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“What you ask is no longer your concern…but…it seems that since I have fulfilled my end of the accord…they are no longer of use.” Darsha said lowly, glancing over for a moment as his soldiers suddenly disappeared into the shadows along with Issildia’s unconscious form.
His silence was brief as he turned back to Azure.
“I believe you will find that the Ryera are far better equipped to answer that question…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~A short while later


It seemed odd, the cold that permeated the forest…unnatural even, Issildia thought as she slowly regained consciousness to find her hands bound behind her back and her weapons gone. She seemed to be alone in what seemed to be a vacant clearing.
Without waiting to process the situation further she immediately turned her thoughts to escape, using what little hand mobility she had to probe her sleeves for the small blade she normally had hidden there, only to find it gone.
“We took the picks hidden in your other sleeve as well….I think you will find that we have already anticipated your customary attempts at escape.” Said a voice that brought Issildia quickly to her feet.
“What the hell is this Luin!?” She questioned with utter rage upon sighting the Ryera entering the clearing to her right.
“There is no need to shout.” He said calmly. “There are few that will hear you anyway.”

“Why have I been brought here….Is this Darsha’s doing?” She questioned coldly.

Luin laughed slightly at mention of Darsha. “I assure you that this is hardly his work.” He answered as he started to walk around the edge of the clearing, Issildia backed away slowly as she continued to monitor his movements.

He was silent some time before he choose to speak, stopping in his stride a few yards from Issildia before absently looking off into the forest.

“Did you know, that even though the realms of Life and Death are opposing forces on the most elemental level, they do not strive to conquer each other, quite the opposite actually, they are in a constant struggle to ultimately combine into something else all together. Could you imagine the strength an adept of necromancy could reap in a living world that also has within it the constant dominating power of death. I suppose my kind would never have been cast away to the desert if we held such unmatched power.”

“There must always be boundaries, always a balance of power. But I suppose you would revel in a world of chaos.” Issildia said icily, not wholly concerned with what Luin was saying as she worked to try and free her hands.

Luin seemed unaffected by her words as he continued.

“Your kind was never fond of our ideals, the anierians and their ancestors especially…. Many millennia ago my kind sought to bring true balance to this world, that was a time when all that lay between the two realms was the Rim, making my forefather’s task all the easier. But then those wretched creatures from the north, the Avariera set to bring an end to our efforts. They were a dying race then, having existed since the Beginning…now not one of their blood walks this earth, save one. But even as few they held power.” Luin said as he fell silent, finally turning to look at Issildia.

“What makes this little tale especially satisfying is the length the Avariera had to go to in order to stop us.” He smirked in a grim manner before continuing. “They sacrificed their own lives to create a true barrier between life and death, a barrier that is a realm unto itself, known as the Veil.”

“Anyone of anierian blood knows the legend.” Issildia with venom “There is no truth to it. Just an attempt by the Elders to explain the origins of the race.” She said in an openly sarcastic manner. “Supposedly there were a few chosen to live on after the creation of the Veil, they in turn became the anierians as the bloodlines began to weaken. It is nothing more than a fabricated tale, nothing more.”

“You are quite correct.” Luin replied with a slight nod. “Though the Avariera did indeed contribute to the eventual creation of the anierians simply not in the manner suggested by the legend. But it is undeniably true that some Avariera survived and their bloodline passed to a particular anierian family where it remained undiluted and relatively pure.”

“Get to your point Ryera.” Issildia uttered coldly as she felt her left hand begin to slip from the bonds slightly.

Again Luin did not seem disturbed in the slightest at her words.
“As you wish.” He replied in an almost courteous manner.

“The Veil is all that stands between my kind fulfilling our purpose and attaining what has always been rightfully ours. It was created by the Avariera, and only by the same terms can it be destroyed. Though still there was a missing piece to the puzzle. Ever since my father’s death I have been searching for it, and now it has been found.”
Luin then unsheathed a rather unattractive blade from a simple sheath at his hip. The blade was utterly dull and ill suited for battle. And it seemed to have been poorly re-forged from several shards of ragged metal.
“Even with one of the Blood the Veil could not be touched, for the Key is required to break the seal that acts as the Veil’s only protection.”

“The seal?” Issildia said distantly.

A subtle smirk came to Luin’s lips as he glanced at the ground beneath their feet, Issildia reflexively followed the line of his gaze.

It stretched the full length of the clearing, covered with a layer of frost much like the rest of the forest, disguising the flat layer of stone at their feet.
Narrow runes that had nearly been worn away with time were barely visible, covering the entire surface. And at the very center was a narrow indention that reached only a few inches downward.
“But now we have both the blade and the blood for the breaking.”

“You can not be serious.” She replied. “I, a half blood…hardly what you were looking for Ryera.” Issildia countered swiftly.


“Your mother was Aisling Nevar was she not?” he asked “Before which she held the surname Ilithri…Strange is it not that the Anierian translation of denian…is ilithri. Of course sometimes even one of the bloodline does not inherit the traits of the Avariera. You mother was such a case. But you, such an unusual half-breed, are just too ill fated to have survived this far, perhaps proving your worth to us. Though if it brings you any comfort at least know that your life did actually have a purpose, well your blood at least….”

At the moment when Issildia finally managed to free her left hand a heavy blow slammed into the back of her skull sending her back into an unmoving state as she collapsed to the ground.
Jadea stood behind her, sheathing her blade, having only needed the hilt to deal with the prisoner.
“Is everything in place?” Luin asked as he made a slight motion with his hands, immediately a warrior garbed in the desert clothing of the Ryera entered the clearing to retrieve Issildia’s unconscious form, swiftly departing back in the direction that probably led to their camp.
“For the most part.” She replied, “The elders will have completed the rituals necessary in time for tonight.”
Luin made no comment until he turned to leave. “Make an increase on the guard at the forest perimeter; we can not afford any mistakes this time.”

Issildia silently cursed to herself as she awoke once more with her hands bound. The canvas of a modest tent stretched over a simple frame. From what she could hear, a great deal of activity was going on in the camp as footsteps continuously passed by her makeshift cell. It seemed that night had fallen during the time she had been unconscious, increasing her sense of urgency to escape. Whatever ritual Luin had planned, she did not intend to be part of. Quite frankly Issildia now believed the Ryera to have lost whatever shred of sanity he had once possessed.
At that moment the flap of the tent opened as one of the desert warriors that lived under the rule of the Ryera entered.
“Get up” he said gruffly. “My lord wishes to speak with you.”

“Tell Luin that he can come here himself if he wants to speak with me.” Issildia said with venom.
The guard shrugged before advancing forward with his hand on the short sword at his waist as he reach out of grab her by the shoulder.
“Do not touch me.” She warned lowly, but it seemed to have no effect on him as his hand grabbed her roughly by the shoulder.
But before he could force her out of the tent the guard found himself suddenly on the ground, his feet abruptly knocked out from under him. Issildia’s booted foot rested on his unprotected throat threatening to crush his windpipe.
“Your sword.” She said simply.
Without a word he complied, holding the blade out. In a brief motion Issildia slipped her wrists by the blade severing the rope that had bound them.
The guard attempted to get up but suddenly a horrible pain ripped through his neck, his ability to breathe disappeared as his windpipe was crushed.
Issildia stepped away from the corpse with the former guard’s blade in hand, it seemed that she may make it out alive contrary to Luin’s intentions.

The body of a second Ryera warrior slumped to the ground as blood drained from the gaping slash across his neck. Issildia had only moved a short distance before having to contend with another guard, the entire camp was constantly moving with activity, making it near impossible to escape unseen. The bodies of those she had slain would soon be discovered and her chance at escape would slip away quickly.


“I expected better, Luin gave me the impression that you would offer something of a challenge.” A sharp female voice said from behind Issildia as the point of a sword came to rest at the base of her neck.

“Disappointed Jadea?” Issildia asked flatly as she ceased in movement.


“Quite so.” Jadea replied.

For a moment neither said a word until the Ryera sword-master finally spoke. “Why even make the attempt, you should know the odds by now Nevar. Outnumbered, outmatched, you will not make it out of this forest alive.”

When Issildia replied her voice seemed oddly calm, with a subtle edge that seemed to mock her adversary.
“I must agree with your former point…for numbers have never been in my favor…though the latter…it I may be forced to prove otherwise.”

Suddenly Issildia twisted around to face her opponent; her left palm sliding up to make contact with the flat of Jadea’s sword forcing it back. Though in a fraction of a second the weapon reversed its direction and came slicing back down at Issildia who immediately lifted the guard’s crudely constructed blade to counter.
It was no contest as hair line fractures began to slip through the barbaric weapon Issildia had taken from the guard’s corpse. It shattered only a moment later, blood suddenly staining the ground as Jadea’s sword clipped Issildia’s right shoulder. Though Issildia had slipped back at the last moment meriting her a bloody but superficial wound.

Before Jadea could gloat over the small victory, Issildia in her impatience to utilize the quickly closing window of escape suddenly disappeared in a hiss of shadow to reappear directly behind her opponent. Without hesitation she plunged the jagged three inches of steel that remained of her weapon into her enemy’s torso.
Though as Jadea collapsed to the ground clinging to what could be her last breaths, Issildia had already stepped over her body to move on.
In using the strengths granted by her father’s blood to defeat Jadea, anyone at least equal to the likes of Luin in their power could have sensed the unintended but subtle spike of energy used. It was a foolish move that she would have been less inclined to use had the situation not become so dire.

Issildia had advanced to the trees to aid in her escape, her form no more than a flickering slice of shadow as she slipped through the canopy. Thankfully she had managed to recover her blade Nyththirren from the camp, but her remaining weapons still remained hidden among the Ryera.

Suddenly she froze in her movement, immediately dropping down to the ground with her back turned to the direction she was fleeing from.
The dry hiss of her sword being slowly drawn was the only sound that dared break the silence of the forest. Something had driven Issildia to cease in her flight...for now it seemed that all chance at escape had fled...running was no longer an option.

"Hardly..."

Without hesitation Issildia advanced forward in an unseen instant her blade lancing in from a wideswept angle towards her opponents torso.

"I will have no part in what Luin is planning..."

It seemed only moments since she had faced off Luin's newest servant but as Issildia's vision cleared she noted that it seemed that all light had now left the sky.
It appeared that clouds cloaked the sky but all was clear and yet neither the moon or stars dared to show themselves.

Attempting to stand Issildia found that her hands where tightly bound once again. As she then turned her attention to her surroundings, she shuddered inwardly, immediately recognizing the dark clearing and the weathered stone seal that blanketed the ground.
Twelve weathered forms of Ryera stood cloaked and hooded, marking them as members of the inner circle of their twisted society. They stood silently on the opposing end of the clearing, their eyes hidden but Issildia could sense their corrupt perceptions analyzing her.

"Good you are awake." Luin's voice said with satisfaction as he came into view, now wearing a garb similar to that which the elders had adorned.


"This is madness." Issildia said icily.

"I suppose from your position it can be see it as nothing else." the Ryera said smoothly as he turned away to silently survey the worn markings etched into the stone at his feet.

"You see in absolutes, but in all reality light and dark...life and death are one and the same. It is those such as yourself that will never see the value in our works. But even the simple minded can perhaps grasp the magnitude of what I seek."

"You are no different...power breeds corruption and you are the one that has fallen victim here, not I." Issildia uttered lowly.

"We shall see..." he replied as he wordlessly retrieved a wicked looking dagger from the open hand of one of the elders.

The rather crude looking blade that Luin had held in his position ever since Issildia had been captured was suddenly driven down into the center of the seal, a mere few feet from Issildia. Instead of meeting un-giving stone the seal seemed to give way as easily as water, and the blade slid into place, ceasing in it's decent as it became locked in place.
Issildia had little time to analyze what Luin had done when the Ryera quickly stepped forward with the dagger and with a swift but shallow cut, drew the blade against her neck, and drawing a scant few drops of blood along the blade.
Without ceasing the motion Luin held the now crimson said dagger above the blade lodged in the stone.
A single drop fell from the dagger's tip and made contact with the crude sword's hilt, instantly being absorbed. An immediate change then took place as the roughly re-forged blade was seemingly made new once again. All evidence of it's age vanished and the lines that marred it's surface were sealed.
"And so the Key is reforged with the blood of the enemy; only the life unwillingly given remains..." Luin said with utter satisfaction as he looked to Nahota...

The air seemed to thin as the area took on darker hues, color leeched from the surroundings as Issildia realized fully what Luin intended. The all to familiar chill that permeated the realm of the death began to bleed through...

But her thoughts were cut short as she briefly sensed the skin at the base of her neck being broken, a fell blade crashing downwards.


"No...'

The world then fled to darkness.

Issildia had ventured into the realm of the dead before...this certainly was not it... The normal myriad of grays and endless landscape did not care to show themselves as her vision cleared. Instead the edges of her sight were uncertain and tattered, as an unusual light filled the area, with no apparent source. Slowly she came to her feet.
For some reason her hands were no longer bound and on the insubstantial ground at her feet lay the blade that Luin had driven into the stone seal back within the Talnea forest.
Even more peculiar was the fact that a matter of strides away was a replica of the seal in the forest, though its design seemed inverted and exactly opposite of its brother in the living realm.
Gradually as Issildia noted this, the light began to dim within the area; the edges of mist that blanketed horizon began to loose their foreign silver hue and turning a dark unforgiving tone. Shadows of moving figures could be seen as the world around her began to fade, the landscape rippling slightly in warning before the edges of the realm began to be consumed by some unseen force.

Ryera...

He had not been false in his claims, but this was impossible, no such place could exist…


Issildia was drawn out of her thoughts as the darkness brooding at the edge of her line of sight began to hasten it’s pace, consuming all in its path. Hungry tendrils of shadow heralded by a relentless chill systematically absorbed all it touched, the very realm…the Veil being utterly destroyed. Life and Death becoming one.


You know what must be done.

The voice was familiar yet it clung to a memory so distant that Issildia nearly brushed it aside as nearly all light in the area was leeched away, only the seal retained a subtle glow that stood out in the encroaching darkness like the noon day sun.

Without realizing her own actions Issildia found that blade Luin had used to destroy the seal in her own hand. Having no recollection of picking it up…
Yet it was no longer battered and ancient in it’s appearance, instead now unadorned and elegant in form, with lightly written runes running along its edge that glowed with the same hue that had once permeated the Veil itself.

“Mother” Issildia said softly as she realized the origin of the voice, acknowledging that perhaps it had only been halfhearted thoughts that had fooled her. Still in the moment that the darkness closed in on the seal and her position, a memory so distant that she knew not of its truth; entered her mind.


~~~She had never liked this room, where he kept them…locked away. Marcus and Ilderian were allowed wherever they liked in the palace; but they were given these four walls.
Her father had always made it obvious that they were not of the family. Rumors spoke of her mother being part of some trade for an anierian councilman that had been captured by larovian soldiers. In a pitiful façade to suggest a peace between the two kingdoms Aisling Ilithri was granted the Nevar name, then to conclude the final touches on the illusion, had a child by the larovian king. But her daughters eighth year they had been held in one of the little used wings of the palace, forbidden to leave the grounds. At age twelve Issildia and her mother had been bared from nearly all contact with others; hidden fully from the view of the public.

Stories were all they had to pass the time, legends of her mother’s people. And perhaps even the far fetched conversation of leaving her father’s kingdom and never returning.
It had been one of the better days for them, as Issildia’s brothers had yet to come by with their customary rounds to do their part in their father’s war, in other words harassing Aisling and her halfbreed daughter. Their tardiness was probably due to the fact that Marcus had left the room bleeding yesterday after attempting to try out his newly granted weapon on his sister. To say the least things had not gone as he had planned.
“Why does father continue with the war? Anier had nothing that Larovia needs or even wants.” Issildia asked as she sat looking distantly out a window.
“All fear what they can not comprehend, or even that which they do not care to know.” Aisling replied.
“So he is afraid.” Her daughter replied with a satisfied expression.
“Perhaps, but Anier has bound itself in enough legends, whether they be true or not, to give him reason to be afraid. He is cautious at all the wrong moments, nothing more than a scavenger of war. Afraid to put aside who he is for what he might become, a coward in every sense….” The anierian said with subtle distaste.
“Never allow yourself to become as he has Issildia...never hesitate when faced with uncertainty. The least you can do is act….” ~~~

The memory faded back into Issildia’s consciousness, a mere fraction of a moment having passed since it had decided to show itself.
The quickly fading realm swam back into focus as Issildia looked down at the blade in her hand. It may lead to her end, but she would never allow herself to take on the cowardice of her father.
There was little room to consider her actions further as the shadows roared forward, the ground being drawn out from under her feet as she quickly launched herself forward, crossing the brief distance to the center of the seal.
Without wasting a moment she mimicked the actions Luin had taken and drew a cut along her hand, bloodying the blade.
“For you mother.”
The sword slid easily into place as it was drawn nearly to the hilt into the softly glowing seal. At that moment shadows that had consumed nearly all of the Veil lurched forward, roaring upwards to engulf Issildia and what little patch of light remained with its obsidian hued flesh. Then as the world became drenched in darkness once more, searing white fire burst forth from where the Denian Key had made contact with the seal, boring into the inky flesh of the unnatural night that had taken claim to the realm. Though what Issildia though to be her salvation just as easily seemed to turn upon her as the flames flared outwards to engulf her being as well.
There was a brief moment of indescribable pain as the world was consumed by light, after which she knew no more….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The world of the living now hung within the clutches of a cool twilight that slowly crept forward from the depths of the forest.
The stone seal within the Talnea, now lay fractured and broken, all evidence of its former power utterly drained.
It was more than Luin had envisioned, the strength once locked away within the realm of the dead was now in his possession. Nothing was beyond him now.
It seemed that this was the very thought on his mind as an emerald light flared suddenly around his form, immediately silencing the cries of victory from the Ryera mages. Their lifeless bodies falling to the ground as the smoke like apparitions of their spirits flew out of their bodies before dissipating into the darkness. With no where for the dead to return to, souls would now face destruction upon death. Even the most powerful could no longer be deemed as invincible…