Martya headed down the green marble staircase with a wierd feeling coming over her. Her left forearm was growing hot and her head throbbed. On the last stepped she lost het footing and stumbled into General Grond's wife, Hatchepepsi. Martya jumped back as the woman growled and jumped back and put her hands on her hips. "Clumsy, Scav wench! Are you drunk already, or just clumsy?" Hatchepepsi was reknown for her short temper, and short fuse. Martya felt light-headed as she fought to keep her footing. To Martya's senses, the whole room seemed lit up from it's own internal illumination. Martya smiled and shook her head. "Sorry! I'm just a poor, simple girl from the outlands and quite overwhelmed by everything here. I meant no offence. It's just put me a bit off balance." General Grond was a bull-derived beastman from the provinces and felt for this strange woman. He said in a compassionate voice, You should have a seat and take a deep breath and relax. Do you feel faint?" Martya smiled and said enthusiastically, "Fine! I mean I feel fine! Fit as a newborn...", she broke off when she had bounced on her toes to demonstrate fitness and floated two feet into the air and hung there for a second before floating lightly back down. She grinned in panic and unease and tried to laugh it off, "Eh-heh-heh-ehr.....Oh, well! I must have lost weight. Or mass or something. I better go! Nice meeting you!" The artifact arm-ring started pulsing in rythym with her own heart beat. It was a gift from her long dead mother and was her most cherished belonging. The violet light started to attract the attension of everyone around and conversations died off, as it grew more urgent and brighter. She tried to hide the light with her free hand and take a step away from the watching throng. She failed in both efforts. The light burned her right hand and she jerked it back as her feet skidded on the marble as she started to float just inches above the floor. Hatchepepsi looked agog at the spectacle of Martya floating there and called up to the royal pavillion, "Is it time for the entertainers already?" Kruag, King of all the Scavs and Master of Shalmiraine,jumped to his feet, alarmed. The antient mechanism floating near him said, "ALERT! Probablity Twist in local Time-Space aproaching 100%! Extreme DANGER!" Those were the last words Martya heard in the Fortress of Shalmiraine for a long time to come. The violet glow consumed her consciousness and she felt the entire world tilt below her. --to be continued!-- Media is Poser 6