A man in ragged and torn clothing lies unconscious. He is covered in his own blood, bruises all over his person, including an exceptionally bad wound to the forehead. The ground beneath him is miraculously unstained even with his enormous blood shed. To his side lie two battle worn kris, a belt full of kunai knives, and a ragged sakkat.
A cool breeze blows around him as his eyelids begin to slowly open...
He found himself in a grassy plain. He attempted to dart upward, unaware of his surroundings but fell to the ground as his legs gave out in fatigue...
Where.... where am I? …what is this place?
His head began to throb in pain and he felt as the world was spinning around him. He struggled to keep his consciousness and started to try and figure out what was going on. His mind was unable to answer most of his questions. He had no idea where he was... and only remembered his name...
Zathain... I am Zathain.
The man looked around and saw nothing but a grassy plain and a few small trees. His head began to throb with nearly unbearable pain and consciousness slowly faded from his mind once again.
.usually, grasslands were not her choice of dwelling. today was different, for today was remarkably warm in comparison to the many before it. so, out and about in tha savage grasp of the sunlight she was, prancing around the fields like a merry child. and matching the part. long, waving blonde hair fell behind or around her as she bounced about, a moderately length white gown strung about her miniature frame. though she was completely unaware at the time being of her injured company. tiny strands of wound blades from the grass decorated not only her hair, but her neck in a hemp sort of design, wrists and ankels as well. bordem got to anyone, she simply embraced it.
.SIREN'S oblivious frollicking came to a rather abrupt hault as, to her amazement, something in her area began to speak. and even more remarkable, she could understand what it was saying. and a frantic search began. acute senses drove her farther into the grass, stepping carefully among the shrubs and towering bundles. outstanding blue eyes lay themselves almost curiously about a shining object. seclusion made to her to the point of innocence it was almost considered ignorance. she honestly didn't know that it was a knife, or weapon of any sort. but she did take note of the man sprawled out beside it in an unnatural manner.
.the maiden, being of a petite frame, tucked herself carefuly behind a small shrub, observing the male with utmost attention - although he wasn't moving, no matter how hard she stared. her foot slid along the ground a few inches, slowly, before she would venture onward, keeping herself low to the ground, she moved in for an investigation. small, peaked ears twitched at his grumbles, haulting her ingression upon him until once again his chest fell and his voice was hushed.
.she came to her knees beside him, gazing over him as she did a terrible job saving him. ZATHAIN was he? he looked much like the one that held her captive many years ago the same race perhaps?. however, it gave her no bias and soon a dainty hand settled upon his chest, shaking lightly to try and wake him again. if this failed, she supposed that she could spare a small portion of her drinking water to revive the strange fellow.
As he tread through the grass, Acaudric sighed heavily, not knowing the destination toward which he headed. For many years he had searched for his brother, but to no avail. Whenever he seemed to come close to an answer it hovered just beyond his grasp and eluded him. Some strange and mysterious force had drawn him to this realm which led him to believe his brother was here. Even here in this grassy field he could feel Vaerid's prescence, though Acaudric was sure that he was no where near this place.
He stood completely still, long blades swaying around him, his emerald green cloak sweeping out behind him in the slight breeze. As he removed a few long strands of raven hair from his face his eyes swept the meadow, seeing only the scattered trees and tall grass that inhabited it. Finally, they stopped upon a white figure in the distance. As he looked closer, he could see that the figure was female and was crouching over something. What, he wondered, was it that she was kneeling beside?
Acaudric slowly began to approach the white-clad, light haired woman. Her hair was so bright that it looked as though she had a halo about her and shed a faint light on all things around her small, slender form.
As he drew closer, he finally saw what it was that the mysterious woman was leaning above. Never before had Acaudric seen a man wounded like this before...
.SIREN'S vibrant gaze gradually climbed that of the opposing figure. him towering her very easily, she only crouched a bit more almost fearful looking. her heart thrashed at her rib cage, trying to escape because it was so excited, or scared. she wasn't exactly sure yet. having seen no other human like creature in decades, maybe even a century...now out of no where she had herself two. the first was no threat since he wasn't even conscious. but the second made her nervous and after only a few moments the maiden fled.
.she didn't make it very far, as curiousity easily seduced her. she made it just far enough that the man couldn't do harm to her, so she concluded. she remained silent during all of this. even her departure, if it could really be called that, was almost completely soundless. porcelain features exaggerated themselves to try and observe what these two beasts would do to one another. whether the latter of the two would show humility and save the other. or end him right then and there to take his possessions. she had little faith in the human races, so she prepared to observe a slaughter. shame though, the victim interested her, would be nice to find out who put him here.
((it's kind of stoopid. i know =( but i was bored so i HAD to post. lol))
"Why do you flee from me? I mean no harm."
The woman was simply beautiful. Her radiance seemed to loame in the air around her. Acaudric then noticed her peaked ears and realized that she was an elf. With much effort Acaudric looked away from the elf to the man lying on the ground.
"What happened to this man," he asked sincerely.
The form lying on the ground appeared dead at first glance, but after further inspection the rising and falling of his chest was obvious. His wounds were terrible and needed to be tended to quickly or infection would spread and the man would die. Acaudric then kneeled down, ripped a long strip of cloth from the end of his cloak and began rapping up some of this battle worn warrior's injuries.
"Do you know how long he has been here?"
.she ventured a modest few steps closer to the duo as it seemed he was gentle enough. her brow raised slightly as she barely peered over the grass to see the one on the ground. I know not of his fate. Nor of his condition. I found him only moments ago. SIREN'S voice was light and harmoneous. she spoke very softly, as to draw in the listeners attention by forcing them to focus on her voice in order to understand what was being said to them. quite clever in that way. her arms folded about her body as ACAUDRIC mended the other's wounds so it seemed. blood would easily soak the cloth however. she knew this. also knowing that she could heal him if she so chose, she instead remained a spectator. willing herself to see what the two could accomplish without the help of her magic. she would never tell either of them, but she had no intentions of letting the nearly slain man die before her. near immortality gave her a different perspective. to her, he was only hurt. not in any true danger. and those that could be terminated so easily had much more will power. she admired this, and so there she stood, cruely admiring.
.as she pondered this being, she slowly took in his image, in a way as to remember it. beginning at his ankels and moving upward with an unreadable expression. her voice again broke the silence enshrouding them, inquiry spilling forward in the same straining manner. and so then, sir...whom might you be? exactly? had her tone not been so whimsical, the question may have even seemed rude.
He had made an effort to clean up most of the blood so as to prevent too much hemoraging and had used some simple herbs from a small leather pouch on his belt to help with the worst injuries. Fighting off the urge to lick up the blood that coated the wounded man was nearly impossible, but after 1800 years of life Acaudric had developed very good self control. He had worked all his life at trying to conceal the fact that he was a vampire and was ever more fearful of people finding out. Acaudric stood and turned to face the woman when he was finished.
"I am called Acaudric. I have travelled here from Serendipity and I honestly haven't the slightest clue as to my destination. And now you seem to be the only conscious person left unnamed. Now, what name would a fair elf maiden such as youself be called?"
(ShadowCrusader wanted me to inform you that he has been very busy lately and that is why he has not awoken yet)
.she watched as he tended to the wounded warrior, or whatever he was there lying on the ground. platinum locks of hair befell her face, framing it and enhancing the vibrance of her eyes. she forced one leg to hold her entire weight, shifting so that the other could rest itself and also to try and put on an image as though she was disinterested, and not at all fearful of him. i, mi'lord, ACAUDRIC, am SIREN. i don't suppose that there is any reason that you have chosen to venture off into no where, with what looks to be very minimal supplies. she stated flatly, though adding a bit of a cute smirk to the end as she used the oppertunity of her comment to eye him again. slowly growing comfortable next to his towering form.
.had she known that this "man" was actually vampyre material...she would have drawn herself at much more of a distance. for afterall what blood could be better than that of a fellow immortal being? elves, or elven creatures like herself had very simple defenses and were not very hard to overpower. so luckily, he was good at hiding this, or his company would have retreated as quickly as managable. having not been around any other beings for quite some time, she didn't catch onto tell-tale signs the way that her insticts should have allowed her. to SIREN, he seemed but a human male.
.no destination say you, though? on those terms i am rather like you. i wonder what our little friend here was doing. seems unlikely that he received his wounds here. there is no blood on the ground. no signs of a fight. someone took it upon themselves to carry him all the way out here. and alive. seems strange to me, though i am not an expert on these things.
(Sorry this took so long... schools coming back up and I had to get crap ready. :D)
Zathain's eyes slowly opened to find a man hovering over him. He jumped away from him and grabbed where his daggers normally hung from his belt. His leg gave out again and he sat upon the ground. He thought of getting into a battle stance, but saw the man was not in any kind of aggressive stance, and showed no signs of getting into a fight. He whispered under his breath, "Dang it... what the heck is going on here..."
He looked to the man's side and saw a woman. Never had he seen such woman with such bright skin and hair. Both of these figures looked relatively peaceful, and the woman lacked a weapon. He relaxed and saw they had a bit of a shocked expression on their faces, followed by a tone of relief.
He looked at himself and saw he had blood stained bandages about his wounds. He concluded these people were peaceful... they could have easily ended his life long ago.
He reached over and put on his worn sakkat upon his head to shield him from the blazing sun and calmly spoke with a dazed and confused expression...
"Where.... where am I?"
.his sudden awakening destroyed her "cool, calm" demeanor and sent her hidden fear straight into the open. when he sprung forth her eyes shot open as she stole a frieghtened gasp. she tucked herself behind the other man. small fists clentched to his clothing as her face burrowed into a safe place. or what she thought was a safe place. forgetting entirely that other people had mannors, not to mention mannorisms and hers were probably very eccentric to them. she waited a few moments before slowly circulating around him to peer out onto the other man. once as she could safely conclude that this man was violent only because he was intoxicated by blood loss and heat, she stepped out from behind ACAUDRIC and took her chances wandering to the stranger. neither of us know. he is just as lost as you, and i...have no name for this place, it is simply where i spend my time.
she looked over his injuries once again. wondering just what this creature, or human, whichever had been through in the past few days. have you any idea what has happened to you?
((that's fine =) ))
Zathian let out a weak chuckle and began to speak between his heavy breathing.
"I'm not quite sure if I should be relieved or frightened that I’m not the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on... I found myself here a few days ago maybe... passed out before I got a chance to move..."
He coughed and felt a sharp pain in his chest. dang it... broken rib maybe? Hope not... He attempted to mask his pain, he didn't enjoy being pitied. These two definitely didn't need another reason to pity me.
"I have no idea where I am... where I’m from... Heck, I don’t even know my last name. All I remember is a face..."
The image was burned into his mind. He couldn't send it away, regardless of how hard he tried.
"Burning red eyes that glowed in the darkness... The face of a corpse lacking a soul for ages... "
.a narrow eyebrow contoured in such a way to show doubt toward his words. she hadn't seen anything like that around here. and so she was inclined to believe him to be incapable of actual intelligent conversation at this point. forgetting of course that she hadn't seen one of these in ages as well, and now here were two. but SIREN'S mind did not work in that fashion. perhaps we should take him from the sun? narrow set shoulders shrugged as she looked up to ACAUDRIC for his input on the situation. her lack of companionship in so many years past lead her to place quite a bit of importance into their "relationship" as far as aquaintences were concerned. since her opinion had been the only one she could account for, his seemed substantial and of utmost importance.
"Yes. Perhaps getting him out of the sun would be better."
Still recovering from the fact that Siren had buried herself into his back upon the wounded man springing up, Acaudric played back Zathain's words in his head. This was a strange situation indeed. A injured human spontaneously turning up in a field with no knowledge of how he arrived there is no normal occurence.
"It could be that you fought someone here and lost badly," he said addressing Zathain. "But then there would be signs of a battle all over this field. Signs that do not exist here right now. Your wounds are also very peculiar. They do not look as normal injuries appear. It looks more like a disease than battle scars...."
.upon hearing of this disease, that she was now convinced must be what was happening to him, her eyes opened widely again and her milky fingers slapped up against her mouth as careful breathing continued through her nose. she took a step back from ZATHAIN, if there was a plague that she was unaware of, she would only wish to remain that way. in her peaceful little oblivion out here in the...who knows, wilderness of some sort. she would have abandoned the likes of these two men long ago, only they were entertainment for the time being. not to mention, sitting in silence for decades had a negative effect on a social creature such as an elven woman. she decided it would be of her wiser choices to remain silent for now and just watch as these things played out, and try not to be contaminated. for immortals, she figured plagues were worse. you became disfigured, disgusting, rediculously sick, weak, and miserable...but didn't die. which was, basically the only relief from such a horrid fate.
.feeling sympathetic toward ZATHAIN, she carefully extended one arm, handing to him a very small container of water. build for someone of her stature to quench themselves with, not nearly someone like them. however, it would help if nothing else, and the water inside was still very cool since they had all discovered each other in the beginning of her play.
.her resolution of silence ended as quickly as it had been bourne. how do you suppose we move him?. forgetting of course that he may be able to walk. so, she looked back to the one on the ground. are you able to walk?.
(lol holy crap... thats what you call taking it easy!? vaerid tells me he posted, i read it, and you already post something? you scare me. XD)
Zathain attempted to stand up. He thought, "I'm already hurt physically... don’t need my pride to take a hit too." He stood up remarkably well for his condition. His legs seemed to have gotten the least amount of damage. He slowly walked over to the shade of the nearest tree and laid himself down.
"Good to know at least one part of me still works... A disease you say? Well... I feel like I was run over by a horse, but that to be expected with all these wounds. I do feel, strange, however. I feel like my left hand is... fading."
He figured this was a good time to take off his glove to investigate. Hidden beneath the worn leather was his pale hand. His hand was scrawny and bony, almost skeletal. His skin seemed to get lighter and lighter as it drew closer and closer to the fingertips. As it was introduced to the fresh air, it produced a rancid stench... the scent of a decaying body.
(and vaerid thinks that elfs are immune to disease or soemthing... -shrug-)
((Actually, now that I think about it, they are, yes. LOL))
.she scrutinized his decaying hand, her face twisting into a scowl of sorts as her nose wrinkled to her disgust. keen senses drew the odor from his rotting hand to her attentive nose. her hand moved to hold onto her nose as to repel the lingering, rancid smell. her eyes winced a little as she continued to study it, wondering if she could, perhaps fix just one for him, just one for her own sake. the smell was so heavy in the air that she could almost taste it, and without fixing it, she may have become sick.
.reaching out to him she placed her hand within his, and moments later a faint hue of healthy skin began to sweep over the withering flesh that looked as though it was preparing to simply fall from his bones. the fleshy skin of his palms would recover itself within a few minutes, and his natural color continued to fade into the white. i have never seen...smelt anything quite like that before. there is something very wrong
Zathain sat in awe. He had just witnessed two things he had never seen before: A decaying, but still living hand, and some sort of magic.
"Well then... that’s something new."
He didn't know what to say. He was so confused with these two things that he had never even heard of before that he forgot to even thank her. He moved is fingers about a bit. The feeling within them had returned, but he could still feel it slowly fading from existence.
"Uh... Anybody mind telling me what the heck that was?"
(I'm running a tad low on ideas right now so you two are more than welcome to post instead of me... or perhaps just you are, Siren)
.she was taken aback slightly by his amount of surprise. giggling to herself she pondered if this being had just missed the last, thousand years or so. then again her enjoyment ceased as she remembered that she was more or less unaware of most things anymore, either. magic, of course. what a silly boy. she wasn't sure whether or not the effects would last. but if nothing else, the stench was contained. she studied his hand a bit longer, trying to pull something from her memory that would explain his ailment. well, either way - your welcome. only bringing this up to embaress him or bring him guilt. ZATHAIN was, afterall, a man of sorts. men did not appreciate anything. ..anything.
.so then, ZATHAIN, what is the last thing that you remember, if anything?. he remembered his name. so, there had to be something in there. there were more memories, locked away some place inside that mind of his. perhaps something traumatic had happened, perhaps he was wounded on his head someplace where the memories would hide. but only for so long. eventually, something would have to trigger them. until then, she could only wonder. which would lead to yet another question. why on earth SIREN was so perplexed. why she was so...well, concerned could even be used. though let's not be too hasty. she didn't care for this man. just the mystery of his wounds. yes, only that and nothing more. hmm, and what a silly girl..
He quietly repeated her answer under his breath. "Magic..."
A plethora of images raced into his head. Warriors controlling the elements, creating fire and ice from nothing, creating quakes that drew large groups to their knees, and glowing aura that healed the wounded. A teaching he had heard before... a memory. He began to think. Why do I know these things? I remember... training.
Another flashback played through his mind. A child sits at a table, across from a small pile of dry twigs. He focuses on this small pile for a long period of time until a small amount of smoke begins to rise. His face relaxes and he begins to celebrate inside himself, but this joy slowly fades and the smoke quickly disperses. The child lets out a silent sigh and begins to focus again. The smoke never returns.
After a long while, he grows angry and ignored everything around him but the twigs. The twigs never smoke again, but instead are knocked off of the table by a gust of wind. The twigs never hit the ground, however, and are slowly lifted by a small column of air. The twigs dance in the air as the boy puts a grin upon his face.
He snapped back into reality and looked at Siren and Acaudric.
"Magic: The art of altering natural forces to gain the powers of the elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Life... "
Zathain lifted his arm and faced his palm by his weapons which he had carelessly left at his original location. He conjured a small whirlwind which carried his weapons towards him and dropped them by his side.
"Well... that’s two things I remember now," he said as he grinned. “Not a bad start.�
(is that a good definition or is there a specific one here?)
(OOC: Mind if I join in?)
((not at all :D ))
.two things already, he made it sound like that was a good start, there were millions of things left. so she thought, anyhow. well, i'm glad that you've had luck with it so far. hopefully you continue to. she really didn't know what else to say, turning to ACAUDRIC she threw out a questioning glance, for what were they to do with him now? or rather, were they all going to forget about the encounter and carry on with their seperate realities...or try and help this new stranger? she figured even if he didn't care to come along, she would take the latter. afterall she couldn't hardly leave him to rot away. inhumane didn't even scrath the surface. this and the fact that SIREN was starving for some sort of attention. hundreds of unaging years passing was quite some time to spend with only the birds and trees. how language had managed the wrinkle in time was amazing in and of itself.
((it's short, i sorry =())
Qvysic Riuuqroda asked herself for what felt like the hundredth time just why she was bent over in the fields outside of latest place of residence, pulling yarrow and thistle and ironweed from the reluctant late summer ground. Though her dark face still held the same beauty it had when she was but a young woman, strong and clean and marred only by a long line between her brows... Well, she was not young by any standard. And, to be honest, her her plain red dress was a little too thick and a little too warm; her cotton clothes had all needed mending or washing, neither of which she'd had time for in too long.
The dark skinned woman grunted as a particularly stubborn ironweed root finally gave way to her relentless tugging. She wobbled in an ugly crouch, but caught her balance just in time and tucked the offending herb into the careworn apron that was the only thing giving her dress any shape.Kiv sighed, looked at the remaining weeds with a baleful eye, and plopped herself down on the ground.
"I deserve a break," she rationalized to herself, picking at the dirt under her nails. "I've been pulling weeds all day for that damned old woman, first to the north and then to the east, and I only get a pittan--"
She broke off her internal dialoge sharply. She'd just felt... What? Qvysic pawed around for her cane and rose swiftly to her feet, back stiff and eyes searching, their ring of sapphire expanding just a tiny bit. She'd felt... What? A... a stirring. A jolt somewhere in the back of her skull, a sleeping beast twitching towards wakefulness...
Someone had just used magic. Someone had just used magic in Connlaoth. Qvysic's face hardened as the implications sank in. She had to find them. She had to find them and stop them. This was the borderlands, yes, and people were less fervently anti-magic here as they were in the cities, but... she had to stop them.
With a scowl weighing down her face, the dark woman strode off through the grass, cane thumping rapidly against the earth. Her lurching gait did not have to take her far, though even that journey brought a glisten of sweat to her brow and a hitch to her breathing. None of that stopped her from bellowing at the odd triad when she found them.
"You fools! Do you not know where you are?!"
(Heh. Sorry about the wait. Kiv isn't very nice to me, either.)
.SIREN'S ears twitched slghtly as some other form of sound was brought into her perception. some living being besides the three of them was very near. the dull thuds and pitter patters of it's ingression were not that of a beast. a small wrinkle formed along the edges of her nose as the earth's perfume was swooped into her for inspection. the smell of dirt, sweat, and tire. her eyes searched about discretely, giving no warning to the others that someone was approaching. for surely, they could tell that for themselves. instincts were there to enlighten and protect ones self. not to leave them standing about in stupor only waiting to be found.
.reguardlessly, SIREN was still trying to figure out exactly what this thing was when the other appeared. she seemed very upset about something. surely most people here knew of the laws, the bane of magic and such, but in her half existance she knew nothing of it. so instead of defending herself and the others, or even attempting to excuse herself, she began. the smile upon her face small and innocent. giving away completely her blissful unawareness of the world around her and of their laws and punishments anymore. no, actually we do not. do you know where there is a healer?. back in the ages where magic was still just that, magical, and not criminal...asking where a healer could be found was really not an ignorant thing to ask. however, in the change of times, this was incriminating in and of itself since, afterall healers were in fact magic and magic was unlawful. the stunned look on ZATHAIN'S face was probably not helping his situation, either. to know that she had cunducted magic, and that ZATHAIN was the receiver would commit them both. though it was hard to tell what would happen with ACAUDRIC.
(if the begining sounds kinda wierd, its because siren posted while i was writing.. you're too fast XD)
Zathain equipped himself of his worn weapons as Siren spoke. He really didn't have a lot to say as there were still plenty of things he had no clue of in this world so he simply nodded here and there, but he felt something amiss in his surroundings. Something was coming this way.
He slowly reached for his weapons and placed his hand on each. "If anything was to attack me, It would be hard to fight back if they started with the element of surprise," he whispered under his breath... He rose to a crouching position as to spring into a fighting stance if anything aggressive came for him.
He glanced around the horizon searching for what could be coming and found the figure of a female approaching quickly. The woman seemed to be older as she looked to be carrying a cane of some sort, but with his recent discovery of magic, physical abilities could very well mean nothing.
Zathain never looked directly at the woman as to show he noticed her, but simply watch out of the corner of his eye until she began to yell. The harsh tone she created sprang him back into a fighting position, but this time he stood his ground even as pain shot through him. This woman did not seem to be here to make a friend.
The cool collected voice of Siren spoke. She was quite calm in response to this relatively random scolding. Zathain relaxed and released his strong grip upon his daggers. He let her do the talking, as she was much more articulate than he, and he really did not care to talk in response to this random scalding.
Qvysic tightened her grip on the black cane, ignoring the throbbing of her leg as she glared daggers at the three before her, panting after her rapid hobble. The woman was an elf, and thus would be carted off the instant a native saw her... Even in these backwater villages, where little magics were acceptable, an elf was just too much. The fighter-- well, the one that had fallen into the stances of a fighter; both men looked like they lived for violence-- was obviously the target of the magic she had sensed. He even still had a faint glow about him to her eyes. The third...
Her eyes widened, their ring of blue becoming more prominent. He reeked of death, of blood... Even bound, even half blind to power, she could feel it, swarming about him. This was one steeped in darkness... as she had once been. The dark-skinned woman felt a coil of fear twist into life in her stomach and yearned, as she had countless times before, for the comforting touch of her power. This one she would watch, she vowed herself as she pulled a cloak of iron will and ice about that worm of fear.
"You are in Connlaoth," she enunciated, voice now as cold and stiff as her posture. "If you have not heard of it, it is a nation that reviles and fears magic... and by using it, by even being an elf, as in your case, Lady, you have comitted a grave offense punishable by death. By being in this field with you, I am implicated in your crimes. By warning you, I have put myself at even greater risk. You should leave, in fact you should leave now, and not put my risk to waste."
.SIREN'S eyes widened massively with the announcement. her heart tore widly at her chest as it slowly rose and fell in mellow horror. a place where elves were not welcome? they were the most peaceful people that she knew. reguardlessly she was more than willing to flee if it would promise life where there was threatened death. a cruel death from the sounds of things. her jaw clentched to control a small whimper of fear before she looked back to the woman. i thank you, i will leave now. just please tell me where i can hide. she only hoped that the other two were as willing as she. she had a feeling that this woman would not bid the other two a fond farewell either, and that they all had to promise to leave, at once.
.she looked to ACAUDRIC, still not sure whether ZATHAIN should be wandering about. not even sure if he was completely able to sufficiently walk on his own accord. she certainly could not carry him. it was as simple as size, she was useless to ZATHAIN without him. and so now, perhaps even two lives awaited his decision. it would be quite a feit to go strolling through the inner city without being noticed. she of course feared this because at first glance it was obvious that she was elvin. small, with pointed ears, and a complexion just as hers did not pass for an ordinary citizen.
.i don't think he can walk on his own very well, and i am no adverturer. she tried to hint this at ACAUDRIC in hopes that he would befall pity on them and help them to where ever it was that the woman would tell her of, if anywhere.
Acaudric looked over at the two whom he had begun to think of as comrades, despite the fact that he had only met them a few minutes previous. He instantly realized what Siren was hinting at with her words, and though he wanted to continue searching for his brother he could not just leave them here in this now-threatening place. Acaudric did not much like this old woman since he sensed her approaching from a distance.
"No. We will not leave here. I have heard of this Connlaoth before and have disliked it ever since. These people will have to deal with our presence here, and if they try anything at all I will personally see to it that their lives end quickly."
By nature Acaudric was peaceful and light-hearted, but when pointless prejudice and persecution came into the picture the burning fires of his wrath would be unleashed.
"I am searching for my brother, and I sense that he resides in this place now. You two are going to join me. I do not care about whatever warnings you give us, mi'lady, magic WILL be made tolerable in this country or death be upon it."
.her mouth dropped at ACAUDRIC'S heroic plan. he had sentanced them to death, more or less. SIREN rocognized this. certainly, they were comrads and such but mass suicide was all but a nice morning frolicking in the fields as she had intended. certainly he wasn't serious. they could continue the quest for his brother perhaps after lying low for some time. he must have gone mad. to defy such a nice warning and declare treason all within one sitting and into the face of an obviously loyal subject to the King. reguardless, she said nothing at first. whether that be from shock, or prolonged respect for the male kind, she wouldn't speak out against him in front of a stranger, or in front of his fellow man. a very bit disrespectful that would be. no, instead she would stand along him, supportingly for now, and bring up her concerns in a more appropraite time, in a more private conversation. surely, he would be furious if she embaressed him in front of other males. or this, woman.
.make no mistakes, she was more than willing to help him find his brother, she hadn't alot else to do in the next few timeless years. however, it would be nice if those years were long and prosperous. she was only just starting to emerage back into pulib areas and the eyes of others. she didn't need the public places to be the gallows, and the eyes to be ablaze with hatred for her. she'd request a more secure location later. hopefully one where the laws did not persecute her for living amongst others. now all she had to do was wait for the uncertain response of the other woman. she could only assume it would be nothing too pleasant.
Kiv stiffened, eyes flashing wide and then quickly to narrow, her strong and handsome features twistingâ€"her reflexive self-control had kicked in too late, freezing her face into a mask of mingled rage and ice.
“You are a fool, sir� she spat, striding towards him and not stopping until she was inches away, gazing up into his bright green eyes with her own burning amber and sapphire, framed by a lacework of wrinkles. “If you want to throw yourself into the maw of the beast like so many before you have, do so. Do you think you are the first to take it upon yourself to change the world? Do you think none before you have tried and failed and died for their mistake? By all means, throw away your life. Seek out your brother if you wish, and change the world with him.�
She paused, then reached up and grasped his chin, pulling it down like a mother does to a recalcitrant child. “But know that you do not have a right to the lives of these two beside you.�
As soon as she got the words out of her mouth, she flung her hand away as if she had been burned, a trace of fear worming its way onto her mask of a face. She had felt, more clearly than ever, the darkness of that one, and had heard the roar of her own answering. She wondered briefly if he had felt the same of her, and hoped he had. Perhaps then her argument would carry more weight, and she would be more than just some irrational old woman to himâ€" he would listen, damn him, and not carry others with him to their graves.
.ah yes, so tempting it was to nod her head and stand along side the other female. typical though, no, that the woman comes to reason well before her fellow man. inside, she stood bravely, robust, and rediculed him for his haste. there was much time to find his blood. but they needed to hide until it would be safe, and therefore possible to make it long enough to find them. however, when her dreams of defiance manifested themselves, it was a mere sentance, a suggestion softly spoken. perhaps we should hide, and after a time has passed, and we are safe, and this woman is safe, then we can continue? he was lucky that this poor lady didn't storm off and deepen their danger, tell everyone of their location. SIREN had never seen anyone, ever stand up to a man as this woman did, and deep down she poured respect for her.
.ZATHAIN was in no condition to be on a mad hunt for his brother. SIREN needed some time to mend him up a bit before they set out. so the time spent in hiding would serve as a multi purpose. heal ZATHAIN, keep themselves all rightly alive. now the task was, of course to convince the ring leader as he had become, that it was the best idea. she couldn't bring herself to say much else, past experiences had silenced her perhaps forever to speak her own opinions. she would have said nothing had the woman not inspired her. and yes certainly they weren't the best of friends, this threesome, they barely knew each other. still, she was lonely, and conditioned instincts told her that when a man led, simply follow. but this time she was worried. she was obviously a mythical being, she was no easy thing to hide to say the least. she'd pass as a half grown child before a fully grown, human woman.
Zathain hated to admit it to himself, but this relatively rude woman had a point. Out of all three of them she seemed to have the only clue of what was going on. He guessed that to suppress such a powerful tool and weapon such as magic, this... Connlaoth... had to have a great amount of strength.
"They are right..." he stated bluntly. “We really don't have any kind of strength among us to overthrow someone who can suppress such a force as magic. I'm in no condition to help, Siren seems pretty fragile and you don't seem to have the ability to take an army by yourself..."
He felt sort of bad, demoting all of their strengths, but none of them really seemed to have much of a spirit to fight for the time being.
"Besides, It might help having some time to plan before we stage a spontaneous full scale assault," he added with a sarcastic tone.
"Alright. We'll lay low for a while, at least until Zathain here heals and we develop a plan. I have searched for my brother for far too long, and am very anxious to find him," Acaudric said, sighing heavily.
He was still recovering from the woman's wrinkled hand being placed upon his face. After she had taken her hand away there was a strange tingling left over. The sign of a magic-user. Perhaps this woman was more credible than he had previously thought. Apparently this unnamed woman once used magic. Perhaps she herself had tried to change Connlaoth in her youth and had failed. His rage against prejudice still burning hotly, he decided that going into hiding for a time would be a decent idea. It was painfully obvious that his two new comrades had no desire to go rushing into the country looking to change the world, so he waited patiently for them to respond.
(Sorry if these posts aren't as good as I'd like them to be. The writer's block is not completely gone yet : )
"What’s with this guy..." Zathain thought to himself. "Why would he want to overthrow a kingdom for suppressing a force that he doesn't even use. Had he known magic he would have used it rather than painstakingly bandage my wounds. Every mage normally knows at least one flesh mending spell. Its as if he wishes to overthrow this kingdom for his brother, but then his brother would have to be an elf or magic-user, and I'm sure his brother would have taught him something as the latter, and Acaudric would look more as Siren if he were half elf."
None of this really made sense to Zathain, but he thought getting involved in such a struggle could bring something back from his lost memories. Looking at his own appearance he knew he had been a fighter. No normal man would carry such a deadly arsenal without looking for an enemy.
"Well then," he spoke calmly, "I don't see anything wrong with that. Somebody else pick a direction to flee toward though, you two have a much better idea of our surroundings than I do."
Kiv only half listened to the two men talk; she heard enough to know she had dissuaded the dark one, as she thought of him, from his foolhardy plan, and that was enough. What she needed was to calm herself down. It had been years since she'd had to even think about magic, let alone been confronted with three who had felt its touch, and in all of her years of banishment, her powers had never felt so close, so... immediate. She was still a little afraid of the dark one, not to mention a little irritated, but still... A moment's pause was enough to tuck that agitation under again.
"Connlaoth is ringed by the Kilanthro Mountains-- on all sides," she intoned. "You should get as far into the foothills as you can before nightfall. I will go back to my village, account for my absence as best I can, and then return with supplies. The tall one knows I can be trusted-- if I betray you, I also betray myself. Light a fire or signal me in some way when you make camp, and I shall come to you."
Zathain was caught off guard by this woman's sudden kindness. She had suddenly gone from an outraged hag to a generous elder. What confused him more was her "betray you, betray herself" line. He pondered what she meant, but at this point it was of no importance. "If these two will trust her," he thought, "then I shall also. These two have more knowledge of this world than I do, even if it is quite limited."
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with this." He looked around and spoke again. "It looks like we have a long way to go, so we should try to begin our journey. It might take a while in my state."
He clenched his fist in frustration. He hated to admit it, but he will be a liability for a while, and he hated it.
( awesome... the thread is goin now! :3 )
.((finally =p))
.she too was a little perplexed at the woman's sudden change of heart, but either way she left it to the men to do the pondering, she just browsed the horizon and tried to accept the idea of adventure again. last time it hadn't gone quite according to plan. wandering out into nowhere with two men didn't seem wise at first. then again, she seemed to be the only magical one. so perhaps it wasn't as foolish as she first thought. besides, the woman would check on them tomorrow. to make things simpler, we will just follow that star, that way tomorrow if there is any difficulty to see us with just fire and smoke, you can also follow that star until you see us. helpless romantic, yes. she pointed to POLARIS, the north star. it was far enough away that it supplied ample directional ability. and SIREN knew that tomorrow it would be in the exact same place. she waited for any objections, and began to stray off from the woman, to begin their little journey. she knew she had to heal ZATHAIN again soon. she could smell the decay even from where she stood. but she'd let it progress alittle more, to try and understand it versus just supress it. perhaps it wasn't magic made, and was simply a bacteria. or, something. though she'd never seen a bacteria infection...quite like that.
.thank you she whispered this to ACAUDRIC once as she was certain that no one else would hear. she thought it disrespectful to address him so in front of others where it might have seemed he was trying to let it be her way. she didn't want him to think that, so she waited until there was no one else for her to be bragging in front of, and said so very humbly. it was impressive that he came to reason so quickly. men typically got so worked up about things, that nothing could take it from their heads. but he had. meanwhile..ACAUDRIC would have to heal ZATHAIN get around, if only for a short while. SIREN hoped it was a mild climate, they certainly didn't need a cold environment as well. but not too far away, her dwelling in the trees had supplied warmth easily, it would only make sense this place be the same.
Zathain looked up to Polaris. He felt a strong sense of hope emanating from the star, as it was the only thing that seemed familiar in his surroundings. Maybe this star would not only lead their group of wanderers to the north, but lead him to the point where he lost his memory at which he could start his life again. Zathain grinned and laughed at himself as he stood. He was still in pain, but he didn't pay attention to it. Instead he looked upon the star in awe. "Maybe these two could really lead me to my memories..." he thought to himself. "If nothing more they can at least help me to start something new... possibly even something better."
"Well then, we should begin our journey. We don’t want anybody catching up to us from Connlaoth, now do we?"
(( I wasn't sure if i should have started walking or not.. figured the half dead guy leading would have been a bit... meh... btw, should we start a new thread in the mountain board now then? and who’s going to do that...?))