It was fairly easy to determine the mindset of a nation or social group in Nor ‘Am, Ky Kiske believed, by looking at how they designed airships.

There were basic principles of airship design that were constant; the lift to weight ratio of the engines, the need to design the hull with proper aerodynamics in mind, these were constants even to those who used the Art to build. In fact, all that tended to differ, when you came down to it, was the fundamental appearance of the vessel in question; in that arena, one truly saw the inner soul of a people. Of course, this went further than just airships, Ky knew; the soul of a people was reflected in architecture, in the art they created, in their music. But given that he was currently some two thousand feet above the Western Ocean onboard an airship built by the airshipwrights of his homeland Gilead, his thought tended to stray towards that one aspect. It was not, he knew, a wholly original thought; he had once, long ago, heard his father espouse the same theory over the dinner table. The soul of a people, he had said, is in their machines. Look at the airships built by the Mechanics of Neo-Olympus; functional, their purpose obvious to the naked eye. That reflected their mechanist souls, their love of science and technology, and their blunt and practical manner. The airships of Jumi, now, they had been built by users of magic, ones with a profound knowledge of the workings of the metaphysical universe, the spiritual world. Their airships, Ky knew, tended to be works of art as well as magic, and so you had vessels that resembled ancient sea going ships, their hulls almost graven images, vessels of witch wood and ivory. Magic was as much bonding with the world as it was altering it, and the architecture of Jumi reflected that. Every aspect of a people was reflected in the appearance of the things it created.

Looking at the Ars Nova, the courier-class airship that was carrying Ky from Gilead to his destination across the Western Ocean, the first thing that came to mind was one simple concept; warfare.

Everything about the ship, its sleek, angular shape, the main hull almost shaped like the tip of a spear, the matte-black finish, polished to a deadly sheen, even the engine nacelles, swept back against the lines of the hull, announced its lethal nature, its ability to do harm. And that, more than anything, Ky knew, was the true soul of Gilead. For over two thousand years, his people had been in the business of turning out the deadliest warriors in the world, and that was reflected in their war machines. There were some that marveled that a nation that had been founded on religious principles, handed down from the ancient prophets of Eden itself, could also manufacture such warriors. Ky knew better; there was nothing that fired a nation more, that took it to more extreme heights of passion, than religious fervor. Eden’s religion had not been the Church of the Faith, but rather spreading their dogma around the world. And in a world of sorcerers and demons, one did not get far spreading the gospel with anything short of a sword…

Ky regarded his reflection in the view port that he looked out of, affording him a view of one of the solid-shot cannon turrets controlled by the command crew, and smiled ruefully. There you go again, playing the philosopher, when you should have your mind on more practical matters, he thought. Like getting through your first mission as one of the Seikishidan without screwing up spectacularly. He looked around the narrow passenger cabin of the airship, barely wide enough for two rows of seats with a walkway between them, and tried to focus on his present situation.

Looking at him, you would not think he was a warrior; he was of average height, very slight in build, almost the dictionary definition of "wiry". He did not have the hard-bitten features one associated with a soldier; he was handsome, with angular features and wide blue eyes, his hair a shock of gold that was cut in jagged angles. He was dressed in white boots trimmed with blue and white uniform pants; over that he wore a long overcoat, the edges trimmed in black. Across the front of the coat, where it buttoned shut, was a design in blue, outlined in black, in the shape of a cross that ran to his collar. He wore blue fingerless gloves, the traditional combat gloves of one of the Angel Host, and buckled around his waist was a belt with a silver buckle, upon which was etched "Hope". The last had been a gift of his mother’s upon his successful completion of the Trial of Fists that marked his ascension to the ranks of the Seikishidan; when he had asked her why she had given him such a thing, she had smiled ruefully and said, "You’ll understand soon enough, Ky." Late at night, sometimes, Ky brooded over what his mother had meant; Jessica Kiske was sometimes an enigma to her only son.

Sitting in the seat opposite of him-they had both selected seats in the middle of the cabin, due to the location of the view ports, was his closest friend in the world, Orochi Ogawasara. They were within a few days of each other in age (Orochi was two days his elder), had both begun their combat training in the same class, and had grown up together. They were the only two, of their cadet battalion of two thousand, to achieve the rank of Seikishidan, which was not all that shocking, Ky knew; usually it was cadets that bonded in some fashion that survived the ordeal of the Trial of Fists. It was tradition to keep young Seikishidan together until they grew to depend upon their own abilities, so it was expected that she would be there. Orochi was not as adept at swordplay as Ky was, but she was far more skilled at diplomacy, Mechanics, and magicks than he was, so they balanced out as a team. Like he, she was not what one expected when one thought of a warrior; she was small, with an athletic build, and was lovely in a delicate way. Her eyes were blue, a shade so pale that they were nearly gray, set in a round face that looked less capable of rage than of simple mirth. As was becoming a trend in Gilead of late, she had dyed her hair to a shade that matched her eyes; Ky thought, given how Artists used small magicks to alter their appearance in the Domains, that it was about time that Gilead caught up with the times. She was dressed in a long, terribly unflattering skirt, a sleeveless top of a similar cut to the uniform shirts of the Angel Host, and long gloves that reached her elbows, all in pale blue-gray. Orochi liked to joke that while she liked to bend the conventions of Seikishidan dress, she lacked imagination to aggressively color coordinate.

She noticed Ky looking at her and smiled, wryly. "So bored that looking at me is your last option?" she asked in a jaunty tone.

"As always, I am overwhelmed by your beauty and charm, milady," he replied.

Orochi laughed. "I’m writing that down so I can tell your girlfriend that."

"Don’t start that again, Orochi. She isn’t my girlfriend." Ky did not like to speak about his…well, dealings, for lack of a better word, with Embla von Prios, the daughter of the head of Gilead’s General Assembly; there was too much politics involved between the Seikishidan and the Assembly for him to take Embla’s association with him at face value. Even if, he mused, she had the most beautiful face in all of Gilead…

"All right, then, the girl you spent all of last night with and the one who saw us off when we left Avantasia," Orochi clarified.

Ky blushed an amazing shade of red for a man of twenty-two summers. "We…we just talked," he stammered. If Ky had one weakness, Orochi knew, it was the fact that he did not like to talk about his personal life, or even imply he had one. It was cute of him, but sometimes she just wished he’d admit things. He’s swooned every time Embla has walked into a room since he was sixteen, for goodness sake, she thought. Ky summoned a sense of calm and did what he always did at times like this; he turned to business. "I’m not bored, Orochi, merely restless. We should be at Nitaru soon; our airspeed hasn’t lowered and the winds are favorable."

Orochi let it go this time; by her calculations, they would be arriving at Nitaru in the next fifteen to twenty minutes, and from the moment they were within the flux-field of the Domain, they would have to be on guard. They were Seikishidan, and being the most elite fighters in the world meant you always assumed someone was out to get you. "True, before we know it we’ll have to get to work. Finding out why the Nitaru Council requested our presence there."

Ky leaned back in his seat and looked at the curving hull above him. "Fifty years of quiet, fifty years of never making an aggressive action or needing our protection, and they call on us. I guess they had to use the Accord of the Covenant to get us to act; Nitaru isn’t technically under the umbrella of our protectorate." The Accord of the Covenant had been written nearly one thousand years ago, after the end of the war against the sorcerer-kings of Ultima Thule and the rise of the Domains. It stated that any Domain, formally acknowledged as such by the Covenant, the allied houses that had fought the war, had the right to ask Gilead to intervene in any matter that threatened the Domain. Nitaru had been, if Ky’s memory served him, acknowledged as a Domain by the Lumineux of Jumi when it had been settled. "Still, Nitaru isn’t part of the Covenant, nor is it allied with the rival factions against Jumi," he continued. "It’s too far away for any Domain to reach without the Angel Host noticing, and the lords of Nihon and the Emperor of Miifan don’t consider it within their spheres of interest. So what could be there that needs us?"

Orochi pondered his words for a minute, then asked, "Wasn’t Nitaru once a colony of Nihon?"

"Back in their expansionist phase, yes. The chain of islands Nitaru is in was settled first by Nihon, then, once the missionaries from Eden became converting them to the Faith, they ceded their control of the islands to Eden. When the fact that it was a point of power was discovered, a Domain was erected there and the islands around it were used as storehouses for information."

Orochi nodded. "As Eden retreated to Gilead, the Covenant built a place to hide if Ultima Thule conquered Nor ‘Am. But for some time Eden ruled the islands?"

"Not exactly. As, erm, uhm…" Ky blushed again. "Well, Embla told me last night that Eden used the islands as a port of call during the missions to Nihon and later Miifan." Before she could joke with him, he said, "Embla knows a lot about history."

Orochi let him have it anyway. "You spend the night talking pre-Gilead, Expansionist history with a beautiful girl? How romantic." She laughed, then said, "It doesn’t seem likely that anything from that far back would be the cause of our mission. So, what then?"

Ky shook his head. "I have no real idea. But I’m sure we’ll find out once we arrive."

Orochi asked the obvious question. "Are you worried about having to fight?"

Ky looked back out the window. "To be honest with you, fighting is about the only time I’m not worried, Orochi. But Nitaru isn’t like most Domains. There are, by most accounts, several Master-level Adepts of the Art there, and Trader’s Guild reports say they have a small civil guard for policing visiting traders and the like. But they aren’t interested in Domain politics, and Nitaru is something of a collective for learning, not for fighting. They don’t sound like foes and don’t seem to be a target for anyone. No, my friend, we have been probably given a diplomatic milk run, just to make my uncle Toshiaki laugh at his young knights."

"Lord Misawa doesn’t seem to have that sort of sense of humor, Ky."

Ky smiled. "You have to get to know him better, Orochi. Or failing that be related to him."

"That sounds like a fate worse than death, Ky," she joked. She hoped, as she was certain that Ky did, that things went simply on this mission, or that they handled whatever came up well. It was not good for Seikishidan to make spectacular failures at the very beginning of their careers. Ky grew quiet again, sign that he was once again lost in thought, and Orochi decided to let the conversation end. Soon they would be in Nitaru, and the real fun, so to speak, was about to start. She settled back in her seat and let her mind become ordered once again.

All Domains are built around points of power, wellsprings of magical energy. While one versed in the Art could use the flux, as the energies that fueled magicks were known, that existed throughout the world, around a Domain, an Artist could tap into the flux and utilize it to a greater degree than usual. The flux-field of a Domain extended in a globe around the geographical center of a power point, and that, more than anything, defined its borders. Given that Nitaru was an island, it thereby followed that the edge of its flux-field would be over water, so even though the island was only a smudge on the horizon, Ky and Orochi sensed the moment that the Ars Nova passed through the field. A second later, Ky’s eyes opened wide, and he said, a little startled, "Do you feel that?"

Orochi concentrated. It was an ability of the Seikishidan, and indeed most fighters of high caliber, to sense power auras, the personal energy levels of people. It was a sense similar to those of Artists, who interfaced with the flux via their minds. She knew that few at Avantasia had senses as developed as well as Ky, who could sense power at very long ranges. Her power sense told her that there was great power ahead of them, but she doubted Ky meant that. "I feel…something. A lot of power, hidden by the flux-field. What do you sense?"

Ky stared into the distance, his eyes, she knew, looking down the direction of their flight. "Quite a lot. There’s…three? Yes, three power fields belonging to Artists, very, very strong. I haven’t felt power like this since the last time I went to Jumi. And there’s a fourth power, but I’m not sure what it is. It’s as high as the Artists, but it feels more like our own power."

Orochi sensed it now, though she doubted as clearly as Ky did. "You’re right. There’s a feel of the Art, but mixed with fighting power. Wonder what it is?"

"We’ll find out soon enough." I knew we’d encounter high-powered Artists, but a fighter that puts out as much energy as one of the Seikishidan…that changes things. We need to be careful. Ky wondered again just what he was flying into. He wished, not for the last time, that he’d been given more intelligence on Nitaru; still, he would make do. He had to, after all.

Eventually, the island that was Nitaru appeared, to the left-hand side of the airship as it approached, which put it on Ky’s side of the Ars Nova. He doubted that the flight crew did that on purpose, but he certainly appreciated it. He had consulted what maps there were of Nitaru, mostly drawn from trader’s reports, and from what he could see, the lines of the island matched the maps. Nitaru was a long, thin crescent, less than ten miles wide at the widest point, some one hundred and twenty miles between the points of the crescent. Already he could see the city that had been raised along the line of the interior arc of the island, lining the bay that was home to the island’s sole harbor and airfield. Like most Domain cities, it was not built by any particular design, but rather the workings of the Artists that had founded it and lived there for the past fifty years, any coherent design forced upon it by accident. The Ars Nova drew lower to the water, turning towards the bay, and Ky knew that the pilot, a feisty, skilled young woman named Keiko, had received landing directions by now, most likely via technomancy; the airships of Gilead, like most airships, were built with devices that allowed for long-range communication, either via radio or magical means. Nitaru used the latter, Ky had been told. Technomancy, the science of using machines to imitate magic, was not something he even pretended that he understood; he left that to Orochi, who tended to handle that arena for him. All he knew was that it worked.

The airship banked over the coastline, its destination the flat space to the west of the city that was the airfield. That afforded Ky (and Orochi, who had crowded next to him to look out the viewport) a good view of the city, and it was much as he had expected. No one structure resembled its neighbor in any way; narrow fingers of blue glass jutted skyward next to fluted columns of ebony. Golden domes stood side by side with structures that looked carved from stone; wooden houses next to things composed of wrought iron. Yet, Ky realized, there was a certain pattern to the chaotic nature of the city, as if some fundamental design had somehow been achieved via anarchy. It was true of most Domains he had seen, this order out of chaos nature, and he wondered if it was part and parcel of the Art.

The skyline, if you could call it that, of Nitaru was dominated by one, singular tower, rising from a wide base and narrowing into a spire so narrow that Ky fancied only one person, if that, could stand there. Trying to say what it was composed of was beyond Ky; it was neither wood, nor stone, nor metal, judging from how the light shone on it. In fact, trying to determine the precise color of the tower was difficult; in the mere seconds that he observed it, the over-all color was a pale green, shot through with bright white and some yellows, but it darkened, some blue adding to the swirl of colors. To Ky’s power sense, the tower blazed with energy, and he suspected that it was, in some fashion, tied into the power point, the flux that fueled the Domain. There usually was a point in every Domain such as this; in Jumi, it was known as the Tower of the Falconess, but that was considerably more…conventional…than this. Orochi looked from the tower to Ky, then said, "They certainly build to make an impression, don’t they?"

"So they do." And that makes me far more nervous than it does reassured. I do not know why, but it does. He would be glad to be on the ground and doing something, even if it was reacting to whatever was thrown at him by the citizens of Nitaru. He thought that this was going to be a rather long mission, despite Misawa’s claims that it would be simple; he just was not certain why he thought that.

The Ars Nova came in for a landing at the airfield, one of ten ships present. The other ships were of the bulkier types favored by the Trade Guilds, each one either loading or unloading cargo via work gangs and relatively recent steam-driven trucks. Like all airships, the Ars Nova needed only a small space to land, the engines capable of altering their angle to allow the ship to somewhat hover. Ky noticed that they were directed to a hangar far from the main flow of ground traffic, surrounded by a grouping of cars and trucks, painted a simple flat gray. As the ship’s landing gear touched down, he saw that in and around the vehicles were men and women in military styled uniforms of blue, wearing blue hats similar to the ones worn by policemen in the cities of the Mechanics. "Looks like the civil guard came out to greet us," Orochi called. "How quaint."

"Be nice," Ky told her. "They know as little of Gilead as we do of them. For all we know, they think we deserve an honor guard…or the aid of people who know how to get around Nitaru."

"Valid point, Kiske. There is a brain under that mop of hair."

Ky stood, then bent over and retrieved from between his feet a sword in a plain white scabbard. The blade was long, just over four feet in length, and rather narrow for a sword. The guard was shaped in a diamond, colored blue, and the grips were long, designed to facilitate his preferred shoulder-draw. This was the sword that he had won through fifteen years of training, of bleeding, of more than once coming close to death; this was Thundercross. He buckled the belt over his chest and adjusted the sword so it could be easily reached, and he felt reassured by its weight there. Orochi, he saw, had armed herself as well; her blade was of similar shape and design to his, shorter in length, the guards paler blue. She wore her sword on her hip; the two had argued frequently over his use of the shoulder-draw, but he knew that most of the Misawa forms worked best from that stance. Few in Gilead mastered the Misawa forms, and even he could not claim to be a master yet; if he lived long enough, then perhaps he would be such a man. Right now he just wanted them to keep him alive.

He led Orochi to the cabin’s main hatch and grabbed the wheel that locked the door, and with some effort he turned it, air hissing out as the hatch opened. Stairs automatically unfolded from underneath the hatch, a marvel of design borrowed from the Mechanics, and touched down on the surface of the airfield. Ky looked out, blinking away the sunlight for a moment, and saw that a group of several uniformed men was marching their way. All carried swords, though of a rather generic design. They were led by a young man who drew the eye not because of his looks, or his uniform, or his weapon…but rather because of his hat. Where the remainder of the civic guard wore typical hats, with bills, the leader’s hat was as ornate as one could get and still remain a hat; it reminded Ky and Orochi of the sort of hat a mariner out of old tales would wear, stitched and filligreed in gold and silver, flaring out to both sides of his head. Ky wore what he hoped was a neutral expression as he stopped just underneath the overhang of the Ars Nova’s hull and gave a traditional military salute. "Welcome to the Domain of Nitaru, sir, madame. I was sent here to make certain you did not get lost."

Ky assumed that he was being somewhat sarcastic, and relaxed; at least they weren’t much for stuffy greetings here, he mused. "I see," Ky replied. "I am Ky Kiske, Knight of the Cross of the Seikishidan of Gilead. This is my associate, Orochi Ogawasara, also a Knight of the Cross of the Seikishidan."

The young man sketched them a bow then, so deep that his hat nearly touched the airfield. "It’s a honor, sir, milady. I am called…well, called a lot of things by some of the Founders, but I am Captain Kristof of the Civic Guard, your escort to the Council Chamber."

"I see," Ky said, stepping off of the airship. "What arrangements have been made for our air crew?"

"The customary ones, sir. Your ship will be kept there-" Kristof indicated the hangar, which was not much bigger than the Ars Nova, with a wave of his hand, "and I believe the airfield Flightmaster has arranged for your crew to stay at the field housing for the ground crews. They can work out the details when the ground crew gets her."

"And our luggage?" Orochi smiled. "We brought more than just our swords, after all."

"Several changes of clothing, I would hope," Kristof replied, jauntily. "You are to be delivered to the Council immediately upon your arrival. You are, if I may spoil the surprise, to be quartered at the home of Mars Warheart of the Council of Founders. Your things will be delivered there, hopefully in one piece. You can never tell around here."

Orochi could not resist the temptation any longer. "Nice hat, Captain," she told him.

He turned so his profile was presented to Ky and Orochi and grinned. "Thanks. I won it in a game of chance with the captain of a sea-going vessel, though why he thought it worth staking I’ll never know. I wear it because…let’s say for the response it gets. You’ll understand once you meet Strawberry." He turned to them again. "I’m getting ahead of myself. Shall we go?" He turned, striding towards one of the steam cars, and clearly Ky and Orochi were to accompany him. Ky regarded Orochi, who was shaking her head in amusement. "An interesting fellow," Ky ventured.

"Not quite the word I would use," she replied. "I’m going to tell Keiko and the rest of the crew about their situation; I’m sure they’re used to it. Then I guess we follow the captain."

Ky nodded. The feeling of worry, of anxiety, that he had felt upon seeing the tower at the center of Nitaru, had faded, but he felt it was still there, somewhere within him, and he could not figure out why. He had been to Jumi, to Edenbridge, to other places of power, and in Avantasia there were powers that dwarfed his own. Why then did that tower cause such…such dread in him? You had best get over it, Ky. Milk run or no, this is a mission, and you represent Gilead now, not just yourself. Besides, odds are the most unusual thing you’ll see here is Captain Kristof’s hat there.

He hoped that would be the case, though in his heart part of him doubted it.

Kristof, who much to Orochi’s dismay decided to be their driver, took them on a winding path through the city of Nitaru, though whether or not it was out of intent or because of the design of the roads Ky was not certain. Two more cars followed close behind, though in an unobtrusive fashion, and Ky wondered why. Either it was routine, or it was a sign of paranoia; Ky hoped it was the former. In keeping an eye on the trailing cars, Ky got a sense of the city that they drove through, and in all honesty, it was like most of the Domains; focus away from the magical long enough, and it was just another city, with normal people doing normal things. Admittedly, not every city had shops on the corners that sold magical paraphernalia, but it was still the same basic principle of commerce that drove the stores and the markets. Kristof was quiet throughout most of the drive, speaking only when he passed the tavern where he had won the absurd hat in a card game. "I thought of going to the Market District and seeing what I could get for it," he said, "but when I saw the reaction it garnered, why, I simply had to keep it." Ky knew he was coming into the middle of something, but he had the distinct impression that Kristof’s entire life was that way, a constant sense of confusion being generated by his actions. Orochi paid him no heed, and Ky knew she was constantly observing, cataloging everything she saw in a precise, clinical manner. That was her way; Ky preferred to act on instinct in battle, responding in an instant. Orochi was the thinker of the two, a fact she tended to remind him of. Frequently.

Eventually, the caravan passed through the business district that had cropped up around the port and airfield and into the regions of the Art, the territory around the tower. Here the hand of the Art was more clearly felt, and Orochi occasionally asked questions of Kristof of what sort of place they had passed. Sometimes the answer was relatively prosaic; the home of this illusion-shaper, that master or mistress of spells, a school for teaching the skills needed to summon spirits from the Void to this plane. Sometimes, Kristof would look at the structure in question, shake his head, and say, "That’s new." Ky had heard that, in a Domain, the very fabric of reality could depend upon the whim of one interfaced with the flux of the power point, yet it was a difficult concept to grasp. In Gilead, things were permanent; Fair Sight Tower, the tallest point in the fortress of Avantasia, had stood, unchanged, for eight hundred and fifty years. Even a Domain like Jumi, which had been in existence for twelve hundred years, had undergone vast changes, even in the last few years. Ky found it at once fascinating and frightening; he was powerful as men measured power, but he could not change the shape of the world. No wonder the tower had made him apprehensive; it was symbolic of a power that would be forever beyond him. Unless I become the strongest fighter in the world, I’ll never match the power I feel here. And even then I have my doubts.

Kristof did not drive them to the tower, which was a small comfort to Ky, but rather to a building just before it, a fairly simple, two story wooden affair that resembled nothing more than a house. Standing before it was another troop of the civic guard, armed with a wider variety of weapons than Kristof’s group had been; Ky saw more types of swords, a few pikes, and even some carrying solid shot rifles imported from Neo-Olympus. They stood in ranks of seven, four deep, and Ky knew they were for more ceremony than anything. He did not know if the people of Nitaru were sticklers for that sort of thing, or if they had gotten information on how to deal with the Seikishidan from unreliable sources. He was not here to be honored, but to do a job, after all. He waited until Kristof shut the engine of the car off, then got out, taking Thundercross from where it had been, across his lap, and buckling it back on. Kristof looked up at him and said, through the open window "Impatient a bit?"

"Sometimes." Orochi joined him, and the two of them walked towards the grouping of armed men and women. Ky noticed that while they wore the same blue uniforms as Kristof, the insignia on their collars was different. Kristof’s uniform had a shield for its insignia, while this new group had silver swords on each collar. Ky wondered if that meant this was more of a military unit, and the reason for all this precision formation and such occurred to him. Nitaru was building an army, and they wanted to see what the soldiers of legendary Gilead thought of them. Ky could have told them that discipline in what amounted to useless pagentry was no reflection, for good or ill, on the battlefield, yet he decided against it. Hopefully this peaceful little Domain would never know war. Of course, given that they called us, it’s unlikely that peace is in their future, but one can never tell.

A man in uniform, roughly Ky’s age, but actually shorter in stature, stepped in front of Ky and Orochi, raised his hand as if to salute, then saw in their eyes that it was not necessary. He cleared his throat and said, "Welcome to the Home of the Founders, sir, lady. I am Commander Foxfire of the Nitaru Civil Guard."

Orochi scowled. Perhaps not trusting Kristof, given his whimsical way of doing things, she asked, "I thought we were to be delivered to the Council of Nitaru."

"And so you have, my lady…er, your name is…?"

"Orochi Ogawasara of Gilead."

Foxfire favored her with a truly radiant smile. "A lovely name for such a lovely woman," he offered.

Judging by the looks that crossed the faces of the troop behind him, some grinning, one or two shaking their heads, Ky fancied that Foxfire was known for flirting with the ladies. They seemed too familiar with the way he had spoken for this to be anything exceptional. Orochi, though, was wholly a professional, and without a blink she said, "The Council, Commander?"

To his credit, Foxfire continued, unflappable, as if it did not bother him that an attractive woman had ignored his flirting. "Yes. The Council traditionally meets here, Lady Orochi. This home, some fifty years ago, was the residence of the First Founder of Nitaru. To honor her, her grand daughter, Lady Sephira, chose to hold Council meetings here."

"Simple enough," Ky said, walking towards the front doors, a set of arched double doors that appeared, at least, to be oak. Judging by the aura of flux surrounding the house, though, Ky suspected there was more to it than met the eye. "Thank you very much, Commander. I’m certain we’ll talk again." Orochi passed Foxfire without a glance, which caused a few chuckles from the troop. Just as Ky was about to step up onto the first of the three stone stairs that led to the doors, Kristof called "Sir Kiske?"

Ky turned to see Kristof leaning against the front of the car, arms crossed. When he saw he had Ky’s attention, he said, "Tell Strawberry that I’m wearing the hat. Just for her."

Ky did not even pretend to understand, so he merely nodded. He turned to grasp the simple, old fashioned door knob, and was less than shocked when the door opened of its own accord; he had doubted they would just burst into the place without being met. The person before him was a petite woman, nearly a foot shorter than his five-eleven, with brown hair cut to chin length and brown eyes. She wore about the last outfit that Ky would have expected in a Domain, a practical gray pants suit and a green tie that stood out against the relative drab colors of her suit. Over that she wore what appeared to be a laboratory coat, similar to the ones doctors in New Jerusalem wore. She looked up at Ky and said, "Well, hello there. I am Daimira, an alchemist and assistant of sorts to the Council. You must be Ky Kiske and Orochi Ogawasara."

"We’d better be," Ky said. He doubted she had heard the introductions they had made with Foxfire, yet he was not going to comment on it. If someone had been watching them since their arrival, and sent information to Daimira, then there was little chance Ky would catch them at it. In some Domains, the Artists there were so bonded to the flux that they could, if they so chose, read minds. Ky and Orochi had been trained to hide their thoughts, but this close to the heart of Nitaru, they were unlikely to be successful. He swept the entrance hall, which ran to a set of oaken doors that matched the ones they had just passed through, with his power sense as much as his eyes, and again he felt, like a hammer blow to the temple, the aura of the powers he had sensed during their approach. The only time he had felt anything like this was during his visit to Jumi four years before, when he and his classmates had been granted an audience with the Lumineux and her heiress. That power was different though; ancient, quiet in a sense, yet brooding like a storm about to break. Here, the power was younger, more alive, yet as potent as that in Jumi. Ky was eager to meet such a power, and wondered if that was the Seikishidan in him, the warrior that was supposed to rise to any challenge set before him.

Daimira opened the doors before them and led them into yet another rather ordinary room, so normal that for a moment Ky (and Orochi as well) thought they were seeing an illusion. The Council of Nitaru was meeting them…in a simple study. He shook his head to clear it-he had honestly expected for them to spring some magical shocker, revealing the truth about their home as being some sort of vacuum-space, or a void that responded to emotions or whatnot. Instead, it was a mere, normal room, the floors carpeted, the walls paneled with wood, a hearth and mantelpiece on one wall, though no fire was lit in the fireplace. The furnishings were much as one would expect in an ordinary home-a couch and several chairs around a table, a desk framed by a window that framed the tower in the distance, as if reminding those present where the true power was. Ky had felt five power signatures in the room before he had entered; all belonged, he saw, to women, who sat either around the table, at the desk, or in one case stood by the fireplace. They all looked up as Daimira announced, "Ladies of the Council, I present to you the Seikishidan of Gilead, Ky Kiske and Orochi Ogawasara." She made her farewells to Ky and Orochi, then left the room, closing the doors behind her.

One of the women-no, Ky realized quickly, she was much younger than most of the others in the room-sitting around the table rose to her feet and regarded them. She was a striking sight, tall, tan, and thin, her hair a raven wave, highlighted with blue and green. She had literally elfin looks-her blue eyes were slanted, her ears swept back against her skull. She wore an outfit of blue trimmed in green, the top leaving her shoulders bare, and baggy silk pants that ended at her ankles. Her ears were adorned with golden earrings, ring shaped, four in the left lobe, a solitary one in the right. She was barefoot, though more likely for comfort than preference. Beside of her chair leaned a staff, not surprising for a mage; it was reed-slender and long, carved with runes and designs that likely bound spells within them. The staff ended in claw-like protrusions that gripped a crystal ball that, Ky saw, roiled with the same patterns of color as the tower in the window behind her. He sensed another force around the aura of the staff, but he could not identify what it was as of yet. She regarded them serenely and said "Good afternoon, sir, lady. I am Sephira, descendant of the First Founder of Nitaru. It pleases me to welcome you here."

"You have an…interesting council chamber," Ky said, finding her stare hard to meet. There was such force behind it that even though her expression was calm, it awed him. He did not want to see her, or anyone else in this room, angry.

"Yes, well, our energies here are directed towards more, shall we say, practical pursuits. And if we require some pretentious chamber to impress squabbling Artists from Nor ‘Am, it’s just a matter of focusing the flux."

"I see you have traveled in the Domains, Lady Sephira," Ky replied, laughing.

"I am aware of how things are in some Domains, yes. And please, no title. Call me Sephira, if it suits you. Allow me to introduce you to the remainder of the Council." She indicated the person seated on the couch opposite of her with a wave. "This is Strawberry, another descendant of the Founders of Nitaru."

Strawberry did not rise to her feet, but instead remained seated, her legs curled up beneath her in feline repose, and shot Ky a mischievous look. She was so, well, tiny, that Ky mistook her for a child for a moment, a thing that was not helped by her long hair, which was a shade of pink that he was uncertain that he had ever seen. She wore a dress of insanely bright colors that fell to her knee, and just looking at her, she seemed to be like some sort of imp. But imps, Ky knew, did not put out as much power as she was doing at the moment, and he sensed a steel in her that equalled the might Sephira had. "So, you’re one of those fancy swordsmen from Gilead?" she said to him. She looked over Ky’s shoulder at Orochi and said, "Is he any good?"

"Better than most, Lady Strawberry-if I may call you that?"

She grinned. "Why not? It amuses me." She looked up at Ky again, and he wondered why she had asked Orochi that question. "So, Seikishidan, what do you think of our Domain?"

"From what I’ve seen, it’s a pleasant place." He recalled then what Kristof had asked him to do, and he said, "Oh, Lady Strawberry? Do you know one of the Civic Guard named Kristof?"

She nodded. "I try not to admit it, but yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"He was our escort here. He wanted me to tell you that he was wearing the hat, and that it was for you."

Strawberry scowled. "When I find out who spell-protected that silly thing, I’m going to unravel them." She smiled sweetly at Ky. "Could you give him this for me then?" With admirable quickness, though Ky could have easily avoided it, she gave him a light kick in the shin. "Kick him harder than that, okay?"

Sephira caught Ky and Orochi’s attention by saying, "We keep Strawberry around to remind us of the perils of being too whimsical."

"A task I am more than suited for," Strawberry interjected. "Introduce the rest of us, dear, I’m sure they want to know why they’re here."

Sephira turned towards the young woman who had been sitting opposite of her at the table. Instantly, Ky could not help but feel that this woman was, at least in appearance, Strawberry’s opposing pole. She was very pale, with wide, dark eyes and long black hair that seemed to be moving of its own accord. She wore a black dress, over which she wore a black cloak that was clasped together by an arcane symbol that both Ky and Orochi could not help but stare at, a inverted pentagram in a circle. They could not help but stare because, in magical terms, the symbol she wore was the antithesis of the Cross they wore on their uniforms. Sephira was about to speak, but the woman did first. "I am Sakkariah, a practitioner of the Darker Arts, descended from the Third Founder of Nitaru." She gave them an icy gaze. "Does it disturb you that I practice the Darker Arts?"

If she was expecting Ky to utter some defense of his God and country-and it was understandable, given the history of religious intolerance that had been practiced centuries ago in Eden-here he surprised her. "Not in the least, Lady Sakkariah. Power is best used in the manner that best suits the wielder."

"A fair answer, Sir Kiske."

Sephira seemed to relax, as if that had been something that had been worrying her. "Over here," she continued, pointing toward the fireplace, "we have Mars Warheart, our military commander, and something of a powerful fighter herself." Mars did not change her stance, leaning against the mantel, but Ky could feel her senses probing at him, seeking out his power level, just as he could do. So, she’s the fighter, Ky thought. Mars was the same height as Daimira, with a curvy figure enhanced by the skin-tight blood red garment that covered her from head to toe. She wore a considerable amount of armor, all of it black, all of it rather thick plating; knee high boots, leggings that ran to nearly her hips, and an gauntlet over her left forearm. Over her left shoulder and upper arm she wore even more armor, which suggested to Ky that she fought right handed. She wore her dark brown hair in a long braid, gathered in a ring just against her head, and her pale blue-green eyes regarded him with interest. On her hip was a broadsword in a tooled leather sheath; the grips were nearly as long as those of Thundercross; there was no visible hilt, the blade widening two-hands length, forming the base of a triangle before narrowing to a width similar to the swords of Gilead. The last foot or so of the blade was bent at an odd angle against the lines of the sword; Ky wondered where it had been forged.

Mars studied first him, then Orochi, before she said, "You seem to be interested in my sword, Sir Kiske."

"It’s a rather unusual one," Ky admitted, "and not forged in Nor ‘Am if I am not mistaken."

"That it wasn’t." She let her armored hand fall on the grips. "This is Lucifel, a blade forged five hundred years ago in Aeuropa for the Circle of the Bloody Moon. Are you two familiar with the Circle?"

"Naturally," Orochi replied. "They are, by reputation, the greatest swordsmen in Aeuropa. Their techniques date back as far as our own." Mars nodded, and deferred for the moment to Sephira, who finished the introductions by turning towards the desk behind them all. "And this is Hikari, a sorceress and scholar, who is responsible for your presence here. After a fashion."

Hikari was sitting at the desk, surrounded by a great number of texts, scrolls, and other documents. She rose to her feet, said, "How do you do?" in a high, clear voice, then sat down and began reading the scroll before her again. She was dressed in a plain white dress, with a shawl over her shoulders with blue and gold designs that suggested feathers; she was pretty, of Nihon ancestry, with short black hair and dark eyes that, to Ky at least blazed with intelligence. Her power level was not as high as the others, but it was not much less. She read something from the scroll, then said, "I’m not the reason you are here, though. I merely reported my findings to the Council. They determined that Gilead should be called."

"Hikari is modest," Strawberry said. "We needed her translations of what she found to even understand what the problem was."

Ky decided to cut to the heart of the matter. "I hope I don’t seem rude, but I have flown from Gilead to here without a single inkling of why. What does Nitaru require of us?"

Hikari let her hand rest on one of the books on the desk, a thick volume, the cover clasped shut with an intricate golden clasp. "We believe," she said, somberly, "that we have uncovered evidence that the Brotherhood of Dark Elucidation hid volumes of the Books of the First Cataclysm on the islands near here. Is that sufficient reason for Gilead to be here?"

Ky felt as if the world had been cut out from underneath him. Uncle, you most certainly did NOT pick a milk run for my first mission. He turned to Orochi and saw that she was as unnerved as he, her mouth open in disbelief. "Yes," he finally managed to say. "I’d say that’s a rather good reason for us to be here."

Sakkariah regarded the two Seikishidan with an expression that, if he knew her better, Ky would have fancied was bemused. "So you are aware of what Hikari speaks of?" she asked.

"You could say that," Orochi replied. "We are less concerned with the Books of the First Cataclysm-they were, after all, amongst the first texts ever banned by the Holy Father long ago in Eden-as we are the Brotherhood."

"Your Church denies the power of the Books, then?" Sakkariah chuckled.

"I did not say that. But the Books of the First Cataclysm, it was said, were of such power that to possess them would drive the owners mad. As it did with the Brotherhood."

Strawberry frowned. "Perhaps my pre-Domain history is lacking, but, who, precisely, were the Brotherhood?"

Ky doubted that Strawberry was not that uninformed, but rather she sought to prod Hikari to speak of what she had found. In that regard, then, she was successful. "The origins of the Brotherhood are lost to history, though there are paratexts that refer to them existing during the earliest years of the rule of Ultima Thule over the world some thirty thousand years ago. Some even believe that the Brotherhood existed before the First Cataclysm sixty-five thousand years ago, the great upheaval of nature that saw the world change into its current shape. They think that the Brotherhood used the magics contained in the Books to destroy the world. At any rate, the Brotherhood was a secret order that kept the Books of the First Cataclysm and hoped to one day use them to topple the magical lords of Ultima Thule." Hikari looked up from her texts and scrolls. "I believe they used the vaults built on the neighboring islands to hide the Books during the War against Ultima Thule."

"Why do you think that?" Ky asked. "I thought the Domains used the islands as a refuge?"

"So they did, Sir Kiske. And in fact, the vaults we speak of are virtually empty now, mere historical curiosities. The Covenant took much of what was valuable from the vaults centuries ago. Later expeditions, undertaken by the First Founders of Nitaru, did uncover one vault that had been hidden by magical means, but it appears that this vault was merely a records room, tallying what had been kept and where."

"So the most dangerous magical tomes in history were just registered in a record?" Ky wondered.

Hikari smiled. "If that were the case, then we would already have the Books, or know where they had gone. It isn’t that simple. Among my other duties for the Founders here is my role as Archivist of the records of Nitaru since its creation, and I undertook the task of cataloging the records uncovered in the vaults. Given that they were written in many languages, most of them codes created by Artists to hide their secrets, it was a considerable task. I was assisted by Daimira, who you just met, and a student of ancient languages named Gunderson. We worked for the better part of a year before I became aware of something."

Hikari made a gesture with her hand, and one of the pieces of parchment before her rose into the air. "This text is rather old, and preserved by a working that keeps it intact. Touching it would destroy it…at any rate, as you see, the writing is in a runic style, using a code known to certain schools of the Art." She pointed at one of the runes in the middle of the text. "This rune, however, has a double meaning. In fact, most runes do, but there are definer codes in each text to set the level of meaning." Ky nodded, though most of this went over his head; he suspected that Orochi understood more than he did. "This was not suspicious at first…but I began to notice a pattern in the records. And mainly in the runes with multiple levels of meaning."

Hikari let the text fall back to its place before continuing. "Magical texts are not merely paper or whatever material they are made of. The runes within them are binding spells, controlling the placement of the magical forces defined by the texts. And I determined that the runes within these texts, the ones that fit this pattern, were defining something else. They were defining the magics held within a series of texts of considerable power, and they were still present."

"How do you know that?" Orochi questioned.

"It has taken me some time, but I have assembled, in a paratext, the runes that have been embedded in these documents. It is not complete, nor is it powered-call it a tracing of the design of power that actually exists. It took sizable study of magical rune language, placement, and style to approximate this. What I have determined is that if the power that these runes defines had been removed from the vaults, then the runes themselves would vanish from the texts, their purpose served."

"So, since the runes are still present, whatever they bind is still there," Ky said thoughtfully. "How do you know the Brotherhood did this?"

"The nature of the runes, plus the fact that they were hidden. It took a lot of time, but I found that the code being used was one developed by the Brotherhood. And we…Daimira and myself, mainly…have translated much of the runes. They speak of binding rituals that are of ancient origin, ones so old that they barely register in the stored memories of the Founders."

"All of us here," Sephira said, "bound our minds within the flux of Nitaru, which records and keeps the memories of all who used it throughout time. The rituals that Hikari speaks of are very old, perhaps twelve thousand years old. And they are powerful enough to bind anything…in fact, they are on a level of power as high as that of the elemental Storm Wall which imprisons Ultima Thule today."

"Yes," Hikari continued. "And the runes correspond, if my research is correct, to the rituals and workings bound up by the Books of the First Cataclysm. Those few that have actually been cataloged, that is. Either the Books were hidden in the vaults, or something as powerful as the Books are."

"And that’s not good." Ky took a deep breath. "You would not have asked for our presence unless you knew what the Brotherhood meant to us, would you have?"

Mars spoke up. "Yes. We know that the Brotherhood of Dark Elucidation sided with the Templar Brotherhood during the fall of Eden. That they seduced the Templars to leave the Angel Host for their own purposes."

Gilead’s dark secret, our shadow…the Black Templars, Ky thought. "We’re not terribly fond of the Brotherhood, or the Templars, in Gilead, Lady Mars. The Templar Brotherhood once stood at the forefront of the Angel Host, behind only the legendary Saint Soldiers in power and devotion. But they grew jealous of the power and influence of the warriors recruited during the missions to Nihon and Miifan. The Brotherhood, at that time, sided with Ultima Thule during the War, and they conspired to split the Templars away from the Angel Host."

"Wasn’t that how the Seikishidan came to be?" Sakkariah asked. "The members of the Angel Host from Nihon and Miifan, once Eden fell, re-organized the Angel Host on Gilead in time to lead them into the Battle of the Ivory Plains?"

"That’s about fifty years of history in a nutshell, yes." Ky turned towards Sephira. "What would you have us do?"

"You got to that quickly," she said, smiling. "Very well, then. You are not just here out of a sense of history, nor because we think Gilead is entitled to the information contained in the Books. We would have asked Avantasia to send Seikishidan eventually, for those very reasons. Fate, however, forced our hand. Two weeks ago, a party of Aeuropan mercenaries, disguised as traders from Nor ‘Am, attempted to steal Hikari’s research. They were unsuccessful, and were captured. Rather than be questioned, one of them spoke some sort of spell that killed all of them instantly."

"Thankfully," Sakkariah added, "one versed in the Darker Arts was present. It was not difficult to use certain…rituals…to cause the shade of their leader to return to this plane long enough to be questioned." Ky did not want to know what she had done to achieve such a thing; it was better that way. "The leader told us many things. Chief among them was that they had been hired by a man named Aesgir Haroy to come to Nitaru and to steal certain documents from Hikari’s research. They were after the paratext she created."

Ky frowned. "How does anyone know it exists? If they wanted all of the data, then I could believe that someone manipulating the runes could send, I don’t know, a signal? A signal to someone? But the work Hikari did? Someone told them of it."

"Precisely," Strawberry said. "Plus Sakkariah’s rituals told us a great deal more. It told us the spell that the Aeuropans used to kill themselves had been given to them by this Aesgir Haroy, and was called the Voice of Silent Unbinding." Ky’s blood ran cold; he now knew why they were here. The impish girl was gone now, he saw; the Artist, the true Strawberry, was present now. "That spell was created long ago by the Templar Brotherhood to protect their membership if captured. I suspect that if Haroy, whomever he is, knew of Sakkariah’s skills, he would have used something else."

Ky closed his eyes. "A Templar wants the paratext. This is not good."

"You see, then, why we asked you to come here." Sephira walked over to where he and Orochi stood. "We had to be vague in our request to Avantasia, for we do suspect someone is telling this Haroy what we do. Telling that we know of the Templar involvement costs us our advantage. We know that the Templars still exist, and seek to avenge themselves for their defeat one thousand years ago. You have been asked here to help us locate and defeat this Templar, for our good and the good of Gilead."

Ky pondered all that he had heard, filtering it through his experience and training. The Seikishidan did not like to admit that their ancient foes still existed, still weaving webs to try to ensnare them a millennium after their defeat in the Battle of the Ivory Plains. But the Black Templars, as they were called, did still exist, and they had spread across Nor ‘Am, causing a considerable amount of trouble. And if Hikari is correct, then they’ve uncovered the greatest, most dreadful power in the history of the world, save the Book of Thel. We have to stop them. "We’ll help you," he said. "We don’t have much of a choice, do we?"

"Sadly, no," Sephira replied. "We regret having to bring you here under, well, not false pretenses, but with a lack of information. Had Gilead sent a great number of Seikishidan, it would have driven this Haroy into hiding."

"True," Orochi said. "Let us hope that your spy, whomever he or she is, is not intimidated by a mere pair of Seikishidan. We, of course, will have to report to Avantasia, but we will be able to keep this quiet. The two of us can deal with one Templar." We hope, she thought. There was, of course, the chance that Misawa would react differently than expected, and send a troop of Seikishidan to Nitaru. That bridge would be crossed if it came up. "At any rate, we have had a long day, Ky and myself. May we have our leave, so that we can get settled in?"

"Certainly," Sephira said. Without a movement or gesture, or even saying anything to cause it, the doors opened and Daimira appeared. "Daimira, would you escort our guests to Mars’ residence and help them get settled in?" She nodded, and led Ky and Orochi from the room. The five women in the room were silent for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Sakkariah reached out with her mind, a talent most Artists possessed (and the means by which Sephira had summoned Daimira) and thoughtcast Well, I thought that went rather well.

They’re suspicious, Strawberry sent, and worried. They are rather young for Seikishidan, after all. Is there no other way to do what we have to do?

You all experienced the divination that Sakkariah created, Sephira sent. And you know what would have happened had we not done what we did. I wish we could tell them more at present, but that would endanger much. Hikari, you are certain of the origin of the spell that killed the Aeuropans?

Sephira turned her mind towards Mars. Mars, you are the only one descended from the Founders who has any skills at fighting. How strong are Ky and Orochi? In practical terms?

Orochi is less powerful than I am, Mars began, perhaps capable of seventy-five percent of my power level. Kiske on the other hand…he completely masked his power from me. Did any of you sense it?

I only sensed that he HAD power, Sakkariah sent, but the extent was unknown. How is that possible?

He’s a high level adept of the fighting schools of Gilead, Mars replied, able to mask his fighting power from anyone of similar skill. I’d say that I’m more powerful than him, or failing that his equal.

Will that be enough? Strawberry asked.

We’ll see, Mars replied. I’m certain I can contrive a reason to test his strength before things advance too far. I just hope they accept their true purpose here when they figure it out…and that Kiske doesn’t resist once he learns the truth.

I agree, Sephira said. For the good of all Nitaru, they have a role to play. And if they-if we-do not play out our parts, then Nitaru is doomed.

And silence-verbal and physical-fell over the Council of the Founders-as each woman there debated the truth of those words.

To be continued…