Silently, Nyssa used Rowden's pot to heat some water. As she added herbs to the water, Nyssa glanced over at Rowden crouched at the man's side, his dagger ever ready. She sighed and began applying the fragrant water to her cuts, washing the blood off. Maybe her powers of prediction had completely abandoned her, now when she needed them the most. Maybe whatever was happening in the world was making it just unpredictable - that it no longer followed the rules her people applied to it. It was a despairing though. Nyssa sighed quietly to herself. In her peripheral vision, she saw Rowden jerk his head up and look at her. He had a questioning look on his face, and his brows were furrowed in concern. Nyssa shook her head at him.

"I'm fine," she said, and in the silence her voice sounded thin and oddly placed. Rowden nodded slightly and turned back to their prisoner. Nyssa stood and took the pan of water to Rowden's side.

"Where are you hurt?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Only my pride," he told her. On the prisoner's face, blood mingled with sweat and dirt. Nyssa took a her from the pan and squeezed it out saying, “I'm going to clean him off.” She reached out to start, but Rowden grabbed her hand.

"He doesn't deserve it," the child soldier told her, and when Nyssa glanced at him, there was a cold fury in his eyes.

"You know this man?" she asked.

"Not by name, but he tried to kill bear before. He almost succeeded in killing me. We owe him no favours, that's for sure." Rowden said, his voice low and quiet. Nyssa nodded slowly, as Rowden's gaze returned to the stranger. There was a sudden chink of stone behind them and Nyssa turned to see Bear and Kiara returning. Rowden rose and handed the knife to Bear, but Nyssa saw the look that passed between them. She rose as well, suddenly not wanting to be close to Bear. As she stepped away however, he put a hand on her shoulder. Instinctively she flinched.

"Don't kill him," she said, trying to cover it. "Not yet. We should try and find out why he's after you."

"You fight poorly," was all she got in response. Nyssa cursed herself for saying anything at all, and walked back to the fire, where Rowden was preparing dinner with Kiara. Nyssa sat down and tucked her knees under her chin, a gesture she hadn't made since childhood. Kiara frowned at her.

"Not be sad," the blond haired girl said, shooting Nyssa a wide grin. "We win."

"I suppose," was all Nyssa would say.

The night wore on, and they all ate the small rodents that Kiara had managed to catch. Bear eventually joined them at the fire, leaving the prisoner unguarded. When they had eaten Bear curled up to sleep, and Rowden took over guard duty.

“I know you are awake,” Rowden said quietly. “I want to know your name is, and why you're trying to kill my friend.” There was no response from the stranger. Rowden stood up and kicked the man.

"Why are you trying to kill my friend!" he demanded. There was a gentle snort from the stranger. Nyssa had been listening and now she approached.

"Please, we just want to understand," she said kneeling close to him. The stranger opened his eyes, and Nyssa's breath caught. He had eyes of the most startling blue and she was sure she had dreamt of this man.

"Ah, my lady," he said, and his voice was deep and low. "That man, your 'friend', is evil. There is a spirit in him, a wildness that makes him bad." Rowden snorted and kick the man's legs again.

"You're a Changed-killer, is that it?"

"Changed?" Nyssa asked. Without taking his eyes off the man, Rowden spoke to her.

"Bear was transformed from an animal, a bear, to a human. Did you not see his shadow?"

"Ah," Nyssa said softly. "No I had not." The stranger laughed, a short burst.

"Just see my lady, what they hide from each other, and from you. You do not want to be travelling with these sorts."

Nyssa frowned in displeasure. "Stranger, they are my party,” she said, “those whom will save the world with me. I must travel with them oddness or no. At least tell me your name. Please?" The man looked directly at her.

"You would save the world with such evil so close to your heart? You think he will help you save the world?"

"She asked you what your name is," Rowden growled, and the stranger briefly flicked his gaze at Rowden before returning it to Nyssa.

"My lady, I am known as Tanar Davius. I do not hail from any place, but I am bound to kill the one you name 'Bear'"

"But why?" Nyssa said. "Help me understand"

"You could never understand." Suddenly Nyssa felt an illogic rage building inside her. This pig headed man, this Tanar! Why was he so self assured? She stood and looked down on him scornfully.

"You are bound to a rock, you have no weapon and no hope to get away, and yet you insist that you are going to kill bear. What makes you so sure?"

"Dear lady," Tanar said, smiling sweetly at her. "I know this to be true because the light wills it so. The light wants him dead as all the underworld. And I do the light's work, because it will punish me if I do not. Therefore, before the sun has risen, the evil that is that beast will be gone."

“Gods damn you!" Nyssa yelled, all restraint gone. She swung her foot to kick him, but instead of soft flesh, her foot cracked hard on the stone.

"Why can't I hit you?" she wailed. Behind her, Rowden saw bear sitting up, and Kiara creeping towards them, her mirror held close. Nyssa hopped away, her foot throbbing painfully. "Why can't I predict you?" she said, again miserably. "What's wrong with you?" Tanar cocked his head to one side.

"Interesting," he said. "Are you like the soldier I hung up on the tree? Are you his kin?"

"What? you killed my mathematician?"

"Yes, that was my handiwork. Did you like it? The light said I had to kill him too. He was evil. But you are good. This is very interesting."

"Be quiet!" Nyssa said in her most commanding voice. Again Tanar cocked his head to one side.

"So he was also speaking the truth, the soldier. You really are the Malachite Empress?" Nyssa held her head aloft.

“And what if I am?”

"Stop this!" Rowden yelled at Tanar. Suddenly the bound man's eyes grew wide. Rowden, thinking he had finally cowed the prisoner took a step forward.

“No, you idiot! Behind you!” Tanar yelled at him. Rowden turned to see Bear, only a few steps away, reaching out towards Nyssa. An odd look suffused his face. In his peripheral vision Rowden could see Nyssa frozen in fright. He went to take a step forward to protect her, but before he could move, somehow Tanar was on his feet rushing past them both, Kiara's mirror shard somehow in his hands.

“Bear! Bear!” Kiara's agonised screams seemed strangely distant to Rowden as he watched Bear reaching out to swat Tanar away, as thought he were a pesky bee in the way of the honey pot. But bees sting, and Tanar ducked under the blow, coming up inside Bear's reach. The shard was held high and then flickered as Tanar brought it hard down into Bear's chest.

"Noooooooo! Bear!!" screamed Kiara from behind him.

Then time seemed to speed up and a thousand things happen at once: Nyssa crashed to the ground, bears blood spurted over Tanar and as the other man drew the mirror shard from bears chest, bear turned back from a man to the creature he use to be. Kiara shot past Rowden, and leapt on Tanar screaming and biting and clawing and kicking. Tanar fell to his knees, carrying Kiara with him. Rowden watched as Tanar dropped the mirror shard and held Kiara and she struggled to hurt him. Rowden also fell to his knees. Tanar had been telling the truth. The sun was far from up, but he had killed bear in defence of Nyssa. Empress. Of course Rowden had been told as much that she was, but he hadn't believed it. Now Bear had tried to kill her because it was truth, and Tanar had killed Bear, and it looked every likely Kiara was going to kill herself trying to exact retribution on Tanar. He looked over at them framed by the firelight. Nyssa trying to calm Kiara and Tanar letting her exhaust to her anger, and the massive bulk of animal that had been bear. Rowden felt his throat closing up, and he coughed as the tears began to spill themselves silently down his cheeks. They had only been travelling a few weeks together, but he was closer to this Changed than he had even been to his brother, or the others in his squad. The world shook and suddenly Nyssa was there beside him, holding him and rocking him as though he was a small child again back in his mothers arms. His pain an anger at everything that had happened to him broke though and he sobbed like he was a small boy, he cried and cried and all the while Nyssa's arms were around him, holding him tight and safe.

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This is the story Dark and I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2008. All the chapters we've written thus far are up, if you want to start helping go for it. Planning wise, the rough idea here is that after 'showdown' the party follow their away along the Lancaswich mountains, passing over the Malachite Empire. Somewhere along the way Mordekai spot them and sends the Elite Math Wariors after them. Sooner or later they get to the place called sendari and from then [after chatting with the locals] head up into the lava fields. They get to the top of the world, mordekai is waiting, all hell breaks loose and something happens with Kiara and the shard. We both suck at endings... For more background into the world, we made this site:http://stoneoftides.wikidot.com/ Try to ignore the ramblings and stick to what makes sense ;)

updated May 3 '09 by Druidx