At this point Serona stood up and spoke.
"We came to Woodspirit some months ago because we felt what could only be described as great ripple in the Power that none of us in Muraii have ever felt before. The effect of the ripple was so great quite frankly it scared all of us. It felt as if a part of reality was literally being ripped apart. Nothing like that was ever felt before by any one in our history. The ripple was felt to be on the earth side of the barrier, and was located in this area. Since Woodspirit was the only village located near the effects of the ripple, we set up here to conduct our investigations. For months now we have not been able to locate any traces of the ripple. We now know why. It never crossed our minds that the ripple in the Power might have a different feel to it. That the ripple we felt was the Power being used in a way it should never be used. Someone or something violated the Power for a most unsafe purpose.
Someone... Something???
"Hold on. Are you saying the creature we have been chasing came from another dimension? And more than one at that. That there are two or more of those creatures out there?"
"Not exactly. Our finest mages have researched the information Conrad gave us on his encounter with the creature in the woods. The incident was also reported to us about its attack in the village a couple of days ago. From all of our previous encounters with this creature and our inability to track it, they finally figured out what it was. Testing that theory, they found enough evidence to confirm it. Two entities came through the barrier, but one or both of them must be remarkably human looking and has blended into earth’s society. Something has occurred to cause one of these entities to be created as this creature. It also is a process we had believed was impossible. Gentlemen, the creature we have been hunting is what we would call a Bond Beast. Tessia will explain"
"Centuries ago we had two extremely powerful mages born. The truly unique thing about their birth though was the fact they were twins. Identical twins, a boy and a girl.
Now before you say anything let me explain about Muriian twins. They are extremely rare. About one twin birth occurs every ten thousand years or so and they are always an identical boy and girl. As they grew up and was around twenty-seven years old, they were both more powerful than some of our most powerful mages including the Elders. Both became Sakquains. During a battle with some of the most dangerous of The Xantu, a cliff collapse badly injured the twin boy mage. His injuries was so severe that even our healers could not save him. He was expected to die within days. The twin sister refused to let her brother die. She went off alone and did what was never done before, and after the results, we hoped would never be done again. She found a way to bond her brother's dying life force to hers. This allowed her brother to draw on her life force and thus heal himself. Now you must understand that what she did went against the laws of the Power. These laws are irrefutable, like the laws of physics. What she did could not be done. It was a violation of nature's law. For almost two days her brother got better where he was up walking and talking as if he had not been injured. The healers insisted he remain in the ward so they could observe his healing progress. The sister was ordered to attend a council meeting after her brother had healed enough to be sure he would fully recover. There the Elders would determine the consequences of what she had done. Well a few days later while the twins were eating dinner together, they exploded"
That got our full attention.
"Exploded?"
"Yes, exploded. Violently. The explosion was so powerful it destroyed the part of the ward they were in. The explosion also killed nineteen and injured forty-one other Muraiins. A full investigation by our top mages determined that the violation of the laws of the Power cannot be broken as they had been by the sister. The channeling of power back and forth between the two caused the power to build up in some type of cascading effect which either one or both of their bodies could not contain, which caused the explosion. It was also determined by the mages that the explosion could have been a whole lot worse. If others attempted the same, the resulting cataclysm could destroy all of Muraii. A formal declaration of laws concerning the Power was written as to what could be done and what must never, ever be done or attempted. A bonding of spirits using the power energies must never be attempted again by anyone. It appears the laws of Power in this other dimension is either different, or these two entities have found someway to alter the Power’s laws and how to use them. Either way we believe that there is a female out there who has managed to bond herself to this creature. The ripple we felt in the Power was the result of their unclean bonding. That is why the creature has been able to regenerate itself after all the injuries inflicted on it. We must find her and stop her. The problem with that is that we do not believe we have enough power to do so"
It was Stallings who asked, "Who? Are you referring to us or to yourselves"
"I am referring to all of us together. A person who can accomplish a bonding is powerful beyond imagining. Even at the height of our civilization, there was only a handful of mages who could have even attempted a bonding and the probability was great that they would not have succeeded. Not only have this female succeeded, but she has been sustaining this bonding for weeks, if not months. The upside of all of this is we now know what to look for, and if she uses just a little of her power again we will have her. What we will be able to do with her after that is very questionable"
"Do you have any idea who she is, and is she living here in Woodspirit?"
"No we have not been able to figure out who she is, but we do believe she is here in Woodspirit. We believe that is why the creature is drawn here"
I got everyone's attention as I spoke.
"The attacks started a few weeks ago, but the parties involved may have been here longer. Has anyone new recently arrived at Woodspirit around the time the ripple was felt or soon thereafter?"
"No" answered Serona. "The last new arrivals to Woodspirit was a few years ago and that was due to our active recruiting of people to a quiet lifestyle"
"If the parties from the other dimension has been here for some time with nothing unusual happening, then something must have happened to change their situation. Has anyone been badly injured in the past few weeks before the attack?"
"We thought of that, but did not find any records of any serious injury that would require her to do a bonding" stated Sessa
"Now that we know what we are dealing with, we do believe we can possibly kill the creature with our abilities, but only in close proximity to it. Earthly weapons will injure it, but it will rapidly heal. If you can track and lead us to it, I believe with our power modulated accordingly, we can kill it. Also once attacked, we believe the female will react badly to our attack and she most likely will reveal herself by using her powers. We would then know who she is and attempt to stop her also"
"Are you able to determine if she is still in the village right now?
"Yes we believe she is"
"We need to stop all transports and have the ones en route return here immediately.
We do not want this person to get away. There will be questions. Tell them there is a
logistics problem at the HQ, which is being worked on and transport will continue
tomorrow or the day following" stated Hennings to Danvers
"On it sir. Stallings, Williams with me" Danvers said as he left the meeting with the two soldiers following.
"Tessia am I right in that you have no offensive abilities?"
"That is correct"
"Then the tracking will have to consist of two Ladies with me, and the rest of you will wait for the female to reveal itself"
"That is a good plan with one exception" stated Sessa.
"I will be the only one going with you. Serona and my Ladies will remain here for the female. As we stated before we do not know if we have enough combined power to stop her."
"You all believe her to be that powerful to stand up against all of you? And you Sessa. Will you be powerful enough to stop the cre
ature by yourself?"
"We all believe one of us should be enough, especially now that we know what we are dealing with"
"Can you get additional help from Muraii?"
"Unfortunately, they are engaged in a battle with some Xantu at this moment and our resources are thin. We have lost quite a few people lately, and cannot as yet put our trainees in the field. However once she is revealed, if she proves to be as powerful as we suspect and we cannot stop her, The Elders will sent powerful help immediately"
I didn't say anything, but looked at Sessa closely. I then glanced at the other Ladies and I could tell they were all keeping something secret. On a hunch I tested it.
"Okay, what is it. You all are keeping something from us?"
Hennings and Forne reacted startled, and then focused on the Ladies.
"Tracker, let us get through this part of the plan. I promise I will tell you the rest afterwards, but it would be ill advised to say anything further at this point"
Tessia's look had an almost pleading quality to it, and I believe a touch of fear. Going on a gut instinct, I let the matter drop for now.
"Okay, that will do. Do you agree Major?"
Hennings looked at Tessia for a few seconds before answering.
"The Ladies have been truthful to us so far. If they want us to wait before telling us more, I can assume it is for a good reason. I will wait, but I have to tell you all, withholding any information from your allies is not a good idea. It doesn't foster trust. I have been instructed to follow your leads in this, but for the record I don't like putting my men in the line of fire without knowing all the facts and all the threats."
"I understand Major and I do apologize since all decisions of actions are from me. Please forgive me, but again I ask that you, all of you trust me"
The major and Forne looked at Tessia for a few seconds, and then the major nodded his head.
"Okay we will for now. When do you want to put this plan into action"
"Tomorrow. First off, we need to get the remaining woman re-secured. Secondly I need Conrad here to accompany me"
"Accompany you where?"
"To Muraii"
"All of the Ladies registered extreme shock on their faces except for Serona, who probably already knew of Tessia request"
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Hennings and Forne were also shocked, but not to the degree the Ladies were.
"Conrad, will you accompany me? As you can see from my Ladies reactions this is a most unusual request. Trust me, you have no idea of the riot I caused back home when I informed them of my intention to bring you back to Muraii"
I was starting to get some real bad feelings about this.
"Can you tell me why you need me to go with you"
"All will be made clear to you in Muraii"
I didn't like this, but my curiosity to see this Muraii was great, somewhat overriding my caution.
"Okay, yes I will"
"Thank you. Sessa, you will also accompany us. Serona will stay here to help facilitate our plan of attack with Major Hennings"
Sessa approached me and said,
"The trip to Muraii will be somewhat unsettling for you, but will pass quickly. However once we arrive, please remain still until you are told to do otherwise. This is for your own safety".
"Okay, I got it"
Tessia after giving last minute instructions to Serona and Major Hennings then walked over to us.
"Conrad are you ready?"
"Yes. What do I do?"
"I will open a portal to Muraii. We will then all walk through the portal. Sessa has told you what you should expect from the transition and what to do afterwards?"
"Yes"
"Okay then let's begin"
Without any outward indication from either woman, right in front of us appeared a portal that was somewhat oval in shape and looked to be filled with some type of mist. To say I wasn't feeling some type of trepidation would be a lie, but at the same time I was highly excited on the prospect of the trip to Muraii. With Sessa and Tessia on each side of me and each taking one of my hands they proceed to led me into the portal. As I stepped into the portal I could feel a strong pull on my leg pulling the rest of me into it. As I fully stepped into the portal with the Ladies, all perception ceased.
Chapter Ten: Muraii
Next thing I knew I was in a huge ornate chamber of unbelievable beauty. The transition from one to the other was so abrupt that I stumbled when I left the portal. It was as if I had gone to sleep, slept all night with no dreams and then abruptly woke up in the process of sleepwalking. Both Sessa and Tessia grabbed my arms to help steady me. There was no other sensation. As I got my bearings I noticed there were four of the large giants positioned around us, all armed with the largest double bladed axes I have ever seen. All of their attention was focused on me. Stepping forward, Tessia said something in what I assumed to be their native language. The giants all gave one last look at me and then formed a guard around us with two in front and two behind us as we walked rapidly to a small door in a corner of the room. The lighting in the room wasn’t much so I wasn't able to see very much, but what I did see was truly spectacular. The ceiling was dome shaped somewhat and was at least thirty feet or so high. The room had six walls in a hexagonal shape. Situated around the room in alcoves in the walls was statuary of different animals and structures neither of which I could identify. The room was painted or colored a beautiful pastel green color with assorted artistic drawings scenes situated on them showing multiple forested landscapes. There was no furnishings anywhere in the room. Strictly the room appeared to be some type of waypoint. There were three other doors out of the chamber, all located on every other of the far walls. Those doors also had artistic drawings on them of some landscapes scenes. The door we were approaching was a dark gray color appearing to resemble a dense wood. There was a simple ornate handle on the door to open it. The two walls on either side of the door we were approaching had no doors. That was all I got to see before we entered the door into a tunnel that was also hexagonal shaped, but was composed of grayish white rock walls. The tunnel was at least ten feet high as the giant's heads cleared the ceiling easily by a foot or more. The walls was smooth on the bottom and two adjacent sides. The upper walls and ceiling was roughly cut, but enhanced the look of the tunnel. There was some type of unknown lighting glowing from the ceiling in roughly four-foot sections, but I could not see any type of fixture that was emitting the light. It just appeared as if every other section of the upper part of the tunnel emitted the light. The light was so natural, it was almost the same spectrum as daylight. After about seventy-five feet the floor gradually started going downward. We proceed this way for about thirty feet before coming to another door. The door was composed of a dark reddish veined wood that was positively gorgeous. Off the top of my head I figured a door such as this would be priceless on earth. The giant in front on the left stepped forward and pulled the door outwards to allow us to enter. The hinges on the door must have been well made or nicely lubricated because the door for its size barely made a noise as it opened. The door was almost normal sized and the giants most certainly would need to stoop to enter, but this prove unnecessary as neither of the giants followed us into the room. There were however other occupants already there. It was also when I got my first look at an original Muraiin and what could only be male Sakquains. There were six other people waiting for us in the room. Four was obviously male Sakquains as they all had that same exotic inhuman beauty as the woman. They were tall. Easily as tall as me except for one who was half a head taller and from appearances obviously in charge. His hair was a brilliant jet black streaked here and there with silver. His bearing and posture was regal and almost arrogant as if he was insulted to have to be here. But most of all you could see the male Sakquains were warriors. They all were in excellent physical condition with no traces of body fat showing anywhere on their bodies. You could also tell they were much older than the ladies. The leader and one
other appeared to be years older than the other two. The two original Muraiins however were the showstoppers here. One of them had fur that was a beautiful golden brown in color and it was easy to see she was female. She was dressed in a robe that covered all but her left shoulder that hugged her in all the right places and glowed with rainbow colors as she moved. She was maybe a few inches short of five feet, and if it can be believed more beautiful then the Ladies, and yes she did have fur on her body. In fact the fur on the visible parts of her body was so fine you had to get close to even see that there was fur on her body. Once you did there was an almost irresistible urge to softly stroke it. There was no fur on her face, front part of her neck or the palms of her hands, but the fur everywhere else I saw it was beautiful and luxurious. The fur on her head was full and flowed down her back to her waist and was moving in slow smooth waves from her head downward. I do not know if I can accurately describe her, but believe me when I say she is beautiful. The Ladies had absolutely nothing on her in the beauty department. The male Muraiin was almost as impressive except you could see he was old. Very old. The age showed in his face, but it was apparent he had the same exotic beauty as the female. His fur was a rich green in color with the fur on his head was cut short. It almost looked like the buzz cuts that some military personnel like to wear. He had on a dark navy blue plain robe that covered him from his shoulders to his mid calves that reminded me of robes worn by magicians seen on some of the entertainment vids from before the plague. It just needed runes on it to be complete. Both him and the female wore nicely made sandals on their feet that appeared to be made out of leather. The Sakquains wore what looked like leather pants with a leather top, short sleeved. The patterns on each one was different, designed I guess by the wearer. The tallest one whom I took to be the leader also had a cape across his back, which I later saw also had an intricate design on it. I also found out this cape denoted his status as a Master Mage Elder. I had been so entranced by the original female's appearance that I wasn't even aware I had been staring at her and that Tessia was introducing me to the group.
Manhunter Revelations Page 19