Chosen [Part 16]
Nov. 16th, 2011 11:29 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: R
Notes: Contains bloody fighting.
You can find my commentary on this part here.
…XD;;; I thought I'd stopped writing after the daily minimum, not before! Oops…
… Ah, screw it. It's 100 words, I have 45 mins till midnight *adds some more*And then I can see the updated signup list at half-past!
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,686
Total word count: 40,196
Status: Work in progress
Ras froze at Farrick's words. He - he couldn't be - he was moving. He couldn't be dead! While his face was a little ashen -and that was supposed to be a geist trait- if it really had been a week... But his eyes were glassy, his face slightly blank, and the khertan's movements were slow and laboured, but there was something about the way he moved, as if unused to it.
There was a 'shick' as Farrick and Penran unsheathed their daggers and the full weight of the situation hit Ras. This wasn't a geist, and if this wasn't a geist, then using Aldran's magic wasn't necessary.
"But how do you know?" Ras demanded, watching the khertan make his way towards them, mouthing something, but Ras wasn't sure what.
"Because we've seen this before," Farrick said, his eyes narrowed, getting ready to fight. "If the villagers didn't come out here -and if they didn't know he'd died- then his body has been lying here for that amount of time, without any protections or wards. It's easy for a spirit to have possessed his body."
The khertan took a shuddering breath, and then a wide grin spread across its features. "I'll make it back," the khertan rasped. "I'll find her - I'll kill you." He suddenly dashed towards them, all gangly limbs, and Ras would have wondered about if he would be able to continue that without falling if the gap between them weren't so short.
Ras pulled out her own dagger, hearing Aldran do the same, and then suddenly the khertan changed course, heading straight for her, dodging Farrick's strike. She swung her arm, and caught him in the chest, but he continued of as if she hadn't wounded him. He barrelled into her, and Ras went down with the shock of feeling the tingle that she associated with the geists coming from his touch.
The khertan was only on top of her for a few heartbeats, his hands scrabbling for her neck, before he was no longer there. Aldran held out his hand and Ras gladly took it.
"Next time," Farrick said, his voice long-suffering, a sigh mingled through it, "make sure you use your dagger - kicking it's no good."
Aldran didn't reply. The khertan rounded on the again, attacking Penran, who was able to line a score up his arm, but Ras started to realise what the problem was. "How do you kill something that's already dead?"
"Make sure it can't move," was the quick reply. "Make sure it doesn't want to inhabit the body anymore."
What did that mean?
The khertan was fighting wildly, and after Penran caught his arm, Farrick stepped in close and stabbed the khertan in the stomach. The khertan gaped, looking confused for a second and then grinned. In that same time, Penran reached over and slashed him across the neck.
There wasn't a spray of bright red blood like Ras had expected, but a trickle of black thick blood instead.
Farrick stepped away while the khertan grasped at the flaps of his neck. "You can't go back - they'll know you're the walking dead as soon as they see you and will send a priest to cleanse your soul."
The khertan froze, his eyes going wide. His face became a mask of fury, a silent howl on his lips. His eyes then rolled up to the back of his head, and he suddenly dropped to the ground as if - as if all life had left him in an instant.
"Hmph. Far too simple." Farrick tilted his head to look at with lazy eyes. "See? We didn't need your help."
Ras gritted her teeth. At least she knew what to expect if she ever encountered a possessed body now. "Why does our skin tingle to possession?"
Farrick snorted, sending her a dry look. "Ask someone willing to answer - I'm-"
The tree branch above them shook suddenly and Ras snapped her gaze upwards. Was there anything in this area - she locked gazes with another face that was grinning manically down at her.
"Godsdammit." Ras threw herself out the way as the geist leapt down, the link between her and Aldran thrown open and she hurriedly changed hand she was holding the dagger. The geist landed on Penran and between one blink and the next, the geist had made bloody scores across Penran's face.
Small blasts, Ras chanted to herself, don't try to control them afterwards - just hit the geist!
Before Ras could cast, the geist had bounded onto Farrick, knocking his dagger away and making him collapse to the ground from trying to stand with its weight on him. In the heartbeat it stood above Farrick, Ras wildly wondering if it was going to start feeding on him, Ras shot Aldran's magic from her hand, and was able to land a number of hits on it, knocking it away. Farrick scrambled to his feet-
"Behind us!" Aldran's shout made Ras whip her head around just in time to see another geist appear from the shadow of one of the trees. She gathered Aldran's magic in her, and when she flung her hand out, the trees exploded as the magic smashed into them. The geist had ducked though -what was happening on the other side? No time to think or check, and Farrick was going to make a comment if they were still fighting the geist when he and Penran were finished. If they were finished. Aldran was watching her back, so focus on this!- and Ras gather the magic in her hand again, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The geist in front of her gave off a whooping laughter before dashing towards Aldran. Ras felt a distinct clench of fear -they knew to go after the psyven first- but while Aldran didn't move, the link only flickered, and Ras flung another multitude of magic at the geist. It didn't even attempt to dodge - it barrelled into Aldran and the link winked shut before they'd hit the ground.
Cursing, Ras dashed forward, her dagger back in her dominant hand. She stumbled as her heart started beating wildly again, the world brightening. No, she wasn't going to let that stop her and heaving deep breaths, ringing in her ears, Ras continued forward as fast as she could, no matter how much it hurt.
"This is an even better gift than last time!" the geist crowed, just before Ras reached it. Quick as lightning, the geist stood up and slammed a fist in her face, sending her sprawling.
The world span even more, and she fought to righten it, feeling it was taking far too long - where was the - Ras was lifted by the neck to eye height of the geist. The prickling where the geist touched her strengthened, feeling as if she was being burned. She kicked out at it, chocking, but the geist didn't flinch, possibly didn't even blink. It's only reaction was to tighten its hold.
"Heh," the geist breathed. "The taste of a khertan's soul is different from another human's." Its slitted eyes bored into her, and she couldn't look away, no matter how much she struggled. "Want to know why?"
Ras was becoming rather tired of all the patronisation about what she didn't know.
"No," she wheezed, jabbing her fingers in its eye.
Or tried to - it grabbed her wrist before her hand could come close to its face. And that was when the link burst open again. Ras scrabbled the magic she had and threw it out in any direction, not trying to direct it to her hand, but just anywhere it could go.
The geist howled and Ras was sprayed with its warm blood. Ignoring it, ignoring how everything was brightening again, Ras summoned the last of her strength and threw everything she could grab hold of and threw it at the geist.
She was already falling before she could see if it had hit the geist or not, the world tumbling into haze of bright colours.
* * *
There was a small pile of berries in front of Ras' face. And she was really hungry. She slowly reached for a couple before plopping them in her mouth. They didn't do much to sate her hunger, but it would be enough to at least give her stomach something while it demanded that it have something, as well as soothing her dry throat.
She heard movement behind her and she stilled, closing her eyes, just in case. But in case of – where was Aldran? Wait, where was Farrick and Penran? The other person stepped around her and when she peeked, she saw a purple and blue banded tail. Ras sighed in relief, opening her eyes fully.
There was a similar whoosh of air and then Aldran sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently.
She snorted, sending him a dry look.
He chuckled softly at that, ducking his head. "There aren't any more geists around here – none have attacked, anyway," Aldran amended. That was clear, or else she would have never woken up again. "So just rest for the moment."
"What about Farrick and Penran?" Ras struggled to say. She didn't like them, but she didn't want them dead either.
Aldran glanced over her. "They're resting as well."
Ras closed her eyes, feeling how weak she was. The next time she would wake up, she was going to feel worse because of the hunger. "We can't go back to the village," she murmured. Not in the state that they were all currently in.
"I can-" Ras quietened him with a look.
"But I'm in a better condition than you are," Aldran said quietly. That much was obvious, but still, holding the open the link and giving her his magic was still draining on him.
"I don't want to watch you die…" His tail flicked nervously at the tip, brushing the foliage.
"'m not going to." And that didn't sound convincing in the slightest since she couldn't get the words out properly.
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.
You can find my commentary on this part here.
…XD;;; I thought I'd stopped writing after the daily minimum, not before! Oops…
… Ah, screw it. It's 100 words, I have 45 mins till midnight *adds some more*
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,686
Total word count: 40,196
Status: Work in progress
Ras froze at Farrick's words. He - he couldn't be - he was moving. He couldn't be dead! While his face was a little ashen -and that was supposed to be a geist trait- if it really had been a week... But his eyes were glassy, his face slightly blank, and the khertan's movements were slow and laboured, but there was something about the way he moved, as if unused to it.
There was a 'shick' as Farrick and Penran unsheathed their daggers and the full weight of the situation hit Ras. This wasn't a geist, and if this wasn't a geist, then using Aldran's magic wasn't necessary.
"But how do you know?" Ras demanded, watching the khertan make his way towards them, mouthing something, but Ras wasn't sure what.
"Because we've seen this before," Farrick said, his eyes narrowed, getting ready to fight. "If the villagers didn't come out here -and if they didn't know he'd died- then his body has been lying here for that amount of time, without any protections or wards. It's easy for a spirit to have possessed his body."
The khertan took a shuddering breath, and then a wide grin spread across its features. "I'll make it back," the khertan rasped. "I'll find her - I'll kill you." He suddenly dashed towards them, all gangly limbs, and Ras would have wondered about if he would be able to continue that without falling if the gap between them weren't so short.
Ras pulled out her own dagger, hearing Aldran do the same, and then suddenly the khertan changed course, heading straight for her, dodging Farrick's strike. She swung her arm, and caught him in the chest, but he continued of as if she hadn't wounded him. He barrelled into her, and Ras went down with the shock of feeling the tingle that she associated with the geists coming from his touch.
The khertan was only on top of her for a few heartbeats, his hands scrabbling for her neck, before he was no longer there. Aldran held out his hand and Ras gladly took it.
"Next time," Farrick said, his voice long-suffering, a sigh mingled through it, "make sure you use your dagger - kicking it's no good."
Aldran didn't reply. The khertan rounded on the again, attacking Penran, who was able to line a score up his arm, but Ras started to realise what the problem was. "How do you kill something that's already dead?"
"Make sure it can't move," was the quick reply. "Make sure it doesn't want to inhabit the body anymore."
What did that mean?
The khertan was fighting wildly, and after Penran caught his arm, Farrick stepped in close and stabbed the khertan in the stomach. The khertan gaped, looking confused for a second and then grinned. In that same time, Penran reached over and slashed him across the neck.
There wasn't a spray of bright red blood like Ras had expected, but a trickle of black thick blood instead.
Farrick stepped away while the khertan grasped at the flaps of his neck. "You can't go back - they'll know you're the walking dead as soon as they see you and will send a priest to cleanse your soul."
The khertan froze, his eyes going wide. His face became a mask of fury, a silent howl on his lips. His eyes then rolled up to the back of his head, and he suddenly dropped to the ground as if - as if all life had left him in an instant.
"Hmph. Far too simple." Farrick tilted his head to look at with lazy eyes. "See? We didn't need your help."
Ras gritted her teeth. At least she knew what to expect if she ever encountered a possessed body now. "Why does our skin tingle to possession?"
Farrick snorted, sending her a dry look. "Ask someone willing to answer - I'm-"
The tree branch above them shook suddenly and Ras snapped her gaze upwards. Was there anything in this area - she locked gazes with another face that was grinning manically down at her.
"Godsdammit." Ras threw herself out the way as the geist leapt down, the link between her and Aldran thrown open and she hurriedly changed hand she was holding the dagger. The geist landed on Penran and between one blink and the next, the geist had made bloody scores across Penran's face.
Small blasts, Ras chanted to herself, don't try to control them afterwards - just hit the geist!
Before Ras could cast, the geist had bounded onto Farrick, knocking his dagger away and making him collapse to the ground from trying to stand with its weight on him. In the heartbeat it stood above Farrick, Ras wildly wondering if it was going to start feeding on him, Ras shot Aldran's magic from her hand, and was able to land a number of hits on it, knocking it away. Farrick scrambled to his feet-
"Behind us!" Aldran's shout made Ras whip her head around just in time to see another geist appear from the shadow of one of the trees. She gathered Aldran's magic in her, and when she flung her hand out, the trees exploded as the magic smashed into them. The geist had ducked though -what was happening on the other side? No time to think or check, and Farrick was going to make a comment if they were still fighting the geist when he and Penran were finished. If they were finished. Aldran was watching her back, so focus on this!- and Ras gather the magic in her hand again, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The geist in front of her gave off a whooping laughter before dashing towards Aldran. Ras felt a distinct clench of fear -they knew to go after the psyven first- but while Aldran didn't move, the link only flickered, and Ras flung another multitude of magic at the geist. It didn't even attempt to dodge - it barrelled into Aldran and the link winked shut before they'd hit the ground.
Cursing, Ras dashed forward, her dagger back in her dominant hand. She stumbled as her heart started beating wildly again, the world brightening. No, she wasn't going to let that stop her and heaving deep breaths, ringing in her ears, Ras continued forward as fast as she could, no matter how much it hurt.
"This is an even better gift than last time!" the geist crowed, just before Ras reached it. Quick as lightning, the geist stood up and slammed a fist in her face, sending her sprawling.
The world span even more, and she fought to righten it, feeling it was taking far too long - where was the - Ras was lifted by the neck to eye height of the geist. The prickling where the geist touched her strengthened, feeling as if she was being burned. She kicked out at it, chocking, but the geist didn't flinch, possibly didn't even blink. It's only reaction was to tighten its hold.
"Heh," the geist breathed. "The taste of a khertan's soul is different from another human's." Its slitted eyes bored into her, and she couldn't look away, no matter how much she struggled. "Want to know why?"
Ras was becoming rather tired of all the patronisation about what she didn't know.
"No," she wheezed, jabbing her fingers in its eye.
Or tried to - it grabbed her wrist before her hand could come close to its face. And that was when the link burst open again. Ras scrabbled the magic she had and threw it out in any direction, not trying to direct it to her hand, but just anywhere it could go.
The geist howled and Ras was sprayed with its warm blood. Ignoring it, ignoring how everything was brightening again, Ras summoned the last of her strength and threw everything she could grab hold of and threw it at the geist.
She was already falling before she could see if it had hit the geist or not, the world tumbling into haze of bright colours.
There was a small pile of berries in front of Ras' face. And she was really hungry. She slowly reached for a couple before plopping them in her mouth. They didn't do much to sate her hunger, but it would be enough to at least give her stomach something while it demanded that it have something, as well as soothing her dry throat.
She heard movement behind her and she stilled, closing her eyes, just in case. But in case of – where was Aldran? Wait, where was Farrick and Penran? The other person stepped around her and when she peeked, she saw a purple and blue banded tail. Ras sighed in relief, opening her eyes fully.
There was a similar whoosh of air and then Aldran sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently.
She snorted, sending him a dry look.
He chuckled softly at that, ducking his head. "There aren't any more geists around here – none have attacked, anyway," Aldran amended. That was clear, or else she would have never woken up again. "So just rest for the moment."
"What about Farrick and Penran?" Ras struggled to say. She didn't like them, but she didn't want them dead either.
Aldran glanced over her. "They're resting as well."
Ras closed her eyes, feeling how weak she was. The next time she would wake up, she was going to feel worse because of the hunger. "We can't go back to the village," she murmured. Not in the state that they were all currently in.
"I can-" Ras quietened him with a look.
"But I'm in a better condition than you are," Aldran said quietly. That much was obvious, but still, holding the open the link and giving her his magic was still draining on him.
"I don't want to watch you die…" His tail flicked nervously at the tip, brushing the foliage.
"'m not going to." And that didn't sound convincing in the slightest since she couldn't get the words out properly.