AHHHH! I couldn't wait any longer and no one's home so I have the computer all to myself, hopefully I can write this all in one sitting, oh never mind scratch that I have to bathe my dog in fifteen minutes, the joys of a wet wriggling dog that will soon be chased, so it should take me two sittings then, oh well, I have to get this chapter out, it's driving me INSANE!
Ch.11 Vidi, Occhio, and Guarire
Liz looked around; she was on the pathway she'd been some days ago when she had met up with her Guardian, or Jack, as she referred to him. She blinked, it was strange, just seconds ago she'd seen her mother striding towards her and now she was in that place. She was in the Realm of the Dead. But instead of sending shivers down her spine at the mere thought, she was oddly comforted. She liked it here, even if it was burning up in here, feeling once again like a sauna. Instead of walking further into death, for she knew she'd die, how she knew she didn't know, she walked sideways along icy trees, her feet making tracks in the ice.
Another set of footprints met up next to hers and she looked over to see Jack once again. She smiled whole heartily at him, and he did the same. He grabbed her forearm, "I must guide you Watcher, and you must see this."
She nodded as she took his appearance in. He wore what reminded her of a toga. One heavily muscled shoulder was bare and the other was covered with the sleeveless white cloth. He was barefoot. Liz looked down. She was barefoot as well, and wearing an identical toga, except more fitting to her stature and womanly figure. She shrugged it off and allowed the Guardian to guide her.
He stopped some paces and many trees later, on the edge of a cliff. "This is where you must come when you enter death, this is where the Gods will show you what must be seen, I won't always be here to guide you, so you must know the way yourself. You will see only what is needed for you to help the Protector; you can not guide it or tell your visions what to do yet. Only you can see them, I can not, and neither can the other Gods. You alone can Watch the world all at once, and yet not at all."
She stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down, instantly she felt herself being jerked inside the yellow misty haze. When she fully opened her eyes again, she was on what looked like an old battlefield, but she knew it still existed. This is what would happen if the Protector was unable stop Blayce. Strangely, she'd never heard of Blayce, but she knew who he was. Then it hit her with full force, Blayce was the scientist that created the devices she'd been trying to uncover in the laboratory some days ago.
She blinked again and the hilly field was filled with the blue uniforms of Tortallians and the black and red of Scanrans. But Tortall was losing; bodies of TPD officers, as well as the Own, and the Tortallian army lay askew every which way. She wrinkled her nose as the stench of dead met her nose. She heard a squawking and looked up. There was a strange creature. It had the face of a human as well as upper body, but it had metal wings that glinted in the sunlight and a tail. She made a face as the creatures own stench met her poor nose, it smelled of a field of cow pies mixed with blood. The ground shook below her and large creatures of metal, nearly fifteen feet high, immerged from the woods. They looked like gargantuan Swiss army knives. She stepped back as an arrow came straight towards her. Wait! an arrow had just been shot in her direction. She looked down and the arrow went through her stomach and passed out to the other side, it was as if she wasn't there. She knelt down to the blood mixed grass and tried to pull a weed, but she couldn't her hand passed through it each time. She gave up and watched the battle ensue in horror. Thousands of people she knew or that were just innocent civilians were being severed apart by these strange devices and then the half human half robot bird things would go and devour the flesh off of the dead. She retched on the ground as she saw a child being torn in half and chucked yards away by the killing devices. Then the child's flesh was devoured by two of the half human half robot bird thingies. She looked away as she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her toga.
And when she looked again, a different scene met her eyes. She was somewhere completely different. She was in a bedroom, with two figures packing hastily. One was a man, the other a woman. The man was throwing things from his dresser onto the bed, and the woman was folding them and stuffing them in a duffle bag. Liz leaned closer to the man, as strange as it sounded he smelled familiar, as did the very room she was in. His face was somewhat blurry to her; it seemed the Gods didn't want her to know. She'd been here before though, loads of times, she was certain. She could hear them talking as well. The woman spoke in a business like tone, trying to keep all emotion from her voice and face. "We should bring Sarge; he'll be able to find her." Liz blanched, what was the possibility of there being another dog named Sarge in a place she'd somehow been before. She looked around the room and a familiar sight met her eyes. There was a picture frame with a picture of her in a group hug with Lerant, Joren, Jack, and Wolset, with one member missing. And that member was Dom, as he'd taken the picture with his camera. She looked back at the man; scant inches from their faces and her vision became clearer. The man staring straight through her and rummaging through his drawers was Dom. She looked down and noticed that she was inside of the dresser, she took a step back, and it was uncomfortable to see yourself immerged in something solid. She looked back at the woman, whose face was now clear. She saw the familiar pair of hazel eyes staring out the window blankly. Liz could hear Jack's voice in her ear, for he really was right beside her, she was just inside a vision. He spoke, his tone in the eerie prophesizing tone it had been last time, "All the pieces will come together, they will all fit to make one. Now you know who the Protector is, but do you know who the Healer is? No, you can See the Protector, for your connection is strong, but you must make your connection with the Healer. Only the Sight, lost in visions all the time, can help you find him. You must find him first before you make contact with the Protector, or the puzzle will break. You MUST find the Him first."
She strode over to the woman, who was clearly Kel. She stepped into her body, so that she could talk only with her, and so her friend could hear her. "The pieces will start falling into place. I will find you Protector, once I find the Healer and the Sight, and then I will protect and guide you as the Guardian protects and guides me. The pieces will fall into place, but first I must collect all of the pieces." Then she stood away from Kel's body and the next time she opened her eyes she was on the edge of the cliff with Jack.
He looked at her, before materializing away from her eyes. She could still sense him though and heard him repeat the all too familiar saying over and over again, "The pieces will start falling into place, my Watcher. But first you must find your pieces before you set them to their rights."
She turned and walked through the icy woods, this time her body freezing. She stopped when she came back to the path, and walked away from death and into life.
Helen watched the taller woman in front of her. Her eyes were an endless black, there wasn't a speck of white, and she had no irises. She found it rather frightening, but shook the feeling off as she watched the woman come back to reality and slump to the floor. The woman's body was shivering, and Helen pulled the blanket from her shoulders off and slung it around her.
"Welcome back Watcher," Helen said while taking a seat on the cold floor beside the fiery haired woman.
The woman turned her head slowly and inhaled sharply when she came face to face with Helen. "And why do you call me the Watcher?"
"Because it is who you are, Watcher," Helen said, eyes never leaving the now amber eyed woman before her.
"And how do you know that?" she asked.
"It's strange that the eyes of the world can't tell one who shares almost as much power as she, but then again, you're just beginning to learn of your power Watcher, or would you be more comfortable with Liz?"
"Who, how, what are you?"
"I'm a Seer, but my visions come and go of their own accord, I don't have to travel into death like you do, my ancestors, all with the Sight, have prophesized about you for centuries, and I am honored to be in your presence Watcher, I will serve you, as my ancestors have throughout time, you are finally in your true form Watcher. Welcome back," Helen said and curtsied after standing up in front of Liz.
"You are Sight!" Liz proclaimed, excited that this might be the one who was to help her.
Helen cocked her head, "That is the nickname each Seer receives in my family, you truly are the Watcher. I am here at your service Watcher."
Liz stood slowly, aided by the shorter woman slightly. "Then you will help me," she said, her voice a tone she'd never heard before.
"Aye, that I will Mistress Watcher, as it should be, I am here to serve you," Helen said.
"You will help me find the Healer, and then we will find the Protector."
Helen smiled, the Watcher had finally come. Soon she'd be freed from this hellhole telling every vision she had to Maggur, soon things would be set right in Scanra. Her heart beat wildly, she would make her ancestors proud, for she was the true Sight, and the woman before her was the Watcher in her true form. She remembered seeing paintings from centuries ago of her when she'd been in her studies, but she had to be reborn and she was finally back to her true self. Soon, she would be freed. Watcher slumped onto Helen's bed and opened her mouth to ask of her surroundings, but instead instantly fell asleep dreaming over and over again of the first horrid vision she'd had.
Neal stared, jaw clenched in anger, across the room at Owen. Owen stared back, his eyes and face, looking for once completely depressed. Neal looked away, he'd never seen his friend in a state such as this and didn't plan on it, it was making him even more angrier just to look at their surroundings though, as they were in a cell, both tied to chairs, cloth stuffed in their mouths, hands and feet bound, and he'd only just managed to remove his blindfold.
He creaked his neck, causing his spine to crack as well as a few other bones. Owen stared at the floor, obviously playing a mind game with himself out of sheer boredom. Neal huffed in frustration and rocked his chair back and forth until he finally landed with a thud on his back, at least he could now try to sleep. He heard Owen make a muffled snort from his cloth stuffed mouth. Neal rolled his eyes and began staring out of the cell, trying to figure out how they'd get out of there.
Liz sat up with a jolt, remembering that for some reason she was no longer in the Peterson residence. She turned her head ever so slightly and met a pair of misty grey green eyes. She jumped back, she had no idea there was someone that close. She heard a bubbling laughter emit from her right, and turned again. It was Sight. Her hair was down and stopped a little after her shoulders in tight honey blond curls. She was doubled over laughing at her. Liz frowned and stood up after smoothing her clothes and hair. "Aye, what's so funny Sight?"
"You Mistress," she laughed. But then she stood straight and a serious expression came over her sly face. She jutted her round chin out, her pointed nose sticking out. "You are to meet the prisoners today; they won't speak so the boss says you are to get it out of them. You know, use your Gifts."
"And exactly who is this 'boss'?"
Sight sighed, "He's the one that's been looking about you since he heard you actually exist in this generation. He's going to use you, as he's using me, to take over Tortall, and eventually the other countries."
"How can I help him, and why should I?" asked Liz, with a doubtful expression.
Sight looked away, "Because he's captured a few of your family members, and if you don't do as he says he'll kill them."
"How do I know he has them?"
"You'll see them in the dungeons." Sight, or Helen replied smoothly.
"Oh," she said while rubbing her face. "Can I grant permission to speak with 'Boss' as you call him?"
"He'll speak with you in a heartbeat. You do know that you're considered a God right, well Goddess as you're a female, he'd do anything so long as…" she started rambling.
"Hush. Why again am I considered a Goddess?" Liz turned away, trying to hide the expression on her face, and the fact that she was about to laugh.
"Well, you are. You are called Watcher. You're an Avatar, you were condemned to the Earth centuries ago for a folly, you did, but this is the last life you have as an avatar, once you die you'll then come to the Realm of the Gods where you belong and take your rightful place."
"You've got to be kidding me right. I'm no God, Goddess. I'm just Elizabeth Anne Peterson. Besides if I'm a Goddess I wouldn't have been shot twice."
She shook her head. "You're in the form of an Avatar now, Watcher. Once we're through this life, you'll come back to the Realm of the Gods where you belong, as you are the eyes of the World and I will come with you as I am your servant. And I always will be, I'm a minor Goddess few know of me Mistress, but you are one of the shall I say 'top dogs'."
"Alright, how can I prove to you that I am no Goddess?"
"Let me prove to you that you are," Helen said, grinning cheekily. She wrote down hastily on a piece of parchment. "You are to say these words, but you must take me with you Mistress, for you're still a bit weak from the incident and I long to see my Mistress' siblings."
"But you just said..."
"Those are your foster family. Let us meet your truefamily Watcher, before the 'boss' comes for your Avatar body."
Liz looked down at the paper thoroughly confused and grabbed Helen's forearm before muttering the words. "Brother, sister,grant me but one last day with you to give me the wisdom I seek to complete the task you've sent me centuries ago. Let yoursister into the Realm."
She looked down at Helen, still holding firmly onto her arm, "Sure, are you alright…" her smirk melted off of her face. She looked around wildly; they were certainly not in the Realm of the Dead, but some other realm. She let go of Helen's hand, but the shorter girl still stood closely to her.
She looked over at her companion, and er, servant, she thought. Instead of seeing a woolen skirt and layers that provided warmth from the Scanran winter, the girl, woman really, wore a toga. But it was long and flowed down to her feet, it was a crimson red and looked to be silk. Her hair was longer now and trailed down her back, and around her forehead was a golden circlet. Liz blinked her heart pounding and then she took a moment to look at herself. She now wore a flowing green toga that had a slit from her upper right thigh to the floor, she wore no shoes. Her hair was down and atop it was a crown of varying flora. She felt very self conscious as the toga was quite revealing and she only wore a loincloth beneath it, no bra or anything.
She looked over at Helen and when she did she saw a tattoo on her left shoulder where her scab should be. It was an eye, and the longer you looked at it, the more you thought the iris changed color, and she could have sworn she saw it blink.
She shook her head, this Helen girl must've slipped her some kind of drug, and this was insane, practically insane. She slapped her head and as she did so she heard a ringing laughter. She looked around and saw tall slender people decked out in similar attire, some were even animals, and some she was unsure of what to call them. "Sister, have you so easily forgotten yourself through my punishment," the laughing voice spoke in a sing-song voice.
Liz cocked her head and stared at the woman. She had layers of raven black hair that trekked down to her thighs in curls; the woman looked to be around seven feet tall. Her eyes were a piercing green, and if you stared at her for awhile it was almost as if you saw a slender tree moving with the wind. And an even taller man stood next to her, arms around a long black staff, his eyes were just black, he didn't even have the whites of his eyes, but it wasn't frightening. He wore black robes and his hair was the same endless black as his eyes. He was tan and if you stared at him long enough, you could almost see flames dance across his flesh.
"None of our kin resemble one another," the woman spoke noticing her stare at her brother.
Two words came to mind as she stared at the two people at the throne. "Brother, sister," she spoke in a tone she did not recognize and then she did. When she spoke it was in a sing-song voice like the woman.
The two nodded. "Although dear, you and Sight shouldn't be here, not yet. You have yet to aid the Protector, and how could you have forgotten to bring Healer," she paused and scratched her chin in thought, "oh, you two did have a nasty row the last time you were here, but you've had centuries to cool your minds. I will not help youSister until you make your peace with Healer, he was dragged into this because of you. Off you go Watcher."
"Wait," the man said.
"Yes, Mithros?" asked the woman.
"I haven't seen my youngestsister in centuries and you're going to make me wait once more," he spoke, his voice echoed around the room.
"I'm afraid so, or she'll just take advantage of us like last time, I always knew we should have kept her away from Uusoae since she was but a babe, but you thought sibling bonding time was necessary."
Mithros sighed and looked at his youngest sister. "Vidi, mysister, I will send you and Occhio to Guarire and once you've…settled things with him we shall spend the day helping you three with the task ahead."
The Great Mother Goddess crossed her arms, but nodded nonetheless. "Go Vidi, before I change my mind."
Mithros held out his large hand and black beams of light erupted, he gestured with his other hand for the two of them to follow. He smiled wolfishly at hissister and her servant as they stepped through the portal to Guarire.
MUAHHAHAHAHA! I bet none of you were expecting that! The next chapter will be more focused on the protector, but you will get to see who Guarire is next chapta too. ahh man im rolling on the floor just imagining all of your faces when you read this, but I was planning this all along, ok, I need a breather. Next chapter should be up soon, but my grandma is coming to visit for my sister's graduation next week, so I'll be needing to do some grandma/granddaughter bonding from Wednesday to the following Monday, but after that I have the WHOLE SUMMER to concoct various plot turns and loop wholes. I still wish I could see all of your faces when you read this chapter though, sigh, oh well, review and tell me if you spazzed out or freaked out or something hilarious!
Much love,
redpheonix