The Guards hesitated, distracted from the screamings coming from outside. Their distraction was all he needed. He charged towards their baracade, hooves thundering on the wooden floors, powerful muscles bunching as he gathered himself and leaped over the top of them. Their exclamations of shock then anger soon turned to fear as they heard a roar from outside. The shear power of the roar permeated the very air of the keep, and many of th Guards lost their nerve and broke. He saw one Captain futilessly calling for his squad to bring a net as they ran from whatever was outside. Galloping through the now empty doorway, he felt Nicholas' hold begining to slip. "We're almost there!" He said with his mind, willing Nicholas to have the strength to hang on. Outside, he didn't look around, going straight for the compound gateway, one side hanging off its hinges. Above him, he heard the calls of eagles. Before him, the forest it. He didn't slow his stride as he entered its untouched depths, trusting his instincts. He had to get Nicholas to some place safe and find someone to at least give him a few more days of life. They had to speak.
----------------------------------
They had been walking fast for an hour or so now - well Dwyer striding and Giselle basically trotting to keep up. The sun was almost down, pink rays turning the landscape into breathtaking beauty, something Giselle wished she could stop and savour. Suddenly Dwyer stopped and turned to the left, seemingly heading towards a mountain range that was the only feature in front of them that Giselle could see.
"We're almost there."
15 years ago
Wed Jun 18 2008, 11:00pm
He galloped swiftly through the trees. Behind him he heard the guards calling out to each other as they blundered through the forest. But they could not catch him now. They did not have his knowledge of the forest, or his speed.
As the sounds of the guards faded into the distance, he slowed. Nicholas slipped off his back and fell to the ground. A soft grown escaped his battered lips, and then he was still.
He quickly changed back into his human form and knelt down next to the man. This could not happen now, after all they had done to save him. Nicholas couldn't die. Not now.
"Nicholas," he called out softly with his mind.
There was no response. No breath passed through his lips. He was completely still.
But he still needed the man. Giselle needed him.
He took a moment to consider, but he knew already what he had to do. He would have to heal Nicholas. It was a dangerous process, and painful for both parties. The healer was joined with the patient, and if the patient died, the healer would, too. And his power to heal was limited. He only had a few healings left in him. But he had to do this. Nicholas had shown bravery and loyalty, and he was still needed.
Pushing away his doubts, he entered Nicholas' body. For a moment he was overcome by the feeling of lifelessness, but he managed to fight free. he searched Nicholas' body and found it still, the warmth seeping out of it at an alarming rate. He could see no signs of life.
He was about to withdraw when he felt a faint flicker, like a fragile moth battering against a barrier. He sought it out and found a small glow of life, but it was almost faded. He snatched onto it and fed it his own energy. He wrapped himself around it and felt it grow to fill the whole of Nicholas' body. Then came the pain. Stiff, dead organs regaining life. It felt like a terrible fire was burning every part of him, stripping away the coldness of death. Then nicholas gasped in air and the pain was suddenly doubled, and then faded to nothing but the ache of Nicholas' wounds.
He had shared this all with Nicholas, and now he was able to let go. He drifted apart slightly, but did not leave completely.
"Thankyou," Nicholas whispered weakly.
"You're welcome," he replied. "And my name is Conal."
Nicholas smiled. "Thankyou, Conal."
---------------------------------
Giselle was breathless as she laboured up the steep slope. Dwyer strode ahead of her, seemingly unaffected by the amount of strenuous exercise. Suddenly he stopped.
Giselle walked over to him and loooked around. They were standing on top of a grassy hill, but there was nothing in particular that would have caused Dwyer to pause.
"Why have we stopped," she asked him.
"This is the place,' he replied.
"What place?" There was nothing there.
He smiled. "Haven."
Giselle looked hard at her surroundings. Still, she saw nothing.
"Um.. where?" Dwyer continued to smile. However, suddenly his mind was transmitting images. Giselle glimpsed pictures of an earthy room, someone who could have been his mother, a bright sword, gleaming with fresh blood, a woman dancing with flowers in her head. The images kept flowing until..
"Enough, Dwyer. Welcome home." The voice that sounded in her head was both male and female, young and old, unidentifiable yet familiar.
"Welcome at last, Giselle." Giselle jumped as the ground beneath her suddenly shifted, Dwyer laughing out loud and holding her steady as a perfect circle of earth around them began to sink slowly into the ground.
"Ooh!" Exclaimed Giselle outloud. Her eyes, used to the light outside, took awhile to adjust. As the circle of earth thumped gently to a stop, Dwyer directed her forward.
"Welcome to Haven, my dear Giselle," said the voice that had addressed them from above. As her eyes adjusted to the hazy dim light of the cave - as she saw thats what it was - she gasped, knowing instantly that the voice came from a large shape at the very back, a shape that looked remarkably like that of a Dragon..
---------------------------
Shakily, unsure at first, Nicholas stood up, using the nearest tree to help him. Conal watched as Nicholas ran his hands all over his body, exclaiming with joy at the almost perfect condition he now seemed to be in. Looking at Nicholas in his rags, Conal remarked,
"Your bodies healing took all your fat and energy reserves - going to have to fatten you up a bit." Nicholas grinned at him, the carefree happiness of it causing ten years to fall from his face.
"I feel ready for anything." Conal smiled back then began to walk.
"Well all you have to do right now is walk and talk, so to speak."
"Talk, what do you want to talk about?"
"Everything that concerns Giselle."
15 years ago
Fri Jun 20 2008, 04:20pm
Giselle shrank back as the enormous lump at the back of the cave began to move. It's great snake-like body slowly uncoiled itself, making the cave echo with the sound of scraping. Scales glistened in the damp glow that seemed to fill the chamber. The creature laboriously lifted its magnificent head and stared piercingly at Giselle.
There was something very animalistic and trapped in those eyes, as well as a deep intelligence that Giselle couldn't even begin to understand.
"This is Grimaldo," Dwyer said, respect and a little awe evident in his voice. " He is - "
"Don't be afraid, little one," Grimaldo interrupted softly. His voice was like a song in her mind. "I will not harm you."
Reassured by his tone, Giselle felt a little braver. "Why are you down here?" she asked. Her voice fell small and flat in the enormous cave, with the enormous beast staring at her.
The dragon laughed, and the sound echoed grandly around her. "She's a curious one, isn't she?"
"She is the one we spoke of," Dwyer said.
The dragon regarded her thoughtfully. "Yes, I can see the potential in her. It will be hard for her, the path ahead. But she will prove equal to it."
"Need she begin right away? She will need training, and preparation..."
"You cannot let your kind heart rule your mind, little brother. She will do well."
"Yes, Grimaldo. But what of Conal? He will want to be here to giude her. Should we not wait for him?"
"He is already on his way, and he brings another with him. They will be here soon."
Giselle had stood mutely through this conversation, but now she spoke up.
"Conal? Is that the man who convinced me to come with you? And who is he bringing with him? Is it Nicholas? Are they both safe? Please tell me."
The dragon chuckled again. "Full of questions, aren't you. Well there will be plenty of time to answer them as we wait. Which question would you like answered first?"
Giselle considered. "What is this path that you speak of? The one that I must take?"
"Well, that is a very interesting question..."
Wanderer Ward
15 years ago
Wanderer Ward
Rebel
Giselle waited for Grimaldo to continue but instead he merely curled back up and wtched her with thoughtful eyes.
"Come, you must be hungry." Dwyer guided her over to a large table laden with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. "It is not often that we have guests - or cook" Giselle smiled at the odd assortment constantly aware of Grimaldo's searching eyes.
"Don't you have any women among your number then?" She asked with a quick glance around the cave. She had meant it as a joke but Dwyer regarded her seriously.
"Has Conal spoke of this when he met you in dreams?"
"No. I don't know what you mean. What is it you think he may have spoken?" She was confused by the intensity of Dwyer's gaze and even more aware than before of Grimaldo's large reptilian eyes staring at her as if into her very soul.
"There have been no female kin born for 12 cycles now. We are a dying race." Dwyer's eyes were full of sadness and Giselle felt a surge of compassion for this strange man who she had only known for a day.
"Why are there no female kin? What happened? Surely -" Giselle wanted to understand, it was a strange concept that a race should just stop having female offspring all of a sudden. But Grimaldo cut her off;
"Conal and Nicholas approach, you should eat now for they will surely want to speak with you when they arrive." Giselle had a suspicion that her questions were the reason Grimaldo urged her to eat; not the imminent arrival of Nicholas and Conal.
Conal and Nicholas walked on silently, marching across the grassy plains that Giselle had traversed just an hour before. Nicholas looked troubled, and Conal was silent out of respect for his companion.
Eventually, Nicholas spoke. "So... Giselle is one of you?"
"Yes. Sort of."
For a moment Nicholas looked like he was going to ask what 'sort of' meant, but then he shook his head. "So... why am I involved? I don't have anything to do with this magic."
"You are here to protect and lead Giselle, just as I am. You have a gift. Not every human can hear me in their dreams. And Giselle will need a human companion."
Nicholas sensed that Conal was hiding something, but he let it be.
They walked a few paces more, then Conal suddenly stopped and pulled Nicholas around to face him. He looked at nicholas intensely, and there was something urgent in his tone.
"Remember, we are here to protect Giselle. There are - others, who will try to use her. We must protect her from them. My brothers mean well, but they think only of themselves. They do not care for Giselle, only what she is. They will do anything to get what they want. We cannot let that happen!" Conal drew in a deep breath, then went on.
"She must survive. She is... everything. That is why I have told you what I have. You must never trust anyone, especially when it comes to Giselle's safety. And you must not let Giselle know what I have asked of you. She will not think that she needs protecting. But there are forces that she cannot yet imagine."
Nicholas stared at him for a moment, then replied. "Yes, Conal. I will be careful."
Conal relaxed. "And beware what you say from now on. If my brothers knew the secrets I have told you, well... They would not hesitate to kill both of us."
Before Nicholas could respond, Conal started sending out images with his mind, and the ground opened up beneath them...
Giselle jumped as the roof began to shake.
"They are here." Dwyer remarked, his words holding hidden meanings that she couldn't grasp. She watched with beating heart as the earth circle slowly sank down, two figures on it. She could tell that it was now night outside. With a soft, earthy thump, it hit the floor.
"Giselle.." his voice whispered through her mind and she shivered. without understanding, she knew that only she could hear it. "you know my name now.." He stepped towards her and she caught his eyes with her own, his eyes deep and unfathomable in the dim light of the cave.
"Giselle!" Nicholas' joyful yell broke the moment between Conal and Giselle. Briefly, Giselle reached out a hand to Conal and their fingers brushed, before she turned to Nicholas.
"Nicholas! You're.. alive, and and well! I thought.." He grabbed her hand and, laughing loudly, spun her around.
"I am well! I didn't think I would live much longer - in fact, I had hoped I wouldnt - but Conal here saved me, and healed me, though I don't understand how."
There was a silence as Giselle thought of this, of not only the awesome power required to heal, but also the value Conal must have for Nicholas' life.
"You could do it too, with the right training" came Grimaldo's voice.
"I could heal?" Giselle whispered, overwhelmed with the thought.
"Yes", The old Dragon seemed amused.
"Giselle! Come here!" Dwyer called.
Giselle walked quickly over to him and stood anxiously, waiting.
Conal raised his eyebrows, "This is Giselle". It was a statement, with no inflections, but Giselle sensed diappointment deep within him, and this made her frown with sadness.
Dwyer looked bemusedly at Giselle, Nicholas' eyes twinkled.
"Giselle, come meet our mother". Dwyer said, after a moment's awkward silence. Giselle's eyes shot up to Dwyer's. "But you said...?"
"I said there have been no new females, Giselle. There are female denizens at Haven. Come meet her... and her feline friend..." Dwyer pulled at her hands, grinning at her like a small child, free with reckless abandon.
15 years ago
Sun Sep 07 2008, 12:58am
Conal stood observing Dwyer's excitement, he disliked what he saw beyond Dwyer's expression. It made him uncomfortable, it was the same thing he saw mirrored in the eyes of all his kin. They revered her very presence, but it was akin to a reverence of a coveted object, rather than a person. He sighed inwardly as he followed behind them, there was so much to protect this girl from, even within her circle of protectors.
Giselle was trying vainly to take in her new environment, but her tired eyes could not take in all she wanted. Dwyer caught her feelings of awe, and smiled.
"Don't fret, there will be time a plenty to absorb the Haven during your stay Giselle," she nodded, mind elsewhere. Dwyer was leading her down a stone passageway. She expected to feel chills emanating of the stone, but was astounded to find there was warmth instead. Her poor mind had so much to process as it was, so she suppressed her curiousity for the time being. The hall eventually opened out into a vast cavernous room.
In the centre of the room on a dais stood a tall figure, draped in a long feathered cloak, one slender hand resting on the head of a large feline sitting companionably beside her.
--
edit: sorry had to edit, had issues with ober last night and it froze, and didn't get to finish it off...
Giselle stopped dead in her tracks.
The woman in front of her was the most extraordinary face she had ever seen.
The mother of Conal and Dwyer was old, tall and and ancient. And yet her face was unlined and her snowflake obsidian eyes held a glint of brilliant green.
Dwyer's mother lifted as eyebrow.
"Mother, I present Giselle!" Conal resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Dwyer's excessive exuberance.
The snow leopard at the woman's side hissed at Dwyer.
Giselle looked at the leopard warily. She had seen one of these long ago, back in the... yes. Silent creatures, unable to purr or roar. But they could jump, they could definately jump. A deep scar on the inside of Giselle leg tingled with apprehension.
And at last the woman spoke.
"Welcome Giselle. I.... am Terua."
