Hey everyone! Can you believe I'm actually updating? And not months after my last update? I feel so proud of myself. :)
Thanks to AnotherChance, BURN THE R.U.M, and Lionel-Skyre for your support! Here's your update. Hope you like it.
Not much else to say...except that I agree with BURN THE R.U.M that snow is evil. I like it when it first snows and it's all sparkly and pretty, but after a couple of months of that it gets boring. Especially on all the streets because it's all brown and dirty and there's nothing I hate more than dirty snow. And, yes, I would like to see some higher temperatures. I want to work on my tan as soon as possible. And I should brush up on my volleyball in time for tryouts.
Anyway, I won't waste anymore of your time and get right on with the disclaimer and chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of saying this. I don't own anything except...well...I don't think I actually do own anything. Except Nen. Nen is mine. If you steal her you will die the worst death I can invent. Muahahahaha! Muahahahaha! Okay I'm done now. ;)
Chapter 9: Something Wicked...
"Who are you?"
The question hangs on the air unanswered, and I cannot seem to find my voice.
"Tell me who you are!" he says again and rises from his chair. A little fear creeps into his voice, and it is then that I realize that the person sitting in front of me isn't as old as I had thought.
At first I'd thought that his boyish face and build was something that had carried on as he aged, but he really is no more than a boy. About my age, in fact, if a little older.
"I--" My voice cracks, so I clear it and begin again. "I am Nen. Where is this?"
His hand reaches for the small dagger on his belt as I talk, but my question stops him. "What? What do you mean where is this? What are you doing here?"
"You know, that's a very good question. What am I doing here? I should be back at Winding Circle having a good time with my friends, but now I'm stuck here and I have no idea how I'm going to get back."
He doesn't seem to hear me. "Are you a spirit? Begone! I don't know you! Leave me!"
"Now why would you think that? Of course I'm not a..." I trail off as I look down at my hand. No wonder he thinks I am a spirit. I am completely transparent, like one. I rub my hands together. They are solid and feel as real as they had minutes before. I reach for the wall nearest me and attempt to touch it, but my hand passes right through it as if it weren't even there.
"Woah." I wonder if this is what Skylark wanted me to see.
I look back at Eevan and see that the expression on his face is slowly turning from fear to confusion and the muscles of his body beginning to relax. "You are in Summersea, in the palace of the Duke. Don't you know?"he says, answering my previous question.
I put a mask of benignness on my face so as not to frighten him again and say, "No. I am a Seer, like you. I was looking into the Past with my teacher and I came here. But I've never actually been in a vision before."
"You were looking into the Past? This is the Past?"
"Well, it is for me." My glance strays to the Seer's Light still shining on his work table, and he swiftly throws a black velvet cloth over it, then squints assessingly at me.
"It's okay," I say quietly. "I already know what it is."
Surprise registers on his face. "You know? But it's a top secret! No one knows!"
"Not where I come from. It's a relic. A mystery no one can unlock. And now it's gone. I'm part of an on-going investigation trying to find out who took it and why. All of Winding Circle's Seers are helping, but we can't find anything, until now, anyway."
Eevan blanches and collapses back onto his chair. "Gone?" he asks weakly. "You must get it back!" he tells me suddenly, a panicked expression coming into his eyes.
"Well, yes, that's what we're doing."
"No, you don't understand. Terrible things could happen if you don't get it back!"
I still wasn't convinced. "Such as..."
He sighs and says, "I guess I must show you. I don't know why I am. I don't even know you."
I frown and say quietly, "You can trust me. I know what it is to trust and to be betrayed. I won't put anyone else through that."
"That's a nice sentiment, but it's too late." He shakes himself and turns away, fiddling with a lock on one of the drawers in his desk. When it's opened, he withdraws a small wooden box, inlaid and spelled with many inscriptions in languages that are foreign to me. He touches the clasp and mutters something under his breath, and the the box clicks open. Light instantly pours from the box, streaming across the desk with a warm glow unlike the cool silk of the Seer's Light. Eevan lifts the lid, revealing a small, ordinary river stone, shining with a light of it's own that came from its heart. He cups the stone in his hand, and, at his touch, it changes into a small violet, still emanating that strange, golden light.
"This is the Heart of the World," he tells me carefully. "It can only be Seen with the Carrandet because the Carrandet is of the Heart."
"Wait--the Carrandet? What's that?"
Eevan looks at me in confusion and gestures towards the velvet-covered Seer's Light. "Is that not what you were talking about?"
"Oh, I see," I tell him. "The name must have changed over time. We call it the Seer's Light. And, yes, that's what I was talking about."
"Interesting. I wonder why...Nevermind. The Heart of the World is what created the World. It is everything, and yet it is nothing. As in all such things, it can be used for good as well as evil."
"Aaaah. I see now. Whoever took the Seer's Light--the Carrandet--must be looking for the Heart." I frown and add, "There are many who would wish for such power."
"Yes," Eevan agreed sadly. "That is why I am its keeper and why I am employed by the Duke."
"What--" I am cut off by a sharp knock at Eevan's door and I jump, losing my balance. I grab at the edge of his desk, and look in horror at my slowly solidifying hand.
"Oh no...I must be becoming part of this time. I have to go back!"
Eevan starts as if waking from a dream and shoves the Heart back into its spelled box, then hurriedly locks the drawer it belongs in. Then he flings the velvet off the Carrandet and shoves it under my ghostly nose, saying, "Hurry! They are looking for me! Go back into your own time."
I gaze at him for a minute, then whisper, "I will be back. I have to know more about this Carrandet."
Eevan looks back at me, then nods and says, "I understand. Come back soon, whenever soon is."
"I will," I promise, then begin the breathing, looking deep into the liquid light shining in the bowl in front of me. The world around me blurs, then slowly disappears, and Skylark's room comes hazily back into view.
Eevan watched as the mysterious girl with the silver eyes faded from view like a magical mist dissipating into the air. The knocking on his door became louder, more insistent, and he set the Carrandet back on his work table and placed the cloth over it. Then, he unlocked his door and flinched as Captain Yseldek's fist almost knocked him in the head instead of the door.
"What took you so long?!?" the red-faced and barrel-chested man asked.
"I was in the middle of a Seeing," Eevan said coldly. "I didn't hear you until it was finished."
Yseldek grunted and grabbed on to Eevan's shirtsleeve, pulling him out the door and saying, "The Duke wants to see you."
Eevan delicately extracted the finely woven cream cloth from the Captain's hand and smoothed the wrinkles. "No need to manhandle me. I am perfectly capable of walking to the Duke's audience chamber myself."
"Oh, you won't be going to the audience chamber. Something important's up. The Duke doesn't want to take any chances."
Eevan raised his brow briefly, then allowed Captain Yseldek to take him to the Duke's living quarters-- a place everyone but his most trusted servants rarely saw. That must count for something, he thought, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea. Something wasn't right.
The long walk down the stone corridors lined with brightly colored tapestries and antique suits of armor didn't help Eevan's imagination. Perhaps the Duke was displeased with his work and wanted to punish him. The Duke wasn't above torture. Or maybe in his old age, he had become paranoid and thought Eevan was conspiring against him. But whatever the cause for the unusual summons, Eevan's worrying did nothing to stall time, and in less time than he would have liked, they had arrived at the large, double doors of the Duke's personal quarters.
For once, even Captain Yseldek seemed nervous and and straightened his uniform with shaky hands, then reached for the brass knocker and tapped it against the oak wood. A muffled "Enter" came from within the chamber and Yseldek pushed open the heavy doors, holding Eevan out in front of him.
Duke Ralen, a tall, dark-haired man with large muscles and a mustache to match reclined on a red velvet chaise lounge, serving girls standing at his head with platters of fruit and sweetmeats and pitchers of the best wine in the kingdom. He gestured lazily at a nearby armchair and told the Captain to leave. Then he dismissed the serving girls and settled his dark gaze on Eevan.
"You are an exceptional mage," the Duke began. "and you have proven yourself many times. It is this that leads me to believe that you will be willing to accept my offer." Ralen rose, cat-like from his chaise and walked easily to an ornately carved writing desk on the far side of the room. He produced a key from somewhere in his voluminous robes and unlocked a drawer, from which he produced a roll of papers--important ones, it looked like.
"My proposition is this: you use your little river rock to create the creature detailed in these papers. I wish to create an army to quell the rebellions in the far corners of my kingdom. You will recieve a large payment in return." The Duke handed the papers to Eevan, who scanned their contents.
Eevan's only reaction was to blink and then swallow, hard. The Duke wouldn't trust anyone who would show his emotions to be steady enough for politics. Though his reaction was small, Eevan wanted to jump up and shout at the Duke, to scream at him for demanding this of him, to plead for mercy for the small bands of farmers that only wanted to speak and be heard. For the creature outlined on the papers was more than a creature, and it would require blood. Blood of the spell-caster and blood of another innocent--willing or not. It would require sacrifice and a stone heart, and the creature in turn would have ice in its veins, immune to pleading and hungry for Death.
Eevan licked his dry lips, unsure of how to answer. He didn't want to follow the Duke's orders, but Ralen was a powerful man, and would have his wishes carried out with or without Eevan's help.
"I am giving you a choice." The Duke's voice cut into Eevan's fevered thoughts. "I am letting you choose to do this willingly. But, if you refuse, I might be forced to remind you of your oath."
Eevan looked up into Ralen's hard, mirthless eyes, now sparkling with a sadistic glee. He reluctantly nodded his head and managed to grate out, "If it pleases Your Grace, I will see to it."
The Duke clapped him on the back, grinning maliciously and said, "That's my boy! You will be supplied with whatever you need for your workings. I will send my personal assistant to meet you needs. I am very anxious that my army be completed on time." His final statement was informative as well as threatening, and Eevan simply nodded his head again, knowing full well the implications laced throughout the Duke's speech.
Ralen clapped his hands twice and the serving girls reappeared, along with the Captain. Eevan was whisked away from the Duke's quarters and within moments was dumped back into his modest quarters, left alone with his books and devices to think about the horrible task the Duke had set him to.
I wish I hadn't been so stupid to trust him in the first place, he fumed at himself. I wish I hadn't been so naive. Now no one can get me out of this but myself. Unless... The girl. She held the secrets of the Future. She could help him!
"Come back soon," he whispered to the empty walls around him, to the prison he had trapped himself in.
Well, that was interesting. I must admit, I hadn't intended for this to happen. It just did. I love it when I don't really know how a story is going to turn out and it just ends up writing itself. It's a beautiful thing. *wipes tear*
Anyway, just so everybody knows, I've deleted my Author's Note. It interrupts my chapter numbering and it's annoying. Plus, FF.net doesn't like chapters that are just AN's, so every time I update it will be a chapter. So reassuring for you, isn't it?
Well, I've still got a little time to kill, so I'm going to go and tackle realMyst again. Great game, by the way. Everyone should get it. Very challenging, however. Not for the faint of...er...brain? So, please review and I'll probably update in two weeks. I only have time to update on the weekends, you see, and I'm working on two stories. Never do it. It was incredibly stupid of me.
That's all folks!
Your Crazy Authoress,
littlehorse :)
Thanks to AnotherChance, BURN THE R.U.M, and Lionel-Skyre for your support! Here's your update. Hope you like it.
Not much else to say...except that I agree with BURN THE R.U.M that snow is evil. I like it when it first snows and it's all sparkly and pretty, but after a couple of months of that it gets boring. Especially on all the streets because it's all brown and dirty and there's nothing I hate more than dirty snow. And, yes, I would like to see some higher temperatures. I want to work on my tan as soon as possible. And I should brush up on my volleyball in time for tryouts.
Anyway, I won't waste anymore of your time and get right on with the disclaimer and chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of saying this. I don't own anything except...well...I don't think I actually do own anything. Except Nen. Nen is mine. If you steal her you will die the worst death I can invent. Muahahahaha! Muahahahaha! Okay I'm done now. ;)
Chapter 9: Something Wicked...
"Who are you?"
The question hangs on the air unanswered, and I cannot seem to find my voice.
"Tell me who you are!" he says again and rises from his chair. A little fear creeps into his voice, and it is then that I realize that the person sitting in front of me isn't as old as I had thought.
At first I'd thought that his boyish face and build was something that had carried on as he aged, but he really is no more than a boy. About my age, in fact, if a little older.
"I--" My voice cracks, so I clear it and begin again. "I am Nen. Where is this?"
His hand reaches for the small dagger on his belt as I talk, but my question stops him. "What? What do you mean where is this? What are you doing here?"
"You know, that's a very good question. What am I doing here? I should be back at Winding Circle having a good time with my friends, but now I'm stuck here and I have no idea how I'm going to get back."
He doesn't seem to hear me. "Are you a spirit? Begone! I don't know you! Leave me!"
"Now why would you think that? Of course I'm not a..." I trail off as I look down at my hand. No wonder he thinks I am a spirit. I am completely transparent, like one. I rub my hands together. They are solid and feel as real as they had minutes before. I reach for the wall nearest me and attempt to touch it, but my hand passes right through it as if it weren't even there.
"Woah." I wonder if this is what Skylark wanted me to see.
I look back at Eevan and see that the expression on his face is slowly turning from fear to confusion and the muscles of his body beginning to relax. "You are in Summersea, in the palace of the Duke. Don't you know?"he says, answering my previous question.
I put a mask of benignness on my face so as not to frighten him again and say, "No. I am a Seer, like you. I was looking into the Past with my teacher and I came here. But I've never actually been in a vision before."
"You were looking into the Past? This is the Past?"
"Well, it is for me." My glance strays to the Seer's Light still shining on his work table, and he swiftly throws a black velvet cloth over it, then squints assessingly at me.
"It's okay," I say quietly. "I already know what it is."
Surprise registers on his face. "You know? But it's a top secret! No one knows!"
"Not where I come from. It's a relic. A mystery no one can unlock. And now it's gone. I'm part of an on-going investigation trying to find out who took it and why. All of Winding Circle's Seers are helping, but we can't find anything, until now, anyway."
Eevan blanches and collapses back onto his chair. "Gone?" he asks weakly. "You must get it back!" he tells me suddenly, a panicked expression coming into his eyes.
"Well, yes, that's what we're doing."
"No, you don't understand. Terrible things could happen if you don't get it back!"
I still wasn't convinced. "Such as..."
He sighs and says, "I guess I must show you. I don't know why I am. I don't even know you."
I frown and say quietly, "You can trust me. I know what it is to trust and to be betrayed. I won't put anyone else through that."
"That's a nice sentiment, but it's too late." He shakes himself and turns away, fiddling with a lock on one of the drawers in his desk. When it's opened, he withdraws a small wooden box, inlaid and spelled with many inscriptions in languages that are foreign to me. He touches the clasp and mutters something under his breath, and the the box clicks open. Light instantly pours from the box, streaming across the desk with a warm glow unlike the cool silk of the Seer's Light. Eevan lifts the lid, revealing a small, ordinary river stone, shining with a light of it's own that came from its heart. He cups the stone in his hand, and, at his touch, it changes into a small violet, still emanating that strange, golden light.
"This is the Heart of the World," he tells me carefully. "It can only be Seen with the Carrandet because the Carrandet is of the Heart."
"Wait--the Carrandet? What's that?"
Eevan looks at me in confusion and gestures towards the velvet-covered Seer's Light. "Is that not what you were talking about?"
"Oh, I see," I tell him. "The name must have changed over time. We call it the Seer's Light. And, yes, that's what I was talking about."
"Interesting. I wonder why...Nevermind. The Heart of the World is what created the World. It is everything, and yet it is nothing. As in all such things, it can be used for good as well as evil."
"Aaaah. I see now. Whoever took the Seer's Light--the Carrandet--must be looking for the Heart." I frown and add, "There are many who would wish for such power."
"Yes," Eevan agreed sadly. "That is why I am its keeper and why I am employed by the Duke."
"What--" I am cut off by a sharp knock at Eevan's door and I jump, losing my balance. I grab at the edge of his desk, and look in horror at my slowly solidifying hand.
"Oh no...I must be becoming part of this time. I have to go back!"
Eevan starts as if waking from a dream and shoves the Heart back into its spelled box, then hurriedly locks the drawer it belongs in. Then he flings the velvet off the Carrandet and shoves it under my ghostly nose, saying, "Hurry! They are looking for me! Go back into your own time."
I gaze at him for a minute, then whisper, "I will be back. I have to know more about this Carrandet."
Eevan looks back at me, then nods and says, "I understand. Come back soon, whenever soon is."
"I will," I promise, then begin the breathing, looking deep into the liquid light shining in the bowl in front of me. The world around me blurs, then slowly disappears, and Skylark's room comes hazily back into view.
Eevan watched as the mysterious girl with the silver eyes faded from view like a magical mist dissipating into the air. The knocking on his door became louder, more insistent, and he set the Carrandet back on his work table and placed the cloth over it. Then, he unlocked his door and flinched as Captain Yseldek's fist almost knocked him in the head instead of the door.
"What took you so long?!?" the red-faced and barrel-chested man asked.
"I was in the middle of a Seeing," Eevan said coldly. "I didn't hear you until it was finished."
Yseldek grunted and grabbed on to Eevan's shirtsleeve, pulling him out the door and saying, "The Duke wants to see you."
Eevan delicately extracted the finely woven cream cloth from the Captain's hand and smoothed the wrinkles. "No need to manhandle me. I am perfectly capable of walking to the Duke's audience chamber myself."
"Oh, you won't be going to the audience chamber. Something important's up. The Duke doesn't want to take any chances."
Eevan raised his brow briefly, then allowed Captain Yseldek to take him to the Duke's living quarters-- a place everyone but his most trusted servants rarely saw. That must count for something, he thought, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea. Something wasn't right.
The long walk down the stone corridors lined with brightly colored tapestries and antique suits of armor didn't help Eevan's imagination. Perhaps the Duke was displeased with his work and wanted to punish him. The Duke wasn't above torture. Or maybe in his old age, he had become paranoid and thought Eevan was conspiring against him. But whatever the cause for the unusual summons, Eevan's worrying did nothing to stall time, and in less time than he would have liked, they had arrived at the large, double doors of the Duke's personal quarters.
For once, even Captain Yseldek seemed nervous and and straightened his uniform with shaky hands, then reached for the brass knocker and tapped it against the oak wood. A muffled "Enter" came from within the chamber and Yseldek pushed open the heavy doors, holding Eevan out in front of him.
Duke Ralen, a tall, dark-haired man with large muscles and a mustache to match reclined on a red velvet chaise lounge, serving girls standing at his head with platters of fruit and sweetmeats and pitchers of the best wine in the kingdom. He gestured lazily at a nearby armchair and told the Captain to leave. Then he dismissed the serving girls and settled his dark gaze on Eevan.
"You are an exceptional mage," the Duke began. "and you have proven yourself many times. It is this that leads me to believe that you will be willing to accept my offer." Ralen rose, cat-like from his chaise and walked easily to an ornately carved writing desk on the far side of the room. He produced a key from somewhere in his voluminous robes and unlocked a drawer, from which he produced a roll of papers--important ones, it looked like.
"My proposition is this: you use your little river rock to create the creature detailed in these papers. I wish to create an army to quell the rebellions in the far corners of my kingdom. You will recieve a large payment in return." The Duke handed the papers to Eevan, who scanned their contents.
Eevan's only reaction was to blink and then swallow, hard. The Duke wouldn't trust anyone who would show his emotions to be steady enough for politics. Though his reaction was small, Eevan wanted to jump up and shout at the Duke, to scream at him for demanding this of him, to plead for mercy for the small bands of farmers that only wanted to speak and be heard. For the creature outlined on the papers was more than a creature, and it would require blood. Blood of the spell-caster and blood of another innocent--willing or not. It would require sacrifice and a stone heart, and the creature in turn would have ice in its veins, immune to pleading and hungry for Death.
Eevan licked his dry lips, unsure of how to answer. He didn't want to follow the Duke's orders, but Ralen was a powerful man, and would have his wishes carried out with or without Eevan's help.
"I am giving you a choice." The Duke's voice cut into Eevan's fevered thoughts. "I am letting you choose to do this willingly. But, if you refuse, I might be forced to remind you of your oath."
Eevan looked up into Ralen's hard, mirthless eyes, now sparkling with a sadistic glee. He reluctantly nodded his head and managed to grate out, "If it pleases Your Grace, I will see to it."
The Duke clapped him on the back, grinning maliciously and said, "That's my boy! You will be supplied with whatever you need for your workings. I will send my personal assistant to meet you needs. I am very anxious that my army be completed on time." His final statement was informative as well as threatening, and Eevan simply nodded his head again, knowing full well the implications laced throughout the Duke's speech.
Ralen clapped his hands twice and the serving girls reappeared, along with the Captain. Eevan was whisked away from the Duke's quarters and within moments was dumped back into his modest quarters, left alone with his books and devices to think about the horrible task the Duke had set him to.
I wish I hadn't been so stupid to trust him in the first place, he fumed at himself. I wish I hadn't been so naive. Now no one can get me out of this but myself. Unless... The girl. She held the secrets of the Future. She could help him!
"Come back soon," he whispered to the empty walls around him, to the prison he had trapped himself in.
Well, that was interesting. I must admit, I hadn't intended for this to happen. It just did. I love it when I don't really know how a story is going to turn out and it just ends up writing itself. It's a beautiful thing. *wipes tear*
Anyway, just so everybody knows, I've deleted my Author's Note. It interrupts my chapter numbering and it's annoying. Plus, FF.net doesn't like chapters that are just AN's, so every time I update it will be a chapter. So reassuring for you, isn't it?
Well, I've still got a little time to kill, so I'm going to go and tackle realMyst again. Great game, by the way. Everyone should get it. Very challenging, however. Not for the faint of...er...brain? So, please review and I'll probably update in two weeks. I only have time to update on the weekends, you see, and I'm working on two stories. Never do it. It was incredibly stupid of me.
That's all folks!
Your Crazy Authoress,
littlehorse :)
