DISCLAIMER: We own nothing but the plot. Tamora Pierce owns Tortall and
most of the characters. However places like Necartia and some characters
you may not recognise because we created them (eg. Kirana, Plakien,
Aladia).
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger ( - I know I'm evil... Anyway, next chap as promised...
Oh and if you find this interesting, my friend's gonna write an original story for fiction press about Kirana, her friends and Necartia. It won't have Alanna or Tortall but it'll be just as good. I'll write the link up when she's got the first few chapters up.
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Kirana groaned as she struggled to sit upright. Her head was still pounding and her vision was blurry. Once she was able to sit up, she felt a sharp pain run through her leg. Carefully, she dragged herself to the nearest tree, trying her best to ignore the pain rushing through body.
As she settled with her back to the trunk of the tree, her eyes started to clear and she was able to see what had happened to her leg. Wincing at the sight, she realised she had broken her leg, as some of the bone was protruding through the skin and blood was gushing everywhere.
It was then that she remembered everything that just happened. The seven Alofelecaries had just combined their powers when she had been blasted into the air. How long had she been out of it for? Glancing around, she realised the storm had cleared and there was no cloud in sight. The sun was shining directly above her, so it must be midday. But how could it be? They had performed the ceremony at night! She couldn't have been unconscious for that long, could she?
As realisation started to dawn on her, she began to panic. Where were the other six Alofelecaries? Wouldn't they have found her by now? Unless something worse had happened to them...
Knowing she couldn't move she anxiously looked around, desperately looking for some form of life. Thinking it was hopeless, she closed her eyes and started to cry. None of this was meant to happen... she was only sixteen years old!
Wiping back the tears, she looked up and was startled to see that some tall woman was standing over her. Gasping with shock, she looked into her eyes and realised it was none other then the great mother goddess.
"G.. Goddess!"
"Yes, we meet again my child. Do you remember our last meeting?"
"Of course! You told me I had the element of Thunder and I that I should go seek the six others like me. And... and combine our powers..."
"And you have done that, my daughter?"
"I... I think so... We performed the ceremony..." tears started to well up in her eyes as she remembered... "We started the chant ok but then the storm appeared and bolts of lightning came crashing down and there was an explosion and I was blasted from my feet! I heard the others screaming but I couldn't do anything to help them... I don't even know if they survived..."
As the Goddess sat down beside her, she saw her eyes were filled with pity.
"You've been through a tough ordeal already Kirana but you mustn't give up yet."
She knelt over Kirana's leg and waved her hand over the break.
"I didn't just choose you because of your pretty face Kirana, you were chosen because you're strong. You have courage and believe in what is right."
The Goddess then took her hand and slowly helped to stand upright. Looking down, she realised her leg had been healed, and her head didn't hurt anymore.
"The other six children possessed qualities such as yours but none had as much power as you. You heard them scream at the last second... do you know why this was?" Kirana shook her head slowly, afraid to hear what was going to come next... "The power flowing through you all was too great, it ran through them like hot fire until it eventually burned deep in their hearts... You were the only one strong enough to withstand it"
It took a few seconds for the realisation to dawn her. Her friends, some of whom she had known for years, were gone. They had been her only friends since she had been banished from the time guild and they had understood her, when nobody else had.
Guona, Lieta... they had all gone! It felt like a thousand hammers were pounding her heart, until all that was left was a miniature cold stone. She felt numb all over, and didn't even have the strength to cry.
"Kirana, stand up my child. I know this must be hard for you but you must understand. Although your friends are gone, their souls live on." Kirana then realised the goddess had slipped something smooth and warm into her hand. Glancing down, she saw it was staff, except something about it was odd. Staring intently into the stone on top, she noticed many vibrant colours dancing around inside it.
"It's the soul that makes a person Kirana, it also is the key to a person's gift. You may have guessed by now that each of those colours in the ember is a soul. When the time is right, you will unleash the power from them and combined with your own gift, you'll be invincible." Kirana shuddered at the thought...
"I know it must be hard to take all this in, but the fate of the world lies in your hands... Do you remember how to open the portal of time?" As she was still trying to take it all without freaking out, she nodded her head slowly.
"Then I suggest you use it now. You have a path to fulfil in another world as well. We will meet again, but for now I bid you farewell and wish you luck."
"But Goddess! What do I do once I've opened the portal? How do I know where to go?"
"Seek the girl named Alanna, she will help you in your quest and in return, you will help her. I know you have many more questions, but I can't answer them for right now, you'll just have to be patient child."
Blushing deep red, she looked down at her feet, pretending to be interested in spotty blue Hoonta crawling along the ground (Cat size, Caterpillar like creature with wings).
As she looked up again, she realised the Goddess had disappeared. Sighing, She walked back to the Kula Tree and stood under one of its huge leafy branches. Knowing what she had to do, she pushed all the thoughts and emotions she was feeling to the back of her mind and started mouthing the words to the spell that would open the portal.
As she concentrated on her spell, a storm brew overhead. Ignoring the loud crashes of thunder, she drew a window in the air in front of her, just large enough for a small person to crawl through. She had no idea what was beyond and wasn't too keen on finding out either. The goddess had told her to open the portal though, and she couldn't defy a god, could she?
Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about this though because at that moment, a strange creature appeared through the portal...
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A/N: Ooooh! What could it be?? Find out tomorrow... or the next day. Anyway, that was a hard chap to write! Please review and tell me what you think! Greatly appreciated....
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger ( - I know I'm evil... Anyway, next chap as promised...
Oh and if you find this interesting, my friend's gonna write an original story for fiction press about Kirana, her friends and Necartia. It won't have Alanna or Tortall but it'll be just as good. I'll write the link up when she's got the first few chapters up.
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Kirana groaned as she struggled to sit upright. Her head was still pounding and her vision was blurry. Once she was able to sit up, she felt a sharp pain run through her leg. Carefully, she dragged herself to the nearest tree, trying her best to ignore the pain rushing through body.
As she settled with her back to the trunk of the tree, her eyes started to clear and she was able to see what had happened to her leg. Wincing at the sight, she realised she had broken her leg, as some of the bone was protruding through the skin and blood was gushing everywhere.
It was then that she remembered everything that just happened. The seven Alofelecaries had just combined their powers when she had been blasted into the air. How long had she been out of it for? Glancing around, she realised the storm had cleared and there was no cloud in sight. The sun was shining directly above her, so it must be midday. But how could it be? They had performed the ceremony at night! She couldn't have been unconscious for that long, could she?
As realisation started to dawn on her, she began to panic. Where were the other six Alofelecaries? Wouldn't they have found her by now? Unless something worse had happened to them...
Knowing she couldn't move she anxiously looked around, desperately looking for some form of life. Thinking it was hopeless, she closed her eyes and started to cry. None of this was meant to happen... she was only sixteen years old!
Wiping back the tears, she looked up and was startled to see that some tall woman was standing over her. Gasping with shock, she looked into her eyes and realised it was none other then the great mother goddess.
"G.. Goddess!"
"Yes, we meet again my child. Do you remember our last meeting?"
"Of course! You told me I had the element of Thunder and I that I should go seek the six others like me. And... and combine our powers..."
"And you have done that, my daughter?"
"I... I think so... We performed the ceremony..." tears started to well up in her eyes as she remembered... "We started the chant ok but then the storm appeared and bolts of lightning came crashing down and there was an explosion and I was blasted from my feet! I heard the others screaming but I couldn't do anything to help them... I don't even know if they survived..."
As the Goddess sat down beside her, she saw her eyes were filled with pity.
"You've been through a tough ordeal already Kirana but you mustn't give up yet."
She knelt over Kirana's leg and waved her hand over the break.
"I didn't just choose you because of your pretty face Kirana, you were chosen because you're strong. You have courage and believe in what is right."
The Goddess then took her hand and slowly helped to stand upright. Looking down, she realised her leg had been healed, and her head didn't hurt anymore.
"The other six children possessed qualities such as yours but none had as much power as you. You heard them scream at the last second... do you know why this was?" Kirana shook her head slowly, afraid to hear what was going to come next... "The power flowing through you all was too great, it ran through them like hot fire until it eventually burned deep in their hearts... You were the only one strong enough to withstand it"
It took a few seconds for the realisation to dawn her. Her friends, some of whom she had known for years, were gone. They had been her only friends since she had been banished from the time guild and they had understood her, when nobody else had.
Guona, Lieta... they had all gone! It felt like a thousand hammers were pounding her heart, until all that was left was a miniature cold stone. She felt numb all over, and didn't even have the strength to cry.
"Kirana, stand up my child. I know this must be hard for you but you must understand. Although your friends are gone, their souls live on." Kirana then realised the goddess had slipped something smooth and warm into her hand. Glancing down, she saw it was staff, except something about it was odd. Staring intently into the stone on top, she noticed many vibrant colours dancing around inside it.
"It's the soul that makes a person Kirana, it also is the key to a person's gift. You may have guessed by now that each of those colours in the ember is a soul. When the time is right, you will unleash the power from them and combined with your own gift, you'll be invincible." Kirana shuddered at the thought...
"I know it must be hard to take all this in, but the fate of the world lies in your hands... Do you remember how to open the portal of time?" As she was still trying to take it all without freaking out, she nodded her head slowly.
"Then I suggest you use it now. You have a path to fulfil in another world as well. We will meet again, but for now I bid you farewell and wish you luck."
"But Goddess! What do I do once I've opened the portal? How do I know where to go?"
"Seek the girl named Alanna, she will help you in your quest and in return, you will help her. I know you have many more questions, but I can't answer them for right now, you'll just have to be patient child."
Blushing deep red, she looked down at her feet, pretending to be interested in spotty blue Hoonta crawling along the ground (Cat size, Caterpillar like creature with wings).
As she looked up again, she realised the Goddess had disappeared. Sighing, She walked back to the Kula Tree and stood under one of its huge leafy branches. Knowing what she had to do, she pushed all the thoughts and emotions she was feeling to the back of her mind and started mouthing the words to the spell that would open the portal.
As she concentrated on her spell, a storm brew overhead. Ignoring the loud crashes of thunder, she drew a window in the air in front of her, just large enough for a small person to crawl through. She had no idea what was beyond and wasn't too keen on finding out either. The goddess had told her to open the portal though, and she couldn't defy a god, could she?
Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about this though because at that moment, a strange creature appeared through the portal...
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A/N: Ooooh! What could it be?? Find out tomorrow... or the next day. Anyway, that was a hard chap to write! Please review and tell me what you think! Greatly appreciated....