Samhain
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Dance of the Wild Faeries by Wendy Rule and Gary Stadler
Kaz loves Halloween. He loves dressing up, usually in a costume of his own design, and going out to trick-or-treat with his best friend Tom. But now, just on the cusp of their eighteenth birthdays, Tom wants to go to this Halloween party that this hot girl invited him to. He will go and he did offer Kaz to come with him, but Kaz almost sourly refused him. Kaz knows that he and Tom can't dress-up and trick-or-treat forever, but he was hoping this final year would be their finally successful attempt at trick-or-treating EVERY house in their small town.
"'Tis not to be," Tom would have quoted pretentiously in Shakespearean English if he were here, but he isn't. Almost hypocritically to his aversion of Shakespeare, Kaz is dressed-up as Puck. Granted, this Puck is actually the one from "Gargoyles" which is loosely (he presumes) based on the one from Shakespearean lore. He has a purple toga with a yellow sash over a medieval, orange tunic. He has on black leggings with almost knee-high boots that match his tunic in color and design. He even has on the golden braces, and he spent nearly four hours on forging them and subsequently painting them. He does not have on a wig of long, white hair or pointed ears; instead, his hair is free from its fiery shape and running wild like Celtic warriors of old. He has also forgone his glasses because they just look awkward with his costume.
Right now, he's sitting on his living room couch and binging "Gargoyles" season two while waiting for kids to ring the doorbell and beg for candy. He would have gone trick-or-treating without Tom, but it's not fun trick-or-treating by yourself. He wanted to share the night with Tom while sucking down some Pixy Stix. Instead, he's holding a bowl of store-bought candy for the trick-or-treaters. He has giant-sized candy bars for the kids who figure out who he supposed to be; children with great taste deserve a reward.
Luckily, his night won't be a total wash. He's watching his favorite season of one of his favorite cartoons of all time and he has the satisfaction knowing that Tom will wake-up terribly hungover tomorrow from his party. Also, his Chaotic-self is probably having a blast in UnderWorld City with the three tasks that he set for himself.
When Kaz found out that Tom was going to go to a party on Halloween, he decided that if his Earth-self was going to be bored out of his mind then his Chaotic-self is going to make up for it. He was able to drum up three (which is his favorite number) tasks for his Chaotic self to accomplish before Halloween ended. His first task is to sing at the Inferno Inn, the same place where he stupidly angered Hammerdoom Chantcaller almost two years ago. His second task is to kiss the first player he comes across in Fear Valley, even if it's Klay or Krystella. And his final, and borderline suicidal, task is to steal something (hopefully, nothing that will be missed) from Chaor's room.
His first task, he hopes, won't end with another challenge issued to him. He doesn't want to borrow the giant robot from Ulmar again; his bones still have laser burns from their last match in the coliseum. He enters Inferno Inn and notes that it isn't as…filled with warriors like the last time. He sees Creatures dressed-up and caked in paint like classical stage actors. Some of them are singing drunkenly, while others are making out with the closest person they can find. He only recognizes a few Creatures, neither amorous nor drunk, at one table: Nivenna, Illazar, H'earring, and….Cyrenox.
Born of darkness, raised in gloom, wielder of sorrow, bringer of doom. Huh, never would've pegged him as the acting type. Kaz thinks privately, but then again what right does he have to judge? No one would peg Kaz Kalinkas, the ultimate Chaor fanboy, as a singer either.
There's a small raised platform, positioned in such a way that the acoustics would work perfectly here. A drunk Creature finally passes out and drops off from the platform. He takes it as his cue to step up on the platform. He has his Scanner out and plays the instrumental music; in a way, he'll be doing karaoke but without the lyrics in front of him.
The table with the only Creatures that he recognize immediately turn their heads to him. They can hear the background music playing from his Scanner. H'earring is staring at him dumbfounded; he's unsure who the human in the strange attire is, but he seems familiar. The rest of them are harboring looks between bemusement and distrust, like they expect the human to do something drastic.
"I wandered alone to the forest one night,
Led by a music strange to hear
And followed the glow of a shimmering light
That seemed to grow distant as I grew near."
He remembers this song from his lonely, loathsome middle school years. When he first heard the song, he became obsessed with memorizing it. He cannot recall what compelled his obsession; he somewhat attributed his zeal to his father who believed that they were the last of the fair folks on Earth.
"The woods were alive with the fragrance of spring,
But winter was everywhere clear to see.
The moon shone bright and a bat on the wing
Beckoned me closer and said to me:"
His father was the most beautiful man that he ever saw. His hair was the color of orange amber with wisps of gold thread about his hair like a tattered veil; it was long like a comet cracking its tail. His face was as soft as his body was hard with muscles; yet, his earth-brown, gentle eyes betrayed his warrior looks.
"'A clearing close in the forest you'll find
A fabulous banquet, a fairy ball.
If you close your eyes and you open your mind,
The veil disappears and you'll see it all.
Come and play as the wild fairies play,
In a magical circle, a fairy ring,
You won't want to leave and forever you'll stay
Where the vision is bright as spring.
Come and dance the wild fairy dance,
Spin in a circle as fast as light.
Once you begin, you are caught in a trance
And the world can grow old in a single night.'"
His father….the word is wrong. He racks his mind as painfully as a noose breaking a poor man's neck. Yes, he remembers, from a life before Tom, his father was daidí.
"When I closed my eyes to the shimmering light,
All memory faded and I could see
That a mushroom circle of red and white
And myriad fairies surrounded me."
He pulls himself from his memories before they can kill him. He knows that he's purposely forgotten, or tried to, his life before Tom because he wants to live. He doesn't want to end up like his beautiful, sweet daidí.
"Beyond all space and beyond all time,
On gossamer wings did the fairies fly
With a joy unknown to a music sublime
The fairies danced, and there danced I."
His audience is paying attention to him, even the drunks that can barely see an inch in front of their….whatever passes as noses in the UnderWorld. Nivenna and H'earring are clapping along to beat. Illazar is smiling and raises his goblet; Kaz presumes this is the UnderWorld way of paying a compliment.
"Come and play as the wild fairies play,
In a magical circle, a fairy ring,
You won't want to leave and forever you'll stay
Where the vision is bright as spring.
Come and dance the wild fairy dance,
Spin in a circle as fast as light.
Once you begin, you are caught in a trance
And the world can grow old in a single night."
Cyrenox puts his skeletal hand on top of Nivenna's. She immediately turns her head to him, almost looking strangely at him. He must've said something because they both get up and begin to dance.
"'Those who seek us, surely find us.
See the trail we leave behind us.
Some bewildered, some enlightened,
Some are brave, some are frightened.
Are we kind or are we vicious?
Nectar, poison, or delicious?
That, my sweet, you will discover,
Fairy foe, or fairy lover.'"
Kaz whispers like a wicked little sprite. They spin like light; they grab a few more Creatures to join in. They dance and spin in a circle, almost like a fairy circle.
"Come and play as the wild fairies play,
In a magical circle, a fairy ring,
You won't want to leave and forever you'll stay
Where the vision is bright as spring.
Come and dance the wild fairy dance,
Spin in a circle as fast as light.
Once you begin, you are caught in a trance
And the world can grow old in a single night."
He's grateful that he's dressed-up as Puck because he feels positively magical! He got a bunch of UnderWorlders, some of whom are perhaps the most frightening in appearance, to dance along to his song. He almost feels like one of those fairies from the Celtic myths that could get the hero to do anything.
"I wandered alone to the forest one night,
Led by a music strange and clear.
If you happen to pass when the moon is bright
And the veils are thin, you will find me here.
If the veils are thin, you will find me here."
The circle is breaking apart as the song is coming to its end. It feels like a spell being broken like the snapping of witch-hazel. There's still magic somewhere; Kaz can feel it in his bones.
"If the veils are thin, you will find me here."
"Kaz?" H'earring finally recognizes him; he takes it as his cue to port out. However, he does spin and then gives a generous bow to his audience like he is in the presence of a fairy court. He's finished his first task; he hopes that the next one will be as enjoyable as this one.
His second task is kind of like a gift to himself. Kaz isn't spontaneous like Peyton and sometimes Tom. Also, he's never kissed anyone (family doesn't count) before. It's not like he's overly concerned that he's almost eighteen and hasn't even had his first kiss; it's more like he wants to do something spontaneous like this. Personally, he hopes that he runs into Inga or Jycella; he loves women that are so clearly out of his league, or they just defy societal expectations like Inga. However, if he does run into one of them, he hopes that he won't get his ass subsequently kicked by them.
Fear Valley at night would make a perfect place for a decent horror movie. The trees are gnarled and twisted like a skeletal Quasimodo. The rocks and shadows appear to have carved faces crying out in fear and anger. And the wind rustles through the dead branches like a whispering spirit. Seriously, Kaz is pretty creeped out being here, but he is determined to accomplish his second task like a Celtic hero.
He can hear the gravel, which might have been mountains millions of years ago, crunching under his boots like glass bones. He hopes that he'll run across a player tonight; it's Halloween, so there should be a few players dared to stay in this Location for as long as possible. If he runs across two, then he'll pick the player that is least likely to bite off his lips.
"Asavakkit." He hears the word echoed throughout Fear Valley. He doesn't know what language that the word is from, but it was uttered by someone human. Well, he hopes it was from a human and not some monstrous illusion that the Location generated. He runs towards the voice and finds a player that he's been seeking. The player has straw-brown hair and cobalt-gray eyes. His face screams ideally symmetrical like a classical Grecian statue. He's wearing a green suit jacket over a yellow dress shirt with indigo-black pants and black dress shoes. He's also wearing a gaudy, golden chain around his neck; it's M'arrillianaire. Of all the players in the world, it had to be him. At least it's not Klay or Krystella, I hope he isn't still sore about…..our rematch. Kaz would pray if he believed in God and if it would actually help him.
His second task is to kiss the first player he comes across in Fear Valley. He quickly rushes over to M'arrillianaire and gets into his face like he might be about to spit in his face. M'arrillianaire's oddly old eyes widen, but he does not recoil or strike at Kaz. Their lips come together like bullets in battle. Kaz doesn't try to stick his tongue into M'arrillianaire's mouth or deepen the kiss; he's just satisfied that M'arrillianaire didn't knee him in the groin for this. The kiss only lasts twenty seconds. In his opinion, Kaz found the kiss not as powerful as true love's first kiss, but it was real and it was his first. And his second task is now complete.
He vanishes in a stream of code.
His third and final task is going to be the dumbest thing he has done thus far. Even dumber than the time he practically spilled the time-traveling secret during his revenge-a-thon. He's going to steal from his idol, from the undisputed Lord of the UnderWorld, and from the one who will most likely toss him into The Pits with the rest of the poor thieves that were caught stealing from Chaor and having no chance of escape thanks to the hardass Grook.
However, this is the task that he purposely chose from himself, so Kaz will do it. And hopefully, not get caught.
Chaor's Castle, like Maxxor's Palace, is always swarming with guards. However, unlike Maxxor's guards, Chaor's guards are well-trained in "shoot first, ask questions later" unless Chaor instructs differently. Luckily, Kaz knows the castle's layout better than any Location he's ever studied; also, he's been exploring Spyder's tunnel for quite a long time. Tonight, Spyder won't be sneaking around in the castle's tunnels because he has a match in the coliseum.
H'earring was the one who gave him the Spyder tidbit, like almost any information pertaining to the UnderWorld, for his usual fee of a bag of Dractyl scales. It's a good thing that the mutant rabbit didn't ask him why he needed the information on Spyder because then Kaz would've had to lie to him. And, since all UnderWorlders supposedly trained from birth to lie, H'earring would've known he was lying and give Chaor a head's up, which would mean more guards and a higher chance of encountering the pissed-off, red gargoyle.
Unlike Fear Valley, walking in the tunnels of the castle is like being in a giant's intestines. The floor makes squishing sounds as he walks, while some of the walls would leak strange, red and green liquid. Needless to say, Kaz refrains from touching the walls and hopes that he hasn't been warped into Silent Hill 4: The Room. Unfortunately, the torches' crystals only give off very dim lighting, most likely because Spyder is sensitive to bright lights, and he has to use his Scanner's fairly decent flashlight feature.
The closer he gets to Chaor's private chambers, the more bones he comes across. Most of the bones don't have a humanoid shape to them, some look like skulls of giant bulls, but he does spy some torched hats and pants that look like they belonged to players that wandered about in the tunnels a long time ago. He really hopes that those players were able to port out in time; if they didn't, then Chaor may have skinned them if he wasn't in a pyre mood.
Kaz reaches the end and puts his ear to the door, listening for signs of Chaor like deep breathing or angry stomping. He hears nothing, but it's quite possible that Chaor heard him coming and is silently waiting to ambush him. He'll take the chance and pulls down a crystal torch to open the door.
It is pitch-black inside like the whole room is painted in tar. He takes this as a providential sign and walks into the room with his Scanner providing a measly piece of illumination. He has only been in Chaor's room, or rather private chambers since the room is as big as his house, a handful of times, and that was during Drome matches. He once asked H'earring, shortly after meeting and helping Chaor for the first time, to guide him to Chaor's room. The UnderWorld Scout immediately refused and wouldn't even budge for five bags of Dractyl scales complemented with pond scum.
From just a quick sweep of the room with his Scanner's flashlight, he can see why H'earring didn't do it, other than the fact that Chaor would roast him like a moldy marshmallow. This room is something from Stanley Kubrick's nightmares. It's meticulously detailed and horrifically, sharply angled as though the purpose of the room is to arouse aichmophobia. The walls and ceiling are made of some type of UnderWorld stalagmite and stalactite that look sharp enough to impale someone on them. He can see paintings and tapestries somehow "hanging" on the wall; the "artwork" is mostly images of bloody, violent battle scenes and some narcissistic self-portraits.
The room's color is flesh tones like the room itself could be alive with highlights of crimson red. Morbidly, Kaz thinks the room was painted with the flesh of the players who were caught sneaking around the castle. The floor is thankfully not as imposing as the walls and ceiling; it's just a mixture of cobblestones and marble that matches the color of the room. His steps hardly make a sound like he actually has the floating grace of a fairy.
He is trying to find something that Chaor won't easily miss; obviously, something that isn't covered in jewels, or gold, or has his face or name on it. He comes across plenty of weapons, most of them looking pretty heavy and extremely sharp, and some scrolls in the illegible Creature pictograph. He doesn't go over to the bed or the nightstand because Chaor would immediately notice if something has been taken from either of those places.
He goes to the armoire; it is made of the same stone as the floor, which makes him almost wonder if the armoire is some kind of UnderWorld stalactite. The armoire is pure black like Cyrenox's armor and it's as tall and as wide as Chaor. The doors have etchings on them that look like spirals and sickles collapsing like a supernova. He can see some wisps of figures like perhaps they were spiritual deities; their faces are bent like bows with expression of mirth and madness like tortured souls who accept their damnation. There are curvy, silver handles attached to the armoire; they look like dragons forever frozen by metallic ash like Pompeii.
Kaz pulls on the handles for a good twenty minutes, fairly certain that he's going to break one of his arms by the end of this. He's finally able, after shifting his focus on the left door handle, to open half the armoire. He expects to see clothes, or rather a bunch of boots and warrior skirts, but finds a fairly plain "dreamcatcher" hanging inside.
The dreamcatcher is a red, circular frame with a net of black wiring. This dreamcatcher lacks any feathers or even beads that are typically associated with dreamcatchers. Instead, there is a blue crystal weaved into the center. He tries to scan it, to make sure it wasn't some kind of Battlegear, but it wouldn't scan like any minor object, like a vase or a mirror, in Perim. He decides to take the dreamcatcher and hurries to close the armoire.
He pockets the dreamcatcher into his purple toga and decides to port out. He has finally completed his last task and decides to port to the Crypt of Eternal Echoes. The Location has lots of passages and secret caches to hide things, so the dreamcatcher will be safely stored away until Chaor violently demands for it back. Hopefully, it won't be anytime soon.
He vanishes in a stream of light.
He does not appear in the Crypt of Eternal Echoes. He does not see ancient cobblestones or hear the echoing screams of Screamer. He finds himself in the middle of a foggy, dirt field. It's so foggy that Kaz can't tell if it's daytime or nighttime in this Location. He checks his Scanner to make sure that he didn't accidently select the wrong Location; his Scanner shows that he selected the Crypt of Eternal Echoes. So where the Cothica is he?
"Leanúint." He hears the word, like a delicate giggle, coming from the south. He walks south and the word keeps getting repeated louder and louder like a trail of pebbles leading him to Crystal Cave. The fog is like a cocoon; it wraps around his body, almost obscuring his vision completely, but he can see shades of light getting brighter and brighter the louder the voice gets.
"Fáilte abhaile." The fog is finally cleared away by the light like a curse being broken. He sees an orchard. Most of the trees are apple trees bearing apples in various shades of: spring green, scarlet red, and burnished gold. There are oaks, almost as gnarled as the ones in Fear Valley, laden with acorns as richly brown as a cup of hot chocolate. Finally, he sees a few ash trees that are about to shed its "keys" like a shower of pea leaves. The grass is green and yellow like a sea of dying kelp.
"Ocras." A woman comes out from behind an apple tree bearing golden apples. She's a foot taller than Kaz, a giantess among mortal men like Inga. Her hair is as golden as the apples on the tree and wraps around her body like a dress; her eyes are the color of red beryl like Jycella's. Her skin is glowing like the moon and her face is as round as pumpkin. She is the most beautiful woman that his eyes have ever laid on.
She plucks a golden apple from the tree and glides to him like a ghost. She holds out the apple to him for him to take, and he does without any hesitation or concern that this could be a trap. He bites into the apple; it tastes like an Irish kiss. She takes back the apple and disappears like a shimmer.
"Saoirse." A young man, perhaps just a little older than him, appears from an oak tree. His hair is the same deep brownness as the acorns and his eyes are the color of icicles; he is not as tall as the woman, but he carries himself with the same regality as her. He sort of looks like M'arrillianaire if he wasn't wearing any clothes.
He has the golden apple in his hand; it's the same on from before because Kaz can see the marks of his first bite. He glides like the woman but doesn't hover above the grass like she does; he offers Kaz the apple. He takes the apple and bites into it once again; it tastes like warmth from a burning hearth, pleasant and all-consuming. The young man takes the apple and disappears like the woman. He is not most beautiful man he has ever seen, but he is real.
"Tiarna." The most beautiful man he has ever seen steps out from behind an ash tree. He is wearing a veil of green keys entwined through his sun-kissed hair; his eyes are as brown as the ancient earth nurturing the grass beneath his feet. He is taller than the woman and young man ever could be; he is muscular like a warrior but lacks any of the flesh wounds, barring the rope ligatures across his neck. He is clothed in a robe made from the wings of lunar moths; he looks like a fairy king. He is his daidí.
"Daidí…." Kaz croaks out; to his credit, he does not cry. His daidí smiles as gently as a star can; in his hand is the golden apple, twice-bitten. His Scanner falls out of his hand; he does not bend down to pick it up. His daidí walks toward him like any mortal can and gently hands him the apple. He bites into it for a third time, thrice-damned.
Like his Scanner, the apple falls out of his hand, never to be picked up by him ever again. His daidí pulls him into a mystical embrace and they begin to dance together. They spin and spin like two fireflies caught in a whirlwind. They, the land and the father and the son, disappear like a shimmer. Lost and bright evermore.
Author's Comments- Okay, I'm going to translate the words that are clearly not in English, which I either got from quizlet or google translation so they could be wrong. The first word is Asavakkit which is supposedly Greenlandic for "I love you." M'arrillianaire in my stories hales from Greenland but is mostly educated in Denmark; check out my I Need Your Touch one-shot for my background information on him. Next word is supposedly in Irish Gaelic, according to google translation, Leanúint which means "follow." All the subsequent words are in Irish Gaelic and Fáilte abhaile means "welcome home," Ocras means "hunger," Saoirse means "freedom," Tiarna means "lord."
The number three is very important in Celtic mythology and as you notice Kaz has three tasks he set for himself, there are three Locations he goes to, there are three types of trees (apple, oak, and ash which are important magical places for fairies in Celtic mythology) in the orchard, three fairies appear before him, and he bites into the golden apple three times. In my stories Kaz and his daidí have Irish blood, and might be part of the fair folk, and love each other very much; check out my Lost His Mind and A Legend stories for more information on Kaz's heritage.
This was supposed to originally come out on Halloween, because Samhain falls around that time, but I was on a mini-vacation, so I didn't have time to finish or post the story. This actually is longer than I intended, but I am fine with that. I'll probably write a one-shot from another character's perspective on the matter. Also, I don't consider parents OCs because how would certain characters exist without parents? So Kaz's daidí is not an OC in my book.