Cha’arin raised his hands above his head. He urged his people to silence. A light breeze began. It carried his voice out amongst his people. Now was a time of mourning. They had lost a great man, a wise leader. Arulis was a man whose voice would be heard for many generations to come. If they listened, he told them, they too would hear it still. As if in answer, the wind began to moan then howl. It whipped about those that had assembled. The sky grew dark and ominous.

There was a flash of light and a crack of thunder. The building that had sheltered Arulis during his final days exploded. Stones, mortar, wood, and dust flew everywhere. Most of the people escaped injury, yet there were those that had been crushed by large pieces of rock. Wood fragments had pierced many others. Several lay dead or dying. From within what remained of the hospital, strode two figures. D’arrls led that which was not his father before Cha’arin and what remained of the council. One former council member had quite literally lost his head. Another lay in a heap of broken bones and lumber. Two of the Elders were bleeding heavily from their faces and sides. Their flesh had been peeled away by small particles shooting both past and through them. The Council of Seven was suddenly a council of three.

“There Father, you see,” said D’arrls pointing at his brother. “He carries the stones of office. He holds the Stones of Wisdom. He has what was to be mine! Fix it Father, make it right!”

The three remaining councilors, though shaken, moved to stand before their newly appointed High Priest. It was their charge to advise and protect the leader of their people. They were attempting to remain dutiful. Using the body of Arulis, the entity that was Meridious commanded the wind to fold the nearest man in half… then twist. The man was ripped apart at the waist. Pointing to the second elder, he commanded the wind to exit the man’s body. He waved a hand and prevented its return. The vacuum created, stretched already thin skin over gnarly bones until the bones would no longer be contained and began worming their way out of the writhing man’s flesh. His own bones shredded his shrinking skin, freeing internal organs that began oozing out. Meridious then gestured toward the third man and caused the fluids within him to boil. Eyes burst outwards from within their sockets. Bubbles and blisters formed on his epidermis. As one would rupture, two more would take its place. Steam rose from the body. The man’s bladder emptied and the super-heated liquid began rinsing away folds of flesh. He howled out in pain until he mercifully fell unconscious. Meridious turned toward Cha’arin.

Meridious raised a borrowed hand toward the heavens. He called upon lightning. A moment later, a powerful bolt of energy entered the body of Arulis. With the other hand he pointed a finger at the younger son and released a tiny sliver of electricity. He used that flow of power to transfer his consciousness into Cha’arin. The body of Arulis ignited into flames and burned to ashes in moments.

Occupying a living body was much more complicated than reanimation of the dead. A second consciousness existed that struggled for control. Cha’arin fought a valiant battle with Meridious, but in the end he lost. The ethereal being had seen far too much that Cha’arin could not comprehend. Images of pain and suffering flooded his awareness. He watched memories of entire worlds decaying. Cha’arin was shown just how small, in the scope of all things, his existence really was. The sudden awareness was more than he could have ever prepared himself for. He was shown a future vision of his people, lost and leaderless, wandering the plains, living in tents, their cities destroyed. When he was told he would bring this fate upon his people, Cha’arin conceded and withdrew, becoming trapped within his own mind.

D’arrls watched as the two entities struggled for control of the same form. When he was certain that his brother’s will had been broken, he reached out to take the stones. His hand was batted away. He grew defiant and impatient, demanding their immediate surrender. He adamantly believed the stones belonged to him.

Meridious spoke through Cha’arin, “It is finished. Your revenge is complete. Now, for what you have wrought, you must pay the consequence. Your people will demand restitution.”

D’arrls was surprised to find his jaws parting involuntarily. He was even more astounded when the stones, oddly cold, were thrust into his open mouth. His lips closed, and though he fought the urge, he swallowed them anyway. He could feel them sliding down his throat growing even colder. They landed in the pit of his stomach. Meridious had been lowering their temperature, freezing them. Once he released his hold, the stones warmed quickly… and exploded. D’arrls fell dead, a gaping hole existing where his abdomen had been.