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PopeAlessandrosXVIII
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 Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:37 am Post subject: Is This Me? 011 - Tales |
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Tales
The nightmares she had been sure would haunt her dreams til the end of her days make no appearance in her dreams that night. Fellion's dreams are filled instead with a warm, gray light. It is dull, and seems to flicker, but it is almost as it it is keeping the night horrors at bay. As a result, when she wakes the next morning in the arms of Tarith, his tail wrapped around her waist and a dark head resting against her arm, she feels almost no surprise at the unfamiliar situation. Yawning she looks around, trying to make sense of things. When the events of the night before come back to her the pain in her heart is much less than it had been before her rest. Her eyes water as she gazes at the lake with mournful eyes. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips and she realizes she needs to get some water if she is to remain on land. She tried to pull away from the other two without waking them.
The instant she pulls away Tarith wakes with a start and the dark haired boy sits up straight. Tarith doesn't let her go for a moment, until he realizes she's not Darkon. With a light flush he lets her scoot away. She turns to the two males and gazes at them for several seconds before she notices that at some point in the night the tome she had fallen asleep with a death grip on had been set aside. 'Most likely so I could sleep more comfortably' She surmises. Darkon crawls up next to her, looking towards the water's edge. The wind shifts and a chill runs up her spine, her stomach clenching at the scent in the breeze. She watches at Tarith cringes. Her skin begins to crawl as his gaze too locks on the lake.
Before she can turn to look the tall male scoops up the tome and shifts forward so he can take hold of her shoulder. She flinches at the touch but does not resist it as he helps her to her feet and calls for Darkon. He keeps her turned away from the lake as he leads her towards the river. The boy slips up beside her a few moments later and stares up at her face. She imagines many questions running through his head. 'So much seems to not be inside him the way it should be. At times, those eyes, feel so empty' She swallows hard, reaching out to take the boy's hand. Something in the action calms her enough for her tears to stop flowing. More than ever she feels connected to him.
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As soon as he's sure they're far enough away from the lake Tarith lets go of the girl and heads for the water's edge. Kneeling down he scoops some into his hand and gives it a sniff. The smell that had been thick in the air near the lake edge is much weaker now and he checks the water carefully with his tongue. 'A bit bitter, but it doesn't seem harmful' Darkon kneels down next to him, putting his face right above the water to drink rather than bringing the water to him with his hands. A warm smile spreads across Tarith's face at the sight, and he lets himself relax a bit as Fellion kneels down on the boy's other side to take care of her own hydration needs. Darkon turns to look at her as she dunks her whole head into the water before sitting back to let the water drip all over her body. The look on her face tells the man that she too can taste the foul bitterness caused by the bodies upstream.
'Thank Venaah that none of the bodies seem to be coming this way yet. They must have just risen in the last hour or so. We should get off the plateau before that happens' Tarith shudders at the thought of Fellion seeing someone she use to know floating past. A small splash of water against his arm brings Tarith out of his dark thoughts. A small laugh bubbles to the surface as he realizes that the boy had copied the mergirl's actions and it now trying to figure out just why he did it. Fellion's face too seems to be lighter as she smiles at the boy's innocent antics. Fellion looks over at Tarith, then to the large tome at his side. Catching his attention she points first at the book, then at the water. He simply stares back for a moment before it dawns on him what she's asking him to do. For a split second he thinks of objecting, his hand coming up, mouth open. Then his jaw snaps shut and he proceeds to dunk the tome, a light blush on his cheeks.
As soon as he's sure it's thoroughly soaked he pulls it out and stands. Looking down at the girl he expresses the need to get off the plateau “We need to get somewhere with more shelter. There is nothing to eat up here, and I think I only have one or two more meals of dried meat in the packs.” He reasons, unable to imagine wanting to eat anything out of the water at this point in time. 'And while you may be mostly unaffected by cold, Darkon and I need someplace warm where we can start a fire from time to time.” Fellion nods without question.
“I understand. I will take you back down the falling water. There are caves near the bottom. There is food in the grass for you.” she says, turning to head towards the thundering in the distance. Tarith puzzles at her words, as well as just how she can bring them back down safely. Darkon looks between the two for a few seconds before grabbing Tarith's hand softly and pulling him after the female.
_____________
Looking down over the edge Darkon lets the breeze coming straight up the cliff face to help him balance as he leans out a little further. A strong arm wraps around his waist and pulls him backwards. Glancing up at Tarith he cocks his head. “I don't trust that ledge there. The stone doesn't look completely solid.” Darkon follows his gaze back to where he had been standing and takes a mental snapshot so he can recall what 'unsafe rock ledges' look like before filing it away in his mind. Still confused as to how one can 'trust' an inanimate object he takes the scale Fellion offers him.
“It's the same as before.” Fellion explains. “We'll just get into the water, I will pull out your blood chains, then we drift over the edge. I stay above you to slow you down.” Darkon nods, his ears catching a strange note in the girl's voice but not knowing what to do about it. Looking at Tarith it seems the man didn't notice, so he disregards it as unimportant. The tome is tucked safely away inside one of the packs and the tree enter the water carefully.
The descent is much faster than the ride up, but Fellion makes sure that they get down without incident. Darkon tilts his head as she breaks the chain, causing them to dissolve into the water as a red cloud, then turns back towards the bubbling water. Tarith moves in close beside him, a look of confusion on his face. Her blue glow becomes stronger and stronger and Darkon feels an energy flow through him. A slow exhale of bubbles escapes his mouth and he impulsively hold a hand out in her direction, palm facing her. A small stream of his own grayish glow flows out from his hand and strikes her in the back. In that instant she flashes brighter than ever, almost blinding in it's radiance. Then the light fires straight up the waterfall from the girl, disappearing over the top.
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Tarith watches the strange actions of his companions in silence. He feels a tingle across his skin coming from the direction of Fellion, almost like the water around her is growing warmer. 'I swear, if we were on dry land, my hair would be standing on end' he thinks, the warm feeling fading slowly. Fellion drifts slowly downwards for a few seconds making Tarith's heart jump. He kicks forward a few feet before pulling to a stop as her tail begins beating again. She whips around suddenly, her eyes wide. Her gaze locks on Darkon and Tarith instinctively returns to the boy's side. She swims forward, as if in a trance. 'Okay, now I know I really missed something important' She reaches out slowly, laying a webbed hand on the small male's chest. The look on her face tells Tarith that if they were above water, tears would be streaming down her face. But as he watches, the look softens and she leans in, pressing her forehead to Darkon's.
They stay like that for several seconds before Darkon pulls back, tilting his head. She smiles in return, moving backwards a few strokes. She motions for them to follow then turns and heads to the waterfall's left. As they leave the impact smoothed stones at the waterfall's base they move into tall water plant forests. Squinting Tarith can't make out the bottom of the lake were the base of the plants are anchored and he lets out a bubble whistle. 'These things are tall. Almost as tall as the tallest trees in my forest' His stomach sinks for a moment as his mind drifts back to the quiet days before Darkon's unexpected arrival. Even more fondly, the pleasant time spent teaching and learning from the boy as they came to an understanding of one another. Passing out of the forest the group pulls to a halt to let a very large fish swim past. Tarith feels a thrill of fear go through him at the size of the beast passing by, making it's way into the forest they just left. 'That thing could swallow me whole, without trying very hard' He swallows carefully as to not let the scale slide down his throat before swimming off after Fellion.
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The mergirl pulls up to the bank, a gentle slope leading to a pool of shallow water lets her rest her body in the water while her torso is propped up on the damp grass lining the bank. The boys struggle out of the water next to her, the taller one flopping onto his back, flattening some of the tall grass beneath his body. Darkon shakes the water out of his hair before pulling the scale from his mouth. The feeling of peace left inside her after the large exertion of hecta earlier grows stronger as she watches him. 'I felt it run through me. It was him, I am sure. He was within me for a moment' Tarith offers up his own scale as Darkon crawls across him to reach Fellion. She takes the scales and slides them back into her hair for easy access should they be needed at a later date.
The group rests for a while, watching the purple-gray clouds overhead drift by. Fellion is the first to stir, rolling to her side to paw at the pack resting next to Tarith that holds the tome the Master had entrusted to her care. Tarith, noticing her pawing, sits up and pulls the pack to himself. Opening it he pulls out the soggy book and hands it over. The webbing on her fingers retracts as she draws her hand over the unmarked cover. The thick brown binding is rough beneath her fingers and she marvels at how old it must be. Darkon comes to sit beside her, his rapt attention on the tome. 'Such curiosity. One would think this is the first book he sees' She continues stroking the cover for several seconds before pulling it closer and opening to the first page.
He eyes dart around the page and as Tarith comes to sit on her other side her brows furrow. She begins flipping through the pages, her confusion growing. 'But these are just. . . .' A warm hand on her shoulder makes he pause to look up at the persona attached to it. “I don't understand Tarith. These are just child’s tales. I have, had, a tome like this at home. I would read once in a while.” She looks at the tome again, her heart falling. 'Master is wrong, this can not. . . .' Her thoughts trail off as she spies an illustration she doesn't recognize. Reading the title for it she feels a small twinge as the spark of hope returns. “This is strange.” She murmurs, reading on beneath the illustration.
“What?” Tarith inquires. She looks up at him, then back down to the book.
“This tale, it seem different than I remember. Some changes, some longer, and the ending different.” She looks back at him and he motions for her to go on. Taking a breath she begins reading.
~It was in the years where the rivers ran red across the land and the scorched earth stretched from shore to shore that the Earth Mother took into herself one of pure heart and soul and made this being her own. Stolen from the arms of it's true purpose a great rage awoke within it, and the Earth Mother came to use this rage to cleanse the land. Giving this being a form, filled with the rage born of it's own suffering, and the rage of the Earth mother herself, it went out into the land and slew all the Earth mother commanded of it. From village to village, the being raged like death upon the winds itself, it's great wings once white as a newborn's soul, now red with the blood of the guilty's loved ones. To the Earth Mother, all were guilty and deserved to be punished. The only punishment for such defilement of her lands was carried out with swift efficiency by the once pure spirited being.
It was not long before the ones causing the Earth Mother to suffer greatest to be told of their loved ones demise. So great was the loss of innocent life that the ones causing the land’s downfall threw down their implements of destruction and returned to their now barren homes. Never again did such destruction of the land or living take place, for fear that the being with blood soaked wings would return and once again ravage their now dwindling numbers.
The being, now corrupted by the slaying, could no longer dwell in the earth with the Earth Mother. It's job complete, the Earth Mother could not leave it to continue it's rampage, so she used her power to fracture the being into many pieces, casting each piece to every corner of the earth so that all that remained was the pure energy she had originally sought. Legend says that if ever all parts are brought back together something truly amazing, or truly horrific will happen. Which it will be, depends on those who bring the being back together. If the beings of this world can change the corrupted one's rage against them away and instead prove their worth, only then will history not repeat itself. If they can not, then the world is doomed.~
The image above the final passage is of a shinning light, half above ground, half beneath, and at the top of the illustration are several orbs of color circling above the light like a halo. The colors are so close together it is hard to tell just how many there are. Fellion closes the book, setting it down on her lap. “The story I remember was the Earth Mother sending a soldier to fight for her so the beings of the land would stop fighting. It would take to the battle field and slay fighters on either side. Once the beings stopped fighting, the soldier returned to the Earth Mother where it would rest in wait should the beings above ever begin to score the land like that again.” She shakes her head, her green shaggy hair flaring out slightly.
______________
Both Tarith and Fellion's head whip towards the right as Darkon lets out a high pitch keening sound. His hands are clutching his head on wither side, his whole body trembling. Recognizing the symptoms Tarith quickly makes his way around Fellion an takes hold of Darkon's shoulders. His keen ears pick up the boys voice buy it takes a few seconds for him to understand the words. “Lock them up, push them away, lock them up, push them away.” Darkon mutters the words over and over again like an unending mantra.
'This is the worst I've ever seen him' Tarith move in a little closer, trying to get an arm around the boy while his heart hammers in his throat. At the movement Darkon's head snaps back and an unearthly wail spills from his lips. Behind his voice seems to be a second, deeper voice adding to the cry. Tarith's eyes widen as the boy seems to flush red for a moment before screaming the word “NO!” and collapsing in his arms. Tarith's tail twitches feebly as he scoops up the boy and looks around for one of the caves Fellion had mentioned. A tug at his arm draws his attention to the girl herself as she tries to pull herself up on to shaky legs. She seems at a loss for words and simply points towards the rock face slightly to their right.
She hold fast to his arm to keep her balance as they wade through the dark brown elbow high grass. After a few minutes Tarith spots an opening in the cliff wall and makes a beeline for it. Fellion having had the good sense to grab the packs stumbles to the opposite side of the entrance with them before sliding down into a seated position. She watches as Tarith moves a little further in, brushing some debris aside to clear a place on the floor of the cave. Setting the boy carefully on the cave floor the tailed man makes his way back to the entrance. The cave is about 2 feet higher than his head with a very gradual slope and in the day light the back wall is barely visible. Turing to Fellion he gives her a pained smile. “H-he gets like this s-sometimes. Don't worry. I'm going to go get some food, and firewood it I can. Please, keep an eye on him.” The tone in his voice betrays his own worry and when Fellion simply nods in reply his smile widens slightly. 'I can trust her. Darkon does, so can I' he reassures himself before ducking back into the long grass.
******************
I know this seems a bit ambiguous, but the DP here is what's to happen/do next? Sorry for the long wait, can't wait to see what you guys think. *Bows* I thank you for your patience.
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To Be A Knight
And my first Finished work Death Day
Last edited by PopeAlessandrosXVIII on Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:54 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Tikanni Corazon
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| Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Pope!
Great new chapter! Sorry it took me a while to get to it, but I actually didn't know a new one had been posted up, lol!
I really liked this paragraph:
| Quote: | | They stay like that for several seconds before Darkon pulls back, tilting his head. She smiles in return, moving backwards a few strokes. She motions for them to follow then turns and heads to the waterfall's left. As they leave the impact smoothed stones at the waterfall's base they move into tall water plant forests. Squinting Tarith can't make out the bottom of the lake were the base of the plants are anchored and he lets out a bubble whistle. |
It's very simple, but highly effective for conjouring the imagery as to what the scene looks like. Very well done! 
I also really like the tale that Fellion read from the tome. A dark fairy tale/myth/etc and very effective.
I've found a few typos whilst reading...
| Quote: | | Yawing she looks around, trying to make sense of things. |
Yawning
| Quote: | | The instant she pulls away Tarith wakes with a start and the dark haired boy sits up strait |
| Quote: | | Looking down over the edge Darkon lets the breeze coming strait up the cliff face to help him balance as he leans out a little further. |
[quote]Then the light fires strait up the waterfall from the girl, disappearing over the top. [/color]
Straight
| Quote: | | Darkon kneels down next tot him, putting his face right above the water to drink rather than bringing the water to him with his hands. |
To
| Quote: | | The decent is much faster than the ride up, but Fellion makes sure that they get down without incident. |
Descent
| Quote: | | A small stream of his own grayish glow streams out from his hand and strikes her in the back. |
One of these needs to be changed to something else, as it's a little jarring to have them both in the same sentence. Maybe the second could be 'extends'?
| Quote: | | Darkon comes to sit beside her, [color-red]hos[/color] rapt attention on the tome. |
His
| Quote: | | If the beings of this world can change the beings rage against them away and instead prove their worth, only then will history not repeat itself. If the beings can not, then the world is doomed.~ |
There's too many 'beings' here, and at least one needs changing, as they're related to two separate things. I would suggest that the first and last be changed to something like 'creatures' instead, if we're talking about multiple races and such with the usage of 'beings'.
Right, for the DP...I'd say that Darkon is given time to rest, and during that time, I think Tarith should tell Fellion all that he knows about Darkon, and in turn, maybe Fellion will let him in on anything that she 'feels' about the boy. I think the two of them would benefit from pooling their information and taking a course of action from there.
Very well done, Pope! Keep up the good work!
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.... there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham....
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, 1887
 
 
  
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Seraphi
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| Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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Dwah! *sparkly eyes* Amazing new chapter, Pope! You had great imagery and I was positively enamored by the story in the tome.
Hm, for the DP....while Terith is out searching for food, Fellion gets closer to Darkon, to comfort the sleeping boy. Maybe she goes to touch his forehead and they end up having a connection similar to what they experienced in the waterfall. One that's a little clearer, but still highly ambiguous (we can't spoil all of the mystery in one go, haha). Whether Darkon awakens from this experience or not, I will leave up to you.
Love it, Pope! Can't wait for more!
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-Mason Cooley
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PopeAlessandrosXVIII
Arts and Poetry Mod
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Topics: 122
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Location: Surrounded by many beautiful naked men
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| Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 4:08 pm Post subject: Yays |
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Thanks for the comments guys! I really enjoy reading them and they are very encouraging. I like it that we got two different suggestions right off the bat. This is going to turn out interesting.  Thank you for reading!
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To Be A Knight
And my first Finished work Death Day
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PopeAlessandrosXVIII
Arts and Poetry Mod
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Topics: 122
Posts: 1858
Location: Surrounded by many beautiful naked men
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| Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 6:38 am Post subject: Polling |
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Thank you for your suggestions, we are now polling!!!
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To Be A Knight
And my first Finished work Death Day
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PopeAlessandrosXVIII
Arts and Poetry Mod
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Topics: 122
Posts: 1858
Location: Surrounded by many beautiful naked men
Items
Legends
13801 Fables
Strata-gems
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 2:28 am Post subject: Poll Results |
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What to do?
While Darkon sleep, Fellion and Tarith pool their informaton about the boy and try and come up with their next course of action.
0% [ 0 ]
While Tarith is away, Fellion tries to get closer to Darkon through the strange bond they seem to share.
100% [ 2 ]
Total Votes : 2
Who Voted: Astaar, Seraphi
Votes in, and time for a new chapter!
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To Be A Knight
And my first Finished work Death Day
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