Chapter 1: Strange

"Stay back, I am not your friend..." said Cael-who-was-not-Cael. A wry smile twisting the young lad's lips. Cael himself was aware of what was happening, but he could not fight against the bonds that held him back. "He is in here..." said the voice, causing Cael to point to his temple.

"I am destiny. And this child is my vessel. In him resides the blood of the first dagger bearer. He is to play a large part in what is to come." Cael's form shimmered, eventually becoming a towering hooded figure. A sudden wind blew and the hood was thrown back. The face was wizened and handsome, but something was awry. His eyes were closed. "Child, do not stare at my face so, I am deep in slumber, forced to sleep by my brothers and sisters. They fear that I will destroy everything... but that is not my cause, I simply aim to eradicate all evil..."

The hooded figure moved closer to Radu. "I am powerful... Infinitely so... But the people who I treated as family turned against me... Imprisoned me in deep slumber..." The voice was too much. The thousands of tongues seemed to claw at Radu's consciousness, sapping his strength. Liara had her eyebrows knotted, but she managed to smile at Radu. "Help the boy and the beast, maetesk to free me... and you will know fear no more... I can allow the blood of the eternals flow in your veins... I can allow the golden Saine flow through your body." The figure pronounced the peculiar word as Say-ne. Radu shivered, even thinking about the word, he felt some sort of power flow through him.

Think wisely young one... and the figure disappeared, leaving Cael in a crumpled heap on the rapidly greening desert floor.

Radu shook slightly, backing up a bit until Cael returned to normal. he cursed himself for even considering Destiny's words. upon reflection he could see the deeper meaning's written within the words "I simply aim to eradicate all evil." Radu repeated... "bah, evil is different things to different people, he could very well be saying he thinks us all evil in some way and wants to eradicate us all" Radu didn't have much time to contemplate the rest of it, since he and Liara ran to check on cael
as they where standing over him and checking him over, there eyes met. they had a silent agreement not to listen to what destiny had said. Radu chuckled to himself, offering of godly powers and immortality would of swayed any other pair. not him or liara. he knew they both wanted to just live happy lives together and eventually die. plus Radu had enough power as it was and truth be told, he wanted to be rid of it. Desinity had made a mistake, and Radu planned to let everyone in on the events that had taken place when he went through the portal

"Bwahaha! You think you have a choice? I am infinitely powerful and If you do not do my request, the boy dies." Destiny's hollow, lifeless, yet mystifyingly sinister voice boomed across the desert-paradise as a bone-chillingly cold wind began to howl. The dunes shifted uneasily and a shady figure watching nearby eyed the sands from the corner of her eye. Ghastly whispers rode on the wind as the sand began to swirl around the gathered group.

"Don't even attempt to think about ripping through the planes to find the hall of the eternals!" As though at the beck of an invisible puppet master, Cael's body rose from the ground, limbs hanging limply by his sides. Now there was a wall of sand swirling about the five and much of it blotted out the sun, casting shadows that danced upon the earth. When Cael's mouth opened and spoke, the words were still out of sync. As he spoke, the darkness crept towards him and flowed up his body. Soon, the hooded figure was formed once more.

"If you think it is that easy, then you are far mistaken! This petty world of Sylfe is just one of countless others in this level of existence. You can scour the planes around you but you will not find the hall of eternals!" The figure paused for a moment, eyes moving under closed eyelids, mouth working wordlessly. In the dim light caused by the swirling dome of sand, it was simply evil. "You must hear me out..." said Destiny with an evil chuckle.

"After all, you leave here either alive or dead, and if you are leaving at all, then you must know this. Your plane of existence is just one level on the hierarchy of shah'haien."

Destiny had made one simple mistake, he had overlooked one simple detail. in the distance a ceree, body covered by an age old tattered cloak, watched. his red fur was seen for but a moment as he shifted positions lazily. this was no ordinary Ceree though. he was the one who walked the planes, the one who regularly spoke with beings like destiny in his constant traveling. this was Thorn, Radu's father, the watcher, the walker... he had seen, and through his own powers, heard, all that had transpired between the five down there. Thorn snorted, he had seen enough... it was time to report. he cast a last look at the swirling sandstorm, then stood and walked into a sudden fog.... after, he was gone

Radu blinked, up to this point he didn't even think to look for the hall of the eternals... nor did he know what it was. Radu growled... he was faced with a dilemma. obey destiny equals possible mass destruction... to not obey means Cael is as good as dead. he sighed, only one option left...
... "fine.. so you want us to help maetesk free you? sounds simple enough. if you'll kindly leave Cael's body, we will go through the portal and get started on that" he spoke, holding his head down in what appeared to be shame. he simply refused to look up... a shocked liara bent down slightly to try and meet his eye... and she did, then she understood exactly what he was going to do.

The sand continued to swirl. "You shan't fool me" said Destiny and the watching figure shrank back as the world seemed to scream and the sound of a gate grating closed was heard. "Shah'haien is not but a single vast expanse of space. From its core radiates seven spheres of existence" said Destiny in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yours is the third sphere, Keth. Below it are two more, filled with fire and brimstone, upon which are worlds where beasts of myth and fable reside." Destiny said. The surrounding air became more still and cold as destiny spoke. "Truth be told, only your sphere is broken. Only your sphere has multiple planes in it."

"Your blasted ancestors are to blame for the plane's shattering. I assume they did not tell you that, right?"

"not like they saw it coming" he mumbled to himself, still with his face to the ground. Radu didn't quite understand why destiny was rambling on about the formation of shah'haein and where his plane stood. radu was simply putting it in the mental file of 'not very important, saved for later study'. Radu paused for awhile, taking the information in "i care not the 'blasted' ancestors did. i don't care if it was an accident, or if it was intentional. any stories you have to tell me will not sway me to your side, or drive me to a different side. i see only the path laid out before and i will follow it. what you offer is nothing more than a dusty dirt road that latches onto that path ... i see no reason to follow it" he snorted, raising his head again, his gold eyes staring at destiny, not caring about the sand storm.

"Only beings of a higher plane can move into a lower plane, not vice versa. As well as only creatures of a higher plane can summon creatures of a lower plane" said Destiny as though not hearing Radu's muttered protests. The swirling sandstorm was beginning to wane.

"Dear child, it takes a lot of power to break the barriers between a plane and one above it, but not so much for a plane and one below it. Only beings like Sylfe's Dark One can break that barrier between this plane and the plane of the heavenly beasts above you for but a fraction of a second" explained Destiny. The sun was beginning to shine through the dome and the shadows began to dissipate.

"There are two exceptions to the rule. The plane of the Eternals and the plane of the Fayett. The two are inextricably linked and allow free travel between them. However, there is one more plane higher than the rest. I have delved into it and all I can find in it is an omnipotent consciousness" said Destiny, the apparition beginning to fall apart.

"I intend to break the barrier using the energies that will surge from the unification of this plane. To do that, the prime twelve must die, the gates between worlds opened and the destruction of the walls that have come together over the span of time" said Destiny gravely. "The mother-father's power shall be mine! Do not fail me. As collateral..." Destiny trailed off and pointed to the ground beneath Liara's feet. A cage of blue-black energy erupted around her and the world screamed as a hole opened in the ground. Demonic hands began to claw at the cage and dragged it down into what seemed to be a fiery chasm. Liara, though, seemed unharmed.

"No harm will come to her, but you cannot release her, until you open all of this world's gates. Is that clear? The dagger shall point the way. She shall enjoy the fire and brimstone of Zyfre" The figure vanished like ashes in the wind and all became still as realization set upon all that had witnessed the event.

Radu's eyes widened as Liara was taken from him. he leaped at her but he was to late. she was gone, the hole closed, destiny gone. Liara was everything to him, even more so due to her precisous cargo. as if in denial Radu began to dig into the sand. it was a useless gesture of loss. he had no result, just a largish pile of displaced sand. had he even really expected to just dig down and pull her up? he knew what he had seen was no illusion. it was fact. she had been taken from him. her value to him used to force him under destiny's will.
he didn't even try to stop the tears from dripping down his face. it was a face of defeat, of loss, and of weakness. he dropped to the ground, and cried more. "Liara... Liara, i'm sorry. i should of never gotten you into this..." he cried.
Destiny had won. Radu knew the possible results of destiny's plans. he knew better than to do as destiny told. but... now that prick had his wife and unborn child. he couldn't resist... yet he must. he slammed his paw into the sand again. he needed help, he needed guidance. everyone he used to be able to turn to for such things where now gone from him. Amteth, Eon, Thorn, Liara... Malkuthe. Malkuthe, his greatest friend, the one who Radu had started this stupid venture trying to free him from the dark hold of Saffye. now Malkuthe had everything he could ever want, he had saffye, he had powers to rival the ancestors, and he had his own little world... Malkuthe and Saffye had most likely forgotten Radu even existed, they where together. Radu was alone.
well there was Cael, but even at the best of times Cael was just a run of the mill elf. plus he is still unconscious...


in a vortex composed completely of white fog, save a stone road that floated in the fog. Thorn walked across this silently. he came to a pause when the road widened out into a platform, all around the edges of this place where gold spheres. each was a portal to different realm, world, plane, or reality. this was what had been given to Thorn when he was chosen to ascend. this was how he walked from plane to plane. this was simply why he was one of the only beings with the power to freely walk in almost all 'places'. he sat in the center of the platform and studied the spheres. he had already made reports to his higher ups of the base details of destiny's plans. he hadn't been able to tell their reaction, but they would allow him to interfere in a non direct manner.
Thankfully he had a plan on how to do so. he pointed at two spheres, connected to each other by a silver string. he placed a claw on the brighter and younger one of the two. he turned into mist and was sucked inside.
here he found himself standing in a quiet field, in the world that saffye had helped Malkuthe create. now to find malkuthe himself...

Malkuthe was walking about in his elven shape, cupping flowers and breathing onto them. The place was quiet, tranquil, even. He could not help but smile. This world was his, the flowers, the trees, the mountains, everything. Too bad he had yet to perfect the creation of sentient life. He could not even create a simple critter without giving it the ability to transform into a cold soul-sucking abomination.

The three blue feathers in his hair swayed with the cool breeze. His silverish-blue hair waved in the wind in perfect synchronization with the blades of grass. His lithe body moved in fluid grace as he got on his feet. Behind him, the sun glowed in all its brilliance, showing off the wisps of clouds that enveloped the bluish violet mountain peaks in the background. Its molten light bathed Malkuthe's palace and the road that led from it through the meadow. Saffyre hadn't been around in a while, but Malkuthe knew she was fine. They always conversed at night, through a special pool deep inside the castle.

Saffyre was quite busy trying to keep the fragile peace in her plane. Things were beginning to look grim. That was why she could not return to Malkuthe any time soon. Malkuthe tried scrying the plane and he agreed that she must not return yet.

As he walked over the moat of the palace, its crystal waters gleaming in the sun, he felt something stir in his world. Someone had entered it. With a quick spell, Malkuthe ascertained that the being had no malevolent intent. Satisfied, he went inside the castle, the drawbridge closing the gate behind him.

as malkuthe entered the castle and the drawbridge closed behind him, he would find something was different. something was very different. the entirety of the castle was filled with thick white fog. every single room and corridor where empty if they had not already been. white fog rolled through, and an eerily silence gave the fog filled castle an ominous feel. the strangest thing about the fog, was despite this was Malkuthe's world and he could control near everything in it... he had absolutely no power of this fog, his power could not make it dissipate.

another thing about the fog, was it gave off a sense of power. power beyond malkuthe and saffye. a power that could destroy, but did not wish to. infact, the feeling of power was so strong it was almost like a presence of it's own. as if the fog was a being in itself.

after a few minutes of more silence, the fog seemed to pulled together, retreating from the outer passages of the castle and converging itself into the main area with malkuthe. it swirled together making a solid being. finally a red ceree, features covered by a tattered old cloak stood in the center of the room. the remaining fog swirled slowly around him. he looked up slowly, his white eyes locking with malkuthe's.
"so nice to finally see you again. nice castle, i must say. personally i never pegged you as the castle type" he chuckled slowly. "so Malkuthe... do you still remember me?"

"Ah.. Thorn, it has been a while.." said Malkuthe passively, not a hint of surprise in his voice. He walked around Thorn, examining the Ceree while he himself returned to his original form. "I didn't fancy myself a castle, but Saffyre convinced me otherwise. She claimed that I should at least give myself luxury, not to mention a little practice in creating buildings."

He paced across the floor of the castle, a disconcerting silence ringing in the air. Beams of light poured through the windows and arrow slits, their brass glow illuminating dust motes that floated through them. The rasp of his tail was the only sound that permeated the quiet.

"The Lady told me you'd come soon.. I just did not expect it to be now.." said Malkuthe, revealing the reason behind his impassive reaction. "Where then upon the crossroads of fate is my beloved birthplane?"

the elder ceree moved into a sitting position and popped his neck in a few directions "ahh... these bones are getting stiff" he muttered to himself. he then fixed his white eyes on makuthe again "i expected to be expected. sadly i also expected you had been keeping a better eye on your birthplane. sadly we can't have everything" hebreathed. his paw lifted and made a slow stirring motion the fog swirled into that spot as he spoke "since you left the fate of slyfe does not bode well. thankfully the ceree, lead by Radu have found the grove and are somewhat safe. but it is the rest of the plane that is danger... the dark one's forces are still at large, battles still wage across the land... but the flow of predicted events has been disrupted." the fog formed into a mirror like object, which replayed the event where destiny possessed Cael and spoke with radu. ending with Liara's capture, and Radu's current state of turmoil. Thorn looked at the image of his son sadly, but then went back to attention "Raducon, my son and your friend, was to be the deciding factor. his actions where supposed to decide the fate of sylfe. sadly, he is still the factor, but for a different fate. Destiny knows not what he is trying to disturb. not even i know, my masters will not tell me. Raducon is in need of guidance, wife and unborn child taken from him he is forced to make a decision. risk the safety of his family by going against destiny... or preserve his family by doing what he knows should not be done and endangering to us all. Radu needs guidance, but it is guidance i am unallowed to give."
the old ceree sighed, casting another look at the image of the crying purple and yellow ceree in the sand. "malkuthe... he is alone... he needs help. i would ask you as an ol friend of your father... but i cannot force this on you" the old ceree stood and cleared away the fog. he turned around and watched as a darker thicker fog began to form on the other side of the room "you can stay here, and let things run along as they may. time will turn without your intervention or not. that portal will take you to Raducon, and it will stay here for half an hour. close what you may." Thorn stated calmly. he then began to walk. after only 3 steps, he was gone....

Malkuthe conjured his own portal and stepped through it. His mind swimming with the secrets that the hall disclosed to him. It was a grave time. He had not expected it to come so quickly.

He reappeared on a sort of rampart that ended in a large platform with a bridge leading on to anther platform in the distance. There was also a ramp that connected it to one platform directly above him. This was how malkuthe envisioned the planes, much different from how Thorn did. However, they were in the same place, they were in the "in-between." He summoned all his willpower and changed the nature of the in-between.

Every portal changed to lead back to Malkuthe's palace. "Thorn! I must speak to you!" yelled the blue before returning home.

"what is it, i do have other planes to observe you know" spoke thorn, who seemed to have been one step ahead of malkuthe. he had already been waiting in the same place he had been when malkuthe stepped back into his world. thorn looked over at the mist portal that still stood. with a wave of his paw it was then gone without a trace.
the elder ceree looked at malkuthe silently, waiting for him to get to the point

"You do not understand!" panted Malkuthe. He was drained by the exertion. "Although I see you foresaw this" he muttered indignantly. He began to pace rapidly, even walking around in circles.

"There are things that your masters have not told you, but have told the hall..." said Malkuthe. "You may be their most valued agent, but they know that you do not hold sway over the worlds like the hall."

"Just two turnings past, the Fayett appeared before the hall. Well, not all of them, just Red Fang" Malkuthe continued, his heart racing as he began to piece together events. "The very first thing he did was laugh. And he muttered 'Thorn has always been my favorite, but he has an eye for overlooking the small things...' At that time I could not fathom what he meant, but now I know."

"These were the last words of Red Fang before he left. 'Keth must be unified once more. Destiny must triumph, but he must not be allowed to see the father-mother, it would be the undoing of us all."

upon hearing information of this caliber, most people would have some over the top reaction. Thorn instead gave a very calm and collected 'hmmm' that he understood what malkuthe was going on about. he red ceree snorted slightly "Red Fang, despite my being his personal agent, never tells me what i'm doing. i just have to do." Thorn's upper lip twitched slightly. Thorn may be the favorite of Red Fang, but Red Fang was not the favorite of thorn. after all it was Red Fang who cursed him into walking the planes, and took him away from his family. the only reason thorn worked unquestionably for the Fayett, was because every once in awhile he was allowed to visit Radu in slyfe, or his wife in the afterlife.

"so they have decided to bring keth together? so we leave Radu, knowing that soon his moral resolve will crumble and he will unwillingly open the last few gates, for the sake of his family. we leave him to hope that destiny will be true to his word of not harming liara. Destiny will then reunite Keth, and during this period we somehow try to find a way to divert the resulting mass flow of energy, so that Destiny cannot disturb the mother-father." Thorn would of rolled his eyes, but lacking pupils it was a useless attempt. Thorn wasn't one to complain, but he thought logically. if Keth was reunited, a good thing in itself, then the resulting energy flow would be near impossible to divert if destiny could control it. "perhaps.... someone might be able to use the lattice... of course, i still don't know if that can even be used to prevent such an event" Thorn mused mostly to himself.

"fine... if it be the will of my master, it must happen. as a Fayett he knows the fates better than we. hopefully he has a plan" the old ceree sighed. he still disliked the thought of just leaving Radu to his own. he just shook his head "if you've anything else left to say, say it now... for my time runs short"

"I do not think you understand the whole gravity of the situation, Thorn... The resulting energies cannot be diverted to any of the spheres save the core, the mother-father's plane and the Outside..." Mentioning the last word, Malkuthe became still. An air of silence hung over them and a rolling fog began to seep into the palace.

"Do you feel him, Thorn?" came an almost strangled question from Malkuthe. He did not need to wait for an answer, they way that Thorn's avequeli twitched was enough of an indication that he did indeed feel the approaching presence. Malkuthe looked askance at Thorn. The energy of the presence that was approaching was far greater than he could remember. "The power... it's astounding"

In the middle of the room, mist erupted from a large portal and from within its billowing depths stepped out a large red dragon with six eyes. Behind him came an ice-blue bird with four wings. Malkuthe felt the familiar sensation of a heavy blanked covering him. The magic that was in the area had taken on a near-physical coherence due to the presence of such ancient, powerful beings. He knew then, that the bird was another of the Fayett.

"Thorn... why am I not surprised?" said Red Fang. "However, it may seem it best that you are here for the time being. We have much to discuss as well. Apologies for the unwarranted visit, Malkuthe, but the fates are working against us."

Thorn blinked, not exactly happy to see the fayett. None the less he gave a short bow to his masters. He paused to take a good look at the fayett, there was no denying they where impressive beings and had indescribable powers. Power enough to bring a being into ascension against their will...
He had to admit, he had grown used to the fayett and the feeling power they gave. He sat quite normally under these conditions "good evening masters. Of course I would be hear. A father worries for his son, thus since I am unable to help him myself... Naturally I came to the only one I trust. My apologies if this was against your will.... Though I must say, I understand you not telling me much. But Shouldn't you tell your servant if you want keth reunited... You know, so I can make sure it happens."

"Bah. Don't be childish, Thorn" snapped the bird. "I am Blue Tail, pleased to make your acquaintance" it continued, addressing Malkuthe. Malkuthe somehow picked up something distinctly female about the Fayett's voice and thus categorized her as female.

"Must you always be so jumpy Blue Tail?" asked Red Fang almost casually. At around that time, Malkuthe began to feel as though something was off in his plane, he could just not put a finger on it. "Don't be silly Thorn. This will happen with or without your intervention. It might not occur this turning but in the next hundred, or it may have occurred and this is just an illusion of what once was. The latter is very unlikely, though."

Malkuthe finally wrapped his mind around what was off. Time had stopped. The motes of dust that hang in the golden beams of light were held still. Red Fang continued his tirade "Malkuthe, I know that you now know of the true nature of this so-called 'Shah'haien.' I made sure you'd learn it once you ascended. Now I ask you, was it correct to name this plane 'Shah'haien?'"

"Now that I think about it... No. I don't think it was right to call these worlds Shah'haien. The word means many worlds, right? But the nature of this plane says that it is not many worlds, but one world with different layers..." answered Malkuthe.

"Then this is what you must know. This is but a tiny fraction in your so-called Outside. Outside this plane is the true Shah'haien. We Fayett hail from a distant world, called here by the mother-father, the all-knowing, all-powerful ruler of this Haien" Red Fang paused, making sure that the duo understood fully. "It has long been decided that Destiny shall reunite Keth, but now that he has an evil purpose to it, he must not be allowed to fulfill his evil purpose. The only way to do it is to shatter the boundaries of the plane. The energy he will release will then seek the primordial magics of the in-between."

After a long moment of silence, Malkuthe dared to ask. "What then are the consequences of this action?"

"Simple, really. There will be created, a new Haien, in a new Shah'Haien. One that is different in all ways conceivable. Mind you, not this shah'haien. All the worlds in this universe will be recreated. A time of great turmoil will follow it, but you must ensure that this Haien remains whole. Fate points to just this plane as the greatest factor in determining the fate of the entire Shah'Haien."

Thorn was quite silent, simply taking to time to slowly soak in this new information. he had to admit, this affair simply added to the long list of reasons why he wished RedFang never made him one of the ascended. of course at this point that list, if ever written, would circle Malkuthe's planet several times... at least. Thorn made no comment as towards Bluetail's remark. he didn't have to. in his position, he only had to answer directly to RedFang... the other Fayett where none of his concern unless RedFang ordered that he listened to them.

the ceree sighed, this was just to much. he might as well summarize "so, in basis... this fragmented plane must be reunited, and it was originally destiny's job to so, but now he shouldn't since his reason is corrupt. thus destiny can't use radu to open the world gates and use the resulting to disturb the mother father... but that event still needs to, and will happen. as long as destiny doesn't do it. as a direct result of the unification of this plane, a new Haien will be created, opposite of this one... and this will ensure the safety of the entirety of Shah'Haien? please correct me only any parts i may of re-stated incorrectly. i merely wish to have a better understanding of exactly what is going to happen" thorn to a breath as he finished. it was quite a mouthful... he still had to wonder, what of his son? radu was alone, and out of fear for his wife and unborn child, would eventually bend to the will of destiny... what where they to do to stop radu. thankfully from what he had learned of the fate of slyfe, Radu was to important to simply kill. his child even more important, thus both where safe. perhaps the fayett, or the Eternals would take care of Destiny and ensure the return of Radu's family... well thorn doubted that, but he could hope

"No. Destiny must go on with what he must do. The resulting burst of energy must be safely redirected. You cannot use it to shatter one of the other spheres, that would release an even greater amount of energy" remarked Red Fang. "As for our poor protagonist's family. They shall be safe, but you, Thorn, must not tell him." With a single gesture, Red Fang opened a portal and released a dizzy Saffyre into the palace.

"Your new mission, at least for the moment, is to take care of your daughter in law and unborn grandchild or children"

Thorn blinked as Saffrye was thrown in. He said little, but he had admit... he was surprised the two had yet to have a child. He simply blinked a few times. he turned back to his master... he couldnt help but twitch once or twice. He had permission to make sure his daughter in law and grandchild where safe... bur he couldnt tell his son about it? The thought angered him... but he was in no place to argue.

He sighed "as you wish RedFang, Raducon will know nothing of what has transpired here, or what has been spoken of. It will not be much longer until he gives in and begins to help open the world gates for Destiny." He paused as he swapped topics. "As for the case of my son's daughter and unborn child... since i am to keep them safe, i dont feel exactly right about leaving them with Destiny. I dont trust Destiny, even though he told Radu he wouldnt harm them. Destiny still might not be entirely 'nice' should he even think radu wont follow his exact orders ... i would feel much better if i where allowed to take Liara and her prescious cargo to a much safer location... with your permission of course, Destiny wont even have to tell Radu i have them" he asked, bowing to the fayett as he hoped for an answer in the positive

"You've no need to be concerned with that" said Red Fang. With another gesture, Liara fell onto the floor in a crumpled heap. "Saffyre, you know all that has been said, I've spoken to you before. Take care that what must happen, happens."

Without so much as looking at the Fayett. Saffyre rounded on Malkuthe and exclaimed. "Malkuthe Highwind, by the Ancestors, what IS happening here?"

Thorn bowed to his master, for once truely grateful. he quickly went over to liara and checked over her. she seemed to be fine, her fur smelled a bit like smoke, but that was to be expected considering where she had been. he lay down next to her as she slowly came into focus. liara blinked a few times and slowly looked around as he vision cleared.

"huh? where am i? the fires are gon- malkuthe!?" she blinked several times, since he was the first she saw and recognized. she looked around again, seeing Thorn and Saffye. she then laid eyes on the Fayett, something about them made her feel should should know who they where... but at the same time she knew she wasn't really meant to. slowly she turned to thorn "where am i?... Is Radu alright?" she asked.

"Radu is fine, we are currently in malkuthe's castle on the world he created. allow me to explain..." he look a minute or two to explain what had been discussed to both Liara and Saffyre. of course he made sure to block Liara's hearing once or twice so she didn't here the parts that where not for mortal ears. "in basis, Liara... we can't tell Radu that you are with us, not destiny. otherwise he won't open the world gates for destiny... well, unless we tell him to, which we can't."
Liara bowed her head slightly, she didn't like to keep radu in the dark about things, nor did she like to have him think she was in danger when she wasn't. none the less she nodded to show she understood. she couldn't really argue, it wasn't like she had a way of contacting Radu...
Thorn blinked suddenly "Speaking of Radu... he is moving again..."

_back in slyfe_
Radu sat up, he had cried for long enough. crying didn't help. he only thing he could do was what Destiny asked. he knew that Destiny shouldn't succeed in what he was trying to do... but the corrupt maniac had his wife and unborn child. he looked over to the portal that maetesk had opened earlier. he sighed, then walked towards it. within minutes he stood before it, then slowly stepped inside

Without so much as a farewell, Red Fang vanished from sight. Before she left, Blue Tail ruffled her feathers and said "You lower beings have always struck me as strange..." trailing off in contemplation. She turned her beak upward in a sort of arrogant show and vanished as well.

Back in Sylfe, Cael awoke from his trance only to see Radu step through the portal. Unwittingly, he cried out for the purple Ceree. Something stirred inside him as a black dagger appeared in his hands. His hand moved to the sand and with the tip of the dagger, drew a sinister looking hand.

Overhead, storm clouds gathered and the wind began to scream. Darkness poured out of the drawing and formed a hand much like the small illustration. From in front of him the hand shot from in front of him and into the portal. He flexed his hand and before it plunged into the swirling vortex, he saw it flex too. He closed his hand and he felt something in it.

He willed the hand to return. Return it did, only with a protesting Radu in its clutches. The moment the two exited the portal, it fell into itself. The doorway to Alriiea shutting in the space of a moment. "Radu... please..." were the only things Triethe managed to say before he fell into blissful unconsciousness.