Disclaimer: I owe everything to Garth Nix..Great guy =)
Please Note: The --- signifies Ranna's memory of events
that happened before the story began.
Chapter One: Threat in the North
A bitter, cold, and biting wind whipped through my unruly mass of blonde curls, and chilled me to the bone as I raced my horse Nulea across the southern plain. Blinded by the oncoming blizzard I pulled my hood closer to my face. I often wondered if I was heading around in circles, or going north as I was supposed to be. As I rode on hating my fortune, I thought back on the mysterious events that occurred before my wild ride across the plains.
----Sitting on the wooden bridge I laughed as I repeatedly dipped my feet in the shining and sparkling water. With the sun warming my back and the wind cooling my face; it seemed that life was perfect. Shaking my mane of hair I leaned back on the worn wooden planks of the bridge and tried to soak up all the heat from the sun. As I was almost asleep, a large cracking noise split the air and shook the earth. Suddenly there was a large flash of pure white light, that was so white it shone more brightly than the sun. When the light was gone a small pale man stood before me with smoke drifting off his semi-transparent body into the afternoon sky. As he moved towards me his body seemed to twist and reshape itself into many different people. Quickly I recognized the work of Beleagar, my friend and one time companion.
Ever so slowly, the sending walked over the bridge towards me. As it moved I noticed that in its shimmering left hand it tightly clutched a letter. It stood at my feet for a moment looking up at my face, and then reformed itself into a bow. It momentarily resumed its standing position and with its many faces looking in to my face, it spoke.
"A correspondence from the Lord Beleager to the Lady Ranna via. Messenger sending."
After seeing that I would not take the letter, the sending shoved it into my pale left hand and backed away towards the direction from whence it had come. When it reached its destination, the sending vanished with another bright flash of light leaving a cloud of white smoke behind it.
With shaking fingers I broke the wax seal and slid the thick parchment out of its sheath.
"To the most revered Lady Ranna;
In the far north there has been a great
disturbance in the charter. A ninth,
most deadly spirit has arisen.
It calls it self Orranis and has so far
destroyed three of the villages on the
Ratterlin. Please come with all due
haste to the mountain Chamber of The
Stars. There the council of the eight
will be held for the fist time in an age
to discuss what we must to in order to
abolish this threat.
We look for your arrival in four days
-Lord Beleager
Post. Script. Do not travel by magic,
the destroyer then might discover that
other spirits reside in this world.
Make Haste"
So great was my anger that another might destroy all the work that we had done, the letter burst into flames and drifted to the ground as light gray ash. The singing little song birds that had been so pleasurable to my ear a few moments before became suddenly intolerable. When I shouted "Silence!" all creatures fell to the earth in a deep and dreamless sleep.
Charter marks spun in quick succession from my mind, to my hands, to the air in front of me. In a few short moments a beast, of which the likes of this earth had never seen before, stood on the ground before me. Graced with the gifts of speed, agility, and grace, the horse came into existence at my hand. -----
As I continued my ride towards the mountains, my anger grew fueled by the steady pounding of Nulea's hooves on the snow-covered ground. When I reached the foot of the mountains I guided Nulea to a tree guarded grove and continued on foot down the long winding stone covered path to the chamber of the stars. Holding my breath I quickly and quietly crept down the long passage to the chamber. Right as I was pushing open the stone cold, wet, and moss covered door a strong arm grabbed me and pulled me back in to the shadows. My Last recollection was of a dark free magic pulling me into its shadow and metallic prison before I fainted.
Please read and review =) .
Please Note: The --- signifies Ranna's memory of events
that happened before the story began.
Chapter One: Threat in the North
A bitter, cold, and biting wind whipped through my unruly mass of blonde curls, and chilled me to the bone as I raced my horse Nulea across the southern plain. Blinded by the oncoming blizzard I pulled my hood closer to my face. I often wondered if I was heading around in circles, or going north as I was supposed to be. As I rode on hating my fortune, I thought back on the mysterious events that occurred before my wild ride across the plains.
----Sitting on the wooden bridge I laughed as I repeatedly dipped my feet in the shining and sparkling water. With the sun warming my back and the wind cooling my face; it seemed that life was perfect. Shaking my mane of hair I leaned back on the worn wooden planks of the bridge and tried to soak up all the heat from the sun. As I was almost asleep, a large cracking noise split the air and shook the earth. Suddenly there was a large flash of pure white light, that was so white it shone more brightly than the sun. When the light was gone a small pale man stood before me with smoke drifting off his semi-transparent body into the afternoon sky. As he moved towards me his body seemed to twist and reshape itself into many different people. Quickly I recognized the work of Beleagar, my friend and one time companion.
Ever so slowly, the sending walked over the bridge towards me. As it moved I noticed that in its shimmering left hand it tightly clutched a letter. It stood at my feet for a moment looking up at my face, and then reformed itself into a bow. It momentarily resumed its standing position and with its many faces looking in to my face, it spoke.
"A correspondence from the Lord Beleager to the Lady Ranna via. Messenger sending."
After seeing that I would not take the letter, the sending shoved it into my pale left hand and backed away towards the direction from whence it had come. When it reached its destination, the sending vanished with another bright flash of light leaving a cloud of white smoke behind it.
With shaking fingers I broke the wax seal and slid the thick parchment out of its sheath.
"To the most revered Lady Ranna;
In the far north there has been a great
disturbance in the charter. A ninth,
most deadly spirit has arisen.
It calls it self Orranis and has so far
destroyed three of the villages on the
Ratterlin. Please come with all due
haste to the mountain Chamber of The
Stars. There the council of the eight
will be held for the fist time in an age
to discuss what we must to in order to
abolish this threat.
We look for your arrival in four days
-Lord Beleager
Post. Script. Do not travel by magic,
the destroyer then might discover that
other spirits reside in this world.
Make Haste"
So great was my anger that another might destroy all the work that we had done, the letter burst into flames and drifted to the ground as light gray ash. The singing little song birds that had been so pleasurable to my ear a few moments before became suddenly intolerable. When I shouted "Silence!" all creatures fell to the earth in a deep and dreamless sleep.
Charter marks spun in quick succession from my mind, to my hands, to the air in front of me. In a few short moments a beast, of which the likes of this earth had never seen before, stood on the ground before me. Graced with the gifts of speed, agility, and grace, the horse came into existence at my hand. -----
As I continued my ride towards the mountains, my anger grew fueled by the steady pounding of Nulea's hooves on the snow-covered ground. When I reached the foot of the mountains I guided Nulea to a tree guarded grove and continued on foot down the long winding stone covered path to the chamber of the stars. Holding my breath I quickly and quietly crept down the long passage to the chamber. Right as I was pushing open the stone cold, wet, and moss covered door a strong arm grabbed me and pulled me back in to the shadows. My Last recollection was of a dark free magic pulling me into its shadow and metallic prison before I fainted.
Please read and review =) .