The Way, The War, And The End – Chapter 9
Ah, here it is chapter 9 to a long story to keep as many viewers interested in the story. I don't own any of the characters that belong to 'His Dark Materials' aka Will, Lyra, Mary, Pantalaimon, Kirjava… etc etc you know the names the belong to HDM and those which do not. And I beg of you to read and review. Thank you! I'm sure you wanna know what I plan in this story, so enough talk. On with the show.
Will kissed back against the lips he knew were Lyra's. He opened his eyes, and said, 'Good morning Lyra.' While he waited for Lyra to finish her shower, Will turned to Kirjava and asked, 'Kirjava, who am I?'
Kirjava looked back and said, 'You are William Parry. Why? Is something wrong?'
'Would William Parry, now an adult, kill another person though?' asked Will. Will was still shaken from the people he had killed at Svalberd. Images flooded back of flesh and blood that flew as he stabbed the soldiers that dared to go near him.
Kirjava with an interested stare said, 'No, he would not, but… why do you worry when you already know where death leads.'
'I know where it leads, but when I killed those people back at Svalberd, I was scared, I was so afraid to strike back but I had to because…'
'Because you were protecting Lyra, yes I know, after all I am your daemon,' Kirjava said, 'and maybe you don't have to kill anybody.'
'What do you mean Kir?' Will asked.
'Your sword is made out of sky-metal and not many materials can scratch it.'
Meanwhile in the shower, 'Pan who am I?' asked Lyra.
Pantalaimon gave a puzzled stare but nonetheless answered, 'You are Lyra Silvertongue. Lyra what makes you ask that question.'
'Would Lyra Silvertongue, a young girl in her prime, kill another person?' Lyra asked. Like Will, she was slightly shaken from the battle, but more than Will, because Lyra had not killed a person before, Will did most of the fighting, while she stayed back, giving him aid wherever she could.
'No, she would not, but she is aware of the path, death leads to.' Pantalaimon replied.
'That is true, but when I shot those people back at Svalberd, I was scared to pull the trigger and know I killed someone,' Lyra said, 'but I shot them anyway…'
Pan thought for a moment and said, 'Maybe you don't have to kill anyone…'
'What are you talking about Pan?' she asked.
'Oh, if you don't remember your revolver is made out of sky-metal and not many materials can make a mark on it.'
A week had passed, the people of Hrat decided to dock at the ports on the coast of Norway. The bears had gone to the blacksmith to build new weapons to combat the aerial assault they'll be expecting. The Hrat payed for the metal that was used for the weapons and the bears came out with heavy and large rifles that the bears could handle. What happened to Will and Lyra at the port changed how they used the weapons given by Iorek.
Will and Lyra explored the ports. There were shops with exotic items from across the entire world. Lyra had not seen so many different objects at the one place except in museums that she visited on school trips, but there would only be ancient artifacts. In the markets were everyday things, but they all looked so different from the everyday things in Oxford. Will would follow Lyra everywhere, making sure Lyra would not get lost in her own excitement, with Kirjava and Pan running at their heels.
Both stopped to find an old lady being bullied by a man with a tattoo of an eagle and his wolf daemon. The man drove the old lady up against the wall and yelled, 'You old hag, you knew this was going to happen!'
Will and Lyra ran towards the man and yelled, 'Hey! Stop that!' Lyra tackled the man in the stomach followed by a punch to the face from Will. Knocking the man back to a wall and stunned his wolf daemon.
The old lady stood up and said, 'Ha! Looks like my vision did come true, so I do not owe you a penny, now get outta my sight!' and headed back into her shop.
The man stood up and yelled, 'You old hag!' and left feeling defeated, knowing what the old lady told her did come true. But what did the old lady tell him?
Will and Lyra went looked up at the store sign. They saw a crystal ball. Will said, 'The lady must be a seer or a fortune teller.'
Lyra nodded and said, 'We better check if she's alright.'
They both went inside and found the place was in dim light. There was a table and a crystal ball. There was another room, they knocked and heard, 'Come in!'
They opened the door and found the old lady with an ice pack on her eye. Will and Lyra could see more clearly the lady's features. She was in her late sixties and had dark blue hair, but looking at her, you would think she was in her forties. There appeared to be a strange aura surrounding her. Both Will and Lyra could feel something strange from this lady, and said, 'Are you okay?'
'I've been better but thanks for asking. I'm Jennifer,' Jennifer replied with a slight smile on her face.
'Are you a real seer or fortune teller?' Lyra asked.
'You could say so, because that man just got his future fulfilled,' Jennifer said.
'What exactly did you tell that man?' Will asked.
'I told him not to head to the party he was attending,' Jennifer began, 'I told him he would get drunk and lose a lot of valuable possessions in doing so and that he will come back here. I also mentioned he would attack me, and that if he were to do so two people would appear to my aid. Like most unbelievers, he took it jokingly and headed off to the party nonetheless. What I foretold happened and he came to me, to hurt me for what he thought I was responsible for. And so you William Parry and Lyra Silvertongue came to my aid.'
'Wait, how do you know our names?' Lyra asked.
'Oh I see a lot of things and do you know how?' Jennifer said, 'notice anything strange?'
And that's when both Will and Lyra realised… Jennifer's daemon was nowhere to be seen, but then before they could say another word, a German shepherd went to Jennifer's side. In a gruff voice, he said, 'Oh, hello, my name is Janurius.'
'Is that your daemon?' Will asked.
'How dare he question that?' Janurius retorted, 'why I'll…'
'Easy Janurius, and yes he is my daemon,' Jennifer said.
'But how can he stay far from you,' Lyra said, 'I thought only…'
'Witches were the only ones who could do that,' Jennifer said, 'but I am no witch, I am a manipulator of what you call Dust.'
'A manipulator of Dust,' Will exclaimed, 'what does that mean…'
'It simply means I can control Dust to however I wish,' Jennifer said, 'I have manipulated the flow of Dust between Janurius and I, which means Dust flows through both of us equally.'
'But how do you do it?' Lyra asked, 'what you say sounds impossible.'
Jennifer smiled and then she closed her eyes and then the water started boiling and tea bags happened to fly into three cups, 'Would you like sugar?'
'Umm…' Will and Lyra said, 'okay…' and in no time, three cups of tea were already laid out.
'How did you do that,' Lyra asked politely.
'Well, you know Dust flows through living things correct, it's what makes us grow and think differently,' Jennifer began, 'the concept is that the items we touch leave behind a mark, a mark of Dust and using that we can control the item by simply thinking it, but it requires you're full concentration. There is a theory that we can possibly slow down the flow of Dust which slows down time, but not to a point where we can stop a person otherwise we would stop the flow of Dust in the person, which results in death. There is also another theory, that it is possible to use your own Dust to manipulate objects and people you have not left an imprint of Dust on, but I heard it can drain one's stamina.'
Both Will and Lyra digested this information, and thinking earlier to the conversation they had with their daemons when they were alone. In response to all this information, Will said, 'Is it possible to learn this?'
'Yes, normally learning this takes years,' Jennifer said and noticed their beaming faces died as they heard years, 'but… lets just say I can make the impossible possible if you are willing to put all your effort into it.' And Jennifer saw the smiles on their faces and she smiled herself.
From that day, things had begun to look up. Will and Lyra invited Jennifer and Janurius to join them, and they accepted saying they would love to get out of her home for a while. Over the few weeks, Jennifer taught them the basics of manipulating Dust, starting by moving a small rock, it took under a day before Will and Lyra got the hang of it. 'But like playing an instrument or sport or whatever, you must practise the same exercises or your skill may somewhat slip.'
Although Lord Faa was older than he was, he often sparred with Will to sharpen his skills with his swords, Lord Faa admired Will's stamina, 'It is almost never-ending,' he would always think.
In the past, Iorek had always watched Lee Scoresby at the rifle range whenever he came by. Iorek remembered some of the tips he mentioned and gave what advice he could to Lyra to help her practise and tone her skills as well. 'Keep the gun in line with the target, do not think about the shot, because that is when you are going to miss.' These were the kind of things Lee would say, and Lyra took the advice well. Her shooting skills were at its peak within two days of heavy practising, shooting wooden frisbees hand crafted by Iorek.
Little than a week, before they reached the North Sea, everyone was prepared for battle. Mary looked through her spyglass in search of any clouds of Dust that might signal an attack.
'Is everything ready?' Godfrey asked.
'Yes, everything is ready, Godfrey,' said another angel.
'Thank you, Tristan, I knew I could count on you for getting the numbers,' remarked Godfrey. Tristan was an angel of higher rank than Godfrey, but was a dear friend nonetheless. Godfrey could always count on Tristan to be there for him.
'Thank you, Godfrey,' Tristan replied, 'but about the conversation last night…'
And then Godfrey remembered the conversation they had before and his mind drifted to a room the avians provided. He remembered shouting and arguing.
'Why would Will and Lyra fight against us if exactly what we are doing is to help them be together!' Godfrey said.
'You idiot, don't you realise Xaphania has poisoned their minds, we can't do anything about it at the moment,' said Tristan, but Tristan knew exactly what was going on around. The objective was never to help Will and Lyra, Tristan knew a lot; after all, he is Hathrow's second in command and Hathrow trusted him to keep it to himself. 'You know that Xaphania will just put them in their worlds again somehow!'
'No, I know Xaphania…' Godfrey began.
'We all know Xaphania!' Tristan said.
'No, you don't know her like I do,' Godfrey said, raising his voice, 'I've always come t her for guidance and wisdom and she has always delivered it. Her actions are unexplained.'
'I don't know why I bother arguing about this, we have our orders!' Tristan said, 'Xaphania is the enemy and we will capture Will, Lyra and their daemons, end of story!' And Tristan stormed out of the room.
'It's okay…' Godfrey began, 'I understand now.' He said it. Even if he still had no understanding about it. 'Orders are orders, simple as that.'
Feeling convinced of Godfrey's allegiance, Tristan said, 'Good, now lets go!' And so they flew in their shining armour, tearing through the skies with their avian allies, prepared to swoop upon the enemy like an eagle that strikes.
Below, all was quiet, all that could be heard were the winds. The silence was broken as Mary shouted, 'Incoming!'
I just want to say I am sorry it took so long for me to update, things have been hectic, half-yearlies and other tests. And even with most of it out of the way, I've had a real bad case of writer's block. I said something was meant to happen in this chapter, but I think I'll get it down next chapter p. I apologise for any errors or typos made. I normally write (type) my stories between 9-11pm maybe 12AM EST because I simply feel like it. Any other time just doesn't make me wanna write. (type) If there is any MAJOR misleading point, please tell me!
