Chosen [Part 6]
Nov. 6th, 2011 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: 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: PG-13
Notes: Contains more fighting! :D
Commentary can be found here.
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 978
Total word count: 15,207
Status: Work in progress
She didn't want to be choked again, but that was the only way she could be sure that she wouldn't miss.
But Ras didn't think either of them would be able to focus if that happened. The geist paused a few steps away from her and then crouched down slightly, like it was going to leap from where it was.
Dammit. She flung her magic-filled hand out, and watched it as the magic sped forward - and clipped its shoulder, nothing more. It didn't even stumble.
Before panic could sweep in and take a hold of Ras, the front door exploded into kindling as a ball of magic shot through it and smashed into the geist, bowling it over. It roared, and then everything was a dizzying mass of bright light confusion as the last of Ras' strength gave out on her and she had to fight to just stay conscious, to breathe – the only reason why her head didn't thunk off the floor was because Aldran caught her before she did.
When she was finally able to see properly and hear past the ringing in her ears, Aldran's pale face was hovering over her (when had she been moved to her back?), looking stricken.
"You're all right?" he whispered.
She tried to croak out a word, but all she could do was open her mouth, so she nodded – and that sent another wave of vertigo straight to her head. She winced, gingerly trying to see if anything else hurt more than the rest. She could feel her blood roaring around her body, the pounding of her heartbeat.
There were footsteps approaching them, and Aldran looked over his shoulder.
Ras saw the red tip of Dracer's tail before she came into view.
"How are you feeling?" she asked gently, kneeling down next to her.
And it didn't matter who asked, one part of her mind grumped, she still wouldn't be able to answer at that particular moment.
Dracer's lips twitched. "You're responding now, good. Just gather your strength at the moment – Ceilha's making sure the occupants are all right – as far as we can tell, they were terrified, but other than a few knocks to the head and a number of bruises, they're unhurt."
That was good to hear. She and Aldran weren't too late.
"Can you get her a cup of water?" Dracer asked.
"I'll try." There was a shuffle as Aldran stood up and Ras could hear things being moved about as Aldran tried to find a cup.
Dracer hummed, looking around the upturned room. "What were you aiming for?"
Ras sent her a dry stare. "Hitting it," she rasped. Her throat was parched, like she hadn't drank all day, her tongue as helpful as a limp rag in her mouth.
"Better than trying to startle it," Dracer commented. Ras didn't want to know what happened in that scenario. "The head is the best place to kill it quickly, but the torso is the better target," she advised.
Ras nodded, only because she wasn't sure if her tongue would work or if she would start to choke on it instead.
"We're sorry we didn’t wait for you," Aldran said quietly when he came back.
Dracer waved him off. "If you had, neither of you would have been chosen in the first place."
"Do you think you can sit up?" Dracer asked, directing the question towards Ras, peering down at her.
Ras tried to, but then grimaced, feeling like her body was immovable stone, completely unresponsive to what she wanted it to do. She felt absolutely useless.
"Do you mind if I…?" Aldran asked, making abortive gestures that Ras was still somehow able to understand. She nodded and Aldran breathed a small sigh of relief, a comforted smile on his face as he set the cup down. He held her hands, Dracer helping to make sure her head didn't flop back, and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. She gritted her teeth as the world swayed dangerously, but after a few seconds, it settled down, as did her stomach. She cautiously reached for the cup filled with water, not sure if she would be able to keep her balance and Aldran handed it to her, once she was sure she could hold it. It strained her arms, and she felt so weak, but she tipped her head back and swallowed the cool liquid down. She felt slightly better after that, though not by much.
"Thanks," she said, her voice no longer sounding so dry. "Is it always like this?" Ras asked woozily.
The weakness?" Dracer asked, a patient look on her face. When Ras hummed in acknowledgement, Dracer nodded. "It doesn't lessen over time, but you will eventually become accustomed to it."
"Great," Ras groaned. "Is there any part of being a khertan that's easy?"
"The resting?" Dracer quipped, a smile on her face. Except the smile faded a second later, a concentrated tilt to her lips replacing it. +"Though, this period is when you are most vulnerable – if you were attacked now, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself."
That, Ras didn't need telling. She'd probably be knocked over by Aldran's tail at this point. "So there aren't any easy parts," Ras said dryly.
Dracer shook her head.
Ras snorted. She shouldn't be surprised after everything she had learned. It would have been nice, she thought wistfully, but that wasn't how life was.
Dracer glanced at the room where Ceilha was and then stood back up with a grunt, her tail swinging to keep her balance. She stepped over quietly to peer outside the remains of the front door for a few seconds and then went back to the room at the back.
Aldran didn't say anything, merely watched her with worried eyes, his tail wrapped around him, the tip batting side to side.
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: PG-13
Notes: Contains more fighting! :D
Commentary can be found here.
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 978
Total word count: 15,207
Status: Work in progress
She didn't want to be choked again, but that was the only way she could be sure that she wouldn't miss.
But Ras didn't think either of them would be able to focus if that happened. The geist paused a few steps away from her and then crouched down slightly, like it was going to leap from where it was.
Dammit. She flung her magic-filled hand out, and watched it as the magic sped forward - and clipped its shoulder, nothing more. It didn't even stumble.
Before panic could sweep in and take a hold of Ras, the front door exploded into kindling as a ball of magic shot through it and smashed into the geist, bowling it over. It roared, and then everything was a dizzying mass of bright light confusion as the last of Ras' strength gave out on her and she had to fight to just stay conscious, to breathe – the only reason why her head didn't thunk off the floor was because Aldran caught her before she did.
When she was finally able to see properly and hear past the ringing in her ears, Aldran's pale face was hovering over her (when had she been moved to her back?), looking stricken.
"You're all right?" he whispered.
She tried to croak out a word, but all she could do was open her mouth, so she nodded – and that sent another wave of vertigo straight to her head. She winced, gingerly trying to see if anything else hurt more than the rest. She could feel her blood roaring around her body, the pounding of her heartbeat.
There were footsteps approaching them, and Aldran looked over his shoulder.
Ras saw the red tip of Dracer's tail before she came into view.
"How are you feeling?" she asked gently, kneeling down next to her.
And it didn't matter who asked, one part of her mind grumped, she still wouldn't be able to answer at that particular moment.
Dracer's lips twitched. "You're responding now, good. Just gather your strength at the moment – Ceilha's making sure the occupants are all right – as far as we can tell, they were terrified, but other than a few knocks to the head and a number of bruises, they're unhurt."
That was good to hear. She and Aldran weren't too late.
"Can you get her a cup of water?" Dracer asked.
"I'll try." There was a shuffle as Aldran stood up and Ras could hear things being moved about as Aldran tried to find a cup.
Dracer hummed, looking around the upturned room. "What were you aiming for?"
Ras sent her a dry stare. "Hitting it," she rasped. Her throat was parched, like she hadn't drank all day, her tongue as helpful as a limp rag in her mouth.
"Better than trying to startle it," Dracer commented. Ras didn't want to know what happened in that scenario. "The head is the best place to kill it quickly, but the torso is the better target," she advised.
Ras nodded, only because she wasn't sure if her tongue would work or if she would start to choke on it instead.
"We're sorry we didn’t wait for you," Aldran said quietly when he came back.
Dracer waved him off. "If you had, neither of you would have been chosen in the first place."
"Do you think you can sit up?" Dracer asked, directing the question towards Ras, peering down at her.
Ras tried to, but then grimaced, feeling like her body was immovable stone, completely unresponsive to what she wanted it to do. She felt absolutely useless.
"Do you mind if I…?" Aldran asked, making abortive gestures that Ras was still somehow able to understand. She nodded and Aldran breathed a small sigh of relief, a comforted smile on his face as he set the cup down. He held her hands, Dracer helping to make sure her head didn't flop back, and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. She gritted her teeth as the world swayed dangerously, but after a few seconds, it settled down, as did her stomach. She cautiously reached for the cup filled with water, not sure if she would be able to keep her balance and Aldran handed it to her, once she was sure she could hold it. It strained her arms, and she felt so weak, but she tipped her head back and swallowed the cool liquid down. She felt slightly better after that, though not by much.
"Thanks," she said, her voice no longer sounding so dry. "Is it always like this?" Ras asked woozily.
The weakness?" Dracer asked, a patient look on her face. When Ras hummed in acknowledgement, Dracer nodded. "It doesn't lessen over time, but you will eventually become accustomed to it."
"Great," Ras groaned. "Is there any part of being a khertan that's easy?"
"The resting?" Dracer quipped, a smile on her face. Except the smile faded a second later, a concentrated tilt to her lips replacing it. +"Though, this period is when you are most vulnerable – if you were attacked now, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself."
That, Ras didn't need telling. She'd probably be knocked over by Aldran's tail at this point. "So there aren't any easy parts," Ras said dryly.
Dracer shook her head.
Ras snorted. She shouldn't be surprised after everything she had learned. It would have been nice, she thought wistfully, but that wasn't how life was.
Dracer glanced at the room where Ceilha was and then stood back up with a grunt, her tail swinging to keep her balance. She stepped over quietly to peer outside the remains of the front door for a few seconds and then went back to the room at the back.
Aldran didn't say anything, merely watched her with worried eyes, his tail wrapped around him, the tip batting side to side.
no subject
Date: Nov. 7th, 2011 08:30 pm (UTC)What do you think? Of course she isn't XD. 'are you alright' is a ridiculous question... And yet everyone uses it. Always.
"It doesn't lessen over time, but you will eventually become accustomed to it."
I wonder how long does it take to get accustomed to something like that...
"Is there any part of being a khertan that's easy?"
Somehow I doubt it
"The resting?""
XDDDDD
"Aldran didn't say anything, merely watched her with worried eyes, his tail wrapped around him, the tip batting side to side."
Adorableness... And tails! :D
no subject
Date: Nov. 8th, 2011 02:37 pm (UTC)"I wonder how long does it take to get accustomed to something like that..."
I think it depends on the person, how often they fight the geists, how they fight the geists, how much magic they use in the fight... XD;; Lots of stuff!
"Adorableness... And tails! :D"
Yessss. The tail is finally showing up! \o/
no subject
Date: Nov. 9th, 2011 08:13 pm (UTC)Sun: oh, bleeding out all over the floor is NOT normal? O.o
How long IS Aldran's tail?
no subject
Date: Dec. 15th, 2011 10:15 pm (UTC)'But it happens to me all the time and I'm fine!' XDDD
*blink* That's another thing I've never said before. Oops... It's around about the same length as Zidane Tribal's tail. And great, now I'm wondering if Aldran would able to hang from his tail like Zidane can... I don't think he has that much control over it - it shows his emotions, but he doesn't do that consciously.