esp_dragon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-23 09:44 pm
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-23 09:44 pm
Chosen [Part 23]
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: PG-13
Notes: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,020
Total word count: 54,286
Status: Work in progress
The air was cool on Ras' skin as the breeze flitted by, making the trees rustle. There were two just by the entrance that obscured the door, but using them to hide would only work if the other people were at a distance. Ras led Aldran around the outside wall of Winolock, and he had a curious look on his face the entire time.
Winolock was far bigger than Ras had realised as they walked around it, the scale of the map not quite impressing its true size to Ras.
There wasn't anyone else about, which was perfect for what Ras wanted. What there was was a number of twisted shapes dotted around that couldn't have been made naturally, not without magic having a hand in it, and since Winolock had mages…
They found one with a reasonably flat top, mostly looking like a rectangular block of green glass and after testing if it would be able to take their weight, Ras and Aldran sat on it.
The view wasn't that bad – Winolock was on a hill overlooking a sprawling town and from their vantage point, Ras could see a trail that led from Winolock to there. There were miles of wide open, green spaces, but also a large cluster of trees to the east of them.
Ras leaned back slightly, and saw that Aldran's tail was moving more freely now, swinging around from the base. Good.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him, keeping an eye on his expression.
"How am I…feeling?" Aldran repeated carefully. "All right?"
Ras hummed, quirking an eyebrow at him. He avoided her gaze, ducking his head briefly before making eye contact again.
"You don't like Lesten or Yaran…do you?" 'Don't like' wasn't the right words but Ras wasn't entirely sure how else to say it.
Aldran froze, his breath stuttering. "I – don't…" He cringed, his shoulders hunching. "They're – they're a lot older than us and…"
He was not telling the full truth, that much was obvious. "Aldran…" Ras said softly. Did she really want to push? If it was something he didn't want to talk about, then should she make him talk about it? "Never mind." If he wanted to tell her, then he would. If he didn't, then that was his choice.
When she started studying the landscape again, Ras could see him staring at her from the corner of her eyes, but he didn't stay anything.
There were a few times when it seemed like he was going to say something but then halted himself, shaking his head sharply.
When Aldran's head started to hover close to his knees, looking like he was trying to curl up into a ball, Ras decided that he'd been thinking for too long and too hard. She nudged him in the arm and waited for him to look at her.
He stilled at the contact, leaning away slightly, not looking up, but his shoulders eventually slumped in defeat. He peeked at her through the corner of his eyes, but that was more than enough for Ras to see the guilt on his face before his eyes flitted away again.
"You don't have to tell me," she said.
"But…you…" Aldran mumbled, his head still ducked.
"You don't have to tell me," she repeated, insistent. "There's no rule that we have to share everything with each other." Like the fact that she hadn't told him what the geist had said.
"I-" Aldran bit his lip. "I know." He still didn't look up at her, and Ras spent the time musing what the possible reasons for him being wary of Lesten and Yaran, but she couldn't think of any.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Ras nudged him again. It worried her that it was affecting him so badly but if he didn't want to tell her, then that was his decision.
* * *
"There have been two victims here - two brothers," a mage informed Ras and Aldran while Ceilha and Dracer collected the coins from the other mages. "Found together."
Ras frowned at the mage's words and stared up at the map of Heast. If they had been at Yinnells before, and they were now going to Ollan… Ollan was the closest town to Yinnells; there had been enough time to travel from Yinnells to Ollan, so was it the geist? It couldn't be that obvious but… Ras sighed quietly. She shouldn't try to guess what it was thinking.
As soon as they arrived in Ollan, they went through the usual introductions and while they were being led to the victims' family, Ras asked, "Has there been any travellers here recently?"
Prinna paused, turning back to stare at her, realisation growing on his face. "There was one, yes." He frowned, looking away. "She arrived two days ago, and left yesterday. We-" He sucked in a breath, his eyes going wide. "We found them after she left." He looked pleadingly at Ceilha and Ras. "Was she – was it a geist?"
Ras' stomach sank at Prinna's words. She had already left?
Ceilha nodded slowly. "It may have been," she told him.
Prinna closed his eyes, his face twisting into a grimace. "We let it just walk right into our town and we didn't notice-!"
"And that is the nature of the geist, to appear almost human," Ceilha said quietly.
"Hah." Prinna shook his head. "That may be so, but one of those Godsdammed beasts was still here – it doesn't matter what they look like!"
Ras had to agree with him, but they couldn't do anything about it.
Throwing a dark look to the west (the direction that the geist had gone in?), Prinna started to lead them to the victims' house again.
* * *
They stayed for two nights, but no more attacks happened, and with each passing hour, Ras felt more and more disheartened. That meant the geist was moving towards another town or village and there wasn't anything they could do about it.
Ras frowned as she stepped back onto the teleportation circle. Would there be a way to guess where the geist would travel to next?
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: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,020
Total word count: 54,286
Status: Work in progress
The air was cool on Ras' skin as the breeze flitted by, making the trees rustle. There were two just by the entrance that obscured the door, but using them to hide would only work if the other people were at a distance. Ras led Aldran around the outside wall of Winolock, and he had a curious look on his face the entire time.
Winolock was far bigger than Ras had realised as they walked around it, the scale of the map not quite impressing its true size to Ras.
There wasn't anyone else about, which was perfect for what Ras wanted. What there was was a number of twisted shapes dotted around that couldn't have been made naturally, not without magic having a hand in it, and since Winolock had mages…
They found one with a reasonably flat top, mostly looking like a rectangular block of green glass and after testing if it would be able to take their weight, Ras and Aldran sat on it.
The view wasn't that bad – Winolock was on a hill overlooking a sprawling town and from their vantage point, Ras could see a trail that led from Winolock to there. There were miles of wide open, green spaces, but also a large cluster of trees to the east of them.
Ras leaned back slightly, and saw that Aldran's tail was moving more freely now, swinging around from the base. Good.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him, keeping an eye on his expression.
"How am I…feeling?" Aldran repeated carefully. "All right?"
Ras hummed, quirking an eyebrow at him. He avoided her gaze, ducking his head briefly before making eye contact again.
"You don't like Lesten or Yaran…do you?" 'Don't like' wasn't the right words but Ras wasn't entirely sure how else to say it.
Aldran froze, his breath stuttering. "I – don't…" He cringed, his shoulders hunching. "They're – they're a lot older than us and…"
He was not telling the full truth, that much was obvious. "Aldran…" Ras said softly. Did she really want to push? If it was something he didn't want to talk about, then should she make him talk about it? "Never mind." If he wanted to tell her, then he would. If he didn't, then that was his choice.
When she started studying the landscape again, Ras could see him staring at her from the corner of her eyes, but he didn't stay anything.
There were a few times when it seemed like he was going to say something but then halted himself, shaking his head sharply.
When Aldran's head started to hover close to his knees, looking like he was trying to curl up into a ball, Ras decided that he'd been thinking for too long and too hard. She nudged him in the arm and waited for him to look at her.
He stilled at the contact, leaning away slightly, not looking up, but his shoulders eventually slumped in defeat. He peeked at her through the corner of his eyes, but that was more than enough for Ras to see the guilt on his face before his eyes flitted away again.
"You don't have to tell me," she said.
"But…you…" Aldran mumbled, his head still ducked.
"You don't have to tell me," she repeated, insistent. "There's no rule that we have to share everything with each other." Like the fact that she hadn't told him what the geist had said.
"I-" Aldran bit his lip. "I know." He still didn't look up at her, and Ras spent the time musing what the possible reasons for him being wary of Lesten and Yaran, but she couldn't think of any.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Ras nudged him again. It worried her that it was affecting him so badly but if he didn't want to tell her, then that was his decision.
"There have been two victims here - two brothers," a mage informed Ras and Aldran while Ceilha and Dracer collected the coins from the other mages. "Found together."
Ras frowned at the mage's words and stared up at the map of Heast. If they had been at Yinnells before, and they were now going to Ollan… Ollan was the closest town to Yinnells; there had been enough time to travel from Yinnells to Ollan, so was it the geist? It couldn't be that obvious but… Ras sighed quietly. She shouldn't try to guess what it was thinking.
As soon as they arrived in Ollan, they went through the usual introductions and while they were being led to the victims' family, Ras asked, "Has there been any travellers here recently?"
Prinna paused, turning back to stare at her, realisation growing on his face. "There was one, yes." He frowned, looking away. "She arrived two days ago, and left yesterday. We-" He sucked in a breath, his eyes going wide. "We found them after she left." He looked pleadingly at Ceilha and Ras. "Was she – was it a geist?"
Ras' stomach sank at Prinna's words. She had already left?
Ceilha nodded slowly. "It may have been," she told him.
Prinna closed his eyes, his face twisting into a grimace. "We let it just walk right into our town and we didn't notice-!"
"And that is the nature of the geist, to appear almost human," Ceilha said quietly.
"Hah." Prinna shook his head. "That may be so, but one of those Godsdammed beasts was still here – it doesn't matter what they look like!"
Ras had to agree with him, but they couldn't do anything about it.
Throwing a dark look to the west (the direction that the geist had gone in?), Prinna started to lead them to the victims' house again.
They stayed for two nights, but no more attacks happened, and with each passing hour, Ras felt more and more disheartened. That meant the geist was moving towards another town or village and there wasn't anything they could do about it.
Ras frowned as she stepped back onto the teleportation circle. Would there be a way to guess where the geist would travel to next?