esp_dragon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-05 10:05 pm
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-05 10:05 pm
Chosen [Part 5]
Fandom: Original
Summary: Ras has just been chosen by the Gods to protect humans from geists, beings that prey on people's souls. Sent by Them to aid her is Aldran, a psyven; through the bond forged on their first meeting, Aldran can pass his magic to Ras for her to use against the geists. Only those bonded with psyvens can fight the geists, as a psyven's magic is the one magic that is truly effective against them.
But stories are told to children to placate fears and soothe nightmares. Ras has to learn that Aldran and living as a khertan are not what she expected and that the danger is very real.
While she adjusts to her new life, she and Aldran begin to discover all is not as it seems; however, realising and accepting the truth is not easy and ultimately, in the end, is it worth it?
Rating: R
Notes: Contains bloody fighting (\o/)
Winolock is the home base of the khertan and the psyven.
You can find them on my personal journal here. :)
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 2,767
Total word count: 14,229
Status: Work in progress
Ceilha and Dracer were inside the church, talking insistently with the priest, who was shaking her head, pale-faced, Dracer's agitated tail flicking more telling than Ceilha's frown and crossed arms. Ras and Aldran shared a look - had they taken too long to get there? They'd hurried their way there as soon as they got the message.
As they approached, the priest bowed and then hurried away. "What happened?" Ras said urgently as soon as they were within hearing range.
Ceilha pursed her lips and jerked her head to indicate they follow. There was no-one else around, on the pews or anywhere else, and the scene of destruction that Ras had been expecting was unfulfilled either. Everything looked the same as the last time Ras had seen it. When Ceilha and Dracer started to lead them back to the room with the teleportation circle, the one part of Ras that hadn't been panicking at Ceilha and Dracers's words and actions also decided that it might be a good idea. Had they done something wrong? As Ceilha said something happened, had it been...
Ras' thoughts halted as soon as they passed the threshold into the room with the teleportation circle in it. This had Ras' expected scene of destruction, the candle racks toppled over, bent and twisted in place, the carpet in shreds and burnt in places, but the biggest thing that held Ras' attention was as she neared, she could see that the teleportation circle had deep gouges running through it, looking very much like...like someone had used the candle racks to make them. But the floor was stone - it shouldn't be possible to make marks like that so easily!
"Someone found this a little while ago and sought to tell us," Dracer said quietly. "From what we have found out, no-one knows what happened - no-one saw anyone suspicious enter or leave, no-one of note, nor did they notice anyone entering or leaving this room at all. "
Because who would notice another person who kept their head down here, the paranoid side of Ras whispered.
"So... What happens now?" Ras asked, looking down at the circle. Could they somehow make the circle whole again by...filling in the gaps?
Ceilha sighed. "I can't get in contact with the mages at Winolock, so the best thing we can do is after finding the geist is find the closest village or town and go there."
"We can't fix this then," Ras said quietly.
Ceilha chuckled humourlessly. "No, this is a mage's work, so only they would be able to fix this." She sighed, running her eyes over the wall. "At the moment, I don't think they would be able to fix this - their best solution would be to make a new one."
"Why-" Aldran paused when everyone looked at him, ducking his head, but then kept going, "Why can't you get in contact with the mages? Shouldn't the necklaces...?"
"No," Dracer said, shaking her head. "These only work for short distances, a mile or so. We can't contact them through these."
Damn. "All right," Ras said uneasily. "How... How often does this," -she indicated the destruction of the room with a wave of her hand- "happen?" Both Ceilha and Dracer seemed disturbed by it, so it had to be unusual, since they had been unruffled by everything else so far.
Ceilha and Dracer were quiet for a couple of seconds, and Ras' stomach churned, flipping over itself. "Never, as far as we know," Ceilha said quietly. "We have never heard of a geist being canny enough to destroy the teleportation circle before. Easily able to trick their prey with words, yes, but not this. "
Ras' stomach dropped, her body chilling at the words. "Never...?" she croaked.
Dracer shook her head.
That...was not what Ras wanted to hear. So they were up against a geist who was smarter than the average (not that Ras knew what the average was either), and... "We're cut off," Ras realised. They didn't have a way of contacting Winolock unless it was by letter or carrier pigeon, and by the time any of those messages arrived, it could already be too late.
"Yes," Ceilha said, sighing harshly. "There isn't anything we can do about it now - we take care of the geist, and we'll take another route back to Winolock."
"Yeah." Ras nodded, trying to sound confident. There were four of them, and only one geist. That would surely be enough, wouldn't it?
* * *
There wasn't a lot that they could work with inside the church, no hints about where the geist could have gone. So they would have to do it manually. As soon as they stepped back outside, Ras noticed the anxious little looks everyone shot them, like they wanted to come up and ask, but were too afraid to approach.
"They know about it?"
"Of course – and they're absolutely terrified. A geist has not only walked amongst them, but also on holy ground, desecrating part of it."
And Ras had been too focused on everything else to realise that fact. "They can-?"
Ceilha nodded. "But do not tell them that – the people can sleep at night because they believe that there's a safe place to go. Hopefully, this will be the only instance of this happening."
Hopefully. But if it had happened once, then it could happen again. Ras frowned as she realised something else. "Was anyone else fed upon?"
"No," Ceilha said quietly. "And I think that makes it worse for the villagers. If we do not deal with the geist soon, more people may be hurt – not because of the geist, but because of other people."
Ras frowned, confused at her words. "Why other people?"
"Because they're scared," Dracer said softly. "They know that a geist is about, so anyone who doesn't look them in the eye or doesn't speak much is suspect."
"And a number of people won't wait for the geist to come close enough so that they can double-check," Ceilha finished.
But then that meant… Horror swelled up in Ras.
"Which is why we need to find it quickly," Ceilha pressed on. "Ras and Aldran, you start looking over there," –she pointed to the right- "and make sure you call us as soon as you feel anything. To call, hold it and think of me – to make sure I don't give away where you are, hold cover both sides of it."
Ras nodded, her nerves going on edge again – but there wasn't anything she could do but keep going. The only way she could settle her nerves would be to get used to fighting the geists. If she ever got used to it. But now her mind was babbling and she couldn't – a warm hand settled on her shoulder, and Ras looked up to Ceilha's reassuring face.
"It's all right – you've got support, and you aren't alone. It'll be all right. Just take a deep breath and think about something else for the moment."
And that helped to stop the tide of thoughts crashing through her. Ras focused on the sky that framed Ceilha's head, the fluttering of – no, she wasn't going to think about that just yet, and then just focused on breathing in and out.
"Better?" Ceilha asked a few moments later, peering at her face.
"I… Yeah, I think so," Ras said carefully. "Thank you."
A grin quirked Ceilha's lips. "I've been in your position before, remember? Now, let's get started."
Taking another deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest, Ras nodded.
* * *
"How are you?" Ras asked Aldran quietly as they hurried down the streets. They hadn't felt anything yet and they'd been walking for a few minutes – Ras wasn't sure to be relieved or anxious about it, so her body decided for her, going for a coiling mess of the two.
Aldran didn't answer straight away, his eyes watching everything they passed, not missing anything. He was different from before, and Ras wondered if he realised it; he wasn't hunched over, or trying to hide, striding forward, like a dog that knew there was a fox in the bushes, but not quite where. She didn't want to call his attention to his behaviour either, but the question had slipped out, because they were in this together, and if she was worried, then Aldran might be as well.
"I'm all right," he eventually said, distractedly. "I…" he paused, frowning, and then shook his head. "I want this to be over as quickly as possible."
"So do I," Ras agreed, "but-" They both stopped in their tracks as Ras felt her skin prickle, the same sensation she'd felt a short while ago. That was – Aldran grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back after she started running towards it.
Why was he – someone was hurt! "Ald-"
"Call them," he insisted, the confident Aldran gone, and back was the wide-eyed worried one, keeping watch over her shoulder. "What if it hasn't fed; what if it's the geist?"
Then – then – "Dammit." Ras whirled around, scanning the area and finding nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where were the people? She grabbed her pendant and thought of Ceilha. There was an answering hum, but before she or Ceilha could say anything, Ras heard a muffled scream.
"Was that-?"
"I think so," Aldran said, craning his neck towards one of the houses.
"You found it?" Ceilha barked.
"Yeah, we're-" Ras' brain failed her – she hadn't been taking enough attention to her surroundings, only to if her skin was tingling – and there was someone being attacked and she didn't know what house they were in.
"Two parallel streets from Tarn and Mizara's house," Aldran filled in quickly, looking between two houses on their left.
"Right. We'll be there as soon as we can."
The pendant stopped humming. "We can't stay here," Ras said immediately, dropping the pendant. "They could be – the geist could have fed on them before Ceilha and Dracer get here!" Her heart was thrashing in her chest, and she couldn't believe she was saying it, but she couldn't just stand there and wait either! If someone was hurt because she was too scared to go, she couldn't say, 'Sorry, I was too inexperienced so I did nothing'! This… This was what she had been chosen to do – she couldn’t back away.
"But..." Aldran glanced at the direction Ceilha and Dracer would come from. He took a deep breath. "All right."
A part of Ras relaxed, releived that she wasn't doing this alone, even if they were both clueless on what would happen.
There was only one house whose door was aja, and when Ras checked with Ald, herking her head towards it, he nodded.
They dashed over to the house, but before they entered, Ras paused, glancing at Ald.
"Can you open the link?" she whispered, ears straining for any other sounds (what if they were at the wrong house and wasting their time? What if they were already too late? How long did it take for a geist to eat a soul?)
"No," he replied, his voice strained, an apology on his face. "I can’t move and give you my magic at the same time."
Dammit. Taking a deep breath, Ras nodded. The only thing they could do was hope they could catch the geist by surprise and the people inside were still unharmed.
She nudged the door open, and when nothing came crashing out, she edged in, keeping an eye out for anything that didn't belong, that stood out. There wasn't anything that instantly did, so she hurried towards the back.
Taking a deep breath, she -
Flinched back as the door she was heading towards crashed open, someone leaping out. No - it was a geist standing in the light, and Ras was only just able to register the bared fangs before the geist tore towards them.
The link between Ras and Aldran slammed open then, filling Ras with magic, and then there was the heady rush of trying to focus, to just to grasp the storm, to make sense of it, but there wasn't enough time. Ras raised her hand, feeling the magic respond to her thoughts, racing down to her fingertips like a waterfall and the magic flew out of her in a ball of multicoloured sparks, slamming into the geist's chest, knocking it back. It howled, clutching at the bloody blue mess that the magic had left its chest in, its clothes in tatters, but it raised its head to her, a snarl on its lips, not perturbed in the slightest, and definitely not backing down either.
It charged forward again, faster than Ras thought possible (but she was only thinking in terms of humans) especially wounded like it was, and Ras was only just able to call Aldran's magic to her to her hand as the geist's hand wrapped its way around her throat and she was slammed backwards into the wall. The world flashed white for a second, the magic fizzling and disappearing.
The stench of blood filled her nostrils, and that was all she could concentrate on for a few dizzying heartbeats as she tried to scramble her thoughts together through her throbbing head. She could feel her face tingling as the geist's hand clamped down, restricting her breathing and she tried desperately to get more air, but she could barely think past her skin humming where the geist was touching her, driving what little attention she had away.
There was a shout that Ras didn't understand but then magic flooded her again – on instinct, she lashed out, not trying to form it in any way and was rewarded with warm blood splattering her and the vice around her throat loosening. Her knees crashed to the floor and the world span, brightening, and Ras couldn't help but get lost in it, feeling like she wanted to be sick, breathing in short, choked gasps. There was a ringing in her ears that drowned everything else out.
The first sound she heard was hissing sound as wisps of dark blue smoke started to emanate from the body in front of her, clotting together. At the same time, the geist's body faded from view, leaving a wide blood stain across from floor.
There was a clatter as Aldran rushed to her side, dropping down to kneel next to her, hovering close, but not touching her. She could see him trembling on the edges of her vision, and she opened her mouth and hoped the first words that fell out of it would be reassuring.
Except when the smoke cleared from her view, there was someone else standing in the doorway that the geist had come from. She could only stare in disbelief at him, the world still tipping left and right, her brain scrambling to make sense of what she was seeing.
He was human, wasn't he? Shouldn't he have been laid out low by the geist? His clothes were worn and faded in places, ill-fitting, and Ras' stomach churned for an entirely another reason, realising what was wrong - and Ras could finally see the elongated fangs as the geist sneered as it swept its gaze over her and Aldran.
Dammit, no - there were two? But how could they have known that? Ras barely felt strong enough to lift her head, the magic casting draining her at the same time as strengthening her.
This one didn't charge, cautiously approaching them, watching their every movement. Ras tried to reach out for Aldran's magic, but there was nothing there to use, the link between them shut.
The geist grew bolder the longer Ras didn't move (she barely could stop herself from collapsing, her locked arms the only thing stopping her from her head crashing to the floor.), moving faster towards them. But Ras could feel a trickle of magic winding its way in her, growing steadily, and Ras tried to concentrate past her throbbing head and neck. She didn't think she would be able to cast much more than once –if that- so she had to make this count.
She clenched her hand, feeling the magic twist down her arm, collecting in her palm, making her hand tingle. She only had to hope – she had to trust that Aldran would keep his concentration. And he would. He'd promised to help her keep her promise.
So she had to keep her side of the promise too. Gritting her teeth, Ras tried to keep her breathing as evenly as possible, even as she felt herself swaying.
_______________________________________
It's probably not clear – Aldran needs to concentrate to keep the link open and feed Ras zes magic. If she gets hurt – ze's going to stop thinking about that and start thinking about 'noooooo, Ras is hurt!! D:' so she stops being able to use zes magic. Fun times.
Summary: Ras has just been chosen by the Gods to protect humans from geists, beings that prey on people's souls. Sent by Them to aid her is Aldran, a psyven; through the bond forged on their first meeting, Aldran can pass his magic to Ras for her to use against the geists. Only those bonded with psyvens can fight the geists, as a psyven's magic is the one magic that is truly effective against them.
But stories are told to children to placate fears and soothe nightmares. Ras has to learn that Aldran and living as a khertan are not what she expected and that the danger is very real.
While she adjusts to her new life, she and Aldran begin to discover all is not as it seems; however, realising and accepting the truth is not easy and ultimately, in the end, is it worth it?
Rating: R
Notes: Contains bloody fighting (\o/)
Winolock is the home base of the khertan and the psyven.
You can find them on my personal journal here. :)
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 2,767
Total word count: 14,229
Status: Work in progress
Ceilha and Dracer were inside the church, talking insistently with the priest, who was shaking her head, pale-faced, Dracer's agitated tail flicking more telling than Ceilha's frown and crossed arms. Ras and Aldran shared a look - had they taken too long to get there? They'd hurried their way there as soon as they got the message.
As they approached, the priest bowed and then hurried away. "What happened?" Ras said urgently as soon as they were within hearing range.
Ceilha pursed her lips and jerked her head to indicate they follow. There was no-one else around, on the pews or anywhere else, and the scene of destruction that Ras had been expecting was unfulfilled either. Everything looked the same as the last time Ras had seen it. When Ceilha and Dracer started to lead them back to the room with the teleportation circle, the one part of Ras that hadn't been panicking at Ceilha and Dracers's words and actions also decided that it might be a good idea. Had they done something wrong? As Ceilha said something happened, had it been...
Ras' thoughts halted as soon as they passed the threshold into the room with the teleportation circle in it. This had Ras' expected scene of destruction, the candle racks toppled over, bent and twisted in place, the carpet in shreds and burnt in places, but the biggest thing that held Ras' attention was as she neared, she could see that the teleportation circle had deep gouges running through it, looking very much like...like someone had used the candle racks to make them. But the floor was stone - it shouldn't be possible to make marks like that so easily!
"Someone found this a little while ago and sought to tell us," Dracer said quietly. "From what we have found out, no-one knows what happened - no-one saw anyone suspicious enter or leave, no-one of note, nor did they notice anyone entering or leaving this room at all. "
Because who would notice another person who kept their head down here, the paranoid side of Ras whispered.
"So... What happens now?" Ras asked, looking down at the circle. Could they somehow make the circle whole again by...filling in the gaps?
Ceilha sighed. "I can't get in contact with the mages at Winolock, so the best thing we can do is after finding the geist is find the closest village or town and go there."
"We can't fix this then," Ras said quietly.
Ceilha chuckled humourlessly. "No, this is a mage's work, so only they would be able to fix this." She sighed, running her eyes over the wall. "At the moment, I don't think they would be able to fix this - their best solution would be to make a new one."
"Why-" Aldran paused when everyone looked at him, ducking his head, but then kept going, "Why can't you get in contact with the mages? Shouldn't the necklaces...?"
"No," Dracer said, shaking her head. "These only work for short distances, a mile or so. We can't contact them through these."
Damn. "All right," Ras said uneasily. "How... How often does this," -she indicated the destruction of the room with a wave of her hand- "happen?" Both Ceilha and Dracer seemed disturbed by it, so it had to be unusual, since they had been unruffled by everything else so far.
Ceilha and Dracer were quiet for a couple of seconds, and Ras' stomach churned, flipping over itself. "Never, as far as we know," Ceilha said quietly. "We have never heard of a geist being canny enough to destroy the teleportation circle before. Easily able to trick their prey with words, yes, but not this. "
Ras' stomach dropped, her body chilling at the words. "Never...?" she croaked.
Dracer shook her head.
That...was not what Ras wanted to hear. So they were up against a geist who was smarter than the average (not that Ras knew what the average was either), and... "We're cut off," Ras realised. They didn't have a way of contacting Winolock unless it was by letter or carrier pigeon, and by the time any of those messages arrived, it could already be too late.
"Yes," Ceilha said, sighing harshly. "There isn't anything we can do about it now - we take care of the geist, and we'll take another route back to Winolock."
"Yeah." Ras nodded, trying to sound confident. There were four of them, and only one geist. That would surely be enough, wouldn't it?
There wasn't a lot that they could work with inside the church, no hints about where the geist could have gone. So they would have to do it manually. As soon as they stepped back outside, Ras noticed the anxious little looks everyone shot them, like they wanted to come up and ask, but were too afraid to approach.
"They know about it?"
"Of course – and they're absolutely terrified. A geist has not only walked amongst them, but also on holy ground, desecrating part of it."
And Ras had been too focused on everything else to realise that fact. "They can-?"
Ceilha nodded. "But do not tell them that – the people can sleep at night because they believe that there's a safe place to go. Hopefully, this will be the only instance of this happening."
Hopefully. But if it had happened once, then it could happen again. Ras frowned as she realised something else. "Was anyone else fed upon?"
"No," Ceilha said quietly. "And I think that makes it worse for the villagers. If we do not deal with the geist soon, more people may be hurt – not because of the geist, but because of other people."
Ras frowned, confused at her words. "Why other people?"
"Because they're scared," Dracer said softly. "They know that a geist is about, so anyone who doesn't look them in the eye or doesn't speak much is suspect."
"And a number of people won't wait for the geist to come close enough so that they can double-check," Ceilha finished.
But then that meant… Horror swelled up in Ras.
"Which is why we need to find it quickly," Ceilha pressed on. "Ras and Aldran, you start looking over there," –she pointed to the right- "and make sure you call us as soon as you feel anything. To call, hold it and think of me – to make sure I don't give away where you are, hold cover both sides of it."
Ras nodded, her nerves going on edge again – but there wasn't anything she could do but keep going. The only way she could settle her nerves would be to get used to fighting the geists. If she ever got used to it. But now her mind was babbling and she couldn't – a warm hand settled on her shoulder, and Ras looked up to Ceilha's reassuring face.
"It's all right – you've got support, and you aren't alone. It'll be all right. Just take a deep breath and think about something else for the moment."
And that helped to stop the tide of thoughts crashing through her. Ras focused on the sky that framed Ceilha's head, the fluttering of – no, she wasn't going to think about that just yet, and then just focused on breathing in and out.
"Better?" Ceilha asked a few moments later, peering at her face.
"I… Yeah, I think so," Ras said carefully. "Thank you."
A grin quirked Ceilha's lips. "I've been in your position before, remember? Now, let's get started."
Taking another deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest, Ras nodded.
"How are you?" Ras asked Aldran quietly as they hurried down the streets. They hadn't felt anything yet and they'd been walking for a few minutes – Ras wasn't sure to be relieved or anxious about it, so her body decided for her, going for a coiling mess of the two.
Aldran didn't answer straight away, his eyes watching everything they passed, not missing anything. He was different from before, and Ras wondered if he realised it; he wasn't hunched over, or trying to hide, striding forward, like a dog that knew there was a fox in the bushes, but not quite where. She didn't want to call his attention to his behaviour either, but the question had slipped out, because they were in this together, and if she was worried, then Aldran might be as well.
"I'm all right," he eventually said, distractedly. "I…" he paused, frowning, and then shook his head. "I want this to be over as quickly as possible."
"So do I," Ras agreed, "but-" They both stopped in their tracks as Ras felt her skin prickle, the same sensation she'd felt a short while ago. That was – Aldran grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back after she started running towards it.
Why was he – someone was hurt! "Ald-"
"Call them," he insisted, the confident Aldran gone, and back was the wide-eyed worried one, keeping watch over her shoulder. "What if it hasn't fed; what if it's the geist?"
Then – then – "Dammit." Ras whirled around, scanning the area and finding nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where were the people? She grabbed her pendant and thought of Ceilha. There was an answering hum, but before she or Ceilha could say anything, Ras heard a muffled scream.
"Was that-?"
"I think so," Aldran said, craning his neck towards one of the houses.
"You found it?" Ceilha barked.
"Yeah, we're-" Ras' brain failed her – she hadn't been taking enough attention to her surroundings, only to if her skin was tingling – and there was someone being attacked and she didn't know what house they were in.
"Two parallel streets from Tarn and Mizara's house," Aldran filled in quickly, looking between two houses on their left.
"Right. We'll be there as soon as we can."
The pendant stopped humming. "We can't stay here," Ras said immediately, dropping the pendant. "They could be – the geist could have fed on them before Ceilha and Dracer get here!" Her heart was thrashing in her chest, and she couldn't believe she was saying it, but she couldn't just stand there and wait either! If someone was hurt because she was too scared to go, she couldn't say, 'Sorry, I was too inexperienced so I did nothing'! This… This was what she had been chosen to do – she couldn’t back away.
"But..." Aldran glanced at the direction Ceilha and Dracer would come from. He took a deep breath. "All right."
A part of Ras relaxed, releived that she wasn't doing this alone, even if they were both clueless on what would happen.
There was only one house whose door was aja, and when Ras checked with Ald, herking her head towards it, he nodded.
They dashed over to the house, but before they entered, Ras paused, glancing at Ald.
"Can you open the link?" she whispered, ears straining for any other sounds (what if they were at the wrong house and wasting their time? What if they were already too late? How long did it take for a geist to eat a soul?)
"No," he replied, his voice strained, an apology on his face. "I can’t move and give you my magic at the same time."
Dammit. Taking a deep breath, Ras nodded. The only thing they could do was hope they could catch the geist by surprise and the people inside were still unharmed.
She nudged the door open, and when nothing came crashing out, she edged in, keeping an eye out for anything that didn't belong, that stood out. There wasn't anything that instantly did, so she hurried towards the back.
Taking a deep breath, she -
Flinched back as the door she was heading towards crashed open, someone leaping out. No - it was a geist standing in the light, and Ras was only just able to register the bared fangs before the geist tore towards them.
The link between Ras and Aldran slammed open then, filling Ras with magic, and then there was the heady rush of trying to focus, to just to grasp the storm, to make sense of it, but there wasn't enough time. Ras raised her hand, feeling the magic respond to her thoughts, racing down to her fingertips like a waterfall and the magic flew out of her in a ball of multicoloured sparks, slamming into the geist's chest, knocking it back. It howled, clutching at the bloody blue mess that the magic had left its chest in, its clothes in tatters, but it raised its head to her, a snarl on its lips, not perturbed in the slightest, and definitely not backing down either.
It charged forward again, faster than Ras thought possible (but she was only thinking in terms of humans) especially wounded like it was, and Ras was only just able to call Aldran's magic to her to her hand as the geist's hand wrapped its way around her throat and she was slammed backwards into the wall. The world flashed white for a second, the magic fizzling and disappearing.
The stench of blood filled her nostrils, and that was all she could concentrate on for a few dizzying heartbeats as she tried to scramble her thoughts together through her throbbing head. She could feel her face tingling as the geist's hand clamped down, restricting her breathing and she tried desperately to get more air, but she could barely think past her skin humming where the geist was touching her, driving what little attention she had away.
There was a shout that Ras didn't understand but then magic flooded her again – on instinct, she lashed out, not trying to form it in any way and was rewarded with warm blood splattering her and the vice around her throat loosening. Her knees crashed to the floor and the world span, brightening, and Ras couldn't help but get lost in it, feeling like she wanted to be sick, breathing in short, choked gasps. There was a ringing in her ears that drowned everything else out.
The first sound she heard was hissing sound as wisps of dark blue smoke started to emanate from the body in front of her, clotting together. At the same time, the geist's body faded from view, leaving a wide blood stain across from floor.
There was a clatter as Aldran rushed to her side, dropping down to kneel next to her, hovering close, but not touching her. She could see him trembling on the edges of her vision, and she opened her mouth and hoped the first words that fell out of it would be reassuring.
Except when the smoke cleared from her view, there was someone else standing in the doorway that the geist had come from. She could only stare in disbelief at him, the world still tipping left and right, her brain scrambling to make sense of what she was seeing.
He was human, wasn't he? Shouldn't he have been laid out low by the geist? His clothes were worn and faded in places, ill-fitting, and Ras' stomach churned for an entirely another reason, realising what was wrong - and Ras could finally see the elongated fangs as the geist sneered as it swept its gaze over her and Aldran.
Dammit, no - there were two? But how could they have known that? Ras barely felt strong enough to lift her head, the magic casting draining her at the same time as strengthening her.
This one didn't charge, cautiously approaching them, watching their every movement. Ras tried to reach out for Aldran's magic, but there was nothing there to use, the link between them shut.
The geist grew bolder the longer Ras didn't move (she barely could stop herself from collapsing, her locked arms the only thing stopping her from her head crashing to the floor.), moving faster towards them. But Ras could feel a trickle of magic winding its way in her, growing steadily, and Ras tried to concentrate past her throbbing head and neck. She didn't think she would be able to cast much more than once –if that- so she had to make this count.
She clenched her hand, feeling the magic twist down her arm, collecting in her palm, making her hand tingle. She only had to hope – she had to trust that Aldran would keep his concentration. And he would. He'd promised to help her keep her promise.
So she had to keep her side of the promise too. Gritting her teeth, Ras tried to keep her breathing as evenly as possible, even as she felt herself swaying.
It's probably not clear – Aldran needs to concentrate to keep the link open and feed Ras zes magic. If she gets hurt – ze's going to stop thinking about that and start thinking about 'noooooo, Ras is hurt!! D:' so she stops being able to use zes magic. Fun times.
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(Anonymous) 2011-11-06 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)Interesting. Reminds me of Ras's idea that the geist would hide where it attacked. A clever idea. Is that about the average cleverness for geists?
"desecrating part of it"
Would that have any actual effect?
Eeee fight scene :D
Blood! Geist's blood is blue... How did geist blood get on the floor of the victim's house in an earlier chapter? Did someone manage to wound it?
"Dammit, no - there were two? But how could they have known that?"
You couldn't >)
this adds an interesting twist.
Ooooh, cliffy!
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At the moment, I think it's mostly to do with age. Either that, or it's how many souls the geist has eaten. Which would be bigger with age anyway. I kinda like the idea of the geist absorbing bits and pieces of knowledge of the souls they've eaten. >3;;
"Would that have any actual effect?"
Yeah, because - *checks what I wrote* ...oops. Did not make that clear. Basically, magic circles don't work and are completely useless if the lines are broken and it's not a simple case of just painting over the gouges so the lines connect again (they're written in a mage's magic). The known people (meaning, the only people that Ceilha knows for definite where they are and get in contact with) who can make a teleportation circle are in Winolock. And she can't get in contact with them. Not the fast way anyway. So yeeeeah. This isn't just a case of vandalism - it's cutting them off and isolating them.
"How did geist blood get on the floor of the victim's house in an earlier chapter? Did someone manage to wound it?"
I'm hoping Ula got at least one hit out -maybe a scratch or a broken nose- but Ceilha finding the drops of blood might get taken out too, so it'll just be Ceilha giving more advice on what else to look out for.
"this adds an interesting twist"
:D
"Ooooh, cliffy!"
*grins*
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(Anonymous) 2011-11-07 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)YES. I like the idea :D
"This isn't just a case of vandalism - it's cutting them off and isolating them. "
That part I understood- it was the desecrating thing Im not sure about. In Ras's world the gods obviously have power, and the rituals and holy places definitely mean something, right? So does the fact that the geist intruded on holy ground somehow takes from its holiness or something (I have no idea what I'm aiming at "XD)
"I'm hoping Ula got at least one hit out -maybe a scratch or a broken nose- but Ceilha finding the drops of blood might get taken out too, so it'll just be Ceilha giving more advice on what else to look out for. "
idk. I like the idea that she got one in before it got her.
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It makes things much more interesting! And - Oh. Ooooooh. *_____* I just realised how this can make things...interesting later now. >D Yesssssss. Can't wait to get to it!
"So does the fact that the geist intruded on holy ground somehow takes from its holiness or something"
Aaaah, okay. I think I'm going for the world like in The Legend of Sun Knight (do you read that?): the gods are there, but they don't interfere with the mortal world that much because of...some reason. The humans are kinda like goldfish to them - every single time they look back at the world, the human they were interested in last time has died already. XD;; The gods don't have much direct interaction with humans.
"I like the idea that she got one in before it got her."
:D I'll keep it in.
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(Anonymous) 2011-11-09 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)Come on! I'm curious now :D
"Aaaah, okay. I think I'm going for the world like in The Legend of Sun Knight (do you read that?): the gods are there, but they don't interfere with the mortal world that much because of...some reason. The humans are kinda like goldfish to them - every single time they look back at the world, the human they were interested in last time has died already. XD;; The gods don't have much direct interaction with humans."
I do read it, although I've been neglecting it lately (almost all of volume 2 *facepalm*)
Ok then. Hehehehe humans are goldfish in the eyes of the gods. They probably have the same attention span too.