Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my own characters.
CHAPTER 38-Out of Yavimaya
As the sun began its trek across the Dominarian sky the next morning, Arrathir awoke. Cracking open an eye, the Keeper groaned in pain from his sore muscles. Sleeping on the hard ground did not agree with him. As he sat up, he looked at his hand: the splints had held throughout the night and he felt little pain in his hand. Ripping off the splints, Arrathir carefully flexed his hand. A sharp pain made him wince.
Not quite healed yet. Well, at least they're straight.
As he got up and walked over to the dead fireplace to revive the embers, Arrathir felt his other self awakening.
Good morning, Arrathir.
'Morning, Chikuro.
Something bothering you, naki?
You haven't called me that in ages.
Days, actually.
Seems like an eternity. I'm just thinking about Eva and the whole demon thing. I think I should stay away from her until we can do something about the demon.
Don't worry. Now that I'm around, he won't be taking over your body anymore.
Chikuro, do you think I'll ever be able to tame him? You know, make it so he can't take over my body?
I don't know, Arrathir. The demon's power may be too great for you to handle, but if it is possible, I'll do everything I can to help you.
How did you do it? Tame your demonic side?
I never did. The demon was always a part of me, and only my power kept him in check.
Arrathir was brought out of his reverie by a sudden rustle of leaves. He barely had time to duck as two arrows fletched with blue feathers buzzed over his head like angry hornets, embedding themselves, quivering, into a tree behind him.
Arrathir took a quick whiff and pinpointed the location of his attacker. Be the scent, he could tell it was an elf. Dodging another arrow, he made his way towards the hidden elf. As he approached, being careful for watch out for any more arrows, he heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn.
With a wild cry, the elf jumped out from behind the tree where he was hiding and charged at Arrathir, sword held high. Arrathir sidestepped the blow and the elf, carried on by its momentum, ran past him.
"Who are you?" asked Arrathir.
The elf turned to face him, a look of intense fury and hatred in his eyes. Arrathir saw he was quite young, at least by human standards. He was well built and wore the same forest-green clothes the elves at the village wore. His hair was a light brown and his electric blue eyes shot daggers at Arrathir. On his back was slung a longbow and a quiver full of arrows.
"I am Illan, son of Yanda," said the elf "You killed my father; prepare to die!"
When Eva awoke, the first thing she heard was a wild battle cry. Sitting up, she saw an elf was in the camp, furiously attacking Arrathir with a sword. Arrathir was easily dodging the clumsy blows, and Eva could tell he was holding back.
"Who's the elf?" asked Erik, coming up to her.
"No idea," said Eva "I just woke up and there he was."
"Well, he doesn't stand a chance against Quinn," scoffed Erik "What was the kid thinking? Quinn should just knock him out so we can get on our way."
"You killed my father…" he said. So this is one of the elves' kids. He must have been furious with my light sentence and decided to take matters into his own hands.
"You will die, demon!" yelled Illan, thrusting him sword forwards to stab Arrathir in the stomach. Arrathir jumped aside and grabbed the elf's wrist, twisting the sword out of his grasp.
"Listen, kid," he said "I'm already feeling real crappy about what I did, so how about we drop it, OK?"
"You killed my father!" spat the elf "I will avenge him!"
"I know you'd probably like nothing more right now that to have my head on a pike," said Arrathir "And you're right. What I did was inexcusable, but it wasn't my doing. My demon blood took over and I was no longer in control."
"A likely story, monster!" shouted the elf.
"I am not a monster," said Arrathir "That part of me I reject as if it never existed. Look, Illan, killing me won't bring back your father; nothing will. What I did cannot be undone. I apologize from the bottom of my soul."
"You have no idea what you did!" said Illan "You have no idea how I feel."
"Actually, I do," said Arrathir "My mother was killed right in front of me by a Sliver. I know the hatred you feel when someone you love is killed. You feel worthless because you think you could have saved them. I'm not going to fight you, Illan. It will only end in you dying and I don't want to kill you because I'm not a killer."
"I don't care!" yelled Illan "I am going to kill you!"
"How?" said Arrathir "You have no sword and there's no way you can break out of my grip. If I wanted to, I could kill you right now, but I am not going to. You deserve to live, just as your father and all the others I killed deserved to live. Don't throw away your life because of a stupid mistake I made."
Arrathir released the elf and gave him back his sword.
"It's your choice, Illan," he said "You can attack me now and die in the process, or you can return home and comfort your mother. I'm sure she wouldn't want to loose a husband and a son in the same day."
Illan looked torn. His body was ready to spring and attack the hanyo in front of him, but at the same time, he seemed hesitant. Finally, he sheathed his sword.
"If we ever meet again," he said "My father will be avenged." Glaring fiercely at Arrathir, the elf backed into the forest and out of sight.
Arrathir let out a relieved sigh and turned to the other Keepers.
"Would you really have killed him?" asked Khell, incredulous.
"Nah, I was just bullshitting him," said Arrathir "I would have just knocked him out or something."
"Well," said Khell "Let's get moving."
They travelled for several hours, stopping once at midday for a quick meal. Their provisions were running low, but Khell was confident they would reach a city before long. Sure enough, they soon came upon a road that led through the forest. Following it, they came out of Yavimaya and onto rolling green plains. Their road met up with another well-travelled road.
In the distance they could see the thin blue line of the sea against the horizon. Right in front of the sea they could see the blocky grey outlines of a coastal city.
As they walked, edged on by the prospect of sleeping in real beds that night, they saw an ox-driven cart coming down the road towards them. As it grew closer, Khell went ahead of the group to talk with the driver.
"'Evening, sir," he said "What is the name of that city?"
The driver, a farmer by the look of his calloused hands, examined Khell and the others before responding. "That there is the city of Ers. If you're headin' for it, best hurry before nightfall. They don' let anyone in after the gates close for t'h night."
Khell thanked the man, who continued on his way. "Come on!" he told the others "We have to get to the city before they close the gates."
They quickened their pace to a run. Eva was about to tell Eva to get on his back so they could go faster, but then he remembered this wouldn't be such a good idea.
"Eva!" he said "Get on Charles' back so we can run faster! We'll never make it in time if we don't go faster."
"Why can't I get on your back?" asked Eva.
"Are you sure you want to do that?"
"I can't stay away from you forever," said Eva "The only way I can overcome my fear is to confront it."
"I don't want to hurt you, Eva," said Arrathir "If you feel uncomfortable being near me, don't do it."
"Idiot," said Eva, getting on Arrathir's back "As if being near you could make me uncomfortable. It's the demon I hate, not you."
Arrathir smiled as the Keepers took off at a tremendous speed, enjoying the thrill of the wind in their face as the closed the distance to Ers.
"Hey, Charles!" yelled Arrathir "Race you! First to the big rock over there!"
"You're on!" said Charles as they both put on an extra burst of speed. He was neck and neck with Charles as they neared the rock. Suddenly, something shot past them. Arrathir was astonished to see it was Erik.
"Wow!" shouted Arrathir, catching up with him "Look who's enjoying his demon attributes!"
"Unlike you, Quinn," said Erik "I do not intend to spend the night outside." He pulled away from Arrathir with more speed than Arrathir would have thought possible. Looking ahead, Arrathir could see the gates to the city. Guards were ushering people in as they prepared to close the doors for the night.
"Shit! Step on it, guys!" yelled Eva "I'm not sleeping on the ground again tonight!"
They sped on in the growing darkness. As the torches on the battlements began lighting up one after another, the guards started closing the city gates.
"Wait!" screamed Arrathir, knowing they couldn't possibly hear them. Erik had already reached the gates and slipped through just as they closed. He looked triumphantly back at the other Keepers as the doors slammed shut with a tremendous crash.
"Shit!" yelled Arrathir as the Keepers slowed to a walk "Locked out! Fucking Morlock couldn't even tell the guards to wait for us!"
"The joke's on him," said Khell "He has no gold or food. He'll end up sleeping in the gutter."
"He's probably got something of value on him he can pawn," grumbled Charles "Snotty rich bastard. Did you see the way he looked at us? He was glad we got locked out for the night."
"No good crying over it," said Arrathir "Guess we should find a place to sleep."
After hunting around for a bit, they found a small group of trees sheltered by the slope of a hill. Settling themselves down for the night, they ate the last of their food.
"Tomorrow," said Khell "We'll have to buy new clothes for the three guys. What you're wearing right now isn't very discreet. We'll also start looking for possible travel to Shiv."
"How are you going to pay for all this?" asked Charles.
"I have some gold," said Khell "It probably won't be enough for the voyage, but I'm sure we can figure something out. Arrathir, you'll probably want to wear my cloak when we go into town tomorrow to hide your ears. I don't think the people would react positively to the knowledge of you being a demon."
"That's probably a good idea," said Arrathir as he settled down for the night.
I wonder how Erik is doing?
Erik was thrown against the stone wall. He slid to the ground in an undignified heap.
"Aw, little man doesn't want to play anymore," said the thug.
When Erik had been in the city for a while, he realized maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to leave the others. He had no money and the prospect of sleeping in the street did not please him. He highly doubted his MasterCard or Visa would be accepted here and neither would his cash. After wandering around for a bit, getting a lot of strange looks because of his suit, he finally resigned himself to sneaking into an inn's stable in hope of finding some clean hay to sleep on. Unfortunately for him, a gang of thugs had ambushed him in an alley. After frisking him and finding nothing of value, they had decided to take out their frustration on him.
Erik wiped away a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. He'd had enough. He was going to show these punks nobody messed with Erik Morlock.
"Oh, I'll play," he said "But we play my game." Calling upon his mana, he began summoning a creature. The thugs looked nervously about as a white aura surrounded Erik.
"Let's get out of here!" one of them shouted.
"He's just a puny runt!" said the leader "What's he gonna do?"
"This," said Erik, unleashing his spell. The clouds in the sky split as a white sphere descended from the heavens. It landed in the midst of the terrified bandits and exploded in a white flare, like a miniature sun going supernova. When the white glow faded, the bandits lay strewn on the ground, their faces contorted in grotesque masques of pain.
Erik stood, unharmed, among the dead.
"Let this be a lesson," he said "To those who would seek to confront the wrath of a God."
Erik raided the corpses, finding enough gold to sustain him for the night. Walking out of the alley, he checked carefully that nobody was around. Fortunately for him, the streets were deserted. Making his way to the least decrepit inn he could find, Erik pushed open the door and walked in.
His senses were immediately assaulted by the room he was in. The scent of tobacco, sweat, and alcohol hung thick in the air, like a cloud of stench. Erik's eyes burned from the smoky atmosphere and his ears already ached from the din inside the room.
Making his way through the crowded labyrinth of tables, Erik found the innkeeper polishing a beer stein behind a bar.
"I'd like a room for the night," he said.
The innkeeper, a tall, gangly man with a sharp face examined him closely. Erik realized he must be looking incredibly ridiculous in his rumpled business suit and tie among the other patrons of the inn.
Mental note: Buy new clothes tomorrow.
"Can you pay for it?" inquired the innkeeper.
"Will this be enough?" said Erik, dumping a gold coin on the bar.
The innkeeper examined the coin, bit it to test its authenticity, and eyed Erik suspiciously.
"Three for the night," he said.
"Two," snapped Erik. Being a businessman, he knew haggling came in handy. Obviously the innkeeper was trying to swindle him. Erik seriously doubted a room for one night would cost three gold coins and knew the man was trying to soak him for money.
The innkeeper mentally weighed the pros and cons before finally declaring, "Fine, but it'll be another two if you're planning to stay another night."
"Don't worry," said Erik, dropping another coin in the man's hand "In the morning, I'm gone."
He snatched his key and a lit candle from the innkeeper and made his way to the rickety stairs that led to the rooms on the upper story. Inserting the rusty key in the even more rusty lock, Erik pushed the door open with a creak. His room comprised of a single bed covered with a moth-eaten blanket and an old chair Erik feared would disintegrate into dust should he decide to sit on it.
Guess this is the Ritz around these parts. Bloody plane.
Smacking his mattress a few times to ensure anything living inside it would flee or be killed. Sealing the door with a Ghostly Prison enchantment, Erik cautiously lowered himself on the bed. He placed his candle in a holder mounted into the wall beside his bed. As he was about to blow the candle out, a thought struck him.
He quickly summoned a Devoted Retained. When the samurai appeared, Erik told him, "Guard the door. No one is to enter this room."
"Yes, Master," said the samurai, placing himself on guard beside the door. Satisfied, Erik blew out his candle, plunging the room into darkness.
To be continued…
Author's note: No, the Keeper of Red Mana does not awaken in this chapter. Sorry to disappoint you. For those of you registered at the Academy, red classes will have to wait. I wonder if one of the Mentors should just teach the class until the Keeper awakens?
Anyways, time for another rant on my favourite subject I like to bash: Mary-Sues. Tonight, I give you my latest creation on how to write a Mary-Sue. NOTE: None of these suggestions should be used. This tutorial is for entertainment purposes only.
How to Write a Mary-SueHello there, aspiring writer!
New to the world of fanfiction? Don't know how to make the perfect Original Character (OC)? Fear not! This tutorial will help you create the perfect character!
First off, make a female character since they are so much easier to write about.
NameYour OC's name is very important since it is by what your readers will know your character. The name should be very long an elaborate to attract attention. Something exotic like Savannah, or Jasmine are perfect. If you wish to combine several names into one, like Ophelia-Mary-Credenza, go ahead! In a pinch for a good name? Fear not! Just take the name of a famous character from a novel or play. Arwen is always a good choice. A Japanese name is also good, even if your character is not from Japan. I'm sure many Czech parents call their daughter "Sakura."
Appearance
Spend a great deal of time describing your character. Spend at least two paragraphs and make sure you describe all her aspects. Her hair should be very long, waist-length at least, and a very peculiar colour like amethyst or a deep blue. If you want to make her hair two-toned, or streaked, go for it. Use words like porcelain, tan, or smooth, to describe her skin tone. Her eyes are very important. They should also be an odd colour. Nobody wants to read about a heroine with plain blue eyes! Make them lilac or gold. You can also make each of her eyes a different colour. They should sparkle a lot and men should easily get lost in them. It is very important to describe how lithe, skinny, and ample-bosomed your character is. Go for the sex appeal here. It doesn't matter if she's 15, she should still have double-D cups. Make sure when you mention her clothes that they were specially tailored to fit her figure. She should wear very extravagant clothing with lots of skin showing. Finally, make sure your character looks as innocent as possible. People always like the cute, innocent girl.
Personality
Your OC can have several different personalities: The sweet, innocent girl, the tomboy, the nerd, or the rebel. No matter what personality, she should be very forgiving and exceedingly good at everything she does. People should naturally be attracted to her.
Past
Make sure your character was abused in some form in her past, but don't include any repercussions of this trauma.
Voice
Your character should have an extremely beautiful voice. She should be able to sing marvellously and can charm anyone with her voice.
Powers
If your character can use magic, she should be able to cast incredibly powerful spells that can defeat her enemies in one blast. Also, she cannot use her powers until she is mortal danger. Only then do her powers activate.
Pet
Your character should have some strange pet that only she could tame. Never mind municipal laws; if your character wants to walk around town on a panther, she can! Give the pet an unusual name as well as the whole appearance thing like you did for your OC.
Insertion
How do you get your character into the story? Simple, have her come in as a foreign exchange student. That always works well and gives you a chance to start with the romance in the first chapter. When you have the teacher introduce her to the class, make sure you mention how all the guys are captivated by her. Don't bother explaining where she comes from or why she moved to the canonical characters' town in the first place. That will only distract from your love story. You can now take two routes: If your character goes to a uniform school, she can refuse to wear the uniform if you want her to be a tomboy. In this case, the teacher allows her to do as she pleases. You can also have her kick some guy's butt after he makes a remark about her. This is actually a very good way to hook her up with her future love. She can get detention at the same time as the guy she will end up with. Great way to break the ice.
Romance
This is where you want to spend the most time. Select a canonical character you want your OC to end up dating/marrying/sleeping with/ect… Make sure your OC has some past relation with this character, like a long-lost love or sister if you plan to have her hook up with a different character. It doesn't matter if you have to butcher the canon storyline to make this work. You have several options to get the two of them together:
The White Knight Approach: Who doesn't love a dashing hero rescuing the fair maiden? Have your OC get assaulted (preferably raped) and the male canonical character happens along and saves her. They fall in love and your story is complete! If your character does get raped, don't dwindle on this fact and don't delve into the psychological implications of this trauma. It only distracts from the story and gives your character depth. Your character should act as if nothing happened and fall all over the male character.
The "I hate you" approach: Your OC and the male character hate each other, but suddenly start developing feeling for each other. Both deny it and sexual tension should run high between them. Eventually, one of them confesses their feelings and they fall in love. This works really well if the two characters are of different ethnicities, races, or religions, no matter how impossible and improbable their love is. It worked for Romeo and Juliet and it will work for you!
The Escort Approach: The male character is 'volunteered' by the teacher to show your OC around the school. He offers to walk her home, tutor her in some subject, show her around town, ect…
All right! Now that you have the idea, get writing!
Ack! Back to normal. Everything I just mentioned is everything that sickens me about Mary-Sue characters. They are flawless, perfect, and very, very boring. Unfortunately, many n00b authors pollute the fanfiction world every day with their perfect creations. I am hereby forming a group called ATOMS (Authors Tired Of Mary-Sues.) Together, let is lurk throughout the site, flaming Mary-Sue fics! Maybe if we can beat some sense into these fangirls, we can reduce the number of Mary-Sue fics out there. Who's with me on this?
Anyways, until next week, salut!
YM: You wouldn't like her. She's about ten and as bratty as they get. Hey! I like trenchcoats, OK? They just look cool. How do I look? Well, much like Arrathir is described: 5'11, glasses, dark brown hair, and always wearing black clothes. If you pay for my plane ticket, I'll be glad to come over for a game of Magic. If not, there's always Apprentice, tho I guess if you're using school computers, you can't download anything, eh? Fecking admins…
CC: I'm updating once a week for cryin' out loud! Any more and I'll burn out! I know all my readers would be ecstatic for another "one update a day" challenge, but it probably won't happen for a while.
DLA10: Don't know if they'll visit other planes. Eva can summon in red mana, but she isn't a Keeper.
Mega: Phage. There you go.
OM: You obviously weren't around for the legendary "one update a day" challenge. It was a living Hell for me and I don't intend to go through that again for a long while.