Ambrosia Software Web Board: Cythera Chronicles: Dark Legacy - part IV - Ambrosia Software Web Board

by cache22 and Moonshadow

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In Blood and Fire

Our sons once thrived,
on tales of war,
great heroes pressing,
to the fore;

Of valour great,
and victories won;
bands of brothers,
bound as one;

But time may come,
as great wheel turns,
our sons are forced,
their tales to earn;

Then time will tell,
in fate's great ire -
of innocence lost,
in blood and fire.

-----------

A large, dark shadow drifted over the ground, accompanied by a strange, rhythmic chuffing sound. The lone sentry glanced upwards, and shivered. "This place is getting too weird," he muttered to himself. "I've got to find a way out of this outfit."

From her vantage point in the zeppelin, Katze had little difficulty locating the white triangles of the gliders on the ground; she made for the same clearing, and dropped anchor. Climbing quickly down the rope ladder, she quietly made her way through the jungle towards the path to the camp

Since she was expecting trouble, she saw the guard before he could see her. Sneaking back some distance into the jungle, she crept along until she judged she'd reached a point well past the sentry, then stepped silently back toward the track. Peering back the way she'd come, she found her estimation had been correct; there was no-one in sight. The going was much easier on the path, and she soon found herself at the edge of the camp.

Surveying the collection of buildings, she focused in on the large, central hut. "Big shots live in big houses," she thought to herself, and began to make her way carefully in that direction. She reached the hut without difficulty, and moved to peer in through a lighted window. There were a pair of mages at a table, examining an ancient book and arguing over something. She also noticed a familiar trio of swords, leaning against the wall in one corner.

"Joran, in order to ensure the deception remains undiscovered, we must dispose of the original!" one of the mages exclaimed, pounding the table. He motioned toward the book. "We must expand further on this work - it doesn't go far enough!"

"We've tried everything we can think of, Arctus," Joran replied, sounding tired and defensive. "We need some new inspiration." They both stood up and left the room, leaving the book on the table.

Katze pondered a moment. The book sounded important; it was probably worth snatching. Besides, Flynn would want his swords back. She tried the window; locked, of course.

She grinned.

-----------

Sideline and the Ronin saw seven fighters break cover from the jungle, two armed with bows and the rest with longswords. They had far better quality arms and armour than an average brigand; against an average fighting force, they might even have made a good showing.

Without hesitation, Trinias raised his bow and shot one of the archers. Kwon swiftly drew a tsai, and sent it spinning end over end at the other. Both strikes were instantly lethal.

Wolmark fell back toward Leandra and Moonshadow. One of the swordsmen ran up and engaged Sideline. Two of the others made the mistake of taking on Sasha, perhaps intending to finish her off quickly, then gang up on Sideline. The remaining two brigands charged at Ulf.

Ulf quickly swung the Dragon Shield between himself and one of his opponents; the man ran headlong into the oversized shield, and bounced - but not far. Triggered by the impact, a fireball blasted from the jewelled dragon, incinerating the man in midair. Startled, Ulf's second opponent fell easy prey to the giant. Ulf simply knocked his sword out of his hand, grasped him around the neck with one hand, and lifted him off the ground. The man tried to kick out at Ulf's legs; Ulf squeezed a little tighter, and his captive passed out. He looked around at the others, seeing Sideline and Sasha cleaning their swords before returning them to their scabbards; the combat had been bloody, but brief.

Seeing the fight was over, Leandra returned her dagger to its sheath. She turned to Moonshadow, intending to heal her wounded arm.

"Don't bother, it's not that bad," Moonshadow said, stopping her. "Save your power; you may have greater need of it soon."

Leandra looked worried, but assented. "All right, but let me dress it, at least." Moonshadow nodded. Leandra felt around in her bag for a moment, and withdrew a bandage.

-----------

Katze made her way to the edge of the camp, towards the same path she'd entered by, carrying the book and swords under her arm. She was careful to only touch the Ruby Fang's sheath, and not the sword itself; she amused herself briefly by picturing the results of one of Flynn's abductors trying to draw the weapon. There was still no-one using the path, so she began working her way carefully along it toward the clearing where she'd tethered the zeppelin.

"Katze!" a voice whispered urgently. She froze, looking slowly about, not seeing anyone.

"Over here!" the voice whispered again, and a pale face showed fleetingly through the bushes. Katze pushed her way through to where Jadia and Kurt were waiting. She broke into a smile as she saw Flynn - then her expression gave way to shock.

Sure, Flynn was a good friend; but she didn't think she could handle two of him!

-----------

The group of five moved swiftly along the path. Jadia, having the keenest sight, was in the lead; the two Flynns were following some distance behind, with Kurt and Katze bringing up the rear. Kurt's sword and Katze's dagger were both unsheathed; with no way to tell the real Flynn from the duplicate - and no way to divine the duplicate's temperament or intent - they were taking no chances.

Jadia abruptly signalled a halt; they were almost upon the sentry. She vanished silently into the jungle, while the others waited. Approaching the sentry's position, she saw that he was preoccupied, staring back along the track in the direction away from the camp. He seemed to be listening intently, absently drawing his sword part way out of its scabbard, then letting it slide back.

Jadia crept up behind him, flattened her hand and struck him hard on the back of the neck. He dropped like a stone, unconscious before he hit the ground. It would have been surprising if he hadn't; Kwon's instruction in how to deliver such a blow had been meticulous, and Jadia was an apt pupil.

Before the others would have thought possible, Jadia reappeared on the path and signalled them to advance.

They continued onward, almost to the point where they needed to leave the trail to reach the clearing, when Jadia's sharp hearing detected a noise ahead. At her signal they quickly left the trail, slipping quietly through the wall of jungle to one side. The Flynns sat opposite each other, leaning against two trees, and staring at each other suspiciously; Katze and Kurt stood nearby, watching them both.

Jadia hid in the undergrowth by the side of the trail, where she could get a clear view of the trail without being seen. She grinned in relief, as she recognised the Ronin approaching - then she saw the bloody bandage wrapped around Moonshadow's upper arm. She gasped, and rushed out to meet them.

"Mother! What happened?"

Kurt glanced around at the sound, and one of the Flynns leaped at him. He caught Kurt around the ankles, bringing him down hard to the ground. Before Katze could react, the other Flynn had scrambled over and attacked the first. They were soon grappling about on the ground, rolling over and over; both Katze and Kurt quickly lost track of which one had attacked first. They'd just managed to break up the fight and separate the Flynns, when Jadia and the others rushed in to see what the commotion was. There were several gasps of astonishment, as the new arrivals struggled to take in the strange sight before them.

Katze broke the stunned silence, before anyone could pose a question that would take far too long to answer - if, indeed, there was an answer to be had. "We need to get away from the trail, before we can sort this out. There's a clearing not too far from here, follow me."

-----------

Wolmark breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the clearing, and he saw his beloved zeppelin bobbing gently in the breeze. A moment later he spied the two gliders resting on the ground; in spite of the seriousness of their situation, his curiosity got the better of him and he wandered over to inspect them.

"This is what you've been working on?" he queried, as Kurt joined him. Kurt nodded. "How do they handle?"

"Pretty well," Kurt replied. "I'm thinking of trying a longer wingspan, for the next model."

"Hey, you two," Sasha interrupted. "When you're ready, we have a major problem to solve over here!"

Wolmark nodded guiltily, and Kurt apologised. They hurried back to rejoin the group, who were standing in a semi-circle, staring at the two Flynns. They were a little the worse for wear after their brief scuffle, but otherwise still identical.

"How did this happen?" Leandra asked. "And what do we do about it?"

"This may help," Katze answered, holding up the book she'd liberated. It was an ancient text, and was quite worn; it showed signs of a good deal of rough treatment. "I think they used something from this; there's notes and annotations all over the place."

Moonshadow read the title, and gasped. It was Tavara's Journal.

-----------

Joran rushed into the workroom followed by the guard captain, Aiakos, finding Arctus already there. "The clone and the prisoner are both missing!" he exclaimed. He was puzzled by Arctus' lack of reaction; he followed the direction of his gaze, toward the worktable the book rested on - except the book wasn't there.

Arctus looked up, slowly. "There have been intruders in the camp. Take every available man, and find them!" he commanded. Aiakos nodded, and ran back out; Arctus waited until he'd left, before continuing. "Joran, I fear everything is about to unravel; make preparations to depart."

"Are you -" Joran began, then cut himself short. "Very well," he resumed, and left the room.

"This is all your fault, fool," Arctus thought, scowling after him. "Make no mistake, I will see that you pay dearly for your error!"

-----------

"Tavara's Journal?" Sideline queried in surprise, while the Ronin looked at Moonshadow blankly. "Didn't Slayer report it was buried under his Clone's Citadel when it collapsed, and that all other copies were destroyed?"

"I guess someone thought it was worth the time to dig it out," Katze commented. "Judging by its condition, this is Slayer's original."

Moonshadow flipped through the pages, until she came to the cloning spell; the annotations were even more copious on those pages, and she began reading intently. "It seems they've altered the spell a great deal - but then, they'd have had to. The original spell would only clone the caster, and the two were linked until one of them used the reversal spell; but it seems they were quite close to creating a version that would allow an independent clone. They've already modified it to the extent that the link is mostly one way; the clone is constantly drawing on the lifeforce of the original, leaving him drained."

"But why would they do it?" Leandra exclaimed, perplexed.

"I heard two mages talking about some kind of deception," Katze replied. "My guess is they were planning to substitute their clone for the real Flynn. This was probably the test case - if it had worked, they could have gradually inserted their clones into key positions, and no-one would have been any the wiser." She grinned. "They just made an unfortunate choice of test subject - one of the very people most likely to be missed, before they could perfect the spell."

Moonshadow resumed. "About the only part that still works both ways is death; so once we've discovered the clone, we can't just kill him. There's a modified reversal spell here, but there's a problem: we have to cast it on the right one. If it's cast on the clone, the link is broken and the clone is destroyed; but if it's cast on the original, they'll both be killed."

Sasha shook her head in exasperation. "Ulf, Kwon, can either of you sense anything that will help?" she queried.

"I sense nothing useful," Kwon reported.

Ulf grasped the Friendsooth amulet, and closed his eyes in concentration. After a moment he opened his eyes, looking extremely baffled. "Both Flynn," he stated.

"I was afraid of that," Wolmark sighed. "As long as the clone is drawing on Flynn's lifeforce, they'll register the same."

Moonshadow stared down at the ground, deep in thought. "Separate them," she commanded, finally.

They all looked at her curiously, but did as she instructed. Ulf took one Flynn aside, while Sideline and Trinias took the other in the opposite direction.

"That's far enough," Moonshadow called when they were about ten metres apart. She handed the journal to Leandra, then closed her eyes and muttered an incantation. The bloodstained bandage dropped to the ground as she transformed into the snow falcon; it was too loose to stay on her wing. The falcon hung in mid air for an instant, then tried to flap its wings - but one wing refused to move, the injury was too severe. With a startled shriek, the small white bird plummeted the short distance to the ground.

With a cry, one of the Flynns broke free from Sideline and Trinias. Before anyone could stop him, he had reached the struggling bird, bent down and scooped it up. As they reached him, they saw he was smiling.

"She's all right," he sighed, clearly relieved. He lifted the wrist the falcon was perched on closer to his face, and the bird rubbed its cheek against his. A glow enveloped the bird, spreading downwards to touch the ground; when it faded, Moonshadow was standing in the circle of Flynn's arms, leaning her head on his shoulder. She lifted her good arm up around his neck, and hugged him tightly.

"Don't you ever leave me behind again, do you hear?" she murmured.

"Never again," came his heartfelt reply. "That's a promise!"

"Can we really be sure we've got the right one?" Sideline whispered to Trinias, having forgotten Moonshadow's elven hearing.

"This is my Flynn," she declared, turning to face Sideline, yet remaining comfortably in Flynn's embrace. "When I'm in bird form, Temrel's rings link our minds. I knew his every thought, every feeling, and I saw everything he saw. This is him!"

Sideline held up his hands defensively, but grinning nevertheless. "Fine, as long as you're satisfied!"

Leandra returned the journal to Moonshadow, then set about rebandaging her arm. "Well, time's a-wasting; hadn't we better do something about this clone?" Everyone turned to study the impostor, who was struggling uselessly in Ulf's firm grasp.

At that moment, the warriors from the camp burst into the clearing, heavily armed and highly agitated. With a loud battle cry, they rushed to the attack.

-----------

Joran was no fool. He knew that the failure of the plan signalled a death sentence for him - if he remained for it to be carried out.

"It seems my work here has been a greater success than I'd hoped," he mused to himself, as he collected a few items from his quarters. "Who would have thought, that a chance meeting on the road would present me with the perfect instrument to cause this disruption!"

With most of the camp's inhabitants out hunting for the intruders, he had no difficulty at all making his escape.

-----------

Seeing Flynn was still too weak to be of much help, Sasha unhesitatingly took command. "Moonshadow, Leandra, deal with that clone! Ulf, keep holding him for them. The rest of you, come with me."

Katze took two of Flynn's swords - which she was still carrying - and tossed them down next to him.

"For later, when you've got the strength," she commented. She then unsheathed the diamond sword, dropping the scabbard behind her as she turned back to the enemy. "This one I'll borrow, if you don't mind."

"Be my guest," Flynn replied, weakly - but she was already gone.

Sasha ran forward about ten paces, then paused. "Jadia, Kurt, hold back here; you're the reserves. If anyone gets past us, keep them away from your mothers - they can't afford any distractions. The rest of you, spread out - but stay close enough to help each other out." They nodded, and the rest ran a dozen or so paces further ahead.

The Ronin, Sideline and Katze were well used to fighting at each other's sides, and swiftly ranged themselves out to meet their new enemy. Trinias took the left flank, Wolmark and Kwon the right; in the early stages of battle, their best contribution would be to harass the foe from a distance, while avoiding contact. Sasha took the centre, flanked by Katze and Sideline. Sideline's naked blade and the diamond sword gleamed in the moonlight - but the Sapphire Fang glowed with its own cold, blue light; it pulsed visibly, as if eager for battle.

Their preparations had taken only moments, but already their foes were almost upon them.

-----------

Arctus and his personal guards were almost the only people left in the camp. Their preparations for departure were complete; they were awaiting only Aiakos' arrival before finally abandon all they had worked so hard to achieve.

Arctus sat in his chair, scowling darkly. He had thought long and hard about the day's events, and although there was still hope that Aiakos would successfully effect recovery of the book, he still had a foreboding feeling that everything was lost - and that to delay could mean his own death. Arctus had too great an attachment to his life to risk losing it in such a fashion.

There was one task remaining. "Find Joran," he ordered. "Bring him to me." The guards glanced at each other, and moved swiftly to obey. They knew full well that they would be bringing Joran to his execution.

-----------

Wolmark's first fireball took the enemy completely by surprise. Nobody had warned them they might be facing mages, and the tiny group facing them had seemed to be more-or-less conventional warriors. They were no less surprised when Katze released a bolt of lightning an instant later.

Far in the rear, captain Aiakos surveyed the damage. He'd lost five men to the fireball, three more as the lightning swept across the front rank, and that was just the opening salvo; but men were plentiful. His force had been fifty strong to start with, and more were arriving each minute, drawn to the sounds of battle.

An archer started firing, from the opposite flank. His arrows glowed red, charged with some kind of magic; it seemed to be intended more to demoralise than damage, since each arrow still only slew one man at a time; but the archer fired swiftly, keeping up a constant barrage - and he seldom missed.

Aiakos hated sacrificing men, but his orders were clear: retrieve the book at all costs. The clone and its original were now expendable, and all who knew of the experiment must be eliminated. No cost was too great. Frowning, he urged his men to continue the attack; they hadn't even reached the swordsmen yet.

-----------

Arctus' guards virtually tore Joran's room apart, seeking some clue as to where to find him. They'd already searched the camp as thoroughly as they could, their apprehension growing each minute that they failed to find him. Their conviction that he had somehow anticipated this move grew at the same rate.

Finally, their rampage ended; there was nothing left to break. They stood staring at each other for a moment, bleak expressions on their faces. Without a word, one of them pulled out a coin, and tossed it in the air. "Call it," he said.

-----------

Moonshadow quickly opened Tavara's Journal to the page of the revised cloning spell, and its counter spell. "This is much shorter than the original spell, but it's still going to take a while."

"We'd best get started then," Leandra replied.

"Right. Keep an eye on me, I'm not sure what effect this will have." So saying, Moonshadow began the complicated incantation.

Leandra watched critically, and Flynn with much concern, as Moonshadow's body began to glow white.

-----------

Aiakos once more reassessed the situation. The group of men he'd sent to outflank that mage had failed, being beaten back when the little man with him started throwing what looked like red sparks at them. They'd lost half their number, but it wasn't important; the mage had stopped casting fireballs, and seemed to be concentrating on healing spells.

The archer and the little man were still taking a toll, but not enough to matter now. The front ranks finally engaged the swordsmen. And swordswomen, Aiakos corrected himself, as he looked more closely. Not that it made a difference.

He stopped giving orders for a moment, taking time to watch his opponents in action. The woman on the right didn't seem too highly skilled, but that sword she was using was the one that had been throwing the lightning bolts. Each contact of that blade, however fleeting, seemed to be either fatal, or at least left the target quivering on the ground, unable to move.

The man on the left was obviously highly skilled, but the sheer numbers he was facing were giving him trouble; he'd been wounded more than once, but that pesky mage kept healing him.

The woman in the centre was another matter entirely. Nobody could even get near her. Several had managed to land some very heavy blows on her gold-glowing shield, but it there was no visible sign of damage. "Obviously magical," Aiakos muttered.

The woman's blue sword was flashing everywhere, weaving streamers of blue fire through the air. Nothing seemed able to hinder its motion; Aiakos winced as it connected with a warrior's shield, and the stout metal plate shattered like glass.

His men were starting to press away from the black-armoured she-fury, screaming in terror. This wasn't going well.

-----------

The guard who'd lost the toss stood trembling in front of Arctus, who wasn't known to take bad news well. The man half expected to be killed outright; he didn't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive, as Arctus just sat there, scowling, for minute after minute.

"Leave me," he said, finally. The guard relaxed, and made his way quietly from the room, closing the door softly behind him. Arctus still sat and thought, his scowl darker than ever.

"So, you have escaped me, Joran. Well, it will not be forever; someday, I will find you - and then you will pay!"

-----------

Leandra watched, awe struck, as the increasing energies lifted Moonshadow a full metre off the ground and held her there, her dress fluttering in a wind Leandra couldn't feel. Moonshadow continued to recite the counter spell. Abruptly, streamers of white power lashed out from her glowing form, engulfing Flynn and the clone. Flynn gasped, and the clone cried out in fear, as they felt the power suffuse their beings. Ulf was thrust back by the aura, but it no longer mattered - the clone was pinned in place by the spell.

Moonshadow's chanting grew louder with each word. Leandra could hear great pain echoed in her voice, but wasn't surprised she continued; she knew that the measure of the love Moonshadow bore for her husband would drive her to the brink of death itself, before she'd give him up.

"... What once was one, and now is twain,
bind to me, and make us thrain;
let power take hold, twixt sundered form;
Make two as one now be the norm!"

Moonshadow forced out the last word, her voice nearly choked with agony - then the aura surrounding her suddenly vanished, and she fell heavily to the ground. The streamers of power now flowed directly between Flynn and the clone, linking them together in an unbreakable bond.

Moonshadow groaned, rolling over onto her back. Leandra crouched down beside her, and eased her into a sitting position.

"Let me help, that looked like it took a lot out of you," the red haired magess murmured, concern for her friend unconcealed in her voice and eyes. She quickly cast a healing spell, and helped Moonshadow struggle to her feet. "Is that the end of it, then?"

"Hardly," Moonshadow replied, dusting herself off. "That was just the first step. They're bound together now, but we have to reverse the flow of energy that created the clone in the first place." She picked up the book from where it had fallen, quickly found her place, and once more began to recite.

-----------

From his vantage point, Aiakos had a clear view of the display of light as Moonshadow worked. He knew he'd have to act soon, if there was to be any chance of retrieving the clone.

He turned to the lieutenant in charge of a squad he'd held in reserve, one of his best units. "Ikos - take your men, move around the flank, and attack the group at the rear," he ordered. "Stay out of sight - this battle is just a distraction now, our main hope rests with you. Remember, save the clone and the original if you can, but retrieve the book at all costs!"

"Yes sir," Ikos saluted, and led his men into the jungle.

-----------

Kurt and Jadia exchanged nervous glances, as they intensely observed the battle being fought in front of them. This was the nearest they'd ever been to real combat, and at first the sheer numbers of their enemies had worried them greatly; as proud as they were of their parents, they'd each always secretly believed that their stories were just that - stories, and not based in fact. Seeing their friends and relatives in action for the first time, their respect for them was increasing vastly, moment by moment.

However, Jadia was still also highly concerned about her parents, both of whom were behind them. She kept glancing back, at times amazed at the energies her mother was wielding, evidently at great cost to herself; she'd always known her parents were close, but the punishment Moonshadow was subjecting herself to caused the girl to redefine her understanding of that relationship, too. She'd often entertained romantic daydreams about someone willing to give their life to save someone they loved, but now she was witnessing it first hand - and the reality was far more shocking than any daydream could possibly be.

Jadia suddenly realised that this wasn't a game; that there was a very real possibility that her mother could fail, and she could lose both of them. In that moment, she was more terrified than she'd ever been before in her life.

-----------

As Moonshadow continued to chant, streamers of power once more extended from her body to Flynn and the clone, but this time they seemed much weaker; contrastingly, the effort required of Moonshadow appeared to be as much greater. The strong bands of energy linking the two men began to pulse, always in the same direction: from the clone to Flynn. The clone began to weaken, as the the power flowed through the white glowing strands; Flynn grew visibly stronger each moment.

Leandra observed Moonshadow closely, dreading another trial like the first part of the spell; her fears were confirmed, as Moonshadow's face contorted in pain. Time seemed to almost stand still, as Moonshadow continued to recite the complex spell. After a while, Leandra began to half imagine that the clone was beginning to fade. She glanced briefly behind her, taking in the battle that was raging there, and was relieved to see that Wolmark was still safe. The Ronin, Katze and Sideline seemed to be holding their own quite well.

Her attention was wrenched back by a long, low groan emanating from the clone. Her eyes hadn't been playing tricks; he was becoming transparent. She noticed then that Moonshadow's voice was beginning to grow tired and lifeless. She studied her friend carefully, uncertain what to do.

"Help her!" Flynn cried, alarmed. "She'll kill herself, if she keeps this up on her own!"

Leandra nodded. She didn't believe it was as bad as Flynn feared, but she was concerned that the spell would fail if Moonshadow collapsed; and then it would all have been for nothing.

She raised a hand and muttered a few words. Moonshadow's voice assumed its former certainty, as mana began to flow from the red magess to the white.

-----------

Ikos peered out from the edge of the jungle, determining the disposition of forces he had to contend with. The two fighters that hadn't yet engaged their troops were close enough to interfere, but his greatest concern was the huge man at the rear - he looked tough enough to take on the whole squad by himself.

He turned back to the six men under his command. "You and you, engage those warriors. Kill them if you can, but at the very least keep them distracted." The two men he'd singled out nodded. "I'll deal with the women, while the rest of you take on that giant. If you can defeat him, we have a chance at a total success - otherwise, we'll settle for just the book. Any questions?" He was greeted by stolid stares; his men knew their business. "Good. You two lead off, then you four follow; I'll bring up the rear."

-----------

Jadia took another of her frequent glances behind, concerned for her parents. As she turned her head, her line of sight swept over something that shouldn't have been there.

"Kurt!" she cried in alarm, turning to face the new threat approaching from the jungle on their left. Kurt started a little in surprise, and moved to stand by her side. The two grim faced men made no indication of annoyance that they had lost the element of surprise; they were professionals, and took it for granted that conditions could change rapidly.

Seeing that their targets were little more than children, they might have been forgiven for thinking that the combat would be both easy and short; in fact, it was neither. Kurt and Jadia were highly skilled, and were more highly trained than many soldiers who might count themselves as professionals; all they lacked was experience.

The first attacker brought his sword down in a sweeping arc aimed at Kurt's head, that would have ended the fight then and there if not blocked; nevertheless, it was a feint - the real blow came from the dagger in his left hand. It was a manoeuvre he'd used successfully on many occasions, and was deadly against an unsuspecting opponent.

Kurt easily blocked the first blow, and in his inexperience, thought he'd done well. Almost too late, he sensed his danger; his sword arm was raised high, exposing his right side to the blow from the dagger. There was no time to disengage his sword to block the blow. Almost instinctively, his training took over. He allowed his left knee to bend, dropping to a crouch as he extended his right leg out stiffly and pivoted about full circle. His right leg connected with the back of his opponents ankles, bringing him crashing to the ground. Kurt stepped back, holding his sword ready for the next engagement. He warily watched with newfound respect, as his opponent quickly sprang to his feet.

Jadia's opponent leaped toward her in an amazingly swift flurry of thrusts and strikes. Both were astonished, as she blocked each blow, seemingly without effort. The man disengaged, and took a step back.

He grinned evilly. "I'm going to have such fun with you, little girl," he taunted.

Jadia said nothing. All the things her teachers had told her were starting to come back to her. "Always stay calm," Sasha had instructed her. "If you can keep your head while your opponent loses theirs, then - well, you'll keep your head."

She breathed deeply as Kwon had taught her, letting the fear and nervousness leave her body. She was vaguely aware of another group of men rushing by, and Ulf's berserker roar as he engaged them, but she felt no need to fear on his behalf.

Now thoroughly calm, she waited for her antagonist to make his next move.

-----------

Ikos watched closely as his men attacked, patiently awaiting the time when it would be safe for him to act. His first two soldiers had failed to kill the young warriors outright, but were nevertheless keeping them occupied; that was sufficient.

The second group had gotten by them easily enough, and attacked the giant. One of them was almost instantly incinerated in a fireball when he ran headlong into the huge shield the man wore, but he was the last to fall in that way - the others learned from his fatal mistake, and carefully avoided the shield from that point on. Again, it was by no means certain that his men would defeat the berserker, but they were succeeding in keeping him distracted; and again, it was enough.

It was time to act. Ikos crept out from the jungle. Swiftly and stealthily, he began to make his approach towards the two preoccupied magesses.

-----------

Jadia's sword rang again and again, as it connected with that of her opponent. Thrust, parry, riposte; back and forth they fought, neither penetrating the other's defence. The man was frowning now, his confidence waning as each attack was stopped almost as soon as it had begun.

Annoyance turned to panic, as Jadia suddenly turned his most recent attack aside, leaving him wide open to her counterstrike with no time to recover. In that instant, he expected to die.

Jadia hesitated. She saw the opportunity she'd created, and knew it could only result in the man's death. She'd always trained hard for combat, but she'd viewed it as nothing more than a game; now she was faced with it in earnest, and suddenly realised what it meant to take a life. Abruptly, she understood how her parents and the Ronin had always managed to stand between her and the grimmer aspects of the lives they lead; even here, Sasha had tried to keep her and Kurt out of the battle, to spare them from just such a moment as this.

She saw the man before her, fearfully awaiting that final strike; and she realised she couldn't do it.

The man saw her freeze. He understood the emotions that played over her face, and assumed a gleeful expression. "You can't do it, can you, little girl! You're mine, now!"

-----------

Moonshadow and Leandra both concentrated their total beings into the task they had to perform, oblivious to the events around them. The counter spell was almost complete, the energy pulsing faster and faster through the linkage, draining from the clone, and restoring Flynn's strength. This was the critical point; a failure now could destroy both Flynn and the clone.

Flynn watched fearfully as Jadia and Kurt were attacked, unable to do anything to help; the white aura held him a prisoner as much as it did the clone. He glanced back at Moonshadow and caught his breath in surprise - Ikos rose up behind her, seemingly from nowhere, sword sweeping back for a strike that would cut her in two.

"Madaya!" he cried, struggling uselessly at the magical bonds that pinned him in place.

Hearing his anguished cry, Jadia glanced over her shoulder. Seizing that moment of distraction, her opponent lunged forward. Jadia's head snapped back to the front, sensing her danger; she stepped inside his strike, and planted her knee in his groin. The man collapsed with an anguished groan.

In a continuation of the same fluid motion, she whirled to face Ikos. Her eyes once more glowed silver; a spear of ice flew from her hand, driven by the force of her turn.

Ikos suddenly choked, and stared without comprehension at the point of the icy spike that protruded from his chest. He coughed, blood trickling from his mouth; his sword fell from his hands, and he collapsed to the ground.

Jadia froze where she stood, unable to cope with the shock of what she'd just done.

As Ikos fell, Moonshadow completed the spell. The clone quietly faded from sight, and the white aura vanished. With a quick motion, she hurled Tavara's Journal high into the air.

"Burn it!" she cried. Startled, Leandra swept an arm back, and convulsively snapped it forward, casting a fireball at the book; it erupted in flame, burned to ashes in a fraction of a second.

The energies imprisoning Flynn vanished in the same instant as the clone. He snatched up the Ruby Fang and dashed forward. Not waiting to cover the whole distance, he swept the sword up and back, over his head, and snapped it forward. It flew ahead of him, spinning end over end, and buried itself to the hilt in the chest of Jadia's opponent - who'd been about to strike her down from behind.

Jadia half came to her senses, staring dazedly about. She barely registered Kurt finally find an opening, and club his adversary unconscious with the hilt of his sword. She stared uncomprehendingly down at the dead man behind her, whose leather armour was beginning to smoulder where the Ruby Fang penetrated it. She slowly faced forward again, seeing her father walking towards her; past his shoulder, she saw another body lying on the ground - with an icy javelin in its back.

She began to scream hysterically.

-----------

Aiakos saw the journal erupt in flame, and knew immediately that he and his men had failed. Without hope of recovering the book, there was no point in continuing this battle. He raised his horn to his lips, and blew three short notes; his men, well trained, began to fall back. He was pleased to note that the enemy didn't press their advantage; they seemed as relieved as he was that this short conflict was to end.

As the last of his men left the field, he turned to face the distant woman in black. He raised his sword in salute to a worthy opponent; he was mildly surprised to see her return the gesture. Smiling slightly to himself, he wheeled about and disappeared into the trees.

-----------

As Moonshadow's awareness returned, she realised Ulf was having a degree of trouble battling a trio of warriors. She casually waved a hand at one of them, and he was suddenly struck down by a shower of icicles. Ulf had little difficulty coping with the two that remained.

She gazed about, taking in the nearby carnage. She located Flynn some distance away, holding Jadia tightly. She hurried over to them, and realised their daughter was sobbing. Flynn looked up as she approached, and held an arm out to her. She joined their embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Jadia," Flynn said gently. "Death is one of the darker parts of our lives; a part we'd always hoped we could protect you from."

"It's not your fault," she responded, growing calmer in the security of her parent's arms. "You and the others tried so hard to spare us from this. I put myself in this position; I could never blame you for it."

Moonshadow kissed her forehead. "It's over now. Let's go home."

"Reality is so much better than illusion," Flynn thought to himself, as they joined the others in walking towards the zeppelin.

-----------

"We were warned that this place was unusual," Aiakos commented to Arctus, after informing him of their failure. "People here are far more likely to be active in protecting their country, family and friends than anywhere else we've discovered; it's called the Hero Factor, and Cythera's rating is off the scale. By fate or design, Joran must have chosen one of the very people we were instructed to avoid - a local hero of some type."

"Yes. By fate or design; that is the question we must now examine. Do you realise the implications of what you've just said? It may very well be possible that, rather than being a secret society, we are in fact well known; and it is our adversaries that have managed to keep us entirely ignorant of their very existence!"

Aiakos struggled hard to conceal a brief moment of panic. "That's a rather tenuous line of reasoning, don't you think?"

"Tenuous? It's positively ephemeral! But without Joran to present to our superiors, to take full blame for the disaster here, who do you think they will choose to punish?"

Aiakos thought hard for a few moments, but there was no way around Arctus' reasoning. "I see your point. At least this way, we can give them something else to worry about; and since they've never suspected the existence of any such organisation opposing us, they can't very well punish us for not anticipating this!"

"Precisely, Aiakos. Now, let us make haste; your erstwhile opponents will doubtless return before morning, with reinforcements, and I have no desire to face them."

"Agreed; I've faced them once - and that's enough for a lifetime."

-----------

Morning saw Joran a good distance away, high up in the northern mountains. He halted, for the first time since leaving the encampment. By this time, he was reasonably certain he wasn't being pursued.

He paused a moment to gaze around at the spectacular view. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, splashing the early morning clouds with multiple hues of red and orange. "Looks like there's a storm brewing," he thought to himself. "I'm really going to miss this place."

He lowered his pack to the ground, rummaged around inside it and withdrew two items. They were solid and blocky in appearance, and the materials were unlike anything seen in Cythera. Some surfaces were matte and dull, others glossy, and there were a few small coloured buttons or knobs, positioned conveniently about their surfaces.

Joran held one device in his left hand, and bared his right wrist. He grimaced in distaste at the sight of the dark tattoo. holding the tip of the device close to the mark, he pressed a button and passed it back and forth several times; with each pass the tattoo faded a little more, until it was completely gone.

He returned the device to his pack, and picked up the second. This device was a small, black rectangular box. On the top face was a stylised logo of a red dragon, holding a crescent moon. The only other visible features were a pair of buttons on one side. Joran touched the dragon, which glowed briefly, then held the device up to his mouth and pressed a button.

"Agent Joran, 1527593, reporting mission accomplished. Require urgent evac; home on this beacon." he released the button, and pressed the second. The device beeped reassuringly a few times; Joran sighed in satisfaction, and sat down to wait.

-----------

Epilogue

Talm hesitantly entered the crowded meeting hall in the castle. He had only the vaguest idea what this meeting was about, but he knew that many of the most legendary people of these times were attending - and that made it big!.

He stood by the door for several minutes, staring around the crowd, looking for familiar faces. There were Slayer and Avatara, deep in discussion at the front of the room. Rogan and Talos were present, as well as Rogar and Lindor. The Scribe was seated off to one side, listening intently as Horgan enthusiastically told another of his tales of valour. Ferazel was his usual relaxed self, half asleep in his chair. Katerei was staring at him in barely contained annoyance; Talm chuckled to himself as he saw her poking Ferazel sharply in the ribs.

Brink was busily chatting to Sideline in the front row, probably discussing how the trade routes to the outer islands were working out. Katze was seated a few rows further back, next to the seven Ronin and Moonshadow; surprisingly, Kurt and Jadia were also present, although they seemed rather more subdued than normal. Wolmark glanced toward the back, and noticed Talm standing by the door. He waved him over to join them.

"Hi Talm, glad you could make it!" Wolmark greeted him, as he sat down.

"I came as soon as I got the word," Talm replied. "I was in the Coastal Empire at the time. What's this all about, anyway?"

Wolmark shrugged. "I'm not completely sure, although I think some events we were involved in a couple of days ago might come into it. But it looks like Slayer's ready to start, so I guess we'll all find out soon enough." They fell silent as Slayer took the stage.

"Greetings, and welcome to you all," Slayer began. "I suppose many of you are wondering what's going on, and why you've been called here. Well, you won't have to wait much longer. About a week ago, Alaric summoned several of us to a council, the purpose of which was to try and solve a series of puzzling events that have occurred over the last few months. Those events came to a head, when Flynn was abducted on his way to the conference." He paused, and pointed in Flynn's direction. "As you can see, that situation has been resolved. Sideline had apparently been watching the group responsible for some time, so he'll take over here and detail his findings." With that, Slayer yielded the floor, and Sideline took his place on stage.

"Thank you, Slayer. My curiosity was first piqued when I noticed a large influx of strangers to Cademia. My investigation showed no overt connection between any of them, yet they were all alike in that they seemed to have no visible means of support. I grew more concerned as a week went by, and their numbers grew.

"It was about that time that I became aware of reports of what seemed to be a new group of bandits that were operating in the area; I concluded it was worth investigating, to see if there was any connection. With Brink's assistance, I arranged a little trap. We sent out a rich caravan, hoping it would be ambushed. When it was, we in turn sprang our own ambush, and succeeded in capturing several of the criminals. It was then that we discovered that they each bore an identifying mark on their wrists: a tattoo of a crescent moon, bisected by a sword. We secretly returned our captives to the castle here at Cademia, hoping Berossus could get more information out of them; but they refused to speak.

"Fearing my involvement may have become known to the group, I decided to conceal my return. I spent several weeks watching and identifying members of this secret order. On one such occasion, the criminal I was watching took far too great an interest in Katze and the Ronin children; that I couldn't allow, so I intervened. It was then that I found out about Flynn's disappearance. Katze and I both agreed it was highly likely that this group was involved somehow, especially after she disovered that almost all of them had departed from Cademia.

"To cut a long story short, we mounted a rescue attempt that night, and the group's plans were thwarted; but when we returned in force the next day, they'd vanished. Coincidentally, all the strange activities that Slayer mentioned seem to have ceased at the same time, although too short a time has elapsed to be absolutely sure of that."

Sideline paused a moment, letting the information sink in. "In short, keep alert for trouble; we have no idea what to expect." He returned to his seat, amid a rising murmur of voices. Slayer resumed the stand.

"Thank you, Sideline. That about sums it up, everyone. Thank you all for coming, and please keep your eyes peeled; but otherwise, the reason for this gathering appears to have vanished along with this cult, or whatever it is. If any of you sees any sign of this group, don't hesitate to report it."

Slayer sat down next to Sideline, and the meeting began to break up.

"That was a wise idea, leaving out all mention of the clone and Tavara's journal," Slayer muttered in Sideline's ear. "It probably wouldn't matter, since the journal was destroyed, but the thought of a group like that getting its hands on that sort of power could cause a bit of a panic."

Sideline nodded in agreement. "I saw no need to bring that up; time enough to discuss it if that group ever comes back."

Slayer quirked an eyebrow. "Comes back? They still have to be around here somewhere; where else could they have gone?" He stood up and went to speak to someone else.

Sideline absently watched his departing back. "Where else indeed?" he mused. He abruptly shook his head, and left the building.

-----------

In the shadows across from the castle, two obscure figures stood speaking quietly to one another.

"So, the Blade have finally revealed themselves here. It was lucky that they moved before they were truly ready," the younger man said.

"Luck had nothing to do with it," the elder replied. "We had an agent on the inside, who managed to derail their plans. Fortunately, Joran escaped."

"Yes that is fortunate. But that leaves us without an agent in that cell; if they move again..."

"Do not concern yourself; there is another."

"That's a relief! But regardless, the Blade are now known here, although not by name. Is it time we revealed ourselves, too?"

"Not yet; these people aren't ready to learn about our conflict with the Blade; how the Blade and the Dragon are secretly fighting over their control of world after world. However, there is one man here that might be of use to us..." Their eyes turned to follow, as Sideline walked by. The two men exchanged a quick glance, then stealthily began to track Sideline to his home.

[url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/newsdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=52&forum=*Cythera+Chronicles&DaysPrune=25&article=000065&startpoint="]http://www.AmbrosiaS...065&startpoint=[/url]<< [url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/newsdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=52&forum=*Cythera+Chronicles&DaysPrune=25&article=000071&startpoint="]http://www.AmbrosiaS...071&startpoint=[/url]<

[This message has been edited by Slayer (edited 09-11-2002).]

As usual, outstanding work from both of you. Parts of this chronicle really took me back in time. I hope we can continue to count on you for these extraordinary tales.

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Slayer's guide to Cythera:
[url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/cythera.htm"]http://www.macclassi...era/cythera.htm[/url]

There's sadly little to say, other than 'Very Good Work'. Unless you wan't me to fill it out with artsy babble...

I guess we're just a mutual admiration society.

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That Lightning is out of rockets now, we can take it out easy!
(Famous Last Words #804)
     
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