City of IF

[Shillelagh]

Tempora Crepusculi - Chapter Five

Isaac stared into the harsh, cold eyes of the creature in front of him. He could feel the intense, soul-searching heat of the pupils. This was not the gaze of the feral, crazed wolf-men from whom he had escaped. This gaze was calculating, cautious, detached. And above all, there was no mercy to be found in these eyes.

The feline- she, Isaac observed with surprise- leapt to her feet with one swift motion, though Isaac observed her tail wrap awkwardly around her legs. If he hadn’t known better, he would have guessed that she was unused to its presence…

“My eyes are up here, human,” she whispered, forcing his chin upward with her hand. Leaving one hand on his neck, the werecat slowly walked around Isaac’s back, resting her head on his opposite shoulder. It was a seductive embrace, but one which left her claws at his throat. “I must admit that I really don’t enjoy this part. Why don’t you tell why you’re here, and then we can skip this whole awkward business, hmm?”

Isaac tried to slip out of her hold; her arms, deceptively frail and slender, held his body in a firm vice. He could not turn to face the feline, so he began to speak toward the ground, imparting the truth as he saw it.

“I shouldn’t even be here. I should never have come. It’s all Tony’s fault, really. My crystal broke, and he knew it. He knew it, and he did nothing to try and fix it. All the help he could offer were a few worthless facts and an oath that prevented him from doing anything else. I chose not to listen… I shouldn’t have had a choice! I, who know nothing of this? You know Tony, right? You’re enemies, aren’t you?”

“How dare you speak such a name!” she hissed, grabbing his bad arm with her free hand and clenching tightly. Isaac screamed in pain, his knees could no longer support his weight. The werecat held him in place, gripping him by the arms like a ragdoll. “I will not be taunted so! You- you who still has form!” She had only begun to speak, but her words were drowned out by the shrill wail of a horn.

It’s the wolves from before, thought Isaac. They’ve come to finish me off.

“No! No, it’s not fair! I can’t be demoted again!” she said. Her left hand sunk its claws deeper into his injured arm, while the other clawed frantically at his chest. Isaac winced; the pain was beyond noise. He could feel his wounds pulse with the beating of his heart as his vision blurred into white. In the distance, he could see what looked like four people riding horseback- two per horse- charging straight for him.

There was no doubt that the werecat had seen the new threat as well. She paused her frantic scratching once the sound of hooves on cobblestone became audible. “They can’t! I won’t let them!” she shrieked, sinking her fangs into the base of Isaac’s neck. If she had intended for the bite to be lethal, she had missed. Nevertheless, it was enough to cause Isaac to black out. He was vaguely aware of a bolt of light hitting his captor, causing her to release her grip. The last sensation his mind registered a sharp tug, yanking him bodily into the air. The last sound he heard was the dull clack of hooves.

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Isaac awoke to a soft cushion of fabric underneath his body. His wounds no longer hurt, but he found it difficult to open his eyes. He settled instead on sound, deciding to focus on the conversation at his side.

“So then, this is the boy, Sylecia?”

“Come now, is there really need for such formalities? How many people around here look like… well, look like that?”

“Does he have any idea how much trouble he has caused?”

“Well, of course not, the poor thing. He’s been unconscious this whole time. It’s a good thing they brought him back to the Grove when they did, or he would have been forced to spend another Crep out in the lurch. As it is, he’s only got a few more hours. But I suppose you and the rest of the council will be informing him just how much trouble he has caused? Well, I will add you to the list, and he will visit you when he wishes.”

“My dear woman! You make it sound like he has some choice in the matter! The boy must visit us for the fey blessing. He cannot have any interaction with our culture until such an event occurs. And it shall certainly not be bestowed until we have finished our discussion! I have never seen such a flagrant disregard for treaties until…”

“Treaties that he never knew existed, you mean. Council or not, you have absolutely no authority over his free will. What if he wants a restoration? Who can fathom the mind of the young? I will arrange for his visitors in whatever way he sees fit.”

“Visitors? My dear Sylecia, I must have misheard you. For a moment, it sounded as though you were suggesting that a meeting with the Council was not his first priority.”

“Oh, forgive me. I must have overstepped my bounds as Mother Hama of the Healer’s Guild. I was under the impression that this boy will stay under my care and guidance until I see fit to release him.”

There was a disgruntled cough, and the scraping of feet. “You can try to open your eyes now, dear,” said the female voice. “He’s left. He knows I’m right, even if he doesn’t like it. Come now, time to wake up. You’re fully healed, though I’m not sure your body knows it.”

Isaac tried once more to open his eyes. The light was blinding. As his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the brightness, he began to make out blurred shapes against the white. He could make out a series of beds and tables, an infirmary, clearly, but one which seemed to have been formed out of the hollow of a large tree. There was no escaping it; all of the furniture had been carved out of the tree itself, with moss and boughs of leaves to serve for anything which could not be made from wood.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself, dear. My name is Sylecia.” Despite her kind, elderly voice, Sylecia still appeared to be in the prime of her youth. There was a humble, homely charm to her beauty, and she was dressed in a beautiful silk robe, which managed to provide a great deal of modesty despite its short length. In fact, the robe appeared to end at waist level, where…

“Sylecia! You have no legs!” Isaac blurted.

“Thank you, yes. I believe I might have noticed this once or twice in my life,” she said, smiling. “I am a Hamadryad. I am a spirit of the forest, one which is tied directly to the trees. Though bark, my lower body can still propel me about, though as you might guess, I cannot leave this tree. But enough about me, my dear. This is about you.

“You spent about forty-five minutes outside in the Crepusculum. That translates into about eighteen hours here in the Grove, not to mention the time you spent resting. If you wish to explore, it ought to wait until tomorrow night. As I believe you heard, you have a few visitors who would like to see you. This is a closed wing, so you won’t have to see anyone who you don’t want.”

“Thank you, Sylecia. Who, ahh… who are they?”

“Well, naturally, the rescue party would like the chance to visit you again. Seeing a live human being is a bit of a novelty, and they didn’t get the best chance to examine you while evading pursuit. And your friend Itori would like to see you. I’m not sure how he found out you’re here; he must have been watching the incoming traffic this whole time. And of course the Council wishes to talk to you, but you’ll have to do that sooner or later anyway.”

“Is that all? Didn’t you just say that I’m a rarity here?”

“Well, you’re not exactly royalty, dear. We kept you under wraps, you see. If word got out, my poor tree would be a mess of people. You could visit with me, I suppose, though I’m not sure what company an old woman like me could possible give.”

“Well, …yeah, I guess. I’ll, ummm… I think I’ll visit with…”

[Crunchyfrog]

This chapter really drew me in, especially the first scene. The description of the tree hospital I thought was very good.

I was a little confused about the DP. Sylecia has told Isaac people are queuing up to visit him, but at the same time it looks as if he is going to visit them. She says she'll accompany him, but earlier she said she couldn't leave the tree. I don't know how big this tree is...

I am also confused as to whether they're still in Crepusculum or not. If he is being cared for by non-human folk, doesn't their time stop running when human time resumes? Yet she says 45 minutes in the Crep equates to 18 hours in the tree... Is this a third time-band?

For the DP - For the moment Isaac is safe - but I get the feeling this DP is going to change all that shortly. Of all the characters he's encountered so far, I get the feeling that Ittori is the least malevolent... Whether it is visiting or being visited, I would suggest Ittori first.

[Shillelagh]

Crunchyfrog wrote: I was a little confused about the DP. Sylecia has told Isaac people are queuing up to visit him, but at the same time it looks as if he is going to visit them. She says she'll accompany him, but earlier she said she couldn't leave the tree. I don't know how big this tree is...

This is partially my fault. It is a big tree, but it's not quite that big. She is not saying that she'll accompany him- she's saying that, if he has questions, he can stay and talk to her. Itori and the rescue party are willing to visit Isaac in his room; the Council is not.

Crunchyfrog wrote: I am also confused as to whether they're still in Crepusculum or not. If he is being cared for by non-human folk, doesn't their time stop running when human time resumes? Yet she says 45 minutes in the Crep equates to 18 hours in the tree... Is this a third time-band?

You can view it as a third time band- it's more that the Crep is the exception. There are twenty-four hour days inside either of the nexus locations- the Grove and Pandaemonium. The Crep itself only lasts for an hour, but the Crep and the nexi exist at the same time. So, one can mix any sort of combination of the two times. Twelve hours in the Grove and thirty minutes in the Crep, ect...

[D-Lotus]

So I take it that this third reality runs simultaneous to human-time? This is becoming a bit confusing. Do the fey manipulate time at will?

So I'm guessing the option of using Tony's name won, right? And it wasn't a good decision... but the deus ex-machina saved the day anyway, and at least now we know that the feline isn't our friend.

I agree with Crunchy, I think Itori will be able to explain more about the conflict Isaac is embroiled in, since he was present at the time the crystal cracked.

[Shillelagh]

Oh, right, poll results, sorry.

How will Isaac respond to the feline creature?
Talk his way out of it, mentioning Tony's name. 66% [ 4 ]
Talk his way out of it, mentioning Metos and Itori's names. 16% [ 1 ]
Talk his way out of it, telling the truth as much as possible. 16% [ 1 ]
Run toward the pit for shelter. 0% [ 0 ]

Total Votes : 6
Who Voted: ChoKiba, Crunchyfrog, D-Lotus, Muaddib, Smee, Tikanni Corazon

Well... it doesn't seem to have ended well... but you're assuming that there was a good choice to make in the first place. You were in the center of what appears to be the town's central location of evil. At least this way you learned something from the way she reacted.

...You did learn something from the way she reacted, didn't you?

And, again, I apologize for the time confusion. If it helps, think of the human world as one time zone, think of the Grove and Pandaemonium as another time zone, with the Crep being an intersection. That's about as clear as it can get.

[Crunchyfrog]

Ah ok, now I'm beginning to understand. So, it is as if human and fey time are running parallel, and the only way you can cross between them is through the Crep.

Now the Crep always lasts about an hour and occurs at around midnight human time, but related to human time it actually lasts the wink of an eye. So human time runs incredibly slower than Crep time. 45 minutes in the Crep equates to 18 hours in Fey time, - 1 hour Crep to every 24 hours in Fey time.

Comparing Crep and Fey time would be meaningless then - Fey time is running so fast in comparison it would never be noticed. Isaac could spend weeks in Fey time and never be missed. (I think).

Although there is another theory... if human time is frozen while Crep takes place, then it is quite possible that human and Fey time run at the same rate - although Fey time would gain 24 hours on human time every Crep... which means that if Isaac stays in Fey time long enough he could well be missed. I'm not sure that Isaac is that concerned about the way all this works - at least not at the moment.


I'm intrigued to know more about the mechanics of how the Crep was set up now, from the fragments we've heard from Tony.

Quote: At least this way you learned something from the way she reacted.

...You did learn something from the way she reacted, didn't you?
Good point. She doesn't seem to like Tony at all. From Isaac's POV Tony's been acting all mysterious and weird, and he's not been happy about that. Now maybe he's got something to think on. Perhaps he'll be regretting not listening to Tony and getting angry with him.

While he was feigning sleep he heard voices talking about making him into a Fey, which is what Tony was talking about - although Tony still had reservations about whether it would even work.

I wonder what would happen if he asked for Tony now?

It may be that Tony can't visit, because he is in human time, but it would be interesting to find out what Sylecia's response would be.

So there's a second option - ask for Tony.

[Shillelagh]

Poll's up.

[Tikanni Corazon]

Sorry I missed commenting on this chapter, Shille. I've been pretty busy just recently... But I'll try and keep up with them from now on. :)

I enjoyed the chapter. I voted that he allows Itori in to see him. Tony always seems a little afraid to say too much, so maybe he can get a little more info from Itori.

[Shillelagh]

I'm waiting for a few more votes before I close the thread. After that, I'll start toying with the new forum- splitting threads and the like. I'm thinking of including a thread with the full story, no comments. There will likely be a thread called "Ask a Fey" for clarification of things that aren't important to the story, but haven't quite been explained to the reader's satisfaction. I'm also pondering a reaction/speculation thread, but I'm not quite sure that it's worth it.

And, y'know... after the poll closes, I'll also start writing the next chapter. Minor details.

[Smee]

I was very tempted to ask for Tony. But decided instead to get the council meeting out the way so we're free to get on with what we want to do. There's a good chance that Tony can say no more to us now than he could before... atleast until the Council have had their say.

Good chapter Shille, and the discussion after has been good too, to help get my head around the time thing.

Happy Writing :)

P.S. Congrats on moving to your own forum, I look forward to seeing you decorate the place ;)