Disclaimer: Alas, only the story is mine, all else belongs to the one (and
only) Garth Nix.Cheers!
Someone spoil something.who me?.never!.finish reading Abhorsen before you read this JUST IN CASE though.
*`*= a vision Ranna has of a different time, in this chapter it's the future
Chapter Two: Release and Realization
When I came out of the darkness, all I could feel was a cold and evil pressure in the back of my mind. My body was no longer mine to control. I instructed my body to move, and I instructed the chains that bound it to dissipate, but it was to no avail. In the back of my mind, I could also feel the cold pressure of death, and the dead. Glancing at the ground, I could see the remnants of many burial spells, and spells of banishment for horrible monsters. Whoever had taken me, lived in a crypt filled with the bodies of foul beasts. As I looked around the shadow filled room I was in, I noticed a dark hooded being sprawled on a dark red and musty lounge chair. As it lazily traced the faded flowering pattern across the bridge and arms of the chair, it seemed to realize it was being watched.
It raised its yellow and gold flecked eyes to mine, and after a moment of glaring into the steely depths of my own eyes, winked.
"You know," it began in a cold, dark voice, "I was beginning to think I was the only one here, but then I felt you, I've been waiting for you." It looked at me, critically, and laughed at my inability to speak, or even move in return. After a time, he waved his pale, long fingered spider like hand in my direction, and I again I was in control of myself.
"I knew you were coming, I could feel it." He began, "In the far south, someone, or something used magic. Made something living. I've been following your weak insignificant power for four days. You can't be allowed to roam the earth of this Kingdom. With your disgusting living creatures, you might ruin all my plans. Everything you make, I simply must destroy, and I have neither the time nor the desire to do either, now sing for me slave."
"Why do you destroy?" I growled at him, so he wouldn't detect my gift. "Because I am Orannis, the Destroyer, ad I must destroy.Now sing!"
After only a few moments of my singing, the destroyer was sound asleep, his dark head titled back, he breathed deeply. I continued my tilting melody as I cautiously slipped out of my black snaking bonds, and eased my way towards the faint blue light at the end of the room. Squeezing through the small, wet, spiky, and rocky crack in the ceiling, I decided to lock this 'Orannis' in stone, to hold him there as long as I could.
When this simple task was done, I ran ask fast as I could to the long winding downhill path. As I ran down towards the "Chamber of the Stars", I wondered if Orannis knew that there were others as well. If he could detect my magic, would he have been able to feel Beleager's sending when it came to me? Or did he think that the sending had been mine. As all these thoughts traversed my mind, I slipped, and skidded into the door to the chamber.
It was a high, arching door, made of a dark blue fabric. Eight tiny stars of gold and silver where embroidered into the shimmering fabric and it seemed to radiate an effulgent light. The true magic of this door was not in its amazing beauty, or extraordinary resilience to evil. The door would hide itself. To one who did not aid in its creation, the door was just another rock in the wide jumble of rocks. Lightly touching my right index finger to the star that represented me, I whispered my name. The blue cloth reached out to me, and wrapped me in its soft embrace. Moments later I stood before the other eight spirits.
"Your Late, Ranna."
A few moments after I had finished telling them my tale, silence, and open jaws greeted me.
"But does he know you left?" Kibeth prompted.
"No, he was asleep, and he still is."
"Good," said Beleager, " Ranna come with me."
His tone did not invite argument or dispute, so I followed him into an adjoining room, one that was filled with sunlight, and clouds. The chamber of the sun.
The chamber of the sun was the safest and most secure place that we had created. Everything that went on in that room, was undetectable to the outside world. Even Orannis in his stony, ice cold crypt couldn't feel us.
"Ranna, can you tell me exactly where his crypt is?"
"Of course, but why do you need to know, you can't go in after him, he'll kill you. His power is greater than anyone's I've ever felt."
"I'm not, I'm going to be sending you!"
"Me?" I asked incredulously.
"Well not the real you of course, do you remember the sending I used to send your letter?"
"Of course."
"Well, I'm going to make a sending of you, it will be exactly like you in looks, size, voice, everything. From in here, you will be able to control its actions, and spy on Orannis with out actually being in there with him." He said with an excitement that I hadn't seen in him since we made the trees. His blue eyes were wide, and his mouth curled up in a joyful smile.
"Brilliant! That's bloody perfect!" I exclaimed, my excitement almost matching his.
With out further ado, we found the silver wires we needed and began to twist it into a human form, very much like my own.
A few hours later, we sat back on our heels, and looked at the mess of wires in front of us. To me it looked like a jumble of silver wire and blue ties. I could vaguely make out a head, arms, and legs. Yet my old friend looked at it like it was priceless, beautiful beyond reckoning.
Moments later, we stood, arms stretched around the silver form, holding hand on either side of her body. Charter marks formed in our minds and left our bodies in torrents of shining gold light. They sped to the wires, and traveled up and down them in blinding streams of light, the magic seeping in to the core of the silver. The light eventually became to strong to look at, but the marks kept coming, flowing out of us as one.
After what seemed to be many hours of bone tiring magic, the flow of symbols dwindled, then halted. Opening my eyes, I found myself facing myself. She looked like me in every possible aspect. Her gray eyes, her blonde curls, her height paleness, everything, even her clothes. Fearing that Orannis would soon be released from my spell, I sent her into the cave, and controlled her actions from the safety of the Chamber of the Sun.
After many hours he awoke, and seemed to be lost and confused. Looking at what he thought to be me, he asked how long he had been asleep. Using my voice to the breaking point of magic, I told him he was resting with the dead. He slept on the bodies of dead beasts.
He must have realized my power, or maybe the sending couldn't convey my power, whatever the reason was, he stalked over and tried to throw her into the stone cold wall. Her body reformed like liquid around his hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not move her body. On closure inspection, he saw the marks flowing through her body like wild fire. He could sense the magic of Beleager and myself in her, and he was angry. He was beyond angry, he was livid. His yellow eyes closed into red burning slits. Looking up the to the dripping roof, his voice filled with free magic poison, he whispered "Tell me, Ranna, where are the others?"
"There are no others."
"You lie, I will find you, I found you once before."
"There are no others." I tried in my most persuasive voice.
"You can't lie to me, I will find you."
"There are no-"
"And I will destroy you, I am the destroyer-and all will be destroyed."
*`* Flames reached out of a sphere of Liquid fire, threatening to consume the seven people, and one dog around it. The world around them was burned, and ridden with ash. *`*
What was that? I wondered. Was it a distant future of a long forgotten past? I needed to find out. I thought of the pale girl with the dark features whose face I had plainly seen. With all my thought and will bent on her I saw again.
*`* All was lost now. There was nothing else to do or try. She had seen the Beginning, and seen Orannis bound. *`*
Orannis must be bound.But how? This is the beginning.and then eight of us must have the power to stop him.but how?
*`* A pale boy, possessed with some unknown evil stood before an equally evil man. In a high pitched voice he began to sing:
"The ninth was strong
And fought with might
But lone Orannis
Was put out of the light,
Broken in two
And buried under the hill,
Forever to lie there,
Wishing us ill."
*`*
A/N: and here we have it, after three months.I'm so sorry about the delay.and I promise next update will not be in three months.Cheers!
REVIEW!!!!!
Someone spoil something.who me?.never!.finish reading Abhorsen before you read this JUST IN CASE though.
*`*= a vision Ranna has of a different time, in this chapter it's the future
Chapter Two: Release and Realization
When I came out of the darkness, all I could feel was a cold and evil pressure in the back of my mind. My body was no longer mine to control. I instructed my body to move, and I instructed the chains that bound it to dissipate, but it was to no avail. In the back of my mind, I could also feel the cold pressure of death, and the dead. Glancing at the ground, I could see the remnants of many burial spells, and spells of banishment for horrible monsters. Whoever had taken me, lived in a crypt filled with the bodies of foul beasts. As I looked around the shadow filled room I was in, I noticed a dark hooded being sprawled on a dark red and musty lounge chair. As it lazily traced the faded flowering pattern across the bridge and arms of the chair, it seemed to realize it was being watched.
It raised its yellow and gold flecked eyes to mine, and after a moment of glaring into the steely depths of my own eyes, winked.
"You know," it began in a cold, dark voice, "I was beginning to think I was the only one here, but then I felt you, I've been waiting for you." It looked at me, critically, and laughed at my inability to speak, or even move in return. After a time, he waved his pale, long fingered spider like hand in my direction, and I again I was in control of myself.
"I knew you were coming, I could feel it." He began, "In the far south, someone, or something used magic. Made something living. I've been following your weak insignificant power for four days. You can't be allowed to roam the earth of this Kingdom. With your disgusting living creatures, you might ruin all my plans. Everything you make, I simply must destroy, and I have neither the time nor the desire to do either, now sing for me slave."
"Why do you destroy?" I growled at him, so he wouldn't detect my gift. "Because I am Orannis, the Destroyer, ad I must destroy.Now sing!"
After only a few moments of my singing, the destroyer was sound asleep, his dark head titled back, he breathed deeply. I continued my tilting melody as I cautiously slipped out of my black snaking bonds, and eased my way towards the faint blue light at the end of the room. Squeezing through the small, wet, spiky, and rocky crack in the ceiling, I decided to lock this 'Orannis' in stone, to hold him there as long as I could.
When this simple task was done, I ran ask fast as I could to the long winding downhill path. As I ran down towards the "Chamber of the Stars", I wondered if Orannis knew that there were others as well. If he could detect my magic, would he have been able to feel Beleager's sending when it came to me? Or did he think that the sending had been mine. As all these thoughts traversed my mind, I slipped, and skidded into the door to the chamber.
It was a high, arching door, made of a dark blue fabric. Eight tiny stars of gold and silver where embroidered into the shimmering fabric and it seemed to radiate an effulgent light. The true magic of this door was not in its amazing beauty, or extraordinary resilience to evil. The door would hide itself. To one who did not aid in its creation, the door was just another rock in the wide jumble of rocks. Lightly touching my right index finger to the star that represented me, I whispered my name. The blue cloth reached out to me, and wrapped me in its soft embrace. Moments later I stood before the other eight spirits.
"Your Late, Ranna."
A few moments after I had finished telling them my tale, silence, and open jaws greeted me.
"But does he know you left?" Kibeth prompted.
"No, he was asleep, and he still is."
"Good," said Beleager, " Ranna come with me."
His tone did not invite argument or dispute, so I followed him into an adjoining room, one that was filled with sunlight, and clouds. The chamber of the sun.
The chamber of the sun was the safest and most secure place that we had created. Everything that went on in that room, was undetectable to the outside world. Even Orannis in his stony, ice cold crypt couldn't feel us.
"Ranna, can you tell me exactly where his crypt is?"
"Of course, but why do you need to know, you can't go in after him, he'll kill you. His power is greater than anyone's I've ever felt."
"I'm not, I'm going to be sending you!"
"Me?" I asked incredulously.
"Well not the real you of course, do you remember the sending I used to send your letter?"
"Of course."
"Well, I'm going to make a sending of you, it will be exactly like you in looks, size, voice, everything. From in here, you will be able to control its actions, and spy on Orannis with out actually being in there with him." He said with an excitement that I hadn't seen in him since we made the trees. His blue eyes were wide, and his mouth curled up in a joyful smile.
"Brilliant! That's bloody perfect!" I exclaimed, my excitement almost matching his.
With out further ado, we found the silver wires we needed and began to twist it into a human form, very much like my own.
A few hours later, we sat back on our heels, and looked at the mess of wires in front of us. To me it looked like a jumble of silver wire and blue ties. I could vaguely make out a head, arms, and legs. Yet my old friend looked at it like it was priceless, beautiful beyond reckoning.
Moments later, we stood, arms stretched around the silver form, holding hand on either side of her body. Charter marks formed in our minds and left our bodies in torrents of shining gold light. They sped to the wires, and traveled up and down them in blinding streams of light, the magic seeping in to the core of the silver. The light eventually became to strong to look at, but the marks kept coming, flowing out of us as one.
After what seemed to be many hours of bone tiring magic, the flow of symbols dwindled, then halted. Opening my eyes, I found myself facing myself. She looked like me in every possible aspect. Her gray eyes, her blonde curls, her height paleness, everything, even her clothes. Fearing that Orannis would soon be released from my spell, I sent her into the cave, and controlled her actions from the safety of the Chamber of the Sun.
After many hours he awoke, and seemed to be lost and confused. Looking at what he thought to be me, he asked how long he had been asleep. Using my voice to the breaking point of magic, I told him he was resting with the dead. He slept on the bodies of dead beasts.
He must have realized my power, or maybe the sending couldn't convey my power, whatever the reason was, he stalked over and tried to throw her into the stone cold wall. Her body reformed like liquid around his hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not move her body. On closure inspection, he saw the marks flowing through her body like wild fire. He could sense the magic of Beleager and myself in her, and he was angry. He was beyond angry, he was livid. His yellow eyes closed into red burning slits. Looking up the to the dripping roof, his voice filled with free magic poison, he whispered "Tell me, Ranna, where are the others?"
"There are no others."
"You lie, I will find you, I found you once before."
"There are no others." I tried in my most persuasive voice.
"You can't lie to me, I will find you."
"There are no-"
"And I will destroy you, I am the destroyer-and all will be destroyed."
*`* Flames reached out of a sphere of Liquid fire, threatening to consume the seven people, and one dog around it. The world around them was burned, and ridden with ash. *`*
What was that? I wondered. Was it a distant future of a long forgotten past? I needed to find out. I thought of the pale girl with the dark features whose face I had plainly seen. With all my thought and will bent on her I saw again.
*`* All was lost now. There was nothing else to do or try. She had seen the Beginning, and seen Orannis bound. *`*
Orannis must be bound.But how? This is the beginning.and then eight of us must have the power to stop him.but how?
*`* A pale boy, possessed with some unknown evil stood before an equally evil man. In a high pitched voice he began to sing:
"The ninth was strong
And fought with might
But lone Orannis
Was put out of the light,
Broken in two
And buried under the hill,
Forever to lie there,
Wishing us ill."
*`*
A/N: and here we have it, after three months.I'm so sorry about the delay.and I promise next update will not be in three months.Cheers!
REVIEW!!!!!