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 Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:41 pm
Most average people would probably have not have heard the scream that Madison had experienced, but then again... she wasn't an average person. The young rabbit looked back as she passed the shrilled scream. She quickly began to search to the stop button, but in a frantic manner she couldn't of course think straight, thus the red button seemed...lost.
Finally, it seemed to have jumped out infront of her. Her heart pounded as she quickly pressed the button. Instantly the bike came to a stop and she however, went flying off the odd bike's handle bars. Her light-weight body soared and landed in the snow drift ahead of her. Her upper body seemed to be stuck beneathe the frozen blanket, her legs that were clearly visible began to kick about in a struggle to get out of the mess.
POP!
Madison fell backwards and landed on her little rabbit bottom. But she didn't stay in place for long, she hopped to her long legs and looked about for the being that she heard scream. Where was it? What was it was the question...
"Hello? Hello? I'm here to help you....wherever you are...."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:36 pm
::The problem with desperate cries, is that they more often than not take all the persons remaining strength to make. In that cold wasteland a dying voice cried out again, not nearly as loud, infact barely above a whisper. A normal person might not have even heard it. ::
..h...help...me...p...p...please...
::The voice was stuttering, the icy hands of death and tundra were trying their very best to take this person away. And while they lacked the strength to make a wave or shoot a flare, they had left another sort of marker...
Blood. Infact Madi's luck was beyond belief, perhaps it was her feet. But nearby, only about 106 feet away from herself, infact were footprints that stood out like warning flares.
Remember earlier? How red is the color best seen by the human eye? Because of just that little scientific fact, Madi would most likely see the bloody red footprints in the snow. And if she followed them she would see the blood red footprints turn into four sets of prints, as the person drifted to hands and knees....and then finally a single trail of blood and a smear across the snow as they began to crawl thanks to a complete lack of feeling in their legs. And finally, a huddled pile of snow, with a hand reaching up from it, and what looked like a face buried in snow, a face which gazed at Madi with crystal tears in its eyes, and spoke as if giving out its final prayer to god...::
....p...ple..ase...
::The mound of snow was soaked in a small puddle, though if you add up the amount of blood in the footprints behind them, you could see that they had lost an ungodly amount of blood. And without blood to carry heat to keep them warm, and with snow covering them from head to toe...they were experiencing something far beyond the word "cold".
Staring into the face of death, someone elses death can be a scary thing. Someones life was literally in Madi's hands.::
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 6:40 pm
He walked slowly through the tundra, he knew the cold, felt it against his body pushing in against his clothing trying to creep it's way into his body, freeze his veins and stop his heart, but it didn't. His jacket, and pants were enough to keep his body sheltered from the cold, his gloves were light but his hands were withdrawn into his coat sleeves, the warm white rabbit fur insulating him well, his beanie kept much of the cold from his hears and head while his sunglasses well, did what they were meant to, the tinted lenses blocking much of the suns rays and keeping the cold winds from tearing up his eyes.
He was tall, 6 feet 1 inch tall to be exact, his clothing dark and thick, in contrast to his pale skin. He had dark brown hair, hanging down into his face but most of it pushed under the beanie, his dark brown eyes hidden by the dark lenses of his sunglasses. His cheeks were pink, not because he was blushing but because of the cold. and yet he did not feel the cold gently tracing his body. all he felt was his own movement.
He would not stop for awhile, only keep his wandering in what he had once called home, tundra, cold, wind it felt good to be someplace he could feel comfortable at, all he needed now was food
as if to proclaim his thoughts aloud his stomach growled gently, putting his left hand over his stomach and sighing deeply he began to look around the horizon, looking for trees or shrubs or about anything to eat, seeing very little that was close he faced the way he was going before, due north and continued to move. searching for food as he went.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:35 pm
"It's getting dark out, Chamuel-sama...""Just a little longer... please..." "Chamuel-sama... it gets cold when the sun goes behind the mountains.""...I'm sorry, Shii, I'd forgotten." "Then..." the child, no older than five years, wrapped in a fur parka and covered head to toe in thick winter clothes to protect him from the chill in the air, "...can we go back to the village now?" He leaned to the right; the snow crunching under his boots as he wrapped his arms around Chamuel's left leg, still staring out at the setting sun.Chamuel looked down for the first time, taking his pale blue eyes away from the sunset on the horizon, and looking down at the bundled ball of fluff that was Shii; smiling slightly to himself as he thought of how the two of them must have looked on that hilltop. Both so covered in bear fur that they looked like one of those things, themselves, watching the sun set while knee deep in snowfall from that morning. "Yes, Shii... let's go back now, and get you to the fire." He reached down with one hand and rubbed the top of the child's head, causing the boy to scurry behind his own back to where he could not reach so easily; hiding under the snow-white cover of Chameuel's wings. 'It really is a good sight, isn't it...' he said to himself, taking a deep breath of the frigid tundra air. "Why?" Shii peeked his head out from behind Chamuel's left leg, looking up at the face of the benevolent angel that had graced their small village only three months before. The boy's cheeks were red with the beginnings of frostbite, but his eyes were stubborn and childish, wanting to go home and sit by the fire, and to listen to Chamuel tell stories to the village."Why...?" Chamuel bent at the knees, reaching down and picking the child up from the ground to hold for a moment as the sun finally sank below the horizon to the southwest. "Why does Chamuel-sama always come here to watch the sunset?" Shii asked, even as he wrapped his arms around Chamuel's neck to hold on tightly."...it's just..." the snow cracked and shifted as the angel took a step, heading back down the slope towards the skirts of the forest that housed Shii's village, "...just a feeling. That's all. A feeling..." "Ne, Chamuel-sama?" the child yawned slightly, shielded from the cold winds by Chamuel's big, friendly-looking wings, and warmed by the proximity. "Are you going back to the sun soon?"Chamuel looked down at the child for just a moment. "...what do you mean, Shii?" "Tou-" Shii yawned once more, shutting his eyes for a moment, "...otou-sama said that you came from the place where the sun goes to sleep..."The angel smiled, breathing a cloud of warm mist into the frozen air, and continued on, carrying the little prince back to his father's village. "I don't know, Shii... I don't know..." -={________________________}=- ' It's nice here... so quiet... so isolated...' 'So far away from the world.'' It's not like that... it's just... what is the word...? Serene.' 'How long do you really think that you could stay?'' You don't mean... no. I'll find a way to make it work. They've accepted me, I can make it work!' 'They haven't accepted you. They've accepted Chamuel.'' But I-' '-am not Chamuel. You haven't been sent here by god to help these people. You wanted to go away from the world, so you walked until you found the edge of it.'' I... I tried to tell them. I tried to explain to them... They... they believed that I was a sign. Of better things. Should I take that away from them...?' 'We need to leave, my love... We don't belong with them, or in this place. You've seen what the hunters bring back every night. Do you think that there will be enough to last them through the winter when we eat as much as ten?'' I... I don't want to go... I don't want to go back...' 'I know, my love. But you can't hide from the world forever.'' Please... don't call me that.' 'I'm sorry... Angelo. But still... this village may not survive the winter if you stay. You have to go back.'' I... understand. But, please... Just a little longer... please...' "Chamuel-sama?"Chamuel opened his eyes slowly, the light of the lantern was almost blinding at first, but adjusted in just a moment to something much more pleasant. His head lifted, and his body stirred from the sleeping position he had been slumped against the wall in. "Chamuel-sama..." Serim, the village chief, was crouched at the floor beside him with the predawn light that came through the half open doorway to the hut at his back. Chamuel hadn't even heard him come in... the frigid air seemed to do that, making every bit of sleep like a little death, deep and heavy, and taking a long time to awaken from.
"You were restless... thrashing in your sleep. Is something troubling you? You have but to ask anything of our humble village, Chamuel-sama.""N-no... nothing..." Chamuel replied softly as he sat upright again and began to sift through the pile of firs beside him to find the parka that Serim's wife had sewn for him. "Just dreams of the coming winter..." "Did you dream of a favorable hunt, or of clear skies durring the nights?" Serim asked.The angel, however, was silent... he sat upon the floor of the small hut that he had made for himself at the edge of the village, as his dreams echoed in his ears... "I had a restless dream, Serim..." he began, reaching his hand to brush the hair from his face, "...I fear that I may have to leave you soon."
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:51 pm
Silver Moonblade awoke late in the afternoon, much to his dismay. He wouldn't have much time until the sun would go down, and he'd have to rest anyways. He was dissapointed in himself due to the fact that he was unable to gather, as much magical energy as he wanted to or he would have frozen to death.
After he ate some of the food he had prepared himself, he sighed and continued on his way, finally comming upon frozen woods.
---2 hours later---
Silver went straight through the woods at a steady pace, as not to get lost and wander for all eternity. He had enough insight to gather a bit of wood for a fire later on when it got dark. He wandered through barren wasteland for what seemed like a millenia, as there was no creatures anywhere in sight.
None that he could detect with his limited power, anyways.
---4 hours later---
Silver saw the sun begin to set over the horizon, and immidiatly built a fire, using his magic to lite the wetened wood. He had a short meal, and then went to build a better snow fort this time, far enough away that the fire didn't melt its icey walls.
A few hours later, he let unconsciousness overcome him as his fire burned out.
--The Next Day---
Silver lost track of time completely. It was getting so dark recently that it was hard to tell when the sun was rising and setting. The snows that plummeted the tundra plains were getting thicker and less forgiving, as an almost constant wave of crystilized water bombarded everything in its path, matched only by the toughest of winds.
Then, Silver saw it. Way off in the distance, there was a huge, forboding tower, surrounded by a shroud of darkness that was miles thick. Dissmayed, he knew he had traveled in the wrong direction, but he couldn't very well turn away and wander in circles. His biggest fear was reaching the ocean.
As Silver entered the darkened area he felt the supression of his very existance and was forced out of the field almost instantly. Panting, he knew very well what that was, as he had experianced it before on multiple occasions. It was a nullmagic field. Since he was almost entirely magic, to the point where it'd be almost impossible outside of an illusion, it had particularly grave effects on him.
Silver looked back, and shook his head.
You can not back down now, lest you become one of the unfortunate souls who wander this retched wasteland for all eternity, searching for a body that has long since frozen under the wieght of the snow.
Silver walked into the field and continueed towards the tower in an attempt at salvation.
---later---
He had reached about halfway to the tower and it, as impossible as it may have seemed, gotten far colder than it was before. Without his magic to warm him, it would be only a matter of time before hyperthermia set in...
...if the suppression didn't kill him first. It had gotten almost unbearable, as it seemed to get stronger the deeper he went inwards. With no sign of the field receding, he concluded that the tower must be the source of the null magic itself.
Grinning, he fell to his knees, unable to move. As one single thought past through his mind.
There is a limit... to a fool's power... afterall.
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:50 pm
::Its like a switch. Its as easy as you would turn the lights off in your house. Infact if Silver didnt know better he might have think he heard the "click". And just that easy, someone turned of the color, the color, and all sorts of motion around Silver.
Instead of cold, there would be numbness from his toes to his finger tips, if it was even possible his hair would feel numb. Not cold or hot, just nothingness. Without cold some of his strength would likely return, at least enough of it for him to notice that snowflakes were not falling they were simply standing completely still in mid air. The wind no longer blew everything was still...Even his heart.
Thats right, Silvers body didnt draw breath. But it didnt try to draw breath either. As easily as you might say "I'm not hungry", or "I'm not thirsty", his body simply said "I'm not in the mood for air right now".
Adding more oddities to this already quite odd experience, was the color the world had decided to take. Black, and white. Everything was without color with the exception of Silver...and the man in front of him.
Yes, there was infact a man in front of him. The man hadnt walked there, Silver would have seen it, he hadnt teleported, he would have seen that too. He was just there, as if he suddenly appeared between blinks. He was clothed from head to toe in jet black. A jet black hood connected to jet a long jet black robe type coat which stopped just in the middle of his shins. His black boots seemed to rest on the snow, but on IN the snow. As if they were so light they didnt press in. His face was by far the oddest of all things here. He had no face to speak of persay just a blank viel of endless black, and one glowing shape which seemed to be an eye. A left eye.
The long sleaves of his black coat led down to silver trim, and full black gloves with strange righting on the back. The same sort of strange markings which hovered around the insignia of a skull on the heel of his boot. But perhaps the most obvious thing on his person rested in his right hand. By rested I mean to say that it stood on its own but his right hand kept it in place.
It was a scythe. It was just about the same 6ft height as the man himself, with a long black 5ft blade. And at the far end of the blade right where the curve of the scythe met the staff was a strange green ball, it glowed a glow of its own and in it seemed to be what looked like tiny green fireballs whirling around with each other randomly. Strangely this "weapon" looked more like a lifeform than a weapon, which is to say it all seemed to be grown not forged from some sort of living steel which eminated from that green orb. But holder of this weapon was giving no answers. Rather he asked a single question. And as he spoke one could hear a sort of echo, as if several other voices spoke simultaneously from within him. All voices saying the same thing, his one eye set its gaze on Silver.::
Are you ready, to go home?
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:00 am
Kraun "Then please, follow me." he said as he turned about and exited the building as the woman followed, holding the door open for her as they left the building and took to the streets. It seemed that Hul knew very well where he was going, as he moved through the light traffic in the morning briskly until he entered the docks. Now, with rows upon rows of boats, he just had to get to the one he wanted to get to. He stopped at a mid sized boat, almost like a yacht, and upon it, there were a few other people, crew and other travellers. "This is the boat I came to Latent on. It's fast, powered by magic I believe, and the captain and crew use it for touring purposes as it can travel quickly to specific destinations, as well as providing the occasional lift for us of course, like now." he explained as he boarded the boat, the woman following behind. Now, through the rest of the day, the trip through the waves would be very quick. During that time, Hul would share information about the monastery, such as a basic layout of the area, some wines that they produced there, and the time it takes for the grapes to be harvested. As they arrived at a small fishing village, they would enter a humble inn, the time of day close to sun set, as the yacht would then leave, taking other travellers to different destinations. "We'll travel to the monastery in the morning. It's much too cold at night as without the sun, the temperature drops drastically in the empty and frozen plains." he explained as he ate dinner, a bowl of local fish stew flavoured with seaweed and a little bit of imported spices. It seemed as the owners of the business were expecting the young monk and the woman, as they would already have rooms lined up for them. Perhaps Hul had spent the previous days planning such conveniences, or perhaps it was someone else. Lucind Varhetel The shipping was a pleasant experience - of course, one should say, due to Lucind's affinity to the sea and water in general. She also tried to find out what kind of magic enabled the ship to gain such speed. And Hul was a good guide and companion with his friendly, calm nature. Therefore, she was in a good, relaxed mood when they arrived at the inn. Lucind sat opposite to him, finished with her small portion of stew and now sipping on spicy tea, leaning back on her chair. "Nee Hul, how long have you been living at the monastery..if you don't my asking." Her amber eyes calmy rested on the man's frame. "Hmm..." he scratched his head in thought, in fact, he hadnt been there very long, being as young as he was, "I think, five years maybe?" he answered. "Of course, I wasnt always a monk here. I use to travel a bit in my youth through the tundra, and as I aged, my restlessness was replaced with a sudden urge to learn, and hence, since then, I joined the monastery and was taught all sorts of things." It was unnderstandable, as many monks and priests usually served as teachers as well, and in this vast wasteland of ice, it was the same, as civilisation was nearly non-existant.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:14 am
"Yeah, I often heard priests and monks of all kind of beliefs usually guarantee an extensive education, representing a long line of tradition and wisdom."
She put the empty mug onto the table and ordered a sake-like wine.
"So, do you have something like an ideology? A special way of life? Hmm..you mentioned your ice deity...what was his name again?"
Tasting the clear wine she frowned and tried to remember.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:25 am
"To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly that devout of a follower. But then again, I myself dont spend too much time in the monastery," he explained, "Usually I'm off making trades or helping the small villages in the tundra, so that doesnt leave a lot of time for worship."
He took a swig of brandy from a flask he seemed to produce out of nowhere at all, possible hidden inside of his thick robes, the alcohol flushing his face red. "We call the god the Frost Father out of respect, or at least that is what is taught to us in the books. The actual name of the god could be anything for all I know. Remember, I'm not the most devout to really pay attention to most of the teachings." he answered the second question, thankful that the liquer turned his face red before it turned itself due to embarassment.
"Maybe he is not a he after all but a she. Could even be an avatar or a branching portfolio of Shiva that had developed it's own persona for all we mortals know." He shrugged as he took another swig of the liquid.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:45 am
"Oh, I see..." She was surprised that the Guldorian monks had such a vague image of her deity. But then again other people may had god's whose character and appearance was only completed by them so that they had something concrete to worship.
Hul's statement about his daily business was another explanation. She grinned friendly and poured some more wine in her tiny stone cup.
She felt a nice, light high from the alcohol arising in her head and sighed.
"Seems you have a nice 'job'..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:52 am
"Hehe," he chuckled, "Nice job indeed." he repeated after her.
"Well, its getting late, and we should start travelling tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep. Get some rest yourself." he said as he got up and walked off towards a prepared room.
Before he went to sleep however, he sat down and recited a small prayer as he held the holy symbol around his neck in his clasped hands. He may not be the most devout of followers, but that did not mean he wasnt faithful.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:07 pm
"Ah... Have a good night."
She took her time to finish the small bottle of wine before walking into her room.
Stretching and yawning shamelessly, she knew she would sleep really good tonight for a pleasant tiredness already made her limps and eyes feel heavy.
The next morning - a soft red light announced the rising sun - Lucind found herself at the same table, having milk-soup, fresh bread and some kind of fruit sauce for breakfast.
She was looking forward the walk to the monastery and also hoped the chilly air outside would wash away the remnants of sleep and clear her mind.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:17 pm
The monk however, only ate a little bit of bread, being use to only eating a little in the mornings. "Good morning," he greeted Lucind, "Had a good rest I hope?" he asked, ever the polite one as he ate some bread and swallowed some liquer.
"We should get going soon, but first, I need to attend to the village's needs." he said as he finished his light breakfast and stepped outside, "I'll be back when I'm done." And with that, he left the building, helping the small village with tasks of cleaning or sharing knowledge, little tasks that someone like him could help out with.
By late morning, he had returned to the inn. "Ready to go?" he asked in a friendly manner. It seemed that the activities outside only made him more active.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:46 pm
Lucind used the time Hul was gone for finding a quiet place behind the inn where she could enjoy the first rays of sunlight as well as meditate a bit which ended in a T'ai Chi like exercise. After this her muscles were loosed and she felt ready for the last route to the monastery.
When the monk came back she had moved her stuff out of her room.
"Yep^^ Let's go."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:53 pm
And out they went, through the door, through the village, and out through the tundra. It was a relatively relaxing trip, if tiring as the two would walk throught the vast emptyness, all the while the young monk telling his guests about the monastery, repeating some things he'd already had said before, and adding a few new things as well. They didnt stop until a few hours later, they woul enter a forested area which stood like a wall in the tundra. Looking through the wastes would also prove to reveal multiple other forested areas, however rather distant to each other.
Now, having entered the forest, with the boughs of trees covered in a soft powder of snow, Hul brushed away some of the fine powder from a log and sat down to take a rest.
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