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 Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:07 am
 All Grown Up Sara had finally graduated and in all honesty she could not even begin to describe how much of a relief it was, she had studied hard and overcome things she never thought she would ever have to deal with. She had made some of the most amazing people in Lunaria and some of the worst. Furthermore she was no longer a child or a teenager for that matter; she was a woman, just into her twenties and a citizen on this beautiful yet tainted city. She had even moved out of her guardian’s home and now lived on her own in a small Ger by a lake. She was all grown up and ready to face the world.
She had even received her Conduit attire, it was far from the pretty dresses and elegant gowns that most Conduits wore, however she was more than pleased with it. She was never meant to be a pretty priestess anyway, this was much more comfortable and it reflected the Mongolian blood which ran through her veins, Odval would approve. Well she would if Odval was the kind of woman to approve to –anything-.
She finished brushing her hair and then stepped back to take a look at herself, placing her headdress on the top of her head to add the final touch. She looked in the mirror and tilted her head, this was the new her, a fresh start. ”What do you think?” She asked the spirits in the room with her, since graduating communication with the spirits was clearer at times even constant. She supposed that was a sign she was getting stronger, if that was down to her Temple masters or Odval she was not too sure.
“You look lovely Sara.” Sounded one, the female ghost that resided in her new Ger was one who had drowned herself in the lake after she discovered her husband was cheating on her. Sara thought that she was nice, if not very clingy. She always wanted to know what was going on, and often stalked the Conduit when she left to attend to business.
There was another voice, one of a man. Sara did not like the male spirit as much. He died when a hunting trip took a turn for the worst; she had always blamed his grouchiness on the fact that his pray had gotten the better of him. It was a taboo topic; clearly the warrior did not like to be reminded that he was killed by a pig – though the gossiping female spirit did not keep it a secret for long. She was usually whispering some information in Sara’s ear, spirits loved to gossip.
“If you ask me, a lady should not reveal so much flesh, women these days.” He grumbled, Sara pouted, she had learned long ago not to pay any attention to him, he never had anything nice to say. Instead she turned her attention to Ghost, the white wolf that Hua had gifted her when she left. She tickled him behind the ears as the two spirits began to argue.
“That is not very nice! Our young mistress looks lovely; you’re just grumpy because you never got to appreciate the womanly form in life!” – “I had my fair share of women, maybe if your own form was more splendid your darling husband would not have looked elsewhere.” – “How dare you, I was often told I was one of the most beautiful creatures in the land!” – “Pfft, if your beauty is above average I sure and glad I am dead, or I would have had to turn my affections to pigs.” – “You wicked man! I see no reason why our young mistress does not just get rid of you!” – “And have to put up with you on her own? Never.”
Sara sighed and shook her head. She wandered out of her home unnoticed, heading towards the temple. Her first day as a conduit, she wondered what would be awaiting her.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:11 am
Its Been A While Dearest Journal, will I ever learn? I am making the same mistake once again and despite how much I try and reason with myself I can not help but falling aimlessly into a trap. I have always had trouble understanding the concept that two people in opposite fractions can never be friends. I do not know why, maybe it is because of Huang and Kyung, maybe it is because of Yue and Kiran - generally from what I have seen Nobles and Legionaries get on better than they do with people fighting on their own side. So if everything else seems to be able to achieve happiness through ignorance - then why is it so hard for me?
I went to visit him today, it had been so long I just wanted to make sure he was okay. He told me that he had travelled up North on missions. Mainly setting up ambushes and by the sounds of it taking off the odd head or two. I have never wanted to be involved in that part of his life, however despite my best efforts it always seems to be brought up one way or another. I do not know what attracts me to him so much, to be honest he is not the easiest person to talk to and we never seem to just hang out and smile. There is always a drama going on, there is always a battle we are needing to fight. Maybe that in itself if my answer, he has been there watching me grow, steering me in the right direction. He has done so much for me, even though we both know he shouldn't.
It is not like I have many friends these days, Mei and Cais are a distant memory, I hardly see Van anymore because I am not at the Academy and as for Yue... well she is getting married. Everyone is walking a different path and mine seems to be taking me far away. All I can do is look over my shoulder to try and get a last glimpse of them before they fade entirely. Yet as I look to my side he is there, walking besides me with his stern look and blunt words. He is keeping me strong and telling me to keep walking with out fear of what comes next. However right now it feels like he has also taken a turn and slowly I see him wondering away, I know I can not let him go, I do not want to let him go. So for now all I can do is scream and beg him to come back before he is too far gone to hear me.
He says I should fear him, that if I am not careful I will end up dead. I once told him that there was no greater purpose than risking your life for those you can not imagine living without. At the moment, I can not imagine life with out him....
"Lady Sara? A new body has arrived at the temple." Sara raised her head and looked at the doorway, her journal on her lap and her face lit by candlelight. She had come to the temple after her meeting - she thought maybe if she burried herself in work she would forget the days events however it seemed all she gave herself was time to think. So much so she felt like she needed to write her thoughts down in the hope the paper would hold them instead of her heart. "Okay, I will be right there." She nodded closing her book and then making her way out of her own little study.
The air was cold tonight, when she left the great entrance doors she saw the cart in which the bodies were usually brought over. She cradled herself from the icy wind, a few drops of rain hitting her bare arms and stomach. "It is not a pretty sight m'lady." Stated the driver, Sara looked at him with a small smile and a slight nod, she was used to seeing bodies, some looked like they were sleeping, others were so messed up they hardly looked human. She looked in the back at the white sheet before she was helped up. Knelling by the side of the bundle she felt that same ache in her stomach. Taking a deep breathe she put her hand on the cloth and pulled it back. She was not expecting the head to roll. She leaned forward and stopped it. Time seeming to slow around her.
"Uh, well, good work decapitating that fighter the other day, Captain-- the one who uses the short sword. The Legionnaires weren't pleased about that.'
She did not know how she knew, but in her heart she did. She shook her head slightly her breathing heavier than it was as a shiver went down her spine. She knew who this was. "Tsong." She finally uttered, stroking the boys black hair still matted with blood. He had studied with her at the Academy, once in a while he would help her with her scrolls of walk her home if it was too dark. It was hard to think he was gone, that this was all that was left of him. She put the blanket back over him and rested her head on his chest, muttering a few words in silent prayer, she could not do this one. It was too personal and the fact she knew who did it made it worse. "Take him inside and give him to the students, they need some practise at reattaching body parts. Tell them to stitch his head back on with silver thread and get him cleaned. In the morning we will return him to the family and give hid body to the sea." She commanded the boy who had come to fetch her.
Before he even had time to acknowledged her words she was off, back inside to the safety of her study. This is what he does, he kills people. She shut the door behind her and went back to her journal. Dipping her brush in black ink before finishing off her entry.
I have just seen the body of my friend, The worst part is I know who did it and I knew that he must have gone into that battle knowing he did not standing a chance. Truth be told I do not know how I feel. If it was Hero's body that came back would I hate Tsong? The fact is a lot of people are dying and both sides know that they risk their very lives when the take the fighters path. This is the way Lunaria works - Jianyu kills people. Huang kills people. They are all killers and I can not hate them all. Being a person so close to death I understand it better than the average person, I know how sacred life is but at the same time know how quick it ends. Death is only the beginning of a bigger adventure - One that lasts eternity
Yet in life you have the chance to live, to touch to try and experience everything before your time is up. The spirits envy us and I can see how it frustrates them when people take life for granted. I have always been so scared, however now I realise that there is nothing to be scared of. Being close to Hero, it might kill me. He might one day have to kill me. However if I can have a few months of happiness with him in exchange of a lifetime of doing the right thing and living in fear for my life. I think the choice is obvious. I do not want to live a long life - I just want to live one full of happiness. One with no regrets.
I am always willing to take that risk for you.
Sara put down her pen and looked at the gentle rain out of her window. "What am I thinking?" She asked herself as she ripped the page out and set it aflame on her candle. As she watched her writing turn to ashes she felt her heart in her throat. She shook her head and put on her cape. She needed to get home and rest knowing that she had a lot of thinking to do. "You always make things so difficult." She uttered to herself on her way out, she wondered past the hall where they were working on his body, her eyes drifted to the side to watch for a moment. She wondered what his family would think, if they knew that she had feelings for their sons killer. What had she gotten herself into?
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:12 am
Don't You Dare It seems like he was not joking when he said our relationship could put me in dangers way. He came to me last night and the air seemed a lot more peaceful than it had been of late. I invited him inside for something to eat, I braided his hair and the conversation was fairly light hearted. I remembered in that moment why I liked being around him so much, he gives off a aura that seems to calm me and I always seem to be happy when we are just enjoying each other’s company, though the peace was not destined to last for long.
Ghost started to growl, his fangs sowing and his white fur stood on end like he was ready to attack. I would have never thought I was important enough to assassinate, I hear about politicians and generals been targeted but not lonely healers like me. It strikes me as strange because I do not think I have done anything worth such attention, even so I have healed Nobles before and given them no reason to dislike me or see me as a threat. It prayed on my mind for a while but at the end of the day the only answer that seemed to make sense was because of him. I do not blame him. I always said I was willing to take the risk it it meant we could still be friends.
I still do mean that, despite the fact that a dagger came close to hitting my heart. I am not used to such wounds and to be honest I have never seen so much of my own blood, it is a far different experience than seeing that of someone else. I knew that if I kept bleeding I would have probably died on blood loss and I am still surprised how calmly I can write those words. I gave instruction and he followed, we ended up sealing the wound with fire and it is not a experience I want to relive, it was the most painful experience of my life so far. However as I am recovering from the attack all my mind seems to want to relive is the moment Hero defending me and killed my intended murderer.
He killed a Noble to keep me safe. I am at a loss for words and confused by his actions. I do not want this to come back and bite him later, with any hope they will presume it was me that took the man's life. Even if his body is found Ghost chewed him up so much it will be impossible to pin it on Bataar. It is over now and in my heart I know everything will be okay but it worries me. Clearly he cares about me more than I thought; I just know I care too much about him to let him go to such extremes for my safety.
It seems that our relationship can never be simple.
She sighed as she closed her diary and slipped it onto the desk at the side of her bed. She raised her hand and placed it over the wound she had received in the attack, closing her eyes she thought about how he had slit the man's throat without a second thought. It might have been easier on him if the assassin had succeeded, he had been so conflicted as of late, she did not want the happiness of their relationship to be overcome by a constant battle of morals and danger. She opened her pale eyes slowly and looked around slowly. Ghost was rested by her side once more, when she was ill he never left her. She smiled and tickled him between the ears.
She knew that the spirits sent him to her for a reason, it was proven time and time again - she just did not know why. She sighed again, wishing that the strings of fate were clearer with their intent.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:13 am
The Guard Dog Spirits help me, I am such a fool.
Today I realised sometime that I think I have known deep down for a while. I did not expect such feelings to come over me when he told me he was married, or the relief that came when he told me it was a joke. I needed some time to think, all night my mind has been with him and now my answer is as clear as day.
I swore that I would never make the same mistake again. I know firsthand how badly things can go when you get too close to a Noble. I have warned myself every day since the attack that spending so much time with him was a bad idea, I have tried to keep away, I have tried to let go but for whatever reason I cannot seem to control myself. Now it pains me to say that I think I am slowly falling for him and there is nothing I can do about it. It’s like a poison already pulsing through my veins and I know the more time I spend around him the stronger it will become. Yet even now I cannot keep away.
Bataar Jaoret is an interesting man, though I do understand what it was about him that enchants me so. He is obviously handsome, maybe I did not notice I so much when she was younger because he was older than me, but now I myself have grown and matured I have began to notice that side of him. He might not be the typical prince and admittedly beauty in this city comes in the form of grace and elegance, he has none but he has other qualities that are even rarer. He might have scars and he might be aged, however he is strong, proud and honourable. His presence is strong and sometimes overpowering yet in that I feel safe, though he is more to me than a guard who is always concerned with my safety. He is a sweet man who I care for despite the trouble he has showing his emotions. Though I have learned to see his thoughts in his eyes rather than wait for them to be presented to me.
I have never met anyone like him before and the more time I spend with him the less I want him to leave. It is foolish and I know I cannot look at him in this way, though I do not know if I can help it. I am not the little girl I was when we first met, since then I have learned that you cannot always get what you want. Being with him puts us both in danger and even though I never want him out of my life I know he can never really be a part of it. For the time being all I can do is keep my heart in chains and hope they are strong enough to keep it secure in my chest.
If not, it will no doubt be the end of both of us....
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:14 am
A Little Drop Of Poison She was poisoning me? Seriously?
It feels like a bad dream, I always knew that things with Odval were hard, however I never suspected she actually wanted me dead. It seems like this was not the first time she has set to shorten my life, she assassination attempt a few days ago was down to her, now it has come to my attention that as well as this she has also be slipping me poison.
I feel like such a idiot for trusting her, I always thought our shared heritage meant more to us than alliances, clearly I was wrong. I think I have more reason than most to hate the Nobles, yet I have always treated them fairly, I have always tried to see the person behind the political beliefs that fuel the cities wrath. Yet it seems like I am the only person willing to do so, people can be so stubborn and blind, it’s infuriating.
Bataar told me that there are good people and they are bad people. Alliance means nothing compared to that. If that is the case, I think it safe to say Odval is a bad person; she is a –really- bad person. It seems strange how such a wicked woman could raise a son like Bataar, they two are nothing alike. For one Bataar actually has a good heart and morals. The Mongol is not perfect, however that does not matter to me. Bataar is a good man, he is a Noble, but he is one of the only friends I have left.
He did not want to hear my accusations, I am not surprised lately. After all Odval, despite how much I hate the fact, is his mother. He loves her like I love mine, if the tabled were turned, I would not want to hear my story either. As long as I was close to him, I would be close to her. I have said plenty of times I was willing to take any risk he was. However in that moment I felt like the whole world was against us.
I had a little bit of a breakdown; things had been so hard for us lately, I was struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. At the same time I was struggling with the feelings I had for him, I wanted to push him away. I was being selfish; I just did not think I could cope with anymore heartache. After Cais, After Mei – how could I ever hope to find happiness with a Noble? A Noble Captain at that; A Noble Captain with a psychopath for a mother.
I understood why she wanted to keep us apart; she thought I was turning him soft, that I was tainting him. A Noble Captain and a Legion Conduit, it did not look good in any light. Being close to each other was basically betraying what we stood for, we were meant to hate each other. However, I just could not bring myself to hate him, I cared for him too much.
Then he kissed me.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:15 am
May I Have This Dance I got a letter not too long ago asking if I would visit Yue's future husband. It seems like the Captain has had a little trouble in learning how to dance, and he wondered if I could be of any assistance. I am not the worst dancer in the world, but far from the best. So I just hope that whatever he gains from his time with me will be of some help.
At first all I wanted to do was ask him questions on the wedding, and of his relationship with Yue. In the end I just wanted to get to know him better, which was my hidden motive for accepting the invitation to his residence. Even though he left making a good impression on me at cherry tree hill, I could not bare to give Yue away to a man I hardly knew. I wanted to get to know him better - I felt the need to get to know him better - and that is exactly what I did.
The subject of conversation soon turned serious, he brushed my hair out of my face and took a look at the marks which I try to desperately to hide. It seems like we had much more in common than I first thought, he also bares the marks from an attack. Though that is not surprising to say he has lost vision in one of his eyes. He told me things which I needed to hear and before I knew it I opened up and told him everything. Sharing feelings that I wanted to keep buried inside. He did not mind listening to them; he understood what I was feeling better than anyone has so far.
It is easy to realise why Yue loves him so much, after today I bless their marriage with everything I am. They make such a perfect couple and I am glad they have found each other.
In general it made me think of relationships, new ones, old ones, ones that you would love to be in and ones that kill you on the inside. The first person to get that close to me put me off the idea of getting that close to anyone again. In my mind loneliness was much easier to cope with, however now I feel my opinion slowly changing. Yue has proven to be that love still exists and even though I have not yet experienced it, it does not mean it is something totally out of my reach. Someday someone might accept my scars, accept all my flaws and see past them.
I know that day is not going to come soon. I have more important things to worry about. Like my career as a healer. I do not want to settle down just yet, not whilst there is still work to do. Not whilst Lunaria is still in the state which it is.
Admittedly my heart already belongs to someone else, it might seem fast and a small part of me is yelling out not to rush into it. I am not planning for anything to happen between me and you, not now at least. Some things just cannot be rushed... both of us know this is one of those things.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:16 am
Those Poor Unfortunate Souls Odval is insane. I had always knew she was not all there, the way she acted, the things she did, she just never made any sense to me. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how patient I was, we just never saw eye to eye. You could never read her or understand the workings of her mind, she did what she wanted and then just watched the stones land where they please. Even though she is my teacher, she never seemed to care very much about my development, I always just presumed that was the way she was - however now she is trying to kill me, I am not too sure if I can see her as anything but foe.
However at the end of the day, he was still Bataar's mother, I will never be able to totally cut Odval from my life. Not completely anyway.
I wanted to keep our.... our.... relationship recent activities a secret for as long as I possibly could, however that did not last very long at all. We were caught; well I do not know if caught is the word, since we were not doing anything wrong. It was just a hug... unless she saw me kiss him. Oh dear, I hope she did not see that. Anyway, Odval knows that we may be a little more than friends, that in itself scare me so much. I mean, she is insane, I mentioned that before right?
If she did not like me before, she does not like me now. The way she dragged Bataar out was like nothing I ever saw, and the look she gave me. I will be having nightmares about that for weeks.
If she wanted me dead before, I dare not think what she wants to do to me now.
It makes me wonder how he is actually going to react; I mean his mother does hold some power over him. It worries me that she has enough to make him not want to come near me anymore. Will he fight for our friendship? Or is the idea upsetting her just too much for him. I will not know till the morning, as soon as dawn arrives I am going to head to his home, as long as my duties do not call on me.
At the moment I feel like I am in a state of uncertainly and I cannot stand it. Truth be told I am a bit of a worrier – if I feel like I have no control over a situation it panics me and I find my mind wondering about possibilities. Destiny it at a fork road and I am looking down two alternate paths. In one I never see him again, in the other; somehow, we manage to carry on.
I have often described life as a road, about the dream in which I am holding onto him. It is like I am back at that point, not wanting to let go, expect now I can feel him slipping more than ever before.
Please spirits, do not take him away from me too.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:17 am
The Wedding of Quan Jianyu and Yue Lao Yue and Jinayu are now man and wife and I could not be happier. Thinking about everything that has happened and the state the world is in, it warms my heart to think that life still goes on. I guess at times it sometimes feels as if their is no tomorrow, after so many people have died, after so many tears and so much struggle it is not uncommon to think their is no sunrise. However this, it has truly given me hope that things like love and family have not been forgotten, people are still coming together, raising children and dying from old age instead of weapons. I am thankful that she has helped me remember this and I wish her many happy years with her Captain.
She made such a beautiful bride, I have seen many sides of Yue before, she is strong, she is kind and under her laugh and alluring eyes their is a good heart. For so many years I have wanted to be more like her, I have strived to shape myself in her image because she is the person I most admire. She is my best friend, she always has been and always will be. In all my happiness I can not help but envy her a little, things have really worked out for her and even though the fighting is showing no means of stopping she has been able to get her life in order and obtain what she wanted the most. Yet, I still seem to be struggling, every day I am fighting a battle that I know can not be won.
I wonder if she has been fighting this hard all along, I know she is not one to tell people about her problems, she smiles them off and carries on. Maybe this is her reward for her struggle, which means all I have to do is keep fighting right? I know I worry, I always have, whenever something good happens all I can think about is how it might be taken away. I love my friends but always fear they are going to die, I have come so far as a Conduit but still I fear that I will not be strong enough to save them. It is part of who I am, I can not stop my nature more than a cheetah can change its shots.
I have come a long way because of Yue, she has changed me to a person I can be at least a little proud of. However I have come to a conclusion today. No matter how hard I try I will never be Yue Lao.
She is one of a kind for a reason, my own happiness and peace will not be found if I live her life, I will find hers but that might be something else entirely. No, I am not Yue and I do not think she would want me to be, I will always thank her and keep her close to my heart, however I need to find myself and stop hiding in her shadow. Maybe when I do that, I will find someone who I truly can be proud of. Our dreams shape us, our friends shape us and our experiences and hearts shape us, yet our destined are ours to shape.
From this day on there will be no more tears, no more heartache, no more sorrow. I am going to start running towards the sunrise.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:18 am
Drunken Rambling I think I might have a little bit of a problem, I might have told Huang that I liked a certain Mongolian Captain... not my smartest move but I am afraid alcohol has a strange power over me. At the time it made perfect sense, I never keep anything from my older brother and he himself is in quite a complicated relationship with a Noble Conduit. I will never forget meeting Kyung, it was one of the strangest moments of my life, I mean.. I have never mistaken a man for a woman before. In all honesty he was prettier than most girls....
I think I might have gotten off topic a little. As I was saying before I told Huang my feelings for Bataar and he reacted... well. It did not end like I first predicted.
In fact the two ended up locked in battle, Huang in his drunken nature went straight to Bataar's yurt and started throwing threats and firsts. Luckily Bataar was not too hard on him, after all Huang was at every disadvantage imaginable and acting out of blind rage. Apparently the two have never got along. I know they are on opposite sides of the war but I did believe them both people who knew that political views did not make a person evil. Clearly that was not the case, they want each other dead and I know now there is nothing I can do to change that.
I do not think Huang will ever except the fact, Bataar might learn to live with it as long as it does not effect him... never the less, I hope neither of them succeed in their mission. I could not imagine my life without my brother or my Hero. I love them both, in very different ways but that does not mean I care about one more. At least, I do not think so.
I did find out something else too. Apparently Captain Jianyu and Hero used to be involved with each other in some way, it is not something that my brother would say out of rage so all I can do is believe it to be true. I guess that means there is still a lot I have to learn about Bataar, about his past, about what he has done in his life. As much as I do not like snooping around people's business I find myself wanting to find out more. I want to share all my experiences with him and I want to hear about his. After-all, I have always loved his stories.
I have always known that Bataar has lived through a lot more than me, those extra years have given him a wisdom that I wish I possessed myself. It makes me wonder what I am going to be like in a few years, what stories I will have to tell. I think that might be one of the things I like about him, though in truth I still believe he thinks of me as that child he met in the woods. I have grown up a little too, maybe not as much as he has but... I am getting there. Slowly, with every passing day.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:29 am
(( Draw: Rolled on the page before, I just redid my layout! ))
The temples were meant to be sacred ground, a place where soldiers could be treated in safety. However now the war had gotten worse (was that at all possible?) even these sacred places where fair game, especially when a high ranking Legionnaire was being treated there.
Sara was in her office when she heard a familiar scream. She blinked and darted to her feet, grabbing her rod in her mad rush towards the source of the noise. Mao was stood in a doorway, tears falling down her pretty face. Sara ran to her, wrapping her arms around the young conduit in training. ”Mao, Mao what is wrong? Is that blood!?” She asked, it was obvious to see that the young girl was stained in the red substance, she just kept crying. After a few pats Sara could tell that whoever’s blood was on her clothes it was not her own.
Sara looked to the side, seeing a man laid in a bed with a dagger in his body. ”Mao, Mao. Where did they go?” She asked shaking her slightly, she could tell she was upset but this was no time to cry. Sara needed to make sure whoever did this did not harm any of their other patients. The raven haired girl finally pointed down the hall. Sara nodded, not having any time to take care of the man who had just been stabbed she turned her attention to the path ahead.
”Mao, get the students to safety. I will take care of this.” She called as she ran, Sara was no fighter, however this was her temple and she would defend it from someone who would stoop so low to murder wounded men in their beds. She heard Mao set off down in the opposite direction, every time she ran past a room she looked in to make sure no one was there. She did not know what to do; she should have really made Mao run for help. What if there was more than one?
A million questions ran through her head as she continued looking, for now, it was all she could do.
That is when she caught sight of a shadow looming in one of the rooms, instantly she raised her rod and collected energy. Sara had been learning spirit manipulation from Odval, most normal temple goers called them spirit familiars, in reality they were manipulated pieces of dead souls, formed to create a animal. Priests often had them follow them as butterflies; Sara was not strong enough to attract them all the time; however the idea behind it was there.
She launched a attack towards the invader, the blue energy dancing from her rod turning into a wolf pup. It ran across the ground and then jumped up at the attacker, seeing it he flinched and dropped his weapon, the pup disappeared and dispersed into blue ribbon as it touched the wall, before fading back into nothingness.
She was usually not one to launch the first attack; however it appeared the man was going to take his second victim, as a healer she needed to protect those who were too weak to protect themselves. She just hoped that some backup would come soon, she did not know if she would be able to take on a fighter. Confidence had never been her strong suit.
The shadow made a move, grabbing another knife from a slot in his belt; Sara raised her rod and blocked the attack, throwing his arm back before hitting him in the gut with the handle. As the man gasped for breathe the conduit turned and ran down the hallway. When she made some space between the two she recreated the spirit pup, it growled and jumped up at the man, jumping through his back, sending a cold shock of energy down him. The man fell to his knees and Sara took the opportunity to run around the corner.
She knew she would not be able to handle hand to hand combat, so instead she would run and strike when she could. She was not expecting the man to reappear in front of her, or for him to grab her rod. She struggled for a moment but he was stronger than she was. He threw her to the side; banging her head off the wall she felt her body hit the floor hard. He threw the staff out of her reach and wondered over to her with his dagger once more. Sara rolled as he stuck it in the floor, grabbing her staff and whacking him over the head with it. She could see blood staining the tip.
As he held his new wound she crawled to her feet, maybe she was not as useless as the thought. Her heart was racing and it was that rush which was holding back her fear.
When he came at her again she tried the same kind of blocking she did previously, this time he saw through it and ended up cutting her shoulder. The conduit gritted her teeth and stepped back, holding a hand to the area which was stinging, blood rushing through her fingers. It seemed like he was losing patience. She could feel his movements get snappier; his eyes took on a more vicious tone. The conduit placed her bloody hand on her staff and stepped back slowly.
That is when he came for her again, she was able to jump away from his first attack, spinning around and hitting him in the back with her rod. He swung his arm around and ended up cutting near her elbow. This time the two did not break, they went on for a moment, striking blocking, in the end Sara was able to form another pup but it vanished before it touched him, she was too bust moving around to gain the focus she needed for the attack. It was then that he hit her in the face, she fell back and then received a sharp jab to hit stomach.
The conduit fell onto her knees, holding her stomach and gritting her teeth with pain. She looked up at him slowly but before she could do anything he grabbed her hair and pulled her up, holding his knife to her neck. She dropped her staff and was unable to move to get it; all she could do was fight back his hand to the best of her abilities. She could feel the end of it sticking into her throat; she even felt a warm trickle of fluid come down her throat.
She wondered where everyone was, if this was the end of her journey.
It was then that a arrow went through the man’s head, instantly he fell to the ground. Sara gasped and held her neck, air coming back into her lungs. Before she knew it a archer was at her side, holding onto her arms and asking if she was alright. She nodded and looked around, just in time to see Mao run up to her. Sara smiled and wrapped her arms around the girl who had gone to get help. At least not the patients were safe.
Yet that did not excuse the fact that they had lost one, as soon as Sara regained her courage she went to check the body of the Captain who had been killed, removing the dagger from his chest and generally treating the today. A strike straight to the heart, there was not much anyone could have done for him. She sighed and pulled a blanket over his head, resting her hands on his chest she saw the red fluid stain it. It was cold now, but it would take a little while longer for it to go black and stop.
She sighed and closed her eyes, it seemed like not even the temple was safe anymore. The last thing she wanted to see was guards wondering around here, she would have to warm Bataar, tell him it was no longer to visit her. The Legion was not going to stand for this, things were changing. She was beginning to wonder if anywhere in Lunaria was safe anymore, attacks in daylight, and attacks in the streets. No one was untouchable, like a plague it was spreading and fear was corrupting the hearts of men. Forcing them to pick sides and take up arms.
It was only going to get worse, she knew that. However she did not want to accept it, it was hard to believe that things would get even more difficult. Sometimes she wondered why she came here, why it was her destiny to witness so much death and pain. Sometimes she wondered what life would be like if she had stayed back home...
She turned to exit the room and wonder back to her study, when she arrived she saw her young student there. It seemed like neither of them would be getting any sleep tonight, she sat down with Mao and poured some tea, she was glad for the company.
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Z o m b i k ii generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:09 am
 An Arrow to the Heart - Draw
She knew that these missions were a lot more dangerous for her, after all she still did not know how to defend herself properly if attacked, as she rode she reminded herself -the process saved lives and that, at the end of the day, was the most important thing to her. It was her duty and what he profession called for. It also meant less house-calls, she hated informing the families of the fallen so anything to prevent such a trip was welcome in her books.
Sara travelled with the small group of Legionaries on their way to meet a group of rebels in the rice paddies, She did not really have much of a hard time keeping up and one was assigned to run with her, she told them she did not need protecting, however her words fell on death ears, everyone still saw Sara as someone who was weak, who needed to be watched over. She really did hate it when people thought that, it was like all her hard work no longer meant anything to them, she could take care of herself - why did nobody seem to understand that? She was not a child anymore.
Never the less she accepted the offer with a smile and some polite words, she did not want to fight over her pride, it was just not worth it, especially when they had a job to do. Her time in Lunaria had won her many guardians, her friends all seemed rather protective of her because she did not have the ability to draw a bow or hold a sword. They did not seem to understand that power was not just determined by physical ability, Sara was strong, she was strong in her own way. Maybe one day they would understand.
When the small team finally made it to the paddies Sara was instructed to hide in the bushes and keep her head down, thankfully she was on high ground and had a good view at the scene which was unfolding bellow. She did not like fighting, she had never condoned it and always looked for diplomatic solutions if there were any to be found, yet as of late she had come to accept that there was no changing the way the world worked. The best thing she could do was accept it and try her hardest to make sure the body count remained low.
She must have waited on her own for about a hour before the first injured man stumbled back to her, after a quick examination she had come to the conclusion he had dislocated his shoulder and elbow whilst also managing to break his collar bone. Maybe he had been thrown from a horse of hit with a hammer, she inquired but the man was too disorientated to answer her questions, he was speaking gibberish. It was obvious to see the man was in pain so the teal haired maiden went straight about healing his injuries. Her tanned hands rested on the man's shoulder and her pale eyes closed, cold energy flowed from her and into him slowly healing his injuries.
She did not get far into the treatment before she heard a noise close by, instantly she got to her feet to find out what the noise was, you could never be too safe in this kind of environment. The man protested that she sit back down, however Sara only looked over her shoulder to give a somewhat unamused look. She would show him, one day she would show them all that just because she was not a fighter did not mean she was weak and delicate. This war had changed her, once she was afraid, but now she was starting to conquer that fear. She refused to live life in such a way anymore. If Huang and Bataar could be so confident and calm in such an environment then she saw no reason why she could not.
She could not blame them for their views, after all Sara was a woman and, despite strong female characters like Yue and Van, gender still had a certain stigma to it. Besides most Priests in the city were the graceful and elegant creatures, wrapped in silks with silver tongues and bright eyes. They were the ones who needed to be protecting, Sara on the other hand was not really anyone's ideal of a healer, she liked it that way. After she was treated to poorly by Lestari's mother she had come to accept the fact that she was different, that some people would look at her oddly. In Lunaria people tended to decide if they would like you before you opened your mouth, it was their way of life.
Deep down she was a nice person and the same shy and nervous girl she always was, she had just learned not to show it as much and to not let in control her life. She did not want anyone to die for her, that was her main motivation for being such a way, maybe if she could show people that she could take care of herself they would stop taking risks for her.
That is when the enemy became obvious.
There was a whistling sound and before she knew it arrows were whizzing past her skin. She remained still, out of fear more than strategy but either way the first set missed. As soon as the air was silent again she darted to the side to hide behind a nearby tree and try to think up a plan of action. She tried to think if she had ever fought an archer before.... she did not think she had, or if she had done she could not remember how she handled it.
The conduit took in a deep breathe and closed her eyes, pointing her staff towards the ground as a ever so familiar wolf pup formed, blue and ghost like. Its tail wagged and white glowing eyes stared up at her, she bent down to stroke it before the creature darted off into the bushes. Sara looked over at the injured man, knowing that she should not waste any time in running to his aid. He was a sitting duck at the moment. She looked to the side, her teal fringe uncovering her scared eye for a second. She heard a scream coming from the trees and as soon as she did so she ran over to the injured man. Her pup might have not been large enough to cause damage, however it was not every day that someone faced a spirit and to those non-believer's it was a scary sight.
Sara reached over and grabbed the dagger at his side. At that moment an arrow skimmer her nose and hit the tree. She curled down over the man and closed her eyes. She hated archers, hate, hate hated them. She stepped back and ran back under the cover of the trees, she did not want to leave the man but she needed to get rid of the threat. If she did not they would both be dead. She moved around as slowly as possible, teal eyes scanning the wild for any signs of movement.
It was not long until she saw a man wondering, bow in hand. She stopped still, so much so the teal haired girl did not even breathe. Before she knew it a flash of blue went past her, the archer turned around and another arrow was launched, it went straight threw the ghostly pup and hit the ground, the creature growled and jumped up, running straight through his chest. In that moment of confusion Sara made her move, yet she was not quick enough. As soon as she was spotted he reloaded his bow and let go. The arrow hit her shoulder, making her stumble. Yet the man did not have time to reload.
Out of nowhere, a point became visible through his eye, making the organ pop. Sara gasped and looked on wide eyed as the man's body hit he floor. From behind came a member of the squad. She let out a sigh of relief, raising her hand and snapping the arrow close to her skin, she would sort it out when she was back at the temple. Her team-mate ran over and helped her back onto her feet, she was grateful to be alive but at the same time sad she could not defend herself. How could she prove herself if she still needed protecting?
The pair made their way back to the injured man, still rested against the tree. With three arrows lodged in his chest.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:30 am
Hangman
He is dead. I can still not believe it.
Sara sat outside her home, pale eyes looking upwards to stare aimlessly at the stars which dotted the clear, winter sky. They twinkled and sparkled like they did every night, the wind still whistled through the trees, rustling the branches and Ghost was, as always, laid across her lap with his eyes closed, letting the Mongolian girl run her long fingers through his thick, white fur. Yet something deep within her told her it was different, it was almost as if the next sunrise would be a lot sadder than the one yesterday, that she would not feel as relaxed after her morning bath and her breakfast would taste like ash in her mouth. It was almost as if all the magic she saw in the world suddenly disappeared.
Sara might not be the most optimistic person at the best of times, she tackled most situations with a paranoid and pessimistic demur. Yet she had always been able to focus on happy thoughts when she was alone in the woods, she was never blind to how wonderful the world actually was, underneath the battles and the power struggles and the blood and the bodies. However right now, she could not see it, all she saw was chaos.
The loss of cherry tree hill, the murder of the three noble captains... the death of the Emperor. It was just too much for one day, far too much.
She sighed and closed her eyes, remembering all the good times she had under the rain of the cherry blossoms. It was where she had met Youhei for the first time, where she had met Captain Jianyu, where he proposed to Yue. So many memories were held there, it was the life source of all Lunaria, it might have been a landmark but it was also the one thing that connected the hearts of all Lunarian's. Now it was gone.
What can they fight over now? What can they possible do? The Emporor is dead, the war should die with him. What am I thinking, there will always be fighting, there will always be a reason for one man killing another, they will never stop until everyone is dead... until the city if burned down, like the tree. There will never be peace, not now. They have turned into monsters and there is no turning back, they will always have a reason, even if it is just in their nature.
After all they do not know anything else.
She sighed and leaned down, hugging the large wolf to her chest. Bright yellow eyes opened to look up at her, his ears back as if he could tell something was wrong. She was more afraid now than she was when there was fighting, at least then she knew what to expect. Now, who knew what was going to happen? She bit her lip as a tear ran down her tanned cheek She knew she said she was not going to cry anymore...
But what else could she do?
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Z o m b i k ii generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:51 pm
It all started with her journey to see Mizuki, it was a big deal in her small temple. What every conduit had to do before they were recognized as a priest. The party which followed her was small, but they carried with them gifts in which they would present to the priestess as a token of their admiration. Every conduit respected Mizuki, almost as much as they feared her, so keeping her happy was a top priority. They were also considered somewhat of a bribe, afterall, being on Mizuki's good side often meant good fortune. Sara was nervous and dressed in fine robes. More expensive ones than what she was usually used to.
Personally she did not see the need to suck up to the woman so much, she remembered her from the day the Emperor died, the cold aura which came from the lake, the mad look in the woman's eye. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but at the same time she felt dangerous, like she was about to turn into a cougar and rip out your throat. Sara held her throat helplessly, wondering how the meeting was going to go. Yet it seems that the fates were determined to prevent the meeting.
They must have not been more than a mile away from the secret entrance when they first heard the rumble in the bushes. The man leading the group stopped and lifted up his hand if to order the overs to follow his lead. Sara pulled back on the reins to stop her large white stallion, for a moment there was silence, she could almost hear her heart beat it was so quiet. The darkness surrounding them hide their attackers perfectly, more so the forest noises were putting all of the party on edge.
Sara looked around, twitching at every noise, every movement. Kim let out short breaths and she tried her best to calm the white stallion, though after a moment arrows started to fly.
One hit the chest of the leaders mount, the large horse cried in pain the threw the man of its back, you could hear the crunch as he hit the floor, the large mount landed ontop of him, Sara let out a meep as the man cried and then stopped silent, all the birds suddenly took to the skies and the moons light was blacked out by the murder that had risen. She shook her head and turned to run, however her horse was still attached to the cart. She leaned back, trying to desperately undo the buckles, as she did the men came out of the bushes.
The two other guards who were with her did not last long, even though one man slip the throat of one of the attackers, he was soon pulled from his horse and grabbed by two men, the second lot his courage and made a run for it. Though this distraction had been enough for Sara to escape. As soon as Kim was free the stallion started to run, and run he did. Though it was not long until her attackers were on horses and chasing after her, clearly they thought they could hold her hostage or had another plan along those lines.
They were catching up and there was only one thing the conduit could think of doing, she bit her lip and jumped from her horse, hoping that they would follow on after him. She was sure Kim would wonder back to the stables, he always did eventually. The conduit felt herself fall off of his back and the next thing she knew she was rolling down a hill, bouncing and taring her fabric attire as she did so. When she stopped she was bruised and bleeding in places but she knew she could not rest, she needed to carry on. Thankfully she knew the forest quite well.
She wondered silently, but could hear voices from above, they had seen her jump and were now making their way on, she limped and tried to run, they were coming down more carefully but she was too hurt to make a get away. Here is where our story began, she was sick of being chased by men, completely sick of being chased by anybody. She gritted her teeth and looked back over her shoulder one last time, she needed to think of a new plan. Maybe she could act dead... wait, that was for bears. Man, she knew she had been pushing Bataar away but she wished he was here now, she could really use her hero when she was outnumbered by large and stupid men.
Then when she decided to turn around, if he was going to go down then spirits help her, she was going to go down fighting. She lifted her staff and looked on as the men joked to each other, clearly they did not see her as a threat and she was not surprised, she was bleeding and frail. She gripped her staff as hard as she could, as if it was the only thing keeping her alive, one of the men came forward and she swung it, the thin metal on the end cut his face and all of a sudden the laughing stopped and the annoyance was obvious in his eyes. At least she got one hit on them, the other man came forward to try and take it off of her, however she kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach and hit him over the head with her staff.
Clearly the men were sick of toying with her and whilst the other man was holding his head his partner jumped for her, grabbing her staff and trying to pull it from her grasp. That staff was more than her life was worth, it had belonged to her old master and she was not going to let go of it without a fight, it was then that the other man grabbed her from behind, she tried to squirm but she was off her feet and her staff was out of her hands, it was expensive looking so no doubt the men thought they could sell it on for a pretty penny. She was fed up of being helpless, she was fed up of fighting in general... nobody seemed to understand, how tired she was of it all.
She was sick of having to be saved, she always felt like more of a burden than a support character, so many had died to save her, so many had risked their lives and were still doing it to this day. She flinched, thinking about how different life would be if she was normal, the will to fight almost went from her totally, maybe if she disappeared tonight the world would be a better place for it. She bit her lip, then out of nowhere, she heard noises. It seemed like she was going to be saved yet again. The howls started off as one, then soon escalated as if to sound the fact the whole back was here.
Out of the shadows Nori came forward, one of the men stood back, as if he did not expect a wolf to be there, and who would. As he stepped back though another soon took him from behind, out of shock he dropped Sara and the conduit landed on the floor, looking around to see the familiar canines come to her rescue. Then out of the shadows she saw someone she had not seen in a while, her big busted guardian who had protected her when she was a student. It was Hua, and she still had that same smirk on her face. The men were ripped apart, wolves did not fight pretty and after they were done the bodies were usually unrecognizable. Sara was too weak to walk, so instead she stayed there, after a while blood splattered over her frame, making her blend in with the red floor.
Hua came over to her offering her a hand, Sara accepted and held her old friend and mentor as close as she could, taking in her sent. The two women walked together, back into the city. The masters at the temple were in an uproar, straight away they sent a messenger to Mizuki and made sure Sara was okay, the alarm was raised when Kim came back without her, Sara was glad he came home. He had always been her favorite horse. So maybe the day did not go as planned and the mad priestess would have to wait another day to meet her. Yet it was bittersweet, at least now she got to spent the night with Hua... that was her silver lining.
Man, she had missed her...
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