He was left behind

Lunch was good. Jinx and Herman made sure to have one last meal before he headed back to Oni and his friends. She never said but wished he would stay. They were as connected here in the Nexus as Oni and him were connected. They walked through town. This was the stroll of a couple that might never see each other again. Herman pointed and remarked that the town was growing. Jinx had not noticed until now, but the town was growing. She looked around, “wow I have not seen this much growth in years.” 

They came to the jail. Herman pulled jinx into an embrace. He was leaving and wanted to remind her of him. Last night washed over both of them. That passion expressed in the moments here. He whispered into her ear, “I will return.” The fur from her ear tickled his face a little. It felt good as he snuggled in a close, “I love you Jinx.” 

They separated as air rushed in between them. He could not move. Jinx was the stronger of the two. She gave a quick flick of her noise, turned, and went into the jail. Herman stood for what felt like a lifetime. Resolved with the knowledge he may never see her again he strolled back to his home. With every foot fall a struggle as his feet both wanted to move forward and turn back to her. He thought for a moment he could run back to her. In the next instant he knew he would never leave if he went back to her. 

He finally reached his house. The screen was on. It was left on all the time in the house. The Thri-king dropped. Oni looked dark. Rage was clearly filling him. Herman wanted to be there. He helped Oni feel calmer. He had been gone to long. Arnia grabbed the kings head and tossed it down the stairs. It crumbled to dust as it hit the ground. Herman smiled.

Looking around the house it felt good seeing Jinx here as much as he was. It was good seeing Oni setup for the next battle. His friend Mar’iya was creating the portals to destroy the last of the gems. Slowly approaching the wardrobe he removed his armor, weapons, and gear. The wardrobe was made from hard woods. It was the most expensive thing they owned. It was clear they owned it. She has a matching wardrobe next to his. The daggers clanged a little as he hung them on the hooks. It was time to return, and it felt good. 

He scanned he home once again. He was leaving one couple for a second couple. He stared longingly at the screen. There was a strange sense of dé·jà vu. A ripple of tremor went through his house and possibly the entire Nexis. There was no time to think about this now. He was about to fight Tiamat with his friends. Looking at the screen again, Oni and his friends stepped through a doorway portal at the top of the steps. The image changed to Tiamat’s plain of hell. The group moved in and spread out. Oni moved with a speed he had never used in his life. 

Herman looked up just as the door to Oni disappear. It was not locked like the door to the gods, it was just gone. Jinx had told him that happened when your master died, and the estrangement occurred. He looked at the screen expecting to find Oni dead, but there he was moving through wizards like a distance runner. He would drop one and move on to the next. Herman’s vision moved from the screen to space where the door once was. A heat came off his carving of Bralm. 

Rage brewed. Without thought, he charged the other door. He had not been invited but he clawed at the bars and locks. His hands hurt as bits of it broke off. He knew this was some god created issue. Only they could explain, and he would get his answer. No longer content to be a pawn. Blood dripped from his fingers as enough fell away to let the door open. The short tunnel no looked to go on for miles. He rushed in, still hearing Oni’s battle behind him. 

Once to the other side of the tunnel he popped out. In the past he would have snuck up, but not in this rage. He peered over the side of the broken tower. The chess set was still set up, but the pieces were all moved. The Thri-king piece was nothing but dust in the air. I was flowing off the board filling some of the gaps in the great plain. Every particle from the years saving a new place in the plain itself. 

There were now two boards working at the same time. The new Tiamat piece was now on a board of its own. Oni and his friend’s piece were next to it. The white dragon piece had been drawn near the location of the missing Thri-king. It was surrounded by Wink and the other pieces from Raam. Pieces were still in play. The gods were mostly missing. They would appear, move a piece, and fly off again. They were at war directly with Tiamat’s forces clearing a path. 

No longer content to watch, Herman ran down the steps and stepped out on to the plain. He searched for the chess. He would make himself a player to save Oni. He tried to draw himself to it as you did on this plain. Before moving arms stretched around him. It felt like thousands of bees stinging him. The voice of Bralm whispered to him, in a creepy manner that felt like the way he had with Jinx, “You cannot help there.” 

They flew to the top of the tower. The pain from the stings made him wish for a swift release. Bralm would not give that to him. The whisper happened again, “I am going to let you go, but you will not move.” The arms left him, and Herman stood perfectly still. No longer a whisper, Bralm spoke again, “I told you; you were no longer invited here.” They watched the chessboard. “The pieces are all in play. It is now in the hands of them, and not us. You get to survive either way.” A huff entered his voice, “I will need to punish you for this. I had hoped this would not happen, but you set this into motion.”

All of sudden a hand from under the chess board grabbed the Tiamat piece and pulled it into the board and out of sight. Herman felt that Tiamat was pulled into hell. The gods started to come back to surround the board again. He could see the white dragon piece fall as well. The Oni piece fell and started to turn to dust. Sounding a little more reassuring Bralm spoke one last time, “wait, you will see.” The pieces dust churned but did not fill the gaps. This dust flayed out, turned into several small vortexes, then forming Oni and his friends in the god space. 

The pain from a thousand stings came over Herman again. He looked down to see Bralms arms around him. He was dragged down the steps and to the door where he entered the plain. The door was kicked open. With a force the could have broken Herman in half he was forced into the tunnel. He hit the door on the far side and his bodies impact shattered it. As he fell into unconsciousness he watched as the god door removed itself from his home. He was now trapped in the estranged land of the Nexis.