."

Savie wasn't afraid to use whatever means possible to convince Xeaus to fight. He alone had slayed the beast in the Great War, saved his team, he was a hero. She just had to find it in him again. "Imagine the praise when you win. The people celebrating another success of the hero of the Great War."

"That's what I thought last time, yet I lost more allies than I gained from that catastrophe. I am not willing to risk it all to gain so little. Savie. even I wouldn't bet on me to win this one. And another thing, Deity was there last time, he held back the armies as I defeated the beast. We cannot win without him."

"Xeaus, It is your duty and you will do this. We've reached the end of the ancient's scriptures. We're at the end of the world. It's anyone's game, but you, you can unite the cities again, you can finish off this evil."

Xeaus sighed, he knew she was right. He would have to be the one to do this. If an ancient evil had really returned and killed Deity, he wouldn't be around much longer if he decided to simply sit around and watch the world burn. "The kings will be holding a meeting in the Capital to discuss the contingency plans. Looks like I know exactly where to go to bring everyone back together. Anyone of any influence in one spot. It's perfect."

"It's also illegal to interrupt that sort of official meeting, X." Savie warned.

"Now now, since when has that ever stopped me?" laughed Ranke at the starry night sky through the town hall's atrium.

#### **Part 2: Unition of The Mage and The Savior**

*City of Luna, Kingdom of Araluen (1255,Y,6887)*

Four days on horseback had left Xeaus sore and even more exhausted. The days following Deity's death had been surreal. The world had lost its god less than a week prior, and it was taking its toll. Xeaus took a shot of ale from his flask as he arrived in Luna at daybreak, and unmounted the black steed. Relieved to stand and travel with his own two feet, Xeaus tied his horse down on the outskirts of the city to allow himself to stretch his legs. He had traded his purple cloak for a crimson-brown one and his body, once adorned with rings and jewels, now carried the weight of a bow on his back and a sword in his sheath. The wind blew through his hair and his new cloak, eerily similar to the day he arrived in the burning city. Sharpy Castle, a grand structure of stone, loomed overhead as Xeaus, without alerting the Archmage of his presence, simply kicked the door down, startling the two dogs in the room who ran for cover in the storage hall.

Sharpy had maintained relatively at peace since the war, he had taken the splendor and carefully avoided the aftermath of disapproval that Xeaus had to face. He lived lavishly, practicing alchemy and spells in his spare time, of which he had a lot of. Despite the luxuries, he was quick to defend himself and a powerful fighter, a quality, no doubt, that would have the mage fighting at Xeaus' side again in no time.

"Sharpy!" His voice echoed through the halls of the stone brick structure. Footsteps could be heard shuffling upstairs, then down them as the Archmage made his way down the grand staircase of his palace.

"It's rude to kick your friend's doors down Xeaus. At least ask first damn you."

Ranke dismissed the mage's words with a wave of his hand. "It made for an entrance my friend, and I'm afraid we have a much bigger problem at hand than my barging in."

"But it was imported spruce..."

"Listen! Forget the freaking door. I'd sit down if I were you, this news is gonna hit you where it hurts." His cloak fluttered as he threw his arm out in rage.

"Very well, follow me Ranke."

The two made their way to Sharpy's quarters upstairs and Sharpy sat himself down on the red sheets of his ornate bed. White curtains of the highest quality hung over the windows. Xeaus, seeking the finer things and a chance to perhaps, even for a moment, escape the nightmare, poured himself a glass of wine from the Mage's personal collection. Red chandeliers overhead cast a scarlet shadow across Xeaus' face.

Xeaus breathed deeply. took a sip from the crystal glass and uttered the words he'd never thought he'd have to say. "Deity is dead."

This time, instead of silence, a soft sigh came from Sharpy. This clearly meant another war was coming and he was not fond of war. It was messy, toilsome, and he would once again have to leave the life he had worked so hard to create for himself.

"I'd fight if I could, but I lost my stave years ago in a duel." Sharpy looked past Xeaus, clearly distressed.

"This stave?" Ranke removed a shimmering oaken staff from his tanned leather sheath. "More room for my sword now." He patted the weapon through the sheath.

"This is...not...possible." Sharpy stuttered, amazed at seeing what appeared to be his long-lost staff in Xeaus' gloved hands.

Xeaus shook his head, his spectrum of hair waving wildly. "You lost it in a duel with a man named Victor Vionern if I'm not mistaken, he and I are, how do I say this. Mhm...we are one in the same."

Sharpy was actually speechless this time. Silence now filled the room besides the sound of Xeaus' wine as he swirled it around in nervous habit.

"After the war concluded, I craved the stimulation and rush the war gave me. I entered into perilous duels and ended up victorious in all but one. Hence the name Victor. I had taken a look at myself after our duel and realized I had actually lost, figuratively of course. See, I had resorted to fighting my own peers for personal gain, and just couldn't take it anymore. Ale and imported wines became my only escape. As you see," Ranke held up his glass, "I haven't entirely been able said goodbye to that one yet."

Sharpy acknowledged the story with a shallow nod of his head and extended his hands outwards to Xeaus in yearning. "Please, it's been so long."

"Here my friend, it has been too long. Take it." Xeaus held it out graciously and Sharpy took the staff with gentle hands. He examined it for a moment, not believing that any of this could possibly be happening. The two best and worst things in his life had happened in a matter of moments.

"What do I have to do? Sharpy asked with newfound courage as he raised himself back to his feet. The spark of a fighter back in his heart.

"Well for starters, I'd like for us to crash a meeting of kings." The two gazed at one another, ruby light shining down on their as they nodded with faces of approval, weapons in hand.

#### **Part 3: A Fight Fit For a King**

*Balcony in the Library Overlooking the Dining Hall, Capital City (-237, Y, -62)*

With a cloud of black smoke, the two were whisked off from Sharpy's castle to the Capital.

"Follow me Sharpy, and be very quiet, I want to make an entrance." Xeaus signaled and the two ran across the stone road.

"Does this one involve kicking an expensive door down?" Sharpy asked still a bit sore over the breaking and entering done by Ranke.

"Ever had a Lechon before Sharpy?"

"A what?"

"I thought not. Now let's go." The duo approached the throne room of the dead deity. They climbed the steps of the stone tower to the left and followed the hall to the Grand Library which overlooked the dining hall of the Palace.

"There they are, listen to them. Bickering like children." A loud hum of voices filled the room as the leaders of all the kingdoms fought to have their voice be heard the loudest.

"They're really going at it aren't they?" Sharpy peered over the edge of the balcony as Xeaus quickly pulled him back. "Careful buddy. Each of them want the throne for themselves. This meeting is going to go nowhere without our intervention. Follow my lead and if we end up having to battle them, don't get in my way."

Sharpy gave a confused look to Xeaus. "Get in the way?" He thought puzzling over Xeaus' statement.

Xeaus now introduced himself from the terrace. "Kings of Imdeity, I Xeaus Ranke and my associate Sharpy would like to relieve you of the duty of choosing the next king. There is a much bigger issue at hand of which we'd like to inform you."

The kings sat in their cushioned chairs, unphased and continued arguing amongst themselves. The head of the table, Bran Bash, King of Araluen and owner of the crown Xeaus desired, looked upwards toward the balcony, and ignored him.

"Well, perhaps I didn't project myself enough!" He tried again."Great Monarchs of Deity!" Nothing.

"They're not listening to us Xeaus." Sharpy was starting to have second thoughts about crashing this meeting. Xeaus' "great" plan seemed to...suck.

"I can see that my friend. It seems plan B is now in effect." Xeaus composed himself, tightened his gloves and undid the knots holding his outer cloak on.

"Plan B?"

Xeaus jumped from the balcony onto the golden table from which the kings sat around. The chainmail armor under his cloak clambered as he landed. "Alright, listen up fools." His ash-grey boots slammed into the table temporarily sending their decorated china into the air. The bickering ceased.

"As you well know by now, Deity is dead." Xeaus smirked. It's only natural that with my own blessing I declare my kingship upon you. I am, for now and forever, Xeaus Ranke, King of Kings." Ranke paced the table kicking plates onto the regal outfits of the great kings. He dramatically made theatrical movements with his hands as he acted like the person they all feared he was. Xeaus gave what Sharpy understood as a signal, a fist pump to the sky. "My humble constituents..."

This was to be the breaking point. "I am god."

The Kings did not take this lightly. They despised one other, but at least they were all royalty. Their meeting had been ruined by a drunken so-called hero declaring himself god. That was simply and utterly unacceptable, an atrocity.

"Bran," the king directly to the left of the center chair addressed the head of the table, "Take care of these fools. Show them what the power of a true god can feel like."

"Bien entendu." Bran unbuttoned his formal midnight-blue jacket and removed it, revealing his quiver and bow upon his back.

"Things just got a whole lot more interesting Sharpy." Xeaus stated as the mage rounded the corner, having taken the stairs down instead of jumping.

"For better or for worse? Xeaus, we really need Bran on our team." The Archmage had a much better relationship with Bran than he did Xeaus, but he had agreed to help him, but not without questioning his somewhat rash actions.

"I won't hurt him Sharpy, trust me. I need all three of us."

The fighting ensued. Sharpy took on several of the kings who decided that one man against 2 simply wasn't enough. Xeaus took his own bow and readied it against Bran. With startling speed, the two men engaged in bitter combat, shooting and dodging with the skill of masters.

To Bran's surprise, Xeaus had worked his way around and cornered him. Ranke's arrow was just centimeters from Bran's face. "With that accuracy I suppose you're not drunk after all Ranke. " Bran whispered, their faces just inches apart.

"Just a bit buzzed I suppose." Xeaus stated, bow still loaded.

"So if this wasn't a facade after all, then what's going on?" Bran nervously asked, wondering if the man who had so craved the crown he held had finally come for revenge.

"Some ancient power has awoken and took out Deity and a few others. I dunno who they are, as we've yet to meet, but if they can kill Deity we're certainly all next."

"So you're not here for my title, you're here for me. I suppose people really do change, however, these guys certainly won't believe you." Bran peered past Xeaus and saw Sharpy taking on the two kings who had gotten up. Their fighting was getting closer to the corner where Xeaus spoke while Sharpy pushed them back with a slam of his staff.

"I'm aware" The battle got very close now as the kings began to shoot wildly in hopes of hitting mage.

"Then what do you plan on do...Xeaus watch your right! Ranke avoided the lone arrow from one of the monarchs as he unleashed his loaded arrow on them.

"I plan on having you back on the team." Xeaus raised his eyebrows as an invitation to join or death sentence if Bran refused.

"Hell yeah, looks like we're getting the band back together." Bran held his hand out and the two shook hands, cementing the deal.

"If it gets you to join, you can call it whatever you want." Xeaus backed off allowing the two men to stand beside each other. The Archmage, now back on the ground, stood on the table of the mess hall. The Bow Master and the Savior joined him. Xeaus stood in the center with the other two on either side of him. "Please try to go along with everything I say, it'll make this a whole lot less messy." Ranke explained.

"I think we're capable of making our own decisions." Sharpy stood up for himself. He wasn't gonna be bossed around anymore.

"Fine." Xeaus turned around, cloak flailing and began to address the rest of the Kings, still in their seats, having not moved since the encounter.

"I'll give all of you 10 seconds to surrender to us." Declared Ranke.

"The three of you?" The King on the right end of the table inquired in a thick accented tone, laughing.

"Indeed, the three of us." He nodded at the two men on either side of him. This triad of Trias would be unstoppable.

The kings looked at each other in amusement. "The royal crowned monarchs of the assorted Kingdoms of Imdeity will not sit idly while tyranny reins over our world."

"I wholeheartedly agree your Excellency, I'm glad we could resolve this without another fight, it's all so...time-consuming."

"They're talking about you." Bran noted.

"I'm aware, I just love to mess with people, you know that." Xeaus took the bow off his back and loaded it again.

"Dammit Xeaus, you're going to fight again?"

Sharpy banged his stave on the ground ready for battle as well.

"You too Sharpy? Fine have it your way." Bran grabbed at his back for his bow. It wasn't there. "Um..."

Xeaus nudged him, his acquaintance's bow in hand. "Told you I loved messing with people."

Bran snatched the bow back with a grimace. "Mhm.."

"Your majesty" Xeaus bowed mockingly.

The kings now assembled themselves, elegant weapons in hand.

"Ranke, I swear if you make a joke of us, I'll never forgive you."

"Sorry Bran but I'm pretty sure I'm about to do that."

"What?"

Ranke threw his hands down to the ground and the trio was thrown into the air. Bran and Xeaus grabbed onto a chandelier as Sharpy cast some form of levitation spell on himself.

"When pigs fly" Xeaus quipped in Bran's ear as Bran shoved Xeaus away. The two immediately began shooting down upon the kings who had gathered under and around the chandelier in order to get proper aim at the rogues.

Sharpy twisted and turned, jerking his body around in order to avoid contact with the arrows and spears being thrown around. The formal meeting place of kings had turned into a bloody battleground. Xeaus reached behind himself and put his bow on his back again. He drew his steel sword from the leather sheath.

"Good luck fighting them with that from up here. What are you, out of arrows?" Bran removed some from his quiver and attempted to hand them to Xeaus.

Ranke laughed dismissing Bran's offer. "Arrows? Bran please, I'm one step ahead of these crowned cronies. You should probably brace yourself, just saying." Ranke raised his right arm up, sword in hand, and cut the cord of the chandelier. He took out a good portion of the kings as it crashed on the floor in a crystal array of shining shards and the red of blood.

"Xeaus! I wasn't shooting to kill them. You just wiped out almost the entirety of the world's leaders!"

"I wouldn't kill any of them on purpose. Look they're fine, just a bit shocked and bloodied. Sharpy, heal the royal pains." Xeaus rolled his eyes, war was war, but the bodies of the fallen kings disappeared before Sharpy could cast the incantation.

"Ranke?" Bran gave Xeaus a side glance.

"No no no, don't go pinning this on me, I am far less skilled in the art of spellcasting than either of you two."

"No not that, look up."

An air of foreboding hung in the room as a figure cloaked in blood red descended upon them with uncanny grace. A dark hood covered the stranger's eyes. He looked eerily similar to, no... it couldn't be possible.

"That's not... it can't be."

Eyes wide, Bran faltered as he looked upon the outsider with horror. "No mon amie, that's not Deity."

#### **Part 4: A Thorn in Their Sides**

The stranger glided ominously to the floor. They removed their hood and revealed their dark, battle worn face.

"The Last Triad of Trias. I don't mean to offend but I expected something more from such acclaimed heroes." Spoke the stranger.

"We were not expecting you at all." Sharpy gripped his stave sharply as he glanced angrily towards the foe.

"Oh my apologies for being late to my own meeting." He cackled sarcastically. "Yes, mine. You may be wondering what happened to those bitter kings, I'd like to put your souls at ease. They were an illusion of my design. The real kings, after all, were not looking for resolve, they all wanted the throne for themselves. They were never coming for the real meeting, so I wiped them all out. "

"Who are you?" Bran inquired as he stood, confounded at the ordeal he had just witnessed.

"Ah yes formalities, I'd be glad to lead our little game of ice-breakers. Your little bowman is correct, I'm not Deity. I am FauxLord, dark alter ego of Lord Deity. Plucked like a rose from a thorn bush, Deity. Now the rose has wilted and I have finally returned."

"Xeaus Ranke, Mayor of Troy, Sr. Assistant of Arandriel, Former Ki..."

Xeaus' lips moved but no sound was produced.

"No need to get so...titular Master Ranke." FauxLord held his fingers out in a twisted formation as if he was knitting...manically.

"Bran Bash of Araluen."

"Sharpy Archer of Luna." They spoke seemingly of their own will, but they knew otherwise.

"Thank you for those introductions, I suppose you are confused. Perhaps even a bit, scared? Since you're probably still wondering about those Kings, it was a test. I wanted to see how fast you'd turn on your own fellow rulers. Quite fast. Quite fast indeed."

Xeaus loosened his cloak revealing the chainmail armour underneath. Something caught FauxLord's eye. He extended his index and middle fingers out and froze Xeaus in place.

"Master Ranke, why do you hide such a beautiful gem under that armour? Such beauty should not be hidden from sight. Very odd that you choose to hide it."

With a wave of his hand he unfroze the mayor, who stood astonished at the audacity of FauxLord's move.

"Give it to me. Give it to me now." He held out his hand impatiently.

"The City of Troy will not barter with tyrants, FauxLord." Xeaus held the amber-toned gem tightly in his fist.

Raised eyebrows and teeth bared the Cloaked Lord demanded, "Give me the gem Ranke."

Reluctantly, Ranke handed the crystal necklace over to the cloaked man but a spark remained in his green eyes.

"Good. See? We all can get along. Now that we've established introductions I believe it is time for me to explain why I've lured you three here."

"Mhm, yeah that'd probably help." Replied Xeaus slyly.

"As you are more than aware Imdeity is dead. I am his successor, I will not have that fact disputed. Now, I cannot start a prospering coup of the kingdom without moderators to keep the order and the citizens in line. You, from what I've seen, are the three biggest leaders in this world. I'd like you three to be those moderators."

Sharpy's eyes lit up. *Perhaps there wouldn't be need for war, no there would be a new, flourishing kingdom with him moderating for...for who? FauxLord was seemingly all powerful yes, but what were his intentions? And would those intentions line up with his own? No this wasn't an opportunity, it was a death wish. When FauxLord was done with him he'd throw him aside. Bran, and Xeaus for the most part, actually cared for him. But the war...It didn't matter. He'd rather go out fighting his enemy than living working for him.*

Xeaus had no second thoughts, FauxLord would be taken out. Xeaus' shaping of the situation was already on par with what he had always been seen as, a master in the art of manipulation. It had already begun.

Bran knew what was right, he knew the world would change under a King FauxLord. The role of Kingdom Moderator was tempting for all three of them of course but none of them would surrender their morals for a position of power, overseen by a wretched new foe, FauxLord.

"The three of us respectfully decline your offer FauxLord. We will not be..." FauxLord cut Bran off.

"I suppose you choose war then."

"War?"

"Yes. You three are the champions of that little tournament 'war' are you not? Well I'm suggesting something on a much larger scale." The dark lord gave the three a subtle wink.

"We're not interested in that either." Bran slammed his fist on the dinner table of the Kings.

Xeaus rolled his eyes. This was a waste of time, engaging in talk with a psycho god risen from the depths of Hell after Deity's death was not how he expected this day to go at all.

"Tsk tsk Branny Boy. I'm not giving you an option on this one. We shall do battle in the way I see fit. The map..." FauxLord pointed to the wall covered in a giant map of the world.

"...will be split in half. One for your team, and one for mine. You and your allies shall be fitted in red. Me and my allies shall be in blue. Not unlike the tournaments no? What will differ are the rules. Our bases will be secret from the other team, not boldly displayed in bright colors. If you lose control of your base, you lose the game, and in turn your lives. Sound fair?"

A bellowing eruption of laughter echoed the halls. "You just challenged us to a game of war with our entire triad on the same team. I wouldn't exactly call that fair for your team, but if it's alright with you, it's alright with me." FauxLord wanted to drag this out, and it would be so. Xeaus wanted him to watch as the Triad rose to protect the world for a second time. The last thing the false King would see, was the end of Xeaus' arrow and then, oblivion.

"Perfect. Then let it commence. Sunset tomorrow evening is when the game begins. Have your base selected by then. I look forward to our future encounters Master Ranke, King Bran, Archmage Sharpy." The Dark Lord disappeared with black smoke, not unlike the teleportation Sharpy and Xeaus had used to get to the capital in the first place.

"Does he remind you of someone we know?" Ranke nudged Sharpy.

"Why yes, he reminds me of you." The Mage smirked and raised his brow as Xeaus shoved him aside in embarrassment.

"Gotem." nodded Bran.

"Let's just get out of here." Declared Xeaus, visibly annoyed from being berated by both his friends and his foe.

"Agreed. Where should we meet?" The King of Araluen adjusted his bow on his back, preparing for a long journey ahead.

"Arandriel. I have to make a side trip before I can get there so start the meeting without me. Tell Alysandra that I need Hazel available for when I get there. She is going to be vital in helping us find a base."

"Don't take too long, otherwise we'll end up choosing Luna as our base." Bran joked.

"God forbid." Ranke gave Bran a side eye.

"Hey! I heard that!" Sharpy shouted. Poor Luna was the butt of all the jokes of the Kingdom.

"So where are you off too bud?" Bran put his hand on Xeaus' shoulder. The mayor brushed it off and backed away. Compassion was not a feeling he had any time for now.

"Troy. I put my heart into that city. Now I must retrieve it." Ranke raised his hand into the air, grasped at the air and disappeared. He might not have had the mystical abilities possessed by Sharpy, but he also could manage, in the most desperate times, some magic from deep within.

"Godspeed X."

#### **Part 5: Anger in Arandriel**

*Arandriel, Kingdom of Araluen (-1305, Y, 6855)*

Having retrieved an item of value from Troy, Xeaus Ranke arrives in Arandriel.

The orange sunset cast elongated shadows on the ornate floor of the town hall in Arandriel. Kawaii was the greeting woman at the spawn today. "Welcome to Arandriel, Xeaus. Out with the old and in with the new."

Such an innocent phrase, chosen by himself in fact, to encompass the ideology of the reborn town, now contained a somewhat horrifying description of the catastrophic events that had recently begun to plague the world.

"Evening, Kawaii, I must speak with Aly."

"You can't. She's in the middle of..."

"Thank you Kawaii, but it's far too important to wait. Bran and Sharpy should already be up here." Xeaus climbed the staircase leading up to the mayor's office and found her emerged in her paperwork.

"Alysandra, always a pleasure to see you," He made his entrance like an actor on a stage. "Where are Bran and Sharpy?"

"Thanks for interrupting X. I told them I didn't want to meet without you here. I told them they could go crazy looking through the old storage I have." She raised herself out of her large, almost throne-like chair to meet Xeaus. She was a head shorter, yet she had a strong presence in the room.

"Sounds fun, It's better that we talk about this alone anyhow." Ranke stood up on a quartz table, as he often did when meeting with her.

"What do you mean?" Aly motioned for Xeaus to remove himself from the table, his boots were mud-covered. The town janitors were already calling for a strike after the incident with the roads...

"Well this isn't exactly something you just call a meeting about and..." The Mayoress cut him off. He stuck out his lips in a pouting face, still getting used to being silenced by others.

"Clearly you want something from me, X, spit it out." Aly removed one of the books off the bookshelf in the corner and smiled, sadly. It was Xeaus' signature from many years prior. A simpler time before even the great war. When Xeaus was just himself, not a war-hero just X.

"Me? Want something from you? Since when have I gotten that desperate?" His ego irritated her. He had developed it as a sort of protection from the political attacks he endured after the first war, but it never went away. It got much worse, threatening to turn her once good friend into a true egomaniac.

"Funny. Now what do you want? I'm busy you know. Running a city isn't exactly an easy task. I've a meeting with the permit guy at 2."

"Didn't I fire those guys? You know the plots don't need zoning after my road renovations." He glared through the large glass window to the town below. There lay his greatest work, the town grid in Arandriel. A masterpiece in his mind, the grid cost Aly a fortune in time, attempting to correct his permit violations.

"If I'm not wrong, this is my town, not yours, and I like having legal zoned plots. The amount of paperwork I've had to do because of your illegal road setup has really cost me time that I don't have."

"I'll compensate that after the war." He held his hands open as if to give her an invisible present, but she wasn't having any of it.

"The...what? No no no." Aly held her hand out to slap him but held back, she wasn't going to use violence.

"Aly listen I know you don't like the dr..." Ranke again, was cut off.

"Xeaus, I refuse to take part in another one of your crusades! Deity's death does not impact me or my town, and I will not have drama brought here for the thousandth time by you!" Her arms flailed passionately as she finally just told him the bitter truth of the situation.

"Amen to that, Aly, but I wasn't looking for your aid, I'm here to ask you to call in Hazel." Aly's eye twitched as Xeaus cast her aside with his words. She hit the button on her desk and called for Hazel.

"Hey Buddy." She said sarcastically. "Did you even consider asking me for help first?"

"No." He replied stone faced.

"Why not?" She was in his face now.

"I wished not to drag you down with me, Aly. You are quite right, I will not be the one bring the battle here. As for my foe, he knows where our weaknesses lie, if he so chooses, he can attack Arandriel, and I will most likely be preoccupied and unable to help." He shrugged as he examined the map he had laid out on the table.

"You're despicable. You may claim to have not come here to come for my help, yet you seem to be dropping hints that that's exactly why you've come, no?"

"Mhm, perhaps, perhaps not. I'm just looking out for you, with your permission I'd like to send a battalion to protect Arandriel." He drew a red line to symbolize the locations where the soldiers would be stationed.

"I can do that myself, thank you very much." Aly crossed her arms in confidence, staring down at the kneeling Xeaus, as he took an eye level gaze upon his map.

"Aly trust me, this is a threat unlike we've ever faced. This enemy kills as often as he breathes. I'd rather not see Arandriel burn to the ground." He ignited a match and set the cartograph up in flames. Eating away at the image of the city of Arandriel like a pack of hungry wolves...

"Fine, but I must be in command of them." Reality kicked in for the both of them. Arguing was pointless. They didn't have to agree on each other's opinions on the situation, they just had to agree to work together in peace for the time being to resolve it.

He nodded. "Naturally. You think I'd stay behind simply to have temporary military control over Arandriel? I think not."

"Hazel and the dumpster duo are here, Aly." Kawaii announced as she reached the top of the staircase, leading up into Mayoress Alysandra's office.

"Ah let them in." The two said in unison. They each gave each other a death stare. When Hazel, Sharpy, and Bran appeared in the room they both composed themselves and put a fake, passive aggressive smile on .

"Hazel, hello, it's been a while. Me and Aly were just discussing the recent happenings in the world. I seem to be in need of a master base builder."

"I do have a knack for that. What do ya need?" She smiled, not a care in the world. Was ignorance truly bliss? It mattered not, Hazel must soon learn the truth.

"An unfindable base."

"I already have one of those, you could use it if you want. There's kind of a dog infestation but I could take them here, I do need some more so I can kick your butt in the arena." Raised eyebrows and hands on her hips, Hazel loved being involved in anything to aid her friends.

"All in good time, Hazel. FauxLord, a guy looking to kill us all, if I can explain him in the simplest terms, can't find something he's not looking for. He'll expect us to choose a singular town, probably one of the outlying villages as our base. He won't be searching for a makeshift dugout in the middle of the wilderness." His jade eyes turned to the floor. Must he drag everyone into this for the greater good?

"So, maybe instead we could choose, I don't know, Luna. It's pretty isolated and protected by mountains." Sharpy butted in.

"Not a chance. We might as well just surrender to him now, if we'd be so damned foolish to choose one of the cities in our own kingdom!"

"Do not raise your voice in my office again Xeaus." Aly cringed at the thought of yet another confrontation in her office. There had already been far too many.

"My deepest apologies Aly." His darkened rainbow hair waved as he bowed.

"If I may, Xeaus' strategy is quite sound from my point of view. Choosing any town at all will only prolong us being found. FauxLord would just obliterate each town until he found us. Choosing a remote base in the middle of the wild is probably our only chance to get enough time to figure out how to take him down." Bran explained.

"Agreed." Sharpy recovered.

"So it's settled then. Hazi, give me the coordinates, please."

Hazel handed Xeaus a sheet of paper. It's always on my person just in case I ever forget. I have a lot of those things." There was quiet for a moment. This was happening.

"It needs a name." Aly broke the silence.

"Mhm, you're correct. We can't just say 'the base' where's the fun in that?" Xeaus' eyebrows raised in mockery of the situation. He knew everything would end up falling into place. It was inevitable.

"How about Luna? It'd like trick FauxLord into..."

"No Sharpy, we're not doing this again." Bran's eyes stared at the redden ceiling.

"What about Havana?" Hazel suggested energetically.

"Sounds good to me, anyone have any objections?" Xeaus nonchalantly placed his hand on his tanned leather sword sheath.

"Nope. No objections...Whatsoever." Sharpy smiled a very obvious fake smile.

Xeaus stared at the people in the room. The war was starting. It was time. "Great. Prepare your things. We shall rendezvous in Havana."

##### **Intermission: The Soul in the Stone**

The crimson cloaked king of darkness, FauxLord had disappeared almost as fast as he had first appeared, after his brief encounter with the last triad of Trias. Having teleported away to the deep western reaches of the world, after bidding them adieu, he returned to the capital once they too had departed. The sound of his footsteps bounced off the walls of the cavernous Throne Room as he slowly walked the carpet, observing the room in disgust. A banner, emblazoned with the symbol of the fallen King of Kings, Lord Deity, blew softly from a draft in the room.

"See how far your ego got you?" FauxLord spoke to the banner as if deity stood there in front of him. "The world set aflame by your ignorance and unwillingness to rule with an iron fist. Thank you for burning yourself away to make room for me. Brother." The black gloves of the dark Lord grasped the bottom of the wavering cloth and he tore it down. He carried it to the flame beside the staircase to the throne. there he threw it into the flickering flames watching as the symbols, eerily resembling the diseased ruler of the world, began to char away until it crumpled to ash. FauxLord's dark face appeared skeletal in the dim light of the flame.

He raised his hand above the fire and summoned the ash to his grasp. He summitted the set of stairs to the grand throne. A sliver of moonlight from the gigantic window behind it shone through, like the last ember of hope that couldn't be put out. FauxLord stood facing opposite of it, gazing down the long hall. It was all his. The triad had been petty fools to accept his challenge. He would soon rule what was rightfully his.

"Let the world be born anew." He traced dark lines under his eyes with the ashes and set himself down in his throne.

He relished in the moment. Only days ago had he escaped his confinement in the catacombs beneath this very room. Only days earlier that he had come face to face with Deity himself. And only days before had he struck the good god dead. FauxLord's mouth twisted into a teeth baring smirk. In only a few days more the three former saviors would too be taken down. It was child's play. He then recalled the amber crystal he had taken from Xeaus. "What did Master Ranke want with you to hide your beauty?" He removed it from his neck and hovered it above his palm, examining its shape, it was translucent and gold, and very damaged on one side. The god-slayer grabbed it to get a closer look at the damage and...

│ ┤ ╡ ╢ ╖ ╕ ╣ ║ ╝ ╜ ╛ ┐ └ ┴ ┬ ├ ─ ┼ ╞ ╟ ╚ ╔ ╩ ╦ ╠ ═ ╬ ╧ ╨ ╤ ╥ ╙ ╘ ╒ ╓ ╫ ╪ ┘ ┌

Paralyzed in Deity's throne, his vision began to black out. It cleared and he stood, immobile at the end of a sandy road as he watched a city rise out of the desert. Landmarks began to appear, the bell tower, a sunken glass pyramid, then another one, a grand avenue formed, replacing the dusty old street. Troy.

The images blurred as he saw what appeared to be smoke rising off of a decimated city of rubble. At the top, a silhouette. The vision zoomed and cleared upon the figure on the mound of a fallen building. They stood, arms extended as a haunting chime echoed the broken streets. It was Xeaus Ranke, who, for a split second gave him a look of utter defiance, his piercing green eyes meeting FauxLord's orange ones, then the dark lord was released from the hallucination. FauxLord threw himself forward and out of the throne violently angered by the vision. Tossing the crystal aside he thought, "Master Ranke has given me much more than a simple stone, this is a heart, the heart of the city Troy, but it is not complete. It is entirely possible that he wore this around himself to protect it as he may not know the location of the second half or..." He looked upon the crystal laying in the red carpet. "He knows exactly where it is..." FauxLord spoke aloud. The room now fell deathly silent. The sound of a mouth opening preparing to speak caused the dark lord to once more turn towards the throne which now seated Xeaus Ranke. For the first time FauxLord could remember, he was without words.

"Funny things, city hearts, you can split them but they'll never break, cast them into a flame but they'll never burn, or better yet..." He raised his right hand up, palm out and called the heart of his city to him. "...evoke them with your essence and make their heart yours." Ranke, dressed in his night clothes simply unclipped his shirt, exposing the broken crystal's sister.

"What are you playing at Master Ranke? It is quite a well known fact that you are a novice in the art of mysticism yet you appear to have no problem conjuring intricate spells right now." FauxLord's tone was growing impatient. No one bested him in magic. No one.

Ranke shrugged without a care. "The heart and I have bonded spiritually. It is an extension of my soul, I can do anything within its limits. I'm aware that you probably are quite confused, after all, you don't seem to have a soul of your own."

Irritated to an alarming degree now, FauxLord summoned a ball of purple fire and cast it towards the throne and Xeaus melting the throne away into twisted piles of molten material. Out of the smoldering destruction walked Ranke, down the staircase, the completed necklace pulsating red, in time with his own heart, beating beside it.

"By now you know I am beyond your reach, my bond with my city is so strong that wherever she goes, I can go if I so choose. This is what the ancient tomes would refer to as Ethereal Spirit Casting, very handy for encounters such as this.

FauxLord clenched his fists tightly. His gloves burning his hands as it tightened around his dark skin. "I shall not be taken for a fool again, Master Ranke. If I can kill Deity, I can kill you and anyone you fear to lose. Your parlor tricks may impress your friends but I shan't be deceived any longer. I am FauxLord King of Kings and Ultimate Lord of Darkness, you will fall before my might and this world will be mine." With a swiping motion of his fingers, Xeaus' image faded away, and the crystal once more lay in the carpet.

"Imbecile." Mumbled FauxLord as he opened a hole in the air, summoned the necklace, careful not to touch it again, and threw it through the portal for safekeeping. The room smelled of burning material and charred cloth. From the remains of the throne, he fashioned himself a new one, dark, with curling spikes every which way. He settled himself down in his new seat. The encounter had left the dark lord paranoid.

"My brethren of beyond I call upon you to protect me!" Arms outstretched and chanting in lost tongues, hooded guards appeared beside him. Their hoods covered their faces in blackness. They wore red, torn cloaks over pure white garb, like a bleeding wound seeping into new fabric. "Call for your brothers, tell them to search for a base the Last Triad of Trias will never find. In the morning I shall call for the Disciples of Darkness to aid me in the complete domination of this pitiful world, but for now I am lethargic and require rest." The mentally exhausted FauxLord shut his orange eyes and fell into the pitch black abyss of a dreamless sleep.

#### **Part 6: The Cake is a Lie**

The world had fallen into decay, so dependent on Deity's power that it soon began to deteriorate after his untimely demise at the hands of the self-proclaimed, King FauxLord. The deserts began spreading their sandy grasp upon the surrounding biomes without mercy, the air wailed as winds changed their once predictable courses. Where it wasn't bone dry, unrelenting rains, formerly held back by the power of the fallen ruler, poured down, drowning entire towns and wiping them off the map entirely. The quest to the base at Havana was a battle in and of itself, the triad and their allies versus the elements. Arandriel was not a satellite city of the capital like Troy or Caldera, it lay to the southeast, isolated by mountains in the south. Havana was located in the redwood forest adjacent to the capital. So close, that climbing one of the monster trees would give one a view of the Capital Castle's red spires. The sun was rising on the 8th day of the treacherous journey and the coordinates were just steps away, yet no base was to be seen.

"Hazel, you do know where we are right?" Xeaus prayed that he hadn't just trekked all the way to the outskirts of the capital for nothing.

"Of course, silly. You wanted an unfindable base, remember."

Tired and upset at the situation Aly called him out. "X, you did not drag us *EIGHT* days for a bunch of trees did you?"

Xeaus held up his hands as a way of displaying his innocence. "Hazel, we need to be able to find our own base." Ranke paced on the wet leaves impatiently.

"Yeah, no duh." Hazel responded. "Gimme some time to find the entrance. I haven't been to this one in a while."

The allies stood, staring as Hazel tried every branch, stone and bush to find her hideout.

"Ah, Here it is." The group walked over to Hazel eagerly awaiting the appearance of the secret entrance at last. They stood before a pond, formed most likely from the rains filling up the indentation in the ground where the entrance had been.

"Ya might get a tad bit wet."

The tired group, with their lazy eyelids drooping were startled awake as Ranke threw off his clanky chainmail and dove into the pond out of nowhere, and swam through the submerged entrance.

"Who's next?" Hazel asked with a grin.

Bran went in next, relieving himself of the weight of his bow by handing it to Sharpy.

"You know what to do."

Sharpy grabbed Xeaus' armour with a grunt and transported himself into the base with the belongings.

The base was crude compared to the ornate walls of any given town hall but it was functional. A maze of rooms, many of them hidden, spread out over several underground levels. The ceilings were so low that raising an arm fully upward was impossible. A fireplace stood in the room closest to the submerged exit. Bran and Xeaus stood dripping beside it, Xeaus desperately trying to dry out his hair next to the flames.

"Worried the dye might come out?" Sharpy joked as he lay out the dry armour and bow on a table.

"On the contrary, I'm concerned with the fact that the base has no rations and we'll have to resort to eating pork chops." Xeaus' eyes squinted as he shot Sharpy a smirk.

"Anyway," Bran interjected. "I thought FauxLord took that from you Ranke." Bran gestured to Xeaus' crystal necklace laying on his chest.

"No, this is another piece of it. A shard of Troy's heart. I gave the dark lord quite the run for his money the other night using its powers of Ethereal soul casting when I produced a vision for him when he touched the other piece. I'll soon have it completed again."

"Ethereal soul casting? You? Aren't you incredibly weak in magicks, Xeaus?"

"Perhaps." Ranke held his arm straight out and summoned Sharpy's belt to his hand.

Wide eyed Sharpy inquired "Just...how?"

"Trojan leather." The stone let's me control aspects of my own town, although Troy's popularity has surely spread its influence elsewhere." Sharpy grabbed the belt out of Xeaus' hand.

The sound of splashing and irritated voices from the other room interrupted Xeaus' follow up comment. He strutted to the entrance in nothing but soaked pants. He had hung his undershirt and cloak over the fire. Hazel, grinning, as always, stood absolutely drenched. Aly was climbing out of the small pool the flooding had created, looking increasingly more angry as she saw Ranke.

"Welcome to Havana, Alysandra."

"Screw off X."He gave her the same smirk he had given to Sharpy.

Bran gave a subtle wink towards Xeaus who in turn held out his hand and summoned Bran in front of him by grasping his neck.

"Let me guess, Trojan leather?" He gasped.

He released him. "No, I'm just freaking mad that you'd even consider..."

"Yeah well, you two got chemistry." He interrupted.

Ranke shook his head, water still dripping from his spectrum of hair. "Bran, I'm not looking for love, especially from people like her."

"Redheads?"

"Women. I'm far too busy for that relationship crap anyway."

Feeling awkward Bran changed the subject. "What's in this room?" Bran opened the oaken door, instantly regretting it. A pack of hungry wolves lie on the other side.

"Oh it's my puppies, looks like they're all grown up." Hazel gazed at the animals. "I must say there were more of them when I left. I suppose I haven't fed them in a while."

"So what you're saying is they ate each other?" Bran's eye twitched.

"It's a dog eat dog world, Bran." Ranke now stood legs crossed twirling the chain around his neck.

"Clever, sick, but clever." The Araluen king commented.

"Athankyou." Xeaus mumbled as he bit the crystal.

"X please get something to cover up, I didn't come all this way to oogle at your freaking chest." Aly sat on the floor in front of the fire.

"My apologies, it is not you I'm looking to impress."

"I have a dude's shirt in my chambers, I'll go grab it." Hazel ran into a painting and disappeared.

"Spoiling all my fun Hazi." He shouted.

"Heyyy" Sharpy had now undone his shirt as well.

Xeaus rolled his eyes and held his hand to his face. "Put the damned thing back on before I glue it onto you."

Bran shook his head. "Must I be the only one with the decency to remain modest?"

"Not my fault the buffoon copied me."

Hazel returned, herself now changed into different, much drier clothes. "Here ya go X."

"Um, Hazi, why is this shirt covered in what appears to be dried blood?"

She chuckled. "My dogs and he didn't get along very well."

"Lovely." He buttoned up the stained shirt with a sigh.

"Remember, no shoes, no shirt, no service. I have cake, but you all have to be dressed k?"

Putting on the shirt of the presumably dead man made Xeaus remember why the group had gathered here in the first place. Not for fun, not to joke around acting like tomorrow was a guarantee. They had taken sunrises and sunsets for granted but not anymore. Hazel led them down to a makeshift dining area, one could easily get lost in the twists and turns of the cavernous base. A lone light shone through the narrow doorway into the mess hall, creating strange shadows on the back walls. Xeaus couldn't eat, the idea of engaging in another war upset his stomach and he sat blank faced throughout the exchange of banter at the table, the cake also appeared to have been left out for several months, irrefutably getting rid of any appetite he had left. In a world of his own, Xeaus did not notice the cease in talking until he saw that the room had grown far darker. He peered towards the entranceway and a man in a dark mask addressed the gathering.

"An unfindable base eh?" The intruder laughed to himself. "You can't hide from me."

#### **Part 7: The Bloody Beginning**

Lord of the underworld and expert bounty hunter, Mister Enclave went by an ironically formal name. Standing in the doorway, allowing the group to stare stunned at his arrival, he said "Wow not even a hello how are you, disappointing." It was no surprise that his appearance was unwelcome. After all, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Araluen his band of pirates had pillaged it time and time again which sparked a nasty blood feud between it and the Followers of Enclave.

Broken from his stupor, Xeaus reflected upon the situation at hand. "It would be foolish to ask 'How did you find us?' now." He thought. If a battle were to ensue, it would be one against five, the favor falling to the Triad and their allies, but as far as Ranke could tell, Mister Enclave wasn't there to fight.

Just as Xeaus was getting up to confront Enclave, Sharpy pounced up shouting, "How did you find us?!" The mage slammed his fist on the table in a rare fit of rage. Bran noted the expression on Xeaus' face as the question was inquired.

"It really wasn't difficult, at all. This mask is heavily enchanted, allowing me to see everything, even through the ground. One of a kind." He tapped the side of the helmet. Even underneath its dark interface, they could sense him smirking wildly.

"If you've come here as a 'last stand' against us, you're poorly equipped." Aly stood, fists clenched.

"Miss Aly, do not take me for a fool..."

"Too late."

"I have not come to fight, I only fight when the odds are in my favor which they are quite obviously not." He gestured to the table of heavily armed individuals. "I came, in fact, to ask for your aid. The town I have currently set up shop in per say, Eclipse, has been overtaken by a crony of FakeLord or whoever. Being that you're the last people alive I know who can actually make a dent in this guy's army, I've come to you." He draped his arm around Sharpy who violently twisted it.

"You're lucky you're not dead." Sharpy expressed himself angrily.

"If you wanted me dead, you'd have killed me by now." Enclave held up one finger as to prove his point.

"I beg to differ." Alysandra squinted her eyes at the pirate.

Ranke sat arms crossed, not saying a word. Suddenly he felt Bran kick his shin. The King leaned over and whispered, "A little help maybe?" Rolling his eyes at the childish nature of the altercation, Xeaus composed himself preparing to finish this sad waste of time.

"Traitorous snake!" Someone shouted.

"Gullible fool!" Bellowed another.

"Let each other be." Ranke stood, and the quarrel calmed almost instantaneously. "I'd encourage you all not to get on my bad side for I have not eaten a thing in days, I'm sober for the first time in years, and we stand here squabbling over pointless nonsense while the first round of the game begins in Eclipse. Are we really going to so eagerly fight amongst ourselves? There's not many of us willing to fight this war as it is."

"Who targeted Eclipse?" Bran asked, relieved at Xeaus' saving of the peace.

"Some dude named Derordis, claimed he had taken control of the town under FauxLord's 'birthright' or some crap."

"I've done quite the bit of research on FauxLord while we trekked up here. Care to listen a little tale called 'The Feud Among Founders'?" Sharpy commented.

Ranke sat himself back town, pushing the plate of moldy cake even farther away. "I've heard quite enough feuding today."

"It's a story." Sharpy explained, as if to a five year old.

"I know I know, please shed some light on our conversation. But make it quick please. We've little time to read stories."

"Thank you. Now...

*"At the beginning of it all there were six. Six incredibly powerful beings who built this world from nothing. Imdeity, the oldest, created the first stone of this new world. From around this single stone, everything began. Alongside Deity, were his kin, Smcallah, and xSocK, who side by side forged the flora and fauna of the globe respectively. But there were 3 others as well. FauxLord, the second oldest, and creator of night and shadow, Benacht, the lone sister, creator of the balance between day and night, and finally Derordis, maker of war. For a while the world remained at peace. Day turning to night, the predators devouring the prey, but it was not to last for FauxLord had one fatal character flaw, his ego. It got the best of him and he was able to ring in Derordis and Benacht to join in his uprising.*

As we well know, it failed, Deity banished them to another realm in portals beneath the castle. Apparently this was a mistake, as the three built up their power training in that hellish place and burst through just two weeks ago to slay Deity, and bring an end to the balance of the world."

"What of Smcallah and xSocK?" Bran already knew the answer but he needed to hear it for himself.

Sharpy looked down to the table in despair. "It is very unlikely that they survived their confrontations with their counterparts."

Bran rubbed his temples. "Derordis has now overtaken Eclipse, the first step in the process we predicted. One by one FauxLord's team will wipe out towns until there are none left..."

"I'm afraid by the time we arrive in Eclipse it will be too late. It is quite far from here." Xeaus added.

"There is an alternative. I can bring the 4 of us there, Xeaus, Bran, Enclave, Myself. Of course I will be of little help once we arrive for the effort of teleporting several individuals will have drained me for the time being."

Bran nodded. "It is our only alternative. We must try it."

"Then let us prepare, and we shall be off." Ranke, following Hazel, went down the hall to the fireplace room where he had left his cloak, clean shirt, and armour to redress. The group, besides Hazel and Aly who were told to stay behind to guard the base, were all prepared and ready for teleportation but Xeaus, the man who rushed everything ahead up until this point, now stood in Hazel's quarters in front of a mirror, adjusting his collar and belt loop.

"Ranke!"

"Oh yes, we're cut for time, what are you three doing standing around like idiots, we've places to be." Xeaus took one last brush through his hair with his fingers, and stumbled into the next

room, smelling like strong ale.

"He's ought to be joking." Enclave whispered to Bran.

"No, it appears Ranke wants to look his best for Derordis." The four gathered around and held hands, Xeaus' newly applied ring stabbing into the palm of Bran's hand.

"Ow." Winced Bran temporarily letting go.

"So sorry about that Bran, don't think I didn't notice you combed your hair as well, bloody hypocrite you are." He grabbed Bran's hand again, making sure the ring would do the same again.

"Eclipse?" Sharpy confirmed.

"Eclipse. And make it snappy." Ranke barked.

"One day..." Sharpy thought, he would teleport Xeaus to the middle of nowhere, so that only the trees had to listen to the sarcastic tone of the broken man. But it was not the time or place. He concentrated very hard now. He would have to sync his energy with the town itself, for he could not visualize it in his head. Eclipse was founded just weeks before Deity's demise, and Sharpy had not gotten around to seeing it yet.

With a cloud of black smoke, the four were whisked off from the base at Havana to the town of Eclipse. They disappeared.

"He's kidding right?" Aly curled her fingers in anger. "'Stay around and guard the base.' That's what he said. Well I'm not having it. I'm leaving."

"Well Xeaus was pretty busy." Hazel tried to comfort her disgruntled friend.

"And apparently pretty drunk too, I walked into him guzzling ale like there was no tomorrow."

"Huh. I guess I'll stay here, my dogs and I make a pretty darned good army. Where are you going?" Hazi asked.

"I'm going to kick his \*\*\*."

*Town of Eclipse, Kingdomless (2292,Y,3010)*The ensemble arrived on the top of a very large hill, overlooking the small town to the north. Sharpy collapsed as he had warned. Bran pulled his limp body over to an outcropping.

Below, the town was not grand like Tussilago or Pegasus but it had great potential. Ranke could feel it's power emanating from the center of this hill, the city's heart, still buried deep within, waiting to be dug out. But there was something else. Something darker. For a town overtaken by the second of three Dark Disciples, Derordis, it was deathly quiet. Not even the wind blew up at the top of the hill.

"It's so, peaceful here," Bran commented. "Enclave are you sure..." Mister Enclave nudged the King and gestured with his head to look upwards. In the baby blue sky, a silhouette, blocking the sun from their angle.

Wide eyed Bran gasped. "Eclipsed."

"How very ironic is it not, Bran of Araluen?" A dark faced man stood behind the group. Ranke almost got whiplash turning around at the horror of the man's face. FauxLord was battle worn and old yes, but Derordis, his face was severely scarred. He was cloaked in a scorched white cloak over his red tunic which gave him the look of a burn victim.

"You disciples sure are formal about this whole 'war' concept. Do you know how to play?" Enclave sneered under his helmet.

"I invented it, Mister Enclave. Don't think you slipped past me either, I let you escape." The masked man grunted.

The sun remained out of Xeaus' eyes. He gazed to the sky again and saw the figure, still hovering above the captured town.

"Ah," Derordis saw Xeaus staring up into the sky. "FauxLord speaks highly of you, Master Ranke, so I'll relay the rules of this round to you." He pulled Ranke aside, to his dismay. "See the person up there? That's a friend of yours is it not? Sapkins, Mayor of Eclipse. I've strung her up there for the time being. Defeat me and she'll be free to go."

"Sadistic, although that seems like your forte." This man's face was just hideous, Xeaus regretted making himself so prominent to FauxLord now.

"Indeed, Master Ranke. I love war and all of its aspects. It is my greatest creation. I'm afraid to say that unlike my previous battles with gods, this battle will be the first and last of this war." Xeaus winced, not at the fact that he was surely going to die, but at the fact that the man's flickering tongue could be seen through his seared cheeks.

"Good luck." Ranke mockingly said, as he went back to regroup with the others. "Well the rules are pretty simple, don't die, defeat Derordis, and rescue Sapkins." He pointed to the sky. "Let's go team." They held their hands in. "We're back in the game."

##### **Intermission II: Tying Up Loose Ends**

The war has officially begun. Sharpy has become incapacitated as a result of his spell, teleporting the four warriors to the first battle. Sapkins' body hangs limp over her town of Eclipse as they arrive. The rag tag group consisting of Xeaus, the last war's 'savior', Bran, a King and master with the bow, and Enclave, the pirate lord, are the only ones standing in the way of Derordis, the god of war, who has direct orders from the dark King, FauxLord, to wipe the group off the face of the planet. While the first battle of the war commences, Alysandra, taken aback by Ranke's comments, leaves the base at Havana intending to scold him for his misogyny. Unbeknownst to her, she shall soon be in possession of one of the final pieces in the puzzle to take down FauxLord.

The back exit to the base at Havana was not a watery pit. A pleasant surprise to Alysandra. Exiting the 'hole in the ground' the wind hit her like a smack to the face. Back to the unpleasant. The silence of the woods allowed her to ponder the past, pacing the rainy forest, in no rush to get anywhere. "Eight flipping days walking to this 'base' and I'm expected to sit there and wait for the men to save the day." She coated her sentence in sarcasm. "I don't think so. I would walk for a thousand years to give Xeaus a piece of my mind." The mist from the drizzle stuck to her eyelashes as she walked without purpose to wherever her feet would take her.

Alysandra remembered the simpler times as she walked, losing her sense of direction in the process. It hurt to think of the time when Ranke had come to her as a humbled war hero, so willing to help build up her freshly acquired town of Arandriel. Together, they brought in help from Xeaus' city of Troy, the most prestigious city of them all at the time. Amazing friendships were forged as a new community consisting of Trojan Arandrialians built up the former slum into a beautiful, bustling city. And it all seemed to be going perfectly. Ranke was graciously installed as Comayor along with Savie to help the progress. Arandriel became the beacon in the dark following the war. But the once golden apple soon rotted away as the illusion of peace soon fell away from Aly's eyes to reveal she had been severely deceived. Behind her back, Xeaus had shown little regard for the zoning laws, laws she did not know of until an inspector from the Kingdom came and noted that the brand new roads in Arandriel did not fit protocol. Ranke's approach to the pardoned war criminals who for a short time had lived in the town, did not go over well with Alysandra as well once Savie had reported the not-s0-friendly relations between Xeaus and the ex-convicts. The two finally convened in her office where Xeaus revealed his true intentions.

"Alysandra I came to help you, honest. However, I have not been entirely honest with you about why I decided to help."

"Explain, although I'm not sure it will help your case." She sat down at her desk, files on top of files on top of files stacked in chaos.

"Aly please let me explain. You see, after the war I couldn't and still can't find peace with myself. I go out some nights to the taverns to fight. It doesn't matter who I'm up against. I just crave it, I crave the feeling of superiority. I came to Arandriel because I had finally taken down my greatest enemy and I sought to rebuild the town I so bitterly hated, this time in my image."

"So you really did just want control of my town." She held back the emotion in her voice but she mumbled, "I thought I knew you."

"Aly no." Xeaus voice broke. "In the process of my conquest, I met you and saw the way Troy's people interacted with you and realized I had taken the wrong approach all along. It was a mistake to go behind your back but our visions for this town do not always meet and..."

Aly strained herself to keep a stoic expression as her emotions built up and got the best of her, as they had gotten the best of Xeaus. "Get out of my office and get the hell out of my city."

He hung his head in shame. "I understand." He turned to the staircase. "Stiyu\*\*, my friend." That day he exited her life, only to show up years later in the same office, to ask her for help. It sickened her

"Ughh." She broke from her trance and mumbled, "This has happened far too many times. Let a man in and he'll walk all over you."

\*\*(Cherokee for "be strong" it is used as a parting phrase as well.)

"Amen sister, A freaking men." a voice beside her praised. It was Savie, cloaked in green, hood up as to keep the rain out of her face.

"Savie? How long have you been walking aside me?" She asked surprised at the sudden appearance of a long-gone friend. Savie had left Arandriel along with Xeaus, promising to return to aid Aly when she needed it. Her time to return had come.

"Long enough." Tall evergreens, once strongly rooted in the ground, creaked in the sinking earth as she spoke.

"Then you already know I'm fed up with Xeaus."

"Anyone who says they've never been fed up with Xeaus is lying to themselves. He's an interesting case of a guy doing the right things which turn out to be the wrong things for the wrong reason which turns out to be the right one." In saying this, Savie confused even herself. Walking four days on foot from Troy to Havana was not an easy task and her brain needed a rest it could not have.

"English please." Aly's exhausted mind could not handle the double negatives either.

"He cares. That's all I mean, he just tends to screw up royally every time."

She sighed, hoping Savie had not come here as a pawn to convince her that Xeaus' actions were "just X being X." "Yeah, he screws people over too. You saw what happened between us in Arandriel."

"Yes, and I went to Troy to become his adviser as to calm his ailing soul, and because someone needed to look after him in case he finally cracked." Savie recalled his drinking habit, the one thing she could never make him break. Her hands still shook as to strangle him, just thinking about it.

Aly's eyes rolled. "He told me to 'stay and watch the base,' Savie."

"Oh, not again." Savie threw her arms up in despair.

"What?"

"He's pulled these a thousand times on me. He tells you to do one thing and expects his words to be misinterpreted as to lead you on to do something else. It's misdirection and it's mad irritating. I'll be sure to give him a firm speech about that when I see him next."

"None of that can make me simply forget what happened."

"Oh no no no. I wasn't defending his actions, just his character. Aly, dear I'm here for you, not to talk about him. Look, you went from a relatively laid back, forgiving person, to a paper filing, grudge holding...stick in the mud."

"I'm a stick in the mud now?" She pursed her red lips.

"You want me to be honest with you right? You're not like yourself at all. I need you to just take it easy from now on." Savie gestured to Aly gently.

"Take it easy? I'm dying with every paper I have to sign. Why did I ever choose to take this position as mayor? It's ruined me."

Savie's voice grew softer. "No. You turned that place into a paradise, Aly."

"Not me."

"It *was* you Aly. Your leadership keeps that place running. I want you to regain your confidence I know it's in there, I want you to go out there, and I want you to remember that you've done outstanding things to change people's lives for the better."

Aly simply nodded at the conclusion of their conversation. The two continued to walk in silence thereafter. The canopy of green trees shed their dying leaves as they blew violently in the wind, which continued to pick up as a result of the slow decay of the world. Savie recalled a poem from her childhood.

-Relieve Me-

*When your world is on fire and you are alone*

*Will you go out to face it or cry and stay home*

*Is it easier to go to a tree with a rope*

*Or live on the prayer of your soul that is hope*

*Standing up for yourself isn't easy at all*

*When your demons take over and make you feel small*

*Fight the incoming storm take a break from your mind*

*In the short life we're given we don't have much time*

*To be waiting around confused and afraid*

*Let your heart be the sky and your tears be the rain*

*The mountains stand tall like we all wish we could*

*Why can't our lives just end for good*

*But the feeling inside that asks us to go*

*Forgets that we are strong and we'll overthrow*

*All the phantoms in our head who call for our deaths*

*Know little of us and will take their last breathes*

*When we choose to ignore the status quo*

*And throw out our idea of the world we'll overflow*

*With emotions we haven't felt in forever*

*Our resolve shall thrive free no matter the weather*

*I am me, you are you and we'll do this*

*together.*

Every few moments Savie would peak at Aly's face, which faced the dampened ground, hoping, somehow that Aly's path would lead her to the belief expressed in the poem. Her expression was hard to read. Either she was hiding tears under her red hair, which blew as the leaves did, over her eyes, or she had found purpose and was covering a sly grin. Savie wished to know, but dared not bother the girl further. They walked for what seemed like days, although it couldn't have been more than a few hours, until they came to the edge of a cliff. The jade clad Savie prayed that no jumping would occur. It would break her heart. But she soon noticed that even she, the most observant in the kingdom failed to note one detail, Aly's resolve. It had always been there, buried in the paperwork and theater of the saddened mayor's mind, the will to continue no matter the past or consequence. The hard breeze brushed her ginger hair out of her face for just long enough for Savie to spot Aly's proud smile. Her brown eyes still looked down, off the edge of the cliff. In the valley the ledge overlooked, a misty plain. with an obsidian spire shooting into the sky like a knife stuck into the horizon. Savie grinned to herself at the sight of Aly's smile, she never did doubt her.

#### **Part 8: The Price of War**

"Back in the game, you are." Sneered the tyrant Derordis, an apostle sent by the god of Death itself, FauxLord, to deal with the trio of war heroes. With a crushing motion of his grey, claw-like fingers, Derordis collapsed the side of the hill where the heroes stood. They violently tumbled down, desperately trying to dodge the falling debris as they fell. Having landed on level ground with torn cloaks, and frazzled minds, the trio split up. "Enclave! Cover the farm! Xeaus pointed to the garden-like structure that functioned as Eclipse's farm. "I'll get the town hall! Bran..."

"Mon amie?"

"Take the perimeter, and whatever you do, don't run out of arrows." Xeaus winked at the king and ran off to protect the spawn. It was fairly close to the hillside, in fact, the town itself lay on one. Eclipse stood proudly on a taiga plateau, many, many blocks away from neighboring towns.

The hillside yet again exploded, sending stone raining down like a savage hailstorm, clouding the air with even more dirt, limiting their visibility even more. "If only it had been that easy to clear Troy's hillsides" Xeaus muttered. "Ohh...crap", a boulder, most likely the very one they had lay Sharpy on, crumbled in the air, sending pebbles falling like raindrops, landing just feet away from the cynical prince of Troy. Seconds later, the jagged boulder, pierced into the ground and split in two, as a knife would through butter. Derordis had arrived to finish the job.

His aged hands trembling slightly, as he spoke. "It's ironic. You play war games, Master Ranke, but you are shamefully unprepared for a true war!" The ground shuttered intensely as the roots of nearby spruce trees were torn out of the ground that they had been planted in hundreds of years prior. With little visible effort, the war god sent them flying in Xeaus' direction. Quicker than the trunks could arrive, he tore off his necklace and placed the gemstone in the hilt of his diamond forged sword. It temporarily glowed a bright green. With enhanced swordsmanship, Ranke sliced the trunks out of the air seconds before they collided with his body. A shimmering emerald shine lingered in the air, with every swing, lightening the area and expanding his clarity.

\*\*\*\*\*

A short distance away, without time to react, nor ability to see the ongoing battle, a rather sharp spike of wood clipped Enclave's exposed neck while he stood waiting at the farm. "Can't wait until the god of war comes to attack some pumpkins." He had thought just moments before. Luckily the wound was not fatal enough to render him incapable of battle. Quite the contrary in fact, it angered the pirate lord, even more than having to deal with that beastly warlord while undercover back in Wol...Another shard made impact. "That's it..."

\*\*\*\*\*

The second collapse of the hillside alarmed Bran. He watched carefully, from a distance, as a cloud of brown dust engulfed the town hall of Eclipse. He felt a sudden air of dread, and with his heightened alertness, acted upon it , for he could feel a presence behind him. Lighting quick, he drew back his bow and targeted the figure.

Eyes wide, and an awkward, all lip smile, Kawaii, who had somehow made her way all the way, to Eclipse waved her fingers in greeting. "Hi Bran, I probably shouldn't be here...I know I shouldn't be here." She looked towards the grassy ground. "Aly told me to watch over Arandriel, but the Trojan army is there, so I came here to help. And with an army of my own." She whistled sharply, and behind her, a white wave appeared. Tens of dozens of howling wolves stood at attention.

Temporarily taken aback by the appearance of the wolves, the battle raging in the background, and the reality the world now faced, Bran recovered, and spoke. "I never really believed the legend of the White Fang. I think you've proven me wrong."

"I've always had a connection with them. I understand them, and they, in turn, me." She sighed. "It may all seem pretty hopeless right now..." The sounds of battle echoed through the hills. The clash of justice versus vengeance, intertwined into a sharp hum."But look, Derordis is a one man army against us. He may be the all-powerful god of war, but wars can be lost." Bran nodded.

"Oh yeah, I brought some friends."

"More than...these?" Several wolves had broken out of line to rub Bran's ankles with their fur covered necks, much to his disappointment.

Kawaii looked past Bran to the horizon beyond. "Well, I honestly dunno where they actually are at the moment.."

\*\*\*\*\*

"What in Deity's name is this?" Ginger remarked, picking up a violet gemstone from the decimated hillside.

"It's mine." Jordyn stuck her tongue out playfully and grabbed for the mesmerizing crystal. Ginger pulled back before her cousin could get a hold of it. The pair were in Eclipse for one reason, to watch their friends do battle like they had back in the olden days. They had no problem getting up close and personal with the ongoing entanglement, just as long as they didn't get hurt in the process. A few yards below them, Xeaus was holding off a man with a very punchable face.

Jordyn pointed at Derordis. "Is that who I think it is? You know after all the arrow shots and burns he'd be..."

"No no, that's one of the malevolent gods, Savie told me about them before she left." Ginger remarked, feeling quite proud that she knew something her cousin did not.

Jordyn puckered her lips and nodded. "Oh good. Did she tell you to watch out for this?"

"Watch out for wh..." Jordyn grabbed for Ginger's hand and sent the duo head over heels down the cliffside. The glowing royal-purple stone clicked and clacked out of both their reaches. They landed in a pile of settled dirt, hard, on their stomachs. The gem landed just inches away, below a pair of blood red boots. The boots of Derordis. He tilted his head slightly and bent down, with creaking joints. He took a knee and began to speak to them.

"My poor children, you're both quite young to be doing battle. The triad must be so very desperate to try to defeat me."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Xeaus, Enclave, Bran, Kawaii, and more than a few wolves, stood behind the god of war and terror who shot back up to his feet. What happened next remained a blur in Ginger and Jordyn's minds. First, Bran stroke Derordis in the leg, crippling it, while Xeaus grabbed the gem and threw it, with the skill of a pitcher, up up up. Sapkins' once lifeless body awoke as she, with her eyes still closed, raised a hand and caught the stone, the heart of her dying town. She began to fall, but all the while, she removed a small dagger from her shoe, and stabbed it into the back of Derordis' neck. The screeching howl from the deepest bowels of the god's body pierced the ears of the heroes. Enclave, eager for the horrifying noise to end, kicked him to the ground, and Kawaii gave the wolves her signal. Xeaus and Bran helped Ginger and Jordyn to their feet, as the wolves went at Derordis, devouring him and what life was left in his decrepit body.

"I wouldn't look that way, guys." Xeaus warned. Bran was carrying an exhausted Sapkins on his shoulders, while they retreated.

"Are we dead?" Jordyn wondered sincerely. Enclave removed his mask.

"Does this look like the face of an angel to you?" He quipped.

She blinked several times. "No..."

"Then there's your answer, hun." Jordyn slapped him in his far from angelic face, deservingly, he'd admit.

"It's over." Uttered Ranke. "Round one is complete." His voice trailed off.

"There can't be a war without causalities from both sides. Where's Sharpy?" Bran replied.

Xeaus' brow curled in sadness."My lord, he must've been taken down during the hill collapse...may he join Deity in the heavens." The much saddened Prince of Troy, took one look back at Eclipse. The setting sunbeams set a somber mood. The sun had set on Eclipse, the heartstone ceased to glow, and the town was no more. It shook his core. A single tear fell from the eyes of the seemingly emotionless man."Why must all good things die..."

#### **Part 9: Rage and Ruin**

*Undercity, Kingdom of Deity (-248,Y,-24)*

Deep within the darkened caverns of the Undercity, lit only by flaming bowls, The Dark Lord of Death walked a claystone path, accompanied by another, both garbed in reddened cloaks. Their footsteps reverberated throughout the mighty cave system, bats flapped away in response, through pitch blackness. The pair stopped in front of a blocked gateway, the mist of an adjacent waterfall dampened the road.

"My dear sister, Benacht, Mistress of Dawn and Dusk, our poor brother appears to have failed to complete his task." FauxLord ran his dark fingers through his twin sister's graying hair. She pulled away disapprovingly. "Show me that you will not follow in his failure." The cloaked man pulled a lever, and the blocked gateway cracked and shifted until a door appeared. He brought her in close, grasping her neck as he whispered softly, "Go." He held out his hand, and gestured towards the doorway. "What you will find in there, will test your endurance, I pray you, Goddess of Night and Day, can overcome such an assignment."

"I do not doubt it, but, Brother, this group, this gang of mortals, was able to take out the God of War himself. They, not we, were successful the first round."

"Bena, I've let them have their fun, their game. One round matters little in the great sphere of things. Success is broad and in the eyes of the beholder. What I crave is domination. Ultimate, complete, and unchecked. These blasphemous hypocrites have taken the life of a god and will pay the price. You will be the tax collector, take from them what they took from us. Now without another word...*go*." The softness in his voice had turned to a growl.

The Bringer of Death was unable to detect the slight hesitation in her step, as she walked through the doorway. He shut it behind her and he would later, most ironically, pay the price himself.

\*\*\*\*\*

*Ruins of the Town of Nova, Wilderness (2243,Y,2424)*

The group, having just defeated Derordis, tiredly shuffled their way, as the wind violently picked up, to the nearest safe haven, the fallen town of Nova, now an outpost for the townless. The once grand main house, fallen into shambles, had become their temporary base of operations. A council of four, Xeaus, Bran, Enclave, and Sapkins, sat in a circle on the assorted-wood floor to discuss what came next for their crusade.

"Where do we go from here?" Sapkins, still recovering from her capture by Derordis, gripped the faded heartstone in her hands tightly.

"Our options are limited, I'm afraid. It's my belief that we'd rather come to the fight than the fight come to us." Bran placed his bow down on the last surviving table before sitting down again.

"Even if we could choose to go anywhere, it's impossible to think that there wouldn't be some sort of damage from the battle." Enclave rubbed his neck where the splinters had scraped it.

"Alright, so give us some options." Sapkins was distressed and eager for a solution.

\*Sigh\* "Our best bet is Luna." The otherwise silent Xeaus chimed in.

"Luna? That's over four thousand blocks away. We'd never make it without being caught up by one of FauxLord's cronies." Enclave raised himself up from the floor.

"For sure." Bran added.

Ranke tapped his temple with two fingers. "That is unless someone happened to remember Sharpy's teleportation chant." He smirked slightly.

Bran shook his head, his hair was windswept, and shaking it around didn't help much. "Xeaus, that's extremely dangerous. Sharpy passed out bringing us all to Eclipse and he perished on the hillside, we can't risk something like that happening again."

Xeaus stood himself up as well, holding his arms out as he explained."We'll do it as a group, we'll share the stress. There's what, seven of us here? We'll all be a little tired, but none of us will be completely exhausted and it won't drain us of *all* our energy."

Even Sapkins was skeptical. "I don't know..."

Ranke rolled his eyes and bit his lip, holding back more than a few things he wanted to say. "Any of you have a better option, cause I'd just *love* to hear it." The room was silent besides that of the wind whistling through cracks in the window pane. "Just as I thought."

\*\*\*\*\*

While the council held their meeting upstairs, Ginger, Jordyn, and Kawaii remained downstairs. They had been invited to stay, to discuss what could be done next, but as Ginger had put it, "Politics is rather boring, and I just watched a man get eaten alive by wolves so I'm not exactly in a diplomatic mood."

Jordyn nodded in agreement. "Ya. I'm with the "ginger gem-taker" on this one." Ginger held back a smile at the joke, even though it was at her own expense.

"Kawaii?" Bran had asked.

"I'm not entirely sure I understand what politics is." Kawaii responded. So the trio had made their way downstairs to relax from their traumatizing experience in Eclipse.

"The one had taken quite a favorable liking to his face." Laughed Kawaii, reminiscing.

Ginger hadn't actually watched what each dog did, but the specifics grossed her out further."Ew, his face looked like it was bitten up already."

Jordyn crossed her arms. "I wish I could have slapped his ugly face back to loserland for calling us children. He reminds me of those stupid boys at school."

"Speaking of school," Ginger interjected, "Why do all the world-threatening events always happen during summer? We're already on vacation."

"EXACTLY!" Jordyn shouted, louder than probably necessary.

"Um guys..." Kawaii stood around the corner in a doorway.

"What is it?" Ginger was genuinely terrified.

Kawaii smiled, breaking the tension. "There's a freaking pool back here!" The swimming pool span the entire back yard of the crumbling house. Broken slabs of wood had fallen and sunk to the bottom, but it was otherwise intact.

"Yes!" the cousins said in unison. They jumped in, soaking their clothes, screaming for joy wildly. And for that moment they felt a glimmer of their childhood again.

\*\*\*\*\*

"It's a stupid move." Enclave broke the silence in the meeting room.

"For the love of all that is good in this world, Enclave. If you have a better plan, which I know you don't, please enlighten us.

"Oh yeah, so you'd rather us all get our \*\*\*es killed." Enclave stood, eye to eye with Ranke, and made the foolish move of attempting to shove the prince. Xeaus, again rolling his eyes, took his necklace in his hand, and punched Enclave, without even looking, through a wall, sending him crashing into the pool below.

The trio, already in the water, began splashing Enclave playfully. Jordyn scooped some water into her mouth and spit it, like a fountain, into his masked face. Messing with him never did get old. Bran looked down through the hole in the building.

"Heyyy Bran!" Ginger waved, before dodging out of the way as Jordyn swam past.

"Gah." The pirate lord paddled to the edge of the pool and stood beside it, soaked. Xeaus, Bran, and Sapkins made their way to the pool's edge as well.

"I'm done, I'm going back." Enclave was serious, he'd had quite enough of this nonsense.

"Back where?" Xeaus inquired.

"To my crew, what's left of them. I brought you guys in to help save Eclipse, the town I'd lay down roots, well now it's dead, all thanks to you guys."

"Enclave..." Sapkins was visibly upset. She held her hands down, clasped together with the gem in-between them.

"No, don't try to convince me to stay, nothing can."

By now, Ginger, Jordyn, and Kawaii had removed themselves from the pool. They stood, dripping wet, beside the other trio, all facing Enclave.

Xeaus took a deep breath, he blamed himself for Enclave's anger. "If you want to find us, you never seem to have an issue in doing so." The Pirate gave him a nod of acknowledgement and walked off into the birch forest behind the collapsing house.

Sapkins began to cry and leaned in for a group hug. The wind brought evening rains to the ruins of Nova. As the six embraced, Ranke spoke his thoughts aloud. "We gotta stick together guys, promise me that. It's only us now..."