Welcome to Gaia! ::

Next time I wake, I am sitting before Logan, Vertusk, and a healer. The healer nods when I am awake, and leaves. I get up, testing my limbs. Then I feel it. The Antilaw. I knew what it was. "Logan, your sword, please?" I ask. He hands it to me. I trip a bit handling it, but otherwise remain strong. I throw up the Antilaw, and slice through it. "I say it once again. I fully denounce the Judicial powers. Good bye Logan." I hand him back his sword, and his stunned face turns from shocked, to enraged. He brings his sword to my neck. I stand there, weak, but strong. Vertusk gulps, and backs away.

"Then it is treason you commit," Logan says, his voice stern. "You are guilty of treason against the Alliance. In your absence, I have signed a treaty stating we are with the Alliance. And with that, you have disobeyed the orders of the Alliance Leader. Treason. You have been tried, and found guilty. I will set your execution date later." A Corrupt Judge comes in. He takes me by the arm, and leads me away. I am put in a small cell, much more homier, being made of plaster and brick, it was adorned with a bed. I lay there, looking out the small window. The ocean of Atlantis was brilliant. I ruffle my nose. Things were just great.

An Alliance soldier comes, his armor clinking against itself. I get up, and he escorts me back to Logan. A man stands with his head held back in laughter, he silences when I enter the room, my hands in cuffs. "Well, if it isn't Randell Azelus. Great treasonist." He smiles as I spit at his feet. "Once a Judge, then a Judgemaster, now what? A wanted man by both, the Alliance, and the Saraian Imperial Army? Good one." Logan sighs, and leads me to a large balcony. Beyond it was several hundred men.

"Ex-Judge Randell Azelus. He committed treason, for disobeying a direct order," Logan shouts out. "Once, I helped a young girl defy her father. Now, I wish I could help this man. But politics keep me from doing so..." He throws me from the balcony. I work my way from the cuffs and grab the sword stuck into the plaster of the building. I fall to the ground, hitting the ground lightly, thanks to three of the Corrupt Judges magics. I wave to the men, and run. "But.... I can always have tried to kill him, and he escaped." He turns to the man, and shrugs. "Sorry!"

Several hours later, I sit in a small camp. The cliff to my back would provide some protection. I had made me a bow, and fletched me several arrows. I work the wooden heads with a small carving knife. Once I have a strung bow and about two dozen finely honed, fletched arrows I start to make a quiver. I hunt down a large elk, and make the quiver from the flesh. I grab the horns and fasten a few heads from the bony material. Once I am sure I am good, I break camp and start heading northward. I was most likely going to find a Turkish Portal, or a random portal that lead from one realm to the other.

I found my portal, and when I step through, I find myself in Heaven. My head hangs as I slowly approach the gates. The angel looks at me. "I am just here to wait for the next Turkish Portal." I sit fiddling my thumbs. "So..... how is it goin?" I look at him. He shrugs. "I see Heaven has not been enslaved. No doubt thanks to God." He nods slightly. I wait for a while. Think about saying something, but don't. I see the portal open, and I run at it. I jump through just as it closes. I find myself in Purgatory this time. I sit in the gray, and wait again. Next, I am in Oblivion. I talk to a few Nothings, and then I get to another portal. I find myself this time on Earth. Not where I wanted to be, unfortunately. I would have to search for a portal maker though, since Turkish Portals are notorious for not showing up on Earth. I run into town and ask around. I find an old witch, she makes a portal for me. Right to the Gods. I walk in, and the large guards stare me down. I brave them and walk straight into the Chambers. Loki stands, outraged, as does Aries.

"I am here, since now I do not know where to go. I mislead you, I understand that, but to force ill luck on me in return?!" I shout out to them. The two sit. "Look, I understand that I am the reason most of the Universe is enslaved! But stop being assholes to me!" They sit there, silent. "Now..... give me blessing, or else.... Else I will kill the only person you hope will kill Gaband. And then we will see what happens." They stay silent. I tilt my head. I gulp, realizing my mistake. "Um..... Guys, come on, we can talk about this..." I slam to the grounds of the Unholy Land of Lost Souls. I stand, and look up. "Ow..." The hard ground was black. And the large, and only building in the Realm, looms before me. "Ach, I am not that powerful, no threatening the Gods, got it." I am hoisted up by a centaur of dark black. The horns on his head glowed red. I wince as he shoves me towards the doors. I was screwed. No one came back after being sent here. No one. At all.

"Name!" I hear shout out. I say it. "Randell Azelus, you will be staying in Wing 3F. Enjoy your stay, for eternity!" I am shoved towards what I presumed was the wing. I get shoved into a creaky old room, and find clothes. I don the rob, and sit on the bed. I sigh and start to cry a bit. I would never be able to get out of here. Once you were here, you were here. There was nothing else you could do.

I wake up some time later. I must have dozed off. The moon was out, and its gold glow made my room feel even worse. I tidy up a bit, the last inhabitant obviously did not care for up keep. Once I get half way done working my way through the mess, I find a picture. And attached to it was a diary. I read the first page, and set it down. Then I notice the note scribbled on the cover. "Give this to Maria, room 8W in wing 9H." I look up to the mirror. I decide to take it, and grab the scarf next to the door. I walk slowly, exploring a bit. Once I am lost, I ask a shambling angel to direct me to the wing, and he does. I find the room, and knock. A small girl of maybe ten looks out. She eyes me, and then opens the door. "H-hello?" I say tentatively. "I found this, and the note says to give this to Maria." She grabs the diary and slams the door. I stand there blinking. Then the door opens again. She was taller, but it was the same person. She was older too. She nods, and shakes my hand, gives me thanks, and sends me away with some milk. I walk back to my room, it took almost an hour. Once back, I get done with the rest of the room. Then I sit back down, take off my scarf, and then my robe, and fall asleep till morning.

I wake up to see an imp sitting on the end of my bed. His eyes smiled. I gasp a bit in shock. "Hey! I am Jurdean! Hehe, you are hard to find, you know!" the imp says. I look quizzically. "I was supposed to find you before you got to your room, but by the time I got here, you were gone! I spent the better part of the night looking for you, but I finally came back, and here you are!" His face brightens. It was smudged with dirt, and his dirty gloves rubs together. "I can not wait till we can go out and explore. You know, this will be fun!" He winces then. "As fun as it can be being stuck in here, that is." I get up, grab my robe and take him to the washroom. "You want me to bathe...? I have never had a master that wanted me clean. That is..... a sign of benevolence." He erupts in crying, and I frantically calm him down. "Sorry, its just.... so weird." After he is cleaned, we go back to my room. He explains what he is, why he is with me, and the rules of the unholy Lands.

"I am Jurdean, your imp. We are assigned a Soul and have to keep you alive. I have kept all my masters alive until their natural time for passing. Your safe enough with me. I was born several centuries ago, and up till you, have never had anything besides humans. You have noticed your stripped powers, no? When you are sent here, that happens. Its to keep people below the power of the might Centaur Guards. They are whom you must obey, at all times. I have once been thrown into the Cell because of smarting off to them. Being an imp here ain't fun, thats for sure!" He says sullenly. "But, anyways. You have to find food. There is a forest to the south. But you have to be back by sundown or else its hard times for you if they find you. Um, no weapons. Not even a knife to eat with! Milk is passed out at the start of every week. Most of us use it to pay for services of the others. You would do well to save your milk, and not drink it unless you have to. Of course, a bottle here and there is always a smart thing. But keep it for payment. We also pay each other in art., If you can get a carving knife, you can work sculptures, and trade them for milk and other things. But it may take decades for you to do that..... I always did envy them, the imps assigned to wood carvers." He talks on and on, and I finally get him to be quiet.

"Tell me, do any of you know what is going on in the Universe?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"The Gossipers may, but we steer clear of them. Its not good to know what is happening in the outside. Rule number one."

"And, your born here, and stuck here?" I ask. He nods. "Why?" He shrugs. "Well okay. Now that your washed. Lets find some clean clothes for you." His eyes brighten again and I poke around me room for an outfit that would fit his body. I find something, and it was clean. i discard his old dingy jumpsuit. He presses his hands against the pants. He looked half good, decent to say the least.

Jurdean and I sit out in the courtyard, his wings curled up against his body in the cold. It was getting to be sundown, and the last of the others were getting to their rooms. I linger a bit, wishing I knew how to find out about what was happening out in the outside. I shake my head and we head back to my room.

Two days pass, and my mind wanders back to the Quell. Would I be brought back? I am still a competitor. I should be.... I decide to make a trip out to the front. Very few people seemed to like going up to the front. It was the thing closest to the Shadows. The Shadows was where the worst of the worst found themselves. It also was the home of The Cell. A three by three foot room with one door, no windows, no bed, and no bathroom. People got locked up there for days. Jurdean launches into how he had once been locked up there as we approach.

Once there, I knock on the door. A bay Centaur comes up, his eyes beady. "I was wondering.... see, I just competed in the Saraian Quells just a few weeks ago, and..... well, I have to go back, its part of the Judgemaster's rules. Ask the Gods, they will tell you." I say innocently. His eyes narrow, and he turns and disappears. I wait patiently, Jurdean fiddles with one of his wings waiting. The centaur comes back, and nods. "So, I will have no choice but to go, huh? Damn." I shake my head and turn. As bad as it was, I would enjoy being out there again. Though, I doubt Sara, or even Gaband, knew where I was.

Back at my room, I sit with a tree limb I had grabbed on my way back. I grab a piece of sinew I found and strip it to just a bit left. I string the limb, and test it. Jurdean turns from examining himself in the mirror, and gasps loudly. "Get rid of that, are you addled?" he asks, in a slight hiss. I unstring it, and it looks harmless. His eyes widen. "Oh, you are good. But, you have no arrows, so what are you going to do with a bow, and no arrows?" I smile, and produce one I had been widdling with my finger nails. "Oh, great. at least it looks harmless! Well, keep it in here, they can't come in to your room while you are away. I say we should go fill up your water jug at the fountain. Come, lets go." I grab the jug from under my bed and we head to the fountain. I would be here for eternity, he was right. I had better not get myself into trouble.

I wake up and rub my neck. Then I find the cause of my neck pain. I shove Jurdean off my pillow and on to the floor. He jumps up, fists raised. "You damn imp, I will get you back for that!" I growl out. He waves it off and finds the bathroom. I get up and get myself dressed in the normal attire here. That is when i notice my hair. It was blonde. I start at it. Jurdean comes in from the bathroom and he laughs.

"It happens. Some it takes longer, others it comes within days. But, its the air here. It turns your hair weird colors. Blonde, white, or black." He explains. I touch it.

"But, what if I liked my hair?" I ask. He shrugs. "Right, should not have ended up here then." I grab my scarf, tell him to wait there, and leave. I sit along the fountain. Looking in, a doze. Then things slow down. I look into the water and in it comes Logan. He had his head in his hands, his stress was evident. I laugh, and suddenly his head shoots up. He looks right at me. His mouth pops open. I feel myself gasp. He could see me. I wave, and he comes up. "Hey, Logan."

"Holy..... your... like a ghost!" he says. I see the water start to fade, and he reaches out. "No! Don't leave!" And I am on the ground, breathing hard. I get up slowly, and two others were watching me. They nod, and point to the closest door. I get up and rub my head. Instead of trying to figure out what they meant, I find my way back to my room. Then pass out.

The next week goes by slowly. I did not tell my imp, so he goes on, blissfully ignorant. One night, I sneak out. Even the centaurs slept. They were mortal, after all. I find my way back to the fountain, and sit there. I wait, and then I half fall asleep. Next thing I know, I am standing in front of the Shadow realm's gates. The guard looks at me. He stands in front of me, but I continue going. I pass through him, and he shudders. Then turns. I walk through the gates, and into the castle. There, I find my way to the throne room. No one was there. "Great. I doubt anyone will tell a ghost where their queen sleeps."