Exalted Novela The Tale of Lumus Avatar

by Tritium Knight

Lumus Is an recently exalted Solar who has little memory of his previous lives. He has come back to Creation and finds he does not recognize it as the place he used to protect. He will need lots of friends and luck to learn why the world changed like this

The Legend of Lumus Avatar

Half of the moon shone through the leaves of the tall deciduous trees that comprised the thick woods of the eastern Realm. Two pairs of eyes reflected its light as they peered down from an upper branch of a tree at the edge of a small clearing. The building within the clearing was only one story and was apparently made from the wood of the forest. Beside the house, there was a stall for a horse and a recently-dug well. Muffled by the timber, voices drifted from the shoddy lodging; one loud, gruff voice seeming to preach while no fewer than three others rang out agreement.

"The cursed anathemas are indeed gathered in this place." One of the pairs of eyes rose to stand on the branch while the other remained crouched and shrouded. The moonlight fell upon the face of the standing man and glistened on the sweat of anticipation which trickled in the ruts of old scars. His dark eyes showed an eerie brown as the light filled the wide irises, and his hair hung down in meandering ravines, an ever darker brown, around his face and ears. His gaze seemed to penetrate the hovel and pierce straight into his prey within. A slight grin caused the side of his mouth to rise almost imperceptibly.

"Stay low, Trevor. We cannot let the enemy realize our presence yet," warned the shrouded man. An arm wrapped in a green cloak broke free of the tree's shadow and tugged the standing man back to a crouch. Pelheps Trevor was a young ward of the Dragon-Blooded Legion. This night marked his fifth hunt with the man next to him, a veteran of the hunt named Cathak Drexel. He was himself an exalted Dragon-Blooded warrior; Trevor, however, still waited to be exalted by the lords of the Dragon-Bloods, The Immaculate Dragons. He enjoyed bringing the enemies of the Dragon-Blooded to justice—cold, motionless justice. Each kill brought him closer to joining the ranks of his masters, to becoming equal to them. He was already a skilled stealth-killer and these anathema hunts, Wyld Hunts as they were called, only made him better at it.

Trevor and Drexel melted into the shadows and in the blink of an eye were listening below one of the portholes of the house. So silent were they in their movement that they did not disturb even the local fauna from their sleep. The ever-watchful owl, himself, was surprised by their sudden appearance. By light of moon, the two warriors made ready their weapons and waited for the right time to infiltrate. Trevor carried two short swords, little longer than the average dagger; each was covered tang to tip in elaborately curling designs that gave the illusion of flowing as the blades moved. His strikes were as water and cut his victims in a manner that would evoke awe just before bone-chilling fear. Drexel wielded a single long sword modeled in the style of the Japanese katana. Its hilt was dyed red hide wrapped in soft black cloth. The suba was an ornate gold, decorated with carvings of rose petals and the blade was long, sleek and drawn into a menacing curve. The steel of the blade was dark, almost blue toward the cutting edge, and had streaks of red burned into it signifying the blood it thirsted for. Together with their weapons, these two men were among the deadliest assassins in the Dragon-Blood army, if not the entire Realm.

Inside the house, the anathema continued to speak loudly. Their leader, identified by Drexel as Louis Crowsbeak—an active opponent to the teachings of the Dragon-Blooded, stood at the head of the room in front of one of the portholes so that he was backlit by the candle burning on its sill. He was a large man with light brown hair and a curly beard that covered the top buttons of his mauve tunic. He swung his thick arms wildly through the air as he spoke energetically, even angrily, about casting aside the laws set forth by the Dragon-Blood lords and to take up belief in some of the more free-roaming gods of the region. He encouraged his brethren to take up any belief other than that of the Dragon-Blooded and demanded that they spread this radical idea to as many other people as they could. Of all the deities he placed so high above the Immaculate Dragons, none seemed so revered by him as the Unconquered Sun.

Trevor found himself listening to the man's soliloquy and almost missed Drexel's signal to move in. He snapped to his senses and nodded to Drexel as he began to quietly climb the side of the house. Drexel moved to the window directly behind the animated speaker, peering in from the side so that the candle light streaked his face showing only his dark, serious eyes and pursed lips. Creases adorned the corners of his eyes revealing years of wisdom and experience, and his brow was strong and high and now furled in concentration. Drexel watched Louis and his cohorts intently, waiting for that tingle; the special sensation of battle that tells a warrior the exact second to strike.

Louis was his story, swaying and swinging his arms to emphasize himself. He was now shouting at his listeners the evils of the Dragon-Blooded and the ways in which they destroy life and defile Creation. He teetered back on his heel as one of his more magnificent gestures through him off balance. He fell toward the window outside of which Drexel waited.

The tingle—Drexel felt it ring down his spine and into his arms. His eyes widened as he shouted "Now!!" Drexel reached both arms through the window, sending the candle skidding across the floor and under the table. Louis, still lurching backwards, fell perfectly into the open arms and found himself in an inescapable chokehold. The others in the room rose to their feet and drew weapons from their cloaks. They began to charge at Louis and his captor when, suddenly, the roof caved in on them and Trevor stood on the table before them. Two more candles fell from their sills and joined the first on the floor among the debris from the destroyed roof, their flames licking the tinder-like thatching.

Three men stood, wide-eyed and frozen in fear as they stared at the blue-cloaked man that rose from their table. Blades materialized from beneath the cloak and danced in the rising flames of the burning roof debris. He reversed the blades in his hands and crossed them before his face as he spoke in the darkest tone he could muster. "This is the end for you, heathen anathema. Know, now, the true power of the Dragon-Blooded!"

He leapt toward the exposed night sky showing through the missing roof and somersaulted over the heads of the bewildered blasphemers. Trevor landed behind them with his back to theirs as two of the three fell and blood dripped from the tips of his blades. The man at the center of the formation slowly turned and continued to gape at Trevor, backing away, avoiding the bodies of his fallen comrades. Blood trickled from long slits beginning in the nape of the neck and running down the backs of the two prone figures. The retreating man whimpered and dropped his weapon. Trevor turned to menace his prey; he entered a low attack stance and began to move the daggers around his body. In the light of the now blazing building, the blades flashed in and out of existence about him forming a fluctuating, lethal barrier between Trevor and the terrified anathema. The man howled and turned to run away, but it was too late. His hand hit the door at the same time his head hit the floor.

Beyond the flames, Drexel grappled with a vigorously struggling Louis Crowsbeak. Drexel was a strong and experienced assassin, but he had not been fully prepared for the shear strength of his prey. Louis heaved and swung his fists wildly trying to free himself from the strangling grasp of his captor. The flames lit their faces a brilliant orange and sparks floated all around them giving the whole scene a surreal feeling. A foe like this would normally have presented no trouble to Drexel, but his plan to use the window as stealth was now working against him as it gave his prey leverage against his grip. Louis pressed on the wall with one foot and kicked himself forward with such force that he pulled Drexel straight through the wall. A quick swing of his broad shoulders flung Drexel through the burning roof thatching, landing him on his back at Trevor's feet. Louis fell to one knee and massaged his throat with his large palms.

Trevor helped Drexel to his feet and together they glared across the burning room at their target. Their quarry was strong, but he was wearing down. Drexel drew his katana and Trevor lowered himself into his classic attack stance. Louis looked sideways at them with one eye half closed in a wince. Trevor's eyes carefully studied Louis in his crippled-looking state; then flashed over to Drexel who gave a quick nod.

Simultaneously, the two warriors charged through the flames, embers clinging to, then dripping from their cloaks. They both approached in a head-on assault, and Louis rose to meet their blades. At the instant before they would be within conversational distance, Trevor and Drexel broke to flank him, spinning around to face his sides. Louis followed Drexel until he realized Trevor wasn't with him, then whipped his head so fast, trying to find him, that it caused his neck to hurt again. Before Louis could decide who he was going to punch first, a cold wind blew through his being. He stumbled forward, mouth agape, as he felt the blades withdrawing from his flesh. Louis lurched from his left foot to his right, sweat beading on his face as he moved toward the flames in the middle of the room. He fell to his knees midway between the Dragon-Blood warriors and the burning table, staring into the infinite cosmos visible through the burning hole formerly known as his roof. Trevor stepped toward him, preparing to make the final blow. As he approached, he could see tears in Louis' eyes; Louis was mouthing something to the heavens. Trevor stopped and strained to hear his words.

Louis' whisperings were barely audible over the cracking and groaning of the burning timber. Embers swirled before his lips and his eyes began to glaze. Trevor leaned ever closer, ready to strike down the anathema at any moment, trying to hear what he was saying. "The Dragon-Blooded know not what they do, nor whom they shall serve. Oh, Unconquered Sun, revive the Solars and save creation from their vile designs. This sect of the Illuminated falls with me, but we are not defeated…" Trevor's vision shuddered for a moment as these words swam in his head; he lost his balance but caught himself on Louis' shoulder. Louis slowly turned his head to look at Trevor, his eyes were now devoid of pupils and shining a brilliant gold, glowing in the pale moonlight. "Awaken, Lumus Avatar! Know yourself and your true Lord. I, the Unconquered Sun, restore you to your rightful place as a defender of Creation." Trevor yelped in surprise and threw himself from Louis' side. He slid his back against the wall of the house and looked to Drexel, but Drexel was gone.

Trevor stood and scanned the house. All the fires were out, there was no sound, not even wind or the owls. He was alone. The corpses of the four men were missing; even Louis Crowsbeak's body had vanished before Trevor's eyes. He looked up at the moon, which had mysteriously become full, and a black spot appeared at its center. At its full phase, the moon spilled a yellow light on Trevor's face as the black spot grew and consumed the night's sun. Seconds later, all that remained of the moon was a glowing golden ring surrounding infinite nothingness. Trevor shuddered again at the sight. He averted his eyes from the unnatural event. He became aware of a new presence in the room; he focused his eyes and before him stood a warrior equal to him in stature clad in a blue cloak, not unlike his own. Beneath the cloak, golden trim around the edge of a large metal breastplate glimmered in the strange moonlight and at the warrior's sides he clutched two massive swords which shimmered with the same gold of his armor. On the man's forehead blazed a golden ring that perfectly resembled the moon in its current state. Trevor could do nothing but stare at the figure who was now giving a half smile. The man's lips moved and Trevor heard the words as though they had been spoken directly into his soul, "Remember the Night! Embrace it."

Trevor blinked at the man, but when he opened his eyes again, the room was ablaze and Louis Crowsbeak lay on the floor beside him, dead. He turned to find Drexel gazing at him quizzically. Trevor stood up and turned to face Drexel. "Did something just happen to the moon?" Trevor's question seemed to trouble Drexel. "What are ya talkin' about, boy? What's the moon got to do with anything," Drexel asked incredulously. "We've accomplished our mission; this Hunt's over. We must go now and report to the Lord of the Realm. We've just slain one of his greatest opponents; I would be surprised if he didn' make you a brother straight away!" Drexel laughed and gave Trevor a congratulatory expression. Trevor gave a half-hearted smile, his mind was troubled by what he had seen—or thought he had seen. It had all seemed so real, well—except for the glowing eyes and the moon blotting out like that… Trevor pondered silently as he and Drexel made for the Imperial City at the heart of the Realm. They ran briskly through the forest, dodging among the trees for sport. Trevor watched Drexel as he slipped almost ghost-like through the forest beside him. They split to either side of a large tree but when they came around the far side to reconvene, Drexel did not appear. Astounded at the feat Trevor stopped dead in his tracks and cast his eyes around the area.

Gone? How can he just be gone?? Trevor brought his hand to his mouth and was about to call out to Drexel when the sky caught his eye. High above him, the moon had again taken on the form of a golden ring. He whirled about and came face to face with the glowing warrior from before. "Where are you going," the warrior asked. "Do you not understand that the Dragon-Blooded will kill you if they discover what you are?" Trevor was shocked by this statement. "Why would my masters kill one of their own," he demanded. "Their own? My dear boy, you are no Dragon-Blood. You are one destined to rule over Creation; not to conquer or destroy as the Dragon-Blooded plan to do, but to protect it and make it flourish!" Trevor prepared to speak again, but the warrior vanished as the bough of a tree blew across the moon. "Who're ya talkin' to, lad? You're beginning ta worry me," Drexel stood with his hand upon Trevor's shoulder, both of them alone in the dark forest. "It's…it's nothing," Trevor lied.

It was night again when Trevor and Drexel reached the city; Drexel recommended they get some sleep and regroup in the morning to speak with the Lord of the Realm. Trevor returned to his home, bathed and fell upon his bed, completely exhausted by his experiences of the last week. He fell instantly asleep, but did not remain so. He woke more than a few times as rest was shattered, repeatedly, by flashes of images of armor and weapons of unknown materials, faces he did not recognize but which felt familiar and agonizing scenes of Dragon-Blooded armies invading and razing villages he'd never visited. By morning, he was too terrified to shut his eyes again. The dreams felt so real and the images so fresh that in his heart he knew he must be seeing reality. The Dragon-Blooded slew innocents and burned cities without discretion simply to assert their own power and authority. Everything I've been fighting for, for the last few years—everything I've believed in my whole life…it's all been a fabrication. The Dragon-Blooded are not the bringers of the truth, they are not the masters of Creation… they're not even human. Trevor could not believe his own thoughts. And…I'm in danger now… Suddenly, he knew. Trevor knew he had to get as far away from the Realm as possible. All the Hunts he'd been on, and others that were being conducted, were for the soul purpose of rooting out the enemies of the Dragon-Blooded and making their rule undeniable. His contacts among the houses of lords had also recently carried rumors of the Dragon-Blooded ranks brewing distrust among themselves. There was a potential civil war among the Dragon-Blooded on the horizon and that would mean they would be recalling all of their forces to the Imperial City. Trevor now sat on ground zero, and he would not survive if he stayed.

That day, Trevor did not meet with Drexel, he did not speak with the Lord of the Realm, he did not so much as make eye contact with a Dragon-Blooded. He went straight to the docks using every back alley he knew. His deep blue cloak billowed in his wake as he sped along the flagstones toward the wharf. On the way, he stopped in random taverns and inquired about the currently docked ships and their next destinations and proposed departure times. The most promising was a chartered ship bound for the distant western island of Onyx in the Skullstone Archipelago. He made the instant decision that would be the ship he took. He was almost in sight of the docks when a pain in his head caused him to nearly collapse. He ducked into the nearest empty alley and drew water from a barrel at the back of a shop. As he brought his cupped hands to his mouth he noticed a golden glimmer on the water's rippling surface. Trevor grasped the edge of the barrel and peered down into it, at his own reflection. Brown eyes, straggly long brown hair, two scars adorned his right cheek and a single slit passed down over his left eye and a golden ring conformed to his forehead, glowing through his hair for all to see. He began to sweat and tried focusing to will the mark to go away. As he stood in the alley focusing on the reflection in the bucket, a serpent began to materialize at his feet.

Just a spine at first, then muscles covered the rapidly growing bones, followed by green and gold scales. After only a minute, Trevor was wrapped head-to-toe in the coils of a Chinese dragon. It had two claws which it held under its jaw and a red mane under its great, curved horns. A large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth underlined its brilliant red eyes. The dragon peered into the barrel and examined its face then the face of its master. The movement in the reflection caused Trevor to lose his concentration on the mark and stare at the face of the dragon in the barrel. "YEAHHH-HAAHHH!!!" Trevor shouted and jumped away from the barrel and the dragon; escaping the coils of serpent by passing straight through them. The dragon cocked its head to one side and gazed at Trevor's terrified expression. At that moment, Trevor heard the warrior's voice in his soul again and his expression almost instantly faded to neutral once more. He had given in to the words of the ghostly warrior and was beginning to understand his true destiny. It was as though he instantly knew everything; the volume of knowledge he inherited through the warrior in his soul was almost overwhelming. "So then, you must be my Anima," Trevor said to the Dragon, who did not reply but simply shifted its head back to the normal position. The mark on Trevor's forehead slowly faded away until there was no trace of it at all. "If that's the case, then I really am a…Solar. All the legends were true and the Dragon-Blooded were wrong. How fitting it seems, that I should fight against them with the very beast they've made their patron spirit." Trevor laughed to himself, quietly. He shook off the thought and regained his composure; this place was not safe, it was imperative that he make for Onyx at once.

Trevor boarded a medium-sized vessel on dock number Nine of the Imperial Jetty. It was not a new ship, but it felt sturdy. Already aboard was the captain's crew of 8 sailors, 10 men in the same uniform—definitely a military detachment of some sort—and a man wearing a dark robe over a lamellar which had gold trim in the chest plate and among the fibers of the tabard. A bulge in the lamellar indicated he was carrying something large, but whether it was a weapon or just a big sack of money Trevor could not determine. This would be his home for the next month or so, he did not think it wise to make enemies before leaving port. Trevor took up a seat on the bench in the far stern corner of the ships large inner deck. He crossed his leg and began contemplating everything he had learned from the warrior. Where to begin, he thought. How about…My name is Lumus Avatar.

The Solars have awakened once more. After nearly eight hundred years, those exalted by the Unconquered Sun—defenders of Creation—walk among mortals and demons alike on this plane. This is the story of a circle of Solars who fight against unnatural forces that seek to rule Creation. Many hardships and trials, friends and enemies will be faced.

The rocking of the ship had become a normal part of life to Lumus as he entered the fourth week of sailing aboard the merchant vessel. His destination was Onyx, the greatest island of the Skullstone Archipelago. He had managed to keep a low profile; little had come to pass on the ship since he had boarded. They had made port only twice, since they left the Realm, to pick up provisions and to take on or depart a few passengers. No trade was made, for apparently all the goods aboard were to be sold in Onyx and Onyx alone.

It was mid-morning when the ship anchored in the vast jetty of Onyx. The passengers were lead off the ship and taken to the harbormaster's office where they signed in. Lumus gave his Dragon-Blooded name so as not to draw suspicion; his Exalted name was, after all, very unusual in this world. On his way out of the office, Lumus passed the man with the bulging cloak he had seen when he boarded the ship. Lumus averted his eyes and quickened his pace toward the city center.

Unbeknownst to him, a beautiful young woman had taken interest in his movements. She watched him from the boarding ramp of her own vessel. She was a young pirate who answered to the name Leviathan. She commanded a small crew of ten aboard a small ship built for speed and light combat. She instructed her first mate, a tall effeminate man, to oversee the restocking of the ship as she beckoned her young ward, an orphan boy of about 14 years, to accompany her into the city. Her eyes never stopped tracking the flowing blue cloak of the mysterious young man.

Lumus found the commerce center with ease; he knew his mission and wound a path that would take him indirectly to an alley shop of little consequence. What he sought was not wares, however. What he sought was information on the unrest of the Dragon-Blooded. It just happened that in his travels as an assassin he had made a number of allies or informants and had managed to keep track of them over the years. His quiet stream of information led him to the owner of this particular shop. Lumus could see the sign for the shop over the heads of a hundred busy patrons.

Street shops, buyers and sellers, travelers, merchants, and holy men crowded the narrow streets of Onyx' main citadel. Of more than a little concern to Lumus was the curious presence of spirits of the dead and even zombies, passing almost unnoticed among the living. I had been told that Onyx was a place that brought life and death together, but I had not imagined the meaning was so literal! Lumus thought to himself. He stopped to let a carriage drawn by horses that seemed little more than skeletons pass, then gently pushed his way through the crowd toward his destination. The black stone shared of both the buildings and walkways closed itself around Lumus as he stepped over the threshold into a dimly lit room. Around him, Lumus could see tables of weapons and armor, bottles containing potions or insects and various other oddities and commodities. A spirit eyed him as it drifted by, out the door he had just come in through.

"Hello?" Lumus inquired to the now empty room. "Hello, is the shopkeeper in? I would like to make a purchase."

Rattling of blades being shuffled sounded from a dark doorway behind the shopkeeper's desk and an old man poked his head into the room.

"Hail, traveler," said the old man. "Which of my wares interests you today?"

"To be honest, sir, I'm not looking to buy anything material from you," answered Lumus as he approached the desk. The shopkeeper squinted at Lumus through thick glasses, appraising his great stature.

"Well what do you want, then? I don't want any trouble!" He began to shrink back into the room he had previously occupied.

"I do not seek to cause you any, good sir. I simply seek information," Lumus pulled a scroll from inside his cloak and showed it to the feeble shopkeeper. Adorning its curled page was the seal of the All-Seeing Eye, the secret society charged with maintaining and enforcing the intricate webs of intelligence and espionage of the Dragon-Blooded. The scroll was an edict to all who serve the All-Seeing Eye, to acknowledge the presence of a warrior of the Legion. The old man began to sweat and ran to shut the door to the shop. He returned to his place behind the desk and began to answer Lumus' questions.

"My name is Talin, just Talin." The man speaking to the harbormaster was tall, but not exceedingly so, and wore a dark brown cloak over a gold-trimmed lamellar which hung just past his knees.

"Do you bring anything with you," the harbormaster inquired.

"Only my men, my ten finest soldiers. They won't cause any trouble, I assure you." The harbormaster nodded, though he did seem worried still.

Talin turned on his heel and left the office with a slight flourish of his cloak. As he re-emerged into the half-light of Onyx he looked up and saw the same young man clad in blue whom had caught his attention upon boarding the vessel they recently departed. He seemed to be making great haste in putting distance between them and this intrigued Talin.

"Orders, sir?" Talin broke free of his reverie and acknowledged his second in command with a quick salute.

"Squad status, report," Talin commanded the man who now stood at attention.

"All men and supplies present an accounted for, sir. Awaiting further instructions."

"Excellent," replied Talin with a small smile. "Let us venture into the city, then. There's someone I would like to investigate." He signaled to the group of soldiers milling about the docks and directed them along the path the blue-cloaked man had taken.

In the shop, the keeper was divulging the best of his knowledge to Lumus.

"I have heard—through the grape vine, of course," the man said. "That the Scarlet Empress is dead. This is causing strife among the legions of the Dragon-Blooded. Now all the commanders of the armies are vying for control of the Realm! Their armies are drawn back and their influence is fluctuating throughout Creation."

So, with any luck, I won't have been followed out of the Realm by Dragon-Blood warriors… "And what can you tell me of this island? Who leads Onyx?" Lumus chose his questions and responses carefully; he could let on to knowing neither too little nor too much.

"This island is controlled by the Bodhisattva Anointed by Dark Water, The Silver Prince himself! He commands armies of the dead and undead. Ye best watch yourself if you come into His presence!" The old man's voice trailed off as the door to the shop opened to permit two men in matching uniforms. Lumus recognized them as soldiers from the boat that brought him here. Did they follow me all this way? How did they track me?? Lumus quickly turned away from the counter and began looking over some daggers that lay on a table by the far wall from the door. In the reflection on a shield, Lumus could see that the soldiers were also pretending to be normal patrons, but they kept their eyes on him.

Pssst! Lumus looked over. The shopkeeper was motioning for him to enter the backroom to hide. Lumus slowly sidled his way to the door and in one fluid motion slipped through it without a sound. The shopkeeper returned to his post at the desk and Lumus heard him address someone outside.

"Can I interest you in some weapons, young man? It's dangerous to go unarmed," the shopkeeper said genuinely.

"No," came a slightly irritated voice, a bit gruff but not old. "I would like to speak with the man who was just in here."

"Man? My last patron was a spirit and he left a little while ago. The only men in here seem to be with you already." The old man chuckled a little.

"Aye, sir. He went into the back room there; I swear on the village, I saw it." Lumus heard one of the soldiers saying to his commander.

"Enough games, old man. I really don't want to make a big deal out of this, just let me speak to him, now."

This seemed to be a bad position to be in, whoever he was he knew Lumus was here and was looking for him. But why?? Lumus had been so careful to cover his tracks and not make contact with anyone, could the Realm have actually followed him? Lumus had a desperate idea. He burst from the shelter of the crammed store room and grabbed the bag of gold from under the shop keeper's desk, then made a break for the door.

"Stop, THEIF!" the old man hollered at Lumus' back

"Hold, Solar," the commander said calmly.

Lumus stopped just in front of the door and whirled on his heel.

"I'm just a petty thief, now let me leave with my gold before the guards find me!"

The commander laughed and his brown cloak rippled with the motion.

"That's not gold on your breastplate, is it?" The man smirked as he reached under the folds of his cloak toward the bulge that Lumus found so curious. "I'm certain that it's actually…Orichalcum." He withdrew his hand from the cloak and the bulge moved with it.

Golden tips of curved blades preceded the reappearance of his hand. Out from his cloak slipped a great golden shuriken. Eight long, curved blades adorned its edge; it was a massive weapon looking to weigh at least twenty-five pounds. Yet this man whirled it in his hand like it weighed nothing. Lumus recognized that the gold of the weapon was in fact Orichalcum, the enchanted metal wielded originally by Solar exalts.

So this man is a Solar, eh? Still, I can't be sure of his intentions; and I sure as hell don't want to fight him unarmed! Lumus carried only his daggers from his days as an assassin; excellent weapons though they may be, against another Solar he may as well be bare-handed.

Lumus quickly turned spun around and took a step toward the door. At just that moment, the door flew open and Lumus was standing face-to-face with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was young with long, dark gold hair tied behind her head in a tight, strait ponytail. She had green eyes and wore dark make-up beneath them in a fashion that looked like tattoos of black tears. She wore lacquered Orichalcum lamellar armor that was reminiscent of dark ocean water laced with gold and black leggings with gold inlaid in vine-like patterns that flowed down into her high leather boots. A young boy hid behind her right leg and peered out at the scene with wide eyes.

"Leaving so soon," she said to Lumus with a whimsical air in her voice. "But it was just getting interesting!"

The woman turned her attention to Lumus' pursuer. "I see you're both boasting some interesting equipment," she said, eyeing the great, golden weapon in the commander's hand and Lumus' breastplate.

Finally, Lumus put all the pieces together. He let out a sigh of relief and walked slowly back to the counter and returned the gold to the shopkeeper. He turned and walked toward the two standing in the doorway and said quietly, "We should discuss this elsewhere." He gently motioned with his head toward the shopkeeper.

Under cover of the din of a tavern, the three Solars talked quietly of what they knew, what they had learned and what they remembered. Comparing stories, they had all been exalted around the same time, a difference of mere weeks between them. The question on everyone's mind was 'why now?' Why had the Unconquered Sun chosen to bring them back now? Almost eight-hundred years ago, these three Solars had died during The Usurpation led by the Dragon-Blooded. Why had their god waited so long to reincarnate them; previously they were almost instantly reborn in a new body upon being killed. The Exalts were created by the gods to fight wars for the gods, but they were in fact stronger than the gods themselves. The Solars, alone, held the power to kill gods and this was the main reason for their existence. In the time period that is now known as The First Age, the Solars destroyed the gods known as Primordials and freed Creation of their tyranny. In doing so, however, they were cursed. All of the Exalts, in fact, were cursed by the last Primordial. However, none of them understand the nature of the curse that follows them to this day.

Shortly after the placement of Exalts under this curse, the Dragon-Blooded rose up in "defense" of Creation against the tyrannical Solars; they swore to stop the Solars in their power-hungry and destructive ways. The Dragon-Bloods succeeded in their mission, the Solars were each slain. But this time, the light of the Unconquered Sun did not return them to the mortal plane. Eight-hundred years passed and Creation is a very different place. Without the Solars to defend it, the land fell to the other Exalts. The greedy Dragon-Blooded created an empire called The Realm and centered on The Blessed Isle, the largest island of Creation, and from there spread their belief in the All-Seeing Eye through conquest and slavery throughout the lands. The Fairfolk and Sidereals spread havoc along the border between Creation and the Wyld. And the Lunars, the former mates of the Solars, disappeared entirely. Many believed they had fled into the Wyld, though none knew for sure.

The three Solar exalts pondered these and other questions as they sat quietly around their small table in the noisy pub. Spirits, Zombies and humans inhabited other tables, though it appeared the noise was only contributed to by the humans. Spirits and Zombies tended to be rather quiet. Each Solar present fell into a different caste and so served Creation and the Unconquered Sun in different a way. Lumus Avatar was exalted of the Night Caste and as such was a highly skilled assassin capable of hiding his identity and his presence from those who may seek to harm him. Talin had been exalted into the Eclipse Caste. This gave him the authority of a holy man; he was very skilled at dealing with delicate social situations and could talk his way out of almost any problem. His words flowed like the tide but with the force of the mighty waterfall, he could bend men to his will with overwhelmingly convincing arguments. Leviathan was of the Twilight Caste, and therefore, a mage among Solars. Her knowledge of the arcane arts was vast and deep, she had absolute control over the flow of her essence and incorporated it into her graceful martial arts forms. Unfortunately, her long banishment from Creation had caused her to forget all of her spells. Angered, she vowed to regain all of her occult knowledge and more and sought every magical text she could find.

They discussed their past—their life just prior to exaltation—briefly. Talin was the captain of the guard of a small, forest town. On patrol, one day, he and his men were attacked by an unknown foe with unfathomable power. His men were decimated and a vengeful Talin vowed to bring this evil-doer to justice. Leviathan had a very different story. As a child she had been enslaved by pirates; she sailed the seas and was abused by men ever since. Her time as a slave in both labor and sexual services had given her a deep hatred of men; she trusted none easily and was very easily offended. Talin and Lumus quickly learned to mind their tongue around her. Leviathan tolerated no insubordination and when on her ship, her word was law.

They sat around the table relating stories and laughing with each other about mishaps and follies as they had attempted to escape the Realm undetected. With a grin on his face, Lumus set his mug back on the table as he listened to one of Leviathan's stories of a botched pillaging mission. A sudden pain caused him to grasp his head in both hands. In his mind he saw flashes of a dark temple, black stone surrounded him and an altar stood before him, hewn from the rock of the cave he stood within. A blur, then a flash of gold—two mighty blades lay upon the altar. Those swords…the ones the warrior carried. Softly, a voice trickled into his mind like cold mercury. "Seek this place, your blades await you, Solar~." The voice trailed off and the vision ended. Lumus looked around at the startled faces of Talin and Leviathan.

"Are you alright, Lumus," Talin was saying.

"Maybe he had too much to drink," offered Leviathan.

"There's something I must do. Talin, you and Leviathan see what more you can learn about this Silver Prince. My information tells me the Realm is in turmoil. The time to end the rule of the Dragon-Blooded is at hand and I think, perhaps, we can enlist his aid." Lumus rose from the table and started toward the door with unsure feet.

"What do you suppose got into him," asked Leviathan

"I'm not sure," Talin responded. "But he's right. We cannot allow the Dragon-Blooded to oppress and defile Creation any longer."

"We will require allies for such a large undertaking; I still haven't regained any of my spells." Leviathan's reminder stung Talin. He hated being under-prepared as well as outnumbered. They set off asking the locals all they could about the Silver Prince, trying to attain an audience with him.

Lumus stumbled over the uneven terrain. The pitch black rock seemed to be cut at angles specifically designed to make his journey more difficult. On top of that, he did not like the feel of this place. Onyx exuded death as if the island itself were a great corpse. On more than one occasion Lumus could swear he was tripping over skulls rather than the black stones of the dreary field. More flashes of memories told him he was on the right track. He saw the vast, lifeless fields of Onyx and in the middle of one stood a large stone slab. He knew his long lost weapons lay beneath it, and he now knew he was close and heading in the right direction. He could see, every now and then, a spirit drifting lazily in one direction or another. Zombies were scarce this far from the citadel and no fauna appeared to inhabit the island at all.

Though I suppose it's hardly necessary for zombies to hunt for food, Lumus thought to himself. He stopped dead in his tracks and began looking around.

It's here! I can feel it.

Finally, he saw what he was looking for: a smooth patch in the rough ground. Lumus approached the slab and found that on the far side of it, the earth sloped down and revealed a passageway already dug under the slab. He entered cautiously, drawing his trusted dagger and minding everything around him. At the end of a long, dark tunnel, Lumus found a large torch-lit, cathedral-like room. At the head of the room was a large altar made of the same black stone as the walls and floor.

It's just like in my visions, he thought.

He walked slowly up to the altar and gazed down upon it. It was bare save for the thick layer of dirt and dust that had collected over the hundreds of years of neglect the place had suffered. Lumus was confused; his visions had shown him the weapons resting atop the altar in their golden glory.

Perhaps they were stolen? As he thought this the warrior again appeared before Lumus. He bowed and his armor clinked as he raised his golden eyes to meet Lumus'.

"Only one who truly needs the weapon and is worthy of its power may obtain it. Only the true Lumus Avatar is worthy of this weapon." The warrior patted the blade hanging on his belt as he said this. The vision left and Lumus was once more alone in the great old room.

Taking a breath, Lumus focused his mind and called up his essence. His caste mark, the golden ring of the moon, the symbol of the Night caste, showed brilliantly on his forehead. He laid his hand on top of the altar and it began to emanate a golden glow. The front of the altar became transparent and disappeared; within what Lumus had originally thought was solid stone, two swords lay crossing each other, their hilts held in stands carved of the stone of the altar. He reached in his hand and withdrew the blades. Three feet in length each, solid Orichalcum blades that curved toward the tip, a sturdy steel grip inlaid with Orichalcum and wrapped in leather finished off with an ornate finger guard. These were Orichalcum Short Daiklaves, the weapon of choice for the Solar Lumus Avatar. He'd known them since the First Age and was finally reunited with them.

Lumus felt his essence begin flowing through the blades and circulate back, within minutes the grip no longer felt cold and the blade felt like a part of his body. He felt complete. Just as he was reveling in this familiar feeling, he heard voices in the tunnel behind him.

"Well, well," a coarse voice broke the serenity of the dark chapel. "And here I thought that we had taken everything of value from this place. It seems my men managed to overlook the weapons of a Solar."

A man with snow white skin and silvering hair stepped out from the doorway Lumus had entered through. He stood a few inches taller than Lumus and was clad in silver armor. In his hand he carried a large Daiklave made from an unfamiliar metal and behind him were approximately 20 zombies.

"Are you the Silver Prince I've heard so much about," Lumus asked maintaining his composure as best he could.

"Hahahahaha~. You mistake me for my master. I am the Prince of Tears and I would like to offer you a place in the service of the Silver Prince. We need more exalts to unite the worlds of life and death and make Creation perfectly harmonious."

Before Lumus could respond to this, he heard the sound of colliding metal in the hall behind the Prince of Tears followed by the droning moans of zombies. The Prince of Tears turned his head toward the doorway behind him without moving his body and addressed his uninvited guests.

"It seems as though I have company, and look! More Solars! The Silver Prince will be most pleased with my work."

"Lumus, you alright?" Talin looked worried as he asked, his eyes kept flashing between Lumus and the Prince of Tears.

"Do you know this guy, Lumus," Leviathan was glaring at the ashen-skinned man.

"We just met," Lumus replied, readying his new weapons. The Prince of Tears frowned a little, then his smile returned.

"I bid you all welcome to Onyx. My master, the Silver Prince, would like to extend his hospitality and bids you join him in the citadel. He would very much like to meet you."

Talin and Leviathan slowly moved around the Prince and over to Lumus, never taking their eyes off the strange Daiklave in his hand.

"You're the resident diplomat, Talin," said Lumus. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, we know nothing about him and he has a lot of zombies with him. I think picking a fight with him here and now would be inadvisable. Also, he's offering to take us to the Silver Prince which is what we wanted to do from the beginning." Talin was nodding to himself as if still convincing himself this was the best course of action.

"If there's trouble, hopefully we can handle it. For now, this is bringing us toward our goals," Leviathan injected, causing all three Solars to nod agreement.

The Solar Circle brought their collective gaze to meet that of the imposing figure of the Prince of Tears. He looked at them with a half smile of anticipation. They nodded at him and agreed to follow him to the Citadel. The Prince's vague smile broadened, though it only made him look more smug. He then turned and led the way out of the buried temple. The Prince preceded the mingled group of Solars and Zombies on the journey back to the Citadel. They entered through the main gate and walked down broad corridors of the same black stone that everything seemed to be made from. A few twists and turns down torch-lit hallways brought the group to a grand and elaborately decorated throne room. The color scheme included heavy influences of black, red and silver. A great stone throne sat atop a raised platform toward the far end of the room. Twelve enormous pillars lined the path between the great archway the Solars now stood in and the great throne which was mysteriously empty. Banners bearing the colors of the City of Onyx and the nation of Skullstone hung from the high ceiling and down some of the pillars.

The Prince of Tears crossed the huge throne room and turned to sit in the king's chair. He fell into the huge seat and crossed his leg. He looked out over his "subjects" and laughed.

"Honestly, I don't even know why the Silver Prince wants to waste his time with the likes of you!" The Prince of Tears' body began to exude essence and a ghastly image of writhing souls weeping with pain floated around him. On his forehead burned the Caste mark of the Dawn, a Solar Exalt caste. However, as it glowed brightly through his white hair, it began to bleed, the drops stopping at his brow.

Lumus could feel malevolent energy flowing out of the Prince, and this puzzled him. He looked to Talin who was staring directly at the caste mark. His brow was furrowed in frustration.

"If you bear the mark of a Solar Exalt," Talin called across the room. "Then why do you not burn with the light of the Unconquered Sun?"

The Prince laughed maniacally. "The Unconquered Sun?! My dear Solar, I am not one of you; I am something much more…complete!" The prince rose from the throne and the Anima of weeping souls burned into clear reality. "You fools aren't strong enough to defeat me, and you aren't worthy to aid the Silver Prince; I shall now rid him of your presence and the burden you would cause!"

As the Prince hoisted his large sword, Lumus charged across the room in a head-on attack. At the same time, Talin threw out his arms causing his cloak to fly up and flutter down as he drew out the Typhoon Wheel, his Orichalcum shuriken. With his hand over the center of the disk, he spun the weapon in his fingers like a saw blade. He reared back and thrust forward and as the Typhoon wheel left his fingers a great phoenix erupted from his hand and engulfing the bladed disk. The phoenix flew straight across the room, screaming in anger, just over Lumus' head and right into the Prince of Tears. Lumus leapt from the ground and spun his body in the air so that he came down upon the Prince one blade at a time—in a way making himself a death wheel similar to Talin's—driving deep at his armored body.

The Prince smirked as a wave of souls jump up from the ground in front of him and dispelled the phoenix in its path; the Typhoon Wheel deflected off the barrier of essence and boomeranged around a pillar to return to Talin's open hand. He grimaced at the Prince as he watched Lumus' assault. Two Orichalcum blades sliced through the air and bared down at the exposed neck of the Prince; Talin clenched his fist in anticipation of the impact. At the last second, the Prince raised his Daiklave so fast that its movement blurred in Talin's vision. Lumus hit the ground next to the Prince and tumbled behind him. He wheeled around and brought his golden weapons between him and the Prince only to realize one of the blades was no longer in his hand. The Prince of Tears smiled maliciously at him as he turned to face Lumus again and raised his free hand over his head. The Orichalcum weapon fell gently into his waiting fingers and the Prince graciously returned it to its owner.

"I am not impressed, Solar. I shall destroy you both here and keep you from befouling my Master's army." He gave a twisted, raspy cackle as he finished saying this. The Prince of Tears always spoke in a hoarse whisper, and Lumus was starting to get annoyed with his arrogance.

"It's difficult to befoul an army that doesn't exist. We will defeat you and then lay waste to your master's army! And even if we don't, do you honestly think the Realm would allow the formation of such a force. I'll wager they're just waiting for the time to put down your insurrection." Lumus took a few steps back and crossed his blades in front of his body as he said this.

"Ahahahahaaa~. Impudent fool, thinking you could even touch His Excellency." The Prince of Tears placed his second hand on the hilt of his mighty blade and dragged it up through Lumus' body. An angled cut across Lumus' chest, well-placed and most certainly lethal, appeared but vanished before any blood was seen.

"Flow Like Blood," Lumus whispered and sneered at the Prince. The Prince bellowed and loosed a furious barrage of strikes at the smiling Solar. One after another Lumus ducked and dodge out of the way of the blade, each slash missing by only millimeters. Lumus back flipped out of the way of one attack.

"Hah!" The Prince flung himself forward and ripped the blade across Lumus' mid section. As the Daiklave screamed toward his body, Lumus gathered his essence, focused and shouted "Seven Shadow Evasion!" There was a bright flash of golden light and the Prince's Daiklave met the wall next to him. He eyed the blade, but it bore no blood; he had not felt a collision with his target.

"Attack me as many times as you want, you'll never hit me," a voice laughed from behind. The Prince of Tears turned and stood, glaring at Lumus who waved at him from a few yards away. Lumus brought his Daiklaves up and moved them around his body. They did not have the same grace his tiny daggers had, but the effect was similar.

WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Talin's Typhoon Wheel materialized over the Prince's shoulder and threatened to decapitate him. The Prince's glare shifted to a grimace and then a smirk as he whipped his body around the incoming attack. As the Wheel passed by him he stabbed down with his sword and pinned it into the ground.

"And you two honestly think you can hit me?" The Prince laughed as he lifted his blade and kicked the Typhoon Wheel back at Talin.

"For the good of Creation, not hitting you isn't an option." Talin gracefully collected the blade from the air in front of his face without taking his eyes off the Prince.

The Prince took one step toward Talin then seemed to disappear—reappearing right next to him. Lumus blinked.

He's fast! Just as the thought crossed Lumus' mind, the huge Daiklave became airborne again. Talin leaned to one side then bent backward as two mighty swings came within inches of his flesh. He sprung onto a wall then leapt over the Prince avoiding two more vicious attacks. He landed and spun to face the Prince—too late. The Prince rotated on the spot, sweeping his blade around him, and caught Talin across the neck. At the instant the edge of the weapon made contact, Talin's form began to deteriorate; darkness engulfed him and he melted into the floor. A split-second later, Talin rose and regained his shape a few yards away.

"Well, it seems I, too, am protected by the Seven Shadow Evasion," he looked over at Lumus and smirked. "You're very fast and you blocked our attacks with no trouble. Let's see if I can't cause you some trouble…"

Talin raised both hands in front of his body and between them, in mid-air, the Typhoon Wheel spun with a rapidly quickening pace. He shut his eyes in concentration and grimaced with the effort of gathering his essence into the Wheel. As his cloak rippled behind him, the Typhoon Wheel glowed brilliantly and cast deep shadows beyond the pillars of the great throne room. Talin opened his eyes and they glowed gold, just like the warrior that had appeared before Lumus in his visions; Lumus suppressed a gasp. In a deep and thunderous voice Talin seemed to command the Wheel, "Cascade of Cutting Terror!"

Before Lumus' eyes the Typhoon Wheel multiplied a thousand times until an utter wall of the spinning blades stood before Talin. Talin swept his arms downward in a great arc and the entire mass of deadly metal sprang into action.

"Let's see if you're fast enough to block all of those, Prince," Talin gave The Prince an evil grin.

The Prince of Tears disappeared under a dark cloud of death. Lumus could see nothing beyond the first layer of Typhoon Wheels. It was unreal the shear number of blades. Talin was certainly a force to be reckoned with; Lumus was impressed. Lumus could feel the necrotic essence flow of the Prince just beyond the wall of flying weapons as he blocked all the attacks he could. Clanging and the shrieks of colliding metal echoed off the walls of the chamber.

Within the hailstorm of Orichalcum the Prince of Tears battled for his life. The clones of the Typhoon Wheel swirled around him like a vortex and one after another broke in to slice at him. His anima of souls danced around him and knocked down one Wheel after another. At the same time, The Prince leapt to and fro beating the spinning blades away with his Daiklave. One Wheel swung in and buzz-sawed directly at his head. The Prince leapt and, stepping lightly on the top surface of the bladed, launched himself sword-first at two more, knocking all three to the floor. The Prince laughed to himself as he realized his supremacy over the assault.

He turned himself in mid-air and prepared to deflect another incoming Wheel. Just as it was about to make contact with his blade, the Wheel changed direction and zoomed out of his line of sight. Lumus caught a glimpse of the Prince suspended in air as the golden cloud around him converged like a missile and spiraled around behind him. He watched as the Prince struggled to keep the blades on the other side of his Daiklave. He saw the Prince' smile change to glare and then a look of shock as the blades made another pass around his body before driving, like a spear-head, into the abdomen of his silvery armor.

The force of a thousand Orichalcum blades drove the Prince's body into the wall behind the throne. The Prince could no longer move or react to the attacks, one after another pierced his armor and cut his flesh. He was pinned to the wall, helpless, as the front of his armor was ripped apart and his body was lacerated. Lumus winced a little as he witnessed the gutting of the once proud Prince of Tears.

Seconds later, the barrage ended and the Typhoon Wheel clones vanished from existence, the original making one last slash across the ravaged body of the Prince of Tears before returning to Talin's waiting hand. The wall around the Prince was covered in his blood and his body hung there for a second, frozen in time, before falling with a sickening thud to the throne room floor. Lumus slowly approached the motionless corpse, eyeing it carefully for any sign of life. Blood trickled out and ran along the floor in the gaps between the carved stones. Lumus turned and regarded Talin with a look that showed how impressed he was. Talin let out the breath he had been holding and allowed his shoulders to slump a bit. The charm had taken quite a bit of energy from him.

Lumus took a step toward Talin and opened his mouth to praise him but stopped suddenly, mid-stride. Out of the corner of his eye, Lumus saw the blood that had been trickling toward Talin, away from the Prince's body, change direction and start flowing back. He turned around in time to see the Prince taking his knee and rising from the floor, a large hole gaped in his armor and revealed his ribs and rotting organs.

"You fools can never defeat me," The Prince of Tears rasped with pure malice in his grey eyes. Blood flowed up his armor and back into the hole left by impromptu vivisection Talin had performed.

Lumus turned back and ran in Talin's direction. "That's right, Lumus. Run and hide like a Solar!" The Prince's laughter followed Lumus as he sprinted toward the nearest column. One foot in front of the other, Lumus ascended the spire in a dash. The dark stone held his foot long enough for the next foot to catch its surface. Lumus roared his anguish as he gathered essence and kept running, completely vertical.

Three quarters of the way up the pillar, Lumus back flipped into space. The Night Caste mark burned brightly on his forehead and his glowing eyes fell upon the Prince. Golden light traveled down his arms and into his swords as his body became parallel with the Prince's. He aimed the blades as he hung upside-down in mid-air.

"Blazing Solar Bolt!!" A spear of golden light issued from the end of each of his Short Daiklaves and burned the air on a path toward the Prince of Tears. The two beams spiraled around each other and twisted in air; the dragon of Lumus' anima materialized around the bolts and hissed as it rocketed toward the Prince.

A look of terror crossed the Prince's face as the dragon let out a roar and spun under his sword and up into the hole in his armor. The Prince was thrown, once again, into the air, rising about ten feet before falling back to the ground. He landed on his back and shards of his armor skittered across the floor. Flames poured through the gaps in his plate mail and his screams echoed throughout the chamber. The Prince of Tears writhed on the floor for a few seconds before falling silent and motionless.

A heavy silence fell upon the room and the only sound to break it was the crackling fire of the Prince's burning body. Lumus and Talin didn't dare to breathe as they stared down the burning remains of the Prince of Tears. Lumus had not moved since he landed and he had not blinked since he launched his attack. Talin stood five yards from the burning corpse with his Wheel at the ready. Lumus was crouched three yards to his right with one blade on the floor and the other held out at his side. The utter stillness settled and Talin let out another long breath, then he began to chuckle. Lumus let his arm fall and slumped into a sitting position. He started laughing with Talin.

"Guess he was all ta—," Lumus' sleight was cut off by sharp, loud clapping.

"Well done, Solars. Truly, I am impressed by your performance," a cynical voice accompanied by the familiar grunts of zombies came from behind the two warriors. Lumus and Talin forced their bodies to turn and face the source of the voice.

A tall man with all too familiar silver-white hair, pallid ashen skin was walking toward them with a platoon of armed zombies. At first Lumus thought it was the Prince of Tears and prayed this was an illusion. Then he noticed that this man wore a death mask, his face was hidden behind the imposing visage of a skull. Also the hulking silver armor had been replaced on this man by robes of a silver more brilliant than any Lumus had seen before. Shards of the silvery metal protruded at various points of the robes and gave them a menacing, dangerous appearance. A few chains were draped over his shoulders and tied around his waist, most bearing skulls made of that mysterious silvery metal. The man walked briskly toward them, still talking.

"I honestly didn't think you stood a chance against The Prince of Tears." The man stopped a couple yards away from the two Solars. He motioned his zombies toward the body of the Prince, which they promptly hefted and hauled out of the room as it continued to burn. Lumus watched them lug the Prince out the door and the masked man began talking again.

"You two intrigue me. I do hope you'll forgive my young friend; his sense of hospitality is as yet underdeveloped." The man's eyes could be seen through the slots in the mask and he seemed to smile just before closing them and bowing to the Solars.

"I'd like to know where he actually did learn hospitality. I think it may have been in a dungeon," Talin quipped.

"Well, yes, perhaps it was." The man stroked the chin of his mask. Suddenly he looked up over the Solars, surprise in his eyes. "Forgive my rudeness, I didn't even introduce myself. I am the Silver Prince, lord of Onyx."

"So you're the one we've been seeking," Lumus exclaimed. "We had been hoping for an audience with you to discuss the state of the Realm."

The Silver Prince folded his arms and lowered his gaze in a contemplative pose.

"Yes, we should discuss the Realm. But first—you are both tired from your fight and I wish to make amends for my officer. Please, won't you stay and enjoy my true hospitality. Onyx has much to offer weary travelers such as yourselves." The Silver Prince held an arm across his chest and the other out at his side in an inviting gesture as he made another bow to the warriors.

"While it is a generous offer, oh Silver Prince, the fact that it was one of your subordinates that attacked us cannot be overlooked. I would be willing to accept your kindness only on the condition that you form a pact with us. As an Eclipse Caste, I can sanctify such an oath and it will be binding in so much as that if one of the parties involved should break the rule, the gods themselves would see to their punishment."

"Of course," The Silver Prince threw his arms up and out to either side in a glorious gesture. "'As long as you are in my care and show no aggression toward me, no harm will come to either of you.' Does that sound agreeable?"

Talin scratched his head as he thought over the wording of the oath.

"Either…" Lumus muttered under his breath. "But there are three of—where's Leviathan?!"

"She's not here?" Talin looked around the throne room and back up the hallway. Lumus ran to the door and called up corridor—no reponse.

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure your comrade will turn up, it is a large castle; it's easy to get lost. For now, I shall form the pact with you Talin and it will protect you and Lumus. When Leviathan returns she can share in my hospitality as well." Again, the Silver Prince's eyes seemed to smile politely.

Talin looked uneasily at the frightening skull mask, then, with a sigh, extended his hand to the waiting Prince. The Prince took a step forward and grabbed Talin's hand vigorously, his cape flying up and fluttering down with a flash of silver sparkles in its ripples. Talin's caste mark burned on his forehead, a solid gold circle within a gold ring, the symbol of the Eclipse. The phoenix resting on Talin's shoulder opened its great wings and gave a long cry. The pact was sealed by this action; great misfortune would befall whichever party broke this pact.

The Silver Prince' caste mark faded from the forehead of the death mask as he withdrew his hand to his side. He laughed lightly and said, "Now then, I insist you stay here tonight; it can be dangerous outside after the sun sets."

He led the Solars out of the throne room and down a great hall. From there, they ascended a spiral staircase up into a tower. At the top, the staircase opened into a magnificent bedroom lined with curtains of fine silk. The room was lit by the green unnatural flames of torches that clung to each wall. Two large windows adorned one wall and through them, one could view the entire city. The sun was setting, but unlike elsewhere in Creation where the sky reddens and the stars shine blue, the skies over Onyx became grey. The whole landscape fell into shades of grey and took on a very surreal feeling. Onyx gave ever further into death after the day ended. Lights moving up and down the streets of the city mostly belonged to war ghosts on patrol or other floating, wistful spirits.

"I would like to begin making amends. Please, Onyx has much to offer travelers, as I've said. For tonight, I can offer you women and tomorrow you will enjoy our exotic cuisine!" The Silver Prince spun with a flurry of shimmering silver sparks and left the room.

Lumus had not before felt the passionate touch of a woman. His duties as a Dragon-Blood assassin kept him very busy and so had not had the chance to meet a nice girl in the Realm.

"What could he mean by 'exotic cuisine,'" Talin asked with a slight look of disgust. "I mean, have you seen anything growing on this island yet?"

Lumus was not listening, he was weighing the moral choice he was about to make. He felt he could still remain true to his ultimate goals and be an astute follower of the Unconquered Sun even if he took advantage of this somewhat naughty pleasure. Talin was reaching over to shake Lumus from his reverie when the Silver Prince returned followed by five mildly attractive zombies dressed as geishas. The Silver Prince's eyes smiled through his death mask as he asked, "so, which ones would you like?"

"Uhhh," Lumus stammered. "No offense to your generous offer, Silver Prince, but would you happen to have any…not so undead women?"

"You're not seriously considering this, are you," Talin demanded, scornful incredulity in his eyes.

"If you desire living women, you need only ask. I have women from all parts of Creation to offer you," The Silver Prince seemed unfazed by Lumus' initial decline. A flash of silver light whisked the zombies out of the room. Less than a moment later, the door to the suite opened to permit more women. This time, however, they seemed quite alive and quite mortal.

"Oh," Lumus stuttered as he gazed upon five beautiful young ladies dressed in fine, though somewhat morbid clothing. The women seemed to represent the five major regions of Creation: North, South, East, West and the Realm.

Lumus looked over at Talin expectantly and Talin returned his gaze with one of dispassion and disapproval. "Well, you can count me out of this one, Lumus." Talin shrugged slightly with his eyes closed. He turned and began to walk toward his bed; Lumus watched him go.

"Come on, Talin," Lumus prodded. "It's been a long day and he just wants to make amends." He held a hand aloft toward the Silver Prince though the rest of his body was turned toward Talin.

"I said 'No,'" Talin responded simply. Lumus sighed and returned his attention to the women. A few moments later he had selected two smiling young women and bid the Silver Prince 'good night.' Lumus spent a night of pleasure; Talin spent a night of frustration and half-sleep.

The next morning, Talin and Lumus woke to the golden glow of the sun outside the tower windows. Life and light had returned to Onyx and the dreary gray of night had slipped silently into the shadows, out of sight. The women had left Lumus alone in bed and in their place he found a note: The Silver Prince bade them join him at breakfast in the Main Hall when they awoke.

The two dressed and prepared to leave the suite. Talin was still scowling at Lumus for his 'poor decision.'

"You know, Leviathan would probably kill you if she knew you had taken advantage of slaves like that, right?" Talin was saying as they approached the large oak door side by side.

Lumus sighed. "I know, but I've just never—" His words were cut off as the door before them exploded into a cloud of splintered wood. The smell of oak hung sweet in the air; the two Solars drew their weapons preparing for a fight.

"I've finally found you two! We have to get out of here now!!" Leviathan sprinted across the room to the great window and looked down upon the city.

"Ooh," she said, marveling at their altitude. "Not that way." She returned to the door. Lumus and Talin simply stared at her as she stormed around, still reeling with the shock of her sudden reappearance.

"Leviathan," Lumus finally shouted over her self-mumblings. "Where have you been?!"

Leviathan stopped talking to herself and eyed Lumus angrily. "We can discuss that later, right now we need to get off this island or we're dead!" She emphasized the last word so there was no mistaking her urgency.

"Wait, hold on." Talin desired to be the voice of reason. "What are you talking about? Why would we die?"

Leviathan let out a frustration sigh. "It's the Silver Prince," her eyes narrowed as she said the name. "He intends to kill you and make you into his servants. So we have to get out of here before he has the chance! Why aren't you getting this?!"

Talin held up a hand to stop Leviathan's frantic movements and speech; she was now trying to push him and Lumus out the door. "I've already made a pact with him, he can't touch us without breaking it and winding up dead himself." Talin's explanation was simple and accurate.

"Oh well that's all well and good, but I'm pretty sure your pact doesn't cover having your essence inverted." Leviathan stood before Talin glaring up into his eyes. She was more collected than either he or Lumus had realized. Talin touched his fingers to his forehead and opened his mouth to speak again. Before he could even make a sound, however, a clattering of metal and bones boiled in through the door.

"Oh shit, they're already here…" Leviathan looked embarrassedly over her shoulder and down the hallway to the stairs.

"They? Who's 'they?' What's going on, Leviathan?" Lumus demanded.

"Well, in my vigor to find you two after I was taken away from the fight with that Prince-guy, I might have stirred up a little trouble with the resident zombies…"

"Y-yeah, we'll be leaving now. Lumus, the window. Go!" Lumus ran to the large window and, without hesitating at all, jumped straight through it into the open sky.

"Is he nuts? Did you two go insane while I was gone?!" Leviathan gaped as she watched Lumus' form vanish beneath the sill surrounded by a million shards of glass that glittered in the sunlight.

"Leviathan, you said we have to leave. Now we're waiting on you." Talin's patience was wearing thin.

"Did you see how high up we are?" She demanded, glaring.

"This is why we're Solars, Leviathan." Talin sighed; then he refocused his attention on the window. He dashed forward and leapt out. Leviathan stood for a second, not believing what she just saw.

"We're Solars," she repeated, and grinned before jumping through the jagged portal.

The wind blew through Lumus' hair as he stared at the paved streets far below him. The howl of the air whipping past him separated him from reality and he drifted among the falling shards of glass. He felt like a god gazing down upon his creations. He smiled at this thought. Lumus angled his body and moved his cloak to position himself closer to the building as he continued to freefall. He gently placed his feet against the black stone outer wall of the citadel and began sprinting down its face toward the ground. He quickly approached the bottom of the wall. Just before running full-tilt into the earth, he pressed all his might into his legs and performed a reverse somersault off the wall. This instantly decreased the speed at which he would hit the ground, but Lumus could feel that it would not be enough to save him from such a fall. At the instant his toe touched earth, a bright flashed and a cloud of smoke exploded from the spot. Lumus now stood a few yards away from his initial landing spot, staring up at the window. I'd be dead if it weren't for perfect defense charms, Lumus thought as he watched the bodies of Talin and Leviathan appear as specs at the top of the tower.

Slowly, Talin's body came into focus; his cloak was flapping above his head as he fell, feet-first toward the solid earth at the base of the citadel. When he had fallen about half the height of the wall, Lumus saw him reach behind himself and draw the Typhoon Wheel. Interesting strategy. Talin reoriented his body and jammed the edge of the blade into the wall. The Wheel tore a slit down the side of the citadel and Talin placed his feet against the wall, sliding down the side of the building. He jumped off the wall at the last moment and landed nimbly next to Lumus.

Lumus may have commented on Talin's idea, had Leviathan not gotten to the ground first. Upon exiting the window, she plummeted toward the courtyard where Lumus waited. She made no attempt to slow her fall, even after she passed Talin as he slid down the wall. Just before becoming a crater on the Silver Prince' lawn, she rolled over in air and punched the ground with her left fist so hard that it actually sent her back up a foot or two. The giant sea serpent of her Anima flashed into existence at the impact, only this time, its colors were inverted from how it normally appeared, that is to say it appeared black as opposed to gold. The ground rippled like a mini earthquake with Leviathan's fist as its epicenter. The sinusoidal motion of the soil threw Lumus off balance and caused some stone to break away at the foundation of the citadel.

"We have to get to my ship," Leviathan pointed toward the wharf.

"You have your own ship?" Lumus asked.

"The zombies are forming ranks," Talin indicated multiple battalions of undead and spirits marching toward the docks. "We have to get there first!"

The group tore off, following Leviathan toward her ship.

"That's the one," she said as they approached a medium size ship flying a Jolly Roger against large white sails.

"This looks like a pirate's ship," Lumus began to say.

"Scar, prepare the ship to launch, we're leaving now!" Leviathan started shouting orders to crewmen who flew to their stations. A tall, thin young woman with a ragged scar over her right eye approached Leviathan.

"Ma'am, we should be ready to depart within ten minutes." Her report was crisp and concise like a soldier.

"That's too long; those armies will be upon us before we can cast off." Talin looked agitated.

"Then do something about it! I have to take care of things here if we're ever getting off this island," Leviathan glared at Talin for a second before whirling around and issuing more orders to her crew.

Talin sighed and returned his gaze to the approaching zombies. Lumus came up next to him and scratched his chin.

"Kind of a lot of them, aren't there?" he glanced over to see Talin's reaction.

"Too many to take on, especially so close to the ship. Let's try something else." Talin closed his eyes.

"Something else? What do you mean?" Lumus curiously inquired, but Talin did not respond. "Hey, Talin, what are you up to?"

Finally, Talin opened his eyes which glowed a brilliant gold. A ghostly image of his great phoenix hung around his shoulders, its wings a curtain behind him. White light emanated from his body. He raised his arms before him as though he were about to preach to the encroaching armies of zombies. Talin began mumbling in a language that Lumus could not understand. He thought it might be Sea Tongue, but it was too hoarse to make out. He decided that Talin needed to enunciate more.

Talin finished his long mumble and the glow faded from his body; the image of the phoenix evaporated around him. He dropped his arms back to his sides as he watched the armies continue their approach. Their fervor seemed unchanged by Talin's charm.

"I don't think it worked, Talin. Got any other plans?" Lumus drew his golden Daiklaves and worked his fingers around the grips, nervous about the imminent fight. "These aren't good odds."

The zombie ranks filed onto the pier and charged straight down the rows of ships on a direct path for the one the Solars currently occupied.

"I think now might be a good time to ready that fancy weapon of yours," Lumus warned as the distance of the zombies to the boarding ramp closed to zero.

"Now!" Lumus shouted as the zombies were about to set foot on the inclined plank. He charged forward with his weapons before him.

Talin began to laugh. Lumus stopped and his tracks and gawked as the zombies marched straight past the boarding ramp of Leviathan's ship and headed for another boat. The pilots of that ship began yelling and running as the zombies boarded. Swords drawn, the zombies started slashing lines and hacking at the masts, some set fire to whole decks, all those aboard fled for their lives.

Lumus slowly turned, a bewildered expression on his face; his blades hung loose at his sides.

"What just happened? Weren't they after us?"

Talin gave a grin. "They were; they still are really."

"Then what…I mean," Lumus stammered.

"Harrow the Mind, Lumus. Harrow the Mind. Because of that charm, they believe what I want them to believe. And right now, I want them to believe we're on that ship."

Lumus' eyes danced back and forth as he put this together. "Wow. All I can say, Talin, is 'wow.'"

"How about 'Thank you?' I mean, I just saved our butts." Talin smiled slyly as he asked for more praise.

"It took you long enough to do that, I thought they were gonna burn my ship!" Leviathan was fuming.

"Come now, Leviathan. I had that situation under control; your ship was never in danger." Talin offered, trying to comfort her.

"While we're on the subject, you would do well to remember that this is my ship, these are my crewmembers and you are guests. Therefore, you are subject to my laws. While aboard this ship, you will not question my orders, you will do as you are told and you will stay out of the way of my crew. Insubordination will earn you an all-expenses paid vacation to the bottom of the ocean. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, of course. We fully—" Talin started to say.

"Do both of you understand what I'm saying," she repeated, glaring at Lumus.

"Yes," he replied. "Neither Talin nor I will do anything to impede your authority on this ship. We are also very grateful to you for allowing us come aboard."

"That's right," Leviathan smiled as she turned back to Talin. "I did allow you two aboard and am taking you away from harm with me. So I think you owe me thanks more than I owe you thanks."

Talin returned with a wry smile. "I suppose you're right, Leviathan. Thank you for saving us from the clutches of the Silver Prince. Might I inquire as to when we'll actually be leaving his island?"

Talin held out a hand indicating the boarding ramp still connecting the ship to the wharf. At this, Leviathan reddened with anger and embarrassment.

"CAST OFF LINES, WEIGH ANCHOR, PUT US OUT A BIT AND THEN OPEN THE SAILS! MOVE IT, YOU DOGS. WE'VE TARRIED HERE LONG ENOUGH!"

For days, Leviathan and her crew roamed the channels among the islands of the Skullstone Archipelago. Avoiding patrols by Onyx ships, the Solars sought safe harbor to plan their next move. Talin and Lumus pressed Leviathan for details of her activities during their fight with the Prince of Tears as they shared what they learned of the Silver Prince.

It appeared Leviathan had come into contact with a woman whose name and face she could not recall. She remembered what the woman said, however.

"She warned me that the Silver Prince was trying to capture Solars to make them into his servants, she said we were all in dangers as long as we remained on Onyx."

"But, how does he make them his servants?" Talin asked. "We are exalted in order to serve the Unconquered Sun; a Solar wouldn't just give up and start doing the Silver Prince' bidding."

"I don't know," Leviathan said, flustered by the question. "The lady said something about 'essence inversion,' but didn't give details. She was just warning me, not making me an expert on the subject. Why don't you go find her and ask her yourself?!"

"Calm down, I'm just trying to understand everything you saw and heard." Talin's voice was calm and reassuring.

"You said she gave you another piece of advice—allies, something?" Lumus pressed her to move on with her story.

"Yeah, she said to seek allies. She said we would need as many friends as we can get. One name she did mention. She said to find a man named Fallen Wolf. And take him to a place called Island 5.

"Fallen Wolf, Island 5," Lumus repeated slowly, thinking. "What could it mean? Who is this man? Did she even tell you where to start looking?"

Leviathan sighed and walked to the wall of literature behind the desk in her quarters. She pulled down a chart and unrolled it over the top of the desk. It was a map of the West; it clearly displayed the western coast of the Blessed Isle all the way to the edge of the Wyld.

"According to the woman, Fallen Wolf should be on an island in this region." Leviathan took a quill and circled three islands within the Skullstone archipelago.

"And where are we?" Talin inquired, leaning over the map with a hand to his chin.

"Well," Leviathan replied. "If my sightings are accurate, we should be right here." She marked an X on the map next another island in the archipelago. Lumus placed his fingers against the legend of the map, then took the reading from the X Leviathan had made.

"Hmm," he groaned. "Those islands seem to be about four hundred miles from our current position. That's a couple days voyage even without needing to hide from warships. On top of that, we only know that he's supposed to be on one of these islands. So we'll have to search them until we find him. Not to mention our information came from an unknown source, he may not be on any of those islands…"

Lumus put a hand to his forehand as he contemplated all of this. He sighed continuously as he spoke; he stared at the map but wasn't really seeing it anymore, lost in his thoughts.

"You know, this will all seem a lot easier if you stop spouting pessimism over there, Lumus!" Leviathan's shouting dragged Lumus out of his spiraling reverie.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" he scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "I think between the legions of zombies we've seen and the rumors of inverting essence, we have legitimate reason to investigate this Silver Prince further. He may be a threat to all of Creation."

"Let's just start by finding Fallen Wolf, shall we?" Talin seemed agitated by Lumus' sudden outburst. "Remember that it was Leviathan—" He shot a look at the captain, who quickly averted her eyes. "—who incited the zombies to attack us. He was likely just maintaining the peace of his domain."

Lumus blushed a little. "I guess I was getting a bit ahead of myself, wasn't I?"

Leviathan called in her first mate, Scar, and ordered that a course be set for the region circled on her chart. The Solars spent the next few days sneaking between islands, eventually the first of the designated set came into view.

"Ahoy!" Leviathan's young ward, known only to Lumus as The Cabin Boy, shouted down from the crow's nest. "I see a dwelling near the shore! Maybe we're in luck?"

Leviathan took out her telescope. "I see it, too. Scar, make a heading to land close to that beach."

The ship approached the relatively small island and cast anchor a little ways offshore. The Solars climbed aboard a small dinghy and lowered over the side of the vessel. As they rowed to shore, a figure stepped out of the small cabin. It walked to the beach and raised a hand.

"Hoy," a man's voice cried out. "Stay where you are. What do you want on my island?"

The Solars stared at him, not sure what to think. The man wore heavy armor that covered his entire body. The Exalts could not be sure what metal it was comprised of from this distance but they could see that it had a primal look about it. Some seams in the metal looked stitched, though that was not possible, while in other places he wore pelts and had painted tattoos and stripes. The helm of the armor had forged protrusions on top so that it appeared he had the attentive ears of a dog. Like his namesake, his appearance gave him a very wolf-like air. He took a few more steps forward, his large boots and the claw-like extensions at the toes thumped audibly in the sand.

"You shouldn't be here," he said in a commanding tone. "If you do not leave now, I will make you leave."

Talin knelt at the bow of the dinghy and held his arms out at his sides.

"I apologize for the intrusion," he said. "But we seek a warrior who goes by the name Fallen Wolf. Might you know where we can find him?"

"And what would the likes of you want with the likes of him?" The man's tone was hard for Lumus to read; he sounded indignant but also surprised, annoyed but also scared.

"We just need to speak with him," Talin assured. "I promise we mean well." The Eclipse caste mark began to glow on Talin's forehead.

The man took a step back. "Y-you're a Solar?!"

"Yes," Talin replied. "And I wish to speak with Fallen Wolf."

The man looked suspiciously around himself and back and forth among the Solars in the boat. "I can't let you talk to Fallen Wolf until I make sure it's safe for him. Throw your weapons to shore from there, then you may get off the boat."

"This guy's starting to piss me off," Leviathan protested to her group. "Is he trying to say he's not Fallen Wolf? What's up with that armor, then?"

"I don't know," Talin whispered to her. "Let's just play along until we can figure out what's really going on here."

Leviathan growled as she tugged at her Smash Fists, the Orichalcum glistened in the half-light of the Skullstone Archipelago's early evening. The Solars tossed their golden weapons onto the shore and the strangely armored man motioned that they disembark from their vessel. The dinghy pulled onto shore and the Solars climbed out. They turned to face the man.

"Now please, remove your armor and clothing as I will need to search for concealed weapons." The man said with a stern and entirely serious look.

"WHAT?!" Leviathan screamed. Her anima burst forth, a great sea serpent loomed around her body. "I've had enough of this guy; who does he think he is?!"

Her anima was glowing gold and red, but the colors had changed places. Parts that were normally gold were now red, and parts that were red now were gold. It was an altogether ominous presence that Lumus sensed as Leviathan raged at the man.

"YOU'RE DEAD!!" Leviathan launched forward at the man, scooping up her gauntlets from the ground. She slipped them on her fists mid-sprint and brought them to bear. She reeled back and swung forward with all her might. The great Leviathan anima bit in and tore a huge chunk out of the palm tree and the whole thing caught fire.

"Palm tree…?" Lumus was utterly stunned. He thought she was going to kill Fallen Wolf. Instead she took out her anger on a nearby tree.

"Hehehe," Talin's chuckle echoed from over Lumus' shoulder. "Well, that was a close one. You gotta love Harrow the Mind."

Lumus looked into Talin's grin with mixed horror and amazement. "You mean you did that?? When?!"

"Just now, right when he asked us to strip and Leviathan screamed. I knew that wouldn't end well. After seeing what she did to some of the zombies on Onyx, I wasn't going to risk it here."

"So wait, what did you do to her?" Lumus was still confused by the whole situation.

"Well, it seems our friend is a little out of control, and I couldn't let her kill a potentially important person. However she is dead set on beating him into nothingness, so I convinced her that the palm tree is the man who insulted her."

"With Harrow the Mind," Lumus finished Talin's sentence. "Ok, umm, good thinking! How long will she be like that?"

"At least until her rage wears off. Let's not make her angry again, ok?"

"Agreed." Lumus shook his head enthusiastically. He looked on in horror as Leviathan pummeled the tree until the splinters were splintered.

"I need you to remove your clothing." The wolf-armor clad man pressed.

"Alright, we're on it." Lumus and Talin were annoyed.

"Her too," The man snapped

"Do you really want to do that? I mean, that tree was supposed to be you. You don't honestly want to push her do you?" Talin reasoned with the man.

The man looked over at Leviathan as her anima continued to burn the tree away. He brought a hand to his chin.

"I suppose you're right." A flaming chunk of wood flew within inches of his helm as he said this. "Very well. You two strip down, and I'll take you on your word that you won't let her kill me or Fallen Wolf."

Begrudgingly, the two Solars removed their armor. Lumus' Orichalcum breastplate slid off easily, but Talin's lamellar took a bit more time. The curved plates of golden metal that comprised the gown of the armor jingled as it was lifted off and cast to the ground. Beneath the armor, the warriors wore their normal clothing, regular nice jackets with leather where padding would be needed. Their comfortable trousers were perfect for fighting and sleeping alike. All articles of clothing were quickly removed and tossed at the feet of the oddly clad denizen of the island.

The man looked them up and down and asked them to turn several times. Finally, after about ten minutes of investigation, he waved a hand at the clothes on the ground.

"You can put your clothes back on," He said gruffly as he walked past the Solars to their discarded weapons. "Beautiful," he muttered as he fingered the blades. "Eight hundred years and not a hint of rust, wear or damage. Though, I should expect nothing less of magical metal."

After some moments the man turned back toward the Solars and handed the weapons back to their respective owners.

"My apologies, Lawgivers, but I cannot be too careful these days."

"It is fine. I too understand the dangers of this world; even for Exalts such as ourselves, it is not always safe to trust others." Talin was calm, though still a little unsettled by the treatment. "Now then, we are here to speak to Fallen Wolf. May we see him?"

The man eyed Talin carefully. He glanced slowly between Talin and Lumus and finally opened his mouth.

"How is it that you came to know the name 'Fallen Wolf?' And beyond that, how did you know he would be here?"

Lumus took a step forward and spoke unsteadily, choosing his words.

"Our friend over there claims to have met a woman on Onyx who recommended his services to us." Lumus looked into the eyes of the man for a while after saying this, waiting for a response.

"A woman on Onyx told you that Fallen Wolf would help you? Do I understand you right?" he asked finally.

"Yes," Lumus said simply, nodding slightly.

"I'm sure it was obvious to you Solars," the man said. "But I am Fallen Wolf. Please do not think my deception a transgression against the Lawgivers." The mark of the Zenith caste of Solar Exalts, a solid gold circle, blazed through his helmet, only it did not seem to glow the way Lumus or Talin's did. It seemed dark, even black, and rivulets of light trickled down from it like it was bleeding. "Tell me of this 'woman on Onyx.'"

By this time a large crater had formed under Leviathan as she continued to pound away at the stump of the tree, very little was still discernable even as charred tree bits. Smoke from the smoldering ashes still rose from the ground and veiled the others' view of her.

Lumus looked over at the destruction she caused and worried what he should say to Fallen Wolf. Only Leviathan had met the woman in question, only she could give Fallen Wolf any useful information.

"We don't know what she looked like," Lumus began. "As neither Talin nor I met her. We only know that she bore a warning of the Silver Prince' true intentions, and that we must gather allies to fight him. I would like to know how she knew you."

Fallen Wolf considered this for a moment. His eyes widened as he seemed to realize something important. "You have not introduced yourself, warrior. You say 'we' so I assume you're with this Solar's circle."

Lumus stifled his surprise; he had hoped Fallen Wolf had experienced some revelation for the information that was given him.

"I am Lumus Avatar of the Night." The golden ring of the Night caste mark began to shimmer on his brow. "Are you also a Solar? Your mark resembles that of the Zenith, but it does not burn with the light of the Unconquered Sun." Lumus eyed the mark suspiciously; such darkness would not possibly be possessed by a warrior of the sun.