Chapter 2:

A Chilling Experience

Rody was paralyzed, petrified. It wasn't just any darkness he was afraid of, but this dark in particular. It almost seemed as though this darkness were alive, seething and moving about like an animal.

It also seemed like the darkness around Rody could sense that he was afraid. Rody tried to tell himself firmly that that thought was preposterous, but he could feel his own fear clouding his judgement. The darkness was watching him. His rationality was slipping farther and farther away. Something was going to happen, whether it be passing out in the Kuput Forest, or using some bizzare spell that sent him halfway to Grassland, Rody was about to do something. He could literally feel the tension.

To his surprise, the one thing he actually did was calm down. He looked around and the fear was suddenly gone. He even thought he knew where he was. The sound of water wasn't too far off, and he thought he could see the worn ground of a pathway not four feet in front of him. He shivered, though. That fear had been there vividly and then disappeared all too quickly. It hadn't been a natural fear.

Rody pushed back the winding vines blocking the pathway. Everything was as black as black could be, but the forest was placid now, still and untouched like the water in the pan had been before Rody splashed it. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so it wasn't as hard to see his own nose now. Once he was back on the pathway he could tell which direction he needed to go, and he could still hear the waterfall. It was louder now than before, and he was getting closer.

The lagoon was one of the only places in the entire forest that moonlight shone through. There were no trees to block out the moon above the water, so there was some form of light for Rody to see. The water was always freezing cold, crystal clear, and it reflected the stars shining brightly in the velvet black sky. It was an exotic and romantic place to be at night, and Rody found that he might could draw up the courage to come here more often. The forest didn't seem as bad with something so beautiful nestled right in the middle of it.

He sighed as he approached the pool. It wasn't extremely big; he could easily paddle from one side to the other in under a minute, and he wasn't that good of a swimmer. That was one of the reasons his sister thought his water magic was so lacking. Rody never showed her how much enjoyed the water. The truth of it was that Rody was really very talented at water magic. His sister just couldn't see it.

Rody pulled off his dirty cloak and let it soak in the water. He knew he was supposed to be meditating under the pressure of the waterfall, but right now he didn't care. He'd just been scared out of his mind and thought he deserved a little bit of a break for that reason alone. (That was disregarding the fact that he felt slightly rebelious, too...) He smiled at his moonlit reflection in the water. No, Rody didn't want to change himself. He liked who he was, long hair and all. He pulled the band free again and let the black waves fall just to reassure himself. He then pulled off his shirt and started to wash it also. His reflection faded with the ripples in the pool.

After stringing a thick vine from two trees and hanging his clothes up to dry, he figured it was about time to actually start training. The moon was still high in the sky, floating above the trees. Rody dipped one hand back in the water and pulled it out quickly. The water was still freezing, as always. He sighed. Estella would know, somehow, if he didn't get this done. He didn't want to, but he had to.

He started in the shallow waters and slowly walked into the icy waterpool. His teeth were chattering just standing waist deep, and he wasn't even under the waterfall yet! He gritted his teeth together and forced them to stop shaking, took a deep breath and - with some much appreciated self-discipline - dunked himself under. He swam toward the waterfall using every bit of will power in his body. He could feel his hands and feet going numb after only a few minutes, but still he sat upon the rocks and let the waterfall beat against his shoulders. He closed his eyes. Everything was going cold... He was starting to drift off somewhere. But that was normal; he always drifted while training, right?

Rody was so numb and unaware now that he didn't notice he was shaking violently. He was growing weaker and weaker from the cold, his body temperature dropping at a rapid pace. And awaken he did not. He eventually grew so weak that the water falling across his shoulders pushed him forward, face down in the water. That was the last thing Rody remembered: a hot pain in his cold body when he tried to breathe. He couldn't breathe. Everything turned to black as he slipped from consciousness.

Rody was delusional when he awoke - in that comatose state when you're not really asleep, but not really awake either. His vision was blurry and the darkness was swimming as though he were back underwater.

Water... He remembered the water and suddenly started coughing and choking. Blurry - everything was much too blurry for him to see where he was. All he could do was roll over on his stomach and try to catch his breath. The slight motion made him feel extremely sick. His stomach heaved and he collapsed, gasping like a fish. He knew it must've been a comical sight looking from someone else's point of view. He would be laughing at himself if he didn't feel so bad.

His thoughts were brought to life when a low, hollow laughter sounded just behind Rody. His gasps were silenced and got stuck in his throat. The laughter only grew louder. Rody could feel his teeth chattering now, and he was starting to feel how cold he really was. That didn't matter though. Who or what was laughing at him?

Rody wouldn't know. He was too weak to even lift his head up, much less get up and take a look around. But he knew he was safe. He determined that if the person/thing laughing at him had intended to kill him, then they could've just left him in the water to drown. Whoever it was had, instead, saved his life. Rody couldn't imagine why, but he was thankful. He let his breath flow back to him in long, slow intervals. In turn, this slow breathing made him pass out again. The low laughter lulled him into a dream as his world once again turned black.

Rody was about seven. He was playing in the grassland fields with a Karayan boy his age. It was blissful, and carefree; just a whimsical day playing on the plains. Suddenly -

Fire. Pain. Death.

Rody was ten, now. He was running up and down the streets of Zexen with a mob of children his age chasing behind him. They'd been playing hide and seek, and Rody had been "it," only now he'd found everyone. They were all chasing him. Chasing.

They changed, grew up into knights with swords chasing Rody away, calling him names like Misfit, Loser, Ignorant Girl-Boy. More pain. More Death.

Rody was himself, age fourteen. He was sitting in the Kuput Forest, his heart pounding faster and faster in his chest. His nerves were wracked and completely hay-wired. He could feel his pulse throbbing, pounding drum beats in his head. Rough hands trailed the back of his neck, touched and caressed the soft spots behind his raven hair. Cold, deep laughter tickled his ears. His breathing grew faster.

And suddenly...he was drowning.

Rody inhaled sharply as his eyes opened and refocused to a candle-lit inn room. Estella was sitting beside him, frowning thoughtfully. Her eyes were angry, but misty enough to show that she had been worried. Now she was very obviously upset.

"It's about time you woke up. I take it you learned your lesson?"Her legs were crossed, but she tapped one foot absently in the air. Rody stared at her blankly. "Must I spell it out for you?" Rody still stared, too sleepy to really hear what she was yelling at him over. "Never neglect your powers, especially when they're as pitiful as yours. Never try to accomplish more than you know you can, like you did last night. I should have you doing overtime just for that alone. And NEVER scare me to death like that ever ever again! Do you hear me, Rody? I don't know what I'd do if... Nevermind. Just listen to what I've said and remember it well, all right? Now, back to bed with you."

Rody felt too tired to say anything, so he simply nodded and watched her leave the room. Estella wasn't that mad. He'd seen her far worse when he'd done things less stupid. But he hadn't tried to do something he knew he couldn't do. Well, maybe he did, but he'd only been doing what she told him to. It wasn't like...

He could feel a headache coming on. Now wasn't the time to think about Estella or magic. Now was a time to rest, and regain his strength.

Rody had determined one thing - he had to go back into that forest. And he had to find out who or what it was that had saved him. He wanted to thank them for their kindness, or at least tell them he was grateful. He had a feeling that if he did go back, he would meet his savior once again, whether he wanted to or not.

Closing his eyes, Rody found himself smiling. Besides Marine and his sister, he didn't really have any close friends to talk to. He'd been brought up alone by Estella his entire life. Maybe...

This time Rody dreamt of someone who was always covered in shadows, who he kept secret from his sister, and who showed him that there was more to life than just magic.

It's too bad he remembered none of it when he woke up.

-small sigh- Well... Nothing to say on that note. I wait three days and still get not a half of a review? Pushaa. I'm not discouraged in the least. The story hasn't even got going yet! Wait 'till this gets started. Then you'll be begging me for more. -crosses fingers- (Hopefully... Review this time, please?)