Chapter 1 Cothzin ran and leaped with all his might feeling the blazing sting of a fireball graze his leg He rolled down the grassy hill and looked for cover He found it in a small hollow on the side of the hill he had just rolled down He climbed in and waited for the inevitable COTHZIN! Emerge WITH the Scarab or face the concequences! yelled Katovorkh And allow it into the possession of one so vile as yourself I would not ask such sacrifices were I you It shall never be yours! Were I forced to choose between my death and the scarab falling into your hands I should choose the former for I know what you would use your power for and I cannot allow that answered Cothzin Then you would die to prevent my use of the Scarab I am afraid you cannot stop me from getting the Scarab but your request for death is one I will honor with pleasure You have chosen to die and die you will Cothzin! With that Cothzin realized the full measure of Katovorkh s hate he would stop at nothing for the power that ate away at him from his bones to his flesh indeed his very heart He realized he was going to die and if he did not act quickly it was likely that his entire land would be destroyed along with him He had to get rid of the Scarab somewhere Knowing he was as good as dead he concentrated for a minute and the familiar yellow glow sprang fourth from the deepest depths of his mind and then following it the Sign that he had reached the state he needed to cast his enchantments He knew the sorcery he needed He knew it was within his power to cast it He simply did not know if he could bring himself to cast it to destroy himself even at the risk of losing everything he held dear if he did not He broke through the yellow and was facing himself He saw Katovorkh outside readying his hateful magick to destroy him He saw his family at home not knowing where he was or the danger and impeding destruction he faced He suddenly knew not in his mind but in his heart that they had to live that he must die so that so many could live But he knew not if he had the time to save them He ripped a hole in the very air surroundings and climbed through He saw much and understood nothing He took a piece of that reality and wrapped it around the Scarab and heaved it into the hollow He then returned to reality and went to face Katovorkh outside Come and get it Katovorkh its all yours He said with a smile Katovorkh was worried He wanted the Scarab but this worried him Why would Cothzin give it up The answer was obvious to him He had not What have you done with the Scarab imbicile! screamed Katovorkh I have put it in a place that you should easily find it Right over there in the cave I will lead you to it if you desire Cothzin said with a carefully false cheerfulness turning towards the cave Katovorkh didn t like something about this he had not thought of Cothzin as such an easy win However he was not one to mistrust good fortune and this certainly was good fortune Fine then lead the way Cothzin brought him to the cave and pointed to the Scarab Katovorkh grabbed for it and felt a strange sensation His body filled with energy and felt near to the point bursting His heart filled with power and his life-blood ran and bursted from his flesh His hair stood on end with the vast power it felt and his eyes and stomach churned His flesh blackened his hands curled into black shivering balls of burning flesh and it was over I won I WON! exclaimed Cothzin breathlessly not realizing the cave s natural unstability The power of what had recently flowed through it had weakened the already nearly collapsing walls and ceiling and it started to fall in upon him There was not even time enough to think it started with a rock falling upon his head and knocking him unconcious and then it finished him off with the power of a tidal wave