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Somewhere in the world (Candira and runawayninja)

"Well, we'll just have to do our best. Nora will talk to Lionel and hopefully distract him from noticing how much he's been drinking, and Lionel...well, part of it is in his hands, we can't control what the man does." He shrugs and smiles. "If it doesn't work, its a party, just enjoy ourselves."

He gave a soft laugh. "Well I didn't mean to imply that you were going to die, it just made me think of that saying." He started to eat and drink. "Mmm, the food here is very good. I suppose they have lots of time here to practice."
 
She smiled at him. Despite the meddling ways, his plans were all really quite simple. And she had to appreciate that. Simplicity always made her feel better about herself. "Well, I hope Nora can do it. Seems like she's all but given up on the poor guy. Do you really think he likes her that way, Rafe?" she asked, eating carefully.

She nodded as he mentioned the food. "I've always loved the food in the temples. The best recipes and the best quality food can be found here because it's another way to devote yourself to the gods. They say perfecting any skill brings you closer to them."
 
Rafe smiled softly. "No. I'm not really sure of anything...but there's only one way to find out. And why not have a party? Any excuse to have a good time."

"I'm not sure that's entirely true." He looked at her closely. "I perfected many skills with the Black Riders..." He looked at her hard, sitting his bowl down. "Why...why didn't I think of it before..." He looked as though some great revelation had dawned upon him. "I...I think I know what Fate is after."
 
Candira smiled, agreeing with him about the party, but she hoped that things would work out for the best. Immediately she regretted mentioning that perfecting a skill brings one closer to the gods. It reminded him of a difficult, confusing, and considerably darker time in his life, and she hated to be the one to set off those memories. As he paused, she wondered what was going through his head.

She raised an eyebrow at his revelation, but she set aside her food for the time being, giving him her full attention. "Who do you think he's after? Aside from you?"
 
"Fate once told me to think of the larger universe. He said that the world has many people who worship many different varieties of gods. We haven't explored the world in its entirety so perhaps there are other peoples and races who have their own gods. He also told me that the gods need us...he believed they needed worshipers to stay alive...but only worshipers. A thought, an idea, a belief could sustain a god with a large enough following, and...that would mean there are many more gods than we know. Maybe...maybe he has found power with a darker deity, something outside of the natural order, maybe something long forgotten or not of this world or any other. What if he has taken a fragment of that? Or...a dark deity that only exists in cults of insanity and chaos?"
 
The idea made sense, but it was frightening to think of. Candira frowned as she listened to him, listening as he told her this. "A darker deity... I wonder... But then who is Fate after?" she asked, watching her lover's face as he explained. She watched him, wondering what was going to happen next.
 
Rafe shrugged softly. "Fate was mostly a solitary creature. He didn't open up much and when he did, it often didn't make sense to anyone who didn't know him closely." He looked at her and leaned on her, taking comfort in her warmth. "Little that can be done about it now though...we'll confront that issue when it arises..." He looked at her and kissed her cheek. "You should perhaps rest some more..."
 
Candira sighed as he leaned against her. She kissed his head. "Will you stay with me? Just hold me until I fall asleep?" she asked. "Maybe Dima will give me more insight," she teased. She finished off her meal and set it aside, returning her attention to him.
 
He smiled and gazed into her eyes as he helped her into bed. "Candira, I will stay with your forever and a day. I will hold you always, until my mortal coil ceases to be. Without you...I would wither away." He nuzzled her softly once they were in bed and he held her close to his body. He slipped off his shirt so his body heat could warm her more direction. "I want nothing more than this...to stay like this forever..."
 
She had slipped out of the priestess' garb and into her night gown, feeling well enough to do that. Once she was changed, she climbed into bed and let Rafe help her. She smiled at his words, her silvery gaze locking into the emerald intensity of his eyes. She had to admit, he was one poetic romantic. She loved him dearly, and if he wanted to stay with her, holding her like this forever, who was she to say no?

Her smile was bright and she nuzzled into him as he held her to him. She kissed his lips softly and smiled at him. "I want that too, Rafe."
 
Rafe nestled up against her, holding her close as he slowly shut his eyes and left the mortal world to the Land of Sleep and Dreams. So did Candira, but her destination was much, much different.

Candira found herself covered in a white robe and cloak and hood, made of simple, undyed linen. She was in a dark realm with tall black towers and black clouds and fog moving underneath a dark green sky. Beneath her were bones...those of the unworthy dead and the slain of those who had willingly accepted undeath. The land was made of them. Sitting in a black seat made into one of the towers was a young man, everyoung, pale of flesh and clad in black velvet robes and hood, with jet black hair and eyes as dark as the night without whites. "Come Candira..." He motioned for her to join him, another seat appearing before him and a table of bones with a chess set upon it. "Play me, it has been a while since I had a worthy opponent."
 
Ordinarily, she would have been frightened to be in such a place, but after meeting the Raven Lord in his reality, this was pretty tame. Still highly unnerving, but she wasn't as frightened. She could deal with bones, despite the bile that rose to her throat because of it. The white clothes made her rather noticeable in this rather dark and macabre environment, so she wasn't surprised to hear the strange young man call her forth. She took a deep breath and came toward the dark one, avoiding the chair for the time being. He was unnerving and she did her best to not look into his eyes because her heart felt cold whenever she let her eyes linger for too long.

"I was never particularly good at chess. I'm afraid I won't be worthy either."
 
He gave a barely perceptible smile as he looked at her and heard her words. "Few people refuse a request from the Lord of the Dead. And when you don't have many to play with, the tamest of opponents is quite entertaining..." Slowly, black wisps were passing by them, at all levels over head and a few on ground level, all moving in the same direction.
 
She frowned and looked at him, taking in that surreal grin. "I heard it's not wise to play games with the lord of the dead," she said, bantering just a bit. "I'm sorry, I just really want to not make a misstep. But perhaps I already have." She smiled and took a seat in the chair of bones. She'd make more jokes if she weren't so nervous.
 
"What have you to fear of me? It is not your time. And when it is, no force can stop it. My rulership is absolute and it is good that it is so. Without death, life means so little. Without death, there would never be an end to tyrants and sycophants. I am an unbending master, not a malevolent or cruel one. capricious perhaps, but could you image if death had emotion? Passion, fear, joy, maliciousness...no, it is better that my task is done with a stone heart."

He made the opening move and looked at her. "You are in such a game in your person, you understand that?"
 
"A game of strategies?" She asked, watching him, listening to each word carefully. She moved a pawn and watched him, wondering what he had in mind.
 
"A game of gods. The gods have more in stake at this than you realize. Players like you and Rafe are important pieces for us. That is why we speak through you. He have a spark of the divine in you, more so than other mortals." When she looked at the chess board again, it was totally different than before. Several pieces on both sides had moved as Morr casually made his move. "The human kingdoms are embroiled in an intense war, one that threatens to spill over into the gods...but..." His eyes narrowed. "This war is being guided by mortal hands, Candira. There was a manipulator behind the scenes. My gardens flood with gravestones and caskets, far too much than it should. My kingdom is bursting with those who have died wrongly and too soon, the angry dead pour forth..."
 
She frowned as he Lord of Death told her the story. She was well aware of the people that were dying in the war even as the two of them spoke--not just because of the blackness swirling about them. "I wish to be of help, but there's little that I can do on my own. I understand what I have been told, but I still know so little about what's happening."

She frowned softly and tried to think of who could benefit from a war like this one. Royals perhaps, if they were still popular enough to hold the throne. Many were corrupt...but what was the purpose of interrupting prosperity again? To be sure it was the idea of a powerful person with access to a ruler...but who? And to what end?

"Perhaps if I knew who I was playing against...I know that the black riders must be stopped, but I'm sure that's not the only enemy if all of the gods are involved..."
 
He nodded slowly as he made a move. Every time her eyes left the board and returned to it, it was radically different from the last time she had seen it. Morr looked at her. "You are correct, but sometimes it is difficult for a god to see through a mortal's eyes. I am bound from telling you your enemies, but you should be alert. You should be on your toes. Danger is close and will try to snatch Rafe from you. You are attached to him, aren't you? He is special, touched by the divine, but in a very different way."
 
So her enemies were near--they were trying to take Rafe from her. Not that it was surprising at all--she'd only been told time after time. "I am attached to him," she said softly. "But what do you mean we are touched by the divine? How is his different from mine?"

She sighed, running frustrated fingers through her hair beneath her hood. She was aware of the ever-changing board, but paid it little attention. "Let me just say that being a pawn is the worst. Never knowing the plan, but always being used to further it; being sacrificed without ever learning the reason why; and fighting enemies you never truly recognize is just the worst." She sighed heavily, wishing that she could just figure out what to do.
 
"Oh you are not a pawn. Nora is." He replied softly. "You are an important piece."

He looked at her thinking about her question for a moment. "Your divinity is like a conduit. The gods are attracted to you and your unique self. They leave you dreams and messages, and they favor your luck." His brows furrow. "Rafe's divinity is like a sleeping giant. He has great potential, but for what, not even we know. He frightens and intrigues us in equal measure. And not just us...there are darker gods that want him for their own."
 
That news was surprising. Nora was a pawn? Why was the princess not the important one? So many things didn't make sense to her at this point. Why was she so special? Why was Rafe, for that matter? His potential was urging the gods to make a power play....or perhaps the mortals that worshiped those gods. "I see...So Rafe and I are important...Nora is just a pawn..."

She frowned and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding what this is all supposed to mean. If I'm part of a game and so are my friends...then can you at least tell me the goals? What am I supposed to be doing?" she asked, seeking guidance.
 
"The goals? That really depends upon the players. Each player in this game has a different goal and almost no one has the same goal. And if you're not careful..." He motioned to the board. "Checkmate. The game will be over." With that, the dream was over.
 
"Damn it!" It was the last thing she'd said in her dream before she woke with a start, sitting up in bed, panting softly. After a moment she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, calming down slowly. Why was it that the gods came to her and gave her warnings but never told her anything useful? Frustrated, she ran her hands over her face and brushed through her hair. This whole situations couldn't end fast enough. Tomorrow they would be going to their next destination whether she was a hundred percent or not.
 
Rafe was in so far undisturbed, sleeping peacefully next to her. He hadn't noticed her awakening, but he stirred a bit, without waking himself. Candira could hear a bit of ruckus and revelry. The party was going on.

Lionel was at the party and he was actually having a bit of fun. There were some drinking songs and games going on and although he had only one stein of beer, he was lightning up a bit and starting to take part in the festivities. The guest of the party, the handsome blond young paladin had already arrived and gotten out of his armor and he was laughing as he was hoisted up onto a chair and lifted as the chair moved from the crowd trying to unseat him and he clung to it as best as he could, blankets around to shield the fall in case no one was able to catch him.
 
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