THE BOOK OF KROKANO

Like a vengeful hammer, we smashed into Dahkra'kai, a valley turned to
black ash, then frozen into lakes of rotting ice. The Soulless known as
Crazen the Greedy had taken to ground there. Crazen was a hideous mass
of gelatinous ooze that constantly formed and reformed into gross
caricatures of all that he had devoured. Now, this misshapen monstrosity
was spread throughout the underground caverns of Dahkra'kai and the
Golden Circle was here to flush him out.

"Krokano!" Morgfyre barked at me as soon as we arrived, "you and
Terentia block the exit to the south. Hajamin and Orlachmar, you're with
me!"

With a thunderous warcry, we saluted each other with our shields and
then split apart. We were the Golden Ones, the elite cadre of the Second
Circle, and we feared nothing! Channeling domothean energies, Terentia
and I pounded the blackened ground beneath as we flew towards the
southern end of the valley. The ground roiled and churned, spitting
forth plumes of debris and smoke.

Tis a shameful thing to admit, but I gloried in this war. I was Krokano,
of the Golden Circle, and war agreed with me! This was the battle the
Second Circle was meant to fight. Not punishing mad half-formeds or
vanquishing rudderless consciousnesses that manifested in the Void, but
true combat, where the stakes were high and the outcome far from
certain. I wondered if the others felt as I did. Though we never spoke
of it plainly, I saw the lust for battle growing in Morgfyre's eyes
day-by-day. And, of course, there was Orlachmar. Ah, Orlachmar! What a
cipher he was. The only one who ever benefited from Fain's Elixer.
Sometimes I wished it were me who received its miraculous properties.
Orlachmar was so much more stronger and faster than before, deadlier in
every way. But, then again, sometimes I'd look into his eyes and see
something that made me grateful it wasn't me.

Setting up nodes of energy interlaced deep within the earth, we let our
powers surge through the caverns below. Eventually, we struck Crazen and
throughout the valley columns of his mottled flesh erupted from ground,
spewing forth gouts of black smoke.

Dark clouds roiled across Dahkra'kai, as the air vibrated with
concussive blasts. I lost track of Terentia as the battle raged on.
Crazen was eventually driven further and further to the surface. At some
point, I found myself on the ground raising a shield against a rain of
black soil that burned with ebon flames.

"Krokano!" screamed a feminine voice. "Watch out behind you, Krokano!"

Just in time, I ducked as a mottled globule of flesh hurtled past me. I
turned towards the voice that warned me and saw Thalrinda of the Fourth
Circle sprawled on the ground. Was Thalrinda here to offer help in some
manner? I knew we were working with other circles to develop weapons
against the Soulless. And I had heard her name recently.

"What are you doing here?" I shouted, running over to her.

"Help me, please!" she begged.

It looked as though a fallen rock had her pinned down, trapping her foot
beneath its weight. I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her waist,
as she reached up to encircle her arms around my neck. Her flesh felt
clammy and cold, and she screamed in pain when I tried to pull her up.

"Krokano," Thalrinda said softly, her skin glistened with sweat. "Listen
to me!"

What did she want? I leaned in to hear, and Thalrinda pressed her
forehead against mine. That's when I noticed her trapped foot had become
strangely elongated from my efforts to pull her out of the rubble.
That's when I remembered where I had heard her name recently--in a list
of casualties, one of those consumed by Crazen.

I roared and tried to fling Thalrinda from me, but her arms locked
around my neck, becoming a loop of flesh that tightened around me like a
noose. Her mouth pressed up against my face as she leaned forward, her
lips scraping against my eyelids. Her tongue split in two and plunged
into my eye sockets.

The form of Thalrinda was all but gone, melted away like wax, revealing
itself to be a the tip of one of Crazen's huge tendrils. I screamed in
pain and rage, as the tendril sprouted hundreds of flailing filaments
which wrapped around me, sawing into my flesh. The mouth had distended
into a circular maw, which grew rows and rows of razor teeth that gnawed
into my cheeks and forehead. But it was the forked tongue, now hardened
into two jagged protuberances, drilling into my eye sockets, that was
more than I could bear. By Dynara! I felt my lifeforce being sucked from
me.

The pain and horror of what was happening lent me strength. With a roar,
I ripped my left arm free from the entangling filaments and was able to
reach a dagger strapped to my thigh. I drew it forth and hacked into the
tendril, letting loose a stream of domothean energies. Hundreds of
mouths hidden beneath the earth screeched with Crazen's pain, as the
tendril holding me flailed into the air, with me attached to its tip.

As Crazen shook me to and fro above the smoking battle, Terentia spotted
me and came to my rescue. Her strong arms gripped me as she tried to rip
me free. It seemed to last forever. Terentia pulled me higher into the
sky, stretching Crazen's ghastly limb beneath us. Eventually, I heard
the shouts of Morgfyre, Hajamin and Orlachmar booming in the distance,
and when they arrived Crazen finally, reluctantly, released me into
Terentia's arms.

"Krokano!" Terentia shouted, a strange panic in her voice. "Can you hear
me?"

"I can hear you, but get this thing off my face!" I yelled, reaching up
to grab the vile remains that covered my head.

"Please, Krokano!" Terentia said, pulling my hands away from my face.
She suddenly held me tight and whispered, "There's nothing on your
face."

"Then why can't I see!"

When Terentia didn't answer, I knew what that meant. Blind. I was blind.

"Let me get you to the Hamadhi and healing grounds," she finally said,
not quite able to check the pity in her voice.

I said nothing more. I felt the wind rush against me, as Terentia
hurtled me towards an ethereal portal. When we entered the ethereal
realm, I heard gasps from others who saw us. What must I look like?
Several asked how I was, and Terentia only ever replied, "He lives."

The gentle voices of the Hamadhi surrounded me, as they laid me down on
a healing mound. Cool fragrances enveloped me, and the singing of
healing crystals rose up around me. Pain receded as I sank down into the
mossy bed. I felt a hand gently touch my cheek.

"Krokano?" said a dulcet voice, "I am Lantra, a Hamadhi. Do you
understand?"

"I understand," I said, then added somewhat lamely, "I cannot see."

"I know," Lantra said gently. "Our physical forms are made manifest from
our spiritual selves. Our bodies are reflections of the truth within."

"As above, so below," I said, rotely repeating one of the oft said
precepts of the Third Circle.

"Yes," she said, then paused as her hand gently stroked my hand.
"Krokano, your spirit has been cruelly hacked away and consumed by one
of the Soulless. Thank Dynara that it wasn't much, but . . ."

"My eyes cannot be reformed," I numbly finished for her. "My blindness
is permanent."

"I would not say permanent. No, I would never give up hope. Let me get
Eventru. We are constantly finding new ways to heal some of these
dreadful wounds inflicted by the Soulless. Know hope, Krokano."

Hope? I was blind. I could not even see darkness as one might imagine. I
was surrounded by nothingness. Crazen even ate the memories of sight, as
I could not even dredge forth the memories of what a sunset looked like.
Colours? Patterns? Shapes? All gone.

Not able to help myself, I reached up to feel my face, half of which had
been chewed off. There was nothing left but a churned up mass of flesh.
Lantra was gone for less than an hour, but it was enough time to slip
deeper into the hollowness of despair. When she came back, there were
two others with her. I could hear that at least.

"I am Eventru," said a soft masculine voice. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, Eventru of the First Circle."

"Good. Good," he said. "I oversee the Hamadhi and brought with me
Malmydia. She has been refining new techniques to help those who have
wounds such as yours. She believes she can help you."

"You can give me back my sight?" I asked, hope daring to flicker within
me.

"I believe I could restore something," said a brisk female voice. "I
believe the spiritual matter that makes us up, our own subtle
immanidivinus forms, the etherea of our spirits, can be softened,
reformed and reshaped."

"You can make me new eyes?" I tried to sit up but strong hands held me
down.

"This is a new procedure," said Eventru. "Malmydia has not ... there
have been no real successes. And there are risks, grave risks. You could
end up worse than you are now."

"I will take any risk!" I shouted.

"And I am sure I could make this work!" Malmydia said tartly. "He is the
perfect subject, his essence was just partially devoured and the wound
is very localized."

"I understand," said Eventru quietly, "but I do not want a repeat of the
Fininkora debacle. If your techniques cannot help in this case, where
conditions are perfect, they will never work. Fail here and I will have
no choice but to shut down these experiments."

"My techniques must work!" she said. "My theories are sound!"

"Am I understood?" said Eventru, steel creeping into his voice.

"Understood, First," said Malmydia. "But I will not fail."

Apparently, Malmydia had her healing mounds in a separate, isolated
vale. I was moved there immediately. Once I was situated, Eventru
departed to leave me in the care of Malmydia and Lantra. The place
seemed eerily silent.

"How many other patients do you have?" I asked.

"At present, you are the only one," said Malmydia.

"If you are having second thoughts, it is not to late to turn back"
Lantra whispered into my ear. Was that a quiver in her voice?

"I am ready!" I said. "I want my sight back, whatever it takes."

As Lantra stepped back, I felt thick, ropy vines sprout up from around
the healing mound and wrap around me. I began to struggle, memories of
Crazen's grip welling up in my mind.

"Stop that!" snapped Malmydia. "Do you want your sight restored or not?"

"Are restraints necessary?" asked Lantra.

"They are."

Malmydia's strong, long fingers roughly pulled my head back, then began
prodding the sides of my face. Her sharp jabs worked their way across
the bridge of my nose and then circled around to my forehead. She paused
briefly, then plunged her fingers into the pulpy mass of where my eyes
used to be. I screamed and tried to jerk away but her fingers were
unrelenting.

"Malmydia!" said Lantra. "You're hurting him! We must block the pain!"

"I think not," said Malmydia. "It is better that he feel what is
happening so I can get a measure of his etheric bodies."

"It is not right to cause him to suffer so much!. At least let me blunt
the pain."

"It is up to the patient," said Malmydia. "Well, Krokano? My techniques
would work best if you could feel everything that is done to you.
However, if you are not strong enough to handle a little pain, we can
block it. Certainly, I always imagined the Second Circle to have the
courage to withstand this sort of thing, but the decision is yours. Tell
us what you want."

Was that a challenge in her voice? I swear there was. You don't question
a warrior's strength or courage! Was she baiting me? But, no, no, she
was a healer, a devoted Hamadhi, dedicated to our care.

"I'll feel the pain," I said through clenched teeth.

"Very well," said Malmydia. Was her voice mocking?

Malmydia again jabbed into the ruined flesh of my face, and pain again
stabbed into me like a burning scythe. This time, however, I bore it and
made no sound. I swallowed my cries and held myself rigidly.

"There," said Malmydia, patting my cheek. "You see, Lantra? He will be
fine."

I was anything but fine. I wanted to tell Lantra to take away the pain,
but I stubbornly refused to give in. Loud chimes sounded in the
distance, and I recognized their mournful tones as alerts that wounded
were being brought in.

"I can take it from here, Lantra," said Malmydia. "Go see to the newly
wounded."

"You don't need me?" said Lantra. "I thought I'd assist you, learn your
techniques."

"I'll record it on a learning crystal. We are short handed as it is,
please, go to them. Besides, I work best alone. You know that."

"Are you sure?"

"Certainly."

I didn't want Lantra to leave but I held my tongue. I didn't want to be
alone with Malmydia. But I said nothing and Lantra left to see to the
newly arrived wounded. After several moments, I felt energies surge
around us.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Oh, a dampening field."

Dampening field? Those were used for private meetings to block out sight
and sound. Why was one needed now? I began to get very nervous. I heard
her gather metal implements, and the telltale scrape of blades being
sharpening filled the air. The vines that strapped me to the healing
mound grew long thorns, which injected me with viscous agents that made
my thoughts sluggish and leached away my strength.

Humming to herself, Malmydia traced a long finger over my wounds. She
painfully pulled off torn strips of flesh. Then, she began using her
instruments. They poked and prodded into my wounds, then probed deeper
and deeper into my flesh. The pain became abominable, and I began to
squirm under her hands. The power in the instruments flared with
energies that turned from frigid cold to blazing hot. I swear at one
point she shoved her entire fist into my skull, grabbing ahold of my
spirit and stretching it out. I finally could take no more and screamed.
I begged her to stop, over and over and over, I pleaded. Each time,
she'd pat my hand and say, "There, there. We're almost done."

But Malmydia was far from done. It went on and on. I struggled. I wept.
I raged and entreated. I tried to summon the reserves to free myself,
but my strength was sapped away by the fluids being pumped into me.
Several times I began to lose consciousness, which would have been a
mercy, but she would pause and summon energies that brought me back to
vivid awareness.

I don't know when it ended. I was still screaming long after Malmydia
stopped touching me with her instruments and cruel hands. It was over,
and I lay nearly senseless, my head throbbing and raw. She wrapped
strips of oily bandages tightly around my head and then encased that in
a thick plaster cast that weighted me down so I was barely able to move.
I felt defeated and violated, all dignity stripped away from me.

And I was still blind. Too exhausted to weep, I finally, thankfully,
sank into unconsciousness, though my sleep was haunted by Malmydia's
voice murmuring, "There, there. We're almost done."

I'm not sure how long I lay there. When I finally came to, Malmydia
perfunctorily said I'd be laid up for at least a week. Now that the
operation was finished, she seemed to lose interest in me. She would
check up on me, and a few times I heard others talk over me. I remained
sedated, drifting in a fog with nothing but memories of pain to keep me
company. I couldn't help but hate Malmydia, and, aye, fear her too.
Whether my sight would ever return or not, what she did to me, the pain
she made me suffer, was beyond forgiveness. But, for now, I could do
nothing but try to recover.

One evening, the warning chimes sounded and woke me from another uneasy
slumber. Voices were angrily shouting at each other. I turned my head
towards the commotion and saw Clangorum and Gruenella, both of the
Second Circle and members of the cadre known as the Grey Furies,
carrying a form in their arms which they laid down on the healing mound
opposite me. Eventru, Malmydia and Fain followed behind them.

Wait a moment! I could see! My sight had returned! I almost cried out,
but then I saw what was in the arms of Clangorum and Gruenella, the husk
of one of their cadre members. I could tell by the crimson glyphs on the
breast plate that it could only be Thax, a warrior I had always
respected for his ferocity and loyalty. That was about all that was
recognizable. His arms and legs were ripped off, and his head was but a
smoking stump. I had seen such horrific wounds before and knew it to be
the work of Zenos.

As she spun healing crystals over Thax's remains, I finally saw what
Malmydia looked like. She was unremarkable, slight and thin, plain with
her red hair pulled back in a sharp bun. She wore an emerald shift and a
white smock. I expected cruelty to flood out of her eyes, but they were
a simple, pale green, large and watery. Were these the eyes of a
torturer? I began to doubt my memories.

"Fain, can anything be done?" asked Gruenella, a strapping female of the
Second Circle, her hair in two long braids which were clamped at the end
with long spikes. I had seen her in battle before, and she could be
quite savage with her molten broadsword.

"Everything that can be done will be done, Gruen," said Fain, gently
using her nickname. He looked more haggard than I had ever seen him,
with dark circles under his eyes that contrasted sharply with his pale
skin.

"We must brace ourselves for the worst," said Eventru. "I've never seen
one with such wounds survive."

"But Malmydia could save him!" said Fain. "I've heard the reports on her
techniques."

Eventru and Fain leaned together and whispered, while Malmydia ushered
the distraught Gruenella and Clangorum away. When she returned, Eventru
sighed and nodded to Fain.

"There's nothing to lose by trying," said Eventru. "Malmydia, see what
you can do for Thax. Do not get your hopes up, Fain. Malmydia's
techniques are still mostly untested."

When Eventru departed, Fain stayed back with Malmydia. Fain glanced at
me, then immediately dismissed me. I must have looked pathetic trussed
up and encased in plaster. After being satisfied that they were alone,
Fain leaned towards Malmydia.

"Thax must be saved," he said with a low intensity.

"Is he one of ..." she started to ask, but then stopped as Fain's hand
shot out and gripped her arm so tightly that his knuckles went white.

"It is enough for you to know that I want Thax to live."

"I may need ... you know what I need."

"I'll get what you need. Do what you have to do, but do not fail me."
Still gripping Malmydia's arm, Fain stared into her eyes until she
lowered her gaze and nodded. With a last look at Thax, Fain nodded and
strode away. For several moments, Malmydia stood still, then suddenly
shuddered and shook herself. Her lips thinned as she let her gaze wander
over the remains of Thax.

Over the rest of the day, Malmydia labored and worked over the malleable
form of Thax, until he was a stretched and misshapen thing. Fain checked
on her progress and handed her a small package when he thought no one
was looking. She then continued to work on Thax late into the dark of
night, injecting something into his twisted flesh that infused it with
an eerie green glow that slowly faded away. The more Malmydia labored,
the more agitated she would become.

The process was repeated three nights in a row. I could tell that
Malmydia was trying to reform Thax's body but no matter what she would
do, it would collapse back into a puddle. She finally lost control,
cursing and clawing at her hair until it was ripped free of its tight
bun and hung in wavering tendrils. Her eyes were wild and shone with
malevolence, her teeth bared in a snarl. So what hid beneath her facade?
Now, I could believe her cruelty to me was real. But who would believe
me?

After composing herself and reigning in her emotions, Malmydia smoothed
her hair back into a bun. She then pursed her lips and strummed a finger
against her cheek. She walked several times around Thax, nodding to
herself. She left and soon came back with Clangorum in tow. When
Clangorum saw what was left of Thax, he became very still.

"Merciful Dynara," he said. "There's nothing left of him. Poor Thax."

"I've stabilized his immanidivinus etherea. He lives," said Malmydia.

"You call this living?"

"I need something to hold his essence," she said. "His form won't hold
shape, it refuses to solidify a skeleton. I need a shell of some sort to
act as an exoskeleton. That's why I need you."

"Me? I'm no healer! I make weapons and armour," Clangorum paused and his
eyes widened. "You want armour, don't you? You're going to pour him into
a suit of armour!"

"Yes, it'd serve as the exoskeleton. But the material must be strong,
must be extraordinary. I was thinking of zingavium steel."

"Zingavium steel! You don't ask for much, do you! That's the rarest of
all metals, rarely found in the depths of the Void."

"I know what it is! Do you have enough?"

"She asks me if I have enough?" hissed Clangorum and paced back and
forth. "I have a helmet, several swords and hammers, a few shields."

"Is it enough to create the armour?"

"Only if I use almost all we have!"

"Is it worth the life of Thax?"

"Aye," said Clangorum softly. "It's worth his life. Of course, it is.
He's of my cadre, one of the Grey Furies. He's saved my life more times
than you know."

After Clangorum left, Fain met with Malmydia that evening, demanding to
know Thax's condition. She told him her plans and he left, looking
pleased.

The next morning, Clangorum arrived looking exhausted but triumphant. He
carried with him a magnificent suit of armour. It was smooth and sleek,
gleaming black and drinking in the light. Made of pure zingavium steel,
what warrior wouldn't desire such a thing. It absorbed energy blasts,
converting it into power that could be redirected. A zingavium sword was
the finest of weapons, a shield the ultimate defense. An entire suit of
armour? Unthinkable.

Word must have spread of Malmydia's unorthodox treatment, for Eventru
and several of the Third Circle Hamadhi arrived to help. They poured the
glistening form of Thax into the armour, padded it with a living foam,
apparently made by some Seventh Circle creator, and channeled domothean
energies into it. All the while, Clangorum darted around, adjusting the
armour as directed and needed.

Afterwards, Malmydia spent hours manipulating the essence that was Thax.
Checking and rechecking his condition, and then pulling and shaping him
throughout the armour's encasement. Did Thax feel her cruel touch the
same as I felt what she did to my eyes? Was he conscious at all? She
only worked on my eyes, but on Thax she worked on his entire being.

When Malmydia was finished, she stood back and stared at the immobile
armour. Everyone around her held their breath. Minutes turned to hours,
and still nothing happened.

"Move, Thax!" Malmydia finally shouted, hammering on his breastplate
with her fists.

The suit of armour shuddered, then fell still. Nothing more. I thought
Malmydia would lose control again but she held it in. Her fists were
clenched on top of Thax and her gaze burned hot as though trying to will
him to move.

"Sometimes we must let go," said Eventru softly, laying a hand on her
shoulder.

With a growl, Malmydia violently pushed Eventru away. Those who looked
into her eyes saw something that made them step back.

"He should be moving! Everything that was done should have worked!" she
shouted. She clenched her eyes shut, then snapped them open, turning on
Clangorum. "It's your fault! You did something wrong to the zingavium!"

"I used almost every bloody bit of zingavium I could find," shouted
Clangorum. "Everything was done to your specifications!"

"Malmydia!" said Eventru, grabbing her again and shaking her by the
shoulders. "Please! You've done your best! You MUST let go."

"I've failed," she said. "I can't fail."

Eventru let her go, and Malmydia seemed to deflate, stumbling against
the healing mound and kneeling before it, her head resting against its
mossy edge. She began to talk to herself, forgetting everyone around
her.

"His essence fills the armour," Malmydia muttered. "It holds his shape.
The immanidivinus etherea lives, it's been strengthened. I feel his
lifeforce but it just churns and churns within. He needs something more,
something to help him to control his new form."

"If Thax needs somesuch to help him move," said Clangorum, "my brother,
Agnomenon the Tinkerer, may be able to help. He is the master of
mechanisms and may be able to create some sort of inner works."

Malmydia stopped, at first furious to be interrupted, but then she
softened, looking thoughtful. She picked up one of the armour's arms,
bending the joints. She placed the arm back down and pulled herself to
her feet.

"Yes, yes," she said finally. "That could work. It could work!"

As the others left, Agnomenon was sent for. Arriving not soon after,
Agnomenon waddled in with Clangorum at his side. I had always thought
Clangorum was small, certainly he had the smallest stature of any of the
Second Circle, but next to his brother Clangorum looked positively tall.
Agnomenon wore several belts and shoulder straps, each festooned with
holsters that held strange looking tools and instruments. Where
Clangorum had a full bristling beard, Agnomenon's face with smooth and
round, cheeks glowing a ruddy red. His look of amazement grew and grew
as he examined Thax.

"I can make him moveable, alright," Agnomenon said, his voice high
pitched and nervous. "I could make this armour walk around or dance a
jig, but something needs to control the movements. Are you sure he is
... can he think? Does he have a mind?"

"Yes, of course he can," said Malmydia. "I've felt his ... I've felt his
emotions. I know there's a consciousness there."

What was she going to say? I knew in my bones that she was going to say
that she felt his pain. Damn her! Thax was feeling everything she did
and she knew it! But I lay silent and said not a word. I think I was all
but forgotten.

All day and all night, Agnomenon, Clangorum and Malmydia worked on
Thax's armour. She would shift his essence out of the way where
Agnomenon would add gears and pistons and counterweights. They had to
work quickly. As Clangorum was the only one able to manipulate
zingavium, he had to create openings and patch them up hurriedly. The
once sleek and smooth armour was soon deformed by ugly misshaped joints
and valves that poked out in unlikely spots. Agnomenon even created a
mechanical box which he said could be used to make sounds for Thax's
voice. It was placed inside the armour's throat guard, which had to be
beaten out and distended.

When they were finally finished, they each looked exhausted and drawn.
Tools were scattered around the healing mound, along with bits and
scraps of metal. Indeed, a metallic tang hung in the air which smelled
more like a forge than a healing vale. Malmydia was at Thax's side,
willing him to move.

Briefly, Thax's head shifted back and forth, and the voicebox emitted a
hoarse wheeze. They were momentarily excited but that moment faded as
Thax exhibited no other movement. They waited and waited, but he did
nothing more.

"That's it," said Malmydia finally, slumping down. "Nothing more can be
done. I've failed."

After awhile Clangorum and Agnomenon left, leaving Malmydia to continue
to stand there, staring at the motionless form of Thax. As evening fell,
four figures emerged from the darkness. Fain, Morgfyre, Gheasia and
Raezon. They surrounded Malmydia and Fain raised a dampening field
around them, cutting off sight and sound. At least, I thought that's
what he was raising. I saw the air flicker and distort around them. But
I could see through it. I saw through Fain's powerful magics! What had
Malmydia done to me? Did she even know?

"Failure is not an option," said Fain. "If Thax could die, that means
any of us could die. It is up to you to make sure our forms are
invincible."

I wasn't hearing Fain's voice. I was seeing it. Whatever Malmydia had
done to me, it must have been more than even she had bargained for. I
cold not only see through the dampening field but I could see words
eddying in the air as they left Fain's lips, their meaning vibrating.

"There's nothing more that can be done," said Malmydia.

"We could give him more serum," suggested Raezon.

"I've given him more serum than of us!" she replied. "His immanidivinus
etherea is already overwhelmed with excoroperditio essence from the
serum."

"Nonsense," said Morgfyre. "We can handle as much as we can get. I've
had more than all of you combined, and I only get stronger and
stronger!"

"We haven't authorized any more serum to you than anyone else," said
Gheasia.

"Bah, I just take it directly in pure form."

"What?" asked Raezon, peering at Morgfyre intently. "You've been
drinking essence of the Soulless directly?"

"What was it like?" asked Gheasia, her voice wistful. "Did it quench the
hunger? Were there side effects?"

"You never told me, you fool!" hissed Fain.

"What does it matter," said Morgfyre. "I'm still here, aren't I? Nothing
went wrong. And it's not like any of us are innocent of giving in to the
hunger. It's not like we don't know that Gheasia and Raezon don't take
more serum on the side. Don't think I haven't seen how the supplies of
serum mysterious dwindle."

"How would you know!" said Raezon. "Only Fain knows who all of us there
are! How do you know they weren't given to others at Fain's commands!"

""Would you like us to take an accounting!!" said Morgfyre, then laughed
when Raezon and Gheasia glanced nervously at each other. "Ha! I thought
not. And what about you, Malmydia? We all know what you did to
Fininkora!"

"I had to excise her damaged essence!" said Malmydia hotly. "Why should
I let it go to waste."

"Ah, so eating one of our own isn't worse than what I did! And what
about Krokano over there? How much have you eaten of him!"

"Hardly anything! Barely a few scraps of his essence. Anyway, that's
different than consuming essence of the Soulless directly!"

Did I hear right? Malmydia ate parts of me? I recalled her peeling away
strips of flesh from my face and who knows what else as she dug into me.
What did she do with those parts of me? I began to feel sick all over.

"Silence!" shouted Fain. "I know what the hunger can do to us! Don't
think I don't know. Perhaps we've all slipped on occasion. But we must
have order! From now on, I will be taking a closer look at what each of
you do. And I will audit the supplies of the elixir. And I will broke no
disobedience! Am I understood?"

"Yes, Fain," said Morgfyre, saluting him with a fist to their breast.
The others followed suit.

"Now, what about Thax," said Fain. "If more serum won't revive him, what
will?"

"His essence is too compromised," said Malmydia. "Too much of him was
lost."

"Then the answer is simple," said Gheasia. "He needs to be infused with
more essence of an immanidivinus etherea nature."

"But that would mean," Malmydia paused, realization dawning. "Of course,
yes, that may work. But where would we get it."

"What about him?" said Fain, gesturing at me. Though I wanted to jump up
and run away, I stilled my muscles, not daring to move.

"No," said Malmydia. "He's my last chance to prove to Eventru that my
treatments work. If Krokano emerges damaged, Eventru will shut down my
vale. Unless you can overrule him?"

"Not yet," said Fain. "This is Eventru's territory. So that means it has
to come from one of us. Morgfyre, you've admitted to glutting yourself
on essence. Surely you have some to spare."

"What?" Morgfyre stepped back but Fain followed him with cold eyes.
"Fine! I'll give of myself. This once. For the cause."

Leading Morgfyre to an empty healing mound, Malmydia had him lie down.
Gheasia and Raezon hovering eagerly behind her. Fain stood at Morgfyre's
head, his hands on his shoulders. Exposing Morgfyre's right arm,
Malmydia slowly opened his flesh with a glowing scalpel. Morgfyre hissed
in pain. Then I saw Malmydia's eyes sparkle with malevolence as she
purposefully slowed down to draw out his essence. Morgfyre was no fool.
His other hand shot forth and gripped Malmydia's throat.

"Get on with it, damn you," he hissed.

With a glance at Fain, Malmydia nodded. As soon as Morgfyre let go of
her, she viciously ripped out his essence. He screamed in agony, and
would have struck her if Fain didn't hold him back. She had drawn forth
probably more of Morgfyre's essence than she meant to. It twisted in the
air, a glittering ribbon of golden light that was striated with green
streaks. As Morgfyre lay gasping on the mound, the others stared at his
essence hungrily. Eventually, Malmydia rolled it into globe and strode
back towards where Thax lay.

"Is it enough?" asked Gheasia, following behind her with Raezon.

"It better be," growled Morgfyre, as Fain helped him stand up. "She
won't get any more from me."

Malmydia sniffed and said nothing. She carefully began feeding the
essence into Thax, gently at first, but then his whole body arced
upward, and the essence was sucked into him in an instant. Malmydia and
the others jumped back.

Thax began thrashing violently on the healing mound, arms and legs
pounding it into rubble. From his neck, Thax's voicebox began groaning,
a high pitched whine that began rising in intensity. The eye slit on the
zingavium visor glowed a bloody red. The armour seemed to stretch and
blur, long spikes growing on the shoulders and around the wrists and
angles. The valves on the armour hissed as it released violent jets of
steam.

After what seemed an eternity, Thax finally calmed down. He slowly stood
up, a monstrous creation. Every slight movement he made seemed to
screech with pain as the metal gears within him ground together. When he
was finally upright, he lifted his open hand before his faceplate and
slowly closed it into a fist.

"I am Thax!" he roared, his artificial voice weirdly echoing in all
directions as gouts of steam were released from his neck valves. "I
live! I LIVE!"

Fain shouted in triumph, pounding Malmydia on the back. Though she tried
to lure Thax into another healing mound, he was having none of it. He
clanked off away from Malmydia's vale, the others trailing behind him.

So what had I witnessed? It took me some time to absorb it all. Fain had
gone against the will of the Gathering. Gheasia and Raezon continued to
make their elixir and they were giving it to ... who? Those chosen by
Fain. I had to tell someone, but who could I trust. Morgfyre was one of
them, and he was a member of my own cadre, one of the Golden Circle. If
I couldn't trust my own cadre, who could I trust?

Early the next morning, Eventru arrived with Malmydia and Lantra. Though
they didn't mention Thax, their somber mood told all. Malmydia looked
triumphant. Lantra and Eventru looked slightly ill at ease. They
approached my healing mound.

"There's no doubt what you did to Thax was remarkable," said Eventru.
"But, blessed Dynara, I'm not sure what he is any more. Your techniques
are genius, obviously, but I am troubled."

"I admit, Thax's case was extreme," said Malmydia. "But look at how much
essence he had lost! If I could save a case as extreme as that, think
what I could do for others."

"Indeed, we'll see now," said Eventru. "Krokano, if you can hear me,
we're going to remove your bandages."

As they surrounded me, I held my tongue and didn't tell them that I
could see better than anyone could dream possible, my vision piercing
not only physical impediments but even powerful magics. Malmydia and
Lantra stood on either side of me and slowly broke apart the plaster
cast and pulled away the bandages. As the last of it fell away, Lantra
gasped. What horrors were reflected on my face?

Eventru summoned a mirror and I looked at my reflection. I no longer had
two eyes but one, a giant eye that stood in the center of my forehead.
And it was beautiful, surrounded by thick lashes, the iris was flecked
gold surrounding a velvety violet pupil. Around my new eye, my skin was
unblemished, not a scar, not any evidence of Crazen's ravishment of my
face nor Malmydia's cruelty. It was perfect.

"How do you feel, Krokano?" asked Malmydia, her eyes daring me to say
anything.

"I can see," I said, meeting her gaze. "I can see quite clearly now."

Oh, I wanted to scream at her, to accuse her, to bash her smug face in.
But who to trust? Was Lantra or Eventru a part of this and putting on an
act? Would confronting her simply put Fain on guard? It would be simple
enough to deny everything and hide the evidence.

After I was examined, and Eventru and Lantra were heaping praise and
congratulations on Malmydia, I got up and left. There was one whom I
felt sure was uncompromised. Meridian had steadfastly opposed Fain's
plan. He must be told.

We were betrayed.