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<p><b><font size="5">I</font></b>t was Summer in <b>The Time of Woe</b>
... And <b>Mephistopheles</b> was bleeding ... How had he gotten here? ...
Why was he here? ... Where was he going? ... He looked down at the wound
in his chest. He remembered how he had removed the <b>Sword of Flames</b>
from the wound just days before. The memory of that agony resonated in his
mind. He was certain the flames would cauterize the wound, but even now it
still bled ... Wounds of the heart must take longer to heal than others.
The only way he could ignore the pain was to reflect on what had
transpired ... and the more he paused to reflect, the more it all came
back to him....

<p>He had finished showing his Drow brother the lands of his birth and now
he was returning to <b>Nod</b> ...  What was there for him in <b>Nod</b>? 
... He
had had a plan at one time, he was sure of it. What had happened to that
plan? For that matter what had become of all of his dreams?

<p>Slowly a name appeared in his mind ... <b>Selenia</b> ... and it all
welled up inside of him ...  the <b>Anger</b> ... the <b>Rage</b> ... the
<b>Fury</b> ...

<hr> <p><b><font size="5">T</font></b>he darkness was overjoyed. The
demons chittered among themselves with questions and exclamations ...

<p>"How ever did this happen!"

<p>"This is completely positive!"

<p>"Whatever did you do to break him?"

<p>"We did not lay a hand on him ... In fact, it was the <b>Fallen
Angel</b> that approached us!"

<p>"Amazing! What was her request?"

<p>"That he not be harmed by us ... "

<p>"And you agreed to such a request?"

<p>"Of course ... she told us that she would do all that needed to be 
done ... at this point there is nothing more we need do ... the
<b>Remnant</b> will destroy himself ... "

<p>"I'm not so sure ... how can you be certain of that?"

<p>"What are you getting at?"

<p>"His former demonstrated a knack for obtaining victory from the jaws of
defeat ... on occasion it seemed as if he was inspired by his failures ...  
in fact, it took intervention by the <b>Light</b> itself for us to capture
him ...  surely the <b>Remnant</b> has at least a glimmer of this ability
... but this is all moot at this point ... for we are bound by the
agreement ..." <hr>

<p><b><font size="5">M</font></b>ephistopheles had arrived North of Nod, 
but he was still alone amongst his thoughts ... "Where did I go wrong?" 
... "What am I to do know?" ... When he was tired, he slept ... When he 
was hungry he ate ... but it all very perfunctory.

<p>On one day, the <b>Demonwitch</b> approached him. This day she bore the 
aspect of <b>Cimorene</b>. 

<p>"Greetings <b>Mephistopheles</b>, the <b>Demon with a Soul</b>, the
former <b>Knight of Rune</b>, the former wielder of the <b>Spear of
Destiny</b> ... How may I torment you today?" ... A wry grin came on her 
face as she stroke one of her curly tresses with her finger.

<p>"I am in no mood for your irritations this day, vile <b>Demonwitch</b>" 
... That was an understatement ... Her whole purpose for existence was 
to make him suffer, and though she remained a constant irritation, she 
had lost a lot of her punch ... He had recently discovered that if he 
put his mind to it he could make her do what he wanted ... It had to do 
with his status as a former demon ... It usually took a lot out of him 
and most of the time it wasn't worth the effort ... Besides he was far too 
tired to command her away ...

<p>Now she changed her aspect to that of <b>Selenia</b> .... Her curly
tresses straightened ... Her complexion lightened from dark grey to creamy
white ...  And finally her frame shifted from that of a Drow maiden to a
Sylvan one ... And she spoke ... "How fare you Mephistopheles? ... I'm so
sorry for what I have done ... I would anything to make it up to you ...
Boo Hoo Hoo ..."  ... Indeed, her emulation of <b>Selenia</b> had gotten
worse over time, thought <b>Mephistopheles</b> ... That was probably part
of the reason he hasn't see all of this coming ... He turned around in
hopes that if he ignored her, she would grow bored and depart ...

<p>However, as he lost sight of her, he had a notion ... Why didn't I 
think of this before, thought <b>Mephistopheles</b> ... He turned back 
around and addressed the demon ... "You are a demon are you not? You still 
have contact with the demons of the <b>Void</b>, right?" 

<p>The <b>Demonwitch</b> furrowed her brow ... "Of course I do ... but 
what concern of that is yours?"

<p>"You can tell me if <b>Selenia</b> is one of you!"

<p>"Why would I want to do anything of the sort?"

<p><b>Mephisopheles</b> grabbed her with both arms ... The flames burned
in both of his eyes and welled up through his skin ... "Because you have
to, under the <b>Pact of Mutual Assistance</b> among demons ... Tell me
what I want to know ..."

<p>The <b>Demonwitch</b> sighed with resignation ... "All right ... What 
is that you want to know?"

<p><b>Mephistopheles</b> brightened ... "I want to know <b>Selenia's</b> 
status as a demon ... and I want to know about any time that she has 
contacted the <b>Void</b> ..."

<p>The <b>Demonwitch</b> paused for a moment, and it seemed as if she 
was in communion with other agents. She chittered back and forth with them 
... "Is it true what the <b>Remnant</b> speaks?" ... "Are you certain that 
we have no other recourse?" ... "So be it ... the information will do him 
no good ..."

<p>Finally, the <b>Demonwitch</b> reanimated and she spoke ... "She is not
one of us ... She is the <b>Fallen Angel</b> of legend, as you surmised
..."

<p>"But what of her contact with you ... I want to know everything ..."

<p>For once, the <b>Demonwitch</b> looked annoyed ... "I was just getting 
to that ... She only asked that you not be harmed by us ... But nothing 
other than that ..."

<p>With that, <b>Mephisto</b> turned and proceeded to walk away ... She 
was 
right, the information had been of no benefit to him ... He began to lose 
himself in another swirl of thought ... 

<p>Now he heard the voice of <b>Lucinda</b> behind him ... "How fare you
<b>Mephistopheles</b> ?" ... Another one of the <b>Demonwitch's</b>
emulations, he thought ... She really knew how pour salt in an open would
... He was getting so furious that he didn't even bother with the mantra
... The flames sprung from his body and his eyes grew red ... He turned
around, put forth his hand, and began to channel his rage ...

<p>She gave him a puzzled look ... "Is everything all right?"

<p>Abruptly he stopped and gave he a closer look ... She had a thin Drow
frame, and on her right arm he could make out a scar that could only be
from a broken link ... Her left arm glimmered with another link ... She
carried herself with confidence, but there was a touch of melancholy to
her demeanor ...  It was indeed the real <b>Lucinda</b> ... The
<b>Demonwitch</b> must have known that <b>Lucinda</b> was
coming and planned her encounter to cause some mischief ...  
<b>Lucinda</b> spoke again ... "I have heard what has come to pass ... I
have come to render my assistance ..."

<p>He looked at her again and chuckled to himself ... Years ago, he had
committed the same crime against her in the worst fashion imaginable ...
And yet here she was, ready to console him ... The sinner had now become
the victim, and someone had to find this irony amusing ... He told 
<b>Lucinda</b> more of what had transpired ...

<p><b>Lucinda</b> became thoughtful ... "Isn't it tragic that while it
takes two people to form a link ... It takes only one to break it?"

<p>They conversed in this fashion for some time ... It felt good to let
the flames breathe ... It was something his former never chose to do ...  
Now he possessed the soul, and so it was his decision to make ... One by
one, others arrived to pay their respects to their fallen comrade ...  
And each of them conversed and gave him their perceptions ... The
dialogues gave him fresh perspectives and removed him away from his own
reflections ... Most of all, they reminded him that he was not alone ...
And slowly, he could feel his heart beginning to mend ...

<hr> 

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Shankar has finally decided to get a <a 
href="http://slashdot.org/~shankar2k/journal">blog</a>. Enjoy.
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