Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

throne."
    "Him, and his Family," said Wulf.
    "But Giles always came first," said Owen. "An Empire-wide rebellion, built not upon honor or justice, but one man's guilt."
    "Does it really matter?" said Hazel. "Giles may have started the rebellion, but we finished it, for our own purposes. And in the end, the Empire we helped to make is nothing like the Empire Giles had in mind. Only one Deathstalker helped shape Humanity's future, and that's you, Owen."
    "Oh yes," said the Wolfling, his mouth stretching in a broad smile that showed all his teeth. "It's all down to you, Owen. And your story isn't over yet.
    There's still more you need to know. Let me tell you what the Recreated really are. They're not aliens and they're not boogeymen; the truth is really much more horrible than that. Everyone and everything that died during the creation of the Darkvoid is still alive. So many cried out as they died, all those centuries ago, that the baby heard them, even in its sleep. It dreamed they were still
    alive, and so they were. Without shape or form, they existed in the endless dark, crying out with rage and pain and shock and loss and horror. They soon went insane, and in that madness eventually learned to tap the power that was keeping them alive. They drew, slowly and cautiously, on the sleeping baby's power, tapping indirectly the power of the Madness Maze itself, and in time they learned how to make new bodies for themselves. But they were insane, and so were the shapes they took. They made themselves into the nightmarish evil aliens that Humanity had always feared meeting, and dedicated themselves to revenge, against the Humanity that sentenced them to death, and then left them alone and abandoned in the eternal darkness.
    "They started slowly, afraid to stray too far from the source of their existence. But eventually they reached out, and snatched Captain Fast from the bridge of his own starship. They experimented on him, learning what they could do, and finally made him over into Half A Man, One and Two. And then they sent the first one back, to spread fear and propaganda of the terrible evil aliens waiting Out There, and prepare Humanity for their eventual coming. And all the time, he was their unwitting spy in Humanity's camp. Alien species that might have been Humanity's friends and allies were enslaved or destroyed, as the result of a policy formulated by Half A Man. The Recreated were determined that when they finally did burst out of the Darkvoid, Humanity would find itself utterly alone.
    "Down the centuries, the Recreated gathered and concentrated their power, moving slowly away from their source, heading for the Rim. And now they're out.
    Humanity's dark, neglected offspring, home to roost at last."
    "Figures," said Hazel, after a long silence. "Humanity always was its own worst
    enemy."
    "They aren't necessarily all evil," said Silence slowly. "The Recreated. I remember voices, coming out of the Darkvoid, trying to warn us of the dangers of the approaching starship Champion. Perhaps… some of them remember who and what they used to be."
    The Wolfling shrugged, a disturbingly supple movement. "If so, they're in a minority. The Recreated want vengeance and the utter destruction of Humanity, and they won't settle for anything less. They are vast and they are powerful, and what little remains of the Empire's forces isn't nearly enough to stop them."
    "Are you saying it's hopeless?" said Carrion. "That there's nothing we can do?"
    "There's always hope," said the Wolfling, almost reluctantly. "One of you can still make a difference. The circle of your life has almost come to a close, Owen. Time for one Deathstalker to stop what another began, and save all Humanity."
    "Of course," said Owen. "It always comes down to me in the end, doesn't it? Damn it. All right, Wulf; what unpleasant and probably fatal thing do I have to do this time?"
    "I can't tell you," said the Wolfling. "Some things are still withheld from me.
    Probably so I won't interfere. You have to go back into the Madness Maze, Owen.
    All the way back in. You'll find all the answers you need at the heart of the Maze. But you'd better hurry. The Recreated know about you; they sense that somehow you might be able to stop them. Some of them are already here, hovering over the planet. Their fear holds them back, but it also goads them on. A Deathstalker made them what they are, but another might undo them."
    "How?" said Owen angrily. "Speak plainly, damn