Non-story respose: Eating your bowl of Wheaties bug?...er...or not. Just here to say I'm pretty sure Ping is right...I don't know where Avenger is (Arbiter, have you decided where you wanted to go with him yet?), and Gebohq and Kogi are at teh dwelling. And just to say, even though Gebohq is now not considering suicide anymore, he's still pretty damn down. And whole new problems can arise upon meeting the party members. And just curious, but can anyone else see this as being an anime fantasy movie? That would rock...and I wonder what computer-generated animation..er..anime would be like. Hmmmm....and is it just me, or have Orca and Meteor thrown in about 10,000 things into the story when we weren't looking? Fearblade, the JK sword, guys after Meteor, Meteor's dreaming about..er..meteors. Maybe its just me, I get confused easily, heehee. OK, I've rambled enough, and I hope to post a story post soon.

[NSP]
^And just curious, but can anyone else see this as being an anime fantasy movie? That would rock...and I wonder what computer-generated animation..er..anime would be like.

I could do computer-generated animation (I'd show a picture but that would slow it down too much when this gets up to page 7). I could try once this is done.

^Hmmmm....and is it just me, or have Orca and Meteor thrown in about 10,000 things into the story when we weren't looking? Fearblade, the JK sword, guys after Meteor, Meteor's dreaming about..er..meteors.

lol, maybe it's just because I have to 'develop my charecter' quickly because the end is so close.........

I plan to post once I find out what Arbiter is going to do with Avenger (I don't want to get to Gebohq's place and find out that Arbiter wanter Avenger to do it).

------------------
"Maybe you like rainbows"
Credit for this sig goes to........ JK [Meteor]!!!!

hehe, You just wait till the Final Fantasy Movie comes out. The only problem I have with the moive is that it has "animated love scenes". I don't know EXACTLY what they mean by "love scenes" but we can take a pretty good guess. I guess it's just based on your interpretation.

If you have played FF8, you know what quality animation this moive will have. It will rule. plain and simple.

Hmm..... Yeah. Well, it seems that I'm waiting for Arbiter to post, and it seems that everyone else (except maybe Arbiter) is waiting for everyone else to post............

(Actually, I was just waiting for some free time!)
Orca easily located Baza, Horaya, and Hecklord, and the march back to Orca's tower was uneventful. Instead, it was what awaited them that was eventful. A circle of Orca's troops were suspiciously watching a group of Bazaal's undead, led by Yimir.
"Greetings, Orca. I think your troops have the right idea to be cautious, although it will do nothing. I have powers beyond comprehension, and I'm afraid you will be the first test!" Yimir smirked. The undead backed off, letting Yimir stand alone. Orca only regarded Yimir with a expression of pity.
"Your power, Yimir, is only Magic. Your power may be great, but I can block it." Orca replied.
Yimir's smile spread. "You are wrong Orca. My powers come from The Power as yours do. Magic and this Force combined, as you say, create The Power. Well, you know what? I control that Power!" Yimir screamed at the sky. It was to be a dreadful mistake. Orca leaped at him and plunged Fearblade into Yimir's heart. The boy screamed, but the wound healed itself. Yimir then disappeared.
"Teleportation." Orca murmered. The undead were gone with Yimir, and Orca and his troops were now alone.
Orca slowly went inside the tower and too his throne, which he slowly sat down upon. He had much to think about.

------------------
-Space Orca
Space Orca's best qoutes:
"The Force is strong in you. The force of my lightsaber coming down!"
"A planet of pokemon? Don't bomb it from orbit. A few might survive. Get the Death Star in here!"
"Hmmmm... It looks like my Lightsaber needs a little repair work. Know of any lightsaber repair shops in town?"
"Luke Skywalker drew his lightsaber... and turned it in to the art teacher"
"Pokemon is spelled S-T-U-P-I-D!"
If you have any more funny quotes, just send them to me.

Argh, you people. Ok, ok, no more leet speek.
(NSP)So, everyone's waiting on me, eh? Well, if Meteo goes to Geb's cave, i'm fine wit dat. The only way I want to use Avenger is backround for Kogi. In fact, if you want to bring Avenger to Geb's cave, that's kool too. Yes, that would work nicely. Kogi's ine bad mutha- shut yo' mouth! but i'm only talkin' 'bout Kogi! Hey, then i can dig it. Be sure Kogi bends fate to his will
"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio." -William Shakespeare, Hamlet. (Contrived quotes are awlays free).

[This message has been edited by Arbiter (edited February 28, 2000).]

Gebohq: //Why do I keep thinking I should still be upset? I have no reason to; I talked it out with Kogi and he made more sense than I could imagine. But it all seemed too simple, too quick. I feel as if I got over my problems too quickly. They were pretty big problems there too! What am I going to do? I feel I still have to dwell on it...//

(yeah, so its a short post, but it gets the message across, right?)

(NS: Ok, well I have a plan on how to bring Avenger along)

Avenger read the message. //Meteor's going away too?!? No!! Going to Gebohq? It'd be really good, because I'd get to see Meteor and Gebohq!!// Avenger thought. He grabbed what he needed to bring with him and ran out the gates after Meteor.

# +------------------------------+ #

"Well," said Meteor, "It seems that Gebohq's place is in that direction. BTW, you haven't told me your name yet." The cloaked person pulled out a sword hidden in his cloaks and said, "I am TYVAHC the Ultimate!!!!!!" Meteor ran closer and looked at the sword, then said, "Wow, you have a neat sword!! It says, 'Fire will.... foreve---'" Tyvahc quickly put his sword away. "You shouldn't read that!!" he said. Then he turned around. Suddenly a fireball started growing in his hands. "What is it?" asked Meteor, then he turned and said, "WAIT!! It's Avenger!! Don't fire Tyvahc!!" The fireball turned into a puff of smoke.

"Is Avenger a friend of yours?" asked Tyvahc. "Yeah." Tyvahc walked away a little as Meteor and Avenger started talking. "Well, let's go." said Meteor. They started walking in the direction that Gebohq's place seemed to be, but Tyvahc stayed away from them. //That fool Avenger might ruin all my plans!!// Tyvahc thought. "What did you say Tyvahc?" asked Meteor. "Um, I said, 'Avenger will probably help us get there' " Tyvahc said. Then he walked a little farther away from them and started thinking of how he could get rid of Avenger.

# +------------------------------+ #

(NS: I'm out of ideas of what should happen while they're on their way. I know what will happen once they get there, but I don't know what will happen on their way, or how long it'll take them)

I have no idea what's even going on anymore. Maybe we should stick to, oh, I don't know, the ONE BIG ENEMY THAT'S CONQUERING THE WORLD? Just a suggestion.

OK:

Where everyone is:

Ping - I don't know.
Meteor - With Tyvahc & Avenger
Kogi - With Gebohq
Sakana - At Merlin's Citidal?
bug - At Merlin's Citidal.

What everyone is doing:

Badguys:

Bazaal - Just sitting in his castle or whatever?
Yimir - Training to kill Bazaal
Space_Orca - Getting ready to attack?
Um, Nytzujrha - Trying to kill Meteor and Gebohq

Current plans:

Goodguys:

Main - Get together and prepare to attack.
Gebohq & Kogi - Wait for people to find them. ??% done.
Meteor & Avenger - Find Gebohq & get him to Merlin's Citidal. 51% done.
?Tyvahc? - Kill Avenger and make it look like an accident. not started.
Shawn Templar? - Find Dragonfly. ??% done
Others - Just wait? ??% done
Percent done - 90%

Badguys:

Main - Become king of everything.
Bazaal - Kill everyone. 25-75% done
Yimir - Kill Bazaal. 50-75% done
Space_Orca - Kill all badguys. ??% done
Um, Nytzujrha - Weaken everyone, then kill all badguys. ??% done
Percent done - Not allied.

Story - 85-99% done

Just in case anyone wants to find out what everyone's doing with reading through the whole thing over and over.

[This message has been edited by JK [Meteor] (edited March 01, 2000).]

Meteor, that made absolutly no sense. Just thought I'd let you know.

Ping_Me, Pristine and Ji'tory are in the middle of the wasteland hoofing it back to Merlin's Citadel with the Sword.

Shawn Templar, Linna and Reyuan are in the city with all them winged people. The just finished out a scene that is very reminicent of FF8's ballroom scene (hmmm...) We have not heard from Shawn in a long time. SHAWN WHERE ARE YOU?

Ping_Me, I'm in the citadel. If you go back a few post or can remember, I had walk into the citadel and started talking to you but we posted at the same time and I had to change it. I'm waiting for Merlin to post cuz I have something planned out that should keep this story going for a little longer at least.

------------------
"I can become enraged like Vegeta, if i smile, run...................very fast."

"Semper Fi"

Hehe, sorry...

Personally, I think why everyone is lost is that too many new characters have been introduced. That wouldn't be a bad thing, but most all of them seem to try to be main characters, which can be very confusing, if not distracting. I mean, I remember back in Saga of the 3rd War (grandpa voice here, heehee), I wrote Gebohq out as a minor character for the bad of merry men (merry, heehee) out to save the world from Bazaal. So either a) make them out to be lesser roles b) give them a more specific objective(s) besides kill. and no, killing a specific person doesn't count unless you include the next thing which is c)give them some motive or driving force that is unique to your character. Make your character as identifyiable as you can...it might help to even give them a line they like to say, you know, like Dr. Smith in Lost in Space.."We're doomed!" It helps keeps the reader in track of the characters, and it makes them more interested. Hope my ranting helped in some way.

(non story post) Page six seems to be the page of epically short posts. The story seems to be stagnating or floundering. I think that it's also time to set some things straight. I'm new to these threads and you prolly won't take me too seriously. I think that some characters needs to be balanced better. Checks and balances and all that. Kogi has been pretty well unbeatable as of late, and i mean to change that. I know that we are all inclined to make a character invincible and the best, but where does a story go without downfalls of character? As an example, Merlin may've seemed the invincible leader, but his group lost the war(downfall), and was killed (the ultimate downfall). This cropped up a whole new set of problems for the characters to deal with, thus moving the story along. See what I mean? Merlin is also a balanced character. He's an all powerful guy, but at the beginning of this thread, the Archangel showed him that he had sinned, then thus he was flawed and a balanced character. His good was balanced by his unknown sin. I think we should strive to write more like Merlin.

First of all, I'm sick, so I won't be posting much until I feel better, or at least well enough to write well. Orca is a balanced charechter, IMHO, b/c he is very powerful like Merlin, but his flaws are as follows:
He dosn't want to be overwhelmed by power
Loves Arfrassa
Isn't allied with ANY other main charechter, or anyone but the Animals, and so he faces both Bazaal and troops AND the main heroes.

------------------
-Space Orca
Space Orca's best qoutes:
"The Force is strong in you. The force of my lightsaber coming down!"
"A planet of pokemon? Don't bomb it from orbit. A few might survive. Get the Death Star in here!"
"Hmmmm... It looks like my Lightsaber needs a little repair work. Know of any lightsaber repair shops in town?"
"Luke Skywalker drew his lightsaber... and turned it in to the art teacher"
"Pokemon is spelled S-T-U-P-I-D!"
If you have any more funny quotes, just send them to me.

[NSP](NSP)
OK:

^a) make them out to be lesser roles

I'll try

^b) give them a more specific objective(s) besides kill. and no, killing a specific person doesn't count unless you include the next thing

Meteor's objs:
1st) Find Gebohq and bring him to Merlin's Citidal.
2nd) Wait for final battle.
3rd) Maybe help them from Space_Orca's Fearblade's Fear Aura?

^c)give them some motive or driving force that is unique to your character.

Hmm... Maybe since about half of everything that happens to Meteor is about meteor's?

^...it might help to even give them a line they like to say

Hmm... How about, "Maybe you like rainbows"? Of course .

^I think that some characters needs to be balanced better. Checks and balances and all that

Meteor seems balanced to me, but what do you think? Here's all the strengths and weaknesses that have been shown:

Meteor's Strengths:

1) The JK sword
2) A weak Meteor Throw spell or something
3) He's travelled around the world

Meteor's Weaknesses:

1) He seems to be a kid, so people might not take him too seriously.
2) He falls for tricks easily (The cloaked guy is really Yerif).
3) He gets scared easily.

That's all I can think of.

Also, I want something to happen between the path from Merlin's Citidal to wherever Gebohq is. I just can't think of what, so I can't post now.

------------------
"Maybe you like rainbows"
Credit for this sig goes to........ JK [Meteor]!!!!

And than I giant meteor came out of no where, and blew everyone into oblivion like the dinosaurs...

THE END

This thread is for serious posters and dedicated story tellers ONLY! People who waltz in here and end the story will NOT be tolerated! *grabs a fly swatter* SCRAM! SCRAM!

Actually, I was refering to your bad guys Meteor, your character is pretty fine (i still think the meteor thing is kind of odd, but that's just a personal preferance). I have to agree with bug on the fact that one major bad guy is a lot simplier. And hey, about the involvement with orca and Bazaal: I think the fights between the two of you are a bit downplayed. I mean, bazaal is one mean mofo(heehee, mofo). I just don't see him charging into a confrontation with orca like its been written. What do you all think? And I'll try to post a story post tommorow.

And also, if you want to take small breaks from this, write for Neverending story! You can all be funny, really!

------------------
"...life got complicated. Well I can't wait to see this through."
(Third Eye Blind)

->Gebohq<-

Gebohq: "Kogi, I'm starting to have doubts about going back into the war. I mean, I haven't been active in nine years. Nine years! Am I going to be able to survive?"

Kogi: "Don't think such nonsense! Our practices together have been some of the most difficult fights I've had to be in."

Geb: "But I feel for your trick. I can't believe I did that! It was the first thing I taught Tessa to do, and its was my main tactic in fighting. Have I changed so much? I--I just don't know if I can go through with this. What if I die?"

Kogi: "How can you be thinking of yourself? This war is for the people of this war! I'm surprised you said that."

*Gebohq was stunned by his words. They hit a point so deep that it shook his mind*

Gebohq: "I...I don't know. It isn't like me at all. *starts to cry*I always kept it my deepest principle to think of others before myself and...and look at me! I've broken that too! I can't believe I'm like this! What have I turned into?"

*Gebohq starts to sob uncontrolablly. Kogi stares at him with a strange look, as if to think that it wasn't like a hero like Gebohq to cry. Kogi felt more than anytime that the hero he knew was most human, despite all the awe and respect he held for him.*

u2canBcool comes out of nowhere and sticks his head into business that he shouldn't be sticking his head into. Unfortunately, when he realizes this, his head is stuck. Some person notices u2canBcool, comes over, and promptly chops off his head. Thus, u2canBcool can't stick his head into anything that he shouldn't anymore.

*Did anybody get the moral of this story?*

-cool

er...

------------------
Don't stop baby, dreamin'
Don't stop baby, lovin'
Don't stop baby, believeing

Wasurenaide...

OK, my badguys are confusing..... Well, to make it more like 'One badguy conquering the world', how about this: They're workers of Bazaal. Bazaal told them to weaken all the goodguys.

Is that better? Thanks

------------------
"Maybe you like rainbows"
Credit for this sig goes to........ JK [Meteor]!!!!

[nt]

(NSP: Hey, I'll try to get the story moving along again, but if you don't mind JK, I'd like to alter a previous post of yours. It shoudl still fit, as long as the people you meet happen after this event. Basically, this post if you leaving, but with everyone else at the citadel. Hope you don't mind)

*Meanwhile, at the Citadel of the late Merlin, JK sits with his legs crossed facing a wall, his spaced-out eyes staring past the wall, as if searching for something beyond. The others sit near him, impatient for anything that he might have to foretell, especially the whereabouts of Gebohq.*

*As if struck with a brilliant idea, JK suddenly stood straight up and raised his index finger upwards in excitement.*

JK: "I know where he is! I know where Gebohq is!"

Sakana: "Where? Where? Tell us quick!"

JK: "I..I don't know the place. It's unfamiliar to me. But I know where he is, I can feel where he is. Like a compass knows where the north pole is. Quick, follow me!"

*JK started racing for the doorway. The others franticlly get their equiptment and weapons, quickly following JK through the kitchen, where bug is eating his breakfast.*

Sakana: "Bug, get your stuff quick. We're all going to get Gebohq. Hurry!"

Bug: "Wha-? Why has Geb become such a popular fellow all of a sudden. He never did much before. And why should I bother to go with-*bug touches his forehead, which is feeling the effects of a headache*--oh yeah. WAIT UP!"

*The group made their way to Gebohq's dwelling.*

(yeah, and in the next post, could someone mention who was at the Citadel, so we can mention them at Geb's place? And feel free to bring up whatever issues you'd like to happen between old friends and Geb, then we can head off to Bazaal's place, oh yeah!)

------------------
"...life got complicated. Well I can't wait to see this through."
(Third Eye Blind)

->Gebohq<-

See above for the listing for characters at the Citadel. I'm not there yet.

A little foreshadowing with bug?

Where are the wolvess????????

------------------
--- Jepman

Looking through the Eye of Chaos, I see it all.

[NSP]: Wow, that sounds good. Thanks....... BTW, how far is it from Merlin's Citidal to Gebohq's place? If it's only a few miles, not much would happen on their way there, but if it's 225 miles or something, they'd probably have alot of trouble getting there.......

Thanks!!

------------------
"Maybe you like rainbows"
Credit for this sig goes to........ JK [Meteor]!!!!

I'd imagine that Gebohq would want to be a long, long way away from Merlin's Citadel.

(I'd imagine it'd be quite some distance too, but whatever the distance, you can either talk about teh trip or not. If it advances the plot, a 5 minute trip is worth talking about...but I'm rambling again with things most of you probably could guess. And foreshadowing with bug? Umm...possibly. I just threw that in there because some previous post mentioned bug would go into pain anytime he tried to do something bad. I figure not trying to be good would also put him in pain. And feel free to post the dialogue between Geb and others, because I really don't know what to say And write all you want about Kogi, if the writer doesn't liek how he's used, he can post*evil smile* That ought to get him writing again, heehee)

*Bazaal stared into the dark pool that showed him Sakana and the others leaving the Citadel. He knew that they were leaving to find Gebohq, and thinking about the situation at hand annoyed him. He had sent Apathis to kill Gebohq, but for once in the former dark wizard's life, Apathis cared about dealing with Gebohq. It hadn't been enough to want to kill him, Apathis had to attempt to crush him completely. Gebohq had been the only person to get a rise out of Apathis, perhaps because he had been the only one to defeat him. He should of known better Bazaal thought, then to send Apathis out. He knew that people like Merlin's kind always seemed to be able to rise out of the ashes.*

*He thought about his mistake, and how he was becoming careless in his old age. That would all change soon though. With the power of darkness that Dirtbag had shown him, it was power beyond anything he could dream of, power that would let him rule forever.*

*If he was going to stop any innsurection before it became a problem, he'd have to deal with the situation personally sooner or later.*

------------------
"...life got complicated. Well I can't wait to see this through."
(Third Eye Blind)

->Gebohq<-

And just out of curiosity, how many readers do we have, if any, that don't write for the story? And I'm glad all the writers are still around

Sorry, I forgot about the deal bug had made with Balthazar.

I check this place evertime there's a new post.

------------------
Don't stop baby, dreamin'
Don't stop baby, lovin'
Don't stop baby, believeing

Wasurenaide...

Kogi sat, meditating. His mind was clear of all things, emotion, thought, everything.
//I need guidance. I need to find out what to do next.// He felt a strange sensation of spinning, falling out of himself. He had a sensation of being pulled, or dragged through a tunnel of some sort, and he was in a dream world, of sorts. He was standing in Merlin's citadel. This Dream World was exactly as real life, so, if you got killed here, you died in real life. //I will have to be careful.//
Kogi: Guidance! I need guidance! What should I do? Where do I go?
There was no answer. His ancestors had left him. He was along for all he knew.
Kogi: Ancestors! Answer me! Please! I need direction. I need to know where I am going.
A disembodied voice boomed out from around the citadel, bass in it going through him.
Voice: To know where you are going, you must know where you have been. Kogishunjun, you must know your past.
Kogi: Grandfather? Who speaks to me?
Voice: I am one of your ancestors long past. Dear blood of my own, you will know your past .
Kogi: H-How will i know, ancient? My memory is but a fragile web that is already near torn asunder.

Voice: Then know!

Out of the corner of his eye, a light, whitest of whites, grew from a pinprick and increased to fill his vision. A stinging noise filled his ears. A scream was wrenched from Kogi's soul, rushing out of his mouth.

Kogi jerked awake, his vision blurry. Gebohq was standing over him.

Gebohq: Kogi! Kogi? Are you alright?

Kogi: Y-yes. Agh! My memory, I remember now. Does the name Avenger mean something to you?

Geb: Avenger...I have not seen him in a long while. Tell me! Where did you see him? When?

Kogi: One moment, my friend. This memory is new to me.

Piiiing...you know you want to write the post involving this. I don't care if your character isn't with the party. You're too damn good at writing to let it be wasted And besides, I don't know what to write about between geb and the party. Anybody? Hmm...wish Arbiter posted more often.

------------------
"...life got complicated. Well I can't wait to see this through."
(Third Eye Blind)

->Gebohq<-

Gebohq: Well, don't leave me hanging. What of Avenger? What do you know of him?

Kogi: Calm down, my friend. I told you that this memory is new to me. It may take a while to get them in order in my head, so please be patient.

Geb: Yes, all right.

Kogi: I guess it was, oh, about 3 or 4 years ago. I was on my way to fight in the Third War, still naive enough to believe it was still going on. I had duel swords back then, and I could use them better than I can today.

Geb: Wow. You do pretty fancy stuff with them now, how could you be any better with them?

Kogi: A sword master could do much more than I can now. I ought to practice more often. Ryouko and Kennan were my duel swords. But, I digress. I met Avenger on a dirt road very similar to the one on which I met the Daemon Lords. In fact, it was a confrontation with a lesser species of Daemon Lord that united us...

Kogi's shirt clung sweatily to his back. He was straining against the sword of the Demon.
// Why do all of the Evil One's underlings have to be proficient with sword?// Kogi thought. Kogi danced back out of the way of the Demon's sword. Swinging on his heel, he cut through another oncoming attacker.
//Down to 3. They aren't so bad alone, but in packs, they're quite vicious.// Kogi was at his best, yet only barely deflecting sowrd blow after sword blow. Kennan and Ryouko were doing their jobs, but the black blood of all Bazaal's underlings stained and rotted steel. A demon rushed Kogi, thinking that the other two were overwhelming him enough. A slash across the chest and a horizontal cut acorss the face showed it was wrong. Two. Kogi was beating back the one, but, in his sweat-blinded state and his muscles crying out for respite, he forgot the other.
"Look out!" cried a voice from behind Kogi. Kogi spun in time to see the demon looming over him, ready to strike. The black figure suddenly was flung aside as if swatted. Kogi rolled backward and planted two feet firmly in the chest of the demon he had previously been fighting. Flipping off the downed demon, Kogi made a quick stroke with Kennan and the last demon was vanquished.

Kogi: I owe you one, stranger. Here's a rag, wipe off the Demon blood before it scores your weapon

Avenger: You would have done no less for me, stranger. I am Avenger, part of The Army of The Third War, which has been dead and gone for a good 3 or 4 years.

Kogi: 3 or 4 years? I just remember leaving my village. That seemed like only a week ago! The Third War is over? How can this be? Where have I been? But I forget manners, I am Kogishunjun. You can call me Kogi.

Avenger: Let us go back to my camp. We shall puzzle over events there with a good meal.

Ryouko huh?

Ryouko (or Ryoko) = Devil Caller

Actually, no. I meant it as follows: [ryouko] dragon and tiger/hero/clever writing/good writer. I mean to change it to Ryuujin which means Dragon king or Dragon god

(My great thanks to Gebohq and Ping_me for continuing this work in my absence. I hope what I will add will put spark back into this tale and get things moving again. BTW what happened to Scout? Or Dirtbag? I hope I was not detained to the point where people have all given up on the story!)

Bug, Sakana, and the others prepare to set off, but see Ping_me, Pristine, and (to their suprise) Ji'tory approaching the citadel. Finally the trio enter the main chamber.

"Your not going to beleive this!" Ping_me began breathlessly (even though he didn't need air since he was a hologram).

"What is it?" Sakana asked impatiently.

"Merlin is BACK!" Pristine burst in.

"WHAT?!" said the others in near unison.

Pristine continued, "We've seen him."

"What do you mean? We saw his body burn and the ashes scattered to the four winds. How can he be alive?!" Sakana questioned them.

"I don't know how to explain it." Pristine said, "He just is. I've seen him with my own eyes." she said with conviction.

"I'll not beleive THAT untill I see it for myself!" retorted bug.

"The see it for yourself, my friend." said a voice from behind the gathered party.

Bug turn and found himself looking into the face of the man he had seen fall nine years before. Merlin had appeared with out a flash or a whisper, he was simply among them.

"My God! Merlin!" Sakana said with an expression of amazment.

"Yes. I am here." Merlin said, and stretching out his hand the room and the citadel was restored to it's former glory as it had looked nine years ago.

As they looked about themselves and were amazaed. What strange newness this was! That which felt like coming home, home to a home you had thought was forever lost. Knowing it seemed the future is never closed!

"Now is a new begining," Merlin said, "now what has been lost will be restored. What has been harmed will be healed. What has fallen will be raised up. Darkness is passing, and no good thing ever truly passes away."

Sakana began to speak again, "Does this mean you will put an end to Bazaal's reign?"

"Yes and no." Merlin said, "His reign is done, you have suffered more than enough. But the fall will not be by conquest of enemies, but by evil's own self-destructive nature. I was sent here now to call even those in the enemy camp to turn while they still have a chance."

"But how can we think of forgivness toward such a monster!" Sakana began.

"Let me tell you a tale. . . . There was once a woman who had a child she loved very much. She loved the child deeply with all her heart. And that child always responed to her. The child did as she asked. And she loved the child and the child loved her. But the hour came when she, for the sake of her enemies, handed over the child to her enemies. And I saw her watch in agony as they beat the child. And I saw her forcing herself to turn her back on the child she loved for the sake of those who where doing this. And as they beat the child it cried to its mother, "Why have you turned your back on me!" And then I saw them kill the child. And I saw the woman breakdown and cry and tears streamed from her eyes. . . . . the child's name was Jesus of Nazareth and the woman was God. Forgiveness is not merely something God says, it cost God something very basic and deep to God Himself. If He or She should sacrifice this for you, but not only for you, but for even Bazaal's sake. Why must you harden your hearts to the possibility of the realization of evil, shame for having done it, and genuine repentance for even some of those who are with Bazaal. How much has been done for you and me?" Merlin said softly.

And they fell silent. Finally after a long pause Merlin spoke again.

"If any of you do not wish to do this, I will hold no ill will toward you for this, for it is a hard thing to do. It was hard for me too, untill I saw the fate for all evil and the lost hope for the humanity they might have become. If you will not go with me, say so now."

Noone answered. "Then do not think this is a task of drudgery demanded by God, but that to those who have fallen into that enemy camp we will bring liberation. For there are those among them who have fallen and dispair, thinking they have no hope. You do not forgive because it is asked of you, but because it will heal a broken world. We are still warriors, but our enemy is not Bazaal, but the evil within him. Our sword is not of steel, but of love. So follow me and put on the full armor of God." Merlin closed.

"The armor of God?" Sakana querried.

"That by acting out of love and the desire to heal and rebuild this broken world, and its broken relationships, you form about yourself what is refered to as "virtues" which are in truth, reflections of that inner light." Merlin replied.

"But first we must reach to two who have lost themselves from our own group, Gebohq and Dragonfly. First, I beleive you were on your way to Gebohq. Go on ahead before me and tell him what has come to pass here. I will draw out Dragonfly myslef."

[nsp]OK, well, hooray!! That was ultimate Merlin!!![/nsp]

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