|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:36 am
Amandier had never told anyone of his departure. To this day, the old fortune teller was the only one who even knew exactly how he had left. He looked sideways at the girl walking next to him, and considered telling her, but the thought was ripped from his mind as a foul scent assaulted his senses. Cecile sputtered and stopped, bending double, as the smell hit her, too. Amadier chanced another breath, and his stomach churned.
The air was dry smelling, with the strong accompaniment of death. Cecile made a noise of disgust and pointed silently long enough for Amandier to stop the corpse before bending double again. With a signal for her to stay were she was, he took a chance by approaching the dead thing. With every step, the stench of death grew stronger. Once he was close enough to see what the corpse was, Amandier’s eyes were watering, and he was struggling not too breath.
The dead dog lay just off the road. With what was left of it’s skin clinging to it’s bones, the thing had obviously starved to death. Scavengers had already been picking at it; bits were missing here and there. It’s mouth was open, but no tongue protruded out. Most of the fur had fallen off, and the skull could almost be seen. Amandier looked away from the dog and toward Loken. With eager steps, he left the rotting thing and went back to Cecile. With a bit of difficulty he pulled her up and persuaded her to continue towards the town.
The sun was setting behind the pair when they finally reached the outskirts of Loken. Passing a few makeshift shacks with smelled strongly of damp, rotted wood, the two entered the nearly deserted town. The scent of rotted wood grew a bit stronger. What few lights could bee seen in the windows of the broken buildings were dim. Amandier could hear a few rats scurrying through the darkness, and their beady eyes reflecting the light as they watched the pair pass. The while the decay was nothing to him, the silence made Amandier uneasy.
Stopping just outside the brightest building they had seen so far, though that wasn’t saying much, Amandier and Cecile exchanged a look. There was no door in the rotting, crooked frame, and the whole building looked to be at an angle. The front porch was sunk into the ground a bit, and it groaned in protest as Amandier stepped on it. Everything seemed to turn to silence as the two crept into the old building.
Once they were completely inside, a low growl came from the shadows. Both stopped, and the growled grew louder. A large, chocolate colored dog stepped out fro behind a counter. It was crouched low to the ground, and once it was completely in view it started to bark like mad. It snapped it’s jaws every so often, looking ready to attack. Amandier backed up a bit, pushing Cecile back with him; the dog resumed growling. His eyes quickly scanned the open room, which seemed to hold only a few tables and the bar from which the dog had come. In the far corner was a rickety looking stair case.
“Down, Nuewetta.” a rough voice called out. The dog calmed and backed up a bit as a shadow shifted. The voice sounded out again. “Whaddo you want?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:38 am
With another exchanged look, it was Cecile who spoke out timidly. “Please… We just need a place to stay for the night…” the shadow shifted again as she spoke, and this time moved the speaker into the light. He was a gaunt old man, with sunken eyes and sallow cheeks. There was a thin, scraggly beard on his chin, and the hair on top of his head seemed to be in the same state. The dirty rags Amandier supposed he would call clothes were the same grey as the man’s skin. On his feet, he worse no shoes. The old man looked the pair up and down, frowning all the while. Eventually, he gave a nod.
“Stey where e’er ya like… It ain’t no concern at me…” he said tiredly. He turned away from the pair, walking towards the shadows and taking a seat at an old, wobbly table. The dog laid at his feet, and he draped his legs over it, like a sort of foot stool.
Cecile frowned and looked to Amandier, who just shrugged. She seemed reluctant to take the man’s offer of staying, but Amandier urged her towards the stairs to find a room. He then turned back to the old man, who was just sitting at the table. “There’s no one left in the town, is there?” he asked suddenly. The man stirred, but did not look at Amandier. For a while he thought the old man either hadn’t heard him, or wasn’t going to answer. Eventually though, the man looked down at the table, and then gave something of a sigh and a tired growl as he shook his head.
“Dey’re all gone… Left when dey knew dey had tha chance… E’erythin’ in this country’s gone to hell. We’re lucky if we e’en get a couple a soldiers paddin through for tha war…” the old man sighed and shook his head again. “You and yer gurl should do tha same…” the old man said, nodding to himself as he said it.
“I know that much… I have no idea where to, though…” Amandier admitted. The old man just kept nodding. After another stretch of silence, Amandier went and sat across from the man, who looked up at him with tired eyes. Amandier gave him a bit of his smile and the man gave a sigh.
“Nothin’ makes sense anymo’…” the old man mumbled, and both nodded.
“A few days ago I was just…” Amandier trailed off, reluctant to continue. The old man, though, laughed. Amandier looked to find the first smile on his old face. He made a gesture, urging Amandier to continue. “I was just a thief…” he admitted, finding himself grinning a bit. The old man threw his head back and laughed a barking laugh. When he was done he nodded yet again.
“Could tell what cha were… Ain’t too hard… Though I ain’t e’er seen one tha’ looked as close to yo’ fa’er as you…” at this, Amandier gave the man a questioning look.
“My father?”
“The fa’er o’ all thieves. Paleb ‘imself.” the man offered. “Ya look exactly like ‘im…”
“You’ve been to the temple, then?” Amandier found himself asking. He had never met anyone that had. He himself had gone past it when he and the gypsies came to Kalour, but he had never gone inside. The old man had nodded to his question and gone on speaking a bit, but Amandier had stopped listening. After a moment, he jumped up and dashed from the room, bounding up the rickety stairs that threatened to break under his haste. He began checking rooms, unsure of which Cecile had taken. When he finally burst into the right one, the girl jumped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:39 am
She was sitting on a mat in the corner of the room, but that was all Amandier could take in. He tried to gather his thoughts, and sank into a spindly chair he had barely seen. Cecile looked at him, her confusion showing in her eyes. Amandier’s mind felt stupid and slow and he tried to form his questions for Cecile, and it seemed ages before he could get his tongue around them. “Did Valour ever have you go to Paleb’s tample?” he found himself asking before he was even aware of his speaking. Cecile just gave a nod. “What does he look like?”
The girl hesitated for a while, chewing on her tongue s though in thought. “It was a long time ago…” she said, shaking her head. “He looked… human. Like any other man… he…” her eyes widened. “He looked like you…” she said, her wide eyes meeting Amandier’s dazed ones. All he could do was nod weakly. Soon, though, he began to think aloud.
“First I met a girl who happens to be the only one who can control magic…” he started as he stod and began to pace. “For some reason, I can’t help but feel protective of this girl, and then! Then I’m told I look like the God who gave the humans magic in the first place! What the hell does it all mean? Why have I never heard this before?!” he cried out in frustration, falling onto the mat next to Cecile and sending a cloud of dust into the air. Thoughts flooded Amandier’s brain, but the most persistent was that their meeting wasn’t as coincidental as it first seemed.
“Paleb’s only temple is in this country…” he stated, thinking aloud again. Cecile just kept watching him as he muttered. “If we don’t go now… we may never be able to again… The temple could be destroyed in the war, or…” he trailed off and shook his head. With a heavy sigh, he looked to Cecile, but she shook her head.
“We can’t go! We’ll get killed if we do!”
“What else are we supposed to do, then?”
“Leave!” she shouted, standing to face him, so she could look down at him. As quickly as she had become angry she began to calm down. “Are any answers you need worth dying for?” she asked softly, looking down at the ground. Amandier was about to tell her exactly what she didn’t want to hear, but barks cut him off. Nuewetta was barking worse then she had when Amandier and Cecile had shown up. They heard the old man shout for her to quiet, but even when she hah stopped the old man’s voice could still be heard. With his heart in his stomach, Amandier crept from the room, motioning for Cecile to stay behind.
Miraculously, the stairs didn’t creak or groan as he crept down them. He moved down so he was still hidden from view, but that was far enough to hear that the soldiers had already managed to track Amandier and Cecile to Loken. They must have been just a few miles behind them on the road- they may have even seen the two enter the town. The old man insisted he was the only person in town, and if they were hiding there it was news to him. They could have never gotten into his inn, with a dog like Nuewetta, who was still growling.
There was a bit more arguing, and then a low growl, quickly followed by a yelp. The sound of a chair crashing to the ground, followed by scuffling and angry threats. Without thought he ran down the stairs, seeing the old man pinned up against the wall by a large soldier. There were three of them, all together, and only the one who was holding the old man by the front of his shirt was in armor. The other two were in simple tunics and leggings, with bracers on their wrists and a sword at their waist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:40 am
The armored soldier was shouting something at the old man, but Amandier had stopped listening. Something about a thief caught in his ear as he vaulted over the railing and landed in a crouch behind one of the soldiers. As all three began to turn towards him, Amandier moved towards the soldier nearest him and he straightened up a bit. The result was that his shoulder caught the soldier guts and both went sprawling. He straightened himself, with his knees on the soldier’s chest. Before he could throw Amandier off, he cupped his one hand with his other and swung his elbow up. It caught the soldier’s jaw, and then Amandier swung at the side of them man’s head, in an attempt to daze him.
By now the other soldier had recovered from the shock of Amandier appearing, and was now moving towards him, sword draw. He swung at the thief’s head, but he rolled back off the soldier and out of the way. Instead of attacking Amandier, he soldier’s sword plunged into his companion’s chest instead. There was a shuddering, choking gasp from the wounded soldier as both Amandier and the attacker got splattered with blood. The soldier looked down at his quickly dying companion in horror, and Amandier used his shock as an opportunity to arm himself.
Pulling the now dead soldier’s sword from his belt as the murderer seemed to recover. He rushed at Amandier, who barely had time to block. Both glared at each other before he shoved the soldier back and then launched his own attack. The soldier blocked him with ease, but as Amandier went to launch another quick attack, something hard and unseen connected with his shoulder and sent him to the ground. Having forgotten about the armored soldier, he had been free to get behind Amandier and attack. The soldier he had been fighting went to attack, and although he rolled out of the way, the armored soldier delivered a kick to his side, sending him sprawling at the feet of the other, attacking soldier.
As he raised his arm to attack again, there was a sharp bark and a streak of chocolate. Suddenly Nuewette was hanging from the soldier’s arm, blood gushing down her muzzle. The soldier gave a frightened cry and began flailing, trying to shake the dog off. Nuewetta seemed to be growling around the man’s arm, her expression feral. Amandier had retrieved his sword and was up in time to see the armored soldier going to his companion’s aid. He brought his sword crashing down on his plate covered arm. A shock ran through Amandier’s arms as the sword connected with the metal. He only managed to dent the armor, but the soldier still pulled his arm away with a hiss of pain. Glaring at him through his helmet, he drew his own sword.
With a growl far too similar to the dog’s, the man attacked. Amandier blocked, but the connecting force made him stagger backwards. Attack after wild attack, he kept backing up until he bumped into a wall. There was a pause where the soldier have him a sinister grin through his helmet. The soldier the resumed his forceful attacks, which Amandier managed to block, though his arms were getting tired. He received a few cuts on his arms as the soldier managed to push his block aside a bit. The grin showed itself again, and he swung at the thief’s head.
A reaction so fast he hadn’t even thought of it before hand, Amandier ducked the blow. The soldier’s sword sunk deep into the wall, from which he was unable to free it. Amandier rose and hit him in the jaw the same way he had the first, sending his helmet flying off. The man under the helmet had hair drenched and sweat and a short black beard peppered with grey hairs. They starred at each other as Amandier slipped un his arms and swung at his neck. The soldier let go of his trapped sword and went to dodge the blow, but it was too late.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:42 am
Feeling the impact go through his arm and seeing a spray of red hit the wall where only distant indications that Amandier had just killed this man. They kept starring at each other, the soldier’s eyes slightly shocked. It wasn’t until he slid sideways off the sword held tight in Amandier’s hands did he realize the red on the wall and on the sword was the soldier’s blood. He had never killed any one, and the realization of what he had done made him feel terribly sick. Dropping his sword which sent a clang resounding through the room, he leaned against the wall, trying to calm and prevent himself from vomiting. This didn’t work so well when he realized he had put his hands in the blood on the wall.
Wiping the bile from the corners of his mouth, Amandier looked around the room to see the other soldier had been mauled by Nuewetta. His eyes were open and staring, his face in shock. His throat was missing, and blood was pooling around the body. His vision slid in and out of focus, and he realized he was breathing heavily. There was a whimper, and his eyes came to focus on the bloodstained dog, who was limping toward her old man. He was slumped on the ground like a broken doll, his arms limp at his sides and his head slumped. There was a stain on the wall above him, and a matching one on his shirt.
Another whimper and the dog bent down, nuzzling the old man’s limp hand until she had gotten it on top of her head. She then moved carefully, so she was laying at his side with his arm draped over her, his sightless eyes starring down at her. The dogs eyes moved to Amandier, and for while the seemed to be an understanding between them. This dog was never going to get up again. She would lay there until she herself died. After a while Amandier chanced a look around the room, and then down at himself. He pulled off the blood stained tunic and began to clean his arms and face off as he walked back up the stairs.
Cecile was surprisingly still in the room. She looked at Amandier, and she said something, but he could hear her. She walked to him and her mouth moved. Amandier could have sworn she said something, but he never made out what. Instead, he walked past her and moved toward the bed. He went to turn and say something to the girl, but instead of turning he fell, and instead of speaking he lost consciousness.
*~*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:43 am
*~*
When he woke up, there was something heavy on his chest and a bright light in his eyes. Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun‘s attack, Amandier looked down to see Cecile sleeping with her head on his chest. It too him a moment to realize the arm that went around her waist was his own. He immediately felt he should move, wondering at the same time how he had gotten like this. Amandier found himself thinking hard, trying to remember how his shirt had come off. Once he had, he desperately wished he hadn’t.
His foggy mind was now going through last night’s events, and he was unable to stop it. He didn’t become sick when he thought of it all; the thoughts just sank into him like lead. His whole body felt bruised and tired, and now he was glad to have the excuse of Cecile sleeping on him to avoid moving. Everything felt like foggy dream- as though it hadn’t actually happened. Pictures of what the room would look like when he went down, though, flashed through his mind.
The armored soldier with his throat cut, and the other with his throat missing. The remaining soldier with the gaping wound in his chest, and the old man with his faithful dog by his side. The blood stains he knew would be on the walls and floor seemed to stand out as much as the corpse’s wounds. There was the memory of how his arm had shook when the sword in his hand had bit into the soldier’s throat. The warmth of the blood on the wall. Now that he was thinking about it, he could even recall the sick coppery scent it left in the air- the kind of scent that clung to your nose and burned your senses; comparable to that of a citrus fruit.
Amandier closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. All he could see, though, was the soldier’s eyes starring back at him. It was a great achievement that he did not gasp and tear his eyes open. They eyes in his memory look shocked and accepting at the same time. The soldier had know he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do. Amandier was sure no one ever wanted to die, though. His mind played the scene of the soldier falling off the sword in his hands, but in his mind it all happened very slowly. Then there was the flashing picture of the mauled soldier, and then his memory looped to the first death.
The girl stirred, rescuing Amandier from his thoughts. To his relief, she sat up and looked around, her sleepy eyes falling his. Cecile went a deep crimson, moving away from him a bit. Launching into an incoherent explanation of why she had been sleeping on him, her face steadily grew more embarrassed until he just shook his head and told her it was fine. Besides for that, not words were shared between them. So, it was silently that Amandier left the girl and went back down into the main room.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:44 am
The coppery scent of blood had been replaced by the repulsive scent of death. Some of the blood was still wet; Amandier found this out when he had to step through one to get to his destination. Standing above the corpse and looking into it’s eyes, the look was like he remembered. It was a look that said he knew he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. Amandier shuddered and then shook himself back into focus. He had not come down to stare at a dead corpse.
Looking to the sword that was still stick in the wall, Amandier began the struggle to free it. He was careful about it, though, because he didn’t want to go flying backward once it was free. After what seemed like forever, Amander managed to free the double handed weapon from the wall. With this done, Amandier then had t focus on not looking at the dead man’s face and he took the scabbard and belt off him. Normally, he would have gone around and gotten anything useful from the corpses. However, though, the sword seemed like more then enough. With a shout to his abandoned companion warning her to close her eyes as she came down, the pair was able to leave the building.
The silence between the pair continued all day as the walked away from Loken. When the night fell and the cloudy sky forced them to stop by the side of the road, the silence was almost unbearable. Loken was now a shadow in the distance, and the spare grass they had seen before was growing in large clumps. They were reaching the outskirts of the country, and leaving the dry lands behind. All Amandier could think of, however, was Paleb’s temple.
“We have to go, you know…” said he, shattering the heavy silence. All Cecile did was nod, though, and Amandier sighed. Laying back on the dusty ground, he stared up at the night sky. Everything that had happened these past few days felt like nothing but reaction. Fleeing for his life and fighting soldiers was definitely something he would not have done previously. Amandier had always managed to keep himself out of trouble, even when he was a child…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:45 am
Another bitter cold day, and he was hungry yet again. Their food supplies were low, and everyone was sent out to try and find their own food. Amandier had been able to obtain nothing, and was desperate to do anything but return empty handed. Two boys he knew ran past clutching meats as the butcher of the town ran after them. Amandier watched the man slip on ice and fall into the powdery snowy, allowing the children to get away.
Sarrone disapproved of Amandier stealing. The thought of ‘How would she know?’ often came to mind, but the gypsy woman always seemed to know everything. Amandier was not the kind of child to lie, but he thought it unfair that he should be different then any of the other children. Mostly all of them had some kind of thievery skill, and would often go out together to steal. Because of Sarrone, Amandier often had nothing in common and nothing to do with the children his age.
A strong, stinging wind carried the scent of freshly baked bread. It called out and drew him to the bakery like a moth to flame. Pressing his face to the glass, Amandier saw the portly baker inside. He was arranging the loaves of bread in a basket for display on the counter. Each loaf looked so appetizing in an individual way, Amander fancied the idea of having a bite of each. He then had the fantasy of how happy everyone would be if he brought the basket back- how impressed the other boys would be.
With each loaf of bread arranged appetizingly in the basket, the baker backed away to survey his work for a moment. Turning away, he started for the door that lead to the back of the shop. He brushed his hands on the apron he wore, sending bits of flower everywhere. With one last work a his work, the man receded into the back of the shop. Sarrone’s warning of what she would do to Amandier if he stole rang through his mind, and these had always been enough to stop him from stealing. However, a loud growl from his stomach silenced the echoes of warnings.
Dashing into the shop, the little gold bell above the door rang. Amandier dashed across the floor and plucked the basket off the counter. Back at the door in a flash, he looked back as he pulled it open. The baker had come into the room, and was looking shocked. Amandier ran as fast as he could, the basket clutched to his chest. He leapt through banks of snow and scrambled as fast as he could until he was sure no one was following him. Panting heavily, he checked over his shoulder to make sure he was alone.
Looking forward again, a cry tore itself from his lips, and he almost dropped his meal- his treasure, his prize. Sarrone was there in front of him, glaring down at his guilty face. “What have I told you about stealing?” she asked, her voice harsh. Her hands were on her hips, and she was bent forward slightly, making her look more intimidating then if she had just stood straight. A pang of regret and shame swam through him as she starred up at her. As quickly as it had come, it vanished. He had gotten what he wanted, hadn’t he? Something the baker could always make again. He pointed this out to Sarrone, and she just frowned.
“Adie..” she said softly, using his rare nickname. She only used it when she was about to lecture him. However, this time, Sarrone did not continue to speak. Staring down at him for a bit longer, she eventually sighed and turned away, walking to camp. Amandier let her get a few steps ahead of him before following the path she made through the snow, crunching on a bit of bread…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:45 am
A rock went spinning just past Amandier’s head, forcing him from his thoughts. He looked around, and spotted Cecile sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. The expression she wore on her face was blank, and her eyes were distant. Amandier turned the way the rock had gone, and saw it following a speedy rabbit. The rock looked as though it was doing this on it’s own, and was doing a nice job of keeping up. The rabbit weaved one way and the rock followed, as if attached to the rabbit by a string. If the rabbit got to far, the rock would change course a bit and direct it back towards their camp.
“Can you clean rabbits?” the girl asked suddenly. Looking back to her, Amandier saw she was still in her trance-like state. Her voice was as soft and calm as her expression. Nodding and opening his mouth to answer, a small squeak of fright stopped him. He looked, and saw the rabbit laying quite still a few feet away. Amandier walked to it to see the rock burring in the creature’s forehead. He looked back at Cecile, who’s expression was quite normal now.
“Cecile… How do you use your magic?” he found himself asking suddenly. Nothing had been said between the two as they cooked the rabbit, and the silence continued as Cecile chewed slowly. When she finally did answer, she was wearing the most inexplicable of expressions on her face.
“The same way everyone else does.” she said simply.
Whatever Amandier had been expecting, it was not this. He shook his head to her answer. “No…” he disagreed softly, and the girl looked surprised. “Everyone I’ve ever seen uses magic says words. They say incantations, to get their point across-” Cecile began to laugh.
“The incantations do nothing…” she managed to work out among her fits of giggles. “Magic is influenced and controlled by the user’s will. It is believed that words are what invoke magic, when really they just communicate the user’s will for everyone to hear. I could all I wanted about setting you on fire-” Amandier jumped and moved back a bit. “But because I don’t want this to happen, it won’t. If I truly wanted you do, and focused my energies on that, you would be rolling on the ground, writhing in pain.” she finished simply.
As if to prove her point, a bit of meat separated itself from the rest and went to her mouth, waiting for her to take it. “Really” she started again, chewing a bit. “Magic has nothing to do with words. They could help you concentrate on what you want, yes, but then everyone would know what you were trying to do. It just seems silly to me. Since I’ve been able to control magic my whole life with no explanation as to why, I couldn’t tell you what causes a spell to fail or succeed, though…” she finished, answering Amandier’s second question. It wasn’t long before he had formed another, though.
“So you’re saying…” he started, swallowing a bit of food as he trailed off. “That magic only happens because of how much the user wants something?” to this she gave a bit of a nod.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:46 am
“That’s where the ‘curse’ part of it comes into effect, though. Least, that’s what I think. If humans were allowed to get whatever they wanted, the world would have never had a chance. Of course, all the chaos it would cause seems to fit Paleb, but I think humans fretting over if their magic would work or not would amuse him even more…”
“It would amuse me…” Amandier found himself commenting in an undertone. The two exchanged looks before they burst out laughing. After their fits of laughter ended and they were wiping tears from their eyes, Amandier went back to the topic. “So how can you be sure your magic works every time?”
“It has so far, hasn’t it?”
To this Amandier found he could say nothing. He himself had never been desperate enough to try magic. He found himself wondering what success he would have at it. As he thought on it, the idea occurred to him the it was possible he couldn’t even use magic. He had no idea how to begin to attempt to use it, and if he did have the power, it was more then likely latent. He didn’t even want to try now, but instead asked his new question. “So do you think, since it’s possible for people to be born with complete control of their magic” he gestured to her. “Do you think it’s possible for people to be born with no control whatsoever?”
“It would make sense.” she answered with a shrug. “Some people have great success at some things while others fail completely, no matter how hard they try. There’s always the chance something things will work or not work. With magic its all the same.”
“What about not having magic at all? Is that possible?”
This time Cecile spent longer considering the question. Eventually she nodded to herself, and seemed ready to answer. “I guess it’s really the same situation, in a way. Some people have some abilities while others don’t… However, I think in order to be born without magic, you parent’s parents must have not used it, nor let their children use it. Then the ability would get lost, I suppose…”
“So if humans stopped trying to use magic, eventually they wouldn‘t be able to even if they wanted? It would just be lost to them forever?”
“I would assume so. If you don‘t practice and ability over time, you lose it. If you don‘t have the ability, it‘s not very likely your children will, and even if they do, who would teach them how to use the ability?”
“But then wouldn’t it also be possible…” he started, speaking slowly, for he was trying to think through everything she had just said and form his question at the same time. “For people to gain complete control of their magic if they practiced it.”
“Yes…” she said slowly, giving a bit of a nod. “I guess so, but because some spells can go horribly wrong, I think it’s unlikely anyone would ever practice. The fear of being gravely injured is too great, I would think…”
Amandier found he had no more questions, and could only nod. He still didn’t try to use whatever ability he might have. In his opinion, he was better off without it. There were people like Cecile who used it as she just had, for food. Amandier supposed it would be important to them. He had been raised without it, though, and was just fine without it. He didn’t need a concentration of will power to get what he desired. All he needed was his honed skills of charm and wit. With a small smile, he laid back down.
Stars were glittering in the dark night sky. Amandier couldn’t help but feel a wave of calm wash over him. The dark blanketed all the wrongs in the world, and filled him with a contentment he seldom felt. Suddenly, Amandier found himself filled with boundless energy. It was as though he could run to Paleb’s temple and back, and feel no fatigue. Looking to the girl, he saw the same strange energy glittering behind her eyes. Jumping up, she wordlessly mimicked him, and suddenly the both took off running. Amandier felt the biggest of grins spread across his face as they both ran through the night towards the temple.
*~*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:48 am
*~*
“Currius!” the God shouted. Though his voice was filled with anger and disapproval, the small brown Deity stuck its head into the room. It looked like a large, overgrown mouse. He starred into the room for a moment before scampering to the God’s side, his ears perked. “Have you been influencing again?” the God asked angrily. The Deity stared at the God for a moment, it’s amber eyes wide, before shaking it’s head.
“Yes you have, I can tell!” the God blamed, glaring down at the thing. “Tell me, now, what have you done this time?” the creature just stared at him. So, the God stared back. After a long moment of silence, the creature just scampered off. “Currius! Get back here!” the God shouted, desperate for his answer. The Deity stuck his head out from behind a pillar, and then, with something like a sigh, returned to the God’s side.
“If you must know, I have…” Currius said as he jumped onto the marble table in front of the God. His voice was scholarly, and once he was in front of the god and went onto his back legs, looking away with regality. Anger emanated from the God, but the small Deity held it’s ground. “If I hadn’t, the soldiers would have caught up with them, and then where would your master plan be?”
“If could have been redone…” the God sniffed, as if offended. In fact, the God found he was- Here was a Deity scolding him, Paleb, on his plans. “These aren’t the first two I’ve tried this with…” Paleb said defensively. He tried not to let too much emotion into his voice.
“And the reason you’re stuck with these two is because all the others never got to the end!” the creature said indifferently. “What you do after is your choice, but I’m seeing to it that, for once, your plan goes to the end!”
With that, the pushy little creature ran off, leaving Paleb frowning after him. The Deity was too sure of himself and his powers, which bothered Paleb. Here he was, enjoying the fruits of his labor, and the little dolt has to go and jar the whole situation. It was true, Paleb had made sure these two were created for higher purposes, but he was anxious to see how they played out on their own, as well. That was what always got him. Watching the one deal with their extraordinary magical abilities while the other tried to comprehend as to why they had none.
Paleb had wanted to watch the destruction Cecile would ensure while Amandier became one of the greatest thieves ever. Then Currius influenced the two into meeting, and the God’s problems with the Deity had started. These two were made for each other. Two halves of a whole. That was the Deity’s argument. He begrudgingly accepted this, and even somewhat enjoyed watching the two interact. When Currius influenced them yet again, so Amandier felt compelled to go to Paleb’s temple, the God found himself less angry. The thief’s reaction to the news he bore a likeness with Paleb amused the God, and he forgave the creature slightly.
However, as the two lay on the side of the road, yet another division of soldiers made their way after them. They would catch up by night fall, and the pair wouldn’t stand a chance. Not she, with her incredible abilities, nor he, with his natural skill, could have warded them off. Paleb was slightly downtrodden that this was going to happen, but excited at the same time to watch and feel the internal struggle of the soldiers as they killed the one chance they had at winning their war. With another bit of influencing, though, Currius once again had them headed to the temple.
While it was true the temple was the main goal of every pair Paleb had created, he always found himself making excuses of why he never had the halves meet or journey to the temple. In truth, he was always more interested in their lives then seeing his plans through. Neither halve ever made it to the temple at the same time, if at all. The temple was the ultimate goal for the halves. There, they could become whole. Paleb suffered the same distraction with Amandier and Cecile as the rest. However, Currius forced the two together, and once they were together, they could never part.
They could never part, and once they got to the temple, they would be whole. Once they were whole, everything would stop, and his plan could finally be executed. After years of wondering, Paleb was going to find out what the next step was…
*~*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:50 am
The temple could be seen on the horizon, not too far off. For a day now, the distant shadow of the temple was what had kept the pair going. Their inexplicable energy had worn off after a few hours of running, but they had covered a lot of distance. Besides for that night, they traveled at a regular pace and made it to the temple in three days instead of five. Now they were surrounded by dry, brown grass. There was a white, dead tree not too far off. It’s branches were gnarled and twisted in the most awful way.
When they reached it, Amandier leaned against the trunk and slid to the ground, while Cecile stood. Her arms were crossed, and she looked tense as she scanned the horizon in the direction they had just come from. Her mouth was set in a slight frown. Amandier felt jumpy, and knew he wouldn’t be calm until they reached the temple. “There’s something moving on the horizon…” Cecile said suddenly, her voice sounding distant. Amandier stood and looked in the same direction as she. After a moment, though, he was forced to admit he saw nothing.
“You’re just seeing things… Come on, if we keep going we can make it before nightfall…”
Excitement filled the young thief with every step. He wasn’t sure how the temple was going to answer any of the questions that had come into his mind since the night at the inn, but he knew it was his only chance at getting the questions answered. Cecile kept glancing behind them, as they walked. This made Amandier jumpy, and when he found himself looking behind them, he asked her, in a very irritated tone, to stop.
The setting sun made the white marble temple glow orange. Large, marble pillars decorate the front. Two large and heavy looking doors were at the top of a short flight of stairs. Amandier couldn’t make out much of the inside of the temple, besides for that the ceiling looked flat while the outside or the roof seemed to have a peaked design, and there were torches burning inside.
“Amandier!” Cecile cried, cutting his admiration of the temple’s exterior short. He turned to see a mass of soldiers moving to the temple. Their armor glowed with the reflection of the setting sun as they ran forward. Suddenly it all seemed useless. If they want into the temple, Amandier and Cecile would be trapped. No matter what answers they could have gotten, all seemed completely unavailable now.
“We have to run…” Amandier mumbled, mostly to himself. However, he found he was only able to move when Cecile grabbed his hand and pulled him along. She pulled him along and into the temple, but it wasn’t until the doors slammed shut behind him that he realized they had run into the temple and not away from the soldiers. He turned to Cecile, who seemed to fling herself at him at the same time. Her arms went around his neck and she was making a soft of whimpering noise.
“I’m sorry…” she whispered into his chest. “This is all my fault… All my fault…” she gave a dry sob. Amandier, unsure of what to say, just put his arms around the girl. He wanted to tell her nothing was her fault; he had been the one who wanted to go to the temple. Doing what he had wanted had only gotten then exactly what the girl had predicted. All he found he could do, though, was hug her close in a comforting sort of way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:51 am
A thud at the door made them both jump and separate. Amandier looked do the door, which, with a second thud, moved inward a bit. Turning, his eyes scanned the room. There were pillars along the walls, enough room to walk between them and the wall behind them. There was a strange, circular design on the floor in the center of the room. He stared down at it as he walked past, avoiding stepping on it. There were only two torches in the temple, and each burned on the sides of a large statue. The statue was the focal point of the main room, and almost as tall as the building itself. It depicted the playful God grinning mischievously, in a pose as if he had just done the final step of a dance. He had large bangles around his wrists, a tight sleeveless tunic, and normal leggings. Amandier looked down at his own outfit, and then back up at the God grinning at him. He grinned back at his marble twin, and this seemed to please it.
Thud.
“Cecile…” Amandier called out, his voice nothing but a hoarse whisper. Looking around the room several times, he finally spotted her in the middle of the circular design on the floor. He silently wondered who he could have no seen her there; she stood only feet behind him
Thud.
“Cecile…” Amandier whispered yet again. The girl, however, was unresponsive. She was starring up at the god’s grinning face, her expression blank and her eyes holding the same distant look that had held in them when she had been making the rock follow the rabbit.
Thud. The dazed-looking girl took a small step forward. Thud. She took another. With every thud at the door, Cecile took a step away from the center of the circle and towards the statue. She walked past Amandier, giving no notice to his attempts to get her attention. It seemed all he could do was watch her step forward to the beat of their oncoming death, until she was at the base of the statue. Pausing there, her eyes left the God’s and scanned slowly down until she was staring ahead of her. A shaking hand moved forward and put itself on the base of the statue while her eyes looked up again.
Her eyes became wider, and she seemed to see something. Cecile stared up at the statue as one would stare at the person telling her crucial information. Then she took a few hurried steps backwards, her eyes wide and frightened. Amandier went towards her slowly, until he could have reached out and touched her. Suddenly, though, there was a thud followed by a thick crunch, and Amandier whipped his gaze around to the door. Another hit, and he saw where the door was beginning to splinter.
The thought that the lords and ladies would go so far for this girl was one Amandier would not have believe had he not been in the temple. Then again, Amandier would not have believe much of what he had found out in the past few days, were it not for this girl. Not so long ago, he had been just a thief. Now he bore the likeness of a God, and was about to die because for some reason the person he had found himself most attracted to was the only confident magic user. Looking back to the grinning statue, Amandier couldn’t help but late a grin spread over his face. He supposed some things were just meant to be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:54 am
He turned towards the door again, and found Cecile in front of him. Staring calmly at the door, she didn’t turn to Amandier as she spoke. “Get behind the statue…” she said, her voice mirroring her calm expression. What she said was not a request, but a command. Amandier went to argue, but Cecile started speaking again right as he did. “I’m not going to be able to kill them all, and so once they have me, they won’t care about you. I thank you for getting me this far, but it’s over… I’ve had a taste of elusive freedom for the first time since my childhood, and I’m content with it…”
“Cecile…” he said softly, starting up his protest again, but she shook her head. With another thud and crack, light spilled into the room. Cecile’s eyes grew hard as she continued to stare at the door. Amandier reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, and she turned to look at him. In the short moment between the next attack on the door, they stared at each other. When the next crunch came, though, Cecile shoved him backwards. Amandier stumbled and landed hard on the polished floor, sliding back into a pillar. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and for a moment all he could do was watch as door broke open and soldiers spilled into the temple.
Cecile walked to the center of the circle and took a defensive stance. Amadier was unsure of what she wanted to happen, but was sure that whatever it was, it wasn’t happening. Everything was happening faster and slower then normal at the same time, reminiscent of the first time he had watched Cecile use magic. Amandier felt himself scrambling upward and drawing his sword and he urged his legs to carry him to Cecile. The soldier in the lead, though, seemed to be moving faster then Amandier. Cecile was still in the same defensive pose. It seemed that, for once, Cecile’s curse was just like any other human’s, and would leave her to die in the temple of the one who had cursed her.
The lead soldier’s sword was poised to be plunged into Cecile’s stomach. Amandier kept running, but he felt as though his legs were made of led as he ran. He had managed to free his double handed sword from the scabbard, but as he reached the circle, and the soldier reached Cecile, a bright light seemed to flood Amandier’s vision. Everything seemed to stop, and when the light died a bit, all he could see was Cecile standing on the circle design with him. They stared at each other for a long time.
“We’re dead, aren’t we?”
Her voice was soft, but calm. In fact, it was accepting. Although Amandier was unsure what had happened to him, he knew the soldier had reached Cecile, and so he only assumed he had been killed to. With this worked out, he just nodded. She looked down at the ground, but Amandier found himself smiling. An inexplicable contentment had filled him, and he couldn’t help but smile. He felt nothing but the emotion of contentment, and the fact that he existed. Cecile looked up to see him smiling and went to speak, but the sound of clapping stopped her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:55 am
The pair was in a long hall way, that looked as though it had been stretched. At the end was Paleb, but he was walking towards them, clapping softly. Behind him was an overgrown mouse, walking on it’s back legs. Although he was clapping, and his expression was bemused, Paleb’s voice sounded nothing but bored when he spoke. “Well, you two have served your purpose…” Amandier and Cecile gave him questioning looks, and Paleb just gestured for them to look around.
The circle they were standing on was glowing dully, but besides for that, nothing else seemed to exists. The hallway Paleb had just walked at the towards was gone, and all the group was surrounded with could only be described as nothingness. Before they could question the God on what he meant, the small brown mouse spoke up. “You two were created to be together. Once united here, you set a chain of events into motion, ultimately destroying the world you knew.” the creature said this all as if it were a common known fact.
“We were created to destroy the world?!” Cecile cried out in disbelief, taking a bold step toward the God. Paleb just grinned mischievously and nodded. Amandier stood, frozen with shock. His eyes never left the God’s face.
“You two a two halves of a whole.” the God said simply. His voice held no empathy for the two. “You two were meant for each other, and to be together. The world was old, and corrupted. I got bored with observing the human’s struggle with magic long ago. I devised an amusing plan to destroy the world just as long ago, but kept finding more amusing things that sidetracked me…” the God admitted, his grin still on his face. Amandier swore he would never smile again after watching his God-twin grin at them like this. The grin was almost sadistic.
When Cecile just glared at Paleb, his grin vanished, and his expression became slightly pleading. “I’ve given you something many would love! You’ve got a soul mate- someone to be with for the rest of your lives! Now that you’re together, you two are Gods! Well, not really Gods… more like Deitys… Still, though… Now that you‘ve found your soul mate, you can be with each other for the rest of your now immortal lives!” the God smiled what looked like an attempt at a comforting smile. “I’ve given you a gift, really!”
“What are we the God’s of, though?” Amandier shouted, finally speaking. “There’s no more world, so what are we the Gods of, in the first place? What if neither of us want God status, or immortality?”
“Many would love to be in your position..” Paleb countered, echoing Amandier’s words from the night he and Cecile had first met. However, the God walked away, the little brown creature at his heels. They stood just out of ear shot for a long while before coming back to the two, the God looking irritated. If a mouse could look smug, Amandier was sure that’s what the creature was looking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
