~ Chapel Perilous ~

[Malaclypse 666]

:: and, a week earlier on the Veranda ::

You are insane, Malaclypse! I forbid it! I will kill you with my bare hands before I will allow this!

You could kill me this instant, my old friend, and it may still have to be. Even the new Episkopos has seen the inevitability of it. And she is Fionas daughter, her own flesh and blood. said Mal, as he responded to Reggies impassioned outburst with a calm, firm gaze and level voice.

We do not know with certainty how long we have, Reggie. The Four may feel threatened, and release our Ancient Foe at any time! You know how long our preferred method of summoning our Goddess can take! And especially in this case. You of all people should realize how headstrong and willful our dear deLuna is! You yourself know that she has only dabbled with learning the Mysteries! How long would it take to Raise the Serpent? To complete the Initiation? Tell me, if you can!

Reggie appeared broken and defeated. He buried his weathered face in his hands, and an audible heart-rending sob escaped his lips. After a few moments, he looked beseechingly at Malaclypse. But she is all I care about! I would rather see the Old One loosed again, consuming the Souls of these Sirian cabbages than to see this happen!

If we do this, we are no better than they are, Mal! Do we give up the True Path, the Right Hand Path, for the expediency of the moment? Do we become as the ancient Aztecs? As the followers of Gruad at the last moments of great Atlantis? Do we summon the Forces through the Altar and the Dagger? Even if we brought Eris forth in this way to defeat the Lloigor, is it really the lasting victory we seek, or merely the loss of our own Souls? We are damned either way!

Mal reached across and touched his friends shoulder gently. Reggie, Reggie. You may be absolutely right, my old friend. If we have lost the ability to raise the White Light as before, then our Goddess may be lost to us forever; and we may have lost the battle before it has begun.

But there are no other candidates. Jessica is partly a construct, and an unknown factor. Mama Dis has all the knowledge, and is a true believer; but even with her sentience, does she have the human Spark which can be raised? Sylvia must fulfill her role as my fellow leader of the ELF. I know this in my heart. Our newest recruit, Miss Yu, has the blood of the ancient Lung Dragons in her veins, and has remarkable latent abilities; but is no closer to the Mysteries than Fiona. I am afraid we have no other choice, my old friend.

Reggies gaze went back to the shaking mountain. He began to speak, but nothing came. He merely turned and looked hopelessly at Malaclypse. Mals heart broke as well.

Reggie, I promise you this. We will give the Initiation every chance. We may succeed. Fiona may indeed be able to raise the Serpent, and to summon Eris as our Champion once again. I agree that this is the only way to truly win our battle with the Old Foe.

But, if time runs out, if the Four other Primi ignore my counsel and decide to release Iok Sotot; then I will have no choice. Sylvia agrees. The Chao must remain in balance, and your beloved Fiona will have to die.

((Dear readers: A point of clarification. The impending threat from the Old One and the current leaders of the resurrected Illuminati in Sirius is a completely different matter than the impending threat from the many incarnations of Artificer. It may develop concurrently with the events at the Uli Rouge. It may take a bit longer to identify the four Epopts of the Illuminati, and to locate their voracious soul-eating minion Iok Sotot. Different muddles for different models. Stay tuned.))

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