[O! FMDAR] Sealed Beasts: Tales of the Half-Stone

[XSenkoX]

The human’s reply, when it finally came, did not please the shaman. She spoke without fear, to her credit, but she spoke of the wolf goddess and Anthartreoris knew her to be an enemy. Even the beast gods catered to humankind now, betraying their origins and encouraging their followers to betray their fellows and live with the humans. He lowered his head and hissed, tightening his grip on the spear he carried. It was a sign that the others picked up on in an instant and in mere moments the red-cloaked woman was faced with a troop of lizardfolk that were echoing what appeared to be a call to arms. The guardian circle brought their spears to a threatening level again and any lizard that had a weapon and shield was bashing them together to create an awful cacophony of noise.

“Trespass in Loex sthyrssifisv is not plenty for humans, bring She-wolf Betrayer to faithful of Ban’del’ul?” Anthartreoris didn’t raise his voice over the noise, but there was no need. He stood close enough that he could be heard by the woman and could watch her eyes widen in the realization that she had made a serious mistake in approaching the lizards. He lifted his spear from the ground and pointed it at her, “Suffer your stupidity.”

On command, the marsh beneath the human’s feet shifted and the ring of lizards surrounding her began to slowly back away. The change subtle at first, like water seeping in to weaken the semi-solid patch of ground that she stood upon, but with a violent heave the soil buckled and a mass of python vines erupted from below. They moved with unnatural speed, wrapping their thick vines around her legs first to ensure that she could not escape before creeping up her body to secure the rest. She struggled valiantly, but it only served to encourage the plants to tighten their grip on the woman until she was completely immobile. At that point, terror seemed to set in and she began screaming, but with every breath she released, the vines gripped her tighter and tighter, constricting their prey just as their namesake did. At this point, even if he had wanted to, Anthartreoris and the might of his clan could not have pulled the vines from her.

The last thing that she would see before unconsciousness and death was the shaman barring his teeth in a terrible parody of a human’s smile.

Anthartreoris turned away from the mass of vines that would soon begin the slow process of digesting the human, ready to head back to the fire and partake on the meal that the hunters had procured. The Chief turned alongside him, chuckling under his breath, and the rest of the spectators followed suit.

<I was worried you weren’t going to scare it before it died,> the Chief laughed boisterously, <but it seemed more composed than the normal travellers until the very end.>

<She was a follower of the she-wolf. The b***h’s courage may have flowed in her veins, but the courage of a traitor will stop.>

The chief shook his head, the action pivoting around his chin like a dog shaking off water. He guffawed, but Anthartreoris saw that his hand rested firmly on the hilt of the human-crafted blade lashed to his waist. Anthartreoris was opening his mouth to say something to calm the chief when a cry went up behind them.



Turning sharply, the shaman was met with a blazing inferno that had claimed the spot where the human had fallen. His vines were pulling away from the blaze as quickly as they could, but many of them were charred and dead long before they had the chance. The few that had remained to gawk at the dead human had stumbled away in panic, looking to the chief and shaman for some insight. Anthartreoris crossed the ground with purposeful strides, catching a young greenscale, who happened to be holding a torch, by his throat.

<What did you do?> hissed the shaman



With a disgusted hiss, Anthartreoris tossed his victim aside and crept closer to the blaze. Much to his surprise, there was no radiating heat coming off the fire, but sticking the base of his spear into it revealed that the magic fire burned all the same. Snuffing the lightly smouldering wood into the boggy ground, Anthartreoris crept warily toward the fire as if it might last out at him as well. He was within a few steps of it when just as suddenly as it had started; the flames leapt up to the sky once and then vanished without so much as a gust of wind breathing on the area. The human’s body had been reduced to a pile of ash in what Anthartreoris knew to be impossible times and every fibre of his being told him to get away.

Something else made him ignore the feeling and linger at the edge of the scorched earth, shifting the ashes slowly with the end of his spear. When he reached the large pile that would have been the human’s torso, he found something buried within. It glinted against the fading sunlight and appeared to glow with the same intensity as the fire itself had, almost beckoning.

The shaman reached down and plucked an unfinished ruby from the ashes.

It was nearly too hot to handle, but Anthartreoris couldn’t bring himself to drop it. He cocked his head to peer at it more intently, moving it slowly towards his face when it suddenly blackened in his grasp and crumbled to ash just as its bearer had. Leaping away, the shaman could only stare at his hand in utter shock. The world was going mad or he was; that seemed to be the most likely case of everything that had just unfolded before his eyes. If nothing else, he caught the occasional snippet of chatter from the rest of the tribe that suggested they had seen exactly what he had seen, and that was reassuring.

He could feel the questions building in the tribe, but he had no answers for them, only the strangest sense that he needed to leave. Reaching the ash-smudged hand to his neck, Anthartreoris fingered the mark of Ban’del’ul he wore on a leather strap as he always had when searching for inspiration. Memories of the painful night prior leapt unbidden to his mind instead of the answers he was seeking. He felt as if being hunted; only that the hunter had a way to reach into his body and create that terrible waking nightmare.

<I have to leave.>

The words were quiet, barely above a whisper, but the chief still heard them and snapped his head from the pile of ash to the shaman.

<Something is coming and I cannot be here when it arrives,> Anthartreoris repeated, offering no true explanation. He pointed to another of the tribe who lingered nearby, <That one will fill my role until I can return.>

Without speaking further, the shaman went to his hut and collected what few belongings he would need to travel and was stalking away from the camp- towards the Narlath Hills- in less than ten minutes, leaving a string of confused friends in his wake. With every step away from the life he had always known, Anthartreoris knew that he was protecting his tribe.

That did not make the steps any easier.

 

[XSenkoX]

Death strikes indiscriminate of its targets
Wealthy | Poor
None can escape

And so it was that the first death had come to pass.

No one knew the traveller, save the one who had killed her and the Goddess Oriyu’ula.
There would be no friends or family to scatter her ashes and settle her affairs.

Still, across the continent, those unknown to her but connected by fate felt a sense of loss.
One of their own had passed, though they knew not what it meant.
Sorrow crashed upon them like a wave and retreated just as quickly.

In the distance, a wolf howled mournfully.

 

[Cinna101]

Favores heart relaxed. Her gentle touch washed his heart of all worries. She reassured him as he hoped she would. Her words rang true; as if she knew what she was saying was a fact. What he hoped would at least be a false sense of reassure, turned into a real one. She spoke the truth, he just knew it, he knew Ban’del’ul sent him those words through her.

After she spoke he saw her companions’ dilemma. The man he didn’t pay any mind too, reacted violently to his existence. The male stared at him with inconceivable fear in his eyes, and comprehended the owner of the house with disgust. Favore analyzed the panicked one, he saw a blade and almost panicked himself unsure of how they would react; soon he realized how pathetic her acquaintance was. He ran full speed out the door, ditching her, without a second thought or a word of warning; he left her to deal with an unknown variable without even attempting to save her from it. He wasn’t sure whether he should apologize for scaring away her company, or if she should gratify him for showing her how little the company cared about her.

The woman ran to the door closing it behind the man who forsook her. He saw the exasperated effort it took her not to succumb to the fumes. It couldn’t have been easy to live in a place where you had to protect yourself from air, something most never have to worry about at all. So why did she live here? Maybe she was just as lost as he was and someone else took her into this home to save her from the dreaded swamp, just as she just did with him.

She apologized for her friend’s cowardice, although he didn’t mind, he wasn’t offended. He wondered why she wasn’t scared of him as well. She looked fragile, and by no means ready to defend herself if he became a threat, yet she showed no signs of caution. The first thing she did when he arrived was invite him in, a complete stranger with a weapon strapped to his back. He would understand her confidence if she had someone with her to help if the need arrived, but she was completely alone with some she had never met before. Instead of questioning his intentions, which would’ve been the logical reaction, she was inviting him for tea, being the perfect host, and showing the utmost care so not to hurt the feelings of someone she’d never laid eyes on before.

It’s not that he wasn’t grateful, but her lack of suspicion towards him raised his suspicions of her. He remembered stories about how humans would steal the fur of beasts they killed in order to wear them for warmth because they lacked a warm skin of their own. The more he thought about, it the more unease he felt. Her kindness might just be a sham into getting him comfortable, so she could murder him in his sleep. His legs shook, both, at the thought of becoming a coat and from the exhaust of his extended journey. He had to know if Ban’del’ul really was the one that influencing her and not the greedy insidious nature some humans were known to possess. His sense of security shattered and his faith in her faltered as he realized she was just as much a variable as he was. Truth was, at that moment he wasn’t ready to defend himself either, he was a fool to have excluded that fact because she’d offered her some kind words. Taking a step back, he questioned her, his voice hesitant, hopeful, yet demanding at the same time “why…why are you being so kind to me? You know nothing of me, yet you help me whole heartedly, why would you do that when you hold no tides to me”.  

[stellar asterism]

⊱ carran ⊰
a traveling deer !
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Carran flinched at the loud roar, subconsciously tightening his grip on his belongings. That voice—if such a feral sound could be called one—definitely didn't belong to a human, nor did it sound like something any of the smaller beastfolk could muster, and surely, only those descended from predators could have a presence intimidating enough to silence the forest. The fact that there seemed to be only one didn't improve the situation much, though at least he didn't have to worry about getting surrounded, should he decide to run.

Still, the slight reassurance didn't stop his mind from dragging that unpleasant memory back to the surface.

The beast let out another roar, urging him to come out of his hiding place, and after a few seconds of debating on whether to face the other party or just make a run for it, the brunet finally made up his mind. Cautiously, he peeked out from behind the tree, revealing himself one step at a time, hands still gripping his bag firmly so that he would be ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

What he saw only served to worsen his unease.

Standing a short distance in front of him was a menacing tiger almost twice as large as he was; even the tips of his antlers probably wouldn't reach the beast's shoulder. His build suggested that he was a fighter, or at the very least, someone with enormous physical strength; either way, it certainly wouldn't take him much effort to send the deer flying. Sharp fangs peeked slightly from the edges of his mouth, and Carran didn't need to look to know that he was also equipped with equally sharp claws that could easily rip him apart.

As he observed the other party, he began to feel a faint tinge of pain spread on his left shoulder, and reflexively, his right hand moved to cover the area. He knew, though, that there really wasn't anything wrong there... save for an old scar that shouldn't even hurt anymore, that is. It would seem that he was a lot more intimidated than he thought—or rather, would admit.

Mustering up all the courage he could find at the moment, the deer stood his ground and stared back at the tiger, a cautious yet undaunted look in his eyes. "I'm just passing by," he stated, doing his best to speak in a firm tone. "Besides, only a fool would try to get in your way."

His instincts were practically screaming at him to leave, run away right now, but his pride and inherently defiant attitude had successfully nailed him onto the very spot where he was standing.

 

[Sir Isaacs Lady]

To all who ask, I am that I am.

Ajali made a concerted effort to keep the tremmors from her hands as she carried out the tea tray and set it on the table, but the soft rattle told her she fooled no one. Ajali lifted one cup to her lips and took a very small sip, but enough to see the level drop in the cup before setting it back down on a saucer, she took a single spoonful of the soup as well before setting it down as well, offering both to her guest. It was an old custom, but before strangers Ajali understood it, there could be no poison if the host partook first. Ajali pulled her mug forward, her stomach to full of butterflies and fear to eat as she sat, not meeting his eyes. When he addressed her she startled and started to shake, her frantic hands turning again and again the handle of her tea cup, "You asked me if your life had had meaning... and I answered. And now..." Ajali looked down the adrenaline in her system finally having run through and leaving her feeling cold and hollow, "I wish I could ask the same." She said thinking back to the many who had turned away from her, those who had cast her out for her mixed blood and the throbbing pain that hurt still caused when she couldn't keep from thinking about it. The pain of that ostrization and lonliness was overwelming and then, like lightning from a clear blue sky a jolt hit her heart, a pain like she had never known, the kind of loss that came when your life's love died, or the twin with whom you shared the womb. Ajali doubled over gasping for air, the pain and despair of the feeling mingled with her own and made her chest so tight with sorrow she couldn't breath. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't have the strength to sob, or even cry her whole body ached with the loss of a soul twin she had never even known she had.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the sensation faded and Ajali slumped forward, exhausted, her arms pillowing her head as she rested it on the table, mentally and emotionally drained, "I helped you because I want the answer to be yes... And because for you the answer already is..."

But in my heart I wonder, who is that?

 

[Cinna101]

After being in her company for a while, Favore concluded his suspicions were false. It was true that she wasn’t questioning him, but it was also true that she currently feared him. Why she let him into her house so open heartedly in the first place was a mystery, especially now that her fear was consuming her whole body. She couldn’t keep still when she offered him tea and soup. He felt terribly naive, she was just a kind woman, pure of heart, willing to put herself at risk rather than leave a stranger outside to rot. When he looked at her she avoided his eyes, was he really that intimidating? No one had looked at him with that much anxiety in a long time. He felt flattered, being a warrior; he wanted at least some of his comrades to fear him, yet back where he lived others were starting to think of him as harmless. Although it shouldn’t have, her fear boosted his confidence.

When she replied, he noticed she looked mellow, as if she’d had her feelings hurt. He assumed it was just her stress getting the better of her “You needn’t worry, Ban’del’ul sent you to save me, it was destiny that we met, he has given your life meaning, as he does for all who are worthy” He replied. He decided he should lighten the mood “Don’t be scared I’m not going to harm you, after all you are my savior” he encouraged, trying to lighten the mood; he relaxed his posture, trying to look calm and friendly. He picked up the tea cup, slurping up the tea as a dog usually would. “Thank you, I owe you my life and I promise one day to repay you” He praised with complete formality. He stretched, yawning of exhaustion, and began to wonder if her friend would return. He was curious and decided it would give them something to talk about. “sorry for scaring away your company, was he someone important to you?”.  

[Sir Isaacs Lady]

To all who ask, I am that I am.

Ajali caught her breath and folded her hands carefully before her, "I thought he was my friend... but apparently he wanted me to be something more." She sighed putting the thoughts aside, "There is little more I could have offered him, he is kind enough but I don't love him..." She shifted her mug in her hands, turning the handle idly, "I admit I considered it... but I don't think I could live with myself if I gave up everything already a part of me just so I could live here and pretend to have a normal happy life..."

But in my heart I wonder, who is that?