deb
Perception Level 1
Depict the conversation that passed between Gahltha and Swallow’s horse (Sendari) during the long night where Swallow tattooed Elspeth’s arm. Deb of the Mystics.
As Elspeth settled by the fire with Swallow, Gahltha and Sendari moved under the shelter of a nearby tree. Gahltha kept a thread of thought wrapped around Elspeth’s mind just too be sure he was prepared if she needed him.
Sendari sent, “Innle will be safe with this/my funaga.â€
“How can you know this?†Gahltha asked.
“I know that his life force is tangled with the life force of Innle. I was sent an Ashling showing that these two will meet when Innle is in great need.†His thoughts showed the funaga called Swallow standing in a clearing holding a weapon. “The Ashling showed that the two will meet where there is great loss of beast and funaga life. My funaga is needed to save the life of Innle, else the promise of the freerunning barud be lost forever.â€
Gahltha, sensing pain from Elspeth started toward the Gypsy’s fire.
“No!†commanded Sendari. “This is/must be.â€
“Gahltha/I must protect ElspethInnle. It is my sworn duty to the Old-ones.â€
Sendari reassured Gahltha that Elspeth would come to no harm. He showed Gahltha memories of the funaga Swallow making the same marks on an infant some months before. “This funaga does mark those who are his people/herd.†He sent. “Innle is of his people/herd and must be if she is to lead the beasts to the freerunning barud. The time has come after a long wait, and these two must be joined. These two joined in this way is the sign of the promise. This I/Sendari was shown in the Ashling.â€
Just then Elspeth, sensing Gahltha’s concern, reached out to him and sent, “it is just a little pain, to perhaps save a lot of pain later on. Rest easy my friend.â€
Gahltha stood quiet for while, his thoughts turning in circles from the Old-ones to the freerunning barud. He knew that he would never see that place, but that other beasts would finally be free of the funaga-li.
The funaga Swallow stood and stretched and the other came out of the wagon with a box. A cup was produced and the funaga offered it to Elspeth. Sendari stood transfixed, looking at the scene at the dying fire. As both man and girl sipped from the cup, a bright line of fire flared between them.
“Now they are one.†Sendari sent, satisfied.
Gahltha could only agree.
ariadne
Level 1- Conversation between Gahltha and Sendari.
"Not/never alone,' Gahltha sent from the darkness with all the intensity of a vow.
The gypsy man climbed from the wagon, a glint in his eyes that I did not trust......
[act]The scene cuts to the two horses standing companionable in the darkness[/act]
Gahltha: So then I/Gahltha said to Atthis ‘Why is a funaga the one to lead us to the free running barud? Why can’t a beast be the Seeker/Innle/Free-er of Beasts?’
Sendari: My thoughts exactly. What did Atthis/Eldar say?
Gahltha: That everything that is happening was put in motion in the Beforetime. The beforetime seer Kasanda foresaw ElspethInnle would be the Seeker and hero of Beastlegend, and not an equine/brildane/yelloweyes.
Sendari: I wouldn’t put muchtrust in the beforetimers. Look what happens when you leave them in charge. The world almost gets wiped out. Best put an equine in charge. No opposable thumbs, less chance of committing great evil.
Gahltha: Truespoken.
Sendari: But for all your objections, you must have some respect for Innle?
Gahltha: Somerespect, yes. But thisequine finds much entertainment comes when following Innle. It’s like watching Days of our Lives.
Sendari: I’m more of a Bold and the Beautiful equine.
[act]Gahltha is distracted momentarily by feelings of unease emanating from Elspeth[/act]
Gahltha: Do you/Sendari know what thisgypsy/Swallow is doing to Innle?
Sendari: Innle is receiving a tattoo, which thisequine believes to be a form of torture.
Gahltha: I/Gahltha did not hear that. It is my night off. Maruman/Yelloweyes should protect Innle while she is being tattooed. It was meant to be histurn anyway.
Sendari: Then why is Maruman/Yelloweyes not here?
Gahltha: He told thisequine he had to go seliga because the OldOnes asked it. I/Gahltha amnot stupid. Maruman/Yelloweyes is not seliga, he is visiting another funaga who he/Maruman convinced they also be Innle/Seeker.
Sendari: Why tell another they are Innle when they arenot?
Gahltha: Maruman/Yelloweyes wishes to be obeyed and entertained. It is his way.
Sendari: [act]snorting in disbelief[/act] Donot the OldOnes object?
Gahltha: They/OldOnes are too busy throwing stones from the sky and waiting to see if they hit funaga.
Sendari: Do they hit funaga?
Gahltha: Theymust, Atthis told thisequine that she holds the highscore for most funaga hit with falling stones. That is how they choose the next Eldar of the Elder.
Sendari: And they are the ones tolead Innle? I/Sendari think equines should be doing the OldOne’s job too. No opposable thumbs to throw stones with.....
[act]Elspeth and Swallow become visible again[/act]
"The only answer I could come up with was one who had a greater secret to hide," Swallow said.
[ligne][/ligne]
Cheers
Ari
Bibliophile
Level 1
--------
“Who/what is your/Sendari rider/master?†The other horse looks over to where Elspeth is sitting by the fire with the gypsy then turns back to face Gahltha.
“He/rider is a funaga like any other funaga. He is better than most masters/riders/owners, but still funaga. To the darkskins/wanderingones he is sonofleader/futureleader. But how did you/Gahltha come to bear/protect Innel?â€
“It is a longwinding story/tale, and one that I/Gahltha am not proud to speak/acknowledge. I once hated/feared the funaga. I had a cruel/painbringing master/darkskin and thought allfunaga like him. He tried to break/control me but I hid/submitted and fuelled my anger. Then a new funaga took/bought me from the master/darkskin. He spoke to me in the way of those who share the heartfire, promising freerunning/equalsay in the Obernewtynbaraud. I was wary, but my heart filled with hope/longing and I followed. When I first came to Obernewtynbraud I thought that it was, if not to the freerunning baroud, then as close to it as possible outside the longsleep. No funaga beat us or bound us with coldmetal; we were free to walk/run where we wished and worked only for our share; the funaga spoke to us with mind/hands as equals.
“But then I began to see through their lies/deception. Alad/Beastspeakingmaster spoke soft/fair words and gave manypromises and others believed, but they proved empty/false. They/funaga called us equal but would not include us in their councils/guildmerge. I gathered those/equines with eyes/minds to see and we demanded what we had been promised.†He turns to watch Elspeth, face lit by the flickering firelight.
“Then she/Innel came to see/speak to us. She/Innel wished the aid of equines for an expedition/rescue in the Lowlands/baroud-li. I refused her. Why should we/equines risk ourselves for trustbreaking funaga? Then she/Innel proposed a test. We/equines would aid Misfits/funaga in their travels/deception and show that we could worktogether and earn the place they had already promised. I demanded to go, to make sure they did not cheat/fail/betray; and I demanded that she come so that both would include/risk leaders. If she/Innel had refused, it would have shown they were true funaga, unknowing of the heartfire, and I would have taken those with clear eyes/minds to seek the true freerunning baroud, even into the longsleep. But she/Innel was wise/knowing and agreed.
“I thought to use the journey/expedition/trial to show our strength/superiority/courage, but I failed. Before we even left the highcountry I was faced with a task/request/challenge I could not answer. They were gone and I fled/retreated to the high mountains, I have failed and longed for the longsleep. I waited seasons, yet I lived/survived. Then the voice of the mornir-sahric/Oldones came to me in my dreams, bidding me to travel higher and await the one who would be my destiny. The voices told me manythings as I walked/waited in the highest mountains, and lifted the bitterness from my heart/spirit/mind. Then at the end of the Wintersnows, the voiced bid me to walk to a ledge where I found her/Innel, alone in the untouched snow. We returned together to Obernewtynbaroud; she/Innel to her mate/duties, I to bear/protect her/Innel.â€
Sendari nods. “And now you/Gahltha bring her here to be marked as Innel in with the sign/mark of the mornir-sahric/Oldones.â€
Gahltha turns to look at Sendari sharply. “What sign/mark is this?â€
“The mark which the darkskins/wanderingones share, yet on her/Innel only those who witness/see its making/gifting can see/know...†And a ring of eyes, in every shape and size, gleam from the shadows.
Fate
Hi there! Here's my entry for the Perception Writing Comp.
LEVEL 1:
Out of the darkness came a mindthought.
"Greetings."
Gahltha didn't need to turn his head to acknowledge the other equine. He sent an echo of response back. "Greetings."
"Your funaga is very loud/obnoxious." The horse belonging to the gypsy funaga snorted. Sure enough, there were loud tones emitting from the campsite. Gahltha angled his body so it received heat from the cackling fire.
"ElspethInnle is not my funaga. We are equal." There was a time Gahltha would not have been so hot with his answer. There was a time he would never have thought those things.
The other equine’s dark eyes held a glimmer of genuine confusion. From the shadows it emerged, fingers of flame reflecting in its coat. It paused at some invisible line between them, pausing tentatively.
"Equal. Not a word/meaning used for funaga and equine." Curiosity overshadowed this horse's desire to be intimidated. Gahltha let out a rush of air from his nostrils.
"No. How came you be with these funaga?" Gahltha did not wish to be questioned tonight. His eyes trained on the funaga that spoke to ElspethInnle. Almost on cue, she turned and stared into his eyes. He sent her a reassuring thought. The other horse seemed confused, however he could not have been privy to their exchange. After a beat, he sent forth some images about his previous life.
He'd been rescued, much like the equines at Obernewtyn. However, his previous owners had not been harsh; he simply had not wanted their company anymore. Like any animal, his desire to be free, roam the Land, overcame him. So when a gypsy caravan had passed by, the horse had simply jumped the low-lying fence of his owners’ property and pursued them down the Suggredoon until they set up camp. That was when bandits struck. Thinking the equine to be wild, they had tried to rope him in. Whinnying and lashing out was all he could have done. The vivid images of that night flooded Gahltha's mind. He was suddenly very aware of the courage that burned in the heart of this equine. His loyalty to his current owners, the gypsy funaga called Swallow, almost rivalled that of Gahltha's to Innle.
Essentially, it had been Swallow's father who had saved the horse from the bandits, but the child soon inherited him. The horse did not mind his ownership pertaining to the gypsies. He may have been chained by possession to these funaga, but it was a bond that saw him more freedom than he had ever had.
Gahltha kept his eyes on ElspethInnle while he absorbed the other equine's tale.
"What about you/Gahltha?"
"I/Gahltha am also bound to the funaga, but in a bond of friendship/loyalty than ownership," Gahltha sent plainly. When Gahltha did not give an explanation, the other equine moved off to a patch of fresh grass to eat. As he passed, Gahltha projected a sense of friendship, surprisingly accepted and reciprocated back at him.
Gahltha settled in his spot and watched the funaga.
Fate
Hi there! Here's my entry for the Perception Writing Comp.
LEVEL 2:
The funaga called Alad hurried past the barns.
He fidgeted as he approached. Our meeting -- an abruptly called beastmerge -- had already begun. His presence was the cat's request. In one of his fits, Maruman had brought up taking his matter to the full guildmerge.
Maruman perched tentatively on a rock in a patch of grass. With beady yellow eyes, the cat stared at a small pink creature. Three equines, a dog and a pair of birds made a small circle around them.
'Alad/beastspeaker joins us,' announced the equine Avra. The thought resounded around the group, though only a couple of beasts showed any interest in his arrival. Alad gestured for the cat to begin.
'Very well, it begins,' Maruman sent. He stretched, glaring at the pink ball curled up at his feet. 'The trial of the pig.'
'Trial?' Alad questioned warily.
'Yelloweyes believes/thinks the pig has taken/stolen something from him,' the dog sent. Alad remembered him to be from the highlands, runaway from an abusive master. Onyx, named for his black coat.
'He/Maruman cannot find food and thinks the pig has taken/stolen it,' Avra added wearily.
'Not important?' the cat hissed. Narrowing his eyes, Maruman turned to the creature that was, in fact, me. I quivered under the cat’s stare, making a low noise. 'Maruman remembers/knows he left the food/pie at the barn and now it is gone! Explain!'
'This is about stolen… food/pie?' Alad tried the strange thought out. Maruman had projected an image of pastry made in the kitchens. A string of images followed from the cat's heated mind: being offered food by a young empath, going to the barn, leaving and returning to find the pie gone, me there. Alad stifled a laugh. The cat was furious because I had eaten his pie.
'Enough!' Maruman's mindthought pierced the air. The birds jumped about and I, distracted, jutted my snout in their direction playfully. 'Do you have anything to say/confess?'
I tilted my head quizzically.
'This is pointless/a waste of time,' another equine, a bored chestnut, sent. Alad agreed; this was why he'd been summoned to a beastmerge? It wasn't even a meeting.
'Maruman,' Alad addressed the cat cautiously. 'Perhaps it is wise/better to forget this.'
'No! Maruman does not forget.' Suddenly, the cat pounced from the rock onto my back. I squealed, before rolling over and sending Maruman sprawling. I made noises of laughter. Maruman swiped a furious claw, ending up falling over himself. I chortled louder. The horses started to move away, and the birds flew from the rock.
'Wait/stay!' Maruman yelled mentally. Only Onyx remained, lounged near the rock. 'The pig must be punished!'
'For what?' Onyx sent cynically.
'Taking/stealing what belonged to Maruman/me.' The passion behind his thought made Alad feel momentarily sorry for the old cat. I snorted, the cat hissed. Alad rolled his eyes.
‘Why don’t you/beasts sort this out?’ And he left.
‘Stupid funaga,’ Maruman hissed. ‘I/Maruman wants my/his pie!’
I rolled over, laughing all the while.
