| With the immense pain he was already in, WhiteShadow didn't need any more unpleasantness. Radlin's aim, and his power, unsettled WhiteShadow even further. Seeing that WhiteShadow was still injured, Yasmine placed her hands on him, focussing her healing power... To be stopped by Radlin. "Stand back, girl, a simple Res technique is not what he needs." Kneeling down at WhiteShadow's side, Radlin traced a rune in the air, somewhat similar to two hearts intertwined, and guided it down to the stricken Motavian. With a silent explosion of blue light, the technique healed WhiteShadow's burns completely. His robes, however, were beyond repair, still smoking on the floor. Standing up, Radlin rubbed some dirt from his hands, a satisfied smile on his face. Turning to Yasmine and his Zedd, he smiled. "NaRes technique. You'd do well to learn it. Comes in handy." Yasmine and Zedd just looked back in confusion; although they had seen, and admittedly killed Palmans, none had regarded them with the calm and easy manner that this one did. Helping WhiteShadow to his feet, Radlin took control of the situation. "Well, Shadow, you've picked up a couple of Numans in your travels; you must have a lot to tell me. That, and you've defeated Gert-Kaar, a necromancer of no small reputation. Alright then; you, boy, grab that vile magician's robes; I heard something hit the floor when they dropped. And you, girl, sit down, you look exhausted. Rest yourself." Radlin's commanding tone left no room for questioning. Smiling, he turned back to WhiteShadow. "Comes from years of teaching. So, what do you think? Do you want to harness this magical gift of yours? I can't force you, of course." Zedd came running over, proffering the leather-bound book Gert-Kaar had saved from the flames. Taking it with a smile and a nod, Radlin swept his arms around the ruined tower. "This is but a small taste of the power I've seen you wield, Shadow, and in this time of turmoil, we could use someone like you on the side of good. The presidential elections are just around the corner..." This announcement was met with blank looks. "And if the polls are telling the truth, Algo is in trouble, Profound Darkness or no Profound Darkness." Yasmine paled at the mention of the source of all evil. "Well, at least you guys know about the Profound Darkness, and that's a start. But there is evil afoot, my friends, and no mistake. You see, Motavia is governed by a council, made up of the elders of the cities on the planet, and overseen by a president, voted for by the people every five years or so. Well, that time is upon us again, and the current president, Xidex, is most likely going to lose the presidency due to his lack of action during that whole affair with Dark Force and all." Once again, Radlin was met with blank looks by all assembled. Sighing, he paused in his story to give a brief retelling of the adventures of Chaz, Rika, and the other Protectors of Light.* Zedd looked a little annoyed at the mention of Rika, but otherwise Radlin's audience was silent the whole way through. "The crux of the matter is, however, that apart from the Protectors themselves. and a select few others, noone knew of the re-emergence of Dark Falz and the Profound Darkness. But, to Ceph and his followers, that's a fact that can be ignored in the search for power. Ceph, you see, is one of the other candidates, and of the hopefuls he's the frontrunner. Y'see, he owns the Hunter's Guild, and thus has quite a lot of power to weild. In a show of public relations savvy, however, he has recently commisioned hunters to do pro bono work to 'rid the world of the biomonster menace'. " Radlin scoffed at the comment. "And while that effort in futility isn't exactly evil, the man himself and his aspirations are beginning to look like they are." Suddenly, WhiteShadow piped up. "Evil? How can you tell what is evil or not? And who are you, or we, to judge?" Radlin looked at the seated Motavian, meeting WhiteShadow's curious gaze with a confused look of his own. He stumbled for a moment, trying to think of a proper response... "You've killed before, haven't you, WhiteShadow? Biomonsters, I mean." WhiteShadow nodded slowly. "And why did you do it?" Radlin asked. "Because they were trying to kill me." WhiteShadow's response was curt, measured. He didn't know what Radlin was getting at, and didn't trust him, either. "Really? And that was wrong, wasn't it? You've done nothing to them, have you?" Radlin countered, a small smile creeping across his face as he warmed to his argument. "Well, I was just passing through the wilds when they attacked without warning. I defended myself; but there was no reasoning with them." "So, you were passing through their territory, trespassing, if you will, and they were defending their hunting grounds, their nests, and that was wrong; why?" Radlin know leant down in front of WhiteShadow's face, his eyes boring into the Motavian's. "Because they ... Because... Uh, because they didn't simply try to stop me, they tried to kill me outright, where I didn't even know I was trespassing." WhiteShadow was becoming unsettled in this lecture. "Well, not exactly, but you're right. The basic instinct to survive is inherent in all creatures, and isn't wrong, but the way some go about it is wrong. Ceph is not just trying to survive, he's trying to control, and at the expense of others. He hasn't killed anybody yet, but I'm sure that at some point, if he's threatened, it may come to that." Radlin stood back up, crossing his arms across his chest. "See what I mean, now?" WhiteShadow nodded. "Well then, I'll continue. Ceph has a mysterious history, but I have some information that is pretty damning. For starters, he only gained ownership of the Hunter's Guild a few months ago, and the rumour is that he got it by blackmailing the former owner, Leo Galliani. In another public relations move, however, he has allowed Leo to keep working there. Possibly to keep the man under his thumb. Leo is a wealthy and popular man." WhiteShadow's mind flicked back to a few days ago, when he had seen a man named Leo at the Guild. Was this the same man? It certainly didn't sound like him. That dancer was afraid of him. "Besides, Ceph is related to a former member of the presidential guard, discharged for using excessive force, who was recently jailed for organising a cult." Suddenly, WhiteShadow gasped. Radlin looked at him. "What's wrong, Shadow? You know what I'm talking about?" "How is he related to Semiru?" Was WhiteShadow's response. "He's his brother, and it seems the seed hasn't fallen from the tree. He's apparently as nutty as his brother." Radlin chuckled at his own pun. Yasmine spoke up, suddenly. "What about the other candidates? Surely there's an alternative to these two." Still smiling, Radlin turned to the inquisitive Yasmine. "Of course there is, but there's only one and.. Well, he's not too high up in the popularity stakes either..." "Why not?" Asked Zedd, who was reclining back on his elbows. "Well, do you guys know about Dezolis? It's an ice planet that makes up the rest of the Algo solar system;" Radlin's words were met with blank looks from his audience, "Heh, well, we'll get to that later. Anyway, this politician is running based upon his plan to mobilise an army of Palmans, to defend themselves from the 'Motavian;" He waved his hand at WhiteShadow. "And Dezolian threat'. Not many are buying his xenophobic bull, however." WhiteShadow continued to look confused. "Seno-what? Anyway, what can we do about it?" "Well, we can prepare at least, and if sanity holds out, no worries, but if Ceph or Rem wins, we could be heading for some dark times. That's why I want you to come back, and train with me, all three of you, so we can defend the defenceless, fight the good fight... " Suddenly Zedd interrupted Radlin; "Uh, sorry to upset your cliched spiel, there, friend, but why would we want to do that?" Radlin leaned back a little, a smug smile on his face as he crossed his arms. "Ask WhiteShadow," Was all he said. |