*Editing magic performed by KJ24 and Shyqash, plus a contribution by a loyal reader. I really do appreciate all you guys and girls. You pick me up when I am down, back me up when I struggle and, best of all, inspire me with your creative ideas which I gladly interject into this tale.*

*THIS SUBMISSION DOES NOT INCLUDE EVENTS IN THE MAIN STORYLINE. IT CONTAINS INFORMATION IMPORTANT TO THE LARGER TALE*

*Felix, that Bitch -- the Weave and a Reader's idea*

{ A: Felix Melena -- The Enigma that Isn't}

I've been asked about Felix more than a few times. I have found Felix to be a fun character to write and he seems quite clear to me. Most of the people who have corresponded with me about him seem to think he was an utter asshole and a villain. That is not quite the truth -- as Cáel has pointed out to others, Felix is a Winner with a capital 'W'. Is this such a bad thing?

Admittedly, he was an asshole for walking around telling the world how awesome he is. And he would be a true villain if it he couldn't back it up. But it was true. Felix really was awesome.

But of more importance in Cael's world, Felix wasn't a cheater. He played by the rules. He didn't consider himself to be a 'bad guy'. Left unchallenged, he was quite a nice guy. He was not a bully. If you didn't challenge him, he was not going to beat you up. Why? Well what was the point? He knew he was better than you. And the only person Felix was truly out to impress was himself. So he didn't care what you thought of yourself.

From Felix's point of view, in the shower scene with Elsa, Cáel had thrown down the gauntlet by 'having' Elsa choose Cáel over himself. Felix didn't blame Elsa. That was not his style. (He was rather chauvinistic.)

What is often ignored is that after Cáel beat Felix, Felix lived with the verdict. Brian and Trent wouldn't have. Felix had his own Code of Honor and, for those worthy of being considered a true competitor, he respected them and showed that respect. Sure, that meant he still saw most people as pawns in the competition, since he started with that assumption (-- after all, he was an asshole.)

But it also meant he wouldn't have done what he did to Brooke (and Gene) if he hadn't been out to show Cáel that he was the superior male. Again, he's an asshole. Still, given that quirk, Felix was reliable, honorable and honest (for the most part). The best way I can explain the package is look at some contrasts; let's imagine I put Felix in Chapter 23 in place of Cáel.

#1, he would have defended Casper. Why? Felix feels that no woman should have that happen to her. Felix would NEVER rape a woman. Not only did he feel he would never have to, he knows it was 'wrong'. Right and wrong were important to him. They are why we have rules and the rules are for EVERYONE, himself included.

#2, at the pool, sexing up Brooke, he would have been polite to Hana. He had Brooke, Hana wasn't confronting him and he understood the concepts of hospitality. Unless he and you were in conflict, you were perfectly safe in his abode, or under his protection. Why? It was both wrong to attack your dependent, and suggested you questioned about his supremacy. The latter wouldn't do.

#3, at the breakfast table things would have worked out differently. It could have followed the same script until the guard 'lost' his gun. Felix would have pistol-whipped the guard, followed by politely, but with menace, informing Keyes' fiancée she needed to scream very loudly.

Why? He wanted Keyes and the second guard to come back downstairs. That would allow him to shoot both men -- in a non-vital, temporarily disabling manner. He was an excellent shot. When Jormo intervened, Felix would floor him too. Why? Now he could take his time as he beat Brennan into a coma.

He wouldn't kill Brennan because Felix was rather bright. He was going to put Brennan into a coma because, at the trial, he would explain, on the witness stand, exactly what happened to Casper. Being Felix the Winner, he would stoke the moral outrage of the jury and be acquitted. Murdering Brennan would nix much of the sympathy he needed.

Besides, for the rest of his life -- post coma -- Brennan would feel the physical pain of his poor life choice. He had committed a wrong in front of Felix Melena. By challenging the concepts of Right and Wrong, he had confronted Felix and had lost in a bad way. Brennan would also understand that if he brought this matter up again, Felix would figure out a way to kill him without getting caught.

Felix would defend a woman's honor and stop an obvious bully -- because that person was doing something wrong. As long as a person respected his dominance, Felix was a good guy. He only became ruthless when disrespected. Was he cruel to Brooke? Absolutely. In this situation, she was a weapon to be used against Cáel.

Cosmically speaking, Cáel was a far better human being. But that didn't make Felix a villain. It simply left him a bastard and asshole. As Cáel told Oneida, you couldn't separate all of Felix's good qualities from the bad. Ignoring Felix's virtues would be wrong.

Felix would never abandon a friend in a bar fight, no matter what the odds. Oh, he'd chastise the friend who started the beat down, but only after the fact. It was more than pride and ego. It was Felix. As a companion, he was utterly reliable, brave and loyal.

Felix NEVER cheated. If he was going to defeat you, he was going to stay within the 'rules' to do so. So, he felt justified to use a female companion of an enemy against him. By challenging Felix, Cáel had put Brooke into play -- at least in Felix's perspective on how the game is played.

Felix would never go behind Cáel's back and do something secretive and under-handed (in his mind). Stealing Brooke wasn't the issue. Hurting Brooke wasn't his intention. Showing Cáel who was the better lover -- that he had seduced her away -- was. (FYI, he lost to Cáel in that category. Brooke definitely thought Cáel was better both in the sack and as a worthwhile human being.)

On the sparring mat, Felix would have never blind-sided Cáel. He had to beat Cáel fair and square. Sure, he was positive he would win -- he always was and he always did. When he was wrong, like a good Amazon, he learned from his mistakes.

**

We didn't get to know Khalid. He was gone too soon. We did get to know Trent and Brian a whole lot better. I think it is pretty clear both guys (I shouldn't call them men) would gladly cheat to win. They would gladly throw a 'friend' under the bus if they were in trouble. They just wouldn't do it the exact same way.

So, for 'use Brooke to strike back at Cáel'? Brian didn't care about anyone, but himself. He won't bother.

Trent would punish Brooke for cheating on him (if it happened) because Brooke had 'disappointed' him. He would also punish Cáel with the 'old' underwear exhibit. The difference was, he wouldn't have fought Cáel over Brooke. Brooke had already been discarded. Trent wouldn't agree to a match with Cáel because there was no advantage for him to do so. He wouldn't understand that all of the Amazons would then see him as a coward.

In a disadvantageous bar fight, both Brian and Trent would rapidly deny their companion was even an acquaintance. It wasn't that they couldn't help out. Both were martially proficient. Their problem was what mattered to them was them ... their own needs and their futures, not those of someone else, no matter how familiar.

Get beaten up for someone else's 'mistake'? What was in it for them? Mind you, both would give any of their 'friends' ten levels of Hell if they were the ones being left in the lurch. Unlike Felix and Cáel, who valued companionship, Brian and Trent only valued friendship for what was in it for them.

During the Brennan scenario, both would have realized what Brennan and company did was wrong. Unlike Brennan, they were actually successful at the Game of Life, having graduated with honors from two prestigious schools, with jobs and futures which didn't involve a drug overdose ... but ...

#1, would they defend Casper, or any woman for that matter? It depended on the social context, aka what was in it for them. They would not publically act like cads because they had future plans that would be damaged if they looked like amoral butt-monkeys.

In the given situation with Brennan? Getting involved was counter-productive. Who as Casper to them? Who would witness their callous disregard for another human being? No one who would ever talk about it, so they would do nothing.

Brian would remain aloof. Destroying someone for a midnight diversion wasn't his thing. He would go to bed alone and sleep like a baby. Casper's degradation wasn't his problem.

If 'drunk enough' and minus Brooke, Trent might join in as a social activity ... until Casper stopped being 'fun'. Staying up too late put bags under his eyes, making him look less handsome and vital.

#2 -- Hana: Brian would have disregarded Hana. First, he had his dick in Brooke. After he discarded Brooke? Well, he could see Hana wasn't someone who would take his rude treatment very well and could possibly do something about it. Besides, she was 'old'.

Trent? They were in the same social class, his girlfriend was present and he would only cheat on Brooke if he was sure he could get away with it. He'd be nice to Hana because he might need her later -- she was rich and he was toying with the idea of a career in politics.

#3, the next morning? Brian would have been thinking of a way to make a quick exit. He had to save himself from any scandal. Casper? Brian would quickly forget her name. He would also work very hard to forget that he had even been there.

If an investigation happened, he would hide behind a high-priced lawyer. If forced to testify, he would make damn sure he had total immunity first. He didn't know Brennan and the asshole was not likely to be useful to Brian later -- so under the bus he went. The only reason Brian was being 'honest' was to avoid a perjury charge. No criminal record for him.

Trent would have been somewhat conciliatory to Brennan -- gently scolding him perhaps -- because he might need a rich friend like Brennan later. Casper? He didn't know Casper and she was unlikely to ever be useful to him. Hell, if an actual criminal investigation came up, he would try to evade questioning.

If his back was put to the wall, he would defend Brennan's version of events. Brennan and he were in the same fraternity and it wouldn't do for Brennan to tell his 'brothers' that he was a 'traitor'. To Trent (but not the fraternity), Brennan being a rapist wasn't all that important.

If I put more than one of them at the breakfast table that morning?

Cáel would have been terribly pissed with Brian and Trent if either of them had been there with him -- coldly furious. Felix would have kicked both their asses after Casper was safely away. Cáel was forgiving. Felix was a ruthless asshole and those two spineless wimps allowed a weaker person to do WRONG -- and did nothing to correct it when it was clearly within their power to do so.

They had broken the Covenant he lived by and that wasn't something he could allow to pass. No, pain was in the offing and no amount of verbal evasion would save those two. Why would he do this? Felix was RIGHT, they were WRONG and he was a WINNER, damn it!

Had it been Cáel and Felix together? Mr. and the almost-Mrs. Keyes wouldn't have been the first ones to die. In fact, most of them wouldn't have died. Why? Felix wasn't the type of man who allowed others to dispense justice when punishment was within his reach.

The second Felix and Cáel saw Casper, they would look at one another. No words would be exchanged. They knew in their hearts what should be done and mentally knew they were physically equal to the upcoming challenge. First, they would have double-teamed Keyes -- hospitalized.

This wasn't cheating because Felix wasn't out to prove he was better than Keyes, or anyone else in the room. Someone(s) had done wrong and, with Cáel's assistance, he was capable of putting a stop to it right then. Hell, if they had been there, Felix would have expected Brian and/or Trent to help as well ... until he looked into their eyes and realized they were gutless chicken-shit.

Outmatched, he would have waited for the earliest opportunity -- the security guard -- then acted on his impulses. Later, after the rest had been dealt with, he would 'explain' to those two -- one at a time (he wasn't stupid) -- how much they had fucked up. It would be an educational and painful lesson. Not only had they willfully ignored an obvious injustice, they had disappointed Felix Melena. Were they really so moronic that they thought he would let it pass?

When he had looked into Cáel's eyes, he would have seen reflected his desire for righteous vengeance and attacked. With Keyes dealt with, he would insist they hunt down the rest of the nitwits while Brooke, Libra and Hana took care of Casper.

Hana couldn't have stopped him because he wasn't worried about upsetting her and he was Felix Melena, damn it! No girl was going to tell him what to do (off the clock), proving his chauvinistic credentials.

Jormo? Any chance for the old wolf to demand respect had gone down the drain when it was revealed what a pathetic job he'd done raising Brennan. MEN raised their sons to be MEN, not the slimy toxic sludge named Brennan. Felix wouldn't beat up Jormo. The jury might not understand that -- he was an old guy. Besides, the look of scorn on Felix's face would be its own body blow.

So, while Felix Melena can be, and often is, an incredible ruthless bastard, he is also a man of his word, fearless, and even-handed. He never expects anything from a person that he wouldn't do himself -- and, of course, succeed at! He holds everyone to his Code of Conduct, especially himself.

And that is pretty much Felix Melena. If you are going to hate him, hate him for the man he is -- both good and bad. Now you know.

{ B: More about the Weave}

You may have noted that when 'The Friendless' (aka Sērkuēn, Shammuramat, Salmu Eretu, Sakunyias) showed up in Chapter 27, she had a complete panoply of war and a full understanding of the Modern World. More than once since then, she has been in firefights and come out relatively unscathed. That is because her armor is both not of this Earth and also cunningly crafted using the most advanced techniques of the 21st century.

Saku could have come back with the most lethal bang-bangs mankind had ever created. She chose to come back with the weapons she had been buried with, just updated. The original Assyrian bow, while powerful, was not capable of the killing power it had when Saku wielded it in her various battles at Cáel's side.

Likewise, her blades would have been made with iron, not steel. Her current armor consistently defeated modern high-velocity rounds which an early Iron Age suit of armor could never have done. She knew English -- a language that did not exist when she died. She knew what trucks were, along with helicopters. In essence, she was a modern Warrior-Queen.

Ajax and his warband had a clear understanding of the geopolitical situation they arrived into as well as the finest available military hardware available. Not only did they have the best weapons and body armor, they also arrived with a complete understanding of the technology, tactics and strategy of the time.

Why? The Weave is the intersection of Time, Space, Life, Death and Legend. When spirits escaped through the Weave, they were changed by it. The core of their life -- their Legend -- was transformed to fit into the current paradigm. They were warriors of Legend when they died, so they had not only their memories and skill to pull upon, they now also possessed the abilities that made their Legend relevant to their current circumstances.

That meant Ajax, being a prince, Warlord and Supreme Warrior, when he passed back into the Sunlight Realm, all the threads of war and leadership passed through him. The Mycenaeans weren't huge people. Those who arrived immediately found themselves to be stronger and more muscular in order to fit the modern results of the lifestyle they had lived, the prime example of what a modern soldier would be.

Saku, tall in Assyria, was over six feet when she appeared in the American Southwestern. Like Ajax, she spoke several extant languages before her death, so ended up speaking several modern ones upon arrival. This allowed them to fit seamlessly into their new lives. Ajax, the consummate killer, ended up with the Condottieri, Saku arrived at a place close to the Amazons, Alal ended up close to his Illuminati and 23 years earlier, the fetus who would become Temujin, was born in Central Asia.

The Weave did not return those ancient dead to the Kingdoms of Salamis and Assyria. Those had ceased to exist in this world. They did both return with their ferocious natures, tactical brilliance and the potential to be great leaders. Ajax died as part of Alal's plans to test Cáel (which was really the clash of Alal's legend versus that of Ajax.) In the end, the scion of the greatest mastermind the world had ever seen defeated the man who could not be killed.

In the 'real' legend, Ajax killed himself because he lost the contest with the clever Odysseus (that hero's 'thing') and was shamed by both the actions of the Greek forces and his further shaming when he was rendered drunk by the Goddess Athena and slaughtered a flock of sheep.

In this reimagining, it was the Amazons, supported by the Goddesses, who drugged Ajax, rendering him so drunk that the 'sheep' he killed were his own men. When Ajax fell upon the sword that Hector (the Trojan's greatest hero) had given him, he saw that it was the Amazons who had tricked him so he vowed vengeance.

At the Battle of the Seven Skulls, once more Ajax was defeated, not by the Force of Arms, but by the cleverness of his opponent. In a stand up fight, no one alive could have withstood Ajax's Legend, not even Alal. Pamela (as a sniper) tried and failed in her attempt to save Cáel's life during the river confrontation. Cael saved himself.

It was the clever Cáel who found a way to defeat Ajax's Legend by feeding him to a Goddess via bringing Ajax into Cáel's 'Ishara-place' ~ removing Ajax from reality and thus weakening his Legend. The Goddess SzélAnya was able to kill Ajax -- a feat she could not have accomplished in the 'Sunlit Realm'. True to the fate of Ajax in the Trojan Wars, he was overcome by the cleverness of another.

Alal? Think about it. A deity ripped his soul into three parts and the Weave has never rectified that in nearly five thousand years? Really? Then what the hell is Cáel Nyilas doing running around ... you know, considering his mother's genetically engineered (by Ereshkigal) sterility?

The Weave didn't create Cáel. Sibeal O'Shea falling in love with Ferko Nyilas was all on their own. The Weave merely allowed their love-making to take hold, allowing Cáel to come into existence thus temporarily negating Ereshkigal's curse. Add to that the deep longing Alal has developed for a real family of his own -- yes, he really was happy to finally have a child of his flesh -- his grandson.

The future is never certain, so there was no guarantee that Cáel would wreak vengeance upon those harming the Weave ... but he has because Cáel knew the difference between Right and Wrong and had the will to set things right. Blame Ferko, Kimberly, Timothy, Katrina, Odette, Aya and Pamela. Add Rhada, Brooke, Libra and Hana to that mix as well.

Ajax's and Saku's return was the Weave balancing accounts, just ask the Egyptians. They know how well the Weave maintains the harmonic balance.

Ajax didn't have to pursue his revenge against the Amazons, but he did.

Saku could have also waged war against the Amazons, but she ran into Cáel, who convinced her to seek justice over vengeance -- by his own merit. Cáel's life really was in peril. He could have died. Saku could have decided to kill him and it was unlikely his guardians could have saved him in time.

This also meant that when Temujin was born, he had not only his complete memories from his earlier lifetimes, he was also blessed with all the knowledge that the head of the Earth & Sky would have known had he been alive the entire time. That, and the pre-planning of the E&S military minds, was why he was able to launch his strike so quickly.

Again, this also meant the Alal came back with the knowledge he would have gained had he still been alive and running the Illuminati and Condottieri. He did not know the specifics of Cáel because the Illuminati didn't know who he was, or where they could find him had they known. He was as blind-sided by Cáel's Amazon heritage as everyone else -- but Alal is a great strategist and, like his grandson, is always on his toes and quickly reacts to changing situations.

If you are trying to imagine why this information is important, I'll tell you. The rules about what happens when you pierce the Weave is known to the mystically-inclined community.

The Illuminati has a variety of small organizations within its web of power that dabble in the supernatural. It is not their main thing though. If they want something big done, they will pay for the service. There are a few small, independent occult secret societies out there. To the Illuminati, the Weave is a difficulty to be outmaneuvered.

The Condottieri have a few minor players involved in life beyond death. Their most serious efforts have to do with talking with their ancestors -- the brotherhood of titanic military geniuses that have come and gone. The Condottieri don't worry about the Weave because their application of magic is so finely focused and rarely used.

The approach of the 9 Clans to the arcane differs from clan to clan. The Hashashin, Booth gan and Cult of the Jaguar are religious organizations ~ they kill for a specific deity, or pantheon. The Ninja and Coils of the Serpent use mysticism in the practice of their lethal arts.

The Brotherhood of the Wolf and Ghost Tigers practice shamanism, primarily using totem animals. The Black Lotus combine the use of 'White' necromancy and warding magics in their arcane arsenal. The Black Hand's use of ancient Roman oath-taking is an example of their ventures into the supernatural -- nothing big, or flashy.

The 9 Clans, by and large, see the Weave as an organic part of life -- yet another lesson on the importance of the careful application of force.

The E&S have a combination of shamanism, Sufi mysticism and Buddhist principles in their quest for both enlightenment and spiritual strength. To the E&S, the Weave is an integral part of existence with the understanding that the Weave is something to be coaxed, not forced. The Weave keeps giving them Temujin back after all.

The Egyptian Rite are the most magical group, practicing minor magics at the lowest level -- things like oath-taking and simple protection charms. As you advance within the hierarchy, you get access to greater secrets. They have nearly five thousand years of unbroken occult knowledge to choose from and they are very, very careful on how they use it.

The Egyptian Rite see the Weave as an organic thing, alive, vibrant and prone to reacting harshly to anyone that stirs it from its cautious indifference. The Weave is a primal force that can be worked with, not around. If you treat it with care and respect, it won't crush you for your blasphemous abuse of its essence -- aka magic.

As the readers now know, the Amazons use both ancestor-worship and pantheism in their daily lives ~ prayers and social conventions. The Amazons truly believe their dead forebears observe and judge their deeds and behave accordingly. They don't ask much from their goddess because they believe the goddesses are doing their jobs by providing them an afterlife.

The augurs, while small in number, are considered a very powerful group by other mystic societies ... and are somewhat feared for the 'ease' with which they interact with the forces on the other side of the Weave. This power is brought about by the fanatic devotion the augurs have for their craft and their willingness to walk the fine line between life and death to interact with Weave.

No Amazon joins the augurs seeking power, glory, or a long life full of daughters. They keep joining generation after generation, despite the knowledge they are dooming themselves to a soul-scaring, thankless and poisoned life. To the Amazons, the Weave is a natural force in the World and exists to keep the living alive and to ensure the dead stay dead.

At its conception (late 3rd century BCE), the Seven Pillars of Heaven were based on Confucianism, Taoism and the concept of a Heavenly Celestial hierarchy. As their struggles with the other Chinese secret society dragged on, as new ones sprang up and as foreigners invaded, they grew desperate for an edge. They chose Gong Tao, despite knowing the risks of using Black Magic.

At first, they used if very rarely, and only in very specific instances when only magic could accomplish a goal. Whatever lofty ambitions the leaders of the 7P's had, the Gong Toa practitioners had their own agenda -- personal power garnered from vile supernatural entities. Gradually they made the other spiritual concepts of the organization ring hollow.

Over time, the Masters of the 7P's stopped seeing themselves as the servants of the Celestial order and moved toward the idea that they were to impose Celestial Order on Earth -- with them at the helm. They stopped being servants and started seeing their power as the end goal of their secret society. The Seven Pillars had been corrupted.

Those who opposed the increasing dependence in Gong Tao were slowly marginalized, or assassinated. The rise of political power began to equate with the increasing use of Gong Tao as a useful tool to be used more and more often. By the time of the fall of the Song Dynasty to the Mongol/Yuan forces in 1260, the transformation was complete.

To the Gong Tao sorcerers, the Weave was nothing but an obstacle and tool in obtaining true power. They needed the barrier to keep the nightmarish creations on the other side at bay and as a bargaining chip in dealing with things that wanted access to the life sparks only found in the Sunlit Realm.

The currency was not just souls. It was pain, fear, suffering, misery, agony and despair. The greater the torture they could inflict, the more power they could wield. After all, humanity's hopes, dreams, aspirations, failing and woes helped create the fabric of the Weave.

Mind you, not all Seven Pillars members are slobbering horrors willing to sacrifice their first born sons for another decade, or two, of life. Most believe in the stated aims of their organization -- the rightful rise of China as the premier power on Earth.

A few go so far as to believe that the end goal would usher in a new age of Peace and Prosperity to the World. They knew they would have to do some unspeakable things to achieve this, but they truly believed they were actually helping their fellow humans.

Most weren't like that. They wanted all the riches and glories that ruling the planet would provide them. They were okay with exterminating a few hundred million people to accomplish their planned conquests. They were okay with slavery, rule by fear and torture, and the ultimate supremacy of Han civilization over all those dirty, spiritually-diseased non-Chinese.

Even though they plan to replace all other cultures with their own, those 'converts' would never truly be Han. They would never be allowed to hold real power because they would always be inferior beings. End of story.

Then you had that deep, dark faction that was okay with playing Russian roulette with the Universe. They were just fine with destroying souls to get what they wanted. Could they possible cause Asia to mystically implode? Sure, but they were willing to take that risk in their own quest for global domination. There was no atrocity they would not commit to advance themselves and their agenda.

If you thought the Weave was unaware, or unable to react, you would be sorely mistaken. The Weave existed four billion years ago when the Earth was nothing but a molten orb and will remain after our star burns out. 800 years of being abused by some ass-hats on one portion of one continent on the entire planet ... it would get around to them eventually. In fact, it already had -- 5000 years ago.

Yes, we are back to Alal. Think about it. The greatest threat to the Seven Pillars is Alal aka Cáel O'Shea, head of the Illuminati and the Condottieri. Then you have his grandson, Cáel Nyilas, running around, screwing with their plans in a big way. Without young Mr. Nyilas, the Ninja are destroyed, the E&S crippled and the Amazons are trundled off to extinction -- all of which are Seven Pillars' goals.

On a personal level, you have a man embittered by 5000 years of endless toil suddenly getting what he has always craved -- blood-kin of his own. He's still cursed, but finally he has been gifted, through his efforts and the working of the Weave ... which is fucking with his plans as well.

Letting the Amazons die out was one of his primary objectives. The existence of his grandson, the Amazon Prince, has complicated that matter because achieving their death extinguishes his own blood line. He can't get rid of the Isharan heritage and keep the body ~ if he has to destroy Cáel soul, he will. Against all expectations, his planned resurrection has been turned on its head.

Imagine this:

Granddad #1: "My Grandson was accepted into Harvard Law School."

Granddad #2 "My Grandson flies jet fighters."

Granddad #3: "My Grandson made his first million at the age of 21."

Alal: "My Grandson killed the hero Ajax with his mind alone. The rest of you can go home now and weep over the failings of your seed."

The future was never certain, so there was no guarantee that Cáel would wreak vengeance upon those harming the Weave ... but [as I've said earlier] he has because Cáel knows the difference between Right and Wrong and has the will to set things right. As stated earlier, no living person could have killed Ajax. It took Cáel less than an hour to figure out how to accomplish that extraordinary feat.

Those five augurs willingly sacrificed their lives, found Temujin with one frantic attempt and gifted Cáel with that knowledge, undoing a century of Seven Pillars' planning in one night. The Weave demanded five lives which the augurs readily gave up for that short-cut. Had they known the coming impact of their sacrifice, ten would have gladly died:

-Absent their deaths, Temujin would have been murdered. The Earth and Sky would have still resisted strongly. Without Temujin's presence and fierce will to overcome his opponents, they wouldn't have been nearly as effective. With him, the rank and file knew exactly what they were fighting and dying for. They weren't fighting for survival. They were fighting to win.

-Temujin never forgives an enemy, or forgets a friend, and that attitude influences the E&S at all levels. Without that sacrifice, there would be no JIKIT. There would be no pathway, or reason, for the Amazons to ally with the E&S. In four thousand years, the Amazons had allied with NO ONE.

-With Temujin dead, the Seven Pillars would have relaunched the Secret War. Cáel may have kick-started it a year early, if that much. It was doomed to happen.

-Summer Camp would have been a massacre. The Seven Pillar commandos would have learned a harsh lesson on how young Amazons prefer death over slavery. Over five hundred Amazons would still have died.

-The 9 Clans and Amazons would have still cooperated. Without access to JIKIT, their combined impact would have been negligible.

-Alone, the Khanate couldn't have convinced the Tibetans to support the creation of a Free Tibet.

-Through the intervention of various Asian Intelligence agencies at JIKIT's behest, the Khanate has been able to establish cautious acceptance with key regional players. Without that sacrifice -- that doesn't happen. The Khanate would remain a toxically dangerous enigma.

-India wouldn't have been nearly as close an ally, thus rendering the Khanate's effort to deny the PRC the resources of the South China Sea futile. The MORCOS wouldn't have been there to play their critical role in resolving the Thailand Crisis.

-Russia wouldn't have intervened in Manchuria, which increased the likelihood that instead, Russia would come into the struggle on the PRC's side. It would have meant the resources of that region were accessible to the Chinese in their efforts to rebuild their shattered forces.

-Albania, Armenia, Georgia and the Kurds would have never joined the Khanate, leaving Turkey geographically isolated from the rest of the empire.

-The showdown over Thailand would have been a costly disaster.

Those five augurs gave up their lives to re-chart the destiny of over three billion people -- and perhaps the fate of Earth itself.

{ C: The Fiendish Plans of the Gong Tau Masters ...

Precursors presaging prose

First, let's jump back to that bit about what happened to Ajax, Saku, Alal and Temujin when they were reborn. The first two were transformed, instantly becoming what they would have been, had they been born and grown up naturally in their new place and time.

The Gong Tao sorcerers were aware of this in principle, but had never felt obliged to bring the dead back to life before. Ghost were still dead and demons were never mortal, so they didn't see any benefit of resurrecting someone. Add to that the millennia of gathered knowledge, power and grasp of the Seven Pillars of Heaven.

Like all great Secret Societies, the 7P's had plans, contingency plans, back-up plans and back-up plans for all of the above. They had planned to decapitate the Earth & Sky (destroy Temujin's soul) then grind out the Mongol-Turkish identity. If that didn't work when the Secret War started up again ... well, they had contingency plans ~ global influence and power.

After a few more decades of foreign investment and exploitation they would still bring Central Asia under their mantel. If that didn't work ... they had plans for that too. They had a series of back-up plans about what to do if the Khanate formed and became a serious threat. They also had plans to implement if the Khanate seized the initiative. Though considered highly unlikely due to their arrogance, they even had a back-up, back-up plan to deal with the Khanate successfully invading.

The answer was simple -- fight a reborn military titan with a reborn military titan of their own. But which reborn ghost to choose? How about one who had experience defeating Mongols? Not too surprisingly, that wasn't a really long roster. To further whittle down the potential candidates they 'X-ed out' all the Chinese ones. After all, a famous Han Warrior-Hero might be attractive to the rank and file, thus a challenge to their leadership.

Foreign candidates ... they ruled out the Japanese because the Japanese had become democratically-elected, pacifist wimps plus you had that whole fifty years of the Sino-Japanese conflict (1895-1945) to work around. They couldn't trust Koreans either. They had the annoying habit of constantly trying to throw off the yoke of foreign oppressors ~ namely the Chinese.

Europeans? On the entire continent, there were only a few Russian possibilities except those few hadn't overcome true Mongols, only their successor states. Besides, the best candidate, Ivan the Terrible, was fucking nuts.

Africa? Only the Egyptians had actually beaten a Mongol army. Not only was Egypt too far away to do them much good, the bastard would be Islamic. Besides, the Mameluke who had done it was really nothing more than an enslaved Turk who rose to power.

The Americas hadn't been around then and the rest of Africa had been irrelevant, so it was back to looking for an Asian. Persia? Nope. They had only thrown out the Mongol-Turkish nobility after the Turks did all the dirty work for them. India? With the current ascendancy the World's largest democracy, it would be hard to find one willing to help the people they were trying to displace (China) ... not worth the risk considering the resources they would have to expend.

The Mongols had the bad habit of kicking all their neighbors' asses and their worst enemies were themselves. Bringing back a Mongol to fight a Mongol was so overflowing with wishful thinking that they would never go there. But wait, the search wasn't over yet.

Low and behold, there was precisely one person left on the list. He was perfect for their cause. He had a great track record kicking Mongol ass, was Sinicized (appreciated the superiority of Han culture), and was from a strategically located foreign nation that opposed the PRC. In their minds, he was the perfect tool for the job -- i.e., stopping Temujin's Tumens.

If you have never heard of Trần Hưng Đạo, you wouldn't be alone. Unless you are Vietnamese and/or a student of Vietnamese, Mongol, or military history, you are probably still trying to figure out how to pronounce his name. After all, he was from freaking Vietnam in the 13th century and not even all of modern Vietnam. The kingdom he protected was called Đại Việt (also known as Amman) and only consisted (at the time) of the northern third of that land.

He wasn't the emperor of Đại Việt either. He was a nobleman and poet (his great love), he never took any of the extensive titles offered to him and when he died, his ashes were scattered on the ground beneath his favorite tree. In many ways he was the ultimate patriot; a man of the people who loved his homeland and was unwaveringly loyal to his monarch.

He also militarily defeated TWO Mongol invasions of said homeland. The second time, he led the forces of his small kingdom to victory over an army of somewhere between 300- to 500,000 Mongol-Chinese. By victory, I mean crushing victory -- hundreds of vessels destroyed, hundreds of thousand enemy slain and several high ranking Mongol officers killed/executed.

After the annihilation of the second army (it was the Mongol's third attempt to conquer the country), the Mongols never came back. It wasn't worth another potential defeat and Kublai Khan had a host of other pressing issues brought about by little Đại Việt kicking his ass -- on three separate occasions.

The Emperors of Đại Việt did end up paying tribute after that third, failed attempt. Invasion was hard on the land and a few coins were worth ensuring peace and prosperity. In time, the dynasty in China changed and even the notion of being a tributary state waned and was forgotten.

The Legend of Trần Hưng Đạo survived and flourished as a champion of his people in their time of greatest need. He was so popular centuries after his death, there were shrines set up for his worship and streets in Communist Vietnam were named in this nobleman's honor. He was a really popular guy.

He also had a Legend ... and shrines ... and all the Seven Pillars had to do was desecrate/steal one to put their plan into action. Trần Hưng Đạo's Legend was both great and still current, so he definitely hadn't perished in the Land of the Endless Black Sands. With one of his shrines, they had a link to the guy in whatever Paradise he had earned.

Most of the Seven Pillars' leadership thought this was a great plan. Trần Hưng Đạo was level-headed, reasonable, patriotic, not about to screw with their hierarchy, regularly destroyed Mongol armies and would be motivated to work with them because his nation had sold itself out to the Great Khan and only he could save it -- and kill a lot of Mongols in the process. The man was a freaking genius with an unbroken winning streak versus the 7P's greatest enemy. It was foolproof.

If you see the two flaws in this plan, you wouldn't be alone. Several concerned 7P leaders kept pointing out he was VIETNAMESE. Since the end of the Mongol-Chinese Yuan dynasty, the biggest problem for the Vietnamese had been ... you guessed it -- CHINA.

The Vietnamese had a bunch of rusting hulks sitting on the bottom of the South China Sea to prove it along with a few hundred thousand graves of those patriots who had died defending their country -- from CHINA. The last country to invade Vietnam wasn't Siam, Kampuchea, Japan, France, or the United States. It was the PRC -- China -- mainland China.

The second flaw? Oh yeah, Trần Hưng Đạo was in Paradise, damn it! He'd earned it by being an exemplary human being; humble and heroic in equal measure plus he was really a kick ass poet. His enemies were far too afraid of him to curse his afterlife. His people loved him -- 815 years after his death. He was a freaking saint!

No -- really -- he was a saint in Vietnam. People gave offerings to his shrines to thank him for something he did EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS AGO! He was Vietnam's male Joan of Arc, except he wasn't betrayed by his countrymen and died quietly at the age of 73.

Some Story Line thoughts

Now we go back to that transformational process which occurs when a dead soul passes through the Weave in order to be reborn. Ole Trần Hưng Đạo was about to get schooled in the last 815 years of Vietnamese history and culture along with his geopolitical, technological, strategic, and martial updates.

He would also pick up some nifty artistic skill. After all, he was truly a man who only wanted to sit in his private garden, putting choice prose to page. He loved poetry. It would have been right up top on his Facebook page, if he had one. He was a military genius because that was what his country called for him to be, not because it was his chosen profession.

His first questions after he regained consciousness would be something like this;

"What do you want me to do?"

-Destroy the resurgent Mongol Empire of Temujin.

"Nice to know. I'm interested. What is the size of the occupation army in Vietnam?"

-Your government has betrayed your people to the Khanate.

"So the traitors' army is being supported by a large Mongol contingent then."

-Not exactly. The corrupt God-less leaders of Vietnam have devoted their nation to his cause -- down the road to their utter destruction.

"Very well. Where do I begin?"

-We need to teach you to understand the tenets of modern, mobile warfare.

"Thank you. I am willing to start right now. When do you think the Mongols will attack?"

-Not until mid-winter. It is early autumn.

"Thank you for my new life. I am anxious to stop the Mongol Menace."

-A. he was interested in what the Seven Pillars wanted him to do, but not for the reason they believed. He knew he was being used. He simply wanted to know what they wanted to use him for. After all, simply defying them would have resulted in his death and he had the feeling Vietnam needed him once more.

-B. Trần Hưng Đạo didn't hate the Mongols, or the Chinese for that matter. He saved his emotional investment in the same cause he had always devoted it to -- defending his homeland from foreign domination. Their point of origin was irrelevant to him.

-C. he wanted to know how much his homeland was in danger. What did he learn? The clearest danger to Vietnam was in the room with him, not the Mongols. In one fell swoop, he was informed that Vietnam was both not under occupation and was about to go to war against his current captors.

Finding out that the current rulers of Đại Việt were Godless Communists had been a heavy blow. He was a religious man and a devote monarchist. He was also not a revolutionary -- he was a patriot. He despised the communists, but they were Vietnamese and the Seven Pillars were not. Reference the word: patriot.

Coming back to life, he had already been enlightened to the present political and military situation. He wanted to see what spin the Chinese would put on the situation to get a basis for determining when they would be attacking Vietnam. Considering the Gong Tao sorcerers were unaware that he knew what he knew, (this resurrection was something they didn't do a lot, if at all), he figured the 7P's were in some deep kimchee.

-D. he wanted to know how much time he had to make his escape. He reasoned that they wouldn't expect results from him for two months -- three if he was lucky. That was his timetable to plan his escape. The Mongols weren't the menace, the Seven Pillars were. Had they forgotten that he was a level-headed, reasonable genius? Of course he was going to pretend to go along with their scheme. If he didn't, they would kill him and resurrect contestant #2.

His nation was in danger from these bastards and he, as a patriot, had to attempt to stop them. Since he had the nasty tendency of succeeding at things he attempted, he was figured his chances of escaping were pretty good. His opponents were certainly bright and powerful. They were also incredibly bigoted and expected obedience from their 'lessers'.

He planned to excel at his lessons. Remaining obedient and useful to his captors was critical to his survival. By proving his brilliance, he would be able to gather intelligence on what was really going on. They had already confessed this new Khanate was led by the resurrected Genghis Khan. That shit wasn't right and was beyond the scope of what he had gleamed from the Weave, thus not common knowledge.

Reasoned hypothesis #1: the Mongols were another secret society at war with his jailors. It would be foolish for him to assume that in the whole wide world that had been opened up to him, there were not others.

Resolution #1: he lacked enough information to formulate a wise resolution at this time.

The World was a globe. He could access any population center anywhere within 24 hours. Trần Hưng Đạo knew all about lines of communications, garnering resources and the economy of war. There was an elephant load of natural and man-made resources out there that were accessible to groups like the Seven Pillars. Since the Seven Pillars were in trouble, they didn't have access to those resources, so someone else was defying them.

Reasoned hypothesis #2: going to the Mongols wasn't an option. They would see him for the threat he was and return him to Paradise. While appealing, that wasn't helping his nation and people.

Resolution #2: find someone who could talk to the Mongols on his behalf and who couldn't, or wouldn't, imprison him. He had an obvious answer in Tibet. If he was the Seven Pillars and his captive fled for a safe haven, it would be Tibet. Going to Vietnam, while heading home, would still render him devoid of pertinent information. He was neither a super spy nor had access to the criminal underworld.

Tibetans were spiritual, so the odds were good they would accept his story. They would contact the Mongols for him. It appeared to be the logical choice of safe havens, except his goal in escaping wasn't staying alive. It was saving his homeland.

What was presented to him after some light research on known and possible elements of the Mongol array was an anomaly. The anomaly's name was Hana Sulkanen. The Seven Pillars knew of her existence and her relationship to one Cáel Nyilas ... an Amazon Prince of Magyar-Irish descent and, for undisclosed reason, spiritual blood-brother to the Great Khan. He was also a critical member of the US/UK intelligence group called JIKIT.

Amazons? He wasn't sure how promising that was' except for the fact they were sworn enemies of the Seven Pillars -- something about irradiated testicles and a battalion of dead Seven Pillars operatives who died trying to kidnap the Amazons' children. They would do nicely.

Irish? He had a vague idea they were in Western Europe -- a small island nation of not military significance. That wasn't helpful.

Magyar? He concentrated. Those were now called Hungarians and historically, the Mongols had killed their king and plundered their kingdom some time ago. He had no information to make him believe relations had improved overly much since then.

JIKIT? They were a group networked into various foreign intelligence-gathering apparatus though their mission appeared vague and ill-defined. The Seven Pillars had them all on their Hit List which was a serious plus in Trần Hưng Đạo's opinion.

Nyilas Cáel was an enigma. Why was he the spiritual blood-brother of the most dangerous human being he was aware of? Why wasn't he surrounded by a princely guard? Those questions were important, but the answers weren't crucial to his plan. Hana was. She was a humanitarian (sadly not Buddhist) and betrothed to Prince Cáel.

Hmmm ... a note.

Assassin Team #1 [one member] -- dead.

Assassin Team #2 [three members] -- dead.

Kidnap Team #1 [eight members] -- dead.

But the 7Ps had finally figured out she was protected by a group called the 'Ghost Tigers'. She also had 'Illuminati' bodyguards with no current intelligence as to why she had such guardians.

Hana was the key. She had a phone number (unlisted -- that hadn't stopped the 7P's from getting it), an address, a place of business (including the precise location of her office) and a relationship with a person who had a relationship with the people he wanted to talk to.

Not the Mongols -- the Amazons. Apparently they were becoming a serious annoyance to the Seven Pillars and, unlike the Mongols, had no immediate reason to make a reborn Vietnamese war hero dead before he made his case [not truly understanding the man-hating nature of the Amazons]. That led to ...

Reasoned hypothesis #3: he wasn't going to help the Seven Pillars. That was a given. In time, they would figure that out and kill him. He needed to escape.

Solution #3: he could read Chinese and knew how to drive a car -- it was a common skill for a man of his age and social position. Once more, his jailors appeared to be unaware of the later and didn't consider the former relevant to his escape plans. He wasn't driving to Tibet, Vietnam, or to the Khanate. The UK's embassy was much closer and much safer -- no one would expect it.

From there, his pathway was clear. Insist on talking to the MI-6's officer on station (knowledge provided by the 7P's), tell him to contact JIKIT with the code word: Seven Pillars and claim to be a defector -- from both the PRC and the 7P's. That would result in his exit from mainland China to a place theoretically beyond their reach -- either Western Europe, or North America (the HQ of JIKIT).

His English skills were weak. His French was good and he was a quick learner. Being martially proficient, Trần Hưng Đạo rated the possibility very high that he could evade his new 'guardians' relatively easily, once he was close to his destination city. He had no intention of going to JIKIT right away. He didn't understand their motivations and they were in the people-killing business.

[Again, he didn't understand the true nature of the Amazons as his information came to him through the filter of the Seven Pillars bigotry.]

Trần Hưng Đạo would use his modern lore -- had he cell phones, computers and satellites back in 1285, not a single Mongol would have returned home -- he would physically confront Hana and plead his case. His read of her? She was a generally good person seasoned by wealth, privilege and business experience ~ running her own small kingdom at the behest of her patriarch.

A critical advantage to this plan was his captors' misogyny and their preconceived notion that he shared in it. Perhaps someone should have reminded them of Vietnam's first patriots and martyrs -- the Trưng sisters who rebelled, fought and died resisting the Chinese Han Empire in the first half of the first century CE.

Or they could have chosen to recall Lady Triệu/Triệu Thị Trinh who rebelled against the Chinese state of Eastern Wu two hundred years later. Her immortal words were a guiding light to all poets who wished to inspire freedom.

"I'd like to ride storms, kill sharks in the open sea, drive out the aggressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom, and never bend my back to be the concubine of whatever man."

Fleeing to the UK embassy, while unexpected was a reasonable action. Pinning all his hopes for life and freedom on a foreign woman? They wouldn't see that coming until it was far too late.

As an added incentive to encourage him in his work (and buy his loyalty), the Seven Pillars offered him five Vietnamese concubines/spies. Being a humble man with a busy itinerary, he selected only one. After all, getting out by himself would be hard enough.

Escaping with his countrywoman who had been brainwashed to betray him and every principle he stood for would be exponentially harder. As was mentioned earlier, he had to make the attempt and he had the nasty tendency of succeeding at things he attempted.

Two weeks in, one of his Seven Pillars instructors commented on a tune Trần Hưng Đạo had been humming. He asked about its origin.

"It is called 'Next Stop is Vietnam'," Trần answered.

"Oh, I am not familiar with it," the man commented.

"Don't worry about it. It was from before your time."

[For the curious; based on the song's lyrics as sung by Country Joe and the Fish]

Well, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Han {1} needs your help again.

He's got himself in a terrible jam way down yonder in Vietnam.

So put down your books and pick up a gun, we're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam;

And it's five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates,

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,

Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

Come on Lou Jiwei {2}, don't be slow,

Why man, this is war au-go-go --

There's plenty good money to be made by supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,

But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb, they drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam;

And it's five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates,

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,

Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast; your big chance has come at last.

Now you can go out and get those Reds --

'cause the only good commie is the one that's dead and you know that peace can only be won --

When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam;

And it's five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates,

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,

Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

Come on mothers throughout the land, pack your boys off to Vietnam.

Come on fathers, and don't hesitate -- to send your sons off before it's too late.

And you can be the first ones in your block - to have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam;

And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates,

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,

Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

[Now imagine this song from a Vietnamese patriot imprisoned by the Chinese's point of view]

{1} sounds like 'Sam'

{2} sounds like 'Wall Street'

As a final note, I want my readers to know that I do listen to them and take their ideas and criticisms to heart. You make all the rest of this madness worthwhile.