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The Desert of Stars

Started by Winters-Feather, October 02, 2012, 11:08:54 PM

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Winters-Feather

OOC:aka Knots Part Deux.

IC:
"Connloath," Issen repeated slowly, pronouncing the country as best as she could. "I don't understand. They have.... 'guns'? Small rocks faster than arrows? No magic?"
The woman didn't really like to talk about weapons much, but Connloath's technology fascinated her. She couldn't comprehend how they were able to create so many things without the aid of magic.
But the feats with magic are magnificent, too, she thought, counting the countries in her head as she pulled her headscarf closer around her neck. The woman loved flying right before dawn, but the desert was always the coldest during that time.

It had been two weeks since Hysaeda and she had befriended the ancient flying lizard and started on their search for Umbra's shattered sword. Since then, they had fallen into the pattern of travelling when the sun was down and seeking shelter mid day.  To pass the time on the otherwise uneventful and monotonous journey, Hysaeda had been teaching Issen how to speak Common. The language was hard, but Issen had insisted on primarily speaking in it, switching tongues only to ask for the definition of a new word or to voice her frustration when the language truly failed her.

She had also begged Hysaeda to tell her stories of all sorts, though tales of the world were her favorite. It was hard to believe that most of what he had said was true, such as the brown skinned people with festive colored hair and wings of birds. Issen often imagined what that was like, to have such wings, but was shocked to have learned that  such a thing was possible. Issen   was about to ask the elf more about the north, when something glistening caught her eye. The woman sat still and tall in her seat, excited.

On the horizon, something twinkled in the moonlight. At first, Issen thought it was a trick of light or an oasis, but the woman could vaguely make out the shape of dunes.
Glistening dunes?
The woman gasped, her eyes widening. There were some tales that she had remembered, and this was one of them. A holy place of old.
"Seraj Isa," she said in awe, turning her head towards her companion.
If there was a place for the holy blade, this was it.

Lion

The journey was a long one, but not without its rewards.  Hysaeda had fought boredom by teaching Issen about the world around them, what had happened in the last few centuries since her last visitor, though he began to realize even for a season traveler such as he, there was still much of the world he'd yet to see.  But he told her what he knew to be true, what he could, of the lands which he'd seen and the people therein.

He'd still failed to think of a proper name for the reptilian that decided to serve as their mount for the most recent duration of their journey, but he knew with time, the proper name would come.  Yet, that thought completely slipped from his mind as his eyes caught the reflection of diamond sand below, or what looked like it.

Hysaeda was speechless as they swooped from the clouds to land towards the Glass Desert.  He'd traveled deep into the desert before...but never this far.  The sight was almost too much to bear and he had no words to speak.

He dug his feet tighter into the reptilian who took it as a sign to land.  Only then did he speak.  "This is the place where we are to look for the blade?" he asked the creature, who had come to know where and why they were traveling.

"This is a place of old," the lizard replied, swerving through the sky, speaking in Draconic.  "People don't come here looking for something.  People come here because this place was seeking them.  Your blade called you here for a reason.  Perhaps you will find it."

Hysaeda translated for Issen, but not without some confusion of his own, as they proceeded to land.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Issen patiently waited for the lizard's rumbling to die down and for Hysaeda to translate. The  giant creature was a solemn one and rarely spoke. When he did, it seemed that his words held great gravity, as it did now. She paused for a moment, thinking about Hysaeda's words. The woman didn't quite understand how a place could seek a person. Issen was under the impression that the glass desert was forever still. How could it seek? However, the hope that the sword was there encouraged here.
"The light," she said,  referring to the shard that he kept, "It lead us here. I don't think it is wrong."

The lizard landed gently onto the glass. It was as if they had landed on the sky, for the glass was dark, though here and there the dull reflection of  stars  could be seen. There was an eerie atmosphere. Though there was the sound of the wind, nothing else seemed to move or to be alive, save for them.  Issen carefully climbed down from the lizard's back, placed her bag on the ground, and crouched down to touch it. She smiled in wonder. The glass was smooth to the touch, made cold by the chill of the night.  She giggled as she slid her finger from one dim sparkle to another. She had never before seen glass, and marveled at it. However, she drew her hand back once she touched something sharp.

"There's sharp sand!," she exclaimed, reaching back to carefully touch it again. There was a film of the most minuscule of shards, due to the constant wind and from cracks. Issen sprung back to her feet, rubbing her fingers together. The woman sighed and stretched her arms into the sky. Issen felt the most energetic that she had in two weeks. They were close, she knew it. With excited nervousness, the woman walked around on the glass, testing its sturdiness.
"Beautiful," she said, turning towards Hysaeda, beaming.
Issen was eager to go.
"Your light," she suggested, "Where does it point, now?"

Lion

This was positively the strangest land he'd never seen.  It seemed to be a place that one only saw in dreams and the way the light bent and swayed as it reflected from the glossy, glass surface mesmerized Hysaeda in a way he could only imagine.  An Umbraeon's eyes were strongest in the dark and any lights that seemed dull to another were highlighted and illuminated in brilliance.  He felt like a child, riveted to the stories his father painted of warriors that fought and won the great battles of old.  The Ankuman was the holder of all of a tribe's history, every myth, every story, every legend, every glory, triumph and tribulation.

Hysaeda words escaped him until he recalled that Issen need him to point the way.  He reached for the sword at his sword, holding it delicately in his ashened hands.  He was such a stark contrast in comparison to the gloss around them both, a living shadow against the crystalline sands.

"Let us see," he said to her, thankful now that he did not need to translate.  He pulled the sword from its sheath, such an ancient weapon and one he'd regretted using out of anger.  Perhaps now it could be put to better use.  He raised the blade high overhead and letting the moon reflect against the steel.  He concentrated, chanted the words his father had taught him, prayed to Umbra to guide him, and guide him well.

The light refracted and reflected as the moon offered its guidance.  And a light shone far out to the east.  "That is the way," Hysaeda said, and looked back at the serpent.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I have taken you far enough.  You must find your journey now.  I will await your return now," the dragon replied.

Hysaeda looked to Issen and nodded to her.  "C'mon.  We have a long way to go."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Issen watched in confusion the exchange between the giant lizard and Hysaeda. She had rather hoped it would be accompaning them, but they didn't exchange goodbyes, so Issen figured that they would return.
"Pretty," she muttered to herself as she watched the light beam into the east, in awe by the magic.
I wonder where it'll take us, she cheerfully thought, nodding eagerly at Hysaeda's suggestion.
"Of course!"
Issen held onto his hand with a smile as she followed him towards the east.

After what it seemed like an hour has passed, Issen noticed that something shone in the distance. At first, she had thought it was an unusually bright star, but as they  traveled more and more to the east, the light began to take form. Issen paused to examine their beauty from afair. Before them stood a spiraling series of semi-opaque towers made of glass of different colors. Her eyes became the size of dinner plates. The nomads from before said nothing of this!  Issen took several quickened paces towards the marvel. The glass began to morph under her feet, forming a path.
"There was nothing like this in Essyrn!" she squealed, delighted.  It was all very strange and new, and Issen was much too excited and overwhelmed to bother much with precaution.
"Is the rest of the world like this? I bet in.. Serendipity, is it? I bet it is! Oh..."
She smiled sheepishly.
"But you've been and never mentioned stuff like this, so maybe not? But this is wonderful!"
There was something else in the distance, too. Materialized before them was  a small group of people in cloaks, made seemingly out of the same stuff as the buildings. They were there for a moment, and gone with the next gust of wind. Issen didn't notice them, her eyes too full of the colorful towers.

Lion

The glass dust of the desert crunched beneath his feet with every step the took.  The sandal-boots protected him from the gusts as wind caught hold of the ground and swept up light clouds of it.  He protected his face and Issen's as he turned his back to it and faced her, blocking it with his body.  They continued walking as it passed and in the distance, Hysaeda could make out shapes of mystical towers rising.

His mind stopped dead in its tracks though his body did not.  They pressed toward that direction and he almost had no answers for Issen.  No, Serendipity was nothing like this.  "All I knew of that Kingdom was of the city prison.  And that was certainly NOTHING like this," he answered breathlessly as he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight before him.

"C'mon, hurry, perhaps those people can help us find what we are looking for," he said.  He grabbed Issen's hand tighter and began a light jog in that direction.  The towers of rainbow glass seemed to move farther away the closer they tried to run to it, until Hysaeda suddenly stopped and watched as the hooded figures emerged from the distance again.  They walked around in a circle, their heads bowed and their hands solemn.  They trailed along the front of the first and largest tower before them.

"Inaya-weh, Na'ix a-ka," they chanted, softly then loudly on a mystic voice that carried on the wind.  Hysaeda recognized the words and slowly let go of Issen's hand, as if called to it.  They chanted louder: "Inaya-we, Na'ix a-ha.   Kotep." 

Hysaeda took one step forth and looked at Issen.  "They know we're here," he said.  "They say they've been expecting us.  They say they have many answers.  But they will only draw closer if we walk.  Not run."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

As the wind carried the glass shards, Issen pulled up her face scarf and sheilded her face with it. She hadn't thought about it before, but she supposed the glass was sharp.  Behind her veil, she smiled as Hysaeda turned his back on the wind to protect the two of them.
She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do that, but none the less thanked him and made sure she was fully covered.
"It isn't?" she responded, a little disappointed.
At the moment, Issen couldn't imagine anything grander than what stood before her.  She thought they were getting closer to the marvel, but it always seemed out of their reach, like the moon's reflection in water. It was then that Hysada suddenly grabbed her hand. Issen was confused. People?
She hadn't noticed them before, but when she did, her eyes widened in surprise. They were tall and somber, curiously walking around in a circle.
Where had they came from? she wondered.

From the distance, she could hear their lyrical voices reaching her ears. Though they were but whispers, Issen could hear them perfectly. However, she didn't understand a word. It didn't sound like Common- she doubted it was. It didn't even sound like Ancient Essyrini. She reached out for Hysaeda in alarm as he let go of her hand, stepping forward.
"Hysaeda?" she asked, quickly blocking his path.
His answers to her unspoken questions just rose more questions.
"They're friendly?" she asked.
The woman followed his instructions, but purposefully stood before him.
"How do you know what they were saying? How were they expecting us? Is it like what happened back at the oasis, then?" she continued in a low tone, paranoid that they would hear her.

Lion

"What is the matter?" Hysaeda said, stopping when she stood in front of him.  How could she not only hear their call, but feel it and still hesitate.  The voices danced in his mind, making one of the most beautiful songs he'd heard in his life.  It reminded him of the songs his father used to sing during the 'Season of Spirits' festival.  There was dance and drink and music and joy.

Hysaeda was possessed by the song, hearing the words summoning him in his native tongue.  "Friendly," he said.  "They off us answers, and you question them?"  His voice was clearly confused, the voices drawing him ever more in the direction of the crystal towers.  Her voice brought some sense to him however and he gave paused.

"You do not think we should go?" he asked.  "If...you don't trust them, then we stay here.  But look around, where else is there to go?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

"Huh?" replied Issen, confused.
She, too, was distracted by the enchanting melody that seemed to reign in her head. The woman drew her hands up to her ears. The songs were being sung directly to her mind and Issen gasped as the beauty of it all swept over her. To her surprise, tears  began to form. Issen hadn't heard such music, save for her own voice, in many, many years. Their voices weren't loud, so it didn't disturb her as much as the streets as Essyrn did. Soft, yet joyful. The notes danced in her head and Issen stood there, unable to speak. Though her heart had ceased to beat, her chest ached. It was all very bizarre, but all very wonderful.

Instead, she shook her head at Hysaeda's questions. That wasn't it at all.
"No, it's... it's not that," she murmured, the voices  dying away, the chimes in the wind drawing to a still. To prove it, she began to walk towards the hooded figures, her eyes fixated upon them. Issen let the tears roll down her cheeks, seeing no reason to wipe them away.
"It's just that I've been in the desert for many, many years and it is you who seems to understand their tongue, not I. It's strange," she said in an airly tone that meant no criticism.
Issen pondered over the nature of their answers, wondering if they had any for her. In any case, Issen had a strange feeling about these people.
"Hysaeda, they cannot harm me and I will keep them from harming you if it comes to that," she bluntly said.
"I do not think it will come to that, but I also do not think they are quite as warm as the others."
The word Issen was looking for but failed to find was 'distant'. Cold they were as they stood in rows, their faces obscured by their hoods, even up close. One held up a hand to signify they stop walking once Issen was a yard away from them.

"Hysaeda Kel-iro and the Nameless Eternal Guardian of the Tomb. Welcome to the Moving Library," they said collectively in the two travelers minds, in Common, Ancient Essyrini, and Hysaeda's native tongue all at once.  Issen frowned, confused. She thought this was a city.
"Hysaeda, what's a library?" she muttered.
And how could it move?
Whatever a library was, the hooded figures circled around the two travelers as they began to lead them towards the towers.

Lion

Hysaeda was torn between the melodious tone that came from the hooded monks it was far too alluring to resist and he found his mind being ensared.  The sensation was almost alarming and yet, how could he refuse?  He found no threat from it, nothing that wold him they meant neither him nor Issen any harm.  And yet...still the confusion brewed within.  How could they have known his people's ancient tongue, one of the most sacred of languages, shared with no outsiders?  The Sevic was both pleasing and grating, a language filled with consecutive consonants and skipping typical vowel transitions.  Many things could be said in such few words.

If Hysaeda followed because he was being pulled, Issen strode forth to prove she was not afraid.  He had no mind or words to contest otherwise.  He felt as if his mind had been invaded, but by the softness of a ghostly touch.  It was lulling and warm and it seemed the closer they got to the crystal towers, the wind was calmer, the ground softer and he could only hear the beating of his own heart.  He gathered if Issen were alive, she too might hear it beating gently with every step they took toward the towers.

Hysaeda watched as the monks, if that was what they were, addressed them, welcomed them, surrounded them.  "Who are you?" he asked, as they were walked toward the library.  But no answer come.  Only the voice that invaded their minds.  "Come, Hysaeda and the Guardian of the Tomb.  We have awaited your coming for many years.  But years is a concept of mortality, something you are most familiar with Hysaeda Kel-iro.  I am called, in your tongue Z'mndo, or Mohodan in yours Nameless one.  In the Common language that thrives in this age, I am better known as Red-Eye.  I am the Arch-Archivist here in the Library.  Containment of all knowledge.  What you are seeking will more often find you, than you find it."

Hysaeda watched with wonder as the crystalline towers suddenly came before them.  They were massive pillars, blending with the glassiness of the Seraj Isa.  The doors were unseen as they came forth, they must have passed through some invisible force that prevented them from seeing it, but once they passed it, they were abruptly within the crystalline towers.  And it was not at all what Hysaeda had expected.  But truly, what had he expected?  He was at a complete loss for words.

A cavern of glass escalated before them, smooth and gleaming as if made of ice.  But there was no heat, no coldness, only the stillness of air of a place encapsulated in a moment in time.  "How do you know what we seek?" Hysaeda asked, standing close to Issen, holding her hand to his, as his head turned to look at the monk that had led them in, who he only assumed was Red-Eye.  The monk turned, upon addressing him, and bowed his head.

"I know many things Hysaeda Kel-iro, but it is not yet the time to reveal them to you.  The chamber before you holds a secret to what you seek...the remnants of your god, proof of his existence, elimination of your doubt, answers that only you can find.  I cannot tell you what you will find.  But I can only hope that what you seek can aid you on your quest.  Follow him, Nameless One.  Your answers may be more difficult to discern.  The chamber is not the same for all.  It is particular to those who enter.  Only you will be able to understand it."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Whatever her question was, the answer lingered in their footsteps. Together, she and Hysaeda marched towards the crystal towers. There was no pulse to hear from her. there was only the sound of shuffling feet, rustling clothes, and way her breath hitched. The ever so slight breeze brushed against her cheek, the hairs on her skin standing.

She jumped as a voice invaded their minds, unprepared for the experience.
Mohodan? she thought.
Issen had never remembered hearing such a name, but at least he provided her with at least one answer. Containment of knowledge... so that's what a lbirary was? A vague memory played in her mind. They had something to do with scribbles on paprys. She didn't know how to fee about Mohodan's cryptic message. The things that had found them were bizarre and sometimes wonderful, but othertimes cruel.

Despite the wonders, she could never quite get used to all the strange happenings. Issen was so preoccupied that she had ran into the tower before them!
"Ow," she muttered, her eyes widening in confusion as she looked up. It was a pillar, one that seemed to climb to the sky. It was hard to tell that it was even there, their color matching that of the Seraj Isa perfectly. They had been closer than she had anticipated. The woman looked around for the doors. Only upon close inspection could she vaguely make out the outline of one.  Something was protecting them, something magical. 

She rubbed her forehead as she sheepishly looked around them, the monks still standing there.
What are they waiting for? she wondered, anxiously as Hysaeda addressed them. 
Issen squeezed Hysaeda's hand.
The one called Mohodan spoke. Issen frowned at the answers he gave. She did not quite understand what he had told her, but the hidden doors had suddenly opened and all their eyes were on the two of them.
"I guess we should go," she muttered.
What did they have to lose, really?
She entered the tower, first.


~
The doors would close behind them.  Issen had thought it was dark, but small, glowing crystals like candlelight lit up the walls. Then, with a next step, it changed. The dark room with the small crystals of blue and gold surrounding it dissolved. Around her was a lavish and airy palace, with wide open spaces, mosaic walls,  and a beautiful garden surrounding it. There was a low table with food and instruments in the corner of the chamber, though it was empty.  Issen looked down at herself and gasped. She was wearing the clothes she had been condemned in the tomb in, though they were new. Alarmed, Issen turned to her side. Hysaeda was still there, and the tattoo in her back was there, as well. The material was somewhat see through, and she could make out the pattern. Issen let out a sigh of relief and turned towards her companion in excitement. She didn't know how to properly explain herself.
"Hysaeda! We're... I think we're in the palace. The one I knew, once," she exclaimed, confused. "Why are we here?"

Lion

"To find what we are looking for, I suppose," Hysaeda answered, still in awe of everything that was revealed before him.  He didn't know what they would find here.  "But Mohodan said that it would most likely find us."  He saw the palace spread out before them.  It confused him, as to why the chamber seemed to respond to Issen first, but it was a question that couldn't be asked just yet.

"Issen?  This palace.  How do you recognize it?  Where is this from?  Is this where your Prince resided?"

[Yes...shortness, after all the delay.  I'm thinking how the chamber will gradually change for both of them.  But we've had enough of Hysaeda plotness.  Time to get some Issen plotness going.]




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Issen nodded her head, slowly.
"I think so," she said.
It was all in the back of her mind. The woman couldn't really tell if she was just making it up but all of this definitely had a familiar feeling to it. Suddenly, she could hear shouts coming outside the door to the chamber they stood in. The woman beamed.
"People?" she said, hopeful.
Maybe this would be the answer to some of her questions...!
The door bursted open as a man shrouded in black clothes with his face concealed behind a mask ran through the room.  He ran straight towards Issen and through her.
"Hey!" Issen exclaimed, alarmed.
The man didn't hear her, though. Instead, he disappeared into the garden. Issen turned towards Hysaeda, her eyebrows knit in confusion.
"Did you see that?," she muttered, baffled.

They were interrupted as the door was opened again. The figure at the door made Issen's eyes grow wide.
"That's me," she said.
Her long hair was braided, a golden circuit keeping stray hairs out of her face. Her ears, neck, and arms were adorned with simple beaded jewelry. This Issen was dressed in a white, flowing robe with tight sleeves and bustling skirts soaked with  blood and water. There was a sharp and dangerous look in her eye as she ran after the man, muttering something to herself. It was a spell. Issen watched as the woman who looked like her extended her hand, summoning a whip made out of water as she stormed into the garden. She used it to drag the man dressed in black out of a tree.

Issen bolted after her.
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed in her old tongue, but the woman who was her didn't appear to see or hear her. Instead, she smiled smugly at the man struggling to his feet on the ground.
"Whose your master?" she demanded.
"Witch," he spat as he tried to attack her with a knife.
The woman expertly dodged his blow, grabbed him, and flipped him to the ground. She covered his mouth as she took his knife, and buried it in his throat.
"What a mess," she muttered as he died, rummaging through the man's clothes.
The woman's eyes brightened as she found what she was looking for. Issen cringed. Her smile was bright and pure, happily examining her prize.
"I found you!" she cooed as she pulled out a flat object wrapped in cloth.

The door opened, again. This time, a man dressed in light armor and wielding a sword came running in. At the sight of  the woman who looked like Issen (though the spirit was finding it hard to believe that they were one and the same person) he bowed before her.
"M'lady," he said, out of breath. "We've managed to chase away the assassins, but I was afraid..."
The woman smiled at him.
"All's well. Kindly tell His Majesty that I've retrieved what was stolen."
She looked back at the corpse and frowned.
"And get somebody to clean this up," she said with a sigh.

Speechless and confused, Issen was almost too ashamed to look up at Hysaeda.
"I don't remember any of this," she said, her voice cracking.
Issen's face felt hot as tears wielded up in her eyes. That woman! How  could this be her?
Yet their looks and voices were the same.
"I can't do that sort of magic! How is this possible?"

OOC: Sorry this wasn't mentioned ,but both Issens are speaking in the older language.

Lion

When the man rushed through Issen, literally, Hysaeda took in a deep breath, eyes wide, unsure of what was going on.  The force of the man's motion, the wind from his movement seemed cold to him, lost to contact if only for the fact that he'd seen him done it.  Were they little more than ghosts in this realistic fantasy, witnesses to an event, nothing more?  The room had chosen to respond to Issen first, and he had to rely upon her for the answers.

And when the second one came bursting into the room, chasing after the man in black, Hysaeda was more than stunned.  He was speechless and watched in wonder and confusion as she'd slain him and plucked something covered in a cloth that apparently he'd stolen.  He found no words that came to him as he watched the display, another man coming in and exchanging words with her...calling her 'M'lady' from what he understood of ther Issen's ancient tongue.

But the comprehension was moot at best.  Hysaeda was lost in translation and only when it was over did he come to some of his senses.  He stood up and walked over to Issen.  "What...what is all this?" he asked.  Though it was a question in futility.  "Perhaps...perhaps the room shows us visions from our past.  His Majesty....that must be your prince."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Still stunned, Issen could only stare at corpse as Hyaeda addressed her. She nodded weakly as he addressed her. She really wished she had no idea where they were or what they were seeing, but the evidence was before them. This was somehow an event from her past, or somebody whom at least LOOKED like her. However, Issen knew, deep down, that it was the first. How she had forgotten such important things puzzled her, but the woman supposed more answers were to be gained later.
"M-maybe," she whispered in Common, encouraged.

The hall sounded quiet, now. Issen quickly flew towards it and opened the door. The hall was empty, save for the woman that was her dressed in a blue gown and an opaque green shawl that was wrapped around her body that had  elegant flowery patterns printed on it.  Unlike the blazing afternoon sun that had shined in the garden, the sun's glow was an orange-red as it began to set. This struck Issen as odd. Was this a different memory? She gestured for Hysaeda to follow as Issen stood side by side with herself. She threw her shoulders back the way the Other Issen did, tall and proud, and mimiced her steps. The Other Issen was carrying a tray of with a kettle and a cup and a burning oil lamp. She hummed to herself, a melody which made Issen shudder. It was a tune very similiar to one she herself had sung on her journey with Hysaeda thus far. She wondered if there were any words, but the Other Issen did not utter them.

They approached a large pair of double doors, which were guarded by two men with swords at their hips and shields in their hands. At her presence, they nodded their heads and opened the door, allowing her to enter a large bed chamber. In the center of the room was a large and low bed with a handsome brown skinned man with wavy hair and a trimmed beard. Issen caught her breath at the sight of him.
"Oh," she muttered with a misty look in her eyes.
It was overwhelming to see him alive. Issen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, or even if she cared anymore. A part of her ached as she watched him propped up on his pillows, his keen eyes reading the words on a small book. The Other Issen waited for his command to approach before placing the tray by the table beside him and looking over his shoulder.

"What's that? That's not a scroll, but there are symbols on it. What are you reading?" the Other Issen asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The prince chuckled.
"This is a document from outside the desert. I can't read it very well," he confessed.
Issen almost collapsed at the sound of his voice. She had forgotten what it had sounded like, too.
"That's him, Hysaeda," she chocked, proud and confused.

The prince's face darkened as he closed the book.
"But it holds more information regarding the mirror."
The Other Issen pulled out the wrapped up flat object from underneath her shawl and presented it to the prince.
"This is the third time this month that assassins have been sent again," she scowled as he unwrapped it, revealing a mirror.
"That time this afternoon was too close!"

The prince ruefully smirked.
"Most likely my younger brother," he said as he ran his finger over it. That only made the Other Issen angrier.
"If so, why won't you let me-?!"
The man gave the Other Issen an angry glare.
"Do not suggest that again," he said, darkly.  "Father loves him. There will be a heavy price to pay for his death. Besides, if your magic were to be found out, you'd be killed."
She tsked.
"I  won't," she protested with a worried expression, grasping his hand.
The prince squeezed it as he pulled her in for a kiss.  Issen was almost embarrassed to watch.
"You would be," the prince muttered. "And I don't want that to happen. So, please. Don't."
The Other Issen hesitated before speaking again.
"Are you sure this is the weapon that you were looking for?" she asked, quietly.
"Yes," the prince replied.

As they fell silent, Issen tried to catch a glimpse of the mirror. It looked like an ordinary looking glass, but even she could feel the magic seeping from it. 

Lion

Hysaeda could feel it too.  And while it was easy to be drawn in by the mysterious object the Prince held in his hands, Hysaeda only watched with curiosity as Issen II had conversated with her prince.  So this was the man that she had loved.  He actually smiled, for it was nice to see his companion had actually been happy, at least once in her life.  It was something to live for.  But in the same turn it had been something that ultimately destroyed her and placed her in her current position.

It was a sad thought, but one he only dwelled on momentarily before focusing back on the mirror that gave off an eery resonance.  Hysaeda stepped forth, away from Issen, saying nothing as his eyes focused in on the mirror.  It was difficult to see, but as he drew closer, he found his eyes widened and the sight before him was beyond belief.  He didn't know why, but the unusual weapon that the Prince was talking about seemed eerily familiar.  And yet, Hysaeda could not recall ever having seen the weapon before in his life.

"This!  THIS!  Issen!" he cried out.  "This must be it!  Your Prince was looking for it.  Though Umbra could only know why."

He looked up at the second Issen.  "Please!  Show us more!  Please!" he cried out in vain, but knew these figures of Issen's past could not hear them.  "What does this mean?!"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

Issen gave Hysaeda a questioning glance, her eyebrows knit together with worry.
She couldn't really understand why he was this excited. Issen supposed she should be, too, but she was still rather unsettled.
"None of this bothers you?" she muttered almost sullenly as she, too, examined the mirror.
"They can't hear you," Issen pointed out at Hysaeda's shouts.
Out of impulse, she reached out to touch the prince's flushed cheeks, but of course she could feel nothing. Issen frowned as her eyes wandered over to the scroll by him. Issen  craned her neck so that she could see the symbols better.
"What language is that?" she asked.
It certainly didn't look like any of the symbols that decorated the tomb.

The prince waited for a few moments after Issen II had left before holding the mirror up to eye level. He muttered a few words in a language Issen could not understand. Though his reflection was staring coldly back at him, it slowly warped into the image of a horrible blue beast. Issen yelped. It resembled a bull with a ring through its nose, though there was  a frightful intelligence in its eyes.
"A djinn?!" Issen gasped with an eager grin.
"Show me my brother," he said quietly.

With a swirl of blue smoke, Issen watched with amazement as a figure began to pace across the screen of the mirror, the mirror following their move. She wondered how it was able to do so. She narrowed her eyes as she observed the man on the mirror's screen. He shared the same complexion as the prince, and the eyes were the same. However, this man's hair was longer, and braided down his head. Tattoos outlined his dark eyes.
A feeling like none other began to build up within Issen. She felt breathless and hot as she stared at the screen with both loathing and fear.
"I thought I'd forgotten his face," Issen said.
It was almost wistful, though her voice had a hard edge to it.

But why this memory?
Issen drew herself away from the bedside, unwilling to watch much more. Instead, she stared thoughtfully at the back of the mirror.
"There was nothing like that in the tomb," Issen said, though she wasn't certain.
"I would have known, I think."

Lion

"Language?" Hysaeda mimicked, clearly vexed.  He hadn't noticed the strange symbols before, but when his eyes grazed over them, he too did not recognize them.  "I don't know," he answered honestly.  "I don't recognize them as Sevic, nor do i think they are Essyrnian in any way.  They are strange runes nonetheless."

His words were cut off when the Prince began to channel something from the mirror and he too saw the blue beast.  The very image of him was alarming.  What did a djinn have to do with all of this?  Such creatures were not quite as prevalent in the smoke and fire of the Thunderblacks, but here in the desert, there were thousands of stories surrounding djinn that would grant you wishes in return for your soul, or something else of tangible worth.  And they most likely never came as you expected them to. 

Hysaeda watched in fascination, his words caught in his throat, though Issen moved away.  Perhaps she didn't know it, and neither would he, for these were events that had taken place outside of her cognitive senses, outside of her open memory.  But as Hysaeda watched the Prince he was beginning to see why Issen had turned away, why she'd never knew of the mirror's existence.

"He will kill her, will he not?" the Prince asked, watching the image of his brother.  After a time the image dissipated and only the djin was left.  There was a snide grin to him, but the demon's face actually turned grim as it gave a nod in confirmation.

"It is inevitable." the voice of the demon echoed through the room. 

Hysaeda sucked in his breath, freezing as he took a step back, forgetting for a moment just why he'd approached in the first place.  Instead he turned back to Issen, staring at her in silence, unable to find the words.  If there were words at all to express the confusion swirling in his mind.  "Perhaps this place," Hysaeda began.  "Shows you things you were never meant to see."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Winters-Feather

"You don't know?" Issen repeated, her disappointment mixed with awe.
Hysaeda knew everything. The writing was most unusual if even he couldn't decyhper it. Issen was about to eagerly suggest that they find the mirror and bring it to someone who could read it when the Prince spoke again. Issen had not been prepared for this.
This was not how the story was supposed to be.  Issen's expression after the Prince spoke grew cold and distant, the light gone from her eyes. She bowed her head to hide the hurt in her eyes, her arms wrapped tight around her chest.

Issen bit her trembling lip as  felt herself grow numb. Her body felt cold and burning at the same time, her skin uncomfortable.  Issen wanted to believe that this was a misunderstanding, but it was too late now to  turn her head away.
A wild voice in the back of her mind said that she wanted to go back, back to the tomb.   How many lies had the Prince told her? How many lies had she told herself? A thousand years was a long, long time. None of it mattered ... right?

The woman didn't dare look at Hysaeda, but she shook her head at his words. No, this... as much as it sickened her was what she was looking for. The truth. That was what she had wanted, wasn't it?  Issen abrutly reached out for a brass cup, imagining herself hurling it at the Prince, but could not touch it. With a frustrated yaowl and practically out of breath, Issen flew for the door. She couldn't breathe.
"Let's go. Now," Issen barked in Common, though she did not wait for Hysaeda to follow.

The door lead through a dark passageway. Issen gritted her teeth as she stormed through the hall with a grim determination. In the dark, she could hear screams. The palace walls slowly transformed to those of the inside of a candle lit temple. It was beautiful, with colorful pictures on the walls and with flower decorations. A statue of a solemn faced god was placed on a table by the mirror. Young men lined the walls with torches, knives, and platters full of spices and food. Their expressions were mixed with awe and fear as guards escorted a beaten and bruised Issen 2 into the room, followed by the priest, who carried a small bowl of strange paste.

The guards kicked Issen 2, who fell, curling on the ground. She was half naked, her naked back revealing scars from whip lashes. Her body and face were covered in designs of red paint.  Around her neck and limbs were steel cuffs with jewels embedded in them. Issen watched the scene, confused.
"Magic," Issen said in the ancient tongue before switching to Common, her voice shrill. "Hysaeda, why isn't she using it?!"

The priest grinned.
"Have you thought about my offer?" he asked.
Despite her injuries, Issen 2 turned her head and looked up to him with a glare full of fiery spite. She slowly drew herself up to a more dignified sitting position, her head majestically held up.
"No," she hissed as he knelt before her.

Though she was trying to be brave, her fear was obvious. Her breathing became quicker as the priest knelt by her, gently rubbing her shoulders and running a hand through her hair.
"You're an idiot," he whispered. "Do you know why you're here, witch?"
Issen 2 said nothing.
"I protected the future king," Issen 2 replied hoarsely. "From you."
"You practiced forbidden magic," the priest said. "Not so powerful now, are you, with those seals?"
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Issen 2 bellowed, her voice ringing in the temple.
The priest slapped her across the face.
"Spare us your lies! He drowned, exposing your witch craft. You killed him, you whom he loved."
"Liar," Issen 2 spat.
The priest smiled wickedly.
"You're right," he replied coldly. "He was the one who stabbed you, wasn't he?"
Issen 2 fell silent. The priest chuckled.
"I offered you redemption, and you did not take it. Death is too good for you," he said. "So you will not have it."

The priest drew up to his feet and began to chant, holding his hands over her head. Issen blanched as she covered her ears. She didn't know why but they sounded oddly familiar. She was scared of them, that he had said her name. Issen hadn't been paying attention, but when he had said her name, there was no sound, as if it it had been erased.

The lights seemed to dim and the air colder as the mirror glowed a fiercesome light. He reached out into her chest, his hand going through her skin. Issen screamed and covered her mouth in horror as Issen 2 howled. She tried to thrash about and get out of his reach, but the chains were too tightly bound. Issen 2 gasped as the priest triumphantly held her bleeding heart in his hands. Her head rolled to the side as she moaned in agony.

"What... what have you done?"she gasped.
But the priest did not answer as he held the heart triumphantly over his head as his followers cheered. He solemnly headed towards the mirror and knelt before it. Issen gasped as the djinn suddenly stood before the priest, accepting the offering in his clawed hands.
"What have you done?" Issen 2 demanded again, in tears.

But Issen knew.
Oh, she thought, a hollow laugh escaping her lips.  So that's how it was.
Issen felt strangely at peace and feared that at the slightest touch, she would break. Though the rest of the room had their eyes on the prisoner, Issen forced herself to focus on the dreaded mirror and the beast with her heart in its possession.
"That's it, isn't it?" she said, her voice dry.  "That... we need that."

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