Chapter 1: Strange

(err.. don't you mean Cael? XD)
no sooner than radu had stepped outside the portal and completely onto the other side, he was seized by a strange object. why he didn't even have the time to take in the scene before he was struggling against what held him... it seemed to be a massive hand made from pure black magic. he struggled the best he could. he spat fire onto it's fingers and tried to fly away... all to no avail. he was dragged helplessly back through the portal.

he had expected the worst possible beings to be behind the black hand... like destiny, the dark one, or some other impossibly powerful celestial being... instead he saw the had was coming from the ground in front of Cael. he could only fall to the ground as the elf fell unconscious and he was released. he walked over to the elf, a sudden anger building within him. he was wasting precious time he could be spending finding the world gates for destiny so as to free his family. not to mention, Cael had pulled him away with fowl black magic!?

Radu raised a taloned paw to strike the unconscious elf in anger... but he couldn't hit him. the ceree groaned in defeat. Cael was still his friend and needed help. Radu sighed and set to nudging the elf awake

"What... Happened... Radu?" was the weak response of the elf as the gentle prodding shook him awake. The last thing he remembered was a black hand carrying Radu from the depths of the portal. "Please... Radu... Don't go there yet... The gate in Malleithen must be the last one opened..."

before radu answer, he moved the weak elf onto his back, carrying him as fast as he could to the river that now flowed freely through what had been desert. the ceree took elven form, and borrow Cael canteen. radu then filled it in the fresh river, and used it to give the weak cael a drink before sitting down next to him.
Radu sighed, then explained what had happened as best he could from when Cael had been possessed up till now. he had to admit, he stopped ad wiped his eyes on his shirt when he reiterated Liara's capture. "and then, as i try to leave, you pull me back with a hand made of black magic."
Radu was still drinking in the information Cael had given. well he had been possessed by destiny, thus it made sense he would know the order in which to release the world gates... or so radu thought, now days... even simple things where complicated

Cael took the canteen with a grateful expression. He hadn't had much to drink since they arrived in those blasted deserts. Quite literally, Cael plunged his face into the gushing river after the drink, trying to clear his mind as well as his face.

Cael knew that he had indeed performed some kind of black sorcery, but he put the thought behind him. All of a sudden, he realized that he held an onyx dagger in his hand. It was sinister in form, and the energy it gave off was of the same evil. He heard the rasp of Maetesk's approach. Removing himself from the water, he stared at the beast and said "How can this blade be purified?"

"We cannot comprehend... How can something already pure be purified?" replied the beast.

Cael's strength faltered and he sagged to his knees. He felt something tug inside him and almost unbidden, his hand went to his chest and made a gesture of drawing something out. Almost immediately, strands of strange glowing silver metal erupted from his chest and formed a small hollow sphere in his hand. He gasped, it was the lattice.

The dagger in his other hand began to vibrate at the same time the lattice did. The two began to attract to each other so strongly that Cael's weak form could not hold them from touching. Once they did, the dagger vanished, so did the lattice. What was left to Cael was a hollow glowing sword made from strands of gleaming silver-black metal.

Maetesk hummed, or something as close to a hum as the statuesque beast could produce "Pure light... and pure dark... Neither can stand without the other... with their joining comes world-ending power..."

Radu just blinked... he looked down at Cael's weapon. for it was Cael's problem and Radu refused to touch it. the power of the lattice and a blade of pure darkness. Maetesk was right, it would make for a weapon of unrivaled power no matter how you looked at it. "i hate to see whatever we need to use that against. the dark one perhaps... i don't know what to do anymore. i just dont" Radu sighed, sinking to his knees. he didn't really like staying in elven form, but was to lazy to change back right now. he did know one thing, for as long as he had know Cael, Cael had never shown any signs of dark power or any ability like he had shown through the dark hand and accidental creation of this blade. thus he knew it... Destiny was making Cael do these things. Destiny was in control of them all. maetesk was just destiny's puppet weather he knew it or not, cael was clearly under partial control, and Radu... Destiny had his family. he sighed in defeat.

Radu decided to get to the point. he looked up at maetesk and Cael "to draw our attention away from the shiny sword of mass destruction... Cael said the gate in Malleithen must be opened last, and since he was possessed by destiny not even a half hour ago, i think it's safe to say that the gate should be left for last. so do either of you know where the other gates are, and the correct order?" he asked with a neutral expression

Almost immediately, a series of images flashed before Cael's eyes. They blurred sickeningly fast and the elf thought he was going to be sick. When they stopped, he knew what to tell Radu.

"There is one, at the very heart of this desert..."