This a map of the planet Corinth from my Corinthian Campaign

The ways of the Planet Corinth, their workings and whatnot, the regions, etc. The Planet Corinth:There are 300, 30 hour long days in a year, three months lasting 100 days each. Daalstig: 100 days of morningNuundi: 100 days of afternoon Noct: 100 days of nightEach month has two festivals to mark the entrance of the month and the exit.There are 3 moons: The Red Moon, Harbinger: begins its rise 75 days before Noct and remains for 25 days during Noct. The Black Moon, Reaper: begins its rise 5 days into Noct and remains through the first 25 days of Daalstig. The White Moon, Savior: begins its rise during the last 10 days of Noct and remains through the first 50 days of Daalstig. On the first three days of Daalstig comes the festival of Sunbreak, the great sun beginning its rise to make its way across the Corinthian skies. This festival is one of revelry and joy, as it marks the passing of the night and with it, the hibernation of the beasts of Noct.On the 25th day of Daalstig is Muurn, marking the 50 days of Muurn, the guardian of day, and the coming of the warm months (this is essentially the first day of spring.)The first 3 days of Nuundi arrive with the festival of High Pointe, or Mid Pointe as some call it. This marks the 25th day of Muurn’s rule and is also the Brewer’s and Bard’s festival. At this point, the Sun and Harbinger are evenly risen and fallen.The 25th day of Nuundi is marked as Midean, bringing the 50 days of Midean, guardian of the afterdays and the first day of the hot months (summer).On the first 3 days of Noct come Sun Fall, the great sun finishing its travel across Corinth and sinking below the Western Edge. This is less of a festival and more of a wake. This marks the beginning of the Darkening as it is called. The days are not completely dark yet, but rather there are 25 days left before Harbinger sinks completely and Reaper darkens the sky, alone, for 65 days.The 25th day of Noct brings Noctmare, guardian of the night. This is a time when remain in doors for the remaining days of Noct. Those that venture out during these days and are not taken by the cold are left for dead, prey for the beasts of Noct.There are no true “weeks”; the people of Corinth simply measure time as “Day Number __” There are eight continents on Corinth. The far western continent is known as Gelshin. The continent in its entirety is under rule of the Drahken Empire, based in the capital city of Trenakta (Nest of the Serpent). This continent, known as the Land of the Dragons, is home to a powerful society known as the Blood Moon peoples or Clan Blood Moon and thought to be the original home and birthplace of the Dragons.It is widely believed that the Dragons came to Corinth from another world a long time ago.                Regions of Note: The North Ports (North tip)                Darkwater (Northeast port)                Lyre (Northwestern port)                Korin’Sarak (Central port)                                Lady Sarak’s Manor (Baroness Kelara Sarak)Arcane Forest (Middle Region; home of dinosaurs and dragon-like beasts)Trenakta (Middle Region)                Drahken’s Castle                The Circle of Dragons (arena)Heatherwick (Western region; advanced city of alchemy)                UAMTSE (University of Advanced Magic Through Substance Enhancement)                The MUI Foundation (Magic Under the Influence Foundation)                Card Master’s Guild (home of)The Drake Scale Cliffs (Eastern coast)Drake Island (Eastern island)                Lunas Carn (Capital city of the Blood Moon clans)                The Dragon Caverns (Honeycombed beneath the isle)Drakebone Wood (Southern region)                Drake’s Blood River (Thick red river; runs from west coast to east coast)Black Forest (South tip)                Blackthorn Manor (Baron Mirage Blackthorn) To the south of Gelshin lies the continent of Morviak. Once a great city, it was utterly annihilated more than 100 years prior when a massive meteor slammed into the western end of the continent. The entirety of the continent is shrouded in an eternal storm and is home to a race known as the Shinn’Gultar, the Rat people. The ruins of Morviak still exist and, though they stand with none of their former glory, they are still home to many.                Regions of Note:                                The Crater (Northwestern region)                                                The Jaboul Settlements (Within the crater)                                                The Starfallen Bases (Eastern area outside crater)                                Helmuth (Eastern coast)                                The Morviak Ruins (Middle region)                                                The Junkyard (arena)                                                The Gutter Townes (Throughout the ruins)                                                The Refugee Townes (Throughout the ruins)                                The Wastes (Outlying coastal areas)                                To the east of Gelshin is a large landmass that is actually a collection of four continents: The Wilde Wastes, the Frostmoores, Phrexia and Terjemnah. Phrexia, at the center of three peninsulas, is surrounded by mountains on all sides and a ring of wastelands at the foothills, known as the Phrexian Borderlands, nestled deep within a great crater formed eons prior. The Phrexians are feared all over the world, believed to be horrible fiends from a distant hell and responsible for many terrible and deranged experiments. It is a widely known fact that an alien race, creatures known as the Jaboul that crashed at the time of the Morviak Star (the meteor that landed 100’s of years ago), have made allies with Phrexia and share their technology with them, though why is a mystery. Phrexia is a land of science and, those that can remove themselves from the darkness that surrounds such a place, find great centers of learning await them.                Regions of Note:                                Abstintaar (Northeastern region)                                                The Opera House                                Golerus (Southeastern region)                                                Lord Githar’s Castle                                Vaardyk (Western region)                                                Vahstor’s Palace                                                The Great Library                                                The Mage Towers                                                The Phrexian Academy                                Forsaken Isle (Off the western coast)                                                The Pit (arena)                                The Animus Cliffs (Western coasts)                                                The Labs (Borderlands at the foot of the cliffs)The Phrexian Borderlands (Foothills surrounding the Phrexian crater)                                                The Lasher Temples (Dotted throughout the borderlands) The Wilde Wastes exist upon the eastern peninsula. Separated by the Savage Rocks, the mountain range on the Phrexian border, the Wilde Wastes are home to a number of savage beasts and tribal societies, most notably the Feral, the Cainus and the Kahtaar.                Regions of Note:                                The Beast Lands (Eastern region)                                                The Feral Territories (throughout the Beast Lands)                                                Carn (Northern city at the edge of the Oasis)                                                Herbai (Southeastern city at the edge of the Oasis)                                                Omnivios (Southwester city at the edge of the Oasis)                                                The Oasis (Surrounded by the three cities)                                                                The Ring of Blood (Arena on the lake)                                Full Moon Canyon (Western region)                                Fang Isle (off the northern coast)                                The Savage Rocks (Northeastern region; borders Phrexia)                                                The Savage Caves (Home of the Savages, dotted throughout the Savage Rocks)                                The Frostmoores, the northern peninsula, separated by the Coldfire Mountains from the Phrexian lands, are a desolate, ice coated waste. They are home to very few, and those that do exist there are bloodthirsty and wild. It is said that there is a race of man there forbidden from ever learning the common tongue, as well as an entrance to a Hell unlike any other ever known or documented.                Regions of Note:                                The Coldfire Mountains (Southern region; borders Phrexia)                                                The Coldfire Guard (Based within the mountains; keep Coldfire at bay)                                                Coldfire’s Lair (Great Dragon’s lair within a cavern in the mountains)                                Azghard (Village of men known as the Azghardians; Eastern coast)                                                Valhal (arena)                                The Undergate (Middle region)                                                Undervald (Beneath the Undergate; home to Hades and Hel)                                The Glacial Islands (Off the western coasts)                                                The Frost Lord’s Palace (Nestled within a glacier amongst the islands)Saint Nikolaus’s Cathedral (Northern region) Terjemnah, the Great Desert, exists to on the western peninsula, separated from Phrexia by the Iron Clad Mountains. The desert, like its frozen cousin, is home to precious few, though most notably are the nomadic Desert Rose, famed Gypsies and Blade Dancers of Terjemnah.                Regions of Note:                                The Iron Clad Mountains (Northwestern region; borders Phrexia)                                                The Iron Clad Monks (Temple within the mountains)                                Rai’Tal (Eastern region, great city ruled by the Rai’Tal family)                                                Remorahzay (Great city floating above Rai’Tal, home of the Mage Knights)                                The Sandstone Labyrinth (Beneath Terjemnah)                                The Steppes (Southern and southeastern regions)                                                The Nomad Paths (Areas widely traveled by the Desert Rose) To the south east lies Sudah’Va, the Great Jungle. This place is a wild and largely unexplored, rumored to be the home of another, much more savage race of alien creatures. Little is known of this place, though there is a large society of Lizard Men living within the northeastern jungles of the continent.                Regions of Note:                                The Overgrowth (Covers Sudah’Va, the name of the great jungles)                                                The Axsyn Territories (Southern region)                                Gevssshill (Yuan-Ti city; Middle region, eastern coast)                                                Temple of the Serpent (Yuan-Ti temple)                                The Lizard Folk Villages (Dotting the Overgrowth)                                                The Drake Guard Tribe (The Southern region)                                                The Scale Bane Tribe (The Northern region)                                                The Dusk Hunter Tribe (The Middle region)                                                The Crockadyn Tribe (The Great Marsh)                                                The Red Scale Tribe (Axsyn territories)The Jungle Elf Villages (The Middle region)                                The Lost City (Southern coast)                                The Great Marsh (Midwestern region)                                                 The Slann Tribes                                                The Boneyard (arena within the marsh) Finally, to the far west of Gelshin lies Babylon. This continent is home to demons and undead of all manner. The Celestial Walls, a complex of four 2,000ft high walls of solid platinum inscribed from top to bottom and covered in every inch in holy runes surround a simple, wood and thatch hut. This hut, it is said, was once home to the greatest Summoner to have ever lived. It is now a direct doorway to the Abyss itself. Babylon, ruled by the Demon Lord Asmodeus, is in a political war with Gelshin, no amount of ocean capable of holding their dispute at bay.                Regions of Note:                                The Celestial Walls (Northern region)                                                The Hell Mouth (Within the walls)                                Hade’s Gate (Volcano within the Southern region)                                The Dead Lands (North region separating Pandemonium and the Celestial walls)                                Pandemonium (Middle region; home of the Demon Lord Asmodeus)                                                The Great Altar (arena)                                The Necropolis (Southern region) Other events and places of note:                There is at least one Blood Moon settlement on every continent, most existing along one of the coasts of the continent.                There are four seas within the landmasses of Corinth, aside from the Barren Flats, as they are known (the oceanic spaces separating the continents from the Edges                                The Bay of Dragons (gulf touches the eastern coasts of Gelshin, the western coasts of Phrexia and the Frostmoores and the northern coasts of the Wilde Wastes)                                The Phrexian Sea (sea touches the southern coasts of the Wilde Wastes and Phrexia, as well as the western and southern coasts of Terjemnah, the northern coasts of Morviak and the northern and northwestern coasts of Sudah’Va; within the Phrexian Sea is a constant vortex known as the Phrexian Vortex. No one knows its purpose or where it leads, but it is considered certain death to brave its edges.)                                The Boiling Sea (sea touches the eastern coasts of the Frostmoores, Phrexia and the north and northeastern coasts of Terjemnah, the northeastern coast of Sudah’Va and the western coasts of Babylon                                The Frostfire Sea (sea touches the northern tip of Babylon, the northern coasts of the Frostmoores and the northeastern coast of Gelshin.                The Barren Flats (Northern Flats, Eastern Flats, Western Flats and Southern Flats) separate the continents from the edge.                                 The Northern Flats touch the northern and northwestern coasts of Gelshin as well as the northern and northwestern coasts of Babylon.                                The Western Flats touch the western coasts of Gelshin and the Wilde Wastes as well as the northwester, western and southwestern coasts of Morviak.                                The Southern Flats touch the southern and southeastern coasts of Morviak, and the western, southwestern, southern and south eastern coasts of Sudah’Va.                                The Eastern Flats touch the eastern and north eastern coasts of Sudah’Va, and the south eastern, eastern and north eastern coasts of Babylon. The Black Carnival: A traveling carnival lead by Zombo the Magnificent that travels the many planes collecting oddities and monstrosities from all around. There are many tales of the Carnival, some good and some bad… what the truth may be, however, is hard to say. The world is flat and ovular. Less than 2,000 miles of the western coast of Gelshin lies The Edge. Beneath the disc that Corinth rests upon is a large, black orb. The orb is a living creature, dormant for thousands of years. If awakened, it is a horrible entity that devours planets whole, a great, gaping mouth that creates a manner of ‘black hole’, absorbing the life from the planet and leaving little more than a dead rock in its wake. BLOOD MOON HISTORYIt is widely known across the world of Corinth that the Dragon’s have a strange history. Believed to be beings from another world, arrived on Corinth long ago, they have been around for as long as the recorded history of the planet on which they reside… but there is another belief, a less circulated idea; the belief that the Dragons were actually crafted by a race of alien beings. Genetic experiments of a race long dead. The stories say that these beings slowly began to die off, but their will to live was so great, and their science so advanced, that they found a way to keep the very cells of their bodies alive and integrate them into the DNA of many of the planet’s indigenous races… and thus, the birth of Clan Blood Moon.This is how the history books of Clan Blood Moon read.Though not always born within the walls of a Blood Moon tribe, the Blood Moon warriors are a clan bound together by common blood. They are humans, elves, ogres and Minotaurs, they are gnomes and goblins, demons and angels; a Blood Moon warrior holds no single, true form, and yet all are as family, all as one. They are the people of the Dragon. 

In hopefully little time I will have the begginings of my Elearian gaming material posted. At the moment, I am finishing up minor documentations that explain the workings of the world itself, and afterward I will release the individual “books”. Book 1 will focus on the generic Elearia as a whole, and every book to follow will focus on a single country and the innerworkings of that specific country.

Here is a posted copy of the OGL; so long as d20 format material is avaliable on this site, the OGL will remain perfectly accessible and displayed.

This information is made available through rights as given via the Open Gaming License:

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Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License.  10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so.  12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.  13. 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Here I will keep an updated list of the items within the gaming section, their own relations by section, the seperations by ‘class’, ‘race’, ‘creature’, ‘equipment’, etc. This list will update as I do.

Elearian Campaign:

Corinthian Campaign:

            Corinthian Campaign (History and geographic detail)

Shattered Earth Campaign:

Planar Junction Campaign:

General d20:

Here I will keep an updated list of all of the writings that can be found within the library, their relations to one another, etc.

 Elearian Writings: (Books):

Lost Innocence: (Book 1) Prologue, Chapters 1-16, Epilogue

Aftermath: (Book 2) Prologue, Chapters 1-3 (WIP)

Elearian Writings: (Character Stories):

Killer Jack: Prologue, Chapters 1-2 (WIP)

This list will be updated as new writings are posted.

            Back, back and further back. They had gained so much ground, but a loss of key positions early on, a lack of ammunition and supplies and significantly outmatched numbers had led to an eventual back slide. To have been so close, to have stood in the very doorway of the World Council Chambers, only to have been driven out and into the sprawling city of Valashia…

            Their numbers had thinned tremendously and though Aesop’s squad had joined with and broken from many others throughout their rapid, bloody retreat they had come to find themselves reduced to but five. Aesop and his second, Steiner, along with Match, Gren and a new addition, one Tobias Kray, an expert sniper and tracker. They had fallen back into what had once been the lower-class residential district, though it stood as little more than a collection of ruins and burned out shells after so heavy a conflict.

            They moved quietly through doorway and shadow, cautious and alert; eyes watching, ears straining. They moved in two’s, Tobias always brining up the rear, and they moved fast. They couldn’t afford to lose any more ground than was absolutely necessary. They had been pursued since the attack on the World Council Chambers. The Judges that they had pinned down in that building for so long hunted them like dogs, death in their eyes and on their minds. It was obvious that their captain would not stop until either his prey or himself were dead.

Gren waved from a nearby building, signaling them on. He had found what looked to be a relatively intact group of flats not a block from their position and, as all was clear for the time, they would take their immediate opportunity and move to the safety of the enclosed buildings. Aesop was not about to let his soldiers die so pointless a death. They would find a place to wait and they would fight.

            The first flat that they came to was not so secure as it had first appeared, much of the roof and rear of the building having been burned away; the second and third were it no better a condition, but the fourth that they came to seemed solid enough. When the front door opened, they were assailed with the stench of rotting dead; they had been on battlefields and amongst the old and new dead for some time now, it was no rare occurrence still, the smell was something one never got used to. The flies were thick and the air was rancid, bloody foot prints making their way out of the flat and into the street; there was something haunting about the place, even for so bloody a battlefield. They moved into the flat in short order – despite the general morbidity of the situation they’d no desire to add their own bodies to the count – and fanned out. They’d be over the smell soon enough, but they’d reconnaissance to do in the meanwhile. From the main room there were two doorways, one led into a hallway and the other into a kitchen and adjoining room. Steiner and Tobias moved down the hall while Match and Gren moved into the kitchen area. Aesop, meanwhile, positioned himself by the great bay window, watching the street for signs of movement.

            Steiner took point, moving slowly, cautiously down the hall. It was a short way, as halls went, but it felt to go on forever. They approached a door leading off to the right, slightly cracked and smelling worse than the rest of the flat; one look through the crack confirmed the corpse on the floor. Steiner resolved to check that room last and motioned to Tobias to continue on down the hall. At the hall’s end were two doors: one at the very end and one to the left just next to it. The door at the end proved to be a small, rather untidy bathroom, and the room to the left was a small and equally untidy bedroom. There was hardly room for the bed, much less for anyone to hide, and anyway the room was so crammed with boxes it was hardly believable that the once owner of the flat had actually ever used the room for anything aside storage. Steiner felt that if there were anyone brave enough to venture across that disaster of a room to the closet set into the far wall, then they had bloody well earned the right to a sneak attack; so thinking, he closed the door.

            He moves down the hallway, relaxed for the moment. There is no danger here and they can finally enjoy a moment’s peace. He passes the first room and the smell draws his attention. If not for the smell, he might not have seen it; the movement in the room, just beyond the door. He freezes, drawing his pistol. Tobias is ahead and he cannot call out, cannot alert the foe. He has but one option…

            Steiner could feel the sweat forming on his palms. It was possible that whoever was in there had no idea that he was out there; he was certain that the figure felt himself all but invisible. Steiner readied himself, steeling his courage. There could not be a moment’s hesitation… he kicked the door open wide and let loose three shots, all in the head… he stared at the mirror before him in dumbfounded silence…

            He cannot believe what he is seeing; first, there is the feeling of stupidity. A mirror, but a mirror all along, how his nerves have gotten to him… and yet, there is more. He realizes now what it is, it’s all wrong. The mirror is not broken; rather it is rippling, as though he has done little more than fire three bullets into the surface of a lake. He watches, no longer looking into a mirror but a window into another room… he is not there, but for a split second there is a girl… and all is as it should be once more.

            Aesop started, a gun in his hand so fast it surprised even he. There was no time to waste, moving from the window and towards the hallway. Gunshots meant enemies. Tobias was just before him, Gren and Match close behind; he could smell the gunpowder and the carbon steel, he knew that if Steiner had somehow failed to dispatch whatever foe lay hidden within the tiny flat, the mistake would soon be rectified. They moved, almost as one, into the room…

            Aesop stares at the fading ripples, eyes wide and face pale. No one seems to notice his reaction, and for that he is grateful… but what does this mean? The mirror… the Looking Glass has again become manifest… that means that she has fallen… that means that he has fallen. Aesop can not stop the tears that now begin to flow. The Dark Prince has fallen. He can now return home; home to his stories.

            Rin stared off down the row of flats to a particularly healthy looking group of buildings. There was no mistaking it: gunfire. He nodded to Kruger.

            “They’re pinned down. Let’s finish this.”

            Kruger gave a sharp salute and then waved the others forward, the behemoth of a man leading the advance.

            “Let’s move in and mow ‘em down, boys. We’ve been at this long enough.”

            Rin lit a new cigar, breathing in the thick smoke and the acrid air, the stench of tobacco and decay. It was time to end this rebellion.

            It was chaos. Less than three weeks prior, the Grand Judge, the leader of the One Nation, had been assassinated, shot dead in his own office. Since then, the Judges had been nearly overwhelmed in the anarchy that had taken to the streets. Society and economy had been at the verge of collapse while Hart had been in power; with his assassination, it had been pushed beyond the brink. The rebels within the cities and towns all across the One Nation, up until that point having been little more than raving political activists, had taken up arms against the suddenly leaderless patriots and begun, slowly but surely, to gain footing. The Judges had been utterly unprepared for any of the events to follow and with their chain of command disrupted they were having trouble mounting a reasonable defense, much less a coordinated counter attack. Deep in the center of the Holy Land, things were perhaps the most heated. As the Judges struggled vainly to hold the World Council Chambers, a group of well armed and well trained rebels, most ex-military and criminals, were slowly infiltrating the many buildings once held within the iron fist of Grand Judge Hart. Slowly, they were taking back the Holy City; they were taking Valashia back, for Ocrates, for the people. Hart had profaned the name of the God Judge with his very existence. The rebels knew that it had been a servant, a true servant of Ocrates, that had slain Hart, and now it was their turn. They were the will of Ocrates; theirs was a holy fight that would be spoken of for years to come. The warriors of God, the saviors of the people; they would not fail their God.

            Judge Captain Rin Darmill leaned against a pillar, his rifle resting against his leg, as he lit a cigar. Damn rebels were causing them more grief than he needed; he and his Judges were pinned down, had been for nearly three hours, and it didn’t seem that the siege was going to let up soon; still, they’d have to stick it out, they couldn’t give up the World Council Chambers. Rin took a long pull on his cigar, exhaling a wispy cloud of smoke… he watched as a thin red beam of light flickered in and out of the smoke, slowly snaking across the ground to Judge Gregson. Rin nodded, taking a deep breath; he calculated the angle of the beam, watching. He only had one chance. The red dot found Gregson’s chest, the young Judge blissfully unaware of any danger as he hummed to himself, eyes closed. Rin spun quickly around the pillar, bringing his rifle to bear and firing all in one smooth motion… he was rewarded with an abruptly silenced cry of pain not three hundred yards away. He was quick to get back under cover, and explosion of plaster and bullets raining about him. Gregson was looking about, eyes wide, face a mask of question.

            “What happened, Cap?”

            Rin smiled, taking another pull on his cigar.

            “Just savin your worthless ass again, Gregson.”

            Aesop winced, Kiera’s head popping like a ripe melon, the rifle round continuing through and splintering the wall behind them. Damn, that man was good. He fired his machine gun down into the mezzanine, the others following suite, but he knew it was of no use; it was a waste of bullets, but it was the principal of the thing. They had been holed up on the balcony of the lobby of the World Council Chambers for three hours. They had kept the siege up well, but they were running low on soldiers and even lower on ammunition. Their commanders were preaching the word and will of Ocrates, but he cared little for the hype of their empty religion. It had never been about the religion for him; merely a means to an end. He moved slowly, staying low, making his way back to the other three. He sighed. Three, that was all that was left; with him, that made four. They were in trouble. Aesop sidled up beside Steiner, waving to the other two to remain under cover.

            “How many are we looking at?”

            Steiner sighed, shaking his head.

            “Even if Kiera had gotten that shot off, even if she had put that Judge down, we’d still be looking at a baker’s dozen. They’ve got us out-manned and out-gunned, no question.”

            Aesop nodded, calling the other two over. Match got there first, Gren close behind; brother and sister, they were valuable assets to any team, each of them worth three soldiers apiece… and even then they were still outnumbered.

            “Match… we have to get out. We can’t make a stand here, there are more men than we have bullets to deal with. We’ve lost this battle, I’m leaving it up to you to make sure we don’t lose our lives as well.”

            Match nodded, her odd, orange eyes gleaming through the soot darkening her beautiful face. Even in madness, she was true beauty, a fact that only served to make her more dangerous.

            “Leave it to me, boss. I got it covered.”

            Grinning, she retrieved two grenades from a belt pouch: a fragmentation grenade and a sonic charge. Aesop groaned, closing his eyes; he hated sonic charges.

            Judge Nichols slowly inched his way over to the Judge Captain, warily watching the balcony for signs of movement.

            “Things are awful quiet, Cap… think they ran out of bullets?”

            Rin gave a wry smile, eyeing the young Judge with a slight smudge of pity.

            “Tell you what, you go out and ask; if they don’t shot you, I would say it’s a definite yes.”

            Nichols’ eyes were wide as he shook his head.

            “Cap, that’s not even funny!”

            Gregson laughed, making his way over as well.

            “Really, though, it has gotten pretty quiet. I think they’re about to try something… we really need to get our guard up.”

            Something heavy and metal hit the ground nearby, bouncing twice and then rolling past, another following shortly after… Gregson’s eyes went wide as he turned, shoving Nichol’s to the side.

            “Down, Cap! Grenades!”

            They scrambled quickly, ears still ringing from the explosion and the sonic charge, firing blindly into the thick smoke as they made their way down the stairs and out the front doors of the World Council Chamber. Aesop growled. They had been so close… he had hoped to make it in, to make it to that dark chamber where that decrepit old bastard had been shot dead… he had to see it, had to see with his own eyes… so close.

            Rin looked about, head ringing, as he coughed against the smoke filling the room. He didn’t have to see his men to know that most of them were wounded, many of them probably dying… the screams and cries were evidence enough of that. He stood slowly; he could feel his ears bleeding and knew that he must look as a dead man himself. Damn sonic charges. The smoke was clearing, allowing him to assess the damages a little better. Nichols was dead, scythed to pieces by the fragmentation grenade, and Gregson was bleeding out the ears, nose and eyes. Poor bastard was still alive. Rin made a quick mental count of the bodies as he fired two bullets through Gregson’s head. Eight… eight Judges dead, at least three too wounded to continue; that left only himself and Kruger who, miraculously, seemed utterly unscathed, besides appearing rather pissed. Rin sighed, hefting his rifle.

            “Fucking rebels. Come on, Kruger. Let’s go finish this… we can’t afford to lose anymore men.”

            Jack stared off at the horizon, frustration welling up within him like some dark beast. He sighed, attempting to calm himself, fighting a tremendous headache as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Gretel moved up to him, her eyes worried.

            “Is it your arm? Do I need to rebandage it?”

            Jack shook his head, the wound on his arm throbbing and burning.

            “Just a headache, Gretel, nothing I can’t handle. Still, that wolf did a number on me, huh?”

            Gretel nodded.

            “Are you sure you can still fight?”

            Jack snorted, smiling.

            “Course I can still fight! Come on, girl, let’s get movin. We ain’t getting any younger, and it sure as hell ain’t gettin any brighter.”

            And that was very much the truth. If anything, it was only growing darker by the day. Jack and Gretel had been wandering aimlessly since the night they lost Red, Boots and Goldie. They had no idea where they were, or where they were going, but they knew they could never remain in one place for too long. The darkness was only growing stronger, which Jack could only assume meant that Gulliver had failed; he had, of course, never expected anything aside from that. It was virtually impossible to destroy one such as the Bogeyman. It had been a fool’s errand.

            The Dark Lands were cruel and terrible, an empty wasteland of dismal cold and soulless torment. The creatures spawned from the dark reaches of that dismal land were unlike anything from the worst of nightmares, their ferocity and brutality unmatched… what, then, could cause the Dark country itself to quake with fear?

            Its master had returned, and he was far from pleased.

            The shapeless form pulled itself from the darkness of the shadowed corner, slowly coalescing into the featureless shape of a man; a living shadow. The rail thin form moved in a manner beyond comprehension, sliding its way across the dark, cold floor and swirling around the man standing, shivering and sobbing, in the center of the room. The man twitched, doubling over as the darkness seeped into his eyes and his ears, his nostrils and his mouth. He shook and groaned, blackness swirling around him, through him, beneath his skin and behind his eyes… after a few moments, he slowly, jerkily stood straight, as though his every muscle were fighting against him. He snarled, eyes solid black, and dark smoke poured from the corners of his mouth.

            “That simpering, sniveling swine! That lowly, loathsome lout! He foiled my plans and ruined my work! Fifteen years I planned. Fifteen years I spent in that weak, fragile body, turning that world into my playground! I was so close, at the very apex of my grand scheme… and he came along!”

            The heavy, oppressive darkness that filled the palace halls shifted, undulating. The voice, the sound of moaning wind through a wasteland canyon, filled the darkness to overflowing; everywhere and nowhere all at once.

            “I had everything right where I wanted it to be; how did it happen? How did a single man best my warriors? How did a single knight remove so many from commission?”

The second figure, a man leaning against the far wall, lit a worn cigarette, smiling. His eyes were yellow in the darkness, his coat seeming to billow about him, though there was no wind.

“My lord, if I may.”

The head twitched, turning nearly backward; the sound of vertebrae popping was audible.

“Ah, Doctor Faust; I see that you remain safely within the walls of the palace, as usual.”

Faust smiled, bowing.

“I am no fighter lest the need calls; I make no claims to the contrary… my lord.”

The remainder of the thin body followed the head’s example, slowly turning to face the Doctor.

“What is it, Faust? You have something of importance that you wish to discuss, I take it?”

Faust smiled, moving slowly across the palace floor, his thick boots echoing against the cold stone tiles.

“Of the importance of the matter, I will allow you to decide.”

The Bogeyman sighed, shadow seeping from his mouth.

“Speak, Faust; I’ve little patience for your games.”

Faust nodded.

“In your absence, the towns have begun to rebel. Though most have been routed into Fable and hide behind the accursed wall, there are still pockets of the scum throughout the lands. They have become stronger, much more adept at killing us.”

            The Bogeyman’s body twitched.

“I would think that my return is evidence enough of that. What is the point of this story?”

“Only this, my lord: they sent Gulliver forth to destroy you; they had no idea that you were not within this world. They do not realize that their “great champion” has fallen, nor do they realize that the darkness they have felt these past long years has been nothing compared to what is to come. The element of surprise is ours, my lord… they are unprepared.”

The shadows within the empty eyes danced, darkening further still.

“Gulliver… that simplistic shell that I have inhabited for the past fifteen years has been destroyed, and with it, all of my work; I cannot reclaim what has been lost, but I will not lose Elearia as well. I find that you are not so useless after all, my dear doctor. I have a task for you now. Fetch Spider’s corpse and bring it back here. These pests have grown brave in my absence… I will remind them of the meaning of fear. There will be no sleep. There will be no peace. I am not pleased, and I will make these bastard rebels suffer for my inconvenience.”