It wasn't exactly dark out yet, mostly just shady. The sun sent occasional beams of light through the trees of Central Park as it traced its usual trail across the sky. In an hour or so the sky would begin to turn orange, a sign that twilight was soon to come.

Sylus Kade strode down a lonesome path, enjoying the fresh air and the taste of beer from the tallboy in his hand. Tonight had no work to be done, nothing to distract him from the beauty of the moment. Birds chirped, small creatures moved through the brush, occasionally snapping twigs in the process.

There was a bench nearby, but Sylus opted for the ground and the trunk of a tall oak. Leaning his back against the tree and sliding his way down, he breathed in the warm wind blowing through the trees. It was his favorite time of the day, and this was the perfect place to enjoy his favorite pasttime.

He pulled a cigar from the tube in his pocket. Smelling it briefly, he smiled. It had been awhile since he had enjoyed a good cigar, but a recent theft had allowed him the luxury of not only that, but a decent beer as well. Sylus stuck the stogie between his lips and pulled out his old zippo. It glinted in the rays of sunlight as he flicked it open, sparked it, and puffed. The bright orange tip burned slowly. As smoke lilted upon his tongue, a smooth taste filled his mouth.

"There's nothing like a good smoke." Sylus said to the air, letting the smoke drift from his mouth. He set the zippo down to his right on the grass, and breathed deep again. He blew smoke rings, stars, squares, skulls, anything that came to mind. The beer mixed well with the cigar, leaving a pleasant tingle on his tastebuds. This too, he set to his right.

Sylus sat and stared at a quieter world, unaware and uncaring of anything but this moment.

The wet earth ceded easily when his strong arms pushed at it. Almost without effort he succeeded at opening a jagged hole for his small body to left the cozy den. He stood still on the side of the entrance that was hidden by vegetation, and let out a long yawn that revealed all his teeth. Small but deadly, just like him.
When the green humanoid finally managed to close his mouth after the involuntary process, he introduced one of his arms back underground, where he found a huge colorful umbrella. Once he was protected under the colossal shadow, the green creature began his usual walk.

The trees of that small natural island absorbed most of the punishment from the sun, providing a refreshing shade to the paths beneath them. Still, these giant creatures could not fight the flames all alone, so a few sun rays still extended their little fingers trying to catch him.
With the stolen umbrella the evil sun rays were repelled easily, probably because that strange object was built with some sort of magical cloth that was beyond his comprehension. Whatever it was, it gave him the ability to enjoy the scenery without worries.

Each new road seemed emptier than the previous one. There were no human left for him to scare, or dogs that needed to be released, not even young children to disturb. The forest had become a desert.
Knowing that he would not find anything to do until the sun hid, the little monster began to walk back to his cave.
To his surprise, he discovered a side road that he had not visited before, and in it, he found something even more wonderful. An object. The strange device produced a small compact flash as bright as the sun that mesmerized him. He wanted that thing but unfortunately the object was not alone; there was a human with it.

The little device sang again with its golden voice and produced another flash that asked him to... no, that commanded him to grab it. In reply to that touching request, Guglin nodded heroically. Then prepared all his muscles while waiting for the adrenaline to oxygenate his lithe body. A moment later he began to run.
He ran frantically until he reached his goal, where he stopped for enough time to take the lighter (pushing the bottle in the process). Just a few seconds. No more, no less. Then, cnce the brightness was in his hands, he accelerated to get away quickly from the scene.

The serenity of the scene in front of him was Sylus's entertainment. The clouds were his tv, the birds and the noise of the city surrounding this green paradise was his radio. The beer and the cigar were his sustenance.

An old Dylan song played through his head as the world turned around him to the beat. Sylus puffed slowly, letting a cloud slowly grow above his hed, refusing to let it dissipate as it should. The bitter taste of hops filled his mouth as he downed another 5th of the beer.

He took a ring from his pocket and placed it on his scarred and desecrated right hand. It brought back painful, beautiful memories, and also a reinforcement of his purpose. A bolstering of his beliefs. A sad smile broke across his face, and he prayed briefly with closed eyes for all that he had lost, and all the work that was yet to be done.

Shuffling feet broke his private moment, and Sylus's eyes darted up towards the noise. This is when he noticed a two foot, green skinned humanoid with a freakin umbrella slide to a stop next to him with a pointy toothed smile on its face, and nabbed his favorite zippo, knocking over the beer in the process. The little thief zipped off towards the trees with glee in its eyes.

Red hot hate filled Sylus's mind as he leapt to his feet, putting the cigar out and stowing it for later. A perfectly good beer ruined, a relaxing moment destroyed, he turned and stared with loathsome intensity at the.....imp? leprechaun? gnome? troll? He couldn't think of a proper description, and didn't very much care.

"You freakin martian, get back here! I swear to Scora i will rip your tiny limbs off!"

He took off running, but not for long. In an instant Soot took to the air, a voluminous cloud of dark smoke rising into the trees. He flew after the tiny troublemaker. Thoughts of raging fires, and roasted martian on his mind.

Large yellow eyes stared back at the very moment the man started to run behind him, his silhouetted against a sky full of orange and red. The colors of fire. The colors of the sun.
He also managed to see the bottle he barely touched, now it was lying on the floor, partially broken and spilling its contents onto the ground, contaminating the earth with chemical substances.
His long ears caught exactly the same scene but in a much more aural way. Crystal splitting against a solid surface, the sound of approaching footsteps that accelerated with every step, the man´s voice filled with fury. All these curses casted silently or aloud did not matter at all, in fact these words just made him smile once more.

When he entered the forest, the creature still wore the grim smile of satisfaction on his lips like a strange battle banner, or maybe a coat of arms that mocked the human´s bad luck and glorified his piracy. The umbrella danced and jumped in a strange dance while the goblin moving into the bushes, his left shoulder was beginning to ache from the constant blows he was receiving by the handle of the umbrella, and his right hand with the pain of the small metal device nailing with emphasis on his skin, but still, the worst pain was in his chest. The slightly cold air from dusk stabbed his lungs from the inside while the whips of branches on his bare chest hurt him on the outside.

Even with all those little annoyances trying to reduce his speed, the goblin knew the forest well enough. His feet dodged rocks and hidden roots with great skill, while his eyes quickly found the best paths between the trees. He was about to reach another road, when he slowed down to listen. Thousands of sounds came to him from his surroundings. One more time the small animals played their natural music, but among all these sounds he could not hear anything else. Since he was not receiving any sounds from his rival, the creature stopped completely, turning on his heel to face in the opposite direction. There was no man behind him, nothing but a big cloud of smoke. Gray as stone with black veins of pure hatred. His big eyes grew even bigger as his brain came to the same logical conclusion as his instinct. Where there is smoke there is... "Fire?"

Whatever the little green man was, he obviously knew his way around the forest. Sylus watched the creature move through the forest with sure footing and definite destination in mind. In his silent pursuit, he took the time to study his soon-to-be sacrifice. It wore what looked to be a pair of pants that would have been several sizes too large, if not for the jagged cut on the bottom. It still carried that ridiculous umbrella, even though there was little chance of rain. The hard almost claw-like nails on its hands seemed just as sharp as its pointy teeth.

It was quick and would have been hard to track if not for his superior speed and maneuverability. The cloud of smoke that was now Sylus Ivander Kade was unimpeded by root, rock or treebranch. He easily flowed around the trees, keeping an eye on his prey from above. It stopped right before the next path through central park.

Turning around, a look of fright came across that green skinned face as it saw the looming smog following it. Sylus took this time to surge ahead, parting to either side of the miniature monster. He reformed two feet ahead of the creature and pulled a bic from his pocket.

"Run as fast as you want, you can't escape your fate, say hello to Scora for me." And with a flourish, Sylus lit the bic and pulled a can of spray deodorant from his cargo shorts. Flames sprang forth and leapt toward the little man, and Soot mentally sent his praise to the god that recreated him, sure that soon a new soul would enter the Forge.

His body language said all that his voice did not dare to reveal. His ears fell to the sides of his head as if to hide from a deafening noise, while his lips remained twisted in a grimace of discontent. His whole body feared the great fire that was causing all that smoke, but though his eyes searched, she could not find anything. The only red was in the sunset sky that relentless advanced into the night.
It was at that moment, when the alarm in his head stopped ringing that he was able to reason again. There was no fire. Only smoke. And although it was not possible, he knew he was going to find the source of that ghostly apparition.

He was still trying to find a "logical" explanation for that situation when he noticed that the cloud was still advancing towards him, it was moving as if it knew what to do, as if it has a conscious of its own. It was impossible. His face was now dominated by a perpetual expression of bewilderment. What was that? What wanted that thing? Then, as if the smoke cloud heard his silent questions, it began to take shape and solidify to form a man. The same man from before.

The man's voice brought him an order that his body refused to obey, even when he repeated the request through his own electrical impulses, his muscles refused to move. His very body was condemning him. Guglin could only observe. The man was very close to him, but limited himself to produce two strange objects from their deep pockets.

The objects that appeared to be extremely harmless were combined in a smooth motion that was almost magical to form a long snake of fire that propelled toward him with his big mouth open while hissing with fury. Without time to react, the little green creature instinctively lifted the umbrella, trying to protect his body from the fierce animal of multiple colors.

The fire tore his shield of plastic with strong jaws, opening holes to skillfully introduce his warm tongue to transforms the colored cloth into ashes. The fire walked like an animal through the thin filaments that had once contained the fabric, devouring everything in its path with a voracious hunger. The flames spread to the handle of the object, and before Guglin could get rid of that dangerous element, his hand was licked by a tongue of fire.

The heat absorbed by that small piece of skin burned quickly spreading the heat to every cell of his body, activating an accelerated carbonization process that transformed her small body into a statue. Every tissue in his body, from skin to bones lost their initial molecular structure to reform skillfully as carbon fiber. Even the electrical impulses traveling at his neurons and nerves were frozen, like the blood in his veins.

From what before had been a living creature, nothing remained aside from its shape, the rest had been replaced by an artificial material that was completely dead. His right hand still clutching tightly the little device he had stolen, while his left hand held the skeleton of an umbrella as a shield. The features of his face were frozen in a mixture of surprise and fear that represented the last moment of awareness.

Soot smiled as a curtain of flame burst from his imrpovised incendiary weapon. The little sacrifice before him feebly lifted its umbrella in a futile attempt to shield itself from its fiery fate. The flimsy plastic melted quickly, creating holes in the tiny creature's defense. Sylus mentally tallied up another soul for his god.

In less than a minute, the umbrella was nothing but the metal spokes that supported it. Sylus waited for the screams of a dying martian, and was greeted only by the sounds of the searing jet before him, and the light crackle of burning brush. He lowered the flamethrower, his eyes taking in a sight that he could not immediately comprehend. Before him was a statue, its hands still held the lighter that was stolen from him, and the burnt rod of what used to be an umbrella. The creature had turned to stone.

If his jaw could have struck ground it would have. Sylus was dumbfounded.

"How the.... what the......"

He approached the tiny sculpture and felt the rough texture. He tested the stone's strength and found that it was indeed a solid piece of very hard rock. In an annoying bit of irony, the little (now possibly dead) thief would not let go of its prize. It practically taunted him, as if the spirit of the mischievious imp had lived on even though its body had abandoned it.

"I don't believe it. I don't even get to know if he made it to Scora, and I dont get my zippo back!" He kicked the statue lightly in what would have been its head, wondering how this was even possible. He had never met something that did not fall to the all-consuming hunger of fire. The circumstances raised a lot of questions like: is it dead? should i break it with a hammer? But mostly it troubled that spiritual resevoir of faith that had served Sylus for so long. If this thing was immune to fire, what did Scora have in store for it?

He sat down at the base of a tree near the rock that perplexed him so, and took out the cigar that he had begun this trip in the park with. He lit it and stared at the bright burning tip. Thoughts of religious ambiguity ran through his mind. Scora had laid before him a test,whether of faith or will he had no idea, but it was not something he could ignore. Sylus puffed and pondered.

"Well my little friend..... consider yourself lucky. Scora seems to favor you. For what reason i have no idea..... but we will figure it out together. I cannot let a message from my lord be left unattended." He knew he would get no answer. But he also knew that time reveals a great many things.

Sylus settled in to wait for an unknown period of time, and though his beer was gone he still had most of a good cigar. As the sky darkened, the tip seemed brighter and brighter to him. It seemed as if a touch of destiny had visited this small oasis, and whether it brought creation or destruction, he would be ready.

When the temperature of his artificial skin reached an optimal level, the defense system disabled itself to start the complicated process again. This time in reverse. The thousands molecular reactions were carried out in different parts of his body simultaneously and soon transformed what once had been a synthetic alloy into skin, bones and organs.
That pulse of life expanded from the darkest corners of his body into his most external organ. The last part to become organic was his skin, and in that moment, his mind came back again.

While in the real world his body had been an object for about half an hour, in his mind he had not spent a single second in that form. Alarmed by the scorching heat over his hand, Guglin quickly attracted his extremity toward his body in a protective gesture. He still held the remains of his shield, a strange set of thin tubes that formed an aberrant spider. The fabric that protected him from the sun and that united those thin legs, were absolutely gone.

The actual sensation of his hand soon won over the memory, so the false sense of pain soon disappeared. One by one his senses began to wake up, and soon he found the memories that claimed he was fighting a man able to manipulate fire. But the serpent of fire was not there.

The only clue that the time had not remained static while he had not paid attention to it, was in the darkness. Everything was covered by a thin layer of obscurity that was only opposed by the distant lights of the buildings surrounding the park. Still, with his eyes, each object looked clearer than under daylight.

Then he saw his enemy, and bared his teeth in a dangerous smile to show his discomfort. His body prepared itself to jump over his enemy before he could produce more fire. But the man's attitude was so calm that it even achieved to tame the little monster. So he closed his mouth and stared with full yellow eyes.

The sky was dark by the time Sylus finished his cigar. He stowed the unfinished end back into the tube, and let his eyes slowly adjust to the semi darkness that was central park. The city surrounding the dense "jungle" still cast its lights into the sky, adding a bit of twilight to the already bright moon. In due time Sylus could see well enough to distinguish the shapes of the forest, though not every detail.

The wilderness around him stirred with a new set of noises: the occasional snapping twig and the hoot of an owl mixed with the surrounding music of New York. As Sylus sat, pondering religious meaning and tests of faith, he noticed how peaceful this little oasis was compared to the big city. Of course he had spent plenty of time in cities like Phoenix, but his home was always the wilderness. And if he could not have open quiet desert, this green dot in a grey metal landscape would have to do.

Not long after sunset, Sylus's wait was over. In a sudden and not-so-dramatic change, the little green beast was back. It reacted as if it was still being attacked, a sudden jerking of its outline in the darkness. Sylus did not move, he understood the reactions of an animal in distress, and like a lone coyote, this creature may run at the first sight of danger. Instead he sat and returned the martians's bright, yellow-eyed stare His approach would have to be cautious, there was still some mysteries to be solved. And perhaps questions to be answered.

"I will not hurt you little one. Though i would like my lighter back." Sylus's voice was clear and calm, with more than a hint of curiosity in it. After all, how often does one get to meet a small, green skinned humanoid who is protected by divine intervention? It was quite the moment.

He slowly reached into a large pocket in his cargo shorts, and pulled out a bag of beef jerky. Removing a strip and chewing on it slowly, he set the bag down next to him. "

"You can have some of this if you like, i just wanna talk."
In a way it was bait, worm on a hook for a waiting fish. But this is not a fish Sylus planned to gut. This was a keeper. He was beginning to like the little creature, its demeanor was almost like that of a child.....or a mischievous imp. If Scora had a plan in motion, Sylus might get to enjoy this one.

The spears of fire the magician used to start the battle disappeared without a trace. Even his skin that should be burned showed no signs of attack. But even so, his recent memories insisted that there had been a battle with fire. So the mental conflict persisted. The only evidence that showed the skills of the fire tamer was in his left hand, where his shattered shield rested unable to help him anymore.
Without even giving a second chance to the useless object, he dropped it producing a small cloud of ash that soon mingled with the shadows.

The unique composition of his eyes helped his gaze to penetrate easily into the darkness that bathed everything. Each very small details meet his large yellow eyes that glowed like lanterns so he was able to see as a little cricket escaped from the place, ready to survive one more night, while a small bluish bird landed on more distant tree, his eyes even caught a small rodent that woke to find food. Still, his skillful eyes could not find the owl that hooted in the distance, or the barking dog.

The wizard broke his concentration easily, taking his mind away from the wonders of nature and drawing his attention to him. His yellow eyes jumped from the plants and trees to the human that even sitting was taller than him. From the same place, Guglin carefully observed the strange creature and all his details. His skin tone was full of light, while his odd hands had five fingers. As if that were not enough, his eyes were also very strange with three different colors.
Although he had seen many of them, they always managed to fascinate the little green man.

Despite his movements were slow and soothing, the tension soon grew inside his green body to face the possible threat. The last time the magician had introduced his hands in his pockets, he had produced a huge animal of fire, and so this time every muscle of his body was prepared for the worst. Fortunately the new object was not fire but radiated an elegant aroma that cleared all his doubts.

The small humanoid was so determined to taste that new human food that he immediately forgot all his doubts and fears, to advance with confidence to sit in the place of honor next to his host. Once there, he pronounced his name in a distinctive sharp voice. "Guglin." Then, he gave the pyromancer a beautiful smile that showed all his dangerous teeth.

A serrated smile loomed beneath the glowing yellow orbs of the little man that plopped down next to Sylus. The smile was almost childlike, vitality and innocence emanating from its very existence. The creature was like a boy in a foreign land, where there was nothing but wonder and danger in the world. Its mannerisms clashed beautifully with its outward appearance, the resulting personality forming something reminiscent of Satan's cutest, most lovable son. The voice that issued forth from its primal mouth clashed as well.

"Guglin" It said with a distinct canter to its voice. This was not the sound of a killer or an animal. Nor was it the growl of a monster. This was the voice of a humanoid that met every morning with a sense of excitement. It also showed a bit of intelligence. The creature could speak. The word it chose was foreign to Sylus, thus he could only assume it was a name of some sort or another. Guglin the martian. It was an odd sort of name, though what could one expect from a different species.

He stared down at the little humanoid, and hoped that it liked jerky. Sylus placed a strip slowly its four fingered hand. This was a link that they inevitably shared. Every living thing ate, and everyone Sylus had ever met enjoyed food.

"Eat up, Guglin. Its tasty." Sylus returned the exuberant smile and chomped down on another bit of dried beef. The tough texture and smoky taste left a pleasant flavor in his mouth even after he swallowed. For a little while he sat, mostly silent beyond the chewing. The world around him ticked by in the silence.

"My name is Sylus." He said with a gesture at himself punctuating the last word. He pushed the bag of jerky closer to the martian. "Do you understand me? I hope I'm not talking to a brick wall here."

He hoped this little monster spoke english, it would be one hell of a long night if it didn't.

Since his arriving to the big city, Guglin had seen many humans roam the park so he knew very well that the human sitting next to him was not one of the tallest or the biggest, but he was still quite a wonder for Gug, a marvel he could not miss. Although he had to tilt his head in a very uncomfortable position, the little monster stared back, fascinated by the strange details in his face and eyes that possessed strange colors and shapes.
Nor could he help but notice the fact that the man, still sitting, was twice his height and could observe him from the heights with ease.

The creature quickly accepted the meat, leaving aside any thought that were not into the lines of devouring. The lighter was left on the floor, while his companion's face lost all magic.
His four fingers took the meat up to his small nose without wasting time, where his weak sense of smell confirmed that that food was the source of that delicious aroma. Then he carelessly threw the meat into his mouth, sharp teeth attacked it to change its shape into small irregular pieces. "Tasty." Confirmed the green humanoid as his tongue ran over his teeth to catch any particles of flesh that might remain there.

The man finally presented himself as Sylus, a very strange name that the goblin had never heard in the park. Still, that peculiar word could not catch his attention as much as the plastic package did. So he stared and waited until the man pushed the bag closer to him.
While his eight fingers deftly opened the package to take another piece, the man continued talking.
The situation reminded him a lot of his human father, who always made him repeat a phrase or word before feeding him... maybe it was the same with all humans.

Once he had his prize, the humanoid replied with a curious tone. "I do." Then he smiled, clearly amused by the strange comparison. "Flesh, not brick." Assured the goblin with his hand extended for the man to watch his green skin.

The martian was clearly proud of its uniquely colored skin in this world of humans, it offered up its arm as a comparison saying simply. "Flesh, not brick." Sylus was relieved, the extra terrestrial did speak, though it had no idea about the more subtle sections of speech. Scora only knew how this thing would react to something like sarcasm.

Sylus plucked another stick of jerky from the bag and chewed thoughtfully as he listened to the symphony of the city and park around him. It may take awhile to befriend this tiny forest dwelller, and maybe even longer to get his lighter back, but there was plenty of time, and luckily, plenty of jerky. He had a feeling that if there was anyway to gain the trust of Guglin, it was probably through its stomach.

This theory was supported by the appetite with which Guglin devoured the jerky. He treated every piece as if it was a treasure to him, enjoying each bite with satisfied noises. The simplicity and instancy of this creature amazed Sylus. There were few left in this world who could be completely satisfied with the little things.

"Is this" Sylus made an all encompassing gesture to the dense foliage around them. "Your home Guglin? Do you live here?" It was a good assumption that it was, considering not only the little imp's attire, but his demeanor as well. One does not live on the street for long and keep a carefree attitude. It had a way of hardening one's soul into a perversion of its orignal form. Yet Guglin still had the light of a pure soul, untainted by the cruelty of the world.

From the battle that occurred one hour ago nothing else was left, not even the memories of those intense moments could enrage the two figures that now were eating together, exchanging words as if they were friends. The hostility that both had felt completely disappeared to be replaced by an unearthly quietness that reminded him too much of his imprisonment in his fake father´s. Aside that perturbing memory, the moment was pleasant enough for him to forget everything but the company.

His silent observation soon drew his attention to the eyes of the human. A strange trait that all the specie shared.
Compared with his large amber eyes, the eyes of the man were too small and probably not suited to the dark, so Guglin could not help but wonder about how much of the nocturnal world he could see.
With his eyes the wonders of the night were easy to spot, and as long as he had the distant light of a star or a faint touch of moonlight, the little monster knew that he could observe with an enviable quality, as it had extensively tested back in the mountains. Hunting was easier at night, as well as stealing so his pack had always preferred to move under the cover of the night. But... How much was able to see that man?

His concerns, suspicions and questions were soon buried under a wave of flavor that penetrated his brain through his tongue. The meat easily ceded to the strength of his sharp teeth, but to his delight, the particular flavor lasted a little more. When the flavor finally disappeared, the green humanoid replied. "I do." Pause. "Near big lake"Yellow pupils stare at the human with curiously as his thin lips helped his throat to produce new words. "You know my mountain?" Although he did not know exactly where he was or where his pack and mountain could be, Gug felt hopeful. Maybe he knew his parents and could carry him there. The city was too big, and all his attempts to find mountains had ended in failure.

Almost forgetting the question posed to the human, the green goblin let the natural and artificial sounds of the night to entertain them with their discordant melodies. As he listened intently for an answer and the sounds strange and familiar, his four fingers took another piece of meat. This time his jaws stopped before closing around his prey as if he had seen something completely mesmerizing. "You are like I." He said at last, pushing the silence with each word as if it were too solid to breathe. The man that was eating with him was not human. He turned into smoke. The surprise was soon replaced by a new kind of fascination that was expressed in a smile.

Sylus chuckled at Guglin's next question. The ignorance of it gave him an inkling of the creature's possible age, and though the little green man's stature and demeanor already gave him an air of youth, it was his verbage that showed the span of his years.

"There are many mountains Guglin, more than you can imagine. So i may know of your mountain but you would have to tell me more about it." Sylus could not keep the eagerness from his voice. His curiosity had gotten the better of him. The more he conversed with the martian, the more he wished to know about him.

Many questions flew through his mind.

Where was Guglin from?
How did he grew up?
Had Scora ever spoken with him?
Did he have a divine task as well?

Sylus decided to sate his interest slowly, and on Guglin's next comment, he got the perfect opening to move the topic of discussion.

"You are like I." The impish mutant had said with wonder and recognition in his eyes.

With a broad smile and glee in his eyes, Sylus began to do the one thing he loved just as much as burning things. He preached.

"Yes Guglin, we are both alike. Two kindred spirits that stand more advanced than those around us. But to be truthful, the whole world is connected in its own way. Each piece, everything you see around you, living or dead, was made by Scora. We are his creations, and as such we owe him our gratitude. I, however, also give him my servitude. Scora is my one and only god, I am his prophet."
Soot had no problem revealing this much. Even if Guglin had no holy mission, no part in Scora's plan. There was little that the monster could do to ruin Sylus's ritualistic works. And to gain trust, one had to give a little first. Such is the way of the world