SECTION 5 CHAPTER 1 - Challenge of the Sea 
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November 13th, 2008, Earth time.

Marious walked forward as the runner entered the room with news, "Sir! The 
champion hero Prince Lorton of the The House of Swords and Magic clan has 
found it! The entrance to the dragon lair sir!"

Marious nodded gravely, smiling half-heartedly he said, "That is good news 
indeed young man. How did he find it?"

The runner smiled and said, "Vryce made it pretty simple my lord. There is 
a massive twenty mile long island in the shape of the letter 'V' in the 
middle of the Great Blood Sea! The entrance to Vortar's ruby dragon lair 
is right there at the bottom."

Unimpressed and nodding Marious said, "So it has begun."

Soleil startled them both as she appeared on a ray of sunlight, as silent 
as a thing as exists in the universe, and said, "Do not worry Marious!"

Marious and the runner smiled as they felt the joy of her spirit very 
infectious.

"And please, do not feel bad for Vryce. He will be in your dreams as he is 
in mine!" Soleil said smiling.

Marious answered, "So we wait. Son, what is your name?"

The runner spoke up, "Gikup, sire."

"Gikup go stay atop the situation and report back via telepath." Marious 
commanded. Young Gikup flashed out with a *POP* as he turned to Soleil, 
"He is not doing well down there and you know it!"

"That is ENOUGH!" Soleil demanded, "What is it Marious? Speak up."

Marious shook his head, "I cannot."

She said, "I see."

"So you know?" Soleil continued.

"AH HA! Know what my lady? What is the secret?" Marious demanded of 
Soleil.

Laughing, Soleil stepped forward and placed her hands upon his shoulders 
and she leaned in, and said in a whisper, "I helped keep him there."

"And this is supposed to make me feel better?" Marious asked, more than a 
little excited by being held and whispered to by Soleil, yet upset with 
her, "WHY?"

"Because...."

Just then the world started to shake and the sky turned red! They rushed 
to the window and witnessed the landscape on fire!

"They did it!", Gikup's telepath came blaring in! "They killed Vortar and 
the Great Blood Sea is draining!"

The world continued to shake as Vryce's scream was suddenly heard across 
the land, 

"OH NO! THE BLOOD!"

Marious turned to Soleil accusingly as she said, "He will be fine.", as 
the world burned from coast to coast.

"NOOOOOO. I DO NOT WANT THIS!" Vryce echoed across the planet.

"This is what he wants.", Soleil assured Marious.

Just then the hero Wiliared of the Lords of Discipline clan *popped* in 
and said, "The land is on fire and sinking! Why are you two just standing 
here?"

They looked at him, astonished by his daring. "Well?" Wiliared demanded. 
"It has been raining for months, everything except the mainland has sunk 
beneath the ocean, Vryce is imprisoned IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLANET, and 
now the world is on FIRE!"

Marious turned slowly to look at Soleil as if to say, "Yeah, what he 
said!"

Soleil smiled, and even on fire the world seemed happier, as she said, 
"Because..."

"I"

"I"

"I UNDERSTAND", came Vryce's global voice.

"I UNDERSTAND ...... EVERYTHING"

"Because it is what he wants!", Soleil responded, "It is what he needs.", 
she confirmed, "It is the will of Jakob.", she finally said nearly choking 
off a gulp of fleeting doubt.

Vryce's powerful world voice pounded the planet, "I NEED MORE BLOOD."

Wiliared backed up and shrank down a bit as they both turned to him. "Not 
your blood you fool!", Marious laughed.

Wiliared nodded smiling as he said, "I know. I will leave now and please, 
I meant no disrespect...", he said as he *popped* out on a spell.

Replacing him in the exact same spot *popped* in Gikup. "Here is the list 
my lady.", he said handing Soleil the glorious list of heroes who 
initiated the first lair attack against Vortar the ruby dragon.

Chrystane from the House of Swords and Magic
Ferral from the Knights of the Endless Days
Fornax from the Seventh Circle
Fraxbi from the Knights of the Endless Days
Grindel from the Lords of the Rising Sun
Ilbugiri from the Seventh Circle
Ionnes from the Seventh Circle
Jilok from the Lords of the Rising Sun
Loreis from the House of Swords and Magic
Lorton from the House of Swords and Magic
Merellie from the Seventh Circle
Qio from the Cloaked Shadows
Sakuya from the Tribe of Malicious Exiles
Synvex from the Seventh Circle
Timeant from the Seventh Circle
Varent from the Lords of the Rising Sun
Vidakon from the Knights of Infinity
Wyarwyck from the Seventh Circle

"Dozens more helped to defeat the great Ruby Dragon but Vanyal from the 
Knights of the Endless Days clan had the death blow.", Gikup reported.

"I know many of these heroes.", Marious said, "Vortar did not stand a 
chance!", he finished with his old grin back, the grin that said, "THIS IS 
WAR!"

*POP* went Gikup, off to gather information, as Soleil said to Marious, 
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Or the one.", Marious finished for her. 

Soleil smiled and said, "I will miss him more than anyone but ..."

"I NEED MORE BLOOD!", came the voice of Vryce, echoing across the world, 
"Vitog the ruby dragon lair has moved to the same spot Vortar was 
defeated! DEFEAT HIM and you will fracture the bedrock under the Great 
Blood Sea. Defeat HIM and you will have saved the day for us all!" 

THE WORLD ROCKED WITH HIS WORDS.

"KILL HIM and the Great Blood Sea will drain every drop of blood down to 
this nexus that has me entombed!"

"He does not sound like himself.", Marious commented. "He is no longer 
Vryce, Marious!" Soleil responded quickly, "Do you understand what has 
happened? Vryce is the replacement for the long dead spirit of Medievia!"

"I AM MEDIEVIA!", came the word of Vryce. "I AM THE DUNGEON MASTER OF THIS 
WORLD!", came the DM. 

"I AM GAEA!", said the world to its occupants.

"This sacrifice will not last long," Soleil informed Marious, with a bit 
of a a hesitation to her voice she added, "Jakob said so."

"FANTASTIC," said the great war wizard. "Do you know what 'will not last 
long' can mean to a creature like that!?"

Soleil looked at him and responded with that look, no words needed. They 
both understood the gravity of the situation facing Vryce.

"SOLEIL! I WILL MISS YOU!", thundered the words of the world.

Just then the rain reappeared, putting out all of the fires, and echoing 
the one small tear forming on the corner of her eye.

Soleil, the spirit of the suns, faded then brightened as she said, "I am 
proud of him."

"I SEE EVERYTHING.", again came his words, as if acknowledging her 
statement and thanking her.

"Why does it keep raining if this is not you my lady?", asked Marious.

"Because...."

"WE MUST STOP THE RAIN!", interrupted the words of Vryce.

"You have to love him!", laughed Marious as Soleil grinned and as Vryce 
continued.

"The Khrait are causing this rain and I ask the heroes of the world to 
begin using their magic to dissolve these storms!", he said. "I SEE 
EVERYTHING!", continuing his god like echoes, "YES"  "Yes I SEE"  "Jakob!" 
"NO!"

"He is fighting it again.", Soleil said gravely.

Just then  ...  it happened.

The world ignited once again and fires ripped across the world!

"THE BLOOD! ...................."

"........... THE MAGIC! ........."

".....................THE SOULS!"

THE WORLD ROCKED BACK AND FORTH!

Far to the east by south-east of the war room the Great Blood Sea drained, 
its blood flowing down fractures in the planet, down deep, forming and 
encircling the massive nexus that trapped Vryce, mixing with the rae and 
the fae, oozing into the nexus, mixing in with the souls, giving Vryce his 
power, allowing him to control, THE WORLD!

THE WORLD ROCKED BACK AND FORTH!

"DREAM ON", came two words.

"DREAM ON"

"DREAM ON"

Then it was done.

"IT IS DONE." said the word of the world.

"I AM MEDIEVIA.", said Vryce to his occupants.

"Tired.... need sleep....."

With that, Vryce was not heard from again.

Time passed.

Soleil and Marious stood, staring at each other, waiting for something 
more, anything more.

*POP* breaks their attention as Gikup poofs in with a phase spell.

"THEY DID IT!", he exclaimed, not noticing the sadness filling the war 
room.

"The legendary hero Trithalos of the Rise of Mayhem clan led the attack 
against Vitog! Well, here my lady!", he said as he passed Soleil the 
report from the attack. "The dragon hunter Adnil of the Shadows in the 
Twilight clan and the master hero Princess Damae from the Seventh Circle 
clan led groups of warriors in the fight."

Adnil from the Shadows in the Twilight
Bravoxicus from the Legacy of Virtue
Denathore from the Shadows in the Twilight
Eldak from the Cloaked Shadows
Gusmo from the eventh Circle
Heitinalonish from the Lords of Discipline 
Kronyk from the Cloaked Shadows
Merellie from the Seventh Circle
Neromyer who serves no clan
Noctame from the Cloaked Shadows
Qio from the Cloaked Shadows
Sakuya from the Tribe of Malicious Exiles
Sindel from the House of Swords and Magic
Timeant from the Seventh Circle
Trithalos from the Rise of Mayhem
Vanyal from the Knights of the Endless Days
Wyarwyck from the Seventh Circle
Xaaxacus from the White Rose

Soleil passed it to Marious and said, "What now?"

To be continued very soon!

Next is Chapter 2 section 1

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