Hannah

 Hannah

     As they approached where Hannah lived, Iriisii cautioned them to slow down and move normally. It was pretty much like any other neighborhood. Houses built out of wood, some kind of baked clay, and even some other building materials that she was unfamiliar with. The houses were not too close together, they did have glass windows to let in light. There were trees and flowering plants used as decorations in the outside parts. 

     Hannah's home had a wall around it and as they entered the courtyard, there was a small well-tended garden, a fountain spraying water that helped the plants and cooled the courtyard. The house was not small, but not overly large either. Hannah went up to the door and opened it.

     Hannah: "Father is likely downstairs where it is cooler, he likes to work on his projects down there and go up on the roof at night."

     A voice from down below is heard, "Hannah, be right up there honeybee, just be a minute." A clatter is heard and some mutterings, then footsteps approaching from below. 

     Terrance: "Hannah, did you have a nice walk...who?"

     Hannah: "Father, I want you to meet..."

     Terrance looks first at Trevore, but when he sees Iriisii he stops cold with his mouth open, unable to say a word from the shock of recognition. Hannah picks up on it immediately.

     Hannah: "Yes, Father, it is her. I ran into a bunch of the other kids in the park. And they still will not listen to me about her, but here she is. They mocked me so bad I cried and could not stop. They ran off, but somehow I called her. I only remember wanting her to come to me so bad, I could think of nothing else. And then she came up to me, talked to me, and listened to me. She said she had heard me and came to see what I needed. Since then, well, better she explains what happened."

     Iriisii: "Sir, perhaps you should sit down. There seems to be more going on under the surface than it first appears to be here."

     Iriisii explains her meeting with Hannah, her deciding she needed to meet with him and see what he had discovered. The passing of the speaker along the way and what she felt. How they went on without incident until she sensed Trevore. She went on about the trouble that came and how she put Hannah up into the tree to hide while she went to Trevore's defense. Then coming back to get Hannah with Trevore in tow, and walking to this home to meet with him.

     Iriisii: "I made sure we gave the appearance of normality coming here. So there would be no suspicions about our visit. I know this is quite a shock, but take a little time to get yourself together. We do need to speak about your discovery and the implications of things I have felt since coming here."

     Terrance: "Implications?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, there are very dark suspicions that I have about what I have felt. I pray I am wrong, but if not it is extreme luck that I came when I did. There are too many coincidences in how your daughter called to me, for it to be just luck. Unfortunately, some of my most important tasks have begun in ways similar to this."

     Terrance: "How so, if I may ask?"

     Iriisii: "The very presence of the signals you picked up with your 'Farseeing Device'. You would not believe how far the distance is from here to where those events happened. There is no way I am aware that those signals could have found their way here without help. Not to mention your daughter's calling to me. It came to me through the Dreamlands and as the barest whisper. I was with my newest mate and had her help me augment my hearing to make sense of the 'call'.

     She was who said I should come and see what was needed for me to do. Of course, after I got the sense of your daughter's message, there was no way I would not come. And now I am glad I did, there are things going on here that could very well have a bearing on what is happening in my own home Realm. Things that must be stopped and dealt with before they cause great harm and suffering to all who live here and the closest other worlds as well."

     Terrance: "Hannah, would you go and play in your room for a bit, while I speak to our guests."

     Hannah: "Father!"

     Iriisii moves to kneel next to Hannah places a hand against her cheek and talks to her.

     Iriisii: "He just wants to protect you, as a father should. If you will do this for him and me, later I will come and tell you some stories about my own children that I am sure will have you rolling on the floor laughing."

     Hannah: "You have children?"

     Iriisii: "Oh yes, seven, no make that nineteen now with the dragonlings that have not been born yet."

     Hannah: "Nineteen! And real dragonlings?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, real dragonlings. My second oldest daughter is half-dragon, her name is Aleytys."

     Hannah: "That is a beautiful name, I bet she is very beautiful."

     Iriisii: "Yes, she is. The stories I can tell about her! And her older sister, Kintyra, is going to be an Empress soon."

     Hannah: "A real live Empress!?"

     Iriisii: "Yes. So go on and do as your father has asked and I will be back later to tell you about them, ok?"

     Hannah: "Ok, later!" And scampers up the stairs to her bedroom.

     Terrance: "Thank you, my Lady, uhh Goddess!"

     Iriisii: "My Lady, will be just fine, fewer questions if we are overheard."

     Terrance: "Of course, if you will follow me."

     Iriisii and Trevore follow Terrance back down the steps. The workroom is about how you would expect it to be, equipment everywhere, wires, and cables of different kinds stretched between devices on every available surface. Iriisii takes it all in, not trying to make sense of each individual part, in this way she is able to understand the goal of what it is intended to do.

     Iriisii: "Hannah says you intercepted and decoded a separate signal different from the one where you saw images of me."

     Terrance: "Yes, what I saw and heard on the accompanying audio was very disturbing, at least what I could understand of it."

     Iriisii: "Could you replay what you have from it? I would also suggest that you do not try and access that signal again. It is possible that your accessing it could be traced back here and put you and Hannah in danger."

     Terrance: "If you think so, then I will leave it alone. Here is the recording I made of it."

     Terrance plays it as Trevore and Iriisii watch and listen. When it is done, Iriisii sits, while Terrance and Trevore look back and forth.

     Trevore: "I can understand your not understanding all of this, there seems to be a lot that is beyond our understanding here."

     Terrance: "I agree, but the pictures are beyond disturbing. What they portray, even what I can speculate on is horrible."

     Iriisii: "I know what is going on, and horrible does not even come close to describing this. We have little time and I must call for help. This must be stopped or the consequences will not bear thinking about. While help comes, I must go on the offensive. The three of you, I must place somewhere safe. I will not put your lives in danger for what I might be forced to do."

     Terrance: "What could you be forced to do that is so dangerous?"

     Iriisii: "No, I cannot say, it could change things so much and make things even more difficult. First, I must find who aided your daughter in calling me and see if there may be assistance from that direction. Strange though..."

     Terrance: "What is so strange?"

     Iriisii: "Someone knew what is going on and helped bring me here. Yet I do not sense any divinities at all in this universe. That is likely why those behind this chose this place to do their work. But the question of who helped Hannah must still be answered. And I think the answer will be very perplexing and complicated."

     Trevore: "What is the first thing that needs to be done to stop this?"

     Iriisii: "The 'communion' that Hannah mentioned that is to take place next week. That must not happen, I cannot stress that enough."

     Trevore: "Why?"

     Iriisii: "A large number of unsuspecting people, all gathered in one place. The ceremony itself is innocent, yes, but what are they going to be given in that ceremony. That is the problem."

     Trevore: "Poison?"

     Iriisii: "Would that it was that simple. No. You saw in the pictures an image of a small, round, shiny pearl?"

     Trevore: "It is not a pearl, is it?"

     Iriisii: "No, it is not. It is an egg."

     Terrance: "An egg from what?"

     Iriisii: "I know them as Wamphyri. I am sure you have never heard the word before. The egg is from a kind of leech, but one not known to many outside of very few places. This leech has the capability once entering a body, to fuse itself to the spinal cord or other main nerve sheaths if the body does not have a spinal cord. It can then control the host through pain manipulation by direct stimulation of the nerves. Think of what you would do if your body suddenly felt it was literally on fire. This is how it begins, once the host is compliant, the leech begins amplifying the negative emotions."

     Terrance: "Negative emotions? Which ones?"

     Iriisii: "All of them, no inhibitions whatsoever, if a host is strong enough to take what it wants, then what is taken belongs to that host. Once enough time has taken place and the leech has integrated itself further it will begin to morph the body into whatever shape best suits its new outlook, even amplifying any psychic or psionic abilities.

     And it will get worse, those on the weak end of the scale become fodder for the strong. Some will be utilized to create living machines for whatever purpose they might be needed. Pumps to draw and filter water from deep underground. Flyers to transport warriors and fight in the air or on the ground as well. Females...well I do not have to go into what they are used for. Any others not used for a specific purpose are slaughtered and stored in the larder to feed the strong.

     Their main weakness is strong light, and fire also. So as long as this world can maintain its day/night cycle there is hope to destroy them if they get started. But even if you kill the host in some way, you must kill the leech, or it will simply reinfect someone else."

     Terrance: "If they get out of control, to the tipping point where they cannot be destroyed by normal combat means, what then?"

     Iriisii: "Sterilization of the surface by fire. I know what it sounds like, but you must understand something, this is why I wish to intervene before it reaches that point. They cannot be allowed to reach that point, they are to be spread onto other worlds until their final numbers here are great enough that multiple infections can be started in the other Realms. If they all get started at the same time, it is over for existence. As much as it pains me to say this, the lives on a single world, or a single Realm, do not compare to all of existence."

     Terrance: "Surely something could be done? There are other divinities higher even than you, couldn't they do anything?"

     Iriisii: "It does not work that way. They will seal off the access points and the infected Realms will be left to wither and die. For you must understand, even the Gods can be infected by these things. And should that happen, you can not imagine the depth of horror, pain, and despair that will follow. But do not lose heart, there are things that can be done. But I must have my followers here with my Krang to do them. Only it can provide enough accessible power for me to use to do what I would need to do."

     Terrance: "What would need so much power, we have multiple sources here that could be tapped."

     Iriisii: "I would need to envelop this world in a temporal stasis field. I can do it on a small scale with my own power, but on a scale to do it to an entire world or even several. I need the Krang."

     Terrance: "A temporal stasis field! The power required to build something like that!"

     Iriisii: "Like that which exists within an event horizon of a naked singularity."

     Terrance: "But you would need a black hole of immense size to tap. Maintaining control of such a monster..."

     Iriisii: "is possible, with the right mechanisms in place."

     Terrance: "But there is nothing in science or technology that would get close enough to do it without it getting ripped apart by the gravity tides!"

     Iriisii: "Unless protected by 'magic', specifically by a 'Winterstorm Construct'. One large enough to encompass the singularity."

     Terrance: "What is a 'Winterstorm Construct'?"

     Iriisii: "A multi-dimensional construct made of magical energy given physical form. The form it takes on is similar to a high-energy plasma. In that form, it crosses the boundaries that exist between Quantum Mechanics, High-Energy Physics, and High Magical Theory. Constructed around a singularity and polarized correctly, it strengthens its physical containment properties by drawing upon the power of the singularity until balance and stability are achieved."

     The only problem is that I do not have plans for it. But I do know where someone who does was last seen. Yet, I need two of my crew from the Krang to accompany me to find him."

     Terrance: "How much time would it take to find him?"

     Iriisii: "Time in this situation is relative and the place where I would need to go can be nuanced to flow much faster than out here. Thus a few minutes out here can become years in there."

     Terrance: "What do you need to talk to those you need to?"

     Iriisii: "I would like to utilize your equipment. I can provide the augmentation needed for it to reach my Krang. Then I can bring the two I need over, the rest can come with the Krang once they have coordinates."

     Terrance: "Will these others be able to access your signal?"

     Iriisii: "No, it will be phased tight-beam and encrypted."

     Terrance: "I do not know what 'phased tight beam means, can you explain it a bit?"

     Iriisii: "In order to make the signal reach without excessive degradation, I will be phasing it across dimensional lines, using the proper ones is critical. Doing so will allow the distances to be covered with much less power loss than otherwise. Without it, the signal would not get a fraction of the way before dying out."

     Terrance: "I see where that is going, I may not know the specifics but I can see the theory behind it. Please use whatever you need, make yourself at home."

     Iriisii: "Thank you, but better I get started."

     Iriisii relying on her earlier view of the equipment starts picking out the pieces she will need. Soon she has a table set up with what she wants, then she begins connecting the pieces together."

     Terrance: "Amazing, why didn't I think of that combination?"

     Soon she is ready to give it a try. She sets the calibration to a setting that she knows the Krang can recognize and process.

     Terrance: "That frequency setting, it is right on the borderline at..."

     Iriisii: "yes, it is. But please do not touch or jostle it. It is exactly where it needs to be to reach the Krang while avoiding the reception ranges of the others running across it."

     Terrance: "My apologies."

     Iriisii: "No harm done. Ok, I am ready to start."

     She starts up the equipment, turning on each piece once the previous one settles down. Once she has them all on and humming along, she starts the video screen with audio. Then she places her hands on the metal pads she placed to send her own power into the equipment to augment it. The video screen goes grey with different colors streaking across it. Then it locks on to something, and the other end goes into verification and 'handshaking'. A few moments more and a familiar face shows on the screen.

     Iriisii: "Reaper, who is on deck right now?"

     Reaper: "Mother, Illyria is on deck. Do you wish me to get her for you?"

     Iriisii: "Not yet, I need to speak to Elric and Dettlaff if you please."

     Reaper: "Sending a request for Elric and Dettlaff to attend. Hmmm, the Krang cannot place your exact location, can you assist it?"

     Iriisii thinks for a few seconds and sends the requested information.

     Reaper: "No wonder it could not place you, you are beyond the established boundaries of our Reality."

     Iriisii: "That explains a lot about the situation. I came through the Dreamlands. Place the Krang on 'yellow alert' and prepare to transport to a position at my current one but two thousand leagues above. Make sure you are completely shielded when you come through, total stealth."

     Reaper: "Total stealth set. New destination set. Any further orders?"

     Iriisii: "Stand by."

     Reaper: "Dettlaff and Elric are approaching. Transferring video."

     Dettlaff: "Brii told us of your being summoned. I expect this has something to do with that?"

     Iriisii: "I miss you too, yes it does. Are you and Elric packed for the Dreamlands?"

     Dettlaff: "Yes, are you sure you want to attempt this now?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, the situation out here calls for it. There is a major infestation of Wamphyri planned to be implemented here, then spread to other nearby worlds. Once they have enough numbers, they will be planted in our Realms all at the same time. We will never be able to hit all of them in time. The infestation will spread faster than we can deal with it without drastic measures.

     I need to be able to impose a temporal stasis field around this world in order to deal with the problem without destroying this world. I need the Krang to initiate the field..."

     Dettlaff: "and you need the plans for the 'Winterstorm Construct' to safely access the event horizon of the power core to divert enough power to the Krang while maintaining the stability of the core."

     Iriisii: "You have been paying attention."

     Dettlaff smiles, "you did tell me we needed to learn in case we were the ones who needed to run this thing."

     Iriisii: "Glad to see you took me seriously."

     Dettlaff: "I always take you seriously, even when you are joking."

     Iriisii: "I am not that bad am I?"

     Dettlaff: "No, but Rigmor is and she is starting to rub off on me."

     Iriisii laughs, "ok, but patch me through to the Fortress, get ready to come across, we will access the Dreamlands from here."

     Dettlaff: "Patching to the Fortress."

     Custodian: "Goddess, how may I serve?"

     Iriisii: "I need a door from Dettlaff's position on the Krang to my current position, if you please. The Krang has my coordinates."

     Custodian: "Acquiring coordinates, setting up doors. You should see them momentarily."

     A line in the floor of the workshop glows, then rises to form the outline of a door. Iriisii opens it and the view of the Bridge of the Krang can be seen on the other side. Terrance looks around the back side of the door but sees nothing but his workshop, then as he moves back the view of the Krang returns.

     As Dettlaff and Elric come through, a pair of much smaller forms also fly through with them, both of them settling on Iriisii's shoulders.

     Iriisii: "And just where have the two of you been all this time. I thought you got lost or something."

     The minidrags rub their snouts against her cheeks.

     Iriisii: "Don't think that is going to get the two of you out of trouble."

     The orange minidrag hisses into her ear. Iriisii listens and then looks at the black one. The black one raises his head proudly while looking around at the new surroundings.

     Iriisii: "You have been naughty, but you know I cannot stay mad at you, can I?"

     The black one hisses and settles down on one shoulder to nap, secure that Iriisii has the situation well in hand. She looks back at the orange.

     Iriisii: "Don't look so smug, you are equally guilty. Well, at least you kept it in the family."

     Dettlaff has been trying to follow the conversation but without much luck.

     Dettlaff: "What is going on with them?"

     Iriisii: "Funny you should ask. It seems Brii is not the only one expecting!"

     Dettlaff: "You mean?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, it seems the two of them have been busy lately."

     Elric still has a dubious look on his face.

     Iriisii: "You didn't know anything about this did you?"

     Elric: "Who me?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, you are the only other one I know around who can speak Draconic."

     Elric looks startled, "how did you know I could..."

     Iriisii: "Well the dragons you were around in your earlier years do not speak Dovahzul, only the dragons of Nirn speak that. I would imagine that if you wanted to talk to them you needed to speak their language. These two may only be distant relatives but I am pretty sure they understand it."

     Terrance tries to use a finger to touch orange, at least he is smart enough not to try and touch a sleeping minidrag.

     Iriisii: "I wouldn't if I were you. They are very well-behaved, but the orange is pregnant and may be a bit testy. These are Alaspinian Miniature Dragons from one of the more remote Realms. Their venom is highly corrosive and as toxic as it is corrosive. Let them become accustomed to you first. They will make the first move when they are ready to accept you."

     Looking back at the minidrags, "you two can be guards while we are in the Dreamlands. There is a little girl here who needs the two of you to guard her. You are to let her come to no harm. If anyone attacks her you may use whatever means you think appropriate."

     The black lifts his head and hisses gently, while the orange takes off and goes in search of Hannah.

     Iriisii: "Don't worry, they will never harm Hannah, and more protective bodyguards you will not find. I have trusted them to fight with me and I trust them to keep her safe."

     Terrance: "Then I will trust them as well, thank you."

     Iriisii: "Let us find a more congenial spot before heading into the Dreamlands."

     They walk upstairs and settle in the main room as Hannah comes down with orange on her shoulder looking at everything entering her view as Hannah walks toward them.

     Iriisii: "One thing, do not show them off to the other children. If they start in on you again, things could go bad quickly. They will defend you from anyone they feel is attacking you, no matter who it is. And there is no one else here who could live if they took a hit from them. That is one reason I want them to guard you. They will have no hesitation to act on your behalf. So please do not put them in a position where they have to act unless it is needed. I trust you with them and they with you."

     Hannah: "I understand, she is so pretty, and she seems to understand what I say."

     Iriisii: "They understand your emotions much more than your words. They are empathic, your father can tell you more about what that means. My friends and I will be going on a trip to the Dreamlands soon, our physical bodies will remain here for now. They may or may not join us there, it depends on what happens. But we will come back regardless. I have more friends coming and I think you will enjoy a trip to see the Krang."

     Hannah: "What is the Krang?"

     Iriisii: "It is a lot of things, very big, bigger than you can imagine. And we have a lot of people, along with a bunch of dragons living in it."

     Hannah: "Wow, it is big then."

     Iriisii: "It is at that."

     Terrance: "What do you use for power if it is that big? I mean even a nuclear reactor would be too small."

     Iriisii: "A brown dwarf."

     Terrance looking puzzled, "a...brown...dwarf...you mean a STAR?!"

     Iriisii: "Yes. The Krang itself floats within the corona. When the corona is deployed it acts as a camouflage screen, hiding the Krang from visibility. When we retract it, well, everything can then be seen. It consists of hundreds of Towers all connected, spread all across the surface.

     As to who made it. We once had a militaristic race called the Tar-Aiym. They ran across another race that they could not conquer. The Krang was their answer to that problem. It is not just a massive weapon. It is everything conceivable in one package, and we have added capabilities to it. Capabilities that were undreamed of to those who made it."

     Terrance: "What happened to them, then?"

     Iriisii: "Another weapon, a biological weapon they were working on at the same time, got loose and destroyed both sides. Only a handful of the Tar-Aiym survived, and they were outcasts. Prophets and Priests, they did not follow the military ways of their brothers, but even so, they were held in high regard because of their status. Their last known Prophet gave me the Krang to aid me in fighting for the Balance."

     Terrance: "If only such strength and intelligence could be used for peace instead of war."

     Iriisii: "I know how you feel, but within the Balance, everything has a role to play, even 'War'. I should know, if not for war, I would not be here today, I would not even exist. I see the question in your eyes, but we do not have the time to go into the answer. For now, just let me say that war has allowed me to survive the travails that life thrust upon me. Even to how I was able to become a Goddess in the first place, and all that I have accomplished since my ascension."

     Dettlaff: "For she is the personification of 'War'. She is the 'First Horseman of the Apocalypse, bearer of the 'Mantle of War'. Understand, as 'War' she and the other three Horsemen are agents of change. 'War' is but one road by which that change occurs, and it does not always mean fighting and battles, sometimes the change she brings is peaceful. I personally have seen what she can accomplish not just through conflict, but in restoring what was damaged and destroyed in the conflict. Two sides of the same coin, to be able to destroy, one must be able to create. And she can do both."

     Iriisii: "I did not intend to get into a discussion of Metaphysics, that can wait. For now, I promised Hannah some stories and I think I know just where to start."

     Iriisii regales everyone with humorous stories about herself and stories Rigmor told her of herself and Luna. Before long everyone is laughing and nearly rolling out of their chairs and onto the floor.

     Iriisii: "I think that is a good note on which to head into the Dreamlands. Terrance, do you have a room we could use?"

     Terrance: "Yes, there is one I do not use anymore. I keep it closed up so it might be stuffy, but we can open the window and air it out. I do not have any furniture in it, like a bed or anything."

     Iriisii: "Not a problem, I can take care of that. Let us go and see it."

     They get up, walk up the stairs, and down the hall. Across from Hannah's room is a closed door. They open it and file into the room. Iriisii opens the large window, letting in a good breeze. Iriisii looks around at the size of the room, thinking this was the main bedroom at one time.

     Iriisii: "This will do just fine, I know what I can build that will accommodate the three of us comfortably."

     Elric: "The canopy bed like you have in your private quarters in the boarding school?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, that will fit in here and take care of our needs perfectly."

     Terrance: "You have a boarding school?"

     Iriisii: "While I was still mortal, I acquired one with a house next to it. It was made for war orphans and other orphans in general. As I traveled around, any orphan children I would find, I would make arrangements to have them sent and enrolled in classes. In this way, I could see that they not only lived past their childhood but that they learn a trade and become productive citizens.

     A few of them that I first came across, I adopted as my own. It was several years later that I had natural children of my own. My adopted children, Lucia and Sofia, helped me take care of and raise them. Lucia is now a powerful mage, and Sofia chose to become an apothecary."

     Iriisii starts drawing on the dust present in the room, then draws in more from outside than the breeze was providing. Once she had enough, she converted it into 'quantum particles.

     Dettlaff: "Please stay back and do not touch the particle mass. It is not normal matter as you know it now. It was dust, but is now something else entirely."

     They watch as it slowly takes on the shape of a triple-person poster bed. Then the details as the 'black matter' becomes wood, the mattress is formed, the sheets, and then the coverlet.

     Hannah: "That is beautiful, can I?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, it is now a bed, just like the one I have at the school."

     Hannah leaps and jumps in, almost disappearing into the soft mass of the feather mattress.

     Hannah: "Oh, this is so comfortable, I want to trade my old one for this!"

     Iriisii: "When we get back, you can have this one if you like."

     Hannah: "I can! Yippee! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

     Iriisii smiles at Hannah's excitement.

     Terrance tries to calm Hannah down, but Dettlaff intervenes.

     Dettlaff: "Let her enjoy this moment. Iriisii so loves these times and enjoys them as much as the children do. With so many weighty responsibilities, she does not get to enjoy these times as much as she would like. So we all cherish them when we can."

     Terrance: "You are all so different..."

     Dettlaff: "Not like what you understand Gods to be like?"

     Terrance: "Well, we only have some prehistoric stories of Gods, but nothing since those times. What we know comes from stone tablets that we have been able to date going back millions of years. There is no mention of why they disappeared, everyone assumes that they are just stories made up to explain all the mysteries that people then could not understand.

     Until Iriisii showed up and confirmed what I saw and heard in the signals I discovered, I thought the same as everyone else. Now I really do not know what to think."

     Dettlaff: "I can well understand your situation. Where I lived most of my life, there were some powerful beings, I would not call them Gods. Wannabe's yes, but nowhere near what I have come to know true Gods to be. And even a lot of them act more like disaffected children than mature beings that I would consider a God.

     Iriisii is a part of a group called the 'Gods of Eld', they truly fit the description of what I would call a God. Not in physical appearance, which encompasses nearly every known form and many I could not imagine. But in how they think, act, and use their power and knowledge. They, like Iriisii, consider themselves servants to all of creation, not its rulers. In fact, it is that very mindset that led to her being able to become who and what she is now. And by extension, me as well"

     Terrance: "How is that?"

     Dettlaff: "She was and will always be Aasimar, which means 'god touched'. Deep in her racial past, the Gods of Eld fought a battle against a renegade insane group of Gods called the 'Great old Ones'. Her people were caught in the middle of that battle. The destruction of the land was terrible, not just physically, but the energies released poisoned the land as well."

     Terrance: "That I can understand, some things we have discovered and used, if misused can do the same."

     Dettlaff: "Anyway, the Gods of Eld decided that since the humans were not to be blamed for any of what happened, they would do what they could to help them survive. Some shared their very flesh and blood, allowing the humans to be able to live within the poisoned and damaged land until over time the land healed itself. The genetics of the flesh and blood was passed down the generations, and in some became active, allowing those individuals the chance to attempt to ascend to godhood.

     As I understand it, there are several possible paths to ascension. I do not know much about that though. The path she chose was 'Apotheosis', she passed her test and later when the 'Calling' came upon her she accepted it and the invitation the Gods of Eld extended to her to join their ranks. She has since been elected their Harbinger and Battle Mistress. And has continued to climb up the rungs of the ladder of celestial power."

     Terrance: "So she was once mortal?"

     Dettlaff: "Yes, she had already ascended when I met her. There is a long story involved between the two of us. She knew of it before I did, and we have since married. At first, I wondered if she really knew what she was doing, but as it turned out she most certainly did. I have come to love her enough that I would die for her if she said I needed to. And yes, I know how that sounds.

     But you must understand, even though we are as different as we could be, we complement each other almost completely. And I would not be following the same Celestial road she travels without her. As she climbs, I climb with her. And that will one day allow me to save my race from the mistakes the current rulers are making."

     Terrance: "She then commands great loyalty?"

     Dettlaff: "She builds a Celestial Army the likes of which has never been known before. And all loyalty to her is freely given, she does not command it as her due, she has earned it by the deeds she has done. There are Gods, millions of years older than she is, yet they follow her gladly and without reservation.

     Thanks to her, I have learned things, even about my own history, that I had no inkling of. Things that tell me that it was no chance thing that we came together. The forces that work to move us where they will, do so for the survival of everything and all within. These are the stakes we fight for, but still, she takes the time to listen when one of her children needs her.   

     She feels that all who need her are her children, and she will fight to the last to protect them. A child of her own flesh was stolen some years ago. Never has she forsaken the search, and now we are so close to finding her. We can almost taste it in the air of each place we go. And the Dreamlands are the key, the place where we begin the final journey. Where we will find Kathea, none of us knows for certain, but we know where we must begin. And that journey and helping you and Hannah, both paths run together, for now anyway. She will see it through, which you can count on. She will move time itself if she has to, and I will be right beside her."

     They have gone into a restful sleep, and after a final blood sharing between Iriisii and Dettlaff, Iriisii feels he is finally able to enter the Dreamlands. They stand in a field of grass and flowers, nothing strange or unusual. The air is gently moving, and a stream can be heard in the distance. But there is no sign of life, no dreamers, no dreams, no buildings, ancient or modern. It is like the world they came here from has no one that can dream.

     Dettlaff: "Is it just me or is this just plain wrong?"

     Iriisii: "It is not just you, this is not right. Never have I heard of this happening. There should be something still here, it is as if the people of that world have never dreamed, never walked here, and their memories never acted upon the landscape to create reflections. I can feel the land here yearning for dreamers to interact with."

     Elric: "It must be bad, as I too can feel what you say you feel. Do you think it wise to see if we can touch the land, speak with it, ask if it knows what is going on here, or would that provoke a response from whatever is responsible for this?"

     Iriisii: "Perhaps that is just what we should do, but first I want to attempt something that if successful would help us and possibly provoke a response at the same time."

     Dettlaff: "I am game, what did you have in mind?"

     Iriisii: "I have constructed Arcane Anchor Towers in other areas of the Dreamlands. For now, they are expanding on their own, anchoring the specific dreamland with its waking world counterpart, strengthening the connection between them and the connection between all the different areas of the dreamlands. I also have volunteers manning those Towers, going about and helping the people nearby. They can also act as transports, allowing someone to enter one area and come out in a different area, simply by thinking of the destination.

     I want to try and construct one here, then link it to the others. It would allow our travel to the main areas I am familiar with to be much faster. I also think that it would upset whatever is going on here and provoke whatever is causing it to make an appearance."

     Dettlaff: "What do we need to do?"

     Iriisii: "Just stand guard and make sure I am not disturbed while I set it in motion. Once it gets started, it will finish on its own. And once we need help, I can call for that help from the other areas."

     Iriisii moves to a spot she feels suitable. Slips her awareness into a meditative state and opens her mind to the entities she has felt watching over the Dreamlands. She can feel their eyes on her, anticipating what she is about to do. It is as if they are aware of what is going on, but could not cross over until someone here opened the door for them. This is one of the situations she feels right for speaking both Dovahzul and Draconic.

     Hon dii plea, Hahnu Vahlokke                             (Hear my plea, Dream Guardians)               

     zu'u yah wa harkt svabol folaas los het                (I seek to right what wrong is here)          

     Naal dii relgrir ol aan Scion se                             (By my calling as a Scion of the)             

     Vs'shtak Rahhe. Ini sia relgrir lae                         (Draconic Divines. By my calling as)          

     Azakeer tir Eld, faal hahnu arcanik                       (Harbinger of Eld, the Dream Magic)           

     meyz wa zu'u, zhrenic nol dii hahnu                     (comes to me, flows from my dreams)           

     wa tlues. origato tol suleyk zhren                          (to reality. Let that power flow)             

     nol zu'u nu, origato nii wahl dii wiq                      (from me now, Let it build my Tower)          

     dii Anchor.  Naal faal Rot se Drogge                     (my Anchor. By the Word of the Lords)         

     tir Vokun, naal Faal fen se Vs'shtak                       (of Shadow, By the Will of the Draconic)      

     Rahhe, naal faal hahnu se lot                                 (Divines, By the Dreams of the Great)         

     Wurunwari, Origato faal Hahnu Arcanik meyz.    (Dreamers, Let the Dream Magic come.)         

     She rises above the ground, floating upward, and a tower of Dream Magic moves upward under her feet. The trace lines of stone grow brighter, stronger, and more solid until they glow with the power she has summoned. Windows form in the walls, and a doorway at the base becomes a shadow and fades revealing a door of ironwood bound in bands of divine moonsilver. Crenelations form around the top, even as a large teardrop of magical energy forms around her. Then the teardrop blossom unfolds creating a platform extending out over the edges. And from the sky above, the Mount of War glides down, landing on the platform.

     Iriisii: "By the prickling of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

     Her mount rears, uttering a cry of the sounds of battle, swords clanging, shields being battered, hammers crushing armor, the crows cawing as each new body falls never to regain footing. And deeper in the cry, are the warcries of demons, the shouts of dragons, and the prayers of the angelic armies. Instinctively she knows this is what the Jihad of Truth will sound like on the battlefield.

     She climbs up into the saddle and gallops her steed down to the ground. Drawing her Star Spawned blade, she waits to see what comes to her challenge. She does not have long to wait.

They feel the vibrations in the ground, hear the rumble of something, hooves maybe, maybe not, striking the ground, coming closer. Then she sees the cloud forming on the horizon, not dust, but something else rising up into a thunderhead above whatever comes that felt wicked to her.

     Is that, what? A face is hidden inside the thunderhead. Whatever it is, may frighten children on a playground, but an experienced warrior and Aasimar War Goddess? Not a chance in all of the Abyss, Hell Planes, Chaos Realms, and Oblivion. She has seen them all, trod through them, fought her way through legions leaving death, bodies, and an ocean of blood behind her. If this is the best the one behind this can do, it needs to pack it in and cry out for its mama.

     Closer the mass comes, for that is what it most closely resembles, a seething mass of flesh, armor, weapons, teeth, arms, tentacles, all pressed so close you cannot tell one from another. Dettlaff on one side of her draws his sword, and Elric on the other draws Stormbringer. Iriisii passes her blade to Dettlaff, then reaches through the void and pulls Mournblade to her. Both Mournblade and Stormbringer begin a moaning, keening song. A song that promises an abundance of death. Then her mount joins in with its own song, and just as the mass approaches close enough to make out individual members, Iriisii spawns Avatar bodies for Darkstar and Shivista to inhabit. Against the five greatest killers in all of existence, the army coming forward is dead, they just do not know it yet.

     The initial clash comes just as Iriisii calls to Dettlff to, "release your beast!" His beast comes forward at her command, morphing his body into something monstrous, suitable for the carnage about to be inflicted. The 'Unholy Five' as they will come to be known stand fast as the horde slams into them and dies. They slowly move apart so as not to interfere with each other, enemy bodies of every unimaginable shape falling sliced, dismembered, beheaded, disemboweled, stabbed, and just about every other possible form of mayhem inflicted upon them.

     Still, they keep coming, then it is, that something both unimaginable and miraculous happens. The battle itself calls out across existence, calls for heroes to come and take part. Iriisii barely notices as the 'Death Dealer' is summoned from the Deep Planes of the Unholy Hells, from the Dark Corners of the Abyss, comes the Unnamed One, the greatest veteran of the Blood Wars, even from Tanelorn, comes Cormac and Dorian Hawkmoon. And the battle rages on.

     Great Dreamers and Battlemages are called from every corner of the Dreamlands. Then the mysterious Crystal Time Gate appears and for the first time in the recorded history of the Dreamlands, it opens. From its depths come the Horselords of Ancient Mnar, at the front vanguard all the warriors are females, mounted upon unicorns. Other long-forgotten and disappeared lands send their best and deadliest, for this is now a battle for the very Spirit of the Dreamlands. Even the Bloodmages of Lost Acheron and the Assassins Guild of Shadizar are summoned.

     The Elders of the Cats of Ulthar in their fiercest forms come leaping from the moons. The Ghouls led by the Pickman, rip into the enemy forces. And then the Demon Princes that pledged their support to Iriisii in the Keep of the First Ones, bring their hordes, and the battle begins to turn. The strangest turn of this, was when those of the Angelic Forces that had left the High Heavens, appeared. Their weapons and armor glowed with Divine power. Power derived from Iriisii not the High One on his Throne. For they felt the call and decided then to accept her cause. The power of those who believe in her flooded them with their belief. 

     They knew the rightness of her cause, and their weapons, their armor, their very selves, embodied that power. They began ripping into the enemy, their strikes burning the enemy bodies into ash. The tide turned for certain when from the gate at the base of the Arcane Tower she had just built, her volunteers strode forth. They came and kept coming.

     Then Iriisii leaves the ground fighting and leaps up into the air, morphing into a new dragon form. Massive, armored not with scale or plate, but with skin like a Sand Wyrm. A triple row of deadly spikes run down her back protecting her spine. Her tail has three spikes on each side set horizontally, and her tail is now half again as long as it previously was. Supple and flexible, able to coil, and swing in nearly any direction, when it moves there is no escape from those spikes. Her head is more streamlined, her jaws holding double rows of dagger-sharp teeth. Dual eyelids protect her eyes, while the horns from her skull curl to help protect her neck.

     She rises to attack the face in the thunderhead cloud, Darkstar and Shivista, both personas that are normally present in Iriisii's mind, utilize their connection to her and morph their Avatar bodies into dragons as well and rise to join her fight. Iriisii's Apocalyptic Mount cries out to the Beast that is Dettlaff, and he leaps onto its back. It rears and starts climbing into the air. Mournblade drops when Iriisii morphs and falls straight into the hands of Kali-Mah. She and Elric go side by side and strike into the heart of the still sizable horde, opening a channel whereby others can follow and widen the path of destruction.

     She uses the Rotmulag of fire breath, but it seems whoever inhabits this form is able to shrug it off. Very well, then, she considers for a second and decides on another try. This time translating the Dovahzul Shout into Draconic, and projecting it with her Thu'um. She takes in the words of both Dovahzul and Draconic, feeling the essence of them, delving into their primal core, back to when they were first expressed, as the stars themselves were ignited with the words, "*************".

     This time what erupts from her jaws is more than fire, it is the fire that exists within the stars themselves. No color can describe the blaze, no emotion can do justice to the intensity of it, as it tries to burn through the very fabric of the Dreamlands. It hits the face dead on, then it screams. Its scream could be heard across the entirety of the Dreamlands.

     Everyone who heard it knelt and prayed to whatever God or Goddess they worshipped. The emotions that were felt in that scream did not come from any life known within the Dreamlands or the Waking Worlds. And in an instantaneous glimpse, she knew who it was. Who set this plan in motion. Who was responsible for this hideous extravagance of death. And even as she conjured a globe of impenetrable darkness to shield all those around from gazing at its true form, she felt some kind of reply was needed. Morphing back to human.

     

     "Blind Dreamer, I see your face

      I see the truth you hide from.

      Your time is not this time,

      But your time is coming soon.

      No more will you be allowed

      To gibber and drool, mindless

      in the darkness of your lair.

      For I know the truth of who,

      of what you are, what you want

      and can never possess, me!

      I refuse you, now and forever

      But as I know you will not relent

      So we will meet once more

      And then it will be decided

      For all time, who will be whose.

     She releases a primal, wordless, scream. Nothing but raw power behind it, it strikes the globe of darkness. And as the darkness is shredded, so too is the face and the thunderhead. The remaining few enemies fold over and melt away, as the bodies of those enemies killed melt away. Iriisii looks over the landscape, now knowing what happened to the inhabitants here. She hangs her head and tears fall to the ground.