Sarah here, with a few small notes. First off, the story that I was working on that is not related to Sarah, and the rest of my universe, seems to be unwilling to write itself. So until I feel that the story of the Mage War has been properly told, I trudge ahead, with Faith Sampson, of Guild Aqua. This story is going to start a little differently, I hope no one minds. I tossed a few ideas around with myself, and this one seems fairly coherent.
This time around, I want to thank Shilar, for helping me with my characterization of Faith. While my first section was based on a chat session, this story is based only on ideas, and characters that I made up while chatting. As such, it was difficult to give Faith any kind of dynamic life. She started out rather flat (heh heh) but over the course of several days she started to take form, mostly through the aid of Shilar. Thank you.

For those who read the first story, this story takes place about one month prior to the main storyline described therein. I'll be making a timeline of the story once everything is done. Again I will be making extensive use of flashbacks, probably because I like them so much, but partly because they are the most effective way for me to portray key events in a characters past.
Originally this story was to be set at Revere University, as well, but I wanted to distance this one slightly from Sarah Dallas. This one takes place at a small place called Bellarmine College (it's a real place, although it is now called Bellarmine University). I took some liberties, since Bonaventure was closed as a dorm when Anniversary hall opened. But I always thought Bonaventure was a nice place, so that is where I have set them up.
I don't know if I said this last time, but I will say it now, all characters portrayed in this story, are fictional, any resemblance to anyone living, dead, or yet to be born, is purely coincidental (although all my main characters are generally based on some facet of me.). The story contains adult themes, as well as moments of extreme violence. There is rape, and death, and pain. However there will also be joy, and life, and hope.
As always your reviews and input are valued. Email them to me at Ranmachan1980@yahoo.com  Or if you are able, leave them on the website this story is archived at.

Please, read and enjoy.
Sarah

P.S. For those that feel the need to ask, I will state simply part 2 is a dream/flashback, hence the title of that part. You have been warned.
P.P.S. If you wish to read this as a Stand-alone story, ignore the prologue, and the epilogue. Those are used as linking tools, and are how this story is linked to the story of Sarah Dallas. Once more, you have been warned.

 

Faith Sampson Fish Out of Water

by Mage_Girl_Sarah

 

----Prologue: The War, a Prelude----

T'Gra Spire sat in his room overlooking the Plains of Ferat. Knowing the dimensional magic that was the only bridge from here to the myriad other worlds, made him rather important. Even more so, since the council had moved their base of operations off of Earth, to this much less populated dimension. Granted, he was not alone in his knowledge of the dimensional magic, but he was strongest.

He had always been a bit of a recluse. He had cut himself off from most of society when he came into his powers at age thirteen. What did he need with society anyway? He had powers rivaling those of a deity! His abilities in Spiritual magic led him to the seat of Guild master of Guild Anima. The council was shocked by his appointment. Over the course of the millennia, the council had striven to keep a predominately human membership. The council was in fact very racist, but they were not concerned with the color of one's skin, they were concerned with the ancestry. The Mer, The Cathan, the Ly'can, all had been excluded. The Nosfer's as well had been excluded. All this because of the feelings of inadequacy inherent in the human condition, a sad thing indeed, and a cause for much anger among the non-humans of the worlds.

Now here he sat, a Cathan, and head of a Guild. It made him laugh. The first non-human council seat since Grapa Jer, the Mer Councilwoman from Common Era year 1305. An all-human council had dominated for almost seven centuries.

T'Gra's feline ears pricked up, and he turned his head towards the door, his golden mane twirling behind him.

"Who is it?" He growled, his whiskers bristling.

Timidly, Jeremiah, his servant poked his head through the door, "Master Spire, I was asked to remind you of the Council meeting. It shall start in about 3 hours."

T'Gra's face softened, he knew very well how much his visage frightened some of the house staff, "Thank you, Jeremiah. You may leave now."

Jeremiah backed slowly from the room, and headed back down the hall. T'Gra stood slowly, and headed to his private bath, walking with an eerie grace. His fur bristled as he walked; flowing in waves the color of the wheat fields. He smiled with his extended canine teeth, loving the feeling of the slight breeze on his naked body. He channeled small weaves of fire and water into his large copper tub, slowly filling it with hot water. He chuckled slightly to himself, remembering his fear of water, a fear he had had since childhood, but had overcome with the advent of his powers.

When the tub was sufficiently full, T'Gra cut off the weaves, and sunk beneath the surface. He realized that if they had been on Earth, there would have been running water. However, he enjoyed it here, in his house on the plains of Ferat, in the home dimension of his people. He had a feeling of security, a feeling of belonging that he never had on Earth.

Today was a special day for the Mages' Council. Ever since the death of Flint Trey, of Guild Pyra, the council had sat without a Head. Today, they were to have elections, all five remaining Guild Masters were nominated, as well as the new Guild Master for Pyra, an older lady by the name Ruby. T'Gra was confident in his status with the Council, and felt that he had the election in the bag.

He soaked in the tub, until every last ounce of tension had been soaked from his body, a rare comfort for him. He channeled a few weaves of fire and air, and dried himself off. He proceeded to leave his bath, Jeremiah would empty the tub after T'Gra had left. He walked to his closet, and pulled out his white Council Robes, and donned them quickly. He pulled his golden mane back into his customary ponytail, and smiled at the mirror. His face was a mask of serenity.

"Off to take my place as Council Head." T'Gra smiled again, he could almost feel the weight of the Council Head's mantle on his shoulders. Yes, today was his day.

The Council convened as normal; each of the six guilds took their respective seats around the table. He stood as head of Guild Anima, Ruby Fier stood as head of Guild Pyra, Leena Grau stood as head of Guild Aqua, Paris Tam stood as head of Guild Terra, Sprite Holk stood as head of Guild Blanco, and Jerron Tyl stood as head of Guild Negra. Each had their two representatives from their specific guilds. All wore the ceremonial white robes of the Council.

As the immediate successor to the former Council Head, Ruby was, by tradition, the one who had to call this meeting to order.

"I call this meeting to order," Ruby spoke with soft tones that belied the nervous jitters that threatened to reintroduce her to her breakfast. "We gather today to discuss the matter of bringing a new Head to the Council. All six Guild Heads have been nominated, would any like to reject their nomination?"

Immediately Leena, Paris, and Sprite stood, giving up their nominations, they looked slowly at the three that remained seated. T'Gra, Ruby, and Jerron sat, all three desired the position of Council Head, however T'Gra was confident that he would win. All guilds were equally afraid of rule by Guild Negra, practitioners of necromancy, and even darker arts. Likewise, Guild Pyra had ruled for nearly a century, and he believed he represented a change, that the council desired.

"It would seem we have three candidates, and since we already know that guild loyalty will necessitate that you each vote for your own guild, Guilds Negra, Pyra, and Anima are not to vote. This leaves Guilds Aqua, Blanco, and Terra,." Ruby continued., "Each guild has three votes, so let the voting begin with Guild Terra."

Guild Terra spoke briefly, before they unanimously threw their votes in favor of T'Gra. Guild Aqua supported Ruby completely, which left only house Blanco. The white mages debated amongst themselves for almost a half-hour, before finally they stopped and Sprite stood.

"I Sprite Holk, of Guild Blanco, cast my lot with T'Gra Spire, of Guild Anima." Sprite spoke and then sat down.

T'Gra grinned broadly, as he stood up, "As your new leader..."

Ruby interrupted him, "The voting is not done, T'Gra. Let the other members of Blanco speak."

T'Gra stared at her, but sat down, knowing that voting always went unanimous in the guilds. Solidarity was valued amongst the mages.

The other two members of Guild Blanco stood, and stared at Ruby and T'Gra. Their stances were shaky, and they seemed more than a little unsure of themselves. Finally, they spoke, and surprised all by breaking Guild lines, and casting their lot with Ruby, giving Ruby five votes, to T'Gra's four.

"This can't be." T'Gra shouted. "I am to be the new head! Not her!"

Ruby made a motion with her hand, asking T'Gra to sit down. T'Gra, however, refused to listen. He snarled loudly, as he glared at Ruby. His hand darted beneath his robes, and he pulled out his ceremonial dagger from beneath his robe, and lunged at Ruby, burying the blade deep within her breast. The resulting actions nearly tore the Council asunder.

 

-----Part One: The Unbearable Burden of the Past-----

Faith Sampson sighed. She sat alone in her dorm room, staring at the bare walls. The walls in her rooms always remained bare, as she had never had any real desire to decorate. Why bother, since she would be the only one to ever see them. Well, her and her roommate, but her roommate has a similar patch of bare wall around her bed. She wasn't one to actively talk to others, much less invite them over. She just did her swimming, and came home. That was almost the full extent of her social life, and for that reason, she sighed.

Her life was not a happy one. She found very little joy in the tedium of day-to-day existence. Generally she spent most of her time locked in her room, reading her books. Books were much safer than people were. Books never judged you. Books never said an unkind word to you. Books never laughed at you, because you were 20 years old and had no breasts.

That was another problem she had. She was self-conscious, and her lack of a figure made her even more so. If she cut her hair, she could easily pass for a boy, a short boy, of course, but still a boy. Her hips and waist were almost the same size, only a slight curvature and as previously stated she had a horribly flat chest. Her hair was a mousy brown that hung in limp strands around her very ordinary face. Large thick glasses perched atop her nose, making her brown eyes look as large as small teacups. Her appearance was comical, to be sure, and her total lack of confidence led directly to her incredible shyness.

She slowly leaned back in her bed, and changed her focus to the equally bare ceiling. She looked up and wondered why God had left her so pitifully un-pretty. Why had he made her existence such a constant mockery? She had been good, she had prayed faithfully for as long as she can remember. She hadn't killed any nuns; she hadn't had promiscuous sex. Yet still, she was as ordinary as a desk and about as flat, too. All God had given her was her swimming ability, and truthfully she would give that up in a second to be pretty.

She lay there, staring up for a long time, small tears escaping her eyes occasionally. Hours passed, the ceiling remained the same dull white it had always been, only changing slightly when the sun outside started to go down, leaving her room in darkness. Darkness suited her much better. People can't see you in the dark, and if they can't see you, they have nothing to make fun of. A knock on the door roused her from her solemn musings, and she slowly rose to answer the door.

"Who is it?" She said, her voice quiet, and barely carrying through the thin door.

"Who do you think it is, numbskull?" A familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "It's me, Kelly. Now let me in, I forgot to take my keys with me this morning."

Faith slowly opened the door for her roommate. Kelly Grey stood there a small smile decorating her pretty face. Kelly was almost the polar opposite of Faith. Whereas Faith was small, and built like a stick, Kelly was tall, and had a distinctly feminine shape. Kelly had long flowing blonde hair, and hazel eyes, and would never be in need of a boyfriend, if she ever actually decided to look for one. It was an odd pairing, but somehow Faith still felt an odd kinship with her roommate.

"Hello Kelly, I am glad to see you back." Faith smiled, something she did rarely.

"So let me guess, you've been reading since I left?" Kelly grinned. She didn't know why, but for some reason Faith made her feel good, even if she wasn't very talkative. Maybe it was the strange kinship she felt with her. After all, they had shared similar pasts. Neither one had ever been popular, and despite Kelly's current beauty, she was still not popular, with anyone. She and Faith were their own little social circle.

"No, Kelly, I just sort of sat around, you know the usual." Faith sighed.

"Yes, Faith, and with you, the usual involves reading books." Kelly joked

Faith couldn't help but laugh, "You're right as always. I just finished my last book I'm going to have to pick some more up."

"While you contemplate what your next literary conquest should be," Kelly began, a hand holding her belly. "I recommend we begin thinking about dinner. My stomach is mad at me for skipping lunch and will never forgive me if I skip dinner."

That night, they ordered in Chinese, a favorite for both of them. Faith enjoyed the funny little white boxes that the food came in, as well as the food itself. Kelly, on the other hand was strictly about the food, and didn't give a damn about the boxes. Time passed languidly for both of them, however sleep was not quick to come. The night dragged on until the early hours of the morning, before sleep claimed either one. As usual, Faith was the first to succumb to the siren's call of sleep.

The dreams of one who has suffered all her life, does not bring tidings of joy. Faith's dreams were no different. As they so often did, they reduced her to a whimpering ball, curled up in the fetal position under the covers. Also, as was often the case, Kelly was there to try and lend what little comfort she could to her sleeping roommate. Kelly tried to calm her sleeping friend, speaking softly, even though she knew Faith couldn't hear her. She remained by Faith's side, until the sandman laid claim to her as well. Dreamland was kinder to Kelly than it had ever been to Faith.

Kelly had began her life as a bit of a plain Jane. Having been raised with three brothers, she had been a bit of a tomboy as well. She hadn't related too well to the girls in her classes through grade school, and for the longest time, the guys all believed she had cooties. Social interaction had been almost non-existent in those formative years, thus shaping her to be an almost perfect match for Faith. Since neither one was a social butterfly, they sort of just remained comfortable in each others presence.

When Kelly's mother had died, back when Kelly was thirteen, Kelly had to take on the role of Mother for her siblings. She didn't mind, as she wanted to help out her father. She had learned to cook and clean, in addition to going to school. At this point a social life was denied her again, out of necessity. If her father hadn't remarried a few years back, when Kelly was 17, then Kelly may never have been able to go to college. When Kelly had met Faith, she had seen a girl who needed a mother. Another tie that bound them together.

The night passed slowly, and Kelly was roused from her sleep many times by Faith's restless tossing and turning. With a comforting word, and a gentle touch, she would calm her roommate, before once more visiting the land of dreams.

The morning sun rose, as it was accustomed to doing. It shed it's light on the room, revealing Kelly, sleeping next to Faith, which was far from an uncommon sight. Kelly was on top of the covers, as usual, and Faith was curled up, deep beneath them. Only a small pool of mousy brown hair, and a bit of her forehead visible to the world beyond her blankets.

Eventually the alarm sounded, waking both from their fitful slumbers. Kelly awoke first, stretching as she rose, brushing stray hairs from her eyes, as she made her way to the bathroom to take her morning bath. She shed her clothes, as she walked, totally comfortable being nude in front of Faith. Faith as well was fairly comfortable with this, seeing that it was a daily occurrence. As far as Faith and Kelly were concerned, that was probably the largest perk of living in Bonaventure Hall. They could go to the shower, and not have to worry about sharing bathroom with the entire building. like you did at Kennedy Hall, or Newman Hall. By virtue of this, they weren't bogged down by such conventions as "shower shoes" or bathrobes.

Faith remained curled up in her bed; memories of the night's dreams weighed heavily on her mind. The dreams were not unusual, she had had them for many years. They haunted more nights then she cared to remember. Every time, they left her with a chill in her bones, and mortal terror in her heart, but only the vaguest of an idea as to what had happened. In truth she found the lack of knowledge to be frightening itself. The lack of knowledge gnawed away at her.

Slowly she uncurled, letting the light of the early morning sun hit her face. The morning light did much to ease the terror, but did little to ease the pain. Her life was an endless haze of pain, poorly healed ribs brought her nearly constant pain, and doctors had been unable to help her. She lived with it, suffered through it, and hoped for the eventual end of it.

The sound of Kelly getting out of the bathroom set Faith into motion. She slowly shed her pajamas, and grabbed a fresh towel from her dresser. She waited patiently for Kelly to exit the bathroom, and then entered the steam-filled haven. She wiped off the mirror, and once more got a good view of the scars that riddled her body. The wicked gash from the tip of her right shoulder all the way along her clavicle, stopping just before her sternum. The scars from 12 assorted stab wounds across her entire torso glowed an eerie white. The two wounds on her left thigh completed the set, giving her a total of 15 assorted scars, all received on the same day, all horrifying reminders of the past.

She slipped into the tub, one of the few things that relaxed her any more. She loved the water. She loved being engulfed in it, caressed by it. The water was relaxing, soothing. It cleansed her, mind, body, and soul. Her love of the water was the reason she began swimming. When she swam, she was enabled to totally forget all her worries. Her swimming was a kind of therapy for her tortured soul, and since swimming was not a team thing, so she didn't have to worry about much contact with others. All she had to worry about was the swimming itself, and the occasional locker room encounter.

She remained in the tub lost in thought as the water cleansed her body and mind. Her aching muscles relaxed, and her mind emptied. Fear and anger disappeared like water going down the drain. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't remain in the tub forever, and soon, pulled the stopper, and watched as the water drained slowly, creating small whirlpools around the drain. She loved the whirlpools that formed, tiny little vortexes, they were almost hypnotic in a way.

She raised herself out of the tub, and let the water drip from her form before she grabbed her towel to begin drying herself off. With the towel wrapped around her body, she exited the room, a small cloud of steam trailing behind her. She quickly moved towards her dresser, and removed one of her customary T-shirts and jeans. Something that was totally gender neutral, so she looked just like she felt most of the time. As soon as she was properly attired, and her hair was sufficiently dry, she partook in another one of her daily rituals, that of the "Daily Brooding". She headed back to her bed, and laid her head down again, and stared up at the ceiling, lost in thoughts of the past. As always, Kelly was there to break her out of her dark reveries.

Kelly grimaced, "Girl, you know you spend way too much time brooding. I figure with all these damned dreams you have, you'd get enough of it while sleeping."

"I can't help it, Kelly." Sighed Faith miserably, "It just comes so naturally, you know? It always has"

"Well, why not do something different for a change?" Karen asked. "I mean the brooding is a little tedious, don't you think?"

"I can't help it Kelly. Sometimes," Faith took a deep breath, "It feels like the past is crushing me. I don't want to live in fear of it all the time. Sometimes I just wish that those guys had finished the job."

Faith began to weep, the salty drops rolling down her cheeks, rewetting her face, and dripping slowly off her nose and chin. Kelly rushed to her side, and held her close.

"Faith... it's going to be OK," Kelly tried to comfort her roommate. "You just need to cheer up, what do you say we head over to the pool? It will do you good to swim a couple laps don't you think?"

Faith wiped her eyes with her wrist, and nodded. She let Kelly lead her, as they grabbed their bathing suits, and towels. They decide to take Kelly's car, since Faith was still crying slightly. The drive was a short one, since the pool was only a few blocks away, but still driving was always Kelly's preferred form of transportation. So much less work involved in it.

They quickly made their way to the pool, and proceeded to do some laps, alternating strokes, and occasionally racing. Faith slowly lost herself in the swimming, and began to forget her troubles as they raced around the pool. The slightly cool water was almost as therapeutic as a warm bath, and soon Faith was smiling and laughing, much to Kelly's delight. A few hours passed, and they managed to pull themselves out of the pool to sit on the edge.

"So are you feeling any better Faith?" Kelly asked. "If not, I'm prepared to do laps all day."

"No, Kelly, I'm feeling better," Faith said, laughing slightly. "Thank you."

Kelly gave her friend a quick hug, "You ready to go home then?"

Faith sat their for a moment, thinking. " No, you go home Kelly. I want to go the bookstore. I am out of books after all. I'll meet you back at the dorm, if that is ok with you."

Kelly nodded her head smiling. "Well, if you'll be fine by yourself, I'll go home, and I'll meet you there later. Just try not to get depressed any more, I don't need you doing something crazy, especially with my roommate choices being so very slim."

Faith smiled, and waved, before she dived into the pool again, deciding to do a few more laps, before she gave up for the day. Kelly, on the other hand, made her way to the showers, washed off, changed and then headed back to the dorm room in silence. She was worried about Faith. She had never seen Faith get this bad, and she felt uncomfortable leaving her alone like this, but had to respect her need to be alone occasionally, even if it was against her better judgment.

An hour later, a much more chipper Faith emerged from the pool, her hair soaking wet and trailing water behind her. For a moment she forgot about her excruciatingly un-feminine body, and just enjoyed the feeling of a good swim, and the subsequent chill of leaving the pool. She made her way to the locker room slowly, showered off quickly, and changed into her customary jeans and T-shirt combination.

She walked to the bookstore, since it wasn't far, and it was on her way to the dorm. She walked slowly feeling at least moderately happy in the cool autumn air. The walk was pleasantly unpopulated, and gave Sarah some wonderful time to herself, unsoiled by the stain of human interaction, and this suited her perfectly. Solitude meant she didn't have to feel people's mocking glares.

The bookstore was deserted as usual. It seemed no one wanted to think about reading on a Sunday. This gave Faith a chance to browse at her leisure, and not have to worry about being disturbed. She flitted through the philosophy section, fingering volumes of Plato and Kant, grabbing a few as she went. She wandered past the Science Fiction and Fantasy section, grabbing the newest novels by Terry Goodkind, and her personal favorite, Robert Jordan. She ran past the Fiction section, hoping that Mr. King might have finally finished his Dark Tower series, but was once again disappointed, and settled on a newer novel by Dean Koontz instead. She finally took up residence in the New Age section. This was one of her secret obsessions. She loved to read the little books of spells that she found here, knowing that they never worked, they at least gave her a good laugh.

This time however, one volume caught her interest, and she placed all her other books to the side, as she reached out to grab it. She received a tiny electrical shock, as she pulled the small black leather-bound volume from its spot next to the various Tarot cards. A thin layer of dust had formed along the spine, and obscured the title. She flipped through the pages, noticing the usual mix of love spells, and luck spells. She almost put it back, before an unusual spell caught her eye.

"The Rite of Rantar?" she whispered, "This sounds amusing. I suppose it might be worth a few bucks to play with that one."

She chuckled as she grabbed her selections, and headed to the cashier. She placed all the volumes down, and waited for the total, which she knew was going to be high.

"Ma'am, you must have put your book in here by mistake." The boy running the register remarked, handing her the black leather book, "We don't sell this book, and there is no barcode."

Faith just stared, as she accepted the volume back, staring at it, and smiling. Finally one of those luck spells had worked for her. She looked back up at the cashier, and waited for her total. She paid the boy, and headed out. She barely noticed his cat-like eyes and evil smile before she ran out, her bag clutched tightly to her chest.

Faith walked slowly back to the dorms, stopping in the quad to bask in the shade of the "Exploding Cube" one of her favorite features on campus. She sat the in the middle of campus, lying on her back staring at the cube, just enjoying the day. Since it was a weekend, most of the students wanted as little to do with campus as possible. So she was free to loiter for as long as she wanted. Eventually, she had to get up though, and head back to the dorms. She walked slowly down the incline, and weaved her way around Miles Hall, looked briefly over the expansive dorms that were Annie Hall. Walked up past Kennedy and Newman halls, and on up the tree-lined hill, stopping once to stare down at the chapel in the woods. It stood as yet another testament to the greed and wastefulness of the College itself, and any spiritual aspect it may have had was drowned by this knowledge.

"Our Lady of the Woods?" Faith chuckled, "More like 'Our Lady of the Almighty Dollar' if you ask me."

She lingered only briefly, as her stomach was telling her it desired food, and she was very eager to obey its demands. She rushed the rest of the way up the hill, and ran to the door. Tonight, maybe she will try this Rite of Rantar. Who knows, maybe she will get lucky, and it will do something. Either way, she should get a good laugh about it. But first things first, it was time for dinner. As was her usual for a Sunday evening, Faith picked up the phone and ordered a medium Hawaiian Pizza with extra pineapple. Next to Chinese food, pineapple pizza was very likely her favorite food.

Dinner came and went, and the night passed as usual. Faith spent the night reading through the Rite, while Kelly was inexplicably absent. Faith assumed that Kelly must have had a report to due and needed to use one of the computer labs to type it up. She'd probably be back later tonight. Faith just went on reading with her eyebrows raised quizzically.

"The Rite of Rantar requires the blood of an innocent for activation. As the blood is being spilt the chanting of this phrase shall result in you obtaining a power beyond your wildest imaginings, and whatever else that your heart may desire." Faith read on and chuckled, "Simply Repeat 'Bathed in blood, I am reborn' three times."

Faith sighed, "Well, the Rite seems to be out of the question. I don't think I will ever find an innocent to spill the blood of. It would be especially hard on this campus."

She thumbed through the book, and tried the usual assortment of luck and love spells, all to no effect, as expected. One spell, a spell of dream remembrance, while having no effect, left her with a slight buzz, almost as if she had just finished a really big glass of beer.

She read through the rest of the book, until late that night, and fell asleep, with it opened on her chest. As always, the dreams came. Unlike normal, tonight, they would stick with her.

 

-----Part Two: Dreams and Reveries-----

As a young child, you knew no fear. Everything was happy, people seemed kind, and danger was the furthest thing from your mind. Wonder permeated the very atmosphere. So it was with Faith. She enjoyed wandering around, learning all that the world could teach her, and as a five-year-old, there was plenty that she could be taught. She wandered about the back yard, her black Labrador barking as it ran with her. Her mother sat on the back porch, watching her daughter frolic about. The sun shone brightly onto the happy scene and all seemed right with the world.

"Faith, don't wander too far. Dinner is going to be ready in a bit." Faith's mother shouted after her.

"Ok Mommy." Faith said, as she looked over at the Labrador, "Ok Cali, lets go back."

The dog gave a single bark, as if in agreement, before it ran back towards the house, stopping half way to make sure Faith was following. Faith trundled along behind the large animal, smiling and laughing as she went.

Inside the house was full of wonderful scents. Cooking ham smells radiated from the oven, the smell of the pie Faith's mom had made earlier still lingered. Faith was in heaven, and just stood there sniffing the air, very much in anticipation of the coming meal. Ham, at least her mommy's ham, was the best thing she had ever tasted, and she loved it when her mommy made it.

"Now Faith, go wash up, before your Daddy gets home," Faith's mother chided playfully,. "We can't have him coming home, and you being dirty."

"Ok Mommy. I will!" Faith nodded her had, and ran to the bathroom, where she proceeded to scrub her hands and face. She wanted to be sure she was clean for her Daddy, especially since he always came home so dirty after work. A loud crash made her stop her scrubbing, and turn towards the door.

"Daddy must be home." Faith squealed as she rushed out of the door to meet her daddy.

The scene in the entryway made her stop for a moment. The man who stood in the doorway was definitely not her daddy. For starters, this man was shorter than her daddy was, but still he looked huge to her. She also knew her daddy never wore a ski mask. The man in the door did not look like a nice man, but mommy had told her to always respect her elders, so she did what any nice person would do.

"Hi mister, I'm Faith, Pleased to meet you." Faith proclaimed, a smile still on her face, as she spouted the phrase almost robotically like her mommy had taught her.

"No. Faith go to your room, go." Faith's mom cried out, before turning to the man, "Please, let her be. She's just a child. She won't tell anyone, take me, not my sweet innocent Faith."

The man raised a gun, and pointed it at Faith's mother, who just whimpered slightly, the look of pleading still in her eyes. A loud crack, and Faith's mother fell backwards, a red flower blooming on her white blouse. The man turned towards Faith then, the gun still raised, and smiled a cruel smile. Faith, for the first time in her life knew that something bad was going to happen, and turned to run. The bullet caught her in the shoulder, and launched her forward, and into the wall. Blackness quickly overtook her.

The blackness lifted. It was four years later. Faith was in third grade. Her father was now her only parent, since her mother was killed so long ago. She loved him dearly, but still missed her mother. Life however has a tendency of moving on, and soon she found that she couldn't dwell forever in the past, and went on with her life. Third grade was a new experience, new classmates, and new cliques, same old outcast Faith. She stayed on the outside, where the kids deemed she belonged. Her only friends were in the books she read so avidly. As long as she had her novels to keep her company, she was happy to remain outside their cliques. Others however were not quite so accepting.

Classmates laughed at her, jeered, sometimes threw things at her. She shrugged it off. It was difficult sometimes to deal with the unenlightened masses, but she did, and she thought herself better for the experience. The children learned quickly that their words had no affect on Faith, so they soon resorted to physical violence. They pushed her. They stole her books. She suffered through it, she knew there was nothing she could do. They learned the simple physicality was doing no good, so they stepped up their assault.

One day, while Faith was quietly reading her books on the steps to the school building, two of her classmates came up to her. The two boys wore evil grins, which made them look more like sharks then like nine year-old boys.

The red head spoke first, a tone of pure viciousness tinged his high boyish voice "Whatcha reading?"

Faith looked up, her voice quivering slightly, and worriedly replied, "'The Watchers', by Dean Koontz."

"Is it good?" The sandy blond boy inquired, menace dripping in his voice as he moved closer to the stairs that served as Faith's reading bench.

Faith stood, and started to back away towards the door slowly, never letting her eyes leave the two boys "Yes it is. Why do you ask?"

The red head moved closer, a malicious grin playing across his thin reptilian face "I want to see it."

Faith clutched the book tightly to her chest, shaking her head violently as she continued to back away, "No, it is mine. Go away."

"Is that any way to treat your friends?" The blond mocked, advancing again on Faith, his hands balled up into little fists.

"You aren't my friends. Go away!" Faith said, trying to keep calm in the face of this obvious threat, and she continued to back away.

"Give us the book," The red head continued, giving up any semblance of an amiable nature, and letting all his anger out, "give it to us, now."

"Help!" Faith screamed, as she backed up further until her back was up against the wall. She looked around for a path to escape. The boys and the wall effectively closed off three directions, and the forth was negated by a fourteen foot drop off, that would end in the drainage ditch that ran beneath the stairs. The tone of the boys voice frightened her, she needed help. "Somebody help me."

The boys got scared when she called for help, afraid a teacher might hear her, and come looking to see what the matter was. If their fathers found out they were harassing this girl, their butts would be so red, they would be unable to sit for a month. They quickly ran up to grab the book from Faith's hands, but ended up pushing her instead. Faith fell quickly down the step incline, smacking her back sharply up against a rock, breaking four of her ribs. The sharp rock also managed to pierce right through her belly, the very tip of it just poking out of her torso. She blacked out, as the boys ran away, themselves now screaming for the help Faith had so desperately desired.

She woke up in the hospital, the doctor was telling her father something about the injuries. At first all she heard was mumbles and gibberish, however as consciousness regained its hold, her hearing came back, and she heard part of what the doctor was saying.

"Mr. Sampson. Your daughter has experienced severe trauma to her ovaries, the severity of the internal bleeding forced us to remove them," the doctor was saying.

"What does that mean Doc?" Her father asked, his voice heavy with grief, his eyes red and puffy from crying. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Sir, she will recover from most of her injuries, but she will never have children of her own," the doctor replied. "She will grow up almost like normal, but she will never develop, her body no longer has the ability to produce the hormones necessary to develop her body."

Her fathers response was lost in a wail of despair, before Faith once again blacked out. The last image burned into her mind, as she saw her father's eyes burst with tears, a mask of pure anguish on his face..

She awoke again, with her hand in her father's hand. He held it tightly, but not tight enough to cause her any pain, along with the drugs the doctors had been administering, she was feeling pretty good. She looked up at him, wondering why he was crying. The goofy grin of someone after a good hit of Morphine played across her mouth.

"What's wrong, daddy?" She asked, her voice coming out in a drug induced slur, the sound made her giggle. "Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing, dear," he managed to choke out between sobs, as he tried to squelch the unseemly waterworks, and tried to be strong for his daughter. "Everything is just fine. Now go back to sleep you need your rest."

She smiled weakly at her father, before she once more she lost her battle against the drugs, and again let the darkness claim her.

The darkness dissipated and it was nine years later. Faith was a senior in high school. She had been accepted at all three colleges she had applied at, and life seemed to be looking up. Her ribs had never healed properly and still managed to cause her unbelievable amounts of pain if she exerted herself too much. The doctor kept her supplied with Vicodin, but she only took it when the pain got too intense. True to the doctor's words, she never developed, while the girls around her blossomed in their teens, and approached womanhood, she had remained behind. She grew taller, but never developed a single womanly curve. Depression more than once reared its ugly head, and soon she found herself taking Prozac just to remain functioning in the real world. Since third grade her life had been filled with drugs. While she hated the drug induced haze in which she lived, it was much better then the pain, and anything was better than having to deal with all of the stares, the laughs, and the constant ridicule.

Her lack of development did little to help her climb the social ladder, and she had found herself lost in the same mess she had been in back in grade school, and all throughout middle school. She was alone, horribly desperately alone. Nothing she tried could alleviate the all-consuming loneliness that she felt. Eventually, even her beloved books soon became depressing.

She made it all the way through high school, up until the last semester of her senior year making admirable grades. She only lost her perfect 4.0 because of a single B back in freshman year, which she had only received because she missed a few weeks of school because of a severe case of pneumonia. In all other instances, she was the one at the head of the class, setting the curve on all the tests. This was another habit of hers that did little to win her any popularity with her peers.

Time flew by the entirety of her senior year, and on the night of the senior prom, she followed her routine. Just like she had done at all of the other dances, she went alone, and sat in a corner, occasionally getting up to dance. Her therapist told her she needed to go to social events like this, to "stimulate her social skills", and her father was more than willing to push her in that direction. All it ever did, however, was cement her status as a social outcast. She had no friends, no family other than her father. Even poor Cali had passed away three years prior.

This year the prom took a different path than usual. There was the normal sitting, and the general lack of dancing, to be sure. However this was also the first dance, that did not have her leaving in tears. She smiled slightly, thinking that she might actually be adjusting to the total lack of attention she was getting. The simple pleasures of a tear-free dance, did not last long. As the night came to an end, and the doors to the prison-like dance were thrown open. Generally for Faith the opening of the doors was a good thing, as it gave her a chance to make her way home and away from the crowd. Not to mention the fact that the cool night air was soothing after the horrid mass of students that she had just managed to escape.

This night her walk home was interrupted, fairly quickly. Three guys caught up with her after the dance, the smell of cheap rum hung heavy on their breath. They crowded around her, lopsided grins set below alcohol blurred eyes. They laughed and chuckled as they pawed at her. She tried to run away, but the tallest one of the group stopped her with ease, and threw her to the ground. He pulled out a knife, and proceeded to cut away her dress. He unzipped his pants, and as his two friends held her down, he proceeded to violate her. They took turns with her, two of them always holding her down while the other did the deed. She wept. She tried to scream, but that only earned her slaps in the face. After two goes apiece they got up to leave, and Faith began to scream. She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before, a shrill noise that pierced the dark night like an arrow. The boys turned to her, and growled.

"Bad idea, Bitch" The tall one said in a slurred growl, "Very bad fucking idea."

The tall man set upon her with the knife, stabbing and cutting. Spurts of blood and tiny chunks of flesh flew, spattering the crazed boy's face. Nothing however halted the assault and Faith continued to scream. The boy's friends tried to pull him off, but were greeted with swipes of the knife. They took the hint and backed away.

"Come on Andre. Lets go, leave her alone" the short pudgy kid mumbled.

"Yeah Parsons.... we need to get out of here, the cops might be on their way." Said the other boy, nervously looking around, and idly toying with the rim of his baseball cap.

"Fuck the both of you pussies!" Andre growled, about ready to slash his two compatriots. "Now the bitch knows my name."

Andre Parsons, Faith thought, remember that name. The cops will want to know that name.

Fifteen wounds were left that night marking her arms and legs and torso with a wicked mess of blood. However, the final blow came not from the knife but from a fist. A punch to her face ended her thoughts, and that all too familiar blackness once more greeted her like an old lover.

 

-----Part Three: The Drowning Pool-----

The black blanket of sleep was roughly pulled aside, as Faith wrestled her way back to the real world. The dreams she had just had stuck with her with a vividness that left her trembling, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She held her knees to her chest, as she shook back and forth attempting to find comfort in the room's eerie darkness. She checked the clock to find it was only 3:00 am, and Kelly was nowhere to be seen. Faith wept, and the isolation only made her weeping more pronounced, as it echoed off the walls.

Time has a way of crawling when one is gripped by deep depression. Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days. Time virtually stood still, as Faith rocked back and forth for that hour between three and four. Lost, and alone, with only her thoughts to keep her company, and at this point, all of her thoughts are aimed at the dream.

Some things, over the course of years, are forgotten by the conscious mind, only to be stored in the annals of the mind, and awakened by the dream world. The memories of her mother's violent death, the assault by her classmates, the rape, it was all too much for her mind. She rocked faster, trying to shake the memories from her head, as the tears came faster and faster, quickly soaking her T-shirt, and still flowing. Her hands went white, as they clasped tighter and tighter, numbness spreading in her arms and legs, but still she rocked.

More time passed, and memories of other pains from the past resurfaced, along with the dull throbbing pain from her unhealed ribs. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run, but knew that neither action would give any relief. So she suffered silently, as she always had. She prayed for release, but knew none would come. As always she was alone, and always would be, it was her fate, her lot in life. Weeping did little to salve her spiritual wounds, but it was the only release she had.

Hours rolled by, and slowly she was able to release her grip on her legs. Stretching her tight muscles as she moved slowly towards the bathroom, the thought of a nice bath sounded soothing. She stripped as she went, shedding her T-shirt and jeans as she went. She lost her panties somewhere near the bathroom. She turned on the tub, as hot as she could get the water, and left to grab her bath supplies. She walked as if in a daze, grabbing soap, towels and her razor, as she moves towards the bath again.

Faith turned off the water, and slid her form into the waiting warmth. Her aching muscles loosened up quickly, but the spiritual and emotional pain remained. She used the towel and scrubbed, she scrubbed her arms and legs, leaving behind red raw areas. The hot water caused the raw areas to burn even more, but Faith was numb to the pain. All she felt was the all-consuming grief.

Faith grabbed the razor, and looked longingly at the blade, watching as the shiny surface caught the light and reflected it. She stared at it as she moved it through the air, twirling it and losing herself for a moment in its shiny surface. Her sadness however would not go away even in the glow of the razor.

"Bathed in blood, I am reborn." Faith muttered as she rubbed the razor against her left wrist, trailing behind a thin line of blood. She removed the blade from the razor, and held it tight. Hands trembled as she stared at the sharp blade, a thin sheen of red covered its edge.

"Bathed in blood, I am reborn." Faith mumbled. Her fingers ran the blade once more across her wrist, cutting deeper this time, small rivers of blood flowed from the open wound, she switched the blade over to the other hand, and found it hard to hold, the loss of blood making her feel week.

"Bathed in blood," Faith began, weakly running the razor over her waiting flesh, another thin line appearing on her right wrist, blood flowed freely from both wounds, "I am rebooooooorn..."

Her words trailed off, as the world narrowed , blackness creeping in at the edges of her vision, making the world look like a well. A well that she was rapidly falling down. Even as the blackness started to engulf her again, she seemed to see light, radiating from her own body, concentrated into her new tunnel vision. The dazzling figure of ethereal light, that appeared right before consciousness slipped, looked angry somehow. Even though its face was nearly invisible under the mask of light. Faith decided that this figure must be an angel.

Rantar watched as the foolish girl faded from consciousness, her life's blood filling the warm water with a pink tint. She shook her head slowly, saddened by the waste of a good life, a life that would have made an ideal puppet. However inspiration hit her as she watched the girl die.

"The words of the Rite have been fulfilled. Life still flows through this girl's veins. She too shall be mine. Faith Sampson, power and beauty shall be yours. Friends will flock to you however your alienation shall continue." Rantar chuckled, as she healed Faith's wounds and put her magic into work.

Rantar departed once more from the physical realm, her chuckle hanging in the air.

 

-----Part Four: The Price of Power-----

When Faith awoke hours later in the bathtub, the entire tub was drained. Her eyes were clouded by the unnatural slumber, and she tried to rub the fog from her eyes. She scrambled slowly from the tub, her hands slipping. She noticed right away that something felt completely wrong, but her sleepy brain was unable to pinpoint what it was. She managed to crawl slowly across the floor, on all fours, a sudden pain in her head stopped contemplation of moving any other way. She paused at the toilet as a sudden wave of nausea overtook her. She violently emptied the contents of her stomach, and resumed her slow crawl towards the comfort of her bed, every one of her muscles protested the movement.

"Why do I feel hung over, " Faith groaned, her throat and mouth, felt horribly dry, "I didn't drink last night."

Memories of last night were fuzzy. She remembered vaguely reading some old book, and had indistinct flashes of a dream where she cut her wrists. A quick check verified that her wrists were completely normal, no cuts at all. Not even a drop of blood masked her skin. She managed to pull herself up onto her bed, and in almost no time, she was asleep again, not even caring that she was totally nude. For the first time she can remember, sleep was not something she feared.

A scream shook her from the most restful slumber she could remember. She turned to the sound of the scream, hands quickly shooting to her ears, barely noting that she was not under the covers. The sight that greeted her was Kelly, screaming and pointing, very obviously shocked and scared about something. Faith slowly blinked the sleep from her eyes, as she tried to calm Kelly.

"Kelly, shut up," Faith mumbled, rubbing gently at her pounding skull.

"How do you know my name?" Kelly shouted, her voice raising "Who the hell are you, and where is Faith. What have you done to Faith?"

"Damn Kelly. Quiet down, I'm right here. What are you yelling about? " Faith was more than a little confused by her outburst. "Calm down."

"I asked you where Faith is!" Kelly continued to scream, a look of anger adding to the fear in her eyes. "What have you done with her?"

Faith was perturbed. She made a quick move to silence her friend, a single finger to her lips, and a slight shushing noise. To her surprise Kelly actually did quiet down, although her actions were no less frantic. In fact, they seemed even more hysterical, especially with the lack of voice. Puzzled, Faith sat up, and started to notice what that sense of wrongness from the previous night had been about. Two something's immediately presented themselves on her chest. Where she had formerly had a fairly flat chest, she now had a firm and proud pair of breasts jutting forth. She reached forward to feel them, when she noticed something else. Her arm looked much thinner, more feminine, each finger was tipped by a decent length of nail, each coated with a sparkly blue color, that while not Faith's choice, she had to admit looked damn good. She stood, and began to move towards the bathroom, but turned around half way there to look at Kelly.

"Stay there, Ok?" She made a motion similar to a traffic cop stopping traffic. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. "

Kelly stood there motionless, as Faith ran into the bathroom, and the mirror contained therein. The mirror presented her with a multitude of surprises. First she noticed the lack of glasses and the near perfect sight she now possessed. Then she noticed something far more peculiar. Her brown hair, which she had lived with for 20 years, and had grown accustomed to, was no longer brown. It was a light aquamarine, and fell far past her shoulders. She could actually feel the tips of her hair brushing lightly across the small of her back. Her face was another problem. Her formerly plain face was now better suited for a movie star or a model. Her brown eyes were gone, now they shone the same color as her hair, and were larger as well. Her face had taken on a pleasant heart shape that showed almost no hint of her former face in it. Her lips were larger, fuller.

The changes in the rest of her body were no less pronounced. Her boyish figure was gone, replaced by a stunning figure that would never be mistaken for a boy again. Her hips and waist now had a very obvious difference, and the resulting concavity made her smile.

Her breasts, which were formerly non-extant now stood proudly upon her chest. While they were not exceptionally large, they were sufficiently there to make Faith notice the weight, and while she knew she would eventually need a bra to support them, she reveled in that weight. The only thing that remained was the scar on her shoulder, in all of its horrible pale white glory. Standing as a cruel reminder of the life that now seemed all but gone.

She noticed something else then, too. The pain was gone. Her constant companion for the last decade had abandoned her. As opposed to missing it, like she would an old friend, she practically screamed for joy at its absence, as if it were an unwanted house guest. She smiled, as she rotated her shoulder. She reached down and touched her toes, an activity that just the day before would have reduced her to a wailing heap on the floor. She started to jog in place, but stopped when she felt the unusual jiggle on her chest. She wanted to weep. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to shout out to God, and thank him for finally noticing her. Instead, she just smiled.

"This will take a little bit to get used to," Faith muttered, as she went back to admiring herself in the mirror.

She stood in the bathroom admiring her new self in the mirror from as many angles as she could for a full half-hour, before leaving to check on Kelly. She found Kelly right where she had last seen her, now she was just standing there, limp. Kelly's arms hung at her sides, her head slightly lolled, and her eyes had a glazed expression. Faith was afraid, and rushed to her friend's side.

"Kelly," Faith said, "Kelly, wake up!"

As if on cue, Kelly's head snapped back to attention, and she looked at Faith with renewed fear. "What happened? Who the hell are you?"

"Kelly, please would you calm down." Faith tried to soothe her roommate, placing an arm on her shoulder comfortingly, "It's me. I'm Faith."

"LIAR!" Kelly screamed, with such ferocity that Faith took a step back, her arm falling off Kelly's shoulder.

"Kelly, trust me." Faith continued, hoping to calm her down, before the entire dorm building came to see what the commotion was, "I can prove it."

Kelly lowered her voice some, but still it carried a frantic edge to it, "How?"

"Remember freshman year?" Faith asked quickly. "That first weekend, we were celebrating getting through our first week of College. We had a couple bottles of Cuervo that you were able to obtain from an acquaintance over in Lenihan. I didn't touch the stuff, but you did, and you hit it with a vengeance. You had a little too much to drink. By the end of the night, you were hitting on everything in the room. Everything, including me."

Kelly nodded mutely, her eyes going wide. Realization slowly flooded into her wide eyes, as she stared at this vision before her that claimed to be Faith.

"I'm sure you never told anyone, and you know that you are the only one I actually talk to," Faith continued, hoping this was having the desired affect. "We are the only ones who know about that, Kelly."

"How?" Kelly finally squeaked out, her voice barely audible. "You can't be Faith, it's impossible."

"Kelly, it is me, trust me." Faith cracked a small smile, that she hoped was reassuring, "Who would know better than me?"

"You look...different." Kelly said, seeming to have calmed down some, although she was still on edge.

"Well, I still have the worst of my scars," Faith said, tracing the line of the scar on her shoulder. "You have to remember this."

Kelly reached out, and traced her fingers along the length of the scar slowly. "Yes Faith, I remember this, how could I forget. You told me how you got it, and I wept for days after that."

Faith smiled and sat down on her bed. "So you believe me now, or are you gonna freak out and try and kill me in my sleep?"

"I don't think I'd ever kill a person," Kelly admitted, a sly smile touching her lips, as the color began to return to her face. "However a call to the police is always a possibility."

Faith chuckled slightly as she looked at her friend, "Well then I'll just have to unhook the phone. I really don't want to have to wake up to cops busting down the door."

Soon the two girls were reduced to giggling masses, as the previously tense atmosphere dissipated. Kelly slowly came to accept the odd changes that had come over her roommate, even if they did disconcert her a little. However, she could not deny that this was in fact her roommate. As such, she had to adjust to the fact that her previously boyish looking roommate was now a drop dead gorgeous vision of perfection. Somehow she was going to have to accept that she was no longer going to be the pretty one of the duo.

Time once more passed, both of them neglecting their classes for the day, as they tried to figure out how they were going to integrate Faith back into the world. Now that no one would recognize her, they found themselves in a bit of a predicament. There was no way she would be able to return to classes, and there was also no way she could go on living in the dorm. With the disappearance of Faith, people would begin talking, and it would only be a matter of time before someone notices she is missing and files a police report. Something had to be done, and quickly, so that Faith could go on living, and not be harassed by law enforcement agencies. However it seemed that fate was working in their favor today, or so it seemed, as they heard a knock on the door.

Faith scrambled into the bathroom to hide, as Kelly went to open the door and find out who it was. As Faith hid, she turned on the water in the shower, hoping to put up the illusion that she was in the shower. She wasn't afraid someone might be looking for her, she was more worried that someone might see her, and a sudden case of Blue hair and breasts might be a little hard to explain. Eventually Faith was able to find some of Kelly's clothes that fit her new form, albeit a little tight, but at least she had a nice pair of jeans and a T-shirt to cover her nudity.

Kelly opened the door, and revealed a slender woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties, although her eyes belied her apparent age. Her eyes were an awe-inspiring shade of blue that seemed to be bottomless and spoke of an untold wealth of knowledge. She had brown hair, flowing in waves past her knees, waves that would threaten to touch the floor if she tilted her head back. Her face, while not jaw-dropping beautiful, was still fairly pretty. Although, now her eyes and lips were set, not in a smile, but in a deep frown. She wore a blue gown that, hung loosely on her frame, although it did not mask the slight curves that her body possessed.

"Where is she?" The woman asked, not even bothering to introduce herself, as she looked about the room, her frown deepening the longer she looked. "Where is she hiding?"

"Who do you mean," Kelly inquired, blocking the shorter woman's ingress, barring all access to the room, "And who the hell are you?"

The short woman gained an air of righteous anger, and somehow seemed to look down on Kelly, even though Kelly stood a good six inches taller than her, "I, my young lady, Am Leena Grau, Head of the Guild Aqua, chosen one of the Goddess Mera. You, may call me Lady Grau."

Kelly smirked, and when she spoke, the sarcasm and contempt dripped from her words, "Oh a thousand apologies Lady Grau, of Guild Aqua. I must have mistaken you for some stranger coming to my door uninvited, and asking for a person they have yet to identify. I humbly beg your forgiveness."

"Your jibes and wisecracks will get you nowhere girl. Now tell me where the one I seek is, or face dire consequences." Leena's eyes glowed with a cold fury, which spoke of unimaginable violence to anyone it might be directed at. Kelly prudently stepped aside, to allow Leena entrance. "Good, I see you may have at least some sense to you, now where is she?"

"Who are you looking for," Kelly once more asked, trying to get a clue as to why this lady was so interested in her room, "Maybe I can help you?"

Leena continued searching the room, scanning back and forth, until her eyes rested on the bathroom door. "So that is where you are hiding her."

Kelly rushed to block her path. "What do you want with Faith?"

"So her name is Faith," Leena commented offhandedly, as she moved past Kelly, to rap on the door to the bathroom, and in a perfect impression of Kelly's voice said, "Faith, it is ok, you can come out now, it was just the neighbors."

Kelly made as if to say something, but for the second time that day, found herself struck mute. She tried to move forward to stop Faith from exiting the bathroom, but found herself glued to the spot. She and Leena both heard the water shut off, and Faith moving towards the door. The door swung open, and the smile on Faith's face was erased by the short woman's presence, and the look of abject terror on Kelly's face. Faith backed up, moving closer to the bathtub that was still slowly draining, her calves struck the cool porcelain as the short woman made her way into the bathroom.

"Get away from me," Faith shrieked, her arms flailing in front of her, "What did you do to Kelly?"

"Be calm Child. I am here to help you." Leena spoke slowly, trying to soothe Faith's jangled nerves, and failing horribly. Faith tried to back up more, and tripped, falling with a huge splash into the still draining tub water.

The splash had only just begun, when Faith began to scream in pain. The legs of her jeans seemed to be filled with liquid and not flesh and bone, as they flopped around. Her feet appeared to fuse at the heels, and the jeans slowly began to tear as the rest of her legs fused all the way up to her crotch. Kelly's eyes went wide as she watched the flesh from Faith's waist down to her feet turn into a mass of mottled green scales. Faith's feet morphed, stretched and flattened, until they no longer resembled feet. From her waist down, Faith had a fish's tail, and looked like something out of some fantasy novel, or a Disney movie. Either way, however, Faith was no longer able to pass as human.

Leena spoke calmly, as if watching someone change into a half fish was, for her, a normal occurrence, "Well, it would seem Ms. Faith is a little more than she appears to be. The council will be most interested in this development."

Faith looked at her former legs, and the woman before her, "What the hell did you do to me? It was bad enough waking up with this blue hair, now I have a fish tail?"

"You are one of the Mer. An ancient race one that we had thought all but extinct. We had thought that only a handful still survived. After the war with the Shar'kin only the great Mer city of Trimini still stood, and only a scant hundred remained." Leena commented, a twinkle in her eye "You, my dear Mer, may be the greatest discovery of this lifetime."

"What are you talking about?" Faith was in hysterics, her voice raising in pitch as she got more frantic. "I'm not a Mer, I'm a human being, and this fishtail thing is an entirely new development. A very unwelcome development, I might add."

Leena for the first time in the short time they had known her looked confused, "How is that possible? You must have known about your Mer heritage, at least by this age. This can't be your first change. It is unheard of."

"I have no Mer heritage," Faith screamed, not caring if anyone heard her. "I have been human my whole life. My father is human, my mother was human. So I don't give a damn about your Mer, or whatever else you are talking about, all I care about now is how you are going to turn me back."

Leena clicked her tongue, obviously annoyed by Faith's outburst, "Child, you are obviously a Mer, otherwise, how do you explain the tail. In all my years with the council I have never heard of a person spontaneously turning into a Mer." She took on a far away look, as she contemplated something else, "However, there are the other five..." She paused, shook her head, and returned once more to the task at hand, "Never mind them, we need to get you your feet back. If I remember the Mer correctly, if we dry off your tail, I believe that you should gain your feet back."

"Then do that," Faith said angrily, as she wiggled her tail. Her anger swiftly turned to surprise however, when she found herself levitating out of the tub, and into the main room, where she was deposited roughly on her bed. "How did you do that?"

"Magic, of course that is what we mages are known for, after all." Leena smiled slyly, as she began to look for towels. She turned back to Faith, "Where do you keep your towels?"

The stress of growing a fish's tail and levitating was a little too much for Faith, and so, as she had so often done before she sought out the comforting black oblivion. The black miasma that she found herself in this time however, frightened her. Unlike all the previous times she had blacked out, this time the blackness felt alive, hungry. Tendrils of darkness wrapped around her, tightened around her. She tried to scream, but couldn't, the blackness invaded her mouth the moment she opened it.

When the darkness seemed about to consume her completely, a light broke in, sending the darkness fleeing in every direction. Faith stared at the source of the light, and what she saw surprised her. It was the lady who had come into her room, and she was holding a small glowing ball in her palm. The light given off had an odd glow, which hinted at a milky whiteness, with a hint of yellow. The face of the woman was covered in a mask of astonishment, and anger.

"How did you do that girl?" The woman demanded. "How did you slip away like that? Tell me."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Faith stammered, "I didn't know I had done anything. What did I do?"

"Foolish girl, you just used dimensional magic. You slipped out of your dimension, and for some unknown reason," Leena paused, formulating how to continue, "For some reason you slipped into the Void."

"The Void?" Faith stared at Leena, for the first time, truly frightened. "You mean this is the Void, this blackness?"

"Yes, if I hadn't come, the void would have claimed you." Leena perked up slightly, at the thought of the girl owing her, "We must leave here, as this ward can only hold out against the Infinite Black for so long. Worse things roam this dimension than you have ever imagined."

Faith only nodded, and tried to walk towards Leena, but found that her legs were still not legs. Upon this realization, she began to fall through the inky dark. Leena screamed out some unintelligible string of syllables and dove after her. Leena practically flew to Faith's side, and grabbed her around the waist. A vertical slit opened in the darkness, and the two flew through the opening, returning once more to Faith's dorm, where a stunned Kelly just stared at the hole in the wall. Faith turned to the hole, and before it closed, she caught a glimpse of a strangely familiar glowing shape, but shook it off as a hallucination.

"Goddess!" Leena breathed as she settled once more onto solid ground. She deposited Faith on the bed, before she continued, "The gift of Dimensional Magic is not often encountered these days. Even when it is encountered, it takes most initiates at least a year to develop enough strength, to travel to a dimension only slightly removed from this one. Now here you are, and within a day you are creating portals to the Void? This is unheard of. It is impossible."

Faith moved to speak, but Leena cut her off, "Furthermore, it is clear that you are past the standard age of mystical maturity. Yet we didn't detect your presence until today. Unless someone masked your presence from us, then you came by your powers through alternative methods." She shot a quick glance at Faith, "We must rush to the Council. This matter requires their attention. Come with me."

She grabbed Faith's hand, and another vertical slit opened in the wall, twirling and growing until it was bigger than the bed. Leena picked Faith up and walked through the hole, and onto the Plains of Ferat.

 

-----Part Five: On the Plains of Ferat-----

Faith found herself on a vast plain, being held by a woman that physically should not have been able to hold her. Strange cat-like creatures ran across the plain, keeping a distance away from the newcomers. The cat creatures has a sort of natural beauty, that Faith found fascinating, as their sinuous bodies leaped and ran across the flat land. In the distance a tall tower loomed, it's black walls standing in stark contrast to the purplish evening sky. A red sliver of sun still rested on the horizon behind them, and illuminated both the tower and the much nearer building.

This new building was a mass of columns, and buttresses. An odd mix of Greek and renaissance architecture carved in a stone that looked like the bastard child of granite and marble. Intricate carvings dotted the facade, although their subject was undistinguishable, their beauty was undeniable, and Faith found them to be incredibly interesting. The building stood roughly three stories tall, and was made entirely of the granite-marble hybrid. The large door led them into a spacious vestibule, filled with expensive looking vases, and paintings of numerous people dressed in flowing white robes. The staircase that stood in the center of the room, stretched up, leading to a walkway lined with doors. Leena chose one of the first floor doors, and after walking down a multitude of halls, opened another door, revealing a rough monastic room, containing only a bed. It was on this bed, that she finally placed Faith.

Faith stared up at Leena, as she tried to struggle into a sitting position, "Where are we? What is this place? Why am I not in my dorm room?"

"This, Child, is the Hall of Mages." Leena beamed with pride, "It is set approximately in the middle of the Plains of Ferat, in the home dimension of the Cathan. Lovely place isn't it? The Cathan dislike the Plains, and so have graciously given us free reign over the plains. The black tower you saw in the distance, is Ebontower, a prison for rogue mages. Every traitor and dissident the council sees is thrown in there. The walls are made to resist the spells of the mages contained inside. In the millennia that Ebontower has stood, not one of its captives has ever escaped. It is more effective than Alcatraz, and infinitely more hostile than any prison on Earth"

"What? What are Cathan?" Faith was puzzled. None of Leena's explanation made any sense. She looked around the room, a wild look in her eyes, as she flipped her fin, trying to get it to change back into the feet she was much more comfortable with. "What happened to my world?"

Leena sighed, took a seat on the edge of the bed, and turned to Faith. "The Cathan are like Human beings, but instead of being distantly related to apes, the Cathan are related fairly closely to cats. The Cathan are a nomadic people, and so have no cities. You can tell them apart from humans fairly easily, too. The Cathan are covered in a thick coat of fur, and they also possess a long tail. So as I said, they are fairly easily distinguishable. As far as what happened to your world, technically speaking, this is your world. At least this is your world as it would look if the Cathan had emerged as the dominant species, as opposed to Humans. The Plains of Ferat, are roughly equivalent to Kansas and the upper portion of Oklahoma. This Hall is roughly 50 miles southwest of where Topeka would be."

Faith took this in, with a look of confusion. "So, you mean this is Earth, and that cat people are the dominant species?" Leena nodded, and Faith continued, "So humans never existed here?"

"Never child. The mages in this building, and those in Ebontower are the only humans in this dimension." Leena replied.

"Wow!" Faith breathed out, still trying to get her bearings. "So why have you brought me here? What do I have to do with mages?"

"You are a mage, young Mer," Leena explained, with a sigh of long-suffering patience. "I have brought you here to meet the council, and ask for your acceptance into Guild Aqua. Hopefully we can train you, like Ruby trained the Aberrant Sarah Dallas, or as the other guilds have trained their Aberrants."

"Aberrant? Why do you call them Aberrant?" Faith asked, puzzled.

"Aberrant means unusual, you might know," Leena took on the tone of a professor lecturing a particularly dense class. "Aberrants are Mages that come into their power later in life than the standard mage. In general the standard mage comes into his or her power at roughly the age of thirteen, give or take a year. In the last five years, however, we have found five Aberrants at a rate of roughly one every year. Sarah Dallas was the first Aberrant since," Leena does some rough mental calculations, "the late 1600's. Finding Sarah 5 years ago, and the subsequent Aberrants, has caused quite a stir in the council. We agreed to train all mages, even if they are Aberrants. We have to. You are the fifth Aberrant, and my guild is now the only one to not attempt to train an Aberrant. I hope I have more success than Guild Negro had. "

"You have to?" Faith continued with her inquisition. "Why do you have to train Mages, why can't they just do as they please?"

"Faith, I want you to picture a tornado," Leena went on, attempting to get her point across with a simple analogy. "Now picture the tornado ripping apart every house within 50 miles. That is an untrained mage, a destructive force, that is unfocused. It could kill everyone around it if left unchecked. Now picture a similar tornado, but as opposed to destroying every house, it weaves up and down the streets, and only hits houses that belong to particularly evil men. That is a trained mage, a focused force, able to determine what needs to be done, and doing it with as little waste as possible."

"So, what you are saying, is that if you neglect to train a mage," Faith posited, her voice was not particularly pleased, "That mage would be uncontrollable, and if you train a mage, you can control him or her. Is that it?"

"No child, it has nothing to do with control," Leena replied quietly, and then with a little more vigor, she perked up. "Ah! Look! Your legs are returning."

Sure enough, as Faith looked down, the large fin that had once been her feet, was once again separating into toes, the green color fading. Soon her tail began to split, forming once more into legs. Faith was so caught up with all of this, she didn't even notice the fact that her entire lower body was naked. At least not right away, she didn't. Sitting there on her firm fleshy butt, she felt her legs enjoying the smooth, non-scaly flesh. The feeling of flesh against her palms brought up the realization that she was no longer clothed in her jeans. A startled yelp escaped her mouth, as she covered her crotch, her face turning a red more brilliant than any fire engine. A quick flash, and her hands no longer felt flesh, but felt a silky material. A quick look down revealed she was now wearing a blue ankle length skirt that was made of an odd glittery material. She turned to Leena, who had a look of pure amazement.

"How? How did you materialize clothing like that?" Leena stammered, trying to come to grips with what she had just seen, "How do you know how to do anything, without training?"

Leena ran off before giving Faith a chance to say anything, not that Faith had any answers. Faith found herself alone, and with legs, in a palace larger than any football field. She had no idea how to get out, and no idea how to do the Dimensional Magic, that she had been accused of earlier. So, she did what she decided was the best course of action. She got up, and roamed down the halls, attempting to follow the same path Leena had followed when she had brought Faith here. Quickly, however Faith realized that her plan was not going to work. The many halls that she found, all looked the same to her, and she quickly found herself highly disoriented. All carved from the same rock, no paintings or etchings to mark where she had been, or where she was going. To add to her confusion, Faith felt a strange buzzing in her head everywhere in the building. No one else wandered the halls, and so there was no one to seek directions from.

Eventually, after an hour of roaming, Faith knocked on a door, "Is anyone in there?"

A male voice replied, "Yes, I'm here, who wants to know?"

Faith grinned, glad to have found a person, "My name is Faith, I can't seem to find the main hall. Could you give me directions?"

Noise from inside the room piqued Faith's interest, and then the door opened. Revealing a young man, roughly 18 years of age. The man's tousled blonde hair gave her the impression that he had just been awakened. The air of aplomb that surrounded him, gave off the impression that he considered himself quite the Don Juan.

"Hello Faith, My name is Michael" Michael spoke, his grin splitting his face.

Faith stared up at the six foot seven monstrosity before her; a small blush colored her cheeks, and she did not know why. "Can you get me to the exit, Michael?"

Michael smiled, and stared down at the blue-haired vision before him, "Well, Faith, that really depends on you."

Faith raised an eyebrow, as she looked up at this hulking behemoth, "What do you mean it depends on me?"

"Well, if you go to get a cup of coffee with me, I'll show you the exit." Michael grinned, "Or if you are more inclined, we could always do lunch, maybe dinner?"

Faith backed away slowly, the blush on her cheeks deepened, "I think I can find the exit on my own, thank you." She backed up against the wall, and then began to head down the hall. When she noticed that she was being followed, she turned around, only to find that Michael was walking behind her. "Why are you following me? I thought I said I could find the exit myself."

"Well, you are wrong. If you think you can find the exit by just wandering around, you are sadly mistaken." Michael stated plainly. A lop-sided grin formed on his face. "This way, when you get desperate, I will be here to once again request my price."

"What makes you so sure I won't find the exit?" Faith stopped and turned to look at Michael, the blush finally gone, and a cold fury burned in her eyes. "Is there something I should know? Or is that going to cost me as well?"

"Well, I suppose I can give you that information for free, " Michael smiled, trying to reassure Faith that he wasn't a total creep, "The hall is enchanted with an odd sort of warding spell. Unless you know the proper magic, you won't be able to get out of here. That is one of the training exercises they have you do to become a full-fledged mage. You have to escape from the dorm wing. Otherwise, they are in full control. When they believe that it is time for you to eat, or leave the hall for any other reason, they appoint a chaperone, someone that can work the magic involved, and keep an eye on you, as well. They are fairly protective of the new mages."

"So basically, I can either accept your offer, or wander around until I find someone else that has a better offer," Faith sighed in defeat, "Is that what you are trying to tell me Michael?"

"Well, there is one other option, but I think you will find that one even less favorable than the other two." Michael stated with a tone of grim foreboding.

"Why?" Faith asked, anxious for another option, "What is this mysterious third option?"

"You could wonder the halls until you are old and gray," Michael said with a slightly forlorn frown. "I would hate for that to be the option you chose."

"So really, there is no option, It is stick with you or nothing?" Faith began to recognize the predicament she was in.

"Yep" Michael smiled triumphantly, "So how do you like your coffee?"

Faith turned around to follow Michael, "Black."

She followed him down a few halls, to a door that looked like any other, in a hall that was no different than the thousands of other halls. He turned the knob, and led her out into the main entry hall that she had been in earlier with Leena. The grandeur of it took her breath away, and stood in stark contrast to the very Spartan room she had occupied. Michael turned around, and watched her reaction. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"

Faith nodded mutely, and continued to follow him as opposed to making a break for the exit. She realized that she had no idea how to get back home yet. A little more time would be required to achieve that goal. She followed Michael, as he lead her into what looked to be a diner, made out of the same rock as the rest of the hall, with hardwood floors and moody lighting. Booths lined the rock walls, and chairs dotted a more informal counter area. Michael took a seat in one of the booths off in the corner, and Faith followed, taking the seat across from him.

A plump matronly waitress arrived moments later, and took their order, before leaving them alone. Michael smiled over at Faith who, although she felt highly uncomfortable, did not feel in the least bit threatened. She tried to smile, and all she managed was a weak lopsided grin. A heavy silence hung in the air, as neither one made any motion to speak, each hoping the other would break the quiet.

"You are new here, aren't you?" Michael asked, finally taking the initiative to speak.

Faith just nodded, still not feeling entirely comfortable being alone with this man. Something about him didn't quite lend itself to her comfort. Maybe it was his height. Maybe Faith was just uncomfortable with the entire situation. She found herself wondering how Kelly was doing.

"Well, I suppose we should go for proper introductions." Michael continued, not much enjoying the uncomfortable silence, "I am Michael Ashby, Initiate of Guild Pyra." He stuck out his hand in a friendly gesture.

"I am Faith Sampson." Faith murmured, weakly taking his hand.

"What guild?" Michael grabbed the hand, and leaned down as if to kiss it, before deciding better and ended with a handshake.

"I have no guild." Faith stated plainly, "I am just here because some lady took me from my dorm room. I have no idea what is going on. I just want to go back home."

"Well, you're a mage, you gotta have a guild. We all have guilds, even the newbies." Michael smiled.

"The lady said something about wanting me in guild Aqua." Faith remarked. "Does that mean anything."

"What lady?" Michael asked, a worried frown starting to make its presence known on his lips, "Describe her for me."

Faith thought for a moment. "She was a skinny woman. Creepy blue eyes, very long brown hair. She wasn't a knockout gorgeous runway model, but she was still fairly pretty I think."

"You mean YOU are the Aberrant that Leena went out to get?" Michael's eyes widened with surprise.

"I suppose so," Faith said, her voice still not much above a whisper.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Michael said, his enthusiasm mirrored in his eyes.

"What is so amazing?" Faith asked, more than a little perturbed by the newfound obsession Michael seemed to have for her. Her voice rose in anger with each word she spoke. "Is it amazing that this Leena barged into my life, and kidnapped me? Is it amazing that I have no idea where I am, or how to get home? Is it amazing that everything I know has been flipped upside down in a matter of hours? Tell me Michael what is so God-damned amazing!"

"No, Faith you've got me all wrong. Its just that, well, I've never met a real Aberrant before." Michael started to talk very fast, trying to mollify the rage that he saw building in Faith. "I mean sure, I was here when they brought in Sarah, and the others, but you were the first one I have actually met."

The waitress brought around their coffee, and quickly left. Faith took this opportunity to remain silent stewing in this anger, idly sipping at her coffee. She stared into the dark liquid as she drank, as if she could find answers in the bottomless depths. She sought solace in those depths of bitter blackness.

"You know, all but one of the Aberrants escaped. Only Sarah remained until the council allowed her to go." Michael continued excitedly "So is that what you are trying to do now? Are you trying to escape"

Faith nodded, and looked up, the rage burning in her eyes, but now it was much more subdued, "Unfortunately I have no idea how to get home."

"Take me with you, and I can get you home, I know the magic necessary." Michael smiled conspiratorially, obviously feeling as if he was part of some grand adventure.

"If you can get me back home, then I will take you with me," Faith said, deciding that having an accomplice may make things easier.

Michael grinned, "Lets go then."

Michael paid for the coffee, and led the way to the exit. Soon, the two found themselves once more on the plains of Ferat, under the light of the full moon. The cat creatures still roamed in the distance, but now they looked closer than before. Michael and Faith roamed further and further into the plains, Faith just followed Michael hoping that he knew where he was going.

The hour was late, and Michael recommended that they set up a camp in a small cave to their south. The cave would provide protection from the elements, and a suitable place to hide from the council, should they decide to look for them. He conjured sleeping bags, and gathered some wood to make a fire.

"Well, I know it isn't the Hilton, but it should do for now." Michael muttered, "At least for the night we will be covered in case it rains."

Sarah nodded her agreement, and quickly nodded off in her sleeping bag. Some hours passed, before a low growl woke her up. Rising quickly, she noticed one of the large cat creatures had Michael pinned down, his arms stuck useless at his sides. He didn't scream for fear of exciting his feral captor. He looked beseechingly over at Faith, who was dumbstruck with fear.

"Use some magic." Michael whispered, still hoping to avoid irritating his captor.

"I don't know how." Faith whispered back, panic flooding her voice. "What do I do?"

"Try anything. Just get him off, before he makes me into dinner." Michael said, his voice rising ever so slightly.

Faith nodded, and concentrated on the cat. She concentrated on scaring it, making it flee, so it would leave them alone. She heard a familiar noise then, and looked forward to see a small rain cloud hovering above the cat, letting loose a localized monsoon. The cat leapt off of Michael, and fled the cave. The rain however, quickly put out the fire, and filled the small indentation of the cave floor in which they had made camp.

As the water filled the area, Faith felt the pain in her legs return, and screamed as she tried to get out of the dampness. She was too late, however, as the skirt she was wearing was soon plastered to the hard scaly flesh of a Mer-tail. Michael, who was also very much soaked, looked at her in shock.

"You. You're a Mer!" Michael stammered in shock, his teeth chattering from the cold rain.

"No." Faith tried to defend herself, before sighing in resignation, "Well, I wasn't two days ago."

"You just keep getting cooler by the minute." Michael grinned, his eyes going up and down the length of Faith's tail. "An Aberrant Mer, I need to write this down, no one will ever believe this."

Faith blushed, as she fell backward into the pool of water that had formed, waiting for the rain cloud to drain itself. She let herself relax in the pool, once more finding comfort in the water, but for the first time, finding it, not just relaxing, but natural. As if she belonged in the water, and not on the land. She let herself be slowly lulled to sleep by the gentle susurrations of the water. Sleeping more soundly than she ever had in her 20 years on Earth.

The morning sun tried to force its way into the tiny cave, but only managed to shed light at the mouth of the cave, leaving Michael and Faith in blessed darkness. Somehow, during the night, the cave had not only been dried, but warmed as well, and Faith found that once more she was blessed with feet. Michael slept a few meters off, nuzzled into the comfort of his little sleeping bag. Faith let him sleep, even though her stomach growled loudly, protesting the fact that she had skipped dinner, she did not wake him up asking about food. Instead she leaned back against the wall, and just enjoyed the darkness, waiting for her new found friend and guide to wake up. She had some questions she wanted answered.

An hour later Michael awoke. After stretching briefly, he turned to Faith, "I see you got your legs back during the night. This is good."

"Yeah, I guess you dried out the cave while I slept?" Faith asked, mildly intrigued by the lack of dampness.

"Actually no. You seemed to absorb it all." Michael admitted, even though he wanted to take full credit for the miraculous disappearance of the water.

"I absorbed it?" Faith inquired. "But there must have been at least 40 gallons of water, how could I absorb all of that?"

"I'm not sure, I believe it has something to do with the Mer biology. They seem to absorb water while they sleep, I think it has something to do with replenishing their energy supply." Michael said, hazarding a guess.

"That is bizarre. But at least I have legs again," Faith asserted. "So at least I can walk now. Shall we get moving?"

They exited the cave, and once more headed away from the Hall of Mages. When the top of Ebontower was no longer in sight Michael stopped, "This looks like a good place, I doubt that anyone from the Hall can see us all the way out here. Now, I just need you to tell me where we are going."

"Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky. I can find my way to my dorm from almost anywhere in the city," Faith stated this plainly, just hoping to get home.

"Ok, that takes care of the city, now which reality are you from?" Michael asked.

"What reality?" Faith was stunned, she never thought of that problem. "I didn't know there was more than just the one reality."

"You mean the different realities weren't explained to you?" Michael asked incredulously. When Faith shook her head, he continued, "Let me see if I can give you a quick lesson. The realities are classified by five key factors, that I will try to enumerate for you."

Holding up one finger, "The first factor is the dominant species in that reality. From the looks of you, I'd say that the dominant species is human, which cuts out almost five sixths of the known realities."

He held up a second finger, "The next factor is the dominant nation. In some realities, Germany might be a dominant nation. In one very frightening reality, France is the dominant nation."

The third finger came up, and he continued, "The third factor, is dominant gender. Basically, do you live in a matriarchal society or a patriarchal one."

Forth Finger, "The forth factor is technological advancement. Do the people of your reality use sticks and rocks to hunt, or do you just pop on over to the supermarket."

Fifth Finger, "The fifth factor is whether or not your species has made first contact with an alien species. I'm not speaking about the governmental bullshit that some conspiracy theorist is going to talk about, I'm talking honest to goodness first contact."

"So there you have it, now which reality are you from?" Michael finished.

"Let me see here, Human, United States, Male, We use cars to get from here to there, and no First Contact. I think that covers everything, right?" Faith asked.

"Good. It seems you come from the same reality as me. So the portal should be easy to make." Michael stated, a smile decorating his face. "Although I never realized that my reality had Mer."

He waved his hands, and a hole appeared in the air before them, the gateway opening on Bardstown Road, rather close to the Bashford Manor mall, which was a thoroughly deserted ghost mall. There was no one around, so no one noticed their ingress into this reality. Michael looked around, pleased with himself for making the gateway out.

Sarah sighed, "This is going to be a long walk, you know."

"Why, how far do we have to go?" Michael asked, the smile still filling his face.

"Well, by my approximation, we have about 5 miles to walk." Faith breathed,

"If you'll permit me to look in your mind, "Michael began, "I can get exact coordinates and we'll be there in seconds."

Faith nodded her agreement, and watched as Michael's eyes took on a far away look. She felt a slight tickle in the back of her mind, and waited for Michael to make the gateway. Michael's eyes snapped back to attention, and he once more looked at Faith. "Are you ready to go now?"

He didn't wait for a response, before a new hole appeared, leading straight to Faith's bed. As it opened fat drops of rain began to fall, which worried her greatly. She quickly stepped through, glad to be back in her own room, and even more glad to avoid another transformation into the Mer. She called out for Kelly, hoping her roommate was in the room. A loud splash from the bathtub and hurried footsteps, told Faith exactly where Kelly had been, and Faith was ecstatic to see Kelly running nude and dripping out of the bathroom. She hugged Faith tightly, as she was doing so, Michael stepped gingerly out of the portal.

The shriek Kelly let out was enough to cause both Faith and Michael to cover their ears. Kelly covered herself, a deep blush filling her face with color, "Who is that? What's he doing in our room?"

"Kelly, this is Michael, he helped me get away from Leena." Faith attempted to placate her roommate. "Calm down please. Just go get dressed, I'll make sure he doesn't watch."

Faith grabbed Michael by the wrist, and dragged him closer to the door, affording Kelly a small semblance of privacy. Kelly continued to sputter in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. However, the noises that Faith heard told her that Kelly was getting dressed.

"I'm decent, you can turn around now." Kelly muttered, the same anger and shame shading her voice.

 

----Part Six: Acceptance-----

Faith turned slowly to see her roommate dressed very conservatively, in the loosest fitting sweater she owned, and a very long skirt. While she seemed to have been mollified, she seemed more than a little reticent about wearing her normal clothes in front of Michael, Faith looked between the two, and noticed that they each had a very similar skin color. She grinned as she watched the two, not wanting to be the first one to break the silence. Besides which she was finding the silence odd, especially the fact that the redness of their skin seemed directly proportional to the length of the silence.

When their skin was a red deeper than Faith thought was possible, Michael looked at Kelly and said, "Hello, I'm sorry to have barged in on you like that."

Kelly, sniffed loudly and turned her head, "It isn't polite to barge into a woman's room through creepy glowing holes in the wall like that."

Faith couldn't help but laugh, and as she watched, Kelly and Michael joined in, diffusing the potentially caustic situation. They fell into a small good natured chat, but it wasn't long before Faith's hunger betrayed her, and her stomach once more voiced its discontent. Kelly and Michael shared another quick laugh, as Kelly walked over towards the phone, intent on ordering more Chinese food.

"Hey Michael, do you like Chinese?" Kelly asked, before ordering. "Or would you rather have pizza?"

Michael arched his eyebrows curiously, "It has been so long since I had either one, I couldn't even begin to tell you."

"A long time?" Kelly turned to Faith, "Girl, where did you find this guy?"

"In another dimension."

"Well, that explains it." Kelly said as she dialed the number for the Chinese restaurant. Thirty minutes later, they were feasting on egg rolls and pepper steak.

Their hunger sated, they turned their minds to the problem at hand. Faith spoke first, "Well it is obvious we can't all live here forever." Kelly and Michael nodded, and Faith continued, "So Michael and I will have to find somewhere else to live."

Michael grinned at hearing this. "I do know of a small house that my father owns, but rarely visits. We could probably hide there until we can make better arrangements."

Faith nodded her agreement. "Now we just need to figure out what to do about me." When she noticed Michael's questioning look, she handed him her senior picture, and explained, "That was me. In fact, that was how I looked until just a few days ago."

Michael's jaw dropped open slightly, "You look a lot better now, I have to say."

Faith smiled, "Thank you."

"What happened?" Michael asked. "How did you change?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Faith shrugged. "I had this weird dream, and when I woke up, I looked like this, and Kelly was freaking out." Kelly blushed again at this, "Then that lady Leena showed up."

"The others all described some form of physical change as well, which is something I have never heard of. The magic has never changed the user against their will," Michael said, half to himself. "So why did it change the five of you?"

Kelly looked at Michael and Faith her eyes wide, "You mean there are more? More people like..." She made a vague motion around her feet, "With the tails?"

Michael shook his head, "While there are other Mer, the other Five are not Mer. However, their changes are no less profound."

Another silence filled the room, and they all returned to eating. The day passed quickly into night, and drowsiness overtook the three of them. Michael, decided to be as gentlemanly as possible, and offered to sleep on the floor, while Faith and Kelly each took their own respective beds. The night stayed blissfully free of dreams. Thoughts of what lay ahead for them hung heavy on their minds though.

Morning sun brought the threesome out of their pleasant slumber, and returned them to the world of the wakeful. Preparations needed to be made to assist in Michael and Faith's exodus from the dorms. Clothes were packed, food was bought, and slowly they loaded Kelly's car with enough supplies for about two weeks. Faith took the morning as an opportunity to call her father. She had been through a lot of changes in the last two days, and she needed his presence, if not his physical presence, at least his vocal presence. He had always served to help her feel human, even if no one else cared, her dad was always there. She dialed the number, and waited.

"Hello, Sampson residence." A voice proclaimed on the other end, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Daddy!" Faith exclaimed, as she looked at the clock, to find out what time it was.

The voice of her father shed the blanket of sleep. As if charged by an unseen force, vitality flowed into the weary voice, "Hey there, Angel. How are you doing?"

Faith paused a moment, debating on what to say, tears formed in her eyes. She bit her lip, and answered "I'm fine, Daddy. How are you?"

"Much better now that you've called, Angel." Happiness practically gushed through the phone line. The outpouring of joy, made Faith Blush, even as it broke her heart. "Are you coming to visit me this weekend, Angel? It has been so long since your last visit."

His words tore at her heart, and she nearly dropped the phone, as tears streamed across her cheeks. "I can't Daddy. I don't think I will be able to visit for a very long time. I'm sorry."

The joy that had previously been gushing, disappeared in a blink, and was replaced by a disappointment that tore even more at Faith's heart. "Why not, Angel? Is something wrong? I can come down there and help if you need it."

Faith was at a loss for words. She wanted to comfort her father, but she knew that her new form, would be a shock to his system. A shock that he could not afford to have. "Daddy... I..."

"What is it, Angel?" The plaintiff tone in his voice raked deeper at her heart. "You know you can tell me anything? I told you I would always be there for you, and that has not changed. I am here for you. I just need you to talk to me."

"Daddy, I can't talk about this just yet." Faith grasped for the words she needed, something to calm him down, and return the joy she had heard earlier. "Can you give me time, to work it out on my own?"

Her father didn't answer for a while. Faith could hear breathing on the other end, so she knew he was still there. "Daddy?"

"I understand, Angel." Her father finally replied. While the joy was not back, there was at least a level of acceptance in his tone. "Promise me one thing, though."

"Anything, Daddy," Faith said, as she wiped some of the tears from her eyes.

"When you are ready, I want you to tell me in person." Faith detected a hint of her father's mischievous grin in his voice. "I hope it is soon too. I don't know how long I can wait for an answer."

Faith nodded, the tears dried now, her own smile returning somewhat. "Ok, Daddy. When I am ready, I will talk to you in person about it. Just don't be suprised if it is a little shocking."

"Ok. Angel." Her father said, the joy once more present in his voice. While it was no longer gushing, it was at least lightly coating every word. "Well. I don't want to waste any more of your time. I know you don't want to spend too much time talking to an old man like me."

"Oh. Daddy," Faith grinned. "You know you aren't wasting my time. However I won't argue that you are old."

Her father took on a tone of mock anger, "Old am I? Well you young ones just have no respect for your elders! Why back in my day..."

"I know, I know. You've told me of the good old days a million times," Faith laughed.

"Well, Angel," Her father replied. "I guess it is time to say goodbye."

"Goodbye Daddy." Faith said, a little sad to see the conversation ending, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you more, Angel." Her father said, "Behave yourself."

"I will, Daddy." Faith made a mock kissing sound, "Good bye, Daddy."

"Goodbye, Angel." Her father said, before she hung up the phone. She remained where she was for a few moments, as she realized the gravity of the situation. Then the tears began to flow, as she hugged her knees. She realized that she may never see her father again. The thought of that loss was too much. She sat there and hugged her knees, weeping openly, and not in the least bit ashamed. The future looked very lonely. Very lonely indeed.

Kelly came by, and without a word, sat down next to Faith. She reached out and hugged her distressed friend, while Michael sat back and felt totally useless in this situation. Time passed, and Faith cried her tears. The rivulets of tears dried up, and with red puffy eyes, Faith looked at her friend and gave her a silent thanks. Faith rose from her spot and walked over to Michael.

"Are you ready, Michael?" Faith asked.

"Yes." Michael nodded.

Faith nodded as well, and they all piled into Kelly's car, leaving Faith's behind. Kelly drove slowly, as Michael directed her towards the house. He sat in the back seat, making idle conversation, still dressed in his Mage's robes.

"Michael, unfortunately we have no clothes for you," Kelly said, as she drove to the house Michael had mentioned, weaving slowly through the city. "You'll have to find some."

"Oh, Clothes are no problem," Michael laughed, as his robes shimmered, and he was dressed in a loose-fitting T-shirt and jeans. "I have Magic remember?"

Faith couldn't hold back her chuckle at the wide-eyed expression on Kelly's face. Michael looked, and joined in on the laughing, which soon became too much to resist. Kelly joined in as well. The laughter continued almost all the way to the house.

"That's the one over there," Michael said, pointing at a small ranch style house on the left. "We should be fine there at least for a little while. My dad shouldn't be visiting this property for a while."

Kelly pulled into the driveway, and they slowly unloaded the car into the house. Faith was pleased to see that it was furnished, with only a thin layer of dust on things. She checked out the backyard and found a privacy fence, and a swimming pool. Things were definitely looking up for her. She had turned into the Mer form only twice, and never on purpose, however as she stared at the pool, an idea began to form. "Hey Kelly, do you have a camera?"

"Yes, why do you ask." Kelly shouted back, as she came closer to the pool. She heard a splash, and came out to see Faith, in Mer form, her shirt, and skirt discarded at the side of the pool. "What are you doing? Have you gone insane?"

"Bring me a bikini top, and the camera." Faith insisted, a sly look on her face. "Send out Michael, too, I will be needing his help."

Several minutes later, Faith was laid out on a lawn chair, her tail glistening in the sunlight. A few pictures later, Faith smiled. "Kelly, you just paid for college, and I think we may have a way to get out of the city."

Kelly raised an eye quizzically, "I'm not quite following you, Faith."

"Think tabloids, Kelly. How much do you think they would pay for a picture of a Mermaid?" Faith's eyes practically glowed as she schemed. "Think of how much they have done on Bat boy."

Kelly's eyes lit up as well, "How much do you think we could make off these?"

Michael smiled, "Well, I personally have no idea. However, what I do know is that the three of us are going to be very rich."

Faith just nodded as Kelly made the phone call to the Weekly World News. Things were definitely looking up.

 

-----Part Seven: Prosperity and Consequences-----

Three months later, the world seemed a much different place to the three friends. Michael had endeared himself to the two girls, and had quickly made his way into their very exclusive clique. After selling off a few of the pictures to the Weekly World News, and various internet sits, Faith and friends moved to Florida, and bought a private beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Soon Faith had a fan base, and made even more money selling autographed pictures of herself in Mer form. Profits continued to rise, and the threesome found that there was no need to work, Finances were stable, they were effectively retired, and not a one was older than 22.

Michael had grown on the twosome. While at times he was a bit of a klutz, he had a good heart, and never once tried to take advantage of them. The two made sure they did nothing to encourage any form of advance, as well. All in all, though, they had a nice little family.

"Faith," Kelly said, as she sipped on her beverage, "Have I ever told you how much of a genius you are?"

Faith lowered her sunglasses and looked at her friend, "Only every other day."

Faith and Kelly shared a laugh, and went back to sipping their drinks. Michael soon joined them on the deck that was overlooking their little slice of heaven. He began to blush furiously when he noticed that they were sunbathing in the nude.

"I'm glad you are here Michael." Faith began, her sunglasses covering up the glow her eyes got every time she was plotting something. "There is something I wanted to talk to the two of you about."

Kelly and Michael shared a worried look, before Kelly replied, "What is it Faith? Is there a problem."

"Actually yes." Faith nodded her head slowly, "You may recall that the money from my pictures is getting thinner, correct? It is no longer quite the fortune we had originally been hoping for."

Michael spoke up this time, "Yes. However, it is still a fairly sizable sum. Not to mention the various other assets we have obtained. We can live comfortably for the rest of our lives on what we have left"

"We can have more, however. I mean, what if any of us decides we want kids? Or we want to marry? Will we have enough money to support them as well? I have a plan." Faith said, as she looked between the two of them. "I just need your cooperation."

"What do you need from us Faith?" Kelly asked worriedly, "You know we'd do anything for you."

"I am glad to hear that," Faith said, a wide smile forming on her face. "As you know, I've been working on my magic, with Michael's help. He actually is a fairly good teacher." When the two nodded, she continued, "I was hoping to find a way to cure my condition, but I failed miserably at that. What I did find, however, is a way to change others."

The fear in Kelly and Michael's eyes was very evident, as they stared at Faith. Kelly stuttered, and finally, Michael found his voice. "Faith, I don't know what you are proposing exactly, but if I am right, than it is not something I am very interested in. In fact, if I am right, I am sure I want nothing to do with it."

"Guys, think about it," Faith said, taking on her best calming voice. "If one mermaid made us this rich. Think of how much we could make with three Mer. Besides, we live on a private slice of beach, no one comes over unless invited, so no one would ever see us, and it would be water-activated just like my own transformation. There is nothing to lose, and you can't tell me that you aren't just a little curious about how it feels."

Kelly nodded her head slowly, and Michael paused to think for a moment while he considered the proposal. Finally, he too nodded, which elicited another smile from Faith. She stood, and walked towards the beach, beckoning both of them to follow. A minute later, they all stood on the beach, and Faith ran into the water, before the change hit her, disappearing beneath the waves with just a flicker of her green tail. She surfaced almost immediately, and smiled at her two friends, her wet hair plastered to the sides of her face and her forehead.

"Ok. I will let you know, that the first time, it kind of hurts." Faith admitted, a look of serious concern marking her face, as she threw her sunglasses back onto the beach. "I wanted to warn you." She waved her hands a little, and then nodded. "There we go. I'm done."

Michael and Kelly both inspected their bodies, and then Michael voiced the same thought he and Kelly were sharing, "Is something supposed to happen? I still feel the same." Kelly just nodded her agreement.

"I did mention to you that it is a Water-activated change, right?" Faith remarked, a little irately, "Did my words not make sense to you? You need to be in the water to change. So come on in."

Kelly overcame her trepidation first, and rushed into the water, before the pain hit her, and she fell into the water. Her legs fused, becoming a beautiful aquamarine-scaled tail. She howled out in pain only once, before the whole thing was over, and then she just cooed in pleasure at the feelings of water around her newly formed tail.

"Faith," Kelly stammered out, "This is the most amazing thing I have ever felt. It is like the water is alive. How come you never told me about this before"

Faith just smiled and shook her head, "It is something I didn't think you would understand. It is much better to feel it for yourself."

Michael looked at the two beautiful mermaids before him, one Blonde, one Blue-haired, both exceptionally beautiful. He couldn't even begin to thank God for this stroke of luck. "Ok, I'm coming in!"

Michael Ran into the water, and got only a little further than Kelly had, before he fell over, screaming in pain. He disappeared beneath the water, a golden tail flailed above the waves, as panicked bubbles rose. Faith and Kelly swam over to him, worried he might be drowning, and pulled him above the water. They burst out laughing, and Michael let out one scream, before sighing, and relaxing.

"What's so funny?" He asked, and the tone of his voice, caused him to clamp one of his now much smaller hands over his mouth. He tried to glare at Faith, but it was ineffective, and just caused Kelly and Faith to laugh louder. He looked down at his chest, and screamed, "What have you done to me Faith?"

Faith just continued to giggle, "Well, now you won't be as embarrassed when we sun-bathe topless. You have a nice pair of your own to worry about!"

Michael sputtered and stared at them, cupping his generous bosom, "Please tell me this will wear off once I dry off. PLEASE!"

Faith shrugged her shoulders, "No idea, I've never done it before." With that, she dove below the water again, and started to swim away.

Kelly soon followed, leaving Michael alone with his new body, one hand cupping a breast, the other pulling his new black hair out to have a look at it. HE looked up and saw that the others had started to swim away, and anger fueled him, as he shot off like a rocket after them. "I'm going to get you for this Faith!"

The answering giggles made him dash all the faster after them.

Hours passed as they played in the surf. Eventually, they all pulled themselves up onto the beach, where they let the sun and sand dry them. Once they had their feet back, and Michael had his gender back, they returned to their house. Faith flitted about the kitchen, preparing lunch, as the others moved to the living room, to watch some TV. Faith came in moments later, with a tray of sandwiches and three bottles of Coke.

"I must say, that was a little different." Michael murmured, as he grabbed a sandwich and a Coke. "Why didn't you just turn me into a male Mer? Why did I have to be a female?"

"I thought it was funny. What about you Kelly?" Faith turned to her friend. "Didn't you think it was funny?"

Kelly nodded, "Indeed it was, Faith. Very amusing."

Michael groaned, and just ate his sandwich, before a thought popped into his head, "Will we change every time we get too wet, Faith? Or was that a one shot deal, and we are now free and clear to roam the beach as we see fit."

Faith grinned, "Oh, those changes are permanent. Any time you get in the bathtub or go swimming, you are going to be doing it with fins."

Michael groaned again, and cursed his luck, "Can you undo the changes?"

"Probably, but I won't be able to for a while." Faith said this as she left the room. She came back in a few minutes with a suitcase. "However right now, I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Unfinished business?" Kelly asked around a mouthful of food. "What kind of unfinished business?"

"I have to go, and talk with my father." Faith said, a look of grim determination on her face. "I think this may be a little difficult.

Kelly and Michael nodded, and watched as Faith jumped into her new car, and headed out.

In the distance Leena Grau watched. A look of sadness on her face. "The Aberrants are converging. An Ill omen."

The sky seemed darker, as the car drove off into the north quickly approaching the elusive specter of destiny.

 

-----Epilogue: Eyes of the T'Gra-----

As T'Gra flew across the table ready to kill Ruby, several council members acted. Spells were tossed, and magics were thrown, most of them missing T'Gra, and slamming rather painfully into the council members. Through a joint effort of Sprite Holk and Paris Tam, T'Gra was finally caught and subdued. Three council members died, two from Guild Aqua, Leaving Leena Grau as the only remaining member, and one from Guild Blanco a member Sprite had valued as a brother. The knife wound in Ruby's breast was quickly healed by Te'yo Hisk of Guild Blanco. The rest of the council debated long and hard about how to deal with the mutinous leader of Guild Anima. It was decided that a trial would be necessary. So a tribunal was formed, and T'Gra was made to stand before it. Harlie Port of Guild Negro headed the Tribunal, along with Yer Jang Of Guild Terra, and Lapen Hedd of Guild Pyra.

Harlie port spoke, her voice firm, with the grating quality inherent in all members of Guild Negro, "T'Gra Spire. You are brought before the Tribunal on charges of High Treason, Attempted Murder, and an attempted overthrow of our new leader. Today standing before your peers, how do you plead?"

T'Gra smiled, his sharp teeth glistened, a look of sheer hatred masked his face, as he stared at each of his peers in turn, "How do I plead? You dare ask me such a frivolous question? I plead not guilty of course." An angry roar erupted from the assembled masses, as they screamed and shouted at T'Gra, proclaiming him a liar and a traitorous bastard. The denounced him as the heart of evil itself. T'Gra turned to face them, smiling, "Look at all of you. You sniveling masses, you think you understand what is happening here? You don't even understand a fraction of what I have done. I attempted to free us, to place Guild Anima where it belongs. Instead I am touted as a common criminal, and brought to trial for attempting to save your precious council. Fear not! You get rid of me, and another will take my place, there are more than enough like-minded people to bring about our glorious victory."

Harlie projected her voice over the speech T'Gra was making, "Order! T'Gra Spire, the speech you just gave, is as good as an admission of guilt. It is the ruling of myself, and this tribunal, that you be locked away in Ebontower, never to be released. Furthermore, your Guild is placed under strictest of observation. The slightest whisper of malcontent in the guild, will lead to their immediate dissolution. Guards, if you will, escort Mr. Spire to Ebontower."

T'Gra laughed maniacally as he was dragged away. Ebontower was not a place he looked forward to spending the rest of his days. It was a particularly nasty prison, with magical wards all over. It would take some time to weasel his way around those wards and seek his revenge.

As the guards tossed him into his new home, he grinned a toothy grin at them, and laughed, "The council is doomed you know. There will be no recourse for them. Each shall perish, and each council member shall fall. The council will belong to Guild Anima, as it was meant to. I have foreseen this!"

The guards slammed the door, and chuckled to themselves, wondering how someone could have gone insane so quickly. It usually took the prisoners at least a week to lose their minds. T'Gra watched them leave, and once they were out of site, he withdrew a small leather-bound volume from the folds of his robes. "I may not be able to affect a great change in the world. However, I can still get this book out, and the killing blow shall be delivered to the council, when the six Vassals of Rantar are brought together."

With a small wave of his hand a tiny portal opened, and he dropped the book through. Rantar, the goddess of Chaos would rise, all she needed was six vassals. T'Gra chuckled, on an Earth like the one he had sent this book, there would be plenty of candidates, all desiring Rantar's promise of unlimited power.

He closed the portal, and opened another small one, and began to watch the book, through the eyes of several others. The eyes of T'Gra remained ever vigilant, and on a day in 1999, the first vassal made himself known.

T'Gra chuckled once more, as he watched the scene unfold.

-----Supplemental Timeline-----

T'Gra's Assault on the council and Ruby's rise to power-1998

Sarah Dallas (and the events described in her Flashback)-powers 1999

Tara James (and the events described in her flashback)-powers 2000

Jackie Franklin (and the events described in her flashback)-powers-2001

Pam Hart (And Flashback)-powers 2002

Faith Sampson (entire Story, except the flashback)-powers 2003.

Sixth Vassal (And the remainder of the story afterwards.)-powers 2004

 

-----Author's notes-----

I always like to end my stories with some notes basically explaining what I have planned, and how things are going. As you can see, I have the first two parts done. The other four main parts have yet to be written. I have had some discussions with various people, asking what they would like to see, and telling them what I have planned. So far, I have just the one story (Sarah's) that involves major amounts of gender changing. This is due to my interest in the changing of the physical form. Since I was a child, I have always harbored a secret desire to change into another form, I find myself envious of the butterfly, which starts life as an ugly caterpillar, and changes into the beautiful butterfly.

I have also come to realize over the years that such a physical transformation would be totally impossible, save through the use of magical means. I will admit, that I have no particular distaste for the human form, I find that the Human Body is infinitely complex, yet can not fulfill my own desire to see the world through different eyes. I have always harbored a love of animals, as well, and have spent a lot of time studying animals at various Zoos. To say that I sometimes envy the majestic Western Lowland Gorilla, or the powerful African Elephant, would be an understatement. So these stories are an attempt to merge my love of the Human form, and also the love of Animals.

I must point out that when I say love of animals, I am speaking of course not of Physical love. I speak more of a brotherly love, a kinship. Something I seldom feel when around actual people. I choose to right about people taking on animalistic characteristics as a two fold purpose. First to showcase, the animalistic nature of humanity, which in itself is just another species of animals. Second, is the reason I described above, a merging of the complexity of humanity, and the grace and beauty of the rest of the animal kingdom.

I realize that the audience I write for may be small, and with my choice of places to post this story, one may be looking for a non-stop sexual romp. While I am interested in works ranging from the aesthetic to the erotic, I do not desire to portray nothing but mindless copulation. The story portrayed in the first chapter, is about as graphic as I tend to get sexually. If you want more, I apologize. I can not do that. There are many others that write erotic fiction much better than I could.

I also write for characters that express some aspect of myself. Sarah, represented my Playfulness and my existence as a sexual being. Faith, has been an expression of my feelings of alienation, and my introversion. The evolution of Faith while it is nowhere near complete, is, at this stage, very applicable to my views of the societal norm of physical beauty being accepted as the true judge of ones worth as a person. While I do not advocate that view personally, I feel it is in need of being addressed. True beauty lies not in a physical mask, but in the hearts and souls of everyone. I hope to eventually let Faith realize that, when her story continues.

Which brings me to another point. This entire story will have a message, I am fairly sure it will not come out in the rough versions that I have been posting. However, once I get a chance to polish them up some, and add in parts that I have left out, the message should be clear. For those of you who read this story, and Sarah's story, and find that there is something missing, you are all too right. There is a great deal missing. Part of it, is the other characters, each of which has a part to add to the story, part of it is the parts that are still floating in my head, that I just couldn't figure out how to articulate correctly. I plan on rewriting all the stories once I am done with the first drafts of all of them (of which there are six more planned, one for each of the six vassals, and at least two to cover the meat of the war of the mages, however it is very likely that that may become 4 parts for the war, making it a 10 part story.

I hope my style of storytelling is understood. I am giving this story a very episodic nature so that I have ample time to work on each character, and to further the plot. As it stands, each story will be readable as a short story (if 40 pages can be considered short), when put together, they will be more novel length. Please give me a chance to finish the story before you tell me how much you hate the story.

So I leave you with this small Author's essay. If you like what you are reading, I promise more in the future. Once I finish this epic undertaking, I plan on writing some other stories, possibly something much more palatable to the general audience. I may even do something that is non-transformational in nature, which is unlikely, but may happen anyway. I harbor no belief that what I write may in some way be publishable, however I still hope that people can find it enjoyable.

Thank You,

Sarah

  

  

  

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