This is a bit more interesting part of my Shadows Of Yavara. One question you might ask is why they have swords in a science fiction genre- dont ask, its too hard to explain.

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Not fifty feet ahead, they came to what looked like it had been a building. Most of the walls of the lower story of the building were in shambles on the ground along with the burning piles of rubble, with the main part of the building supported by little more than the main framework of metal girders, some of which dangerously glowed red-hot. Lerad cautiously crept in through a huge hole that had been blasted in the wall of the building with the captain held ahead and Keist and Teira reluctantly following after. They stepped through the carcass of the burning building into a large room where the ruined flooring from the ceiling above left a huge gap above them making it all seem much larger.

Lerad almost tripped over one of the bodies, one of five in the darkened and dead room. Lerad bent over and examined one man, immediately finding the source of his death. Across the man's chest was a huge gash, easily visible beneath the shirt. All of the dead were ex-slaves; that much Keist understood from simple observation, although how they had been just been killed was a mystery in itself.

The guard stood up after seeing the wound, staring at the body. "No, it isn't-" Then he ran- only gaining about five feet before Lerad had grabbed him at his attempt to escape out onto the road through a blown out wall.

"Never seen the outcome of what they did every day in shafts to all of us? Take a good look, and then maybe you'll understand what we had to live with and why we started this!" Lerad said angrily, pointing to the body. But the captain neither looked nor acknowledged the fact that Lerad had spoken at all; only staring wide-eyed into the darkness of the room behind Lerad, not moving. Lerad's anger evaporated at the expression of fear on the guard's face that was not directed at him. The three turned slowly to face the darkness behind them.

Out from behind the burning rubble about thirty feet from them, a shadowed figure emerged with its cloak dragging at his feet as the person slowly walked towards them. No one moved.

As the cloaked figure walked into the light his brown robes and hooded face revealed his true identity. Immediately, Keist recognized the unmistakable person who he had seen only once before and had hoped to never see again. Lerad face showed the same unexpected appearance that the guard's held. Teira only stared, puzzled, yet fearfully at the oddly-dressed figure.

"Ahh, why if it isn't Salginn's traitor," the man said with a ghostly voice, smirking at Lerad. The man paid little attention to Keist or Teira, looking past the two to the captain of the guard who was cowering next to him. "And perhaps another… "

Lerad's prisoner shook his head rapidly. "No …no- I, I am only a prisoner to him! I am still on…your side!" the guard pleaded shakily to the cloaked man. Lerad butted him and he shut up.

Lerad's prisoner shook his head rapidly. "No…no - I, I am only a prisoner to him! I am still on…your side!" the guard pleaded shakily to the cloaked man. Lerad butted him and he shut up.

"You are a fool! If you surrender yourself to him then you are a coward and a traitor!" the cloaked man shouted without cruelly. "…You are no different than any of the others!"

A look of horror crossed the captain's face and he back up backed up, tripping and falling on his back. Lerad let him go this time. "He's the traitor, not me! Can't you show mercy?" The man threw his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes as the cloaked figure held something up in his hand- a dull, black weapon that looked to be attached to his hand by a claw-like vise. By Keist's side, Teira gave a yelp as in a burst of black energy as dark as the color of the weapon, three blinding beams of energy caught the captain in the chest. The first shot killed him almost instantly and the other two that followed marked their target with elegant precision for added effect. By the time the second and third shots had hit the man, he was already dead, a burning hole in his smoldering armor and a fearful expression engraved on his face. Keist almost couldn't bear to see another bloody end but his eyes were glued on the horrible scene. Teira stood in shock at the sight and only stared with her mouth open at the new corpse. Keist tried to pull Teira backwards, expecting him to do the same to them, but knowing there would be little to save them if he did.

"He was weak…" said the cloaked man in his dark voice. The weapon he had fired with made a whirring noise and uncurled from around his wrist and fell into his hand, where then he proceeded to slide it into the folds of his cloak. "I would rarely resort to such a form of slaughter, but for his failure I could only see it fit not give him any glory in death."

Lerad came around to his senses and looked away from the dead guard to the man. "Who are you?" he asked nervously and still on edge.

The man laughed and answered with a smirk. "Don't you know?" he said slowly, to add to the moment. "I am not the first Karetharn you have met? Am I correct in saying so?" Lerad didn't answer but it was apparent that the other was not expecting a response. "You were given but a taste of our nature. The Karetharn is a rank attained only through battle and weapon mastery. We are of the highest caste that is presented to the ordinary man. We are skilled in many forms of combat and other methods of intimidation and fighting. My master would never have believed that the general was foolish enough to allow his adversary a chance to survive, Lerad! Where I come from we know that is insanity."

"Your master? I guess I didn't have enough rank compared to Salginn to be let in on this little secret about you guys? Are you special operatives for him?" Lerad asked, a bit more together this time than he had been.

The cloaked man chuckled again and then answered in his
monotone speech. "I believe that you were led astray by Salginn and mislead to believing we work for him- we have no allegiance to Salginn and never will. That would be the ultimate disgrace for us. Our master is far more than the thoughtless idiot that Salginn is," he explicated to Lerad. "I am an emissary for my master and my people. Few of our kind can speak your tongue and above all of the others, I am one of the most fluent, which is why I was chosen along with a select few to act as scouts for this region of expansion. Even though we knew long before that it was inhabited …by your kind."

"What…" Lerad murmured in confusion.

The other gave another smirk. "Perhaps you do not know? Salginn betrayed you all for his quest and glory. Many times ago he contacted my master and he told him all he could about this society here. We had only recently discovered the truth about this world, what you call 'Seleniar', but never did expect that our old nemesis from the past would dwell here! Layam was said to have been the death of your culture but we only lately learned that you were more elusive than you appeared outright." He saw the blank looks on their faces at this mentioning. "-But that is the past and means nothing now, only that I am now here and though my task was not what I had hoped for it is one worthy of admiration among my people."

"Who are your people?" Keist asked bravely. The figure turned to him as if noticing for the first time that he was there.

"We? My people are but humble servants of the One to which all of humanity will soon come to know. My master is a lesser but still powerful leader of our caste," the cloaked figure answered. "Cahj-Anamora is an ancient precinct that is proof of the existence of the great empire that disappeared long ago. We were lead to believe that many such places such as Cahj-Anamora existed. Salginn was not a history-keeper himself but knew much of the past. He believed that the knowledge of these sites could only be learned from what you call a book. He said that only history-keepers would know of the location of the book and the answers to the many questions we had about your past. He called these ones: Desani…" He said looking directly at Teira. "…And to our luck we found one…" He paced forward towards her wearing his cruel grin that could easily be seen under his hooded face.