Balance Lost/A Strange Friendship

The Hatching of Plans The ragged looking spell caster looked over his prize as he hunched over the old desk. He had escaped that terrible, cold place and he had returned with an artifact. It didn’t look like much. It was a tarnished brass buckle and a small torn piece of canvas looking cloth. The cloth was of forest green and the buckle had a small insignia on it. It was the standard of the True Bloods. This was what he had braved those elements for. He needed something personal of the original True Bloods to test his theory. He knew that the casters had been gone from his world for a long time. Only now there were two children on the throne. These children had to have parents. He was seeking these people. If they yet lived, they could upturn the stability of the region by assuming the throne themselves and dividing the people’s allegiances. It was just the kind of opportunity he needed to regain his lost political power. He had been a regent once. Yes, he was a mage of sorts, but he was also a Lord. He was Lord Bane. Of course he was the second such Lord Bane. His older brother had fallen to youngling True Bloods and there was the question of revenge to consider. More than that, though, he wanted to rule. He craved the power and he would usurp it no matter what the cost. He just needed a few key ingredients and he would begin his attempt. He could only hope that the parents were still alive somewhere. He turned the buckle over a few times and placed it in a flat dish of clay. The clay had been taken from the grounds of magical combat. There was still power laid dormant inside this material. He hoped to awaken it soon. He held his hand over the dish and brought forth light. The buckle shined a bit even though it was badly tarnished. This was not a natural light. He poured water into the dish with his other hand using a pitcher of the finest pottery. It had glyphs and runes scribed onto it and the water was clearer than anyone had ever seen before. It filled the dish and the buckle was just covered with the clear liquid. The lord started the words of his spell. They were ancient words and he did not know their meaning. He only knew that you said these things exactly to make the spell happen. He dropped an eagle’s eye into the bowl and the water rippled from the impact. The eye settled to the bottom and the top of it was still above the surface. It leaned against the buckle and the ripples hit the outer edges of the dish and bounced back in. As they came into the center, they began to leave a wash behind. The wash was of many colors and they swirled and meshed and began to take on shapes. Lord Bane craned his neck to look down into the bowl. What he saw made him gasp. The True Bloods were alive. They were living somewhere foreign. He was sure they were in the same world as he, but it was radically different. There were machines everywhere and buildings that towered into the sky. Contrivances waited on them hand and foot and they looked to be dressed for some sort of finery. They were not in practical clothes. The lord tied his image to the dish and pulled the buckle and eye from the water. The colors fell to the bottom of the dish and adhered to the surface of it. He poured the water off and the picture was now on the dish. Phase one of his plan was now complete and he began to formulate the steps for phase two. His trembling fingers held the dish and he felt the greed for power trigger his hate. He would bring these people back and then he would let them unseat their children. Then, and only then, he would kill them all and take the throne for himself. Before he could do all of that, he needed more information on where they were. He stood and stretched, his old body withered and sore, and headed for his library. He would use their power to make himself younger. He needed to live forever if he were to rule this world, and never let go of the throne. Once he was in place, it would be forever. A wicked smile slipped onto his face at the thought. He knew that this search would take a while, but the payoff was greater than the effort. He was going to be king. ***