Welcome to Gaia! ::

Those that have been here rarely forget it. The land creates a small hole in one's mind and then fills it with a haunting presence -plaguing each mortal who treads the path to return to The Crossroads. No one can truly explain the place's call. It is a dark and forlorn place, where the wind rushes through vast canyons of basalt and towering pillars of stone reach up to the gray smoldering sky above like skeletal fingers grasping for the heavens.

This place is a staging ground of fate, its monoliths marred by powerful blows and rocks blasted apart by incredible forces. In many areas the earth has been scorched to cinders, and in others basalt megaliths have been shattered like porcelain. The land is wounded, and will never heal, for soon after Death claims a victim, another arrives to feed His hunger.

The Crossroads is a place steeped in legend and superstition, and for good reason. All mortals who dance the lines between good and evil eventually find their way here, for The Crossroads has the power to guide each to their ultimate desires.

On the horizon, shrouded in fog, lies a small hamlet. The lights of the town pierce the fog like will-o-wisps, eerily suspended to shed light on a land of growing shadows.

Where will The Crossroads lead you? It is beyond the hands of fate, and prayers to the divine will offer no answers. Gods and Goddesses hold no sway here, for once you enter the Crossroads something far... darker will guide you.

Dredge had been to the crossroads before on his way to and from the demon he had made the deal with, he had barely managed to escape alive from those walks on the path before. Yet, now the pull to the crossroads was stronger then ever. Dredge had placed a marker on the barren landscape the last time he had been there and it was the only location that Dredge could teleport to with his portals of darkness. It was a slender piece of wood that had turned gray with its time in the crossroads. Dredge entered the portal he had created in his room in the GML, as he came out the portal slammed shut behind him.

Dredge scanned the landscape his gaze flowing over several shadows, something was different, that block of granite in the distance was different, his cloak glowed a faint white and he nodded. "You in the distance, reveal yourself before I shoot a magic missile through your soul." Dredge said and gathered dark magic in the palm of his hand.

From the western road, the road less traveled, came a man walking slowly down the path like one driven by pure will alone. The path through the fog was illuminated for him by a blue/white spiraled werelight that hung ten feet above his left shoulder. It glowed and pulsated a radiance that pierced through the fog, providing an eerie light around him.

He had a midnight blue hat pulled far down low over his eyes, and a cape of the same colour shrouded his body all the way down to his waist. Although the cape was present, one could see two leather sheaths poking out below the cape, presumably holding swords. He wore trousers that were an even darker shade of blue, which went down to his boots of the same shade.

This man was Xeg. Standing at six feet and an even 190 pounds, he was of medium build and a slightly tanned complexion. Whatever job he used to do evidently kept him out in the sun for hours at a time.

The man Xeg was about a hundred yards from the crossroads, when he sensed a presence in front of him. Reaching up, he intoned a short phrase, and the werelight floated down to his hand, where he extinguished it.

The feeling of comfort that had washed over Carsan with the arrival of another living creature as beginning to transform. A ways off of their course, he saw a brilliant pall of blue-white light, and in the distance behind him he heard the shouts of a human. Where had they all come from? The Crossroads seemed such a desolate place, and yet...

His eyes narrowed, a sudden thought piercing his conscience. Had they followed him? Were they here for the same reason that he was? Were they searching for that which he sought?

Reason immediately railed against his growing paranoia. This place was playing tricks on his mind. It had to be! It's scars told a thousand tales, nearly all of them ending in death. The people that came to this place slew others, to insure they had no competition... but competition for what?

For what you seek....

The voice was not his own, yet it felt a part of him. Beneath the dark folds of his cloak, his hands shifted over the length of his bow, strung over his shoulder. They wouldn't take it from him. He resisted the urge to strike, but it took a great deal of his will. Something was amiss.

"Here, friend. Ahead of you! Follow the sound of my voice."

Whoever was lost had to be found. He could only imagine the evils that might descend on a blind man here.

((Carsan is on top of a large stone perch, some thirty feet off the ground.))

Carsan heard the voice call out again from behind him. It was closer now, and carried a tone of relief. Whatever the Human thought was about to happen put him at ease. That might be a very dangerous choice.

The man in front of him, with dark magic pulsing in his hand, had yet to respond or act, and now Carsan was being approached from behind. Were they trying to surround him? Was this an ambush? He looked over to the gleaming blue light nearby, piercing the fog. His eyes could make out the faint silhouette of another figure.

This place was a death trap, and he was to be its victim. His heart beat faster in his chest, and hidden fingers began to curl around his bow. He had the element of surprise. With his weapons and hands concealed he could fire a volley of arrows and leap to the next rocky perch. From there he could vanish into the fog and take cover in the crags, picking each of them off one by one while they searched frantically for him. He could feel the adrenaline in his veins, causing his pupils to dilate. They would stand no chance.

This isn't true. STOP. Breathe!

Carsan allowed himself a slow, deep breath. The Crossroads called him again, luring him into a murderous mindset. It was perpetually trying to poison his mind, but he didn't know how much longer he could reassure himself of that. With every passing moment, the madness of such thoughts seemed more logical. Murder seemed reasonable.

A flash of memories silenced that thought immediately. That's not how the day would end. He would not allow it.

"Be wary friend, we have company!"

The man behind him may not be able to see Dredge, as he stood some distance beyond Carsan's perch and it directly bisected Mugan's line of sight. All he had to do was circle the rock to the left or right, and the mage's position would be revealed. So would the signs of light emanating from nearby -the blue light that...

What? The light was gone!

Carsan clenched his jaw. One of his possible pursuers vanished from sight. His eyes scoured the area, looking for the silhouette he knew he'd seen before. He opened his mind to his companion above.

Do you see him?

I see one before you, and one behind. I shall descend.

Silently, a silver hawk, his form muted against the gray sky and fog, cut out of the clouds above and out to the west.

Dredge had stood silently with the magic pulsing in his arm, "My harm is only to those who seek to kill." Dredge said his voice almost unadible above the wind, though it was slight. "I am death," He said a little louder, "Yet I seem to have lost the other three horsemen, or perhaps I killed them." Dredge was purposefully egging the man on, if he could find the location of this man Dredge could do something.

Dredge began walking slowly in the direction the voice had come from, Dredge ran through his memories of the location in his mind thinking of somewhere he could hide if he was fired upon, Dredge had saw the blue white shine of a werelight off in the distance, but payed it little attention. "The darkness is strong her stranger, I wouldn't extinguish that light if I were you." he said when the light blinked out.

At the signal Mugan took off with his new acquaintance beside him. With grace and agility gained from years of training and hardship, Mugan dashed across the ground like a Banshee on the wind.

With a silent diving roll Mugan was hidden safely behind the crag with Carson by his side. "So, hows this going to work?" Mugan whispers while pulling out an orb-like object from his hip pouch.

Dredge heard a screech off in the fog and he shot a black magic missle at it, Dredge intended it to miss, and it was only a warning shot. As the shot warped the fog Dredge caught a glimpse of feathers. Cursed animals, always getting me nervous. Dredge returned his attentions to where he thought the other person was. "I think perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, mercenary of the north, I apoligize, but I do wonder what you're doing at these cursed grounds."