Ranarak Tarandis trudged through the barren wasteland, his deep green eyes locked on the horizon. The sun beat mercilessly down upon his black clothed body, sweat dripping from his wavy black hair. A warm wind washed across the deserts, whipping his cloak madly about, behind him, seeming to have a mind of its own as it flapped like a flag of midnight hue. He didn't know where he was... why he was there... or even why he continued to walk for mile after mile in this barren waste.

A voice beckoned him from everywhere... yet nowhere. A voice that he was so very familiar with, yet one that he did not know. "Ranarak... Ranarak... come... seek me... find me... Ranarak.."

It drifted into silence, hushed by a gust of wind, which blew minuscule particles of sand into his hair, and his eyes. He flung up his arm to protect his face, shielding it from the airborn dirt. And he continued to walk.. mindless of his task. He only knew that he must find that voice... somehow.

"Ranarak... come to me, Ranarak... find me... seek me... help me..." The voice trailed off once again and a sudden blast of wind sent sand swirling around him, rapidly rising to form a force gale. He flew up his arms to protect his face from its scouring intensity. He felt himself falling. He flung out his arms, trying to grasp something as he fell toward the ground. But to no avail. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, anticipating the impact which never came. He continued to fall, even as he hit what should have been ground level. He fell into a dark murky void, surrounded no longer by sand, but by swirling memories of the past. Of his lives... his one long life. Nightmares reached out to grasp at him, nightmares of those who he once knew or those he had only dreamed of knowing. He opened his mouth to scream.

Rannis woke abruptly in the basket where he had fallen asleep. Curled up into a small furry ball, the black alleycat had intense luminous green eyes and tattered ears, as well as a tail with a slightly bent tip. He wore upon his face, what seemed a constant smirk, as if he held everything in sarcastic disbelief. He rose to his feet, pawing idly at the blankets lining the bottom of the basket. He arched his back, shivering as he stretched, then leaned back, stretching his front paws out in front of himself. Righting himself again, he took a step forward, out of the basket, pausing as he stretched first one hind leg, then another step forward, then another pause as he stretched his other hind leg. He sat on his haunches beside the basket for a moment, looking around the darkened house, the first signs of daylight beginning to show through the single window. Rannis frowned visibly, thinking back to the dream, the same one he had had night after night. He couldn't figure out what they meant for he had never heard that voice before in his life. He sighed, then went to work bathing himself.

Upon finishing, he thought to himself... Time to go wake the 'owners'. He padded down the hall, lined on each side with portraits of numerous noblemen come and gone. He paused before a sturdy oak door, leading to Lord and Lady Terranyl's chambers, finding it ajar in the slightest. He smirked to himself, knowing that even had the door been left closed all the way, he'd find a way inside easily enough. He nudged the door open with his nose then walked in with an air of confidence that only an alleycat like himself could possess. He silently made his way across the floor to the foot of the bed, pausing momentarily to coil. He sprung onto the bed, landing with simple grace, maintaining his raised nose, slightly in arrogance. He walked across the surface of the bed, his paws sinking in just a little with each step, maneuvering in between the two sleeping figures beneath the bed sheets.

Rannis smiled, pausing for a moment as he observed them, unsure as to which one to annoy today. With an inward snicker, he looked towards Lord Terranyl, then nodded, thinking to himself. 'Well he hasn't done me any favors lately'. He strolled casually across the pillow above his head, then turned around sharply to face the sleeping human.

He took in a deep breath then let it all out in a tuna scented "MEEAAOOWWRRRRRRRRRRRRR", right in the nobleman's face. He awoke with a start, swatting at Rannis with the pillow. Rannis hopped out of range then sat on his haunches before the nobleman, repeating his yowl several times until he got the response he waited for.

The two figures sat up in bed. Lord Terranyl being a man in his 40's with short greying hair, a short trimmed moustache and beard. Lady Terranyl was much younger, in her late 20's, and possessed of raven black hair which cascaded over her shoulders. They both rubbed their eyes groggily then stared at the noisy cat.

"Bugger me with a fork." Lord Terranyl spoke, obviously upset at having his sleep disturbed. "We should have left the damn cat where we found him." Lady Terranyl laid a gentle hand upon his arm. "M'lord... we couldn't just leave him to starve. Come now. You rest up and I'll feed the poor thing." She swung her feet to the floor, donning her slippers, and making her way toward Rannis, who still sat on the end of the bed. He padded over to meet her then rubbed his head against her as she arrived. She scratched behind his ears, spoke in a soft voice, "Good morning to you too, Midnight." He purred softly, thinking of how much he hated that name as she picked him up in her arms and carried him with her out of the room. She walked through the hallways of their richly decorated home until she entered the kitchen. She opened the door and set him down, entering the pantry to return with some assorted bits of meat which she mixed together in a bowl and laid out for him. She took another bowl from the shelf over the cupboard and filled it with water from a pitcher kept handy. She set this beside his food. Rannis looked up at her with his luminous green eyes, almost in thanks, then turned to the bowl to begin eating. Lady Terranyl stroked his head one more time before rising, then smiled down to him. "I shall return to bed for a while now, Midnight. You enjoy rising before the sun, don't you?"

With that, she turned and walked from the room, leaving Rannis by himself, eating the food noisily, snorting and chomping down. He paused in his feasting to hover over his water bowl, where he began lapping up the clear liquid, refreshed by the drink.

He felt a faint tingle at the back of his skull, followed by a faint uneasiness. His fur stood on end, alerting him that something wasn't right. He ceased his drinking and pricked his ears, listening but he heard nothing. He took a cautious lap of the water then felt eyes upon him, burning into his very soul with their intensity. Cautiously, he looked up.

She stood silently watching him, a young woman of no more than 18. Long blond hair flowed behind her and white robes billowed around her, flapping gently as though in a soft breeze. She watched silently, not saying a word. Her compassionate blue eyes seeming to gaze into the depths of his best kept secrets.

"Hallo? Who are you?" Rannis whispered, careful to keep his voice low should the nobles of the house hear him speak. She didn't answer, merely watched him, seeming to wait for something.

Abruptly she looked to the side, eyes growing wide with fear. She opened her mouth to scream wordlessly, yet nothing came out. She faded from view, seeming to dissipate into thin air.

Rannis paused, eyes open wide, staring at the place she had last been. He laid down, unsure of how to proceed or what he had just witnessed. He turned then padded wordlessly from the room.

Ranarak found himself once again trudging through this barren wasteland with no purpose and no knowledge of how he had gotten here. This time, however, the sky was dark. The sun ceased to shine down upon him, shrouded by dark grey clouds. He continued to walk, going over his spells in his mind to keep himself occupied and his thoughts away from his exhausted feet.

He crested the next rise and saw into the distance a tower... a massive tower, made of black rock, jutting out of the barren ground like a burnt tree. He stood watching it then heard the voice.

"Ranarak... seek me... help me... help... help....."

"I'm coming!" He shouted to the voice, unsure if it would hear him. He took off at a sprint, bolting across the broken ground for the structure. He stumbled, fell, then felt everything begin to swirl as it had, time and time again. He awoke.

Rannis looked up from his basket, realizing once again, he was up before the sun. He stood, stretching momentarily then padded to the window to look out. He surveyed the vacant streets of the town, yet he knew that what he sought wasn't there. He knew little, other than he must find that tower and the voice from his dreams.

He looked around quickly, checking for any sign of the nobles. Finding none, he returned his gaze to the window. His luminous green eyes flashed brightly. The latch on the window glowed for a single moment, then flipped open. The window swung outwards with the faintest creak. Rannis crept closer to the sill and looked down at the short hop to the street. He crouched then leapt onto the cobblestones below. He began wandering, unsure of his destination, drawn by something he didn't quite understand, perhaps instinct. When he turned down the alley, he had no idea what to expect.

A shimmering vortex opened before him, swirling green in appearance and seeming to be without depth. He knew not why he did so, but he crept towards it, almost in a trance. The portal snapped shut as the tip of his black tail vanished into the murkiness.

Ranarak looked down at himself. No longer in his preferred form, he had taken on his human figure once again, the form he was born to. He appeared to be a man of around 25 with wavy black hair and deep green eyes. Dressed all in black, his cloak billowed behind him as he ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced around himself slowly, not sure he wanted to see what he saw, miles and miles of wasteland on either side of him.

He smirked, unsure of where to go. He decided to follow his dreams and turned to the east. He began his long hike across the wastelands. The sky was dark, as in his last dream. The ground dry and lifeless with not even the hardiest plant in sight. No insects worked their way through the sand, not even a single vulture overhead. He trudged onward, ignorant to the time of day or how long he traveled. Time held no domain here, in this barren realm, as he realized through his fatigue. It felt like he had been walking for days when he finally stopped, lacking the strength to go on. He sat on the ground, wondered on how to leave this realm and sighed.

The voice drifted to him from the east, more clearly this time, than in his dreams. "Ranarak... seek me... find me... help... me........" He stood up once again, feeling a renewed sense of hope which flowed through him, restoring his vigor, enabling him to proceed. He crested the next rise and caught a glimpse of the tower. He started down the gentle slope, mindful of every crack in the ground and moving to avoid twisting his ankle. He reached the bottom and, despite his weariness, started sprinting towards the tower, feeling an unbearable sense of evil sink in around him. As he crossed the ground, spikes of earth shot up behind him, all around the perimeter of the tower, causing him to turn around and stare in disbelief at the barrier which now prevented his retreat. He smirked. "Oh, gimme a break."

He returned toward the tower, slower this time, lest he set off any more traps. The rest of the way remained uneventful, save the increasing pressure caused by the overwhelming evil presence which filled this place between worlds. He looked up at the double brass doors which rose far above his head, seeming too large for any human to ever use. He gestured through the air then made a pushing gesture at the doors which shimmered briefly then creaked loudly as they swung inwards on rusty hinges.

Ranarak stepped inside, looking about calmly, searching for any danger to himself. He gestured to the air, pointing to himself through half extended finger and an aura surrounded him, giving him knowledge when direct danger threatened. He strode through the hall before him, a massive great hall, seeming to have been formed for giant use. The chairs, table, and fireplace were far too massive for anyone of his size to even dream of using them. A large bonfire blazed fiercely in the fireplace and a steaming pot of broth hung over it on a long metal rod.

He braced himself against the table leg as he felt a low thud of heavy footsteps approaching then the loud chortle of someone many times his size. An ugly visage stared down at him over the top of the table. Seeming to be nothing even remotely human, the thing looked to be a troll on steroids. Massive rock-like muscles and hardened features with dark black eyes. A golden circlet adorned his head. His green hair spilled out in a mess on all sides.

"Ahh. Ranarak Tarandis. I've been waiting for you, friend." The troll-thing sneered.

"Oh? I didn't know I held a certificate in plastic surgery." Rannis smirked, leaning against the table leg absently.

"Amusing, whelp. But your humor is lost on me. I know why you have come." Rannis frowned, not knowing that himself. He responded. "Well then... maybe you could enlighten me, so we'll both know."

The troll beast sneered down at him. "Because I summoned you."

"Summoned me? Nah. I was following the pleas of some poor helpless maiden. And you... you don't look poor, hardly look helpless and excuse my laughing, but buddy, you sure ain't a maiden."

The beast chortled loudly, "Fool. When fishing, use bait appetizing to one's prey. In this case..." He trailed off, gesturing with an arm.

"Well I'm glad to see I'm appreciated but mind telling me WHY I was summoned?"

The troll beast snickered then looked down at him with sincerity, "You have become quite powerful, Ranarak Tarandis. You have powers that even I haven't mastered. I want them. I give you this chance... transfer your magic to me and go free. Refuse and..."

He let his voice trail off, shrugging slightly. "I won't be responsible for what happens."

Rannis chuckled. "Y'know... that's really funny. For a moment there, I thought you just told me you wanted my powers."

"I did, Cat."

Rannis smirked up at him. "Well... I'd really like to give em to ya. Actually, I wouldn't, but there's a lot to be said for conversation. Come get some."

Rannis disappeared in a scattering flash of lights, reappearing some ways from his original position, just as a fist slammed into the ground. He smirked. "Not bad. But I'm over here." He made a gesture with his hands, uttered a command word and pointed at the beast. Twin bolts of energy flashed from his palms, striking the troll in the shoulder, splattering shredded flesh throughout the room. The beast slapped a hand over the wound, blood bubbling out from between his fingers.

Rannis stood agape at the spell effect, having used one of his most powerful magics. He felt a twinge of fear as the troll opened his palm at him, unleashing a violent fireball. He dodged to the side, tucking into a roll, moving with the grace of a cat. As he came up, he hollered another command word, bringing a sharp bolt of electricity flashing through the troll's body.

The beast screamed as the electricity flashed through him, darkening his vision, scarring and burning him deeply. He swatted out wildly with an open palm at Rannis, knocking him against the wall. Rannis felt everything go dark momentarily as his skull struck the stone, a sharp crack resounding through the room. His eyes fell closed and he lost consciousness.

He awoke to find himself on the floor of a small iron cage, dangling high off of the ground in a massive bedchamber. Around his neck was a golden collar, slightly restrictive but not tight enough to be an annoyance. His vision blurred as he opened his eyes, unaccustomed to the sudden light. He allowed them time to focus before examining the lock from afar. The cage seemed held with a simple padlock. 'Easy enough... he thought to himself. He directed a solitary finger towards the lock and uttered a spell command word.

A sharp pain jolted through his body. Waves of agony threatening to tear him apart from the very core. He tugged at the collar which seemed to be where it originated, but to no avail. The collar remained in place and so did he. He sighed and sank to the bottom of the cage. To his right, a small voice spoke up.

"The collar prevents spells. You're trapped here. Until he... comes for your power."

Rannis glanced over, waving off the voice as a petty nuisance until he noticed what it was that spoke. An eagle, larger than Rannis himself, sat cooped up in a similar cage, a collar akin to Rannis' around its neck as well. He sighed, looked at the gigantic bird. "How's he plan to take my power?"

The bird shrugged somewhat before responding. "He plans to eat you."

"Oh perfect. Hope this guy's got tons of antacid, cuz I don't plan to go down easy." Rannis smirked.

"Not much you can do, I'm afraid. Tv`rommal is a powerful adversary. It is how he gains the powers of everyone he defeats in combat."

"He eats em?"

"No, he keeps em chained up in a cage and keeps them as pets, you moron." The bird responded.

Rannis resisted the urge to come back at the bird, feeling that this fowl might prove useful. "What do you know of a means to escape?"

"Well... we could always use SkyGrowl's method."

"What was his method?"

"Wait for Tv`rommal to come eat you." The bird answered, plaintively.

Rannis smirked. "Y'know.. I think I'll pass. What else you got?"

"Well.. if we could get out of these collars somehow... we could use magic. The two of us against him would fare quite well, I believe."

"It's worth a shot, I guess. But how are we going to do that?" Rannis asked.

The bird visibly shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Rannis muttered softly. "Yeah... never trust a damned bird."

He started searching around his cage for anything at all that might aid him. He found nothing. The cage was bare except for himself. He sighed, then leaned against the bars on the far wall of the cage, causing it to rock slightly. He allowed his gaze to wander across the room, across the night stand, the bed, the broom leaning against the wall closest him. He stopped, his gaze drifting idly over the broom.

Rannis stepped slowly back to the other side of the cage, leaning against the bars. He sprinted forward, crashing into the opposite bars with a loud clang. The cage swayed slightly.

The bird glanced up with interest from his own cage. "What ARE you doing?"

"Getting out of here." Rannis responded as he ran back across the cage to the other side, smashing into the metal, moving the cage the other way. He darted again to the other side, then back... the cage began to rock and sway more and more... closer to his destination.

Finally, he sprinted full tilt across the cage, leaping through the air and diving, thrusting both hands through the cage to grasp at the bristles on the broom. He snagged one with a single hand then flailed wildy, almost letting go as the weight of the cage dragged him backwards. He felt the bristle give a little, then a filament about the size of a piece of wire broke off in his hands and he fell to the cage floor, where he remained, motionless.

He heard heavy footsteps approaching, distant, as well as a familiar chortle. Wasting no time, Rannis jammed the filament into the keyhole of the collar around his neck, searching desperately for the release mechanism. The filament snapped, leaving a bit inside the lock. He cursed as he fished it out then tried again, the footsteps growing closer. He heard an audible 'snick' and the collar fell open, just as Tv`rommal's hideous face rounded the corner, at eye level to the cage.

"Energy Orb!" Rannis shouted, gesturing at Tv`rommal. His mana came to him weakly at first, then expelled in a massive explosion of light, engulfing the monster's head in the fiery intensity. Rannis raised his hands to the side then disappeared in a scattering flash of white lights. The lights gathered again in the bird's cage, reforming his figure. He quickly cast a spell causing the cage lock to fall away, knowing better than to use magic on the collar. He swung up onto the bird's back and clung to his feathers. "Come on. Let's move it!"

The bird wasted no time, flapped his wings and hopped out of the cage, taking to the air, whizzing past Tv`rommal's head as he swatted at them wildly, the powerful orb still engulfing his head. The bird flew through the halls, not in any specific direction.

He called back to Rannis. "Which way?"

"Back. We gotta finish this guy off. From the sounds of it, he's not the forgiving type."

"Back?? You're nuts! Go where you want. I'm outta here." With that, the bird landed, depositing Rannis on the ground.

Rannis looked up at him and smirked. "Gee thanks."

They both turned sharply at the sound of heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor, heading towards them. The bird turned and took to the air, yelling back, "Good luck!"

"Yeah right." Rannis turned to face his opponent as he came into view... Tv`rommal, bane of sorcerers.

The mighty wizard called out a spell name and flung it at Rannis. Rannis disappeared instinctively, reappearing behind Tv`rommal. He flung two successive spells at his back. A powerful energy blast and an ice blast. The energy blast struck with full power to the shoulder blade, blasting off chunks of skin, and bringing forth gushing runnels of blood. The ice blast hit his back dead center, spreading out and numbing his flesh to the bone, but doing little more than give him a bad case of frostbite. The wizard turned to face Rannis, enraged. He began chanting for the spell that would finish him off.

Rannis rolled to the side, firing off two less powerful energy blasts, which ricocheted off of the beast's tough hide and hit the wall. Tv`rommal glared down at Rannis, pointed with a solitary finger, began to mutter the final word.

A streaking form bolted from the sky, biting at Tv`rommal's right eye, gouging deeply, drawing a deep growl then a loud roar from the sorcerer. He brought his hand up to slap at the new attacker.

Rannis used this distraction to his advantage. He began drawing forth his mana and lifeforce together. A visible aura began to entangle him, glowing with shining intensity. He shouted some arcane words, aiming at Tv`rommal's left eye. A furious bolt of supercharged energy rushed from his arm, knocking him down from the recoil, blasting deeply into the beast's head, into his brain. His body spasmed wildly as his dying form flailed about then crashed back down against the ground, throwing Rannis back some distance into the air, then crashing back down to earth from the sheer magnitude of the fall. Rannis shook his head and sat up, staring at the fallen form.

A flicker of energy flowed from Tv`rommal's corpse, down his arm, then his legs... merely a spark. Abruptly, the energy flared up and streaked out at Rannis, engulfing him in waves of supernatural energy... Rannis threw his head back, a sharp cry torn from his throat as agony filled him completely. The waves ceased all at once and everything grew peaceful. Rannis slumped to the ground, barely conscious.

The bird flapped gently as it settled to the ground next to him. It poked at him with his beak. "You alright?"

Rannis nodded, hearing the voice from very far away. "Yeah.. I'm alright.. " He felt more than alright. He felt new power rushing through his body, power that was once possessed by the creature he had just slain. He didn't know how or why the transfer was effected but he felt stronger. His vision slowly cleared and he looked up. "I have to go.."

The bird inclined his head to the side. "Go where?"

"Somewhere... so much power... I need... to make a difference.." Ranarak shrugged then glowed as his form took on that of a cat.

"Heh. Well... nice meeting you pal. Need a lift?"

Rannis shook his head. "No... but here..."

He nodded to the air in front of himself, creating a swirling green portal. He gestured for the bird to enter.

The bird hopped towards the entrance, then stopped and looked at Rannis. "I've never met a cat like you... thanks. I could've died in there."

"We both could have. Go."

"Name's Gryhawk. I'll be seeing you around. If you ever need help."

"Yeah. I'll count on myself."

The bird sighed then hopped towards the portal.

Rannis smirked then held up a paw. "Wait."

"Yeah?"

He twitched his tail, directing it at the collar. He now knew the magical key that would deactivate it completely. The collar fell from around the bird's neck.

The bird smiled, as best a bird can, then inclined his head to the side. "Thanks pal. See you around." And with that, he hopped through and vanished.

Rannis looked around where he stood, unsure where he needed to go, but knowing that he had to travel, for his life wasn't his own anymore. It belonged to anyone who ever needed hope. He padded into the portal... and vanished.

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