No wonder they're usually so good.

/smartass on
Gwar.

I demand more Elder Wars history.

I demand satisfaction.

Gwar.
/smartass off

Are they coming?? I really can't wait for a new one.

The screams of the dying fae filled the air, causing the Maeve
Consciousness to roar in fury and to channel ethereal power towards the
latest attack on the Serynwodenhillirim. I could sense the energies of
Spirit Moon and the White Hart buttressing the Maeve's protective shield
that surrounded the plants and animals of the forest.

"No, Elfie," said my sister Lisaera, holding my arm. I had not even
realized I had begun striding towards the ethereal fold of the
Serynwodenhillirim. Heated words bubbled up from my bosom but died in my
throat as I looked into Lisaera's eyes and saw the pain and fear
reflected there. Both of us had been the principals in awakening Spirit
Moon, one of the greatest Sixth Circle accomplishments we did together.
If anyone knew how I felt, it was Lisaera.

On my other side, Charune laid one of his enormous hands on my shoulder.
His eyes too reflected anxiety. White Hart had manifested from the group
consciousness of Charune's own Seventh Circle creations, and White Hart,
along with Spirit Moon, was also tied as a spiritual protector of the
Serynwodenhillirim.

"We need to see if the defences of the Maeve and the Greater Spirits can
protect the forest without us," said Charune softly. "We must see how
long they can hold."

I nodded numbly, understanding that we needed to test how strong the
forests were when anchored to the Maeve Consciousness and buttressed by
the Great Spirits. This was the third attack this week. I looked around
at those of us gathered here, mostly those of the Sixth and Seventh
Circle, along with Aslarn, who was intently monitoring the Maeve
Consciousness as her personality solidified into the collective
consciousness of the fae.

Viravain suddenly cried out in pain, and I saw her and Nocht clutching
each other. The attack must have spread to Glorianalefehlora. Next to
them, Tae bellowed in anger and pain, but was held back by a very
distraught Bollikin. So another attack on Ackeleheliorna. I realized
that the entire Basin of Life was under attack. This was troubling as
the Basin, which covered over a third of First World, was not only
protected geographically by strong mountain ranges but further defended
by the greatest magics woven by all the Circles. Even beyond that, the
Basin was in the shadow of Mount Dynara, upon which stood the House of
Xyl, and which held the pulse of the First World itself.

As the battle on the prime material plane continued, the experiments of
Manteekan of the Sixth was let loose. Manteekan was a member of our own
circle who had recently taken to awakening lesser spirits, and then
molding them specifically to battle the Soulless. Many of us were
troubled by his awakenings, for they were dark and twisted things. The
Maeve Collective resisted assimilating them but they did seem to help
repel the Soulless attacks. I felt a wave of these creations, the
banshee, grimalkin, redcaps, and bogies swarm throughout the
Serynwodenhillirim. The tall thin figure of Manteekan, dressed in
flowing white robes that matched his bone white hair, paced around the
Maeve, yelling at her to use more of the barghest, hodekin, spriggans,
slaugh and squonks. The Maeve shuddered but eventually did as ordered. I
couldn't help wondering if after this war -- if there was an after -- we
would need to put Manteekan's dark creations down. Surely they were too
unstable to exist outside of war.

The Maeve continued to rage, pulling energies from other forests across
Lusternia, sending them to buttress the battling greater and lesser
spirits. The attack finally ebbed, and we all breathed a sigh of relief,
knowing that the Soulless must have finally been repelled. Aslarn
released us to aid the forests. He was stoic and strong, though we could
not help but wonder how much he hurt within. His favored jungle, Jojoba,
was outside the Basin and was subject to countless attacks. I wondered
how long Jojoba could last. Spirit Sun, one of the guardian spirits of
Jojoba, remained in stasis, and the other guardian spirit, Great Lion,
was still in mourning for the recent loss of his creator, Liliori of the
Seventh Circle. Aslarn spent much of his time personally overseeing
Jojoba.

As I hurried to offer aid to Spirit Moon, I was surprised that Lisaera
wasn't at my side. For weeks now, Lisaera had become more and more
remote. I knew something was bothering her greatly, but I couldn't
understand why she wasn't confiding in me. Perhaps it was the oppressive
atmosphere that weighed on all of us. At least, the atmosphere burdened
me. Still, she should be there to help me channel domothean energies
through Spirit Moon.

When I returned to the Fields of the Maeve, the others reported that,
though the attack was focused on the Basin of Life, the forests held up
remarkably well. As we each reported, Aslarn nodded and smiled, though
his tired eyes told another story.

"Good. Good," said Aslarn. "Such be what we wanted of the forests. And
how be faring the Maeve?"

"The Maeve is forming extremely well," said Bollikin shakily. "We
couldn't have asked for a better result. None of us could foresee the
consequences of the fae spirits forming a collective, but the conscious
is individuating remarkably fast. The more she handles the attacks on
the forests, the stronger she gets in uniting the fae and channeling the
guardian spirits, though I daresay the personality she's forming tends
to be a bit domineering and regal."

"Manteekan," Aslarn turned to the tall thin Sixth, "your new awakenings
do be seeming to be able to withstand more of the Soulless attacks than
many of the other fae. Do you be pleased?"

"Aye," said Manteekan, rubbing his long needlelike fingers together.
"They resist as well as I expected. They are still young though, these
spirits, and I expect them to become stronger and more deadly as they
mature."

I shuddered at that. I barely recognized Manteekan these days, he seemed
more emaciated than I had remembered. Though he was always pale, it
seemed as though he was fading to an almost translucent white. And those
awakenings of his! I could not imagine where he even began to find the
raw spiritual energies that formed them.

"It's well enough that the forest defences held," I said. "But this was
an attack across all the Basin. How bad must it be on the prime?"

Fairly bad, as it turned out. Eventually, wounded began arriving to be
treated by the hamadhi at the healing mounds. Igaso of the Second Circle
reported to Aslarn that several Seconds had fallen during this last
attack.

Before we could finish mourning the latest casualties, Maeve's furious
roar began again, and I nearly succumbed to despair. The Soulless never
tired, and we became weaker and weaker. But the cycle of attacks
continued and went on and on. The hamadhi began to fall in exhaustion as
the wounded Seconds kept coming in, with terrible injuries to their
bodies and souls. The days began blurring around me, and I kept worrying
about Lisaera who continued to disappear for longer and longer periods
of time. But I never found the chance to confront her as the daily chaos
kept sweeping everything else to the back of my mind. Though the
guardian spirits and the Maeve Consciousness greatly protected the
forests, we found we had to help them more and more. Those of us in the
Fields of the Maeve were so often overwhelmed, that despair hung in the
air as a continually palatable presence.

Thus, I was so focused on our own problems in the fields that I wasn't
quite aware when the tide of war began to turn in our favor. The attacks
must have gradually lessened over time, but I think we were all too
isolated to notice. I guess it was when Blooredi created a new species
which formed a collective greater spirit that it began to dawn on me
that we were suddenly winning battles, or at least not losing so badly.

I was never very close to Blooredi, and I rarely saw him in the Fields
of the Maeve. After all, none of his animal creations had ever before
formed a great spirit, which is the apex of achievement for those of the
Seventh Circle. I had just assumed he was supporting the Second Circle
in the main fight, as many of the other circles were. However, one day
when there was a lull in the attacks, Blooredi burst into the glade with
an almost manic expression of triumph on his face.

"I did it!" he shouted, thumping his chest. "You all thought I couldn't
do it! But I did! A great spirit has manifested from my newest
creation!"

There was immediate applause from the Seventh Circle members, from Tae
slapping Blooredi on the back to Viravain and Nocht oohing and ahhing to
Bollikin dancing in a circle and clapping his hands. The rest of us
couldn't help but smile. I never realized how ugly Blooredi was. Was his
complexion always covered in a mottled piebald pattern? Certainly, he
was ganglier and larger than I recalled. But his joy at manifesting a
great spirit made his homely countenance suddenly cheerful.

"Well, introduce your spirit to us!" exclaimed Bollikin.

"Where did she go?" Blooredi growled, then spun around and grabbed
something that was hiding behind a tree. "Ah, here she is! My greatest
creation! Spirit Scorpion!"

Before us stood a hunched figure wrapped in a dark cloak with a hood
pulled over her face. Irritated, Blooredi grabbed the back of the hood
and pulled it down so we could see the face of Spirit Scorpion. Did I
mention that Blooredi was not exactly attractive? Well, compared to this
Spirit Scorpion, he was gorgeous. The spirit was painfully thin and her
body was tortuously twisted. Her scaly skin was so wrinkled, that it
hung in puckered folds like melted wax. Completely bald, she had a
misshapen forehead, a lipless mouth and hooded red eyes. There was a
stunned silence as we stared at her. She trembled under our gaze.

"Oi! She's an ugly one," blurted Tae undiplomatically.

"What on earth is a scorpion?" asked Bollikin quickly.

"While you have been cozy here in the ethereal," said Blooredi, casting
a contemptuous glare at Tae, "some of us have been battling the
Soulless. I personally created the scorpions to battle the Soulless
themselves."

Blooredi snapped his fingers several times, and a pair of menacing
creatures appeared before him. They came up to his waist and had long
armoured, multi-legged bodies. Two enormous, razor edged claws jutted
out but these were eclipsed by a huge armored tail, the end of which
held a stinger that dripped poison. There was a collective gasp from all
of us.

"Beautiful, aren't they," said Blooredi proudly, interpreting our
collective repugnance as a compliment. "They produce a variety of
poisons, some of which have been useful against the Soulless. They've
been sent out already to help buttress the Second Circle. And now, with
a Great Spirit, you can guess how much more useful they'll be!"

"Amazing," whispered Bollikin, ignoring the scorpions and approaching
their collective consciousness, Spirit Scorpion, who was now trembling
terribly. "Are you alright, dear one? Be not afraid. We are all your
friends here."

"I do not wish to fight," she rasped, her voice barely audible.

"What's this?" shouted Blooredi. "Of course, you'll fight! I created you
to fight!"

"I do not wish to fight," she repeated, drawing her cloak tighter around
her.

"You will do as I say," seethed Blooredi, his face purpling in rage. "I
created you, and if I say you will fight, you will damn well fight."

Spirit Scorpion backed away from Blooredi, which only infuriated him
more. I think we were all shocked when he reached out to grab her, and
she ducked out of his grasp and did a backflip away from him. Feeble she
may look, but she was certainly fast. She drew up her hood and raced
away.

"Come back here, damn you!" screamed Blooredi, rage warring with
embarrassment.

"Bloo," whispered Bollikin soothingly. "She is newly formed, a child
herself. Give her time to get to know you."

"How dare she defy me!" growled Blooredi. "None of your great spirits
defy you!"

"We don't force them to do anything they don't want," said Viravain
softly.

"But they obey you!" Blooredi said. "I have seen all of you throw it in
my face often enough."

"That's not fair, Bloo," said Bollikin. "We are only happy to see you
have created a Great Spirit. If our spirits obey us at all, it is only
because they love us."

"Bah!" said Blooredi, turning to stare where Spirit Scorpion had
disappeared to. "She'll do as I say or she will pay."

With that, Blooredi stomped off to find Spirit Scorpion. We broke apart
into smaller groups, discussing these new creatures that Blooredi had
created, who were strong enough in spirit to form a collective
consciousness. Bollikin kept shaking his head and pacing next to Tae and
Charune, and I wandered over to hear what they were saying.

"I just do not understand," Bollikin said. "He's never created anything
remotely as powerful as those scorpions. Did you feel their lifeforce?"

"Not as strong as my bears," said Tae defensively.

"Maybe not," said Charune, "but even Viravain who is a master of
creating venomous creatures could not create anything that would affect
the Soulless, at least not in such a short time."

"And the intelligence in that Great Spirit Scorpion!" said Bollikin. "I
don't think I've ever sensed anything quite like it."

"She was smart enough to run away from Bloo anyway," said Tae bluntly.

No one could argue with that, and I drifted away from the conversation.
As the days went on, that's when it became clear that we were actually
winning the war. Reports of enormous successes by certain Second Circle
cadres filtered down to us. The Third Circle were coming up with
ingenious new ways to use domotheon energies as weapons. The hamadhi
were suddenly making great advances in healing what used to be
debilitating afflictions. And, even though Great Spirit Scorpion was a
reluctant participant, Blooredi was able to use her to produce deadly
toxins that could coat the weapons of the Second Circle. And we couldn't
forget the success of the Manteekan's strange awakenings. Such a change
in fortune was almost too good to be true.

And, of course, it was too good to be true.

Lisaera finally spoke to me.

"You must come with me," she said to me one day as I was enjoying a
small respite from the battles.

Lisaera did not appear well, her eyes were hooded and she looked
haggard. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she shushed me and
beckoned me to follow her. Alarmed, I held my tongue and let her take me
out of the ethereal plane. We traveled through several elemental planes,
and Lisaera would occasionally stop and send her senses out, looking to
see if we were being followed, before continuing. I lost track of how
many elemental folds we passed in and out of, but then we started rising
higher into the cosmic vibrations.

Lisaera had never indicated any interest in the cosmic planes, which
left me even more anxious why we were here. Just before our final jump,
Lisaera stopped and turned to me, holding onto my hands tightly in hers.

"Elfie," she said, "when was the last time you met with Fain? Has he
approached you recently?"

"Your beloved Fain?" I asked, confused. "I have not seen him in some
time, Lisaera. Surely you don't suspect he and I ..."

"No, no!" Lisaera said, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Not that, no."

Looking deeper into my eyes, Lisaera nodded to herself and drew me
forward. Her hands trembled but her eyes glowed with determination. She
made a final fold into the cosmic planes, and we arrived at our
destination.

I later learned the name of this creche was called the Continuum. It was
one of the dead planes, called so because Dynara's creations there had
risen up to become Elders and abandoned their creche. I suppose there
was a beauty to the sharp symmetric angles and smooth reflective
surfaces, but I found it to be a cold and hard place. Lisaera led me
down through the strange spiraling crystalline corridors, to finally
exit into a large room with an enormous crystal floating in the center.

And we were not alone.

Several other Elders were there, looking as though they had been using
this as a base of operations for some time. Meridian seemed to be in
charge, but others of the First Circle surrounded him, including Zvoltz,
Aslarn and Eventru. Roark and Xyl, both of the Fifth Circle, were
overseeing the enormous floating crystal. The rest were all of the
warrior caste. Three members of the Golden Ones, Krokano, Terentia and
Hajamin, were at Meridian's side. Also there was the entire Second
Circle cadre known as the Crimson Eyes, which included Kalikai, Igaso,
Ologri, Braun and Panamandius. The only one of the Crimson Eyes not
there was Oovanti, the brother-mate to Ologri, but then I recalled that
he was one of the earliest casualties in the war.

The Crimson Eyes sat around a crystalline table, with expressions
ranging from apprehensive to bored. They were notable because of their
sheer size and bulk. Kalikai was at the head of the table, and I had
forgotten how monstrously large she was, with dark reddish-brown skin
and a fiery head of red hair that was chopped haphazardly short and
stuck up at all angles. She was fairly sprawled across her chair, with
her feet hiked up on the table as she smoked a large black pipe. Amid
the pipe's acrid purple fumes was the stink of firemead, which she drank
from an enormous tankard. Firemead was brewed by Dracnoris and very few
could handle its intoxicating effects. I had to weave a quick protection
against those fumes before they made me ill.

"What is going on?" I asked, a terrible premonition making me shudder.
Meridian walked over to me and then looked towards Lisaera who nodded at
him.

"There is something you must know," said Meridian. "For some time now,
Fain has been secretly carrying on with his project to create an elixir
from the essence of the Soulless."

"Are you sure?"

"Krokano brought us some compelling proof and we have been watching him
and gathering evidence. Of course, we realised he was recruiting other
Elders so we needed to find a way to identify who were his followers. We
needed someone to enter his service undercover. Someone he could trust
completely."

"Lisaera!" I whispered, shocked. My sister looked away from me but
nodded.

"I wouldn't believe it was true when Meridian first approached me," said
Lisaera. "But then I noticed Fain was acting so secretive. Eventually I
pressed him to tell me what he was doing. At first, he told me he was
just doing research, simply studying the results of the elixir on
Orlachmar. But then he admitted he had been created more of the elixir."

"When was this?" I asked.

"Some time ago," said Lisaera. "But he has only recently trusted me
enough to offer for me to become an initiate into his mysteries. At
least that's what he calls it. I think initially he didn't want me to be
a part of it but, as time has gone on, his heart has grown harder."

"So now you are an initiate?"

"I will be soon. He will take me to a clandestine meeting with his
conspirators and it will be the first time I will be introduced to
them."

"It is critical we find out who follows Fain," said Meridian. "There
could be hundreds for all we know. We are sure that everyone here has
not been compromised, but Fain's elaborate precautions prevent us from
uncovering the rest."

"We should have stopped him sooner," growled Aslarn.

"We should have," agreed Eventru, who spread his hands and looked away.
"But some of us wanted to see if Fain's plan would work, what the
results would be."

"There were many sudden successes in the war," said Zvoltz defensively.
He was a member of the First Circle, with glittering, cold eyes, who had
initially supported Fain. "Surely you noticed! Battles were suddenly
being won. Those who showed little aptitude in their work suddenly made
great strides."

"Blooredi," I gasped.

"Yes, we suspect Blooredi" said Aslarn.

"It was worse than we feared ultimately," said Meridian. "Several day
ago, a war party went out to strike at a lesser Soulless One. When they
returned, several members were missing."

"I've been developing a means to track the movements of the Soulless,"
said Roark. "After this last battle, I went to the location to test my
theories to see if I could map the excoroperditio energy trails. But I
found nothing. I checked and double checked, and then alerted Meridian
and Zvoltz. Investigation revealed no signs of battle. But I did notice
some traces of an immanidivinus energy stamp that is unique only to
Oralchmar. But Orlachmar wasn't with the war party. Logically, then,
there were others who had similar properties, ergo, others who drank the
forbidden elixir."

"So what happened to the warriors who went missing?"

"We don't know," said Meridian. "They are gone and cannot be located so
we suspect foul play. Perhaps they were offered membership into Fain's
group and refused, perhaps they just wanted to...feed. We do not know. But
the fact that they are now starting to turn on the Elders proves that
matters are much, much worse than we thought."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked.

"Tomorrow when Fain gathers his followers, I will be there," said
Lisaera. "No matter what magic he uses to conceal the location of their
meeting, nothing can penetrate our innate bond as siblings. Through our
bond, you will be able to report what is happening and they would have
no way to track that."

"Are you sure, Lissie?" I asked, pulling her aside. "Is this something
you can do?"

"It is something I must do, Elfie."

"Then you are no longer in love with Fain?"

"Oh no," said Lisaera turning away. "I love him as much as I ever did."

We said nothing more.

After that, events moved quickly. Xyl placed a silver circlet upon my
head. The circlet was studded with charged gems and attuned to the
enormous crystal that rotated in the crystalline chamber. Through our
bond link, the crystal reflected everything Lisaera saw and heard.

Later that evening, from the safety of the dead crystal plane known as
the Continuum, we observed Lisaera in the ethereal fold helping the
Maeve Consciousness pull energy from the forests and direct their
healing powers to those fae in need. Lisaera was suddenly startled when
a cool hand came to rest on her shoulder. She jumped and turned, to see
Fain standing there, holding something shining in his hand.

"Fain, you surprised me!" she said.

"I'm sorry, beloved," he said. "But I brought you a gift."

Fain handed Lisaera a beautifully crafted mask. It as made of pale
porcelain inlaid with silver swirls. Rimmed with emeralds, holes were
cut out for the mouth and eyes. An enchantment was woven so thickly
around it that it was glowing.

"It's beautiful," said Lisaera, running her fingers over its surface and
tracing the magical enchantments. "What is it for?"

Fain smiled and fitted the mask over her face. Lisaera felt the
enchantment unfold, cloaking her in a field that wrapped around her.

"It is so others will not see who you are at the meeting," said Fain.
"And each member will likewise be wearing a mask so you will not see who
the others are."

"Don't you trust me?" asked Lisaera.

"Of course, beloved," said Fain. "But you must trust me too. I cannot be
seen to give you preferential treatment, especially as you are not
initiated yet."

"I understand," she replied.

"And, beloved, I would never ask you to do something that I would not
likewise do!"

With that Fain summoned forth a mask which materialised over his own
face. It was as red as blood and embellished with gold. The handsome
features of the mask were unmistakably exaggerations of Fain's own
features. While the other masks may have been able to hide the identity
of the others, there was no mistaking that this was Fain. When had he
become so vain?

"Alas," said Fain, "there is one more layer of necessity. The mask also
functions in reverse, so forgive me while I activate its polarity. You
will not be able to see or feel where we go."

"Is all this necessary, Fain?" asked Lisaera.

"Yes, beloved," he whispered, then waved a hand over the silver mask.

Back in the Continuum, the link between Lisarea and I faded so I could
only barely feel her emotions. Xyl cursed and the others leaned forward
as Xyl frantically made adjustments to the crystal, but the magic of the
mask could not be penetrated.

When the link finally reestablished, Lisaera had arrived at the secret
meeting place. Fain was lowering his hand, obviously having reversed the
mask's enchantment. The bizarre landscape surrounding them seemed to
undulate. Wavering tendrils sprouted up from the ground in odd clusters.
The air was thick with humidity, and the sky blazed with rainbow colours
that chased each other in swirling patterns. I had never seen the like
and from the reactions around me, no one else had either. As stark and
bare as the Continuum was, this place was riotous.

Lisaera and Fain were not the first to arrive. Three others were there
before them, each wearing their own mask. One had a mask of deep
midnight blue, the other the mask of a golden tiger, and the third a
startlingly grotesque orange mask with large tusks. Soon others began to
furtively arrive. After making obeissances to Fain, they formed a circle
around him. There were thirteen total, including Lisaera. Back at the
Continuum, there was a sigh of relief that there were so few followers.
Apparently, Fain's paranoia and caution prevented him from recruiting in
greater numbers.

Fain stood up and began to speak, holding his arms out before him as if
embracing everyone. I could feel Lisaera trying to figure out who all
the masked members were, but she could not break through the magic of
the masks, at least not without drawing attention to herself.

"My friends," said Fain. "Our great mission is to win this war against
the Soulless Ones! Whatever the cost. Whatever it takes. We must win.
Our one path to salvation is the Elixir, forbidden by others in their
ignorance, but that is a tragedy that must not be allowed! The Elixir
offers strength, and the more we drink, the stronger we become. Their
strength shall become our strength."

The others in the circle cheered. Fain held up a hand and they became
silent, leaning forward hungrily. Lisaera was frightened but determined,
and we both knew that mask was also a blessing insofar that it hid her
expressions of alarm.

"Now we must take the communion," said Fain. "We must shoulder the
burden that the others have forsaken. Our secret ally, come forward."

As Fain stepped back, the air rippled, and slowly a dark smear
solidified and formed into an emaciated shimmering being that shivered
uncontrollably. It was one of the Soulless, though only a minor one.
There were few of those left since the larger Soulless Ones consumed
most of these smaller entities, but apparently Fain had found one and
allied with it, keeping it hidden and protected not only from the
greater Soulless but also from the other Elder Gods.

Two blue masked members stepped forward and bowed to Fain, then
approached the Soulless creature with a heavy golden goblet between
them. The creature slowly extended an emaciated limb. Its skin was pale
and translucent, underneath which teamed thousands of smaller creatures,
like maggots feasting just beneath the flesh.

One of the blue masked members held the creature's arm and drew a black
dagger, pricking a vein. The other held the goblet underneath, funneling
the essence in its bowl. The Soulless whined but did not back away as
the greenish white ichor flowed out of the wound and into the goblet.
The blue masked members drew away, huddling over the goblet, adding
vials of fluids to mix with the pure essence of the Soulless, all the
while murmuring incantations.

"What is given shall be replaced," hissed the Soulless through
desiccated lips. "That was the pact!"

"And we honor the pact, Nemach," said Fain, then turned to Lisaera.
"Silver Mask, you are our newest member. It falls on you to honor our
pact with Nemach and prove your loyalty to our cause. Will you do it?"

"Yes," said Lisaera faintly.

Nemach began to scuttle towards Lisaera, but Fain stepped in front of
it, motioning it to hold back. Fain lent forward to Lisarea.

"Beloved, forgive me," he whispered to her. "But we each have done this
thing. You must give part of your essence to Nemach."

Oh, Lisaera! She bravely gave a curt nod and let the sleeve of her robe
be pulled up. Nemach scrabbled forward, extending an eager tendril to
wrap around Lisaera's arm. Out of the tendril grew hollow teeth that
punctured her flesh. I began to cry as I felt my sister's pain, sharp
and cruel, shuddering through her being. The Soulless greedily drank her
essence. I know I screamed for both of us as the bond sent nothing but
dark waves of red and black pain scorching through Xyl's observation
crystal.

Finally, Fain pulled away Nemach with a sharp command, "Enough!"

Lisaera was close to fainting, but held herself rigidly up and rolled
down her sleeve to conceal the wound I knew she would carry forever.

"Well done, beloved" Fain said to her, then nodded to the rest.

"We expand our members from 12 to 13," said Fain. "Soon we will grow to
even greater numbers. We have infiltrated several warrior cadres, and
all of the circles. Victory will be our price for saving the First
World. What price is victory? None is too great!"

Fain retrieved the golden goblet which now bubbled and sizzled with a
greenish fluid. The forbidden elixir. He raised the goblet up which
fitted perfectly into the mouth hole of his red mask. He then tilted his
head back and drank deeply from the goblet. As he pulled it away, his
lips could be seen through the hole, now blue-black and glistening,
slightly swollen. He passed the goblet to Lisaera.

Through the bond with Lisaera, I could smell the forbidden elixir, which
had a heady metallic scent. Something about it was intoxicating, and I
felt Lisaera's desire to consume it, especially after she had been so
weakened.

Don't do it, Lisaera! I wanted to scream and rush to her, but we still
had no idea where she was. She lifted the goblet to her lips and tilted
it back. Her throat worked as she gulped, and when she tilted the goblet
back down, her lips gleamed silvery-blue, pale and wet. She passed the
goblet to her left.

No one noticed. I breathed a slight of relief. It was an illusion--she
only pretended to drink the elixir and painted her lips with illusion.
The others may have detected such an obvious ruse if they were on the
lookout for it, but they were intent upon the goblet and its contents.

Back at the Continuum, Kalikai of the Second Circle suddenly swung her
feet off the table with a loud thud and stumbled to her feet. She had
been quaffing tankard after tankard of firemead, and her eyes were
bleary. She took another swig of firemead, and then clapped her hands.

"Okay, friends," she said, surprisingly not slurring her words. "I guess
this is why you brought me here, eh."

"You are intoxicated!" exclaimed Xyl.

"Oh, don't crack your crystals, Glassy. I'm here because the Goldilock
Brigade," she gestured at the Golden Ones, "don't have their strategist
handy. Where is old Morgpie, eh?"

Krokano, Terentia and Hajamin looked uneasily at each other. I wasn't
that familiar with the workings of the Second Circle cadres but
apparently they each had their leaders, or generals. Morgpie was
Kalikai's nickname for Morgfyre, and I suddenly recalled why Kalikai was
not very popular in certain circles. She had a nickname for everyone.

"We believe he may be compromised," said Terentia finally.

"And if Morgpie is at this masked ball," said Kalikai with a gesture to
the viewing crystal, "then chances are that the Fainiac is using him for
tactics and strategy, eh? And which cadre, besides the Goldilock
Brigade, has won the most strategic campaigns? Hmm, who could that be?"

"That would be your Crimson Eyes," said Meridian. "Enough, Kalikai. You
know why we brought you here. You are one of the most brilliant
strategists around. And if we are facing Morgfyre, we need someone to
figure out where they meet, what this place is."

"Ah, right you are," said Kalikai, pinching her nose, and then casually
stuffing her black pipe with more smell fouling herbs. "So I get the
honor of second guessing the Morgpie. Hmm! Well, what is that place?
Anyone seen its like before? No? Well, he's probably not chancing on
meeting in the space between the aethers, that'd be a nice way to run
into the Soulless. He wouldn't try the ethereal plane, and the elemental
planes are being routinely scoured as power sources thanks to brains
like Crystalcakes here, right?"

"Well," she went on, "that leaves us with the cosmic layers, like
Crystalcakes found with this lovely little creche. Let me guess. This was
your creche, right?"

Xyl's eyes blazed with fury, but he nodded.

"So logically Morgfyre would retreat to his own crche, right? Wrong!
That'd be just too easy. No offence, Crystalcakes, but if the Morgpie
was hunting you, he'd have found you by now. This would be one of the
first places he'd look. Obviously he wouldn't choose any crche with half
formeds, we all know how they blab to anyone who listens. So someone
else's empty creche? That's a bit risky too, as many are fond of using
them as retreats for meditation. But the cosmic layer is still the most
isolated, so where does that leave us?"

Kalikai took a long drag from her pipe and blew out the obnoxious smoke
in a long stream. She looked around with bloodshot eyes but we all just
stared back at her.

"No one? Alrighty! How about one of the unborn creches? They're never
used, are they? No half formeds live there, no one visits them out of
nostalgia. They'd be the perfect place to hide a Soulless and to conduct
secret meetings, no? How many unborn creches are there, Crystalcakes?"

"Logical," said Xyl grudgingly. "There are not many known ones, maybe a
dozen."

"Right then," Kalkai took drained her tankard of firemead in one gulp,
then tossed it over her shoulder. I realised that while her eyes were
blurry, and she slightly swayed back and forth, there was a building
intensity in her the more she drank, some sort of inner alchemy was
taking place, like gears getting greased and turning faster.

"The first step is for scouts. Whatever is left of the Goldilock Brigade
can help my Crimson Eyes with that. We need to search every known unborn
creche. Crystalcakes, we need that list! And mind you lot, this is a
scouting party! If you find them, make no contact with them! You come
report to me first!"

Igaso was right behind Kalikai, handing her yet another tankard of
firemead. Kalikai took a long pull on it and wiped the sizzling foam
from her lips. The fire within her was roiling now, we could all see
that. She grinned from ear to ear, showing teeth that glinted
dangerously.

"Now, let's crash Fain's little masked ball!" she bellowed.

EDIT: Typoes from the original corrected (honour, creche, materialised, etc.) Also Fain's line about "price for victory" makes no sense.

How long did it take to come up with those?

Also, I assume Patche counts as a grimalkin, but I'd be interested to see the squonks...

So Fainiac was undone because none of the Traitors bothered to trans Arts.

Omnitrans, ftw!

Patche?

Patchou, Moon Cat. Apparently Grimalkin are cat-fae-things.

The chapter was awesome.

There are still typos. I wonder... have people in the forests already started using the elder names to be cool yet?

So who can access this ig? I love that we see some backstory and before the ascension event too. Good to see Blooredi referred to so long after his original mention and Glom has extra nekotai rp potential if it chooses to use it.

Edit: I also think Lion's creator is mispelt, but I need to check that.

So...

Who else is instantly assuming that the Traitors are chilling in the Vortex?

A bunch of people from every org watched me read it, so it's not secret at all, and also Weeky should have a copy after not too long.

It's also in a Glom news post. Shouldn't be hard for Ishant to find!

Comparing it with Continuum like that, it basically has to be Vortex.

Made a post and gave a scroll to Narynth for the Library

I think I was the only Glom there

Edit:

Who here has ideas of what is a squonk?!!

It's the most awesome fae ever, no doubt.

Neat.

Poor Jojobo though

It's not. The strategy talk at the end suggests that the costume party is going on somewhere on Astral. I don't know why, but I'm thinking Libra for some reason.

Also, whoever posted for Glom, the end is cut off and my in-game self is pissed.

Maybe true though it seems like the divine don't think higher than cosmic here and help files imply that astral was different until kethuru was imprisoned there so they would be quite different to what we see. Also aren't all the creches on the cosmic layer, I haven't seen any mention of astral yet, it wasn't even a consideration from what I can see.

Unless Astral was created some point after that from 12 different cosmic planes being smooshed together into one higher vibration, they're not on Astral there.