 Demons.  You will destroy any Demon that enters through the gate.  The charm will tell you if you face a Demon in a disguised form.  When it warns you that you face a Demon, destroy it.  Do not let them flee back through the gate.  If they escape, they will know where the gate is located in the Astral and return with reinforcements.
	I understand.
	Also, certain individuals visit me using the gate on a regular basis.  They bring me information, entertainment, and conversation, and I am allowed to do this so long as they do not leave the gate chamber.  I would ask that you do not kill these people, she said evenly.  You will know who they are, as they will probably be quite surprised to see you and ask about me.
	Alright, he nodded.  Ill be careful and not kill anyone until I have them sorted out.
	She nodded.  Certain beings will require considerable physical and magical discouragement, she told him.  The gate chamber has been enchanted to be invulnerable to all magic and physical force, so do not worry about doing harm to the chamber.  Do whatever it takes to remove the invader, no matter how extreme it is.  There have been times I have been forced to fall back on magic that would have sunk Arathorn into the sea to evict certain powerful entities.  There is no such thing as too much when it comes to defending the gate chamber, Tarrin.  Remember that.
	I will, he promised.
	That is all it requires, she said with a slight smile.  You know everything you need to know to take my place.
	Except where the gate is, he pointed out.
	We will come to that presently, she said as they reached the stairs.  He followed them up and saw the door open by itself, and they reached the landing and went through.  They stepped into a plain entry foyer with rich dark wood panelling on the walls and a floor of white tiles with black squares disbursed in even intervals through it.  Though you know what is needful, there are certain things I can pass along to make it easier, she said.  Firstly, you must overwhelm the invader with a display of intimidation.  That means that you should be present with your wings out and visible.  Let them see that they do not face an ordinary being.
	Im usually intimidating enough.
	This is a different realm, she told him pointedly.  You will face the Avatars of gods, Demon Lords, Deva, and even entropic entities.  They will not be impressed by a tall, furry humanoid with big hands.  They will, on the other hand, be very impressed by a mortal who carries a touch of divine power, and the threat of the overwhelming magical force that touch will imply.  Trust me in this, Tarrin.  Display your power openly for them to see, and you will have far less trouble.
	Is that how you do it? he asked.
	She nodded.  I do not have wings, but I have this, she said, grabbing the hem of her cloak of utter blackness.  Most beings of great power know what it is, and they fear what it can do.
	What is it?
	It is a cloak made out of the physical manifestation of space itself, she answered.  It is known to most as the Cloak of Shadows.  There are only a handful of them in all the multiverse.  Most beings versed in planar travel have heard the legends of it, and many come here seeking to wrest it from me.
	What does it do that makes it so powerful?
	It gives me the power to control space, she answered.  Remember when you put your arm into it?  How your arm vanished into the cloak itself?  That was a manipulation of space, something akin to how your amulet functions.  But among other things, this cloak can also send something that enters it into the Void, a place of absolute nothingness that exists outside of space, utterly destroying it.  That is the power that they seek.
	He could see the great power of that.  While Spyder wore the cloak, she was virtually invulnerable.  It protected her physically, and her vast powers of Sorcery protected her from magic.  She was untouchable, and would be the ultimate adversary for anyone who tried to get past her and out of the gate chamber.
	They passed into a grand, vast library that existed just off the foyer.  It had bookshelves all the way to the ceiling, row after row of them, in what looked to be initially meant to be a ballroom.  There are three floors in this manor, but most are set up as you see here, she told him.  I have found that books most easily pass the time, so I read a great deal.  If you find a book you intend to read, remove it from the shelf, she warned.  Each time you enter a room, the contents of the shelves change.  If you put the book back, it will not be there when you return.
	He reached out to assense the bookshelves, and found a very complicated weave over them that accomplished this task.  Each time someone crossed the threshold, the shelves Teleported the books in the shelves to a central point and then Teleported in new books to replace them.  Since both of them had passed through, they had done this twice.
	That way it always seems different, he mused.
	She nodded.  My library is more extensive than any other, but to put them in one place would make them lose their appeal.  This way, sometimes I do not see a book for over a century, and enjoy reading it again.  Much of my free time is spent searching for new books to read.
	Anything new, he reasoned.
	Anything, she agreed.  When you live as long as I have, boredom is your greatest enemy.
	Thats understandable.
	She wasnt kidding about her house.  Virtually every room was nothing but bookshelves, bookshelves, and more bookshelves.  She led him through six rooms to a stairwell leading down into the cellar, and they all were bookshelves, as were the rooms he looked into as they moved.  You may move about the house freely, she told him.  But there are two rooms that I ask you do not enter.  Both are on the third floor, and both have the doors closed.  One is my personal chamber.  The other holds an object I am keeping safe for a very old friend, which is very dear to him, and is also sensitive to shifts in the Weave.  I have the room Warded to protect it, but the effect that you and I have on the Weave makes it dangerous for us to enter that chamber.
	Alright.
	Come.  I will show you the gate chamber.
	The gate chamber was at the base of a set of stairs that descended from the main hall that came off the foyer, a simple stone staircase nearly thirty spans wide and fifty spans high once it dropped past the level of the floor, large enough for a Giant to travel easily.  There was a simple black metal door there, unadorned and quite plain looking, if one ignored the fact that it was of the same dimensions as the passageway.  Despite its massive appearance, it swung open silently and easily at a wave of Spyders hand.  Again, he sensed no use of magic.  However Spyder controlled things like the Ward and the door, he had no idea.  Beyond was a chamber of polished black marble stones that stretched across a black-walled chamber of polished obsidian glass, dark yet shimmering a reflection of a blue circle of swirling energy contained within a white stone ring that stood on a raised dais at the far end of the room.  The gate looked like a whirlpool of magical energy swirling off into infinity, and every once in a while little motes of white light were dispelled from it, to drift lazily to the marble floor.  The gate was about thirty spans in diameter, and the lower edge was sunk into the dais, he guessed so whatever came through it could step easily onto the floor.
	This is it, she told him.  The last working gate into our world.
	He could feel its magical power, which was surprisingly subtle, a power that stretched off beyond his ability to sense it, leaving their plane of being and rising up into that other dimension of existence called the Astral.  This was the last functional gate that entered their world, though there were quite a few of them that were one way, going out, that still worked.  And it would be his job to defend it for a while.
	So, thats it, isnt it? he asked.  All you intend to tell me.
	She smiled.  You learn quickly, she answered.  There is nothing more to show you, and as you have noticed, I am not fond of inane chatter.  She reached within her cloak, and removed a thin golden shaeram.  Affix this to the back of yours, she instructed.  It will bond itself to your amulet, but you will find that you can remove it easily, and only you may remove it.  So long as you wear this with your shaeram, the Ward and the powers of the manor will obey your will.  Since none enter the gate that speaks our langauge, the charm also allows any who hears your voice to hear your words in their native tongue, while you will hear the words of any langauge you do not know in your own.
	Youre not going to teach me how it works?
	I will, she assured him.  But we will do that outside the Ward.  You must ground yourself at the entrance to the manor so you may return to that spot.  I cannot leave until you are grounded.
	That wont take long, he told her.  I can ground myself in a place in just a couple of hours.
	As it should be, she said simply.  Now embed the charm.
	He held his amulet up, and then got the two of them aligned.  That done, he pressed the gold inlay against the back of his shaeram, and he felt and saw it fuse with his amulet.  Suddenly, he felt a strange surge rush through him, as well as a sense of connection to a greater power, a more direct link between him and the Elder Gods.  It was their voices that brought the warnings that Spyder described.
	Given that he wasnt very happy with the Elder Gods at the moment, this wasnt necessarily a good thing.
	He also felt strangely alert.  His mind was sharp, focused, clear, and it felt oddly refreshing after a fashion.  That had to be the effect that would render him unable to sleep.  He blinked several times and put a paw to his head, then looked at Spyder.
	You will get used to it, she repeated.  Now, let us go back to the gate.  You may Conjure us a meal and we will talk of affairs while you ground yourself.
	It was odd to sit and talk with Spyder.  Her age and wisdom were very intimidating, and he felt like a baby next to her.  But he found that she had a dry, witty sense of humor, and she was more than willing to talk about nearly anything he had on his mind.  They sat on a Conjured blanket and ate a meal of roasted caribouSpyders favorite mealand spring onions chopped up and mixed in with a green leafy plant she called lettuce and another red fruit she called tomatoes.  She called the vegetable concoction a salad, and it was that dish that got them started down the path of conversation he secretly wanted to be on when she mentioned it was an Urzani invention.  The Urzani were originally vegetarians, she mentioned in passing.  But exile into the Underdark turned us into carnivores.
	What did happen back then, Spyder?  Between the Urzani and that other race?
	They were called the Trilla, she said.  Or that was what we called them.  Where we are brown-skinned and light-haired, they were pale-skinned and dark-haired.  We were mirror images of one another.  They retreated into the forests and rejected contact with the other races, while the Urzani marshalled their strength in the caves below and prepared for war.  When the world above had forgotten about the Urzani, they returned with armies and conquered the entire Known World.
	Mother said they died out.
	They did.
	She also said that both of your races descended from a parent race, one of the original four.  She wouldnt tell me who they were.
	Mother sometimes uses mystery to spark interest, she answered.  I find it occasionally tiresome.  They were called Elves.
	Thats a strange name.
	She nodded.  A plague killed most of them, and that caused two separate colonies to eventually become the Trilla and the Urzani.  The same race with two names, who eventually truly became separate races.  It happened again to my own people, after the Blood War, when the Urzani came to be no more, living on with a new name, the ShaKar, while two new races were born from them.  Actually, the ShaKar are the true Urzani.  It would not be incorrect to call them Urzani.  The Selani and Wikuni are branch species of our blood.
	Mother said you were once the Empress of the entire world.  What was it like?
	Boring, she said with a surprising smile.  Very, very boring.  My reign was short, Tarrin.  I ruled for only nine years.
	What happened?
	I abdicated the throne to my brother to pursue Sorcery, she answered.  It was a relief to me.  He wanted it, I did not.  We both became happy with the result.
	What happened to him?
	Him?  He ruled wisely and well for nearly a century, and then he died.  It is agreed upon by most that my brothers rule was the last of the great dynasties.  The decadence that destroyed the Urzani Empire began to set in after my niece Shalaria took the throne.  She was a weak Empress, and was assassinated by her son Anthor.  He was ruthless, but he was also a hedonist, and he fatally poisoned the Empire with his excess and his decadence.  It was under his rule that the gladitorial games began, and the laws protecting the welfare of slaves were abolished.  Had those two events not occurred, there is a good chance that there would still be an Urzani Empire.
	How could that destroy the Empire?
	It changed the very fabric of the moral structure of the citizens, she answered.  Arthos made it legal to torture and murder ones slaves, and he turned death into a sport with the gladitorial games.  He began to introduce the elements of sadism and brutality that had been a part of us when we conquered the world, but had lost in favor of more cultured and civil traits when the world was ours.  That steeled the slave races against us, who ultimately revolted and destroyed the Empire.
	The Urzani were evil?
	They were the epitomy of evil, she said honestly.  But after they conquered the world, they abandoned their evil ways and created a rather harmonious society.  The other races were slaves, but they had legal rights and protections, they earned wages, and they could retire and receive pensions after fifty years of service just like any Imperial soldier could.  The slaves actually taught the Urzani the value of moral traits like honesty, love, and kindness, and at its height, the Empire was a bloom of unity and harmony.  Even the slaves were happy to be a part of the Empire.  But Arthos destroyed that unity, and by then, our armies had lost the battle skills that had won the Urzani the world.  They were no match for the slave armies that rose up to challenge them.
	I didnt know that.
	Few living do.
	He leaned back on a paw and regarded her.  Someday youll have to write all of it down, he told her.  Everything youve seen.
	I have, she answered calmly.  You will find them in my book collection.
	And how am I going to find them? he asked pointedly.
	She smiled.  Go to the library.
	Theyre all the library!
	The true one.  The chamber just off the kitchen, the one with the rosewood desk.  Sit at that desk and request a book of a certain subject.  The book that most closely matches your description will appear on the desk.  If you wish to read my memoirs, simply ask for the first book in the collection of my memoirs, and it will appear.
	Thats a neat trick.
	It lets me find the book I require immediately.  The spell will conduct the search by book title or contents of the book.  So you can ask by title or give a description of what you seek, and the spell will deliver the book that most closely fits your requirements.
	He chuckled.  Thats a weird word.
	What?
	Elves.  Whats the singular?  Elv?
	Elf, she corrected.  A dead race from the dawn of time.  They were small, frail beings, no larger than Bruga, that died out quickly.  Only we, the hardiest of their descendents, remain.
	Well, the Goblins and the Dwarves are dead too, so I guess only the humans live on.
	There are Dwarves, Elves, and Goblins on other worlds, she told him.  They are not the same as those who once lived here, but they are close.  But there are descendents of all the races still here, so in a way, they do live on.  The Elves live on in the ShaKar, the Dwarves live on in the Gnomes, and the Goblins spawned any number of splinter races.  There are similar races elsewhere, but the circumstances of our world made this worlds version of each race unique.
	How? he asked curiously.
	The power of magic is extreme here, she told him.  There are no Sorcerers outside of Sennadar, my friend.  The magical weave of most worlds cannot support our power.  On another world, our powers would seem godlike, but here, they are simply normal.  This saturation of magical power extends down to the very smallest insect, as it has infused all living things here.  On our world, the Dwarves could use Wizard magic, and actively pursued magical knowledge.  On virtually all other worlds, Dwarves shun Wizard magic and are only capable of Priest magic.
	I remember Mother telling me something along those lines, when she was explaining magic to me, he mused.  That even the dumbest man alive can cast simple cantrips.
	That is correct.  Now that the Weave is whole, when people realize it, you will see Wizards begin to teach common people cantrips.  The ability to use magic is virtually ingrained into all natives of Sennadar.  I could teach a child the words for a simple cantrip, and he could successfully cause it to function.  We are magical peoples who have the vast fortune of living in one of the most magically charged dimensions in the multiverse.  That is why we must defend this plane from the Demons, Tarrin.  If the Demons gained control over the power of our universe, they could pose a grave threat to all other planes.
	I know, Mothers told me that.  I wonder.
	What?
	If we would seem godlike to some person in some other world, what would one of our gods look like?
	She glanced at him, then she actually laughed.  Our gods are highly respected and feared, she told him with a wink.  Even the weakest of the Younger Gods, Pygas, is a monstrous power to be reckoned with outside of this world.  Any one of our Elder Gods have a power far beyond anything that Elder Gods of other dimensions attain.  She brushed her silver hair from her face.  They have this power because of the magic of our world, and also to help defend it.  The stronger the magic of the plane, the stronger the gods who control and protect it.  It is a universal principle.
	And the stronger the mortals who live inside it, he added.
	She nodded.   What you will do, Tarrin, it is the most important job that there is for a mortal in this world.  The Elder Gods would not have selected you for it hastily or without testing you many times to ensure you had both the power and the mentality to perform this task.  It is a task that you must never fail, not even once.  If but one Demon enters this world through that gate and escapes the gate chamber, he can summon forth more, and each of them will summon forth more, and so on and so on, and then it will be the Blood War all over again.
	I know all about their tests, Spyder, he said darkly.  I have wings now because of them.
	Do not be angry forever, she told him.  The wings would have appeared no matter what.  It was but a matter of time.  And given the extreme importance of this task, would you feel comfortable if they did not test the single mortal who defends the entire world from another Demonic invasion?
	When she put it that way, he was hard pressed to justify his anger.
	Attend.
	Tarrin looked up, his ears picking up at the sound, and Spyder sighed.  Someone is coming through the gate, she announced, gracefully standing up.  We must perform our duty.
	Im grounded here anyway, he told her.  I was just lingering because I like talking with you.
	That was fast.
	Im very good at grounding.  Its a Were-cat thing.
	You are part of the land.  It only makes sense, she nodded.  Come.  I will let you handle this.
	They returned to the gate chamber, and he saw that the bluish energy within was slowly turning white.  Wings out, present forth a weapon, she commanded, drawing her cloak around herself and stepping back near to the doorway.  Remember, intimidation will save you grief.
	It had been nearly a year since he had released the wings.  The skin sealing over the pools of living fire on his back retreated, and then they burst forth gloriously, spreading out to their full span, stretching after so long confined, then easily folded behind him.  He felt a subtle yet profound shift in his senses, picking up on those things that mortals could not detect, amplified by the sense of alertness imparted on him by the charm affixed to his amulet.  He looked at the gateand he could almost see where it went, see a vast gray emptiness behind that blue-white swirl of energy, a place of utter emptiness that extended eternally in every direction.  That was the Astral, a place that more or less glued all the other planes of existence together, touched them all without being part of any of them.  That was the place where all gates to and from every world either went or passed through, and that made the Astral the cosmic highway along which all inter-planar travelers went.
	When it turns all white, they will step through, she instructed.  Remember, no killing first offendors.
	They waited perhaps another moment, and Tarrin brought forth his trusty Ironwood staff, curiosity surging through him.  What was going to come through the gate?  Would they be friendly?  Would they be human, or Demons, or some exotic race he had never seen before?  Would it come down to a fight?  He had no idea, and part of that secretly thrilled him.  After so many years of knowing what was going on, of living a quiet and peaceful life, he found the idea of a little dangerexciting.
	He didnt have to wait long.  The gate suddenly flared white, and then three hazy shapes appeared within that white.  They became solid, real, and three humans stepped out of the gate and onto the dais before the gate itself.  All three were wearing ornate red robes, had shaved heads and long, pointed beards, and wore belts with pouches and satchels affixed to them.  All three carried staves of different kinds of wood, each with a blue crystal embedded at the top.  They looked around quickly, then all three locked their eyes on Tarrin.
	It was probably overkill, but Tarrin flexed his wings and took a step forward, levelling his staff at them.  Go back, he ordered.  Nobody may come here.  If you ever return, youll be killed.
	Who are you to order us around? the lead, a man with a thin, sharp, wrinkled face demanded.
	Im your executioner if you dont turn around and go back through that gate, he answered as his eyes exploded from within with a bright green radiance, and fire erupted from the fetlocks on his wrists and ankles.  Now go.
	The one to the leads left levelled the crystal of his staff at Tarrin, and he sensed a sudden surge of magical power flow through the Weave, directed towards that crystal.  It was a simple matter to cut it off, and just to be safe, he isolated all three of them from the Weave completely, rendering all the magical items and their spells useless.
	The man gasped, looking at the light in the crystal flicker, then go out.  Care to try again? Tarrin asked pugnaciously, raising a paw and touching High Sorcery.  Magelight exploded from his paw, which quickly merged with the fire licking at his wrists, causing ghostly flames of white and red to flicker around his upraised paw.  Turn around and leave, or Ill burn you to ashes where you stand.  To prove his point, he flared out his wings and caused them to radiate strong heat, which hit the three men in the face like a hot wind.  Now turn around and go back.  And remember, if you come back, Ill use your ashes to make a new drinking glass.
	They seemed to hesitate, but Tarrin made up their minds for them.  With a wave of his paw, he wove a fast burst of Air that swept them off their feet and threw them back through the gate, which flared white for just a second before returning to its bluish swirl.
	Just so, Spyder said with a nod.  And since I am satisfied you can perform the task, I will go.
	What do you have planned? he asked curiously.
	I intend to sleep, she said with a dreamy kind of smile, reaching under her shirt and producing her amulet, then pulling the golden inlay from the back in a deliberate move.  For at least five days.  From there, I have no real plans other than to relax.
	Well, enjoy, he told her.  Want me to stay out of the manor for a while?
	I have set up a vacation home, she told him.  Worry not about that.  Wait here for a few minutes to ensure they do not simply turn around and come back, and then you may do whatever you wish.  You do not have to stay here at the manor, Tarrin.  Just return to deal with invaders. The rest of your time is your own.
	I do have some ideas, he admitted.  Id like to do a little wandering.  And I need to find my drake before we go, he added.
	Then I will see you when I return.  Whenever that may be.
	And then she turned and walked from the bare chamber.
	Tarrin watched her go, and he had to smile just a little.  It had been ten thousand years since Spyder had so much as slept a second, and he certainly felt that she was due.  He hoped that she enjoyed her time off.  She certainly needed it.

	Spyders manor was the stuff of great legend.  There were any number of stories bandied about concerning what possible treasures might be hidden within the legendary figures secret abode.
	The reality was that Spyders home was surprisingly one-sided.  If one loved books, it was the grandest, most incredible trove of treasure in all the world.  If one didnt like books, Spyders home was a bitter disappointment.
	Spyder was not materialistic.  She did not collect gold or gems or valuables, though Tarrin did find a small vault in the cellar holding a modest fortunethen again, after ten thousand years, she certainly would have collected some money.  She owned fragile artifacts from all over the world, sitting on tables and pedestals scattered through her home.  Shields, weapons, pieces of sculpture in stone or metal or wood or glass, paintings, tapestries, antique furniture, they were all present in her home, if one knew where to look for them.  Some were recognizable in form or making, but some, he had no idea.  He found a few dainty things that hed swear were even older than Spyder, delicate glass sculptures that screamed of incredible age, things he would bet were made by the Trilla, or even their parent race, the Elves.  There were a few crude totem-like things that were equally old, things he felt were Goblin in creation.  There were Dwarven runestones hanging on special mounts which were on the walls, flat stones carved with large Duthak symbols for luck, protection, or favor.  Dwarves, hed discovered in his studies, were superstitious as a race.  There was this mask surrounded by feathers, of a style he had never seen before, as well as a strange club-like weapon set with rows of razor-sharp obsidian flakes hanging on the wall below it.  Tarrin had taken that one down and studied it, and realized that it was a real weapon, that it had been used in battle.  But why obsidian?  Why not a good sword?
	Then again, if the race that made it had no access to iron, then obsidian would be a practical alternative for making a weapon.
	The thing was wickedly nasty, and it made his flesh creep a little even at the thought of being hit by it.
	Spyder certainly had some exotic weaponry.  There was this other thing that looked like a wide, thick swordblade that seemed more like an axe head, and what made this weapon stand out was the hawks bill at the end of that heavy blade, sharpened along the inside edge.  Tarrin had to refer to a book of weapons to discover its name.  It was called a lochobre axe, a weapon invented by the Folk of the Stormhaven Isles and used some two thousand years ago, before the isles were united under a single monarch and the battles ceased.  The weapon was brutal in design, and if swung by a strong arm, it would easily lop off limbs or heads.  The book mentioned that the blade was often affixed to the head of a polearm, but short-handled versions were often used by nobles in combat.
	Good Goddessthe thing was probably just as nasty as a sword.  Maybe even more so.
	But it was her books that truly caught his attention.  His intent to wander a bit was put off when he started sampling her library, and found books that would make the librarians in the Imperial Library faint dead away if they saw them.  There were Dwarven books, Gnomish books, Urzani books, ShaKar books, Wikuni books, Human books from every corner of the world, and much to his surprise, there were even Goblin books.  The original Goblins were actually quite intelligent, and had their own written language, something that none of their descendent races possessed.  There were books, scrolls, tablets of dried clay, tablets of stone.  There were books made of paper, of parchment, of tree bark, of flakes of huge sheets of mica, thin plates of metal, plates of stone, even some that looked to be made of animal hide.  They were written in languages he had never seen before, but the charm affixed to his amulet gave him the ability to read them all, just as it gave him the ability to understand all spoken languages.  He heard other languages as Sulasian, and when he read these alien languages, Sulasian writing seemed to replace it to his eyes, though the page actually never changed.
	That was what got him.  He almost missed his appointed two days back in his library with Kimmie and his children, and while he was there, he was a little distracted.  Hed brought one of the books with him to show to Kimmie, a Wikuni book that chronicled their departure from the Known World, back when they still looked like ShaKar.  Kimmie was impressed by the book, and he made a copy of it for her so she could read it.
	It was always an annoyance when he was called to duty to cast people out of the gate chamber.  Spyder was right about the intimidation, beca