Introduction: Another foolish re-write of game turns. Violet was my original character. Regrettably, this was a darn interesting game, yet the GM simply vanished.

Intertwined Fates

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Incomplete

Chapter One

New Horizons

Violet Hightower chatted constantly even while she fought her small planes desire to climb higher in the buffeting winds. "As I understand it Kitty, once The Goddess was supplanted by male gods, women have been treated as property. I heard on NPR last month that in the Christian religion, men claim women brought sin to Earth. Since they did, they have to be kept in strict control lest they destroy men. My belief is that women brought knowledge, and that frightened men, because knowledge means a power most men barely understand. Still barely understand in most cases. They prefer sword and fire over life and love. Either way, what you and I do now is nobody's business but ours... Unless one of us gets preggers from it.... Then I'M calling ENN! I've given you my life, my soul... I won’t withhold anything from you. I'll be your friend, your lover.. and if you need it, your slave. Without regret or complaint."

Kitty Stone giggled, remembering that bathtub conversation several nights ago. 'Was it only a few nights ago?' she thought, looking out her fogged window to watch as the frozen arctic tundra roll by. 'Just a few days ago, when we learned the government had shut down our section, releasing all their 'special agents' to make it on our own?' She snorted lightly, leaning her forehead against the small planes cold windowpane. It wasn't the first time she'd been dumped in her lifetime. First her own tribe, then the Romans... five thousand plus years of experience tended to leave little new to experience. Even Violet wasn't new to the half dragon. Kitty could call up faces of hundreds of women she'd fallen in and out of love with. She changed her thoughts, going over the last week slowly.

They’d been called to a conference room, all seven 'Occult Researchers' and the dozen more 'True Scientists.' There they had been informed that everything was being crated up, all their careful work was to be stored. Some nosey Southern Congressman had sniffed too close to the truth. They'd be called back as soon as a new complex could be put together. She had 'clicked' with Violet the moment they'd met. Something about the little Scottish woman, a taste of power untapped perhaps, had interested her. After the meeting Violet had made an offer, one Kitty grabbed without thinking.

Three days of gathering supplies and buying an old single engine floatplane later, another two days flying from Seattle towards the North Pole and here she was watching frozen earth slip beneath her. 'Come North with me, I promise you'll love it' Violet had offered. Just like a first year cadet Kitty had followed blindly. Why she still was not sure, save that declining would have left a big hole in her life. "North" she whispered, turning to watch Violet fly. "Gods, I didn't dream of how far North you meant." What was she doing, dropping everything, flying off into the Gods knew where with a woman she'd only met a few months ago. She studied Violet, who at the moment was busy keeping them a few yards above the treetops, and below any radar.

Suddenly the plane lifted, throwing the black haired woman back against her seat as it clawed for altitude. Outside the landscape rose sharply. Dark red Basalt cliffs reached out, as if trying to swat them from the sky. "Only a few more minutes" Violet told her, breaking her silence. The aircraft stalled, barely gliding over a smoothed edged wall, then dropped like a stone, almost a thousand feet in a spiraling fall that left the Dragon Mage's stomach in her throat. Just as suddenly they flared out, drifting above an ice dusted surface of tree and land. Kitty caught sight of trees less than a dozen feet from the wingtip, then a flash of dark blue moments before the airship shuddered, slowing rapidly as Violet settled back it her seat. Kitty relaxed, letting go of the power she was ready to unleash should things have turned messy.

"Love that downdraft" Violet laughed, adding power to the engine as they cruised slowly towards a series of old stone piers. "Getting out is the hard part, we'll have to circle for half an hour just to gain enough altitude." There was a cough from the engine as she cut power, followed moments later by a crunch of aluminum float against water rounded stone. Violet popped her door, jumping from the craft before Kitty could react. A few short minutes later and Kitty found herself standing on moss covered stones, the craft secure.

"Worst comes to worst I can always spell us up... should cut the time to almost zero." She paused, still unsure about her stomach. "One thing I'll have to get used to is that downdraft of yours... That or your piloting. I really don't want to attract attention by coming in on my own."

Kitty looked around her as she stepped off the short dock, listening to Violet behind her as she hauled the small float-plane into an ancient stone shed. Above she could see stars, yet the sun wouldn't be gone for another hour. Around her rose dark Basalt cliffs, creating a mile and a half wide bowl some glacier had carved out millions of years ago. Beneath her feet, a pea gravel beach bordering a tiny, indigo blue lake crunched under her weight. She could feel it, the power around her. At least three, if not more of the planets threads of power met directly above the lake.

'Neat' she thought to herself. 'Enough mana here to power quite a few spells. I'm surprised a mage hasn't already claimed this place. But then, considering how few there are they can't be everywhere. Now however if I wanted to set up independent spells ...'

Noises from ahead drew her attention. Violet had taken the lead, using her lover's musing to slip quietly by. Not that Kitty really complained, as this gave her a great view of the scenery, which as far as she was concerned for the moment consisted mostly of a nice pair of swinging hips...

'Down girl! Heel! Time enough for that later....' Kitty laughed softly at herself. They'd taken off before sunrise, yet ten hours sitting in a cold aircraft hadn't been enough to chill the desire this mostly unknown woman awoke in her.

Carrying her bag she followed the younger ex-agent. Violet was stepping carefully, hand hewed steps slippery with moss led the way up a cliff face fully a thousand meters high. Kitty stopped, studying the rough cut stone. Nothing modern had made those marks, too many feet had trod these steps for them to be recent. Yet again she wondered who these 'friends' were, that could own such a place. A place unsuspected by any of her teachers, unmentioned in any book she'd ever read. A cry from Violet broke her revel, she waved, starting up the steps again.

Two hundred feet above the valley floor she suddenly turned left, entering a short tunnel, then into a huge, massive semi-cavern. Unseen from above, or below, a weakness in the Basalt had allowed the ice to gorge a deep cavern into the wall. Fully four hundred feet across, almost that deep, she found herself staring at an old style three story stone house. 'It must be six, seven thousand square feet' she thought to herself as she walked the gravel path.

Violet waited for her at the door. "We have to say hello to Margrave and Jacob first" she said, sitting her heavy suitcase beside the heavy wood door. Following suit Kitty followed Violet around one side of the house, further down towards what appeared to be ancient stone buildings. "An Indian tribe once lived here" Violet explained, “Margrave told me that they just died off, about six thousand years ago. Ah, here we are." She stopped at a weathered iron gate, opening it wide. "Careful, the whole fence is iron."

Kitty followed her lover in, careful not to touch the fence. And not to show how much loathe she was to go near it. The ordeal passed the pair found themselves walking among ancient grave markers until they stopped at two marble panels. "I had to carry them in myself" Violet said, her voice low, sounding far away. "Damn near gave myself a hernia." Kitty read the markers, Margrave Yaw, 1898 - 1995. Jacob Yaw, 1901 - 1992. She did a quick count, Margrave had died at 98 years of age, her husband only 91. "How old were you when you met them" she asked.

"Great Grandmother? Oh, they came down when I had my seventh birthday, and every three years after that. Great Grandfather died while I was in Russia, about the time I was laying in that pond of waste. Grandmother Binten came up and helped bury him, since it was summer and the plane could get in. She died that winter, she and Grandfather. An auto accident on snow covered roads. They hit an ice patch and ended up in the Potomac river." Violet went silent, softly running a hand over the stones. "I promised Great Grandmother that, when I found my love, I'd bring her up here. So she could meet you. I was in White Sands when she fell ill. I parachuted in, HALO drop. There was no other way in, not in the first week of January. Of course, I billed it as a survival jump. It wouldn't do for anyone else to know of this place. Even mom and Uncle Thomas don't know." Violet turned, leading the way back out.

Kitty nodded, "I think I understand. So, now what do we do. No jobs, you spent all our money on that airplane and supplies. Its not long before the first blizzard. So do we stay here or move on? It will not be a problem for me to rebuild myself a cash flow, but I don't think either of us would appreciate the sedentary home life." She looked out over the valley, the glint of metal caught her eye. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the reflection.

"That? One of the satellite dishes. If it's visible I'll have to go over and fix the cover, it probably ripped in last winters storms. There are two aimed South, one aimed at the house. We can get the US & Oriental birds, except in the worst weather. So we can keep up with the news, make phone calls and even connect to the internet. There's an account in New York that covers those connect charges, even when no ones here."

They had returned to the door, Kitty expected Violet to fish out a hidden key, but she just slid a pair of huge deadbolts aside and pushed the door open. "No locks?"

"Why?" Violet asked. "If someone managed not only to find this place, but land, find the stairway and get up here, what good would a lock be?" Picking up her bag she entered the building, Kitty close behind.

“Er... Vi? Any possibility of putting brass deadbolts instead?" she asked as she paused near the door, eyeing the iron bolts wearily. "I'd hate to have to come in through the windows each time I wanted to get in here..."

Violet turned, embarrassment evident on her face."Sorry, forgot. We'll figure out something. In the meantime I'll dismount them. There's some oak rods in the workroom I can turn into replacements until we can find something better."

Inside was dim, but Violets strange sight allowed her to move about easily. Kitty watched as windows were opened and wooden shutters slid aside. Afternoon sunlight filled the room, lighting up dozens of cloth covered shapes. "Help me uncover things, then I'll get the supplies packed up. It's too dangerous near the lake at night... Unless you can see. It drops to I don’t know how deep just a few feet from the shore."

Heavy wooden tables and chairs soon reflected the light, along with several expensive stuffed chairs. "You packed this all up yourself?" Kitty asked, calculating the weight.

"No" Violet laughed, "It wasn't until two years ago I discovered their secret. An elevator hidden in the back of the cavern. All I brought was the TV, video gear, a computer setup and some random electronic junk. Tomorrow I'll get the power back on-line so we won't have to use those steps again. Elevator cage is bronze."

It took half the long Northern Winter night to see everything. Built in the Spanish style, the building held its sweetest secret in the center courtyard. A tall fountain, currently dry, surrounded by tiers of dormant herb gardens. In the front of the building was "Grandmother Yaw's private study." The moment Kitty stood in front of the door she knew it was special. All through the house she'd found oak, Yew, Mahogany, dozens of other rare and exotic hardwoods. Here though, "Yarrow" she gasped. "An entire door of solid Yarrow."

This wasn't the only thing odd about it. To Kitty's mage sight strange lines of powers were woven within the woods. A very complex spell had been woven here, although she couldn't completely identify it without further study, she knew enough to recognize a ward against evil. What really awed her was the artistry and the age of it. Someone had gone to great lengths to link the ward with the nearby lea lines, in fact making them permanent. And done it with such skill as to not leave a trace visible 30 feet away. Truly a Master's work...

"Wow!"

Violet laughed, amused at Kitty's awe of a yarrow door.

"Come in my love, you haven't seen anything yet. This room I give to you. I hope you have use for it.”

Kitty entered a dream. Bookshelves lined one wall. As she looked around Violet opened another, wide window. The Northern Lights spilled into the room, sending flickers of colors around. When Violet lit a candle Kitty almost cried.

It was a Magicians study. Carved into the basalt floor was a pentagram, unadorned though faint chalk marks could still be read. It faced due North. The bookshelves held thousands of strange tomes, ancient and modern. Along the West wall was an Astrological map, a huge rowen wood desk before it. Turning to face the South wall she found row after row of carefully marked, sealed bottles and boxes. "Your Great Grandmother was a Witch" she said matter of factly. "As were a great many people before her..."

"And was pissed as hell I don't have any power" Violet agreed. "Mom renounced our heritage, the Christians got to her and my Uncle when they were five. Granda an Grandma had been caught in the wrong country at the wrong time, they were years getting home and by then... Well what's done is done." Violet dropped onto a heavy pillow. "I spent weeks in this room, studying, marking, trying until I fell asleep while reading. The best I ever did was a tiny brown light, and two minutes holding that left me in bed almost all the next day." She shook her head in defeat. "I've got the knowledge, I don't have the power. I can't use this room, I want you to have it. Besides, we're going to be here at least five months. It'd be a waste to lock it up."

“But I can't accept this Vi! It's your line's treasure. I'd be infringing! By all the powers, is that what I think it is..."

Racing over to a section of tomes she revently caressed their cover....

"Berino's Principles... Sam-Han-Araths Transformation Theories... THE VEIL OF WEIRDING! Did you know how long it took me to get mine? And how much it cost? And here was one copy, excuse me the original no less!"

Violet laughed, "Your my mate for life" she giggled. "If that doesn't make you family.. Well I can't think of anything else that would. It's yours, no one else in my family knows about this place, most would burn it to the ground if they did. I love to study Angie, but with no way to use what I learn from those pages. Well, It'd be a waste not to pass it on to someone who can really use it."

Kitty just shook her head in disbelief. The dream of all students, a full study, far away from 'Civilization' and with almost unlimited power available. 'If I wasn't wide awake, I'd pinch myself' she thought. "How about some chocolate? It's cold in here." Violet jumped up like a little girl, quickly closing the old glass windows. "Sorry, forgot. Okay, lets go to the kitchen then."

Sometime later Kitty found herself in a strange, almost disturbing dream. She was floating above the lake, and in it she could see Violets image. A voice, genderless, spoke to her. "Finally, a true pair has come."

"What the hey?...". Carefully she inspected her personal wards... Whatever was happening to her was not the result of hostile magic. If anything this had the sense of white magic about it... She looked around, unafraid, yet... Before her a colorless flame flickered, slowly building, like thousands of flakes of snow. Moments later a couple, ageless floated across from her. The two spoke to each other, yet she heard nothing. Finally the woman turned to her, long white hair billowing in the wind... Mage wind! Kitty suddenly understood.

"Oh. Great. Whoever is behind this is into the dramatics... and obviously likes to keep some secrets. Well here goes..."

"Welcome daughter of Light" the woman said, her voice soft, like the sound of snow brushing across itself in a winters breeze, ignoring the Magewomans thoughts. "We have waited, waited since Mylin left to again find a champion. We knew the Yaw family would not disappoint us. Their demon blood would force the powers outside to send a balance, and the little devil has brought such a wonderful choice." Her hand brushed across Kitty's face, bringing coolness.

"Who are you" she asked, "And what..."

"Quiet dear" she was answered. "We, my husband and I, have been bound here since the First Demon war. Occasionally, about once a thousand turns, we are given the chance to aid the fight again. The last was Mylin, tho his wounds at the hands of Darkness have forced him to sleep, he was one of the best. We felt Violets call, felt her try. She does have so much potential, yet for her the gate would not open."

Great... Ancient Spirits! You make them live a couple of eons and they get the impression the rest of us are children... Wait a minute! Mylin? Merlin? He who now sleeps in a cage of crystal as he heals from the loss of Camelot? Is it possible?..

The apparition drifted back to her husband. "Look below, watch and listen." Kitty looked down, seeing again Violets image. "In the last war, when your parents were killed, Violets line was... abused. Through the generations the demon taint has weakened. Unlike the common taint, this line fought for good, fought and lost so many... Her Great Grandmother was the last to know the truth, Violet herself suspects nothing. Yet she soon will." As Kitty watched the scene changed, showing a nude, battered and badly injured woman running in the dark. Whom it was was unmistakable, Kitty gasped as the figure jerked, spun and fell. A Russian bullet having found its mark. Her fall sent her into a lake of glowing waste, and as Kitty watched days went by, days where the body of her lover floated seemingly lifeless on its back.

Then the scene changed again, the future. Violet was changing, as Kitty watched her lovers skin turned dark, leathery. Bat-like wings and a barbed tail emerged, her sweet face became hard, merciless. Blood red eyes glowing in the night. "Her demon blood saved her, and in doing so was awakened. In three hands of years she will change to this, immortal, should it be allowed. Here tho, in our sanctuary, you can learn to heal her, make dormant again her demon blood. But she must not know, not until the deed is done, for once she knows her blood will be able to fight you with a power drawn of the dark. Yet if you are successful, she will be able to draw upon her Demon strength, aid you in your battle." The woman's husband faded. "The two of you make a team, a team the likes not seen in three thousand years. Mage and Scholar, Light and Dark. Heal her if you can, heal her and take up the battle. Or kill her quickly, to save her."

Kitty watched as the white woman too vanished, watched, and followed a led line up.. Up to a nexus she gasped at. Not three, four or five lines... But a full nine! "Whitehold" she gasped, suddenly waking in the chair she'd fallen asleep in. Whitehold, the legendary lost sanctuary where Light and Dark were always equal. Lost for millennium, forgotten. Thought to be nothing but a child’s story. Violet lay on the rug across from her, still holding a half full cup of coca as she slept, facing the dying fire. The room was still, yet she could smell a scent of power. As she laid back to think, the Northern Lights played across Violets sleeping form.

'This is a recording... Your mission should you accept it... '... Kitty suppressed an urge to giggle. Whomever these spirits were, they knew enough about their descendants to know she would take up the fight. And she had a feeling that Violet would too. She was certainly grateful of their warning about Vi's healing. But some things had to be done first.

Settling back in her chair she entered a trance, casting her awareness into that special place where she had encountered those spirits, searching for that nexus of Whitehold she had encountered earlier. Finding what she searched for Kitty paused... studying the natural creation closely, an idea crossing her mind.

Violet yawned, stretching her limbs slowly. A sudden harsh scrape of ceramic across the cold stone floor warned her of the cup she still held. Carefully she released the cup, setting up slowly, her long hair spilling across her face like a veil. Pain flowed from old wounds, the rug had proved to be a poor insulator and her body warmth had been sapped by the stone below. Standing she groaned, twisting her body in strange directions. A sound of joints settling back into place filled the room, waking Kitty with a soft start. Violet waved, "Persian rugs and overstuffed armchairs are nice" she announced. "But they both make lousy beds. Only iron in the kitchen is easy to avoid, a few skillets, some grills and an few odds and ends. As soon as I get done today you can point out what needs to be stored." She shrugged her shoulders, "Grandda always took care of things for Granma, but I've been vacationing here alone. Iron doesn't bother me, I forgot."

Kitty nodded, slowly stretching her own muscles back into some semblance of usefulness. "So I'm kitchen help huh?" she asked, watching as the other slowly stripped off too long worn clothing. Even in the dimness of pre-dawn that sight caused her heart to race.

"Not really" Violet replied as she dug clean clothes out of her bag. "I happen to like keeping house, I just need to get the water turbine reset, fix that cover on the antenna's, lug up the rest of our cargo and get these bolts changed. Then I'm going to treat both of us to a long hot bath. Tomorrow I'll take over most of the housework, you can decide what you want to do." She struggled into heavy trousers, her breasts bobbing in the dim light. "Generator rooms all steel laced with a pure iron mesh, I don't think you could even get near it. You can handle steel, so if you'll wash the sheets we'll sleep in a real bed tonight." A glint came into her eye as she buttoned up a thick flannel shirt. "Well, we'll at least LAY in a bed tonight."

"When's the first storm due" Kitty asked as she managed to stand, tight muscles complaining even as she walked towards her own bags.

"A few have already been by" Violet admitted, "That's why the ice crystals under the trees. We shouldn't have to worry about getting stuck in here for at least another week. By then you'll have made your decision. If you decide to leave, I should be able to get you out, then slip back in between storms." She stamped her feet, setting them in the new boots. "Lovely, I get to break in new boots, again."

While Kitty changed Violet found some tools, taking the time to dismount both iron deadbolts from the front door. "Better use a chair to hold it closed" she warned. "Up this high, we often get a nasty chill of a wind around noon." Tossing the bolts outside the building she walked back, kissing Kitty on the cheek as the other struggled into her own new clothing. "I told you those pants were too small" Violet laughed, "Now you've either got to lose about twenty pounds, or figure a way into something two sizes too small." She patted Kitty on the cheek. "I'll get the power on, shouldn't take more than an hour. By the time I get back from fixing the antenna you should have burned breakfast." She dodged Kittys hand, grabbing a flashlight and dancing out the doorway.

Kitty found herself alone again, yet not alone. Violet was only a yell away, no matter where in the valley either were. "There not to small" she cursed, forcing herself to stand. "I know my size." With a jerk she pulled the heavy work pants up around her hips, a few minutes more struggle and the industrial strength zipper closed. Kitty gasped as heavy duty cloth squeezed her into its shape. "Then again" she gasped as she looked in the mirror, "Maybe they are a bit small after all." Looking back at her was a figure with painted on pants. Walking proved to be an adventure. Carefully picking up a notepad and pencil, she moved into the kitchen. "Might as well start listing things" she grumbled as the taste of iron came to her.

Violet had her own problems, two years of disuse had left its mark. Locating a can of penetrating oil she started working. For some reason she felt uncomfortable within the oversized workroom, as if something were pressing against her, trying to crush her. "Must be from sleeping on the floor" she mused, swinging open the sluice access to clear it..