Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 02:50:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rune Therain <mist_dark@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Nsync Saga, Epilogue

Here it is Saga's epilogue.  I'm happy with the way this chapter turned
out.  Some of the chapters I haven't been overly impressed with, but if I
didn't send them in when I did, I'd still be stuck there writing them.
This one didn't take to long, but I got everything I wanted into it.  Let
me know what you think.  You can drop me a line at either
Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both, so you'll get a
response.

Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me about Saga, or for the authors out
there, that have responded to e-mails I sent them.  I try to respond to all
of the e-mails, but occasionally I get side tracked, and well we all know
what can happen then.  Anyway, thanks to Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Aphrodite,
Di, Hamado, Tom, Matt, Keif and David.  The list goes on, but these are
just a few of the people who e-mail me constantly about the story.  Thanks
for your encouragement guys.  And again thank you to everyone who's written
me just to say they're enjoying Saga.  Means a lot to know that people are
reading the story and enjoying it.

Legalities: This story is in now way suppose to reflect the sexuality of
the members of Nsync.  If any of them are gay, then it's their business and
not mine.  If you're too young in your area or it's illegal in
aforementioned area, please leave.  If homosexual themes offend you, please
leave as well.  Parts of this story are based of the RPG Rifts.  All
trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.

Once again enjoy the story.  Thanks for reading.

Until next time,
Rune


EPILOGUE


	Ishtar walked the empty hallways of the castle.  The soles of her
boots echoed through the passages.  Now and again she would step over the
body of a fallen warrior.  Sometimes they were the demons that had invaded,
and other times not.  Blood ran thick on the floor, causing it to be slick
in some places.

	A groan caught her attention.  She stepped over a pile of ash and a
blue robe to reach the woman.  The goddess looked at the woman at her feet.
She brushed a lock of dark hair from the woman's face.  Stooping down she
picked the woman up and bore her away from the blood shed.







	Maria was covered in the gore that came from fighting a battle.
Her shirt was torn in several places and hung to her body by the blood that
had changed the cloth from white to red.  The pants had faired better, but
not by much.  Blood stained them as well, but they had fewer tears in them.

	Her face was locked in an emotionless mask.  The stare of a woman
that had seen far too much in her lifetime.  Even though she was centuries
old, the battle she had just fought would remain etched in her memory for
the rest of her life.  As a master vampire she felt the death of each of
her minions.  She had lost all but a hundred of them.  The few remaining
vampires had found a place to rest during the day.  Places to lick their
wounds and hope they never had to fight like that again.

	Time stood still for the Hispanic vampire.  She walked the halls of
the castle but didn't remember any of it.  She was looking for someone and
she wouldn't remember anything until she found them.  Which was for the
best.  The blood the ran thick on the floor would have caused even her to
vomit.

	She came too a door that hung slightly ajar.  She pushed and it
swung inward almost completely of its own will.  The dim light from the
torches flooded into the room in a narrow beam.  Her mask cracked.

	"NO!!!!!"

	Maria raced into the room and embraced the body.









	Darkness shrouded his vision.  He pulled himself to into a kneeling
position and blinked his eyes a few times to clear them.  They didn't.  He
pulled himself to his feet, using the wall as support.  He stumbled through
the room slowly.  He avoided most of the obstacles because he knew what was
in the room, and there wasn't much.

	His hand moved from stone too wood.  A few moments of fumbling and
he pushed the shutters outward and felt the warmth of the sun flood onto
his skin and waited for the light to flood the room.  It never came.

	A smile crossed his lips.  "I'm blind," he whispered.  "I'm alive,
but I'm blind."








	Awareness came slowly and painfully to the Guardian of Air.  Pain
lace through her head like a horrible headache.  She groaned and pushed
herself into a sitting position.  She moved slowly as to not agitate the
pain.

	Gradually the pain subsided until it was gone completely.  She
looked down into the pool.  It rippled and cleared.  She saw the remains of
the battle.  The bodies that covered the forest.  The ones that lay in the
castle.

	She saw the body of Selvar.  A tear traced its way down her cheek,
mingling with the blood that she had shed earlier.  Another followed when
she saw the bodies of Innis and Paloma.  She wept bitterly when the pool
showed her the body of her fallen servant.

	"The pain this has caused," she whispered through her tears.  "And
the pain it will cause."








	The waking world came slowly to Pyre.  As his conciseness returned
to him his body began to scream in agony.  Every fiber of his being felt as
if it were on fire.  He lay there for a few moments allowing his body to
regenerate.  He had no idea how long he had lain there, but it probably
wasn't that long.

	The last memory he had was falling from the sky, hitting the ground
and blacking out.  He stopped.  No, that wasn't right.  The last memory he
had was of the Guardian of Death leading him back to his body.  He had
died.

	Slowly he pulled himself to his feet.  It was painful, but he did
it.  he flapped his wings experimentally.  The tear had healed and he could
move them with minimal discomfort.  After quickly checking his body over he
though he could try to fly.

	Initially the flight was slow, he didn't want to strain himself,
but as he flew he worked the kinks out of his muscles and he was fine.  The
castle loomed in the distance.  He flew toward it with increasing speed.
The forest passed under him, and he could see that he wasn't the only
survivor of the battle.  The odd Werecreature moved in the trees below him.

	He touched down in the courtyard just as the sun was peeking over
the horizon.  The dragon shimmered for a moment and was replaced by the
human form that he had come to enjoy so much.  Clothing himself in illusion
he walked toward the tower.  He could smell Justin in the air around the
tower and knew that's where he was.

	The inside of the tower was empty.  Nothing was there.  No one was
there.  Pyre began shedding tears as the realization hit him.  Justin was
gone.  Not dead, but simply gone.









My dearest Lance,

	As you read this I know that I have died.  I know that this fact
pains you greatly and that you will shed tears as you read this.  I am not
leaving this note to torment you, I would never willingly do anything that
would harm you.  But I have harmed you and that thought will be carried
with me for all eternity.  I have died, I have been slain in combat, but
most importantly I have left you.  And that is something that I never
wished to have done.

	Know this, and remember it always.  I love you.  I have loved you
from the moment I laid eyes on you in the forest those months ago.  I fell
in love with the sweet and tender young man that I came to know.  I fell in
love with the scared young man that I first met.  A young man that was
scared, but refused to let himself be bullied.  You have a great deal of
strength my love.  Keep it and share it with others at the same time.
Share it as you have shared it with me.

	This gift I give you now is a token of my love for you.  I know
that is not what you want, and I wish nothing more then to give you the
world Lance, but I can't.  I am dead.  I am now truly one with the forces I
commanded in life.  I don't feat death, I never have.  But I do hate death
because it has separated me from you.  But I must love death at the same
time.  The Guardian has agreed to give me this last chance to say goodbye
to you.  Though she insisted it be while you were asleep.

I'm watching you sleep now and I know that even if you were to wake, you
would not see me.  At least not in the way I can see you.  It pains, me to
leave you like this, but I must.

Take this gift and remember me always.  I would ask you to move on Lance.
To find someone else to love like you loved me.  I know that you will mourn
for me, but do not let that over come you.  You are strong, and you must
move on.  Be there for your friends Lance, they will need you in the days
ahead.

I will never forget you, even death cannot take those memories from me.
Take care my love.

Love always,

	Selvar




	Selvar folded the paper and wrote `Lance' on it.  He set it on the
desk so that Lance would see it when he woke.

	He crossed the carpet silently.  The dead always move without
sound.  He stood next to the bed and smiled down at the sleeping form
before him.  Lance had shed most of his clothing to sleep, as was his
habit.  The covers were pulled up to his mid-chest as he lay on his side.
Clenched tightly in his arms was Cro.  The blonde held onto the book as if
it were a lifeline.

	Smiling again Selvar leaned over and gently pulled one of Lance's
hands free of the book.  He pulled something from inside his robes and
placed it in the now open hand.  He closed the hand and pushed it next to
the book again.  Selvar bent over and kissed Lance gently on the forehead.

	"Sleep well my love."

	"Are you ready Selvar?"  The Guardian of Death asked gently.

	He turned and nodded to her.  "Thank you for allowing me to see him
one last time."

	A smile graced her lips.  "Death allows many things to happen
Selvar.  You'll learn why I've done this in time."  She turned to leave.
"We must go now."  Selvar turned and looked on the sleeping form of Lance
one last time before walking to the Guardian's side.  The pair walked
forward and vanished into a light haze.

	In his sleep Lance smiled and rolled over.  Cro slid slightly from
his grasp and lay on the blankets.  His hand opened slightly and the
moonlight glittered of the object in his hand.

	It was a ring.  Bone white in the moonlight.  Three symbols were
etched into its surface.  The symbol of death and the symbol of life.
Between them both sat the symbol of eternity.


Well friends, that's it.  Saga is officially over.  I'm kind of sad to see
it end, but we all knew that this day would come.  I'm surprised that I'd
gotten this far with it, but I did.  Anyway, thanks for reading.  I'd keep
typing at this point, but it's just going to be mindless babble, so I
won't.

Rune