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 Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:57 am
In the Centaur village of Haventree, there is a feeling of unease.
It''s been a few weeks since the Chieftain''s daughter, Maia Proudtail, was attacked and nearly slaughtered by a deep forest Stalker. These vicious creatures, normally never seen by Taurs closest to the villages, have been spotted more and more often as of late. They are responsible for more than one Taur death.
Maia remains under the care of healers in the center of Haventree, her private quarters guarded by Centaur warriors at all times. In the most recent days she has been regaining her strength, and she has demanded one thing above all others:
To speak with the young and old alike, to give a warning and a call to action.
Murmurs float through Haventree and beyond that Maia, though still weak from her ordeal, is now taking visitors from any tribe of Taur. And the Elders are whispering that some of what she has to say is simply too outlandish and impossible to be believed....
((Feel free to bring your Taurs to visit Maia! Just be aware that she has Centaur guards with her at all times since she is injured... so starting a fight of any sort will likely get you thrown out of her tent. wink ))
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:08 am
Cheveyo, having come to Haventree after hearing certain, obscure rumors, stood looking tentively at the tent that apparently held the Chieftains daughter within. He let out a slow breath and moved towards the somewhat intimidating guards. But hey, who wasn't intimidating to the cervi?
"Uh...hi?"
He didn't get any answers. Ok, they weren't friendly, apparently. Or, he just looked like a total moron, either one.
"Could I-?"
Apparently, it was obvious what he was going to ask and he was surprised when he was permitted entrance. He blinked, said thanks and walked in nervously.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:20 am
Maia is laying on a spread of blankets, her body largely propped up by soft pillows -- and it's no wonder as to why. Her left flank bears three deep, nasty gashes, obviously claw-marks, which have only just begun to heal. A small Centaur lady at Maia's side is dipping a cloth in water and patting the girl's flank, cleaning the wound before applying a salve. The whole tent has an earthy, herb smell, not uncommon to a healer's tent.
"Thank you, Ambrai," Maia murmurs to her Centaur companion... then she raises her head to regard the Cervitaur who has just entered. Maia's eyes blink a bit as she takes in Cheveyo's appearance -- there's a brief flash of surprise on her face. Perhaps she wasn't expecting to see a Cervitaur, or....? The look passes quickly and she breaks into an easy, welcoming smile. "Hello!" she says. "It's so good to have company... ah... I am Maia Proudtail." She grins, her face flushing slightly. "But you probably knew that, didn't you? Please, come in and rest here beside me."
She turns a keen eye onto Chev, a knowing smirk raising her lips. "Your name is Cheveyo, isn't it?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:29 am
Cheveyo nodded and obliged, moving near her and folding his legs underneath himself.
"Yes, I am."
He wasn't surprised that she knew, because she was the Chieftain's daughter, and because he remembered her too. Somewhat. He'd only been young.
"Are you feelin alright?"
There was genuine concern on his face, despite the fact that this was the first time in years that he'd seen her. Atleast, he thought so. He may have been wrong. How many Maia's could there be, and how many could bear resemblence to his mother, even in the smallest of details?
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:36 am
Maia nods, glancing down at the gashes across her flank. "It hurts quite a lot, and I may not ever be able to run again, but I'm lucky to be alive. For that I give praises to the gods."
She raises her eyes back to Cheveyo. There definately seems to be some unspoken bond there between the two of them, though the Centaur seems patient enough to allow it to remain unspoken. "It's been a long time. How have you been?
"I'm glad you're here," she adds quickly. "There's a lot I need to talk about, but I can't go out to talk to others... so maybe you can help me with that..."
((Gotta do some work for a bit, will respond when I can!))
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:43 am
Cheveyo blinked as Maia confirmed that she knew him, but smiled lightly and nodded,"I reckon I could help you with that...and, I've been good."
That smile stayed on his face though as he felt alot more relaxed than he had in..well, years, really. He was glad he'd come to see her, at first he'd been hesitant, but he was happy he hadn't held back.
He got a horrid twinge in the pit of his stomach whenever he looked at the gashes, but his expression stayed the same. Content, and relaxed. He didn't know what Stalkers where, but now he had the nagging urge to find out...probably not the safest thing.
((Ok, Charlotte ^_^))
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:51 pm
"I'm... glad you've been well," Maia says, her smile still open and friendly despite her condition. She barely flinches at all as her healer works at applying the salve to her injuries.
Her voice lowers a bit, and she shifts slightly to lean closer to Chev. "I'm assuming since you're here, the rumors are beginning to spread out of Haventree. That's good... though some of the Elders probably think I've been driven mad by what happened," she grins. "I promise you, I've never seen things more clearly than I do now.
"Have you ever seen a Stalker, Cheveyo?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:25 pm
Cheveyo shook his head,"Not that I remember," he couldn't help but lean forward a little aswell. This was...intriguing, to say that least.
"I've heard the rumors, and I don't think you're mad. The kids were talking about it awhile back aswell."
He sighed, looking thoughtful and distracted for a second. It didn't take him long for him to shake his head and snap back to reality though.
"What IS a Stalker?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:47 pm
"A Stalker is..." Maia looks down at her hands thoughtfully, frowning as the memory returns to her. Her human skin prickles and she rubs her arms for a moment before looking back up at Cheveyo.
"The best way to define a Stalker is by calling it a monster. I suppose it's some sort of animal, but no one is really sure... it's very rare for someone to find a dead one, probably because their bodies decompose so quickly. A matter of hours, even...
"They look sort of like wolves, only larger. They have long snouts full of teeth -- teeth that grow too large and too misshapen to fit their mouths. As far as we can tell, they have two to four eyes... pupils slit like a cat's. They are very good at hunting in darkness, in fact they prefer it... sunlight seems to hurt them, though I doubt it would stop one if it was hungry enough. Their fur is usually thick and black. And their tails... their tails are more like a snake's... long and serpentine, covered in scales."
She takes a breath, steadying her slightly-trembling voice. "They are predators. It is their nature to hunt and kill, and they excel at it. Of course we have always known about them, but in years past these dark creatures remained in the Cursed Forest... now they are coming out, and they are much closer to the villages. The Elders have been trying to find out why, but...
"Without going into the Cursed Forest ourselves, we really have no way of knowing what is driving them out..."
She pauses, blinking away the memories of the creature that nearly killed her. "I'm surprised you haven't seen one, Cheveyo. I hope you never have to."
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:05 pm
Cheveyo tried not to shudder whilst she described a Stalker, but it proved to be impossible. He felt a shiver shoot down his spine and he shook his head, trying to shake it off.
The impossible, probably insane thought of going into the forest himself flashed through his head, and he frowned thoughtfully.
"There's no other way but going into the Cursed Forest?" he asked, watching Maia with an odd look in his eyes. Why on Earth was he even considering this? Sure, maybe before he'd come here it wouldn't have been so bad, as he had nothing to do. But he was seeing Maia again now...
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:31 pm
"Well... perhaps not... there could be another way..."
Maia's fingers fold together, twisting nervously, and then she turns to give a slight smile to her healer. "Ambrai, thank you for your help... could you leave us now please?" ...the other Centaur nods and collects her healing tools before standing and leaving the tent wordlessly. Only then does Maia continue, her voice still a whisper.
"During the attack, I lost a lot of blood... so much that I really should have died. Instead, I slipped into sleep and did not awaken for over a week. I can remember having dreams and visions, as anyone would do while sleeping, but... there was more than mere dreams." She fixes her golden eyes on Cheveyo's, unblinking. "After a time, I found that my spirit was able to get up and move around on its own. I could see myself sleeping! I saw the healers as they worked to clean my wounds. I saw the guards that patrolled past my tent and to the rim of Haventree. When I realized that I was free to move as I wanted, my spirit began to venture into the forests. I visited the Cervitaur villages. Not impeded by the sea, I went to each island. I saw the Wolves and Foxen and Cats.
"At some point I was distracted by a light, something even brighter than the sun, shining to the northwest. I followed it across the waters and found a new island, a land none of us had ever seen before! The forests there appeared untouched, and I thought it to be deserted. But then... then I saw the center of the bright light..."
Maia bites her lip, her brow furrowing. "Can you guess what I saw there, Cheveyo?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:37 pm
Having at some point lost his voice, Cheveyo shook his head slowly and silently mouth the word 'no'. His eyebrows were dipped and his mouth slightly open as he wondered what it was she saw. It was important, or impossible, or both he could tell. But he couldn't guess what it could be.
The fact that her spirit moved on it's own would register as soon as he found out what it was she saw, but for now it was left hanging between them.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:09 pm
Her voice is barely audible now, little more than a breath of air moving across her lips. "It was a Unitaur... male or female, impossible to say... but its hair was like white fire, its eyes like sapphires, and when it looked at me it SAW me... it saw me as a spirit! I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life..."
Mechanically she reaches up to wipe away the tear that's just beginning to sneak down her face. "It looked afraid, at first... afraid to see me there. I was so surprised that I fled and came back here, to my body, and when I awoke I didn't remember what had happened for some time. But then the memory came back to me, and I wondered why it had been afraid to see me. What harm could I have possibly done to it?
"But then it began to make sense. Its fear is how I know it was real... because it was as startled to see me as I was to see it. Does... does that make sense?" Maia bites her lip, looking at Cheveyo with an almost pleading expression.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:21 pm
Cheveyo didn't know what t think. Unitaurs were stories, myths. He wasn't sure whether she'd been dreaming or...
"A unitaur?" he whispered, not being able to sound disbelieving. Something in the way Maia looked at him made him believe that what she said was true.
"But..how?"
They needed to find this island. Cheveyo knew it existed if Maia said she saw it. Screw the Cursed Forest, he wanted to get to this island.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:05 pm
Maia shakes her head gently, her eyes closing as she leans back a bit... she hadn''t noticed how she''d been leaning closer and closer to Cheveyo to make sure he heard what she had to say. "I don''t know how or why. I tried talking to Tschida about it, but one of the Proudtail Elders overheard us... and now they''re all whispering. At first I thought that maybe they''re right, maybe I was just delusional because I was weak and hurt... but Centaurs and Cervitaurs have legends about the Unitaurs dating back before our tribes'' recorded history! There has to be something to it.
"And if it''s true... if there IS another island where the Unitaurs exist, then... they could tell us why the Stalkers are coming closer and closer to us. What if they could even help us get rid of them?"
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