Loras Plight *on going story line*

[Devin Ashley]

As Lora awakes she feels her cold and clammy skin shivering in the night air. She pulls the blankets tightly around her and tries to shake the image in her head from her dream. I'ts coming more often now...and she is beginning to fear they are more than just a dream. As she closes her eyes to try to get some rest she can almost here the sultry voice of the man from her dream. She tries to concentrate to see his face....but it covered by the hood of a shrowd.....but he seems familiar. Frustrated and unable to get back to sleep she decides to check on her pets before returning to bed.

The night air was warm, and the stable had the comforting musty smell that Lora had grown so familiar with. As she approached her Ra, her favorite pet, he began to act strange. He reared his mighty head and spread his wings menacingly at her approach. Lora quickly spoke a few soft words to him and began looking around for what startled him so. After not finding the cause...Lora began to really worry. Ra was always sensitive to enherant danger, and she knew her pet to well to ignore his actions. The last time he behaved like that Jou'nor had taken over Trisnic. The thick mist covering the ground outside the stable seemed to have rushed up like the rising tides. She knew something was wrong and began to run for the house. After only a few steps she froze. I't was him. His face still concealed by the shrowd....she could hear the voice in her head. Suddenly she felt like she was falling....but wasn't. She was approaching the portal he conjured....but couldn't feel her legs moving. Falling....Falling....

Lora sat up with sweat dripping from her brow. That was the most intence dream she had ever had. The dream has been haunting her for the last month now. The lack of sleep is also starting to take effect. As she pats her brow dry, she feels sick again. Great, she says to herself. It seems the dream is so disturbing now she gets ill almost every morning she awakes. As she dresses for the day...she realizes something and begins to cry. This cant be....but she knows its true. As she attempts to fasten her pants...she knows its true. her stomach is now a little larger, and she has had odd cravings. She choses a larger dress to conceal it. She cant let him find out.....not yet. How is she to tell him. She begins to cry harder and her body is racked with sobs. She knew she shouldn't have drank that much, let alone stay the night with him. It's been awkward around him since it happened and now she's not even sure what to say to him. He's been so distracted with the impending trial in front of the other Preatorians. A larger dress, yes this will do...

As she admires her dress in the looking glass in her bedroom, making sure her small belly doens't show, her mind wanders to the man in her dreams. She cant stop thinking of him. That voice...so drawn to it. And the aura of power...she feels so drawn...falling...she snaps her up and realizes she was daydreaming again. She straitens her dress, and begins to think of names.

[Strider]

Awoken from a deep sleep by a great feeling of despair fro someone in the Empire, Strider flies with great haste.

The night air is cold.. blowing hard and fast. Strider moves quickly, pushing his steed forward, faster.. closer.. nearer to Wind. great urgency rushing him towards the City of Magic.

Approaching the gate to Wind, he walks around the teleporter, avoiding the entrance used by most mages. Placing a hand upon the stone wall before him, he vanishes.

A small half-elven woman, clothed in the gold and blue of Wind, sits watching the Council entrance.... he has come...

"Danellosi wise friend." she speaks softly.. wondering what has brought him here so fast.

"Arkaana.. it has been so long.. but sadly no time for pleasentries. The Empire is in need of Charl's incantations. They dont know it yet, but much is happening... much that will harm many." Strider spoke quickly, and with drive.

"Strider.. you know those incantations are sealed. We can not afford to let the undead decipher them. No matter how rare an undead with the power to break those works may be, we can not risk it, you know that, you yourself imposed those laws."

"I know... but I must urge you as Lady Chancellor to release them to me," strider sighed deeply, knowing how grave this was, and what it could mean for Wind. "I did not wish to reveal it now.. but.. Arkaana. The Empire is infested."

Arkaana froze. She knew well what he spoke of. An infestation would have many consequences.. and a group such as the Honor Empire could not afford an infestation, especially not one that had Strider on his guard. She sighed.. she knew what must be done.

"Charl's incantations will remain sealed. However, if this infestation is so urgent that you wish to revoke council law, then we must take a much more powerful action."

Strider sighed a sigh of relief... he had hoped to later lead her to this conclusion, but she had matured greatly as Lady Chancellor of Wind, and he knew she would allow him to procede.

"Then I will open the rift Arkaana. You do understand the consequences? Our studies of necromancy will be harder to do.. This working will lock the dark arts out of Wind."

She smiled warmly once more. "Strider, you have known me since I was but a young child, and have seen all the horrors I have.. this infestation must be stopped. Focus the pure energy contained within the walls and foundation of Wind into any object you see fit. As you know, be sure that the one who shall wield its powers is not mortal, nor immortal... they must be "the one"... otherwise it will fail, and so will the power of Wind."

Strider nodded and bowed his head, relocating himself to a tower, high upon the mountains of Wind, outside the city but hidden from all but himself and the Council of Wind. Placing his hands upon a glowing gem in the tower, and removing a vial and pulsing heart from his regeant bag, he held them together and tapped the gem.

A blast of energy erupted for a moment.. washing the tower and mountains in a white glow. As it faded Strider himself erupted in blue auric flames, channeling his own energy and that of the gem into the heart he held it above his head.

He placed the vial in a small crevice in the gem, so it stood upright.

Blue and white energy twisted together, circling the heart and filling it. As the heart was filled it grew, glowing brighter and brighter... until it shone as a beacon in the abyss.

Small drops of gold, silver, blue and white fell from the heart and into the vial, coalescing into a glowing white liquid.

The glow faded, the tower vanished. And so did Strider.

Within his possesion now was the life blood of Wind.

Soon it wouldbe used to hold back a tide of undeath...

All that remained.. find the source of this evil that he could feel throbbing in the depths of his mind, and remove it.

Soon.. one would come into the world to aid this mission..

Now to find this one.

[Chris]

a shadow on the night wind

unseen

unheard

untouched

but by those who would understand its plight at the dawn

[Strider]

It was not the first time this had happened, and Strider was not surprised it happened now. Just as he had some answers.. just as he found a path. The realm of Chaos was a dangerous place.. but it did not matter; if this new path led him there then he had to follow.

"Well, here I am... hmm.. strange.. a sanctuary within this realm is very rare. Something is not right. "

With that space and time folded around him, something only those like him could do.. well.. there were others.. others who knew that art.

With that thought it happened, the sanctuary vanished, and in its place an altar.. and before that altar stood the most vile of beings, a Chaos Lord.

A demon of no actual permenant shape, no true form. Simply pure chaos swelling within the confines of what barely passed for a body.

Ssssooo... therr iss sstill one Sstrriderr left.. *the being grinned evilly* That makess the game interressting indeed. The infesstation of thiss sso called Honor Empire will be morr intrriguing then beforr.

"You will fail demon. The ways of your kind will not disrupt the balance and longer. The end is coming. You well know that I do not wield this end.. but soon, soon beast of the Enemy, it will come. For I have seen it!"

Strider held forth the vial containing the power of Wind, and the demon recoiled.. pushed back by the light. Hissing in pain it vanished.. only to return... but not alone..

Twelve demon lords charged him, the vial in his hand melded with his crescent blade, it now wrapped in white, and gold flames, with lightning encircling Striders body.

Slash after slash, he fought them.. until only one was left standing.. the Chaos Lord.

It isss now sssen why you arr the lasst of yourr kind... you arr he whom hass been fortold.. You are your Massterrss chossen. Well.. that iss no matterr... you will fall.. NOW!

With that the beast flew forward, dark blade wrapped in red flame, and black clouds raised over his head.

But Strider stood there.

The demons fury was being unleashed, chaos set forth.

But Strider stood there.

The blade that was raised began to fall, with incredible speed, crashing quickly unto...

Strider was.... gone.

In his place a white light. Growing.. pulsing... pusling and growing. The demon tried to evade it, but that was impossible. No longer were they within the realm of Chaos.

Somehow, by some miracle.. they were now in a place of pure light.. the realm of Balance had been entered.

The demon could not exist within this place. And so as the light grew to encompass the vile being.. he exploded in a fury of dark nothingness... never again to see existence.

"Thank you master", spoke Striders voice. "I see now what power the chosen to come shal wield.. the demon lord.. and vampires.. and all who desire to infest those who uphold Honor, will have much to deal with in the coming days.. much indeed."

With that.. Strider was gone again.. within his own realm, preparing.. waiting.. soon.. the one would come.. and he would guide that one.