Krell

The wind howled outside the crystal windows. The figure leaning on the banister leaned forward and peered into the swirling orange dust as if the answers he sought could be found there.

His flame-red hair contrasted sharply with the deep night, blacker than black purple of his floor length robe. His hood was pulled down low and his shawl draped loosely about his shoulders. He sighed and stroked the runes and colored threads in the shawl as he watched a sandy red plateau appear in the distance, and then be covered again by the orange storm....

"My lord?" The acolyte- without shawl, and in the green robe of his station- trembled as the President of the Wizard's Council turned his eyes upon her. There was no expression on his white face as it waited for her message.

"Yes, my... daughter?"

She looked up at him and froze as she became lost in his large, forest-green eyes.

"I... I... um... one of the Inner Council is here to see you. I... I know you said you didn't want to be disturbed but it is one of the Seniors..."

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let him in."

She bobbed her head and dissappeared back into the octogonal doorway. He heard the Senior's footsteps echoing off the black marble walls before he saw him.

"Mr. President."

"Senior Councillor."

"I am sorry to disturb your meditations, my lord, but..." There was a click as the great oaken door at the end of the hallway closed.

"... are you mad?"

The president grinned, "I have to say- you are not the first to ask, my old friend....." His smile did not reach his eyes and it faded as he turned back to the swirl outside the quiet corridor.

"The Allanndi are twisting the world... did you know this would happen? Did you plan it? "

He jerked his black hood back and his large brown eyes flashed in a face made ruddy by the dusky light from the windows. His hair-brown, long, and thin- was short on top- a soldier's cut- and his beard was thin and well-trimmed. His shawl was threaded with orange, blue and gold giving him the status of Archmage and Mastery in the arts of Conjuring, Divination and Warding. However, he looked like

a soldier, with the weathered, thin, wary face of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors, and the lean muscle of someone more at home on a mountain trail than in a library.

The hall was filled only with the sound of the Archmage's breathing. The President finally drew a breath.

"No Tomas, I didn't plan it, " he laughed bitterly, "I opposed it. "

"And do you know what condition my ward is in? She is practically dead! She will need to be re-integrated..."

"DON'T BLAME ME FOR FORSETTI'S VAULTED AMBITION!"

Silence filled the hall once again but for the whisper and whine of the winds against the windows of the corridor.

"I would never hurt her- you know that," he whispered.

"Unless you had to. Unless you had to. "

"The others use the Allandi far to swiftly," the President continued, "the world unravels around them and they wonder why. All three of King Karollin's new Allandi have grown too fast- and putting two of them together in the same group." He shook his head.

"Two? There are five of them in that grouping! And you put together six of them to destroy Oleanth! You are not without guilt in this manner. "

"Guilt? Please don't become a child with me! You know our goal! We needed the Allandi! The prophecies were all working against us."

"I know. I know. What are we going to do? Wotan walks the Earth on both sides of the bridge! The Ward is sapped of fundamental energies at a time when it is under direct attack- and bone head's armies are swarming out of the hole they have been hiding in for so long... "

The President shrugged and pointed outside. "Look where we are Tomas- in an artificial world built to hide from the Real World. We enslave others with our power as much as the Lich or King Karollin."

"Us? No Krell- YOU. I do what I do to serve humanity and to protect my wards."

"Oh... really? Serve humanity? Have you checked in with your smallest ward recently? She is embarked on a mission that could spell the end of human kind. "

"She will never succeed- you know he isn't-"

Krell slammed his fist into the wall, "NEITHER IS WOTAN! She is an Allandi! She wields one of the original conversations of her racial nexus. Do you think there is no risk? On top of it Forsetti's blade is following her. "

"What? But he was killed..."

"No." Krell smiled again, "He is a lot harder to kill than many expected. He will join them. "

"But the prophecy- we cannot let them..."

"DAMN PROPHECY! DAMN IT TO OBLIVION! The two blades are wielded by Allandi my good Tomas! If anyone can warp the prophecy she will...."

They both smiled at the thought. Tomas paused and then asked, "What about Morphus? The reality shift wasn't pervasive enough. Too many people know. Will he need to be protected?"

"No- he is surrounded by two of King Karollin's, one of Dof-Sifrin's, and one of Dau-Penn's. They are strong enough. He also has the support of Forsetti's little grey cabal of Wizard-Warriors."

"All right. I need to get back to follow what her Grace is doing. Any more luck on finding out what the Old One is really up to? "

"No- he is still beyond my reach. Besides, he is currently at the edge of the outbreak. I am avoiding that whole area since Forsetti and Kay are both there."

Tomas turned and then paused and looked back at the still figure. "Do they know?"

Krell smiled. "No one else knows, Tomas. Only the four of us. They think the big secret is that I and Loki share a corporeal form. "

"If they find out...."

"Then no corner in all the worlds will be safe for me my good friend. You aren't preparing to betray me, are you? "

"No.... my lord." Tomas bowed very low, and then flipped his hood back up. As he turned his cloak and hood became blue, pinned by twin short swords and his clothes became a rustic brown travel robe with pants underneath and boots in the Maeran style. His shawl disappeared and then he faded in swirl of orange mist that matched the maelstrom outside.

The President stared at the spot where his servant had been moments before. He stopped breathing and stepped out of the artificial shape he had been wearing. Swifter than thought he was gone.

Only the hiss of sand from the outside filled the hall a half an hour later when the acolyte stuck her head in to check on the President. She sighed with relief and then hurried back to report to her area.

Hours later the wall by the door shimmered and a small figure emerged from the wall. Graylar looked around and then shouldered his multi-bow, and disappeared down the corridor softly whistling to himself...