That night Archil has a dream, which is best described as a vision of gods. A message to guide him through these troublesome times. A vision shown to him by the god who is most like a human.

Archil steps into a completely white room. The only other things in this room are three men, who are loudly discussing something. They don't appear to notice Archil enter.

"How dare you even question my authority here?!" A big, powerful looking man shouts. "This is my home and my rules apply here."

"If it were up to you, this entire planet would be your home, where your rules apply!" A shorter, frailer looking figure shouts back. He is a handsome, young man completely clad in a dark, black robe that seems to live a life of its own. It coils around him like a snake. "You have every human on this wretched world dance on the palm of your hand and still you act as if you could possibly get more! Your reign brings nothing but misery, Arthfael!"

"And what would you have then!" Arthfael replies furiously. "What would you do, if you were capable of controlling all of mankind! You are the weakest of us all, the weakest of all the gods! Even Lycon, a human made into a god, could defeat you! You know what the humans call you down there! The fake god! They don't even acknowledge you!"

"The fake god." The man says smiling. "Catchy isn't it."

This enrages Arthfael even more. He charges at the man slamming into him. The man on the other hand does not even get hit by the attack Arthfael tried to hit him with. He simply seems to not be there and like smoke he flows around Arthfael.

"No need for that." The man says still smiling. "I will bring my pieces into play soon enough and then we shall see who the best puppeteer is."

"You are leaving?" A third man yells.

"Of course I am leaving, Maxwell." The man says waving. "I have by far outstayed my welcome here."

With that the man walks away laughing and the dream fades making place for an empty dark room. Here the man appears in front of Archil and speaks to him.

"Did you see that brute of a god." He says. "He attacks a man during a simple discussion. He is violent and would do anything to keep his power, even if that power extends no further than the small realms of man. Yet he is the god that rules your world and mine. If you need my help I will grant it to you, now go my pawn. Let Arthfael's world crumble around him!"

Archil opens his eyes only to see the figure of Gilbert loomed over him.

"What is wrong, Gilbert?" Archil asks surprised.

"There is something you must see, sir." Gilbert says after recovering from his masters sudden awakening.

"Can this wait, Gilbert." Archil says. "I just had the weirdest of dreams."

"I fear, sir, that this can't wait until morning." Gilbert says with a worried look on his face.

"Until morning!" Archil asks surprised. "Is it not morning yet?"

"No, sir." Gilbert says. "You need to see something, now!"

Only now Archil notices that in the dim lighting Gilbert's face look incredibly worried. This breaks of any further discussion the two might have had and Archil rises from his bed.

"Where do you need me?" Archil asks while putting on some simple clothes.

"The master bedroom, sir." Gilbert says.

"The master bedroom!" Archil exclaims. "Father is sleeping in there. I can't just barge in in the dead of the night and tell him a servant send me!"

"But he is more than just sleeping, sir." Gilbert responds.

This statement makes Archil realise what is truly going on. He wastes no more time on questions as he rushes to his father's quarters. What he sees there are the remains of his father, his innards splashed over the wall and his skin turned inside out. A bowelless, skinless skeleton lies in the middle of the room. On a pike next to the skeleton stands Master Jardine's battered head. Archil falls to his knees at the sight of this truly horribly scene of death. After a few second he throws up.

"Why did they do this to you, father?" Archil asks. "Why did they paint the walls with your blood and leave your head on a pike in the middle of the room? Is it because of what Gilbert and I found at the library? Is it because I spoke out to Maxwell during the meeting yesterday? Or am I not at all to blame for your misfortune? Was it you who brought this upon yourself?"

"Gods play games with lives, like players with pawns." The voice of the fake god says in Archil's mind. "They do not care if there pawns live or die, they are just a means to an end. If one pawn learns too much, acts too greatly, thinks too dangerously, then it is disposed of. In the end all links back to the gods and all gods link back to Arthfael."

This pulls Archil out of his trance.

"Who found him like this?" Archil asks.

It takes Gilbert a moment, before he realises, Archil is speaking to him.

"A maid, sir." Gilbert replies.

"How is she?" Archil asks.

"I fear her mind fully collapsed, sir." Gilbert respond with pity echoing in his voice. "No one should be allowed to behold such a sight without a prior warning. The only reason I found him was because I ran into the maid as she exited the room in panic. That is why I looked."

"Are you alright, Gilbert?" Archil asks concerned.

"My reaction was similar to your, sir." Gilbert says calmly. "I panicked first, before regaining my senses and calling you."

"What could have caused such an utter destruction of a body though?" Archil wonders.

As he reexamines the room he notices, the pike with his father's head, the walls splattered with blood and guts and a skin, turned inside out placed next to a bloody skeleton of Archil's father. What Archil notices now is a message written in blood on the back wall. "Death comes to he who knows."

"That must be the assassin's trademark." Archil concludes. "He is a real professional. He must be since he did all this while barely making any noise. We should let someone know."

The next morning a few soldiers are guarding the door to Master Jardine's bedroom.

"What do you mean the maid has been arrested?" Archil yells at the captain investigating the murder. "The woman is an emotional wreck."

"She was the first one to have seen Master Jardine in his current state." The captain responds. "She entered his quarters for no apparent reason, either assassinate him, or for some other obscure purpose. Now I suggest you back off, Jardine. You yourself are also suspect in this case. The only reason you are not incarcerated is, because you are a Jardine. You are lucky."

"I would kill my own father, you say?" Archil asks angrily. "Gilbert, we are leaving."

"Where are we going, sir?" Gilbert asks as they leave the Jardine estate.

"Do you believe in gods, Gilbert?" Archil asks.

"I believe gods exist, if that is what you mean." Gilbert responds. "I believe they aren't too active though. So do you think she killed Master Jardine?"

"No, Gilbert." Archil responds. "It takes more skill to kill a man and tear him like that, than a simple maid has. That added to the emotional stress she is experiencing, concludes that she is not trained as an assassin or at least doesn't have any experience killing. It takes more to kill my father than that."

"Why are we going to this part of town, sir?" Gilbert asks as he has a look around.

"There is someone I would like to speak to here." Archil says.

They arrive at a small temple located in the Layton district.

"This might be the only important structure in this entire area." Archil says. "I really wish that was a lie, but it isn't."

As they enter the building Gilbert can't help but notice how small everything is. This temple seems to have been almost abandoned. The only person in the building is an old, short woman carrying a long staff twice her length. She turns around slowly and look up at Archil.

"You are the first visitors I have seen in days!" She says in a soft, but clear voice. "How can I help you gentlemen? Before I help you though, I must ask you a small donation for the good of the temple."

Archil immediately deposits some quartz pieces into the donation box as if he was expecting her to make this request.

"I have a few questions for you, medium." Archil says almost rudely. "What do the gods want with us according to you?"

"The gods want whatever they desire." The medium answers like it answers everything.

"And what does that mean?" Archil says. He seems to have no patience with the woman.

"Exactly what you wanted to know." The medium says. "Gods, much like humans, get bored. We are just their puppets."

"What do you know of the fake god?" Archil continues.

"Fake god?" The medium asks. Her tone changes though. She seems to be less confident with the conversation.

"Stop wasting my time, witch!" Archil says. "What do you know of the god called a fake!"

"Axsel..." The medium mumbles. Having said this her head arches backwards, her head falls open and her eyes start to glow. A thin mist fills the building reducing visibility.

"Axsel is my name, yes." The medium says in a deep voice. "A name I never got from my parents. I must thank you humans for showing me the way of pity. It is thanks to you all I see the world as I do. Now what is it you want Archil? You requested to know of me."

"So you are the fake god?" Archil asks.

"Yes, I am the fake god!" Axsel says animating the mediums body to bow. "Now why did you call for me?"

"Are you the cause of my father death." Archil asks.

"The dead father..." Axsel answers. "I think you would be happy to know that your father himself set the plot for his demise in motion. You nor I have any guilt in the matter."

"You say it like it should make me feel better!" Archil says. "Why did he die? What did he do or learn that he should not have? Who killed him?"

"Slow down, boy!" Axsel says making the woman's deep voice crackle. "I only have one set of borrowed vocal cords you know. Before I answer your questions I shall answer that one important question you should have started with; what do I want from you? The answer to that is simple. I want you go live your life and by doing so destroy Arthfael's reign. As for why your father met his fate and the one who led him there. To be honest, I can't say much on this matter. This is a scheme set especially made to stop me and my plots. All I can say is that 'those who make people forget' live in the big temple in this very city."

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"Those who make people forget?" Archil asks confused.

"You'll get there, Archil." Axsel says. "Also, a small rule we gods have, only second generation gods can communicate directly with humans like this. First generation gods can only influence the mind of humans who pray to them. See you around, Archil. Good luck fixing our worlds."

The medium collapses onto the floor. Gilbert move to help her.

"Don't bother, Gilbert." Archil says. "Mediums are cursed from birth. My guise is that it has something to do with the first and second generation story. Anyway, try and avoid to touch her as much as possible. Bad things happen if you don't."

Archil, followed by Gilbert, walks towards, leaving the unconscious woman in the small temple.

"First and second generation, sir?" Gilbert asks.

"The gods that created or first inhabited this world must not have been the last." Archil says. "The fake god mentioned he was raised by humans. I guise since second generation gods can exist on our side of the world Arthfael must have thought that by throwing the newly spawned Axsel down here, he would have been rid of a great burden. Let us go and find my father's killer now."

"Those who make people forget." Gilbert says. "This god guardian of ours sure loves his riddles, doesn't he? It is almost as cryptic as the message left in Master Jardine's room. What did it say again?"

"Something along the lines of 'those who know die right'?" Archil says. "Forgetting would then translate to killing. A big temple can almost only be the Virgo temple. Of course it has to be. I suppose we should look for some shady characters there. It would be great to see my father be avenged."

"Sir, should we really chase after those who tore Master Jardine apart in such a horrific way?" Gilbert asks. "Can we truly bet our lives on something so trifle as revenge?"

"We can not allow this injustice to go unpunished." Archil responds. "Do you truly thing the fake god would give us even a hint as to where my father's killer is, while he seems to need me alive. We will get through this, Gilbert, and after we capture him we will now why my father met his fate."

"So both our lives depend on your skill with the sword, sir?" Gilbert says.

"Yes, Gilbert." Archil says. "My swordsmanship will save us, or damn us. We best head to the Virgo temple now. It is almost noon and the temple is quite the walk away.

A few hours later Archil and Gilbert arrive at the Virgo temple.

"Have you ever wondered why Master Jardine has the name Master?" Gilbert asks.

"I am not sure why my grandparents called him that." Archil responds. "According to the medium we just spoke with he was destined to do great things. That could have been a reason. Whatever he was up to must have had some connection to those great things."

As they walk to the front door they can't help but notice the eery feeling created by the dark looking temple and the desolate streets. Most streets in Oliron are extremely crowded and yet there appears to be no one here. Archil knocks on the door. The sound echoes through the street and a dog bark in the distance. With a loud creaking noise the door slowly opens. Stood in the now opened door is a short man clad in dark robes. His wrinkles clearly showing on the old hand resting in the door.

"Greetings medium." Archil says carefully. "We have business inside this temple. Would you allow us in?"

"No one will enter the shrine today." The man says in a slow, dreamy voice. "Please leave."

"Medium, as far as I recall you don't own this temple." Archil says. "The city does."

"That is why I can't let you enter." The medium says. "The city, or rather Virgo, stated I should not let any pass on this day. Now leave before I get my master."

"Follow me, Gilbert." Archil says.

"Goodbye, gentlemen." The medium says closing the door.

"There is an alley next to the building." Archil says. "We can enter through there. I will go in. You stay here and wait for me."

They walk into the alley and Gilbert boosts Archil up to the window on the side of the temple. Archil enters into a small room which appears to be a candle storage room. Most people would try to avoid breaking into temples, because of the curse that rests on any medium inhabiting the building.

If Archil were to be caught he would be lucky to exit in one piece. He slowly opens the door to the hallway, carefully avoiding anything that would make a sound. He is in luck, because even though this temple is big the man is the only medium to inhabit it. Mediums don't take well to others, since they are cursed. Archil slowly proceeds down the hall looking around constantly.

The temple, just like the streets out front, seems completely deserted. The only sound seems to be a humming noise coming from downstairs. This is most likely the medium spending time in the agony of his curse. Compulsory humming is the curse he seems to have.

All mediums have their own aspects in this curse. The part where they destroy other humans just by being near them for a while is an universal trait, since all mediums seem to have that same problem. The purpose of this is to minimize contact with humans so the second generation gods can't communicate as often. The individual curse on the other hand is their punishment for being born a medium.

A very unfair fate these otherwise normal people share. The only difference is that their souls or minds have a stronger affinity with the realm of gods. In their sleep some of them even cross this line and see what lies beyond the veil. This could otherwise only happen when a god summons their mind to his side. Second generation gods can abuse this affinity in order to on their turn cross the line and speak through the medium's body. Arthfael hates the fact that those of the second generation can do something he can't. That is why he placed the curse, so all those who venture near or over the line between realms shall be cursed.

As Archil continues walking towards the sound, voices can be heard. Two men seem to be arguing about something. Archil slowly and stealthily approaches the room the men seem to be in. He crouches in front of the door, barely making a noise. Maxwell's voice can be heard.

"You gave me your body out of your own volition. Now you tell me, you are unhappy about what occurred, while I was using it."

"You said, you would lift this wretched humming curse if I worked with you." The medium says. "Now I still have the curse and a stained conscience."

"I told you, I would do everything in my power to rid you of it." Maxwell responds. "It just so happens, that it is not in my power to do anything about this issue of yours."

"Using my curse to destroy that man." The medium says. "This humming curse of mine causes the sound of my humming to build in those I touch. It tears them up completely. It starts with them coughing blood and soon their organs start to rip and fall apart. It is a fate I would not wish anyone to suffer. It is a slow and painful death. Did you not see the devastation it caused to that poor man? I never knew a Jardine could be that panicked in his final moments..."

"I am leaving now, I have other matters to attend to." Maxwell says. "I thank you for your assistance."

The only noise left now was a low consistent humming. Knowing that in the mediums regret he will not hurt anyone, Archil enters the room, prepared to attack Maxwell if the need should arise. The room however is empty, but for the man huddled on the floor. He is an emotional wreck. Apparently he did not take well to the gruesome sight of the corpse belonging to Master Jardine. Maxwell seems to have simply vanished into thin air.

"So, was it you who killed my father?" Archil asks.

The medium slowly looks up, confused.

"The man from the front door." He says wearily. "You would dare break into a temple? Oh well, my life is bad enough as it is. The curse is slowly taking everything from me. If this humming persists I fear I will soon fall to madness."

"I asked you a question medium." Archil says, already angry. "Did you kill my father?"

"No need to get angry, boy." The medium replies. "I heard you the first time. Yes, in a way I did cause the demise of that man, your father. I fear that my mind is not prepared for me to kill. By the fake god, may I never die after falling to madness."

"How do you mean, in a way?" Archil asks. "I thought you were listening at the door! I loaned my body to Maxwell, to serve as his vessel to do his dirty work. He promised to rid my of the humming I am forced to endure. Instead all he did was give me another reason to go mad."

"So it was Maxwell." Archil says. "Why would he need your body?"

"Pay attention, boy." The medium says. "My curse allows an especially gruesome death. Did you, by any chance, have a close look at the head of your father?"

"No, why?" Archil says.

"Just a random idea I had." The medium says. "It is of no matter now."

The medium looks up and he starts pointing at the door wanting Archil to leave. Something halts his movement however.

"Your eyes, boy. Have you by any chance met the fake god? I can see it in your eyes. You have seen him, haven't you?"

Hope shines through the man's eyes.

"I have." Archil says. "Do you know what he wants?"

"He should have told you that. This is most likely the best way to beat Maxwell and make him pay for the life he cost me. A way for you to get revenge. Are you with me, boy?"

"If it is to avenge my fallen father I would gladly follow you. The fake god seems to be the solution to everything, is he not?"

"The fake god is the only way to beat a god at this 'game' they made." The medium says. "Only by choosing another player to follow can a pawn win his own struggles. For us this player is the fake god. He shall guide us to freedom or to doom."

"Then we have a deal, medium." Archil says. "Pardon me for not shaking your hand, but I would rather not risk my organs tearing. My name is Archil Jardine. The other man outside is called Gilbert.

"My name is Lyston, descendant of the great strategist Lycon, who is now trapped in the other side of the line." The medium replies. "I was not born a medium, but when Arthfael discovered my heritage, he dragged my soul across and damned me to this life of solitude, much like my ancestor. Arthfael does not particularly like Lycon. The only reason Lycon is a god, is because he beat Arthfael at this game of chess we play."