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[Thrax]

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The blood had barely ceased flowing upon the altar, the victim's last gasp barely past, its involuntary and random body-twitching hardly stopped when Thrax fell to his knees and pitched forward. He put out both hands quickly in front of him to prevent his face from hitting the stone tiles of the roof of the Rectory... he was entranced, blinded by shadow as deep as the darkness of a cave.

"Have you forgotten how to kneel?" came the calm, deep, but sinister voice that spoke. Thrax shook his head. This rare form of theophany he had not experienced in a long, long, time, but it was always the same, excruciatingly painful, something no mere human could endure.

"I have come to put you back to task, to tell you of things to come," the voice continued.

Thrax winced, but spoke out loud. "How have I erred, milord?"

"You are fighting against my will."

"Your will, milord?!"

"War is coming. The Lightbearers shall fight one another. Friend shall slay friend all in the name of Light, what they call "virtue." I desire this greatly. It pleases me. I have worked carefully to see that it comes to pass. You, however, threaten it. You have been caught up in externals, in politics, in relationships that serve me no purpose."

Thrax placed one hand on his forehead, foolishly thinking that would stop the pain. "Relationships?"

"The Alliance with the Emperor and your sister. Your loyalties must not be compromised. You must goad them toward war, not toward peace... or if that does not suit you, stay clear until I am finished with them."

"This war is your doing?"

"It is, but not mine alone. The Lightbearers made it quite easy. Strife must prevail. Blood must flow. Brother must strike down brother. Only then shall I be glorified. Only then shall my hunger for their destruction be sated."

"What will you have me do, lord?"

"Remove yourself from Papua. The youth now know me well. The work there is complete. Move on. Dissolve all alliances. You must not be tied to their fate and doom."

"Abandon my sister? But I swore I would fight alongside her!"

"If you do you shall die. I will see to it myself. Do not join yourself to any Lightbearer. They are all to be devoted to me."

"What of Dark Sun?"

"Do as you wish with them. Their actions may have use for me... in time. Are my words clear to you?"

Thrax nodded involuntarily. "They are lord," he muttered.

"Now go and do my bidding," the voice commanded. "Do not deviate, I warn you!"

The pain ceased instantly. Thrax could see again. He got to his feet slowly and looked up at the sky. Dark swirling clouds blotted out the sun. In the distance he heard wolves howling mournfully as a cold north wind shook the tops of trees. Thrax saw them as a portent of the near future; the sign of a god's fury soon to be unleashed upon the world.

He went to perform his duty, reluctantly.