(A.N. Just to let you know, the first couple of chapters are dedicated to plot and character building as well as giving you important information that would be relevant for later on. Just bear with it for now, and I hope you enjoy.)

Chapter 1 –The Aftermath

[Present Day]

Three days had passed and, still, the world was a darker place. As the grey clouds darkened, the morale of the survivors grew bleaker. Yet, hope was not lost. After a bleak few days the time had finally come for the Tribunal members to gather together once more in unity to decide their future course of action. In this sense, the fate of both themselves, as well as the world for that matter, was held firmly in their hands.

The meeting would take place in a matter of minutes.

Each member, if asked their opinion of the upcoming occurrence, would surely report without hesitation feelings of intense dread and nervousness of what awaited them. King Richard sighed tiredly. Once the meeting had begun, each member in turn would be made to face the terrible reality that awaited them. They would be forced to acknowledge the horrid truth. That is, the death of their beloved leader, Lorian. The death of the person who the saddened members, with the exception of himself, had had known for the majority of their live. Even if it was only for a mere fraction of Lorian's, he had known them too. He closed his weary eyes. The person who they all had come to rely heavily on, to constantly make the right decision as well as to lead the forces of light to victory against the darkness throughout the countless centuries, was gone. The person who they had all looked up to and admired; who had given up so much for the cause and yet expected nothing in return, was dead.

Three days…

As a result of his sudden departure, against the most insufferable of odds, the universe would begin its descent into chaos. In this sense, not only were the Tribunal members expected to put aside their own grief, as impossible as it may feel, but were expected to gather additional composure to increase their soldier's morale.

Worse, as King Richard glanced upon the gathering darkness that was slowly increasing just beyond the horizon, it was expected of them to elect a new leader. Soon. Just three days after the death of the former one. Truly, it seemed like an impossibly heavy burden to bare.

King Richard sighed once more as he finished adjusting the threaded golden cuffs of his rather crumpled robe as the events of the past few days had finally caught up to him. As he stumbled slowly towards the nearest unoccupied chair which featured in his tiny makeshift chamber. Knowing that he would find no peace of mind if he did not do otherwise, Richard gently closed his eyes as he allowed the memories of the previous few days encompass him.

Unsurprisingly, his mind instantly became active as they worked quickly to transport him back to that fateful day, after the slaying of the last demon, the hasty departure of the order's surviving soldiers to an unknown location and the deaths of the fallen immortals.

Lorian, he sighed mournfully as he cast his mind back a little further. He envisioned that gruesome blade slip unnoticed through the immortal's defence and latched itself into his unguarded flesh. Though I must admit I never knew you for as long as the other Tribunal members, your absence flows through me like the venomous acid of the Sakarbiatic world. Though I desperately long for you to return to this world to save it from destruction, I also personally long to have you, just once more, by my side.

You were a very easy person to talk with. Conversation always came naturally, in which you never made me feel awkward or belittled in your company. I did not expect that when I first came you're your service. Not after being told who, as well as what, you really were. Conversation was almost too easy, in fact. After all your cunning and intelligence, you are a far too trusting person…

Why did you have to offer your back to her? To that she demon that you, though you might not be best pleased with her for the majority of time, call a sister to you? You must have realised and accepted by now, especially considering the vast amount of time that you have lived upon this earth, that your sister hates you and scorns the mere memory of you?

You must have known that she would never have slipped quietly from this plane and onto the next, or wherever it is that you go after death, and would have done anything in her power to make certain that she would never have to make that journey alone. If at all. You knew that she could never be trusted, not even for a second, yet you did trust her nonetheless!

You gave her mercy and she gave you death!

I barely knew you, my lord and dear friend. However, in the short time that I have seen and conversed with you, I have come to know that the king of all that is light and good in the universe is a courageously young warrior with a brave and pure heart. I've known you to be cunning, calculated and ruthless, as well as a friendly, open and peaceful soul. Though, he sighed once again, I have heard from the other members that you are not as open as you once were. That you hardly let anyone see the real you these days, not even those who are closest to you.

Is that from a lack of trust in us? Or perhaps a lack of faith in the future?

Whatever the cause, he thought determinedly, you have, had, been fighting for a very long period of time without rest. And you never gave up…

Perhaps, he tried to think, you might have believed that there was still some good remaining in your sister where, possibly, you couldn't stand to see it slip away forever and leave you all alone in the universe. Especially when you consider the tragic fate of your family…

But, my friend, if this is the case then you have been much too generous and optimistic, in which you have allowed your ability to love and forgive others for their past deeds to severely cloud your judgment of them. This is so because, in my eyes at least, although you've shown clearly that you love Lathenia and still desire her to stand beside you as a caring sister, you must understand that it's also clear that she's stopped thinking of you as her loving brother long ago-even before any of us Tribunal members ever walked the earth, I dare say. But even now-after mulling over your possible thoughts, I miss you so…

After a while, his memories progressed faster and faster. Each one was more intense than the last as King Richard was hurled through time in a matter of milliseconds as the simple thought of his heroic leader sent his mind into unregulated turmoil as he saw speedy glimpses of his lord in various scenes throughout the simple little year that he had known him. The memories hurled around him so fast and furious that, at first, all he could see was vibrant colours and hear a mix of voices as they spoke and overlapped over one another. Thus, being no longer in control of his thought patterns, his mind transported him in an unorganised pattern that resembled something that was nothing like the simple replay of the last few days that he had intended to watch.

Then, after an age and many memories later, Richard finally managed to exert enough control over his emotions to once again view the images that he had intended to observe. Instantly, he noticed that the sea of voices had finally quietened down to the regular sound level, where his vision had narrowed considerably. Now, all he could see and hear was his lord in action against the majority of the demons in the clearing.

He watched in awe as Lorian, after spending nearly all of his energy and power before the battle took place to weave many vital safeguards and protection wards around the area in attempt to seduce the amount of damage that the mere presence of darkness that the demons had in their universe which could have been catastrophically if left unchecked, was lessened. As well as this, he observed that his lord erected many protection shields, charms and barriers around the majority of his soldiers, even going so far as to give them an invisible body shield that would have been almost impossible to shatter completely by the monster's weapons as long as Lorian was alive. And of course, Richard groaned, as well as using enormous blasts of power to disintegrate as many demons as he possibly could in the time that he had, he was also responsible for the destruction of the Citadel. Here, he noted, though Matt had also played a role in its demise, it was mostly Lorian's power that was able to send the necessary amount of force to bring it town and unravel the demon's portal from their world to Earth.

Therefore, as Lorian sent wave upon wave of blinding, thunderous energy through each and every one of the demons' mutant cells that stood in front of him, he was able to send them crashing down to the ground, as well as to simply disintegrate them into ash and dust.

As the demons fell about his feet, he smiled briefly and firmly in, what was probably relief and disgust, at the unfolding events. It was made clear by the immortal's expression that although he was normally against such mindless destruction and chaos, the knowledge that he had vanquished such a great percentage of the threat, whilst ensuring the protection of his soldiers below, gave him something to inwardly cheer about. Especially as he knew that even these weakest of demons were almost impossible to kill by mortal hands.

Yes, Richard agreed with his lord. It was indeed worth it…

However, upon hearing his sister's banshee of a wail, his head snapped instantly around to the scene behind him, where he was barely in time to successfully block his sister's maddened attack. Through his conjuring of a metallic bronze sword to match her blow, Lorian was forced to leave the rest of the demon's to the Tribunal members and the unfortunate Named to concentrate on the threat that she, herself, caused. Narrowing their eyes in concentration, the immortals began circling each other like vultures, each knowing that any possible talk of peace was long over. Silently, he observed, the pair waited patiently for the other to charge and break the silence.

No, Richard decided, as he forcefully moved to pull his mind forward in time to the aftermath of battle, as he truly doubted that he could manage to watch that disastrous scene a second time.

I cannot…will not...see that!

With one last mental push, his vision darkened once again, only to be returned seconds later.

Looking around warily, he found himself in the clearing. After the remaining members of the Order's soldiers had fled and the rest of the demon's corpses had been burnt, the remaining soldiers of Lorian gathered together for the first time in what felt like a millennia. Richard smiled slightly to himself, as he noticed that they all had begun to lower their weapons slowly, still immensely cautious after their latest battle, where each in their turn twisted around to observe the gathering of the Tribunal members which occurred a little way off from where they all were standing.

Further, the group continued to glance curiously onwards as Arkarian, the Master that they had all known as a comrade as well as a member who held one of the highest ranking positions and was a favourite of Lorian's , went to join them. Seconds later, two other figures walked over, appearing far more hesitant than the others, wherein the gathering concluded that these mysterious individuals must be the newly discovered immortal and his soul mate. This subject , Richard knew, had been quite a topic of interest amongst all the houses throughout the various countries of which the Tribunal, and ultimately Lorian, had ruled. He also noticed, with a slight chuckle, the amazement of some of the newest members upon seeing them, in which they couldn't' wait to discuss the topic with others near them.

Richard also realised that although each of these members, who appeared in the waiting crowd, seemed exhausted, confused, curious and even frightened of their future and how things curiously stood, they were loyal and sensible enough to give the Tribunal time to breathe, and gather their thoughts enough to decide an appropriate course of action before bombarding them with their concerns and fears, as he noticed many were itching to do.

Richard's smile widened further as he saw that their soldiers, who were of various ages, genders and beings turned their attentions back towards each other: as though attempting to study their fellow members or make connections of familiarity between themselves. Further, he noticed, the atmosphere was rigged tight with tension, as the majority had initially realised that they were without any sort of concealment to protect their identifies from the others. In this light, they had been swamped with nerves and concern. However, within moments the feeling eased as they all realised the benefit of this outcome as they were finally able to discover just who exactly was part of the same organisation as themselves.

Although many failed to recognise anyone that they had previously known in their daily lives, others did. Thus, many saw this turnout as a chance to create and strengthen bonds of friendship, even if they were not already friends.

"Hey, thanks for saving me, man," he had heard one person declare to an unkown soldier who had been battling hard by his side for the majority of the conflict. "I owe you one!"

"No sweat," the other replied, "I was just doing my job, silly!"

"So what's your name?"

"Frank?" he suddenly heard another voice being called out from the West. "I can't believe you're part of this! I always thought you were an evil jerk who couldn't give a damn about anybody! Boy, was I wrong!"

More voices.

"Mam?!"

"Son!"

"Who's this?" one person demanded. "Harry Lenox from the fifth floor?"

"Hey there boss!"

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

" I told you I had a perfectly good reason for being late to work, didn't I?"

"Shelley, my girl?"

"Roger?"

"Well who'd have thought it!"

"Roger!"

"So this was what you were hiding from me all this time. I – I just can't believe that this was the thing that was stopping us from getting married!"

She suddenly slapped him. "You see?" she demanded. "I told you I wasn't having an affair!"

"Well-now you can see I didn't join a gang!"

Conversations and exclamations constantly erupted throughout the area.

The majority of the introductions were friendly and eager, where everyone was excited and began firing rapid questions at each other, uncaring that they couldn't understand some of the answers that were been given due to the language barriers between particular countries. However, Richard sobered quickly as he noticed some small, mournful gatherings sitting in circular patterns on the ground as they hovered protectively other what was supposedly a loved one or friend, whereupon they embraced each other tightly for comfort and love.

As Richard turned his attention back towards the Tribunal's discussion that day, his smile slipped even further as he remembered vaguely the rushed chaos that it had held.

Simply, it concluded with the suggestion that Lorian and Lathenia would be enclosed in golden tombs until they had found the appropriate course of action that should be taken to display the highest level of respect possible for them, especially for their lord who had given more than most of the cause. Each member had also agreed that they shouldn't even consider naming a successor for Lorian's throne whilst in their current situation until they had the spent some time to ponder and reflect the decision. Particularly, as it seemed to be an impossible and unfair burden to laden onto any poor individual at the present time.

Therefore, they had arranged to hold a well detained meeting approximately three days from the battle to give each member of the Tribunal time to think and watch over each individual in their house and to protect them from any possible act of retaliation that the Order could decide to launch. Additionally, time was given for them to inspect the damage that could have been caused to their world because of the demon invasion which Lorian did not have enough time to properly inspect.

The location of this dire meeting would be left for the remaining immortal triplet to decide and provide them with. That is, without the citadel and the technology that it held, the ancient dwelling in Athens that they were all so used to calling home was now inaccessible. Therefore, a new location of immense security was in desperate need.

As for where the remaining Tribunal members were meant to be staying presently, since their home was destroyed, King Richard smiled tiredly once more and laughed humorously as his mind was drawn back to the present time. Although all the members were wealthy with high connections in various areas of finance and power in the modern world, they all wished to remain hidden on Earth in their separate kingdoms until better preparations could be made after the meeting. In this way, they could silently record the damage that had been done to the universe from different locations of the world, as well as the daily changes that could possibly be occurring as consequences. Therefore, it seemed prudent that each member would reside in the home of a willing member of their house. In this sense, Tribunal members would be in a better position to protect their soldiers and try to help them deal with any concerns or fears that they held.

Richard grinned as he remembered spying at the eager hands rising as the majority, as he thought about it, of his people wished to volunteer to have a highly respected Tribunal member in their home for a few days. He laughed, in particular, at the eagerness which his own generous host displayed, whereupon his emerald eyes shone as he received his acceptance of the invitation as he glanced up at him in earnest, much like an adorable puppy, as he found it impossible to pick anyone else other than him at this present time.

On the whole, his host had behaved remarkably and was always made sure that he had what he needed, especially considering the little he had to live with. He'd instantly given his king the best bedroom, as well as the only bedroom, in the house whilst he slept dutifully and without a single complaint on the small and simple sofa in the next room that was connected with the kitchen. Further, although he discovered that the poor chap lived alone with only the small amount that the guard thought to give him, the boy's company had been immensely pleasant and oddly comforting during this dark period, as his boisterous humour seemed to brighten any situation. He was so grateful of this he mentally vowed to himself, as soon as he returned from the meeting that day, that he would move the lad to a more suitable home and would ensure that he had enough money to live comfortably in a warm and pleasant environment.

Unsurprisingly, Richard hid a grin, as he thought more about his host. Suddenly, there came a hesitant knock on his chamber, or bedroom as modern society now call it, door.

"You may enter," he called warmly, finding the situation hugely ironic.

Dillion stuck his head through the open door and grinned at his lord. "Its time, my lord. The meeting's about to be held."

"Thank you, Dillon," he said simply, and watched the boy retreat to the living room.

After one more moment of reflection, he stood up slowly and straightened his lengthily robe, stretching to his formal height, whilst looking indeed the part of a glorious and regal king of old, he raised his hands and focused. That is, although he was a powerful and valuable member of the tribunal, he was still new to this new world and the power that he held.

Thus, allowing his body to become light and carefree, he closed his eyes before he vanished in a silver haze of light to join his newly found brothers and sisters at what would most probably be the most important event of his life.

Boy, was he dreading it.