Welcome to Gaia! ::

Well.....I found it slightly lacking in structure, and the language seemed out of place. Otherwise, excellent.
But I didn't actually read it

Chapter Nine.
The Outlaws.

The self outlawed men, women and children of the citadel had travelled hard and fast with few long breaks for three weeks towards the Realias Mountains when Wolfbane called a brief halt in a copse next to a tributary of the River Deanor. It was dawn and the glade was picture perfect, but the outlaws didn't see the wondrous shades of green on the trees and the amazing patterns that the little brook was spreading across the lightening canopy. The wood was still dark and still smelt of the dry night. No rain had fallen for days in this part of Gairesalon and the trees showed all the signs very clearly.

Wolfbane posted sentries a few meters from the exhausted troop and then looked to the rising sun. It was red as he had suspected and he started to pace backwards and forwards across the small clearing. He looked drained and concern was in his eyes. All but two were asleep, apart from Wolfbane, in the copse and one had sneaked away to scout ahead. The other stood and wandered over to Wolfbane.

"What is on your mind my friend? You look as if you carry a great weight upon your shoulders." Tsargon said quietly. Wolfbane didn't answer, he didn't even acknowledge Tsargon was there. Tsargon waited, but getting no reply he placed his hand on Wolfbane's shoulder as he walked past.

He jumped and turned to Tsargon who repeated his question. "What worries you friend? You are not yourself." Wolfbane sighed and lowered his head to face the ground. After a few moments he turned to Tsargon and motioned for him to follow him. Wolfbane started to head out of the clearing, past his sentry and walked for a little while longer before stopping and searching the undergrowth to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. Then he spoke bluntly.

"My scouts have not returned for the last two checkpoints. I fear for them Tsargon, the sun has risen red for many days now. Something hunts us, I can feel it."

"Something?" Tsargon questioned quietly.

"I am not sure what they are. They may be men, they may be creatures. I am not sure which, but they have been tracking us since we left the citadel, which is why I pushed us so hard, to try and put some distance between them and us. It obviously didn't work, and the disappearance of the scouts has proven all this, and it has also shown we are either walking into a trap or they are going to start picking us off one by one."

"What should we do? Is there anything we can do?" Tsargon asked him quietly.

"There isn't anything we can do unless we can draw them into the open so we can see what and how many we are dealing with. How we would pull that off, I do not..."

"Know?" Wolfbane turned quickly, his sword drawn, to see who had finished his sentence. He was quite mad at the fact that somebody had managed to sneak up on him and catch him out. He saw no one, or nothing and he started searching the ever-lightening undergrowth more frantically. Tsargon tried to follow his gaze as he reached for his dagger.

"Unlike you to be caught off guard and then be unable to find your unseen enemy... Years of citadel life have drained your senses friend." The unseen stranger spoke mockingly. Wolfbane's anger was rising as he desperately tried to find his foe. He answered the jibe sharply.

"Who are you!? Show yourself! Stop hiding in the shadows like a scolded child…" His anger rising rapidly.

"Put down your weapons. I will not harm a friend..." The stranger emerged from the undergrowth, its head lowered. It walked forward from the gloomy morning haze hanging around the trees. Its arms were outstretched in a peaceful gesture, it wore brown and green blended trousers, brown knee high skin boots secured with natural string and an embroidered browny green long sleeved shirt. Over its head it wore a brown scarf shaped piece of material that draped over its broad back and shoulders and had intriquet embroidery covering it. The stitching was done with a dark green thread and made many wondrous shapes that allowed the wearer to blend into its surroundings very well.

"Who are you? Why do you sneak around in the shadows eavesdropping on innocent travellers?" Wolfbane demanded, keeping both hands on his sword hilt. The stranger laughed as it lifted its head, two blue eyes radiating calm and concern as their beholders looked into them.

"Firstly, you are not innocent travellers, I know! Secondly, I would have thought you of all people would realise the need and importance of secrecy nowadays. Thirdly, I thought I told you to behave when I left the citadel so that my children would have a people to lead when we returned..."

Both Wolfbane and Tsargon's eyes filled with confusion at the stranger's last point and they searched their brains looking for the identity of the stranger, both scoring out the one name that sprung to mind due to all the rumours that had spread around the Citadel. He continued in his deep, commanding voice.

"And fourthly, as to my identity..." He paused briefly as he lowered his head to allow his arms to untie the scarf and reveal his face. He slowly removed it and continued to speak as he raised his head. "That you should already know, it has not been that long friends!"

A broad smile crossed his face and creases in his features that had not been used for many a day folded to allow the smile to take shape. Realisation poured into Wolfbane and Tsargon's faces and the one name they had scored out burned into their mind's eye. The sword and dagger were sheathed hastily as the two loyal servants went down onto one knee.

"My King." They spoke in unison.

"No my friends! I am no higher than you! If anything, I should be bowing to you." He said as he walked towards them and pulled Wolfbane to his feet. He placed his strong hands onto his friend's shoulders and smiled. "It is good to see you."

"And you... Jonas." Wolfbane matched Jonas' grin and then pushed Jonas' hands from his own shoulders and hugged an old friend. "I thought you were dead..."

"Nearly, but Ramonas was never very good at finishing what he starts." Tsargon stood as Wolfbane was pulled up and he too was smiling. Jonas broke the embrace with Wolfbane and turned to Tsargon. "So what are you and many other citadel dwellers doing out here in the wild?" His face turned serious. "You do know you are being followed, don't you?" Both Wolfbane and Tsargon's grins disappeared and Tsargon nodded his head. Wolfbane spoke in his place.

"We are out here because we banished ourselves." Jonas' expression questioned Wolfbane and he continued. "Tsargon found the book containing the prophecy about the Dragon Ranger a few years back. When the constellation appeared in the sky a few weeks ago he alerted Ramonas who sentenced him to death for treason." Jonas snorted at the punishment, which had almost cost him his life fifteen years before. "So we formed a plot to free him and here we are!"

Jonas nodded thoughtfully then Wolfbane answered his other question. "As for the creatures following us, yes I do know they are out there because I have smelt them, caught a slight glimpse of them and my scouts have missed their last two checkpoints. What I don't know is what they are and how many there are."

"They are soldiers of Ramonas and there are eight in total. They seem to be highly trained and skilful in tracking and fighting. They must be the elite of his army, but they have missed my troop and me for the past six hours as we have been following them. But do not underestimate them!"

"Aniruk... Rangers of old like you and me. I thought as much! They are mercenaries hired by Ramonas as spies in the citadel, there isn't much that gets by them. They are indeed elite. But enough of that, come. You must want some nourishment. Or at least come to my small camp to talk. I'm sure my troop would want to see you alive and well." Jonas nodded and sent a wait signal to Allane, hid a few metres behind him, as he followed Wolfbane.

As they entered the small camp, a few sleepy faces were upturned to see the intruders and many rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the man stood before them. Before the noise got out of control, Wolfbane silenced them with a gesture performed with his right hand and many of the outlaws threw themselves to the floor at Jonas' feet.

"Stand all of you." Jonas said quietly. "This is no time for gestures such as..." His voice trailed off as something caught his keen sense of hearing and he slowly searched the still dim undergrowth for the culprit. He saw it then and his eyes glowed red. He spun back round towards the confused looks of the outlaws and he shouted as a volley of black tipped arrows zipped into the secluded glade.

"Get down!" His warning had been in good stead but the outlaws took a few seconds to realise and three lay dead with another four wounded. Jonas hit the floor as a cat would, with his great limbs bent and ready to provide an instant attack. He exchanged glances with Wolfbane then looked towards a small child as he screamed in terror and pain as he beheld the slain body of his older sister. Eradamo, youngest of Wolfbane's three children, in panic and shock, stood up to run away and hide and as he did so Jonas' bent haunches propelled him forward towards the small child as he yelled;

"Now!"

His powerful legs allowed him to catch Eradamo nearly as soon as he had risen and Jonas wrapped his strong, bear like arms around the child and pulled him to the ground as another volley of arrows swarmed through the trees. Wolfbane had snapped into action as soon as Jonas had shouted, and as the arrows passed overhead like an angry swarm of wasps, he himself stood up, drew his sword and rocketed out of the copse screaming three words as he did so;

"For the King!"

And as they were said, all the able bodied, armed men leapt up and followed Wolfbane out of the picturesque, arrow-studded glade and into the trees surrounding them.

The volley of arrows had missed all but one of their intended targets... The true King of Deudeanor, lay on the leaf carpeting of the glade, two arrows protruding out of his broad back, another from his unprotected side and a fourth could be seen penetrating his right thigh. He lay on his side breathing slowly and painfully, Eradamo clutched against his heavily rising and falling chest embraced by two strong arms.

Jonas could only see lots of strange lights, lights he had seen before, and he let out a high pitched whistle before the lights went out and he was plunged into darkness, the small child crying in his arms...



Outside the copse, Wolfbane and his following had found their target and had hit them hard and fast without warning. The Aniruk fought back fiercely and Wolfbane's twelve men were no match for the highly trained mercenaries, who were getting the upper hand when Jonas had sent his signal. A couple of seconds after the whistle, Wolfbane's men had been joined by the fifteen men that had left with Jonas.

Those men of Runnwaith had trained everyday since leaving the citadel fifteen years previously and had soon over run the Aniruk, leaving all but one dead. Allane was wiping his sword on a dock leaf as he walked up to the prone, masked figure that was breathing heavily. It had a dagger protruding from its left leg and had many rips and slashes in its robes. Allane kicked the figure hard in the side and audibly broke a few ribs. Wolfbane saw that and went over to Allane, placing his hand on Allane's shoulder.

"Leave it brother. I'm sure we could extract something from him that could be useful. Something our King could use."

"Call him Jonas." Allane sniped at him. "Calling him King could endanger us all..." Wolfbane nodded and ordered the dead to be wrapped in their cloaks with their Chakraas bound properly. He then appointed two of Allane's men to bind their prisoner and take him into the copse.

Back in the arrow strewn safety of the trees, the remaining outlaws had listened to the battle outside and once the noise had died down a bit, Nathanial, who had stayed behind to protect the weak and vulnerable as his father had instructed when they left the citadel, broke cover and crawled towards Jonas and his brother. Eradamo refused to move from Jonas' grasp and he lay there shaking, with tears flowing freely onto Jonas' already tear stained shirt.

Nathanial crawled around to Jonas' heaving back and his eyes rolled over the four arrows in his sight. He lifted his eyes and searched the hidden faces in the trees and undergrowth. They were glazed, sad expressions as he searched for the face he couldn't find.

The only memories he had of Jonas took place fifteen years ago when he was four and Jonas had played with and taught the majority of citadel children. He had been their playmate and mentor and the older girls and two of the older boys, who had also been left to help Nathanial protect the remaining outlaws, all looked on horrified as their playmate, their childhood hero, lay prone and injured.

Nathanial continued to search the faces of the hidden people. Still he couldn't find the one face he was looking for. The one face that he wanted to see wasn't there to be seen. Shekira was not there. He steadied his voice before speaking.

"Where is Shekira? Has anyone seen her? Only she can fix this... Where is she?"

All he got as replies were angry, scared and confused expressions showing through tired faces. The other two older boys came out of hiding and started to search the immediate area for any sign of her. Nathanial lowered his eyes back to Jonas and he knelt down behind him. He placed a shaking hand on Jonas' shoulder and ran it steadily up and down his arm. He spoke quietly in common tongue to try and wake Jonas.

She appeared then. A figure dressed in brown and black flowing garments entered the copse and Nathanial looked up at her. He recognised the face instantly and she saw in his eyes something see didn't want to see, the suffering of a child. She broke the gaze and lowered her eyes to the prone figure, whose breathing was laboured and raspy, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself before continuing forwards.

She circled Jonas and saw the four arrows as she kneeled down next to Nathanial. Retrieving her pouch from her left hip she opened it and removed a few select herbs and plants as she started to chant. She put the chosen vegetation on the floor as she ripped his shirt around the black plumed arrows in his back, side and leg, stopping suddenly and wiping the blood from around one the arrows in his back with his shirt. She ran her fingers carefully over the scars that were clearly visible all over his back and shuddered as she realised that Ramonas had been the cause of them...

Shaking herself back into reality, she picked up the vegetation again, always chanting quietly. She mixed the plants together in her right hand and as they started to bind into a poultice Nathanial saw a glowing symbol on her palm. He had seen the symbol before in a book and recognised it instantly as the sign of a Tarmaitch, a black mage.

He said nothing and looked back down to Jonas as Shekira applied the poultice to each of his wounds. He tensed and his face screwed up as pain erupted into his back, side and leg as the poultice seeped down the arrow shafts and into his flesh, burning his skin.



Allane had relieved his two men of their task and was dragging the captured Aniruk by the scruff of it’s neck as he entered the glade. Men walked behind him helping the wounded and carrying the dead of both sides, as was custom in Deudeanor. Not one spoke as they performed their duty. Allane's jaw was set, his head held high and his eyes cold and hard as ice with a slight red glow, the light of battle...

As he entered the clearing he saw his prone leader and friend and let go of his prisoner, giving two of his men instructions to bind it securely, before he headed to Jonas' side, kneeled and bowed his head out of respect for Shekira.

"My lady Shekira. It has been too long." Shekira continued her chant for a short while longer before applying the last of her poultice and silencing herself. She covered her hand with her robes before looking up at Allane.

"It has been a long time, I am glad to find you alive, and my brother also. You are a true friend Allane, for keeping him alive this long." She turned back to the unconscious form of her brother and waited silently for the poultice to start its magic.

Allane sat opposite her and Nathanial next to her, his hand still running up and down Jonas' tensed arm. Eradamo lay quietly still wrapped in Jonas' arms as tears still ran down his face. Jonas tensed slightly and Shekira spoke quietly.

"The boy is not safe there. The poultice has taken effect now and Jonas will have no control. The boy could be crushed." Allane nodded and coaxed Eradamo from Jonas' strong grasp as his muscles contracted slightly. Eradamo was then sat at Jonas' head and he cradled it as carefully as a mother would with a newborn child.

The men from the citadel and Runnwaith had been slowly filtering into the glade and each was being attended to by one of the women or older children as wounds were fixed, thirsts quenched and stomachs fed. Wolfbane was last to enter the clearing, as he had been making sure all the men were back within the safety of the trees and all bodies had been properly bound and carried off the plains. As he entered he changed the guards either side of the prisoner before walking to Eradamo.

"What is it boy? Why do you cry? Jonas will be fine, do not fret!" Eradamo turned his tear stained face up to his father before blinking and starting to speak.

"No father... Jonas will be fine, I know... Shekira heals him. It’s... It’s..." Tears streamed from his young eyes and his heart caught in his throat, rendering him unable to finish his sentence. He slowly caught his father's gaze then led it to the small blanket covering his sister's body. Nathanial lowered his eyes to the ground as his father froze.

"No... Helani..." He mumbled under his breath. He forced his frozen legs to move and even though they felt like lead he walked awkwardly to the small figure and fell stiffly to his knees. He shakily removed the blanket from her small face with a blood stained, shaking hand before running his fingers across her tiny features. She had been destined to become one the most beautiful women in the land when she had matured, but that was now not to be.

Tagera was comforting his wife in the undergrowth not far from the covered child. It was Tagera who saw Wolfbane's actions and she whispered into Krysan's ear. Krysan's tear stained, beautiful face looked up and she started to crawl to her husband’s side. He saw her and hugged her close to him as his eyes never left his daughter's slain body. Helani.



As the poultice dried along the edges of the black tipped arrows embedded in Jonas body, Shekira noted that he had become unresponsive and his muscles were contracting of their own accord.

"It is done." She spoke quietly before she set about removing the arrows from him. Ever so gently she started on the first one embedded just below his left shoulder blade. Jonas dreamt them. As the poultice had taken over his body, it had also taken over his mind. A dream, a nightmare, as dark as a moonless night, had entered into his darkened mind.

A nightmare that turned his face pale white and put a strained, pained expression onto his usually strong features. Allane looked at him then to Shekira. Her face was lost in thought and she had a glazing over her eyes as she worked.

As soon as she had removed the last arrow from Jonas' twitching body and removed her hands from him she returned Allane's gaze, which had not moved from her. She hid her hand quickly.

"It is the poultice." She gasped. "It induces dreams as a side effect of the healing purpose it possesses. Dreams, nightmares, about something that has happened, something that is happening or something that will happen soon. He could be dreaming of anything, past, present or future whether it be in his own life or somebody..."

"Ara!" Allane cut in abruptly, his facial expression turning to one of concern and worry.

"Ara?"

"His daughter..."

"He has a daughter?" Shekira asked, her voice shaky from what her mind had just seen.

"Yes. She is eleven. Isilara... She is back in our village with her mother, Elsabeth, and my family, Merideth and Auron. She has been crowned the Dragon Ranger and that is why we left, to draw the foes of our village and Jonas away from her." Shekira nodded, then looked regretfully to the ground. She had seen part of what Jonas had seen...

"So the Dragon Ranger is female? Very strange! Very strange indeed..." Tsargon mused quietly from behind Allane. Shekira nodded numbly and sighed as she reached back into her pouch and retrieved more plants to mix another poultice to aid with Jonas' pain. She applied it and started to sing a soothing song in Deudeanorian as she moved to take Eradamo's place.

Jonas' face started to get colour back but it was still strained and full of worry and grief, his muscles still tense and stiff. Even though the nightmare had ended...

By noon, graves had been dug and brave men buried and grieved. Bodies from both sides were intermixed, but the Aniruk's graves were plain and bore no name whereas the two men of Runnwaith and four of the men from the citadel, three woman and Helani's graves were all named and had been decorated by family and friends. Wolfbane, Krysan, Nathanial and Eradamo sat together at the foot of Helani's small grave, as did other families at the foot of the graves that contained their families and friends. Weeping for the dead could be heard in the light clearing.

Allane sat with Tsargon and Shekira, who was still singing softly and cradling Jonas' limp head. They conversed about what had happened since Jonas and his followers had been banished. Allane told them everything, from when Ramonas sentenced Jonas to death for treason right up until the meeting at dawn that day. Once he had recited their story, with many eavesdroppers who had been keen to know the true story of what had happened to their King, Shekira and Tsargon said they would wait till Jonas had awoken to tell them what had been going on in the citadel. Allane nodded and looked down at Jonas who was still bound in a very deep sleep with his body untensed and face back to normal, except for a few moments when his face would screw up again and his jaw and body tense.

Shekira still sat with his head on her lap and she was running her fingers through his dark, wavy hair and massaging his head to sooth his mind and aid the healing process. Allane looked from Jonas to Shekira and she looked back.

"You look like you have seen a ghost. Are you alright?" Allane said quietly. Shekira's eyes were glazed, her face pale and bearing an expression of distress and sorrow. She sighed before speaking.

"I saw a few of the things that Jonas saw... And I would tell you but I do not have the heart to say such things... I will let him tell you, but what I saw really describes why he went so pale... I'm sorry." Allane nodded and one name went through his head as his eyes lowered to Jonas' neck where the Dragon's tooth rested outside his shirt, lying limply against his rising and falling chest.

"Ara..."

*ponces around all lonely and um yeah stuff in lonely thread.*

Tum tee tum...

Yeah...I am two chapters behind and have completely lost the plot confused

I officially declare this thread closed. =)

I am going to restart writing my story and i'm going to try and make more background stuffages to it before doing so so there will be no more updates on here anymore.

If this guild becomes more active later on once i have started my re-write i'll repost if i have time.

Thanks to those who gave their input, i shall be using it to make it better smile