All seemed undone. Chaos reigned and the hunter, the seeker of truth and knowledge, became the pursued and haggard prey. This city, so long sought after by enthusiastic treasure hunters, had revealed a great deal of its stunning and horrible mysteries. It was no coincidence that the buildings had been constructed to so mammoth and absurd a scale. It had not been built with the average heights of Human beings in mind. They had been constructed for the convenience of their creators, a race that time and conscious effort had reduced to a fairytale. This was a city of Dragons and one of them, perhaps the lone survivor, scoured the ruin of its civilisation in search of the intruders.
For the Werewolves, both black and white, there was no hope. No matter how much they tried to scamper and flee, or even to simply hide, the Dragon rooted them out thoroughly. Sometimes it simply speared them through with its talons. Sometimes it would catch them and devour them whole on the spot, an individual Werewolf making the beast a mouthful. Other times, it simply used its apparent mastery of elemental control to destroy. Fire came forth from its jaws, just as the fables said, but this was only one aspect. Earth, Air, and Water obeyed it just as eagerly. The ground shook as the beast flew overhead, the earth vibrating beneath. The very air seemed to turn rigid and still, even hostile, and when the Dragon passed, a blast of stinging wind would follow. Any moisture seemed to vanish, water boiling away to leave everything arid and dusty. Then as the Dragon soared on over, ice began to form on the walls and the floor, freezing anything it came in contact with and leaving them at the mercy of the beast.
Perhaps some of their kind managed to make it back to the open portal and flee. Perhaps others found refuge, hiding in the depths of whatever buildings could shelter them. Vorador could not say. Nor could he say that he was any better off than they. In order to escape being seen or sensed by the flying creature, the Vampire ducked and dived from whatever concealment he could find. He kept moving, unable to do anything else. Driven so, he had become turned about and lost, unfamiliar with the layout of this ancient place. He could not remember the way back to the portal which might not even still be open by now.
Every time the Dragon's shadow passed overhead he had to freeze and cling to the shadows. He had one advantage at least over the Werewolves. Being trained by the Serioli, he knew when the beast channelled elemental force and was able to sense it, providing him with enough warning as to where and when it would strike. Finally, however, Vorador discovered an opening that led down. It appeared to be the entrance of a tunnel of some description and it was not large enough to permit the beast to follow. It was the ideal place of refuge, if such a place actually existed in this city.
Descending down, Vorador did not stop until he could not see the light from the entrance. There he waited, standing in total darkness for a long time, simply listening. Then he raised his hand and made a brief gesture, summoning a pale glowing ball of arcane light to illuminate his immediate surroundings. The tunnel he was in was built to ordinary proportions, but seemed to follow the same architectural style with drawings with hard corners set into stones in the wall. With no other place to go, the Vampire continued along it.
He was not even that surprised when, after carrying along the tunnel for a short way, he entered a chamber with entrances lancing off in two other directions and discovered that both Bane and William were using this place as shelter as well. The Druid, with the might granted to him by his Pillar, would have managed to elude the beast easily enough. William's safety had been pure luck. His cloak and cowl were badly burnt and lay in a crumbled, smouldering heap at his feat. The young king looked up as Vorador entered, seemingly alarmed for a moment, then relaxed when he saw who it was. Bane half turned but quickly looked away, preoccupied. He was pacing back and forth along the floor, staff in hand and his face contorted with angry consternation.

Vorador came up to them but he said nothing, the three of them for that moment sharing a quiet moment of confused silence.

"I think I may have made a tactical error in coming here." William said sardonically after a while, breaking that silence. As if that had been the trigger, Bane almost exploded.

"Impossible!" He bellowed in anger and his voice echoed down the three tunnels the chamber intersected. He stamped his staff down, the pearl at its tip flaring with light. "No! I refuse to accept it!" With eyes sparking in anger he looked down in the depths of that pearl, as if seeing something they could not, reviewing information stored away within. "I knew the creators of this city were twisted, corrupting beings but I utterly refuse to acknowledge…this…this mockery of all divine edict and logical reason!"

William perversely chuckled at the Druid's indignation, leaning back against the wall with his hand still on the sword Vorador had forged for him. Despite looking so shaken he seemed as boyish and eager as ever before.

"A Dragon…" He said as if to himself, an almost deranged smile spreading across his face. "A fairytale brought to life!" Bane spun around to glare at him, making a cutting gesture with one hand.

"Don't say that word!" He snapped. William returned him a look, still amused.

"Why not?" He asked in that same half delirious manner. He used his sword to point directly up, indicating the city above and what lurked there, hunting anything it pleased. "Are you denying that was what we all saw?"

Bane seemed on the verge of apoplexy, his face gone red with utter indignation, one side twitching uncontrollably. His fingers tightened so hard on his staff his knuckles were as white as the furs he wore.

"It simply cannot be." He muttered.

"Why?" Vorador asked him bluntly. The Druid looked sharply at him for such a simple question. The Vampire shrugged. "Because any mention we have left of such beings has been reduced to a child's fable? What we saw was no illusion or mistake." He turned his face up towards the ceiling. He could still sense the elemental power being discharged. "The Divus went out of their way to ensure this species’ true existence was forgotten." The ground beneath them trembled for a moment, the element of Earth called upon elsewhere, most likely to bring down a building which sheltered some Werewolves still trying to hide. "Dragons…" He breathed the name, still trying to reconcile the reality to his own mind.

"Given what I saw that thing do, I can sympathise with their desire to forget." William flippantly remarked. Vorador shook his head.

"No." He disagreed firmly. "Terrifying it may be, but there has to be another reason why they erased the truth of their existence from memory." He was sure of that now. He was also sure, very suddenly sure of what that reason might well have been. "The Celestial Arrow." He breathed in firm conviction. What else could possibly be the motive for such tampering with recorded history other than some threat to either them, or perhaps even their God Himself?

The ground shook again but more insistently this time, dust cascading down from the gaps between the stones of the ceiling. The continued tremors caused by the creature's mammoth displays of power were steadily weakening the very foundations of the city itself.

"This place is not safe." The Vampire observed.

"We ought to keep moving." William agreed, with a grunt getting back up to his feet using his sword as a lever. "Perhaps we can get back to the gateway and escape." Vorador thought about that idea. He had come so far to reach this place and now he was forced to run away, to flee for his life? He could not do so. Every part of him rejected that idea.

"Whatever we do, saying put here is not an option." He said and looked off down the tunnel to his right. After a moment’s consideration he began to walk down it, not waiting to see if the other two followed him or not. Regardless of what they decided to do, he was not leaving until he had found what he had stepped across time itself to find. He was pushing on, vengeful fairytale brought to life or not.

Eventually he heard the footsteps behind him of the other two following him. He had not really expected them to go off on their own. Despite one being a king and the other a member of the Guardian Circle, they were both still Human and Humans tended to feel comfortable following one who seemed to know what he was doing.

He of course had no idea where he was going, only a general sense that he was heading in a northerly direction. It was hard to say for certain, though. He had an impression of many tunnels connecting and interconnecting down below the city and as he continued, he saw the impression to be correct. Some tunnels were regularly sized, convenient for average Human height. Others were massive and large enough to accommodate a creature as large as the flying beast which was still hunting somewhere above them. The tunnels were all connected at ninety degree angles, forming a patchwork-like configuration that while simple in design was very complex to navigate. The city seemed to be built just as much below ground as above and nearly every stone square was decorated with a jagged drawing.

William was observing these by the light of the ball of arcane light which Vorador kept floating nearby, his face displaying his intense interest. Perhaps while at university he had made a study of ancient murals and pictography. The young king paused when he came up to a large image on the side of the wall of a larger tunnel, looking up with a squint.

The displayed mural showed what looked like a map of the world, but rolled around a tight sphere or ball. Encircling this sphere was what looked at first to be an ouroboros symbol, but there were differences. The serpent-like creature enveloping the world was not a snake. It looked more like an elongated whale with large fins at regular intervals along its body. Surrounding this like a border were waving octopus-like tentacles, some of which had large blue eyes growing out of them.

"Interesting." William remarked, frowning up at the image thoughtfully. "Is this mythology, religion, or history?" He paused in thought and managed a half amused, sardonic smile. "Or even all three at once?" Bane cast one look at the image and turned away, spitting off to one side.

"All blasphemous lies." He stated. Vorador himself looked at the image for a long time. The symbol of the whale serpent and the deformed octopus had occurred elsewhere, in other ruins he had discovered along his journey. Although this image was drawn in the same angular style as the rest of the artistry in this ancient place, it was unmistakably the same scene.

"Perhaps." He said in a slow voice, his eyes scanning the display. "Clearly someone is lying." If these images were to be believed it contradicted many creation myths, such as the quaint Human notion that God had made them in his image, or even the mythology of the Ancient Vampires of their Oracle God, the sole axis of all creation. "But just who, I wonder?" Then his eyes fell on the icon he had been looking for, the same symbol of a pyramid with a beam of light lancing out of the top to pierce an eye above. It was that same symbol he had seen in the hidden ruins where he had acquired his snake form. Reaching out with one hand he pressed it.

There was a deep rumbling noise. The ground gave off one brief shudder and then lightly trembled, the familiar vibration of moving clockwork and gears. Then the wall before them parted directly in the middle of the depicted image of celestial origin, the two halves of a hidden door sliding off to either side. As the massive door opened, a soft, pale blue light began to flow out like an enveloping mist. The source of that light stabbed in the depths of it and Vorador had to shield his eyes against it for a moment. Through the gaps between his talons, he stared into the revealed illuminated chamber beyond.

The room itself was massive, cathedral-like, large enough for a being the size of the Dragon to comfortably walk around. Circular in shape, the room had curving shelf-like terraces around the outside, platforms which at one time might very well have been casual places for the city’s giant occupants to lounge. The light was coming from a single point directly in the centre of the chamber, something quite small and set atop a short stone dais.

The three of them stood there for a moment in confused, baffled silence, all of them staring at that glowing object. The Vampire moved first, stepping forward still with one hand up to protect his face from the light. Cautiously he advanced, step by uncertain step. As he approached, he could make out more details of the object. Compared to the chamber in which it rested it was utterly tiny, perhaps only about the size of an apple. It wasn't completely round but cut into the shape of dodecahedron. Its surface gleamed like fine obsidian rock but underneath, flickering lights moved as if the inside were made of flowing liquid stars. In the presence of this artefact, Vorador could feel not power, but presence. It unsettled him but he held his ground.

His attention locked on the object, he barely even registered William's presence until the young king was standing beside him.

"My God, it’s....it's beautiful..." He breathed, staring at the relic with undisguised awe. Bane came up on the Vampire's other side. The Druid kept his hand up in front of his face but he didn't look away from the item either.

"Are you a moth to a flame?" He asked harshly and made a short sweeping gesture with his staff towards it. "Leave it be!" Vorador himself kept quiet for a long moment.

"Fire burns those foolish enough to thrust their hand into it." He commented and slowly raised his arm to look at his own right hand, as if contemplating he had one. "But when harnessed and properly understood, it became the advent for civilisation." Then before either of his companions could say anything, he took the two intervening steps and with no hesitation at all he laid his hand upon the artefact. The effect was instantaneous. The dodecahedron's light flared dramatically, becoming for a single moment as intense as the sun. Vorador snatched his hand away quickly, turning his head to prevent his eyes from being blinded as did Bane and William.

The hidden galaxy of moving lights under its smooth surface rippled in some unrecognisable pattern, then the top flat surface began to glow more intensely. From that surface a beam of pale blue light arose and then spread out intensely wide. In the midst of that light, a long shape began to slowly emerge. It was nebulous at first and vague but as time passed, it began to become firmer and more recognisable.

"What by the name of God...." Bane breathed in genuine shock as suddenly, looming over them and peering down was the titanic form of a Dragon. Huge but pale eyes regarded them in a head suspended on the end of a long serpent-like neck.

-"Do not be afraid."- A voice said and that voice was not spoken aloud. It came directly into Vorador's mind, echoing amongst his innermost private thoughts.  -"What you see before you now is not real and cannot harm you. It is merely an illusion, a projected image of my true self which by now is surely long dead."-

Vorador pushed his lips closed tightly, out of the stunned expression of shock it had worn merely a moment ago as he stared up. There was no doubt now that the thing had spoken and not just to him, but to all of them, projecting its voice not through sounds but with a powerful telepathy, similar to that employed by Vampires in the Whisper, although much more acute.

The form of the Dragon was not solid. The wall and ceiling could be seen through it and its outline seemed as hazy as that of a beam of light. Close up, the odd proportions and parts of the species were clearly evident. Despite it having a mix of features from seemingly every other race, it seemed a perfectly natural creature in and of itself. This Dragon also differed from the one that had been hunting them. Like with Hylden, the crests were unique to each one of them. The Dragon they had seen outside had had a crest spilt down the middle. This example of the species had a crest split three ways. The wings were also larger and had frayed along the edges which seemed to indicate advanced age or maturity.

Vorador met the gaze of this ghostly apparition head-on.

"What are you?" He asked of it.

-"I am nothing."- The voice in his mind replied simply. -"But a better reply might be that I am the collective memories and wisdom of a being who has long since died."- Vorador had to take a moment to digest that intelligence.

"And yet you communicate with us in real time?" He asked, more intently this time. The image of the Dragon turned its head, somehow looking introspective despite having no recognisable facial expressions.

-"Memories, when galvanised, have an awareness of their own. Indeed awareness itself is nothing but memory. The original, the template for my consciousness may have passed, but like a cutting from a plant I continue on."- It told him in a didactical tone, as if this was a simple and commonplace thing and easy to understand. Vorador only just understood while William and Bane both looked blank.

-"For lack of a better description, I am a living diary, able to answer questions put to it. I was left by my original as an anchor of knowledge, so that what we knew would not all be lost."- The Dragon finished.

"Who were you, then?" Vorador asked in an urgent and almost eager voice, determined to keep on asking questions. Here before him now was an excellent and rare opportunity to get real answers and understanding available nowhere else. No one or nothing else would give such insight as potentially lay within his grasp at this moment. The image of the Dragon postponed answering and while it had no features with which emotions could be easily gauged, it drew itself up in a very recognisable posture of pride.

-"I am Kothar, Elevated Architect of the Directory and proud member of 'Uni.'"- He said. -"This, of course, will mean nothing to you."-

William seemed to have recovered somewhat by now from seeing such an interactive projection and from hearing its replies echo inside his own mind. He stepped forward, his face still pale and gestured with one hand as if trying to attract the image's attention.

"You are Dragons, are you not?" He asked directly. Kothar's image turned its head sharply to look at him in what could only be a highly disapproving glare. William quickly took a prudent step backwards.

-"That name is offensive to my kind."- He said, the words in their minds a firm reprimand. -"It is a word used as a term of contempt by the younger races to describe us. It means worm, a crawler, a low creature."- The image raised its front limb to place the paw against its huge chest. -"To us, we are Uni; The One. For before us there was only an absence of thought in this world."-

"We remember your kind only as childish tales, your images carved in stone on our monuments." Vorador said, almost in wonder. Kothar's flickering avatar raised its head on the height of the arching neck.

-"That is not an altogether unpleasing legacy."- It said.

"What is the truth of your people?" Vorador quickly asked again, determined to keep the flow of answers coming now, eager for the whole truth.

-"The truth of anything is subjective."- Kothar replied a tad philosophically. -"What I say will be the truth from my perspective alone. Judge what I can tell on that basis."- All three of them stood there with almost equalled anticipation, breaths held. Once more Kothar's image paused, a pregnant silence as the avatar seemed to decide where to begin.

-"Many thousands upon thousands of years ago, long before your newer races were born, our kind were little more than savage animals. We were but one species of many in a diverse ecology which existed in the ancient primeval time. The world has changed much since and nothing of how it once was remains."- It began, the projected thoughts coming slowly. -"We were apex predators, not because of our strength or ability to fly but because we had a naturally developed connection to the elements which comprise the world and the universe beyond."-

The image raised both front limbs and held them up. Between its curving talons four swirling points sprang up out of nowhere, spiralling flame, rock, water, and wind. They were not real, merely another projection, but Vorador recognised the four basic elements taught to him by the Serioli.

-"Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth were ours to command against our prey."- Kothar's avatar confirmed, toying with the four points as if they were marbles in the hands of a child. -"But despite our power we knew nothing of higher reasoning."- The paws came together sharply and smothered the four elements, snuffing them out. -"Then the Travellers came."-

"Travellers? What Travellers?" Bane demanded quickly in his harsh, irascible voice, glaring up at the projection. He imitated the same strange emphasis Kothar's transmitted thought had placed on the word 'Travellers.’ The Dragon's image turned to look at him.

-"Two beings of great power, opposites and yet steadfast companions."- The thought replied. -"They are a strange pair who exist beyond the influence of causality and even we, at the height of our power and knowledge, did not fully understand them."- The large head turned up as if peering at a sky it could not see. -"They had journeyed to this world from some unimaginable distance, drawn to us by need, hunger, and duty."- Another paw was raised and turned over. Two images sprang to existence over the upturned palm. One symbol was of an open eye, the pupil a constructed Moebius circle. The second was an ouroboros.

-"In time we came to know them as the Elder and the Keeper."- Bane was staring at the eye symbol, his face blanching and turning white.

"That is the sign of God!" He accused, pointing at it with his free hand, his voice filled with offended outrage. "You speak blasphemy!" Kothar's avatar turned its long neck to look at him.

-"I do not find it surprising you should think so."- It replied. -"From a Human's perspective, either or both of them would indeed seem divine and godlike. They fed on life, the very soul, but also served to recycle and regulate that energy back into the world from whence it came."-

"They elevated you?" Vorador asked with a frown. The image turned back to him.

-"They did nothing."- It said. -"Their mere presence was enough. Animals though we were, our abilities allowed us to draw from them, learn and grow. By merely being here, they gave us the catalyst we needed to begin our first rational thoughts."- There was pride, not reverence, in the tone when it delivered that intelligence, as if it thought more of their accomplishment than the unintended gift. -"With those thoughts we perceived much about the nature of the elements that we did not before. We saw that Conflict and Nature composed Fire. We learned that Death and States made Water. Dimension and the Mind controlled Air. Earth stood over Energy and Time."- At this Bane became very quiet, staring up with a tick twitching one side of his face. As a Guardian, a member of the Circle of Nine, he knew the truth of these words, that the principles of the Pillars themselves were aligned to the elements. Kothar's image carried on. -"But beyond even that, we saw that Fire and Air combined to make Light and Earth and Water merged to create Darkness."-

William, who was not following the conversation as well as either of them, scratched his head.

"I thought they just made mud..." He remarked sardonically but no one was really listening to him, even himself.

-"And then Light and Darkness combined, opposites merging. Balance was achieved with the purest essence of Spirit."- The Dragon image continued without pause. -"Despite all that has happened since, for that inadvertent and indeed unintended gift of insight alone, we owe them both something of a debt. Sometimes we attempted communication with the Travellers. Rarely did we get a reply. Neither of them was interested in us. They offered us no guidance whatsoever. We had to make our own way."-

With the tip of its tail it gestured out and around, indicating the Lost City itself.

-"Here in this secluded place we built our one and only city, our haven. We agreed that this would be the only place where we would do so and that only in places of natural power would we construct other shelters."- None of the listeners replied, all of them wearing expressions of confusion and incomprehension. Seeming to sense this, Kothar's avatar continued. -"We are not like your kind. We are quite different. Unlike your species, our kind is not divided into genders."- It explained. -"Long lived as we are, we each used our own energies to replenish those that eventually die. Thus, we never numbered more than a thousand and made certain that number never rose. Our power was too great to be allowed to every member of a spreading population."-

This certainly took a great effort to absorb and process. Vorador found himself growing more and more excited despite all his efforts to remain calm and introspective. Kothar's image paused again and somehow the inhuman face took on a different expression. With such features that look was hard to understand but it might well have been doubt or uncertainty, as if it was not sure how what it would say next would be taken.

-"There was an animal that we liked to eat."- It began then, in a seeming non sequitur. -"It was an ape-like creature that lived in groups deep in the rainforests far to the south. We brought them here to cultivate them and breed them in captivity, in order to have a ready supply."- Kothar's avatar raised its paw again and an image appeared there once more, the image of an animal very much like a gorilla but with a far less muscled body and fur only down its back. It had a slightly stooped posture but its arm and leg proportions were all equal. Vorador's face began to crease in a confused scowl.

-"But soon we noticed that these animals were displaying signs of intelligence. Primitive intelligence."- The other two beside him looked equally as confused as to where this was leading, casting each other baffled glances. "They began to revere us, falling down in genuflection and worship. They did not understand what we were but they were wise enough to know us for more than just mindless predators."-  The image projected before the Dragon changed, revealing many more of these ape-like creatures bowing and cowing low to several other Dragons who watched this display with curiosity.

-"Given this we decided they were worthy of further study and removed them from our diet."- Kothar's image was still going on. -"Generations of their kind passed and we saw them develop, becoming more adept and intelligent. We did not interfere with their growth directly, merely watched to see how they would improve. Their lives were so much shorter than our own that we could witness their evolution firsthand."- As the image projected its narration, the images changed to reflect the story, the Dragons and more examples of this ape creature coming and going, the Dragons always dominant.

-"It was fascinating. Eventually the species became intelligent enough to understand orders and obey them. We divided them into three groups and set them to completing tasks in an effort to see if they were indeed a developing new species that might one day be on par with our own."- Suddenly a thought occurred to the Vampire, a flash of memory. He had seen this before, in the first set of ruins he had encountered in this past era beneath Nupraptor's Retreat. His expression began to slowly morph out of its scowl to an awestruck one. Beside him, Bane and William still stood there oblivious.

-"What happened after that was unexpected."- The image told them and its tone was serious. -"Just like the Travellers before us, our own power and close proximity had unintended effects on the beings we had taken in."- A figure came into focus before the Dragon. -"The first group we put to assisting some of us in scholarly experimentation in the practise of elemental control. Over time they began to take on some of our own characteristics. Their hands and feet changed and their skin altered its pigmentation to blue. Most surprisingly, like us they began to sprout their own wings."- The figure before them was an Ancient Vampire, less refined than the more evolved examples Vorador had seen, but undeniably one of that race.

-"The second group was set to creating new machines and physical artefacts and in maintaining the city itself. Their change was most peculiar. They began to develop crests like our own and a unique muscularity. Their minds advanced even more and they achieved a powerful understanding of the science behind the natural forces of the world."- The second figure to emerge, standing beside the first, was unmistakably a Hylden. Like the Vampire, this example of their ancestors seemed cruder, less complex.

-"The third and final group we had acting as scouts and gatherers. Often being away from us their physical alteration was less acute. I suspect we sped up their natural evolution and whatever other gifts they received from us were minimal. However, they proved to be the fastest breeders and the most adaptable to adversity."- Predictably the third figure was a Human, hairier, with larger muscles, wrapped in animals skins but still recognisable. The three of them stood there, together and side by side.

-"And so were born your current races of Vampire, Hylden, and Human."-

Rational thought processes, after a revelation like this, were impossible for perhaps a whole two minutes. Even Vorador, who had been dreading it, was left dumbstruck. When the Druid exploded, it wasn't even a conscious reaction. His words tumbled out in random nonsense, sounds strung together so quickly they made no logical sense. Several times he even lost the ability to breathe, garbling with such force and speed he turned blue in the face. Finally he managed to bellow something of a coherent sentence.

"Impossible!" He cried, face contorted. "No, I will not believe it!"

"What is a Hylden?" William asked.

-"With the advent of these new species before our very eyes, a disagreement arose."- Kothar's avatar ignored them both, projecting more thought words, gathering their attention once more. -"Concern was expressed that, in the fullness of time, these new races would become rivals and even threats. The Humans bred like rabbits and the Hylden's grasp of rational inquiry, what they called 'science', made progress at astonishing speed."-

"Seriously, what is a Hylden?" William asked more insistently. Again he was ignored.

-"But it was the Vampires who aroused the most ire."- The story continued on and the image of the Dragon looked directly at Vorador. -"Before your coming we were the only race gifted with flight. Your mere existence threatened that monopoly."- Vorador stood there, looking up trying to absorb all this radical and fundamentally game changing information.

"And then the cycle repeated itself when the Hylden did the same and my ancestors felt so threatened." He found himself saying in a low voice. William grunted and rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"I fear I'm missing quite a bit of context here." He said, once more to only himself.

-"There were many who thought it safer to euthanatize your species before you could become such a threat and others who said you needed to be given your chance, as we were."- The Dragon's image told them.

"And you, or the original you, was on the latter side of that debate?" Vorador asked in return. The image of Kothar reared back very much like a snake with its long neck.

-"I saw no reason why any entire species, let alone three, should be destroyed based on what they might possibly do in the future. Under such logic, we should exterminate all life except our own."- It replied earnestly and somehow Vorador felt it was sincere in that statement. -"I was partial to the Hylden race and even took one of their number to tutor, to see if they were as capable as we thought."-

The three figures disappeared and another replaced them, a Hylden but one of great stature. Unlike most others of his kind he was firmly built with wide shoulders and a square chin, his unbroken crest giving his head an almost crowned appearance.

-"His name was Ashar. His mind was extraordinary, a match for my own. Between us there was nothing we could not accomplish."- Vorador recognised that name at once. While after the war with the Hylden the Circle of Nine had declared their banished rivals to be 'Unspoken', there were some records and mentions of their culture left behind. One such record he had found, in the Serioli Fortress where it had been relatively protected, made mention of the first and greatest king of the Hylden– Ashar, the being that forged the Nexus Stone. This was the father of the Hylden masquerading as the Sarafan Lord and the grandfather of the Seer herself.

-"It was with our combined intellects that together we forged the Tempus Crux, a lens that allowed us to glimpse through the currents of time itself once properly placed."- The narrative went on. -"It was that creation and viewing, however, that pushed the political disagreement into violence. Through the Crux, I observed a shadowy, imperfect viewing of future events. Humans and Vampires covered the land. We saw no sign of the Hylden but neither did we see any of Uni, our own kind."- The avatar gestured with both paws and the images began to break apart. -"To those inclined to distrust and hate you, this was all the vindication required."- Vorador looked up to the great translucent head high above.

"And so began the war?" He asked rhetorically, remembering the mural in the ruins beneath Zwergstadar he had seen of the great carnage unleashed.

-"The prime war, the original conflict to be the first to spill so much blood on the soil of the world."- Kothar's avatar confirmed. -"Divided, our people rallied behind two opposing leaders."- It raised one paw. -"Those who thought you worthy of protection were led by Horkos; the keeper of the sacred oath."- It raised the other. -"Those who feared and hated you, who thought only that you ought be pre-emptively destroyed, were led by Thanatos."- There it was, that name again, that dreaded name which was the focus of fear and warning. Now the origin of that name was revealed and the image conjured by the Seer's deepest dread became logical.

Thanatos was a Dragon.

-"The clashes between the two forces scarred the world badly. Many from all races perished during that conflict."- Kothar's avatar explained still. -"And it was this mass death, this culling of life, that drew the Elder's attention."- This caught Bane's undivided attention and he glared up, outrage clear on his face, but he said nothing, letting the story go on. -"I cannot presume to say I know what he thought, but I speculate that so much death provided him such a reap of dispatched souls and spilled out life that he found the surging energy delectable. Perhaps temptation drew him and he lost in that struggle. Impossible to say."- The image of the Dragon gestured up and around with one raised talon. -"While we fought in the skies, the land beneath us began to sicken and die. The Elder's gluttony grew and like a cancerous tumour he drew strength and vitality from the world itself, sickening all that lived here."-

The talon was brought down against the huge chest.

-"None more so than ourselves. For as powerful as we were, our lives remain precariously dependant on the state of the world’s health. If this land is not strong, flowering with energy and life, we cannot live in it. One by one we dropped from the skies to become bones in the earth, the energy that fed and sustained us fatally diverted. The Elder's gluttony was destroying us."- The projected thoughts became more insistent and urgent. -"In order to survive we were forced to strike a blow against the Elder, to for the first time directly challenge one of the Travellers. If he did not stop in his greedy draining, we would all die."- Vorador was not even that surprised when the remains of Kothar added; -"To that end, we created the Celestial Arrow."-

Suddenly and without warning, another voice burst forth through their minds, an enraged bellow that rocked the unprepared William to his knees. Even Vorador was left battered by that mental shout, the effect bouncing around the inside of his head. Despite the intensity of it, the words were quite clear.

-"You cannot hide from me, mongrels!"- Although the voice, like Kothar's, was inside their own minds it somehow sounded different, rougher, almost guttural. -"I sense your presence in this sacred place, like maggots crawling through once unspoiled meat!"- The hatred pulsing in that thought was so strong it could felt, tasted on the tongue. William clutched at the sides of his head, grunting in pain. Bane seemed to wilt under the onslaught, using his staff to keep himself from falling. -"Come out and meet your deaths with whatever passes for dignity amongst your kind!"- Then the pressure eased. Vorador was left shaken. That had been an immense telepathic shout, a bellow into the minds of any living creature within the range of its origin.

Kothar's flickering image had reared up to its hind legs, translucent wings spreading.

-"Thanatos?!"- Its by comparison far gentler voice sounded stunned, utterly surprised. -"He lives, still?!"-

Vorador rushed forward and grabbed the strange dodecahedron from which the Avatar was projected in both hands. Above, the Dragon's image flickered and wavered like the reflection on an uneven surface of water.

"Where in this city is the Celestial Arrow?!" The Vampire demanded in a growl. "Tell me, quickly!"