Copyright © 2002 by Syvia (Aka Rebecca K. Friedrick). All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the stuff from LoK. Adojan the Hylden and all of the Ancients except Janos are my brain children. If you want the full list- go to the dictionary in the back. ^_^
Author's Notes: *grins* Don't expect too many of these short chapters. They're just transitional pieces. We're going to depart from 500 and 1649 B.C. for now, and while 500 B.C. will become quite important when we finally get back there- we're leaving 1649 behind forever. *smiles*
Interlude
Growth and Change
Nosgoth ~ ? ~ ?
Sudden tears slipped from the young Ancient's eyes. Zofia wrapped her arms around Cili in return.
"Thank you," Zofia whispered. Cili nodded, still holding the older fledgling.
The image of Zofia, wrapped in Cili's embrace, faded slowly from the basin and was replaced by an image of gently swirling grey mist.
The cloaked and hooded figure on one side of the basin still toyed absently with the blade in her hand. The cut on her finger was gone. The hooded one studied the other form at the basin.
She was cloaked as well against the cold, but her hood was down, her face revealed by the candlelight. The woman's hair was long and a shining black; sharp contrast to the pale skin of her face. Her eyes were an even sharper contrast to that hair, silver jewels that held much life and too much knowledge for her years. She looked young, but her eyes did not.
The woman was young. Although not as young as she appeared, she was human; and much younger than her companion.
"Enjoying the view?" the girl asked wryly in a slow, cultured drawl. She raised quicksilver eyes from the basin to look at the other woman.
The hooded figure chuckled softly in response to the teasing. "Marveling at the view. Or rather, the change of view," she clarified.
"Hmmm." The girl studied her hands, resting on the stone carvings. Both women examined the ten slim fingers and small, rounded nails. The girl looked up and smiled slightly. "I rather like it. It is strange to be human again, and yet remember what it was to be otherwise. It is strange to remember childhood and realize what a strange process it was."
"When in your past life- you had forgotten it entirely?"
The young woman nodded. "The promise of growing old is interesting as well," she smiled suddenly, "although I have done it before. But I am enjoying this life. I feel no wish to receive immortality again." She looked up at her companion. "How does it feel to have remained constant in body for thousands of years?" she asked curiously.
"I remember childhood; the growing and changing of my body," the hooded one smiled. She cast her gaze on one cloven hand and moved it gently through the air, watching the play of light and shadow on her clawed fingers. "And although my body has retained its form for many centuries, I do not find this existence tiresome. My mind is in a constant state of evolution."
The girl smiled wryly. "'You learn something new everyday?'" she quoted, her tone derisive.
"Something like that," the hooded woman chuckled. "Do you yet remember how to work the Pool?" she asked, going back to the subject at hand. The hooded one presented the ceremonial knife, handle first, to the girl. She pressed the needle-sharp tip to her index finger without drawing blood.
"I do not remember why it works, but I remember how to work it." She pierced her skin without hesitation and let a ruby-colored drop fall into the grey mist, creating ripples that traveled to the outermost edge of the Pool. "You call up the memory within your mind and it appears in the Pool.
"The magic of the Pool is strong enough to retain any recreation of any memory it has ever shown. If you know what you look for, you may view the memories of another."
More ripples traveled over the surface of the Pool and the mist in the basin began to swirl once again.
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Syvia- Thanks for the review, Das Boot! This is its result.
Lorant- *looking up at the date listing* What's with the question marks?
Syvia- I don't want to give those bits of information away just yet.
Lorant- Ahhh. Uh... then why didn't you do that for the Prologue?
Syvia- Hmm.... *runs back and edits, comes back* Anything else?
Lorant- *laughs* Nothing that I can think of.