Chronicles of Gielinor: The Story of Ellani

Prologue

As the few remaining people fled the village, the Undead Horde entered it on the other side. As he watched back, he saw the first buildings catch fire. 'Quick! Keep running!' he shouted. A little kid fell over, exhausted as he already was. A helping giant picked him up like a feather and bore him like a feather.

An hour ago they were still asleep, but suddenly the alarm had rang. Withing minutes the village was gathered at the main hall, were two Hill Giants were waiting. The news the mayor brought was bad. The Undead Horde was spotted about 30 minutes away from the village. The giants would travel with them to carry exhausted people. Only the most basic items such as simple food and weapons could be taken.

Two hours later they stopped running, the potions were already nearly depleted, and only 3 people had the magical Rings of Lumbridge. They made a fire and cooked some food. After an hour, the giants were set out to watch over them and the villagers went to sleep.

"They are asleep my lord," the skeleton bowed before the dark figure. "Only the giants are guarding them."

"Good. Go and get Zar'kalum and Kreef Albys for me."

The dark figure produced a sound that resembled something like laughing.

He walked toward the end of his tent. removed the curtains. Standing in front of the chest, he muttered a few words and made a few gestures with his hands. With a click the chest opened. The figure took out a book, with a red symbol in front. It seemed it was as a star of Saradomin, but it was crimson red, and a golden circle was drawn around it. Laughing again, he opened it and started an incantation.

As the red-clothed monk aproached him, he felt a shiver go down his spine. He wanted to get away, but was hold in place by something he couldn't see nor feel. The monk stopped ten feet from him, and suddenly a circle of fire was around him. When it subsided, several ethereal creatures had appeared around him. His mouth moved, yet produced no sound. At that moment the creatures rushed toward him and began to rush around and through his body. Suddenly the flew into the air and bundled together above his head, then moved down with incredible speed, ramming themselves into his head. He screamed and screamed, he thought it would never end. Then it went all black.

That morning, the villagers ate a quick meal. The giants just went away to hunt on the game that lived in this region. After an hour they returned, a few bloodstains still around their mouth and on their cloths.

The Mayor didn't survive the night, so the deputy-mayor took over. When everyone was ready, they set out again, this time walking. After a hike that took the entire morning, the reached the outskirts of the forest. They where at an hours walk from the nearest in, if the went straight to the main road, about 1400 feet away. At the moment the last one stepped out of the forest earth erupted all around them, and they were immediatly surrended by a battalion of skeleton warriors and rangers.

They formed a circle for better protection of the weak, but they all knew they would all die unless a miracle happened. Then a rain of arrows flew towards them as the skeleton warriors rushed towards them. Already some of the villagers had fallen, but using their wooden and bronze shields they managed to get into battle with the warriors. After they eliminated a few of them, the archers suddenly stopped firing and the warriors retreated to form a full circle.

They saw someone teleport in, just behind the ranks of the skeletons.

"Who is the Mayor?" a voice asked.

"The Mayor is dead" the deputy said "he died during the night."

"Then who is in charge here?" the voice asked in repliance.

"I am."

"I want something that your group possesses. In trade I am willing to let the remainder live, under certain other conditions."

"What are your terms?"

"I want the boys named Kreternari and Barracus, and the girl Lumina to come with me."

"NO!" shouted the mother of Kreternari and Lumina "please don't take them from me! They are the only thing I have left!"

"I am willing to accept your terms. What are your other terms?"

"I will tell them when I have the children."

"Very well" the deputy mayor said. "Send him the children."

"Baracus isn't here" Master Siphosia said, "he wasn't in the town when we left."

The children Kreternari and Lumina were already at the ranks of the skeletons. They were let through, but no-one could see the figure who was talking.

"What a shame... Very well, Zar'kalum, do you work. Kreef, get the children away. I have more things to do."

The villagers saw several columns of dark-purple light, and the children, the mysterious figure and Kreef were gone. Then, a high-pitched tone was heard, and several balls of fire appeared in the air. They came crashing down on the villagers.

At that moment, Master Siphosia said to the boy she was carrying, "Remember this. You have to get out of here. Get to the city of Varrock, and find Marudo. Tell him that I send you. I will give you this token so he will recognise it." She plucked a badge from here tunic and gave it to the boy. "Do you understand what I want from you?"

"Y... Y-Yes" the boy answered scared.

"Good. Wait for my sign, then you can escape."

Then, another Fire Bolt was launched from the air, and the skeletons re-engaged fighting. This time, the villagers were slaughtered. Suddenly Siphosia cried out, and the boy bolted through the ranks, bank into the forest. He immediatly took cover and looked and the bloodbath. He swore revenge, or he would die trying to get it.

"Ellani! Wait, you forgot your ammulet!" Baracus came walking out with his ammulet. It was made of gold, with two saphires and a diamond in it. It was a family heirloom according to Baracus, which belonged to the youngest generation of the family. According to Baracus, it didn't have any special properties, but when Ellani wore it during Practical Magic Exams he always passed with flying colours. Today he had a PME for the missile-spells using the Chaos Rune: Air, Water, Earth and Fire Bolt.

The examinators always had a special dummy which could measure the strenght of a spell, and, if it was strong enough it would turn green and you passed. Depending on the runes used, you got a score. The problem with Ellani was that he never actually USED runes. He casted the spells, but the runes never lost all their power, they easily could be used again.

As he arrived at the Exam Center for Combat Classes he saw that there were only three other people for this exam, the others of his class failed misserably at the preliminary exams. He was young for this exam. Perhaps to young?

"Okay, Ellani you can stand over here" the instructor-examinator said.

"Mm... Oh, okay, sure..." Ellani replied.

"Here's your bag of runes. there are enough runes for 10 possible casts. You know the drill. Go ahead."

Ellani stroke the ammulet for good luck, and he suddenly felt a small rush of magical power go through his body. He immediatly felt this was the power from chaos runes and the four elemental runes. He tried to center it in an orb of magical power, but what he got was rather frightening: the earth and fire runes binded their power so an orb of lava came into life, and a cloud of steam around it which was conducted from the water runes. He tried to feel the air power withing, but he noticed that only part of it was there, so he decided to try and fire it on the dummy. As he launched it, he felt all the power still in his body, but when the orb of power hit the dummy, it caught fire for a moment, after which is was put down by the water-power in the spell he fired.

"What was THAT?!" one of the examinators asked "that isn't at all possible!"

"Well it seems it is, but that doesn't explain why HE can do it" another examinator replied.

"Anyway, you passed. But can you do it again" the first examinator asked.

"I'll try..." Ellani said.

He grasped at the magical power of the runes, and felt there was barely anything used for the spell. He figured out was he should use and formed another steamy orb of lava. He fired it, and the dummy exploded on contact.

"Well, it seems it is quite a powerfull spell you somehow developed. Would you like to have it legalised for certain purposes and have your name bound to it?"

"I don't think anyone else can fire such a spell. It has something to do with this ammulet, which I truly can't lent out for examination and such" Ellani replied.

"Well, that's too bad..."

"What about calling it the Cataclysmic Bolt? Do you know what power it uses?" the second examinator said.

"Well, It uses only a small amount of chaos, and some elemental, power. Air is used for propulsion, earth and fire for the lava and water for the steam I guess..." Ellani told them "it seems it drains only a small amount of rune-power, because It can be casted for, I think roughly half the power of a chaos rune, and somewhere between 1 and 2 of each elemental rune."

"How can you use partial power of a rune? This is weird. We are going to look this up. Good luck with your further education."

"Well, how was the exam? Passed with flying colours again?" Lerina asked.

"Yeah, I even managed to produce a new spell... please don't ask about it or tell anyone okay?" Ellani replied.

"Okay, I promise" Lerina replied.

She would hold her promise, Ellani tought, she's like that. I wonder how many secrets she can keep though.

Lerina was a true opposite of Ellani, except in age. Ellani was a mediocre boy with a special talent for magic. His blue eyes and dark hair with a few hairs pure white makes him easily distinguisable in a crowd, whereas Lerina has dark eyes and darkblonde hair. Also, Lerina has no magical potential whatsoever, so she can only use the basic Home Teleport Spell, and has to resolve to using Tablets for casting magic spells, but as they are expensive she doesn't use them. She excells in melee and ranged combat and plans to be a Forest Ranger in the future, and because she's as nimble as a deer, she probably will pass the tests with ease. Their common friend, Berinar, is a child of Druids, and thus, he is a Guthixian follower and devout pacifist. He has a great deal of knowledge in the lore of herbs for his age, and he can already summon the basic monsters such as the Spirit Wolf without any need. He hopes to be able to master his Summoning skills so he can succeed his father in the Council of Gielinor as the Summoner's Guild Leader.

Then the classroom opened and a man stepped in, with three birds in separate cages. Everyone immediatly saw they were from the rare breeds of the God-birds; Saradomin, Guthix and Zamorak. The owl was asleep as it was mid-day and it hunts in the night and sleeps during the day. The other two birds where chattering to each other, as if they were talking.

When the murmuring stopped, the man took a Master wand out of his pocket. Ellani nearly fainted seeing a person who had mastered his magic skills so far he was given a Master wand from the Magic Guild in Yanille, and even kept all THREE of the godbirds.

"Good-day, I am master Lerrota Esmatic. My skills are in Magic and Summoning powers, but I can do a fair bit of melee and use various of high-powered ranged weaponry." He made a few gesture in the air and his inventory enlarged in the air. Everyone saw it. A shortbow made from wood of a Magic Tree, rune-tipped arrows and a Dragonite Scimitar. He even placed a Black salamander (caged of course) on the table. "So, anyone questioning my authority on teaching you something?"

After a few seconds he nodded. He then made another gesture and everything disappeared in the bag he had placed against the desk.

That evening Ellani, Lerani and Berinar where at the pub, discussing what courses they would follow when this year was over.

"I will probably go to the Magic Guild to train my skill and I hope to get some answers about this ammulet" Ellani said.

Lerani told she was going to travel around the world, to get entrance to the Ranged Guild and the Warriors Guild. They had some challenges which she needed to complete for access. Berinar told he was going to Taverley, so he would live among Druids, and being able to master summoning under the teachings of Paxra Elrom.

They just finished their second beer when the door opened and a robed and cloaked figure entered. He seemed to search something, or someone.

As he seemed to spot the trio, he walked to the bar, ordered something and walked towards them. As he closed in on them, they still couldn't see his face. Only when he stood right before them, his face was minimally lighted from the candle on their table. The face was worn, the man had a small, white beard, and a small, and a bit more greyish, moustache. They couldn't make up what he looked in the eyes, but he didn't had a bad aura.

So here you are... Good, very good. I need to speak with you in private. All three of you. I am in dire need of help, and I was told I would find it here. a voice said, yet no-one talked. As they looked at each other, thinking what it could be, the voice returned.

Mmm, you wonder how I can do this yes? Well, let's just say I knew someone who could do this to, and who teached it to me before he died. Well, care to invite me to your table?

"Oh, yes of course... Umm, sit down, please" Ellani said. He moved a bit towards Lerani so there was enough space for the mysterious man to sit down. Just as he sat down, the pubowner arrived with a large dish of food.

"Would you like to have a snack to? Go ahead" he now said with a calm, relaxing voice. It seemed as if he didn't recall the tought-talking of a few seconds ago.

"What is this all about" Lerani asked.

"Ah, you must be Lerani. Well, I am on a quest, but I need several people to help me. I know of your special... ability Ellani, and of yours as well, Lerani and Berinar."

"Special abilities? What are you talking about?" Lerani replied.

"Well, you are a very good Forest Ranger, capable of both the sword and the bow, highly agile and with what you can learn from this quest, you can become the greatest warrior and bowmen not seen for a thousand years. And you Berinar, you can summon powerfull creatures, during this quest you can even learn how to summon monsters normal people can. Some might shun you for it if you use it to much however, so whatch out if you go with me."

"What is the quest" Ellani asked, eager to go if it was easy enough.

"You must go with me to Ardougne, don't worry, we'll use teletabs, and enter the Underground Pass."

They all agreed immediatly, if their parents agreed to. So, the stranger talked to the parents, and they gave way to let them go, even to the Underground Pass. The only problem was, was that the stranger didn't tell them they were going there.

"All here? Good. Now, here are your tabs, go ahead and break them. I'll see you in Ardougne" he said while handing them one tab each.

He immediatly teleported away, leaving the kids behind. "Well, shall we?" Ellani said, and they each broke the tablet at their feet. Seconds later they were in the Ardougne Market Square, near the east walls.

"Ah so there you are! I was afraid that you were stuck in the Abyss, I just registered a fault in the teleportation matrix. Probably someone else who's teleporting. Nothing to worry about now."

"Where are we going to sleep" Ellani asked.

"There is a wizard that house a house in the northeast corner of Ardougne. We can have a stay there, tomorrow I will go buy supplies and we'll travel towards the Underground Pass in two days."

"May I ask something" Lerani asked.

"Sure, but don't expect an answer."

"What is your name?"

"Mmm... my name, my name... well, you can call me Sephir"

"Okay then, Sephir, how did you find us" she asked to him.

"I didn't find you, you found me. Don't bother about it, it will all become clear soon enough."

"Ah, here we are. Seems he is not at home. Oh well, I have a spare key" Sephir muttered when they arived at the house "when we're inside, go to bed and sleep. If you want, I can give you a sleeping potion so you fall asleep immediatly. It's a variation on the Waking Dream potion from the Moon Clan."

As soon as they lay down on their beds, they fell asleep. When Sephir saw it, he quickly went to the basement. After muttering a few words, an image of a demon appeared. It was nothing like the ordinary demons present in Gielinor. It had a mouth, but no lips. It has a set of horns set upon the top of it's head so they moved aside and up, and then towards the inside and up. It's eyes were cold black, with no visible irises or pupils, as if it was one black hole. It's wings were folded up, yet it's span was still at least 2 meters across. The demons heigt surpasses even that of giants. Due to it's size, it's legs weren't vissible, but his chest and back were full of [bleep]es.

"I have them my lord" Sephir said to the head, bowing in reverance.

*Good, very good. I want them alive, so don't do anything funny. I suppose you used the teletabs I gave you?*

"Yes, we are in the parallel version of Ardougne, in the demonworld."

*Good, I suppose you told them you're going to the Underground Pass?*

"Yes, as soon as they enter, they cannot leave"

*Indeed. The Master will be very please.*

"One more thing, the ammulet doesn't seem to work as a magic-detector as it is supposed to. Instead, it somehow transfers rune-energy to the wielder and let's the wielder cast far more powerfull spells with far less rune-power used. I saw it with my own eyes."

*What? This is not good... Wait, perhaps it is even better than we hoped. If we can channell the energy... yes... good. I will send a messenger tomorrow when you collect 'supplies'*

"Yes lord"

At that moment the head disappeared.

"I'am afraid you will have to stay here today" told Sephir, "it is too dangerous to go outside."

Everyone agreed with it, seeing that is was storming. The thunderstorm was big, and moved barely over their head and the rain came gushing down. After Sephir left they made breakfast for themselves and tried to decide what they were going to do that day.

"We could explore the house? We only have seen our bedrooms last night" Ellani said.

Lerani and Berinar didn't know what to do otherwise, so they went to their bedrooms, cleaned up and went to the upper floors. After walking around for a few hours they went to the basement. As soon as the last of them put his feet on the ground, the door closed with a loud bang, and the walls disappeared. Instead, there was only a large open white space, with no visible floor, sky or boundaries, except a portal just behind time. As they turned around to get back, the portal closed. Then, a shining light appeared in front of them. Inside, the body of a strange, never before seen creature appeared. It's head was smooth, it had blue eyes and white-blonde hair. It wore robes very similar to the known, but rare Enchanted robes, yet they were white with golden stripes and a green marking which looked like a tear or river.

*Good day, Children of Guthix* a telepathically voice said, *you are in grave danger. The man you know as Sephir is actually a shapeshifter demon which escaped from the demonworld. He has brought you to another plane so he can deliver you to his master. When you leave to the Pass tomorrow, there will be a small cave to the east of it, covered by bushes. If you manage to get in I can protect you until help can arrive from your own plane of existence.*

The voice was gone, and the light faded. They were back in their bedroom as if nothing happened. At that moment they heared the front door close with a bang. It seemed Sephir had returned.

After a few hours of rest, he called them down.

"So, I have all the supplies we will need. I packed them all so we can leave as fast as you will."

"We could go now" Ellani proposed.

"Are you sure? What do you think about it" he asked the other two.

"I agree" they said in chorus.

"Okay, strap on the bags, then we will set out."

Putting the bags on their backs, the left the building and headed west. As they arrived at the great wall dividing the plagued part away from the healthy city, the sun had gone under. According to Sephir this was the best time to attempt a crossing, as the Mourner's would shift guard just after sunset.

Taking a whip that hung against his leg, the man looked at the wall. He hoped that the ones he was following were at the other side, but could't see him when he would climb the wall. He sighed again as he slung the whip backwards and forwards great speed, so that the tip was spun around a tree's branch. Now he could climb over it. After landing on the other side, he quickly went back into the shadows.

"Well, we're at the entrance" Sephir told them. It was not a pretty sight: the main entrance consisted of a gaping mouth, with two more holes were eyes would be in a normal living face. As they approached, a rushtle disturbed the quiet. As Sephir turned towards the sound, and began walking towards it, the trio began to walk backwards, towards the place where the cave should be.

"Wait, let me go first" Lerani whispered, "I might be able to find it, because I have learned quite a bit about the covering of tracks."

Neither of the boys protested, so they went on. When they were in the shadows of the trees, a man darted out towards Sephir, and threw a dagger which penetrated it's legs from behind. He let out a demonic howl, immediatly ceasing it, but it was to late. He turned and saw that the children escaped, and a man who had a large sword in his hand, which reflected light from no-where in his eyes.

"By Guthix I slay you Demon" the man shouted, and the sword cleaved him in two. Immediatly the body changed back to the natural state of the shape-shifter demon: a bluish, hardscaled figure, most likely a humanoid in normal form. Then it rose up in fire and burned to cinders. The man cleaned the blood from the sword, and walked towards the children.

"Good day, I am Cerax Jones, a member of the Crux Eqal. I assume you are Ellani, Lerani and Berinar?"

"Yes, we are" Berinar replied.

"Good, follow me. You won't find the cave without someone who already knows where it is."

He then quickly ran back to the demon, picked up something from the ashes, and came back. Walking quickly, they came to a small group of trees, dead and withered, but still growing sickendly coloured leaves.

"Ellani, you're the mage. Could you burn them away? We won't need the hidingplace anymore."

"Sure, but I don't have any runes for a fire strike" Ellani told him.

"Yes, but you can still do it. Remember you need less power from runes? Take this fire rune, and take all it's power. Channel it in your body, and you'll be able to make a small fire with it to create an even larger fire" Cerax explained as he took a fire rune from his pocket and gave it to Ellani.

Ellani tried to take all the energy, but as he tapped to take the final strands, the rune bursted out in a flame which died out immediatly. He then tried to channel the power, but lost a great deal of it as he was still flabbergassed from all the power that came from the runestone.

Ultimately, he was able to produce a flame and he burned away the trees. The group entered the cave, and all of the sudden a tremor was felt. A few boulders came crashing down, blocking the way back out, and obscuring the entrance.

"There, they can't come in, and the cave will be forever gone soon anyway. Jones, the portal is ready. We can go as soon as the children have rested a bit." They heared the voice, and immediatly recognised it as the voice from the spectre in the basement from the house.

"Good. We'll wait for three hours, Gielinor Observatory Time, and use it then" Jones talked a bit more with the woman, but the children were too tired to make anything sensible out of it, so they just went to sleep in a corner.

"Come on, wake up" a soft voice said, "it's time to get back to Gielinor."

"Hmm... I am rather worried about the boy Illidra. The firerune you gave me burned to cinders when he was tapping power from it."

"Really? Impressive, that means he has a magical power within himself" the woman, apparantly called Illidra, said.

"No, it's the ammulet. It enhances my magical power, be it arcane, elemental or something else" Ellani interrupted.

"Even more interesting. Who gave you it?"

"I don't know, my father got it from a woman as a token when she helped him escape from something horrible. He doesn't talk about it."

They stopped talking. Cerax and Illidra went to the portal and blasted some spells on it, and the portal went open. They used two pack-yaks, freshly summoned, to carry their stuff from the base, and a few things were left behind with a magical spell bound to them, so that they would explode as soon as the portal closed, taking a large part of the mountain range and the demon-Ardougne with them. The children stepped through after the pack-yaks, and Cerax and Illidra as final.

As they stepped out on the other side they noticed they were in a house in Taverley, home of the druids. Before they could do anything they were bound by spells, and they could feel someone probe their head.

So you have returned, good. Now we can do what was meant to happen. I hate demons, and that was one vicious trick he pulled us, disguising as me, and getting you nearly to the demon-realm of Elkar Rasoë. If you would be there, you would be better off dead. I also notice that you, Ellani got a slight power-increase in the elemental arts, interesting. You had to burn away the trees isn't it? Very well, you can sleep for two days. We'll help you rest and eat so we can discuss everything later.

The children then saw everything go black, and fell asleep. The druids took them to beds and laid them down to rest.

Authors Note: This is were part one ends. Comments are now open, but please, only constructive criticism, and ratings are available in the poll. Thank you.

Part 2 - Awakening of Power

As the scout raced towards the city, arrows and magical projectiles flew across him. Something that resembled a fire blast hit a tree which immediatly went up in flames. A group of them circled around an invisible point while rushing by, hitting a group of pillars among the ruins he just left. The pillars crumbled to dust, and several of the zombies and skeletons were buried under the collapsing rubble.

When he saw the city gates, he knew the barricades had to be removed for a moment for him to pass. He decided to shoot the plans he found over the barricade, and then try to eliminate as many of the enemy as possible. Taking out his crossbow, and laying down a bolt on it, he wrapped the few pieces of papyrus around the bolt. He stopped the horse, took aim and the bolt flew over the barricade. Immediatly he turned around, drawing his sword and charged towards his doom.

"Sir, our scout managed to get these plans of an unknown army across the barricade. It seems a group of skeletons and zombies has been marching toward the city. The lieutenants who defended the city a short while ago think that was just a probing force."

"Thank you Master Satterni. Where is the scout? In the hospital I assume?"

"No, he shot the plans over the barricade because he didn't want to risk the city. He charged right back into the fray." Satterni said this with his face showing no expression. He was tall, yet somehow he managed to climb up the ladder of spies. He was born in a poor family, and left home early to live as an adventurer. It didn't went as he wanted, turning him into a rogue spy, selling his information to the highest bidder. The former Master Spy, Acknor, noticed his cunning and talent. He himself saw his own mentor, Master Siphosia, reborn in this man. His face never changed, except on very rare occasions.

"That is... most unfortunate. If we manage to survive this we must do something to commemorate this. I charge you with that job" the general said, his face changed nearly unnoticable, but no for Satterni: he was saddened by the news because it was one of the best spies he had left. The general was a man of few words. He was tall, even taller then Satterni. He bore a mask across his left part of his face, because it was burned with magical fire, a wound from a war in the past.

"You are dismissed Satterni. Go home, take a bath, whatever. I want to see you back in three days, or I will send word to you if it changes."

"Thank you Sir" Satterni replied. He would have smiled if he could, because he has been away from home for a week, being busy with all kinds of stuff: reading reports from the spies, confirming them, and several assassinations that required such subtlety the King had ordered that only the Master was allowed to complete the orders.

As soon as he was home, he noticed something was different. There were six travelling capes hanging on the wall, of which one he recognised immediatly: it had a hat that only one man would possess.

"Cerax!!!" he shouted out loud. Immediatly a group of six people came from the living room, three adults and three children.

"Satterni! How good to see you old fellow" Cerax said.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Oh come on, relax. We needed a place to stay, and with that army on your doorstep we thought you would be away so your house would be empty" Illidra told him.

"You could have gone to the palace or the army to inform if I was home so I wouldn't be surprised to see you..."

"We need your help" Ellani said.

"Oh, and why" Serrani asked.

We will tell you, but not here. Go to the southern, more deserted parts of the city. Tomorrow, at the third hour after sunrise Observatory Time. No questions.

The next day, a group of six people hurried through the alleys of the getto's of Varrock. Suddenly they stopped without a word. One of them opened a door and everyone slipped in. As the last person slipped in he removed the magical seal they placed earlier. A few moments later, they were all vanished.

{Author's Note: everything in is in telepathic communication}

Good, everyone here? I will first teach you how to do this. It's very simple, ridiciously acctually. Open your mind and I will imprint the knowledge in your mind.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!]

[Hell, it frigging burns!!!]

[Let it stop, let it stop, LET IT STOP!]

[i can't take this!!!]

[Please, stop iiiiii...]

He fainted... oh by Guthix, at least his powers are present here.

What do you mean with 'his powers' Lerani though-asked.

It means he has dormant powers, just as you and Berinar. Sephir replied.

You mean I have something you haven't? Cool! Berinar replied.

Yes, but it is dangerous if not properly taken out of their dormant state. You see what happened to Ellani. Somehow he must have already taken possession of at least part of his powers, but he has no control. I want to know what gives him no control.

I think I can help with that a suddden voice interrupted, It is the amulet. It enhances his magical strenght and control over the arcane in a way, but his own dormant powers are also used. That is so dangerous about it and you all have seen what has happened due to it.

May I ask who you are Sephir asked to the voice.

Of course. You knew me as Hazelmere. Don't ask please. This is something I don't understand myself either. Death is a strange thing, and Lucien and the Stone of Jas have been factors which I didn't considered all too well. I only have limited time. Where is the boy?

He fainted. He lies on the bed in the corner.

Ah, that'll speed up my work. Let's begin.

"My lord, we have found them" Kreternari said to a man sitting on a throne of bones, "They are in the city, however we cannot approach them as an enourmous powerfull magical shield is stopping us."

"Interesting" a voice said, coming out of the black void inside the hood of the man. The man was robed in all black, as if he was a moving spot of total emptiness. He was , a Lord of Elkar Rasoë. He was sent here to conquer the city of Varrock and of Falador so the artifacts that laid buried there could be used to resurrect Zaros, the Empty Lord. His face could not be seen by mortal men, and if they could, they would have died out of pure horror. The eyes were not present, and the sockets were filled with an ethereal liquid hold in with a strange sort of bandage across the eyes. He had horns portruding from his head, bending to his back, but not touching it. His mouth had two rows of teeth, and his ears were extremely sharp-pointed. His entire body wasn't covered with [bleep]es though, so he was forced to wear armour made of ethereal and magical imbued metals. Kreterna did not like to server him, but was forced to do so out of fear.

Kreternari was a human, he knew he was one but was not allowed to live as one. As a child he was taken away from his mother, together with his sister Lumina, against both their mother's and their own will. As soon as he reached adulthood, he was put through a horrifying ritual, giving him extraordinary powers for a human, yet they were weak in comparison of the demons. As Kreef Albus was a strong mage, able to form magic attacks out of no-where, Kreternari had to use the runestones, and he had only a handfull left. He though they would be able to escape if they ever came into the human world. Now, he was disformed and barely a human anymore. He and his sister were both given medaillons after the ritual, said to supplement their powers. He felt otherwise. They were surpressing them. But he couldn't remove it because it was protected by magic far stronger than his will could overcome.

"I wish there would come help to free me of this talisman..." was his last thought before he went back to his room and to sleep.

There, done. Do you feel any better? Sephir asked Ellani

I feel as if my head is burned to a cinder. Ellani thought, without knowing that he was actually communicating telepathically

Yes, I'am sorry for that. I didn't know it could cause such a reaction. Sephir replied, you know how to control this, you need to dig a bit before you understand it all. Don't worry. We will leave as soon as you're feeling better. Were going to Lumbridge.

Lumbridge? Lerani asked

To be exact the swamp-caves. We need to visit Juna the Snake. Sephir explained

We have completed the preparations Sephir. Is Ellani fit to travel by Abyss Teleport Service? Illidra asked to Sephir

Yes he is. Ellani, Lerani, Berinar, we will be travelling in three groups. Berinar, you are going with Illidra. Lerani will be going with Cerax and Satterni. Ellani, you will travel with me Sephir continued about safety measures and after an hour they set off.

"Braaaaains!"

"Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains!

"Brains, braains braaaains brains brains!"

"Oh shut up you fouls..." Kreternari said to the zombies just in front of him. He was told to ambush the group of travellers they were following for several days. He had ordered his skeletons to dig themselves into the ground surrounding the spot he picked. It had a dense population of oak, maple and some more common trees. As long as the zombies didn't shouted all to loud it would work perfectly. At that moment he saw two people coming up the road. A boy and an elderly man. He immediatly recognised them as his targets. He prepared to let loose the trap.

"So, that amulet of your's enhance your magical strenght. It even let's you use less power of the runestones" Sephir said to Ellani.

"Yes, I somehow even managed to create a new spell using all four elements. Fire and Earth forming a ball of Lava, and Water dousing it and steaming of it. Air for propulsion. It let out a faint green glow however, and I still don't know what it was" Ellani told to Sephir. As he said the words 'faint green glow' Sephir's face became a bit more pale. Suddenly he stopped, looking around as if he was searching for something. A flash of purple he saw, or so he thought.

"Prepare yourself. When I say so, drop to the ground. No questions" he instructed Ellani.

"Understood" Ellani acknowledged.

They walked further, and as soon as they entered an even denser portion of the forest a sudden ring of green fire was among them. A circle of skeletons walked through the fire towards them, encircling them. The fires died away and a host of zombies and more skeletons was what they saw.

"Now Ellani!" Sephir shouted, as he began to glow with a fluctuating a wide array of colours. Suddenly a dome was created which grew in size touching every zombie and skeleton. As soon as they were all hit, the dome stopped expanding and shot bolts of lightning towards all of the foes. Those that were hit disintegrated on the spot. The few that remained charged on.

"Care to do some training Ellani" Sephir asked while charging up a Crumble Undead spell.

"Sure, let's have some fun" he replied and immediatly began charging a Death Strike spell, invented by himself.

They fired away and soon no skeleton nor zombie was left standing and they continued on their way.

A few thousand feet away, Satterni and Cerax just cleaned their swords from a little swordsplay with a group of vicious zombies who popped out of no-where and charged them as fast as their animated feet could carry them.

"That was fun" Satterni said.

"Yeah, though it was over far to soon" Cerax responded.

"You're crazy! You think this is fun?! I almost got killed okay" Lerani bursted out in anger.

"Oh come on, you used your bow very well" Cerax replied with a calm voice.

"Hmpf, you should have protected me instead of jumping right into the fray. If that single zombie didn't shout out just before he struck I would be dead by now" she explained, still angry that the two men went into the ranks without fear of death. It wasn't healthy for them, nor for her.

"Well, at least we're almost at the lands around Lumbridge. I can see the first farms already" Satterni said.

"Good. Then we are almost there. I could use a rest."

"It seems Illidra and Berinar are already there. I saw two Spirit Wolfs running through the forest with them on their back. Being cappable to summon beasts seems great..." Satterni said.

"Let's hurry then, I don't want to be late for supper" Cerax exclaimed.

That evening they had a most wondrous supper. There was cooked jubbly meat, three kinds of soup, several salads, potatoes, and even a large chunk of shark-meat. After eating themselves full, they went to the private chambers of the Duke, to discuss any possible help to get to Juna.

"First I would like to thank you for that wonderfull supper. You must have a most talented cook" Sephir, being alone with the Duke, said, "I would like to know his recipe for the tuna salad, I really appreciated it."

"Well, to be exact, it was me who cooked" the Duke replied. He grinned from ear to ear, "but the salad is a family secret, so I won't give it away."

"Ah well, it was worth a try" Sephir said, knowing he wouldn't get it in the first place.

"But let's get to business. We need to get into the caves below the Lumbridge Swamps, and I'am afraid that no-one of us knows the way through them very well. We would like to have a guide from Lumbridge to get us to the entrance."

"Well, that's easy. A short time ago a tribe of goblins dug a hole in the kitchen cellar wall, during their excavations and expansions of the mines. After some diplomace with the help of an adventurer, we came to know that there was also a shortcut made to the caves which lead to Juna. It's barely a half-days walk without interruptions, but there is one problem. You will need a lightsource or little bugs that live in the caves will start swarming you which results in death if the affected person does not escape to a lighted place. When you reach the area where Juna is, which you'll know by the light-creatures, it won't be necessary anymore tough."

"Well, that makes it rather simple. Are there any dangers that came into the cave we haven't heard yet?"

"Well, we did hear a booming sound shortly after we explored and excavated part of it. But nothing ever came out. There are of course lesser creatures such as Cave Crawlers, Slimes and other bugs, of which the Slimes are the most dangerous due to their poisonous body. If you even touch it you'll be poisoned."

"Thank you. Luckily we have some anti-poison potions and medical supplies, so I think we'll be fine then. We'll be going to our rooms for some rest, and come back tomorrow morning to get into the caves. Good night."

"Good night."

As Sephir walked back to the guest-house where they were logged, he felt a faint tremor, not noticable by normal men, and the temperature of the ground seemed to rise a fraction for a moment. He shuddered of the thought of what could be hidden underneath Lumbridge. The three-headed green dragon's location was known, it was on the other side of the river, buried under the ground. He shook of the thought and walked into the guest-house. He saw that Cerax and Satterni were talking with eachother, and Illidra was walking towards him, with a serious face. He immediatly ordered an extra-large pint of Misthalin Morning beer. After that, he ordered a bottle of wine and two glasses, and after getting them he nodded towards an empty table in the corner. Illidra noticed and turned towards it. After they both sat down, and wine was poured into the glasses, Illidra relaxed.

"How did it go" she asked.

"As espected, but with complications" Sephir answered.

"Complications?"

"Yes. The good news is, is that we won't have to travel through the marshes, nor the dangerous parts of the caves. The bad news is, is that a demon might be in the caves."

"A demon? What kind?"

"I am afraid one of the elemental ones, to be more exact, a fire demon."

"Oh Guthix help us. As long as it isn't Bal-Gorgarr, it isn't that bad, but if it is, then we might need help of one of the people who won't help us in any way."

"Yes, I know. But we won't need help. As long as we aren't attacked by the demon before we visited Juna we will be safe."

"Do you really think the boys and the girl can bring down a demon of that magnitudal power down?"

"Yes, I am sure of it."

"Well, we'll see."

"Cerax, Satterni, get to bed, now. We leave in the morning."

"Awww, we've only had a few beers yet..." Cerax moaned.

"You had 27 beers, of which four were extremely potent, and you Satterni, had 23, of which one was an Dragon Bitter, which is dangerous for you" Illidra told them.

"Oh come on, you don't need us tomorrow, it's all about the kids!" Satterni moaned back.

"No it isn't. You need to see her to. Don't you know the powers of the Tears of Guthix?"

"Yes, yes... they give you strenght-"

"In the places you have the least, exactly."

"Alright, we're going. After our snack!" Cerax exclaimed as a barmaid came with a plate full of snacks such as sushi-rolls made of sharkmeat, fried potato-chips, small bits of beef, and small chicken drums. It was divided between Cerax and Satterni, and the swallowed one snack after another. In fifteen minutes it was all gone.

"The bill can be set on the name of Satterni, send it to Varrock, Barracks No. 14, Military Base. And this is for you" said Satterni, handing over a couple of gold coins.

"How do you feel" Lerani asked to Ellani.

"I still have a headache" he responded.

"Well, I can't do anything else. Berinar, got any ideas" she asked him.

"Only one left I guess" he said, while taking his bag with herblore ingredients.

He took out some herbs and other medical items. He grounded a horn of a unicorn, put it in a vial, took a root, placed it in the vial and poured water in it. Afterwards he added several herbs, creating a dark-green potion, with a pleasant odour. He then poured it into a burner, and lit a light under it. As the smell spread across the room, Lerani and Berinar felt better, but Ellani fell asleep immediatly.

"Well, I guess it works" Berinar said to Lerani.

The next morning, Sephir took them to the castle after breakfast, and they all went into the cellar of the kitchen.

"Listen very carefully. All the creatures you see will not be aggressive as long as you do not act aggressively. The slimy creatures that live in the caves are poisonous and a mere touch will infect you. We have only a limited supply of anti-poison, which should be enough if someone does gets infected. There is a single stream crossing our path with a slippery stone in the centre for hopping over. Cerax and Satterni, you have the pickaxes?"

"Yes" was the response.

"Illidra, you have the items you need?"

"I have them all" she replied.

"Lerani and Berinar, are you ready?"

"Completely" Lerani replied.

"I don't think I miss something, so yeah" Berinar responded.

"Ellani, feel better? Got the ammulet?"

"Uhm... yeah, I think so. I got the ammulet."

"Good, let's go. Follow me."

Immediatly he walked to a corned, through some stacks of boxes and sacks. As he approached the now obvious hole in the wall, he lit a light on top of his staff, and went through.

"They have passed into the caves, I can no longer follow them" the creature said.

"Let's hope for the best" the other said.

"They will succeed. They must" said a third, more humanoid creature.

"Maybe it was wrong to put the trial so soon after the infusion."

"When should they have gained it then? If we let loose this creature upon the open world he could escape and endanger whole Gielinor."

"As long as he succeeds in defeating the Unnamed Menace who tries to resurrect me, you should be pleased" the humanoid figure said.

"Oh shut up Zaros, you know very well that you want him both succesfull in resurrecting you and be defeated at the same time. That is impossible" the first creature said.

"But I can still hope for it. Nothing is impossible with this boy" Zaros said, ending the conversation.

"Illidra, there is something wrong" Sephir halted the group in a small alcove. It had suddenly heated up a few degrees, noticeable only to Sephir, and to Illidra.

"Yes, I can feel it. It's heating up. We must hurry" she said.

"Come, quickly everyone. We're not far of the stream. From there, it's a quick run to a small cave. If you get through, you can get to Juna. Watch out for the chasm tough."

They immediatly started running, and after a short run they arrived at the stream. But it was steaming and the could barely see the stone. Cerax simply used his whip to swing to the other side, and told them to use it instead.

"Clever, didn't thought of that" Sephir exclaimed, while watching their back.

As Illidra passed over, and Sephir as the only one on his side, it happened. A crack in the large space they left behind only minutes ago. Sephir then knew his fear was true. He immediatly launched a deadly volley of magic towards the passage they ran through so nothing could go through without the help of either a pickaxe or very precise magic, which both required lot's of time. He then went over the stream, which now was almost dried up. As he landed on the other side, the remaining liquids caught fire.

"Quickly, through the tunnel" Sephir shouted.

They ran through a colony of huge frogs, stumbled upon the tunnel unexpected, and ran through. Suddenly they were in a bright-lighted area, and they could see the wide chasm in front of them. They stopped, looking at the strange blue light creatures floating over the chasm.

"Come, we're almost there" Sephir said to them.

"Okay, watch your step! There's a loose stone here" Cerax shouted, nearly losing his footing as he stepped on the stone.

"There's another one here, it just rolled into the chasm" Satterni shouted towards the party.

"Okay, I'am down now. The rest can come" Cerax shouted.

"Okay, you're first Ellani. I'll come with you so we can go to Juna immediatly. Then, Lerani and Berinar should come one after another. Illidra, you're last okay?"

"Sure"

Ellani started climbing down carefully, but nothing happened and he landed on his feet.

As soon as Sephir was down the two headed further. After a walk of some meters Ellani could see the snake Juna. It was large, green and was sitting in front of a small alcove with blue and green streams coming down from the roof.

"Ellani, this is the area known as the Tears of Guthix. I assume you know the story, so here is Juna, the Guardian Snake of Guthix"

"Hello sssstranger. Haven't met you before" Juna said to him.

"Hello, uhm... how should I call you?" he asked, his body quivering a bit of fear. He never saw a snake in his live (except in biology classes) and now he was standing before the biggest snake known to man.

"Jusssst call me Juna"

"Okay, Juna"

"Juna, we're here because we need help"

"Yesss, I know. I wasss told of thiss long ago."

"Great, then I will not need to explain anything. Will you allow the boy in?"

"Does he has a scale?"

"I have the one meant for him" Sephir said while taking out a bowl made out of pure runite, with a pure gold edge and symbols made of silver across the outer edge.

"Good. Boy, go in and collect the Tearsss. When you come out, drink a third of it, for the remainder is for the other two Children of Guthix"

After a short time, the bowl was filled, and Juna called him out. As he drank the part of the liquid, the ammulet began to glow, and a light engulfed him. It then began to shape like an orb around him, untill he could not be seen anymore. The light then began to retract into him and when it all was gone, he still stood there just like normal, but with completely different clothes. He had a robe-like jacket with a large symbol of Guthix on the upper half of the left side, his pantaloons were changed into loose pants, which were tight around the feet, the boots were higher, and finished with a fur-like coating. It was all coloured in white, which was the most, with black trimmings, and on his hands were gold-like gloves. On his head was now a circlet looking a lot like the tiara's used by the runecrafters, but this one was completely green. To finish it all, he had a cape with the Symbol of Guthix on it, and a infinitely black trimming on the lower side and silver clasps which connected it to his clothes.

"Well well, nice clothing!" Ellani shouted

"Wow, where did you get that?!" Berinar and Lerani asked simultaniously.

"Here, take this as drink half of what is left" Sephir told them.

They did, and as soon as they were finished the ammulet Ellani was wearing shot two lances of light towards them, and they were envelopped in light much like Ellani was a few moments ago. When the light had faded again, Lerani was clothed in tight clothing, completely black and extremely flexible, finished with runite trimmings. She was wearing the same circlet, but no cape, and the boots were made of some sort of runite, but they gave her a feeling of lightness rather than heaviness they should do. Berinar was wearing clothes more similar to Ellani, but his cape was fastened with fur, his boots were set of with something that seemed like bone and he wore a robe with pants instead of a jacket. He too had the pure green circlet, and gloves that were made of an unkown material.

"Niiice" he exclaimed.

"Cool, black clothes!" Lerani said.

Then, the three gems from the ammulet came loose. Ellani managed to grab them before they fell on the ground.

"You can take the ammulet of now. The power it held is now within you" Sephir eplained, "Thank you Juna, we must go now"

"May Guthix bring balance in your life" she said to them.

As they walked back, Ellani took of the amulet.

"What should I do with the gems" he asked Sephir.

"Look at your side" he responded.

When he did, he saw a small staff dangling with room on top for a single gem. He then noticed that Berinar and Lerani had a staff and a sword respectively, each with room for one gem.

"Berinar, Lerani, come over here. Look at this, who should have which gem? One of them is black, so I think that one is for you Lerani, but the other two are harder to discover."

"Maybe we should check both possibilities?" Berinar proposed.

"Just give me the black one and I'll try to fit it" Lerani said.

"Here you go" Ellani said, handing over the black gem to Lerani. She tried to fit it into the spot that was meant for it, and it sled in easily. When she tried to get it out, it wouldn't budge.

"Guess this one is correct" she proclaimed.

"Let's just try, okay?" Berinar proposed again.

"Allright" Ellani said as he tried one gem, which didn't seemed to stay in place. When he fitted the other one, in slid in just like the one of Lerani.

"Guess this one is for me then" Berinar said to them, sliding the final gem in his staff.

As soon as it fitted in, they started to glow and all hell broke loose. A gigantic roar came from down the chasm, and the temperature rose dramatically. They then noticed a faint glow on the ceiling, which meant that a fire was down there, but it was growing stronger. The light-creatures had already fled to the place Juna was, where they were envelopped with a shield-like dome. When they spotted Sephir and the others, they saw that they were envelopped with a simultanious, though bigger dome. At that moment, a sudden rush of knowledge ran through their brains, and as if they were one being, they all knew what they had to do: face whatever was coming from down the chasm.

The demon was large. Its torso was as big as a house, and on it was a head that was bigger than a adult human. Atop its head were two large horns bended towards the back, and three rows of horns which ran from his eyes to the back of his neck, getting a bit smaller as the got lower. The eyes were black, with pupils of crimson red. Its mouth was filled with teeth that could very well tear through flesh and bone. The arms were long, and ended in four-fingered claws. The legs were almost as long as a normal-sized giant, and thick as the trunk of a tree. They ended in hoof like feet.

But the most impressing fact was the pair of wings that spread across the chasm. The harder parts were black, and the flesh was crimson, slowly fading to orange towards the edges. On top of all that, the main body was wreathed in fires, creating an intense heat and lighting up the entire cave. When the demon saw the trio, he let out a loud growl.

Immediately thereafter the demon created a sword made out of fire and charged towards them. Ellani immediately created a protective shield, which held long enough for them to gather their wits.

Well, what should we do? Ellani thought towards the other two.

Maybe a creature from another plane can destroy it? Or at least douse the flames? Lerani suggested.

Ill see what I can conjure Berinar said, already grasping his bag. He then noticed it was gone. At that moment the gem on top of his staff glowed; wait, perhaps the staff is the answer. Lets see.

As he tried to summon a wolf, a gargantuan beast appeared before them, barely fitting on the cliffside. It was hit by the demon, and it immediately disappeared again.

That was interesting. Maybe you should focus on a water-based creature. Ever heard of one? Ellani thought.

Well, I already was busy with training for summoning an Ibis, but I also hear of the Titans. Perhaps a Geyser Titan could help? Berinar replied.

Please just try. I cant hold out much longer Ellani thought as if he was screaming.

Okay, here goes

After a fraction of a second, the staff glowed, and suddenly a large fountain of water came gushing from down the chasm, directly hitting the demon. It steamed away, but formed again around the children.

Youre safe for now Children of Guthix. His fire shall not penetrate my water said a telepathic voice.

Umm, we need that thing taken down Lerani thought bluntly.

Mmm, okay. Girl, you must follow as soon as the fires are gone. You have limited time to reach his neck and stab him. He shall try to reawaken his fires as soon as they are put out, for they are his lifeforce the voice sounded.

Okay, Ill be as fast as I can Lerani replied.

As soon as she stopped thinking, the steam formed a large bubble of water, and reshaped itself until it was al around the demons body. It then imploded, and immediately the fires were extinguished. Lerani quickly jumped up the arm the demon had stretched, and ran for her life towards the neck. Mere seconds after she arrived, she felt the heat already returning.

Dont be afraid, I will keep this place wet so you can slice through his skin and cut off his head. Be prepared to be very wet as I will form into a vortex to carry you to the cliff the voice said again.

Okay, Ill be ready for it.

She stood up, balancing carefully, but it was easier than it seemed. As she took out the new sword, she saw the entire blade was made of silver, with a green snake on both sides. Taking it upside down, she rammed it on the necks hide. It didnt seemed to do anything, but then she noticed the gem started to glow faintly, and the sword took over the glance. She tried again, and this time she penetrated all the way through the neck. The demon let out a terrible roar, and began to sank into the chasm.

Hold on the voice said.

Suddenly Lerani felt she was sucked into a vortex, being perfectly balanced between updrift and fall. Then the vortex moved to the cliffside, and she was dropped down.

Glad to help. Need further assistance the voice said as the vortex reformed into a Geyser Titan.

No, I dont so Berinar though.

No, they wont. You can leave. Thank you for your help the voice of Sephir said.

Very well, good-bye said the voice, and the Titan began to fade.

Good job defeating that demon. Be prepared. If this one broke loose, others might to Sephir said to the trio, who were looking at Sephir with rather mad faces.

Why did whe had to fight that demon? What if we couldnt use our newfound powers Ellani screamed aloud against Sephir, to mad to use telepathy.

Because I knew you could. All will become clear in due time he answered.

Iam not satisfied with that answer Ellani said

Neither are we Lerani said, speaking for herself and Berinar.

Ever wondered why this demon should break loose to attack three children? He could rather have attacked entire Gielinor by breaking out through the meadows and farmland.

We just want a simple answer Berinar said calmly.

Iam afraid that is not possible. Iam sorry, but even I do not fully understand everything Sephir said, ending the conversation.

Epilogue

That evening they had another dinner at the Dukes castle. This time, the feast was even bigger, with meals even from as far as the Elven lands and from the Lands of the East, brought by an adventurer who was willing to sell it for a nice amount of gold and promises of help in many ways. After the dinner, they all got a teleport tablet for transport to the private house of Cerax, for a well-earned rest.

Ellani, care for a round of Balance Issues in the Battle Room Lerani asked.

Sure, but I bet Ill be able to beat you he replied.

Ha, I got my dose of magic power to you know she responded.

Well, that will get interesting. Guys! Lets watch this Cerax called out to the others.

And so the evening and night went on, everyone unknowing of an imp that was spying on them, teleporting away to report to his master.

So they have visited Juna and defeated the demon Bal-Gorgarr. Most interesting. Dont let this leak out to the humans, or anyone else for that matter. You shall be rewarded handsomely the Dark Lord said to the imp, which just returned from a recon mission.

Well, I am already smarter. Could you give me the power to become invisible? Or speed? The imp was a bit nervous, because he knew invisibility would be a big reward for a good spy-imp like him.

You please me. I will give you both so you can please me even better the Lord said.

With a few gestures he left, the imp stepping quickly behind him, glad that he could be of even better service.

Kreternara, come quickly. I noticed an upsetting of balance. Or properly said, evening of balancing the woman said.

Really? Maybe, maybe we will be rescued soon the man said.

I just hope they wont be killed when they try to They are but children now. They will have to face many dangers before they will arrive here she responded.

Let us hope they will come he concluded, and they left to their chambers, hoping for salvation or death.