Hello. I feel unloved right now . . . no one reviewed my tenth chapter on this fic. :( Well, I can't expect to get everything I want, right? Thanks to those who read it, and thanks to wizard116 who told me that there was part of the story missing and was unable to review at first, Thanks! :)
Touse: doesn't like you. -grins evilly--
Author: Neither do you, so what's the difference? I get bugged all the time!
Touse: I know, but mine is worse. At least they let you write your stories and post them, I try to get it so that you don't write them at all! -grins evilly again-
Author: -tears- You're so mean! - recovers- Well, here's the eleventh chapter to this story! :D Please review!
P.S. Just in case you are wondering about this, the measurement 'hands' is used for measuring a horse's height, from their hooves to their shoulders. One hand is four inches. This means that nineteen hands is six feet, four inches.
Chapter 11, The Collegium.
Aoko woke early in the morning to find everyone sleeping soundly, and the sun just peaking up over the trees. Since she figured everyone needed a good rest after the long day before, she let them sleep, and went for a walk down the worn dirt path through the trees.
The forest they were currently traveling through, had magnificent trees with wide trunks, tall branches and beautiful green leaves. These trees were larger than those in the forests at home, in Edinbrook, yet she could remember a story of trees so large that you could wrap twenty men around then, and they would just reach each other's finger tips, but those were said to be further North West.
Aoko walked casually down the path, taking in all of the sights and smells. She dreamed of living in a place like this, carefree and trouble less, and soon found herself in an area further away from camp than she had planned to go. The trees were growing further apart than at the camping site, and she could hear the clopping sounds made by hoofed animals.
Aoko heard a strange bell-like sound among the rode animal sounds. When she listened closer, she realized why this odd sound was among those of the rode. A Companion made bell-like sounds when their hooves hit the ground, and the bells she heard, sounded just like those Naomi made. There was a Companion and a Herald coming her way. How would she explain herself?
Aoko stood still, and awaited her sure finding. From around the corner, came te largest creature on four legs, other than a gryphon, she had ever seen, with a very serious looking boy atop it. The massive Companion slowed to a stand, and snorted lightly.
The Companion in front of her was about nineteen hands high, and her mouth dropped open as she gazed up at it. She had never seen a horse so big, and she had seen some large work horses come through Edinbrook towing gypsy caravans.
"Are you done staring? We would like to continue our search for the companions near here." The boy called down to her. His voice was deep for his apparent age, and his eyes looked cold, as if they never gave way to his feelings, other than anger.
"What do you want with them?" Aoko called back. She didn't overly want to be found out by someone who might be looking to cause trouble for her group.
"You have no business knowing that, unless you know where they are, and are somehow connected to the group they are traveling with." His eyes flickered to behind her, as if he had spotted something that was out of place.
"I do know where they are, and I am connected to the group. I'll lead you to them if your purpose is that of good thought." Aoko looked out of the corner of her eye, trying to catch what the boy was looking at, but failed to notice anything out of place.
"I come only to bring peace, to join the journeying group, and go along with them to the Collegium, where they are bound to be going." He looked back down at her, forgetting about the object behind her.
"Well then, you may join us. I'm Herald-Trainee Aoko, bonded to the Companion Naomi." Aoko started to turn, and noticed what the other trainee had been looking at. There, at the turn along the rode, sat Senkousha, patiently awaiting her chance to speak to Aoko. "Oh, Senkousha, what are you doing here?"
:There is a problem back at camp. We need you right away. Herald Roplo has gone into some kind of shock, and we cannot seem to be able to find a way to get him out of it.: Senkousha looked as worried as a wolf-like creature could, and took off at a lope down the trail.
Behind her, she heard the boy whistle, and Aoko turned and lifted her arm, for she knew he was signaling that he would pick her up on the run. The boy grabbed her forearm, and hoisted her up onto the back of the saddle, and his Companion launched into a slow center, soon catching up to Senkousha.
Senkousha also broke into a canter like pace when she saw they coming up from the rear, and they were soon back at that camp sight, Aoko quickly slipping off the large Companion's back, and ran towards the Herald.
To her left, Daz was prancing around frantically, eyes wide with terror and fear for his Chosen. She had to work fast, she could Feel him slipping into a dream-like state, which he might not wake from if fully 'dreaming.' Aoko touched his forehead, and Felt his internal Hand reach out to her, as if he felt himself slipping, and didn't want to go.
Aoko Felt Naomi mesh with her, and Felt Daz, who had been calmed by Naomi, mesh with Roplo. With all the power, Roplo soared with power, and the darkness within him let go after one final tug.
Aoko leaned back, and sighed as the rush of power subsided, and the tired feeling settled in. Naomi laid beside her, and the boy she had come with stared in awe.
"You saved me. Aoko, you're amazing, how did you know what to do?" Roplo carefully opened his eyes, and looked at her with wonder.
"Well, I didn't really know what I was doing, but I could Feel you slipping away, and thought that maybe if I tried to pull you back with my internal hand, you come, since it was only your soul and your sanity that were really slipping. I guess it was good guess!" Aoko grinned, and stood carefully, hoping not to fall over.
"You just thought you'd try something! Try something with no schooling, no real deep thoughts, and no permission!? You could have killed someone!" the boy dismounted swiftly, and held onto Aoko's shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.
"If by 'someone' you mean myself, I have no worries of dying. I came close one time, only a week or so ago, and I am not afraid to do things that risk that part of me." Aoko took his hands off her shoulders. "I am not afraid of death, and I will do anything to save a friend from falling victim to Him. Yes, I could have killed someone, but I ended up doing the opposite, saving someone. Don't criticize me, I'm old enough to make my own choices, and I certainly don't need a stranger telling me what I can and cannot do!" Aoko stared him down, rage burning in her eyes.
She turned around, and looked back at the group, now calming themselves from the near accident. "Now, I think we should get going to the Collegium." With that, Aoko turned away from the group, and started packing up her things.
After finishing her packing, she turned and noticed that everyone waited for her, mounts ready and everything. The one thing that was missing, was Raphill, he was nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't even hear the flapping of his wings near by.
"Where's Raphill? I haven't seen him since the s'morning, when I went for a walk." Aoko threw her saddle bags behind Naomi's Saddle, and fastened them on tightly.
:He went for a fly. He said that he had heard that there are gryphons in Haven, and he was going to go met them to tell them that we are on our way. He hasn't got back to me yet, but I'm sure he's so excited to meet these gryphons, that he's completely forgotten. their brains can't function all that well when they are excited. they are, after all, still predators, and they act like predator bids.: Senkousha go up from her laying position.
"You have a gryphon in your party? How come I didn't hear anything on the roads about sighting one? Should the rode be abuzz about something like that?" The boy looked slightly worried.
"If there are other gryphons in Haven, then people who normally travel on the roads in the morning, would be used to seeing them fly out for hunting, and what not. So they would not be talking about such a thing." Aoko watched his mouth transform into a silent 'oh.' "Well, lets get going, we still have the journey ahead of us."
After setting out, Aoko noticed that Roplo still looked a little distant, but figured that it was just because of being tired after their experience, and forgot about the matter.
The boy was riding to her right, and he still towered over her, even when she was atop Naomi, for Naomi was only a regular sized Companion. "So, you never told me your name, or your Companion's name.
He looked at her in slight surprise, but soon his cold eyes overtook the emotion, and they turned neutral. "I'm Adonis, and this is my Companion Dexterious. He Chose me a few days ago, sweeping me off my feet, and taking me away from my family's farm with hardly even a goodbye."
"You're lucky that you got away with that. Some people are Chosen, and the Companion just sets out right away. I know I didn't say goodbye to my parents, but that's because of a whole different matter. I was Chosen about a week ago. what gifts do you bear, or has no one told you yet?" Aoko suddenly felt compelled to talk to Adonis, as if he would play a big part in her life soon.
"Well, I know one of them, because I've used it to my advantage already, and Dex has told me what other one I have. I have a Gift where I can become an Elemental Spy., which Dex calls an odd Gift, because he has never heard of anyone having it before. Also, Dex told me that i have a strong Mins-Speech Gift, and a weak Fire Starter Gift. How about you?" Adonis looked over to her, and gazed with his emotionless eyes.
"That's weird, I also have an odd Gift. Mine though, is self Healing. I heal myself, but I cannot heal any other, not even with a minor cut. Mind you, I can Heal my self of the worst things possible. It's the reason why I didn't die a week or so ago, like I told you about. I also have a weak Empathy gift, a weak Animal-Speech, and like you, a strong Mind-Speech Gift. Maybe we have more in common than most trainees do." Aoko pondered the idea, and wondered if the feeling of big plans with Adonis had something to do with these strange Gifts.
"Maybe, but we're going to have to start traveling in single file, or we won't get to Haven very fast." Adonis nodded with his head towards them.
Aoko looked in the direction in which he was nodding, and saw the road she had heard an hour or so before. The road was packed full with carts, people on foot, people on horseback, and she even saw a glimpse of another Companion a few meters ahead of them.
"We should get going, if we want to reach the Collegia in this traffic before midday." Herald Roplo called back to everyone. He was leader, since he had been in and out of Haven many times, and knew his way around, like the back of his hand. With a wave, the party split up into single file, and continued their journey to the Collegium.
Aoko yawned as they rode through the tightly packed streets of the middle class part of Haven. She had never seen so many people in one place, in her whole entire life, and the tall three story buildings astonished her. The most she had ever seen, had been two story, but she could see the reasoning behind such tall houses in here, since most places had stores in the bottom, and apartments, or so Roplo called them, in the top two floors.
As they made their way past shops, a few small children would run up to them, and give their mounts carrots, apples, or weeds they had pulled out from the cracks between the stones in the road. Naomi held her head high, and her oddly coloured coat astonished the little children who had only seen plainly coloured horses, and pure white Companions.
Naomi was becoming more and more white with each passing day, and Aoko figured that she was trying to soak up as much attention from her strange colours while she still could. As Aoko laughed at another child's expression, a large shadow loomed over them, and She knew they were going to enter the high class section of Haven. Roplo had told her that each section of the city, lower, middle and upper, had a large stone wall around it, signaling the transfer.
Aoko braced herself for what exciting new houses would appear. As they al passed through the dim stone tunnel, Aoko could feel the gaze from soldiers on her, even though she couldn't see them in the shadows that housed them. As light flooded in from in front of her, she squinted and soon saw what were called the higher class houses.
The houses were massive, larger than any house she'd ever seen. The homes looked to be bigger than the horse barn and paddock back at her house in Edinbrook! With her mouth agape, they traveled on, without stopping to look any closer.
:You don't need to be that excited my dear. Wait until you see the Palace and the Collegia!: Naomi said into her head, and Aoko could hear her amusement.
After traveling through the high class area, they came up to a very well guarded stone wall with beautiful metal gates. the guardsman at the front gate, nodded at Roplo, and opened the gate for them to travel through.
As they rode through, the guardsman nodded at each of them, and, like the children, made an interesting face towards Naomi and her oddly coloured coat. Aoko could feel Naomi's excitement over the people's reactions.
Roplo stopped the group as soon at they were a few paces past the gates, and Daz turned to face them all. Roplo smiled, and as Daz walked backwards along the well known path, Roplo opened his arms in exaggeration.
They turned the corner, and as the buildings came into view, he called out to them all, "Welcome home."