Hi again, it's me!
I'd just like to thank Sable for your comments on my story so far, as you've given me the courage to continue with this fanfic :)
I'm currently working at my own personal story, but I'll make sure I'll put as much effort into The Shadow Riser as I possible can.
Also, look out for Wilfre's Chapter once I've finished this fanfic, that's the next on my list ;).
CHAPTER 11
:The Snowy Village:
"Up there lives the great Frostwind." Teal sighed. "For generations he has lived in that cave, and Mothed Nature wants to keep us safe from him..."
The Raposa stood and shivered for a moment as Teal stared up into the sky.
"There's a storm coming..." he muttered.
Rosis unfolded his arms from his chest and tried to see what the Arctic Raposa was seeing. He squinted. "Is that...?"
"Shadow." he answered finally, then his voice became shakey as he bowed hus head in shame. "I... am afraid our village may not be as safe from the Darkness as we thought." Teal shrugged his arms encouragingly and spun to face the others. "But none the less, I have a duty. And that duty is to protect you Raposa... come, we must hurry."
He gestured to another knight to protect the gates, and began to lead the Raposa through the Snowy Village. Rosis took lead of the group next to Teal and watched the locals point and stare.
A young Rapo tugged at and elders shirt. "Do you think those are the Village Rapos...?" she asked. "Are they the Raposa the Great One was talking about?"
"Hey, Teal..." Rosis looked at the knight. "Who's the Great One?"
"He's our mayor, you'll see him when we get to the Main Hall..."
There was a mutter of talking from a group of teenage-Rapos as they walked by. They whispered into each other's ears and giggled, glancing at Rosis and the villagers.
Rosis suddenly felt a flicker of hatred. He balled up his fists and scowled. The Shadow began to build up inside his, infecting his mind with evil thoughts. A tendril of blackness crept around inside his hand. He relaxed suddenly, and decided to calm himself down before things got out of hand. Now he knew the little effort it would take for the Shadow to take over.
He sighed and tucked his hands away inside of his sleeves, leaving Teal to ruffle the fur on his ears in concern.
"Are you alright there, young in'." he asked, his armour clunking on the icy ground. "The cold getting to you?"
"What...?" Rosis looked up and gave a weak smile. "Uh."
The knight caught his gaze into the distance behind him, and spun his head around. The Rapo-teens skidded into the opposite direction and sniggered. Teal scowled. "Those kids getting to ya instead of the cold, huh?" he shook his head and stared at the ground as he walked. "Gah, don't listen to 'em... they ain't no better than the cold itself anyway."
For the rest of the journey through the village, they were silent. All the Raposa travelled in twos, linking arms to limit the times they fall. Even so, some of the Rapokids slipped and skidded a couple of times.
Eventually, Rosis took his eyes off the ground as Teal tapped his white-furred hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, wow..." Rosis stood back to admire the building ahead of him. "It's... it's..."
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the knight smiled and briefly glanced back at the rest of the group. "Rosis, villagers, welcome to the Main Hall." he took a few steps forward and turned around so that he was facing them. "Please, come on in. We implore visitors here in the Snowy Village, and personally, I want to be the one to tell them about its history..."
The Main Hall was a vast expanse of light coloured bricks laced with snow and fading windows steamed up from the inside. It had an old feeling about the building, as if it had been there for centuries.
Teal smiled smuggly and opened the door, letting in the villagers first so that he close the door behind him.
Rosis looked around in awe: the walls showing golden-framed pictures with important-looking Raposa captured inside of them. There were glass cases all around him that contained every spieces of Baki, Pengoon and Snowget in the known world. But the one thing that caught his eyes the most was the gold-plated staircases leading up to the second floor.
His eyes followed the red carpet up them and trailed the walls at the top, meeting the ivory patterned ceiling above him. In the centre was a vague carving of the Creator's drawings: forests, beaches, planets, vast oceans and their marine life, animals and even something that resembled the Raposa Village.
Rosis shuddered and looked down for a moment, seeing Teal gesture ahead of him. He smiled blankly and walked with him.
"For generations, our village has been here under the watchful eye of the great Frostwind." Teal waved a hand in the direction of a painting portraying a blue dragon and two Raposa with yellow fur and no ears standing in its shadow. "We may live in fear of him, but we believe that the dragon holds the key to our prosperity and hope. It is said that one day, when the time of evil is upon us, Frostwind will emerge from his cave and free us from the grasp of our undoing, staring terror in the eyes and destroying it with his mere presence..."
Time of evil... Rosis thought, what does that mean?
"But," Teal coughed, removing some of the villagers from Oblivion. "Moving on, we can't spend all of our time on one painting, can we?" he laughed and lead them to the a row of weapons and armour.
As Rosis began to study the array of objects, the knight strolled away at a pace that wouldn't seem concerning if it was coming from an average Raposa. He watched Teal out of the corner if his eye walk up to another Raposa, a girl, who was dressed in red robes and a hood hanging at the back. She, like the others, had crystal white hair and pale blue eyes. The robed Raposa caught sight of Rosis for a moment, and shook her head briefly before returning to look at Teal.
"Aria, have you heard from the other group yet...?" Teal whispered, Rosis listening in.
Aria, Rosis narrowed her eyes, I have to remember that name. She looks kinda important...
"No," Aria replied emotionlessly. "Have you?"
Teal stamped his paw against the ground and shook his head with a scowl. "Me neither, have your druids on look out for them. They must return here, if they do not Circi may escape. We cannot afford to let her loose out here. Not at a time like this..."
"Teal, what about the Darkness? I've had reports telling me that it's gaining speed."
"I know, I know..." he sighed. "Get some of your other druids out after that thing, slow it down as much as possible while I arrange a small scale attack against the outer layer of Shadows with my men." Teal stared at her for a while, before continuing. "Once you have given your orders to the druids, I want you to keep an eye on that Rosis boy... I have a bad feeling he is hiding something. Discover what it is. Gain his trust, Aria.
"And you know the consequences if you do not..."
Rosis' fur prickled.
Aria did a quick salute to Teal before marching out of sight. He spun around and walked back to the villagers.
Rosis busied himself clumsily with a gold helmet on display as the knight wandered in his direction. He stared, shuffling his paws on the ground nervously, his heart a thumping drum in his chest. He could feel his pulse in his head as a soft white paw placed itself onto his shoulder.
"Rosis, my friend!" Teal laughed happily.
Rosis spun around and tried to look calm, even though his ears were trembling and drooped at the ends. "Oh, Teal... hi..."
The knight smiled and noticed the helmet. "I see you've taken a liking to this fine piece of art..."
"Uh, yeah... it's very..." Rosis stared at the shining surface and sighed. "...Creative."
"Modelled from the Great One's war helmet, every aspect is the same. It is an exact replica of the one he's wearing right now."
"Cool," he forced himself to calm down. "So when will I get to meet this 'Great One'?"
Teal tensed. "Hmph, I have a few matters to attend to first, but I assure you, you will get to meet him. And that goes for the rest of the villagers too..."
There was a crack of lightning from outside, lighting up the room fiercely. Rosis leapt, his fur standing on end in surprise.
"There's a storm setting in..." Teal growled. "I hope your friends arrive soon, it will be dangerous out there... with the Darkness setting in and all." he cheered up and smiled, flipping the helmet down over his face. "But anyway, must dash!"
Rosis watched him scuttle away into the distance and through the main doors. He sighed and looked at the others as they laughed with each other happily.