The Gods Pugna – The First Notices
By Imperfectionist ;D
Disclaimer: You should know by now I don't own anything. And maybe if I wish hard enough I can create a nice sexy bad boy character of my own. Yummy…
*~*~*
All was still like a lake amongst the streets of Tusaine. The daytime busy markets were silent and filled with shadows. A girl, taller than average height, dressed in dark Tortallan men's clothing broke this silence. She crept through the streets turning to every corner and continued walking forward. The moon lit the cobbled stone streets in front of her. She was looking for something or someone but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it is. One of her many types of equipment told her danger was near. A sharp brilliant dagger with a gem on the hilt; the gem was so rare it's unknown to the human race. It foretold the safety and security of one; it vibrates if anything is unsafe or dangerous and was an ordinary dagger when things were peaceful and safe for one. This particular dagger Kel called it Feng, the word for Wind in Yamani and Feng was vibrating against Kel's side ferociously.
A hard stone hit Kel's head which made Kel subside onto the floor awkwardly. The attacker reached out a hand where Kel's purse lay, but Kel was reactive to this. In an instant she twisted his wrist and smashed the base of her palm in and up his nose. He backed off and another man ran towards her with his tightly screwed fist thrown back ready to hit Kel.
Suddenly the man threw his head back and collapsed to the ground. Both men were on the floor and Kel caught sight of the metal knife which struck the centre of the shoulder blades. The other man who she broken the nose, was dead too by knives.
"People have no courtesy for a lady." Felix stepped from round the corner with a smile on her face. She casually pulled her knives out of the dead bodies and kicked the bodies to the side of the street. Kel gave a questioning look.
"These people are used to dead bodies lying on the side of the streets, as long as it doesn't rot and not in the middle of the road. No one will complain."
Kel was shocked, a girl so sweet and would do such thing as killing two men mercilessly and then push them to a side. Appearances can be very deceiving. But why would Felix be outdoors at a dangerous time like this. Then why am I here? She asked herself, it must have been an instinct thing.
"Why are you here Kel? As you have experienced it's an unsafe time."
"I don't know. I just followed my instinct and I went looking for something I must know or have."
She turned her gaze to one of her attacker's dead body and she caught sight of a brooch pinned on the tunic. Curiously she tore it off the tunic and gazed at it. It was an elaborate brooch made with great skill, also a mark of nobility. Kel gazed at it in detail; its mark was unknown to Kel's knowledge of coat-of-arms.
"Felix," she turned to face her companion but found her companion's soft hand over her mouth. Silently Felix adjusted her grip on her daggers as she slowly released Kel. Kel sensed the trouble and followed her friend's suit by pulling out her sword and checked her shukusen fan, dagger and other small weapons were securely in her belt, sleeves and her boots. Though no one knew but Kel wore a chain mail under her tunic most of the time since the attack in the forest and now she's glad she has worn it.
An arrow whistled past Kel's head, it was so close that it nicked a bit of her hair. Three men in black jumped out from the windows of the two buildings on both of their sides, carrying daggers and one of them possessed a sword. Felix's throwing star hit one in the eye and she threw another which dug into the other attacker's chest. Kel finished them off with two quick cuts at the throat.
But six more men appeared and surrounded them on the front and both sides, causing the two girls to back up against a wall side by side. Felix lost two of her daggers in slaughtering one man and three throwing stars on another. But she killed three of them.
Kel brought down one man with her sword and the man who had possessed the sword was upon her. The man lunged suddenly which was blocked awkwardly by Kel. Kel But he withdrew and lunged again, Kel dodged it a bit which separated her from Felix; however the sword gave her a long gash across her left biceps. The man took no time to wait but lunged again aiming for Kel's chest and met a much more prepared forceful block. The pair body-locked, the man pushed against Kel in order to get her to break underneath him, though she didn't. Silently Kel thanked her arm strengthening exercises she did every morning before dawn. With all her might, Kel pushed the man off her and before he could recover from the shock she lunged and dug her sword halfway into his chest.
She yanked her gleaming weapon out dripping with blood and finished off the remaining man wounded by Felix's fast blows with a slice down. The man fell slowly attempting to stab either of the girls but collapsed onto the floor. Kel let her guard down to relax the tension in her.
A sharp hot piercing pain shot through her right leg, she looked at her right thigh to find an arrow sticking out of her muscles. Blood was pouring out of the wound already. She looked up and right to the top of the buildings where the moon shone down on them and outlined an archer. The archer placed another arrow into its bow and strung it.
Kel looked around for Felix's support but to find her gone. She was alone and about to face something terrible, called death. The archer suddenly jerked and let the arrow loose which flew into another direction. The collapsed archer started to tumble down the building and landed in a thud onto the ground in an audible way.
Kel leant back against the wall, feeling the blood draining out of her. How could she be so stupid and let the arrow hit her. A familiar face looked over Kel.
"Where were you?" she asked with exhaustion. The wound was deep and she felt a piece of cloth wrapping over it.
"You should be kinder to your saviours. For I was the one who saved you from the second arrow which would of taken you to the Black God." Felix picked Kel up with one of her arms over her own shoulders. They hobbled their way back to the inn. When they got inside the inn's common room, they found Joren arranging his weapons and his outdoor clothing.
"Mithros! Where have you been?" He noticed Kel's ashen face and the arrow sprouting from the thigh. He swore and he summoned a fatigued maid for clean towels and boiling water as he carried Kel to his and Felix's room. He laid Kel into the bed and washed his hands before setting to work with removing the arrow out of Kel's thigh muscles.
The pain engulfed Kel so much that she landed into pitch blackness. She was glad to know that her knight master actually cared for her safety. The last sight was Joren touching the arrow which caused her great pain before becoming unconscious.
Joren stripped the leg clothing off Kel and saw how far the arrow went into her leg. It was deep and she was losing a lot of blood from it. He was grateful that Kel fell unconscious. He saw Felix strip Kel off her tunic which revealed a chain mail. He took pride to know his squire was half decent enough to wear a chain mail in case of attacks. Then Felix worked Kel out of the chain mail and started unbuttoning her shirt. Joren looked away in embarrassment and started to remove the arrow. He cut away the feathers successfully and began to slowly pulled at the wooden part left of the arrow to get it out of her muscles.
A beautiful hand with an unearthly glow placed it self on Kel's skin next to Joren's struggling ones. Joren looked up to give a nod of gratitude towards his goddess. A glow flown through Shineal's hand into Kel, the arrow gradually glided out of Kel's thigh like ice on water. The arrow was finally out and Shineal removed her connection between herself and the wounded Kel.
"I will let you carry on with the rest of the work. I trust both of you." With that word Shineal disappeared. Joren realised Shineal hasn't talked to them as much as she used to and wondered if it had anything to do with the terrorist threat to all realms. He pushed that question aside for a moment to deal with more important issues at hand. He bandaged the wound which stopped bleeding, with gratitude to Shineal. He gazed up to Felix to find her to bandage a wound on Kel's bicep.
He gazed at Kel's whole body and found it was full of feminine features and was toned from the hard training as a page. He turned away in embarrassment; he can't look at a squire like that. His squire in his case, it wasn't right, and he doesn't want to grow attached to her, even though she is his squire. Woman has always been a distraction to him and he would prefer if he thought of his female squire as manly as possible.
"I guess that the danger has passed." Felix gave an audible yawn (same here too *author yawns*) "I'm going to sleep in Kel's room." She cleaned her hands in the basin beside her.
"You still have some explaining to do." He said, he hated when things around him happened and he knew nothing of it apart form what he participated in. he wanted things straight, especially if his lover and his squire both disappeared from the inn and his squire has had a sever thigh injury.
He watched his lover as she ignored his comment. She went to the adjoining room and dressed into her night gown, he still gave her the uncomfortable stare. "I don't want to be the one to tell you." She said finally as she snuggled up in the bed.
He turned away to finish off for the night, it has been a tiresome night. He cleaned himself to remove the blood and covered Kel up with blankets to keep her warm. Blood loss makes a person much colder and he was relieved to know Shineal set a fiery fire in the hearth. He settled in on the couch in his room with his cloak to keep him warm and settled in for the night.
*~*~*
Inside the tallest tower of a fort south of Berat, stood a man in deep concentration. He was the Master of seduction in Maren, the most mysterious man known in the realm, a black robe mage, and he was known for doing the impossible to become possible. He muttered under his breath verse after verse of ancient spells retrieved from The Carthaki Empire. This part of his plans requires most of his magic which would probably drain him for 3 days. But time is quite nicely set with no need to rush.
Smoky grey flames flowed out of his palms which faced the ceiling. The flames grew much bigger and it evaporated into the air like steam. Moments later the earth and skies vibrated. Animals, birds, humans, immortals were disturbed by the great movement. People fell out of their beds, birds flew out of their nests in a panic and animals were alert. Once again the gate to the divine realms is open.
Meanwhile deep in the northern mountains, Shineal sat on the ice in deep meditation. She heard her mountain relatives roar with fury and her kin ice underneath her screamed aggressively. She has waited for this for two years, and now the time has come. When she feels her being shake with the feeling of war, no war would be as big as this. The consequences would be much bigger than any war occurred in the human era. The immortals war price was heavy but this would be bigger.
Shineal screamed out her anger buried deep inside her like a tiger roaring in its battle. Her voice was passed by her friendly mountains; all creatures which lived under her reign heard her call for battle. Wolves, snow tigers and other creatures crawled out of their cosy caves and headed south, towards the danger.
King Jonathon heard it too in Corus, a gate has been opened and he knew there would be another tough war. He sent every warrior in the realm to prepare for fighting, and anyone capable of magic to prepare for doing magic. Wagons after wagons of stock of food loaded and smiths became extra busy with making armour for the whole country. He was alerted by spies or messengers that other realms such as Yamani Islands, The Carthaki Empire, Tyra and Tusaine were preparing for another tough war. He let it known to everyone who wishes to know that war has begun against an unknown enemy.
*~*~*
That's the end of chapter 14!!! Finally… I'm so tired. I'm glad I have written this much. Thanks for the reviews and I would give my personal thanks to you lovely people later though I do apologize for the long wait. *prostrates in front of readers and reviewers*