Author Notes: I had quite a lot of difficulty writing this chapter, mainly because I didn't know where I wanted to go with it. Thus is the problem of writing without any kind of plan in mind. Not to mention I've been busy (playing RO lol). I'll have a cover page complete for DE sometime soon (hopefully). And one day I'll get around to reviewing all the fanfics that I follow…
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Ragnarok Online
Deadly Enchantment
Chapter 4 – Did you see the sea?
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Voices calling,
Light feet falling.
Into the shining sea,
Please, pray for me.
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Tyler sighed heavily, his hands tightly gripping the edge of the bed. This situation was far from satisfactory. The more time he spent 'watching' over Trian, the greater his unease grew. He could recall the reason why he was doing this in the first place perfectly, as if he was reading it from a book in Braille.
"They told us he has fallen into the Stream," Mrs Lizray said, the worry edging her voice so strong he could almost touch it.
He was shocked. Trian had always had a good grip on the limits of what he could and could not do. Both of them had been taught, no, drilled into their heads, that 'falling' into the Stream would be last stupid thing they would ever live to do. As they explained what had happened in Geffen to him, Tyler realised the Lizrays' were clinging to the non-existent hope that Trian would somehow recover. But he knew better. Trian would never recover; no one who had fallen into the Stream had ever recovered. But…he couldn't bring himself to tell them that…He didn't want to tell himself that…
"The Wizard Council allowed us to bring him here, provided all observations would be forwarded to them. We were hoping that you would be able to be the overseer…" she trailed away hopefully.
He felt a pang in his heart. "I…I may not be able to do so…you know how it is…" He sadly brushed his hands over his unseeing eyes.
"Perhaps if we assist you in your observations, just on the seeing parts, would that be allowed?" Mr Lizray's voice was slightly strained. To them, what had happened to Trian was like an unknown disease taking hold of him. There was hope there would be a cure…before it was too late. "I have heard that you can feel things more keenly regarding the Stream. Would the Sage Council disregard that fact when the Stream is so deeply involved in this matter?"
They were hoping to keep this within…family. Tyler felt the same need also. He would not be able to stand having someone else prod and note down every single thing regarding Trian. Even if he did would be doing the same thing, it would feel so…invasive. "It'd be possible, but the chances aren't remarkably high."
"We'll take our chances. What more could we lose?"
They had been lucky; the Council had agreed. Unfortunately, Tyler could feel the toll the everyday observation was taking on him. He couldn't stand this room anymore. They used to share it, but now he could barely stay by Trian's side longer than ten minutes before he would get a terrible, terrible headache. If he attempted to 'float' in the Stream while he was near his friend, all he felt was a strange, magical presence around him. Soon after, Tyler would have to cease floating because of the weariness that would quickly settle over him. It was as if something was pushing him away. Tyler didn't like it. After all, it was his room as well. But that strange energy continued to emanate from Trian, and Tyler would be forced to exit the room. However, that didn't stop him from coming back as frequently as his throbbing head would allow him to.
Ignoring the feeling of despair washing over him, Tyler sat up and listened to the gabble issuing from his friend's mouth. Like all the other times, it didn't make any sense, but he dutifully noted it down. He could hear Trian tossing and turning fitfully in the bed, which did little to ease his worries. The amount of magical energy that was slowly building around the wizard was starting to become so strong that even the Lizray's could feel it. Still, the presence was not strong enough for ordinary citizens to detect…yet.
Tyler rubbed his temples to ease the ache that was crawling into his head. He would have to find the past records of previous cases of wizards falling into the Stream. This…darkness…that was spreading from Trian didn't feel right at all. He didn't want to douse the Lizrays' hopes, but he didn't want to give them false hope either. What was going to happen to Trian? Would the strange energy eventually consume him? Or would he be in this vegetative state for the rest of his lifespan? He had no idea. A lifespan was an extended amount of time for all the practitioners of magic. He had about a hundred years left in his lifetime, a long hundred years of watching…
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Trian shut his eyes against the memories of his childhood. But he could see those images behind his eyelids, as if he hadn't shut them at all. There were the two priests, who he overheard saying he was a disappointment to them, considering his strong background. There were the jeers of the other acolytes at his pitiful attempts at their rudimentary spells. Trian had always wondered why those acolytes could heal so much better then he could. Back then, he had believed stronger than anyone else. He helped others as much as possible, he was kind to all, yet…he could hear their spiteful words behind his back. He knew about the way they turned their nose up at the beggars in the Pronteran streets. Yet…
"It wasn't fair, was it? For you, who tried so hard, to be unable to excel."
Trian heard himself murmur, "No, it wasn't…"
"It was…but a test. A test you unfortunately failed."
Trian took an involuntary step backwards as the 'ground' under the seal rippled and bubbled underneath it. Darkness burst out from underneath the creature, swallowing up the seal in its shadowy embrace. A sharp hissing accompanied the darkness, and it was a long while before a beady red eye opened and glared at him. The eye was lined with veins, and Trian swore he could see tiny little stars in its black pupil. Suddenly he felt something constrict around his chest. Crying out in fear, he scrabbled against the thing, his fingernails digging into the blackness that was wrapped around him. The darkness tightened its grip until he could barely move, until he could barely breathe. Defeated, Trian went limp in the darkness' grip. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable end…
Something cold and slightly damp flickered across his cheek. Trian's eyes shot open. When he saw how close those bloodshot eyes were to him, he would have screamed in terror if he had any breath to do so. He could vaguely see a shooting star amongst the galaxies in its pupils. A flicker of a black, forked tongue came dangerously close to his face. It was then he realised that the blackness was a snake. A huge serpent with a wide, wide mouth.
Trian's purple eyes widened in shock. The serpent, now that he could see it properly, was vaguely…familiar. Suddenly, he recalled a serpent that was with him when he was younger. It had the same glittering eyes, the same flickering tongue that had beckoned to him. Back then, it was simply there in the background. But now, with him staring at it, face to face, it was distinctly unnerving, although that could be from the fact it was crushing him in its coils…
"Even though you failed His test, you are well suited for our needs."
The snake's coils loosened from him, allowing him to breathe again. Trian fell down on all fours, gasping for air. It had never felt so good to have air rushing into his lungs once more. "Why me?" he croaked weakly. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"That's the thing about one such as you. Caught between the two types of magic…balancing precariously on the point between greys." A dark line spread across the serpent's face in a wide grin. It flickered its forked tongue, accompanying it with a hiss of anticipation. "There's such…instability. It has been…some time…since there's been one like you."
The red light of its eyes momentarily disappeared as it shut its eyes and disappeared from Trian's vision. Then, the curling and fanciful language of the Stream slowly wrote itself in the darkness before Trian's eyes. There were words, sentences, all appearing as if they were being written by an invisible hand. Far too many of them wove in and out of each other for him to read. Suddenly there were voices, hundreds of voices, all whispering to him. Glowing eyes accompanied the voices, eyes that were all watching him expectantly. They all seemed to want something from him. The thought of expectations being placed on him made him feel nauseous. Some of the voices became angry, shouting and yelling indecipherable. The voices grew louder and louder, becoming an unbearable cacophony of sound. Trian clapped his hands over his ears, trying in vain to shut out the sound.
"Please, don't shout," he murmured. "Be quieter…please…"
They continued to shout and scream at him, their voices rolling over each other, rolling over him, crushing him like a wave. It was too loud for him to bear. Why were they shouting at him? What did he do? Why couldn't they just be quiet?
Drawing in a deep breath, Trian screamed at them, "Shut up shut up shut up! Just…shut up! Please!"
A cone of silence suddenly dropped over the area. Before, where there was nothing but noise, there was now no sounds at all, not even his own breathing. One by one, the glowing eyes winked out, until he was alone in the darkness once again. He could feel water flowing past his waist, but all he could see were the words that remained. They floated all around him, some moving slowly, some spinning until they were a blur. He suddenly felt weary of this strange place. He asked himself again the first question he spoke upon entering this strange place.
"Where am I?"
And then, he knew the answer; it was floating right before his eyes. His last memory was of casting that Meteor Shower. And now there was the language of the Stream all around him. He should have known earlier; it was so obvious. There was only one place he could be in, and that was…
"The Stream…"
With a gurgling roar, a wave plunged him beneath the surface, and something was pushing him under the water. He struggled against it, his lungs straining against this second account of abuse. Trian resisted the cries of lungs for air until he no longer could. The black waters bubbled and surged into his open mouth, pushing him down, down, down into the darkness until he felt nothing more…
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Tyler raised his head off his arms at the sound of knocking. He didn't realise he had fallen asleep at the kitchen bench. His body still felt as if he had been trampled by someone heavy and his mouth felt like something had died in there. The knocking came again. They were sharp raps on the wooden door, quite unfamiliar to him. Curious, he staggered to his feet and opened the door, shivering slightly as the cool winter air blew into the house.
"Good evening," the person said quietly. "Would you be kind enough to let me know if Aleran and Rosa Lizray are here?"
"Who–" he began.
"Ah! Xildali!" Rosa's voice interrupted. "I was wondering when you would come!"
"Aleran, Rosa…"
"We have a lot to talk about," said Mr. Lizray. It was not quite a welcome but it didn't betray any negative emotion either. It was simply a neutral statement. "Do come in."
Tyler stood aside to let the newcomer in. The soft thud of a staff against the ground marked the stranger as a mage of some sort, most likely. "I think perhaps it would not be the best of ideas to stay here for a while," Mr. Lizray murmured in Tyler's ear. "Where there is Xildali, there are…touchy…matters."
Tyler was confused. Mrs. Lizray seemed to be pleased with the newcomer's arrival, yet Mr. Lizray was as unreadable as ever. His voice betrayed no emotion, as if he was talking to a stranger in the streets of Yuno. The newcomer himself sounded ill at ease. There was something more going on and Tyler was curious to know what it was. But he respected whatever reasons Mr. Lizray had for his less than subtle hint and nodded.
"I have some business for the Sage Council I have to attend to," he said. It was true, after all. A chilling wind chose to make its presence known as it blew into the house. Tyler decided a cloak would be a good idea. "I'll be back later. I'm not sure how long it'll take."
He closed the door, hearing a faint, "Is it alright for him to be on his own?" from the newcomer. Bending his head, Tyler ducked around the corner, cautiously running his hands along the wall before him. His fingertips finally brushed against the windowsill. Pausing for a moment, he wondered whether he should be eavesdropping on their private conversation. However, the need to know what was going on was too tempting to be ignored…
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Author's Note: I'm having ideas revolving around the Somatology Laboratory aka the Lighthalzen Biolab. Delsora will be healing out in developing them. Comments and criticism, as per usual. If my flighty fancy doesn't change, next chapter: Interlude – Beautiful Lie.
