The only thing I could do, in the short term, to comply with the terms of the strangely stalkerish note I had received was to talk to Alanna. I could, of course, go against the terms and talk immediately with Ciel'ostra, but while that seemed... well, probably like a better idea, to be honest, there was something about the note that didn't seem malicious. Creepy, possibly dangerous, but not malicious.

So I put the note away and settled down and reached for Alanna. I found myself back in her Little Goddess' Room, and discovered that it was more bustling with activity than usual--a number of people were there, in a strangely organized little parade in front of her, each taking turns advancing, bowing, and retreating from her Avatar. Which... I had to assume, meant some kind of organized worship was going on? A little odd, I thought, for the middle of the day, but I knew next to nothing about her religion.

There was a sense of order to things, and when I sensed it was my turn to approach, I left a touch of flame to the Avatar with a message of when you have time I need to talk to you. Then, after retreating, I paused to take a look around.

Having recently reorganized my own Little God's Room, I suddenly found that how this place was divided intrigued me. The part of her realm that I was used to was modeled after Olesport, but that was clearly not all of it; when I stepped back, I could see across phantom barriers into other temples in other places, each with their own crowds. Interestingly, at the head of most of those crowds was an altar with either a Vicar and Angel, or just an Angel alone, rather than having the Goddess herself there waiting.

That implied that the group worship I saw was happening in Olesport, but it didn't seem that way to me. Maybe it was happening to one of Alanna's bodies directly, somewhere else? Just because she was a priestess here didn't mean that was all she was doing with her life.

As I looked, around, I got a sense that Alanna--Lucile, or one of her other bodies--perked up a bit as she got my message a little late. Not wanting to pressure her, I backed off into my own Divine Realm. That was as I'd left it, including with Raine being mostly shadowed and distant, but I felt like... like the subtle shift in the tone of the realm was passing down to my followers, just a little bit.

Was that going to cost me power? I considered that as I examined the structure of my room. I didn't think I was spending any any more flame than I had been, but the implication that the waterfall granted strength to those that could endure the weight, could certainly lead that direction if I wasn't careful... or if I decided to, later. For now, although people seemed to be gathering more towards the basin at the base of the waterfall, nobody was willing to dive in. Except...

Except that Felli was there, next to the river, with one hand in it, thinking. Of course, I had given her a bit of perspective, didn't I? Back then, I wasn't thinking of it as a burden that I was sharing with her, but she was an embodiment of that trade. She had borne the weight of it for just a moment, and gone from someone who was lost, to someone who guided others.

And then, suddenly, Lucile was behind me, looking over the changes to my room just as I had been doing moments before. Although she seemed to bristle, just a bit, at the weight-power metaphor of the waterfall, she didn't comment.

So I shifted the scene to a more comfortable place, and the two of us were suddenly on top of the cliff, far enough away from my followers that... probably couldn't sense us anyway, but I didn't like taking that for granted. "Thank you for coming," I said quickly. "I need to ask you a question."

Alanna seemed half distracted, but nodded for me to continue.

"How sure are you that no other offworlders became gods?"

Alanna's eyes met mine, and I could sense a suddenly deepened interest in her. "I'm not really sure," she said, a little timidly. "But offworlders are strange folks, Ryan. They change things whenever they appear, as I'm sure you will. I would expect an offworlder who was a god would be legend." She paused. "Something odd happened to you."

"I am at the Temple of Blades, a guest to... the Lady." I paused, not sure why I felt I shouldn't say her name. "But someone delivered a note to me without my noticing, a note that I am certain came from an offworlder--from my world. Not while I was away, but while I was there, and not paying attention."

Alanna's eyes changed, and I thought I registered wariness. "You should be able to sense if it was a god's work."

"I sense no magic on it at all. I am very confused, and very concerned, Lucile. The note asked me not to tell Her about it, but swore they meant no harm."

Alanna produced from me the note, as though I had given it to her willingly, reading it as though it had been written in her language, which of course it had not been. "That isn't what the note promised," she pointed out quickly. "Only that the writer would do no harm."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"You're not giving me confidence," I said dourly. "What do you think I should do?"

She turned the piece of paper over in her hands, looking at it from every angle. "I take it this paper is common for you."

"They make them by the billions. I've seen them all my life. If there is a small detail out of place, I haven't noticed one yet."

Alanna shivered, as though I'd said something odd, and cast the paper away, which made it disappear like the figment of our shared imagination that it was. "Offworlders are rare. I'm not sure that there are no gods, but I don't think that's what this is. But, Ryan, one of the alternatives is worse." She took a breath, and I waited uncomfortably. "I've told you a bit about the Arch Sorcerers, Ryan, but there two remnants of them in this world. One is an obscure descendant of a descendant who is thought to watch over the world... and for all I know, this could be that."

"The other," she said, and I felt a deep anxiety start to well up in her, "is a person, apparently immortal, who claims to be the last of the Arch Sorcerers. Much is uncertain, and few dare approach him, for his land is warded by power so great that gods, djinn, and mortal sorcerers alike cannot breach it, and those of us who are immortal are scared to try. He is the sole ruler of the entire continent of Tarmon, has control over the Elemental Temple of Darkness, and many believe he has changed the rules of magic that the Temple are supposed to enshrine in law. He never leaves, but his agents are everywhere. Those that know of him only know him as 'The Dark Lord'."

"His power, Ryan, is corruption. Light and Darkness were supposed to be the same element, two sides of the same coin, but Darkness magic is a form of magic that seeps into things and weakens them. Light magic is similar, but... it only attempts to force its way it, and has no other effect. Unlike Light and the other elements, Darkness energy does not simply appear wherever there is darkness. It is a power he mostly keeps for himself, and wherever it appears, his touch follows."

Lucile's eyes were searching mine, as though looking for an answer in side of me, and after a moment, she nodded. "I don't see a touch of that magic in you, so I don't think that what you felt was the Dark Lord's agent sneaking into your room. But you must be cautious. If he was an offworlder, he will want to meet you." She paused. "If you weren't a god, but another offworlder was, you'd want to meet them, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," I replied absently, already busy with my own thoughts.

"No one who leaves that continent is untouched by darkness, nor are any of his agents. I don't know what is happening there, Ryan, but the mere possibility is frightening. If a god's Key fell into his hands... I don't know what would happen to the world, but I don't think it would be good."

I let my thoughts whirl. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like that kind of encounter. There was no corruption, darkness, magic, or anything else on the note. If nothing else, the paper didn't seem like it was written by an agent; it seemed like it was written by the person themselves. "What do you know of the other one?"

"Nothing," said Alanna immediately. "They don't like gods." She paused. "I am... meeting with members of the Yunian Order, trying to broker a trade deal. Not Lucile, I mean," she corrected, "...but another body you don't know. A travelling oracle who I use to represent me in certain affairs. I have wanted the Order to consider me as a patron for a very long time, but they have resisted the idea. I will ask what the know of the Other, but I doubt they will tell me much."

"Do you think I should tell ...the Lady?"

With a very strange twist, I felt Alanna say both "Yes" and "No" at the same time, and then she frowned. "No," she decided suddenly. "I feel paranoid but I agree with your sense of the situation. If it was an agent of the Dark Lord, you would know about it. You would probably not be able to resist it, but you would definitely know. Just... stay cautious now and in the future."

I nodded, feeling ready to leave the topic there, but stopped suddenly. "One more thing," I said. "She and I are beginning to think that the enemy have either Necromancers or are aligned with the Rakshasa." The view of my Little God's Room shifted to Raine and Tammy, and I gestured at them. "Something isn't right out there, and I'm worried. The timing is suspicious, but... I just don't know."

Lucile studied the two for a long moment, then looked back to me. "Don't try to face a Necromancer yourself, whatever you do. Your stunt with facing the Rakshasa was stupid, but Necromancers are nothing like them."

"Even Pal--" Again! I felt a strong urge to not use her name. "...even one of Her Avatars showed severe nervousness on the topic. So yes, I'm getting the impression they are much more dangerous than I am. But, Lucile, what do I do?"

"Run, if you have to. Call for help. I called for my father because I worried that a full-blown necromancer would not only kill me but steal my key and rise to become a new God of Necromancy." Alanna shivered, and I felt the mood dim around her. "There was only ever one... you heard his name at the ship, Creton. He was one of the first Gods, and he thought that the Black Flame should be studied, collected, refined. He was mad, attacking other gods, twisting the laws of creation. He is fully and completely dead, but his legacy remains. People should not be able to remember his name, but Necromancers always do, as though the black flame itself whispers in their ears. A new such god is... something the world cannot afford, at any cost."

I studied Alanna's eyes, but she meant every word, and I nodded solemnly. "Thank you. I... need to think."

"I will talk to you again soon," Alanna's form forced a smile, then vanished from my space. I suspected she had other things she needed to do, but... this was important.

With those important questions asked and answered, I returned to my small room in the Temple of Blades and immediately set about trying to finish reading through Ciel'ostra's book. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but whatever it was, I needed to know more, and I needed to return this book to the care of the Temple. After that, I could turn my full attention to this new problem and hopefully figure out just what the hell was going on before something awful happened.