It is the Time of Light, 2nd Lunar Cycle, 14th Day, 1,279th Year of Awakening

(Lylatian Standard Calendar Equivalent: 8/14/2422)

The Aligned City of Starmerge, Provincial State of Ceris, Cerinia

Chapter I-

Thick cloud had pressed down on the city of Starmerge all through the day, and it lingered as dusk now became night. From the north came the ominous sound of rain and thunder as the storm finally broke.

The horizon and sky merged in a gray haze as the lights of the buildings glowed brightly in defiance of the looming darkness. Columns of rainwater met the pavement below and the sewer covers and drains belched forth clouds of steam.

The normally bustling city center of Starmerge began to quiet down. The populace, mostly blue-furred vulpines – the denizens of this world of Cerinia - and the occasional Lylatian tourist or dignitary that stood out from the sea of blue fur, made for the safety of the buildings. Soon, most of the citizens had retired and the city's streets were occupied only by the occasional law enforcement or souls brave enough to venture outside the warm buildings. Energy Levitated Public Transport System trams whisked above the streets, creating the only noise that dared challenge the thunder.

Far north of the center circle of Starmerge's mainstream areas, a solitary figure dutifully marched. The rain seemed to be of little concern to him. If one studied the cerulean vulpine, they would see the rain was simply bouncing off of him. A thin energy shield, invisible to the naked eye, kept the traveler dry. Every now and then a bolt of lightning would flash, revealing the perimeter of the shield for a fraction of a second, producing an eerie glow about the vulpine.

Clad in light metallic armor and dull red robes, the traveler came within sight of Starmerge's second great circular wall. Through the sheet of falling water, he could make out the large Krazoa head sculpture carved into the wall. The intricate bust's height reached from the ground to the wall's top with an entrance through the mouth at the bottom. Though the wall's color of flax with the cerulean lining along the top could still be distinguished in the gloom, it was the Krazoa bust's eyes that truly caught the lone traveler's attention.

It was subtle, yet distinct. The eyes, normally brilliantly lit, seemed as dark as black holes. To any Cerinian within these walls, this was a bad sign, as it meant the city's assigned Krazoa Spirit was not in one of the city's Krazoa Shrines.

While the six main 'Guardian Spirits' resided within the Krazoa Palace in the capital city of Ascension, each of the four Aligned Cities, along with their respective SpellStones, at least one Krazoa Shrine where another Krazoa spirit resided; known as a Keeper Spirit to watch over the city's SpellStone and to assist the Gatekeeper. In this sense, the shrines, which normally acted as safe areas for a Krazoa spirit, worked almost as miniature Krazoa Palaces. Starmerge's shrines had been without its Guardian spirit for five days now.

Kailan Trebus, a High Avatar with the Cerinian Krazoa Order had been sent to retrieve it. Normally such a duty would fall under the Gatekeeper's responsibility. But Randorn, Starmerge's Gatekeeper and a close friend of Kailan, was in Ascension at the summer Gatekeeper Forum where the four Gatekeepers met to confer with the High Council leaders- known unofficially as "The Seven".

So Kailan had gotten the job of retrieving the spirit. No one was entirely sure how the spirit had gotten out of the shrine in the first place. As beings of pure energy, Krazoa spirits had a hard time getting around on their own. When the Krazoa had made their ascension several hundreds of thousands of years ago, they had intended to exist in the "Ascended Reality"; an existence beyond normal comprehension, of pure nirvana some said, that was perfectly suited to their ghost-like forms.

But, when some had been left behind to guard the remains of their interstellar empire on worlds like Cerinia, the Krazoa had found their new forms to be unsuitable for the empirical world of existence. Where once they had walked freely as beings of flesh, the Krazoa spirits could now only move about within the body of another

that any sentient life forms on their former colony worlds would learn to use their magnificent technology, the Krazoa had assigned spirits to watch and guide them. Since Cerinians had reached sentiency, the planet's Krazoa had endowed select individuals the ability to control the energy within the planet, the same energy that the SpellStones controlled, and the same energy with which the Krazoa had made their ascension. These individuals were called Avatars or "Gifted Ones" by some.

Kailan was just such an individual. Like all Avatars his ability had been determined at birth and also like all other Gifted Ones he had devoted his life to Cerinia's Krazoa. He had trained since childhood, slowly rising through the ranks as he grew up, before completing the Trials of the Avatar and becoming a member of the Krazoa Order.

Everything about him reflected Kailan's abilities and his duty. His brass colored armor, actually made of terrazine, and its intricate blue markings along with his dull red robes stood out. His gauntlets, a trademark of a male Avatar, were decorated with jade stones. All of these articles of clothing marked him as a High Avatar, a respectable rank in the Order. Additionally, a red crest on his armor indicated his role as a Guardian; a warrior of the Cerinian Krazoa Order.

He carried a staff, a standard Avatar weapon which he carried on his back retracted to its traveling length. Although perhaps appearing a bit archaic in the modern world, the staff was an elegant weapon with tremendous power. As long as its energy gems were replaced it could unleash blasts of plasma and ice from the rhombus shaped end at the front. On his arms, thighs, and lower back were special ornamental white markings. These had been permanently dyed into his fur at birth to denote him as a Gifted One.

While his attire, weapon, and markings were the typical signs of an Avatar, one other feature, not commonly seen, told all of Cerinia he was an Avatar. These were his eyes, which seemed to burn odd purple flames from within. This showed he had taken a Krazoa spirit into his body. It was the wayward Keeper of Starmerge.

Kailan had never liked harboring a Krazoa spirit within his body. In fact, he had not taken one into his body since the final trial in his younger years, where a Candidate had to take a spirit and then release it within a given shrine somewhere on Cerinia.

Having a Krazoa in one's body had some advantages. The extra consciousness gave the 'Host' Avatar- so to speak- incredible reflexes. Cuts, bruises, and other injuries were not even felt. An Avatar could very well be shot and not feel the plasma bolt burning through his fur and flesh if a Krazoa spirit was within their body. To make it better, these wounds actually healed; truly an advantage in combat. All of these advantages, supplied by the pure energy a Krazoa spirit was composed of, were supposed to give the Avatar carrying the spirit a better chance of survival so the spirit could be taken to where it needed to be.

Kailan could not ignore how sharp and clear his surroundings suddenly appeared even in the torrential rain and general lack of light. Nor could he dismiss how quick he was. But with advantages, there are usually annoyances. Firstly, the lightning quick reflexes were only achieved because the Avatar had a sense everything around him was moving slowly. Even though not in combat, Kailan felt like he was moving only inches with each step. Only his lifetime worth of training kept him from being overcome by this shift in his senses. Plus, carrying a Krazoa spirit around required a lot of energy. Sure anyone, even someone who wasn't an Avatar, could undergo the torturous ritual of taking the spirit in and releasing it, but the energy needed to contain the spirit could be extremely demanding on the soul carrying it.

One last annoyance, the spirit was not only within his consciousness, it was a part of his mind now; two souls in one body. It could see his thoughts and speak to him and Krazoa spirits were usually very talkative.

The one within Kailan's body was called Urel. He had been young when the Krazoa had made their ascension and it was anyone's best guess as to why the Krazoa had selected him to be a Keeper Spirit. Perhaps they had simply tired of him in the Ascended Reality…

"I heard that," said the spirit, his voice an echo in Kailan's mind- the spirit had been following Kailan's every thought. The Cerinian growled in annoyance. Urel was entirely capable of communicating with Kailan. Through simply 'speaking' within the speech center of the Avatar's brain, the two could share a conversation. Kailan was not entirely fond of this and since he had retrieved Urel yesterday, the spirit had not granted him much peace.

"I see we're getting close to Starmerge," Urel continued much to Kailan's disdain, "what took you so long?"

"Because the North Point Krazoa Shrine is a two day journey from the city and the Council made no provision for transport," replied Kailan, who preferred to use his voice to communicate.

"Perhaps if you had walked a bit faster…" suggested Urel. The spirit chuckled at the Avatar's thoughts and growing emotions of anger and frustration. Having traveled inside Kailan's body for almost five days now, Urel knew that the Avatar hated conversations with the spirits in general and himself in particular.

Kailan did not respond for a few minutes as he continued towards the wall. When he did finally reach it, he withdrew his staff and extended it to its combat length. The Avatar turned it in his hands so that the end piece, which resembled a shining azure crystal, was in front of him. There was a small hole in the wall centered in a golden seal. He stuck the end of his staff into the keyhole and gave it a quarter turn to the right. He could faintly hear a series of clicks and a sound of mechanical whirring before the colossal door of stone opened at the Krazoa bust's mouth, leading the way into Starmerge.

"Ah beautiful Starmerge," said Urel, "you know Master Kailan, I've never said this but you Cerinians have done a great deed in keeping the city as true as it was during our ascension."

"We're glad we could please you," Kailan replied with a hint of sarcasm. He resented being called 'Master' Kailan by anyone, including a Krazoa spirit. The practice was popular among three of the younger spirits when one had suggested they were slaves to the Cerinians.

Urel was growing bored and he decided to play with Kailan's mind a bit before they reached the Krazoa Shrine. "I do have to ask you though Master Kailan," he said as Kailan passed a pair of saluting guards, "why did they send you of all Avatars?"

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" came Kailan's annoyed, though hushed response. One might get the impression he was crazy if they saw him apparently talking to himself.

"Well, isn't Gatekeeper Randorn supposed to do this type of job- recovering a lost Krazoa spirit?" asked Urel, apparently under the impression Kailan was jealous of his friend for being selected as Starmerge's Gatekeeper. The spirit's assumption was fair, as most Avatars strived to become a Gatekeeper, the most honorable position within the Order, even above The Seven, the High Council Leaders.

"Yes, but Gatekeeper Randorn is in Ascension for still another week. As for why the Council requested that I retrieve you is anyone's guess," he replied.

Kailan, contrary to Urel's assumptions, was not jealous of Randorn. He knew firsthand from his friend how difficult the job of Gatekeeper could be at times. Kailan could never forget the emotional toll the rank had taken on Randorn's mate Nalini before her death barely six lunar cycles ago. Randorn also had a kit named Sabre with Nalini and now he had to raise the precocious four-year-old along with his other duties. Kailan did not want the same thing to ever happen to his mate Fera and their six-month-old kit, Krysalla.

He thought of Fera and Krysalla then in their home near the southern residences, a stone's throw from Starmerge Force Point Temple and South Krazoa Shrine, one of three such structures, where Kailan was to release Urel.

Fera was the love of his life. They had met during the Krazoa Test, the last trail of a Candidate before he or she became an Avatar in name and rank. In the Test, a Candidate would have to seek out a particular Krazoa Spirit, recover it, and return it to a designated shrine. A mistake within the Council had sent Kailan and Fera to recover the same spirit. The two met during their respective quests. They had married in the year after their Commencement and they had been blessed with Krysalla – who had inherited her parents' powers – soon after.

Urel was silent as he studied Kailan's recent thoughts on Fera and Krysalla. Kailan cursed his free thoughts. It was not just the Avatar's immediate thoughts that Urel could probe and dissect at will. Every memory, acquaintance, or past emotion was Urel's to observe within Kailan's mind.

The Krazoa spirit sifted through Kailan's memories as if looking through a file register. He saw Kailan's parents, his childhood friends, the High Avatar that had trained him as a kit. All of the Avatar's twenty seven years flashed before Urel in barely a second. Now he could see Fera and Krysalla for himself.

"I didn't know you had a family Master Kailan," said the spirit with interest, "and a young kit… with an interesting name for a Cerinian…"

"Her real name is Krysalla," Kailan snapped back. He felt an odd compulsion to correct the spirit, "The Lylatian name," he continued, with special scorn on the word 'Lylatian', "came up after she was born." Kailan was of course referring to his daughter's nickname, Krystal, which was apparently a popular name in the alien Lylat System. The similarity of the two names had not been known to him or Fera when they had named their daughter.

"Aw… how sweet," said Urel with significant acrimony, "does your mate call her that?"

Kailan was quickly losing patience with the spirit and he struggled to hide his thoughts as he tried to come up with a way to silence the prying Krazoa. But Kailan knew how hard it could be to tell someone inside your head to be silent.

Finally he had it. "You know Urel, maybe I should be the one asking the questions here."

"Oh?" the spirit seemed to huff arrogantly at this remark.

"Yes. Perhaps I should be asking you who…or what," he added to ensure clarity, "took you from the shrine five days ago?" This chat was just as much a way to get Urel out of Kailan's thoughts as an attempt to answer some questions. The Council, in its tireless ways, had given Kailan his assignment of retrieving Urel on very short notice. Consequently, he knew very little of the circumstances surrounding Urel's disappearance. Aside from the obvious absence of the spirit, all Kailan knew was that a lone individual had come to one of Starmerge's Krazoa shrines, killed the six Honor Guards guarding it, and taken Urel. Then, the next day Urel contacted the Council that he was at North Point Shrine, midway between Starmerge and Ascension.

"I suppose you might ask that Kailan," replied Urel with an air of arrogance, "But my memories are - what's that term - fuzzy?"

"What? How can that be? You're a Krazoa spirit- you never eat or sleep and yet you still fail to see who took you into their body?"

"When did I say I missed the individual Master Kailan?" the spirit shook a proverbial finger at Kailian, as if to scold him, "You must be more specific in your inquiry."

Kailan was already feeling frustrated. "Very well," he said, feigning composure, "Then tell me what you can about this individual."

"It was a strange signature, not unlike an Avatar," recounted the spirit, "But it was different somehow. I remember that very well."

"How so?"

"He was most certainly not an Avatar, or a Cerinian for that matter."

This was puzzling to Kailan. Anything or anyone who harbored Krazoa energy radiated a unique energy signature, known to Avatars as 'aura'. With enough training and practice, an Avatar could 'see' an object or individual's aura long before he could see it with his eyes. For a Krazoa spirit like Urel though, seeing an aura was a skill honed and perfected.

But that was the fact that bothered Kailan. As far he knew, only Krazoa spirits and Avatars produced auras. Since Cerinia was the only planet Kailan knew of that had Avatars, how could an Off-Worlder have generated an aura that Urel could sense?

"So, you sensed this individual's aura. What happened next? Do you remember?" he ventured.

The spirit paused as he searched his memory for the answer. Finally he replied: "Yes! Yes I did see him! When I sensed his aura I made myself visible to greet him. A simple gesture of courtesy you realize."

Kailan nodded. "Did you attempt thought stream speech with him?" Kailan's question was not unusual. Avatars and Krazoa spirits often greeted each other through thought stream speech, or TSS; a form of telepathy.

"Yes, cautiously though. As he came closer, I remember his aura became more distinct. I immediately realized I was not dealing with an Avatar. But, he blocked my queries somehow."

Kailan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean he 'blocked' them?"

"Well, I simply tried to establish a thought stream. But I could not reach his consciousness and thus I could not communicate with him."

"Strange…" remarked Kailan, "and you're sure he was not Cerinian?"

"I can say that with absolute confidence Kailan."

The Avatar thought in silence for a few moments. Who could this mysterious creature have been: an Off-Worlder, yet one who produced his own aura? It defied convention.

A thought crossed his mind. Could it have been a Lylatian? The Lylat system was one of Cerinia's two contacts with a world of intelligent beings, the other being the ancient world of Sauria, itself a Krazoa world.

The Lylatians were not one species but over a dozen unique intelligent species that originated on a planet called Corneria that had come together to form a unified system. One of these species, the Vulpines, bore a striking resemblance to the Cerinians. Aside from the longer muzzle and the red, brown, or black fur of the Cornerian vulpine races, the two species were virtually identical.

Focusing on the matter at hand, Kailan tried to give reason to his idea that a Lylatian had taken Urel. He knew of the scattered Krazoa artifacts on some of the Lylat System's worlds, but he had never heard of anything like an Avatar coming from this alien system. How had this individual developed the powers and skill necessary to produce an aura? And what would he want with a Krazoa spirit like Urel?

Kailan suddenly heard a pinging noise in his mind. It was a soft, gentle sound used by Avatars used to hail each other to mind-link, which would allow a long range telepathic conversation via thought stream speech.

Urel got to the message before Kailan could. "It's your mate Master Kailan," the spirit said, his voice taking on its more familiar rudeness.

Damn it, thought Kailan. The spirit had already probed deeper into Kailan's mind then the Avatar liked. The last thing he wanted to do was to have Urel listen in on a TSS conversation with his wife.

"Urel, you had best not disturb this conversation. Is that clear?" he said dangerously.

Urel seemed unfazed. "I'm not sure I like being threatened by my own Avatar, Mas-."

"Just shut up Urel. You are supposed to respect the personal matters of the Avatars as per the Avatar Protocol."

Kailan could very well picture Urel rolling his eyes. The Avatar Protocol was an ancient series of rules, regulations, and doctrines between Avatars and the Krazoa spirits drawn up back when the first Avatars had reached maturity. The Protocol had been established to achieve harmony and balance through a series of doctrines promoting mutual respect between Cerinians and Krazoa. Urel knew it back and forth and he decided to let Kailan have his privacy.

So Kailan mentally investigated the hail and found, much to his delight, that it was indeed his mate Fera. He sought some shelter in an alley and stood in the dark corner. He checked his surroundings quickly before he ducked beneath a canopy. While in the mind-link, Kailan's senses would be useless as his mind focused only on the thought stream. It would leave him vulnerable should he be attacked.

Assured that his surroundings did not present any immediate threats, Kailan closed his eyes and focused on the message. It led him down a mental path through which, as he followed it, he could feel his thoughts getting closer to Fera.

As he drew closer to the moment of contact, he could almost feel her presence beside him. Such was the joy and the dismay of telepathy. In many ways it was like a dream; it seemed unnaturally real, as if the other was in front of you. It was something of a shock when the link was closed, as one suddenly realized they were in fact separated.

Finally, he found Fera in the family home in the south of the city. Thoughts and emotions became a background of color, fragile and placid like a pond. Speech acted like tiny pebbles, producing ripples in the thought pattern. At that instant Kailan and Fera were in their own world, where only one could hear the other and their minds were merged.

"Hello?" he queried. He saw her thoughts become a gentle tone of amber, showing happiness.

"I can hear you Kailan," she replied. Her voice was sweet and lyrical and it sounded like beautiful music to Kailan. Even five days without hearing her was a trial for him. She seemed to struggle a musical laugh as she sensed and read his thoughts. "So you did miss me?"

"I always do Fera," he replied. Kailan couldn't help but notice the anxiety in her speech.

"You're close aren't you?" she said sweetly, "Where are you?"

"I'm in Starmerge. I'll be home within the hour. I just need to return Urel to one of the shrines."

"So you've returned from the North Point Shrine did you find Urel?" she inquired.

"Yes, I arrived barely half an hour ago," he replied.

Then something unexpected happened. Fera's thought colors grew darker, becoming almost, yet not quite, black. Kailan could sense Fera trembling and suddenly he saw a distortion in the thought pattern, like a bubble near Fera's breast. He instantly knew it had to be Krysalla. She was also an Avatar and though still an infant, Krysalla produced her own thought pattern. Fera was holding her close. The signs were ominous. Something was seriously wrong. Kailan could feel it in every part of his being.

"I'm so glad you've returned Kailan," Fera finally spoke through the mind-link, "Something…" she paused.

"Fera, what's wrong?" Kailan demanded, who by now was becoming very worried.

"Kailan, someone has been watching me since you left. I still haven't seen them and when I look for thought patterns all I see is… well, I don't know what I see. I'm scared," said Fera, her voice seemed to match the color Kailan could see.

A chill went up Kailan's spine. Could this blocking of Fera's thought patterns be the same thing that Urel's kidnapper have used? The prospect of this was truly terrifying.

She continued: "It was an occasional thing at first. I would sense their presence and they would disperse. But they, whoever they are… they've been here since nightfall…"

"Why didn't you contact anyone at the Force Point Temple while I was away?" Kailan asked.

"I did try several times, ever since the first instance," Fera explained, "but ever since Urel went missing and with Randorn in Ascension, it seems that the sanity of every Avatar in Starmerge went with him."

Some of Fera's words stood out to Kailan: 'ever since Urel went missing…' That was when this tormentor had arrived. Another, far more terrifying thought crossed Kailan's mind; could these two events, Urel's disappearance and this stalker be connected?

"Can Krysalla and I meet you at the shrine?" Fera continued, "And then could we go the Force Point Temple for the night? I'm sure they will grant us shelter and protection. Please Kailan, I don't feel safe here…"

Kailan did not like the sound of someone stalking his wife and infant kit. Starmerge's Force Point Temple was heavily guarded by Honor Guards and they would find safety there until this antagonist could be found and dealt with.

"Okay Fera, it's going to be all right. Take Krysalla and meet me at Sanru Shrine. I'll have to release Urel when we get there, but then we can go to the temple."

Fera sounded relieved, yet still uncomfortably anxious. Kailan sensed a sigh of relief. "Okay, we're leaving know. I'll have to close the mind-link…" Fera sounded hesitant at this; she clearly didn't feel safe without Kailan's 'presence'. "Please," she continued, "be at the shrine when Krysalla and I get there."

"I will be Fera, I promise," he replied then added, "I love you."

"I love you too Kailan." And with that the color vanished and Kailan's consciousness traveled back down the path to his own mind. With this done he opened his eyes and dashed out of the alley and into the rain.