-=hisses at plot=- /
Balm: Is plot being bad again?
YES.
Plot: -=bounces off in another direction I hadn't intended to go in=- =}
Hoo, boy.... -=chases after it=- NO!!! BAD!!! No touchie that!
Plot: Oooooooo, I LIKE this! -=incorperates something unexpected into the story=- =D
ARGH!!!!!!!! -.-
Sap: Oooooooooooooooooooooo, lotsa reviews!
The Mastah Classah: (x2, yes, I know that was you) Yes, yay you for being the first reviewer again! And as for the account being all weird, ouch, and, well... we all know that computers are stupid.
Link015: Thanks for the revive, and though I wasn't gonna kill them off just yet (I might later... my story! I do what I want! D) the last thing I need right now is a rabid Mia on my tail. You'll see what happens.
Mesoforte: Yeah, I know my update time has been slowed to a snail's pace or worse. It's what happens when you don't have writer's block, but don't have inspiration either.
Daidairo: Oooooo, new reader!
Inferno-hero: (x2) Ack! -=ducks the random djinni=- No pairings yet, but soon! Hopefully! The plot keeps twisting in ways I hadn't planned, sooo... I think this story is out to get me now. -=hisses at plot=-
Samurai Knight: I'm not teeeeeeelling just yet! Keep reading as I write to find out. =}
Li Kasumi: Thanks! I wasn't sure if that was a great cliffy, but... I guess it was. -=heart=-
....................................................................
"Y-you're alive! You're back!" Jenna surged up from her seat on a rock to hug the newcomer, who smiled and awkwardly hugged her as well, only to be knocked over by a sound slap to the back.
"You idiot, making us worry like that! What in the nine bloody hells were you thinking-"
"Garet, he only just got back. Let him rest for a bit before he has to endure one of your endless, pointless rants that falsely show great intellect."
"YOU-"
"Garet, calm down. No killing Felix."
"Awwwwwwwwww....."
Isaac chuckled as Jenna whacked Garet upside the head and yelled for him to stop whining. Briggs just looked at the situation, appearing to be torn between laughter and confusion. "Are they always like this?"
"Yep."
"-and you always jump to false conclusions, Garet, and- ISAAC! Put a shirt on, or a tunic or something already!"
"It took you that long to notice?" Sheba raised an eyebrow. "You must have gotten over your crush on him."
Ignoring the fact that his sister was now screaming her head off at Sheba in the background, Felix turned to Isaac and said, "How, why, and when."
Isaac responded similarly. "Karst, a fellow convict and recently."
Garet just looked between the two. "How can you understand each other like that?" Both venus adepts shrugged. "Must be a silent idiot-hey, you don't have to hit me for that!" Felix just shook his shoulders and stood up, making as if to leave the clearing.
"We launch the plan at dusk. Get some sleep, and Briggs, explain the whole thing to Isaac."
"Very well."
Right arm... nothing. Left arm... nothing. Both legs.... still nothing. Head... well, that's about it.
Ivan scowled. Alex hadn't even killed them instantly. Rather, he had encased the room in layers of ice, which slowly grew outwards. He was trapped up to his neck, and Piers wasn't faring much better. He didn't like the look of the growing icicles either, especially the one right above his head.
The mercury adept was trying to coax the ice into melting, but hadn't made much progress yet. Everything that melted froze again soon after, simply adding to their frozen prison.
Ivan found himself wishing he could move even the littlest bit... if he could manage to reach what he had stolen from Alex a while back, perhaps he would be able to get out of the mess. Struggling to no avail, the jupiter adept began to panic a bit as ice crept over his chin.
"Stop struggling. I don't know if it'll help at all, but might as well try it." Piers' shoulders were still free, so he managed a small shrug.
"But I have to..."
"Have to what, my little frozen quails?" Alex lounged in the doorframe, looking bored as ever. The dark-stained wood was the only part of the room not frozen, though it showed signs of starting to crack because of the cold. "You can't do anything about this, and if you try, the ice will only grow faster."
"Since when does ice grow?"
"And here I thought you were supposed to be smart. It's psyenergetic ice." Alex shook his head in annoyance. "Stupidity. One of the few things I absolutely CANNOT tolerate. Ah, well. Ta-ta for now, there are many other things that I have to do this afternoon. I'll be back in the morning to see how my little experiment is coming!" Alex winked before disappearing from view.
The other mercury adept present waited a few more moments before asking, "What is it that you need to do?"
"My back pocket. If I can reach it, we may be able to es-" Ivan was cut off as ice crept over his mouth. Piers nodded and focused his attention on the ice around Ivan's hands. Slowly, he coaxed the solid to melt, and the jupiter adept frantically reached into the aforementioned pocket and pulled something out. Grasping the azure cube-shaped stone in his hand, Ivan muttered a few words. Violet psynergy slowly surrounded him and Piers.
Their vision blurred, ice becoming a misshapen mass as their vision went black, and all sensation of freezing stopped.
The renegade camp was in a blur of motion as the sun dipped below the horizon. Those who were in the infiltration party were searching for and equipping various weapons and armor. Those for the distraction party found bows and arrows, slipping on leather armor and using black cloth to hide their hair and faces. Only their eyes showed, glinting in the waning light.
Everyone else was either packing things up or helping the rest of the people. They needed to move to another location and erase all traces of having inhabited this one in the case that Alex's men should find a link between the attackers and the "traveling merchants" who had "passed through" recently.
Jenna was helping Garet (who had misplaced his armor again, and had spent an hour looking for it) finish packing up his tent. While doing so, she thought about what Felix had told her only a few minutes ago.
"Jenna, we are the rightful heirs to the Vale throne. It has been in the hands of the family descended from the most powerful of the creators of Sol Sanctum for centuries, and that would be us. To allow Alex to keep acting as ruler like this... is unacceptable. Surely, you must agree."
The mars adept sighed. While she agreed that Alex must be overthrown, there just seemed to be something ever so slightly wrong with the story.
Shrugging it off, Jenna stood as she finished her work. Now was the time to start focusing on how to get through the hidden passages of the castle quickly and silently. She could worry about her brother's words later.
Mia rushed out of the house, ignoring her grandmother's cries and not even bothering to grab a heavier cloak on the way out. Chaotic thoughts and denial swirled in her head; her grandmother must be lying, it couldn't be true! It just couldn't.... could it?
The healer slowed down to avoid slipping as she crossed a frozen river, headed for a familiar glade she always went to when she needed to think. She knelt on the raised, frozen earth as her fingers traced an engraved stone. Tears slipped out of her eyes, clouding her vision. Still, she didn't need to see the stone to know what it read.
"Here lies one of unknown origin, bringing us our future healer in times of need. Rest in peace, young child."
Mia's trembling lips slowly formed words, speaking her thoughts quietly to the lone bird sitting on a branch above her. "I... I never knew him. I was too young to... I didn't even know at all, I just came here because I liked this place... and now, I have to take on his duties, whether I like it or not."
The bird tilted its head to one side, the fluffed it's feathers and shook off a bit of snow that had fallen on it. Managing a weak chuckle at the comical sight, the mercury adept continued. "It's not a very fair world, is it... I mean, I never even knew. I don't want to have to leave this place, little bird... I just want to stay here, in the peaceful, snowy mountains. I don't want to have to go back."
Now the bird bobbed its head and flew off. She stared after it for a long while, thinking about how similar it was to her current situation. Everything she had thought was true about her life was gone, replaced with a new, desolate reality.
............................................................................ ........................
-=dancing around=- Plot twists! Plot twists! Plot twists galore! D
Balm: At least you didn't do a TRIPLE cliffhanger this time. -.-
Flash: I hate it when she does this. She won't write for more than two weeks, then abruptly, she'll be reading something that has nothing to do with a story and listening to music.
Zephyr: And THEN she'll stop reading in order to bang out a chapter in less than two hours while siezed by unexpected inspiration!
Sap: Hey! It's a really good chapter this time!
THIS time?! -=tosses a sledgehammer at Sap=- /
Plot: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! -=bouncing around all over the place=- =}
I wish that I could write a story that follows my original plans for a change... -=goes off to try to restrain the plot=-
Plot: -=bounces into the next room=- Imma no let you catchie me! O
Balm: Eeeeps, that doesn't look good. Review!
Balm: Is plot being bad again?
YES.
Plot: -=bounces off in another direction I hadn't intended to go in=- =}
Hoo, boy.... -=chases after it=- NO!!! BAD!!! No touchie that!
Plot: Oooooooo, I LIKE this! -=incorperates something unexpected into the story=- =D
ARGH!!!!!!!! -.-
Sap: Oooooooooooooooooooooo, lotsa reviews!
The Mastah Classah: (x2, yes, I know that was you) Yes, yay you for being the first reviewer again! And as for the account being all weird, ouch, and, well... we all know that computers are stupid.
Link015: Thanks for the revive, and though I wasn't gonna kill them off just yet (I might later... my story! I do what I want! D) the last thing I need right now is a rabid Mia on my tail. You'll see what happens.
Mesoforte: Yeah, I know my update time has been slowed to a snail's pace or worse. It's what happens when you don't have writer's block, but don't have inspiration either.
Daidairo: Oooooo, new reader!
Inferno-hero: (x2) Ack! -=ducks the random djinni=- No pairings yet, but soon! Hopefully! The plot keeps twisting in ways I hadn't planned, sooo... I think this story is out to get me now. -=hisses at plot=-
Samurai Knight: I'm not teeeeeeelling just yet! Keep reading as I write to find out. =}
Li Kasumi: Thanks! I wasn't sure if that was a great cliffy, but... I guess it was. -=heart=-
....................................................................
"Y-you're alive! You're back!" Jenna surged up from her seat on a rock to hug the newcomer, who smiled and awkwardly hugged her as well, only to be knocked over by a sound slap to the back.
"You idiot, making us worry like that! What in the nine bloody hells were you thinking-"
"Garet, he only just got back. Let him rest for a bit before he has to endure one of your endless, pointless rants that falsely show great intellect."
"YOU-"
"Garet, calm down. No killing Felix."
"Awwwwwwwwww....."
Isaac chuckled as Jenna whacked Garet upside the head and yelled for him to stop whining. Briggs just looked at the situation, appearing to be torn between laughter and confusion. "Are they always like this?"
"Yep."
"-and you always jump to false conclusions, Garet, and- ISAAC! Put a shirt on, or a tunic or something already!"
"It took you that long to notice?" Sheba raised an eyebrow. "You must have gotten over your crush on him."
Ignoring the fact that his sister was now screaming her head off at Sheba in the background, Felix turned to Isaac and said, "How, why, and when."
Isaac responded similarly. "Karst, a fellow convict and recently."
Garet just looked between the two. "How can you understand each other like that?" Both venus adepts shrugged. "Must be a silent idiot-hey, you don't have to hit me for that!" Felix just shook his shoulders and stood up, making as if to leave the clearing.
"We launch the plan at dusk. Get some sleep, and Briggs, explain the whole thing to Isaac."
"Very well."
Right arm... nothing. Left arm... nothing. Both legs.... still nothing. Head... well, that's about it.
Ivan scowled. Alex hadn't even killed them instantly. Rather, he had encased the room in layers of ice, which slowly grew outwards. He was trapped up to his neck, and Piers wasn't faring much better. He didn't like the look of the growing icicles either, especially the one right above his head.
The mercury adept was trying to coax the ice into melting, but hadn't made much progress yet. Everything that melted froze again soon after, simply adding to their frozen prison.
Ivan found himself wishing he could move even the littlest bit... if he could manage to reach what he had stolen from Alex a while back, perhaps he would be able to get out of the mess. Struggling to no avail, the jupiter adept began to panic a bit as ice crept over his chin.
"Stop struggling. I don't know if it'll help at all, but might as well try it." Piers' shoulders were still free, so he managed a small shrug.
"But I have to..."
"Have to what, my little frozen quails?" Alex lounged in the doorframe, looking bored as ever. The dark-stained wood was the only part of the room not frozen, though it showed signs of starting to crack because of the cold. "You can't do anything about this, and if you try, the ice will only grow faster."
"Since when does ice grow?"
"And here I thought you were supposed to be smart. It's psyenergetic ice." Alex shook his head in annoyance. "Stupidity. One of the few things I absolutely CANNOT tolerate. Ah, well. Ta-ta for now, there are many other things that I have to do this afternoon. I'll be back in the morning to see how my little experiment is coming!" Alex winked before disappearing from view.
The other mercury adept present waited a few more moments before asking, "What is it that you need to do?"
"My back pocket. If I can reach it, we may be able to es-" Ivan was cut off as ice crept over his mouth. Piers nodded and focused his attention on the ice around Ivan's hands. Slowly, he coaxed the solid to melt, and the jupiter adept frantically reached into the aforementioned pocket and pulled something out. Grasping the azure cube-shaped stone in his hand, Ivan muttered a few words. Violet psynergy slowly surrounded him and Piers.
Their vision blurred, ice becoming a misshapen mass as their vision went black, and all sensation of freezing stopped.
The renegade camp was in a blur of motion as the sun dipped below the horizon. Those who were in the infiltration party were searching for and equipping various weapons and armor. Those for the distraction party found bows and arrows, slipping on leather armor and using black cloth to hide their hair and faces. Only their eyes showed, glinting in the waning light.
Everyone else was either packing things up or helping the rest of the people. They needed to move to another location and erase all traces of having inhabited this one in the case that Alex's men should find a link between the attackers and the "traveling merchants" who had "passed through" recently.
Jenna was helping Garet (who had misplaced his armor again, and had spent an hour looking for it) finish packing up his tent. While doing so, she thought about what Felix had told her only a few minutes ago.
"Jenna, we are the rightful heirs to the Vale throne. It has been in the hands of the family descended from the most powerful of the creators of Sol Sanctum for centuries, and that would be us. To allow Alex to keep acting as ruler like this... is unacceptable. Surely, you must agree."
The mars adept sighed. While she agreed that Alex must be overthrown, there just seemed to be something ever so slightly wrong with the story.
Shrugging it off, Jenna stood as she finished her work. Now was the time to start focusing on how to get through the hidden passages of the castle quickly and silently. She could worry about her brother's words later.
Mia rushed out of the house, ignoring her grandmother's cries and not even bothering to grab a heavier cloak on the way out. Chaotic thoughts and denial swirled in her head; her grandmother must be lying, it couldn't be true! It just couldn't.... could it?
The healer slowed down to avoid slipping as she crossed a frozen river, headed for a familiar glade she always went to when she needed to think. She knelt on the raised, frozen earth as her fingers traced an engraved stone. Tears slipped out of her eyes, clouding her vision. Still, she didn't need to see the stone to know what it read.
"Here lies one of unknown origin, bringing us our future healer in times of need. Rest in peace, young child."
Mia's trembling lips slowly formed words, speaking her thoughts quietly to the lone bird sitting on a branch above her. "I... I never knew him. I was too young to... I didn't even know at all, I just came here because I liked this place... and now, I have to take on his duties, whether I like it or not."
The bird tilted its head to one side, the fluffed it's feathers and shook off a bit of snow that had fallen on it. Managing a weak chuckle at the comical sight, the mercury adept continued. "It's not a very fair world, is it... I mean, I never even knew. I don't want to have to leave this place, little bird... I just want to stay here, in the peaceful, snowy mountains. I don't want to have to go back."
Now the bird bobbed its head and flew off. She stared after it for a long while, thinking about how similar it was to her current situation. Everything she had thought was true about her life was gone, replaced with a new, desolate reality.
............................................................................ ........................
-=dancing around=- Plot twists! Plot twists! Plot twists galore! D
Balm: At least you didn't do a TRIPLE cliffhanger this time. -.-
Flash: I hate it when she does this. She won't write for more than two weeks, then abruptly, she'll be reading something that has nothing to do with a story and listening to music.
Zephyr: And THEN she'll stop reading in order to bang out a chapter in less than two hours while siezed by unexpected inspiration!
Sap: Hey! It's a really good chapter this time!
THIS time?! -=tosses a sledgehammer at Sap=- /
Plot: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! -=bouncing around all over the place=- =}
I wish that I could write a story that follows my original plans for a change... -=goes off to try to restrain the plot=-
Plot: -=bounces into the next room=- Imma no let you catchie me! O
Balm: Eeeeps, that doesn't look good. Review!