For this ACT, tigersblood33 shall play as Tygar. Trillean will be playing as Trillean and the return of her brother, Cain. Dawnrider31 shall play as Ari. lilmisswonders01's character, Ryanna is being assisted by tigersblood33, Kaede83 shall play as Kaede and Elder Tassidus, with some help from tigersblood33.  ShahrazadKM shall play as Ultric, Csilla, Kaleo, and Frode. New for this act is Sirona who is played by SorceressRIN0A. Nelo Angelo2611 as always shall play as Nelo Angelo. Other Characters will be play by whomever.  *Special Thanks to Kim for her writing Scene 1!*

ACT XII, SCENE 1 - High Tower Castle - A Secret Meeting - 3 a.m.

**The interior of High Tower is seen clearly, a castle named after the Legendary Tower that once stood there.  Here the Mages of High Tower study the Arts of Magic, some to expand their knowledge, others to use it to benefit the world....and the rare few who wish to use it for their own personal gains, like Dante and Nelo.  We are looking into the interior court of High Tower's main building, The Shrine of the Sirenas.  A tall, vaulted and open building that resembles a Catholic cathedral.  Down the hall is The High Hall, the meeting room for the Mages of High Tower.  It is night time.  Kaede and his friends have all gone to sleep, and outside one can hear the howl of Ulric's people as they patrol the perimeter of High Tower.**

**Enter a very sleepy looking Kaleo, wearing nothing but a pair of slacks and carrying a candelabrum.  Following behind him are Kali and Kamaria, dressed in their sleeping gowns, long and flowing making them look like angels from heaven.**

~Enter Kaleo, Kali & Kamaria.~

***

Kamaria:  What is this all about, Kaleo?

Kali: *laughing* Oh, leave the boy alone, Kamaria. *she goes up behind Kaleo and pinches his cheek* He's so sleepy!  Poor baby boy!

Kaleo:  Hey!  Leave off, will ya! *he brushes Kali's hand away sheepishly* I'm not in the mood...

Kali: *her tone changes, becoming serious* What's wrong with you?  I thought you'd be happy to see Kaede again.

Kaleo:  Kaede is a sight of sore eyes, and Lord knows he's a blessing for Csilla, but it's the events that brought him here that really ruffle my feathers.....not to mention Lord Tassidus is with him!

Kamaria:  You don't have feathers, Kaleo.

Kaleo: *exasperated* It's a figure of speech, Lady Kamaria.

Kali: *she crosses her arms over her chest* I know he gave Kaede a hard time while the boy was growing up, didn't treat him right and was a real bast~

Kamaria:  KALI!

Kali: *she stops herself and continues on* But I have to admit, seeing him today during the ceremony....*she smiles a Temptress's smile* I'd almost forgotten how handsome male elves can get!

Kaleo: *he groans in disgust* Women...

Kali: *she laughs* I'm allowed to look, aren't I?

Kaleo:  Look, yes, but please refrain from sharing those feelings!!!  I don't want to even consider thinking about you finding Tassidus attractive.  It give me the willies!

**Kali laughs as the three enter the High Hall.  There they find Frode standing at the far end of the table talking with Csilla, who is sitting in her chair.  Sitting one chair away from her is Hyun frantically writing something down on a scroll.  Standing in the corner looking out one of the stain-glass windows, draped in a long black robe, is Cian.**

Frode: *to Csilla* You should be in bed.  I knew you weren't ready for something as serious as breaking that pendant.  I knew it.  I knew it!

Hyun: *not bothering to look up from his work* Oh, come now, Frode, the girl has to grow up some time!  You can't shelter her from her duties as Marshal forever!  Csilla is quite capable of doing her work, and I suggest you loosen those reins a bit before she breaks away and charges off!

Csilla: *smiles and chuckles tiredly* I'm not going to charge off, Hyun.  My father taught me the ways of High Tower and I intend on keeping them. *to Frode* As for today, I didn't know how powerful that pendant was seeing as I didn't prepare myself properly.  I'll be careful next time.

Frode:  Hopefully there will never be an next time.

Csilla: *she nods*

Kaleo:  *from the doorway, the young mage appears, besides him are the two females, Kali and Kamaria* Lady Kali and Lady Kamaria are here, Csilla.  Anyone else you need me to find?

Csilla:  No, thank you, Kaleo.  You can go back to sleep, now.

Kaleo: *he bows a deep, exaggerated bow* Thank you my most understanding and blessed lady.  I thank you most humbly and~

Csilla: *interrupts* Kaleo!  Go to bed!

**Kaleo stands, smirks and leaves the High Hall for his own room.  Kamaria takes her seat next to Hyun.  Kali goes over to Frode and Csilla.**

Frode:  That boy.  You can tell Lola was his mother, he has her desert dry wit.

Kali:  And your every moving silver tongue.

Frode: *straightens and snorts, moving over to his chair by Csilla's right hand*

Kali:  So, Csilla, what is so important that you leave your bed and call us out of ours?

Csilla:  We need to talk about Kaede and his band of .... followers.

Kali:  I see. *she takes her seat next to Csilla's left*

Csilla:  This battle they are fighting, this battle against Nelo, is one of epic proportions.  If Nelo is not stopped, he will most certainly destroy all life on this planet, if not the planet itself!

Cian:  You exaggerate, Csilla. One single man could not wield power that large...

Csilla: I do not exaggerate!  Nelo is a threat, and every bit as dangerous as his father, if not more so!

Frode:  Oh, come now, Csilla, we all know nothing can be worse than Dante.

Kali:  Dante may have betrayed our order, Frode, but his son is the real threat.

Frode: *coldly* I beg to differ.  Dante was the one who found the book.  Dante was the one who translated the text and broke the seal on the Door.  He built the army, tainted the Stream and destroyed the Elven Capital.  Nelo is merely a pretender following in the old man's footsteps.

Kali: *anger raises in her voice* I beg to differ, Nephew!

Frode: *hisses at her* Kali, please!

Kali:  Nelo may be following in his father's footsteps, but with all the difficult aspects of this plan completed, Nelo can focus on using these forces, strengthening them, and destroying the world.

Kamaria: *shaken* Oh, surely he won't do that!  I mean, if he destroys the world what would happen to him?  I mean, he's here on the world, right?  So, if the world is destroyed then he will be destroyed as well, and I don't think he'd want that  Do you, Hyun?

Hyun: *looks up from his scroll* I'm sorry, were you speaking to me?

Kali:  For the sake of the Stream, will you please get your nose out of that scroll and listen to us!

Csilla: *gently* All right, everyone just calm down.  We are faced with a grave situation, here, and we need level heads and calm voices to deal with this.

Cian:  No, let them yell.  Get the frustrations and disappointments that have been building up for years out in the open.

Frode: *standing up and slamming his fists on the table* What is that supposed to mean?!

Kali:  Frode!  Please, calm down!

Cian:  I meant nothing by it, Frode, nothing at all.

Hyun: *rolling up the scroll* So, Dante's little boy is causing trouble.  He's no where near the strength of his father, so why worry.

Csilla:  I worry because Nelo is attempting to control forces and powers he knows very little about.  He is attempting to control aspects of fate, of nature, of life itself, that can not be tamed nor harnessed.  If he should fail, a thousand forces will be unleashed on this world, and existence's destruction will not longer be our main concern.

Hyun: *confused* What could be worse than the destruction of existence?

Cian: *turns to the group and as he speaks we approaches them slowly* Torture and torment are worse than death, Hyun.  Try to imagine the entire world existing for the rest of time in a state of eternal torment, anguish and pain.  Try to imagine a world where the Stream and Life Force are polluted beyond any hope of cleansing.  Try to imagine an existence where sorrow is the main drive in life.  A world that screams out in terror and fear when night falls, and weeps when the sun rises.  Envision, if you can, a world...where death is one's only chance at peace.

***

**The room becomes unsettlingly quiet.  You can almost touch the ice Cian's speech has left in the air, freezing the hearts of the High Mages.  Frode crosses his arms over his chest and turns away.  Kamaria turns to Kali, who shakes her head sadly.**

***

Hyun: *deeply shaken and obviously frightened....he can SEE that world and doesn't like it* Well....um....yes....I, uh.....Yes, I can see how that would be a, um.... be a problem.

Kali:  Problem?  Hyun, a problem is losing your wand, not knowing where you left you keys, forgetting someone's birthday~

Cian:  I was on a pilgrimage.  I left the country, crossed the Time Line, ergo lost a day.  I said I was sorry and I did make it up to you.

Kali: *to Cian, laughing slightly* That's not what I meant, Cian.

Kamaria:  So....what do we do?  How do we stop this from happening?

Csilla:  Kaede and his friends are well on their way to stopping Nelo before he does anything we can't reverse.  However, their forces aren't quite as strong as Kaede would like them to be and he has asked for us to join them.

Hyun:  Join them?  You mean, out on the battle field with swords and arrows fighting off Nelo's army?

Csilla: *nods* Yes.  Is there something wrong with that?

Hyun:  Well, no, not really, it's just that not many of us are prolific in the use of weapons.

Csilla: *smiles* Kaede and his friends are more that willing to teach those who wish to learn to use a weapon how to.  Kaede is a master swordsman, his elven friends are gifted with the bow and arrows, Tygar with darts and hand-to-hand combated claws, and Trillean~

Hyun:  Yes, well, you see, uh, Csilla, there are some of us who are, well, not meant to wield weapons but rather were meant to deal with magic and so I feel....um....the forcing such studies on the Mages....

Csilla:  Forcing?  Who said anything about forcing these lessons on anyone?  If anyone wishes to learn, we have willing teachers.  Besides, there are only a few of the Mages who do not know how to use a weapon of some sort, and those are the Mages who study the destructive powers of the Stream.

Hyun:  Yes, but some of us are not born fighters.

Kamaria:  Like us healers.

Hyun:  Exactly!

Csilla:  Then you can stay behind the Line and heal the wounded.  I am not going to force anyone onto the field who does not wish to fight.

Cian:  Or has not the will.

Kamaria:  Are you calling us cowards?

Cian:  No, I am calling Hyun a coward.

Kali:  Oh, Cian, that's not fair.

Hyun: *there is no shame in his voice* No, no, he is right, Kali, he is right.  I am a coward.  I have no stomach for war, for the battlefield and all it yields.  I am a student of creation, a Mage of the Conjuring arts, *shakes his head* to see life thrown away so haphazardly, as though it was a useless thing, it is not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

Csilla:  No lives will be thrown away for nothing, Hyun.

Frode:  Indeed they will not be....for we are not fighting.

Csilla and Kali:  What?

***

**Cian looks a Frode, who stands up and looks the Council over with a blank look on his face.**

***

Frode:  The Mages of High Tower will not be joining this band of rabble-raisers!  We are a sacred organizations and we will not step down from that standing to stop what will not happen.

Csilla: *raises from her seat angrily* You do not make that decision, Frode.

Frode:  Nor do you, Csilla.  The Council as a whole must make this decision unanimously.

Kali:  And you are going to be the one string that hold us back?!

Frode:  Yes....I will.

Kali:  You are being ridiculous, Frode.  Childish and immature!

Frode:  On the contrary!  I am not being immature nor am I being childish!  I am up holding the laws of High Tower as the are written on the walls of this very Hall!  The Mages of this order shall not descend from their ranks to do for mortals what they can do for themselves!

Csilla:  Kaede needs us!

Frode:  Do not get me wrong, Csilla, I love that boy as I love my own son, but I am not about to let the love blind me!

Csilla:  Blind you?

Frode:  Yes, blind me, as it obviously has blinded you.

Csilla:  You walk on thin ice, Frode, testing the limits of my love for you and my better judgment.  I love Kaede, he is my cousin, my flesh and blood, but it is for his cause that I ask this of the Mages, not love.

Frode:  Tell me, Csilla, if Kaede were not of your blood, would you be so eager to risk the lives of the Mages for his cause?  Would you be so willing to destroy us, to throw all our knowledge into the wind and let it disappear in a puff of smoke?

Csilla:  Yes, I would.

Frode:  I seriously doubt it, Csilla, I truly do.

Csilla:  My father~

Frode:  Your father never let such an idea be brought before the Council because he understood our true purpose in this world.  We are to learn from the Stream and keep it clean.  We are to aid and protect, we are not meant to destroy!  Let alone one of our own!

Kali:  Dante is no longer one of us, and his son was never presented before the Assembly, therefore we are not fighting one of our own!

Csilla:  So, that's what this is about.  After all these years, after all this time, the truth comes out.  You still think Dante can be saved.

Frode:  I taught him, I trained him, I can save him!

Csilla:  No, you can't, Frode, Dante is gone and his corruption has been passed on to Nelo!  He has unlocked the Beast, he has tainted the Stream as well as his soul, we can not be saved!

Frode:  I have to try!

Kali:  You've been trying for the passed 65 years, what makes you think he will turn now?  What makes you think his son will turn, will put an end to his father's dream?

Frode:  I will not lift the sword against my own student!

Cian: *gently* Frode. *places a hand on Frode's shoulder* He is lost.

Frode:  He is not lost, and until he dies I will never give up on him!

Kali:  Fool!  You are willing to let one little set back, one little failure from 65 years ago destroy existence!?

***

**Frode says nothing.  He stands up straight and firm, his eyes narrowed and his hands clenched.  Hyun and Kamaria watch silently, great disturbed by the bickering among their ranks.  For the first time we notice Kaleo is listening in at the door, equally as disturbed by the bickering.  He swallows hard and considers going up stairs to get Kaede... but he doesn't have too, for Kaede is coming down the stairs.**

***

Kaede: *groggily* What is going on?

Kaleo: *he hisses at him to be quiet* Csilla is meeting with the High Mages.

Kaede:  That a fact?

Kaleo:  Will you please keep you voice down.  If they catch us out here, our necks will be in the guillotine faster than you can say 'Mist on the Mountains'.

Kaede: *obviously tired, he doesn't get the reference to the old children's poem* Why would I say~

Kaleo: *he hisses at Kaede again and motions him over to the door*

Kaede: *comes over, rubbing the back of his neck, and kneels in front of the door.  Suddenly something hits him* High Tower has a guillotine?

Kaleo: *he hisses very loudly a third time at Kaede to be quiet*

***

**Back in the High Hall, Frode turns his back on the others and tunes them out.  Csilla is appalled by Frode's sudden unwillingness to help, as is Kali, but Cian doesn't seem bothered.**

***

Cian:  Pity.  It is truly a pity.

Csilla: *shocked, not believing* Frode....Frode, you can't mean that.  You can't be so naive, so blind.  Nelo is a threat, he must be stopped!  The wrongs of his father should not stop you from doing you duty as a defender of the Stream and a Mage of High Tower.  Yes, the law says we should not do for 'mortals' what they can do for themselves, but we are not doing this for them, we are helping them.

Frode:  It's all the same.

Kali:  No, Frode, it is not the same thing!

Kamaria:  Personally...

Cian:  Yes?

Kamaria:  Personally, I agree with Frode.

Hyun:  What?

Kamaria:  This is their battle.  We disowned Dante and any born of him long ago.  He and his are no longer our problem.

Hyun:  Kamaria, how can you say that?

Kamaria:  Who are you to lecture me?  You said yourself that you did not want to fight!

Hyun:  I said I was afraid to fight, but I am more than willing to help Kaede and his friends stop this event from happening.  I will be the first to admit that I am scared, frightened, terrified of what we will see on that battlefield, of what we will have to fight, but that does not mean I am unwilling to lift the sword against it! *stands* I vote that we help them in this battle!

Kali:  So do I.  High Tower can not stand on the sidelines forever.

Cian:  Especially since forever may not be that much longer.

Csilla:  Cian?

Cian:  I follow you, Lady Csilla.  Where ever you lead, my students and I will follow.

Kali:  So that leaves Kamaria and Frode.

Frode:  I am not yielding!  High Tower will not be a part in this war!

Kaede: *angered beyond believe, he slams the door open and storms in* Why the hell not!

Csilla:  Kaede!  I thought you were asleep.

Kaede:  I was, but I thought I heard someone shouting so I came down to see what was going on.

Kamaria:  What are you doing here?  You have no business here.

Kaede:  On the contrary, I have business here.  You are playing God with my friends' lives and the lives of all those willing to stop Nelo and his evil.  I think they have the right to have a voice in this, don't you?

Kamaria:  We did not invite you, you are not welcome in this Hall.

Frode:  Kamaria.

Csilla:  He has the right!  A right by blood.

Kaede:  And I invoke that right here and now.  A right given to me by my father's blood to attend this meeting as one of you.

Frode:  As one of us?  Kaede, I care for you deeply, but even this I can not allow.  You gave up that right ages ago.  Whatever right given to you by blood has be stripped from you by time and fate.

Csilla:  The right to be a member of High Tower does not fade like a pattern on a garment, or a recessive trait in a family's bloodline, but it is forever a part of our descendants.

Frode:  Ergo, I will not raise the sword against one of our own.  Nelo is Dante's son, Dante was one of us, I will not fight another Mage!

Kali:  We disowned him years ago.  Dante is no longer a High Tower Mage!

***

**Kaleo, meanwhile, has been trying to close the heavy door of the High Hall and not be seen at the same time.  He fails and Cian calls him over.**

***

Cian:  Kaleo.  You are a member of High Tower and one who will be affected by our decisions.  Please, come and debate with us.

Kaleo:  Do I have to?

Kali:  Yes, you have to!  Get in here.

Frode:  No!  Kaleo, you go back to bed this instant!

Kali:  He is a High Tower member, he deserves to have a say in this!

Frode:  I will not have my son dragged into this!

Kaede:  It's a little too late for that, Frode.

Frode:  Do not start with me, Kaede.

Kaede:  Nelo is the son of Dante, an Ex-Sorcerer of High Tower, and gifted in the arts of the High Tower Mages!  How can you turn your back on something you helped to create?

Frode: *enraged* Hold your tongue, boy, or so help me~!

Kamaria: *appalled at Kaede, she hisses at him* And who are you to judge the faults of others, Boy?

Kaede: *he glares at her, stunned for a moment, but not shocked*  What did you say?

Kamaria:  We may have created this beast, but you were the one who let it lose onto the world.

Hyun: Kamaria!  Hold your tongue!

Kaede:  I never claimed my hands were clean.  I had a part to play in this disaster, I’ve been tarnished by my deeds and cursed by Fate and Time.  But, I can see my faults and I am determined, bound, to correct them.  I will not ignore my responsibilities as one of Elven and Mage blood.  I have a duty to protect this world from the horrors unleashed by our actions.

Kali:  You are not the only one with responsibilities, Kaede. *she turns towards Kaleo* Kaleo, please go and bring Tassidus here.

Csilla:  And you don't have to wake him gently either.

**Kaleo nods and leaves to do as he is told.  Frode glares at Kaede with cold eyes.**

Frode: 'Our actions'?  What makes you think we are the ones at fault here?

Kaede:  I mean no disrespect, Master Frode, but I was not the one who caused the Rift between our tenets.  It was not I who decided to separate the Atlantians from the High Tower Mages.

Frode:  That is water under the bridge, boy.  An old wound that can not be easily healed but one that is too easily opened....and one we choose not to bring up.

Kaede:  And look where it has gotten you.  By ignoring it, it has become something worse, a disease that can not be cured easily.  And now that disease is spreading, tainting all the earth and preparing to destroy us.  I can not ignore this wound any longer, it must be cleansed and healed or we will all die from it!

Frode:  The Atlantians left of their own accord, choosing science over magic, and as such their fate no longer concerns us nor do we take responsibility for the actions of their members.

Csilla:  Even when one of their members was trained in our arts?  You took Dante in as your student determined to prove that the Atlantian race could still tap into the Stream and use magic.

Frode:  And obviously I was wrong!  Dante is proof that they were never worthy of us, proof of their corrupted ways and tainted hearts, proof of their evil!

Kali:  And yet you believe you can save Dante, an Atlantian, from his own nature.

**Frode stops and looks Kali in the eyes.  Kaleo walks in with a very annoyed, very tired Tassidus, who is more likely to be a bother than a help unless he wakes up.**