In the inky blackness of one long-forgotten corner of the Spirit Realm, a Presence lurked, mulling over the recent disasters in the Mortal Realm.
So, Sonew had fallen and the Death-Shades had failed her.
Of the two, the first was the greater blow to her plans, as Sonew had been by far her most capable, energetic and motivated servant in the Mortal Realm; losing the Death-Shades was a minor inconvenience at worst. Still, even minor inconveniences hurt when you had just lost your strong right hand.
Ages had passed as she had woven her designs and waited, slowly and subtly pushing the Harmony of Four out of Balance, waiting for the right time to unleash Catastrophe.
She mostly worked her will through agents spiritual and mortal alike, spreading her plan through the Realms like a spider spinning its web and waiting; always, she waited, until the Avatar Fell.
Now, she was ready to reap the fruits of her patient prodding; but there was still more prodding to be done, both in the Spirit Realm and in the Mortal Realm. So she continued her work.
Even her more ineffective agents had been of assistance with this; while the Cult of the Appeasers had mostly fed her ego, they had also kept a close eye upon the only real source of danger to her plan: the Exiles.
When she’d first set her plan in motion, one of the Timeless had told her that the Avatar Reborn would be her doom, and that he would arise by the hands of a group of Exiles; so it was that she set her every agent to ensure that no Exile could approach the Lake of Awakening.
Until now, they had succeeded quite well.
But how was she to replace Sonew? The Appeasers still abiding on the Island of Life-Benders though hers body, soul and mind had none that could even approach him in ability.
She would have to go recruiting.
*
The Death-Shades had fled, but Lalli still kept watch, knowing the Horrors were still out there.
Sigrun and Emil were also out there, but Lalli was sure he needn’t worry over what was keeping them. After all, Sigrun was--well, Sigrun, and Emil had proved himself quite capable of protecting his own at need.
Of course, even the best and strongest Bender could be taken by surprise--but with the two of them out there, that was only a very remote possibility. It was scarcely worth considering, even.
Emil had been almost as badly unsettled as when they’d first met, though; and Sigrun would naturally want to use the one-on-one time to try to pull him out of it, because she was a good leader, and that’s what good leaders do. So neither of them would really be as alert as was desirable, but still, the chances of something taking one or both of them by surprise was minimal--almost laughable even.
No, sometime soon Sigrun and Emil would be back, bearing their latest kills, which Mikkel would whip into something more or less (usually less) edible for them all. It would only be a few more minutes until Lalli spotted them coming back.
Lalli kept his eyes on the place where his friends had passed into the trees, letting his other senses play over the rest of the clearing. They would warn him of any danger that might approach; sometimes more faithfully so than his eyes.
Lalli kept his watch as the night waned on...
*
“We knew you could do it.”
Mikkel and Reynir stared back at Tuuri; Mikkel impassively, Reynir with an expression of awe.
“D-d-d-do what?” Tuuri asked in a blatant lie, trying her best to essay a look of innocent confusion. She was still trembling in the aftermath of her recent exertion, though, and so could not command herself as she usually did.
Mikkel answered, “Bend the Spirits, changing their Lust to feed upon us into Fear.”
“Like you Bent the Fear out of Emil earlier,” Reynir added happily.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tuuri protested vainly. “I-I-I don’t Bend! Anyway, nobody Bends Fear.”
Mikkel frowned, but Reynir put a hand on the bigger man’s arm and said, “Onni said she wouldn’t want to admit it yet.”
Tuuri swallowed nervously. Onni knew? She’d tried so hard to keep this terrible secret from him, but he knew anyway?
“She can’t go on lying to herself, though,” Mikkel said calmly.
“I fear the blame for that lies with me...”
