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Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was
I had such friends
~W.B. Yeats
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Chapter 1: Drained
It felt like they had traveled for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Briar couldn't imagine what could make a ten mile journey longer other than the fact that he had to travel over a canyon and in about a foot of snow.
And then, he was quickly reminded.
"Are we there yet?" Asked a long, whiny voice behind him, sounding about as tired and fatigued as himself.
Briar nearly stopped his horse to glare at his companion, Evvy, but was too preoccupied by studying the map in his hand. According to the map, they were hopelessly lost. But Briar refused to admit this, for fear that Evvy would break down crying in complete despair. There was nothing Briar hated more than sappy, teary females.
He traced his finger over the map of the Punaskawiee Canyon, trying to figure out where he made the wrong turn that lead him to the wrong destination. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to aid him in his search, for his surroundings where completely non-descript. Everywhere around him, there was a thick blanket of snow, and lots and lots of canyon walls. Only a few, scraggly, dying trees were scattered along the small pathway that he was attempting to follow.
He hated to see such a dying atmosphere of plants. No, he took that back. Everything seemed dead here. The only thing that moved was the freezing wind that brought snow flowing into both of his and Evvy's eyes.
Cursing, Briar heard Evvy complaining in the background about how much she wanted a warm bed and some kind of food. But he ignored her and averted his eyes from off his map to a small pine tree that grew adjacent to the pathway. The poor, sickly thing swayed in the breeze, and Briar suddenly felt a wave of compassion and hurt flow through his body. This was no place for a tree to grow, but somehow, the poor tree was fighting fiercely to grow. Wishing he could help, but knowing it would simply hurt the tree more, Briar reached out to it, hoping that it could answer him. He asked: Do you know where I can find the Snowy Tavern?
The tree swayed in the breeze for a few seconds before answering. Over this wall, it said, melancholy laced through its tone, over the hill lies Tavern Hill. It paused, and Briar was about to thank it, before it spoke again, Turn back.
Briar stopped his horse and glanced at the tree suspiciously. Raising an eyebrow, he asked: Why? Why must I turn back?
It just responded again: Turn back, turn back, turn back. . . . It repeated itself as its words got carried away by the sudden strong wind. The wind kicked up a great amount of snow and blew it in Briar's eyes, but he ignored it.
He was starting to get the serious creeps about this place. And he was about to ask the tree a little about Madab before he was interrupted.
"Good Gods, Briar! It's. . . . FREEZINGGGGG!!!! When are we going to get there, already?" Evvy's glared helplessly at Briar from behind, not understanding why he suddenly stopped. She had the weirdest feeling in the pit of her stomach that he didn't know a flip about where they were heading. And that was bad for her and her cats.
Briar rolled his eyes at her persistent whining before glaring back at her, "If you would quit you're whining, I would have told you that we're close. We've just gotta get over this last canyon wall, and we're there."
Evvy slumped her shoulders and gave him an exasperated look. "That's what you said at the last canyon wall," She scolded, placing her hands on her hips, giving him a look that pleaded him to get her out of the freezing atmosphere.
"Well, I lied," Briar snapped, fed up with the whining and the cold. His nerves were starting to run raw from the constant begging and the stupid snow that was constantly blowing in his eyes. Plus, he was anxious to see everyone again. He had preoccupied himself for days thinking how Daja, Tris and Sandry had might of changed and how they might have stayed the same. And then, he realized how he might have changed, and how he had. Even physically he seemed different. He had glanced himself over in the mirror the other day, not realizing how he had changed so much from when he left Discipline. And since he changed so much, he wondered how differently all the "gang" had changed also. . .
"Are we going already?" Came an irritated voice from Briar's back. He turned around, finding Evvy looking at him expectantly, a weary frown on her face.
Rolling his eyes, Briar nudged his horse onward. But the horse, hating Briar like it did, revolted and took off in a gallop. Briar, shocked stupid, fumbled with his reigns to try to get the beast under control. His legs flapped helplessly at the horses side, and, with great effort, managed to grip both reigns in his hands and pull back. The horse obeyed, stopping instantaneously and sending Briar over the head of it. Doing a complete front flip, Briar landed on his backside painfully. Groaning, he sat on the snow-packed ground for a few seconds, shock still.
Evvy watched in astounded silence, her mouth agape. But, after a few silent seconds, she burst out laughing. She rocked in her saddle from fits of laughter, her whole body shaking. She had seen Pahan Briar do a lot of stupid things, but this had to be the best of all. She sat for a few seconds before riding her horse up to Briar's side.
Hearing her laughter, Briar glared up at Evvy and gave her a this-isn't-funny look. That only sent her into further laughter.
Feeling exasperated, Briar picked himself up from the ground, groaning at the acute pain in his backside. Looking up at Evvy, he managed to mumble, "Did I ever mention that I hate. . ."
"That you hate horses," Evvy finished, her laughter somewhat subsiding. "Yes, you've already said that today." She laughed some more, her horse standing obediently and patiently. "Come on, Pahan Briar. I think it's time for you to quit, 'horsing around' and get over this wall." She chuckled at her joke, giving him a smart smile, before nudging her horse onward. It obeyed, content to do whatever she willed.
Briar glared at her, hoping his stare would burn large, painful holes in her back.
So, jokester was she? Well, haha. . .not.
Briar rolled his eyes before brushing off the snow off his back end, mounting his horse, and following Evvy to climb the mountain wall.
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When Briar and Evvy finally got over the last canyon wall, they stood on the other side in a bit of astonishment. All around them was grassland, even if most of the grass was a dead, brownish hue. There was a small snowfall, but most of the snow melted as soon as hit the ground. In front of both of them was small brown and green knoll in which small buildings dotted the tops of it. All the buildings had numerous horses tied to steaks outside of them, for the weather on the other side of the canyon was considerably more mild.
Briar simply stared in complete astonishment before looking back at the canyon. Behind him, it continued to snow in heavy blankets, and a howling wind could still be heard. Furrowing his eyebrows he glanced back to the knoll before glancing down at his map. Tracing his finger along the map, Briar realized that he was back on the normal, laid out path. The knoll in front of him was Tavern Hill, and the first tavern to the right of his vision was Snowy Tavern.
He suddenly felt himself get nervous. He bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he winced before tasting blood. Cursing silently, he shifted in his saddle before nudging his horse. He glanced back at Evvy and nodded forward, "all right, your highest highness. You got what you wanted. We're almost there." She simply glared at him in confusion. His shoulders sagged before he looked at her expectantly, "Well. . .?"
Evvy looked around her surroundings strangely before cocking her head at him, "I think we're both dillusional. There is no possible way that there can be that much of a climate change in this little of distance." One of her cats popped out of her side baskets and meowed almost in agreement.
He had to agree with her on the strange climate change. It seemed to strange to be true. In fact, for two seconds Briar thought he might be dillusional himself. But, from the acute pain in his backside, he figured that if he was dreaming or dillusional, the pain would have brought him to his senses by then. Yet, he was still seeing a grassland in shrill contrast with the barren background behind him.
However, he didn't want to wait any longer to see his foster-sisters. So, he simply shrugged before waving Evvy onward, "I don't think we're dillusional," he paused before winking at her, "you might be, but I sure ain't. Besides, if we are dillusional, it sure beats everything from being in that canyon." He smiled at her, trying to prod her onward, "Come on, Evvy. Let's get in some place warm."
One of Evvy's cat had crawled out of the basket and was cuddled between her shoulders. She bit her lip before glancing back at the canyon. She stared behind her shoulder for a few, brief seconds before she shrugged and nudged her horse onward. Briar waited until she got along side him before they both started riding on.
They rode in silence for a few minutes before Evvy finally spoke, "I have a bad feeling about this--"
"Girls always have a bad feeling 'bout everything," Briar broke in, his voice a bit more joking and chipper now that his spirits were raised with the prospect that he was going to see Daja, Tris, and Sandry.
Evvy sighed in frustration before nudging her horse forward so that she was ahead of Briar, "Like I was saying," she paused, giving Briar an evil glare. He simply gave her a crooked grin before winking smugly, "I have a bad feeling about this place. It's just that. . .it's that," she paused thoughtfully, stroking the fur on her cat, "It's just that, the canyon was so. . .dead. The rocks there seemed so sad." Evvy lowered her head down to her lap, eyebrows scrunched together.
Briar glanced quickly up at Evvy, a little suspicious. So, she had felt it too. The deadness, the hopelessness, the sadness. He had hoped that Evvy hadn't felt it. But she had. And Briar had noticed something else. His magic suddenly felt odd. Like it was being used. But that was impossible. Briar shook his head, trying to erase the strange ideas. His magic shouldn't feel like it was being used, he had it under control. It wouldn't leave his body unless he consented for it too. But nevertheless, the draining sort of feeling was throughout his entire body.
He shook his head again and tried to ignore it. They had reached the pathway that winded up the knoll. There was a small village that rested on top of the small hill and people were hustling in and out of their little stone houses. They were speaking rapidly in a language that Briar couldn't pick up. He had learned some of Madab's confusing, official language, and quite frankly, he thought if talking Trader talk with Balaj hadn't already broken a tooth, he would either break a tooth or bight off his tongue with Madab's language. Everything in the language was either, "que," or "tee" sound and sometimes, to Briar's utmost enjoyment, a mix of both.
Need less to say, Briar was highly dreading the conference with the queen.
Evvy was watching skeptically from her perch atop her horse. Many of the people she saw looked very much alike. Everyone had pale skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. She had an odd feeling that she would fit in more than her Pahan would. And, as they rode into town, her hypothesis was quite correct. Many people stopped what they were doing and gave suspicious glances to them. Then, as they passed them, they would break out in their strange language, but, to Evvy's annoyance, she couldn't understand a word they were saying. She supposed that had something to do with the fact that Pahan Briar had only taught her how to say four different phrases in Madabian. One of which was, "Pahan Briar is the best mage in the world." Briar had thought it comical. Evvy hadn't.
Briar was as equally confused at what the locals were saying. He could perhaps understand them if they were saying it about ten times slower than they were. Sometimes he could pick up phrases and words, but he could never put them in a complete sentence. But, Briar wasn't really focusing on the conversations of the people around him. He was focussing on the Tavern that lay about a hundred yards in front of him. It had a small sign hanging from it's rooftop that said, "Snowy Tavern."
Biting his lip, Briar felt something flip over in his stomach. Either it was nervousness or hunger. Briar convinced himself it was hunger. After all, why would he be nervous? Briar shook his head, making a piece of his ebony hair fall in front of his eyes. Images ran through his head, memories rushing through his mind. Memories of himself and the girls. The last time they had parted ways, well, it had nearly been four years now. Briar knew how much he had changed, and now he contemplated how much the girls might have also. Oh sure, he knew physically they had changed, but he wondered if time had changed their personalities. Briar licked his lips while he approached the Snowy Tavern.
He just had to keep repeating: Not nervous, not nervous, not nervous. . .
Yeah right.
Evvy and Briar arrived at the front door of the Tavern and quickly realized that the small Tavern already had travelers inside of it. Realizing that the travelers might be Tris, Daja, or Sandry, the butterflies in his stomach elevated to an unhealthy level. Briar thought he was going to puke. As he got down from his horse, everything that he did seemed sluggish and awkward. Something rolled in his stomach.
Evvy had been watching her Pahan from the longest time, and had finally decided to keep a distance from him just in case he decided to "let go" of his breakfast. His face looked ashen and distressed, and it had all come when they were within view of the Snowy Tavern. Evvy shook her head. She knew that she could never figure out Pahan Briar.
Taking her sacks off her horse, Evvy felt her new kitten, Emerald, wiggle inside. Smiling, Evvy opened the sack and the small kitten jumped out frantically. Emerald escaped Evvy's grasp and it fell into the snow with a small "meow." Evvy giggled before shaking her head. "Now, now, Emerald," she scolded sweetly, "you have to be careful while we're here. Pahan Briar will not put up with your silly prantics. Right, Pahan Briar?" Evvy cuddled the kitten, waiting for Briar's response. When she received none, she looked up quickly to see her Pahan gone, the door for the Snowy Tavern swinging on its hinges. Frowning, Evvy put the cat on her shoulder and quickly tied both Briar's and her horses up. Then, with a impatient sigh, she proceeded inside the Snowy Tavern.
Briar couldn't wait for Evvy and her stupid cats. Something was pulling him inside, and he had a feeling it was the girls. The last thing he remembered was charging inside Snowy Tavern and looking around like a madman. The door to the tavern slammed against the wall, as the wind howl into the warm-ish room. The whole place froze with surprise at Briar's dashing entrance and much of it got very silent. The place was a gigantic bar from the looks of it. The Tavern's rooms looked like they were behind the kitchen/bar. Tables were set disorderely around the room and pale-skinned, dark-haired Madabians were seated on the tables. They all looked up at him as soon as he entered and there was an eerie quiet. Gulping, Briar took a step back and glanced around the room.
"Uh, hey," he managed to stutter, his eyes are little wide, "I'm, uh, what I mean is-- My name is Briar. " The place looked at him blankly, "I'm, uh, looking for some people. . .?"
Well, if he didn't feel like an idiot. The Madabians simply looked at him as if he were some kind of mutant freak-of-nature.
He stood there for a few seconds, before someone in the back of the room started laughing. Briar looked up quickly, deciding that this person was going to have to die a slow, painful death. One thing he hated was being laughed at. . . no matter how stupid he looked. But when Briar glanced at who was laughing at him, he breathed a somewhat sigh of relief.
It was Daja. She was sitting at a table in the back of the disorderly room, seated with two other people that Briar recognized immediately. It was Niko and Tris. They all had huge smiles on their faces, before both of them started laughing too.
Briar glared at them. So they thought that was funny, eh? Briar shook his head, before rolling his eyes. Smiling, Briar walked up to the back of the room, watching as Daja and Tris were nearly crying in their laughter. Niko was trying to be polite, but his laughter was still evident.
When he reached their table, Daja and Tris both stood up, still laughing. Daja held her arms wide open, before Briar embraced her in a large hug. Daja's chest still fell up and down from laughter, but she managed to say, "It's good to have you around again, Kaq."
Briar rolled his eyes. "Don't know if I can say the same thing about you." Daja pulled back from him before punching him playfully in the shoulder. Briar looked down at her before faking mock hurt and grabbing his shoulder. Daja merely rolled her eyes, before looking him over.
"Well, I suppose the ONLY thing that's changed is that you've gotten taller," Daja remarked, eying him. Once, she had been head and shoulders taller than Briar, but now she could barely look him eye-to-eye. And, frankly, it was a bit of a surprise to Briar
She hadn't changed much, Daja hadn't. Her long black hair was braided like normal, but it was pulled back from her face and away from her deep black eyes, while her darker skin contrasted with her large, white smile. Briar shook his head in relief. Some things were better off never changing, and Daja's physical appearance not changing comforted him. Even if it just barely did.
"Well," cut in a tart voice from behind Briar and Daja, "I hope you don't think you can have him to yourself ALL day?"
Briar rolled his eyes. . . oh, the infamous Tris.
She was standing behind them both, her arms crossed across her chest, trying to fake annoyance. However, she was failing miserably. He laughed at her before walking up to her.
Glancing at Tris, Briar could see some more evident changes. Her hair was much longer and it was straighter. Although she was still short and more on the plump side, she was more, er, Briar decided, voluptuous than plump.
His thoughts were interrupted sharply, "What do you think YOU'RE looking at. . .?"
Shaking his head, Briar smirked at her, "Still as pleasant as ever, I see."
Tris raised an eyebrow before sticking her tongue out at him, "You're just jealous, Plant Boy." Briar faked hurt, and Tris mock-glared at him for a few seconds, before both laughed. Tris rolled her eyes, still smiling, before hugging Briar tightly around the waist.
Woah. A little emotional there.
Briar shook off his surprise, and hugged her back. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, weather witch," Briar said to Tris, who was still hugging him. She continued to hug him, until Briar suddenly felt awkward, and he supposed Tris suddenly felt so also. She pulled away like she had suddenly been burned and glared at him.
"That's about as nice as I'm gonna get on this trip, so just remember that," She snapped, her normal facet back again. Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked like a solid piece of ol' stubbornness.
Briar rolled his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied back, his voice heavy on the sarcasm. He laughed at Tris' expression after he said this. She scrunched her face up, obviously faking her annoyance.
Niko was the same as always. Briar was starting to wonder if the man EVER aged. Probably not. He'd probably be an old man before Niko turned a day older.
Briar managed to shake hands with Niko before, exchanging the regular, "How have you been?", and, "What have you been up to lately," and other mindless conversation. Daja and Tris managed to engage everyone in the conversation of what's been going on, things about Frostpine and Lark, and blah, blah, blah, blah. . . .
It wasn't until about five minutes later that a sharp, annoyed voice sounded behind Briar's back, "Thanks for remembering about me. And the horses, they're all tied up. No, don't even mention it." Briar knew the voice instantly.
Evvy. Whoop-de-do.
Briar turned around and frowned at her. She simply glared back at him, a frown on her face also. And her frown look much more annoyed. Her arms were dangling at her sides and a worn expression was painted across her face. Simply looking at her made Briar tired. And annoyed. Definitely annoyed.
"Guys," Briar started, taking Evvy to the side and holding her by the shoulder, "This is Evvy. I think you all know how I came so blessed to become her teacher."
Evvy glared at him. Briar ignored her.
Daja laughed pleasantly before shaking her head. "I had one of those myself. Didn't bring him though. Too much of a pain." She stood up and before extending a friendly hand to Evvy, "Not to say that you will be, young lady. Welcome to our small little circle here."
Immediately talking a sudden liking to Daja, Evvy smiled shyly at her before shaking the extended hand. "I'm pretty glad to be here," she stated, but then added tartly, "except for the fact that I really don't know EXACTLY WHAT I'm doing here. . ." she quickly looked at Briar accusedly, giving him a guilt ridden stare.
Briar heard the exaggerated words and glared down at Evvy. Why, oh why, did she have to be so annoying right now? She was NEVER this annoying. But, he supposed he hadn't been the most cherry person in the world lately, given they had just spent the last 14 hours riding in a drippy wagon, navigating through a freezing canyon and there was still the thing that bothered Briar in the back of his mind. His magic. . . it felt so drained. Briar would swear it was being used. . . but that was totally ridiculous. . . right? Yes, of coarse.
Shaking his head, Briar glanced down at Evvy before stating, "You know that I don't know any more than you do." He paused before glancing innocently over at Niko, "Unless something wants to be disclosed now."
Niko's cool blue eyes looked calmly at Briar, before he chuckled. Folding his hands, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I have to wait until everyone is here until I can tell any of you anything."
It was then it dawned on Briar that the entire group was not there. He had been so excited when he had seen Tris and Daja that he had completely forgotten about that there was still one that lacked from the table.
Sandry. . . .
Looking around the tavern, half expecting to see Sandry's pop up from the still suspicious Madabian's tables, he asked, "When is Sandry supposed to arrive?" Then, after scanning the bar, he turned back to Tris and Daja.
Both of them exchanged anxious glances, their eyes twinkling with some kind of secret that instantly irked Briar. He watched then as they looked at each other, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Great, something else that he needed to worry about. Other than meeting the Madabian Queen, Evvy, and her stupid cats. . .
Tris finally spoke, her voice hinged with a bit of concern, "Sandry's already arrived, Briar. She went in her room to rest an hour ago. . . she should be back soon."
A voice suddenly sounded from the doorway that led into the Tavern's rooms. "Sooner than you think actually."
Briar recognized the voice immediately. It was Sandry. Smiling smugly, Briar was about to say something around the lines of "On time as usual, 'yer highness," but the words died fast in his mouth, so that all that was left was a dumb glance at Sandry.
She was leaning on the door frame, in a casual sort of manner. For the first time in forever, she was wearing britches, but they were made out of warm looking leather and her large, thick leather boots, that came to the top of her calves, tucked into her britches. Her face was lighted softly by the firelight that lit the entire tavern by the large fireplace at the wall adjacent to them. Some of her hair had escaped the large mound of braids on top of her head and fluttered into her large blue eyes, that glittered softly. She was smiling softly at him, and all Briar could find himself to do was stare at her in disbelief.
Instructions how to look stupid: 1. Stare blankly at someone, with your mouth slightly agape. . .
Sandry continued to look at him before she giggling softly, "I don't look that bad, do I?" She stopped leaning against the door frame before making her way inside the bar area.
Briar snapped out of his aura, before chuckling himself, "Hey, not that bad. . . I'll always look better though, a handsome guy like me." With that, he flashed her a smug grin that made her instantly laugh at him. But, her laugh didn't exactly make Briar feel that much better. There was something so incredibly. . . sad in it, is made him instantly worried.
She didn't give him much of a chance to be worried however. She quickly enveloped him in a tight embrace, still giggling. "It's awful good to see you again, Briar," she whispered quietly in his ear.
There it was again. . . the sadness. Her voice sounded so weighted with some kind of tired sadness that felt like a damp washcloth was thrown on any excitement that Briar had towards seeing her. But, instead of expresses his feelings, he simply cracked, "Yeah, I'd imagine it would be nice seeing me. . . "
Sandry chuckled before drawing back from him. Giving him a mock frown, she punched him playfully in the arm. "You sure haven't changed, any." She then smiled at him, her eyes glittering, but oddly sad.
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. That troubled Briar. A lot.
Suddenly, Sandry caught sight of Evvy, who was eyeing her shyly. Sandry smiled at her, before saying, "You must be Evvy. Briar has said a lot of good things about you."
Evvy, shocked at Sandry's words, looked at Briar in surprise. Briar simply rolled his eyes and snorted. Blinking at Briar, Evvy turned to Sandry before stating, "He's said a lot of good things about you." Evvy had meant it as a compliment, but instead Sandry's eyes turned darker and. . . sad. Scrunching up her eyebrows, Evvy was about to apologize, but instead the girl, Tris, interjected.
"Well, now that everyone is here, you can tell us exactly why we are here." She turned towards Niko, raising her eyebrows, "Don't think that I'm going to sit here pretending I'm getting everything that is going on."
Niko eyed her coldly before turning to everyone. "I know everyone must be curious to the true descriptions why they are here, and I do understand your impatience." He then reached inside his large cloak and pulled out four envelopes. "However, this is not the place to discuss such matters. Inside these envelopes are all the information that you need to know for now." Raising his bushy eyebrows, he passed the envelopes to Briar, Daja, Tris, and Sandry, before adding, "And, most importantly, you must read these letters in your own private quarters tonight. Then, you are to burn them."
Sandry looked quietly at her letter before asking, "What about Pasco?"
So, she brought the infamous Pasco. Great. Briar managed to suppress rolling his eyes.
"Pasco is to know as little as possible about this. . . and that goes for Evvy too, Briar," Niko replied, before he stood up slowly, his eyes still on everyone. "Now, if you will excuse me, I am quite tired. I am going to retire for now." With that, he retreated into the room section of the Snowy Tavern.
Briar and the crew exchanged glances before shrugging. They then chatted with each other for quite awhile, each one discussing their adventures of late, and other things that made girls laugh, and made Briar want to go puke. Yet, throughout the entire intercourse, he never saw the smile reach Sandry's eyes.
And her laugh always, always, seemed tired.
Briar retired at promptly ten o'clock, when it looked like Evvy was about to fall off her chair in complete exhaustion. Everyone wished him good-night, and Sandry decided to retire with him.
As they walked down the hallway towards their rooms, Briar observed the dark circles around Sandry's eyes and the way she yawned about thirty times. At the end of the hallway, he turned to her and said, "Good-night for now, Sandry."
She looked up with him again, sadness swimming in her eyes, "Good-night, Briar." She smiled a weary smile before retreating inside her room.
Briar frowned before heading inside his own room. He didn't know why he felt so tired, but he felt mentally and physically drained. He quickly changed into a warm pair of night-clothes. Nearly fainting into his bed, Briar remembered Niko's letter and quickly ripped into it.
He read:
Dear Briar,
By the time you read this, I will already be gone. I'm sorry this whole operation is so secretive, but if you knew how a delicate this situation is, you would fully understand. I cannot even disclose any intimate information in this private letter.
Tomorrow, you are to ride to The Pingo of Nuuk, where you will find Duke Eraged te Unswa, who is in relation to the Queen of Madab. He will disclose the information that you desire to know.
There is a map enclosed, but there will a guide tomorrow to take you there. You will simply address her as Dasnie. She will find you.
Sincerely,
Niko
Briar read with tired disbelief. If he didn't feel so drained, he would've ridden and strangled Niko for more information. But, being as tired as he was, simply threw the paper in the fireplace and shrugged into his covers. In a matter of seconds, he was asleep.
Briar dreamed that he was walking through a large evergreen forest, and the trees were screaming at him. Turn back, they screamed, while he heard Balaj's voice echoing in his mind, "Madab's an evil place." He ran through the forest, scared beyond belief, but seeing a large light above. As he approached the light, he saw the back of a woman and a small child. He yelled at them for help, but when they turned around, Briar gasped. It was Sandry and a small girl. And they both had the same sad eyes, which peered at him and haunted him.
Briar woke up in a panic, sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked around his room. The room showed evidence that everything was normal and in its place. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at his window that was overhead. Sunlight trickled through it.
The new day had come.
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Hehe, this is kinda late, no? Sorry, but you will be pleased
to know that it is roughly ten pages long. Okay, maybe that's a bad
thing, but still. . .
Well, hope you guys like it. This plots kinda complex and
hell, I don't even know exactly what's gonna happen. So, if you got
any ideas, please feel free to tell me. (Ah, the power of the reader!)
Oh, like my new pen-name? I was getting sick of dusting crops, so it got changed. And, also, would anyone like a Circle Of Magic fansite? 'Cause I was thinking of making one, if anyone was interested. If I do, I'll probably put fanfics on it, so that means more "publicity" for us few and scattered COM writers.
Well, better go. .. I'm boring you!
Oh yeah, would you mind reviewing. . .? Please?