Dance on the Edge of Sanity

Eclipse woke with a start, rolling into an attack position as he kicked the black silk sheets from around his legs. Something had woken him, some sort of crashing sound. Something had fallen on the wooden floor—

There were no wooden floors in the castle. It was all stone.

What in hell? Eclipse probed all the rooms around his own, and found everything was normal. There wasn't a thing within a hundred feet of him that could have crashed.

Odd, he thought. I would have sworn something fell. Maybe it was a dream? He ran a hand through his thick white hair, frowning as it caught on the sleep tangles. I was dreaming about something.. A girl? Not any of the girls I know.. He snorted. Eclipse old boy, I think you need to get out more. You're dreaming up women for yourself.

Eclipse grinned lightly and threw himself back against his pillows. It was godawful early in the morning, but he knew he wasn't going to get back to sleep. Something had him deeply unsettled. The dream again?

Who was she, anyways? His legs tried to fidget; he stopped them with a scowl. Weaker men fidgeted. He was going to get to the bottom of this, not fidget and fret over it.

It hadn't Felt like a real dream. Perhaps it had been Foresight.. He chased after that thought, seeing no other logical path. A Vision of a white-haired girl. Hmm. Well, white hair certainly indicates Mage-power, and lots of it. She'd be a Void worker, then, what with no nodes.. Foresight, Mage girl. Maybe it's that girl I am to kill? I could be seeing the battle..

Somehow, that didn't feel right.

He growled in frustration. This is getting me nowhere. It was just a dream. Get out of bed and do something useful, you're obviously not going to get back to sleep.

Throwing the covers off his naked form, he stalked to his wardrobe and snapped open the doors. Yards of black cloth greeted him.

You need to branch out, my friend. Black and black and black gets a little old. Ah, well.. Black robes today. The long robes. They make me look taller. I like that.

He shrugged into the neck to floor black silk robes and turned with a smile to the mirror. Grabbing the comb from his bedside table, he smoothed out the tangles as he eyed his reflection. Somewhat tall, though not towering, thin and muscular, long white hair, tan skin, blue-silver eyes.. He was a figure to break hearts, and he knew it. When his hair was brushed, he winked at himself and started towards his workroom.

His father thought him mad for insisting on dressing himself of a morning, but he simply couldn't stomach people early in the morning. After breakfast, and a few hours of spellcasting; then he was less likely to kill whoever came near him.

Not that killing the servants was a problem.. He could conjure more, but it was damned messy to clean up the bodies. Usually, mess annoyed him more than people, for which the servants were no doubt grateful.

The grey light of early morning shown through the windows of the hallway, making Eclipse sigh deeply. Morning light was too… Bright. Afternoon light was golden, and warm, at least in the summer. In the winter, he didn't bother with daytime anyways.

His workroom was his haven. It was the only place that was his, here in his father's stronghold. The door had no lock, of course, only his father's rooms had locks. However, everything in this room was there because he wanted it there.

Except for that… Eclipse stared at the golden eagle perched on one of the bookshelves. There was nothing unusual about the eagle—except that it was in his workroom. His workroom, which had no windows. Keeping his eyes on the bird, he grabbed the heavy leather gloves that he used in some mage work and advanced towards the eagle. He wasn't about to get his hands clawed off by a stupid bird..

He walked forward slowly, eyes fixed on the bird. This was a bondbird.. There was no way a wild eagle would be that big, with a head shaped like that.

A bondbird in my room.. Did he belong to one of father's captives? That can't be right.. He doesn't look distraught enough. Again, the question; why is there a bird in my room?

He was only a few feet away from the bird now. He slowly extended a gloved hand towards the eagle, to see if the bird would make taking him outside easy for Eclipse. Instead of stepping onto the offered hand, though, the eagle looked straight up at him, into his eyes.

Oh.. My..

:I am Sabyn. You are mine now, Eclipse.:

Eclipse could only nod dumbly. The shock of being bonded to this bird was too much, too early in the morning.. He blinked slowly. :How did you know my name: he asked the bird. Is he smart enough to know how to answer that? Bondbirds are smart, but probably not that smart..

:I have always known your name.: The bird shrugged; an amazing feat for a bird. Any other time, Eclipse would have demanded a better answer than that. Now, though, he was too dazed to do anything but nod.

How do I explain this to father?...

"And then, Darian over there tells me it's nothing but an illusion!" The young black haired woman glared at the offender. "I thought you were supposed to reserve the little magic you have, not use it on parlor tricks to scare little girls?"

"You're hardly little, Skyfire, and I needed the practice on illusions anyways," Darian replied easily from his seat across the hot pool. Skyfire's green eyes continued glaring, though it was obvious she was trying not to laugh.

"He's telling the truth, Skyfire.. I did tell him to practice his illusions. They're good for control," Firesong told the girl next to him. He turned his scar seamed face towards his student. "However, I didn't intend for you to terrorize my daughter.. Though I must admit, it does make a very amusing story."

Skyfire scowled and sent a wave of water flying at her father with her arm. "Some help you are, Father! I feel so unloved." She stuck her tongue out at them all and hoisted herself out of the pool, mock stomping away.

Darian frowned. "She's not actually angry, is she?" He worried, glancing at Silverfox.

"No, she's just engaging in the theatrics both she and her father love so." Firesong snorted good-naturedly and elbowed his lover's ribs.

"Like father like daughter, they say.." He grinned at them.

"Given the choice, I would have suggested she be more like her other father," Darian muttered. "It would certainly make her calmer." Silverfox smiled serenely.

Skyfire stopped stomping as soon as she was out of hearing range, giggling to herself. It was fun to bait Darian, truly. She walked down one of the paths that would take her to Nightwind and the gryphons. Maybe Nightwind would be ready for another trondi'irn lesson, now that she and Skyfire had both had some time to rest.

She was glad her fathers approved of her chosen occupation of trondi'irn. Skyfire had always worried Firesong would be disappointed that she wasn't a mage, but it seemed she had underestimated him. She thought most people did underestimate him; and after careful thought and a conversation with her other father, she'd come to the conclusion that Firesong liked it that way. If people underestimated him, he could work without the weight of other's expectations on him.

Silverfox, of course, approved of her ambitions to become a trondi'irn. He'd helped her choose that life path, in fact. It hadn't been a hard choice.. She'd adored the gryphons from the moment she was born, and would walk through the nine hells barefoot to ensure the safety of her winged friends. She'd also thought of becoming a kestra'chern, but eventually she'd decided on the career that gave her more time with the gryphons.

Finding that Nightwind wasn't in the Vale, she headed for the outskirts of their territory, where she knew the trondi'irn sometimes went to sunbathe. It wasn't always a good idea to go this far from the Vale, but there hadn't been any reports of danger from this area for months. She could always call the gryphons, if she needed help.

Or so she thought.

"Eclipse." Icestorm glided into the workroom, his face intent. "I have a test for you. An opportunity has presented itself to us."

Eclipse raised an eyebrow carefully and slowly stood from his work bench. "An opportunity, Father?" He'd hidden the eagle in his bedroom, buying himself a little more time before a confrontation with his father. "What sort of opportunity?"

"That fool student of mine has made a fatal mistake. He's bred, and hasn't taught the whelp obedience, or the first thing about safety. She regularly wanders out where no one can guard her.. Stupid child."

"You wish to use her against your student, Father?" Eclipse hazarded. Icestorm nodded. "Indeed. He would be distraught if his precious daughter went missing, and would come looking for her without stopping to use what brain he has."

Eclipse snorted. "A sentimental fool, is he?" His father glared at him like a student who has just stated the most obvious part of the lesson, and missed the rest. Eclipse just stared back. "What is it you wish me to do, then?" he asked.

"You will bring me the girl. Make sure you make enough of a magical ruckus that Firesong will notice you, but not enough that he will be able to follow you right away. I will deal with him myself."

Eclipse nodded curtly. It sounded like a menial task; kidnap a little girl? How.. mundane. Well, he'd learned early and well that it was unwise to disobey his father's wishes, so he would go fetch the girl. Who knew, maybe she'd be pretty.

In the back of his mind, he felt Sabyn's disapproval. Stifling a sigh, he blocked the bird out.

She tumbled head over foot, screaming as she tried to avoid the boulders in her path. She had no idea what had hit her, but whatever it was, it had hit hard. Cursing, Skyfire managed to stop her tumble and get to her feet before she broke her neck. She wished she'd brought a knife with her.. Firesong told her stories about evil; she knew what dwelled in these forests! How could she be so stupid?

She looked around the clearing, looking for what had attacked her. Where, and more importantly, what was it? Whatever it was, she had a nasty feeling it wasn't going to go away..

She turned around carefully, still unable to see anything besides trees and rocks. When she'd almost turned all the way around, another blow slammed into the side of her head. Skyfire gasped and tumbled to her knees, grabbing at her attacker. Her hands gripped cloth, but she didn't see anyone there.

He's invisible? How can that be? Skyfire managed to flip over towards the person she'd grabbed, and saw that he wasn't invisible, exactly... It was just almost impossible to keep her eyes on him. Interesting, she thought, trying to form a plan. The plan died early as a kick to her ribs made her struggle for air.

Try something, girl! Anything! "Stop!" she gasped, groping for the man again. "I haven't done anything to you—" Again, a kick stopped her plan from getting anywhere. Skyfire realized suddenly that this person wasn't interested in talking, nor did she think it wanted to kill her... She looked up to see a fist coming at her head.

I hope this works... :FATHER: Skyfire screamed with her tiny Mindspeech gift, right before she lost consciousness.

Firesong smiled to himself as he walked. Domestic life suited him, he thought. He'd thought it would be boring, but how could you ever get bored making sure your charges didn't kill, maim, or otherwise damage each other? The man who can get bored keeping a domestic life running properly is a better man than me, I suppose, Firesong thought.

He grinned. I'd have paid good money to see the look on Skyfire's face when Darian set the elephant illusions on her. He knew he shouldn't be laughing at his daughter's expense… But it was so funny!

I wonder if Darian would call up the elephant illusions for me? He said he'd seen pictures, but I haven't. I don't really know what they look like… Firesong was happy. He had nothing to do, nothing had blown up, gotten ill, been injured, or destroyed, or maimed, or anything else that needed his attention. There hadn't been any crises for months, and he was loving it.

As if the thought brought it on, a feeling of dread washed over Firesong. Something was happening, something magical—

:FATHER: The Mindcall made his "ears" ring. He'd never heard Skyfire shout like that; judging from her Mindvoice, something was terribly wrong.He groped for the link, hoping to make contact with her to ask what was happening—

Where his daughter's mind should have been, there was nothing. Absolute silence met his probe. The area where he thought she was reeked of untrained magic. He broke into a run in the direction of the call, Mindtouching Silverfox, Darian, and Starfall as he ran.

:Something is wrong with Skyfire. I got a frantic Mindcall from her, and now there's nothing. I'm going to where I think she was, follow me as soon as possible.: He cut the link right after that; he knew they'd try and talk him into thinking about a plan, and Skyfire didn't have time for that. He knew that, in his heart. He wasn't about to let his daughter die while they planned.

He broke into a clearing of rocks and boulders at a dead run, slowing so he wouldn't trip. Skyfire had definitely been here very recently; he could Feel traces of her all over the clearing. He ran towards the center of the clearing and fell to his knees. There was fresh blood on the stones.

"Skyfire.. No.." Rage clouded his vision. Who had done this? Who would attack a child like this? His hands shook as he searched the clearing for clues. It had been a mage.. A powerful, but clumsy one. Someone he could take alone… Someone who had more power than was reasonable, without nodes.. A bloodmage His vision clouded even further. How dare a bloodmage touch my daughter? He got to his feet, following the trail of magic into the forest. Fool; he left a trail a blind man could follow!

Firesong snarled and shoved the bushes out of his way; Goddess help anything that got between him and his daughter now. He shoved further into the forest, not noticing as a branch sliced deeply into his arm. He was close, he could Feel Skyfire's presence. She was awake, now…

He shoved through the last bush, stumbling into a clearing. His daughter had collapsed on her knees in the middle, her arms tied behind her back, her mouth gagged with a silk scarf. Firesong felt his heart stop for a moment when he saw her, thank the gods, alive.

His elation was short-lived, as Skyfire shook her head rapidly at him and rocked back towards the way Firesong had come. :Father, get out now: Firesong shook his head furiously, spun his shields ten times stronger, and took two steps towards his daughter.

Ten times stronger apparently wasn't enough. He froze where he stood, mage bonds holding him in place. Where is he getting this power? He wondered desperately. This isn't blood magic, but there aren't any nodes!

"Stupid as always, my dear student. I counted on you rushing off in a panic. You haven't disappointed me, this time." The voice behind him sounded oddly familiar… Skyfire sobbed in front of him, driving all coherent thought from his head. Skyfire… He struggled against the bonds, throwing everything he had at them. He had to get to his daughter, now.

Whatever this mage's secret was, thought, it was too powerful for Firesong. Without the node power, he wore his reserves down pitifully fast.

"You always were my stupidest student, dear Firesong. So much potential, but so little discipline…"

Icestorm stepped in front of him, blocking his daughter from view. "To think, they flocked to you. Look at you now, unable to break bonds my son could have broken at ten. You have fallen far, haven't you?" All Firesong could do was glare as his old teacher smirked and ripped the mask off Firesong's face. "You had beauty and power.. It seems both have deserted you now, dear child."

Firesong heard Skyfire sobbing again, through the haze of his own pain. Icestorm stepped back to watch them both, laughing pleasantly at what he saw.

Wrong.

Windstar's eyes snapped open, coming out of her afternoon meditation in seconds. Something was wrong; very wrong, in the north.

Errold's Grove. That's where the problem is. You have to go there.

Go? But I don't know where Errold's Grove is…

Go.

Windstar staggered to her feet, trampling the pansies behind her in her haste. She had to go north. She didn't know why, or how, or even where, but she knew she had to go.

A hand on her shoulder suddenly restrained her. She pushed uselessly against it.

"Let me go. I have to go." She said. Her voice sounded far away.

Elspeth frowned at her daughter. "You're not going anywhere but bed, young lady. You look terrible."

Windstar could only tug on her mother's stronger grip as she stared desperately to the north. This was exactly the wrong time for Elspeth to get all motherly!