Chapter 21: Prepare

So many things had spun in the wrong direction; Ariel created what the Mirror of Time showed, and how the birth of her daughter brought about a chance to avoid disaster. With a look into the mirror, Time and Usoria moved closer to that future, but the disaster still loomed in the shadows. Darkness was gone from the word, the goal that she and Dane both sought. It was gone from the world, but it wasn't vanquished. Ariel now clearly saw the one who would bring about the disaster she saw in the mirror: Dane. She now understood why the Monk of the Red had told her she had blinded herself.

"I never thought, I never even considered that Dane would be the cause of the Disaster we were trying to avert. I believed you would be the one to find the answer." With Darkness gone from the world, Usoria began to heal: food began to grow again, the Omens were gone, and the people all began to seem happier than they had in some time. All the same, she couldn't have him coming to the Temple of Time as he was and tried to dissolve her contract with him. When it failed she remembered that Dane also had to willingly dissolve the contract. Doubting that he would consent to it, she instead blocked his entrance to the Temple by sealing the entrance she had created especially for him

In the shadows of the world though, she watched Dane begin to gather like minded people to him, even the former shamaness of Azwan she had protected Dane from so long ago. Rhinne became catatonic, walking around the Temple with Clank at her side not saying a word. She wasn't sleeping much either, as she would often wake screaming for Will. A few times Ariel cast a spell over her mind allowing her to sleep peacefully for a few hours. But even that would soon be broken and the nightmares would return.

Will didn't survive long after he had been run through with so many chains. There was so much wrong internally, and that was without the effect they left behind of turning flesh to ash. Ariel tried to once again help him, but his wounds were too great and his Life Force was already too weak to withstand her power. What Dane now wielded was not simply Darkness, it was a mix of Anti-Magic and Darkness making something even worse. Even Minerna might not be able to stand up to this power forever. Once Will had passed, Ariel created a new pseudo body and buried him in a ravine in Al Neth that overlooked the snowfields below. She carved out a rough headstone and created a small brass ring to mount in the top center of the stone, a token of the life that Rhinne and Will might have shared in the future..

"I'm sorry Will." She whispered, about to return to the temple and disintegrate her body when she met Dane face to face. The sight made her jump back calling a flame into her hand.

"Now, now, Ariel. There is no need to become violent." He said calmly, pulling the hood from his head to reveal his face. His cheeks had thinned and his eyes seemed dull, but he was still the man she loved which was the only thing holding her back.

"You know why I hold this spell at the ready." Miserably, Dane smiled a nodded as if there were some spec of regret for what he had become.

"I know, I know. But I've done it. I've rid the world of its Darkness, and now everything seems so bright and happy."

"Yes, but at what cost to you? You absorbed all the world's Darkness by using the most powerful Dark Alchemy there is!" Shouted Ariel, raising her hand again to throw her spell only lower her hand once again.

"The cost is great, my love. But this is what needed to happen. And now, our daughter can wipe this world away to begin anew with the power I will give her. Darkness will no longer be something that we would even need to worry about. All I need is for you to allow me entrance to the Temple." He explained, holding out his hand to her. Closing her hand Ariel dispelled her attack, lowering it to her side.

"I cannot allow you within the Temple as you are. The Darkness within you must be purged. Rhinne is half human and is unable to completely resist the influence of Darkness as I can. Who's to say what would happen if she were to give in to the throes of its power?" Dane closed his hand, the hopeful sad smile on his face fading into a blank stare. When he spoke again, there was an edge in his words.

"Ariel, you do remember our contract do you not? In it there is a line that says, and I quote; 'The power of our son or daughter shall be to the benefit of all once the research of the contracted, Dane Altoor, is completed. Upon completion, Dane shall pass his knowledge and power to the son or daughter which will erase Darkness from the world and create a new world', end quote. We both wrote this contract out together when I first came to the temple, do you remember?" Clenching her jaw Ariel nodded, looking away from him.

"That was before you became whatever this is. I heard the voices of Tahir and Will before you killed them and from what I have seen, you have succumbed to the influence of the Darkness." Ariel suggested, turning her attention back to Dane with hard eyes and set jaw. A ragged breath escaped Dane's nose closing his eyes and lowering his brow as he shook his head.

"You must believe me when I say that I tried to stop their lives from being lost. But the Darkness was so powerful, I did not anticipate it overwhelming as it did. But I have risen above it. I now control it, not it me." Danes words on the verge of tears, his voice sometime hitching as he spoke.

"And what of the other Clerics and Acolytes? Were they victims of your inability to maintain control?" Dane said nothing, only lowered his head and arms. Ariel sighed and began to walk to him.

"Dane, my love. Rhinne is in much pain right now; she may not have had a long relationship with Will but she did have feelings for him. You were the one that nearly tore him apart. You are the reason I buried him there." Ariel pointed back to the small tomb she had created just for him.

"Even if you were to convince her of what happened, I don't think it would be wise to expose her to so much concentrated Darkness right away. Her heart is half human, and as we both know the human heart can be swayed by even its own spot of Darkness." Neither of them said anything for a long while as the two of them simply stood in the snow. Something even colder than the Al Neth winds blew past Ariel; no not past, though her. Quickly she back away from Dane as whispers hung thick in the air.

"You would deny me my right to see my Daughter? You would deny the promise of our Contract?" he growled, chains springing from the ground all tipped with spears aiming for Ariel

"As you are, yes." Metal hitting rock rang behind her the instant she ceased speaking as a chain stuck in the ground, pulled tightly next to her cheek. The spines on each link brushed against her cheek, catching her skin and making her bleed. Surprise launched her away from it, her skin healing over but leaving a scar where the chain had scratched her. The strange feeling on her cheek made Ariel reach up to run her hand over the raised skin, her eyes becoming wide, her breath shortening and her hand beginning to shake. Even in a pseudo body, she was able to heal wounds without leaving any trace.

"A scar? But how? I should be able to…"

"This is the first scar you've even had isn't it?" smiled Dane, turning his head up just enough to see her from under his brow, the shadows around his eyes making them glow all the brighter.

"Mixing Darkness and Anti-magic like this, what could you possibly hope to gain from something so terrible?" Ariel asked, holding a hand behind her and beginning to weave a disintegration spell for this body.

"I hoped to rid the world of its Darkness. And I have. But Anti-Magic was needed to do so. I call it Black Magic; it has the power to even kill deities!" he shouted, hurling another chain at Ariel's heart. The pseudo body disappeared in a plume of smoke just as the chain drove through it, burying itself into the ravine wall.

"You may think you can protect Rhinne by blocking my path! But I will come, and she will fulfill her destiny!" he shouted to the skies.

"We have to do something." Orchid hissed as she and Lotus watched from afar the meeting between Ariel and Dane. Lotus shook his head, pulling Orchid away and leading her back through the woods they had been living in for the past month.

"There isn't much we can do. We tried to steer Human Dane away from what he was doing and look what happened to him anyway." Lotus seethed. With a heavy sigh they gathered what little food they had within their makeshift shack to have a meal. Life was difficult in the Al Neth region, but at least they weren't anywhere near Dane and his lunacy. As they ate, Lotus' eye became wide, darting back and forth as he dropped his spoon.

"Lotus? What the matter?" Orchid asked.

"It isn't Dane in control; it's the Darkness. It's in control of him! And the Darkness wants to destroy everything. He's not after Rhinne to make the worked a better place, he's after Rhinne because she has the power to ensure everything is destroyed."

"Then why doesn't he just go after Ariel? She has the same amount of power and way more experienced?" holding his hands out, Lotus' eyebrows shot up as he tilted his head to the side.

"That's exactly the point! Rhinne doesn't know the extent of her power yet. Ariel does; Rhinne is an easier target!" Orchid covered her mouth, gasping through her nose with wide eyes.

"We have to warn Ariel!"

Clouds of sulfur and oxides billowed all around as Hilda mixed more and more ingredients into her potion. With the help of Arkarium, she had been able to enhance her youth potions by a hundred-fold, extending the time she needed to consume them by years. As she poured the last of her liquified moonlight in, the door opened and a lone figure came in on gliding steps. His cloak filled the door way, thundering as it caught the breeze behind him.

"It appears that your meeting with Ariel didn't go as planned." said Magnus with a growl.

"That is was not my purpose Dracova. I merely wanted to test her resolve to keep my daughter away from me." Sloe answered, reaching for a vial of a dark substance.

"And how is her resolve?" Asked Hilda, maneuvering her hand over her potion drawing it into one of a dozen sitting within a cabinet.

"Quite high. But even that will fall. Are your armies ready Hilda?" Smirking darkly as she shut the cabinet, Hilda sauntered over to Magnus, putting her arms around his shoulders.

"I am waiting on the last of the ingredients for my spell to complete. Once that has finished, we will have a legion of the undead at my command." Magnus pulled Hilda closer to him, looking up at Sloe from under his brow.

"My specters are ready at any time. Thanks to the power you've given me, I have multiplied my forces by a hundred-fold." Magnus grinned, revealing a broken fang amidst his teeth.

"Good. And what of Arkarium? Has he been readying his forces?" Neither Hilda nor Magnus were able to answer his question, only able to shrug and point him in the direction Arkarium was. As Sloe walked into the area, the old mage's huge snake familiar opened its eyes and reared from its sleeping position on the ground. Spreading its hood wide its tongue flickered while locking its unblinking gaze at him.

"Ah, Master Sloe, I was wondering when you were going to return. I have some concerns that I must bring before you."

"Arkarium, are your forces ready?" Sloe asked blankly.

"That is what I wish to discuss with you. Shouldn't my force of Serpent Sorcerers be the ones to lead the way? Magnus' forces will only draw unwanted attention…"

"Which is why I have given you the position of Right Flank. You will surprise them as Magnus and his forces draw out any that would stand in our way."

"Yes, but he is brutish and unrefined. Should the position of Vanguard be for someone that has the power to move through forces unimpeded. My forces would be much better suited for the task. It was I that assisted in making the Gran Umbra Arca after all."

"You will take the position that I give you, is that understood Arkarium?" asked Sloe, whispers hissing in the air around them. Letting out a hard sigh, Arkarium bowed his head slightly. Sloe turned and left while Arkarium clenched his fists. He deserved to be the vanguard for the attack, he was the one whom had contributed the most!

"In fact, I should be the ONLY one that Sloe needs. Magnus has been here but a few months, and Hilda hardly contributes at all!" His thoughts swirled and mounted until a dark smile spread across his face. Gathering his solid Jade skull for focus and further waking his familiar, Arkarium summoned a small force of his Serpent Sorcerers and left, determined to win Sloe's favor.

Upon returning to the temple, Ariel was greeted by the sight of the Temple Knights patrolling the halls much more intensely. The most powerful of them, the Oblivion Knights, were stationed at each hallway, while the Qualm and Memory Knights patrolled.

"What happened? I gave no order to Mobilize." Ariel asked, catching one of the Monks of the Red by the sleeve as he passed her.

"Clank was watching when you went to burry Will and were met by Dane. He listened to your conversation and then reported it to his Chief. That Chief then went General Lilynouche who went to your mother. She is the one who gave the order to Mobilize." Replied the monk. Shutting her eyes Ariel took a deep agitated breath and let him go.

"Very well. Please continue and have the Chief of the Oblivion Knights come see me."

"Yes, my goddess." The monk answered, turning away down a hall while Ariel summoned up a creature made of an hour glass having small wings on the top.

"Show me to my daughter Rhinne." She commanded. A single eye within the sand of the hourglass bubbled up, looking around for a moment then sharply turned and flew in that direction. It led her to Rhinne's room where she dismissed the creature into a cloud of sand. Outside the room, Clank stood guard.

"Has Rhinne said anything since I've gone?" Ariel asked. Clank's eyes glowed to life within his helm as though waking from a nap.

"Rhinne has been quiet. I must return to the barracks my goddess as my mana is running quite low." Ariel nodded slightly to release him from his post. Clank immediately left for the barracks, clouds of sand dust getting kicked up along his path. Knocking softly on Rhinne's door she listened for her voice a moment. When no noise came Ariel called to her, slowly opening her door to see her curled up on her bed laying as still as stone.

"Rhinne?" Ariel called again, carefully closing the door and moving to sit on her bed where she could see her reddened face and tear-soaked pillow. Reaching over, Ariel ran her hand over Rhinne's silvery hair.

"Why did he do it?" whispered Rhinne, staring across the room, dried riverbeds of tears still clinging to her face.

"He was such a good person. He didn't deserve it. And why didn't you save him again?" Turning her head towards Ariel revealed her eyes to be dull and distant, unable to reflect the light coming from the small sparks that floated throughout the temple.

"I wouldn't have been able to save him. The magic eating away at him would have required more power than his body would have been able to withstand." Rhinne's eyes squinted shut and rolled her face back into her pillow. Just as Ariel began to speak, one of the Memory Knights came through the door.

"Goddess, your presence is needed urgently." Nodding her acknowledgement, she kissed Rhinne's head and departed, closing the door softly behind her.

"What is the matter that would require my urgent attention?" Ariel questioned, stopping mid stride when she the sound of an explosion echoed through the halls.

"Someone has brought an assault on the Temple. A thin man with long white hair and beard has come, commanding an army of Serpent mages." Lowering her brow, Ariel spread her wings and hurried towards the noise. Upon arriving she was almost hit with a bolt of some form of magic, black in color, that fizzed past her and disintegrated part of the wall where she stood overlooking the main gate of the Temple.

"What is happening? Who is he that comes to the Temple like this?" Ariel demanded, turning her attention to the front gate, extending her vision to survey the area where a thousand serpents stood waiting for the few at the front to dispatch the gate.

"We have yet to determine that, goddess. We received word from the Sanctuary on the Mountain that an army was approaching. Within minutes we received another message saying they had been defeated and were marching to the temple." Ariel surveyed the area where the serpents stood, poised with unnatural stillness when something slammed into her face, throwing her to the ground in pain. She quickly healed the area around her right eye, but the Chief Knight explained nothing had hit her.

"There must be someone within that company that can see my extended vision and hurt me via that. As far as I am aware, Dane's…" She paused for a long while as the realization that Dane was gone, but there was no other name for him

"…Black Magic is the only thing that could do something like that. Whoever this is must be in league with him. General Dodo!" Ariel called. A large shadow loomed over them, the enormous creature slowly and gracefully lowering itself into Ariel's view.

"Drive them back, do not let them enter the Temple ground at any cost." The Whale-like creature gave a wailing hum in acknowledgement, turning away through the air and humming out commands in a language made of sounds and clicks. Memory Knights charged from the Temple, storming the front gate just as it collapsed. A few Serpents began to enter, only to be cut down as the knights formed their swords and devastated the front ranks.

The charging force of knights was met with equally brutal force as the rest of the serpents unleashed wave after wave of dark colored magic. General Dodo slammed his body on the force of serpents, leaving only a few the knights easily dispatched. The only one remaining of the attacking force was the thin man standing at a distance. In one hand he held a green skull, a black staff in the other with his great cobra familiar coiled behind him.

"Fools, all of you! I am Arkarium, Master of Dark Alchemy and Earl of Devastation, the second in command to Magus Sloe! Your submission is the only thing that will save you and your daughter at this point Ariel!" Arkarium shouted, holding forward the skull as it lit up shining discomforting light all around him. General Dodo lifted into the air once more as a whining groan came from him shaking the ground and small pebbles. The Knights, all rushed to a circle around Arkarium jamming their swords into the ground, each of their pommels linking with a thread of bright blue energy.

Arkarium laughed as a bright red beam shot from his orb only to strike a barrier rippling before him. With raised eyebrow, Arkarium released a darker beam, this time tearing through the barrier and obliterating three of the knights in its path. The barrier wavered for a moment before more knights came and filled in the space. With another laugh, he released another dark red beam only to watch in befuddlement when the beam struck the barrier again.

"The Barrier of Memory. Once broken, that which broke it before will no longer work." General Dodo said, his words slow and deep making the very air quiver. Growling, Arkarium released another much larger beam, his familiar glowing and rising behind him spreading its hood wide. Again, the Barrier was broken, and again, more knights were obliterated, but again more knights came and rebuilt the barrier. With a yell Arkarium released the same beam once more, only to find that it would n longer break through it

"Impossible! Dark Alchemy is able to break down all magic!"

"Not when that magic is countered by itself. The Barrier of Memory is much like a human immune system, Arkarium." Called Ariel as she glided down to the circle, armor appearing on her shoulders and torso.

"Its power comes from that which broke it before and is immune to that attack for all time." Arkarium sneered, looking around for an escape route when he spotted a smaller strike force of his serpent mages coming up near the front gate.

"Then if I can't break it from within, perhaps I will break it from without! ATTACK!" he shouted. The serpents all lept onto the knights, tearing pieces from them or getting cut down. Within a few seconds, the barrier began to waiver as more and more knights were eliminated from it until it broke as a glass dome. After another few minutes, blood, bodies and metal lay strewn across the ground but Arkarium was nowhere to be seen.

"AFTER HIM! He must have fled!" shouted a Chief Memory Knight.

"Belay that order!" called Ariel, dispelling her armor, looking around at the devastation that lay all around her.

"Everyone, back to the temple. General Dodo, Gather all your Knights. Set them all around the Temple and erect the Barrier of Memory around it." Dodo hummed as he turned and swam through the air back to the temple. Ariel herself went to the Mirror of Time, watching for any sign that what she was doing would avert the disaster she had seen. Peace had become more prominent but was still over shadowed by the looming disaster beside it.

"Monks of the Temple! Gather your strength and forces and report to your generals to assist the knights. General Lilynouche! General Lykyra, I require your presence." Ariel called. Within moments, a giant Knight Chess piece made of ice, and a red bull with gilded armor around its horns approached.

"We answer your summons goddess." The said in unison.

"Lilynouche, take your Qualm Knights and set up blockade along the choke points of the temple. Lykyra, I want you to take your Oblivion Knights and take up defense of the innermost chambers of the Temple. Have the Qualm Knight designated as Clank escort Rhinne there and hold it at all costs." a billow of flames plumed from Lykyra's snout.

"Goddess, such a mobilization has not been required since the time of the Great Beginning. What are we preparing for?" he asked, his heart racing and his muscles itching.

"War."

With as much stealth as he could muster, Arkarium quietly navigated the halls trying to make it back to his room and laboratory where he could replenish his army of Serpent Sorcerers.

"Where have you been grandpa? And where is that contingent you left with?" Hilda asked, pulling her lips to the side in a smirk as she leaned against the wall.

"That is none of your concern Hilda. Don't you have a Dracova to keep busy?" he huffed.

"It may not be my business…" Hilda's voice smiled.

"…But it is mine. I will give you a chance to explain yourself Arkarium." Sloe boomed, appearing behind him in a plume of black vapors, making him jump and turn around almost in a blur of color.

"Master Sloe!"

"Again, I will give you a chance to explain where you were Arkarium." Sloe demanded. Arkarium paused, his mind racing and his skin feeling damp as a cold sweat began to form.

"I took a small scouting force to the Sanctuary on Mount Anima located on the far side of the East Dragon Forest and Eliminated all inside. I did so in order to make it easier for us to infiltrate the Temple and retrieve Rhinne. After I did that, I surveyed the temple itself."

"And what did you find?" Sloe asked slowly, speaking through clenched teeth.

"I was not able to determine much, except that the front gate is well guarded at all times. There are also beings made of armor that are able to create something called The Barrier of Memory. It is able to become immune to whatever broke through it." Arkarium's lips and tongue felt dry; if Magus Sloe was to know about his true intentions and that he lost an entire platoon in a matter of seconds, replacing his soldiers would be the least of his worries.

"I see. Then can you explain to me why it is that you've not only lost the entire platoon you took with you, but that Ariel has mobilized all the forces of the Temple? You FOOL!" Sloe roared, whispers hissing in the air around them making Arkarium slowly back away.

"Your arrogant gesture not only made Ariel take more precautions, but now you are without nearly two thirds of your armies you have cost us the element of surprise!" Chains began to clink into existence from seals appearing in the air, each with a spear head at their ends aimed for Arkarium.

"I will spare you for now Arkarium, as I still have use for you. But make no mistake, if you delay progress as such again, I will follow through. Is that understood?" Sloe's voice dropped to a hissing whisper, seeming to echo all around Arkarium.

"Yes Master, I understand fully."

"Prepare the troops." Sloe commanded as he turned to Hilda.

"We go to war NOW!"