Green waves so deep they seemed black crashed against the rocky shores with rash intensity on the southern pole of *Ishpha, a world of luxury and exotic resources within the *Valcun system. Filled with a fine salty substance that glistened like diamonds, the sea shined in a magnificent fashion as pockets of water popped like rave lights in the setting sun. Thunder clouds came from the east in force as if to challenge the rays for command of the sea knowing the sun was setting, cracks followed the bright white bolts of light splitting the sky almost as if they were attempting to synchronize with the sea beneath them. The night was young and The *Doothais, or The Scythe of Respite hung in mid to low orbit, its long sleek hull like a ebony talon that had cut through the fabric of the sky. 

Inside one of its many chambers a feminine figure stood in front of a glowing orb with 6 rings of light and darkness which alternated one within the next as they all rotated around the center mass. The room was lit somewhat dimly allowing the waves of energy from the field to illuminate it in a soft, but abstract strobing manner. Within the orb itself something or someone was present, its form a black shadowy substance floating inside the center. Motionless and unspeaking, yet… 

‘You seek to be silent forever? It will serve you no good. You may never be free of.. here, if you do not open up. You do desire to be free don’t you?’ The feminine being asked, long *antennacles hanging down her back. The mask she wore had 3 eyes down its center with no mouth or nose designation, the edges spiked around the outside of its face like the jaws of a beast were closing over it. The look in each eye expressed a different feeling. There was pity, sorrow, and intrigue. Still the shadow in the center of the orb said nothing, it’s silence like a taunt in and of itself. 

‘Your history is not unknown to me. I know the paths of our peoples have crossed in fire and ash in a time before I took this form in birth. I know you may even remember from experience’

The phantom had not expected it to respond, though she had spoken to it time and again. Often she had come here after her routine looks into the lifelines that made that tapestry of fate known to the Lividians and some others as the *Lylak. The chamber was quiet and she was most often alone here, besides the thing, it’s very existence unnerving most of her kin. It had never responded with anything so much as a twitch to her questions or statements. Like a gap in existence it’s shadowy form showed no signs of amusement or even comprehension. Still, was it that it couldn't speak or would not? Though all evidence pointed towards the former, she had suspected the ladder to be true. 

It had been at least a quarter of the planet's yearly cycle that she had continued to come and visit the thing. Some part inside of her felt a connection to it. Not so much fondness or comfort, but a strange bond in conflict unresolved or perhaps a strong sentiment that’s been withheld for eons. The Specter had imagined something more to the darkness and their interest was her interest.

“Hm. As you wish. Whatever mystery is locked away deep within you, though she was intrigued, I know better than to offer you bond with my mind, at least for now.’

The feeling around it was so cold it almost stung to the touch of her extended will and spirit. Something about it was certainly alive, but for now it chose to remain hidden and she would have to respect its wishes. Her mask changed expression again, the eyes now in a triangular form each offering a sharp glance.

“One day we will not be allowed to meet here together under such relaxed circumstances. Until then…” her voice was soft and sincere as if to articulate that she held no animosity in the claim. It was merely a fact. As she left the room the shadowy figure remained silent and still. She did not look back, it was time for more important matters.

A tall, fit being stood towards the edge of the bridge within the ship, an elegant robe with various accents and orbiting accessories draped over their body leaving part of their ripped midriff exposed. A single large eye reflected in the glass staring out at the horizon of the sky and the stars that glistened like tiny pearls in the void. As a few others monitored their stations in the surrounding area, various screens and orbs transmitting all kinds of information, another in a more aesthetic garb walked in through the main entrance to the bridge and approached the gazing specter. It was the phantom. As the two stood side by side in silence, the specter gestured and the crew of the bridge exited with calm haste, their movements elegant and serene. 

The specter spoke,

‘It would seem a storm has begun to stir on the horizon of conquest.. The spirit of chaos is drifting further from slumber. What have the ethers brought to the listening ears of the Phantom of tears?’ The specter’s voice was stern, and yet somehow tranquil, his words like strong feathers adrift in a cool stream. The phantom prepared to reply, the mask on her face now had two eyes and again changed expression as if it were her real face, except it did not move like muscle and flesh from the blank stare it had displayed. It simply became somber as if the previous expression had never been.

‘Yes, as you’ve prophesied the ethers have begun singing of the crashing of the skies and the crushing of mountains. The peace of rest must now take time itself to do the same as youth and experience renew their rivalry anew for the hand of fate. Voices both fresh from the wombs of their birthworlds and ancient, old as the stars themselves will join in the harmony of war, their many fates bound like threads of fire and lightning as the face of madness manifests smiles upon them all through a light of golden darkness.. Though the song has only just begun, its conclusion yet to be written, it is no lie that the stage of war is being set and the emotions of many souls in a struggle for control will cause great calamity’. 

The specter contemplated for a moment, his mind as wise as any from Wehsono, a special sub sect of the greater Loc-Yaynozii Empire. 

‘Hmm, and our role to play?’ He asked, intrigued, but still staring into the darkening sky. 

‘We are to sing and dance as well and as always, our roles will be many and shifting throughout the performance.’ The voice of the phantom was soft but filled with emotion somehow raw yet also tamed, the grace with which he passionately spoke indicative of the Lividians rich dialect and emotional intelligence. 

‘And the first tear?’, the specter now turning his gaze upon the phantom as he asked his question. 

A moment of silence again passed before the phantom spoke, her gaze meeting his. 

‘It has already been shed by whom you shall dance with in the opening act. The performance will push forth the song into its next act. You should know your partner is capable and her voice rides powerfully on wings of noir light. The outcome of this engagement will be pivotal… There is a strangeness that I cannot yet discern in the carol of fate of her people and ours.’

The specter gazed back out into the sky, his eye intense and genuine, a single tear of azure blood running down his cheek. 

‘Speak your mind, Oah. I would not have you troubled, especially not as we move forward now though in the end, I know you know there are no secrets to keep from me’ The specter said in a slightly threatening tone as his authority and powers made the statement a fact need only manifest by his whim, but it was the sincerity of his concern for his vision and the phantom that truly underlined his motives as he tenuously relaxed. The phantom gave a slight bow in apology as well as agreement. 

‘The prisoner has not spoken. It has not.. Responded in any way, but. But I-

‘You suspect it is hiding something. No, rather simply that it IS? You are correct to be concerned to the extent that it is indeed something living. Something even we have no real perception of so the anomaly of it is unsettling…’

He reached out placing his hand on her shoulder without breaking his fixed look out into the sea of space. 

‘I know you spend more time there than i’v asked of you and I know you know I know this.’ The specter said, the calm of his voice almost serene, ‘Do as you wish and have no fear. I am glad you are curious. It is only natural that you would be as your mind begins to bloom and make no mistake’ the specter now turned his head, his eye like piercing light into the phantom's very being even with her mask on, before he continued. 

‘Your mind is special Oah. Do not sully it and allow distraction from your task or the essence of what it is and where it comes from. Too much intrigue is not safe’

The phantom simply nodded, her mask now a blank face other than the fangs that now  were closer together as if they had become a gate shutting away the emotions inside leaving nothing but the clear resolve of oblivion.

The specter took one last look into the line where the heavens met the earth and made the sky within.

‘…And so it begins…’