[Abe Sargent]

After your encounter you stop to rest less frequently. Mile after mile you plod on mechanically, only half aware of the lifeless landscape through which you move. Fatigue dulls your senses and you cannot recall the exact moment you entered the Neverness; like a dream, it is as if you have always been here. Clouds swirl beneath your feet yet they support your weight. You float in a sea and sky of grey light without horizon or boundary, a limitless eternity of space. There are distant sounds, like muffled voices, but when you strive to understand them they fade and you cannot catch the words.

Time passes, yet time is meaningless, for you cannot tell the order in which events are taking place. From out of the swirling wisps of cloud three globes of darkness arise. They swim closer, hovering to and fro, evolving into the forms of black-hooded riders on demon steeds. Leering skulls peer from the shadow of their cloaks and you see your own eyes reflected in their bony sockets.

(I use Psi-Screen)

Blasts of psychic force shoot from the shadow creatures and hurtle towards your mind, but you sense the danger and raise a psychic defense to deflect the attack. The hostile energy buckles your thought-shield and leaves you shivering with psychic shock.

(I am a Scion-Kai)

You use your improved psychic skill to repair your thought-shield by catching and controlling part of the hostile energy being directed against you. The shadow creatures sense your psychic mastery and a whisper passes between them. They split up and the hooves of their steeds churn the cloud to a roiling ferment as they move at a gallop to surround you.

We engage in a psychic battle:

Shadow Reavers CS 25, EP 40

I do not gain bonuses for my shield, weapons or weapon mastery. I add +3 for the Psychic Ring, and +3 for the Grey Crystal Ring. I also get +5 for my rank. Alright, here we go:

I roll a 3 and a 0. They take 29 and me 1. I roll a 9 and they die. Awesome.

I kill them and then a sound lures me deeper into the Neverness.


Quote:

Slowly the clouds separate, and a tall tower of glistening white stone looms before you. A globe of golden light hangs suspended in mid-air above its conical roof, pulsating with heat and radiating power like a tiny, new-born sun.

Its comforting warmth draws you towards an open portal at the side of the tower. Beyond it you see a dark tunnel that descends towards a speck of misty yellow light.

(I do not have the Circle of the Spirit)

You find it impossible to resist the strange compulsion drawing you towards the light. Effortlessly you glide along the tunnel and emerge at the centre of a huge, transparent sphere suspended in a luminous yellow sea of oily liquid. Behind its seamless walls swim fish-like creatures, strange things with phosphorescent bodies and opalescent jaws. You stare in fascination as they swim around you, seemingly oblivious of your presence.

From the curved floor of this spherical chamber a billowing mist arises. It blurs your vision and numbs your senses. As if in a dream, you feel yourself lifted by the buoyant cloud and transported across a vast, shadowy terrain, where spirit-shapes, like wisps of white silk, swirl around you in continuous motion. At first you cannot discern the nature of these gossamer forms, but slowly they draw into focus until at last you are able to distinguish their features. A cold terror grips your mind when you realize exactly what it is you are looking at.

(I use Psi-Screen)

The ghostly forms possess the faces of every enemy you have ever slain. They twist and contort beneath your gaze, their empty eyes burning with cold blue flames as they return your stare. Frantically you draw on your psychic reserves and succeed in shielding your mind from the shock of this haunting confrontation.

The ghosts dissolve into the mists and a strange serenity soothes your tortured mind. New forms are taking shape now. They fill the scope of your vision with memories of events that occurred long ago. You see the smiling faces of your mother and father; the village of Dage, where you lived before you entered the Kai monastery; your sister Kari calling you in for supper at the close of a warm summer's day; and the sad memory of your brother Jen, who gave his life to save yours when, on your sixth birthday, you slipped and fell into the River Tor.

With amazement you watch as the patchwork parade of recollections continues to unfold, and slowly a realization of their meaning crystallizes in your mind. These people and events have all played their part, be it great or small, in the shaping of your destiny.

Suddenly the visions are obscured by a dazzling light which shines so brilliantly that you are forced to shield your eyes against the glare. Many moments pass before you can make out the shape of what looms above: it is the huge face of a mighty warrior, strong and wise, whose golden eyes stare down at you with supernatural majesty. A kindly smile softens his heroic features and a voice, deep and wondrous, rumbles from his throat.

'In this age of darkness you have been chosen to fulfil the quest of the Magnakai. Be true to the quest, for the greatness born within you can save your people and right the imbalance which threatens to destroy your world. Doubt not your purpose nor your strength, for inside you there burns a flame that can light the hopes of future men for all time.'

The divine radiance of his being and the gravity of his words fill you with wonderment, for your senses tell you that you are now in the presence of your creator--the immortal God Kai.


The vision of your maker shatters with breathtaking suddenness and, without any warning, you fall forwards and plummet into thick, swirling cloud. The scary sensation of this rapid descent leaves you gasping, but the initial shock is soon replaced by the calm certainty that your fall is being controlled by unseen hands. Then, as if awaking from a dream, you become aware that the cloud has faded and the welcome feel of firm ground has returned beneath your feet.