“Alright, guys, let’s get back to business,” Reylor said, gaining the attention of his newly enlarged group.” Yesterday we discovered a half-shade beast. Also, there is an abnormally large group of animals a distance from here, but it was so late that we decided not to check it out until today. Ready to see what’s happening?” He asked.

Let’s do it! Flint said, bringing his fists together.

“Actually, would you mind if Aileen stayed behind for now?” Eric asked.

“Oh, of course. Take your time. We should be back before too long.

“Khes, Elany, are you two ready?”

“Yeah” “Yes!”

“Alright, let’s go”

*** *** ***

In a room at an undisclosed place:

“Creak” “Creak” “Click”

A door opened, closed, and was subsequently locked.

“Queen, it’s me.”

A white-robed mage materialized from the corner of a room.

“Good grief. We’ve really done it now. It’s like we stepped on a fire ant’s nest—those guys are everywhere.”

“You’re hurt,” Queen said, in a smooth glassy voice. This time, it did not sound cold, but maybe even a bit warm. The truth was that Queen hadn’t always been such a cold person. Since playing a part in ending Votran Empire’s conquest, she had been hunted mercilessly, and had lost her immediate family in the process. These events had caused her to become jaded and very cautious toward the general populace. With Brent, she felt safe though, and could relate with him as with friend.

“I got some important information, though” Brent announced, as Queen began healing his wounds. “Orvan is in league with Hemlock.”

Queen didn’t make a sound, but Brent could tell she was taken aback, since the flow of healing energy was reduced for a moment.

“They sent a person to take out Helen from Votran high. His stealth was first class, but Reylor, of all people, got in the way. The assassin was sent to the capital for interrogation, but was released shortly after. That got me thinking, because Helen is not from Vilnor, but was an instructor at a small magic school in the Shildwell Empire.

“Instead of fighting with the main force, Helen took her students to hide until the storm blew over. Her school was destroyed in the aftermath, and since her funding came from the palace, she went to Vilnor for work, and eventually ended up at Votran High. Only Earlstine and I were supposed to know about this, but Orvan is crafty—it would not surprise me if he had discovered this. He is a paranoid type, so of course he would want to get rid of a powerful Shildwell figure, but Earlstine would not stand to lose one of his star instructors. Earlstine is important to Orvan, so I figured maybe he sent Hemlock to kill her—especially after the culprit was let off so easily. So I did some investigating. I pulled some strings to get a financial audit of the treasury, and low and behold—someone had removed a significant sum of funds from the treasury. Orvan is the only one I know of capable of this, since his movements are not restricted. I had to fight my way into the archives. If it were the treasury, I don’t know if even I would have been able to keep my life.

“Now here is the kicker: the escape passage to the west was used recently.”

“This…” Queen spoke as she thought. “That ends right next to their territory, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does. Oddly enough, though, this may also present an opportunity. I have an idea.”

“Hmm?” Queen tilted her head, her hood falling off to reveal a soft white face, and flowing white hair. Who would have though that behind such a cold facade was a person with such a delicate feminine complexion?

“What is your idea?” She asked, as she sat down at the table in the room to face Brent.

He gave a half grin. “Do you know how anarchy works?”

*** *** ***

“What is that?” Flint asked, as he viewed the spectacle before him.

They had arrived at the place where many beasts had gathered.

“Woah, there are so many shade beasts!” Elany shivered a bit.

Before them was a circle with a diameter of 200 yards. There was not a single living plant inside, but the ground looked black, as if there had been a fire there. This was not the case, however. But the most astonishing thing was the pure quantity of shade beasts inside. There were hundreds! And they were not all full shade beasts yet. Many were still in the process of transforming.

Reylor stepped inside the circle, and shuddered slightly. “Spatial energy. There is so much spatial energy here! What even is going on? Let’s start with how it is being contained and then move to where it is coming from…” As spatial energy began pouring into him, his thoughts ended changing drastically, unbeknownst to him. His now curious eyes darkened and his casual movements became extremely precise. He did not move in a jerky manner, but every step seemed to be filled with purpose.

Flint, Khes, and Elany followed.

What is this? Khes softly voiced the question of all present. The felt like their senses were being assaulted with the entire spectrum of magical energies, causing their brains to feel foggy.

“Step back,” Reylor’s cold voice rang out. “This is spatial energy.”

The three followed his directions, stepping back out of the circle.

“Woah, Reylor! That wolf is turning into a shade!” Elany blurted out.

Reylor glanced over to where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a wolf, around which a black essence was gathering.

“Spatial energy. This wolf is being transformed by spatial energy,” Reylor thought. “It is being contained by a spatial net. The source is from the far West—“

Reylor broke his concentration on the subject of shade beasts and spatial energy.

“Show yourselves,” He enunciated with a cold, emotionless voice. “Never mind. I can see you anyways, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” He looked to the side. Augmented by the surrounding spatial energy, his eyes had undergone a qualitative change, and he was now able to see these people that were fast approaching.

“What are you here for?” he asked, staring directly at the perturbed leader. Realizing that Reylor’s claim of being able to see them was not just a bluff, they canceled their invisibility and flew down to the ground.

“It is of no concern to a man on death row, the leader sneered”

“Click” “Thud”

Everyone, both in Reylor’s group and the other group stared with blank faces.

Reylor had just casually snapped his fingers, and the man in front instantly flopped to the ground, dead.

“Next. You tell me. What are you here for?”

“W-w-we can’t tell you tha—“ “Snap” “Thud”

One the two remaining mages began to activate an escape spell.

“Did I say you could go?” “Snap” “Thud”

Sure, this might seem ruthless, or even tyrannical—but for Reylor, he was in his element, as these men were not positive citizens of the planet. Their deaths were grace to humanity.

“So, last chance. Are you going to talk?” He looked at the last remaining person, bringing his fingers up as if he were going to end this man’s life, just like he had ended the others. The man fainted.

This will work, as well. Reylor then proceeded to walk over to the fainted man, and placed his hand on the man’s chest. Spatial energy began to flow around the two in a torrent.

Reylor and Elany had finally regained their composure, to a degree, but one look said the Khes had not. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and his face was pale, even though he knew that Reylor was not an enemy.

“Khes?” Elany spoke in a soothing voice, as she put her hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“R-r-r-rey-Reylor…”

“Breathe, Khes, breath” Elany soothed.

“He… He annihilated their souls, instantly. Each time H-he snapped his fingers, a soul instantly and completely dispersed.” When someone dies, their soul leaves their body and disappears somewhere, but this. This was different. The attack was directly on the soul. The soul is gone. Not even a thread of consciousness was left.” He shivered as the shock slowly began to wear off. “Now that he is done with those three, even I am incapable of reanimating them.”

“Woah,” Elany though, as she and Flint both glanced at each other. This was too insane—though Elany understood, to a point.

“But what is he doing now, and why is he acting so different, all of the sudden?”

Khes answered first, “He is inserting a sort of soul into that man’s soul. Wait, don’t tell me… He’s soul searching?!”

What is that? Elany innocently asked.

That is one of the greatest taboo practices in the art of necromancy. It is an art used to invade a person’s mind and soul, allowing one to rewrite their thoughts, but even more importantly, it allows them to read a person’s memory, including what they have witnesses with their senses, and even what they felt. The reason it is so taboo, though, is because it traditionally is only possible by using the blood and life essence of many sacrifices, and if the victim survives, they will not be any better off than a dead man. Of course, a Seldin could do it without causing any harm at all, though Khes would naturally be oblivious to this fact.

Khes explained what was happening, though in slightly less detail.

“Hmm.” Elany voiced. Flint had another look of surprise on his face, but Elany did not. Knowing her soul had been laid bare in front of a Seldin before, she though it was only natural that Reylor would have this kind of ability. What she was truly thinking about, however, was this strange change in Reylor’s behavior.

“You know, I think I have actually seen Reylor act like this before,” she voiced, after a moment of deep reflection.”

“Really?” Khes asked, shifting his attention to the new topic. “What happened?”

“Nothing exactly, but it was when he first came to our town. He acted just like this—very methodical, emotionless, and incredibly purposeful. He acted like some kind of machine, though he didn’t look unhappy or anything. That’s just how he was. But then as time went by, he changed to what you guys see of him now. Wait…” Something registered in her brain. “It’s the spatial energy! Do you remember when he started acting all weird, and stuff? It was shortly after he walked into the circle. The energy is making him act weird.”

“Is that why he told us to go back out?” Flint questioned.

“No, I don’t think so. In fact, I don’t think he himself realizes what is happening. It’s probably because he knew the energy was doing weird things to us, like how my head started feeling all fuzzy when we walked in.”

At this time, Reylor walked back to the group. “Let’s go back to the camp.”

“Reylor?” Elany spoke up

“Yes, Elany,” a very even reply came.

“I want the other Reylor back,” she said, tugging on his coat sleeve.

He paused for a moment, with a slightly confused expression.

His face relaxed, as if he had thought of something.

“Sssssss” a black mist poured out of his body and dispersed.

“Is that any better?” He asked in a very natural voice, if even just a little more subdued than normal.

“Mhmm.” Elany looked at him with starry eyes and gave him a charming smile.

As the group traveled back, they discussed how the spatial energy had affected his personality as they patiently waited until the got back to the camp, where Reylor would give them a rundown of what he had discovered.

Eric and Aileen were sitting by the fireplace, so everyone else also gathered around it

“Prepare yourselves. I have learned some things that most if not all of you are not going to like.”

“Tell us Reylor, what is happening?”

“Well to start with, I know what cause the shade. Tainted spatial energy. The area of the beasts had a high concentration of the type of energy I use, but it was slightly different, such that the beasts of the area were able to be biologically altered by it. My guess is that there are several of such areas scattered around, which is what spawns these creatures.

“However, this is not our most pressing matter. As of today, we cannot return to Votran High. We are fugitives. The Emperor of Vilnor has hired Hemlock to kill Elany and I, along with any companions we may have. There is a bounty on our heads, and such being the case, Votran is no longer a safe place for us.”

The circle was silent. But little did they know, there was an even greater secret that Reylor had kept to himself. The circle of spatial energy was contained by a spatial net—something only a Seldin would be able to create. The energy was also being channeled in by methods only a Seldin was capable of. Furthermore, these constructs were only a couple hundred years old.

To put it simply—as a Seldin on Aretor, Reylor was not alone.