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Chapter One

"Affairs in Kirighast"

The Princess Who Never Died by Another's Hand (yeah, I'm a wordy b|+(#, sue me.) and Hidden Mouse Moon were sent by Eye and Seven Despairs into the domain of his enemy Deathlord, Father of Darkness, to find an Abyssal just exalted by the Father. They were given a mortal cultist as a guide, but he failed at his task soon into their travel, falling to an arrow sent from an ambush set by the Shadowdancers. This tribe is a group that serves the Father fanatically. Unfortunately for them, they believed themselves safe from the Dusk and Day with their six archers... the fools. The Princess quickly choped through two of the archers with her Daiklave as Mouse caught the leader who had killed their mortal guide. Two archers attacked the Princess and the other 2 attacked Mouse, of course, due to their limitations, they failed. Princess moved forward with almost supernatural swiftness, catching the first archer through the chest, swinging his body around on her blade towards another archer, as the force and speed of her attack threw the body into the last archer. This meant two died on her sword, as the third was knocked down and stunned when his head struck a rock. They were finished off and the Abyssals fed well.

With the battle done, the two Abyssal watched as those slain by the dark blade of Princess, made from the spirit of Shalados, rose returning as slaves of the blade and it's wielder. They set off through a mountain pass below an ancient Solar fortress. It seemed abandoned... and therefore a perfect place to set up a base for the Eye to take the territory of the Father of Darkness. They crossed over hills, losing their zombie escort, but approaching the village where the girl was exalted as a Daybreak.

Upon reaching the village, they found a stake coated in blood and with a sense of misery. As an insult to the Father, they decide to leave a "message" for him after they either collect the Abyssal... or leave her lifeless body behind, for since their more social companion was left behind, there was an unspoken part to their mission. They find the village decimated, and the Princess smells the scent of something like both apes and rats... and hears movement. While the Mouse acts as a loud decoy, she moves around, letting the beasts... demons summoned by the "mistress", get between her and the Mouse. She attacked from behind while they bantered with her companion, cutting both deep. The first fell at the hands of Mouse, while the other fell to her. And so they are ready to find the Abyssal who summoned the demons so soon after her Exaltation, a servant worthy of being stolen.

And so they meet the Witch in White, after she sends her shadow to draw out the other two Abyssals. After a bit of talking, she agrees to go with them, and guides them towards a town where they can take a boat. Along the way, they rest at a shadowland and she and Mouse talk about their pasts, and she reveals that Mouse's attempts to lie to her about who he served were failures. At the village, Mouse became insulted about Witch taking charge and uses a Charm to attack all within earshot. When the Witch and Princess are harmed, the Eye grants a resonance to Mouse. Also, Princess slaughters those who attacked out of fear in rapid time. The fear at seeing so many killed convinces a captain and crew to take them down the river.

They proceed to go on a route that will take them up a mountain towards Kant on their way to the Cold House. Mouse, in his arrogance, attempts to release the wrath of the Eye, and instead draws more while his corrupted anima calls forth a flock of ravens which follow him, slowly dying along the way. This allows another to follow them easily. (While not known to the "heroes", this man is the Butcher, an Abyssal in service to the Father of Darkness.) They notice him when he's an hour behind them. The Witch uses Sorcery to attack him. After reaching the peak of their path, Princess mentions how they should send down a gift to the man following them. She and Mouse proceed to knock it down the mountain. Later there is a clang, but 5 hours later, he has not even reached the peak and they have succeeded in slowing him down.

They approach Kant, and feel the power of a ward over the road. While it was there, it did not have the power to hold them back. The Witch was disgusted at the sloppy work that went into creating the wards, which only were felt, and not enough to stop an Abyssal, and were only over the roads. After warning the mayor (who created the wards, and Witch didn't want to see because of his incompetance) Olrik about a "rampaging war god" following them, Mouse threatens to destroy the entire village should Olrik not slow that "god" down. And so they leave the mayor, who lives only because his antics amuse the Deathlord and some of his Abyssals. (Current score: Eye and PCs - 2, Father of Darkness - 0)

Princess is off on a secret mission for the Eye, while Mouse is sent to join Monument and Broken Blade. She is upset because she knows that they will mess it up, letting the cult be destroyed, if she does not hurry to finish and join them.

The cult goes into full session, after the three decide to work on recruitment. The Inner Circle minus one is together, but there is another beyond the Abyssals, the foul trickster Solar, Dewdrop. Mouse in his arrogance fails to notice her stealing the cult's "sacred book." and Monument does not notice that she is not a member of his group. Princess arrives, without knowledge, and is suspicious of the woman, but will not tear apart Monument's cult unless she see's his foolishness causing harm. While they search for her, there is no sign.

Mouse attempts to make up for his failure by talking to a fence. This fence is wise, but knows only rumors, and those seem too fantastic for any mortal... but perhaps not an Exalt. Broken Blade finds the missing cultist tied up.

Princess goes off following the will of the Dead Gods and discovers a Shadowland she and her companions do not know of, with a ghost and tree fed well on the blood of many who's bones lie there. She prepares to kill the ghost... but time will tell on what happens.

The Abyssals were together gathering supplies for their master and the cult. Freshly killed bodies for Eye and Seven Despairs, and drugs for the cult. The Mouse had been watching as the caravan meets Monument and Princess with some cultists. They take the supplies and send the bodies up towards the Cold House, while the drugs are carried by the cultists to "home". The Monument sends Mouse after the cultists to watch for Dewdrop to attack, while he foolishly sends Princess with him up to check the bodies. They find nothing at the bodies, as they see the flare of animas, and know that the Solar attacked the cultists. Unfortunately Mouse is too weak to fight the Solars, who beat him and the cultists down, but run as they realize that the Princess is on the hunt. Mouse did a fair amount of damage though, and Princess heads off alone to track the group.

She follows it through the woods and back towards the noble areas outside the city. Two young noble lovers pass her by, awakening a dark burning rage, that upsets her. She moves on, unnoticed due to her superior skill by a courier. Soon, as the sun is barely rising, she meets a man with a staff who knows her for what she is. She has decided to end the life of any who saw her, and they move off into a grove to do battle. The battle rages hard and long, and the Princess was winning slightly, though she could not strike him, his single hit had done was less than useless, just allowing her to draw power from it. They both decide to leave as he has ignited his anima, and soon they will be with company. She slaps him and leaves... both with respect for the other, not understanding, but knowing that no matter what happens and who dies, that will likely not change.

The Monument is troubled by the resistance, but comes up with a glorious plan after returning. He will host the wedding of two young nobles, and lead them away, letting his cultists "free" people right as the Solars come in, hopefully to slaughter the cultists... and then he can let the Solars be known as horrible Anthama. Beasts without any sense of right or wrong, only the slaughter. They would know what it feels like to be the villian, to be hated for just doing what they believe is right. They would know the pains that the Abyssals suffer at times.

Later, the Princess and Broken Blade are drawn out of the city as her blade whispers the desires of the Dead Gods to her ear. They find the crypt of the first great general of Harborhead, which has been robbed. The Princess speaks to the warrior after replacing his blade with her best replacement after the Black Dreamblade. She vows to return that which was stolen to the general... and the Blade learns the identity of the ruler of the dead in the area.

Eye and Seven Despairs calls for his loyal servants to return to him on a rainy night, and so they do. After changing out of their wet clothes at the unyielding will of the Deathlord's consort, Star of Dirt and Doubt, they are led to him. He proceeds to give a very footballish and 80s pep talk to each and every Abyssal before sending all but Monument to Bliss away.

Later that night, the Princess Who Never Died by Another's Hand speaks to Hidden Mouse Moon. She is scornful of his defeat at the hands of the Solars and he grows angry. She offers to teach him later... but he is wroth with her words and attacks from behind. After she tosses his dagger away, they battle for a bit, and she causes small cuts to form. She is obviously holding back her full ability... but then he calls upon his mastery of speaking to others and insults her as she was going to make a quip about the manhood of the Abyssal "boy". In her anger, she proceeds to completely cut away at his groin... then leaves him there bleeding away, alone with his pain.

The Blade asks the Princess and Mouse to subtly "encourage" a rival noble to back away from the Blade's areas of influence and those things he desires. On the way, the Princess is held back by the guard, who hassles her. She proceeds to knock him down without harm, and asks to go on her way. Instead she is attacked by all, who discover the armor under her clothes... and so battle begins. She rashly calls upon the gift of the dead gods to her kind, and takes on a most terrible and dark visage. Many run from her, as a few attempt to fight, as she beats them down with hands and feet. She rushes to the house of the noble and knocks out a guard... finding the house empty otherwise. With a guard of god-bloods and an outcaste on her trail, she sets fire to the house to slow them and kills the guard as a mercy. She discovers an entrance to the undercity and escapes quickly. But now, the Wyld Hunt shall come and they must leave.

The Broken Blade disappears. Monument kills his cult in fear and goes into hiding, and the Witch is called back to her Master's side. There is another who comes, the Wasted Rook, bringing with him the words of their Master and the wishes of the Dead Gods. They are to kill a family of nearly homeless and penniless nobles... which they do with great ease, retreating to rest... and seeing the Hunt and Realm forces set down in the city.

The Princess volunteers to lead the Hunt away, while the other two go on to their second duty... to kidnap a princess of the royal family from the palace itself, and take her from the city. The Princess leads the Dragon Blooded on a merry chase, then they enter the castle using stealth both supernaturally granted and natural. The Princess kills a single guard because the Day caste Moon failed to hide from her, then set her to sink in the lake. Then they entered the castle.

They defeated a few guards before coming to a room that the Dead Gods wanted those within to die that night. The battle was short and brutal, with a single guard escaping the Mouse, and alerting the guards to protect the king. The Wasted Rook captured the princess while the other two destroyed the rest of the other lesser royalty in nearby rooms.

They met some guards while exiting, but the Princess set the arms of three to the ground while they stood tall, and others ran in fear of also being disarmed. The others died swiftly at her blade, except for one Mouse defeated on his own. They moved on, leaving the mortals unable to move from their pain as their life blood swiftly poured out.

Then as they entered a large gallery... they saw the leader of the Brides of Ahlat, one of the bovine God-blooded children of Ahlat, Seria Ox-Blood. With her were more of the Brides, and a single Dragon-Blood of the Wyld Hunt, a child of the Air Dragon. And so the battle was met...

The Hidden Mouse Moon expressed his reservation - knowing as he did the tactics of the Dragon-Blooded, he assumed that this Air Aspect had already called his friends - but Princess joined the fray unheeding, throwing herself into single combat against Ox-Blood, showing no fear and ready to shatter her. Her fearsome aura blossoming around her and driving several of the Brides back in fear, Princess began her assault, making a number of trivial wounds but counting coup quite effectively against the God-Blood.

Meanwhile, Mouse did as he often does; ran away. Leaping into the rafters, he poisoned the very air and directed it as a weapon through a scream at the Dragon-Blooded, hoping to force him back and keep him at bay. The Dragon chose to defend himself rather than bring further havok, and thus suffered only the lightest of blisters and bruises, vowing the vengeance of Mela upon the Mouse. With a smirk, Mouse replied that he was damned enough, thank you, as Pasiap already has it in for him; the Dragon opted not to respond.

The guards surged forward, several attempting to reclaim the kidnapped girl from Rook - whom he beat back with lightning quick parries of his daiklave before leaping into the balconies and out of their reach, keeping his grip on the girl only through the sheer force of his devotions to the Malfean cause. Several more of the guardswomen drew their throwing hatchets, attempting to topple the Mouse from the balconies, but only stood in shock as the young boy deftly caught their weapons and added them to a pile at his feet.

The last of the guardswomen surrounded the Princess, mobbing her in; she continued to fight on, undisturbed as her brand of sensuality and power kept the worst of the blows from her - one even knicking Seria in the process - laughing as she sliced again at the god-blood, who was forced to use all her spiritual might to continue to parry and evade the blows, making her a less viable combatant.

All seemed to be going fairly well - Mouse unharmed, Princess cutting away at Seria, Dragon-Blood knocked to the floor and wounded, princess still captured, Rook out of the fray. The tide began to turn, however, as more guards began to focus their attention on the Princess Who Never Died By Another's Hand, hoping to put her name to the test.

Ariand, the Air Aspect, launched himself into the balcony, intending to disembowel the Mouse; Mouse, undaunted simply smiled and chastised the Terrestrial, his words forming such a barrier that the blow fell harmlessly to the side. Gathering the hatchets that had been thrown at him, Mouse dropped to the ground level once more and flung them into the crowd, adding the might of his own weapons as well, cutting a swath through the guards and leaving an opening for the others to escape.

The Wasted Rook, seeing things were going to go badly if they continued, opted to follow the escape plan; leaping impossibly far, hopping like a trapdoor spider, he launched himself out the door, letting fly a volley of arrows into the chamber again, wounding several guards and murdering their captain apparent; only the interference of his hostage prevented him from slaying them all, as she pulled his bow aside before he could finish.

Mouse remained at the door, glowering at the Princess Who Never Died, fury boiling inside him as she was mobbed by the survivors; their blows were turned aside for the most part, but Seria unleashed her godly nature; growing to nearly twice her original size, burning within from the heat of her father's fury, she unleashed her most devestating attack, cutting easily through the Princess' armor to the soft meat within and putting lie to the Malfean's prophecy in her name.

Princess would not be felled in such a fashion, however; never had she backed down, and never had she allowed a challenge to go unanswered; gathering all of her will in a final mighty strike, the Princess drove the Dreams of Shalados deep into the Ox-Blood, whispering "Nice dance." to her. The two women fell, dying together, even as Seria's flesh blackened and charred, the remaining essence of her spirit being drained by the blade for fearsome purpose...

Sensing the impending apocalypse, Mouse fled, shrieking at the top of his lungs; his fury was not so much to do with Princess' death, but had a great deal more to do with the fact that he had been cheated of causing it himself. By a mere human nonetheless! Taking charge of the hostage from Rook, Mouse, Rook, and their captive began to flee, glancing back at the palace only once as black blinding light began to spill from the windows, and unholy shrieks of rage and fury filled the streets - Shalados, his master murdered, was exacting his own revenge.

With nothing more to be said, Mouse took the girl, while Rook took the form of a raven, departing to meet again in a short while.