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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 4800180" data-attributes="member: 5203">Shadow and IlluminationThe arrival of the Haltan ambassador had caused quite a stir in Chrysanthemum.  It was well known that Halta had allied with Yurgen Kaneko, the Bull of the North, and was currently at war with the Linowan Nation.  Given that their own leader was also an Anathema, the people were understandable intrigued at being approached by this faraway kingdom.  The fact that the ambassador was also a beastman was only a minor footnote; Kaliel’s people were accustomed to dealing with unusual people and events, and his race did little to influence their opinions one way or the other.    The ambassador, a snakeman named Three Certain Truths, approached Kaliel with what he termed a ‘token of good will’ from the Kingdom of Kalta; they would scale back their current offensive against the Linowans, which would in turn ease the pressure that the Linowans were placing on nearby lands.  It was hoped, Three Certain Truths explained, that this would lead to future discussions between Halta and Chrysanthemum of more significant diplomatic arrangements.  For his part, Kaliel played the gracious host, introducing the ambassador to his Circle as well as other officials in the town the Haltans could speak with if Kaliel was absent.  After Three Certain Truths and his entourage left, Zanka noted that the snakeman had not seemed at all surprised to learn that there were four Solars in the city.  They assumed that this information had been obtained by the Bull of the North, who was rumored to have access to powerful sorcery.    “If the Bull can find out that we are here,” Zanka observed, “then others can as well.”    Kaliel nodded.  His own status as Anathema was no great secret; his Exaltation had been in full view of hundreds.  Three factors had kept the Wyld Hunt away from Chrysanthemum’s gates so far: the city’s small size and relative isolation, the Realm’s own internal turmoil, and the greater threat presented by the Bull of the North.  But while the Empire and the Immaculate Order might be able to ignore one Solar for a while, they could not ignore four.    “We should prepare to leave, then,” Kaliel stated.  This news was received with glee by Ghost, who had long ago exhausted all of the diversions that the town offered, as well as those he had created for himself.  Ayama was more reluctant, as there were still some recovering from the plague, but even she had to admit that they would recover just as well whether she was present or not.    “Where are we going?” Ghost asked.    “I would like to retrieve my sisters from the Tepet,” Kaliel said.  Though he spoke little of the day of the betrayal that led to his Exaltation, they all knew that at the same time that his former mercenary band had been ambushed, forces from House Tepet had sacked his former home, the city of Kryptos, and carried off Kaliel’s two younger sisters.  Whether the two events were related or coincidental had never been proven.  Since then, Tepet’s legions had been broken by the Bull of the North, and the remainder of their armies had formed into the Vermilion Legion.    “From what I have heard,” Ghost said, “the Vermilion Legion is currently in the westernmost part of the South – in other words, as far from this corner of Creation as you can get.  But if your sisters were taken as slaves, then they have probably been sold.”    “Not necessarily,” Zanka said.  “Things are dire for House Tepet.  Their armies have been humiliated, and they are under political attack on the Blessed Isle.  Right now they are likely trying to consolidate their assets and look for any allies they can find.”    “Are you suggesting that they might try to use Kaliel’s sisters as a bargaining chip?”  Ghost frowned.  “I can hardly see bargaining with an Anathema to be a good idea for any Great House of the Realm.”    “They may only intend to use them as leverage to influence his actions,” Zanka replied.    “Either way,” Ghost smiled, “our best bet to find these two women is to track the Legions.  They most likely sailed from Cherak; we can go there and inquire, to see if his sisters were with them when they set off.”    Ayama stepped into the conversation.  “Kaliel, I would remind you that we have still not investigated the source of the zombies that descended on your town, nor the plague that followed.  Ghost had tracked them to a small shadowland, had he not?”    “That is correct,” Ghost said, “a week’s ride to the northwest.  The shadowland itself is only three, perhaps four miles across.”    “I would feel better knowing that no more threats to my people can emerge from this place,” Kaliel agreed.  “We should ride there first.”  Zanka paled a bit at this news.    “Cherak should only be a month’s ride from there,” Ghost said.     After seeing to a few last details – including sending Sergeant Brusk and half of the Knights of the Golden Flower to Lagan – the four Chosen were ready to depart.  Kaliel had the foresight to secure some fetishes from Three Certain Truths that would announce them as friendly to the icewalker tribes that were allied with Yurgen Kaneko, which would aid their travels in the North.    Days later, they found themselves at the boundary of the shadowland that Ghost had found.  They could all feel the sickening pull of the tainted Essence within.  Ghost glanced at the early afternoon sky.    “If we wish to know more, we will have to journey inside.”    “No.” said Zanka flatly. “This is a place where the underworld has been drawn to Creation by some horrific act.  I have no wish to know more.”    “I agree with Ghost,” Kaliel said.  “We must try to learn what has caused this shadowland to emerge in such a remote area, and if anything inside poses a threat.”    “Do we know how long this place has existed, Kaliel?” Ayama asked.    “I cannot be certain.  My people do not come out this far.”    “If you are going,” Zanka said, “you must be back before the sun touches the horizon, or else you may not come back.”    “Then we shall make our investigation quick,” said Ghost irritably, irked by Zanka’s timidity.    “Zanka,” Kaliel said, “We could use your knowledge of the occult to aid us in finding what we seek and then leaving.”    “You could use my knowledge of the occult right now to not go in at all!” she snapped back.    Ayama maneuvered her horse so it stood next to the Eclipse’s steed, and reached out to touch Zanka’s shoulder.  “Zanka, if we do not try to find out what kind of threat this place still might hold, and we leave Chrysanthemum…”    “You are going to make me go with you, aren’t you?” Zanka said.    “You are Chosen by the Unconquered Sun,” Ghost said.  “You are not meant to avoid problems.”    Zanka turned to Kaliel.  “You are aware that this will only delay your chance to find Kassandra and Kalliope?  Perhaps forever?”    “I am aware of the risk.  Rescuing my sisters is important, but making sure they have a home to return to is important as well.”    They began to turn their horses and maneuver toward the boundary of the shadowland.  Ghost fell back slightly and offered a bottle to Zanka.  “Liquid courage,” he told her.    Physically crossing into the shadowland was no great physical challenge.  Mentally, however, they found themselves assailed by morose, troublesome thoughts that plagued them and distracted them.  Most of them were able to dismiss such thoughts, but Kaliel found his mind consumed with worry for his sisters, envisioning all manner of terrible fates.  Thus when the four Solars reached the center of the corrupted land, he barely noticed.    They were in a large, open area, which even after several weeks still showed signs that it had once been occupied by a large horde of the walking dead.  They could tell that the zombies had entered the shadowland from the north, and gathered here for a time before setting out southeast toward Chrysanthemum.  It was Ayama who noticed a single set of tracks that led off to the northwest.    “Look at these,” she said, pointing as everyone gathered.  “They were made by someone carrying a great weight, yet his gait suggests he was not unduly burdened.  I would presume that this person is quite strong.”    “It is obvious that the zombies who gathered here were not created here,” Ghost said.  “Nor would I assume their presence was the catalyst for the shadowland to exist.  It seems to have been a rallying point for a pack of zombies that were heading south, and then redirected southeast.  It is possible that the heavy object this individual was carrying away was brought here by the zombies.”    They followed the tracks to the northwestern edge of the shadowland, where they vanished without a trace at the very edge of the boundary.      “It appears that our quarry has ventured somewhere beyond the veil,” Ayama said.    “Then we will have to wait here until after the sun sets to follow him,” Kaliel affirmed.    “No!” Zanka protested.  “We could be trapped forever in the underworld!”    “Only if we were mortal,” Ayama pointed out.  “As beings that can control Essence, we are tied to Creation, and can avoid being pulled into the underworld at night.  Much the same as a being tied to the underworld can avoid entering Creation at a shadowland’s edge, even in the daylight.  So there is no guarantee that whoever this is crossed over at night, since it would not be unreasonable to assume that this could be a necromancer.”    Frowning, Zanka reached into a saddlebag and pulled out one of the tomes from Kal Bax’s workshop.  “Now that you say that, I recall Kal Bax mentioning this very thing.  He also pointed out that Solars lose their connection to Creation while in the underworld, and are cut off from the Essence.  We would be diminished there.”    “It is no worse than when I was mortal,” Kaliel growled.  “The Unconquered Sun did not reach down from Heaven to Exalt me so that I would choose to turn tail and run.”    “Neither did he reach down and bestow a suit of armor and a blade upon me,” Zanka retorted.  She was shaking visibly.    “Let us also consider what we know,” Ghost said, “or rather, what we do not know.   All we have ascertained is that this individual is strong, he or she likely has some ability to control the Essence of the underworld, and may have some power over the dead.  This trail is weeks old at best, and leads through unknown and hostile territory.  The Unconquered Sun did not Exalt us to run from battle, I agree, but he also did not Exalt us to rush headlong into an unknown situation that will likely lead to our deaths.”  Ghost swept his arm around to encompass the Shadowland behind them.  “We know that there is nothing present in this place now that will pose a threat to us or to Chrysanthemum.  We also know that whatever it was that this person was carrying into the underworld, it was not your sisters.  They are to be found elsewhere.”    “The attack on Chrysanthemum may have been nothing more than a diversion,” Ayama observed.  “Perhaps after delivering the object they brought from the north, they were simply sent southeast toward civilized lands on a whim, to sow chaos and destruction with no clear goal.  It may have even been meant to alarm nearby settlements enough that they would remain bound close to home, rather than riding out and possibly stumbling upon whatever they were planning.”    “Then perhaps,” Kaliel said, his hand resting atop the handle of his axe, “I should have an outrider sent out to trail these zombies back to their source, so that we may know at their true origins.”    Satisfied with the plan, the four Exalts exited the shadowland, and soon Ayama had made a bargain with a crow to carry a short message back to Chrysanthemum, containing Kaliel’s orders.  That done, they spend the remainder of the day putting miles between themselves and the shadowland, much to Zanka’s relief.    As they rode, Ayama came up alongside the Eclipse.  “You did well back there,” she said, putting her arms around Zanka’s shoulder.  “It is right to be unnerved in such surroundings.”  She smiled at the petite young Exalt, reminded of nights when she comforted her own beloved Dakarai.  She and Zanka would have been about the same age…</blockquote>

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