Valdar and Astralis

"Undoubtedly touched by the dark powers of the Burning Legion..." "-But a child! how was I to-" There was a resounding boom, and a shower of dust fell the ceiling. "Summon faster!" Both voices shrieked. A third voice, slightly squeaky with fear swallowed hard and started chanting at a faster pace. Another boom followed by a muffled CRACK. "Shiiiiny! Where are you shiny?" a small voice called distantly, accompanied by a terrible roar. "Someone light a candle or something. I can't bear this in darkness." "No candles!" the first voice snapped. "Light a candle in the wrong place at the wrong time during the ritual, and who knows what may come through." There was another boom, and the sounds of crumbling mortar. "Almost done", Mereana's voice said shakily in the darkness as the third voice rose in squeaky crescendo to its climax. There was a crash, and a hole appeared in the magically reinforced, three foot thick door. Light poured into the darkened chamber from two burning eyes, revealing an ornate summoning circle with thirteen apexes. Six focus matrices were arrayed around its edge, each containing eleven bloodstones. The room was obviously old- an ancient summoning chamber used only to summon the greatest of beasts; warded strongly to ensure whatever monstrosities called forth from the abyss did not venture beyond without permission. The gnome standing in the master's circle shrieked the final words to his spell, and the ground in the middle of the summoning circle exploded in green fire. Bubble snorted a gout of flame at the three terrified warlocks and shuffled aside. In its place, a pointyeared silhouette appeared, wearing a wizard's hat. "There you are!" Valdar cried happily. "Can I have my shiny back now pleaseplease-wow, issat a-" His final words were drowned out by a mindless roar of rage as the infernal tore free from its abysmal plane and into Azeroth. A terrible green light filled the room as the creature drew itself to its full height, raining debris on the three warlocks now trying to subdue it. Valdar shouted something in the pandemonium that followed and Bubble reached a clawed hand into the hole. The demon gave a small grunt of exertion, lost in the scream of tearing metal. Tearing the runed iron door from its frame, the demon flung it aside without any apparent effort. Then it crashed into the chamber with Valdar perched on its shoulder, leaving a pointyeared hole in the mortar. The summoning chamber suddenly seemed very small as Bubble and the Infernal glared at each other. Valdar surveyed the scene, and spied a small glint in Mereana's shaking fist. "Shiny! There you are!" He yelled in excitement. The elf child clambered off the eight foot tall demon and approached the trio, ignoring the creature of rock and green fire between them. At this point, they panicked. Words of power were shouted, and a stone fist slammed into Valdar's wards. Bubble roared, and smashed the Infernal's head with a savage backhand in retaliation. The gnome gave a shout of alarm, and the three warlocks scattered as their creation reeled and slammed into the wall. It immediately pushed itself upright and lunged at the Demon Footsoldier again. This time Bubble retreated, drawing a pair of barbed scimitars from it's harness. Steel met stone in showers of green sparks as Valdar approached Mereana unconcernedly. Transfixed by the terrifying battle above, the Warlock did not notice the tiny prying fingers that pulled her clenched fist apart, did not hear the cry of happiness. "Yay, Shiny! Okok Bubble lets go!" Valdar zoomed between the Infernal's legs. Distracted, the animation tried to raise a foot to crush the Planewalker-and had its head swiped from it's shoulders instead. Green fire exploded from the gaping hole and the Infernal careened backwards into the wall, arms flailing about where its head had been. Bubble immediately leaned forward, allowing Valdar to clamber up as he leered at the screaming Demonologists. Suddenly it turned away and crashed out of the room, the little elf once again perched atop it's head with his shiny quill. They did not notice the large chest of Valdar's belongings also strapped to the Demon's back.

...a radish tenderly curled around a Mollusc. The rutabagaesque creature turned at the sound of the Knight approaching in alarm, and reached under the Mollusc to grab a...

Completley outside WoW - demonic footsoldiers actually have a brain, unlike Infernals which are just mindless killers. A doomguard might be close in terms of intelligance though.

Bubble is meant to be a short story of 1 or 2 posts only. I may add an epilogue/aftermath, but I still have my eyes on finishing Shiny!, even if it requires a gap between where it terminates and where I can start again. It should be only 2 or 3 posts to the end. Thanks Gyr, though I doubt Mereana would even dare try

Ignoring the droning noise somewhere else, Valdar stared at the musty spellbook in front of him in absolute boredrem. The searing demonic runes on the page did not register in his mind as his right hand moved on it's own accord to doodle a glyph in silvered ink. The glyph immediately came alive and skittled along the margins to battle viciously with the page number while it's creator absently sketched out a stick figure. With renewed interest in the ancient page, he added another. The two shiny figures started dismantling runes and re-arranging them into more interesting configurations. Absently, Valdar wondered what the page was about and started reading, more out of curiosity than anything else. He stopped as soon as he realized it was a ridiculously long treatise on Voidwalker summoning. No doubt a summary of the lecture going on in front of him right now - why in the paths would he want a Voidwalker? "Weak, barely worth 'th effort 'less ye want something for yer lame Cherubi to jump on, neh?" - Those were uncle Dreamer's word on the subject, and that was that. Besides, they were nearly mindless - no fun at all. Kitanue, had been adamant however. If Valdar wanted to explore Azeroth, they would have to fit in. A brief "wakkawakka!" beside him caught Valdar's attention, and he leaned over to peek under the desk. "Shush, Skippy! I'm supposed to be reading this boring stuff!" Skippy however, cringed and pointed behind him. "She's right behind me, isn't she?" The shrivelled imp nodded erratically, huge eyes nearly popping out of it's skull as Mereana "Voidrender" coughed significantly behind him. "And since master Valdar here seems to be an expert on the subject, lets see him attempt the summoning. To the front boy, NOW." She snapped. Both of Valdar's ears drooped as he pulled himself off the seat. The warlock stared at him malevolently, the rest of the class with some apprehension. Valdar was by far the youngest of the class - demonology generally attracted power hungry students of a more mature age. Most had grey in their hair though a few slick haired teenagers were present, their eyes gleaming with an unholy lust. Mereana was talking again in her cold, cruel voice while tapping Valdar's silver quill against her cheek. "The voidwalker is a terrible force to contend with, once brought to this Plane. It's tough skin makes it nearly impervious to mortal weapons and spells alike. A magical circle with eight apexes is required to summon one, bound by the thirteen shackles of Nural'Mazin. The force of binding requires understanding of the Third Law of Abu Mashur focused through a ruby matrix. To protect yourself from the nether backlash, four wards are required - no, I will not need to remind you little one. If you lose too many limbs, just scream and we will see if you pay attention next time, oh yes." Valdar wasn't listening as he made his way to the front, pouting. She was always so mean to him, not like the aunties and uncles at the Pen. Why hadn't Kitanue let him go to Mage School instead? "Because I know you, Valdar." Kitanue's voice sounded in his head. "You would have done something so out of the ordinary before the first week was out that people would have talked." "But this is so stupid!. Mereana is so mean to me, she took my shiny and wants me to summon a boring old Voidwalker." he shot back. A sigh. "This was a mistake. Look, I'm almost done persuading the elf elders here to accept us. Once I'm done, I'll come get you and we can go back to the Pen, okay?" Significantly cheered by the prospect, Valdar nearly didn't realize he had reached the circle of summoning until he felt something squish underfoot. "Ewwww" - It was the remains of whoever had tried to summon before him. As he held up his foot to scrape off the piece of lung, an idea struck him. Slowly, his ears perked up in amusement. Valdar waved his hand dismissively, and the broken remains of the previous circle scattered with the gore of its previous occupant. He stared at the empty ground for a moment, allowing his mind to drift back to his lessons with Uncle Dreamer. . . "Of course, summoning the creature would be the first part of the challenge. Subduding such a creature of darkness would require more skill than most of this class is showing." Mereana's voice was actually gloating now. Even her name was an act of arrogance in Valdar's opinion. What void could she have rended, unable to even bear the Astral chill? Contempt for his arrogant "teacher" rising, the small elf pinched his arm hard enough to break the skin. Dipping a finger in his own blood, he drew a simple circle on the sandy floor. He turned his wounded arm over, pouring blood into the middle of the circle. Instead of pooling, the blood rushed away in the form of a complex rune. The class tittered uncomfortably - the instruction had called for blood of a virgin lamb slaughtered at dawn on the solstice. Valdar stepped out of the circle and started to chant in a low voice, pronouncing each term of the demonic tongue with practised ease. The titter turned into a resentful muttering that the Planewalker did not hear. He fell freely down the screaming well of dammed souls, past the Spire of Lost souls with an exhilarated "wheeeeeeee!” Scorching wind buffeted against his wards and made them glimmer purple in the hellish glare. Condemned spirits screeched and wailed mindlessly around him as his mind squeezed through a molten fissure. He slid past the circles of torment and deeper into the abyss where the true army lay. He paused briefly at a shiny vein of black quartz before remembering why he was here and pressed on. Molten earth gave way to blistering air as he burst out of the inverted ocean of lava. A vista of apocalyptic grandeur opened before him - two vast armies stretching from mind-horizon to mind-horizon locked in eternal battle. The black legions of order pressed forward as the vast ocean of chaos pounded against it, each side able to break the other. Huge catapults hurled lemurs into the ranks of the Black Legion, and blade horrors cut through the ranks of chaos like butter while fire rained down in house sized drops from above. He paused for a moment, a mere hundred feet above the maelstrom and locked his will on a ten foot tall soldier of chaos. The creature sensed him, and threw itself upwards, snarling - But Valdar was gone. -"I call you, Ashbneil'Kalladtd", he completed the ritual. Valdar did not see the confused looks of the other students, nor Mereana making a wild dash for the door. Lightning cleaved the air in the circle, and a blast of superheated air dried the greasy hair of several nearby students. The red maw of a portal tore through the fabric of reality and deposited the demon, blinking into the circle of binding. It roared in rage, and the wooden roof blackened and smouldered. "WHO CALLS ME?" Valdar snapped out of his trance in an instant, and beamed at the footsoldier. "Hihi! I'm Valdar Twiceborn of the Paths an I called you." The enormous demon matched the gaze for a moment, and then howled in frustration. "YOU BEST ME, PLANESTRIDER. WHAT IS MY NAME?" The Planewalker furrowed his brow for a moment, then announced brightly. "Bubble!" If the demon had any objection to being named such, it did not show it. The creature merely bowed it's head. "WOULD YOU HAVE ME KILL THE OTHERS, MASTER?" it growled, burning eyes caressing each and every remaining student that had not gathered their wits and fled. "Nuhnuh no killing, we're gonna get my shiny back! Mereana took it!" The demon had already taken two earthshaking steps before Valdar's raised hand stopped it dead in its tracks. "Piggyback!" He demanded.

I'm not sure if QB's can read the AVV forum, but the invatation is open to all members page and above for planning (Anyone, to play): http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?act=ST&f=38&t=13955

I never thought of Fleur was shallow She did get into the Tri-wizard competition, didn't she?

As one of my friends pointed out, it might be very well that JK Rowling is sitting somewhere going "DO I NEED TO TATOO "SNAPE IS EVIL" ON MY FOREHEAD TO GET IT THROUGH TO YOU PEOPLE??!!" But it's so fun theorizing

Now that would be a plot twist, Harry being Snape's lovechild (Lily Potter didn't hate Snape as James did remember! ) Snape: "No, Harry - I am your father! Harry: "Noooooooo" . . .But I doubt it. Highly. Gwai - up till the end of GOF, Harry _was_ special. He was the only one immune to Voldemort's magic. Even now, he's still partially immune because their wands repel each other. Voldemort also can't penetrate his mind without extreme pain (I think?) However, I beg to differ on if he's special or not I find it more appealing that a "normalish" guy (He comes of age soon) rising up to the challenge of defeating the Dark Lord of the Sith rather than being the "Chosen One" with ub3r l333333333t powers that none can match. I'm really at a loss on what's going to happen next. They're basicly without guidance now. Unless Harry & co. suddenly develop powers waaayyy beyond their years, even destroying the Herocruxes is going to be an immense challenge (even the mightiest wizard of the day had his freaking hand burned off) If the other 3 are still hidden. . .yeah. Bit of a problem there.

Interview with JK Rowling about book 6/7: http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml

Very few people know of the horcruxes, and even fewer know there are 7. The wording of the letter has 2 high points: "To the Dark Lord"<-I think this sort of implies a death eater, as you said "I have stolen the real Horcrux"<-Implies whoever took it assumes there is only 1. Disgruntled death eater, as you mentioned maybe. It sure sounds like someone who's pissed off at him anyway

Peredhil - you wouldn't happen to have a link to that theory, would you? \ / I remember reading it ages ago, and would like to see exactly what it proposed would happen.

Wheee! *Giggles and hangs on to the forklift as Gwai carts off part of the thread*

/bonk drummondo - no spoilers in this thread Maybe we can set up another one for spoilery stuff?

Sirrius is still dead! . . . bwa ha ha The book is awesome. The ending, shocking. I'll say no more. . .I loved it!

The Reincarnation web irc no longer exists. Here's one you could use: http://satinroom.net/cgi-bin/cgiirc/irc.cgi However, you'll need to leave the default channel and join #thepen. It's already configured to connect only galaxynet

Is there an archive of these cartoons somewhere online? I'd love to see them.

*Blink* I think you mean someone else, I didn't say anything about movie watching order

Heretic! Darth Vader is _the_ coolest bad guy! So where's this spoiler thread?

Ogurspeeek too!

"Okok - but first promise me you'll count to a hundred first!" "No." "Oh, ok" The little elf's eartips drooped a little. Valdar raised his right hand, and started counting off fingers as he spoke. "Well first you were fighting with a bad man then I think you tried to make a big kaboom on him but it hit you instead and you fell down - Ummm I think that's when I tried to give you a hug - everyone says a hug is good - but you had your wards up an I bounced up an down an outta the room an..." The Dreamer raised his hand. Valdar stopped for a moment while the elder Planewalker punctuated and reassembled the sentance into coherant pieces. Only after the hand fell did the little elf continue in the same sing-song "What I saw" voice. "Okok! Then the bad man tried to kill you again so I shielded you. Umm then the Solar came I think an chopped Vlad in two an then someone tried to fix everything an you woke up really mad an full of shinies!" Valdar beamed, forgetting the seriousness of the situation for a moment. "Anyawy you were really mad an blew my wards from inside-out and tried to attack . . ." He nearly paused, but the words spilled out anyway. "uncle Peredhil" The Planewalker leaned forward, black eyes glinting in the pale light of the Astral harbour. "Peredhil. . .tried to do this to me?" "Nono!" Protested Valdar. "He tried to cast a REALLY BIG spell an heal everything. I think you were hurt real bad from zapping yourself an your spirit wasn't quite properly attached then." He stopped, just realizing something. "Were you looking for the shiny then? So he tried to heal you like a mortal I think but it didn't work an hit your true name instead by mistake, see?." The child pointed an ear towards the Pen Keep, Astral side, whereof fallout from Pendehil's overwhelming spell of rejuvination still lingered like a small nebula. "Then you got even madder an tried to hit uncle Peredhil so he sent you to your room." Valdar curled his little toe as he finished, having long since ran out of fingers. Behind him Yui coughed and drew in a lungfull of air, not realizing she had been holding her breath all along.

Valdar sat amidst the broken remains of the cupboard he had crashed into, unharmed save a rapidly healing scratch on his forearm. What remained of his wards sparkled and flared weakly around him as they attempted to re-form and failed. The Planewalker child quickly wove a tiny spell into the fabric of magic still pulsing through the room, swimming through the manastreams still thick with expanded planar magic. For a moment he glimpsed the source of the Dreamer's banishment and his face turned a deathly pale. "Auntie Yui?" He asked softly, enormous eyes tinged with fear. No one noticed him at first, too stunned by the sudden outburst of violence. The broken shield gave one final flicker and died, dissipating into a fine mist. When no answer was forthcoming, he called again insistently. "Auntie Yui!" Snapped out of her own rage, Yui quickly rushed over to the little elf in relief. "Valdar! I'm so glad-" He cut her off with a fierce earshake. "Auntie Yui! Uncle Dreamer is hurt bad an angry . He might think uncle Peredhil tried to bind him!" "Nani?!" * "The spell was too strong! It tried to heal uncle Dreamer's soul an disturbed th' defenses around his true name! That's why he was so angry-because only someone who wantsto bind him would do that but I think it was a mistake!" His ears were arched downwards in dismay with their tips nearly touching over his chest. Yui shook her head slowly. "Valdar, I'm sure uncle Peredhil and uncle Dreamer are grown-Planewalkers. Surely they can-" She cut herself off, realizing that perhaps the Dreamer would not be ready for the finer points of negotiations just yet. A few motes of mana still floated in Valdar's eyes, tiny blue clouds against white as he whispered words only she could hear. "You've never seen Tlaenor auntie Yui. . .they tried to bind him there too." For a moment she saw, reflected in his huge eyes; An enormous plain of glass stretching as far as the eyes could see, broken only by the twisted remains of once proud towers. Overhead, a few carrion birds circled under the relentless sun while shades marched below, only markers for the death spot of Tlaenor. *-What?! (I think)

"No hurtin uncle Dreamer!" Slipping in and out of the Astral in the blink of an eye, Valdar was tugging the Dreamer by one limp arm backwards. Too small to acompalish the task, he threw himself on top of the unconcious Planewalker protectivley. Squeezing his eyes shut, he whispered again. "No hurting uncle Dreamer." A brilliant blue sphere of protection swirled into existance around them, seperating both Planewalkers from the outside world. The Solaris blinked in suprise and flapped it's wings desperatley trying to avoid the barrier. It failed to slow it's fall, and winced visibly as one foot made contact with Valdar's shield. To everyone's suprise, the shield bent - and then snapped upwards, throwing the angel into the air again with great force. Those standing were once again forced to duck as the angel rebounded off the roof, wall, painting, table and doorframe.

"Uncle Dreamer!" Little Valdar did not have enough mass to produce deep footfalls on the white marble, even with heavy boots - but the pitterpatter of small feet echoed unimpressivley through the halls of the Pen. "Uncle Dreamer!" He ran past the caberet room, screeeeeeeeeched to a halt and doubled back to where auntie Yui partially obscured the unmistakeable shape of uncle Dreamer. Both ears stuck straight up in panic for a moment, and he rushed in to hug the battered uncle. The dazed Dreamer and Yui Temae looked in alarm at the little shape cannoning down on them, and managed to say in unison "Valdar, dont-". Too fast to catch, the small elf dodged past auntie Yui to deliver a BIG HUG to the Dreamer. There was another impressive "BOOOOOM" as their wards clashed. Little Valdar flew backwards and ricocheted off the doorframe with a loud "DINK!". Yui Temae winced as he further bounced off the far wall, narrowly missing her in the process. Zadown ducked in suprise, as the elf shot through the empty space he had occupied a moment ago with a distorted "wheeeeeeeeee!".

/*This is a story I initially wrote for the Exalted RP, as well as an initial story after Kitanue's fall from grace many years before meeting Valdar. Unfortunatley, I made a slight oversight with the fact that Exalted does not support an Astral Plane, Multiversum, nor angels. By the time you read this, you may recognize most of the story being the same as one I may have in the Conservatory with a modified character. But this was the original, and fairly close to what I had in mind for Kitanue's life just after her fall. Enjoy. Addentum: After a fall from grace, Angels that do not plummet into the heart of Hell land on mortal worlds. There, they are exiled to live a hundred years as a mortal, before being allowed to ascend and claim their wings once more. Even then, they are tarnished with grey wings and considered outcast. Most regard "Grey wings is better than no Wings", however.*/ In the darkness of her mind, Kitanue dreamed. The empty numbness was worse than the wracking pain before. The pain let you know which parts of you were still attached. She struggled to hang on to the memory of pain, her ineffectual struggling as the black robed one's stretched her body across the alter. As though conjured by the memory the pain returned. A tear gathered at the corner of her eyes, squeezed tightly shut as they were. The voice of the high angel was nearly drowned out by her screams. The Solaris shone with the brightness of the sun below his black hood proclaiming divine justice, raising the knife high above her body. The other lesser angels bowed their heads as he brought it down. Piled below were the bodies of nearly a hundred angels, a fatalistic and grim expression on each one's face. Her mouth twisted and opened slightly. Kitanue choked slightly, and half whispered names poured forth. "Faitha, Ardreus, Malenyth, Mandine. . ." The knife fell, cold steel glinting in the blaze of righteous fury before plunging deep into the base of her left wing. A final scream escaped her throat, echoing throughout the empty Planewalker fortress. Hungry for celestial blood, the blade rose again. . . Kitanue's hand reflexively reached over her shoulder. Her fingers dug into scarred flesh, and she shivered. There was a horrible tearing sensation as the lesser angels pulled the wings from her body. Just as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped, and she was an angel no more. Bloody hands dragged her from the alter and she fell against the pile of corpses, sobbing uncontrollably. The lesser angels turned to their next prisoner, Aurel's normally stoic face tinged with terror. Her fingers tightened convulsively and the wound broke open, adding another bloodstain to the ragged dress as the tears flowed openly at last. Half awake, the whore next to her mumbled something and rolled over. Hugging herself, she drifted into a dreamless sleep, savouring the pain. * A rough kick to the ribs brought Kitanue awake. She muttered a few choice curses and rolled over, covering her eyes with one hand. The corpse collector grunted and kicked one of the others she was sharing the gutter with. Finding no response, he gleefully seized the body by it's legs and dragged it towards his cart. An apprentice quickly hopped down to strip anything of value from the corpse before marking it. The two of them then piled the dead woman atop the dozen other corpses before driving away. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Kitanue rose slowly and staggered over to a nearby water through. She paused and gazed at her scattered reflection - a mortal woman in bare rags, no aura of divinity, pointed ears nor wings to mark her kind. Mentally, she counted off another day, the sixty seventh since she was exiled to this forsaken world. After cleaning herself the best she could Kitanue turned to find four women standing by the alley mouth. Sensing slim pickings, she picked up a small bundle of belongings and set out for Market Street. Market Street was crowded by the time she arrived, with the sun about to crest noon. Kitanue made her way through the crowd of beggars and street vendors, hitching her ragged skirt up to the waist to reveal the guild tattoo on her thigh. Quite suddenly, she felt a knife at her back. Useless muscles on her back rippled reflexively, but without wings, it was all she could do to freeze. A rough voice crooned over her shoulders. "You and I are going to take a side trip, lass - down the next side street." The skinny man guided her off the main street and into the twisting maze of alleys and out of sight. Roughly, he prodded her towards three other men loitering in the dim streets. Kitanue's heart sank as she spied a foot sticking out behind piles of rubbish. These were not thieves. Sensing her realization the largest of the trio grinned, showing decayed teeth. "Ya want to strip first whore? Bloody clothes are hard to sell aye." The knife moved up to her throat, and Kitanue tensed. Just as the gang leader was about to nod, the air turned unnaturally still, and her eyes widened at a glorious visage that floated down the narrow street. "Hail, fallen one. Run into a spot of trouble, have we?" Falling to one knee, Kitanue placed one fist over heart and touched her forehead to the ground. "Lord!" "When I heard one of the first cohort had fallen to this world, I could scarcely believe it. But here is mortal proof before me. How fare ye, captain?" She grimaced. How like the gods to mock her before she died. "I fare well, lord. Soon it will be over." "I think not. It will be a . . . waste for a captain of the first cohort to meet her end at the hand of thugs. " Kitanue rased her chin slowly, looking the embodiment of Sol in the eye. Bitterly, she said; "Pardon lord, but others seem to think otherwise. All has been taken from me-" "-And all I may give back." "It is not permitted" She whispered. "I have use for you First Cohort of Angels, Kitanue Talesia, Captain of the Hammer of Light. Will you accept? In return, I shall end your exile to mortality. Your kind are meant to fly, not crawl. Do you accept?" She rose proudly as her lineage was recalled, joy shining in her eyes. "Gladly, m'lord." "Then be touched." A tendril of light detached itself from the shapeless apparition, snaked it's way down to the woman's forehead. Kitanue gasped as she felt new power infusing her body, filling it with light. "Go child - your duty shall become clear soon. Almost as an afterthought the voice added - "And mind the dragonblood. They have foreseen this. There was a flash of light, and Kitanue found herself in the arms of the thief again, his knife an inch from slitting her throat. The gang leader hesitated a moment as her eyes flashed with new life, the sun sigil burning where she had been touched. A moment later the air about Kitanue exploded in a blaze of white and gold, ethereal wings unfolding to their fullness. She grabbed the murderer behind by the scalp, and threw him without effort over her head. Blinded by the display, the others never saw their friend's head smash open against a brick wall. With a sense of profound joy Kitanue reached out to touch her grey wings. They would take an age in returning to the physical world, but at least she was complete. Her head snapped around at a sudden alarm. Soldiers in black and green were pouring through the maze of side streets, and a squad was charging down on her. Her young wings were unable to bear her to flight, but the infusion of power had left her near full strength. She turned and vanished into the nearest doorway.