Imperium, Unknown location
From: 23, Maloch 1589	To: 02, Maylord 1589

Sareth’s Journal

Beldin’s Journal

Mesinplas’s Journal

Graham’s Journal

Mai-Khai’s Journal

Cherry’s Journal

Ill-Dal’s Journal

Darkness, not the dark of a cold place deep in the ground. Not even the dark of a room one shares with a lover. No, the maddening dark where one can feel the warmth of the sun, the bitter cold of the wind. The dark that one knows is just them as they pass sounds of people talking and commenting on some item that they might see. This was the dark of a world lost to her.

No longer was she in a cold cell, having been moved to a room with extravagant trappings. They had taken the time to describe them in as much detail, hiring the best poets to make it a painful picture. This was another of the tortures she would face, knowing the world was there but never seeing it. She had checked herself, curious to the trick they would use, it was real.

She had spent days trapped in the room, only let out during the time to eat. She would be led to a large room filled with people, better to remind her of her loss. They made her dress in clothes fit for royalty, only so that people would comment on how lovely her dress looked or how vibrant the color was.

The time spent awake would drive a weak person mad. She had a secret defense, a defense that allowed her to keep her sanity. Either that, or she was going mad already. She almost saw things before they happened. Not like a vision, at least not one that was always talked about. She would see a splotch of light in the direction that she figured was the door, just before the door opened. Once she saw a light, as dim as a candle at the end of its wick, speed across the floor. When she felt around the area she found a mouse hole. It was these repeated Coincidences that made her believe it was real.

When given time alone she would focus on this, think about herself and everything around her. It was through this that over time she had managed to increase her ability to “see”. If any one touched an object a faint outline would appear for a while, growing ever faintly. At first people and animals would appear as single lights in the dark, varied only by intensity. Then they became rough silhouettes outlined by the light that designated them as having thought. No color ever presented itself, except for the red color of a hot poker which hued all of her new vision. She kept this from everyone pretending not to see at all.

The greatest discovery of all came one night at a fateful dinner. She had been sat alone in a corner when she heard the tinking of silver against crystal. When she turned her head toward the direction of the noise she had expected to see the usual shadows and light passing each other as they went.

What she saw was alot more disturbing. Standing there in the center, their light outlining the impliments they had used to grab attention, was a very strong person. So strong that every detail of the person was radiated outward. The sword at the hip, the ever too tight pants, the riding boots, armor, even the rings she wore were illuminated. The strength of this person gave her great pause, but not as much as the strength of the object opposite to her sword, or the image that should have been her head.

The object opposite to her weapon was obviously a Crop. The wicked things Praetors carried to enslave the arcane. It glowed as bright as a hundred candles all on its own. It was intelligent, she guessed she had known this but never truly grasped the concept. Even that was a small surprise though. Given the intensity of this persons mind she should have been able to see every detail of their face. As it was all she saw was a huge imposing tower. Charles had warned her about psychic combat even described it to her. How when in the heat of it you see things as if on another plane, how the names of powers were often derived from the way they appeared during this battle. How viewing this world could tell you about a person. He even had described this exact scene, a tower looming from the earth to guard against assaults.

She was seeing with her mind, and this person was Psychic.

“It is with great pleasure, that I, and Mg’rlr, Have personally seen to the breaking of the traitor’s granddaughter. She is now in the Grandflock and will be treated as a common sinner. He will either come soon to rescue her, in which case he will be captured. Or she will soon betray her precious cabal, and walk in the light.”

Granddaughter, traitor, this must be Sareth. Sareth was a part of the Grandflock, this was bad. She mulled over the idea of this the rest of the evening. At night, when she finally slept, she dreamt of a place where she alone wasn’t in the dark.

It was hard to tell what had disturbed her dream, but something had. She looked around the room and at first saw nothing that indicated a presence. She layed back down and rolled on her side prepared to sleep again, when she saw a hole. A light illuminated the thing but was at the same time sucked in as if fodder for a starving beast. Tendrils of shadow flowed from it, it was a creature. It had two arms, legs and all other parts associated with a humanoid. Then she thought more than heard.

And he (blood of the surface, brother to the great spider, hunter, assassin, minstril) will enter the great dark (a cold place with no light that was endless, under ground, home of the devourers and spiders) led by the twin bodied soul (those that are seperate but never apart, the holy and the sly, compassion and uncaring, he and she). And behold she (the one of mind, to see and not see, the sword of thought, priest to the male goddess) will guide him (blood of the surface, brother to the great spider, hunter, assassin, minstril).

The thoughts flooded her brain, she knew not what to make of it.

Come (follow me, enter the dark, freedom, not to eat) I (The greatest devourer, leader of the true rulers, foe of the spider, truth seer) and she (the one of mind, to see and not see, the sword of thought, priest to the male goddess) leave now.

It was insane not only did the thoughts bombard her but images played across the void that was this creatures innermind. For some reason she trusted this thing, knew it was no harm to her, and so she left with it.

The tunnel it took was long and dark, no warmth of light could be felt. She however needed not the light.