Aether Beasts

When night passed and dawn began, heralding the rising of the sun, the city of Evernord was changed. For most, they did not notice it until the groups of guards began to move through the city and call for all people to head to the north of the city where a once great arena had been, but many years ago, after a conflict, it had crumbled, and after the rubble had been cleared, the space had been left. The owner of the arena had never put the land on sale, simply keeping it to himself but that owner had been killed the previous night as he had been involved in various criminal activities, the worst of which was acting as the leader for groups of hired killers, mainly hired by those at the middle-end of society.

With him gone, the new mayor and his council, appointed by Aeverie through binding oath had taken the land and had their new guard move through the city.

People were confused at first, mainly due to the fact of the guards' uniforms which unlike the previous black was now a dark blue, and unlike the old ragged and disorganized guards, these new guards moved in unison at a march, and in formation. Every now and then a guard would split off to move down a narrow alleyway to call more people and send them north. They weren't trying to get everyone since that would be extremely difficult but just enough that it would be talked about everywhere in the city and spread very quickly.

Crowds became to form nearer the north and soon the empty space began to fill up with hundreds then thousands of people.

It also served another purpose as it allowed the clean-up crews to more easily get rid of the dead bodies which had been left behind in the previous night's events and for the quick takeover of all lands that belongs to the deceased. There was barely any struggle, and though a few noticed, it wasn't enough and was overshadowed by the larger crowds gathering and moving north.

Those crowds spread the words and on and on it went until more and more people began heading north. Soon thousands went to tens of thousand and within two hours, half the city had gathered in the empty space which more still trickling in.

Rows of guards stood below a small platform made of earth, which towered above the people below. Atop the platform stood three figures one of which was a middle-aged woman who stood flanked on either side by a man in a more intricate guard uniform and an older-looking man in a set of simple yet expensive-looking clothes.

Many of the people below recognized the figures, and quickly the crowd began to speculate as to what was happening. Some spoke of invasion, but that was quickly disapproved while others thought this might have something to do with the expedition, but many pointed out that none of them were to be seen. Rumors abounded and everyone waited in anticipation for what was about to happen, and what would be said.

All the while, more people trickled in and those chosen by Aeveire solidified their hold on the city, cleaning up the old and taking control, a control that would not harm the people as the old had, but help. Not to trap and force, but to free and heal. It would be a long road but a necessary one. It would take time for people to get used to things and of course, there would be problems to come, but Aeverie was very intelligent and had chosen well.

"Are we ready to begin?" The new mayor asked the older man beside her.

"Give it another minute," he replied, glancing at her. "Nervous."

She snorted. "Never. I've faced down worse. This will be easy in comparison compared to dealing with Lex and his lot. I still can't believe what's happened. I'm surprised, but happy."

"We all are," the guard captain on her other side said. "But we can't allow that to hold us back. We have been given an amazing opportunity, and we can't let it go to waste."

She nodded and took a deep breath before taking a step forward. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the enchanted object. It was a rod with an oval on the end and its function was to amplify sound. This would allow her to be heard by everyone very clearly. She had heard it was based on old-world tech and was from an old expedition.

The crowd was quiet as they noticed her movement, and the new mayor of Evenord raised the item to her mouth and began to speak.

______

Will watched from afar as the new mayor began to speak. He shook his head, and let out a sigh. He had to admit that the fae had known what she had been doing. His remaining contacts which were the ones he had created himself, the only ones left, had reported a major wiping of every major and minor criminal organization, and out of those who had been left, almost all had stopped any activities and dissolved. Apparently many had been offered jobs and positions, which was possible because of all the new projects that were about to be announced

The city of Evenord was more advanced than most in the plains, but the gap between it and the others was about to grow. By the end of this, it would be the most advanced and greatest city in the plains, more so than it had already been, though a few others had compared with it.

"Boss, it's almost time."

Will glanced over at Kiggs, and not for the first time wondered why in the hell he had been sent of all people. Will had at first thought Kiggs was the agent, but Kiggs had confirmed he was not, and had been sent to make sure everything went well. He was basically a messenger and did anything asked of him by those above his station.

He was a shapeshifter, and had been rather weak the last time Will had seen him, but apparently, he had moved up in the world, though not by too much. He was average now and currently disguised as a middle-aged man with a rough face and bulky body. He had probably gained a few new forms. Unlike other types of shapeshifters, Kiggs needed to essentially eat or absorb someone to get access to their form, and even then, there were limitations on size, weight, and height, not to mention they needed to eat most if not all of the person or shapeshifting into was harder and other parts from other forms would be needed to fill out gaps sometimes leading to very odd appearances. Some of his kind tended to take certain parts and then assembly forms rather than taking whole bodies. It was like taking parts and putting them together to create what was needed.

"How long?" Will asked. "And stop speaking in that squeaky voice when your in that body."

"Oh sorry, and two minutes."

"Where did you say we were meeting again?" Will asked.

"There's an old warehouse in the south, very hidden and rumor says it's cursed so no one will go near it. It's the perfect place."

"Do you have the elixir?" Will asked, holding back a wince. He did not like having to change his form but knew it was necessary.

Kiggs plunged a hand into his body and pulled out the elixir. Will gingerly took it. He knew that Kiggs race had access to an innate spatial storage that was connected to their body, but it looked very disturbing when they pulled out things.

"Come on then." Will got to his feet. "Let's go."

Kiggs led the way as they made the through the silent city. Will took in a few of the sights he would miss when he was gone. Mainly the brothels because he doubted he'd be getting any on the return journey. He would have to play his part very well and not attract any attention or try anything, at least not on his own.

The warehouse was just as Kiggs had said. Decrepit, crumbling, and covered in dirt and who knew what else, but at the center stood a cloaked figure, a body next to him wrapped in a fabric.

Kiggs approached the body and began to extract what he needed to add to the elixir while Will approached the figure.

"So you're the agent they sent?"

"Puppetmaster." He said with a slow nod. "Though you will know me by my other name soon enough."

"A pleasure," Will said warily, eyeing the still figure up and down. "Anything to report?"

The figure shook his head. "The shifter should have told your everything you need to know. Besides that, you should listen to what I say, I know the clan far better than you. I have after all been with them my whole life."

"It's done." Will turned to Kiggs who offered him a small white bead. Will took it and after opening the elixir, dropped it in. It dissolved and the blue color changed to red then milky white.

"Who is this?"

"A clan member, Max." The figure motioned to the elixir. "If you would hurry, we must go soon."

Will held back a sigh and then put the contents into his mouth. He almost spit it out but managed to swallow. He tagged which quickly turned into a cough then a gasp as he fell to the floor and began to writhe in pain.

His flesh began to distend, bubble and shift. A shell of horror aether formed around him and the sound of his struggles were cut off. For those outside the shell, it lasted but a minute, but for Will or Max now, it felt like it went on for hours.

When at last the shells cracked and the aether faded, what was left was not Will, but somebody else. A different body, a different face, and a different voice.

Max sat up and let out a curse. "Fuck that. It was Just as bad as last time."