“Sir! We’ve found something…odd.” Called the private.

“Show me what you’ve found.” Commander Grey replied.

The two went into a tiny Artifact Temple. Immediately Grey noticed that the statue in the center had been melted to slag, along with a 4-foot-wide hole straight out of the back of the building.

“What could have done this sir? Our scientists said that the damage looks like accounts of Dragon Fire, Mages say it looks like magic and the engineers say it looks like Dwarf seige fire!” obvious despair in the young soldier’s voice had a visible effect on the others standing near.

Not dead soldier, just sleeping. Grey thought to himself. “I don’t know Private, but don’t jump to conclusions. There are still Gnomes and Dwarves around who may have been able to make devices to do this. Believe me when I say that this is no form of magic or Dragon Fire.” Grey said confidently to the group, knowing his words were complete bullshit. Every single body they had come across was killed by the same style of swordplay. Grey was an experienced swordsman and knew immediately that one highly trained person, or at least a very small group of highly trained swordsmen were responsible for the destruction of Abbeyville. What he couldn’t grasp was why the bodies all had been partially eaten.

The heat required to do this was impossible with todays technology, at least without boosting it with magical items. A weapon like that could change the entire power structure. Gods, I hope this isn’t the return of magic.

“Scouts, give me a 25-mile sweep looking for a trail on the murderers involved. Scholars, you said that the mage tower was annihilated, give me the how of it. Send messengers to all the Captains in every neighboring town. The message will read as follows, “Protocol 117 is active by the order of Commander Grey, Reigning Commander of the Emperor’s Special Task Force. Possible small team of insurgents: Highly Trained, Technologically Advanced, Aggressive, Extremely Deadly, Bladed Weapons of High Quality, Fire Weapons, Possible Beast Infections.”

All around, “Yes Sir!” could be heard and movement started immediately.

“Private, gather forces to bury the dead. Destroy any beasts in the area that may have eaten the dead, no need to allow sickness to spread.” Grey absently ordered the Private from his earlier conversation.

“Yes Sir!” he ran off quickly to accomplish his task.

*2 Hours Later*

Raylek strode to the Commander’s tent, in no hurry, he never was. He’d damn well get there when he got there and not a moment sooner. A smile plastered across his face made all the young men worried. More than once, they’d stood and left rather than risk see what the crazy old coot was going to do today.

Raylek, a man of 250 years old, was one of The Three. The Three were the wisest and most feared of the mages. Sure, they didn’t have magical powers outside of the handful of items they possessed, but their order had information and education beyond anything the world currently had. Even the Emperor did not mess with them unless they went way overboard. Of course, it probably helped that the Order of Mages was also secretly (to most) the wealthiest organization in the realm.

Two guards stood watch at the entrance of Commander Grey's tent. Raylek didn't even slow when the guards called a halt to him. Blasted infants know full well who i am. Give a child an ounce of power and they think they're special. "Commander, I have information for your ears only. Please send these snots away." Raylek lazily stated as he sat in the Commander's chair.

"Leave us soldiers, unless you believe this old man can down me in a fight." the soldiers reluctantly trotted out of the room, leaving the men in total silence.

Never turning to face the old man, Commander Grey appeared hard in thought staring at a stone on the table. "Raylek old friend, it's good to see you here. My Mages have been investigating to no end and cannot seem to figure out what destroyed the Mage tower here. If you have time on your visit, would you please look?"

"Indeed Commander, I’ve already taken the liberty. To be honest, it appears to have been blown apart from the inside, and by means I’ve only read about. I believe it to have been a magical item that was overloaded. There are chains surrounding the base of where the tower was, like someone locked the tower before blowing it up. What we salvaged from doors indicates that they were also locked from the inside. Our people stationed at this tower appeared to have not wanted something to get in, and that something appeared to not want them to escape. I've been able to feel an enormous amount of expended energy formed here, and it's all centered around the Mage tower. Considering that there WAS an artifact in the temple that was burned, I can only think that someone in the know came here intentionally.” Exhausted, Raylek stopped speaking.

“Raylek, what was the temple holding?

“Under orders of the Emperor, I’m not allowed to tell you that. However, I’ve already requested that you be allowed to know, and he will not deny me. That unassuming temple was one of three temples. Each temple was guarded by wards created by the greatest mages in history. The temples purpose was to contain and direct magic towards a door. The magic used was taken from legendary artifacts that you are VERY familiar with. We call them Destruction Shards.” Grey gasped and sat down. Hearing those words ran fear throughout his entire being. “Don’t pass out on me yet Grey, you haven’t heard the worst of it. That door was to the Exile Dimension, better known as the Ether Prison. Do you know of it?

“I..damn, do I want to know about it?” Not sure how much more he could take today, Grey decided that until getting authorization back from the Emperor, he didn’t want to know anything else. “No, say no more on that topic, Raylek. You asked about the stone I’m carrying. It is a message from the insurgents. It simply says “Revenge”.”

Life. I sense life. Must feed, must devour. Little had Srit known that his magical bomb contained enough energy to wake up the ancient being. But the little Imp enjoyed the small things in life, like leaving behind a tiny shard of crystal filled to the brim with volatile energy in the Mages tower, chaining up the doors and blowing up the crystal from far, far, far away.

The wraith was finally awake, finally able to resume its existence. It had laid in wait for signs of life and energy enough to allow him to move since the explosion shocked him awake. In the aftermath it only sensed weak minds that couldn’t hope to contain him. This one though, this one was strong.

Easing its way to the surface was proving to be one hell of a task, but THAT mind was a good vessel, it would not be passed up. So, ever so slowly, it continued its ascent back into the world of the living.

Commander Grey had his men packing to leave the destroyed town. The events that had occurred here were beyond belief, nothing like this has happened for thousands of years. Returning to the Empire was going to be a long, arduous journey. Facing the Emperor was going to be no fun either.

“Messengers, go ahead and ensure the Emperor knows of our arrival. Carry this report with your life, there can be no mistakes. Should you believe your life is in danger, immediately burn the report. If the seal is broken when you arrive, or should you not deliver the message, you will be hunted and tried for treason. Do not slow or stop for any reason. Go!”

Horses immediately bound out at a gallop, not even a word of ascent from the messengers was given. Good men Grey thought to himself. “All remaining forces, prepare your belongings, we will be headed out at first light. We will be stopping at the next town to re-supply and then will not stop until reaching the capital. Maintain guard at all times but rotate often so that you are well rested.” Grey ordered the group.

“Raylek, will you come with me, please? I am in need of your assistance.”

“Certainly Commander” Raylek replied from behind the man.

Raylek had hoped the Commander would leave before darkness came. Magic energy had been apparent all around the area, but it was quickly draining away in eerie pulses that seemed to be speeding up. Judging by the rate of the pulses and deterioration of energy it wasn’t going to take long before the magic was completely gone. Not that this was a problem, but, what exactly was eating the energy?

The pair entered Grey’s tent and took seats. Grey was seated on the end of his bed, looking truly the part of a man tortured. Raylek had never seen the man look so ragged and had already prepared a sleeping drought for him, expecting the request.

“Raylek, I’m no good to my men dead, do you happen to have a sleep aid that I can take?” he lazily said, eyes half closed already. “I have been sleeping for 10-15 minutes at a time, always waking up due to sleeping terrors. I’ve never had these before, must be the stress weighing on me.”

Raylek handed the man his tonic. Sleep terrors? This man has commanded legions and seen over the deaths of millions of people. These events here shouldn’t compare to his lifetime of death and terror. Maybe the man is finally breaking. “Here commander, I hope it helps you. I took the liberty of putting 10 guards around your tent because this aid will put you in a very deep sleep. You would be unable to wake and defend yourself should the need arise.”

“Thank you, old friend and thank you for coming. I will need your knowledge in the coming days I fear. I suspect this will not be an isolated event.” Grey mumbled and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

“Captain! Double the guard around the tent and keep two men inside. Bring me 2 Mages immediately!” Raylek commanded the next highest-ranking officer in the camp.

“Yes sir!” Though Raylek was not in the chain of command, it was never a good idea to go against the wishes of The Three, everyone knew how dangerous they could be and how much pull they had with the Emperor.

Five minutes later two mages arrived in the tent, both appeared to be senior mages. “You two, I assume that since you two came that you're seasoned. You will both stay alert all night, keep your magic senses open to full and alert me immediately if you sense anything out of place. Can you both feel the rhythmic draining of the residual magic in the area? The two mages nodded. “There is something off about it, it may be nothing, but I’d rather not risk it. You are protecting our Empire’s most prized hero, while he is a great warrior, he is not a Mage. Do not fail me.” Raylek’s green eyes seemed to flash with danger as he stared at the two men in front of them. “Yes sir!” they shouted in unison.

Raylek retired to his tent and fell to sleep almost immediately.

MMMMmmmm, so good. The wraith had managed to find several people appearing to flee his grasp and consumed them, their horses and physical bodies. All that remained of them was their clothes, weapons, bags and saddles. Not having a physical body was not making it easier to move around, but the wraith was more than capable of ambushing its prey. Slowly making his way back towards the camp, it continued to consume every living thing in its path. As it fed on their minds and bodies, it also consumed their latent magical energies and memories. SHE had been here. I will find her and make her die this time! The wraith was now on the edge of the cluster of life. Everyone, I will consume everyone!