Chapter One.

Christa smiled as she began to doze off. It had been a decent day, and for once, there hadn't been any drama. Long lashes made dark feathery crescents under her eyelids, contrasting the pale perfection of her complexion. Softly falling rain and the muted sound of traffic outside of her window acted to further lull her into sleep. ….

Piercing every color eyes looked out the tall arched window of the People's Palace as rain began to fall from the iron grey clouds above; making everything in his castle more somber than it normally was. The circular marble table behind him had once hummed with the power of orden, a comforting song; but now it stood empty and grey. The boxes had long since been destroyed by the damn Seeker. His gaze intensified as his thoughts turned yet again to his accursed half brother, and his pristinely ungifted half sister. His family, even his father Panis Rahl had betrayed him at every turn, acting only to thwart him. All he had wanted was to rule the Midlands, Westlands and Hartlands in peace. He had wanted to bring order to the world. True enough that he had to do it through force and subjugation, but the end result would have been good for the people. The slight wind blew his shoulder length black hair slightly away from his face, bringing with it the scent of the rain.

Egremont walked up behind him, he knew the man's steps by sound alone at this point. The loyal fellow had served him well for many years.

"My Lord Rahl." He said by way of announcing his presence.

"What is it Egremont?" Asked Lord Rahl, his voice entirely bored.

"My Lord, something rather…strange…has happened in the throne room." Darken Rahl turned to fix his gaze upon his most trusted, well his only trusted advisor really.

"And what would that be Egremont?" His long sweeping red robe whispered upon the floor as he moved past the empty table and towards Egremont, fiddling with the ring of House Rahl he wore on his pinkie finger. After the constant green glow of the underworld it was pleasant to see the world in color again. He had to give his half brother one thing; at least he had gotten the Keeper off of his back. Darken's life was his own again.

"My Lord, it would seem that a woman fell from the roof and landed quite hard upon the throne room floor." Darken paused for a moment watching Egremont's face to see if this was the man's idea of a joke. If so, it was exceptionally idiotic. Who ever heard of a woman falling from the roof that couldn't be crouched upon?

"And how Egremont, did a woman fall from a completely smooth stone roof?" He asked it calmly, still looking at his advisor. Egremont looked uncomfortable, but he hadn't served Lord Rahl for this many years by being a fool. He knew that in a temper the tyrant wouldn't hesitate to use the blood of any servant close enough to cut; for his journey book. He moved back ever so slightly. Darken, of course, missed nothing.

"I do not know my lord. The Mord' Sith are standing guard but there really isn't a need. When she hit the floor she went unconscious. Also, My lord, she is dressed in very strange attire indeed."

"Bring her to the healing center then, by all means. I shall investigate the matter myself." And why not, it would alleviate the boredom of his day. That was part of the treaty after all. His brother, the seeker, and that damn Zeddicus Zul Zorander had only agreed to help him be rid of the Keeper's command if he agreed to rule only D'hara. He had nothing left to conquer, no lands to preside over. It was humiliating. But at least he was free. The Lord Rahl served no one. He made his way to the healing center, Egremont trailing in his wake. When he came upon the woman, he stopped short.

Her clothing was indeed very strange. She was garbed in a pair of tight, formfitting trews that seemed to have been cut off mid thigh, and adorning her torso was a large black tunic of some kind that had green designs and white writing on it in a language he had never encountered before. Her feet were covered in a strange skintight white material that stopped at her ankles. But it was only after he took in the oddity that was her clothing, that he realized how beautiful she was. Long red hair was spread in curls and waves that looked as though they might fall past her bottom. Pale, unblemished skin seemed to glow in the firelight. Her legs went on forever, and it seemed that she was in the habit of ridding herself of body hair. Everything about her was luminous, somehow. She looked innocent and defenseless lying in the bed, but the defined muscles in her legs, and the strength in her toned arms, obvious even now, told a different story. He looked at the healer.

"Well?" The healer, a short mousy woman with black hair and eyes stepped forward, tightening her apron.

"My Lord, physically I can find nothing wrong with her. It seems that she is merely in a deep sleep, but nothing I do wakes her. I would say that she is a woman of some means as she is well fed, and strong, all her innards healthy. Her hands are soft, obviously unused to hard labor. Craynos can tell you more." She gestured to a tall, lean fellow garbed in a white robe. Darken turned his attention to the sorcerer, who stepped forward.

"Lord Rahl. My tests show her to be about twenty years of age, as the nurse said, very healthy. What is interesting my Lord is that the tests also show that there are some subtle differences in her physiology. Her brain is slightly larger than ours are for example. Her internal organs are in slightly different places, off by a few millimeters, and a tad smaller, except for the lungs which are larger. Her musculature also, is lighter; however her bones are longer and denser. She may be a mortal My Lord, but she is unlike any of us. We will know more when she wakes."

"Why does she sleep?" Darken asked curiously.

"She shows signs of having traveled through some sort of rift in the veil. Her spirit is recovering its strength, and while it is, she will be unable to wake her physical body. And my lord, I warn you now, she bears traces of magick other than what sent her here. She may be a sorceress." Darken Rahl did not acknowledge his Sorcerers advice. He did not need to. However he did find his interest peaked. Where had the woman come from? Why was she here? What exactly was she, and could she be of use to him? Perhaps she would make a good Mord' Sith, even though they were usually trained at a young age. Was this perhaps some trick of the Keeper's, meant to lure him back into a service he had only just barely escaped. Perhaps it was a ploy of the Seeker's. If she was a spy for his half brother, then she would be in for a world of pain when she awoke.

"Nadia." He called softly. A tall woman clad in red leather moved forward, her long braid swaying like the tail of a cat.

"Yes Master Rahl." She bowed her head. Stand over this female. If she is violent or dangerous when she awakens, subdue her and put her under training. If she is calm, bring her to me for questioning unharmed."

"It will be my pleasure to serve you Master Rahl." She said, and then moved over to the bed and stood there, eyes taking in everything in the room, and also the woman. He smirked. He knew that Nadia had a preference for members of the same sex. Turning, he walked back to his tower. He had much to think about. After all, he wasn't about to honor a treaty made with his bastard half brother. He simply had to be patient, and await the opportune moment.

Then he would strike, and retake the midlands. After that he would find a way to take out the barrier and take the Hartlands. Then the Westlands would fall under the command of the House of Rahl. Soon he would rule once again. Soon his vast army would be able to go and do its deadly work. It had taken him a lifetime at first, but now, he knew other things, had the power to stay alive long past his natural span of years. There was time aplenty for him, and he would relish the day when he could finally destroy the Seeker, and the idiotic resistance fighters, whom he knew still met regularly. He would bring peace to the Midlands yet, and this time, he would win. With a small smirk on his face, he turned and headed for his bedchamber. And until the opportune moment, he had the mystery of the woman to occupy his mind with. That is, when she decided to awaken.