Phoenix Forest

[AngelGuardian93]

The safe house was a flurry of activity that could have rivaled the activity outside the safe house, provided that the Cult of the Descendi had had the same numbers. Preparing for one's death wasn't easy, but the slaughter wouldn't be nearly as bad as the Khan would probably have liked. Sabatini laughed at the arrogence of his soldiers in thinking they were simply just a group a half-cocked zealots on the wrong side. He also laughed at the fact that most of his men had allready been evacuated through a secret entrance down into the sewers. Rule number one of a black ops organization was that you allways had a way out, or at least a plan to get out of a otherwise hopeless situation, the old argument of brain versus brawn. He would leave enough of his men to make it look like a splendid victory for the state, but he had in reality evacuated everyone but the essential. The ceremony HAD to take place, and it had to be done as soon as Cerune was ready, for there was precious little time.

The safe house itself was a nasty, worn-down building that once upon a time had been an apartment building. The wallpaper had long since faded, and an atmospheric layer of dust had settled everwhere despite the activity. The land-lord had been 'persuaded' to give up the deed to Sabatini in a most 'Sabatini way'. He had been drunk one night, and Sabatini had sweet talked his way into getting him to sign away his ownership. After that, it was a simple matter of evicting everyone and bringing in supplies and personel for the ceremony.

He had warriors placed in hiding up above on the higher levels, with some lovely hand grenades and out-dated BAR rifles. usually, Boomist Automatic Rifles had a DNA lock-on that prevented anyone but the proper registered user from firing it, but he had managed to get his hands on some that had no DNA locked into it. As long as his warriors didn't bleed into the feed, anyone could use it at any time. At midlevel he had some children of about thirteen or fourteen armed with pistols. These were orphans of the streets who had been brainwashed into believing the rhetoric he and his priests spewed. Despite their age, all of them were vicious killers with no remorse. The streets had a funny way of doing that to it's unwilling patrons. These were his 'police officers' that made sure his actual fighters stayed at their posts untill their end, not that he doubted the loyalty of his warriors, but simply put, you allways had a backup plan. At ground level, he had a skeleton guard of his most loyal acolytes. These weren't just 'mad cultists' as the world thought them to be. These were the real deal, with real dark powers, and a real working knowledge of how to use them. They weren't armed with weapons, but they would bring down a great many of the invaders, and would buy just enough time to complete the ceremony. Finally, if worse came to worst, the entire building was wired with explosives. Whether the ceremony was completed or not, he would blow the building with enough power to take it out completely, accomplishing two important things. The first, was to kill as many of the enemy as possible, and the second was to hide the true purpose of what was going on in there.

He was deep in thought when Cerune strode into the basement chamber, where the ceremony would take place. Sabatini looked up and nodded with deep satisfaction. Cerune had made it, despite the odds. Here she was, as the dark ones had foretold.

"Evocatii Sabatini, I take it." She smiled and bowed herself to one knee. Sabatini smiled approvingly, and motioned for her to stand. "My precious key, i'm so glad you made it." Cerune replied, "We must hurry, they will storm this place soon. Your Warriors of the Hardened Truth are loyal and trained, but their numbers are simply too great. Sabatini nodded, and spoke. "We are prepared. Are you?" Cerune smiled darkly.

"We are prepared."

"Good. Let us begin then." He turned around and walked deeper into the chamber. He motioned to a servent. "'the ceremony begins." It was the code-phrase for all his loyalists that it was time to be on full alert. They didn't dare use the radio out of the fear that the ones outside would intercept the message and strike before they were ready. The servant bowed and replied. "We live for the Dark Ones, we DIE for the Dark Ones." then scurried off to carry out his orders.

The basement chamber had been cleared of everything it normally carried, and replaced with cultist props. In the exact center of the room, the wood floor had been taken out, and the dirt below excavated. A metallic door had been uncovered, with only a single phrase written on it in old Brookshirian. "From the darkness below." It was one of the six fabled doors to the Balgurd. The entire reason the Cult of the Descendi existed, was to break these seals. 5 acolytes were standing in star pattern at the edges of the door, and were chanting something in a creepy perfection, each voice matching the others perfectly in the chant. Sabatini nodded and extended an arm towards the center of the door. Cerune deftly took his hand and let him help her down the ladder towards the center. Soon, the first door would be open.

Soon.



Boomist Temple, Mirioth
That same day.



Aggy had not been seen for many days. He had passed his authority in the newly formed Holy Lands of Shireroth to a steward and gone on a permanent leave of absence. He had to go see his mistess. He had failed the goddess Lumina, the one who had created him, and had failed her in his mission to keep the Russell family line from the darkness of Balgurd. Gman was STILL missing, presumed dead, and now Cerune was dead. There was no more line for him to protect. It was true that without a living Russell, the gates couldn't be opened and the Descendi would have to find another way out, but if the goal had been to strategically keep their forces at bay, he would simply have slayed the family. Lumina had given him the choice after all, of whether to take on the responsibility of keeping them in the light, or just slaying her. He had chosen the former. He often wondered if he had made the wrong choice. Of course, no one ever knew that the Angel Guardian could have so much doubt or despair.

He had not seen the light of day for many days now. He had locked himself inside one of the meditation rooms, and had been fasting and praying for many days now. His way of contacting Lumina was through Meditation, but his soul was troubled, and he had, so far, been unsucessfull in contacting her. His failure was not the only thing weighing on his soul, also weighed upon his soul was the issue of the Elven people, who even now were heading back to their adopted homeland in Elywnn. They HAD to know it was a trap. They couldn't be that stupid, could they? It all tied in with Cerune's death and the Descendi. Somehow, he just knew it had to be connected. He just couldn't figure out how. There were pieces of the puzzle that were missing to him.

Several hours had passed, with no sucess at contacting his master, when suddenly, a blinding flash hit the room. In an instant, he could feel the presence of his master, the presence of Lumina. He opened his eyes and beheld her beauty for a single instant before bowing deeply, his entire body low to the ground.

"My dearest Angel Guardian, he who I appointed to keep the Russell line, why do you have such trouble contacting me? Why do you waste your time lamenting the loss of Cerune when even now she lives and works against the celestial temple!?

Aggy couldn't breathe. He was in a terrible state of shock. Cerune was alive. Somehow she had survived. Somehow...

he had been tricked.

He hadn't the power to open his mouth, let alone form the words he wanted to speak, but somehow she smiled benevolently and gently lifted his chin, so he was now looking directly at her.

"My dear Aggy. Waste no time in feeling stupid, or feeling like all has been lost. Both heirs to the line are alive, and you must find them."

Aggy finally managed to utter a sentance, a faint setance. "Who... where... do I start?"

She smiled again. "You start with Ardashir Khan. He is your only hope to find her."

Aggy gagged and lost his breathe again. Surely that was a joke. That steaming pile of callamen droppings wasn't worth anything but his disdain, but here she was, the goddess Lumina telling him to go see Ardashir.

"I... will do as you speak."

Lumina smiled, and gently leaned down to kiss his forehead. "You have not failed yet. Still there is a chance for hope. Remember that you are still favored, and loved. Now go." And with another flash, she dissapeared, and the room was empty once again, save for Aggy. He stood up, a new fire in his eyes. He unlocked the door and walked out at a swift pace. A slumbering aid was woken up by his appearence. He stared in shock for a few seconds, then swiftly stood up and ran to his side. "My master, have you any luck?" Aggy nodded and spoke. "I have recieved a revelation. Prepare the fastest plane you have for immediate takeoff, and contact someone and request an audience." His aid nodded and replied. "Who, my master?"

"The steward of Elywnn."

[Osman Shahanshah]

I've not forgotten this, just been a tad busy taking over the Commonwealth.

[Andreas the Wise]

Have you still not forgotten? I spent an hour reading this to find out what happened to the Halluci ... and then discover it doesn't end.

[Gman Russell]

Blame Ardashir. I was waiting for him to reply, but eh, I can just finish it myself and to hell with him.

[Andreas the Wise]

Two years late is better than never. I'll ask him on Babkha to pop by.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Argh.

[Andreas the Wise]

A slightly longer response forthcoming?

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Nope - I've completely lost all notion of what the narrative thread of this story was going to be. Anyone who feels inclined can finish off.

[Oroigawa Koreyasu]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

NOW ANDREAS WILL DO IT!

[Andreas the Wise]

No, I couldn't do that much evil convincingly. I'll just have to invoke some sort of time lock, and make references to it in other threads. Actually fits well into our game ...

[Elliot Markham]

Two Years Later.

After many a trek through Ocia, Antica, and Babkha, Aggy finally found Cerune. When he met her, in a remote temple dedicated to the ancient mother goddess, she was not as she had once been. She was no longer completely human, but now a manifestation of this goddess. At some point, a transformation had occurred.

While he was now so closer to her, he still could not get near her. Once, after many days camped outside the temple, he summoned the courage to fight the eunuchs guarding the inner sanctum. While he quickly defeated them by way of his years of martial arts experience, and innate fighting talent, the moment he stepped in the direction of His Goddess, a nearly-blinding light, accompanied by a discharge of static electricity from the throne, threw him to the floor. A searing pain began all over his body. He was writhing. During this time, at the throne, His Goddess sat motionless and expressionless, her eyes cast not on him, but rather beyond, staring on into space and eternity.

And yet Aggy knew it was Cerune. Deep down, even as he was seized with agony, he felt some warmth from her--a supreme contentedness, having become One with the Universe, but still not without some longing for him. If only, he thought, he were to become a god, then he could make it through the power of His Goddess.

While most of the Eunuchs ran to the shelter of the temple's antechambers, one, Akyo, an elderly and wise-looking individual, came to Aggy. "My word! You, Sir, are a fool. Have you not heard of the blinding power of the Goddess?"

"Dear Eunuch," replied Aggy. "I have always known that my Cerune was a strong woman."

"Your Cerune? Cerune is one of her names, yes. It is a name reputedly of Illumination origin, too, and you are from there. But you speak as if you know of her as a friend and lover! Even I have no such joys. You must be mad!"

"No, I am definitely not mad, Eunuch. Just tell me this: How can I kiss her?"

"Well, poor Aggy, I think you already know. To receive an audience with Our Goddess, it must first be granted by The Khan Ardashir. He is the ruler of these lands. As such, he is a servant of the gods. Only he can grant you an audience with Our Goddess."

"No, I've discovered through my travels that the Khan is probably just a mere mortal. His claims to have the audience of the gods are mere royal flourish. Moreover, the royal wizards and witches of ages past have all departed the Babkhan capital for the edges of the world. Ardashir Khan knows nothing and can do nothing to help my cause. Did you know I have spoken with Lumina?"

"Ah, Lumina, the Elynnese goddess. Why, if you aren't mad... Well, if you truly have spoken with her, and she could not help you, then it would seem we are all a part of a chess game here being played by the Gods. Did Lumina tell you anything, anything at all, to help you on this fruitless ten-year journey?"

"Yes, to see the Steward of Elwynn. I did that. It turns out he knew nothing. He just told me to go search in Antica."

"Well, then, it seems the gods have sent you on a wild goose chase. However the best thing to do would be meditate. Or, if you are a Boomist, go to the blasting grounds. Whatever you choose, you must stop traveling and searching for outside answers, but rather inside answers. Go, my friend, and fellow adherent to the goddess, and do this."

"One more question: How did Cerune become a goddess?"

"Well, we think she was on the verge of death, and a highly powerful individual, by the name of Jiman Russelos, arranged for her to become a goddess, in order to save her life."

Could Jiman Rusellos be...Gman Russell? thought Aggy to himself.

[Elliot Markham]

The next day.

After all his travels thus far, he though, he would have seen Gman by now. In Babkha he was virtually at the edge of the known world. If Gman was anywhere, then, he would be around home--where he had not been, for more than two years. Thus, Aggy embarked upon a journey home. He was also glad to be returning to his old haunts.


Thirteen weeks later.

A gate at the capital, Mirioth

Until today, the day of his return, Aggy had now been gone from Mirioth for over a couple of years. In the meantime, the Steward whom he had passed his powers to had died, and a new Steward took his place. The new Steward, Perseus, was, unfortunately, often an inept and often irascible individual.

When Aggy arrived at the gates of the capital, the guard immediately issued reproach. "Turn around unless you have been allowed to visit by the Steward Perseus." This was the customary greeting, as such, to any and all visitors for the past several months ever since a free-traveling comic troupe had severely offended the Steward.

"But I was once the predecessor Steward of this land," protested Aggy. "My full name is Aganemnon the First." (It should be, thought Aggy, Aganemnon the Cursed.)

The guard, whose body was hidden behind a slit of a window, turned his face and raised his hand in the view of Aggy, appearing to gesture to another individual. The guard then stepped out of view. Another guard cam over and upon seeing Aggy joyously greeted him, saying, "Welcome the Honorable Aganemnon the First! I remember your reign as great one, a time of peace and prosperity. Wait just one moment, Your Honor, while I unlock this door and let you in." "Thank you very much, good sir," replied Aggy, as he heard the jangling of keys.

In a matter of moments, Aggy and his small entourage were heading into the city. The entourage had by now consisted of a couple of Boomist pilgrames, a shepherd intending to petition the King about the decline in wool tariffs, and Aggy's page, a young man by the name of Thadeus. As soon as they entered, they dissipated, leaving Aggy and Thadeus together. Aggy and Thadeus began to make their way to the home of the Steward, that great palace in the center of the capital.

[Elliot Markham]

I had thought from the comment of others that there was still some interest in this story. Do you like the direction I am taking it? Does the new quest for Gman make sense?

Regards,

Markham

[Jacobus Loki]

I think, go for it. It's nice to see good things in Illumination again!

[Elliot Markham]

The Mountain

After finding Gman under disguise, a starved peasant inside of the City, Aggy was told by Gman that Cerune could only be brought back as a mortal under the will of the gods--and that they were probably too fickle for this to occur during his lifetime. Thus, if Aggy wanted to be with Cerune again, he would have to be transformed into one of the gods. This transformation could only be approved by one of the gods OR by toying with the Laws of the Universe--at least as they apply to Shireroth. A carefully coordinated explosion, Gman told him, could bring about a portal into the Other Side. (Those of the BOO/\/\/\/\ist creed had passed down these ancient secrets for generations.) By entering this portal, Aggy would be in the domain of the gods and then, he could see Cerune. Whether he could stay or not would have to be approved by the Pantheon, however. And once crossing over, there would be no coming back, unless granted mortal form by a higher god--for he would only be a demigod.

Aggy decided to take the risk. On a bright Saturday morning, an abandoned coliseum collapsed to the great surprise of everyone throughout the city. And moments later, Gman was surrounded by light. And at the very end of this light was a tree with two trunks, so that it formed an arbor. As he passed through the living arbor, he found himself exiting a cave on a mountainside. Looking down he could see lush countryside, perhaps Shirerithian. He looked up. He could not see the peak of the mountain, as it was rising above the clouds which were just above him. There was a golden staircase to his right. He walked up the staircase and then above the clouds. He could no longer see the countryside below him. Around him were men and women with handsome features, and strange creatures. He had reached the home of the gods! And one of them was more beautiful to him than any other: Cerune. He ran to her, causing some stir among the Pantheon, and they embraced. Here, in this place called by some Valhalla, others Olympus, he had finally found her.

But while none of the Pantheon there could be called Evil--for Evil was found in a different place--some could be mischievous. As some watched the arrival of Aggy, they were already trying to figure out what they could do now to keep him from Cerune, for their own amusement. They had already sent him on several futile journeys and forays while Below, and while now it would be much more difficult for them since due to his presence he was a demigod, they decided that they would try one more time. They decided that they would try to trick him into making Cerune human; if done, this would, of course, separate them again, and perhaps for good.