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Kalanna Rai
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 Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:28 am Post subject: We Cursed Three #6: Story Discontinued |
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The notice has been in my sig for some time...now here it is. Enjoy
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We Cursed Three
Prologue: Curses Three
The archer sprinted back along the bridge, legs pumping, breath coming in short gasps. He lunged for the edge, dodging a bolt of energy as it crackled overhead. One of his companions landed next to him a moment later, a meaty thud counterpointing the jingling of his armor as the warrior's heavy body hit the ground. "Come on!" They shouted back across the gap toward the last member of their party.
The woman looked from the swiftly crumbling barrier she was striving to maintain, to the saftey of the bridge's other side. Giving the sheild a last burst of power, she picked up the edges of her flowing garmets and ran. She hadn't even made it halfway when the barrier splintered and the Being came through after her.
"Thou shall not escape me!" A bolt of light was hurled toward the fleeing figure who nimbly dodged it with only a slight scortching. "Thy blood shall stain the stones for eternity! A warning to further fools!" Another bolt crashed down, this one finding a weak point in the massive stone span of the bridge. It began to crumble like poorly fired clay, chunks dropping into the black oblivion below.
The woman glanced over her shoulder, and redoubled her efforts, eyes wide with fright. "I'm not going to make it!" The stones were falling away under her feet now, she was scrambling hopelessly, trying to stay one step ahead of the chain reaction. The warrior and the archer both scrambled to the near edge of the bridge. "Jump!"
The Enchantress squeezed her eyes tight and lept forward. At that exact instant the vengeful being on the other side howled. "NOOO!" A last massive bolt was unleashed in it's fury, striking the stones just as the woman jumped. As a result she took off an instant too late.
Her outstretched fingertips missed those of her straining companions by a hair's breadth...
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One hundred years earlier...
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The three adventurers stood infront of the massive stone doors, craining their necks up to get a good look at them. "Finally...it's within our grasp. All these months of toil are finally going to pay off. All of this traveling with barbarians and fickle witches..." His two companions didn't pay him any mind. They'd been putting up with his supercilious moaning for almost a year now. The arrogant bastard need never darken their days again after they got what they came for.
The warrior grunted at the enchantress. "So are you going to open it or should I?" The beautiful woman in her flowing white garb shot him a lofty look with a single arched raven brow.
"I hardly think that your strength could budge this door. The wards upon it are quite strong. They would most likely kill you if you so much as laid a finger upon it small minded creton. Now both of you back up or you'll fowl the casting and we'll have to wait a whole eight hours before I can try again." Obediantly the archer and warrior backed up while the enchantress raised her slender white staff to the sky and shouted something arcane.
A bolt of light struck the magical crystal set at the staff's top, igniting it with magical fire. A single beam of light struck the door dead center and crawled across it's surface, runes blazed to light, causing the adventurers to throw up hands and arms to sheild their eyes from the over-bright glow. A low moaning boom was heard and, as the light faded, the massive doors scraped open. Bits of cobweb trailed in broken streamers, fluttering in the slight breeze that rushed into the passage.
With a smile and a slight 'humph' of triumph the enchantress stepped out of the way. "After you my hulking unfortunate. Hopefully any traps that await therein will take out their ire on your unsightly body." The warrior stomped past muttering ill curses against the vain witch and her preening sneer. The archer roughly shoved past the enchantress.
"Excuse me. Wealth before beauty." Livid pink patches appeared on the enchantress's face. When all this was over that arrogant son of an Earl was going to find out just how far wealth and privilage got you when you've been teleported to a location six fathoms deep. She swept after them, a small private smile curling her lush lips at the thought of the advice they'd come seeking when they couldn't read the arcane passage markers.
The archer was bursting with excitment. In only a few moments he'd be able to forget everything that had happened, all those horrid moments of 'roughing it' with these other two base-born imbiciles would cease to exist in his mind. "And I'll have everything I've always wanted." It made perfect sense to him that, once they reached their ultimate goal, he'd take his prize in hand and leave the two of them to fend for themselves.
They'd had their useful moments, he could not deny that fact, but they'd out live that usefulness the moment he put a hand on that which had driven him to such lengths in the first place. His shoulders square, his spine ridged, he ground his teeth together. That stupid oaf of a barbaric warrior was usurping his right as leader to go first...and yet the enchantress had mentioned nasty traps. Perhaps it wasn't worth his hide to go first here, in these dank tunnels, but he'd make sure that he was first in line once they reached the Sanctum.
The warrior was cautious, checking every step three times before he made it. He cursed the fates that both the noble and the witch were too timid for this job, too soft. The archer could have easily spotted and avoided traps with his keen eyes and quick feet, the enchantress have used her magic to find and nullify them. But no. They did what they had always done, lagged behind him in broody silence, waiting for the moment when he'd put a foot wrong and injure himself.
So far so good though. Nothing had happened yet. He felt a swell of pride in his own capabilities. Was he not the finest his clan had ever seen? The best and boldest of his tribe? Surely no other would be sneaking along these tunnels which held such a terrible and fabled treasure. Surely none of them could have gone as long as he without smashing the fancy boy's head in and raping the witch. He licked his lips as he contemplated the witch. Maybe once he had his prize he'd take her as well. She wouldn't be able to object then, he'd been more powerful than she.
Another set of doors loomed up, less impressive in size but far more heavily marked. "Is this it? Or is it something else?" The archer tried for bored sophistication but instead seemed excited and edgy. The enchantress lifted her delicate chin and wrinkled her pert nose as she passed her companions. For several long moments she studied the door. The archer tapped his foot. "Well, out with it woman!"
She shot him a tight glance from the corner of her eye and said in a tight voice. "Yes these are the Celestial Gates. Give me a moment." Again she raised her staff and again a beam of light struck the doors. With rush of wind they blew open to reveal a massive chasm spanned by a stone bridge. "Come now and watch your step. The Bridge of the Heaven's is said to be difficult to..." She shook her head as the pair moved swiftly past her. "Traverse. Have it your way animals, I'm not going to risk splitting my head open."
The archer and warrior were forced to slow their steps on the span's slick stone, the enchantress delicately picking her way from behind. Moments later they were across. A single flight of stairs ascended upward, toward a brilliant green white glow. The three of them marched abrest, each eyeing their fellows to make sure nobody bolted ahead. They continued in this manner until they reached the platform at the top of the stairs. Spread out before them was a lake of shimmering blue water.
In the center of that lake, on an illuminated pedistal, a brilliant white light shone in a steady manner. For a moment they all stood, striken by the beauty, and then they walked forward. Slowly they crossed the glass-like surface of the lake until they were surrounding the glowing ball of light each equidistant around the orb. The archer looked up and grinned. "It was so easy. The legends said this would be a difficult task but the journey was more of a hardship than this Citidel has been."
The warrior laughed. "Indeed. For the stronghold of the greatest power in the world it was pitifully prepared. Woman are you sure your scrolls did no mislead you?" The enchantress shook her head.
"I don't understand...there should have been much more. And this should be guarded by a power referred to only as 'Jade'ed'. Still...perhaps the fates have decided that we three are worthy." With those words their hands shot out to touch the prize of their quest...to claim the fabled Tear of Stars. They suddenly found themselves frozen, fingertips only a heartbeat away from the Tear's surface.
"So I have caught three more who would steal my beautiful bubble. Now what shall I do with you?" The three of them craned their necks upward, a movement allowed them, to see a beautiful maiden of carved green jade staring down at them from eyes that shone like stars. "I can sense in you many things. In you Cerea of the Alabaster Dawn...I sense your vanity. You think you are the most beautiful, magical, thing in the world."
"And I sense great arrogance and pride in you Tristan of House Urdu. You mock those less worth, lauding an intelligence and supiriority that you pretend to claim."
"And you Erten Black Fist, Warrior of Severed Spear Clan. You are less than a beast with your bloodlust for conquest and killing, your anger that spurrs your blade." She circled around them, her eyes cold and hard. "You are not fit to touch my treasure filthy theives! You are obscenities in my presence. A curse upon each of you."
She pointed to Cerea the enchantress. "You! Your vanity is your prime facet. If you wish to be the most beautiful, magical creature in the world...so shall I grant this to you. May you enjoy all the happiness of the hunt men shall mount for you, all the joy of fearing every second for your life. May you live a grand life...as a unicorn." The enchantress opened her mouth to speak but light overcame her. When it vanished a white unicorn with a crystal horn and a man streaked with a single black lock snorted in panic.
She whirled to face Erten. "You, your anger and rage pollute the air you breath. You seek only blood and violence then you shall have it...as a war hound.. May your jaws snap at every hand turned your way, may you slaver over the blood that falls at your feet. And may you relish the pain of every lash the kennel masters place upon you." Another clap of white light enveloped the warrior...and when it faded a black hound fully the size of a small horse bayed mournfully.
Jade'ed turned to face Tristan. "And for you...you arrogant, prideful creature. May you love the life of a storm crow. May you enjoy shining your beak on rocks and staring forever into pools of wind tossed waters...may you come to love your mocking call echoing over villages where children pelt you with stones for crying falsities!" The third and final clap of light illuminated Tristan and, when it vanished, the archer had become a larg crow fully double the size of an eagle.
Jade'ed raised both hands high. "These Curses shall remain upon you until all your misdeeds have been avenged! You shall be denied the pleasure and comfort of death! Once per year, you shall be given a week of human form...a week that will end upon this date! Use this time to correct your ills!" White light filled the room. "Now begon from my sight you cursed souls!"
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How's that for an intro...
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
Last edited by Kalanna Rai on Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:39 am; edited 12 times in total
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Idea master
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:17 am Post subject: |
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LOATH though I may be sometimes to say it, here, I mean it.
You've impressed me.
Quick, take that to the bank before I change my mind.
_________________
...So I've been summoned back from beyond the veil.
...No plans yet.
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:22 am Post subject: |
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I love the point of view... And three poeple who know each other quite well.. I should like to read more, more history, it sounds very intresting.
Damn my mother... Well, I do say I'd like to hear more of their curses.. 
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you all...now for your first chapter. Enjoy
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Chapter One: Wild Things
Soft green grass tickled the tip of her muzzle as she gently cropped the sweet blades short, her legs carrying her over the swaying medow like a silver cloud across an emerald sky. She lazily flicked her tail, shooing away a fly that had settled on her haunch for a bite. A twig snapped and instantly she was alert, ears flicked back, horn glowing as she tuned into the world around her.
An arrow whizzed out of the dark tangles of a copse of trees a few yards distant. She shied to the side and bugled a sharp cry. She couldn't even graze in peace anymore...damn them and their greed. As she took off running she mentally sighed and reproached herself. It wasn't the human's fault after all...it was hers. Part of the curse she carried drew the hunters to her, drew them and their weapons that could not kill. Still, she doubted the curse would prevent her horn from being striken off...and she couldn't afford to loose that.
"Then I'd be just another white horse." She ducked as the tangled finger-like twigs of an overhanging branch reached out for her. Gathering her legs in close she jumped over a fallen log, ducking her head again to prevent another branch from knocking her senseless. The tangle pathways of the forest were well suited to loosing her persuers...but they were also well suited for weeding out overconfidant unicorns who thought they could do no wrong.
Her eyes sparkled as she wondered once again how Tristan would have survived as a unicorn. He'd never have been able to swollow his arrogance long enough to beg a herd stallion for grazing rights. Although, admittedly, she hadn't liked it at the time either. Now it seemed such a silly thing to object to, such a silly thing to get angery over. She cut sharply to the left as a moss covered rock face sprang out of nowhere...she'd been expecting it.
What she didn't expect was to suddenly find another unicorn running parallel to her, his young eyes rimmed with white. He seemed just as startled of her but neither of them lost a stride. "Are they after you too?" Then he caught sight of the black streak in her mane, the black snipe on the end of her muzzle. "Oh it's you! You'll know how to loose them won't you?"
So they were hunting this innocent as well? Looking him over as much as she could while keeping an eye on the forest that was flashing past, she felt a cold rage burn inside. He couldn't have been more than a year and a half old, maybe two years at the most. His horn was still a little blunt at the tip, his coat still had the velvet down texture. This had to be the first time he was seperate from his herd. "Follow me colt, take hold of my tail."
She winced a bit as his teeth clamped on the silken strands of her tail. He had sense enough to sync strides with her so that their hooves didn't tangle and trip them both. Cerea didn't for a moment believe that the hunters had already given up and a moment later her suspicions were confirmed as an arrow shattered against the trunk of a massive tree. Unlike most unicorns, who would have veered away from that side, she instantly swung around in that direction.
A few moments later they were on the largest path in the forest, a recognizable landmark, where the remnants of human cobbles chimed under their hooves. Cerea flicked her tail free of the colt's hold and charged ahead at her fastest pace, trusting that the youngster would try and match her speed. His nose drew level with the middle of her ribs and stayed there...obviously that was as fast as he could go. She shook her head, she needed to reach the Canyon before the hunter's mounts took the Road.
A circle of golden light shimmered before her marking where the trees of the forest gave way to an open space. Looking over her shoulder she saw the first of the hunter's lathered horses turn onto the Road, arrows were already zipping their way. The colt's eyes were wide as he contemplaited his own doom. She locked her turqouise eyes into his amber ones. "Trust me?"
He gave a frantic bob of his head and she turned her head back forward. "Whatever you do...once you hit the light you jump for everything that you're worth." She didn't look back to see if he understood, didn't flinch when an arrow came so close to her neck that the wind of it's passage burned her skin, only concentrated on that widening circle of light. Another arrow came close, almost striking her horn, many were thudding into the moss covered cobbles all around them like a deadly rain.
Then her muzzle was in the light and she planted her forehooves on their last step, her hind hooves catching the last inch of turf on the edge of an impossibley wide canyon. As if she was just taking another stride she brought her forehooves forward, but curled them close to her body as both back legs shoved her forward like massive springs. "Now colt!" Behind her the colt did the same, launching himself in a full stretch into the air.
They flew light arrows of equine light, manes and tails snapping behind them light pennats and banners of some monach, horns sparkling in the light. But it was painfully apparent that they'd never reach the other edge, that this was a leap into oblivion. Cerea concentrated, feeling her magic spark unwillingly before it caugh full flame. A blaze of light light her horn and pulsed outward. There was no visible affect upon Cerea herself but wings of translucent white sparks unfolded themselves from the shoulders of the colt.
He'd reach the apex of his leap, been about to start plunging toward his death, but now those wings took over and he glided out past Cerea herself. "But Lady you..." Cerea smiled at him as she plummeted. As she twisted in the air she caught sight of both the colt diving down after her and the horses of the Hunter's, unable to stop, plunging into the nothing that lay beyond that circle of light.
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Her body thudded heavily into the stone floor of the canyon and she lay there for a moment in pain. She'd bounced off a few of the massive rock spires before finally reaching bottom and she felt each and every wound. Then there was a flash and the pain was gone, she was just as whole and hale as she'd been in the meadow a few moments ago. The colt landed next to her, his shimmering wings vanishin the moment his hooves touched the canyon's bottom.
As she stood shakily his eyes went wide. "They're right...you are a demon!" She snorted.
"I'm no more a demon than you are. I'm Cursed, that's all." Turning she looked around at the surroundings. She wouldn't be able to use Shimmering Wings for another eight hours and even then she'd only be able to cast it on one of them...and that was the only flight spell she knew in present circumstances. Sighing she lipped at a few blades of the sour canyon grass, knowing full well that she was safe from any hunters down here, safe from forest preditors as well. The Canyon was reguarded as an evil place...even though none of the unicorns sensed anything even faintly ill about it.
The colt eyed her nervously, then eyed the canyon walls. "Can't you get us out of here...I don't like this place." He pawed at the stone under his feet. She snorted, the impaitnece of youth...to think she'd been like that once. Still she was covered in the drying lather of her wild run for freedom, her sides were still heaving for each breath, and her muscles trembled from her own exertions. Not to mention she was mentally exhausted.
"No colt, I cannot." He collapsed then, legs folding under him, as he sunk to the stone with tears running down his muzzle. She walked over and nudged him in the ribs. "Get up, this is no place to rest. Get up." He didn't budge.
"I don't have time for this colt, I've got to be to the Moon Meadow before the sun rises tomorrow." He looked at her quizzically. "There's no time to explain but I must get moving. There should be a set of stairs around here somewhere that lead out of this canyon. Back where I come from there are many legends about them." The colt still didn't budge.
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Far away on the edge of a medow of silver-green grass a large black hound flopped down in the grass. He'd been running non-stop for a week since he'd slipped his collar and fled the royal kennel. There were half closed wounds on his back, from the metal tipped whips the kennel master's used on unruly dogs like himself, and other wounds from the fight he'd gotten into just before that. The fight had earned him the beating, the most sever he'd had in a long time. It hadn't been his fault, he'd warned the whelp what would happen...and the pompus pup hadn't listened at all.
"Oh I cannot wait for tomorrow. I'm going to go back and give that old man a taste of his own whip." His ears caught a sound from above him which made him lift his muzzle, lips peeled back to flash his long fangs, and growl deeply. The sound was laughing and the creature laughing at him was a massive crow with purple-grey markings. "You find this funny Tristan?"
"Indeed I do Erten, indeed I do." The crow laughed again, a horse cawing sound, as the massive black hound lunged off the ground with a savage snarling bark. Naturally his jaws snapped shut on air several feet below the branch Tristan had perched on. "I see you've done wonders with that temper of yours."
"And I see that you're still the same humble self you've always been." Tristan pulled his head up at that, ruffling his feathers and sticking his chest out. Then he sighed and let the pompus, affronted pose go.
"I wonder if Cerea has had any better luck than we have. You'd think we'd have made more progress after all this time." The hound had turned a tight circle in the grass, curling up to lick some of the wounds on his flank.
"Her? Ha! You're more likely to get the moon to rise in the day than you'll get her to move an inch past a mirror." The hound growled again. "Don't you remember ten years ago? She wasted an entire day in that market looking for a silver broach! As if she could even wear it as a unicorn! It was almost as bad as that year you almost revealed your Curse."
"At least my family took it well...even if they did double cross me and tell everyone I was dead. You're family reunion didn't go anything as smooth as that." It should have been impossible for a crow to wear the expression Tristan was...yet that supercilious smirk of his seemed capable of surpassing the limitations imposed by beak, feathers, and beady eyes.
Erten surged off his feet, sprining into the air, a truely fearsome sight. Then, when he could no longer ignore the burning ache in his wounds or the fact the crow had the high ground, he settled back down. After all, there'd be plenty of time when Tristan was a man to take every remark out on his flesh. In the last slanting rays of the sun, silence fell in the Moon Meadow.
When the moon rose and the grass turned the silver color it was named for, Tristan finally voiced a worry that had been creeping up on him for some time now. "Erten...Cerea should have been here by now. You don't suppose something happened to her?" The hound looked up.
"She's not dead, we know that."
"But she could be in trouble."
"So let her get out of it." But the hound's heart wasn't really in those last words. Without Cerea there was no way for them to break their curses, they'd figured that one out in the first year when Cerea had tested the bounds of the Curse in an attempt to break it. With a sigh and a small groan he got to his feet. The crow silently launched off of it's perch, circling above. "What do you think you're doing...you're not an owl idiot!"
"No I'm not...but she does glow in the dark creton! I can spot that!"
"And the glow of every other unicorn! If we can get her scent I can track her! We need to go to that clearing of hers!" The crow and the hound glared at each other trying to figure out which of them had the better plan.
What were they going to do?
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There you go, first chappy. Hope you liked.
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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How about stop fighting and using both there talents.
Combining their talents, the crow can say which directions those glows are....and the hound can use his scent to point out which glow is Cerea.
But given the choice, the hounds sense of smell sounds like the best choice...after all who knows how many unicorns are out and about?
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| i thinks the senting her out. would be great. and crow dude can search 4 the glows above and point it out 4 dog. i liked this chap. the curses history coming from there lips. voice.
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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The colt may not even be with her...notice he wasn't particularly inclined to move at the end. She may just leave him behind...
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:15 am Post subject: |
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I've let you chew on this long enough...first poll is up.
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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Liana
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| Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I like this SG alot Rai. I think that Cerea should bring the colt along. The three may find him useful.
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Well here it is, typos and all. Enjoy!
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Chapter Two: Friends or Foes?
Finally Erten snorted. "Well we certainly arn't going to find miss wonderful by staying here. Why don't you try to figure out which unicorn glow is her's from the air and I'll see if I can't scent her from memory down here."
The crow looked at Erten with a slightly shocked expression on his face. Since when did the barbarian actually show signs of a brain? Still Tristan wasn't used to taking orders from anyone and he wasn't about to leave the hound thinking he'd stunned Tristan into silence. "Fine then. Shove your face in the dirt as always, at least I won't have to smell you from up there." He gave another cawing laugh as he launched himself into the air, Erten's jaws snapping shut at least ten feet below him.
"Get a clue, that's never going to work!"
"Just wait until we're men again dandy! Just wait." The hound snapped his jaws in satisfaction as the crow couldn't quite supress a shudder at Erten's snarled words. Just wait until the pipsqueek couldn't escape Erten's grip. They'd prove once again that the warrior could, and would, turn Tristin's pale skin a mottle of black, blue, and purple given half a half chance.
Still the hound put his nose to the ground, ignoring the tenderness that lingered in his back and shoulders and his tattered paw pads. He had no wish to miss his window of humanity because the woman had gotten herself lost and he was too busy snapping at an irritating little pest like the crow. Still it was frustraiting to have the crow give a caw when he spotted something only to have it turn out to be some other unicorn...and of course it wasn't a unicorn that had seen Cerea, that would have been too easy.
The crow, sailing far above the hound, flicked a few feathers to change direction. The glows were becoming few and far between here in the middle of the ancient wood, as if the unicorns were avoiding something. His form, ebon as the velvet night around him, sliced through the air as he swooped lower for a better look. A niggling sense told him where Erten was, although were it not for the circumstances of the Curse Tristan wouldn't mind if the brute fell down a hole and died.
You'd think after all this time the three of them would have reconciled to each other, as the Curse seemed to require, but Tristan couldn't think of Erten as anything more than a meat sheild and Cerea as a means to a magical end. They were both respective pains in his tail-feathers, Erten with his hulking, low-level brutishness and Cerea with her self-absorbed narcisisim. To be fair though she was the one always stepping in when things got out of hand between the warrior and himself...and she'd healed his broken nose more times than he wanted to count.
The hound was twisting his way around trees when he suddenly put a foot into air. Before he could correct for the misstep, he wasn't agile afterall, he was plummetting through the air, bouncing off every stone that stuck out from the canyon walls on his way down. He hit with a thud that startled flocks of sleeping birds everywhere into flight. "Nice of you to join us Erten...I trust Tristan is nearby?"
Looking up, once his bones finished rearranging themselves under his fur, Erten found himself staring into turqouise eyes that sparkled with a barely hidden mirth. Curse the witch and her talent for looking impeccible even at her worst. Her white coat was glowing with a shimmer that had nothing to do with reflected moonlight, her horn like a crystal lantern. "Looks like you've been in some pain lately, let me help."
Before he could say anything about his pride and suffering in silence, she'd heard that speech several hundred times before, there was a flash of light and the stinging whip marks were gone. "Damn you woman! When will you learn?"
"When will you stop being an ugly barbarian? Oh, that's right. Never."
"Tristan behave!" The unicorn managed to put her hoof on the hound's tail in time to keep him from savaging the storm crow that perched on a jutting rock a few feet away. The hound turned to snap at her and instantly thought better of it when confronted by flat ears and two plus feet of glowing magical horn. "Now let's settle down and think this through. If we're not back in that medow by morning things will be...unpleasant."
All of them winced at the same time. Unpleasant wasn't quite the word for it. Insanely painful was a better description. Not to mention they'd lose their week of humanity and with it, the chance to do a few good deeds and further their chance at evening the scales. The last thing any of them wanted was another year of Curse added on to the past ninety-nine they'd already suffered.
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The sudden apperance of the colt had shocked both Tristan and Erten, who'd mistakenly believed that Cerea had mangaged to hide something from them. At that moment the unicorn was never more certain that she was traveling with morons. It wasn't as if Erten hadn't made that attempt. There wasn't a bitch in heat that man could resist. And there weren't legions of Erten-sired pups out there...what made them think Cerea would suddenly drop a foal?
The colt, who's name turned out to be Syire, somewhat nervously informed Tristan and Erten that his parents were a pair of unicorns that lived near the headwaters of the Silent Spring. That had drawn a few blank looks from the crow and the hound but luckily Cerea knew what he was talking about and was able to put it in terms an idiot, or two, would understand.
"What he's trying to say is he's somehow managed to get himself chased nearly a hundred miles from home. The Silent Springs headwaters are in Shadow Lake...which is about a week's journey south of this forest."
"Which mean's we can kiss our seven days goodbye." The hound snarled to no one at all. "I hate it when She screws with us like this!"
The colt might have looked a little mystified but the Cursed three didn't. They all knew full well just who the 'She' Erten referred to was. Jade'ed, their mistress of punishment. This wasn't the first little challenge she'd thrown their way, a good deed that took them their full week. She tried to do it at least once a decade, and last time they'd had disasterous results. Oh they'd finished their mission in their time frame...and nearly been killed when they shifted back to their animal forms. Demons...why did everyone assume Demons?
Cerea sighed. "Let's get moving. Tristan, think you can find a set of stone stairs in the dark?" The crow preened himself, looking haughty and noble as always. The unicorn knew that, if he actually found the stairs, he'd never let them live it down.
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The colt studied the three who were his momentair companions. The unicorn, Cerea as she was called, looked normal enough. Long, long legs ending in hooves of silvered crystal, their chiming pure and noble against his more muted notes. Her tail was a ripple of silver-white silk, a virgin banner that soaked up the moonlight to enhance it's own glow. Her coat was velvet plush and silken smooth, muscles rippling in bunched haunches and slender shoulders. Her barreled girth was slender, her neck an arch that expressed pride and beauty.
Her mane flowed over it like moonlit rapids, one ebony lock providing stark contrast, fluttering across those massive turqouise eyes like a bridal veil. Her long horn, much longer than a normal unicorn's and therefore more valuble, was clear crystal...like those of the Old Ones. It shone with prismatic hues denoting mood, subtile shadings only a unicorn would know. At the moment all the irritation and worry she didn't show in her massive eyes whirled in that crystalline horn.
All and all, as her easy gait was clipped to allow the colt to keep up, Syire had to conclude she would be the perfect specimen of beauty. At least he'd never seen any like her at Gatherings.
He turned his attention to the hound, Erten as he was called. He was almost as large as Syire himself, just a little shorter of leg and neck. His legs were long, massively muscular, perfect for sprinting across the battlefield. His jaws and neck were perfectly suited to latching onto the leg of a knight or part of his steed and tearing that chunk of flesh away. Ivory fangs gleamed as his rough tounge lolled from his mouth, looking like the stylized demon masks of some countries.
His ears were pert triangles, alertly scanning the night, his eyes pits that flashed luminous red when light sparked their depths. His night black coat was short and stiff, more like wire bristles, and silver scars threaded it like rivers on a charred map. His long tail was held ramrod stiff, a sign of his displeasure, and his sharp nails clicked the stone as his massive paws thudded to the ground.
The last, and hardest to study, member of the party was the storm crow that winged above them. He swooped down every now and then, allowing Syire to piece together the glimpses of him into one complete picture.
The crow was huge, massive wings almost large enough to look right on Cerea, certainly the right size to fit Erten. The crow, Tristan, had feathers as dark as the night around them, deep purple and blue shimmers catching the moonlight now and then and flairing to life. His pinions were like those of most crows, save a little more ragged looking.
His tail was longer as well, swooping back in a graceful fan that would have been better suited to a species bread for beauty. It too looked ragged, as if it had seen too many days of bad weather. His talons were thick, sharp, and long. Perfect for holding a secure perch in any weather. His beak, as ebon as black iorn, was slightly hooked, and his eyes were not simply black and beedy, there was a little color to them. He didn't come close enough for Syire to tell what that color was.
As they covered the ground of the Canyon floor the colt couldn't stop feeling apprehensive. The three of them wouldn't stop bickering for anything, every little thing becoming a source of pointed barbs, sharp snipes, and discontent. It was plain to see that he'd never get anywhere trying to be cordial to all three of them, he'd never get anywhere with the three of them at all. But what could be done about it?
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Tristan spotted the steps well into the wee hours of the morning, sending them all into a mad scramble to reach the top. They were about halfway up when Cerea noticed the colt lagging far behind. "Wait!"
"We can't wait nag! We'll probably not make it back in time as it is!" The unicorn shot the hound a sharp glance. The crow circled around the top of them.
"Yes but if She did send us the colt as a challenge then we dare not fail! She might take that as an oppertunity to do something else to us!" And that was the reason they'd always done these things that Jade'ed set out for them, fear she might add on to their Curse.
And so the trio pondered the problem before them. Help the colt? Or race for the medow?
-------------------------
Hope you liked.
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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An interesting condrimum indeed.
Lilth's idea of helping the colt seems the best route and all and all, and to be honest I don't see any other way you can 'complete your mission' and be on the meadow at the right ime.
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Liana
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| Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Din and Lily are right. All they can do is hurry the colt along. Perhaps Erten can nip at the colt's heels as he holds on to her tail. I don't know about you , but that would certainly make me run a bit faster!
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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Finally a new poll. Vote!
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"Music makes you braver."
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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Another new chappy...enjoy!
Chapter 3: Morning's Light
"We've got to make him keep up. Cerea, you have anything you can do?" The unicorn eyed the crow with disdane, tossing her silken mane. She pointed her horn at the colt and there was a flash of light.
"A temporary haste spell but it'll sap his strength quickly. He'll need something to motivate him." A wicked snarling grin crossed Erten's muzzle.
"Motivation eh? I'll motivate the little whelp." With a bloothirsty bay that had sent many brave knights cowering in their plate he positioned himself on the colts heels and began to snap. Syire suddenly found the will to run, feeling Erten's fetid breath close upon his hocks.
As the colt bolted off, Cerea and Tristan followed, their own pace as rushed as they could manage. Still, even then, it was a near thing with the crow picking their path and the unicorn casting what spells she could manage to clear obsticals from their way. Even then there was still plenty to duck, dodge around and under, and leap over.
They fled onward, each of them soon wearing thin. Cerea and Syire soon found their coats lathered with foam. It formed in lacey patterns, white and delicate, and was blown off their coats by the force of their passage. Unfortunately it would reform moments later in another dazzling pattern, each as unique as a snowflake. Their manes and tails, banners of silken velvet, soon became sodden. They whipped back in damp tendrils, as though the pair had run through a rainstorm. Only the force of their self generated wind kept them snapping back behind them, like the tails of comets in the night sky.
Their horns glowed dully with fear and anxiety. Syire fearing Erten, anxious that the hound might actually lay fang on him. The colt could almost imagine the feel of the hound's teeth sinking into his flesh. At this speed, with his powerful jaws, Erten might well rip Syire's hind leg clean off and the colt had no wish to die today. He bounded along like a deer, not even taking the time to stride, using his forest-walk instead to conserve energy.
Cerea was anxious about making it. Her long stride was like the course of a river, graceful and steady. She seemed to flow over the ground, her hooves chiming whenever they struck a rock or hard root, that occasional noise startling the whole group into redoubling their efforts. Her nostrils were as wide as they would get as she sucked in great lungfuls of air. Tendons burning, muscles straining, she sought deep within herself for reserves of energy she didn't know she posessed. She'd already run for her life once today, and she was casting spells. Loath as she was to reach for the natural energy around her she found herself relying on it.
As she channeled it through herself, using it to maintain her pace, she snorted. Ears flat as she thought about the reaction headache she was going to have when she stopped, she lept another log. An enchantress could burn herself out this way, several had, but her only other option was to fall behind and she knew Erten wouldn't be so kind as to make sure his jaws missed when he snapped at her.
Erten's tounge was lolling out of his mouth, trailing saliva back down his cheek and along his left side. He'd pull it in occasionally to snap at the colt's heels, wondering just how they'd taste. People said you were instantly damned for killing an adult unicorn, nevermind a foal as innocent as Syire seemed to be. But as far as Erten was concerned he was damned now. Unable to die, forced to live on as a War hound, living only for combat and the pain of his masters. There wasn't even honor in the kills he made, men often cried out in terror when he ripped out their throats. They certainly didn't fight him as an equal. The only upside was the breeding season.
He was too tired to dwell on that now though. He administered another snap at the colt's heels, doing his best not to make it seem halfhearted as he grew tired. Sweat beaded on his skin, running down through his wire-bristle coat. Foam lathered his mouth, making him seem mad, and dripped down to spatter his paws. His paws hurt, they were quickly becoming raw again. And the witch had just healed them for him. He snarled and used that momentary anger to make a vicious snap that had the colt squealing. Served the little brat right. They'd be safely in the grove were it not for him.
High above Tristan was in better shape than any of those on the ground. He glided on the wind currents, beating his wings in spurts to maintain speed. He kept an eye on those below, calling out obsticles as he saw them. So far nothing too major had come up and he fervently hoped nothing would. He had no wish to experiance the pain and suffering that came with missing this particular sunrise. And he was also looking forward to his seven human days. He was a bit put out that he wasn't going to be able to carry out his plans. He had been thinking of finding a clean Inn with good wine and getting happily drunk...but Syire had put the kebosh on that.
Now all he had to look forward to was a seven day hike and Erten's promised beating. And that meant he was going to have to ask Cerea to heal him up again afterward...his poor pride. He didn't like having to stoop to that as the Enchantress for anything, even though she didn't seem to hold it over him. That was damned decent of her...but she did bring it up in every argument they got into. Still it was the only thing she brought up...
As his ragged wings beat upon the night air once again he gave a caw of joy. "The clearing's ahead!" The caw of joy faded as he cast his eyes eastward...and noted the near golden glow on the horizion. They weren't going to make it! "Hurry!" he called out, watching the others redouble their efforts.
As the small band struggled onward, the clearing neared, but so did dawn and they were each sorely tired. None knew if they would make it in time....
--------------------------------
Will they make it?
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:40 am Post subject: |
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*sticks her tongue out Lilth* Of course they make it. But I'm just saying that to be contary. Besides, I think things might get pretty interesting with their seven days and things continue to go not as planned.
You know now that I think of it....them not making it has a certain appeal. *humms competively* Oh well, I decide by time a poll comes.
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Liana
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| Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:17 am Post subject: |
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| Of course they make it. i want to see Erten beat the crap out of Tristan!
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:27 am Post subject: |
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Yay a poll!
_________________
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"Music makes you braver."
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Awww...still no votes...
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| Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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Righty-o, new chappy. Enjoy!
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Chapter Four: A Quiet Morning
Cerea burst across the edge of the clearing just as the sun struck her horn. Before her forehooves could hit the ground again she was human, tumbling head over heels until she came to a stop with a thump. Sorting through the tangle of her robes she picked up her staff from where it lay in the grass beside her, standing in one liquid motion. Near her the colt stood wide-eyed, sides heaving and legs trembling.
Not far from him, Erten was just raising his massive hulk from the earth, spitting out grass and dirt that had lodged in his snapping jaws at the last. Cerea's brow wrinkled as she searched for her third companion. "Where's Tristan?"
"Here," a weak voice called out from an over hanging tree limb. Tristan was nearly ten feet up, draped over it like a wet rag. Cerea chuckled as she surmised how that had happened.
"Maybe next time you'll try landing? I thought you'd learned your lesson about being up in the air when we changed back." Tristan, struggling to get himself upright on the branch, shook his head.
"I figured it'd be safer up here than down on the ground..." It was at that moment that Erten lunged for him, grabbed one of his ankles, and hauled him out of the tree. One massive, meaty fist wrapped around Tristan's throat he pulled the other back.
"Oh yeah, really safe. Let's see you fly away this time crow-boy..." Yet as he tried to smash his fist into the archer's face he found it wouldn't move forward. Cerea shook her head, a slight glow pulsing from the top of her staff.
"We've got better things to do than pound ourselves into paste. Namely this colt needs our attentions. Or have we forgotten?" Slowly Erten lowered his fist and the archer, grumbling as he turned and stalked back to where his sword, axe, and sheild lay in the dewy grass. Tristan rubbed his throat and shot a thankful glance at Cerea who pointedly ignored him. She hadn't done it for his sole benefit...indeed she'd have gotten nearly as much enjoyment from watching Erten pound him.
Feeling her chilly response, Tristan set about fishing his bow and quiver out of the tree and searching out his scattered arrows which had fallen all around. He sighed a bit, wondering what in the hells he'd done this time or was she just being snotty again. For the moment all three of them had forgotten the colt until he let out an explosive breath.
"Wow...that was awsome..." The colt stared at them all in child-like amazement taking a few enchanted steps toward the three of them. "I mean...did that hurt?"
"No but it would have if we hadn't made it. We'd have been stuck in animal form and that's no fun when, for seven days, your body is trying to be human again." Cerea twisted the long fingers of her right hand into her raven hair, left hand gripping the slender staff she leaned against. "But now you've complicated things for us...or maybe simplified them. You see, the thing that cursed us often throws us challenges that take up our human week. You're the latest of them, you want us to return you to your home in the Silent Spring and that's at least a week from here."
"But can't you speed us all up again, like you did me?" Cerea gave the colt a thin smile. At this point she wanted to curl up and sleep for the rest of the week and, judging from the looks of the others, that's exactly what Tristan and Erten wanted to do as well. Still she knew of a few energizing spells.
"Alright little one, give me some time." The colt took a few steps forward then stopped, realizing just how exhausted he was. As Cerea sat down in the grass to meditate Syire walked over and knelt down, put his head in her lap, and drifted off.
Tristan stared at the Enchantress with wide eyes. It was like scene of legend, the maid and the unicorn. Still, tearing his gaze away, he looked at the warrior and shrugged. "I guess we're waiting until she finishes doing whatever she's doing."
"I guess so." The massive brute walked over to a tree and took a stone from his pouch. Spitting on it a couple of times he began to work the edge of his blades, making sure the razor's edge was maintained. Tristan bit his lip and wondered if he should fletch some arrows or something. Instead he chose to climb one of the nearby trees, wedge himself firmly in the uppermost branches, and doze lightly on the pretense of keeping watch.
Below Erten shook his head. Those two were lazy, lazy and stupid. He was tired, yes even exhausted, but was he letting his guard down or climbing trees? No, he was being sensible and seeing to his weapons. He shook his head and snarled as his gaze landed on the unicorn. That little brat had ruined his plans, indeed ruined his few days to live. Soon enough he'd be locked back in that dog's body and be forced to return to his masters' kennel. Even Erten and Cerea had it better, at least they were free to roam where they chose.
With a savage snarl he drove the whetstone along the blade one last time, throwing sparks into the damp grass. Satisfied that both and and blade could cleave anything in twain, he looked over his sheild for anything unusual, even though nothing ever was, before studying his own reflection for a moment.
His crooked nose, it had never really healed after being broken, jutted from below his heavy brows. His strong, square jaw was clenched in stubborn anger, his black eyes glittering. His long ponytail of black hair, all of it greasy, was full of bits of orniments. Claws, beaks, and bones from old kills.
His massive shoulders were wider than the forequarters of an oxen, his stout torso bringing to mind the trunk of an oak. His legs were pilliars of granite sheathed in broze greaves and bear hides. His bronze scalemail rattled as he quivered in rage and he took up his whetstone again, this time to sharpen the edges of his sheild. It was a trick of his clan and, if necessary, he could turn the round sheild into a lethal flying disk.
He glanced over at the Enchantress and shook his head. She was indeed pretty, her face lovely and heart-shaped with large, liquid turquoise eyes framed in dark lashes. Her lips were plump and pink, slightly pressed together now in concentration. Her long raven locks stirred slightly in the breeze, the single white lock that marked her curse tracing delicately down the right side of her face.
Her shoulders were thin and narrow, her limbs long and well formed, a graceful wench all and all. And her bosom was magnificent, as was her bottom with its well curved hips and...He cut the thoughts off. He still didn't have the power to make her bed him, indeed he was relishing the thought less and less as the years passed. Staring at her now, with her virginal white robes, that gleaming white staff, and the unicorn cozied up next to her, he realized she'd never give herself to any man. Something about that picture seemed right.
There was a startled shout and a few arrows drifted down from the treetop. Erten gave a dark chuckle, and looked up. No doubt Tristan had dozed off and nearly fallen out of the tree. Pity he didn't, he might have broken a few interesting bones on his way down. When would the pretty boy learn.
Tristan was a pretty boy come to think of it, with his shimmering blond locks and rapier-slim figure. He was long-limbed but, unlike the Enchantress, had none of the curves to dispell the lankiness they brought. He had no bulk, though his chest, shoulders, and upper arms were well-formed and decently muscled. Then again, he was an archer, naturally his upper torso would be buff. He relied upon it.
His hands were almost delicate, girlish save for the rough archer's callouses, fingers long and supple. He was quiet on his feet and keen of eye, traits Erten admired from a warrior's point of view. Still, he couldn't look into that sod's grey eyes and not find a reason to pound on them. There was nothing for a man like Erten to like about a man like Tristan. They came from complete opposites of the spectrem and the only thing they agreed upon was that this damned Curse of theirs needed to be broken.
He was starteled out of his revery as the Enchantress yawned delicately and stretched. Gently waking the colt, she stood and looked at Erten. "Where's Tristan?"
"Coming." Came the faint voice from above as the archer nimbly slipped through the trees branches, leaping the last few feet to the ground. "What?"
The colt staggered groggily to his hooves and Cerea patted him on his neck. "As we know it's our task to return this fellow home it seems. I've recharged myself, no so much on sleep as power, and we've a few options. Before you ask, I've never been to the Silent Spring and cannot just teleport us there. However, I have haste spells and flight spells and many other travel spells as you well know. So how should we go about this?"
The archer and the warrior looked at each other. The Enchantress did have her ways, but which was the best to use?
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Well? Should she speed them up? Make them fly? Or is there another way? Be creative and ask every question you can think of, there are things you don't know that could make the trip easier.
----------------------------
That's it, hope you liked.
_________________
"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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Liana
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| Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:08 am Post subject: |
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Even Erten and Cerea had it better, at least they were free to roam where they chose.
i believe it should be Tristan not Erten. I also noted a few more errors. You misspelled shield a few times and also ornaments.
Ok....enough with technical mistakes. Very good chappy Rai. I think a good flying spell would do. It would certainly scare the wits out of the colt for a bit. Not to mention it might piss Erten off a bit. Perhaps the brute could be afraid of heights. This would make Tristan tease him. Which would give Erten yet another reason to want to beat him into a bloody pulp.
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Mother Goose
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| Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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I'm assuming that in order to teleport you have to have actually been to a place (for accurate visualization, etc.). Cerea knows where Silent Spring is and how to get there, but can't use the easiest way, teleportation, because she's never been there.
How fast can they fly with a flying spell? Can she do that for all four of them? Or is it necessary for them all to go; maybe just one with the colt, while the others work on other projects. Of course, that would require agreement and cooperation among them, something that they have a lot of trouble with, but something that might just be very helpful toward breaking the curse!
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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Oh hey...there's a poll.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 12:25 am Post subject: |
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I voted for the second option, sound a lot more exciting and a chance for some aerial excitement!
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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Alright, poll's closed. Lemme think on this for a bit, I've got some ideas but I need to sort them out.
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 12:58 am Post subject: |
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Right, after a long pause, I've got an idea for this. Enjoy!
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Chapter Five: Fight or Flight?
With much waving of her hands and several sweeping motions with her staff, Cerea shouted a single arcane word of power. Almost instantly the group was consumed with a sensation of being as light as a feather, this was quickly followed by an itching sensation in their backs. The itching turned to a burning and, with one stab of white-hot pain, wings erupted from their collective backs.
Cerea wobbled for a moment, bringing long white wings with black tips around and waving them a bit. "Okay, so that works." Next to her, Syire gleamed like one of the God-mounts of legend. He trotted around the medow a couple of times before trying to leap into the sky, he crashed moments later. Erten laughed, a cruel sound, and pointed at the colt who was little more than gangly legs and tangled wings.
"I'm already liking this idea witch! It's entertaining!" The big warrior let loose another earth-shaking belly laugh as Tristan walked over and worked with Cerea to get the colt back on his feet. Tristan shot him a disgusted look, his purple/gold feathers ruffling.
"Lets see how well you do your first time in the air Erten. I warn you, it's not as easy as I'm going make it look." With that the archer spread wide his wings and pushed off the ground, carefully explaining to the unicorn colt just how it was done. He hovered for a few moments, obviously reveling in the joy of the skies, before flying even higher to give the colt room.
Syire looked at Cerea with wide eyes and she smiled. "Like this little one." She launched herself skyward, wings whirling gracefully, until she was level with Tristan though some distance away.
Erten laughed. "You'll never make it colt. But go ahead and try, I find it amusing." The big warrior laughed and flexed his brown/black wings, wincing a bit as strange muscles pulled in strange places and rubbed against his armor where it had parted to momentarily allow the wings.
Syire snorted at the warrior before trying again. This time he made it, if a little wobbly, and neighed happily. "I can fly! I can really fly!"
Cerea smiled indulgently at him. "For now, the spell only lasts a day or so though so we've got to get going if we want to the Silent Spring before it wares off."
Tristan peered down from where he was lazily riding a thermal. "Coming Erten?"
Down on the ground Erten suddenly grew nervous. He'd never flown before...well not like this. And the other times he had flown he hadn't cared for it. He'd have studied magic if he'd wanted to do impossible things, not learned the best way to cut your opponant into small, meaty gobs. Still, he couldn't let the witch and the archer make him look a fool.
Using the chorded muscles in his thick legs, he jumped as high as he could. At the same time he pounded his new wings as hard as he could, clawing for every ounce of lift he could get. Somehow, powers be praised, he made it into the air. And he didn't like it one bit. He couldn't seem to stay level, his wings were beginning to ache, and his stomach churned like a young maid on her wedding night.
Before he knew it, what little he'd eaten was decorating the ground below him. He wiped his mouth on his arm, fists clenching at the laughter that floated down from above.
"Well Erten...not so mighty when you're on my turf are you?" Tristan laughed again, angling his wings so that he could swoop down and ruffle Erten's air with his hands.
The big warrior missed his grab at the archer and nearly tumbled from the sky. He gave a quick yell before getting his wings right again, now catching the same thermal as the rest of them. He glared through his messy hair at the pretty boy and shook a fist at him. "Once we're on the ground archer not even the witch will save you!"
Erten smiled as Tristan took a hard swollow and flew a little further out of his reach. The big warrior took up a spot behind the witch, grinning every now and then when a bit of wind would billow her robe out. Maybe the trip wouldn't be so bad...at least he had a nice view.
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It was well into night when Tristan began to descend, the rest of them following. He landed with a soft thump in the grass staring out at the shimmering waters of the deep black lake before him. He turned as the witch landed a few feet away and gestured with one arm. "Look at it. Have you ever seen water like that?" Walking forward he dipped a hand in and watched as the ink black ichor dripped off his fingers.
Cerea gazed across the flat surface with eyes that turned inward. "This place never was a priority of my studies but I do have some knowledge of it. Supposedly it once held a power to rival the Tear of Stars but that power was stolen long ago. I cannot recall any more details, such as what the power was or who might have taken it."
A heavy thud, followed by muffled curses of suppressed pain made the pair turn around and survey their fallen comrade. Erten lay with his face in the dirt, arms stretched out before him, wings tangled and laying over him in a feathery heap. Slowly he stood himself up and glared at them with blazing eyes. In a blink he had Tristan by the shirt, one massive fist raised back. "This time you're gonna get it. This is for all the comments on the way here!" He got in three good blows before Cerea cast a spell that pulled Erten off Tristan.
"Stop! We have bigger worries."
"Like what witch." Erten spat the words while clawing at the hold Cerea's spell had on him.
Cerea smiled coldly at him. "It seems that Syire has vanished." At her words both the warrior and the archer looked around but the unicorn colt was, indeed, gone.
Erten spat again. "Good riddance too. We didn't need him!"
Cerea was just about to reply when Tristan tapped her shakily on the shoulder. "We have bigger problems guys...look."
Slowly the witch turned around and the warrior followed the archer's pointing finger with his eyes. All three of them stared in shock as the waters of the lake churned to form a stariway that began at the shore and spiraled down into it's inky depths. A voice echoed up from the watery darkness.
Weary travelers plauged by the Curses Three...come. I can aid thee...
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What do they do?
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Hope you liked.
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"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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What...no suggestions? Not a one?
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Masterweaver
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| Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:16 am Post subject: |
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| They leap in with bravado and slaughter the temptor. Only problem? They are the tempters...
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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Oddly enough MW your suggestion ties in well with the story. And since it's the only one I'll give you the kudos and write this next chappy based on it. Enjoy!
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Chapter Six: The Kiss of Night
The three looked at each other, then at the stairwell, then at each other again. All the while the seductive voice whispered to them, drawing them toward the depths. Finally, hefting his axe, Erten spat on the ground at his feet. "Well witch? What's this about?"
Cerea shook her head. "For once I've less of an idea than you. I do know whatever it is...it's powerful enough to trick a unicorn and cast a projection some distance. I suggest we go down there and see what it wants."
Tristen shrugged. "Can't hurt, we've already come all this way, we might as well. I mean, what if it can help us? I don't want to spend the rest of however long chasing storms around and being pelted with stones by ignorant village children like I'm a harbingar of ill luck. I'd much rather be able to wake up in the morning and not worry about what I'm going to be."
Thus, with much caution, the three of them started down the spiraling stairway. Cerea went first, magical shield infront of her, staff throwing pure white light in a ring all around them. That turned out to be a good thing because as soon as they were below the surface of the lake, the entrance to the stairway snapped shut behind them. With a shrug they continued on, they had little choice.
Down and down they went, Cerea's light shimmering off walls of black water, the stairway shrinking behind them so that there was a wall of water an arm's length behind Tristan. Their wings had been dispelled the moment they set foot on the stairs, this place brooked no enchantments of mortal means. The tunnel through which the stairway passed began to shrink, becoming so narrow Cerea was forced to drop her sheilding spell and carry her staff parallel to the ground. When she did so the light vanished and they were left in darkness for a moment.
Then, to their surprised, a green illumination could be discerned. It eminated from themselves...evidence of their Curse. The green glow hissed and spat, angered at being visible perhaps, it's glow increasing as if to shrug off the pressure the blackness was placing upon it. So startled were they by this development that they forgot to watch where they were going. All three of them stumbled as the stairway abruptly ended and the water tunnel crashed shut behind them.
They seemed to be in a cave of some kind and, as Cerea's staff blazed into luminous brilliance once again, they gasped. A set of gates much like the Celestial Gates they'd seen so long ago greeted their eyes. Unlike the Celestial Gates, no word of power was needed to open these, they swung open as if they had been waiting for them. Tristan moved to stand next to Cerea and whispered to the Enchantress.
"I'm beginning to have second thoughts. Could you get us out of here if you had to?"
Cerea looked at him with a face pinched with anxiety. "I could get us out...but I doubt we'd be able to escape this thing's reach. It would take everything I have to get us back to the edge of the Lake again." Tristan nodded as the Enchantress gazed at the doors again.
"Figured anything out?"
She shrugged. "If I'm reading these scripts right...these doors are the Cosmic Gates and we are entering the sanctum of a being called...no. Better not to speak the name aloud. I don't know if the one named here is the one who summoned us or if it is another." She started forward, then stopped. "We must be careful. My Sight warns me that we are in great danger here."
Erten shoved through them both, tired of waiting. "I don't fear danger witch. If something capable of breaking this Curse of mine is behind those doors, death itself won't stop me from reaching them."
Yet as he took a step forward, a gleam from above caught Tristan's eye. "Look out!" He called even as Cerea cast the spell that pulled Erten out from under the falling blade. For a moment the big warrior looked from the Archer to the Enchantress, then nodded to them.
For a moment it was tense as each tried to figure out how the others would react...and how best to react. It was Erten that broke the silence and stunned the other two. "My thanks, Tristan, for your keen eyes...and your quick spells Cerea."
Tristan's manners thrust themselves to the fore, bringing with them a wide smile. "Glad I could help. Perhaps we should heed Cerea's warning now? Next time we might not be so lucky."
They ventured beyond the doors and were stunned...a larger cavern opened before them and a bridge much like the Bridge of the Heaven's stretched before them. The men looked at Cerea but she could offer them no comfort, only remind them how they had gotten past a similar obsticle before. Slowly, all three abrest, they picked their way across the long delicate span.
On the other side, a set of steps led upward into a deep blue darkness. Come travelers. You are so very close. Come Slowly the three of them ascended the steps and entered into the small archway in the rock at the top. Almost instantly they found themselves in a grotto filled with pulsing blue light. On a pedistal in the center of this place sat a steadly glowing black light.
A vauge shape formed in the flickering shadows of this blue/black unlight, the voice that had whispered to them speaking physically for the first time. "Hello travelers. I see you bear upon you the ill mark of my sister Jade'ed. I am Fade'ed, the Guardian of the Kiss of Night." The flickering figure gestured to the orb on the pedistal.
"Once, long ago, the Kiss was stolen from me by three such as yourselves. They sought to unite it with the Tear of Stars and bring about the Fifth Age of the world. Jade'ed and I, have always been charged with keeping these apart and I still take that vow seriously. But, as I learned, she does not. I spent much of myself tracking down those three adventurers, only to find they had been sent by Jade'ed herself!"
Tristan, Erten, and Cerea could sense the shadow-figure's fury and anguish. "She wanted to bring about the Fifth Age so that she might rule, worshiped as a Goddess for all time, while I rotted and was doomed to become little more than a formless thought."
Tristan sought the face of the shadow-figure but could barely find the creature in the first place. So he contented himself with staring at the Kiss as he spoke. "What is this Fifth Age?"
"The Fifth Age is the age of the Mage. Magic is not possessed by mortals save the bloodlines of those who first confined the Tear and the Kiss, who called Jade'ed and myself from our place amoung the stars to guard them. Those exposed to the magic, and the creatures they exposed, became magical in nature. The woman is one such, a descendant of one of those long ago folk.
The Fifth Age would see magic unleashed upon the land, free for all to use regardless. However, it would fade from the land, evaporate back to the Higher Planes from which it came. As long as the Tear and the Kiss are seperate and whole, magic will always exist in this world, in the possession of those few descendants."
Erten stepped forward. "But it is said that any can learn magic. All they must do is pass the wizard rituals."
"The wizard rituals all are designed so that power might be shared. Those who are not descendants can gain magic in this way, a little bit given from those born with it, as a coal might leap from the hearth. But you'll notice these mages rarely pass on their powers unless they marry magic? Ask your companion...she knows."
Indeed Cerea did, knew all about the bloodlines of the wizard clans. Such was her knowledge from birth. But neither Tristan nor Erten asked her, they continued to stare at the Kiss. So at last Cerea spoke.
"You offered to help us? How?"
"I will break your Curses, here and now, if you go and steal the Tear for me. I've yet to repay Jade'ed for that favor."
Before any of them could speak, the glow of their Curse crackled bright and the voice of she that had cursed them, Jade'ed rang in their ears.
Trust not Fade'ed! She seeks to deceive you and steal the power of the Tear for herself! She is the one who wishes to be a Goddess not I! I tried once before to take from her the Kiss and was foiled...luckily she was so diminished she cannot leave the lake!
I will strike you a bargain. I will lift your Curse if you shall take the Kiss from Fade'ed and bring it to me! You must trust me!
The three companions looked at each other, waiting for the shadow-figure to strike them down. But Fade'ed gave no sign of having heard Jade'ed's message. This left the three wondering...who do they trust?
-----------------------------
Well?
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Hope you liked!
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"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
"Music makes you braver."
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| Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:46 am Post subject: |
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Well Rai, it seems I finally caught up! 
An interesting SG from the very beginning! 
As for the DP, i f5 Lilith. Jade is the original caster so she should be able to lift the Curse. But first they should find out as much as they can about their situation.
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| Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| i think they should listen to Fade'ed because they are eager to get rid of the curse. But in turn they are wrong which would have ill effects on cerea
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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Hey guys...we're polling!
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"It's not just about living forever...the trick is living with yourself forever..."
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Kalanna Rai
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| Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:36 pm Post subject: |
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TIE-BREAKER!!! PLEEZE!
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Cyberworm
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| Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:36 am Post subject: |
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Really, this is a very interesting poll...
A perfect example of a simple two-way poll being tied... 
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Slit and Slide
One man's journey through the possibilities of solving what he says is a murder. What was it? Try not to forget.
Beyond Good and Evil
Could it be that being good is not good at all?
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