"Mom, I am not having this conversation again!" the girl stomped out of the front door of her house, her mother following, exasperated.
"What's one more move?" the woman said. "It'd be to a beautiful place."
"More beautiful than this?" the girl returned, rounding on her mother and gesturing to the area.
The two's house was on the edge of a large plain. The bright sun was out, putting a silver halo on the edge of every stalk of wheat. Far in the distance was a tree that positively glowed from the sun's light.
"If we moved, we might be able to get more money than we do here."
"Not if we keep moving every month!" the daughter exploded.
"No, this place is better- more secluded."
"How are we supposed to get more money when we move away from our clients and farther away from civilization each time?"
"We have some dedicated clients."
"Who buy what? We've never managed to finish growing any food!"
The girl had a point. Next to the house was a field that the two had toiled over for the past month to make soft and receptive to seeds. At the moment, there were a few minute plants sprouting, but they were nowhere near being grown and productive. Given another month, the plants would grow to produce a lot of food- both the girl and her mother had mastered growing things- but they never stayed in one place long enough to see their plants do anything but bud.
"I understand that staying secluded makes us unaffiliated with parties that would try to manipulate and force us into their system. I'm glad that I'm not being forced to make clothes or shoes for the army. But Mother, we've been running from I don't know what for all of my life and nothing has ever happened."
"Nothing has ever happened because we moved."
"And another thing!" the girl kept ranting, her long hair flaring everywhere when her head turned sharply, "Although we keep moving and therefore lose money with buying the house and new seeds, we still always seem to have 'dedicated clients' who buy our stuff."
"How else would we get our money, but from buyers?"
"Mother." The girl said flatly. "We have nothing to sell."
"Plei, you don't understand." Her mother took a step nearer to her, but the girl took an equal step back.
"No, I don't. But that's all because you keep me in the dark, isn't it? I'm fifteen now, Mom. You'd think I could handle it."
Plei turned and strode away from the small, rickety cabin that she had lived in for only a month. It and her mother shrank away as the girl chose a path through the tall wheat and stormed down it. She knew she needed to cool off, and she knew the perfect place to do it at.
Pleisorium was a teenage girl who was used to travel. She had black hair and blue eyes, as well as a small figure. Her mother also had black hair, but her eyes were a dark brown, and they darted about often in order to sight any dangers. Still, her mother's paranoia was not appreciated when Plei just wanted to stay still for a little while. Settling down for an extra month did not seem much to ask for. But, for her mother…
It wasn't that Plei minded moving. It had been an active part of her life. Plei just felt that this place was beautiful; the sun was wonderful, and the girl couldn't help but feel… connected to the plain.
Through all of Pleisorium's moves, she had grown connected to every place in one way or another. She had bonded with mountains and forests, enjoying the thrum of life she felt from them. The plain had been the most comforting scene, however, and her mother had given her a knowing look when she said so.
Now, so far away from home, Plei relaxed among the golden wheat as they reached up to tickle her chin even though she was on an established trail. Slowly, the grass revealed a single tree up ahead. This tree was a favorite of Plei's, being the only reminder of a deep forest they used to live at.
Plei expected she and her mother would be living in a swamp next. Nobody ever went to a swamp happily, so it would be a perfectly secluded area. Plei's mother would be happy with that, as she always seemed the most interested in hiding herself and Plei away from the world as effectively as she could. Although Plei understood, she still felt that it would be nice to settle down for a little bit. She needed stability, and recently her mother had been providing anything but that. It was painful watching children who ran around town all day, always being confidant that when they wanted to return home, it would be there. Plei had no home.
As Plei came closer to her destination, she saw something odd near it and stopped to peer at it. The thing was huge and bulky, its form larger than the plain's small tree. Armor covered its soft spots, making it hard for Plei to discern anything but hooved feet and a bipedal body.
Then the head swung around, and Plei saw a bull's head and the small, mean eyes. The minotaur snorted upon seeing the girl, and Plei could see those eyes getting meaner from under its face armor. It took a step toward her, and then lifted up a huge hammer with bulging, muscular arms. Long claws scraped against the handle of the hammer. Plei had suddenly become aware of how sharp its horns were. The beast took another step forwards, roared, and then charged.
Plei turned sharply and sprinted away. She had spent half her life running, so her practice leveled out with the minotaur's long, heavy strides. For a split second, Plei was actually grateful for her mother's lessons; then she remembered that she was angry with her mother.
What was a canyon minotaur doing here? They didn't belong in plains- they belonged in canyons, obviously! And Plei knew they weren't very nice, but this one seemed to have been looking for something. Could it have mistaken her for someone else? Or had her mother been correct? Whichever it was, Plei sprinted for all her life. If she could reach her mother, they could take care of it together.
The thing gave an aggressive roar and Plei heard the hammer whistle through the air as it came down somewhere near her. She rolled quickly into the wheat and heard the huge hammer head hit the ground. The minotaur groaned as it moved the weapon again, but Plei was already darting off, hidden in the wheat.
Plei thought she had made her way safely to the house. The minotaur had been lost, and when she looked down at the house from the safety of the wheat, everything was quiet. Plei's mother was sitting on the porch, rolling a silver necklace over in her hands. She always did that when she was thinking.
The necklace was valuable piece of jewelry that Plei's mother had refused to sell, even at the worst of times. Both the chain and the locket, which was decorated with an emblem of a shield that was split into five sections, were shiny silver and had been polished every day. Plei's mother had never answered as to what its significance was.
Plei finally abandoned the wheat and walked quickly toward the house. She waved to her mother, who looked up and smiled sadly, the chain dangling from her hand. The daughter breathed a sigh of relief for a moment.
There was a terrible scream behind Plei. Instinct told her to run before she could check what it was. Now the girl was pushing herself to her max while she watched her mother's momentary surprise. Then her mother got up and ran to meet with Plei.
Plei could feel the ground shaking beneath her as the minotaur seemed to gain a new speed and swung it's hammer through the air, sending a gust of wind that moved Plei's hair. It roared, and the girl's eardrums rang. Her mother was running towards her, but Plei had the feeling it was too late.
Something changed in Plei; she was running faster than she ever had, but it still wasn't enough. And inside her, she could feel a sort of warm, burning force. That force was so strong, so full of energy, that Plei could see the world around her phasing out as the hammer swung, seemingly in slow motion, on a collision course with Plei's head. She could see the electrical sparks dance along her hands as she reached for her mother, and her mother for her. With the energetic warmth spread to all corners of her body, the plains disappeared from Plei.
Plei hit the ground hard. The wind knocked out of her, she wheezed for a few moments with her eyes closed. After a minute, she opened them again.
The dawn light broke over a tall structure. It took the girl a moment to realize that the structure was a mountain. It was an oddly shaped mountain, not bearing the usual triangular shape. Still, it climbed to the sky and gave shade to a small village.
Plei was just beneath a tree on a small hill. She sat up, her head pounding. She had no idea where she was. The last Plei had checked, she had been running from a minotaur at home, and then… Then what?
The girl could see the village from here, but in order to get to the village, she would have to walk in the mountain's shadow. Plei pushed herself to her feet and vaguely noticed her right hand was tangled in something. But it didn't pull her down, and the girl was too numb to bother checking what it was before she started moving forward.
She shivered under the mountain's shadow, glancing up at the rivets and cliffs nervously. This was the type of place the girl had imagined the minotaur would be. Rocks falling down the cliff faces made Plei jump. She was still nervous, her adrenaline still in her veins. Then a feeling of dread settled in the girl's stomach as something very heavy thudded right behind her.
Plei was convinced that her family was cursed.
Slowly, the girl turned. This one was a minotaur, but it was different, It was larger, with matted fur covered in tribal paint. The beast smiled, a cruel intelligence in its eyes. Then it roared, its nostrils flaring and its jagged teeth were suddenly in sharp relief.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Plei said faintly.
The minotaur approached. Its horns were strange, since they had several tips on the outside.
Plei had to duck a fast fist. Her back slammed up against the foot of the mountain. Then, as the beast pulled back again for a blow, Plei rolled forward, between its legs. She needed to get away. The girl had no way to fight this.
A heavy blow to her back sent Plei reeling. She hit the ground hard. Desperate, the girl turned to see the minotaur approach her, an ugly grin showing pleasure at her death.
Searing heat and a bright flame made Plei close her eyes and cover her face. She flattened herself onto the ground, trying to avoid burning herself on whatever flame had just appeared. Confused, she could only wonder what had caused such a sudden heat.
Eventually, Plei became aware that things were starting to cool down. She almost sighed for relief; she would have if she could have breathed properly at the moment. Then someone's laugh made her open her eyes.
"Bit of a pushover, that." said the lady.
Plei sat up to see the burning, stinking remains of the minotaur. She stood up swiftly, covering her nose and turning to see who had killed the beast.
A woman who was a bit taller than Plei and wearing a black evening gown with red flair, stood with her hand on her hip. Her black hair was held up against the back of her head and she had an angular, beautiful face. The woman smiled down at Plei.
"You alright?" she grinned.
"How- Who-" Plei barely managed.
"Laurie Preystar. I'm a Sparkmage."
"So what was-"
"That was an advanced Flame Slash." Laurie Preystar said smugly.
Cards used: Canyon Minotaur, Mountain (John Avon), Ruinous Minotaur, Flame Slash, Sparkmage Apprentice
Shieb: Welcome to my first Magic: The Gathering fanfic. This one came out of a challenge between a friend and I. We basically chose 60 cards and made a story out of it. Details are in the very last chapter, so don't hesitate to look if you're bored and you want a different sort of writing project. A lot of stuff was crammed into this chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy it. The next one's brief, but Plei almost dies several more times! ^_^'