The Garden of Idin

By 'The Magician'

Chapter 7 (Jholeen)

The movement was called ottawai, followed fluidly by bendiish, and finally rah'hariis; a low crouching swoop of the leg, clipping the next dolarian following after the first, who was in turn met with a round-house kick; both men fell, as another dolarian rushed in; a palm-strike to the chest with enough force to lift the dolarian off his feet and knock him backward where he slammed into his comrade coming up behind him, both men impacted against the wall fifteen feet behind them. The two others that followed were marachni, and swifter than the eye could follow, Donald Talbot drew both of his guns and open fired on them unreservedly. In a matter of moments the two marachni were reduced to punctured smoking slag of flesh and bone, their weapons fell to the floor, useless.
As the other half-dozen dolarians entered with their own guns blazing, Aaros ran up and across the wall. Firing his weapons as he did so. And then, flipping in mid-air, the man from Earth holstered both guns, and drew his sword. Without hesitation he brought his sword down on the closest dolarian, cleaving both of the man's hands at the wrist, then spinning around, he came back up in an arch and removed the other dolarian's hands in the same manner. He had already killed six of the eight assailants with his guns, and now two more were without hands. That left one; to the surprise of Aaros it was parthias, a representation resembling Arjh'temis.

Aaros brought his sword round about, hoping to disembowel the parthias. But the Commander had been ready for him, and his blade locked with that of his enemy.
The warrior shod in the demon armor lunged swiftly. Aaros blocked with equal speed, riposting with a counterslash that Arjh'temis scarcely deflected. Another parry, a sidestep, and the simulacrum countered again, using this opportunity to move around the man from Earth.
The two men were a blur of activity. Each movement melding into the next. The Champion and the Swordsmaster continued to trade blows. Again and again the two warriors crossed eldritch blades, with a crackle of dissipating energy, seemingly testing one another. They felt the resistance of the swords, blade pushing against blade, then they repelled, forcing one another away, forcing the other swordsman to take several steps back, before rushing forward and slamming their blades down against the other once again, sparks flying all about the engaged swordsmen.

The simulacrum pulled back briefly, and then lunged at Aaros, slashing and hacking with his weapon, energy glowing up and down the length of the blade. Aaros blocked each attack. The Swordsmaster spun around and again swung his blade, and again it was met kind for kind. Blades locked momentarily, multicolored lightning flared and flashed. Arjh'temis executed a bendiish, in which Aaros slid under superbly. Aaros parried another blow and still another. Then he drove forward, feinted, and then swung his blade swiftly toward his opponent. Arjh'temis barely deflected, and felt the force of the blow all the way up to his shoulders. All the while brilliant energy snapped and sizzled.
Then the Swordsmaster attempted a side-kick. Aaros tossed his blade high into the air and grab the man's foot with both hands. With a snapping twist, the man from Earth spun his opponent horizontally-- let him fly, and then caught his sword deftly as it came back down.

Arjh'temis blocked the next blow in a precarious clumsy fashion. Quickly gained his footing and leverage, then slashed wildly at his opponent. Aaros ducked under the swing, and then, seeing another opening, the warrior fluidly spun around brought his leg up in a swinging bendiish that caught the simulacrum just under the jaw. Aaros snapped his leg back even as he saw his adversary begin to fall back from the blow. Pivoting onto the other leg, Aaros spun around again, and caught the Swordsmaster in the side of the head, the man's body jerked, and as his body went in one direction while his head was forced in the other. Again Aaros pivoted, and again his leg came up, smashing into the other side of his opponent's head, spinning the man's body around. The legs of Arjh'temis buckled under him.
"End fighting sequence." Aaros directed
Almost immediately the scene before him faded to reveal an empty room fifty feet in length, in height, and in width. A control booth with an observation window rested flush in the far wall.

Aaros returned to his cabin and took a shower.
As he stepped out of the stall he felt himself fall.

The feeling was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. From a great distance he fell. His surroundings flew by him in a blur. Coils, piping, conduits, and access panels sailed passed, and grating skids rushed up to greet him. And then the man from Earth was slamming into the metal grating lining the floor surrounding the shields generator of the Lilis. He felt no pain as his bones splintered in otherwise uncompromising positions. As he rose from the body that had been reduced to a bloody pinwheel of bone and pulp, Aaros gazed down and recognized the uniform belonging to that of an engineer. He was suddenly convinced that something terrible had happened.
Then the scene surrounding changed, and Donald found himself standing in the doorway of a room that he didn't recognize. What he did recognize chilled the marrow of his bones.
Bodies lay strewn about the room like discarded sacks, torn, and broken, and lifeless. Ripped apart as if by maddened animals.
And then the scene was gone. And Aaros found himself standing naked just outside his shower stall, water still spilling down his body. The Rhi-in'let was glowing faintly on his index finger.
Drying himself off, Donald donned his robe and spoke to the computer. "Send a transmission to the Lilis; I want to know if there have been any freak accidents in the last twenty-four hours…or in this case, a weeks time. Send it Priority."
--'Yes Sire.'-
('Something's wrong dudeman.')
'Yeah, I know. But what it is exactly…'
Aaros returned to his studies.

(Loading…)

(To possibly facilitate a prediction of the next uprising of Mi'jhanth and his followers, scholars were requested by the Empress to study the tomes of the Archanist.
As irony would have it, the next uprising would be facilitated and initiated by one of the researchers within the Royal Palace. This time it would be a dolarian scholar, and knowing that Mi'jhanth's return was anticipated he would wait until it was no longer believed that the Sorcerer Supreme was going to recommence his reign of evil. Moreover it was determined by the dolarian Olistis, that the skull of the Archanist was needed if his plan was to succeed. It took almost 75 years before Olistis was able to locate the skull, and as he had predicted, it was in the hands of the Umajha. With it he would succeed where others had failed.

Olistis waited almost 200 years before he would put his plan into affect. Firstly, the Umajha would know of his plan; they would know of the necessary enchantments needed to bring the skull to full power; enchantments that when followed precisely took years to accomplish; and then there were spells of creation, dh'antras of dh'artmente, and mastering spells that took decades to reach fruition; this time Olistis had no intention of having the staff broken.

It became necessary when the time presented itself to murder one of the younger researchers and take their place in a dh'antra of alteration; where Olistis would take on the appearance of the researcher that he had killed; all the while dh'omeras spells were in the making to awaken the spirit within the skull, while enchantments of veiling were cast to make it impossible to locate the staff when the time came for its resurgence into the world.

Olistis learned enchantments of longevity to prolong his life, even as he took the life of researcher after researcher after researcher. Olistis made a request, that the 9 Rhi-in'lets of Predestination's Order were found before the activation of the Skull Staff was initiated. The tiny talismans were essentially smooth mei'hres-molded thimbles that melded into a spine, like unto a tiny talon, similar in appearance to a lasher. The Rhi-in'lets were known only within the history of the Umajha and the dolarians, for it was that the Death Mages had forged the tiny talismans in attempt to control the next entity that surfaced and claimed to be the Sorcerer Supreme, and such information was lost to antiquity, never to erudite the intellects of those that had stolen the Malari Empire from the dolarians.

With the Rhi-in'lets and the Skull Staff Olistis believed there was no way that he could fail. After rediscovery of the Rhi-in'lets, Olistis demanded, by order of the Empire that the Rhi-in'lets be brought to him for further study. And when the dolarian felt that the day had come, he who would be next in line for the Sorcerer Supreme, quite simply he murdered the Empress of Malrishi.

As arrogance would perpetuate the actions of the Sorcerer Supreme, Olistis thought that it was only fitting that the Empress should die on the celebration of her birthday. With her death the Archanist would cast a dh'antra of alteration and take the place of the Empress. Ten years following the death of the Maritiseis and Olistis would let the world know whom it was that now sat upon the throne. However that day would never be; because unknown to the Archanist 400 years prior and the Empress had been cloned, while the preceding corporeal form that perpetuated the cloning was put to sleep. 400 years prior to that and Maritiseis had been cloned, while her preceding corporeal form had been put to sleep.

And so it had been for almost 4,000 years. On the same day that Olistis had planned to kill the Empress, there had already been plans to clone her; the Archanist's charade was discovered, and so began another war. A cataclysmic confrontation that would shake the foundations of the planet, lasting nearly 250 years in which Maritiseis would be killed more than a hundred times, and revived a hundred times more. In the end a mountain was dropped on the Archanist and in time the world would return to normal. The mountain would be known as the Korish, meaning tomb of The Evil One.

Over 1,000 years would pass before the most unlikely of individuals would discover the Staff of the Skull, or that is, the Staff would discover the most unlikely of individuals. One of the several cabin boys maintaining fundamental upkeep of the skyship Sphinx, began to have dreams and visions after the vessel had evidently passed too close to the fallen mountain of Korish.

An excavation was planned in the following month after thousands of tons of rock had buried the Anarchist. Mines snaked through the mountain years later in hope of finding the artifacts that had been entombed with the Sorcerer Supreme. The Staff of the Skull was never found, however five of the nine Rhi-in'lets of Order were; it was a grisly discovery indeed; for the Rhi-in'lets had still been on the hand of the Anarchist, and yet the hand was no longer attached to the arm of he who had been the Sorcerer Supreme. In a manner unexplained, the hand was animated, and it crawled through the mines for years either in search of its fallen master, or in an attempt to find its way out of Korish. The consciousness of the Anarchist was evidently separated from that of the hand, for the Rhi-in'lets on the fingers remained inactive upon discovery of the crawling limb. The five talismans that were recovered were; the Rhiin of Necromancy, the Rhiin of Conjuration, the Rhiin of Alteration, the Rhiin of Predestination, and the Rhiin of Incantations. These five Rhi-in'lets and more, along with the Skull Staff would fall into the hands of a cabin-boy turned king 1200 years after their discovery.

The dolarian cabin-boy known as Jhan was above average intelligence and the crew often wondered why he was employed on the Sphinx at all; the men aboard the skyship would often say-mostly in drunken jest--that the boy showed the intellect of one who belonged with the scholars of the Empire. Perhaps the crew was right in their suppositions.
On the day that the Sphinx passed over Korish, Jhan admitted to feeling a little 'light-headed.' The sensation was soon to pass and the cabin-boy would then later tell the crew that he had never felt more 'clear-headed', in his entire life, and, while drinking with his crewmates later that night he would say, without a hint of doubt lining his words, that the Sphinx would one day be an integral part of the Imperial Navy. Everyone had a good laugh about that one, and to reciprocate the obvious entertaining notion, made sure that Jhan had had enough to drink to make certain that he awoke the next day with a profound hang-over. He did at that, and because of it the cabin-boy would quickly forget the feelings that the dream that night he had had left him with, even though it forced him awake to be embraced by a cold sweat of terror.

Two weeks later and the First Mate would pass in his sleep from a fever that he could not be released from. The only one that was surprised as having been chosen next in line for First Mate was Jhan himself; the crew had expected it without reservations, knowing that the Captain had taken a strong liking to the lad months earlier, and they all admired him as well. Still, Jhan was shaken and confused at the sudden leap in command, and it took the reassurance of the crew to finally convince the lad that the Captain had made no mistake; Jhan was as outspoken as he was intelligent, and his strength was only surpassed by his charisma. The crew would not hold what little ignorance the lad had concerning his newfound position against him, as they would be as divorce from guile as children, and help Jhan through the 'rough areas' of his command and responsibilities, until he was in fact second only to the Captain himself.

A premonition troubled the young man, something perhaps lost in a dream, but the distractions of the crew made the reality of being First Mate as real as Jhan's own aspirations.
When a call went out from the Marauders requesting for a nondescript ship to pierce the veil that led into the outer reaches of the Outer planes to rescue two kidnapped Handmaidens, the Sphinx answered the call. The vessel was rigged with weapons and three days later it pierced the veil to the outer planes. The campaign was as vicious and diabolical as it was demanding, and many lost their lives, including the Captain of the Sphinx, before the Handmaidens were rescued. Jhan returned with the Marauders and the remainder of the ship's crew in victory and with a heart heavy-laden. The Empress rewarded the young man by giving him his own kingdom in which to rule, and in time Jhan would even win the affections of the Empress herself. It would be the first time in centuries that a man-especially a dolarian, would win the heart of Maritiseis and become her consort. And so it was that from cabin boy to captain, Jhan would become the Champion of Malrishi.

Not long after the consummation between Empress and consort, and Jhan began to experience visions and dreams once again. One of the visions involved the memory of passing over the mountain of Korish; Jhan could feel the breeze blowing through his hair and thought he heard a voice whispering on the wind, and suddenly he found himself falling, if only in his own mind, toward the mountain of Korish. Then darkness for a time enveloped him and the lad was without sight. Then a blinding light followed and in the midst of the light stood a glowing sentinel, like an avatar of the gods, holding a magnificent scepter. The apparition offered the staff to the lad who upon grasping it, found himself returned to the deck of the ship. Horror gripped him as Jhan realized that the entire crew was dead, and that he was all alone, that is until the apparition manifested itself once again before the young man and said, "Fear not, o' child of the light, for your companions are not passed as you perceive them to be but merely sleep a deep sleep that only you can awaken them. You hold the key in your hand, and all the powers of the world of life and death cannot stand before your might once you initiate it. Already you are the Champion of Malrishi, and in this your companions need not be lost beyond the veil where their souls will find no rest, read the Tomes o'child of the light, read the Tomes…For in them you will find the answers to all of the questions that elude you. Read the Tomes… of Emeiudi Ravenlord…"
Jhan awoke knowing what he was to do.

(--Lord Aaros, You have a visitor. Commander Jholeen at present--)
"Thank you computer. Let her in." Donald Talbot addressed the feminine voice beyond the cabin's ceiling. The images representing the history of Mi'jhanth once again faded into the visor that Donald was currently removing as the Commander stepped into his cabin.
Jholeen the l'majha commander with dark lustrous hair of crimson, piercing almond eyes of green, with ruddy-gold skin; she was statuesque, with a flat belly, shapely legs and very full breasts.
('She's a keeper.')
The busty redheaded l'majha was wearing an emerald jumpsuit, with a blaster in the holster.
Getting up from the recliner, the man known as Aaros Rantori stood and crossed his arms in front of him in a reserved manner. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Commander Jholeen?"
"This is a courtesy call, my Lord." The Commander said simply and kindly. Dinner will be served in the Dining Hall in thirty minutes. I thought you might rather hear it from me rather than the intercom."
('How thoughtful.')
Donald smiled and said, "Thank you. Is it formal?"
The l'majha's expression denoted that the man might have said something absurd. Jholeen smiled and said, "No more formal than what I'm wearing now."
"Very well. I noticed that you're armed, should I bring my blaster as well?"
"Blasters-and or swords, are optional."
"Thank you. And will you be escorting your lord to dinner?"
Jholeen hesitated, then with a sly smile she replied, "If that is my Lord's desire." "Then I will see you back here in twenty minutes, and you can accompany me to the Dining Hall."
"As you wish, my Lord. I will return then in twenty minutes. That is unless of course you would like me to scrub your back while you bathe."
Aaros swallowed, momentarily taken aback. "Uhm can I get a rain-check on that? I'm somewhat preoccupied at the moment."
"You can and will then have a rain-check on that, my Lord. And perhaps after dinner we can come back here and have a few drinks and then I can fuck your brains out."
('Survey says, "instant woody!"')
"Did my IQ just drop, or was the Commander making a pass at me?"
"I wouldn't think of doing anything quite so juvenile. You know the way of the l'majha, my Lord. And if you desire company tonight, then my desire is…you."
"Even now I'm still getting used to the way of the l'majha." Donald admitted pointedly. "But if you find no one to escort you back to your cabin this evening, then I would escort you to mine"
"Then I look forward to fucking your brains out after dinner tonight."
Donald was clearly beginning to perspire. His heart was beating faster, and his hard-on merely belabored the lust that he was feeling. The man from Earth decided to change the subject; "Commander Jholeen, are you familiar with the history of Mi'jhanth?"
"There are two entities other than myself that can explain in vivid detail the Final Conflict of Mi'jhanth."
"And they would be…?"
"The TS. that you are currently working with now, and Ja'jhanna."
"Then perhaps over dinner you can tell me about Mi'jhanth's history?"
"If that is the wish of my Lord."
"It might be." Donald said thoughtfully.
"Then I will see you here in fifteen minutes when I return."
After the Commander left his cabin, Donald took a shower, and then put on a black uniform, trimmed in gold and mei'hres. He decided that he would be carrying his obsidian blade as well as his blaster.

That evening after dinner found the Marauders, and over a handful of soldiers entertaining themselves in the ship's bar, drinking and appreciating the loud music of Nubis and his band, drowning out low conversation going on at the tables that surrounded the man from Earth. Seated on Donald Talbot's right side was Commander Jholeen, her closeness to the man, gave the impression that she was practically sitting on his lap. And where she was concerned perhaps she should have been, as the two drank and spoke about the history of Malrishi and Mi'jhanth. The man known as Aaros didn't expect any sexual escapades as the two of them sat at the relatively wide table and the man from Earth listened intently to the l'majha commander.

"Led by the Eadai-hir," Commander Jholeen went on, casting a simple l'majha dh'antra of vocalization that she might speak just loud enough to be heard over the music permeating and emanating throughout the bar. "The armies surged up against the Imperials just beyond the border of the kingdom of Rantaris, ten leagues south from the gates of Mar'es-stine. Massive knots of monsters broke through the barricade of the soldiers that stood to defend the kingdom. Thousands of Imperials died, buried under the black waves of their enemies, soldiers were dragged forcibly from their ranks and torn apart. And it was in that hour that council met in Mar'es-stine to decide whether or not the Dreadnaught prototype should be launched; the fire power of the starship was immense and would literally wipe out kingdoms, killing millions of innocents before its onslaught was over, if only to protect Mar'es-stine. Demons surged forward, tens of thousands strong, closing the gaps that once separated their brethren that poured in from all directions, there was no longer east, west, north, and south from which the dark masses came, they melded into one unit, becoming legion, surrounding the Six Kingdoms." Perhaps it was because the music was loud, perhaps it was for other reasons, but with each moment that passed, the l'majha lips drew closer to the man's ear.

"Blasters sang out, and a lattice of multi-colored beams of intense energy ripped into the surging dark mass. Hand cannons, swords, and axes, cut down the advancing demons in steady numbers; but where two fell, ten more materialized to take their place. The Imperials were once again losing ground. An enraged Eadai-hir broke through a weakening phalanx, tossing soldiers aside like rag dolls."
Eventually Amid came to sit directly across from Malrishi's Champion, followed by Dimel. The daivischi's feline eyes were deep and piercing, and Amid smiled briefly as he turned the chair around so as to allow his wings to hang freely, unencumbered by the chair's back. Dimel followed suit, sitting across from Commander Jholeen.

"Blue-white yellow-green fire burst explosively, and a moment later a woman decked out in glistening battle armor, and carrying about her the aura of a valkyrie, stood bathed in the fading light before the demon, brandishing a magnificent sword. And she wasn't alone; all of Malrishi would have avowed that they had never seen the like of the creature that was at the warrior-maiden's side; half the size of a dragon and bearing the ferocity equal to that of the Eadai-hir, the white winged animal was not unlike a were-cat. And its roar could be heard beyond the castle walls of Mar'es-stine. In time the creature would be known as a garigan, and not all of Malrishi's history had ever mentioned such a beast.
The Eadai-hir briefly caught off guard, shirked back, glaring at the warrior-woman and her white winged beast. The woman was statuesque in appearance, with long dark hair of curling tresses that blew like waves in the wind. A moment of indecision, and the demon swiped a massive arm toward the goddess. A moment following that, and the demon would be shirking back once again, trying to force its entrails back inside itself as the garigan leapt and with a swipe of its massive paw disemboweled the towering demon."

In time, Caros and Eusarra sat down at the table, finally followed by Lassiter. Each individual was greeted with courtesy by their Commander, before Jholeen returned to her story about Malrishi's history.
The l'majha Eusarra wore a red silk band around her forehead, tied in a knot, the two ends both hung over her left shoulder, covering her breast slightly. The 'buccaneer' wore a white shirt, cut low, exposing her cleavage; and black breeches that clung tightly to her legs and ass; tied about the waist was a matching red sash. She sported a cutlass and a blaster cannon, and she too smiled as she addressed the four already seated, and took her place on the other side of Commandeer Jholeen. Much like her superior, Caros also wore a jumpsuit, but while the Commander's outfit was green, the other l'majha chose the color of blue, her zipper was pulled down an inch below her breasts, and the curvatures of her tits were quite pronounced. Caros chose to sit down next to Aaros. Lassiter would take his place next to Amid, the man was adorned in the conventional uniform of the ship's high command.

"Screaming in fury the demons rushed forward. The shriek of the Eadai-hir was enough to chill the blood of the soldiers. For the briefest of moments it seemed that all activity stopped, the hurricane gale ceased. And then the Valkyrie leapt into the dark mass of twisting bodies; swinging and slashing, a fiery whirlwind of blue-white yellow-green fire tearing at the demons, cutting them to ribbons. Even as the garigan decapitated the Eadai-hir, and, watching briefly as the demon crumbled forward and fell with a thundering collision against the earth, then the white winged beast bounded after its companion. The sword in the woman's hands began to sing. A wailing war-song of devastation and defiance. The black wave of demons was thrown back and scattered before the power of the woman and the garigan. Then blue-white fire shattered the night and multiple bolts of lightning lanced from the singing sword to tear into the demons that had otherwise ventured too close to the warrior-woman. The creatures hesitated, and then bolted away from the godly nemesis."

('Damn, that is something else.)

At first Donald thought it was his imagination, each moment that passed seem to bring the l'majha's lips closer to his ear. Periodically, she would stop briefly and join in the conversation with the other team members seated at the table. Their concerns were primarily based on what it is that they would do once they caught up with the rogue Imperial Star Disruptor. Then Donald was certain that he could feel the Commander's holster and the weight of her gun pressing against his outer thigh. And if he were want to dismiss the sensation further to his imagination, he could not deny the fact that in the next instant, he felt the moist tongue of the Commander dart into his ear, caressing his lobe, and then she came away with a smile that was all at once as knowing as it appeared innocent. This action caught Donald completely by surprise, however, maintaining his composure, he looked around at the eyes of the others seated at the table. They seemed oblivious to their Commander's advances.

The smile remained as Commander Jholeen continued. "Those nearby could hear the words of the female: 'Here is the Sword of power, broken by he who is a flux in time; what was once one has now become two, let the one who possesses a valiant heart come to claim it!'"
Donald couldn't help it, his reaction was as natural as it was unwarranted, from the moment that he had felt Jholeen's tongue in his ear, he began to get a hard-on.
"The goddess then threw the sword high into the air and along with her winged companion vanished before the fiery blade embedded itself in the earth.
A dragon rider, having caught a glimpse of the blue-white yellow-green fireball, immediately presumed it to be a new and powerful threat; it would-before the form could get its bearings swoop down and take up the fighter in the dragon's maw. However the woman and her garigan was gone from the spot before avian and rider could reach them, and as the dragon flew too close to the fiery sword planted in the dirt, the magnificent creature of darkness, disintegrated explosively. The rider tumbled through the air, then landed haphazardly atop the dead bodies of demons beginning to reanimate."
At this the Commander seem to almost completely disregard the man known as Aaros, even as she became more involved in the conversation that was taking place among the members of her team.

All at once Donald suddenly somehow felt ostracized, and he wanted to ask the Commander what happened next, when suddenly a n'ari slipped between the waistband of the man's breeches and wrapped its bud around the head and shaft of his penis which swiftly grew stiff. Donald's eyes widened, and he almost cried out, even as Commander Jholeen's voice grew slightly louder as she addressed the team. The adrenaline that surged through the man was so pleasurable that it brought a tear to his eye. He suddenly hoped that no one was looking at him as he felt the n'ari slowly begin to stroke his growing shaft.

('Ahhh…uh, dude. I think we got a situation here.')

Donald bit his lower lip as beads of perspiration began to form across his forehead. His eyes clenched shut briefly, even as his rod jumped and throbbed and began spilling pre-cum out of its swollen head. The man known as Aaros was altogether certain that someone at the table could hear him moaning under his breath. But the conversation dragged on, and all eyes were centered on their Commander. The grip of the n'ari tightened, squeezing and pulling on Donald's cock. He thought he heard the Commander speak periodically through clenched teeth, as the bud of the l'majha's tail sucked lovingly, lustfully on the man's swelling manhood. The sensation was, as Aaros expected, sensationally indescribable. His cock was suddenly a piston between his legs, as the n'ari quickened its rhythm. Then, right before he knew that he was going to come, the man felt the motion of the tail's bud subside.

A few minutes went by, and Aaros felt his member throbbing profoundly. The n'ari paused for a few minutes, and filled the time with constricting and releasing repeatedly its grip around the man's erection. Then it slowly began its stroking and sucking again, and it was quick to driving Aaros crazy. Sweat fell down the side of his face, and his body stiffened a time or two, even as he began to shake. How he stopped himself from crying out at the table he didn't know. God how he hoped that no one was paying any attention to him. He thought for certain that his teeth were going to draw blood on his lower lip, and he settled for gritting his teeth instead, almost grinding them in response to the ministration's of the tail's n'ari. The bud continued to tease the man's hard-on, lightly swirling around his cockhead and slithering up and down in his shaft, again and again
As if nothing were going on, Commander Jholeen reached for her glass to take a swig nonchalantly, but Aaros could have sworn that he saw the l'majha bite the rim of her glass.
And that was all that the man from Earth was able to take. Fighting back a howl of ecstasy, his cock stiffened even more, and then all at once, following a series of frenetic twitching, exploded like a volcano. The n'ari tightened its grip, squeezing and pulling, and milking every last vestige of his fiery load. Then the n'ari slipped free of the man's pants, and as he felt the room spinning around him, Aaros suddenly got the notion to fold his arms and lean back, even as he lifted his gaze toward the ceiling and closed his eyes.

('Holeeee fuck…!!')

And then Jholeen was speaking to him again. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes…the demon's began to reanimate."
Aaros lowered his head and opened his eyes, feeling a sheen of cold sweat on his face. He looked up at the l'majha commander and saw a smile and a look of satisfaction that brought her countenance to glow.
There was no way in hell that he got away with an escapade like that at a table full of people. But when he looked deliriously around, everyone appeared indifferent.
"Something in the dark knight's mind compelled him to run and in desperation, reach the sword before anyone else could, and as the armored form came within ten feet of the fiery talisman, the solitary weapon engulfed the dark knight in a blaze of yellow-green fire. The rider that would have possessed the sword, given the opportunity, flew apart violently under the wave of eldritch fire. Nothing was left of the knight to hit the ground; dark ashes blew away on the night's breeze. It was then that all within sight of the fiery weapon desired to wield it; and those that reached for the weapon were instantaneously destroyed."

Almost in unison everyone at the table took a sip, swig, or gulp from their glass, then they set them back down on the table. A couple from the group lit up cigarettes and begin to smoke. Donald saw drinks similar to his double 'Long Island ice tea', as well as daiquiri's cream drinks, and other mixed beverages, the colors ranging from caramel to clear, from blue to red.
"The Valkyrie and garigan reappeared above the floating city of Mis'jhril. Then vanished beyond its walls. Within the hour the upended mountain crashed to the earth and the demons-"
"Excuse me Commander, but I must interrupt." All eyes turned to regard the form of Commander Arjh'temis standing behind Amid. He held a highball filled with straight liquor on the rocks. "If you will excuse me, Amid, I have need of your seat."
The daivischi stood without a word, and taking up his drink, he bowed to Aaros and left the table. Dimel was quick to follow. And as Arjh'temis set his drink on the table, Caros and Eusarra suddenly felt the need to leave the table as well. They also bowed before Aaros before disappearing into the dark and the crowd.

('Why do I get the feeling that 'slick' is here to fuck up our wet dream?')

On stage, Nubis and his band began singing a song that reflected the saga of the Beginning of the World's End, Arjh'temis sat down in the chair, not bothering to turn it around, he draped his arms over and around the back of the chair, sitting down directly across from Aaros. After setting himself down, he opened his mouth to speak to The Champion of Malrishi.
"Have you decided what we will do if we discover that we've been led into a trap?"
"You mean assuming we survive?" Aaros said almost cynically.
"Yes."
"You heard the Empress as well as I; we are to leave as many alive for either interrogation or torture for their insurrection."
"And are you comfortable with this?"
"What do you mean?"
The Commander let the question hang in the air for a few moments, drawing the attention of Jholeen and Lassiter. "What is your means of torture where you hail from?" Arjh'temis asked pointedly. "Do your people transform the vilest of criminals into anything akin to a marachni?"
"We try to avoid it as much as possible." Aaros replied with a tight smile. "We don't believe in cruel and unusual punishment."

"I thought as much; your race be cowards and weaklings. I know not what it is that the Empress sees in you; why it is that she has traveled galaxies to find you, if you are bred from a race that has no stomach to deal at justice as it is fitting to the crime, where will you find your strength when it is needed most; will you succumb to torture if it comes to that?"
"I have no intention of finding out. And I feel sorry for the poor bastard that pushes me too far that it comes to that."
"I presumed as much; your sympathy for your enemies will be your undoing. And then you will be the ruin of Malrishi, not its Champion."
"Do you seek to provoke me Commander?" Aaros asked, an eyebrow arching slightly.
"I seek to see what you are about, Champion of Malrishi."
"You have your secrets Arjh'temis and I have mine. Your sarcasm by the way isn't doing a goddamn thing for me. Furthermore, if I even sense that you are even conceiving of the notion toward provoking me, you will not live to see whether or not the Marauders are successful in retrieving the Sword of Power."

"Would you attempt to kill me, bastard child of Malrishi?"
Aaros said nothing
"Would you torture me for my insurrection?"
Aaros remained silent.
"I do not believe that you would have the stomach for it."
"Lassiter, I would appreciate it if you would be witness to what I say here and now to the Commander." Aaros acknowledged Arjh'temis with a crazed look in his eyes. "Listen to me you little fucker, I don't give a rat's ass flying fuck what you believe or don't believe about me. I'm telling you right now that I don't appreciate your accusatory tongue. If you don't find something a little more encouraging to talk about, and I mean now; you won't be leaving this table with all of your pieces that you sat down with."
"Do your worst, bastard child of Malrishi."
"Y'know I was afraid that you would say something stupid like that; and for that I won't do my worse, not by a long shot, not to you, not yet."
What will you do? This is what Arjh'temis wanted to say; not because he didn't like Aaros or didn't trust him, but because he was under orders that Donald knew nothing about. Furthermore, when he realized that he was unable to reply to the Champion's words previous, it dawned on him in a manner that he feared in as much as he knew was necessary that Aaros had reacted to the man's accusatory tone with a lethal reply. What will you do? Is what the Commander wanted to say, but his voice refused to work before the darkness enveloped him.

The others at the table hadn't seen Aaros move. And then, they observed that Donald had stop speaking altogether and folded his arms and looked at the commander in a manner that denoted that the conversation was over.
It was
For now.
The Marauders were unable to hide their horror and amazement as they saw their Commander's head slide to one side, and then fall from his shoulders completely; the sound that the man's head made when it hit the table was enough to stop the band from playing. Donald's movement had been so swift that it had scared the hell out of him. No one had seen the man from Earth move, but then again no one needed to in order to know that Aaros wasn't going to take shit from anybody; before their eyes, Donald had-- in a blindingly fast motion, used his sable sabre' to severe the head of Arjh'temis from his shoulders. The blood that erupted from the dead man's neck merely belabored the obvious. Aaros pushed Jholeen away from the spewing crimson fluid, and then, the body fell to the side, taking the chair with it as it hit the floor. And then soldiers reached for their weapons. The man known as Aaros said nothing until after the body crashed against the floor, and the soldiers had drawn their weapons. A closed hand still gripped the glass that previously held liquor before it hit the floor, broke and spilled.
('Some people need to quit while they're a head')
'Leave it to you to come up with something as fucked up as that.'
('I don't think you need to worry about anybody fuckin' with you after this.')
'That was the idea.' Aloud Donald said simply, "God I've always wanted to do that to a loud-mouth stupid-ass mother-fucker." The man from Earth scratched his head, then replied, "Now will somebody get a goddamn medic over to this table and reattached that stupid bastard's head, he isn't getting out of the closure of this conversation that easily."

The interrogation chamber was pristine and cleared of most equipment; the glimmering walls and burnished floor seem to flash briefly beneath the closed lids of the ship's commander, bringing the eyes of Arjh'temis to open. He recognized almost immediately that he was in manacles the size of watermelons that covered his hands to his elbows, and covered his feet to his knees. The commander was suspended in mid-air in a spread-eagle position, his uniform stripped from him he faced Aaros and Jholeen. A table without legs hovered between the l'majha and the man from Earth. All manner of small implements used for torture and interrogation rested on the polished surface of the hovering plane. Seemingly out of place on the floating table rested a tall glass filled with a double-Long Island ice tea

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Commander Arjh'temis." Donald voiced tightly. "If it's any consolation to you, then let it be known that you were missed while you were away-if only for a moment; I quickly got over it."
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, bastard child of Malrishi."
"Perhaps I should have." Aaros said agreeably. "But then again maybe I didn't have the stomach for it."
"I thought as much."
The man from Earth took a swig from his drink and setting his drink back down he said quite soberly, "What we have here Commander is either one of two things, or perhaps both." Aaros fixed his attention on two implements that shared the same task, both were the color of mercury, and each was about the length of a long needle, with finger-cups at their base, resembling rhi'in-lets; Donald placed one, first on his right middle finger, then the other on his right ring finger, they shone like daggers, sparkling under the cool pool of light that was the ceiling.

"Now then, let me see." Aaros said thoughtfully. "Either we are having a personality conflict, or a failure to communicate." The man waggled his fingers back and forth. Studying the implements briefly. "I don't like personality conflicts, and if the issue here is a failure to communicate, well then I guess I'm just gonna' have to make myself a little more articulate."
Even from ten feet away Jholeen could see the bead of sweat spill down the right side of the Commander's face. Arjh'temis said, "What are going to do?"
As it were, the parthias in the manacles recognized the implements that Aaros had placed on his fingers; they were called lashers; and they were devices that quite simply were used to flay the flesh of their intended victim with a mere caressing stroke of the protruding needle-blades.
"Well now, I guess that really all depends on you now, doesn't it?" Donald replied in answer to the parthias's inquiry.
"I was acting in the safety and interest of my team." Arjh'temis replied with an inflection that Donald couldn't quite identify.

The man from Earth took another swig, set his hard tea back down. "Oh I'm quite sure that you were acting in your team's best interest; I really have no doubt about that; if I did have any doubts we wouldn't be hear right now discussing it. But, we are discussing it, and to alleviate any more personality conflicts or failure to communicate, I feel it is quite necessary to make myself quite clear."
Jholeen noticed another bead of sweat forming on the Commander's forehead.

The man known as Aaros slowly walked over to the cross that held Arjh'temis in manacles. With deliberation he casually closed the space to himself and the man on the cross. "Perhaps it's just me," Donald said with a shrug. "But I get the feeling that you're suffering from shortsightedness. Let me elucidate; you seem to think that because I come from a planet that you interpret is full of nothing but cowards and weaklings, that, in turn, that makes me a coward and or a weakling. Understand this, Commander; where I come from we have rules and we have rulers; when someone breaks the law they are taken to court-usually months later following the incident, and it is decided by a group of people what that criminal's punishment should be-and yes there is a law against cruel and unusual punishment where I come from; but that isn't…my law; I just have to abide by it…that is, I… 'had' to abide by it while I was under such regulations and laws. But, as you can see now I'm no longer on Earth; those laws and rules don't apply to me anymore, and, whether you care to believe it or not, some of those laws I think are limp, and I don't give a fuck about them. For example; let me ask you this; how does your law handle say…a rapist?"

Arjh'temis swallowed a lump in his throat, not exactly sure what this alien was getting at; what he 'did' know was that the man called Aaros was getting closer and closer to him, all the while waggling the lashers.
"Do I need to repeat the question? Are we having…a failure to communicate here?"
"No."
"Then answer the question, if you please."
"In the case of rape," Arjh'temis replied. "The victim decides what the punishment should be."
"Sounds like justice to me." Donald said affably. "Unfortunately on Earth-in my country, that isn't how we do things. As a matter of fact, most of the things that we do on my planet I believe to be ass-backwards. But, as I said previously, I'm no longer on Earth. Soooooo…. let me give you a hypothetical situation here; let's imagine for a moment that I am the ruler of my planet; and that I get to decide what happens to those who commit rape, just to give you an idea of where I'm coming from-what I'm all about; first of all I would have someone go out into the woods and cut down a very large tree…then I would have the area around that tree cleared so that I could build a wooden shelter around the stump that was left from the tree; the shelter would be approximately thirty by forty and have only one door…now then, here I would take the rapist into the shelter, and I would have him sit down next to the stump; I would tell the rapist to place his hand palm down on the top surface of the stump…once the rapist has done this I would then take an iron stake and hammer the fucking thing down through the top of the rapist's hand until it was quite secure with the stump; then I would give the little mother-fucker a hacksaw, and I would leave them to their own devices while I left the shelter, closing the door behind me. Finally…I would set the fucking shelter on fire, and then…I would pour myself a drink, light up a cigarette and…wait."

Arjh'temis looked at Aaros and said nothing. The perspiration falling down his face was all the evidence that Donald needed in deducing whether or not he got his point across, but just in case…
Aaros took the lasher and set the implement's needles backward against the Commander's cheek, centimeters below his left eye. "Now then, earlier you didn't seem to think that I would have the stomach for torture if it came down to it. Would you really like to find out?"
Arjh'temis was unable to move let alone shake his head; to do so would have left him with an incision from eye to ear, and would clearly reveal bone from the laceration.
Aaros turned and glanced briefly back at the l'majha standing next to the hovering table. "I just don't know Commander Jholeen; maybe it's his eyes that are giving him trouble; maybe if I removed them with this little doo-hickey here, we could give him some new eyes-better eyes--that might help him see things a little more clearly. What do you think, Commander?"
"My Lord, I would have that you would not. But in the end, the choice is yours."
Aaros turned back to face Arjh'temis and noticed that his face was growing pale. "Do you hear that, Mr. Arjh'temis? The choice is mine. "And what a choice I have to make; because you see, if I don't remove your eyes, you just might go around telling people that I didn't have the stomach for it. Decisions. Decisions. Hmmmm…oh, I've got it! Howabout this…?" Without another word Aaros slowly pulled the lasher down the side of the Commander's face, ever so slightly, drawing blood that spilled without reservation. "Understand this Commander; I have the stomach for whatever I need to. And the only reason that I don't kill you, is the simple fact that Maritiseis believes that you would be better to me alive rather than dead." Aaros stopped briefly, he lifted the lasher just long enough to place it elsewhere on the Commander's face, and then he drew the elegant implement down again, crossing the previous incision, and taking extra care not to cut across the wound too deeply for fear of having the man's face fold open on him. Blood was falling down the man's face, neck, and chest. "There we go. Something to remind you of whom you are fucking with every time you look in the mirror. Fair warning Commander, don't cross me again. Because the next time I kill you, there won't be any coming back."

Aaros stepped away from the man allowing him to bleed in a manner that might have suggested to someone that arteries had been severed. They were not. Not this time.
"Have I made myself clear, Commander Arjh'temis?"
The man's reply was a choked whisper, "Yes."
"I'm sorry Commander Arjh'temis, but I don't think I heard you."
Louder this time, more clearly, "Yes. Yes my Lord, you have made yourself perfectly clear."
"Goooood…" Turning, Aaros walked back over to Jholeen. "He's all yours Commander, you can take him down now." And then Aaros removed the lasher from his fingers and set the blood-covered implement down on the table. Picking up his drink, Aaros took a swig, then, taking a cigarette from a holder in his breast pocket, he placed it between his lips, and adding flame from a lighter, Donald lit up, and without another word he quietly left the interrogation chamber.

Back in his cabin, Donald poured himself another round and, after stripping himself of his clothes, he pulled a robe around himself and returned to the TS. Library.

Loading…

(The young man would study alongside the scholars of the Royal Palace and learn the works verbatim that had been written by Mi'jhanth Mordil.
And then following a vision, Jhan suddenly knew where the Staff of the Skull was buried in the mountain of Korish. It would take almost a month of excavating before the artifact was discovered, and Jhan would be on hand to witness the discovery, he would, in fact, be the first to lay his hand on the Staff of the Skull.
Nothing out of the ordinary occurred when Jhan took up the Staff, it was immediately decided that with the death of the Sorcerer Supreme the powers of the scepter had been extinguished.

Still, the Champion of Malrishi would not release the Staff to anyone before him, for as he said; he feared that it might fall into the wrong hands where it might in fact find its powers rekindled. The four Rhi-in'lets of Predestination's Order still went undiscovered. And then in his dreams Jhan heard the voices of his companions that had passed calling to him beyond the veil of the outer reaches of the Outer planes, pleading for him to release them. Taking only a handful of guards with him, under the cover of night, the Champion of Malrishi returned to the area where the Sphinx had pierced the veil years before. Had he been in his right mind, Jhan might have known what influence compelled him to that site in the dark of night; but then he who was now the Champion of Malrishi hadn't been in his right state of mind since the day the Sphinx had passed over the mountain Korish. Neither did the Imperial guards question Jhan's motivation, for the great it would seem, were often times driven to do, what at first appeared on the surface, nonsensical things.

So it was that there had been no way possible for the men that had come with him to know that even in his most calm of dispositions outwardly, on the inside Jhan had been fighting for his sanity, at the cost of his very soul. All that the Imperials did know was that their Lord was attempting to save those who had been the companions of the man long ago, trying to save their souls from the damnation of the outer planes. And this was truly a noble effort. And had it failed, no one would be the wiser of Jhan's foolish desperation, for there would only be a few that knew.

As their Lord gripped the Staff of the Skull with both hands, raising it high into the air, the guards could hear the voices of those crying out beyond the veil. Then in one swift and powerful motion, the Champion of Malrishi brought the staff down swiftly, slamming the base of the scepter down hard into the earth. There followed a crown of light that momentarily blinded the men, the ground trembled and shook violently, and thundered roared, then lighting lanced out of a clear night sky and struck the veil. And then tears of blood began to fall from the firmament. Something stirred within one of the guards, even as the veil began to ripple like water in a lake, perhaps it was something in the eyes of Lord Jhan as he stood facing his men with his back to the veil, perhaps it was the crimson drops of rain, whatever it had been, something motivated the guard to step forward and grasp the arm of the man gripping the scepter, perhaps the guard felt that there was suddenly something terribly wrong. It would not matter, for as soon as the Imperial reached forward to grab his Lord's arm, the guard was reduced to ashes.

Tears of blood fell like raindrops. The sky flashed frenetically, and then the veil parted, splitting wide, before the eyes of the Imperials, rent by the force of a maniacal Archanist, the countenance that belied the features of their Lord smiled, as shrieks and howls of glee spilled forth from beyond the veil, and suddenly these stout-hearted men were badly frightened. Claws and talons tore and ripped at the sudden tear in the veil, straining frantically, and in the midst, the men and women that had died years before calmly stepped from beyond the outer reaches of the Outer planes. They did not come alone…)

--To be continued…

Please forward comments to 'The Magician' at

orion005@hotmail.com