Chosen [Part 17]
Nov. 17th, 2011 10:10 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/R
Notes: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 2,353
Total word count: 42,549
Status: Work in progress
And dammit, Ras realised there was another problem anyway. "Can you find your way back?" They had followed a trail, but it hadn't been that obvious and had taken them a while to find.
Aldran nodded. "I always know where you are."
That...was a strange statement. They had never been - right, he would have had to have left her side to gather the berries. "All right," Ras said, eating another berry. She groped around her waist for the pouch of coins and when she found it, she handed it to him. "In case..." Ras didn't know what it could be used in case for, but it was far better to be prepared.
Aldran nodded again, pocketing it. Ras was already drifting, and she saw Aldran's legs move away from her. And...he was right. Ras wouldn't be able to explain it to someone who wasn't a khertan or psyven, but it was as if she had another sense telling her where he was, and it was so clear that it would be like trying to find a blazing bonfire on a cloudy night.
She'd just never realised because Aldran had always stayed stayed so close to her.
It didn't take very long for Ras to drift off completely again.
* * *
The sun was different again, already set, and Ras ached. It was no wonder the khertan didn't live that much longer than thirty years, not if they had to keep doing this constantly!
She could hear the crackling of a fire, the distinct murmur of Farrick and Penran's voices. Aldran was sitting by her side again, his tail tapping her arm every once in a while. Ras had the distinct feeling that he might be using that to indiscreetly check that she was still there.
With a small grunt -which Aldran noticed immediately, his tail freezing- Ras hefted herself up into a sitting position. As she waited for the world to stop spinning, she did see Farrick- and Penran-shaped blurs sitting upright by the fire. So she had been right - she wouldn't want to be the only person lying down, especially if there were going to be comments about experience being made again.
There was a lull in the conversation, and Ras ignored it, taking the bread that Aldran had offered her.
"I will admit," Farrick said, an attempt to be as lofty as he had been earlier, but his words were more measured, said slower than before, "you were useful there."
Ras snorted. Useful. If either of them had gone alone, they would have died. If Ras was being honest with herself, if she and Aldran had gone in alone, they may have died from fighting the possessed khertan.
"Thank you for warning us about the possessed khertan."
Farrick shrugged. "It was easy to see - you'll probably learn soon enough."
Ras rolled her eyes up to the sky, wondering if the Gods were reconsidering Their choice, but nothing sudden happened, and she sighed. She did not want to constantly hear about how more experienced they were over her and Aldran.
Ras drank some of the water that Aldran handed to her. Aldran's face was thoughtful, and Ras nudged him gently, wanting to know his thoughts.
His tail swept left and right. "The villagers - when I came back, they were a little...strange."
Ras frowned. "Strange how?"
Aldran hummed, and then shook his head. "I think they just weren't used to seeing me - they kept staring and whispering."
But they had seen her and Aldran -and Farrick and Penran, and the other khertan and psyven also- walking around, so it wasn't as if they were used to seeing a psyven. Unless it was they had never seen a psyven without their khertan. She was probably overthinking again.
Sighing, Ras lumbered to her feet, Aldran quickly following her and helping her up. "Should you be doing this so soon?" he asked.
Ras wrinkled her nose. "I'd rather you not be running back and forth for food." She did feel better than the last time she lost consciousness, and it should hopefully be enough that she could at least make her way back to…whatever the village was called. No, she hadn't been told it, had she?
Farrick hummed.
Ras stiffened, prepared for whatever snide remark he would say (He didn't need to stay in a bed. He wouldn't need help getting up. He would be able to walk the entire distance to the village by himself and she and Aldran would slow them down.)
"A good idea. It's going to rain soon."
Ras stared at him in surprise before her gaze flicked upwards. Yes, the way the thick clouds looked, the moon's light only barely penetrating it, it did look like it was going to rain. It would not be pleasant if they stayed there.
Penran used one of the branches as a torch while they put out the fire. And there was still the body of the khertan lying a little distance away from them.
"We're not going to have the strength to bring him back from here," Farrick murmured, staring at the body. "It would take too long, and we would eventually have to drag the body since none of us have our strength…"
Ras grimaced in distaste. That would be a mockery of him. "So, we'll burn him here."
Farrick nodded silently, his eyes still locked on the body, and Ras began to wonder if he knew the khertan when he was alive.
It didn't take long at all for the khertan's clothes to catch fire and they stood at a distance from him as he burned in the middle of the clearing, making sure that nothing else caught fire.
Once the flames had died down a little, nothing else catching on fire, they started to make their way back to the village.
* * *
Ras very much would have liked to have rested more, but she kept going trudgingly forward, mostly leaning on Aldran, the threat of rain becoming closer and closer.
Still, it was slow going, but they eventually made it back. After finding one person still out, they made their way to the local tavern, paid for their rooms, and once Ras reached the bed and pulled off her boots, she was fast asleep again.
* * *
It was light out when Ras awoke, feeling stiff and a little bit chilled. She hoped she wouldn't become ill. She could hear the patter of rain, like a small buzz.
There was warm broth on the table beside her, the steam still rising in the air. Ras stared at it for a few seconds before she huffed a laugh. "You're-" She coughed to clear her throat, to try to get some moisture back. "You're getting better at knowing when I'm going to wake."
"No," came the soft reply. "You're just getting better faster." Aldran came into Ras' view and sat on the other bed.
It did seem like that. But… Ras frowned thoughtfully, her gaze wandering. "I think it's because I'm using less magic."
So, that meant the less magic she used, the faster she would recover - but it would be a balancing act, to only gather enough magic that would still harm and kill the geist, rather than only wound it. If she took too long, it probably would be the same result as if she had blasted it right away.
She shook her head and pulled herself up; she started eating as soon as the world stopped swaying.
There was a brief knock at the door and Aldran got up to open it.
It was...dammit, Ras couldn't remember what his name was. It was the person who had greeted them when they first arrived. Ras was sure that it began with a 'b', but that was as far as her memory went with her name.
"How... How are you doing?" he asked, his eyes flicking between her and Aldran.
"We're doing well, thank you." It was an utter lie, and Ras hoped that she wouldn't be caught out on it, but if the people were to think that the geists could not be handled that well by the khertan and psyven... Ras paused, putting her spoon down. "The geists are dead," she told him.
It was as if the man had turned to stone, he suddenly froze, and Ras was sure his breathing had also. When he did start moving again, he shook, going over to one of the chairs.
"You're - you're sure?" he asked, his voice wavering.
Ras nodded carefully. "We're going to stay for..." -Ras' brain was a little too confuddled to work out how long it had been since she had fought the geists so she didn't bother exactly- "a few more hours, just to make sure we haven't missed any."
"Two," the man said quickly. "There are - were two."
Ras regarded him strangely. How did he know? "We fought that number, yes."
He sagged in his seat, his head coming forward. "Thank the Gods," he muttered. "Thank the Gods." He looked up at both of them. "But, what about Sarlkin?"
Ras frowned slightly. "We don't know anyone by that name." It definitely wasn't his, and no-one else had introduced themselves to her or Aldran. Well, she thought, glancing at him, Aldran might have met them when he had gone alone to the village. Unless… No, the name didn't sound like the khertan the mage had been talking about before they had come to the village.
The man stopped breathing again, his face going pale. "You didn't... There was no-one else there?"
Ras shared a look with Aldran. Should she tell him about the khertan? "We're not sure who you're talking about," Ras said carefully, not entirely sure how to proceed. "Who is Sarlkin?"
"My daughter!" the man burst out in agitation. "They took her, saying that she could be next, if - if-!"
There was something very off about this situation and Ras didn't like it. The geists had stolen his daughter and - "Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded. If his daughter was still in the forest...
"Because," the man said, his voice shaking, "if I told you, they would eat her soul! They told me that!"
"But why would-" What he was saying was incomprehensible to Ras. "Why would they do that?"
"So that I would send you to them for the safe return of her!" was his retort.
"But why didn't you tell us this?" If they had known, they wouldn't have left the clearing without looking first!
"Because they would have fed on her if I had!"
"How do you know? Did they tell you?" If the geists had been…bartering for people's souls… If they knew to kidnap and make exchanges…
"Do you think I would risk the soul of my daughter?" he snapped.
"And instead you called us and sent us into a situation that could have been our death!" Ras retorted, pushing past her cracking voice.
"That's your duty – to fight the geists!"
Ras gritted her teeth, glaring at him, but he didn't back down, glaring just as hard. That may be the truth, but her duty wasn't to die fighting them either. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Yelling at each other wouldn't help.
"I suppose that was why there was a used trail?" she asked quietly.
The man eyed her warily, as if unsure about her sudden change. "Yes."
"We killed the geists in the clearing at the end of it," Ras said shortly. "The remains of a cremation will be there; you may find clues of where she was being kept from there."
The man gaped at her. "You – you're not aiding us?"
"That is not out duty." Ras found it very hard not to spit the words at him, but it was a near thing.
"But what if there are more geists lurking?" he exclaimed.
"You said there were two," Ras said heavily, "and we killed two." She did not trust him, and she would not want to walk with him into the forest – he had lied once already (more than once), so who knew if he was being truly sincere now.
"But-!" Any protest he had died under the weight of her glare and he swallowed. "I… I understand."
His gaze skittering away, he left the room as quietly as he could. "We'll still be here in a few hours' time," Ras felt obliged to say – his response was a slight pause and a bob of the head, not turning around.
Ras sighed heavily after the door was shut, closing her eyes. And that was yet another thing on the long list of things that Ras had not expected when she had been chosen as a khertan. But, to have meetings – or some sort of conversations with a geist as well!
She opened her eyes to make a comment, but paused when she saw how Aldran's tail was lashing. He wasn't glaring at the door, but he was far stiller than Ras had ever seen him, very focused.
He let out a slow breath, and some of the tension left his body, but not a lot of it. His tail calmed down slightly, but kept constantly on the move. "I didn't find anyone else there," he said quietly.
Ras nodded, a small guilt starting to build in her. The man had been trying to protect his family but – that wasn't really an excuse. She settled back, making herself comfortable again and started to poke at her breakfast.
"Aldran…" she said slowly. He waited patiently for what she would say. "Could you…find Farrick and Penran and tell them this? If you want to speak to them." She paused, frowning in distaste. She'd prefer either of them not to -and she had a feeling that Farrick and Penran's amity towards them was only temporary- but she didn't like the chance that they might get dragged out to find the missing daughter.
Ras snorted, realising what she'd thought. That…was not a likely situation.
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/R
Notes: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 2,353
Total word count: 42,549
Status: Work in progress
And dammit, Ras realised there was another problem anyway. "Can you find your way back?" They had followed a trail, but it hadn't been that obvious and had taken them a while to find.
Aldran nodded. "I always know where you are."
That...was a strange statement. They had never been - right, he would have had to have left her side to gather the berries. "All right," Ras said, eating another berry. She groped around her waist for the pouch of coins and when she found it, she handed it to him. "In case..." Ras didn't know what it could be used in case for, but it was far better to be prepared.
Aldran nodded again, pocketing it. Ras was already drifting, and she saw Aldran's legs move away from her. And...he was right. Ras wouldn't be able to explain it to someone who wasn't a khertan or psyven, but it was as if she had another sense telling her where he was, and it was so clear that it would be like trying to find a blazing bonfire on a cloudy night.
She'd just never realised because Aldran had always stayed stayed so close to her.
It didn't take very long for Ras to drift off completely again.
The sun was different again, already set, and Ras ached. It was no wonder the khertan didn't live that much longer than thirty years, not if they had to keep doing this constantly!
She could hear the crackling of a fire, the distinct murmur of Farrick and Penran's voices. Aldran was sitting by her side again, his tail tapping her arm every once in a while. Ras had the distinct feeling that he might be using that to indiscreetly check that she was still there.
With a small grunt -which Aldran noticed immediately, his tail freezing- Ras hefted herself up into a sitting position. As she waited for the world to stop spinning, she did see Farrick- and Penran-shaped blurs sitting upright by the fire. So she had been right - she wouldn't want to be the only person lying down, especially if there were going to be comments about experience being made again.
There was a lull in the conversation, and Ras ignored it, taking the bread that Aldran had offered her.
"I will admit," Farrick said, an attempt to be as lofty as he had been earlier, but his words were more measured, said slower than before, "you were useful there."
Ras snorted. Useful. If either of them had gone alone, they would have died. If Ras was being honest with herself, if she and Aldran had gone in alone, they may have died from fighting the possessed khertan.
"Thank you for warning us about the possessed khertan."
Farrick shrugged. "It was easy to see - you'll probably learn soon enough."
Ras rolled her eyes up to the sky, wondering if the Gods were reconsidering Their choice, but nothing sudden happened, and she sighed. She did not want to constantly hear about how more experienced they were over her and Aldran.
Ras drank some of the water that Aldran handed to her. Aldran's face was thoughtful, and Ras nudged him gently, wanting to know his thoughts.
His tail swept left and right. "The villagers - when I came back, they were a little...strange."
Ras frowned. "Strange how?"
Aldran hummed, and then shook his head. "I think they just weren't used to seeing me - they kept staring and whispering."
But they had seen her and Aldran -and Farrick and Penran, and the other khertan and psyven also- walking around, so it wasn't as if they were used to seeing a psyven. Unless it was they had never seen a psyven without their khertan. She was probably overthinking again.
Sighing, Ras lumbered to her feet, Aldran quickly following her and helping her up. "Should you be doing this so soon?" he asked.
Ras wrinkled her nose. "I'd rather you not be running back and forth for food." She did feel better than the last time she lost consciousness, and it should hopefully be enough that she could at least make her way back to…whatever the village was called. No, she hadn't been told it, had she?
Farrick hummed.
Ras stiffened, prepared for whatever snide remark he would say (He didn't need to stay in a bed. He wouldn't need help getting up. He would be able to walk the entire distance to the village by himself and she and Aldran would slow them down.)
"A good idea. It's going to rain soon."
Ras stared at him in surprise before her gaze flicked upwards. Yes, the way the thick clouds looked, the moon's light only barely penetrating it, it did look like it was going to rain. It would not be pleasant if they stayed there.
Penran used one of the branches as a torch while they put out the fire. And there was still the body of the khertan lying a little distance away from them.
"We're not going to have the strength to bring him back from here," Farrick murmured, staring at the body. "It would take too long, and we would eventually have to drag the body since none of us have our strength…"
Ras grimaced in distaste. That would be a mockery of him. "So, we'll burn him here."
Farrick nodded silently, his eyes still locked on the body, and Ras began to wonder if he knew the khertan when he was alive.
It didn't take long at all for the khertan's clothes to catch fire and they stood at a distance from him as he burned in the middle of the clearing, making sure that nothing else caught fire.
Once the flames had died down a little, nothing else catching on fire, they started to make their way back to the village.
Ras very much would have liked to have rested more, but she kept going trudgingly forward, mostly leaning on Aldran, the threat of rain becoming closer and closer.
Still, it was slow going, but they eventually made it back. After finding one person still out, they made their way to the local tavern, paid for their rooms, and once Ras reached the bed and pulled off her boots, she was fast asleep again.
It was light out when Ras awoke, feeling stiff and a little bit chilled. She hoped she wouldn't become ill. She could hear the patter of rain, like a small buzz.
There was warm broth on the table beside her, the steam still rising in the air. Ras stared at it for a few seconds before she huffed a laugh. "You're-" She coughed to clear her throat, to try to get some moisture back. "You're getting better at knowing when I'm going to wake."
"No," came the soft reply. "You're just getting better faster." Aldran came into Ras' view and sat on the other bed.
It did seem like that. But… Ras frowned thoughtfully, her gaze wandering. "I think it's because I'm using less magic."
So, that meant the less magic she used, the faster she would recover - but it would be a balancing act, to only gather enough magic that would still harm and kill the geist, rather than only wound it. If she took too long, it probably would be the same result as if she had blasted it right away.
She shook her head and pulled herself up; she started eating as soon as the world stopped swaying.
There was a brief knock at the door and Aldran got up to open it.
It was...dammit, Ras couldn't remember what his name was. It was the person who had greeted them when they first arrived. Ras was sure that it began with a 'b', but that was as far as her memory went with her name.
"How... How are you doing?" he asked, his eyes flicking between her and Aldran.
"We're doing well, thank you." It was an utter lie, and Ras hoped that she wouldn't be caught out on it, but if the people were to think that the geists could not be handled that well by the khertan and psyven... Ras paused, putting her spoon down. "The geists are dead," she told him.
It was as if the man had turned to stone, he suddenly froze, and Ras was sure his breathing had also. When he did start moving again, he shook, going over to one of the chairs.
"You're - you're sure?" he asked, his voice wavering.
Ras nodded carefully. "We're going to stay for..." -Ras' brain was a little too confuddled to work out how long it had been since she had fought the geists so she didn't bother exactly- "a few more hours, just to make sure we haven't missed any."
"Two," the man said quickly. "There are - were two."
Ras regarded him strangely. How did he know? "We fought that number, yes."
He sagged in his seat, his head coming forward. "Thank the Gods," he muttered. "Thank the Gods." He looked up at both of them. "But, what about Sarlkin?"
Ras frowned slightly. "We don't know anyone by that name." It definitely wasn't his, and no-one else had introduced themselves to her or Aldran. Well, she thought, glancing at him, Aldran might have met them when he had gone alone to the village. Unless… No, the name didn't sound like the khertan the mage had been talking about before they had come to the village.
The man stopped breathing again, his face going pale. "You didn't... There was no-one else there?"
Ras shared a look with Aldran. Should she tell him about the khertan? "We're not sure who you're talking about," Ras said carefully, not entirely sure how to proceed. "Who is Sarlkin?"
"My daughter!" the man burst out in agitation. "They took her, saying that she could be next, if - if-!"
There was something very off about this situation and Ras didn't like it. The geists had stolen his daughter and - "Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded. If his daughter was still in the forest...
"Because," the man said, his voice shaking, "if I told you, they would eat her soul! They told me that!"
"But why would-" What he was saying was incomprehensible to Ras. "Why would they do that?"
"So that I would send you to them for the safe return of her!" was his retort.
"But why didn't you tell us this?" If they had known, they wouldn't have left the clearing without looking first!
"Because they would have fed on her if I had!"
"How do you know? Did they tell you?" If the geists had been…bartering for people's souls… If they knew to kidnap and make exchanges…
"Do you think I would risk the soul of my daughter?" he snapped.
"And instead you called us and sent us into a situation that could have been our death!" Ras retorted, pushing past her cracking voice.
"That's your duty – to fight the geists!"
Ras gritted her teeth, glaring at him, but he didn't back down, glaring just as hard. That may be the truth, but her duty wasn't to die fighting them either. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Yelling at each other wouldn't help.
"I suppose that was why there was a used trail?" she asked quietly.
The man eyed her warily, as if unsure about her sudden change. "Yes."
"We killed the geists in the clearing at the end of it," Ras said shortly. "The remains of a cremation will be there; you may find clues of where she was being kept from there."
The man gaped at her. "You – you're not aiding us?"
"That is not out duty." Ras found it very hard not to spit the words at him, but it was a near thing.
"But what if there are more geists lurking?" he exclaimed.
"You said there were two," Ras said heavily, "and we killed two." She did not trust him, and she would not want to walk with him into the forest – he had lied once already (more than once), so who knew if he was being truly sincere now.
"But-!" Any protest he had died under the weight of her glare and he swallowed. "I… I understand."
His gaze skittering away, he left the room as quietly as he could. "We'll still be here in a few hours' time," Ras felt obliged to say – his response was a slight pause and a bob of the head, not turning around.
Ras sighed heavily after the door was shut, closing her eyes. And that was yet another thing on the long list of things that Ras had not expected when she had been chosen as a khertan. But, to have meetings – or some sort of conversations with a geist as well!
She opened her eyes to make a comment, but paused when she saw how Aldran's tail was lashing. He wasn't glaring at the door, but he was far stiller than Ras had ever seen him, very focused.
He let out a slow breath, and some of the tension left his body, but not a lot of it. His tail calmed down slightly, but kept constantly on the move. "I didn't find anyone else there," he said quietly.
Ras nodded, a small guilt starting to build in her. The man had been trying to protect his family but – that wasn't really an excuse. She settled back, making herself comfortable again and started to poke at her breakfast.
"Aldran…" she said slowly. He waited patiently for what she would say. "Could you…find Farrick and Penran and tell them this? If you want to speak to them." She paused, frowning in distaste. She'd prefer either of them not to -and she had a feeling that Farrick and Penran's amity towards them was only temporary- but she didn't like the chance that they might get dragged out to find the missing daughter.
Ras snorted, realising what she'd thought. That…was not a likely situation.