Eh…this chapter is kind of weird, and may be confusing, and will probably be short, but it'll all be explained in future chapters.

Disclaimer: Those you don't recognize are probably mine. Those you do probably aren't, but for the sake of my ego pretend they are. Please?

~*~

Ten cloaked figures moved in a silent circle around a pedestal that supported a huge glowing gem. The first one stepped forward, hands outstretched. Upon reaching it the figure knelt, palms flat against each other as though in prayer.

"God of destruction, god of chaos, rise forth and remind us of our purpose," a man's cold monotone voice whispered from inside the hood. "Come to me, your caller, Sha'sa'in, master of the Dark Arts. I call you forth!"

The gem flashed brightly before fading to black. A smoky gray figure began to rise from it, hazy and unable to be seen properly. It climbed out, gently landing on the ground, and then began to solidify. The hair went from dark silver to ash blond. Eyes of hard granite became icy blue. Clothes of expensive silk attired the tall, muscular yet slender figure.

"What is it you want, Sha'sa'in?" Lesenac, bastard-son of Uusoae, goddess of chaos, and Mynoss, the Black God of death (AN: is that the Black God's name? Who can remember?), asked.

"I want to know how we can gain the immortality you spoke of before," Sha'sa'in asked. "We want nothing more than to be immortal so we can be your loyal followers. But, Dark Master, how can we accomplish this?"

Lesenac smiled coldly. "A sacrifice is all I must say."

"Any sacrifice?" Sha'sa'in begged. "No specific gender?"

"Not that I know of," the god continued smoothly. "But it must be human, and pure of heart, with a sense of dignity, and respect for what's right."

There was a whispering among the shadow figures.

"There are hundreds like that," Sha'sa'in said confidently. "No problem."

Lesenac raised his eyebrows. "And it must be a Tortallan knight."

"Why Tortall?" the dark priest asked curiously. "And…why knights?"

"As answer to the second question, knights have a code of chivalry that will most certainly guarantee that they will be perfect sacrifice. They know what honor is, and self-righteousness.

"And Tortall is a kingdom of mystery. Old magic still walks the ground in that country, same as new magic."

"So we will have to go all the way across the ocean to Tortall to get a sacrifice," Sha'sa'in cried, dismayed.

Lesenac smiled secretively. "No. There are two Tortallans heading for your pitifully governed country now. One of them is perfect sacrifice material."

The gem glowed brightly, and he began to blur.

"Do not fail me," he commanded, before he was pulled completely into the gem.

"Yes, Master," Sha'sa'in whispered.

~*~

Er…yeah. That WAS weird. Oh well. At least it's an update ^.^. Heh…R/R, please.