"Great Hiddukel!" Kodan was disoriented from his first trip through time and space by magic. His eyes were wide and his jaw dropped. "You were serious. There is another world."
Hyakuhei let Miraria rest on the rock floor. Her lips were stained with the cleric's blood, but the rise and fall of the sky blue robes showed that she was still alive. "Would I lie to you?"
Kodan grinned. "Yes."
Hyakuhei laughed as she rose to her feet. "Take the girl. My bond calls..." Almost as if she was in a trance, the human demon walked down the dark hall towards what appeared to be darkness itself.
Kodan, who was fairly pleased that his plan to trap the foolish cleric had worked, picked the small girl up easily and followed. He was no longer afraid of the dark, he embraced it. This new world thing was a little freaky, but with Hyakuhei's strong leadership, he knew he could handle anything. That faith was put to the test almost immediately.
As soon as he entered the chamber, he could see again. The light was dismal, but sufficient. In his semi-dazed state, it seemed to be coming from Miraria. He was not dazed by the darkness, he was dazed by what the pathetic light revealed.
Hyakuhei was safe in the embrace of a hydra. Kodan's jaw just about hit the floor. The creature that she called Hottan Matsu was blood red for the most part, with wings as dark as night. It's heads were multicoloured and all vicious. The twenty minds called to their mistress and Hyakuhei answered with a howl. "Beloved! We have found a friend."
Kodan just about lost his resolve and left, but something kept his feet glued to the floor. The shining girl in his arms stirred and began to wake. The first thing she saw was the creature and a shriek escaped her lips. She struggled to get out of Kodan's arms, but he threw her to the ground in front of the hydra. Watching her struggle with her fear made Kodan forget his. It was funny to see the silly cleric in a state of absolute panic. "Holy Mishakal! Protect me!" She held the blue infinity sign up in front of her and it burned with a holy light.
The tail of the great evil beast whipped the medallion from her hand and shattered it on the wall. Hyakuhei laughed. "She can't hear you anymore."
Miraria fell to the ground in tears, her strength leaving her. This is what my goddess meant. This is what I must face. Kodan will help me. I helped him! She turned her tear-stained face to the man, begging with him to help as he had pleaded with her.
Kodan laughed, cutting Miraria's hopes to shreds. "I really missed my calling in life huh? I should have taken to the stage. Girl, I only wanted you because you were my ticket here. My ticket to power..." No longer fearful, Kodan looked on Hottan Mastu with envy. To think that Hyakuhei controlled that beast. To think he could control a similar beast. As Kodan had made the plans to capture the cleric, Hyakuhei had told him about her world and the hydras. She told him about Krent and Enma, Toth and Vienna and how she was going to overthrow them. She told him how he was going to help. Part of Kodan knew that he was being bespelled. He knew that he would not normally be okay with the vision of a hydra. Hyakuhei, though weak of body, was strong of mind. She'd found a cold-hearted killer and was moulding him into her servant.
She grinned and stroked Hottan Matsu's main head. The other's begged for her attention, her recognition, but she was not in the mood. They quieted, not daring to challenge Hyakuhei's mental powers. "You will travel to Cy Dragonstake, with your lovely cleric. If they find you worthy, the power will be yours."
"Why must I take the cleric?" He sneered. She was still sobbing on the floor. Something about not wanting this adventure. She'd probably lost her mind. "Just let your great beast eat her."
Hyakuhei grinned. "No...let your great beast eat her." She waved her hand and Hottan Matsu knocked the girl back into Kodan's arms. "Do what you will with her until the hatching. Torture her, rape her, it matters not to me. On the day of the hatching, offer her to any hydra who approaches you. Prove your worthiness."
Kodan nodded, thinking that the evil girl was on to something. He was sure the shining cleric would at least amuse him until the time of the hatching. "Yes." He pulled her close to him, loving the fact that she was trembling in fear, muttering prayers that would go unanswered.
"I will send you there in the morning. Until then, rest up." Hyakuhei turned and left and it was obvious Kodan was meant to wander the halls at will. He found some rope and tied Miraria to his bed, making sure he ripped most of her clothing at the same time. Laughing, he left to enjoy himself. He took the only light.
"Mishakal, Holy Healer..." Miraria's voice cracked, her throat sore from being bitten by the demon-girl and from sobbing for so long. She was terrified and she couldn't reach her goddess. She knew that she was going to die a horrible tortured death, and all because she couldn't stand to see a man, even an evil man, in pain. "Pity, mercy, compassion..." She shivered in the darkness. "Mishakal, Holy Healer, help me." The words went unanswered. The peace of the gods didn't come. Miraria knew she was all alone. This is what Mishakal had meant. This was her fate. "All because of love...all pain, because of caring." She sniffed and continued to sob. "Holy Healer, Blue Lady, don't leave me alone!! Please!! Don't let him hurt me!! Don't let him touch me!! Don't let him kill me!" The only response to the prayer was the sound of distant laughter. "Mishakal...Holy Healer..." The words sounded empty and far away. Her goddess wasn't coming. She sniffled, closing her eyes on the darkness only to find more darkness. "Help me..." It was a foolish plea, made by a foolish girl, who knew that she'd been left to her fate. "Blue Lady..." Miraria kept her eyes closed tight, no longer wasting her breath on a goddess who wasn't listening.
Alone in the darkness she began to glow...
So what happens at Cy Dragonstake? 
Kodan and Miraria are going to Cy Dragonstake.
Background from Morion Designs.