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Jecht was often criticized for being a flaming hot-head. But it was not a good day to be a criticizer. Hell, said criticizers were flying out the bar window now. Groans and aching bodies lie eschewed across the stone path as Jecht stepped outside. He was wearing corsair's attire, sporting sandals and iron-looking armbands, with a strange spear on his back. Huffing streams of fire, hair a mess of flames, he stepped in the mass of former criticizers and moved. His body became a blur as suddenly the bodies twisted around and flew away from the bar. Giving another fiery huff of content at the sound of moans, Jecht went back inside. He felt he had been controlled about dealing with the men having used his hands, but then again they were his deadliest weapon.

"You're going to fix my window, right Jecht?" said the aging human barkeep, while cleaning some aged mugs at the bar.

"When have I ever not?" said Jecht in a cool manner. Suddenly his skin started to turn a sea green, his flaming head seemingly washed away as the energy lines on his body turned blue. "I'll have it fixed shortly." Digging into his money pouch he flipped two gold coins to the barkeep, being a generous monk. "Add it to my tab."

The City of Splendors was busy, being around noon. Many carts rolled by, hooves and wheels overpowering the sound of street-side merchants peddling their wares. It was a great place to live for a Genasi. This area was the Docks. Jecht lived on a large boat that had been transformed into an inn... of sorts. The Floating Fortress was beautiful nonetheless, its beautiful blue hull bobbing softly in the sea. It was a shame it couldn't sail.

"It is a shame... I could make that boat the fastest boat in the port... and the strongest." came a snickering voice in his head. 'Must be Artu' he thought. Artu was hard to miss in a crowd, being a Shardmind. The telepathy the Shardmind race talks in was a dead giveaway also. Jecht turned to face Artu, who was slightly shorter than him. Wrapped in a cloak that was covered in pockets and alchemical ingredients and accompanied by a pale figure carrying what looked to be all the things Artu thought he needed everywhere.

"I never thought you would show up after seeing the damage in the bar." said Jecht in a murmuring tone. Knowing an alchemist was very good when stuff seemed to break itself around you.

"It was nice of you to pay the barkeep so much this time. Since it was a window, it was simple to make it whole again. Though there were some pieces missing... you didn't throw something or... someone through it, did you?" came the reply in an amused tone.

"Another group of people bothered me today while I was enjoying the scene."

"Well in any case, let us head back to The Floating Fortress."

The place was quiet since everyone was out. Boarding the floating inn and nodding to the innkeeper, they headed to the bottom deck, which was where Jecht made his home. Like many Genasi, Jecht let his emotions control his manifestation. Having heard from the barkeeper about the flaming hot-head, Artu was surprised the men had left with their lives. Seeing Jecht in his water-soul form now gave Artu a calming feeling, which was most likely the intention. Energy line pulsing softly across his body, Jecht was happy to be so close to water in this form. Actually, it was the only way to sleep, as his fire-soul hated water. There were leaks everywhere in the hull, yet the room wasn't full of water. A drain in the floor told why, as the water that entered the drain seemed to magically disappear.

"I asked for this room because I can slip right into the ocean from my room. Helps to calm me down and meditate." said Jecht in a comfortable voice. Yawning, he laid down. "Make yourself at home. We got quite a journey ahead of us." With that, Jecht was out.

Huffing in a way only a telepath can, which is a cloud of psychic waves, Artu sat down in the only chair that wasn't broken and got comfortable. It was going to be a long rest... Artu envied creatures that could sleep.

Waking up in the dark usually mean't someone was playing jokes with the everlasting motes that were the ship's lightsource. Waking up to your immortal ally spinning his crossbow around, bolts in all the walls, mean't there was danger. Jecht was getting up slowly with his spear already in hand, looking around in the deepening darkness.

"You expecting company? Or would an assassin be a daily thing you fight off?" mentally came Artu's sarcastic tone. "This better not be about the job..."

Almost immediately the room brightened once more, a tall figure standing by the doorway. Wearing unusually pale black assassins garb, with an immense sword hanging low across his back, there stood a Revenant; the Raven Queen's personal race. The blank eyes with the red glowing dot and the gray skin gave it away.

"Evening gentlemen... I am Bishop. I have come on behalf of our employer to provide reconasence and support." Came a sly voice from the Assassin. "I'll be around, so we'll leave whenever your ready."

With that the lights flickered and Bishop was gone.

"At least he's not an enemy." said Artu, sheathing his crossbow.

After paying the piper to keep his room safe while he was off, Jecht and Artu were on their way to the nearest seaworthy vessel. Seeing a shadowy figure dash onto one, they picked that. Their toll was a simple prayer for good sailing and to help fix anything on the ship, which was easy. After getting settled and seeing a few others come aboard, the ship was off for a chain of islands.

"Are you ever going to tell me what this job is?" murmured Artu, reluctantly mending some dishes.

"I don't really know in particular. Just know this job is going to make us big!" said Jecht, a little too giddy.

They were sitting in the dining room on the lower deck. Bishop had recently appeared, giving Jecht someone to talk to while Artu worked diligently.

"We are about to have some issues" said Bishop in a seriously blunt tone. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize. I wasn't expecting this to be a ship full of undead."

"How did we miss that" said Jecht with an astonished tone. "What about the people we saw coming onboard?"

"They are thralls most likely" a whisper came from Artu. "So about twenty thralls, and the others that came onboard are probably just like us... possibly not though."

As if luck didn't exist, in stumbled a shadow of one of the people who had come aboard. Obviously no longer among the living, with signs like the smell of decay and shuffling walk, the undead stumbled in slowly. Slow enough for the obviously angry Revenant to make a whirling attack, decapitating him in one swing. Jecht and Artu recalled as one that servants of the Raven Queen did NOT like undead.

"I'm going to take the minions; you two find the one in control of these." And with that, Bishop was gone.

Artu, angry that he did all that work for nothing, destroyed everything in the room by summoning three mechanical golems; making Jecht immediately duck out the room. The golems crashed through the deck, making a hole and lifting each other through, bringing Artu up once everything was turned to paste. Bishop had been throwing his victims overboard, which seemed to Artu like a good idea. He ordered the golems to toss all the bodies off.

Jecht was below deck, just reaching the hull. There was nothing on his way, which was very suspicious. That was until a fireball came from the opposite end of the boat. If Jecht cared about tactics when facing cowards, he would have not switched to fire soul and used the foot of water to quickly reach his enemy. As he waded closer, flames angrily flaring off of Jecht as the fireballs became hectic, Jecht made out the cowardly shape of a human warlock. Jecht was upon him as if he had been a step away, the human shaking violently as he went to cast his last desperate spell...

Bishop just got back to the deck, and informed Artu the rest of the ship was empty. Halfway through a sigh of relief, the boat shook violently, a crashing and gnawing sound quickly coming from below deck. Suddenly the deck splintered and a smoking mass with popping and crackling of lightning shot out of the hole, along with Jecht's fist preceding his body.

"That... was insane" said Bishop with his mouth wide as he watched Jecht dropped softly to the deck. "I'm guessing that was the ringleader of this charade. But was that really necessary?"

Jecht shook his hissing hand with a frown on his face, dusting the ashes off his burnt shirt as he looked around. "He's dead. Bottom is clear but I didn't see any food. How long is it supposed to be until we reach the island?"

"We are supposed to reach the island by tomorrow..." said Bishop, sighing. "But for all we know, we aren't even heading there. I know nothing about ships."

"Why do you insist on destroying everything?!" came a raging message from Artu, his arms flailing about. His golems even seemed to be upset. "It would take days to fix everything on this ship!"

"Just search the ship Artu." said Jecht, joining Bishop in a sigh. "You can have whatever you find. I didn't bother looking in the warlock's chamber."

Jecht took the helm, doing his best to pinpoint which direction to steer in. The sun was setting slowly on the horizon; Jecht murmured some prayers to help with direction. Meanwhile Bishop brought all their goods to the empty captain's cabin. Luckily, Artu found a lot of expensive items he was able to use for a ritual to make a full meal. As they got together in the cabin to eat and think about their current problem, they went over the past day to make sure they didn't miss anything. Bishop suggested that this was the job, though he was certain there was supposed to be another person joining them. Before they could get too far into the discussion, the boat came to an abrupt halt, launching everyone to the floor. As they rushed out to the deck, the boat was shaking. They hadn't struck land, and the boat felt like it was lifting.

"I think someone is teleporting the entire boat!" yelled Artu as he summoned his golems to his side.

Everyone circled up and looked around for the perpetrator. Just like a wink, they shifted, suddenly splashing into water again going at a decent speed. As they looked out, they were in a bay coming up to a port. As they looked back, they noticed the horizon was gone; they were on an earth mote! A thud came from by the helm suddenly. As they peered up, they saw a beautiful female Tiefling. She was dusting herself off before she looked up, spotting the alert party.

"Bishop" a cry from her in a cheerful voice came, "It's nice to see you!" As she came down, she made a beeline for him... and immediately punched him in the stomach with a surprising amount of strength. "You left me behind you idiot!" Turning to the others, she announced herself. "I am Selia. I am a Cleric for the Order of Talos!"

"Who is Talos, and can you tell me why we are... here?" said Jecht in a confused state. He was sure this order didn't exist, though if an order of some sort was the one's giving the job, then this was going to pay more than he dreamed.

"This is the island we were supposed to sail to." said Bishop in a pained voice. "The Order of Talos was made by the Raven Queen for Talos, a new deity that rose quickly to godhood. I was brought to life again to serve him. It's nice to see some gods actually doing something in these troubling times."

"Good job grabbing us a free ship! Unfortunately you're going to have to fix it yourself." said Selia with a giggle. "Any time now Valerel should be bringing us into the main chambers." As she said that, everyone started to feel like they were lifting up. Suddenly they all vanished again, falling into a deep blackness.

When everyone woke up, they were standing in a darkened chamber with different colored motes free-floating around the room. A few halls ran down different ways at the sides, with a large door at the front. At the back of the chamber stood two slow-flowing crystal tubes feeding into an old stone basin that glowed with strange warmth. In front of the basin their stood three figures. On the left was a snickering Dragonborn wearing large elemental armor with a Morningstar, both covered in runes. On the right was a beautiful Eladrin with long red hair, wearing exotic robes with a strange tome bound in iron bars. The person in the center seemed to cast darkness on the entire room, with it concentrated around his body. From the black space around him come small arcs of flames, showing bits of his appearance. Talos stood there in blackened exotic leather armor, with an otherworldly scythe on his back. His most standing feature was a floating crown of cobalt flames that gave off a feeling of forgetfulness.

"Welcome to the Order of Talos. I am Lucyan, Rune priest and teacher of Selia." said the Dragonborn on the left with a hearty voice. "I will be your spokes-"

"I am Talos." said the Shadar-Kai in the center, giving everyone chills to the bone from the emptiness of his words. "Please do not be insulted by my lack of talking. I do not believe I would enjoy seeing people scared from my very words." With that, the god stood silent, looking at everyone emotionlessly.

"I am Valerel, Planeshaper for the Order." said the Eladrin on the right. "Lucyan will speak for Talos. If you need to speak to anyone here, please feel free to, except me."

"She's kidding of course! Now, let us go outside and enjoy the weather Valerel has provided for us today." With that, Lucyan led everyone outside.

Once the doors shut, everyone felt a burden fall off of them. The party took a look around, getting to see the scenery for the first time. They were on a patio on the side of a mountain, the sky so clear they could see stars in the daylight. From the railing they could see that at the base of the mountain as a small town forged of stone and steel. From the top of the mountain, the seasons fell from winter to spring at the town. In the distance you could see clear water flowing out at the bay entrance.

"The earth mote will never run out of water. Valerel picked a plot of land with many magical earth nodes in it that cause all sorts of magical abnormalities" started Lucyan with an explanation. "The nodes have made this land enriched with many renewing minerals, which is good for my crafters who make the Order's equipment. The nodes also help with Valerel's magic, like the total control of the mote and the shaping of the other dominion she is building to eventually move the mote to." Sighing, he had everyone sit down at the stone table and get settled. "Talos and the Raven Queen have been watching you all. You have been handpicked by them to serve a greater purpose. This is your land and your people. Here resides your god." Lucyan raised his hands in the air motioning to everything around them. "Our people grow by the day, not a bad soul among them. This land is slowly growing for when it is ultimately moved to the Order's dominion, but for now this will serve as his base of operations."

Suddenly the ground shook and a roar came from above. Looking up there was a cavern above the main chamber they hadn't noticed earlier. From this cave came a white dragon. With a massive roar, it took off, flying around the island over every bit of land.

"Talos protects the land himself. He would never let his people be the first on the battlefield. Though he feels nothing, he knows that if he could, he would do this gladly" said Lucyan in awe.

Talos headed back to the cavern, giving another roar before disappearing inside. While everyone had questions, they felt answers would come soon enough and stayed silent. After a bit of chatting to get everyone comfortable, Lucyan led them down the mountain to their rooms. They had been given their own manor on one of the outcroppings making the bay. Like the town buildings, it was very strong looking, yet the building was actually slightly claimed by the land; the roof, walls, and land was all nice grass, with small spots where windows peered through. Inside the floors were immaculate wood, with pristine stone walls. The best part was that they were able to travel there and back through node portals scattered everywhere. They were all stone basins of water. As it had turned out, it really was night out, day would be soon. Lucyan then bade farewell, leaving everyone to sleep.

Jecht thought his times of waking up to abnormal situations were over... of course he was wrong. Lying beside him on his large bed was a Dragonborn female in the buff. Taking only a second to check his situation, he had fallen asleep in his monk pants, with his tattered shirt left with Artu. Getting slowly out of bed, he would normally be furious... but the lady wrapped in his sheets was beautiful. Since the only light in the room was from the edges of the heavy wood door, he would reserve judgment for later. Walking out into the main room carefully, the large glass panes showed an unbelievable night. Artu and Bishop were both there, their conversation getting louder.

"...what don't you like about the situation? This is our destiny" a retort came from Bishop.

"Jecht" Artu said, startling him, "what do you think about this ordeal? Please say you thought about it before sleeping."

"Um... a monk follows a teacher along with specific teaching. Unlike a cleric or paladin, we do not follow a god for anything pertaining to our Monk-hood" explained Jecht. Grinning he added, "I am very interested in what this god can do. Not to mention he is right here, we get to witness a god ascending into his destiny."

"Talos loves his people" Selia said from behind them, coming out of her room. She was wearing her tight onyx chainmail, giving everyone a chance to see the large curves of her body. Another thing that wasn't covered in robes was her fullblade; a gigantic broad-bladed sword that was less than a foot smaller than its wielder. Leaning against the couch she added, "Though he cannot feel love, he knows the definition and therefore tries to do what he would want to feel." Noticing that the topic wasn't what was enticing everyone, she snapped her fingers causing everyone to flinch. As the blink of an eye, her robes appeared on her. Huffing, she left the room.

"At any rate, we got a pretty nice place to stay at" Jecht pointed out, "it's like being in a guild. We got jobs and the chance of advancement... not to mention directly serving a god." With a large grin on his face, he added, "I'm looking forward to seeing where this takes us. I have a feeling that this is something nobody in this age is going to experience."

"What's the racket out here..." said a voice from Jecht's room. Suddenly out stepped the vixen-of-a Dragonborn wrapped in blankets, with grogginess showing on her face. As it took a second to notice what was going on, like why there were people in her house, and why they were staring at her became clear; she was almost bare. "Get out!" she shouted as she inhaled, a cold breeze flowing through the room. As soon as the room chilled, everyone ducked behind the couch; a fierce burst of cold, snow with chunks of ice, flew everywhere.

The cover did no good, as the cold seemed to come from everywhere. Everyone was covered in freezing snow, a cloud of ice and mist covered everywhere... except where an angry Jecht was standing. Flames licked from his elemental lines as it turned everything to mist.

"Now that's a hot man" said the femme fatale. Blushing as if she didn't realize what she said, she quickly retreated to the room.

A little later, after everyone was thawed and the lady was dressed, she came back out in clothes... of sorts. To everyone's awe once again, she was wearing a questionable garb; a white cloth wrapped around her bosom with tight blackened leather pants, and a dangerous scythe oddly similar to the one the god carried, with a large red glowing eye where the blade meets the hilt. A very confused Selia was back, a look of disdain on her face.

"I am Sora" said the lady Dragonborn. Blushing, she added, "I have lived here since birth, raised as the first Invoker for Talos." Sticking her tongue out at Selia, she moved to sit with the others, holding her scythe precariously.

"Anyway..." grumbled Selia, "Lucyan wants us to come to the master forge. He has something for us."

After everyone was fully awake, Artu making a full meal for everyone, they approached the basin. As they stared in, thinking of where they had to go, they were pulled towards the basin. In a blink, they were in what could only be a smithy. Weapons of all shapes and sizes hung from the stone walls and ceiling, with anvils and forges aligned along the long walls. Beside them was a stone desk, which Lucyan... was asleep at. Without warning a mass moved from behind, a scythe buried its self into the desk, startling everyone.

"Wake up gramps!" shouted Sora, pulling her weapon out of the desk.

"I am! What is with younglings these days..." said Lucyan, working out a kink in his neck. "At any rate, I forged everyone equipment to signify everyone as part of the Order... just kidding, all of these weapons have been forged for Order members." Laughing heartily, he continued, "The weapons will change according to your person. Your weapon should stand out from the others."

Sora and selia had weapons so they stood by Lucyan, scolding him for his laziness. The others wandered around the forge, looking at all the weapons. Unlike what Lucyan said, their were objects and artifacts along with the hanging weapons. Jecht was stopped by monk beads, Artu by various tool kits, and Bishop by hilts.

"What is with these beads?" asked Jecht. When he picked up the beads, he found they were metallic and very heavy. The long chain of monk beads had to weigh a hundred pounds!

"The beads were forged out of a metal found on this mote; made to increase gravity in the way they move." Lucyan mumbled, scratching his head as if trying to remember. "Though they are all different colors, the beads are from the same material. They changed during the forging process."

Suddenly golems appeared beside Artu, turning to him as he inspected their mechanical parts. He checked between the tools of a kit, made from fey leather, and the golems.

"I learned my profession from a different world and made my golems there." Artu sent to the minds in the room, "So why are their tools here made of my profession?"

"Oh, those I found in the feywild," came a reply from Lucyan. "I had them broken to their base materials and reforged. They turned out better than I had imagined."

Bishop found a hilt that was shaped differently from any weapon he had ever seen. It had a ornate handguard shaped in the likeness of some symbol he had seem in monk scrolls, and a long curved handle with a gem of some sort at the end. When he picked it up, he found it heavy, as if a long blade was there.

"Be careful with that one," came a warning from Lucyan. "The blade that belonged from that hilt is gone, but it did not forget it's blade. The hilt refuses my tools and abilities to reforge it, but the 'empty blade' as I like to call it seems like it can be changed." Grumbling, Lucyan came over and took the weapon from Bishop. Putting his hand on Bishop's head for a second brought a smile to his face. "I see, I will personally reforge the blade for you. Tomorrow you will have a great weapon."

"So he gets something made by you, but not us?!" Jecht said, obviously upset.

"Everything you all picked, I made." Lucyan said, moving to shuffle everyone out. "Probably."

The next morning came earlier than most, mainly because of the noise. Jecht and Artu were missing from the house, as the others noticed quickly. When they came outside, they were startled... to say the least. Scraps of metal went flying by everyone as soon as they stepped out. When they turned, tens of golems were running around; some with weapons. Their attention was focused on Jecht, with Artu sitting on a bench out of the way. Suddenly the closest golems attacked Jecht with their inhuman speed, swinging wildly. The cold soul Jecht dodged everything calmly, sidestepping and ducking under the flinging weapons. Jecht caught an opening, turning into a hurricane as he blew the two golems away, shattered into pieces.

Wiping water from his head, Jecht signaled to Artu, and the golems stopped.

"Am I the only one that trains?" Jecht said to the gawking spectators. "Artu can make enough for us all to train," smiling warily, he added, "but be careful; he's ruthless."

More golems appeared around Jecht, making him drop into a stance. The others decided it was a good idea, and after a minute, they were spaced outside fighting golems. Artu adjusted new golems for each person, working them to be more resilient to each person with his magical tools. Bishop stopped early, saying he had to go to the forge. After a few hours, they were all done, resting inside as Artu made lunch. Bishop returned shortly after with his new weapon, sheathed in a long scabbard that was curved like the hilt.

"I'm back, sorry I'm late," Bishop said as he appeared in the living room. "You guys look beat, you didn't train too hard, did you?"

Everyone looked as undead as Bishop; huddled over their food, eating quietly. After everyone was finished, the mood lightened up.

"That was good food!" Sora exclaimed, leaning in her chair and rubbing her stomach. She was obviously speaking for everyone, as they were all leaning back like her.