Page 18 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"They're playing rock, paper, scissors to see who has to go through next," he says with an amused smile.

"Why doesn't going through the portal affect you the way it does the others?" I ask curiously.

Before he can answer, all of the others stumble through the portal in quick succession, looking just as bad as they did the first time that they went through it.

"Neith, you lied to me!" River cries dramatically, making me roll my eyes.

"I did not. In my experience, it's usually better," I reply, trying not to laugh.

"Come on, boys, you sit down and get your bearings for a moment," Sully says, although he looks pretty amused by the situation.

The guys don't even argue as they all take seats, and Reed crashes out on the floor, throwing his arm over his eyes and groaning.

Raiden chuckles, prompting all of the guys to flip him off even though the majority of them have their eyes closed.

"I guess I'll answer your question while they are all recovering," he grins and then continues, "I think I can go through the portal with no problems, most likely because I'm used to traveling to the otherworld to drop souls off. Some of the paths aren't that easy, and I have some turbulence that I have to fight through. So that portal is nothing."

"Hmm," Sully says, and I look at him curiously. His gaze is on Raiden, though, "How many of the levels can you access?"

"Nearly all of them. I think there are only ten out of the thousands that exist that I can't take a soul."

Sully's eyebrows rise, "Wow, that's impressive. I don't think I have heard of a reaper having the access to that many before. Usually, reapers drop the souls off at the nearest one to the soul's destination that the reaper has access to, which depends on the strength and tier of the reaper. After that, the spirit guides take them to their final resting place."

All of the guy's eyes are now open, and watching Sully closely, it's clear that none of this is new to them, but they all seem to know that this is sensitive information.

Raiden tenses, "I'm aware. It's something that I have kept to myself for obvious reasons."

Sully nods, "Absolutely, I wouldn't be letting the Reaper Council find that out. It would put you in charge, and none of them would like that, which would put you in danger in a very big way. They're all pretentious pricks. That's why none of them are in the poker game. They weren't like this in Trieneliea, but these reapers that now make up your council aren't the elders that made up the one in Trieneliea. For some reason, they didn't make it across before the gates closed, and no one knows why. It's been a point of confusion for a long time because it wasn't just one of them that didn't make it across but all of them."

"Wait, what?" Raiden asks, looking confused. "I never knew that. I always assumed that they were the ones that ruled in Trieneliea, everyone does."

Sully nods, his face grave, "That's because there was a lot of turmoil straight after we came through the gates, the new council was put together hastily in order to stop mass panic and then it was decided not to outright teach it to any of the new generations. They painted it as if it wasn't knowledge that the younger generations needed to know because they thought that we wouldn't be going back to Trieneliea."

I shake my head, "It is never a good idea to try and change history."

"No, it's not." Sully agrees.

Raiden's frown is dark, "So the stupid fucks currently in charge shouldn't be?"

"No," Sully replies. He watches him cautiously, "Including your father."

Chapter Six

Neith

My eyebrows rise, I had absolutely no idea that Raiden's father was on the Reaper Council.

Raiden's laugh holds no warmth as he replies, his voice sharp, "Yeah, I always questioned how he was deemed a worthy leader."

Sully nods, "Exactly, but then you could say that about all of the council members, could you not?"

Raiden nods, "Absolutely, and knowing that none of them were in power or at least in charge in Trieneliea makes so much more sense." He pauses and then asks, "So, it wasn't run like this in Trieneliea?"

Sully shakes his head, "No. Don't get me wrong, they were strict, but there was none of the stupid hierarchy shit that they have now. In fact, one of themembers of the original council and a dear friend of mine had a tier twenty-five as his apprentice and was teaching him to take over his place."

Raiden's eyes widen, "No way." Sully nods, and Raiden continues, "The thing is that they know that it was done differently in Trieneliea, and the original council members wouldn't have led the reapers this way. It makes me wonder if the originals were deliberately left behind."

Sully taps the side of his nose, "That is the general assumption. But there is no way to prove that is the case. The originals are stuck in Trieneliea."

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