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The Years Gone By (Lion)

Started by Minfever, July 30, 2017, 06:00:31 PM

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Minfever

It had been years since she had left him out of trepidation, in a moment of desperation against something she didn't understand.  The earth had warned her of something, something treacherous within the cave he was leading her to, and her heart was torn in two.  Stay, and know that she would face an enemy that even Ghanon couldn't protect her from, or leave, and perhaps never see Ghanon again.  One could say she abandoned him to a possible death, but she knew the threat wasn't for him, but for her.  She knew that whatever lurked deeply behind the shadows was for her, and her alone, and she didn't have time to make Ghanon fully aware of what she felt.

"Ghanon." she stopped him before they entered the cave, and squeezed his hand gently within her own, "I.... I can't."

Tearful eyes made their way back to his, an icy blue occupying their normal azure centers, and she brought her hand up to his arm, almost pleadingly, as if to ask him to silently to make this choice easier for her.

"I don't know why, I just can't.  I have to get far away from here," she paused, her eyes riddled with confusion, "Without you."

She felt the foreboding fluctuation of energy emanating from the cave and stepped back slightly behind Ghanon.  A gasp escaped her and a tear rolled down her cheek, freeing itself at the end of her chin and she turned back to Ghanon fiercely, confidently.

"I will find you." she promised, raising both of her hands to his gentle face, and leaned into his ear, smelling the fine scent of his blonde hair, and whispered, "I will because I love you."

The words came easily now, as if the moment, swollen with anxiety and apprehension, had helped her overcome her more insignificant fears.  She knew she loved him, wholly, and had for a long time, only her apprehension to speak it into existence had kept her from admitting the truth.  At one time, she might have been too afraid of rejection to confess her wild feelings for him, but now, whether he knew he loved her or not didn't matter.  What mattered was that she promised she would find him, and find him she would, because he was now bound to her soul forever in a way he may never understand.

She let go of his face and squeezed one of his hands, placing a kiss to the back of it.  Her lips were soft and moist with tears, and she took a deep breath and released him from her grasp.  In milliseconds, she was gone to the trees, camouflaging into her natural habitat as a deer does once spooked.  She ran endlessly, it seemed, until her legs gave out and she stumbled to her knees, wracking sobs escaping her breast.  Lana had known pain like this before; loss.  Her only comfort was the knowledge that they would find each other again, that they were infinite and timeless and there was no natural force in the universe that could keep them apart.  She would find him, whether he would want to see her again or not.




But months continued on in the unforgiving way time can.  Months turned to years and though it meant nothing to a being like herself, to her heart it meant far more.  She had awaited his return confidently for almost a year, thinking he would respond to her calls from the necklace he had given her, as he always did, but soon she began to realize he was possibly never going to come.  Her confidence waned and she started to contemplate having lost him.  The pain she felt knowing this fact wasn't the kind she had expected.  She wasn't crushed by the weight of it, nor was she indifferent.  She was someplace in between where silent acceptance lived.  She had endured loss before, and whatever kind this loss was, be it rejection or death, they were all the same at the core.  The stages of grief were simple for her; first, realization, and secondly, acceptance.  The third phase was to move on from it and learn from it.  Yet, for some reason, as the years collided into one another and formed one lengthy span of time, during her travels and her discoveries, he was always in the back of her mind, as if he were a part of her now.  What had happened to him?  Had he simply decided not to come back to her?  That didn't seem like him.  Whatever it was that drew him to her, there was something else entirely that bound them together, but what it was, only he knew, and it was doubtful he would have ever told her.

She had done her part in trying to find him, but the necklace he had given her proved to have no use, as it never shined even the slightest to indicate where he was, and he never heard his voice calling out to her.  Whether that was because he was no where to be found or he didn't want to be found, she didn't know.

These thoughts plagued her mind, as an old wound occasionally smarts to remind you that it's there.  However, her mind was to soon be consumed by something else entirely.

It had been a nightmarish sleep for her.  As if to compliment her feverish dreams a devilish storm had brewed outside.  She was in her makeshift shelter in the middle of a freezing mountain underneath a couple of sparse trees that managed to grow from the side.  The temperature hardly made her uncomfortable.  She was used to the cold, but another factor played its part in distracting her from her frozen surroundings.  A dream played upon her mind like an unwelcome invader.  It was happening all over again.  The dark chill of the palace.  The echo of an uprising in the city below, mirroring that which was happening in her own Kingdom.  She searched everywhere for him.  He was nowhere to be found.  That was, until she approached his chambers.  She stepped cautiously to the door which stood ajar, allowing only a brief glimpse into the room.  As her gaze took in her surroundings and moved to the floor, a thick, ghoulishly red substance began to creep its way across the stone flooring and toward her feet.  Blood.  She threw open the door only to be greeted by Slater's lifeless body propped up against his bed, his sword piercing through him to the hilt.  His eyes were open, but she couldn't tell if they were frozen in fear of an enemy or in acceptance of a deadly choice he had made himself.  Had he done this to himself?  She swallowed hard and deep azure eyes took in his form as she approached him and knelt.  Tears began to well in her eyes, dripping away from her thick lashes and onto his cheek as she stroked his temple.  Sobs began to bubble up from her chest and she suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe.  She closed her eyes tightly and leaned her forehead onto his, clutching at his shirt with an iron grip.  She cried out in agony as the realization came over her.  The moments passed like decades before she could compose herself, but compose herself she did.  A Queen never dwells for long on her own suffering.  Ultimately, it is her people that must matter most, and even though her people no longer trusted her, she was their born servant.  Gritting her teeth, eyes still pressed together in determination, she reached for the hilt of his sword to take it as her own.  She squeezed her fingers around it and began to pull, until something resisted her.  A cool hand began to slither up the side of the sheath and met her own.  A breath was heard in the silence, but it was not her own.  She opened her eyes to meet his, a dead stare with a new sparkle of life returning her gaze.

"Slater..." she whispered.

The clammy hand gripped her hand gently, caressing the back of it with his fingertips.

"Do you want to know what I remember, Lana?" he choked out, blood spattering out of his mouth and onto her lips.

Suddenly, his grip became painful as her delicate bones were crushed together within his grasp.  His face grimaced in pain as he started to pull himself into an upright position, and he, with her hand in his, pulled the blade from his belly with a sickening fleshy sound.  Slater threw the sword aside and took her by the throat, rising to his feet and taking her with him.

"I remember your cowardice.  Your lack of emotion.  Your loyalty to your people who turned against you!  You left me to die, Lana, and took my sword with you!  And look what became of you.  A lonely, lost wanderer with no purpose to speak of.  Your people rejected you!"

He squeezed harder against her trachea and silenced her.

"I thought what we had was enough to satisfy you, but in the end, all that mattered to you was your people who ended up betraying you.  In turn, you betrayed me.  So here I am, Lana, waiting for you...  Your people are mine now, your lands, mine. I have your sword as you have mine!  Be the beacon of your people again, Queen!  Save them from my rule and prove to me that you are a worthy adversary as you once were!  If you do not," he smiled sickeningly, "They will die at my hand.  Take up their cause, however undeserving they may be, and fight me."

He let her go and she fell to the ground gasping for air, reaching out toward his feet as if to implore him, and darkness took her.

Her eyes fluttered open, a raindrop falling from between the trees above onto her cheek to join the pond of tears that had collected beneath her eyes.

"He's alive." she breathed, and for the first time, the cold around her gave her a chill.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were elements in the world that had many purposes, one of which was the dream shard.  She had once thought she was born with it, but the tales of her people described her being a child when it happened.  She had been bitten by a creature of the darkness which had scurried over from the Evil One's world.  It had been an assassination attempt, a poorly exacted one, but nevertheless very dangerous to the young Queen.  There had been tales of shards that made up a mirror, for what purpose none of her people knew.  However, they did know that they had haphazardly come into possession of one piece.  Many of the people knew nothing of what it did, but knew its name.  The Dreamshard.  There was a healer among them who knew the properties of the dreamshard and knew that it had many capabilities, one of which was an incidental effect it had on dark poison.  The young girl, at the time, was unconscious and raspily breathing.  There was nothing that had been able to impede the flow of the poison in her veins, until the Master Healer was called.  It was a terrifying choice to make.  The dream shard was a foreign body to the little Queen, and no one could say if it would have the occasional and rare effect of drawing out the poison.  It didn't happen for everyone, in fact hardly anyone at all, and it wasn't a constant property of the shard.  Perhaps there was a residue on the shard that gave it this healing property, and perhaps the residue was gone by now, but there was little choice left for them.  The Master Healer performed her incantations and installed the shard below the rest of the girl's jewels which graced the incline of her back.  Instantaneously Lana's eyes shot open and she took in a choking breath in tremendous pain.  The Master Healer was dragged away by nearby guards and put into a cell for the time being, and Lana was left with yet another foreign force for her little body to contend with.

The girl nearly died, but against the expectations of her people, she miraculously came around.  Unknown to her or anyone else, this shard had somehow given her a healing ability unnatural to her line.  The shard had embedded itself in her back, the flesh around it healing as the tip of it remained protruding out of the skin just as the rest of her jewels did, a glimmering reminder of what she had endured at such a young age.  It was this healing gift that made her strong and resilient, creating a particularly new kind of enemy for Slater to defeat.

As she would eventually discover, it would hold yet, another purpose for her.  For unknown reasons the shard began to glow interchangeably.  Her necklace began to shimmer for the first time in ten long years.  She knew that he was near when the flesh around the shard began to ache and the necklace's shimmer began to become blinding.  As she continued to flutter her eyes against the raindrops above a nauseating pain filled her stomach and she cried out lightly, pressing her hand against the protruding shard.  A flurry of emotions filled her as she was just recuperating from her night terror, and now, felt the excitement of something entirely different.  The shard began to heat, a sensation she hadn't felt with it before, and she hoisted herself up after grasping at a damp tree branch.  After ten years, could he really be so nearby?  She had given up thinking of him.  Had he finally found her?  Questions filled her mind but she pushed them aside, knowing that whatever questions she had would either be answered or not within the next few minutes.  He had to be extremely close if the shard was acting this way.

She had become an expert climber over the years, preferring nature to brick and mortar cities.  She even preferred solitude rather than the company of the denizens of cities.  At one time, when Ghanon knew her before, she had wanted nothing more than to be with people and to feel their camaraderie.  It filled a void in her before that had once existed because of her infinite loneliness.  It was also what drew her to Ghanon so deeply.  Now, having been alone for some time and making her bed with her loneliness she found the solitude was healing.  Perhaps, this time that had passed between them was necessary for her to emotionally heal.  Yet, as it always seemed, the moment her heart began to rejuvenate itself something or someone would tear it to pieces again.  She didn't feel pity for herself, only understood it to be the way of life.  Life was pain, as Ghanon had once told her, and she took his words seriously.  It was the only constant truth in life.

She descended down the rocky mountainside, endeavoring to follow the searing pain of the shard to her destination.  It was difficult to climb with her jewel burning with such fiery heat, and she had to stop a ways down to help her body to stop trembling.  She glanced down at the rocks covered in snow below and noticed a mound of it by a slender tree that seemed... peculiar.  It was as if it had fashioned over something throughout the years.  She curiously slid down to the ledge and landed dexterously on her feet.  Lana leaned on one knee and peered more closely at this patch of snow.  She reached her hand out and felt the welcoming cold of the ice.  Some layers of it had hardened with time.  She took out a dagger to begin digging.  The snow parted to reveal a thick, heavy layer of ice which she ran her hand over.  The warmth of her hand clarified the ice and revealed a darkness within, as if it were enveloping something in its frozen embrace.  She realized the mound of snow resembled the shape and size of a human being, and her heart skipped a beat.

"No." she whispered to herself.

She began hacking at the ice with her dagger, using all of her strength to carefully break through. She successfully chipped away at the ice and began to see a thick black jacket, ice crystals attaching themselves to the fibers.  Lana was able to remove most of the obscuring snow and ice and recognized the blueish white face of Ghanon.  She moaned gently in horror and placed her hand at his cheek.  Her otherworldly warmth began to soften his skin to her touch, and she held her other hand over the shard which was now so hot that it glowed beneath her skin.  His pain was hers now, they would get through this together.  She simply needed to thaw his body and wake him up.  She was desperate at this moment and took the snake-like pendant from her neck, crushing its glass against the dense rock beside her.  She pinched at the slivers of glass and sprinkled them into Ghanon's mouth.  As they touched his lips and tongue, a shadowy liquid formed and soaked into his flesh.  She had never wanted to have to destroy her pendant but she needed everything she had in her power to revive him, and Slater's pendant had magics in it she could only ever hope to possess herself.  It was a necessary sacrifice in this particular moment,  but that wasn't to be worried about now.

"Ghanon." she gently slapped his cheek as his body began to warm, "Ghanon, breathe."

Her golden hair fell over her shoulder onto his chest and her frozen tears cascaded from her lips and chin onto his cheek and neck.  Her eyes were a heavenly blue now, mimicking the icy blue sky.

"Just breathe.  I'll do the rest."

A few moments passed, and nothing.  She felt her heart plummet into the pit of her stomach and she leaned her forehead against his, pressing back tears.  Her eyes fluttered open again as her resolve came back to her and she reached a hand out to the atmosphere.  A blueish butterfly landed in her palm, and reminiscent of a little trick she had used ages ago when she had first left him, the butterfly transformed into a flying beast.  Lana pulled him up onto the creature with her and directed it toward the cave up above.

With the assistance of her magnificent creation, Ghanon was rolled onto his back on the cool cave floor.  Lana reached down and pressed her hand against the floor of the cave, its natural freezing temperature now warming up to a comfortable heat.  She rubbed her hands together in her insecurity and took a deep breath, hardly believing what she was about to do.

She found the freezing skin of his chest beneath his clothing and pressed her palms to him.  The storm outside was wildly worsening, and she hoped that with the assistance of that energy she could awaken him.

Lana spoke earthly words to the atmosphere, pressing her palms firmly down onto his chest, willing him to breathe.  A small snap could be heard coming from beneath her hands, and then another, and another, the space between each sound narrowing, hastening.  With a cry she leaned into him and an electric pulse of energy swam throughout his body into the ends of his limbs.  As the lightning effect took place a thunderous clap was audible as if the earth were echoing the surge.  She reached her hand out to his face and stroked his cheek gently.

"Oh, Ghanon....  Be here, for me."

Lion

So this was the so called "Big Sleep"?

This was all it was chopped up to be? A really long fucking nap? Those Corrothim Death Cults were sorely mistaken in what they worshiped, as if this great end was just the gateway to a new beginning. Or perhaps it was Ghanon that had been wrong all this time?  Hah, it wouldn't be the first time.

The Astralwalker, caught between life and death, heavenly embrace and hellish punishment. Frozen solid in the norther wastes of this godsforsaken mortal world. Ten years that felt little more than a few minutes or the waking desperation of hours doling on. Endless.

Only then did he feel the weight of time, the ache in mortal bones. For no matter how much magic had been infused in him, no matter his bloodline, or the plane of which he came from, Corrothims were as mortal as any other being and could bleed and break just as fragile as these humans were.  To live, to die, to fall into stardust.

That was a pain Ghanon wished on no one.

Only vaguely in his dreams did he register someone speaking. A woman's voice or a man's he couldn't tell. Only that there were voices that made no sense in a tongue that numbed his mind. Ghanon didn't move, couldn't move within that icy grave.  He was as he went in - a corpse.

[super short, but he ain't waking up that easy]




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

Minfever

(Alright, a challenge I see... ;-) )

Quote from: Lion on August 01, 2017, 05:58:01 PM
So this was the so called "Big Sleep"?

This was all it was chopped up to be? A really long fucking nap? Those Corrothim Death Cults were sorely mistaken in what they worshiped, as if this great end was just the gateway to a new beginning. Or perhaps it was Ghanon that had been wrong all this time?  Hah, it wouldn't be the first time.

The Astralwalker, caught between life and death, heavenly embrace and hellish punishment. Frozen solid in the norther wastes of this godsforsaken mortal world. Ten years that felt little more than a few minutes or the waking desperation of hours doling on. Endless.

Only then did he feel the weight of time, the ache in mortal bones. For no matter how much magic had been infused in him, no matter his bloodline, or the plane of which he came from, Corrothims were as mortal as any other being and could bleed and break just as fragile as these humans were.  To live, to die, to fall into stardust.

That was a pain Ghanon wished on no one.

Only vaguely in his dreams did he register someone speaking. A woman's voice or a man's he couldn't tell. Only that there were voices that made no sense in a tongue that numbed his mind. Ghanon didn't move, couldn't move within that icy grave.  He was as he went in - a corpse.

[super short, but he ain't waking up that easy]

Despite her attempts at reviving his death-like body he remained as lifeless as he had been beneath the ice.  She cried out in fury and in rage slammed a fist against his abdomen, as if this simple act of frustration would rectify the situation.  She was desperate, frustrated, feeling like a wild animal caught in a hunter's trap.  She had to think back to the days when her people would fall in the midst of battle, how they revived their bodies.  But she had nothing with her to aid her in performing a resurrection spell.  She sighed and sat back, feeling hopeless and weary, staring at his freezing corpse for a moment.

There was one thought...

Her jewels...

The very things that gave her immortality, rejuvenation, communion with the earth, creation magics...  She wasn't certain exactly what effect removing one would have, but she knew which one had which power, and she knew the one that gave her immortality and the one that helped her to heal.  They worked in tandem to create the indomitable celestial being that she was.  It pained her extraordinarily to think that she might have to part with one, but at one time Ghanon had asked if she would ever give him one as a gift, and at this moment, she needed him more than she needed her crystals.  She would give him one gift, but she would have to choose wisely.

If she gave him the crystal of immortality, she could guarantee he would live, but she would then begin the process of aging and eventually, over a human lifespan, giving way to a mortal death.  However, the dream shard would allow her to heal endlessly, and as long as she had the shard it would counteract her body's aging, working against the ravages of time.  It wouldn't make her immortal.  There were some wounds a body can't heal, but it would give her a good chance at something close to it.

Her jaw set in resolution.  Her hands began to shake as she reached for the dagger in her boot.  This would be painful, more so than anything she had felt before in her long life span, but it had to be done.  She was resolute now, and once Lana made a decision, she followed through against every obstacle.

She owed him at least this much, for leaving him like she did.  It was her fault that he had passed because she had abandoned him, assuming he would survive as he always did.  She deserved to know this pain.

The knife found its way underneath the crystal, the third one up from the base of her tailbone, above the dark crystal and one white crystal.  She pressed gently, holding her breath, and found that she was more afraid than she had first anticipated.  She pulled the knife back, looking at it, tears dripping onto the sheen of the blade.  Lana took a deeper breath this time, and reached back with the tip of the knife.  She could hear the blade pierce her flesh and she cried out in agony.  Several deep, raspy breaths escaped her suddenly and she steeled herself before pushing deep beneath the crystal.  It was embedded further than she had thought.  She could feel the nerves of her back twinging and firing, the searing pain of the blade overtaking her.  Still, she pushed on, digging the jewel out of its fleshy prison.

The moment it began to separate from the nerve endings and blood supply, the jewel began to fade.  Its power wasn't lost, but it was no longer in communion with her body, no longer supplying her with its life giving qualities as any organ being cut away.  She cried out again, no longer able to stifle her agony and pried the jewel from its place.  It fell from her body and onto the ground behind her with a ping, and suddenly, the world was a swirl of color.  Dizzied, she leaned forward onto her hands, crimson dark blood pouring from her back down her sides and leaving thick trails of cherry red along her garb.  She felt her breath grow shallow, her body changing within, the loss of its assured immortality taking effect.  The other crystals grew brighter, trying to compensate for the loss of their companion.  Her chest became tight as nausea threatened to make her vomit everything she had consumed that day.

The overwhelming transition of her now mortal body continued to take hold of her senses, but her eyes met Ghanon's soulless visage and she was reminded of what she was to do.  Lana picked up the crystal with hands shaking and crawled over to Ghanon.  She took her dagger and pierced an opening into his chest just below the separation of his collar bones.  An aged, half frozen life force oozed out of his wound.  She pressed the jewel into its new pocket of flesh, and if things were to go as planned, the flesh would close swiftly around it to accept the foreign body.  She watched him intently, eyes wide with hope and terror, as she slipped backward into the shadow to watch, holding her knees against her chest.

Lion

Ghanon would not die. No, no, his body was much too stubborn for that. And nor would he ever be afforded such a luxury. That was reserved for the righteous; not the damned. Ghanon had accepted his fate long ago. Before Lana, before the mirror, before everything...  Except...  No, no, that was only the thinly veiled guise of regret that twisted and churned in his belly, like a snake coiled in a basket that had been rattled one too many times.

Something else was surging through him. Ghanon felt the pain of something plunge deep into his chest, and he was bleeding, and still there was no movement, his limbs heavy and inert. Somewhere deep inside he was swimming, longing for the surface of the water he was plunged in and when he saw the sunlight above, he fought the deep blackness.

Warmth was slowly coursing through him, a white vibrant glow and ebbing through the tendrils of his veins and into his blood stream. Ghanon made a noise, a soft moan as the pain in his chest was realized and his eyes opened. He sobbed, feeling the mortality seeping deep into his old bones. Timeless though they were, they were heavy and weak and ached in his joints.

"Cass...." was all he could murmur when he stirred from his icy grave.  Ghanon slowly lifted his head, his vision doubling, fading in and out. "Cassander..."  He slowly, carefully sat up, his hand reaching up to cup at the blood that slowly flowed his from his chest.  "I'm sorry."





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

Minfever

(Just for reference, because I'm in love with my avi, she's wearing the outfit in my avatar.  Totally conspicuous, but whatever, she's a Queen)


Lana's body quivered against the torrent coursing through her body.  It was dying and being reborn all at once.  The aches and pains, the sensitivity to the freezing temperature of a mortal body fell into her like an avalanche.  Her vision was blurring, the darkness of the cave worsening her vision.  She felt her tears threaten to freeze as they welled in her eyes.  The movement of Ghanon, if she hadn't known he was there, would've looked like the shade of a spectre.

"Cass...." was all he could murmur when he stirred from his icy grave.  Ghanon slowly lifted his head, his vision doubling, fading in and out. "Cassander..."  He slowly, carefully sat up, his hand reaching up to cup at the blood that slowly flowed his from his chest.  "I'm sorry."

The rain continued on outside without them.  Thunder broke through the clouds and echoed against the mountain range.  When she heard his voice, her tears broke through and fell in waterfalls down her cheeks.  He was alive.  It had worked.  But at what cost?  Instant realization overcame her as the pain in her body told her of the consequences of her choice.  She couldn't say she regretted raising him, but the depth of what she had done seized her heart as if someone had reached into her chest.  What had she done?

"Ghanon..." her voice quivered, and she leaned forward onto her hands, crawling like a child toward him.

She joined him at his side and reached a hand out to peel his away from his wound.  It was closing around the jewel.  It was too late to retract it, lest he too was subjected to her fate.

Lion

[Totally practically for a tundra environment, lol]

Ghanon stirred and slowly rose from his frozen tomb, the one he would have been content to lie in for all eternity had it not been for this interloper. Why?  Who? How?  Did any of that really matter here and now? Ghanon took in a deep shuddering breath, and he pushed himself up from the ground. Or tried to. The weakness in his limbs left him slumping on the ground.

A voice nearby. "Huh?" he breathed in, looking up at that familiar face.  "L....Lana... "  There was was reaching out to him. Or toward him. Ghanon looked down to his chest, gasping at the feel of the crystal moving inside of him. He reached in and dug his fingers into flesh. He panicked and pried at the wound, digging into his own to pluck out the crystal and with a cry he saw it clatter into a bloody heap into the ground.




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

Minfever

(Well, she's normally immune to the cold until now, since she sacrificed a gem for him, now she's feeling kinda mortal)

A feeling of remorse clung to Lana as she watched the gem clatter to the ground and roll to a stop, like a toy cast aside by a child.  She reached a hand out gingerly to grasp it, feeling its warmth in her palm.  It felt good in her hand, like a hot stone.  Could she place it back into her flesh?  Would it take?  With a quivering sigh as she thought of the ensuing pain, she brought her hand back and after a pause, pressed it into the gaping wound in the small of her back.  Suppressing a cry she set her jaw and kept her hand over the jewel, hoping it would join with her flesh.  Moments passed and she felt no response from her body other than wracking pain.  Letting out a withheld breath she gasped and let the jewel free.  It fell from her to the ground and clanked as it clashed against the stone, losing its light as it slowed to a stop.  It was useless now.  She'd lost it forever.

A tear fell from her eye as she stared at the jewel, a useless, pitiful thing now with no power to speak of.  After a short while, pondering the reality of what had transpired, she lifted her gaze to Ghanon and felt her heart skip a beat.  At least, he was alive.

She leaned over him like a mother and smoothed her fingers through his hair, taking time to memorize every feature of his face.  Her expression was solemn as she gazed at him, almost in wonder.  He was here, he was breathing, and it had been ten years.

She soothed him and shushed him to calm his panic, and pressed a hand to his chest to heal him.  The wound closed as quickly as it had been created.

"Ghanon." she whispered, the quiver in her voice betraying the chill she felt from the rain, and ran the back of her cold fingers along his temple, "Where have you been..."

She didn't expect an answer, only asked in wonderment at his condition.

Lion

That soothing touch had been so foreign for him, and he shivered when her fingers made contact with him, with his hair, to his chest, and that touch alone was enough to spark to life the heart that had ceased to be beat many eons ago. How odd to feel warm again and his eyes only momentarily glanced down to the crystal shard she'd dropped uselessly to the ground.

Ghanon didn't move from her touch, not yet, although he was still somewhat reeling. Instead he slowly felt his arms curl up and around her form, holding her as if she were the only tangible thing in existence. Another shuddering breath and when they closed around her at last, he leaned in and pressed his face into the soft skin of her neck.

For a long moment he sat there, half out of the hole in the ground, and clinging to a segment of reality he thought had long since been gone. There was no verbal answer, just the one of his face being buried deeply against her form.




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The Order of St. Agratha

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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

Minfever

Thunder boomed outside the cave followed by a streak of lightning which lit up the cavern momentarily, bathing them in a flickering pale light.  He was like a child, clinging to her as if he had awoken from a nightmare.  She allowed her arms to envelope him in her safe embrace and their combined warmth seemed to stave off the chill of the tundra, at least for the moment.  Lana held onto him as if she were going to lose him, her fingers grasping onto the back of his thick black coat.  The feel of his lips against her skin, his breath cascading along the curvature of her neck, a feeling she had long since lost hope of ever knowing again.  One of her hands reached behind his head and gently pressed him to her.  Words had no place in this moment, instead being replaced by the steady beating of their hearts in time with one another.


More thunder.  The rain grew heavier.  She knew she had to get him warm.


Delicately she parted from him ever so slightly and took his face between her two hands, "I'm going to help you out of your wet clothes now."

Lana helped him to remain sitting up and then tore a piece of her skirt away, lifting it into the air and allowing it to fall while holding the corners.  As the material descended it seemed to widen and lengthen into a large white blanket.  She took her time with him, unwilling to startle or confuse him.  Button by button her fingers helped release the coat from his form.  She pulled his boots from his feet and peeled away the wet fabric of his shirt and trousers, and wrapped him within the warmth of the blanket she had created.  Beside them, she took a rock and drew a circle along the stone floor.  As she ran her finger along the outline of the circle a ring of fire followed until a circumference of flames ignited and provided warmth and light for them.

"Now, my love," she knelt onto her knees in front of him, "You can rest if you want to.  I'll be here."

Lion

Ghanon hadn't even realized he'd been wearing clothes when Lana offered to pry him out of them. Only then did the pain of being alive and awake come back to him. He found himself shivering long enough to cling even tighter to him. "Why?" was all he could ask, and he made no movie to resist her. There would be no point and in the end he was just as bad off as a corpse on the ground.

Once he was free of the prison of his clothing, Ghanon forced strength into his limbs and shifted so that he was much closer to the fire. Already the warmth was washing over him and he again shifted his eyes to the crystal shard that had been discarded there.

He took in a deep shuddering breath. "Lana. You should have left me in that hole," he murmured bitterly, and wrapped the blanket tighter around him. "The universe is much better off without me. And you know that to be true. So why then would you awaken a being whose creation should have never happened?"




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

Minfever

Maybe it had been selfish of her to bring him back.  It hadn't occurred to her that he would rather be dead than alive.  Perhaps, she had made a mistake after all.  None the less, she had done what she had done, and there was no going back from it.

She slipped closer to him, shivering, and invited herself into the warmth of the large blanket that enveloped him.  It comfortably surrounded the both of them, and the fire raged on bringing heat to their cold skin.

"I don't see the universe being any better off with or without you.  You are a harbinger of change, and change is the very law of life.  With or without you change will continue to be the rule we live by.  Whether you are alive to be the reason for that change or not, doesn't matter.  But change is what brought you into existence.  How can you say that your existence was not meant to be?  How can you say that it was, either?  Change follows no rules.  But change brought you here, and destroyed you and brought you back, and it will continue to do with you what it will."

She gently laid her head on his shoulder and nuzzled into his skin, "There are forces at work that even I can't refuse to obey."

Lion

Whether it truly was a mistake was not for Ghanon to say. He didn't want to feel...yet there he was the world so heavy and for all the coiling in his belly, it brought him nothing but confusion. He didn't deserve to be alive, conscious...and yet here he was. Brought back by her...the one he was certain had forgotten about him.

But why?

That question still hung in the air. Unanswered. And would remain such. He didn't want to say it again. Lest he start to question his good fortune. There'd be time for that later. She manipulated the blanket, opening it and settling in against him.

Ghanon blinked at her. The words rang true on some level. "Some forces that even you...in all your power, can't resist?" He snickered and shifted so that his arm fell around her shoulders.  And the creeping sensation of warmth spread through his limbs. And his arm wrapped tighter around her shivering form.

"Lana," he whispered. Just feeling her name on his lips brought warmth to his belly. Among the pain was something else he'd forgotten. Comfort. Being close to another and Ghanon instinctively curled into her form. "You... said 'my love'....what... Why?"




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

Minfever

Lana pressed into his form, feeling the softness of his body against hers.  It was a luxury she had missed for such a very long time, a luxury she hadn't thought she would be afforded again.  For some time in her loneliness she had gotten used to being by herself.  Now, she couldn't imagine how she had so easily adapted other than for survival.  It had been necessary for her mentally to forget and let go of any desire for contact with another.  Otherwise, she might've been weakened by her sorrow.  But now, she felt whole, and realized there had been a piece of her missing while he was gone that she didn't know existed.

Her back stung and ached, but she was careful not to wince.  The wound was slowly closing, but slower than any wound she had known before.  It was as if her body didn't want to recognize the absence of the jewel.

As he spoke his breath against her ear sent a quiver through her, and she reddened a little.

"Do you remember what I told you, Ghanon, when I left you at the cave you were leading me to?  When I sensed danger and I had to flee... the last time we saw each other.  I told you I would find you..." she paused and felt the trepidation that she had felt years ago when the words came to mind but would not be spoken, "I promised I would because..."

She stopped, a sudden hesitation gripping her heart.  She had been so bold the last time she had said it.  This was different.  This time, it would be said quietly and certainly, and not in the heat of the moment.

Her tone was oddly sad despite the words she spoke, and she scarcely was able to whisper, "I said it was because I loved you."

Lion

Loved. As in did. And felt such no longer. Ghanon smiled, just a little. Curious. And wanting nothing more than the savor the meaning of the word. He made a small thoughtful grunt, shifting so slightly so that he could place his free hand along her waist, pressing it to her belly, sliding it upward just underneath her breast.

"I don't remember much of anything right now. But the longer you're beside me, the more a little returns at a time... I'm...sorry, Lana. I don't know what else to say...Thank you..."

Ghanon grew quiet for a few seconds, tilting his head enough to experimentally lean against her neck, and planted a wet kiss there

"In truth I don't think I have ever loved...before you that is.  You seem to be ever present. A fixture in my mind..."




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

Minfever

Lana felt her body respond to his touch and placed a hand over his just below her breast.  She allowed him to kiss her neck and drank in the sound of his voice.

"I've known that I love you for a long time, Ghanon."

Her eyes seemed hazy, dreamy as she gazed into his ever changing eyes.  Her hand drifted up to his face and she stroked some of his blonde hair behind his ear.

"It took me a long time to accept it.  I was afraid of it.  But now, I want you to know that my love is unconditional.  There's nothing you could ever do to change the way I care for you.  You don't even have to love me, Ghanon.  It's a kind of love I've never known, even as I've loved before."

She lifted her lips to his and pressed a kiss against them.

"I wish you could know the depth of the feelings you inspire in me..."

Lion

She said them again and Ghanon had to blink twice and again and again. And he released a deep throated sound, a moan that came out softly. That touch that kiss he'd been aching for and hadn't known he'd been. He breathed in that scent she gave off and leaned his head in to steal those lips away.

A bite here, a nibble there, and he growled, hungry and wanting that closeness. He only slipped his lips but a centimeter away. He whimpered, still clinging to her form. "How could you love me? I offer you nothing. I've only tried to take...."




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

Minfever

"I know."

Lana felt his hunger, his need, in his kiss, the way he took her lips in a way that made her believe nothing could satiate him.

"I know what you are, Ghanon." her voice was low, quiet, but not sad, simply accepting, "and I love you still.  Take what you want."

She deeply kissed him then, running her fingers through his pale blonde hair.  It didn't matter now whether he could return her love.  She knew him better than he realized, knew she might be plunging herself into the depths of despair or a sea of ecstasy at any given turn.  He was unpredictable and untamed, and this was what she loved about him, however damaged she might end up being in return.

Lion

She told him to take what he wanted? But what would that achieve? In the inevitable end, the answer was nothing. There was no heaven and hell, only here and now, no eternal salvation, only the brief tender sweetness of connection that could be had here in the mortal plane. A pain that Ghanon only knew too well.

And before he could stop himself, he felt a tear roll down his cheek, taking her lips into a hungered kiss. "No. I will give. Just tell me what it is of me that you want, and I will give it freely," he panted desperately, sucking hard on her bottom lip, tugging on it and legging the sheer force of it keep him closer to her. His forehead pressed firmly to hers.

Within the confines of that blanket, the heat of the fire beside them, Ghanon shifted around so that her form was reclined against his, his arms guiding themselves underneath her and pressing her close to his chest.




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

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