Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Yes, a spiritual energy... It is their namesake of sorts." Omikron answered Owle, "The ability to use the power of soul as a physical or even metamagical force. A force that the Forgotten both craves and is vulnerable against. It does not hold the same dominance over it as it can exercise over the elements."

There was a pained look to Omikron, even moreso than usual. All this talk of Anima brought back painful memories of his tasks under the Forgotten. Deep down he knew what he was about to tell Owle was partially fault of his own.

"Usually Owle, heroes find each other, Anima was a special case. Villains come and go, The Forgotten is essentially a corrupted aspect of the very universe, an entity that needs to be constantly watched. The Knights of Anima, as they are sometimes called, were gifted in the ability to harness that spiritual energy to ensure the Forgotten remained... Forgotten." There was a long pause, "Their victory at this city... In retrospect... Seemed nothing more than the Forgotten's attempt to splinter the group. So its agents could..."

Owle didn't need to know the details... He couldn't tell her.

"Well, they were destroyed. Thus the Forgotten has gained increasing amounts of power everytime it has arisen since then... But this man believes that the knowledge of Anima survived."

--- Mana Forge --- --- --- ---

The injured man followed Athan in an attempt to get his attention, but it was no use as Athan was deaf to the world. He stopped in his tracks once the mercenary began to reach out over the pool of forgotten matter. Then he took a few steps backwards with what he saw.

A figure had risen out of the matter before Athan, a perfect silhouette of a humanoid. More detailed than a shade, as the facial features and markings of the body were visible and unique. The shape was distinctively masculine and Athan may have even had a feeling like the voice it was vaguely recognisable.

Then it spoke.

"The Dreamless Sleeper is both of protection and destruction. Trapped somewhere between the blessed ignorance of virtue and the cold delusion of vice, the Charge is under constant judgement as its path is a blur. Free to play the part of both saviour and slaughterer the Dreamless Sleeper's positioning will be forever important to both sides of a conflict. With all this said the Charge stands on the edge of change and therefore has what could possibly be the decisive power. The power to change oneself, to change others, and to change the flow of the conflict.

Athan Cole... Do you accept this charge?"

--- Marketplace --- --- --- ---

Yet it seemed the Shade now known as Valiant who was more childlike. Taking the "amazing what you've done with the place" at face value the shade nodded in agreement vigourously.

The shade seemed to know where to go as if by nature, and that was very well true. Thanks to Noel's situation he could be found just as easily by one shade as any other of the Forgotten's ex-servants. So Valiant led Merri through the market where Shades attempted to live out somewhat of a normal life, and then through another gate into a residential district, but then took a different turn than with Owle and Athan. They headed away from where shades lived and towards another section of abandoned ruins.

That's when Valiant stopped and pointed to a pale, white haired man, completely involved with a notebook and the ancient signs on the walls.

She had arrived.

Was it really that simple? No monsters to fight, no demons to slay? Just an odd vision or two, and there was the person she was looking for? Why hadn't Georg found him then? A million questions weighed on Merielle's mind as she looked at the man.

...But she simply stepped forward, and called out congenially. "Noel Chistatio?" She lifted a hand in greeting, but didn't move too quickly, she knew her blades had a tendency to flash in the light, and she didn't want to scare the man.

"In a sense you are correct, but not in the way implied." he still didn't look to Owle, rather he stared at a blank patch of ocean on the map, "Athan's people were among the last to adopt Anima from the order, but it was only because a sect of them had been corrupted by the powers of The Forgotten. The ensuing conflict destroyed both the Tyr'Kana and the Order of Anima... We'll most of both."

"To my knowing fewer than twenty Knights of Anima survived the battle. All but two were..." If Omikron had the proper physiology this is where he would get a lump in his throat, "Tracked down and eliminated. A grand master of the order, and a Tyr'Kana who had been recently initiated. The latter very well could have begat Athan's line."

He looked at that spot of empty map intensely as he did not want to continue this line of conversation at all. It was filled with too many memories and hazy half-thoughts. It was nearly too much... Yet he still wanted to continue talking about it. He straightened up slightly... Why did he? Wasn't this what he wanted to get away from all this time?

All roads lead to Syntaxis it seemed.

"Owle..." He abruptly broke away from the map for the first time to look her right in the eyes. The next part was more surprising, without any prompt on her part Omikron reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder, "My comments about the danger, which are still valid, aside... I am glad you came."

--- Mana Forge --- --- --- ---

"I am an echo of the past." The figure spoke without moving or reacting to any of Athan's gestures, "My future, the being who should rightfully pass the charge onto you, is incapable of doing so in this time period. Thus this method must be taken."

A pause to signify that answer was over.

"You have been chosen to bear this charge as your actions up to this point in the timestream have aligned you with its outline. You have acted with both the greatest concern for others as protector, and with only thoughts of violence as aggressor. Your lineage and relationships also play an important part as they offered you a more than insignificant chance of arriving here to accept the charge. Finally, your abilities place the your probability of fulfilling the charge acceptably above zero."

A second pause.

"I ask again. Athan Cole, do you accept the charge?"

--- Edge Chasm --- --- --- ---

On second look it turned out the man was rather high up as the gash in the elevated ruin had pushed mountain and wall far into the air. Shifting of Gaia and all that. He could still hear though, thus he turned around to see who was calling him.

"Ah! Hello there!" He didn't really have to yell but he did, "Give me a second!"

And with that he practically jumped off the ledge he was on, beginning a series of bounds from outcropping to outcropping. Not awkwardly like one would expect of the man, but he moved from jutting rock to jutting rock with a feral fluidity. Right up until he landed in front of Meri and, hilariously enough, dusted his jacket off.

"Yes, I would be Noel." He had exactly the type of voice one would expect. Soft, clam and still choked by the dust of a thousand old books, "How may I be of service Miss...?"

Merielle smiled pleasantly, a lump in her throat as she thought of Ysamine, who was quite the same way, soft spoken yet passionate. There was a pause before she answered, why had she thought of Ysamine at such a time, was the woman still that much a part of her? Shaking aside the oddity, Merielle then stretched out her hand to Noel.

"Yes. My mentor spoke of you in a book he left me, and I'm trying to finish up some of his research." The harshness that was often in her own voice was gone as she spoke of Georg with fondness. "It was about Valiant ..." She motioned to the shade she had dubbed. "...and others of his kind. At least that is my belief. That they might be related to the incidents a few years ago in Barton as well as a more recent incident involving the Church of the Saint Matriarch's destruction..."

She then realized how badly that could sound if Noel was on the shade's side. "I'm not here to accuse anyone. I'm merely trying to finish up his research, and find out what happened to him."

And there they stood, silent, one content and one trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Or maybe those roles were more interchangeable than that depending on the situation. Of course in Omikron's case this was one of the first calm moments he had in quite some time.

"I do not know what to do Owle," his hand drifted uncertainly off her shoulder, "People are appearing here... A place forgotten for thousands of years, and that I have went out of my way to hide... Something is happening... I don't know what to do."

He didn't look away this time.

--- Mana Forge --- --- --- ---

"So be it."

At that moment the darkness around the figure erupted into a column of liquid forgotten matter. A geyser that began to collect in the air until a floating ball of the substance had been collected. Then it swaggered, swayed and began to move. Before anyone could blink Athan was shrouded in darkness and substance.

It was only a moment, but in that moment Athan would have a dream.

Then the orb of forgotten matter would melt away from Athan, his mind more than likely not able to comprehend or remember all of the dream at that moment. He would feel reenergised though, like he had a new purpose... One he wasn't entirely sure of, but a good feeling none the less. Most importantly he would feel like something missing was restored.

And it was really. Jutting from where his arm once ended at the elbow there was a piece of jet black armour like the shades... Only it wasn't armour, the gauntlet like forearm and hand was just as much a part of Athan as the rest of him... Just like the shades.



"I suppose," Athan could once again hear the man, "I can't begin to comprehend what has just happened.

--- Edge Chasm --- --- --- ---

Returning the gesture of peace, Noel shook Merielle's hand.

"While I'm glad you're not here to accuse I'm positive these Shades are used to it." He remained calm but he had a very scholarly tone now, as if he was teaching Meri something, "It's an unfortunate fact that the shades were created by a malevolent entity as tools of destruction. The shades here do not follow that entity though, rather they are led by a shade commander that broke free of the entity known as Omikron. Thus they now only wish to live in peace as to avoid their destructive purpose."

He then looked a tad shocked and shook his head.


"My, that came out a bit wordier than I had hoped." his composure cracked a tiny bit only to be regained once he cleared his throat, "Ah yes, the incident at the Church of The Saint Matriarch, we only recently learned about that travesty. Rather unfortunate... It's a good thing that that man appeared here otherwise it may have went unnoticed."

She interrupted his speel with only a quiet, "Sometimes, the tools find out that they have a mind of their own..." and a smile. She said nothing else as his continued, but when he spoke of a man that had brought them news of the Church, her green eyes widened only slightly; it would take someone greatly observant to notice the flaring of nostrils, the tensing of her body as she quietly replied.

"A man you say..." Her fists tightened at her sides, and it would appear she was almost angry. As if it was something personal...

"With any luck they will, Owle." The shadelord closed his eye and his larger hand went to his forehead, "I am quite sure that this is not something that I could contain with the shades isolated like this."

Frankly Omikron no longer wanted to look at the map and all its markings. It only reminded him of all the signs that were pointing towards what he believed was certain doom. He couldn't tell Owle that in so many words... Certain doom has a way of putting people on edge.

"I have an ominous feeling about this entire situation." Yellow eye once again was revealed to look at Owle, "There is too much happening at once for it to mean nothing."

--- Mana Forge --- --- --- ---

"Well, even if you are clueless you seem to have come out of it for the better." The strange man too was looking at Athan's new arm.

"I believe this may be the sort of phenomena I have suspected..." After a circle around settled back in front of Athan, "They believed you were needed and you found your way here... Then I worry that you may not be in the condition to perform at your peak... and suddenly you find yourself repaired."

"May I ask," He made a nod toward the arm, "How does it work and feel?"

--- Edge Chasm --- --- --- ---

Noel gave Meri a rather puzzled look. Had he said something wrong? He didn't believe he had mentioned something inflammatory enough to send someone into fist clenching suppression.

"Yes, a man. He hasn't given us a name but he knew a surprising amount about the Matriarch incident." Noel's speech slowed as he thought about what he said... No need to enrage the woman, "A strange occurrence actually. We believe he was in the building when Alpha... One of the destructive shadelords... Pushed his plan into motion. The strange part is that he both survived, and that the warp path Alpha used was somehow distorted enough to bring him here."

"No don't think me crazy," Noel said completely seriously, "But I somehow believe that people are being brought here. Too many arrivals to such an isolated place for it to be coincidence."

Athan's focus went back to his arm as he continued experimenting with the new appendage. Strangely, or perhaps it was just unsurprisingly, Athan was considering how strong the arm would have been. Would it take a lot of working out to get it up to par? Would it even grow stronger?

There was no way to test it, but Athan couldn't shake the curiosity.

"They?"

A brief pause as he closed the new hand into a fist and lowered it to his side.

"You mean Anima?"

Perhaps it was just a feeling of deja vu, but he couldn't help but think that he knew far more about this group than he had previously thought. There wasn't much time to think, as the question was asked the moment the thought had popped into his head.

"Feels like my own arm. Dunno if it'll be as strong though."