NationStates Jolt Archive

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?



Somewhere in the Tundarian Expanse

On the flat, cleared island, beings in dark cloaks were floating around preparing for the arrival of the craft they sent out previously to pick up their guest. The dense fog and the starless night prevented anyone from seeing anything beyond a few metres in front of them, but there were other ways of detecting surroundings.

On the island itself, there were large, dense, and dark forests surrounding the cleared area, acting as a buffer. The Island was just outside the technological dead zone that most of the Tundarian Expanse was, due to the excessive electromagnetic anomalies, and the fact is was so damn cold.

One of the beings, seemingly in charge of the entire place, was conversing with another.

"The craft will be here shortly."

"Good. We must make haste, this is very important."

"Indeed, Lord Kvrrscxlyn will also be arriving soon, as well." The subordinate made its way back into the forest, as the leader of the group -- dark phosphourescent red glowing off of the black of the cloak -- turned around, waiting for the ship to return.

The average person would have thoroughly enjoyed the voyage within the Dersconi transport, for the magnificence of the ancient airship and the spectacular view that it provided was one rarely seen by most eyes. But as Siri O’Neill remained seated in the midst of the elegantly-crafted, black and purple glowing internal paneling, she did not share the same enthusiasm and admiration for this vessel as others would have done and remained perfectly silent with her eyes closed as she mediated. More important concerns were on her mind at this time, particularly the upcoming meeting with Prince John and the threat that Xavier posed for her nation. The latter, she hoped, could be dealt with by her husband while she tended to the former.

A slight jolt shook through the airship, a clear indicator that it had come to a halt, and compelled Siri to open her eyes and gaze about the inside of the transport. The first thing that she noted was that the ramp in the rear had been lowered down onto the ground, seemingly leading into the total darkness of night. After rising from her seat, she fastened two of the buttons on her white leather fur-lined trenchcoat, plated with Kevlar and ceramic inserts and covering the assorted weaponry that she carried underneath, and gradually moved towards the opening, her boots striking the metal decking forcefully with every step.

Out in the night, she found herself to be slightly disadvantaged because without any sort of night-vision goggles, she was almost blind when viewing anything from afar in this environment. She wished that her son could have been here as his natural infrared vision would have come into great use. But unfortunately she had to settle with her own powers of perception for now.

Staring out into the fog, Siri stood patiently, with her gloved hands nestled within her pockets, waiting for the one whom she was supposed to meet. A presence was felt out beyond her sight, but she did not know who or what it was and did not want to go venturing out away from safety of the airship…at least, not yet.

As the transport approached, the fog began to grow thicker, to the point that, when it landed, it was so thick that nothing could be seen at all. It was the natural defence, so, should anyone be able to penetrate the electromagnetic nastiness in the area, they couldn't see through any of the thick, unnatural fog.

When Siri stepped out, the lead amongst the cloak figures emerged from the fog, accompanied by two other, plain black cloaked figures, two steps back on either side.

"Lady Sirisana, welcome to the Tundarian Expanse." The leader spoke impeccable English, although with a thick accent that was unplacable. He went up beside her and led her off of the transport, into the fog. In front of them, Siri could see a tunnel through the fog being opened for them, leading them through the deserted island.

"Lord Kvrrscxlyn awaits your arrival in Niflheim Castle, he has much to discuss with you." The party of four went through the fog tunnel in relative quiet, but that was not to say the atmosphere was calm. The fog around them was now so thick as to almost be solid, and the sounds of the night were not something that could or would ever be blocked out.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the Nordwald, and the lead cloaked figure turned back to Siri.

"Lady Sirisana, if you have any electronic devices, you may as well leave them here, they are useless to you beyond this point." The cloaked figure scanned Siri up and down before speaking again. "However, it doesn't seem like you do, so we shall continue."

Out of the mist and forest, a river of flowing ice layed before them, with a boat in the shape of a dragon waiting for them to cross. As they approached, the boatman became clearer. He, also, was covered, but in thicker robes, rather than a decorative cloak as the leader of this band wore.

They boarded the boat without incident, and made their way across the River of Flowing Ice, landing on the shore on the other side.

When they disembarked and got onto shore, they were greeted by three other cloaked figures, almost a perfect match of Siri's escorts.

"Vanir Mökkvaesir," the newcomer in the colourful robes said, greeting Siri's guide with a bow. The guide returned the bow.

"Vanir Þrúðglam. What is the problem?" Þrúðglam sighed before continuing.

"Lord Kvrrscxlyn has been ambushed by the minions of the Great Demon, and has not arrived." Mökkvaesir grunted and started shooting off in a language that anyone who did not already know it would never be able to understand, at it was half-spoken, half-telepathic. Þrúðglam nodded back after the exchange and walked off, as Mökkvaesir turned to Siri.

"I beg your pardon, Lady Sirisana, it seems that Lord Kvrrscxlyn has been ambushed. I will continue to show you to Niflheim Castle, but then I must depart to ensure the Lord's saftey and protection so he may return to his domain. I understand you would enjoy a fight, but you do not know the terrain, and not knowing the terrain always proves fatal." He turned to face Siri, the glowing red eyes finally distinguishable beneath the mask, but still no face.

"Always."

Niflheim Castle, Tundarian Expanse

Vanir Mökkvaesir, his two counterparts, and Siri all approached the outer walls of the complex, guarded by beings that couldn't be made out in the darkness and the thick, cold fog. Mökkvaesir stopped outside the castle and bowed his head for a bit before turning to speak to Siri.

"It seems Lord Kvrrscxlyn is in a bit of a bind. Action needs to be taken immediately. You will help." Mökkvaesir was quite affirmative in his statement, saying it more as a command then a question.

His forcefulness was supported by the fact a bright white light enveloped the party, and they suddenly dissappeared from the castle grounds.

_______________________________________________


Prince John ducked into a house as the bullets whizzed past his ear. How'd they find me? Prince John followed the pre-laid path past down from his anscestors that would lead him to saftey, yet somehow, he was found out, and now he was being chased by a team of Praesillei Dei. The PD was designed to be an unstoppable fighting force for protection of the Tsar, but no one ever thought about the Tsar being the problem.

Kynaz Ivan jumped out the back window and ran down the alley as a white phosphorous grenade was tossed in through the blown-out doorway. He managed to escape out the back in time, but one of the Praesillei Dei spotted him and, being that this particular team was genetically and technologically advanced to the point of a semi-unified conciousness, everyone knew where the Prince was and moved to close in on him.

Kynaz Ivan glanced around quickly, trying to find and out, and realized his only hope was to run for the border of the Tundarian Expanse. Unfortunately, that was fifty miles to the north.

John darted out of the alley into the street, running as fast as he could, due North, hoping to get to a point where he could hide. However, up ahead, there were five Praesillei Dei and a LRV up ahead. Oh crap.

As they raised their weapons, the clear sky clouded up, and it began to pour. It all happened quite suddenly, so the PDs were a bit startled, giving Prince John enough time to dash into an alley.

The five PDs started to rush after the Prince, but were suddenly stopped by a barrage of lightning coming from the sky and electrocuting them all, frying their electronic equipment so much as to nearly burn them, as the lightning almost seemed continuous. The driver of the LRV managed to survive, but that was fixed by the LRV exploding from the sudden barrage of seventeen lightning bolts striking at the same time.

Out of the smoke and storm emerged Vanir Mökkvaesir, Vanir Þrúðglam, Siri, and four others in plain black cloaks, surveying the recent destruction. Mökkvaesir grunted at the LRV.

"How primitive." Seven other Praesillei Dei popped around the corner after hearing the explosions, and when they called back for renforcements, two others came from another direction, and three from that opposite. Þrúðglam motioned two of the cloak figures to the group of three, and the other two to the group of two. Mökkvaesir motioned Þrúðglam to stay and watch their back, indicating that, while Þrúðglam was of the same rank, Mökkvaesir clearly commanded more respect and authority.

Two of the seven in the front scoffed at them and shot at Vanir Mökkvaesir, who didn't move a muscle as the bullets simply stopped in front of him and dropped. The Praesillei Dei looked a bit startled, but they didn't have much time to dwell on it. Mökkvaesir lifted up his hand, covered by his robes, and crunched it into a fist. The two PDs that shot at Mökkvaesir began to convulse violently. The convulsions got rapidly worse, and, suddenly, their chest shot out, their arms flying back as if they were just clubbed in the back, and their entire skeleton was ripped out of their bodies, their flesh and bone falling into a pile where they were standing, their bones scattered across the road. Mökkvaesir glanced over at Siri.

"There are five left. Take your pick."

A slight grin appeared upon Siri’s face as she unfastened the two buttons on her trenchcoat and threw the heavy piece of apparel open before everyone. Previously hidden though neatly tucked into her leather belt were numerous daggers, throwing stars, and other bladed weaponry, but what would readily catch most people’s eyes were the two silver revolvers nestled in holsters on either side of the belt and two straps of two different kinds of ammunition crossed over her chest.

As she quickly drew the firearms from her belt, bullets fired by the Praesillei Dei whizzed past her and some even struck her in the chest and arms, causing her to twitch from the stinging sensation. Luckily her armor-plated clothing prevented anything more than just a welt on her skin. But this did not even deter her from insanely dashing towards the enemy with both weapons raised and aimed at them. She then squeezed the triggers and a seventy-five caliber explosive round rocketed out of each barrel, knocking her hands back towards her body. The rounds struck each PD with a loud bang, enveloping both within a ball of fire and smoke. She fired two more shots from each of the still smoking revolvers towards the center of this group, in an attempt to cause as much damage to as many as she could. Two of the PDs perished with the first set of explosives and another with the second. But Siri knew that two still remained as she leapt into the ball of fire, yelling to Mökkvaesir as she entered, “Get the other one.”

On the other side of the explosion, one of the Praesillei Dei had just risen from the ground, thrown from his feet by the shockwave of the blast. He was uninjured but soon found himself on the ground yet again, when an elf dove out of the fire towards him, her heavy boots striking him in the chest. She snatched a six inch knife from her belt and tried to ram it into his head, only to be stopped by the PD’s stronger hands and arms. Pushing harder and harder upon the handle, she couldn’t move any further towards him and yelled in frustration. But what she lacked in physical strength, she made up in other ways and released the knife, moving away from her enemy. Oddly, the knife still remained aimed at the PD and increased in strength against him as he tried to push it away. His arms began to shake as the pressure mounted and suddenly, his arms snapped, propelling the knife into his head with enough force to bury it partially in the ground under him. Siri raised an eyebrow and motioned to the mess. The weapon slid out of the ground and out of the PD’s head and cleaned itself upon the deceased body, leaving the blade spotless before shortly returning to Siri’s belt.

Vanir Mökkvaesir turned to look at the other Praesillei Dei but did nothing about it. Instead, he went back to the smoking LRV and stood by it, along with Vanir Þrúðglam, and watch the spectacle. The four cloaked figures finished with their targets and simply stared at the fifth PD.

After all the smoke cleared, the last remaining Praesillei Dei was glancing around at the entire raid party all staring at him. Needless to say, he was a bit jumpy after seeing all his comrades go down without them blinking. He turned and run, but his flight was stopped abrubtly by Prince John clotheslining him....with the blade of his lightsabre.

Mökkvaesir walked up, kicking the rolling head out of the way and embraced Prince John. "Come, now, we must make haste." Prince John glanced over at Siri and smiled before walking behind Vanir Mökkvaesir to the rest of the cloaked figures. When they were all gathered back at the LRV, the light enveloped them once more and they disappeared from the area.

Niflheim Castle, Tundarian Expanse

The party appeared in front of the castle once more, the walls made extremely thick, with an outer coating of some sort of metal, making it look quite Gothic, except more majestic....and intimidating. Instead of gargoyles perched near the pires, there were double-headed eagles. THe Flying Butresses along the thick walls that were incased in the strange metal were obviously not needed, but, being shaped like dragons, got the point across.

The large diamond-studded golden gates to the fortress were swung open by the guards, and the party went through them only to find a massive block of ice where the exit to the gatehouse should be. Behind them, the golden gates slammed shut, so they were currently trapped. One of the cloaked figures shifted uneasily -- he was not used to the enhanced security measures -- but remained generally calm. The two Vanirs, however, simply walked up to the block of ice and stared through it. The two guards above them looked down, counted the people and nodded to each other. The two Vanirs looked up to see the guards above them motion away from the block, so they stepped back. At that moment, a firestorm engulfed the block of ice as a drain opened up under it, and in a few minutes, their path was clear, the firestorm gone.

"Come quickly." They could already see the block of ice begin to form again, and freeze rapidly, so they ran across the area, and after a few minutes, the thick block of ice was back to the way it was.

Towering over the landscape in front of them was the palace at Niflheim Castle, built out of the same materials the wall was made out of. The path leading up to the palace was all made of ice...but it wasn't solidified water, it was something else. No one really knew, or cared that much to ask someone that did. The wall clearly reflected the style of the palace itself -- a sort of twisted Gothic architecture in that it was structurally stable enough without the need for butresses and the works...but that didn't stop them.

They made their way into the anteroom of the palace, it still being as cold as it was outside. The doors slammed shut behind them, echoing throughout the small yet very tall room (the doors themselves were some eight metres high). The doors in front of them were about three metres high (the cloaked figures were very tall, and that seemed to be the average height around these parts), and seemingly made out of a hardwood, although what specifically, no one could say.

When they entred the grand hall of the palace, anyone who's been in the Kremlin back in Rekjyavich-Andropov Military City would see a strange resemblance -- the grand hall was a perfect sphere, albeit much smaller.

An energy elevator formed in front of them, and they all boarded it, it then proceeding to go up, the roof above them opening. Eventually, they found themselves in a sort of mini-grand-hall like you'd find in a baroque palace, except it was more gothic than baroque, and the colour of the interior was a metallic blue-white; it practically shown and glittered.

They went up the grand staircase in front of them, wrapping around where they came from and then merging once more to form a level above them, and walked through two doors, coming to another antechamber, though much smaller than the one previous. As the doors behind them slammed shut, a hissing noise could be heard. When it stopped, the temperature began to rise slightly. The doors in front of them opened up, and they entred another antechamber, and the process was repeated. THis happened about three times until the temperature went from -130 Fahrenheit to about 61 Fahrenheit. Finally, they exited the last antechamber and entred what looked like some sort of executive room. Furniture was laid out in a way to face each other, like the Star Office in the Kremlin -- but there was no central desk. Below the glass floor, one could see the Council of the Vanir's, the ruling council of the Tundarian Expanse. It was appointed long ago, and has never changed, and never been interfered with by RAMC. All of the party sat down, and the couches were arranged so that everyone was an equal -- there was no head of the room. Prince John smiled at Siri.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I must apologize for the lack of hospitality on my part, however, my current situation, being an Enemy of the Crown, does not permit me to extend you such pleasures." AT this point, the four regular cloaked figures disappeared, so it was just the two Vanir's, Siri, and John.

"Now, if I may, I would like to introduce you to my two friends. This is Vanir Þrúðglam. He is in charge of maintaining the secrecy of this area, and maintaining the security of our secrets and our elders." Vanir Þrúðglam bowed to Siri and retook his seat.

"This is Vanir Mökkvaesir. He is the current...I guess you would call it Chancellor... of the Vanir Council. He is currently the most powerful being in the Tundarian Expanse."

"Second to you, Lord Kvrrscxlyn, and the other Æsir," Mökkvaesir quickly stated. Prince John smiled and continued speaking.

"When you arrived here, Lady Sirisana, what did you feel? What did you think? What did you notice? And one last question....

"What do you know of Dersconi History?"

*tag*

As one would certainly expect of her by now, Siri thought the long trip up to this ‘executive room’ within the castle to be rather uneventful and uninteresting, for she was never admired magnificent displays that others created, no matter how amazing they may be. In the past, she considered the grand entrance of the Indrans to the first meeting of the old alliance TRITON to be nothing more than a waste of time, the same with the entrances that most national leaders made. And even now, in Niflheim Castle, she cared not for the way things appeared as long as the job that they were meant to do was done. She had no reason to be amazed, in her mind, because there are more important things to be impressed by, such as one’s fighting skills.

Though, seated comfortably with her hands resting on her lap, she failed to mention this to Prince John, mostly for the sake of etiquette, nothing else. But she did ponder what he asked of her carefully before she opened her mouth to speak.

“My feelings have been overly complex as of late and my senses slightly hindered, but…” She stared towards him, emotionless. “…here…there is an air of seriousness and urgency with recent events, a certain importance to why I am here. Of course, I am curious and slightly wary of what is occurring, considering I am in a foreign land.”

Siri broke eye contact and looked down at her hands, gently clasping them together before she continued. “And considering your final question, I have a feeling I am due for a history lesson.”

Prince John knew Siri didn't care about all of this -- the multiple chambers were not meant to impress, they were meant to prevent temperature shock. The Prince listened intently to Siri's responses. He was not surprised at her answers, but was curious as to an important part she missed. She will understand later.

"Of course, you are in a land in which you have never been before, only a fool would feel comfortable here." Prince John leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, smiling.

"Indeed, that you are. However, I was never a fan of classroom learning." Prince John stood up, everyone else following. The chairs moved out of the way.

"I find that the hands on and on-location education is much more effective." At that point, the floor from under them dissipated and they fell into the Hall of the Vanirs, but, before they could hit the bottom, the large carving at the bottom moved out of the way, and they fell further into some sort of energy bubble. Above them, the floor to the office and the Hall of Vanirs went back to normal, but where they were, strange energies flowed about them as they floated inside this bubble. Anyone who wasn't used to it would feel a sort of grasping around, and a sudden jolt of a muscle spasm somewhere, a tickling sensation is possible, followed maybe by a pulse of pain. However, after a few seconds, everything just went black....

As Siri blinked open her eyes, Prince John was standing over her, and pulled her up. "My sincerest apologies, I probably should have warned you about that." He brushed some of the snow out of her hair and motioned to the surrounding area.

"Welcome to the Kæsþiöndhrí Courtyard." Looking around, it was on a high mountain, the snow falling at an abnormally slow pace. In front of them stood an oblisk not unlike that of RAMC, albeit much, much smaller. Six stone pedastools on each side, forming a circle that made the wall of the courtyard. However, there was a space up front in the middle where a pedastool should have been -- instead, it was a large sculpture of a three headed dragon. On top of the pedastools stood double-headed Eagles, their wings holing torches that burned even in the frigid weather. John led Siri to the stone statue, and showed her what layed beyond it -- a cliff-drop more than thirty thousand feet. "As you can see, what I took you through is the only way to get you here."

John, accompanied by the two Vanirs, led Siri back to the courtyard, when she saw what was actually here. In front of her, jutting out of the mountain, was an entrance so large as to make the Kremlin Palace look like a lego model.

"It's a bit extravegant, but the nice thing is, all of the construction material was provided." He looked up at the sky. "Do you realize that this mountain is over one hundred and twenty thousand feet high?" He shook his head. "I still don't quite understand that myself." He looked again at the structure. Other than it's....massiveness, it wasn't much. It just barely stuck out of the mountain.

"What you see here is the tomb of Racbúri Hetýr Kæsþiöndhríssar." The two Vanirs shot their heads at Prince John in shock. "However, because he was what amounted to a god -- and most beings worshipped him as one -- the utterance of his name was seen as a crime against all of existance, due to his power. Because of this, when referring to him, they took the first few letters of his name to come up with a new one: Rachek." He glanced up at the sun before turning back to Siri. "I believe my messengers have departed, so we must make haste. In we go!" John led Siri up to the front of the tomb. There was no door, but there was a section carved into the wall written in ancient Dersconi. Prince John mumbled something and waived his hand across the door, and a portal-like vortex appeared over the inscriptions.

"Don't worry, it won't have any affect. Just walk through, and we shall begin your history lesson."

OOC: More later.
_______________________________________________

The Forests of Pschycotic Pschycos

In the forest, there was a simple cabin hidden deep in the woods, inhabited by...we'll stick with "strange" animals. That cabin was occupied by one man, a man who has since faded from glory, and who lived in peace in the woods of PsiPso...until now, that is.

The gravship descended into a clearing near the cabin, and landed without incident. When the hatch dropped open, two cloaked figures stepped out, looking around at the sights. As they approached the cabin, a jackalope ran in front of them, startling the one. The shrugged it off and went up to the cabin door, and knocked.

"Nakamura Kenshin?"
_______________________________________________

On another ship, their destination was stranger yet. One of the cloaked figures looked at the other. "How close?"

"Not too far." The ship continued to navigate the folds in Reality as they made their way towards their destination, undetectable by any sort of technology, as they simply were not inside the universe.

"We're here." They stopped the ship just beside where they needed to go and got out of the cockpit. The one cloaked figure grabbed the letter and began meditating.

***********************

All seemed calm, for the most part. Night had just fallen upon the city, and distrubances were not quite what was expected.

However, in one corner of the room, an orb appeared, and began to glow, and expand. And expand....and expand. Eventually, it formed the figure of the meditating cloaked figure, which approached the lone person in the room.

"Lady nos Fëanor?" The spectre materialized the letter and handed it to her, awaiting her response.

Dear Lady nos Fëanor,

I know you and I have never met. You probably have never even heard of me. However, in times of crisis, one finds allies and friends in the most unlikely of places.

While I cannot tell you even half of what needs to be said in this letter, I can say that there is a grave threat looming.

I ask you to trust me, even though your instincts may tell you not to. There are few I can trust anymore, but, for whatever reason, I feel that you are one of them.

I pray that you accept my request to come to the Tundarian Expanse to meet with me in person. My time is short.

Lord Kvrrscxlyn/Veliky Kynaz Ivan Rekjyavich

The projection of the cloaked figure's conciousness then raised a hand, and a cloud of light enveloped the Lady's head, giving her the location of where to find the ship, and how to get there, as it was still "parked" outside Reality. Before she could ask any questions, the apparition disappeared, leaving Sirithil alone once more.

As the two knocked at the door, a small sign on the door knob knocked around slightly in response.

"Fishing out back."

Walking around the side of the log cabin, footsteps cushioned by pine needles, a breathtaking sight would greet even the most "I don't give a rat's ass" mood. Through a few more pines was a pristine lake, water glinting and reflecting a deep blue. Several wooded islands stood in it, breaking the water. Across the lake stood large mountains, though not large enough to have snowcaps. An occassional motorboat with water skiier went past, leaving a relaxing humming noise behind it. On the shore was a small white sand beach with a wood fence on the left (to block out the public beach), and on the right was a pine dock. At the end was a beach chair with a man sitting in it. As the figures approached, they could see the man's purple kimono and white bottoms and a conical straw hat, from under which came a pony-tail of orange hair. In the man's hands was an old fashioned fishing rod, as in a stick with a string.

"You know, I'm not actually fishing. I think I just like enjoying this view," he said as the figures approached. "One could learn a lot from sitting here an hour." A beachball started drifting lazily past the dock. The man bent over and plucked it out. The initials M.Z. stood out on the side in marker. "Like this. A ball, lost from its owner, will drift where the waters will it. Like the ball, so too are men. When we stray from God, we resign ourselves to drifting aimlessly. Sometimes, we end up in a better place. But most times, we might end up popping on some unfortunate rock. Thus, it is the duty of men like us to lead people back to the Lord and protect them." He turned and removed the straw hat, laying it on his chair. "The weather doesn't call for rain or wind. It should be fine. Come, allow me to gather something. I'm sure I know why you're here." He walked down the dock with the ball in his hand, the two figures in tow. Back to the front of the house he went, leaving the ball at the end of the driveway, near his mailbox. "He'll come for it. He always does." He went back to the front door and opened it. He took the sign off and went inside. In five minutes, he had reemerged. His kimono was gone, replaced by an intricate armor. It's color was black with red trims, built in the traditional Japanese style. He was without a helm, but a cloak was attached to the back. It was deep maroon with a gold border. In the middle was the Nakamura mon, a phoenix, also in gold. Attached at his waist were two swords: a traditional katana (reverse-blade, as we all know), and a straight, double-edge longsword. It's sheath was a deep maroon as well, with gold trimmings, and the hilt was brilliant. It was gold with red leather hand grips. A bright emerald stood in the middle at the base of the blade. It also had a hand guard over the grip, and two fins that stood out on either side of the blade, furthur protecting the hand.

Shutting the door, he replaced the "Gone fishing" sign. "Well? Let us go save humanity once again."

OOC: Ugh. God Willing, I get something up this weekend, but I don't forsee that. :(

Prince John and Siri stepped through the gate and entered the tomb chamber itself. The chamber they just came into was…well, large. Behind them was an orb of white and purple light, and it was their gate back outside. The room was a perfect sphere – a common theme in Dersconi structures. Unlike the other castles, fortresses, and palaces, however, they were in the centre of the sphere, instead of off to the side. They were not standing on a floating platform this time – instead, it was a gigantic column coming from the middle of the bottom of the sphere.

“This is the Great Hall of the Tomb. Unlike the other places, however, this Hall is in the middle of the structure.” He guided Siri over to one edge of the column and pointed to one section, where, in the side of the sphere, stood guard a stature of a three headed dragon.

“Behind there lies everything I look for, everything I’ve guarded, everything we need. However, we can’t get there.” Prince John motioned around the sphere. There was one archway in front of them, with two large doors. However, around them stood six large carvings – one depicted nothing, the other, everything. Another showed gusts, another, the ocean, a fifth, the Earth, and the final, a blazing fire. Looking back at the three headed dragon, it was clear that each of the six eyes stared in the direction of one of the other carvings.

“Come.” Prince John led Siri down the path that appeared for them, towards the only open doors in the chamber. When he opened them, the room beyond the doors seemed like a dark vortex, but they walked in anyways. The doors slammed shut behind them, and two beams of fire shot out from the floor and down along the edges of the path, lighting the area. It turns out, this room is, well, quite large. It was designed like a Council room, only in the middle of the room was a large bowl that was currently being used as a torch to light the entire area, and along the walls were inscriptions – a lot of inscriptions.

“These inscriptions make up the first part of the Dersconi Chronicles, the only true and accurate source of Dersconi History, so I figured this would be an adequate place to give you your lesson.” There were two benches across from each other by the torch, and they sat down on them, as the inscriptions began to glow.

“The things that happened even before Derscon are important, but I do not think you could understand them – not unless you see it, but I cannot show it to you, not now. So we shall start a little further on in our story, when Derscon first steps foot on the Earth.” Prince John waved his hands in the direction of the first set of glyphs, and they glowed brighter than the others – much brighter. The aura began to come towards them, and swirled around John and Siri, centred over the flame in the middle. The aura dissipated, and the glyphs were now floating above them, swirling into the flames. When they were all in, the fire turned a shade of green, and drew Siri in, as the surroundings faded away…
_______________________

“This is a truly beautiful planet.” What seemed to be a lieutenant looked out the windows, onto the planet they just ran across. The young Kæsþiöndhrí ship captain, Kvøÿþїỡr Þrúðglam nodded, hovering over the controls of the ship.

In the back of the bridge, Lord Kvrrscxlyn and Lady Sirisana were observing the excitement, un-noticed by the surrounding…beings. John could see Siri’s confusion, and explained.

“Think of this as watching a movie, but instead of being on a screen, the show is all around you.” Behind them, the door to the bridge opened and a high-ranking official walked in, causing Siri to raise an eyebrow (a substantial show of surprise, considering the person).

“That looks like—”

“Indeed,” Prince John said, cutting her off. Captain Þrúðglam turned around, saluting.

“Chancellor, sir, we’ve identified a suitable landing spot in the north, on this mountain.” The chancellor walked over to the captain, passing John and Siri without so much as a glance, and frowned.

“This is a good spot, yes, but getting down may prove to be difficult.” The door to the bridge opened once more, and a cloaked figure appeared, bowing to the Chancellor.

“Æsir Andropov! There are complications in our plans.”

“Oh?”

“It seems we have a fortification of JISA at the base of this mountain range.” The Chancellor grimaced.

“Have you informed Råcøжúђrî?”

“No, sir.”

“I will do this, then. We have killed them before, but it seems we missed a few. Providence has provided us with our chance of redemption. Do not botch this up, Vanir.”

In the back, Siri looked inquisitively at John. “JISA?”

“Yes. It was an alliance formed by less-than-friendly Drow, a confederacy of Sith Lords, and a demon-god you may or may not know as Damonagaashi. Had I shown you Dersconi history before our landing on Earth, you’d get a better picture, but I didn’t. You’ll just have to accept it for now. I will show you the later history at some other point.”

““Very well, John…but…who the hell is Damonagaashi?”?”

“Damonagaashi is Rachek’s…rival, of sorts. He is the “evil side” of him, you could say. Immensely powerful – he single-handedly annihilated a brigade of Praesillei Dei.” Siri looked confused – it was probably the most she’s been confused in all of her very long life.

“But, wait…if the Praesillei Dei is the Tsar’s personal army, then that would mean Damonagaashi is still living…correct?”

“Indeed. He is still around.” At that moment, the ship rocked violently, and the Chancellor rushed back into the bridge.

“What the hell was that?” Captain Þrúðglam shouted across the bridge without looking up from his console.

“Sir! We were just hit by some sort of missile barrage!”

“Well for God’s sake take them out!” The Chancellor realized it was not a necessary command – telling a soldier to shoot something that was firing at them – but dismissed the thought immediately.

The shields on all of the craft went up, and the guns began to unfold. Several of the small gunships flanking the main craft began opening fire on the missile batteries, quickly eliminating them. Unfortunately, one of the transport ships was shot down, crashing at the base of the mountain. One of the gunships quickly turned to fire on it as to prevent the JISA from desecrating the bodies, or using any of the equipment, but it was shot down, too. However, just before crashing, it released its entire ordinance and self-destructed, eliminating the rest of the missile batteries.

Prince John turned back to Siri. “I believe we better take our leave. This may be a movie, but we can still die.” They both began to glow, and the area faded around them. After a bit, Siri found herself waking up once more by the torch in the room in the temple she was just at. All of the teleporting and passing out was beginning to wear on her.

“What relevance did that have at all?!”

“It did, but you only saw some of it. I wish I could show you the earlier parts, but I cannot. And to show you anything else would be…less than safe. I don’t mean to insult your combat abilities, but in the chance you should be killed, we’d both be out of luck, so unnecessary risks I shall not take. Besides, I can’t just drop you in on a war between the gods, now, can I?” He smiled as he stood up, leading her out of the chamber.

The two entered the Main Hall and climbed one of the tall pillars to get to a large passageway, and while walking down it, curiosity got the best of Siri.

“So…what happened in that battle?” Prince John gave a half smile and began explaining.

“Well, as you know, JISA managed to down two of our ships. We didn’t have an actual war fleet there, it was mostly transports and light gunships. Squadron One managed to keep them off the mountain – the very mountain we’re currently in, actually – as Rachek’s ship landed and started pouring out our small force. It was a nasty fight on the ground, but we drove them off.

“The man left in charge of the occupation force on Earth was a Dark Lord of the Sith – Drache Kvrrscxlyn.” Siri glanced over at him.

“That’s what they called you – Lord Kvrrscxlyn.” John nodded.

“Indeed. How do you think I got that lightsaber, and those robes you saw when we were hunting in Cherry Ridge? They were passed down in the family.”

“And he wasn’t killed?”

“No. When he surrendered to Rachek, he also left the Sith, and eventually married a daughter of a high ranking family in the Æsir – the Rekjyavich family. Upon his wife’s death a short while later from assassins of scattered JISA members, he was adopted into the Rekjyavich family itself and made an Æsir.”

“Okay, that answers one of my questions. Now, that Chancellor…”

“However,” Prince John continued, completely ignoring Siri’s remark about the Chancellor. “He was later assassinated himself, so his children were raised by the Andropov family, another high-ranking Æsir family, until they were old enough to be on their own, where they once more adopted the Rekjyavich name and took their seat on the Æsir Council.

“But, that is enough history for now. We have arrived at our destination.” Prince John pushed open the stone doors without breaking his stride and brought Siri into an enormous ovular room (relatively, anyways), crafted like an ancient altar room. Directly in front of them was the All Seeing Eye, carved into the back wall. In the middle of the room was an obelisk, reaching up to the ceiling, its point just barely above the actual eye of the Eye of Providence. In seemingly random places in the large room, stone tiles with inscriptions not unlike those which were carved into the Main Hall. Around the Obelisk, however, were four tiles, sharing the inscriptions that were on the other tiles scattered about, albeit two were misplaced – they were inscribed on two pillars in front of the Obelisk.

“Nice place, isn’t it? I don’t really want to describe all of this to you, not until our other guests arrive.” Prince John put away his recorder and snapped his fingers. It was a quick teleport out to the Main Hall (The building prevented people from teleporting in and out of it other than the main channel). The two then entered the bright gateway, appearing once more at the edge of the mountain with the courtyard, and Prince John teleported them both to the gate of Niflheim Castle, and, walking through it, into the castle itself, teleported back into the office-like structure, giving them both a bit of a temperature shock. At that point, Vanir Mökkvaesir entered the room.

“Ah, Lord Kvrrscxlyn, I was wondering when you would get back. Nakamura Kenshin is on his way in the shuttle we sent for him. Shuttles have been dispatched to pick up King John Antonette of Cherry Ridge, and we are working on establishing the location of Colonel Cougar of Snake Eaters. Annastralanna d’Maril – I believe she is Valsharess of Kaymiril, now – has been ruled out, and will not attend. I have used Franz von Papen as a liaison to send a letter via courier to Joseph-Napoleon, and have dispatched the shuttle to the prescribed location. As for our two other…allies…I have yet to establish any sort of contact with them.” Prince John nodded.

“Thank you, Vanir. You have made excellent progress. Please go see to the execution of our plans.” The cloaked figured bowed low before exiting, leaving Prince John and Siri alone.

“So, Siri, would you like some tea? Coffee? Anything else to drink? And, if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them, assuming I am not going to tell everyone in the upcoming meeting.” Or if you’re not ready for it, he didn’t add.

===========================================================

North-West Cherry Ridge

In a mountainous region, unpopulated by the regular Ridgians, there was a lake surrounded by woods. On this lake was a picturesque cabin, and at this cabin were King John of Cherry Ridge and his wife, Katrina.

However, that peace was about to be disturbed.

“Set for landing.”

“Right, landing.” The shuttle – nearly the same as those that were sent to pick up everyone else, albeit smaller than the one to pick up Siri – descended over the small lake, yet managed to not send a single ripple through the body of water. The ship rested calmly on top of the water, seemingly floating, as the ramp opened, and two cloaked figures stepped out. They began walking towards the King – on water. Finally making it to shore, they reached King Antonette and bowed before extending a package to the King.

The cloaked figure opened the package and pulled out a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Crème, handing it to King John. “Lord Kvrrscxlyn requests your presence immediately, with your sword.”

=========================================================
Pschycotian Shogunate Hunting Camp

“Not just humanity.” The two cloaked figures led the Shogun to the shuttle, and, upon boarding, showed him to the Captain’s Quarters, before taking off to return to the Tundra.

===========================================================
National Military Command Centre

“Strange,” the young lieutenant thought aloud. “This is the second time.” He called his commander over.

“Yes?”

“Sir, this is the second time this has happened. The radar displays are showing some sort of strange craft coming to and from a region in the tundra. Two seemed to have already left and returned, but two others left and have yet to return.” The commander nodded.

“Thank you, lieutenant. I shall pass this on to the Kremlin. Keep a close eye out for more.”

“Yes, sir.”

============================================================
The Tundra

The shuttle landed in the same clearing that Siri’s shuttle landed previously, and was greeted by a similar group of cloaked figures.

“Good evening, Shogun. I am Vanir Þrúðglam. Please, follow me.” The Vanir led the Shogun through the thick fog and into the clearing, and, to save time, teleported them both to Niflheim Castle. He escorted the Shogun into the building itself, and immediately teleported him into the officeroom where Siri and Prince John were sitting.

“Ah, Kenshin, welcome to my summer home. Please have a seat. Tea?”

===========================================================
New Geneva, Greater Prussia

New Geneva was the only real Imperial City. Situated between Reichskamphen and the Herzogtum Prußisch Kiew in Derscon, it was the capital of Greater Prussia, and the magnificence of the city showed its significance.

The car sped up to the gates of the city on the Dersconi side, making it through the security checkpoints set up by the Imperial Guard with ease. Upon entering the city, he travelled down the main road and took a left at the centre of the city, parking in the lot for the Imperial Palace. Grabbing his briefcase out from the passenger side, he got out of the car, locked it, and walked towards the Palace.

Upon encountering the Imperial Guardsmen there, he simply showed his pass granted long ago by the Arch-Chancellor for freedom of travel in all Imperial facilities. The man left out the fact it was granted by Alexei Andropov, who was now dead (and the card showed no date or any other mark to make it seem suspicious). The man finally entered the palace itself, bypassing security with that card and his ID as a general in the Soli Deo Gloria division of the Imperial Guard and made his way to the office of the Emperor.

Outside, the secretary looked up at his ID and smiled. “Sir, do you have an appointment?” The man shook his head.

“No, I do not. However, I have a very important message from Dersconi Count Franz von Papen, and it is imperative that I see the Emperor immediately to deliver it.” The secretary looked sceptical.

“Why is it so important?”

“The matter of the letter is for the Emperor only, but I can tell you that it deals with a grave threat to Derscon, Reichskamphen, and the safety and security of the Greater Prussian Empire.” The secretary – combining the factors of the message topic, and who it was delivered by – nodded and buzzed into the Emperor’s office.

“Your Majesty, General Pierre Jean-Baptise La Salle is here to see you.” There was a click as the door opened and the General was led in.

“Ah, good evening, General La Salle. What can I do for you?” The general bowed low before speaking.

“Your Majesty, if you recall, a Dersconi noble – Prince John – had a small discussion with you at your coronation dinner, about how he’d have to disappear, but he would contact you later. Well, he just did.” The General handed over a letter to the Emperor. “I apologize for being blunt, but your response is needed immediately.” The Emperor opened the letter and began to read.

Emperor Napoleon,

I am sorry I could not deliver this in person, but times are changing. I cannot detail why I need you in this letter, but I can only ask you to come. I ask that you come with General La Salle to Friedensburg to meet with Franz von Papen there. Upon your arrival, I will be able to reveal more.

I apologize for the lack of warning, and lack of reason, but you must trust me. All will be revealed in time, and when there is no security worry.

Yours in Christ,
Prince John Rekjyavich

General La Salle looked down at the Emperor as he finished reading. “Well, sir?”



NOTE: All diologue with Siri, which is NGs character, was pre-approved by NG, as to prevent one-line posts.

Napoleon looked at the General and then back at the letter, taking a pause to sigh. "Very well. Let us get on with it."

Joseph-Napoleon stood up and put on a large black greatcoat, and flipped up the collar. Dressed in mostly average civilian clothes as he was, the Emperor wouldn't stick out too much.

Joseph walked down the hall and knocked on the office of Gerhardt Volckner. The door quickly opened.

"Majesty?"

"Gerhardt. I am going to be out of New Geneva for a short while. I need you to keep things under control, and do your best to insure no one notices I'm gone."

General La Salle nodded and led the Emperor out of the office, getting a concerned look from his secretary, which wasn't noticed by either man.

The Soli Deo Gloria Division General stood behind and to the right of the Emperor as he talked to Volckner. The General could still remember that night, so long ago, when Charles Perigord of the Liberal Party became Prime Minister, during one of the many internal conflicts of Reichskamphen. He remembered the assassination attempt on Volckner, and how he thwarted it and was injured in the process, and how Volckner managed to get him awarded the Parliamentary Cross of Honour, the Imperial Star of Valour, the Golden Arrow-Crown, and his Colonel's stripes (managing to skip TWO ranks, as he was a captain at the time). After Reichskamphen settled down, he was transferred to the Soli Deo Gloria division, initially based in northern Reichskamphen, and was moved to be based in Reichskamphen when Napoleon suffered the attempted assassination that placed him in a coma. During that time, Tsar Alexei -- who was at the time Emperor of Greater Prussia -- worked with Volckner a lot, and took note of La Salle, promoting him first to Brigadier General, where he stayed for some time. After the annihilation of the Greater Prussian and Reichskamphen royal family, he was promoted to a General (under the urgings of Volckner) by Tsar Alexei, where, after everything settled down, aided in the restoration of the Reichskamphen lands in the north and the security of New Geneva.

After the Emperor was finished talking, La Salle gave a friendly nod towards Volckner before leading the Emperor back out of the office, downstairs, and out of the palace to the vehicle waiting for them.

La Salle drove himself, and was out of uniform -- he was under strict orders from Franz von Papen not to attract attention -- but kept it in the back, just in case something happened.
_____________________________________________

Friedensburg, Herzogtum Preußisch-Kiew

The vehicle crossed the Dersconi-Reichskamphen border without incident (the General knew where the guards were that used to serve under him, and were friends of the La Salles and the Papens), and after a few hours of triple-digit speeds down the road, arrived at Friedensburg, the estate of Franz von Papen.

As they drove through the gatehouse, they didn't notice the three people in the forests, watching them.

"Was that Joseph-Napoleon?" The other man nodded.

"I think it was." The third man in the back grunted.

"That is interesting. Golovko will want to know about this. We should stay here, though, just in case something else happens."

"Agreed."
______________________________________________

Friedensburg Estate

The inner gates closed behind them as General La Salle drove the vehicle down the road, coming to a modest residence (as modest as a Dersconi Palace could be) with a large fountain in the middle of the road, directly in front of the palace. La Salle went off to the right to enter one of the buildings, which was the garage, pulled in, parked the car, and got out, opening the door for the Emperor and leading him out.

La Salle went in through a door in the back of the garage, exposing a small lounge, with a painting of Tsar Rekjyavich Ivan Andropov III on the one side, with two chest-high marble columns on either side, orbs on the top of both. He went up to the painting and put his hand on the right orb, and it began to glow.

"Hand print confirmed. You are free to enter, Pierre." The painting came forward a little with the left column, and slid out of the way, exposing a winding stairway.

"This way, Your Majesty." La Salle led the Emperor down the staircase, and they could hear the painting and the column moving back into place above them. When they reached the bottom, he opened a door, exposing a somewhat long passageway. As they walked, La Salle began to speak.

"It's just down this hallway. There'll be a main room in a bit, where the other passageways meet up, and then two oak doors. When we go through there, it's only a short walk to the lift." As they walked, events unfolded as La Salle said they would. They entered an oval chamber where many passageways linked up, and there were two oak doors at the head of the room. Opening them, it was in fact a short walk to the lift.

They boarded the lift, and after about thirty seconds or so, arrived in an anteroom of sorts. Going through the oak door in front of them, they finally arrived at what seemed to be a grand hall.

"I know, you're thinking 'why didn't we just walk to the front doors?' This isn't the Main Hall, it's actually a bit above and to the right. This palace, like a lot of palaces, is divided into sections. Where we need to go is up that balcony."

The two people started....

http://625.uk.com/tv_logos/logos/bbc1_colour_2.jpg
The BBC would like to apologize for the long and boring account of walking down passageways, stairways, lifts, moving walkways, planes, cars, busses, ships, spacecraft, meteors, et cetera. We have cut this scene and have moved to what is not lacking in substance as much as the previous scene was.

Again, the BBC apologizes for the lack of substance, even though the BBC has nothing to do with any of this rubbish.

Good day.

"Ah! Good evening, Your Majesty." Franz von Papen smiled and shook the Emperor's hand, but didn't offer him a seat. Instead, he kept walking out another door.

"I wish you could stay and rest a bit, but Prince John has stated his need to meet with you immediately. He has a shuttle waiting for you in the back." von Papen led the Emperor dow...

http://625.uk.com/tv_logos/logos/bbc1_colour_2.jpg
The BBC again wishes to apologize for ALL OF THIS BLEEDING TRAVELLING!

*ehem*

We will be cutting that scene and taking you straight to the action. Again, we apologize.

Napoleon was led up onto the roof of the palace -- which was flat in the back, unlike most palaces -- where he saw a large, ancient shuttle, that seemed to have no angles to it whatsoever. Two cloaked figures were waiting at the boarding ramp.

"Joseph-Napoleon, Lord Kvrrscxlyn sends his regards, and has sent us to take you to him. Come." The cloaked figures escorted the Emperor up the ramp, which then closed, and took off towards their destination, but only AFTER going east quite aways in order to spend as little time in Dersconi airspace as possible.
______________________________________________

"Holy shit!" one of the men who were camped outside Friedensburg. The leader of the group nodded.

"Golovko was telling me about the random radar blips. These must be it. We must get this information to Tsar Xavier and Golovko immediately."
______________________________________________

Niflheim Castle, The Tundarian Expanse, Derscon

After going through the same ceremony that Lady Sirisana and Shogun Kenshin already went through, the Emperor was led into the chamber by Vanir Mökkvaesir, where Prince John, Siri, and Kenshin were sitting.

Prince John nodded and smiled. "Emperor Napoleon, thank you for coming on such short notice. Tea?" The Prince poured a cup and handed it to the Emperor, looking around the room after he took his seat again.

"We'll wait a little longer to see if anyone else arrives."

John looked at the men, an odd look crosswing his face. "Lord who? Weird name." However, upon opening the package, he smiled, "Weird name for a weird man. Alright, give me a few minutes."

John went inside, where his wife, Katrina von Papen, was cooking lunch. He walked up behind her, and wrapped his hands around her waist. "I'm sorry to ruin our trip, but messengers from a very good friend," she would know who he meant, "Have arrived. I suspect it is something with Xavier, as he mentioned." He gave her a light kiss, and turned to walk away. Suddenly, however, they turned around at once, and John picked her up, and place dher on the couch, where they engaged in everything leading up to the marital act possible with clothes still on, before John retrieved his sword, and changed into more fitting clothes. "Katrina, the Cardinal is in Allanea, so 'tis your first time in charge without any help. Take the most trusted ministers, and some friends, and go to the main underground command center. Get in touch with your father and let him know. Do not come out unless you here from me? Understand?" She was quiet, unusual for her, and nodded.

John kissed her forehead, and walked outside, with his sword hanging from his side, and dressed in his usual pale blue uniform.

"I'm ready."

Kenshin bowed in greeting, his armour jingling, and his cloak rustling slightly. The broadsword at his side rattled a little, but the odd thing was that the rattle echoed amongst itself for a moment. "Yes, tea would be greatly appreciated. This is quite a summer home, but I prefer mine's coziness...if you'll excuse me. It's just a sight too cold in here," he said as he sat down. "So, it's been a while. Besides preparing for what promises to be a hell of a fight, how is everyone?"

The two cloaked figures nodded to King John and escorted him onto the ship, which immediately took off and headed for Derscon.
_________________________________________

NMCC

"There it is again, sir!" The Dersconi colonel nodded and sent the information to the place he was told to.
_________________________________________

Eastern Sea

The craft was flying towards the Tundra as all of the other ones had. This flight, however, was a bit different, considering there were now three ATA missiles headed towards it from the Kriegsfalken interceptors of the Dersconi Imperial Air Force. Everyone on board -- all three beings, John and the two cloaked figures -- knew it was happening, since they were all in the same room. Of course, anyone who was observant would start to wonder how the craft was being piloted, since no one was in the cockpit....considering there wasn't one. But, that's irrelevant, really. What IS relevant is that one of the missiles made contact with the right side of the craft, blowing a nice little chunk out of it, opening a hole.

One of the cloaked figures glanced over at the hole and waved his hand over it, sending up an airtight energy barrier that would prevent a vaccuum from being created. Through the hole, King John and the two figures could see the other two missiles approaching, and fast. The one cloaked figure sat down and began to meditate.

Outside, the two missiles glowed for a few seconds, and then exploded, far enough away as to be out of range to hurt the craft. The planes, then, began to glow, as did the meditating cloaked figure.

Then the planes exploded.

When that was finished, the cloaked figure got up and returned to an upper chamber, and the craft was landed safely on the same spot where the other crafts landed before. Vanir Þrúðglam, however, was not happy.

"Hmm, it seems they caught up on our little scheme." he shrugged and had the ship sent down to the bay for repairs and greeted King John.

"I am here on behalf of Lord Kvrrscxlyn, and I am to escort you to Niflheim Castle. Follow me."

*insert long, drawn out text of the Vanir leading the King to Prince John*

Vanir Þrúðglam opened the door and led King John into the chamber, where everyone else was waiting. Prince John got up to embrace his drinking partner.

"John! Long time no see. PLease, sit down. Tea? Sorry, no alchohol at the moment." Vanir Þrúðglam didn't leave, as was custom, so Lord Kvrrscxlyn looked up, curious.

"Yes?"

"Sir, our craft was shot at by Damonagaashi's fighters. They were destroyed, but I fear the secrecy of this summit has been compromised." Prince John sighed before responding.

"I figured it would happen eventually, just not quite this soon. I do not believe there is too much to worry about. He only knows that there is a summit. He doesn't know who, where, how many, or why. We should be fine." He looked at the clock across the room. Where is the other one I sent for?

"We shall wait a bit longer, but it is always possible that she will not show."

When a hole was ripped into the side of the craft, John laughed, and said, "Well, that doesn't look good." However, when the cloaked figure fixed the problem, he commented, "But that does." He made similar comments about the explosions of the missiles and planes, such as, "I'm guessing our good friend Xavier sent those?"

When he arrived, and saw John, he greeted him as usual, "No alchohol? What is wrong with you? I have a solution." He produced the bottle of Baileys Original Irish Cream and set it on the table. "I believe you sent this."

"I believe that this is not the best time for alcohol. It strikes me as a time when we need to be clear-headed in the highest degree," Kenshin said, shaking his head.

John blinked, "I don't get what you mean How can you get drunk off of this?" He poured a glass for himself, and asked, "Anyone else want some?"

The glimmer in his eye showed that he enjoyed pissing off the Shogun, and he made one final comment, "What are you shaking your head at?"

With nothing more than a mere glance and total silence, Siri acknowledged the presence of the new arrivals as she drew her revolvers from their holsters and rested them upon her lap with the intent of reloading them. She then reached into her trenchcoat and produced four shells from the twin ammunition belts that were strapped to her chest, before gently flipping the cylinders on the weapons out and carefully placing a shell in each of the empty slots. After carefully inspecting each one for any signs of damage and seeing that the firearms were now ready for any more hostile encounters, Siri slid them back into their respective holsters and quietly picked at her fingers, listening to the conversation that seemed to be rather unexciting.

Prince John smiled at his drinking partner as he accepted the glass of Bailey's Irish Creme. As both John's alchohol tolerances were extremely high (Prince John having outdrank a small band of elves without passing out before), the small glass of alchohol wouldn't do anything to either of them.

At that time, Vanir Þrúðglam came into the room, bowing low to Prince John.

"Lord Kvrrscxlyn, we have identified the location of Colonel Cougar." Prince John nodded.

"Excellent. Send a ship immediately."

"I shall send one at once." With that, the Vanir exited the room once more.
___________________________________________

In Space

This ship followed the same procedure that was taken with Lady nos Fëanor. The ship travelled outside of reality, until they came to the point where their target would be. One of the cloaked figures then began to meditate, projecting his conciousness...

On Snake Eater Prime

The apparition appeared in front of Colonel Cougar and began speaking immediately.

"Colonel Cougar. Lord Kvrrscxlyn -- I believe you would call him 'Prince John Rekjyavich' -- requests your immediate presence. He has informed me to give you the following message: 'Our friendly demon-god is causing a ruckus again.' He requests you come with me to his castle in the Dersconi Tundra."

John gladly poured his friend a glass, and passed it across the table. He then turned and looked at Siri, and spoke, with a tone indicating mocking, but in a friendly way, "So nice to see you, Mrs. O'Neil, since that party. I hope that loaded revolver is not meant for me."
He took a sip of Bailey's, and offered once more, "Anyone else?"

Not really caring about whether he was just being friendly or not, Siri responded in her seemingly usual flat tone of the evening, failing to turn her attention from her smooth, delicate fingers. “After your behavior at the Christmas party, King Antonette, keep a low profile, and these bullets might not have your name on them.”

"I was defending my wife from that vile guest of yours," he replied in a sharp tone. After that, however, he changed back to his friendly tone, "However, now is not the time for argument, Siri, so control yourself. I have no intent to start a fight, nor continue with this one, nor will I even respond with a threat in return." He then asked her, "Drink?"

Unfastening the buttons upon her leather trenchcoat slightly but still without even making contact with the Ridgian, Siri asked, lacking the sharp tone of the king, “Who is more vile? The racist pair in hystronics or the tolerant guest who remained calm?”

But his attempt at kindly offering her a drink proved to be fruitless when she gave a short response. “No.”

"Well, I suppose you could look me in the eye when you make false assumptions." He grinned, and kept his friendly tone, "I was referring to the one who waved a spider in my wife's face. I do not mind you insulting me, but I ask you to please refrain from insulting my wife." He sipped his own Bailey's, and said, "Are you sure you don't want just a tiny drop?" he looked at the Shogun, "What about you?"

“So then, it appears we have come to a conclusion. The sole reason for the hysterics that you and your wife displayed in front of the other guests and the resulting insults towards my husband was because of a mere spider,” Siri added with her flat tone as she began to pick fragments of dirt off of her pants that had accumulated in her travels to this castle. “Truly pathetic, King Antonette.”

And once again, she declined his offer of a drink, refusing to accept anything from what she thought to be a poor excuse for a human being.

John chuckled, "Not a spider, Siri, but how the spider was thrusted into my wife's face, and your husband's failure to do anything about it." He laughed again, "But that's over now. Are you sure you won't accept a drink as a peace offering?"

It was obvious that john was genuinely trying to heal the rift.

Kenshin chuckled and waved his hand, "no, thank you! But when all this is said and done, you are all welcome back to my place for as much drink as you can hold!" However, the slight arguement building was disturbing him a little.

"If I may interrupt here, what seems to be the problem?"

Prince John smiled at his drinking partner as he accepted the glass of Bailey's Irish Creme. As both John's alchohol tolerances were extremely high (Prince John having outdrank a small band of elves without passing out before), the small glass of alchohol wouldn't do anything to either of them.

At that time, Vanir Þrúðglam came into the room, bowing low to Prince John.

"Lord Kvrrscxlyn, we have identified the location of Colonel Cougar." Prince John nodded.

"Excellent. Send a ship immediately."

"I shall send one at once." With that, the Vanir exited the room once more.
___________________________________________

In Space

This ship followed the same procedure that was taken with Lady nos Fëanor. The ship travelled outside of reality, until they came to the point where their target would be. One of the cloaked figures then began to meditate, projecting his conciousness...

On Snake Eater Prime

The apparition appeared in front of Colonel Cougar and began speaking immediately.

"Colonel Cougar. Lord Kvrrscxlyn -- I believe you would call him 'Prince John Rekjyavich' -- requests your immediate presence. He has informed me to give you the following message: 'Our friendly demon-god is causing a ruckus again.' He requests you come with me to his castle in the Dersconi Tundra."

It was, in retrospect, a bad idea to project yourself in front of a solider on a live firing range. Inside a killing house - slang for hostage rescue training - people always shoot first, and then ask questions never. The same held true here. As the apparition appeared directly in front of the Colonel, who was dressed in black overalls at the time with a sub-machine gun held in his gloved palms, his instinct to shoot overrode his questions. The butt of the stock was brought tight into the shoulder, the pencil-thin red-dot hovering for a split second before the finger squeezed the trigger twice

The muzzle flashed. The bullets flew. The target did not collapse.

"Cease fire!"

The shout was echoed by his team mates, all of whom switched their weapons to safe, before the Colonel removed his respirator, just in time to hear the being speak. He sighed,"Oh great."

"Colonel?"

He looked at the youthful face of one of his unit's newest recruits,"It was a long time ago."

He then looked at the figure stood in front of him,"Of course, he does realise I now have a family to look after, right? I can't just leave on the drop of a hat."

Prince John glared at all of them. "Please, I think the situation demands everyone to put aside their petty squabbles for the greater good. All of you are adults, I think you can handle that." He looked at the clock on the one side of the room and sighed, looking back at Vanir Mökkvaesir.

"Any word on the last two?" The cloaked figure shook his head.

"No, my Lord. Not yet." Prince John sighed once more.

"We can afford to wait a little longer. I do hope they're not lost...."
______________________________________

The apparition expected the response, but, as he was an apparition, it wasn't that bothersome.

"Yes, Prince John is aware. However, your presence is required immediately. He asks that you arrange everything with your family now, so that we do not allow too much time to slip by."

ooc: Thanks Dersc. I got them mixed up. Edited.


ic: "Petty squabbles?" John grinned, "It is not petty when she will not accept a fecking drink!" He looked at Taiki, "The good Chairwoman thinks we are racists for leaving a party when these strange ant people showed up. Your son ran away, then my wife made a comment, privately, to me. Some rude drow apparently thought she had the right to listen in whenever she pleased, and showed my wife a spider. We had to leave after this, of course, because Jack O'Neil blamed us, apparently reveling in his chance to get revenge on the empire he betrayed." He turned to Siri, "Or something like that, right my elven friend?"

After he received a reply, he turned to John, "Who might we be waiting for?"

OOC: CR, Kenshin wasn't at the party -- it was Taiki.

“Correct, King Antonette,” came the emotionless response from the elven Chairwoman, now carefully picking fragments of flesh and traces of blood off one of her daggers. “My husband sought revenge on the entire Greater Prussian Empire by inviting you and your wife, Kenshin’s son, Emperor Joseph Napoleon, and the Royal Families of Jeruselem, Derscon, and Underwater Asylum to our home for Christmas, forgetting all the past wrongs that have occurred. And of course, in an attempt to seek even greater revenge against the entirety of this empire, he had you and your wife removed from our home, while Shogun Taiki and half of the Dersconis left under their own accord as the others remained, enjoying the rest of the evening in harmony...”

"Most likely, you are telling the truth, whether you know it or not. We were invited for your husband to humiliate us, or attempt to, anyway. The rest of the evening was enjoyed, because you were talking about Prussians." John laughed, obviously trying to stretch the truth. He got serious again, and said, "Without a doubt, we were talked about though."

“Yes, you know everything that was said by our guests because you were there late that night, and you knew the intentions of my husband and me because you have the exceptional ability to read our minds.” Siri still had not looked over to him, seemingly more interested with the quality of her weapons than anything else. “Amazing feats, are they not?”

John shrugged, "I have other amazing abilities. No need to read minds." He sipped his drink, and leaned partway across the table in Siri's direction, and stage whispered, "I believe now would be a good time to end this discourse, and for you to finally look up from those goddamn weapons."

Prince John looked up at Vanir Þrúðglam and Vanir Mökkvaesir. They both nodded and turned to their assignments. Vanir Þrúðglam used his telekinetics to lift King Antonette up out of his chair and move him to one side of the room, while Mökkvaesir used his to move Siri to the other. Lord Kvrrscxlyn was clearly disgusted.

"Honestly, you two can't stop, can you? I bring people I thought I could trust here to help me, and yet you continue to bitch and moan about everything. Please, just stop talking to each other." The Prince sighed and shook his head. "You realize, King John, this was one of the many reasons Northrop-Grumman left Greater Prussia, yes? Because the leaders didn't know how to act civil to others." He took a sip of his drink. "Now, I don't want to see or hear you two talking to each other. And John, please don't provoke her. You know that Siri isn't one to start up a friendly conversation, and you've never really been one to warm up to her. You know this won't change. So stop provoking her." He glanced at the clock one more and sighed again.

"As to answer your question, we are waiting on two others. A Colonel Cougar, from Snake Eaters, and Lady Sirithil nos Fëanor of Menelmacar. Now, when they arrive, I expect civility." Christ, he thought. Even in the face of universal destruction they can't not bitch at each other.

When John was elevated into the air, he relaxed, until he was placed down. When his drinking friend came over, he simply said, "That was pretty fun."
He listened to John, and chuckled before responding, "Now who's the one bitching? Just because the entire universe is at stake, doesn't mean that I will stop breaking her chops." He looked across at Siri, and then back at John, "Seriously, I was trying to mend the broken fence. Oh well." He walked over tot he table and picked up his drink, and finished it, pouring another glass, "And yes, I will be civil from now on." He sipped his drink. "Except to this demon- and his minions- we are fighting."

"Siri," began Kenshin, "my son has had a fear of the six-legged and plus since he was a child. He had a couple fairly traumatic experiences that would lead more or less to a rational fear of this sort of thing. From what I heard, though, he removed himself peacefully and respectfully. Please don't drag him into this.

King John, however, had been moved by the time Kenshin was ready to deal with him, which would've been a slap in the face for stupidity. However, words would have to do now. "John, Jack no longer sees eye-to-eye with us. However, he is not an enemy. Though we bicker, we are still friends with him, friends as people, not national leaders. You should start thinking better of people."

He turned to Prince John. "Sorry, I'm done now. Can we please kick some ass?"

______________________________________

The apparition expected the response, but, as he was an apparition, it wasn't that bothersome.

"Yes, Prince John is aware. However, your presence is required immediately. He asks that you arrange everything with your family now, so that we do not allow too much time to slip by."

"I will call my wife from the ship, if that is possible. But give me a five minutes to sort my gear out, and get changed, and then I will come with you."

Derscon... GPE members... I will definatley need to check with Rhenna on this matter.

OOC - Sorry, I'm late! Had a rather busy new year at work.

Queen Mariah, rather late but then Mariah's record for turning up on time was not the best.

Queen Mariah had left arm in a fancy cast. She was wearing one her "Little black dresses". She greeted everyone "Err, sorry I'm late. I had a small accident at home, as you can see. Just a small fracture, nothing serious." She was left handed but her Dark sword was ambidextrous so using her weak arm wasn't an issue.

She actually broke her arm fighting a Sith assassin in her palace.

OOC: Oooh, boy.

Well, thanks for coming Jeruselem, but a few minor problems:

1) There aren't any Sith in the area, except for Prince John and Siri.

2) Arthur would not be there. Only Mariah.

Normally, I'd just shoot you a TG and move on, but it DOES in fact matter, as those two points would actually begin to tweak the plot.

Aside from that, I'm aiming at a plot-post this weekend.

OOC: Oooh, boy.

Well, thanks for coming Jeruselem, but a few minor problems:

1) There aren't any Sith in the area, except for Prince John and Siri.

2) Arthur would not be there. Only Mariah.

Normally, I'd just shoot you a TG and move on, but it DOES in fact matter, as those two points would actually begin to tweak the plot.

Aside from that, I'm aiming at a plot-post this weekend.

OOC - Sorry, "palace" refers to Mariah's palace not yours. RP corrected.

IC

Mariah checked her cast, it had lots of scribble on it, it was obvious the kids had been bored when she fell asleep and well, they like drawing on things.

"I will call my wife from the ship, if that is possible. But give me a five minutes to sort my gear out, and get changed, and then I will come with you."

The apparition blinked. "It will not be possible to contact your wife from the ship, as it is currently outside Reality, unless you can telepathically contact her.

"You have time to organize your things."
_________________________________________________

OOC - Sorry, "palace" refers to Mariah's palace not yours. RP corrected.

OOC: Oh, whoops. Sorry.

Prince John looked up and smiled at Mariah. "Ah, good, you did make it! I was wondering if the ship I sent for you was shot down or not." He looked back at the clock and began to get a little nervous.

"We'll wait a little longer."

OOC: Oh, whoops. Sorry.

Prince John looked up and smiled at Mariah. "Ah, good, you did make it! I was wondering if the ship I sent for you was shot down or not." He looked back at the clock and began to get a little nervous.

"We'll wait a little longer."

"That's alright, I almost didn't make in the first place. I was kinda delayed. Well, after all that I need a drink!" she replied while trying scratch in itch under the new cast on her left arm. She was going get a bottle but then realised opening wine bottles with one arm was not easy. She had to settle for a pre-filled glass instead.

Prince John looked around and nodded. “Well, it looks like that’s all that will be coming for the moment. I believe we can get started.” He took a sip of water and began.

“I have gathered all of you here because we face a threat graver than anyone has ever faced before. Some of you have only heard of it, some of you may have felt it, only one of you has ever seen it, and that is Shogun Kenshin.” Prince John nodded to the Shogun before continuing.

“This threat I speak of is known as Damonagaashi. Some of you have never heard of this name, some of you know it but do not know its power, and some understand what it means, and fear it. So, what is Damonagaashi, you may ask? To fully understand Damonagaashi, you must understand how it spawned. However, as we are short on time, I shall give only the truncated version of the long story.

“Damonagaashi is the antithesis to Racbúri Hetýr Kæsþiöndhríssar, also known as ‘Rachek.’ To keep myself from droning on, ‘Rachek’ was the created ruler for Reality. Note, at this time, there were but two planes – The Empyrean, and what was known as ‘Reality.’ Empyrean was Heaven, basically, and Reality was everything that wasn’t Heaven. Simple, yes? Anyway, ‘Rachek’ had dominion over this territory, and the symbol of his power was the Dragon Sword – a sword crafted by the God Himself, and a sword worthy enough for Him to wield. To make yet another long story short, Damonagaashi waged many a war with ‘Rachek,’ and finally deposed him, but was too weak to rule. However, due to the many unending conflicts, Reality was split apart at the seams, creating the multiple dimensions and realms we have today. As a result, Damonagaashi was cast into the Void, and the concept of existence of Time began, as to ensure no one could survive long enough to cause such destruction again. Time also served as a barrier, as it functioned differently in each of the realms and dimensions, so it would be extremely difficult to merge them again. But not impossible.” He took a break from speaking, letting the obvious foreshadowing sink in as he took a drink as to be able to continue his monologue.

“During the reign of Tsar Rekjyavich Ivan Andropov III, he made a return, as a prophecy as stated, in the form of an Andropov Prince. You may know him as Alexei Andropov. Well, through him, he managed to merge a good selection of the realms, gathering his power. He eventually waged war against Tsar Andropov, a small army of followers, and several others, including a coalition of Colonel Cougar of Snake Eaters, Annastralanna d’Maril of Kaymiril – now Valsharess of Kaymiril – Warhaven, Shogun Kenshin, myself and the Legio Dei monks. After leaving Alexei’s corporal body to take his own, Damonagaashi was incapacitated by Tsar Andropov with the Dragon Sword, but the Tsar was then killed himself. Damonagaashi was once again cast into the Void, but part of him remained in Alexei, and throughout his life, he was tormented by him.

“Upon Alexei’s assassination, Damonagaashi left Alexei and entered Xavier – now Tsar of Derscon. Xavier was nowhere near as strong as his father, and was almost immediately corrupted by the demon, as Shogun Kenshin can attest to, as I’m sure you saw it in his eyes, and Lady Sirisana can attest to, considering Xavier’s behaviour at the party.” He let all of that information sink in as he once again removed the dryness from his mouth.

“Which brings us to the second reason we are here: to bring back ‘Rachek’. As the prophecies state, Damonagaashi must ‘Acquire the son of the King and his’ in order for ‘Rachek’ to return. The King referring to Rachek, the son referring to Alexei, and ‘and his’ referring to Alexei’s son, Xavier. Damonagaashi at this point, and continuing, will be much too powerful for any of us to defeat. He has previously been able to destroy entire planetary populations without much effort; Rachek is need to counterbalance this. As well, Derscon and the universe needs a leader like Rachek, as Xavier has done too much to destroy everything that this Empire has built.

“So, the purpose of this gathering is two-fold, yet in reality is but one: To bring back Rachek, and to remove Damonagaashi once and for all. To do this, however, items must be found, runes decoded, and journeys taken. Come, I must show all of you something.” Lord Kvrrscxlyn held up his hands, and the entire party was enveloped in a white mist, and then it flashed, teleporting them to the Divine Mountain.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Kæsþiöndhrí Courtyard

The party reformed in the Kæsþiöndhrí Courtyard on the Divine Mountain, outside the still lit entrance to Rachek’s Tomb. Prince John led them through the portal into the tomb, bringing them all through the same path that he took Siri not too long ago, but took a different path in the Great Hall. The chamber they entered was just a small platform with a banister. It turned out it was a balcony, and it looked down upon another chamber, shaped oddly, with strange structures sticking out of it, scattered about.

“What you see there is a map of the largest extent of the Dersconi Empire. It, at one point, covered the majority of the Greater Prussian Super-continent. Those structures are old ruins of temples, tombs, and their fortifications. That,” he said, pointing to a large mountain in the far, far back, with a gigantic temple resting on it. “Is where we are. There,” he said, pointing to the structures on the map “is where we need to go.” Vanir Mökkvaesir waved his hand in front of the area, and what looked like a holographic political map of the modern-day Greater Prussian Empire was laid out on the floor, overlapping the map of the Dersconi Empire. Vanir Þrúðglam snapped his wrist and two of the ruins lit up – one in modern-day Cherry Ridge, the other in modern day Pschycotic Pschycos.”

Prince John waved his hand over the area, turned around, and teleported them all back to the Council Room.
____________________________________________________________________________

Niflheim Castle

Back in the meeting room, Prince John had the map they just saw holographically displayed in the middle of their semicircle (well, three-quarter circle, technically).

“Now, those two are the first we need to hit, as they are the furthest away. There is also a temple in Northrop-Grumman we will need to get to, and a temple in Reichskamphen we may need to get to. The rest are in modern-day Derscon, which will be the most difficult to obtain, so we save those for last.

“This will be done more efficiently if we split up into teams and work from there. Upon the completeion of your missions, you will all return back here, where I will be commanding the entire operation. I will be in telepathic connection with the two Vanir’s leading both expeditions at all times. There are things I must do here as well. Vanir Mökkvaesir,” The Vanir stepped forward and bowed to the assembled crowd before speaking in his very low, deep, scratchy dragon-voice. In reality, the Vanir communicated both verbally and telepathically simultaneously, so his words were more felt than heard.

“I will be leading Lady Sirisana and Shogun Kenshin to the ruins at the edge of the Dersconi Empire in the Eastern Sea. Kenshin,” he said, looking towards her. “You are obviously a prominent figure in your government, I entrust you will be able to ensure us passage without too many questions from the authorities?” Prince John let that occur as he addressed the rest of them.

“And the second team. Vanir Þrúðglam.” This Vanir addressed the crowd in the same manner as the previous one, and spoke the same, as well.

“I will be taking King Antonette and Queen Mariah to the ruins at the far West of the Dersconi Empire. Antonette, as you are the ruler of that land currently, I do not forsee difficulties in our plans in arriving there.” Prince John nodded and addressed Emperor Joseph-Napoleon.

“The reason I brought you here is so you will fully understand the situation. I warn you, do not allow anyone to know that you know any of this – or even that this knowledge even exists. I assure you, Xavier will have you ‘removed,’ regardless of the consequences, and an invasion of Derscon at this point will cause everything to collapse around us.” He nodded and addressed the group as a whole once again.

“So, that’s the situation in brief. Any questions? If not, I suggest we rest up before we depart. That will also allow my wonderful Vanirs to collect everything we’ll need and save us the trouble.”

Queen Mariah pulled out a light saber recovered from the dead Sith assassin who tried kill her in her palace 48 hours ago. It would come in handy how, well as a torch if not a weapon.

John did not say much, surprisingly, throughout the lecture. When it was completed, however, he spoke up, but not before offering Siri a drink once more.

"What types of items must be found? What types of ruins are we talking? The place that lit up on the map corresponded to the bogs in Cherry Ridge, and even I am not sure what is in there. There are legends of a hidden people in there, the old warriors who decided to fall back there when the Spanish Conquistadors aided the Ridgian crown in uniting the smaller duchys and principalities, in return for us allowing them to land on their journey to the lands of what used to be the Americas. In fact, there is even an old bedtime story of them having magical powers, but no one really believes them. Just old Ridgian myths. But then again, myths do have some basis in reality."

Kenshin drew his katana, and took a whet stone and oil from his armour and began sharpenning it. "What sort of...resistence...are we talking about here? Warriors, or something else...?"

John nodded to Kenshin and Antonette. "Both of those questions can and will be answered in the field. As of now, I've wasted enough time sitting here explaining things, so we must be off. Þrúðglam! Mökkvaesir!” The Two Vanir came from their places in the back of the room and bowed. “Is everything on the ships?” Both Vanir’s nodded. “Good. Now, take your parties to the ships and head off. I’ll be here, working, and I’ll be in communication with all of you, so don’t feel like I’m abandoning you. If you run into trouble, I’ll find a way to help you out. The two Vanir’s know their way around.” The entire party – save John – was enveloped in the same white mist as before, and in a flash (literally), were gone. John remained for only a little longer, standing up and going into the door behind him, into a temple-like structure.

“Is everything going according to plan?” Lord Kvrrscxlyn smiled, not turning around.

“Yes, indeed, Æsir Forsetóðr. As the prophecies have foretold, we shall prevail.” At this point, the figure and Prince John were walking side-by-side. The new figure had the same black cloak that the Vanir’s had, but his was lined with gold, and a tri-headed dragon was embroidered on the front of the cloak, ringed with the symbols of the Realms. On the back was a wispy embroidering of platinum that went nearly from head to tail (not that you could see either body part).

“I would agree with you, Lord Kvrrscxlyn. I sense that there is something about this quest, though, that is deceiving.” Prince John looked at the Æsir in confusion.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well, my son, something just…doesn’t feel right. I believe there is much more to this than we realize.” He looked up towards the Heavens, exhaling heavily. “Up there is the answer we are looking for, but I cannot find it.” The Æsir shook his head and looked back at Prince John. “I must meditate on this further. Continue on your quest to bring the Holy One back to rule, and I shall inform you if I should find my answer.” Prince John bowed low to the Æsir, and they both parted ways in the centre of the Temple structure, Æsir Forsetóðr turning towards the Star Chamber of the temple, Prince John teleporting back to Rachek’s tomb to continue to decipher the inscriptions.
______________________________________________________________________________

Vanir Mökkvaesir led Lady Sirisana and Shogun Kenshin through the thick forests surrounding one of the landing pads. “It’s just over this river.” The Black River rushed violently in front of them, meandering to and fro, annihilating everything in its path. “This is the River of Darkness, flowing out from the Mountain of Suffering. This violence you see is nothing, compared to what resides on that mountain.” A small squirrel ran by them and went to jump over the river, but landed short. The front claws of the squirrel grasped onto the land, but the river seemed to open up, and a wave went unnaturally off to the side, swallowing up the squirrel in the darkness. The other two members of the party were wondering how they were going to cross it, but Mökkvaesir simply waived his “hand” and the river calmed. “Come, quickly.” The party of three jumped over the calm spot, Siri and Kenshin going first, and Mökkvaesir coming over last, landing just as the river sped up once more.

They finally entered the fog that covered the landing pad, coming up on their small shuttle. Three armoured giant bipedal reptilian creatures stood at the loading ramp as two four-armed beasts, accompanied by an insectoid, approached Mökkvaesir. The insectoid was the only one that spoke.

“Sir, the shuttle is fully stocked and ready to head out. I just finished the final inspection. You’re ready to go.” The Vanir only nodded in response as the three strange creatures left, the Vanir, Siri, and Kenshin approaching the shuttle where the reptilian creatures stood guard. The one in front of the ramp spoke.

“Lord Kvrrscxlyn has instructed us to accompany you.” The Vanir nodded, figuring this was the case.

“Very well then, go on board.” The six-member party climbed the boarding ramp – it shutting behind them – and headed for the main chamber, where Vanir Mökkvaesir addressed them.

“On board, we currently have everything any small ship needs to survive on its own, as well as a load of weapons and armour, and a small shuttle to head to the ruins. There is a small quarters down the left, should you want to relax and or meditate before arriving. There is also, down the right corridor, a small pantry with food, in case you feel like a snack. If you have any questions, see me. Dismissed; except you, Kenshin. You need to come with me.” As the Shogun and the three reptilian soldiers went off to do their thing, Vanir Mökkvaesir led Kenshin to the cockpit, motioning for him to take the seat on the right after shutting the door.

“You’re going to be my co-pilot. While I really don’t need one, what I do need is for you to get us through your nation’s air and sea territory without being shot at.” The Vanir immediately started the small shuttle and took off, heading east, out to the ocean. They would be taking a very round-about path, going all the way out to international waters in order to evade Dersconi and Greater Prussian air patrols, and then coming up to the coast of Pschycotic Pschycos, which is where Kenshin comes in. From there, they would be landing outside the forests.

Assuming they’re not attacked on the way, of course.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Vanir Þrúðglam had a much easier time leading his two leaders/combatants to the ship, as the landing pad was just due south of Castle Niflheim, and all that was required was going through the forest path that was cleared many years ago. After about an hour’s walk, they arrived at the foggy clearing where their shuttle sat, guarded by three armoured reptilian creatures, similar to those that were at Mökkvaesir’s shuttle. Þrúðglam nodded to them, knowing why they were there, and had all of them board the shuttle. Þrúðglam gave Mariah and Antonette the same speech that Mökkvaesir gave Siri and Kenshin, and took Antonette to the cockpit, even though he knew Antonette has never flown one of these before – it didn’t matter.

When the door shut behind him, Þrúðglam spoke to Antonette. “You are going to have to get this shuttle to our destination, as we will be passing through your territory. You need to ensure that your soldiers do not fire on us.”
_____________________________________________________________________________

National Military Command Centre

“It’s happening again.” Lord General Kruchina Drakonov – The Overseer of the NMCC – nodded to the captain in the Eye of Providence. The Lord General glanced at the screens seeing the two strange craft leave the Tundra.

“Track them, but don’t scramble yet. Xavier will surely wish to know where they go.”

“Yes, Lord General.” The General thought for another moment and grunted.

"Better yet, contact me if you get anything. I'm going to the Kremlin."
____________________________________________________________________________

Noble Lounge, Grand Kremlin Palace

"It's happening all the time," Lord General Drakonov said through his glass of vodka. "I think it's something that may, in fact, be a threat." Air Marshal Jürgen Luftdämon nodded in agreement.

"Quite. One of the ships managed to destroy four of our interceptors without firing a shot, even after being slammed with a missile." Field Marshal Darii Razladanov sighed.

"Xavier has warned me that this would happen. We need to find out what is going on, and stop it, ASAP." Luftdämon shook his head.

"It won't happen and you know it. The General Staff is still sympathetic to Prince John, and can't stand Xavier's knowledge of modern warfare. They live in the past." Darii nodded.

"I know. I believe Xavier intends on fixing that problem."

"Sure, I'd be happy to get us through," Kenshin said.

Expertly, he guided them out across teh ocean, and then back in towards the Shogunate's waters. As they approached, they were picked up by surveillence satellites and radar. Getting closer, they got a radio alert:

Attention unidentified aircraft, you are approaching controlled
airspace and are not using full commercial lines. Provide clearance
codes immediately or reverse your course. Over.

"Shit," said Kenshin. "They're getting rather tight assed." He looked off into space trying to look for the proper code. "Ah! yes, I remember it now. My personal access code."

Clearance Code "Matsuyama". Over.

There was a short pause...
==========================================
Imperial Coast Guard Control Station,
Checkpoint Alpha...

"Sir, the bogey is continuing from the south. He's on a course to make land-fall," one of the radar operators said.
"Has he provided the clearance codes?" asked the on-duty commander.
"Aye, Sir. Albeit they're old ones. Nearly a year old...," responded the operator.
"What codes are they?"
"They're the royal family's codes."
"Shit, deny entry."
"Aye, Sir."
================================

Unidentified Aircraft, reverse course immediately.

"Shit, I shoulda known it'd be out of date," said Kenshin, beautifully stringing together a further line of cursewords.

Of course, they kept going, their mission much more important than anything else. They crossed over to the land and kept going, flying low over the treetops of the eastern section of the country. Inadvertantly, this avoided the fighters that were scrambled. Unfortunately, their luck ran out as they prepared to cross over to the Inland Sea. This close to Honimishu, the AA defenses were immense. Approaching the area, a massive wall of AA fire with tracers went up in front of the shuttle.

"Get us to the bogs? That shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering it is, well, me doing the guiding."

As they approached the Ridgian coast, they recieved a messege ordering them to identify themselves. John almost happily announced who he was, out of habit. However, he instead grabbed his cellphone, and with the push of multiple buttons, accessed the command center. "Want to do this the easy way, or the exciting way?" Before he got a response, he shut down the satelites for two seconds, and then they were safely over the bogs. On the radar, it would appear to be a huge nuclear blast destroying southern CR, because of two more buttons pressed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Ridgian Miltiary Command Center
"What the fuck was that? Get some jets out there, now!" screamed the Naval Aviation Commander, the first to be in command over southern CR's air defence, much to the ire of the Air Corp. After a fly over, it was determined to be a glitch in the satelites.

OOC: Half now, half later.
Incapacitation done with prior approval.

Mökkvaesir let out a grunt as the ship was hit with AA fire. He managed to manoevure the shuttle enough so that they didn't crash into a mountaintop and end up turning into a large ball of fire, but the actual result wasn't much better, though it didn't have the side-effect of death like the other one.

Instead, they ended up crashing onto the base of a mountain, but thankfully, not nose-first. When they finally hit, the shockwave managed to crack the shuttle a little at the top, which was actually a good thing, as the boarding ramp was jammed.

Stumbling back into the main hold, he found Siri pinned under a collapsed computer, her arm impaled, some of the wires lying around her. It was clear she was electrocuted for a little before being knocked unconcious by the shockwave and the power surge (Mökkvaesir and Kenshin were protected from the power surge, as the cockpit was slightly disconnected from the main power hub).

"We have to get her out of here." Mökkvaesir shut off all of the power to the ship before lifting all of the wreckage off of Siri (with Kenshin's help), and carried her outside.

Mökkvaesir set her down on the ground before getting down to meditate, trying to bend the energy waves to centre around them.

It took him about five minutes, but he managed to connect a direct line with them and Niflheim (due to the anomalies of the location, it was much more difficult than simply teleporting. Otherwise, they would have done so, rather than take a ship).

Mökkvaesir teleported Siri back to Niflheim for better medical attention than the field could provide, so she would be safe, and they could continue their mission.

He went back into the shuttle, going to gather the supplies, when he found the three soliders sent with them impaled on a collapsed beam. "Well," he said, turning to Kenshin. "It looks like we're on our own."

OOC: Huge post coming up soon.

OOC: The other half.

The Bogs of Cherry Ridge

"Down there." Vanir Þrúðglam manoevured the shuttle down slowly, under the cover of darkness, to the small clearing in the bogs. Strange the Vanir thought. The flora here seems to have naturally created this landing spot, and it just happens to fit this shuttle perfectly? Hmm. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind before making the perfect landing and shutting down the main power. He motioned King Antonette to come with him to the main hold where the rest of the party was waiting, with their supplies. Vanir Þrúðglam addressed the crowd.

"We will be taking enough supplies to get through from here to the ruins -- in other words, not much. This shuttle will remain under guard by two of our soldiers -- " he said, motioning towards the Drekimana, "and the third one will come with us. Come." Vanir Þrúðglam led the party down the ramp into the bogs, the ramp closing behind them, and turned around. Two of the Drekimana stood guard at the ship.

"Any questions before we set out? Otherwise, let's go."

"Indeed it does," replied Kenshin. "Fortunately, we didn't crash too far from the Inland Sea's coast. Follow me."

The next hour was spent hiking down from the small mountain that they had crashed in. Luckily, there was very little undergrowth in the forest there. In fact, the floor was mostly fallen pine needles, which provide a comfy cushion for them to walk over. Ferns grew amongst the base of the trunks, and birds chirpped happily around them. In all, it was quite a different scene then the forest they had come from in Derscon. Finally, they found themselves on the edge of a massive highway. "So....who's gonna show a little leg?" Kenshin asked, grinning. "Okay, okay, it's just a joke." It took some time flagging down a ride, but finally a large truck pulled over in front of them.
"Where you boys headed?" he asked drawling.
"The docks," Kenshin said, "you mind if we hitch a ride?"
"Nah, climb on in," the trucker said, grinning. Another hour passed as they left the forested area and drove on the elevated highway through the suburbs. They passed into a small forested median as massive white stucco walls with teal tiled roofs came into view. The truck passed over a long bridge over a moat, and into the city. For a second, the full width of the walls was revealed, nearly 30 yards thick. The truck drove on through the city, passing under massive towers until the sea came into view. The truck let them off just outside the limits of the harbor. They managed to stroll right on in, passing pier after pier until Kenshin found one with a boat on it that he seemed to like. The two made their way out on to the pier to the boat. "Wait here," Kenshin said. He climbed up the gangplank and on to the deck. "I'm a takin' over here," he yelled. "And their ain't nothin no one can do about it!"
A loud "Fuck you!" issued from inside, and a large sailor came barreling out from the ship with a drawn sword. Kenshin drew his in a flash of light and the two exchanged blows. However, before Mökkvaesir could do anything, the two were half hugging each other, swords at their side. Mökkvaesir watched as the two had a brief, yet animated discussion in Japanese. Finally, Kenshin came back to him grinning.
"Cummon!" he said cheerfully. "My friend has agreed to give us a lift," he said, indicating the sailor behind him. The sailor was grinning brightly. He had wild black hair that was spiked up and held with a red headband, the tails of which were blowing in the breeze. He had an open white vest, exposing deeply tanned muscles. His stomach was wrapped in white cloth. He had on white pants that went to his knees. The rest of his legs were covered in more white cloth. "Indeed it does," replied Kenshin. "Fortunately, we didn't crash too far from the Inland Sea's coast. Follow me."

It took them two days at sea until they finally came upon a massive wall of fog. "You sure you wanna go there?" Kenshin's friend asked him quitely.
"Yes, straight through. Don't turn, don't do anything except go straight."
"Aye, if you say so." He guided the ship straight for well over two hours until they broke through into bright, shining sunlight. There in front of them was a large rock sticking out of the water. It was forested tropically up the sides, and a waterfall could even be seen. On top was a magnificent white structure, the end closest to them was domed, on top of which was a massive gold angel statue. Kenshin had his friend pilot the ship around to the other end, during which the full length of the building was exposed. It was well over a quarter-mile long. At the other end, they found a rocky lagoon, with a dock on the far side. Slowly, the boat entered and Kenshin's friend tied it up. Oddly, there was already another boat there. Kenshin and Mökkvaesir got out and walked up the dock and on to marble tiles. From there, they proceeded between two marble fountains and up a long staircase of white marble.

At the top, though, they found a scene of trouble. In front of the building's entrance was a massive blue dragon, serpantine in shape, and with gold frills surrounding a horse-shaped head. It's mouth was barred and snapping, showing rows of sharp teeth. And in front of it were ten figures, nine of which were attacking it with above-average speed. The tenth figure was standing back, examining his nails arrogantly. At the sound of their footsteps, he turned and looked at them. He was oddly dressed in what appeared to be an old-style nazi uniform. He had long black hair that came to his shoulder.

"Mmmmmm....I should've known this would have attracted you sooner or later," he said, exposing fangs as he spoke.
"Who the hell are you?" Kenshin asked, his anger rising.
"Mmmmm, a good question," he said in a bored manner. "I am Issac von Kampfur, of the Order of the Rozenkreuz."
"Rozenkreuz?" asked Mökkvaesir, confused.
"Shit," Kenshin said. "They're vampires, and terroristic at that-"
Kampfur cut him off, "we prefer 'Methusela', if you don't mind." He snapped his fingers and the nine others came to his side, facing off against the pair.
"You don't deserve it, Kampfur," Kenshin said, drawing his sword.

As one of the vampires flew forward, sword extended, the boat below them in the harbor exploded cataclysmically in a burst of electricity. A good portion of it, burning like hell, landed behind them, the light making everything else seem darker. A deep red chain, barbed and with a sickening curved blade at the end shot out of the smoke and fire, between Mökkvaesir and Kenshin, and straight through the vampire's chest. It wrapped itself up over his shoulder, and between his legs. It squeezed and the vampire's torso exploded in a burst of blood. The chain withdrew just as fast into the flames. Suddenly, there was a loud screech as though from a bird-of-prey from hell, and a deep voice, with a demonic second-voice beneath it came forth,
"You...all of you are my food." From within the flames came as massive figure, sillouhetted against the fire. It had a tall humanoid figure dressed in a long robe, with a travelling cloak over it, rippling in a non-existant wind. It's long hair was blown up and back from it, between two large and up stretched wings, between which crackled lightning. In its head were two glowing red eyes, narrowed in pure anger. In its hand rested a huge scythe with a massiver ornamented head and a chain on the other end of the staff, the same chain that destroyed the attacking vampire. As it stepped forth, they could see that it had moderately-dark grey skin, and its wings were iridescent black and purple. Its mouth was in an evil grin, two fangs protruding from the upper jaw. It stopped and watched them. Suddenly, the blood spread on the ground lept into the air and spiraled around him, finally ending up being sucked into its wings. The tendons on his neck began bulging out and growing, and there was a sick cracking sound as his muscles stretched and grew. Kenshin and Mökkvaesir lept back as two more vampires lept at him with swords.

The figure stood there for a second and let them come. Then, a massive ball of lightning formed between his wings. He brought the huge scythe up over his head and into the lighting, gathering it around the head. In his two-toned voice, he let loose a battle yell that would have made even the most veteran warrior hesitate. He dropped the scythe in a heavy blow, aiming it at the two. The lightning followed, arcing out in a massive bolt and screaming through the two vampires, causing them to explode visciously. The figure stepped forward deliberately as their blood was added to that which was circling his body already. "Is that all the great Kampfur can muster?" he taunted. Three more vampires lept up into the air, intending on coming down on top of him. But the figure swung the long chain around, and it arced through the air, cutting straight through the trio's torsos, killing them instantly.

Enraged, the last two vampires came at him in a now obviously futile attempt. The hellish figure brought the scythe around and connected straight into the center of the first's chest, the tip going straight through and out his back. He pulled it out and let the body slump to the ground. In a fluid motion, he brought it around and through the other's neck, the head flying off the body and into the flames behind. He finally set his red eyes on Kampfur, who had, by this time, produced an RPG launcher (from where, I doubt we'll ever know). Kampfur raised it and fired, the round connecting on the figure's left shoulder, blowing apart his left shoulder, arm, and wing, knocking his head to the right side in a sick way. But the figure kept his diabolic grin as the wound burst into black flame, as did the blood and flesh on the ground. There was a sick series of cracks as the head straightened itself back out. The black flames gave way to flesh and feather as the wing and arm reconstructed themselves, albeit missing the robe and cloak. "As I said, you are my food. And now, it is time to eat you," it said. In a flash, it took off into the sky, the body lighting up in electricity. He screamed straight down a Kampfur, the scythe, wound in electricity, coming down on him, the body exploding in a burst of flesh, blood, and electricity. What was left standing there was equally grotesque. The figure stood, hunched over, its wings stretched out behind it to their full extent, which was quite long, and its scythe was buried deep into the marble floor.

Meanwhile, the dragon had stayed still, quitely observing the halocaust in front of it.

OOC: The pain! Space your paragraphs! o.O
Also, you c/ped the same passage, like, three times. :p

Before they embarked, John thought for a moment, and said, "There are legends about this place. So far, non have been substantiated. However, most legends are rooted in truth, so perhaps they may aide us. First, there are rumoured to be strange beasts that inhabit these bogs- what, I am not sure. Some say man like boar, others say a mutant type wolf, others say both and more. Some also even say that there is a seperate society in here, descended both from celtic warriors, and possibly from some spainiards that landed southwest of here, and those that fled the north. If this is true, then most likely, we may encounter resistance, or, alternatively, a great help. Unfortunately, sattelites could not substantiate these claims, as over the bogs, a strange mist appears over the picture." He shrugged. "I don't know whether that helps or not, perhaps you know more."

He drew his sword, and sliced it through a large bush, which fell, revealing more brush, however, you would be able to push through it. As they stepped over it, a branch of a tree fell off, and recovered the area he had just sliced down.

A tinge of static electricity crackled through the Chairwoman’s golden hair as she roused from her unconscious state with a slight groan of pain. This habit of becoming electrocuted was beginning to feel quite a bit repetitive in her mind, but at least this time, she was not in control of the aircraft when it happened. But there was still that fact that she was in flight when it occurred as when it happened only a day or so before.

Her eyes gradually opened, then suddenly widened as she felt a burst of energy rip through her body, causing it to jerk at least once but not harming it in any such way. But before she had a chance to yell for help, scream or even open her mouth, the energy surrounded her, encasing her entirely, and as quickly as it had appeared around her, she vanished.

OOC: This next series is gonna come in parts.

Mökkvaesir grunted as the strange being began to attack the vampires. Well, saves me a fight. He was impressed with the skill that the creature had, and the power, but there were more pressing concerns at the moment. He snuck past the guarding vampires, as they were currently preoccupied. Instead, he focused on the structure in front of him, and the dragon wrapping her?self around it.

The Vanir looked up and down the structure, taking it in. Finally, he shook his head. "This isn't it. It's below here." He glanced over at the dragon once more, stepping up to the head, and forming what may have been a smile, although no one could see any of Mökkvaesir's physical features under the cloak. He walked up to the nose of the dragon and started petting it, and scratching it behind its massive ears.

When the battle finally ended, he glanced over at the creature standing a bit in front of him, and grunted. "Well, good show."

The massive figure straightened itself up, the scythe and chain rattling loudly in his hand. In a quick instant, the scythe, wings, electricity, fangs, and everything else vanished. What was left was a man in the same clothes, the robe's shoulder still missing, with long grey-white hair. From his robe, he pulled a pair of round glasses and a long ribbon. He tied most of his hair back into a tail, leaving a bit still hanging down around his face, and placed the glasses on his face.
"Thank you, but unfortunately, not every shogun is this strong," he said grinning. He bowed slightly. "I am Nakamura Taiki, and welcome to the geological center of the Shogunate."
Kenshin strode up next to them. "I'm sorry, Mökkvaesir. I had to let him have his fun."
"I've been after Kampfur and Rozenkreuz for years now. This is the fifth time I've 'killed' the bastard," Taiki said angrily. "He's taken the name 'Puppet Master' for himself. He overcomes different people, and turns them into puppets of himself."

"Enough, enough," Kenshin said. "You'll get Kaito's lapdog soon enough." He turned his attention on the large blue dragon in front of the entrance. It looked down on him calmly. "Hello again, Mizu," he said, reaching out and stroking its snout with his armored hand. "You've been guarding this place since Alexi was killed. What has you in such a mood?"
The dragon spoke in a beautiful young woman's voice, sounding very much like a soft, running brook. It was telepathic, but the dragon's mouth still moved, thought not actually forming the words. "You know what I guard here, Lord Himura. I must prevent him from getting it."
"I know, dear Mizu, I know. You can guard what you must, but I would like to vist it my great-grandfather."
The dragon turned and looked inside, down the long hall. It stayed there thinking for a moment, and then turned back to Kenshin, "All right. You may go ahead."
"Thank you, Mizu," Kenshin said, bowing. The dragon reared up and sped into the hall, it's coils unwrapping from the building and following it. Kenshin turned to the others, "let's go."

As they entered the darkened hall, large braizers on the wall illuminated, throwing orange light on the white marble. Every 10 feet was a small alcove, separated by the next by a huge statue of a samurai. For nearly a quarter mile they walked like this, until they entered a huge rotunda. As they walked in, the sun was filtering through windows in the dome, shining down on an empty pedastal. On the back side was a raised alcove with a stone coffin sitting at the top of a small stair case. Torches on either side were burning, lighting it. The stairs leading up to it were odd. They had thick blue lines coursing up and down them, weaving and looping among each other. Kenshin walked across the rotunda and up the stairs, his footsteps echoing. Blocking the others' view, he opened the coffin and layed the broadsword from his side into it, closed it, and began chanting. The coffin glowed for a few minutes, and then settled. He reopened it and removed the sword, now glowing, and replaced it in its scabbard. "Okay Mökkvaesir," he said, returning to them, "you know what to do," indicating the blue lines on the stairs.

Mökkvaesir glanced at the dragon once more before entering the tomb, chuckling to himself.

When he finally entered the burial chamber of Shogun Kamikaze, he immediately noticed the steps, and smiled. Yes, that's it. He allowed the Shogun to do his thing, and for him to step out of the way before walking up to the stairs.

Standing in front of them, he surveyed the steps for a brief moment, before undoing the knot on the side of his robes, allowing them to come loose in the front. Since the two Pschycotians were standing behind him, all they could see was the back of the robe, the strange Vanir still not revealing anything about who -- or what -- he was.

What Mökkvaesir did next would have been a shock to most people. The Vanir took his left 'hand' and, after placing it in about the middle of his chest, he sunk his hand into his body, and after a few seconds, withdrew it, now holding a strange-looking orb. When the Vanir waved his 'hand' over it, it started flowing, and out of the left side, a long beam shot out of it, and around the orb grew three rings. The strange energy then solidified, and they realized it was in fact a staff. The staff was about as tall as Mökkvaesir, and of the same colour as the strange lines on the steps.

The Vanir motioned the two Pschycotians to step back, as he drew the staff over his head. After he spun it around a few times, he waved it over the steps, and the blue lines flashed a blinding white light, and began to move. The strange lines on the steps began to swirl and flow until finally they formed a perfect circle on the steps, and Mökkvaesir thrusted the orb end of the staff into the circle created, and the steps suddenly turned to water, exposing a passageway. The sound of a furious current echoed up the passageway and into the chamber. Vanir Mökkvaesir held the staff over his shoulder as he turned around to the Pschycotians.

"This way."

Before they embarked, John thought for a moment, and said, "There are legends about this place. So far, non have been substantiated. However, most legends are rooted in truth, so perhaps they may aide us. First, there are rumoured to be strange beasts that inhabit these bogs- what, I am not sure. Some say man like boar, others say a mutant type wolf, others say both and more. Some also even say that there is a seperate society in here, descended both from celtic warriors, and possibly from some spainiards that landed southwest of here, and those that fled the north. If this is true, then most likely, we may encounter resistance, or, alternatively, a great help. Unfortunately, sattelites could not substantiate these claims, as over the bogs, a strange mist appears over the picture." He shrugged. "I don't know whether that helps or not, perhaps you know more."

He drew his sword, and sliced it through a large bush, which fell, revealing more brush, however, you would be able to push through it. As they stepped over it, a branch of a tree fell off, and recovered the area he had just sliced down.

Queen Mariah commented "Great, how are supposed clear a path with this going on? I wonder how these things like fire? What do think John?" as she followed hacking away at the regrowth. Her sword sprouted fire and to make it easier to hack off any obstructions to the party.

Vanir Þrúðglam cocked his head up and sniffed. "We are almost there." They continued to carefully navigate the swamp, until they finally reached what might have been a clearing. However, the trees above them were very high, and their branches formed a dome over a large pool in front of them, almost protecting it. Vanir Þrúðglam looked around and grunted.

"We're here." Off in the distance, though, he could hear a strange "whoop" coming from the trees, and felt suddenly uneasy.

John simple turned to Mariah, and, surprisingly, said, "Hush." He also heard the strange noise, and as it got closer, he realised that it was not a "whoop" at all. Suddenly, from the swamps, emerged countless (at the present state) barbarian-like warriors, some mounted, others not. They began to surrround the intruders, with one yelling, "Estisne! Estisne!"

John drew his sword, but allowed the Vanir to think, as he may have a clue as to who these were.

Castle Lupinberg, Triumverate of Kæsþiöndhrgarðr

Deep in the heart of the fortress was a spherical meeting room, carved out of what looked like a deposit of some strange, shiny black ore. In the center of the smooth, round, stone table, two back-to-back Anzus runes were inlaid with platinum and gold. The chair at the 'head' of the table was made of pure gold and platinum, held together by a metal that was just as shiny as the gold and platinum, but was of unknown origin.

Sitting in the chair was Chancellor Rögnvaldr Sablinov, the represenative of the Triumverate to the current Council. To his right was König Jörmungand II von Slawisch-Sachsen, to his left, König Níðhden VII von Greuthungland. One of the more prominent members there was Blazhei Voikinov, Chairman of the Grand Imperial Council for the Advancement of the Protestant Faith and Heritage, Grand Master of the Legio Dei, and Herzog von Kirchenstaat. At the moment, there was one chair there that was empty. Standing around were guards with strange staffed bladed weapons in very dark red and gold armour, the shadows from the large torches practically hiding them from view entirely.

Chancellor Sablinov looked around before calling the meeting to order. "Please, everyone, may I have your attention. I think we all know why we are here." Several "Indeed"'s were uttered before Sablinov continued. "As you are well aware, our divine and most noble leader of Derscon --" Rögnvaldr practically spat out the words, and the biting sarcasm was more than evident. "Has felt the need to take away virtually all of the rights of self-governance we once had. But, even that is insignificant.

"For some time now, Derscon has prided itself on being able to maintain a balance of an autocratic, divine right monarchy, with some of the highest civil liberty ratings in the non-democratic world. We have been a generally tolerant society, accepting of all races and creatures --"

"Not ideas, mind you -- " Blazhei interrupted. Sablinov nodded.

"Yes, not necessarily ideas, but intellectual tolerance is a recipie for disaster, we all can agree on that. But this is not the topic at hand.

"Xavi--" he was interrupted by the sounds of doors opening, and an old man in a plain black suit came in, escorted by a servant of the castle. He sat down, nodding to everyone.

"Sorry I'm late." Chancellor Sablinov smiled and shook his head.

"Not a problem, Franz. I heard about the razing of the von Papen residence. I'm sorry for your loss." Blazhei nodded.

"Yes, we all are." König Jörmungand II, quiet until now, addressed Franz von Papen sincerely.

"It is a disgrace, what has been done to you. You are one of the most prominent and most loved member of Dersconi society, and to have a man who calls himself Tsar do such a thing to you..." the King's words trailed off and he just sighed. von Papen smiled.

"Thank you, Blazhei, Jörmungand, for your kind words. They do mean a lot to me. However, what is done is done, and cannot be changed. We have a more important matter at hand.

"Xavier is clearly not a friend to Derscon. During my stay in Northrop-Grumman, Xavier's actions were deplorable, and put both Tarakh and I in a position where it was impossible to save face. I would have made the attempt, but unfortunately, my health has been failing. I am, after all, only human." Chancellor Sablinov nodded.

"Indeed. While Derscon never had a very good, per se, reputation, due to its position within the Greater Prussian Empire, Xavier has completely and utterly destroyed any good image we may have had. And within the Empire itself, he is nothing but a demon ruling as an angel." King Níðhden VII nodded and spoke.

"I agree with all of this, naturally, or I wouldn't be here. The problem is, what can we do about it? We can't just wage war, and assassination...the very thought of it is laughable. There is nothing we can do about it." The King's words hung in the air, weighting everyone down. However, breaking the silence, Blazhei spoke up.

"Xavier is not the Tsar." The all glanced at him, all with looks of confusion.

"What?"

"Xavier is not the Tsar. We owe no alliegence to him." Chancellor Sablinov raised an eyebrow. Things are starting to make sense now...

"What do you mean?" asked King Jörmungand. Chancellor Sablinov shook his head.

"My friends, I believe this situation may be far worse than we can imagine. However, I need time to think, to speak with my superiors, and I'm sure Grand Master Voikinov must speak with his...contacts." Sablinov and Blazhei met glances briefly before turning their eyes back to the crowd. They knew what to do.

"My friends, I believe the time is near to secede from the Empire." The two King's heads shot towards the Chancellor, and von Papen recoiled.

"You're kidding!" Chancellor Sablinov shook his head.

"No, no I'm not. We cannot do it alone, though. In time, however, I believe we will gather enough support to do so.

"Blazhei and I must consult our superiors, however, to speak it over, as they know much more about the situation than anyone. Until then, I believe we must ajourn this meeting."

John simple turned to Mariah, and, surprisingly, said, "Hush." He also heard the strange noise, and as it got closer, he realised that it was not a "whoop" at all. Suddenly, from the swamps, emerged countless (at the present state) barbarian-like warriors, some mounted, others not. They began to surrround the intruders, with one yelling, "Estisne! Estisne!"

John drew his sword, but allowed the Vanir to think, as he may have a clue as to who these were.

Mariah had a broken arm but was ready for the savage hordes. Her sword need to strike once to kill a barbarbian as the fires of hell would deal with opponent pretty easier. She looked at the others for a sign of when to strike or someone had a few tricks to play on these hordes. She looked at the Vanir, in thought. She looked at the trees, they would useful now - as a weapon.

The Vanir glanced over at Queen Mariah. "Hmm, this won't do." He walked over to the Queen and placed his right hand under the arm that was broken, and waved his left over the broken spot. A dark blackish-red energy wisp could be seen rushing out of the arm, and a soothing, soft white energy wisp going into the arm. When the process was finished after about thirty seconds, the Vanir let go of the now healed arm. "We do not need to inhibit ourselves more than our current situation does for us."

Vanir Þrúðglam glanced at the charging natives, curious at their choice of language. Latin? Strange. He shrugged it off and ignored them as he approached the large pool in front of him. Several arrows shot at him, but they all stopped short, seemingly hovering in front of him. The Vanir waved his hand as the arrows turned around and flew back towards their owners. "I would greatly appreciate," he said to John, Mariah, and the three strange warriors accompanying them, "if you would hold them off for a little."

As the armoured creatures charged at the natives, and John and Mariah did their thing, he approached the pool solemnly, ignoring the arrows and spears coming at him, as they simply stopped in front of him and dropped.

When he approached the bog, he pulled out a similar orb as to what Mökkvaesir had, and held it over the pool. The orb floated over to the centre of the pool, seemingly gathering energy from the pool itself. When it made it into the middle it slowly fell to the surface of the pool, and then went under. Vanir Þrúðglam simply stared at where it entered, waiting for it to happen.

And it did.

The earth around them began to tremble as the pool began to form a whirlpool; but not a whirlpool like normal whirlpools. This one was spiraling up,, not down, as a large pyramid of bog water began to rise out of the pool.

The orb could be seen on top of the large pyramid of water, and suddently, it flashed violently, and the water fell with a rushing wave back into the pit, and in its place was a magnificant polished stone (who's origin was clearly not anywhere near these parts) and platinum. The two large statues of a strange dragon god in front were carved of the same black metallic substance found often in older Dersconi palaces and castles.

Vanir Þrúðglam nodded. "Yes, this is it."

Queen Mariah got rid of the sling of her arm, feeling a lot better. She used her force powers to break branches off the nearby trees hurling them into the hordes slowing them down as they got smacking around as bits of tree were causing them to fall over each other. It didn't help the horsemen too much slowing them down as they tried to avoid being knocked over by flying tree bits.

As more of the hordes advanced, a firewall sprung up from Mariah's sword to protect the group. The firewall spooked the horseman's horses knocking the riders off their steeds. Hellfire scares most creatures not from hell itself. The hordes which didn't get burnt, of which there were still quite a few had still to be dealt with. She started hacking out nearby natives who ran around on fire as they set alight by Mariah's sword.

You couldn't really see Mariah properly, as barbarians were thrown about around her with swirls of fire as she cut down a horde attempting to outflank the mysterious warriors.

John, who had been working on refining his skills, thrust his sword into the ground. Suddenly, a beam of light shot upward. It then went outward, over a pocket of barbarians, and then down, incinerating them. He pulled the sword out, and conventionally hacked away two barbarians, before jumping up into the air, and crashing down on another, this time with a white hot blade. The man was cut in two, but the blade was so hot, his wound sealed together. he screamed, before he began to "neck" with a small dagger John had pulled from his jacket. He battled some more until it happened. When it did, John sheathed his sword, and led Mariah to the Vanir.

---
As they were attacked, the barbarians quickly charged, however, were thrown back by the attacks of Mariah and John. What was running through their minds? Well, for one, they had never lost a battle before, especially one with a woman involved. They had heard rumors of some Jean pushing back Englsih oppressors many years ago, but not today. Then, when they saw the temple spiral upwards, they stopped the battle. Immediately casting down their weapons, they jumped to the ground, and knelt. "Miserere nobis!"

Queen Mariah shut down her flaming sword and brushed off her dress removing the body parts created from the fight. She had a few scratches and cuts from throwing herself at the horde. Bits of her chain mail dress were hanging off. She looked more like one of the Celtic barbarian women now.

Standing next to King John, she smiled "Hey nice trick with that sword, what's it called" while polishing her sword with piece of clothing from the dead Barbarian.

Vanir Þrúðglam looked around at the battle scene after it was complete, scanning the carnage. He waved his hand in a flat circle in front of him, parallel to the ground, and the swamp crept up and sucked in the bodies of the dead, erasing any sign of a battle at all.

Vanir Þrúðglam walked around the hoardes of natives and pinpointed one of the more decorated natives. The Vanir walked over to him, and motioned for him to rise, and they met each other's glances. After a long, silent stare, they both embraced each other. When they let go, the native leader began to glow a white light, and when it dissipated, the native leader appeared almost identical to Vanir Þrúðglam, but with a plain black robe instead of the more decorative one that Þrúðglam wore -- indicating a lesser rank.

"King Antonette, Queen Mariah, this is Vanir Ullreir." Vanir Ullreir made a slight bow to both of them.

"I have waited for thousands of years, and it has finally paid off. Tell me, though, brother, why has there been no becaon?" Vanir Þrúðglam snapped his head around at Vanir Ullreir.

"What?" Vanir Ullreir shrugged.

"Maybe I just missed it." Vanir Þrúðglam nodded. This may turn out bad.

"Yes, you probably did. Let us continue on."

Queen Mariah smiled "Well, Vanir Ullreir nice to meet you. Next time maybe the welcome need not be so warm then. Let's hope we need not go through all this again, eh?" while fishing a finger out of her dress and getting rid of it. She was holding an undamaged Barbarian helmet and put in on. "Well, let's go on"

Rekjyavich Andropov Military City

The executive shuttle touched down on the runway without a hitch, coming to a stop at the end, the stairway moved to the door of the shuttle.

Coming down from the ramp were three fully uniformed officers escorted by two L'Empereur Division Imperial Guardsmen, and two staff officers trailing behind.

All of them filed into the motorcade, immediately departing the runway as the shuttle taxied into the hanger. After a short drive, they finally came to the gates of RAMC, and driving through that, went into the Kremlin Compound.
_______________________________

Star Office

Tsar Xavier II was going over the briefs from NMCC about the strange occurences and flights happening all over the Prussian Empire. Flights to and from Kæsþiöndhrgarðr coming from some of the other capitals...flights to Cherry Ridge and Pschycotic Pschycos coming from the tundra...speaking of which. Tsar Xavier pressed a button on his desk. "Anna, would you please contact Caramel? I need to see if King John is back in." Xavier leaned back in his chair, staring at the wall, when the ramp came down, and the three officers (not accompanied by anyone at this point) came up the ramp and sat on the couch in front of them, the ramp closing behind the three officers. Xavier looked up at the newcomers and smiled.

"Colonel Orlean, welcome back to the Kremlin."

The Temple of Lupinberg

Chancellor Rögnvaldr Sablinov bowed before the three orbs in front of him, giving them his full attention, and his respect. He knelt in the middle of the inscribed Black Sun that was placed into the floor ages ago, each arm having ancient Dersconi runes carved into them. The temple they were in -- where the Triumvres of Kæsþiöndhrgarðr ruled from -- was built even before Racbúri and his army arrived on Earth.

The great north wind will fall silent. Chancellor Sablinov looked up from his kneeling position, secretly thanking God that they finally spoke. He knew not to speak, however, that there would be more.

The southern stars shall fall from the sky. Rögnvaldr remained silent. The Great Temple has been desecrated, but the key has not been turned. Sablinov sighed. "What is this," he muttered under his breath. "A college surrealism class?" The Divine Map shall be split in half. Sablinov rolled his eyes, and after realizing that they wouldn't speak further, got up and left.

Outside the temple, he collapsed on a bench and put his head on his hands. "They don't make any sense!"
____________________________________________
Friedensberg

Franz von Papen sat at the head of the table, the host for this meeting. General Pierre Jean-Baptise la Salle sat to his right, Grand Imperial Marshal Wellesley to his left. With the three Dersconii were Marechal Brune and Gerhardt Volckner, two of the three current Triumverate leaders in Reichskamphen.

"I think we can all agree that the state of the Prussian Army as of now is horrendous." Marechal Brune took a sip of wine after speaking. General la Salle nodded.

"Quite right. When I was touring some of the other units, desertion was rampant. Desertion! All because of the factions. Ever since Alexei was assassinated, the army has been in shambles. The national troops are too busy quarreling with each other than maintaining a solid Prussian army. The only divison that has not been deeply affected by it is the Soli Deo Gloria division, but that's only because it's made up of mostly Dersconi." Marechal Brune sighed.

"Yes. The L'Empereur division is even worse. How can there be a division for the Emperor when there isn't one?! Or at least, a stable one." von Papen nodded.

"Indeed. However, more troubling than that is the state of Derscon. After all, with Reichskamphen -- and I mean no offence -- basically a protectorate of Derscon, the Prussian Empire is held together by Derscon. And we, my friends, are not doing so well." Marshal Wellesley nodded.

"There are high levels of...disapproval of the Tsar, some out-right protests. We have not had this kind of outrage in ages." Volckner scoffed.

"It's deserved. Xavier is a terrible emperor." von Papen smirked.

"An excellent choice of words. Terrible. Some states are considering...action." Marshal Wellesley glanced at von Papen, and Brune raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, an aide came in the room, whispered something in von Papen's ear, and walked out. von Papen turned to the rest of the group.

"It seems that our good friend has been planning on getting rid of the Reichskamphen triumverate and staging a total and complete invasion for the 'pacification' of the Reichskampheners." Volckner and Brune hid their anger from their faces, but their eyes betrayed their feelings. Brune was the only one to speak.

"We will stand beside you."
_____________________________________________
Wittenberg Palace

"We have never experienced this sort of difficulty in communicating with the Tsar."

"Yes, the crown has always had a completely open line of communication with us. Xavier is making it extraordinarilly difficult."

"Indeed! He's already said he was going to tax the churches!" There was a collective gasp around the table as Blazhei called the councilmen to order.

"Xavier is in fact doing all of this, but he knows he can't do it overtly. THe population is simply too religious. We must expose these practices." One of the councilmen shook his head.

"If we do that, GICAPFAH will be shut down. Think of all of the programmes we have, gone in a flash! The poor and neglected would have nowhere else to go." Blazhei grunted.

"No one will have a place to go or stay if we don't do something. Xavier is not a Christian." A few of them choked on their drinks when Blazhei said that. "He is an impostor, a fraud, and a demon. He will destroy this Empire." There was a dark silence throughout the room, but finally, the grand master of the Knights of Luther spoke up.

"Then, Blazhei, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we will stand behind you."

OOC: I'll try to get my two other posts up tomorrow, but no guarentees.

Vanir Mökkvaesir looked down the hole and grunted, waving his hand over the opening. A rumbling could be heard from below, and suddenly, a geyser shot up from the hole, and then leveled off at floor level. The Vanir smirked (although it couldn't be seen) and stepped on the water column, and motioned the two Pschycotians to follow.

(OOC: PsiPso, I'm taking a few liberties, but nothing substantial; it's just so we don't have to keep making one-liners.)

The Shogun and ex-Shogun both stepped on the water platform, and the Vanir hit the floor of the column with his new-found staff, and the watery lift descended quickly down the shaft.

As they went down, the same blue and white lines that were on the steps could be seen spiraling along the walls of the shaft, and at the speed they were descending, it had the visual affect of almost a supernatural warping.

Finally, they hit bottom, and splashed into a large, and deep, pool of water. The three swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out, looking around to find nothing -- the entire room was pitch black. The Vanir, however, can see beyond the normal visual spectrum, and followed the infared path up to a small altar stone in front of a stone door, placing the staff in the hole on the altar stone.

Suddenly, a bright flash came from the orb on top of the staff, and the large cavern lit up with the same blue and white lines, giving the cavern a very calming aura of glimmering blue and white.

The stone door in front of them also dislodged, inviting them into the ancient temple. Naturally, they oblidged.

As the three walked into the actual temple, they began to take notice of the sheer brilliance of what has been covered up. White fountains encircled a large statue of a dragon coming from a pool (in the centre of the chamber), and glimmering blue and white columns lined the chamber along the outside. The floor was made out of a substance neither Pschycotian has seen before, a strange blue and white stone, and the layout of the stone gave the visual appearance that the entire floor was in fact one giant stone.

Which it was.

Vanir Mökkvaesir walked up to the statue of the dragon and touched the head, causing the two eyes to glow a bright blue. Behind them, the door to the cavern slammed shut, and three other openings appeared -- two perpendicular to them, one directly in front of them. The Vanir waited for a little longer, but suddenly became nervous. He turned to the two Pschycotians.

"Wait here." Vanir Mökkvaesir walked briskly to the door in front of him. He noticed the stone floor seemed blemished -- it didn't shine -- and increased his pace. When he got to the door frame, he simply froze. Lying in front of him was the body of the Protector of the Temple, Vanir Helgiskjöldr. Vanir Mökkvaesir leaned down and checked the life signs of the still-cloaked Vanir, and sighed. "A great evil has fallen on this place." The Vanir continued to go further down the path, and when he came across a closed door with a body laying next to it, he couldn't help but smile. "Good. Vanir Helgiskjöldr did not die in vain, and the intruder did not get what he came for." Mökkvaesir crouched down at the body and examined it, finally coming across a tatoo of a waning moon and a sun covered by two wings, with two black, firey dragons encircling it. He looked up at the two Pschycotians who were now standing with him.

"Do you recognize this?"

Kenshin bent low to examine it. "It looks highly familiar. I just can't seem to exactly place it..." he said, trailing off. Meanwhile, Taiki had bent down over the body too. He brushed the tattoo, and it promptly changed to a rose ensnared by rose vines. As his hand left, it reverted back. He placed his hand there and held it, and it stayed visable.
"I might not recognize that one, but I certainly recognize this one," he said. "It's Rozenkreuz's crest. Regardless of what the other one means, Rozenkreuz is definitely involved."

"Shit," Kenshin swore. "If we're finding a Rozenkreuz crest down here, then they must be linked with Xavier to find this place."

Vanir Þrúðglam led the much larger party into the temple of the bogs, leading them into a small antechamber. It was a dark room, now that the enteranceway slammed shut behind them. It was covered in a very dark grey stone, a very dismal yellow light shining from an orb above them. Unlike the Temple of the Sustenance, negotiated by grace and wisdom, the Temple of the Earth was negotiated via brute force.

The antechamber was bare, except for the stone door in front of them. There was no switch, no altar, just the stone door. And it was in their way. He turned to the Drekimana with them.

"I don't like that. Please move it." The Drekimana nodded and walked up to the door, examined it, and then took his staff and obliterated the stone, exposing the main chamber. Vanir Ullreir smirked and led the party through into the main chamber.

A dark, solid, brown stone was the floor of this chamber. Throughout it, however, rivers of mud flowed around the room, and columns of rock lined the outside. In the center was a statue of a dragon, seemingly made of rock, coming out of what looked like a planet. Vanir Ullreir placed his hand on the dragon's head, and the floor behind them rose to cover the opening that they came through, and in front of them, the wall was blasted open, a new tunnel for them to explore.

Vanir Þrúðglam led the party through the tunnel and into the small tower, which was really a gigantic stairwell that wrapped around the large spherical structure the rest of the temple body encased.

"Looks like we're going to have to do some climbing." Vanir Ullreir led the way, leading them up several stories of stairs before finally coming to another stone door, which was bashed open by the Drekimana.

As they entered this new chamber, a crawling sound could be heard. The Drekimana raised his staff in preparation, and the two Vanir's looked in the direction it was coming from.

Suddenly, two strange creatures leaped up from the ground at Vanir Ullreir. The Vanir shot the one back by producing a beam of energy, and Vanir Þrúðglam was quick enough with a stop field that Ullreir wasn't attacked by the second creature. With the creature now in a bubble of suspended animation, the party took the time to examine it.

"It's almost like a worm," Ullreir commented.

"Except worms don't have claws, and worms don't try to attack you." Vanir Þrúðglam studied the strange creature a few more times before closing his hand into a fist, causing the stop field to collapse in on itself, crushing the creature on an atomic level and annihilating it, the energy being trapped by the mini-rift. Vanir Þrúðglam scanned the hallway ahead of them and grunted.

"It seems that this is the temple. There are no barriers, no puzzles, no tricks. Just an excessively large amount of strange creatures that want to kill us." Vanir Þrúðglam held out his hand, and a strange energy blade appeared in front of him, and he grasped it by the hilt. Vanir Ullreir did the same thing, but his weapon of choice was a large war hammer.

"Everyone ready?"

Queen Mariah smiled "Well, not that we have much choice do we? Nice hammer there Vanir Ullreir." as her sword turned all red with heat rising off it. The obsidian blade heated up to 2000 degrees, perfect for slicing through worm-like creatures. She didn't want to touch the blade itself. She poked some rocks with her sword, and rocks started to crack and melt.

Star Office
"Welcome to the Kremlin." With those words, Orlean suddenly felt the tension flow out of is muscles. Not that Xavier was a stress reliever, but he was soon to get revenge. He could feel it. "It is great to be back, Your Highness." He bowed slightly, before taking his seat. The formality complete, he asked, "I am guessing I will soon be taking action?" He cocked an eyebrow, and waited for an answer.


Royal Bunker
"Where can he be? He has never done this before!" Katrina Antonette, formerly von Papen wept. "One week... have not heard from him!" Her dark blouse only hinted at the fruits beneath, but currently, one would not be drawn there, but rather to her tear ravaged face. The man sitting next to her, gently holding her hand said softly, "Katrina, he is close. Don't worry please." Another burst of tears emerged from her, and the man placed her head against his chest, and enveloped her with his arms, calming her.

"Monsignor," came a soft voice from behind them, "A phone call awaits His Majesty." The man nodded, "Where is it from?" The answer caused him, and Katrina, to straighten up. Her tears stopped, for the moment, as the answer came back. "I believe Derscon, Monsignor. The Kremlin."

His Eminence, Joseph Cardinal Marco, stood up. His black cassock reached almost to the ground, and a simple pectoral cross hung from his neck. There was no hint of his ecclesiatical rank, other than the cross and a ring he wore. He picked up his leathe briefcase, and removed a packet of papers, containing information on civil matters, and sat next to Katrina, his hand keeping her's steady.

"Send it through." The Cardinal pushed a button, causing the speaker phone to come on. He motioned for Katrina to speak, indicating he would make himself known when ready. Swallowing her anger, anger at the loss of her (grand)father's estate, she answered, "What can I do for you, Highness"


Temple of the Bogs
John drew his sword, for the first time, thinking of Katrina. He thrust the sword into the ground, as it began to glow white. Lord, make my aim true, and shower us in the light of your justice. Send Saint Michael to guide my hand, and protect me in this work. Amen. Oh, and help Katrina too.

He stood up, and stepped forward. "Off we go, Vanir!"

The Temple of the Bogs

Vanir Ullreir nodded towards Queen Mariah. "Thank you. It's not mine, though. It belonged to a friend of my father. Some of you humans actually worshipped him as a god. I don't know why, though, he died some time ago." The two Vanirs looked at each other and began to walk down into the chamber, but...nothing attacked them.

Eventually, they got to the end of the chamber, and they realized that it was actually much smaller than they thought. There was also no door on the other side after all. Just a wall. Vanir Mökkvaesir grunted.

"This presents a problem. There must be a switch, or something, around here...." Vanir Ullreir looked at the other Vanir and let out a short burst of laughter.

"Switch? Puzzle? Þrúðglam, this is not the Temple of Kæsþiön, this is the Temple of Midgarð. There are no tricks here." Vanir Ullreir walked up to the centre of the wall, where a large symbol was carved. The Vanir studied it for a few seconds, picked up his hammer, and smashed the symbol with as much force as possible, shattering the wall in front of them.

As the wall in front of them collapsed, a high-pitched squeal sounded in front of them, and when the dust cleared, they could see swarms of those strange, oversized, clawed centipedes, all rushing towards them. They all were about to rush into them when Mökkvaesir held up his hand. "Wait."

The swarms began to get closer and closer, and when they were really close, Vanir Þrúðglam rose his hand again and the entire party levitated above the ground, except Vanir Ullreir. Ullreir looked around at the swarms and jumped high into the air, lifting the hammer above his head, and coming down to the ground, slamming the face of the hammer onto the floor, sending out a massive shockwave across the chamber, the energy ripping apart most of the swarm.

After the shockwave died down, the party stood on solid ground again to meet the next wave of creatures -- strange, flying monstrosities that didn't look too friendly. Vanir Þrúðglam took his energy sword in his left hand and, as one of the birds flew towards him, swung the sword over his head, vertically, and cut the bird in half. There were still five more to go, though.

Queen Mariah had to duck as one of the flying things almost tored her head off, but luckily she was a person who was short. As it passed, she turned around and pointed her sword at it. A fireball jumped from her sword consuming the creature as it crashed into the ground like an plane on fire. She cursed at it "That will teach to try messing my hair up", smiled and looked at the others and shrugged. She poked at the centipedes on the ground to make sure they were all dead.

Vanir Mökkvaesir glanced at the tatoo and then at the Pschycotians, and chuckled. "Ah, just like the good ol' days." He put his hand back on the seal, forgetting that Taiki still had his hand on it as well. When they both touched it, the entire seal on the arm burst into flames, along with the body. Both Taiki and Mökkvaesir jumped back as the body was consumed by the flames. A white mist came out of the flames as it reached its peak, and shot into the body of Helgiskjöldr, jolting him back to life.

The Vanir managed to lift himself up off the ground, shaking out the kinks in his joints, and walked over to the group.

"I've met my fair share of vampires before, but that one was insane. A coward, too, sneaking up behind me by dissipating. But I've never seen anything like that. I didn't even know vampires could dissipate."Vanir Helgiskjöldr shook his head and glanced over at the two Pschycotians, specifically Kenshin.

"Heh. You look a lot like Kamikaze. Good man, he was. Only man to ever best me in honourable battle." After the Vanir finished reminiscing, he walked over to the spot where the Rozenkreuz warrior used to be, examining the area around the burn mark. Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"Ha! Fool. He didn't solve the puzzle correctly. You there, son of Kamikaze, come with me. You two, wait here. This shouldn't take long." Vanir Helgiskjöldr grabbed Kenshin by the arm and whisked him out of the room into the main chamber, and down the hallway to the right. Vanir Mökkvaesir turned to Taiki.

"He gets this way sometimes."

********************

Vanir Helgiskjöldr and Nakamura Kenshin ran down the right hallway for awhile, until finally they came to an open door, where they stopped, and slowly crept into the room, careful not to make any noise. They looked down into the room to see about five men dressed the same as the one they found in the previous room they were in, all trying to figure out that last puzzle. The Vanir smirked as one of the intruders tripped a trap switch and fell into a pit, where his body would be brought to 0K, and then brought back up to the normal temperature, causing the body to turn into a wonderful pile of cell goo.

Four left.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed by, putting a tiny hole in the wall behind them. "It seems, son of Kamikaze, that we were detected." Vanir Helgiskjöldr stood up and produced a strange, blue orb in front of him. He waved his hand around the orb and flicked his wrist towards the floor below them, and the orb shot down and impacted in the centre of the room, causing a massive geyser to erupt out of nowhere, and knock all of the Rozenkreuz off their feet, sweeping one down into the freezing pit.

Three left.

Vanir Helgiskjöldr saw one running for cover, and simply pointed a clawed finger at him, causing all of the water in his body to pressurize and burst the cell walls, his organs, and the rest of his body, turning him into a small pile of goo.

Two left.

The Vanir pointed to the other two. "Nakamura, if you are anything like your father, you will have no trouble dispatching our intruders. I have business to take care of down there." The Vanir grabbed the ex-Shogun and jumped down onto the floor, letting Kenshin go at the end so he could kill off the remaining two intruders, as the Vanir went off to a side chamber to sovle the puzzle and open the door to the star chamber.

Kenshin hit the ground with a roll, armour rattling menacingly. He rolled up to and slid on a knee and a foot, crouched over, drawing his old sakabatou. "Dogs like you don't deserve the sacred blade!" he said as the two vampires squared off to face him. A sword shot out from the forearms of both vampires as they took up a fighting stance. Their eyes were manical; they'd obviously not had blood in a while. Perhaps a side-effect from the time required to solve the puzzles.

The two beasts, as this was the only suitable term for them at this time, spread out and attempted to catch Kenshin in a pincer. He dodged forward, spinning and lightly playing his sword tips off the edges of the vampires', gaining a measure of their strength. Though being manically deprived of blood, the vampires' motions were fluid and coordinated. One jumped up and came down with both blades while the other stabbed forward with his, forcing Kenshin to blackflip out. The vampire that had stabbed at him leap-frogged over the other as he landed and began taking swings at Kenshin, who began blocking, the clangs of the steel echoing off the walls.

As he backed away, blocking, the other vampire moved in behind him and attempted a horizontal slash. Quickly, Kenshin knelt and rammed the hilt of the sword into the vampire's gut and spin-kicked his legs out. From his crouch, he sprang out and backflipped over the one still on his feet, grabbing his shoulders as he went. Kenshin landed and brought his knee up into the vampire's spine, an audible crack greeting his ears. Kenshin's grip released, the vampire staggered away from him. The other one, however, had regained his composeur, and had begun a second charge.

As the vampire came at him, Kenshin did a very odd thing. He re-sheathed his sakabatou, dropped his left foot back, and placed his hand lightly on the hilt. As the vampire came at him, he yelled out his style and move, "Hiten Mitsurugi, Battojutsu!" Faster than the eye could determine, the sword had jumped from its saya and travelled the full arc of Kenshin's arm to the peak. The blow's power blew the vampire back across the chamber and against the wall where his legs and hips fell against the floor, but his torso remained stuck to the wall by its own blood, sliding down slowly.

The other vampire had recovered, and now stood opposite Kenshin, oblivious to his partner's demise. This vampire charged as well, executing a horizontal cut across his body that Kenshin dodged with a jump. His jump was so quick that the vampire lost track of him. Desperately he looked around, until he looked back up his own blade-arm, which was stretched out behind him. There, crouched on the tip, was Kenshin, his sword drawn back ready to strike. Which he did, jumping from the blade before the vampire's head left the body. He landed lightly a few meters away as the head and body crumpled to the ground behind him.

He walked over to the still living corpse of the first vampire. He crouched down to eye-level with him. "If you ever drag your sorry ass out of here, tell Rozenkreuz that I am the battousai and the hitokiri.; the blademaster and the manslayer. Just in case they need a reminder of who leads the charge against them." The vamire spat blood at him, falling pathetically short. In a flash, his sword had cut off one of the vampire's arms. Kenshin removed a cloth from his armour as he walked away and cleaned the sakabatou's blade, finally sheathing it.
=================================

Meanwhile, Taiki had turned to Vanir Mökkvaesir, "it is understandable, but I think he's been down here too long. Kenshin is the grandson of Kamikaze. Ah, well...what else is down here? Are we at least close?"

John pulled his sword, and, it glowing white hot, cut down a "bird", and caused it to crash into the other one, killing one and injuring the other. The other two birds dove at his head, and he fell to the ground, and lopped the bottom off of one, causing it to crash into the wall, and snap its neck. The final bird dove at his legs, but was bet with a kick to the beak, and a downward thrust of the sword, behind its neck.

John walked over to the wounded animal, whistling the Jurassic Park theme song, and he looked it in hte eye, mocking the injured animal. The bird fluttered its wings, but could not move. John forced his sword to glow white, cleansing it, and lightly placed it on hte bird's head, causing his skull to explode. "Now then, where to next?" he grinned.

Mariah examined one of the other "birds", but poked it with her sword to make it was actually dead. She hacked off one of it's claws and cut small gemstones out of the claw.

"I think these are what Sinbad the Sailor ran into. If you find the nest, there's a lot of these gemstones to be found. I think they are called Rocs or something." she said as she pocketed some gemstones for providence. She cleaned up the gemstones and then removed more from the other claw.

Vanir Helgiskjöldr smirked as he slid the last rune into place, causing the entire chamber to be bathed in a white light. He walked out of the side room into the puzzle chamber to see Kenshin hovering over the torso of a vampire. He didn't pay any attention to them, instead walking over to the now-displayed pillar of water bridging the gap between the floor they were on and a platform on the other side, the energy barrier now gone. Vanir Helgiskjöldr simply walked across it and grabbed what looked like a blue star, and walked back.

The Vanir went over to join Kenshin and the vampire and inspected the star, taunting the vampire. "Was it this you were looking for? Hmm. Well, that's too bad." Helgiskjöldr looked up at the giant symbol on the ceiling of the chamber and brought the blue star over his head so it lined up with the centre of the symbol engraving, and spun the star around.

When that happened, the statues lining the walls burst open and began to flood the room with water. Helgiskjöldr grabbed Kenshin's arm and jumped back up to the platform where they came in. "This mess needs cleaned up, and I don't want to be here for it. Flood, freeze, melt, evaporate, incinerate." Helgiskjöldr and Kenshin dashed out of the room just as a gigantic stone slab slammed down over the entranceway, sealing the chamber off.

***** *****

Vanir Mökkvaesir glanced over at Taiki when he responded. "Actually, yes, we're close. Very close. Very, very close." The wall that they were leaning against began to glow a little, and then a little more, and then suddently, a bright white orb flashed into existence, forming itself into the shape of a star.

"Ah," the Vanir commented. "It seems Helgiskjöldr solved the puzzle." Just a few minutes later, Helgiskjöldr and Kenshin appeared around the corner, carrying the star.

"There were some dirt problems in the chamber, I had to clean it." The Vanir walked straight past Mökkvaesir and Taiki to the glowing star, and placed the blue star interlocking with the white light. When they touched, they began to spin rapidly, and eventually shot into the wall itself, forming a doorway bathed in light.

"Come, and be ready." The four entered the strange light, only to all black out.

****************

When they all awakened, they found themselves in what looked like a giant hollow sphere of water. Vanir Mökkvaesir walked up to touch the water wall, but was pushed back by the strange currents.

They all looked down, and realized that they were, in fact, standing on a road of water, leading up to an altar...of water. A strange hilt of a sword was exposed, being stuck in the altar.

As they approached this strange altar in this even stranger room, the sphere walls began to form spires on either side of the watery bridge, and the wrapped around the altar, and came out further, transforming into a glimmering azure dragon.

I am the Guardian of the Blade of Ægir. Only those who prove themselves worthy may approach the Divine Blade.

The majestic dragon looked down upon the four beings without emotion in its glowing, white eyes, and sent a wave of water rushing towards them, the Pschycotians and Vanirs barely evading it.

Vanir Helgiskjöldr smirked as he held out his left hand, a double-edged sword appearing, the blades glowing a bright white light.

Vanir Mökkvaesir simply glanced at the dragon, as the Ægirean Dragon sent forth another rush of water. Mökkvaesir simply held his hand up, stopping the wall of water in front of him. As he spun his hand around, the wall came with it, eventually spiraling down into a warstaff that Mökkvaesir grabbed ahold of. Vanir Mökkvaesir stuck the head into the water floor and brought it up over him, a line of water following. The Vanir swung the staff around his head and pointed it at the dragon, the line of water whipping towards it, lashing the dragon in the side, causing it to recoil.

"It is unfortunate, but we must slay this dragon."

Vanir Ullreir glanced at Queen Mariah curiously. "Sinbad the Sailor? Who is this person you speak of?"

While they were carrying on that conversation, Vanir Þrúðglam walked further down the chamber line, and grunted.

"Come on, there's nothing more for now." The party gathered together and followed Þrúðglam's lead up the stairway, which ended up climbing all the way to the peak of the temple, and...outside?

The party walked out of the doors to the altar in the centre of the roof of the temple -- over 20 stories high. All around the roof, the spires could be seen coming together to form a vertex right above the middle of the altar. The two Vanirs looked at each other curiously, but then Vanir Þrúðglam figured out what to do.

"Ullreir, smash the altar." The other Vanir nodded, took his war hammer, and drove it down into the altar, crumbling it to bits.

Well, more than that, actually.

The altar caved in on itself and ended up falling through the roof, or so it seemed. In reality, it simply dissipated, and exposed a long shaft into the heart of the temple.

"Well, we need to go down that way." The two Vanirs grabbed all of the party members and jumped down the long shaft into the heart of the temple.

********

They ended up falling into a place that was bathed in white light. In fact, it was so white, that there didn't seem to be any room at all. It was just...well, whiteness.

They seemed to float along, there not being a floor. Granted, it still worked like walking in a building, it just felt like, well, floating.

As they stood and examined their new surroundings, an altar appeared in front of them. The group immediately turned and looked at the new appearence, and what accompanied it -- what looked like a hilt of a sword that was driven into the altar.

As Vanir Ullreir began to walk towards it, the entire party was thrown back by an unknown force. When they all got back up again, they could see a circle of boulders surrounding the altar. They stared transfixed as the boulders began circling around the altar, hovering over and around in a spherical pattern, until eventually they went so fast as to make it one massive blur of boulder.

Out of this blurred sphere, though, came a rush of fire that they avoided only by sheer luck. Then, what looked like a massive, spiked tail.

As the creature slithered out of the sphere, they saw what it was -- a gigantic serpentine dragon, coloured a glimmering amber and onyx.

I am the Guardian of the Blade of Terra. Only those who prove themselves worthy may approach the Divine Blade.

The deep, sonorous voice echoed within their skulls as they stood transfixed by the sheer size of the dragon in front of them. Then they realized what it meant:

They had to fight that thing.

Queen Mariah commented "Eh, this must the bigger version of that pet dragon of mine. Good thing, they don't grow quickly. OK guys we have a Plan A? and do we have a Plan B too?"

"Ah, what a shame," said Kenshin. It is a beauty. He withdrew the broadsword from its scabbard and moved to a fighting stance. "Taiki, do you remember our side-by-side training days?"

"I do, and I know what your thinking," Taiki replied, removing his round glasses and securing them within his robe. "Crusnik zero-two, nanomachines activate. Forty Percent approved." In a rush of energy, his hair-tie disintegrated and his hair was blown back and way from him. Fangs extended from his mouth and his hands turned into claws. His eyes glowed red again, and the massive scythe reappeared. His cloak and hair continuously moved as energy moved around him, acting like wind.

In a deft act, he whipped the chain around and brought it shooting forward, wrapping itself around the dragon's neck, the barbs digging in. In the same instant, Kenshin had jumped up and landed on the extended chain. Lightly, yet swiftly, he ran up the chain and lept near the top, his sword raised for a two-handed slash downward on the dragon's exposed neck.

Vanir Þrúðglam scoffed at the Queen. "My dear lady, this dragon, I assure you, shares no relation to any pet you may have. Unlike the dragons that roam the universe today, this dragon is special. Namely because it is a divine being. Other than it's counterparts -- of which there are six, seven including this dragon we face now -- all other dragons are mortal creatures, therefore not related to this dragon." He looked back up at the giant earth dragon and grunted.

"Now, where were we?"

Vanir Þrúðglam scoffed at the Queen. "My dear lady, this dragon, I assure you, shares no relation to any pet you may have. Unlike the dragons that roam the universe today, this dragon is special. Namely because it is a divine being. Other than it's counterparts -- of which there are six, seven including this dragon we face now -- all other dragons are mortal creatures, therefore not related to this dragon." He looked back up at the giant earth dragon and grunted.

"Now, where were we?"

"We have to defeat this immortal montrousity, so what's Plan A?" she replied.

This time, John scoffed, "I do not think we have time to formulate a plan, my lady." The very next moment, he drew his sword, and in the same motion, the sword glew white, and a beam of white light expoloded forth, towards the dragons face. Just before the light hit, John lunged at the dragon, and stabbed its lower abdomen. Them, he rolled underneath the beast, to the other side, and plunged his sword under he tail, and shot a beam of light from inside the hole. He ran around the dragons right, and slashed from his right leg, around to the center of his legs, and yelled at the Vanir, "Can you levitate it or throw it back, or anything?" Shouting at Mariah, he continued, "Target its eyes, if you can!" He laughed, "I think I pissed it off."

Vanir Helgiskjöldr shook his head at Kenshin's manoevure. This isn't going to go over well. The test of the dragon is actually two-fold -- strategy and strength. If you have strategy and no strength, you may plan, but you will be killed by the dragon's power. If you have strength and no strategy, you will dig yourself into a hole that will be immensely difficult to get out of.

Kenshin's case is the latter.

The two Vanir's grabbed Taiki and pulled him back down that path as Kenshin landed his sword into the dragon. This type of blow would be lethal to virtually any creature in the known universe. This is also the case for this divine dragon. Sort of.

The driving of the sword into the back of the neck caused a flash-heat of the dragon, instantly turning it into a gas, and seering Taiki greatly by the sudden increase in temperature. Kenshin also ran into the problem of being seventy feet in the air, no longer being supported.

Namely, he was now plummeting to the bottom of the chamber.

Vanir Mökkvaesir held out a hand and stopped Kenshin's fall, and lowered him down to the ground. Once they regrouped, Mökkvaesir sighed.

"Well, you removed the dragon, yes, but an even greater problem persists. The dragon is but a physical representation of the guardian spirits. Look around you, look at this chamber we are in. You saw it -- the dragon was formed from the walls of this chamber. This holy chamber is the guardian." As if to confirm Mökkvaesir's lesson, the room began to cave in on itself, the "roof" literally falling in front of them, causing a massive deluge of water that was rushing right towards them. Mökkvaesir motioned to Vanir Helgiskjöldr, who nodded back and raised an arm behind him. The "walls" of the watery chamber rushed towards Helgiskjöldr, but then passed him at very high speeds, running straight into the wall of water that was no longer rushing towards them.

Unfortunately, (or, perhaps, fortunately), this collision manage to recreate the dragon. Mökkvaesir placed his hand on Taiki's head, causing a sudden surge of energy to rush through the Pschycotian.

"There, electrical powers. Use them."

OOC: Deus ex Machina!

Meditation Chambers

Æsir Forsetóðr floated in the centre of the chamber, glowing, the icons and artifacts circled around the room sending energy waves throughout the chamber, passing through one of the last remaining Æsir in the galaxy.

Forsetóðr could feel the battle with the guardian of the Blade of Terra rage on, and realized that such things were needless trials. He knew that they were the ones to bring about the Great Ressurection, and such tests were simply delaying the process, and hampering their recovery efforts.

The Æsir set himself deep in meditation, communicating with the divine spirits -- the guardians and rulers of the Lost Empire -- pleading for their guidence, and that their wisdom see what Forsetóðr has seen, that these time-wasters need not continue.

About an hour later, Æsir Forsetóðr awakened from the meditation, stood up, and left the chamber, convinced that they have been swayed by his arguments, and that the quest could continue.

OOC: Kenshin has the sword and is attacking, Taiki is on the ground. You've reversed them.

OOC: Fixed.

As the guardian began to lunge at King John, Vanir Þrúðglam telekinetically pushed King John out of the path of the mouth of the dragon. As the Vanir began to jump up and take a swipe at the dragon, the rock formations suddenly...fell to the ground. The Vanir never made the jump; only stared, confused, at the pile of rocks in front of him. He looked around a few times, catching a glance at Vanir Ullreir, who simply shrugged. Þrúðglam slowly walked towards the altar with the sword in it, paranoid at it being a trap. When he finally reached the altar, he quickly ripped the sword out of the stone altar and ran back to where he was.

Nothing happened.

"This is...interesting." The group looked around again, noticing an oval light appearing behind them. A gateway.

After a few moments of deliberation, they all walked through, appearing....

...in the bogs?

"What the...?" Vanir Ullreir swung his head around, looking at their surroundings. They were on the "shore" of the bog pool that the temple came out of, but...no temple. Just the bog pool. All of the "natives" that were killed; their bodies were gone as well.

"Well, as strange as this is, it works for us. Let us not stick around to determine if it is but a trick." With a quick agree from all, they headed back to the ship, to Niflheim Castle in the Tundarian Expanse.

Vanir Mökkvaesir and Vanir Helgiskjöldr decided to attempt to center themselves in the chamber, as Taiki and Kenshin tried to hold off the guardian.

After a few minutes of meditation, both Vanirs jumped up suddenly and were about to unleash a massive burst of energy at the dragon when the entire room flashed a bright white light, and they found themselves surrounded by darkness, with just the altar with the sword floating in front of them, emitting its own soft glow.

Helgiskjöldr didn't wait, he ran straight for it, ripping the sword out of the altar and returning to the group. Mökkvaesir glanced around, eyes fixated on the now white orb floating behind him, as it expanded, and expanded, finally engulfing them all.

*****

When they regained conciousness, they found themselves laying on the ground outside the ancient ruins' doors, inside the Pschycotian temple. Mökkvaesir was the first to get up, followed closely by Helgiskjöldr, who still had the sword. The two Pschycotians were not far behind.

"What was that about?" Mökkvaesir shook his head.

"No time. We must leave, and quickly. Come, we must head back to the ship."

"Ummmm...I kinda blew that up. Remember?" admitted Taiki embarrasedly.

"Don't worry, we'll flag one down," said Kenshin, following the Vanirs. Ironically enough, there was a new boat sitting next to the dock, across from the still smoldering remains of the old one. This new boat was a private sailing yacht, painted a sleek white. She had a single mast, going up scores of feet, and a main cabin that bumped above deck. In the bow, a young man with spiked brown hair was relaxing on a deck chair, a margarita in one hand. He had a solid build that betrayed a hint of athleticism, though a year or so since it had been used to its fullest. As the odd looking group bounded onto the docks, he turned his head and examined them with a detached curiosity. He looked from the group to the still burning keel of the boat on the otherside of the dock, then back to the group.

"Ya'll need a lift?" he asked. Naturally, it was a rather stupid question. But with the group's odd nature and look, he half expected them to poof out of existance at any point.

"How fast can this thing get us to Metro-City?" Kenshin asked, climbing onboard without waiting for an answer.

"Six, maybe seven hours. Though, it'll only be three until we hit the Coast Guard patrol lines. I could set you off on one of their carriers," replied the young man, getting up and stretching, pulling up his shorts a bit. As the others climbed on, he untied the yacht from the dock and let down the sails. As he took his position up behind the wheel, he asked his own question, "so, just who the hell are ya'll?"

Kenshin frowned at the lack of manners. "I am Nakamura Himura Kenshin, this is my son, Shogun Nakamura Taiki. And these are Dersconi representatives. And just who the hell are you?"

"Cool, cool," he replied as the yacht eased out into the open water and picked up speed, the wind rustling his spikes a little. "Sorry for my lack of decorum. I'm just feeling a bit sedated and relaxed. And my name is Matt Zimmermann. Happy I could help. There's drinks in my cabin, if you'd like."
=============================================
OOC: Damnit! If Clive Cussler can do it, then I sure as hell can!!

Imperial Palace, the Kremlin

The Star Office

"Ah, yes, good day, Katrina. Tell me, have you seen your husband around? I've been trying to get ahold of him for some time, and just can't seem to find him."

*A few minutes later, after the phone conversation*

Xavier smirked. "Yes, Colonel, you could say that. You have proven to be one of my most loyal soldiers and compatriots, and I am not one to let loyalty go unrewarded. Nor one to let betrayal go unpunished." He shuffled some of the papers on the desk around before pressing a button, displaying a holoscreen with a list of names.

"The following soldiers have been hand-picked for their unquestioning loyalty to me, and their mastery of stealth combat. All of them are currently training on a Dersconi space colony world -- Malvengi IV -- to perfect their skills in the type of combat they will be using.

"I want you, Colonel, to be in charge of this new organization of elite guardsmen. You will be the voice of the Emperor, enforcing my power through subtle movements and actions, but ones with great reprecussions. You will also act as part of my personal guard. With this, of course, comes a commission as Brigadier General in the Soli Deo Gloria division of the Imperial Guard.

"So, should you accept, I believe we may need to take a little trip to the training grounds."

In the royal bunker, Katrina shuddered. She did not like Xavier that much, but something seemed different now. She glanced at the Cardinal, and another priest in a cassock, who had entered, and resealed the bunker. He whispered something in the Cardinal's ear, and remained. Katrina noticed, but pushed this to the back of her mind, until she could get Xavier off of the phone. "I have not seen him today, he is attending to business. I can pass on a message if you would like, or let him know you called?"

Star Office
"Of course I will accept the appointment. Brigadier General Charles Orlean." He laughed, "Doesn't have quite the same ring as Colonel Orlean, but much better, nonetheless." He sighed, "But yes, we should go to the training grounds as soon as possible. Some people in the empire are getting noisier than even before."

Attending business? His own WIFE doesn't know where he is? Something fishy is going on.... he thought for a moment. She's not lying, I know tha...wait.

"No, that's okay, no need. I think I know where I can find him. You take care now." Xavier quickly hung up as Colonel Orlean walked up the ramp.

*******

Xavier smiled at Orlean. Of course you accept. "No, it doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but I'm sure the perks of the job will make up for it." Xavier stood up and teleported across the invisible energy shield separating the private quarters and the Tsar's side of the desk with the rest of the office, and walked over to the window, motioning Orlean to come with him.

"Do you see that building over there?" Xavier asked.

"Yes," Orlean replied, nodding. "It's the Kremlin Cathedral."

"Do you know when it was built?" Orlean thought about it for a moment.

"Which part?" Xavier smiled.

"Very good. Not many non-Dersconi can pick out the subtleties of the ages. The oldest part." Orlean shook his head.

"Couldn't tell you. A thousand years ago?" Xavier scoffed.

"Not even close. Try nine." Orlean looked amazed.

"Something like that was built nine thousand years ago?!" Xavier nodded.

"Indeed. That building, and the spire in the centre, hold many secrets, both old...and new." Orlean just stared at the beautiful structure in front of him, wondering where, exactly, Xavier was going with this.

"The secrets within both the Tower and the Cathedral are ones carefully buried for several millenia. Our enemies seek to unearth these secrets, secrets best left buried. There is also a key -- the corporis clavis -- that will unleash a force that will inevitably lead to the fall of the Greater Prussian Empire, and the collapse of Derscon. The corporis clavis I had well hidden within that Cathedral. Our enemies look to use it to put it in its keyhole, to catalyze the destruction of Greater Prussia and the collapse of Derscon." Xavier then turned to look at Orlean, with a hard glare boring into the Ridgian, as if he was speaking to Orlean's soul, rather than Orlean himself.

"We cannot allow this to happen, we must strike and destroy our enemies before they can unleash these events. This is your purpose." The ramp behind them opened, and Xavier led Orlean down it.

"Now, come, we must go to the shuttle bay."

Vanir Mökkvaesir looked at the boat pilot curiously but shrugged it off. No matter, I don't care who he is. If he gets us to the shuttle faster than we could have, he's fine with me.

After a calm -- but stressful -- voyage, the party of four got off the boat. Vanir Mökkvaesir turned to the captain, giving him a small tied pouch he produced.

"Thank you, kind sir. I hope this is enough payment for your services. You could never imagine how much you've helped us." With that, the four Vanir went off to the now repaired shuttle (the shuttles they had were made of self-repairing metorganic material), leaving Zimmermann with the pouch of extraterrestrial 'gold' of unknown origin, each piece being worth more than a bar of the Au metal found on earth.

Niflheim Castle

Prince John was sitting on a couch in the room when two of the white-armoured Drekimana opened the door for the arriving party -- Vanir Þrúðglam, carrying the Sword of Gaia, Vanir Ullreir, King John, and Queen Mariah. Prince John motioned them to sit, waving his hand to the couches. When they sat down, they saw in front of them two other Vanir, what looked like a stereotypical pirate captain, and what looked like your stereotypical Special Forces commander. While the stereotypes were wrong, the occupations were not.

"Newly arrived, I'd like you to meet Captain Rakhamov of the Neptune's Fury, and Juggernaut Felix Kraadin, Master Sergeant in the Black Shadow unit of the Dersconi Imperial Armed Forces. The Black Shadow is, naturally, the most elite special forces unit in Derscon's employ, not including the private armies of the Tsar, as they're all soulless, genetically and biologically engineered clones." Anyone familiar with the ranks of the Dersconi military would understand that the Master Sergeant was clearly good at what he does, as the title of "Juggernaut" was bestowed upon those who racked up over two hundred kills to his name without getting hospitalized, with minimal loss of team, as well as the constant shadow of any failed missions resulting in immediate removal of the title.

Both Juggernaut Kraadin and Captain Rakhamov nodded in greeting to the newly arrived -- they both knew who all of them were. Vanir Ullreir was the first to speak.

"So -- and no offence meant -- but why are they here?" Captain Rakhamov smirked, producing the Sword of Ares, while Kraadin pulled out the Sword of Jupiter.

"Oh."

Prince John motioned to the two other Vanir. "These are Vanir Lokvé and Vanir Vörjunðr, of the temples of Ares and Jupiter, respectively. They'll be joining us." The two Vanirs nodded to the group.

About ten minutes later, the two Pschycotians entered the room, followed by Vanir Helgiskjöldr, carrying the Sword of Mercury (No one is really sure why it's called that, when it should be Poseidon. No one really bothered to ask). A few minutes later, Vanir Mökkvaesir walked in. The two new Vanir had to do a double-take, and bowed when he walked in the room. Mökkvaesir returned it with a nod.

"There were some difficulties, Lord Kvrrscxlyn. the ship took damage, and is currently having repairs accelerated. It will be out of commission for a small bit." Prince John nodded, the two new Vanirs seemingly amazed at the fact everyone was so calm around Vanir Mökkvaesir -- even treating them like they were on his level. They decided it was not something worth bringing up. Mökkvaesir probably did not want to talk about it, anyways -- that's why he was chosen, after all.

"No matter," Prince John responded. "We have all of the swords. However, I believe Xavier may be on to us. Therefore, we must hurry." Prince John stood up, walking over to the door to lead to his private chambers.

"I suggest we all rest up well. We will be journeying to the temple at sundown."

"Best fish I've ever caught!" muttered Zimmermann, casting off the lines of his boat again and sailing back out into the sea.
===============================================

At the castle, both Kenshin and Taiki ended up folded up on the floor, sleeping, not even bothering to move at all from where they were.

It was obvious they were father and son. Even more obvious was that they shared the same trait that made them totally oblivious to normal decorum.

After Katrina had gotten off of the phone, the priest introduced himself, "Your Highness," he genuflected on the left knee. With a soft smile, she allowed him to rise, and asked him to approach. "I am the Reverend Father Michael Cesari, Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Carmel and Chaplain to His Lordship Francis Carmel."

She replied, "I believe he have met before, Father."

He smiled, and said, "Ah, so you do remember me." After letting a moment pass, he continued, "I have just told His Eminence that he ahs been rodered to Rome for a meeting. My friends in Rome tell me that he will be kept there until this trouble is over, unfortunately. I will remain, however, and be sure things do not go too far off the wall."
------
John shot a look at the Psychoticans, who obviously had no social couth, and departed to his quarters to sleep, after giving a slight bow to the Vanirs.

Queen said her goodnights to everyone and dragged herself off to her room. She showered and was about get dressed but ended up sleeping naked because she too tired to be bothered to get dressed.

...

In Jeruselem

Prince Arthur and his sister Princess Leia were having a mock sword fight as their trainers watched. Little Leia was smaller and younger but she was attacking constantly with Arthur constantly defending himself. Arthur finally won the battle after his sister got tired. One of the trainer commented "Leia's insane as her monther."

Friedensberg

Chancellor Rögnvaldr Sablinov was once again sitting at the head of the table, with von Papen to his right (it was von Papen's residence, after all). König Jörmungand II and König Níðhden VII were also there, along with Blazhei Voikinov.

Sitting towards the other end of the round table were three military officers. The first, Imperial Marshal Wellesley, the Minister of Defence. The second, Field Marshal Auguste Marmont, the commander-in-chief of the Army, and commander of the First Corps. The third, was General Pierre Jean-Baptise la Salle, Commander of the Soli Deo Gloria division of the Imperial Guard.

The setting was the same as the last meeting -- immensely dark, lit by smokeless torches burning a foreign chemical, the black stone table reflecting off the eerie light, with the golden runes carved into the table glowing phosphorescently, almost as if on their own accord. The guards in their darker armour were posted around the circular room, and the Eye of Providence on the top of the back of the Chancellor's chair watching over the room with its ruby eye.

At that point, the heavy stone doors were moved open to allow in three more men, who took their seats beside the generals at the ovular table. Marechal Brune and Gerhardt Volckner (who was sitting next to la Salle) were less-uneased as before, as it was their second time, but the Reverend Stevens looked a bit off-balance. Chancellor Sablinov smiled to himself. This probably looks very demonic to him. The smile was wiped away quickly. And its that prejudice that has forced us to hide in the tundra. He let out a soft grunt of discontent before calling the meeting to order.

"Welcome back to Friedensberg, my friends. We all know why we're here.

"Our first concern, however, is the unrest in Reichskamphen. Could any of you," the Chancellor said, glancing in the direction of the Reichskampheners. "Sheed some light on the situation? We're not sure what to make of it yet."

"Of Course..." Marechal Brune stood up to address the assembled dignitaries.

"Since the collapse of the New Genevan Protectorate, Rev. Graves has stood watch like a hawk to make sure the interests of Reichskamphen aren't wiped away and that the control that Xavier wields over the country is not abused. Since the absence of Dr. Graves...things have made a great turn for the worst. Generally, when there was a problem...for instance the Dersconi's passing unfair laws, you would hear it the next day from the pulpit at the Cathedral, or in a letter distributed to the people. In his absence, I have done my best to curtail the problems of occupation...but I don't have the platform that Dr. Graves once had. And now, with the dissolution of the PCGPE and the formation of PCNS...the Church and its new moderator are looking more beyond our borders than within.

It is now left exclusively to me to ensure the safety of the nation. The Dersconi Army has been for the past month shutting down churches, newspapers, and local governments that appear unfriendly to them and replacing them, when they can, with puppets. An attempt to burn down the Imperial Cathedral was made by elements in the Dersconi special forces, but I managed to put a stop to it.

The people of Reichskamphen are begining to chafe under Xavier's yoke and will not long stand for it. Most of the people in this generation remember the time when Reichskamphen was the centre of the Empire and its influence could be felt all around the world...now they are forced to wonder where their next meal will come from as all Dersconi aid in reconstruction has stopped.

The soldiers of the Triune Kingdom that have been absorbed into the Dersconi Army are under my command for the most part...and there exists a long list of militias and paramilitary organizations that have spoken to me either directly or through back channels and sworn their fealty to any future Government that would be based out of New Geneva, presumably with myself along with Dr. Graves, God willing...at its head. Further, you will recall the accident that took place during the wars of reconstruction when the Napoleon Bonaparte fired on the forces advancing on New Geneva. This was not an accident...it was my order. Much of the Imperial Starfleet that remains has been put on notice by what I call the Protectorate in exhile...myself, Mayor Volckner, and now Dr. Stevens.

This has been done for two reasons. First and foremost, to prevent an all out revolution that could tear the Empire in two. If a city revolts in a minor way...we will simply send enough troops to scare them back into line. But the second reason is more of a plan B. Supposing that there is no stopping the revolution without severe bloodshed...we will have no choice but to join."

Marechal Brune sat down, as Gerhardt Volckner, the Mayor of New Geneva stood up to address all assembled.

"If the tide of discontent is to be stemmed...the following needs to be done first. Removing the Dersconi presence is not an option knowing Xavier...but it can be much more efficient and cost effective to create a series of regional bases from which a strike force can originate and reach any location within its jurisdiction within 30 minutes to an hour. Further, not having to see occupying soldiers on the streets on a daily basis would make people much more content.

Second...Reichskamphen should be granted some form of Semi-autonomy. The Czar of Derscon should authorize elections to be held, and for a Republican form of government to be formed in his name...much in the sense of a constitutional Monarchy. However, the Czar obviously would have veto power...and the veto power of gunfire if it came to that. This would make the people feel less imprisoned."

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in New Geneva...

The Grand Imperial Palace constructed by Napoleon IV, and ultimately used by the last Emperor, Joseph-Napoleon had presumably sat vacant since the Dersconi occupation. During the Protectorate, it had served as the centre of Government and Military activity and housing for a bevy of nobility and other Imperial figures who sought to hide from the impending Dersconi control. When Dersconi soldiers marched on the city, they found the palace bare. Every piece of furniture, every painting, every paper, everything was gone. There were signs of a great haste to evacuate, but still, it was a ghost town.

As new leaders of Greater Prussia didn't use New Geneva as the Imperial Capitol it was built to be, several buildings were shut down to conserve money and energy. The Parliamentary Palace was closed as there was no parliament. The Imperial Palace was closed as there was no Emperor. The headquarters of the Imperial Guard was closed as the Imperial Guard headquarters had relocated to Derscon. The Government district, a full 1/3rd of the city was deserted and that meant less customers for business and trade, and that meant that most of the businesses left the city, and that meant nearly 50% of the population of New Geneva had left the city only two years after the Dersconi occupation. Unemployment in the city neared 80% and most of the people who had moved there, wealthy men, were nolonger able to afford to leave. Needless, to say, lack of food and jobs for the once proud people of a once proud city made them quite restless, and a revolt seemed possible at any time. The only thing that prevented it was the only real force left in the city...the Church. The Imperial Cathedral was still the religious centre of the Empire, and even as the sermons preached against Dersconi rule...they urged the citizens against armed conflict.

All that Xavier needed to have done was to move a reasonable percentage of the Imperial Government to New Geneva...or even make it the Imperial Capitol that it was made to be...and Reichskamphians would have become loyal subjects within a few years. But his arrogance and ethnocentrism made it impossible for him to do so.

Now Imperial Guard soldiers stand guard at the now walled off Government district to ensure homeless people don't take up residence there and to keep the deserted parts of the city from turning into dens of crime.

Behind the watchful eye of the Imperial Guard, however, in a top secret underground bunker in the Imperial Palace...was a grain of sand for the pearl of revolution to form around. This grain of sand was the headquarters of the Reichskamphian Royal Army. Here, the vast number of militias and paramilitary groups formed due to necissity during the dark time were being organized in league with former soldiers of the Royal Army and current soldiers in the Imperial Guard and other recognized military forces that were planning to defect if given half a chance. This army would be nearly five times the size of the force that New Geneva sent against the Dersconi's in the beginning as it drew on the entire nation. Private organizations and local governments were going to great expense to rebuild the military infrastructure of Reichskamphen underground and keep the immense buildup a secret for as long as they possibly could.

Most of the Civil infrastructure had been restored during the first three years of Dersconi rule...but after that funding stopped and only the basics were in place. The country was prepared for war with Derscon, and with the Empire if necessary. And the man that would bring it all to pass was Marechal Alexandre Brune...Marechal de l'Empire for two Emperors and the hero of many a campaign, and the onetime commander for the military forces in New Geneva.

RAMC Spaceport

The shuttle was already prepared for them as they walked into the docking bay. Xavier and Orlean were both decked out in their military field uniforms -- not dress, but not fatigues, either -- as four of the Praetorian Guard walked along with them to the executive shuttle. The maintenance crews were gone, except those that were necessary to operate the dock controls.

When they boarded the shuttle, and took off, they were immediately joined by four heavy fighters and, as they left Earth's Atmosphere, joined by a whole squadron.

Travelling not much further, the small shuttle came to the warp-gate, designed for quick travel to Derscon's space colonies -- many of which weren't even in the Milky Way. Once the gate control centre authorized the shuttle through (and the small carrier battle group moved into a "you can go through now" position), the gate kicked open, allowing an eerie blue and purple mist to form -- almost like a nebula. The small fighter went immediately into it, propelling itself to the secret Dersconi colonies, further out into space than most in the galaxy ever cared to explore; an ancient colony of an ancient, forgotten people.
________________________________
Niflheim Castle

Once everyone had breakfast and met back in the main chamber, Prince John addressed the crowd.

"Now, we've all been in dangerous situations before, we've all had our fair share of 'let us go save the world,' but this time, we're for real. We've collected everything we need, and we are but one battle, and one ritual away from solving our every problem. I hope you've gathered your things, because this is going to be one hell of a surprise."

And with that small speech, the entire crowd was enveloped in a flashing light, and teleported to the main chamber of the Tomb of Rachek.

Lieutenant William Summers sat in his small office, aboard the CRS Katrina. As commander of the detachment of MA's aboard, he was responsible for the security of the ship. Two of the SP officers, the temporary MA's on shore, knocked, and entered. They were carrying a man, chained and obviously a bit distressed. He looked up, then continued writing some minor order. "Yes?" The man, in a tattered seaman's uniform stumbled, "Sir! Sir! In the bogs! O're the bogs! There was..."

Lieutenant Summer's raised a hand. "Enough." He looked up, and stared at the man, "Seaman, you are drunk. Take him to the brig for a night. Let him sleep it off." The man shouted, "But sir!" Lieutenant Summers stood up, "I said that is quite enough! If you say one more word, I will have you arrested for insubordination! Now go!" The man was taken to the brig.

OOC: Sorry, CR, but I figured that since I wasn't doing anything major, i'd be okay with you.

Dersconi Classified Space Colony

The shuttle left the warp-gate with a flash, coming out on the dark side of what looked to be a moon. Both Xavier and Orlean were on the viewing platform, watching the space around them as the shuttle approached the landing zone.

Orlean likely felt a bit queasy -- the entire system seemed to be enveloped in dark energy. Even the star the planets and asteroids revolved around was dark and eerie.

As the shuttle made its way to the moon the facility was on, Orlean could see a monstrous structure over one of the planets down. It was one of the biggest man-made structures Orlean has ever seen.

"Woah..." Orlean, not having been in space before to see large coreships, was virtually speechless. "What the hell is that?" Xavier couldn't help but laugh.

"That, my friend, is the Might of Sorath, the new flagship of the Dersconi Empire. It's undergoing a few finishing touches, and will be ready to be deployed in a month. It will have the power to annihilate entire fleets by itself. Naturally, though, it will never go unaccompanied. It is a coreship, command centre, and carrier, in one." Orlean just blinked.

"A carrier? What's it's fighter capacity?" Xavier chuckled.

"It doesn't carry fighters. It carries cruisers and corvettes." Orlean stared off at the behemoth as the shuttle began its descent onto the moon.
____________________________________________

Tomb of Rachek

The (now much larger) party made their way into the chamber where the map was, finding all of the locations where there were temples, lit up. Save two.

Prince John went around the room, reading the runic inscriptions, and smiled. "Good, there won't be difficulties. Follow me."

Prince John and the crew made their way through the puzzles of the tomb with ease -- the combined intelligence of the Vaniren, and Prince John's study of the tomb allowed a virtually pain-free experience. When they finally got to the end of the path lined with gold, Prince John was confused. It was a wall.

"Odd, there's supposed to be a passage here." Vanir Mökkvaesir nodded.

"There is a passage here. We're in that passage. It seems, however, there's a stone in the way." He walked up and touched the barrier, and shook his head. "This won't be broken by anything short of the key. Which is odd, considering..." He thought for a moment and turned around to John.

"Lord Kvrrscxlyn, do you recall the key ever turning?" Prince John cocked his head.

"What do you mean?" The Vanir seemed a little surprised...and frustrated.

"You've studied this tomb for a year and you've never read about the key?" Prince John thought for a moment, and nodded.

"I do recall something about a key. I assume it's the key to unlocking this damn door?" The Vanir nodded.

"Yes. I thought the key was hidden in one of the temples." The Vanir nodded.

"It is." They all thought for a moment, and Prince John and Vanir Mökkvaesir both had the epiphany at the same time.

"Andropov Tower," they said in unison. Prince John spoke first.

"With the death of Alexei, though, it should have been activated. I saw him buried." The Vanir grunted.

"Are you sure you saw him buried?" Prince John nodded.

"Yes, dammit, I'm sure! I helped put the casket in the tomb!"

"Ah, but you didn't see his body in the casket, did you?"

"Well, no..."

"Nor was it the proper casket, was it?" Prince John thought for a second.

"Well, it did look a little different." The Vanir nodded, and smiled.

"Well, there's the problem. The Alanom was never completed. It seems we have one last place to go." Prince John nodded.

"The Kremlin."

"Oh fuck..." Kenshin said.

Dr. Stevens looked around the Cave anxiously...

"Are these the kind of things that Dr. Graves had to deal with?" He said a silent prayer for his fast and safe return from Pantocratoria. 'I can't do this alone, Lord...send me help!' he prayed.

To Stevens, this all smelled quite Demonic. But he knew that there were some things that went beyond her understanding. He would play along.

The Marechal was quite familiar with this by now. But he knew the last place that he could get into was the Kremlin, and it was the least safe place to be.

"Dr. Stevens..." he whispered to the Minister. "If we are to go the Kremlin, I reccomend that you stay here. With Dr. Graves indisposed, you are too valuable to risk."

OOC: Will, check TGs.

Sorry, folks, but I'm gonna be out of town 'till about June 18, so this is gonna come to a bit of a standstill.

Tsarheim, Kremlin Palace

In the Imperial Palace section of the Kremlin, a lone man -- relatively young, considering the office -- was working diligently on his duties. He also, however, was communicating with someone far away, telepathically.

Yes, I know where it is.

Can you show me?

No, you know I can't. Too risky. So is this conversation. You know how powerful he is.

Yes, but he's not powerful enough to take both of us combined. Not yet. Where is it? The man sighed as he brought up the security layout for the Kremlin.

It's hidden in the Cathedral, in the catacombs under the altar.

Mmm. That will be difficult. Any help?

Only a little. I can get you past the security and into the square itself. I can get you into the cathedral. Navigating the catacombs, and then getting out, though: you're on your own. I can't involve myself without compromising my own position. The man closed all of the windows on his computer and erased the memory on it of them ever being open.

That's a fair enough position. You can get us in, though?

Yes. I'll meet you at the cabin.

Okay, thanks.

No problem Ivan.
___________________________________

Friedensberg, Derscon

Chancellor Sablinov nodded to Marechal Brune as he sat down.

"Thank you for the update. Unfortunately, and I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you're wasting your breath pleading with us to change Dersconi policy. Xavier has effectively ignored the governments of the states involved in the Empire, and has ignored GICAPFAH, and has ignored the noble families. The three most powerful forces in this nation -- other than the Throne itself -- have been marginalized and ignored. There are, of course, those nobles and states that are happily bowing to Xavier for their own reasons -- but for the most part, they are pushed to the side. We are pushed to the side." Sablinov stopped speaking to take a drink, and in the gap, Blazhei Voikinov decided to take the reigns.

"Marechal Brune, Doctor Stevens, Mayor Volckner, I have total confidence in your abilities to effectively rule Reichskamphen. I don't, however, have confidence in your ability to beat Xavier. We all face an enemy in Xavier that no one at this table has faced before. No one. The church's best exorcists and the world's best armies combined would not be able to fight the power of our enemy." He then, took a quick drink to wet his mouth, but everyone allowed Blazhei to continue.

"As Chairman of the Grand Imperial Council for the Advancement of the Protestant Faith And Heritage, I have authorized several billion dollars in aid to go with our teams into Reichskamphen to help in the reconstruction effort. However, the Kremlin is beginning to make these sorts of efforts immensely difficult. GICAPFAH is responsible for financing and maintaining virtually every single soup kitchen, disadvantaged housing community, and charity organization in Derscon. We get a lot of money coming in, but we have a lot of money going out as well. The Kremlin is always shifting more and more of the social costs onto us in order to curb GICAPFAH aid to Reichskamphen, as our first duty is always to our people. Otherwise, we may lose our charter." He took another drink and continued speaking.

"Standing together, we can hold off the threat that faces us. However, it is important that everyone at this table know what they are getting into. We cannot defeat Xavier. Us, even united, cannot defeat our enemy. We can hold him off for a long time, but we cannot defeat him. It is up to us, however, to hold him off, for there is another force working that can defeat him."
___________________________________________

Dersconi Classified Space Colony

Xavier and Orlean -- accompanied by the four SPG -- stepped out of the shuttle and onto the dark surface of the forest moon.

The sky was dark, and the forest glowed an eerie phosphorescent green from the strange flora and fauna that inhabited this moon.

They walked slowly down the path, Xavier focused on nothing but the path, while Orlean was looking around curiously, and slightly nervous.

After awhile, they came to a clearing, and the structure in front of them, while not overly large, was still imposing, due to its chaotic and twisted architecture. In front of the two doors to enter the structure that was carved into the mountain were two creatures just as twisted as the temple; hideous beasts with glowing demonic eyes, large protruding horns, and fangs the size of a hand, large spikes running down either side of the bent spine. Orlean stared in nervous wonder.

"What is this place?" Xavier looked at his lieutenant.

"This is the headquarters of my previous second in command, who has since betrayed me and departed from this life, working against me to this very day. But come, it is not outside, but inside, that we care about." Orlean snarled at the typical semi-cryptic answer of Xavier, but shrugged it off, figuring he'd explain later, and followed Xavier past the monsters, and into the temple.

"We may not be able to beat him, but we can sure as Hell beat his armies...or atleast take a sizeable chunk out of them." Marechal Brune contested.

"Further," Dr. Stevens added, "Exorcists and people may be of no effect...but I swear that the God of the Universe has no enemy that he cannot easily cast aside as if it were nothing at all. We must pray that this selfsame God will guide our hands and stay the swords of our enemies, and that he will enact his final judgement on the evil."
----------------------------------------------------------

Government District of New Geneva (Deserted), 1:32 AM

The eight man patrol from the 3rd Dersconi Army walked with relative security and confidence through the deserted Governmental district of New Geneva. Ever since the Government of the Empire had moved to Derscon, about 80% of the city had been deserted. As such, it was cordoned off by the occupying authorities to prevent any ill fortune, and regular patrols went through the zones on a daily basis. For over two years, the patrols had been regularly scouring these deserted areas, and for two years, nothing requiring even a footnote on a mission report occured.

So, naturally, there wasn't a great deal of anxiety in the minds of these soldiers as they walked through the streets. They continued their patrol on foot until they were within 15 minutes response by the closest available military force in any direction. It was at this point that guards were posted at the perimeters of the small square they had wandered into, and the rest of the unit took a quick smoke break.

"Now." the faint whisper found the ear of the young Private who was fated to operate the dampening field. Immediately he switched it on, cutting the signal of the individual soldiers off from the main Dersconi security grid. To the controllers, it would simply look as if the entire patrol dropped off the face of the earth.

The microwave Apparati that had been stationed in the third story windows of the buildings surrounding the square were sent into action by their operators. The helpless patrol convulsed and screamed down to the very last man as their brains were slowly cooked by the intense microwave radiation. Within seconds they had all collapsed to the floor.

"13 more minutes people! MOVE!" a man shouted as he emerged from the darkness leading a team of several men and horses. He wore the uniform of a Captain of the Imperial Guard, but it was an older field uniform, perhaps from over a decade and a half ago during the reign of Napoleon IV.

"Yes, Captain!" the men shouted. "Like clockwork, the militia troops that had just appeared stripped the bodies of the Dersconis of all tracking devices, and meticulously assured that they had been deactivated while others still frantically packed up the microwave and dampening equipment."

"5 minutes! Lookouts report tanks headed this way!" With that the Captain disappeared into the shadows, and shortly after followed the rest of his team, bodies and equipment thrown over the backs of the horses.

Within minutes of their depature, a swarm of Dersconi armour and Personell arrived to inspect the area. "Tear the place apart!" the commanders shouted. "Keep moving!"

Despite hours of searching over 3 square miles of the deserted area, no evidence of the lost patrol could be found, no blood, no shell casings, no evidence of a stuggle, not even a boot print. Perhaps they had simply vanished into thin air.

The two SUVs held them all effectively, but that was only because the Vanir's could make themselves into simply a spiritual entity, not a physical one, to make room for everyone else. Thankfully, all of the windows were one-way, so no curious passers-by could peek in.

The two SUVs were waived into the walls of Rekjyavich-Andropov Military City, without a problem. The man riding shotgun at the front persuaded them easily enough, and the guards weren't about to question him when it was one thirty in the morning.

When they got to the gates of the Kremlin Square, however, it was a bit more tricky. However, with careful persuasion on behalf of the man in shotgun, they went through without a search.

The two SUVs finally pulled up to the Kremlin Square through the gates, and made their way to a small place along the wall. The driver in the front, and the man in the shotgun seat -- the same one on the phone previously -- never left. Prince John came around to the window, which was opened now.

"You sure you're willing to go talk to them?" The man nodded.

"Yeah. I've seen some of the plans Xavier has in the works. It can't be allowed to happen, it would destroy Derscon as we know it." Prince John nodded.

"Thanks, Tarakh." The window was rolled up and Prince John joined the rest of the crowd as the SUVs drove away. Six Vanir, one queen, one king, a shogun, and a prince.

"Time to get this show on the road."

Dersconi Occupied New Geneva:

It had been several days since the Dersconi unit had gone missing behind. Since then obviously, a storm had been brewing in New Geneva. The city was cordoned off by Dersconi authorities, and all the forts around the city had been manned. Dersconi soldiers, armed to the teeth, patrolled the streets like never before.

The people of New Geneva began to chafe, like never before at the tightening Dersconi noose.

Of course, patrols through the deserted areas quintupled. It was almost inhabited again, but this time with Dersconi troops. Several times, patrols had come close to stumbling over the nerve centre of the insurgency, but still had yet to find it. Nearly 300 ft. Underground in a complex of secret bunkers deep beneath the old Imperial Palace, the resistance continued.

Thanks to Marehcal Brune retaining his position as Chief Marechal and head of the Imperial Armed forces...for the time being anyways...he had been able to offset the increase in Dersconi forces by tripling the Imperial Guard presence in and around the city. The Soli Deo Gloria division, which had been based in Derscon since the dawning of time had several within it that supported Brune, but for the most part it would stick to the Czar. The rest of the Guard, though, was a different story. With the notable exceptions of a few officers and units who stuck by the Emperor, whatever his position or name, the Guard seemed to be very supportive of Brune.

Most of this was determined informally, and information trickled back in the same manner. Completely untraceable. This lurking giant of a problem had laid under the Dersconi commands' radar for a couple of years now, and was about to rear its ugly head and bite back.

Due to the unrest in Reichskamphen, and in response to the copycat attacks that followed the assault on the Dersconi patrol, Brune was able to convince everyone that needed convincing that now was the pivotal time to centre the Imperial Guard presence in Reichskamphen to prevent another revolution and to crush the resistance. Hundreds of thousands of troops had poured in over the past weeks from foreign assignments and even some postings in Derscon. They were deployed in such a way as to be able to implement effective Marshal law accross the entirity of the country within 30 minutes notice incase of a disaster or revolution.

Most within the Kremlin saw Brune as their chief defender and proponent as he apparantly was going to great lengths to ensure the Dersconi rule was maintained. "All for the Empire, and the preservation of what little is left of my home." he assured his controllers.

But the day was fast approaching when nothing, not even the fabled Rachek himself could stop Reichskamphen from exploding into open and incredibly violent rebellion against the Dersconis and everything they stood for. Verily, the streets would flow with the blood of the invader.

The Kremlin Square

The group made their way to the entrance to Andropov Tower under the cover of night. Normally, this would mean nothing, but thanks to Tarakh, the security in the Kremlin was down for a little.

They all got to the entrance of the Tower to find it sealed. Prince John let out a sigh.

"Okay, here's the deal. I have a hunch that Alexei's body is being kept in the catacombs beneath the cathedral. Unfortunately, to open up the cathedral, the seals have to be lifted from a device inside the Palace." There was a general grumble from the crowd, since security in the palace was known to be top notch, especially since Xavier took over, filling in the holes found in a general overview from what he learned doing Alexei's reign.

"To make matters worse, the Tower requires the simultaneous action of two devices -- one on the altar of the cathedral, to the other in the Old Palace. Then, and only then, can we go to negotiate the labyrinth of the Tower, put Alexei's body where it's supposed to go, and get the hell out of here. Vanir Mökkvaesir will lead Vanir Þrúðglam, Shogun Kenshin, Queen Mariah, and Vanir Lokvé to the Cathedral. I will lead King John, Vanir Helgiskjöldr, Vanir Vörjunðr, and Vanir Ullreir into the Palace itself.

"Oh, and by the way, we have a half hour to do all of this."

Classified Dersconi Space Colony

Xavier led Orlean down a hallway, made of the dark stone on the outside of the temple, covered in glowing runic inscriptions that doubled as a light source. When they finally got to the end of the hallway, it was but a wall with a skull on it. Xavier simply waived his hand and the wall disappeared, exposing a massive control centre that overwhelmed Orlean.

"Ive been on the HMS Napoleon Bonaparte several times, and the stuff on that ship looks like play toys compared to this. I had no idea Derscon was this advanced." Xavier smirked.

"It isn't. None of this is Dersconi technology, all of this is several times older than Earth itself. Have you ever heard of the Order of the Night Falcon?" Orlean gave the expected 'no' before Xavier continued. "The Order of the Night Falcon was an alliance between the Empire of the Black Sun and a Sith Empire, in no way related to what is now Unified Sith's Galactic Empire. The Empire of the Black Sun was controlled, and flourished under, an outcast god named Damonagaashi. The Sith Empire was lead by a council of Sith Lords, chaired by the Kvyslyani family, who's Patriarch was Dark Lord of the Sith Veranos Kvrrscxlyn." Orlean raised an eyebrow.

"They don't seem much like Sith." Xavier nodded.

"Indeed. It was several centuries beforehand that they underwent political and religious reforms, so that they weren't Sith in much more than name. But I digress." As they were speaking, Xavier and Orlean were overseeing the activity in the control centre, Orlean noticed a screen with what looked like a battle display. He interrupted Xavier's history lesson and pointed.

"What's that?" Xavier looked over just as one of the dark figures with a glowing sword slashed at the beast it was fighting, causing it to disintegrate. Xavier smiled happily.

"That is our new guard force, the one you're going to command. An elite team of psionic guardians and assassins designed to protect and project the Emperor's will across the galaxy. And further." Orlean nodded.

"I see. And by Emperor you mean..."

"Me," Xavier interjected. "Rightful Emperor of Derscon, Greater Prussia and the Order; of all of Creation. Unfortunately, there are forces out there opposed to us, Orlean. Fighting our vision for a great Empire of militaristic Imperialism, an empire that the entire galactic cluster will cower in fear at." Xavier had a determined stare, his gaze penetrating the windows overlooking the training grounds, the fire in his eyes raging.

"That is what these troops are for." He turned to Orlean, the fire seeping into the Ridgian's eyes. "That is what you are for."

The group at Friedensberg was continuing to speak of the crisis when two guards came in, speaking to Chancellor Sablinov and von Papen.

"Sir, there is a man here to speak with you." The Chancellor raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but von Papen nodded.

"Thank you, let him in." The two guards nodded and, five minutes later, returned with a man with a cloak, hood up to cover his face. Most around the table were either curious or nervous -- or both. Franz, however, was clearly happy to see him.

"I don't think you need a cloak any more." The man nodded and put down the hood, a guard taking the cloak from him. Chancellor Sablinov rubbed his eyes, disbelieving what he saw, and the two Dersconi kings grew suddenly anxious. Blazhei and von Papen, however, simply smiled. The Chancellor, however, was the first to speak.

"What is an Andropov doing here?!" Rögnvaldr cried.

"Indeed. This is Veliky Kynaz Tarakh Alexeitovich Andropov, the younger brother of Xavier. He's a friend." Tarakh took the chair brought for him and sat down. Tarakh was always known in Derscon as the "Shadow Prince." It wasn't because he was involved in shady deals -- far from it. He was simply rarely seen in public -- he never made a public address, and only went to a few state occasions. Some out-of-touch people didn't even know who he was.

He was the perfect inside man.

*zszhom!*

The two guards were wrapped in a stasis field, in order to freeze them in time. Unfortunately, the guards couldn't be killed, as the armour they wore monitored their life-signs, and if they were injured or killed, the place would be locked down, and the entire mission would be a failure.

All three Vanir were in their spiritual state at the moment, leaving only Prince and King John in a physical form. The two John's sneaked down the hall, the Vanir taking care of guards, until they finally made it to the guard house where the computer was to open up the Cathedral.

Finally making it to the security control centre, the three Vanir materialized themselves in front of the door.

"We can't get through the blast door," Helgiskjöldr said. "The thing is designed to keep even spiritual beings out."

"They really covered their bases," Prince John said with a bit of disappointment. He shrugged. "Well, no matter." He placed his hand on the security console.

"Welcome, Veliky Kynaz Ivan Rekjyavich. You are authorized for entry." Prince John smirked.

"Tarakh told me that Xavier never had me written out of the security system. Whoops." The door opened and the five people walked in the security room. The guards there, however, did not take kindly to that, evident by their raised weapons and the activation of the auto-turrets. Oddly, they weren't firing.

"Halt! This is a forbidden zone!" One of the guards had a glance at Prince John and went wide-eyed.

"The traitor! Kill them!" Before they could fire their weapons, however, Vanir Vörjunðr simply waved his hand and threw them back up against the wall, locking them in a stasis field. Prince John ran up to the console, inserted Tarakh's key card, and typed in the codes to override the lock-down on the Cathedral. Prince John communicated with Vanir Mökkvaesir telepathically.

Cathedral is open, find the lock and the grave.
Can do.
Good. You'll be on your own until we get out of here, though. The Kremlin is designed so teleportation, and other transportative-supernatural abilities, won't work. All of RAMC is that way.
The Andropovs always could.
Yes, but they were always different, weren't they? Prince John turned away from the console and looked at the clock. Damn.

"Okay, folks, we have twenty minutes."

*** *** *** ***

Vanir Mökkvaesir motioned the crew to follow him into the cathedral. Interestingly enough, the cathedral had no actual guards in it, due to the lock-down. In fact, no one was in it. At all.

Mökkvaesir's group tread quietly down the hallway, until they approached the diamond and ruby studded gold and platinum doors to the main chamber. Which were locked. Vanir Lokvé grumbled, but Þrúðglam shrugged.

"My father designed this place. And the Palace of the Empyrean. And the Temple of Rachek. My father was also a braggart, and also a teacher. I know this place." He started counting the studded jewels and pressing certain ones in sequences, so they lit up, until finally, the Seal of Eternity, forged in the centre of both doors, glowed with a brilliant light, and with a flash, the doors disappeared for a time, allowing them into the chamber.

The crew walked down the isle, even those having been there before taking in the magnificent architecture, artwork, and sculpturing of everything. Þrúðglam always found the sculptures of the Archangels with their trumpets up high along the wall to be fascinating -- since the trumpets they held were actually trumpet pipes of one of the largest and most intricate organs ever built. And because he suggested the idea to his father, many, many years ago, while his father was Chief Architect, and he was captain of the Imperial Chancellor's personal shuttle.

They all made it to the altar, the beauty of it nearly beyond words, sculpted out of a wood unlike any on Earth, mixed with a metal so brilliant as to have it been impossible for it to have come from Earth. The altar stage was, in fact, the only place in the entire chamber that didn't have some form or another of the organ protruding or hiding by it. The acoustics of the altar stage, in fact, made it so the rest of the sound in the massive chamber seemed underwater, a dull echo, giving the altar stage a serene calm, the ambiance aided by the two candles on either side of the altar, and the cross on the centre-front of the altar. Neither the altar, the cross, nor the candles, were of intricate beauty -- their beauty was in their brilliant, serene, simplicity.

Mökkvaesir, however, was not concerned with any of that. He had the team take up strategic positions around the massive chamber, while he stayed at the front. He was not about to take any chances.

Lord Kvrrscxlyn, we are in position.

"Are you serious?!" The soldier couldn't contain the joy he felt from what the woman on the other end of the screen told him, the one now smiling back at him.

"Yes, Gamaliil. I just got word yesterday." Gladiator Jäger Gamaliil Innokentiiov simply smiled back at his wife on the videolink at the news. We're having a baby! "So, how's your work?" Gamaliil sighed.

"New Geneva...eh. I'm really not allowed to say. Sorry, hun. Just...it's not fun. I can't wait to get back."

"When are you getting back?"

"My tour ends in six months. Just in time." His wife smiled back at him when Innokentiiov's commander started coming over.

"Well, I have to get back to work. I love you, my Anisiia."

"I love you, Gamaliil. Come home soon." When the screen signed off, the Master Sergeant sat down beside him.

"Must be nice." Gamaliil looked over, curious.

"What?"

"Having a family."

"It is, but not now. It's hard, being away for so long. Why, what about you?" The Master Sergeant shrugged.

"No family, no real friends back home. The Army is my life. I was one of those Project Mesada people." Gamaliil looked down at his feet. He heard of it before, but didn't know much.

"What was that, again?" The Master Sergeant sighed and explained.

"Project Mesada was developed from the faculties that make the Praesillei Dei soldiers. Basically, they take the genetic template, but alter it a bit, and raise the Mesada people to become a little more human. We are, however, encoded to find no value in the life of the enemy at all. We're also telepathic to a point, so as to allow for better communication on the battlefield." Jäger Innokentiiov looked up at that.

"So you're..."

"Not quite human, yes."

"You talk like you are, like you have emotion."

"It's something I've picked up. You surprise me, though. Wife, soon to be a kid, yet you're a Gladiator."

"Heh, yeah. It's strange. Kind of like this operation, to be honest." The Master Sergeant shook his head.

"We're here because New Geneva will fall apart if we're not."

"We're here because Xavier wa--"

"No." The Master Sergeant cut him off. "We're here to do a job, and that job is what our superiors order us to do. If we have to kill every woman and child in New Geneva, then dammit, we will kill every woman and child in New Geneva."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

"Regardless if it does or not, we will if we're ordered. We're here to be soldiers, not philosophers. Our current orders are to investigate a disturbance in sector 0401. The new men from Rodina will take over the base operations. We're under strict orders -- if shit happens, we raze the place to the ground, no matter what. Now pick up your rifle, and let's go!"

Friedensburg Estate

Chancellor Rögnvaldr Sablinov, now content with VK Tarakh's presence, continued on with the meeting.

When Doctor Stevens spoke of God's inevitable triumph, The Chancellor sighed. "Doctor Stevens, I used to believe the same as you. God is, after all, the Creator of All Things. He is Almighty. As ludicrous as it may seem -- and it took me a long time to believe it as well -- but that power, while not able to be matched, can be closely competed with to the point where the battle between forces becomes so long and drawn out that would work to destroy His Creation. All of it. Both this universe, and the other Realms that exist within Reality. You, having only experienced this planet nevertheless only this universe, have not seen what lies on the other Realms within the fabric of Reality. Things there that will both entrance you with its divine beauty, and paralyse you with its darkness. It is these latter places that feed his power, and by absorbing the Realms themselves, and all the dark energies that reside in them, he will grow strong enough to destroy the fabric of Reality, and wage a war with the Almighty One. And if God can stop him, I haven't seen fires from Heaven yet, so it's up to us."

"However," von Papen said, when Sablinov was finished. "There is hope. There is always hope. Part of this hope lies in the fact Xavier is still alive." A few curious looks were given by those around the table, but von Papen continued. "You have to understand, humans are fragile and weak." He smiled. "You need only look at me to prove that point; I don't have much time on this world left.

"Because they are fragile and weak, they cannot be in possession of the kind of power Damonagaashi is capable of wielding. As long as Xavier remains alive, then Damonagaashi can not even come close to achieving his potential. Remember, Xavier is not entirely himself any more, he is both he and the Great Daemon. Xavier is likely unaware that he is but a vessel, a puppet to be used until Damonagaashi is ready, and to be discarded when no longer useful." VK Tarakh nodded and stood up to address the crowd.

"Xavier has recently left Earth with a Colonel, now General, Charles Orlean of Cherry Ridge, a General of the Soli Deo Gloria division of the Imperial Guard. They have left to a Dersconi colony in the far reaches of space, not even in this galaxy, that is not entered into the record of Dersconi holdings. While I'm not entirely sure what they're doing, or what the project is, I do know that it is part of a plan to consolidate power within Derscon and Greater Prussia as a whole under the Kremlin.

"Derscon is already lapsing back into the Era of the False Tsars, and the oppressions that happened there. People are being arrested and shipped to the Tundra labour camps for simply speaking their minds. A National Identification System has been implemented that documents everything about a person. Interestingly enough, certain groups have been disappearing with increased frequency. Many Protestant pastors have disappeared, as they are the most vocal of the anti-Xavier crowd. Many people not of human or Kaethon descent have been disappearing as well. In the circles around the Tsar, rumour has been going around about a sort of purification campaign, as well as a heavy militarization of Derscon, for what purposes I am unaware of. There is evidentially a document on the computer of the Tsar, which I cannot access, and neither can anyone else, that details Xavier's plans for what he has been calling a 'New Era of the Dersconi Empire.' While I cannot say what this is, I can assume this means an expansion of the Empire, as well as a 'purification' of the Empire. For the first time in several hundred years, new labour camps have been commissioned, and SS recruitment drives have begun. The last time new camps were commissioned was in the Era of the False Tsars, and there wasn't much labour going on in those camps. They were interestingly empty." Tarakh made no suggestion of what course to take, and he did not go on. He simply sat down after his speech; he did not believe in telling others a course of action. For the amount of people it would affect, they needed to think of it for themselves.

Understood, Mökkvaesir. You may continue with Phase II. Prince John and crew managed to sneak their way into the palace by putting the Honor Guards at the Palace Doors in a stasis field, and sneaking through the Great hall by forming their own energy paths.

They finally managed to get to the old catacombs in the palace that were around before most of the palace was built. It was here that the console to open the Tower resided.

Lucky for them, it wasn't even guarded. But really, why guard it? Most don't even know this part exists, nevertheless how to get there.

Once they navigated the labyrinth of the catacombs, they came to the room with the console. The console itself was very ancient, yet it had the markings of alien technology. He motioned to King John.

"John, see that tiny console over there? Walk over to it, but don't activate it yet." Once he did that, Prince John explained why.

"The minute you activate that, it will activate this console, and the console in the Cathedral. However, there is only a two minute window, otherwise this chamber will collapse on itself and we all die. Also, you'll notice that I brought rope with me. It's so we can get back out of here without screwing around and going to dead-ends. The minute we activate the console, we'll have five minutes to get the hell out of here before guards start coming from all over the place, since the Tower opening triggers a LOT of security alarms. If we can get inside the tower, we'll be safe, but then, we'll have to fight our way out anyways. Nasty situation, really."

Mökkvaesir, we're ready. Make it snappy, we have ten minutes.

Mökkvaesir knew where the casket was, he could sense it, and to be honest, it wasn't well-hidden. It was, in fact, in a very cliché spot -- right under the altar. the Vanir re-arranged the articles on the altar, and lit certain candles on the stands around it in a specific pattern, and the altar opened up to reveal an ancient and alien computer terminal. Interacting with it for a few moments, he figured out what the actual trigger to open the doors were -- the computer -- and he figured out how to get the casket out of its current resting place.

The Vanir looked around before walking up to Console I for the organ. Sitting down, he placed the icon around his necklace in the slot designed for it, and began playing. The sound of the organ filled the room with its dark and sombre tone, and through the programming of the construction of the organ and the altar stage, the floor on the altar stage and the platform holding Alexei's casket rose up, and the platform locked itself in place when Mökkvaesir hit the final chord.

The Vanir quickly got up and pushed the immensely heavy casket off the platform and onto the floor (they were level with each other) just in time, as once he stepped off, the platform unlocked itself and sank back into the small room, the floor closing once more.

Lord Kvrrscxlyn, we have the casket, and the console is ready for activation.

*** *** *** ***

Prince John nodded and turned to King John. "Now!" King John nodded back and pressed the switch, causing both terminals to boot up.

*** *** *** ***

Lord Kvrrscxlyn and Vanir Mökkvaesir input their command codes into the consoles and, simultaneously, activated the system which shut down the barrier and opened the Tower. When that happened, both of them got the hell out of wherever they were with their team and ran to the Andropov Tower.

*** *** *** ***

All over the Kremlin Square, alarms were blaring as the Palace division of the Praesillei Dei came from their base under the Square and out from the chambers in the Sentinel Walls.

Out from the Palace raced Prince John's crew, and from the Cathedral -- a little earlier -- came Mökkvaesir's. Thankfully, they were quick enough to get to the tower before a lot of the guards came and decided to shoot, but a quick massive stasis field cast by all of the Vanir solved that problem. Vanir Þrúðglam, Vanir Helgiskjöldr and Vanir Vörjunðr waited outside and created an energy barrier to keep the Praesillei Dei soldiers -- and their gunfire -- from harming anyone of the party, and to prevent them being pinned down inside the Tower, while the rest of them rushed in the Tower, carrying Alexei's casket.

*** *** *** ***

Tsar Xavier, even on the far away moon, could sense the opening of the Tower, and the disturbance of the opening of the chamber to reveal Alexei's casket. He turned to the Overseer.

"Have five of your best preforming recruits summoned RIGHT NOW!" The Overseer nodded and three minutes later, five of the figures Xavier and Orlean watched on the screen came in.

"You five will have the honour of demonstrating your true power. It has begun. Come, we must return to the Kremlin immediately.

King John quickly followed his princely counterpart, and was relieved when the shield was put up by the Vanirs. How quickly this place has changed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

General Orlean smirked slightly, and rushed back to the transport. (OOC: I'm going to take a few liberties here, I hope there is no problem.) After being transported back to the Kremlin, Orlean pulled a cell phone like device from his pocket, and shouted a few commands into it. From outside, seven men, in Imperial Guard uniforms, though of a different unit, rushed in, armed with the standard equipment. He shot Xavier a look, Trust me on this.

The five members of the new guard were ordered to take cover, while the seven regular guardsmen prepared to charge into the tower. Orlean walked over to Xavier, "Milord, I believe you are necessary to take down this force shield, and from there, I will deal with the traitor." Sensing that he did not necessarily approve of the seven extras, he smiled, "My former guards. Cannon fodder. Will provide a distraction, and we do need to somehow insure they do not talk of what they saw in the Kremlin this time, don't we?"

The Praesillei Dei rallied around Tsar Xavier as he appeared with the Blade of Mastema, commissioned by Damonagaashi and forged in the fires of hell by Lucifer himself, as a sort of tribute to the Demon King, and wearing the Shell of Azael, an armour crafted from the rocks Tartarus, the fires of Gehenna, and the darkness of the Abyss. This suit was "on loan" to Xavier by his current co-conspirator and master, and has shrunk significantly in size to fit Xavier, who, while tall and well-built, is not of the enormous size that the Demon King is.

The morale amongst the Praesillei Dei soldiers greatly improved with the demoniacally imposing figure of Tsar Xavier present, and they began to press much harder than they were, the Vanirs' force field weakening, but still not breaking.

Xavier saw the seven former guards of Orlean and nodded. "Good, you have learned well. Men are inherently expendable. However, I don't believe I will need to life a finger to break this force field." He glanced at the five psionic guards/assassins and barked orders.

"Show me what you're capable of. Take down this force field."

*** *** *** ***

Inside the Tower itself, they would have been mesmerized by the ancient writing inscribed in the wall and the beautiful structures inside that still existed in perfect condition, but they were on a bit of a time schedule, and Alexei's stone casket was a little more than heavy.

They finally got down to the bottom of the tower, where the massive stone vault door stood, when Prince John froze.

"Shit. Xavier's here. No time to lose!" Prince John and Vanir Mökkvaesir began quickly solving puzzles in the walls around the room -- done from memorization of the pieces, not from solving that quickly -- and completed the ancient ritual by placing the blood of a Vanir -- donated by Vanir Lokvé -- on the altar in the crevice, and the stone door evaporated. Prince John decided that, while they moved down the newly opened passage deep underground into the Mausoleum of the Holy Tsars, that he should figure out what was going on at the surface.

Vanir Vörjunðr, you holding up okay?

Sir, with Xavier here, the forces here have picked up the pace. Xavier isn't doing anything, though.

Is the force field intact?

Yes, Lord Kvrrscxlyn, better than we thought. Vanir Þrúðglam is powering the field while Helgiskjöldr and I hold them off wi-- All of a sudden, Prince John felt like a demon just punched him in the skull, and he collapsed on the ground. Shaking it off, he tried to re-establish communication with Vörjunðr, but felt his words echoing in his head.

Oh God... Prince John thought. He turned to the rest of the group. "The force field is failing, Vanir Vörjunðr is dead. We must move faster!

Back up on the surface, two of the psionic guardians/assassins stood over the body of Vanir Vörjunðr, having used their short-range teleportation ability to move through the force-field in a non-material form. Vanir Helgiskjöldr turned to Vanir Þrúðglam, shouting: "Go into the tower! I'll hold them off! You stay out here and you'll die!" Vanir Þrúðglam turned back to the other Vanir after electrocuting one of the psionic assassins.

"What about you?" Vanir Helgiskjöldr shook his head as he summoned a deluge of water to push back several Praesillei Dei that managed to form a hole in the force field due to one of the assassins.

"I have already died!" Vanir Þrúðglam sighed as Vanir Helgiskjöldr threw the oncoming Praesillei Dei soldiers back, and realized he'd never see his good friend again, but his thoughts drifted as he caught sense of one of the assassins -- invisible -- coming at him.

I can do that too. Vanir Þrúðglam transformed into his ethereal form right as the assassin made the killing lunge, thereby causing him to lose his invisibility, and the assassin sliced at thin air with his energy sword. Vanir Þrúðglam simply materialized where the assassin was standing, causing the assassin's molecular make-up to simply break apart and disintegrate. Vanir Þrúðglam looked back one more time before running into the Tower. God help you, Vanir Helgiskjöldr. You will be missed, my brother.

The group, carrying Alexei's casket, finally climbed down the massive chasm to enter a chamber where, at the end, was a massive door -- made out of one massive diamond -- that led into the Mausoleum of the Holy Tsars.

They all walked up to the massive diamond door and were about to open it when they heard a sound from behind them. They quickly turned around with weapons drawn, but saw it was Vanir Þrúðglam, who began shouting at them.

"What do you think you're doing?! The other two Vanir are dead! Stop staring at me and open that door! NOW!" Prince John and Vanir Mökkvaesir began arranging the puzzle locks on either side of the door as Vanir Ullreir and Vanir Lokvé worked on forming another force field to block off the chamber.

Finally, the massive door opened, allowing them into the Mausoleum, and its sight astounded all who entered. It glowed with a serene bluish-white aurora, with the towers holding the sarcophagus of each Tsar coming out from what seemed to be a bottomless abyss, but the abyss was where the bluish-white light was originating from.

There were pathways that connected the towers, and pathways to go down further into the abyss (they were on the top level).

The group took the casket down one of the pathways to the "main level" of the Mausoleum, which is where the statues of the Heroes of the Empire stood. They were Tsars who contributed to the abounding success of the Dersconi Empire, either expanding its territory immensely, bringing Derscon into a new era, halting an invasion, or anything else that glorified the Crown and Empire beyond any expectation.

Hurry up! was the telepathic shout to Prince John from Vanir Ullreir. They just came through the stone door, it won't be long until they reach us!

At the end of the walkway stood a statue of immense proportion, and at the base of the statue were two sarcophagus holds -- the one on the left filled, the other, empty. King John looked up at the statue in amazement.

"Oh my God...that's Alexei!" Prince John nodded, reading the inscription at the bottom of the Statue.

"To the greatest Tsar who has ever lived, and will ever live. To the first and the last, the Grand Chancellor of the Amarathine Imperium, son of the Most Holy Racbúri Hetýr Kæsþiöndhríssar. In the beginning, crafted the nation. In the end, his blood shall destroy it, and from those ashes, rise forth to be a part once more of the greatest Empire of the Multiverse.

Alexei Alexandrovich Andropov, The Great Phoenix Tsar, first, last, and eternal." Vanir Mökkvaesir turned around angrily.

"Put the casket in its spot, will you? We're short on time."

"Right."

"No, actually, I would really rather you not put that casket in the hole." The entire group turned around to see Xavier holding the dismembered and mutilated corpse of Vanir Ullreir, and dropping it off the walkway, letting it fall down into the abyss. Xavier let out a diabolical laugh, echoing throughout the chamber, and the bluish-white light began to recede, a maroonish-black light taking its place. Vanir Mökkvaesir sighed.

"Damonagaashi's evil is corrupting this holy temple. This cannot be allowed!"

"Oh, on the contrary, Mökkvaesir," Xavier growled. Three of the guards/assassins came up from behind Xavier to show that they existed, and then turned their camouflages on, turning virtually invisible. Xavier then held the Blade of Mastema high, and out came from it red lightning, and along the walkway blasts of red and black smoke appeared, and when they cleared, they saw that Xavier summoned some sort of collection of soldier demons using the Blade. Up above them, soldiers of the Praesillei Dei swarmed the walkway, weapons ready.

Prince John's group was effectively surrounded.

Face me evil bastards, smell the hate of angels
Glory, pride and bloodshed
Cowards and beholders, rapers of my wisdom
Mix of dust and bones
Go back to your abyss, Algalord will not fall
But your heads will soon roll
Test the blade of heroes, fury of the thunder
Hit my golden shield

So we'll fight against the wind for the glory of the kings
to defeat the evil enemies!
And we'll ride with our lord for the power and the throne
in the name of Holy Thunderforce!

Xavier began to approach them, and the group no longer had any place to run, other than down, but that wouldn't help them much.

"What, you thought you could evade me forever? Please." As Xavier approached, Prince John began to quickly push the casket into the slot, but a barrage of gunfire erupted from above, and not even Prince John could stop them all, collapsing on the floor from several bullet wounds in the shoulder and chest.

As Xavier got closer, and they could feel the assassins' presence nearer, Vanir Mökkvaesir and Vanir Þrúðglam -- by far among the strongest Vanir to ever live -- established a force field around the group that gradually expanded. Some of the Praesillei Dei walked backwards as to not be pushed off the ramp above them. As King John and Shogun Kenshin began pushing the casket again, though, Xavier simply held out his sword and absorbed the force field into it, and shooting the energy back at Vanir Mökkvaesir, throwing him backwards into the statue of Alexei and knocking him unconscious.

"Face it, you're done. You tried, and failed, to stop me. Your pathetic little resistance is over. And Kenshin, I believe we have some unfinished business." Xavier simply waved his hand and put the Shogun in a stasis field, unable to move or defend himself, and telekinetically threw the rest of the party back where Mökkvaesir's unconscious body was laying. Xavier touched Kenshin with the sword, smiling.

"I believe you remember me, don't you? I left a present for you, on your back." When Xavier touched the sword to Kenshin's back, the scars on the Shogun burned with the ferocity of the pits of hell, but never healed.

"And now, my friend, I shall--"

"--DIE!" Suddenly, a massive ball of fire came from the upper sectors and impacted Xavier square in the chest, knocking his balance and pushing him off the walkway. Xavier's surprise also made the stasis field around Kenshin and the others disappear, so they were free to fight.

Up above them they could hear a barrage of gunfire from the Praesillei Dei, but it wasn't aimed at them -- it was aimed at the source of the fireball, and the source of the massive firewall that shot from the direction of the Mausoleum's enterance, the firewall that engulfed many of the Praesillei Dei, melting their battle armour and fusing them together, melting the guns to their armour and making them inoperable. Vanir Þrúðglam took the opportunity presented during the pandemonium to revive Mökkvaesir and heal Prince John, who immediately jumped to his feet and drew his sword

Up above, the Praesillei Dei were still trying to fire at the unknown enemy, but never got a lock on. Most just ran, while others jumped down to the main level, where they were cut down or hit with fireballs.

When things calmed down a bit, the new person was made known to them through the smoke. Mökkvaesir smiled at the new-comer.

"Vanir Lokvé! You survived!" He walked quickly towards them.

"Indeed. The demon didn't even see me! Unfortunately, he got to Ullreir before I could save him." You could tell in Lokvé's voice that he felt he took the blame for Ullreir's death, but Mökkvaesir quickly dismissed it.

"It's unfortunate, but he would have died in vain if we don't activate the key! Now, quickly!" Vanir Lokvé and Vanir Þrúðglam ran towards the casket and moved to push it in, when suddenly Mökkvaesir appeared behind them and let out a massive explosion of energy, knocking them both back. They were completely stunned at his actions, but then they saw why -- two of the hidden assassins were now laying dead on the path.

"My apologies, but I'd rather you hurt than dead. Push the casket in." When they went to push the casket in again, a burst of red lightning came from under them, knocking Lokvé back. When they turned around, they saw Xavier jumping up onto the platform again. Before anyone could do anything, however, thick red lightning bolts flashed out of Xavier's blade, and four Legion Summoners appeared, massive in size and armour. They were NOT something you could just cut down, and their black aurora and their massive staves made sure their enemies knew that. The four demon summoners created a dark mist, and out of them jumped two Chaos Beasts, jaws powerful enough to rip down a steel building, their strength unmatched, and hides thick enough to have a sword and bullet leave but a scratch. They also summoned hoards of soldier demons, to assault via wave tactics, the party. Prince John started walking towards the newcomers, blue-and-white lightning jumping all around him, forging a bluish-white armour, and a white sword in the shape of a lightning bolt, runic inscriptions indicating a mastery of electricity. Lightning constantly jumped from Prince John's new armour and sword, charging the air of the battle scene.

"Kill the demons. I'll take Xavier."

Naturally, having been trapped in a stasis field after someone getting the better of him, Kenshin was pissed. However, it still only took him moments to size up his opponents. Shit, they're spirit pressure's immence. I can't take them all, but I'm sure I can take down one of them. Squaring his body and sliding his sword past the friction point, he singled out one exposed on the side. He summoned up his own strength until a storm of energy was whirling around him; the lighter elements of his armour and his hair were blowing up and about as if caught in the wind. "Hittokiri Battousai! Ban Kai!!" The energy storm broke of suddenly as Kenshin's colors were literally inverted. With blinding speed that left him momentarily invisible, he drew his sword and lept forward to cut down the summoner.

A loud *thunk!* surprised Kenshin as he ground to a halt. Using his staff, the summoner had blocked the lightning-fast attack. He could only muster a shocked expression as the summoner used the staff much like a broom, and swept Kenshin into the air, flinging him back several dozen feet where he landed hard on his back. In his blood frenzy, he wasted no time in leaping back to his feet to try another assault. With equal speed, the summoner bent away from another attack, allowing Kenshin to sail past, stumbling after having missed. Worse yet, the summoner swung his staff back around, nailing Kenshin in the middle of the back, and ended with an up stroke. Kenshin flew helplessly up and away, landing hard on his chest and face, skidding down the platform. He slowly picked himself up and wipped blood out of his eye: a gash had been made in his head from the blow. Unfortunately, the summoner hadn't waited for Kenshin to get back up, and fired dozens of ice daggers at Kenshin, who realized it 2.8 seconds too late. He took the brunt of the attack head on; the force knocking him back once again. Once more, he picked himself up. Blood was leaking from gashes in his armour where the ice missiles had struck, and several of the larger ones were protuding from his chest and shoulders. The summoner hadn't wasted any time, but Kenshin was waiting for it this time. With blinding swordsmanship, he cut down the missiles in the air.

Now it was Kenshin's turn to fight back. He threw himself at the summoner, his sword moving at high speeds to try and find an opening. However, the summoner had each move read and was blocking them expertly. Kenshin tried attacks from all angles, but no matter where he came from, the summoner was always there. Worse yet, it seemed as though the summoner was picking up speed. Each block had slightly more set up time than the last. After the 12th attack, there was so much time that the summoner was able to block and parry the blow, knocking Kenshin into the air again. In a flash, the summoner was above Kenshin and unleashed a torrent of water down at him, slamming him into the platform. At this point, a normal person would've thought something like this: Shit...I'm slowing down...the pressure is cracking every bone in my body. Unfortunately, in Kenshin's bloodlust, this was the only logic thought he could form: I will kill this motherf***ing bastard! Regainign his feet, he built his composure and cut the empty air with his sword, sending forth a (small) energy wave at the summoner. Right afterward, he moved in quickly behind it. As he had (miraculously, in his state) predicted, the summoner moved aside to let it go past him. However, Kenshin was waiting right behind it, and his sword finally found its mark, cutting through the summoner's side, causing it to slightly recoil. Unfortunately, the summoner still had the composure to come around with the staff and club him again, knocking him far off. Climbing back up, using the sword for support, Kenshin made for one last attack. He untied the cloth wrapping on the hilt and gripped it. He then sent off another energy wave. Again, the summoner dodged the wave, but this time, instead of finding Kenshin, it found Kenshin's sword flying at his head like an arrow, just behind the first attack. Without any time to react, the sword went through the summoner's head, burying up to the guard. A slight tug on the now unraveled cloth brought it sailing back to Kenshin's hand.

Unfortunately, the fight had totalled Kenshin for the moment. A loud thud resonated as he slumped to his knees, followed by another as he fell face down on the ground. His sword rattled out of his outstretched hand and stopped a few inches in front of him.

King John looked up to see Xavier. He laughed slightly at his comment, finding it amusing, even if he may very well be killed at this moment. However, when the rest of the events happened, the smile was quickly wiped from his face.

When the summoners appeared, along with beasts, he pulled his sword, and prepared... to fight the hordes of demons now appearing. I hope they know which sword I hold. As soon as the Kynaz had shouted his orders, he lunged forward, and drove the blade into one of the demons, and slashed it upwards, through his neck. The sword began to glow white hot, literally, as it entered the heat of battle. In the same motion of the flash, as it was above his head, he spun around, and shot a small beam of light into one of the slain demon's comrade. The beast went flying back into the wall, and slumped to the ground, where it disappeared.

John looked to his left to find a chaos beast charging him. Just before he was ripped apart, he thrust the sword into the mouth, and struck the back of it, withdrew his sword half way, and thrashed to the side. Although it weakened the beast, it also enraged it more. Lowering its head, it struck John in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground a few feet away. Leaping into the air, it would have crushed him to death had he not rolled to the side. As the thing moved in closer to him, he rolled to the side, and plunged the sword deep through the thing's eye.

He took a deep breath, raised a flask to his mouth, and drank some of the water of life, when it was knocked from his hand before he could take a second drink. He looked up and saw another demon. "You bastard!" he screamed, as he raised his sword, and thrust it into the demon's stomach. He kicked the thing to the ground, walked over, and pulled the sword from it. His sword quickly entered the demon's brain cavity.

Finally, a summoner charged him. He dodged, shot a beam of light into the summoner's back, stalling it just enough.

Suddenly, he called, "Mökkvaesir, combine with my sword." When he had completed the request, a beam of the brightest white light erupted forth, and crashed into the head of the summoner, finishing it off. The explosion of light on contact also forced a pocket of demons to fly off of the walkway, and into the abyss below.

When the battle had ended, he retrieved his flask, and drank half of its contents. Walking over to Kenshin, he mildly kicked the side of his armour, jokingly, and half kiddingly, mocked him, "Maybe if you took that unnecessary armour off, you wouldn't be so tired." He laughed, and looked around for Prince John.

Kenshin groaned and pushed against the platform, lifting himself off a few inches, his blood soaked hair hiding his face. "Had it not been for this 'unneccesary' armour, I would have been run through on popsicles." He sat back on to his knees and wipped the hair from his face. One by one, he gripped and yanked the ice darts out of his chest and shoulder plates. "As it is, I'm slightly more holey than I would have liked anyway."

John turned back aorund, smirking, "Had you not had it on, you would have been able to move quicker, avoiding," he motioned, "That."

A demon across on the floor tried to raise itself. John walked over, and thrust his sword through its skull, sending it back to the pits of hell.

Lifting the flask, he took a swig, and motioned to the Prince, "Need a drink?"

"I have a hard time believing 20 pounds of armour weighs me down too much."

Listening to the Shogun's reply, he quickly turned the sentence over in his head, thinking of a reply. He did it within one second, and vocalized it, "A split second is all it takes."

"Doesn't matter. The fact is, I can move *and take a beating. I think sacrificing a split second for better protection is far worth it."

John shrugged, "I came out fine. Maybe a bruise or two when that thing bumped me."

He called to Prince John, "Hey, you! Maybe we should get out of here before we get screwed again?"

OOC: I've got a tower post in the works.

New Geneva

Marshal Darii looked up from the desk, standing to greet his guest. "Ah, hello, Marshal."

"Good evening, Darii. Please, sit." Marshal Razladanov sat down after pulling up a chair for Imperial Marshal Auguste Marmont, commander of First Corps and commander in chief of the Dersconi Imperial Army.

While Darii and Auguste got along now, it wasn't like that in the past. Darii came from the new school of thought under the Generals -- the ones from under Tarakh's and Xavier's control, the ones that held no respect for human life, and who's goal it was to win quickly through terror and annihilation. Auguste, on the other hand, is an Old Guard general, still feeling there was honour on the battlefield, and that innocent lives were to be spared if at all possible.

Darii, however, was the first general to come out of that school, and therefore had the most exposure to the Old Guard, so came around to sit in the middle. The younger generals, however, did not.

"Well, Darii," Auguste said, speaking in a tone that clearly indicated bad news. "Xavier is recalling you from New Geneva." Darii nodded, but smiled.

"That's the best news I've heard in a month. What for, did he say?" Auguste shook his head.

"No, he didn't." Darii nodded.

"Ah, I see. And I suppose you'll be taking over here?" Auguste sighed.

"Yes, indeed." Darii sighed and put his pen down.

"Well, okay. I can be out of here in a week or so." Marshal Marmont nodded.

"That's fine."

Friedensberg

During the conference, Veliky Kynaz Tarakh kept feeling sick to the stomach, and getting dizzy every so often, but he didn't let it bother him. This meeting was too important.

"So, it's decided, then." Chancellor Sablinov commented, bringing the meeting back to order. "The States of Greuthungland, Slawisch-Sachsen, Kæsþiöndhrgarðr, Kirchenstaat, and I've been informed that Vesigarðr will also be joining, will withdraw from the Dersconi Empire upon Marechal Brune's liberation of New Geneva, and will be supported with Reichskamphen troops." At this point, Kynaz Tarakh jumped up from his seat and turned to von Papen.

"They're in trouble, and I believe you might be too. I must go." At which point Tarakh dashed out of the room off to get his own men and pry the others out of the Kremlin. Chancellor Sablinov was worried, however. Each Andropov, in addition to their own mastery of their ancient and divine bloodline, was, upon crowning as a prince, bestowed with a power above and beyond that which was granted to them simply by being an Andropov. Xavier's was what some Jedi called Battle Meditation, only his was on a Grand scale. Sanin's was what he jokingly referred to as 'telepathic diplomacy,' being able to psionically calm all those present and force them to think rationally, as well as an ability to read the thoughts of people above and beyond what most psionics could ever dream of.

Tarakh's, however, was the gift of foresight.

Chancellor Sablinov stood up. "Quickly, get the Reichskampheneren to the bunker. We must move qui--" Sablinov was cut off, however, with the sound of gunfire coming from the other side of the door.

"Go!" The guards inside the meeting room quickly picked the Reichskampheneren and whisked them off to a back room -- a small study -- and took them down the secret passage that led to a small bunker hideout.

Just a few minutes after the door closed, however, the main doors into the chamber literally exploded, and Shock Troopers swarmed in. They ran into some trouble, however, as the guards in the room were of the same race (and armed the same) as the Honour Guards of the Kremlin.

The Shock Troopers who stormed in first were immediately dispatched by the guards, but then the people in the back knew what to expect, and fired their grenade launchers into the room, killing the guards at the door.

Once the Guards were dispatched (albeit with heavy, heavy casualties on the part of the Shock Troopers), the table was surrounded, and their weapons pointed at those present.

Through the smoke in the door came the commanding officer, came General Karaka Rakhamov, Commander of the Second Corps Shock Troopers, and chief of staff of Marshal Darii Razladanov, and a full-fledged member of the "New School" of General thought.

The General pulled out his pistol and smiled at the group. "Well, then, what do we have here? A bunch of revolutionaries, eh? That's too bad."

"You'll take me? You'll take me?" Xavier scoffed at Prince John, and John could hear Xavier's voice gradually getting lower in tone and more demonic. "You lost your Empire, Lord Kvrrscxlyn," Xavier said, his voice now fully demonic, with the double-voice, also being heard inside his head. "I subjugated your entire empire because you knew I was the stronger. Xavier was slowly walking towards Prince John, who was starting to get angry. "But I subjugated you because I saved you. And you betrayed me!" Xavier slowed time and dashed towards John using a Psionic Rush, but Lord Kvrrscxlyn parried Xavier/Damonagaashi's blade by breaking through the Time Field and stepping to the side with a sweeping motion on the blade.

Xavier/Damonagaashi quickly spun around, in time to block Lord Kvrrscxlyn's Thunder Sword. "And why not? You were losing." Xavier jumped up several metres, avoiding Lord Kvrrscxlyn's lightning slash.

"Oh, really? I beat him before, I could do it again!" Xavier released a Space Wave, sending a ripple through the space-time continuum to slam Lord Kvrrscxlyn back into the statue of Alexei. However, it also managed to move Alexei's casket slightly closer to the hole for it.

Lord Kvrrscxlyn smashed into the statue full force, falling down onto the platform, only barely being able to get his arms out in front of him to brace his fall. Kvrrscxlyn couldn't stand up -- the attacked also drained most of his life force (it was something Xavier was learning from Damonagaashi, who mastered such a devastating attack on a grand scale, to the point where entire armies could be destroyed by it).

Xavier walked over to Lord Kvrrscxlyn, throwing the rest of them back against the further wall, and knelt down over him.

"This was how it all started, wasn't it? A battle after I conquered your home system, you kneeling before me as I destroyed your capital." Xavier smiled as time slowed to a near stand-still around them, Xavier still kneeling down beside Lord Kvrrscxlyn.

"But, look on the bright side, Lord Kvrrscxlyn. You get to see your wife now." His head shot up at that comment, all of the memories of his lost wife coming back to him.

"Which reminds me," he said, pulling out a locket, Lord Kvrrscxlyn's eyes growing wide. "I found this on her. I figured I'd take it to give it to you." He opened it up and held it in front of him, and Prince John could see the bloodstains inside. "It's wonderful; when you open it, you can almost hear her screams as I killed her." Xavier draped the locket over Lord Kvrrscxlyn and stood up, holding his sword at Prince John's head.

"But think of it this way. Now you get to see her again. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Xavier raised the blade above his head, ready to come down to split Prince John in half, when an electrical storm appeared from nowhere, lightning bolts thrusting into Xavier, knocking him back several metres, onto the floor.

Lightning surged around Lord Kvrrscxlyn to the point where it seemed it was the lightning itself helping to lift him up and stabilize him. He slowly stumbled over to Xavier, a fire in his eyes unlike anyone has ever seen, so much so that even the Demon Summoners backed off.

Xavier stood up, turning around to face Lord Kvrrscxlyn, sword ready. "Face it, you've lost, again! You were always weak, John! Always!" Xavier force-dashed at Kvrrscxlyn, but, literally moving at the speed of light, Kvrrscxlyn shot beside Xavier and drove the Thunder Sword straight into Xavier's chest.

Behind them, Vanir Mökkvaesir and Vanir Þrúðglam took advantage the sudden distraction to complete what they came to do -- and placed the casket in the holder.

The statue of Alexei lit up with a divine aurora, along with the towers of the graves of the Tsars. All of them shot out their energies into an orb that floated above the massive chamber, with beams of light and energy rocketing up from the bottom of the abyss. Vanir Mökkvaesir turned to all of them. "Come! We must leave now!" Vanir Lokvé took point, about to let out an inferno blast when he saw the Legion Summoners simply dissolve under the divine essence of the light above them. Vanir Mökkvaesir, seeing Shogun Kenshin still struggling with the ice picks, simply teleported over to him, picked him up with one hand and running, and threw him over his shoulder while jumping the three stories up to the top level, with Vanir Þrúðglam helping Prince John, and Lokvé carrying King John as all three Vanirs made the jump.

They soon found out why they had to leave -- the stone and metal core of the tower was crumbling apart and falling down into the chamber, clearing what seemed to be a massive hole to the peak of the tower -- right over the orb. Dodging falling debris at supernatural speeds, they finally made their way out of the chamber into the hallway that led back to the surface.

***************** ******************

Andropov Tower

"No, Dammit! I am taking full charge of this operation!" Tarakh screamed at the Praesillei Dei commander and pushed him aside, taking three soldiers with him as he went inside the tower.

Once inside he had them take off their battle suits due to the "strange electromagnetic anomalies" of the Tower. Once they were completely off, however, Tarakh immediately locked them in a stasis field.

A few minutes later, the party of six arrived. "Oh God...John, you okay?" Prince John sighed.

"Yeah, fine. How are we getting out of here?" Tarakh motioned to the suits of armour for the Praesillei Dei.

"The two Johns and the Shogun, put on those suits. Vanirs, do your thing." As the regular humans put on the Praesillei Dei battle suits (Vanir Mökkvaesir taking all of the equipment -- such as Kenshin's armour, and everyone's weaponry -- and merging it with his robes), the three Vanir dissolved their corporal bodies and and infested each of the three Praesillei Dei soldiers, removing the biological implants in each of them and supplementing and imitating the signals with their own psionic energies, and then left with Tarakh and the other three, the bodies of the soldiers disintegrating from Mökkvaesir's assault.

.....

Prince Tarakh came out of the Tower with the three Praesillei Dei soldiers following, shaking his head.

"No trace of anything." At that moment, the peak of the Andropov Tower flashed a great light, and it was impossible not to stare up. The orb from the centre of the chamber was now floating at the top of the Tower, the point having caved in. It hovered there for a few moments, before suddenly shooting two beams off, at a 90 degree angle -- one towards the north, the other far into space. Tarakh just stared in wonder. Oh hell, he thought. This is going to be a bitch to cover up.

He shook of the thought and had the three Praesillei Dei soldiers accompany him in his private vehicle, driving, once out of RAMC, to the Friedensberg Estate.

Friedensberg Estate

Tarakh drove his private vehicle up the road to the gates of the Friedensberg Estate to discover his worst fear.

"Oh God..." The gatehouse had been clearly bombarded, the gates having been totally destroyed by a heavy explosive.

Driving into the courtyard, everyone could see the destruction. Entire buildings had been razed and demolished, the gardens -- rated "Most Beautiful" by Nature Magazine -- were completely destroyed; you could see the body of the gardener lying over the torched flowers.

Tarakh parked the vehicle, and the party climbed out, the Vanir re-materializing, simply staring in horror at the destruction of the von Papen residence.

They walked solemnly through the charred remains of the door frame into the main hall, seeing all of the portraits defaced, the sculptures destroyed, floors ripped up, carpets and rugs burnt, chandeliers shattered. Some of the fires still raged, blackening the roof.

They walked down the charred hallway to the doors where the meeting was being held, seeing them thrown open, blood on the doors. No, this can't be happening....

Prince John was the first one to enter the room, and the first to spot the mutilated and decapitated bodies of König Níðhden VII and König Jörmungand II, their heads sitting on the table, bulging eyes staring at the party as they walked in, blood dripping down the sides, forming pools all around the table.

Prince John and Kynaz Tarakh walked around to the other side of the table to see the body of Chancellor Sablinov. Prince John sighed, starting to walk away to investigate the damage, but Kynaz Tarakh grabbed his shoulder.

"Ivan! He's breathing!" Prince John quickly ran over to Chancellor Sablinov, who was slowly managing to stand up, thanks to the help of Kynaz Tarakh.

The Chancellor sat down in his chair, clearly battered. Tarakh was relieved, a little. "What the hell happened here?" The Chancellor sighed.

"It was....General Karaka. They came....burned the place....took Franz and Blazhei...." He coughed, spurting blood on the table. He shook it off as much as he could.

"The Reichskampheners are in the hidden chamber in the library. Get them." Tarakh nodded, motioning to Vanir Vanir Þrúðglam.

"Vanir Þrúðglam, take care of Sablinov. Ivan, John, follow me." Kynaz Tarakh led Prince John and King John down into the side room, and opened the secret passage, leading to the Reichskampheners.

"Marechal Brune, Gerhardt Volckner, Reverend Stevens? It's safe now, come." The two Johns and Tarakh led the three Reichskampheners out into the bloodied chamber, where they also saw Shogun Kenshin, Queen Mariah, and the three Vanir. Prince John addressed the assembled group.

"We must return to Niflheim Castle and make haste with our plans. Tarakh, I need you to find out where Franz and Blazhei are being held -- they are vital to the survival of the anti-Xavier movement in Derscon, as they are the only ones still with good names and charismatic and connected enough to start it.

"Tarakh, go back to the Kremlin, but be quick about your information dives. I don't know how long it'll be safe there for you. Brune, Stevens, Volckner, go into the Friedenswald and follow the path that the map you now have shows. You'll find a small hunting shack. In the shack is a passage to a tunnel that will take you across the border, and lead you right into New Geneva." Prince John, of course, having been in the Tundra for so long, had no idea New Geneva was currently occupied by Dersconi forces, albeit under a long-time friend of Marechal Brune, Auguste Marmont.

"We must leave this place. There is nothing for us here, any more."

John stared in shock at the destruction. He did not think much of it, however, until the Reichskamphen leaders were told it was safe.

"We must leave this place. There is nothing for us here, any more," said someone, who, John did not care, as he was not paying attention at the moment. The, it clicked. My wife is his daughter. His thoguhts exploded from his mouth, and he began pacing, muttering to himself. "Will Xavier go after her?" he demanded of John. He cut off the answer with, "He will probably send that bastard Orlean."

----
Orlean, having only had a partial view of the battle, was not sure what had happened. However, he did have a full view of the Andropov Tower's beams. Walking over to Xavier, he noticed he had been stabbed in the chest. He rushed over, and asked, "Shall I go after them, M'Lord? I am certain this is not a fatal wound. To Carmel, perhaps?"

OOC: Wow. After all that's happened, NO ONE has any response...

lulz.

No idea when the next post will come. Doesn't help Will is Willing; I may have to step in for him, too.

Back at Niflheim Castle, Dr. Stevens was deep in prayer, still trying to cope with everything he saw, while Marechal Brune was pacing back and forth.

"We must get back to New Geneva!" Kynaz Tarakh looked up at him, smiling.

"Actually, that reminds me. Remember that message you got, a few weeks ago...."

New Geneva
One week later

"How did you get these?" Captain Jean-Paul Bourmange stared in wonder. "These are Dersconi battle suits. Rifle and all." Marechal Brune smirked.

"Captain, I have friends. Close friends. Now, put them on. We have a city to reclaim."

New Geneva

Imperial Marshal Auguste Marmont was sitting at his office when the door burst open. He looked up to see Lord General Karaka Rakhamov (recently promoted) towering over him, along with four of the new unit Tsar Xavier put together, effectively his personal Inquisition. Rakhamov took out an official document stamped with the seal of the Tsar and read.

"Auguste Marmont, you here have been convicted of sedition against the Crown, and treason against the Crown, and have hereby been sentenced to death." Two of the Inquisitors went behind the desk and held Marmont down, a third pulling his head back. Marmont neither flinched, nor cried, nor begged, but remained calm, waiting, understanding that it was going to happen, a matter of when, and prepared for it.

What he was not prepared for was Rakhamov covering his face with the execution order and driving a knife into his face to post it. The scream from the pain was there, it couldn't be contained, and Marmont saw, as the blood ran down his eyes, that Rakhamov enjoyed every moment of it. Lord, why have you forsaken us...

OOC: Sorry for taking so bloody long, inspiration just refuses to come to me any more. Here's Part One awhile, as I work up some more, 'till I get to the point where the Grand Plot is actually...advanced a little. =/

The Temple of Rachek

Æsir Forsetóðr was leading the expedition into the Atrium of the temple. The wall the closed the inner chambers was no longer there. Instead, a passage where the bricks that lined it were gold was in its place, leading deep into the Temple.

Æsir Forsetóðr, Lord Kvrrscxlyn, and Vanir Mökkvaesir were at the front, the Æsir carrying the case holding the Dragon Sword, stolen from the Kremlin, the case having been designed and constructed by Aleksandr I, son of Chancellor Alexei, specifically for use in this purpose. Behind them were four Drekimana carrying the four elementals of the Blades of YHWH, also in specifically constructed cases (these cases were designed so those not designated to wield the swords could transport them). King Antonette and Queen Mariah were behind them, both with their blades, with Vanir Lokvé and Vanir Þrúðglam taking the rear.

Flawlessly navigating the puzzles and traps along the way to the Atrium, they finally arrived at two massive golden doors, with both doors carved with a tri-headed dragon posing majestically over a double-headed eagle, and what looked like an inscription of a galaxy, all of it encased in an oak wreath, with the opening tied together with a sailor's knot, and an inscription of Earth sitting in top of it.

Prince John was about to finish the puzzle sequence to open the doors when Æsir Forsetóðr stopped him.

"I would not suggest opening that until we are fully ready to face what sits behind that door." John just looked over at him with a raised eyebrow as he clicked the puzzle together, the massive doors sliding open, to reveal an ancient elevator.

"What's the big deal? We don't have to fight the damn thing." The party was inevitably growing worried from Forsetóðr's and Kvrrscxlyn's conversation, but the two didn't let the rest of the peoples' worry get to them.

***********

The platform seemed to descend forever, finally reaching the bottom several minutes later. They all walked off the platform stepping into a circle in the middle of the small chamber, when they heard a deafening explosion. THey all turned around to see the large stone platform they came down on crack into a thousand pieces and fall into the abyss below. John simply sighed.

"Well, I hope there's another way out." Æsir Forsetóðr shrugged.

"There isn't."

The entire Chamber seemed filled with a divine aurora, yet a heavy cloud of anxiety suffocated the party.

Six platforms formed a semicircle around a statue of the three headed dragon, with the heads focused on a point in between the arc and the centre. Oddly, though, one of the heads was missing.

Prince John took the middle-right platform, standing in the centre with the Gaia Blade. King John took the middle left with the Sword of the Archangel. Vanir Mökkvaesir wielded the Sword of Jupiter, standing to Prince John's right, Vanir Þrúðglam, carrying the Mars Blade, to King John's left. Shogun Kenshin was given the Blade of Poseidon, and stood on the far left, with Queen Mariah on the far right, with her sword. Æsir Forsetóðr stood in front of them all, holding the Dragon Sword with the cloth from the case.

"In Amaranthine Lore, the Three Headed Dragon possesses many meanings. It stands for the conciousness of life, the power and majesty of Rachek and his Empire, and it symbolizes the perfection and power of the unification of the Emperor, People, and Spirit of the Kæsþiöndhrí. The Dragon is invincible. You are not facing the dragon, you must face the forces that oppose it...You." Æsir Forsetóðr slammed the Dragon Sword into the rock in the statue, and the dragon head on the hilt, they realized, was the third head on the statue.

"You must fight this enemy, one on one, alone. If you cannot defeat this enemy, there is no hope for you, or for existence." The three heads flashed a blinding light, and an orb appeared, floating in the middle of the arc, wisps of neon purple lightning cracking back and forth.

"Shed your arrogance, but build your confidence. Shed your fear, but build your respect. Shed your desire, but build your love. To be pure to summon Rachek, to defeat Damonagaashi, you must first defeat yourself."

The orb flashed, and blinded them all, temporarily. When they all regained their sight, Forsetóðr was gone, and they found themselves floating above the platforms, the purple lightning surrounding them, connecting them to the orb in the centre. Vanir Lokvé and the four Drekimana stood by the closed passage way out, saluting.

"Godspeed." The six core party members were lifted into the air, and pulled into the orb, and as they approached the blinding light, lost consciousness.

Prince John woke up, his vision still hazy. Where am I? He stood up, still a little shaky, seeing himself in what was obviously a Void. He propped himself up on the Gaia Blade, looking around, on guard.

"What the hell...?" No matter which direction he looked, all he could see was white.

After walking awhile, though, he ended up coming across...nothing. He knelt down to rest. "What is this place?"

"Hell." Prince John immediately jumped ip, blade at the ready, and recoiled.

"Alexei?!" The figure walked towards Prince John, and then John could see Alexei holding the Dragon Sword. "Alexei!" He, however, said nothing, but raised the sword and lunged at Prince John.

Jesus! John rolled out to the left and brought his sword over his head to block Alexei's back strike. Shit. How can I defeat him? Alexei was the best swordsman in the entire bloody Empire! John rolled off to the side to avoid Alexei's blade once more, but Alexei anticipated the manoeuvre, twisting the slash and slicing Prince John's arm.

This guy is my brother. How can I kill him? John psijumped several metres away, only to find Alexei waiting for him. He psidashed in the air, off to the side, before Alexei could finish taking his arm off.

Prince John had always been in his younger brother's shadow, always insecure with himself, that developing from his childhood. John had been picked on a lot at school, and it was thought that this constant harassment, and lack of friends, developed is lack of self-worth -- and his father, Tsar Rekjyavich Ivan Andropov III, pulling him out of school for private tutoring never helped him face it. While this held true to an extent, Prince John discovered -- after entering the ministry and travelling the Tundarian Expanse, that he was the incarnation of Lord Kvrrscxlyn, the Sith Lord, Damonagaashi's right hand man during the final Dragon War, losing the battle after realizing the monster he became, drowning in the blood of the billions killed in his name, and by him. It was at this very temple, on Earth, where he surrendered, begging forgiveness and redemption from Rachek, and was granted such, and his redemption would be this last quest.

And it was this place in his thought process, when Alexei took a swing at his neck, that he realized what was happening.

"To defeat Damonagaashi, you must first defeat yourself." Prince John simply raised his sword to block Alexei's swing, and telekinetically threw Alexei back. This isn't Alexei! This is me. I'm battling the projection of the fears of my subconscious. Prince John smiled. That's what the trial was. I was afraid of losing my brother, and of dying before my retribution. Overcome your faults and fears, alone, or die trying.

With a new-found confidence, Prince John psijumped to his enemy, who was no longer Alexei -- but a mirror image of Lord Kvrrscxlyn, who rolled to the side and lunged, but Prince John parried the blade. He faked a slash to the left and lunged towards Kvrrscxlyn, but he anticipated it, and knocked Prince John back. Oh hell, he knows everything I'm doing. Well, duh, of course he does, he's me! After several futile exchanges, one of which resulting in a slash on Prince John's face that would leave a scar, the despair began to creep back into him. How can I defeat me when I know every move I'm going to make? They continued to fight, Prince John never able to land a strike, when it hit him.

Don't think. Prince John telekinetically threw his opponent back, sat down, and meditated, clearing his mind of his thoughts, his plans, his fears. When he stood back up, Prince John felt a new wave of confidence and energy, something he hadn't felt in many, many decades. The blade was no longer there -- it was part of him, he and the Blade, and the environment, were One. When his opponent charged at him, Prince John merely side-stepped, dodged, and cut his opponent down in one, swift, strike.

t3h linkeh (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=538886)
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l91/empyreanimperator/Nationstates/DersconiCoatofArmssizeddown.jpg
IMPERIAL DECREE

The Empire, at this time, is in a state of tribulation. Factors internal and external are working to undermine the Divine Authority of the Crown and Empire. Such actions cannot and will not be tolerated.

In recent weeks, a plot to overthrow the Divine Monarchy has been discovered and subsequently terminated (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12913480&postcount=147). The Ring Leaders -- ex Foreign Minister Franz von Papen, and Chairman of the Grand Imperial Council for the Advancement of the Protestant Faith And Heritage, have been arrested, tried, and convicted. Such rebellion from prominent members of society simply reinforces what I have always believed -- that the aristocracy of Derscon has long since been corrupt, and that private organizations that grow too powerful always will go against the will of People and State.

Therefore, effective immediately, the Grand Imperial Council for the Advancement of the Protestant Faith And Heritage shall hereby disband and be declared defunct, and Kirchenstaat, formerly under Grand Imperial Council for the Advancement of the Protestant Faith And Heritage control, shall transfer to military control until the government of Kirchenstaat -- which shall be renamed hereby as "Nordrknavein" -- will be transformed into that of an Imperial Territory.

Also, to ensure the safety and security of the Empire, all Class I militias are to surrender their arsenals to the Crown and disband. Failure to comply will be considered armed rebellion.

So sayeth I.

His Most Eminent Majestic Highness Tsar Xavier Alexeitovich Andropov II, Fedei Defensor, By the Divine Grace of God;
Ambrosial Seraph of the Divine Prussian Empire of Derscon,
Arch-Chancellor of the Greater Prussian Empire,
Leath-Ri of the Redemption Isles,
Veliky Kralj of the Eternal Empire,
Khšaçapavan of the Covanent of God,
Knight Commander and Dragon Master of the IOI,
Gloeihdamae

Kenshin slowly came back around to his senses. His eyes opened to nothing but a blank expanse. Though it was empty, he seemed to be laying on his back on some sort of surface. Tottering to his feet, he shook the cobwebs out of his head and his hair from his face. As he looked up, a figure swam into vision in front of him. The figure was an exact copy of him, from his straw sandals up to his bushy red hair, tied back in a tail. With no sound or hesitation, the figure leaped forward, drawing his sword and cutting down and across. Kenshin reached down to draw his own sword to parry.

His sword, saya and all, was gone.

Arrested by shock, he could barely leap back, and the slash caught him off balance, throwing him to the ground. As he hit, a ripple raced out from the contact, and hundreds of swords of all different sizes, shapes, and styles sprouted out of the ground. Seizing this Godsend, Kenshin rolled backward over his head, pulling the closest sword out of the ground. It was a large cleaver, and it seemed expertly balanced, at least for such a type of sword. Kenshin swung in, and his Mirror matched. The two blades met in the middle, locking for a moment.

His blade shattered.

Shards flew everywhere and an intense pain hit Kenshin in the chest, making him drop the severed hilt and clutch his chest. Staggering backward, he was hit with an overwhelming loneliness. Visions of his life, training as an assassin, always working alone, not having human contact for weeks on end, flooded back. The Mirror's next swing caught him in the chest, knocking him back into the large flat of another sword. Climbing back up, fighting down the loneliness, he drew the sword he landed against. It was an exaggerated katana with a serrated edge. The Mirror came at him again, swinging with equal amounts of skill and fury. Kenshin blocked the first, and then the second blow. The third sheered his blade clean in half, the tip flying off and landing some distance away. With the breaking of the second blade, feelings of deep sorrow welled back up in him. Feelings he thought he had long ago suppressed. Dodging the next blow, he drew a third sword, a large broadsword, and blocked the Mirror's next blow. Dodging in and out of swords, he began meeting the Mirror blow-for-blow. Sparks flew for minutes as the pair circled, ducked, and weaved. Finally, the sword snapped at the hilt and Kenshin was cut across the chest. A surge of rage and fury built within him, one that he hadn't felt in years; since he had stopped being an assassin.

And on it went, Kenshin breaking swords and more feelings that he thought he'd suppressed welling up inside of him. Finally, it got too much, and he could barely lift another sword. In slow motion, he watched the Mirror coil and lunge forward to impale him. Finally, it hit him: the realization that with each broken sword, a negative feeling, one he thought he had destroyed, came back. Set and determined, he side-stepped inside of the strike, grabbing the Mirror's arms. He twisted his body around and rotated his hips, all while pulling forward on the Mirror. The Mirror snapped up and over Kenshin's head and slammed down on the ground. Kenshin fell on top of him, his knee meeting the Mirror's gut.

As his elbow struck down on the Mirror's throat, all of the remaining blades shattered.

Star Office

Tsar Xavier II sat in his chair, grinning as he read the intelligence report.

Minister Golovko, though, had difficulty concentrating. Since the battle in the Andropov Tower, Tsar Xavier's physical appearance has changed. Firstly, instead of the snow white hair with the natural blonde highlights typical of the Andropovs, the blond was replaced with a dark crimson red, and the snow white hair was darkening, with streaks of black. There was also the enormous scar over his left eye that made Xavier look menacing beyond belief. And while Golovko couldn't see it, he knew it was there -- Xavier's chest and arms, the skin on them, were hardening, and scales were developing -- the skin of a dragon, and a dark one. His eyes, also, seemed to be a permanent red.

"When did you learn of this?" Golovko snapped out of his trance and looked up at the Tsar.

"Just a few hours ago, I brought it over immediately." The Tsar smirked.

"Excellent." He pressed a button on a console on his desk, calling his secretary.

"Natasha, have General Orlean and General Rakamov in my office as soon as possible."

"Admiral!" Vanir Mökkvaesir awoke to find himself in a chair on a bridge of some sort. He shook his head.

"Where am I?" The officer looked at him strangely, and chuckled.

"Sir, might I suggest not drinking the Aezvthlyet as much next time. You are Admiral of the Heavens Vanir Thorevi Mökkvaesir, Commander in Chief of the Amaranthine Navy, and you are currently sitting in the captain's chair on board the Call of the Sephirot, your flagship." Mökkvaesir looked around and looked down at himself, seeing that he was in his ceremonial battle armour, his dragon-like features emphasized by the black and gold thread-plate armour of the silk of the Krevatiszhezy spider. Standing up from the chair and coming down from the small platform it sat on, he looked around at the bridge, and at some of the displays, coming to realize where he was. I remember all of this. The Battle of Kæsþiöndhrater. He walked further down the walkway, looking over the holodisplays of the fleets, and the picture displays of the area. He could see the Might of Sorath, Damonagaashi's flagship, on the holodisplay, across the massive empty space.

"Admiral Mökkvaesir, are your preparations complete?" He turned around to see Chancellor Alexei coming towards him on the walkway, wearing his battle robes, made of the same material as his armour, only less compressed and not plated. The Admiral turned to the officer who woke him up, who he realized was his Chief of Staff. The officer smirked and nodded to him.

"Yes, Chancellor, they are." Alexei smiled.

"Good. This is where this war's fate shall be decided. I dare say, you will be an Æsir when it is all said and done. I will be taking Captain Þrúðglam and his cluster to Earth. Lord Kvrrscxlyn's forces have fortified the planet and are planning on making a last stand there. You must stay here and make sure that that planet is not harmed before necessary. It is here that Damonagaashi and Rachek will fight, and here, on Kæsþiöndhrater, where the Fate of the Gods shall be decided. Godspeed, Thorevi."

Vanir Mökkvaesir stared after Alexei as he left the bridge, the doors closing behind him. Okay, this isn't real, I'm reliving this. What's the last thing...right. The sword was put in, the orb formed and...I woke up here. So. Odds are, I'm in...yes, I know what this is. Okay, with that established, why I am I reliving this moment.

He snapped out of his thought-trance when the alarms on the bridge began to sound. "Sir! The enemy ships have engaged us!"

"Hold them off, do NOT let them touch Kæsþiöndhrater!" Not that he needed to give that order, Kæsþiöndhrater was the homeworld of the Kæsþiöndhrí, and capital of the Amaranthine Imperium.

This is a test. His thoughts were cut short, though, by the blaring alarms.

"Sir! enemy Advance Carrier Fleet!"

"Take them out! Captain Vrentai, how long until the Sorath is in range?"

"Umm...twenty-two hours, sir!" Mökkvaesir scanned the holoarray of the field as his memories of the final battle flooded back to him. Okay, so; Damonagaashi's fleet will lay seige to Kæsþiöndhrater after having destroyed the outer planets. My fleets will be defending the palace moon, being cut off from the capital and the orbital defences. At this point, I ordered all of the reactors of the flagships to overdrive, except this one, and... And it hit him why he was being forced to relive this moment.

And then I ordered the weapons to fire right as Kæsþiöndhrater's Void Shield activated, and shot the Sephirot into hyperdrive immediately after, into the Void Shield. The aftermath was...over seven billion sentient and sapient beings, annihilated at once. When the planet went into the Void Shield, that, along with the energy of the artificial nova created by the entire fleet exploding, was channeled into both Damonagaashi and Rachek, annihilating both of their physical bodies, and imprisoning Rachek's consciousness on the planet, and...Damonagaashi's in existence itself. It was his decision, at this battle, that caused the Empire he swore to defend to collapse in a heap, caused Rachek to be imprisoned, and forever blocked him from ascention to Æsir.

Throughout the day, the battle went exactly as he recalled. And then it came -- Kæsþiöndhrater was forming the Void Shield, the orbital defences were beginning to fail, and Mökkvaesir and his fleet cut off by Damonagaashi's fleet, the Sorath sitting there, ready to destroy the planet.

And the alarms sounded once more -- the flagships were ready, and the main weapon on the Call of the Sephirot was fully charged.

"So, Mökkvaesir," Captain Vrentai, his Chief of Staff, chided. "Are you going to do it again? Are you going to kill off all of those people, are you going to imprison your Emperor and god, are you going to fold up your homeworld, commit treason and destroy your sacred Empire? Are you going to forever be a Vanir?" The Admiral looked over at the Chief of Staff, who was smirking at him. "You know, Thorevi, all you have to do is destroy the Sorath, and you can win this battle, walk away with your fleet --"

"And allow this war to continue to eat away at the fabric of Existance? No, Vrentai; I have had considerable time to ponder such an inquiry, and my decision..." Vanir Mökkvaesir went up to the console and pressed the activation button, initiating the Nova Sequence.

"...has not changed."

John woke up, and staggered around, blinded by the intense whiteness of the light that was all around him. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a figure approaching him...himself. Rubbing his eyes to make sure of it, he looked again. His double was now standing directly in front of him. The double greeted him, "Hey John, can you use a drink?"

John stared blankly for a moment, "Where am I?" The double replied, "Don't worry about it. How about a nice shot of whiskey?" Producing a flask and two small glasses, the double poured two shots. He downed his, and handed the other shot glass to John. "Drink."

John took the glass, and downed the water of life in one swallow. "Now, how do I get out of here."

The doubled smirked, "Well, there is only one way." He drew his blade, and slashed upward at John in the same movement. John barely was able to draw his own sword, and push the strike out of the way, but the force knocked him backwards, causing him to fall. The figure laughed, "Consider this a punishment for killing your parents." John looked up, "What? The doubled smirked again, "Yes, if it was not for their love of you, they would not have been racing home so fast, and would not have been killed in the wreck. It is your fault." John jumped up, "You bastard! You Goddamn bastard!" At the time, John did not know how literal the term "God damned" bastard really was. He would soon find out.

John swung wildly at the demons head, completely out of form. The figure, of course, dodged it, but two other figures materialized. It was too late. He decapitated both of them. A laugh was heard a few feet away. "You've done it again. You've killed them again!" John saw red as he glared at the double. He slowly approached the thing, and lunged. His attack was blocked, but as the other figured lunged at him, he brought his sword up catching the tip of his opponents blade right above his handguard. With the flick of a wrist, he moved his opponents sword to the side. Another demon I must defeat. I often forget the basics, such as how to easily move the opponents blade, after using the Saint Michael's sword, but this also carrys over to bigger things. I must use this against it.

John followed by simply extending his arm, causing a hole to be punctured in his doubles chest. He advanced, lunged, causing another wound, and then slashed upwards. Bringing the blade down on his opponents arm, he mangled the wrist, and then slashed upwards, causing blood to spout from the neck of the figure. The figured fell. He noticed the two "bodies" of his "parents" flashing, beginning to disappear. Now fully convinced he did not kill his parents, he drove the sword into his double's skull, a blinding light emmited from his parents body, and enveloped the entire scene. When the light retreated, all that was left was John on his knees, looking up. As he collapsed in sleep, he thought he saw his parents, looking down, smiling.

Star Office

Lord General Karaka Rakhamov was already present when General Orlean walked up the ramp into the office. Orlean didn't bother with pleasantries and just sat down, knowing the Tsar wanted to talk business, not pleasure. Xavier turned around when he sat down, his eyes now a permanent glowing red, albeit faint, for the moment.

"Bad news, New Geneva fell." General Karaka could not hide his shock, anger, or fear, at that news, as he was the General responsible for it. But he knew he would not be blamed, as he was called away before the fall. It doesn't matter, though...it's now on my name...

"Good news, we know where the traitors are. They're basing themselves in an ancient fortress in the Tundra -- Niflheim Castle. Orlean raised an eyebrow.

"And why wasn't this picked up earlier?"

"Because, General, this is not your average fortress, and it's deep in the technological dead zone. However, we have two problems here:

"With the fall of New Geneva, the rebellious Dersconi states will likely undergo a huge wave of confidence and rebellious attitude, and could possibly secede. If this happens, it will be more than Derscon in civil war -- it will be all of Greater Prussia. We are aware that certain national leaders have taken a disliking to me, and will attempt to aide the rebellious states. However, I have the full confidence of the Rosdivani, the Wanderjaran, the Shakalan, as well as the Aumanii and the Allaneans." Lord General Rakhamov nodded.

"Quite. It is likely that Pschycotic Pschycos, Cherry Ridge, Reichskamphen, and The Peoples Freedom, with possible outside support from the Democratic Colonies, will support the rebels against you." Xavier nodded.

"As I have foreseen. But they shall be crushed with my power. Lord General Karaka, stand." The General was taken aback by the sudden order, but did as he was told. One of Xavier's personal staff members came up to him and felt his shoulder boards.

"Karaka, you have done well under Marshal Darii." Xavier stood up, and handed his staff member a case. "And have proven yourself on the missions I have sent you on." The staff member removed Lord General Karaka Rakhamov's shoulder boards and put them in the case, but only after taking out another pair, this one with gold braids. Xavier bent down, and when he came back up, had a black and gold baton in his hand, the double-headed eagle crowning the top, handing it to Karaka.

"I think it's time you were Marshal Karaka Rakhamov. As for you, Orlean," he said, turning to his trusted confidant. "You will be a Marechal l'Empire upon the completion and general success of your next mission. You are to take your new force and destroy the castle, and kill any living being inhabiting it. A contingent of Honour Guards will be sent with you. Orlean, meet Kynaz Sanin at RAMC airport. Karaka, your orders are attached to your baton. Dismissed."

They all woke up inside a Circle of Power, one of the structures built by the Æsir to increase the channelling of the Kæsþiöbog, the Unified Spirit of the Kæsþiöndhrí. When they were all full conscious again, they all could hear Æsir Forsetóðr's voice.

Here we are in the Sanctuary of the Æsir. This Temple is not of Reality, but of the Void. The group scanned the area, realizing that the circle of power....was floating in space?

But there was more. All around them floated similar circles of power. There were four others floating on the same level they were, spaced out like the points of a cross, the one they stood on being the middle. There were two others, one down and to the left slightly, the other up and to the right slightly. And there was one other, down and forward of the other lower one. Above and forward the higher circle, though, was not another circle, to mirror the bottom, but instead a floating white orb, with golden bolts of lightning flashing around it, almost acting as a cage. Vanir Mökkvaesir drew back in shock.

"I can't believe it's true...." They all looked at him, confused, egging him on to explain. "This Sanctuary is the 'locking mechanism' on Racbúri Hetýr Kæsþiöndhríssar. That white orb is the gate, so to speak, to the realm where Rachek sits, waiting." The Vanir whipped around and pointed to each of the Circles of Power.

"Each of these Circles acts as a portal to the Nine Kingdoms of the Amaranthine Imperium, and empire stretching both galaxies and dimensions. And the realm where Rachek sits? It is the highest plane of existence, Heaven notwithstanding -- it is the home of the Kæsþiöndhrí and the source of the Spirit. Sionce its sealing, our race has slowly died off, being annihilated, our souls upon death in able to rejoin the Spirit." The Vanir turned back to the party.

"This genocide of the Kæsþiöndhrí and the suffocating shadow of chaos because of the fall of the Imperium was brought about by the final War of the Dragons, between Damonagaashi and Rachek, where, after a cataclysmic supernova, ripping through the fabric holding the dimensions of reality together, the two gods were sealed in the location of their creation, Ginnungagap and Asgard, respectively. Damonagaashi broke free, not too long ago, and is now ruling the remnants of the Ninth Kingdom: Derscon. We must go to each of the Kingdoms and activate their Circles, free Rachek, and destroy Damonagaashi." They were all standing around the middle of the Circle, and for the first time noticing two sickly flowers protruding from the middle. Prince John walked into the centre and knelt down, holding the flowers in his hands.

"Amaranth flowers. 'The Eternal flower.'" Vanir Þrúðglam came up to hjim, paying a hand on his shoulder.

"These flowers were eternal because they lived off of Kæsþiöbog. With it locked away, and our people dying, these flowers, the symbol of the omnipresent glory of the Imperium, are left to whither away."

Prince John stood up, still holding the flowers, and walked over to the tallest obelisk on the Circle and knelt down to pray.

"Dear Lord, Our Father and Protector, grant us the strength to partake in this quest of the highest order. Grant us the strength to leave the ones we love behind, grant us the endurance to stand against the tribulations to come, and grant us the power to conquer Your enemies.
"We lay ourselves before You as Your servants, to carry out Your Will, and give You our never ending thanks in granting us the honour of being Chosen to carry out such a momentous task.
"We pray, Lord, that with Your Holy Strength and Power, we shall overcome; that these two flowers for waning glory shall not be the end of our long story...."

Niflheim Castle

The party ound themselves inside the Sanctuary of the Castle, confirming Lord Kvrrscxlyn's suspicions that the Castle and the Temple were interlinked. The portal remained open, no longer able to be sealed. Not that it was a problem -- better to traverse the realsm via here than having to trek through the Temple again. That would come later.

Lord Kvrrscxlyn looked around, only having been in the sanctuary oance before, and realized that this chamber was specifically built to house the dimensional gateway, and that its power came from the portal, not vice versa. It was a breathtaking sight to behold; he came to the conclusion that the whole purpose of the castle was to defend the gat and it was up to the Vanir hereto defend it if under attack.

Like now.

When they all came into the Hall of Ice, the "Executive Hall" common in Dersconi architecture, the Captain of the Guard rushed up to Vanir Mökkvaesir, out of breath.

"My lord! Thank Rachek you're back! We've been under assault ofr the past day ort so, and they're almost through the gatehouse!" Prince John turned to the captain, fairly calm.

"L'vrai, what time of forces are we up against?" The Kæsþiöndhrí -- he, like all the other Kæsþiöndhrí, were robed to cover their features, even in battle -- thought for a moment before shrugging.

"You know, I'm not really sure. We haven't been able to defeat a lot..." Prince John's face suddenly went white, and he dashed away before anyone could follow. Vanir Mökkvaesir ignored it and, being in command, immediately took charge.

"King Antonette, Shogun Kenshin, go with L'vrai, he will take you where you're needed. Vanir Lokvé, take a detatchment of Einherjar and find the enemy command. Vanir Þrúðglam come with me."

*** *** ***

Captain L'vrai led King John and Shogun Kenshin through the main palace and up to the doors to the great hall.

"Inside, the enemy is very strong, and we're having a hard time holding them off. Along with their regular troops, periodic daemon swarms will come though. THey're commanded by a Daemon Summoner. Be careful, though, I heard about the other Vanir who died at the Tower; the same types of assassins that got them are in that room as well. It's a big hall, but if you are truly the Chosen Ones, then I'm not worried. Arm yourselves." With that, L'vrai threw open the doors and hopped on the Ice Bolt launcher (a device that, because no electronics would work, was rigged to effectively be an "ice sickle" machine gun) for cover fire, and King John and Shogun Kenshin rushed into battle.

Captain L'vrai handed the Ice Bolt launcher to a local commander, seeing that the daemon hoards weren't going to stop, and the core of the problem -- the Summoner -- needed to be stopped.

L'vrai was Kæsþiöndhrí -- as such, he wore a cloak all the time, hiding his physical features from the outsiders. But that was about to change.

The Captain dissipated, abandoning his physical form and becoming a ghost, in order to get past the battle on the ground and go straight for the Summoner.

The Summoner was conjuring another hoard When L'vrai corporalized behind it, striking it immediately with the blade of his massive great sword. Shogun Kenshin and King Antonette would then understand just why the Kæsþiöndhrí were the ruling class of the old Empire.

L'vrai was standing three metres tall, his black and gold battle armour glistening from the light it reflected and almost seemed to generate. He had the features of a strong, yet agile dragon, his armoured tail longer than Antonette was tall. Those scales not covered by the armour were clearly tough enough on their own, jet black in colour.

His helmet was the most fierce of all -- L'vrai's glowing crimson eyes shone through the viewslits, the black helmet protecting his face -- the face of a dragon -- augmented with shimmering white lightning bolts dashing up the snout of the helmet and around the sides, ending at the tip of the helmet's spiked wings.

L'vrai took his two and a half metre greatsword in both hands and came down upon the summoner, destroying the Summoner's rod, and -- spinning the blade with one hand -- sliced open the stomach of the Summoner between the armoured plates.

But the Summoner was a brute -- the sheer force of his ram sent Captain L'vrai across the room, slamming into the wall. When the Summoner charged at him again, though, L'vrai anticipated it and dissipated right before the moment of impact, sending the brute of a Summoner crashing head-first into the wall at a hundred kilometres an hour.

L'vrai corporalized in the air above the Summoner, who was still stunned from the crash, and drove his sword into the Summoner's head, slicing it in two.

The energy released from the death of the Summoner shook the foundations of the entire palace, but without the sustaining energy of the Summoner -- which acted as a sort of energy portal from their realm to ours -- the daemon hoards dissipated into nothing.

L'vrai pointed his sword at Antonette and Kenshin. "I'll finish up. Go outside. The commanders will brief you there. Push back the infidels."

He cut the last guard down before bursting into the council chamber.

"Anastasia!" One of the Tsarist soldiers flew back against the wall beside him, his chest sliced apart.

"You're late! Help me out here!" Prince John jumped forward and crushed the skull of the unsuspecting Tsarist soldier before slicing down the last one in the room.

"You okay?" She sighed, and leaned up to kiss him.

"I'm fine now, but you were late, as usual." Prince John shrugged.

"It happens."

"A lot." Anastasia stood up and stretched, coming to her full 5'11'' height, letting her glimmering snow-white hair fall down, lightly brushing the floor, along with her thin white skirt, which matched her diamond-studded white tunic. She glanced at the Portal Chamber door with her green eyes and shuddered, turning back to her husband, and embracing him, beginning to cry.

"Stay with me, please." John kissed her on her forehead before letting her go.

"Don't worry, I won't be long. You told me before I left, we would win the battle."

"I know, but..."

"Oh, come on, Anastasia, relax. I won't be long." Prince John kissed her one last time before opening the door into the Portal Chamber, and closing it behind him, Anastasia kneeling at the door, lost in her tears.

The door was too thick for Prince John to hear her, and when he heard the THUD of the bolt locks on the door, he knew something was up. Anastasia was pounding on the door from the other side, but neither could open it.

Behind him, the gate fired to life, and he could hear someone step out.

"A shame about that door, isn't it? A shame about the wife, too. You really should have listened to her." Prince John froze at the voice.

"Heh. I figured you would send your daemons to do your dirty work." Prince John stood up straight and twirled his blade on his finger. "Nice work, Xavier, I must admit." The Tsar smiled back at him.

"Well, I appreciate the comment." The gate died behind Xavier, and the Tsar shrugged, materializing his sword. "It seems that no one will be interrupting our meeting."

OOC: Holy mother of God, I completely forgot about this thread. Whoops. >.<

Their ethereal swords clashed together, waves of energy bursting out of the contact points. The fire and thunder swirled around, creating a storm of unimaginable strength within the large chamber.

"Xavier, don't you recall the tower? I beat you there, I can do it again. You're not a god." Xavier parried the slash to his neck and waved his hand towards the vortex of thunder and fire, enveloping Prince John, and cherishing the scream released before watching the Prince stumble out.

"Not yet." After a teleport slash to John's back, Xavier stood over the fallen prince, cherishing his victory, letting the fire and thunder vortex consume John, now too weak, drained of life, to fight back. "But I soon will be. And with you gone, your pathetic rebellion will have no one to turn to." Prince John mustered enough strength to fight through the pain, snarling at Xavier.

"It's not my rebellion. You can't win, Xavier." The Tsar merely shrugged, running his sword through Prince John's chest, twisting it, and removing it once more.

"Neither can you." Xavier wiped the blade off on John's shoulders and let it de-materialize, walking back through the gate as John closed his eyes for the last time.