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It stood solitary amongst destitution. A land of decay, seemingly forgotten. Not even permitting life to grow around it. Huge oppressive walls surrounded it’s dark presence with nothing more than a rusting plate stuck to one side of the gate, indicating a name for the structure, it’s owner and the date of it’s construction.

The manor looked empty from all indication but it wasn’t. It wasn’t because screams could be faintly heard coming from inside, echoing down the buildings long corridors. Pleas of agony and torment rang out but there was never anyone about to hear and so the cries went unheeded. Their keepers had chosen the perfect spot and it always proved satisfactory. Even if one did happen to wander this far into nowhere the shockingly oppressive atmosphere and structure would certainly drive them off or they would simply happen to disappear.

There was no sign of security save arrogant crows that squawked all night and day. Day that seemed more like night, with dark clouds looming up above at almost all hours. No one ever come here and so it all did not seem so… strange. Even with no visible guards present, one still felt awkward as if under sharp scrutiny.

To the world. The closed world. The world of man. Your world. The manor lay forgotten but to those of the other world. The true world. The Forsaken. They knew enough not to dare come within proximity. Not unless they had business there of a very dark nature or simply a meeting with death. Which ever it was the man had, he stood silently watching the building, as if waiting for something to happen and yet nothing did. That is nothing except the growing winds and turbulent skies which foretold of bad weather. The crows swooped off in search of real shelter, away from the old dead looking tree they had previously perched.

The heavens rumbled and rocked his ear drums while a sudden blast of rain came shooting heavily down towards him and the earth. Lighting began to flash visibly in the distance but not enough to concern him. He just stood alone and silent till lighting flashed once more, his clothes flapping all around him. Clothes that would have looked so out of place if he had chosen to visit the rest of human civilization. Lightning flashed yet again. This time upon the same old tree the crows had just recently fled. The flash illuminated the whole surroundings, blinding our all vision for a few seconds but when it had finally gone with it’s usual after effects, so had the lone man vanished from his spot.

* * *

There were moans, groans and cries all around as if from ghosts haunting a soul and yet, in a strange way they were. Heavy panting, silent footsteps and the flapping of cloth. These were all that could be heard for quite a long while. Running as he did, the man carried a bundle over his shoulder but unlike any ordinary bundle, this felt warm and moved ever so gently. The lights glowing from candles were dim, leaving every drab corridor looking like the last with the same old thick oak wood doors.

He slid to an abrupt stop as something had just shot dangerously past the side of his face. Looking about him suspiciously, he reached out and touched his cheek where he was feeling a stinging sensation. His hand came back warm and sticky with his own blood. The wound wasn’t deep but it had been only to his good fortune that whatever hit him had almost completely missed.

He felt, more than knew that something was coming up behind him. He had sensed it and leapt away in time to watch a gray misshapen arm fly past. Touching ground, he used his left handed nature to pull out a long Japanese sword from a sheath hidden beneath the garment on his back. The blade flashed out in an arc of reflected candle light.

* * *

I miss all things human. All things normal but for a while now nothing has been normal. At least that kind of normal. Not the blazing sun which filled my vision with red daemons, nor the silver moon which fills me with strange yearning. As a child I adored the night for it was only during it’s long hours that I experienced a feeling of belonging. Now I am forced to watch through it’s mysterious length. It is funny how one’s life can just change in the blink of an eye. Just a little mistake and look where it ended me.

After the accident, I had been lost for a good number of days till I finally came to and went staggering home in confusion. It had been a beautiful reunion but short lived, yet I did not care much for the kids that kept well away from me because I never really have. I was more or less the extraordinary loner with a love for all things dark and mystical for were they not misunderstood as I was? As I now am? Am I not a child lacking that which he desires and needs the most? Something I may never learn of?

I sit and mope in the confines of a dark attic atop the remains of a broke down house which had once been a peaceful home. At least, I suspect that is what it had been. Boredom gently settling in, I needed a change of location and quickly sought one. Well, not that quickly. In fact, it was more of a clam stroll across the room, down the stairs and onto the landing below. Coming to a huge hall I began to head for the kitchen from which I would leave through a hole in the wall and embrace the night. Suddenly I heard something and felt something so I stopped to see what it was my uncanny senses had perceived behind me.

What had caught my attention I did not know but as I watched and waited, a figure came bursting out of the cold night and into the building from the main entrance. He glanced about him but seemed not to notice me.. Something had caught his attention in the living room and he rushed in, his retreating back soon followed by hideous little creatures. They were short ugly and reminded me of raptors. Probably a new breed of lesser daemons known in the Forsaken as kazhren.

Though I often mind my own business, I was drawn by curiosity to see what the fellow could do against the seven that trundled in after him. Before I could get in close enough to see what was happening, the sounds of battle came rushing out. Standing by the doorway, I found two kazhren dead on the floor, or at least what had once been two kazhren. Looking closely, I realized some sort of reaction was eating up both corpses.

My morbid fascination led me further into the room and I found myself a nice snug corner to watch the show from in peace. All five remaining daemons kept their adversary on his toes but from what I had seen I knew he was no Kaij’n. That hybrid race, cross between man and daemon Aadm and Daemorrh in the tongue of the Forsaken. Any of that demi-race would have violently begun to use it’s wield, no matter what this wield was. I tried to give him the benefit of doubt but it was hard and not until the figure had yanked out a sword I hadn’t noticed earlier that I knew he was Aadm. Kaij’n detested weapons they were not born with, just like their Daemorrh parents.

The blade flashed out once then two more times in quick succession. Blood of a foul smelling brown sprayed, kazhren cried, severed limbs flew and the Aadm drew back with a short cry of his own. No blow had been sent his way at the time so I knew I had missed something. Two more kazhren fell with one dead and the other on it’s way, but the Aadm kept his eyes fixed on the remaining three. Looking closely, I noticed his hand move from his cheek to reveal a small wound.

All three daemons left came at him all together, trampling the still struggling kazhren on the floor to death. Going down low the Adam rushed forward, knocking the leading kazhren right over him. Kneeling as the thing was toppled over him; he swiped his blade at the other two behind it, cutting one of them in half. The thing’s blood sprayed but it all splattered onto the daemon that was still falling over the Aadm. As this blood touched the kazhren’s flesh. It began to cause the thing great pain as it was rapidly eating it up.

"Acid" I realized. On exposure to the atmosphere, their blood became acidic. That had been what had gone on with the first two bodies.

Rising back to his full height, he threw the daemon’s body at the bleeding one and leapt safely away from the acidic blood. Leaving them to die together. Only one was now left but neither the Aadm nor even I could see where it stood. The Aadm had a plan though as he quickly placed his weapon in front of him with blade up, held in one hand while the other hand made a strange symbol in front of him . Perplexed, I touched his mind with my wield and I heard his thoughts.

‘Shut eyes’ and I did the same as he willed himself, just before the whole room was engulfed in bright light.

I stayed with him, my mind with his and heard him count down to something before he willed his eyes open again. Naturally, I did the same in time to notice that the bright glow had come from his sword but at the exact moment we opened our eyes, it’s intensity was almost entirely gone. It gave us just enough light to see the last kazhren, blinded by light and a young child hiding huddled in a corner beside it.

Swiftly launching himself at the daemon with weapon poised ready I realized it had been this child that the Aadm had sought and it was also this child that the kazhren had come for. Seeing through the Aadm’s eyes, I deduced from the daemon’s manner that it did not hear the hero’s approach and in this momentarily blind state reached out for the child it had been previously stalking. Scream the child did while the kazhren’s taloned hands caught hold of her head and an arm. The Aadm could have prevented all of this by throwing his blade at the thing but he feared it’s blood would spray on her.

Pulled closer towards it, the young child stood frightened and sobbing with her back to it. Yet, the Aadm did not slack in his pace, the daemon actually grunting in confusion just before the hero spun into the air and lashed out with a hard kick to it’s shoulder.

It made the thing spin violently around but the kazhren relentlessly held onto the child. Landing beside them, the Aadm holding his weapon in both hands, struck the butt of it’s hilt right into the creature’s head. But then, no. There was no impact. The daemon, too slick for the human, had moved it’s head aside just in time. It’s long elastic neck then sent the same head shooting at him in turn.

Meeting his right arm the kazhren’s wide mouth took a huge chunk out of it. So wide that his fore arm and elbow all fell to the floor in a heap. Grimacing in pain after letting out a loud cry, the Aadm watched the daemon’s head quickly recoil with unnatural elasticity before sending it right back at him. Quick to notice this, the hero began to lean back, letting himself fall but I had a feeling the neck possessed enough thrust and elasticity to get to it’s quarry well before it got out of reach. It came fast with twelve, eleven, ten inches between them and then, something hit. It was a bone crunching sound which was heard all through the entire room. Apparently as the Aadm had been falling backwards he had also launched his knees upwards till it had struck the kazhren hard in the chin, knocking it away from him.

Hitting the floor hard with his back, the Aadm was back up again before the kazhren had fully regained itself, but the thing still held onto the child’s head though it’s grasp had reduced. Immediately the daemon hit the floor, the Aadm struck out with his foot while also swiping with his sword. His foot hit the frightened child on her shoulder, pushing her in that direction while his sword slid right through the daemon’s wrist, attached to the hand that held onto the child. It had slid through this and the thing’s long neck.

Severed, the neck thrashed about wildly with it’s lethal blood spraying all over the place. Acidic blood also began to spill out of the hand which still clung to the child’s head but the hero was quick to wrench it off of her. Having been kicked roughly, no matter how gently the Aadm had tried to do, the female child began to cry out louder then before. I for one had even thought it all ended as I returned to my body. It had been a really nice attempt by the Aadm to save the child but there was just no way he could protect her from the blood that was being splashed all over the place.

Shocked in disbelief, I watched as the foolish Aadm rushed up to her fragile body and did the absurd. Used himself as a shield of flesh. In silence I watched the foul acidic blood play havoc on the Aadm’s already battered body. The manner in which he died was appalling as he had wasted his life for the child that was now alone and prone to even more danger than before. I could watch no longer with my head bowed as I wondered at the wretched turn of events. It had been just like some bloody Manga.

I was disturbed from my troubled thoughts by the sound of movement. The Aadm’s stiffed cries had come to an end and so I expected to see the child coming out from under him but instead I found the hero getting up to his feet. Before my very eyes, he stood whilst the messy wounds made by his contact with the blood began to slowly vanish till there was nothing left. I looked for the little injury he had received on his cheek and that was gone as well. He began to move his head around to relax the muscles in his neck when I took my words back. There was no way in the world that this man was nothing more than just human. He had to be Kaij’n.

With a grin, he reached out for the scared girl when he stopped abruptly and turned to look where his severed arm lay. It was then I noticed that the limb laying there on the floor was also vanishing; only to reappear fully attached to the rest of his body. Holding the completely rejuvenated arm up to his face, he played with the fingers to make sure it was in full working condition but before he could show any sign of satisfaction, we both heard a loud cry.

It had come from the child but had sounded not like anything a normal child her age could have let out. Like a siren venting forth sounds of pain and fear. I could not help but shiver at hearing her. Both of us turn to find her kneeling with arms raised, staring at her bloodied palms. At first I had thought it to be the Aadm’s blood but on closer inspection I realized her body was secreting not only her blood but also a slimy, sickening substance. Muscles all over her body began to twitch while she screamed out even louder and scarier than before. Beneath her skin, I could make out silver lines which gave off a faint resonating glow. Lines that seemed to trace out her nerves.

I watched amazed, the Aadm shocked, as the substance she was secreting began to mix with her blood and then slowly blanket her till she was completely engulfed under a thick layer of it. A thick layer of something that had become a gently throbbing cocoon around her.

The Aadm spun around even more afraid as he had heard me. His face came to a stop. Looking not only in my general direction but glaring as if boring holes right through my eyes.

"Who is there? Speak up!"

His hands gripped the hilt of his weapon till his knuckles turned white, all in preparation for the battle he expected. I had realized rather late that my exclamation in awe had not been to myself as I had thought. If I hadn’t been so sure that it had been a misplaced thought, I would have sworn he could see me in my hiding place in the shadows. I had seen enough to fill my curiosity for the time being anyway and so I sent a small tendril of thought at the mind of the Aadm before me. That was after noticing the thing he carried upon his left forearm under the sleeve of his top. The hero fell into silent slumber.

* * *

The night was refreshingly cool with stars glittering up in the sky along with the full moon. The sight of Lu’nah in her full splendour reminded me of what that meant. The whole Garou race present beneath her mystical silver glow would be forcefully changed from their original Aadm likeness to that of fierce dog-like beasts, thrice their former size. A lot of people would die this night.

The Aadm. Several of them, go about their business, walking about here and there, not giving me a glance. Once more they are oblivious to the denizens of the Forsaken such as I and like my fellows, I do not care. Sitting, I ponder like any other day. One of the few pass times of my wretched existences. Another favorite is toying with the minds of those around me. Much more interesting but at the moment I am merely lost in thought. Thoughts on what I had witnessed the night before.

Female. The child had been female with small innocent eyes set in an almost oval face and average sized features. Her hair had been long and curly brown while her body was lean. Something about her screamed of suffering. Probably more than even I have endured.

What was she and why was she being protected by a templar? Definitely a Templar or he would not have been wearing the knight’s cross on his arm. It was the old gauntlet the Aadm had been wearing on his left arm with the impression of a cross as well as other ancient patterns and symbols. The Templars were humanities holy protectors and keepers of the light. One of many groups that believed they were warriors of might doing the will of the White Source by ridding the Earth of all daemon taint.

Why would one of those fools risk his life to save a child that was most definitely not human? Human did not just enshroud themselves in cocoons. What also baffled me was the power the Templar had possessed. It was unheard of to find a Templar using the same powers they condemned, no matter what their ends may be. But then, neither Kaij’n nor Daemorrh would dare be caught touching it, let alone wearing it in battle.

I normally do not disturb myself about the business of others but may be it had something to do with the fact that I had seen that child somewhere before. In the Dreamscape while I slept in a wakeful state. It had been her. I was sure of it. The face had been a little darker in my home, the ‘scape, but it had undoubtedly been her. Unfortunately, at the time I had not noticed.

Love, have I always felt for the dark, even before my birthing into the Forsaken but I had thought all that would end after my turning into this dark thing I now am. I had been wrong. I was tempted to return to the little broke-down house and it’s lonesome occupants. They would still be there unless of course, the child was now rid of her shell or the fake Templar had swiftly moved the hibernating being to a safer location. Both seemed unlikely. I proptly left with the changing of the wind for the broke-down house.

‘How could this have happened?’

‘What exactly has happened?’

Both questions ran through his mind at the pass of every minute. He knew better than to mope but at the moment that was all he could do. Sitting cross legged on the dirty floor. Hayashi watched the pulsating shell that now housed his charge, Qyra. Hayashi was most certainly what the Forsaken called an Aadm.

He was a man of Templar rank, ‘knight’ and so a man to be feared by the dark but the dark did not even acknowledge his existence. True, he could be ranked up amongst their greatest, mainly due to his mystical upper hand, but all his skill and training would be useless to him when up against any of numerous daemon types. Such were the odds he fought everyday and for the length of time he had lived for, he had done quite a good job.

This day had been different though as he had fought the urge to kill the child he had brought here with him. Chosen for his great skill, he had been sent by his Cleric to end the life of the innocent child, Qyra. Well, maybe not innocent but definitely not evil… for the time being.

Tedious and near impossible, he had finally been able to find her by only the sheer magnitude of his determination, but then the sight or the poor child had been unfortunately too much for the Templar to take in. Not after knowing her suffering was still not ended. Could death really give her the peace she most dearly needed? She was barely nine years old but that made no difference. What did was that he felt for her. It were as if the sight of her gave the gazer a glimpse of all she had suffered and so demanded pity of them.

To kill her made him feel as hideous as the enemy but wasn’t that what all Templars were supposed to avoid? What was the Order becoming? Not that Hayashi hadn’t killed any children in his life time but they had all be possessed by foul daemons at the time, yet he felt this child could still been saved. Maybe he had seen too much bloodshed in his life and this was his way of dealing with it. If only there were easier ways to free innocents of evil instead of the purging, no slaying done by all Templars. The real battle was in the Spirite and not on Earth. The root of the evil.

"Why can’t we just bring the battle to them? Life may be full of ironies but the thought of existing for the sole purpose of dying is beyond me."

‘No. I have begun to babble’, he thought quietly. I had better stop before I say something I might regret.

The mound of mucus that was Qyra’s cocoon had even begun to engulf the walls and ceiling. Even the floor on that side of the room. Qyra no longer looked innocent. This was sinister.

"Damn! I was too late" he yelled at himself " Why ! ?!"

His feet kicked at nothing in particular but the sound of a noisy could be heard immediately after. Somewhere in a dark corner of the room, the can came to stop at the feet of another occupant.

‘I see he still sulks. Pitiful. A Templar with feelings for a daemon thing. Pathetic. Even soaps haven’t gone this far.’

The figure walked calmly out of the shadows, not afraid of being seen. The Templar would not hear him nor see him. His Telepath would make sure of this. Hayashi still sat in his own little world while the being used his Psi to block out all sight and sound of his presence. It was a thing that came naturally to him. This his manipulation of others through the use of his wield.

Desiring yet another close inspection of the cocoon after two night since the change, the being came closer only to stop in front of it and touched the child’s shell. It were as if he dared something to go wrong but nothing did. The cocoon felt soft and sticky on the surface, the goo coming away with his fingers but underneath he had felt the cocoon itself and it had been soft yet hard like a fleshy membrane.

After giving the gunk on his fingers a closer look, he placed his palm flat upon the slimey surface, only to feel the gentle throbbing like a heart beat. Her heart beat.

‘Nothing’s changed.’

Leaving the cocoon alone, he turned to head back in the direction of the Templar. Haysahi could be seen going about his frustrated thoughts, oblivious to the Psi wielder’s approach. ‘I almost forgot’, thought the other mischievously.

Coming to stop in front of Hayashi, he crouched and began to survey the Aadm as if he were some kind of new species. A Templar that weave Sigils and Elms. Interesting for the fact that their order condemns all paranormal activity. Crouching there as he was, his wield was silently at work.

‘The seals on his memory are still a problem but give me time, I might find use for the knowledge he hides here’.

A funny sound was soon heard by the both of them. Like a foul boil had just been popped to spill out it’s contents. It had come from the cocoon. The Templar shot around and so did the other but none noticed anything they hadn’t seen before. The other still watched while the Templar soon tired and was about returning to his thoughts when the sound was heard again. Three times in succession.

"What in heaven!" yelled the Templar Hayashi as he rose to his feet hurriedly, hand instinctively reaching out for his weapon. The room’s other occupant just remained crouched but watching as well, while remaining unseen.

It had definitely come from the cocoon. This time it was obvious and clear for all to see with the membrane bursting in three different spots, spilling a concentration of slime in all directions.

"What is happening?" the Templar asked himself out loud as he drew closer.

Came the same voice that he had heard that first night but the Aadm was too concerned about the child to stop realize and worry.

Several more pops were heard accompanied by more breaks in the membrane and Hayashi plagued by worry and fear, went rushing towards the cocoon. The other rose from his crouching position as he watched the Aadm with contempt.

‘Fool. Thank God I no longer am one’

"Qyra!" came the Templar the cocoon going all limp over the body inside as it lost all of it’s slimey contents.

"No! What could have gone wrong? I failed you!" he cried in despair. Hayashi spun round and crashed to his knees, his back to the remains of Qyra and her cocoon while he banged his fists on the ground. He was in the puddle of slime and didn’t even care.

"Why", he mumbled.

The other stood and watched in disgust. The Aadm was in his line of vision and he was about to shove him aside with the sheer force of his will when he felt something. Something different. Something new. A presence close by.

"Who are you? came the question which cut through Hayashi’s emotions

"Qyra !?!" he spun around in the direction of the voice with hope in his eyes. He even ignored the fact that the voice had sounded a lot older than that of the little girls.

A female did stand there behind him but it wasn’t the female he had been hoping for. Aged roughly twenty, she stood stark naked in the remains of the now completely empty cocoon, dripping slime beneath her. She possessed full round breasts on a voluptuous body and a beautiful face. A bit too beautiful. Where the child had been peachy white, she was golden brown but the face still seemed the same with green eyes and all.

Hayashi caught his breath. The other wondered whether it was because of her surprise appearance in place of the child or just the sight of her well sculptured from. He confidently guessed the latter.

"Who are you?" came the voice louder and sterner but Hayashi realized thankfully that her gaze was not on him. He did not wish to be the cause of the beauty’s discomfort. He turned to see to whom she spoke to but there was no one there, yet her face was set on something or someone. Coming back to his senses, he turned back to her whilst pulling out his weapon from it’s sheath.

"The question is who you are?" he asked with his weapon pointing at her. The female turned to him as if only noticing his presence and spoke with the tilt of her head. She spoke not in the voice she had just been using but in one hauntingly familiar.

"Qyra of course" came what sounded like the child’s voice. The Templar was stunned. Momentarily frozen by shock while the female got out of the mess at her feet. Leaving the remains of what had once housed her she walked past Hayashi, giving him a disdainful look.

"I love her already." The words came into Hayashi’s mind once more but this time he noticed and remembered. He jumped and quickly spun round yelling "Who’s there?"

"Yes" came the female’s voice. "Who is there?" and she continued to walk towards the shadows as if she could see the one that hid there, invisible.

Without a word, a figure materialized right before their eyes, standing in front of … Qyra. He was Negroid with wooly black hair that looked like it hadn‘t been combed in a long time and cunning dark eyes set in a mischievous looking face. His fairly muscular body possessed long arms and he wore a plain old gray top over a pair of faded black jeans tattered at the ends with old black and white sneakers on his feet. Touching the little hair on his chin he called a beard; he gave Qyra a flirtatious look which she returned with one of her own.

The memory of his conversation with his Cleric before leaving for the mission flashed through the Templar’s head.

"Penetrate this Hell hole and make sure you vanquish her. I would prefer you to raze the whole place down but one man is too little a force to do that."

"Then why do you not call in the Crusaders?" Hayashi had asked with hope of leaving this mission for the Order’s elite. It had sounded a little too dangerous for him in his lonesome.

"It needs to be done promptly in secrecy. We have no time to wait for the Crusaders. Was he not a Templar, sworn to protect humanity from this dark thing of the Forsaken? His Cleric had reason to believe that she possessed power that could break the balance of the Fates and leave chaos to rule. It was his duty to make sure this did not happen. His sworn duty.

"I like" came Qyra’s voice melodiously as she looked the other, top to bottom. ‘Not exactly handsome but rather…. Attractive’, she thought to herself when she heard him speak inside of her.

"But you are beyond words", he grinned.

"A telepath? You cease to amaze" she smiled but noticed a frown crawl onto his face. He was looking over her shoulder at something behind her when the soft patter of running feet came to her ears. ‘Hayashi’, she realized.

The Templar rushed at them with his blade held up to his side in both hands. Hoping for a swift kill before they had the opportunity to use their wields, he found to his dismay that both male and the female were watching him. None of them looked the least worried which should have bothered him but instead, drove him on with the desire to prove to them just how much of a threat he could be.

Since there were two of them, he began to weigh his options. Both their wields were a mystery to him but they too did not know of his weaves, yet he still wished to be careful. Qyra being the main problem at hand, he decided to be rid of her first. If her mere existence was a threat to humanity, then he would have to hope she would never get the chance to use her power on him. Drawing closer, what he had dreaded soon came to pass as the male vanished into thin air.

"Curses"

He reappeared immediately to stand only a few steps from the Templar and his blade. The look on his face was one of exasperation and not fear as Hayashi would have hope. Sending a swipe at the male’s neck, the figure vanished once more, just as the blade had been about to cut his flesh. Reappearing somewhere in the corner of the Templar’s eye, Hayashi swiped yet again but the same thing kept on reoccurring while the telepath spoke to him.

"Give it up. There are two of us and one of you", but Hayashi refused to heed his words as he began to quickly weave Sigils. The male’s eyes narrowed then and so did Qyra look the Aadm in awe but the effects of his spell were never seen as the Templar found himself freezing on the spot. With the male coming right up close, Hayashi broke into a sweat. The male then whispered into his ear saying. "It was fun." Next thing the male reappeared beside Qyra while the Templar’s body collapsed to the floor as it had done once before.

"Impressive. Your mind tricks are brilliant but in a real battle…" and she left her sentence to trail off in silence. Obviously offended, the male turned to her with an angry look in his eyes.

"I see you do not take criticism well either" she added and began to walk away with her eyes still tied to the telepath’s. Before the male could find something to say to her, she said out softly.

"Good bye and thank you for the entertainment".

Blowing him a kiss on the wind, the male began to feel five distinct auras as they came rushing into the room, invisible to even his eyes. Swiftly they came and were almost immediately gone as they took the woman –child Qrya with them. The last he saw of her was the devilish grin on her face. This had been a much more eventful night for him in the Forsaken.

The streets were alive with noise and movement but luckily for the two, this specific one was void of any occupants. Escape was their only alternative. To hide would have been a futile act which would only end in their being found and what? She shut her eyes fearfully, blocking out thoughts of their fate if found. Capture was not an option.

Making sure the coast was clear, the woman made good their escape. Herself and the three year old she pulled along with her. The child was bald with huge emerald green eyes full of confusion. Realizing her mistake, she cursed herself as she swung the child up and onto her chest so that her offspring lay hidden in the confines of her large coat. She had forgotten the need to keep the child hidden. A mistake that could have cost them their lives.

‘But why? Why us? Why me? What harm have we done to deserve this?’ They came to the end of the road and she carefully looked down the options it gave them. A turn to the right and the left. Hurriedly picking the path to the right, she had already begun to rush down it’s length when she realized they were not alone. Someone else was on the dark street as well but all she could tell from the silhouette was that it was built like a male. A knife gleamed in his hand and he was heading right for them.

Panic caught hold of her but she quickly held her breath a second before she could scream out in fright. Instantly pressing her back against the well, she carefully began to move silently along it’s length, away from the approaching figure. The wall behind her soon vanished and at first she was shocked but she was able to quickly understand what had happened and promptly shot down the new road looming behind her. Though she hadn’t remembered seeing this side street earlier on, she was thankful all the same.

While searching for deeper shadows, the woman took a misplaced step. It had probably been a bottle but the damage had already been done. First slipping, she lunged behind a pile of garbage while the glass bottle rolled noisily away in the direction of their pursuer. A bright beam of light suddenly shot down into the street with it prying into the shadows. Her pursuer now blocked her escape route for she only just realized she had entered a dead end. Her only alternative now was to stay silent and still, but the fear she felt spread like a cancer, making this hard to do. The sound of his footsteps could be heard growing louder and louder as he cautiously made his way closer and closer to them.

‘What do I do? What can I do?’ She asked herself in panic. Suddenly without warning, the child giggled. Her heart was caught in her throat as she quickly clasped her hand over the small mouth and began to pray for a miracle. As would be expected, the footsteps came to a stop but they were so close that she was sure he knew exactly where the sound had come from. The beam played about their hiding place and the rest of the dead end, when to her great misfortune, he continued to draw ever closer to their hiding place.

Time was now painfully slow to her and in desperation; her hands quickly began to search the ground blindly for some sort of weapon. Feeling out a steel rod, she grasped it tightly in her hand and waited. Unable to look out for fear of being seen, she realized a little late that the sound of his footsteps were now receding. Had her prayers been answered? She wasn’t sure. Instead of recklessly following from behind, she waited suspiciously to make sure it was no trick. She waited till all sight and sound of his presence was gone for over a couple of minutes before she could even breath properly.

Waiting till she had calmed down considerably, the woman checked on her child to find what looked like a boy, asleep. He looked sound asleep with no sign of discomfort from laying cramped in front of her. Finally rising, though with care, she made her way back to the intersecting roads with her child and the steel rod. Both routes were empty so whilst praising her lord, she picked on one to follow and proceeded with her flight from this place. Like snakes, a pair of arms came lunging out at her and she in fear struck out with the rod she still held. Not even caring where she had hit, the woman felt the man’s arms go limp immediately after the sound of impact and wasting not a second more, she fled in the first direction she saw.

In the entire abruptness she had accidentally let off a cry but there was nothing she could do to change events. Fleeing fore more then just her life, she hoped the rest of her pursuers hadn’t heard her out burst but her hopes were dashed as the once dark and silent network of back streets were quickly becoming the opposites. She had given the both of them away and now, angry voices could be heard yelling light from their torches shining round almost every corner.

With determination set on her face, she ran with all her might and as fast as her legs would carry them. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the mob growing and coming after her with everything they had. Men, women and even children carried anything that could be used as a weapon, from rakes and knives to sticks and stones. They wanted blood and looked determined enough to get it, no matter how long it took. How long she would be able to keep this up, she knew not but the knowledge of what would happen to her child if caught kept her running.

Head turning back to face her front once more, she saw nothing but darkness as she went crashing into something. Impact had been hard and so had what she had hit, so she had the wind knocked out of her as she crashed to the ground. Falling to her side, she made sure her son was out of harms way but he did wake up all the same and began to cry. His protests did not bother her an ounce as much as the thing she had bumped into. Speechless on the floor she looked up at the large bodied thing that loomed over her and scared all life out of her.

* * *

I awoke but not from slumber. I have not slept a wink since my birthing this was more of a sub-conscious limbo, unlike any form of day dreaming I had ever undergone. This was neither the first nor the second of my new habits borne out of a new sense of being. A change I had been destined to undergo since before the hour of my birth. A change I loathe as a shadow does light.

Did I leap or did I merely appear below in the dark alley? I did not know nor care. I had begun to do things without acknowledging them for a while now. So long now that I barely gave them thought after my eventual discovery. My belief is that there is only a little of me I will ever comprehend.

Something had disturbed my peaceful limbo and it lay somewhere down this alley. This was what bothered me. I did not know why but I was being drawn by something laying in the shadows. Like some feral thing, I smelt out the strange aura with a sense with no semblance to that possessed of the nasal cavities. My whole being just had this way of feeling out the world around me in some sort of twisted manner which demanded no physical contact whatsoever. Not even the sight through my eyes worked as good. It was like a sight seen through my soul which surpassed my eyesight in numerous ways and so you could say I was a freak.

My prey turned out to be a child. The young fry of the fledgling Aadm race. Fry and Fledging. In what terms do I speak? Now even my tongue felt reformed or as if it had belonged to the mouth of another. I had begun to speak in the manner all True Bloods of the Forsaken spoke. I not only hated what I had become but also the life I lived and the world that made me this way so why then did I care about the manner in which I spoke and one of the world’s children?.

I wished to acknowledge the child as what she was but that would only reopen wounds just barely healed. I longed to reach out and assure the frightened child as she watched with wide green eyes, unblinking. But then I feared to see what she saw me as. She and the rest of the world. Secretly, I wondered at how much or my former self was still left but dared not for fear of more anger and pain

She sat huddled in a corner of the dark alley, her small fragile form gray in the darkness and shadow. Slowly, her presence became overpoweringly strong. Stronger then most I had met in this dark shadow of a world. Looking closer, I sought out the reason why with my plain sight and I found blood. She was soaked in it.

Within me I felt no fear nor sadness but I did feel, to my surprise, disgust. A disgust which tore through my insides like worms in their millions. Memories of my past soon began to flood into my head and I hated it. I fought it all, even though this was a futile attempt. Once the dam had been broken and my memories were left to pour, they would continue to pour till there was absolutely nothing left to let drip. I wanted to scream and yell and probably would have if I hadn’t noticed another change in the child before me.

Like an infection she began to grow, immensely… it were as if she were a dark cloud blocking out the sun. Yes I had become vile and corrupted. Changed from my former self but with her as she was now, I seemed pure and cleansed like a new born child. The tables had turned and I was now the vulnerable one. Before I could dare to protest, the child had engulfed me as a whole and in that second, the me that was I ceased to exist.

I was her, she was I and we were one. In that one that was us, I lived a nightmare that made mine seem distressingly mild, as if child’s play. Death destruction, what else did I see? The Fabric was in a mess with death, suffering and bloodshed just too overwhelming. The me that was her soon began to dissipate into nothingness. Both our existences which amounted in one whole were painfully choked out of all being. And then I found myself awaking and knew then that it had not been real but only twisted illusions forged by my weary mind, a mind made weary by boredom. This had been the dark abyss of untold horrors which seemed to adore me and implore me to immerse myself in it. To become one with it but as always, I had declined

Escape I managed once again but for how long would I be able to keep it up? How long without sleep? Without food or drink, love and belonging, purpose and desire. Back at my usual perch atop one of several old buildings, crouched like a shadowy fiend, I watched the world around me with unseeing eyes. Old buildings possessed a unique aura quite like my own. An existence with a deceitfully perfect beginning and a painfully real nightmare of an end lasting for seemingly all eternity. Maybe I was wrong all those years ago and did need companions after all. How long had it been and yet, Qyra still haunted me.

* * *

I walk up the deserted road once more for the last time, no longer in a hurry or afraid of being seen. I, Templar Hayashi of knight status and former Blue Myst operative. Today I will surely die but hopefully it will be after I have achieved that which I have set out to do. The deed to be done by my own hands, the death of the woman-child Qyra. Up above, the clouds are heavy and threaten to drench me as it had done so the last time I had been here. It gave me this ominous feeling like the world was against me and I was alone, but wasn’t I? Did I not tread this path in my lonesome for the second time?

Lighting and thunder ripped the heavens apart, adding malevolence to the building I now stood before, as I had done a few nights earlier. Visions of my first meeting with Qyra began to play in my head and it only made me wonder what evils lay waiting for me this time. My mind then drifted to the other that had been present on the night of her transformation. I guessed he was Kaij’n but it had been obvious that he hadn’t been one of the maester’s other creations, or was he? And what had the vile old man done to Qyra to cause that transformation? Did her phenomenal growth in body and age also include her mental faculties as well? There were just too many unanswered questions nagging at me and I did not like it.

’How am I expected to succeed when I have no idea of what I’m going up against?’ Realizing I was only setting myself up for failure, I quickly changed my frame of thought.

To calm my tense nerves, I decided to recount all that had happened after my waking from darkness. I hadn’t even been sure what had caused me to black out like that but I was not complaining. In that state it would have been so easy to kill me and yet I was still breathing. Though my enemy, I found myself grateful.

"You do not look half as bad as I had expected", came his voice, masking some emotion.

My Cleric, Luke, sat in the confession booth in his robes with his glasses hanging from the tip of his nose. I was sure he had been there since receiving my phone call and though he tried to hide it, I could tell he was tense. Very tense. Sitting before him after shutting the booth behind me, I had spoken with guilt heavy on my breath.

"I have failed us". I caught the stiffening of his jaw.

"You failed and yet, you live to give me the bad news?" The question had come after the friendly light in the Cleric’s eyes had vanished.

Luke was a man of roughly thirty, making him a year younger than his charge. Taking orders from one younger than me was not a bother to me, but the manner he treated people was. Sure, I was not new to the Order and it’s ways and this scared little man, though larger than me, was no threat to me but his poor judgment and people skills would get any rookie knight killed. It would be a pity if a bunch of young kids died just because they took the advice of one of the only people they, could trust. Their guide through the Forsaken. His face often hid all emotion and when it did show, it was often fake.

Possessing brown eyes with a chiseled chin, a long nose and wide mouth, I could not call him handsome. His hair was shoulder length blonde and he wore it proudly, uncharacteristic of a priest.

"It is a long tale that you ask me to recount", I replied calmly but I had felt anger growl somewhere within me nonetheless.

"And since you are alive, I believe we have all the time you need to tell it", came his scornful words. His eyes were cold, daring me not to do as he had asked. As he had demanded. I am no coward but yet instead of taking up the challenge he threw at me, I opened up my mouth to speak soothing words almost immediately. Almost. It wasn’t the words I had intended on saying that left those parted lips.

"I have not the time to waste speaking with you…." His face quickly took on a look uglier than the former.

"…. I intend to finish the job I have been charged with. I am only here to let you know that the worst has come."

I saw him flinch then. Turning to leave the confession booth, I spoke to my Cleric for probably the last time. At least death would give me some form of pleasure.

"Farewell. But then again, if I die we will meet each other soon enough."

Subconsciously, a grin crawled onto my face as the rain drenched me whole when I looked up to remember that I stood before the God forsaken building once more. Returned from my remembrances.

Allowing myself the liberty of having my last draughts of fresh air, I could feel the evil the mansion contained, the latter as if ready to burst under it’s magnitude. What could I, one man, do against so much? I would soon find out.

I began to walk up to the front door, my mind too dull to think of a safer way in. The last time I was here, I had just walked in casually after stealing the robes of one of the building’s occupants on his return. I had jumped him just where that dead tree stretched it’s branches out onto the dirt track road I now stood on. The thought of waiting that long once more did not sit well in me. The knowledge of my imminent death prompted me into action, but then I felt it. Something unmistakable, indefinable, it hit me like a rock and I spun round to see what it was that had wrenched the full concentration of my being. I turned and I saw nothing. Nothing whatsoever that I had not noticed earlier on, upon my arrival. ‘Strange’.

My eyes searched around suspiciously while my mind refused to accept what they saw for I still felt that overpowering presence beside me. It is minutes I waste. Minutes spent to hammer the truth into my stubborn mind. Either the thing I had felt was now gone which was rather unlikely because the felling still lingered, or the thing was invisible to the naked eye. My plain human eyes.

Alert and wary, I gave a show of resignation while I wondered what course of action to take. How on Earth do I battle a thing I have no hope of seeing? I turned back to the door with this thought on my mind.

"Whoa!"

An eye. An ominous, hideous eye glared down at me, boring into my skin and sending shivers all over. It was the first thing I noticed, sitting snuggly in the topmost reaches of the door as if it looked like a natural occurrence for buildings to sprout out eyes. It had a sick yellow pupil with purple iris while mucus was wedged all around the eye, as if securing it to the building.

I leapt back in fear, mouth wide open with eyes even wider in disbelief. Out of reflex, my hands sought out sword and sheath without my realizing it but the eye had. In manner of speculation, the slimey gunk around the eye slid over the fringes of its surface while the pupil and iris reduced in size, focusing on me. The look had been unnerving and without actually knowing if an attack had already been launched, I leapt aside while my arms pulled out my weapon.

I hit the ground hard on my side and quickly rolled over my head and back onto my feet. As I did so, I heard a loud crash. A long tentacle of stone had shot itself out of the building and had slammed into the spot I had hurriedly left. The tentacle was definitely of stone but the manner in which it moved gave one the impression of living flesh.

In a flash the tentacle shot at me once more with me leaping in time, only for my feet to land accidentally atop the long thing that attacked me. Wobbly from my unexpected landing, I tried to regain my balance as my hands got into more thoughtless action. They sent the sword gripped in both hands, swiping at the large tentacle I stood upon. If only I had added a little more strength to the effort, my trusty blade would have certainly snapped in half. Fortunately for my foolish test of fate, all I got had been a fierce shock which traveled up the weapon and into my arms, a small spark and a loud clashing sound which made my skin crawl.

The force that ran up into my arms was just too strong and unexpected so I did the expected and let go of the sword in a hurry. I let got with a cry of pain and would have given off another cry if I hadn’t been robbed of my voice at the time. After watching my weapon fall to the floor, my eyes looked up just in time to find another stone tentacle coming at me.

Still atop the first tentacle, I tried to dodge the second one coming right at me but my effort was not enough. The second stone tendril still managed to brush hard against my side, causing me to fall from my place atop the first with another cry. On impact, the pain I felt assured me of breaking my ribs.

Steeling myself against the pain, I got into a crouched stance after rolling further away from the hellish building. My hand reached out and felt to prove my assumption. Three ribs cracked. I had not even entered the building and my troubles had already begun. My plan had been not to use any Sigils or Elms till I had at least found Qyra’s exact whereabouts but in my present situation, that form of inactivity would only glean death.

Before me, I watched both tentacles come but fear was the last thing I felt. Light, Wall, Steel. As I called the words in an ancient tongue, fingers on my right hand formed mystic symbols associated with them. A fourth symbol was added to seal my magicks into the space in front of me, just in time too as both tentacles had swallowed all but a few inches of space between us.

A blinding flash of light burst in front of me as the effect of my combined Elm and Sigils was felt. A combination I had cooked up myself but numerous variations existed. A combination that had, saved my life on countless occasions and had just saved me now. I would always be thankful for the training I acquired before my becoming a Templar but if the Order ever got wind of this knowledge, I do not dare think what they would do. For one thing, it was against the laws of the order for any of Holy favour to practice any form of arcane art. If only they knew what all my vanquished adversaries had known.

My barrier of light would only be able to protect me for a while, remaining invisible till something came up against it as my friend, the building, kept on doing repeatedly with it’s tentacles. Undaunted however, I rose to my full height, right arm against my broken ribcage and took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do and had the basics mapped out in my head, all seeming simple enough. I fell into a warding stance, similar to a karate pose.