For the past year, Devin of Clan Tharkold has been missing from the realm known as Astaria. Coincidences being as strange as ever, at almost the exact moment Devin was found to be away, his childhood friend Seiya reappeared. Seiya was thought dead when he and his wife Nyx went thru the fixed portal to the homeworld of the Tharkold demonic host to do battle with the horrid creatures on their own grounds. But, this story is not about Seiya. This is what happened to Devin.....

Devin took it upon himself to enter the silvery portal with only the gear he could carry with him. He did not tell anyone he was going, not even his friend Byron. Upon entering the strange world he was immediately disoriented. Looking around, the land was nothing like what he remembered the realm looking like. It was actually normal. Thinking that somehow he had been transported someplace else mabye, he set out away from the portal to explore.

He walked for a few hours thru the wilderness, encountering nothing more dangerous than a few woodland creatures. Off in the distance, he saw a storm brewing, but a storm unlike any he had witnessed before. Indeed, it put the fear of Artrimas into him. It was like he had come upon a great moving wall of rolling storm clouds, lightning flickering across it's surface. The clouds were a sickly grey-green color. He looked around for shelter and saw none save the thin trees he was walking thru. So, bracing himself for the storm's fury, he prepared to ride it out.

As the clouds moved, Devin was rapidly soaked completely by the rain. Very soon, though, he felt a strange tingling all over his skin. He thought nothing of it at first, mabye just the cold of the rain making him numb. He noticed, though, that the very grass and trees were fuzzy, hazy, coming into and out of focus. He looked down at his hands and was startled... indeed mortified at what he saw was happening to him. Somehow, the storm was changing his physical appearance. His skin had taken on the pallor of a corpse, grey all over, gaunt, bones showing through the mottled skin. His hair had turned completely white, surrounding a face looking more like a lich than the catfolk he once was. His eyes had taken on an evil red glow, and his clothes now hung off of his frame in tatters.

While his physical appearance had changed dramatically, his mind had not. Indeed, he felt stronger. He felt like the world was now full of possibilities, and his to command.

The storm passed by, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared. The land had undergone a change as dramaticaly as Devin had. It now was dark, dank, sinister looking, with a definate malevelant feel to it. Indeed, the very air reeked with evil. Devin, however, felt strangely safe and calm. It confused him greatly. Setting out again, he travelled for a few more miles until he spotted a graveyard next to a large run down church. He saw a battle going on inside the graveyard, heard shouts and explosions. It was a supremely easy task to approach the graveyard silently, seeing as how it was the dead of night, almost completely dark and the combatants were involved in their own problems at the time. But Devin was quite surprised at the complete lack of sound he made when he concentrated on being stealthy. Never before had he been so utterly silent in his movements.

Devin crept up to the gate surrounding the graveyard and watched the battle with great interest. Ghouls and zombies were being mowed down in great numbers by two men dressed in a victorian military style, bright red coats and black hats. They were attacking the undead creatures with weapons that looked similar to the crossbows that Devin had used from time to time, but just barely resembled them. The soldiers would point the weapons at the creatures and pull the triggers, letting loose a huge explosion of light and sound. The creatures in the path of the weapon would drop, spinning around as if hit with great force. Devin instinctively knew that these weapons had to be blessed and be loaded with special ammunition to drop these undead so effectively. He didn't know how he knew this though.

As fast as the soldiers were dropping the undead creatures, more were clawing their way from the graves, emerging covered with clumped soil dropping to the ground. The soldiers seemed to be holding their own... indeed, gaining the upper hand. They had to reload their weapons after each shot, but they were alternating their attacks, so that one was firing while the other was reloading. Also, the undead were quite slow, moving with a shambling gait. Not one got closer than 10 feet before it was blown to bits.

Suddenly, there was a huge shadow of darkness that emerged from the run down building. There was a great feeling of evil so complete that it was almost a tangible thing. A rasping voice called out of the darkness.... "Stormers!!!" The soldiers both turned pale as ghosts, holding their guns in visibly shaking hands, pointed into the darkness.

From out of the darkness strode a very large man, standing almost 7 feet tall. He was built like a stick, though, being very thin and pale, looking much like the corpses that surrounded him. He carried a gold staff, tipped with the head of a lizard, holding a strangely glowing gem in it's mouth.

The soldiers saw the apparition and visibly sagged. "The Gaunt Man!" one exclaimed. "We're dead. All of our fighting was for naught. All is lost." the other one told his companion. As one, they took aim at the gaunt figure and fired. The man never flinched, never moved. Devin saw the bullets pass right through his form and strike the masonry of the ruins behind him and ricochet off of the rocks into the night sky. The skeletal figure pointed one finger at the pair of soldiers and their skin started peeling off of their bodies with a sickening ripping sound. Their screams of torment were such that Devin had to cover his ears and crouch down, putting his head between his legs... it didn't help though. The soldiers screamed for what seemed like hours, in agony...

Devin looked up after a few minutes and saw that their bodies were completely devoid of skin, but they were somehow still alive, still in great agony. The Gaunt Man saw Devin at this moment. He looked straight through his eyes and into his soul, it seemed. Devin did the first thing that came to his mind. He took two daggers from his cloak and nonchalontly flicked them in the general direction of the two soldiers, and turned to look at the Gaunt Man. Devin's blades took both the screaming figures right square between the eyes, burying themselves up to the hilts. The bodies hit the ground and stopped screaming. All this while Devin looked at the Man. The Man raised his eyebrows at this, seemingly impressed at this lich who appeared from nowhere. With a swirl of his cloak, the Gaunt Man faded into the darkness. Devin heard him speak in his mind... his voice inside his head sounding like the wind blowing through dead trees at midnight... "You, I do not know. If you are a servant of mine, you will grow to great power if you continue to serve me. If, however, you are a Stormer, and seek to destroy me, then your death cries will be heard all throughout the realm of Orrorsh for eternity."

Devin wandered this strange new realm he discovered, a frightening visage to all who beheld him. He constantly avoided wandering people because he knew that one look at his form would inspire all he met with fear and loathing. He kept to the shadows that have always sheltered him in the past. Throughout the months, he learned much about his current situation.

This realm, called Orrorsh, is a reality, much the same way that Astaria is a reality, only Orrorsh operates under different laws than Astaria does. Where Astaria is a realm of fantasy, Orrorsh is a realm of darkness. Where Astaria is a realm of dreams, Orrorsh is a realm of nightmares. Technologically speaking, Orrorsh is slightly more advanced than Astaria, being akin to the Earthly Victorian era, roughly around the 1890's. But that is where the similarities between the eras end. Monstrous things walk... things which have no business walking... the dead rise and plague the living, feeding on the fear of the populous. For, the more fear the creatures can make them feel, the stronger they get. And the strongest creature by far is that known as The Gaunt Man. He is the "leader" of the realm, seeking to drain the population of all it's energy. The more they fear, the stronger he becomes. The stronger he becomes, the more power he has to generate more fear.

Devin further discovered that Orrorsh is akin to Tharkold in the fact that they both are realities much different than Astaria, or each other. Devin underwent a transformation when he entered this realm, and he now physically IS a denizen of Orrorsh. He retained his "humanity" though. He still has his free will. But sometimes, he has thoughts... he dreams... and they are the kinds of thoughts and dreams that make one wake up screaming. Sometimes he finds himself startled awake after one of these dreams in a strange place... like that which he was just dreaming. And then, he wonders... He knows they are not just dreams...

Knowing that he must combat this new threat to the realms, Devin gathered as much information as he could from all the beings he could. Both the living and the undead, he spoke with all that he could. In this way, he learned a great deal more than he wished to know. Orrorsh and Tharkold are but two invading realms of several more. These other realities are not as powerful or well entrenched as the first two, but formidible in their own respect, not to be trifled with.

He also found out that the demon known as Thratchen that he and his friends defeated long ago was an ally of the Gaunt Man. When the Gaunt Man discovered this, he sent out a hunt for Devin, dead or alive. For either way, He would be able to gather information from Devin.

Devin made his way back to the portal deep in the forest. He found the way blocked by an undead army led by nightmarish creatures. Knowing that the Gaunt Man expected him to fight and be captured or killed, Devin simply did what came naturally to him... he climbed the trees and silently made his way along the tree tops until he was so close to the portal he could feel it's energies, and he dropped right into it, exiting the nightmare realm and re-entering Astaria.

When he emerged, he immediately called for Byron. Naturally, Byron was appalled at his friend's visage, but was calmed soon enough as Devin spoke with him hastily. For moments after Devin appeared, the first of the undead army came thru after him. Byron and Devin called out to the rest of the Clan, and all came to aid in the fight. As the undead poured through the portal, Devin met them with his ferocity that is so very well known in Astaria. Every blow he struck left an enemy down. The thieves Talon, his wife Malificient, McLewan, Seres and Thyatis came and leaped into the fray, gleefully fighting the army. Jana struck down any of the dead that came near her, as she protected the weaker clan members. Zooey stood atop the clan hall and threw deadly fireballs all about her, while being careful not to hit any of her friends with her magical flames. Starr and Lothar aided where they could, offering inspires and playing their warchants to the combatants. Seiya cut a wide swath of death around him, his whole existance as a Paladin had led up to this moment. He visually glowed as the strength of Artrimas filled him with the power to fight and repel the undead. Byron and Nicholaa alternated between smiting the undead host and healing their comrads. After a long and tiring battle, the undead army was defeated and in ruins, the portal once again secure. Not a single clan member fell.

After resting and telling his incredible story to his brothers and sisters, Devin grew weak and collapsed. Byron took his friend and laid him in his bed to rest. Seiya walked into the portal, once again going alone into the unknown to face the enemy for Astaria. The rest of the clan members made preparations anew, for now they had a new enemy to face in the near future. An enemy much worse than the Tharkoldu demons. For this enemy knew the true meaning of fear, and he knew how to mold that fear into a tangible, living entity. It seems now to be the darkest point in the clan's short existance. But, their Overlord was back, albiet physically changed, and fighting an internal demon. And many powerful members have been added to their ranks since that first encounter with the cyberdemons. Can this be enough to face the impending invasion that is sure to come? We doubt it. But it will be a hell of a lot of fun fighting for the freedom of Astaria. And who knows... mabye the Gaunt Man will come and subjugate all of Astaria. Mabye... just mabye... but we have to win, right? we're the good guys, right? HA HA HA HA!!! No, really, we'll beat the Gaunt Man and his minions in the end, right? Right? Yea, right. You figure it out.