As he lowered himself heavily into the hot bath that had been prepared for him,
Emperor Landantine VII, ruler of the known world, finally relaxed. After the
idea of other planes had presented itself to him, the emperor had begun his
research much as a child with a new toy. His enthusiasm proved contagious, and
before long even the staunchest doubters had pledged resources toward the
project. His logic was clear and concise, none could argue that. Landantine
knew from the histories that the great horror Kethuru had been banished, but
not killed. Other planes must exist beyond those which his people could reach,
and though one was used to hold the Great Bane, none could deny the possibility
that they could reach another of these great planes, thus furthering their own
knowledge and wisdom.

While Landantine was not fool enough to imagine entering the realm that housed
Kethuru, his scholars assured him that, given time for study, they could use
the traces of the Great Bane's power to open gateways to other realms. Their
goal, then, was clear. Kethuru's power would be found in the greatest
concentration at the place where his body had finally been defeated - the very
location where the Almighty Avechna had plunged his fists into the Bane's
massive body. Were they to find this place, they would have the power source
which they so desperately sought.

Such a task had proven much more difficult than any of them had originally
thought. No matter how great the toy or how fascinating to behold, even a
child must eventually resign failure should he prove unable to operate it.
Before this thought yet had time to weigh on the emperor's mind, he was
disturbed by a sharp rapping at his door.

Before Emperor Landantine had gathered his wits enough to order the intrusion
away, the door swung open to reveal the frantic-looking High Minister Draem,
chief of planar research for the great city of Celest. "My lord," he said,
acting again before the emperor had collected himself. "We've found it."

* * *
Raes awoke feeling fully refreshed. Outside she could hear the birds of the
sea as they dutifully proclaimed the sunrise to those who, like herself, had
not yet seen. The flaps of her tent fluttered lightly in the soft breeze,
allowing just a glimpse of the auburn glow from the half-risen sun. Already
she could see that it would be a good day in the swamp.

Raes rose and dressed herself, but her typical daily routine was cut short by
the noise of hoofbeats - not the clattering of horses upon the road that could
sometimes be discerned on the other side of the forest, but a sloshing,
splashing kind of sound from outside her tent. Rushing outside she saw, as she
expected, a small group of sea horses. Raes was surprised, though, to see
mounted upon those horses a contingent of regally-dressed merians. Though each
stately in his or her own right, none appeared as majestic as the great merian
who led the party. Raes was blinded momentarily by a glint of sunlight off of
the lead merians head. She felt as if a ball of iron suddenly materialized in
her stomach as she finally recognized who was before her - the Great Emperor
Landantine VII, ruler of the great Celestian Empire.

Many of the merians knew nothing of the past relations between Raes' people and
their own, but among those who lived in the swamps the names of Jade and Nalda
were legendary. From her own birth, Raes had learned of the past dealings of
her people with the empire. She stood silently for a moment, her sense of
foreboding growing as she watched the company draw closer. It seemed, she
thought, that she would have to reevaluate her earlier assessment of the day.

* * *

Emperor Landantine and his men rode their horses confidently through the crowd
of bystanders, observing the splendid commotion his arrival created. As one of
the few citizens of Celest who knew the history of these pathetic people, he
felt no special love or affection for these people - neither, though, could he
afford their enmity. He prepared himself mentally for the diplomatic charade
he knew was soon to follow as he maneuvered his horse toward the center of the
half-breed camp. Finally spotting a tall, straight-backed man who seemed to be
in charge of the clan, Landantine dismounted his horse and instructed his
followers to do the same. "Thus begins the game," he thought to himself,
inclining his head slightly to the man in a magnanimous gesture of greeting and
goodwill.

* * *

"We have gathered together today for a very special purpose," Chancellor Rakis
began. "As most of you know, we've had a few visitors of late. The Esteemed
Emperor Landantine VII has seen fit to travel from his palace in Celest to
visit our humble swamp. There have been many rumors as to the purpose of his
visit, and today we will set those rumors straight." The crowd that had
gathered around the meeting tent was suddenly still and silent, anxious to
discover the reason for the strange visit.

"The emperor's mission is a diplomatic one. He has brought to us a proposal of
cooperation which the council considered worthy of a public vote. The Emperor
Landantine has offered to us the opportunity to officially join with the Holy
Celestian Empire." The assembly erupted at the announcement. Many had
speculated as to the reason for the strange guests, but none had come close to
this. "The implications are twofold," Rakis continued, undaunted by the noise.
"First, we would be agreeing, from this day forth, to uphold the laws and
statutes of the Holy Celestian Empire. We would be submitting ourselves to
these regulations, and accepting the punishments for any violations thereof.
In exception to this acceptance, the emperor has ensured that we will never be
required to pay taxes, nor will any of our land ever fall under anyone's
control but our own. Secondly, we would gain for ourselves the rights and
protections granted to all citizens of the Empire. Particularly, we would be
granted the choice, on an individual basis, to freely visit or even move to any
city or village under the control of the Empire." Rakis paused for a moment to
allow this announcement to sink in before he continued. "We will gather again
tomorrow morning for the official vote. Until that time, discuss among
yourselves."

Rakis turned and began to walk down from the hill on which he had been
standing, only to stop and return to his speaking position. Raes, who stood
near the front of the crowd, perked up to listen especially closely to his
closing announcement. "As Chancellor, I would like to officially announce to
you all my opinion. I believe, given our history, the choice is quite
obvious." Raes breathed a sigh of relief, hearing that he was going to explain
to everyone openly what a frightening and even dangerous idea this was. "Let
everyone know that I, both as an individual and in my office, add my official
support to this proposal."

* * *

For the next several days, Raes quarantined herself in her tent. She lay on
her mat pondering what her people had gotten themselves into. Did they not
understand? Had they actually come to trust the empire so much? And what of
Chancellor Rakis? How could even he be convinced?

From her tent, Raes often heard the conversations of people as they walked by.
Her people were excited, fully convinced that everything would be well. What
interested her even more though were the other voices. Many other merians had
been coming since the swamp officially allied itself with Celest. They were
always wandering around in clusters, whispering incessantly. Also, on one of
her midnight excursions from her tent (the only time she left), she saw some of
them still awake. One seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, then he abruptly
reached down and placed his hand on the ground. He then stood up, looking
happy, and walked back to his tent near the other merians. Raes didn't know
what any of this was about, but she was determined to find out.

* * *

The next night, Raes left her tent again. Rushing quietly through the swamp,
she headed directly toward the merian tents. She slipped unnoticed past many
of the less-important looking visitors, until she came to one tent on the edge
where she knew the emperor was staying. Guards were posted outside the
entrance, but as they were not yet full familiar with her forest, nor were they
gifted in seeing in the dark, she easily snuck past them. Climbing around to
the back of the tent, she settled in as close as she dared to listen to the
voices coming from inside.

"So," she recognized Landantine's voice, "where is it?"

"It's here," chimed one energetic voice which she did not recognize.

"More precisely, it's the entire swamp," sniveled the merian she had seen
wandering in the middle of the night. "This whole area shares the power, which
is precisely our problem."

"What is the actual problem?" Landantine demanded. "Is the power here or not?"

"It is," answered the first voice, "but it's too diluted to be enough on its
own."

Landantine sighed heavily, almost despairingly. "All is lost then?" His tone
almost drew Raes to sympathy, but she quickly suppressed the temptation to feel
sorry.

"Not necessarily," intoned the night-stroller. "We simply need to find a way
to concentrate it…the problem is that we cannot manipulate the power ourselves.
It's too sensitive - it's like trying to carry a dry leaf safely in your fist.
Someone in a more…ethereal form, though, might be able to accomplish it."

"Ethereal? As in a spirit?" For a moment, Raes heard nothing. Then,
Landantine spoke clearly again. "I see…we need a spirit, and I just might know
where we can find one. Send a messenger to Ghani n'Rotri in Magnagora. Tell
him I have a mission for the Ur'Guard."

Sensing that the meeting would end soon, Raes scampered silently from her spot
back toward her tent to consider what she had heard.

* * *

Three nights later from the night of their meeting, Landantine and his
advisors again gathered in his tent, this time with another messenger, and this
time completely unobserved. "After consulting with the Fates, the High Prophet
has decided that Magnagora cannot take part in this experiment. The Fates
predict a failure." Seeing his emperor's face flush with rage, and obviously
hoping to avoid being the target of that rage, the messenger went on quickly.
"Even if Magnagora refuses to involve itself, though, there are many of us of
the Ur'guard who consider your offer quite an honor. I am one of the leaders
of the Guard. I was not chosen to carry this message simply because I'm good
with words, if you catch my meaning."

"You'll do it then?" Landantine asked, relaxing visibly.

"I will follow the wish of my emperor," the messenger replied.

* * *

A few days after the meeting she overheard, Raes began to notice very strange
things around the swamp. The merians were acting more suspicious than ever,
darting from place to place. They seemed never to sleep, and they often
retreated alone or in pairs to the southeastern edge of the swamp, where nobody
lived.

Besides the actions of the merians, the swamp just felt different to Raes.
There was a sense of expectation, even among the animals. Something big was
about to happen, and every creature seemed to know it except her own kin.
Suddenly resolute, Raes turned her footsteps toward Chancellor Rakis' tent.
Skipping the customary requests and greetings, she shoved open the flap and
walked in.

Rakis started as she entered, as if awakened from some meditation. Without
giving him a chance to speak, Raes began. "We need to talk. I don't know
what's going on, but it's bad! I can feel it! The animals even feel it! And
what's more, I've heard them plotting it…it's the merians, I heard them!" With
that, she proceeded to explain to Rakis all she had seen and heard since the
arrival of the emperor's party on the shores.

"You believe that whatever is going to happen will happen soon then? How
soon?" Rakis asked, proving much more receptive than she had expected.
"Tonight?"

"I can't say for certain, but my guess is tonight. This strange anticipation
has built up, it can't go on much longer."

"Very well," Rakis said slowly. "We must keep this quiet for now. The emperor
is a powerful man, if he figures out we know it could be dangerous for us. We
will meet tonight, on the southeast coast where you say you've seen them
headed. Come early, before dark, so we can get into place before they show
up."

* * *

That evening, Raes found Rakis exactly where he said he would be, near the
cloudy southeast beach. The two of them hunkered down as low to the ground as
they could get, their skin blending perfectly with the ground beneath them, and
they waited. Their wait was not a long one.

After only a few moments, Raes heard the quiet pattering of feet across the
water. A singe merian, again in full regalia, came into view and settled
himself a stones throw in front of the pair. He was soon joined by another
merian, followed by another pair. The merians continued to arrive, never more
than two at once. As they arrived, they sat silently in a circle next to the
first. Finally, after all of the merians had arrived, Emperor Landantine
himself appeared, and next to him a huge creature which Raes had never seen -
an Orclach, if her books were accurate in their descriptions. These last two,
instead of settling in the circle, proceeded to the middle.

"You all know why we're here," Landantine began. "This project has absorbed
our energy for a great deal of time. Some of us even began to doubt that we
would ever succeed in reaching the higher planes, whatever they may be. Yet
here today we stand, on the verge of success. We require but one thing - a
spirit which can gather the remnants of Kethuru's power which rests all about
us here. Once that power is gathered, we shall use it to open the gateway.
Those of you gathered here will be remembered in history as a great party, for
what we will accomplish today. And especially great among you shall be the
name of Sisk Tur'ach, who this day sacrifices his life for the cause."
Landantine glanced at one of the merians in the circle, who raised his hands in
the air. A fire exploded in the center of the circle.

Raes had heard enough. Turning to Rakis, she whispered furiously, "We've got
to do something!"

"You're right, it's time." With that, Rakis stood and waved his hands in the
air, calling out to the merians.

"What are you doing?" Raes demanded, still whispering. "There's no way we can
face them so blatantly!"

"You misunderstand, my dear," Rakis explained, as a father to a confused child.
"I told you before that the emperor was quite powerful, that we couldn't stand
to oppose him. I have no intention of fighting him. I have come to the
realization that I can do nothing to stop him, and that it's best to simply go
along."

"Go along? They're manipulating the power of Kethuru! And what's more,
they're killing a man to do it! For all we know, they could free the Great
Bane and unleash him upon the realms again…how can you just go along?"

Raes saw that her objections were fruitless. Before she had even finished
speaking, a group of merians from the circle was upon them. "Ah, there you
are," one of them said, patting Rakis on the back. Raes was still too dazed to
run or fight; she made no noise at all as they bound her and led her back toward
the fire.

"Ah, more spectators for the big moment," Landantine smirked. "No disrespect
meant, of course, but I'm afraid we cannot allow you to interfere now. And so,
without any further postponement, all will commence. Let the ceremony of
Project Soulforce begin!"

At the announcement, the tall orclach stood again in the center of the circle.
Emperor Landantine came to stand in front of him, staring upwards into the huge
creature's eyes. From beneath his robes, Landantine drew a long, silver-bladed
knife. "This knife you see, it comes from the front. You go into this knowing
what your sacrifice is, and what the rewards shall be." The orclach said
nothing, only nodded his head slightly. Then, in a sudden movement, the dagger
flashed and Landantine's arm extended. He plunged the dagger deep into the
orclach's chest. Sisk slumped heavily, gurgling and staggering. Two other
merians stood from the circle and walked toward him.

"Though the dagger has brought you close to death, it cannot take your life.
To retain and empower your soul, you must die in the holy fire." With that,
the two heaved together, and shoved the pitiful creature into the blaze before
them. The proud orclach unleashed no howl, no scream of pain, his face was
contorted beyond recognition. He twitched and moaned, and finally lay still.

"It's time, prepare yourselves for the opening!" Even before Landantine's
command, the merians all stood and grasped hands - in the process releasing
their hold on Raes. As the orclach went about his task, the flame grew to even
greater proportions and Raes could feel the power around her building. She knew
she had only a short free moment before the ritual continued. Without even
taking time to think, Raes plunged herself forward forcefully and leat bodily
into the flame.

Searing pain enveloped her. The agony consumed her, to the point where she
could think of nothing else but the pain…and then the pain eased.

The merians who had begun the right had hardly even noticed Raes until too
late. The power which had been gathered began to dissipate again, leaving
constant fluctuations from greater to lower concentrations. For those who
understood such things, it was clear what was happening - even as the orclach
gathered the power, Raes scattered it again. The battle continued as the
merians waited in anticipation of its ending. Then, all was still.

The spirit of Raes, showing motivation which was foreign to the orclach, had
overcome him. "You win," she felt his voice echo. "I can be revered among my
own regardless of what happens here. It's not worth the fight." And with
that, he was gone.

Her soul was not yet finished, however. Though invisible to them, Raes could
still see around here the merians, debating who would be next to enter the
flame. Though she had overcome the orclach, Raes knew she could not outlast
them all. Had she still a body, Raes would have shed a tear for the act she
knew she must commit. The power about her was chaotic, and could not be
focused, and yet she knew she had to borrow a small portion of it to end this
apocalyptic project. And so, gathering a small amount of the power in her
hands, Raes impressed her words into the minds of all those in the swamp. "Now
it ends," she told them. "For the protection of Kethuru's seal, and for the
sake of the many lives that would be lost, I must cast out and keep out those
who seek to use this place. Kethuru's powers are chaotic and cannot be focused
so simply. Prepare yourselves, then, as none may remain." Utilizing another
small portion of the power around her, Raes called upon a great wave from the
sea. The wave rose higher than any natural wave could before crashing against
the swamp and washing the inhabitants to the sea.

* * *

Emperor Landantine and his men awoke on the shore of the Island of Celest,
surrounded by a crowd of the half-merian creatures. He looked around at them,
but could think of no words. Empty and dejected, he walked silently into the
city. Not knowing what else to do, the mugwumpi followed him. There,
beginning in the city of Celest, the mugwumpi joined the other races as
accepted, even intelligent, members of society.

Through the years, many have attempted to return to the swamp, either to carry
out experiments or to move back to their ancestral home. For a short time,
they may successfully visit. After that time has passed, though, all find
their desires blocked, sometimes even forcefully. So it is that to this day,
no sentient race is able to settle the swamp - and so, it has been proposed, it
shall ever be, so long as the spirit of Raes remains.