the area where the history and legend; of the creation of the alliance
of the forming of the three; this has been deemed worthy to pass on..

[..The Journey Begins..]

Romulus, in his nebulous form, drifted away from the group and towards the temple of Buddhamage. He softly glided down the muddy streets, people bustling by, oblivious to his faint form. Sathu was at his side. Romulus reached out a wispy hand to stroke her attractive face, but it was only air brushing air. Such distance between them in such close proximity.

Romulus sighed and moved on. After following his instincts through alleyways, and mud covered cobble stone streets, he arrived with Sathu at the gates of the temple. Above him rose an ornatly carved wooden door, imbedded with runes of protection and warding. Romulus passed silently through the wooden doors. Once through he found himself in a small sparsley lit foyer. He observed a monk sitting on a reed mat chanting. As soon as Rom and Sathu's eyes laid on the monk, he broke from his meditative trance and addressed both the ghosts.

"Welcome."
Romulus was taken aback, needless to say. "You can see us?"
"Why yes." the slightly chubby monk said with a deep british accent and a subtle chuckle.
"Then you can see all ghosts?"
"Quite." his eyes sparkled.
"Wow." more smile.
"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure why I'm here, "stammered Romulus. Wait a minute, he thought, how can he hear me? he continued, "I guess this was the only sensible place for me to go." The monk grunted. "What's that you say?"
"I said you are a fool. Why come to a temple? If I were you I would have gone to the inn first. Your voyage will be long. You must get food. AND drink."
"Sir, in case you havn't noticed, I am a GHOST." said Romulus waving his arms about him, through the wall and wooden doors and such.
"You will see that you are no more than everyone else is less."
"Really? And what's that supposed to mean?" asked a very skeptical Romulus.
"Shhh..." whispered Sathu. "He is helping you."
"The girl's smart, no?" chuckled the monk. "Follow me," he said as he walked down the foyer and into a hallway.

The hall was dark as well, sporadiclly lit by straw torches dipped in tar. The smoke billowed up to the ceiling and created a oily muck that stank. The threesome reached a small oak door, plain in appearence.
"Walk through this door." said the monk.
Romulus moved forward, he was just about to pass through the first milimeter of wood when, "THUMP." he stopped stone still in his tracks. His eyes widened, he back up and slammed against the door with full force. "THUMP!" he grabbed his aching shoulder. Wait a minute.... his shoulder hurt. And wait...yes, he gingerly poked at a fresh bruise.
"WHAT'S going on here?" he demanded. The monk winked. Opened the door, and walked through....

They were in a circular room, bright as day though there were no windows what so ever. The room seemed to be lit from small specks in the ceiling and walls that gave off a blue glow, much like stars. Tho, the light was strong enough to read if one wanted to. Romulus looked at his phantasmial body adn that of Sathu's, both had begun to take on the appearence of REAL human bodies. Around the room, seated in a eight pointed star pattern, sat seventeen monks. One at each point, and one at each verticee. A final one sat in the middle. They were all looking at the new arrivals.
The one in the middle, obviously one of superior power called out in a soft but incredibly deep voice. "We have been waiting for you Romulus of the House of Altair, and Sathu of the House of Blood Dragons. It is time for you to be given your mission."
"Miss-What!?" Sathu grabbed his now physical arm and whispered ahrshly into his ear, "Listen up, I think these guys are-"
"What's that you say my friend?" interjected the head monk "Indeed, your friend is right Romulus of Altair. Her thoughts say that she believes us to be the Monks of the star. The star of the gaurdian. behold." the monk rasied his cowl and pulled from his chest a simple metal chain affixed to was a green eight pointed star that glowed from within, as if it was indeed it's own star... "We are not harmfull, "continued the monk, "but rahter we are here to help lost souls such as yourself...for a reasonable price..." he chuckled some more.
All of a sudden this happy go lucky Friar Tuck was turning into a very sinister fellow. Romulus spoke through his mind to vAldiCi but was cut off, IN HIS MIND, by the Monk. "Oh, how rude, telling secretes to your friend. Please, we would all like to know what's on your mind...."
"Oh shit." mummbled Romulus. "Okay, what do you want?"
"Ah, an excellent question." sneered the monk. "What I want is, your soul, in exchange for your friend here's..."
Romulus was disoriented, he was thrown against the nearest stone wall, and from it appeared iron cusps that locked his arms and thighs agains the cold stone. Sathu steped back in fear as iron bars lept from the ground and began to bend down behind her creating a birdcage.
"What the--"
"relax my friend. You will understand in time." said the head monk as he rose from his cross legged position. He walked towards Romulus. "You will do something for me. You will. And after you DO, I will release your lover."
"What if I refuse?"
"You won't, because you would not stand to see her tortured. With that a table materialized from the ground next to sathu's cage, upon which lay various instruments of ghastly imagination. One of them, a sererated sickle blade lept from the table and flew in a spinning arc towards Sathu. It passed through the iron bars and neatly whisked an atoms length away from Sathu's cheek, slicing a long braid of hair as it whirred through the air.
Romulus opened his eyes in Fear and terror. "But she's a ghost how can you?"
"Ah, not while you are in here my friend, no while you are in here. You see, this tomb, yes, it is a tomb, oh now, don't be frightened, " he said as Romulus's eyes opened even wider. "I don't plan on killing either of you. It would be such a waste to terminate such pretty souls..."
Romulus looked at Sathu, crying terrified in the cage, curled up in a ball on the floor. He looked into the dark eyes of the monk. he looked at the eyes of the seventeen other monks. And then he looked at the ground. "What is it then, that you shall request of me..."

"NOOOOO!!!!" Romulus screamed. he was back on the streets outside the temple, in his human form. That is to say, his physical human form. He was naked, except for his tunic and cloth pants. And a green glowing star around his neck. he shivered in the cold. The day had turned to night and a foggy mist had rolled in. The mud on the cobbler streets had turned icy, and he jumped from one foot to the next trying to keep either one from freezing. In his head that terrible voice spoke to him, "You have one moon."

Romulus shook his head and concentrated hard to put up as many mental barriers as possible to block that evil monk from talking to him. But he tried in vain. "You can not escape me, I am in you, around you, amongst you. One moon." and then he was gone. Romulus sank to the ground, onto his knees, in the mud, and bellowed to the heaven's "AMIADUS!" From the dark sky a beam of light shot down and peirced Rom's chest. He was foribly lifted to his feet and felt his legs move, one after another.
A new voice spoke in his head..."Romulus, it is me. I too am with you. Always."
"Amiadus?" ROmulus asked aloud. "yes. Good luck and fortune soldier. Godspeed."
As Romulus felt the voice withdraw he muttered, "yeh right. I'm sure they're just itching to help me out." he continued to walk.

It was half an hour later when he reached the tavern, cold, shivering, and begining to turn blue at the toes. Two men rushed towards him as he fell through the door. They rushed him over to a roaring fire and rubbed at his toes to get the circualtion going to prevent gangrene, as one of the barmaids draped an animal skin over his shoulders.

Ten minutes later Romulus was sipping at a flagoon of hot mead and explaining to his new friends, "Yes, that's right there is a whole band of us. And yes, we defeated that vile snake in that spooky castle."
"Someone bring this man another mead," called out a tall burly red headed and red bearded man named Ishim, "This man is a hero!" he bellowed in a deep baritone. Romulus smiled. Just wait til the other guys get here, he thought to himself. He mentally noted that to vAldiCi, but only got static. Oh well, probably thinking really hard or something. But as happy as he was to be surrounded by merry men and scantiyl clad bar maids, who all loved him as a hero, he couldn't enjoy himself. The star glowed with his apprehension, though Romulus didn't notice it.
One of the barmaids sitting closer and closer to him did tho and called out in a high sweet voice, like melted honey on a sugarcake, "Oh! What a pretty necklace!" as she reached to touch it. Instantly she snapped her hand back and waved it in the air, "OUCH!" she cried, sucking on her fingers. She looked down at them and saw that they were burnt mildly.
"What the hell?" Romulus asked no one in particular. The tavern fell silent. All eyes were on Romulus. "My uh... grandmother gave it to me.... Uh, she was kind of... of a... spellcaster...." he stammered out lamely.
The crowd accepted it tho and slowly eased back into their good natured carousing. Romulus settled back into his fur and moved his feet a little ways away from the fire. They were getting quite toasty now. The barmaid with the burnt fingers got up to tend to her injury, but was quickly replaced by another one. This one a brunette, with a slightly deeper but all the more provocative voice. Her eyes glistend deep hazel as she spoke softly to the hero, trying to keep his attention. Romulus however was thinking about his... "meeting", if you could call it that.
"What was it that the first monk at the door had said? 'You will see that you are no more than everyone else is less.' what the hell was that supposed to mean? And the head monk had told him that he would find a sign somewhere...and that he would know what to do from there. Why the hell did these enigma people always make you look for a sign? Why couldn't they just tell you! Grr...." Romulus drowned his confusion in another flagoon of warm mead, mixed with a touch of honey.
One of the bar maids had been kind enough to keep a steady supply of the adictive fuzzy beverage coming to the newcomer. Meanwhile though Romulus had another addictive fuzzy to deal with. The brunette sitting next to him had somehow managed to get her hands inside his tunic and was playing with his chest as she gazed into his eyes deeply. Romulus came to, and before he knew it he was upstairs in a creaky bed doing what barmaids like to do best....

vAldiCi sat around the outside of the town while thinking about what he wanted to do. He thought and thought and thought for a long time, so he decided to meditate and stuff and started to float around like a ping pong ball. It was at this moment that the mind like carousing effect he had with his brikari (romulus) was effectively smacked into a thousand useless particles of information. Something was definitely wrong here.
"When that happens, bad things happen." So vAl stopped meditating and started to walk towards the temple of Buddhamage. Slowly, slowly. It was there in front of him - yet he would not dare to enter.

human form "what?"
human form human form "who is screwing with me? huh?? WELL??"
human form human form human form "o u wanna play tough do you?"

[mindhack lvl 9][target:thing at other end of the mindlink][effect: screws up opponent's mind]

human fo.. uhmanasof.. foasmsa............................
"That'll teach the punk..Heh." A faint scream emerged from the depthes of the BuddaMage temple. It appeared that someone suddenly became mentally deranged for four months. vAldiCi went back to looking for Romulus when he stumbled upon Sinister Eagle walkin' out of a weponry store.
"Sinister Eaglet! U better watch what u poke with that double edged wind sword of yours.."
"Huh? How u know its a wind sword?"
"You are so naive, little one. Can't you feel the force of wind imbued into these blades?"
"uh, no..."
"Do not worry, you shall learn to overcome the doubt that is nestled in your mind."
"Um.. yes commander.." vAl turned and laid both his palms on Sinister Eagle's shoulders. "Today you will start the training to become a member of the house of Altair and the elite guard of Amiadus the first fallen."

"What?? are you serious??"
"Indeed, he is eager."
"Em, who are you talking to vAl?"
"And Romulus has returned to us. Come now my little bird, they are waiting for us in the tavern."
And so they entered the tavern and pulled up chairs besides iZrAfeL and Articuno and Di'ethe, who had somehow made it there. vAl could not help but picture what Rom was doing behind those locked doors because of their mind link. So he shut it off for privacy reasons. "tssk.. Humans..always the same...."

* * *

 

It had been nearly two weeks since he had been transformed back into a physical being. He missed the presence of his companion, who as far as he knew was still racked up against the wall in that awful temple. What was it that that wizard/monk had told him? He couldn't quite remember, it was as if someone had...had erased part of his mind. Romu shook his head in frustration. He leaned back against the tree and tried to admire the view in front of him, truly a majestical spectre of nature.
On the horizon the sun was still rising, and it had bathed the forest and taiga ahead of him in early morning gold. The weather was turning chillier as they headed north.
Maybe he would need that rabbit skin first, he thought as he pulled his pack from behind him and threw it out in front so that he could elevate his legs while he tried to rest and think. Just then a faint moan interupted his thoughts, followed by a sinister laugh, and then that awful voice.

Romulus bolted upright and looked around, taking him a few seconds to realize that the wizard was in his head again. Silently, Romulus called out, "What is it you monster?!"
"Do you hear your little friend?" it asked another moan and a cry. Pain rippled through Sathu and through her spirit bond with Romulus, Romu too felt it. The sererated knife tore through his bicep and Romulus grabbed his arm to stem the blood flow...only to find that it was an illusion. But the pain had been real... Of course, he thought.

They could not Really hurt Sathu, she was a spirit.
"I said PAY ATTENTION TO ME YOU FOOL!" screamed the voice.
"Here." Romulus grumbeled reluctantly.
"You will do me an errand. And after I will release your Sathu."
"How do I know you'll let her go after I do this 'errand'?"
"I guess you don't do you? HAHAHAHA!"
"Bastard!"

Another scream and Romulus flinced as a whip slashed his face. Again, real pain, but an illusion. Romulus flinched.
"You WILL respect me whether you want to or not. Insolent fool. This is what you will do for me. I want the life of ten innocent children. Do this for me and I will release your Sathu. Do it not, and I will torture her, grasp your mind, and destroy your clan. I will even destroy Amiadus herself."
"You can't touch Amiadus, not even the Goddess herself would dare to harm her!" spat Romulus with a sneer on his face.
"Ah, Yes, the Goddess. No, you're right she wouldn't. But I. Well... I would, now wouldn't I?"
And then Romulus knew. He knew it in his bones. His gut wrenched. His soul shuddered.

Sathu had been taken hostage by Dimuindium.

* * *

and back.