Chapter 1

The breeze ruffled Deannas' waist length black hair as

she stood at the front of the crowd, watching as a group of

soldiers mounted the platform in front of her. The larger

sun was just setting, casting a red glow over the town

center. The Town center and its buildings were the only

ones in the entire city that were being kept in good

condition. Every other building showed signs of little

repair and many leaks. The throng murmured in fear and

anger and Deanna knew that these soldiers were part of the

force that dominated this world. It was obvious that the

enemy soldiers resided here. They used the Citadel as

their barracks and it seemed they did not care what the

rest of the town looked like. The town consisted and

squat, gray buildings, many of them fallen into disrepair,

but still inhabited by filthy, unkempt people. The people

of this world, it seemed, had little choice in their

appearance. They were given nothing to help make their

lives better. In fact just about everything that was

harvested on the surrounding farms was brought to the

Citadel and from there, sent out to various enemy

strongholds and consumed by the enemy. The soldiers wanted

for nothing, while the common people suffered in abject

misery.

The leader of the soldiers stepped forward to address

the people and Deanna backed off slightly, so as not to

draw attention to herself. She wore nondescript clothing,

consisting of a black leather tunic and black combat pants,

but there were still differences. The biggest difference

was in physical appearance. The average person on this

world topped out at about six feet tall, while Deanna was

only five feet five inches. They also tended to have

coppery colored hair and bright eyes, usually bright blue

or even green, while Deanna had straight black hair and

hazel eyes.
 She had found this world by accident while she was

searching for her ancestral people. She had not come to

Arkannia to find her people, but merely to indulge in a

curiosity. She had been passing through the system, when

the sensors on board her ship had picked up some very

strange readings and boredom had driven her to investigate.

She had already spent two days exploring this world and had

quickly realized that another dominated this one. The

curious thing was that this other world inhabited the same

space, but a different time. The ordinary people of

Arkannia were persecuted at the will of the soldiers from

the second planet.

Deanna was operating in some very strange territory.

She was not used to being on a world where the only weapons

were medieval ones and where people knew something about

magic. She had grown up on Earth in the latter part of the

20th century. It was on her 16 birthday that she had found

out that her ancestors had not originated on Earth and the

rest of her life on Earth was given over to learning how to

control her power, so that she could eventually leave and

go in search of her people. Deannas' line stretched back

to the ruling family of an ancient and wise people, from a

distant world, perhaps even another Universe.

 Her musings were cut short when the leader of the

soldiers raised his hands and the quiet growling of the

multitude silenced. The leader motioned with one of his

hands and yet another soldier dragged a ragged woman up

onto the platform. She fought him with all her strength

but he merely laughed and continued to pull her along.

When she stood out in front the leader shouted 'Watch as we

execute this traitor and note the price of standing against

us.' There was some angry murmuring from the people, but

no one was brave enough to say anything.

As well as being ragged, the woman was dirty and covered

in cuts and bruises. It was obvious that she had not been

treated well. Burning with curiosity Deanna sent out her

mind to try to read the woman's thoughts. It was difficult

to say the least. These people might look like humans, but

there were some subtle and surprising differences to how

their minds worked. It took a few seconds, but she

stumbled on the correct mental pattern and established

contact. Deanna looked into the woman's mind and picked up

some very interesting information. These soldiers were

indeed from the other world that coexisted with this one.
She also saw that they were part of a huge army that had

conquered this world about 20 years ago.

The leader began declare the woman's crimes. Some

people in the mass cried denial at them. Deanna, however,

was not listening, being too busy examining the woman's

thoughts and feelings. Despite whatever claims were made

Deanna could find no evidence of the crimes mentioned. She

found the presence of violent acts, but also she saw that

the woman regretted these acts.

The officer motioned to his soldiers and they pulled the

woman aside. There was a commotion behind the platform and

some other people brought up some kind of apparatus. It

was a metal framework with some kind of circular platform

suspended by the frame. The woman was dragged onto the

platform and her hands and feet tied to the frame.

'Now watch what happens when you go against your

Masters' he shouted as he reached out and pressed his hand

against a panel. The apparatus began to hum and Deanna

could feel power mounting. It took her but seconds to

realize that this thing was both magic and science.

 Power mounted and energy ran down the frame, beginning

to surround the woman. The energy touched her skin and she

screamed in agony. Deanna instantly realized that the

device was designed to destroy a person at the molecular

level, very painful, but also very effective.

Acting on instinct Deanna stepped forward raised her

hand and a small blast of energy shot out and howled toward

the machine. The bolt struck it and sparks flew from the

thing. There was an explosion and the backlash of energy

would have sent the woman flying backward, were it not for

her restraints. Deanna ran to the platform, tensed her

legs and vaulted up onto it. Her sword whipped out of her

scabbard and continued its arc, cleaving a soldiers head in

twain. She moved on as he stood for a second and toppled

over. Her sword blurred as it swept into the neck of the

next soldier, sending his head flying. Deanna quickly

moved among the soldiers, killing them all before they

could even react to her presence.

It was a matter of seconds to kill the guards and reach

the woman. Her sword swept up again, cutting the

restraints and she caught the woman as she fell backward

saying 'If you want to live, come with me.'

 'Why are you doing this?' whispered the stunned woman.

'I'm keeping a promise' answered Deanna 'now do you want

to live or would you rather stay here and die?'

'I want to live' she stated simply

'Good now lets get out of here.'

They both jumped from the platform, but before they

could take more than two steps, the crowd parted and

soldiers poured into the square. Deanna quickly looked

behind them and saw soldiers moving in there too,

surrounding them.

'Well this isn't good' she muttered.

'I would agree.' Stated the woman she had just tried to

rescue. Before either of them could do anything else an

officer in the front rank raised his hand. Deanna expected

him to demand their surrender, but to her surprise a bolt

of purple energy screamed toward them. She was so startled

that she barely reacted in time, but at the last second she

managed to raise a shield, deflecting the bolt harmlessly

into the air. 'How the hell did he manage that?' she

exclaimed 'I felt no power in him at all.'

'You mean you don't know?' said the stunned woman

'everyone knows about the abilities of the officers.'

 'Well lets just say that I am from far away' replied

Deanna.

Deanna raised her hand and shouted 'If you want to live,

stand aside and let us leave.'

'Who is going to kill us' laughed the officer 'the two

of you.'

'If need be' answered Deanna 'I have no wish to harm

anyone, but the choice is yours.'

'MMM, lets see' he murmured sarcastically 'two against

100, oh I am so afraid.'

She hesitated another second, as she really did not want to

harm anyone, but he was not giving her a choice. He now

knew the punishment for standing against her so it was all

his choice now. 'Lord' she prayed 'forgive me for what I

am about to do.' Then turning to the woman, she said

'follow me closely and don't stop.'

She whipped her sword from its scabbard and with a yell,

ran at the massed soldiers. Her sword began its arc, just

before she hit the first rank. It whistled through the

air, to thunk into the mans shoulder. Deanna felt the

blade sink deep, she whipped it back, pivoted left and her

sword followed her movement, curving around to strike

another soldier. Her blade was a blur of motion, as she

moved among the enemy, striking anyone that got in her way.

Katrine followed in Deannas wake, amazed at the speed of

the woman in front of her. None of the enemy blades could

touch her, as she danced with them. Her hands, feet and

sword were constantly moving. Kicking out to throw people

off balance and then following through with the sword to

end it quickly.

Deanna felt sick to her stomach at the screams of pain

surrounding her. She prayed to Jesus and God to forgive

her for dealing in death. Tears ran down her face. She

hated killing people. She always felt that with every life

she took, part of her soul was lost. Still she knew that

she did not have a choice in this matter. She could have

tried transporting away, but with the abilities of the

officer, she was not sure how effective that would be.

She began to slow, as crowds of soldiers heaved around

her. Her muscles were throbbing and her blade felt like a

lodestone. She feared she could not keep this up. Perhaps

she had underestimated the surprise of two women, one of

the unarmed, attacking a host of men. She quickly parried

one sword and riposted to take him in the throat. Before

she could pull her sword back, a blurring motion to her

left warned her a split second before the searing pain in

her arm. She gasped and looked at the trail of blood

running down her arm.

Pain and fear galvanized her. She yelled hoarsely and

her foot lashed out to take him in the chest, knocking him

back into another soldier. Adrenaline pumped through her

muscles and she fought on doggedly. Her sword was in

constant motion as she tried to block every swing and

thrust. Her mind was fixed on one thing, survival.

Suddenly her sword met no resistance and she looked up

to see empty streets ahead and both women bolted, as energy

bolts and arrows screamed past them.

They ran up the first street with arrows bouncing off

the walls. Deanna felt searing pain as something slammed

into her shoulder, just as they reached the first corner.

She would have stumbled and fallen had not her companion

grabbed her arm. They just made it round the corner as a

bolt of energy struck the wall, where their heads had been,

sending molten stone chips flying in all directions.

Deanna considered firing back, but with all the innocent

people there, she couldn't guarantee that her aim would be

completely accurate.

They kept on running, stumbling along the road with the

sounds of pursuit closing on them. Together they ran down

alleys and side streets, trying to lose their pursuers.

They crossed an intersection into what appeared to be an

even worse part of town. There was more garbage strewn

everywhere and the stench was unbelievable. Young urchins

scampered around, nearly naked, searching objects on the

ground. It took Deanna a few seconds to realize that these

children were scavenging from the recently dead. Revulsion

rose within her at the sight of all this.

Soon she began to stumble more and she felt a heaviness

enter her limbs. She looked down and realized she had a

number of wounds that she did not remember receiving.

Blood was running from her wounds, drenching her clothes

and making her even weaker. 'I cannot keep going. I have

to rest' she managed to gasp. Her companion looked back

and seeing the blood a look of concern touched her face as

she said 'Just a little further. I know a safe place where

we can hide and get you some help.' Deanna nodded and
pushed on, praying to God to give her the strength she

needed.

Time stalled for Deanna. It was all she could do to put

one foot in front of the other. She could feel the blood

oozing from her and with it, her life, but somehow she

managed to keep going. Repeatedly she stumbled and would

have fallen, if not for her companion pulling her onward.

Her mind began to wander and she had no coherent thought

about what she was doing. The only thing she remembered

was that she was running and had to keep going.

They stopped and it took a moment for Deanna to realize

that. After a brief struggle, she managed to focus her

eyes and saw her companion touching various parts of a

wooden door. She heard footsteps and knew that the

soldiers would be on them in minutes. The door opened and

she was dragged inside the building. They moved quickly to

the back of a large, empty room and passed through an

invisible trapdoor leading to the basement.

The trapdoor closed just as the main door burst open.

The woman leaned over and whispered 'They will probably

start doing a house by house search in this area. Be

silent and we should be all right.' Deanna said nothing;

merely nodding her head as her eyes fluttered closed and

her mind began to drift. Telling this person she had been

keeping a promise brought back the memory of when she had

made that promise.

Deanna sat by the bed as her husband lay dying upon it.

The illusion that she had maintained for most of her life

on Earth was gone and she was again a young woman, with

long, straight, black hair, hazel eyes and a slightly

voluptuous figure, hiding the well toned physique. She

knelt down by the bed and took her husbands hand and he

opened his eyes. 'Deanna my love' he whispered 'you look

just as I remember, you are beautiful.'

'Thank you my love' she replied with tears running

unashamedly down her cheeks.

'Deanna do not grieve, it is fate that I pass on. My

death releases you to start your search for your people.'

'I want you to be involved in that search.' She cried

'I will be. I will always be with you, but you know

that I could not leave this planet. I could never learn to

do the things you can.'

'In time I think you could have.'

 'We will never know. God is calling me home and I go to

him gladly. I have had a wonderful life with you, but I

have always known that I would not go with you when you

leave. God has other plans for you, his plans for me are

to come home.'

'I know' she whispered

'Deanna, I want you to promise me something.'

'Anything my husband'

'I want you to promise not to let your grief stop you.

You have to live and you have to leave soon to begin your

search. I want your promise that you will find your people

and that while you search you will help any that need it,

and I want you to promise to stay in Gods light. Only he

can direct you along your proper path.'

'I promise my beloved husband.' She stammered through a

throat made raw from crying.

'Good I am glad. I can die happy, with you being the

last thing I see' he whispered, his eyes closing again. He

lay there struggling to breathe, as old age and illness

took him. Every time he inhaled, Deanna thought it would

be the last, but he kept drawing in one more stuttering

breath. She held his hand and cried as his life ended. He

took one more stuttering breath; his body relaxed and as he

exhaled death took him. 'Goodbye my husband' she whispered

through her crying 'I promise I will do all I can for my

people in your memory.'

Deanna was shaken awake and she came back to the present

with a start. Her heart was aching and tears were running

down her face. It took her a moment to remember that she

was no longer on Earth and that her husband had been dead

for several years. She got control of her grief and buried

it deep within her. The woman she had saved leaned toward

her and said 'Come we have to get moving. We need to get

further away before I can tend your wounds.'

'Where are we going?'

'This tunnel leads to the secret path into Wizards Vale.

We will be safe there.'

Deanna nodded and groaned as she pulled herself to her

feet. She staggered and as she stretched out her left

hand, pain lanced through her shoulder. Gasping, she

remembered that something struck her earlier and she

realized an arrow must have hit her.

'Yes' her companion said 'You have an arrow in your

shoulder, but I cannot do anything about it just now. The

guards might come back. Will you manage until we are a

safer distance.'

'I understand' muttered Deanna 'I will do my best.'

 Deanna moved forward, her companion holding her hand and

leading her in the darkness. For a while she managed to

keep up without much of a problem, but then she began to

lag and stumble. Her mind began to sink into the darkness

that surrounded her and she couldn't recall what she was

doing or where she was going. After an unknown time, she

felt the pain in her shoulder spread and it took her

several minutes to figure out that something was wrong. It

took her sluggish mind a moment longer to figure out that

the arrow must have been poisoned. She opened her mouth,

but no sound came out. She tried again, but still could

not find her voice. Suddenly she felt a dull pain in her

knees and the realization came that her knees had struck

something solid. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she

fell face first to cold floor of the tunnel. The floor

felt so comfortable to her, it was like a down filled

comforter. The voice continually calling to her was so

annoying and she just wanted it to cease. 'Leave me lone'

she mumbled 'want sleep.'

A strange feeling came upon her as her mind sank deeper

into the blackness. She felt a tingle all over her body

and she thought she could hear a distant voice calling

'Elena I need your help.' She got an image of a beautiful

red haired woman with jade eyes. For a brief second she

wondered if this beautiful woman was Elena and then she

wondered who Elena was. As consciousness left her she felt

power surround her. That feeling of power triggered a

memory within her and her mind retreated into her past.

In her delirious state she was 16 again and living on

Earth, struggling with her identity. She had grown up in

the latter part of the 20th century. It was a time of

science and technology, with very little spirituality. She

was a follower of Christ and was deeply devoted to God.

However, she had many problems dealing with the fact that

she could sense things. Sometimes she could sense

impending accidents, and other times she could just feel

the power and life all around her. At first, she believed

this to be the work of the evil one and she felt that she

was a disgrace to her Lord. The other thing that caused

her problems was the several gay and lesbian friends she

had. Many Christians believed this was wrong, even evil,

but Deanna found nothing evil in them. Indeed she had a

strong capacity for sensing evil and in the Gays and

lesbians she met, she felt the regular mix of good and

darkness that was in every human. She was so confused and

prayed daily for some answer. With nothing else to do, she

delved into the study of the bible. She did find several

passages that seemed to forbid homosexuality, but on

further reflection, it was more likely that they referred

to homosexual rape. However, there were two that came

right out and forbade it. They were in the book of

Leviticus. At this point Deanna did not know what to do.

She meditated on the problem, studied more and reflected on

all translations. She did notice that many of the

practices allowed in the Old Testament were considered

abhorrent today, particularly polygamy and concubines to

name but two. So apparently acceptance of those practices

could change, so why not acceptance of homosexuals.

Another thing that came to mind was that God had changed

his mind in the past about certain things, particularly

about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. At first, he

wanted them there, but when they sinned against him, he

changed his mind and cast them out. Then there was what

happened at Sodom. God's initial decision was to destroy

the city and all its inhabitants, but then Abraham

convinced him to relent his anger, if he could find a few

people that were not sinful. God agreed to this. It

matters not that the required number of people was not

found, it only matters that God changed his mind. Who were
people to think that God could not change his mind, he can

do whatever pleases him. After some more thought, Deanna

decided that she was called upon by Jesus to love all

humans, heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, as Jesus never

did mention anything about homosexuals. Indeed his

strongest mandate was to say that he was the truth and the

light and that all who believe in him will be granted

eternal life. Nothing was ever said about all who believe

except homosexuals. Finally, she came to one inescapable

truth. This truth was that there was no such thing as

homosexual, or hetrosexual. Humans invented these words,

to label something, which in their imperfect understanding

of reality, could only be thought of as sin. People were

created to love and love should not be labeled. God did

not label his love for his children, so why should she.

Therefore, Deanna decided to love all people and that one-

day she would know who was right and wrong. Personally,

she was of the opinion that all people were both right and

wrong in everything.

It was during this period of reflection that she began

to dream. Her nights were filled with the same dream, in

which a strange man appeared, but one who seemed somehow

familiar. He told her that she did not belong on Earth and
that if she allowed he would teach her where she came from

and much more. She rubbished the idea at first, thinking

it was just a stupid dream, but for a month, every single

night she had the same dream.

Eventually she decided that the only way to put an end

to the dream was to go and check it out. In her dream, she

had been given directions to a particular waterfall high up

in the nearby hills called the Campsi Fells.

The next Saturday dawned as it usually did in Scotland,

with clouds and rain. Deanna rose early, showered and

dressed in hiking boots, tight blue jeans and an old green

shirt. She pulled her waist length hair back in a ponytail

and drove the 7 miles to the Campsie's. She parked her car

and with a sigh at the cold, wet weather, headed off to

find the waterfall.

She found the cave, exactly as the dream had told her.

At this point, she began to wonder; just what the hell was

going on. Taking her flashlight, she shone it inside the

cave and looked in as far as the light would go.

 As she crossed the threshold of the cave, she felt her

skin tingle. There had been times in the past when she had

felt that, and she had no more idea now what it meant. She

could not, however, sense any evil. After several more

steps, she seemed to sense something leading her on. She

felt an urge to keep going.

After what seemed hours, the tunnel opened into a huge

cavern. The feeling that had been leading her on was

definitely coming from in there. The cavern was huge, with

massive stalactites and stalagmites. Some distance inside,

nearly hidden by the rock formations, there was a small

cottage. The only reason she could even see the cottage

was because of the warm yellow light emanating from the two

windows. When her eyes fell on that cottage, the

compulsion that had brought her here multiplied tenfold.

She just stood there, staring at the house, trying to fight

the compulsion. She had no idea how long she had been

there, when a voice sounded in her head 'Come Deanna, you

may enter my home.'

The voice resounding in the silences of her mind

surprised her so much that she did not even wonder how this

person knew her name. Hesitantly she walked over and

opened the door. A warm light beamed out, welcoming her

in. She crossed the threshold, her skin tingling again and

the door slammed shut behind her. She jumped around and

tried to pull the door open.

After several tries she gave up, spun around and dropped

into a fighting stance. Her eyes scanned the room, picking

up every single detail. She noticed the chairs around the

large table, the multitude of books and the two deep chairs

sitting beside the warm fire. She looked for any threat,

but none came. 'Welcome to my home Deanna' said a dry

dusty voice, from the direction of one of the chairs beside

the fire. She took a few steps to bring him into visual

range. He was an old man, with long gray hair and beard.

His skin, what she could see of it beneath the hair was

wrinkled like old leather. 'Who are you?' she asked

'A friend of your family' he answered in his dry ancient

voice 'Why don't you sit down and we can talk.'

'I've never heard of a family friend living here' she

said walking over to the empty chair.

'Your parents do not know me, but I have been watching

your family for generations. I was a close friend of your

ancestors.'
 'You have been watching my family for generations – How

is that possible?'

'Much is possible. Sit and I will tell you. I will

also tell you who you are and how to use and control your

power.'

'What do you mean?'

'You were born on this planet, but your ancestors were

not. They came to this place from a very distant planet

millennia ago. They fled from a malignant evil that wiped

out their home and drove their people to a different

planet. Your ancestors held off this evil long enough for

the people to escape, but when they tried to flee

themselves, they ended up here. You as with all the other

descendants have tremendous power, which you must learn to

use.'

Deanna sat down in astonishment, wondering if she was

dreaming, or if this guy was mad, or maybe if it was her

that was crazy. 'No you are not dreaming or mad and

neither am I.'

'Well it sounds as if you are.'

'To people of this day and age perhaps, but you will

have to put aside your prejudices about life on other

planets.'
 'I have not prejudices about that. I have always

accepted that fact, but I don't know about accepting that

my ancestors came from another world.'

'Not only came from, but ruled.'

'Excuse me?'

'Your ancestors were the ruling family of the world of

Lamda and it has fallen to you to find the New World and

save your people. When you leave on your search, you must

be clothed in the full armor of God, and in full control of

your power.'