The land of Belvairien is made up of tall mountains that see snow 24/7, yet the sun is never blocked out and the snow is never too heavy. The main cluster of civilisation is sitting on a plane of snow, walled in by tall mountains. There is but one narrow path to the settlement until it widens out to the landscape below. Veitins are tall and broad in nature, and their will to fight for justice and order is beyond comprehensible. They resemble bears, polar bears more accurately. They are slightly hunched over and have white fur spread across their entire body.

Aesin opened his eyes and felt the cold embrace of the quite mountains. The slight murmur of activity below him was carried a great distance by the calming winds. He stood atop a mountain, look over this land: the fluffy white snow spread as far as the eye could see. Belvairien looked calm, peaceful.

Suddenly, Aesin opened his mouth and spoke,

"Veitins! Hear me! For chaos does not rest!"

He paused momentarily and spoke again.

"Assemble the town elders, scouts, hunters, blacksmiths, finest warriors and cooks to the town square immediately."

Aesin heads down to the settlement to meet his assembled citizens.

The people have gathered.

Seers, elders, shamans, medicine men, scouts, hunters, fighters, brawlers, blacksmiths, silversmiths, cooks, brewers... easily three hundred people stand before Aesin, ready for his command.

Aesin smiles.

"Good. Scouts, spread out into teams of 2 and do a recon of the realm.
Hunters, move out and find renewable resources of food.
Cooks, prepare for the hunters return.
Brewers, begin preparing refreshments for the parties moving out.
Smiths, prepare your workshops for heavy weapon and armour manufacturing. When the scouts return, the resources you need will start being provided.
Those who know of the land and its villages already, i would like a report on anything i should know.
Finally, the warriors will need to decide on the most capable of themselves to lead them. That leader then needs to assemble squad captains to head each battalion. Once organised, begin training immediately.
Anything that is not clear, approach and be directed.

Aesin stands in the centre of the village, awaiting his orders to be carried out.

The cooks start to prepare the fires and tools. The smiths begin to ready their workshops.

The leader of the scouts approaches.

The eldest hunter approaches.

Close to a dozen warriors approach, arguing amongst themselves.

A handful of other, nondescript people approach, most rather timidly.

A cool breeze reaches the people, but none shiver.

Aesin looks at the commotion.

"Silence." he calmly stated. "Questions, one at a time."

Silence.

A question.

"What, Lord.. what is ree-kon?"

Aesin looks at the scout.

"Too be expected i suppose. It means to scout the realm and note everything about it then return here with your findings. Next question."

"What is a renewable source of food? Do you want.. snow rabbit? Or cold snake? Or berries? Or dear? Lord?"

"A source of food that will not die out if we start harvesting it." he tells the hunter.

"Find sources of fruit and packs of animals that can continue breeding after we kills some for the meat. Next."

"Everything breeds.. I do not understand what you mean, Lord. I am sorry. Everything breeds."

"Yes, but some faster than others. If a species does not reproduce often enough, we could wipe them out. Find a suitable species, there needs to be a balance."

Aesin remains patient with his people. Even enjoying teaching them.

"A balance.."

The hunters nodded as if they understood, but did not move, and some showed hints of confusion.

The scouts, however, had prepared themselves into several exploration parties and set out.

Aesin once again spoke to the hunters.

"Find enough food to feed everyone." he said simply.

Aesin awaits further questions - if there are any.

"Yes, master," and with that, the hunters move off.

There were a few nervous warriors huddled around Aesin, and very timidly, one finally spoke up: "Lord, we.. we cannot agree on who is the strongest. We are all quite skilled with blade, quite adept in the art of killing. None of us can admit that the other is greater."

Aesin shook his head.

"To maintain utmost order, the ability to see others strengths as well as your own weaknesses is required." he began. "Once this is accomplished, it nullifies the use of physical force to prove the same results."

He paused for a moment. "The killing of another causes much chaos. The act of killing should only be carried out against those who will cause more distress in life than in death."

"I ask this: which one of you has the strength to look at themselves honestly and declare themselves not greater nor lesser than their peers?"

No one answered, and then:

"I.. am neither greater nor lesser than my brothers," stated one of the medicine men. "For are we all not born of Aesin?"

Aesin smiles at the man.

"You have shown great strength today." he said louder than normal, as if to make sure all heard him. "Your wisdom has made a force sharper than any blade. You are the leader of my men."

The medicine man, aged in years, looked shocked. "Thank you.. thank you, my lord," he spluttered. "How can I serve you?"

--

Elsewhere:

A thousand lights - the decision to stay within the Realm Supernatural - instinctive, safety, not ready for a truly alien world - disorientation - a shift - a great shift - and finally:

He was there. The world was of ice. Cold winds assailed Pha-Hu as he appeared, the cackling of the Gate behind him. He knew he was still in the Realm Supernatural - but where?

From the Realm of Pha-Hu

"Organise the men into squads, I'll leave the exact numbers to you but make sure they're even numbers." he spoke.

Aesin feels a presence...

Chaos find me?

Pha-hu stood and watched. Around him lay nothing but snow and rock. He closed his eyes and said to no-one, "Which way to go?" and after a small wait, he set off in a random direction, keeping his body warm by making sure he actively used all of his muscles in the light jog.

Aesin:

"Yes, master," and the medicine man moves off to begin organizing the rabble of men.

--

Pha:

This place was cold. It's winds were unfriendly. Everything seemed to be caught in a rigid pattern of ice and snow.

Soon, just as he was beginning to think he'd been caught in a dead realm of frost, Pha-Hu came across a strange beast. It looked like a polar bear, but wore clothes and wielded a small knife. It was eating rabbit beside a small fire.

Pha-hu stopped hopefully before the bear-man noticed him. Pha-hu crouched and inched closer, trying to get a good look.

Found you.

Aesin appears next to the man. "What business do you have here?"

Pha-hu straightened and looked at the man who had appeared beside him. He smiled and said "My business is exactly that, my business, but as I assume that you are the master of this realm I shall not mince words or bother lying. I came here to seek adventure, conflict, and spoils of the two."

Aesin frowns.

"So you come to cause trouble?"

Pha-hu laughed. "Not at all. I under no circumstances seek to elicit trouble. I do however find a deep pleasure in exploring any place I may find. And if I happen to find trouble, I take an extra amount of pleasure in ending it. Furthermore, it makes me even MORE happy when said trouble does occur, and I happen to benefit from it."

"You seek chaos and hope to benefit from it. You are scum of the realm."

Aesin draws his silver long sword and points it at the intruder.

"Leave now and repent your ways" he says forcefully.

Pha-hu's smile disappeared.

"Repent my ways? It seems you really do consider me a problem. Oh well, it has been a while since I have had a worthy opponent. Let's hope that you are such!"

With that Pha-hu activated The Nerve-Timing, and in a blur grabbed his scythe and swung it, attempting to make it connect with Aesin's neck.

(We'll wait to see how Aesin responds before I judge)

Aesin reacts quickly, and uses his power Mandatory Sentence on Pha-Hu.

The scythe glances Aesin's neck, causing minimal damage, but drawing blood. The scythe itself is dropped as Phu feels his body clenching up, tightening - as if he were tied by some invisible rope. He cannot move.

Aesin shows no reaction to being cut. He reveals an extremely large tower shield that seems to unfold out of his left arm, made of pure steel.

He casts The Judicial Process and slams his shield into Pha-Hu's head with all his might.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:25, Wed 26 Aug 2009.

Pha-hu forces himself to smile as the scythe leaves his hands. As his body freezes, the smile is frozen there too, and ends up looking more like a snarl. He watches the sheild appear with no more than a curious glance, and activates The Skin-of-Shields-and-Hammers.

The enemy is frozen; everything seemed under control. Order was in command.

The tower shield hits Pha's head with a powerful surge of might, but instead of breaking the God it simply bounces off with a metal clang. Pha feels a powerful pain hit his head after he'd been struck, and the shocks down Aesin's arm were also quite painful. Still, Pha seemed unfazed, and Aesin couldn't help but stumble back a little.

The physical attack was enough to shock Pha's spirit, and he collapses a little, barely harmed but able to move about once more.

Aesin quickly followed with a slash attack, aiming for his body, increasing his defenses at the same time using Riot Gear.

"It would seem that you see things in absolutes. This is in itself a weakness." Pha-hu spun to a stand and looked at Aesin. Keeping the two powers active, Pha-hu speeds around Aesin twice, ending his sprint in front of him, slightly to his left. He activated The Nerve-Understanding and hammers his fist into the exact point in Aesin's sword arm wrist, attempting to loosen his grip on the weapon, then grabs at the hilt of the sword.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:18, Wed 26 Aug 2009.

Pha-hu didn't attempt to dodge, and thus Aesin's mighty blow hit him full force. He was bowled over - while his Skin-of-Shields-and-Hammers took most of what may have been a fatal hit, he was still winded, still dazed, still very much in pain. He felt the biting sear of the snow against his flesh as it bit into him, and tasted sweat and blood.

He got up - extremely quickly, to his credit - and spun about, striking Aesin in the sword arm before the God of Order could respond. He was weak with fatigue by this point, however, and only glanced Aesin; the God of Order felt nothing but a slight pinch.

They both stood apart.

Aesin attacks again, without hesitation. He aims to incapacitate the god.

Pha-hu parried the attack with his forearm, then pushed it to attempt to drive it into the snow.

"Well. It has been fun, but I shall take my leave. I concede to you, dear sir, and hope to cross arms with you some time in the future."

He then dropped The Skin-of-Shields-and-Hammers to reserve his energy and sped off towards the gate where he had come from.

As Pha-hu attempted to parry the blow the force of the attack struck him down. The string of words that came out of his mouth were mumbled, stumbled, fumbled; as he dashed back towards the gate, he stumbled a little.

Aesin put away his sword and retracted his shield. The bumbling mess in front of him has had enough.

He motioned for the nearby men to help him back to his realm safely and then went back to the town centre.

(Due to lack of response - and the fact that Pha tried to leave anyway - I'm stating what happens without the said response)

Pha is carried out of the Realm on the backs of the men of Aesin. There is a flash of blinding light, a crack like lightning, and both he and the Gate are gone.

Pha-Hu, continue posting in your own Realm.

--

Within the town center Aesin finds the medicine man drilling the troops. They offer no resistence, no complaint. There are a handful of other people wandering around the square.

[Scouts: 3/15]

(Due to lack of response - and the fact that Pha tried to leave anyway - I'm stating what happens without the said response)

Pha is carried out of the Realm on the backs of the men of Aesin. There is a flash of blinding light, a crack like lightning, and both he and the Gate are gone.

Pha-Hu, continue posting in your own Realm.

--

Within the town center Aesin finds the medicine man drilling the troops. They offer no resistence, no complaint. There are a handful of other people wandering around the square.

Aesin approaches the medicine man and says "Encourage honour, loyalty and obedience to the men. Prepare the majority of the men for melee training. The rest should do agility training, for they will be trained as archers."

He looks at the man and asks, "What is your name?"

"Maesz," said the medicine man. "My name is Maesz, my lord."

He continued to maneuver the men.

He nods and ponders for a moment.

He relaxes completely and breathes deeply and feels the land around him.

He feels the cool breeze roll across the land and the heartbeat of the realm - uneven, disordered.

He continues to meditate while he waits for his men to return.

A day passes. Then night. Many hours flow about Aesin, the rigid structure of the clock giving him strength. The meditation was good for him.

The scouts did not return.

Aesin began to move again. He started to gather stones and casts Law and Order, He attempts to enchant the stones in order to dowse for minerals to mine.

The stones are easily found. Flat, black things, taken from the river, they will be more than addequate to divine with. Aesin slowly begins designing a ritual to dowse the location of precious minerals.

Aesin waits until dawn. The sun rising gives great peace to him. He sat, meditating.

He considers the essence of the minerals he wishes to find and their purpose in the realms.

He also meditates on the natures of patterns - the cycles of life, the inevitable death, the sun rising and setting as well as the moons ever calming presence. He sees these elements coming together to form destiny.

For the hour he meditates Aesin begins to understand the pattern behind all things - not just see it, not just know it to be there, but to truly understand it. It is a beautiful feeling. After the meditation he feels completely revitalized.

Aesin stands and heads to the river. It seemed to shine like crystal. He removed his armour and clothes, revealing the God of Order in his simplest of forms.

He enters the freezing water, but to Aesin, it is warm. He begins to wash himself thoroughly.

Soon, as he departs the icy waters, Aesin feels as if his very soul has been removed of all taint, as if everything within him is finely and meticulously structured.

He dresses and gathers the stones. He evens them out until there are twelve and names them as follows:

North, West, East, South, Center, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Spirit, and the final one Aesin.

The stones are named, and seem to thrum with an unseen power. Magic is afoot.

Aesin then throws them in the water an proclaims:

"I am Aesin, God of Order! I am the arm of Justice and true agent of Order!"

And Aesin is assaulted by visions, as the ritual promised.

.. he is shown rich veins of silver, and rich veins of gold, some beneath a raging river.. rich despoits of iron, an abundance of copper.. small currents of platinum.. uranium flows, almost the deepest, plutonium with it's brother.. nickle and lead.. a living line beneath, the lowest yet, with a mind not born of Aesin..

.. but now he returns. He has seen the metals. He knows the land. He knows where they rest. He's seen the patterns.

He declares the ritual over and gives thanks to the patterns.

He calls for able men to follow him, ready to mine.

The men come, but ask what exactly is involved in the mining process. Would their knives and swords be enough?

Aesin told the men to cut down a tree and to carve it into many strong sticks.

He also asked for some copper ore and rope.

The men already have a large store of timber and copper, and bring much out to Aesin. They begin carving the timber into a meaningful shape - powerful staves.

He shows them how to put the metal on top of the wood to create pick axes. He then awaits them to imitate him.

There are problems, but within a day the bears can make workable copper axes that are sturdy enough to be used for mining.

He beckons them to follow as he heads to the base of the mountain where the ore lies. He draws his massive war hammer and forces it upon the base of the mountain with a mighty swing, aiming to break through the rough exterior.

It takes most of the day, but the mountain shatters, and a rich vein of iron is revealed. It glitters in the sunlight, as cased in dirt as it is. The might of Aesin has led his people to wealth, and popular opinion of the God rises considerably. Morale has received a large boost. This amazing metal.. considered rare for so long, due to the fact that it was only taken from places where it rose, and even then, highly coveted.. the Veitin people were truly amazed.

Aesin then directs them to hack at the vein and take all the metal back to the village. Aesin then took a bunch of men aside and showed them something to help them move the metal. Out of a nearby tree he fashioned a wooden wheel connected to hole shaped piece of wood - a wheelbarrow. He explained to them the principles of the wheel and how it can speed things up. He then observed them, hoping they can make the same thing he did.

Within a day, a full-scale operation was in place to gain all of the iron ore. Leaders were naturally assigned, and one asked Aesin if he wished for them to keep digging after all the ore was extracted. Wheelbarrows were made, and pick axes were created, quickly depleting the stock of copper - the brown metal blunted quickly making them useless.

A large amount of blunted copper and unrefined iron was building on the western field of the main town. The smiths looked uneasy for a long while, and finally asked if they should refine the stuff.

Aesin directed the men to dig further, creating mining tunnels. He showed them to create sturdy braces for tunnels made from wood.

He spoke to the smiths, telling them to refine it and begin creating iron pickaxes, along with arrow heads, shields, armour and weapons.

A few days passed. Work on the tunnels began, slowly. The forges of the Veitin were constantly lit. Ore was being refined, but soon there was a problem: there weren't enough blacksmiths to take the load of smithing work needed. While most of the village had been reassigned to mining work - and even that wasn't very many people - with the mining, hunting, training, scouting, farming, woodchopping and administrating.. there simply weren't enough smiths to carry the load. Despite the lumberjacks working all night, and receiving many new recruits, the massive quantities of wood needed for mining as well as that needed to keep the fires of the forges living depleted the stocks of wood almost completely.

The Veitins didn't have enough miners, farmers, or hunters, but what they really needed at the moment were smiths and lumber.

Aesin called off the military training and directed them to help out with the tasks in the realm, claiming that mundane work like this is the basis of order. Smiths. farmers, lumberjacks, miners and hunters - all of these roles will be filled by the military.

It was as if the world skipped a beat - a strange tide of time, the like of which occasionally strikes a realm, for good or for ill - and the Veitin expanded, having half a thousand more people to their population. There were fears they might starve, however, as the icy land did not exactly provide a prosperous farming environment, and hunting was slim..

Mining and smithing is going well. The smiths watch and guide the military in all matters regarding weaponscrafting, and in a few short days a steady production of arrows, pickaxes, shields, armour, weapons.. most was crude, but the quality was steadily improving.

Some of the soldiers have lost morale, especially those resigned to trying to grow crops. They just weren't born for it. The lumberjacks, however, strongly enjoy being able to hit living things with an axe, and the hunters enjoy the game.

Aesin took some of the farmers who had doubts about their job and attempted to teach them to spear fish as an alternate source of food.

The soldiers were much more inclined to enjoy spear fishing, and the many clear rivers within the Realm provided a steady source of food. A lot of the Veitin diet was fish anyway, but the institutionalized fishing would make most meals fish-based.

Forty of the hundred and ten scouts returned, battered, bloody, filthy, tired; the leader saluted Aesin. "Lord, we have completed our mission, Lord.."

"Report" he said.  He wondered why there were so few of them...

The scout nods.

"To the west, Lord, we found many valleys and natural cave formations, but nothing of particular interest; to the east, we found a magnificent forest that is filled with a strange fruit and is dominated by a tree that is higher than any I have ever seen - ten men were lost there, for the fruit is poisonous; to the south, we found a magnificent lake on a plateau, where we believe most of the water in the land to come from; to the north.." he looked uncertain, "The north was frozen and barren, a land of glaciers and snow. But we found a natural cave system.. tried exploring it.. and only a few of us remained."

(CENTER: City
WEST: Valleys
EAST: The Forest of Bounty
NORTH: The Glittering Lake
SOUTH: The Sunken City of Alhabdra)

"Interesting..." Aesin said to himself. "Rest now, you've earned it."
He gathered the farmers and asked them to follow him to the valleys to create large fields of crops for harvesting.

"But lord," many of the farmers protested, "We cannot afford to neglect our crops like this.. the people will starve!"

"Half of you then. We have the fish that will feed the men now too. If the food supplies dwindle then i will reassign some men.".

"Yes, Lord," they said, following him to the valley. It took two day's marching, and when they saw the valley they found that it was wild and overgrown, in need of shaping.

"Can you handle this? I can supply you with more men if you require it." he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:34, Tue 01 Sept 2009.

"It's.. a large valley, Lord," said one of the farmers, "And we only have scythes, no proper tools.. more men would be a blessing."

Aesin gathered more men with the proper tools and lead them to the farmers.

The men came, and the work on clearing the valley begun. It would take a while.

Aesin headed north, looking for this cave he lost so many men in.

After a few days, he eventually found it: a small crack on the side of a mountain that Aesin felt ran very deep.

Aesin enters carefully, slowly moving in deeper.

The silence of the cave is maddening. There is no water dripping to break it, no groans of the cave. The air has a strange quality. Within a minute the cave becomes too dark for Aesin to move on further safely.

Aesin looks for materials to make and light a torch, even if it meant going out and back in again.

He soon finds a strong stave .. but what would he light it with?

Aesin looks for suitable materials to create a fire. Flint, tinder, wood etc to try lighting a fire through friction, compression or percussion.

It had been raining; most of the timber and wood was wet, though Aesin found a large supply of drowned flint.

Aesin collected a decent sized chuck of flint. He then took off his chest plate. He put his hand under his shirt to gain the lint from his belly button and placed it inside the mouth of the cave on top of some thin twigs. He then started to strike his chest plate with the flint aiming the sparks onto the tinder.

(... you deserve that xD Did you google "Firemaking"?)

Soon enough, smoke; and after, actual flames, though Aesin knows the fire will die if he doesn't collect more wood.

(You bet i did!)
He slowly adds more wood and gently blows on the flame.

The wood is wet, and his efforts produce more smoke than flame. Still, the fire grows.

He looks for the driest wooden shaft to use light.

He soon found one. The torch was lit, but Aesin feared that it would soon burn through.

Aesin puts the torch into the fire, scrapping that idea. He heads out and looks for the closest tree to gain resin.

He soon finds such a tree; resin is plentiful.

--

Somewhere, elsewhere, a stranger enters Belvairien..

Aesin decides he will explore this later and heads back to the village.

When he reaches the village, he notes some excitement. There is apparently a visitor - a foreigner! - which is rare enough for any Realm, let alone one as icy as this. The visitor, they say, is held within the hut of Maesz the Medicine Man, who is tending to whatever needs he has.

Aesin heads to the hut, to greet the foreigner.

As Aesin reaches the hut, he is greeted by Maesz, who flashes him a brief smile as he prostrates himself in front of his Lord.

"Master, he says he is from the Conclave and wishes to speak to you. He allegedly carries the Seal of Odin', but I'm not sure if I can verify that, for I have never seen such a seal.."

"Very well. Thank you Maesz, you may return to your duties.". Aesin heads into the hut and greets the man.

"Warmest welcome to you Sir." he says with a bow.

The Shage looked up. His eyes were a strong orange. His long hair was wild, as if electrocuted. His teeth were fangs. He wore two swords, a handful of knives, rope, and bladed gauntlets. He sat with an agile grace that came to the truly confident.

"Greetings and thank-you for your welcome. I am Sabhu; Low Lord of Aggressive Recruitment Four, just in case you'd like the numbers. Here is my seal," he flashed the Seal of Odin, ten silver towers within a golden ten-flame sun, "So you know I'm official. You are Aesin, yes, of the domain of Order?"

"Yes Sir. Ready and able." he says confidently. His mind is fully focused on making a good impression - the conclave was his ticket to order.

"Good to meet you. Now, I have instructions to give you your oath-sword and Seal of Odin, as well as instructions on what to do next. In addition, however - though it is no means compulsory - we can have you take the sphere-oath, which will ensure that you are promoted rapidly to Low Lord. It involves an unbreakable oath - rather than the flexible oath of the sword - and many individuals feel uneasy taking it as it is permanent and, as I've said, unbreakable. It is not a necessity, simply an offer."

He thinks for a moment, then speaks. "Aslong as the conclave stays true to its cause, i will swear any oath. Perhaps give me the details of each oath?"

"The Callisti asks you your name and title and asks you if you plan to work against the Conclave in thought or deed. It will also ask you if you intend to work your hardest to make the Conclave great. If you will die for the Conclave, and willingly. If you are psychic, or pretend to be psychic.. if you are Isuban in disguise, or a follower of Isuban."

Aesin nods. "I don't see any problem with taking the Callisti."

"Dedicated, huh? I like that."

The Shage smiles broadly, showing his dagger-teeth.

"Okay.. watch this.."

He draws a shimmering, silver ball, and throws it towards Aesin. Instead of hitting him, it hovers, and speaks in a voice like a raging cannon, but feminine:

Brown Purjopiarre Aesin the First of the Lesser Realm of Belvairien, Vicious God and Adequate Dabbler of Order, Aggressive Associate to the Conclave?

"Yes, that is I." he states firmly and confidently.

Will you betray the principles of the Conclave in thought or deed?

"No, i will not." he says in his previous manner.

Do you intend to work your hardest to make the Conclave great?

"Yes, i do."

Would you lay down your life, willingly, for the good of the Conclave?

"Without hesitation."

Are you Isuban under a glamour, or a servant, agent, or worshiper of Isuban the Black?

Curious to his this man was to warrant mention in the Callisti, Aesin noted the name. "No, i am not"

Do you harbour a power of the Mad Gods, or obey them in any way?

"Definitely not."

Do you fully accept this oath?

"I fully accept this oath."

THEN IT IS DONE.

The Callisti stops thrumming and lies silent on the floor. Suddenly, Aesin feels a thousand knives stabbing at him, each invisible wound a symbol of his loss of control.. and just as suddenly he is healed, magnificently healed, healthier then ever before and completely in charge of his life.

"Superb," said the Shage. "Well. I don't want to keep you.. oh! Yes! Your seal. Take it."

He passed the Seal of Odin to Aesin.

"Okay, I'll be off. You'll know when they have a mission ready for you, trust me. You'll know."

He departs.

Aesin gathers himself and takes a deep breathe. He pockets his seal and heads out the tent to see his people.

He motions for Maesz to approach.

Maesz approached, a look of concern on his face.

"Lord? Are you alright?"

"Better than ever." he told him. "Maesz, i may have to leave for a while on missions for the Conclave. Are you confident in taking care of the entire realm in my absence?".

"I.. I.. such an honour, my lord!"

His eyes are filled with the tears of happiness.

"Very good. I will be leaving immediately. Keep everything progressing."

Aesin then leaves for the realm of Mist.

Maesz is happy beyond belief.

Aesin arrives and seeks out Maesz.

He found Maesz looking over a freshly-cultivated field of snow-corn and -wheat - the freshly cut valley that he'd ordered before he left. There were many of his people plowing the fields, cultivating what they could, and Aesin noticed carts being pulled past, carrying rich loads of food. Cattle and vicious snow-worms grazed in the fields not taken by farmland.

"Ah, Lord," said Maesz. "How are you on this day?"

Aesin looks over the fields and smiles.

"I am well Maesz, i trust you are the same? I am pleased with the progress here. Have things been going well?"

"Exceedingly so, my Lord. The people are well fed. Our mining and smithing operations are going well. Military training has been put on hiatus for a small while, but it will resume soon enough. We are looking to have a prosperous winter."

"Very good. Im afraid i have to leave again now. I will return when I have finished my tasks. Fairwell Maesz."

Aesin then leaves for the land of the Mist again.

"Yes, Lord."

Maesz seemed pleased.

(Continue posting in the Valley of Mist)

Aesin returns and immediately seeks out Maesz.

Maesz was overlooking the training of Belvairien's military force.

"Lord! It has been a while.. how do you fare?"

"I am well. And yourself Maesz? How are things here? I would like a full update."

"Nothing peculiar, my Lord. I have taken the liberty of informing the people that they are not allowed to visit the poisoned forests and strange caves. We cleared out the valley, and I have - forgive me - ordered the clearing of a second one. Food is no longer sparse. Mining operations have slowed down considerably, though.. smithing takes a lot longer then mining. Military training goes well, as always, but our force is too small, in my opinion. Sorry for my frankness, Lord.. but I have learnt to be frank."

"I appreciate your honesty Maesz. You were right to forbid visiting those locales. Eventually i will explore them myself and figure out if we can make it habitable. Food must be in stock at all times but avoid it rotting. Assign more smiths than miners. Men will come as we progress further, just focus on making the men capable.

"Yes, Lord."

He looked over the warriors, a wisp of pride in his eyes.

"Is there anything else I can do to assist you?"

"I'm expecting a guest, a Systemarch, alert me once he arrives. For now, i would like to speak to one of our magicians for an update on magical progress."

"I am the Magician of the Coldest Spire," said Maesz. "What would you care to know, Lord? I oversee all .. occulted research within the land. I am it's chief seer and greatest conjurer. I've learnt.. much about the Coldest Arts since you appointed me, Lord. The old adage is true: one learns the most about sorcery from earnestly studying any non-magical field."

Aesin raised an eyebrow. "Intriguing. You have proven yourself very capable Maesz. I would like to grant you the title of my Second, one who will rule in my place if i am absent. You will have all the duties you currently undertake as well as several new ones. Essentially, you have ultimate control over Belvairien meaning you answer only to me.If you accept this offer you will swear your complete loyalty to me and commit yourself entirely to the advancement of the realm. Secondly, as carer of the realm, you will agree to relieve yourself of the position when i have a child of my own. Finally, you will learn to think and act like me. Your mind will be in sync with mine. Do you accept my offer?"

"I..."

Maesz looked down solemnly. There was a moment of silence. He would not meet Aesin's gaze.

"I am sorry, Lord," said Maesz, "But I cannot accept your offer. I'm afraid.. I haven't been truthful with you."

"Speak then and free your conscience." Aesin withheld and assumptions while awaiting Maesz response.

"I'm a spy, Lord," said Maesz. "From the Conclave. To track you. They.. felt that certain Gods, of significant breeding, could be tooled towards their own goals. I was here to guide you towards servitude. Subtly, of course, and chances were you would anyway; but a God of Order working with Osiris-Ra was a possibility they couldn't chance."

Maesz smiled softly.

"My real name is Marasaeth, Lord, and I come from the Broken City of Alkan."

Aesin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Intriguing. I congratulate you on fooling me. I fear your time was wasted on me for i had every intent of helping the Conclave from the moment of my rebirth into Divinity. So, now that my best man is not my man at all, where do you go from here?

"I'm not sure," said Marasaeth. "I've .. become accustomed to this place."

His form shifted suddenly; no longer was he one of the native people of Belvairien, but instead a pale, raven-haired man with glimmering eyes - eyes that showed the stars. His smile was sincere.

"I was relieved some time ago, when you took the oath, but.. I decided to stay around. I'm not sure why. You've treated me with the utmost kindness. I hope we can be friends, but if it is your will to have me banished, exiled, I will leave. I am sorry for the deception."

"I've always liked you Marasaeth - you have all the qualities i admire. I can forgive you for your deceit and would like to offer you a permanent home here.

"I would like that, Aesin," said Marasaeth. "If you do not mind, I would like to call the poisoned forests my home. There is old, twisted magic there.. magic I can undo, make right. I am, of course, otherwise at your service."

"Ah yes, that would be appreciated. I would ask you to still care for my realm while im gone from here. Military training and the like. I hope you will undertake this."

"Oh, yes," said Marasaeth. "I hadn't planned on doing anything else. I take great pride in nurturing this place and it's people."

His eyes twinkled like the heavens.

"I feel the Veitins have made a great advancement through you and i hope to continue that relationship.

Aesin started to wonder where Baerd is.

Baerd, it seemed, hadn't shown up yet - but something else had. Aesin felt a new presence in his realm, of extremely pleasurable alignment - a deeply lawful creature.

"Thank you, Aesin, for all your trust," said Marasaeth. "It will not be wasted, believe me."

"I must leave now. I will, however, remain in Belvairien for the time being. So long Marasaeth"

Aesin then headed towards this presence.

The presence was a silvery, hovering sphere: a Callisti. When it saw Aesin, it rushed towards him with immense speed.

LORD AESIN? I AM OJK90 OF THE CALLISTI. ASSOCIATE. HERE TO SERVE YOU IN REGARDS TO THE MIST SITUATION.

Accept yesno?

"Ah, yes. We shall head to him now.". He then heads to Xi, where he believed Ruse to be.

It began to snow in Belvairien; this was not an unusual occurrence.