[centre]Arguis, The Knowledgeable One, The Great Librarian & Quay/King Duisis, Father of Soul Weaving, Master Duisis, 20 Khookies & The Great Lich Lord, The Lich, The Necromancer Level 30 Hero, 37 Khookies[/centre] [centre]Year the 80th of [i]The Lich Years[/i] There descended a shadow in the night Upon the home of Quay Subtly did it descend, remaining out of sight Above the king did it rise up, for it had words to say: 'I have learned of an artifact Which thine right hand does possess If thou hast wisdom and some tact And wish to avoid stress 'Thou wouldst giv't here And I would disappear.'[/centre] Quay wasn't one for over protection or too much security, unfortunately, after assassination of his father the last king, security has been increased tenfold. Just to get to the kings room, one must go through a series a ornate passage ways, guarded with Soul Woven wards and guards. Despite all that, Quay wasn't surprised to wake up to a ghastly figure hanging over him. The King slowly sat up and listened attentively to the black ghosts request. It still didn't surprise Quay, he even expected this to happen, once he heard of skirmishes between the undead and Uri guards. Even Quay could feel this ghosts unusual connection to the River of Souls, his power different for theirs, yet similar, it was his sight into the River that allowed him to see the ghost in the first place. [color=SlateBlue]"Both of us, draw from the River of Souls, yet we use its power in different fashions, we are two sides of the same coin."[/color] Quay said resting his head on his fist. [color=SlateBlue]"The Lantern, blesses us with our ability, and it would seem that it would strengthen yours, I cannot give it to my you without putting this Kingdom a risk, but what if I propose a deal?"[/color] Quay said staring right at the ghost, his eyes hard, he was determined to give his Kingdom his best, that meant even in the face of death. In his ghostly form, the Lich had been completely undetectable to the guards, hiding his presence completely and teleporting right into the king's room from far above. In his long years he had made time to learn the skills of the Silent Six, and they were already proving to be most useful indeed. He had learnt a great deal more with Arguis of course, but even those things that he had mastered long before ascending to the god remained useful. 'I shall listen to thee,' he said to Quay, 'for thine creator has been good to me,' and with that, the Lich waited on the king of Duisis to speak. Quay nodded approvingly, grateful that the ghost was kind enough to listen, but this also gave Quay some information about any more of the ghosts intentions. He was willing to make a deal for the Soul Lantern, which meant he wasn't hostile, he could be described as calculating and ambitious. This also gave him information about the ghosts were abouts, such as his apparent meeting with the god of Knowledge. Quay gave a mental prayer, thanking the god for his seemingly inherent kindness. [color=SlateBlue]"This Lantern strengthens our connection to the Astral Home, which allows us to use the magic. I'm dont know to much about the Necromancy, but any being could make the assumption that it is closely related to Soul Manipulation."[/color] Quay replied, choosing his words carefully. [color=SlateBlue]"I purpose we share the gift, allowing us to keep our sacred magic, and you to strengthen your own. We can work out a location, a guarded no man's land, in between our two lands, this way, we both have our eyes on it, and our powers. Is this deal to your liking?" [/color] The Lich waved an ethereal hand dismissively. 'It is of no great concern to me how I am to access the artifact, so long as I do. I am not unkind and therefore accept this proposal, for thine ability appears most interesting. It may be useful for my future...observations. However, I am interested in knowing how it is that the artifact is used. Reading books on it is not enough, thou must show me.' Quay nodded in satisfaction, grateful for the ghosts show of kindness, it impressed him in a way. The demi-gods as they were called were kind and understanding, as if they understood them from their stand point, as if they were human or Uri before. Unfortunately, this was food for thought for another time. Quay rolled off the bed and led the ghost to a wall with two swords crossing. He slowly bent the handle of the blade in an unnatural way better it gave, and the stone wall slid away, only to reveal a long passageway. As Quay walked through the hallway, small copper blocks turned on, illuminating that passageway. The long hallway eventually led to a set of stairs before a huge dark room was before them. On a pedestal in the middle of the room, the Lantern glowed an eerie blue light. Quay motioned for the ghost to follow him as he walked up to the pedestal. [color=SlateBlue]"Place your hand on the pedestal, and allow your soul to flow into the River of Souls. It will be a quick process, but in the end, it will give you access to an untold amount of Souls, and energy. "[/color] Quay instructed the ghost. Without further ado, the Great Lich Lord drifted towards the artifact and placed its ethereal left hand upon it. Immediately it felt itself sucked into the endless world of souls beyond the artifact, and for a few moments it saw that world. While the Lich could feel no such thing as pleasure or joy - emotion had long died within its long deceased form - there was a certain satisfaction that it had reached this point. Long had it studied the ways of death with the Knowledgeable One, indeed, it had studied far more than that, and this artifact had been one of the things that had truly fascinated the Lich. To have it now within its undead grasp, access to the infinite world of souls...there was nothing quite so satisfying. No, nothing so satisfying as a goal achieved. As it began to withdraw, the Lich noted that something was not as it should have been. It could not lift its hand from the artifact, and the world of souls it could see seemed to suddenly turn upon it, as if it had suddenly detected a hostile presence. The fury of more souls than even the Lich could detect was immediately upon it, and it undead form gave off a shriek akin to that of a banshee. As soon as the Lich let off the shriek, its hand was released and it soared away from the artifact, though it could no longer feel anything from its left shoulder to the tips of the fingers of the hand. It knew full well that it had been dealt a heavy wound to its soul. 'It woudl appear...' the Lich murmured, 'that thine artifact has rejected me,' there was something almost sad and dejected about the way he spoke. And indeed, if the Great Lich could feel sadness, that would have been what it felt there and then. To think that the place of greatest purity, the realm of souls, and this artifact which was an access point to that realm would both reject him. 'I am not tainted,' he whispered, 'I am not impure...I am the emobodiment of the purity of death, and I shall not be denied!' with that, he turned away from the artifact, rippling with necromantic energies, and disappeared into nothingness, leaving Quay alone in the great dark room. Quay watched as the ghost placed his hand on the Lantern, his face expressionless, deadpan even. He could feel, even see the ghosts soul in the River, its necromatic energies distinguishable from the aray of light. At that moment he realized that the Astral Home would reject such an evil presence, and just as he has predicted, the ghost screamed in pain. Quay made a move to help the ghost but it quickly composed himself, whispering to himself before screaming defiantly and disappearing. Quay was speechless, but remained deadpan. At the moment, the only thoughts that ran through his mind was the fact that he would have to move the Lantern, the deal had never been formally agreed upon. The ghost would be back. That was a certainty...