Temple of Darkness

By Gilean Majere

Chapter 1

Athor placed his hands on his hips, and looked over their creation. The spires of the temple soared to the heavens, clouds swirling gracefully around the minarets. The gleaming gold plate shone in the light of the Sable Moon. Around the temple, stood a standing pool of crystal water, the clearest water in the whole dream. Festooning the walls of the temple, were portraits of the dreamers honored within, and tales of thier lives and accomplishments were detailed completely in the troves of literature contained within.

He stroked his long grey beard, as he looked at it critically. He examined every facet, every wall, every tile on the floor. Finally, pleased, he looked up from his work, and turned to his assistane, Creeala.

"It is good, " he proclaimed, and Creeala's face alit. "Go assemble the dreamers, and we shall open this noble tribute to those of dreams past."

Creeala nodded, and walked silently out the portal into the plane of Trinity.

Athor turned, and walked back within the temple again. He felt at peace here...this was one place where anger, pain, and strife had never come, and hopefully never would. He drug his hand along the wall as he walked, feeling the cool pattern under his fingertips. He walked along the roads through the temple, designed to filter dreamers to the three temples dedicated to the three most influential dreamers of all time.

As he walked along South Street, he smiled, and turned into the first temple along the path, the Temple of Poantes of Vorsage. Poantes was the inventor of the Elemen, which had become a necessity in the dreamworld. Without it, dreamers would have to spend many hours meditating, to refill their energy. The many books in the temple told of Poantes' travels, and included his notes in Elemen creation.

Smiling, knowing that all was in place, he left the temple, and continued along South Street, turning at the corner onto West Street. Just at the corner, was located the second temple, that of Aybol of Determinus, creator of the Alteror. Alterors were another item within the dreamstate, that had almost become a necessity. Alterors, or Alts, as they were more commonly reffered to as, allowed an avatar to recieve the benefits of an art, without evoking it, or without even being able to evoke it. Within the temple sat tomes of information, reguarding the creation of alts, and a display showing every known type of alteror that Aybol created.

Finally, he left that temple, and walked up to North Road, to the temple of the most important dreamer of all. He walked up, and turned into the Temple of Gerrial Endeath, the creator of the avatar. Without this achievement in the dream, dreamers would not be able to exist coherently in the dreamstate.

He continued along on the path, finally ending up back at the entrance of the temple, and exiting. He stood in the portal, as dreamers filed in, and looked at the wonderous temple. Several of the surviving Dreamwrights had worked weeks, and months on this monument, and the work was finally being revealed. Dreamer after dreamer filed in, and merely stood outside, jaws dropped open in awe, staring wordlessly at the glorious construct that appeared in front of them.

Athor smiled at them. His long grey beard drooped almost to the floor, and his long grey hair, which was neatly combed, waved softly in the gentle breeze that ran through the courtyard. He raised his hands, grinning, and said to the assembly,

"Welcome, my friends, to the Cenotaph of Lore."

Chapter 2

Over the next many months, many dreamers stopped by the Cenotaph, to pay honor to those whom had passed on, and had contributed greatly to the dream. Tributes were left at the temples of all three, Poantes of Vorsage, Aybol of Determinus, and Gerriel Endeth.

Markosh, himself, came and created generators in the temples of Poantes, and Aybol. The generators were built in honor of his masters, for their teachings of artifacts, led him to his discovery of the theory of generators. He created two generators in each temple, more than he ever put anywhere else in the dreamworld.

Dreamers from all over Underlight came to visit, until the darkness came.

Chapter 3

In a room, buried deep in chaos, a small light glowed. Light glowed softly within a small pool, placed in the center of the room. Vines, and moss hung from the ceiling of the cavern, striving, reaching for the cold glow from within the pool. Small pebbles lay at the edges of the pool, caused by many visits. One such visit, was taking place now.

The Darkmare Tehthu gazed into the pool before him, the only source of light in the complete darkness of chaos. He watched dreamers enter, and exit the building that had been constructed. He knew nothing about what this building was, nor why it was special to these dreamers. All he knew is that it was special to them. His claws dug into the stone floor, leaving small scratches, and breaking the rock below into pebbles.

Power, that was the only possible answer. Nothing would be so special to these dreamers, if it was not a source of power.

This building must be some sort of power source, strengthening the Dreamers, to confront him. To destroy his maren bretheren.

Tehthu growled, and continued to watch the pool. The pool shimmered softly, spraying soft glowing light across the chamber for a second, and the scene within shifted.

Books. Strung all throughout this temple, were books, littered with the knowledge of these dreamers...these, invaders. Tehthu's claw tightened, slowly growing in resolve.

He must crush these dreamers, to destroy their power source, and grind them beneath his claws. His eyes glowed dim red with hatred, and he growled softly, "Frrgth dak burrd.."

He rose from his kneeling position, and prowled off into chaos, searching....

The pool shimmered, and slowly darkened, leaving complete darkness once again.

Chapter 4

Kylix walked swiftly through Trinity Plains, heading towards Cenotaph. Her heart beat excitedly, as she hurriedly passed portal after portal. This was her first visit to the Cenotaph of Lore, even though it had been opened months ago. Her house duties at the Protectors of the Radiance, had kept her too busy to come pay homage to those honored here.

Kylix smiled softly. Yes, paying respects was one reason for her visit, but there were others. The streets were also open to the Dreamsmiths, who traded their wares for other items. Kylix had brought her most valuable elemens, to trade with them, in the hopes of getting something nice. Perhaps, some silk gloves, or even a necklace would be nice. She laughed merrily, and dashed onward.

Today would be extra special, as well. Just a week ago, the Dreamstrike masters had entered the war torn dream, and now peace once again reigned. Today was heralded as the Celebration of Peace, all throughout Underlight.

She turned the corner at Trinity Walk, and continued onward, towards the temple.

She opened the portal, and stopped short. Then, she fell over dead.

Tehthu looked backwards when he heard the thump. Lying near the portal, was a female avatar, collapsed and dreamstruck. He laughed softly. It was good that these dreamers had created this new art, Dreamstrike....it made hunting them so much more fun. Tehthu looked over the army of mares that was following him. From portal to portal was an assembly of Emphants, Bogroms, Shamblixs, Horrons, and Agoknights. They had eagerly flocked to him when told of his plan.

He would take this center of power as his own, and from there, conquer Underlight, and claim it as his own.

He rose to the front of the army, and shouted out above the low roar created by the minions of chaos, "Katoke, mu ifnru Tehthu, calpurs? Calpurs zdak eokius! Calpurs jospi frrgth eokius! Eokius eovoc katoke, eokius uura! Pa, eokius wala cenotaph..cenotaph jospi maxtrika eokius! Tehthu ktak cenotaph, cenotaph jospi maxtrika katoke!!! Palg ulpda isis Tehthu!!! Ngig prazah!! Frrgth dak burrd!!!"

The assembly of mares roared in support, and Tehthu turned, and charged through the portal, followed by his army of mares.

The dreamers in Cenotaph that day never stood a chance. The tide of mares had spread throughout the temples before any dreamer even had a chance to draw their blade. Celebrating peace, they were completely unprepared for war. Few dreamers survived that day, for Tehthu and his most powerful minions had been watching the Dreamstrike Masters, and had also perfected this art. Lucky was the soul who was able to float away down Trinity, or Evernight that eve.

After an hour of fighting, the surviving dreamers knew that they did not stand a chance against the mares, and gave up control of the Cenotaph of Lore. Tehthu smiled grimly as the last dreamer paled, and dashed out of West Road. From within the darkness surrounding him, Tehthu pulled out three small jewels.

Each jewel was comprised of two parts; a claw, and an orb. The orb was a perfect obsidian sphere, reflecting no light whatsoever. Each orb looked as a pit into nothingness. Surrounding each orb, was a claw, similar to that of Tehthu's. The claw was made of jade, and grasped the orb tightly.

Tehthu grinned evilly as he scratched out a small indention in the wall of West Road. As soon as the indention was big enough, he wedged the jewel into the crevice tightly. He moved back, surveyed his work, and smiled again.

These jewels would do fine. With them in place, no dreamer would be able to leave the cenotaph. Any whom entered would be fair game for the mares within to collapse, and destroy, with no avenue of escape. Each jewel activated when neared by a dreamer; it sensed the aura each one projected. Upon being neared by a dreamer, it created a field of stasis around the room, shutting off all Portals. Any dreamer whom entered a room with this jewel, would become trapped there.

Tehthu laughed, and put one on East Road, covering all the entrances. Any dreamer foolish enough to challenge him, would die painfully.

He returned to the Sanctuary located in the center of the monument, and brooded for a while. He pulled out a small vial of water from the darkness, and poured it on the floor, creating another vision pool. He looked into the pool, and was pleased at what he saw.

Tehthu, and his minions had been let through the walls of the dream city by a group of dreamers, named the Entropy Coalition. These fools had been trying to find a way to countermand Dreamstrike, and to that end, had drawn pure chaos into the Dream city. This little crack in the walls was seen by Tehthu, and he charged it with his army close behind him. They had hit the seam, and come through, widening the gap. As Tehthu watched the pool, he saw those that had come with him through the portal, continue onward into Underlight, slaying, and collapsing those foolish enough to stand in their way.

He smiled grimly. Soon, they will be rid of these dreamers, these...trespassers.

Chapter 5

Tehthu roared in rage, his eyes flashing bright red angrily. Shamblix, and Horrons alike dashed quickly out of the Sanctuary, to distance themselves from Tehthu's rage.

For the past month, he had been destroying this place, ripping it apart at the seams...but still, had no lead on where the power of this place was. There MUST have been a reason that it was so special to these, these dreamers. He WOULD find it, and turn their own power against them.

So far, all he had found was worthless monuments, mounds of books, and worthless generators. There was nothing of value here, that he had found. Yet, this place was important to the dreamers...there MUST be something more to it.

He would tear this place to pieces, to find out what its secret was. Only the dreamers knew what its power was...

Tehthu smiled evilly, and turned toward the East Road entrance, eyes flashing and claws stretching. That was it. Dreamers....they would know. He would go, catch them, and bring them here, to torture them until they showed him the secret of this place.

He left the cenotaph, and headed toward Threshold.

Chapter 6

Peleus sighed, picking up the essence. He tossed it in his pack, and counted.

"One...three....eight...thirteen. Good. Only two more to go."

Keltus stepped from his position against the wall. "Yes, Peleus, not bad. You could do better, though."

Peleus turned to him. "Yeah, well, soooorry."

Keltus chuckled. "Come on, now...almost anyone I know can use a chakram better that that."

Peleus smiled. "Maybe, Keltus, but I'd like to see any of them dare to take me on blade to blade."

"Yes, I must admit...you are quite accomplished in that facet. But, I doubt that you'll find many of the darkmare willing to enter into a fair blade duel, either."

Peleus laughed. "Well, let us go find two more mares for me to defeat, so I can plateau my Gatekeeper level."

Keltus nodded, and pulled his red cowl over his head, obscuring his face in the darkness of his cloak. Peleus picked up the essence, and walked toward the portal. As his foot extended to walk through the portal, he was suddenly knocked backwards. He fell to the ground, and Keltus gasped. Peleus looked up..

And directly into the face of a large Darkmare....the mighty Tehthu. Peleus' warrior training took control automatically, and he twisted out from beneath the dark mare, who remained standing. He drew his trusty blade, just as Tehthu fired the first chakram blast at him.

Keltus dashed back from the frey, and began evoking Restore on Peleus, knowing he'd need it. Peleus felt the healing power flowing through his body, and fought on harder. Tehthu glared at Peleus, who had begun circling him with his blade drawn.

Tehthu roared, "Uuura eokius, palg ulpda isis Tehthu! Palg ulpda isis frrgth da eokius!! Wafa ztath? Tehthu zdak mu! Tehthu zdak Keltus! Klopta grrzt prazah?"

The roar distracted Peleus, and Tehthu swung his claws, slashing his face. Peleus fell backwards, and rolled, regaining his feet. He glared at the dark mare standing before him, taunting him....and ran forward. Tehthu laughed, as the dreamer dashed toward him, and fired another shot from his chakram. Peleus dodged aside, and swung his blade. The hit scored, slashing Tehthu on his arm, just below the claw.

Tehthu roared, and his eyes glowed red. His face split in a smile, the gleaming white needle-like teeth a sharp contrast between the darkness of his face. Tehthu began swinging wildly, slashing the air in front of him, as Peleus dodged deftly between the flying claws. Tehthu roared as hit after hit landed on him, and moved backward. He began firing blasts at Peleus, and scored. Peleus took the first chak blast square in the chest, and was flung backward against the wall. The next three shots pounded into his avatar, completely destroying it. His soul floated above the ground, staring at his dead body. He watched as Tehthu grinned, and stared right at him.

Tehthu raised his arm, and began evoking. Suddenly, Keltus dashed in front of him, yelling, "Run, Peleus, he's going to Dreamstrike!"

Peleus flew as fast as he could, while Keltus delayed Tehthu, attacking him.

Tehthu glared at the annoying red-robed dreamer before him.

"Mu waga flata, eokius", Tehthu growled, and blasted Keltus.

Keltus screamed, as his avatar was dissolved around him. He didn't scream for long, however...because immediately next came the Dreamstrike.

Chapter 7

For many months, Tehthu and his mares became the rulers of the dreamscape. Dreamers lived in fear, and did not leave Threshold, for fear of their own souls. Slowly, the Cenotaph of Lore, haven of knowledge, and temple to those influential to the dream, became Tehthu's personal castle. It became twisted, corrupted.

Peleus stared from the portal of East Road, watching the guardians at the Temple of Darkness, as the Cenotaph of Lore was now called. Its original name had been forgotten in the wars, pain, and strife that had followed the invasion of Tehthu...The Nightmare Wars.

The Temple was blood red, and darkened to abyss by the corruption of the chaos. The original gold of the Cenotaph still showed through in some places, but very few. In front of the portal into the Temple, stood 4 Agoknight Guardians. They patrolled back and forth endlessly. Within, the temple seemed to be a buzz of activity, for it was now the center of all maren activity. Mares trooped endlessly in and out, there appeared to be a seemingly endless supply within.

Peleus watched scrutinizingly, memorizing the defenses, and weaknesses of the guard. The agoknights seemed wary enough, but they only guarded the outside. From his position, he could see that there were no guards on the inside of the portal. Peleus turned to his companion, Mikal.

"What do you think, Mikal. Any way in?"

Mikal looked scrutinizingly at the doorway, studying the agos. "Yes, I think that if we can get past them, we'll be home free. Tehthu should be residing in the monument at the center."

Peleus nodded. He reached within his pack, and withdrew two chamele alterors, and pressed one inot Mikal's hand. "Are you with me?"

Mikal looked at the defenses, and nodded. "For Keltus."

"For Keltus."

The two Chameled, and neared the agoknights. Fearful that they might have Vision on them, the two stayed in the shadows, until they were close enough to strike. A line of Bogroms were filing out the doorway.

"According to procedure, they should leave, and the next group would not leave for another ten minutes. That should give us enough time to get past these guards, and inside. Once we're there, Mikal, I'll need you to guard me. I'm going to be able to concentrate only on Tehthu."

Peleus had returned to the Dreamers of Light citadel immediately after Keltus had been slain by Tehthu. He had not been there to witness it, but as he was floating up Mt. Illapse in terror, he felt a tight constricting within his soul, and he knew what had happened.

He'd spent the following months training, and meditating. His Gatesmasher had become tinted green from the number of mares he had collapsed. He was the most accomplished warrior in the Dream city. The past few months had been sheer devotion, and discipline for him, and they were all leading to this; the confrontation.

He looked down, and drew his Gatesmasher. The blade, though invisible to most eyes, was still visible to him. The moonlight glinted softly off of the metal, and the runes he had traced in it glowed a soft yellow. He had been given Keltus' possessions, including his books of magic. The runes were supposedly runes of power, and of strength. Peleus did not care; to him, the runes were so Keltus could in some have part in the final destruction of Tehthu.

As the last Bogrom filed out of the courtyard, Peleus and Mikal flew out of the shadows, blades flashing. Two of the Agoknights collapsed in the onslaught, and the other two were completely taken off guard. They recovered quickly, and attacked the dreamers.

The Agoknights were good fighters. Mikal reeled from the first blow by one of them, and was sent sprawilng against the temple. Peleus was engaged in a deadlock with his, an endless series of thrusts, and parries. Blade sparked against claw, and the roars of anger by the agoknights soon drew more mares to the battle.

Mikal slashed desperately with his blade, as two Shamblixs joined the Agoknight attacking him. Chakram blasts flared toward him, and he held his shield up in defense. The twin blasts plowed into the shield, which dissolved from the strike. The agoknight lunged at him, and he twisted to the side, around the mare. As the mare flew past, he stuck his blade down behind him, right through the creature's rib cage. Continuing with his momentum, the blade slashed downward, through the bottom of one of the Shamblixs, leaving one facing him.

Peleus was surrounded by four Agoknights, parrying claws from all sides. His shield was dented from many blows by the furious mares, and his blade was becoming dented as well, from their hard claws. One Agoknight soon fell to his blade, and the others backed off to regroup. It proved to be the one moment that Peleus needed to recover, and he dashed headlong into the mares, blade extended. The mares stepped aside, to let the charging dreamer run between them, so they could attack. However, Peleus was not the fool he seemed. As he flew between the mares, he jumped, and twisted, swinging his blade around in a circle, slashing those on all sides of him. The three Agoknights collapsed, simultaneously. Peleus turned to assist Mikal.

Mikal was being battered by the Shamblix, whom had been joined by another agoknight. The two mares were pressing him against the wall, leaving him little room to maneuver. Mikal slowly edged to the right, toward the portal, so that he could at least back up, to get a better area of attack. Peleus dashed forward, and shoved his blade deep into the back of the Shamblix, which roared in pain. The agoknight, however, continued to attack. Mikal continued edging sideward, while still engaged with the Agoknight. The Shamblix Peleus attacked was mortally wounded, but still fighting. Peleus had his hands full. Mikal continued sidestepping, until he was in front of the portal. As his foot made contact with the door frame, he back stepped through. He heard a low hum, and the Agoknight on the other side ceased his attack, an evil smile coming across his face. The ago turned, and advanced on Peleus.

Mikal watched the scene in utter confusion. Deciding that the mare must think him wounded or something, Mikal ran forward toward the portal.

As he sat foot on the edge of the Portal frame, a bright flash struck him, knocking him back into the room. He stood, shaking his head. What the hell was that? He stepped forward, and extended his hand toward the portal warily. As his hand neared it, the portal began to glow brightly. As his fingertips brushed the glowing field, the portal flashed brightly again, and he withdrew his fingers quickly. They were burnt.

He dazed solemnly out of the portal, as Peleus quickly finished off the last two mares. The Agoknight, and the Shamblix finally collapsed, and Peleus sheathed his blade, and began walking towards the portal.

"Stop, Peleus.", Mikal said, in a seemingly disembodied voice.

"What?"

"Stop, I said. This is a trap.", Mikal intoned, "Somehow, Tehthu has managed to trap these Portals. I cannot leave."

Peleus stuck his hand out toward the Portal, experimentally. The Portal flashed, and he withdrew his hand in pain. Mikal sighed.

"And, it seems that you cannot enter, my friend."

"What can I do?"

"You must go...go tell the others of what happened. Surely, between all the dreamers, you can figure out a way..."

"I won't leave you, Mikal."

The portal behind Mikal opened, and was filled with darkness.

"Tehthu..", growled Peleus, as the dark mare made his way towards Mikal.

Mikal looked at Tehthu sadly, knowing that resistance was purely an exercise in futilism. He was never that great at fighting, and he knew it. Tehthu neared Mikal, and placed a claw upon his head. Mikal collapsed, and Tehthu began to drag him off into the temple.

"TEHTHU!!!", screamed Peleus, helplessly from outside.

Tehthu turned, and laughed mockingly. "Garagon, eokius. Druh vsidal. Skryt. Vdere mu voagar, Tehthu knu. Tehthu kipaktra mu. Tehthu eovac mu." Tehthu turned, and walked into the Sanctuary, leaving the lifeless avatar of Mikal laying on the steps.

Peleus stood there, for what seemed forever, before finally leaving the Temple.

At the base of the portal, sat a Chamele alt, in a pool of tears.

Chapter 8

Inside his chamber, Peleus sat at his desk. For the past several days, he had been locked within his chambers, poring over Keltus' many tomes of study, in the hope of finding something that might help. He had little doubt, though, as the mares were something new to the dream, and little was known of them.

He slammed close the cover of one book, and picked up the next one. This one was Keltus' notes on arts that he was studying. He flipped through the pages, skimming through his notes on the use of Invisibility, Blend, and Blast. Pages and pages of worthless study. He sighed. He picked up the book, and started to close it when a drawing caught his eye.

The drawing was that of a mare...one of the smaller ones, the ones they call Emphants. Beside it was drawn the form of a dreamer, with lines connecting the two. The lines were labeled, with Keltus' cryptic scrawling, and Peleus couldn't decipher it. He stared at the picture, and the notes scrawled beside it. It apparently had something to do with manipulating your avatar, but he wasn't sure. He closed the book, and tucked it under his arm, and walked out of the room.

He walked over to the chambers of his dear friend, Crysana. Crysana was a teacher of arts, and very wise. She had worked with Keltus on several occasions, and the two of them had even played roles in introducing arts into the Dreamscape. If anyone would be able to decipher the notes, it would be she.

She turned towards him as he entered her room.

"Well hello, Peleus!", she said, smiling. She was clothed in a robe of pure white, and was seated at her desk. Her raven hair had traces of silver coming in, which gave her the appearance of being slightly older than she was. But, if her hair made her look older, her face made her look younger. She had the face of one entering the finest times of her youth, her face slim, and smiling, without a wrinkle to be seen. Peleus honestly had no guess as to how old she was, the subject had never came up. She could be ancient, she could be young. But, in honesty, it mattered not. He walked forward, and extended the book, opening it to the page with the drawing.

Crysana took the book, and examined it. "Where did you find this, Peleus?", she asked, "What is it?"

"It was within his books, m'lady. "As to the latter, I was hopeful that you could answer that part for me."

Crysana began skimming over the page, mumbling softly to herself. "I vaguely recall him mentioning something like this...he often spent time studying these mares. What this was, I believe, was an art he was working on to mold his avatar into the form of one of them, so that he could interact with them, to learn more about..." She stopped, the reading, and turned to Peleus. "This is not about that Temple, is it?"

"M'lady, do you think that if I were to appear as a mare, that I would be able to infiltrate the temple?"

"'Tis possible, Peleus, " she started, her face dark, "but I'll not have your death on my hands if it does not work. I cannot tell you in good faith that it will."

"But if it does...I can avenge him"

"Peleus, it is foolish to think that you alone can defeat Tehthu..."

"I WILL kill him, m'lady..I'll not let him live to torment other dreamers.."

"But Peleus, surely you can't think thou art strong enough to.."

"Crysana, I am going, and you cannot stop me."

"I was not trying to stop thee, Peleus," Crysana said, standing up. "I was telling you that I am going with you."

"No, m'lady, I'll not risk your soul in a vain attempt to.."

Crysana put a finger up to his lips, and he felt the power coursing through her avatar. "Yes, Peleus, I respect your concern for my welfare. But, I must ask one question. How do thou plan to stop me?"

Chapter 9

Rac slunk around in the shadows near the temple, at the Evernight entrance. He smiled ruefully. In there, were treasures untold. Artifacts from before The Nightmare Wars, Artifacts from before even the Dreamer Wars. Who knew what items might lay untold of inside.

A patrol of Bogroms passed by, and he shrunk back into the shadows. A thief by nature, he and the darkness were one. His true name was Kelith Reginald III of Tyrinus. But, he had earned the nickname Rac, because of his nature, much akin to that of a raccoon. To these ends, he had even begun to take essences of mares, and make a darkened paste out of them. He applied this to himself, as camouflage. When he placed it around his eyes, the nickname of Rac became set. Dressed in complete Abyss, and Earth colors, he blended in well with the dreamscape.

For days he had been studying the entrance. Two days ago, a group of dreamers, the remnants of the Entropy Coalition, had came here. They were the group responsible for opening the rifts in the dream, and allowing Tehthu and his minions in. They came here as their last hope, trying to atone for the evil they unleashed. Willing to sacrifice their lives for the dreamscape, they entered fearlessly. Rac had watched as they entered the first room as one unit. Then, there was a dull hum, and they had all froze. One got scared, and turned to flee, only to be blasted back in by the portal. Then, Rac had watched helplessly as the Dark Mare Tehthu, and his minions entered, and killed the dreamers at their leisure.

There was some sort of security system at work here, and he had been watching for the next few days hoping to figure out some way around it. The only thing that he noticed, is that any mare which entered it seemed to glow.

On his fourth day of watching, he began to get the idea that the portal allowed the passage of any being who had the essence and form of a mare. The essence would not be difficult to come by, just collapse a mare and you'd get it. In fact, most of the people he had seen trapped within had maren essences with them. However, the form of a mare would be much more difficult to come by. Impossible, in fact.

He had taken to searching for another entrance, when he saw two dreamers enter off of Evernight, and slide quickly into the shadows. They stood together, and edged closer to the portal, careful to keep close to the walls, to avoid being noticed. Rac laughed. They were almost as good as him! Well, almost, anyway...

As he watched, the lady, from here she appeared to be fairly old, reached within her pouch, and withdrew an old, worn book. She flipped through the pages, and began reading. He edged closer, and got to where he could see the book. The page seemed to show a picture of a dreamer, connected to that of an Emphant.

The older lady looked at the young man standing near her. "Are you ready, my friend?", she asked, "I think that I understand how this works."

Rac leaned closer as she began to explain how a dreamer can manipulate their avatar, but they needed to have a form of equal weight, height, and mass as their current avatar. The only mare that was equal, was an Emphant. She then began to explain the process through which one could enter into the temporary trance, to change their avatar.

As Rac watched, her form slowly changed, thinning, darkening, growing longer. Her back extended, and erupted into a pair of dark wings, and her face elongated into a protruding jaw, lined with sharp teeth.

The man following her, closed his eyes, and fell into the same trance. Slowly, his avatar took the form of that of an Emphant as well. They looked at each other, and began to speak.

"I've noticed, from my sitting here, that you must also have the essence of a mare with you. Have you one, Crys?"

The other one growled, and said but one word. "Maren."

The one that had been the young man grinned, showing a full line of teeth, and responded, "Mathz, Crys. Minit."

The lady smiled, "Puuu, ifnru, Peleus." She turned, and joined a line of Emphants that were just coming off of Evernight, and entering the Temple.

Rac watched as the two flew gracefully into the line, and went uneventfully into the Temple, unimpeded. He grinned. He had listened, he understood the art. This was his chance...he could get in there! He would be the first into many of the ancient chambers!

Rac closed his eyes, and concentrated on changing his form. He remembered back to the diagram he had seen, which parts of his body should change, and what they should change into. He felt the wings sprout out of his back, and he joined his legs together into one long, thin tail. His arms fell to his side, and he held himself aloft by flapping his wings.

He watched the file of mares pass by, and slid in quietly behind the last one in line. He floated safely past the Agoknights standing guard. Once inside, he slipped out of file, and floated off in search of treasure. At last! It was all his!

He glanced around as he floated, and a glimmer on the wall caught his eye. He flew over, and noticed a jewel, roughly the size of his fist, wedged into the wall. It sparkled softly, like the soft rays of the moon. It was a small, pure black sphere, clasped by a evil looking claw, which was itself carved out of jade.

Rac stared at the jewel. This thing was marvelous...why, it was worth almost everything else he might find in the temple put together! He stuck his elongated mouth into the crack, and tried clenching his teeth around the jewel. His first few tries failed, but finally they clamped around it, and he pulled his mouth out, with the prize caught between his jaws. He smiled a toothy grin, and left to see what else he could heist.

Chapter 10

Peleus and Crysana followed the file of Emphants, until they were sure they could leave file, without being caught. Crysana waved her Emphant head toward the tall Tower in the center, indicating that if Tehthu was anywhere in the Temple, he would be there. Peleus nodded, and the two flew towards it.

They flew into a sheltered cove, near the portal of entry. Slowly, under the cover of darkness, they resumed the forms of their original avatars. Peleus turned to Crys.

"You don't have to come in. I thank ye for bringing me this far, but I'll not ask you to come any further. You can still safely leave."

Crys smiled wryly at Peleus. "My dear, you didn't ask me to come this far with you. I TOLD you I was coming. And as for leaving, you seem to forget, Keltus was my friend as well. Just because I was not present when he was destroyed, it does not mean that he means nothing less to me. I go, becuase I cared for Keltus as well."

Peleus nodded. "Then, m'lady, let us enter."

Chapter 11

Tehthu stood in the middle of the Temple, surrounded by his Horron commanders. Things were going badly...the dreamers had observed his traps, and had devised a way of trapping the normal doorways, and portals of Underlight. Now, his troops had difficulty moving around freely, for many of the doorways were blocked with a glowing, pulsating blue light, that would not allow any but the strongest of his minions through. Regiments of Bogroms were trapped, unable to leave the room that they entered in. Emphants and Agoknights alike were stranded near the houses, unable to attack, yet unable to retreat as well.

His forces were being divided, and conquered.

He also felt the strong forces of chaos pulsating against the walls of the Dreamcity. It appeared that the dreamers themselves did not notice, but the pressure of chaos on the outside, was pressing against the shell created by the Dreamwrights. Soon, it would pop like a bubble, and pure chaos would come flowing in.

A flood of pure chaos, that would destroy his forces, and the dreamers alike.

The pressure was becoming too much. At this rate, he would either be destroyed, or conquer Underlight, just to be destroyed by the flood of chaos. He looked at the commanders surrounding him. They had discussed it long, and all had come to the decision, and agreed. They must retreat for now, and return to the chaos from which they were spawned. Then, after the dream was sundered by chaos, they would return, return as the victors, and claim Underlight in the name of Tehthu.

"Kotokes, burrd plakha Underlight. Burrd kotoke nhon, chaos cmag." Tehthu said, lowly growling. Eokius prazah, en kotoke coatm, en ktak burrd."

The Agoknights nodded, and filed out of the doors. Tehthu looked around, his red eyes flashing. So close, so close. So close to being the one true force in the dream. If he had only figured out the secret of this Temple, he would have destroyed those pathetic dreamers. But, he would win anyway. He would return after their death, and claim the dream as his own. He turned, and started to the door.

Peleus dashed from the side, knocking Tehthu to the floor, and landing on top of him. Crysana raised her hands, and flames shot from her fingertips, blasting Tehthu's exposed side.

Tehthu roared in pain. He rose, tossing Peleus aside almost easelessly. He glared at this dreamer, who had dared to blast him. He moved towards her, when he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his side. He turned, and slashed at Peleus, who in turn struck toward him again. Crysana's fingers alit, and Tehthu roared again, being stricken by blade, and art at once. His mind raced. Where were his minions? He could not defeat these two alone! They both continually attacked, and he couldn't find time to recover. His eyes landed on the portal to the East, and he slid past Peleus, and dashed towards it. Crysana and Peleus followed, right behind him.

Chapter 12

Rac rounded the corner into East Road, his jaws bulging with small jewels, items, alterors, and, of course, one of Tehthu's Jewels. The other, unbeknownst to Rac, was located here in East Road, the only other entrance to the Temple.

Glancing about, he saw nothing. He was about to move on, when he heard a mighty roar. He turned, and saw total blackness, as Tehthu dashed out of the Temple's Center, and right into Rac.

Tehthu was about to reach the doorway, when it happened. When Tehthu plowed into Rac, everything had fallen out of his mouth. Rac, knocked unconscious by Tehthu's mass, slowly changed back into his dreamer form. The two jewels, activated by Rac's dreamer presence, began to activate. However, they were not made to activate at the same time, and their spheres of power overlapped, and began to charge.

The resulting explosion, ripped asunder parts of the Temple. The last thing Peleus saw before the wave of power hit him, was Tehthu's outline on the portal to Trinity, still alive. Peleus, Crysana, and Rac were utterly destroyed, and ripped from the dreamstate.

The blast, negatively affected both of Tehthu's jewels. They would never work the same again. Now, when a dreamer's presence was detected, the portals in the Temple would not be barriers to dreamers, but would not allow mares to enter instead. The East Road had the power to block any mare from entering the Temple. And the jewels are still laying there to this day.

The blast ripped through the temple, and smashed against the walls of the dreamcity. The blast was enough to offset the balance of the chaos outside, which then resulted in a rupture in the walls on the other side of the dream, creating the Dorsal Rift. Dreamers would then attempt to close that rift, ignorant that if they closed one, the imbalance of pressure would rip open another on the opposite side. So was born the Caudal Rift.

That day, the dream was utterly destroyed.

Chapter 13

Many months later, dreamers once again returned to the Dreamstate. These were newly awakened, and knew nothing of the history that this place had once held. They traveled about in groups, observing this wondrous new world opened to them.

One such group happened upon the Temple.

Silan gazed up at the towering minarets of the large monument erected before her. The pools outside were filled with a reddish liquid of some sort, dirty. The walls, though they appeared to be gold at one time, were now reddish, and slightly brown. She turned to her companions, Marius, and Osman.

She shivered, appalled by the grizzly sight of the Temple. "What should we call this place, Marius?"

Marius walked over to the wall. "There appears to be something written here..."

He rubbed through the several layers of grime, dust, and who knows what else left there, revealing four words.

"I can only make out the first two....let's see...C...Ce..Cenotaph..."

"Cenotaph? What's a cenotaph?" asked Osman.

"A cenotaph is a memorial to someone, when you have no body to place in a grave, " Silak explained. "Continue, Marius."

"Well, that's about it...I can read, Cenotaph of...something. It's all scratched up, and the letters aren't clear. All I know is that whatever it was, it's four letters long."

"Whatever it was, it matters not." Silak looked up, and shuddered. "Dread. That's all I feel near here, so let that be its name. From here on out, this shall be known as the Cenotaph of Dread."

References

• https://web.archive.org/web/20031017083014/http://www.underlight.com/files/docs/Temple-of-Darkness.doc