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A Call To ArmsHead of a Lamb, Eyes on the Camera Shakin' everyone's hand. Vulture's Circle And Smack their Lips. The Sky goes Black As the Lightning Rips. ~Never Say Goodbye by P.M. Dawn The Science Sector, commonly and affectionately referred to as SciSec, is home to some of Khazan's greatest Minds. Good and Evil, Scientific and Arcane. Its label is misleading, because it not only holds the greatest amount of Research Centers and Medical Universities but is also home to most of Khazan's Magical Institutions. Take for example the Stragus Mae School of Higher Learning; their most predominantly attended classes include Advanced Biological Chemistry, Alchemy, Elemental Control, Physics, and Xenocelestial Summons. A diverse criteria if ever there was one. That brings us to the most recent addition to the SciSec Repertoire: The Covenant of Mystra. The name is unknown to most Khazanians, and to others all too familiar. It is here, at the construction site of the new Mystran Palace, that we find Seku Grishum... who is about to receive a rather surprising bit of information. Seku Grishum watched contently as the Imps worked. The frame had been completed weeks ago by human contractors, but the final job was no mortal task. The Outside of the massive, black, cathedral looking building was but a shell of what the inside held. A Sub Dimension. It was a common practice, far from new. Recorded occurrences of it's use went back to Merlin and Ancient England on Earth, and even further back in many texts found throughout Khazan. Of course most of these were "Borrowed Space" so their stability depended upon that of the realm they were taken from, not the case here. Seku had created this Pocket Realm from scratch, just as Darius had with the original Mystran Palace back on earth. That was why he could not have mundane hands creating the Shell that would hold it's mobian interior. The materials; stone, wood, glass, et all, required a certain amount of ether be invested in each and all had to be enriched with specific enchantments before they could actually contain the sub dimension. Any proximity to mundane souls could disrupt this balance just enough to endanger the sector, or even the entire city. Seku had always loved a challenge. This is why Seku used Imps. They were fully magical, no chances of being even half mundane. They were simple, so they were easy to control. They were cheap, if one happened to get itself killed you could easily summon another… or ten. Seku monitored the progress of the hundred or so Imps with relative ease, almost as a side thought, as he pondered several design possibilities for the interior. So absorbed was he with this work that he never heard the Courier-Bot approach… "Se-ekuuu Gre-e-e-Shamn?" Came a grating and wholly artificial voice from directly behind Seku. For but a moment he stood stock still, then turned slowly to face the small, hovering cylinder of a droid.. "Se-ekuu G-" It began again. The robot didn't have time to react. Seku lashed out with his left arm and grasped the thing's 'speech pad' tightly then pulled it towards his face so that his eyes were less than three inches from it's sensors. "It's Grish-UM. UM. Not AMN." He then released the bot, who distanced itself from Seku considerably. "What is it you want with me? You do know that your very presence endangers this project…" "You have received a request from the League Processes Guild. You are to respond within Two Days. That is all." With that the bot produced a small data pad which Seku took. It then hurried away in no particular direction, leaving Seku and his thoughts. Seku held the pad in his hand, inactivated, as he was again pulled into his innermost thoughts… What would the LPG want with me? I've already refused their offers to promote me as a fighter, perhaps they're asking me to be an agent. This made Seku laugh aloud. Me, an agent. Not unlikely, I am a teacher and so I have access to quite a few probable contenders… but I couldn't possibly… not Now anyway. Too much is going on for me to even consider it. Nevertheless… Seku placed his thumb against the imprint key, verifying his identity and thus activating the dormant message within the unassuming pad. He began reading it as soon as it appeared upon the tiny screen. It was a short letter. Far too short for any normal Agent request. No, this was a Referral acquisition. For… "… Raven?!" Seku's eyes gleamed unearthly violet with a surge of hatred as he came to full realization. He clenched his fists, snapping the fragile little data pad into hundreds of silicon shards. He could feel his back twitch beneath his coat, demonic wings half awakened by the pulse of adrenaline and aching to be released. This had to be some kind of joke. If this was Raven's doing then no, it wasn't. She would never do such a thing. If this was an Earnest 'request' then he would have to deny it, Seku reasoned as he attempted to calm himself. He needed to talk to Raven personally. Seku pulled out a cell phone and hit the speed dial. "Yes, Seku?" The voice on the other end answered. "Stabil. Is Raven there? I... need to speak to her." "No, she is not. I would suppose she is back at the house. Knowing her she could just as well be at the Fallen Tower speaking with Ravenna. Or at the Library." "Yes Yes. Fine. If anyone needs me I'll be at home." Seku said scornfully as he closed the small device. Seku turned to look back at the Construction Site. With a wave of his left arm a Shadowy half-human form appeared at his side. He turned to the Shade quietly. "I want you to keep an eye on them. Don't let anyone but me or Stabil near the site. Got it?" The Shade responded with a nod and flew closer to half-completed Mystran Palace. Seku then turned around and vanished into thin air with but a swirl of green and black fire lingering where he once stood... Seku stepped through the open door and shut it behind him. Loudly. The air smelled of incense, she was here. Probably in the Library. He followed the smell of lilac and Dragons Blood to a pair of thick double doors with silver handles in the shape of winged serpents. The Library. He pushed the doors open, faint smoke drifting out like a slowly fading fog. Inside there were little pricks of light all about, candles of various sizes acting as the only Illumination in the room. There, at the back of the room she stood, her back to the door, pouring over some ancient text under the light of a Skull Lantern. Seku closed the doors behind him. "Raven." He said heavily, staring right at her as she turned to face him. "Mmmm. I see you got the letter." She replied, looking up at him. A slight frown forming at the edge of her mouth. "I had hoped you wouldn't react this way..." "How did you expect me to react? What do you think you're doing, you know what they're LIKE in there..." "I had hoped it would bring publicity to the Myst-" "No. No. If I wanted that I would have convinced one of my students to enter." Seku said shaking his head in disappointment. Raven looked crushed. "It is too late though. I have already registered. I am honor bound to Fight." "But... " Seku was speechless. She meant it all. What could he do now? Nothing. "Why?" "I felt it necessary. I felt I needed to do it. Perhaps as a test of what I have learned..." Seku looked into Raven's eyes. "No, that's not it. There is more to it than that..." "My... abilities are fading. Less and Less I hear the voices of the damned and the lost unless I actually listen. The Rend in the Veil is closing... and the souls on the other side call for one last bout of Vengeance." Raven looked back into Seku's eyes. "I could not deny them this." "So, this is less for you and more for the poor souls that have found out you could hear their pleas? What am I going to do with you?" "Allow me to fight." "I seem to have no other recourse. I still object to all of this you know... No good can come of this." "I know." Silence fell upon the dark room as the two considered what the future may bring. Seku's doubts swirling in the air and Raven's hopes sparkling within her eyes. It would be a long bout. Long indeed. |
