The ships ride was fairly smooth. Marie seemed to be tinkering with different sets of forms she could shapeshift into. She decided on a blonde hair, blued eye female. Reasonable height of five feet, five inches tall. She didn't speak much of what was going on.
"It seemed a bit too easy to get off the Forge. How was that even possible?" I asked.
"I diverted their attention. Once we began descending to the advanced engineering sublevel, I put in the system that you were spotted in the housing sublevel. Even a dwarf on Fjorns street named you. We got lucky that advanced engineering had already sealed its sublevel and stowed themselves away for safety." Marie explained.
"So tell me, what's the story behind shapeshifters? And I don't mean give me the research library definition." I said.
She sighed and looked to me. "I will explain, because we are still a day out from Kaj'Matar. We originate on Kaj'Matar. We were a vicious breed on the planet, and too be honest, most are. It's hard to compete with werewolves, vampires, and Omens."
"Omens?" I asked.
"The planet was cursed for some time. In that time, the planet had revealed secrets not even the mystic knew about them. The Omens are various creatures that use their environment to consume a creature, like a fly trap. They have been found to hide in the roots of trees, spring out from the ground and grab elves. Their bodies usually display a human like appearance until you get below the waist. Then they are fused with their surroundings. So, tree roots, mountains, river beds and such. Luckily, they reside only on the dark side of Kaj'Matar. The mystic finds it rather difficult to dispose of their entire species, considering they lie in the dark. But, we have eradicated them from the city side."
"So, what's Tomall? Why do people refer to Tomall when they actually mean Kaj'Matar?" I asked.
"Tu'Mal, was the planets original name. Named after a great ancestor of the mystic. Discovering that ancestor was the creator of the Omens, we defied the name. We since, have named the main city Tu'Mal. But seeing as it's the only city on Kaj'Matar, we refer to it as such. Anyways, so shapeshifters. We got put in with vicious, but not deadliest. Werewolves and vampires held such higher strength. Then the shapeshifters all rose together under our God, Mon'gal. Mon'Gal was imprisoned in the realm of purgatory for his crimes centuries ago. To kind of extend an olive branch, the mystic offered shapeshifters the ability to go there and work for him. Which is completely by choice. Us shapeshifters are very religious in some sense of it. Some of us see Mon'gal as the rise of power for the future, given all the souls he will consume in purgatory. Some say the mystic is our real god. She's ruled with a just hand for so long. Then the ones on Zeus's planet. They believe Zeus is the creator himself. He tricked them with short burst of imbued power to demonstrate what he could do. But, without branding yourself, it faded."
"How did Zeus get his hands on them?" I asked.
"That's what I am hoping the Mystic will tell us." Marie said, as she swiveled in her chair.
The final day of silence in the ship as it zoomed past planets and solar systems gracefully. I embraced this lifestyle. Not exactly the one where I am running from every mercenary in the galaxy, but the exploration type. Kaj'Matar came into view. It was a sight to behold. There was one side of the planet enveloped in darkness. The other side beamed with light. We approached the atmosphere and began all checks needed to ensure safe landing.
The city of Tu'Mal was beautiful. It was created and built by the elves. Originally it was a means to an end. They feared the darkness and wished to stay safely behind their walls from the creatures that roamed Kaj'Matar. Eventually, wars broke out. Elves were no simple creatures. They had a connection with Kaj'Matar and felt as though they were the rightful heirs. The Mystic was an elf, but she has contained many other unknown species DNA. She is thought to be the mother of all creatures on this planet. Giant beacons of light circled the city. Guards stood watch on the walls, and can be seen patrolling the streets. A lot more quiet than the Forge. Man I wish Fjorn was here to see this. There was an open landing zone for spacecrafts, although there appeared to only be a handful here on the planet.
We descended from the ship and walked on the platform towards the nearest building.
"Listen, be respectful, even if you do not agree with what you hear." Marie said.
Elves that patrolled looked at Marie in disgust. One guard even spit on the ground in front of her.
"What the hell was that?" I asked her.
"Elves can see through our deception. Shapeshifters are one of the lowest forms of life on this planet and throughout the galaxy. Just nod and keep moving. Once we get to the palace with the Mystic, it will be fine." She said.
Another set of guards patrolled by and one guard even shouted, "Monster! Pretending to help, we know your game!"
"How about you explain that to me then. What's her game?" I shouted back.
The guard eyed me for a minute and then joined his marching group with a smug look on his face.
"You don't have to do that. It's fine. I am what I am. Lets keep moving." Marie said.
After walking about thirty minutes we came about the palace. It was massive, and it was built into the mountain side. Glowing blue lights lit up the palace. The sun was still high in the air, but for some reason not many people were on the streets.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"It is slumber hours. This side of the planet is in eternal light. So the sun will never set. We pray for cloudy days, best days to sleep honestly." Marie answered.
We walked up the massive palace steps and the large red clay doors swung open. Two elves stood in the doorway in very formal garb. They stood shorter than humans with pointy ears and smooth faces.
"The mystic will see you urgently, Marie and Xander." The right elf spoke with a very calm tone.
We both nodded and proceeded into the palace. Very low music played in the background. The palace was draped in red cloth every few feet. The floor was a beautiful gold marble with a red carpet in the center, giving it some elegance. Elves walked about with great posture but still keeping at a fast walk to continue whatever was needed. We arrived at some room with pure golden doors. They were smooth and I almost reached my hand out to touch them.
The elf knocked three times, opened the door for us and then shut it after we entered the room. There was a tall woman standing at the other end of the room staring into a fireplace.
"Xander, the amount of time I have spent trying to figure everything out. And yet, here you are, in front of me. I am not sure if you remember me, but I am the Mystic." The Mystic spoke with a calming and intellectual voice.
"I do remember you, Mystic. I hope to give you as much information as you can give me." I said.
"I had a suspicion of Galices from the time you got your mission. I am sad to hear he was heavily involved and the cause of his own death. Untimely, for sure." The Mystic hadn't broken her stare into the crackling fire. The room was lined with columns and paintings of monsters. "One day, I would love to tell you the tales of Kaj'Matar, but I am afraid time is running short." The Mystic finally turned to stared at me. Her brown eyes sparkled from the flames that burned.
"Marie has informed me that the horsemen are already here. Is that true?" I asked.
"Unfortunately so, Xander. They lie amongst our own stars, waiting. The horseman of pestilence has been running a muck in smaller regions. Distress signals are having trouble relaying to the Forge due to Galices interference. Or the entire mercenary guild would be out there making a name for themselves." She sighed and lifted a goblet of clear liquid to her lips. "The horsemen gain their powers from Zeus. The mark is like a universal battery for them. As long as the horsemen are killing and taking souls, Zeus is becoming more and more powerful. You have to take out the horsemen before we can plan to take on Zeus himself. God watch over us, hopefully he doesn't become too powerful by that point."
"What can I expect from the horsemen? I faced Hades in the arena, but he hadn't even manifested his powers yet. He was simply a demi-god that I beat up." I said.
"The horsemen do take their suggested powers from their name. Pestilence will plague a planet. Then famine will strike with severe hunger and trade. Then war shows up and incites violence between the people. Even joins them for the easy souls. Death cleans up whoever's left on the planet and the cycle restarts with a new civilization. They are strong. They can travel between star systems without a ship, and they are cunning. Do not tread lightly, these horsemen, will be the strongest foes you face. I only pray that you can come out on top, if not, we might need all the swordsmen." She finished with a glare of desperate plea for help. "Another unfortunate situation, I had to dig deep into how Zeus got his hands on all those shapeshifters. He's working with Mon'Gal. I couldn't believe it at first. But Mon'gal refuses to speak with me through the veil. Who better to give Zeus souls than the beast running purgatory. I cannot defeat Mon'gal in his realm. I will simply have to wait for him to show here." The mystic finished.
It was a lot to take in. But, it was time I stopped trying to get answers to the problem and solve it myself.
"Where is pestilence now?" I asked.
"He is on the edge of the system. He is nearing the system with Earth. Humans stand no chance at defeating him. Even with the forces and technology they have, they will be sitting ducks for the entire cycle of horsemen." The mystic called.
I had never been to Earth before, and only met humans on the Forge. I could really use some insight from Dragen right about now.
"Marie will accompany you. She is one of my most trusted shapeshifters." The mystic said while nodded to Marie. Marie seemed a bit in shock. Whether it was the compliment or being a companion for a mission against a horseman, I do not know. "One more thing Xander, before you go, Helsing and Fjorn are on Olympus standing trial in the arena. I will do what I can for Fjorn, but Helsing..."
"He will be fine. Please do everything and then some to get Fjorn out of there. He did nothing wrong." I said, as I walked towards the doors.
We exited the palace and Marie didn't say a word. A couple of guards passed by, "Hey scum!" one shouted. Without hesitation, Marie grabbed him by the throat and I could see her face returning to her normal shapeshifter form. The guard screamed and fell to the ground. He scrambled to his feet quickly as the other guards gave him a hard time for being scared.
We eventually reached the ship. "Marie, are you going to be okay? I can't have you flying off the handle like that on this mission." I said.
"I am just tired Xander." She said without giving me a second thought. She took to the pilot seat and began punching in coordinates.
To Earth we go. Time to face my biggest challenge, so far.