[MOVED THREAD! Post authors, in order of posting: Small Wonder and Gold]
Small Wonder
Gackt is God. XD
Posts: 1140
(12/1/04 5:24 pm)
68.7.17.236
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It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.
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Alone for the first time that dayâ€"which had soon turned into nightâ€"Lykoth sank into the plush chair by the window, finally allowed to rest and, dare she think it? relax. That is, until the next issue came up, and there had been plenty of those to deal with that day. Not that she minded; she had been prepared for them, and she didn't choose this duty to complain about it.
No, a kingdom that had been without leadership for months was bound to have its share of issues, and from what she'd learned, it had had its share of problems even with leadership. High crime rates, poverty...and the threat of an attack; the neighboring kingdom was apparently expecting one from some foreign army, and if all went well there (well, well for the attackers, that is), then it was likely this kingdom could be next on the list. It seemed the kingdom couldn't have chosen to lose its leadership at a worse time.
As any new prospective leader should be, she had been educated in all the vital statistics concerning the kingdom well before she had even begun her journey to it, and so, thankfully, she had been as prepared as she could possibly be. Not prepared enough, in her eyes. One could never be prepared enough. But it would suffice. For the time being.
She was pleased to find that, at least, that this country had the remnants of a working military. That was a relief. Still, she had not come unprepared, and had brought with her soldiers of her own in addition to her own council and servants as she needed them...
Staring out the window into the open courtyard, littered with night shadows, she found that, tired as she was from her travels, she could not yet find rest. There was still so much to do, so much planning on her mind. Her own soldiers from her own country, added to the remaining soldiers here, would certainly not be enough, nor sufficient to morale. The people had been cautious enough about her arrival; after all, she was a foreigner, and even though this was the task appointed to her, and even though she was doing this for their own good, she could understand their wariness. She just had to make it clear she wasn't here to make any drastic changes; she was only here to continue the legacy set by the Adelan rulers before her, and to build the country back up and provide the leadership it needed to survive. To help ease concerns, she needed to appoint the right Adelan citizens to any important government positions that needed filling. And recruit Adelan soldiers into the militia.
That, and a mountain of other important tasks...
But she hadn't grown up a High Lord's daughter for nothing. And she knew that these things took time, patience, and meticulous planning. One couldn't move mountains overnight.
Rubbing a patch of the window as it became fogged from the chill air outside, she glanced up at the clear, cold sky. Midnight. It was past midnight already, and only an hour ago had she stayed her work. And she didn't yet feel tired. Not mentally, at least. Her mind was awake and racing with all the thoughts of her duties.
And there would be more to do in the morning. Well...later in the morning.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to sleep just yet. She just sat, gazing out the window even as it fogged up again, a young woman in her mid-twenties with short red-brown hair, done in a myriad of braids, and golden-brown skin, dressed in a long gown of conservative, and yet exotic, dress.
Gold
Miss Oblivious
Posts: 452
(12/6/04 3:11 pm)
69.137.159.91
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<--Kylanya:: A Muse for you
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The castle was colder than usual this night, so much that even Kylanya could feel the difference in temperature even though the cold and heat did not effect her as it did normal humans. The halls were barren except for a few servants who scuttled about in the early hours of the morning to finish tasks they had not been able to during the day. The walls breathed with stories that they longed to tell of secrets that took place in their abandoned halls.
Down this passage a pair of lovers met in the dark to share their few moments together, whispering love and nonsense that made sense only to their ears. In this room a great poet had sat by his desk for many hours, slaving over a phrase that would not come but he could feel in the pit of his mind. A small child had run through this place, playing a game of pretend with her childhood companions, dodging their elders lest they be forced to stop and embrace the real world they longed to leave behind. Here in the great halls minstrel after minstrel sat and performed before the royal and noble families of Adela, their poetic lyrics striking the hearts of all who listened, bringing some to tears. And here, the great laws of the realm were revised and completed as the kingdom was pieced together like a giant puzzle. A puzzle that still seemed to be missing parts of its picture.
How many of her sisters had sat in these halls? Each one had taken a task, a person, and stayed with them for the entirety of their lives, barely recognized but always there; always watching; always helping. How long had it been since one of her kind had returned the place of her ancestors? How many still remembered who they were, like she, or had they all faded into the cold stones of the past and become nothing but a memory?
Each stone spoke to her, giving up a story and a lesson that had long since been forgotten and longed to be remembered, longed to be found. Even the sconces that graced the walls echoed with their past and present, a tale yet to be told, still being woven.
Kylanya felt the dead presence of inspiration behind ever door. No one seemed to see their Muses anymore for they had faded over time and become things around them. But these symbols of her ancestors were not nearly as potent as before and their magic had nearly died and longed to be renewed.
That was why she was here, to awaken the powers of the past.
Pausing before a large oak door, Kylanya felt a presence inside the chamber, a restless being with so much to think about, so much to do for someone young as she. With complete silence, the muse pushed the door from its latch and entered the room to see the person whose mind she had sensed.
Lykoth her inner senses tingled as the name came into her mind, forming a picture that was more than just an outside image, but a picture that encompassed mind and body.
Just as quietly as she had entered, Kylanya sat down in a chair that was located in the corner of the room and kept silent watch.
Small Wonder
Gackt is God. XD
Posts: 1152
(12/6/04 4:00 pm)
68.7.17.236
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A Muse for ME? Dawww! You shouldn't have!
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Lykoth was beginning to drift off where she sat, and she knew it, but she was too comfortable to rise, change clothes, and make it over to the magnificent bed which was the focal point of the room. Besides...it had taken her long enough to get into this relaxed state; if she moved now, it would awaken her mind all over again, and then it would be another hour or so before her mind talked itself to sleep. She knew she'd regret it in the morning when she woke up with a stiff back but, frankly, didn't care. She had to get some sleep...there was just so much to do...
And yet, one blue eye cracked open slightly as a bit of cool air made its way unbidden into the warm room, stroking her face briefly before it was absorbed by the warmth the room's much needed fireplace emitted. She hadn't heard anything, but she knew the only logical explaination for that would be that the door had been opened. The spaceous castle had been much cooler in other areas.
Maybe she hadn't shut it all the way. No, she knew very well that she had. The only other possible explaination entered her mind with a mixture of contentment and annoyance, and she sighed and turned her head tiredly, though which emotion she sighed with was unclear. "Vincent, did I not tell you toâ€"oh..."
Her eyes had landed on the woman that sat across the room from her in a chair, and they went from tired to surprised in an instant. A moment later, and Lykoth sat up and smoothed out her features, though she made sure to do so in a way that seemed unhurried and unconcerned. She didn't recognize this woman...she could easily be someone of importance...and keeping her composure meant everything. Still...what was she doing here? Was it Adelan custom to walk in unannounced? No, wait, it was midnight. What would a noble be doing here? It certainly made no sense, even to her exhausted mind. Something that did make sense that occured to her then was that, perhaps, the girl was an Adelan servant...though she wasn't wearing the liveries. But she certainly wasn't one of her own servants.
"Who are you?" Ah yes. Very regal. But she was tired. She deserved a little leeway.
Gold
Miss Oblivious
Posts: 454
(12/6/04 4:46 pm)
69.137.159.91
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Of course for you! *pinches cheeks* You NEED a muse!
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Kylanya was slightly shocked herself when the woman addressed her until she realized that in her roaming of the castle she had shed her invisibility in order to feel the world around her with a better sense. But perhaps it was fitting that this woman should see her, a living sign that muses were more than just myths and still roamed the world helping those with need.
With a brush of her long, star sprinkled brown hair she smiled, her dark sea eyes sparkling with their own light that emitted from her person, not the fire a few feet away. In fact, her entire body seemed to glow with ethereal light that glimmered across the silver circlet that draped across her delicate brow.
She did not answer at once, content to just sit and look upon the woman whose mind had called to her own and begged for assistance. So many thoughts raced through her mind, too many to count and each one holding just as much importance as the last. How did humans live with so much pressuring them? It was amazing that anyone had lasted so long without some sort of divine aid, if muses could even be considered divine.
My name is Kylanya she answered after a few moments of silence, her voice spoken half out loud and half within the mind of the woman before her, echoing as if they were standing in a stone hall with ceilings that would not contain sound but allowed it to bounce gaily. I am here to aid you, Lykoth. It was a half answer, but one filled with enough information to satisfy the initial shock of having a strange woman appear in your midsts like a small blow of the wind tickles your nose without any warning.
The stories...oh the stories that even this room longed to tell! The very stones cried out tales woven years before, legends that faded into dust as the rulers that once stayed here faded, disappearing into the cold ground, never to remembered but for deed and name. How easily humans forgot....how often humans longed to forget and thus erased half of their history.
Small Wonder
Gackt is God. XD
Posts: 1155
(12/7/04 1:09 pm)
68.7.17.236
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Darn tootin' I do! What took ya so long!? *swats hand away*
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It suddenly occurred to Lykoth, as her tired vision steadily began to clear, that the woman before her was in no possible way a servant. And as she noted the star-dusted hair and delicate, impossibly glass-like features that seemed to glow with their own light, she also began to question whether this woman was even human, for that matter. A thought which was further reinforced by the woman's odd way of communicating, her voice having an almost dream-like quality to Lykoth's ears. Which brough up another through: was she really asleep, and this some sort of dream?
No...a quick survey of the sensations around her told that she was very much awake; the fatigue was far too pronounced for this to be a dream.
The woman knew her name. For a moment, this startled her, but then the obvious explaination struck her, and she almost laughed. Of course she knew her name. She was this country's new leader. She had grown so caught up in the oddness of the situation, trying so hard to analyze it as she did any new situation, that an obvious answer had almost slipped by her.
It was too late for this...
"Aid me?" she asked after a pause, voice and features cool, despite her racing thoughts. It wasn't as thoug she'd never seen or even met a non-human before; they dwelled in her country, too. But she had never before met one like this. Other non-humans she'd met always seemed more...solid, less ethereal, and spoke in the same manner as other humans. "I daresay help is appreciated, and there are still council positions that need filling. If you are interested, you may request an audience for tomorrow, and we shall talk then."
It was a polite way of excusing the woman, in other words. By now she was fully awake and functioning, and a hint of annoyance had entered her mind, though she kept it concealed. She'd always thought requesting an audience was a universal protocal. At least, where she came from, people at the very least announced their presence before entering. Which brought up yet another thought. Security. She had known there wasn't much of that when she had come here, but the sheer lack of it was ridiculous if her own chambers weren't even being guarded. She could only imagine what it was like in the village. And that was what truly spawned her irritation. Not the girl's mistake. But that of the guards.
Yes, that would be one of the first things she would address in the morning.
[transfer: COMPLETE! Resume posting!]
