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WARNING:

This fic is rated NC-17 for violence and some excessive sexual references. If you are of the correct age and whatnot to be reading this type of thing then please go ahead (like I'm really going to be able to stop you).

NOTES:

Hi hoo everyone, well here we are with the first installment of my latest series. Please note that this fic and all the characters in it are Copyright Klesk Vadrigaar 2005 so please no altering/duplicating/redistributing unless you have my written consent .

All feedback to [email protected]

Right now that we've got that out of the way, enjoy!

Prologue

Somewhere in the heavens lies the ancient world of Artauk. Rich in both heritage and life it is home to many types of strange and exotic creatures, none more mysterious or great an asset as the elemental Toah. Symbolising the elements that make up life, the true origin of these spiritual beings remains a mystery, as does their relationship with the other species on the planet. All that is known about them is this: if a morph is born within close enough proximity to one of these mystical spectres it will fuse itself with the infant thus gifting it with incredible supernatural abilities. These carriers, as they are commonly known, are renowned throughout the lands for their enhanced knowledge and fighting aptitude, both results of the bizarre symbiosis with the Toah. As many grow up to become warriors it is they who are often charged with keeping the peace and protecting the cities and provinces from whatever threatening presence that may rear its ugly head.

For, as is often the case, where there is good there is also bad, and while many of Artauk's races are predominantly peaceful in nature there are those who have grown greedy and selfish from their indulgence in the planet's abundant resources. For as long as any can remember the various kingdoms and empires have waged their wars with their neighbours for want of more than they already have. Fortunately, more often than not, these little disputes are eventually resolved allowing life to continue to flourish.

Not so as of late.

It was sometime in the past few decades that Artauk's most ancient races, the Demons, again revealed themselves to the world. Whether by provocation or otherwise their ruler, Xanathan Kryegore, launched a brutal conquest to conquer the morphs of Artauk in an attempt to restore the demons to their previous stature as the strongest, most powerful races on the planet. In the course of the war that followed he successfully seized control of Ateir, the Realm of the Dead and, with millions of deceased souls and the darkest secrets of Necromancy now at his disposal, began reincarnating some of the greatest deceased warriors into his impressive legions.

Fearful of the Demon Master's intentions, several of the more influential kingdoms banded their most powerful sorcerers together to try and tap into the devastating power of the Void of Necris, a decrepit realm located deep beneath Artauk's surface where the laws of physics and order that govern existence do not apply, everything exists in a state of perpetual chaos.

Since it was discovered that few things could withstand this raw chaotic power, dubbed 'Chasos' by many, and virtually nothing can destroy it, it was decided to try and harvest it as a means of deterring and driving back the demon forces. Special fissures were therefore dug into Artauk's surface and surrounded by magical barriers to contain the Chasos while it was siphoned off into smaller, easier to control quantities. The plan seemed to work at first and Kryegore was forced to call his legions back to the demon homeland of Mueradav. However more dire consequences were soon to come, for a beast that has been let out to roam freely seldom ever consents to being caged again, and while unleashing the Chasos was easy enough, sealing it away again proved to be near impossible. As such it was only a matter of time before enough accumulated on the surface to break through the barriers.

Now, free from it's previous confines in Necris, Chasos is seeping out through the vents in Artauk's surface and diffusing throughout the lands like a plague, consuming and contaminating all that it touches and transforming all morphs in its path into dangerous Rahab monsters.

So begins our tale...

Legacy of Chaos

Stave I:

Initiation and Reawakening

Written by Klesk Vadrigaar

• Day ten of the first passage of Blune, 151,161-

Lap, lap, lap, lap, lap. The river's gentle flow came to Kai Sikahr as she sat meditating on its banks. It was just after dawn, another three or four movements of the sun and the young gecko's companions would awaken allowing them to break camp and continue on their journey. For now however she had some time to sit and reflect on her situation and how much had occurred in the last...

*Gods three days? Has it really just been three days since I officially joined and then left right after just so I could finally qualm the desire inside me to know?*

The tiniest hint of a smile graced the gecko's lips under her ninja mask as she cast her mind back to the point where she'd at last taken control of her life and inadvertently thrown herself into what was promising to be the starting point of a very long journey of self-discovery...

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• Temple of Laniaa, three days earlier-

*Come on girl, I know you're better than this!*

The lion watched from the sidelines as Kai endured another roundhouse kick to the chest. The young gecko had been prepping herself up for this day ever since she was deemed ready to undergo the final tests that would determine if she was worthy of being made a ninja of the Laniaan order.

The lion, a surprisingly fit 67-cycler called Najin, cast his eyes down in disbelief as Kai's weasel opponent successfully ducked one of her kicks and countered with a foot sweep, bringing the unfortunate lizard to a crashing halt on the kaharite mats. He'd known her ever since she was first brought to them by a dragoness who'd discovered her, barely a day out of the egg, in her cavern near the summit of Mt. Fuschia.

She'd shown all the normal signs: strange rune patterns developing on her body each year and eyes that glowed serenely blue with the purity of the element and of course when the other ninjas began finding dojo equipment frozen solid during the height of summer it was no great mental leap to deduce that the hatchling was an ice Toah carrier. The Temple had therefore assigned him to be her mentor and friend, carefully watching over her as she was trained in the knowledge and ways of the ninja. Over the years she'd proven to be an exemplary student, following his kuvar teachings to the letter and never questioning them throughout all the hardship and pain that came as standard. Her powers and control over snow and ice had improved magnificently under his supervision as had her understanding of the natural world. In fact Najin's only criticism of her was that she vehemently refused to allow herself to be remoulded as a loyal follower of the clan. No matter how punishing they made her training or how much they tried to push her, the gecko simply was not going to break or bend to their will, which would most likely mean a lot of unnecessary heartache down the road if other trainees tried to follow her example.

*Dammit Kai, you're supposed to be the death of me, not yourself!*

Najin shook his head as the lizard attempted a combination uppercut and high-kick manoeuvre and was rewarded by having a foot rammed into her stomach and being sent hurtling into the corner. She'd been doing just fine during the standard trials of focus, balance, endurance and the like but when it came to actual combat things had started to fall apart. She was becoming frustrated and fatigued which could only mean less concentration on the task at hand. Kai leapt back to her feet and assumed a combat stance again, ready for the next round. The weasel observed her and then followed suite, ready to deliver another humiliating blow to the lizard.

Kai stood her ground and waited, this debacle had gone on long enough and she was going to finish it now. Seeing that his opponent wasn't going to make the first move the weasel reared up and charged at her. Kai studied his movements intently, preparing herself for the one second window she'd have to catch the stoat off guard and turn the tables in her favour.

*Closer, closer, closer.*

Kai willed him onward, keeping her sight fixed on his arms. As soon as he got within striking distance he'd have to extend them momentarily for a wind-up. That'd be when she make her move.

*Closer, closer, closer.*

The weasel moved in, got ready for the final defeating blow, and then found himself unable to follow through as the lizard's hands shot out with lightning fast precision and locked his in a vice like grip. She allowed him a moment to gawk at the sudden turn of events before digging her claws into his paws and twisting her torso almost 180°, dragging the stoat off his feet and throwing him onto the mat. Never taking her eyes off him, Kai crouched and readied herself for an aerial attack. Her muscles coiled themselves like cobras preparing to strike and then she was off! Sailing gracefully through the air she tucked her feet underneath her and positioned her knees to where they wouldn't hurt the weasel too much, the object of this match was after all to subdue the opponent not kill them.

The weasel however didn't seem to be as woozy as was initially suspected as he quickly curled his body up and rolled out of harm's way just as Kai came crashing down. The lizard immediately leapt back to her feet as her opponent took the opportunity to let fly with a double punch which she narrowly managed to block.

The two combatants edged away and circled each other on the mat. Tension hung in the air for several seconds before the stoat again went on the offensive and again Kai moved fluidly to block his attack. With quick, carefully timed movements she hooked her leg around his and launched herself forward, sweeping the unfortunate stoat off his feet and landing him on his back. His immediate reaction was to attempt to get back up but Kai quickly saw to that with an open palmed punch to the stomach, leaving the weasel coughing hard as his lungs were forced to give up the vital air they craved so much. Executing another smooth 180° spin, Kai wrapped her legs around the defeated weasel's neck and squeezed enough to let him know it was over and any more attempts to resist would result in dire consequences. The stoat responded by nodding blearily before laying back down on the mat, gasping for breath. Satisfied, the gecko stood up and bowed to Najin who merely looked on shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"Why you little...." he started before a big smile broke out over his muzzle and he applauded with the other occupants of the kaharite. "So holding back as usual huh? Got to let the opponent have their fun before destroying them ultimately. " Kai smiled and nodded, she'd pulled the same trick many times during sparring sessions, mostly on him, and it was the one thing everyone always fell for. Who could possibly guess someone like her could have such quick reflexes or the ability to take out an opponent with such flawless grace? The lion stepped forward and nodded in approval. "Very impressive Kai but you've really got to stop doing that, a true enemy will be able to see when you're just taking blows to wear them out and hit you with everything they've got while you're still waiting for the moment to strike."

"Wise words Najin but her little deceptions may still have their use in some battles." Both lizard and lion turned at the sound of the new voice. In walked a mouse flanked by two lionesses in full ninja attire. His face and ears were heavily wrinkled with old age and his almost snow white hair indicated as much. He was dressed in a kimono and carried a walking stick but nonetheless carried an air of extreme importance and respect. Kai immediately kneeled before him while Najin made due with a simple bow.

"Grand Master Jaku, I'm pleased to report my student has triumphed in her match over young Nairu." He indicated the weasel who was now being helped off the mat by the lionesses "..though I must point out that her methods were rather unorthodox and not at all within the guidelines of her training."

The Temple Master held up a paw and silenced the lion. "Your concern is noted but unnecessary. Many warriors nowadays are arrogant fools who are more concerned with whether their weapon is of a suitably impressive size and weight than if they possess sufficient skill to use it. Against them young Sikahr's tricks will be quite apt at both disabling them physically and bruising their over-inflated egos."

The mouse turned to regard Kai who was still watching him carefully, he may have been only a quarter of her size and old enough to be her grandfather but that didn't necessarily entail that he couldn't still inflict crippling injuries at a moments notice. "I trust however she will have the common sense to know when to put away the tricks and fight for real without mercy." He concluded sternly.

Kai watched him for a moment and then nodded, despite Najin's apprehensions she was more then aware of when it was time to get serious.

The Grand Master smiled and clapped his paws "Then I declare this trial over. While it may not be worthy to be called a 'nainda desintje' it has nonetheless proven your skills are complete and your mind focused and cunning. You may rise."

She got to her feet and waited for him to continue.

Instead however Jaku slowly looked her over and then stepped back off of the mats. "You know, with all the effort you put into that fight and seeing as it is the midst of summer you must be awfully hot now." Kai was confused but nodded in agreement, she was feeling rather warm. The Grand Master smiled knowingly "Then you'll probably be wanting some water to cool off.."

Najin eyes went wide as he looked up towards the rafters where several ninjas had silently crept across the rafters and were now perched above the lizard. Each one was clutching a huge bucket of water and just itching to give her a good soaking.

*Dammit, I should have guessed!*

"Kai above you!" he almost shouted before clamping his muzzle shut with his paws. The warning was unnecessary, she'd been expecting they'd try to test her one last time before the day was over and seeing as she'd come out tops in all other fields that only left one thing:

Her Toah capabilities.

Even as the first ninja began to tip his bucket over she'd already started priming an ice blast, by the time she looked up to gauge where to shoot there was no contest. Her eyes glowed more fiercely and her scales darkened slightly as the previously invisible rune patterns on her body revealed themselves. The water had barely left the bucket before she launched the blast at it and turned the whole thing into a mid-air glacier.

"Very good." Master Jaku applauded as the ninja dropped the frozen bucket and leapt down. "Continue."

The remaining ninjas repositioned themselves. Kai charged up another blast and froze the second water as easily as she'd done the first. The cycle repeated and so did Kai, a third mass of ice hit the floor and shattered.

"Most impressive." Jaku commented before making a small gesture. Another ninja, a horse this time, began to tip her bucket forward. Kai followed suite with yet another freezing shot but at the last moment the horse pulled back and leapt off the rafter seconds before her blast hit the spot where she'd been standing. The gecko watched as the equine landed on the mat with her bucket and launched the contents at her face. Kai barely managed to duck underneath and countered with a snow flurry, freezing the water into small chunks rather than one big block. The lizard stood again and brushed the ice off. She breathed deeply as she waited for the next attack but her expression now seemed somewhat pained.

*Uh oh, it's happening again.*

Najin cringed as he recognised the symptoms. All throughout her training, despite her monumental efforts to master her ice powers there was still one inevitable fact of nature Kai couldn't avoid: the fact that in order to generate ice one has to lower the temperature of their body to a level suitable to accommodate the freezing process. Unfortunately while mammals with their warm blood can handle this, it's extremely hard for a cold blooded reptile to fair with a low body temperature. Thus the more Kai used her powers the more lethargic she became and the more painful it was for her to continue. She'd gotten better at enduring over time but still she had her limits.

Kai grit her teeth as two ninjas landed on either side of her and launched a double cascade. She somersaulted out of the way and fired a continuous stream of ice which froze the two water arcs together, forming a odd glistening T shape on the mat. Kai stepped back and gripped her arm, this was seriously beginning to hurt now and unlike before she wasn't pretending.

*Come on girl, just a little bit longer.* The lion willed her on.

Three more ninjas leapt down and triangulated a splash volley. Kai launched herself into the air and froze all of it into a small pillar. She landed on top of it in time to see another ninja, an unmasked wolf, land in front of her with a long blow tube and rather full cheeks. A groan escaped her as she tried to summon enough energy from her depleted reservoirs for another blast. The wolf put the tube to his lips and shot a long high powered jet of water at her. Kai did her best to react in time but sadly the attempt was in vain, the water hit her left hand just as she got the blast up to full power. She barely found the strength in her to cry out as ice formed over her hand and she lost her footing. Najin watched in despair as Kai crashed onto the floor for the second time that day, too exhausted to go on.

"Enough!" Jaku called out. The remaining ninjas put down their buckets and stepped away from the exhausted gecko.

"KAI!" Najin cried as he ran over to her, followed quickly by the Temple Master. The lizard rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes as the pain of her frozen hand mingled with the anger she felt towards herself for not being able to hold out longer. "Kai are you okay?" Najin knelt down beside her. She looked up into the eyes of her mentor and smiled weakly.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just too tired to keep going." She sat up and banged her fist down, shattering the ice covering. She examined her arms and turned away in disgust when she saw they were now covered in a thin layer of permafrost.

"You did the best you could kid." Najin extended his claws and began to gently scrape away the frost trying not to harm the lizard.

"She did far more than that." Jaku said as he approached. "You could have quit when you knew you had no energy left to continue yet you kept pushing yourself further. I've seen very few students who have that much determination."

Najin looked up, "As I've often told you before sorsa, she gains only strength from failure."

The Grand Master chewed this over for a moment "A very rare and admirable quality and one I admit I could not believe until I'd seen it for myself. You should be proud."

"I am sorsa." he said addressing the mouse using the ancient word. "I only wish I could've trained her to do better."

Again Jaku raised his paw and silenced the lion. "You've done the best you were capable of Najin, we all have. It is now up to her to learn how to better handle the pain." he smiled "And the only way she can ever hope to do that is through some actual experience in true combat."

Kai's expression changed from despair to enlightenment. "You mean?"

Jaku nodded "You have proven yourself to be a most exemplary student Kai Sikahr. I've no doubt that you will make a fine addition and therefore deem you ready to become a ninja of Laniiaa." The mouse turned to a servant standing near the entrance of the kehrite "Go fetch the uniform we had made for her. She is to be initiated into the ranks immediately." The servant bowed and left. Two more appeared at Kai's side holding tubs of warm water. They set down and began to bathe her arms as Najin patted her on the shoulder

"Congratulations girl you made it!"

Kai kissed him gently on the cheek. "I owe it all to you sorsa." She said as one of the servants handed her a vitality potion.

"No Kai, I just showed you the way of the path, you're the one who walked all the way to the end."

The gecko smiled as she drank the liquid.

*All right, now that I've accomplished that maybe at last I can find out what I yearned to know my entire life.*

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• Later on -

"Members of the Order of Laniiaa, today we welcome a new member into our ranks!" Grand Master Jaku said as he stood on a podium overlooking the temple's great hall filled with forty or so morphs. Kai stood a few steps beneath him in full view of everyone. She was nude now in preparation for receiving her new ninja gear and calmly scanned the audience to see if this was having any effect on them. Though they'd all been conditioned not to be affected emotionally in any way by such things she smiled slightly as a few of the younger, more recent trainees momentarily averted their gaze from watching the temple master to the naked lizard underneath him.

Kai exhaled slowly as Jaku continued, half of her wanted him to finish so she could confront him, the other half kind of wished he'd go on a bit longer. She was after all a very pretty gecko and all the training over the years had given her a toned, well developed body. This was the first time she'd ever gotten to really show it off and she wanted the moment to last for as long as possible.

"As you all know, once the spirit inside has been transformed so too must the body containing it."

Kai turned as several servants carrying her gear approached her.

"For this new one, her movements will be as silent as the falling snow..."

One of them helped her put on her undergarments, Kai slipped on the panties but decided against an undershirt.

"...her attacks as fierce as a mountain blizzard..."

Next came the gi and loincloth, dark blue in colour. Kai laced it up herself while the servant tied her belt.

"...her strength as solid as a winter glacier..."

One servant helped her put on her leather armour greaves and knee length boots while another slipped on her elbow length gloves and leather gauntlets.

"....her spirit as pure and clear as newly formed ice..."

The servants did her hair up into her favoured Mohawk and ponytail style and wrapped a long blue headband around her forehead. They finished by securely tying her face mask (also blue) in place and pulling it up to cover her mouth.

"...her training is complete and she at last is ready."

Kai turned to face the audience again now adorned in her new ninja guise. The clothing had been magically treated to offer as much protection as possible while also not shattering under the intensity of her ice attacks. It felt wonderful to wear.

A ninja entered carrying a collection of small obelisks, roughly around two feet in height. She placed them on several raised pedestals in a semi circular pattern around Kai and bowed.

"As per your requests young gecko, we contacted an renowned exotic weapon smith to make your armaments. We're pleased to say he did not disappoint."

Another ninja entered carrying Kai's weapons of choice: a seven foot lance tipped on both ends with a razor sharp five point blade, a specially made shuriken discus around six inches in diameter with eight retractable blades (she didn't think she'd actually need it but Najin had been insistent on having it made) and a variety of throwing knives.

"The lance has been enchanted with the required spells to enhance your own Toah abilities." Jaku explained " And the discus has been fixed to your hands so it will always return to you no matter where or how far you throw it."

Kai nodded as she was handed the weapons. She clipped the discus to her belt and sheathed the knives in several strategic locations on her body. With that done she grabbed the lance and focused her mind on the obelisks.

*Okay, we've had some time to rest now. Let's make things chilly in here!*

She focused an ice flow through the lance and launched it upwards, creating a beautiful crystalline fountain that rained down onto the obelisks, freezing all of them simultaneously. Then, with the inhumane kind of agility and precision that can only come from a lifetime dedication to the martial arts, she pole-vaulted herself into the air and shattered them with a quick hard swing. None of the morph's present seemed to react but she could see the quiet admiration in their eyes.

"I present to you, Kai Sikahr, Laniiaan ninja and ice Toah carrier!"

Breathing deeply she allowed the momentum of what was happening to sink in before turning to face the Temple Master. The moment of truth had come, it was now or never.

"Grand Master Jaku" she began, bowing in reverence "I give my thanks to you, to Najin and all the followers of Laniiaa. I am greatly honoured to have the rank of ninja bestowed upon me and solemnly swear to always uphold the code of conduct I have been taught." Jaku nodded in agreement but Najin, watching from the corner, was suspicious. He knew Kai would never give such laudatory comments unless she was planning to do something seriously out of line. "It therefore pains me greatly to do this but I must make a request of you sorsa." she concluded.

Jaku glanced at the lizard in surprise. "And what would that be?"

She narrowed her eyes "To know the truth about myself."

"Kai, how dare you!" Najin exclaimed in indignation.

"What do you mean?" Jaku sounded more intrigued than angry

Kai took another deep breath and ascended to the podium. "All my life you've told me everything I wished to know except those issues that pertain to my origins. You may be unaware but Danya, the dragoness that first brought me to you taught me a few things of her own on the occasions she visited here."

The mouse took this all in stride. "She never has been one for keeping secrets. What did she tell you?"

"That I was deliberately left in that ice cavern for the express purpose of becoming a Toah carrier and that it was no coincidence that that particular cavern belonged to a dragoness who just happened to be a close friend of a ninja master." She paused to let the information sink in before continuing "I know my whole life was set up so I could be trained to the best of my abilities and while I am very thankful for that I am still left with no knowledge of my origins or my family or what my ultimate purpose in life is to be." She knelt before Jaku and bowed her head. "I have proven my worth as a fighter to you Grand Master, now I ask that you return the favour and lay my qualms to rest." She kept her head bowed.

"KAI THAT'S ENOUGH!" Najin stepped forward. "Forgive her sorsa, I thought we'd conditioned her to be more obedient than this but now I see she is still too stubborn to..." The lion broke off as he was again silenced.

*That's starting to become a habit.* Kai thought to herself.

Several heavily pregnant moments passed before the Master finally spoke.

"So it's true then, your spirit simply cannot be broken by any means. I've been regularly informed over the cycles of how my ninjas tried to remould you into a obedient and cooperative warrior and all failed incredibly but it still amazes me to see it for myself."

"Sorsa I swear her behaviour isn't normally this impudent! You have my word she'll be reprimanded at once!"

"Calm yourself Najin, she has not been dishonourable. If anything she has displayed an inner strength which many of us sadly lack." A smile graced his wrinkled cheeks "Young Sikahr you are truly a rarity among all species. Never in all the cycles I have existed on this world have I ever encountered one such as you, much less had the pleasure of training them to be the best they are capable of."

He turned to regard all the morphs in the hall. "Everyone you see before you is strong in mind and in spirit. Their fighting abilities are flawless and their knowledge unparalleled. Yet every single one of them has only accomplished this by being broken down and painstakingly re-made by us, willingly giving up both body and soul to our cause. You however have taken root and blossomed on your own accord without any interference. All your techniques and abilities have developed from a strength drawn from within yourself not from outside help. Because of this I doubt anyone here will ever be equal to the warrior you are ."

He bowed and kissed her hand.

"It has been a honour for the Temple of Laniiaa to bring out your potential young gecko, and I will grant your request as best I can." He took her by the hand and led her down through the hall as the morphs parted like a Red Sea of fur, scales and feathers.

"I must warn you though, the answer I give may not be the one you wish to hear." The hall doors closed behind them leaving forty morphs bowing in reverence and one very confused lion looking on in disbelief.

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Kai stood in Jaku's private study as the mouse rummaged through a massive case of books, scrolls and other parchments. After making quite a mess of paper he at last surfaced with a large oak box that, judging from the amount of dust on it, must have been nearly as old as he was.

"Are you ready to hear my response young gecko?" he asked.

"Yes Great Master."

Jaku looked down and tried to stifle a laugh. "Well as hard as you may find it to believe I have absolutely no idea about the motives surrounding your coming here. I was merely told by Danya when she brought you here to raise you as a normal member of the temple and ensure you received all the necessary training to master your ice powers and become the best ninja possible." Kai started to say something but Jaku simply repeated the same gesture he'd been doing quite a lot of over the course of the day.

"Please let me finish, allow this old mouse that much. Your family as a whole has always been rather secretive. Ever since I can remember new born Sikahrs, most of them Toah carriers like you, have been delivered to temples and training grounds all over Artauk. We don't know where they come from or why they're entrusted to us. We are merely asked to turn them into well educated, able bodied warriors and send them out into the world. And like you they always turn out to be more than exemplary students. Just the thought of being able to raise and teach a member of your family was all I needed to accept you into the fold." He opened the box and dug out an old scroll. "What I can offer you however is the location of someone far more knowledgeable in these matters than I."

"Who is that?" Kai asked

"He is the Dark Mage, Rael Rathiman, for many cycles he's been a close friend of your family and it is primarily his job to help guide any wary Sikahrs through their lives." He handed the scroll to her. "Find him and you will find your answer."

Kai unrolled the scroll and examined it. Basically it was just a highly detailed map of the lands of Pengar. Marked on it were the relative locations of the Temple, a place several miles south and then an area near the southern most tip called Rencort.

"Rencort?" Kai looked up.

"It's where he resides most of the time. The other location is a jaunt gate, it's how he travels over the great distance between here and there." the mouse moved forward and took hold of her hands. "Go to that gate and wait for him to appear, then you will learn what you wish to know."

"How do I have any guarantee that he even will appear?"

The mouse smiled knowingly "He's been coming here regularly to check up on you in secret as is within the guidelines of the promise he made to your ancestors eons ago. I'm sure he'll make the effort to come here for you." he concluded.

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"Kai, please tell me you're kidding." Najin watched in disbelief as she packed provisions and supplies into a travelling case.

"Ninjas don't kid Najin, you know that. We say only what we intend to do or we stay silent."

"But it's barely been six sun movements since you were initiated and now you just want to leave?" the lion had been trying to convince her otherwise for over an hour but she wasn't having any of it.

"Rael Rathiman holds the key to what I've been searching for my entire life. I'm not going to let something as trivial as a short journey through the forest stand between me and him." She stuffed the map Jaku had given her into the case and picked up her water bag.

"It's almost dark Kai."

"Then it should be a fairly quiet journey." She stepped out to the Temple's garden fountain and filled the bag. "Besides the moons are supposed to be plump and bright tonight."

"But, but, but...." the lion gave up as he ran out of points to argue. "Kai please, you've had a long and tiring day, can't you sleep on this and pick it up tomorrow?"

Kai sighed heavily "You know Master Jaku didn't contest this much when I told him of my plans to depart from the Temple."

"He must be aware of something I'm not."

"That I am my faithful lion." the Temple Master entered and sat on one of the chairs in the room. "Young Kai now has a fix on the answers she seeks, it's clear there is nothing we can do to change her mind."

The lion tried to protest but figured the mouse was probably getting sick of gesturing all the time. "Don't you think this is a little risky sorsa?"

The mouse nodded "Perhaps, but she's already shown us she is more than capable of dealing with whatever challenges life sends her way." he assessed Najin quietly. "What interests me more is why you're so unwilling to let her go."

"It's to be expected." Kai re-entered carrying several bananas, one of her all time favourite foods. "We've grown so close over the years I'm practically a daughter he can care for without all the incurring financial and emotional hassle." She placed them in the case and snapped it shut as Najin looked amazed.

"Am I really that transparent?" he said at last.

"Yes you are." She kissed him on the cheek through the cloth of her mask "And you've more than served the role of a fatherly figure that I could look up to for support in my time here." She stepped back "But every father has to bid goodbye to his children at some point and now the time has come for you to let me go and take control of my own life with the guidance you've taught me." She looked at Jaku "That goes for both of you."

The mouse smiled "You speak with a wisdom beyond your years. Though I'd very much prefer to side with Najin and have you stay here, I will not keep you from your destiny." he looked out at the sky over the garden. "You should go now before the shadows grow too great."

"I will and you have my vow I'll always abide by the code of the ninja and never forget anyone here." Kai slung the case onto her back and picked up her lance.

"If you do not eventually find what you seek then you will always be welcome back.' The mouse rose and gave a shallow bow. 'Najin, see her to the front gate."

"Yes sorsa." the lion said as he and the lizard left.

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"Well though it pains me greatly to say it, I guess this is goodbye." there was a distinct hint of sadness in the lion's voice once they'd reached the gate.

"As touching as that is Najin, you have no need to worry. I'll be fine on my own." She said assuring him with her softly glowing blue eyes.

"Still, can't a metaphorical father be concerned for his metaphorical daughter?" He said as he kissed the gecko on the forehead.

"I guess so." She turned and stepped beyond the boundaries of the Temple. "Anaj ku Najin!" she yelled back.

"Anaj ku Kai Sikahr!" he called as the gates closed and the anti-Chasos barrier raised, shutting him in the sanctity of the Temple and her outside.

Kai took out the map and gazed to the dark forest in front of her.

All right Artauk, I'm yours now, hit me with everything you've got!

************************************************************************

• Some Time Later -

*Well this is quite an anti-climax.* she thought as the jaunt gate loomed up ahead. Her progress through the woods had been steady and uneventful. Nothing had attacked her and she'd seen no sign of any other life on the forest pathway aside from the standard unraised fauna.

*I knew Najin shouldn't have worried.*

She ascended the small stairway and examined the main part of the structure. In reality there wasn't really much to see, the whole thing being just a small area enclosed by several stone pillars and a roof overhead. Kai soon saw however that that was all that was needed. The roof was made of a chalky white tiling which reflected the glistening moonlight totally while the black stones that made up the pillars seemed to swallow it up without mercy. As simple as the gate was, with nature providing it's own special effects it exhibited an distinctly alien like aura.

Kai looked the whole thing over but there didn't appear to be anyone else around besides her and she couldn't see any symbols or engravings that might indicate how the thing worked. Sighing she rested her lance against a pillar and sat down, obviously she'd just have to wait until this Dark Mage was ready to show himself. Resigned to this she opened her travelling case and got out one of the bananas. In her haste to get moving the thought of getting something to eat hadn't crossed her mind and she was actually feeling rather hungry now. Kai chuckled as she felt her stomach growl, ninjas may know a lot about fighting and survival but even the elite among them had no defence against hunger.

Pulling her mask down she peeled back the yellow skin and bit off a piece. A feeling of sheer bliss shot through her as she chewed on the tasty fruit. She'd always had a weakness for the things, a fact Najin had been more than happy to exploit during her childhood. If she ever started to get sloppy in her hiju practice or didn't perform as well as normal in sparring sessions all he had to do was promise her a banana and she'd be back on top form. Kai later likened it to the age old trick of dangling a treat of some sort in front of a creature in order to entice it to keep going.

*Well it certainly worked on me.*

She smiled as she continued to eat.

*Listen to me, haven't even been gone for a day and already I'm thinking of home.*

True she did feel bad about severing ties with the only thing she could consider a family so suddenly but she had absolutely no desire to turn back. What she was doing felt right and there really was nothing left for her to learn from them. Now it was time to face the greatest challenge yet of getting out there and seeing if she could stand on her own two feet.

Soon Kai had finished the banana and pulled another one out of the case. She leaned against the pillar and sighed happily. It was a beautifully serene night, the sky was clear and full of shimmering stars while the forest was being lazily bathed underneath in the ethereal light of Artauk's twin moons. There was no sense of danger or distress, just endless tranquillity.

A nudge to her leg brought the gecko out of her thoughts. Standing next to her was an small unraised black reptile of some sort.

"Well hello there. Enjoying the peace around here?" she asked as she tried to get a better look at the thing. It was about a foot long with an odd arrow shaped head and a tail of no more than an inch or two, the shortest she'd ever seen on a lizard of any type. Kai got on all fours and extended a hand to touch it but the thing just moved back and bucked its head. As it did so she noticed two other strange things, it's eyes didn't look at all reptilian but instead appeared to be distinctly feline in nature and when its head bucked she caught the glint of moonlight reflecting off some sort of gold band or tiara around its head.

That got her suspicions aroused. Kai immediately recalled several times in her life when she happened to notice a black bird or mammal of some sort that seemed to be observing her out of the corner of their eye. Normally she paid them no heed but there were occasions where she'd been close enough to notice that they all appeared to be wearing identical gold bands around their heads. Kai put two and two together as she peeled the skin off her second banana.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you like that." She broke a piece of the fruit off and offered it to the creature. "Here, I bet you must be hungry." the reptile gazed at it with extreme caution and for a moment Kai was afraid it was going to run off. But eventually it inched forward and began to nibble on the banana chunk. "There you go." She said as it pulled the fruit from her hand onto the ground. "Eat up I've got plenty more." the lizard said as she broke off another piece, her eyes never leaving the creature's stubby tail.

"Oh and by the way," She placed the remainder on the ground. The creature looked up in time to see her now free hand shoot out like lightning and grab ahold of it. "Nice of you to finally turn up."

She rose to her feet, lifting the struggling creature off the ground. "I assume you already know who I am so I'll just skip right to the explanation part. There is a rather personal matter of mine which I have yearned to settle for many cycles and according to some reliable sources close to me you're the one who can help me put it to rest."

The creature stopped struggling and tilted its head to look at her. Seeing she wasn't backing down it closed its eyes. For moment all was still then suddenly the creature exploded into a huge cloud of the blackest smog imaginable. Kai leapt back and assumed a combat stance as the cloud grew to an immense size, shifted and then dispersed, revealing a six foot morph dressed in a bizarre compilation of plate armour and a sleeveless version of the normal wizard robes, all pitch black in colour. Its facial features were obscured by a heavy hood that shadowed all but its eyes and the gold band around its head, the only other means of determining species being the black feline tail that curled around its feet. Around its neck was a gold chain with a large medallion and its paws were clasped around a tall staff which ended in a sort of hook at the top with a large gaudy jewel mounted on it. Kai observed this new comer patiently before hearing a distinctly deep male voice coming from within the void under the hood. "Congratulations Kai, very few have ever been able to see through my shape-shifting abilities."

"Rael Rathiman? The Dark Mage?"

"Bingo!" He extended one of his gauntlet covered paws "I must say what a utter joy it is to finally introduce myself to you face to face."

Kai lowered her guard and shook hands. "So you're an acquaintance of my family, I mean my real family?"

"Have been for years. Ever since I swore allegiance to a travelling Sikahr it's been my duty to keep an eye on the newest members. I was in fact on my way back to Rencort after watching your initiation trials. I must say you acted with refreshingly brutal vigour."

"So then you know why I'm here?"

"How could I not? As acting babysitter I've been privy to many of your more private moments." He placed his paw on her shoulder. "Kai, I can't begin to count the number of times I watched you lie in bed at night staring forlornly out the window of your room, no idea where you'd come from or why you were at the temple. How often I wanted to fly in there to comfort you and explain everything. But to know that doing so could jeopardise the whole purpose of your becoming a ninja." Rathiman sighed softly "Let's just say you weren't the only one feeling down on those nights."

Kai couldn't help but smile at that. The times he spoke of had indeed been hard on her and it was nice knowing at least one morph out there had been empathising with her.

"Well I'm here now, fully trained and free from my previous confinement. There can't be anything holding you back from telling me everything now."

Rathiman averted his eyes as a hint of sadness briefly crossed behind them. He snapped his fingers and Kai's lance moved from where it rested back into her hand. "First things first. I need to return and get my apprentices started on their next project."

Kai observed the night sky. "Isn't it a little late to for teaching now?"

Rael examined her quizzically before bursting out laughing. "My dear gecko, I'm the Dark Mage of Artauk, all my powers come from the strength and the purity of the night. This is when I'm at my most powerful and therefore the optimum time to pass my knowledge onto others." He explained.

*Right I should have deduced as much.* She thought as she picked up her travelling case and pulled her mask back up. The two of them stepped inside the jaunt gate.

"So have you ever used one of these before?" the mage asked.

"No I can't say that I have."

"Alright well what's basically going to happen is I'm going to initiate the required spell then you'll feel a slight tingling sensation and then we'll rematerialise in my school."

"That's it?" she sounded cynical

"That's it." he replied. "Later on I'll show you how to work a gate without the aid of magik."

"All right then, do what you have to do."

Rathiman held his staff out horizontally. He closed his eyes and began chanting in a language Kai couldn't understand as he tapped the end with the jewel three times. For a moment nothing happened then two small clusters of shimmering orbs appeared, one at the crux of the hook and the other on the tip of the jewel itself. They burned like a bush of tiny stars as Rathiman repeated the spell on the staff's other end, producing two more clusters. Slowly returning the staff to a vertical position he shouted a single word and banged it on the gate's floor. The orbs dispersed and began whizzing around the inside of the pillars which began to glow and crackle as though being charged up with electricity. The orbs whirled around faster and faster, cocooning the lizard and the feline in a flurry of light.

*Not exactly safe for epileptics then.* Kai mused as the rest of the world was blotted out by white light and then cringed as the aforementioned tingly feeling crept over her. Except that it wasn't a natural feeling like someone was lightly touching her or tickling her, more like a whole colony of ants had been unleashed inside her bones and were frantically crawling around trying to find the necessary materials to build a nest. She shut her eyes tight and gripped her arms as both the sensation and the light increased in intensity until it was as if she was standing inside a supernovae while her insides were being ravaged for some massive construction project which was simultaneously being sabotaged by millions of scavengers.

*Mighty gods please let this be over soon!*

And then, mercifully as quickly as it had begun, it ceased.

Kai opened her eyes and found herself standing in a warm, well lit room furnished with many comfortable looking chairs and couches. The pleasant musk of incense wafted on the air as two smiling morphs, a skunkette dressed in a long black gown and a ferret attired in tunic and pants, stood waiting before them.

"Welcome back sir, I trust your journey was uneventful?" the ferret enquired.

"Completely Warren." Rathiman replied.

"Ah, and you must be Kai Sikahr." the skunk approached and kneeled. "I'm Nina, ila shai'humas, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you."

"And the same to you, I guess." the lizard was puzzled by this.

"Kai these are two of my most promising apprentices whom I've selected to be my personal assistants. They've been quite eager to meet you ever since I started telling them of your progress in becoming a ninja and, more importantly, your mastering of the Ice Toah inside you." The wizard turned to face the ferret "Have the others had dinner and assembled for tonight's lesson?"

"Ready and waiting for you master." Warren replied as Kai felt her stomach growl again at the mention of dinner. The one banana she'd eaten, as delicious as it had been, simply wasn't enough to satisfy her. Rathiman noticed and motioned to Nina, "Go tell the chefs to prepare something for Kai, she's been going non-stop all day and I suspect she's starting to run out of fuel."

"Of course sir, at once." She eagerly dashed out of the room.

"What about you?" she asked.

"If you remember from our earlier encounter girl, I've already eaten." the Dark Mage said cheerfully as he left the room.

************************************************************************

Kai observed Rathiman's nightly teachings from the dining room above the main training area as she wolfed down a wide variety of fresh meats, cheeses, vegetables and carmelised insects (another one of her favourites). Nina had chosen to sit with her and the two were having quite a colourful journey down their respective memory lanes.

"So then when we were learning about a spell called the Dark Bolt, Jonathan" she pointed to a small beaver below them "decided to try using this new artefact he'd gotten from some unknown source. Supposedly it was reputed to help augment and facilitate the flow of magical energy through your body during spell casting. The expected result of course is that your spells become easier to craft and their over all effects are greatly increased."

"Did it work?"

"Did it ever. He produced a bolt of such fine assembly and magnitude it vaporised half the roof. See what Jonathan wasn't aware of was that the closer the object was in relation to the user's body the stronger it's effects became. Standard practice is to have it float a few inches in front of you while you build up the spell but he tried it while his paw was clasped around it so he made more of an impact than expected."

"Rathiman must have been tickled pink."

"He was at first but then he saw a way to salvage the situation. We had a new skylight installed and now we don't have to use as much kerosene to illuminate the place because the moons do it for us."

"A very wise decision." She turned to regard the mage as he demonstrated some sort of magical barrier to his students. "Do you mind if I ask you a more personal question about him?"

"Sure I don't mind."

"Why can't I see his face? Back at the gate I thought it was due to the hood and the darkness." She looked down to regard the mage "But even here in this well lit room he's still just a pair of eyes staring out from a black hole."

"Oh, that's due to a small, accident he had many cycles ago, long before I enrolled here. Apparently he was researching a serum that would allow plants to grow during the night and when he tried making a batch of the stuff he got the ingredients wrong and it blew up in his face."

Kai was confused "How could such an authoritive and experienced wizard make such a trivial error?"

Nina smiled sweetly "For precisely that reason, he's gotten to be so good at his trade over the years he's become ever so slightly egotistical and he'll be the first to admit it. Since morphs come here from all around Artauk to learn the arts of night magik and his school has a very high turnout rate he tends to think of himself as being almost infallible. As you can imagine this clouds his judgement at times and that's when he starts making mistakes."

Kai nodded, she'd seen the nasty aftermath of arrogance many times before.

"Anyway, one of the side effects of this little mishap was that his head was rendered permanently invisible. He managed to close his eyes right before the blast though so they weren't affected. Now he wears the hood as a courtesy to others so they won't be freaked at the sight of an apparently headless feline."

"Did this little incident help to humble him in any way?"

"Yes but not for long. Since the change was only cosmetic he doesn't see it as a hinderance." Nina giggled "He just has someone else teach alchemy now so he can continue to strut his stuff in other ways."

*How typically male of him.*

Kai smiled as Warren approached. "Sorry to interrupt girls but Rathiman's finishing up for tonight. He wants to see all of us in the archives room immediately."

Kai wiped her mouth and adjusted her mask. "Lead the way."

************************************************************************

The archives room was a solid stone structure the size of a soccer field. Book cases lined all walls and dominating the floor was a massive circular pool, around fifteen feet in diameter, that was filled with a pale green liquid. At the four compass points were mounted four stoned arcs which stretched out over the pool and supported a large shard of some unknown crystal that was mounted in the center.

"Cool isn't it?" Nina asked.

"Yes very, flashy." Kai responded.

"I admit I dressed it up a bit to look more spectacular but I think it's been kept within reasonable standards." Rathiman said as he walked in. "Nina, Warren, I want you to leave us, this is a rather personal matter." he said. *Plus I'm not too sure how she's going to react to what I have to say and an enraged ice lizard probably isn't the safest thing to be around.*

"Yes master." the two bowed and left.

The feline closed the door and exhaled "Okay then Kai, you want to know about your family huh?"

"That has been a desire of mine for nearly my entire life." the lizard replied.

Rathiman looked into the pool and sighed heavily like some great emotional burden had dropped on him. "Alright then girl I'll tell you what you want to know but I'm afraid the story may not have the ending you desire."

"That matters little to me. I have to deal with my feelings as they come."

The mage sighed again and raised his paw. Uttering another incantation, an bolt of dark lightning leapt from his paw into the crystal shard which refracted it down into the pool. "I wish I had better news Kai, I really do."

"I'm not afraid to face the truth."

Wrathiman dipped his staff into the liquid and traced a symbol of some kind. (Kai noted that that it seemed to be unusually viscous in nature). The liquid began to bubble causing the symbol indentation to float towards the center where a vortex was forming. The vortex grew in size, gradually swallowing up some of the liquid while pushing the rest to the side. Kai watched with intrigue as the remaining liquid formed a thick swirling green ring around the edge of the pool. Gradually a distorted image began to form inside the ring. It looked like some sort of rocky outcrop with a powerfully built bi-pedal creature, somewhat simian in appearance, standing still looking menacing. Though Kai couldn't quite make out anything distinct she noticed it had cloven feet attached to avian like legs. It also seemed to be sporting a pair of tattered bat wings. The image sparked something in the gecko, though she couldn't put her finger on it somehow she felt like she should recognise this creature.

"Sorry, wrong picture." Rathiman emitted another bolt into the crystal and twisted his paw, almost as if fine tuning the thing. The image shifted to show a symbol consisting of two snarling gecko heads on serpentine like bodies coiled around a sword with a lightning bolt for a blade.

"For eons Kai, your family were renowned throughout Artauk for producing some of the greatest fighters on the planet. Nearly every generation spawned at least nine or ten formidable warriors and even those that didn't fight usually expressed lots of talent in other fields." Rathiman waved his paw over the pool and the image changed to show a female gecko, belly heavy with young, trudging through a rainforest.

"However what truly amazed everyone is how apt the Sikahrs were at tracking down the location of Toah havens. Most morphs usually only come across three or four in their entire lifetime but somehow you guys managed to find the legendary areas where hundreds of the little critters reside."

"Those must have been extremely hard to find. Toah usually don't congregate in any area other than those that rely entirely on their natural elemental affliction." Kai commented.

"Indeed, which is why you developed your longest standing tradition ever." In the pool the gecko was now lying in a dense patch of vegetation which was abundant with little green comets. Plant Toah spirits in their free roaming form. Kai watched as she laid her eggs and placed them in an area enclosed by inferno stones (volcanic rocks which generate heat) to help incubate them.

"Since hardly anything lives in a Toah haven, the dragoness who found you being an exception, the plan was for a female to get pregnant, go to the desired area and then tend to her brood there. With so many Toah around it was garunteed that a few of the young would be fused at birth and become carriers." In the image the gecko was looking down with motherly adoration as a few of her eggs began to hatch. The instant the little babies poked their heads out of the shell some of the Toah swooped down and surged into their tiny eyes and mouths, the process looking somewhat akin to them swallowing a cloud while crying in reverse.

*So that's what happened to me.* Kai thought.

"Afterwards, the hatchlings that had been successfully fused were given to the most prestigious fighting schools available and trained for combat. Acceptance was never a problem as training a member of your family afforded many schools increased stature in the league tables. Then when they'd come of age, the new warriors would be taken back to your family compound where they'd have a sort of reunion and be allowed to choose what to do with their lives."

"But why do such a thing? What is it my family did that would require successive generations of elite warriors?" Kai asked.

Rathiman looked at her, though she couldn't see it she guessed he was probably smiling. "That Kai, is what afforded the Sikahr's their legendary status.' he waved his paw and the image changed to show the menacing creature again, this time in better detail so that the gecko could finally identify it.

"Do you know what this is?" the mage asked.

"Yes, it's a geldorn, a creature born of pure hatred and wrath. One of the most ruthless and violent species on Artauk. They're all but extinct now if I remember."

"Exactly and Artauk has the Sikahr's to thank for the majority of that. Your family's business, if you could call it that, was to go into the world and hunt these barbarians, along with other monsters down wherever they sought to cause pain and suffering and destroy them. Many kingdoms and cities owe you their thanks." Rathiman chuckled "As do I as a matter of fact."

Kai went wide eyed as she felt a surge of pride shoot through her. So this was why she was being trained so thoroughly in the ways of the ninja. A purpose this noble must carry a truckload of risks. The feeling dissipated quickly however as another thought crept in.

"Well Rathiman that explains a lot and puts me more at ease but there's still one thing I don't understand."

The Dark Mage sighed heavily and fidgeted with his staff "I can only guess what."

"If I'm supposed to have been taken back at some point to meet my family then why wasn't I? Why was I just left at the Temple to fend for myself?"

Rathiman looked down into the pool, leaning his head against the crux of his staff. He seemed so sad all of a sudden. "Something went wrong. Well actually many things went wrong, most of them simultaneously I'm afraid."

"What?" Kai dreaded the answer. She'd noticed that the mage continually kept talking about her relatives in the past tense which couldn't bode well

"When Chasos began spreading through the lands many of the Toah havens became contaminated which limited your family's options. That was the first major blow. The second came a few years later."

He swallowed heavily

"After losing so many warriors to Chasos and the combined armies of Artauk's kingdoms, Xanathan Kryegore was forced to look for alternate means to replenish his forces. Since he is now the ruler of Ateir one option was to take dead souls and re-incarnate them as demons which he could control." He swallowed again "Or at least he thought he could control them."

Kai looked puzzled until her mind again put two and two together and came to the awful conclusion. "You don't mean he..."

Rathiman nodded solemnly "The slain geldorns were of an immense interest to him. In fact by now Kryegore's practically turned the whole race into demons. Some of them however weren't as obedient as the rest, they didn't want to listen to him, didn't like being told what to do, they desired only one thing."

Kai cast her eyes down as she whispered "Revenge."

"Yes they attacked your family's compound and everyone in it. Even worse they timed it when everybody had reconvened there to discuss how deal with the loss of the havens." His voice seethed with some distant hatred "And as if that wasn't enough salt in the wound they even took the liberty of harvesting a large quantity of Chasos which they let loose inside before the main assault. Even the Sikahrs stood little chance against that. I don't have all the details, nor do I really want them, but I'm afraid it's fairly safe to say, no one survived."

Kai's features wilted, she looked down at the floor as if trying to wrangle some degree of comfort from the marble. The Dark Mage rested a heavy paw on her shoulder as a solemn tear ran down his invisible cheek. "I'm, I'm so sorry Kai, when I found out I was just, devastated beyond belief. I felt like I'd failed you all ultimately."

Kai continued to stare at the floor. "Master Jaku?"

Rathiman looked away. "I made sure he never found out the truth. As the former guardian of your family I thought it was only proper that you hear it from me and only me."

Kai took hold of his paw and look at him with her glowing blue eyes. Eyes that exhibited immense sadness but also tremendous strength. "Rael Rathiman thank you for telling me this. As tragic as it is to hear I can at least take comfort in the fact that they died for a noble cause. None of this is your fault. Kryegore's to blame for resurrecting the geldorns, not you."

Rathiman snapped back with absolute astonishment.

*Gods they said she was strong in spirit but this is unthinkable!!*

"Well, thank YOU Kai Sikahr, you took that better than I expected."

Kai shook her head. "I never met any member of my family therefore I have no emotional attachment to them. I'm alive so the bloodline has not died out which means the Sikahr's still have a future."

Rathiman regarded her quietly.

*So strong, I'm amazed beyond belief.* And in the same mental breath, *She might just be what I need to help me with my other problem.*

"There was however one saving grace." He said. "A female, your mother, fell pregnant before the geldorns attacked. As a fail safe plan she hid one egg from her brood in each of the Toah havens that hadn't been consumed yet by the Chasos. If I felt distraught on the day after the assault you can only imagine the elation I felt when I learned you'd been discovered, and if you survived that could quite possibly mean you may have brothers and sisters that are alive as well."

"All of which goes to further my previous point: the geldorns tried to destroy us and failed. What matters now is that I make the most of the life I've been granted." She tightened the grip on her lance. "And if the Demon Master is bringing our arch rivals back for a second chance at causing destruction then I have a feeling my abilities are going to be needed more so now than ever."

Rathiman couldn't help but marvel at the determination in the gecko's voice.

"As much as I support that choice Kai, I must remind you that these aren't normal creatures any more. They're undead freaks powered by demon souls, they have higher endurance, greater strength and improved agility."

He walked back to the edge of the pool

"Therefore if you're going to take up the task of hunting them then I think you're going to need some extra muscle." He waved his paw over the pool again and the image changed to show a glittering jewel of some kind floating on top of a small pedestal in the midst of a blizzard. "This is the Arctic Diamond, currently it rests inside a shrine on the summit of Mt.Sinnak to the west of Pengar."

Kai examined the image. "It's quite a fine piece of craftsmanship."

The mage nodded. "Yep definitely some of the Demon Master's best work yet."

Kai looked up in surprise "Xanathan Kryegore CREATED this?"

"Of course didn't you know? One of Kryegore's greatest powers is his ability to harvest raw energy from the natural world and trap it inside these specially designed gems and crystals that he creates. 'Genesis Stones' as I believe he calls them. Once that's done he can use the energy for what ever purpose he deems necessary. It's an extremely unique power, one he alone knows how to do."

Kai turned back to the diamond and it was then she noticed that what she'd originally mistook for a blizzard was in fact an effect created by the diamond as it absorbed snow, wind and energy from its surroundings. "So Kryegore created this thing to harvest the essence of winter?"

"Everybody give Kai a cookie, she got it right first time." Rathiman smiled and began pacing around the room. "Now what most morphs don't know is this: while Xan's Genesis Stones are not limited by capacity and are almost impossible to destroy, they do have one crucial flaw than he, at least to my knowledge, has so far been unable to fix."

"Which is?"

"The stones themselves are amoral. They can just as easily be used for good as they can for evil, depending on the morph who possesses them." He snapped his fingers and the image dissipated allowing the green liquid to disperse back into the pool again. "Suffice to say if you could get a hold of the Arctic Diamond it would enhance your own ice abilities nearly to the level of a demi-god. No geldorn, living or reincarnated, could withstand that."

"IF I could get ahold of it. But I'm sure Xanathan must have it under extremely heavy guard."

Rathiman shook his head. "Kai that thing is on top of the fifth tallest mountain in Artauk. There's no way a demon of any race could survive up there for an extended period. As much as Kryegore would probably want to have a whole legion guarding that thing he unfortunately is having to trust the dumb luck that any morph going up there in the conventional way would be dead long before they ever got near it. Which only means it's even more of a perfect opportunity for you to get another boost to your powers."

Kai chewed the idea over for a few minutes. "How did you find out about this then?"

Rathiman's unseen smile grew bigger. "You're really good at picking up on these things Kai. Well apparently somewhere in the vicinity of Sinnakka, a vast city located near the base of the mountain, is a secret jaunt gate which can take you to various places around Sinnak, including an area just a couple miles shy of the summit. Supposedly it was originally put there eons ago as a pre-emptive means of checking for avalanches and rock slides and has since been forgotten about but I believe it should still work. One of my apprentices was visiting relatives there and kept hearing morph's talking about how a star had fallen from the sky onto the top of the mountain and that's why the mountain top appears to glow at night." He shrugged "I thought it was just folklore at first but a wizard always checks things just to be sure."

Kai thought about the prospect. An object like the Arctic Diamond would be of immense help to her in her quests and it seemed like a pretty straightforward deal. Perhaps rather a perilous and dangerous one but she was a ninja and no challenge was too great for her.

"All right then I'll do it!" she said as she ran a finger over the blades of her lance. "Since Kryegore brought back the monsters that took my family away from me then it's only fitting that he atone by providing me with something that can undo his error!" She cast her eyes to the feline. "The only thing I can see as holding me back is that I have no idea where Sinnakka is."

Rathiman didn't answer immediately, he just stood there and studied the young gecko. So strong and determined and such a beautiful specimen of a reptile too. Well developed body, short snout, pretty face, luscious green scales, lovely soft blue eyes.

*She really is the prime candidate for the job.*

"Well Kai, I think I can help you there too. But in order to do so I must ask that you aid me first in a task of upmost importance."

Kai smiled. "You have done more for me than was necessary Rathiman and we ninjas always repay our debts." She bowed to him "Tell me what it is you want and I will do it."

The Dark Mage took her by the hand. "I must warn you, the task I speak of is highly risky in nature and could put your life in extreme jeopardy. I'm only asking because you're the first I've seen that stands a chance of succeeding."

Kai nodded in understanding. "Risk and danger are things that every ninja must be familiar with. Do what you must Dark Mage, I'm not afraid."

The feline opened the door. "Then follow me."

************************************************************************

Rathiman led her to a room that had been stripped bare save for a luscious red carpet on the floor surrounded by dozens of burning candles. Drawn on it in white chalk was a huge glyph .

"What's this?" Kai enquired.

"Remember that apprentice I told you about? Well her name was Kitya Anor. She was a three tailed white kitsune who enrolled with me around ten cycles ago." The mage looked up as his mind got lost in the memory. "She was young, pretty and full of life. So wise and mature for her age, the most enthusiastic apprentice I'd ever taken on and for a while she was one of my most promising students." He reached inside the folds of his robe. "All that however came to an abrupt end when she encountered this." He pulled out a large silver dodecahedron decorated on all twelve faces with jagged blades and hooks. Kai wondered how anyone could possibly be expected to handle it without cutting themselves to the bone .

"What's that?"

"Truth be told I don't have a clue. It's another artefact Jonathan picked up in his spare time."

"The beaver who gave you the new skylight?"

"One and the same. Damn kid's heart is in the right place but his head is harder than stone." The feline carefully prodded the object on one face causing it to move inwards. He turned it over in his gauntlet covered paws and twisted another face on the opposite side by 90°. "All I know is it's some kind of puzzle. You twist it into different configurations and try to find a way to access the centre. Kitya had quite a fondness for puzzles so one night she decided to try and solve it."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say there's more dangers to this thing than just trying to manipulate it without severe self injury. Solving it opens a gateway to the Plane Of Larathaan."

"Larathaan" Kai repeated the name to herself. She knew of it. Larathaan was part of a place in Ateir, one of the cemetaru provinces. Every race on Artauk had a specified cemetaru where their souls went to after death and each one was divided into two areas: one for eternal salvation and the other for eternal damnation. The Plane of Larathaan was the damnation part of the cemetaru set aside for deceased demons, the 'hell' as it were, of the demon afterlife . However after Xanathan Kryegore took over Ateir, Larathaan was made open to the living to better facilitate his mass reincarnations of the dead. One of the problems of this re-opening was that it meant morph's of any race other than demon that were still alive could be enticed into entering the Plane and becoming trapped. As if that weren't bad enough, according to the commandments of Ateir, a living morph trapped in a different races' cemetaru was left at the mercy of it's inhabitants until they finally died and went to their respective lands. And in what was essentially demon hell central the inhabitant's idea of mercy was to subject the unfortunate soul to fates far too terrible to imagine until they finally gave out.

"Poor girl, she became trapped there like so many others?"

"I'm afraid so, it happened in this very room actually. I suspect this thing was created to trick more morphs into entering. For many cycles I searched for a way to try and get her out of that decrepit place and every time I ended up at a dead end. Then at last about a week ago I uncovered a loop hole in the Ateir commandments that might just prove to be the girl's salvation."

"How so?"

"Kitya used this thing with innocent intentions and no clue to what adverse effects it might have on her. According to the commandments if someone from the land of the living attempts to rescue her and succeeds, the demons by law must let her go this one time. I researched this further and discovered other cases where a morph was successfully pulled from Larathaan because of this loop hole." He gestured around the room. "And that is what I intend to do here. By reproducing the exact same conditions by which Kitya was pulled down onto the Plane I should be able to get a fix on her and open a gateway to get her out."

Kai narrowed her eyes. "A noble sentiment and one I commend you for, but it doesn't explain where I come into this."

Rathiman exhaled slowly.

*Well might as well give her the full story.*

"In order to ensure the highest rate of success the rescue must be attempted by someone strong in both physique and in spirit. Mainly because if the attempt fails the rescuer can end up trapped on the Plane as well. Your spirit, enhanced by the Toah in you, will act as a beacon to help guide her to you and then you'll face the difficult task of wrenching her free from the gateway I'll need to create with this" He gestured to the dodecahedron.

Kai nodded slowly. It was true she was all round a very strong individual. "Well that doesn't sound so bad."

"That's not all, the Larathaan demons won't let Kitya go unless they're distracted by the promise of even fresher meat, and a beautiful gecko like you should be more than sufficient to turn heads."

He deliberately turned his own away to avoid the gecko's gaze. "Unfortunately the only way to get them to notice you is if you prove yourself willing to cater to their more...perverted desires."

The lizard's eyes went wide. "You mean,"

"Yes, you'll need to lure them in with sex. Not actual sex mind you, masturbation will suffice, the main thing is they need to smell arousal. That'll hopefully distract them and confuse them long enough to allow Kitya to move away and escape. Now as soon as that happens they will of course be alerted that something is wrong but by then you'll hopefully have pulled her out and I can seal the gateway."

Rathiman paused to let Kai digest this. The lizard looked down at herself and ran a hand down her side. Though this was stepping a little out of her boundaries she again had to admit the black feline was right. She was very attractive and her assets would no doubt set many hearts, demon or otherwise, aflutter.

"Well that is a bit off the beaten track but it's nothing I can't handle."

Rathiman massaged his brow, dreading what he had to say next. "There's one final point: I also discovered that while solving the puzzle alone will get someone trapped, pulling them out requires both solving the puzzle and a blood sacrifice since blood, being a life giving liquid, counteracts the influence of the dead."

Kai couldn't stop herself from snapping at that. "WHAT!?"

Rathiman held his paws up in a defensive gesture. "Don't worry it doesn't have to be yours, any blood will do. I've already got some from the kitchens." he quickly assured. "That said however, the fact remains that both this device and you are going to have to be pretty thoroughly drenched in order for this to work properly. If you attempt this while clean then the Larathaan retrievers will have little difficulty in pulling you down to join Kitya."

Kai stared piercingly at the feline for a moment before letting up. It was a cast iron law of the ninja code to provide aid wherever possible and a little blood play was certainly no grounds for recanting.

"Your sure there's nothing else we need?"

"No, I swear that's it."

"Fine, then let's get this over with." She said as she reached up to undo her mask.

************************************************************************

• Half a lunar movement later -

"All right, I've configured this thing as best I can. One more twist and this place is going to look like something out of a satanic followers worst nightmare." Rathiman said.

"How long will it take you to close the gate once I've got Kitya?" She said as she unlaced her gi and let it drop to the floor. Nina picked it up and neatly folded it on top of her other clothes.

"Mere seconds. If the gods are smiling on us at all she'll be relatively alone."

*The operative word there again being 'IF' .*

Kai slipped off her panties and handed them to Nina. Taking a moment to stretch the lizard turned to face the Dark Mage. "Well I'm as ready as I'll ever be. How is this going to work?"

"Simple, I open the gateway, you lie down there on the glyph I drew out."

He indicated the chalked part of the carpet.

"According to my research that'll act as a barrier and prevent the portal from forming underneath you while you, well,"

"Go on you can say it."

"Pleasure yourself. When you get close to climaxing let me know and Warren will splash you with the blood. That will prevent the retrievers from dragging you down while your wrenching Kitya free from Larathaan. Understand?"

Kai nodded and stepped onto the chalk symbol. As she lay down she couldn't help noticing Warren and Nina admiring her lithe nude form, though they quickly averted their gaze when she looked at them.

"Don't be embarrassed, go ahead and watch. I don't mind." she smiled, she had no qualms about her nakedness but it was still a nice feeling that two coming of age morphs were healthily lusting after her.

*Well if I die at least I can do so knowing someone appreciated what I was doing.*

She grabbed two of the pillows (they'd been added to make her more comfortable) and put one under her head and the other under her rump. Taking a moment to compose herself she turned to the Dark Mage.

"Okay go ahead."

Warren brought over a tub of blood collected from the various small creatures that were butchered and cooked in the kitchens. Rathiman soaked the puzzle thoroughly in it before gripping it and rotating one of the faces 45°. The dodecahedron glowed a bright orange and little bolts of lighting began forming on its faces, curving around them like snakes before suddenly lashing out and striking the floor as Wrathiman continued in his manipulations.

Kai turned her head to look at the carpet and saw a neon orange circle was forming around the glyph under her. Right before her eyes it grew into a larger sized ring and spread out, the carpet seeming to melt away as the candle flames flared in intensity, growing to the size normally produced by outdoor torches. She soon found herself lying on the symbol which floated above a swirling dirty pink mass of ethereal clouds.

"Okay girl, you're on."

Kai spread her legs and slow traced a finger down to her pussy lips. Closing her eyes she gently began to rub up and down as her mind harked back for some suitably erotic image to focus on. She could come up with a few, a couple featuring a cute boy or girl trainee she'd happened to catch sight of going into the temple's hot springs, a rather too graphic romance novel she'd managed to dig up in the library, meeting up with a nice mammoth sized dragon.

*Ah yes there's something we can work with. Let's focus on that.*

Kai did so and surprisingly found herself starting to get wet from the idea. She stroked and flicked her clit as her other hand trekked north to fondle a breast. Beneath her she could sort of make out a cacophony of inhumane screams and roars as only god knows what went on in Larathaan. She pushed this out of her mind and instead decided to focus on her more immediate surroundings. The carpet, at least what remained of it, was thick and soft, her breast felt large and firm in her hand and so wonderful to caress. She opened her eyes and had to stifle a giggle when she saw Nina, wide eyed and with her mouth hanging open while Warren was trying hard to hide a growing bulge in his pants.

*That's it girl, positive thinking.*

Kai moaned softly as one hand pinched and tweaked her nipple while the other slowly eased into her private chambers and continue its ministrations. Underneath the sounds grew louder so Kai decided to blot out the rest of the world and instead just let her mind run wild with the previously suggested fantasy. It was one of her favourites and never failed to get her off:

*A massive black and red dragon, maybe twenty five to thirty feet long. Lean, all muscle build, long snout, gentle eyes. (she'd also concocted a female version of this fantasy.). He sneaks into my room late at night. I am returning from the hot springs and am clad in nothing more than a towel. He watches as I dry off and leave the towel on the floor. His huge, thick cock begins to stir as I lie down on my belly, tail facing towards him, letting him see all my intimate areas.*

Kai looked down at her pussy as she continued to stroke, it looked so sweet and pretty nestled perfectly in the nest of green scales. She pushed two more fingers inside and moaned even louder.

*I take a book out from under my bed and begin to read as my tail flips over my back, exposing me even more. He creeps closer for a better look, stroking his wonderfully immense erection. Unfortunately he is so busy ogling me he gets tangled up in his tail and slips, causing him to crash onto the floor. I turn in fright thinking it's a thief or maybe an assassin and sigh in relief when I see it's him. His cock is a little bruised but still rock hard. I gasp and start to drool when I see how massive it is, over six feet long, so beautiful and tempting.*

*"Here let me help you with that." I say as I get down and start to stroke the bruised area with my hands trying to get the swelling to go down.*

*He stretches out on the soft carpet and sighs in contentment at my gentle ministrations. Seeing it has the desired effect I get a little more frisky, rubbing and scratching the warm smooth flesh, eliciting a loud moan from him as precum starts to leak out of the head and run all over my hands. I draw one back and lick it. The pre tastes tangy but sweet also so I wrap my arms around his phallus and begin to lick it all up. He moans as more flows out and drips all over my body. I continue to lick and caress, getting more and more messy and loving every minute of it.*

*After keeping this up for a good ten minutes I let go of his cock and get down on my knees so my face is level with his perfectly shaped balls. They're huge and smell so fragrant. I lovingly caress one and kiss it tenderly. He growls in approval so I kiss it again and again and again, doing a little sucking action with my lips each time. I flick my tounge out and use the tip to tickle his sac a little. He giggles slightly as I move to the other one and smother that one with kisses too. As I'm doing this his tail flicks around and begins to stroke along my cunt causing me to moan along with him. Getting back on my feet I grab his tail and stuff as much of it as I can fit into my pussy.*

Kai brought her tail around and slowly inserted the tip into her dripping hole. Slowly she started thrusting it in and out while her hands kept busy with fondling her breasts.

*Relishing the feeling of it writhing around inside me I step around to the other side and climb onto his belly so he can see me. By now his cock is streaming pre like a river and I'm more than happy to step back under the flow. It feels so soothing having his pre run down my body, like a warm, sticky, tasty water fall. I want him to watch this, want him to see his fluids run in rivlets down my back, over my tail and into the crack of my ass. I wrap my arms around his magnificent shaft again and begin licking and stoking like my life depends on it. He growls and his tail thrashes wildly in my cunt, rubbing against all the right spots and sending me straight into heaven. I speed up my movements, I want him to shower me with his cum, I want to be able to bathe in it, drink it, be absolutely drenched in it. As I continue one of his claws finds its way to my tail hole, it slowly and gently traces along my pucker which feels incredible. Picking up on this he pops the claw into his mouth before slowly and gently inserting it into my anus, which feels even better. Now with the tail thrashing and finger fucking it isn't long before I reach my orgasm. Crying out in absolute ecstasy I instinctively squeeze his cock as a reflex action which sets him off too. It's a truly wonderful sight to behold, giant spurts of thick milky cum shooting out like geysers and raining down on me. It gets in my hair, my face, my chest, my stomach, everywhere, and there's gallons of the stuff! He just keeps cumming and cumming and I feel on top of the world as I lie on his belly and get completely soaked in wonderful tasty dragon seed.*

"All right do it Warren she's almost there!"

Kai snapped out of her fantasy as the ferret, thankful for an opportunity to stop ogling the gecko, dumped a bucket of sticky liquid over her. Sadly it was blood and not dragon cum but it was sufficient to help her finally push herself over the edge. It was a good orgasm but sadly not one she'd be allowed to enjoy. As soon as the lizard hit her peak a pair of white furred paws reached out of the pink mirth underneath and grabbed onto her wrist. Remembering where she was, Kai quickly latched on with her other hand and pulled with all her might. A muzzle soon emerged from the mirth followed by the rest of Kitya's head. She looked dishevelled and exhausted but her eyes betrayed at least a basic understanding of what was going on. Kai wrapped the kitsune's arms around her neck as she hooked her own arms under her shoulders and pulled again.

"Come on Kai, you can do it!" Nina cheered.

She managed to get Kitya about half way out, smearing a great deal of blood all over the both of them in the process, before the mirth suddenly seemed to come alive and formed into several long tentacles. Each was topped with a deformed cloven hand that quickly latched onto the two morphs and yanked downwards.

"Dammit they're onto you! PULL KAI PULL!!" Rathiman yelled.

*Believe me I am!*

The lizard grabbed onto Kitya's waist and leaned backwards, trying to use their combined weight and the law of gravity to her advantage. More tentacles formed and wrapped around her. Mercifully however the blood covering her prevented them from maintaining a firm grip which would have spelt certain doom since she couldn't stand up with them pulling her down into the mirth.

"Rathiman keep these things off me!"

"I can't. There's no way I'd be able to avoid hitting you in the process."

Kai groaned in aggravation. Her main problem was that Kitya was either too tired or too confused to help and the tentacles had the duel advantage of numbers and not being similarly burdened. She bared her claws and slashed at the ones around her legs. The attack cut them to shreds and she was able to pull herself into a crouching position. The remaining tentacles, sensing they were losing this little game of tug o' war left the lizard and latched onto Kitya. The move caught Kai off guard and she almost lost her hold on the kitsune.

"KITYA NO!" Warren shouted. he attempted to rush forward and aid the gecko but Rathiman held him back.

"Don't Warren, they'll just send more retrievers to drag you down too!" He watched helplessly "And Kai's more than outnumbered as it is."

Kai grabbed the kitsune by the buttocks and grit her teeth. Loosening the joints in her hips she prepared to pull a move termed 'Reed In the Wind'. The gecko threw all of her body backwards, bending over just like a reed (hence the name) dragging Kitya with her and at last wrenching her completely out of the mirth. She rolled the two of them over and began ripping the tentacles off of the kitsune. Kitya offered no resistance as Kai slashed and tore at the retrievers. Large pieces of ethereal matter landed everywhere and disappeared in smoke as the gecko pulled the last few off and threw them back into the mirth.

"Okay close it!" she yelled to the feline.

The mage held out the artefact and began twisting it back into it's original shape, his fingers nimbly dancing around the razor blades and hooks. Lightning bolts shot out everywhere and the gateway linking Larathaan to Rencort began to shrink. Kai sighed in relief as other areas of the carpet began to reappear and the candle flames died down. She rolled her and Kitya off of the chalk symbol and onto a larger section as the pink mirth slowly vanished from sight.

"Oh gods, KAI LOOK OUT!" Nina screamed.

The lizard looked up and saw the remaining tentacles were now merging into one mammoth titan that was heading right for them. The cloven hand on the end opened and ready to make a final grab for the whole prize.

"That thing's too big, I can't finish the configuration with it still holding the gate open!" Rathiman groaned

Kai thought fast, her weapons were by the door and while Nina and Warren seemed reliable enough kids she doubted they could act as fast on the spur of the moment as she could.

Only one option left then.

"Oh no you don't!" her eyes flared like fire and her rune patterns glowed with equal intensity as Kai charged up an ice blast and froze the hand into a solid chunk. The tentacle tried to pull back but found itself weighed down by the ice block on top. Watching carefully Kai primed and launched a continuous stream of ice at the body, freezing it in place. With it now immobilised Kai jumped off the carpet and scaled up the nearby wall to the ceiling.

"Nina, get out of the way!" she yelled.

The skunkette leapt to one side as Kai dropped down next to her clothes and ripped the shurikin discus from her belt. Extending the blades she took aim and slung it at the ice mass with flawless precision. The discus found its mark and smashed right through the bottom part of the tentacle causing it to topple over backwards and shatter into a million pieces.

Rathiman shot her a quick look of thanks and completed the dodecahedron, causing the gate to shrink to a pinpoint and vanish. The sealing blew several of the candles out and then all was again calm.

"Hooray we did it!" Nina was ecstatic.

"Yes, we certainly did." Warren said quietly. "Though after watching that it's gonna be a long time before I can sleep properly again."

Kai just smiled and held out her hand as the shurikin discus returned to nestle safely in her palm. She retracted the blades and contemplated it with intrigue. "To think I almost turned down the offer to have this thing made."

"Wouldn't have served you well in the long run if you had." Rathiman said. "That's another tradition of your family, once a Sikahr warrior has come of age, they're given a special shurikin discus to carry on their person at all times. It's widely recognised as a sort of symbol of your lineage, as long as you have that thing with you everyone in power will know who you are and afford you the proper respect."

Kai looked back at the discus with mild amusement. "So THAT'S why Najin was so insistent. Very courteous of him."

She clipped it back on her belt and walked over to the quivering Kitya. Slowly she ran a hand over the fringe of her hair, soothing her as Kitya tried pathetically to sit upright.

"Just relax girl, you're safe now." the Dark Mage knelt down beside her. Kai gently took hold of her arms and helped the weak and tired kitsune up into a sitting postion as she tried to adjust to the source of the voice. "M-M-Master Rathiman?"

"Right here." He took hold of her paw. "It's okay, you're free from Larathaan."

Kitya's stared bleary eyed and unsure at the mage for a moment before her face dissolved into pure and utter joy. "Master it is you! It is you!"

She threw her arms around the feline and hugged him. "I knew you'd try to save me some day!"

"Course, wouldn't be a very good teacher if I just stood by while deceased unclean demons had their way with my students." He sounded like he was going to cry with relief. "Though the one you should really be thanking is Kai, she did all the manual labour. I just held the door open for her."

Kitya turned and saw the lizard. "Oh yes it was you that pulled me out." She embraced her "Thank you, I am in your debt." She hugged her tightly causing Rathiman to chuckle.

"She's still as affectionate as ever." he said.

"Your thanks is unnecessary, I was merely aiding someone in need as is within the code of the ninja."

Kitya looked amazed "You're a ninja?"

"Yes, I'll explain everything to you, but first I think we need to get cleaned up." She looked down in contempt at the sticky clotting blood that was all over her scales and in the kitsune's fur as well.

Rathiman nodded in agreement "Warren, show them to the private bathing area please."

"Of course master." The ferret walked out of the room as the lizard scooped Kitya up into her arms and followed behind.

"What about that?" Nina pointed at the artefact.

"Well first I'm going to take this to the smith's and have it melted down into slag. Then we're going to go into my study and teleport the remains into the middle of the ocean. If that doesn't get rid of this thing then, well, it won't be our problem anymore." Rathiman replied

"I'll go prepare the gate." The skunk trotted off.

************************************************************************

Warren laid out sponges, cloth, soap and a selection of bath salts made to help relieve strain and promote healing as Kai stepped into the bath and laid Kitya down in the warm tempid waters. "Okay, when you're done in there just pull on this rope to drain the tub." The ferret said indicating a long rope hanging against the wall. "I'll come back with robes and towels after I make sure the other apprentices are bedded down for the night."

"Thank you Warren. We'll be fine until then."

He nodded and quickly left.

Kai set Kitya on a shelf cut into the shallow area of the tub and then reached for the salts. Popping the lid off she dumped half the jar into the water around the kitsune before setting it aside and picking up the sponge and soap.

"Warm"

Kai looked back at the kitsune. "Pardon?"

"This water feels so warm, after all the cycles down, there," She gestured to the bottom of the tub "I didn't think I'd ever again experience the sensation of feeling warm and, well clean." she looked the gecko up and down. Her hair was matted and sticky with blood, her scales were similarly stained with the stuff and there were large patches of dried cum on the insides of her legs.

"You look like an absolute mess" She said smiling weakly at her.

"You're not in such a good shape either." the lizard smiled back as she got out of the bath and sat down next to where Kitya was lying. She took the cloth and lathered it up before gently propping the kitsune up and scrubbing at her fur trying to loosen the blood matted in it. Kitya felt a little murr of contentment escape her lips as she felt the cloth run over her breasts and stomach, the gentle tickle of the soap suds helping to remind her that unlike the thousands of times before this wasn't a dream. She really was free from the Plane, free from the endless rape, free from the degradation, free from every other horrid monstrosity she'd been subjected to for what seemed like eons.

There was of course the little matter of that other thing that had apparently come back with her, but she'd deal with it later.

Right now she let herself relax and surrendered to the gecko as she carefully scrubbed over every inch of her body. She grimaced a little when Kai got down to her stomach where the majority of the blood had already clotted and was pulling at the skin under her fur. Kai must have noticed as she slowed down and tried to proceed as gently as possible.

"Sorry this'll be over soon." she said.

"Don't worry about it, every twinge of pain just proves I'm back among the living. That at last I don't have to continually quake in fear and desperation anymore."

Kai looked the kitsune over with concern. "What happened to you down there?"

"Well take the most extreme forms of debauchery and humiliation you can think of and magnify them a hundred times."

Kai thought about this as she helped Kitya submerge herself under the water.

"Okay." she said as she brought her back up.

"That's hen's teeth to what I had to go through. The inhabitants of the Plane could re-write the whole definition of extreme." She sighed heavily "Unlike us they're no longer inhibited by the limits of the physical body so no concept, however deranged, is impossible to them."

*Probably why Xanathan's expressed such an interest in them.* Kai thought as she lathered the kitsune up again.

"What did they do to you?"

"Everything." Kitya replied mournfully. "Stuff I knew how to do, stuff I had to be taught how to do, stuff I didn't think I was even capable of doing, stuff I never ever want to learn how to do. And what's more they never stopped, I mean it wasn't so bad at first but when I tired out they just kept force feeding me vitality solutions and the like until I just passed out and then they continued on regardless not even caring if they hurt or injured me. They even..." Kitya stopped and winced as tears began spilling down her cheeks. "Sorry I'm really not that comfortable talking about this now."

"I understand, please accept my apologies." Kai said thinking to herself. *Seems genuine enough, but I can't help feeling she's hiding something.*

Kitya wiped her eyes and shook her head. "It's all right. I'm out now and unless I do something incredibly stupid they can't take me back." She smiled again at the lizard. "And I have you to thank for giving me a second chance."

"It was my duty. One I gladly accepted upon being initiated as a ninja of the Laniian Order." Kai explained as she helped the kitsune dunk again. The blood proved to be easier to shift after the soap had had a chance to soften it.

"When was that?"

The lizard averted her gaze. "About six sun movements and four lunar movements ago." Kitya looked at her quizzically and giggled "What you just went through the ceremony and then packed up and left?" Kai nodded and explained about her desire to find out about her family and how she had tracked Rathiman down to discover the horrible truth. Kitya went wide eyed and her smile faded as she got to the part about the geldorns attacking the Sikahr compound and how her mother had hidden her eggs away as a last ditched attempt to save the blood line.

"Oh Kai, I'm so sorry." she said when the gecko was finished.

"It's of little matter. I never met any of them so there's really no love lost. I still feel for them and wish to see justice be done but thankfully I can do it with a clear mind that's not bogged down by anger or a need for revenge."

"Funny how fate works sometimes." Kitya looked down and saw Kai had managed to get most of the blood off her. The rest would just flake off after she dried. "Thanks for cleaning me."

"You're welcome." Kai said as she set down the cloth.

"Want me to clean you now?" the kitsune asked nonchalantly. "I think I have the strength to move after soaking in those salts."

Kai looked down and saw she was still pretty dirty. "If you insist."

Kitya moved out of the way as she lay down in the water, relishing how soothing it felt on her scales. "How does this stay warm all the time?"

Kitya smiled "Master Rathiman developed an underground heating system involving pipes and furnaces powered by magical self sustaining flames. They can last for up to three whole passages before he has to relight them."

Kai listened with intrigue "I thought wizards generally didn't trust the methods and ways of engineering."

"Yes well the Dark Mage never has been fond of following the norm of his profession. That's why morph's revere him so much, he's not afraid to be an individual." Kitya gently scrubbed the blood off of Kai's stomach. "By the way, how did you manage to freeze that Larathaan retreiver that tried to grab us? I've never seen anyone do that before."

"I'm an Ice Toah carrier as well as a ninja." she explained.

"Wow, your family really wanted you to be prepared for life huh?"

"Yes and for that I thank them. Even if they didn't get to see me grow up at least they tried to stack the odds of survival in my favour."

Kitya nodded as she moved down to the gecko's thighs, noting how caked they were in dried cum and her pussy lips were still swollen. "Kai can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Did you have to masturbate yourself to pull me out?"

"Yes I did. Rathiman said it would distract the demons and allow you to slip out of their grasp and escape."

"He was right. Actually it was kind of amusing in a way, here they'd taken me out of my chains ready to use me like they'd been doing for so long I lost count and then suddenly they just stopped, alerted by the smell of something still new I guess. I wriggled free and just flew like hell towards where I sensed the gateway and your aura . The rest you know about."

Flew? Kai turned her head at the word but Kitya didn't seem to notice the slip up as she looked down at the gecko. "So do you want to take care of this or should I?" she gestured to her thighs.

Kai thought for a moment. "You've been doing fine so far, I see no reason to stop now."

She spread her legs and Kitya started to scrub the cum off, feeling a twinge of excitement as she did so. The kitsune couldn't help staring at Kai's pussy as she cleaned. It was still open slightly and Kitya could guess from what when she saw the tip of her tail. The lips glistened in the moonlight from being in the warm bath water, quivering slightly with anticipation. Kitya suddenly felt an urge to touch them, which kinda surprised her as she'd just gone through almost ten cycles of sexual assault, but still, she felt Kai wouldn't object and certainly wouldn't force her to do anything hurtful. Kitya decided against it finally, it was really getting late and she was still so very tired. "Kai, I think I'm about done here."

"That took less time than I expected."

The kitsune smiled "That's what I love about scales, they're so much easier to clean than fur." she stood up "Now turn around and I'll do your hair too."

The lizard obediently did so and Kitya undid her ponytail. Kai dunked her head under the water getting her hair wet before sitting up and letting Kitya work a specially treated shampoo into it.

"Your hair is so long and lovely." She commented as she finished lathering and Kai dunked her head again washing the blood out.

"Okay that's all of it. Let's get out." Kai stood up causing Kitya to gasp. She was looking at the lizard in all her glory. Water droplets clinging to her green scales, her hair, now undone, reaching all the way down to her knees, the outlines of muscle showing from under her scales as she moved to step out of the tub, the slight bounce of her well proportioned breasts.

"Kai, hold it a minute." she pleaded.

The lizard stopped and turned to face her. "What is it Kitya?"

The kitsune went over and wrapped her arms tightly around the gecko. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

"Many have, I've noticed it myself at times."

"Well it's true and on top of that you're strong and understanding too." She wrapped her three bushy tails around them both. "I need to ask a favour Kai, will you sleep with me tonight? After all that I've been through I can only imagine the horrific nightmares that are going to haunt me as a result and somehow you just make me feel safe." She looked up into the lizard's eyes. "Please, share my bed with me?"

Kai smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

Kitya sighed and lay her head back down just wanting to revel in the sensation of being close to someone she could trust as the tears flowed freely from her eyes. Kai looked down at the kitsune and held her lovingly. She knew what Kitya needed right now was a feeling of security and safety and she was more than happy to provide it for her. The two stayed that way for a while until Kitya again raised her head wanting to again express her gratitude to the lizard but after locking eyes with her she found it unnecessary. Instead Kitya just let herself get lost in the gentle blue glow of Kai's Toah enhanced eyes. They helped soothe and calm the kitsune, assuring her she wasn't in any danger anymore and that she could let herself go, an idea she seemed to be subconsciously taking to heart as Kitya noticed her muzzle was slowly nearing Kai's snout.

"Uh Kai?"

"Shhh, it's alright, you can kiss me if you want."

Kitya nodded and inched forward a bit more to let their lips make contact. It was a simple kiss at the best but to both kitsune and gecko it felt like the perfect conclusion to the day.

"Err...uhmm is this a bad time?"

The two women turned to see Warren carrying a huge pile of towels in one paw with two robes hanging from the other. Kai shook her head and reached over to drain the tub. "Well, Rathiman's had two of the guest rooms made up for you. He insisted that they be the two with queen sized beds so you should be nice and comfy."

"Thank you Warren but we'll just be needing one tonight." Kai said as they stepped out and picked two of the towels up.

"Right, then, I'll just..uh..leave these here and...erm...inform the house keeping staff." he dropped the remaining towels and robes and darted out as Kitya looked on confused.

"What was all that about?"

"It's a common thing among pre-deuce cyclers. They've reached the point where their mind still says no to girls but their body has started to say 'Oh Yes!!'."

The two laughed quietly as they went inside.

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• The Next Morning -

*Gods what a way to start each day, feeling like absolute hell!*

Rathiman grumbled as he slipped his sleeveless robe on over his armour. Mornings were always tough on the Dark Mage, with the rise of dawn his powers were considerably weakened and after everything that had gone on the night before he was feeling particularly lethargic.

*What I'd give to go back to Erenhied, blissful darkness for thirty passages straight.*

Indeed it was a trial going to bed when he felt the best only to wake up feeling the worst but over the many, many cycles he'd found ways to adjust and besides today heralded a much brighter out look on the future. He'd finally met and explained everything to Kai, Kitya was now safely out of Larathaan, how could he feel down about anything today? A silky smile crossed the feline's invisible lips as he cupped his paws into the dish of water that had been brought in for him and splashed his face. He looked at himself in a mirror hanging on his bedroom wall, watching with mild amusement as his features were briefly revealed by the water running down them before again vanishing into nothingness. He chuckled and snapped his fingers, causing his golden head band to levitate up from the night stand and move to settle perfectly on his brow.

*Maybe not as cosmically powerful as before but I've still got the moves.*

He drew the hood over his head and adjusted it before opening his bedroom doors to find Nina standing at attention.

"Good morning master. I trust you slept well?" the eager little skunkette bowed.

"As well as any morph that relies on the night and gets sapped by the day could. Where's Kai?"

"She's been out meditating in the gardens since early. I was just about to ask her to breakfast before I heard the usual groans and curses that herald your awakening."

Rathiman had to laugh at that. Much as he tried he simply was not a morning cat. "I think I'll go see her first. Inform the kitchen staff we'll be having breakfast in my study."

"Of course sir." she trotted happily off.

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Rathiman found Kai exactly where Nina said she'd be. She was dressed again in her full ninja gear and sitting cross legged on the grass, eyes closed in deep meditation. "Oheiu guzumasu Kai." He said as he slowly walked out next to her and sat down. "So how is it out here?"

"Quite soothing." She inhaled slowly "The air smells clean and everything is calm. It's almost better than the Temple gardens."

Rathiman cocked an eyebrow "What's missing?"

"A fountain or a brook of some kind. You should really have one put in, running water is very good for helping the mind to focus."

The mage surveyed his surroundings. "I'll give it some thought. How'd Kitya do last night?"

"Not quite as badly as I expected. She experienced a considerable amount of nightmares and terror sweats but I helped her to get through it."

Rathiman reached across and patted her shoulder "You're a true testament to your lineage, Kai."

"I'm merely doing what any pure hearted morph would do." Her head leaned forward. "Though I must admit there's something that doesn't fit in about your apprentice."

The eyebrow went up again "What do you mean?"

"While I have no doubts the stuff she was subjected to on the Plane of Larathaan were beyond the limits of imagination, and truth be told I'd just as soon not have her tell me about them, I suspect something else happened to her down there as well, something she hesitated to mention last night."

"You believe she's taking creative liberties with the truth?"

"Not so much that, just something that she's afraid might change our opinion of her."

Rathiman folded his paws and thought the matter over as he watched the lizard seemingly study the day with closed eyes. "I'll bring it up after breakfast." he said rising to his feet. "Which by the way is now being served, you coming or not?"

Kai smiled under her mask. "No ninja has ever called hunger 'master' before." She opened her eyes and rose to follow.

************************************************************************

Breakfast was a cheerful affair, everyone talked and ate heartily, none more so than Kitya (Kai had wanted to talk to her as soon as possible but even she had to admit the matter could wait until she'd polished off the bowl of bananas set out for her). After an hour or so of non-stop noshing, the kitsune sat back and patted her stomach. "Thanks everyone, I haven't eaten that well in ages."

"Hey we're just glad to see you're still your normal self." Nina said as she sipped her tea. The comment was intended to be innocent and off the cuff, but Kai couldn't help noticing the momentary wince from the kitsune when it was uttered.

Well best bring it up now and be done with it.

"Kitya what's wrong?" the lizard said trying to sound non-threatening.

"Huh what do you mean?" Kitya replied.

Kai set her teacup down and looked her straight in the face. "Kitya I know there's something you're not telling us. I saw the way you winced just now at Nina's remark, much in the same way you did when I asked you last night in the bath. Now please understand I'm not trying to interrogate you, I just want to know if there's anything else we should be made aware of."

Rathiman closed his eyes "Kai do you mind? She just came back from one of the worst places on Artauk. Can't you be a little more tactful when you ask that?"

Kitya just held up her paw "No master, she has a right to know the whole truth, as do all of you. I'm not trying to hide, I was just too tired and too euphoric last night to say it."

She stood up. "The truth is in order that I could be a better sex servant to the demons in Larathaan, they, did things to me there."

"Well of course, you've already said that." Warren said.

"No I mean they did THINGS to me. Things which I'm afraid were a little more permanent than I would've liked."

She turned to Nina. "You said I'm still my normal self, well the truth is I'm not. I went in as a kitsune but now I'm something else. Something less than pure."

The skunkette looked her up and down confused. "You look the same to me."

Kitya sighed in aggravation; clearly she wasn't going to be able to explain this in words. "Okay look I can show you what I mean but first I need you all to understand one thing. That when you get down to it I'm still the same Kitya Anor you knew before and what ever happens I won't ever attempt to hurt you in any way."

Rathiman nodded "Go ahead my dear apprentice, no matter what they did, you have my vow it won't change how we feel about you."

Kitya smiled at the Dark Mage. His words comforted her and helped ease the apprehension she felt at what she was about to do.

"All right then." She untied the robe she was wearing and let it drop to the floor.

"Errm, Kitya what are you doing?" Nina asked in surprise and Warren again averted his gaze at the sight of the now nude kitsune.

"Just watch and remember what I said." Kitya responded as her eyes suddenly took on an unearthly green glow. Nina squeaked and pushed her chair away a bit as Kitya's normally pure white fur gradually began to get darker and darker until it was as black as coal. Kai's eyes widened in response as she watched her stroke her arms, brushing away the growing flames.

*Wait a minute, FLAMES!?*

Kai saw with alarm that fire was indeed breaking out all over the kitsune's body, strange surreal green flames that spread all over her arms and legs joining up with the blaze on her chest and continuing both upwards and downwards until her body and tails were completely enveloped in them. Kitya opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came out, instead she just ran her now serpentine tongue over her rapidly growing fangs then withdrew it as they shot out to half a foot in length. She held up her paws as the same thing happened to her claws.

She surveyed the general reaction of everybody before closing her eyes and leaning on the breakfast table. Warren stood up and swallowed when he saw the kitsune's back begin to grow and fluctuate. Before everyone's eyes a huge pair of draconic wings sprouted out. Like the rest of her body they too burned with the bizarre flames. Kitya stretched them out as she moved away from the table and spread her legs to reveal the finishing touches of her transformation. Nina's mouth dropped open when she saw that now nestled between the kitsune's thighs above her snatch was one of the most perfectly formed sheaths she'd ever seen. Underneath it was a set of equally well-developed balls, large and round. Everyone was shocked to say the least as the newly transformed Kitya held hir clawed paws out and presented hirself.

"Well ?" shi said with apprehension.

For a while all was silent.

"By the gods!!" Rathiman gasped at last. "Kitya what in Madeus happened to you!?"

"The same thing that sadly happens to every morph unfortunate enough to become trapped on the Plane." Shi moved over to Nina who was trying to put on a brave face but couldn't stop herself from trembling at the sight.

"K-Kitya, I, I,"

"It's okay Nina, remember what I said, I'll never hurt you, ever." Shi punctuated hir point by reaching out and taking the skunkette's paw in hir own fiery one. Nina eeped in response and tried to pull her paw back but Kitya held it firmly.

"Please trust me it's okay, look."

Nina looked down and gasped at what she saw. The flaming kitsune paw was clasped around the skunk one but strangely Nina's wasn't burning up. Also although Kitya's paw felt warm the touch it was more like normal body temperature warmth than the kind produced by a fire. Tentatively Nina extended her other paw and touched the burning kitsune's arm. The flames on it moved out of the way so she ended up touching normal fur. They still continued to lick around her fingers but as before, no effect. Amazed the skunkette withdrew both her paws and examined them. No sign of burn marks and not a single hair singed. She looked up and actually smiled "That's incredible Kitya!"

"Yes most impressive but the question still remains, what did happen to you down there?" Kai asked.

Kitya went and sat back down in hir chair. "What you see before you is the true terror of Larathaan. Since the commandments of Ateir state that a morph must go to his or her relative cemetaru province when they die, the inhabitants of the Plane came up with an ingenious way of keeping them alive for as long as possible. Namely by doing this to them."

Rathiman was aghast "This happens to every one of their victims?"

"I'm afraid so, while like this they take forever to die which means the inhabitants are no longer required to ensure their well being. Thankfully when one like me is rescued they regain their normal form but the effects remain as a little memento of sorts."

The mage shook his head in disbelief "But how is this done?"

Kitya shrugged sadly. "I can't really say, all I know is that there's a part of my spiritual self that's gone forever, they tore it out and replaced it with the essence of something far more sinister. It's what gives me these abilities." Shi sighed "So like I said before, I'm not who I used to be. I'm now what they derogatorily referred to as a 'Helskin', a hybrid. Half of me is kitsune," Shi swallowed "The other half is demon."

There was a collective gasp.

"Actually it's a pretty well thought out package to be honest." shi continued. "My endurance was increased to where I could withstand the intense heat and molten lava of a volcano for weeks. My healing factor was sped up so they could literally tear the flesh off my bones and I'd be all healed up as good as new in a matter of hours." Shi gently touched hir sheath and the as yet unseen cock inside. "My anatomy, altered so I could be used by members of both sexes."

"What about the dragon wings?" Warren enquired.

Kitya shrugged again "A little trademark of the one who worked on me. I saw many morphs down there who bore the same 'signature'". Shi flapped them a few times "They work remarkably well I must say."

Shi looked down "The other side of the coin however is that in this form I'm a lot more submissive and my fighting skills and magical abilities are reduced the point of being almost non-existent. I may look intimidating but like this I'm as defenceless as a kit. And of course a kit on the Plane can't be allowed to try and retain her dignity oh no. So they also permanently enveloped me in these flames to aid in my humiliation."

The kitsune demonstrated by picking up hir robe and turning it over in hir paws. Nothing. Shi then attempted to put it back on at which point the flames changed from green to orange and incinerated it into ashes. "As you can see, they remain mere illusions unless I make any attempt to stay modest, then they turn real."

Rathiman winced "Kitya, that's just, terrible."

Shi waved the comment off and it was then the feline noticed that shi was smiling "There's a bit of a happy ending here, right before Kai pulled me out I was able to swipe these from my captors." Shi formed her paws into hook like shapes and closed her eyes. Gradually the flames surrounding hir paws grew to about three feet in length and formed themselves into two fiery broad blades.

"They called them 'Daizan's Edge'. They're swords formed as an extension of my kitsune spirit being focused through the demon part of me. The inhabitants of the Plane were using them as a both a means of deterring their captives and another method of indulging their sadistic pleasures."

Kitya grinned baring hir fangs. "They deal excruciating amounts of damage to anything still living and no type of armour available can defend against them so at least now I'm no longer completely helpless."

Rathiman settled back in his chair and chuckled. "You always knew how to make light of a situation."

"It's the only way I can deal with stuff like this. That's why I was able to remain so upbeat over the years down there. I just refused to let them break me down."

Kai nodded in approval "You display a spirit strong enough to even rival mine."

Shi waved her paws and the swords disappeared. "That said master, I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to resume my training here. I mean, I don't want to risk scaring the other students or damaging your reputation."

Shi sat back down and sighed sadly. "Not everyone is as understanding or accepting as you."

Kai got up and walked around the table. "No Kitya, even if you are half demon now I can see your heart has not been corrupted by it. You escaped with your intelligence, your wisdom and your good will towards others intact. Because of this I will never allow anyone to be prejudice against you because of what you are now."

Kitya looked up and regarded the lizard with awe. "Are you saying?"

"Yes, I don't care what others think, you're worthy of being a friend to me."

"And no one here at my school will ever discriminate against you either because of what you are, you have my sacred word on that." Rathiman declared.

"I second that." Warren said

"Me too!" Nina replied

Kitya shut hir eyes tight as an overflow of tears began streaming down hir flaming cheeks. "Th-thank you, thank you all." shi managed to get out as shi embraced Kai and kissed her again. Nina and Rathiman watched the spectacle with quiet humour while Warren dashed out of the room having suddenly developed a serious nose bleed.

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• Later that day -

Kai and Kitya, now back in her normal kitsune form, stood at the entrance of Rathiman's school grounds. Both were packed for travel and waiting for the Dark Mage to come and bid them farewell. After the little breakfast fiasco Kai had explained her plans to journey to Mt. Sinnak and acquire the Arctic Diamond and why she would like Kitya to accompany her as her guide and travelling companion. The kitsune had been more than eager to accept the proposal and wanted to set off immediately.

Presently Nina appeared carrying a lovingly decorated wooden box. "Here" she said handing it to the kitsune. "Rathiman kept these for when you finally were able to return. He wants you to have them back."

Kitya opened the box and gasped, inside were two twelve inch daggers with serrated blades and the handles lovingly decorated with an ivy like pattern.

"What are those?" Kai asked with intrigue.

"My custom made Wierbenger knives, Rathiman gave them to me for my birthday many cycles ago." She took them out of the box and expertly twirled them around her fingers.

"They're perfectly weighted for standard combat and coated in the blood of some of Artauk's greatest mythical species which gives them a limited amount of sentience." She neatly slotted them into the belt of the long forest green outfit she was wearing.

"I knew how valuable they were to you so I took painstaking care to keep them as clean and well preserved as the day they were made." Rathiman said as he stepped out into the courtyard follwed by Warren who was still wiping blood from his nose. "Over the cycles they began to serve as a constant reminder that one way or another I had to find a way to rescue you."

"You're so sweet." Kitya said as she hugged the feline and kissed him on the cheek.

Rathiman sighed softly "Is there really no way I can convince you to come back here afterwards?"

Kitya shook her head. "You've done more than enough for me, for both of us in fact." she gestured to Kai "But given what's happened to me I seriously need to rethink my life now that I have a second chance to enjoy it and right now some travelling seems like just what I need to get my head together." She smiled "Don't worry I've still got all the spells you taught me and a good number of magical charms and enhancers."

She wrapped an arm around Kai "And anyway I've got a Sikahr as my escort. I'll be fine."

Rathiman nodded "Then so be it." He raised his staff and focused a flurry of black lightning into a stone suspended over the gate, opening it for the lizard and kitsune.

"Anaj-ku to both of you. May your journey be swift and easy, or perilous and threatening, whichever you prefer."

Kitya thanked him while Kai did her best to stifle a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry it's just I went through the same thing yesterday when I left the Temple. A bout of deja-vu." the lizard said.

"I see, well some things just don't change I guess." Kitya said before stepping through the gate and out onto the road. Kai turned to follow but then stopped and turned back to the Dark Mage.

"Rathiman, if we never see each other again I just want to say thank you for everything you've done for my family and me. Your services will never be forgotten."

"You're more than welcome Kai and remember," he pointed to her shurikin discus "Keep a look out for geckos bearing another one of those. Might be a lucky relative of yours who managed to escape."

"I will, farewell Dark Mage." she pulled her mask up and walked out to join Kitya. Rathiman watched silently as the two of them headed down the road. He seemed to be contemplating something as they disappeared over the horizon.

"Master?" Warren asked after several minutes had passed.

"Nina, Warren I'm leaving the school in your capable paws. I want you to look after the place and keep up with the day to day lessons while I'm gone." He lifted his robes and checked on the sword now belted underneath them.

"But where are you going?" Nina asked confused.

Rathiman just smiled and banged his staff on the ground producing a cloud of black smog. "I made a vow to guide and protect the members of the Sikahr family." He stirred the cloud, gradually making it bigger and bigger. "And as long as there is still a single Sikahr left in this world I intend to uphold that vow." He swept the cloud up into the air and released, causing it to sink and blanket him. The skunkette and the ferret watched as the smog shifted and then dispersed, revealing a large black unraised avian, distinguishable only by the gold band around its head, standing where their master had stood only moments ago. They waved goodbye as it spread its wings and flew off after the two females.

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• Two days later -

"What are you thinking about Kai?" Kitya asked as she sat down next to the reptile on the river bank.

"Just trying to wrap my head around just how much has happened in the last couple of days." She said turning to face the smiling kitsune "And how much the future could possibly hold for us."

"I know, amazing isn't it. Any idea on what we're getting ourselves into?"

Kai turned back to the river and exhaled slowly. "I don't know, but from the outset it's shaping up to be one incredible odyssey."

"I hope so. I'm really in the mood for an adventure now. Especially if you're with me."

The two women turned to listen to the river and contemplate things for a while longer before a sound behind them got their attention.

"Geez girls, we're never going to make it to our next destination if you two are just going to sit there all morning and watch the world pass you by." A female stood silhouetted against the rising sun clutching a stirring ladel. "Come on I've got breakfast going and I know you have to be hungry after our little reunion yesterday."

Kitsune and gecko both smiled at their companion. "Have patience, we're coming." Kai said as they got up from their spot, ready to attack the new day.

TO BE CONTINUED...

************************************************************************

There's a new uprising coming for us.

A new beginning from the difficult past.

A smarter way for us to live out our dreams,

And every move we make is better than it seems.

It's a new beginning.

A new beginning and it's starting right now.

It's a new beginning and may all our deeds be done.

There's a new uprising coming for us.

A new beginning from the difficult past.

A smarter way for us to live out our dreams,

And every move we make is better than it seems.

We've been through all of it, the good and the bad.

We just get over it, we know the best is yet to come.

We deal with every type, the exploiters and the true,

We don't rely on hype, quality always pulls us through.

Sometimes it seems shrouded,

Like we will never break through.

On other times, the sun it shines, on all that we do.

No matter what we're dealt, we're staying true to the cause.

Breaking down the misconceptions, make our own laws.

Today - Right now.

Alchemist - New Beginning

*********FINIS*********