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  “Gate nine appears to be in a hilly area with no radio contacts. It appears to be a mix of forest and grassland with several small rivers and one large one to the north.”

  “Assign some biologists to that gate, we need to know if the vegetation and animals of this planet are edible. Send grain as well, we may be able to use the area as a supply base once all the bases make contact with each other.

  “Gate ten appears to be in the middle of a desert, no water, no life, no shelter of any kind and the land appears to have no nutritional value at all. Nothing detected in any direction.”

  “We can’t send anyone there, it would be murder,” objected Sarah again.

  Ignoring her, the General issued more orders, “Send extra shelters, food, water and trucks. Divert civilians from gate ten to gate three and divert military units from gate nine to gate ten. No animals or luxury items are to go through gate ten. Send as many trucks as necessary to carry every person going through the gate and any spare fuel.”

  “Gate eleven appears to be a stable volcanic island and is part of a chain of islands. Wait, a scout has just picked up signs of life in the ocean, a school of fish by the looks of it.” continued Robert.

  “Some good news at last. Send rafts and redistribute navy personnel to gate eleven. Send any timber we have spare and tools to work wood.”

  “Gate twelve appears to be functioning without any interference. The site seems to be a bowl shaped depression with a central lake. The data shows fertile soil and clean water. The land beyond the depression appears to be flat in all directions. There appears to be grass, trees and signs of animal life.”

  “Sounds like the perfect place to set up a communication centre. Sustenance, water, no signs of danger. Make sure all scientists use gate twelve to evacuate when they’ve finished their work here.”

  “Scout teams report that gate seven has no signs of life and there appears to be some form of storm raging. All electronic equipment is behaving erratically but the mainframe’

  s shields are protecting it from whatever is causing the problem.”

  “Could the storm be affecting the electronics on the other side?” asked the General.

  “Possibly, but all the gates except twelve appear to be having minor problems,” replied Gerald.

  “Then gate seven is clear for use. We can’t allow a storm to slow the evacuation. What is the progress on the other gates?”

  CHAPTER 4

  General Storm

  Within range of the camp the Titans began to unleash their power. Fire fell from the sky like drops of molten metal and the earth shook with each devastating impact. Tents and vehicles blew apart starting smaller fires around them and adding more smoke to the dark skies.

  As the last of the supplies and reserve military units passed through the gates their cries were cut off and the camp became eerily silent.

  General Storm inserted his key into the control panel before him and entered his password. The cascade program activated and the gates broke contact with the other world.

  All across Earth the Titans roared in anger as the portals realigned onto one another. The energy that should have dissipated over vast distances of space became trapped in an endless loop of escalating power.

  The General took the photo of his wife and son out of his jacket for one last look before the light from the gates became blinding and the power unleashed itself.

  The shock wave was felt across the entire planet and every Titan on the continent was knocked off their feet. Everything within its epicentre was vaporised down to the magma layer.

  A fiery circle pierced the black skies like the iris of a malevolent eye searching the stars for its betrayer.

  CHAPTER 5

  General Allister

  General Allister organized the final layout of the base, the troop rotations and the areas to be covered by scouting teams leaving at daybreak.

  As the sun began to set Allister dismissed the officers and turned the mainframes communication set back on. While he waited at the door he smoothed his moustache and felt the stubble of a beard forming and realised he hadn’t trimmed it in days.

  From the entrance of the command tent he watched the fiery sun descend on this new planet creating a view so stunning that every eye seemed drawn to its beauty. But it was not the wondrous sky that made the General smile or the relief of escaping the Titans’ destruction but the feeling of freedom now that he was finally in control again.

  This planet was almost like Earth, a yellow sun circled by an earth sized planet. It had a moon slightly larger than Earth’s with a lunar cycle of thirty five days. Even the heavily scented air was good enough to breathe after the smoke and dust that filled the air back on Earth.

  The commander had spent weeks selecting the destination planet from the computer data and as the construction of the gates neared completion General Storm seized control of the gateway project usurping General Allister's power.

  The communication set emitted a burst of static interrupting Allister's thoughts as a radio contact was discovered. The mainframe fine tuned the signal, cutting out the noise until the clear voice of General Esperanza came through, “Do you read me Base Two? General Allister?”

  The General frowned as he worked the controls and answered “I read you Base One, loud and clear.” He turned the video feed on and saw the worried look of the new General of the Army.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you for half an hour. Is your equipment malfunctioning?”

  “No, I turned the radio off during my meeting,” replied General Allister.

  “You what?” He shook his head. “Never mind. There’s a situation developing. We’ve had several attacks on our scout teams in the western forest. Reports are sketchy, no survivors and our aerial units that are still aloft show hundreds of heat signatures all along the edge of the forest. I believe my position will be attacked as soon as the sun sets by an intelligent species of unknown type. You may also be attacked. I want you to go to yellow alert.”

  “And scare the civilians after they’ve just settled in. I don’t think so, sir.”

  “I am your commanding officer…” began Esperanza but Allister slid the manual tuner on the control panel and the video and audio feed broke up.

  “What’s that sir? The signal is distorting, I can’t make you out anymore,” said Allister before turning the radio off again.

  “Was that necessary sir? It’s only prudent to be on high alert if there are hostile forces on this planet,” said a man hidden in the shadows of the tent corner.

  “Why do I always find you hiding somewhere, commander?” asked the General.

  “Only because I let you sir,” the man answered back.

  “Very amusing. But you tread close to insolence.”

  “I could say the same about you. But you know my loyalty lies with you, General. I act only in your best interests.” The commander seemed to smile insolently but the General was unsure.

  “Come into the light where I can see you,” ordered the General waving him closer.

  The commander moved out of the shadows and the General went to pour himself a drink. “I hate taking orders from an upstart like Esperanza. I had control of this entire operation until General Storm pulled a few strings and now Esperanza is in charge. Thank God the one is dead and the other is too far away to interfere, another month and I would have killed both of them with my bare hands.”

  “Perhaps you should get rid of Esperanza,” suggested the commander watching the General as he emptied the glass in one shot.

  “Don’t talk like that, I believe Esperanza placed a man here to keep an eye on me.”

  “You mean Lieutenant Gabriel?” asked the commander.

  “Is that his name? What’s his connection to Esperanza?” enquired the General.

  “He’s the son of the late General Storm. He didn’t trust you on your own so he sent his son to spy on you for Esperanza. I took the liberty of damaging some of Gabriel’s equipment w
hile he was on guard duty. A camera, radio and picture frame. Easily blamed on damage caused by the transit through the gate.”

  The General remembered the queasy feeling of passing through a wormhole and poured himself another drink. “Keep an eye on him, I want to know what he’s doing at all times,” said the General before sipping his whisky.

  “Perhaps he should be sent with one of the scouting teams.”

  “If you mean permanently then no, not yet. I want to know if there are any more spies or sympathizers. If you find others we can get rid of them all at the same time. Detail him to somewhere where he has access to everyone, say the mess hall.”

  “He’ll know something’s up sir.”

  “He has no access to communication, no allies that we know of and by now he knows his cover is blown. He needs to find allies or else he’s dead, and he knows it. One traitor will lead us to any others hiding about. Is there anything else commander?”

  “Do you want me to put the base on yellow alert sir?”

  “No, I don’t jump at shadows. Tomorrow we’ll find out what the fuss is all about when the scouts report in. Set the radio to turn back on in an hour, then leave,” ordered the General finishing his second drink.

  “Yes sir.” The commander moved to the mainframe to follow the General’s orders. Curious, he accessed the current map data of the area. His eyes narrowed as they picked up hundreds of fires and dozens of dark forms moving out of the cover of the western forest as the light deteriorated. He reprogrammed the radio as ordered and left.

  CHAPTER 6

  Emperor Valorus

  The nexus tree was the largest in the Riverlands, shaped by magic over two generations to become the Emperor’s Palace. It was more importantly the source of the empire’s power. Cuttings from the nexus tree had been used to create the barrier that ran from the western mountains along the southern banks of the Crimson River to the eastern shoreline and had been built to protect the Riverlands from the goblins to the north.

  The nexus tree also served as a communication network within the Riverlands linking the river lords and ladies to the emperor. Each estate administered to by a lord or lady contained a tree that had been nurtured from a cutting from the nexus tree. A priest or priestess of Gaia was posted at each tree to take care of it and act as messengers, passing on decrees, warnings and general information to the resident estate lord or lady.

  Within the northern temple grounds of the Old Palace stood the original tree from which the nexus tree was cultivated. Cared for by Gaia’s priesthood it was surrounded by the soul gardens where the souls of the Riverlands gathered for protection.

  Within the southern grounds of the Old Palace was the mages guild where mages and battle mages were trained to protect the empire.

  The throne of the elven emperor grew within the audience hall of the Emperors Palace. The rough dark wood of the nexus tree was shaped by magic to form a chair but it remained a living part of the tree around which the palace was built.

  Even those unable to use its power could feel it vibrate with the magic flowing through its veins.

  Emperor Valorus, ruler of all the Riverlands, was shifting unsuccessfully on the throne to find a more comfortable position when a discord ran through the magic like a hammer striking an anvil. Three times it struck and Valorus found himself clutching his head in pain. The discord continued to affect the flow of magic for an hour or more before returning to normal.

  Finally the Emperor managed to get through to the Supreme Magi through the nexus tree’s web of power and demanded, “Sceleo, what happened?”

  “There have been three major disturbances to the magic of the planet your highness. They originated to the east of the Great Forest at separate locations along the coast.”

  “I could sense that Sceleo, but what were the disturbances?”

  “I don’t know your highness,” answered Sceleo still trying to recover from the shock to his own body.

  “Then find out!” shouted the Emperor through the connection, forgetting for a moment that only the priest handling the communication would hear his anger.

  “Of course Emperor,” came the reply.

  The Emperor cut him off and diverted the magic to seek out the High Priestess in the Old Palace.

  She answered his call personally and his anger began to fade.

  “Do you know what is happening, Elyise?” he asked.

  “I have communicated with Gaia and she says another power has arrived on the planet.”

  “Who are they? Do they pose a threat to us?” He brimmed with questions but managed to hold the rest back so he could hear her reply.

  “She says they are human,” she answered tentatively, not knowing what his response would be.

  “What? That’s not possible. Humans died out a long time ago. I suggest you keep that insight to yourself for now.”

  “Nevertheless she believes that we should send an envoy to them to ascertain what they are doing here and make an alliance if possible.”

  “A good idea, but who do you recommend I send through goblin infested territory. Mages may be powerful but they draw shamans like a lodestone. My soldiers are not trained for stealth missions beyond the barrier, and your priests have even less chance of surviving out there.”

  “There is one elf, a soldier who uses an old military title of ranger. His name is Laisarus,” she suggested.

  “I’ve heard of him, he disappears into goblin territory for weeks on end. His commanders would have fired him long ago if he hadn’t reported on dozens of planned goblin attacks. I don’t know if I can trust him, he doesn’t seem to have any discipline.”

  “There are two others that should follow him but without him they stand no chance.”

  “You want him to lead this expedition?” asked the Emperor raising an eyebrow.

  “No one else would be able to avoid the goblins and cover their trail like he can. If he could accomplish this mission alone I would not suggest sending anybody else. But he lacks diplomacy and standing.”

  “Fine. Who else do you suggest?”

  “A military man would be of great help if they face any combat. Your man Tagier would offer both a battle edge to the group and rank.”

  “Him I agree on. Who else?”

  “A sister with the rank of novice called Amelia. She is coming into her powers and is strong enough to communicate through a nexus tree cutting over vast distances. She will provide a communication link with these newcomers and allow us to follow the progress of the expedition.”

  “But if I send a priestess I will have to send a mage to balance the scales. Sceleo will certainly demand it. Unless I choose first, my brother will demand that I to send someone loyal to him.”

  “Any mage you send will have to be strong enough to resist using magic on the journey and powerful enough to protect the others when he needs to.”

  “I will choose one that suits my purposes before I inform the Supreme Magi of my decision.”

  “Choose wisely Emperor, dark days are coming,” said the High Priestess.

  “Is that prophesy, Elyise?” asked the Emperor. “I didn’t know you had the gift.”

  “No not prophesy, merely a feeling that great change is coming.”

  Valorus said goodbye and cut the connection more gently than he had his brother. He began to run through a mental list of battle mages he knew to find the one he needed, and smiled when one stuck in his head.

  CHAPTER 7

  Laisarus

  Pain still seared through him after the three magic surges. Hidden within some bushes Laisarus allowed his mind to drift free of his body. Around him the life forces of the forest became objects of rainbow colours and his pain became a distant memory bringing welcome relief.

  He studied the movement of sap as it flowed through roots, trunks and leaves around him. Beneath the ground he could feel the ebb and flow of magic returning to normal and disappearing from his senses.

  Close by he sensed a heartbeat,
slow and steady - an animal approaching.

  Laisarus returned to his body feeling refreshed and watched the deer move past without sensing him. He brushed his hand gently across its side as a branch might in the slight breeze. The deer looked around puzzled, then hearing a branch break in the distance it moved away.

  The deer stopped moving at the same moment that Laisarus sensed a presence nearby. Before he could move his knife out of its sheath he saw her walking past the deer, running her hand along its back to calm it. The deer watched her glide by and began to feed off the grass at its feet.