A crystalline dome, whose form is broken up by sorcerous camouflage, and whose borders are largely blacked out to any kind of detection. It has existed since long before the days of Wu Yuan, to what end, no one knows.

---

Wu Yuan

---

Radivishe Moorn's expression screws up in disgust when Kaishen delivers the dimensional shard to him.

"You moldering bag of rot! What possessed you to attack that girl?" 

Kaishen is slightly taken aback at the sorcerer's tone, probably more so than at the insult.

"I was tying up a loose end, Moorn. I try to be subtle, when it is useful." 

"I think I am going to be sick. Have you any idea of what you've done? If we start a fight, then we will lose. I can handle myself, Kaishen, against Felina. We stalemate religiously. But against Felina and her double and Korliss and heaven only knows what else, I would sooner launch my assaults from afar. Had I known that your brain had decomposed along with your body, I would have taken care of the diplomacy tactics myself." The sorcerer takes up the shard, growling deep within his body. "They will not give up Senowin now. They'll know that Amilei's little trouble here and your interest in the consctruct are too coincidental to be a miss."

"Are you finished?" Kaishen asks of the Dumen sorcerer, whose black lips draw back into a scowl.

"No. But go ahead."

"If Amilei had told them what we had suggested, we would be in the same situation..."

"I prefer if, Kaishen. Now we know for a fact that a wall stands before us." Moorn breathes deeply, eyes slanted in absolutel fury. "You are so fortunate that I don't flay you alive right now, wraith."

"So what do I do, then?"

Moorn's eyes narrow. "Continue with the plan as best you can. Inform Felina of my supposed movements. Without her they will have no leader. The cursemage is dead, and Korliss is useless. We will get the construct away from them, and then you can create your puppet army. But do not forget that I want the ruinic cyclograph from Senowin's study. If you do, I will forget that I promised not eliminate you."

---

Nearby though perhaps a hundred feet higher, Felina looks over the area carefully. Every sense she has is screaming at her that she's missing something. But she just can't find it. Not yet. Wait... She narrows her eyes at a waver in what looks like a bare area of the landscape. She drops down a short distance away and walks that direction with a brisk, quiet step, senses just as piqued as can be.

And then they say stop. She can't see why, but she believes them and reaches out. Her claws meet something solid, and, now that she's aware of it, she can catch the barest, occasional hints of something with her eyes. Well that's interesting. She begins to walk around the perimeter, trailing her claws over the surface.

"What is that unholy racket?" Inside, Moorn pulls a hood up over his head to block what, on the inside, sounds like claws scraping against glass.

"Felina is here," Kaishen answers, though he's sure that his compatriot already knows that. "I will send her away. If she doesn't leave, then I will invite her inside and we will deal with her."

Moorn's eyes narrow, but he doesn't answer. No point in rippling the water.

Outside, a dozen yards from where Felina is walking, Kaishen appears as he always does... too quick and too close.

"Miss Felina? What are you doing here?"

"Canvas of the area. Have you seen Amilei?"

Kaishen folds up his hands, head tilting to one side. "Yesterday, I believe. I happened upon her walking with Saea in the orchards. May I ask why?"

She examines the nothingness her claws are touching a little more, then looks over at the wraith. "We only know where her body is. The rest is unaccounted for. What is this that I'm touching?"

Kaishen walks towards the nothing, patting it gently with his own hand. "There used to be a fortress here, ages ago, that was camouflaged for protection. This might be one of the walls of it, though I doubt the entire building still stands."

"Good cloaks. Do you know how to get in?" her golden eyes travel over to him again, not yet suspecting him of...well...anything.

"I suppose you could just feel for an opening, but that would take some time if a significant portion of the wall is standing." The wraith looks over the barrier, mind racing a bit... if she does get in, she will find the bookshelves and runic scrolls and Derrias equipment that has been stashed inside. If that happens, he won't have a choice but to disable her. "I do not know."

Felina nods a bit. "If someone did figure out how to get through, I really can't think of a better place to hide a kidnapee...if that's the case at all, of course. I would never have found this place despite my power when I was much younger. The cloak design is very clever. Thanks. And are you okay?"

The wraith nods. "Of course." His eyes shift a bit. "It is troubling to hear that Amilei has had to suffer even more."

About this time, a mental prod from Mara-kuru makes itself known.

Felina nods, eyes saddening. "Excuse me a moment...what's up, Mara?"

"Felina, I keep having a nightmare, every time I try to planeswalk. I think I know who kidnapped Amilei's life force, Felina. I smelled it back at the inn, but... I couldn't believe it, but... this nightmare, I keep seeing Kaishen's face..."

Felina's mind's quiet a few moments. "Okay. Thanks, Mara. I'll look into that. Will you please bring my brother back?" Her face doesn't change through these proceedings.

Sure thing, my love. Watch your back out there, okay?

Kaishen coughs softly. "Is everything alright, Felina?"

"You too, Mara." She looks back to Kaishen. "As much as it can be, yes. Sorry for the interruption, I was talking to Mara. She hasn't found Amilei in her sweep."

"Ah. I would like to help as well, Felina," Kaishen offers, pounding again upon the wall. "Allow me to search this place. I will let you know if I find anything out of the ordinary."

"Appreciated, thank you." She smiles at him, then gestures with her head. "You head that way, I'll work around the other side, and between the two of us, we'll get it covered." She starts walking again, inwardly tense for the reaction.

Kaishen just smiles. "Certainly. I will meet you on the other side." He turns to walk, but when he turns, his expression darkens. He knows he's screwed.

About that time, a massive panel manifests about forty yards in front of Felina, sliding open with a wicked grinding sound. Kaishen turns, incredulous. Moorn must be out of his mind.

Felina stiffens suddenly for a moment, staring at the door. Her expression's far from happy...she's still having trouble processing hte possibility of the wraith, someone she's considered her friend for years, then enemy. She closes her eyes. "I know you know who did that."

Kaishen looks inside, he as confused as she. "I have an idea, yes." His eyes widen. Moorn is nowhere to be found, but the realization dawns on him that, not only are the Derrias items still there, but Moorn's runes are all gone. Not a trace that the sorcerer was ever there remains... and Amilei's life force blares its presence out from a desktop as if its voice has been magnified by a thousand times. 

Kaishen realizes then that he has just been had.

Felina's ears press back at Amilei's signature. "...ass." One word, and the full embodiment of a cold, constrained fury she almost never allows herself. She stalks past him, ears perked and alert for trap, and hurries to the pendant.

There are no traps. Kaishen knows that. Radivishe Moorn, knowing that his intentions had been placed in danger, had opted to leave Kaishen here to take the fall for all of it. 

"Felina, you must understand that I did what I had to do, to protect my interests."

"Your interests, huh?" Felina takes the pendant carefully, fangs bared. She whirls to face the wraith. "Well I'm glad that your interests were worth betraying your friends for." She doesn't wait for a response. Just heads for the door...pauses as she passes a bookcase on that wall, fingers trailing over the seal on the edge of a book. It's only slightly different than that of the ether Yeliuran Derrias. "I don't know what you're planning. But the Derrias is important. You sure as hell could have just asked." She walks out.

Kaishen lets her go. She's right, really, she is, and he knows it. But...

"That's why I didn't kill her, Felina," he says to her back, before vanishing himself. He has quite the bone to pick with Moorn.

Felina is too mad to think straight. She really, truly is...her barrier hole actually falters a moment before she gathers enough concentration to vanish to Korliss's Keep.

God only knows what she'll say when she gets there.

---

Felina returns perhaps twenty minutes later, where the door had been before.

The door remains open but no one seems to be around. A latent sort of energy lingers in the air, just swirling about freely towards the top of the inner dome.

Mara appears a second later. "oooh!" She blinks. "What is that creepy feeling?"

"Some sort of lax energy...remnant, maybe, else waiting for something." Felina glances up at the dome through the door. "It may be a good idea for one of us to wait out here. I don't know that there's a danger at all, but if some trap springs, the person outside could help. Can certainly go in and help, if necessary, but that can't be reversed if we're both pinned down."

Mara shivers. "I don't trust it. But... I also don't know what to look for. Felina, I'm right out here. Please be careful." The redhead steps back, her expression most concerned.

Felina smiles and nods. "See you soon." She heads inside, looking around carefully as she goes and examining all the remnant energies as she passes them, but bound for the room with the books she'd been in before.

Inside the dome there is a small bird, very much like a simple robin, standing upon a desk near a bookshelf. Everything else is unchanged, save of course for the energy above. The robin has no signature at all, not even enough of one to suggest a bird.

Felina watches the bird a few moments. "I wonder what you are..." she ponders aloud as her hands trace over the volumes on the shelves, then rest on what looks like part of a breastplate. Shattered, but powerfully enchanted metal. This had really been a conflict of epic proportions.

The bird tweets, singing a pleasant little song. 

"I am a familiar," says the creature, without moving it's beak. "I come from Lord Marshault of the Yeliuran Derrias. I was supposed to meet someone here. Are you Kaishen?"

"Ah...that would explain it." Felina looks back to the bird. "I must admit that I'm not, and I'm not sure where he is at this particular moment."

"Oh," the bird replies, "so you must be Amilei, then. We were told that you were a beautiful vampire, but you are no vampire. The first part is obvious, though."

"Flattery noted and appreciated, but I'm not Amilei, either. She's...indisposed at the moment. My name is Felina Deyono, daughter of Tel-tiono and Guardian of the Topaz Dimension of the ether plane."

"Is that so?" The bird chips. "Well, this is a great day for me. Are you helping? We could really use a talented warrior like you in our bid to rebuild the ranks of the Derrias."

"All this is news to me. I'm simply trying to figure out what's been going on in here, that it was hidden so carefully. Though I'm sure you already have a much better idea of that than I do." She tilts her head a little, folding her arms casually.

"I will tell you anything you want to know. If you are here, then there is no purpose in hiding anything from you because you probably already understand the general purpose of it. My name is Memory." The robin flaps its wings, as if to punctuate that. "One second." The bird tilts its head, as if listening to something difficult to hear. "Lord Marshault would like to meet you, at your convenience. He says that he has admired your legacy since he first heard of you."

"That's very kind of him to say." Felina's quiet a few moments, pondering. She can't help but be leery of the Derrias. But considering its history here, hopefully she wouldn't be as useful dead. She does need the information...and faint-heartedness isn't a strong trait in her. "And where would this meeting be?"

"He's thinking... Lord Marshault wants you to choose the place. Wherever you do not feel threatened," the bird answers.

Felina Felina!! That energy, it's gathering. I'm afraid! Please, come out of there! Mara's voice cries out in Felina's mind, laced with fear for the Sentlin's safety. Sure enough, the free-flowing energy is gathering at a single point in the center of the dome.

Felina glances up, narrowing eyes that aren't focussed complete, then back to the bird. "Until that energy is identified, in here doesn't qualify." She grabs a book that a vague sense tells her is significant, just in case, and heads for the door at a quick step, noting to Mara that she's okay and on her way. "If you'd care to follow me outside."

The robin chirps and flutter along, flapping its way out the door. The energy focus down to a point that is so tiny it hardly seems existant.

And then bursts, expanding outwards with fantastic waves of fiery sorcery. It is a blast that has every potential of destroying the entire dome.

Shit! She doesn't think Kaishen had rigged this...it's too strong. Several moves flow at the same moment. A hand flies up, spell base flashes into being. She and the familar both vanish and appear outside. And, body tense with power strain, senses focussed from the base she'd left, a powerful counter springs up from that spot. A shield to start...she searches rapidly for the type of energy powering the explosion, to know its counter.

Mara-kuru is already busy preparing energy to feed into a shield of her own. The shock wave from the blast strains against the shield, its radius i eventually inverting once the initial power surge passes.  When the smoke and flames clear, the only evidence of the Haven of Wen is a hole big enough for a dozen behemoths to squish into.

Mara lets her shield down , staring into the hole. "...whoa."

"Goddamnit." Felina's thoroughly irked. "Had I known that was going to happen, I'd have stolen one of the swords in there. They were fairly nice, and I'm not sure yet when I'll have a chance to retrieve Culheru." She looks at the book in her hands. "I wonder why I grabbed this one. It was a pretty clear choice. Well, we'll see soon enough." She glances to Mara and the familiar. "Everyone okay?"

Mara smiles at her, scrunching her nose. "I am just fine, my love. And there is a bird on my shoulder."

Memory chirps.

Felina grins at them a little. "Long story. This is Memory, he's a familiar." She looks back to the hole, smile fading. She doesnt' think Kaishen had done that. Alright, you bastard...did you have anything to do with this? She searches the dissipating energy for all she's worth, seeking any hint of Radivishe Moorn's power signature.

It's there... and not really hidden this time, either, not with any real effort anyway.

Mara tilts her head. "What are you looking for, my love?"

"Just recognizing that that bastard is calling me out." Felina bares her fangs a little. "Oh, well, it's not like it's a surprise." She looks down to the book again. "I don't think Kaishen has as much control of the situation as he thinks he does."

"Is it that girly man?" Mara's eyes glitter. She's worried as hell for Felina's safety, the way that man seems to be stalking her. "Is he obsessed with you? Or is it really just coicidence?"

"It's not coincidence, not exactly...he has taken after me in the past, but that doesn't seem so much the case this time. Saea thinks he tried to kill me yesterday, but even that's not quite true...he attacked me, yes, and may have seriously injured me without significant resistance, but I don't think he had any real intention of dealing a deathblow unless I was weak enough to thoroughly 'deserved it.'" She looks back to Mara. "I do, however, think that I'm a pawn in something bigger."

"And he's a queen," Mara answers with a roll of her eyes. "I don't mind being a pawn in a good thing. Maybe you should just ask him? I mean... he's usually pretty good about blabbing plans, isn't he?"

Felina thinks on that a few moments. "He's not stupid, unfortuantely, but...no. I don't remember his tending to be very secretive about things if they're already somewhat known." She blinks. She'd never really realized that before.

"He sure seemed to do a lot of yapping on the way to father's citadel." Mara winks. "Not that I was listening."

Felina smirks. "Of course not. That was a little different in that we needed to be at least somewhat on the same wavelength, but...yes, I see your point." She pauses, thinking. "All this, at least from Kaishen's end, seems to be about reviving the Yeliuran Derrias. That's all well and good, but I have to wonder what's in it for Moorn. It isn't like him to do things out of the good of his black little heart."

"But Felina, almost all of the Derrias are dead. They would need a whole crew of new officers, powerful ones, that they could train fast. There are far too many entities in this realm that would try to undo them, my love, if for no other reason than to get rid of them as a threat." Mara glances at the bird on her shoulder. "How do they do something like that?"

Felina shrugs. "Taking a more hidden, harder-to-reach location and slowly, carefully working up from scratch seems like the best bet to me. A few hundred years to get back on its feet isn't much in the grand scheme of things. But I get the feeling someone is getting impatient and doesn't want to wait that long. I have no idea what other plan is on the table." She pauses, thinking, then looks to Memory. "Tell me, when is your master next available to meet?"

"At your convenience, of course!" chirps Memory, to Mara's endless amusement.

"Yeah, yeah...tell me, does 'now' work?"

"Just a second." Memory's head tilts again, for just a moment. "He says that now would be just fine, but to come alone. He says he respects you, but he doesn't trust you."

Mara pouts. "Aww..."

Felina smirks a little. Amused, not unfriendly. "Fair enough." She looks to Mara. "It's probably better that one of us hangs around here, anyway, to keep an eye on 'mother dear'." Back to the familiar. "I don't have a preference on places. That's his call. Just not near any strong interdimensional crossroads...the nether Barrier doesn't appreciate that."

Memory tilts. "He says... Wu Yuan doesn't seem a safe place lately, so he'll meet you here. If that's okay."

Mara grins. "Works for me. I get to go play with mommy."

Felina smiles. "Have fun." To the bird again. "That's just fine. I have a steaming crater to keep me company in the meantime, anyway." Glances down at it. Wonders if anything can be salvaged. Probably not.

Memory flits from Mara's shoulder to Felina's. The Sendiran blows a kiss to her double and vanishes, bound for Korliss's keep once again.

"It will be two minutes," Memory informs Felina. "He has to change clothes. Apparently he wants to be formal with you."

"That's very nice of him." Felina smiles at Memory, then looks back to the crater, feeling for any energy still there.

The bird commences singing, a sweet, uplifting tune that would never pass a beak were he not special. 

The energy of the explosion has, interestingly enough, faded down to oblivion. As of right now, the haven is just a hole in the ground... with some debris at the bottom.

"I hope that I didn't keep you waiting, Guardian Topaz."

The voice appears before the man, and honestly, the deep, rumbling voice is much more impressive than the man. Scrawny and balding, Marshault may have been handsome giving thirty more pounds and some hair. His clothes, howerver, are more than handsome. Red, red, and more red, in a way that makes him look a great deal like an old Earth musketeer.

"Not at all." She turns from the hole to face him, and smiles a little, bowing in her polite way. "Since the introductions have already been made, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Marshault."

Marshault returns the gesture, sweeping his hat off in a way that makes the sun shine right off his head. "My lady Deyono. I never thought that a lowly Derrias would be graced to look upon your face."

This is a bit formal even for Felina, but she just laughs lightly as she straightens up. "Now you're just flattering. My own Derrias is always torn between ignoring my existance or trying to dissect me."

"Then they are fools of the highest order, and I cannot vouch for the quality of their mothers." Marshault smiles back. "I won't disrespect you by pussyfooting... pardon term... so let's get right down to it. You've gotten involved in my bid to revive my defunct organization, involuntarily. I'm afraid that you don't have all the facts you might need to make a good judgement about it, and I'm even more afraid that another player's involvement is your primary reason for being here. Is this accurate?"

"Precisely."

Marshault smiles at her. "I see. This player was never on my list of people to get ahold of. He is as dangerous to his allies as his enemies, and I can't have that kind of person in my new Derrias. His inclusion was a desperate move on Kaishen's behalf, and I apologize. That said... what is it that I can do for you to repay this bullshit?"

"I want my friends and allies on this plane safe and at peace. I want their only problems to be the ins and outs of everyday life, not whether some calamity is going to lay them all flat." Felina folds her arms, shrugs a little. "For all the problems I have had with the Derrias, serious and otherwise, I know how much good it does, too, and how much they protect. I should ask...what drove Kaishen to such 'desperation'?"

"I think part of it was the presence of Ahmin Rei-ono. The elder vampire Korliss's impending death, the death of another leader in Wu Yuan named Kaies. Though two of those things have been resolved now, it seems too little and too late." Marshault scratches his chin in thought. "I think he is a zealous person who made a wrong choice."

"You don't know the half of it. Or maybe you do," she corrects, "I couldn't say. But it's certainly a dangerous turn of events." She bites her lip a little. "Do you know what Radivishe Moorn's interest in this endeavor is, or is this out of sequence and I need to understand the process first?"

Marshault continues his chin scratching thought process. "When he agreed to Kaishen's deal, it was decided that he would take control of the one you call Senowin. At the time, it was fully expected that she would be a simple puppet, with no personality or emotion. But as this is not the case, the deal should not be held up. We do not tolerate slavery. On top of that, I have no idea why he wanted her. Perhaps he needed a servant. A companion. A willing vagina. I could not tell you."

"Something tells me I would have gotten along with your Derrias better. In either case, as for whta he wants her for... it's hard to say." Felina's quiet a moment. "If I had to throw out one guess, I would say that he wants to study and copy the strengths of Senowin's body to create a new one of his own." She frowns a little. She doesn't need his power magnified through a body like hers. "And after that she's disposable. No, that won't do."

"He is a schemer, but I have no evidence that he is a willing killer. Could you provide some?"

Felina smiles wryly. "How many pieces do you need?"

Marshault grins right back. "A few. We have a judicial system in the works, and we may as well implement it. Prove to us that he is the monster you seem to think he is, and we will sever all ties with him."

"Fair enough. Have anyone on hand who can confirm psychic recollection?" Work against Moorn through beauacracy. This is new.

Memory chirps softly. "I am your bird. I am not called memory for..." the bird blinks. "Why was I called memory again?"

Marshault chuckles. "The bird can do it."

Felina smiles. "At your leisure, then, Master Memory."

The bird chirps again, and begins to listen into Felina's proferred memories. It takes about ten seconds for him to find enough evidence to achieve the goal of severance, and two more seconds to decide that he hates this person.

"I have seen enough! Lord Marshault, this man should be beaten with something rusty."

Felina smirks. "What, was that his lovely 'I want to murder you' introduction to me, or the subsequent torching of the town? Forcing me to betray my father's information to him on pain of killing hostages, or trapping his ex in a lonely dimension for millenia? Oo. Possessing Kaies and trying to use him to slaughter the ether Guardians and flatten our home was nice. And then there were those bloody kisses..." she cuts herself off from continuing, laughing softly. "Forgive me, Lord Marshault...we have a bit of a history."

"I hardly noticed. Well. You can rest assured that the Derrias will no longer support him in any form or fashion." Marshault reaches down to his side and unclips a very descript short sword from his belt, a sword positively glowing with sorcerous reinforcement. "I need a favor from you Felina, and I know that you are short one magical sword. If you could find Kaishen for us, then I would be most grateful and quite willing to provide a suitable replacement... until such time as your could be found, of course."

"I can certainly try, though I would feel guilty taking payment for it. What do you need him for?" She's practically jumping up and down at the prospect of a sword, actually...she loathes being unarmed, it makes her feel vulnerable, and normal swords just shatter too easily.

"We simply need to find him. He failed to report back after you found him here... he had agreed that, should any plans become public knowledge, we would be informed of it first." Marshault holds the sword out to her. "Go ahead, take it."

Felina ponders this a few moments. Well. She's hard to track when she wants to be. She can always get Kaishen's own input before doing anything else...and she's worried he might be in some sort of trouble, considering his choice of ally. She takes the sword, smiles a little. "I'll do that. And thanks...I'll return it when I get my father's back."

"No need. Consider it an investment into future good relations between our planes."

Felina tilts her head a little. "Just to touch all the bases and based on past experience, you do realize that my loyalty isn't for sale, correct?" She hopes that won't be taken in insult.

Marshault gives a brief nod. "I have asked a favor for you and provided compensation for your time. That is all."

Felina smiles, nods. "Alright, then. I'll look for him; I'm a bit worried anyway. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"And the same to you." Marshault bows again, and vanishes back to wherever he came from.

Memory, however, sits right on her shoulder.

Felina glances at him. "You do realize that if I find who I think I might, fried chicken is a distinct possibility."

"Oh, I don't intend to go anywhere near danger. I'm just here to let you know in case Marshault finds out something unpleasant." Memory squawks. "If I was afraid, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near a giant cat."

Felina laughs quietly. "Case in point. You're quick for a featherhead. Hang on, then." It's more warning than anything...really, she might be moving too suddenly and too quickly for the bird to hang on with any ease, so her levitations are applied to it, too. She jumps off the ground, up about fifteen feet, and vanishes. They're looking down now a few hundred feet in the air, just drifting for the moment. Felina closes her eyes, searching carefully for Kaishen's familiar signature.

The wraith's ghostly energy trail leads quite obviously from the Haven of Wen to the old mission at Thran's Marsh. Curiously enough, there is another energy source very nearby, and of such an unusual pattern that it stands out far more brightly than Kaishen's. It is certainly not the tightly organized signature of Radivishe Moorn, though it is similar in many ways.

"Hm...choices, choices." Felina elects to look at the other signature first. She doesn't need any wildcards to her back. She vanishes for the general direction of Thran's Marsh.