The meteor loomed very high above them as they drew near it, rough to look at with many small depressions within it. It looked like a massive, cracked egg. It was taller than the tallest hills, creating a massive crater. They saw no sign of the raishans as they scaled down the crater toward the base of the meteor. The great stone had several large holes knocked in it, leading into a passage. Smoke was rising from the base, shrouding their surroundings.

"Rusara, I don't understand why you are taking me here," said William. "And why aren't we bringing more than this with us?"

"Raishans are not a monster that can be killed with just a blade," said Rusara. "What we have here should be enough to deal with the physical side of things. I hope."

"I must have killed five," said Tanith. "I think it was five, right William?"

William blinked. "I think you slew more than that."

"Right, I sort of don't remember when I go berserk," said Tanith. "It's a happy blur.

"I'm nowhere near Raynald, though."

"Hardly impressive," said Kusher, sounding slightly out of it. "A true warrior could kill ten."

"Why, have you seen one?" asked Tanith with a smirk.

"You dare mock me, human?" snarled Kusher.

"More or less," said Tanith, putting a hand to her duel swords.

"Why you-" began Kusher, bristling at the barb.

"Both of you quiet!" snapped Rusara. "We have more pressing affairs!"

They fell silent. Rusara stopped and looked at them with a severe look. "Tanith, Kusher, it is true that you killed many of their physical forms. Yet they will soon be back. They are monsters formed from the tormented souls of sinners. Those deemed unworthy of becoming demons. When they are killed, they do not disappear into the afterlife. Instead, they merely return to the nearest hatchery to be reborn again as monsters.

"Only one with a divine connection can release these spirits from torment. It is for this reason that I have brought William. His music can destroy them on a more permanent basis."

"Have you fought these things before, Lady Rusara?" asked Felix.

"No. I've never seen one before today," admitted Rusara. "However, I have read about them in the ancient histories of my people. Enough to know that if this invasion is not checked, it could mean disaster for the entire world. Now, quiet, we have work to do.

"Tanith, you are the rearguard. Massacre, keep William and Felix safe. I will take the front. Now follow me."

Then she strode toward the openings created by the raishans. Within, they found a long, smooth tunnel leading steadily into the meteor. William muttered an incantation, summoning a golden light to float above his head. Rusara mirrored the movement and created one, both smaller and far brighter. As they went further in, he smelled something. It was a heavy, fleshy smell in the air, and distantly, one could hear a primal hissing. The ground here was slippery and wet. Strange liquids were dripping from the ceiling.

William had a vague sense of horror and also felt hatred. Something within this place wanted them out. But he wasn't precisely shaking. However, Tanith and Kusher, and their warriors looked disturbed. He didn't understand why.

"William, this place..." said Tanith.

"What is it?" asked William.

"Doesn't it seem wrong to you?" asked Tanith. "Like it shouldn't be here."

"Maybe," said William.

"How can you be so calm?" asked Tanith.

"I've been close to Laughing Wraith," said William. "These things pale in comparison to him-"

Suddenly, there was a blur. Something came at William, who stepped aside as a scythed blade went for his throat. It scraped off his armor, and Tanith's sword went through the beast's head. It reeled, but she drew out her blade and cut it in half. William looked up and realized it had come down from above.

"Are you alright?" asked Tanith.

"Yes," said William. "This thing came at us from above. We should keep our eyes peeled for more gaps like that."

"Where has Kiyora got to anyway?" asked Felix.

"In the books, it is said that when there are many raishans in a given place, they emit a field," said Rusara. "It naturally prevents gods from directly manifesting or making their will known."

"So Kiyora can't help us?" said William.

"I'm afraid not," said Rusara.

"We need no gods to aid us!" said Kusher. "Steel and muscle is a great guide than any paltry deity!" He sounded like he was putting on a front.

"No one-" began Tanith.

"Step back!" said Rusara. "Get back all of you!"

They stopped, and William looked ahead. On the ground ahead of them, there appeared to be a great many vines growing all along the passage. The vines crisscrossed and seemed to be slithering on the ground somehow.

"What are those things?" asked William.

"Tendrils, I have read about them," said Rusara. "Raishans grow such things as defenses within their nests. I doubt they are immune to fire, however." And she snapped her fingers.

There was a burst of flame and the screaming of the damned as the tendrils were utterly consumed. The fire spread upwards along the passage. Gradually, the fire went beyond their reach, and all that was left were ashes.

"That worked well," said Tanith.

Then, there were infernal screams from up the passage. They drew their weapons, and around the corner came raishans in great numbers. William knocked aside a scythe blade and stabbed a raishan through the chest. The beast slammed him with its tail, sending him falling back, and it went after him. It pinned him and tore at his armor. Then Kusher struck the beast across the face with his axe, splitting its skull.

William pulled himself up. The warriors formed a knot and fought against the swarms of raishans. A burst of flame consumed many of the creatures, but two satyrs were cut to bits and overwhelmed. One of the Harlenorians was born down and crushed to death.

Kusher and Tanith ended up fighting back to back. Together, they cut down the beasts wherever they found them. Six more fell within moments, yet William saw even more raishans approaching them. There were too many of them, he realized. Tanith's blades almost sang as she cleaved them down.

Then he saw the raishan which Kusher had struck, getting up again. All throughout the combat, the raishans were healed by some unholy will. William knew right then and there that unless he acted, all was lost.

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Unfortunately, something seemed to realize that as well. Even as he drew up his harp, the monsters rushed at him. He played it as quickly as he could while backing away from them. Yet this time, he found he hit some kind of wall head-on. He felt a presence, unbearable hunger, insatiable bloodthirst, and unfathomable malice. It felt familiar, almost comforting.

His thoughts no longer seemed entirely his own.

Panicked, he poured his whole power into the harp as in Kiyora's world. A light shield appeared around him, expanding outwards to burn the raishans. The creatures screeched, only for that same will to set itself against William.

It hurt just to feel it. William saw images of rivers of blood. He saw screaming faces and uncountable civilizations destroyed. He also saw raishans. It was all he could do not to look away. But he knew he had to keep going. So he continued to play, and the raishans were destroyed or fled.

"Rusara," said William, "we are drawing near something horrible. Should we go back?"

"No," said Rusara. "We are nearly finished. Come."

They climbed up the passage and wandered through the inside of the meteor. There were many rooms in this place. Some were gigantic, some so small that they had to walk single files. Every so often, they would see more tendrils, but Rusara always burned these apart. William kept his harp in hand, but his head ached, and his legs shook.

He was tired. So tired.

Finally, they came to a halt in a room filled with the scent of death. William fell to one knee and rested as best as the others. Within this round room were corpses. Piles upon piles of corpses, still wearing their armor. Yet they were strange. The color had gone out of their faces, and they looked stretched and bloated. Then William saw a hand gradually merging onto another corpse's face.

This time, he did throw up.

"I know this man," said Tanith. "I saw him die in the battle."

"And I have seen many of these warriors in the mustering field," said Kusher, voice disturbed.

"The raishans drag the corpses of the slain back with them," said Rusara. "If they are not stopped, the souls of those killed here will be twisted into more raishans. William, play your harp."

"I hate doing this," said Willliam as he obeyed.

"What is so hard about it?" scoffed Kusher. "You don't even fight."

"How would you like to put your mind in contact with the thing which is doing all this?" asked William in disgust. "Playing the harp normally is fine. But when I use it to fight against dark magic, that dark magic fights back. I get a sense of my enemy's mind."

"What do you sense from the demon's mind?" asked Rusara, sounding curious.

"Hunger and hatred," said William. "And something else, just below the surface."

He played his harp. He forced himself to go on. Around him, he felt that presence again, bearing down on him with formless evil. For a moment, it pressed against him; then, he pushed it back. Around him, the bodies began to burst and break down as the evil was driven out of them. Blood poured from them, soaking the ground. Soon, the bodies were all gone.

Yet there was still a power in this place. Whatever had possessed this area seeped into the very walls. William knew he must drive it out to defeat these creatures permanently. So he played more and more and matched his will against it.

As he did so, he felt the monster could have crushed him like a gnat if it weren't so utterly stupid. It operates on very basic impulses. Laughing Wraith had been somewhat similar, but a feral intellect existed. William felt that Laughing Wraith could have talked and reasoned if it wanted. It merely regarded such things with contempt.

This thing was little more than an animal. An animal imbued with infernal powers. It couldn't use the raw power it possessed for anything. And despite how dangerous it was on the physical plane, it had no real willpower.

Unfortunately, even animals did not want to die. As William began to burn it away, there were distant shrieks from many other passages leading out. The others drew their weapons.

"What was that?" asked Kusher.

"They are coming to stop us," said William in a tired tone.

Thus began yet another battle with the raishans. There were more of them than before. However, William didn't have the mental energy to concern himself with them. He played and played and beat back the creature inch by inch. It fought back desperately, tearing at his mind. But having no understanding of how his mind worked, it could do little but disgust him.

Things on the physical plane could have been better. Kusher was swearing as he hacked the beasts down around him. "Where has that Calishan got to? Damn him!"

"Here," said Felix.

Of a shadow emerged Felix, sword in hand. He sliced the head from a raishan, retreated into the shadows, and emerged elsewhere. Driving the blade into a raishan from behind, he did the same thing repeatedly.

At last, the physical battle was over. The monster was now struggling far more weakly. William felt that if it could speak, it would be begging for mercy.

"How do you do that shadow trick?" asked Tanith.

"It is something I picked up from an ancestor," said Felix. "I can sort of meld with the shadows. I've been working on learning to jump between them. Lady Rusara helped me perfect it."

"Well, it certainly is useful," said Tanith.

And she ruffled his hair. William would have found it endearing, but he was in no mood. He might have felt pity for the monster, which certainly had not chosen to be born as it was. But he was in no mood. For all intents and purposes, he was completely done with cosmic horrors.

"Both of you be quiet," said William. "I'm trying to break the spell." He sent a mental blow against the monster. It let out a nonverbal scream, and he killed it. He dealt it several more such blows for good measure. "There. It is done."

"Excellent," said Rusara. "We must leave this place at once. When raishans lose many of their kind, they often attract more from neighboring areas."

"What of the bodies of our fallen brethren?" asked Kusher.

"We will burn them," said Rusara. "I'm sorry, but we cannot take them all with us."

"So be it," said Kusher, and he probably meant to sound grave. He merely sounded tired, however.

Rusara burned each of the bodies to ashes with her fire. They watched as each one was consumed. Then, they backtracked and did the same to the next group. Tanith looked forlorn. "They deserved a better burial than this."

"What you see is only the flesh," said Kusher. "The spirit will have a far grander reception at the Table of Elranor."

"I hope so," said Tanith.

"You, human in the skull armor," said Kusher.

"My name is William Gabriel. I am the son of Duke Vanion Gabriel. I am a Paladin of Elranor," said William, more than a little irritated. "Kindly refer to me by something other than my race."

"Whatever you say," said Kusher. "Your armor makes you appear formidable, and you have some nerve. Why do you use so feeble an instrument as a harp to focus your power?"

Rusara looked offended at this statement but said nothing. She instead focused on painting a protective rune on a soldier's armor.

"I learned to play the harp when I was little," said William. "I found this harp in a chimera lair, and playing it saved my life. Rusara tells me it is a powerful relic of the wars between elves and humans. It was created by Alchara herself, lost with the fall of the ancient elven kingdoms. It magnifies the power of the wielder by an immense level.

"When I channel the will of Elranor through it, there is a great power."

"Yet it isn't you gaining the victory?" asked Kusher.

"What do you mean?" asked William.

"You are wielding the power of a god and channeling it through an artifact you stole by chance," said Kusher. "Can you really say that you are destroying the raishans?"

"Of course not," said William. "I am merely the instrument of Elranor's will."

"You say that with such pride," said Kusher. "Kreshlak desires his warriors to be independent, to think for themselves. To fight for their own desires and, in so doing, bring greater glory to him. Only by standing on one's own feet can one truly become great.

"An unearned victory is no victory at all."

"Unearned?" asked William. "I got thrown in a dungeon, tempted by a demon, starved, thirsted, fought, and fled for my life to get this harp! And I only wield the power of Elranor because he willingly bestowed it upon me!

"I don't see that you've done anything like that."

"Yes, those things are to your credit," said Kusher. "You have earned some glory. If you had been given these powers as a birthright and inherited the harp, I would hold you in contempt. But let me ask you this;

"How would you fare if you wielded an ordinary harp against these raishans? Can you break their spells, then? Would you even be able to stand their presence?"

"I don't know," admitted William.

"Good answer," said Kusher. "I believe that the use of that harp is holding you back. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Hammer of Kreshlak?"

"It is a legendary weapon that gives one power over water," said William. "It is sealed away in Viokinar, and only a warrior after Kreshlak's own heart may wield it. I believe it was forged to fight giants. Fortenex has a weapon of his own, an axe that is equal and opposite. Doesn't it draw its power from blood?"

"You know more than most," noted Kusher.

"Rusara taught me much," said William.

"Notice that both Kreshlak and Fortenex sealed their weapons away, though," said Kusher. "This is because both gods knew that the weapon would become a crutch to an unworthy wielder. They would gain small victories with it, but without the axe, they would fail. It would inspire weakness instead of rewarding strength."

"I see what you are saying, Kusher," said William. "You think that my control over my powers will weaken if I continue to use the harp? But I can't do that right now. Look around us. Look what we are facing.

"I can't afford to use the harp right now. If I don't, thousands could die. And I can't give it to someone else, not if I want ever to see the harp again." He sighed. "I'll probably put the harp away after we're done here. For now, I'm just glad we've won."

"The battle, perhaps," said Rusara. "But not the war."

"What do you mean?" asked Tanith.

"I counted half a dozen meteors coursing across the sky," said Rusara. "One of them is across the canyon; we'll have to deal with that before we move out. As for the others, they will have to be dealt with as well. And then there is the matter of the meteors which fell to earth before. And the meteors that might fall to earth in the future.

"And the raishans may well make new nests."

"...Oh damn," said William.

"That was my reaction as well," said Rusara.

This was going to be a long campaign.