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Post by Snack Addict on Nov 13, 2006 21:39:52 GMT -5
Prologue A man in a dark black cloak, his figure hidden in the folds of the cloak and the black of the night, smiled. He slowly retrieved his dagger from the fallen man, and his sword from the back of another.
"Too bad. I could've used you," Kane whispered to the corpse. He walked over to the remaining men, all their hands tied behind their backs, kneeling with their heads down.
"So," He said, hardly loud enough for the men to hear, "who will join me? I need not say anymore, you can understand well enough what will happen to you if you decline." He gestured to the man he had made an example of earlier; the body had been dismembered, and the blood was enough to see that the man had not been dead when his limbs had been cut off.
His minions, known as the Extrons, looked down at the dead bodies, their eyes gazing hungrily at the decaying meat, and his general, a vampire, looked at the men who survived with longing.
"Never," One man whispered, lifting his head up, "Would we show our love for our land and homes like this?! Give us one reason we should join you! We do not fear death!"
Kane looked at his general, who immediately went over the man, and lifted him high into the air by his collar.
"I shall give you a reason, militiamen. You may not fear death, but do you fear life after death? Join me, and your lives will be spared. Decline my generous offer, and," He glanced at the Extrons, drawing the men's, who had by now looked up, gaze to the undead soldiers, "join their ranks."
Kane looked back to the man who had spoked, and his brown eyes bore into the blue depth of the man's eyes. "Would you like to be the first, lieutenant? Or will you be a soldier in my army?"
He was starting to run out of air, his face turning purple, but he managed to spurt out one word, "Never!" Loud enough for the nearest men to hear. One of them shook his head, whispering to himself, "Foolish, foolish Rearg."
Kane smiled, "I hoped you would say that." And he swept over to him, and the vampire let Rearg go. Kane grabbed the defiant militiaman, and whispered something in his ear. Rearg went deathly pale, and it seemed he had already died. But Kane took out a vial, a vial that was filled with a black substance. Kane opened it up, and a black smoke came out. It seemed to sense the presence of a living person, and went straight for Rearg's face. It filled his whole face for a moment, then disappeared up his mouth. Rearg shuddered, and fell to the ground. Kane stepped back, closing the vial.
Rearg suddenly went into a violent spasm, his limbs flying everywhere, hitting several of his fellows. He stopped soon, and his skin took on a dark hue. It got darker, and darker until his skin was so black the Kesh, a shadow-creature, could not equal its darkness. He opened his eyes, and they were red, as red as blood.
"Rearg!" Whispered one of the men. The Extron, which he obviously now was, stood up and he broke his bonds with ease. Another Extron glided over to him, and handed him a cloak. The former Rearg put it on, and glided back to stand behind the men, and he looked so much like the others with their red eyes and black cloaks, soon none of the men could see which was their former lieutenant.
"So, who would like to join him?" Kane's eyes flicked over the men, with his hand already on the vial's cap. None of the dark substance inside seemed to have disappeared, and none of the men spoke out.
"Good. Now, General Denor, please bring these privates to the headquarters. Take the Extrons with you; I wish to continue alone." Kane ordered, and the Extrons grabbed the shoulder of the nearest man and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. The vampire general bowed to Kane, and vanished. Kane walked away into the darkness, his hood pulled up, covering the scars on his eye, and his pale skin and brown eyes, walking in the shadows, invisible to all.
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Post by Snack Addict on Nov 13, 2006 22:29:36 GMT -5
* * * A boy stretched his arms, taking a short break from the backbreaking work of a farm boy. Leaning on his shovel, the boy gazed longingly at the other side of the fence. Horses were grazing, and one large horse, the most beautiful black horse the boy had ever laid eyes one, was galloping through the fields, shaking his mane and leaping off of small hills. Many of the young males, who were only barely got out of the stage of following their mothers, followed the black stallion, but almost all of them didn't jump off of the small cliff that the black stallion leaped off of. One of the larger ones, a handsome young black male, 'Probably the son of the stallion,' the boy guessed, did leap off it. The black male went up to the stallion, and they continued galloping alongside each other, with the young male almost identical in every way except the size and the eyes. The young male's eyes were dark brown, and the stallion's eyes were far darker, almost black. The boy whispered to himself, "One day, I'm going to own one of those black beauties. Maybe both!" ((I meant to explain more about the story, but I have to go soon.))
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Post by Snack Addict on Nov 14, 2006 18:58:58 GMT -5
"Arone!" A voice snapped from behind him, "Stop daydreaming and finish digging those holes! For goodness sakes, yer only have to dig two foots into the ground!" The boy snapped out of his daydreaming, and, blushing profusely, resumed digging the holes.
"Yer gotta' finish those holes by nightfall, ya hear, boy? If not, no suppa for yer tonight and yer gonna get a beatin!" The old man, which Arone groaned about thinking of, growled while waiting for Arone's answer.
"Of course, sir! Be done by nightfall, sir!" And, satisfied, the old man turned around and went back to the farmhouse.
Arone sighed, and looked up at the sun, shielding his eyes. "I will not be a farmer when I'm older! I will not! I will be a brave soldier, a hero! And no matter what grandpa does to me, I will not be a farmer!" He vowed, digging hard into the earth every few words.
By sundown, Arone had finished digging all of the holes but one. Just as he was about to finish the last hole, the voice resounded in his ear again. "Well, look at that, boy! Yer not done! And guess what that means!" Arone could hear his grandpa take off his belt, and he prepared himself for pain.
Just then, another, more feminine voice sounded from the house. "Pa, what are you doing?! Get that belt away from my boy! You've no right to beat my boy without my permission! Not you nor Albem can do anything to any of my children without consulting me first!" Arone, without turning around, finished his digging while his mother came out of the house and his grandpa stood struck dumb with amazement. Soon it turned to fury.
"See 'ere, young lady, yer are me daughter, and as such yer should obey me-" The old man started, but Arone's mom interupted.
"First off, pa, I am no longer in your house, nor is my son in your house! Second, you were invited, as a guest, to come visit your grandchildren! You were not invited to help us raise our children nor punish them! Thirdly, Arone was only one shovelfull from done, as you could've plainly seen if you'd looked!" She jabbed a finger at the hole, which Arone had finished while she had raged.
Arone secretly thought, 'Go, mom!' and kept his smile to himself at his grandfather's fury.
"You- you are the most ungrateful little- if I was younger!- if you weren't a woman!- Arg!" And with that, he stormed inside, and his mother kissed him on the nose.
"Now finish your chores quickly, dinner will be ready soon." She departed as well, though taking her time going inside, contrary to his grandfather's sprinting.
Arone sighed, and put the shovel up in the toolbarn. He fed the chickens, and gave the cattle some hay. He then walked over to the stables as the sun was almost below the horizon. He walked inside, going over to May, his favorite mare's, stall. She walked over to him, putting her tan face up over the gate, looking inquisitively at him, as if asking, Do you have food? He smiled, and walked over to the grain closet. He got all the buckets of grain full, and gave May her grain first. He petted her, and she whinnied as he came in and put the food in her bowl. Smiling, he fed the other horses until they were all fed. He came back to May's stall, and she looked up from her food at him.
"See'ya tomorrow, May." He said, then left the barn to go into the house, smiling at all the events of the day, and the fact the next day was marketday. He would ride May to the town with his dad and siblings, get all the provisions for the month, whilst the rest of his siblings would be selling the items. Though it was fun to haggle with the customers, Arone preferred to be the one haggling. He also got a secret piece of licorice, for all "his hard work" of haggling all day with the various townspeople.
Arone smiled as he opened the door to his home, not even aware of the horror of the transformed lieutenant, the deaths made that day, nor the fright of the new privates. He world was peacefull, and full of bliss. Nothing would burst his bubble, not even the fact that a black-cloaked man with a scar along his face was contemplating how best to burst that bubble of innocence.
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Post by Snack Addict on Nov 29, 2006 20:40:05 GMT -5
Arone walked into his house, smiling broadly. "So, what are we eating for dinner, mom?" His mom shook her head at his dirty overalls and boots.
"Take those boots off, and get properly dressed. I will not have such a dirty boy at my dinner table. After dinner we'll be having your lessons in the study. And your grandpa asked to watch you, but be sure I won't let him interupt my teaching. Now hurry along, and get Dad and your siblings on your way back." She turned back to her pot, and continued stirring. Arone nodded, running off to the bedroom he shared with his brother, Olan.
He walked into the room, and saw his brother sitting on his bed, reading a book. "That's just like you, Olan," Arone laughed, "reading when you know full well dinner is about to be served."
Olan looked up from his book, his freckles standing out against his pink cheeks. He glared playfully at Arone, his bright brown, almost gold, eyes staring into Arone's dark green ones. His frizzled red hair shot out of his head in random spots, refusing to stay down no matter how long or hard their mother combed it. Olan's high cheek bones went even higher as Olan grinned. "What if I say I didn't remember dinner was so soon? What if I said that if you didn't stop blabbering I'd punch you?"
"What if I said you sure didn't do that 'cause you've got a little clock in your head? What if I said that it wouldn't matter, because I'm just as strong as you, even if you are a year older? What if I said Mom told me to hurry so I don't have time to wrestle with someone like you?" Arone said, taking off his boots and putting on his normal shoes. He took off his overalls and quickly put on his market-day clothes, while Olan put his book down and stood up.
Arone quickly finished dressing, said "Dinner-time! Get the rest of the bunch! See'ya!", and bolted out of the room. Olan ran after him, but Arone had locked the door on his way out and Olan had to take a second to unlock it. Arone was already gone by the time Olan got out of the room. He rubbed a hand through his hair, and went down the hall to get the others.
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Post by Snack Addict on Jan 16, 2007 22:34:21 GMT -5
Olan groaned and walked down the hall. He opened the door to the girls' room and there were his sisters; Saishe and Kera, playing with their dolls. Saishe was fourteen, their parents were discussing her husband since she was at the age most girls married at, and Kera was four. Saishe was a good sister and was playing with Kera, and their parents had both given the girls dolls when they were each three. Saishe's was more torn, while Kera's was relatively new.
Kera's doll was made by her family; the doll's black hair was donated by Arone, the cloth was sewed by Saishe, and the filling was wool that Olan got from their sheep. The rest was from their father, who saved up to buy the accesories. Olan was happy, seeing Kera playing so innocently with her doll they all worked so hard for. Saishe looked up at him expectantly. Kera took the chance to steal Saishe's doll with her doll, and put them on top of a box that had a twig at the top. Kera's doll knocked the twig away and Kera put a small stone on top.
"My flag is up there now! I win!" Kera yelled happily, putting Saishe's doll down and dancing with her own doll, the doll's black hair bouncing up and down while it was flung in every direction.
Olan smiled at Kera playing, and then turned to Saishe, "Dinner. Arone said Mom's got dinner on the table; let's go."
Saishe turned to Kera, and said in her musical voice, "Time for dinner, Kera." Kera squealed and ran down the hall, running around Olan, who had already started towards the kitchen.
Saishe took her time getting up and walked out of the room. She looked out of the window to her left, at the end of the hall, and saw movement in the bushes. For a moment she thought she saw a flash of light where the movement was as the last bit of sun dissapeared below the horizon. Saishe was confused for a moment, as the flash of light looked like it was reflecting someone's eye. But she shook that thought out of her head as she continued down the hall to dinner.
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Post by Snack Addict on Jan 17, 2007 1:13:43 GMT -5
When all the children sat down, Arone's mom gave a look to Arone, and they all bowed their heads and put their hands together. Arone began, "Dear God, please watch over us and grant us peace in our lives. We thank you for our food and our clothes, our health and shelter. Thank you for taking care of your children, amen." Then their family began eating dinner, asking each other to pass their food, and soon enough, everyone had the food they wanted and was eating. * * * Outside, however, other forces were at work. Kane was watching the house, words going through his head. ' The one to destroy the darkness will rise on the twelth hour and day of his twelth month and year, and will come in the time of greatest need. I have just have the king here killed. I have conquered all of Kelronse now. Does that mean he will rise? And why do I sense this house holding great potential power? I do not like questions that have no answers. I will answer them, no matter the obstacle.' He thought the last with a vegenece, and he whispered, " Kironja asef lakorni," And his vampire general appeared instantly. "Go in there and take all of them to my palace. Alive. And bring any boys who look 12 to me." The vampire nodded, and dissapeared again. Kane was looking down when his general was there. But when he looked up, there was a glint in his eye, and a certain girl in the house saw the glint. Kane quickly dissapeared, and the girl simply forgot about it moments later.
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Post by Snack Addict on Jan 20, 2007 22:55:58 GMT -5
Everyone in the house had finished dinner by the time the doorbell rang. Arone asked his mom as his dad went to answer the door, "Can I go to the outhouse?" His mom nodded, and Saishe excused herself.
"I have to go too. I'll wait outside the outhouse," Saishe said as she and Arone went out the back door, so as not to disturb the guest at the door. It was odd for guests to come this late; but perhaps it was urgent and someone needed to speak to dad before they went to the market.
While the siblings left out the back door, their dad opened the front door. A man in a dark black cloak stood on the porch, with his face down. "Hello there. I'm Albem, can I help you?"
"Yes." A voice dripping with cunning answered, "I am looking for the residents of this household. May I meet your family?"
The father was taken aback- most people weren't quite this frank with what they wanted. But it was bad manners to say no to him, so he opened the door wider and gestured to the kitchen. "Over there. Do you have something you want to say to them? I can't let you if it's too serious; my youngest is only 4."
The black-cloaked figure, who had yet to reveal his face, answered, "You need not worry. What I have to say needs to be said in front of the whole family."
Albem nodded, and walked over to the kitchen with the man close on his heels. "Everyone, this man has something to say to us. Go on,"
The indicated man said, "All of your family is here, correct? None are gone?"
Albem replied, "Yes we're all here," He had left before his two children left, and he didn't look around to see. His wife was about to correct him, but stopped. Olan would've said something, but once his mother didn't add anything, he stayed quiet as well. 'Maybe Mom doesn't trust this man. Actually, I don't either.'
In response, the man lifted his hood up. The man had pale skin, and pure black eyes; the only color in them was the white surrounding it, but it only made the vampire look more omnious. Albem gasped, and yelled, "Run, everyone, run!" He barely said the last word before the vampire went up to him and they both vanished. Not even a second later, the pale vampire reappeared, to find Olan taking Kera and running to the front door, and the mother running down the other hallway, probably trying to distract the vampire.
General Denor, the vampire, decided to get the mother first and surprise the kids by getting them afterwards. He ran like lightning to her, and they both dissapeared. Olan had made it out the door and almost to the forest when Denor appeared running beside them.
"Hello, there!" He said, reaching for the duo. Kera screamed and threw her doll, which she kept with her always, at his face, and her scream made him pause for a second, and the doll landed right in this open mouth. He had to take the precious seconds to get the doll out of his mouth, and by then, Olan had made it to the safety of the trees. The general had chased after them, but after they got far enough away, the brother and sister got up a tree and stopped moving. The vampire relied on hearing and sight to catch his prey; he could not see them, though he could hear their hearts beating.
He went towards the sound, but suddenly, a wolf leaped out of the bushes towards the general. He was, of course, able to get out of the way, and the wolf leapt off balance and skidded on the ground. But the wolf hardly stopped to gather more strength before it leaped again, and when Denor dodged it, he was barely able to hear a heartbeat behind him before it tackled him. Another wolf, a fae, was on his back and bit hard. Denor yelled, and grabbed the wolf, and flung it off him. The first wolf had already latched itself onto the other arm, and though Denor shook the arm as hard as he could, which was hard considering he was a vampire, the wolf was latched on firmly. The she-wolf leapt at him again, and the vampire cursed before vanishing.
Olan sighed with relief when the vampire vanished; they were only a few yards from the battle. The two wolves were puffing and black blood, barely visible, dripped from their teeth. Olan and Kera held their breath when the two wolves looked theri way. But as Olan looked more closely at the two, they began to change. Their fur started falling off, and they began standing up onto two legs. Under their fur pieces of clothing started to appear, but it looked as if the clothing was attached to the skin. Kera shivered with fright until the wolves stopped. But they were no longer wolves; a full-grown man and a woman stood their in nobles clothes.
"Who are you?" Olan whispered in awe, but not even Kera could hear him. He cleared his throat and repeated, "Who are you two? And who was that vampire? And what are you?"
The man looked at Olan and Kera, and sighed. He turned to the woman, "Neither of these is the one we're looking for. What will we do with them?"
The woman looked at Kera and Olan, and told them, "You can get down from there. We aren't going to hurt you. We'll explain everything later; first we better get out of here. We don't want to be here when the vampire returns with the Extrons."
Olan watched them carefully as he got down. After he got down, his eyes briefly left them to look at Kera as he caught her when she jumped from the tree.
The man and woman held out a hand to the siblings, but Olan didn't move. Kera looked at her brother, and took a similar stance; her arms folded against her chest and her chin stuck out in defiance. "Before we go anywhere I want one question answered; what are you that can change into wolves?"
The man looked at the woman in an exasperated way, but she ignored him as she answered, "Not just wolves. We're morphers. We can change into any animal, and we can speak to any animal through our minds, including humans, though we prefer not to. All the other questions later, we really must go." The next instant she was by Kera's side, and knelt down and offered her hand. Kera looked to her brother, and Olan nodded.
"We'll trust you for now. But beward; if you try to harm my sister, you're in for a hell of trouble." He took the man's offered hand, and Kera took the woman's. One second later, the clearing was empty.
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Post by Snack Addict on Jan 23, 2007 19:20:33 GMT -5
*** Arone and Saishe walked back into the house a second later to find it in tatters. The table was pushed over; the front door was wide open; and everybody was gone. "Hello? Olan? Kera? Mom? Anyone?" Arone called into the empty house. As they both expected, there was no answer. The house had the sort of stillness that made it almost frightening to the human mind. Saishe ran into the hallway and looked in all the rooms, while Arone just gaped at the scene. "No one's here! No one!" She cried, "Where are they? What happened?" Arone shook his head as the thought entered his head. "They were attacked. By a vampire," He whispered softly. His sister turned to gape at him. "What are you talking about? How could you know?" He looked up to her, but instead of their normal color his eyes were bright gold. "Kera and Olan are in danger. They took the aid of the Jargen, an evil morphers group. They will be safe from the power that took this country over, but the Jargen are just as dangerous. They are the resistence to the power, and they think they are good. When Arone comes back, tell him this. I have the knowledge; he has the power. You must seek out the Jargen and get Olan and Kera away from them." After the gold-eyed Arone stopped speaking, the gold slowly faded out of his eyes, and were back to their normal green. "Wha'?" He asked, light-headed. He looked around the room until his eyes met his frightened sisters' eyes.
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Post by Snack Addict on Feb 4, 2007 13:09:26 GMT -5
Saishe gasped, and took a step away from Arone. "You... how could... But you're just a boy!" She yelled hotly, throwing her hands dramatically into the air. "There's no way this is happening!" Arone looked in puzzlement to his sister, "What in the world are you talking about, Saishe?" "Your eyes.. They were gold, and you were smart. Crazily smart. You knew things. Just like a witch! You're a witch, aren't you?" She said, scared. She backed away a few more steps. "No! I'm not a witch!" Arone said, confused and frightened by his sister's behavior. " Calm down, Saishe," A voice spoke from seemingly nowhere. " Arone is, in a way you can understand it, a witch. But his powers are different from what you think a witch's powers are. He will be a great wizard one day, but only if you help. Do you really think your parents would want you to burn your own brother at the stake because of a silly superstition? Now do what the gold-eyed Arone said. Your siblings are in deep trouble." "Who are you?" Saishe squeaked, her voice reacting to her frightened state. " That does not matter now. I can speak to you in your journeys, but only occasionally. Just call for the Lord of Lords. I must leave now. Take care of your brother, Saishe. Do not let your family down, Arone. Great things are expected of you." And just like that, they felt the presence of the voice leave. The tension in the air lessoned as Saishe relaxed, thinking about what the Lord of Lords said. "You know, he's right," Arone said after a while of silence. "I can feel it, like in the back of my mind. They're in trouble. It's not any wizard powers or anything," He added quickly, seeing Saishe look a little scared, "It's just that sixth sense all people have of their loved ones. I know you can feel it too. The Lord of Lords said something about me with gold eyes. What did he mean?" Saishe was more frightened then she let show on her face. Somehow, in the last few minutes, Arone turned from a farmers son into someone else. Someone who knew what they were talking about; someone with power. "Earlier, before the Lord of Lords came, your eyes turned golden, and you said something about evil morphers taking Olan and Kera. They are rebelling against the government, you said. That's all I can remember," She shrugged in defeat, "But I don't know what we can do with it. Track them down? You're not older than thirteen! You couldn't pass as my husband, or anything. Maybe my son, though." Arone brightened up, his face showing his thoughts. "Oh, no." Saishe commented, putting her hands in front of her to ward off Arone. "Nevermind. No way am I going to be your mom! Mom's are old people! I can't pretend to be old enough to have a kid that's thirteen already!" "Well," Arone said, thinking logically, "All we have to do is make you seem older. You could wear one of Mom's old gowns. You arne't growing anymore, and you're about as big as Mom was." Saishe groaned, but resigned in the end, muttering to herself, "I'm going to regret this," * * *
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Post by Snack Addict on Feb 8, 2007 20:52:40 GMT -5
Olan and Kera, meanwhile, were just appearing in a grand entrance. Olan looked around, awed by the view in front of him.
The ceiling above them was over seventy feet above them, and the intricate design on the entrance to the left and right of them was amazing. Kera ran forward to get a closer look. A leopard was tensly watching a fairy, who, even in the stone, was flying so high that Kera could easily tell it was as light as a feather, with its two foot bright-colored wings. It was only about three feet high, from feet to the top of their head. Including their short antenne, they were typically about three feet two. Their eyes were big and full of innocence, and they were smart and cunning, but most of all curious. This fairy showed all of the normal traits, with it's curiousity radiating from it; head cocked forward and to one side, it's hands by it's side, but the muscles tensed, trying to keep itself from reaching out to the big cat, it's wings held high, and obviously beating fast. It's small feet hung delicately, rocking back and forth slowly. The big cat kept itself tense, but watched the fairy's feet, which were decorated in bright colors, which caught the cats' eyes. While it watched the fairy's feet, Kera could tell the fairy intended to lean forward to touch it's soft-looking fur.
"Girl!" Kera stepped back from the intricate carving, shaking her head in confusion. She had felt as if she were looking at the fairy and the leopard, from just a few feet away. "Those designs can be killers. Let's go," Olan had been staring at a design of a giant pursuing a giant wolf, which was three times larger than a normal wolf. He quickly shook his head, as Kera had done, to rid himself of the sensation. Kera and Olan, who had been looking at designs on opposite sides of the entrance, quickly walked to each other and held hands again.
The man and the woman proceeded down the corrider, which was just as high as the entrance, if not several feet higher, was light tan marble, while the entrance had been smooth white concrete. Olan and Kera quickly followed the pair, Kera moving as quickly as her short legs would take her. The man and woman were walking quickly, as if anxious to get somewhere.
Olan finally asked, as they reached the end of the corridor, "Wait. Where are we going? And slow down, my sister can't walk so fast."
"Pick her up and carry her, and you'll find out soon." The man answered icily, nervous, with the woman as silent as death.
Olan obligingly picked Kera up, and Kera clung to him. Something about their behavior scared her, and something about the aura the place gave off. Kera shuddered, feeling the bleakness and lack of life of the corridor. They reached a large fountain at the end of the corridor, and they took a left. Olan could see a gigantic door just past the fountain, though it spat directly upward water almost as high as the entranceway. Olan shuddered inside, but he didn't outwardly, not wanting to startle Kera even more. The huge doorway seemed to have a darkness to it. Olan had a feeling that if he went into that doorway he'd never come out. He could distinctly hear a very, very faint cheering, but it was so faint he thought he might've imagined it.
They entered a small hall, very small compared to the entranceway. It was only about twelve feet high, not enough to fit a giant, like Olan now realized. The entrance and the doorwary he'd noticed were both large enough to fit giants, and was wide enough to admit a teenaged dragon. It wasn't enough to fit an adult dragon though, Olan thought happily. The cheering was a bad sign; he was starting to understand this place, if his guesses were right. The more he guessed, the more he disliked it.
They had reached another door, this one normal-sized, unlike the last one, which had been as tall as the celing, give or take a foot. The man opened the door, and the woman ushered them in. They went inside, followed by the woman, and then the man. It was fairly dark inside, and took awhile for Olan's eyes to adjust. When they did, he could hardly bear to see what lay in front of him, and Kera squaked, too frightened and scared to scream.
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Post by Snack Addict on Feb 14, 2007 20:21:43 GMT -5
Olan covered Kera's eyes, not wanting her to see the horror of what he saw.
The entire room, which was bigger than the entrance hall, though not quite as tall, was filled with cages. There was room enough for a baby giant to walk through it, but not enough for an adult. The worst part of what was in the cages. At the market at home before all of this, when Olan was 12 he had seen an imported fox moving about it's cage, never resting unless to eat or if it fainted from lack of sleep. The fox was used in an animal show, but was under very harsh conditions. Olan had hated seeing the fox cooped up, and that night had let it free.
That was the feeling Olan had then, but it was slightly different between the fox and the occupents of these cages. The fox couldn't thank Olan, nor was it intelligent at a human's level. These creatures were.
There were pixies and unicorns, trolls and phoenixes, basilisks and fairies, vampires and warlocks, werewolves, and even the rarest creature of them all; a baby giant. After the giant got included in hunting, they were slowly getting rarer and rarer, for giant's skin and bones were incredibly expensive. Only the best at hiding or killing it's hunters survived, and baby giants were even rarer than their parents, though they were worth more when alive than dead. Giants mated infrequently, and even more so after their near extermination, since they were hard-pressed to stay hidden, and a giant moving was like an earthquake, so it was hard for them to mate. This baby giant was amazing, but it was obviously treated horribly. It was well-fed, but therer were whip markes on it, and it was crying, lying down in the back of it's cage.
The man pointed to the human, saying, "That's not a human, really. It's a werewolf. And don't be fooled by it, they like to trick you."
The werewolf-man saw Olan and Kera, and yelled to them, "It's not my fault of what I am! The only reason I told you was so I'd be in a cage during the full moon, not all the time! I haven't done anything wrong! Let me out! Let me out!" The man continued crying, and the man's wife, or what seemed to be his wife, came up to him, as they were in the same cage.
"Get away from me, witch!" The man yelled, and the woman recoiled. "I've done less than you to deserve this, you old man! I was born with my powers, though I've never used them for evil, and you were stupid enough to go outside alone on a full-moon!" The man turned away from her, and the woman walked away, muttering silently and Olan saw a tear go down her face as she went in to the shadows.
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Post by Snack Addict on Feb 15, 2007 19:11:03 GMT -5
Kera shoved Olan's hand away as he looked into the cage holding the witch and the werewolf. She ran across the path, ignoring all the cages, trying her best not to look at them. Even with Olan covering her eyes, she had heard the anguished cries of the baby giant, the despairing hiss of a basilisk, a medusa shreiking her protest, and even smelled a rose-fairy, the fairy dedicated to flowers, and the smallest and most trusting of all fairies. Also the most likely to be captured.
Olan ran after her, yelling for her, clamoring to be heard over the noise. When they first arrived, it seemed to be a more quiet sadness, but once the werewolf and the witch spoke, the other creatures seemed to take a cue, and began weeping and hissing and shrieking and crying all at once. Kera couldn't hear her older brother, and nearly ran into someone.
The man and the woman shapeshifters ran after their charges, catching up with them as Kera stood clinging to her brother, in instant fear of the man she ran into. He was one of the few exiled Extrons that joined the rebellion group. He also radiated darkness and just stood staring at the girl, his black cloak whipping around his black skin in an invisble wind. His red eyes were what scared Kera the most; they were boring into her, as if the Extron knew all of her secrets, everything...
"Leave! Do your purpose and get out of here!" The woman ordered the Extron, and it looked slowly up from Kera, and to the woman. She glared back at him, and it walked around them. Olan noticed it led something behind it, but couldn't quite recognise it. He looked closer, and saw it to be an elf, and it looked to be a magician. Elves were unique; each elf was born with a purpose, and they each had powers to help them in their purpose. House elves could make brooms sweep the floors on their own, and their food was wonderful in a way no other creature could make it. Carpenter elves could form a picture in their mind, and no matter the condition their tools were in, nor the wood, their creation turned into exactly what they wanted it to be. Magician elves, as this one was, had the magic to make charms and spells. Their spells were all spoken, and nothing else was needed, but their charms needed to be placed in a special-drawn shape, and have words spoken over it and with several herbs in it as well. All elves, no matter their purpose, were all natural. They didn't use anything that wasn't exactly how it was found in nature in whatever they did, with only the house elf as an exception.
Olan almost cried to see the shape the elf was in- its traditional starry gown was in tatters, and it's face was so long and dreary Olan doubted it could cast any spells or make any charms. He absolutely hated this place already, for doing this thing to these creatures. He picked Kera up, and held her close, with her crying into his shoulder. 'I have to stay strong for Kera,' He reminded himself sternly.
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Post by Snack Addict on Feb 16, 2007 14:05:40 GMT -5
The Extron led the poor magician elf out, and the man, seeing Olan's look to the elf, remarked, "Don't worry about it. You'll get to see the elf again soon. If he wins, then he'll be free and maybe they'll make him your servant."
The woman led them to the back of the room, where a tall man was inspecting the baby giant. He was wearing a black robe, and his hair was dark brown and reaching his shoulderes. He turned to see the group headed their way. He waved his hand in the direction of the baby giant, and no noise could be heard from the cage. Olan could see the giant was still crying, but the sound had dissapeared.
"Master Lithen," The woman and man said in unison, bowing. Olan bowed as well, but said nothing and didn't let his eyes leave the man's green eyes.
The man cast a look to Olan and Kera, asking the woman, "Who are these two?"
The woman replied uneasily, as if fearing his reaction, "We found these in the forest being attacked by Denor. Thier home was destroyed, and supposedly all their family was taken. They've nowhere to go. We thought that they could earn their keep; they could be servants, and I sense that the boy has a little bit of magic, but he isn't the one."
The man looked thoughtfully at the siblings, and replied, his honey-sweet voice frightenly even, "Teach the girl to be a game-servant, and teach the boy magic. After he's a blue-robe he will enter the games. Leave now, and get the girl to work immediately. Give her to Sarei, dismissed." In a moment, the man was gone, leaving nothing behind.
The man walked over to Olan, and grabbed his shoulder firmly. The woman took a sobbing Kera from Olan, though Olan held on hard. "No, you won't seperate us!" Was his last words to Kera, and his sister and the woman were gone.
In the next moment, Olan found himself in a completely different room. His mouth dropped open in astonishment, surprised as the atmosphere in which he now found himself, compared to the dungeon he had previously been in.
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Stephanie Not Logged In
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Post by Stephanie Not Logged In on Mar 6, 2007 8:54:37 GMT -5
The room he was now in was covered with bright banners, and the black board at the front had the name "Master Seshin" written in several different, bright colors. Olan was even more startled to see the people in the room, thinking of the dark purple man he met earlier, and the ragged clothes of the dungeon prisoners. The people in the room all had the same, bright yellow robe on, and a belt that was varying colors on their waists. Girls and boys were in the class, but the boys were on the right side of the room, their desks facing the windows, and the girls were on his left, facing away from the windows. Master Seshin's desk was brightly colored in green, with ribbon going around it, and smack in the middle of the girls' desks and the boys' desks.
The man gave Olan a note, but he was confused as how the man wrote it in the space of a few seconds. There were several girls and boys, all of whom were staring at him. The man winked, and vanished. One boy came up to Olan, and patted him on the back.
"Welcome to Mage Class," The boy took the note from Olan's hand, read it briefly, and said, "Olen." With an accent.
"It's Olan," He corrected the boy, taking his note back, and added, "What's yours?" Olan looked down at the note, which simply said in a quick, scribbly handwriting "The boy is Olan, Master Lithen ordered to take Mage Class up to Blue-Robe. Games after. ~Shifter Klide"
The boy flipped his hair, which was black and had bangs just at his eyes level all around his head. "The names Luke. This is Gary," He jabbed a finger at a tall, well-muscled boy with unruly light brown hair who winked at Olan, "that's Dan," He gestured to a small, dark-haired boy who attracted very little attention due to a scar from his right eye to the base of his neck, and who hid his face from Olan, "and my main-man here," He grabbed another boy, roughly the same height as Luke and Olan, with dark brown hair and with an obviously large amount of muscle, "is Jack. We're yellow robes, lowest you can be. We just started Mage school a week ago. I grew up in the capital, Gary was a farm boy, Dan was born here, and Jack here was a traders son. What about you?"
By now, the girls had all gotten closer to get a good look at Olan. His red hair was crazy, but in an almost handsome sort of way, and he was tall and strong, but his freckles made him seem younger and less masculene, and his high cheek bones made him look like he was constantly smiling, and was therefore a little hard to take seriously. One of the girls, a particulary beautiful skinny blond girl, came up to him before Olan could answer Luke.
"Hello, Olan. I'm Shara, this is Katie, Jessi, Sarah, and Rebecca. Katie likes to be called Kat, and Rebecca likes to be called Rei." The blond girl, Shara, said, motioning to Katie, a tall brown-haired girl with a fun-loving smile, Jessi, a medium black-haired girl who looked to like sports, for she had a light tan, but sunburns on her face, Sarah was brown-skinned and tall, but as tall as Katie, with dark brown, almost black, hair. Rei wore a ponytail, with long brown hair that reached half-way down her back, and bright brown eyes.
Olan smiled at the girls, noticing that one girl was still sitting at her desk, fiddling with a pencil, and returned his gaze to Luke. He replied, "I was a farm boy, but I had to leave my sister, brother, and parents behind. I came here with my littlest sister but I don't know what they did with her."
Luke and Jack both stood up, smiling broadly. "Want to go looking for her after class?" Jack asked, trying to keep himself as though uninterested, but eagerness showing.
Olan was about to reply when Rei butted in. "I wouldn't suggest braking the rules on your first day, Farm-boy. These two adore trouble and going to where they were probably about to suggest, going to the Hall of Vex
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Post by Snack Addict on Mar 7, 2007 22:45:17 GMT -5
Olan was about to reply when Rei butted in. "I wouldn't suggest braking the rules on your first day, Farm-boy. These two adore trouble and going to where they were probably about to suggest, going to the Hall of Vex." She rolled her eyes at the boys, and they grinned wolfeshly.
"What's the Hall of Vex?" Olan asked, completely confused.
"Oh, you haven't recieved the tour yet, mate." Jack said, putting his hand on Olan's shoulder. "And you haven't lived until you've used the Vex in the Hall of Vex."
Luke rolled his eyes in an imitation of Shara. "Wow, that helps him so much, Jack, I think you might've confused him with that really complicated explanation of yours."
Gary laughed with his deep voice, and stood up, walking over to Olan. "Firstly, new-boy Olan, you'll need your robes. Don't know why that guy brought you here instead of directly to the tailor. Secondly, if you don't want to get a detention in your first week, don't listen to a single solitary suggestion of the Trouble Twins over there," He jabbed a finger in Jack and Luke's direction, and Jack acted like he got shot with an arrow. They both were completely silent as Luke let out a silent cry of sadness, overexaggerating every movement. "You'll be fine." He finished as everyone laughed at the friend's performance. The two stood up and bowed, mouthing 'Thank you, thank you,' but not saying anything.
"If the class has had enough of your silent thingy-ma-bobber, I would suggest everyone stand back." A voice called, and Olan realized the voice belogned to an old man with a short beard reaching his shoulders who was pushing a cart with a tank of water on it. The tank didn't look like it had anything in it, but Olan could see the water moving slightly as something moved at the top of the tank.
"Ooo," The old man said, spotting Olan. "A new student! Well, my boy, hand the note over." Olan was surprised the man knew he had a note, considering it was in a fist that was clenching in the opposite direction of the man. He passed the note over as the old man came up to him.
"Hmmm... So," He squinted at the paper, "Olive. Well, that's an odd name. Not meaning any offence, Olive."
"It's Olan, sir." Olan corrected him, and the man looked quite happier.
"Ah, Olan. Did you know your name means 'vanish' in Cerlan? No, I don't suppose you do... Cerlan being a country that was wiped off the map by the Yari's two thousand years ago, the conquerers of the Yari's tried to burn all of the Cerlan documents, and the fact you're a farm boy who probably can't read. Ah, well. You'll learn soon, Olan." The old man babbled, until Jessi coughed. "Oh, right. Well, here you go." The old man waved a hand in Olan's direction, and he was confused. 'What in the world is he doing?' Olan thought, then realized he was now wearing yellow robes with a gold belt.
"Shall we get started then? You sit next to Dan, as I don't doubt the Twin Tricksters have already introduced them all." Olan followed the perculiar man's instructions.
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