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It had been less than a month since LeShana had returned to the only place that she could still call home, except that it didn't really feel like 'home' anymore. For all the weeks that had passed by and all the days she had spent in the same halls, she couldn't quite place the feeling of disconnection from the place she had loved. While LeShana might have tried to dismiss it as just her imagination, or the fact that so much of her personal life had shifted that it was affecting everything else, not even Raven's intense effect on her senses and the simple, everyday things that had changed because he was there, could truly explain the lingering shadowy feeling in the back of her mind. Even then she had tried to deny it, however the feeling refused to go away no matter how hard she tried to push it into the back of her mind. The strange and unwanted feeling was at its' most intense in the rare moments when she was alone and out in the hallways of the crater at night. At times like that, she could almost feel the eyes of something she did not like lingering in the fringes of her surroundings, as if there was some powerful predator stalking her from just out of sight. More often than not, she began to travel with her hand clutching tightly to the hilt of the dagger she wore at all times, and even in environments that should, by all rights, be completely safe. All at once, the instinct for danger nearly peaked as she was passing by a darkened hallway that lead to areas not yet occupied by the slowly expanding organization of agents. She would have screamed if not for the fact that someone automatically covered her mouth with a calloused hand. She would have pulled her weapon if not for the sharp, almost painful grip her would be attacker had on her arm. But in that instant, when she would have slashed out with magic, the hands that touched her became ones that were deeply familiar as her senses realigned and allowed her to sense that Sarath had been the one to unwisely grab her and yank her into the shadows.
> Sarath replied quickly, and with a deep sense of mystery and frustration bristling in her mental presence. Although LeShana very much wanted to know what was going on right then, there was something very compelling in Sarath's sense of urgency which all but forced her to keep her tongue and her thoughts in check. Having sensed her startled emotions somewhere far off in the crater, she could feel her beloved's own worries and concerns projecting down to her. She sent back a wave of love and reassurance she did not necessarily feel, easing his sudden tension as Sarath drew her into motion, taking them deeper into the unoccupied tunnels and far beneath the occupied levels of the crater.
Once upon a long time ago, she, Destin, and Solair had used such places as their own personal playgrounds. All of them had been far too young to enter the Center training programs full time, and more often than not had only had lessons for half of their days, so there had been plenty of time for them to go running off into corridors and rooms built in ancient unknown spans of history before the Mage wars. Once there, they could play at being agents, fighting evil, and saving the innocent for the endless hours before one of their caretakers might come looking for them. Oddly enough, those endless days of her youth had made LeShana an expert on the layout of the crater, and had given her plenty of opportunities to learn the locations and routes of many secret passages and tunnels that had been a legacy of more dangerous times. It was a legacy she had shared with Raven during their first full day at the Center, and something he took a perverse pleasure in knowing. So she had little reason to be surprised when Sarath pulled her from the official path and they entered the dusty tunnels of a secret passage where her friend lit a mage-light; a floating orb of magical energy that could be created and banished as needed. It's medium bright, slightly red-ish glow chased back the deep shadows and allowed both of them to see where they were going.
They traveled downward, twisting and turning their way deep into the tunnels that rested at the very base of the crater's cliffs. The vast age of the tunnels and passages were made absolutely clear simply by how thick the air was, with untouched layers of dust that covered the floors and formed dense clouds of it stirred up by their passage. As they moved deeper and deeper into places that had likely not seen people in twenty generations or more, LeShana was once again struck by the intense urge to demand an explanation of her friend and former pupil. What made her hold her tongue was the fact that, as they moved, the same sense of 'wrongness' that had so plagued her previous thoughts had grown more and more distant, as if the predatory gaze she had found so disconcerting was contained only within the occupied halls of her home. There was also a slightly irrational fear that if she broke the silence with the softest of whispers the gaze might turn to find them once more. Fortunately, not long afterwards, it seemed as if they had reached their destination and all at once they were leaving the hallways behind to enter a large room that cut off any sense of the outside world the very moment they passed its' threshold. It was a large space with an arched ceiling that vibrated with the sense of power rippling through the air. Ancient, magical shield-walls were embedded in the stone around them, cutting off the sense of everything outside.
"This room is directly below the crystal heart of the Salak'patan, high above our heads in the entrance chamber. We hope the added interference of those magical links coursing down through the planet below us and these old shields will be enough to keep this private." Sarath stated suddenly, seemingly calm as she pulled back the hood of her cloak when the two of them came to a stop just inside the room.
"We?" LeShana could not help but catch the curious choice of words. As if prompted by her question, two dozen others appeared from three different directions, each cloaked in magic and many, like Sarath, were cloaked in concealing garments as well.
"We." Sarath agreed with a slightly amused smirk, even though her eyes were intensely worried. As the others moved closer, many pulled back their hoods to reveal familiar faces that LeShana had seen before that time. Center agents, one and all, some of the most noted and notable names among their current ranks appeared, each wearing similar dark expressions. Even Destin and Solair joined them as more people arrived at the back of the others.
"There were only a couple of us when we first met down here." A deep rumbling voice from the largest figure stated softly, as all the others moved closer to gather in a tangled circle, with Sarath and LeShana along the inner ring.
"You have noticed, haven't you, LeShana? That something feels different, even that something is wrong in this place we all call home? I mean, after all.. you've been here a lot longer than any of us." Another of the near strangers asked of her. At first, she really didn't know how to answer. While her thoughts had been dwelling on the very same fact not seconds before she was pulled away and lead down there, she almost did not want to acknowledge that she had felt it. As if doing so would be admitting that something was indeed terribly wrong with the only home she had left. Undoubtedly sensing the direction of LeShana's troubled thoughts and her turbulent emotions, Sarath stepped closer to her and rubbed her back and shoulders, easing back just a little of her rising fear and panic. Finally, she simply nodded soundlessly, unable to summon up the strength and courage to give voice to her fears.
"Most of those we have brought into this group know this already, but for those of you who are here for the first time, I will repeat this so that everyone knows the extent of our information." Okin stated to the group. He was one of the agents who was near legendary in the current ranks of Center agents, having served their cause for more than 400 years previous with distinction and honor, and having been involved in some of the most notable events of the most recent age. "I was injured just under a year ago while out on assignment, and was brought back here to recover. While that slow process was underway, I was given the distraction of teaching several classes for our younger generation. About six months ago, something changed. I can not say for certain what day or night it happened, but it was certainly not more than a few days before the first of us began to notice it."
"There were on
ly about a dozen of us at first who even seemed aware that something might be wrong." Dirina stated, picking up the story without pause, as if they had practiced their recitation dozens of times before. "All senior field agents, all of us numbered among the most powerful and skilled of our brethren. We aren't sure who really noticed this change first, or really who started gathering allies before the others, but it wasn't long before the twelve of us found each other."
"Six of those who first joined our group are now dead." Okin stated darkly and without preamble. There were several gasps from among them, but LeShana remained silent only because her voice seemed to have deserted her. "Another two have been reassigned to places so far distant, even maintaining contact with them has proven difficult."
"Perhaps unwisely, some of us sought from the beginning to seek out the source of these troubled feelings, and some were simply never heard from again. The official records stated they died in the line of duty or were killed because of quarrels with unknown parties.. but.. we know better." Dirina stated with an ill portent clear in her every word.
"We can not know who is behind this, only that someone in the high ranks is aiding this.. invasion, of what used to be safe ground." Okin muttered just as darkly, his eyes filled with anger and worry. "Since then we have been laying low, trying desperately to gather allies we trust in significant enough numbers that we might be able to take action against whatever it is that is causing us such worry. And then a month ago.." LeShana's blood ran cold at his words as fear clutched at her heart, her mind only too readily anticipating what might follow. ".. something changed."
"It was.." Dirina hesitated over what to say next.
"It was like all the hatred of a thousand worlds screamed through the night all at once, and then went silent for fear of something that had just entered this world." Someone unseen finished for her.
"That was the night your group returned to the crater, LeShana." Orin stated, confirming her worst fears in plain words. "Since that time, we have been watching closely from the fringes, trying to identify what could have caused that darkness such fear and hatred."
"It is strongest at night, but it goes quiet when you some of you have emerged during the hours of dark, but grows loud again when you return to your rooms. By process of elimination during these last few weeks, we can only conclude that.."
"That it is Raven which It fears." Spoke an entirely new voice, that came from beyond the shadows at the edges of the large room. Most of them spun towards the sound, weapons appearing in hands and spells ready to attack, but all of them were in for a shock even greater than the fact that they had been discovered. As that figure emerged, no one could doubt that they faced a Paladin, a chosen holy warrior who served the names of the gods. Long ago, long before the Center had been formed and the agents began to spread justice and peace through the halls, that duty was served by the Paladins. The nebulous group had always been shrouded in mystery and secrets, even more so in their modern age. With the rise of the Center and its' peace keeping efforts, the Paladins had been weakened in both numbers and influence, as their orders shrank in the face of the agents, who in essence, had replaced them as a stabilizing force for good. The mysterious individual was male and shrouded in a brilliant, white leather cloak with a silk patch above his right arm, representing the goddess Seletra, whom he served. "You will have to excuse me for coming here uninvited.. but I fear time grows short and we can no longer afford to ignore each other."
"How did.."
"I would suggest we save the questions for another day.. if all of you linger here too long, the shadows you have come together to face will begin to suspect that a force may be gathering to oppose it." The paladin announced apologetically as he moved towards them. "I can confirm that all of you have correctly seen the heart of what this darkness fears.. it is that young man who has disturbed whatever all of you have felt. However, I fear that this blackest shadow has been at work in these halls for far longer than a mere half a year. My brethren and I have been aware of it moving from beyond the borders of what is known for a very long time, little by little, growing closer and more powerful as it has neared the heart of our reality. It is an ancient evil, far beyond anything you might comprehend, and Its' unending hatred has found a focus. It, like I, can sense that young Raven is a person with a vast destiny ahead of him, and it will stop at the nothing to see his light extinguished for all time."
"But.. he.. just got here.." LeShana countered, trying desperately to deny his words even as her heart echoed back a glimmer of their truth.
"No, my dear, he just returned here." Sarath gasped next to her and a grim shadow crossed LeShana's senses at even the memory of Raven's origins. "He was protected once before by being carried off to a forgotten world, where he could be raised in safety and taught the values of peace. But now that he has returned, the darkness that would have found him only too vulnerable before, now sees him as an even a greater threat."
"But what can we do?" A fearful, feminine voice from somewhere behind LeShana squeaked.
"Alone, there is nothing you can do against something so powerful. But together.. we might do much to hinder this ancient evil, to delay it's plans. We paladins have ways of moving through these halls unnoticed by all, and beyond the evil's gaze, but we can not travel with impunity and do all that agents might. Together, we might yet find a way to hold back this encroaching darkness and buy ourselves some much needed time." The Paladin told them as he stopped not far away.
"Time for what?" Orin asked.
"Time for Raven to become what he must be, and time for all of us to learn what this darkness truly wants, besides the death of the one who it fears."