"As you wish."
Fort Knight closed his eyes, then he clasped one hand around the other as if in prayer. A bright blue light came from behind him and enveloped him, creating an auora around him. The light seemed to, not create, but to surround what was already there, two long objects connected to his back. As the blue solidified into white and the rays formed into feathers, Arwen's jaw dropped.
"H-how..."
"We're not sure." Charlie answered
"D-d-do I-I..."
"Yes." Fort Knight supplied, folding his wings into a more comfortable position "Let's keep moving." As they moved Fort Knight realized that Arwen had not.
-Fort Knight, I think Arwen is a little dazed.- Faria told him.
-Just come along, Faria. It'll wear off.- Faria did as Fort Knight said
After a little while Charlie leaned over towards him. "Your wings are still showing."
"Oh," He said in suprise. "I didn't even notice." There was a bright flash and his wings were gone. They entered a small clearing. "It's getting late. Let's make camp." Fort Knight said. Arwen walked up to Fort Knight. "Can you show me?"
"When we get H.Q." He said. They all slept.
Arwen was the last to wake in the morning. Somehow, even without supplies, there was a cheery fire burning and Charlie was cooking sausage and eggs. They ate quickly. They immidietly set out. After a short while the ground became marshy and the trees became more dense. Fort Knight pulled to a halt and dismounted.
"Gaudia, you know the way right?"
-Of course.- Wait a minute. How she hear him? Must be another Angelim thing.
"Charlie, Arwen, C'mon." Fort Knight said. He walked up to a tree and, Arwen blinked to make sure she was seeing it right, opened a branch to reveal a set of buttons with numbers on them. He pressed a combination of ten numbers and a door opened large enough to omit one person at a time. Arwen was to numb to be overly suprised. Fort Knight gently pushed her in first. It was a small room big enought to hold maybe fifteen people. Fort Knight and Charlie filed in after her. Charlie pressed a button with a number on it. The door closed, Arwen felt a falling sensation and immedietly leaned against the wall for support.
Fort Knight placed his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She stood up straight, feeling a little foolish.
"Don't be." Fort Knight said as if he had read her mind. "I felt the same way the first time I rode in an elevator."
"Oh."
When they got to the bottom there was a long tunnel with two long rails of metal going through it. On the rails was a large cylinder-like object which came to a point in the front. It was silver and had a door on the side facing Arwen. Fort Knight stepped out of the 'elevator', opened the door on the strange object, and stepped inside. Charlie and Arwen followed. Inside were two padded benches made of metal.
"Sit, please." Charlie said. Arwen sat down.
Fort Knight walked over to the console and started the railrunner. He then sat next to Arwen.
"This is called a railrunner, it is a machine used to travel. This track leads to under the swamps of Tol Estrait in the north. I am taking you to the H.Q. of the espionage organization aptly named The Outcasts. I am hoping to find some information there. We have far more technolagy there than even the anchients did, and nobody else on earth knows this."
"After last night, that's nothing." Arwen smiled as Fort Knight chuckled apprecietively.
The railrunner came screeching to a halt. The company jumped out of the railrunner onto a stone platform with a door on the far wall. They procceeded through the door into a small room with another door, this one had a number pad on the side and a slot above the numbers. Fort Knight pulled out a card of some sort. Arwen saw the words 'ACSESS 7151988' printed on the front. He slid the card into the slot and pressed several numbers. The door opened.
There was a long corridor with many doors and what looked to be another elevator on the side.
"I have to report to Windsor. Perhaps you could show Arwen your quarters. I do believe that you have some explaining to do." Charlie said then walked down the corridor.
"Come along, Arwen." Fort Knight led her into the elevator and pressed a button. The elevator rose only two floors, then opened. "Follow me." He led her down another corridor and stopped and opened a door. Inside was a richly furnished living room with red curtains even though there were no windows. Fort Knight took off his white animal hide jacket and hung it on a hat stand next to the door. Underneath he was wearing a plain white shirt. He sat on the couch facing out from the wall. "Welcome to my home."
"You wanted to know how to use your wings?"
Arwen jumped at the chance. "Yes!"
"Fine." He stood up and stretched. "I should tell you that in doing so I shall also teach you to use one of the more powerful forms of magic, ultimately known as Concentration Magic."
"Concentration Magic?" Arwen asked quizzically
"You might know it as Sorcery."
"Sorcery?" Arwen laughed "Fort Knight, Sorcery is a myth."
"Truly?" He said. He put his hand out in a strange gesture and a vase on a table rose and floated in the air and exploded. Then it fell to the ground in small pieces, rose once again into the air, and melded back into the original vase. Arwen felt Fort Knight slowly discharge extra energy charged for the display.
"So, Sorcery does exist." Arwen was numb from all the things being introduced into her life, so was not overly surprised.
Suddenly a wave of pain shot through her entire body. Fort Knight jumped off the couch and caught her and held her tightly. Arwen tried to push away from Fort Knight, because she didn't think it apprpriate for him to hold her like that, and found that she could not move for the pain in her arms and legs.
Fort Knight pulled out a vial with a blue liquid in it, forced her mouth open, and poured the liquid down her throat. The tension across her body eased, then the pain faded and disappeared. Fort Knight did not reliquish his tight grip around her slender body. She tried to speak, but all that came was a rasping sound, so instead she stuggled against his grip.
"Oh no you don't." Fort Knight picked her up and carried her to the couch and continued to hold her. It was if a ball of ice had exploded in her body. A wave of cold shattered through her body. She was grateful for the warmth in Fort Knight's arms and returned the embrace for more heat. The cold also subsided leaving her shivering.
"Are you alright?" Fort Knight asked in an extreamly gentle tone that Arwen had not heard before. "Here..."
There was a flash of blue light and Fort Knight's wings appeared and he folded them around her. She caught the look in his eyes and realized why he was really doing this. She struggled again to get free of him, for the first time in her life afraid of Fort Knight. Then she felt her senses take over her mind. Her body reacted to his gentle touch. She struggled to find her voice but it was hard with mind fogged as it was with Fort Knight's presence. "Fort Knight! We can't!" She said squirming to get free of the grasp of his arms and wings but he only tightened his grip. Then with a firm shout, "BE STILL!" He stunned her into silence. He gently unwrapped his wings, replaced them with a blanket, and set her on the couch.
"I apologize for my behavior. I've been holding that in for about a hundred and sixty years.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known that you and I would be together since I was twenty."
Fort Knight closed his eyes, then he clasped one hand around the other as if in prayer. A bright blue light came from behind him and enveloped him, creating an auora around him. The light seemed to, not create, but to surround what was already there, two long objects connected to his back. As the blue solidified into white and the rays formed into feathers, Arwen's jaw dropped.
"H-how..."
"We're not sure." Charlie answered
"D-d-do I-I..."
"Yes." Fort Knight supplied, folding his wings into a more comfortable position "Let's keep moving." As they moved Fort Knight realized that Arwen had not.
-Fort Knight, I think Arwen is a little dazed.- Faria told him.
-Just come along, Faria. It'll wear off.- Faria did as Fort Knight said
After a little while Charlie leaned over towards him. "Your wings are still showing."
"Oh," He said in suprise. "I didn't even notice." There was a bright flash and his wings were gone. They entered a small clearing. "It's getting late. Let's make camp." Fort Knight said. Arwen walked up to Fort Knight. "Can you show me?"
"When we get H.Q." He said. They all slept.
Arwen was the last to wake in the morning. Somehow, even without supplies, there was a cheery fire burning and Charlie was cooking sausage and eggs. They ate quickly. They immidietly set out. After a short while the ground became marshy and the trees became more dense. Fort Knight pulled to a halt and dismounted.
"Gaudia, you know the way right?"
-Of course.- Wait a minute. How she hear him? Must be another Angelim thing.
"Charlie, Arwen, C'mon." Fort Knight said. He walked up to a tree and, Arwen blinked to make sure she was seeing it right, opened a branch to reveal a set of buttons with numbers on them. He pressed a combination of ten numbers and a door opened large enough to omit one person at a time. Arwen was to numb to be overly suprised. Fort Knight gently pushed her in first. It was a small room big enought to hold maybe fifteen people. Fort Knight and Charlie filed in after her. Charlie pressed a button with a number on it. The door closed, Arwen felt a falling sensation and immedietly leaned against the wall for support.
Fort Knight placed his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She stood up straight, feeling a little foolish.
"Don't be." Fort Knight said as if he had read her mind. "I felt the same way the first time I rode in an elevator."
"Oh."
When they got to the bottom there was a long tunnel with two long rails of metal going through it. On the rails was a large cylinder-like object which came to a point in the front. It was silver and had a door on the side facing Arwen. Fort Knight stepped out of the 'elevator', opened the door on the strange object, and stepped inside. Charlie and Arwen followed. Inside were two padded benches made of metal.
"Sit, please." Charlie said. Arwen sat down.
Fort Knight walked over to the console and started the railrunner. He then sat next to Arwen.
"This is called a railrunner, it is a machine used to travel. This track leads to under the swamps of Tol Estrait in the north. I am taking you to the H.Q. of the espionage organization aptly named The Outcasts. I am hoping to find some information there. We have far more technolagy there than even the anchients did, and nobody else on earth knows this."
"After last night, that's nothing." Arwen smiled as Fort Knight chuckled apprecietively.
The railrunner came screeching to a halt. The company jumped out of the railrunner onto a stone platform with a door on the far wall. They procceeded through the door into a small room with another door, this one had a number pad on the side and a slot above the numbers. Fort Knight pulled out a card of some sort. Arwen saw the words 'ACSESS 7151988' printed on the front. He slid the card into the slot and pressed several numbers. The door opened.
There was a long corridor with many doors and what looked to be another elevator on the side.
"I have to report to Windsor. Perhaps you could show Arwen your quarters. I do believe that you have some explaining to do." Charlie said then walked down the corridor.
"Come along, Arwen." Fort Knight led her into the elevator and pressed a button. The elevator rose only two floors, then opened. "Follow me." He led her down another corridor and stopped and opened a door. Inside was a richly furnished living room with red curtains even though there were no windows. Fort Knight took off his white animal hide jacket and hung it on a hat stand next to the door. Underneath he was wearing a plain white shirt. He sat on the couch facing out from the wall. "Welcome to my home."
"You wanted to know how to use your wings?"
Arwen jumped at the chance. "Yes!"
"Fine." He stood up and stretched. "I should tell you that in doing so I shall also teach you to use one of the more powerful forms of magic, ultimately known as Concentration Magic."
"Concentration Magic?" Arwen asked quizzically
"You might know it as Sorcery."
"Sorcery?" Arwen laughed "Fort Knight, Sorcery is a myth."
"Truly?" He said. He put his hand out in a strange gesture and a vase on a table rose and floated in the air and exploded. Then it fell to the ground in small pieces, rose once again into the air, and melded back into the original vase. Arwen felt Fort Knight slowly discharge extra energy charged for the display.
"So, Sorcery does exist." Arwen was numb from all the things being introduced into her life, so was not overly surprised.
Suddenly a wave of pain shot through her entire body. Fort Knight jumped off the couch and caught her and held her tightly. Arwen tried to push away from Fort Knight, because she didn't think it apprpriate for him to hold her like that, and found that she could not move for the pain in her arms and legs.
Fort Knight pulled out a vial with a blue liquid in it, forced her mouth open, and poured the liquid down her throat. The tension across her body eased, then the pain faded and disappeared. Fort Knight did not reliquish his tight grip around her slender body. She tried to speak, but all that came was a rasping sound, so instead she stuggled against his grip.
"Oh no you don't." Fort Knight picked her up and carried her to the couch and continued to hold her. It was if a ball of ice had exploded in her body. A wave of cold shattered through her body. She was grateful for the warmth in Fort Knight's arms and returned the embrace for more heat. The cold also subsided leaving her shivering.
"Are you alright?" Fort Knight asked in an extreamly gentle tone that Arwen had not heard before. "Here..."
There was a flash of blue light and Fort Knight's wings appeared and he folded them around her. She caught the look in his eyes and realized why he was really doing this. She struggled again to get free of him, for the first time in her life afraid of Fort Knight. Then she felt her senses take over her mind. Her body reacted to his gentle touch. She struggled to find her voice but it was hard with mind fogged as it was with Fort Knight's presence. "Fort Knight! We can't!" She said squirming to get free of the grasp of his arms and wings but he only tightened his grip. Then with a firm shout, "BE STILL!" He stunned her into silence. He gently unwrapped his wings, replaced them with a blanket, and set her on the couch.
"I apologize for my behavior. I've been holding that in for about a hundred and sixty years.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known that you and I would be together since I was twenty."