Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:07:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Rune Therain <mist_dark@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Harbingers: part 10

Okay now that I know I'll be able to put this out shortly (i.e.: the day
after I write this) I'm going to put a bit more into it.  First off I want
to say that if I can't access the archives, the next best thing is to be
able to post on them.  Not as good as being able to do both, but it's the
closest I can get for now.  The second thing I would like to do is sort of
an FYI.  In my mind the forest surrounding Selvar's castle (and pretty much
most of England) is like the forest that appeared in Nsync's new video.
Nice video and great song.  Just thought I'd toss that out there.

Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me.  It makes my writing a lot more fun
if I know what the readers are thinking, enjoying, hating, etc.  That and I
just like getting e-mail.  Special thanks have to go out to Kenitra (e-mail
me please Kenitra, I've lost your address), Shade, Aeoros, Hamado, Matt and
many others.  I can't remember all the names off the top of my head, but
thank you to anyone I've left out.

As usual I'm putting in the disclaimer.  This story in no way is
representative of the actual sexualities of the members of Nsync.  If any
of them are gay I'm not personally aware of it.  If you're too young in you
area, or it's illegal to read this, please leave.  If homosexual themes
offend you leave as well.  Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts.
All trademarks belong to Palladium books and Kevin Siembieda

That's it for now.  Let me know what you think.  You can reach me at either
Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both and respond as
quickly as I can using school computers.


Until next time,
Rune


PART TEN


	"JOEY!!!!"  Justin shouted as he and Pyre entered the main hall of
the castle.  The blonde wanted to run to find his friend, but couldn't
because of the burdens that he and Pyre were carrying.  The dragon had
teleported them from Yesena's mansion to the castle in five mile stops.
Apparently all dragons could teleport naturally.  It had saved them an
incredible amount of time.  "JOEY!  Where are you?"

	"What are you yelling about?"  Joey asked as he came into hall at
the opposite end.  He had a tired look around his eyes.  The look on his
face changed instantly when he saw who Justin and Pyre were carrying.  He
cursed loudly and ran across the hall.  "What happened to them?"

	"Not now," Pyre said.  "Can you do anything for them?"

	Joey closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  His face
cleared and when he opened his eyes they had taken a different light.  "Yes
I can," he said softly.  "Bring them to Joshua's room.  I've a few things I
need to gather before I can help them.  Make sure to set them on top of
sheets.  Remove the blankets completely and do not cover them with
anything."  Joey left the room swiftly the same way he'd entered.

	"That was strange," Pyre said.

	Justin shrugged as best he could well holding JC.  "I guess we can
deal with it later.  Let's get them up to Josh's room."

	Pyre nodded and followed his lover out of the hall and into the
corridor beyond.  They quickly made their way to the sleeping quarters and
into the room that Selvar had given to JC five years before.  The room bore
JC's mark.  The walls were covered in tapestries that depicted various
seascapes, some of which were beneath the water.  Numerous musical
instruments were placed around the room.  Josh had taken an interest in
multiple musical instruments after his time under the sea.

	The dragon carefully manipulated the woman in his arms so that he
could remove the blankets from the bed.  He succeeded and laid her down.
Justin followed suit and put JC next to her.  The bed was more then large
enough to accommodate both of them.  They had just moved the blankets to a
nearby chair when Joey walked in carrying a cloth bag.

	"You can you stay if you want, but don't disturb me," Joey said.
He didn't notice the questioning looks that Justin and Pyre exchanged.
Joey walked over to the bed and set the bag down on the bedside table.  He
gently placed two fingers on the woman's forehead and closed his eyes.  A
moment later he repeated the gesture with JC.  Without saying a word he
started pulling small bottles from the bag and setting them aside.  "Pyre,
be a dear and fetch me some water.  Don't bother heating it.  I'll need
about half a bucket.  Also about four bowls."

	Pyre arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything.  He left the room
and returned a few minutes later with the items that Joey had asked for.
"Did you need anything else?"

	"No that should do, thank you," Joey said.  He started humming
quietly to himself as he poured the contents of a few of the bottles into
the pail of water and stirred it with a rod that he pulled from the bag.
After he mixed the solution he poured some of it into each of the four
bowls.  Into each of the bowls he poured some of the liquid from a
different bottle.  Satisfied he took the first of the bowls and walked to
the woman's side.  Being very careful not to touch her skin he applied some
of the mixture to each of her burns.  He repeated the process with JC.
When he had used the last of the liquid on JC's burns he set the bowl aside
and took the next one.  He applied this liquid to each of the lacerations
that covered both of their bodies.  The second bowl joined the first.

	Finding a patch of skin that wasn't horribly maimed on the woman,
Joey closed his eyes and touched her gently.  A ripple seemed to pass under
her flesh.  The angry redness around the various wounds dulled until it
became a pink and then faded completely.  The lacerations slowly began to
close.  The flesh welled up slightly to close the wound and then flattened
itself out as the new tissue filled in the injury.  The torn skin that
should have formed the blisters over the burns turned white and dissolved
away to reveal the reddish skin beneath.  The skin darkened as it hardened
until it was a reddish- brown.  The brown again faded until it the skin was
a healthy hue.  The woman groaned quietly in her sleep.

	Justin and Pyre watched in silently wonder as JC was healed just
like the woman had been.  The burns and cuts were healed over completely.
Even his torn lips were restored.  When Joey finished there wasn't any
proof that the two had been through hell and back.  There wasn't even a
scar.

	"Joey," Justin said quietly.  "How did you learn to do that?"

	"I'm not done yet child," Joey said softly.  The brunette touched
the woman's forehead and she convulsed slightly.  She opened deep green
eyes and looked confused at the man standing over her.  Joey smiled gently
to her and offered her the third bowl.  He helped he drink the fluid, which
she did without question.  When she had finished it all he set the bowl
aside and made her sleep again.  Pyre held Justin tightly as Joey brought
JC around long enough to give him the last bowl.  The dragon let his lover
go when JC was asleep once more.

	"Okay," Justin said.  "Are you going to tell us how the hell you
just did that?"

	"Justin please don't use that language," Joey said.  "It isn't
becoming."

	"What?"

	Joey closed his eyes and sighed deeply.  His eyes had taken their
original light when he opened them again.  "It's a long story, but I think
we've got time for it."  He started putting the various bottles back into
the cloth bag.  "Justin, would you put the blankets over those two?  They
can take that now."

	"How long are they going to be out?"  Justin asked as he covered
the two people sleeping on the bed?

	"A couple of hours at least.  They need a lot of rest, and after
this so will I."  Joey told him.  He handed Pyre the bucket and bowls.
"I'll meet you guys in my room in about five minutes."












	Chris rubbed his shoulder and cursed again.  They had been riding
for a number of hours, having only stopped for an hour to wait out a storm.
The weather had rapidly changed from the norm for Africa.  Instead of the
dry heat that should have been present at this time of year, a thick
blanket of snow covered the land.  A land that should have never seen snow
under normal circumstances was now covered in white.  The heavy snowstorm
had stopped a few hours before and the skies had cleared for about half an
hour.  They made good use of the time by riding their horses a little
harder then usual, hoping to gain more ground before nightfall.  The hail
had started falling without warning.  They could ignore it for a few
minutes while they looked for shelter, but when the stones grew to the size
of grapefruits they had to seek with more vigor.  They'd found it in the
form of a lone tree.  The Savanna doesn't offer much in the way of
protection from the elements.

	They'd pushed the horses up against the trunk and waited the
hailstorm out.  Mala covered the horses' eyes while Chris set up a wall of
fire.  The fire kept most of the ice from reaching them, but the odd piece
still got through.  When the storm stopped an hour later the four of them
were covered in tiny bruises.  The Bruise on Chris' shoulder had been
caused by a large hailstone zinging through the fire and slamming into him.
Mala had checked the shoulder and it didn't seem to have been broken, just
badly bruised.  He probably wouldn't have the use of the shoulder until the
swelling went down, and they didn't have the time to deal wait.


	As night began to fall Mala pointed to an outcropping on the
horizon.  "We might as well see if that'll be able to shelter us for the
night."

	"Well since there's nothing else anywhere in sight, I'd say that's
a good idea," Chris muttered.

	Mala rolled her eyes and ignored the sarcasm in his voice.  "We'll
probably be able to make it there before full dark."


	The outcropping was much larger then either of them had expected.
It was a hundred feet tall and was easily as wide around as a house.  It
looked like a natural formation, but an opening had been hewn out of the
rock and a tunnel lead downward.  A faint flickering of light floated
upward from below.  The sounds of a battle followed the light upward.

	"Why is that everywhere I go people are fighting?"  Chris asked to
no one in particular.

	"Lucky I guess," Mala offered.  She tethered her horse just inside
the cave out of the wind.  "Wanna see if we can help?  I'd like to be on
good terms with the victor if we're going to be spending the night."

	"Good point," Chris said.  He tied his horse next to hers.  They
both left their heavy cloaks with the horses and made their way downward.
The tunnel opened into a large underground chamber.  It was warmer here
because the wind couldn't work its way this far down and the sudden cold
hadn't seeped into the ground.

	In the center of the room were two people back to back.  Chris
couldn't make out the one on the far side.  Facing him was a man that
looked about twenty.  His dark blonde hair was cropped close to his head
and tight bangs touched his forehead.  He wore a royal blue shirt that was
opened to reveal part of his chest.  Black pants and boots completed his
clothing.  A large bow rested in his left hand.  His right hand pulled the
string back as if an arrow were knocked, despite the fact there was none.

	A ring of twenty or so vampires stood around them.  One of the
vampires turned and hissed at Chris and Mala.  A sharp voice sounded from
the far side of the chamber.

	"Ignore the humans.  Deal with the renegade and her servant."

	The vampires surged forward as one.  An arrow of pure light formed
in the man's hand and he let it fly at the nearest vampire.  The creature
screamed in pain and lashed out at him.  The man threw himself to the side
and went into a roll, losing four bolts of light as he went.  A few of the
creatures moved to avoid the arrows, the rest simply took them and pressed
on.

	A vampire went flying across the room and slammed into a wall.
Chris grabbed a piece of wood and staked the creature before it could
recover.  He looked back to the fight and a small woman dressed in a black
leather jumpsuit wielding two silver swords.  She spun and slashed through
two vampires' arms with her blades.  When she brushed the hair out of her
eyes Chris smiled.

	"Need some help?"  He shouted to her.

	"Do you really have to ask that?"  Maria shouted back.

	"Thought I'd ask anyway."  Chris's skin glowed with scarlet
patterns that signaled his fiery aura.  He isolated three of the vampires
in a circle of fire and kept them there by increasing the temperature
inside the circle.  The creatures wouldn't go near the fire because it was
hotter then the center of the circle, but they needed to get out because
the heat was intense enough to combust their clothing.

	Mala raced around the chamber staking any vampire that came close
enough to her.  She pulled the occasional vampire's feet from underneath it
with her rope when she could.

	Maria and the blonde worked as a perfect team.  When an arrow
burned the flesh of one of the vampires Maria would sweep in and decapitate
the creature before it realized what had happened.  In short order the four
of them had dispatched the twenty vampires and were staring down the source
of the creatures' commands.

	It was a little boy, no more then five.  He wore a light brown
shirt and pair of shorts, he didn't have any shoes.  His dark curly hair
was cut very close to his head.  He looked in every way a normal five-year
old child, except that his eyes were glowing crimson and a pair of ivory
fangs stood out against his dark skin.

	"This little kid caused all of this trouble?"  Chris asked.
"Except for the demon- child part, he's kind of cute."

	"Silence human," the boy sneered.  "You know nothing of my power."

	"You do know that I'm going to kill you don't you?"  Maria asked.

	"Of course," snapped the boy.  "But you can't run forever traitor.
Other's will hunt you down and kill you for your crimes."

	"Guess we'll just have to make an example of you then," Maria said
calmly.  She drove a sword into the boy's chest and sliced the other
through his neck.  "I don't need any more enemies following me then I
already have."














	JC's eyes flickered with the thoughts that drifted through the mind
just before sleep fades.  He twitched slightly in his sleep.  His body was
covered with a fine layer of sweat.  A high pitched wail filled the room as
the siren sat up in bed.  His eyes flew open and the wail intensified.
Various glass objects shattered around the room.

Calypso's eyes fluttered open seconds after the screaming started.  She
clutched at JC's arm and pulled herself into a sitting position.  Her gaze
snapped to the door when the handle started to turn.  As the door was
opening she was leaping out of the bed and changing.  Her shoulders
broadened and the rest of her form filled out to become bulky.  Teeth grew
to give her an under-bite.  A fine layer of fur covered her body.

The second Pyre stepped into the room he was knocked off his feet by a
naked ogress.  The dragon hit the floor stunned and was easily thrown into
Justin by Calypso.  The shapeshifter followed the two of them into the
hallway.  She grabbed Justin and threw him off Pyre.  The blonde flew down
the hallway until he hit the floor about thirty feet away, he slid from
there into the wall.

"JUSTIN!"  Pyre shouted.  "GET JOEY!"

His words were cut off by JC's wailing.  The singer had left the bed and
joined the fray.  The siren had focused his voice into a single column of
sound.  Tapestries and tables shredded in the wake of wherever he looked.

Justin picked himself off the floor and darted toward the fighting.  He
leapt over Pyre and dodged around JC's voice.  The siren caught sight of
him and the wall behind Justin began to explode as the sound hit it.  Once
he was around the corner JC turned his attention back to Pyre.

The dragon had grabbed Calypso and rolled backward with her.  The ogress
was launched into the air and back into the room she'd come out of.  Pyre
continued the roll and followed her back into the room.  JC darted in after
them.

Calypso's flight was cut short as she shifted in mid-air.  Her form sleeked
out and the fur thickened and turned golden.  When the shapeshifter touched
the wall she'd transformed into a humanoid cat.  Her claws were out when
she shoved off the wall and flipped over Pyre's head.  Three slashes were
on his face when she landed.  A fine line of blood appeared at each.

He touched his cheek in surprise.  He was knocked off his feet and flew
into a wall when JC's song touched him.  Calypso shifted again to become a
naga.  Her tail snaked around his ankle and flipped him into the floor.
With a ripple of muscles Calypso flipped him into the floor on his back.
Her tail released his ankle and began snapped at him as if it were a whip.

"That is enough," a warm voice said.  "Sleep."

Calypso reverted to her original form and slumped to the floor.  The room
fell silent as JC followed her lead.  Pyre got to his feet and turned to
see who had incapacitated the other two.  A raven-haired woman stood in the
door.  She was dressed in a slinky robe that reveled nothing, but hinted at
everything.  She carried Evelyn in her arms.

"I hope you don't mind my intrusion," she said.  "But I'm a very busy
person.  I've brought your friend back to you.  At least her body.  I hope
you can care for her better then I could."

Pyre gapped at the woman.  "Ishtar?"  He whispered.

A smile graced the woman's face.  "Yes dragon."  She walked across the room
and set Evelyn on the bed.  "Evelyn's mind is no longer attached to her
body.  But the body and the mind continue to exist separately.  If you can
get her mind close to the body the two should be reunited."

"Thank you," Pyre said simply.  "I don't know what else to say."

"I once failed my one of my chosen ones Pyre," Ishtar admitted.  "And as a
result he died and his love exists in great pain.  I found Evelyn after the
five had left this world and saw a chance to begin to make amends.  Not
completely, but in part.  I couldn't save Selvar, but I could do something
for Evelyn."

Pyre watched as the goddess walked through the door and vanished into the
hallway.  A moment after she left Justin and Joey came running into the
room.  A look of complete confusion covered their faces.

"What happened?"  Justin asked.  "When I left Calypso and Josh were beating
you up."

"Ishtar showed up and knocked them out," Pyre told him.  "She brought
Evelyn back."

"Evelyn?"  Joey said.  He rushed to the bed and looked down at the woman on
the bed.  Tears rolled down his face.  "How do I do this?"  A ripple ran
through his body, starting at his ankles and working its way to his head.
He let out a sigh of pain and clenched his forehead when the ripple had
passed.  A moment later Evelyn's eyes flickered open.









	An avian elf screeched in rage as she dove down on a male trent.
Her sword blade slashed through the tree-like bark of the trent's skin and
into the tender flesh beneath.  The trent cried out in pain before lashing
out with one of its branch-like limbs.  The foliage snatched the elf out of
the air and her wings snapped as she hit the ground.  Swiftly he stabbed
her with one of his roots.

	All across the battlefield it was the same.  The sky was darkened
by the sheer number of avian elves.  The ground was alive with the trents.
The elves would swoop down and try to destroy any trent that was separated
from the group while trying to avoid the deadly reach of the tree-people.
Due to the enormous strength of the trents it took several of the elves to
kill a single of the trents.  In retaliation the trents would sweep the air
with their branches and snatch the elves from the sky.  The battle had lost
all organization and would eventually end with no clear victor.  Both sides
would sustain such incredible losses that both might as well have lost.

	Sayer and Wraith stood off to one side admiring the carnage that
was before them.  Neither spoke for a long time, only enjoying the
senseless bloodshed.

	"The trents are known for their patience and the avian elves for
their indifference," Wraith said after a while.  "How did you pull them
into a war of mutual destruction?"

	A smile crossed Sayer's face.  "I had Neva attack the trents baring
marks that looked like elven runes on her hide."  Sayer laughed to himself
before continuing.  "Since, among the elves, only the avian elves would
know the magics to bind an ice dragon, the trents reacted accordingly.  I
believe they attacked an elven outpost, and so it escalated from there"

	"There's more to it then that, isn't there?"

	"Of course," Sayer said.  "With the Guardian of Death out of the
way her sphere is out of control.  What normally wouldn't happen because
she was watching, can happen.  With a bit of manipulation of course."

	"Of course," Wraith said.

Both of them turned back to the battle.  There were fewer trents on the
field, but the flock of elves had taken substantial losses as well.  Before
the sun set the field would be littered with the dead and the living
wouldn't be able to perform the last rites that was due to each.

	"How do you plan to use this to your advantage?"  Wraith asked
after almost an hour had past.

	"Chaos is it own reward," Sayer said softly.  "But this will put
every kingdom on the planet on edge.  If two races that have long been
indifferent to each other will war until the point of death at the drop of
hat, why not a man's neighbour?  No one will trust anyone else.  Which will
make their fall that much easier to orchestrate."

	"We should bring one of the Gemini here," Wraith said.  "He should
be able to raise a nice pestilence from all these dead."  The creature
turned to leave the battlefield.  "Besides I've satisfied my appetite for
now."












	"Hush Lance," Clotho said.  "Just watch.  I've brought you here for
a reason and you'll understand why shortly."

	Lance sighed and shifted his weight from his one foot to the other.
They were standing in the desert surrounded by nothing but miles of sand.
In front of them rose a sand dune.  He could see over the top of it and
could see the stone base that sat on the dune.  Clotho had stopped him from
getting any closer.  All he could make out about the base was that it was
round and had a number of carvings on it.  The intense heat of the sun beat
down on both of them, though the woman seemed to be able to ignore the heat
completely.

	"It's beginning," Clotho whispered as the sun finished its climb to
high noon.

A slight breeze ruffled the edge of Lance's robe.  The wind grew until it
was picking up the sand.  It swirled around the base and formed itself into
a miniature sandstorm.  None of the grains of sand touched Lance or Clotho,
but their vision of the base was completely obscured.  The whirlwind grew
higher as more sand was added into its winds.  Within the span of ten
minutes it had grown to over a hundred feet tall.

"Close your eyes Lance," Clotho told him.

Lance didn't question what she had told him.  He shut his eyes as he
watched the wind stop and the sand fall from the sky.  The sand rushed past
him and scratched at his face as it went by.  When the sensation left he
opened his eyes again.

The whirlwind had cleared the sand away from the stone base.  What he had
originally thought of as a circular slab on top of the dune had been a
pillar that the dune had surrounded.  The pillar itself was only ten feet
high but was covered in similar carvings to the ones its top.

Six lines ran from the top of the pillar to its base.  These lines began to
glow under the noon sun.  Slowly the light became blinding and Lance had to
squint to continue looking at the pillar.  When the lines had grown to
their most brilliant a cracking sound filled the desert air.  With a groan
the pillar split into six section, each fell away from the center.

At the very center of the pillar was a small rock with a hole in its top.
A gurgling sound could be heard and an instant later water flowed from the
hole.  It flowed down the dune and away from its source, making a path as
it went.

"My time with you is almost over Lance," Clotho said.  "Are you beginning
to understand why I've showing you the things that I have?"

"I think so," Lance said slowly.  "If I guess which Guardian's died, would
you tell me?"

"If you're right I'll let you know."

"Death," Lance said.

"Why do you think that?"

"Everything that you've shown me so far relates to death.  The pup in the
arctic, the father saving his kids, and now this."

"But how does this one link with the others?"  Clotho asked.  "There is no
death here."

"But there's no life either," he pointed out.  "The pup will die because
there's no one to help it live.  The father gave his life so his kids could
live.  And the desert is a wasteland.  In order for there to be life there
must be death, and in order for there to be death there must be life."

"Very good Seeker," another woman's voice came.  She wore a gray robe of
the same design as Clotho's.  Unlike Clotho, who appeared to be in her late
teens, this woman looked about mid-thirty.  Her dark brown hair fell around
her shoulders, like Clotho's.  She had a candle in one hand and in her
other she carried a stick with notches for measuring on it.  "You are
learning.  I hope you can perform the tasks that lay before you."

"This isn't going to turn into a Christmas Carol is it?"  Lance asked.

Clotho laughed.  "Something like that Seeker.  My sister will be able to
aid you from her on.  Trust her, she has the same quest I do."

"Go sister," the woman said.  "Atropos has need of you."

Clotho nodded.  She walked over to Lance and touched him lightly on the
left side of his chest.  "Take care Seeker."  She shimmered lightly before
him and vanished.

Lance opened his robe and looked where Clotho had touched him.  Below his
left nipple a mark had appeared.  At first glance it looked like a
birthmark, but Lance knew he hadn't been born with that mark.  It was in
the shape of a cross with an inverted teardrop at the top.  He shrugged and
closed his robe.

"Are you ready Seeker?"

"I guess so," Lance said.  "Do you have a name I can call you by?"

The woman smiled.  You can call me Lachesis."


So what did you think?  Good?  Bad?  Not so good, but not so bad?  Let me
know.

Until next time,
Rune