The Fear Of God (Phoenix City Chronicles)

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Zeaken looked down sadly at the charred bodies, "They're too badly damaged."



"Sir!," Burk tensed every muscle, clearly on the edge, "I understand your position and the respect it demands, but I cannot accept that. There must be a way to bring them back, and being what you are, you must know it."

"Aye," Zeaken glared almost coldly at Burk, "But I cannot tell you what it is. My job is more than just apprehending criminals. There is a balance to the universe, and death is a part of it. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Fine! If you wont give me answer Zeaken...You! Short preist dude!" Ami shouted stalking towards Brother Light. "What in Earths name is going on here?!" She asked the shadow disapearing from her hands and scythe taking the mask on her wrist with it. She was to pissed off to notice as she pointed her scythe at Brother light the sleave of her kimono slipping down revealing the bold letters on her right writs that spelled out 'DOL' "Come on! Answer me!"

"You have no need of anger with me," Brother Light smiled sweetly, almost condescendingly, at the girl, "I will freely tell you what I can, but perhaps we should do that somewhere a little more private."

"After all," he looked right at her forearm, then back up to her, "I understand the need for privacy."

Ami instantly dropped her arm gripping the dark letters with her free hand before nodding. "Shit..." She mumbled under her breath.

Shocked confusion flits across her rage twisted features and she calms slightly “Should I know you?” she asks stareing at the swashbuckler

“You say that someone has captured my sensei. And that i am to come with you under penalty of law. very well then it seems as tho the answers I seek lay with you." she sighs resolutely walking tward the captain.

as she watches the alibaster clad girl and the cleric wnder off into the woods, she sees something fluttering in the breeze up in a tree, Knuckles's headband. teleporting over she grabs it and wraps it around her bleeding hand "I will avenge you..." she says and jaunts down into the crater to Knuckles burnt body "...love." she whispers as she leans over and kisses his forehead.

Looking at Burk as he said ~as to what he is~ and in a curious manner as to why the person refused to tell them what they needed to bring them back to life.

"If you know of a way to bring them back to life now, it would be highly advisable if you wish to have us help you. In this group we rely on each other, and without that trust we would be lost."

Looking to the captian of the ship as he said that he knew how to bring them back, but refusing to relinquish the information.

"Well if you are not going to give out information, then how can we actually trust you? I still have a duel to deal with against this person here, and he will be brought back one way or another, wether you tell me or not."

Zeaken was silent for a long moment, eyes closed in thought, before speaking, "It's really not that simple. There are rules nobody gets to break. One of them is balance."



"Damn you!," Burk moved into a fighting stance.



"Blasphemy!," Brother Light pulled his warhammer and socked the grasslander across the face, "You men have absolutely no idea what you're saying! What Sentinel Pyrek is telling you lays as follows; the universe is not as resilient as you believe it to be. It was laid down on an ever-shifting foundation that balances forever between good and evil. Law and chaos. The reason that a healer's ability to revive the dead works as it does is because the old body is committed to the heavens in exchange for a new one. When there is no body to be committed, something else must be sacrificed."

"I will tell you what it takes to bring the truly dead back to life," the priest said bitterly, as if he were sentencing them all to death, "You must go to the afterlife yourself, and if the powers there will hear you, you may compete for their souls. Win this battle, and they will be spared. Lose it, and you will pay for your arrogance with your own soul."

Ami shrunk slightly in the trees feeling extreamly out of place. "He's trying to protect you." She mumbled still gripping her right arm tightly.

"So, to resurect them someone has to put their life on the line." she murmers wonderingly as she stands "Are the original bodys required for that to work?" she asks flying back up to ground level and turns to the sky-sailer.

"Not really," Zeaken offered with a sigh as a flying rowboat sailed down from the ship above, "And after what the talkative priest has shown me, I really feel your help might be worth dragging your friends out of Limbo, but before I take you there, I need to know something. Do you really think they'll make a difference, or are we just feeding this warlord more cannon fodder?"



"I can vouch for them," Burk wiped the chlorophyll from his face, clearly humbled in demeanor, "Knuckles McDaniel and Tal Kadorin have already played a huge role in saving Phoenix City from a demon and Marrowbrook from a deathmage, not to mention gods know how many other innocent lives. It's true they were caught off guard, but if we train... if they train... we can't win this without them Sir."

"I believe you," Zeaken nodded as he locked eyes with the grasslander, "Alright then. All aboard."

"Oh, and Cerys," he grinned back at the nekomimi as he stepped into the rowboat, "I'll give you a tour of the boat once we're on our way."

Looking onward as the entire way to bring them back was explained, though he hardly understood half of it,

"Well seems that you know what must be done and so does Light, so nwo that we know what lies ahead, lets make preprations for the time when we go to get them."

A little off shook by how he keeps knowing how he is wanting to know more about the ships interior, turns his head quickly to the comment about the tour, looking at Zeaken as he talked to him,
"Well that would be good to see sometime, im still at odds as to why that ship is still able to hover in the air like it is."

Noting now what needs to be done to bring him back,
"Well finally now that you have given us that information, you now have a little trustworthiness in my eyes. So now that we have an idea on what needs to be done, where do we go from here."

Looking onward to the boat,
"Well i guess since you have told us where we need to go, i guess since your here, your the main means of getting to where we need to go right, so lets make way to getting them back."

Ami stepped into the boat looking for Brother Light and standing next to him being the only person she truly trusted at the moment. "Sir..." She starred looking at the minator. "Do you know what Khamele Sentinels are?" Ami shook her head stating off the information stored in her mind.

"It is written that eight khamele sentinels stood at the creation of the world, fashioned from the elements by the gods to protect all that partook of the great stream of life. These sentinels kept the world in balance for nearly 500 years before, as all creatures must, they finally passed away. It was the soul of these noble warriors that splintered and formed the khamele we know today. Each khamele is part of one of those greater warriors, and sages say you can tell which by the color of their hair. They are thusly granted a given name and a cycle name at the time of birth. Aundari are seers, Eulunae are healers, Nulali are negotiators, Nundabar are scouts, and Cureal, Pyrek, Raustien, and Venigo are warriors. It's widely accepted, and as such, when a khamele is marked as a sentinel - most often by flying airship, but just as likely by a certain rune on their crystal rapier, people give them space."

"Zeaken here is a Pyrek yes?" Ami said looking over at him.

"Aye," Zeaken nodded.



Brother Light simply raised a brow, impressed by the girl's knowledge.

"Before we leave." she says turning to the resident Grasslanders "Are funeral pyres common for your people?"

In response, Burk moved to touch the body of Tal, which crumbled to ash, causing the large man to wince, "No. We believe a body should be returned to the earth. However, seeing as he's already been cremated, I feel that Tal would want to ride on the wind."

Scooping the ashes into a pouch, he took them up in the boat with him.

"Very well then." she says as she desends back down into the crater sinking to her knees at Kunckles's side. Placeing her hands on the corpse she begins sobbing again as her hands and the body start glowing like smoldering embers. Taking her hands away and steping back, that which was once her new love bursts into flames.

As the body erupts into flames a keening wail of grief and anguish rises from her to the skys above echoing off of the mountains as tho the earth was mourning also. After several moments she ceases her auditory greaving and rises from the pit to the ship floating above "Well, shall we go?" she asks as she lands on the deck of the vessel that will carry her away from here.

Watching as his two comrads he knew from the beginning of his adventures with him, crumbled to dust and engulfed in flames, were left behind.
'Well let you rest for now, soon we will bring you back to the lands of the living.'

Looking forward off the ships bow, as the ship set sail for an unknown destination, Cerys looks around and begins walking around the ship trying to figure how things worked on it.

"In that case, we're off," Zeaken made a gesture with his hands and the dingier ascended to the larger boat above.

"Ah, home sweet home," the khamele leapt from the rowboat as soon as he was within a few feet of the deck and strutted over to the Arrow's wheel, the dwarf at the helm standing back to let him drive.

"Make yourselves at home, heroes," he threw back at them, staring straight ahead.



And with that, the ship set sail!

As the ship set sail for their next destination, Azan walks around the deck of the ship lost in thought,

Eventually making his way up near the captian,
"Is there anywhere where we can work out for a while on this ship, i usually do my best thinking when im training or dueling."

"There's a gym below deck," Zeaken never took his eyes off the sky, "Tell the big guy at the door that you're with the Captain and the captain says bottleneck. You'll get in."

Burk was just getting his things settled in an empty bunk when he noticed Cellus come by.

"You okay?," he called to his childhood friend, who was undoubtedly at the breaking point by now.

Nurse looked Burk up and down skeptically before a look of realization came into her face, "'Eey! You must be that Burk dude! Ain't you one'a Cellus' best buds or sumptin?" she said with a grin.

Remembering what she had said back in the clearing, Burk's face fell just as surely as if he had lost another friend, his voice quieter than usual, "You're... not her, are you?"