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This trip had been anything but easy. Hardship dogged every step, both physically and emotionally. She had gone far, far away, furious with her brother and the world. It just wasn't fair! Efte had disappered, swallowed up in a re-emerging goddess. Tempest had shut it out and left Efte to her fate, leaving and taking Elana with him. The life of perfection she had thought she was finally settling into simply melted away in despairing trickles, like a mere candle thrown into a furnace. She had been so angry, so hurt! And then when things began to turn evil, Tempest had bolted back to ensure the safety of two men who he cared about. Leaving her to trail along like the little sister who had nothing better to do, who could be relied upon to be tame and biddable. She had simply had enough.

So she had run, taking Tor and Sable with her. Oh, Sable had tried to convince her that Tempest hadn't intentionally abandoned her, but Elana had wanted nothing of it. She was angry, and was determined to stay angry. Life was hard, but fueled by the desire to be her own person, to move away from the sheltering, smothering arms of her brother. The changes she had wrought in herself, body and mind, were a far cry from the innocent young thing she'd been. No longer a long, thick plait of rich red hair. No, now it was cropped short, dyed pink and blue, and spiked as much as possible. Piercings studded her features, and she tended to wear clothes she'd never have been caught dead in before. Croppsed shirts with wild colors, short sassy skirts, and big heavy combat boots. Her one nod to feminity of her past was her penchance for girlish gloves that usually extended well beyond her wrist, though usually she cut the fingers out of them.

A girl had to eat, though, so she had been doing simple parlor tricks she'd picked up from Tempest, performing on roadsides and street corners. It didn't keep them fed, but both her companions were good hunters, so they never quite starved. This had been her life... until the world began to die.

Disease swept the lands, things that should not have failed did. Lakes dried up, vegitation died. Wildlife became extinct. It all spelled doom, and the double-vision that Elana had tried to dismiss and ignore overlaid the land with a blankness that was worse than death. It sent shudders deep into her soul, and knew that the world was in trouble, and here she was far from Tempest. In her heart of hearts she knew this was not right, not in the least. With fierce determination that equalled her previous fury, she set back the way she'd come.

Society collapsed, panic reigned. No transportation was to be found, or what was found could not be trusted. Wisely she opted for her own two feet, and the aiko followed her without complaint. Tor had become a quiet and withdrawn shadow of himself. Sable still kept up her litany of how much her brother loved her, even now. While she tended to scowl and growl at the female aiko to knock it off, a part of her worried and hoped. Would he be as angry with her as she had been with him.

The countryside was literally rampant with raging demons. They fought, hunted, flew, ran, crawled, and generally made the path of the little caravan impossible. After a particularly close encounter with something resembling a harpy with scales and triple jaws, they were all four huddling behind the dead skeleton of a great old oak tree. The aiko lay flat alongside the reaching roots, and Elana had gathered Temmor close to her, despite his awkward, knobby legs and sharp hooves. He had to be kept close to her or his antlers would be spotted.

She dared not reveal to the others just how much she was despairing of ever reaching her brother. They all knew who he was by now, even their newest addition. Her magician brother with the mysterious smile and the easy laugh. Tempest, the only family she cared to see again. She clasped the deer closer, eliciting a muffled grunt of protest s the sound of leathery wings rustled overhead. Would she live long enough to lead these others to him? Would he even be.. she swallowed hard and shoved that thought from her mind. SHe would not consider that possibility!!

Just them, something behind her rump moved, then shoved harder against her. With a startled yelp that she tried to stifle, she leapt away from the tree trunk, putting herself between it and Temmor. After a bit of soft rattling, what resembled a door opened up, half of it bark of the tree trunk, and hafl of it the dusty ground. Astonished, Elana could only stare as an elegent, delicate head poked out.

"Shhh!" the small figure hissed, then beckoned them urgently towards herself. Tor and Sable went first, diving in without much difficulty. Their lack of crying out in warning reassured her that this at least for now was trustworthy. But getting Temmor in the small door and into the earthen hallway beyond was tricky. The little bronw haired creature who had let them in kept shifting her eyes nervously out the door, then worriedly back to her guests. While it wasn't comfortable, the only way to get the buck inside was for him to crawl in with his neck bowed severely, his antlers leading the way. He was being a little balky about it when a screech of triumph behind them made Elana's blood run cold. A glance over her shoulder revealed that the harpy-demon was back. Fresh blood drizzled from her toothy beak, though she hardly seemed sated. Another screech began her charge towards them. Urgently Elana had shoved against Temmor's hindquarters, being the only one left outside.

"Move it!" she screamed, pressing inward with all her strength. The deer's gangly legs gave way finally, and he was forced into the tunnel, nose first into the dirt floor as Elana flung herself inside and slammed the odd door behind her. it was like sealing themselves off in an entirely different world. No sound came from the other side of the door, even though she was sure the demon must be digging madly to reach them. Inside, it was serene and quiet.

"Welcome," a high picthed and almost squeaky voice said nearby. She turned to lock eyes with the small figure that had let them in. "Welcome to my den!"

Their travels were remarkably easier after that point. The sun shone, the weather softened. Their hearts were more at ease, but Elana still seemed troubled. Something was clearly wrong in the world, despite how easy things had become. She took to walking beside Tor, one hand buried in his thick fur at his shoulders. He often glanced up at her worriedly, sensing her unease. Still, they were making good time. Two days later, though, they met what might have been further trouble.

Something prowled the shadows behind them. Tor was sure of it. He used subtle feline language to communicate it to Sable, and they both set off in opposite directions, leaving the rest of their small group. It was drawing near dusk, and they were passing through the edge of a dense, dead forest. Elana watched them go with puzzlement, but said nothing. Instead, she struck up a ocnversation with Fera about flowering plants. All was quiet otherwise for five minutes as they sun lowered in the sky, and Temmor and Nier'an plodded tiredly behind them, docile and relaxed. Nothing appared wrong.

A screeching yowl pierced the air from behind, followed by another of a different pitch and timbre. Spinning, she gestured for them to stay put while she followed the sound. The scene she broke into about stopped her heart. The aiko circled something that was about two and a half times their size. Fangs slavered, claws tore the eart, tail lashed as it turned round and round to watch them with feral eyes. A demon. It had to be. It was the first they'd seen since the week's worth of infestation. She wans't sure why they had disappeared as they had, but clearly this one was still very much here. It crouched low, eyes pinned on Tor with his delicate wings. Alarmed and fearing for his life, Elana gave a shout and charged down the slope towards the trio.

Her yell seemed to startle all three of them, for they leapt in three different directions. Wrist chains jingling, she threw herself in front of Tor, who had leapt toward her rather than away. "Go away! Leave us alone!" Her voice was shrill with fear, but loud in determination. They'd been lucky enough to not have anyone perish on this trip thus far, and she didn't want that to happen now, not to her best friend especially. "Stop it! Go away!"

Her words, though, had a strange effect on their opponent. His head dropped low, his tail tucked, and he gave a strange, gurgling whine. Astonished, Elana glanced over at Sable, who looked equally abashed and shrugged in silent bafflement. Taking a chance, she bit her lip, then barked an order. "Come here." She pointed imperiously at her feet, lifting her chin and keeping eye contact. Obediently the beast slunk nearer, still whining in that odd voice. Warily, she reached a hand to pat his head. "Good boy," she mumbled, unable to believe the situation. It seemed they had obtained a new pilgrim for their journey.

Later, talking around a fire, they made wild guesses as to why he had been so submissive. Tor mentioned that the demon-dog had been following them for some time. The most likely senario was that this was a pack animal, seperated from his group. Somehow, heavens knew how or why, he'd latched onto their group and the whole scene had been one of an attempt to join their 'pack', which included submitting himself to the alpha, Elana. Regardless, it was unanimous that he could be a valuable addition if he proved to be trustworthy. Surely little would attempt to attack them with his imposing presence in their midst.

The next day they set out, one member stronger, drawing ever so slowly nearer the Pantheon.

Eventually they freed the raptor and tended to Makkar's wounds. Both weren't in very good shape for a time, though they pressed on. Their pace slowed to a crawl as they cared for their wounded. They managed to rig a sort of perch on the harness the little horse had born. Named Reesa by Fera, the unlovely little mare bore up well under the weight and movement of the large bird. Truthfully, the equine was rather unflappable, and like a donkey, seemed capable of bearing more than her fair share of weight. This was a blessing for the time being, but Elana had no intention of taking advantage of it.

Soon enough, though, everyone was well once more, and their travels continued. Reesa took on some of Temmor's burdens, which made him very happy (and more talkative). Makkar became even more attatched to Elana, if that was possible. many nights before their small fire, he'd lay with his huge muzzle in her lap, grunting ecstasy as she scratched behind his ears or along his neck. His similarity to a dog ended up overcoming his rather daunting visage, and she was quite fond of him. He was no replacement for Tor, of course, but he made a wonderfully loyal friend.


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It took them months to cross the span to the Pantheon. They'd had rough country to cross, sometimes where it appeared a cosmic hand had torn apart the earth, leaving huge gaping wounds that went too deep to see. Other places the ground buckled up in insurmountable crests, forcing them to find another way around. What villages they passed through were deserted, or sparsely populated. When Verrigan, the large raptor, was well he helped to hunt as he could. Their finds were meager, but it helped that half of their troupe ate only roughage. That, of course was another challenge, but one they managed somehow. All of them were beginning to look terribly lean, with sunken cheeks and showing ribs. Still, they were alive, and were thankful for that much.

Several times the predators had to defend their group from roving maurauders, though thankfully it never resulted int he slaughter of last time. Noone was ever as seriously hurt either. Elana was wise enough to count their blessings. Now if only they could reach Tempest.