1.10

The screams of the night had forced the group to move forward at what felt as an inhuman speed. The horses had been left two hours before since they refused to move any further. Lars led the way with Clark close behind. Cassandra was bringing up the rear and it was her that just an hour before had alerted them to quickly hide.

Secure in hiding they could see five beasts running easily up the narrow road jumping up the tight bends with great leaps. In the moon light it was as if seeing a vision of evolution taking a tight turn to deliver something not of this land. Large open mouths filled with long sharp teeth shone in the light and as they leaped up onto rocks and stones their fangs sent sparks across the darkness.
When the sounds of the beasts was disappering upwards the three ventured out onto the road again and cautiously continued their climb towards the nest.

As the morning light started to break through the clouds at the horizon they arrived as close to the nest as the road would lead them and they started to climb the steep hillside. Helping each other and through careful choices of the route they managed to move the last few hundered meters upwards in barely two hours. Sweating and tired they took the last few climbs upwards to find the nest close to empty. In the nest only two creatures laid slain.
Each was humanoid with thick fur and large teeth. Each was dead since hours and had terror in their eyes. And both was severly dismembered. Blood was drying in their fur and the stink of flesh and feces was heavy. A shredded piece of cloth stuck to some branches in the nest but of the woman there was no sign.

Clark through his hands up into the air as if giving up hope and sat down on the sticky branches.
- What now?, he asked
Lars and Cassandra looked at each other and shrugged.
- I guess we might as well go down again, so much for nothing

3.7

Fangs slicing through muscletissue and flesh. Red eyes gleaming with rage. Howls embedding in the ears and provoking further howls. A landscape of stone and rock racing by at breakneck speed. A target at a distance closing in quickly. Innocent bystanders ignored, all for the final goal. A great leap and a heavy landing. Fangs extended and teeths showed fully. Biting and clawing in a frenzy in the darkness.

Hiding, waiting, biding the time.

Emelie woke up screaming not understanding why she could only follow, not interact. Darkness almost all around. Only the soft breathing of the great bird standing beside her sleeping area. The scream was waking it up, making it blink in the thin moonlight. It looked down and her and then scanned all around the large nest. Shuffling it's feathers it closed it's eyes again, going back to sleep.

Echoing over the mountains a bloodcurling scream rolled up against the nest getting Emelie to immidiatly curl up into a small ball. The eagle woke up faster this time looking towards where the sound came. It's response was a loud squeal thundering down the mountain.

4.4

The steep climb was taking it's toll on the horses. The speed was slow and the nighttime was closing in fast. The last few hours they had been going upwards through an ever increasingly hostile environment. From time to time they could hear the goal of their race, the cry of the eagle high above. Though they had travelled far they was still far from it's nest and they had to follow the narrow rocky road winding it's way upwards.
Lord Anon had become ever more detached from the others in the wagon. He was contemplating what ever it was that had gone wrong. It was supposed to have been so simple, just go to the monestary to meet the saviour and then bring her to the castle. Then all would be well, but now nothing was well at all.
Grief was turning into blame and in his inner eye he was searching for whom to lay it upon. The archlord was slowly but surely being singled out as the one that could have caused it all, perhaps as a twisted test or joke. No, not joke, it could not be. The archlord know the danger involved and the consequences if she was to fall into the wrong hands.

Darkness was falling faster now, engulfing the world in a purple haze. For some a soothing environment but to Lord Anon a place where claustrophobia could dwell.
The wagon stopped as the horses cried out a short abrupted cry. Snarls and wolflike barks were heard all around the wagon which woke Lord Anon out of his own misery.
- Devil, what is the racket?, he bellowed as he saw his aide pulling down the blinds for the windows.
- Wolfs my liege.
- Well do something about it then, he said and pushed him out as he opened the door. Scare them away.

- Lord, you may want to see this, the aide said as he opened the door.
As the Lord looked out and forward he saw the two horses laying on the ground bleeding heavily from large wounds to the neck and belly. The were obviously already dead he could see. As he stepped out he saw dripping of blood from the top of the wagon. Before he looked up he said,
- This is no wolfs doing.

3.6

Rough branches tore into her skin when she woke up. The light was already blinding as she tried to shield her eyes. As she moved about a great shadow fell over her as the eagle stepped infront of the sun. She looked up at the great bird and remembered calling for it, felling it and being it.
Cornered on the parapet she had felt no other option than to reach out as far and forcefully as she could. And at a distance she had felt an animal larger than anything else that was flying. The beast had been willing and before long she had been heading away from the captivity. But the concentration needed to keep control of the eagle had drained her powers quickly and she had had to land here at a large nest for rest. She must have slept throughout the night and long into the morning considering how high the sun was.

Looking down out over the lowlands she could see people moving towards her. Three distinct trails of dust was racing through the dry landscape. First she saw a small group of riders, some miles behind she saw a single wagon and far behind them a small sandstorm was gaining on the other two groups with an alarming rate.

Still tired she fell into a deep sleep once more dreaming of movements tugging her around in a field covered in fog. Screams of desperate children echoing all around her. Devoco! Indolentia!

1.9

The ale was bitter and room temperatured. Smoke was hanging heavy throughout the tavern and at most of the tables men sat sunken deep in their own thoughts and inspected the bottom of their mugs. From time to time someone would cough terribly or shout an order to one of the two elderly waitresses attending them. At the far end of the room Clark saw two slim long shadows of men moving unnoticed among the bar patrons, sometimes sliding through some drunk causing him to dom something or say something. This was mostly ignored by the rest but every now and then a short shuffle or fight broke out because of it. Every time this happened the shadows stood still inspecting what that was happening as if studying.

- Those are the enemy, Cassandra said. We don't know how to stop them yet but me and Lars have travelled the lands for a long time and there are more of those creatures here than anywhere else we have seen. And there have arrived many more in the last few days. We assume that it has to do with the girl and the eagle so we must follow it. The girl obviously is important to many people.
- Those are some large mountains, I saw that when riding in. How sh..
- Shh, quiet. One is coming here
One of the shadows moved in close to them and moved around as if searching for something.
- So as I was saying I think that was a splendid show the guards did there by the parapet, don't you think my dear?, Lars said
- So it was, too bad they did not develop some wings, haha. Cassandra laughed a clearly faked and overstressed laugh
- It was truly a sight to see, Clark continued and laughed shortly too.
The shadow moved behind Cassandra and slipped into her.
- You don't love me Lars, I have had a lover, she blurted out.
Lars looked confused and then upset but he didn't say anything. Cassandra swept over the table with her arm and sent a mug of ale flying.
- Now calm down Cassandra, Lars insisted looking stern but making sure not to be aggressive.
Clark saw the shadow slip out of Cassandra and move over to another shadow. In the corner of his eye he saw two more shadows join the others, all standing in a group as if discussing.
- I do think we should get a move on, Cassandra said quietly.
- I agree, Lars replied.
They stood up calmly, left a few coins on the table and started to walk towards the door. Halfway there they met a waitress carrying three plates.
- But your food?
- We're not hungry now, Cassandra replied. We left enough money to cover us. Good bye.
Outside they quickened their paces and moved over to the stable
- No horse right?
- No horse now, Said Clark.
Lars went over to the stable keeper and quietly discussed for a minute after which he said.
- We can take any three horses we like.

Riding westwards at a blistering speed Clark felt good. It was as if he had found what he really wanted to do. He was free and felt stronger now than when he had just been a musician. He was more now, obviously he could do much more. He had never been on a horse until just a few days ago. The sun was starting to set but they urged the horses on in an ever increasingly desolate landscape. The farmland was slowly withdrawing and being replaced by a rocky terrain with broken dried patches of sand as if the sun had been too intense. The mountains was growing larger infront of them and as the sun set behind them they seemed to burn like ember.

4.3

Running through the gates Lord Anon was concerned. He had seen the great eagle descend and his mind was racing through the scriptures that he had read so many times in his life.

A child of mark be born
To free the world from blaze
Among the ruined youth
A touch of god will guide
A touch of damned will find
The scar of scorned inside
For she must not be freed
Or earths unknown we'll see
An eagles bloodied nest
The death is to the west

As he reached the parapet the eagle was long gone.
- Where is the girl?, he shouted to a group of guards.
- The eagle has her now Lord, one of the guards replied and lowered his head.
- Bring me to your archlord!
The guard did not answer but silently showed the way with his hand and started to walk down the stairs to the inner halls of the monestary. On the way they met the supreme priest who was climbing the stairs with heavy steps.
- The girl has been removed, Lord Anon declared and squeezed his way past the priest. The archlord will know what action to take.
Through several large rooms filled with expensive furniture, large paintings and gigantic fireplaces they passed until they reached a small room with two simple but comfortable chairs in it. The room was divided in half by a large velvet curtain that blocked the view. Infront of the curtain at each wall there was a guard posted with long halberds. Lord Anon and the supreme priest sat on the chairs and went all quiet. A deep breathing moved across the room and seemed to disappear behind the curtain.
- Lord Anon, a calm almost boyish voice said.
- Archlord, Lord Anon replied.
- Priest from beyond, the voice snarled
- Supreme Priest, my Archlord. There was a clear feeling of hostility in the way he said it Lord Anon thought.
- The girl is gone, Lord Anon confessed
- It is most regretful. She must be found and returned safely immidiatly. You have my task to do this Lord, make sure it is done swiftly. Your first stop shall be the groove of tree due west from Banford, there you will meet companions. Now go bring what is ours back.
It was silent for a short time.
- And you priest, leave and return to Marshmountain. Make sure Lord Anons domain remains unthreathened.
- Yes Archlord, both men replied as they stood up and left the room without looking back.

2.7

- Doomed I tell you!
- Shut up, will someone shut that head up now!
- Yes boss.
The wrap around Jobs head wasa wound harder and a few more layers of cloth placed around it to almost block all the noise.
- A small blessing, Petrus said, thank you Lateralus.
Lateralus dropped the head back in the cart and walked up beside Petrus again.
- You do not think there can be any truth in what he says?
- He has not given any proof of what he claims. All he has done is to scream doom and curse at people passing by. He is surely insane, as perhaps we are too for listening to him. For gods sake! He is a decapitated head, he should be quiet and starting to smell foul by now.
A screech made them look up.
- That is one big bird Petrus, he said.
- That my uneducated fellow is an eagle thought dead for eons, an ebon eagle. Descendant of the gods pets.
Petrus followed the eagles path until it disappeared among the clouds. Never had he thought he would see one of those creatures. His thoughts was brought back to reality by a heavy pounding in one of the crates. Another pounding almost lifted the lid of a crate and a wild howl was heard.
Lateralus and Petrus looked at each other in fright and grabbed hold of Josef and ran towards a ditch for shelter. Diving into the waistdeep muddy water a tremendous smash was heard and splinters of wood came flying across the air. The three men hid along the side of the ditch not daring to move and the pounding and breaking of wood continued for minutes.
A rip of fabric and then a terrified scream of Job was followed by a hissing sound and another wild howl. A few more minutes of smashing wood was ended by Jobs head being flinged through the air landing on the slope of the ditch beside the men. The heads eyes was glowing brightly and it was screaming as if it had seen the death of deaths.
After the head had gone quiet and the noices had died Petrus held his men down in the ditch for a long time before carefully peering up over the side of it. The crates were smashed to pieces, sand and straw spread wide. The cart was totally destroyed and the two horses lay slained on the ground, Petrus could not remember ever hearing the animals die. On the ground large clawed tracks lead of over the side of the road where they abruptly ended.

1.8

As Clarks horse rode into Banford the weather was closing in on the town. Dark clouds were blossoming and a cold wind was gaining in strength. On the far side of the monestary he could see the occasional lightning and hear the roar of thunder. The horse stopped just before the crowd infront of the monestary bacame to thick to move and Clark dismounted. Without him doing anything the horse rose on its hind legs, whinnied and rode off out of the town.
I guess it knew it's work here was done, Clark thought to himself and started to orient himself. A tavern to the left, some blacksmiths and stables to the right. Infront of him the monestary and behind him was a large number of smaller houses and dwellings. Most of the citizens of the town seemed to have left their homes and was gathered in the crowd.
Clark got the attention of an elderly man beside him and asked,
- What is going on here?
The man smiled a toothless smile and just pointed upwards, towards the parapet of the monestary.
Peering hard he could make out a silhouette against the dark skies. A lightningflash illuminated a slender figure standing totally still with it's arms stretched out wide.
A screech was heard from a far distance and the figures arms moved slightly. On either side of the parapet armed men stood at guard aiming their weapons toward the figure, they seemed to be shouting something but the meaning of it was lost in the sound of the increasing storm.
Behind him Clark could hear shouting and frightened screams. When he turned his head he saw a large wagon pulled by two large horses running towards him. He yelped of surprise and shock and jumped sideways to avoid the wagon. It was just centimeters from running him over but he counted himself lucky, in the wake of the wagon people were laying around with wounds and bruises. The beastly screech was heard again, this time closer and louder.
- An ebon eagle, Clark half spoke, half whispered to himself. How he knew this he did not know. He had never heard of it but still he knew it's call.
The wagon had made it all the way to the monestary gate where cleric guards were pushing people away to allow the Lord Anon to entrence to it.
Over the parapet Clark saw an immense shadow swoop in and land behind the figure. Folding it impressing wings the ebon eagle swept wide enough to push two of the guard over the side screaming until they hit the muddy ground. The figure held on to the leg of the eagle and it screeched loudly once more before flapping it's wings causing even harder winds for the people on the ground to deal with. The eagle flew off towards the large mountain range in the west with long powerful wingbeats.
- I'll be damned, Clark said
- And you damn sure should be, he heard from his right side accompanied by a deep laughter.
A large man and a small woman was standing beside him.
- You don't look like a commoner, said the woman.
- No I guess I don't really, I'm fresh from Craw, Clark replied.
The man and woman looked at eachother.
- Ok, I guess that is a good thing. An ebon eagle you said.
- Did I?
- Yes just before the beast landed.
Clark realised he had spoken a little too loud to himself.
- It was an ebon eagle but I do not know why I know that.
The woman leaned towards him and whispered in his ear,
- This is not the place to discuss this matter. Eager ears these commoners wear, lets not destroy their view of the world. Follow us to the tavern, have some drink and food and perhaps more.

3.5

Scuttling through the debris she smelled fresh bread. The hunger was tearing through her mind like a ice dagger, why did she have to chose a hungry rat or perhaps all rats were hungry all the time? She remembered the rodent she had tricked up on the rock, that one had been hungry as well. Looking around she saw the doorway to the kitchen and ran through following the wall around some side tables and then quickly infront of the large oven. Heavyset women were working doughs and preparing large chunks of meat and vegetables for the evening dinner. Jumping in behind a table she found some dropped vegetables that she greedily ate. After calming her stomach slightly she could think more clearly. Now where would her room be? The kitchen she supposed was in the basement so she would need to climb up somehow. She looked around the kitchen until her eyes found a service elevator. It was already half stacked with foods to be served at the dinner which would be a perfect way to quickly move up. Hiding as best she could she ran towards the elevator and was just about to jump up on a table placed just beside it when one of the women placed a large plate on the table blocking her way. Scrambling to stop and move into the shadow she accidentally disturbed some cutlery hanging along the side of the table. The clang of metal made the woman look down and see her. The scream that Emelie was expecting never came, but a tenderizing hammer did.

Emelie was shocked to be back in the white room. She had never been in a body dying until now and it was a frightening moment. She felt beads of cold sweat on her forehead. Concentrating on her breathing calmed her down enough to begin focusing again.
- No more deaths, ok?, she said to herself

- Squeek.
She was looking at another rat. It was brown and quite a bit larger than herself and it was showing it's sharp teeth at her. She put her head low by instinct and backed away far enough so she could turn and run away. After backing up a bit the other rat seemed to calm down and she moved away from it trying to figure out where she was now. She was even more careful to keep out of the light now. Waiting in the darkness under a bed until it looked safe and then run for shelter under a locker and then in under a closet. In the room she could hear several voices talking calmly and a few snores. Soldiers quarters she thought, it has to be close for here.
She stayed under the closet for some time figuring out how many men it was here, she managed to figure out it had to be six or seven of them, there could be more but they would have to be really silent while sleeping. She had tried to use her sence of smell to figure it out but again the smell of food was disturbing her concentration. Beside the closet there was a door leading into a circle stair heading upwards. There was no way down so she figured she once more had ended up in the basement. She jumped the stairs up to the second floor and was happy to do so unnoticed. She was in luck, here she could smell her own scent from her body in the white room, it was down a hallway that ended in a small room in which there was a table and a few chairs. A candle was burning on the table and there was some papers beside it and a quill of ink.
She could here the steps of a man heading towards the room. She hid under the table andsaw a guard with a large black dog entering the room. She saw the dog catch her rat smell and rush in under the table. The guard managed to hold on to the dog and yank it's chain so hard it almost choked the dog. The dog growled loudly when the guard pulled in the chain again and started moving towards the white room. Emelie switched to the dog and felt a surge of violence rush through her. She had an idea and a way that could just set her free.

The guard slid open the large wooden beam that locked the door and prepared to open the door when the dog all of a sudden snarled and attacked him. It jumped up towards his face but he managed to raise an arm in selfdefence. The sharp teeth of the canine dug deep into the flesh and the guard screamed in pain as he tried to shake the dog loose. Another attack landed hard over his ancle and he fell to the ground and his good arm stretched down towards the leg wound. The feriocious dog saw it's chance and fast as a dervish dug it's teeth deep into the throat of the guard. A gurlging sound bubbled up from the lungs of the guard as Emelie sent the dog running down the hallway and let it's mind go.

Coming back to herself she slowly stood up and carefully opened the heavy door. She stepped around the dying guard who tried to grab for her but she kept out of his reach. Then she ran down the hallway, past the circle stairs and down another hallway. At each doorway she stopped and peered in to make sure noone was there. She could hear the sound of the dinner going on upstairs so she continued to move towards freedom whereever it might be.

1.7

- There is a lapse in the human mind that filters out things that stretch beyond it's own imagination. It can be triggered when encountering something too unbelievable for the individual or because of some global trauma. Banes use this lapse to the fullest. After ages of living in the dark they one day stepped out into the light. It was then that they realised that most humans do not have the capability to even notice. This have emigrated them into all the folds of humanity but they are careful to observe newcomers and people that act outside their sets of normal behaviour. This is why you must act ignorant to astounding things happening beside people acting oblivious.
- You mean that these Banes walk among people unnoticed?
- Yes, totally unnoticed. But this have posed a problem for the Banes as well. Since they are removed from human conciousness so completely they have to use tricks to manipulate humans. This can be made through things that humans call supernatural.
- Ghosts and mindreaders and such?
- Basically yes. And if they have a calm enough environment they have an excellent opportunity when humans sleep.
Clark closed his eyes and concentrated on remembering all this unbelievable storymaking. It sounded like a ramblings of a deranged mind but too much strange things had happened to him already to just ignore it.

The old woman continued to explain the world of now for a long time but she seemed to avoid the obvious question and finally Clark couldn't hold it back anymore.
- All of this is just weird but the main question is, why are they doing this?
- That is what you have to help me find out. There are news about an epic event about to unfold that the Banes have failed to defuse. Something that can disrupt the powerbalance they now hold. I think it is time you travel to Banford where you will meet up with three others like you.
- Ok, I will play your game
- This is no game! And you should make haste from now on. Banford is two days quick riding from here.
The old woman stood up and walked into the kitchen.
- I will pack you a meal if you ready the horse.
- What horse?
- The one in the stable of course.

In the stable a giant of a steed stood waiting for him. Dark with a few brighter patches with a mane flowing far longer than he had seen on any of the horses in his youth. The horse seemed very calm and it was an easy task to saddle up. The old woman came and filled the saddle bags with food and a pack of what she called things nice to have.
- It is time for us to say good bye. I'm called old lady Craw by the way. The ones like you know me and will help you if they can. Good bye.
- Good bye old lady Craw.
The horse proved to be a most powerful one with great speed and stamina. Clark went sore and tired long before the horse showed even the slightest hint of getting tired. They only stopped to eat or sleep. It seemed as if the horse knew where to go as it weaved across grassy fields and along roads. At a distance Clark could see villages settled among farmland, small forests and rolling hillls. At regular intervals he noticed large buildings floating halfway to the clouds above the villagesbut did his best not to act as if he had noticed them for who knew who watched.

On midday of the second day he was riding past a line of wagons and carts that had got stuck in a long que. With the traffic coming towards him as well the horse turned over the ditch and rode alongside the road. As he rode past the broke cart that had caused the long cue he saw the most peculiar sight. A large wagon was just passing by the broken cart with a wealthy man waving towards an angry man on the ground who was screaming back at the wagon. Stretched out over a crate on the ground there was a dark slim shadow of a figure who had placed it's head into a dead mans head and was screaming towards the wagon as well. All he could hear over the steady thumping of hoofs was, Damnation! Lord Anon!