The Undertow: Session Twenty

In an effort to save all time and space, Mikansia had to prevent her corrupted mentor, Akseli, from interfering with the flow of time to save their deceased friend Yngar. As if that wasn't enough, Mikansia also discovered that Akseli's mind had been twisted by the vile Krakeru: Akseli now has all of Krakeru's memories, all 600 years worth! With Akseli rapidly deteriorating mentally, it's only a matter of time before things get worse...

Several weeks went by.

Mikansia's lessons on how to close Dream, after cutting it open with her new magic sword, with Marian were... going. Marian was a warm and sweet human, once the timeline was no longer in danger. But she got frustrated with her own efforts in teaching the Song of Mending to Mikansia. Human sorcery was nothing like elven song; most of the concepts Marian was trying to translate were almost impossible to do. Mikansia was not a slow learner, by any means, but this was no ordinary lesson. Ensio, an elven friend of Mikansia's  insisted on being taught as well as a back up, should Mikansia be rendered unavailable after cutting open Dream. Akseli refused to learn the Song. As the weeks went by he became more and more withdrawn. He eventually stopped coming to sleep in Mikansia's doorway, choosing to sleep alone.

One morning Mikansia woke up to discover Akseli's sword was mssing.

He wasn't in his room.

Nobody had seen him.

Ensio offered to come along. And so off they went.

Argentum Prime had been a city that exceeded all expectations. Renowned for its architectural accomplishments, Argentum Prime had been renowned amongst even the elves for the integration of the rainforest with the city itself, especially the sparkling Quicksilver River, which had run through the city and out to the sea.

But not one tree remained. The river had been burned away at its source by Fish when he'd first become a dragon. Even the ground had the soil burned away from it, making it almost impossible to rebuild. But the humans had returned, months later, and renamed the city: Argentum Reskartur, the renewed. In the last few weeks Mikansia had seen a flurry of activity as the humans attempted to make the best of a situation that was best classified as hopeless.

There was plenty of dust, however. Always more and more of that. And Ensio was able to use it to ascertain a pair of slow, trudging, tracks, going East from their encampment, dragging what was probably a scabbard behind him. So they wended their way behind the tracks, which couldn't have been made after dawn, by Ensio's reckoning.

"Die, coalskins! Go back home!!!" Pattering of feet was heard, as humans came at them... and stopped suddenly. "You... neither of you match the description."

"Description of what?" Mikansia asked.

"An elf male with a sword with an embossed hilt cut several children! They had to be taken to the fort up north."

Mikansia's chest had an elephant on it. "I... what? An elf attacked... children??" No. No. No.

"Yeah, and we're going to find him and tear him open!" And off they went.

Ensio immediately began following the tracks again. Mikansia didn't notice a moment, but she quickly caught up. "What if -" Ensio began.

"No"

"But he's been-"

"NO. That's not Akseli. Period." Mikansia, jaw set forward, looked away from Ensio. "He'd never do that."

Ensio kept his eyes on the tracks and not much else.

Eventually they wound up at a cliff, overlooking the dusty valley that had been the riverbed. Upat the top, toes hanging off the cliff, stood Akseli. Mikansia couldn't see the sword.

There was a crowd on the horizon behind them. Ensio sighed and trudged in that direction, his white and red robes standing against the barren ground. Mikansia slowly made her way up the dusty incline, leaning behind the curve. She didn't want to surprise him and cause an accident. She needed him to be OK.

Akseli's engraved sword lay beside him. Mikansia stood up, slowly but steadily. "I remember it all now, Mikk- Mikansia. All of Krakeru's existence." Mikansia's heart flew to Akseli. Her body tried to follow. "Back up! Not one more step!" She stopped. "If I have to smell you one more time I'll kill myself! I told you, I remember everything." Mikansia wanted to speak, but there was something in her windpipe. He knew. And her skin crawled. But he needed her. And she had to be there. "That's alright, Akseli, I won't come closer. Whatever you need, you're not alone! You've never been! We can face this together, you and I! Whatever you call me, whatever you remember, you're more than this!"

The pounding of earth jarred Mikansia out of her lock. A wall of human flesh was advancing up the incline. Dragged by the wall was a bloodied Ensio, trail of gore accompanying him.

"CHILD MURDERER! CHILD MURDERER!" Akseli blanched.

"Wait, that was you???" Mikansia barely finished her whisper before Ensio flew through the air and landed with a sickening whud, in front of Mikansia.

Akseli jumped off the cliff, sword in hand.

Mikansia was conscious of one thing: her hand pulling Akseli up by his collar. Yanking Akseli up, she only got one good look in his eyes before he looked away. "It wasn't like that. I promise it wasn't like that" vowed Akseli.

And Mikansia, heaven help her, couldn't help herself. She believed him. "Then come with me, please! Help me with Ensio! He needs us! I need you! We can figure this out! Please!"

Mikansia had moved so quickly in her rescue attempt that the human wall had not advanced adequately to block off retreat down the hill, not if they moved quickly. They had one chance for it. Down the hill Mikansia and Akseli hurtled, the unconscious Ensio in tow, barely scraping by the outstretched and outraged hands of the mob. At the bottom they hurriedly shifted Ensio's weight between them again and raced down the earthen remains of the river bed. The mob fell behind, screams and curses and promises of revenge being their weapons. They all hit home, as far as Mikansia was concerned.

Rounding their fourth bend Akseli and Mikansia set Ensio down and collapsed against the river walls, breathing hard. "How... how COULD YOU???" Mikansia gasped loudly. "This isn't you!! Why would you murder children??"

"There are... creatures... in the Lone Keep that you cannot imagine." Akseli stared off into space for a moment, and a very different expression than what Mikansia expected flashed acrost his face. "Horrors, untold and unseen". Mikansia edged a bit closer. Akseli flinched, but allowed it. "There are creatures there who look like human children. Krakeru hated them. He was never told what they were called. I saw them and this.. panic... I didn't..." Akseli's breathing was in rags.

Mikansia shook her head and breathed a sigh of relief. "I know you didn't. That's not you. You never would have done that normally."

"What normal???" Akseli stood up in a rush, dust flying off of him. Mikansia to coughed and covered her eyes. "None of this is normal! I didn't ask for any of this! I didn't ask for the love of my life to be a dark elf double agent! I didn't ask for Yngvar to die a dog's death! For us to time travel! (Mikansia's eyes watered, but not from the dust) To have my brother in all but blood tell me not to save him! To be prevented from doing so by the daughter I wish was actually mine!"

Their sobs reverberated off the riverbed walls.

Ensio stirred in his painful stupor. It was time to go.

As they picked up Ensio, eyes wiped clean of the salt and water, Akseli spoke again. "You know, Krakeru once swore revenge against the Lone Keep. For all the pain they'd caused Makirta. He'd resisted at first."

That was not something Mikansia expected to hear. It was not welcomed. Her face showed both facts. Krakeru had been a monster. That was all there was to him. "He... he did?" she barely got the whisper out. "How could a serial killer, a rapist... that monster... how could have done that?"

Akseli was almost wistful. "Oh, Makirta was the light of his benighted life. Her smile. Her laugh. Krakeru's sister was everything to him. Mikk-" Akseli shook his head as Mikansia took in a sharp breath at being called that, again. "Do you know why he called you that? Mikki?"

Speaking required breathing past the boulders in her lungs. But the breath came. So did the word: "Why?"

"It was so hard, growing up in the Lone Keep. So they pretended to be humans of the surface world. They tried to imagine what those folks had done to deserve utter destruction. Makirta always went by 'Mikki' in those games. Mikki was her escape. Her chance to be good. To be different. Krakeru had forgotten consciously, but Mikki was the only real source of hope he ever had."

Mikansia had to stop and get more air, past those damn boulders. And the look on Akseli's face was the old Akseli she had known and worshipped, like all children do their fathers, like it or not. "What... what..." Air needed to MOVE. "What changed?"

Rivulets in a dry bed.

"The drugs. That's when..." Akseli's voice failed. Mikansia remembered being under their influence and found she couldn't say anything either. "Forced him to rape his dear sister. For decades. How... how am I supposed to make sense of all of this??"

He was vulnerable. Akseli needed her. The boulders had vanished into the air they had been blocking. "Krakeru couldn't help it. he was born into a system that wanted him one way and wouldn't stop until he was. But it can change for you! You have something Krakeru never had! You don't have to lie. You have people who are here and can support the good in you. You are not Krakeru!" Where did those words come from? Did Mikansia really believe that about the monster who had raped her, his own daughter? He should have protected her, like a real father should have! Like Akseli would have.

For a moment Mikansia couldn't read Akseli's soul, peeking out through their windows. But then she saw it. Acceptance. "Yeah, it couldn't be helped" he said softly.

Silence was between them the rest of the way.

Decima, Ensio's human wife, was a conniption fit when she saw the trio enter the building. Her screams wrenched Mikansia's heart, but she... she... there was nothing...

A few hours later found Mikansia sitting outside. Alone. Without Akseli. He was standing a stone's journey away, by himself. Mikansia wanted to go near, but Akseli hadn't said a word since she'd returned.

With a rustle of red Marian sat beside her. "If you'd told me three hundred years ago that I'd still be talking to politicians... I don't know I would have stopped planning genocide at that point. That would have been too dark a future for me to handle."

Mikansia's jaw hit the ground. "Wait, what? Everything I've heard about you... genocide??"

Marian looked down at the dirt they sat upon. The corners of her mouth twitched.

"How did you change?"

"I had a lot of help. My friends- I doubt they saw it that way - helped me return to myself. But I had to leave. I needed people who could see me, instead of what I'd done. What I 'd lost. I needed someone who hadn't seen me as the mother who'd drowned her child, as the monster who'd killed and tortured, all to save my father. But all I managed to do was restore Kenodoxius. He has some type of form now, able to hurt the world, because of me."

"Wait, we heard about that on Kotae Mah. That was you???"

"At the time, yes... but I did change. I was given a chance and see for who I was, right then and there."

Mikansia didn't reply. She stood up and walked away, trying to mull it all over. What the hell was she going to do? Marian wasn't just talking about her own situation, Mikansia knew that. But that didn't yield any answers to Mikansia. And she knew she needed them. Now. She needed to be there for Akseli.

Mikansia looked over at the one who had meant to so much to her. Her stomach dropped. There was a tick Krakeru had when pondering something: he'd roll his fingers, staring at them. Out to in. Out to in. It was extremely quick, after centuries of practice.

Akseli was doing it now. Exactly as Krakeru used to.

Mikansia couldn't suppress the shudder.

Boasting in the Cross: "Goodness" Is Not a Magic Pill

"Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles " -1st Corinthians 1:22-23

I've always had a fascination with the case of Job. It's a phenomenally difficult book for me to read. It's the story of a man who got far more than he ever could have deserved. It's one of the most difficult stories in the Bible, a collection of stories that was already full with horrifically difficult tales about fratricide, incest, rape, betrayal, cowardice, untimely deaths, demonic possessions, and sickness unto death (if you're lucky!). Humanity is a collection of miseries and misfortunes, but Job's story sticks out because because he gets a whole book to say the most painful word in the English language: why.

See, Job had done it all "right" up until that point. And we all thought that would protect him, did we not? That is, indeed, the point of the story: it didn't. In fact, it is because he did everything right that Job had a target on the back of his skull. We always seem to forget that Satan is the ruler of this world: the strong prey upon the weak, and the strong will eventually grow weak and become eaten by those they oppressed, who will take their place. That is the cycle that was put into our world. It is horrific. It is inescapable. By existing you inflict it on someone else, as there are only so many goods to go around. And being good does not protect you from someone else doing it to you.

The million dollar question, of course, is how good do you really think you are if your existence hurts others (Because it does! Do not doubt that!) because there's only so many goods to go around? The coffee I'm drinking because I have horrible sleep habits give only a pittance to some poor coffee bean picker, who gathered said coffee beans so that way they could have some more rice. I may say I'm part of a country that has gotten over slavery and serfdom, but that's because we had the societal courage to enslave other countries, so that way we didn't have to look at what we were doing anymore. What courage! To look away as they starve!

To capitalism!

I mean, I guess you can try and mitigate the effect by giving more than was given to you? That is what makes a person good, at least in my opinion, at least in this world? I mean, what a horrific definition, but is there a better one? But that certainly won't protect you. On the contrary, it makes you all the more vulnerable. Job thought this was not the case. He thought - we all still do - that being good (giving back more than you receive) was enough to avoid the Satanic cycle. But Satan owns this world. It is his, in the same way that the unfortunate action figures I used to chuck down slides at breakneck speeds were mine. We are toys in his box. And we like to ignore that or explain it away by using psychology to explain why we're suffering or point to models of economics to try and not look at the blatantly obvious. It drives me nuts, honestly, even as I do it.

Unlike most Christians, I find that I have a most profound respect for theistic Satanists.

Yes, I mean those folks who desecrate the Eucharist.

Yes, I respect them.

They get it.

And no, I do not agree with their decisions, and I am horrified by them. But at least they get what situation we're in. They do not deny the reality we are in. They do not forget it. The fact that they embraced that cycle is unfortunate, but at least I'm not having to define terms with those people, which I cannot say for most of the population, especially for Christians in the States. Those theistic Satanists? They're the brothers in the other trenches during the Civil War.

May they come Home soon.

Rest in peace, you awkwardly lovable badass of cat-dom.

I hope to see you again someday.

And before anyone thinks I'm fraternizing with the enemy, God makes it very clear to Job that He is a huge fan of Satan. See, Satan may not be on God's side, but that is not reciprocated. Quite the opposite. God's entire talk about Leviathan in the end is not about some random monster. The Fathers teach that Leviathan, that massive creature that God spends an inexorable amount of time rambling about at the end of Job's story, is Satan. And God boasts in his monster's destructive capabilities, the same way I boast about my dead cat Marshall's badassery. See, Marshall was a half feral monster of a sweetheart of a cat. That cat could beat up foxes by literally hitting them in the face as they were jumping down on him. He'd send them tumbling backwards, in midair. My family at one point had the profound pleasure of watching that exchange, with Marshall just owning that fox and then chasing him into the dark. Marshall came back the next morning without a scratch, so it obviously didn't go badly for him. The way that God talks about Satan? Seems to have a similar tone to me talking about Marshall. Satan, far as God is concerned, is one of His favorite creatures, because he is second to only Him in sheer destructive power.

Yes, I just affirmed that stupid male power trip that power has value in and of itself. Of course it does! Try and say it doesn't and let me know how that works out for you!

But God does not stop there in His explanation to Job. No, no, God goes further. He makes the case that Job is not half as good (giving back more than he receives) as he thinks he is. What has Job given to the world? Did Job make the world so it could sing for joy? Did Job make the depths of the oceans and populate them with horrific monsters that would make any man scream in terror, because he enjoys all forms of life and isn't threatened by variety in the slightest? Does Job uphold them all on His shoulders? Willingly? Does Job allow the world to continue in its absurd fantasies because he's ultimately a deep and true fan of them all and trusts that eventually all will find their way, whatever it is? Do you really think that eternal damnation is some horrifically sad parting on God's part, as well as the damned? Does Job hold pain and pleasure in the palm of his hand, regarding them as merely impulses and information to help the creatures of the world find their way? Can Job get up on the Cross and willingly hold the paradoxes of this poor world, fallen only because humans - the center of His creation - won't do it without God doing it first? We are in His Image, after all. Monkey see monkey do. Did Job really think he was capable of this, of doing without seeing first? Did Job really think himself connected to it all? Without the Christ being there to show him how to get up on that cross and take it like a champ?

At least Job had the guts to admit he didn't. 

I don't even have a tenth that courage. I just sit here, in my own darkness and pain, deifying it, glorying in the interior confusion, secretly worshiping what I say I hate, because if you let something control you it is because you love it and no other explanation is half as valid, complaining about what's happened to me, all the while secretly glad that I can control the narrative! 

I am a victim, glory be! I have power! Some woman raped at me at six, after months and months of grooming! And, when I could not provide her what she was looking for, she spent the remaining months she knew me secretly torturing me for not being sexually mature at six. Six! I was molested at eight by the one kid in my neighborhood who did not start attacking me randomly. I endured years of physical and emotional abuse as a child as the children in my neighborhood were warped into gross monstrous reflections of themselves by the parents who should have been helping them become better! I then suffered through what was (at the time) a disintegration of my family! I got to watch all that pain and horror almost overwhelm my family unit, which shook every last half-dead vestige of hope I had completely out of my soul! What power! I get to define what happened to me! I get to decide what my identity is, what strength! Because man is the measure of creation, I get to measure with that pain if I so choose! And how intoxicating it can be! There is a hideous strength in saying "I am a victim and the rest of the world can go fuck itself!" Because who in the world can deny my pain, my anguish, mine mine mine??? My hands get to be full of my own blood, that I can throw at the world. And what right does anyone have to tell me I shouldn't? Check your privilege, you inexperienced fool! I get to tell you what suffering really is! I hold it in my clenched fists. And I can bash you over the head with it, if I so choose. And you have no right to tell me I shouldn't! I get to glory in my pain and hold you captive to it!

(If anyone reading the above paragraph supposes it is not a self-satirical rip I ask you to go elsewhere.)

But that's not what Job did. Is it? He didn't weaponize his pain. He said "I am but miserable flesh". He looked at himself and simply stated the facts. He opened his bloody hands and the pain passed. The blood came off. And the earth cried with him. And Job let it. He let himself become more connected to God. And the world. And the humans within it.

Notice how everyone's hands in the Harrowing of Hell except for Christ's, are open? And Christ is holding nothing but us? He's not holding our pain. He's not holding our anguish. He's not holding our despair. All that's on the ground, beneath him, broken locks and gates and chained demons who wanted us to think that was all there was to us. It's all so much garbage, dust in the wind, which Christ is not concerned with. Christ did not bind Satan. Satan had already bound himself. Christ just commanded that Satan's delusions did not have to have power over us.

For we are not the pain inflicted on us. We are so much more. And Christ sees that. Especially when I can't. Somehow my wife sees that too. So do my children. So do my friends. 

What a gift, and thank God! I would like to join them.

The heaviness of the chains on me has an inverse relationship to the lightness I feel when those chains fall off. Sometimes they do, ever so briefly. And then I feel as if I could fly.

The Undertow: Session Nineteen

Mikansia: The female sword singer elf, played by Lena. Mikansia had cut a hole into Dream last session in an attempt to escape Zaina and the High King's sword singer forces. While in Dream Mikansia ran into the souls of Jabez and Yngvar; Dream is a connecting point to all places. Marian, the Countess of Fire, got them out of Dream. They're now in the past, in the ruins of Argentum Prime. Jabez and Yngvar asked specifically not to be brought  back to life, to keep the past as it was. Heartbroken, Mikansia agreed to her friends' wishes.

Akseli: Mikansia's former captain in the Sword Singers. He had been in love with Makirta, Mikansia's mother, until he learned she was a double agent for the dark elves. Akseli abandoned Makirta in a rage. Akseli hasn't lived a day since where he didn't regret that. When they went into Dream, Akseli was heartbroken to hear his friend Yngvar's request that he not be returned to life through mucking with the timeline. A dark force had gathered around Akseli when he refused his best friend's wishes. Akseli was literally dragged out of Dream, kicking and screaming.

Yngvar: Akseli's best friend and Mikansia's former Firstsword. He had mistrusted Mikansia at first because of Makirta, but eventually became one of her firmest friends. He had gone back to Kotae Mah to spy  for Mikansia and Akseli. Last session Zaina, along with several dozen elven warriors, had beaten him within an inch of his life. And then throw him to his death in front of Mikansia and Akseli.

Jabez: A friend of Mikansia's, who had died protecting her from her wretched father Krakeru.

Marian: The Countess of Fire. A member of Those That Sailed, a group dedicated to helping the world as they can. Marian was just given a Dagger of Betrayal by her friend Anneli, who has gone to the East to look for the Island of Eternal Youth, as detailed here, specifically Session Twenty-Three.

Nomi: A former dark elf who had decided to try and find a better way, even if it almost killed her. She has been comatose for the last 48 hours.

The Dragon/Fish: A Dagger of Betrayal, if stabbed into someone who the wielder does not have a relationship with, will turn its malice back upon the wielder and turn him into a dragon. A certain dwarf did this. And in his birth-throes, the dragon ripped Argentum Prime apart and started a power vacuum that has gripped the eastern half of the continent. It is rumored that another Dagger of Betrayal can be used to control the dragon.

Mikansia was shaken to the waking world. Marian towered above her, black eyes sparking: "He's gone. And so is the Dagger."

"Who? Who's missing?"

"Akseli. He took the Dagger."

Mikansia was up, sword in whitened knuckles. She charged out the little cave she and the rest of the time travelers had been shown by Marian and Telos. Bright light and desolate landscape greeted Mikansia. There was hardly a stump to be seen in the former rainforest. Mikansia paused a moment, trying to get her bearings. Marian came running out of the dark behind them. "Did he say anything to you, anything at all?"

"Well, he did see that you brought the Dagger back and he was surprised by that. But he just seemed surprised! Nothing else seemed off. He's not like this, not normally."

Marian was right in Mikansia's face. "But he did it! How well do you really think you know him then? Really?"

A sudden shockwave knocked them both over.

Screams were heard from the ruins behind, shouts from the cave behind; everyone came out in a heap, Telos pushing at the end. Marian looked west. "That came from Sabina's Castle. The dragon!" Marian took off as fast as she could. Mikansia kept pace.

Another shockwave knocked them to the ground.

A shadow loomed over them; bits of cement and stone fell betwixt them.

The monstrosity of stone found empty ground.

But it was the screams of death from within the structure that hurt, which stopped when it shook the ground. There were cries all around: pain, surprise, anguish, men, women, children. All of them screeching into the air, turning into an echo chamber of failure. Marian started and stopped, brow furrowed. Mikansia and Marian tried to move, but all the cries...

Look at each other, they nodded. "If Akseli succeeds it will be worse than this" Marian declared. "All of these deaths are on him."

Mikansia kept pace. And her tongue. Marian seemed to know where she was going, but Mikansia had no idea what she intended. Marian was known to Mikansia by reputation, but only vaguely. Who knew what she was capable of? Marian was powerful, she knew that, but how much? Mikansia didn't want to find out at Akseli's expense.

As they ran, Mikansia heard all the cries. Some threatening, cursing. Demanding. All wanted help. She ached. It wasn't just her lungs that hurt. She was torn, right down to the core. These people needed her. Now. Immediately. And she needed to help them! Who else was going to? Who else could? She could, right then, right now.

But who knew what Marian would do? Mikansia didn't know Marian. Akseli needed help and Mikansia had to help him. She had to. Even if it meant blocking out every last cry, young and old, as she ran. And run she did. Was she running toward Akseli? Away from these people?

Did it matter?

There was a forever expanding cloud of dust where Sabina's Castle had been. At the center of the obscurance was a gigantic heap of rubble.  At the center of the rubble was a hole, leading down into the black. They took a second to catch their breath.

"How does the Dagger work with the dragon?" Marian asked between gasps.

"We don't know. Nomi said you'd hollowed out the handle and made it into a flute for her. None of us thought to ask why or how it worked. We just thought you had figured something out."

"But I'd never even heard of it until you came from the future. I've run into time travelers from before, so I made sure to get the dagger.."

Huffing and puffing announced the appearance of Salt. "You... you seriously... thought you were going to go underground without a dwarf?" Marian shook her head, a wry smile in her eyes. Mikansia stifled a laugh.

Glass, twisted metal, and elongated slivers of wood refused almost any attempt at purchase of the walls. It was slow going, no matter the rush. Eventually the pit found a floor, which went left and right. An acrid stench came from the left. "That's magma. It'll be coming sooner or later, so we need to hurry!" cautioned Salt. They picked their way way across the dark passageway to the right. Mikansia pulled out her sword. Cascading light poured upon the wracked walls. A sudden roar reverberated down the tunnel; crashing and thundering rumbled down, through the rock. The fumes were behind, the roaring ahead.

At the end of the line stood Akseli. In his upraised hand was that loathsome dagger. He was jumping back and trying to jump back in through to the hulking form beyond. The dragon was trying to dig further, but kept turning to roar and swipe at Akseli.

"Akseliiii!"

Barely looking over his shoulder, Akseli yelled back "Mikansia, I need to do this!"

"No, Akseli, please! Let's talk about this!" Marian hung back a bit behind Mikansia, but her body was unyielding. "This isn't going to fix anything!"

"Of course it is! I can take this dragon and fix everything! EVERYTHING! It's one month away from when Jabez dies!"

Mikansia's jaw dropped; Marian tensed even more.

"I know! One month! And I can stop it!"

He ducked the tail and screamed "Mikansia, we can save them all!!! Don't you want that?"

"You know I do! But who knows what that will change?" Mikansia kept Marian in her periphery; she wasn't moving.

"But we can do that, we can figure that out, together! We can do anything together! Anything! Can't you trust me?? Trust us?? Don't you think I'm better suited for this dragon than Nomi, of all people?? Aren't I the more worthy candidate for this dragon than some crazed dark elf? Aren't I the one who can do right by this dragon?

Marian's hands tensed; a little spark jumped from them. "Akseli, you know I trust you, with anything, everything! But can we please not have this conversation with a dragon roaring at us, underground???" Mikansia pointed behind them: "Lava's on the way! we don't have time for this! We need clear heads and time. To talk."

Akseli turned to face Mikansia, and the dragon rushed forward. Akseli whipped back around, swinging with the hateful thing, and the dragon fell backwards, causing everyone to stumble from the shockwave. "you think we'll have time later?? Cause he loves me now!" Akseli yelled as he backed the dragon into a corner again. "This isn't a good time to say later!" The air above him practically split from the tail swipe. "NOW OR NEVER!"

"You think we can't take a dragon? What the hell??? I've got a sword that can cut holes in reality! I'm holding it!" Akseli darted to the side again. "Right now! Why are you doubting us!"

"I could stun the darn thing, if you just got out of the way!!" Marian roared.

Akseli turned to retort. The dragon lunged again. But this time Mikansia and Marian came rushing in. Mikansia's assault was a dizzying array of cuts and thrusts, blinding and confusing in its avalanche of light. The beast fell back.

"Get down!" Mikansia hit the jagged floor.

Marian's raven hair flew back as white flame roared from her hands. The dragon roared in pain, swooned, and crashed to the ground.

Marian's back was turned to Akseli. A cunning glint was all the warning Mikansia got. Steel rang; Marian turned and tried not to gape; steel was barely a centimeter from her stomach. Mikansia pushed Akseli back  as he tried to break her guard. "This isn't you, Akseli! come back! Please!"

The glint vanished.

Akseli stoppped. He slumped against the wall. "No... no... you're right."

Marian backed up a bit. "That wasn't him. For one second he was someone else."

Mikansia knelt down next to Akseli. "That wasn't you. Who was that, Akseli?"

Akseli swallowed. "It was... it was Krakeru."

Mikansia wasn't shocked, but she could feel the blood running from her face anyway. Damnit.

"Wait, Krakeru's dead?"

They both looked up. "You know Krakeru?" Mikansia asked.

"It's hard not to! He's..." Marian blanched and said nothing more for a minute. "Um, he's dead when you're at?"

"I killed him. Twice." Factual. Blunt. Marian was looking at Mikansia with a new-found respect. "Bastard didn't have the decency to stay dead." Mikansia tried to think of something else, anything else. Why the hell couldn't she keep this monster out of her life? Out of anybody's life?

"Oh, he has no decency at all." Marian stated. And then, turning to Akseli: "He imprinted on you in Dream, then. Sometimes the dead do that, if you suffer enough while you're there. You have his memories, all of them. They'll be filtering in, slowly, over the next few weeks." Akseli and Mikansia went pale. "I'm so sorry", Marian said, softly.

Mikansia could barely feel her hands. She focused on them. She still couldn't feel much. "Is... there anything we can do? Can we undo it?"

"I'... I'm sorry. I have no means to undo what the dead did. Their word is usually final on such matters. Maybe if Anneli was still here, she could have taken Akseli with her, but she has moved out of my sight. I see her no more. I cannot in good conscience send you to where she may not be, not in this environment."

Akseli stood up. His eyes stayed where they were: on the ground.

Marian tried to talk again but Mikansia gently put a hand on her shoulder. Marian closed her mouth.

The dragon began to stir. Everyone started.

Nomi, skeletally thin, walked right up to the dragon. Nobody had seen her. Or heard her. She seemed to apparate out of thin air. Eyes glazed, she approached the hulk of shadow. Before anyone could do anything she looked into the flickering lids. The dragon's eyes snapped open.

Flaming shadow and deadened souls stared into each other for an eternity.

"FZZSsssssh..." she muttered, and fell onto the dragon's head. The dragon relaxed. She fell asleep. The dragon held her, gently accepting the sleepy snuggle.

Everyone held their breath a minute.

The dragon and Nomi looked quite comfortable.

"Well, I'll be" Marian whispered.

They stared another minute. The dragon and Nomi did not move.

"We need to move out of these tunnels", Mikansia whispered. Still looking at the dragon and Nomi, she turned to Akseli. "Can I.. can I please have your sword?" Something died in Akseli's eyes. He nodded. Mikansia grimaced. She hated how it made him felt to ask. "I know what that sounds like. You're still you, Akseli. That's not what this is. But we... we have to make sure. Please trust me like I trust you." Akseli couldn't meet her eyes as he handed his blade over.

They made their way out of the tunnels, climbing out of the pit. The dragon followed, footsteps rumbling behind them. Nomi was sleeping soundly on its head, still. The dragon was quite gentle with sleeping form.

They found a structure in the city that hadn't been utterly destroyed; the cave they'd been in was structurally unstable. When Mikansia went to bed that night, she found herself holding the sword close to her. It felt comfortable. Safe. Simple.

She awoke with a start.

It was Akseli.

"I'm... sorry... can I sleep in your room? By the door?" He motioned at the ruined doorway. Mikansia sat up, holding her sword in its sheath, rubbing her eyes. Was this what it felt like for Akseli, after Mikansia had been assaulted by Krakeru? To be relied upon? She had needed him, so badly. Akseli had been there for her whenever she needed him. It had made all the difference.

And here he was. Akseli looked to Mikansia's right, over her shoulder. "I... I keep having these dreams. I can't sleep. Not where I'm at. Alone. I just want to be in the doorway. Is all." Standing up, Mikansia gently laid a hand on Akseli's shoulder. "Of course you can. Want some company?" Akseli nodded. They padded to the doorway, starlight peeking in through the walls and ceiling. They sat down. Mikansia began a lament in her alto. Akseli tried to join in.

The song caught in his throat.

Mikansia sang for the both of them, starlight bearing witness. She sang of times past and the sorrows that others had survived in those past times. And of their hope that they would survive this sorrow too, in this bloody present.

Akseli nodded off.

The night went on.

Slither: Session Three

Last Session... Jelle and Kiva had fought a few skeletons and scraped off some gold. They swam under a statue. Oh, there's some malevolent force that knows they're there. No big deal.

The following was kindly written by Will, the player of Jelle and... well.. you'll see in a minute, won't you?

Jelle and Kiva swim to an opening in the chamber that is narrower than the one they entered the chamber in, as they squeeze through the passageway and pass through the threshold. Kiva steps into the room first and she notices the gem-like ceiling and the marble-like floors and walls. Her gazing is interrupted by Jelle shaking off his fur to get dry and in the process soaks her even more. she glares at Jelle for getting her wet.”What?”, he asked.

 Out of nowhere a man with long dark hair and muscles that were about the size of Jelle's head and scars that suggests he was a seasoned adventurer. Jelle, paralyzed with fear, doesn't say a word. Instead Kiva questions him. He states that his name is Desarim and he was down here with another party but they all died in a large pit farther up the chamber. Kiva questions his sanity and trustworthiness, but invites him to join them.

 

They progress down the chamber and see serpa statues that overlook them as if they were formerly worshiped as deities and covered in gold, because of their buffed metal appearance. They walk closer to the pit and noticed a very foul smell coming from it, it reminded Jelle of sewage, because of the solid organic objects floating in the liquid. Desarim shutters with a paralyzing fear as they walked by the pit. Upon further review it appears to them the chamber is an octagonal shape that has five passageways, four of which look like they were sealed with the finest masonry of the time, but are currently worn and overgrown with algae and large roots. The only passageway that seems available is a door on the opposite side of the chamber.

Kiva prepares to use astral projection to scout ahead but as she begins to project, she feels that same malevolent presence she felt at the entrance, it appears to be coming from behind the door. She tells Jelle this and suggests that they loot fast and not go through the door.

 Jelle burrows under one of the sealed passageways, he is successful tunneling through the marble-like stone but as he enters the small sealed chamber the tunnel collapses and traps him in the room. Meanwhile in the main chamber skeleton hands emerge from the pit. After a moment in the tomb Jelle gets his bearings back and realizes there is a serpa with an axe that wants to kill him. Jelle attempts to fight him but he runs into a wall that knocks him off his feet and the last thing he sees is the handle of the axe and the feel of the blade against his neck.

 

Meanwhile Desarim fights off the skeleton hands and fends off one with his grappling hook but the other hand grabs him and pulls him into the pit, the skeleton begins to attack him. Kiva makes a lasso to pull the skeleton and as she pulls the skeleton off of Desarim she gets thrown into the pit. Desarim shoots his bow from a safe distance at the skeleton and kills it, dissolving it and it sinks to the bottom of the pit. Unfortunately Desarim broke a bowstring in the proces, rendering his bow a fancy walking stick at the moment.

 

Then a woman emerges from the pit in a very provocative manner as she gets out of the pit. She shoots a glance at Desarim saying “Hey babe”. There is a pause in the action as the woman fixes her hair and checks her nails. She states her name is Pella. Kiva, repulsed by her, asks Desarim why he brought that kind of woman down here and she's a disgrace to dungeoneering women everywhere. Desarim looks on in disbelief.

 

Seeing as she was getting no response about the new woman, Kiva pushes forward on her original goal, she searches the bottom of the pit for loot and finds a gold chain. The bodies of Desarim's friends start floating to the surface and he loots his friend Alfonzo's body. He finds a map that describes how to open the door a special way. Pella examines the chamber with a mirror she had brought and finds a beautiful bright emerald that she thinks would look great for a ring.

Then the axe wielding Serpa busts through the sealed passageway chasing Pella. She jumps the length of the pit; she clears it but not before she's nicked by the axe. She checks her nails as the serpa jumps into the pit with Kiva and Desarim. Kiva wields her sword and kills the serpa, who dissolves into a pile of bones that sinks to the bottom of the pit.

 Kiva gets mad with Pella and almost draws her weapon, while stating that Pella is worthless. How dare she lure that thing into the pit and then not help fix her mistake. She mutters to herself “Oh sweetie this isn't the place for you” and explains she'll be the first to enter the next room. When Pella gives a look of not caring at all, Kiva grabs her by the arm, she marches off furiously with Pella by the arm, she glances back at the passageway the serpa had come from and wonders for a moment what happened to Jelle.

May the Power Protect You: Eddie Banks (Hyperforce Blue)

I do not get the hate for Eddie Banks. Every time I've played with him I've had a blast, and when I talk to some of my more technically minded gamer friends they can't sing his praises loudly enough. And yet most of the time when I read other people's impressions of him he is ranked as one of the weakest of the rangers. I mean, I think I get it? Most of us think in terms of "hard" styles. There is a reason why we favor karate (a very hard martial art) over, say, aikido, even if aikido is far easier for the average person to do.  And Eddie is just not a hard style character, at all. He sets up traps and helps you draw cards. But it takes a bit more set up to get your fair mileage out of the character, even though the results can be really freaking cool.

I'll admit, as time has gone on I've begun to value Eddie's Technician ability more and more. There are times I won't necessarily run out of cards, but will find that cards I have are absolutely useless to the situation. Technician lets you swap out up to three cards; you put cards you don't want on the bottom of your deck and an equal amount of cards go to your hand. That ability to swap out info when needed is really useful! Keep reminding people you have it, because they may need it and not think of it! And there's a lot more uses for it than that, even. Another situation Technician is useful for is when someone else who is keyed to taking a lot of the group's damage has a ton of three shield cards in their hands, instead of in their decks. Or you know there's a lot of damage incoming and folks are looking at those three shield cards in their hands and are crying a bit. You can soften the blow for someone by putting those three shield cards on the bottom of their deck, where you know those cards will stay because they are not shuffled back in, as an insurance policy. A lot of the time people will approach their character abilities rather passively. You cannot do that with Technician. Tinker, tinker, tinker!

Eddie has one of the most unique mechanics in the game: attaching his cards to enemy cards. Now, this comes with its own set of unique conditions. First off, it's not an attack, so that means you can place the card anywhere on the track. The sheer amount of flexibility with Maneuvers is fertile ground for the game to explore, and this has been one of the most ambitious attempts in what is a very young game. But, because it's not an attack, and because it's a "for later" move, it can be hard to justify in your mind using Eddie's attachments. And if your group isn't spec'd soft you would be correct! There would be no point.

Eddie is unapologetically soft in his approach. By using his attaching cards you are opening yourself up to enemy cards going off. This is not a bug, this is a feature. Why do I say that?

1) Reaction and Maneuver cards do not obey GUARD, which hoses attack cards. GUARD can just destroy more offensively minded groups. That's simply not the case with a more defensive group. When they do damage they should be doing it mostly through Maneuvers and Reactions, which are more flexible.

2) A lot of Maneuvers and Reactions usually deal flat damage. The dice in this game are not your friends. 1/3 of your rolls are going to end in an O. And yeah, that means the "potential" for incredible hits is going out the window, but I usually will go for something certain over rolling dice in this game. Your mileage may vary with that preference, but when in doubt I'd prefer 2 damage to 3 dice.

Oh wait, Serpent Strike gives me 2 damage for no energy. Holy crap.

With that out of the way, let's look at the two attaching cards that Eddie has: Serpent Strike and Python Grab. Serpent Strike gets you an energy and two damage on that card. There's a number of reasons why this card can be really useful. First off,  if your group is composed of bad rollers (ME! ME! ME!) you can throw this card on to make sure that the HP on a card will be within reasonable rolling range. Yeah, you eat the attack possibly, but would you prefer to take the attack on the chin after failing a roll, or to take the shot and then actually destroy the card?

Yeah, I'd definitely take the second.

The second reason you'd use the card is if you're using a soft team and have a ton of Reaction cards, particularly damaging ones. Put Serpent Strike on the target, have it go off, and then nuke the card. As the game continues to evolve more and more we'll get more of those, which means that this card will only get more and more useful as the character pool deepens, like Zeo Yellow's Intercepting Strike.

Python Grab is a bit more complicated to talk about. It costs an energy, but it reduces the damage from the card and strips it of GUARD. The card is less versatile, but it does block damage at a flat rate. That means if you put this card on a multi-target villain card the benefits will be staggeringly better than just your run of the mill damage reduction cards. Cancelling GUARD is not necessarily ideal, however. GUARD kind of cancels out other GUARDs next to it, which means that if you're going to cancel GUARD make sure you know what that does to the board. You may actually accidentally make other cards harder to target.

Oceanus Blades is one of the few cards in the game that lets you outright draw cards. You've got the opportunity to open up a situation mid-battle, but at an interval that's probably a bit safer to use, unlike the Sabretooh Tiger Zord. All that for no energy cost and you've got a good set-up card. Good. Solid. Use it.

Oceanus Trident is a pretty simple card as well. Grab up to three cards and shuffle them into the respective player's deck. You can either use it to set up for a future fight or to save someone's life by shuffling a couple of three shields into someone's deck. It doesn't deal a lot of damage and costs a lot of energy, but its set up and healing properties are not to be underestimated, particularly if this lets you save someone from having to Recover. That frees you up a bit on the strategic level.

The Serpent Zord is the panic button of Heroes of the Grid. Finished off the boss but you can't take out the footsoldiers? No problem, Serpent Zord is here to help you out! No, it doesn't help you actually knock out the footsoldiers? But sometimes you need to take out something of much bigger and don't want to deal with the footsoldiers immediately. Make sure you're not shorting yourself from getting to the megazord!

Eddie is the definitive soft character. This is the guy who epitomizes making openings that can be leveraged by others to create a stream of awesome combos. He also gives out a lot of draw power and recovery. He even gives you a panic button in the form of the Serpent zord, which is pretty uncommon in the game. He takes a bit of work, but the results can be pretty spectacular, if you use him right.