Story: How to Summon a Nature Spirit

The day had started early for Avaria. After having created a confrontation between Diera and Phenix, she felt it would be best to gather any answers to whatever questions he may have now. She'd had everything she'd needed for the past few days, however Phenix had been in port the entire time and had decided that they would spend a great deal of time together while he was - more so than usual even.

Quietly, she slipped through the door of his room and out into the hallway. She'd been lucky to procure the room next to his, and was in the process of building a large library there; there was also a bedroom in the apartment, however she hadn't informed Phenix of the fact she had bought her own bed, sleeping instead on the extra bed he had. Just as quietly as she'd left his apartment, she entered her own.

She gathered together the things she had steadily been collecting since Diera had told her about Brodis - a silver bell, a book of Infernal Pacts, the shroud she'd stolen from an extravagant tomb in the Crypts below Qeynos, and candles...the stone vial of demon blood had been hidden in the folds of her robes for weeks, practically burning against her skin. That she carefully slipped into the black, silver and red robes her mentor had given her shortly after they'd met.

For a moment she stood beside her desk, a rather elegant piece of work set into the large bay window. Suspended between an odd golden crescent atop a gold and wooden stand was a translucent blue orb; it looked quite a bit like the Erudin Warding globes, only smaller, and seemed to generate its own prismatic light that created a rainbow beneath the entire piece. From a distance, the rainbow was faint and the stone appeared to be a Greater Lightstone, however it was not truly so.

Mysterious as always, her mentor had given her an orb he called the Petra Mnemoi, claiming it had all the oracular abilities of a scrying stone and the ability to preserve thought. He had said that it was dangerous if she were not careful, and taught her to use the stone; it was sentient to a certain degree, and craved thoughts like a vampire craved blood but like a vampire, one could coerce it into safer arrangements.

He had suggested she use the stone on Brodis, however, as she had studied and recalled many things about demons, she found the stone unnecessary - when summoned within a circle of power, a demon was controlled by the one who summoned him by name there. He would be required to answer her questions, and do whatever she demanded which meant the orb would not be needed to transport the memories back to Phenix - Brodis would be made to replace them himself.

It was hours from dark, barely even mid-afternoon when she had awakened, and gathering everything into the pack had not taken very long. Looking around the room, she decided that she would purchase a few more things to make the place feel a little more complete.

Stepping through the prismatic barrier of energy that separated the front room of the apartment from the back bedroom, she began to slip out of the plain white tunic and leggings she wore to sleep in. She unfolded her work clothing quickly, the tradesmen clothing more comfortable and practical for working in, despite the fact that the shirt barely reached far below her chest.

A few hours later, she moved the last of the bookcases into her room and began to push them into the corners near the levitated desks. She finished settling the first one, placing many books upon its shelves before beginning to move the second one; by the time she'd gotten it over to the place she wanted it to be, Phenix had slipped in the door soundlessly, watching her move and adjust the case several times before she finally stepped away from it.

Turning, she looked shocked to see him waiting quietly for her, and she exclaimed, "Oh! Phenix..."

Smirking at her, he watched her eyes drop down to look at her clothing. Despite having her sleep in his home every night, the work clothing was the most revealing thing he'd ever seen her in. She realised such, and blushed deeply as he looked her over, only glancing at her projects.

"I didn't hear you come in...that book case makes quite a noise when you move it around..." she said shyly, a hand motioning behind her before she crossed both arms over her midsection.

"That's all right, I guess." he replied, finally looking over her shoulder for a moment. "I tend to be a quiet one as it is..."

"So what do you think of my little library so far?" she asked, smirking at him even though her cheeks were still touched with pink.

"It's coming along nicely... better than my library..." he replied, looking around the room as she walked to the lower shelves to rearrange a few books.

She gave a small laugh as she placed a few of the larger books on top of the shelves before turning around to stare at him, blinking with a surprised look as his words settled into her mind.

"You have a library?" she asked innocently, truly surprised by the statement.

"Sort of... not really a library yet.... just a bookcase with some books..." he replied, feeling a slight blush of his own begin.

Again she blinked, surprised, but she smiled before turning around to finish arranging the books. Once she was finished, she turned around to look at him, brushing a few stray wisps of her hair away from her face.

"No offense, Phenix, but I didn't know you had an interest in reading," she finally admitted, "I didn't think pirates like that sort of thing..."

"Well, most pirates don't," he explained casually, "I tend to get the books that the others plunder..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Phenix looked downward. It occurred to him that with one statement, he'd revealed more about his trips to sea than he had in the past few months of knowing Avaria. For some reason, the words struck him as almost...wrong, as though he were listening to himself through the ears of another person for a moment.

"What?" Avaria asked, a little shocked that he suddenly looked guilty.

"That doesn't sound like something I should be telling people..." he finally replied.

She stared at him for a moment, almost laughing at him. It was amazing how comfortable the two of them had gotten with each other, and watching it suddenly be confronted was almost amusing to her. Smirking at him, she crossed her arms once more, covering her bare stomach.

"I'm not people - I won't tell anyone," she responded.

"Anyways," he continued, looking back up at her, "I've always had a passion for learning. I was taught to read from this girl... years back. I just kept going with it..."

Smiling at him, she motioned at the various books scattered around the room and on the shelves. There were quite a number of common books to be read, including a few poetry books, along with the rare finds they'd recovered and restored together.

"Feel free to read anything I recover," she paused for a moment before adding, "You help me get them restored to begin with..."

"You got it," he replied, that familiar smirk coming back to his lips. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said as she looked down again, blushing once more as she realised how revealing her work clothing was. Phenix followed her eyes, and noticed a pack that was sitting behind her, next to the lower shelves. It was stuffed full, and he wondered if she had found another tome to restore or some strange item of legend to chase after.

"Wow...that's a lot of stuff," he pointed down to the pack, smiling. "We headed somewhere?"

Her reaction was unexpected, as she blinked at him and reached down for the pack. Avaria had forgotten that she'd left it there after putting the book into it, and suddenly was at a loss for words - she couldn't tell him the truth, but she hated lying to him about anything.

"Oh..." she began, "I...well, yes..."

"Well... yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she suddenly hugged the pack to her chest.

"I..." she said, feeling the rough cloth of the pack against her skin, again drawn to the fact she wasn't wearing as much as she probably should be, "Can you give me a moment....I want to get out of these clothes.."

Blushing, she walked past him, her arm brushing against his shoulder as she headed towards the door to her room. As she stepped through the doorway and vanished from sight, the prismatic barrier glimmered and shook, a few wisps of magical energy trailing from her form as she walked deeper into the room.

"Oh! Of course..." Phenix said, watching her as she vanished before turning back to the many books in the room.

Quickly, she stripped off her work clothing, pulling on her new set of woven cuirboilli leathers. The brilliant green armour was light and resonated with the power of Nature, and caused her skin to seem slightly paler while her hair seemed more like fire. It was trimmed in gold, so her silver eyes stood out even more than usual.

However, she was headed somewhere she would have to hide the blatant armour of Nature. Moving quietly to her dresser, she pulled out folds of dark fabric and shook out the thick woven cloth robe. Her mentor had given it to her, after she had taken his sister to the Temple to be cared for, stating that any time she come for her lessons, she would need to disguise herself as someone from Freeport. Though she did not plan to journey into the Commonlands at all, she knew she would be safer in Nektulos if she were hidden behind the cowl of black, burgundy and silver.

"And yes, I'm going somewhere, but I can't take you with me," she called to him as she threw the robe over her leathers. "Promise me you're not going to do anything gallant like try and follow..."

In the front room, Phenix rose from reading the titles of the many books. Hearing her words, he turned and looked at the doorway with a surprised expression; since the second time they'd met, the two had gone everywhere together aside from when his ship set out of port. Never had either of them asked the other to remain behind for something less than that, and warning bells sounded in his mind.

"I... shouldn't follow?" the stunned Phenix asked, "You want me to promise what?"

She carefully adjusted the robes she'd put on, taking a few things from the pack and pinning them to the fabric. They were small charms of magic she had gotten from the mages in the Concordium, and would provide better protection against the fire and brimstone demons were said to wield. One of them was a small sigil she had created herself, one that she remembered from her dreams, and it was faintly wreathed in the strange green fires she could call up.

Turning from her mirror, she said, "I said don't follow me, Phenix. Not after I leave here..."

When no reply came, she walked across the room and to the doorway, looking out at him before crossing the prismatic barrier again. The multicoloured wisps of energy tumbled off her figure like smoke, and she became visible to him once more. His eyes widened at the darkened robes, and again he wondered how far he'd taken her from the Light most Qeynosians believed in. His was a shady lifestyle, one that could possibly get them both arrested or worse if it were ever known and proven, and recently he was beginning to think all of his dark habits were rubbing off on Avaria.

"Phenix...?" she asked, looking at him with concern.

Her voice pulling his mind back to the present situation, he crossed his arms, clearly unhappy with her demands. While he understood her powerful connection to Nature, he instinctually felt it necessary to guard her; she could call down the lightning from the heavens, but a single good cut from a sword could kill her. He didn't like that idea, and it only burned brighter in his mind when she asked him to remain behind. With a sigh, she leaned against the doorframe, crossing her dark-clad arms in frustration.

"Please, Phen...don't follow me. I promise I'll be back in a few hours," she begged.

"Well, if you want," he sighed, looking at her worriedly, "I guess I could remain back here. How long you going to be gone for?"

"Just a few hours, I think, if everything goes well," she said, pausing suddenly. Her voice was soft when she finally added, "If not...."

Her sentence trailed off into silence as she looked down. The hairs on the back of Phenix' neck rose in panic, as he realised that whatever she was doing would possibly put her in the kind of situation he didn't want to see. The robe was from Freeport, that much he did know, and his mind began to race, searching for reasons she might have to venture there without him.

Swallowing, he repeated, "If not...?"

Still looking down, Avaria practically whispered, "Then I might not be coming back..."

"I see..." was all he said.

He had been right about the situation, and now had confirmation that she would be in some sort of danger where she went, making him even less comfortable with her demand that he stay in Qeynos. She looked up at him, and he stared into her silver eyes, his own dark eyes reflecting his stubborn refusal; he had felt bad enough for getting separated from her the evening before, while they were assisting Diera D`Narin in the Thundering Steppes - he would feel even worse if something happened to her that he might have been able to stop.

"And you think I'm going to stay here," he growled under his breath, crossing his arms tighter against each other.

"Phenix," she sighed, her voice echoing her frustration, "Don't make me - don't make me keep you here. Please, just promise me you aren't going to follow me."

"Make you...?" he asked, thinking he was calling her bluff, "You have some way to stop me if I refuse?"

"Stop you...to a point yes. Long enough to be far from Qeynos when you recover the ability to move," she replied.

He suddenly recalled the lattice works of ice she would summon around her wine glass each time they shared a drink, and memories of slow moving enemies covered in thick ice chased after that thought. It was clear that it was not something she wished to do to him, as the chilling ice caused painful lacerations on the skin as it broke apart, and she'd already told him several times she never wanted to hurt him. Part of him believed she wouldn't be able to do it, while the other part disliked the idea of forcing her to.

"Will anyone else be going with you...?" he asked, searching for at least some hope that he might not have to.

Avaria shook her head, looking downward as he remained silent. She was surprised he was so upset by her actions, but she knew that she would react no different if he were doing this to her. It made her question their situation again, but she quickly pushed any thoughts that followed from her mind - she had to concentrate on what she was doing if she wanted to make it back to Qeynos.

"I can't promise you anything then," he said, slowly walking towards the door. His dark blue clothing remained silent as he moved, and she wondered if he would somehow follow her undetected.

"Damnit Phenix," she sighed, pushing herself away from the doorframe.

"What? I'm supposed to let you possibly get yourself killed?!" he yelled suddenly, turning to look at her. The whole situation unnerved him, and forced him to confront a lot of things he had been trying not to think about, and finally he let go of any reserve he had.

"Yes!" she yelled back at him, as if he should be okay with everything.

For a long moment, they stared at each other in silence.

Phenix looked at the woman he spent his time in Qeynos with, angry that she thought he would just let her run off to her death without any sort of intervention. Since the second time they'd met, he hadn't wanted to spend time with anyone else, even though the brothel mistress tried desperately to win back his coins - he had stopped desiring the familiar one-night stands, suddenly finding them empty pleasures. Though there were downsides to their adventures, he'd found more in them than he had imagined possible and the thought of never experiencing that with her again struck a deep chord within him.

Avaria was confused by his outburst, having made herself believe that there was nothing between them and that he didn't have any sort of feelings for her...just like her mentor had told her. She'd believed that she was just someone that allowed him to accomplish whatever plans he had while in Qeynos, and someone to share a drink with after a long day of fighting. Now she again found herself questioning their situation, fighting to push the thoughts away and focus on what lay ahead.

"Phenix, it's even more dangerous for me if you're there," she pleaded, breaking the silence, "please..."

Her words caused him even more alarm, and he instantly disbelieved them, thinking it just another attempt to keep him from following her.

"How the hell is that possible?" he spat, "You're not making sense, Avi..."

"No, of course I'm not. And I won't," she replied, recalling all the times he'd say the same thing to her, when she tried to prove to him he was Stormryder. "Just believe me, if you're there then it becomes even more dangerous for both of us."

"I can handle myself," he retorted, crossing his arms again before adding, "And I've done a pretty damn good job of keeping you alive..."

"Phenix, please!" she begged desperately, "You don't know how horrible things will become if you follow! Please..."

She sighed, and pushed back a few wisps of hair as she looked at Phenix, clearly frustrated. His desperation was showing as well, his face contorted with sadness and frustration as he looked back at her.

"Avi... why do you have to do this," he said, his eyes searching hers for answers, before he raised a hand and motioned to her, "Whatever THIS is...."

There was a long silence before she whispered, "I'm doing this for you..."

"Not possible," he frantically replied, taking a step towards her, "There's nothing on this planet I'd want you to do that would involve dieing for me."

"Phenix...this isn't something you've asked me to do," she sighed, her voice shy, "And while you may not want me to do it...I'm going to...because I care about you."

"If you cared about me...you wouldn't do this," he retorted, taking a step back and opening the door.

"....don't say that..." she whispered, watching him with frightened eyes.

"...do what you must..." he said, stepping through the door, "I promise you I won't follow."

The sound of the door shutting echoed through the apartment, and Avaria felt the first tears begin to slip down her cheek. For several minutes, she paced through the library, continually telling herself that what she was doing was the right thing. Avaria fought to keep herself from thinking about what his reaction could mean, trying to think only about the ritual she would be performing soon.

The tiny crystal at her throat pulsated, a calming force coming through it and washing over her. She could almost hear her mentor's voice in her mind, reminding her how dangerous it was for him to not know who he was, reminding her of the faceless beings in Freeport who could potentially be his enemies from the past.

Her resolve returning, she went into the bedroom and gathered up the pack before calling forth the spirit of the wolves to hasten her trip to Nektulos Forest.



Avaria set the pack down beside her, carefully opening the bag. She pulled out a bundle of cloth, a book, a small silver bell and several candles, setting them all out beside her. She then called up the bright green flames, allowing them to frame her hands. Their heat was low, and unable to burn anything. After a moment, she carefully picked up the cloth, opening it up slowly while chanting quietly.

Laying the death shroud out on the ground before her, the green flames raced along its edges. Her chant remained quiet, her eyes half closed as she spoke words she barely remembered. Raising a fire-wreathed hand to her pocket, she pulled out a large stone vial that had been hidden for several days. Her chanting grew louder as she opened the vial and began to paint archaic runes on the cloth. Avaria formed an elaborate pattern of both magic and dark runes, woven with some sort of star symbols and other strange shapes.

Closing the vile, she began to pick up the candles, moving them onto specific sigils. Once they were all in place, she picked up book and placed it at the edge of the design before taking the bell and stepping forward onto the cloth once more. She opened the vial, and began walking in a circle around the drawing. Blood and green flames fall as she walked, the two making a circle along the cloth. When she reached the starting point, her chant changed, and the fire and blood sealed the circle.

As the circle finished, she got the feeling that something was watching her. She didn't sense anything out there, other than the sound of the small waves crashing, and the crabs as they skitter across the land, but she was almost positive she wasn't alone anymore. Taking the book, she opened its pages. Writhing shadows danced across the pages as she stood near the center of her drawings, pouring the last of the blood there before calling lightning down to light each candle in turn as she reads from the book, the only human word a single name - Brodis.

She felt a hand touch her on the shoulder, yet she found nothing there. The sounds of souls whispered into her thoughts every so often as she continued the ritual. From the thoughts, she was able to make out one, able to discern it from all the others. She stiffened, slightly unnerved by a sudden ethereal touch, but continued to read from the book. She could feel the power that resided in it, but did not realize it was unlike anything she'd ever known. Soon visions of different hues of light begin to seep into her sight, blurring out some words in her book; Avaria shook her head slightly, blinking several times as she tried to continue the spell. The tone of her voice changed from confident to nervous, snatched away by the growing wind.

From the words that were blurred, letters in ancient Combine began to form - as they appeared, they began to skitter across the pages, as if dozens of cockroaches were fleeing from an impending light. She blinked, trying to speak the newer words, the language very unfamiliar to her while the swarming of the letters made her slightly dizzy, and for a split second she wondered if Phenix had been right.

As if reading her very feelings, the letters began to create a blur themselves, as if they were feeding on the fear that was bleeding from her heart. Then, the letters stopped, the speed of them slowly became synchronous with her heartbeat the next time she said HIS name. She continued to move her mouth, but all sound slowly stopped. She stared down at the page, terrified suddenly as she realised it could hear her thoughts.

"Brodis?" she whispered.

Slowly, the letters began to form a word, and changed shape. She realised the words were all different symbols, but said the same thing over and over again, in a few languages she understood, Feir`Dal being one of them with the common tongue being the last - the word, she realised, said "Interesting...".

"Interesting?" she asked, blinking slightly as she read it aloud. Again, the word "Interesting..." appeared on the pages.

The book suddenly flipped out of Avaria's hand, pages flying all about as it began to take erratic flight, leaving a trail of green fire behind it. It reminded her of something, and she took half a step forward after the book before she stopped to watch it flit about wildly as she realised it reminded her of a firefly. Beneath her, the green fire began to consume the shroud, scorching the sand beneath it; each candle created a small burst of bright green flame, and the edges of her robe became blackened by it's power. The spell was broken, interrupted by the sudden shift in languages and the power controlling the book, and she could feel the effects of the backlash as she watched the makeshift firefly.

The feeling that grabbed her shoulder, that hand that stopped her from taking another step; she felt a pressure and realised that it was trying to turn her. As she looked down at her shoulder, still slightly disoriented from the backlash, she turned her body the direction the force demanded. Standing practically on top of her was the animated corpse of an Ogre, his hand lifted as though it controlled the power that had turned her. In panic, Avaria began to scream.

The Ogre quickly placed his giant hand against Avaria's mouth, practically smothering her in the process. She reached up, flame wreathed hands clawing at his in fear. Her silver eyes were made dull by the silver of her gown, but they were wild with terror as she stared at the undead corpse that held her.

Huge, pale, ghastly with the smell of death drifting about him, the Ogre was hidden beneath a giant holocaust cloak, its hood drawn over its head. She wondered how she could have missed his approach as she looked up at him, terrified. He was a ghastly, hooded being that was maggot-ridden under his face, contorting the very flesh as he looked upon her. Even though his face dripped a little white maggot every so often, she could not take her eyes off his...they were silver, like her own. Fear and shock entwined as she stared up at him, and Avaria wondered why he had to have eyes like her own.

The Ogre's free hand grabbed Avaria so fast, she heard the muscles pop in her neck as he pulled her toward him. Her eyes widened in panic as he smiled at her and began to sniff her hair, face and shoulder; after what seemed like an eternity, he finally let go of the Koada`Dal and stood up straight. She was unsteady on her feet, and incredibly tiny before him, but she still looked up into his eyes, despite her desire to look away from his horrid appearance.

"Gods..." he finally breathed, looking up into the air before an evil grin crossed his face as he looked back down at her, "...how I've missed that smell...."

"W-what smell," she asked, confused but afraid he might mean living flesh.

Laughing, the Ogre replied, "His scent! His sweat...his desire..."

The word desire struck her, piercing her terror as she remembered Phenix' outburst before she had left. Looking up at the monster before her, she suddenly wished she had said more to him before he had stormed out - she feared that she never would see him again.

"You know my son," the Ogre rumbled, staring down at the tiny woman in front of him.

Avaria blinked, shocked by what was going on and somehow disbelieving what's happened. It slowly dawned on her that she did successfully summon Brodis back to Norrath from whatever hell he came from, but she also realised that she had no power over him - the spell had failed, and she was left without any protection or control. The rush of the ritual had made her feel amazingly powerful, even when it raged out of control she still felt as though she had become something more, but now when faced with Brodis, she felt small and insignificant.

Brodis was the one in control, and from the energy that radiated from the corpse before her, she realised how powerful he truly was - that Phenix had been right about what she was dealing with.

"Ph-phenix," she stammered.

Brodis cocked his head to one side, smiling at her as he asked, "Where is he...?"

"I made him stay in Qeynos," she replied, anger rising within her as she thought of why she had to leave him behind. "Because he doesn't remember everything nor believe what I've proven to him."

Brodis chuckled, and she realised that the wind blew, as if responding to Brodis, laughing because he does. The feeling that there might actually be more people around suddenly entered her mind and she blinked, her anger losing edge to self-consciousness. The wind whispered, and Avaria suddenly realised she could understand the hisses of the wind, as it blew through the trees, relaying their words.

"And..." Brodis snickered.

Every question, every theory came racing through her mind as she tried to find a starting place. Despite the horrid appearance of his body, the power radiating from Brodis was overwhelming to her, and his silver eyes disconcerting. She wasn't sure what to say, feeling like the child called to the front of the class to answer a question they didn't know.

"And what have you proven to him," he growled, the trees hissing at her once more.

"Th-that he was - is Phenix Stormryder. The brother of Raenewae," she began, the rest of the sentence growled, "Devoted lover and protector of Areanna Imshee`Cro..."

Pausing to take a breath, somehow summoning up the utter calm once more, she finishes, "...the man he was before you took it from him."

A wave, bigger than any she had witnessed at this beach before, banked along the shore. The water seeped into the sand, and she heard what the ocean has to say as the water was absorbed.

"She knows too much!" a feminine voice screamed through the sand and waves.

Brodis looked to the sea a moment, and smirked as Avaria blinked; everything Diera, Latharos and Vahhn had ever said raced through her mind. She wondered what truths she knew that Brodis would rather she not, and wondered if he would kill her for trying to find out who Phenix had been before.

"Is she right, Avaria?" Brodis queried, grinning evilly down at the woman, "Do you know too much?"

Again, she thought that he might kill her, and quietly she gathered the last bit of dignity and pride she had. The Darkflight instincts within her began to take over as she recalled the dangerous game from so long ago. Straightening her shoulders, she continued to stare up at the corpse defiantly - it was a gamble, but she hoped that by entering a game of words with him, she might be able to find out what she wanted to know and make it out alive.

"I...don't know. I've learned a lot about Phenix as he was back in the Age of Turmoil," she began, her voice quite but with a definite edge, "Of what you did to him and his family...and I know you brought him here now, as the man I know..."

Quiet, Brodis looked out to the ocean again, and inhaled deeply, a few maggots falling from the slit in the body's throat. Avaria was clearly disgusted by the state of his host body, but her eyes remain on his as best they can.

"That's an awful lot," he replied.

"Kill her!" the ocean screamed, slamming another large wave onto the shores. Avaria blinked slightly as she heard the phantom words in the water, but she expected that this might end in her death. Brodis the acceptance within her, finding that she was willing to die trying to help Phenix before she even voiced her thoughts.

"It is better to find the truth for him than watch him suffer," she replied, a fire-wreathed hand smoothing out the soot-covered robes she wore.

The wind blew against her hair, almost unraveling it. Several large strands fell from the clasp, and the wind began to caress her neck with them and she could almost feel the curiosity of its touch.

"Wait," a whisper rustled through the trees.

Looking up at the tree, Brodis rested his hand against it. Again the wind began to blow about Avaria, tugging at her hair, caressing her ears and sweeping at her robes. She stood still as the wind swirled about her, the touch of Nature calming her, the feeling of the wind against her back almost natural; her hands remained slightly to her sides, even though the wind tugged the hem of her robes upward. The bright green of her leathers became visible, and he could see it is almost the same shade as the neon fires that burn about her hands.

"She's not what she seems," the tree rustled.

Taken by surprise, Avaria blinked in disbelief as she watched Brodis, but as she regained her composure, she merely shrugged slightly to him.

"No, she's not..." he growled, glaring at the woman.

"I'm like Phenix...past a certain point, no one knows who I am...and I don't want him to feel like I have," she responded, "That's all. I'm no different from any other friend."

"And she does not know," the ocean murmured, a small series of waves gently crashing against the shore.

Brodis pondered the woman before him. Her connection to Nature was palpable, but he realised that she did not associate it with any God - she could see Nature for the force it was before Tunare had taken control of that power. In fact, her soul burned with the light of another Nature Spirit, a dark one at that; his mind turned over the many different creatures he had encountered in his eons on Norrath, and he realised she burned with the light of the Darkflight Faeries, though it was not as dark as it should be.

"Interesting..." he murmured.

"Nature is quite talkative...I'm sure whatever it is," she smirked, "it won't take long to hear it..."

He continued to smile at her, the large fangs that protruded from his lower jaw visible, but he remained silent for quite some time. Her thoughts were an open book to him, like the one that still fluttered beside them as a strange firefly, and he could read that she barely knew anything of what she was. Seeing an opportunity, he seized it with all the passion he had felt long ago.

"What is it you want, Darkfae..." Brodis rumbled, eyes still staring down into Avaria's.

"...Darkfae...?" she questioned, blinking up at him.

With a voice that pierced both her ears and her mind, Brodis bellowed, "What is it you want, Darkfae!"

"Two things...well," she replied, cringing from the lash of power released, "one really."

"Kill her!" the ocean suddenly screamed, a wave crashing heavily against the shore, much closer than the first few waves had been.

Ignoring the ocean and its malice, Avaria said, "I want you to return his memories to him before the lack of them gets him killed or worse...and make it known to him why you've done this to him at all."

Looking up at Brodis, thinking about the way Phenix would act when confronted with things he barely remembered, her anger surged and took control of her. The burning passion of rage flicked across her silver eyes, causing small and almost indistinguishable flecks of red to dance over them. For a fleeting moment, Avaria wished she were powerful enough to beat him into oblivion.

"And why would I want to do that...?" he snarled, crossing his arms...standing just like Phenix.

"Brodis, why did you do this to him? Did it not occur to you that he would possibly meet those that knew him?" she snarled back, flame-wreathed hands clenching as she leaned forward, "Be slowly driven mad by these confrontations? That his enemies might live and kill him now?"

Raising a hand, she pointed at him accusingly as she growled, “Or was that the idea? Leave him here to flounder lost and unable to protect himself?"

Brodis grinned at watching this darker side of Avaria slip into view, amused by how passionate the woman was when she released that cold and distant demeanor. However, her next words were like a slap to the face...

"So you could watch from the shadows as he was ripped apart by your actions!" she yelled at him.

Her hair had all but completely fallen from its clasps, and fell about her face and shoulders as she raged at him. The fiery auburn hair was streaked with black, deep blues and dark greens and she suddenly defined the word Fury as the winds about her pushed back her robes. Brodis raised an eyebrow at her as he found all thought of her own safety was lost in her protective rage for his son.

Brodis furrowed his brow as he stared at her, and she began to feel pressure build in her mind, as if the weight of the world was suddenly inside her skull.

"Or maybe you did it to make Areanna and Telian suffer more, so you could gleefully watch them when they find him..." she screamed, her words trailing off as the pressure hit her in force. Trembling, she reached a hand up to her forehead and began to double over on herself, the winds dying around her quickly.

"I saved that boy!" Brodis bellowed, towering over her as he pointed to himself. "I DID! He lives, and has benefited from my actions. I saved him!"

Her words had struck something within Brodis, her passionate desire to protect Phenix drawing out his own feelings - even after hundreds of years, their existence was still something strange to him, heightening them beyond what most people could ever feel. The insult that she gave him ripped open his heart better than any amount of magic or steel could ever hope to.

"I brought him from the moon, shaping the energies for ALL to see!" he roared, pressing against her mind further. "I allowed him to be happy!"

Avaria fought for the will to look back up at him, stunned by his passionate words. In that moment, she realised he was not a demon at all, and the connection between the being that resided within the Ogre's corpse to the world around them became painfully clear. She knew he was speaking the truth, and felt a measure of kinship with the being despite the harm he was causing to her.

"TO LIVE!" Brodis bellowed as he began to assault her mind with images from the past. Avaria's eyes widened as she looked up into Brodis' once more, though it was not their current reality that she saw.

The first image of Brodis' memories of Phenix was of saving him from a dark elf, from besting the Dark Prince of Neriak to protect Phenix. The next image was of Brodis healing Phenix after his sessions of torture from a beautiful Teir`Dal, with such Hate in her eyes, they burned brightly into Avaria's mind. Many images of the many times he was able to save Areanna from the undead, or from the giants that plagued her nightmares, or from her very father washed through her mind, and despite the assault, her hands reflexively balled into fists and her jealousy flared for an instant before the next sensation washed it away.

There were no more images, only feeling. Avaria was washed over by the intensity of the love in both Brodis' and Phenix' heart when they were both using the same body. It was then she realised why he had called Phenix his son, and she could feel past the radiant power to Brodis himself...and it was suddenly as though Phenix were there. It was shocking to experience what they had gone through together, and how it had affected both of them as they became entwined into one being - their separation had been the hardest thing either of them would ever experience.

"I allowed him the chance to do it all again.... without consequence," Brodis explained, his voice becoming so much like Phenix' to her ears now. "To find what he is, to allow him that which I had lost so many eons ago...unrestricted, undeniable love...power obtained without restraint..."

"And..." he paused, looking down with a smile at Avaria, though she could not see him do so, “the chance to be happy..."

The weight in her head suddenly disappeared, disorienting her and causing her to waver on her feet. Brodis reached out and caught her again, this time caressing her body gently as he kept her on her feet. Her body was light, her frame much smaller than a typical Koada`Dal, which confirmed his earlier realisations about her. The darker features were fading from her as the wind began to blow against her neck, reviving her as it brushed across her face. As Avaria came back into reality once more and focused her silver eyes on him, she stiffened as she realised that she was being held and Brodis understood that she rarely had been touched by anyone...but...

"And you have his scent on you...." he murmured, grinning.

"I...we...we're friends, Brodis." she replied quickly. "Whenever he's in port, we're together..."

She blushed, actually looking down finally, and a slight sadness came over her. She couldn't see Brodis' smug grin as he looked her over, nodding slightly as he did.

"Oh, I'll bet...." he snickered at her, clearly implying that she and Phenix had done more than they actually had.

"No, he doesn't think of me like that," she replied, her head snapping up to look at him again, "I've only ever touched his arm and given him a kiss on the cheek, and even then that made him uncomfortable...I think."

"She doesn't listen," the ocean chuckled, her waves barely braking against the shore. Avaria looked back at the water in confusion, blinking slightly at her words.

"She'll figure it out," the wind mused as it blew through the trees.

"So, I let her live," Brodis sighed, looking down at Avaria as she turned to look back up at him.

"Such pretty eyes," he purred, "I can see why he's taken to you...."

"Pardon?" she asked, blinking at him.

"If you wish to keep him, Darkfae, never tell him what you are," he stated.

Though she began to ask him questions, Brodis only giggled slightly as he wrapped his hand around her right upper arm. Grinning, he began to squeeze her arm. His grasp began to burn the flesh beneath her rob, causing her to panic and reach up with fire-wreathed hands that gripped his hand as her nails dug into his undead flesh. A slight cry echoed from her lips as she tried to pull her arm away from his grasp, her silver eyes looking down in fright at his hand as it felt like hundreds of tiny needles etched something into her flesh. The burning suddenly went cold - too cold - and a searing pain from the intense temperature shift flooded over the stinging of the needles as Avaria began to cry.

"What are you doing," she whimpered through her tears, still trying to escape his grasp.


"Giving you what you want," Brodis said, grinning down at her. "When I release you, all you have to do is read what's on your arm...."

She looked back down at her arm, tears streaking down her cheeks from the pain. Slowly, Brodis released Avaria's arm and turned towards the ocean.

"Ph-phenix' past...?" she asked, raising a hand to where Brodis' was to gently massage the area as feeling began to return to it.

In reply, Brodis winked at her.

"Is there anything else you desire? Wealth? Power? If so..." he said as he began to walk towards the ocean, "...go talk to a God..."

"Brodis!" she screamed after him, "Brodis...do I tell him about you or not?"

"That's up to you," his voice replied in her mind, "But if you knew what you know, and if he were you, would you want to talk to yourself?"

He faded from her view, and it seemed that he simply became part of the ocean and vanished. Avaria stood on the shore, shaking as she realised her body had gone into shock from the experience; the burning green fire beside her caught her eyes, and she watched as the book became smaller, slowly morphing into a real firefly before it moved before her. Holding out her hand, she watched the small creature come to rest in her palm before it turned into a tiny jeweled earring that she carefully pierced the cartilage near the tip of her ear with.

"Goodbye, Brodis," she whispered, calling forth the power to return to Qeynos.

Once she vanished from the shores, the ocean roared, crashing a large wave over where they had been standing, covering the blackened glass with sand and sediment, hiding any trace of what was done from the world once more. She was patient, and she knew someday Avaria would return to her, but until then she would help the woman protect her secrets.



Sitting at her desk, she watched the Petra Mnemoi spin suspended within its stand as the rainbow below them danced quietly. Every moment, every sensation played over her again through the orb's power and she silently thanked her mentor for the gift. Over the past hour, she had poured the entire night into the orb, coercing it into an agreement that would allow her to recall that the orb held something special that it would show her whenever she please, but that she would never recall any detail but the sensation of being Brodis and Phenix as one. The Petra Mnemoi was content with this arrangement, having found an unending opportunity to drain away memories from a being, and Avaria preferred to recall very little so that she never accidentally reveal the truth to him.

As she walked away from her desk, the memories of the night began to fade once more and her thoughts returned to Phenix, knowing he would be asleep in the other room. Tomorrow, she would register the Order she created officially with the Royal Accountant, and take care of the last few things she needed for her library, but tonight...

Quietly, she slipped into the other apartment, bare feet making hardly any noise against the floorboards. Her hair was still down, the clasp sitting back on her desk after being removed so she could brush the tangles Brodis had made away and she still wore the thick woven robe, though she had slipped out of the bright green leathers before leaving her own room.

In all their time together, Avaria had never even looked into Phenix' room aside from the one time he demanded she step into the doorway so he could hear her speaking. In the dark, moonlight danced down through the windows and cast a soft light across the bed. Phenix was laying with his back to her, shirt tossed aside somewhere before he'd gone to sleep. For what seemed like an eternity, she stood watching him sleep, almost afraid to move as it might make him wake up and tell her to go sleep in the other room.

Finally, she quietly sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her legs up and stretching out on her side, facing away from him to watch the moonlight play out across the room. She felt him move in his sleep, as he turned and propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her, a small sigh of relief escaping his lips when he was sure it was her. Pulling his pillow over so they both could rest on it, he settled back down and put an arm across the shaking Avaria, pulling her close to hold her while they slept.

Smiling, she gave into the exhaustion that she felt and fell asleep in Phenix' arms.



She slept for some time, despite the vicious nightmare haunting her mind, waking late in the day.

For a long moment, she was unsure of where she was, sitting up slowly to look around the room. Her eyes settling on the pile of strongboxes in one corner, she realised that she was in Phenix' bed...but he was not.

Slightly panicked, she rose from the bed and walked into the front room, eventually making her way into the library. When she could not find Phenix' anywhere, she went back into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed.

The parchment on the bedside table finally caught her attention and she picked it up, eyes reading it slowly. She was surprised to see that his penmanship was quite good, only to chide herself immediately for thinking so poorly of him at all.

"...out to sea for some time..." she sighed, tossing the parchment aside.

His note explained that he had originally come to the library to explain to her that he was leaving again, but this time the captain was being vague about when they would return - previously, he had been able to tell her how many days they were expected to be gone, but this time he didn't have that answer.

Their argument had kept him from explaining, and ended up keeping them from being able to spend any time together before he had to leave. If she had known he was leaving, she would have waited to speak to Brodis, and was angry with herself for losing that time with Phenix.

Unsettled, she began straightening his apartment.