#Chapter 2

Iterum bustled in a heated frenzy. Warriors, paladins, and healing clerics ran every which way training the remaining population and prepared for the approaching battle. Weapons and supplies traded hands as rapidly as information. Small squads of civilians hurried about in formation gathering strength to defend their homeland.

Never in Iterum's long history had so many people been in the town. Founded a millennia ago as the lands emerged from the Unknown Times, Iterum had originally been set up as a trading town on the Iterum River. It had been expected that Iterum would become the major city on the continent. Terthius, however, became number one after Corsix set up his castle slightly east of town. Iterum faded away into a small backwater-farming town.

Kai strode down the main, albeit small, street. A small inn on the end of the street served as the Divine Order's headquarters. He walked in and was greeted by a stiff silence and unnerving glares. Several very prominent Clerics and Paladins stood hunched over maps going over battle plans and generally making important decisions.

"Greetings," a paladin in mystic scale male said as Kai took another step into the inn. "Who is it that enters this establishment?"

"I am Kai the Black of the Terthius Mage Guild," Kai said coolly. "I have come hear to gather information for the High Mages. We believe the force that destroyed Semel is a powerful necromancer by the name of Kaine."

The inn grew eerily quiet as the words left Kai's mouth. Several of the clerics and paladins stopped what they had been doing and stared palely at Kai. Not a sound was heard for a long moment as Kai surveyed the fear-filled faces.

"I believe I am somehow linked to this Kaine as I saw him in meditation earlier. I request that a member of the Divine Order come with me as I begin my journey to whatever is left of Semel."

Another wave of aghast looks washed over Kai and the silence continued.

"You can't possibly be serious," a cleric said as he slowly stood from a table. "If Kaine has returned, venturing to Semel would be beyond suicidal. If you are captured your soul and body will be ripped apart and forever you will be in his control."

"I am aware of the risks; I know the stories and legends of the Necromancers. However, if we do not learn more about Kaine, his shadow will envelop the lands and all of us will be ripped from our souls."

"Madness," a paladin in the farthest corner muttered.

Kai turned to face the paladin and spoke in a dark voice, "is it not madness fighting here when we know Kaine will easily sweep you all aside in his push to Terthius?"

The paladin cowered back a little as Kai's words bit into him.

"Clerics and Paladins of the Divine Order, never in these lands' histories has such an evil confronted them. Kaine will crush all of us just as easily as he crushed Semel and he will end all Death. I have heard rumors that the main dungeons have dried up of evil. The purest evil has descended and unless we know more, we too shall descend into the darkness."

A Scallion clad in mystic plate stood from a stool at the bar and spoke in a determined voice; "I volunteer to journey with you Kai the Black. I am Amsa of the Northern Clericss. My hometown was Ssemel and I thirsst for revenge at the death of my kinssmen."

"As do I," a Paladin walked sturdily from the window to Amsa's side. "I am Kirth of the Divine Order's Eastern Legion. I too have kin in Semel I would like to see again."

"Then we are set. Gather your stuff and meet me by the bridge immediately." Kai strode from the inn leaving the remainder of the clerics and paladins to scramble about making preps for the expedition.

*****

A wall of energy shimmered and glistened in the dieing sun. It tore the river in half and seemed to send all living things in the river fleeing for cover. Kai's eyes were shut tight, yet the energy wall shimmered just as brightly in his mind's eye. Birds flew away, insects the same, and small wood creatures scurried in fear.

Kai exhaled a deep breath and opened his eyes. The reddish wall of energy rippled slightly in the wind and seemed to call for Kai to enter it. Soon, he thought to the wall, soon.

"Warlock Kai," a Scallion accented voice exclaimed, "We are ready to go."

Kai turned on his booted heel and faced his companions on his dangerous mission. Amsa, the cleric Scallion, stood proud clad in his silver and gold lined Mystic Plate. His head was topped in a blue and gold frilled Mystic helm and in his gloved hand he clutched a Staff of the Almus. The yellow and purple staff radiated energy and fed Amsa with the energy needed to fight and heal.

Beside the valiant Scallion stood Kirth. The muscular Dreg was clad similarly as Amsa except for his weapon. His Vita Halberd reflected the sun's final rays as he shifted it uneasily. The halberd was one of the finest ever crafted; they were prized by their owners and were deadly efficient in combat.

"If either of you do not wish to go, now is your last chance," Kai began in a deathly serious voice. "I can not assure you that we will return from this mission and I likewise can not tell you what we will face."

Neither of the holy warriors backed down. Determination flowed off of them in waves. Amsa's tongue flicked out to sense the air around him. His eyes picked up where his tongue left off' they scanned every object in sight.

Kirth also scanned ahead. However, Kirth appeared distraught at something. Sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his face to coat his armor. He coughed quietly signaling his impatience.

Kai sighed heavily and motioned for his new companions to join him. They approached the bridge that spanned the Iterum River and stopped. Several magical bombs had pulverized the Iterum side of the bridge into nothing.

They hesitated for a second before Kai took the lead. He muttered a well-known chant and felt his body dissolve. His legs, arms, and torso disappeared into clouds of gold gas. When the transformation was complete, Kai was nothing more then a cloud hovering half a meter off the ground.

Amsa and Kirth looked at each other for a second then repeated the same spell. Together, the three clouds of essence rocketed across the river and up the road toward Semel.

Even though it was getting dark in Iterum, the road was well lit by a red-orange light. The light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. The sky was covered in grayish clouds that blocked out exactly what the sky looked like.

Kai, even in his nimbus form, noticed that the grass about the road was brown and appeared dead. Few birds flew and those that did were thin and loosing feathers. Living corpses dotted the landscape every few kilometers. Their clothes were torn and ragged, hair was falling out, and skin was covered in lesions and ulcers.

Whatever had caused all this was beyond Kai's mind. He couldn't conceive of a force strong enough to destroy thousands upon thousands of square kilometers of life. Perhaps the legends about Kaine's true strength were real. If this was the tip of the iceberg no one would be able to challenge Kaine--not even Corsix.

Minutes slowly passed and the road grew straighter and wider. A few more hills and Semel would be insight. Before the final hill even appeared, Kai reverted from his nimbus form and stopped. His mouth and eyes grew wide as he saw what loomed before him.

Spires of solid blackness reached powerfully toward the sky. Red lightning bolts arced from spire to spire and an odd light seemed to emit from whatever this thing was. Kai continued to stare dumbfounded for a long minute. Amsa and Kirth reverted quickly and fell in to either of Kai's sides.

"What is that thing!?!" Kirth exclaimed in primeval fear.

"That," Kai nodded to the spires, "that is Kaine's palace."

"It'ss enormouss," Amsa hissed wearily.

"We must approach it cautiously," Kai stated, "come." He quickly chanted the mutatio nimbus spell and took off perpendicular to the road. Amsa and Kirth hesitated rethinking if this was such a good idea. Seeing no other options, the two began after Kai.

As he gassed along, Kai began to get some idea of the structure's scope. Its base was easily twice the size of Terthius and its tallest spire cut a wide hole in the clouds above. Nothing ever built by man or nature even came close in size of prowess as this.

Kai darted off toward the tower again after several long minutes. In no time he had reached the base of the tower and dropped out of nimbus. Amsa and Kirth quickly followed.

The tower, which originally appeared to be solid black, was actually crystalline and shimmered black. Kai approached the odd material and reached out with a cautious hand. The material was smooth and even cold.

"What is it?" Kirth asked quietly.

"I-," Kai swallowed back the fear, "I think it's Blight Stone."

A look of fear appeared on both Kirth's and Amsa's faces. Blight stone was the material that made the hellish Pix Daemons. Pixes were feared creatures to all but the strongest warriors and mages. Their smooth, black forms withstood incredible punishment and they were equally able to dole out damage.

Kai ran his hand along the cold surface once again but stopped after mere moments. Two ovoid shapes appeared in the stone. They were about 3 centimeters apart and about as large. Kai watched the shapes with deep interest until they opened. Glowing red eyes glared into Kai's essence and sent him transporting backwards several meters.

"They're Pixes!!" Kai yelled as the rest of the Pix took shape in the tower. Another set of eyes soon opened followed by another and another. Ten pairs of glowing eyes stared at the trio with more opening every second.

The first Pix pulled away from the tower and began charging toward Kirth. The thing hovered centimeters off the ground and raised one crystalline hand to strike down with. Kirth responded by chanting several spells at once. First came multi animagicus, which caused several waves of red energy to appear from around Kirth and funnel into his body. Second was divinous teuri, or the divine armor. Globes of golden light began circling Kirth protecting him from any harm.

When the spells were done, Kirth bellowed at the top of his lungs and dashed toward the Pix. His halberd came up and cut through the monster's midsection in a single swoop. The two halves quickly fell to the ground and liquefied, then proceeded to return to the tower.

By now Pixes swarmed all over the place. Kai chanted all the defensive spells he could before attacking. Swathed in the golden divinous teuri and the even more powerful light purple egg of infinitus teuri, Kai launched his assault. He gripped his Staff of Spirits tight and pointed the top end at the nearest Pix. A conical bolt shot out of the staff and sailed toward the Pix. On impact it exploded disintegrating the helpless demon and shattering several other nearby ones.

The small skirmish raged for minutes on end as more Pixes spawned and more blasts of energy tore them down. Kirth was the first to fall. The Pixes surrounded and overwhelmed the valiant Paladin. They struck him repeatedly and then left his crumpled, but still alive body, in the grass.

Soon after the Cleric Amsa succumbed to the merciless assault. His Staff of the Almus glowed for several seconds trying to revitalize the battered Scallion. The effort was in vain though, and the Pixes too left Amsa unconscious.

Kai saw his own defeat would soon follow and quickly transed away from the knot of Pixes that threatened to surround him. For a split second he wished he could go back and save both Amsa and Kirth, but knew it would mean his own death. With heavy heart, Kai spewed forth his most well known and used spell--reditus cubile.

The spell should have instantly transported the distraught Warlock to the safety of the Guild Hall. There appeared to be a bright flash around Kai, then nothing. He stood there gaping in horror as the spell failed and Pixes overran him.

*****

Kai felt a throbbing pain deep in his head. His muscles ached and his lungs burned. There seemed to be something far worse then death--life. He slid one eye opened and made an effort at the other but found it swollen shut. His one good eye did show him that perhaps he should have prayed for death.

He lay on a Blight Stone slab about ten meters by ten meters. Around it was what appeared to be a river of blood and on the other side of the river stood lines of skeletons and daemons. Farthest away from Kai was a throne of human bones and behind that the entrance to the tower.

Kai sat up slowly to find Amsa and Kirth lying beside him. Both were bleeding profusely and seemed worse off then he. To one side were their weapons and gear, wrecked beyond use. To the other stood a very emaciated mad in hellishly grotesque armor and a staff of bones topped with a skull.

Kai's eye widened as the realization set in. "Kaine," he muttered.

"Ah, very good my young Warlock," Kaine rasped in a monotone voice. "I see we have met before."

Kaine stepped closer to the trio and smirked; "I would have expected more from the Divine Order then those two. You however are very promising Kai the Black. Its not everyday I meet a mage with so much hidden power. Too bad it will do you little good here."

Amsa and Kirth slowly awakened and set up. They glanced around and seemed beyond horrified. Kirth tried to stand but collapsed under his broken left leg.

"Tsk, tsk," Kaine wagged a finger at the Paladin. "Poor Paladin has a broken leg. Come here and let me heal it." Kaine waved Kirth forward and quickly found the Paladin's throat in his hand.

Kirth's face grew pale and his eyes wide. He had been mentally pulled over with almost no effort. Kaine's slender fingers adjusted around Kirth's neck then began glowing.

"You shall make an excellent addition to my army," he said vilely. Kirth wailed in pain then went limp. A bluish stream of life essence flowed forth from Kirth and into Kaine.

The Necromancer released Kirth's drained corpse and studied the blue cloud he held in his hand. "A mighty warrior. He fought hard and suffered...but no more!" Kaine hurled the essence into the river of what Kai now understood to be souls.

"Rise paladin and take your place in my crusade!"

Kai stared in horror, as Kirth's limp body seemed to be refilled with life. The man stood up, his leg obviously healed, and took up a position slightly behind and to the left of Kaine.

"What did you just do!?!" Kai stammered in fear.

"Why, I relieved him of his suffering. Your Paladin friend is quiet all right. No more pain or suffering, just a constant euphoria." A dark smile crossed Kaine's face.

"You killed him," Amsa hissed in anger.

"Quite the contrary. I have given him new life. I removed his pain feeling essence and replaced it; all he has to do is serve my crusade."

"You're a monster."

Kaine raised an eyebrow at the defiant Scallion. "When this great crusade against death is done, all the immortals I have created will go free. Then I shall destroy the Nexus and reign over this land. Now don't you wish to join me in stopping death?"

Amsa spit at Kaine's feet, "Death is a part of life. It is nature and there is no stopping it."

"No?" Kaine waved Amsa forward just as he did Kirth. He stared into the Scallion's eyes and began again; "well I've found a way. I will end death."

Amsa shrieked a spell and threw up his arms. Red lances of energy arced out of his body and struck everything evil nearby. The skeletons and daemons across the river fell dead as the beams tore through them. Kirth winced a bit as a beam struck him but he had soon managed to recuperate. The brunt of the attack hit Kaine who stood there with Amsa's throat in his hand.

"A defiant little one, aren't we? You too shall be a great addition to my army"

Kai looked away as Amsa shrieked for the final time. Was his essence was added to the river of souls, Kai turned back to face his destiny. Kaine was about a meter before him smiling from ear to ear.

"Kai the Black I condemn you..." another smile crossed the Necromancer's face, "to live. After all, I need someone to report back to the other towns telling them how futile it is to resist."

A discolored portal opened beside Kai. The normally red center was black as night and the outside was blood red.

"Tell the resistance to surrender and come to me. I shall give them immortality and spare them the horrors this war will cause." Kaine raised a hand palm up causing Kai to lift gently off the stone slab. "I hope that the next time we meet Kai, you will have unlocked your real power. I itch for a good fight."

Kaine flicked his wrist and sent Kai hurtling into the portal. Thousands of red-hot needles pierced his skin as he entered it and the darkness beyond.