Editing Antiva - Bringer of Life (section)

==Mors Antiva==

We took a moment to examine the compass as we descended. There were eight points in total set into a circle, four extending outside it and four within it. Four blue stones were set onto the cardinal points, but within the circle, and slight scratches suggested that they could be changed for other stones. The structure looked as if it could be attached to another object, although we didn't know what.

I sensed the air around the falling water was fairly normal, but it soon returned to a chaotic state away from the water. As we drew close to the column below, it seemed that the air was aligning and angling down the length of it, but then in towards the base. Pulsing veins of light could be seen within the column (all colours of the rainbow) with no obvious pattern, and they were growing in intensity. Perhaps we needed to hurry?

Pi threw a grappling hook over to the other platform, easily catching in the ropes and allowing him to pull it over so that we could climb on. We carefully let the rope out to return to the side of the column, and I started lowering the platform as quickly as I dared whilst Pi re-stowed his rope. It was misty below us due to the water that was cascading down, although there was some light from within the mist. The temperature was dropping quickly, though, as if energy was being sucked out of the air (and possibly us), with the sense of dread still pervasive. We could see that the lights within the column were getting more intense, as was the light at the bottom, which certainly suggested urgency was important.

Pi checked the compass again on the way down, and this time the information was slightly conflicting. He sense that what he sought was both down at the bottom and up and away, and also nearby. Likewise, the way he needed to go was both down to the bottom of the column and back up to the platform above! This seemed like a combination of "get me out of here" as well as "find the stone", so perhaps Pi was influencing how the compass reacted?

We paused before entering the mist, but decided that we had to go down despite the numbing chill. As soon as we were enveloped in the mist, we felt a more intense feeling of dread, like we might never leave here alive! We could dimly see that the glassy column tapered impossibly inwards to a point that itself stood upon the point of an obelisk rising from the ground. The obelisk below was pulsating brightly; it had eight sides, was about eight feet in width and fifteen feet tall. Seeing the entire column suspended on a single point at the top of this obelisk was incredible but concerning!

Stood within the mist by the obelisk was a heavily armoured Dua'rev holding half of a black diamond in one hand. The stone was glowing with the colours of the rainbow and he held it against the surface of the obelisk, the light spreading out inside the glass from that contact point. The figure held a large axe loosely in his other hand. The ground was a weird mixture of earth and stone, moving chaotically so that it was hard to tell what it actually was. Xlotl said that the stone had complete control of Gallack. I was wary of stepping on the floor, and Pi dropped a bolt to see what happened to it; it clanged as if landing on a stone surface, and when Antinniera thrust her halberd down it also sounded like it was striking stone.

A pulse of light flashed out from the stone past us, and four prone Dua'rev figures were illuminated by it. They were also animated by it, as the dead Dua'rev somehow pulled themselves off the floor and started towards us. I managed to strike Gallack with a storm needle from my blowgun, but it did not stop him focusing on the stone. The undead Dua'rev closed in around us, with more appearing out of the mist behind them. Antinniera rushed forward, but after two steps just disappeared! I slashed with both fans, cutting one of the dead to ribbons and clearing the way to reach Gallack. Having seen what happened to Antinniera, though, I stayed on the platform, not ready to go forward just yet.

Two Dua'rev were on me after I hesitated, and one's axe blow came straight at me. At the last minute, though, it was deflected by an invisible force. Thank you invisible benefactor! Pi stepped off onto the floor as well, but he at least seemed to be staying with us for the time being. Antinniera had found herself within a Realm of Earth, and struck a light so that she could see more clearly.

I called out that I dare not step on the floor, and did anyone know what happened to Antinniera?! Pi said: "hang on, I'll just extract some information from these chaps" and then swung his warhammer at one, landing a crushing blow but not quite felling them. I suspect he was jesting. I was struggling to land any hits on my foes, spending most of the time trying to deflect or dodge axe blows. Antinniera suddenly appeared with a torch in hand, right in front of one of the Dua'rev near Gallack! She instinctively tried punching him, but the blow just clanged on his armour.

There was another pulse of light from the stone, but this time it was aimed at Antinniera, draining energy from her. The light within the obelisk was now very bright, and the obelisk was humming with energy, the floor was clearly more earth than stone now as well. I guessed that it was inviting another Realm, one of Earth, here... and sure enough, Antinniera disappeared again! I was still struggling to fight past the Dua'rev, and suddenly a torso of a human with feathered headdress appeared between me and Pi. Who the fuck was that?! One Dua'rev dropped to the ground, once again lifeless, but I had become distracted and two axes cut into me. I blacked out with pain, even as Pi managed to smash one of the Dua'rev to the floor.

Antinniera reappeared again, this time free to reach Gallack. She grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards, and he offered surprisingly little resistance, stumbling backwards and losing his footing so he ended up sitting on the floor with Antinniera holding his arm up. He had held onto the stone, but at least the contact with the obelisk had been broken. Antinniera was targeted by the stone again, feeling an invisible force trying to rip her heart out! Despite the chill, though, she managed to offer some resistance and not just die.

I came round to find the strange human looming over me and some of my wounds knitting. Was this a guardian air spirit sent to help us? I jumped to my feet, lashing out with an elemental strike at the nearest foe. The air crunched into his chest and he crumpled and fell. I called out: "thank you, Guardian of the Air, I am back"! Unfortunately, Antinniera disappeared again; this was not helping with stopping Gallack! He got to his feet, unseeing, and placed the stone against the obelisk again.

Disappointingly, I would learn later that the "Air Guardian" that had appeared was Xlotl in a different form, so I will call him by his name in this journal, although I did not know it at the time. Xlotl ran forward and grabbed Gallack's arm, and he succeeded in pulling Gallack back again, and again he stumbled and ended up sprawled on the floor, his arm now in Xlotl's grip. Suddenly Xlotl's skin broke out in sores and he sagged, looking seriously unwell. He took out his own stone, though, and used it to heal himself, the sores disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

I was struck by another axe blow, again passing out with the pain, and it started to make its way to Xlotl instead. Just then, Antinniera appeared right in front of it! This put him off his swing, and the axe slid harmlessly off her armour. Antinniera, though, seemed more interested in the strange man that had appeared since she last left us, saying: "holy fuck, who are you"?! Pi had been struggling to hit his opponent, but now struck a powerful blow, somehow not quite finishing the foe. Xlotl responded to Antinniera's surprise, saying: "it is I, Xlotl, help me get this fucking gem off him!" He managed to get his foot on top of Gallack, which held him for a moment, but then he was able to shift free.

Antinniera made a grab for Gallack's hand, but somehow ended up holding Xlotl's instead. Perhaps there was some chemistry there? Pi was finally able to finish his last opponent, and thankfully came to my aid. I awoke with a start, disorientated again, but saw his familiar face and thanked Pi once again. Of course, once I was back in the room Antinniera had to disappear again! I gathered my fans and blowpipe, still not sure what was going on, but then saw that there was one last Dua'rev attacking Xlotl as he tried to hold on to Gallack. His axe bit into Xlotl, and I rushed forward with Pi to help, calling out not to touch the stone - it was cursed! I drove the air into the Dua'rev, and Pi followed up with an overhead strike that destroyed the foe. Antinniera even showed up again!

Xlotl, safe for now, kicked Gallack back to the floor and Pi charged in with his warhammer, smashing it into the prone figure. I shouted that we should just carry him back to the platform and get him out of here, picking up a leg to emphasize my point. Xlotl also shouted that we should stop hurting him - it was clear that he was not in control of his action, or possibly not even aware of what was happening at all. Antinniera tried to jab at the stone to free it, but didn't connect. Xlotl started to drag him towards the platform, but asked what was the point, as the stone still had control of him. I replied that it would be better for us to be off the floor, never mind about him! Pi tried to punch the stone out of his hand, but his grip was too strong.

At that point I was the one that disappeared... finding myself in a Realm of Earth. It felt suffocating and too warm for my liking, and I drew my robes about me involuntarily. Urgh! Back in the other Realm, another pulse of light burst from the stone and both Pi and Xlotl were drained of energy, Pi collapsing to the floor. Xlotl, angered by this, smashed Gallack's hand into the floor repeatedly until the stone rolled free, Gallack's arm and body going limp and lifeless as soon as he lost contact with the stone.

Antinniera appeared with me in the Realm of Earth, but before we could speak more than a few words I found myself back with the others. I saw that Pi was unconscious, and saw an opportunity to return his kindness, restoring some of his energy. As soon as his eyes opened, though, I ran to the platform, keen to stay away from the place of Earth or any link to it. Before the others moved, though, they wanted to secure the stone. Pi fished a cooking pot of some kind out of his pack, along with a pair of fur gloves. He placed the pot on the floor and I used the air to roll the stone into it, then Pi stuffed the gloves on top to keep it in place.

Pi stepped over to examine the obelisk for any symbols, but ended up just staring at it and then didn't respond to our calls; he was mesmerized in some way. I decided to brave the floor, jumping and somersaulting to minimise my contact with it, until I was able to pull on Pi's arm. He resisted so strongly that I could barely pull him away, but did manage it eventually. Once his gaze moved away he seemed to snap back to himself, although he started to look back and I shouted at him to stay with me and tried to pull him onto Gallack's body so we were not touching the floor.

The floor seemed to have returned to stone flagstones now, though, which meant that Antinniera was trapped on the other side! The only way we could reliably reopen the gate would be to give Gallack back the stone. It was animating his body anyway, so it would probably go back to what it was doing when we arrived. I exposed by thoughts to Pi, suggesting that he give Mors Antiva back, then jogged back to the platform, not wanting to end up in the Realm of Earth again.

I took a moment to heal some of Xlotl's wounds, as he was looking pretty unwell, and Pi had paused anyway. He was worried about being able to control Gallack after he had (hopefully) brought Antinniera back, so he gave me a rope to tie around his waist first. When I was ready with the rope, Pi carefully tipped the stone into Gallack's hand. He had a compulsion to take it for himself, but just managed to keep his own mind and avoid it as he got rid of the stone. As soon as Mors Antiva touched Gallack's hand, the fingers gripped it and he started to climb to his feet again. He stepped over to the obelisk and pressed his hand onto the surface with the stone against it once more, the light beginning to pulse as we expected; Earth was starting to impose itself again.

What we didn't know was that Antinniera was being eaten by a stone worm in the other realm! She suddenly appeared in the room with us, but half swallowed and unconscious. I dropped the rope, shouting for the others to deal with Gallack, and ran to help Antinniera. I used the full force of the Air to strike at the worm, focusing my ki to maximise the impact. The worm was smashed into fragments, completely obliterated - such is the power of Air when focused! Antinniera lay bleeding on the ground and did not respond at all, though. Pi rushed to her body and grabbed a potion from one of her pouches, pouring all the contents down her neck. Some of her wounds knitted, but she was still unconscious.

I didn't really want to leave the platform again, but Antinniera clearly needed help, so I stepped down and transferred some energy to heal more of her wounds, and this time she was revived enough to open her eyes, thank Aerganion! I shouted to get on the platform quickly, not wanting to lose her again, and she actually did as I asked! She must have been feeling vulnerable for that to happen. We could see that Pi was fighting another stone worm, though, but Xlotl had grabbed the rope and was slowly pulling Gallack back from the obelisk.

Antinniera ran towards Gallack and actually grabbed the stone! Was she crazy?! Well, yes, but THIS crazy?! I decided I would try to help Pi, not knowing what effect the stone might have on Antinniera. The Air struck true, causing part of the worm to crack and splinter, and then Pi followed up with his warhammer and smashed it into pieces. We both turned to see what Antinniera would do, but Xlotl chose to act, trying to tackle her to the floor. Gallack, of course, had dropped lifeless to the ground as soon as the stone left his hand.

Antinniera side stepped one attempt by Xlotl, but he managed to get her to her knees on the second attempt as I moved between her and the obelisk. Pi rushed over to help, crushing Antinniera in a bear hug, and she passed out... unfortunately that wouldn't stop Mors Antiva! I banged her hand on the floor before anything else happened, knocking the stone free but probably doing some more damage. I was saying "sorry", even though I knew she couldn't hear me. Xlotl was there to help, producing some potion from somewhere unseen and pouring it down her throat to revive her, this time with her sanity.

Pi scooped Mors Antiva up into his little pot, hiding it behind his back because he wasn't sure of Antinniera's reaction. Almost as soon as he had done that, though, he brought it back round to his front and stared at it before tipping it into his hand! Antinniera shouted: "it will possess you, put it down!" but it was too late. Pi turned to Xlotl and demanded the other stone, shuffling towards him. I tried to knock it out of his hand, but I didn't have enough strength to loosen his grip.

Xlotl transformed back into his snake form, hoping to constrict Pi, but that was thwarted when Pi changed as well - into a ten foot long crocodile! Worse, now we couldn't even see Mors Antiva any more, as it was somehow masked by the dweomer of the change. I tried to knock the crocodile out with closed fans, but it was as if something was interfering and I couldn't land a blow with any force. Antinniera had a similar issue, so I gave up trying to use force. I spoke instead, saying: "Pieniteh, if you seek to unite the stones then come back to us because we seek the same"! The crocodile hissed and made some ominous noises, but I had no idea if he was trying to communicate with me.

Antinniera attacked with her fists, punching Pi so hard that he passed out. Unfortunately as his crocodile eyes glazed over, the crocodile kept moving - now controlled by Mors Antiva! Its jaws snapped at Antinniera, scraping her armour, but its tail whipped around and caught her solidly in the side. I decided that zombie croc wasn't going to stop, so we just needed to get away, urging everyone to join me! Xlotl slithered and flapped over to the platform, and Antinniera (caught between a croc and a hard place) tried to get away, dodging the bite and just managed to deflect the tail with her halberd, expecting it this time. We were all on the platform! Unfortunately so was the croc! Well, it was starting to get on anyway, so Xlotl buffeted it with his wings and forced it back just enough that I could raise us up out of reach.

Antinniera knocked Xlotl's turban off, perhaps thinking to take Antiva and reunite the stones? Xlotl, though, had seen Pi turn back into a human form and walk over to place the stone against the Life side of the obelisk. Xlotl threw himself off the side and floated down to Pi, wrapping his tail around him to immobilise him. Antinniera swung off the side of the platform and jumped down - she could have waited for me to lower us! I brought the platform to within about a foot of the floor and hopped off, moving towards the constrained Pi.

Antinniera was headed somewhere else, though - she started looting Gallack's body! She was a bit disappointed to find only his large axe, a sword, his fine armour, and some gemstones in a pouch looked to be of any worth. Xlotl had laid Pi down, so I grabbed his arm and bashed it against the floor to dislodge Mors Antiva again. He went limp as soon as the gem left his hand, and Xlotl freed him. He looked a bloody mess, and Xlotl had to use a power of Antiva to restore him. All of his wounds disappeared, though, and other than any echos of Mors Antiva in his head he would be fine.

I went over towards Mors Antiva, placing my backpack on the floor and propping it open with a copper flame statuette. I stood back and used the air to move the gem into the bag, then prodded the flame with my toe until it fell closed. I gingerly picked up the pack, trying to focus on myself and not think of Mors Antiva, and I seemed to keep my mind so I got the pack comfortable on my back again. I looked at the others for confirmation, saying: "I think I'm ok. Do I look ok? I'm ok".