In an unmapped land that belonged to the Nomadic People known as the Nami, a lone man sat in the middle of one of the endless grasslands watching the sunset over the mountains far to the north of him. The sunset paints the entire sky a bright shade of red. A few dark clouds hover in the distance, a dark purple against the fiery background. The brilliant display is often overlooked by the Plains-dwellers; after all, it is a daily spectacle.

To the man, however, each display was unforgettable and he made an effort to watch it daily. He had grown up in a large city, an image the Nami were unable to imagine. He had put that life behind him to dwell here, in the vast emptiness far to the south of his native land.

The outlander known as Gerit, settled back on his elbows to watch the sunset in comfort. He idly chewed on the end of a stalk of long grass, pausing only to spit the end out onto the ground. His horse, Johann, grazed happily behind him. Happily tearing out chunks of the sweet grass and chewing them noisily. Without looking, Gerit knew Johann's ears and tail were twitching back and forth. The sounds of the horse were comforting, and Gerit relaxed a little more in the long grass.

Johann's movements stopped suddenly, and Gerit sat up a little straighter to see what had caught the horse's attention. Squinting into the sunset, Gerit could barely make out the small shape of horse and rider coming towards him. He watched the shape grow larger and larger as it got closer to him.

"Aiya!" a voice called out. Gerit leaned back and relaxed again, recognizing the cry of one of the Hyfreen Clans newest members. A young man, called Keriss, had been adopted by the rebuilding clan. He had been the fourth son of the second son in his old clan, which meant he was a very low ranking member. By leaving his old clan, he had the chance to be Quintis-providing the young lady he was courting agreed to marry him.

Gerit pushed those thoughts out of his head. Even after living among these people for a year, he didn't understand them any better then when he first arrived. If anything, he was more confused. Keriss stopped his horse and slid to the ground next to Gerit. Wisps of brown hair had pulled out of his braid and blew across his high cheekbones.

"I'll bet you are wondering why I am here, Outlander." Keriss asked as he flopped to the ground next to Gerit. Gerit grinned, enjoying the easy-going sense of humor that all Nami seemed to possess.

"I'm sure you'll tell me, when you feel like it." Gerit said dryly, in his accented Nami.

"Your wife sent me. Drove me out here, is more like it." Keriss shut his eyes and leaned his head back to enjoy the last of the day's heat on his face. He continued, "Some lowly messenger shows up, and she chases me to find you."

"Messenger?" Gerit asked, coming to attention.

"That's what I said. He's from the Gyra clan. I don't trust them, they are not worthy of that." Keriss said angrily. Gerit stood, stretching his arms over his head in a careless fashion. Keriss opened one eye and squinted up at him.

"If my wife chased you out here, don't you think we should be returning quickly?" Gerit turned back toward Johann.

"What's this 'we' business, Outlander?" Keriss demanded with a smile, "Kerianna requests your presence, not mine." He pushed himself up with a sigh, showing what an effort it was.

Gerit picked up the trailing rein and pulled himself up into the pad that the Nami used as saddles. Keriss performed the same manuever, looking more graceful then Gerit had. The pair turned their horses and headed back toward the camp.

Keriss took Gerit's horse and left him standing there. Gerit headed toward the Common Tent, holding back the flap and ducking inside. He took a minute to let his eyes adjust to the dark inside of the tent before looking around for Kerianna.

He found her sitting in the corner, in serious conversation from the looks of her face. He paused, studying her as she knelt in the tent. Her hair hung straight and red to the middle of her back. A small braid hung from her temple, a sign of her status as keeper of the herds of the Hyfreen Clan. He couldn't see them now, but he knew her eyes were green. She wore the sleeveless tunic of the Plainsmen, belted with a woven belt with blue beads that twinkled in the firelight of the tent. The leggings fitted her very well, something that caused a surge of protectiveness from her husband. The boots she wore were soft, and very supple. They reached almost to her knees. She looked up and saw him there. With a brilliant smile, she waved him over. He went, dropping to his knees across from her and the messenger.

"Gerit Quintis, this is the messenger from Gyra clan." She told him. He looked over warily, meeting the familiar gaze of his old friend. The messenger was no more then a spy from Anganoc, Gerit's homeland. He was one of the spies known as the King's Shadow, and he spent a majority of his time among the Nami. Gerit knew him as Destruction, having gone through his own Shadow training with him. Of course, Destruction knew Gerit better under the name of Mayhem. He knew Kerianna as well, having helped her through her own training into the Shadows. She had earned the name of Chaos, but reverted to her birthname when Mayhem and her had been exiled to the Plains. Mayhem had a bad feeling about this; Destruction had been Kerianna's lover. She had ended it, but Destruction refused to give her up.

Destruction looked at his old friend, clinically studying the changes the past year and a half had brought. The familiar bright blue eyes watched him out of a tanned face. His black hair had grown unfashionably long, a few wisps dancing free from the tail in the back of his head. Destruction's cold gaze drifted down to the tattoos on Gerit's shoulder. They started on his bicep, working up onto his shoulder and continued under the sleeveless tunic he wore. Destruction took in the new tattoo that formed a intricate band around Mayhem's bicep. His gaze flickered over to the matching one on Kerianna's arm. His features became colder.

"Gerit Quintis, Light of the day upon you." Destruction told him, his voice nuetral. Gerit didn't respond, his rank among the Hyfreen allowing him to ignore the other man's greeting.

"Perhaps we can walk and finish this conversation." Kerianna suggested. Both the men across from her nodded and rose to follow her out the door.

No one spoke until they were outside. Chaos found herself holding her breath. Mayhem and Destruction were doing there best to ignore each other.

"Why do I feel like you two are going to tear each other's throat out?" she asked, out loud in their native tongue of Anganoc. Mayhem looked at her, surprise in his eyes. Destruction kept his face blank.

"That's going a bit too far, don't you think?" Destruction asked Mayhem coldly, ignoring Kerianna's statement.

"What is?" Mayhem asked warily.

"You're tattoo. I know you needed to hide, but did you have to use her in that way?" Destruction demanded, stopping to cross his arms and glare at him.

"Who said I am using her?" Mayhem stopped, returning Destruction's glare. Destruction's gaze narrowed.

"will both of you stop it?" Chaos asked, crossing her arms to glare at them both, "I'm sure Destruction didn't ride all the way down here to pick a fight with Mayhem."

"No, I have messages for you both." Destruction admitted, reaching into his pouch to pull out several letters. He handed them to Chaos, choosing to ignore Mayhem's outstretched hand. Mayhem sighed, and withdrew his hand.

Chaos looked over the first message. It appeared to be torn from an official notice of the Council of Anganoc:

"It is by the decree of the Council of Anganoc that, after considerable examinations and medical advice, that King Hinnadat is mentally unable to handle the power associated with the throne of Anganoc. It is with the hopes of protecting our Kingdom and people from the threat of Out kingdom Threats that we remove the power of the King. Anganoc needs guidance and a protector, and to fill this capacity we appoint the First born son of the King Hinnadat to serve as Prince Regent."

Wordlessly, she handed it to Mayhem and opened the second. It was also another piece of an offical notice from the Council. Chaos was willing to bet it was a different notice:

"The Council, under the direct orders of our Prince Regent, has given considerable consideration to the purpose of the organization known as King's Shadows. Their purpose of spying and assassination, under presumed orders of the Royal Family, serves no true purpose except to keep the people of Anganoc in a constant state of fear. They exist only as an archaic link to evil dictatorship. To support this conclusion the council has voted and passed on the disbandment of the organization known as the Shadows. The Prince Regent has further decreed that any Shadow captured and returned to this council for Judgment will be worth five thousand Pei to the person, or persons, who turn them in."

"It seems really vague. 'Threat of Out Kingdom threats?' Is that the best they can do?" she asked Destruction. He shrugged, and waited for Mayhem to read the second note.

"Is Nemesis okay?" she asked worridly. Mayhem shoved the letters in his own belt pouch, and pulled her close to him. She allowed herself to be hugged, ignoring Destruction for the comfort she could take from Mayhem.

"Hey, you know the old man will be all right. He was a Shadow before any of us." Mayhem told her gently.

"He's fine, Caz. He escaped fine." Destruction told her, trying to ignore Mayhem's arms around her.

"Escaped?" both Mayhem and Chaos asked.

"That is a long story that Thanatos will explain better then I will. I have your orders. You are to go to the tavern in a town called Mytan. Everyone who is left is there and waiting for the next move."

"It will be tough, this proclamation will fuel any Anti-Shadow sympathy for that amount of money." He rested his cheek on her hair. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, "How soon can you be ready to go?"

"Tonight if necessary. Oh, wait. I must talk to my aunt."

"Is it necessary?" Mayhem asked.

"Let her speak to her aunt." Destruction demanded.

"Dee, back off. I won't keep her from her family."

"Both of you stop it." Chaos demanded, pulling out of Mayhem's arms. "I will not return to Anganoc if the pair of you can't keep from picking at each other. Do you understand me?"

Both men managed to look sheepish-although Mayhem's performance was a bit more convincing then Destruction's. Chaos rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she turned and left them standing in the twilight.