I'm baaaaaaaack!
You know, one thing I discovered during my time in Scotland and Ireland...castles there are far smaller than the general public has been led to believe. Seriously! I don't know about castles on the continent of Europe, maybe they're bigger. But anyway, like, the size of the rooms in Indels in the game? That's really about the size of things in the castles I visited. Weird, huh:) So there's your random bit of information for today!
I did some doodly-sketches of some of the characters from Daughter of the Wind, which are posted in in LiveJournal and can be found in the entry here: http/dinogrrl. and a music video I made can be found here: http/ So, have a look if you'd like. :)
Quick recap in case things have been forgotten during my absence (it's okay, I actually forgot where I was in the story too XD): Alakyl's hanging out with Albert back in Bale; Haschel, Kongol, and Meru just assisted the First and Second Knighthoods with a rescue mission sent to rescue another rescue mission; Niira and Reezy are chilling out in the knights' camp for the time being; Shadow Hunter, Guilao, Heja, and a fourth dragoon managed to pull Lavitz and Coen out of the enemy fort; Lavitz is a little worse for the wear, having almost been publicly executed, but Coen...poor Coen, in a pain-delusional state he decided to host the Moon Scintillation himself in order to save it, and now he's like, dying, and if he dies, then the Moon Scintillation dies. Way to go, Coen.
-----
Niira was, to say the least, morose. Not even Kitty's incessant squeaking and chewing on her sleeve could pull her out of her depressed state.
Shadow Hunter hasn't come back yet. It's almost time to leave. She couldn't get them. Phoenix has even less reason to keep them alive than he did with me. Shadow Hunter's plan failed and they've all been killed. It's all my fault. If I hadn't come down here...
Reezy was sitting next to her, playing with some twigs, digging patterns into the dirt with them. He hadn't said anything to her since Shadow Hunter's departure. In fact, he had only spoken to tell Meru that now was most definitely not the time to be bothering Niira.
Niira had hardly noticed his presence as she worried the time away. Even if they weren't killed...Kynan said Coen had been wounded, that's why my father went back for him. If it was bad enough to keep Coen from getting here on his own...he needs real medical help for it...he could be dying in the fort. Maybe...he's already... She whimpered softly.
She saw her cousin raise his head to look at her, but again he said nothing. Then he returned to digging with the twigs.
Suddenly, she heard the soft sounds of a group of people running through the forest. Confused, she lifted her gaze to search for the source of the noise. Just in time to see the nearby knights jumping aside to make room for Shadow Hunter as she jogged across the camp and disappeared through the trees again.
Niira stood quickly. The reptilian had been heading for the makeshift medical tent.
Not far behind Shadow Hunter was someone Niira didn't recognize, a tall, black-furred being who immediately reminded her of the stories she had heard of these 'unicorns'. He rushed past her, his arms full with some load she couldn't get a good look at, and followed Shadow Hunter through the trees.
"Ah, they made it!" Reezy stood beside her, brushing the dirt from his hands. "Now we can go!"
Niira wasn't listening to him. Instead, she too followed Shadow Hunter. Someone must have been hurt badly if Shadow Hunter couldn't heal him with her dragoon magic back at the fort. Her brief joy at the group's return was soon clouded with fear once more.
The unicorn-thing had his back turned to Niira as he gently set down his burden onto one of the few cots that had been brought to the camp. Nearly panicking, Niira made a dash for the cot, nearly running into the unicorn-thing.
The stranger grunted, startled. "Sorry."
Ignoring him, Niira stared down on the deathly-still form of Coen.
Shadow Hunter had pulled the young knight's tunic up to expose a nasty-looking wound in his side. Something about the sight of it chilled Niira. "Out of my way," Shadow Hunter snarled as she maneuvered into a better position to examine the wound. Not even waiting for Niira to move, she pushed past the half-blood, nearly knocking her over.
Niira made a soft mewling sound of distress. He's not moving. He's not moving...
"Your friend is an idiot," Shadow Hunter said. "But he probably just saved the life of your king."
"What?" Niira managed in a strangled voice.
"Leave me alone. I need to stabilize him so that he'll make it back to Bale. Alive, I mean." The reptilian's tail whipped back into Niira's legs, clearly indicating that she should leave the healer to her work.
"No...Coen..."
A heavy hand was placed on her shoulder, pulling her away from the scene. "Come." It was the unicorn-thing. "There's nothing you can do to help him right now."
"Coen..."
He put his arm around her shoulders, turning her away and walking her back into the camp. "He's in the hands of the Topaz Dragoon. He'll be fine."
Niira wasn't so convinced about that.
Reezy took over the task of comforting Niira as soon as he found her again. "Hey, don't look so sad."
She realized then that her sight was blurred. Quickly rubbing at her eyes, she was surprised to find her hands coming away wet.
"Like the big guy said, there's a healer-dragoon watching over him."
She couldn't get the thought of her friend lying there on the ground with that horrible wound in his side out of her mind.
"Let's go find your father, shall we?"
In her panic, Niira had nearly forgotten that her father had been one of the people Shadow Hunter was trying to rescue. "...Okay."
They ended up walking back to the medical tents. Reezy led her in a wide arc around the space Shadow Hunter had claimed for herself and Coen; Niira tried not to think about it, but she still trembled. "Your father got dragged back here by someone or another. He looked a bit roughed-up at any rate." Reezy sounded more like he was talking to himself than to Niira.
"Stop talking," she said to him.
"Sorry."
Lavitz was indeed back in the medical tents, completely devoid of his armor--Niira assumed this had been stripped while he was in the fort prison--and his tunic, which exposed several painful-looking claw marks across his shoulders, back, and face. The First Knight was alternately talking to his lieutenant Kynan and trying to avoid any contact with the knighthoods' doctor, who himself was trying to get Lavitz to hold still long enough to attend to the cuts. Lavitz, while being perhaps the most talented warrior in all of Serdio, was also notorious for his refusal to let anyone touch him in order to have wounds cleaned. Even Niira's mother had not been immune to his aversion to healers.
If I wasn't in such a horrible mood, I'd be laughing right about now, Niira thought to herself as she watched her father dodge the doctor once more. Maybe I will laugh anyway. Later.
"And here I was thinking my dad was bad about things like this," Reezy muttered.
Lavitz noticed them then, pausing too look at them just long enough for the doctor to grab a hold of him. Lavitz winced, his body tensing immediately.
"Would you just sit down already?" the poor man cried, exasperated.
"I will when you doctors find a way to do things that doesn't hurt!"
"For Soa's sake..." Kynan massaged the corners of his eyes. "And to think I willingly came here to help rescue him."
Mumbling something to himself, Lavitz finally sat on one of the nearby logs and allowed the doctor to do his work, although his dislike of the situation was quite plain. Then, speaking to Niira, "Where's Coen?"
Niira looked away. The last thing she wanted to be talking about right now was her friend.
"He's with Shadow Hunter," Reezy answered for her.
Kynan gave a short laugh. "Ah, yeah, she's a crazy bitch all right, but if Albert trusted her..."
"What happened?" Niira said, despite herself.
Lavitz drew in his breath sharply, flinching at something the doctor did. "He put the Moon Scintillation in himself."
"What?" Niira gaped. Why! Oh god, Coen... She began shaking again. He's going to die.
"I just hope the doctors in Bale will be able to get it out again for Albert..." Lavitz trailed off.
For a moment, Niira's terror turned to anger. How dare her father worry about someone other than Coen. Then she realized her irrationality and lapsed back into numbness. The entire group sat in silence, Lavitz still wincing with every movement the doctor made. Niira watched him in quiet contemplation. He had gained a few more battle scars across his body than she recalled from her childhood, one jagged scar that crossed his ribs on his left side standing out in particular. It had to hurt...so many times he could have died. And yet he's still here. Coen may not have that chance. She sighed.
"It'll work out," Kynan commented softly.
Lavitz only grunted affirmation as the doctor began wrapping his torso in a clean bandage. Niira didn't answer, continuing to watch her father.
"What happened?" she asked at last.
"What?" Lavitz looked up at her.
She pointed to his side.
Her father wore a tired expression. "Something that as good as cost me my life," he said. "An ancient Wingly weapon that could pierce even dragoon armor. I would have been lost for good if Rose hadn't intervened." He sounded as if just talking about it made it hurt again.
"Even dragoon armor?" Reezy mewled in shock. "How is that possible? Are you sure?"
"I was wearing the armor at the time. I am quite sure." Lavitz gave the priest a glare. "The weapon was destroyed at the end of the war. Thank Soa."
"Don't be thanking anyone yet," said a female voice from behind Niira. She stepped forward, revealing herself to be dark-feathered hawk-like reptilian creature. Niira stared at her for a few moments before giving up on figuring out who or what she was. "We can only hope Phoenix hasn't gotten wind of such a weapon in the time we've been gone."
Lavitz shuddered.
"You've been gone?" Niira queried.
"Yes." The feathered reptilian eyed her.
"Gone where? Who are you?"
As if in response, Niira felt her dragoon spirit suddenly begin throbbing with magic. Curious, she pulled it from its pocket; instantly it burst into a dazzling light display.
"Oh. You're a dragoon too. This certainly has been a day for meeting the newcomers."
"Newcomers?" Niira was staring into the light.
"Well, you are to me." She pointed at a chain than hung around her neck, from which dangled a dull yellow dragoon spirit. On command, the spirit joined Niira's in its shimmering. "I'm Heja, Pale Dust Dragoon. Serpent Mother sent me and Guilao and Ereil here to help you."
"The Three!" Reezy whispered excitedly.
Niira swallowed. Serpent Mother must believe things will be getting worse far sooner then anyone had expected. Now all of our dragoons are here...except for Shining Claw. His turn to show up now.
Things are just going from bad to worse lately. Niira brushed at her eyes. Her sight was getting blurry again.
"Enough of the light show." It was Shadow Hunter. "If you want to come with me and Coen to Bale now, let's go."
"What about the rest of us?" Heja asked.
"Whatever. It's not my concern." Shadow Hunter waved her black-scaled hand dismissively. "Doubt anything will happen to you before you leave, Phoenix isn't stupid. He won't attack a camp with this many dragoons sitting in it. Then again, maybe he would, you do make a nice target." She said that with a wry grin.
Would you stop being so...so...you, just for once? Niira hurried after the healer, determined to go wherever Coen was taken.
I can't.
Damn it, stupid mind-speakers.
Shadow Hunter's eerie laugh echoed in Niira's mind.
-----
Shadow Hunter had decided on flying herself back to Bale, shocking her companions with the news of her Wingly parentage by simply displaying her wings of light and flying off into the dimming evening light, the still-unconscious Coen in her arms.
Why she didn't just orb herself back to Bale, like Winglies were supposed to be able to do, Niira didn't know. Maybe it'd be too hard on Coen. Or maybe Shadow Hunter can't, because she's only half Wingly. At least, I'm assuming she's only half...
Kitty followed the glow of Shadow Hunter's wings, bearing Niira and Reezy on his back. The gryff let out an excited hoot every so often, a sound that echoed back from the nearby hills.
Not far behind them on horseback was Lavitz. Niira wasn't sure why he wanted to come along. She knew from experience that riding while wounded, as he was, was not a very enjoyable task. Yet he still came.
The group raced onward to Bale. Kitty began to pant hard, but Reezy goaded him to continue. Niira clung to the gryff's feathery mane, closing her eyes tightly. Coen...please...hold on.