Young Writers Society

Oliver - The Magician

Venice. It was beautiful even at night, as the dimming lights from streetlamps cast the carved stone beasts around the city in dancing shadows. During the day one could see the pollution that swirled through the canals, but at night all you could see were the dark outlines of waves brushing along the sides of gondolas, anchored until morning. This is where Oliver would have chosen to live with the Empress, Cielle, the only woman he ever loved in the eternity he had been alive.

He shook the memories from his mind, knowing tonight was not an appropriate time to lose himself in them. He was headed for the one place he knew a small group could convene in privacy, the Island of San Michele. It was an old cemetery that, while housing the likes of Igor Stravinsky, was often overlooked by many.

He stepped off a stolen gondola onto the Island of San Michele, noting the glow of lanterns emanating from the center. It appeared his guests had arrived. He recalled what lengths he had gone through to locate them, and how much persuading he had mustered to influence them to even consider meeting him in Italy for tonight. Junon had been nearly impossible to track, and Oliver considered it a stroke of luck to run into her in Cairo, Egypt when he did. Jaime's pessimism had discouraged him as well. But hopefully, despite his misgivings, Oliver hoped they could remember the what a dynamic team they had been before the Schism that had broken them up hundreds of years earlier.

As per tradition, he enjoyed a dramatic entrance. He cast an illusion of emerging from the ground in front of the six Arcana in a burst of bright blue flames.

"Welcome!" Oliver said, bowing to each of them. He was pleasantly surprised to see that all of them had shown, as he was afraid one of them may have had a change of heart.

"Tonight is the night we make the first move against our opponents. Too long we have hid from them, allowing them to throw the scales off balance. By capturing the Tower, we will regain our fortress, and centralize our power." Oliver paused for dramatic effect. "The collective has moved it here in Venice, beneath the Bridge of Sighs. And traditionally, the Hermit is guarding it. Fortunately, our players are strong, and unified, we are a formidable match against the Collective."

He bowed to them once more, indicating the end of his announcement. A moment of silence permeated the air, an almost oppressive sensation. And then the group burst into conversation.

~Jaime (the Star)
*

He watched as the smoke rose from the cigarette, more playing with it between his fingers than actually smoking it. It was long and thin, dark black and with something written in silver letters around it. Jaime stared at the smoke - the way it twirled, turned to shapes and seemed so alive against the dark sky, it was almost magical.
He smirked to himself, extinguishing it on the head of a stone statue next to him. You will really pay all your attention to anything just to distract yourself from what's really happening, won't you? With a small sigh, he shoved the cigarette into his pocket, not really caring if it'd get destroyed. I smoked that thing ten times in the last few days already. He could still feel it on his lips, though if he'd ask anyone else, they'd say he didn't even bring it to them.

Jaime turned to the others, not quite sure if he made his presence noticed by either of them. Running his fingers through his hair, he found a note on his left palm, the ink not quite dried yet. Oh, right. I haven't yet, not as much as they remember. He slid down from the roof he's been sitting on, taking a deep breath as he found himself next to the water. Jaime liked the way Venice felt - she was old and mysterious and evoke inspiration regardless if he searched for it or not, in a way an old flame could light the long-lost spark in the darkened heart of the lover.

He opened his mouth to greet them as he reached the others, when bright blue flames burst from the ground. Jaime narrowed his eyes at them, not too surprised to see the figure appearing from them. You don't even know how many times I already saw you appearing here.

Jaime was tired - so tired that he barely payed attention to what Oliver was saying, but he's heard it already and hasn't forgotten. It was hard to think of the rest of them as opponents, even though he has seen them many times in past years - much more often than they saw him, that was. He didn't want to be a part of Oliver's battle plans, and take off to another senseless mission to find their lost members. For Jaime, they were just that, lost. He saw them getting caught or turning against them, he saw them hurting one another, he was even hurt himself. Over and over, thirty hours and one minute back to the past, told him all he needed to know - he could've came close. But it was impossible to win.

"I'm not going," he said, cutting through whatever it was the others were discussing. The reactions were rather expected.

"We can only hope to defeat them together," Oliver said. "You know how strong we--"

"Hope won't do any good. And what I know is that we stand here, after centuries of being separated, with our friends imprisoned or against us, while they kept together for all that time. We are not strong. We were, perhaps, but that was far in the past." He shut up and licked his lips, angry at himself. You've been around humans too much, he said to himself, and now you're acting like one. He turned his back to them, walking over to his stone figure, considering making a jump back once more. Not like you have thirty hours to spend on something else..

"Jaime?" He turned to glance at Selena, frowning as he turned back to the statue. "You used to stand for teamwork and bright future."

"There used to be bright future," Jaime muttered and rubbed his temples. I could just make them all do as I say. I could just send them home, or go back once more and this time stop Oliver from even coming. He wanted to tell them all not to go - but though they all knew of his powers, Jaime knew there wasn't really much he could do. What could I say? "Do you know how many times I went back? Back to the point when he called me to join you here, and then back to this time as we've already moved enough into the future.." And I will probably do it again, as it always goes, probably to fail at saving them all from something which hasn't even yet happened, nor I'd be sure it would. "I tried getting them back before, both Death and the others as they separated and then Aurora and the rest as they got captured," he said instead. "It never works."

"Then why did you come here as Oliver called?" She asked, catching his eyes as he glanced at her again. Because the alternatives usually included one or a few of us dying, or me switching sides. "They call themselves the collective. Of course you can't defeat them alone, none of us can. But don't you remember how powerful we were? How well we worked together?"

Jaime did remember - and he was quite sure she knew that. "I don't want to." He shook his head, feeling almost like a child. "It means losing more people, eventually. It means thinking about all of that again, and you know that I've worked quite hard to get myself living normal lives."

"I know you can't even talk about it," she replied. "I know you can't escape it in those books of yours..stay. Let's get the Tower back, and then you can see what you want to do next."

He looked at her for a long moment, and then turned to the others. They were still talking, and Jaime couldn't help a little smile creeping on his lips. Truth be told, he did miss them - more than he was about to admit, that was - and despite of all the troubling thoughts, he had to confess catching a tiny glimpse of hope as he watched them all together. He sighed, looking back at Selena.
Fine. Let's get the Tower.
"I barely caught my ride to here," he said. "Finding a gondola back to the city at this hour would be impossible anyway."
***

Junon Papal ~ High Priestess ~ Cairo, Egypt

I sat down, brushing off dust from my dress. I could not see it, but I knew it was there. The door rattled from the wind outside, and I could hear faint shouts from down the alley.

This was the perfect place to hide, but I would have to move sooner or later, preferably sooner. They were getting closer, no matter how hard I tried to get them off my tail.

Someone knocked on my door. I reached out and felt the person's, no a man's, mind. It was weak, and the mold he had around his mind broke almost instantly. He was not Arcana, that was sure. However, his mind was almost empty. He wasn't thinking about anything past getting me my belongings, which is impossible for humans.

I couldn't look any longer, for my ability was quickly waning. "Come in." I managed to say in his mind before my grasp lost. The door opened and he set the bags down. I saw him, but didn't see him at the same time. Of course, what is one's definition of seeing? I suppose it changes with each and every being.

I have never known sight as people normally would. I had no eyes. I looked through my magic and feel. It has matured over the eons I have lived, but it still never felt...right.

A thud caught me off guard, and my thoughts were thrown out of my mind. The man was still there, staring at me intensely. I pulled up the scarf to completely cover my face as I entered his conscious once more.

Something was different... Something was wrong.

I stood up and quickly grabbed my small handbag, shoving past the man. Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore, both in mind and physically. He had just disappeared.

Arcana. The Collective. They've found me.

Tracking my way to the busy main streets of Cairo, I tried to lose myself in the crowd, but I could feel the weight. A weight that I had not felt in many hundred years, since the Collective first gathered. The presence of another Arcana was close by me.

Recklessly using up my energy, I reached out to the crowd's mind, searching for some kind of transportation. A taxi.

I honed in on the driver's mind, as I tracked down the small car. "Where to." The man said in a thick accent as I slipped into the back, careful to cover my ears.

"The nearest airport. Money is not an issue, just get me there." I voiced through his weak, fragile mind. Humans, thinking they're the sole being of the universe, yet they don't understand how weak they truly are. A cat could kill them if it wanted to.

The mind of the Arcana was still there, still following me, tracking me. I did not know who it was. Centuries of separation from my fellow Arcana caused my abilities to be weaker, more vague. Their minds all felt the same now. Dark and deadly, and wanting to come after me.

The car lurched down a small alleyway, it's feeble structure bouncing on every indention that hid itself on the cobblestone road.

"Where are we going?" I sent the four words into his mind. Something was wrong. This felt wrong. I looked outside the window, and saw almost nothing. It was too dark.

The door lock clicked as I tried to force it open, keeping me inside like a prisoner, wrongfully judged.

I suddenly felt his presence. One of the Arcana. It was a he, I'm sure of it. He was closer than ever, almost seemingly right next to me.

"Close, High Priestess." The car was gone. The man was gone. I was just standing in the alley, right in front of none other than the Magician. He huffed a bit and pointed a finger to me. "You are a hard one to find, and even harder to catch."

I reached out to his mind. It had no barriers, which was unusual. I entered it, searching through his memories as much as I could with the amount of energy I had left. "Bravo. You've caught me, when so many of your comrades couldn't. What's next, then?"

He laughed. "Comrades? I'm afraid you're mistaking me with the Collective. I am not with them, Junon. Search my mind, but I'm sure you already have. I have no urge to be with them. I have no want to be with them. I came to you to ask you to join me."

I felt my dress. It was Mirror, of course. It was always Mirror, ever since...

"There are only seven left, my Priestess." I said nothing to him. "They took Fortuna."

I looked up, and my dress violently changed, the black forcing its way into the blue, mixing the colors violently. "I know who they took, Magician. I am not ignorant."

"I did not say you were. Junon," His voice went soft, "They took my lover. They took your best friend. Eventually, they'll take us all, if we don't fight back.

"I did not come here to persuade you, certainly not to capture you. I came here to ask you to join us. We need you."

The black settled again, filtering itself from the blue. I did not answer him, but simply pulled off my scarf, revealing my true face. The Face null of emotions. The Faceless Porcelain.

"Venice. Two weeks. I hope you will be there." He turned away, sounding defeated.
"I advise you to get out of here as fast as you can, for the Collective are closing in on you, no matter how much you try and stop it. Junon," He turned back to look at my solemn face, "I know we haven't talked in a long while, but I hope that you still consider us acquaintances." With that, he vanished into the shadows of the alleyway, and he closed his mind from me.

~~~~

Bright light flared in between us. "Welcome!" Oliver said, flourishing dramatically. "Tonight is the night we make the first move against our opponents. Too long we have hid from them, allowing them to throw the scales off balance. By capturing the Tower, we will regain our fortress, and centralize our power." He stopped for a moment. "The Collective has moved it here in Venice, beneath the Bridge of Sighs. And traditionally, the Hermit is guarding it. Fortunately, our players are strong, and unified, we are a formidable match against the Collective."

We all seemed to just look at each other for a moment, then everyone shouted at once. I said nothing, even though I was connected with each and every one of them.

Finally, one sentence cut off all the others. "I'm not going." The Star said nonchalantly.

"We can only hope to defeat them together," The Magician pleaded. "You know how strong we--"

"Hope won't do any good. And what I know is that we stand here, after centuries of being separated, with our friends imprisoned or against us, while they kept together for all that time. We are not strong. We were, perhaps, but that was far in the past."

Yes, we are unified. About as unified as gelatin.

The conversation has quieted down, and eventually, The Star had agreed to join us.

I decided to talk to them all. "We are the last ones left. There are only seven of us, so that means that the others are either captured or a part of the Collective. We need to find out who's on which side. Fortuna's captured, that's all I know."

I looked at the rest of them. They knew, and little by little we would find out everything.

Uriah - Temperance

All Uriah knew was that Judgement had been messing around with his scale, and he wanted to know why, and how he could get back at him - because revenge was the logical and understandable response to such a crime as interfering with another Tarot's work. That's the only reason he agreed to attend The Magician's little gathering. He didn't have much of an opinion on most people in the room, as he usually didn't frequently cross paths with any of them. The Magician simple annoyed him with his lies and bouts of extravagance, and Justice was the only other familiar face among a sea of distant neighbors.

When Oliver approached him in his temple, Ri wasn't surprised at all. He knew something was going to happen between the Tarots sooner or later. Before Judgement started his attacks, Uriah heard of Death and The Devil speaking of mutiny and war. He didn't think much of their conversation, the two were not often looked at suspiciously when they voiced those type of thoughts. Not even when they invited him into their conversations did he begin to think anything bad of it. They usually invited him in on their little get-together's, and Uriah was more of a friend to the two than he was to many of the others. Never did he suspect them of attempting malice against the others, much less starting a war - though those things would be well up their ally. Despite their connections, he had no qualms about going against them if the rumors he heard the others whispering about around the room were true. He did not tolerate betrayal. The thought that they might have been recruiting him for their side of the fight actually sparked a little anger inside of him.

When Uriah walked into the meeting room there was no one else there, he figured that since he was not doing anything more important, he had no reason to stall his arrival. So, to kill a bit of time, he found a quiet corner and set down to meditate. When the others starting coming in, he didn't see the need to move from his already comfortable position and so he didn't. Not even Oliver's flamboyant arrival stirred him into participation. It was not until the Priestess spoke that he bothered to include himself.

"We are the last ones left. There are only seven of us, so that means that the others are either captured or a part of the Collective. We need to find out who's on which side. Fortuna's captured, that's all I know."

Fortune was one of the few that Uriah could call more than an acquaintance, as the two spent a few days together discussing fate and its flexibility, and it was only standard that he voice his concern at her capture.

"Fortune has been taken? I was not aware... Who else have they taken? And where are they keeping them?"

Nataishia - Justice

Nata had just barely remembered to come to the meeting in Italy for Oliver, he wasn't in her highest favor mainly due to him and The Fool working so closely before. But that was past, this was now, now Oliver had told her there would be no alcohol at the meeting, knowing better than to lie to her or risk his karma bitting him where it hurts, his wife.

So Nata walked with a bottle of alcohol in hand that she managed to swipe without no one looking at her and continued to the designated meeting place. As soon as she arrived, Oliver made his grand enterance, Nata didn't really comment on it due to her drunkiness. Scanning the familer faces, only two stood out in her drunk eyes, Strength, Kratos, and Tempance, Uriah. Kratos was very childlike, Nata acted more of a mother to him than anything, Uriah on the other hand, had a very masculine appearance, carried himself with a touch of confidence. He was very good looking in his appearence, very manly.

"Damn, how stupid am I to have become a lover to Devil, should have never allowed him to touch me, should have never gotten into that triad with Judment and Devil. Damn I feel like an idiot," Nata thought to herself.

Devil was much like Uriah, minus the constant stillness and emotional control, his ego was huge, and I could only shrink it down to size for so long before it reinflated itself all over again. What drew her to Devil was his manlyness, he wasn't afraid of her, and would easily sweep Nata off her feet. It was that self confidence that really got Nata hooked on him.

Nata rotated the swirled the bottle around slowly as she reminced about the past and her idiocy, now if only Uriah wasn't afraid to show off a little now and again. He could easily have her if he wanted her. That's when she heard chatter about Fortuna, Nata remembered Fortuna. But she could only recall having formed a Triad with her, but the magics of the Triad were fairly weak and nothing really good came of it all. So they eventually disolved the Triad.

"Fortune has been taken? I was not aware... Who else have they taken? And where are they keeping them?" Uriah said.

"Kesil stole my blade, Sophia and Rico are missing, Asha and Aurora are missing as well. And poor Cielle was doomed by Death to eternal drowning in the bottom of Mariana's Trench." Nata said a touch of mourning in her voice.

"The Tower, Chariot, and Vidya are missing as well," Oliver said specking up.

"Vidya is missing as well?!" Nata said specking up quickly.

If there was anyone who knew Nata down to a T, it was Vidya, Vidya was practically Nata's common law wife. Though it is true they got on each others nerves over arguements a lot, but ultimately they were the best of friends. It was no wonder why Nata couldn't get a hold of Vidya, she figured so far, she was just still mad at her. But now hearing something has happened to her, the drink of Rum was back in Nata's mouth.

Selena-The Moon

1:30 PM. The lunchtime rush was mostly out, so I let Jackie take the orders and tried to focus on cleaning tables. Was it just me, or were customers even more irritating than usual during the New Moon? Everyone in LA thought they're some hotshot when really they're no better than the next asshole...

"Boss, you're not going to believe this" Jackie had worked here for years. Surely we'd seen it all at this point. "This guy bit into Melanie's order and now he's pissed that it's not kosher." Melanie was a regular, a sweet kid who liked to study here on the weekends. She usually ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Sadly, I'm not surprised.

Reluctantly, I walk over to see if I can resolve the issue. "You can't be the manager. I demand to see your boss."

"Actually, I am the owner, sir. How may I help you?"

"You can give me a refund for starters. I'll have my people call you about a settlement."

"Sir, I'm sorry but you took someone else's sandwich. This young lady ordered first, so hers was ready before yours."

"Well I'm an award-winning director! You should make mine first!"

Suddenly the bell rang and a man walked in. I hadn't seen him in years, but I recognized him instantly.

"Oliver!" I shouted.

"Oh great, now your boyfriend's here and you're just going to blow me off." Mr. Hotshot said. I tried not to chuckle at the idea. Oliver was devoted to Cielle alone. As for me, my heart belonged to no one. Certainly not to a certain angsty immortal who popped in every few years and made everything reek of cigarette smoke.

I told Oliver to go wait at the "Reserved" table and settled with the director. When I was finally done, I headed over.

"You want anything to eat or drink?"

"No, but is there someplace more...private to talk?"

"Of course". I lead him back to the Reading Room, a room filled with charms and incense-burners and other mystical-looking junk. We sat down and he wasted no time with small talk.

"They captured Cielle. And Fortuna."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. So that makes...seven of us left?"

"Exactly. It's time to unite against the Collective...before anything worse happens."

"Unite? You really think you can get everyone on board?" Considering who was left, I had my doubts.

"I found Junon and Uriah, I think they'll show up. I still need to talk to Kratos, Nata, and Jaime."

"Well Kratos should be easy, but Nata and Jaime..."

"Trust me, I can convince them. We're all meeting in Venice in 10 days to take back the Tower. The moon should be close to full..."

Well, if no one else showed up, at least I'd get a nice vacation in Italy. "Okay, I'm in."

Venice

Everyone was here, it seems, except Oliver. I was surprised, to tell the truth. Fear and Desire ran up to Kratos, who happily petted them. I gave him a hug, which nearly suffocated me. I greeted Nata, but she was never in the mood for chit-chat. I saw her sometimes at trials I had a personal stake in, but we were not close. Uriah was meditating, oblivious to all of us. Junon's porcelain face betrayed no emotion, but her Mirror dress said enough.

I turned to a familiar face playing with a cigarette and leaning on a statue. It had been what, five years now since Jaime had last stopped by? I tried to get his attention, but I was distracted by the flames coming out of the ground. Oliver always knew how to make an entrance.

"Welcome!" he said, reiterating that we were here to reclaim The Tower. After that, everyone started talking but one voice stood out.

"I'm not going." Jaime, of course. Oh yes you are. If you leave, we all get captured and they win. What a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"We can only hope to defeat them together," Oliver said. "You know how strong we--"

"Hope won't do any good. And what I know is that we stand here, after centuries of being separated, with our friends imprisoned or against us, while they kept together for all that time. We are not strong. We were, perhaps, but that was far in the past." Yes, Jaime, it's been a while since we've all worked together, but that doesn't mean we can't be strong again.

"Jaime? You used to stand for teamwork and a bright future."

""There used to be a bright future," he replied. He said crap like that all the time. I guess every day's a New Moon in his world. But the moon always comes back..."I tried getting them back before, both Death and the others as they separated and then Aurora and the rest as they got captured," he added. "It never works."

Oh, so because he's not Superman, there's no hope? It's a good thing we don't talk much when we're together. This attitude is already getting on my nerves.

"Then why did you come here as Oliver called?" I knew he was more hopeful than that or he wouldn't be here. "They call themselves the collective. Of course you can't defeat them alone, none of us can. But don't you remember how powerful we were? How well we worked together?"

"I don't want to." Okay, now he's starting to sound like one of those Hollywood brats I see in my cafe. "It means losing more people, eventually. It means thinking about all of that again, and you know that I've worked quite hard to get myself living a normal life." As if we could ever be normal.

Well, there was only thing I could try. When he came by the cafe, I just tried to get him to stay for dinner. Somehow it always turned into the night, then another, then another...

"I know you can't even talk about it," I replied. "I know you can't escape it in those books of yours...stay. Let's get the Tower back, and then you can see what you want to do next."

He looked at me, then the others. Please stay, Jaime. We need you. Finally, he smiled just a little.

"I barely caught my ride to here," he said. "Finding a gondola back to the city at this hour would be impossible anyway." Perfect. Now we have seven.

Junon decided to clear up who's where. "...Fortuna's captured. That's all I know." Uriah apparently didn't even know that much. Some have been so deep in hiding, they don't know who's where.

"Kesil stole my blade, Sophia and Rico are missing, Asha and Aurora are missing as well. And poor Cielle was doomed by Death to eternal drowning in the bottom of Mariana's Trench." Nata filled in the blanks. I knew all too well what happened to Sophia and Rico. I can't believe I went along with their stupid plan. And Asha...I can hear him sometimes in the dream world, or in the middle of a heat wave. But I can't do anything about it by myself.

"The Tower, Chariot, and Vidya are missing as well," Oliver said, stating what I thought was pretty obvious. The Tower and Chariot both worked with the strongest group of Arcana. At the moment, that was the Collective but today the tides were changing. As for Vidya, well, who else could have come up with the Internet? A platform for humans to reach their greatest potential, but mostly they just wasted it. The Collective hardly had to lift a finger.

Nata seemed shocked though. I saw her dipping into her flask. Classy. Not that I blamed her. Between losing Asha, Sophia and Rico and nearly getting captured, I was a wreck in the 70's. Somehow I pulled myself back together, and I knew she would too. But now was not the time to discuss the issues that divided us. There was a long road ahead.

"So, Oliver, did you have a plan to capture the Tower?" I could always send the dogs after Absalom and send him into madness, but I didn't know for sure if that would help. I wondered if Oliver even had a plan. Surely he did or he wouldn't have bothered finding us all.

Oliver - The Magician

The discussions lasted until dawn and died down just as sun the rose up, supposedly out of the very sea, and made the waters sparkle with light. Though the sea had always made me at ease, today the beauty seemed almost a mockery, as I imagined the waters filling with Cielle's tears.

I caught Selena looking at me strangely and remembered that they were waiting for a plan and I had drifted off into my thoughts, forgetting. Their expectant looks and the faint smell of alcohol brought me back to the present.

"Our goal is to go to the Tower that has been transported to a location underneath the Bridge of Sighs. Unfortunately, our dear friend Absolon, lost to us at the beginning of the Schism, is now guarding it. I assume his post is within the bridge. If we defeat him, the Tower's alliance will shift. As far as I know of him, his powers are strongest when an alliance is weak," I explained. I paused, wondering exactly what he would find when he analyzed our precarious alliance. "In addition to this, his weapon of choice is the Mirror of Vice. It is a shield that reflects back at the person gazing at it, all of their weaknesses and their insecurities. Many find it to have a crippling affect."

I had the privilege of being an acquaintance of the Hermit's. It is interesting how much illusion is necessary for someone to doubt himself.

Finding our way through crowded Venice was looking to be difficult. The Chariot often facilitated the more covert operations of the Arcana, allowing us to move out of sight and mind of the humans, but because it's allegiance was not with us, its powers were unavailable.

We walked through the busy streets, hearing a variety of languages spoken all around us by tourists of various nationalities. A group of young pickpockets ran around the legs of the crowd, snatching anything that hung loose. Nata caught the eye of one, and shook her head in disapproval.

"Are you sure this is where we should be going?" Jaime asked me as he matched my stride.

"The stronger we doubt what we are doing, the closer we are to the Tower," I answered him.

The scene began to change around us. Whilst before the streets had been maintained and brightened to appeal to the legions of tourists, the streets we were encountering now saw no such treatment. The closer we got to the Bridge of Sighs, the more everything looked as if it were being consumed in dirt. The canals here smelled of rot and pollution and the streets were littered and mildewed. It was a type of sensory illusion that the Hermit instilled. The more someone doubts where they are going, the more their mind makes excuses for them to go no further. He had clearly been making sure that no tourists ventured in the area.

"It is up ahead," I pointed. The Bridge of Sighs was a covered bridge that had once been a beautiful white structure, the epitome of Renaissance architecture. The Hermit had done a very good job of letting it fall into disrepair. It was graying, cracked, and looked very unsteady. After all, the bridge itself wasn't important, the tower in the waters beneath it was.

As I moved closer to it, the feeling of dread in my stomach exploded. I felt as if I should turn and run. But, when I turned to Junon and saw her continue ahead, I swallowed my fear. She could see the truth in this situation. Perhaps she even saw the bridge as it should have been. I envied her for a moment and then another wave of doubt washed over me.

"You have worked with the Hermit. Try to talk him down before we move against him," Uriah whispered from behind. I couldn't tell if he was affected by the Hermit or not.

I walked towards the bridge and peeked into the entrance.

"Oliver my dear friend, how rude of you to neglect to warn me before calling. Never mind, I expected you. And the others. How predictable you all are," a deep and gravelly voice echoed from within the bridge.

I backed away as he emerged from the bridge. He was a massive man, almost seven feet tall and as thick as a redwood. He had changed during his time with the Collective. Though personal hygiene had never been his forte, he had really let himself go. His beard was waist length and matted and his clothing was ragged and worn. He looked like a bear newly emerged from hibernation.

"Absolon, we only ask to negotiate with you. Think about what you're doing..." I started.

He laughed, a sound that was more like the expulsion of phlegm, and shook his head. "Death offers so much more than any alliance could. Now get out!"

I backed up more and whispered to Uriah, "Wish us luck. Defeating the Hermit will take us one step closer to our goal."

The, much to my relief, stood their ground and the Hermit rose to meet the challenge. From within his dirty garments, he pulled an unnaturally reflective shield and grinned, pointing it towards me.

---

I saw myself. Next to me stood Cielle, smiling with a hand on my shoulder, turning towards me. Suddenly her eyes widened and she disappeared. I reached out for her but my hand caught only air. I saw myself losing weight, growing pale, sallow and weak, and barely able to stand on my own. My eyes were moving in all directions, indicating the illusions I was addicted to like drugs.

---

"Snap out of it," someone pushed me and I felt myself losing balance. It was just enough to bring me back to my senses. I looked about me to see how the others fared. The Hermit rose like a mountain from the center of our defenses.

Kratos--somewhere in a small town in India.

Kratos was coming back to his tent with two big tree trunks that he held as if they were made of paper. With a huge thud he kept them by the stream. This time he had set up camp in an uninhabited river island which was mostly wood with few clearings with several streams running by. After tidying himself up, he threw on his cloak and covered his head with the hood. He went to a canoe that he had made himself for timepass and set off rowing to the village. After half an hour of slow rowing he reached the local ghat and got off. He had to buy some stuff and this time he had money that he had collected by doing odd jobs here and there.

Oh Coconuts! What a village this is! I mean its so darn non carish..I find myself checking out the local market-the bazaar. Several vendors are sitting on the ground beside the paths on both the sides. They were selling anything imaginable to a human. So much noise its too much even for me. I roam around aimlessly and atlast manage to find some things which I could use to make some more bullets and this time I will make some exploding balls as well. Somehow one of the vendors made me buy a vial of chinarose oil tch! Even these people are so manipulative! To tell me that my hair has started to look like straws and twigs all dried..as if I did not know I will look like a scare crow soon!

Suddenly, Kratos was pulled in a deserted alleyway and pushed to a bit further. Kratos opened his eyes and looked around. There was a light breeze blowing. Kratos took out a newly made sharp stiletto and slashed at the wind and the breeze stopped! not faded away just stopped like poof!...A figure materialised! He stood infront of Kratos holding his bleeding arm. There was a large swallow gash! The figure was smirking at Kratos and nodded in approval. They both checked out eachother. Kratos had a smug expression on his face and the figure looked bewildered..!

"Well..well..well looks like you have not grown at all. Just gotten smaller now have you?" The figure mocked him.
" Whatever! Its a long story which if I told you, you would fall asleep before its finished halfway. Anywaayy..what brings you here Oliver? Is something going to happen? Tell me!" Kratos asked bantering childishly..
" You have changed....hope your skills are still sharp. It would not be nice if we have to look after you in battles. It would be troublesome" the figure a.k.a Oliver enquired.
" Well you haven't changed at all! Just look a little old and you are behaving an old thing too! Relax man! I am all game! And you should probably thank your stars that my knife was not poisoned" Kratos complained and pouted childishly and turned his face away from Oliver.
" Now now lets stop all this chit chat and get to the point. You see I am gathering the others and you are to come as well. The collective has been located and I know where the tower is and so we have to join our hands and face the enemy. Thats all. Now before you start chattering let me ask you..where were you all these days like I had to search all over for you!"
" Well I did not wanna get into trouble so I was constantly on the move."
" Oh. So you have to be there before the full moon. You will know the exact time but do not wait for it ok start your journey asap."
"K then I will be there cosider me in and yeah take this! Its a capsule that enhances ones power but its very much concentrated so use it wisely."
" Thanks and I will be expecting you." Saying so Oliver started to fade away as if he was carried away by the breeze that was blowing.
Sighing, Oliver exited the alleyway. " Looks like I will have to sharpen and charge up. Its been so long since I have done something like this." He muttered and headed straight for his canoe still deep in thought.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Venice..

Coconuts! I will reach soon!! I am so tired damn! I wanna sleep...the signal is getting stronger the place must be nearby. Ah there it is! Wow! Everyone is here and theres no sign ofOliver. Maybe he is running late. Well what ever I must take a nap. That corner will do just fine.
Kratos was very much tired. And he needed his sleep as well. He simply have not slept for four days straight and needed to charge up. He found a nice corner and settled comfortably on a stool. He could see everyone from there. All were chatting with each other probably catching up. He wanted to talk too but he had to charge up first. After some bit of meeting few and answeringhe could no longer take it and waited for them to go talk with others as soon as no one was paying attention he fell into a light slumber.

"We need a plan." He heard somone say that and well became fully awake now. It seems had slept for quite a long time anyways Oliver was telling the plans and he felt that they atleast needed to know each others power levels and have a well laid plan too. Somehow he felt that they should not act so quickly. He saw Selena looking at him maybe trying to figure out what he was thinking. He glanced away and again spaced out. After they were all ready to he stood up and after doing a thorough check of the supplies he popped intwo pills and chewed them as he tagged closely behind Oliver and they all went out towards the tower under some bridge. The hermit will be there.


After sometime (Kratos did not know how long) they reached their destination. He had powered up his cloak and they bandages worked fine. He would not be able to resist the hermit but he planned that if he broke free then he would have to do a bit of acting probably and he was not sure if anyone will be able to help him as they would probably be busy themselves.
The hermit materialised and looked liked a tramp! The pungent air simply added to the smelly glory. Suddenly he felt bile rising up his throat as if he was poisoned. He coughed lightly and gulped in huge amounts of air and popped in some flavored candy hoping that the smell of the candy would overwhelm the guttery smell. He looked at everyone. All were looking very serious and alert too. He quickly shut off his mind hoping to be able to resist the hermit. He knew he trusted everyone and had faith in them and wished that his faith would be enough to keep his opinions intact without any doubts..They were simply in for a hell of a fight now and there is simply no turning back!....

Uriah - Temperance

"Wish us luck. Defeating the Hermit will take us one step closer to our goal."

Uriah raised his eyebrow at the comment. Wish them luck? Would they need it? He didn't exactly recognize the Hermit as much of a threat. The man was all mirrors and smoke, tricks and fantastic illusions; he was much like the Magician in Uriah's eyes. Still, he doubted that they would be able to win this battle, mostly because he was part of a team full of people with impressionable minds. But wasn't the doubt something brought on by the Hermit himself? Wasn't Uriah including himself into the category of "impressionable minds" just by doubting their ability to come out on top.

Uriah had never been one inclined to feelings of doubt. He believed that things had a way of balancing themselves out in the end, and he wasn't Fortuna or anything, but the odds of them losing this battle were not very likely. The Hermit could only cast his little spells on one person at a time once he flashed that mirror, and what irony was it that the Magician was the one entranced by the spell.

Uriah strode up towards the Magician and gave him a push.

"Snap out of it," he hissed. "We wont need luck if you'd keep your wits about yourself," he continued in an even monotone.

Uriah gave the Magician a quick once over before turning his back towards the Hermit. Quickly, he formed a thick red barrier. He held it in front of his view before turning around towards the Hermit again, this time the barrier in front of him, obscuring his sight from the mirror and even the Hermit himself. With a push, he spread the barrier to cover the view of the entire team. That way, at least, they wouldn't fall to the mirror's tricks like Oliver did.

But even with the barrier, what are the chances of defeating the Hermit? If the fighters can't see, how will they attack. An army of blind men will not be able to-

Uriah shook his head quickly to dispel the thoughts forming there. They had more than enough power, and he knew that somewhere deep inside of his mind. There was no reason they should fail save their own disbelief in their prowess. Still... what if they couldn't beat the Hermit? What if he won?

The Hermit's deep, haunting laugh crept into Uriah's attention and he shook his head again.

"I can't hold this up all day," he announced slowly. "I suggest we get moving."

Junon Papal ~ The High Priestess

Never underestimate the Major Arcana, no matter what impression you've ever had on any of them. They are each destructive in their own way. The Hermit was by far no exception.

"Oliver my dear friend, how rude of you to neglect to warn me before calling. Never mind, I expected you. And the others. How predictable you all are," The Hermit, with his booming voice, mocked us.

"Absolon, we only ask to negotiate with you. Think about what you're doing..." The Magician said silently, trying to offer peace, but The Hermit would hear nothing of the sorts.

"Death offers so much more than any alliance could. Now get out!" With that, I felt his power start working its way through us. I felt my dress sway with an unknown wind, and it started changing from Mirror to Seafoam.

Temperance stopped it quickly from entering his mind, but still it pushed its way in. The Hermit rose to his full height and pulled out a shield. Bloodred for a moment, it turned to green as it pointed to me. My dress flew with the power from it, but otherwise I was unaffected.

Temperance thumped The Magician on the back and that seemed to knock him out of the spell for a brief moment. I smiled as Temperance's force turned into a force field, thin but strong enough to allow us to move a little further.

The Hermit just laughed as his shield turned black, seemingly almost not there. The field wavered. "I can't hold this up all day, I suggest we get moving."

As if in response, The Hermit's shield broke, and with it, the tower's gate door opened, as if to herd us into our demise. Or our victory.

I could see the force field thinning by the moment, so I walked to him and placed my arm on his shoulder, slowly pressing on his mind's wall, asking for permission to enter it.

He let me in, and I fed my power into him, and the field brightened, almost physically knocking the Hermit back.

"Focus on my voice, and do not take heed to what is happening outside of your mind."

"You sound different than before." He said silently in a way that I never heard him to speak of before.

"I only sound how you want me to. Stress can change that. Just calm yourself and do not doubt us. We will not lose." I look into his memories, careful not to prod into any too damaging and began to meld the Emotions, fixing his mind, repairing it.

The field grew stronger as we moved closer, inch by inch. Shards of the shield on the ground in front of us began to hiss and spit out grueling black liquid, the shards themselves getting bigger. The black liquid began to form a shape of a piece of full body armor, almost blending in with the black night.

They were soldiers. The soldiers of the Tower. I thought they were legend, nothing but something to instill fear within the Arcana.

Temperance heard my thoughts and sighed. "A legend that's not so much legend anymore. How are we going to deal with this?"

"Now would be a good time to get all fear out of our hearts."

"Why?"

The field broke, and the darkness descended on us. My dress stopped changing forms and turned complete black. The Hermit's laugh was the only thing that cut the power of his magic. I lost my grip on Temperance as he fell.