Denesia wiped the sweat from her brow as she took a moment to stretch her back. It had been some time since she worked a field, and longer still since she had to do so by hand. She wore a loose tunic and trousers, which felt wrong considering her station, but she didn’t want to dirty her finer clothing. The Twins had been kind enough to lend her the outfit for the day, along with a much needed straw hat.

  She absentmindedly ran a hand across her bald scalp as she took in the scenery. The fields were filled with tens of thousands of Twins as they worked tirelessly to harvest the enormous amount of food it took to keep the Empire running. Children ran from worker to worker as they handed out food and water, along with much needed damp towels.

  One such girl, probably no older than seven, ran up to Denesia with a wide toothy grin. A bucket and ladle in hand, the girl held out the ladle as she tried to not stare at Denesia’s companions. The girl did pretty well, for a child.

  Denesia took the ladle with a small bow of the head, the water was clear and delicious. As she drank, she looked at the small girl. Twin’s and Sanguinites were pretty similar in appearance, aside from the hair thing. While Sanguinites were prone to albinism, Twin’s were a different kind of pale, their skin was sickly and gaunt. In certain lighting their skin almost seemed translucent.

  The biggest difference was the whole rotting hand thing. It was hard not to stare at the blackened flesh, the symbol of the Twin’s betrayal.

  The girl for her part leaned forward as she whispered. “Do they need watering?” She gestured to the pair of skeletons on either side of Denesia who were hard at work.

  “No.” Denesia said as she whispered loudly. “They’re okay.” She spoke a command out loud as the skeletons turned to the young girl and gave deep bows. The touching moment was undermined slightly as the straw hat fell from one of their heads.

  “Why do they need hats? Or clothes for that matter? And why did you put sunscreen on their bones? Did you kill them yourself?” The young girl said, practically vibrating as she listed off question after question.

  Denesia walked over and replaced the hat that had fallen. “My people choose to pass on our remains to our next of kin. These two are my great great aunt and her husband; they’ve served our family for decades.” She said, “As for the clothing and such…” She trailed off as she reapplied a bit of cream to her aunt’s skull. “We treat our deceased with honor and respect, we clothe them, and care for them as a way of thanking them for their service.”

  It was a tough thing to describe one's culture to an outsider, especially a child.

  “Kinda like gramgram! She was alive, but then she wasn’t. Now we have to keep her cold and chilly until tomorrow. Mom said I could watch this year when she goes in the water; because I’m a big girl. I’m six by the way.”

  As Denesia tried to make sense of the young girl's words, she watched the child’s smile slowly fade as her green eyes grew vacant. She realized it wasn’t just the girl, every single Twin had frozen as they each stood up in unison, turning towards some point in the distance silently.

  Denesia felt her stomach drop as she watched the eerie sight. The entire nation stopped in its tracks, a hundred thousand Twins stared at some unseen point without so much as blinking. A flock of crows flew overhead as they made their way towards the dark clouds that hung above the highlands.

  “What in the hells is going on?” Denesia said as she tried to make sense of the ominous sight. Behind her the Keel let out a bellowing groan that echoed through the vast fields.

  The young girl turned, her green eyes glowing from deep within as a voice that was not her own escaped her lips. “A god has fallen, so too shall a king. The path will be laid, the bells must ring. Until all world’s crumble, at eternity's end. “

  In the distance Denesia saw what the Twin’s were looking at, a massive dome of darkness had formed in the highlands, its surface dotted with ever shifting starlight. Her stomach churned as she fought back bile at the sight of the thing.

  Perhaps the stories about the Twin’s and their dark practices weren’t as far fetched as she once thought.

  ◆◆◆

  Tayla’s consciousness floated aimlessly, the pain she felt through the link replaying again and again as she tried to reach for her own eyes. Fearing they too might be gone. She opened her eyes to find a door standing before her, a thick layer of ice covering the whole of the surface. From the other side she could hear a muffled sound that willed her closer.

  Before she could reach a hand out to the door she felt a painful burning sensation across her cheek, her mind was ripped back to reality as she blinked away the last of the fleeting vision she could no longer recall.

  Fel grabbed Tayla by the shoulders. “Tayla! What happened? Is Alnur alright?” Their usual soft voice was hard as steel.

  “He… He’s hurt.” Tayla tried to clear the last of the brain fog. Her eyes grew frantic as she clutched at Fel. “An elder! They found a living elder!”

  Since Fel had awoken to their powers, Tayla had never seen her sibling look frightened; until that moment.

  The two exchanged a look, even without the link they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Fel wasted no time as they leapt towards the valley wall, scaling the sheer surface as they dug their fingers into the stone like it was made of mud. In an instant they reached the top and disappeared.

  Tayla for her part turned to the group, only to find her fellow Twins frozen in place. Even Bynard seemed to be babbling to himself about some ‘day of judgement’ or some such. The guests were looking around in terror as they tried to make sense of what was happening.

  Logically, Tayla knew what she should do. Stay with the guests, make sure they were safe, focus on her own safety in case the worst happened to her brother. That was the standard protocol. Never put both the ruler and their shadow at risk.

  Fuck the rules.

  Turning towards Thoren, Tayla pointed at the hunting party. “Thoren, I need you to help guide them back safely to the main camp.” She gestured at the clanless stranger. “I have to try and make it to the other party,” She motioned to the case on her back. “This might be the only thing capable of killing the monster they’re fighting. Will you act as a guide for the diplomats?” It may have seemed odd to the outsiders for her to ask one of their citizens, as opposed to ordering them; but the clanless were an odd bunch, as much a part of the Coast as they were a separate people.

  The stranger nodded, dismounting from his volburn as he offered the reins to Tayla. “Here, take my mount.” He said, “If she’ll accept you that is.”

  Thoren was already issuing commands to the guests as they helped the shellshocked Twin’s slowly regain their composure. Turning to Tayla for a moment as he said. Tayla made a mental note to thank the man after all of this was done.

  She approached the volburn as she tried to rest a hand on the creature's neck. The volburn gave a withering stare as the joints along its chest clacked together gently. It was telling her to get bent.

  Unfortunately for the beast, Tayla was in no mood.

  “I don’t have time for this stupid song and dance! My brother is laying on the ground bleeding to death as we speak, so either help me reach him, or fuck off and stop wasting me time!” As the words left her lips, hoarfrost covered her gloved hand, even the Tranquility couldn’t soothe her rage.

  The volburn narrowed its eyes, huffing through its false mouth as it finally lowered to allow Tayla to reach the saddle.

  “Thank you.” Tayla said as she pulled herself up into the saddle. Without guidance, the volburn turned and took off at a harrowing speed. The sudden burst caused Tayla to let out a yelp as she held on for dear life.

  The beast glanced back with an amused look in its eye.

  Above in the sky she could see a new flare, the black flare hung in the sky casting an ominous glow. It was used when a hunting party had no hope of surviving, a warning to stay clear. Tayla wouldn’t let her brother die that easily, not if she had anything to say about it.

  Between the crash of hooves and the torrent of rain, Tayla could barely hear much else. The link wasn’t responding, either Alnur had passed out, or the elder was blocking the link. She knew he was still alive at least, the link was still there, just inert. If he died the link would crumble and vanish; survivors said it was an unimaginable pain, like something was being ripped out of one's brain with red hot tongs. Even if you managed to hold on through the physical pain, it was the psychological trauma that usually killed the other Twin. Some would repeat the last words they heard over the link, the words and feelings repeating in an endless loop as the mind eroded. Others would still hear the voice of their sibling, a ghostly whisper that would never grant them peace. Some would simply find the isolation too much, feeling alone for the first time in their lives and taking their own life to escape the loneliness.

  The link was still intact, and so long as it was Tayla knew she had a chance to save her brother. She prayed that by now Fel had made it to the fight.

  ◆◆◆

  The thing that wore Vauhn’s face looked around the carnage with a mirthless smile. The Twins were putting up a valiant effort to hold back the ‘Krak’un’ as they called it. The ones really holding back the beast were the pair of Ono and the hybrid, though they would be overcome eventually.

  Laying on the ground covered in his own blood was the only reason Vauhn was here. The king had lost consciousness after receiving injuries to his eyes and face. He looked at the young man’s crown, it was a thin circlet devoid of any regal decoration. Reaching out a hand towards it, the circlet sensed something was off and burrowed micro tendrils into the king's head, anchoring it in place. It was an amusing show of defiance. So be it, it was more entertaining if the king had the chance to play the part to come.

  Vauhn’s thought process was interrupted rudely by an enormous claw tearing its mortal husk in half. An adult crab had apparently answered the call of the elder one, it held his upper body aloft in one claw. Another claw was preparing to crush the crown, and the king it was attached to. “Now now, I’ve grown an interest in that one. Can’t have you spoiling my fun.” He said.

  He cast a glance to ensure none were watching and then spoke a single unspeakable syllable, his mouth bursting from the profane energy, the ragged remains hanging uselessly afterwards.

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  The crab for its part ceased to exist.

  Vauhn landed in the wet ground, entrails spilling out from the force. He turned his backwards at an obscene angle to get a good look at the king; this body had served its purpose, now he simply had to wait for the other game piece to arrive.

  There was a loud crash, followed by a series of curses in the first tongue. Curious at the unexpected sound, Vauhn twisted his head even further, even as the mortal flesh screamed in protest. The elder was screaming in pain as something began tearing it to pieces. The Fallen one stood atop the creature's back, screaming in rage and fury as it lashed out with thresher whips, tearing through the armored plates with inhuman strength.

  He furrowed its brow. Well that was unexpected. This is why he left reading future possibilities to the others; he was kinda shit at it. Best to lay low for now, it would be a poor choice to get on the wrong side of the dead sun.

  He scrunched his nose, Great, now my nose is itchy and I can’t scratch it. You better hurry Tayla, forget the broken bones and blood loss; this is the real torture!

  ◆◆◆

  How long had Tayla been riding, five, ten minutes? Every second she felt more and more dread at the thought that she would be too late. She had been lucky so far, despite her blistering pace she had not seen a single Krak’un. She was getting closer to the source of the flares now, just a little more and she would arrive.

  The volburn’s hooves skidded across the smooth stone as it tried to take a tight corner at full speed. She had reached a main valley that would lead directly to the other group. The volburn grew agitated without warning, stomping as it turned in place. Tayla tried to calm the animal, unsure of what had spooked the poor thing. Now facing the other direction of the elder she glanced up, the blood froze in her veins at the sight. Hundreds of Krak’un were rushing down the valley towards her, making their way to answer the elder one's call. Most of the crabs were juveniles, but there were dozens of adults amongst their ranks. If these things made it to the elder, it would be catastrophic; forget losing a hunting party, if these things were led by the elder they could sweep across the Coast, wiping out everything in their path.

  Panic gripped Tayla, she couldn't possibly hold back this horde on her own, but leaving them was out of the question. Even if she beat them to the elder, they would overrun the hunters before they could take down the beast controlling them.

  “All Mother, what do I do?” She asked aloud, feeling the noose tighten around her neck.

  Thunder boomed above, Tayla watched as a spear of gold landed in front of her, embedding itself into the coral stone. A moment later a bolt of lightning struck the spear. The electricity coalesced into a humanoid shape, the blinding light fading to reveal a person holding the spear. Sparks of energy crackled over their body as they turned to face Tayla, it was Thoren.

  “Sorry I’m a tad late, but the other representatives are safe and sound. You said that weapon on your back was our best bet at killing this elder right? Well, I’ll buy you as much time as I can so you can put it to good use.” He said.

  Tayla opened her mouth to respond, when she was interrupted by a crow falling to the ground, its corpse writhed for a moment before bursting in a shower of blood. Then another bird fell, and another. Looking up Tayla saw a flock of birds circling above, rapidly they all began to fall in quick succession. Each one bursting as they fell, their bodies seemingly overfilled with blood, some burst before they could land, causing a rainfall of viscera. The ground was slick with the thick liquid, the scene was straight from a depiction of the infernal realms. Thoren’s face was stricken with fear at the sight.

  As the pool of blood grew larger and larger, a clawed hand, coated in crimson, reached out of the pool, followed by a cloaked head. Slowly, a towering monstrosity emerged, every drop of blood was pulled towards the figure by unseen forces and with each drop its body became more and more tangible. Thoren had his spear readied, watching in awe and fear at the graphic transformation.

  A second later, standing fully formed was a hulking monster, at least, that was how he appeared on the outside. “My lady. I apologize for showing you such a ghastly display.”

  “Phi!” Tayla felt her eyes water at the sight of the man, a rush of relief overcoming her. “How did you know to come here?”

  “Something… called to me. I don’t know, but for some reason I knew you would need help.” He said with the closest thing to a smile that he could form.

  Phi was by all accounts, one of the most terrifying looking people you could ever imagine. Tayla had long since grown accustomed to the man's outer appearance and knew that what laid underneath that visage was the most devout, loyal, and caring man you could ever imagine.

  “I need you to buy me time Phi.” Tayla said, knowing she was asking the man to risk his life.

  “I life to serve my lady, I will make sure that not a single creature-”

  Thoren had obviously snapped out of his stupor as he shouted. “The beasts will be on us in a moment. Leave the platitudes for later! We have work to do!” The Stormpriest fired his spear into the thrashing mass of claws approaching, following it up with a bolt of lightning.

  “Forgive me oh righteous one, you are right. The God’s have seen fit to ask much of us on this day, and I welcome the opportunity to serve!” Phi wasted no time running forward to meet the charging horde head on without hesitation.

  Tayla snapped the reins, leaving without another glance behind her. Between Phi and Thoren, she trusted that they would be able to hold back the swarming Krak’un for long enough. There was nothing else that stood between her and the elder one.

  She finally turned the last bend, her volburn suddenly locked its legs as it skidded to a stop, hurling Tayla from the saddle to the unwelcoming ground below. Landing hard she came to a stop after rolling a few times, her wounded thigh screaming in pain. A few feet away from her was the source of the volburn’s fear, a dark swirling dome stretching up above the valley walls. The surface was as black as the night sky, small motes of light moved along its surface.

  There was no time for delay, Tayla tried to stand and was brought down by the screaming pain of her now reopened cut. She grunted as she started breathing slowly, letting the Tranquility creep in quickly. Her breath bellowed a plume of vapor, the pain disappeared in the cold embrace. She stood without feeling much of anything. This was going to hurt like a bitch afterwards.

  Readying her rifle she walked towards the shimmering black dome, there was a chance this could just kill her, she had no real way of knowing what this was or what it would do to her. But, she wouldn’t let some stupid wall stand between her and saving her family.

  Tayla reached a hand out towards the inky blackness, her hand passing into the dome, there was a slight feeling of resistance. She held her hand there for a moment, waiting to see if it would try and devour her.

  Nothing happened.

  With a deep breath, she readied herself; before plunging into the waiting darkness.

  ◆◆◆

  Thoren was mentally exhausted. He had expected his visit to the coast to be uneventful; giving sermons here and there, smiling and making friendly small talk, bringing the will of the Gods to those he had been taught were beyond help. He had envisioned himself as a shepherd, leading a wayward flock away from certain doom, yet instead he had been forced to see he was no leader of the blind but a pawn to some force with unknown objectives. He was still confused as to what the right path was; the Twins were a secretive people, each revelation showing just how close they walked the line of heresy. They hadn’t crossed it yet though; harboring hybrids was not a crime, employing mutants wasn’t either, and when it came to their pact with the Old God they seemed to still put the All Mother first. It would have been easier if he could simply hate them, but they had treated him with the utmost respect, and he would give them the same courtesy.

  The introspection had to wait though, his attention shifting back to the man eating crabs that wanted nothing more than to rip him limb for limb. Thoren was directing his spear from afar with one hand, spinning and propelling it to great effect. One of the Krak’un managed to get close to him, it lunged at him with its claws, before he could recall his spear a chained hook came crashing into the shell of the beast. The crab spasmed from the sudden impact, as it was pulled off its stubby legs and hurled down the valley back into the oncoming horde.

  Thoren cast a glare to the source of the hooked chains, standing in a maelstrom of gore and blood was the hybrid Phi. Since seeing the abomination a few scant minutes ago, Thoren had been trying to remember the name of this variant, it was something like Crimson Corsair, or Scarlet Tide. He had been a terrible study, especially when it came to the tomes of chimeric research. If memory served, the last recorded instance of such a hybrid reaching adulthood was some two hundred and forty years ago. Coming about from a Tideborn and a Sanguinte joining in unholy union.

  Despite all of Thoren’s misgivings about the hybrid, he could hardly refute the man’s efficiency. As soon as any Krak’un came within fifteen paces of the man, he would lash out with hooks of steel, or blades of blood, all of his strikes landing in spite of his apparent blindness. Hells below and above, the man didn’t even flinch as he was skewered by volley after volley of kelp blades. He would just lazily cut the blades as his body regenerated from the wounds.

  The one failing of the hybrid was that they seemed incapable of sensing anything outside of that fifteen pace range, so Thoren had taken up the duty of clearing the Krak’un on the valley walls with his spear. Sending the beasts tumbling down as he severed their anchoring legs, where they would thrash uselessly on the valley floor below.

  They were holding the torrent of creatures back for now, but it was only going so well because the adult Krak’un were holding back, as if instructed by some guiding force.

  Thoren was caught off guard as the hybrid spoke without warning. “I am reaching my limits of regeneration, I will most likely die soon.” The man spoke about his impending doom with the tone of someone mentioning they ran out of milk, a minor inconvenience.

  “What! Why are you just mentioning this now? Your regeneration seems to be fine.” Thoren shouted back.

  “These creatures have incompatible blood, it is copper based, not iron. My own reserves are nearly spent. When I parish, I pray that you will be successful in holding back this horde.”

  “Then fall back! We can regroup and come up with a new strategy!”

  Phi turned to him, despite not looking forward anymore, it seemed to do little in the way of preventing him from sensing the oncoming Krak’un and dispatching them swiftly. “I lack the strength to outrun these beasts. I will hold them back and give you time to retreat to a better position.”

  “Do you have a death wish? You wear the cloak of a priest of the tides, you claim to serve our Mother, you have her symbol etched on every link of your chains, and you think that the All Mother would be happy if one of her beloved children simply threw away their life!” Thoren said, watching Phi’s shocked face. “I will only ask you once, do you want to die? Or do you want to continue serving the All Mother?!”

  Phi stood straighter. “If the All Mother still see’s value in my life, I would happily continue to serve.””

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Thoren called his spear back, he looked towards the dark clouds above, casting the spear towards them as a bolt of lightning. When he felt it had traveled far enough, he let his body dissolve into the storm as he gave his new form a simple command. -Travel to spear, then reform-

  As his body returned to its material state, he found himself floating in the clouds some few thousand feet above, gravity tried to grasp him once more and he shook it off with a thought as his body suspended itself. He twisted to look down, it wasn’t hard to spot the valley he had been in just a moment prior; hundreds upon hundreds of the Krak’un were funneling into the larger chasm. It looked like a colony of insects twitching and marching in unison. He spared a glance at their destination, gasping as he saw a sphere of starlight covering a large area. This threat was becoming more and more dangerous by the minute. All the more reason not to hold back.

  Letting go of his weapon, he brought his hands together, interlocking the fingers in prayer. He wished he had more time, he would have to rush the chant, which would leave him exhausted, or he would pass out and plummet to his death. Protecting the sanctity of life was more important than his own safety. He spoke in the holy language, “Oh holy ones, hear my plea. I am lost in the darkness, bereft of your light. Grant me your strength so I might cast away our enemies and bring about your will! Make me but an extension of your righteous fury, deliver me from this cold night, raise me from the tainted sodden of the earth so I might cleanse its filth and be born once more, purified by your grace!”

  As the words left his mouth he could feel the gods turning their gaze towards him. Each one granted him a mote of power; this wasn’t some childs chant, this was a war chant and with it came the full attention of the powers above. It was strange though, Thoren could not feel the All Mother’s attention. She was usually the first to answer such a prayer from her own children.

  His body was bursting with borrowed strength, the chant he was using would normally take around ten minutes to complete all the verses, but he only had moments.

  He would pay the price for rushing things.

  Huge rings of light appeared in the sky behind him, holy sigils and scriptures running along their lengths. His spear began spinning around him like the hands of a clock as twelve golden spheres of light appeared as it passed each of the cardinal directions.

  It felt like the energy he was borrowing would tear him apart at any moment. He held his arm back as if to throw his spear, holding for a moment before screaming as he brought his arm forward. The twelve balls of gold erupted in a storm of lightning, raining down on the horde below with incredible power. The sky was aflame with blinding light, beams of holy energy crashing to the earth with ferocious force. The celestial’s wrath made manifest.

  In a moment it was over, most of the horde had been reduced to ash, huge craters pockmarked the surface of the valley.

  “Now, I just need to teleport-”, Thoren’s vision went black, his body locking up. Gravity grabbed him hungrily as it sought to smash him into the earth below with haste. His mind shut down, helpless to arrest his fall.