Chapter 2: The Moonstone
Author's Notes: I am very into feedback and reveiws, I would also love a Beta if anyone is interested.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, waking Brooke from her siesta. She blinked several times shaking the sleep out of her eyes. She looked over at Mathias, who was still asleep. He was definitely looking better than he had last night.
Brooke got up, preparing to do a little exploring of the monastery.
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"They thought they could escape me," Borean thought, "I will have my bride to be. The child born of our union will be a nexus point!" Borean walked over to a small chest in the corner, and opened it. There was a small crescent shaped white jewel with a gold chain on it.
"The Moonstone!" Borean whispered, "Used by Odin to create the first Lycanths. The one holding the stone is capable of choosing what form of lycanthropy manifests. It is said that this was the stone he used to transform Fenris. This is the perfect way to rid me of that irksome soldier's son."
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Brooke thought that the gardens were beautiful. It was late afternoon and she had quite a bit of time exploring the monastery that was sure to be her new home. She didn't remember all of the statues on the roof when she had come in though. But it had been dark and she probably just hadn't seen them.
They were the most beautiful statues she had ever seen though, works of art. Some appeared to be demons, others angels, and still others appeared to be winged animals. One of her favorites was a winged wolf above the gate. It was dressed in a kind of armor she had never seen before and had an unusual sword.
But her absolute favorite statue was in the gardens. By the small pond there was the most exquisite angel statue. She was about five foot eleven. The statue had flowing dress that rippled in a subtle way, as if she was moving. The dress covered her feet, so they couldn't be seen. She had gorgeous feathered angel wings sprouting from her back.
The only thing that Brooke didn't like about the statue was that its hands had only four fingers, and that the fingers were more like claws than hands. But she loved that the sculpture was so life-like. The crown on its head was a nice touch as well.
Brooke found her way up the stairs to the outer wall around the Abbey. The statues were placed along this wall as well. She passed a lion like grotesque with no wings. She continued along the wall till she reached the guard towers above the gate.
Two statues rested here. The winged wolf she had seen earlier and a demon. She reached out and touched the stone wolf. The cool marble felt nice under her skin. At least, it looked like marble…sort of. She looked closely at the statue, trying to figure out from what sort of stone it had been made.
Brooke glanced out at the forest. The sunset over the forest was absolutely spectacular. She loved this monastery already; everything about it was beautiful.
The sun disappeared off in the distance, and Brooke turned to go inside when she heard a cracking sound. She turned and looked at the wolf statue. Tiny cracks had begun to form in the statue.
For a moment Brooke thought that the statue was falling apart, but then noticed that the same thing was happening to the demon statue. The cracks got bigger and bigger until there was a sudden explosion and stone fragments went flying everywhere.
The "statue" let loose a huge lion like roar the gargoyle next to it doing the same. Brooke heard similar roars and panther like screeches come from everywhere. In a flash she realized that every statue inn the monastery had come to life. She then did what any sensible lady would have done in her situation. She fainted.
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"Is she OK?" Thestral asked. He and Kaigen had awakened to find Brooke passed out on battlement behind them.
"Aye," Goel said, "She's just had a shock, it's not everyday that you see statues come to life. I'll attend to her. Riathamus, Solomon, and Skyler will be heading over here to help you guard the gate. Riathamus will bring your breakfast."
Thestral squatted down on the parapet.
"This isn't fair," he said to Kaigen, "We don't need anyone to help us guard, and besides nobody attacks a monastery."
"Captain Freed and his soldiers will not ignore us forever," Kaigen said to his friend, taking a similar sitting position. "We are not a mere monastery; we are a sanctuary for the three races. Humans fear what they do not understand, and Captain Freed fears us. Given the chance he would destroy us."
"Yeah," Thestral said sarcastically, "like one of Oberon's Children would take up refuge here!"
"Do not take Captain Freed lightly Thestral," Kaigen said, "He is formidable, and in any case Goel told us to remain up here and guard the entrance. You heard what he said; he thinks a sorcerer may come to call."
"Fine," Thestral conceded, "You win, can we talk about something else?"
"Very well," Kaigen said, "Let us speak of females."
"I changed my mind. Let's talk about sorcerers."
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"Are you all right milady?" Goel asked.
"I had the worst dream," she murmured. "I dreamt that the statues all came to life!"
Goel and Benu looked at one another. Goel sighed.
"'Twas no dream lass," Goel said, "in this monastery dwell gargoyles. Indeed all who dwell here save you are gargoyles."
This jerked Brooke wide-awake.
"What about you and Benu?" She asked.
"Allow me to show you," Benu said from across the room. Benu calmly removed the cross that hung around his neck. His skin then became a flurry of golds, oranges and reds. An orange colored tail burst from his back, as did a pair of bat-like wings. The tips of these wings ended in flame-like fringes.
Benu's forehead crinkled and his eyebrows vanished. He then had some rather prominent eyebrow ridges.
Brooke's eyes then widened with fear
"You need not fear milady," Goel said, "the Lord God Almighty created Gargoyles with but one purpose in mind, to protect. It is our duty, our calling and why He created us. A gargoyle can no more stop protecting then breathing the air!"
She looked at Goel for reassurance. "You know this for certain?"
"Aye," He said bowing his head. "I swear this to you. The Gargoyle was carved from stone on the fifth day, and breathed life just as you humans were made on the sixth."
Brooke nodded thought she was still visibly confused.
"Another time my dear," he said, "Just rest in the knowledge that this Monastery is a sanctuary for humans and gargoyles. I believe you have other matters to attend to however."
Goel pointed to Mathias who was sitting upright on the bed.
"Mathias!" Brooke screamed excitedly, rushing over to her love and hugging him.
"OW!" Mathias yelped.
"Sorry! Sorry!" she apologized.
"It's OK" he said, "Just a sore chest that's all."
"Come Benu," Goel said standing up, and the two gargoyles left the room.
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"So Thestral," Skyler asked, "when are you going to choose a mate?"
Skyler was a small red gargoyle who was web winged. He was bald save for the black ponytail coming out of the back of his head. His most unique feature though was that he possessed a second set of intermediate arms. The only member of the clan to have the rare recessive gene for four arms, this gene however was counter balanced in that it could only be found amongst web-wing gargoyles. This made both arm sets useless while gliding. Nevertheless Skyler enjoyed using his multiple arms to do multiple tasks.
Such as he was now playing chess with Riathamus and eating some of the boar meat that they had brought up.
Skyler was very lighthearted and didn't care much for fighting. He preferred to find ways to relax and despite his small size, he could put away a lot of food.
"As soon as Kaigen gets one," Thestral said slyly.
It was common knowledge among the members of Thestral, Kaigen, Riathamus, and Skyler's Generation that Thestral was extremely shy around females, especially female that he liked. Kaigen on the other hand never felt shy around females, but unlike Thestral wasn't interested in finding a mate. To this end he made a practice of finding out whom Thestral's crushes were, and then courted them.
This was at first devastating to Thestral, then the females of their generation got wise to this, and any time that Kaigen showed an interest in one of them, began flirting with Thestral. Kaigen then used this as a new way to torment his friend, flirting with girls he knew Thestral would not be interested in, and steering them in his direction. Thestral had then sworn off love until Kaigen was mated and could not ruin his love life.
Kaigen laughed at the thought of this. Despite the fact that there were four gargoyles and one beast standing guard, Kaigen was the only one really watching the forest.
Riathamus and Skyler were playing chess and Thestral was watching them.
Riathamus was descended from the Angel-like Jerusalem clan. His skin was a rich orange color, and he had an almost aesthetic pair of feathered wings arched from his back. His face had no ridges, and was almost human. Indeed was it not for their skin, feet, tails and wings a Jerusalem Gargoyle could pass for a human. This was accentuated by the fact that Riathamus was a Cross-Bearer, and thus had five fingers instead of four.
Thus far only Goel, Benu, and Riathamus had become cross bearers, and many of the young gargoyles were aching for the chance to earn one of the three remaining relics.
Solomon, however, was a watch-beast, his skin was a supple golden color and he resembled a lion, with a golden colored mane. His face was leonine as well. Indeed, he might easily be confused for a lion by those who had never seen the big cats, but his body shape was all wrong for a lion. He lay chewing on boar bones.
"That may be sooner than you think Thestral," Riathamus said to his rookery brother as he placed Skyler in checkmate for the third time in a row. Skyler loved games of any sort, and loved to make wagers on the out comes of games, but he hated losing. He looked shocked and then frowned at the sight of his king trapped.
"How so?" Kaigen grunted gruffly.
"I've been told you've been spending a great deal of time with my sister," Riathamus said with a tone to his voice that Kaigen could not identify.
When Riathamus spoke of his sister, he did not mean his rookery sister but rather his biological twin sister, Rachel. The two of them had hatched from a pair of eggs lain by the same rookery mother.
Kaigen grunted, "Who told you that?"
"Why, Rachel of course."
With that response Kaigen lost his balance and fell forward off of the wall. His three brothers could hold it in for about three seconds before bursting out in laughter.
Kaigen climbed up the wall with an annoyed look on his face, but it didn't last, because when he got to the top, Riathamus, Skyler, and Thestral were no longer looking at him but at a man who had stepped out of the forest.
He looked to be in his mid forties. He had blue eyes, long hair and a short beard. He wore simple white robes, and around his neck hung a white moon shaped jewel on a gold chain.
Solomon growled as the man approached, and the four gargoyles prepared to take flight.
The man walked up to the gate casually glanced at the gargoyles on top and then back at the gate.
"Fulminos Venite" he said raising his right hand. A burst of lightning shot from his hand and blew the gate apart.
"The sorcerer we've been expecting?" Riathamus asked Kaigen rhetorically.
The four gargoyles took off. Skyler left in search of Goel, while the remaining three lunged for Borean.
Solomon got there first. He had leapt from the parapets and landed on top of the wizard. To which he got a prompt "Fulminos Venite"
The injured watch-beast whimpered and limped away.
Riathamus attacked next, using the large hammer he often carried with him. Kaigen drew his katana, and Thestral used his claws. Riathamus raised his hammer and swung it at Borean, who dodged by the skin of his teeth.
"Lupus Transmute!" He shouted. Bluish energy erupted from the moonstone around his neck, and flowed into Borean's hand, he fired it from the hand in the same manner that he fired his lightning bolts.
The energy arched past Riathamus as he folded his wings to avoid it. The beam struck a tree, which glowed with bluish light, and then transformed into a brown colored wolf. The wolf bounded away through the hole in the wall that was once the gate.
Thestral watched as Borean once again shouted "Lupus Transmute."
Once more he fired the blue energy at the gargoyles, and this time it hit its mark: Solomon. The beast yelped in surprise as the blue colored light and became a reddish-gold colored wolf. But this didn't change the watch-beast's nature or his form enough to cause him to exit the fight.
It was at that moment that Thestral saw fit slip away, because Goel, Benu, Skyler, Brooke and Mathias came rushing out of the monastery. Goel and Benu were in their gargoyle forms
"Stop this!" Goel yelled in exclamation. "This is holy ground!"
"You have something that belongs to me!" Borean sneered. "Give me my bride!"
Goel stepped forward, and cloaked his wings.
"I do believe that the lady has a right to choose for herself to whom she wishes to be betrothed," he commented nonchalantly.
"I choose Mathias," Brooke shouted, "I love him, and I have never loved Borean! Goel, could you marry us tonight! He could never break the bonds of holy matrimony."
The elder blue gargoyle nodded. "You shall be married this moment if you both take each other!"
"What!" Borean said, in complete shock.
"We do," the two of them said in unison.
"Then you have committed before God and these witnesses and you are married," Goel said.
"What!" Borean repeated, "There was no ceremony! They cannot be married!"
"Nay," Goel said shaking his head, "If you have committed before God and others can vouch that you have, then you are married!"
Borean's eyes widened, "This marriage will never be consummated! Lupus Transmute."
He aimed the blast and it struck Mathias in the chest. The blue light surrounded him, and in an instant a black wolf with forlorn green eyes had replaced him.
The gargoyles uncloaked their wings, Riathamus pulled out his hammer and Kaigen drew his sword.
Only Goel remained calm.
"The Luna Gem only transfigures one into a werewolf," he said calmly, "At some point he will change back."
"True," Borean said, "But I control the nature of his lycanthropy, and he will change back at dawn, only to become a wolf again at sunset."
"Then when the sun rises they can consummate the marriage." Riathamus said.
"You mean when you all turn back into architecture and can no longer protect her?"
In response to this Riathamus Goel and Benu placed their crosses around their necks and transformed into humans, and the now wolf Solomon barred his teeth.
Borean once again looked shocked. Then he smiled maliciously.
"Lupus Transmute," he declared and fired a blast of blue energy at Brooke. She glowed surrounded by the light for ten seconds, and nothing more happened.
"You didn't do anything!" she said, "I'm still human."
"Only until sunrise," Borean said smiling, "At which point your canine nature will win out."
"No!" she gasped.
"Now I'll transfigure you three and smash the rest of you at dawn!"
"Wanna bet?" Thestral said, lunging at him from the sky.
"Lupus Transmute," Borean declared and fired an energy blast.
Thestral didn't dodge it however, but flew into it, holding up the silver serving tray that Riathamus and Skyler had brought to the guard tower.
The energy reflected off of the metal and shot back down at Borean. Borean had three seconds to look surprised before he fell to all fours and sprouted fur.
Skyler grabbed the moonstone from the wolf's neck and Thestral glided to the ground.
Borean quickly bounded off into the night.
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Goel opened a small chest where three gold crosses and one silver cross lay in velvet. All four crosses had a single red jewel in the center.
"Thestral and Solomon," Goel said, "Your quick thinking and bravery today have earned to the right to become cross bearers. Do you except this responsibility?"
The entire clan, numbering almost one hundred and fifty gargoyles, had gathered in the Great Hall for this.
Thestral swallowed, this was the highest honor in the Aria clan. There were only seven crosses, six for gargoyles, and one for the watch-beasts.
"Yes," he said his heart beating fast.
"Then step forward Thestral, son of Noah and Myra," Goel said announcing Thestral's biological parents.
Thestral had not known this before, while the clan kept genealogical records, they were only divulged to those gargoyles who wished to know. Thestral saw himself as a child of the clan, and had not had any interest in Noah or Myra, two of the rookery parents he knew by sight alone.
"Thestral son of the 1098 rookery," Goel continued. "When you wear this cross you wear the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ who spilt blood for both human and gargoyle, you are forever a connection to both. From this night forward you shall bear five fingers like a human, and when you wear this cross on holy ground, such as our monastery, you shall become a human."
Goel placed the cross around Thestral's neck. He felt strange as the transformation slid over him, and pink hide and his wings replaced his white skin and his tail vanished.
He looked at his hands.
Five fingers, he thought I'd better get used to these.
Goel bent down and place the silver cross around Solomon's neck. He then removed it. Solomon's true watch-beast form took shape, and he ceased to be a wolf.
Goel then placed the cross around Solomon once more and he became a pure white dog, with some distinctly wolf-ish features.
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"Goel," Brooke asked, "can your crossed cure us as they cured Solomon?"
"I'm afraid not lass," Goel said, "The Crosses were meant for gargoyles, I'll tell you their story on another day, sufficient to say only a gargoyle is affected by their limited power. I will seek out a cure, and thanks to Thestral we possess the moonstone, I promise we will find a way to break this curse."
Brooke stroked Mathias's black fur as a tear streamed down her face.
She and Mathias went out into the gardens. The sky was gradually getting lighter; she knew that she would suffer through her transformation soon. She had already become accustomed to the Gargoyles and considered those who had fought Borean to be her best friends.
A big lion-like gargoyle beast came bounding up to her.
"Hello Solomon," She said, bending down and stroking the beast's ears. "Why aren't you wearing your cross?"
"Watch-Beasts have a tendency to bury their crosses," said a white haired young main of about twenty, whose voice sounded exactly like Thestral's. "So Goel holds onto them, lest we lose them forever."
"In fact, most Cross Bearers keep their crosses in their pouches preferring to remain gargoyle and turn to stone at dawn. Goel and Benu become human so as to protect the rest of us while we sleep."
"And why don't you put yours in your pouch Thestral?" Brooke asked smiling at him.
"Because I have never before seen the sun." That was all that remained of their conversation, for at that moment she yelled in pain as her body transfigured into that of a pure white wolf, while the black wolf beside her slowly became human. Solomon turned to stone.
"Don't worry," Thestral said to Mathias, "We will cure you."
Miles away, a wizard turned werewolf simply thought, I shall have my revenge…