The characters leave the Pyre system and head for Ukar. Landing at the south pole, in the frigid city of Vis, they begin to hear rumors of rebellion throughout the rest of the planet, apparently led by their old friend Arjuna. Marduk decides to go around asking if someone can translate the strange Ukari glyphs they found on Aragon, and proceeds to a nearby tavern. Little do they know that someone is watching them...
Vashki, a member of the Changed and the Slayers Guild, was told that her target would be here on Ukar. Vashki is a Metonym like Sarili (able to change her skin and bone structure to look like someone else) and her Slayer duty is to hunt down other Slayers for various reasons. This time she was contracted by an unknown party to protect Genin Gavin Vance against another Slayer who had been hired to take him out. With a special information gathering contract with the Purgers Guild (yeah, try to keep information from the garbagemen...) she finds that Gavin and company are on Kordeth, where she goes to meet up with them.
Marduk and the group approach a well-dressed Ukar in a tavern and ask him to translate for them. Before he does so, everyone notices a broadcast on the Magic Lantern about the rebellion, and how Arjuna is now in the custody of al-Malik forces. The Ukar goes back to translating and suddenly becomes angry at them, screaming in Uryari at them and reaching for his sword. When he does this, Vashki, who is watching, clicks off a shot from her sniper rifle, which causes the Ukar's head to explode. Everyone who is watching is struck dumb by the event which just took place, as the shot was well-silenced.
Law enforcement officers with the Reeves arrive and the group is questioned but eventually let go, as there was probably some mind-reading going on. Vashki, not convinced that she got the guy she was after, continues to follow them a while. Don Roberto and Sarili go off in search of cold-weather garments while Gavin and Eruj head to a library to have the glyphs translated. They find that it is an incantation to the dark god Mortos the Devourer, and what they have is the equivalent of Ukari Antinomy. The librarian who translated it says they should not show that to anyone, and it would probably be more beneficial to destroy it. When asked about the Hellstone, they librarian points out that the Galisp cities Norgalant and Verpevyn would be better-suited to research religious matters.
After a time everyone meets back at the ship and decides it would be best to travel to Norgalant or Verpevyn, so they gather some supplies and head into the Sopeth Naga caverns. Vashki is able to follow them because of the light provided by the Fusion Torches, yet she remains hidden for a time. After a couple of days travel, they hear something happening behind them. Vashki, who heard something behind her, stops and changes her skin tone to match the cavern wall. Don Roberto and Sarili go back to check things out while the rest of the group heads onward. The two nobles run into an Ukari hunter, armed with an old musket-style rifle. Vashki, who is only feet away from the scene, remains quiet and still. They question the Ukar for a short time and let him go when they are convinced he is only a simple hunter. Roberto, however, accidentally steps on Vashki, and there is a short, tense moment when Roberto and Sarili face off against her. Roberto recognizes her as someone who once cleaned his pool back on Aragon, because she doubles as a member of the Purgers, and the standoff is concluded. They talk for a moment, and Vashki reveals that she was sent to watch over Gavin, for another Slayer was after him. At that point they realize that it would be a good idea to rejoin the group, and head back, just in time. As they near the group they see the Ukari hunter raising his rifle to fire on, well, Gavin. He clicks off a shot just before Roberto and Vashki get a hold of him, seriously wounding Gavin, even through his shield. Vashki fires on the Ukar, seriously wounding him, while Roberto closes on him and finishes the job with the Flux Blade. Introductions are made, Kantarra deals with Gavin's wounds, and they press on.
After another day or so, they hear the sounds of fighting ahead, assault rifles and pistols, screams, etc... Marduk rushes off in that direction and finds much carnage - several dead al-Malik soldiers. He also notices someone ducked down another corridor just as he entered the room and, taking a chance, runs after the culprit. He hears footsteps race down the corridor at inhuman speeds, and calls out Arjuna's name, identifying himself as Marduk. The footsteps stop, and Arjuna appears out of the darkness and asks what they are doing here on Kordeth. They stand and talk a while and then return to the group. Arjuna explains that when he returned to his home for the first time in seven years, several revolutionaries started riots in League cities around the planet. Though Arjuna did not support the riots, when the League found that they were acting in his name, they had his family arrested, saying that they would live only if he gave himself up. Arjuna did so, though when he found that the League had already killed his family, Arjuna decided that he would not rest until Kordeth was free, even if he had to do it alone and with his bare hands. Arjuna informs them that he knows a Taudwon (an Ukari priest) who will be able to help them more than anyone in Norgalant or Verpevyn, so they follow him into the deepest recesses of the planet.
After about three days on their journey, they happen upon a small village which, it seems, just finished fighting-off a small group of Muster and Scravers. The people are mostly devastated, and already some have left. In a corner of the cave they find a badly-wounded Muster, who holds the villagers off with a single autofeed. He tells the characters that he has already called for help, and any minute now a whole bunch of Muster will come and lay waste to the village, leaving no Ukari alive in the process. Gavin convinces him that he'll help get the soldier out of the village, and proceeds to do so. Arjuna convinces the people to leave the village and head deeper, where it is safer and the Outlaw Clans have troops, while Marduk jury-rigs a small bomb to booby-trap one of the entrances. When Marduk is almost done, he informs Gavin, who is a bit outside the village with the soldier, that they are leaving. Gavin tells the soldier he must go, and leaves his friend in a safe place.
After another day or so, they meet a large band of Ukari warriors whose leader speaks to Arjuna in Uryari for a while, then, with a stern expression on his face, raises a knife and cuts his own hand with it, wiping the blood on the cavern wall. He then takes his troops and leaves. The group takes this to be an unfriendly act until Arjuna informs them that the every member of Clan Feldak, under their leader, has sworn to free their homeworld or die trying - the revolution is no longer a small matter, and now that a major clan has show its support, others are sure to follow suit very soon. Arjuna says he must prove himself to several other clans before they side with him, but Gavin, Roberto, and Kantarra all have problems with attacking the League in order to help the Ukari. Thus, Arjuna gives them directions to the priest they need to see, and heads off on his own.
Almost a full week later they finally reach a city hidden far inside the core of the planet. They are taken to Sangupta, the Ukar Taudwon which Arjuna wanted them to see. He is a very old Ukar, completely covered in body tatoos and suspended by two poles under his arms - almost like crutches. Though they do not see his mouth move, he begins speaking to them (except for Marduk, who has to remove his psi-cloak in order to hear Sangupta). He tells them that he knows they are here to ask about the text which they retrieved from Aragon, and about Mortos the Devourer. To find the answers they seek they must undertake a vision quest with Arjuna's assistance. Sangupta informs them that Arjuna is on his way back as they spoke, and the group waits for just under an hour until Arjuna shows up. Arjuna informs them that three other major clans have already allied with him, and some of the more human-supporting clans have already demonstrated their wishes for neutrality.
Sangupta levitates some herbs and liquids around, mixing something in a large pot before them. Odd smells begin to fill the room, and they are told to deeply inhale the fumes bellowing forth from the jar. As each does so, they pass out and enter a dreamlike state.
They suddenly find themselves stading before the gargoyle on Nowhere, though the planet is as they have seen before - lush and forested. It is night time and a female figure stands with her back turned to them. Each one of the group discovers that they are someone else. Marduk no longer has four arms but has instead become a female Ukar with two heads and large wings. He / she carries two severed heads in one hand and a great hammer in the other. Gavin is vaguely Ukar-ish, dressed in fine robes of gold and silk, carrying a large stone tablet with Ukari writing (Bhakti) on it. Don Roberto has become a mightier warrior than before - clad in light armor and bristling with swords and other blades. Vashki has become a male Ukar, with a large bow and a quiver of blue arrows, each with a tip that dimly glows in the moonlight. Kantarra is a two-headed, winged, female Ukar, but the wings are jet black, and she carries a sword. Sarili has become what looks to be a very dirty and unkept old Ukar, with a shaggy beard and mad eyes. Finally, Arjuna bears close resemblance to Don Roberto - light armor and many blades, however, electricity arcs across Arjuna from time to time. Arjuna explains that they have become gods for this vision quest. He is Kappa, a war god who wielded lightning as his main weapon. Don Roberto has become Kalakal, a warrior who was reknown for his great courage, decisiveness, and passion for protection. Kantarra is Dzwornga, goddess of wisdom and daughter of the head of the opposing gods. Gavin has been transformed into Kaliuvyyd, the keeper of lore and seeker of secrets. Sarili is now Uysadda, the trickster who allows laughter at the gods and uses sideways magic to take different forms. Nilisvati is Vashki's new persona - an archer god who never missed his target. And Marduk is Saddereaper - goddess of invention and creator of the jumpgates.
As he explains this, the woman before them turns to around, revealing that the sides of her head show the universe, and as she moves, so do the stars and planets in the background. She is Delarynya, the dream goddess. Arjuna / Kappa informs her that they are here to combat the minions of Mortos. She responds by saying there should be a functional portal in one of the bunkers in the mountains. Nilisvati (Vashki) decides to test her / his accuracy and shoots at a star, which flickers a bit when the arrow hits. Sarili / Uysadda tries-out his trickster powers and transforms into a rocketship, which the others climb aboard. He also tries to steal one of Roberto / Kalakal's knives, but Kalakal notices and uses the knife to teach Uysadda a lesson.
They reach a bunker in the wooded area of the mountains where they find a small replica of a jumpgate (much like the one found by Marduk and Kantarra on Leagueheim). Climbing through they find themselves in an extremely dark cavern, which Kaliuvyyd quickly remedies by glowing while Saddereaper forges a light from nothingness. Uysadda continually steals things from Kalakal, and continually loses appendages to Kalakal's blades. However, his appendages form faces and ask him to reattach them, which he does. (yeah, the whole "being a god" thing was really weird).
They wander the caverns a bit until they find a sort of slime-trail on the floor. Following the slime-trail they spot a robed figure ahead. His robe is covered with eyes, and Nilisvati decides to throw a rock at him, bouncing it off several walls. Kappa is quite confused as to what they are doing, but does not stop Nilisvati. When the rock hits the robed figure, it shudders in shock for a moment. Dzwornga makes the smartass remark "he has a robe covered in eyes - how'd he not see THAT coming???" They travel further and speak with the figure, who is Sukara - keeper of the dead. He says little, only that he is glad to see that they are about to dispatch the servants of Mortos. Sukara hands a skull to Dzwornga, which Kappa says is the skull of her father, and it will be needed to "open the Well of Broken Chains."(Recall how Kantarra isn't too happy about her mother and father's situation?) She accepts it with some disgust, and Saddereaper forges a small hover transport, which they board and leave in.
After a short travel (and more antics by Uysadda, sheesh), they arrive in a large cave with a well in the center, surrounded by odd glyphs and symbols.
Kappa informs them that only Kaliuvyyd knows the proper path to the center, and only Dzwornga can open the well. The minions of Mortos begin to gather at other cave entrances while Kaliuvyyd leads Dzwornga along the path. The other begin to fight the demonic hordes, Kappa firing huge arcs of lightning, Kalakal killing with his many blades, Saddereaper forging a VERY large energy weapon, Nilisvati firing from his bow, and Uysadda turning the attackers against each other.
Eventually Kaliuvyyd leads Dzwornga all the way to the Well of Broken Chains, where she holds the skull of her father over the Well, and the group is consumed by a vision of themselves standing around a large, jet-black stone. Don Roberto circles the stone and carves at it with what looks like two Kraxi (Ukari fighting knives), Kantarra circles it as well, chanting in Latin, while Arjuna also circles it, chanting in Uryari. The stone begins to bleed and fall apart, and the vision ends.
Shortly afterwards, they awaken back in Sangupta's hut, alive and well. Arjuna informs them that the knives he saw Roberto using were the twin knives Jovos and Akmeneran - ancient Kraxi kept safe by the Nadakira himself (the spiritual and political leader of the Ukari), and if they wish to use them, the group must travel to the Nadakira's palace in Darurgin to see him.
After almost another week of travel through the caverns, they reach the northern polar region. Not long after emerging from the caves they see the holy city of Darurugin, home of Nadakira Surtam oj Malak Sojo. The city is abuzz with activity, as if half the population were preparing to leave while the other half contined with their daily business. Arjuna is instantly hailed as a hero by the people, but the Nadakira's guards quickly lead him and the group to the Nadakira. There the group splits in their decisions as to what to do. Gavin feels that the League bought it and thus the planet is theirs, though he agrees with the Ukari's need to be free. Roberto thinks that aliens do not have souls and thus has no wish to help them. Sarili, being an al-Malik, supports the League and al-Malik, while Vashki is indifferent to the whole matter. Marduk sees another alien race being oppressed by "the man" and would like to take up their cause, which Kantarra nominally agrees with, but more because she has little love for the League and al-Malik.
Arjuna decides that the fight is his and asks the Nadakira for his support. With the Nadakira's support, many unaligned clans will follow suit, and much dissention will be caused among opposing clans. However, the Nadakira declines, saying that he must first think of the safety of his people, though he does state that he will not stop Arjuna from fighting the League.
Arjuna, somewhat defeated, tells the Nadakira of their visions of the "Hellstone." The Nadakira grants them the use of the twin daggers Jovos and Akmeneran, having them brought out in an ancient ritual container. When Roberto removes them from the container, he finds that they vibrate weakly, but are perfectly balanced. The Nadakira says they always have vibrated, though he does not know why. The group and Arjuna prepare to leave in search of the Hellstone.
Just as they are about the leave the audience chamber, Sir Gaius Justinian, Deke Hillsworth, Yeddo Ta, Father Ortega, and Qaan va Morwec walk in, all dragging long boxes. They greet Marduk and the others, most of whom they have not met, and say that they are here to help the Ukari because they felt that Qaan's race deserves it. Deke says that he'll probably lose his job after the Scravers find out what he's doing, but says "sometimes, you just gotta say 'fuckit.'" And with that, he opens one of the boxes, revealing an assortment of slug-throwers of various size and model. Deke pulls Marduk aside and says that Gavin is one of the only other people he knows that has been to every Known World in the Empire, and though he may not be famous among the general populace, he is fairly known among Scravers, especially those who travel.
Marduk tells them that he needs someone to remote pilot their ship from the South Pole to the North Pole for a quick escape. Yeddo volunteers and is backed-up by Father Ortega. Marduk gives Yeddo the controls and the group is on their way. When the question is raised "how do we find the Hellstone?" Arjuna, half-joking, suggests that the daggers will lead them. Roberto, willing to give it a try, points the daggers together straight forward. Eventually he finds that they stop vibrating when he points in a certain direction. They decide that it's their best option and head in that direction.
Outside the city they see many rebel Ukari getting into formations, while some distance off 2 League landers are deploying troops while another is landing. Numerically, the Ukari don't stand a chance, but when the party finds that the League troops are blocking their path, they decide to fight their way through the troops. Kantarra points-out the weakest part of their formation and a good place to hit them, and thus they check fusion cells, exchange weapons, and prepare to face an onslaught of troops.
A terrible fight ensues, with the Ukari breaking formations in favor of hit-and-run tactics, which pulls most of the heat off of the party. Surprisingly enough, they make it through with only minor cuts and scratches, though those with shields have gone through several cells by now. The majority of the force they were up against is routed back to their drop zone, and the group gets a moment to recuperate.
Two black assault landers with a bloody "8" emblazoned on them land behind the League position and begin to deploy armored troops with the same insignia on their armor. The group recognizes these ships from their visions, and though they do not know who they are, they assume from their position that these new troops are enemies. More League landers begin to appear and deploy troops to the side of the group's position, while the warriors from the black ships kneel in unison and bow their heads in prayer. Kantarra recognizes them to be Brother Battle of some sort, and says they're really in for a fight now.
Just then the tides turn. As one of the League landers is about to touch down, it is incinerated by a blast of some sort coming from Darurgin. The group looks to see that the Nadakira's troops are deployed around the city walls and several PTS arrays are coming online and targeting the League landers. The troops in black armor quickly move off and tear into the League forces from behind, causing a massive route and enabling the group to slip by unnoticed.
Travelling through unknown passages for some time with Roberto leading the way, they come upon a large pit with water at the bottom. They pool together what rope they have and drop down the pit, finding the rope is still not long enough and they must fall a certain distance. This presents little problem, except for the fact that Arjuna doesn't know where they are, and they didn't consider they have no way of getting back up.
Continuing to follow the daggers, Arjuna stops them, saying he heard someone down the passage they are headed. Vashki crawls down the passage to investigate, finding a large room with several humans armed with assault rifles. They stand around a giant, jet black rock. Vashki uses her shapeshifting powers to blend into the rock and takes aim with her sniper rifle, killing two of the seven guards before they know where the fire is coming from. The rest of the group comes charging in, with Roberto, Marduk, and Kantarra making short work of the remaining guards. The rock seems to "drink" the blood of the bodies around it.
Roberto begins carving away at the rock with the two Ukari knives, while Kantarra recites the Prophet's Blessing in Latin, and Arjuna recants an old Ukari legend about Mortos the Devourer in Uryari. As they perform their rituals, the rock begins to fall to bleed and flake off parts. Eventually it falls completely apart, its pieces becoming piles of ash. Inside they find a bloody human male resembling the cloned guards they just fought. They decide that whoever or whatever it is, it can't be good so they kill it - the body becomes a puddle of blood after death.
Luckily for them, they find another passage leading outward - a small tunnel with ladder rungs carved out of the rock. They travel for some time and find a small room bathed in purplish light. The only thing of interest is a chair of obvious Annunaki manufacture standing in the center of the room. Convinced that there must be some Ur device here, so they each try sitting in the chair. When Arjuna sits in it, they all are overtaken by visions of Muster killing Arjuna's family, and they feel the passion which drives Arjuna to free his people (well, Marduk already understands this). The perceptive Sarili also finds a carefully hidden note in the undercarriage of the chair.
After much walking, they eventually make it back to Darurgin, where they see the warriors in black armor are loading into their assault landers and preparing to leave. They also see some Imperial landers headed for Darurgin, specifically the Nadakira's palace. The group rushes to the palace to find that the Emperor (yes, the Emperor, as in Alexius I) is on his way to meet with the Nadakira. Gavin and Sarili decide that, being outlaws of a sort, it would be a good idea to leave. Before they can reach the doors, they see the Phoenix Guard entering, so they turn and try to find a backdoor. They hear a familiar voice saying "psst! This way!" It turns out to be Shleesh, the Gannok they met on Madoc. After giving verbally running them in circles again, he ushers them out a door.
Roberto returns the Nadakira's daggers to him, and the Nadakira comments that they no longer vibrate. The Emperor walks in and pleasantries are exchanged. The Emperor, Nadakira, and Arjuna go to a private room to discuss the rebellion, and the group decides their work here is done. On their way out they say their farewells to Sir Gaius and company, and Marduk remote pilots the ship from the South Pole. Outside the city Kantarra is speaking with one of the people in black armor - Marduk and Roberto go to investigate and find that the warriors in black are led by Sister Janais of Brother Battle, an old friend of Kantarra's.
Janais tells Kantarra that they have formed this group in honor of her, being that she is an Empyrean (or so they think), to which Kantarra responds angrily, saying that to claim such a thing is bordering on heresy. Janais responds by saying that it is already done, and they want Kantarra to lead them. She responds with "well help them!" she says, pointing at Marduk and walking off. When Marduk and Roberto ask what that was about, Janais tells them the story of the 8th Order.
The ship (now apparently named "The Unidentified Black Ship") lands and they bid Kordeth farewell.
2. When they were gods in the vision quest, Sarili / Uysadda kept stealing things (usually weapons) from Roberto / Kalakal. Kalakal would usually respond by cutting off Uysadda's foot. Uysadda's foot would form a face, and say "hey, over here." It would then reattach and then he'd feel the pain. Uysadda would also periodically laugh at people for no reason. What a guy.