First of all, I'm SO sorry I've been away so long! -meeps- I had Writer's Block of Eternal DOOOOOM on this chapter, and I'm really sorry about it! Don't hurt me! Please!
Disclaimer: I own Kamaria, Alain, and the rest of the gang. That's it. Oh yeah, and the story about the wandering swordsman. However, I'm not going to have Kenan tell all of the story-well, he will, I just won't write it all-because it would probably take up an entire chapter on its own and it isn't what this story is about. Sorry!
And to make the swordsman's story fit into Misty canon, the demons and stuff are elementals. The ones in the mountain are a lot of imps and a few Abyssal Plane elementals. The one the ronen had to slay was one like that Abyssal Plane elemental Kethry and Tarma had to bind, one of those aspiring to godhood. The dire flood is an Eastern Empire invasion. The ronen had to use his sword to summon good spirits and rally an army, etc etc…I'll leave it to your imagination. (grin)
Now, a note to:
Flamesong: "Scan" can actually mean to "conform to verse rules," which in Fireblade-talk means works in the rhythm of a poem. It's used in Magic's Price, I believe. Also, the translated poem does rhyme. It's because Kenan could translate it to rhyme-that's what the muttering was about-but that's all he's going to bother to translate. Besides, the Task is prettier in verse, no?
Oh yes, and Blade of Fire…I hope you enjoy the second paragraph. (grin)
And the mage-priestess would be a mage who's a priestess. Duh. Because this story's from Nihon and besides, it's set long ago anyway.
Thoughts :Mindspeech:
"Forge the shards of broken light and shear the darkness into cord, find the longest-buried tree to carve the sheath for sharpest sword. Seek the demon where it lies to seal the purpose with its blood, master light and spark the fire to stay the hand of dire flood."
As Kenan's voice projected clearly to everyone in the circle, the fire flared suddenly-bringing Kenan's face into harsh relief, red hair turned the color of blood and blue-violet eyes momentarily lit with an amber flame. This image lasted no more than a moment, but Kamaria shivered slightly-her teacher had looked very different, even dangerous, in that single moment. Alain felt her shiver and slid an arm around her waist.
"Long ago, in the country of Nihon, known in story as the Land of Sunrise, there was a young ronen named Haruki Kyudo, who had recently become a master of the sword. Haruki had devoted his life to train with the sword, spending days and weeks with the wooden one alone, for his master would not permit him to use a true sword until he was deemed worthy. After a time, Haruki's master sought his student and said he had consulted a mage-priestess who had some skill in divining the future, regarding his student. The priestess had given him a cryptic verse-the prophecy opening this tale-for his student was destined for great things."
Kamaria was intrigued, and tried to run over the prophecy in her mind-yet she could not think what it could mean. With a shrug, she rested her head on Alain's shoulder and continued to listen.
"Haruki received the Task from his master, and realized that he, instead of being gifted a sword from his master, as was the custom, was intended to find and create his own-but not merely a sword of metal, instead a sword of light. With a thanks to his master, Haruki left and began life as a swordless wanderer, seeking anyone who knew of broken light, as referred to in the prophecy."
Kenan paused for a moment. "In the interest of not keeping you up till dawn," he said, breaking his role of 'storyteller' for a time, "I'll skip some parts of this story. Properly told, and even without me awkwardly translating it, this legend can sometimes take days to tell."
There were a few 'aww's from the Trainees, but they subsided as soon as Kenan took a breath, avid to hear the rest of the story.
"At long last, Haruki found a small shrine deep in the forest, tended by a lone priest. After several days of ordeal, set by this priest to determine Haruki's true quest, the priest told Haruki that he must find the Mountain of Breaking Dawn and capture the first rays of light at sunrise. Haruki set out again, gaining through many trials a magic thread which he wove into a net for light. Finally, Haruki found the hill and waited through the night, eyes fixed on the East to break the light."
"As the sun crested the horizon at long last, heralding the start of a clear day, Haruki flung the net and captured the first rays of the sun, breaking them into shards that fell to the ground, blazing with light. With the net, Haruki found every last shard and turned, to find a forge in which to create his sword."
"Finding a forge in the next village, Haruki requested a priestess to aid him as he made his sword, having her infuse the anvil with virtue so the light would not shear it in two. After four days and four nights of toil, Haruki had created the blade, a long edge of pure light, the hilt blazing brightly every time he set his hand to it."
"His next task was to bind the hilt with cord, so Haruki thanked the priestess and set out to find the darkness he would cut with his blade of light. The ronen wandered into the mountains, deep into caves where light had never shone, the only aid to help him find his way the faint glow of his sword-blade, for he dared not give his position away with the blaze from the hilt."
"Haruki knew there were demons in these caves, creatures eager to devour his soul as soon as they caught a glimpse of him. Through luck he avoided them; through speed and silence he passed without their knowledge, until he found the deepest cave, where darkness hung like a cloak and the light from his blade died."
"When he could no longer see in the darkness, Haruki grasped the hilt of his sword, creating a blaze of light in the shadows and immediately alerting every demon in the mountain to his presence. Quickly, he cut the heavy darkness with three swishes of his sword, and what he had sheared fell into his hand. Haruki then fought his way from the mountain, using the blaze from his sword against the demons' night-sharpened eyes and running as fast as he could, for no human but a priest or mage could kill these beasts."
"Outside the mountains, wounded and even somewhat poisoned from the lucky touches the demons had scored, Haruki twisted the darkness into fine cord and wrapped the hilt of his blade. The first two parts of his first task was over, and now he was set to find the longest-buried tree."
Kenan's voice held the Trainees spellbound long into the night, at least a candlemark after their dinner as he described to the enraptured group-for even Heralds Kyra and Kiril were listening intently-how Haruki created the sheath for his sword and slew an ancient and powerful demon, then set out to stop a vast army from conquering his proud nation of Nihon.
As the last word of the story rang over the lake, the Trainees burst into applause, as Kenan took a bow and grabbed a waterskin, clearly very thirsty from his tale. "Is it a true story?" called out Rain, clearly disappointed that the story was over.
Kenan shrugged. "It's a legend, and I couldn't get a straight answer out of the Nihon who told the story to me, but it may well be. After all, the story of Vanyel would surely seem like a legend to those who didn't know he'd ever existed, would it not?"
:Although that story was absolutely fascinating, and I enjoyed it very much, you need to go to bed.: Sitara's mindvoice made Kamaria jump as it rang clearly in her head, :It's past your bedtime.:
Just then, Kyra clapped her hands and called over the chatter of the Trainees, "Bedtime! The nice thing about Companions is that we're not going to have to set watches, so you might as well get some sleep while you can."
As Kamaria stood, reluctantly considering the warmth of the fire against the chill of the early spring night, Kenan looked over the fire at her. "So, your opinion?" he said, with a smile.
"I hope you have more stories like that!" said Kamaria, fervently, "That was wonderful!"
"It was," agreed Alain, standing as well and sliding an arm over Kamaria's shoulders-correctly anticipating that she was slightly chilled.
Kenan grinned. "Glad to hear it," he said, "I do have a few more, actually, but none as long as that. I spent quite a while in Rethwellan, as did the Nihon envoy's chief guard, who taught me their sword-style and told me these stories, and we still correspond-as much as anyone can do across two countries, anyway. Usually I send the letters down to the Valdemaran envoy in Rethwellan, and they send it back to Nihon, since the guard left Rethwellan shortly before I did."
Kamaria looked into the night with a sigh. "I can't see," she said, squinting, "How will I ever get back without tripping over things?"
Kenan chuckled. "Remember what I had you do with Farsight-how we tracked the rabbit? That's Othersight. Do you think you can trigger it?"
Kamaria turned to stare at him with surprise, but automatically reached towards her Gift with his order, as reflexes had conditioned her to do both during their Sight lessonings and in the salle.
"Ouch!" she yelped, looking hastily away from the fire-which was blazing with a bright, red-yellow light, despite its current state as mere embers. To her Sight, it was full of energy. Blinking teary eyes, Kamaria turned and looked into the darkness again-
Which was no longer darkness. She could see dark green veins running up the trees, and the farther-off energy of several people, each with a different color to them as they moved to their bedrolls. Kamaria could see the paler green of the smaller plants, and even the tiny hints of light that darted constantly, indicating insects. "Wow," she said, forgetting the pain of looking at the fire unprepared, "This is amazing."
"One benefit of having the 'voyeur's Gift', as that barbarian puts it," said Kenan, an unmistakable smile in his tone as he began walking, "We can see far better than those with the thief's Gift."
"Fetching is not thievery!" said Kiril, stepping up to glare at his friend, "But you-well, who knows where you may be looking?"
"And who knows what you might be taking?" retorted Kenan, "At least I don't leave damage behind me, like that time you Fetched part of the table-"
At this point, Kiril attempted one of his swats, but since he did not have the 'voyeur's Gift' and could not see in the darkness, he tumbled over a log onto the ground as Kenan stepped absently out of the way. "Ta," he said, amiably, and strolled into the night.
Kamaria and Alain chuckled, the girl clasping her hand over where Alain's fingers held her waist. "Lead on, my lady," said Alain, courteously, "I can chat with little forest animals, but I can't see in the dark worth a damn."
"So says he of the Owl Clan?" said Kamaria, raising an eyebrow and beginning to walk into the night.
"Stung," said Alain, with a slight chuckle, "I can usually manage, but I was looking at the fire, and now I can't."
Kamaria led him to the shelter carefully, making sure neither he nor her ran into anything. At last, they reached the tarp, where the bedrolls had thoughtfully been set, aside from the saddlebags. The evening was growing chilly, and most of the good spots near the center had already been taken, unfortunately, and Kamaria sighed as she fumbled open the ties of her bedroll.
Several minutes later, the good-nights had been said and Kamaria had ended up on the edge of the tarp, with Kiril just below her, Alain beside her, and Rain above her, giggling quietly with Vera. Kamaria shivered quietly and curled up in her bedroll, trying to get warm.
Wish I were more like Father, she thought, He's always warm. With that thought came a sudden memory-a bit faint, but growing clearer as Kamaria thought about it…
She was eight years old, and Kamaria had just fallen in a puddle on a rather cold day. Amaya had scolded her for soaking her cloak, and she miserably trailed along after Sivan and her mother, shivering.
Just then, someone behind her swept her up into his arms, and Garethe had wrapped his cloak around her as Kamaria snuggled happily into his arms…
Kamaria smiled briefly, the memory bringing the faint warmth of nostalgia, but unfortunately, it did nothing for the chill of the air…
Until Alain rolled over and pulled her close, saying into her mind, :You're going to keep me awake, dearest.:
The thought wasn't angry at all, however; rather, only slightly concerned and warm with affection. Kamaria Sent her own thanks back and burrowed into Alain's chest, ending up with his chin resting lightly on top of her head. Growing warmer already, Kamaria smiled and fell asleep.
With the sun rose the Trainees, yawning, giving the Companions their morning grain, and going to the edge of the lake to splash their faces with cold water, after which they gathered around the remains of the fire to yawn still more and nibble the journey-bread and apples Kyra handed out. Kamaria awoke fairly quickly, used to the earlier hours, but Alain was still half-asleep, eyes mostly closed as he gave a fourth jaw-cracking yawn. "Right," said Kiril, looking around the sleepy Trainees, "We're going for a nice morning swim."
This comment made every Trainee jerk fully awake in alarm and stare from the Herald to the lake, where the mist was still dispersing-and which was freezing, since most of them had splashed their faces.
"Don't you dare," said Kamaria, without thinking, and was followed immediately by the agreement of every Trainee around the circle. Kiril merely grinned.
"Well, now that I have your attention, we're going to divide you into three groups. Kenan is going to teach you in ordinary tracking-" here the blond Herald shot a glance at Kamaria-"since we won't always have handy Farsighted Heralds to scout out dinner, and said Farsighted Heralds might just be too tired. Kyra will be showing you which plants are safe and how to find said plants, since our dear four-footed friends won't eat meat. I will be giving psuedo-Weapons and Equitation classes. By the way, has anyone else noticed that all the Heralds' names start with K?"
"Wha' does that have to do with anything?" yawned Edim.
Kiril shrugged. "Nothing. Just thought it was odd, that's all. All right-Kamaria, Edim, and Rain, come with me. Vera, Abi, and Tara, go with Kenan. Jakob and Alain-well, you are lucky enough to be the group of two, and you'll go with Kyra. We'll spend about a candlemark on each, you'll have a candlemark and a half to yourselves, we'll have lunch, then we'll have a few more lessons."
Kamaria soon found herself beside a still-yawning Edim as they saddled the Companions, who were sleepy as well and stood quietly for the saddles. Kamaria patiently snugged the girth of Sitara's saddle as her Companion yawned again and strapped the hackamore in place.
"Mount up," called Kiril, already sitting easily on Miro, who looked as awake as his Chosen-that is, annoyingly alert and cheerful. "Right," said Kiril, "We're going to warm up with a ride through the forest, then we're going to practice swordsmanship."
"With what?" said Edim, "I don't see any practice swords, and it's not like Kenan and Kyra are going to let us use theirs, since I assume you'd be using yours."
The small group paused, waiting for the statement to make sense, and Kiril shook his head. "Sticks," he said, "We'll be using sticks. Let's go."
Edim and Rain mounted in unison with Kamaria, prompting an eyeroll from Kiril, and they set off on their morning ride.
It was quite different to ride through a forest, rather than Companion's Field. There, the obstacles were kept at something of a minimum, since it annoyed the Companions if there were too many obstructions, but here, there were no gardeners maintaining the landscape-meaning the light trot sometimes had to be slowed to a walk as the Companions picked their way around piles of logs, rotted stumps, and the ever-present ferns. The Trainees often had to shield their faces from twigs and such-though since Kamaria was shortest, she had the least problem, whereas poor Kiril was sometimes forced to practically lie down on 'Miro's neck to bypass the branches.
Whippy twigs notwithstanding, it was a fairly pleasant ride, and they ended up 'home' after about twenty minutes later. A few minutes were spent to untack the Companions, and then Kiril began passing out sticks. "Staff drills!" he called merrily, pairing off with Rain-who looked slightly scared, since Kiril was twice her size-and beginning.
The stick was strange in Kamaria's hands, since it was off-balance, but she knew that she'd better get accustomed to it-because Kiril had them going at a fairly quick pace and she wasn't about to ask him to stop. Instead, she compensated as best she could against Edim-who had a hand with the staff, and would rap her fingers if he caught her attention straying.
With a candlemark came a shift, and the three Trainees in Kamaria's group paid close attention as Kyra launched into her lesson about plants. The History teacher drilled them mercilessly, calling on them randomly to recite the plants edible by Companions, humans, and those that had medicinal purposes for either. Hard as it was, Kamaria found herself having fun-especially when Kyra taught them a song with the names of all the plants she had taught just for this purpose!
"Where did that come from?" asked Edim, when they had sung it three times and had it down pat. Kyra smiled.
"I listed them and their uses, and swapped a Journeyman Bard a writing book with a waterproof wrapping for a song about the plants. As you can see, it worked."
Kamaria found herself humming as she went to her last 'class' for now, singing the words under her breath as Kenan brought Alain and Jakob out of the woods and sent them off. "Right," said Kenan, looking the Trainees up and down, "How would you begin to track around here?"
The Trainees thought, and Kamaria slowly raised her hand. "Look for tracks?" she hazarded, "And…uh…likely dens?"
"Close. Edim?" said Kenan, with a smile at his student.
"Look for the edible plants Kyra just taught us, and go from there," said the boy, promptly, "That or find a water-source."
"Excellent. Combine the two, and we have our lesson," said Kenan, "Now, I've found some prints over here-who can tell me what they are?"
Lunch was the rest of the rabbit from the night before, as well as some of the plants Kyra's last Trainees had found. Kamaria and Abi found themselves feeding the Companions, giving them their ration of grain to complement the grass in the clearing. Predictably, Sitara was at the front of the line.
The afternoon was their own, and the Trainees promptly began a game of tag, which, after a half-candlemark or so, morphed into a slightly complicated rendition of Capture the Flag. The main problem was that the 'flags' were, as a matter of fact, two Companions-Ramya and Jakob's Autumn. That pair of Companions were the only ones lacking riders, since the rest of the Trainees had immediately gone to their own Companions for help.
Kamaria's team all had blue ribbon tied around their upper left arms, donated by Kiril from 'Miro's barding, and the other team-captained for the moment by Vera-was unmarked.
Alain and Jakob were the current border-markers and referees, sitting up in trees on the midline of the 'field' and looking for fouls. The Heralds were watching with some amusement, with Kiril and Kenan placing idle bets on the outcome.
Kamaria's team included Abi and Rain, while Tara, Vera, and Edim opposed them. Currently, Kamaria was examining the terrain and wondering how on earth she was to get past the strong guard of the other team, who were all keeping careful eyes on Ramya. Kamaria's team had Rain watching Autumn, since both Rain and her Companion were quiet and agile-both pluses in this particular game.
By general consensus, Kamaria and Sitara had been chosen to go tag Ramya, if they ever managed to get past the guard, since Sitara was fastest. Unfortunately, Vera had a good eye for defense, and there was no way they'd be able to get past that guard-no matter how fast Sitara was, she wouldn't be able to avoid three other Companions.
:What, the Strategy Queen Kamaria can't find a way? teased Alain, from his vantage up in a tree.
Kamaria glared up at her lifebonded. :Shut it, I'm concentrating. Really.:
She heard a sort of mental snicker, but firmly cut off the connection to think. "Right," she said, to Abi, "If you and Sitara can border-guard for a bit, I'll see if there's a way to get around them."
Abi saluted dryly and winked as he said, "Aye, captain." Kamaria glared at the taller boy as his Companion turned away, then shut her eyes.
She hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was exactly a good idea. Kamaria hadn't really ever done this on her own…but then, Kenan wasn't that far away, so if she got into something stick, he'd be there to get her out.
Kamaria dropped into trance and scanned the area, noting the terrain around Ramya. Damn. They have her pretty well guarde-wait.
She focused her Farsight with an effort of will, noticing for the first time how difficult it really was without Kenan to guide her. But-there was a way, if she took a particular path, and Sitara was quick…
Yes. If Kamaria and Sitara could startle Ramya and herd her away, their team would win. That is, if the others didn't charge first.
Kamaria opened her eyes and called to Abi again. Explaining her plan in a low voice, she waited for Abi to nod in understanding before bending low over Sitara's neck and cueing her to start moving.
Sitara launched into a light trot, heading into 'enemy territory' with an uncanny silence. Kamaria kept a light link open between their minds, resonating with her Companion as they moved through the woods.
It took ten minutes for them to get into position, and Kamaria eyed the 'enemy' at their posts. All three Companions were slowly circling Ramya, who had her eyes half-closed and her ears flicking idly. :Ready? asked Kamaria.
:Let's go scare Ramya, replied Sitara, with something of a mental snicker. :Teach her not to pay attention-right.:
On that last word, Sitara flung herself out of hiding, galloping down the hill with a wild neigh. Kamaria yelled at the top of her lungs, counting on startling the other Trainees. Sure enough, Ramya bolted, startled, but right as the other mare realized what was going on, Sitara was harrying her tail, nipping at Ramya's flanks to keep her going. Ramya aimed a low kick at Sitara, tossing her head angrily, but she didn't have any real choice but to keep moving, for Kamaria's Companion remained undaunted.
Abi came arrowing out, flat to his Companion's back, and the pair of them got Ramya-at last-over to their 'side.' The kidnapped Ramya eyed the two of them flatly, twitching her tail with annoyance.
:You know, that wasn't very nice of you, announced Alain into Kamaria's mind, :I almost fell out of the tree when you scared Ramya.:
Kamaria pretended innocence as Abi and Rain exchanged high fives. :You're my lifebonded, and you couldn't pick up on what I was planning?
Alain Sent the mental equivalent of sticking out his tongue, and Kamaria smiled in triumph.
Upon dismounting, Sitara wandered away from Kamaria, stopping to chat with Autumn as her Chosen went back to the lake for some water.
Kamaria splashed her face, glad for the cool water in the warm afternoon when someone shoved her. The pale-haired girl toppled headfirst into the lake with a shriek, and came up dripping to glare venomously at a grinning Alain. "Payback," he said, innocently.
"Be a gentleman and help me out," grumbled Kamaria, formulating an instant retaliation when Alain offered a hand by yanking him into the lake alongside her.
Alain came up spluttering and glaring at his lifebonded, who chucked her boots out of the lake and swam in the opposite direction. "You'll have to come get me," taunted Kamaria, removing her tunic and breeches as well, leaving her shirt on-it was slightly large and fell to mid-thigh anyway.
If Alain had a reply, Kamaria never heard it, for right then Vera splashed into the lake with a bloodcurdling war cry. "Water fight!" she declared, immediately turning to splash at Alain.
Rain, Edim, and Abi followed, leaving Jakob lounging indolently on the shore a few feet from Tara. The boys immediately teamed against the girls, splashing violently as the girls retreated.
As Kamaria tried to formulate a counterattack while rubbing her eyes, Vera vanished from the surface of the water. Kamaria wondered where she went as she splashed back at Abi-until suddenly Edim shrieked and fell backwards. Vera popped up for a moment, grinning triumphantly, and submerged herself again.
"That's it, that looks like way too much fun," came a clear voice from the shore, and Herald Kyra entered the water in a clean dive to join the fray.
"Unfair!" called Abi as he was mobbed by Rain and the Herald, "We're outnumbered now!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with you anyway, Jakob?" yelled Edim, having re-emerged from the water to glare at the dark-haired boy on shore.
"I don't feel like swimming," replied Jakob, from his comfortable sprawl on the grass, "Not my fault if you can't beat some girls."
This comment prompted an outraged yell from the girl's team, except for Vera, who was underwater again, and Jakob was promptly shoved by Tara into the water, who then executed a perfect backflip into the lake herself. "Serve you right!" she said triumphantly, tossing her boots back onshore, "Beat us, will you?"
However, as the girls ganged up on the cowering Jakob, who was trying to escape and failing, the rest of the guy team each picked a girl and dragged them underwater.
"YAAAAAAAAH!" shrieked Kamaria in utter shock as someone grasped her ankles and pulled her under-
/dragging down/
/clawing for air out of reach/
/green-blue fading to black/
Kamaria surfaced, spluttering and coughing, wondering what the hell had just happened. "What in Havens-" she began, before she was splashed in the face.
Between her retaliation and the subsequent furious continuation of the water-war, Kamaria completely forgot the incident.
As they sat around the fire in the deepening twilight, Kamaria combing her still-damp hair and the Trainees' clothes drying on the line from yesterday, Kiril took the floor to tell a story.
The blond Herald picked a legend from Northern Valdemar that Kamaria had never heard, though Rain and Abi both had, about how the lights in the winter sky came to be. The story was lovely and fantastical, in semi-verse as Kiril somehow made it come alive.
The story was shorter than Kenan's the night before, but the Trainees retired afterwards without protest, tired from the lessons and water fight.
Kamaria snuggled into Alain's embrace again that night, and slept soundly.
Well, there was another chapter that Would Not Get Written. Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the delay!
I've only got two review-responses today, but I still love you all!
Yes, Blade, I like Inu-yasha.
Tropical Penguin: You're right. At least in the early chapters, Kamaria IS a Sue. That's because I wrote it two years ago, and now I'm rewriting it patiently, so hopefully it will improve! I hate to do the cliché list-o-flaws, but you've poked a nerve! At least now, I've tried my best to make Kamaria a somewhat average Trainee. Yes, she is lovely and has the silver hair and eyes. I'm sorry about that-I don't know what I was on in seventh grade! Anyway, Kamaria has two main Gifts: Farsight, which is the most powerful (and is really Mage-Gift, since she's related to the Ashkevrons) and Mindspeech, which is only mid-level. Her Fetching is absolutely pathetic. She can't Fetch anything farther than about a half-mile, and nothing bigger than, say, a twelve-inch dagger. As for more ordinary gifts, Kamaria is brilliant at strategy. However, she's pathetic at mathematics, is good at etiquette only because she's a noble (and even then she slips) and is only average in the rest of her subjects. And-uh-yeah. Sorry if I seem to be antagonizing you-I'm not, I swear, and I'm very impressed that you sat down and read the whole story! (And waded through the load of crap that is the first bit! –wince-)
All right, that's about it…I'll get cracking on the next chapter right away!
Toodles!
-Fireblade K'Chona