|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 9:02 am
Anarel immediately fixated his gaze onto Maya, surprised at her question. She had already brought the conversation to where it had to be, and Anarel wasn't quite ready to answer it just yet.
He paused in his response, thinking deeply about what to say. But nothing elaborate or intricate would come to mind. The obvious answer was a simple "yes."
"So, you must know already. You know what events have stirred the gods, and what Loki's intentions are?" he said inquisitively. Anarel furrowed his brow, thinking back to his last encounter with Omie that seemed like ages ago. She has no idea of who her true mother is, or am I mistaken?
He tried to study her face, read her facial expressions to understand what she might be thinking, but the forlorn look on her face was too honest. He looked to the ground, feeling unsafe, as what they spoke of, anyone, or anything -- could be listening in. Despite the reassuring fact that gods could actually die, which would make his task much easier, the sickening feeling in his gut would not leave entirely.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:58 am
"Open the door to the slumbering ghost, but first you must possess Four keys of earth and one key of spirit. Break the seals upon the living gate with the key of spirit, and the door to the slumbering ghost shall open." Maya pulled her hands together at her chest, one rubbing the other.
"Who told you of Loki's Tomb?" Her eyes glanced over at him, studying his every move and action. "And..why do you want to open it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:43 pm
Anarel read the look of worry on her face. He sighed.
"You already know," he said, looking her dead in the eye.
Anarel did not know if he should answer her question. Telling her that he learned of Loki from her real mother, Maya would not believe it.
"It does not matter who informed me of Loki." Anarel then turned his head to the window.
"You must realize that the task before me is most difficult. Without your help, it would prove to be impossible."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:37 pm
Maya's eyes narrowed as she gazed at him. She opened her lips as if to say something but quckly stopped, her hand going to her mouth as she began to cough painfully. When the fit was over she seemed a little dazed, staring at her hand which covered her mouth, before turning her back and washing it off in her sink.
She was silent a moment in thought.
Funny. They separate me yet I will die without being whole. But being whole, I may lose myself entirely. Funny, funny world.
"I suppose first you want to know where his tomb is, don't you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:56 pm
Anarel straightened his posture in concern for Maya. The coughing fit made him worry. His eyes focused on her more intently.
He endured her silence, realizing what they spoke was a very sensitive matter.
"Yes, it would help a great deal," he said softly.
What are these keys she speaks of?
Anarel tried his best to hide his concern for her, and for the journey that lay before him. Anarel wanted to portray that he wasn't phased by the fact that ultimately, he would have to face a god. It was one of his many personality quirks -- trying his best to look calm, cool, and collected under pressure, even if he felt otherwise.
Deep within the recesses of Anarel's mind, something hoped that Maya would not only give him the information needed, but also, accompany him on his journey. He felt relief at the thought of have someone to join him, especially one that knew more of the task at hand than he did.
Nighttime continued to permeate the forest. Anarel yawned softly, but kept silent afterward.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:07 pm
Maya took a few steps toward him, picking up his hands with hers. She gave a light tug until he stood, and guided him outside and around the little house to the pond behind it.
The greyish trees seemed to turn green as they dipped their large, gnarled roots into the pond water. The soft glow of fireflies illuminated the area along with the lanters maya had placed at various areas. At the far end of the pond, a pillar stood out of the water - moss growing up its side, the words upon it wearing out with age.
Maya let go of Anarel's hands, giving a soft chuckle as she took to the air in a little whirl of flight, landing gently upon the top of the pillar, crouching down to her knees on the top of it. Her long hair dropped as she did, but then slowly raised in the air as if floating on water, along with folds of her clothes.
The pond water's small waves stilled, and droples began to rise in front of Anarel, until the water parted in strip as large as a pathway, which went from Anarel to where Maya sat upon the pillar. The disappeared from around the pillar, and revealed it was attached to a small platform with a large glyph on it, that immedatly began to glow a shade of hot aqua.
"Long ago, the people who live on the second moon came to Asgard, and as a gift they put these through out the world." she motioned to the pillar and platform. "They're like doorways, sort of. This one goes to a very special place. Care to find out where?" she grinned in an almost playful way, swinging her legs from where she sat atop the pillar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:06 pm
Anarel furrowed his brown and looked into her eyes, searching for some kind of answer that wasn't sheathed in riddle.
He couldn't find one, but he continued to look into her playful eyes, his gaze darting from one pupil to the other.
"W-wait, where will it take me?" Anarel said as he stood at the edge of the pond where the water made its pathway division. For some reason, he wasn't astonished or amazed by the sorcery she casted upon the pond. Anarel had already accepted the fact that this lantern witch will be full of surprises, whether or not he was prepared for them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:36 am
Maya hopped down to the damp ground, taking a few strides forward to grasp his hands, tugging him onto the platform with her, soflty giggling like a playful child might.
A feeling of weightlessness came upon them as they touched the glyph on the platform, and the area around them seemed to disappear in a bright teal light before fading. They now stood in an enirely different area.
Immensely large roots rose from the ground, small orbs of loose mana floating in the atmosphere. There was a large door entangled in the roots, and it appeared to be missing a stone or some embedded object once within it.
Maya walked to it, placing her hand on the door. "This is the door to the tomb, buried deep within the roots of Yggdrasil."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:39 pm
Anarel's eyes scanned the area, both alarmed and curious at the same time.
"T-This is the Yggdrasil?!" Anarel said in a stifled whisper. He had only learned of the Yggdrasil through story and myth, but never knew that the famed tree actually existed.
He glanced at the tomb's doorway, then to the trees roots, overwhelmed by everything. Everything was before him now, everything he imagined he would have to strive for was here, in front of his very eyes, and it was all because of Maya.
Maya -- the harmless lantern witch that gathered medicinal herbs in the Twilight. Or was she?
Anarel immediately yanked his hand from Maya's grasp. A wave of skepticism and feelings of betrayal fell over his body and mind. He staggered back, wide eyed and confused. His arm reflexed back on its own, guiding Anarel's hand to unclasped Modi from his belt. He then shook the blade at her.
"What is this?!," he waved the blade around, gesturing at the surrounding area. "All of this?! Who are you really?!" he shouted at her, frantically.
Why does Maya possess this kind of sorcery? How can she? She must be more than who she playing herself off to be. This young witch had hidden intentions, and Anarel wasn't going to let himself fall victim to them.
"Speak the truth! Who are you...?!" he demanded once more, the blade remained steady, pointed aggressively in her direction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:17 pm
Maya stared wide-eyed at the knife in front of her, being gestured menacingly towards her. Her lip seemed to tremble and her eyes seemed to glisten as she took a few steps away, bringing a hand to her partly opened mouth.
"I don't....really know..." she took several more steps away, not wanting to be close to this now threatening person. She had been foolish to leave her lantern back in her home to show him this.
All this time she had forced herself to no longer remember her origins, that she didn't recall them anymore. She only knew she had lost a large part of her, and without it she would slowly but surely die.
Her eyes caught the gleam of the blade which was so intently focused on her., but then her eyes caught something else behind Anarel. Such a huge beast, yet its feet made no sound upon the ground as it pounded toward Anarel.
The corpse-eater nidhogg, beastly serpent who fed upon corpses of nifleheim as well as the roots of Yggdrasil.
Maya frantically glanced at the oncoming Nidhogg and Anarel. When he made no move or action to signify his knowledge of the beast, Maya ran toward him, giving him no time to draw back or move. His blade sliced across her arm as she shoved him hard to the side with the assistance of the little gravity she could wield, throwing him a safe distance away.
Nidhogg gave a horrifying scream that sounded like a woman being skinned alive, lowering its head to capture Maya in its teeth, shaking her violently in its giant mouth like a vicious dog, before tossing her into the side of a large root. Maya slumped to the ground, blood pooling around her from the various gashes made by the creature's large, knife-like teeth.
Nidhogg gave a wary glance to Anarel and seemed to trot off, proud of what it had done, disappearing quickly into the roots once more.
There was an eerie silence in the moments that followed, being broken only by the rain which began to fall in the area. Maya stood up, dazed from Nidhogg's onslaught. Red soaked into the white of her clothes, staining the white of her skin. She looked at Anarel for a moment, her hand covering the gash from his blade upon her shoulder, before she turned and fled from him, into the roots of Yggdrasil.
(( If Maya seems a little over-kind and overly-valorous, you'll find out why soon xD))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:37 pm
((WALL OF TEXT!))
Anarel made a short, sudden gasp as Maya lunged forward at him. His arm remained rigid, leaving the blade out at a deadly angle. Her arm had skidded across the blade, leaving a large gash in her flesh.
Somehow, he was caught by some force, wrapping around his chest, stomach, and waist, making him lift slightly from the ground. Maya then pushed him to the side with ease. He then was launched into the rough surface of a giant root that came from the Yggdrasil. His head had slammed into the root, the impact being so sudden and so great, he lost consciousness. His world turned blurry, then dark as he drifted into the dark recesses of his own mind, oblivious the happenings that went on thereafter.
Slits of dim light flooded his pupils as he managed hard to open them. He was now seeing double, as dark things seemed to crane over his head, both menacing and protective. For a few minutes, he had no idea where he was. A few things darted into his mind, a few possibilities -- he was at home, in Erudia, he was back in the ancient palace, he was resting in Maya's home...Maya.
Maya!
As reality began rushing back into him full force, a cold throbbing weightlessness filled his brain and forehead. It then slowly subsided, and harsh pounding took its place, driving into his skull. Anarel winced, afraid to open his eyes again. He saw flashes of Maya's worried face as she rushed into him, staring above him, at something...He heard and saw nothing before that. What was she doing?
He leaned up onto his elbows, feeling the large root he had slammed into push him over onto his side.
"Grah..."
His clothes and hair were soaked in water, and smudges of blood ran translucent down his skin, mixing with the water. He shook his head. Droplets of water dripped from his nose and eyelashes. He finally looked up. Large roots gnarled above him, craning over him several stories high. He was still at the base of the Yggdrasil. So it wasn't an illusion. Everything was real. He glanced off far in front of him. He spotted the door Maya first introduced to him -- the closed entrance to Loki's tomb. His gaze wandered, following down a small, thinner root that snaked from the door to the ground. His eyes followed the root until they paused at the sight of a large pool of blood, surrounding by handprints and smearing -- signs of struggle. Bloody footprints trailed off from the red pool, wavering to and fro as if whoever that left those prints was severely inebriated.
His focus immediately darted to the welfare of Maya. Where was she? He could not find her. Anarel then glanced back to the blood foot prints that led into the tangled thicket of roots, heading deep into the center of the Yggdrasil.
Alarmed, Anarel quickly sat up, the throbbing pain suddenly growing fierce to the point he could hear the veins themselves expand and contract underneath the tight skin of his aching temples.
He pushed against the pain, using the alienated feeling it gave him to drive himself onto his feet. He wavered slightly to regain balance. He spotted Modi on the ground, covered in blood.
Did I do this to her? Anarel glanced to the pool of blood once more, after retrieving the dagger from the ground.
He swallowed, staring into the criss-cross maze of roots that made up the base of the Yggdrasil. A wave of guilt and hopelessness fell over him. He was certain something had happened to her. She was severely wounded, and by his own hand. He shouldn't have acted irrationally.
"Maya!," Anarel yelled so that the echo stretched deep into the cage of mysterious roots before him. He furrowed his brow at the reply of silence he was given. His entire body was soaking wet, but he paid little mind to it.
He swallowed even harder this time, gripping Modi's bloody hilt even tighter. Anarel knew what he had to do now, and it was the most logical thing to do -- he had to find her. But questions arose in his mind once more; Why did she run? if she was wounded, why did she feel she had to flee, and into the Yggdrasil for that matter? And that look of worry on her face, what was she looking at?
Anarel hesitated, gazing over the menacing body of tangled roots, branches and other warped limbs of bark that extended far beyond the canopies of cloud above. His heart pounded.
He then ventured into the darkened roots, ducking under and stepping over things in order to get deeper within the Yggrasil. Anarel followed the trail of red.
"Maya!" he called out once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:01 am
Exasperated breath echoed back to her as she continued trudging through the maze of roots, until she came to a sort of wall of them that led to a higher area of the trunk. There were large stair-way like stems growing up it, which she climbed up, finally collapsing at the top of the thick branch, leaning against part of the trunk.
Her eyes closed, rain drops plitting against her milky cheeks and soaking her dark hair.
What am I doing? What am I thinking?
The rain. It was raining on that day, too. The day she was "born", when she awoke beaten and bloodied, lying naked in the dirt and mud, rain pouring down upon her, and no memories to answer why her heart pained her so.
I want to be angry... perhaps even vengeful that he threatened me, yet I find myself in tears...why is that? Maya cringed from the injuries Niddhogg gave to her, the gashes tender and still oozing fresh blood.
It was stupid of me to be so trusting, and leave myself defenseless like this... Maya grimmed, thinking of what fate might possibly await, should nidhogg return, or should anarel think she tried to take his life and seek her out to finish her off.
I thought maybe though, he was different, he had to be, if he braved the twilight just to find me... Blood began to run down the side of Yggdrasil' roots and trunk, dilluted with water.
I'm so stupid... he threatened me, he was gonna hurt me, I should'a let that stupid beast smack him around a little, why am I so dumb? Her vision grew dim, her head beginning to reel. She could vaguely here Anarel's voice calling her name, but it came to her distorted and muffled, barely a presence of a voice shouting across the gargantuan roots of Yggdrasil.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 11:15 pm
His vision pulsed with blurriness, turning the atmosphere into a vast, water colored painting. He carried his feet lazily across the ground. The horrible thumping in his head hindered his movement. Anarel wanted to fall to the ground. He couldn’t understand why he was so tired, drained even. His eyelids felt heavy.
Frustration, confusion, and hopelessness crept over his body, like fingers prickled with thorns.
The tangled roots ran in different directions before him, endlessly zigzagging and curling across intersections of bark and wood as far as his archer eye could see. There was still no sign of Maya, and the blood trail faded the farther he moved deeper in the Yggdrasil.
But despite the emptiness that grew heavy in his chest, within the Yggdrasil, there was a calmness. He could see it in the thin bars of light that managed to weave through the roots, highlighting small areas of the ground. It was awe-inspiring, ancient, and humbling.
As his feet continued to shuffle, one foot in front of the other, mindlessly obeying their mentally drained owner, they led Anarel to a small clearing, empty of the intrusion of roots.
He stood in the center. Anarel could feel the immense blood flow of mana that circulated within the tree's roots, the source of all life. His lungs expanded, taking in deep breaths. It felt like he was taking in the Yggdrasil itself. It was alive, and breathing. The feeling was unexplainable.
“Poor girl. Another of Nidhogg’s playthings…” A raspy voice was heard way up high in the canopy of roots.
Startled, Anarel quickly spun around to face the source of voice with an arrow already viciously strung back in his bow.
He narrowed his eyes, but could see no one.
“Elf?”
He shifted to his right, hearing the voice from a different direction. Something scurried within the roots. It was large, and extraordinarily fast.
“No, half-elf…this one is…” The voice hissed.
“Reveal yourself!” Anarel shouted. He tugged harder against the bow string.
“What business do you have here,” The voice replied, coupled with sounds of scurrying above Anarel’s head. “I imagine the feathered one would like to know…”
Anarel quickly aimed his eyes and bow above him.
A large, red-furred creature sat high above on the roots that stretched over him. A long, bushy tail could be seen, wagging devilishly back and forth.
“Who are you?!” Anarel shouted.
The animal looked down at him through the dim light caused by the tangled roots that would only let small amounts of light to pass through.
“Ratatosk. I am Ratatosk.” the voice replied, coyly, “…you’re searching for the bloody girl, are you not?”
Maya!
Anarel could not make out what kind of animal the creature was. He lowered his arrow slightly, but kept it ready slung back.
“A girl…not too far from here I’ve seen. She lays, wounded, against the Yggdrasil.”
Anarel lowered his aim even more, distracted by the fact that this creature knew of Maya and her whereabouts.
“Can you show me in what direction she is located?” Anarel replied, less louder, but still assertive in manner.
The creature then stood up on all fours, shaking itself. Twigs and leaves fell from high above onto Anarel. Then suddenly, the roots above began to creak noisily. The creature leaped off of the branches, and landed on the moist ground a few feet from Anarel with a loud thud. Bits of mud splattered into the air.. Its bright red fur was now illuminated by the bars of light that surrounded Anarel. The creature was twice as large as Anarel, and had the striking resemblance of an ordinary squirrel.
“I can take you to her.” the large animal said, now rearing back on its hind legs. Something suspicious clung to the creature's words.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 11:49 pm
Silence seemed to fill her head, and her eyes closed, no longer able to stay open. Maya scolded herself silently for her stupidity, over and over again. She could easily mend herself if she tapped into the sap of hte yggdrasil, but to do so without the yggdrasil's permission was sacrilige.
"Poor tree, I'm sorry I dribble blood all over your perfect roots." she mumbled, almost a rambling babble of a whisper. Why she had run so far away, and into the yggdrasil of all places, she did not know.
She had felt his feeling of betrayal, though she had not known what she had done. Trying to figure this out, she faded into sleep, an arm falling to her side, dangling off the side of the root.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 10:11 pm
Ratatosk was a creature of great speed and agility. The animal bounced and leaped from branch to root, leaping to the ground to run, then repeated the process over and over again as it traversed deeper into the depths of the Yggdrasil.
Anarel clung tight to the beast's red fur. His belly lay flat against its back . The ride was bumpy, but it was better than being on foot by himself.
Anarel squinted to keep his eyes from drying out. At the same time, he managed to spot the small image of a body , far in the distance.
“I see her!” Anarel yelled over the loud noise the wind made as it rushed over his ears.
“You have very keen eyesight, half-elf,” Ratatosk replied, who had already spotted Maya as well. Anarel began to think of all the things he could say to her. He could apologize. He could continue his skepticism and ask more questions. Or he could just be grateful that he had found her. Whatever the decision was, it was too late to choose one, as the great speed of Ratatosk had already brought them to a thick branch that stretched high over where Maya lay.
Without saying a word, or even pausing to thank the creature, Anarel leaped form the creature’s back, preparing to land where Maya was. Before he could get a few feet far into the air from his leaped, he was abruptly stopped in midair, hanging by the collar of his shirt. His body dangled lazily. Anarel was quickly swung around, being brought face to face with Ratatosk who held him by one claw. The creature’s large, dark brown eyes bored into Anarel’s small pupils.
“What business do you have here, in the Yggdrasil?” the beast inquired.
Anarel gasped, confused. He was unsure of what to say to a large squirrel. He was also unsure of the authority this creature held within the tree. The experience was all too new to him and he did not know how to react. The confusion caused him to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.
“L-Loki…” Anarel stuttered, “…his tomb. We seek a way to open the tomb.”
“You wish to free Loki…?” The squirrel brought Anarel’s face even closer, until only a few centimeters separated their noses.
“Yes.” Anarel said through a coarse whisper.
The creature seemed to grin, and swiftly threw Anarel down into Maya’s direction, as if he were just a simple rag doll. Ratatosk swiftly changed course, and galloped higher into the tree, disappearing into the unknown.
Quickly, Anarel flipped around so that his belly faced Maya, but before he could think of what to do next, he found himself spread out on all fours onto the large branch Maya lay against. His hands and feet kept him from entirely collapsing against the branch, as Maya was layering directly underneath him. He now faced her, breathing heavy.
He pushed with one of his hands, making sure to roll over next to Maya without touching her. He gazed above at the branch high above him where he was initially thrown, but Ratatosk was nowhere in sight.
Anarel contined to lay next to Maya, unsure of what the next course of action would be at this point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
