Chancellor Feyluck Hatstring was incensed. "My new desk exploded! My new *desk*! It cost me thousands to have it made and imported, and it *exploded*! Just *look* at my office!" Death looked at the office. There were coils of smoke wreathing through the air and splinters of wood everywhere - in the carpet, the bookshelves, the moosehead over the fireplace, and the map of the University that took up one whole wall. Scraps of paper floated through the air, en route to the ground, and there were small fires in the cupboard. Broken glass was scattered all over the floor. It was less of an office and more of a disaster area. "That damn near killed me," muttered Feyluck. "PBVHEYWLLIUHCQKWE HATTDHESSZTRYINGGNKGYWE, IT *DID* KILL YOU," intoned Death. "Excuse me?" Feyluck hadn't heard anyone come in, but then, he had been rather fixated on the destruction of his desk and office. He turned to the voice and saw a familiar figure. "...oh. Death," said Feyluck. "It's you. I'm dead?" "YES," intoned Death. "HAVING YOUR DESK EXPLODE INTO THOUSANDS OF SHARP FRAGMENTS WHILE YOU'RE SITTING AT IT TENDS TO KILL YOU." Feyluck looked closer at the scorch mark on the wall and saw blood. His blood. He swallowed nervously. In retrospect, it was silly to think he'd survived that. "What did it?" he asked, looking up at the robed skeleton. "YOUR DESK," said Death patiently. "No, I know it was the desk that did it, but why did my desk explode like that?" "IT IS TAO FEYMU, THE SPELLBREAKER," said Death. "SHE REACHED *THEM*. HER AURA HAS AFFECTED THE INFLUENCE THEY HAVE OVER THE WORLD, AND THINGS... HAVE CHANGED." "Changed?" The skeleton nodded. "YES. THINGS CHANGED. IN YOUR CASE, IT CHANGED YOUR DESK INTO AN EXPLOSION OF SHARP WOODEN FRAGMENTS. NOW, COME. YOUR ULTIMATE FATE AWAITS." "Will there be paperwork?" "ONLY IF YOU WANT THERE TO BE." Hatstring thought of a paperwork-less afterlife. "Great," he said. "Let's go." ---------------------------------------------------- TO HELL AND BACK Chapter 20 - And From A New Beginning Came The End Original Concept by Steven Scougall, 1999 Herein concluded by Steven Scougall --------------------------------------------------- "It's not over." Treisel stepped between Tao and Ezekiel. "I don't fully understand what's happening here," he continued. "And maybe you're right, and I'm good for nothing. But it's not over yet." "It is for you," said Ezekiel calmly. A second passed, and then everyone realised just how much danger those words meant. But it was far too late. Ezekiel was already standing right in front of Treisel, his mace descending as fast as Treisel could blink. Iryien shouted and yanked Treisel and Tao away. There was a horrible crunching noise, and Treisel screamed in pain. Ezekiel was suddenly in front of Tao, his mace whistling through the air towards her head. Remembering Iryien's basic lessons on the ship, she tried to dodge aside, but the mace was impossibly fast. But Wajissabequahze was even faster; he moved so quickly he seemed to teleport from where he was standing to in front of Tao, transforming to his fully demon form along the way. The huge demon wrenched the mace out of Ezekiel's hands and flew into battle. Unfortunately, Waj had been a farmer, not a fighter, and the strike he aimed at Ezekiel was clumsy and relatively slow. Ezekiel easily stepped out of the way and the mace sailed harmlessly through the air, leaving the demon wide open for the Fallen Angel's blast of fire. The fire lasted for only an instant, and then there was nothing left but a wisp of smoke and Zeke's mace clattering to the floor. Ezekiel didn't even give the others time to think - he was upon Tao in a heartbeat, punching with unbelievable speed. She tried to dodge, and Iryien grabbed her again and pulled her further out of danger. But even though the punch was just a glancing blow, it was enough to badly wind her and lift her off her feet. She sailed backwards and landed awkwardly on the rough stone floor of the cavern. There were yells and the sizzle and zing of magic. Tao sat up and saw the other four desperately fighting Ezekiel. But he was too strong. He easily snatched Iryien's sword from her and cast Reflect in response to Caemryn's tightly focused Wind spell. In a matter of moments all four were dead, their own weapons and magic turned against them. Tao stared, almost unable to believe it and how fast it had happened. Only a few minutes ago, the six of them had been alive. Now it was just her. Zeke was suddenly in front of her. His foot plowed into her stomach and flung her across the cavern and into the opposite wall. She fell in a heap, winded and gasping, clutching at her stomach, and coughed. Droplets of blood fell out of her mouth and onto the stone floor. She stared at them dully. She realised that she must be bleeding internally. How long did she have before she died as well? "Useless," snorted Ezekiel. "Without your pretty little friends, you're utterly useless, Spellbreaker." Labouring for breath, Tao looked up and stared Ezekiel in the eye. She tried not to look at the bodies of her friends. She tried not to let the crossbow bolts sticking out of his neck remind of her Rahve. She wasn't all that successful. "I... I'm not dead yet..." she gasped out past the lump in her throat. He laughed. "And what can you do? I'm not so stupid as to use magic on you." What could she do? She couldn't fight, and she couldn't use magic - Wait. She *could* use magic. Her Spellbreaker aura would twist it, and casting magic while wounded would weaken her significantly, but she was sure that her aura wouldn't let her own magic harm her... Still on the floor, she sought her inner power. The blow to her stomach had made it weak and skittish, and it was hard to find it and focus. But she'd studied this back in Combat Magic at the university. She'd had exercises when she'd had to do this very thing. Admittedly, the worst back then was just a low mark, not certain death, but she found that the prospect of death was an even better motivator. With an effort, she slowed her breathing and as she breathed out, sought for the magic - It took a few moments that seemed to last forever, but then she had it. Feeling the familiar wash of power, she started chanting. "Parting heavens, roiling seas, blowing winds, come..." "Oh?" asked Ezekiel, raising an eyebrow. "Casting a spell? Interesting choice. But will you be able to finish before I attack?" She looked up into his nasty grin, and the magic faded away. She realised he would never let her finish casting anything. She knew that before she could utter the final word, he would be upon her with his terrible mace, and she would die. She looked into his eyes and saw that he knew she knew she was doomed. But if she could somehow use that knowledge against him... She managed to push herself to her feet and raise her hands in a standard casting pose - her right arm fully extended, with her hand at shoulder level and all her fingers splayed, and her left arm extended down and backwards at a 45 degree angle. She concentrated, seeking her inner power again, and this time it came quickly. She began her chant again. "Parting heavens, roiling seas, blowing wnids, come. Spirits of the stormy seas and those of chaos, To me lend your power and your spark-" "Ooh, the Storm Bolts spell? Good choice," said Ezekiel. "With or without your aura, it'd fill this entire cavern, and probably at least severely inconvenience me. It might even discorporate me and banish me to Hell." He yawned. "Pity you won't be able to finish it. Really, I don't know why you're bothering." She continued. "To me lend the power of electric destruction, To me lend the power of burning ruin, To remove those who stand in our way!" "Please, go ahead," said Ezekiel. She blinked. He was actually letting her get this far? She reared back, tensing her entire body, and shouted the final words. "STORM-" As expected, he was suddenly in front of her, his mace descending towards her head at impossible speed. She abruptly changed gear. "FLASH!" she yelled, trying to force her aura to amplify the Flash spell, and ducked away as quickly as she could. The Flash spell is a very simple cantrip that is typically the very first spell a magic user will learn. It's hardly even a spell; it is really just a training exercise. All it is is a very bright flash of light, and is the first step on the way to learning the Lighting spell. But it is still quite useful, as a flash of light directly into an opponent's wide open eyes tends to stagger him or her for at least a few seconds, giving one time to run away or to attack while they're blinded, and honour be damned. The best thing about the spell was that every single time Tao had tried casting it, there had always been a bright flash of light involved. Sometimes the brightness was almost enough to instantly blind a person, and sometimes it wasn't a momentary flash but an agonisingly long period of intense light, and sometimes there was more than one flash. Once there had even been the strange case when a duck-shaped light had appeared above the university and the town of Zinnonea in a bright flash and stayed around for seventeen days straight, flashing intermittently. This time, her aura went for something slightly less fancy. It took the Flash spell and twisted it into filling the cavern with hundreds of blindingly bright balls of light, each as large as her fist. Every single one was shining with enough light to light up an entire street in a large city, and they appeared with a flash strong enough to be easily seen through her closed eyelids. Ezekiel's eyes, on the other hand, had been wide open, and the flash all but seared his eyeballs into burnt out husks. He screamed and staggered backwards, his mace dropping harmlessly to the floor beside her. He continued screaming, pawing at his eyes with one hand and casting random bolts of magical force with the other hand. Where the bolts impacted with the balls of light, there were small explosions that didn't cause much extra light but did cause lots of noise and smoke. Where the bolts impacted with her aura, they changed in predictably wacky ways. One turned into a thaumometer that redlined for a second before exploding. One zigzagged across the cavern before hitting Ezekiel's mace, causing it to explode in a shower of white hot droplets, most of which turned in mid-air and homed in on Ezekiel. And there was the usual duck. It quacked, waddled over to a corner, looked confused, and exploded. It all added up to a lot of confusing smoke, light and noise, and Ezekiel staggered throughout the cavern, his sight and hearing shot to all hell. He was swinging his hands around desperately and throwing bolts of power randomly, trying to catch Tao. But with his sight and hearing gone, he was slow and clumsy, and she could eaily stay away from him long enough to cast another spell. "To remove those who stand in our way!" she finished. "STORM BOLTS!" Lightning arced throughout the cavern, filling it entirely - except where it bent and twisted around Tao's aura. There was no such mercy for Ezekiel. He screamed in agony - but for only a second before the scream was abruptly cut off. That had to be his death scream. It was over. Tao fell to her knees, letting the magic go. The lightning and balls of light faded from view, leaving a smoke-filled cavern and the nasty smell of cooked flesh in the air. There was a thump. She looked over and saw Ezekiel's body, or, rather, what remained of it. The Storm Bolts spell had not been kind to the Fallen Angel. Ezekiel's body was charred black and lying awkwardly on the ground, half burnt away and smelling horrible. And she had directly caused this to happen to a living being. The sight made Tao sick to her stomach. "I... killed Zeke..." she mumbled. Memories filled her. She remembered all the time they had spent on the road, and how Ezekiel helped them out. She remembered him standing in front of her, telling her it was the end. She remembered him and Waj getting her and Trei out of the inn in the village of Ang. She remembered him killing all her friends. All her friends... Killing him didn't seem so bad anymore. She looked over at where the others had fallen, but all there was now was ash. A lump rose in her throat - her Storm Bolts spell had destroyed everything in the cavern. Including her friends' bodies. They couldn't even get a proper burial now. All that was left now was the Spell. Before the Storm Bolts spell, there had been a table and eight chairs in the middle of the cavern. Now, all that remained of them was ash and blackened wood. Clearly visible in the middle of the wreckage was the Spell. This was it. The Spell. The whole purpose of her existence, apparently. It was a rather dull purple sphere. She couldn't help but feel this was slightly anticlimactic. Could she really go ahead with this? Nobody knew what would happen when the Spellbreaker made it to the Spell. She could be dooming the world. She could be dooming all of existence for all she knew. But... too much had happened now. Too many people had died. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Tao approached the Spell nervously. When she came within fifteen metres of the Spell, there was a metallic click from beneath her feet and walls rose all around her, with the Spell in the middle of this new room. In one wall was a very sturdy door. What was going on? *** "What's going on?" asked Iryien, or to be more accurate, the ghost of Iryien. "Where'd the walls come from?" "They obviously can't be magic," said Caemryn. "Otherwise her aura would have messed them up." "There are mechanisms that could do this," said Rahve, closely examining the walls and their join with the floor. "See? There's definitely a hollowed out area that these new 'walls' were lying in. All they were waiting for was Tao to step on a particular stone, which would activate the machine that causes the walls to rise. It's pretty complicated to make without magic, and you'd have to keep it maintained and oiled, which would be a pain in the butt. But there's no magic involved at all." "Sounds like you've come across it before," said Iryien. "Oh yeah, have I ever. Some nut once had a collection of highly illegal treasures that the rightful owners wanted back, and he had a trap like this around one of them. As it's completely mechanical, it doesn't show up with a Detect Magic spell." She sighed ruefully. "And I fell for it. Luckily the trap was so old and improperly maintained that the walls stopped rising halfway and I could escape before he showed up with half his guards." "The important thing is not the walls," snapped Treisel. "The important thing is that Tao's made it! She beat Zeke and made it to the Spell!" "Except we're dead too," Rahve pointed out. "There is that," said Treisel morosely. He looked down. "In the end, we couldn't even help Tao." He laughed bitterly. "How long did it take for him to utterly decimate us?" "Five seconds," said Rahve. "Remember, he *was* an Angel." "A Fallen Angel," corrected Caemryn. "And he still exists. All Tao did was destroy his earthly body. It'll take him a while to recorporate though." "Hopefully," said Treisel. "Excuse me?" asked Rahve. "What are you two talking about?" "The way you kill an angel or demon," explained Treisel. "First you kill them on Zinnonth, which gets rid of their mortal body and sends their Astral self back to Heaven or Hell. Then you go to Heaven or Hell and finish the job by wiping out their astral self, which is even harder than killing their mortal body." "That means that Waj is alive," Rahve said. "I know," said Treisel. "But he was kicked out of Hell. Quite where he goes now I have no idea." *** As Treisel had partially explained, killing a demon is a complicated process. First one has to destroy its mortal body on the earthly plane, which is difficult enough. To even stand a chance, one needs extremely high order magic, preferably tinged with holiness as well. In that regard, Ezekiel's wash of holy fire had been enough to destroy Waj's body. However, this merely discorporates the demon and sends its astral self back to Hell to recorporate. To finish the job one then has to travel to Hell and destroy the demon's astral form before it completely recovers, and this requires even higher order magic. This is all of course extremely difficult, which is the reason why there are so few demon hunters on Zinnonth. It also explains why the demon hunters that do exist charge a fortune for their first job and then retire, swearing never to go through all that again. The thing was, though, that Waj had been thrown out of Hell. When the wash of holy fire had roiled over him and he felt his body being burned away, he wondered where he would go - would it be Hell? Or it would be Limbo, the final resting place for the souls that went to neither Heaven nor Hell? The demon Wajissabequahze opened the eyes of his astral form, looked around, and blinked in surprise. The first words that sprung into his mind were 'white and fluffy'. Clouds were everywhere, a blue-white sky stretched from horizon to horizon, and there was bright light everywhere. There was only one place he'd ever heard of like this, but it made no sense for him to be *there*. "This... this is Heaven?" he asked. There was a glimmer of golden light in front of him, and a picture- perfect angel appeared from it. She floated in mid-air, her giant feathered wings spread wide and her white toga fluttering around her body. "Indeed it is," she said. "Welcome, Wajissabequahze, Risen Demon." "Huh?" "Angels may Fall. Indeed, as you aware, Ezekiel was an angel once, but he grew Evil and Fell. However, in much the same vein a Demon who has known only Hell may grow Good and Rise. We just don't talk about it much," she added. She smiled beautifically. "Welcome, Risen One." "So I'm an angel now..." murmured Wajissabequahze. "Sort of," said the angel, floating down to the ground. The great wings folded behind the angel's back as her toga settled around her body. "You're the first Risen Demon we've ever had, so we in heaven will prefer to call you a Risen Demon for a while, until we get used to the idea. At the very least, traditional demon names don't sound very angelic." She and leaned forward on her staff, winking at him. "I understand it's the same in Hell." "True," said Waj, grinning in embarrassment. "They'll be calling Zeke a Fallen Angel for a millenia or so before they start calling him a demon. It's like a probationary period. Not that he needs one," he grumbled. "I would say not," said the angel. "He has killed Angel Hillwind." "Killed..." Waj's eyes widened. He had no way to be sure as he'd been the first one targeted and killed by Ezekiel, but the Fallen Angel had to have fought the other four as well. "What of the others? Did he-" The angel looked at him sadly. "Most have been killed by him as well. The Spellbreaker however managed to defeat him." "Killed?" *** Ezekiel seethed. Not only had his mortal body been thoroughly destroyed - by a human, no less - it had been at the hands of a girl who couldn't even reliably cast magic. Now he was going to be stuck in Hell for who knew how long, and all the while the Spellbreaker was getting her hands on the Spell, and he was powerless to stop her until he had completely respawned. "Ezekiel... not a very impressive start," came a voice. The pale transparent form that was Ezekiel's astral self looked upwards. He was in a random respawn pit of Hell, and at the lip of the pit was the tiny form of Lucifer, glaring down at him. "I mean... really. Letting such a simple spell as *Flash* be your downfall? It's hardly even a spell! It's a mere cantrip! Day-old *imps* can cast Flash!" Lucifer paused, during which he rubbed at a discolouration on his megaphone, then raised it back to his mouth to continue his tirade. "Now, we don't mind arrogance. In fact, we demons pride ourselves on being evilly arrogant. However, too much of it can cause operational problems. Like that major goof you made with the Spellbreaker." "Another chance..." said Ezekiel. Lucifer continued as if he hadn't heard the fallen angel. "Now, the question is what to do with you. Just killing you outright would be a supremely evil act and would bolster my image with the residents of Hell. However, a millennium and a half of being the lord of Hell has cursed me and turned me into a manager. And my manager's sense tells me that getting rid of what was such a promising resource so soon after fully acquiring it could be a bad idea." Ezekiel's hope flared. "Now, to both beat you into shape and make sure you fit into Hell better, you get to start from the bottom! Isn't that so properly evil of me? Have fun, imp. I've got your business to finish." Ezekiel's hope died as his form shrank to a fraction of its former size, solidifying on the way. He looked up at the opening to the pit, and everything looked so much larger. He looked at his hands in horror, seeing their shape and colour, and realised that yes, he had been turned into a lowly imp. Desperate, he tried to cast Flash, and all that resulted was a tiny fizzle. He threw his head back and wailed. *** "What now?" asked Treisel. "Isn't Death supposed to show up?" asked Rahve. "If so, it's late." "If you mean the skeleton, then yes. It's late," said Treisel. "Maybe it's busy." "It won't let me through!" shouted Iryien. The other three spirits looked over to where Iryien was. She was by the doorway set in the newly risen walls, lying flat on the floor. As they watched, she got up again and charged at the door, and bounced off noiselessly. She landed a short distance away. "I... I'm a ghost, right? So why can't I go through?" Rahve experimentally waved her arm through the stone floor, then poked her spectral head through the side of the cavern and into the corridor outside it. "It appears we can go through solid surfaces, like ghosts are supposed to," she said, pulling her head back. She tried pushing her hand through the doorway and it stopped against the surface. The same happened with the rest of the newly risen walls. "These walls must be enchanted not to let us through." "It's the chamber where the Spell is," said Caemryn. "It must limit entry to a select few. Or maybe ghosts just aren't allowed in." *** "What's going on?" asked Tao, staring at the walls that had just risen around her, and at the altar that had risen beneath the spell. "Where'd the walls and altar come from?" She poked at one experimentally and established that yes, it was there and quite solid. "*Why* did they show up?" "They're specially constructed to keep in the power of the Spell." She blinked. Where there had been nobody, there were now two people. The one that had just spoken was glowing brightly, almost so brightly no details could be seen beneath the glow. She could just about make out a toga and a beard, but that was it. As for the other figure, it was short and red, with dull black horns and goat's hooves instead of human feet. It had small black wings and a long tail with a spike on the end. "God... and the Devil?" "Yes. But please, call me Bob," said God. "'God' sounds so stuffy." "I'm Luke," squeaked the Devil, nodding at her. "I'd shake your hand and all, except I'm evil and don't do that sort of thing." "I see you're having trouble believing we are who we are," said God. "How did you-" "I'm omniscient, right? Means I know everything. It's like mind- reading, only faster." "Why-" "Because this is it, Tao. A Spellbreaker has finally made it to the Spell." "Excuse me, Bob," said the Devil scathingly, "but not everyone is omniscient like you. Let her speak." "Sorry," said God. "She was going to ask 'Why are you two here?'" "Is that all?" "Um..." said Tao weakly. "Yeah?" asked the Devil. "You two... really are God and the Devil?" "Yes," said the diminutive Devil. "People usually don't have to ask. The horns give me away." "Only... you're not acting much like how I thought you would. I thought-" "That we'd be almost attacking each other?" God asked. "That I'd be speaking in thees and thous, and that Luke would be taller?" "Yes," said Tao, looking around for a chair. She really needed to sit down. Meeting God and the Devil was too much for her. "Here. Let there be a chair," said God. He gestured and suddenly there was a chair next to her. She sat down gratefully. "Thank you," she said. "Why are you two here, again?" "Cause this is it," said the Devil. "The Spellbreaker's finally made it to the Spell. Now, nobody really knows what it does except for this git," he said, indicating God. God nodded in agreement. "But Bob has said that when the Spellbreaker gets his hands - or her hands, in this case - on the Spell, that it'll be the end of the conflict between Heaven and Hell. Seeing as you're not aligned with either side yet, this is our last attempt at winning you over to one of us." "Sad but true," said God ruefully. "Originally I wanted it so that it would just destroy Luke and Hell, but They insisted on it being changed to how it is now." "I would damn well hope so," said the Devil. "This world is biased enough in your favour as it is." He locked gazes with her. "Choose my side, babe. The path of Heaven and righteousness is so *boring*! You're constantly feeling guilty, and confessing all the time, and being a good citizen while other more evil people walk all over you *and* get more money while they're at it. And what do you get for it? You go to Heaven, perhaps the most boring place in the entire universe." "Hey, you don't have to be such a mud-slinger," complained God. "Bob, I'm *evil*. Mud-slinging is part of the job description. But anyhow, you can't blame me for telling the truth. I mean, hey, I'm the Devil and the Prince of Lies, and you might think I'm lying about Heaven being so boring, but I started off there, so I should know something about it. It's *boring*, babe. All the interesting people go to Hell. The guys in Heaven just want to sit around and bask in their goodness all day." "Whereas," interjected God, "in Hell you're stretched out over fire, whipped a lot of the time, smell bad, and you scream in eternal agony all day. When you reconstitute the next morning you do it all over again." "There is that," the Devil admitted. "But after a hundred years or so, you get upgraded to the Pointless Activities section, and you get to meet interesting people that way." He looked confused. "Where was I?" "You were encouraging her to be evil," God reminded him. "Oh yeah, that," he said. He stepped forward and slung an arm around her shoulders companionably - or at least tried to. His short arm could only stretch halfway around her shoulders. "You and me, babe. Be evil. It's a lot more fun." "Hmph," said God, sniffing haughtily. "Not much of an argument. Choose evil because it's more fun? Is it really? Good and virture are their own reward. Think of your life up to now, Miss Feymu. Think of how you have lived it and how you would continue to live it if you hadn't been the Spellbreaker. Would you have been evil or good? Would you have chosen the path to Salvation or Eternal Damnation? You know you would have been good." With that, God crossed his arms and spoke no more. Obviously that had been the extent of his argument - that she had always been good and she would do the right thing. That is, she would follow him, and Good would prevail. But... would that be the best result? She couldn't help but be reminded of Zeke, who was supposed to be Good but had Fallen. She looked at the grinning Devil, who waggled his eyebrows and winked conspiratorially at her. The expression was so much like Waj, she found herself almost crying. They'd all died, just so she could end up here, being courted by these two, to be either Good or Evil. Why did she have to choose, anyway? Why did she have to be completely Good, or completely Evil? She'd never once encountered anybody who was one or the other. Treisel, at heart a good man, had certainly done questionable things in his time. Waj was supposed to be evil, but was a very nice easygoing demon. Iryien, had she lived, would have been a mercenary, a career in which she would have to kill, which God frowned upon. Rahve had to do many questionable things, including bribery, trickery and invading privacy, in the course of her job. And Caemryn... Tao didn't really know much about Caemryn, other than she seemed to be a good woman but had been found on a pirate vessel. And of course there had been Zeke. Both Good *and* Evil, every single one of them. Perhaps most had been more good than evil, but still, the combination was there. Without the capacity for both, they would all be so different. What about her? Essentially good - she hoped. She wasn't really the one to judge. But even then, she'd been born of an angel and a demon. Once again, there was both Good and Evil. She didn't think it was possible for any human to be just one or the other. To force everyone to be either completely good, or to be completely evil... wouldn't that be a waste? Wouldn't that be a waste of the potential for Good or Evil everyone had? Wouldn't it make them less than what they were? But even so... she didn't like the idea of a world that was completely Evil. Good would be preferable, wouldn't it? She looked again at God. The features half-seen under the glow moved in a suggestion of an encouraging smile. She looked past God, and at the Spell on the altar, and tried to work out why it was so important for her to choose one side or the other. With the seriousness these two were giving it, it seemed like the end of the world would come. Then again, the Devil had said it would be the end of the conflict between Heaven and Hell. Perhaps when she Broke the Spell, it would end the world, bringing the Final War between Heaven and Hell. In the favour of the side she chose, of course. She thought about it. That did make the most sense. But ending the world? That was incredibly drastic. She looked at the two, and God seemed to nod his head, ever so slightly. She couldn't see his eyes properly, but she got the impression he was winking. God being sneaky like that felt almost evil. And the Devil had been so flippant about being evil, seeming to only give the concept lip- service. With the two ultimate forces of the world acting like that, how could the world ever be as black and white as they said it was? She stood up and walked over to the altar, feeling the immense power of the Spell before her, almost writhing in anticipation of her aura. She looked back at the two. "I choose neither of you," she said and reached out to touch the Spell. God and the Devil shouted and tried to stop her, but it was too late. The Spell was twisting and turning even before she touched it, and a low keening noise filled the artificial chamber. "What have you DONE?" shouted God. "There's no telling what'll happen now!" "What was supposed to happen, Bob?" asked Luke. God eyed the Spell nervously. It was shifting colours, going through every shade in the rainbow, and oscillating between the size of a pea and the size of a wagon-wheel. "It's all about the Spell and what it is," he said quickly. "It... the Spell... it's what was left over after I finished creating everything... it doesn't do anything. It just IS. It's what drives everything. It's what everything in the world, the whole universe, comes from. Yet it also has the capability for huge destruction, to destroy everything as well." He was talking extremely fast now, and backing away from the expanding Spell, which was now half the chamber's size and had crushed the altar. "It is neither Good nor Evil. It has the power for love and peace, yet it causes discord and hatred. It has no alignment, it just IS." "And if a Spellbreaker of Good changes it, then the Spell uses its potential for Good and shifts the balance of power of reality to your side?" God nodded. "Theoretically it could go as far as changing reality so that evil simply couldn't exist. And if a Spellbreaker of Evil changes it, then the Spell turns completely Evil and shifts the balance of power to *your* side." Luke shivered nervously, and looked at the Spell. It was vibrating dangerously as it slowly changed shapes. First, a spiral. Second, jagged lines. Then a compass needle spinning around. The rate of change sped up. It was a vertical line. A horizontal line. A two- ended circle then a four-pointed triangle. A high wailing noise could be heard, and in the middle of it all was Tao, the Spell always bending around her. "And if an unaligned Spellbreaker changes it, Bob?" asked Luke. "I hadn't counted on that possibility," said God with a sheepish grin. With his everpresent glow, it was almost impossible for Luke to see the embarrassment, but it was definitely there. "With the way her aura settles on ducks, things could be very duck-shaped." "Should we run?" "Why bother? The Spell will affect all of reality." The Spell was now a large purple chisel cutting through the walls. Large chunks of rock were being struck free and falling everywhere within the chamber. A large jagged triangle of granite spiralled between Bob and Luke and sliced Luke's arm off. "Ouch," said Luke as he regenerated the limb. "You can stay here if you like, Bob, but I'm getting out of here and going back to my nice little office. There's less chance of limb loss that way." *** The swirling purple of the Spell was all around her. Its shape and movement varied, but it was always there and pressing in towards her. Where it met with her aura there were sparks, glowing white hot, and these sparks grew closer as the Spell bore down on her aura, obviously weakening its resistance. What would happen when it was completely weakened? Would the Spell destroy her? She could sense the huge amount of magic in the room; there was easily enough in the chamber to turn everyone on Zinnonth into pigeons and back again several times over. The Spell was now less than a foot away from her face. A pair of cartoon-styled purple lightning bolts swirled spun merrily past her head, scorching a stray strand of her hair. She squeaked in surprise and and drew back, realising immediately just how useless moving backwards was. She stood her ground and watched nervously. The Spell was now a mere inch away from her face and in the shape of swords flying around the room. She felt unbearably hot. A sword came flying at her, point-first, and turned into a duck that collided heavily with her. Remembering what typically happened to magical ducks around her, she scrambled away just in time to avoid the explosion. Another sword dropped towards her, hit her aura a millimetre away from her forehead, and disintegrated into a fine purple mist. No - it wasn't just the sword. All of the Spell was turning into a fine purple mist, filling the room. The roar that had been present ever since she touched the Spell was gone now, but the magic of the Spell was still definitely there. If anything, it was *stronger* than before. Suddenly, before her eyes, there was the image of a naked man running away from an irate farmer. His gait reminded her of Simon, and suddenly she knew that somehow this *was* Simon. She thought of how painful the jolting cart had been and Simon suddenly found himself, still buck-naked, securely tied up in the back of a wagon that was bouncing along a country road. By the feel of it, the wheels were triangles of different sizes and had all the rocks and potholes in the world in their way. "What happened? What happened?" he gibbered. Tao saw this happening and wondered what it meant. The spirit of the Lobster of Hesgeynford gave a squeak of surprise as it shrank to the size of an ant. Everything went dark, and the Lobster looked up to see a giant foot descending towards him. There was a squelch. As the Lobster was already dead, this didn't kill him. It did, however, hurt him a lot. As did the fifty thousand and twenty four other times the foot squashed him. He wondered what he'd done to earn this new sentence in Hell. He thought he was supposed to be scrubbing dishes for another two hundred years. Tao saw this as well, and she knew exactly how many stomps there would be, wondering how and why she knew. Elsewhere in Hell, there was a piffle, and the imp that was Zeke simply stopped existing. Tao silently cheered. In Zinnonea, a run-down orphanage with a broken statue out in front and a roof that had been faulty for years was suddenly whole and never had a problem with its roof again. Tao smiled - the place she grew up in was finally fixed. Across the road, there was an overgrown empty lot. In the middle of it there were two grave markers, and off to the side was a pile of black and brittle wood. Tao looked at this image and a lump came to her throat. There had been a candy shop called Roccho's here, but when she was nine, Roccho's had been struck by lightning and turned into a puddle of sweet-smelling slag. Her best friend in the whole world, Mima Deumisnde, had been in there when it happened. Tao hadn't been able to go for any more than a day without remembering the smart and clever Mima and bursting into tears. She'd wished and prayed for nights on end for Mima to come back- *** Elian Roccho placed the order of licorice and hard-boiled sweets into a bag and handed it to his latest customer - one of his regulars, a young preteen girl called Mima. Then he saw what was outside the window, and his jaw went slack. "Mr. Roccho?" asked the young girl. "Look," he said, pointing out the window. The young girl turned and gasped in shock. "Tell me, Mima, when did the Orcelean Orphanage get so BIG, and when did it get its statue of Orcele fixed? It was black and in pieces twenty seconds ago!" "I... I don't know, Mr. Roccho!" said the girl. "It's not my fault!" "Mi...ma?" asked a voice. Roccho looked over to the front door to see a woman in the doorway, hope and wonder on her face. He got a good look at her and recognised her. This was Mima's mother, but... so much older! Ten years older, if he was any judge. There were many more worrylines on her face than he remembered, and her clothes were duller - what had happened? "MIMA!" she screamed. She swept into the shop and picked her little girl up in an all-embracing hug, weeping only. "You're back!" "Mama?" asked Mima. "What's wrong?" "Elian?" This time, the woman in the doorway was none other than his wife - why wasn't she at home with the baby? Who was that young boy with her? And why did she look ten years older? "ELIAN!" she cried as she and ran into the shop and into his arms, sobbing the whole way. What was going on? It was as if he'd been dead for ten years. *** Tao wonderingly watched the tearful reunions between mother and daughter and between husband and wife. She... she could bring back the dead? Just by wishing it? Was the Spell truly that powerful? It had to be. It had returned Mima Deumisnde to life. If she could return people to life, just like that, then that meant- *** The dust in the cavern swirled together and up into four columns. The columns flattened out and grew appendages, becoming humanoid. In a matter of seconds, they swirled into recognisably human shapes, then into recognisable humans. "That's... that's us!" said Iryien. "What's happening?" asked Rahve. "Extremely high order magic," said Caemryn. The four spirits were drawn towards the human shapes at the far end of the cavern. "Some form of Resurrection spell, but none that I've ever seen." The spirits were almost upon the shapes, which had now taken on the form of their old bodies. "Brace yourself. This is going to be-" There was a period of disorientation as their senses seemed to stretch to the breaking point. For a moment, they seemed to have two sets of senses to filter through, more than enough for the human mind to simply shut down and gibber tunelessly, and then they were alive again. "-weird," she finished. She patted herself on the stomach, the neck, and examined her wrist. "We seem to be all here and alive." "No wonder Death never showed up," said Rahve. She fished a piece of gum out of the pouch on her belt and started chewing. "We weren't going to *stay* dead. There wouldn't have been much point in him coming." "We've gotta go help Tao!" shouted Iryien. "Don't," said Tao's voice, echoing throughout the cavern. It seemed at once both silent yet so loud it was felt by the whole body rather than heard. "Huh?" asked Iryien. "There has to be at least two million thaumic units in there," said Treisel, pointing at the door. "Three and a half million, I'd say," said a brightly glowing figure as it came through the door and into the cavern. "That much? Wow. Anyway, Iryien, with that amount of magic, going in there would be suicide. You'd turn into ten different things before you could even step through the entrance. That's if you're lucky." He realised that the new arrival had come *from* the chamber in which three and a half million thaumic units were floating around. "Wait a minute - how did *you* survive it?" "Simple," said the figure. "I'm God." He sighed, sounding world- weary and tired. "But you can call me Bob." "...God?" all four asked in unison. "Probably not by the end of all this," said the figure, waving its hand in the general direction of the door, which was glowing green and purple. "Tao seems to have got the hang of controlling the Spell. Its awesome power has finally tamed her Spellbraker aura, to the point where she can finally control it. Which means she can control the Spell and the power of all creation." God sighed and sat down on a chair that hadn't been there a second ago. "At least things won't be duck-shaped. But with her attitude towards Heaven and Hell, I have no idea what's going to happen next." A glass of fine white wine appeared in his hand, and he gulped it all down in one shot. "There'll probably at least be an extreme redesign of the afterlife systems coming, mark my words." *** Wajissabequahze, Risen Demon, looked down at his body in amazement. Just like that, it had completely recorporated. He had a proper body now. But how had it happened? Recorporation normally took a lot longer than that. "It is the Spellbreaker," said the angel. "She is changing reality. In your case, she has made you fully corporate again." "But how? How can Tao do that?" The angel frowned. "I don't know much myself. However, she has laid her hands on the Spell and is able to change the world." "I have to go there," said Wajissabequahze. "To the Latverian Islands, and the temple." "Go with God's blessing." Waj concentrated, searching for the place he intended to teleport to, and found it easily. The temple was radiating huge amounts of magic power and shone like a heavy duty lighthouse through a thick ocean fog. He oriented on it, concentrated, and vanished. *** A figure appeared in the cavern. It was an odd sight - it had pale red skin and small horns jutting through short blond hair. Large, feathered wings sprouted from its back, and it was wearing a toga that couldn't make up its mind whether it was white or grey. "Hi all," it said. There was no mistaking that voice. "Waj?" asked Treisel. "Yep. It's me." "What happened to you?" asked Caemryn. "It looks like he's some sort of angel," said Rahve. "Which makes some sort of sense - if an angel can Fall, then there's no reason why a demon can't do the opposite and, well, 'Rise'." "That's ridiculous," snapped Caemryn. "There's no record of demons ever rising. The whole point is that demons are Fallen Angels. They don't bounce between Heaven and Hell like some sort of supernatural yoyo." "Except there are ones who started off in Hell and have never known Heaven," said God. "They never Fell in the first place." He waved at Waj. "Hi, Wajissaquebahze. I'm God. Welcome to the flock and all that. Of course, there's no telling if the flock'll exist for much longer." "You keep on saying stuff like that," said Iryien. "Stop being so depressing." "It's only been the point of my whole existence for one and a half thousand years, Miss Hearnsley-Maglashka. Of course I'm slightly bitter about the possibility of it being wiped out." "...wiped out?" ased Waj. "The point of the Spell was that a Spellbreaker could use it to tip the balance drastically in favour of Good or Evil. However, Tao chose neither side before affecting the Spell. So instead of Heaven defeating Hell or Hell destroying Heaven, both could lose out." *** A figure appeared in the Spell's chamber. Tao tried to make out who and what it was, but the purple fog hid the finer detail. All she could be sure of was that it was probably humanoid. "Hello again, Miss Feymu," it said. Tao had heard that voice before. She tried to remember where she'd heard it and remembered the encounter with Them, less than half an hour ago. "...Phil?" "That's me," said the God of Balance. "But you died-" "Hardly. Our host bodies were killed, but we lived on. We're forces of nature given sentience and form, Tao. How can you kill a force of nature? It can't be done." "Why are you here?" Even though she couldn't see his face, she got the impression he was rolling his eyes. "I'm everywhere," he said. Then there was another figure. "Sheesh, Phil," it said. The voice identified her as Lorraine - the Goddess of Knowledge. "She meant why we're manifesting here." "Oh. Of course," said Phil. "I knew that. Tao, we're here because things are starting to go a bit crazy out there. People don't normally come back to life, after all. There is a certain balance in all things, and you're messing it up badly." "What are you going to do about it?" asked Tao. "It is clear that God's experiment with the Spellbreaker has failed," said Phil. "Originally it was supposed to-" "I know what it was supposed to do," she said. "However, I don't want the world to end." "It was hardly supposed to end the world," said Phil. "Though a world made entirely good or entirely evil would be a tremendously boring place, and the world as it is right now would definitely end. It would upset me greatly." "If you didn't like the idea - why'd you go along with God, then?" "Because he'd become the head god, Miss Feymu. More people believed in him. Belief is a fickle thing. People have always believed in the forces of nature me and my colleagues represent, but they stopped believing in us specifically. The true fire, the truly passionate belief - that went to God instead, and he became powerful. Meanwhile, we languished. When he devised the Spell and its scheme, he was in charge, and we couldn't do much. We did manage to get some extra clauses into things, though," he added proudly. "Which I've gotten around anyway..." "Well done, Miss Feymu - that is, Tao," said Phil. "You got around the Spell." "But what happens when I leave? Won't the Spell still be around? Won't there be more Spellbreakers? One would eventually get here like I did, and then the world could end - or change for the worse, or whatever... If I could get rid of the Spell..." She trailed off. Not only would that be impossibly difficult, considering the power of the Spell, it would have the nasty side effect of destroying the world as well. Could she break the connection between the Spell and reality? She thought for a moment and decided that didn't make sense. As far as she'd understood God's babbled explanation, the two were the same thing, or reflections of each other, or something. There was no connection to break. Then she realised that the Spell wasn't the problem. The problem was the existence of the Spellbreakers and the effect they had on the Spell. She concentrated and was about to use the Spell to remove the Spellbreakers from the world. But then she paused. She didn't want to die, and finally not having to worry about the wacky effects of her aura was nice. On the flipside, having natural magical protection was a nice bonus. She needed to work this one out carefully. *** Treisel, Caemryn, and God looked up, staring openmouthed at the artificial chamber in the middle of the cavern. And while Iryien and Rahve weren't sensitive to magic, they could still feel that something big had happened, that the feeling in the air was less intense. "The Spell - it's settling down!" said God. "It's gone back to its rest state!" "Trei, is it safe to go in there?" asked Iryien. "Oh. Definitely," he responded. "The level's gone down to a hundred thaumic units at most." That was all Iryien wanted to know. With a scream of "TAO!", she charged through the door, oriented on the girl, and tackled her to the ground, hugging her fiercely. "You're still alive! Thank God!" "I had nothing to do with it," said God. "She survived entirely on her own." Following closely behind the deity were the other four. "Iryien, could you please let me up?" gasped Tao. "Oh! Sorry." Iryien got up and helped Tao up to her feet. "What happened?" asked Rahve. "See that?" asked Tao, pointing to the purple sphere nestled amidst the wreckage of the altar. "It's the Spell." "I was expecting something more impressive," said Treisel. "Everybody always says that," said God. "What happened, Miss Feymu?" "I didn't want this happening ever again," said Tao. "So things were changed slightly. There will be no more Spellbreakers. Otherwise, everything else is pretty much the same. Mostly. I've got control of my aura instead of it being wild." She picked up the Spell and nothing wacky happened. "See?" "No more Spellbreakers?" asked God. "That's right." "I put so much into that idea... Don't you *want* a world where all is good and just?" he said, almost shouting, almost angry. "I'm sorry... but humans aren't like that. Not even you, the Devil, Zeke or Waj are like that. We're all Good *and* Evil. Of course, some have more of one than the other. Some people, such as yourself, have much much more of one than the other. Considering that, a world where all is good and just, or a world where all is dark and evil, just wouldn't be the same." "I see," said God. He sighed. "I suppose this is it, then. Thank you for your philosophy. It is most interesting and I shall have to think about it. And for now, I must go. Farewell!" He disappeared in a blaze of light. There was a long pause. "So that was God," said Rahve. "Not quite what I thought he'd be like." "Tell me about it," said Caemryn. "I thought he'd be taller." "I thought he'd be a bit more ostentatious and archaic," said Treisel. "I can still hear you all, you know," said God's voice, sounding irritated. "I *am* omniscient, after all. Watch it." There was an embarrassed silence. Waj coughed. "So... what now?" he asked. "I can't really take you back to Hell anymore," said Treisel. "What with you being an angel or whatever. And with being killed on earth and coming back you should be able to move between Heaven and Earth easily enough, now." "True enough," said Waj. "I really sould be getting back to the ship and my husband," said Caemryn. "I've got Bulman to find, the University to get back to, and a fee to collect," said Rahve. "Dr. Bulman?" asked Iryien. "That's right. I have to get back to the University too." Everyone looked at Treisel and Tao. "I don't know what to do next," said Tao. "I've finally got my aura under control, so I might give being a student another shot." "I can't go back to the University. Remember?" There was another pause as the implications of Treisel's statement sank in. Caemryn quietly giggled, and Iryien hung her head, looking downcast. "You want to stay with me?" Tao eagerly asked. "Er," said Treisel, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. "Um. I, uh, guess I do. We're, uh, friends, right?" Tao's face fell and she looked downcast. Treisel reached out to her. "Hey, Tao-" She brushed his hand aside, and he let it drop. "Tao, what's going on?" asked Treisel. "I've had enough of this," said Rahve. "You moron, don't you see? She loves you. And you love her too, if I'm any judge. You wouldn't want to stick around with her otherwise, would you?" Tao and Trei turned beet red. "Er," said Treisel. He turned back to Tao. "I... uh... she's right. About me." "Really?" she asked, excited. "And about you, too?" "Um... yes..." He laid a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "Hey. Keep your chin up, Tao. We've been to Hell and back. Both literally and metaphorically. You've had the power of Creation at your fingertips. Don't let this bother you." She looked at him and smiled. "I won't. I... I love you, Trei-" Iryien's sword clattered on the floor as she ran crying from the room. "Iryien?" "I didn't see *that* coming," remarked Rahve. "I must be losing my touch." "It was plain enough," said Caemryn. "What's happening?" asked Waj. *** They eventually found Iryien on the beach, staring out to sea. "What's wrong?" asked Tao, sitting down beside the Adventuring student. "Do you love Treisel?" Iryien gave her a long stare. Tao couldn't hold her gaze that long and looked away. "Have I *ever* looked like I was in love with Treisel?" Iryien finally asked. "You did just then," said Tao. "Don't you *know* what's wrong?" asked Iryien bitterly. "All I know is that you left your sword behind and ran crying from the room. Here." Tao placed the sword next to the other girl. Iryien made no move to pick it up and let it sit there, unsheathed, sand getting into the grip. They sat in silence for a while, watching the waves roll in and the occasional lone seagull fly past. "It... it was you, Tao," Iryien finally said. "Excuse me?" "I was - no I *am* in love with you. For such a long time..." Tao sat stunned. Iryien? In love with her? "I'm sorry, Tao." "No... don't be sorry, Iryien. You can't help falling in love with me. I couldn't help falling for Treisel. I know what it's like to not have the feeling returned... for such a long time..." She took a deep breath. She picked up a small stone and threw it into the water, where it sank out of sight. "No, don't be sorry. I'm the one that should be sorry." "No, I really am sorry. This will just complicate your life... I should just go." "You can't do that," said Tao. "You've got an Adventuring course to finish, and I have a Magic course to finish. We're sure to run into each other at the University from time to time. Plus you'll need someone to give a report on how you went in the field so you can get credit for all this." Iryien giggled, but it sounded forced. "There is that." Tao grinned impishly. "And I have to help you with your lovelife, too. I have to find the perfect girl for you." "Hey!" said Iryien, in mock indignation. Tao gave her a quick hug. "What are friends for?" Iryien laughed ruefully. *** Trei watched the two girls hug and walk back up the beach towards the ship. "I will never understand women," he said, shaking his head. "Tao'll probably never return Iryien's affections, and yet Iryien is all smiles again." "I don't understand it either," said Waj. "Never underestimate the therapeutic effects of a good cry," said Rahve. "Come on. The ship and crew's waiting." Waj stood up, but Treisel remained sitting underneath the tree, his face pensive. "Trei? Is something wrong?" "I guess this is it, Waj. I don't have to be your guardian and get you back to Hell anymore." "Whoever said that this is it?" Waj asked. "I'll stick with you at least until you get back to Zinnonea." Treisel stared at him. "Hey, don't look so surprised. What are friends for?" Treisel couldn't help but smile. "Good question. Good question indeed. Come on. Let's go." (End) AUTHOR'S NOTES -------------- And thus it ends. Zinnonth was - IS a world that I've had in my head for close to nine years now. I've tried to write a good few stories set in it but have always failed to last the distance. It seemed like a good place for an Impro, just to see what happened. As I said in the Notes to the first chapter, I wrote up all my old ideas into one starter and let it out into the world, to see what happened. After a year and a half as an Impro, I like the result. I've been surprised by some of what's happened, other things that have happened have given me a good laugh, and it's been a fun ride. Roll call time! Thanks must also go to Matthew Campbell, Kristen Smirnov, Mandoric, Mycohl the Uberfungus, Kate Malloy, ColdFury, Madsman, Thomas "Wanderer" Wilde, Ravi, Phoebe, John Evans, Nicholas Eckert, and the Black Snotling for writing for this Impro and making it what it is. Especial thanks to Thomas Wilde for his chapters, which showed me how to write better. ^_^ Many thanks must also go to W4 for prereading this ending. He pulled me up on my wanton comma abuse and torture of dashes. He didn't threaten me with a big stick but I'm sure he would have. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with this Impro. Steven Scougall 13th May 2001 http://www.crosswinds.net/~sscougall/ Special Omake! -------------- When writing an ending, you come up with some weird ideas and things that didn't quite make the cut. Thankfully, I won't inflict any of them on you. Except for this one that W4 came up with, just because it's too funny *not* to put in somehere. It's a different ending for the scene where Waj first shows up in Heaven. "Killed..." Waj's eyes widened. He had no way to be sure as he'd been the first one targeted and killed by Ezekiel, but he had to have fought the others as well. "What of the others? Did he-" The angel looked at him sadly. "Most have been killed by him as well. The Spellbreaker however managed to defeat him." "Killed?" "Yeah. Killed. So... want to watch some porno?" "...you have porno in heaven?" "Well, YEAH. Where do you think Anne Geddes gets the babies for her flowers and angels photo shoots?" "...I think I'll like it here."