It was hot, though it would be a pleasant change from the murky, humid weather from below, where the LeMure lived. It was one of her yearly trips, where she could leave her position as the head of the Dark and truly enjoy herself away from her tedious task. She enjoyed her position on the counsel but she had an adventurous heart, always wanting to go far beyond that of the normal Dark. She had always loved going on missions, before she had advanced to her present position. It was all exciting to her but centuries of stationary work, bored the adventurous heart.
Her personal craft awaited her as she exited from the counsel building; it gleamed as the few torches flickered, elongating shadows and shapes. She stood and viewed her hardly used craft, one of her few possessions, which had been given to her by her late father. It was a feline shape, with hard lines and smooth curves, molded after the Fareth, her favorite animal. She approached the black and silver vessel, stroking the glossy side with extreme affinity, becoming one with her ride. Her plum lips curved in a smile, enjoying being reunited with her vehicle.
A strong bellow abruptly filled the air, and just as suddenly quieted. Orion smiled yet again for she knew her guardian had followed her to the depths of the cavern. She crouched down and called out in the shadows, her whispery voice seemingly filling the air.
"Makilah!"
A roar floated back to her in response, this time not so threatening as before. She laughed quietly, surveying the shadows for the indigo eyes of her guardian, her "baby" as she called her. A ball of white spotted fur leaped out and fell upon her, using her weight to keep the ivory haired woman down. Orion tried to shield her face from the rough tongue of the Fareth but to no avail; the tongue brushed over her face. When the Makilah was satisfied, she leaped off of Orion, and skittered away. Orion sat up and brushed her hair out of her face and looked around, she spied the playful Fareth not less than ten feet away. She slowly stood up to the standing position, watching the crouching feline.
Orion rested a finger upon her chin and smiled, she had raised her beloved Makilah from a cub, and the Fareth grew to be a lovable pet and not a ferocious beast. She crouched down once more and Makilah padded over to lick Orion's hand. She loved her immense pet and often played with her like this, but the time was not right. With a soft pat on the head, Orion stood up and opened the extending door, and watched with quiet amusement as the Fareth scurried up the hatch. Than she herself walked up and closed the door, examining the insides as she sat down in the driver's seat. With a twirl, the seat turned and she was facing the large windows, looking outside from a higher position. She started the craft with a flick of a switch and a roar from the mechanical mouth signified it was ready to travel. With an eager smile she started the controls and the motorized feline jumped to life, its steel legs propelling her forward toward the thick wall. A pale finger pushed another button and the wall opened up, opening up a much darker and more twisted path, which she would take to the surface world.
She exited out of the shallow chasm, hardly used, except for the occasional animal. The instant light hit her eyes and temporarily blinded her. Cursing her stupidity, she stumbled for the darkening switch on her console. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the shading factor reacted immediately and tinted the large windshields. With the tinted windows she could better view the land and decide which way to go. All directions had their own foes - landslides, sinkholes, and ferocious animals. She headed to the east, toward the climbing hills of snowy sand and rock; the mechanical beast running with quiet, swift movements.
Orion slowed her ride to a slow walk, as she entered the rocky mounds of Sallow Lorne, the home of the Fareths. She stopped the catlike machine and lowered the stairway, looking out upon the sweeping sands. With a smile she climbed down from the vehicle and stood upon the ashy grains. She waited until Makilah was down before closing the hatch. She raised a hand to shield her white; pupil-less eyes from the glaring sun and looked around the landscape, searching for which direction she should choose.
West, she decided, away from the glaring suns. Whistling to Makilah, she strode onward towards the steady rising hills. She felt the many eyes of the native race, gazing at her as if she was an enemy. She knew once they saw Makilah they would soon be on their way, ignoring and avoiding them. She was right with her hypothesis, the weight of eyes soon lifted and she felt comfortable again. Except for Makilah, who was emitting a harsh sound from her throat. Something was not right and Makilah knew it; Orion dreaded searching for the problem but without hesitating she followed the bounding Fareth.
She approached an opening in the Sallow Lorne; a weak mewing sound was flowing over to where Orion was standing. Makilah lay down nearby, curling her tail near her body; it was evident that the young cub was abandoned, just like Makilah had been five years before. The winds began to pick up, signifying a desert storm approaching; she wanted to get back to her ship before it picked up in velocity, but she couldn't leave the cub alone to die. Orion warily walked over to the center to find nothing but a small recording device. Orion instantly knew it was a trap and jumped up to her feet; she twirled around only to see a semi-circle of hooded figures. She cursed herself for her stupidity and bit her lip, surveying the scene before her.
The figures did not move; they seemed to be watching her to see how she would respond first. She whispered three words, "Kalian Resert Ea'tre," which roughly means 'Power of Eternal,' awakening her weapon that rested upon her wrist. The eyes of the metal Fareth weapon flared to life, creating an eerie black light emitting from the two holes. She watched the figures, waiting to see if any of them would move; none did. She bit her bottom lip again, beginning to worry about the situation, no one moved and she didn't know what he or she wanted.
Finally the middle figure stepped out from the group and nodded his head. She tilted her head, waiting to see what would happen, a strange light appeared and shot forward toward her. Her white eyes widened in horror as she leaped out of the way. These individuals were not friends! She aimed with her weapon, a small dart filled mechanism that could shoot out darts nearly fifty feet, at the middle figure and shot. He dodged with amazing speed but alas; the one behind him was hit, the dart exploding from his back in a spray of blood. Then the fray had started.
The inhabitants tore off their cloaks, revealing shabby men in their place; she sighed, she was up against bandits. These bandits also had a plan and she was part of it, she looked around glancing for away to flee. That hope was soon lost when a score of other men appeared, cutting off any possible escape. She knew the only way to get away was to fight; she didn't like to kill since she only did so when times called for hostility. This was one of those times.
She heard a smooth voice float towards her and she glanced in the direction the voice was coming from; it was a very charismatic man, looking barely twenty. She hissed at him, knowing that he was the leader of this band of ruthless men. She aimed her projectile weapon at him, targeting with near perfection until she was abruptly thrown to the ground. Sand went into her eyes and mouth, causing her to retch with repulsion and anger. Her mind frenetically searched for any magic that could help her, nothing surfaced. She coughed harshly again, and glared up at the leader, who was briskly approaching her. He knelt down and lifted her chin, gazing into her incessant colorless eyes; he pulled away quickly as she tried to bite him. He chuckled softly and whispered to her, "Feisty one aren't ye?" he studied her face once more before standing, towering above her. He clapped his hands, three sharp sounds and they were on her, tying her up and shoving a dirty piece of cloth into her mouth.
She futilely tried to fight them off of her, frantically clawing at the men before having her wrists harshly tied behind her. She was ruthlessly hauled to her feet, the sudden movement made her nauseous; but she showed no sign of it. She lifted her head up high and openly glared at the leader, whom was standing before her. He approached her swiftly, "I will enjoy breaking yer spirit…I will consume yer body like a fire." He stared at her, surveying her face, to see how she reacted. She began to cast a spell to escape but was hit hard from behind and fell to the ground before finishing the incantation. Before she blacked out she heard the leaders voice swell over her, "Take her to the lair, the first part of the mission is complete."
She awoke in a cavern; beautiful beyond anything she had ever seen before, the flickering of the torches brought shadows and gray smoke that enhanced the scene. She was almost brought to the conclusion that she was home but the sight of the leader drastically ruined this. He crouched in front of her, looking at her with what looked like genuine concern.
"Ye shouldn't have hit 'er so hard you idiot!" he growled to one of the men standing to his left, "she's been out for ne'rely two days!" He stood up and approached the men, dagger hidden behind his back. With a quick movement of his hand he tactlessly shoved the dagger into the muscled neck of his follower, causing the blood to run like a river. The rest of the men laughed heartily at this, amused to see another die at the hand of their leader. They all spat upon the dying man and left the room, their laughter echoing in the hollow cavern.
Orion shuddered, never in her life had she seen something so cold; and most likely she was older than this very cave. She found herself slumped against a smooth wall, bound tightly. Her arms were beginning to ache from the prone pose she had been in; she stretched as much as she could, as much as she could bear against the pain of the tightened muscles. A tingling sensation pricked at her muscles, the blood flowing back in to the veins that had once been asleep. She shook off the feeling of tiny pins and looked around, her eyes adjusting better to the darkness than before. Her eyes focused on the dead man, now surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Her nose scrunched up in disgust, it had been many millennia since she had seen a dead person, and she was not used to the wave of senses that came with the sight. She shuddered again, playing and replaying the scenario of his death; she could not believe the cold manner of how he was disposed.
"So, ye're awake af'er all…"
It was that same sickening smooth voice, her head whipped towards the entrance where he stood. She could only see his frame, his well-muscled body leaning against the smooth rock. Even though she could not see his eyes, she knew he was gazing at her, looking at her in intimate ways. A chill ran down her spine, she did not like being in a vulnerable position like she was, opened to any sort of attacks. She swallowed hard, and averted her eyes from him, not wanting to look at his sickening sight.
He laughed, a rough sound that sent chills down Orion's back, and she knew it was a sound that demanded authority. He walked temptingly up to her and crouched down, looking at her as he did so. He lifted her chin again, this time more gently, "Since ye're so val'able, ye will be hav'g som'one that will guard ye will I sleep t'night." With that he stood and left the room, leaving Orion in the hands of another. Orion shrunk against the wall, she never had felt so vulnerable before, and it terrified her that she may fall victim to these bandits. She curled into a ball, a weak way to defend herself, and watched the entryway.
All time escaped her, she had no recollection at how long she had been staring at the doorway; but soon a shadow darkened the entrance. It moved with fluid grace across the shadows until it reached her. It withdrew a dagger and struck out, slicing the thick ropes that bonded her. She looked at the figure with astonishment, this person must have gone to great lengths to come and free her. She was about to pull the dirty rag from her lips when a hand slapped her across the face. She cried out in pain, unable to hold it in on time. She looked at the figure and saw the features of a male.
"Keep yer gag in, I do't want ye cr'ing." He snarled at her, "I like me wom'n strug'lin."
Orion's eyes shot open in fear; he was here to ravish her! She struck out at him, clawing his eye, making it burst upon contact. He shrieked in pain as the contents of his eyeball dribbled down his cheek. He glared at her, his one good eye pouring out hatred for her as he punched her, laying her flat on the ground. Orion struggled to sit back up but the man crawled upon her, pinning her to floor. Orion bit the cloth, and flailed her arms, her cries of protest muffled by the gag. She was hit again, this time making her travel back and forth from reality to unconsciousness. She was brought back only by the sharp pain in her neck; his teeth were impaled in her flesh. She screamed out in the greatest of all pain, drawing the attention of all in the cavern.
Lights flared to life as figures entered the room, growling curses of hatred for the man. He was harshly yanked to his feet, as the leader entered the room, his metal tipped shoes clanking on the floor. He snarled harshly out at the offender, "Metlean! Ye are to pro'ect h'r not rape 'er!"
He struck out, striking the bandit with the back of his hand. He watched the younger man cower, "Sorry Alroan! She was too temptin', h'r smooth flesh would 've felt good again't mine!" He was struck again by Alroan, "Ye're me bro'her! Ye sup'osed to back me up!" Alroan bellowed into his brother's ear.
Orion scrambled to her feet, her high heels making short rapping sounds as she fled the room. The conversation was running around in her head. Brothers! Those two creeps were brothers! She knew she was in trouble, she was hopelessly lost in this cave, and she was so very cold. She huddled in a dark corner, praying that her curse would be lifted so she could die.
She heard feet a few minutes later, men's laughter told of the brutal killing that just took place. Alroan had just killed his brother, to keep her pure from sexual attacks. She did not know how to feel at this statement, blood should always be stronger than anything, and here her captor saved her life over his own brother. She shook her head until the shrill clanging of a familiar pair of shoes neared. She knew it was Alroan, he was the only one with metal tipped shoes, she held her breath; she did not want him to find her.
He stopped ten feet away and called out, "My lady, come out. No one will hurt ye again." He surveyed the area and spotted her, her white features standing out in the dark; the contrast was noticeable. He approached slowly, nearing her calmly. He held out a hand to her, inviting her to come and embrace his kindness. She did not know why this man was being so humane to her, but she knew as long as she was held captive his motives were uncertain.
She took his hand, her small hand was engulfed in his larger one; and he held her hand tightly due to the fact it was quivering. He led her away, to a secluded area; she began to struggle fearing that he would finish what his brother began. He laughed and led her into a secret entrance; it opened into a large, plush bedroom. Orion's eyes widened. She knew without a doubt what his plans were.
"I will not sleep with you, I thank you for saving me but I will not sleep with you." She crossed her arms firmly over her chest and stared at him, daring him to try. He laughed again, the laugh echoed in the rounded cavern and circled around Orion, "I am not going to do any harm to ye, ye are too impor'ant." He nodded towards large pillows stacked into the corner, a large post stuck out from the center. She walked over and sat down, feeling the silkiness of them and smiled. The first smile since she entered this horrible place, she laid down, carefully watching Alroan. He lay upon his bed and went to sleep, she too followed him soon after.
When she awoke the next morning, she was tied to the post with a strong fiber rope. She tried to yank out of it but only this resulted in the tightening of the rope. She glanced at the bed and noticed that Alroan was gone from his bed; she frantically searched for him, but to no avail. She sighed, and was about to lay back down when she heard his footsteps echoing down the hall. She sat up and waited for him to come in, he did, scantly clad. She averted her eyes immediately; he was striped down to his underclothing, he pointedly looked at her and laughed. He walked over to her and sat upon the pillows next to her, placing his hand on her thigh. Orion shifted, trying to avoid his touch, he was nothing more than a cruel bandit, killing others mercilessly. He kept his hand upon her thigh, and leaned over, ready to kiss her. He smelled heavily of alcohol, his breath coming out in rancid blasts of the stench. She reeled her head back but was forced by his hand to come forward. Their lips met in a meeting that was anything but romantic. He pushed her upon the pillows, running his hand up her side and rested upon her breasts. Orion screamed shrilly, an energy ball erupted, centered upon Alroan. He instantly disintegrated as the energy ball filled the room and exploded through the cavern. Echoes of the explosion reverberated throughout the cave as Orion slowly crawled through the crumbling walls out to the exit.
She was in great pain, she could hardly see and it hurt to move; but since her curse would not let her die she did not want to be stuck down in the cave forever. She clawed her way through other's flesh and blood, until she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. She smiled and pulled all her energy together; she crawled outside into the harshly bright light. She crawled a few meters from the entrance and lay down upon her stomach, she than slipped into unconsciousness.
Orion was badly injured, if she had not been immortal she would have been dead; instead she was just mortally wounded. Her eyelid was burned off completely, leaving her burst eyeball exposed. Blood trilled down her cheek and pooled on the ground below her, her skin was completely black, burnt to a crisp. Her skin was cracked all over and in some places it was so bad that it was leaking blood. The energy ball completely burned off all her clothing; she was wearing nothing but her silky thong, which was scorched badly enough it looked like the wind could blow the ashes away.
Orion lay prone to the world, weak and vulnerable, as a creature neared baring its teeth. It sniffed at the oblivious women, breathing in the scents of the metallic blood and cooked flesh. It lay down and started to whine, prodding the body with its nose. Makilah had found the bandit's lair, but too late to assist Orion out of the cavern. Makilah licked the face of Orion, trying to soothe the pain that Orion felt. Orion was able to turn her head towards Makilah and even managed a smile at her best friend, her one eye, now the color of smoke, focusing on the Fareth. The feline unknowing of the pain rubbed to nuzzle against Orion's cheek; Orion fell into a deep sleep knowing her friend would be there to protect her.
Orion slipped between the realm of consciousness and unawareness. All she could piece together through the hectic times was that she was not on the Searing Plains anymore and that she was on some sort of ship. She turned her head to view the patron of this vehicle, only to see a dark silhouette in its place. She felt some sort of comfort, she did not know why, but she felt safe here. She was able to gather that she was in a dark room, presumably a black one; and laying upon a red bed, large enough for two people. The person stepped closer to her, the silhouette forming that of a male shape, though she could not make out who it was. She was still quite light-headed and also very nauseous, though the soft nudging of an animal told her that Makilah was there to protect her. She lay back down, weak and exhausted, just wanting to sleep and never wake up.
A blue light awakened her; it seeped into her eyes and woke her inner consciousness. The vision was hazy but she saw blue beams coming from each of the male's finger, the hand hovered over her chest, which was bare except for the charred flesh. She had no time to be embarrassed, because soon pain shot through her body. She glanced at the face of her savior, only to see glowing eyes the color of blue. The pain grew as the diameter of the beams grew. Soon she was moaning out of pain. She watched with horror as her skin grew back together and turned the normal color. The beam seemed to heal her from head to toe; when it neared her most sensitive of areas she gasped out in pain, she tried to close her legs but was too weak to. She could not even move. She hoped this was because of her own weakness and not part of the spell, which was washing over her.
Her hair whitened, she could see from the corner of her eye that it also straightened; this was relatively painless, compared to what happened with her skin knitting together. She watched with amusement as ripples seemed to come from the beams; all it was, was a hazy movement but it seemed almost beautiful to her. She felt her hair grow; she even saw her hair growing down to her rear. She was beginning to believe that this healing session would not be as harsh as she believed. The next part of the healing would be the hardest and the most painful, though she did not know that at the time.
An eyeball started to bubble from the depths of the empty eye socket, she cried out in great anguish! It felt like fire ripping through her head and igniting in her eye. She cried out again and again as the eyelid slowly grew over the still sensitive eyeball. She blacked out due to the fiery pain. She was not awake when her other eye lighten, as the dirt and smoke cleared from the eye. She was completely healed but she was still very weak.
A man dressed only in a long robe entered the Chamber of the Dark; in his arms was Orion, still unconscious and weak from her trials in the cavern. Over his shoulders he had two large sacks filled with heavy objects, while in his arms he held Orion marital style. The burdens seemed no hassle for he still walked in his smooth movements. He showed no emotions before he left, leaving Orion with the Dark.
Orion woke up some time later; she was in her bed, recuperating from her still weak state. She told the whole story to her fellow counsel members, knowing that they would trust the word of their highest-ranking Dark. She hugged the robe that she was wrapped in; it was a cloak of a lesser-leveled LeMure. She laid back and started to fall asleep, but suddenly sat up causing her more pain.
"Who was the man who saved me from my fiery hell?" she blurted out.
The members of the Dark looked at each other before answering her question. "Fromin Smokestinger found you and brought you back. He has already departed, leaving you in our hands." Orion nodded at this, knowing the skittish ways of Fromin. She smiled and lay upon the pillows, she drifted into a sweet slumber, her smile still planted upon her face.
Three agonizing days later, Orion traveled to the surface world with a craft of thirteen LeMure. She traveled to retrieve her ship; the crew was going for two reasons. They were to go to the cavern to see if anything was salvageable and if anyone lived through Orion's lethal energy attack. The craft stopped its floating motion, and landed with a soft thud upon the increasingly cooling grains of sand. There the fourteen patrons of the vessel stepped off into the dying light of the suns. Orion glanced around once more, saying farewell to this beautiful but hostile land; believing she wouldn't venture here again soon. She tucked her ivory hair behind her ears, looking upon the quickly darkening sky and the landscape. She sighed, trying not to think about the happenings of the past week; instead she strode forward towards her sandy ship. Halfway to her ship, she saw a glimmer of black out of the corner of her eye and knew instantly what it was. She bent down and picked up the smooth stone of the Kreta stone, quickly turning a dark ebony color. She smiled, the day was looking up and now it was time to go home.
She climbed into the cockpit of her ship, and with a short piercing whistle called Makilah to her. As the scaled snow leopard bounded up the stairs, Orion took one last look at the surface before shutting the hatch. She walked up the short walkway to the bridge and she sat in her seat, staring out the still darkened windows. She started the ship up and the mechanical legs contracted and extended, creating the illusion of the feline ship running.
Orion sat back in her velvety chair and rested her hand upon the spotted hide of her feline, running her smooth fingers over the scales upon Makilah's muzzle and tail. Her thoughts drifted to of her love, smiling as she remembered the swift ways in which he did not share his feelings, in such a manner only the best of friends would recognize.
They have known each other for the longest time, each with the own kind of curses. She smiled at the thought of him, and the ways that they find ways to somehow see the other, even if it is the briefest of glimpses. She sighed and thought of his face, the brooding light gray eyes and the swooning looks sent shivers down her spine. She knew that he was the one to save her on the Searing Plains, and sighed thinking of a way that she can somehow meet up with him to thank him and perhaps one day tell him how she feels about him. As she traveled back down the crest of the two very different worlds, she swore that the winds whispered her love's name around her. Fromin Smokestinger.
