“What is that thing?” 

The men who had been sent by Khalin stood in awe in front of the strange, enormous object that dominated the landscape in front of them. It was easily the biggest thing, besides a mountain, that any of them had ever seen. 

They’d trekked across the countryside in search of the source of the earthquake-like phenomena. 

Well, they’d found it. 

The young man who’d been tasked to lead them stood gaping at the massive metal structure that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and had torn a vast swath of destruction through the countryside. The monumental construct seemed to be the size of a mountain and made of a strange metal that was as blue as the early morning sky. 

When Khalin had sent him to find out what the massive disturbance was that had shook the very ground under their feet, he’d had no idea this is what he’d find. 

It was unfathomably tall, with strange angular protrusions on either side, like a bird- although its overall shape was more reminiscent of birds. 

“Wh-what do you think it is Hadrin?” One of the other men in his party asked, gazing at the object with eyes widened in fear. 

“I don’t know Ked.” Hadrin responded, awestruck. “But I think we should find out.”

“You’re mad!” a third man, called from the dozen Hadrin had taken with him. 

“Maybe.” Hadrin admitted with a shrug. “Still going to go take a look. You’re free to come or not.” 

The rest of the men glanced at each other nervously before turning around and heading back the way they’d come. 

Hadrin watched them go and turned and followed the path of destruction that led deeper into the woods, marked by dozens of trees that had been snapped in half as if they were twigs. 

He wondered idly if it was going to be the last thing he’d ever do. 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“There will come a time, my brothers and sisters, when the One True Goddess shall cleanse this world of every sin-bearing, corrupt individual. When her fire shall rain down and wash away every evil that plagues this land. But it will not be today.” Sulphur shouted from his pulpit, even as his minions traveled through the congregation lashing the backs of the faithful, the sound of their whips providing counterpoint to his ranting. 

While his outward expression remained neutral, inside Sulphur was grinning. His power was growing as the fear spread throughout the city. No longer were his meetings being held in secret in a burned-out tavern. They’d moved up into an abandoned chapel, and the ranks of his followers were swelling too. People desperate for something to cling to, for some sense of order. 

For false security, which Sulphur was more than happy to provide.

“No, it will not be today.” He continued, slamming his fist down onto the pulpit in front of him. “Because we have not yet proved ourselves worthy of Her generosity. We have not proven ourselves worthy of her care. And this we must do. This must be our goal.” 

“Yes Brother Sulphur!” Someone shouted from the crowd. 

“And how do we do that?” He asked, bringing his fist emphatically on the wooden surface. “How do we show her that we can follow her, you may ask?” 

“Tell us!” 

“By starting her work for her!” Sulphur bellowed as loud as he could, spit flying from his mouth. “We must begin her holy crusade. Right here!”

“But not yet. Not yet. Soon, my children.” Sulphur’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper but still managed to carry to every corner of the room. “I know you’re all as eager as I am, but we must have patience. She, in her mercy, has given us a sign. This plague was sent by her to mark those of evil. They, and those that protect them, are the ones who must be cleansed from this city. From this world.” 

Despite himself, a savage grin lit up his face. “And our first target, my children, must be those fools in the False Temple.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

Dhantnee adjusted the mask he wore over his mouth and then went back to mopping the sweat off the brow of the sickened man in front of him. He and other former-priests of the temple had moved the victims of the plague into an abandoned building. They were stretched pretty thin and the space had become very crowded as more and more people were succumbing to the disease with each passing day. 

But they tried to provide as much comfort to the sick as they could. It was all they could do without a cure. 

Despite having his faith ripped from him, Dhantnee prayed. He wasn’t sure to what, anymore, but he prayed nonetheless. Perhaps there really was some higher power out there in the universe that would hear his plea, even if it wasn’t Pryvani. 

“High Priest.” 

Dhantnee looked up into the eyes of one of the priestesses. 

“Yes?” 

“We’ve got more sick coming in.” 

Dhantnee sighed and set the cloth aside. “Find a space for them, somewhere. See if you can find some more beds or something in the nearby buildings. This entire section has been abandoned after all, there has to be something we can use.” 

The priestess nodded and quickly left to carry out his orders. 

“I don’t know how much more of this we can take, Pryvani.” Dhantnee muttered to himself. 

The former High Priest sighed and leaned against the wall, wiping the sweat from his own brow. He didn’t ask if things could possibly get worse, because he didn’t want to tempt fate… but if it was possible, Dhantnee couldn’t see how. 

With a sigh, Dahntnee stood and cracked his back. Maybe a walk and some fresh air would clear his head. 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

The water ran down Lysis’ back in rivulets as she pulled her head out of the basin. With a gasp she shook her head spraying a shower behind her as her long hair whipped across her neck.

She sighed and reached for the towel hanging on a peg in the wall. She’d hoped the water would help to cool her off, and maybe help her think, but it didn’t seem to be working. 

The leadership of Wanderer’s Bay seemed particularly obstinate when it came to their decision to ignore her warning. They were willing to tolerate her presence, and that of her people, but that was as far as their “assistance” would extend. 

She just had to find some way to reach them. She didn’t have time to move on to the next town, by the time she did that who knows what sort of atrocities Khalin and his group of thugs and murderers would accomplish. 

She looked over at the strange silver device Zhan had left with her. The communicator that would allow her to talk to Pryvani. Zhan had showed her how to work it before leaving. She could ask Pryvani for advice… The Titaness was, after all, fairly adept at diplomatic methods, much more than the fairly blunt Lysis was at any rate. 

Suddenly, she heard a commotion coming from the outside. She quickly threw her clothes back on and dashed out into the sunlight where a group of onlookers had already gathered. 

“Help!” Somebody was screaming. “Please somebody help us!” 

Without really thinking, Lysis dashed towards the voice. She was soon found herself just outside the bounds of the city and saw a pair of figures slowly making their way up the path, one supporting the other. 

She ran to them as fast as she could, discovering a pair of young girls one in her early teens and the other several years younger. There was a large wound on the leg of the younger girl. 

“Easy!” Lysis said soothingly, scooping the younger girl into her arms. “You’ll be okay.” 

“Oh thank the Goddess.” The older girl cried, wiping relieved tears from her eyes. “I thought we’d die out there for sure.” 

“Come, let’s get medical treatment for both of you.” She glanced down at the girl in her arms. She was pale and seemed to have trouble focusing. There was a makeshift bandage of blue cloth around her leg, that matched the dress of the older girl. “And then you can explain what happened to you.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Trell looked around her surroundings with a frown on her face. After making her way through what passed as a forest on Avalon, she’d found herself in the middle of a canyon. It wasn’t terribly big, not compared to her anyway, but it was probably going to be the closest thing she’d find for shelter without invading Pryvani’s compound. 

Although at that point she was seriously considering it. 

She’d been in the canyon for several hours and had just finished unloading the last of her equipment when she heard a sound at her feet. 

Curiously, she turned and saw a small human male gazing up at her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed with fear. 

She felt a smirk forming on her lips as she knelt down to get a closer look at the little intruder.

He was somewhat young, probably five or six years old with a full beard and bushy black hair. His skin was dusky and he trembled as she moved. 

“Well… hello…” She muttered, bringing her face close to him. “And who do we have here?” 

“My name is H-Hadrin, my lady.” 

“’Lady’ is it?” Trell’s eyes widened in delight, “And what brings you here?” 

“I’ve followed the trail of destruction you left on the landscape, it has led me here.” Hadrin muttered, falling to his knees and lowering his eyes. 

“Really? And why would you do that?” The Titaness purred, idly scratching furrows in the ground with her talon-like fingernails. 

Hadrin swallowed nervously, the grating sound of her clawing at the ground rattled in his ears. “Because you are the Lady of Death, you must be. I have dedicated my life to seeking you out, ever since you first appeared in Atlantis.” 

The Titaness narrowed her eyes. “Lady of Death you say? Hmm… yes, I think I could get used to that.” Her eyes pinned the little man to the ground in front of her. “Look at me for a moment.” 

Hesitatingly, Hadrin raised his eyes to look directly into the massive brown orbs of the goddess, which were scrutinizing him pitilessly. 

“What else do you call me?” She purred. 

Hadrin gulped, his heart beating in his chest. He was feeling very mixed emotions at the moment; on the one hand he hadn’t been lying when he said he’d dedicated his life to seeking her out… on the other, despite her being death incarnate, he wasn’t terribly keen on dying himself.

“The Devourer, my lady.” He whispered softly enough that Trell had to strain to hear him properly. 

“What else?” 

“Sh-She Who Brings Destruction.” Hadrin continued. “Soul-taker. Harbinger of Chaos.” 

“Mm…” Trell’s moan of pleasure seemed to rumble all around him. “I like the sound of those. Tell me something… Hadrin was it? If I asked you to climb into my mouth right now, would you do it?” 

Hadrin’s heart thumped in his chest, he was sure the massive being before him could hear it clearly. “Yes I would.” 

“Even if it meant your death?” 

“Yes my Goddess.” 

Trell’s smile widened. “Goddess… I like that. I’m starting to see why Pryvani kept it up for so long…” The Titaness’s massive form suddenly rose high above Hadrin as the massive woman pulled herself into a seated position.

Before he could react, her hand suddenly appeared in front of him, palm side up. 

“Get in my hand.” She ordered simply. 

With only the slightest of hesitations, Hadrin climbed onto the platform of flesh. He’d barely had time to sit down before it suddenly rose into the air, stopping right in front of her face. Hadrin prepared himself to be lowered into her maw. 

“I like you Hadrin, you’re a human who knows his proper place. I think I’m going to keep you around for a while.” 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“This isn’t good.” Brennar muttered as he and Zhan stood on top of the cliff, looking down at the Titaness. 

Zhan didn’t respond, couldn’t in fact, he was halfway through a nervous breakdown. 

It was her. Her. The woman who had almost tortured him to death, had threatened to kill him and then left him to starve for days. He’d be dead now if she’d had her way. It was only through a quirk of fate that she hadn’t succeeded in killing him. 

“What do you think we should do Zhan?” Brennar asked, his eyes transfixed on the scene in front of him. “Zhan?” 

Brennar turned to find Zhan staring down at the giantess, mouth agape and eyes wide. His skin had gone pale and he seemed to be trembling uncontrollably. 

“Zhan!” Brennar reached out and shook his shoulder. “Zhan snap out of it!” 

Zhan finally looked over at his companion. “This… this is bad. Really bad.” 

“Yeah I know, I was there the day she invaded, same as you…” 

Zhan shook his head, a manic look in his eyes. “No. No, no, you have no idea. She’s so, so much worse.” 

Brennar gulped nervously. He’d never seen Zhan’s customary bravado stripped away like this before, it was deeply unsettling.

“So… what do we do?” 

“I… uh…” Zhan looked down at the giantess again. “uh…” 

“Zhan!” 

“Right. Here’s what I need you to do. You need to go back to Wanderer’s Bay as fast as you can, I don’t care if you have to steal a horse, but you need to get there as fast as possible. You need to tell Lysis that Trell is back, you hear me?” 

“Wait, you think I’m going to leave you here alone?” 

“Yes damn you!” Zhan exploded. “Lysis needs to know about this! Nothing else matters, do you understand? Not you, not me, nothing! NOW GO!” 

Brennar hesitated only for a moment, before nodding resolutely. “All right, but don’t you dare do anything stupid.” 

Zhan nodded. “Yeah, right okay.” 

Brennar found Zhan’s acquiescence even more disturbing. Nevertheless, he pushed himself to his feet and dashed away in the direction they’d come from. 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“I’m not sure we should be doing this…” Irin muttered to his companion nervously as the two of them crept silently through the darkened alleyways. There was a crash behind them and the young man whirled around, only to see a stray cat dashing down the sidewalk. 

“You’re awful jumpy, Irin.” His companion, Garteh, laughed shaking his bangs out of his eyes. “And of course this is a good idea, you heard Sulphur…” 

“Yeah I know, I’m just saying….” Irin responded, glancing around as if he expected someone to be following them. 

“Relax.” Garteh hiked the bag of supplies he carried higher on his shoulder. “We’re almost there anyway.” 

“This just seems… wrong.” Irin muttered, even as he hurried to catch up to his red-headed friend.

“You heard Brother Sulphur, they’re all sinners anyway.” Garteh responded contemptuously 

“Yes, but, I’m not sure it’s really our place to…” 

“Stop being weak!” Garteh shouted, suddenly turning to face Irin, a savage look in his eyes. “This is our duty, as loyal worshippers of the true Goddess, Irin. This is what she wants us to do. Don’t allow yourself to be tainted by pity for sinners, Irin, they don’t deserve it.” 

Without looking back, the young man marched determinedly towards the abandoned looking building. 

Irin only hesitated for a moment, but hurried to catch up, trying desperately to ignore the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

*.*.*.*.*.*

The young woman washed her hands in a tub of water that was rapidly cooling as she made her rounds. It sat atop a short cart that she pushed down the aisles of beds, beds that contained those that had been inflicted with the strange and horrible sickness that had swept through their quarter of the city. 

She breathed through the mask over her face, her only defense against the vile sickness. This scared her immensely, but her desire to help ease the suffering of the people in the room helped her to push past it. 

She paused to wring the excess water out of the clean cloth she’d dunked into the water, before bending down to place it over the forehead of the middle aged woman in the bed. The woman didn’t acknowledge her act, she couldn’t. The poor thing was completely lost in the delusions that plagued her mind, reduced to a mumbling shell of a person that shivered in her bed, clutching her meager blankets closer to her body. 

The nurse frowned, shaking her head sympathetically. The longer they were infected with this plague, the less of their mind seemed to remain. No matter what any of them tried, nothing could seem to break the fever. Worse, the patients were having a harder and harder time keeping food and water in their stomachs. 

In fact, for some it was a toss-up what would actually kill them, the disease or starvation. 

There was a shout from outside, but the nurse ignored it. She pushed her cart down the aisle to the next bed, this one containing a young man just barely on the cusp of adulthood. He retained more of his mind however, he even managed to smile at her as she carefully mopped his brow. 

Of course, for all she knew, he might be seeing someone completely different. Nevertheless, she smiled back at him from behind her mask, carefully pushing his curly brown bangs out of his eyes. 

From outside the room, she heard a crash. The sound of breaking glass, followed by a terrified female scream. 

The nurse stood up abruptly, confusion written across her brow, what could possibly…?

There was a thundering of feet from outside in the hall, along with more confused shouting. The nurse looked around confused. Something was wrong, she had to get her patients out, but she didn’t know how. 

There was another crash of breaking glass, this time much closer. Alarmed, the nurse whirled around towards the window. She had just barely caught a glimpse of a bright light in the center of a storm of sparkling glass shards. 

The bright light struck the ground and, as the nurse looked on in horrified comprehension, the entire room was suddenly engulfed in a hellish blaze.