Viemera: The Essence of Deceit [Complete]

“Yes. All Goddesses are capable of drawing in the Essence that surrounds them, though this is the first time I’ve ever witnessed it. Do not be harsh with her because of it. She was asleep the entire time and it couldn’t have been done intentionally. In all likelihood she wasn’t even aware ---” Tsume was cut off by the shrieking of a falling Loki who had been shot. Now while everyone is distracted with the kid. Owen grabbed Tsume by the arm and whispered “We are going to have a private conversation a few steps over here.”

Owen half dragged Tsume out of earshot while the rest of the group’s focus was on dealing with Loki. Owen kept his voice low as he released Tsume’s arm. “Very soon you are going to have to vouch for me for this group. We both know who is after us and if they have half as much ability as what I have heard then my secret is going to be used against us. Now you need to bandage my arm while the others are still distracted.”

Tsume looked displeased at the way that Owen was treating him but kept silent as Owen handed him a roll of bandages he kept in his jacket pocket. Owen slid his jacket off and set it on his right shoulder to use as a shield to block curious onlookers. On his left arm was the brand the Order used to mark him a traitor. It was close to a bullet wound which was lower on his arm. Once Tsume saw the brand his face betrayed that he understood why Owen was being forceful on the issue but his face quickly became confused.

“What wound?” Tsume asked.

“What do you mean ‘what wound?’ I was hit by a branch back there was bleeding all over my jacket. I can still see the blood all over my arm.” Owen said slightly irritated.

“There is blood but there is no wound,” Tsume said.

Owen frantically looked for the source of the blood down his arm. There was no indication that he was even wounded. There wasn’t even a scab or scar in the location that should be the source of the wound.

“I’m fucked…” Owen said disbelievingly. His eyes widened with shock as he realized what had happened. I had 6 good months… Now it’s gone… If I don’t kill myself I am going to die screaming in agony unable to contemplate anything but the pain I am in.

“What is this all about?” Tsume asked sternly snapping Owen back to reality.

“I’m dying. That’s the other reason I wanted to tag along on this trip. I have a brain disease and it’s going to start doing some damage real quick. I had six good months before the symptoms started to become more noticeable. But as you can see I am cursed with a regeneration ability that will accelerate my disease. I’m fucked and if you guys didn’t need an extra fighter to deal with whoever shot Loki I would paint a tree with my brains. I will not let this disease end my life.” Owen held a lot of anger back but a lot also got through on the speech. He was beyond angry. He was angry at the Goddess for causing this situation. He was angry at Loki for being spotted so Owen couldn’t scream at the Goddess like he wanted to right now. He was angry with his luck which had been horrible his entire life. He clenched his fists in anger as he put his jacket back on to cover his traitor’s brand. He turned to join up with the group.

“You will not say anything to Raewyn.” Tsume said sternly as if ordering Owen.

“No. I’m not. You are. When I start screaming like a madman from pain in front of her you get to explain that it was all her doing.” Owen replied angrily.

He silently walked back towards the group. He drew in deep breaths to regain his composure for the rest of the group. He didn’t want the rest of them to know that anything was going on. If he lived through this fight then he might tell them later. Right now he was thinking of how to fight this unknown enemy because he was not going to be dammed to this disease taking is life. He wasn’t his usual all rational self at this point but for the most part he could think rationally enough. He knew that they should run but he was to pissed off to run away this time. He needed to fight someone because he couldn’t fight what was actually killing him.

“I don’t run from man or beast. You all can run if you like, I’ll stall them,” Jake quickly added, “Besides, I’m too much of a badass for these guys to touch me.”

“I’m all for it. But we need to make the fight on our terms. We need to set up an ambush and then waste them all,” Owen said, “And I might just have a plan that would do it.”

“We use Loki's blood and Jake’s path making ability to create a trail for them to follow. We all follow along this path and then double back paralleling our trail making them think they are trailing us. We split into two groups. Group one will be comprised of the Summons, Loki, Raewyn and myself. We will pick a position where the summons can cover Loki and Raewyn while I am in a tree with my rifle. Group two will Jake, Eri and the Monk. Group two is our main force and will be the key to success in this plan. While I engage the enemies from my sniping position while using my lighting abilities and with the summons make it look like we are making a last stand. If it gets to intense then Loki will fly Raewyn out of there. While the summons and I have the enemy distracted group two will attack them from behind. Group two is the main force and should expect heavy hand to hand combat while in group one we should use ranged techniques to lure the enemy. Any questions?”

All of a sudden, so many things seemed to happen at once. James insisted on taking Tsume aside rather roughly. Loki came crashing out of the sky obviously wounded and bleeding, Eri first greeted Arashi and then ran to Loki’s aid while Jake tried his new armor on and off getting a feel for it. She had done that. She had given them all new abilities. And she felt more in touch with everything around her. She knew now she was meant for special things. She also vowed that no one was going to tell her what to do again.

Were they being attacked truly? The question came unbidden to Raewyn’s mind again. They were planning on ambushing those people coming up behind them without even knowing who they were. Maybe they were just people caught in the collapsing forest? James and Jake seemed sure they were enemies and needed to be killed. What kind of people was she travelling with? Maybe the woman in the dream had been right. Maybe she should run away as soon as she could.

Biting her lower lip, Raewyn closed her eyes softly and reached out with her senses trying to locate other Saturates in the area. There were none. Only the group she was with. Those following behind were just people! If anything more was needed to convince Raewyn that Tsume and the others were traitors, this fact alone was it. She decided then and there to keep what she’d done to herself.

Her eyes slipped unbidden to Loki. Was he like Jake, Tsume and the others? Surely not. The thought stung. He was the only one she felt she shared anything common with. He’d been there to comfort her. Was even that seeming sympathy a ruse? Her head hurt trying to figure it all out. And when her head hurt, Raewyn became more belligerent. As soon as she could, she decided, she was going back to the city to find Rayne.

Time passed by in a flash as Loki struggled to maintain consciousness and organize his thoughts in the midst of his injuries. He could hear voices, but his mind was too taxed to put meanings to all of the words being spoken around him. The daze gradually subsided and Loki became aware that he was sitting up; it took him another moment to realize that he was actually being propped up by Eri. The pain in his leg only intensified as he became more aware. Crimson stained his pant leg, though much more slowly than he had expected due to the partial cauterization caused by beams of focused Essence. Loki was also aware of a sharp pain that felt distant, yet all too real, and a glance to his side reminded him of the wing that had been hit.

Out of all of his injuries, it was the one to his wing that unnerved him the most. The tendrils of light had always been a sort of reassuring armor that made him feel a little more at ease in dangerous situations; ever since he first learned of his abilities, he had never seen physical harm come to them. Flight comes at a price then… Loki shifted his shoulders lightly and the bird-like wings molted all the feathers, which proceeded to fade from existence, revealing his guardian wings as they unwound themselves from one another. He noted that one of the tendrils on his right side was around two feet shorter than the others. As he inspected it more closely and much to his relief he could make out that it was slowly regenerating its missing portion.

”Loki's blood and Jake’s path making ability to create a trail for them to follow.”

The sudden mention of his name brought his attention back to the situation at hand. Loki listened to James’ plan, but couldn’t dismiss the first step that used him to set the trap.

“My…blood? You want to use me as bait?” Loki asked weakly. As a test, he bent his leg to try to lift himself up, which was very painful in of itself, but the moment Loki tried to shift any weight onto it a lightning bolt of pain surged up his leg, through his body, and into his brain. Agony so sudden that it forced an involuntary whimper and caused him to feel slightly lightheaded.

Eri began to protest upon seeing her pupil strain, but Loki interposed before an argument could ensue. “It’s alright. I’m in no other condition to help in any other way and there is no way we will be able to outrun them with my leg this way.” He paused to roll up his pant leg to allow the trickle of blood to fall to the ground rather than absorbed by his clothing. “Eri, could you please help me up?”

Even with the help, Loki had to grit his teeth to keep from shouting as he got to his feet. “Truth be told, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to fly if the situation calls for it… Even if I could maintain the focus to do so despite the pain, it’ll take a while longer for my wing to regenerate. Without it being fully restored, I’d be lucky to carry myself without having the additional weight of a passenger. Should it come to that, however, I’ll do the best I can…”

Loki looked over at the Goddess who was staring at him with an expression that he couldn’t quite read, she seemed deep in thought. “Raewyn…” He spoke with a weak smile that matched the tone of his voice, “Would you mind being my crutch for the time being?”

Jake looked back at James as if he were absolutely insane. His face was a mixture of stupor and anger. He waited until James was done with his little plan layout, before adding his twenty seven cents. “Ambushes require you to wait for the perfect moment! Do I look like I need the perfect moment? I don’t need this plan, I don’t need any backup! Best of all, I am no a fucking coward! I don’t need the advantage to take on my enemies, and neither should you! In fact, you can take this plan and shove it up your…” Jake was cut off by the weak speaking of Loki. As Loki spoke, Jake slowly calmed down. His axe now hung limply by his side rather than in a half-raised position, and he stood still. He realized that being with a group would mean working together, and not going in gung-ho and kicking ass by himself. As Loki continued to talk, he saw that they would need to move at least Loki and Raewyn away from here before they could deal with this threat. They were non-combatants at the moment, and they would only be a liability.

Looking back at James, Jake finally backed down. “Whatever, I’ll go along with it! Just watch the skies for flying mercs when I join the battle.” With that, Jake quickly moved away from the group, uncertain if his armor ability would or wouldn’t take the ground from beneath everyone else. Jake visualized himself in the armor, and the earth swallowed him within seconds. Without another word, Jake moved past the group. He was pissed off, and everyone would no doubt see him as a child throwing a tantrum, but he didn’t care. Why should he ever care what other people think of him? They knew nothing of him and he knew nothing of them. Jake stretched his shoulders, causing loose dirt to fall to the ground, and then lowered himself.

Getting a good running start before hitting the forest, trees went flying every which way. Some he had to actually stop, and uproot them from where they were planted, but most he was able to easily bowl aside or simply run over. After a good minute of dead sprint into the forest, Jake allowed himself a moment’s break. Looking around, he found himself in a very tight formation of trees, both tall and short. Looking further, he found a ditch just off of the path that he had been making. Along with this, should they decide to break for it, weapons fire would be near useless due to the amount of trees in the way. That was good and bad, because it would also block James’s shots unless he was really damn good. This was as good spot as any though, and Jake was going to use it.

Letting his armor fall off, he found himself completely alone for the moment. The others would be along shortly, but for now he had some time to get rid of some the anger he had felt. Taking his axe out once more, he started cutting trees with a single swipe, making thunder as they dropped to the ground. When he had finished cutting down at least four trees, he picked those up and threw them in the general direction of the mercenaries. The trees were not overly large for Jake, and he knew he threw them far over his allies. “You see that Mercs! I’ll be tossing you like rag dolls and pinning you on high flying eagles for everyone to see! You’re not the first idiots to fight me, and I hope to hell you ain’t the last!”

Jake wasn’t even breathing hard, but he had quelled his anger somewhat. He had to, if this plan was going to work. He knew everyone would be looking to him to see if he would screw the plan up somehow, but he would show them. He would do his part perfectly, if only to prove everyone wrong. He quietly made his way to the ditch, and jumped down. Moving brush in the way to hide himself, he planted his axe blade down into the dirt. Resting his head on the hilt, he closed his eyes. It was here that he said a simply phrase that had followed him everywhere he went, and one that he would never forget. Almost in a whisper, he spoke into his axe. “Strength is measured in more than physicality.”

The tension among the group members was almost palpable as Loki’s injury heralded the approach of their latest group of enemies. Thanks to Arashi’s natural sensitivity to emotions, Eri could practically feel the hostility emanating from Jake as he said he would rather fight alone and stall the enemy rather than flee, as well as his outrage at the thought of having to cooperate with an ambush plan. She had to admit, James’ strategy sounded legitimate, except for one minor detail.

“Loki’s blood and Jake’s path making ability to create a trail for them to follow.”

‘Say what?’ Eri thought in disbelief. Loki had just gotten hurt, while carrying all their packs no less, and James wanted to repay his sacrifice by using him as a lure instead of healing him immediately.

“My…blood? You want to use me as bait?” Loki asked, his voice weak from shock and pain. Eri watched guardedly, still supporting him, as he moved his injured leg experimentally and then tried to shift weight onto it.

“Easy…don’t push yourself,” she said in as soft a tone as possible. However, she clearly felt him twitch from the pain through the arm she kept around his shoulders, and the dizziness was evident in his eyes as he whimpered in pain.

Suddenly indignant, she turned furious eyes toward James. “Have you lost your mind? Loki can barely move, let alone stand, and you want him to lay a freaking trail when the enemy is practically on top of us?” She felt Arashi tense through their link and saw him shift closer to them out of the corner of her eye, ready to attack or defend at a second’s notice. Group or not, his alliance was to his mistress first, people under his mistress’ protection second, and any other allies last.

To Eri’s surprise, Loki intervened before she could draw her blade on James. “It’s alright. I’m in no other condition to help in any other way and there is no way we will be able to outrun them with my leg this way.” He even rolled up his pant leg so he could better create the aforementioned trail. “Eri, could you please help me up?”

Eri reluctantly slid her arm around Loki’s waist to support his weight as she helped him to his feet. “Fine, we’ll go along with the plan,” Eri said, referring to herself and Arashi, “but I still don’t like this…” she grumbled, noticing how Loki made a conscious effort to keep from shouting in pain. She made no effort to hide the displeasure on her face as she helped him over to Raewyn. “Do as James says, Arashi,” Eri said to her summon, speaking aloud for the benefit of the group. ‘But be careful,’ she added privately along their mental link.

‘I’m more worried about you than myself, Mistress,’ Arashi replied. ‘Even if I fall in battle, I will not perish. You, however, only have one life to lose.’ He took to the air and quickly gained altitude, staying high above the canopy to avoid detection. Jake didn’t seem any happier about the plan, but at least he agreed to go along with it. He summoned his armor, took a running start, and charged headlong into the forest. Eri crossed her arms over her chest and quirked an eyebrow in near-amusement as he just bashed through the trees, snapping them like twigs and tossing them in random directions under the onslaught of his brute strength. He soon disappeared from sight, though the sound of snapping trees and general destruction reached her ears easily enough. ‘Remind me not to get on his bad side,’ she remarked dryly to Arashi.

Silence pervaded the clearing where the group was still gathered, and then Jake’s voice echoed through the trees in frustration as even more trees went flying over their heads. “You see that Mercs! I’ll be tossing you like rag dolls and pinning you on high flying eagles for everyone to see! You’re not the first idiots to fight me, and I hope to hell you ain’t the last!”

‘I certainly hope he’s not referring to me as one of those ‘high flying eagles…’’ Arashi stated in an equally dry tone.

Eri decided that she might as well also get into position for the ambush. With one last look at Loki, she left the group and followed the trail that Jake had crashed through the forest to find a sizeable clearing. Surveying the dozens of tree stumps and holes in the group from uprooted trees, Eri thought in surprise, ‘Did he really do all this?’ Clearly, she had underestimated his brute strength. She found him crouched in a ditch along the side of the clearing, disguised by undergrowth. He was bent over the hilt of his axe, as if in prayer, whispering something to himself. As Eri moved toward the ditch, she communicated to Arashi, ‘Keep an eye on Loki for me,’ she took another look at Jake, ‘…and Jake too. Despite what he said, I’m worried he’ll get trigger happy and ruin the plan.’

‘I will do so as much as possible,’ Arashi agreed. ‘If necessary, I’ll fly Loki out of danger myself.’ He paused for a moment, and Eri could see an almost teasing expression on his face through her mind’s eye. ‘I must admit, your newfound protective nature is most endearing.’

Eri rolled her eyes. ‘For Loki, yes. For Jake, in your dreams.’ The day she started feeling protective toward Jake would be the day she befriended a Therian. She soundlessly leaped down into the ditch, landing in a half-crouch like a cat, and positioned herself next to Jake. After receiving another message from Arashi, she whispered to Jake, “They’re getting closer. They’ll be here in a couple of minutes.” She reached out with her left hand and summoned Gale Cleaver wordlessly. Clenching the hilt tightly, she narrowed her gaze and waited expectantly for their enemies to show themselves.

If there are no good essence users in this enemy group I may have to lose on purpose… Death… Dammnit. I still had about 6 months left! Somehow everyone agreed to his plan. It didn’t take long before they were setting up the ambush site. Owen knew he had made enemies with his suggestion but at the moment he didn’t care. He was going to be dead soon anyway and it wouldn’t matter then. He would let them sort out the whole mess he just needed to get killed in battle. He hated the idea of losing his life to just anyone. He would normally never allow himself to lose as a matter of principle. Right at the moment he was actually considering it. It would be much better than the fate that awaited him should he not die in this battle.

He picked his way through the trail making sure there was a clear blood trail for the enemies to follow. It was there and then he found the designated ambush spot. It was heavily forested and that was a double edged sword. They would have a hard time finding him but he would have the same hard time shooting them. This might work out great. I will have to get in close after they find my position. He looked around and saw a perfect tree. A tall old oak tree with thick branches and behind that a thick patch of brush which would be a perfect hiding spot for Loki and Raewyn.

“All right you two. Hide out in those bushes and make sure to keep your heads down. I have no idea how bad this is going to get but I don’t want either of you getting hit.” Owen said. He felt a little bad dragging the two kids into this but there wasn’t much of an option. He put his hand on Loki’s shoulder. “You did a great job setting up this trap. It takes a hell of a man to push through the pain the way you did. If they get me I got some cash in my jacket. Make sure you grab it before bailing. I don’t like the thought of not keeping my word when it comes to helping this group out. Stay down until one of us gives you the all clear ok?” Owen made sure that they were both safely out of sight before climbing up his designated sniping spot. Huh. That’s weird. I could have sworn I used some of my essence… Owen looked at his hand to see if anything was different but he couldn’t see anything different. Huh. I must be losing my senses faster than I though… Owen made himself as comfortable as possible with his rifle overlooking the ambush zone. This was the hardest part. Waiting for what felt like hours, not moving and not making any sound in hopes of seeing them before they see you.

It felt like hours later but Owen had no idea what the actual time was before he heard the group of people following their trail. It didn’t take to long to spot them on the cleared trail. Something is not right. That’s too much noise for those few people on a cleared path. He saw two men walking with melee weapons taking point. He heard more off the path but couldn’t see them. He could also make out what looked like rifle men in the way back. Ok so who should I take out first? I can’t take a clean shot at the flanking party. The front two. Then I can guess at the flanking party to make them take cover and drive them back for a moment. He knew his target now he just needed a second to set up as he created a ball of lightning. He aimed carefully at the swordsman’s head. He made the ball lighting creep along the forest on the right side of the path. He guessed on where the flanking party would be and was ready. He held his breath as he steadied his rifle and squeezed the trigger.

Things started happening fast after the rifle recoiled in his hands. The swordsmen fell dying before his body completed its tumble. An explosion ripped apart trees and caused the flanking party to scream with surprise and fear. Owen pumped his rifle and aimed at the startled axmen who started running for cover. Owen’s rifle punched a hole in the axmen’s chest and then another to make sure he was finished. Then all hell broke loose. Shots were being blindly fired in Owen’s direction and he was sure he had missed the flanking party. Here we go!

The conversation and planning the rest of the group went through rolled right past Raewyn. She was still lost in her own internal struggle about what to do. It was only when Loki asked for her help supporting him that she came back to the present. She slide her shoulder under the young boy’s arm and let him lean on her as the trail was left and then through the trees to James’ chosen ambush spot.

As Raewyn and Loki hunkered down under the thick underbrush where James could still keep half an eye on them, he suddenly let go with several bullets into the unsuspecting party following them. The high-powered rounds were closely followed by an explosion of James’ ball lightening.

In her mind, Raewyn screamed. He was murdering those people! They never stood a chance. What had she gotten herself into? She covered her ears for fear of hearing the screams of the men and women as the fighting began in earnest. It was in this incongruous way that she realized suddenly that she could hear everything; people scrambling for cover, bodies falling to the forest floor, even the rapid breathing of those that waited and those that were being attacked. She could smell the mud that encased Jake, see the tiniest insect on the trees in the distance somehow something had changed within her. She frowned trying to puzzle it all out when another shot from James’ gun barked out once more.

Raewyn looked up, trying to spot Arashi through the trees. He was going to be the one she’d most have to avoid if she wanted to reach the city. Closing her eyes she tried to reach out with her mind to touch each of the others in her group. She felt them, could tell where they were and to a small extent, what they were feeling. Could she influence them to not see her or to sleep or…forget her altogether? Looking askance at Loki, she wondered. He had lost blood. Could she try? Should she? Raewyn closes her eyes and concentrates on Loki. It seemed that making him more tired and weary might be the easiest thing to try. If he could be induced to sleep, she might slip away.

While Jake mowed down a swath of trees, Tsume summoned Alco and sent him to guard Raewyn and Loki. The monk was still shaken by Owen’s radical change in composure; even though it gave him more insight as to the merchant’s motives with this group, Tsume feared that he might have become too emotionally unstable to fight. Sure, he put on a mask of confidence and composure when addressing the group, but there is no telling what will happen once the conflict begins. Worse yet, he is going to be the only capable combatant near the Goddess and Loki. If he were to defect, there wouldn’t even be time to realize their peril before Owen could execute them. I don’t like this, but now is not the time to second guess our teammates…

Tsume followed close behind Eri and ducked in the ditch, waiting to summon his spear until he was able to stand and charge with it properly. “We need to be careful, they obviously have energy weapons. Once the battle starts, I’ll erect several stone bunkers to duck behind and allow us to get closer without presenting easy targets. You two take the groups closest to the front; I’ll snake around and hit them from behind where their sharpshooters are likely to be lurking… Jake, it goes without saying that your armor is impressive, but be careful out there, it’s bound to have a limit and those energy rounds are bound to take a toll.”

Shouts and explosions sounded in the distance, marking their time to strike. Tsume planted his hands on the ground and pushed himself up to find his torso encased in a stone shell. Despite its looks, Tsume hardly even noticed its additional weight and felt a little more at ease knowing that he had some level of protection from the gunners. He didn’t take the time to consider this aspect of his ability, he had a job to do and knew better to become distracted by it. With an act of will, several stones large enough to crouch behind protruded from the earth at various locations. It was certainly not an easy task and the monk felt the strain on his body from the effort he had put into the action. He was tired, but still he pressed on and moved in an arc to sneak around to the rearmost positions.

Master! There is another group, the mercenary captain and his bodyguard wasn’t travelling with the rest of them. I’m keeping the bodyguard occupied, but the captain is advancing on the Goddess. I think James is too distracted to realize this and I cannot warn him.


“Thank you.” Loki said through gritted as the two of them made it to their hiding spot. The entire walk he had to fight to remain conscious. Now that he could sit, he took a bandage wrap and began covering his wound. He was thankful that the wound had been partially cauterized, preventing severe blood loss. Despite that, however, he had lost a good amount of blood and was already beginning to feel lightheaded, a sensation that was only redoubled by the pain, which was slowly subsiding. Loki wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“I’m sorry, Raewyn. It isn’t fair that you had been forced into this situation. If…” Loki felt the fatigue grow more intense and his head nodded forward in an attempt to sleep only to jolt him awake again. He shook his head in a futile attempt to ward off his exhaustion. “I don’t think I’ll be of much help…” His eyelids began to droop a little further, “but I’ll do everything I can to keep you from harm…”

Slowly his head sagged as he began losing the battle with unconsciousness. There was a snap of a twig behind him, a sound that sent a surge of adrenaline, snapping him back to consciousness in time to feel a hard impact against his back. The mercenary captain had lashed out in a quick strike with his sword that would have been undoubtedly lethal had Loki not raised his armor just a moment before. As it was, the cutting edge of the blade never pierced his skin, but the force behind the strike was enough to knock Loki to the ground, stunned.


The captain, Jacob Marco, was furious from the losses his team was suffering and wanted to get the Goddess and withdrawal before more of his men could be harmed. He was in such a rush that he hadn’t given Loki a second glance or realized that there was no blood on the blade of his sword. Hatred filled his eyes as he looked upon Raewyn. This little girl is the reason my men are dying?! Marco had known that this mission would be difficult, but hadn’t expected his Saturate support team to abandon them. Words were going to be had between him and Rayne after this.

In a flash, Marco had reached out and grabbed Raewyn by her arm; his grasp was anything but delicate and would likely leave a bruise. Without any regard to her well being, he pulled her back into the tree line and out of their gunner’s line of sight. Marco’s orders were to bring her back alive, but given the circumstances, he had little concern whether she was a little bruised and shaken while in transit. Despite Raewyn’s thrashing, the captain pulled her along with little effort. In a few more yards, I will be clear from any potential shots by their gunman and will be able to issue a retreat with the mark in hand.

“Gah!”

Marco felt a sharp pain in the bicep the gripped onto the Goddess, his instinctive reaction tossed Raewyn to the ground while turning to face what had bit him in a single motion. It was the boy from earlier, the one he was sure should have been cut in two from his strike. He must be wearing armor. The boy now knelt before Marco with a bloodied Katar in his hand, struggling to get back on both feet despite the injured leg. Seeing the futility in standing, the boy lunged forward from his crouch on his good leg to deliver another strike. The veteran fighter scoffed at his useless move and deflected the attack with a swift and powerful kick to the side of the boy’s head, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The mercenary approached the unconscious lad with his sword in hand, raising it without hesitation as he prepared to deliver the deathblow that would cleave the boy’s skull in two. There was no remorse or doubt, Marco was going to murder this kid in cold blood and without a second thought.

Jake had continued to rest his head upon the hilt of his axe. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply. This was the only way for someone of his nature to not lunge out and find the enemies first hand. He hated having to ambush people. Ambushes were for the weak and the cowardly. Yet, he was not by himself here. There were others here that he would have to watch their backs as well, which meant that this was probably the best laid plan. Jake was stubborn, but given enough time he could be found to come to reason. All it would take was patience. Yet, when Eri whispered to him that they were close, he started teetering in his spot. All he could manage was a nod of the head; for fear that he would simply go into a rage and run out right then and there. He was a berserker, and everyone who had even just heard of him knew that was his fighting style.

Then the monk came flying into the ditch. It was only then did Jake realize he was the only one in the ditch without some sort of really neat summoning trick. He reprimanded himself in his mind. He didn’t need tricks, magic, or even a bloody ambush to win. He was who he was, and that would be enough. His blood was pumping, and it was effectively driving him into a mindless rage. The best words that describe Jake at this moment in time are that of a chained dog. Imagine a dog that has been starving for days, and you lay a piece of meat just out of his reach. That would fit Jake perfectly in this moment as his teetering starting turning into leaning. Once T started talking, Jake’s eyes opened, and his eyes were that of barely controlled frenzy. He turned his head to T and Eri. “Use your plans all you want, but just get the fuck out of my way. I can take care of myself.” His voice was soft, but the underlying threat there was unmistakable. They had already denied him a fight once, he would not allow them to do so a second time.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the forest erupted into action. Jake was out of the ditch instantly, letting loose a yell that indicated just how much pent up anger was inside of him. His axe was in hand, but he had yet to summon his armor. Three of mercenaries turned towards the sound of yell. Two were wielding pistols, and the other was swinging a sword in his general direction. Jake’s reflexes started coming into play, and he instantly took in the situation. Two of the mercenaries were dead, and at least three were now focused on him. Piss poor odds for those three. Even as Jake thought this, the pistols were brought up, and started firing. The bullets came into him at slow motion, his adrenaline and essence fueled reflexes allowing him to pull a bullet time-like move. Sliding on the ground as the energy rounds went inches above his face, his feet slammed into one of the rock barriers that T had erected. Allowing the momentum of his slide to carry him, he rolled over the barrier, and was ever closer to the mercenaries.

They were still a good ten feet away. Definitely enough time to fire off a couple more shots. So, instead of charging right at them, Jake suddenly and sharply rolled to his right to another stone barricade and took cover. The mercenaries fired a few more times, etching their rounds into the stone. As the fire stopped, they risked to get slightly closer to finish him off. Before they were allowed their second step though, the stone barricade was lifted from the ground, and holding it was the fully armored version of Jake. With another cry of rage, Jake threw the stone with enough force to catch them off guard. Two of them were able to dive away, but one of the pistolmen wasn’t. The barricade crushed his bones and internal organs. He was dead before impacting on a tree another ten feet away.

The other two started firing back; their faces a mixture of shock and fear as they fought this eight foot thing. The pistol’s rounds impacted on the armor, but were doing little to stop the charge of a fully enraged and bloodthirsty Jake. The swordsman came up to meet him, and took a swing. The sword pierced the armor, but not far enough down to hit the skin that lay beneath. Instead, only his experience as a fighter save him as a massive fist came down to crush him where he stood. A simple sidestep made the hammer blow miss, but Jake was always faster. Even as he realized he missed, the same hand delivered a backhand so fierce it sent the mercenary flying to the ground. He was not dead, but the hit had definitely broke some ribs. The pistolman was still firing, even though his rounds were no more than mosquito bites to Jake. Before the man could react, Jake had reached the three feet separating them, and had grabbed him by the throat.

Not bothering for superficial things such as a prolonged look in the face, Jake smashed the man into the ground a good few times. His body had gone limp by the third, but Jake continued to make sure, then tossed the man backwards into the forest. The body of the mercenary impacted into a tree, and caused it to collapse. This was what Jake was good for; drawing attention and destroying everything in his path. His eyes quickly turned towards the swordsman, who was readying for another attack. They charged each other, though it’s a wonder what the mercenary was trying to achieve. As the mercenary swung his sword, Jake caught it in an earth-enveloped grip, and twisted it to the side. This left the swordsman wide open for the follow up punch to the face. Stubbornly, the mercenary refused to let go, despite a number of broken bones on his face. Another punch made him fall to the ground, but not quite dead. Jake didn’t go half way on anything.

Grabbing the man by the leg, he threw him over his head only to slam him down as hard as he could on the other side. The sound of a breaking back was heard throughout the clearing, and only then did Jake let up on his attack. He wasn’t done though; there was still plenty of fight in him. This was definitely worth tagging along this bunch. He hadn’t had a fight like this in ages. His thoughts were cut short as an energy round caught him square in the face. The shot had enough force to stagger Jake, and take a chunk out of his face plate. Another well placed shot took off the entire left side of Jake’s ‘helmet’. Half of his face was visible now, and he looked downright pissed. Even as he continued to look for the victim, another round caught him square in the chest. This took the wind out of him as his chest had already been weakened from his fight with Marinik. Dropping to one knee to protect his exposed regions, another shot rang out and took him high in the shoulder. It spun Jake around, and he knew he had to find some sort of cover or he would die without being able to face his enemies. His armor collapsed off of him as he favored speed over defense, and made for the closest cover, grabbing one of the fallen mercenary’s pistols while doing so. Another round rang out as Jake vaulted over one of the barricades. The shot impacted on the stone, sending chips flying into Jake’s back, creating small cuts and pissing him off further. Even as he took cover, his only thought was to find out where those two were, and make them suffer. For the moment, he rested his back against the cold stone. He would wait for T, if he was correct, to find the riflemen, and then he would have his fun with them.

Eri glanced sideways as Tsume ducked into the ditch beside her, and a word from Arashi told her that the two summons were overhead waiting for the action to begin. While keeping her eyes fixed on the clearing, she nodded in acknowledgement to Tsume’s advice about the energy weapons and use of stone bunkers. Since she didn’t have any form of armor like Jake to protect against energy rifles, she had a feeling those bunkers would come in handy.

Bracketed between Jake and Tsume, Eri remained silent and motionless as the first group of mercenaries invaded the clearing. At once, the area exploded into the flurry of battle as James took down two of them. Tsume erected the stone bunkers as promised, though the strain was evident on his face. Not surprisingly, he chose to sneak around the perimeter and find an ideal place to strike instead of charging headfirst and wasting his valuable energy.

Eri couldn’t say the same for Jake, though. She had practically felt the tension and underlying threats radiating from the Manipulator while they hunkered down in the ditch, and now he took out all that suppressed aggression on three of the mercenaries at once. Eri used Jake’s initial charge as a diversion and dived behind the first stone bunker, dodging the energy bullets that flew through the clearing like deadly rain. Two of the pistol users trained their fire on Jake, who dodged the bullets easily thanks to his enhanced reflexes. ‘Perfect.’ With Jake drawing most of the fire, Eri could get into close combat more easily. Amidst the confusion of the battle, she spotted one of the swordsmen and charged him, hoping to catch him by surprise. He barely managed to get his sword up in time to block Eri’s initial blow, which would have cleaved his head cleanly from his neck.

The din of confusion faded away as all of Eri’s senses trained on the foe in front of her. They blocked, parried, and struck in a deadly dance of metal and sweat, the air thick with the promise of bloodshed. Sparks writhed in the air as metal scraped against the summoned Essence of Gale Cleaver before the two combatants whirled away from each other in a perfectly synchronized move that would make any dancer’s heart break. This man was clearly skilled in the sword, and Eri knew that if she lost her concentration for even a second, she would be dead before anyone knew otherwise.

Just as fatigue started to creep into her muscles, Eri managed to spot an opening in her opponent’s defenses. However, a glint of light from her peripheral vision was the only warning she got before a second blade from another swordsman came swinging at her head. In a half second, she let go of Gale Cleaver with her left hand, drew her metal sword from its scabbard at her right hip, and swung outward with it to block the other blade. Now she was in a bind. She held a sword in each hand, her arms outstretched to hold back two opponents at once while leaving her chest and torso completely unprotected. Beads of sweat poured down her face as she struggled to hold back two swords with one hand each while her opponents could bear down with all their strength. Narrowing her eyes, she growled under her breath. ‘ARASHI!!!!’ she shouted mentally.

At once, the white eagle exploded through the forest canopy talons first with an enraged shriek. The second swordsman barely had time to scream as Arashi gored him with his talons and crushed him to the ground, just like a bird of prey would do with a rabbit. He died instantly, the sickening sound of crunching bones and spattering blood filling Eri’s ears. Arashi left the disfigured corpse on the ground, the blood covering his talons and staining the pure white feathers on his chest. This was no longer the normally reserved, gentle summon; he was now a harbinger of death to anyone who would threaten his mistress. In the two seconds it took for Arashi to kill his victim, the other swordsman jumped in instinctive fear and backed off from Eri. That was the only opening she needed. She swung both swords around and buried them in the swordsman’s chest, and he slumped to the ground lifeless. The only other mercenary in the clearing, a man wielding an axe, came charging at Arashi with a battle cry. 'Idiot.' The fool was fighting scared now. Eri leaped between the two, duel-wielding her swords and swinging them both to block the much heavier and sturdier axe with a harsh clang of metal against metal. Arashi flight-hopped over Eri’s head, his movements somewhat restricted in the clearing, and crushed the axeman’s head with his beak. Blood and gore dripped from the eagle’s face and beak, making him look like an angel of death in raptor form.

Even though the close-range fighters were all dead, energy bullets continued to pelt the air from an unknown number of unseen gunmen. The corpses of Jake’s three victims lay at his feet. However, he was clearly having trouble with the bullets, as they continued to chip away at his protective armor. ‘Arashi! Into the air! Find those gunmen!’

Arashi screeched in response as he took to the air again. Several bullets clipped his wings and drew blood, but the eagle was too much in the heat of battle to feel the pain. Jake dismissed his armor and ran for cover, and Eri followed suit. Without him to draw some of the fire, she knew she would be an easy target. A bullet managed to graze her left forearm, and she grunted in pain as she stumbled, trying to keep her footing. She crouched behind a stone bunker near his, sheathing her metal sword. Gale Cleaver leaned against her knee as she held her right hand against the wound on her arm to try and staunch the bleeding. The energy bullet had left a wide, shallow gash that bled profusely but had missed the vital arteries. She cursed mentally that her dominant hand was now impaired. She caught Jake’s gaze and gave a single nod to say that she was willing to keep fighting and had his back. Once Arashi, Tsume, or Alco found those gunmen, they would be ready.

Raewyn focused so intently on trying to force Loki to succumb to sleep, that her newfound enhanced senses completely missed the mercenary Captain who had found their hiding place. Just as he drifted off to sleep promising to protect her, the snap of a twig jerked Loki out of his induced unconsciousness. The Captain’s sword sliced through the air connecting solidly with Loki. Or so Raewyn thought.

She had no time to scream when the man grabbed her arm and jerked her roughly from the underbrush, nearly wrenching her shoulder in the process. She tried to pull way, tried to bite him, anything; but to no avail. His grip was like iron. Until a sudden attack from Loki from nowhere caused the mercenary to lose his grip on her and turn his attention to the young Saturate. The kick to Loki’s head left the boy completely vulnerable to the Captain’s murderous rage. Raewyn’s eyes widened in horror as the Captain raised his sword to finish Loki.

“No!” She screamed. Her burgeoning fondness for Loki overcame her innate fear. Raewyn scrambled to her feet and launched herself onto the Captain’s back in much the same way she had when play-wrestling with her older brothers over the years. Clawing at Marco’s eyes, she clung to the Captain’s back like a demon. He spun and staggered under the sudden attack.

Marco gritted his teeth growling at the little brat that was the cause of all his troubles. How dare she! He threw vicious punches at her trying to dislodge her, but she refused to let go. He continued to whirl and drag her off of him, but her small size made her difficult to reach. Finally, he backed up and smashed her back into a tree several times until she finally dropped onto the ground with a whimper.

The Captain spun and looked down at the bruised girl. “Goddess or not, you little bitch. I will end you where you lay if you so much a look at me wrong.” Their mission was to deliver her alive. No one said she had to be in one piece. He snarled and reached for her once again to drag her away.

When Marco gripped the front of her tunic, she was bodily lifted off the ground so violently, every muscled screamed out in protest. Raewyn cried out in pain and her eyes filled with angry tears. Despite his warning that he’d kill her, Raewyn’s own temper welled up within her. Everyone was trying to control her, to tell her what she could or couldn’t do. No more! She was she was the Goddess! She told them what to do! Raewyn lashed out and slapped Marco soundly across the face with every ounce of strength she could muster. While normally, her hit would do little more than sting and further anger the mercenary Captain, Raewyn had unwittingly spent some of her Essence control when she’d lashed out at him.

Even as Marco began to rear back to punch Raewyn again for her insolence, his body began to change. His skin slowly started to slough away in dry flakes, then his muscles; he was dying as the forest had. Marco dropped Raewyn in horror even as he died slowly and painfully. He screamed in pain and backed away as more and more of his body blew away in the light breeze from the clearing. In a last desperate act, his eyes focused on Raewyn in insane rage and he tried to raise his sword to end her life in a last act of revenge.

Once he started shooting all hell broke loose. He couldn’t see what was happening very well from his position but he knew that his allies had sprung the trap just like Owen had planned. So far so good. Now how to get myself into the thick of it… His thoughts were interrupted by beams slicing through the branches around him. Rifles!? Damn! He started firing wildly in the direction of the beams but was pretty sure he didn’t hit anything. At least it made them think they were pinned down or forced them to take cover. His rifle ran out of bullets and there was no way he could even try to hit anything with his other rifles. He had to take some cover and reload. A blinding flash sliced through the air and all Owen could do was throw up his arms and block his face. Pain flowed up his right arm from a burn. There was a thud as his rifle finally hit the ground after bouncing off some branches. I should go after that before they burn my face off. he thought as he rather quickly and clumsily made his way down the tree.

He more heard then saw a fight between a summon and what must be an enemy. Owen quickly picked up his rifle and in a swift motion slid it on his back. In a half second his shot gun was pointed at the enemy as he tried to close the distance without the guy knowing. There was too much brush in the way for the buck shot to be effective.

“Don’t worry about me! Get the Goddess! She has been taken! They went north.” The summon blew his cover while Owen was to far away to help him. The guy turned and Owen fired twice. He knew that there was little chance that he would be badly hurt because of all the brush but it would make him take cover for a second. That second was all Owen needed. He took off as fast as he could and holstered his shotgun on the move. There was no time to reload so he would have to work with only his pistols. I need more time! Damnit they could be anywhere! Owen soon became frustrated upon arriving at the position the Goddess and Loki had been in. He saw signs of a struggle in the brush and instantly knew where to go but it was slow going with the trees and underbrush.

This is to slow! I need to be faster! Owen’s mind raced as he tried to follow the trial of broken branches and leaves that were freshly scattered. He was growing tired rather fast when he finally spotted the Goddess and her captor. The sight shocked him more than he thought it would. The man responsible for dragging the Goddess against her will was slowly disintegrating like the forest they had previously escaped from. He had just delivered a blow that had knocked her backwards and was raising his sword to inflict a deathblow before he was turned into dust. The most shocking thing was that this scene was unfolding incredibly slowly. Owen ran forward knowing he would be too late but the man was slowly raising his sword into position. Owen saw the sword change direction when he was still feet away but he was fast enough to get between the Goddess and the blow. With his left hand he pulled his short sword from its sheath with the blade running down his arm. The man’s sword slowly advanced towards Owen as he pulled one of his revolvers out with his right hand.

Then time flow became normal and Owen felt his left wrist snap before he heard the sickening pop of the joint separating from the strain of the blow he had blocked. He felt like his left shoulder was burning too but he was more concerned with stopping this man.

“Owen?” the man gasped.

“No my brother is dead because of the group you’re in but you will be able to discuss that with him shortly.” Owen sneered as he pulled the trigger. The back of the man’s head exploded all over the trees behind him and his eyes went lifeless instantly. His body continued to disintegrate until there was nothing left but the sword with Owen’s blood on it. Owen was breathing hard when exhaustion finally hit him. He sank to his knees and then fell face forward into the dirt.

“AH!” He gasped as he quickly flipped himself on his back to stop the pain from his shoulder and broken wrist. Why am I this tired? There is no reason for me to be this exhausted.. He felt a few jabbing pains running through his back but it hurt worse when he was laying on his wrist. Owen turned his head towards the Goddess to make sure she was alright. He only saw a few cuts but he had to be sure.

“Are you alright?” He asked with his voice full of concern not for himself but for her.

Ranged fighters

They were the either the biggest cowards, or the best of their kind. If they weren’t the latter, they were the former. Even as Jake visualized crushing them to a bloody pulp, rounds continued to ricochet off of the stone bunker he had positioned himself behind. They would die, of that there was no doubt. They were only delaying the inevitable. Jake looked over, and caught Eri’s gaze. The slight nod was all he needed to know she was still in this. However, his eyes caught the sight of blood on her arm. Instantly, from past experience, he knew it wasn’t fatal or crippling. At least, it wouldn’t be crippling for him. His eyes flashed for a moment to a look of concern, but he quickly looked away. There was no need for him to worry about her, she could obviously handle herself. He had seen the way she had handled both of those swordsmen, and even though it took Arashi to come in and save her ass, he had to admit that she had guts.

Jake took the pistol he had grabbed, and blind fired a few rounds over the barricade. Instantly energy rounds blanketed where his arm had just been. He knew that there were no more close range fighters, or they would have come for them by now. Too bad, I was looking for more. Jake continued to blind fire over the stone when he could, but this was only succeeding in annoying him. He didn’t use guns as a personal rule, and the fact that he was resorted to such a lowly fighting style was only driving him further into a rage. “Where the fuck is T?! I thought he was taking care of these guys!” Jake’s pistol ran out of ammo, and due to his frustration, stood up and threw it at the forest where the rounds were coming from. He managed to duck just as another trio of shots rang out where he had been standing.

Suddenly, there were sounds of fighting coming from the forest, and Jake risked a look out of his cover. To his surprise, no shots rang out. There was yelling, then screaming. Jake was standing up, and moving forward this time. His axe was out, and twirling between his fingers, but he moved forward slowly. A scream was cut short abruptly, and then there was an awkward silence. Jake had stopped moving, and looked back at Eri. He quickly mouthed the words, ‘That’s it?’, and looked back in time to see T walking out of the forest no worse for wear. Obviously he hadn’t had a problem with the riflemen once he had managed to get close. While Jake’s rage was still within him, his rational mind realized that the fight was over, and his demeanor changed to that of the relaxed Jake. “About time T, thought I would have to go kill them myself.” Jake’s tone was joking, but there was a hint of seriousness to the statement that made it clear just how much Jake loved to fight.

Without answering him, T suddenly looked off towards the position of Owen, Loki, and Raewyn. Before Jake could ask what the problem was, he was sprinting towards them at a pace even Jake couldn’t match. Looking slightly confused, and more than a little tired for some reason, Jake reached around and ripped off a piece of rock the size of his thumb from his lower back. Looking at it as it were a foreign piece of equipment, he tossed it aside. Such wounds didn’t even register on Jake anymore, but then he remembered Eri’s bloody arm. Looking back at her, he asked in as sincere tone as he could muster without making some sarcastic comment. It wasn’t easy. “Do you want help with that?” Jake reached into an inside pocket of his jacket, and produced a roll of medical bandages. He held them up so she could easily see what they were. “I always come prepared. Well, maybe not all the time…Ok, practically never but I do have these. Want ‘em?”

An unbroken cacophony of gunshots and screams filled Eri’s ears like a broken record, and she mentally cursed the fact that she had been forced to take cover behind this bunker instead of engaging the enemy head-on. But with energy rounds flying over her head – or Jake’s when he fired his stolen pistol – and the riflemen nowhere in sight, she knew it would be suicide to try to move. Plus, her injured arm hurt like the devil. ‘Arashi, what the heck is going on up there?’

Her summon’s mental voice, strained from fatigue and pain, echoed through her skull. I can’t get a clear view through the canopy without descending into their firing range, Mistress. As soon as he said that, Eri caught glimpses through her mind’s eye of Arashi dodging a volley of energy bullets fired from unknown positions in the forest. Now that they had discovered Arashi’s position, Eri knew that their only chance to get rid of those riflemen was if Tsume could find them. Jake voiced Eri’s frustration by asking, more rhetorically than anything, where said monk was. She mentally scoffed when he chucked the pistol into the woods, only to duck just in time to avoid getting his head blown off his neck.

Then just as suddenly as the fight had begun, all the sounds of battle ceased. Eri cautiously lifted her head above the protective barrier of her bunker as Jake surveyed the area, axe in hand as usual. Eri met Jake’s confused expression but could only manage a half-shrug in response to his silent question, seeing as she still held her hand over her bleeding wound. However, she breathed a silent sigh of relief to see Tsume approach them unhurt, the tip of his summoned spear bright red with the blood of his foes. Since he was here, then that meant he had succeeded in bringing down the gunmen. Eri stood up and made her way over to the two men to await Tsume’s next orders, but then the monk was off and running toward where James and the others had been positioned. Before she could ask, she sensed Arashi change course to follow from the air.

Eri was worried that her summon was too injured to keep flying for much longer, but Jake’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Do you want help with that?” Eri quirked an eyebrow as he held out a roll of medical bandages. “I always come prepared. Well, maybe not all the time…Ok, practically never but I do have these. Want ‘em?”

Now that move, coming from Jake, was entirely unexpected. Normally he would have offered a sarcastic jab about her letting her guard down or something like that, but now he was actually offering help. She didn’t think she would ever see the day that Jake was actually a bit lost for words. Eri covered up her surprise with a teasing laugh. “What, no cynical comment this time?” she asked with a smirk. However, her expression softened as she took the bandages from his outstretched hand. “Thank you…” she murmured in a genuinely sincere tone. She purposely kept her eyes averted from Jake as she pushed up the short, tattered sleeve of her tunic to expose her injury. Lines of well-defined muscles and scars alike marred the skin beneath the crimson stain of her blood. She wrapped the bandages around her wound, albeit a bit awkwardly because she was using only one hand, and her non-dominant one at that, before ripping the other end with her teeth and tucking it in place. She moved her arm experimentally to make sure the bandages would stay in place before shoving what was left of the roll in her pocket.

Arashi’s voice suddenly broke into her thoughts, punctuated by a startled screech. Mistress! Over here!

Eri gave a start at the alarm in her partner’s voice. “Arashi found something,” she offered by way of explanation before dashing into the forest, following the direction Tsume had taken. Adrenaline surged through her legs, pushing her to go faster, until she reached a small clearing sandwiched between the dense cluster of trees that held the telltale signs of a struggle, as well as the rest of the group. Her keen eyes found James first. He was lying on his back, clutching his left wrist like it was broken and gasping in obvious pain. Tsume knelt next to the rifleman, so Eri approached him first. “What happened?”

Tsume replied succinctly, “I will tend to James. Please see to Loki and the Goddess.” As always, the Goddess was his first concern, but the fact that he was here and not with her meant she was unharmed.

Eri turned and, sure enough, found Raewyn standing a few yards away, her eyes wide and her body frozen in fear. However, her heart gave an unsteady jolt as she saw what – or rather who – Raewyn was looking at with such concern. Loki lay in a sprawled heap on the ground, completely motionless and unresponsive. Alco sat on his haunches, watching over the two in his master’s stead, while Arashi perched on a sturdy branch high above their heads. He wasn’t small enough like Alco to get any closer amidst the dense cover of the forest canopy.

Several things ran through Eri’s mind at once in the span of a few seconds. First, the throbbing pain in Arashi’s clipped, bleeding wings beat at her senses, and she dismissed him wordlessly with her mind before he collapsed. Next, concern for Loki overrode her usual cold demeanor, and she rushed to his side for the second time that night. She eased him onto his back, and her calloused fingers found the pulse point of his wrist. After assuring herself that the boy was still alive, she remembered that she had left Jake in the clearing. She didn’t favor the idea of him blowing off the rest of his rage by crashing through the forest and destroying stuff to find them. “Jake! Over here!” she called back over her shoulder. Gathering Loki’s limp upper body in her arms, she turned her attention to Raewyn. “Raewyn, talk to me. Tell me what happened,” she said in as gentle a tone as she could muster. She cradled Loki’s head in the crook of her elbow and propped his shoulders supportively against her raised knee. A quick onceover ruled out any broken limbs, but he was still out cold. “Come on, Loki, pull yourself together,” Eri urged softly, as if she could will him back to wakefulness. “Stay with me, kid.”

“…And Marinik is absolutely sure about this report?”

“Yes, Lord Udonis. He was badly injured when we found him, but he had no head trauma that would skew his memory.”

Udonis pensively steepled his fingers as he weighed his new options. Silence stretched throughout the small study as the subordinate waited patiently for his superior’s orders.

“Call off the Magi; the Goddess is no longer our sole objective. We will need time to strategize and modify the trap.”

“What of the mercenaries?”

“Their role remains unchanged. Without the support of our Magi, they will surely fail. With any luck, they will inflict enough damage to slow them down. The mercenaries know too much and were not going to leave that forest alive, whether it was by their hands or ours.”

“By your will, my Lord.”


Gunfire and the sounds of battle rang throughout the forest while Tsume stalked through the overgrowth, moving ever closer toward his prey. He had to remain undetected to make sure he didn’t get himself pinned down by gunfire; should that happen, one sniper would be free to flank him while the other held him in place. Survival would be unlikely should he find himself in such a position. The cries of battle gradually subsided, though the gunshots continued. Tsume figured that meant most of the opposition had been dealt with, leaving just the sharpshooters and he hoped that his bunkers were being helpful to his friends.

Master, the mercenary captain has been killed. The Goddess is unharmed, but Owen is injured and Loki is unconscious. They are hurt, but their injuries don’t appear to be life threatening.

Tsume felt a weight lift from his shoulders after hearing that news. Thank you for the update, Alco.

Master… Raewyn stole the captain’s life-force like she did with the forest.

That news unnerved the monk. Each time she did that, she made herself stronger. It is a sensation that could become addictive if the Goddess continues to do so, adding fuel to her desire for power. For now, Tsume knew that he could not allow that to distract him. His friends were counting on him.

After sneaking several more yards, Tsume was able to see the two riflemen who were entirely focused at the targets ahead of them. With an effort of will, the monk summoned his spear into existence and readied his attack. With a well aimed throw, Tsume sent his spear soaring towards the furthest sniper, impaling itself through the target’s neck. Immediately after it struck, the monk dismissed the spear and summoned it once again so that it was in his hand rather than in the mercenary. Such a maneuver was no easy task and he felt the strain on his body, but he had time to recover before the remaining sharpshooter could figure out what happened to his partner.

As the mercenary located Tsume, he raised his rifle and took aim. The shot went wide as the monk’s spear batted the barrel of the gun aside. For several moments, the two found themselves locked in a deadly exchange where the mercenary would backpedal to stay out of spear range while trying to line up a shot only to be knocked aside by the monk’s assault. Just as the mercenary lined up a shot, he stepped back to avoid the deflecting blow, but stumbled on a branch that lay in his path. In that brief opening, Tsume rushed forward and struck with a swift thrust that buried the tip deep into the mercenary’s sternum. With a twist and a violent jerk, the opponent let out a wet cry before succumbing to his wound.

Tsume ignored the exhaustion from having used his abilities to their limits and proceeded towards the Goddess. After taking a moment to ensure that none of them was in mortal danger from their injuries, he walked over to the rapidly decaying captain.

“What happened?”

“Turns out he wasn’t a Saturate… I will tend to James. Please see to Loki and the Goddess”

James intervened between Marco and Raewyn just in time to stop the descending sword from cutting her in two. Soon the rest of the group was gathered around her and the still unconscious Loki. Eri had Loki’s head in her lap with a look a real concern on her face. Jake still looked completely keyed up and Tsume had expended a huge amount of his own energy in battling the mercenaries under Marco’s leadership.

Raewyn stared blankly into the middle distance. She could hear all their heartbeats racing, the wind ruffling their hair. She could smell the sweat of their bodies and see the smallest pore in their skin. Power and energy made her feel like she was going to burst from her very skin. Electric-like tingling tickled all over her body and it felt as if her very hair was lifted from her scalp. She felt untouchable. She was powerful beyond imagining. She began laughing softly, nothing and no one could touch her.

She rounded on the group, suddenly feeling so much taller than even Jake or Tsume. “You murderers! You killed those people without any just cause at all! And you proclaim to be the ones that will protect me and lead me to the right people? I think you’re a liar, Tsume! You’re all liars and I’m not staying with you anymore!”

She glared up at James, Tsume and Jake as if defying them to do anything to interfere with her. “I’m going back. I’m going to find Rayne like Marink told me I should have in the first place. Like the Lady of the Dream reminded me to do.” She bent to retrieve her back pack, swinging it over her slender shoulder with a final warning. “And don’t you try to follow me! You’ll be so sorry if you do.”

Before turning away entirely, her eyes fell to Eri with Loki’s head still in her lap. It sent a pang of regret through the surge of power that coursed through her veins. Her tone softened only slightly, “Eri…get Loki away from them. You two don’t belong here. Make sure he’s safe. Promise me.”

With that, she turned her back, unafraid of any repercussions from them. She felt unstoppable, no matter if it was true or not.

I can’t remember the last time I was hurt this bad. Damnit now I am going to be useless and dying. Not how I wanted to fucking die, he thought as he pulled his rifle out from underneath his back. He propped himself up to see what was going on. He was still to tired to stand. Owen had been shot before and broken other bones but right now this injury hurt the worst out of all of them. His perception was completely focused on his painful injury and all he could think about was now he was going to die while being useless to the group. Somehow the rest of the group showed up and were discussing the injured members.

“We’ve got to set this wrist. It hurts like a bitch but I can put it back into place won’t be able to wrap it up though.” Owen said speaking painfully. It was about then that the Goddess went nuts. Screaming about how they were murders and liars. Owen forgot his pain for just a few moments. NO JUST CAUSE!? They shot Loki out of the air without warning. They followed a clear path of the injured person which only means they wanted to finish the job. YOU UNGREATFUL BITCH! I purposefully put myself in threat of injury and SAVED YOUR LIFE! I’M FUCKING DYING BECAUSE OF YOU AND SAVE YOUR LIFE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!?

“Eri…get Loki away from them. You two don’t belong here. Make sure he’s safe. Promise me.” The Goddess spoke before disappearing into the woods hoping that her threat deterred them from following her. Somehow in his rage he knew that now was the time to pop his wrist back into place, more because he wanted to go after the Goddess than anything else. There was a sickening pop as Owen’s face turned red from rage and pain.

“FUCK! WRAP IT NOW!” Owen screamed at the monk.

If my body was the way it was before this injury I would have slapped her silly! Eri not belonging with us murderers!? I knew she was a killer the moment I saw her. She has the look of a warrior in her eyes that betrays the fact she knows more about fighting than social skills. Owen thought as the monk began wrapping his wrist.

“Hold still James. It’s important that you can’t move your wrist.” Tsume said with more of a hint of disgust at Owen than he had used before. Owen’s treatment of Tsume was starting to wear down the monk’s patience.

“I know damnit.” Owen said still trying to hold still while Tsume painfully wrapped the injury. I wouldn’t have sat by and let her insult me like that! I would have slapped some sense into her once she called me a liar! If only this had happened before I was injured.

Owen was watching Tsume wrap his wrist when it happened. He felt his body use a small amount of essence. An amount that was to small for him to use any of his lightning abilities yet an amount that he noticed. His wrist was flopping around slightly as Tsume was doing his best to wrap it and in the next moment it was healed. Pain no longer raced through Owen’s body. It wasn’t just his injuries that instantly disappeared but all the tears in his jacket that had been made when he rushed to the aid of the Goddess. It was as if the whole incident never happened yet Owen recalled it vividly.

“It’s fine now monk.” Owen said with no pain in his voice. He rotated his wrist to prove his point as he looked at his revolver. It was lying next to him and he cocked the hammer and looked at the gun. He could clearly see the bullet missing in the chamber yet it was as if his body and never been injured.

Holy shit! My new ability isn’t regeneration! It’s time! I am a time manipulator! Owen thought as new waves of exhaustion replaced the pain that had been surging through his body.

“That takes a lot out of me when...” Owen started but was cut short as exhaustion overcame him. His eyes slid shut and he fell back to where he had by lying not to long ago. He was unconscious but otherwise unhurt.

Jake shrugged in response to Eri’s tease. It wasn’t because he was at a lack of words, but he didn’t want her to try and hit him with an injured arm when he hit her with a verbal barb. Eri then wrapped the bandages while Jake had been walking in the general location of where T had darted off to. Next thing he knew, Eri was running by him. Must be some action going on, or someone is on the ground dying. Either way, they don’t need me there. Jake continued with his usual arrogant swagger through the forest, only to hear Eri’s voice cut through the foliage. He turned towards the sound of her voice, and walked right into the middle of the group. “Nice of you to wait…” Jake cut himself short as he saw the condition of both Loki and James. Now Jake was not one to be sympathetic, but he wasn’t one to be downright disrespectful either. He kept his mouth shut as Tsume and Eri tended to the wounded, and looked around the forest. As far as he could tell, they were alone now, but he wasn’t known for his observation skills.

Then Raewyn went berserk on them. Calling them all murderers and liars, and then saying she as leaving. Now, Jake was not one to be at a loss for words, but even he had his mouth open. Then, if you listened closely, you could hear a very fine snap. It would have sounded like someone stepping on a twig, but it was more a feeling than a sound. Suddenly, an axe came cleaving through the entire crowd, missing Raewyn’s head by mere inches, and embedding itself into a tree a few feet in front of her. Splinters were shot everywhere from the force alone, and the tree threatened to fall over, but stubbornly remained standing. Jake, who now looked more keyed up to fight than he had before the battle, stormed forward, and kicked the tree down to block her path. The hair hung over his eyes to give a dark impression, yet he didn’t say a word. This wordless anger in Jake continued to well up until he had his axe in hand once more. Now he was standing sideways to the Goddess. Now he was the one daring her to stop him.

“Don’t try to stop you or what?” Jake said in a surprisingly calm voice, but if you listened closely, you could hear the roar of anger just below the words. He looked straight in her eyes and repeated himself. “Don’t try to stop you or what?” He enunciated each word with absolute clarity as he made his way towards the Goddess. “You going to kill me Goddess?” His steps were sure, and his axe hung limp at his side, muscles tensed and defined, ready to swing at a moment’s notice. “Would that be just cause for you? If I were to take a swing at you, and you killed me, would that be just cause?” Now Jake was just over a foot away from Raewyn, and he knelt down so that they were eye level with each other.

“Is just cause having one of your friends being shot from the sky? Is just cause ambushing a party of six with ten or eleven fully armed men capable of great murders?” He let the thought hang there for moment, knowing she would probably put on the face that meant she didn’t care and her mind was set. Women were kind of like that. Jake continued, though his voice rose slightly as he continued. “Is just cause being able to defend yourself? Your family? Your friends?” Now Jake voice was slightly lower than yelling, but loud enough to convey just what he thought of the subject. “Tell me Goddess, what is your definition of just cause! I would love to know because obviously it isn’t self defense!”

Now he leaned in close, so that Raewyn would be the only one to hear him say his next few words. “If you go to those men, the ones who shot Loki out of the sky, left James bloody and broken, and fought with Eri, Tsume, and I, I will kill you. Do you understand this? I will find you, filled with greed and self importance, and I will kill you. I would rather have that on my conscience than another corrupted Goddess.” His voice was not harsh, in fact, it sounded almost sad. He didn’t want to kill a little girl. However, he knew what exactly was at stake, and he made sure that she did as well. He stood up, and to the side. Lifting his axe to point in the direction away from the group, and whispered;

“Make your choice.”

The monk paid no mind to the young girl’s tantrum. If she wanted to run off into the woods and get lost, he would be able to find her with the use of his tattoo without any trouble. Perhaps the experience of getting lost in the middle of a forest would serve to humble her. If only it was dusk rather than noon. There was a slight concern in the back of Tsume’s mind that one of the Magi would find and abduct the Goddess, but it seemed unlikely. If they were in the area, they could just as easily wipe out the entire group in its vulnerable condition and kidnap the Goddess.

Owen’s injuries weren’t lethal, but there was no doubt they were painful. Tsume struggled with an agonized friend trying to put his wrist back into place. He blinked once he realized that the injuries had miraculously mended themselves in an instant. Spontaneous regeneration? No. It wouldn’t happen that fast. Owen lost consciousness before Tsume could ask him about what had just happened. He had just leaned him against the base of a nearby tree whenever things got out of hand.

He hadn’t seen the axe until it had imbedded itself into the base of the tree and had summoned his spear out of pure reflex. Tsume could feel the fatigue wash over his body, but knew that he had no chance to take a breather if they were truly under attack by another group. Only once he turned around and became aware that it had been Jake’s axe rather than another party, but the threat to the Goddess was no less serious. The monk tensed as he found himself at a crossroad.

It was his duty, his job, to protect the Goddess with his life.

He had a very similar moral obligation to protect those who had selflessly enlisted themselves for the sake of his cause.

Tsume approached Jake in silence, spear still in hand, but unsure of what to do in this situation. He listened to Jake’s enraged words, words that the Goddess needed to hear. As long as the conflict didn’t escalate past that, blood wouldn’t have to be shed among friends.

“Make your choice.”

The moment of tension felt like a lifetime. Tsume put his hand on Jake’s shoulder and whispered a plea into his ear, unaware that Raewyn’s enhanced hearing would allow her to eavesdrop.

“Jake. Don’t do this. I understand your frustration and concern, but it is not your right to pass judgment. If you strike out against her, I am bound to my oath to protect her with my life. I will have no choice but to retaliate accordingly. Don’t put me in this situation; I would never forgive myself from being forced to attack those whom I owe so much. I know it looks bad, but she is not beyond redemption.”

Although he had managed to hide it well, Tsume knew that he didn’t have the energy or strength left that he would need to overcome Jake. Even if he didn’t conjure his armor.


Muffled voices caused Loki to stir and slowly regain consciousness. He tried to open his eyes, but let out a groan when the light caused them to ache. Everything seemed much brighter than it should have been and there was a throbbing pain in his head that made it hard to organize his thoughts.

“W-whats happened? What’s going on?"

When Eri prodded Raewyn for information, the absolute last thing she expected to hear was the tirade currently coming from the young girl. Then again, maybe her tantrum wasn’t so farfetched. It took a lot to faze Eri, at least to the point where she actually showed her emotions, but this was one of those times. Throughout Raewyn’s entire “speech,” Eri could only sit and stare in dumbfounded silence, momentarily forgetting the unconscious boy she still held in her arms and the other group members who undoubtedly looked just as shocked. Inside her head, she could feel Arashi’s emotions merge with and amplify hers. The normally reserved white eagle was already on edge from the previous battle, and now he could barely contain himself from going off on a major spree of confused shriek ranting.

“Eri…get Loki away from them. You two don’t belong here. Make sure he’s safe. Promise me.”

The sound of an axe whizzing through the air and embedding in a tree, quickly followed by a flare of Essence from Tsume’s spear materializing, abruptly jolted her back to reality. Eri very rarely felt fear, at least to the point that she acknowledged it as such, but watching Jake practically threaten Raewyn’s life, she sure felt it now. And his aggression wasn’t even directed at her. She instinctively froze, every muscle in her body coiled and tense, like a mouse when it senses it’s under the gaze of a hawk. The tension she felt only intensified when Tsume confronted Jake, spear still in hand. Though Eri was completely unaware of this, anyone watching would have seen her grip on Loki tighten just barely and her body crouch lower over his in an instinctive gesture of protectiveness. If Jake completely lost his temper and attacked Raewyn or Tsume, it wouldn’t take much provocation for him to possibly turn on the rest of the group.

All at once Eri felt lost…confused…and Arashi knew the cause without the need for her to use words. For the first time in four years, his mistress was starting to feel again, to look out for people other than just herself. And now she felt torn between multiple sides. Should she side with Tsume in protecting the Goddess? That would mean possibly attacking Jake, which was a fight she knew she could not win in her current state, even with Arashi’s help. And he knew, even if Eri would never admit this aloud, that doing such a thing would kill her inside. A small part of her contemplated actually allying with Jake. After all, his outrage toward the Goddess was certainly justified; she felt exactly the same way. And then she had a third option, which was looking more appealing by the second. If the Goddess truly was beyond redemption, then she could gain nothing by staying with this group. It would be easy, oh so easy, to just summon Arashi and flee into the infinite reaches of the sky as far and as fast as her heart desired.

A deathly silent aura of tension hung over the group as Tsume conversed with Jake, which gave Eri an opportunity to speak. Somehow Raewyn had categorized her and Loki as different from the others. Perhaps Eri could use this distinction to get through the girl’s thick skull. She steeled her jade green eyes and captured the Goddess’s gaze in hers, her expression eerily reminiscent of a bird of prey. “So what, you’re just going to leave without telling him goodbye?” Eri glanced down at the unconscious boy in her arms for emphasis. “If you’re determined to go to them, I could care less. The Therians who nearly murdered my father would be happy to know that the new Goddess has become corrupt.” She paused to let her words sink in before continuing at a much slower, deliberate pace, making sure to enunciate each word. “But let me remind you, Goddess,” she practically sneered that word, “that Loki nearly died at the hands of those ‘innocent’ men and would have gladly given his life to save you. I make promises to no one but myself, but I do promise to protect him, if nothing else to make sure you can tell him yourself some day why you turned your back on him.”

As if on cue, Loki stirred as he started to regain consciousness. Eri turned her attention away from Raewyn and watched as the boy groaned in pain and tried to open his eyes against the blinding noonday sunlight. Sensing his discomfort, Eri quickly brought up her free hand to shade his eyes so he could open them more easily. “W-what’s happened? What’s going on?”

“Easy, just stay still and don’t try to talk yet,” Eri said softly in what she hoped was a comforting tone. She idly hoped she was getting better at this whole mother hen role. “We won the battle, and everyone is still in one piece. You don’t have any broken bones or serious injuries as far as I can tell.” She trailed off after that, unsure of what to say next. What was she supposed to tell him? That Raewyn was deserting them? That Jake was about to go on a killing spree and that no one would be able to stop him if that happened? That everything they had fought for in such a short amount of time was about to come apart at the seams? Instead, she settled for locking her eyes with Raewyn again, glancing from her to Loki then back to her again, daring her with her eyes to walk away now, to walk away without telling him why.

The heavy *thunk!* of Jake’s war ax burying itself into the tree mere inches from her froze Raewyn in her tracks. Turning, she faced him and his seething, barely controlled rage. It took everything she could muster not to shrink from him. Owen, even Eri rounded on her, though Tsume tried to calm Jake down, at least.

She couldn’t articulate everything happening to her and her face became scarlet with embarrassment and anger.

“You had no proof those people you killed meant to harm us! Someone shot Loki, but was it them? Do you know that for sure?” She couldn’t really explain the Captain that tried to kill her and Loki, so she conveniently side-tracked him momentarily. “What if another group is out there? Did you kill those people for nothing?” In truth, Raewyn was keyed up, terrified, defensive and angry. She didn’t understand tactics or ambushes and had never seen death so brutally close. Frankly she didn’t know how to handle everything that she’d been through in a mere week.

“I’m not abandoning anybody!” She screamed at Eri’s recrimination. “I just don’t want to be here anymore. I think it’s all of you that are attracting the bad people and stuff. Maybe they were just Therians hunting you!” Tears streamed from her eyes unchecked and Raewyn sniffled in her attempts to control her raging emotions. Backing away again, she announced, “I’m going home!”

Jake’s eyes refused to leave those of Raewyn’s. His axe hung in the air like an executioner’s blade. His body was made of stone for all the movement it offered. There wasn’t even the twitching of holding his axe in the air. His breathing was rhythmic, but nothing else about him even resembled the laid back and joking Jake that they had been talking to in the hotel room. As Tsume came up, and said to him that he did not have right to pass judgment, he absolutely lost it.

“I don’t have the right?! What makes you think I don’t have the bloody right?!” Jake had lowered his axe, and was now turned to face Tsume. Even though his words were spoken in concern for both his and Raewyn’s well being, it was just the wrong time to talk to Jake period. “Do you have the right to pass judgment T? Just because you’re a monk?! What about us regular folk who will have to live with her tyranny should she decide to go all the way?! I, for one, and on behalf of the people, would rather fuck up my own life than have her fuck up everyone else’s!” Jake was in Tsume’s face now, and the monk refused to let any emotion show. It was like he was simply a robot, programmed with the simple objective of grabbing the Goddess and protecting her with his life.

Then, as if the situation wasn't volatile enough, Raewyn decided to put her thoughts into the conversation. She started with yelling her arguments, which were incredibly weak by the way, and then crying that she was going home. Jake let loose with one yell, and before Tsume could block him, brought down the axe.

Jake hammered the axe beside Raewyn a good five or six times before he finally stopped. The distance between his weapon and her shoulder was so close that a piece of fabric fell from her body; sliced cleanly from the rest of the dress. Jake stood there, breathing hard as if he had just run three marathons and then went for a swim. He looked quickly up to see the tip of a spear right in his face, and Tsume staring him down as an enemy rather than a friend. Jake locked eyes with the man, standing to his full height, but refusing to back down. He was no longer armed, his axe buried into the ground. No one would be able to move it save him, as it was completely lost in the earth nearly up to the hilt through the sheer force of his blows. Jake had visibly calmed down now, but he refused to simply let Tsume order him around. “Do you really want to do this Tsume?”

“No, I never would. You, however, are leaving me with very little choice. You are simply too volatile. Should I be required to put you down, then I shall without a moment’s hesitation.” Jake looked at the man, and although he was sure that he meant business, could tell that he wouldn’t stand a chance against him. It was only then that the rational Jake came out, and his demeanor became one of defeat. He had not been bloodied in battle, at least, not from a direct hit, and yet he felt like he had won nothing. Here, T was willing to fight Jake, and lose, rather than have Jake go ballistic and kill Raewyn. Where was Jake’s sense of honor?

Jake said nothing, but simply turned and walked away. He left his axe in the dirt, a very monumental thing for him, even if the others didn’t know his persona that well. As T’s spear started to lower, Jake stopped, and spoke. “I wish it had been Therians, Goddess. Then, they could have finished the job they started eight years ago.” Then, with a huge breath that looked like it took the air out of him rather than replace it, he continued. “I need some time alone; I’ll catch up to guys later.” Jake exited into the forest, no longer smashing trees out of his way, and was soon lost to sight. While he was gone, his presence was still among them. His axe, gleaming darkly in the sunlight with its own malevolent personality, was still buried in the dirt next to Raewyn. It seemed to project a smile, even though it was only a weapon.

Before Eri could even begin to formulate an indignant response to Raewyn’s ill-founded arguments and accusations, Jake went even more berserk than before, if that were even possible. She visibly flinched the first time he brought his axe down, thinking he was going for the kill, but somehow his carefully calculated restraint in not killing Raewyn was even more terrifying. Eri could feel her muscles trembling with real, honest fear, and she desperately scrambled for control so that she would not betray that fear to Loki through the physical contact of supporting his now awake body.

After Jake finally stood down from Tsume’s threat and took off into the forest, yet another uneasy tension hung over the fractured group. Loki finally broke the silence by turning fearful eyes and trembling voice to the one watching over him. “E-Eri, what’s going on? What’s Raewyn talking about? And why were Jake and Tsume about to fight?”

Meeting Loki’s expression, Eri let out a long sigh, allowing a modicum of sorrow to overcome her features as the only indication of the inner turmoil currently taking place within her and Arashi’s joint minds. “Raewyn seems to think that we are the enemy now and wishes to leave. Jake is understandably furious, and Tsume is willing to fight a comrade if necessary to protect her.” During this explanation, Eri kept her tone curt, controlled, polite even, but only Arashi knew that it was just a façade. She didn’t know what to do, but all she knew was that she wanted to do something, to take some kind of action to release some of the wound-up tension in her body.

Loki’s expression abruptly changed to one of shock mixed with hurt and…yes, even betrayal. “Raewyn’s leaving? But…why?”

Eri cut off his impending distressed string of questions with her fingertips lingering millimeters above his lips in a silencing gesture. “Right now the best thing you can do is stay calm and don’t move so I can tend to your injuries.” Her expression became stern. “Consider this my first lesson to you.” Loki quickly fell silent, which Eri acknowledged with a simple nod of her head. Moving slowly and carefully, she shifted her knee out from underneath Loki’s head and laid it gently on the ground. She moved down to his still-bleeding calf and wrapped it using the remainder of the bandages Jake had given her for her own wound, using just enough pressure to staunch the bleeding while not cutting off the circulation. Loki’s wings had long since retracted, so she couldn’t do anything for his injured one. She made a conscious effort to keep her body between Loki’s and Raewyn’s, purposely ignoring whatever the “Goddess” was doing while obscuring Loki’s vision of her.

Satisfied that her student was out of immediate physical danger, she returned her attention to what was left of the group. James was still out cold, and Tsume was positioned so that she couldn’t see if Raewyn were even present or not. Before she could ask what to do next, Tsume spoke up for her. “Eri, would you please go and find Jake? I’m concerned about his actions if he is left unchecked, and after everything that has happened, I doubt he will listen to anyone except you. I will watch over the others.”

‘Anyone…except me?’ Eri pondered the meaning of Tsume’s words, which seemed like such an odd thing to say, but found her head nodding nevertheless. She straightened and took off at an easy lope in the direction Jake had taken, glad to finally have something to do that would get her away from that clearing for a short while.

Once Eri was out of sight, Loki sat up slowly with a soft groan, moving his arms and legs experimentally. His battered body ached all over, but Eri had done an admirable job of patching up his wounds. He quickly surveyed the area, despite the throbbing in his skull, and his breath caught in his throat to see James lying a short distance away unconscious. What’s more, Tsume made no move to see what was wrong with their comrade! Not yet trusting his limbs to support him completely, Loki crawled on his hands and knees the short distance to James’ side. “Mr. Colston, sir? Are you okay?” he asked. Thank the Goddess, he was still breathing, but he didn’t move or make any indication that he had heard. Loki shook James’ shoulder, gently at first but then with a little more force when he still didn’t respond. “Please wake up, Mr. Colston!” he pressed, trying to still the tremors of panic in his voice.

Jake’s trail was easy to follow at first. His footsteps stood out prominently against the soft loam of the earth, an indication that he had run with pounding strides. However, after about a half mile, the trail went cold as his tracks disappeared. ‘So he slowed to a walk, which means he can’t be that far away. But I also have no leads to follow.’ Eri sighed in frustration. Why did this have to be the one time where Jake didn’t go on a destructive rampage? At least a trail of broken trees would be easy to follow. In addition, as she moved farther away from the group and could think more clearly, she began to consider that this little search was a bad idea. What would she do when, or if, she found Jake anyway? If Tsume, a powerful Summoner and Monk, didn’t stand a chance against him, then there was absolutely no way Eri, a less experienced Summoner, could hope to survive if he decided to attack. Not to mention they hadn’t exactly gotten off to a good start in terms of a friendship. Jake at least respected Tsume, while he simply liked to make snide remarks at Eri. Once again, the prospect of simply taking off now on Arashi’s back taunted her like a steak in front of a starved man. By the time anyone noticed her absence, she would be half a continent away…

Mistress, I am detecting a cloud of tumultuous emotions a short distance from our current location, Arashi stated, cutting off her distracted musings.

Eri smirked lightly. Her thoughts of escape would have to wait. ‘All right. Lead on, partner.’

Following Arashi’s mental leads, she came to another small clearing shielded from view by a stand of thick oak trees. Jake stood on the far side, his back to Eri, and his body language unreadable. Her heartbeat accelerated at the prospect of a potentially volatile confrontation as her body prepared for a fight or flight response. Mistress, would it not be prudent to summon me as backup?

‘Possibly, but I think we might need to go for a more…diplomatic approach, and having you on standby ready to rush to my defense won’t exactly inspire confidence or trust.’

Understood, but please be careful. He stood poised in her mind, ready to appear at a moment’s notice if necessary. However, Arashi carefully masked his thrill at what she had said without even realizing it. Eri actually wanted Jake to trust her.

Taking a deep breath, Eri took a step into the clearing, not bothering to mask her presence or her footsteps. Jake could probably already sense her Essence signature, and she didn’t want to startle him into lashing out with a preemptive strike. “You know, Raewyn was right. About me at least,” Eri spoke aloud to Jake’s back. “I’ve never really ‘belonged’ to anything.” She put air quotes around the word “belonged” to emphasize her point, even though Jake couldn’t see it. “I’m always the lone wolf, always the cold-hearted, stoic one who thinks most people are idiots and can’t stand the thought of working with them.” She paused momentarily to gather her thoughts. “But I think there’s something…different about this group, something redeemable, and your crazy fits of rage aren’t helping our current situation.” By this point, she was only vaguely aware of Jake’s presence and didn’t register if he was listening or even looking her in the eye. Her normal logical thought process was too far-gone as years of pent-up, carefully concealed emotions tumbled out all at once. “So if you need to blow off some steam or let out any remaining aggression, do it here, now, before we go back to them.” She barked out a humorless laugh. “Heck, attack me if you think it’ll help.”

Then she did something that shocked even Arashi. She drew her sword, the sword her father had forged for her, in one slow, deliberate motion, and jammed it tip-first into the ground next to her and held her arms out, palms facing him in a placating gesture, before dropping limply to her sides. Granted, she and Jake both knew she could summon Gale Cleaver in the blink of an eye, but the symbolism behind her action spoke volumes. For once, she was willingly setting aside her weapon and making herself vulnerable to another in the hopes of assuaging or at least re-directing Jake’s aggressive tendencies by showing that she wasn’t a threat. She maintained a relaxed, non-threatening stance and let her gaze drop, silently praying that she hadn’t just made a fatal mistake.

Jake had started running. For what reason, even he didn’t have a clue. He needed distance, and a lot of it. His heart was beating hard in his chest, even though he had yet to break a sweat from his fast and even stride. It wasn’t until he put at least half a mile between him and the group that he decided now was a good time to slow down to a walk. He slowly made his way through some branches, and found himself in yet another clearing. He didn’t know if he had subconsciously picked this route, or if it was a total accident. His mind worked in funny ways. If asked to remember a certain thing, he wouldn’t but his limbs would. He slowly made his way across the clearing to the other side and stood there looking out through the trees. He could see the sun from where he was, and it was calming him slowly to be put into such a serene state.

“I never thought you would ever appreciate ‘serene’.” Jake spun around, unsure of where the voice had come from. It was like he had heard it from inside his mind rather than his ears, and he was totally unnerved by it. It spoke once more. “But then again, I guess even the mighty Jake Tyier gets tired of bashing things. How about we simply go kill things again?” Jake spun around, and saw who the speaker was.

It was himself.

The figure, an exact replica of Jake, stood less than a foot away. His form was covered in shadows, and his eyes glowed a deep sort of red. Not a color to be described, but more of a color to be felt. The shadow smiled, but it was anything but friendly. It was him. This was Jake. The figure laughed, and crossed his arms. “What did you expect? Tsume? Nah, you’ve probably scared him shitless back there in the clearing!” The figure walked closer, and oddly, Jake found that he couldn’t move. He wanted to put some distance between himself and this being, but he simply could not lift his feet to carry him the distance. “Part of you enjoyed it!” The Shadow continued to talk. “You enjoy making people fear you! It’s part of you! Hell, I would go as far to say that it is most of you!” The Shadow was in Jake’s face now, and continued to talk even further. “Come on…You enjoy the thrill of the fight! The thrill of hurting someone! The thrill of killing someone!”

“No…” Jake’s answer was weak, almost like his mouth refused to work, even though his mind was racing with reasons of why he had fought. The Shadow laughed once more, and backed off slightly.

“You don’t need reasons! You have never needed reasons! You simply wanted excitement! What better excitement than to watch someone die at your blade! Watch their eyes fade of life, and feel their limbs go limp in your grip!” The Shadow came forward. “You always desired it! Take me with you, and you will have all the excitement you could possible need!”

“No!” Jake swung his fists, but the Shadow was no longer there. He could do nothing but look around, wondering if he had gone mad. Whether he wanted to believe it or not, that hallucination, or whatever it was, was a part of him. It was the absolute worst part of him. How many people had he killed? How many people had he hurt simply because he could? What was wrong with him? Suddenly, it dawned on him. He didn’t do the things he did because he didn’t care what the others thought; he did it so he would be remembered. Who would remember when he was gone, no, better question! Who would care when he was gone. No one, that was the answer.

“Indeed, you are correct O’ so brutish one.” The Shadow appeared behind him, but Jake refused to turn and look. He felt the poisonous breath that poured out of its mouth like water, and heard the venomous words spill from the blackened lips. The Shadow’s blood red eyes bore into the back of Jake’s skull. “Join me, and I will make everything that you desire come true. People will remember you when you die! People will care when you are gone!” The Shadow put a hand on his shoulder, and spun his head so they were staring at one another. “Just maybe not in the way that you think they will!” The smile so black that space itself couldn’t compare, threatened to overwhelm Jake. Quickly, he lashed out with a fist, and the Shadow spun around. Jake quickly launched after it, pummeling it to the ground with repeated smashes from his fists. The Shadow only laughed in response. “You’ll come around sooner or later…”

An essence signature filled his senses, and Jake suddenly found himself still standing where he had once been. Jake let out a breath he had unknowingly been holding, and continued to stare into the forest. Whatever had just happened, he didn’t want it to happen again. He was starting to unravel at the seams. All the years of violence and hate were starting to blacken his very soul. In order to get his mind off the topic, he chose to concentrate on the signature. It was Eri, and he wondered exactly what her purpose was. Was she to put him down? Or simply try to get him back?

As she continued forward, the lack of stealth in which she approached meant she was here for the latter reason. She started talking, and Jake found himself concentrating on the words more to keep his mind from wandering into that pit that he had so suddenly found himself in.

“You know, Raewyn was right. About me at least,”

“That little bitch can never be right about anything! You should have killed her when you had the chance!” The angry voice came once again, unbidden into his mind. He ignored it. He had been in the wrong to act like he had, and he knew it. This voice, this part of him, was trying to ruin what humanity he had left.

“I’ve never really ‘belonged’ to anything.”

“You can always belong to the dead!” Again, Jake had to shut down the voice. He could not strike down Eri, he refused to strike down Eri.

"I’m always the lone wolf, always the cold-hearted, stoic one who thinks most people are idiots and can’t stand the thought of working with them.”

“She just called you an idiot! Charge her, punch her, stab her, KILL HER!” Jake was breathing hard now, the voice was pressing. This primal beast which was so close to bubbling to the surface was fighting him mentally for his body. He refused to give in.

“But I think there’s something…different about this group, something redeemable, and your crazy fits of rage aren’t helping our current situation.”

“Now she is reprimanding you! What are you? Are you going to simply stand for that?” Yes, that was the answer in his mind. He deserved everything that he got in terms of punishment. He had been making his own rules ever since the burning. Now, he was realising just who it was hurting in the process.

“So if you need to blow off some steam or let out any remaining aggression, do it here, now, before we go back to them.”

“She is telling you what to do! How about you take out that aggression on her then, hmmm?”

“Heck, attack me if you think it’ll help.”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss….” Jake’s eyes went wide, but he controlled them. He turned casually, and just in time to see Eri stab her sword into the ground. Inside Jake, the Shadow was laughing. Jake’s fists curled into balls, but he managed to get his breathing under control. Even as her arms dropped limply to her side, Jake was already walking towards her. As she looked up to greet him, she firmly stood her ground, even though Jake could practically feel the fear radiating from her. She did do a good job of hiding it from her face though. “Feel her fear! Embrace it! Enjoy it as you take her life!”

He stood there for a moment, simply staring at her, before wrapping his arms around her. However, the pressure applied was that of a simple hug, nothing more. “No!” The voice inside his head cried, and suddenly Jake felt a great burden lift off of his back. He had fought with his primal instincts, and he had won. As he continued to hold Eri, he realised that it was only because of her that he had even broken through. He finally let go of the embrace, although still holding onto her shoulders, and with dead seriousness in his eyes, looked directly at Eri.

“You have to make me a promise.” Jake looked down at the ground for one moment, before returning his gaze back to her. “If I ever, ever lose control. I mean to the point where I willingly attack one of our group, I want you to put me down.” There was a pause, but finally he added the last part. “For good.” He knew what he was asking would seem strange, but he had to have a back up plan in case this primal attack happened again. He would not, could not risk another person’s life because of his lack of control. He dropped his hands from Eri’s shoulders, turned around, and plucked Eri’s sword from the ground. He offered it to her with it laying sideways in his hand. Like that of a man giving an executioner their weapon of choice.

As Eri spoke, she barely registered the sound of Jake’s labored breathing, and the small part of her brain that still worked just hoped that wasn’t his rage boiling to the surface. She looked up as he approached, searching his face for any indication of his emotional state, but his expression was unreadable. Instead, her eyes flicked to his clenched fists, and her heart fluttered uneasily in her chest. Had she pushed him to the edge of his control? Was she going to die where she stood? Well, if she were staring death in the face, then she would meet it without running. She refused to let the fear coursing through her body show on her face, despite her sweaty palms and dry mouth.

Jake and Eri kept their gazes locked for a tense moment while she mentally braced for whatever came next. But then his arms were around her, and Eri found herself pulled flush against the muscular planes of his chest with his heated breath at her ear. A soft gasp escaped Eri’s lips out of surprise, and she initially froze out of instinct. No man had ever touched her in this way, except for the comfort she had often sought in her father’s embrace as a child. She had witnessed firsthand the inhuman strength Jake wielded with these arms, and yet the way he held her now…it almost struck her as gentle. She felt strangely warm, not just physically from his body heat but also in her chest. It was a new, almost alien sensation, but she had to admit it felt…nice.

However, Eri could sense the immense effort Jake exerted to maintain control. Through her link with Arashi, Eri could feel the barrage of emotions warring for dominance in Jake’s mind, the sensation even more potent due to the physical contact. Anger, fear, self-loathing…so many negative emotions, all directed inward. Realizing he meant her no harm, the tension in her muscles faded, and Eri’s arms moved as if they had a mind of their own. One wrapped around Jake’s back to return the hug, while her other hand reached up to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingertips lightly brushing against the surprisingly soft locks of wavy brown hair. She felt him relax, as if his entire body had just waged mental warfare and now breathed one massive sigh of relief. He finally pulled away, sliding his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders. They locked gazes again, and this time she had no trouble reading the seriousness in his expression.

“You have to make me a promise.” Jake’s gaze drifted downward, as if contemplating his next words, before returning to her eyes. “If I ever, ever lose control. I mean to the point where I willingly attack one of our group, I want you to put me down.” Eri’s eyes widened as he added the last part. “For good.”

Jake bent to retrieve her sword, which gave Eri precious moments to recover her composure. She knew what he was asking, knew the consequences if she made such a promise. However, she also knew that she couldn’t refuse him. Jake offered her sword with open hands, now making himself vulnerable to her in much the same way she had done only moments before. Eri was quickly realizing that Jake possessed many more layers than he allowed to show, perhaps more than she would ever discover simply on the course of this journey.

Eri retrieved her sword from his hands and let it hang at her side grasped in her left hand. Meeting Jake’s gaze again, she found her voice and spoke in a determined, unwavering tone. “Yes, I will hold to that promise, but you must promise something in return.” In one swift movement, which a normal human would have missed by blinking, she swung upward with her sword so that the finely sharpened edge of the blade rested lightly against the pulse point of Jake’s neck. She applied no pressure, but she knew he would feel the cold kiss of steel against his skin and the seriousness with which she made this promise. “I want you to keep fighting against whatever force makes you lose control. Seek my help if necessary. Whatever you do, fight your inner battles with the same determination that you fight the physical ones so that I never have to hold my blade to your throat again.”

Eri lowered her sword and sheathed it, then added in a softer tone, “I don’t relish the thought of killing someone who is important to me…” However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized the implications one could draw from them and quickly averted her head to hide the faint blush coloring her cheeks. “We should return. The others are probably worried,” she added, trying to hide behind her façade of emotional indifference. But as she turned to leave, she knew that would no longer be entirely possible around Jake. Somehow, something had changed between them, starting with pact of death that now bound them, and Eri could only guess what would happen in the days to come.

The gentle, downward slouching of the severed sleeve from her dress all happened in slow motion compared to the 6 strokes of Jake’s axe blade and then Tsume setting his spear point to Jake’s throat. The passage of time in Raewyn’s mind slowed to make seconds into minutes and minutes into hours. She saw their mouths moving, but didn’t register what they were saying. It wasn’t until the spell was broken with Jake and then Eri leaving the clearing than time returned to its normal state.

Jake had so terrified her in his attack she’d urinated where she stood. Trembling uncontrollably Raewyn backed up several unsteady paces before coming up hard against the tree Jake had kicked over to block her way. Her heart hammered in her chest and she couldn’t catch her breath at all. She felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. She gasped and gulped for air staring at Tsume’s back while he asked Eri to go after Jake.

No one was paying any more attention to her! They were supposed to be protecting her! Even after his initial questions, Loki crawled to check on James’ condition. Raewyn’s cheeks burned with indignation. Standing up from where she’d fallen, she glared at Tsume’s straight back for a few moments, but he did not give her the satisfaction of turning around. Once again, she found she could not manipulate the monk and it only fueled her petty anger. Fine! I’ll go by myself then. she thought. Crawling over the downed tree, Raewyn headed into the forest in the direction she thought would lead her back to the city and a comfortable bed with warm food and a bath. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of her clothes. But even that she blamed on the others. Never in her life to this point had she taken responsibility for her own actions and now was no different. Corrupt? Corrupt? She’d never be like that mean, evil Goddess.

Raewyn tromped through the forest with no real direction and sooner than she realized, she was walking in circles. She stared at the blasted and bent tree she’d passed at least 3 times before as if it was trying to trick her by moving from location to location. In the heavy canopy, the darkness came quickly as the sunset. She began to hear and smell all the animals that made their home in the forest. Some even showed themselves to stare at the intruder. Others howled forlornly to the moon in mourning for their lost comrades. It made Raewyn’s eyes sting to realize she’d killed all those animals and plants. But she hadn’t done it on purpose! She tried to defend herself. It was a dream…she still had to learn, they weren’t letting her learn. Tsume was just giving her rules and telling her what to do.

Thoughts chased themselves round and round her head, then in her dreams, though she fought sleep. She wasn’t evil. She wasn’t bad. She didn’t ask for this. She only wanted to go home.

James stood just feet away his face determined with his pistol belt in his hand. My pistol belt was lying at his feet where James had thrown it. The wind was blowing slightly through my brother’s short blond hair. His blue eyes fierce with determination and I knew that there was no turning back.

I’m dreaming???

“You’ve insulted me for the last time Owen. Pick it up and let’s go at this like gentlemen.” James said in the most serious voice I had ever heard. My hand quivered as I picked up my custom made left handed pistol belt. I had never been more serious about anything I had ever done before. James had to be stopped otherwise innocent people would get involved and be harmed because of it or worse.

No… Not again…

“A Gentlemen’s disagreement will determine who is correct.” I said as I fastened my belt. We both stood back to back prepared to take the 15 paces, turn and fire at each other. “Please, don’t make me do this James.”

James. Why?

“We’ve already made our choices. Let’s now abide by them.” James replied and he took a step forcing me to follow suit. These steps were the longest I have ever taken in my life. Finally I reached the count of fifteen and turned as fast as I could.

Must I live through this every time I dream? James why!?

We both turned about the same time yet neither of us instantly grabbed our pistols. Both of us had our hands hovering above our pistols. We glared intently at each other thinking of our reasons for trying to stop the other. James pulled first but I was faster on the draw. I knew I had to aim faster than him so I went for a body shot as he carefully aimed. Somehow I knew he was going for a deathblow so I had to hurry and fire. As I felt the recoil traveled up my left arm it was replaced by a sharp pain, one that would never go away ever again.

“James! Don’t!” Owen screamed in his sleep. It was at that moment Loki touched his shoulder in an attempt to inquire about his condition. The reaction was almost instantaneous, his left hand grabbed his revolver as he rolled left. The gun was aimed high and was not a threat to Loki who was still lying on the ground.

“James…?” Owen said as his eyes focused at the scene around him as the last thoughts of his before he was rendered unconscious ran through his mind again. Time manipulation? This is practically worthless with its drain on my Essence. Owen then noticed Loki’s terrified face.

“I’m sorry kid. I don’t wake up well when I dream.” Owen said as he picked up his dropped weapons, reloaded them and returned them to their holsters. While he was busy picking up his weapons he didn’t notice when the Goddess full of emotion took her leave of the group. “So what’s going on kid? Where is everyone?”

When he heard the news he was not happy. “What do you mean that they all took off!? Even that new Goddess? I have to have a few words with her about that slander she spewed out about me. I may be a killer but I am not a murderer. I don’t plot the deaths of the people I kill unless they ask for it. I am the Peacemaker after all! She should learn to watch what she says about businessmen! Or people in general because not everyone is very forgiving!”

He would have continued ranting but his body was tired and he lacked the energy to continue ranting or feeling very angry. It took to much effort so he sat down and rested against a tree. He pulled some food from his pocket and began eating it in an attempt to regain some of his lost energy. It had been a long time since he had drained himself of Essence and he was only now remembering how weak it made him feel.

OOC: Here is the old crappy post.

Spoiler:

Loki was relieved to see James regain consciousness, though was very confused by the way he was calling out his own name.

“I’m sorry kid. I don’t wake up well when I dream. So what’s going on kid? Where is everyone?”

Loki proceeded to tell Owen what he witnessed upon awakening from his own unconscious slumber and about how Tsume had let Raewyn run off into the wilderness on her own.


Tsume could feel Raewyn beaming at him, wanting him to turn and face her, but he had grown tired of her childish actions. It was clear there was nothing that he could do to prevent her from running off without catering to her selfish needs. Therefore, he remained silent as she ran off into the wilderness. Let’s see how long it takes for her to realize just how big and inhospitable the real world is. Hopefully it’ll open her eyes a bit to just how much she needs help. Once he could no longer hear her clumsy footsteps in the distance, Tsume moved towards his pack and grabbed some jerky and dried fruit. He could feel some of his fatigue begin to wash away as he ate, though he still wouldn’t be ready for another fight until after he gets some sleep.

Owen began to stir from his sleep, which impressed Tsume after how much Essence he had expended in the fight. The monk had expected him to stay unconscious until morning rolled around. It hadn’t taken long before he started getting worked up about the Goddess running off. Tsume gave him time to vent and waited for a break before speaking.

“You’re viewing this all wrong. For a moment, look at her as a scared 16 year old girl rather than the Goddess. It hasn’t even been three days since she had been taken from her home, most likely without a chance to say ‘goodbye’ to her parents. I can only imagine the ordeal they are going through over their daughter’s disappearance. On top of this, she had just witnessed a fight to the death and actually seen lives lost. Honestly, I’d be more concerned about her had she taken her situation without reacting in a similar manner. Being thrown into this situation without warning would be stressful to anybody, but a young girl who has yet to learn how large the world truly is doesn’t stand a chance without support and understanding from those around her.”

A long moment passed as those words sunk in which was when Tsume seen Eri and Jake walk into the small clearing.

“We should move a short ways from here and set up camp. I don’t think we are in any condition to do much traveling today. I’ll retrieve Raewyn once the sun begins to set, it’ll give her a chance to cool down and hopefully humble her a little bit.”

The group had only traveled a little over a mile before they found an adequate location. Tsume could tell that the chance to rest was welcomed by all, allowing them to finish tending to their wounds and partake of some of their food rations. As late afternoon began to set in, the summons were sent to hunt whatever game they could find. After an hour, they had returned with enough pheasants and hares to make a modest meal.

By the time the sun had just hovered above the treeline, everybody had eaten their share of the food after it was cooked over a fire. Tsume wrapped a portion in a small cloth and grabbed a few things from Raewyn’s pack that she had left behind. “I’m going to find Raewyn. I doubt that I’ll run into trouble, but if I’m still gone by morning, assume I had failed the mission.”


“They’re wrong, you know.”

Tsume’s words were calm and matter-of-fact as he walked into Raewyn’s view.

“You’re not corrupt, just unaware of the power forced upon you and what it means. I found a stream just a short ways off if you would like to take a bath. It won’t be like the hot baths you are used to, but I’m sure you’ll find it surprisingly relaxing.”

The monk casually offered his hand to Raewyn, who accepted it after a moment of hesitation. They walked in silence for several minutes until they stood before a stream only a few feet deep though clear enough to see the bottom even in the faint moonlight. Fireflies danced majestically to the songs of the night creatures along the river’s edge. Tsume reached into his pack and pulled out a bundle of clothes that Raewyn had selected while at the market the day before along with a towel, a bar of soap, and a small washcloth, which he sat on the ground.

“I’ll be just on the other side of the trees if you need me. Feel free to take all the time you need. I’ll have some food waiting for you when you are done.”

Tsume politely bowed his head toward the Goddess and walked back into the tree line, sitting against a tree facing away from the stream. Several minutes passed before he finally heard Raewyn call his name, announcing she was done with her bath and was clothed. He stood and walked over to her with the cloth containing a few lukewarm bits of meat and a few small slices of bread.

“I know it isn’t much, but it certainly hits the spot after a long day without food.”

The two of them sat at the edge of the riverbed while she ate. Tsume waited patiently for her to finish before he spoke once again.

“Raewyn, do you mind telling me what you know of the Temple and the Goddess?”

Yet again, Tsume waited in silence until she had finished speaking.

“I see. And what of the former Goddess Eraclea?”

He wasn’t surprised with how little she had known about the corrupted Goddess that inspires fear centuries after her reign. The horrors of which were too great even to use as a boogieman story to keep children from misbehaving.

“She is the reason the Temple of the Goddess was founded. Her reign brought with it a dark age that is on the scale of a global catastrophe. Millions had needlessly died merely because she wished it so. There is something that I need to show you. I wish it could wait until you were a little older, but our situation does not permit us to leave you oblivious to the truth. What you will be capable of once you have complete control of your powers.”

Tsume reached behind his neck and unfastened the clasp to the beaded necklace that lay around his neck. The pendant of which was a deep red gem that was cut in the shape of an oval. He held the pendant before Raewyn’s eyes.

“This is crystallized Time Essence, a crafting from the Temple’s very first Grand Master. It contains visions of Eraclea’s rule from the eyes of those who had suffered her wrath. Prepare yourself and look into the stone…”

~~~~~~~

The first scene was of a small village comprised of clay and straw houses, populated by impoverished people who were struggling to make a living for them and their families. Amidst them stood a young lady no more than twenty with a few men at her side, all dressed in lavish attire that did not fit in the squalor of the village. Several of the villagers were shouting at them about tax increases and influx of disease while wielding pitchforks or other crude farming tools.

“You will pay your debt to us, or will suffer for it.”

“We barely have enough to live! We are already suffering for your demands! There is no way we can give you what you are asking!”

A sinister grin spread across the lady’s face. “In that case, I will take my preferred form of payment.”

“Wait! Eraclea! No!”

A wave of energy surged out of the young Goddess, passing through everything in the village and far beyond in the exact same way Raewyn had done earlier that day. For a second, everything remained motionless and deadly silent. Slowly, the people of all ages within the city began crying out as their bodies dissolved into dust. Elderly men, women holding their babies, children not even old enough to work, all suffered the same fate. The perspective of the crystal changed as the owner of the memory fell to one side, the last thing they saw before they died was the toothy smiles of Eraclea and her aids.

~~~~~~~

“See how easily your power could have killed hundreds? Imagine what would have happened if you had pulsed like that just a night before, while we were still in Fuuren.”

~~~~~~~

Next was the scene of battle as dozens of Saturates stormed Eraclea’s stronghold in an attempt to end the dark era. No matter what they threw at her, nothing was enough to pierce the barrier she had around herself. Powerful bolts of lightning, boulders the size of horses, blades and creatures of unfathomable power and size didn’t even phase her expression of amusement. One by one, she pointed to each individual Saturate while laughing manically.

The first one simply fell over dead with the suddenness of somebody flipping a switch. The next exploded into a burst of gore as though their body was turned into a bomb. The next died from their own skeleton ripping its way free of their flesh as though it had a will of its own. So it went, each death more gruesome than the last until it was finally time for the memory’s owner to suffer whatever fate befell him. Their fortune was one that they did not have to see how they went when it came their time.

~~~~~~~

The last memory took place within the walls of a large town, prospering despite Eraclea’s reign. It was truly a beautiful summer day without a cloud in the sky as the market was buzzing with activity. Without warning, the ground began to shake wildly as though a massive earthquake was in effect. It lasted for only a minute, before coming to an abrupt end. Buildings were damaged and people were several laid injured from things that fell upon them. For a few moments, everything was still aside from the cries of the wounded. Gradually, a sound began to build in the distance, growing louder with each passing second.

“Look!”

One of the citizens pointed towards the horizon where a long blue line, extending as far as the eye could see, grew bolder and more pronounced. The stunned uncertainty only lasted a few moments before they had discovered what was approaching. It was the ocean, coming to wipe away everything in its path. Upon this realization, the people were cast into a frenzy of cries and movement as they sought somewhere to flee for safety. Several were trampled in the chaos; more were killed or injured by the panicked masses. Another minute passed until the wave towered hundreds of feet above the city, even though it was still a good hundred miles away. After a few more seconds, the wave finally crashed into the city walls, it’s height only able to be seen by looking straight up. A heartbeat later, the observer was slammed by the tide along with the rest of the city, sent spiraling chaotically as darkness engulfed them.

~~~~~~~

“You just witnessed the final moment of Fyr as Eraclea plunged the continent of Demora into the ocean. That is why there are people like myself that devote their entire lives to preventing that from happening ever again. The Goddess is necessary for Viemera to grow and prosper, without her life will slowly die after only a few decades. If corrupted, the Goddess is capable of wiping out life in a matter of hours. That is why I take my role so seriously; it is my job to protect you from the people as much as it is to protect the people from you.”

Tsume leaned forward and fastened the necklace around Raewyn’s neck.

“Keep this as a warning of what you may become if you let your power control you rather than the other way around. I know you are not a bad person; you are only confused by all that has happened in the past three days. You are not the next Eraclea, but it is possible that this organization wishes you to be. Please, come with me to the Temple and I promise you that your life will become stable once again and you will be with your family once more.”

Jake watched as Eri took the sword from his open palm. He was positive that that his words had an impact, but she continued to hold herself well. If anything, she could hide her emotions ten times better than he could hold his. She looked him in the eye, and her voice returned, stronger than ever.

“Yes, I will hold to that promise, but you must promise something in return.” The blade came up in slow motion, and had it been a regular situation, he would have dodged it, followed up by a right hook to the face, and ending with a bone crushing kick to the chest. However, the situation was anything but normal as the blade stopped just short of his skin, and allowed its lethal beauty to caress his neck. Eri’s face was that of determination, but whether it was for his actual well being, or for that of keeping the group together, he could not readily tell. Time slowed to a crawl as the blade seemed to rest against his neck for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she resumed her previous statement.

“I want you to keep fighting against whatever force makes you lose control. Seek my help if necessary. Whatever you do, fight your inner battles with the same determination that you fight the physical ones so that I never have to hold my blade to your throat again.” The blade lowered itself, and time seemed to resume its normal pace. Then, so soft that Jake had almost missed it, she added; “I don’t relish the thought of killing someone important to me…”

That statement seemed to rock Jake as he had never realized that someone could possible care whether he lived or died. He was shocked, but his face was still stoic. He could not let on just how much that sentence had made him feel. Instead, he found himself figuring out how best to proceed. He was the joker of the group, and the cocky son of a bitch that had an anger management issue. In order to maintain the whole structure of the group, he would have to step into that role once again, and act as if nothing was wrong. If he let on that his primal side could step out and take over, they would either send him on his way, or take him down. Either way would most likely end up in a quick death for his person. Looking at Eri, he saw that she was looking away, most likely to hide her face from his. Sure, he had had his fair share of ‘girlfriends’ but most of them were either one night stands, or didn’t last past a week. “We should return. The others are probably worried.” As he continued to look at her, he hated himself for what he was about to do.

“Yeah, we should! Don’t want them thinking that we started some action back here or something!” He let his mischievous smile make its appearance, but on the inside, he hated what he had just done. He couldn’t let anybody care for him and his self-destructive ways, but he would make sure that he would last through this journey, and see it to the end. If anything, he wanted to leave his mark on the world somehow and this seemed like just the way. As Jake started walking away, his confident stride and posture returning, he turned back. “You’re always welcome to take my hand, in case you get lost!” He laughed once more, and returned to making his way back through the forest. He had no doubt that he had hurt her more than an axe in the gut could, but he had to do it. He would never forgive himself, but he had to do it.

Wandering through the forest, he didn’t bother to try and map out his route back to the group. He knew that his limbs would automatically take him there. As if to solidify this point, he soon stumbled across the group, and found that the Goddess had taken off. Good thing I’m calmed down or I might have taken off after her. Jake thought this to himself as he entered into the middle of the group to hear Tsume talking about how Raewyn was most likely taking the whole situation. Yeah, like she’s the only one. Once again, Jake shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as he walked to his axe. One firm tug and the weapon came free from the earth. Returning it to his holster on his back, he returned to Tsume. Jake said nothing, keeping to his rule of no apologies. He would not say he was sorry, mainly for the fact that he wasn’t really sorry for the way he had acted against the Goddess. Sure, it might have been a little brash, but she needed the reminder that no matter how important you are, there are always people bigger and stronger that won’t take insults like that lightly. James was up now, and it made him feel slightly better. They needed everyone they could get, and James was a damn good shot. Also, this way Jake wouldn’t have to lug his body everywhere they went.

Hearing Tsume’s plans on how to deal with Raewyn, he agreed with them and said nothing. They all walked for about a mile or so, before settling in. It was slightly awkward around camp, seeing as Jake wasn’t willing to say any of his usual banter right now, and the rest weren't the chattiest things on the planet. The summons went out, and returned with game that satisfied everyone. Jake grabbed his meal, and took watch over the group. He was tired, both physically and mentally, but he would die before he allowed any weakness to show. Already, he had let on that he didn’t have full control to Eri, and that was something that had never happened before. Jake steeled his mind for what was ahead, and braced his will for a fight that would either make or break him in the coming fight.

Tsume said that he was going out to find Raewyn, and that if he wasn’t back by morning, he had failed his mission. Jake let a cocky smirk appear on his face. “Don’t you worry about a thing T. If anything happens to ya, I’ll come save your ass.” This was the Jake everyone knew, and while he hated to act this way now, he couldn’t bring in a new personality to the group. That would make everyone second guess his motives and actions, and what they needed right now was trust. So, while everyone saw him as a muscle bound moron who was only in this for the fights, they at least knew that was what his motive was. Therefore, they had no reason not to trust him. He would prefer to keep that way, lest he invite too many questions. He returned to watching away from the group, his eyes once more trying to pierce the blackness that was consuming the forest.