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 Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:33 pm
Guyy chuckled softly and shook his head. He wouldn't ever have seriously considered saying anything to Caine to put him off unless Aya had specifically asked him to. In fact, he was more likely to co-conspire with the man to get the Ice Queen to thaw out a little. It was refreshing to know that she had an interest, even if she was trying her hardest to hide it. He smirked to himself.
"Don't what...? Ah..." he muttered, realising he'd been a bit stupid with the statue. The rocks he was pushing budged and rolled into the room beyond. He had to stop and take a break then, panting to catch his breath. It was just then that he felt a sensation almost like a migraine. He winced, realising it was coming from Myurr.
The shadow snake had not yet met up with Aya direction. As he had been slithering towards her the room had changed, disorientating both he and Guyy entirely. Guyy practically fell out of the window into the room and sat on the floor for a moment until the room that Myurr was in resolved itself. Normally he'd be able to block such messages, but this one was strong and he was tired.
"I may have touched the statue..." he replied non-committally when he shook his head mostly clear. Myurr was sending back a confused image of mirrors and crystal. He was still separated from Aya a little. He eventually made his way towards her, circling her foot without touching her.
Guyy picked himself up and staggered towards the cold. He really felt quite dizzy after that upheaval but the more he walked the clearer his head felt. Aya's words concerned him. She was quietly insistent and that meant it was probably a serious matter. He almost walked right into a crystal wall.
"You think you know this place? Think as hard as you can, it might be important for us to know to escape." He said, trying to sound calm and in control. He pressed his hand to the crystal. He almost thought he could see figures through it, murky and distorted. Aya was definitely in there with Myurr and.... it was impossible for him to tell whether her was reading her or a reflection of her. It felt as if she wasn't alone in a way, but that could easily have been an echo of her in that crystal structure. Myurr nudged him mentally.
"You sure you're ok?" He frowned, the wound having been spotted by Myurr. "Looks like you have a bit of a scratch there."
He pressed against the crystal, wondering if he could somehow pass through it, or break it. He was suspecting it may be a lost cause. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Everything was fragile in some way. And rooms always had a way in, he just had to find it, even if it meant destroying it in the process. He felt over the surface, finding it smooth and perfect beneath his fingers. With not much idea of what to do he grasped a small rock and banged it against the crystal lightly, making it ring musically.
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:43 am
Aya looked down at the shadow snake that was now circling her foot. Her gaze softened a little, trying to tell the snake without words that its presence was a welcome one, before hardening and shifting it again to her reflection. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that the figure was gone. It must have moved on, trying to locate her. Should she move? She frowned. No. That was not a wise course of action. Master Guyy was making his way towards her after all. She would just have to stay here and try not to be taken by surprise.
"It is very familiar," she said before she frowned, "no. Not exactly familiar. There are some loose ends that do not match with the feelings I have within. Those...dissimilarities are making it difficult for me to pinpoint the exact memory of this place...or a place like this location," Aya finished as she continued to look around, her mind wandering a little. Where was it? What was it about this cavern that made it seem to so familiar? Had she truly been here before? Perhaps when she had been a child? But that was impossible. She had never left the temple grounds until the massacre. There was no way that she could have been here.
"I am alright Master Guyy. Like you said, it is but a simple scratch. It is nothing to worry about," Aya replied reassuringly as she touched her wound. Aya had had worse injuries before. Something like this was not enough to bring her down. Although with the current circumstances, it was definitely possible but Guyy didn't need to know that. He should concentrate on himself for the time being.
Her ears perked up at the sound of crystal hitting crystal. Music. Violet eyes widened as she finally remembered what was so familiar about this place. It was the sound! It was the way that their voices could be heard from miles away even though it really shouldn't have! She had encountered something like this maze before. The trick was to play the correct notes. She could really hit herself for not realizing sooner. They would have been able to get out of here a lot sooner had she been able to remember it.
"Master Guyy, I want to test something out. Please continue your search for me."
So saying, Aya began knocking a small piece of crystal to another one. The sound twinkled all over the place and she nodded in satisfaction. Sound really was the key to everything here. Gripping the shard, Aya threw it at a large crystal that was a little ways away from her. The moment it hit the target, the sound of something breaking and shattering into a million pieces filled the whole cavern before everything blurred and disappeared. For a moment. there was nothing separating each individual in the cavern maze. Off to Aya's left was the shadow figure. To the north was Master Guyy. He was farther up than her possible enemy. That was not good.
"No! Don't move Master Guyy! The crystals will-" and before she could finish her sentence, the crystal walls reappeared, separating the entities once more, "if you get caught in the middle of the crystals, there is no telling what will happen. I counted four seconds before they reemerged. And I believe that our enemy is closer to me than you are so perhaps it's best if we don't abuse this little feature too much."
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:41 am
Guyy listened to the gentle ring of the crystal as the sound echoed musically around the cavern. It was a pretty sound, but beauty didn't help him at this instant. He wondered about where Aya may have encountered such a place before. He knew very little of her youth, all things considered, just as she probably knew very little of his. Perhaps she had been in a place like this before? Maybe the memories would return to her eventually.
"Hn. Just a scratch." He repeated to himself, not thoroughly believing it was that simple but not wanting to start an argument over it. He'd get in soon and then he could assess for himself just how bad it was. Myurr was keeping an eye on her for now for him, lingering around her ankles politely. As the crystal rand she called out , telling him to keep looking. He had planned on it. He wouldn't stop searching until he couldn't move any longer, and then he would have to haunt her.
He hefted the rock again and swung it back, intending to strike the crystal in front of him with as much strength as he could muster. Just before the rock connected, there was a sound of chiming and smashing and the crystal vanished. He looked surprised and stumbled forward a couple of steps before correcting himself. Before he could head towards Aya, now perfectly clear and judging by the shadow nearby not exactly safe, she told him to stay put. He did. The crystal wall returned suddenly just in front of his nose. It surprised him so much he fell over and landed roughly on his rump. He winced and grimaced, rubbing his new bruise.
"Well, let's hope we can make some use of it before I get surprised to death." he said grimly, pulling himself to his feet. He reached up and placed his palms to the smooth surface in front of him. He had no intention of getting caught up between the shards, knowing it would probably be a nasty and messy result. "I didn't get a good look at the other guy. You think it's definitely a threat?" he had the sinking feeling that it was, but any hope he could cling to was welcome at the moment.
He still intended to get to her somehow. But how? That was the problem at the moment. He looked around, searching for something he could use. There were large rocks nearby, he could try smashing the crystal again. Or he could climb back out of the window and see if the statue had any other hidden secrets. He was a little reluctant to try that now though, for fear of putting Aya into more danger.
"I'm going to move. I think there is a corridor that runs nearby to where you are. If I can get there, you can do whatever it was you did before and I can cross to where you are safely." he called out to her, turning and heading back to the window. He followed the passageways, trying to remember where she was exactly, until he got to what he hoped was the nearest spot to her. "Alright, I'm ready. Give me a count and I'll get ready to run." he advised her, bracing himself to bolt to her position in the couple of seconds it would take the walls to return. They just had to hope that he was closer than the shadowy figure now.
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:24 am
For a brief moment, Aya actually considered facing the third entity (if she didn't count Myurr that is) on her own. Since she already had a way of getting to Guyy, she could dispose of the possible threat first. That way, she would be able to protect the head librarian from her ice magic as well as any stray bullets. She scrapped it immediately though after she had glanced at the shadow snake around her ankle. Myurr would no doubt follow her and if the shadow snake her Master Guyy were connected, there was no telling what would happen if by any chance Myurr was exposed to her ice magic.
And besides, she thought wryly, once the sound of battle reached him, Guyy would no doubt try to copy what she did and rush to her air while successfully putting himself into the situation she wanted to prevent from happening. Sighing, she picked up another shard. Her eyes were focused on the general direction where she had seen the third party. She would have to be ready for anything. Taking a deep breath, she returned the temperature around her to normal. Guyy might bump into her in his rush to get to her so it was best to play safe.
"Here it goes," Aya said as a warning to Guyy before she threw the shard towards where she had thrown it earlier. It shattered and produced a loud sound of glasses hitting the floor. The crystals all disappeared in the blink of an eye.
She glared at the shadow figure. It seemed to have caught on to the plan and was gliding towards her at quite the speed. She pointed her palm at it and within a second, released an ice wave at the general direction. She missed though. The figure had twisted itself and lowered itself to the ground like a blanket would after having fallen off something except it was much faster. It was still heading for her. She narrowed her eyes at it, readying another attack just in case the crystal walls didn't come back at the designated time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:39 am
Aya's hypothesis was quite correct. Had she tried to engage in battle without him he would have done anything to get to her aid, even if it meant using up a huge chunk of his remaining energy to do so. He could sense the temperature around her raising. She was clearly preparing for his arrival, he didn't need to see her to know that much. He crouched, preparing himself to bolt towards her. Thankfully, he could pretty accurately gauge her position now he had a better idea of where she was, so the chances of them connecting were cut down considerably.
On her warning he braced, legs pumping as soon as the crystals vanished. And he was not the only one charging towards her. He could see the other figure out of the corner of his eye as it glided towards her at alarming speed. He grimaced and hissed, noticing her raising her arm in time to swerve enough for her to release her power without fear of hitting him at all accidentally. The manoeuvre cost him half a second, but it was of no concern, he was within a few steps of her. If the walls came back up again suddenly he estimated he would be quite safe.
Secure in this knowledge he turned and glare at the figure for a moment before waving a hand in front of himself as he slid to a halt. With his legs spread and one arm catching himself in a crouch he called up his and Myurr's combined strength. His eyes clouded from scarlet to onyx and a wall of pure shadow obscured them from the other figure. It would not be enough to stop him (he made it loose enough that Aya could still fire through it) but it might be enough to startle him and make him hesitate long enough for the walls to return.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here." he grinned wryly to Aya. "Any idea who our new playmate might be? He doesn't strike me as being particularly friendly at all." he remarked with a slight hiss behind his words. Either he was annoyed or he was tiring. More than likely it was a bit of both. How dare this creature threaten a clan member in his presence!
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:54 am
"It is most fortunate to have you back Master Guyy," was Aya's distracted reply as she threw three ice picks at her foe. They only managed to get three feet away from her before they crashed into the crystal wall that appeared, once again separating the two parties. They were safe...for the time being. She still would not let her guard down. That shadow was quite close to them now and a careless step from either her or Guyy would be disastrous. She lowered her arm slowly, making certain that no enemy was going to come at them from behind one of the crystal walls.
"Regrettably, that shadow is not familiar to me," she answered as she dug into her seemingly bottomless pocket, "I think it is best if you hold onto this," she said before handing the snake man a small bottle of her famous temperature stabilizing potion. She was careful to not touch her lord, knowing that her cold nature would most likely weaken him. She stepped away from him, trying her best to make him comfortable. If he collapsed because of her...she would never forgive herself.
"It would be prudent to leave this area as soon as possible. What do you say we go back to that statue you found earlier? It may be the key to all of this," she said as she glanced at her leader. He knew the way to that statue and she didn't or rather, Myurr knew the way. She shook her head slightly to keep herself from over analyzing things and waited for her lord to make a move.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:33 am
Guyy relaxed and dropped his shadowy curtain as he felt the walls reappear around them. He stared at the wall untrustingly, half expecting their foe just to walk right through the crystal somehow. It took him a moment to accept the offered bottle, turning his crimson eyes on it and smiling a little. He recognised this. It had saved his life once before. He pocketed it carefully. No doubt he would need it at some point if things got hairy. He'd save it until then, there was no saying how long they may be down here and he didn't want to waste it.
"It is good to be back Lady Aya. Thanks." He smiled, bending to scoop up Myurr. The snaked slithered into his skin smoothly and settled into his usual position where he was able to stare out at the world. He glanced up at her as he let the shadow get comfortable. "And that is more than a scratch. Tsk. You should have said something." he frowned, getting a look at her wound while she was distracted. That wouldn't do at all. He patted his pockets, but he had nothing useful on him.
Except for one thing. He mulled it over for a moment before he took hold of his left shirt sleeve and tugged firmly. With a sound of tearing he had a strip of mostly clean cloth that would do as a bandage.
"Hold still while I get this on you. It's preferable to you bleeding everywhere." He said with a brisk air, expecting her to grumble and complain but determined to go through with it anyway. If she stayed still for a moment he could carefully wrap it around the wound, very cautious and trying not to touch her otherwise.
"I agree. We should get out of here, certainly. Myurr, a little guidance please?" he asked the shadow snake once he was done with her temporary bandage. Myurr gave him a little mental nudge and he stood up once more. "That way." he nodded, leading her at a steady pace the way Myurr guided him. He went slowly, giving her a chance to keep up with her as he let the snake take them through a few twists until things began to look familiar again. It wasn't long before they stepped into the room with the window, large rocks scattered on the floor. "I found it underneath a pile of rubble, over there." he pointed out to her.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:13 pm
The Lady Tienade’s eyes widened when she realized what Guyy was about to do. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop but the sound of ripping of fabric had her sighing instead. She moved her leg to avoid his hands, worried that he might brush her and cause damage to himself. She stopped, however, when she bumped against a wall and like an eagle, Guyy had swooped down for the kill. Before she could say anything, there he was, wrapping the bandage around her injury. She scowled at him for that. Her blood was slowly going to burn through his shirt so in the end, he had destroyed his clothing for absolutely no reason.
She was allowed a moment to steam a little before they were moving through crystal corridors and turning left to right in several intersections. A few minutes later, they were in a room filled with wall paintings and inscribed runes. She glanced around, recognizing a little bit of the writings and the artful murals before she turned her head towards the angry dog statue. She could feel several spells attached to it but most of them were weak and faded. Cautiously, the Ice Queen approached the glaring statue. There was no telling how a magical object would react to someone brimming with magical energy such as her.
“Stay back Master Guyy,” Aya warned before bringing up a wall of low atmosphere around herself and the statue to make certain that Guyy would follow her instruction. Call it a small bit of revenge for his rather forceful treatment of her wound earlier. Now that Master Guyy was safely out of range, Aya began unraveling the several strings that were currently wound up around the statue.
“This might take a while,” she said as she waved her hand in an elegant arc before grabbing a few bit of invisible strings and cutting them with her equally invisible scissors. To the snake man, it would only seem as if she was playing with the air. To a person with a relative experience in the arts magicka however, Aya’s actions would clearly translate to a physical dispelling of magick. She had no idea if Guyy was able to sense the energy patterns that she was wounding around her fingers though. If he could, then he would probably only be able to tell that she was indeed doing something.
“Why not tell me about your life while I am doing this?”
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:55 am
Guyy was aware that eventually the cloth would simply be dissolved by her unique blood, but tending to her wound gave him something to do. It made him feel like he was achieving something useful, even if all he did was slow the bleeding a little for a while. Besides, the shirt was expendable. It was just a plain one he wore around the lower levels of the Library. He wouldn't miss it. besides, he couldn't have her bleeding everywhere. They could easily leave a trail. If he could use his own shirt to protect them both for a few minutes, then he would. There was very little insulation provided by the single sleeve anyway. It would only cost him a couple minutes of time at most.
He stood and looked around the room as Aya approached the statue he had foolishly knocked on. It was well decorated. Perhaps a long time about the paintings had been vibrant and bright, but now they were dulled by so many years of being sealed away. A light film of dust gave everything a grey tint. He turned on his heel as Aya spoke to him. He noted she sneakily set up a buffer of cold around her to keep him at bay. She knew he wouldn't risk approaching just now, it could put them both in danger if it affected him badly. He shook his head and chuckled softly at her almost aggressively protective nature. Woe betide anyone who hurt Parvarti.
"I don't have much choice but to stay back, do I?" he laughed quietly, watching her hands move through the air with grace. He couldn't sense the magic, nor did he have much knowledge in the mystical arts but he recognised that whatever she was doing was probably both important and intensive. He stayed back and studied her movements, trying to work out what it was she doing and taking a seat on a boulder that had rolled away from the window. It almost looked like she was trying to unwrap the statue. He rested his chin on his hand and took the time while she worked to rest and conserve his energy, all the while keeping his senses extended for visitors. He had no idea how much concentration she would be applying to her task so it made sense for him to be a lookout of sorts.
"Huh? My life?" he replied, somewhat startled by her request. She'd never asked before, but then they'd never had much time alone like this before either. And she was naturally curious. He wouldn't have been too surprised if she had used her senior status to go through the personnel files just out of interest. He waved his unoccupied hand dismissively. "Really, there's not much to tell. You know already of the circumstances of my creation I guess. I spent the first three years or so of my life completely immersed in liquid and studied. A mere prototype, if you will. Alpha freed me but was unable to take me with him, or else I'd be living the tribal life right now." he chuckled, imagining himself dressed up in furs. "It was fortunate that my mother hadn't been in the labs that day. I didn't know she was my mother then though. But she found me and took me to a smaller village to just grow up as normally as I could. That didn't end up too well though." he sighed.
"It wasn't bad actually, not when I was little. It was a fairly normal life, aside from a little bullying. I wasn't like the other boys." he tapped the side of his temple near his eye, though he knew Aya was busy working. His scarlet eyes always had marked him out amongst the other kids. "It wasn't anything terrible though, and I think most of them were just a bit frightened of me anyway. When I fought back they always backed off. And most of them just got used to me eventually." he shrugged and smiled. It hadn't been bad at all, just normal childhood scrapes. "That changed after.... well. When Zeta located us. I just ran as far and as fast as I could. It was fortunate he was too injured to follow. I just headed to Durem, I remembered my mother taking me there for fun now and then and I figured he wouldn't be able to find me there. I was right. Unfortunately I hadn't given much thought to the fact you need money to survive." He paused and stared into space for a few moments of silence before he continued with a deep sigh.
"I was far from the only kid in that situation though. And I had a couple of natural gifts that helped me out. I was luckier than most. Problem was that caught the eye of the Boss. So he sent Jimmy out to... ha... recruit me. And that's who I worked for until just before we met. Me and Jack." He picked up a small rock and toyed with it in his fingers idly, mulling over all the mistakes he'd made then, how wicked and cruel he was without reason. How completely dependent he was on the Boss. He skipped over most of that though, not telling Aya the worst. He had never really spoke on it and it would take quite a lot to get the entire truth out of him now. He scratched at his bare arm where the scars marred his skin distractedly. "Jack was actually the one who got me out of there, you know? He's a good guy. There's a lot more to him than it looks like. Great one to have on your side when you need it..." he trailed off, staring at a painting on the wall and yet not really seeing it. "Then I came to the Clan, and I've been here since."
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:22 am
"Hmm," was all that Aya said in reply to his story before she cut the last string. It was impossible to tell if Aya had indeed listened to Guyy's life story but this was Aya remember? The Ice Queen never disregarded any detail. With a sigh, the Lady Tienade brought down her hands. She dispelled the wall of icy air around her and stepped back. The statute glowed red for a moment before it cracked. Little by little the crack became larger and before long, the cracks overwhelmed the stone statue and it fell apart. One by one the pieces fell to the floor, clattering and shattering messily before resuming their silence.
"Looks like you've had quite a childhood," Aya spoke a moment later as she turned back to her lord. Before she could get past the third step however, the floor beneath them glowed blue. Several runes appeared and a blue wall trapped them inside the room. The Ice Queen gasped as she felt her powers being drained away like water in a tub. Her eyes widened in horror and she had to kneel down to keep herself from collapsing. When the whole ordeal was done, Aya was...human. Her temperature, her strength, her speed, her sight...everything was as if she had never merged with a fallen deity. Slowly, the Ice Queen lifted her palm up to her face and stared at it as if it was a foreign object. In all actuality, she was looking at the pathways of her magic.
They weren’t brimming with power like before. In fact, the only power she could feel traveling through them was her shield magick. She let out a wry smile. Figures. She'd known that there had been a failsafe but she hadn't expected it to be this powerful. She gritted her teeth as she stood up, wavering a little before she got herself under control. She opened her mouth and quickly, she felt for one of her fangs. Nothing. It was just regular teeth. So that meant that her eyes had returned back to their normal color. She looked around, squinting her eyes a bit and not like the fact that she could not see that clearly.
"The barrier that was blocking me from using my teleportation spell is broken now but the failsafe is making certain that I won't be able to use that spell in order for us to escape from this place," she said before she turned to her lord, "there must be another focal point somewhere. If we can find it and destroy it, my powers should return as easily as they had vanished."
Her vision blurred then and she had to close her eyes and clutch her forehead with one hand to keep herself from falling. Her body was experiencing all sorts of sudden changes and that was not good. She was having a hard time keeping up. She gritted her teeth as she felt bile rise up her throat. Her skin had gone a shade paler and she literally looked sick. With a frown, she opened her eyes and turned away from her lord. This was so going to be very humiliating. She walked away from him and until she had reached a couple of rocks. Hidden (slightly anyway), she wretched away her breakfast...or what was left of it. The food she had eaten earlier had been digested already and all she was able to get rid of were air and a few saliva.
A few minutes later, Aya was finally able to compose herself. Reaching for her pocket, she spat out whatever was left of that horrid event, and pulled out a handkerchief. She sighed as she wiped her mouth, grimacing a little. What would Master Guyy say? Placing the cloth back into her pocket, she faced her lord and acted as if she hadn't just puked her guts out. Before any word left her lips though, the scenery around them changed again. The cavern walls disappeared only to be replaced by a forest. A very familiar forest.
Aya looked around in awe. Everything looked so...real. The sounds of birds, the color of the flowers, and the twining vines...even the air felt real.
"If I'm right, this place is the forest near my temple. Stay sharp Master Guyy," Aya said as she headed in the direction of where her temple once stood.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:05 am
Despite her apparent disinterest in the subject Guyy knew better. She was merely concentrating. Besides, what was there to say? Very little, as far as he was concerned. The past was the past and nothing he could do would change that, and nothing she could say would make him a better person for it. But she had listened, and in a way it was a little liberating. No one really asked him about it, especially when they got wind of it not being an idyllic, perfect childhood. They left him to his private memories (with the exception of Jack who shared many of them and Kaori who had witnessed the site of his birth).
"I suppose that is one way of putting it." he shrugged in reply to Aya as the dust cleared. The statue was in pieces. Whatever she had done had destroyed it. He supposed that was a good thing. She didn't appear concerned about it at all. He stared down at a chunk of stone dog's nose. "I guess I won't be taking that back to the Library with me then, huh?" he remarked, smirking and looking up at her.
He was just in time to see the floor light up and surround them with runes. He hissed and jumped to his feet, staring around with great caution. There was no telling what this was. But something else caught his attention swiftly. Aya was... warm. He turned on his heel and stared at her as she crouched on the floor. Never had he seen her in such a vulnerable position before and for a moment he was too shocked to move. What had this place done to the Ice Queen? If it was powerful enough to strip her of her own powers... he shuddered a little inwardly, suddenly glad of his lack of magic. His talents were entirely physical and genetic, aside from the shadow sensing. He checked in a panic but Myurr was still there. There was no saying whether that particular skill had been taken from him, but he hadn't felt anything as bad as Aya had clearly. Thankful for the fact the snake was protected as part of his own soul he made to move towards her but she was already on her feet. She wobbled a little.
He stepped forward to help her regain her balance but she staggered off to a private rock. He waited patiently as she evacuated what little was in her stomach. Had she been one of the other clan members he would probably have gone over to soothe her, but he had a suspicion she was not used to this sort of bodily function at all and would prefer it was kept private. She even managed to maintain an air of grace as she returned, wiping her mouth with a delicate handkerchief. Before he could speak he found them in a forest. He looked around. This was all getting confusing and tiring, but at least it felt like being outside. And outside meant sun. He tried to soak up any warmth he could get, unsure whether this was real or an illusion.
"Are you all right, Lady Aya?" he asked as he caught up to her, marvelling at the beauty of this area she seemed to know so well. There was obvious concern in his voice, even if he did take the opportunity to walk closer to her than he normally could. He was tempted to reach out and touch her, simply because he had never been able to give her anything but brief taps before and he was curious. He knew it would be terribly impolite to do so though. He kept an eye on her for any further signs of her being unwell. She didn't look too healthy like this. "If you need anything..." he offered, trailing off. Instead he gave her a warm smile (though in the light it was obvious he looked fairly tired himself) and patted her shoulder reassuringly. He'd be at her side, regardless of what happened to her. And he would protect her with everything he had, if it came to it.
"Being sick isn't nice at all, is it?" he added with a soft sigh, shaking his head. "I've always hated it, even when it was my fault anyway." Not that he could recall being unwell very often in his life, except when he was coming down from a high. His unique metabolism killed off foreign invaders and poisons after all unless he deliberately overwhelmed it. He gazed off into the trees, keeping an eye out as she had advised.
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:30 am
At the pat, Aya gave Guyy a small but appreciative smile. His predictable caring nature towards those he held dear never failed to bring out a smile of fondness from the Ice Queen. Even now, when he was so obviously tired, Guyy still put the comfort of the clan members before himself. Unbidden, pride at her lord filled Aya to the brim. He was a wonderful leader, Aya thought as she continued to walk toward the temple that held so many memories. Yes indeed. Guyy was the true example of a leader but that was not the only thing Aya saw him as. He was a dear friend, one that she would not hesitate giving her life to protect, and more importantly, he was family.
"There is no need to worry about me Master Guyy. I am alright. My body is simply having difficulty adjusting to the sudden change of my spiritual pathways. I will return to my normal output in a few moments. And thank you. I will be certain to inform you if any complications should arise."
Perhaps she was being a tad too formal but being in this place (even if it was an illusion) was putting a damper on her spirits. She could see many things here that reminded her of her time in the real temple. There, off to the left of the dirt path was the large rock formation that she and Maya used to play on. If they took the left path at the intersection ahead, they would end up in an endless clearing of white flowers whose petals flowed with the wind. If however, they took the right path, they would be led to the cemetery where her biological father was buried. Taking the straight path would lead them to the temple doors; their current destination.
All of them, from the simple wisp of the wind to the gentle sound of the trees' relaxing waves...they were all fragments of the past that she tried to bury in the large amount of work she made herself do. And now...and now it seemed that everything was coming back to the surface with a vengeance. The worst thing about all of this was that Master Guyy was with her. This spell was going to do everything it could to mess her up and that meant that they would be visiting her memories, the ones that she had never shared with anyone, not even Caine. What would he think of her once he saw everything?
Her lips tightened into a thin line as visions of her mother's eyes, wide in fear, entered her mind. Wary murmurs from her memories filled her ears and she grew almost deaf with the intensity of her recollection. She could hear children's laughter and their playful footsteps danced in her mind. Aya blinked, suddenly being pulled away from her thoughts. Laughter? Slowly, she looked behind and surely enough, there was a small child laughing and running towards them. Behind that child was another one, the exact same copy but this one wasn't laughing. She seemed more worried than happy.
"Maaaayaaa! Wait for me!"
The Lady Tienade's eyes widened as she stepped to the side and let the twin girls pass her by. Without giving an explanation, Aya quickened her steps and soon enough, caught up to the two girls just before the ornate temple doors. The child Aya was crying with Maya trying to soothe her twin. The memory was so familiar that the Ice Queen had to blink repeatedly to make certain that she wasn't just seeing this in her mind. She covered her mouth with one hand as a worried look graced her features. This memory...it was the exact day the temple was attacked by the Adelhyde Society.
As soon as the two girls disappeared within the temple walls, Aya slid her eyes to her lord.
"We...we will be experiencing some of my memories Master Guyy. I am...not at all certain I will be able to handle it so I am counting on you to bring me back to myself if I ever lose it."
And without waiting for a reply, Aya stepped forward and entered the great temple of mother Cybelle. The inside was like that of a famed chapel with paintings on the ceiling, marble floors, ornate decorations, and superb architectural design. It was an art, in and of itself and someone who appreciated beauty would surely realize that. In the middle of the dome were the twins and...and Aya's mother, Sophitia. Slightly wavy dark hair, mismatched eyes, and a grand posture that could intimidate even the bravest of men. She was just like Aya remembered and if she recalled correctly, the windows were going to shatter in a few seconds.
And as she expected, the sound of breaking glasses filled her ears. From the broken windows, the agents of the Adelhyde Society entered and started subduing the priests and priestesses. Aya's eyes, however, were focused on the twin girls who were being protected by their mother. It took a while but soon enough, Sophitia had been subdued as well and the twin girls were ripped away from each other. Maya screamed and desperately tried to go back to the crying Aya but the agents would have none of it. When Maya managed to bite the hand of her capturer, the agent got furious and raised his sword to put Maya to sleep. The child Aya misinterpreted the move, however, and she let out a loud scream.
"This is it," Aya whispered as her eyes darkened with shame, "this is the begining."
Everyone inside the temple covered their ears at the magnitude of the child Aya's scream. It was not normal and perhaps, Parvati's ability to stun others with her voice had been inherited from Aya herself. There was something different about it though. A blue aura arose from the child Aya and a figure of a woman who was fully covered in bloody bandages appeared. Her hands were tied around her body, as if she was hugging herself, and the bandages wound around and around, covering whatever skin she had. Her hair was long and white and flowed to the none-existent wind.
With a moan of either pleasure or despair, the woman shook herself, as if she was trying to be free of the binding bandages. The atmosphere in the temple darkened and suddenly, the Adelhyde Society's soldiers started crouching, their breaths coming in pants. And before anyone knew it, they had collapsed to the ground, a small sphere of white light rising from their body and coming together in front of the bandaged woman who took them onto herself. She let out a laugh, insane and filled with malice, before disappearing.
The child Aya collapsed to the ground and fell asleep but not before seeing her mother's fear filled eyes.
"We just witnessed the attack of the Adelhyde Society. As you can see, it ended in a failure."
Aya didn't say anything else. She really didn't know what to say at that point to she kept her silence as she watched her mother trying to keep Maya away from the exhausted Aya.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:14 am
Guyy, knowing the Ice Queen's nature as well as anyone, didn't take her formality as any form of insult to himself. It was obvious from her demeanour and almost distracted gaze around the area that she was caught up in her thoughts. One thing about the way her powers had been stripped from her, he was finding her a little easier to read emotionally. It was almost as if she found this place to be unnerving. Yet it was such a beautiful place. Still, even the most wonderful places can hold bad connotations if one has experienced trauma in them. He'd certainly never even tried returning to the village house he'd grown up in, not after what he'd seen.
The sound of laughter caught his attention and he turned. Coming towards them was a matching pair of little girls with dark hair and bright eyes. He couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight, even the comical way they seemed to be such opposites despite their similarity. They felt eerily familiar to him, though he knew of no twins quite like these. They ran off ahead and Aya quickened her pace to keep up. He followed in her example, jogging a little at her side. That familiarity was soon explained when she told him that these were in fact her own memories.
"Don't worry. I'll be right here." he nodded to her in a calm and quiet manner, remaining as reassuring as possible. "You won't lose yourself. I won't let you."
So that was where he knew the children from. One of them was obviously the Ice Queen herself. The resemblance was striking, now that he considered it. The other, her sister? Clearly though he found that surprised him for some reason. And it didn't take much skill to work out which was Aya, as he thought back to the serious faced child at the rear. And the name of the other... Maya... yes, that was right. A part of him felt sort of privileged to be witness to this scene. The Lady rarely spoke of her past (and wasn't he just as guilty of that?) so this was precious insight into her life before the clan.
They stepped into the temple and he paused, astounded by the beauty of the building. Whoever had built it had great talent and love for their task, that was obvious. Part of him wished he could make the library so stunning. But the most beautiful thing in the room was the elegant lady standing with the small twins. The grown Aya looked so very much like her, elegant and graceful and refined. There was no doubt at all that she was mother to the pair and for a moment he felt a pang of loss and jealousy, though it passed quickly with the shattering of the window.
He turned towards the breakage with an instinctive hiss and snarl. He hadn't expected the serenity of the scene to be broken so harshly and suddenly. He collected himself. This was, after all, a memory. It would do him more good to watch everything carefully than it would to posture and defend against a fate that had already happened. He winced as he watched, his own pain echoing what Aya no doubt must be feeling. A mother doing her best to protect her children against overwhelming odds. He squashed the urge he had to run forward and help her, reminding himself it would do no good and would change nothing.
The intensity of the violence he watched made him ball his hands into fists and grit his teeth. It was no where near as violent as most of the things he had personally done (some of them at an age not much greater than that of the twins) but the fact it was children suffering made him furious. How dare any self respecting soldier raise their hand to a child?! He turned his head slightly to glance at Aya as whispered softly to him. The expression she wore was unlike any he had ever seen on her refined features and for a moment he was caught up in his empathy for her rather than his anger. He turned back to see what she meant, grimacing at the scream that issued from such a small child. Like Parvarti's own skill, perhaps even close to the shrillness of the cub, Little Voice. But there as more than a scream of terror about the sound.
His jaw actually dropped when the white haired woman appeared, clad only in bandages. He stared with wide eyes, awed at what he saw. Had Aya called her up? Or had she come of her own will? Who was she? So many questions came to him at that moment but he remained silent out of respect for what he saw and the woman at his side. He could sense how difficult this was for her to view. She might be able to keep a poker face but without her ice to shield her she couldn't disguise the thumping of her own heart to his own skills. This was not a pleasant memory for her at all.
When the white woman had taken her stolen prizes of the men's lives and faded away from view again he finally let himself turn to look at Aya and her family. The look that her mother gave the fallen younger Aya was heartbreaking, far more so than anything he had so far witnessed. So, that was why this memory was painful for her. He had experienced many things in his life, but never had his mother looked as terrified of him as the woman before them did of her own daughter. But then his mother had a good idea of what he might be like, what Sophitia had just seen must have come out of the blue. There was a flash of anger in him for her obvious fear, and a flash of guilt as he suddenly realised just how fortunate he had been at her age.
Aya's statement rang through the silent temple like a trespasser. And then silence once more. She hurt. His friend, no more than that, his sister hurt and he could tell all too easily why. She must have thought herself a monster, all because her mother clearly thought her as one at that moment. And he knew what rejection like that could do to a child. Jack was so afraid of being a monster he couldn't even bring himself to be truthful about what he was. What must it have done to that sweet little girl?
With stern resolution he crossed the room softly to where the exhausted child lay. He knew, despite an instinctive urge to do so, that he could not pick her up and tell her that everything would be alright, that it was okay to be different. No, that is was good to be so special. Instead all he could do was crouch down beside her and study her, like a protective lion over a sleeping cub.
"You know, I always wondered where Parvarti got her cuteness from." he remarked softly. "I guess now I have the answer to that."
He looked up at the adult and gave her a warm smile that spoke volumes for him. A smile that told her wordlessly that he knew some of what she was suffering and that he thought no less of her for it at all. In fact, quite the opposite.
"You saved them that day." he told her softly, feeling that perhaps she needed to hear that from someone else, someone who'd seen it happen.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:44 am
"You know, I always wondered where Parvarti got her cuteness from. I guess now I have the answer to that."
"Ha...haha...hahaha!" Aya laughed from the bottom of her heart at that statement. How long had it been since she had last laughed like this? Not holding anything back and just simply enjoying herself? It had been far too long, Aya thought as her laughter slowly receded. His next statement, however, did the exact opposite of what he had wanted to do. Instead of a soft smile, Aya looked at him with a defeated expression as tears threatened to spill from her mismatched eyes. She shook her head lightly as she stepped further into the room. No. She did not save them. She had damned them all that day.
The heartbreaking scene soon changed. Everyone blurred and disappeared only to be replaced with another heart wrenching play. Both Sophitia and Maya were being held back by temple priests as Aya, scared and angry Aya, was being carried away. Little Aya was put in a metal cage and was brought down the center stairs. It would be the cold dungeons that the child would be placed in, Aya knew. The child would spend a month in that dark place, cold, alone, and almost being starved.
And then the room changed again. This time, it showed the dungeons and just what happened after Aya had been locked up. The priests had stripped her bare and forced her to lie on her stomach. And then, they'd marked her like they would cattle. It was a hot large triangle they used to burn into the skin of her back. The Ice Queen covered her ears as her own screams of pain echoed in the room. She could feel the triangular scar on her back throbbing at the memory. Then the verbal abuse had come. The priests were telling her that she was the spawn of evil and that the mark would keep the devil inside her at bay. They repeatedly told her that she was a monster and that she would only bring harm upon the world.
Not being able to take the sight of her child self writhing in pain, so vulnerable looking, and trembling in fear, Aya turned her eyes away as her breaths came to her in quick pants. It was exhausting her. This whole ordeal was exhausting her both mentally and emotionally. So far she was in her own thoughts that she didn't see the priests leaving the child alone behind bars. When Aya turned to look again, her child self was already crying, wanting her sister to come to her. Not her mother. No. Not her mother but her sister. Maya had been the only one who had not looked at her in fear that day.
The scene blurred and once everything came into focus, little Aya was dressed in a white shirt only with her feet chained to the ground. She was sitting and hugging herself for warmth. The sorry excuse for food that lay on a tray near her cell door remained untouched. The Lady Tienade wasn't certain but this scene was probably two weeks into her confinement. Her memory of that time was blurry at best since days and nights did not matter when one was underground. She had not known the time of the day or of how long she had been down there, cold, hurting, and afraid.
"I did not save them," Aya said in the midst of silence, "I cursed them."
At that, little Aya lifted her head and the emotion in her eyes was pure hatred. No longer was she the worried child that had run after her sister before. She had been hurt and afraid for so long in that dark place and not anyone of the people she held dear had come for her. The memory of her mother's fear filled gaze had come to her dreams at night, never letting her rest. And Maya. Her twin's laughter had become twisted in her head and she had begun hating her too. Why had it been her? Why couldn't it have been Maya? They looked alike and were both from their mother so why her?
Slowly, little Aya stood up, hissing at the pain at her back but her eyes never wavered. Her eyes swung to the side as she heard someone coming. It was a priest, the one that had taken her food. He frowned when he saw that Aya had not touched the food. He began to throw her a lecture as he opened the cell and entered, a beating stick in his hand. He told her over and over again that a beast like her was lucky to have food and that she should be thankful for it. Aya did not flinch as he neared her frail form and raised his stick to hit her back, the part he knew was still stinging from the repeated markings.
Little Aya glared at the priest and suddenly, he began coughing. He dropped the stick and knelt on the cold ground. He gripped his neck, as if trying to release himself from a choke hold. In front of him, little Aya was smiling. She was clearly enjoying the way that he was suffering. Then the laughter came. That same evil and malicious laughter echoed throughout the cell and once again, that lady in bandages appeared behind Aya. One of the bandages had wrapped itself around the priest's throat and was choking him.
And then...the lady snapped his neck. The priest fell to Aya's feet with a loud thud. Instead of fearing the body, little Aya simply checked it for the keys to her chains. It was obvious that she had been planning this for a while already. She would not have been so composed if she had not. She was not going to spend another day being marked and told that she was a monster. She was going to see the sun again and she was going to go to a place where she could live and not be hurt by anyone ever again.
"That priest was my very first kill. He had been my uncle."
Need she explain anymore? She had been heartless enough to kill her own blood relative and she had enjoyed it too. What they had told her was true in her eyes. She brought nothing but pain and suffering to the world. She was a monster.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:59 am
He welcomed that laugh, the musical sound of it ringing through the scene that had only invited silence before. But it didn't last. Clearly his last words hit a sour note with her. He supposed it was likely this was the closest he may ever see the Ice Queen to breaking down in tears. And despite how pleasant it was, in a way, to see her human side laid bare, he also wished deeply that there was no reason for such sadness from her. He much preferred her laughter. She stepped closer, shaking her head slowly, and he stood as the room around them changed once more.
What he saw in the following scenes chilled him to the core far more than any winter's day could. He stood at her side watching with ever increasing fury as over and over he saw the child abused, there was no other word for it, in the name of ignorance and fear. The anger and agony of each new sob from the child, each harsh blow to her emotionally or physically, was unmissable in his face and eyes. He was positively fuming, a low growl in his throat as the brand seared her skin and scarred her permanently. Aya turned away, unable to watch. Guyy was unable to turn away.
After Aya spoke softly he shook his head, hands balled tightly into fists of anger. He didn't trust himself to speak at that moment. He set his jaw and glared at what he saw, his knuckles turning white and his nails digging into his flesh as if to in some small way share that pain. And he recognised the hatred in her eyes. It was like seeing into a mirror in a way. But he had not been so young, so vulnerable.
He glared too, with a more serious and dark growl, at the priest who entered and continued the verbal abuse. He almost trembled with impotent rage, knowing he was unable to do a damned thing but watch her suffer. If he could have... there would have been such pleasure in destroying that man. But the young Aya beat him to it. A simple snap of the neck was all it took to end his life. Humans. So fragile.
The laughter that echoed in the room was not the cheerful sounds of joy he adored hearing from her lips, or from a young girl. It was pure malice. He winced, recognising the tones all too well. It was the pleasure of destruction, the warning cry of chaos. The very same maniacal laughter that had passed his own lips frequently during his life. It was madness. It was then he saw flashes of the grown Aya. No more was this girl a frightened child. She was methodical, efficient and prepared. They were all traits he had come to respect in her, and rely upon. He felt the cool glass of the vial in his pocket through the material of his trouser pocket. It was something that had saved his life. And here it was saving her own.
"That priest was my very first kill. He had been my uncle."
Guyy turned to look at her, the pure rage in his eyes burning like a hidden fire inside him. He was almost hissing with fury when he opened his mouth to speak, the anger finally exploding from him.
"You did not curse them. You saved them. It was men like this... this corpse that cursed your family!" he growled with venom, aiming a kick at her uncle and knowing it did no good. He started pacing, prowling like a caged tiger from side to side and pointing accusingly at the man. "This man is the monster. Not that little girl. Not you. What sort of sick mind tortures a child like that?! Not even I have that sort of mind, and you have read about the things I used to do for fun in the newspapers of Durem. The fools couldn't even see what a blessing they had in you! No, they had to turn to ignorance and superstition!" He turned to face her, waving a shaking finger in front of her as he continued his rant.
"That man deserved to die. In fact you were far too merciful on him that day. A quick and painless death like that is too good for the likes of him! You should have torn him to pieces, and made sure he survived it long enough to see the hatred in your eyes, to repent and regret what he and his kind did to you!" He turned to glance at the body laying still and silent nearby. "He has no right to consider you family, nor should you think of him as your uncle. Blood relatives are not always our family. He needed to suffer. All of his kind need to suffer."
He shook with fury where he stood, giving her such a fierce look it might have been easy to think that he was about to turn that anger on the woman before him. But instead he took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, closing his eyes and rubbing at the bridge of his nose in frustration. When he reopened his scarlet eyes after a moment the anger was muted, swallowed by a deep sorrow.
"I am sorry, Aya. I am not angry at you at all. I am angry on your behalf." he apologised quietly. "Treatment like that has driven grown men to madness, the damage it must have done to a child... I cannot begin to imagine..." he turned to look sadly at the child Aya and then at her present self. It was instinctive when he pulled her into a hug against his chest. "Why is this place making you remember such depravity? It isn't right." he sighed.
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