Jaceel came down from her dais, seeming to rise without effort, gliding to the floor without ever appearing to actually touch it. Irinati stood transfixed, the fragment of crystal in her forehead shining brightly now, as the enigmatic female approached, arms open in welcome, and when they touched, both the crystal horn and Jaceel's eyes were too blinding to look at...

Ravani summoned up the tiniest portion of her magic to shield her eyes from the glare, and as that took effect, she could see Irinati rising into the air, curled up like a baby in the womb, whilst Jaceel rose with her, arms around the shard bearer, yet never making contact. ***Be at peace, Irinati***, Jaceel murmured comfortingly. ***Your part in all this is almost done.***

The Mystalornan tensed - those words very much suggested an end to Irinati's life, as well as her role as involuntary bearer of the shard - but the girl's life did not appear to be in any immediate danger as the two of them floated in the air, slowly orbiting each other, Jaceel's hands hovering close to the side's of Irinati's face...

...but still, Ravani was wary, and stood ready to act as she watched events develop. The crystal in Irinati's forehead seemed to be growing...

No - not growing, the Mystalornan quickly realised. It's being extracted...

***Do not be alarmed***, said Jaceel, her mind brushing briefly against Ravani's. ***I have never done this before, and it will take time, but Irinati is safe - as long as you do not interfere.***

Irinati herself appeared to be almost asleep, showing no signs of anxiety or discomfort - she, at least, placed absolute trust in Jaceel throughout the procedure. Gradually, more and more of the crystal fragment could be seen, but its bearer didn't react in the slightest, and Ravani chose to stand back, and let the process continue without her involvement.

After several minutes, the piece of crystal parted company with Irinati's body. At least half its length had been inside the girl's skull, the tip nearly touching the back of the inside of the brain-case, but there was no blood, and still no indication that Irinati was experiencing any pain or dysfunction. "There", sighed Jaceel, the crystal artefact hovering before her eyes as Irinati floated back down to the ground, stretching as though waking from a long and refreshing sleep. "Thank you, my dear Irinati - you took such good care of this piece of me, despite his thirst for power."

Ravani hurried over to see whether Irinati needed any help, or medical treatment, but the girl appeared well, and whole - although she did now have an oval of polished silver metal at the centre of her forehead, the size of a thumbprint. To the Mystalornan's psychic probes, there seemed to be no residual harm from the removal of the crystal - the brain tissue had not been traumatised by either the extraction, or the original introduction of the shard, and the silver oval put in its place appeared harmless...

The spell-caster was about to ask what purpose the ornament might serve, beyond its obvious function of sealing the hole the crystal had left in Irinati's skull, but all thought of that suddenly left her as a shiver of psychic energy washed over Ravani, and drew her attention upwards. She looked up just in time to see the crystal fragment becoming even more transparent than it already was, losing its physical structure and becoming a cloud of faintly glowing vapour, and when the entire shard had dissolved into this mist, Jaceel inhaled it, in one long breath...

The woman's physical structure trembled, as though the space of which she was part was water, and someone had dropped a stone in it, but only for a few moments. When she became solid again, there seemed to be more to Jaceel than before - Ravani blinked several times, rapidly, and only once did her eyes fail to fully register the existence of the woman. It's true, then, the spell-caster thought, souls can shatter.

Before Ravani could further consider the phenomenon, Irinati stirred, and the Mystalornan devoted her attention to the now hornless girl at her feet. Kneeling beside the young woman, Ravani once again asked her "Are you all right?"

Irinati took a few seconds to realise she was being spoken to, and a few more to recognise she was in the presence of other living beings, which made Ravani feel rather uneasy. "I - I'm...", mumbled the girl - another sign that had Ravani fearing the worst - "I'm fine. Tired, confused..."

"That I can possibly do something about", Ravani told her, "but let's allow the confusion to properly unfold before we try to tackle it."

Ravani looked up at Jaceel, expecting the woman to come out with something profoundly cryptic, but instead, she floated back down onto the pedestal, and knelt beside Irinati. "No", sighed the occupant of the security vault. "No more confusion for this one, who has brought me back a part of myself. Just my gratitude, which will never fade... and my hope that she might be willing to help me further..."

Irinati tried to sit up, and Ravani had to quickly decide whether to hold her back, or help her. The sorceress concluded that the girl was less likely to do herself harm were she not restrained, and she stood ready to support Irinati, should the girl over-exert herself. Irinati herself seemed unexpectedly energised, despite what she had just been through, and her own admission of fatigue, saying "If it is the only way to repay you, then I am more than willing. You have given me back my name, my past, my very life. My all is the very least I can give."

A brave gesture, thought Ravani, and a foolish one. Irinati doesn't even know what this woman wants - but I can imagine...

"I have helped you find you", said Jaceel, her hand brushing Irinati's cheek, "as you have, to a lesser extent helped me find me. I still have a long way to go to retrieve myself - will you help me?"

Irinati nodded, and Jaceel smiled. The woman leaned forward, and kissed the oval of metal embedded in Irinati's forehead, which Ravani thought she saw glowing faintly as Jaceel sat back, and spoke once more. "This is a symbol of my gratitude and something to fill the space left by the shard", she explained. "I have now charged it with a small portion of my own spirit energy. It will tell you where to find other shards - if you touch one, it will be instantly returned to me, wherever I am."

Irinati seemed delighted. She had retrieved her life and found a purpose in the space of a single day, more than most living things could ever hope for, and Ravani felt happy for her. Happy, and just a little bit anxious that Irinati had gone straight from being used by Bekalth to being used by Jaceel.

I'll have to keep watch over this, thought the Mystalornan, and the others should definitely know about it. The last thing any of us need is a being of selfish ambition and power on Dominion's doorstep, with access to this chunk of rock...

One part of the sorceress was contemplating the worst, another was still listening to Jaceel and Irinati. Already, they seemed to be making plans - "Seek the one they call 'The Traveller'", advised Jaceel. "He has the power to take you where you need to go - and soon, he will need the company..."

Mistress Ravani:

We thank you for the report you have submitted concerning the individual you informed us is now know by the name Jaceel, and her interactions with the alien Irinati. Whilst we appreciate your concerns, and have placed them in the official record, Darkhawk had made it abundantly clear that we are to provide Jaceel with any and all assistance necessary to aid her in her "reassembly".

We will, of course, forward any information on any developments to you immediately for your perusal and comment - your input will be very much welcomed.

May The LifeStar shine on you for eternity,

Pharl Saphiera,
Operations Chief,
Grey Section

To The Traveller;

In response to your recent queries concerning the female you recovered from Mutual Defence Imperative space, it is my pleasure to report to you several items of good news.

The crystal artefact has been removed, and successfully reintegrated with the parent entity - whose name is now Jaceel, or so I am told - and Irinati is already showing signs of the reassertion of a core personality, and has embraced a new-found purpose - to track down and recover other shards of Jaceel.

She has been advised to seek your assistance in this matter, and it is hoped that you will be able to provide the necessary transport and other support as required. This is something of an imposition on our part, but given your obvious concern for Irinati's future, we presumed you would want to take some part in helping her.

May Darkhawk's blessings continue to travel with you, now and forever,

Sahan Tasameed of The Ever-Radiant Circle

From: Zetur Rao'orm; Chief of Sciences, Zone Gamma
To: Gaevell Kottor; Chief of Dominion Realm Defence Research, Planet Sacred Hearth

I have, as you requested, carried out a further series of analyses on the data gathered by our surface sensor platforms, and it is with much regret that I must inform you that the results are as previously reported. Zone Gamma, and its neighbouring sub-realms are being drawn towards Dominion, and will make contact with the realm-boundary within the next three standard years.

It is already well-known that micro-realms make contact with and merge with The Boundary on a regular basis, increasing the volume of The Realm by no more than a few cubic centimetres at a time, bringing with them minute amounts of mainly of common elements and compounds, but the consequences of the incorporation of a sub-realm such as Zone Gamma or Zone Hydra with their respective "payloads", whilst currently merely speculation, do present great cause for concern.

After some consideration, I feel that the options available are clear:-

1) We allow the sub-realms to merge with The Boundary, and deal with each situation as it develops
2) We destroy, or render inert, the matter within each sub-realm, or
3) We carry out a program to prevent any and all further mergers.

I am fully aware that Dominion is once again on the verge of intergalactic war, but the potential risk to the realm, her future and her people is too great for us to allow this to be consigned to the "matters pending" file, like some requisition request for out-of-date parts. We may win this upcoming war, only to find that the greater battle has already been lost.

Darkhawk bless you, my friend. Darkhawk bless us all.

...to be continued...