Aether Winds
Chapter twenty-eight- On The March
By- IceWind
A/N:
This is my first fanfic for The Protector of the Small books by Tamora Pierce. The names, places, things, ect, all are credited to her. The word Aether goes to Juliet E. McKenna, but the way I use it and the gem idea is all mine. This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. I.E: Joren is NOT dead, Cleon and Kel are not together (hehe), and other incidents that have I messed up on and don't feel like making it exactly like the book. Please REVIEW *grins* and as long as its not flames on how Kel and Cleon should be together or something of that trivial nature, flames are fine. This story is PG-13 for anything that might come up lol.
IceWind: *sighs* Finally ^^;
DragonShimmer: o.o; I can pretty much say it won't take me an entire year to finish this… hopefully *coughs and hides*
The Blind Assassin: I am SO not giving up (even if I may take forever to get chapters out…) on Aether… I've been working on it so long that seems inconceivable o.o
Garnet-Scorpion: So you like the length? That's good ^^; lmao, interesting suggestion… though I'll probably not use it since I have an idea of what to do. *sneaky grin*
Princess Sanidaylene: *giggles* 'fraid that Aether is coming to an end… but not after like five more chapters or so. ^^; This chapter is a bit longer than the last… that should make people happy.
Larzdinn: *coughs* Cliffhanger here too… *shrieks and runs off*
tbiris: ^^; Yeah, there should have been, shouldn't there?
Xelena: Nope, Kel can't heal herself… I don't think I gave her that ability ^^; Besides, her magic has been blocked off, remember? Yeah, Takeshi is a baaad man… I just don't understand why I like him x.x *hides*
Cami of Queenscove: *blinks…blinks* … bondage eh? *evil grin* … *wacks self* ^^;
Willow: A couple hundred chapters???? O.O lmao, that's a bit hard…
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Kel sighed softly; bracing herself against the wall of a cavern… though perhaps 'cavern' really wasn't an apt description for the place considering it was unlike any other caverns she had ever been too. Those caverns were dank, dark, smelly, had lots of bat (and other creatures) droppings all over the place… quite unlike this one where it was almost airy… Certainly there was light coming from who knows where, and there wasn't a disgusting smell… unless you include the smell of blood (which mostly came from her).
Daine, still a cat, looked up at her, silently urging her to keep on going.
Kind of hard… especially after one's tortured and beaten. Kel gave a soft, mental snort inside her head as she stubbornly pushed back against the rock and remained upright, a cool, emotionless mask sliding itself into place as she continued to move, hiding any twinges of pain she may have felt. Weaker than I thought I was, that's strange, she mused to herself. Hazel brown eyes fixed down at the tabby as she moved and began to follow the cat, refusing to even limp.
Her gaze flickered down towards her massacred wrists, a faint grimace appearing for a moment on her face before vanishing as if it was never there. Her little stunt would probably leave her with several more scars… just great. Whatever, when she signed up to be a knight she expected more than just bruises anyway, received much more than that.
"How much longer?" Kel's slightly terse voice was directed towards Daine, the girl walking in a slow, careful pace.
The brown tabby glanced up at the girl again, the muzzle forming to shape a mouth, "Not much longer, but… do you think you can move a bit faster? I'm afraid that the replacement guards have already found out that you've escaped." Sympathetic grayish eyes looked into Kel's hazel, the human mouth once more shaping in a cat's muzzle.
"Hn, yes."
With those words directed at her, Daine speeded up slightly in her padding, tail curling and straightening behind her, always checking towards Kel to see if the other girl was fine. Just a few more minutes and they'll arrive at where Arctic was… just a few more minutes.
What she didn't expect was the single carzo standing in their way, guarding the place where Arctic was supposed to be.
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"Well?" Joren snapped irritably at the man, his eyes fixed past the hills and trees, towards the fort where they were supposed to be. He glanced down and over at the man, glaring fiercely, "What's the status of the troops?" He sat astride on Demon Wind, the ebony horse dancing under his touch, snorting softly under the boy's soft touch.
"The first wave of assault came through on Fort Wyrln, ten thousand of the enemy. Many minor damages besieged the fort but Lord Raoul seems to be holding it up. A total of several thousand people are housed in the fort currently, supplies have been getting through, but the enemy has shown signs of planning to cut it off." The young man spoke clearly, rapidly, slightly nervous under the scrutinizing stare that Joren was placing him under.
Ice blue eyes held the other man's gaze for a moment, before he dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand. Joren glanced down towards Raen who was standing next to Demon, calmly asking, "What do you think, cat?"
Raen gave a faint growl, not directed at Joren or anyone in particular. The hizar padded impatiently by Joren's side before dark blue eyes met Joren's face. The hizar looked away then, towards the fort, gaze assessing. I don't like it. This isn't near to the full force of what Takeshi and the Great Evil can do. Not even close… They seem to be toying with us, and yet we are struggling. This is not good at all… Tell me, human, who is in that fort?
Joren ignored the 'human' remark, thoughtfully looking down at the pensive hizar, finally speaking, "Numair, Raoul, many knights… some of the hizar troops, Lady Arylanth and several of her elfin troops. Not everyone, yet a sizable group… The fort doesn't really seem to be struggling though, what makes you think that it is?" He frowned deeply, slightly perturbed that the cat could see something that he couldn't.
Why else did it take so long for the troops to ward off the first attack? The second wave is coming soon… I do not like this at all Raen shook his slender cranium nervously, the faint rattle of his silver chain sounding quietly.
A thoughtful voice answered the hizar's question, "Perhaps they are planning something… the first wave was a total of ten thousand of the enemy… and the enemy aren't exactly human. Cat, scout ahead, see if there are any spies hiding."
Raen glowered at the boy, holding his head up in a prideful manner as he slowly moved out. He was doing this because he was bored; not that he was going to follow some human boy's orders. The only human (well half-human) he was going to follow was his Mistress… A sharp pang went through Raen at the thought. Before he had been bonded to the girl because he believed it was best, a sort of punishment really to tell the truth…
A punishment because he hadn't been able to save his family, save his pack. But then… it had turned, and he became fond and attached to the damn girl… A mental sigh flashed though his head as he threaded his way throughout the forest, ears constantly moving, nose discerning even the scantiest of smells. His ebony body blended with the shadows of the forest, his paws making no sound at all as they traversed over the ground.
His dark blue eyes peered through a couple of bushes, his ears suddenly catching the softest of sounds… Suddenly Raen froze, sniffed the air lightly, his paws treading the ground ever so carefully as he moved towards the source, something that jarred within him as not being native to the forest they were in. His sleek body moved through the brush while hardly stirring a leaf and he crouched as he watched and saw a jerogil lumber out…
What is that doing here? The hizar's eyes widened slightly, it seemed as if the Great Evil had more jerogil's under his sway. Bastard… Silently wondering if some jerogils had attacked the fort in the first wave, Raen seemingly melted back into the brush and shadows, intent on finding the boy once more. He wasn't going up against that thing, it was bloody hard to kill them… And if he used his powers then others would be alerted.
When he was sure that he was outside of the jerogil's range of awareness, his strides quickened as he used to nose to get where the boy was, smelling out the subtle scents that made Joren… Joren. He peeked through the brush and gave a sudden snarl as blades suddenly appeared before him.
"Stand down men," a vaguely amused, yet slightly weary at the same time, voice rang out and Joren strode forward towards Raen, his mouth set in a cynical expression, apparently he and the men had started to camp for the night, "You're back early, cat. Does that mean you found something? You're slipping as well, getting spotted and heard so quickly by the men."
Arrogant whelp… Raen muttered softly in his mind, tail lashing behind him in agitation, I was being noisy on purpose… Anyway, boy, I spotted the enemies scout, a jerogil He gave some of the men surrounding him an impudent glare, smirking inwardly when a couple took a step back.
One of the men, by the name of Ryan, spoke up, "What is that? A jerogil?" His green eyes looked down at the hizar and while he flinched slightly when the black creature looked at him, he didn't step back like the others did.
"Jerogil…" Joren drawled that out softly, eyes thoughtful as he muttered to himself, "Ah yes, that… thing Kel and I faced?" He ignored some of the snickers that came from the men at the mention of Kel… he had been known to be a bad-ass and hating Kel and every since he came back, it was a source of mirth among some people.
Another one of the men called out mockingly, "So the ice-prince thinks of his lady-love again, how sweet." He began to recite bad poetry, ignorant of the fact that Raen looked ready to skewer him and that Joren was twitching slightly in rage.
A terse mind voice filled the minds of everyone; I will not tolerate any insults upon my Mistress. Desist now Raen was growling softly, ears pressed against his head, dimly aware that Demon looked ready to kick the other man as well.
The man just gave the hizar an impudent look, speaking with a smirk, "Ha, if I would take orders from some creature… You may have everyone else fooled, but nothing good would come of our alliance with things like you." The man sneered at the hizar, unaware that the others around him were silently backing away, if they agreed with him or not.
"Quiet Davis…" Ryan's soft voice rang out, eyeing the now snarling hizar and visibly agitated man nervously. His quick glance towards the other men showed their nervousness as well… apparently Davis had brought, and drunk, quite a bit of liquor before this and wasn't in a right state of mind. This was made more apparent by the man's ruddy cheeks and a certain foul odor coming from him.
Davis gave his friend a funny look, gesturing rudely towards the hizar, "What? Think I'm scared of some creature like that? Or that pansy, Stone?" In his inebriated state, it seemed as if he forgot that Joren was standing close to him.
Before Raen could lunge at the man, Joren stepped neatly in front of the hizar, cocked his fist back, and slammed it into the man's nose, breaking it cleanly. He gave his regular cocky smirk, but his eyes were cold, voice soft, "You are to stay away from me at all times. If I hear you speak of such things every again, I'll let Raen claw out your throat."
He gave a beautiful, icy smile then, his gaze turning towards Ryan.
"Sir?" Ryan snapped to attention immediately, not sparing a glance towards the bloodied and wailing man whom was being helped off… presumably to get his nose reset and bandaged. He gave a nervous glance towards the angered-looking hizar before keeping careful attention on his superior officer.
Joren gave him an emotionless look, "Jerogil are nothing to be laughed at. They are usually peaceful animals but the enemy," Joren refused to call the enemy the 'Great Evil' anymore, it was such a stupid name, "has corrupted them, some of them at least." His gaze darted towards Raen and he gave a slow nod towards the hizar, "Raen will inform you more about them… I will make plans for our departure, we will arrive at the fort at dawn." With those words he turned around and walked off towards his tent, eyes broody and thoughtful.
The man watched the back of his superior officer before shifting his attention towards the hizar, slightly skittish by the assessing look that came from it. Yes, he was from Tortall, the country where strange things happened all the time, yes he was a knight and knew most of the strange things. But it was still hard for any of them to adjust to what was happening. Some where also extremely bitter over this war, whispering amongst themselves that the newcomers from the other world brought it with them…
He himself did not know exactly what to think. He was supposed to remain loyal to the king, yet how could he when it seemed as if the king was dragging them into a foolish war that shouldn't have happened in the first place? Or at least shouldn't have been Tortall's concern.
Well human… do you wish to know or not?
Ryan refused to wince as the voice entered his head. That was another thing that was bothering many… how creatures like Raen seemed to walk around as if they owned the land underneath their paws. And the many strange creatures… the Immortal wars hadn't been too long ago, and some had thought they had gotten all of the immortals known on the world classified. Yet here comes new creatures… dangerous creatures.
At the impatient look the hizar was giving him, Ryan mentally shook his head at his thoughts, answering as respectfully -for he had seen the hizar disembowel a creature on the way here- towards Raen, "Yes."
Raen gave the human a calm look, faint curiosity in the dark blue depths before he gave a short nod and started to trot off, Follow me, then…I do not wish to start talking out in the open, I feel distinctly uncomfortable
Wondering where the hizar was leading him, Ryan followed anyway, ignoring the curious looks of the others that may be watching. Both human and hizar finally stopped at a small tent in which Raen went inside, placing his haunches upon the ground once he was there. Raen, seeing the human stop just outside, snorted mentally to himself, Damn humans, do you need an invitation? His mind-voice was sweetly sarcastic.
Ryan seemingly twitched before lifting the flap and going inside, eyeing the sparseness of the tent with a vaguely surprised eye, "Who's tent…?"
Mind you daft human Raen gave an impression of a smirk, tail curling up around him absentmindedly, Now, I shall tell you more about the creatures you are fighting against, and you will inform the men His mind-voice was practical, thoughtful even.
"Me?" Ryan looked almost visibly shocked, "But why not you?" He decided to ignore the fact that he was talking to some sort of strange creature that could probably disembowel him with a few movements. As Raen fixed on him once more an icy, assessing stare, he spoke again, "Not… that I wouldn't want to. I'm just curious really…"
The hizar gave an audible snort, making Ryan start slightly, amusement now flickering in his eyes, Stupid human, do you think that they will listen to me?
"Well I… never really thought about it…" Ryan gave the hizar a curious stare, able to forget that he was supposedly talking to an animal, "Why wouldn't they?"
Raen flicked his tail once, claws absentmindedly digging deeply into the ground, making small gouges into it. His mind-voice was quietly irate as he spoke; They view me as an animal, a dumb one at that. And those that don't view me with suspicion, they don't like me at all He watched Ryan's eyes widen at his frank statements, and Raen went on grimly, Not that I care for what they think, but in times of war, mistrust can be deadly
"So you want me…?"
Yes, I want you to inform them what I tell you know. Others have told me that you have a quick mind, a good ability to memorize things, so I shall tell you. They will trust you…
"Me? Why would they trust me?"
Because you are human, and no one is truly your enemy. Unlike Joren, who has many, especially since he is now bonded with my Mistress. Your humans for some reason do not like a female knight… they are lucky I do not kill them A predatory gleam entered Raen's eyes at the thought, a faint flash of ivory teeth appearing for a brief moment.
"You would actually kill them?" Ryan's surprised voice rang out, and Raen felt momentary relief over the fact that he had cast a silence charm around this tent before.
Of course. But my Mistress wouldn't want me too, so I do not
The human edged forward a bit, brown eyes curious, "Why? Why is Lady Keladry so important to you? Why is she your Mistress?"
Faint edges of surprised showed in the mind-voice as Raen answered, You… do not know? I thought that everyone did by now
"Lots of rumors have been floating around, the ones who truly know have been keeping quiet about it for some reason." Ryan smiled sheepishly at Raen, voice honest, "You should hear all of the rumors, many of them are rather unbelievable… or truly would be if there wasn't the fact that you are here, elves are here, and we have a war on our hands."
You are rather intelligent for a human
Surprised appeared in Ryan's eyes, "Why… thank you, I suppose."
Granted, humans are really stupid… unless it's my Mistress or the boy. So I don't know how important intelligence would be for you anyway
Ryan stood still for a moment, before it dawned upon him that Raen had made a joke, an actually joke. Certainly it was a dry, sarcastic one, but it was a joke nevertheless, and he couldn't help but give a soft chuckle in response.
Raen gave a pleased flick of his tail, Another reason why I chose you, you are rather easy-going by nature His pleased look faded, and suddenly he looked weary, Tell me, do they really speak ill of my Mistress? At Ryan's uncertain glance, the hizar added in, I give you my word that I do not try maim or kill any of the humans
The man continued to give the hizar an uncertain look before he suddenly gave a slow smile, "To tell the truth, I wouldn't mind you getting rid of some of them, Davis included. But since you gave your word…"
And thus human and hizar started to talk.
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"What to do…" Kel muttered softly so that only Daine could hear her words, her hands shifting towards where she kept the Silver Falcon. She was weak, yes, but not entirely defenseless, not by a long shot. But it was one thing fighting a human, and another thing altogether fighting a carzo. Again she saw the disconcerting image of a cat having a human mouth, but strove to ignore that little fact.
"We will have to kill it. I don't think that you can get out of here quick enough without Arctic."
Kel shot Daine a mildly irritated glare, "I am very well aware of that, not that I would leave Arctic behind anyway." She took out her silver dagger, clutching it tightly in her hand as she eyed the serrated teeth, the sharp tail, and the claws… This was going to be much harder than she originally thought. Just because her guards were merely human had made her think that perhaps Arctic's would be as well. It seemed as she had underestimated Tonshi.
He knew that she could hardly do anything without outside help, but Arctic was a different matter with her sharp hooves and strong teeth. One may not think that a horse would be dangerous, but those people were probably those that have never actually ridden one before.
Silently she inched forward, before asking pensively; "Can't you turn into a dragon or something equally dangerous? This isn't going to be easy…"
Daine seemed to sigh, "I can't turn into an immortal or else I would be stuck in that form… but perhaps this would suffice?" Her tabby cat body suddenly lengthened, growing taller, wild orange fur with black stripes running down her. A full-grown tiger formed, tail lashing silently behind her as Kel looked on with admiring eyes.
"What's that?" Kel's voice was breathy, amazed really, she never saw a cat like that one before…
"It's called a tiger… so, shall we go and try to defeat this creature?" The tiger silently padded forward, Kel following behind the feline, while trying to hide any weakness from Daine's sharp eyes. She was just lucky that the other girl was more preoccupied with their current task than looking at her.
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IceWind: Finally eh? *grins innocently*
Raen: *twitches and growls*
IceWind: *squeaks* Anyway… I got a livejournal! *sweatdrop* Yeah, if you want to see it, go to the username of flyby311, someone else took IceWind ;.; That bastard! *sweatdrop* And I'm sorry for leaving you all on a major cliffhanger again… *smiles sweetly* But you should be used to it by now.
Kaori: *squeaks in rage at IceWind and barrels into her… they start to fight*
Raen: O.O *snerks* This has been more of a filler chapter than anything else… but important things went on too ^.~ Anyway, bye!
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Facts:
Seibutsu Bond: A bond between a creature and a humanoid. It is less powerful then a life-bond yet it is strong none the less. The bonded can thought-speak to one another and they also feel the others emotions. If one of the bonded dies, the other feels a deep and wrenching pain in themselves, but they don't die also.
Seibutsu Items: These are the items that Raen and Kel got when the bonding was over. Kel had gotten a dagger and Raen a chain. If one of them breaks it symbolizes that one of the bonded has died.
Hizar: A highly intelligent species who are organized like wolf packs with a dominant male and female. All
hizar are black and look like large cats, panther sized. They are lithe and graceful, all of them agile and fast. Each one has their own type of magic and that type, and power, is shown by the color of the gems on their forehead. When using their power the hizar's eyes turn that color. The types of gems are fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, ice, lightening, psy, and a silver unknown color. The alpha males must have the silver kinds of gems to lead; the alpha females can have any kind and are chosen by the males.
Jerogil: A type of creature in the world of Medea. They are usually peaceful animals and tend to stay away from others except their own kind. Their color range from black to a muddy gray and they have large eyes for seeing at night. Their tails are curved like a monkey's and can pick things up in that fashion. All over their body they have hard plates for armor, something not easily dented or broken through. Running along their backs is a series of sharp spikes.
Elves: They are tall human like creatures with pointed ears. They all live extremely long lives and each one has magic gems, such as the ones the hizars have, only their powers are stronger. They are a peace-loving race, but they will fight if they have to. They have one king and one queen, both who watch over their lands justly.
Soul Mates: Soul mates are extremely rare in any type of creature. Two people share one soul, literally. They can feel their beloved's emotions and in some occasions, talk to each other mind-to-mind. If one dies, the other dies also because half of their soul just died. You do not know you have a soul bond until you and another acknowledge your feelings for one another, you may go through your entire life without knowing that you have a soul bond. As soon as you acknowledge it, your souls connect and you cannot stay away from the other in a great distance for very long or else you get weak and might even die after an extended period.
Kalyrath Horses: These are extremely intelligent living beings with high stamina and running speed. These horses all have blue eyes, in varying shades, but it is all blue to symbol their purity. They chose their rider, and only one person is allowed to ride the kalyrath horse that is bonded to you unless you are soul mated to a person. Occasionally, there pops up a human/humanoid that can talk to their kalyrath horse, and the horse can talk to any of its kind up to a certain distance. Kalyrath horses are in-tune with their rider and it's rare for any none elf to bond with one since they usually only dwell in Elfin land. They are adept at fighting with their chosen and can be extremely protective depending upon their nature. It is said that they were a gift from the great mother goddess of the elves and they cannot be subvert by any dark magic for that reason.
Aether: The last element, the other nine elements are- fire, water, air, earth, psy, lightening, ice, dark and light. This element is the strongest by far and rare for hizars, extremely rare for elves. It controls all of the elements and its color is always silver for hizars and either a silver or white for elves. White is the most powerful, but none knows why. Aether is not an element known too much about, especially for the elves, all they could discern is that it has something to do with stars… The last elf to have this kind of gem died in a great battle, saving the world of Medea from certain doom.
Carzo: Vicious, mainly amphibious creatures that lived in the world of Medea before being brought to Tortall by the Great Evil -or Tonshi-. They are of a mottled green and blue color, with six yellow eyes. They stand at around a tigers' height at the shoulder with two tentacles on the side of their small and slightly blunt head. Carzo have long webbed feet -strangely able to run quickly still on land- and gill slits on the side of their body. It has a long, thin tail, sharp, which could cut through a multitude of things, the least of which is flesh. They have long, jagged, serrated teeth, made for tearing and ripping. They usually live in pods of about five, and they move so quickly together that it is hard to site one and focus upon it because it then drops back and blends back into the pod.
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My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Aether Winds, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please? Thanks for listening to me ramble for that you get some snickers. *hands person some snickers*