Disclaimer: I do not own anything that belongs to Tamora Pierce, Anne
Bishop, or Cate Tiernan. Any similarities to other books, authors, etc. are
purely coincidental and are non-intentional.
~Reviewers~
Rainfall: ^ ^ I know it was short, I'll try to make it longer this time. Thanks for your faithful reviewing!!!
Les Yeux Violets: Cool name, btw. Does it mean anything in French or another language? Just wondering. Anyway....umm....Darkan is actually on the "good" side. The shadow in the corner is an evil entity that works for Uusoae and Darkan....well, that's explained in this chapter. Sorry if my story is unclear...please keep reviewing? *hopeful grin*
Demented Dreamer: I was thinking about that...I'm changing it from the Goddess of Chaos to something else. I am paralleling the Realms of the Gods way too much. But, btw, it was intended to be reality. Thank you for reviewing again!!!! :-D
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Ch. 14:
~Eos~
Eos hunched over in her room as the waves of pain hit her endlessly, over and over and over. She moaned softly, and blood-red beads born of agony appeared on her shaking hands. "Please," she sobbed softly. "Please let it stop...." Then the world turned black as Eos passed out from the pain.
~Darkan~
Darkan quickly looked through the corridors. Where was she? He had been waiting by the fountain for hours pretending to read a book. He turned a corner. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The room spun as Darkan reeled back from the endless echoes of extreme pain being ripped out from only one possible person-Eos-hit him. "Eos?" Then he sent out a thought. *Goddess-Elect?* He called to her in the purest mind-form possible, a form of communication one only used with the gods that was far more complex than the one that he used in everyday communication. *Goddess-Elect!* His voice became that of what he would become once she grew to her power. His magical true-self grew, expanded to the Guardian's place that he would one day hold, the place that he was promised when the goddess-elect came into power. *Mùirn beatha dàn!* he mind-whispered. The call of the Guardian to the Goddess-Elect. He waited, and prayed as he neared Eos's room.
~~~
Eos woke, a sharp pain ringing in her head. She caught faint echoes in her head...*Mùirn beath-* "What?" She shook her head quickly. These hallucinations could not be happening again. No, not again. Please. She did not need those echoing voices in a language that she knew and yet could not recognize....*STOP* She grabbed a chair, and cleared her head by dumping the freezing glass of water over her head. Trying to rationalize the experience, she said calmly, "Nothing is happening. But I need to find Tristan and beat the holy death god out of him for doing this to me. Nothing is happening. I am not insane. I am not a devil-child. I am not evil. I do not hear voices in my head in a weird language no one but me seems to know!!!" She screamed the last words in a half-hysterical voice, then slid down on a large cushion that had appeared out of nowhere. She didn't question it's existence and slouched happily on it and snuggled close to the warm cushion, only to hear in mind-speak, *Eos, we have a job to do.* Eos only snuggled closer and drew the long cushion around her in response to the sleepy fog suddenly drifting through her mind. She mind- spoke drowsily, as if drugged. *So...tired.....want to rest. Find Tristan later.*
*Need to find Tristan NOW.* The cushion revealed itself to be a large male tiger that seemed strangely familiar, but Eos was used to animals talking to her by now. She sent feelings of sleepiness, and a strong desire to fall asleep for a couple hours and renew her strangely exhausted body. She continued sending those vibrations, feeling the tiger soften and grow sleepy as her influence grew...then the tiger changed shape into Darkan Finousri. "Mithros, Minoss, and Shakith." Eos jumped bolt upright and stared at Darkan. Darkan blushed. "Sorry, Eos, no time to explain." Eos stared at him suspiciously. "My name isn't Eos. Is something wrong with you?" He glanced at her piercingly. "No time to explain...look, I need to know why you were sending out feelings of pain. All the animals in the forest are feeling it, and they're not liking it." Eos's mind, racing with excuses, quickly came up with a valid block. "I wasn't in pain. What are you talking about?" Darkan simply stared at her, waiting for the real reason. He even tapped his nails in a drumming rhythm while Eos stood there uncomfortably.
Eos glared at him. "Ok, fine. I was in so much pain because...." She paused significantly while she frantically sought for another idea. "cramps. Yes, cramps from my..." Eos blushed accidentally and completed the effect. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Darkan looked at her impatiently. "You were never in that much pain from your monthlies before," he said neutrally. "So tell me again, why were you in so much pain?" Eos stared exasperated at him. "You know everything, don't you?" At his dark stare, she sighed and continued on. "I don't know. But I think it was because Tristan was in pain...this necklace was originally enchanted to amplify his pain three times the power to me in case I tried anything. And it was to make sure that I would be bonded to him and be forced to protect him..." Catching the deadly, icy look in his eyes at this statement, Eos said quickly, "but we were mortal enemies back then. Don't ask. Bad past...but if he's in pain, I have to find out why. Because I'm going to keep experiencing three times the agony he's going to, and if it gets any worse I think my head is going to explode." Darkan visibly gritted his teeth. "Do you know where he is?"
Eos looked at him. "No...perhaps his other mortal enemy is doing this to him." Catching his almost amused look, she said, "Yes, he has a penchant for getting those. Don't say it." Darkan almost smiled, but caught himself and replied evenly, "Right. You check with Lord Kaeron and sniff around for him around the palace and the gardens. I'll go to the underground torture chambers I found here yesterday. They're magically and physically blocked, so I had a hard time finding them only the People told me of dark, bad spaces where two-leggers disturb their nests by making screechy noises...that'd be screaming, I suppose. I can easily pinpoint those locations with the bats." Eos nodded, and quickly made herself up magically to be the Lady Varianne of Hialla again. And doubled over with renewed pain from the necklace. Suddenly, a silver light shone brightly in her room and two hyenas had appeared in her room by the time the black spots from her eyes had properly faded. Eos growled low in her throat, and said, "I really don't have time for this." The slightly larger hyena stepped forward, and said respectfully, *Goddess-Elect, our children helped another like you once before when Emperor Ozorne tainted Carthak for his own purposes. Now we have come to help you with the same purpose.* Eos looked cautiously at them. *Thank you* she said softly. She easily slipped into the form of a hyena and gave them the magical-identity impressions that she had unconsciously recorded that were Darkan's unique magical scent so they would know who was friend. The hyena's eyes widened in surprise. *This is no normal mortal you send of, Goddess-Elect.* Eos cocked her head slightly and let out a questioning sound as she followed the expert trackers find their quarry. *What do you mean?* the female hyena answered. *He is the Guardian. He is the one who has watched for your creation for two centuries of waiting. He is not one to be underestimated.* Eos stared at them for a moment, raised a hyena eye-brow in the age-old look of sardonic humor...then set off to track Tristan. His magical and physical impressions she sent the hyenas as well.
Quick as fire licking in the Scancran forests, Eos and the two hyena gods searched for Tristan Staghorn while the pain increased from the necklace. Eos suddenly stopped, whining (a/n: not like a human child, like a dog would) and flickering back and forth between hyena and human. A human came toward them, and all of Eos's natural aggressive instincts in this form roared to life. She prayed that the human wouldn't come close. Wouldn't come closer. And yet, the human came closer and revealed herself to be Daine. Daine gasped, surprised. "You've gone quick from non-believer to adept magelet," she said, hands on her hips. While she greeted the two hyena gods with respect, she also studied Eos. "Do you need help? Alanna said that the Goddess came to her yesterday and warned her to help the one that is two kinds but the same. I figured that since only you and me have wild magic..." Eos shook her head and began to communicate in yelps. *Darkan Finousri has wild magic too. We're looking for Tristan Staghorn.* Daine's eyes widened. "Isn't that-ok. Can you spare a minute for Alanna to place a restricting spell on the necklace?" Suddenly Eos had a revelation. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out before. A restricting spell. Of course. And if I slit the necklace with the dagger afterwards, in theory I would be...free. Unless Tristan had anticipated it and put an anti-binding spell...but the dagger has magical purposes. I could have been free this entire time," she smacked her head, "but I was too mixed up with court intrigue and staying alive that I forgot it." Eos changed to human form, and the necklace returned with it. With quick, efficient movements, she retrieved the dagger from what she privately thought of as her magical closet and slit the necklace. Eos instantly put protective barriers she had learned on her skin, but the necklace did nothing. Eos nearly started to cry, but her features soon hardened in what seemed like anger or sadness. "Let's go." They raced through the corridors easily, swiftly as Eos changed from human to hawk and sped silently on a quest for Tristan.
~~~
~Reviewers~
Rainfall: ^ ^ I know it was short, I'll try to make it longer this time. Thanks for your faithful reviewing!!!
Les Yeux Violets: Cool name, btw. Does it mean anything in French or another language? Just wondering. Anyway....umm....Darkan is actually on the "good" side. The shadow in the corner is an evil entity that works for Uusoae and Darkan....well, that's explained in this chapter. Sorry if my story is unclear...please keep reviewing? *hopeful grin*
Demented Dreamer: I was thinking about that...I'm changing it from the Goddess of Chaos to something else. I am paralleling the Realms of the Gods way too much. But, btw, it was intended to be reality. Thank you for reviewing again!!!! :-D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ch. 14:
~Eos~
Eos hunched over in her room as the waves of pain hit her endlessly, over and over and over. She moaned softly, and blood-red beads born of agony appeared on her shaking hands. "Please," she sobbed softly. "Please let it stop...." Then the world turned black as Eos passed out from the pain.
~Darkan~
Darkan quickly looked through the corridors. Where was she? He had been waiting by the fountain for hours pretending to read a book. He turned a corner. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The room spun as Darkan reeled back from the endless echoes of extreme pain being ripped out from only one possible person-Eos-hit him. "Eos?" Then he sent out a thought. *Goddess-Elect?* He called to her in the purest mind-form possible, a form of communication one only used with the gods that was far more complex than the one that he used in everyday communication. *Goddess-Elect!* His voice became that of what he would become once she grew to her power. His magical true-self grew, expanded to the Guardian's place that he would one day hold, the place that he was promised when the goddess-elect came into power. *Mùirn beatha dàn!* he mind-whispered. The call of the Guardian to the Goddess-Elect. He waited, and prayed as he neared Eos's room.
~~~
Eos woke, a sharp pain ringing in her head. She caught faint echoes in her head...*Mùirn beath-* "What?" She shook her head quickly. These hallucinations could not be happening again. No, not again. Please. She did not need those echoing voices in a language that she knew and yet could not recognize....*STOP* She grabbed a chair, and cleared her head by dumping the freezing glass of water over her head. Trying to rationalize the experience, she said calmly, "Nothing is happening. But I need to find Tristan and beat the holy death god out of him for doing this to me. Nothing is happening. I am not insane. I am not a devil-child. I am not evil. I do not hear voices in my head in a weird language no one but me seems to know!!!" She screamed the last words in a half-hysterical voice, then slid down on a large cushion that had appeared out of nowhere. She didn't question it's existence and slouched happily on it and snuggled close to the warm cushion, only to hear in mind-speak, *Eos, we have a job to do.* Eos only snuggled closer and drew the long cushion around her in response to the sleepy fog suddenly drifting through her mind. She mind- spoke drowsily, as if drugged. *So...tired.....want to rest. Find Tristan later.*
*Need to find Tristan NOW.* The cushion revealed itself to be a large male tiger that seemed strangely familiar, but Eos was used to animals talking to her by now. She sent feelings of sleepiness, and a strong desire to fall asleep for a couple hours and renew her strangely exhausted body. She continued sending those vibrations, feeling the tiger soften and grow sleepy as her influence grew...then the tiger changed shape into Darkan Finousri. "Mithros, Minoss, and Shakith." Eos jumped bolt upright and stared at Darkan. Darkan blushed. "Sorry, Eos, no time to explain." Eos stared at him suspiciously. "My name isn't Eos. Is something wrong with you?" He glanced at her piercingly. "No time to explain...look, I need to know why you were sending out feelings of pain. All the animals in the forest are feeling it, and they're not liking it." Eos's mind, racing with excuses, quickly came up with a valid block. "I wasn't in pain. What are you talking about?" Darkan simply stared at her, waiting for the real reason. He even tapped his nails in a drumming rhythm while Eos stood there uncomfortably.
Eos glared at him. "Ok, fine. I was in so much pain because...." She paused significantly while she frantically sought for another idea. "cramps. Yes, cramps from my..." Eos blushed accidentally and completed the effect. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Darkan looked at her impatiently. "You were never in that much pain from your monthlies before," he said neutrally. "So tell me again, why were you in so much pain?" Eos stared exasperated at him. "You know everything, don't you?" At his dark stare, she sighed and continued on. "I don't know. But I think it was because Tristan was in pain...this necklace was originally enchanted to amplify his pain three times the power to me in case I tried anything. And it was to make sure that I would be bonded to him and be forced to protect him..." Catching the deadly, icy look in his eyes at this statement, Eos said quickly, "but we were mortal enemies back then. Don't ask. Bad past...but if he's in pain, I have to find out why. Because I'm going to keep experiencing three times the agony he's going to, and if it gets any worse I think my head is going to explode." Darkan visibly gritted his teeth. "Do you know where he is?"
Eos looked at him. "No...perhaps his other mortal enemy is doing this to him." Catching his almost amused look, she said, "Yes, he has a penchant for getting those. Don't say it." Darkan almost smiled, but caught himself and replied evenly, "Right. You check with Lord Kaeron and sniff around for him around the palace and the gardens. I'll go to the underground torture chambers I found here yesterday. They're magically and physically blocked, so I had a hard time finding them only the People told me of dark, bad spaces where two-leggers disturb their nests by making screechy noises...that'd be screaming, I suppose. I can easily pinpoint those locations with the bats." Eos nodded, and quickly made herself up magically to be the Lady Varianne of Hialla again. And doubled over with renewed pain from the necklace. Suddenly, a silver light shone brightly in her room and two hyenas had appeared in her room by the time the black spots from her eyes had properly faded. Eos growled low in her throat, and said, "I really don't have time for this." The slightly larger hyena stepped forward, and said respectfully, *Goddess-Elect, our children helped another like you once before when Emperor Ozorne tainted Carthak for his own purposes. Now we have come to help you with the same purpose.* Eos looked cautiously at them. *Thank you* she said softly. She easily slipped into the form of a hyena and gave them the magical-identity impressions that she had unconsciously recorded that were Darkan's unique magical scent so they would know who was friend. The hyena's eyes widened in surprise. *This is no normal mortal you send of, Goddess-Elect.* Eos cocked her head slightly and let out a questioning sound as she followed the expert trackers find their quarry. *What do you mean?* the female hyena answered. *He is the Guardian. He is the one who has watched for your creation for two centuries of waiting. He is not one to be underestimated.* Eos stared at them for a moment, raised a hyena eye-brow in the age-old look of sardonic humor...then set off to track Tristan. His magical and physical impressions she sent the hyenas as well.
Quick as fire licking in the Scancran forests, Eos and the two hyena gods searched for Tristan Staghorn while the pain increased from the necklace. Eos suddenly stopped, whining (a/n: not like a human child, like a dog would) and flickering back and forth between hyena and human. A human came toward them, and all of Eos's natural aggressive instincts in this form roared to life. She prayed that the human wouldn't come close. Wouldn't come closer. And yet, the human came closer and revealed herself to be Daine. Daine gasped, surprised. "You've gone quick from non-believer to adept magelet," she said, hands on her hips. While she greeted the two hyena gods with respect, she also studied Eos. "Do you need help? Alanna said that the Goddess came to her yesterday and warned her to help the one that is two kinds but the same. I figured that since only you and me have wild magic..." Eos shook her head and began to communicate in yelps. *Darkan Finousri has wild magic too. We're looking for Tristan Staghorn.* Daine's eyes widened. "Isn't that-ok. Can you spare a minute for Alanna to place a restricting spell on the necklace?" Suddenly Eos had a revelation. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out before. A restricting spell. Of course. And if I slit the necklace with the dagger afterwards, in theory I would be...free. Unless Tristan had anticipated it and put an anti-binding spell...but the dagger has magical purposes. I could have been free this entire time," she smacked her head, "but I was too mixed up with court intrigue and staying alive that I forgot it." Eos changed to human form, and the necklace returned with it. With quick, efficient movements, she retrieved the dagger from what she privately thought of as her magical closet and slit the necklace. Eos instantly put protective barriers she had learned on her skin, but the necklace did nothing. Eos nearly started to cry, but her features soon hardened in what seemed like anger or sadness. "Let's go." They raced through the corridors easily, swiftly as Eos changed from human to hawk and sped silently on a quest for Tristan.
~~~