Edit History

The sextet of Hunters, plus one tiny, highly animated mini-beholder, quickly broke contact with the undead horde, and their floating, unliving monstrosity of a master. They made their speedy getaway, by various means, to the north of the trading post, and were almost immediately able to lose themselves in the wide, lush grasslands that abutted the small village. Unfortunately, they were, despite their incredible speed, relentlessly pursued by the ever more rapidly expanding Portal.

The whole time, Anima, who was still firmly affixed to Nivel's shoulder, continued to urge them on every time they tried to stop. The initial estimate by Cryoleptus, of a single furlong, proved to be entirely inadequate, as, within seconds, that limiter was blown away by the multiplicative increases in the expanding ring of the Portal event horizon, as well as the terrifying, all consuming darkness that was at it's center.

Before the group had gone more than a few seconds, the sphere had expanded to such a degree that the trading post, as well as it's entire compliment of comparatively slow moving Zyclops, not to mention the frozen and encased in stone Death Tyrant, were reduced to so much cosmic dust...and still the Portal and Sphere advanced.

Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hunters poured on the speed, sprinting, leaping, and flying away to the north, all the time urged on by the high pitched, frantic voice of a small, seemingly helpful, little abomination.

Just as it seemed that they'd finally outrun the electric, nullity fueled death that was chasing them, two members of their team had a horrifying vision rip through their consciousness. Devlin, happening to glance over his shoulder as he sped away saw a massive burst of temporal energy suddenly pour forth from the center of the inky black sphere. Alternate timelines literally ripped their way into the Now, each one beating on him in waves of pure psyhic agony. Agony that was, to a lesser extent, both through their own various abilities to affect Time, as well as Monique's spell that was currently allowing them to slip more efficiently through Time's Stream, shared by all the other Hunters. Such was the extent of the raw, horrifying power, that it nearly drove them all to their knees, and it was only through sheer will that any of them were able to continue moving.

Worse still, however, was the sight that lurked in the center of that maelstrom of chaotic, collapsing entropy...a sight that, fortunately for five of them, only one of their number could discern. To Monique, it looked as though the sky itself had been rent asunder. From the boiling chaos at the heart of the null sphere, a mass of what appeared to be snarled, tangled 'threads' appeared. Threads which were shattered, shredded, and then stitched back together by a madman, all in the space of a single heartbeat.

A massive pulse of pure, raw, causal quintessence ERUPTED from the center of the sphere. The snarl of 'threads' was, for that tiny picosecond, etched on the retinas of all and sundry, and then everything evaporated in a blaze of blue-white, actinic light, as the lightning laced edge of the portal swooped over them all, moving faster than they could possibly react to.

Darkness swallowed them, and their worlds were reduced to snippets...shards of raw, unadulterated agony. It felt like the very foundations of their lives...their immortal souls...were torn apart and scattered on the Astral winds. For a timeless time, the six...no...the seven...drifted in a sea of pure pain. Pain that existed on a soul deep level, pain that drove them all to the brink of madness...and beyond.

The seven passed out of all seeing.

Out of all knowing.

Out of all sensing.

Until only the agony of their tormented souls remained...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...Surcease.

From somewhere within, the Seven felt...peace.

A balm, spreading over their spirits, over their consciousness, soothing away the pain. Dulling the memory of it, and staving off the insanity that it's near continuous touch had inflicted.

A mingling, myriad of voices, a seven part harmony, flowed through the aether.

A grand note THRUMMED through each of them, as though the cords of their souls had somehow been plucked by the world's most expert harpist.

And without warning, the seven found themselves whole and hearty, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The air was calm, peaceful, with the first hints of a freshening sea breeze coming off the ocean. Birdsong came from the nearby trees, and the sound of insects and other small animals drifted on the breeze.

Just ahead of them, a large cabin sat, it's walls weathered by salt and wind. It was abutted on two sides by a small, rough stone wall, and a small garden sat off to one side, as well as multiple flower beds. A stovepipe poked up from the roof of the cabin, but no telltale hint of smoke indicated that the place was currently inhabited, and no light shone through the large windows.

Turning in a complete circle, the Hunters, as well as their mini-beholder companion, who was still attached firmly to Nivel's shoulder, could see that they were surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The cabin on a cliff was at the northernmost tip of a spit of land that extended into the water for nearly a mile. Looking about, everything seemed normal. The landscape was peaceful, almost idyllic, rolling grasslands, dotted by the occasional copse of trees or field of wildflowers. The nearby cliffs appeared to be some type of pale, grey granite, and were home to great clouds of seabirds and other wildlife.

Far to the South, however, things had changed...and not for the better. A few miles away, presumably the location of the former Guild trading post, there was...nothing. Nothing except the sea. It was as though the hand of a deity had reached down and scooped up the entire center of that part of the eyeland, and into the resulting hole had rushed uncountable gallons of seawater.

The missing land appeared to be the bottom half of a sphere...the upper half simply being the air...approximately a mile across. Combined with the natural bay that had already existed in the area already, it rather cleanly cut that part of the Oculus Isle in two.

The sight was both awe inspiring, and more than a little terrifying.

Stopping to take stock in themselves, the seven felt...strange. Each of them could feel, deep within themselves, that a new wellspring of might had opened, deep in their souls. Power unlike anything they'd ever experienced filled them to overflowing...literally. As they all looked about, each could see little whorls of energy, tiny firefly flickers of light spinning and dancing around their companions. Their eyes, including all eleven of Anima's, sparkled with power, visible even in the early morning light.

The very air around them hummed with the promise of a new beginning. 

The sextet of Hunters, plus one tiny, highly animated mini-beholder, quickly broke contact with the undead horde, and their floating, unliving monstrosity of a master. They made their speedy getaway, by various means, to the north of the trading post, and were almost immediately able to lose themselves in the wide, lush grasslands that abutted the small village. Unfortunately, they were, despite their incredible speed, relentlessly pursued by the ever more rapidly expanding Portal.

The whole time, Anima, who was still firmly affixed to Nivel's shoulder, continued to urge them on every time they tried to stop. The initial estimate by Cryoleptus, of a single furlong, proved to be entirely inadequate, as, within seconds, that limiter was blown away by the multiplicative increases in the expanding ring of the Portal event horizon, as well as the terrifying, all consuming darkness that was at it's center.

Before the group had gone more than a few seconds, the sphere had expanded to such a degree that the trading post, as well as it's entire compliment of comparatively slow moving Zyclops, not to mention the frozen and encased in stone Death Tyrant, were reduced to so much cosmic dust...and still the Portal and Sphere advanced.

Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hunters poured on the speed, sprinting, leaping, and flying away to the north, all the time urged on by the high pitched, frantic voice of a small, seemingly helpful, little abomination.

Just as it seemed that they'd finally outrun the electric, nullity fueled death that was chasing them, two members of their team had a horrifying vision rip through their consciousness. Devlin, happening to glance over his shoulder as he sped away saw a massive burst of temporal energy suddenly pour forth from the center of the inky black sphere. Alternate timelines literally ripped their way into the Now, each one beating on him in waves of pure psyhic agony. Agony that was, to a lesser extent, both through their own various abilities to affect Time, as well as Monique's spell that was currently allowing them to slip more efficiently through Time's Stream, shared by all the other Hunters. Such was the extent of the raw, horrifying power, that it nearly drove them all to their knees, and it was only through sheer will that any of them were able to continue moving.

Worse still, however, was the sight that lurked in the center of that maelstrom of chaotic, collapsing entropy...a sight that, fortunately for five of them, only one of their number could discern. To Monique, it looked as though the sky itself had been rent asunder. From the boiling chaos at the heart of the null sphere, a mass of what appeared to be snarled, tangled 'threads' appeared. Threads which were shattered, shredded, and then stitched back together by a madman, all in the space of a single heartbeat.

A massive pulse of pure, raw, causal quintessence ERUPTED from the center of the sphere. The snarl of 'threads' was, for that tiny picosecond, etched on the retinas of all and sundry, and then everything evaporated in a blaze of blue-white, actinic light, as the lightning laced edge of the portal swooped over them all, moving faster than they could possibly react to.

Darkness swallowed them, and their worlds were reduced to snippets...shards of raw, unadulterated agony. It felt like the very foundations of their lives...their immortal souls...were torn apart and scattered on the Astral winds. For a timeless time, the six...no...the seven...drifted in a sea of pure pain. Pain that existed on a soul deep level, pain that drove them all to the brink of madness...and beyond.

The seven passed out of all seeing.

Out of all knowing.

Out of all sensing.

Until only the agony of their tormented souls remained...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...Surcease.

From somewhere within, the Seven felt...peace.

A balm, spreading over their spirits, over their consciousness, soothing away the pain. Dulling the memory of it, and staving off the insanity that it's near continuous touch had inflicted.

A mingling, myriad of voices, a seven part harmony, flowed through the aether.

A grand note THRUMMED through each of them, as though the cords of their souls had somehow been plucked by the world's most expert harpist.

And without warning, the seven found themselves whole and hearty, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The air was calm, peaceful, with the first hints of a freshening sea breeze coming off the ocean. Birdsong came from the nearby trees, and the sound of insects and other small animals drifted on the breeze.

Just ahead of them, a large cabin sat, it's walls weathered by salt and wind. It was abutted on two sides by a small, rough stone wall, and a small garden sat off to one side, as well as multiple flower beds. A stovepipe poked up from the roof of the cabin, but no telltale hint of smoke indicated that the place was currently inhabited, and no light shone through the large windows.

Turning in a complete circle, the Hunters, as well as their mini-beholder companion, who was still attached firmly to Nivel's shoulder, could see that they were surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The cabin on a cliff was at the northernmost tip of a spit of land that extended into the water for nearly a mile. Looking about, everything seemed normal. The landscape was peaceful, almost idyllic, rolling grasslands, dotted by the occasional copse of trees or field of wildflowers. The nearby cliffs appeared to be some type of pale, grey granite, and were home to great clouds of seabirds and other wildlife.

Far to the South, however, that things changed...and not for the better. A few miles away, presumably the location of the former Guild trading post, there was...nothing. Nothing except the sea. It was as though the hand of a deity had reached down and scooped up the entire center of that part of the eyeland, and into the resulting hole had rushed uncountable gallons of seawater.

The missing land appeared to be the bottom half of a sphere...the upper half simply being the air...approximately a mile across. Combined with the natural bay that had already existed in the area already, it rather cleanly cut that part of the Oculus Isle in two.

The sight was both awe inspiring, and more than a little terrifying.

Stopping to take stock in themselves, the seven felt...strange. Each of them could feel, deep within themselves, that a new wellspring of might had opened, deep in their souls. Power unlike anything they'd ever experienced filled them to overflowing...literally. As they all looked about, each could see little whorls of energy, tiny firefly flickers of light spinning and dancing around their companions. Their eyes, including all eleven of Anima's, sparkled with power, visible even in the early morning light.

The very air around them hummed with the promise of a new beginning. 

The sextet of Hunters, plus one tiny, highly animated mini-beholder, quickly broke contact with the undead horde, and their floating, unliving monstrosity of a master. They made their speedy getaway, by various means, to the north of the trading post, and were almost immediately able to lose themselves in the wide, lush grasslands that abutted the small village. Unfortunately, they were, despite their incredible speed, relentlessly pursued by the ever more rapidly expanding Portal.

The whole time, Anima, who was still firmly affixed to Nivel's shoulder, continued to urge them on every time they tried to stop. The initial estimate by Cryoleptus, of a single furlong, proved to be entirely inadequate, as, within seconds, that limiter was blown away by the multiplicative increases in the expanding ring of the Portal event horizon, as well as the terrifying, all consuming darkness that was at it's center.

Before the group had gone more than a few seconds, the sphere had expanded to such a degree that the trading post, as well as it's entire compliment of comparatively slow moving Zyclops, not to mention the frozen and encased in stone Death Tyrant, were reduced to so much cosmic dust...and still the Portal and Sphere advanced.

Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hunters poured on the speed, sprinting, leaping, and flying away to the north, all the time urged on by the high pitched, frantic voice of a small, seemingly helpful, little abomination.

Just as it seemed that they'd finally outrun the electric, nullity fueled death that was chasing them, two members of their team had a horrifying vision rip through their consciousness. Devlin, happening to glance over his shoulder as he sped away saw a massive burst of temporal energy suddenly pour forth from the center of the inky black sphere. Alternate timelines literally ripped their way into the Now, each one beating on him in waves of pure psyhic agony. Agony that was, to a lesser extent, both through their own various abilities to affect Time, as well as Monique's spell that was currently allowing them to slip more efficiently through Time's Stream, shared by all the other Hunters. Such was the extent of the raw, horrifying power, that it nearly drove them all to their knees, and it was only through sheer will that any of them were able to continue moving.

Worse still, however, was the sight that lurked in the center of that maelstrom of chaotic, collapsing entropy...a sight that, fortunately for five of them, only one of their number could discern. To Monique, it looked as though the sky itself had been rent asunder. From the boiling chaos at the heart of the null sphere, a mass of what appeared to be snarled, tangled 'threads' appeared. Threads which were shattered, shredded, and then stitched back together by a madman, all in the space of a single heartbeat.

A massive pulse of pure, raw, causal quintessence ERUPTED from the center of the sphere. The snarl of 'threads' was, for that tiny picosecond, etched on the retinas of all and sundry, and then everything evaporated in a blaze of blue-white, actinic light, as the lightning laced edge of the portal swooped over them all, moving faster than they could possibly react to.

Darkness swallowed them, and their worlds were reduced to snippets...shards of raw, unadulterated agony. It felt like the very foundations of their lives...their immortal souls...were torn apart and scattered on the Astral winds. For a timeless time, the six...no...the seven...drifted in a sea of pure pain. Pain that existed on a soul deep level, pain that drove them all to the brink of madness...and beyond.

The seven passed out of all seeing.

Out of all knowing.

Out of all sensing.

Until only the agony of their tormented souls remained...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...Surcease.

From somewhere within, the Seven felt...peace.

A balm, spreading over their spirits, over their consciousness, soothing away the pain. Dulling the memory of it, and staving off the insanity that it's near continuous touch had inflicted.

A mingling, myriad of voices, a seven part harmony, flowed through the aether.

A grand note THRUMMED through each of them, as though the cords of their souls had somehow been plucked by the world's most expert harpist.

And without warning, the seven found themselves whole and hearty, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The air was calm, peaceful, with the first hints of a freshening sea breeze coming off the ocean. Birdsong came from the nearby trees, and the sound of insects and other small animals drifted on the breeze.

Just ahead of them, a large cabin sat, it's walls weathered by salt and wind. It was abutted on two sides by a small, rough stone wall, and a small garden sat off to one side, as well as multiple flower beds. A stovepipe poked up from the roof of the cabin, but no telltale hint of smoke indicated that the place was currently inhabited, and no light shone through the large windows.

Turning in a complete circle, the Hunters, as well as their mini-beholder companion who was still attached firmly to Nivel's shoulder, could see that they were surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The cabin on a cliff was at the northernmost tip of a spit of land that extended into the water for nearly a mile. Looking about, everything seemed normal. The landscape was peaceful, almost idyllic, rolling grasslands, dotted by the occasional copse of trees or field of wildflowers. The nearby cliffs appeared to be some type of pale, grey granite, and were home to great clouds of seabirds and other wildlife.

Far to the South, however, that things changed...and not for the better. A few miles away, presumably the location of the former Guild trading post, there was...nothing. Nothing except the sea. It was as though the hand of a deity had reached down and scooped up the entire center of that part of the eyeland, and into the resulting hole had rushed uncountable gallons of seawater.

The missing land appeared to be the bottom half of a sphere...the upper half simply being the air...approximately a mile across. Combined with the natural bay that had already existed in the area already, it rather cleanly cut that part of the Oculus Isle in two.

The sight was both awe inspiring, and more than a little terrifying.

Stopping to take stock in themselves, the seven felt...strange. Each of them could feel, deep within themselves, that a new wellspring of might had opened, deep in their souls. Power unlike anything they'd ever experienced filled them to overflowing...literally. As they all looked about, each could see little whorls of energy, tiny firefly flickers of light spinning and dancing around their companions. Their eyes, including all eleven of Anima's, sparkled with power, visible even in the early morning light.

The very air around them hummed with the promise of a new beginning. 

The sextet of Hunters, plus one tiny, highly animated mini-beholder, quickly broke contact with the undead horde, and their floating, unliving monstrosity of a master. They made their speedy getaway, by various means, to the north of the trading post, and were almost immediately able to lose themselves in the wide, lush grasslands that abutted the small village. Unfortunately, they were, despite their incredible speed, relentlessly pursued by the ever more rapidly expanding Portal.

The whole time, Anima, who was still firmly affixed to Nivel's shoulder, continued to urge them on every time they tried to stop. The initial estimate by Cryoleptus, of a single furlong, proved to be entirely inadequate, as, within seconds, that limiter was blown away by the multiplicative increases in the expanding ring of the Portal event horizon, as well as the terrifying, all consuming darkness that was at it's center.

Before the group had gone more than a few seconds, the sphere had expanded to such a degree that the trading post, as well as it's entire compliment of comparatively slow moving Zyclops, not to mention the frozen and encased in stone Death Tyrant, were reduced to so much cosmic dust...and still the Portal and Sphere advanced.

Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hunters poured on the speed, sprinting, leaping, and flying away to the north, all the time urged on by the high pitched, frantic voice of a small, seemingly helpful, little abomination.

Just as it seemed that they'd finally outrun the electric, nullity fueled death that was chasing them, two members of their team had a horrifying vision rip through their consciousness. Devlin, happening to glance over his shoulder as he sped away saw a massive burst of temporal energy suddenly pour forth from the center of the inky black sphere. Alternate timelines literally ripped their way into the Now, each one beating on him in waves of pure psyhic agony. Agony that was, to a lesser extent, both through their own various abilities to affect Time, as well as Monique's spell that was currently allowing them to slip more efficiently through Time's Stream, shared by all the other Hunters. Such was the extent of the raw, horrifying power, that it nearly drove them all to their knees, and it was only through sheer will that any of them were able to continue moving.

Worse still, however, was the sight that lurked in the center of that maelstrom of chaotic, collapsing entropy...a sight that, fortunately for five of them, only one of their number could discern. To Monique, it looked as though the sky itself had been rent asunder. From the boiling chaos at the heart of the null sphere, a mass of what appeared to be snarled, tangled 'threads' appeared. Threads which were shattered, shredded, and then stitched back together by a madman, all in the space of a single heartbeat.

A massive pulse of pure, raw, quintessence ERUPTED from the center of the sphere. The snarl of 'threads' was, for that tiny picosecond, etched on the retinas of all and sundry, and then everything evaporated in a blaze of blue-white, actinic light, as the lightning laced edge of the portal swooped over them all, moving faster than they could possibly react to.

Darkness swallowed them, and their worlds were reduced to snippets...shards of raw, unadulterated agony. It felt like the very foundations of their lives...their immortal souls...were torn apart and scattered on the Astral winds. For a timeless time, the six...no...the seven...drifted in a sea of pure pain. Pain that existed on a soul deep level, pain that drove them all to the brink of madness...and beyond.

The seven passed out of all seeing.

Out of all knowing.

Out of all sensing.

Until only the agony of their tormented souls remained...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...Surcease.

From somewhere within, the Seven felt...peace.

A balm, spreading over their spirits, over their consciousness, soothing away the pain. Dulling the memory of it, and staving off the insanity that it's near continuous touch had inflicted.

A mingling, myriad of voices, a seven part harmony, flowed through the aether.

A grand note THRUMMED through each of them, as though the cords of their souls had somehow been plucked by the world's most expert harpist.

And without warning, the seven found themselves whole and hearty, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The air was calm, peaceful, with the first hints of a freshening sea breeze coming off the ocean. Birdsong came from the nearby trees, and the sound of insects and other small animals drifted on the breeze.

Just ahead of them, a large cabin sat, it's walls weathered by salt and wind. It was abutted on two sides by a small, rough stone wall, and a small garden sat off to one side, as well as multiple flower beds. A stovepipe poked up from the roof of the cabin, but no telltale hint of smoke indicated that the place was currently inhabited, and no light shone through the large windows.

Turning in a complete circle, the Hunters, as well as their mini-beholder companion who was still attached firmly to Nivel's shoulder, could see that they were surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The cabin on a cliff was at the northernmost tip of a spit of land that extended into the water for nearly a mile. Looking about, everything seemed normal. The landscape was peaceful, almost idyllic, rolling grasslands, dotted by the occasional copse of trees or field of wildflowers. The nearby cliffs appeared to be some type of pale, grey granite, and were home to great clouds of seabirds and other wildlife.

Far to the South, however, that things changed...and not for the better. A few miles away, presumably the location of the former Guild trading post, there was...nothing. Nothing except the sea. It was as though the hand of a deity had reached down and scooped up the entire center of that part of the eyeland, and into the resulting hole had rushed uncountable gallons of seawater.

The missing land appeared to be the bottom half of a sphere...the upper half simply being the air...approximately a mile across. Combined with the natural bay that had already existed in the area already, it rather cleanly cut that part of the Oculus Isle in two.

The sight was both awe inspiring, and more than a little terrifying.

Stopping to take stock in themselves, the seven felt...strange. Each of them could feel, deep within themselves, that a new wellspring of might had opened, deep in their souls. Power unlike anything they'd ever experienced filled them to overflowing...literally. As they all looked about, each could see little whorls of energy, tiny firefly flickers of light spinning and dancing around their companions. Their eyes, including all eleven of Anima's, sparkled with power, visible even in the early morning light.

The very air around them hummed with the promise of a new beginning. 

The sextet of Hunters, plus one tiny, highly animated mini-beholder, quickly broke contact with the undead horde, and their floating, unliving monstrosity of a master. They made their speedy getaway, by various means, to the north of the trading post, and were almost immediately able to lose themselves in the wide, lush grasslands that abutted the small village. Unfortunately, they were, despite their incredible speed, relentlessly pursued by the ever more rapidly expanding Portal.

The whole time, Anima, who was still firmly affixed to Nivel's shoulder, continued to urge them on every time they tried to stop. The initial estimate by Cryoleptus, of a single furlong, proved to be entirely inadequate, as, within seconds, that limiter was blown away by the multiplicative increases in the expanding ring of the Portal event horizon, as well as the terrifying, all consuming darkness that was at it's center.

Before the group had gone more than a few seconds, the sphere had expanded to such a degree that the trading post, as well as it's entire compliment of comparatively slow moving Zyclops, not to mention the frozen and encased in stone Death Tyrant, were reduced to so much cosmic dust...and still the Portal and Sphere advanced.

Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hunters poured on the speed, sprinting, leaping, and flying away to the north, all the time urged on by the high pitched, frantic voice of a small, seemingly helpful, little abomination.

Just as it seemed that they'd finally outrun the electric, nullity fueled death that was chasing them, two members of their team had a horrifying vision rip through their consciousness. Devlin, happening to glance over his shoulder as he sped away saw a massive burst of temporal energy suddenly pour forth from the center of the inky black sphere. Alternate timelines literally ripped their way into the Now, each one beating on him in waves of pure psyhic agony. Agony that was, to a lesser extent, both through their own various abilities to affect Time, as well as Monique's spell that was currently allowing them to slip more efficiently through Time's Stream. Such was the extent of the raw, horrifying power, that it nearly drove them all to their knees, and it was only through sheer will that any of them were able to continue moving.

Worse still, however, was the sight that lurked in the center of that maelstrom of chaotic, collapsing entropy...a sight that, fortunately for five of them, only one of their number could discern. To Monique, it looked as though the sky itself had been rent asunder. From the boiling chaos at the heart of the null sphere, a mass of what appeared to be snarled, tangled 'threads' appeared. Threads which were shattered, shredded, and then stitched back together by a madman, all in the space of a single heartbeat.

A massive pulse of pure, raw, quintessence ERUPTED from the center of the sphere. The snarl of 'threads' was, for that tiny picosecond, etched on the retinas of all and sundry, and then everything evaporated in a blaze of blue-white, actinic light, as the lightning laced edge of the portal swooped over them all, moving faster than they could possibly react to.

Darkness swallowed them, and their worlds were reduced to snippets...shards of raw, unadulterated agony. It felt like the very foundations of their lives...their immortal souls...were torn apart and scattered on the Astral winds. For a timeless time, the six...no...the seven...drifted in a sea of pure pain. Pain that existed on a soul deep level, pain that drove them all to the brink of madness...and beyond.

The seven passed out of all seeing.

Out of all knowing.

Out of all sensing.

Until only the agony of their tormented souls remained...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...Surcease.

From somewhere within, the Seven felt...peace.

A balm, spreading over their spirits, over their consciousness, soothing away the pain. Dulling the memory of it, and staving off the insanity that it's near continuous touch had inflicted.

A mingling, myriad of voices, a seven part harmony, flowed through the aether.

A grand note THRUMMED through each of them, as though the cords of their souls had somehow been plucked by the world's most expert harpist.

And without warning, the seven found themselves whole and hearty, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The air was calm, peaceful, with the first hints of a freshening sea breeze coming off the ocean. Birdsong came from the nearby trees, and the sound of insects and other small animals drifted on the breeze.

Just ahead of them, a large cabin sat, it's walls weathered by salt and wind. It was abutted on two sides by a small, rough stone wall, and a small garden sat off to one side, as well as multiple flower beds. A stovepipe poked up from the roof of the cabin, but no telltale hint of smoke indicated that the place was currently inhabited, and no light shone through the large windows.

Turning in a complete circle, the Hunters, as well as their mini-beholder companion who was still attached firmly to Nivel's shoulder, could see that they were surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The cabin on a cliff was at the northernmost tip of a spit of land that extended into the water for nearly a mile. Looking about, everything seemed normal. The landscape was peaceful, almost idyllic, rolling grasslands, dotted by the occasional copse of trees or field of wildflowers. The nearby cliffs appeared to be some type of pale, grey granite, and were home to great clouds of seabirds and other wildlife.

Far to the South, however, that things changed...and not for the better. A few miles away, presumably the location of the former Guild trading post, there was...nothing. Nothing except the sea. It was as though the hand of a deity had reached down and scooped up the entire center of that part of the eyeland, and into the resulting hole had rushed uncountable gallons of seawater.

The missing land appeared to be the bottom half of a sphere...the upper half simply being the air...approximately a mile across. Combined with the natural bay that had already existed in the area already, it rather cleanly cut that part of the Oculus Isle in two.

The sight was both awe inspiring, and more than a little terrifying.

Stopping to take stock in themselves, the seven felt...strange. Each of them could feel, deep within themselves, that a new wellspring of might had opened, deep in their souls. Power unlike anything they'd ever experienced filled them to overflowing...literally. As they all looked about, each could see little whorls of energy, tiny firefly flickers of light spinning and dancing around their companions. Their eyes, including all eleven of Anima's, sparkled with power, visible even in the early morning light.

The very air around them hummed with the promise of a new beginning.