[ Eptian XXXII ]

Thmascuid and Thiaraceph, after the defeat of the Vethrian army, had escorted a small band of the surviving soldiers back from the Great Chasm Fortress to what was at that time still Mortal controlled Existence. After this both of them helped prepare their towns defenses but by the time the Velidian forces got close to their town most of Mortal Existence had already surrendered and because of this the decision was made to not waste the town in a hopeless attempt. Eventually the Velidian onslaught came to them and they could do little but try and survive. They made sure that Othamar (Derram) and Eptih were kept safe. Once the Velidians had taken over Existence Thiaraceph and Thmascuid were rounded up like all the other Mortals and forced to labor building Velids new civilization. Othamar (Derram) being so deformed was not required to work and so she was available to take care of Eptih.

Like all Mortals who were under the yoke of Velid and who’s very life depended upon the whim of the Queid, Thmascuid and Thiaraceph were angry. Velid at this point had a tight control over Existence and made his will felt throughout. He had many allies, the Sreoth, the Siradyt and other Mortal groups and as such held sway over more territory with a stronger fist then anyone ever had and therefore was undefeatable. Many Mortals spoke of how the yoke of Velid might be thrown off but no one was able to do anything about it. Occasionally a Mortal might become fed up with his situation and cause trouble for the Queid but he would be killed before he could become any real problem. Mortals during these time found little joy in their lives. They were forced to labor for a majority of their waking hours and were not aloud to participate in anything that could be construed as military training. All sports, miscellaneous competitions and any gatherings of adult males were banned.

Velid took great joy in forcing the Mortal heroes to labor for long hours and continually pushed them to see what their breaking point would be. Many of the heroes died of exhaustion due to this. This disrespect further angered the Mortals but at the same time it caused them to loose what little faith they had remaining. As the years went on the spirit of the Mortals was nearly broken.

Thiaraceph, who was one of the Mortals Velid took joy in disrespecting, became very bitter. After many hours of laboring and being a spectacle used for the pleasure of the Velidians, he came home to a woman who he had once loved but no long had feelings for and a child who was not his but who he was forced to be responsible for. Thiaraceph felt consumed by burden and therefore withdrew from everyone including his friend Thmascuid. Because of this withdrawal which in actuality had begun long before the defeat of the Vethrian army, Thmascuid took Eptih as his son and so spent his free time with the boy teaching him as much of his own knowledge and skills as he could.

As Eptih grew many incidences occurred that reaffirmed Thmascuid’s suspicion that Eptih was no normal boy. Although less than five years of age Eptih’s exploits were becoming known to all the Mortals of the surrounding areas. Later on, because Mortal adults were not aloud to practice combat, the Mortals would have their kids compete in a type of combat fighting which was a combination of wrestling and boxing. They did this for entertainment but also to harden their children into future soldiers that might save the Mortal race.

Eptih began fighting in these competitions earlier than normal boys, mainly because he was so much bigger, and never was close to losing a match, always wining with ease. When Eptih was nine he was banned from the competitions when during a match he killed the other boy with one blow to his face. This incident resulted in a still more unfortunate occurrence when a few days later the father of the boy who had been killed and who was still distraught, saw Eptih playing near his home with some other boys. In a rage the man grabbed Eptih and tried to strangle him. Eptih broke free from the man’s grasp and in a wild rage proceeded to tear the man apart like a wild animal would its prey. Eptih then ran away fearing the consequences for what he had done but as the incident had been witnessed by the other boys the incident was deemed self defense. Thmascuid later found Eptih hiding, blood covered and brought him back home.

[ Eptian XXXI ]

The remaining Mortal army retreated back to Mortal controlled Existence and tried to rally all available assets in order to defend the various cities and towns against the expected Velidian onslaught.

The Seven families now felt a deep fear and realized all to late that their salvation was only possible via the Vethrians, who were now no longer available to protect them. They also realized that to have manipulated the army as they did for there own welfare and in order to hurt the Vethrians chances of regaining power after their inevitable victory over existence was a shortsighted if not misguided strategy.

So purely based on self-preservation the Seven families worked closely with the returning remnants of the army to set up a home defense relying heavily on guerrilla tactics. They poured all of their wealth into the task at hand. Some key scorched earth policies were used along with numerous other defensive methods.

Velid, looking to conserve his armies energy allowed considerable time to pass. Mortal society was in a state of disorder, prepared for the coming fight and without the guidance of the Vethrians was doomed. Once Velid felt the Mortals were at their weakest he moved in for the final kill and with a vengeance that had not been seen in Existence for a long time.

The fighting at this time was very hard due to the fact that the Mortals were dug in and determined to save themselves. The Velidian army though was tenacious and eventually took over town after town crushing any resistance with a great ferocity, so much so that as time passed and stories were spread, more and more of the resistance gave in without a fight. In time the Velidians had subdued most of what had been Vethrian controlled Existence. An administrative system was set up by the Velidians that broke Existence up into various provinces, each of which was governed by a Sonimi territorial lord whose law was enforced by the ever-growing Queid forces.

The Queid forces were absolutely ruthless in carrying out the Sonimi lords’ wishes and as they were dead and controlled only by the possessor of the Firmornam could not be reasoned with. The Sonimi were unconcerned with the plight of the Mortlas and proved that on many occasions but the Queid were absolutely cruel. Some Siradyt Mortals acted as the eyes for Velid almost like a secret police force and so were hated most of all by the Mortals.

Once dominion had been established, and his hand was everywhere, Velid tasked his various provincial lords with eliminating the Seven families. The Velidian system being highly effective, the entire structure of the Seven families was destroyed and nearly all their numbers cleared away from Existence. Once this project had been completed the Mortals lost what little hope they had remaining, no longer was their a possibility of being rescued by some outside force that would set everything right.

With all previous power structures gone, Velid was free to remake Existence as he saw fit. Velid, copying the Vethrian system, established a Triad of Sonimi to handle the minor details by managing the provincial Lords. This Triad had three components much like the original Vethian Triumvirate and they were called the NuU, the XeuD and the RotiS. With this system Velid was able to enslave all the Mortals who had fought against him using them to build a new infrastructure within Existence. At this time, by way of Mortal slave labor Existence passed into a new area where the buildings went from having an ephemeral quality to a quality of permanence. Structures that had made from short-lived materials like wood were now made of stone and concrete. Many government buildings were built as well as a system of permanent roads in place of the dirt ones. The capital was moved from Avirenth to the Great Chasm. It was also at this time that the Sonimi created the Horse from the Beasts of Burden for the purpose of conveying orders, men and material around Existence quickly for the purpose of quelling any uprising that might come about. The horse quickly became popular. The Mortal groups that had not fought against Velid were treated better but not by much. The enslaved mortals developed a hatred for these Mortals as they had the Siradyt and they termed all of these trader Mortals , the “____” as an insult.

[ Eptian XXX ]

The Vethrian army was in a state of deterioration before it had been completely formed and it was far from being battle ready, progress having been slowed due to the conduct of the Seven Families, but it was decided that a surprise attack would be the best hope for victory. If the Vethrians spent additional time building and strengthening the army, relying on the Seven Families for men and material, eventually the growing disorder would destroy the army before it ever entered action. It could either be used now in the state it was or allowed to die on the vine never having been used.

The decision to act at once having been made, vanguard Elements of the Vethrian army moved out in force toward the Great Chasm Fortress. The idea was to send the best trained soldiers first in order to scare Velid hopefully convincing him to prematurely yield. If he did not a siege of the Great Chasm Fortress would be raised by that time the bulk of the army would be brought up acting merely as a battering ram. Disciplined soldiering would be less important for this plan and brute force more befitting the demeanor of the majority of the army. This plan had to work, the quality of the army leaving no other possible option if the siege should go wrong.

At first Velid and his seemingly meager force of mixed Sreoth, Queid and Syradyt mortals retreated back into the Fortress putting up little resistance and it seemed that it would not be long before the siege would be effective. When the bulk of the Vethrian force arrived victory seemed all the more assured and in this aura of inevitable certainty it became harder to keep the army organized. Disipline being what it was soldiers would frequently wander off searching for food or other spoils leaving their posts unattended. The Vethrians became furious with the laziness of the army during the siege and began to doubt their original rationale for the siege and faith in victory long before others did.

Velid sent out some of his best soldiers to fight single combats and the Vethrians accepted. Thmascuid did particularly good during these matches. But as the single combats went on the Sonimi continued their work of creating new Queid battalions unbeknownst to the Vehtrinas.

As Velid peered out from the Great Chasm Fortress he laughed at how the Vethrian army had walked right into his trap. Not only that, it was now obvious that if given time the Vethrian army would destroy itself right where it stood. But eventually Velid became tired of waiting and called on Ebrel to advance, Ebrel having been set up for some time behind the Vethian army hidden from their view. Ebrels army which was much smaller then the Vethrian army but highly disciplined, pined the majority of the Vethrian army up against the Fortress and at that moment the forces from inside the Fortress were unleashed and carnage ensued. The Vethrian army was trapped in this spot and was destroyed. The Vethrians abandoned the dying army and fled into hiding only a small number having been killed in the battle. The Mortal heroes, including Thiaraceph and Thmascuid, did their best to stall the Queids efforts, breaking holes through the Queid lines allowing some of their own numbers to escape. Many of the Mortal heroes were killed during this time. Thiaraceph and Thmascuid however did survive and managed to lead a small element of soldiers back home. This bravery gaining them more fame, adding further luster to already stellar reputations.

The Velidian army had pursued the fleeing remnants of the Vethrian army at first but were eventually called back by Velid. He had come to the conclusion that the hardest part of his plan had been executed and that now he could establish control on his terms and when and how he saw fit. All the dead soldiers that were scattered around the Great Chasm Fortress were immediately converted into Queid by Velid and the Sonimi and thus the Velidian army grew larger and larger.

[ Eptian XXIX ]

The one Vethrian who Velid allowed to return eventually did and told the Triumvirate everything he had learned. With this new knowledge of Velids rise the Vethrians became fearful that they might not survive the coming troubles and secretly wondered if all of this wasn’t the work of Aeyrom. Had Aeyrom set up a situation that was hopeless for them or was this possibly a test, one that if they passed would earn them the right to ascend back into the Continuum. These questions loomed large over the Vethrians and brought about two distinct and opposite possible responses. Regardless of Aeyroms possible manipulation, they knew that this was a defining moment. Should they run and hide, using their power to maintain their very survival, abandoning the rule of Existence to whomever possessed the ability to take it, or should they take control of the situation taking the initiative and settle the score with Velid before all was lost.

The Vethrians at this point had little control over Existence. The seven families had managed to usurp most of the power and had reorganized existence as best suited them. This was only possible however because the Vethrians themselves had lost faith in their plan for Existence and were slowly pulling back from their responsibility. They had been played by the Mortals and most especially the Seven Families but only because of their own ignorance.

As the Vethrians began a debate over these matters the Mortal populace somehow learned of the Velidian threat and became fearful which in turn began to cause the organization of the society to begin to break down. The mortals quickly demanded that the Vethrians and the seven families do something to defend their way of life. At a meeting of all concerned parties the Vethrians were persuaded to help the effort and at the same time the seven families were urged to do their part. After this meeting the Vethrians decided to make a stand and thereupon took control of the situation. The seven families however were not happy with what appeared to be a resurgence in the enthusiasm of the Vethrians. As they saw it, much effort had been spent to bring Existence to this point and they knew they were on the verge of removing Vethrian rule for good. Even though, they did not what to appear to be undermining the effort wich might cause them to loose the support of the Mortals and so being in control of most of the resources and assets did the minimal that was necessary while feigning strong support. Their main goal quickly became not allowing the Vethrians to regain their former power, which diminished the effort.

A ragtag army was quickly built with conscripts and volunteers. Many able-bodied male Mortals were utilized including many of the heroes. Problems did arise when some towns and cities refused to send soldiers out of fear, by some previous arrangement or out of some hope of gaining from the final result should they not participate. However at the moment nothing could be done about it as more urgent matters were pressing.

Because there had been no previous custom of large organized armies there existed no tradition or skill for it and as such no necessary foundation to build upon. Because of this the army was quickly thrown together, poorly trained, insufficiently supplied and completely disorganized. All of this caused a great uneasiness to develop in the army but most especially in the Vethrians, making them feel that victory would be up to them alone. They were however committed to seeing the project through to the bitter end.

Simultaneously, As the Vethrians were consolidating their power and designing battle plans in hopes of a quick and decisive attack, Velid had made the decision to descend into the great chasm. Now that he had the power of the Firmornam he would descend establish command over the Spiritforms and use them for his own purposes. When he descended into the Great Chasm he was able to communicate directly with the Spiritforms and in that way learned that Othamar had in fact made it out alive with her baby who was also alive when they ascended. Velid, incensed and having established his command over the Spiritforms ascended and upon his arrival at the surface sent out a search band to find Othamar and the baby. These groups, scouring Existence quietly, discovered the Mortal armies assembling and quickly reported this information to Velid. As more search groups were directed to reconnoiter the movements of the Mortal armies it was discovered that the Vethrians were playing a big part in this operation. Velid who was increasingly confident due to his power over the Spiritforms could not bear that his power had yet to establish dominion over the Mortal and his hatred for them only increased knowing that they were making plans to destroy him. Quickly he began to build his own army with the help of the Sonimi. Also the Siradyt and the Sreoth were enlisted to help in the effort. One by one corpses were gathered and Spiritforms were applied to them creating a horrible army know as the Queid army.

[ Eptian XXVI ]

Once night had fallen they moved Othamar and the baby to Thiaraceph’s house unnoticed. Othamar and the baby were to recover from their wounds with Thiaracephs care in this place all the while keeping their presence secret. As they convalesced Thiaraceph and Thmascuid would have time to devise a plan to reintroduce Othamar and the baby into their community. After some time had passed when Othamar had recovered her mind, she decided it was time to name the baby and so she did this calling him Eptih.

In the time it had taken for Othamar and the baby to heal Thiaraceph and Thmascuid had not been able to devise a sound plan to bring Othamar back and yet keep this information from Velid. Othamar and the baby were to live with Thiaraceph but they could not live together as a family, if anyone had an idea that Othamar was back it would almost certainly get back to Velid and he would come looking for her. So needless to say the situation was precarious. Othamar could not hide in Thiaraceph’s house unnoticed forever, and certainly the baby could not be kept hidden especially as he grew older and would be needing to experience the world beyond Thiaraceph’s doorstep.

Between the three of them, Thmascuid, Thiaraceph and Othamar they could not come up with any way to resolve the problem and although many suggestions were put forth, none resolved all the issues before them. They had to be careful now as time was running out and suspicion would be likely to start forming as all of their actions would by necessity become increasingly odd to outside viewers.

Eventually Othamar on her own decided what needed to be done. As she was the most beautiful woman in Existence she would always be recognized no matter what disguise she wore. And so for hers and Thiaracephs sake, but most especially for the baby, she used a knife and cut into her face disfiguring herself so that never again would she be recognized as Othamar. She endured more pain then she ever had in this act of self-abuse but it was justified in her mind and seemed to her the only real viable option.

Thiaraceph who had been out discovered Othamar laying in a pool of blood with her face horribly disfigured. He began to provide her care and called a local boy to deliver a sealed message to Thiaraceph which told him to come to Othamars aide immediately. Once again Othamar had brought herself close to death with her actions and would again need time to heal but the her plan was not yet complete. When Thmascuid arrived he was astonished by what Othamar had done to herself, and felt as though she had acted to rashly. He knew however, as did Thiaraceph, that something of this magnitude was required. A show had to be made now and in her state with Eptih in her arms she was taken out quietly by Thmascuid and dropped off so that she could return with the necessary drama required so that the story she had devised would be sealed in facts.

A few hours later Othamar returned to the edge of the town with screams and blood covered clothing, baby in hand where she collapsed and was helped by the people there. These people heard her speak of how her family had been destroyed by Sreoth raiders, all except for her and her sister’s baby. They heard her speak of the horrors she had witnessed and how she had made her way to this place seeking sanctuary from a relative she had never seen but knew by the name of Thiaraceph which all the people listening knew of. She told them her name was Derram and that the baby was Eptih. After hearing her tale a messenger was sent to bring Thiaraceph. He arrived in the night and was given shelter till morning when he took Othamar, now called Derram, and Eptih back to his home. The ruse was complete.

Why did Othamr not claim Eptih as her own son? Othamar had removed the beauty from her face but the grace of her figure remained and would still be known, it being so unique and unlike all of the other women of existence, and this would need to be hidden also. The best way to do this she reasoned was to play an old cripple walking with a limp and otherwise strange gait, she would become a woman no man would take as a wife and so to have recently bared a child would be proof of deceit. Othamar had given away her beauty for Eptih and any hope of a life with Thiaraceph as husband and wife, she had committed herself to the ruse wholly. She may have been at least partially animated by her hatred and fear of Velid and the wish to never return to the Great Chasm Fortress.

[ Eptian XXV ]

Just as Othamar was about to give into death the force keeping her down relented and she was then able to lift her head out of the mud and take a breath, quickly re-energizing her to take on the search for her baby.

She stood up and saw around her many corpses who were focused on something else very nearby. She began to walk toward that direction weaving through the corpses until she came upon one who was holding her baby. Othamar came face to face with the corpse and as he noticed her he gripped the baby tighter, squeezing it very hard causing the baby to scream out but then cutting off its ability to scream with a further increase in force. Othamar raised her hands and began to place them on the corpses hands and at that moment the corpse fell to the ground, the spiritform that had possessed it having been ejected from it. Othamar managed to catch the baby as it dropped from the corpses grasp as it fell. Othamar then turned and ran with the baby in hand using her clothing to cover the baby. She ran for a distance and became exhausted again only this time she refused to rest, denying the urge to close her eyes again for even a moment.

The Corpses no longer followed her and so she walked and walked for what seemed to be days, always cloaked in the darkness of the Great Chasm refusing to stop until out of the Great Chasm. Othamar was now almost completely consumed and devoid of strength by the trials she had and was experiencing. She was becoming a shell of herself, hollow but regardless continued to walk and search for a path to ascend from this horrible place. The health of the baby also seemed to be faltering, and Othamar could no longer supply the baby with sustenance as she herself was starving.

Eventually she came to a path that appeared to head toward the top and so she climbed. She, in time, reached the top and was glad that she had ascended far away from the Fortress, although she did not know where she was. She was not free of Velid’s grasp as of yet as the territory she was in was Sreoth and they had become allies of Velid. Because of this she moved quietly avoiding the trails and roads, preferring to move in darkness.

As Othamar traveled and she became ever weaker feeling death may be near, she decided to move back to the roads in case she drop dead someone might find the baby and care for it more easily then if she fall in some untraveled area. This decision was wise because it was not long after she move back to the road that she in fact did drop unconscious where she stood. She lay there for two days with the baby tucked at her side under her clothes until she was discovered.

Thmascuid and Thiaraceph, having traveled the same road that Othamar was returning home on came upon her. At first they did not recognize her as she was covered in filth and gaunt, but stopping to assist a Mortal who was obviously out of place in Sreoth lands discovered it was in fact Othamar. They discovered the baby when they moved Othamar and the baby rolled out, still alive. Thiaraceph and Thmascuid moved Othamar and the baby off the trail and set up camp. Here they began to care for the pair, preparing them for the journey home but first making sure they would survive the night.

In the morning Othamar and the baby were alive but unconscious. After getting Othamar and the baby cleaned and fed, they packed up camp with the intention of setting out for home. Although both Thiaraceph and Thmascuid wanted to inflict damage upon Velid, or at the very least reconnoiter the fortress, they decided Othamar and the baby had to be returned home in order to assure their survival. It was as Thiaraceph was washing Othamar and the baby that he noticed Othamar’s wounds were fresh and the baby’s wounds were nearly healed leaving behind only scars but he just assumed the babies scars were older. This however intrigued Thiaraceph and so he looked over the baby closely thinking to himself that it somehow seemed different from typical babies.

Eventually, after a few tribulations, they neared their town stopping short to wait for nightfall so that they might enter the city under cover of darkness. They did this to hide Othamar and the baby in secret for the time being so that word would not get back to Velid that Othamar was alive.

[ Eptian XXIII ]

It wasn’t long after, when Othamar was nearly ready to give birth, that Ebrel returned. The metamorphosis of Velid was underway and Ebrel was now informed as to how to proceed having received his directions from the Graelim.

Some days later Othamar went into labor and it was at this time that Ebrel revealed to Velid that the birth of his children would in fact seal his fate, transforming him into a Sonimi for his eternity and no longer would he be a Vethrian. Ebrel explained that Velid would now be damned forever, never able to be killed in Existence but never able to ascend to the Continuum either. He would be more like a mortal in form now but far superior to them, his mind also would no longer know the Vethrian restraint and innocence but would be able to grasp the true nature of evil and use that evil for his own purpose. He would loose his nobility but would gain power and immortality and thus be able to rule existence.

Once these facts were made clear to Velid he felt he had been tricked and at this very moment when he felt he had had everything taken from him the first child was being introduced into the world. Velid enraged like a cornered dying animal, grabbed the child, umbilical cord still attached, by the feet and holding it up in the air with a furious scream unsheathed a small dagger and began to slice the baby removing large sections of its skin, cutting off its ears and nose. He then threw the baby aside as Ebrel attempted to stop him and it was then that the dagger cut into the flesh of Ebrels shoulder sending him to the ground in pain. At this very moment, Othamar who was in severe pain and who was unaware of her surroundings began to give birth to another child, a twin to the first. With Ebrel continually shouting trying to make Velid understand that there was nothing that could be done now and that destoying the babies could not change his fate Velid grabbed the second child in the same manner as the first and ran the dagger across the child’s throat producing a flow of blood which emanated forth through gurgling scream like sounds. With the child still held by its feet Velid walked out into the night and upon approaching the precipice of the Great Chasm tossed the baby in. On Velids return Ebrel screamed out with all the force of his lungs that he must not kill the children and that what was done was done. Velid entered seeking the first child to dispose of as he had done to the other but seeing the child and realizing he was a boy, so pathetic now bleeding and marred forever by his own hand and with Ebrels’s words beginning to enter his ears, Velids rage finally subsided. With Othamar unconscious from her effort, and blood dripping from his hands Velid fell to the ground in utter bewilderment. At this point Ebrel picked up the baby and placed him in a crib. He called for the healers to try and save the baby and ordered a group of Sreoth to proceed down into the Great Chasm and find the other baby.

The Sreoth who came were extremely frightened but went down into the Great Chasm regardless. Eventually, after contact was lost and some time had gone by it was assumed the Sreoth were dead and that the baby was dead also. Velid later regained his senses and feeling guilty for what he had done went to visit the baby and to see if the healers would be able save it. When he went to visit Othamar she cursed him for what he had done, having some recognition of the events and by confirming them by questioning the Healers who had remained with her.

Later that night, with her condition still precarious, thinking of the child whose grave was now the worst place in Existence, and being kept away from the other baby, Othamar went out to the Chasm’s edge. Standing at the edge crying, she heard a sound, almost like strange bird, and so thinking it might be her baby went down into the Great Chasm. Her healers having witnessed this, assumed that she was committing suicide and recognizing her pain and her predicament commiserated with her and therefore did nothing to stop her.

[ Eptian XXI ]

Once Thmascuid entered into the periphery it did not take long before the Sreoth came upon him in force. The Sreoth were now more confident as the word had gone out among them that they now had a powerful benefactor in Velid. Thmascuid attempted to speak to the Sreoth but they attacked him and he was forced to cut them down. After this instance Thmascuid moved deeper into Sreoth territory then he had ever been. If he survived this journey and came back with Velids location he would gain even more renown and would become the primary hero of all Mortals. As he advanced The Sreoth watched him closely from afar being afraid to confront him again. As these Sreoth were of miniscule stature they dared not face such a great hero but let him proceed into the neighboring lands of more formidable Sreoth, a taller more adequate race for dealing directly with Mortals.

When Thmascuid entered these lands the Sreoth had been warned of his coming and told of his status as a great hero of the Mortals. It was their wish to kill such a man and thereby gain some renown of their own among the Mortals, and in doing this place some fear into them as to the future. So it was decided among the rulers of these Sreoth that this should be done honorably and with confidence and so it was agreed upon that they would challenge him and that they would send against him a hero of their own, one who would be sure to win. And so a welcoming party was sent out to meet Thmascuid.

When this welcoming party reached Thmascuid and feigned hospitality he was astonished and yet unconvinced. When brought before the rulers and given the challenge he demanded to receive a prize if he should win – but with that the rulers told him that as he had entered their lands illegally his prize, if he should win, would be safe passage back to the nearest Mortal realm. Thmascuid protested but these protests fell upon deaf ears, and so the time was set for the contest.

After a night of restless sleep among the Sreoth the time for the contest approached. To Thmascuid this seemed a burden that kept him from his purpose but it was something that now had to be done. Late morning he was called to the town center and the rules to the contest were gone over. The match began and in seconds Thmascuid had vanquished his adversary leaving the Sreoth stunned and embarrassed. They had never planned on letting him leave alive but now they had lost face and needed to hide their shame and so Thmascuid was attacked on order of the rulers by a horde of Sreoth, all of them hoping to strike the death blow. Each attacker clawed at him with their nails and a few sliced him with swords. Thmascuid managed to escape his attackers and ran off into the forest followed by them. He gained ground on them but knew he could not run forever especially since he was losing blood from his wounds and so he found a felled tree next to a small creek, quickly covered himself with a layer of mud and wedged himself underneath the tree. The mud hiding his blood better and also the armor coverings which were of a grayish white color and would otherwise be easily seen against the darkness of his location by the Sreoth.

Thmascuid laid here until the horde past by and then fell asleep in the spot as a result of his loss of blood. The mud however stopped the blood flow and he was spared from bleeding out because of it. Once he awoke he washed himself and his armor in the creek and proceeded slowly back to Mortal civilization having failed in his mission.

Eventually Thmascuid stumbled into a Mortal town that was unfamiliar to him, the people taking pity on him and offering him assistance. In this place he was nursed back to health by a friendly family who had a son named “____” who was quite interested in the wounded hero as he himself dreamed of becoming a warrior. This boy “____” kept Thmascuid entertained during his convalescence and asked a great many questions. At one point in their conversations the boy “____” mentioned the great Velid and Thmascuid was able to learn much about the whereabouts of Velid and also that he was not in friendly territory as these people were working as agents of some sort of Velid. Thmascuid was lucky these people did not know who he was or question him as to how he had come to be in such condition, they were far to busy at some work which was not yet known to him. Soon after this Velid took his leave and proceeded back to his home with supplies provided by these people.

[ Eptian XX ]

Velid took Othamar back to the Great Chasm Fortress and imprisoned her in a windowless room. Ebrel, who had been covering Velids escape, returned some time later reporting that no one appeared to be following. Despite Ebrels report, both Velid and he waited to see if they might have been tracked. However after a few days, with the likelihood that they would have to face foes in battle greatly diminished, they returned to normal life. It was at this time that Velid married Othamar, which she did her best to renounce. That night when Velid came to Othamar in order to consummate the marriage she resisted and so Velid took her by force.

The process had now begun, Velid had followed the advice of Ebrel and he thought he could feel himself growing stronger with each new foray of Othamar. Ebrel however, informed Velid that the process was not yet complete but that he was on the path to gaining more power then he could imagine. And so Velid was pleased with himself and felt no remorse in the actions he had taken.

Othamar was miserable and on one occasion attempted to escape, she did not get far however before Velid found her, returned her to her prison and beat her as punishment for the disrespect she had shown him by attempting to escape. Othamar could see that escape was nearly impossible, not only was Velid very aware of her but so was Ebrel. If she did manage to fool them and escaped she would have to trek all the way around the rim of the Great Chasm which would take her far out of the way toward her home and would give Velid and Ebrel time to discover that she was missing. As her despair grew the option of suicide seemed to her more and more viable as a relief from her misery. She became despondent as time went on and was nearing the decision of suicide when something happened that forced her to persevere.

It was at this time the Othamar became pregnant. When she was sure that she was in fact pregnant she submitted to Velid but only as a ruse to receive better treatment and better living arrangements so that her baby might be born healthy. She was still very cold toward Velid and because of this he did not feel any affinity toward her, he mainly viewed her more as property then any type of companion.

At this same time, Thiaraceph finally regained consciousness. Immediately he asked Thmasquid where Othamar was. When Thmascuid told him the story Thiaraceph became enraged and accused Thmascuid of not doing enough. Thiaraceph then decided that he would need to go after Othamar himself but Thmascuid convinced him that he still needed to heal and that he would not make it far if he were to try and leave. In order to placate Thiaraceph, Thmascuid offered to go out into the periphery and seek information from the Sreoth, a very dangerous journey as the Sreoth were not friendly to the Mortals after their long histories of violence against each other. Nonetheless Thmascuid decided, if there was any hope of finding and rescuing his sister, that his best option was to attempt the journey.

Thmascuid left for his journey to meet with the Sreoth the next morning.

[ Eptian XVIII ]

Othamar was the most beautiful woman in Existence and her brother was Thmascuid, the greatest hero of the Mortals. Othamar and Thmascuid had grown up as part of a family that were farmers within a province controlled by the Nyve, one of the Seven families. The family land that they farmed was outside the major cities close to the periphery. When they were young their father was killed and as the children where young and the family now burdened their status and wealth steadily diminished. By the time Thmascuid came of age and received possession of the family property, becoming master of the house, the biggest part of their wealth was gone. With the weakened state of the family it made them easy targets for raiding Sreoth. Many of the remaining family were eventually killed in these raids.

When Thmascuid was still a youth he began to show a proclivity for fighting and ultimately fought many single combats to settle disputes between the various local families, never losing one of these contests. He also had led raids against the Sreoth, and had fended off many Sreoth raids against the nearby Mortal families. Because of his skills and exploits and the early age at which they were accomplished Thmascuid gained local fame. He gained much of his fame from an incident that occurred when he was seventeen years old. Some Sreoth had raided a local family and stolen their daughter fleeing out past the periphery. Alone Thmascuid headed out to save the girl. He returned a week later with the girl nearly unharmed and the heads of five Sreoth. So his reputation among the Mortals was continually grew. Many offers had been made to him that he might come to this city or that in order to use his fighting skills for what ever reason. Many of these offers he took in order to reestablish the wealth of his family.

For her part Othamar’s beauty grew greater day by day and was nearly as well known throughout Existence as Thmascuid’s exploits were. Because Othamar’s father was dead, Thmascuid could do with her what he wanted, but because his sister was his greatest ally her happiness meant more to him then any favor he could gain by using her. And so he allowed her to choose a husband of her own choice, something that was very rare. Many men wished to posses Othamar but she shunned all those who tried for her hand and only because of her brothers’ protection could she remain unmarried. Day in and day out suitors would come from far and wide to attempt to sway Othamar with their riches, always to be denied in their efforts. Many complained that Othamar should make a decision and save the suitors the time it took to travel to her if she had no inclination to marry. What mattered to Othamar though was not the riches and possessions a man had, as she had learned to live without these long before, but the noble strength that was inherent in some, something that could never be bought and something that few men seemed to possess.

Thiaraceph himself was a great hero much the same as Thmascuid, however not as skilled in the arts of war and not as famous, many of Thmascuid’s exploits had been accomplished with the help of Thiaraceph. He was much more level headed then Thmascuid and would always work hard at whatever he was doing, where skill came naturally to Thmascuid, Thiaraceph had to make himself good by practice. Thmascuid would be rash in judgement and take many needless chances while Thiaraceph would plan and achieve victory by using is wits. As a team they made for an unstoppable force.

Othamar had always loved Thmascuid secretly and Thiaraceph had felt the same about Othamar. Thiaraceph however never even considered asking for Othamaras hand, figuring that she would never have him as he had little to offer her in the way of wealth. But eventually, after learning from Thmascuid that Othamar loved him, Thiaraceph asked Thmascuid for Othamars hand in marriage and permission was given. Many were astonished because Thiaraceph was not wealthy and had few possessions, expecting Othamar to marry only the wealthiest of the perspective suitors. When the upcoming union became public many hopeful suitors were angered. Thiaraceph was happier then he had ever been with the prospect of marrying the most prized woman in all Existence and Thmascuid was happy that his sister was going to so worthy a man.

On the day of the wedding just before it was to commence Velid came looking for his bride and when he saw Othamar he knew that she was the young woman he had seen before, the tales of her growing beauty not even equal to the actual vision before him.