Power. Coveted by most..held by few…a wonderful thing..until it isn’t. What good is power, even immense power, if it is hindered by a physical shell incapable of harnessing its full potential? It is still power, it still serves a purpose, but it is limited..stunted by an inability to grow beyond its means.

For the most part this never caused a problem, the power housed within her physical shell more than enough to see to her needs and then some. Until now. Until this..entity..that had plagued her life since her birth in an attempt to exact some misbegotten notion of revenge on her parents stepped up its game and stopped attacking just her. Now it was attacking those under her protection. Those who depended on her to keep them safe. Those who meant anything to her or had any connection to her.

Already it had begun with the destruction of the de Sade wolf pack in New Orleans leaving only those loup garou who had left the New Orleans compound alive. Those numbers were small and growing smaller by the day. There were pack members unaccounted for, those who had taken off to explore the universe and the various worlds and dimensions within it that had not been seen or heard from in years. If not for the pack bonds she would have had no idea they were even still alive but so long as those bonds existed she didn’t worry….usually. There had been plenty to worry her as of late.

Unable to track an entity who for years had evaded detection from everyone, her parents included, she’d turned her attention towards protecting those who were still vulnerable since her nemesis seemed no longer content with attacking her directly. The realization that the one who slaughtered her pack was also the same creature that had ensured she’d end up stolen from her family and later sold as a slave had come as a shock, naturally, but had unfortunately offered little insight as to just who the entity was and why they had targeted her. Unfortunately she could do little towards protecting those who wandered beyond sending messengers bearing Communication Stones with a message from her imbedded within it to take extra care and to return to Eternelle Lune if possible. Those messengers were given trackers that would allow them to locate pack members but it was still a matter of finding the right dimension, reality, and timeline to track them in and that was not as easy as it sounded.

She was with Valorius when it happened, in the sub-level beneath the Eternal Embassy where the Protectorate kept their base while in Aleris. They were training and he was pushing her beyond the level of her endurance, at her request, in her ongoing efforts to make herself strong enough to combat whatever was coming for her, for them all. It wasn’t a vision but rather a sudden…tearing. A soul deep wrenching that heralded the death of those who held a blood tie with her and it brought with it a pain intense enough to drop her to her hands and knees.

She could do little more than scream in pain and fury as she felt bond after bond ripping uncontrollably away from her. Curran, Enora, Mirielle, Arielle…even Cairenn who had been living in Eternelle Lune…all of them..gone. Dead. Their pack bond severed with the loss of their lives.

She felt arms around her as Valorius held her to him, needing no explanation as he felt what she felt, until he eased her up to her feet, his arms still protectively around her. It had been his intention to lead her through the under ground tunnels that would lead to the home they shared in one of the outlying buildings at the Embassy but they had taken only a few steps before another warning went off, this one a Protectorate alarm indicating a holding in Eternelle Lune had been attacked. This was Valorius’ domain and she felt his arms slide from around her as he went to the magically crafted console that allowed them to monitor all their holdings both within Eternelle Lune and Aleris.

A series of verbal commands was spoken by Valorius and in a moment a glowing green orb appeared over the table that housed the magically crafted monitoring system using precious gems and soul energy. There was no image, however, and there should have been something within the depths of the glowing green orb to indicate where the attack had occurred. It took several long minutes, so much so that they had begun to wonder if it had been a glitch in the system, when the orb finally cleared and revealed the image of Mount Cithaeron, Callidora’s Temple, and as the image enhanced, moving closer to the temple, they could see the outline of the bodies of the human attendants who had sought to protect the Temple from its attackers.

She knew without being told that the attack on the Temple was related, was part of all of this, and she knew precisely why. The entity had discovered Callidora and her siblings, Cytara and Seterios, were her cousins. Not wolves but still of her blood line. The image continued to enhance as Valorius tried to establish direct contact with someone within the temple. It took some doing but eventually the image within the org changed as he established contact, Maniac’s face the one they saw rather than Callidora’s. Coming to stand next to Valorius, well, lean heavily against him rather, she gazed on the image of her ex-husband who began speaking in earnest with her new husband.

She listened without comment as Maniac described how a large group of people, both human and non, had appeared and attacked the temple, killing anyone in their path. They hadn’t seemed to care about the valuables held within the temple or even any of the temple attendants. They had been interested in reaching only two within the temple walls, Callidora and her sister, Cytara. Their brother, Seterios, was rarely at the temple so for now was safe.

The make shift army managed to kill all those who stood in their way as they fought their way towards the Temple’s Goddess, Callidora. They were ill prepared, however, to be met with one of the oldest and fiercest Death Dealers ever produced by the vampire clans. Maniac was the best at what he did, a centuries old soldier and powerful First Breed besides, and it was his woman they threatened. He’d made sure Callidora was safe but Cytara had been killed in the fighting, the mentally enslaved combatants eventually falling in the face of Maniac’s skill and Callidora’s power. Though a minor god she was still a divine entity and it was she who sensed the otherness of those they fought.

Just as Maniac began describing what Callidora had felt about their attackers she joined him, her image now visible within the orb which had grown in size to accommodate the extra image. Once the two women would have gone for one another’s throat, but now..now they just offered one another a shadowed smile, Calldora's anger and grief apparent in her face.

”This thing wants to destroy thee very badly, Ameerah. It wishes revenge but it also wishes power. It was here…I could sense it..as if it were piloting the people who attacked us. Controlling them. But there was more…it was here…I could sense its presence the moment it stepped onto my land only it never physically appeared. It is traveling through the astral. It did not just wish me dead…it wished my power. I have no doubt had I been injured or weakened..it would have taken it. It is feeding on those with power, trying to make it self stronger. Strong enough to kill you.”

Callidora’s words were not exactly shocking but now they knew exactly what this thing they were facing could do and she understood now why so many of her own had died simultaneously, beyond her reach. Why this thing was always one step ahead of her. She never spoke, too heartsick to bother, so Valorius finished speaking with Maniac and Callidora before ending the conversation and again wrapping her in his arms as he guided her through the underground tunnels to their home.

Still they didn’t speak. There would be time for words later. For now he knew she hurt, both physically and mentally, and the anger…the anger was the worst. Impotent rage and fury burned within her. The astral plane…the one place she could only go mentally. Her mind could wander all over it sure, but that wouldn’t do a damn bit of fucking good against this thing and they both knew it. They both knew if she went up against this thing as it was…it would destroy her.

How long had she been in the Nexus Chamber? Days? Weeks?...Years? It was possible. Time was easy to lose track of in the seemingly timeless room that could be anything the occupant wished. Valorius had brought her here...afterward. After she had done something she had thought never to do. It wouldn't have been an option had the lives of her pack been threatened. The entity that hunted her was using the pack bonds to track and kill all those tied to her. There was really only one thing that could stop that from happening.

She couldn't be a wolf anymore.

The very notion of shedding the wolf brought physical pain but she could see no other way. She couldn't fight this adversary in her current state and those bound to her through the pack would always be vulnerable. And so it was that Valorius accompanied her to see her parents, unsure of what could, or needed, to be done, just knowing they were the only ones who could do it. And, of course, they had a solution. Or rather...her mother did. It was usually her father, Astynax, who saw to her needs...she never really got along with her mother very well. But this time..it was Duvessa who knew what had to be done.

Rising from the bed she laid in she moved to the window to stare out at the magically created landscape before her, seeing none of it, her minds eye again turned back to that day when she gave it away. It haunted her, that moment. The moment when Duvessa had stood before her, one of the shimmering green soul orbs the Eternal couple used to house soul energy. Some were for feeding from, others were to protect the souls or essences of those who were important to the couple. She knew without needing to be told what the green orb nestled in Duvessa's palm was, she could sense it. It was her soul energy, after all.

”You kept it...”

”Of course I did. It was a part of you whether you wished it or not.”

Meeting her mothers gaze her memory had turned back to the age of 13 when she'd been attacked by the gods of the Djinn, the very gods that had fallen beneath her Mother's hand in retaliation for their attack on her. The Djinn Gods had decided mixed breed children would not be tolerated and had attacked. She'd fought but had been injured, anyway. Not physically...not really. But rather they'd shredded part of her soul, torn it away as if it were tissue paper. Any and all essence of her Djinn heritage had been gone by the time they were done with her. She'd survived, though, with a scorching hatred of the Djinn as a souvenir. Duvessa had recovered that part of her soul when she'd destroyed the other Djinn gods but she'd refused to accept it.

And now...now Duvessa held the orb that housed that part of her soul in front of her, offering it as the solutions to her problem. She would have to accept that part of herself back in order to be strong enough to travel the aether physically as well as mentally, giving up that part of her that tied her to the physical realm. She would have to sacrifice her wolf. Yes, she had much power from Astynax, that part of her that was all Eternal was more than capable of handling it, but it was housed in a physical shell created by, and for, the wolf. She had power...but not enough.

She couldn't remember how long she'd stood there, her inner voice debating, arguing over it all, should she do it or should she try to fight as she was? But..she'd done that...and people were dying. She remembered looking to her husband, seeking strength and reassurance in Valorius' eyes. She'd found it, as she'd known she would. No matter what happened, he'd be there. Looking back to her mother her gaze locked with the Empress' diamond clear gaze, her own eyes identical, and nodded. Without another word her hand rose and covered the glowing green soul orb where it still rested nestled in Duvessa's palm. And she screamed...and screamed...and screamed. Soul wrenching screams that reverberated throughout the Palace as the green soul energy covered her hand and began to travel up her arm. She felt rather than saw Valorius move towards her but a sharp word from their Father not to interfere had kept him where he was.

Turning her back to the landscape before her she leaned back against the window sill, eyes closing against the memory of pain that was so sharp it was painful just thinking about it. She didn't know how long she'd screamed as the green soul energy had continued to travel up her arm and over her entire body until she had been engulfed in it. She could feel the long forgotten sensation of soul energy being shredded from her being only this time it was worse, this time it was that part of herself she held most dear.

With the last shred of that part of her gone a sort of numbness had come over her and she stared at the floor having collapsed to her hands and knees though she couldn't remember doing so. Then came the second part of it all, the sudden rush of....power. That was the only word she could use to describe it. It was as if someone were cross stitching power into her genes and it burned through her, nearly as painful as the first half of it though this time she managed to keep her screams behind clenched teeth.

She was nearing unconsciousness when it was through and she vaguely remembered feeling her body being lifted, Valorius arms carrying her out of their parents chambers. He'd taken her straight to the Nexus Chamber at their parents instruction. Apparently she would need an adjustment period, her physical make up was different now, what she could do was different now, and that wasn't even touching upon the mental adjustment she would have to make.

In fact, the physical adjustment had been easier. She'd slowly become used to her new being, to what she'd lost physically versus what she'd gained. It was the mental aspect that had kept her locked in the Nexus Chamber. She'd identified with her wolf self for so long that she wasn't sure who she was without it. She wasn't going to figure it out here, though. In the world of the Nexus Chamber everything was as she wished it and no one could take their measure without interacting with the world. Or so she told herself. She may be part Djinn again but she had no intention of remaining stuffed in this bottle.

Hearing the door to the bedchamber open her eyes parted to see Valorius entering, having returned from seeing to business outside the Chamber. He had overseen the deconstruction of the Alerian Embassy, the mark of Eternelle Lune now gone from that land entirely at the request of the King. They still had their own holding there, of course, but it was on Alerian soil just like the other citizens of Aleris.

Meeting her husband's eyes she waited until he approached her before speaking. When he finally stood in front of her she stepped into him, arms going around his waist as she tilted her head back slightly to meet his gaze.

”I need to get the fuck out of here, Val. Let's go somewhere...anywhere. Anywhere but the Empire. I...I don't really want to be there right now.”

She wouldn't be leaving anything behind, really. Her pack was gone, those surviving had gone into hiding so that even she didn't know where they were. She wasn't their Alpha anymore anyway. They'd been told to seek the Pilgrim if they needed protection. Pit Falls was under new management. She was still co-owner with Akuma, naturally, she wasn't a fool, but general management had been turned over to Tevy Prism knowing she would protect Akuma's investment better than anyone else.

There was no need for her to go back to the Empire any time soon and that was exactly how she wanted it.