Subservient, Obediant, Broken

Claire had  seen Gilean exactly twice.  The first time, he seemed lost, lonely in some strange way. That first  time he questioned her  about her relationship with  Ruthivan.  She'd  been  guarded. It was none of his  business that her husband was  controlling and obsessed. The second time she came after mirin told her about the three-way marriage. She came to look at his face because she couldn't fathom  him being happy.  He was defensive.  This time, it was  none of her business that he wanted Sanria all to himself but couldn't manage to fight  off Colin.  Exactly twice.  And Ruthivan had been  watching.

She came  home after  her second  visit to Gilean and stayed  out of sight.  She quietly took stock  of her  life: four children with Ruthivan, a torn out  uterus for birth  control (Ruthivan  felt it their sole  duty to repopulate the  entire realms to help the esper population rebound), a marriage she loathed, a bond to which she was a slave. She kept memories of Gilean close at hand- happy he'd found  happiness, sad  it wasn't  with  her.  She pulled herself out of the thought.  That time had long passed.

At last, she  crept into  the bedroom and slipped into bed - hoping Ruthivan had gone to sleep- but the  speed with  which he turned  to face her let  Claire know he'd been waiting. His eyes were dark rubies glittering hard. His face was pinched with anger and his voice, even his breath, trembled in rage.  'Where were you today?'

There  was no  love here.  Before, he'd  tried at least to teach her to love him. He let her decide on her own whether to stay or go.  A very magnanimous gesture... only the already had a bond that linked them  and children who needed them.  She'd stayed. Slowly, though, his old self had returned. She belonged to him- property. She hadn't noticed how bad things were until they  were  so far gone she was beyond hope or help. She was neck deep in quicksand and still sinking.  Now?  She looked at the  contorted face and as dispassionately as you please, lied.  'I went to see Mirin and Matinus.'

Settling into Understanding

Understandably, the tension  in the cavern was thick in the air.  Sanria knew things wouldn't be perfect and had anticipated much of the jealousy and slight rankling which pervaded the couple's... no... triple's  home. She knew within only a few days that the  frustration  level was on it's way to terminal, and so  she called a meeting.  The three of them sat at the kitchen table - she and Colin on one side, Gilean on the other.

It had been rather quickly decided that neither man wanted the affection to stop, but couldn't seem to handle seeing the other the object of that affection.  As the ironed out that wrinkle, Orn, in search of milk, came into the kitchen.  Sanria's heart sank at the avoidance, Orn deftly kept his eyes averted, back turned.  "Orn, do we make you uncomfortable?" she asked.
"It's just... weird," he replied. And weird it was. How was this to ever  work if her own son couldn't handle it? 

Sanria  stared down at the table, barely  noting Orn coming to her side.
"Oh Mom, hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"You are honest... that is a positive thing."
"No, I mean, I know things have been tough for you... for all of you.  I'm happy you guys are happy, you know. Really, that's all I want, is to  see you happy, Mom."  The words were a light salve to the wound.
"Thank you, Orn."  And she was rewarded with an embrace.
"I love you Mom, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry about being honest, Orn. What feelings I feel because of  it are my own."

Orn left and as though a spell had been cast, Colin relented.  They made arrangements that were  impossible only moments before - working out the arrival  of the new baby with  ease.  Even when Gilean admitted his lack of prior parenting, Colin looked on him with understanding and compassion. Mirin  arrived and in short  order made apologies  to her father for her own unkindnesses.  Sanria would never have expected such a turning point in the midst of what started as potential tinderbox.

The final point, the spot  where Sanria knew they were going to be okay, was when Colin rose, and left the  room to let her talk to Gilean alone. They hadn't wanted one another alone with her since the Eosos side moved in.  And  now... Sanria's heart  warmed.  Certainly, things  would still be difficult from time to time... but progress had come  faster than she had anticipated, and everyone was settling into understanding.

Arise Children of Lord Kekfa

It was a dark night in the Stronghold..  Everyone was asleep in their bunk beds...  And suddenly, a loud booming voice can be heard.  "They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me.  Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them.  They shall be of iron will and steel sinew.  In great armor I shall clad them and with the mightiest weapons they will be armed.  They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight them.  They shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe can best them in battle.  They are my bulwark against the Tripower.  They are the Defenders of Vector.  They are my Knights and they shall know no fear." 

And all was quiet once again.
 
No fool will mistake that voice for they know it is Lord Kefka's..

The Army shall rise once against to take the Realms.

And it has already begun...

Current Character Description - Mason Stonehammer

A muscular man stands here.  Not a normal man though.  Shiny metal wings extend from his back.  Long blonde hair stops right below his chin.  His eyes glow a bright yellow.  He spreads his wings as he stretches his arms and yawns.  Blue and red markings are extremely faint on on his right shoulder but there is an obvious symbol of some sort that use to be there.  On his left shoulder there is an image of a block O with an X and an I in the middle of it.  Still faint but more obvious than the image on his other shoulder.  His wings engulf his entire body and suddenly disappears into thin air.  He has left the realm.....  Or has he. 

The End... But a new Beginning - Final Chapter

The corpse of Mason, decayed and lifeless, washes ashore in Vector territory.  Vectorian soldiers pick up what's left of his body and take it to their clan hall.  When they arrive they drop the corpse inthe middle of their clan hall and yell, "Grab the drinks boys and girls it's time to celebrate!  We have delivered what is left of the Tripower leader!"  The guards begin to dance around the corpse spitting and pouring their beers on it.  The celebration echoes through their clan hall.  Xeptimus enters the room and sees everyone cheering and dancing.  One of the guards hand Xeptimus a beer.  Xeptimus stabs the guard to death and drinks the beer, "Have some respect people!  Even though he was an enemy he was the leader of Tripower.  Don't you fools know I could have killed him while he was here?!"  Xeptimus picks up the corpse and walks away.  The celebration has suddenly turned into a room of confusion.  Xeptimus places Mason's remains in front of their healer.  The healer chants a few words and a few wounds close but no life enters the body.  The healer sighs.  Xeptimus takes Mason's body and puts it in an empty chamber and closes the door.  As Xeptimus locks the door a hand pushes him in the back, "I see you have tried to bring him back to life."  Klaus says,"I was invisible and saw you take him to the healer."  Xeptimus draws his sword but before he can strike Klaus disappears.  A voice says,"Relax brother, I just want to know why?"  Xeptimus answers, "He is our enemy but he was a great person in the battlefield.  What is left of Tripower if he is gone?  We all know that they are rebuilding their ranks and I hate to say this but I believe Mason can join our battle and make a difference against our enemies or whom ever stands in our way."  Klaus appears out of thin air and says, "Grab what is left of Mason and let's take a walk."  Xeptimus picks up Mason's body.  Klaus snaps his fingers and chants a few words and suddenly a gate appears in the room.  "After you."  Klaus says as he motions Xeptimus to enter the gate.  Xeptimus enters the gate and disappears and soon after, Klaus follows and the gate closes.  They appear atop of one of the highest mountains in Vector.  Klaus looks over the mountain edge and notices sharp rocks and says, "This is perfect.  Put his body by the edge and back away.  Give me a few moments while I work my magic."  Xeptimus places the body of Mason where Klaus stands and backs away.  Klaus kneels over Mason's body and opens his wings.  He chants many words and bright multi-colored lights suddenly appear around Klaus.  Xeptimus tries to see what is happening but the lights are far too bright.  Klaus yells some words and suddenly the lights disappear.  Klaus closes his wings, stands and claps the dust off his hands.  Klaus kicks the body of Mason over the edge.  "What!!!"  Yells Xeptimus as he runs toward the edge.  Klaus raises his hand to stop Xeptimus from coming too close to the edge and says, "Wait brother and stand back."  Suddenly a streak of yellow rises from the mountain base and heads towards the sun.  Like a bolt of lightning coming from the heavens, the streak crashes in front of them causing a huge dust cloud making Klaus and Xeptimus shield their eyes.  When the dust clears there is a figure in the center of a meteor size hole in the ground.  Klaus nods to Xeptimus and Xeptimus moves toward the figure.  The figure is surrounded by mirror like shields.  The shields move away from its body and then retract to its back.  "It's Mason!!!"  Xeptimus exclaims.  Mason stands up and stretches.  He looks completely different.  His body looks like a human but metal shiny wings extend from his back.  They move around as if they are one with Mason.  Mason's black hair is gone and replaced with bright blonde hair that stops to his chin.  His eyes are as bright as a bolt of lightning.  He flaps his metal wings and starts to walk towards Klaus and Xeptimus.  Xeptimus begins to draw his sword but for some reason stops.  Mason puts his hand on Xeptimus' shoulder and nods.  He then walks towards Klaus and does the same but says, "Thank you.  We are now friends."  Mason starts to flap his wings and his body lifts from the ground.  He waves to both of them and slowly fades out of existence.  Klaus looks over to Xeptimus and notices that his mouth is wide open in amazement. Xeptimus turns to Klaus and asks, "What the hell just happened?!"  Klaus answers, "I created the best thing that could happen to us." 

The End... But a new Beginning - Part 3

Mason wakes up covered in his own blood but alive.  He looks around and notices that the graveyard near by looks to be the one next to his home.  He tries to stand and but his legs are too weak.  He sees a dead rabbit near by and crawls to its corpse.  He drinks the blood but spits it out immediately.  Mason shakes his head in disgust and screams, "What have they done to me!"  In the distance a passerby hears him scream and runs to town and alerts the guards.  The guards pick up the broken body of Mason and deliver him to Tripower hall.  Mason is rushed to the healer, Finora and his wounds disappear.  When he wakes up, he slowly gets up and starts to walk his clan hall.  He noticed that the clan hall is silent.  The only noise he hears are the chefs cooking and the guards chatting about the barmaids.  No other clan mates in sight.  He realizes how much Tripower has changed over the moons.  Mason walks towards the guards and asks, "Why was there no one from our clan out to find me?"  The guards just shrug their shoulders and go about their conversation of the barmaids.  Mason shakes his head and heads toward the main entrance.  When he steps foot outside the clan door he is hit in the back of the neck with a blunt object and falls to his knees.  He turns around and noticed that it is his own guards!  The guards pick him up and say, "They have weakened you and we have orders to kill you.  You are of no use to Tripower."  The guards repeatedly stab Mason with their swords, leaving his body in a pile of his own blood.  "He's dead.  No pulse, no breathing and no use for us.  Let's finish the job and dispose of his body."  One of the guard say.  They pick up Mason's corpse and drag it to the highest cliff of Torregiano and throw it into he deep sea. 

To Be Continued.....

The End... But a new Beginning - Part 2

Mason wakes up in a dark empty room.  "Hello?"  He yells but only echoes follow.  He paces around the room and grins.  He mutters some words to himself and tries to open a gate to his home town but nothing happens....  He tries again and again but only failure follows.  Out of frustration he throws himself against the cold stoney wall.  "Tough to escape with no powers."  A voice says.  Mason replies, "Who speaks and why cannot I see in the dark or cast my spells to escape?!"  Xeptimus appears from nothing in front of Mason.  Mason grabs Xeptimus and bites his neck.  Xeptimus laughs and throws Mason across the dark room.  "You cannot even break the flesh boy!  You are powerless here, remember!  You are not even a lich anymore but just a weak puny human."  Xeptimus says while laughing.  Xeptimus picks up the groggy Mason and drags him out of the dark room.  "Wake up boy!"  Xeptimus yells as he slaps Mason across the face.  "Do you know I am the leader of Tripower!?"  Mason yells.  Xeptimus grins and turns away from Mason and raises his hands,"My fellow clan mates.  Here before us is one of the leaders of Tripower."  The room fills with light revealing that the room is filled with Vector soldiers.  Mason tries to escape but he is securely chained to the floor.  "You are a fool Mason.  Do you not understand you have be They have blinded you by the fact that they are superior to all other clans.  Vector has stayed silent too long and now it is time to show the realm that we are back and stronger than ever!"  Xeptimus exclaims.  Mason replies back, "That isn't true!  I will be back and have your head hung on our clan wall!"  Xeptimus bashes Mason knocking him unconscious...... 
 
To Be Continued.......