The Sword, the Ring and the Scroll

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

The thoughts moved through my mind as the warm thick liquid warmed my throat and stomach nicely. Chasing away the chill, I briefly wondered what he had given me? The thought soon scattered from my mind as I tried to think of an answer to his musings.

"I merely hold lands and over see my subjects. Queen some call me.. As for what I posses Death might want?" I mused over this thought, trying to form a single thought in my mind.

"What was that you gave me?" I asked quietly, his nearness should have bothered me, and his touching of my person but it flittered too away from my mind.

"I do not know what I have Death would want to 'deal' with unless it is something like my soul perhaps?" I chuckled, that thought was amusing. Who collected souls? "Perhaps my leadership abilities? Perhaps because I am the only living heir to the real King of this world... my world." I was in a realm unlike my own. This was all confusing and yet simple really. Only if the answer would come to me?

Perhaps I was in a trap even now and did not know it? Perhaps I had delivered myself to Death, unknowingly surrendered my life, to him? Thoughts came and went and yet time seemed to stand still. I looked sideways at Arkor, I had never seen him before, what was he?

Yet it seemed as if I should know him, know who he was and his purpose. My mind was foggy almost and my lips felt thick and parched. "May I have another drink?" I asked solemnly. Brows furrowing slightly as I gazed at him, my mind trying to work over details I was certain I was missing.

No longer worried over my nakedness, nor the blackness around me, but centered on the being beside me. Why was he here? Why did I appear where he was? Where was Death and his infernal bargain?

"I am afraid I am confused a little. I was told I would come to Death if I chose to take the path.. yet he is not here? And who are you?" I was asking more than a simple name, I knew his name. I was seeking more but couldn't seem to think of the right words in which to ask him?

Turning sideways in the seat, more of me was touching him yet I couldn't really feel it? "Odd." I shook my head, clearing my thoughts a little. I was tired, worn out since I took the undertaking of conquering the northern lands. Perhaps that was why I felt so light, almost as if I did not exist?

He was close, almost too close to me, but again my mind chose to ignore that fact and search his features for an answer I had yet to ask. "If I give Death my virginity, I believe is what he wanted, and surrender to his will, I will be successful in everything.... This is what I gathered from his mystical night visit.." I smiled a little, looking down at my bare hands, even my rings which usually adorned me had been stripped as I came through. I was bare as the day I was born, this should bother me.. Shouldn't it?

"And so here I am, blindly placing trust into a being you can not trust and giving myself to him." It sounded simple, the worries of such a decision vanishing from my mind completely.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Arkor

"What was that you gave me?"

"A strong ale as I warned you lass" I returned and smiled at her as she began to relax and share with me her story, her concern for her bare form fading as she concentrated on the words and what they meant.

"May I have another drink?" She requested as she paused and I obliged, pulling the cork from the skin and handing it to her, then watching as she lifted it and let the rich, dark ale flow between her full lips.

"I am afraid I am confused a little. I was told I would come to Death if I chose to take the path.. yet he is not here? And who are you?" She continued as she handed the skin back to me, her face relaxing, the hard planes of leadership sliding away as the softer curves of womanhood replaced them.

"Odd." She spoke almost wistfully, her hair cascading around her as she shook her head to clear it, her eyes showing the burden of leading and the toll it took upon her as they cleared.

Our bodies were touching at the thigh, hip and shoulder, the warmth spreading between us as she almost murmurred the next words that held my attention so easily...

"If I give Death my virginity, I believe is what he wanted, and surrender to his will, I will be successful in everything.... This is what I gathered from his mystical night visit...And so here I am, blindly placing trust into a being you can not trust and giving myself to him."

I slid an arm around her bare waist, thrilling at the feel of her flesh against my own as I gently pulled her to me and felt no resistance...no sudden urge on her part to fight...or to flee...

"I too once gave my blind trust to another" I confessed "In trade for what I thought was absolute power in return I traded all that was dear to me..."

Her head slid to my shoulder, the weight of her breast against my own as she listened...and I attempted to answer her earlier question.

"I feared Death and so asked to live forever...feared passion and so asked to be made immune to it...and feared serving another in any form, then asked to never to do so again"

Her hand trailed up my chest and to my neck, the length of her sleek arm resting against my abdomen and chest as she toyed with my hair...and I returned the affection.

"Be careful of what you think you are trading for Queen Aryn...For you may receive another form of barter in return, one that you find you can never rid yourself of"

Her head lifted at the words, her eyes questioning as her lips opened to question me again...and I bent to stop that question with...a kiss.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

His words poured over me, their meaning hidden as was his eyes. His hand and arm slid easily around me, pulling me closer to his warmth. Why wasn't I fighting him? Why was he toying with me? My mind fogged and cleared off and on, I knew what I was doing, but then again did not know why?

I felt a tremor go through my upper body, instantly hardening my nipples as my hand rested on his chest. "So strong.." I mumbled as my fingers traced his torso. Brows furrowing again, I tried to think of my reason for being here?

His warning and his words echoing in my mind. Be careful what I bargain for? I was befuddled, confused, out of it completely. The tingling in my body had me gasping for no reason. This had to stop, didn't it?

He continued to speak, the words sinking into my mind like a feather, fleeting, unlingering in the foggy haze that shrouded my mind. "Perhaps love?" I mumbled, my mind thinking over all I ever wanted and wanted in return. Love.

A laughable word, it did not exist in my world. Only power and greed, only weak and strong, no shades of grey. The words danced around me, in me, hovering. My mind working against the wine to form a question and when one finally came to mind. Finally wanted to ask what he meant by that? I looked up into his dark eyes and felt his lips caress my own.

Rational thought left my head as a searing feeling unlike any I had felt before engulfed me in an inferno. Groaning into his kiss, I sat up straighter, my hand clutching at his neck as We gasped for air at the same instant. Did he need to breath? An odd question that came to mind faded quickly too.

Denial and refusal died on my parched lips. They thirsted for more, not wine this time, but of him. Our lips brushed, teased, fleeting to and fro. Pressing but not too roughly before retreating. Words danced around my head and feelings swarmed in. Nothing intruded now on this but the feel and taste of him, of me on him. Pressing together yet again, this felt so right and yet it felt so wrong.

Consumed almost in the need, I pressed forward, gave in and surrendered, groaning with a plea never uttered from my lips, My tongue danced with his, my body sliding firmly against him.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Arkor

Aryn turned, her body pressed to mine as our lips continued to brush each others, our breath heated as we breathed in each others and returned it....the sensation making the contact of our bodies even more sensational, almost "giddy" in our minds.

I wrapped my arms around her, letting my hands capture her flanks in strong hands and carressing them, pulling her to me and feeling her strong belly rub against the swell in my loin cloth, her hard tips of her nipples grazing my chest as she maoned into my mouth.

And then I stood, lifting her and enjoying the increased sensation of our bodies as I held her to me, her bare groin rubbing against my clothed one as I moved away form the remnants of the tree and to the warmed sand next to the fire.

Aryn's arms wrapped around my neck, her lips no longer gentle as the feeling of our groins grinding stimulated her and she responded, kissing me deep, hard....as her own emotions and body demanded she do...and she succumbed to them.

I knelt, then leaned back...falling to the sand and pulling her with me, feeling her breasts flatten on my chest and the loin cloth pull away as well, then the heat of her mound as my manhood pressed against it...and she gasped.

"What are we doing?"

I smiled upwards and into her eyes, heavy and swollen with passion, with the desire a woman feels for her first....man.

"Only what you wish....what your body and soul demands of you"

And then I captured her nipple in my lips, drawing it into them and teasing it with my tongue as I carressed her firm buttocks, and felt the heat of her cleft increase...and moisten against my own throbbing need.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

Lifted easily, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist, he carried me. The words danced in my mind. Give, take, stop, more. Groaning with hunger, my kiss grew bolder, harder, wanting, probing for some fulfillment I was certain lay there in.

A shiver danced up and down my spine, my buttocks where he hands held me captive against his hardness. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Oh god! It feels so good!

Panting for air, I came down ontop of him, his covering gone without having realized it took it away? Like a wanton kitten, I purred without thought, rubbed and rocked on his body. My hands braced against his chest, I had my head back and eyes closed as a deep moan erupted from my throat.

"This is soo wrong!" But try as I might, I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop myself. Didn't want to. My mind wasn't as foggy now, it was filled with lust and desires. My nails raked down his chest as I moved, feeling the wetness of our joined centers. Grinding against one another, this was beyond words, beyond thoughts.

"YES! Oh my!" His mouth teased, tormented and tugged at the pert nubbin between his lips, his fingers flexing into the globes of toned flesh he held in his hands, bucking and rocking, trying to get more contact on a sensitive spot, we moved in unison.

He drew me deeper, flicking his tongue, my hands shot into his hair, tugging him forcefully to my breast, again crying out in pleasure. Facial features began to twist in exctasy, lips parted as the air rushed in and out, blissfully ignorant to anything around them.

My hands ran everywhere they could reach. His face, his hair, his neck and his shoulders, touching caressing at will. Further down his chest, circling his flat nipples before raking my nails lightly up his stomach, up and over the wide shoulders and down his back, pressing into him harder, nearing closer to painfull.

Arching, my ass in his hands, pressing downward on him, riding the wicked waves of pleasure as his cock ground against that aroused button. Breasts high in the air as my back contorted almost, my head moving futher and further back in that arc. Corded muscles tensed and flexed as I bent, panting and cooing softly. Sweat beaded everywhere, my hair sticking to my lower back as I rock up and down, swivled and pivoted around.

The wet sounds of my slit sliding along his shaft gave a lewedness to the situation, a forbidden sound I hadn't heard before. It did not deter me, it made me want more. The scent in the air was arousing as well, the combination of him, the fire, our sweat mingled with a heady sexual scent as well. All consuming me, taking me over the edge of rationality. Making me forget things, making me forget what I came here to do.

"Take me. Fill me Arkor!" I pleaded softly, breathlessly. Lifting and lowering, it was only a matter of time before I came down onto the head of his prick. He himself was breathing almost as heavily as I was. "Please! I can not wait a moment longer.. I need to feel the end of this.." My face coming back up, my arc relaxing more and more as my eyes locked on his.

My lips grazed his yet again, suckling and nipping, needing that hunger fulfilled. Needing something that lingering on the edges of my mind, taunting me with promises whispered in the back of my mind. Something new, forbidden, glorious as well. Something earth shattering and mind stealing. I had to have it, the urgency in me too great to resist.

And yet... My mind fought it, shouting out "NO!" within, unwanted, ignored, it was pushed down and away. YES! That is what I wanted, needed, had to have and by the Gods I would have it! I reached down, taking him into my hand, feeling for the first time that velvety hardness, the warmth and girth of it, of him. My eyes locked on his, asking for permission? But we were beyond that now, there was no turning back!

A hand braced on his shoulders as I lifted, moving him to my opening and mewling in pleasure as the lanquid tranquility came to my eyes and a sensual smile curved my lips. He was hot and hard, arching towards the sheath he wished and I wished him to fill.

Placing him in the right place, he dared me with his gaze, giving nothing, doing nothing. If I wanted it, I had to take it from him. I had to give to him, he would not take. These thoughts danced in my mind, how could I see that in his eyes? How could I hear it in his voice when his lips had not parted to speak?

Both hands now rested on his shoulder, hips bowing, dipping and rising as the pleasure increased, as the juices began to flow. Knowing for a brief moment this was my decision, for good or for bad. My hands tightened a little into his corded muscles, our eyes locked firmly. Breath caught somewhere in my lungs as I bore down on him with on sure thrust, impaling myself onto him.

The scream wasn't too loud as I shivered, not in pleasure now but in pain as he broke through my barrier. My innocence. Not taking but claiming something no other could ever lay claim to. My nails bit into his flesh, digging deeply as I tried to move off of him. I wanted to curl into a protective ball and cry, it hurt so badly.. and yet, he held me to him. Slowly words came to me, his lips moving as he spoke softly, seductively, stroking and holding me as he would a child. The cold sweat broke over my body as slowly my muscles eased a little and I shifted some what.

Another moan, the tears still falling from my eyes, only it was a mixture of pain and pleasure. The throbbing subsiding a little, The tension slowly leaving my body. His touch was fire in my soul as I again felt him caressing me. Fleeting, feather soft, teasing. I shivered, moving yet again, just enough to let him know I was doing it, enough to let me know if it would hurt again or not?

Where ever our skin touched, the pain faded back into the fog of my mind, the pleasure taking a firmer stand and once more begging to be taken care of. Thoughts were brushed away, consequences were forgotten as the softly uttered moans began to sing once again.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Fate

"It's too late" I shuddered as images flickered in my mind, telling me of what was happening in a place not quite of this world...and yet just as real.

"Aryn has succumbed to him and will now be his ally....and slave to his desires, as well as her own."

No good would come of it...Death would have the ally he needed and with the consumation of the partnership...the child.

"He will have a successor to carry out what he has put into motion...wether he is successful in this time matters not any longer"

Blocking the fragmented visions with effort I tied the final pack to my mount then turned to Marian and met her eyes.

"It is now more important than ever we find your sorceress...and give the artifacts to Avenir"

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

Awhile later..

Resting on the damp heaving chest beneath me, my mind finally cleared and the soreness set in. Gasping, I sat upright instantly. Eyes going wide, What had I done?!

Scrambling off of him, I ignored the tell-tale traces of semen running down my thighs mixed with a little blood. He wore a content smile and I shuddered visibly.

"I need to get out of here.." I backed up a step, hunting for my clothing and realizing I did not have any. Sitting down in the sand, I landed hard, knees bent and head down. What had I done?!

"This is not good..." I mumbled, my head pounding as my body still throbbed in the after math. One part of me longed to return to Arkor and lay within his arms and be content. Another part of me knew Death would be furious with me. I had come to deal a contract with him, and I had blown it!

Shivering, now feeling cold reguardless of the burning fire beside me. I shifted a little and winced, pain had returned. Flushing hotly with the memories of my wantoness, I tried to block them out by squeezing my eyes tightly shut.

"What have I done?" I muttered in a sorrowful voice to myself, not wanting an answer, not wanting it pointed out. I didn't look at Arkor, the temptation still in me to go to him.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Arkor

"You've done no more than your heart's desire" answered the question she kept asking herself and rose, seeing the confusion in her eyes and the mixed emotions flit across her face. "Though it may cost you greatly with "Death" it was NOT forced upon you"

I rose and stood, then backed from the dim firelight and into the ring of darkness, letting it surround me and wrap its welcome arms around my form.

"We will meet again, Queen Aryn, daughter of Marian" I promised in lieu of a goodbye, letting the last sight of Aryn that I saw be her sad face as I vanished into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Death

"What have you done, wench?" I growled at the crouching form as I smelled the still heavy scent of sex in the air, knowing it's source and it's meaning. "Have you come prepared to deliver what I desire or do you bear "tainted" goods for me?"

Guilt riddled a face that normally never showed anything but defiance and it alone would have told me the truth, the trail of thier mixed pleasures being the proof as it drained slowly down her thighs.

"You no longer are the virgin prize I want...and as fate once decreed...perhaps an unknowing mother to be as well....what can you offer me now in trade for your peoples salvation?"

The question hung as Aryn bravely stood and faced me, squaring her shoulders and ignoring the erotic motion it gave her breasts as she formed an asnwer.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

I stood my ground and looked over Death's shoulder. There was nothing to offer him now, he knew that as well as I did.

I did not bother trying to defend myself, nor trying to explain anything to him. There was no point, it was clearly evident what had happened. And I was more than willing in this union... With whom and what I had no idea.

"I have nothing now to offer you save myself. I should not have come." I said nothing more, shame and guilt reddening my face. My eyes lowered to the floor, unable to meet his cold hard gaze.

Word escaped my mind and mouth, I could find nothing to bargain with him now. I would return to my camp and proceed as I was, fighting a war I did not plan on losing.

Weak, tired and worn out. The words Death spoke stuck in my mind, a riddle of sorts. What did he mean by those words? I wanted to ask but could not face his wrath, his loathing stare.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Death

"NO" I growled, the word echoing over and over until the word reverberated off the walls and over each other.

"You will STAY with me as my ally, as a Queen independant upon yourself and answering only to me, your people left alone to prosper and thrive in the southern half of this continent as long as you abide by my wishes"

The words took her by surprise and I laughed, knowing she expected to hear the cost for what was to be paid and knowing I wouldn't dissapoint her.

"Three things this will cost you." I continued, moving towards her but not touching her...yet

" Your undying loyalty and subserviance to me and me only. Every third fortnight you will come to me as you have now and open your mind and body to me."

"You will be my staunchest ally and face all opponents that come to me, regardless of the consequences to you or the warriors you command, and do battle with them in my name"

"You willingly give up your immortal soul to me, and perform the blood ceremony that gives me absolute control and possesion of it."

I barely finished the third demand and Aryn straightened, her eyes blazing with the fire and passion in her eyes and spirit that made me ache to possess her.



"I will NOT serve you or aid you, NOR will I give my soul to you, I would rather die"


Chuckling I admired her spirit and stretched my own frame to it's fullest heigth, glaring down at her as I did and admonished.

"Then you will die here. No safe passage was guarnteed to one who has broken our agreement before you arrived to deliver....And without you as leader your already weak and confused army will be ripe for my "hoard" and die thinking you deserted them."

The words shook her and I peeled the heavy armored vest from my upper torso, letting her see the burned and twisted flesh below it, the skin gone from the layers of muscles that moved on my chest and abdomen.

"We all face agonies in order to do what is best for our multitudes...Your death will serve only one purpose...to stop the birth of the child that has been prophesied to come from your loins."

Again the words hit her, eyes widening as she looked back to the packed sand that been her and Arkor's pleasure so recently, the impact of my words taking shape in her mind.

"You will pledge all that I demand and I will take you, performing the ceremony as we join...or you will do battle with me now, and I promise you a slow and painful death before letting you pass into the netherworld"

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

Revulsion snaked down my spine, my eyes and mouth hardening further. He gave me no options and he knew it.. He knew I knew it as well.

Serve or die. Serve or die and everyone I've ever cared about as well. Serve him as he saw fit, bear some child fortold to come and.... and what?

A shiver passed over my nude form, even here in his world I stood no chance. Weaponless did not matter. The choice ate at my mind in those few seconds, causing a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Tollerate his touch every third fortnight? I had to close my eyes to stop myself from cursing him and lossing the contents of my stomach as well. There really was no choice and I hated that fact.

Fire burning brightly in my eyes, I opened them slowly, meeting his gaze with a determined one of my own. I couldn't form the words! I could not bow down at his feet and give him what he wanted! It went against my nature, my upbringing, it went against everything I ever was..

AND I HAD NO CHOICE!

Rage boiled within, uncontrollable rage lept and ate at my innards for only the briefest of moments before I realized something...

He never had to bargain with me in the first place to achieve what he wanted. He held more power in one hand than any nation on this planet. Why me? I wanted to ask but did not trust my temper or voice to be held in check.

My tongue lapped over my lips, my hands fisting at my sides, opening and closing. Clenching and releasing, hoping to relieve some tensions in my stiff form.

No tears were shed, no shame in my voice or eyes as I opened my lips and found my voice.

"As you wish." Bowing my head ever so slightly, my eyes never left his. Subserviance was something not in me, he made the bargain, I agreed to it.. but ...

He would never break my spirit! I silently vowed, clinging to those words like a life line. With no choice, no way out, he had won this battle.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Death

"As you wish."

The side of my lip turned upwards. Not a sneer but as a result of the disfigurement I suffered at the hands of...him, the movement causing Aryn's face to cringe in revulsion. But I was well used to it, the sickness that flitted across her face momentarily not bringing the anger to my own face as it had in the past.

"Then the ceremony begins" I stated, my hand flicking out and snaring her wrist, pulling it to me over the flickering flame of the nearly depleted fire.

"Fire to ashes, ashes to dust" The incantation began, rolling off my lips as I looked into her eyes and watched the defiance disappear, curiousity and a tinge of...fear?... replacing it.

"As flame destroys let it heal us" I continued, drawing a silver scribed knife from my belt to hold it in front of her eyes before driving it downward and into..

"As blood mingles let it bind us" The chant of bondage moved on as the razor edge slit my own skin, then that of Aryns, blood welling p from both the wounds as I refused to release her from my grip.

"Two souls become one, the joining completes the ring, as our bodies merge eternal, the dawn of a new era it brings"

The dwindling campfire had increased in size, the dying orange of the flames changing to a brilliant blue as it wrapped itself around our joined arms and mingling blood...it's heat touching our skin yet not burning it, then continuing into our bodies.

The ceremony complete I freed her arm and gave a final promise as the darkness of the cavern began to fade, to change shape and brighten around us...and the distance increase between us as well.

"The heat you feel inside you will increase tenfold each day until the third fortnight and we meet again...and you wll give yourself to me willingly"

And then we were apart again, myself in my world, high in the cold stone palace I had created on the blood and bones of others...Aryn back in her camp as Dur repeated sarcastically...



"What deal have you made with the devil then...in such a short time?"

 

[Sweetp4u]

Aryn

The pain wasn't as bad as the fear that lept into the corners of my mind.

"What was he doing?!" My mind shouted as he held me, my face paling considerably as the dagger ripped into his skin and his blood began to flow dark and thick. Trying to pull back as he moved it towards my own arm, he held me tightly.

Eyes wide as they could possibly be, he pressed our bleeding limbs togehter and stepped us into the fire. Strangely as the little gasp escaped my lips, the pain did not come??

His eyes held mine, the pain fading as he spoke cryptic words and it was over. Glancing down at my released hand, I saw nothing, no cut no scar.. nothing? I felt something inside me though. Something growing and twisting slightly as it wormed through my body.

Shaking, the fire began to safe, the cavern lightening as he began to dematerialize before my eyes.

"The heat you feel inside you will increase tenfold each day until the third fortnight and we meet again...and you wll give yourself to me willingly" his parting words as he faded.

Already that heat was there, clinging around the edges of my mind and body. I felt different? Something felt very different inside. And there was Dur as if I had not left, he stood sentry, waiting.

"What deal have you made with the devil then...in such a short time?" His voice laced with a coldness that did not match his eyes. No, his eyes looked tormented as my own did.

"Short time?" I glanced around, I hadn't been gone but a few minutes in reality, but spent hours in the abyss?

"Dammit Aryn! I would have.. I could have.." He groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. Pacing angrily as I watched on, I tried to collect my thoughts and calm the cold fear in the pit of my stomach.

"Why didn't you seek my counsel?!" He barked out, grabbing me by the forearms and shaking me slightly.

"Against Death?" I weakly laughed as I felt it shift again inside. The knowledge of what I had done, what I had given and now what I now served ate at me like a disease. But I made a pact, and I would keep it. For the sake of this land....

Or had I just welcomed evil to this world? What had I done? A tear threatened to fall but none came as he released me.
"There may be hope.. I can think of something, a way out of this mess you created with your Naivity!"

Shaking my head, he nodded in protest. "listen to me Dur, there is nothing you can do.. If you dare to try, you will die. Simple as that. He owns me now.. Body and soul,,,"

He jerked me to him, his voice deep as he scowled, "No!"

"YES! Accept it, I made the choice, it is my cross to bear! But it was the only way I could see success!"

"You.. You have become something I never thought possible.. you have become a tainted soul." He accused and I laughed, again without humor and with shame.

"I have become something alright..." I whispered as I turned my back and moved towards my tent.

"I had faith in you!" He cried out, his rage building as his large frame shook with it. "You disappoint me Aryn.. I thought I served a great Queen.. instead I get the spawn of Satan!" he spat before he turned and left.

I couldn't deny his words, or his accusations. I made a deal with the devil himself. Sold my soul and for what? A piece of land? A chance of peace? Death didn't care about mortals, he wanted the land for his own purposes.. A purpose which I now served.

Moving within my tent, I shut out the night light and sounds, trying to get lost from the reality I had created in my own stupidity. I had hopes and dreams and dammit, i would see them come! Death gave me his oath, and he would uphold it! Dur was just upset...

Dozing off to sleep, I didn't see him leave but word would come in the morning. The captain of my guard had retired and moved on without even a good bye.

 

[Garras Agudas]

Fate

Time had suddenly become short, Death was fast stacking the peices in his favor, chosing allies carefully and stopping at nothing in gaining their sworn word and allegiance. Still there was time...IF...

"Avenir" I spoke as I swung onto the beast and looked at Marian. "Your mother has shared something in confidence with me I think you should know as well, something vital to the occurences I have just "felt"....

Tersely I explained to him the flashes of occurences I "saw" within my mind, Avenir and his chosen mate both listening closely and holding back the questions I could see in thier eyes. I held back the identity of the woman in Death's grip, wanting to share it in private first with Marian, to ease the embarressment or pain that might follow with such news.

"This woman is a leader of one of three clans we must convince to side us" I warned Avenir as he took the lead. "With the death of your brother she has become the factor that will guarntee Deaths success or failure. There is but one final chance"

We were moving again, the short rest forgotten as the conflict came closer, each of our minds filled with thoughts we began to share as we moved.