"Garthag is one of them, but he is not aware of it as he was too young to be let into skyseeker secrets. He was told that they were a guild of mages and that fool bought it, but should he save them in the past then they will have the other in their hands. It was never clear to me why they never used them really, if they forged them... funny, but these were only of a younger generation and had not been around for so long....

In anycase... it is clear that I only care for myself and Garthag only cares for himself. You condemn us both and think that we deserve death yet truth be told, if you do not aid me in stopping him then you will never gain the other crystal and when in other hands than yours it will only destroy everything you hold dear"

Kalma spoke impatiently, he did not have much time and the persistant attitude of the renegade was starting to annoy him slightly.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"You are sure you know what you are doing Garthag?" asked Semri when Demon had left the room. She would serve him faithfully if she got her power at the end of it, put she didn't want to end up dead in some mis-used spell.

_________________

Made by Lembas

"I know exactly what I am doing, the knowledge and the power that I have gathered over the years allow me to control the spell not to mention do it at all. Yet... I do not know wether the other crystal will react in anyway to the activation of time travelling with the other, it might create a resonnace to the use of this crystal... "

Garthag spoke with a slightly calmer voice as he had time to think clearly instead of doing what his emotions told him to. Everything was connected, the crystals, the renegades and the meiltha, riders and dragons alike. Where one acted, their counterpart or companion would act as well to the best of their ability.

"It might create a mess, but I am willing to take that chance"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"It matters not to me what happens to the rest of the world and its peoples....just as long as there is still power to be had." She laughed lightly "So cast you're magic Garthag."

_________________

Made by Lembas

"You speak in very absolute terms," said Merrin coldly. "How can you know so surely that without your help we will not gain the Crystal? What assistance could you give us? Garthag does not trust you. And I think he is not overly concerned with destroying everything I hold dear as he might perhaps be with other things. I am no powerful mage."

She paused to regard him warily. "You forget that we also have a Crystal. Their powers are equal, while we still hold the one he cannot use the other to destroy us. So explain to me, then, how you become the deciding factor here."

_________________

"Cast my magic? Who do you think you are? What do you think magic is? A thing that you can wield just like that? Silence and let me concentrate, if you wish to gain your power yet all that might depend on what my bretheren will say...."

He said before starting to mumble out the spellwords causing the crystal to glow brightly and the surrounding area to tremble by it`s power as it ripped apart a portal trough time. This caused the other crystal begin to hum loudly as a sign that it`s counterpart was being used.

--------

Kalma sighed and scrathed his long white hair in frustration, this would take more convincing than he thought, but he could not blame the renegade for being doubtful.

"Indeed, one crystal can match the power of another, but face it... should you try to challenge him and have the crystals fight one another trough you then you might wipe out a whole realm. Besides he is mage as you pointed out, he has exprience in using such items wether mage made or not. He would ultimately have the upper hand and without me or my help you cannot match him.

Besides as soon as he would be reunited with his bretheren then they would come for the other crystal, all mages and they are fanatics as you know who would do anything to regain the crystals into their brotherhoods posession"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"Aye, but what would you do?" persisted Merrin, frustrated. "How would you assist us more than any of the mages here? Vryngard is not devoid of them, and we have allies in the Druids. And you have not seen the city prepared for war or you would not be so certain that mages could obtain our Crystal so easily. You have not convinced me."

The back-and-forth was beginning to irk her. Kalma's assistance in the matter was dubious, and if Garthag did not trust him why should they?

_________________

Kalma grinned and almost let out a somewhat of an animal groan as he had to be so specific, but he kept his calm for now.

"From whom do you think Garthag received his magic, who do you think took all of the mages posessions when they were dead? Me, I am not only a dragon, but I know magic and I have practiced it longer than any mage. Mages never last and rare dragons know magic... of course, if you decide to decline my offer then I might as well try to fight for the crystal.

I know I cannot win, it would not about winning... but taking down as many of your fools as possible... that is if you decline.."

Kalma said with a slight smirk.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

The imposing shadow of Vryngard's massive walls loomed above him as Demon alighted at the base of the mountain. Warily eyeing the sentries patrolling the walls, he folded his wings and contemplated his next move.

Kalma and Garthag were at odds, that much he'd garnered. The only other way he and perhaps the Meiltha could still come on top was the obtaining of the Star Crystal. And if Kalma was currently opposed to Garthag, would other objective would the white dragon aim for?

Kalma. He sent out his mental probe through Vryngard's walls...

-----------

"Alliance?" Kendath said with a rivaling smirk as he strode into view. Exiting from the dungeons, he'd asked around and eventually found his way here, where he was confronted by a familiar white-haired man. Catching the last bit of the conversation, he could very well surmise in which direction the altercation was headed.

The multitude of Renegade soldiers, already on edge as the negotiations waxed more inimical, jumped and cleared to let him through. More than one unsheathed their swords. At Kalma's last threat, whispers hissed through the guards to alert the magi councils, and one of the soldiers surreptitiously slipped off.

"Alliance or domination?" he reiterated. "If you are as powerful a mage as you claim, you could easily use us then discard us. No, I think not. The Star Crystal will open the portal before being safely returned to Vryngard, where you or Garthag's overrated brotherhood may feel free to pursue it at suicidal urgings."

He stopped for a moment, feeling a none too alien tingling in the back of his consciousness. Recognizing the mind probe, he ventured, Demon?

A pause. No need to send an army after me. No crimes committed thus far. I'm reaching for Kalma.

It may interest you to know that Evlyn's in the dungeons.

What! Predictably outraged.

_________________

Kalma quietly hissed as an answer at Kendath as the probe had also reached him, he regonized the call all tough it took a small pondering to figure out whom it was. Kalma gazed around at the renegades and concentrated to answer.

Demon.... have you come to mock my current situation? Being humiliated to ally with the renegade is bad enough, but now they begin to employ their hypocrite cr** on me

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

It bothered Demon more than a little that Evlyn had been captured. He entertained the notion of rescuing her, for she was a vital agent to the Meiltha cause. But then all other preoccupations fled his mind when he received Kalma's caustic reply. He bared his lethal fangs in the equivalent of a smirk.

On the contrary, my temperamental friend, I've come to propose an alliance, though I'm certain you're sick of those by now. You're not the only one who wants to see Garthag dead.

_________________

An alliance? Little can you do to aid me for Garthag is going to the past to wipe me out and you my friend are NOT in posession of neither of the crystals required for time travel

Kalma answered coldly and bluntly to Demon`s propostion, Kalma was tired of it all and wanted to get a clear answer. He needed to get to the past to save his own scaly skin, nothing more mattered, nothing more than the survival of his offspring.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

No, Demon conceded with a mental shrug. But I can help you procure it, can I not? And I am also in possession of a certain document titled 'Secrets of the Star Crystal,' perhaps leverage enough to get your scaly hide out alive. You do realize that if you don't think quickly, the Renegades shall either kill you or imprison you. After all, you were the one who foolishly walked into their greatest bastion of power.

_________________

Do you think that I cannot escape this place on my own? I am far more rescourceful than you know, I alone wiped out all the other dragons of the north that roamed free. Garthag never took part in that so take that on notice, even with mages the renegades will not be able to stop my escape.

I have nothing to lose

Kalma answered with firm conviction that he could either ally the renegades or escape the bastion, if they refused.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"Aye," agreed Merrin after a pause, nodding assent. Somehow she was very glad Kendath had come - negotiations were not her forte. She would have continued but Kalma seemed preoccupied, no longer concerned with her but with some inward uncertainty, and Merrin was only too happy to step aside.

Kale, however, gestured silently and soldiers moved to flank Kalma, most with swords already drawn and all very jittery. No matter how well he hid it this mage was no ordinary human. "Perhaps you think all Renegades naive," Kale said coldly, stepping forward to regard him.

Merrin winced inwardly. She was no convincing proof otherwise.

"Be that as it may," the Subcommander continued, "I'm afraid we cannot let you depart. If you're not with us, you're against us."

_________________

Kalma turned his cold stare at the subcommander and smirked widely, he shook his head and glared at the renegades around him, suddenly he simply raised his hands as he did not intend to fight them. They would not harm him, he still had few useful tricks and pieces of informations up his sleeve.

"Naive? I never claimed that, but I hoped you could have been more civilized and respected the term negotiations. In a negotiation both sides make offers peacefully trying to make a reasonable bargain to both sides, without harming each others or taking hostages. You renegades do not even have enough honour to let me go and meet me in a fair battle elsewhere should it ever come to it...."

Kalma spoke calmly and gazed then at Merrin quietly as he had a thought that might work into his advantage.

"and by the way Merrin..... how are the renegade hatcheries? I have some inside information that they have been quite.... depleted? Speaking of, which I happen to have some offspring of my own waiting for hatching yet apparently because of you they won`t make it. What a shame.... and I thought I was doing you people a favour trying to save my race..."

Kalma spoke melodramaticly, but flavoured with clear sarcasam.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!