Chosen [Part 26]
Nov. 26th, 2011 11:38 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: G
Notes: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,353
Total word count: 60,864
Status: Work in progress
The corridors were well lit, and they were also eerily quiet, only the torchlight the sound that Ras could hear clearly, apart from her own footsteps.
While they looked different, it didn't take Ras very long to make her way to the library, and when she opened the door, she was unsurprised to see that there were still mages present, some looking as if it were the middle of the day, not the middle of the night.
She garnered a few quick looks, nothing more, as she passed, and when she got to one of the globes of light, she paused, wondering what she should read. While it was best that she know more about geists, she was curious about psyvens, and if she had been wrong about so many things concerning geists and khertan, then what else was she wrong about? She wouldn't be able to ask Aldran about it either, seeing as he probably wouldn't know.
Nodding to herself, Ras searched for where the psyven books where.
When she was given the directions, she mused with some amusement how the three topics weren't close to each other. How were they being ordered? If they were, Ras supposed, looking up at the shelf. She grabbed a few after skimming the titles and then left with them under her arm.
* * *
After Ras had prodded the fire back to life, feeding it some more wood, she began to read. The story of how the first psyven came to the planet was the first thing she saw, and Ras read that, if only to see if there were any differences between the one in the psyven books and the khertan books.
As far as she could tell, there wasn't, so she continued on.
The books, she realised, were a lot thinner than the khertan books, and Ras wondered why. If the psyvens hadn't written them, then it had to have been someone else and if they hadn't talked with the psyvens… Ras eyed the book in her hands under a new light. She couldn't know if what was written here was the truth.
In fact, Ras thought as she scrubbed at her eyes, she couldn't know that about anything she had read. Lesten and Yaran had said that most of the books hadn't been written by khertan and psyvens, so if the writer hadn't experienced what it was like to live as them… If the khertan and psyvens didn't tell them the full truth either…
So where could she go for the unvarnished truth? Other khertan and psyvens? That would depend on what they knew.
Ras sighed, leaning her head on her hand. There were too many layers to this. There wasn't much point in replacing false truths with more false truths, but she had already brought the books, and if she was mistrustful of everything written there, mistrustful of everyone else's words, then she was stuck in place again, stubbornly not moving, in the chance that she moved in the wrong direction.
Lesten had said that there were truths in books, no matter how buried, so they were useful, even if she wouldn't know which ones were reality. Hopefully that would be enough.
She started reading the first book on top of the pile; the first number of pages were of the psyvens' origins with the Gods, which Ras knew were to be false, especially if Aldran had been created by, not living with the Gods. Maybe he was the only psyven that was like that, and the rest of the psyvens had truly lived with the Gods, but Ras doubted it.
When Ras flicked through the rest of the book, to see what else it would talk about, she could see the drawings next to the text were detailed, though there didn't seem to be many of the psyven alone – they were always with a khertan or it was a khertan and psyven fighting a geist. Ras supposed it made sense, seeing as a psyven would not have been created if they were not to bond with a human, but Ras would have expected at least one drawing of a psyven by themselves.
Ras went back to the start, skimming the origin chapter, huffing in amusement with what she read. There were passages about the psyvens serving the Gods, being constantly bathed in a golden light, and how the psyvens were trained specifically to fight the geists. That was definitely a fantasy.
The next chapter was about what psyvens could do, which Ras hoped she mostly knew. There were details about the link, and what the book detailed Ras agreed with; the khertan were the conduits for the psyven's magic, it worked better when the khertan and psyven agreed with what to do were only a few of the details listed.
After that were a few more details that Ras found interesting, like how psyven were faster healers (which she knew), and were resistant to magic (which she mostly knew but hadn't put much thought to, seeing how the healer cast more magic at Aldran when they returned to Winolock), and that they had better eyesight than humans did (which Ras hadn't really noticed, since she and Aldran hadn't spent that much time outside during nightfall).
The next chapter was about the relationship the psyven had with the khertan which… Ras frowned at the words in front of her. The psyven was always the same sex as the khertan? Because their souls were matched? But that… Ras sighed, leaning back and glanced at Aldran.
They weren't the same, no, but did that really mean anything? If the Gods had chosen Aldran to be –Ras' frown deepened, suddenly remembering the conversation they had had a while ago- physically male, then that was what the Gods had chosen. Although, if Aldran didn't think…himself to be male, then – Ras' head was starting to hurt. If Aldran wasn't male, then…then she shouldn't be using 'he' when referring to – Ras squeezed her eyes shut. But how was she supposed to refer to – Aldran? 'It'? That didn't sit well with her; she used that for geists because they ate souls.
Which was not their fault either, since the Gods had created them to be like that.
And she clearly wasn't thinking in a linear way anymore, Ras grumbled to herself, rubbing at her eyes. She couldn't sympathise with the geists, not with how they continually hurt humans, but…it wasn't their choice to be born that way either.
And why had it taken so long for her to realise the problem what she was using for Aldran's pronoun?
There was a shuffle as Aldran turned over in bed, making a sleepy sound as he did so. "Ras…?" he –dammit- said drowsily.
"I'm just reading," she said, her tone soft, wondering how she was going to bring up the topic she was just thinking about.
Ras' mind was awash with turbulent thoughts as Aldran got out of bed, rubbing…his head with a hand. "What about?"
"Psyven."
Aldran's hand froze, his eyes going wide. "Why?"
She shrugged, putting the book down and stretching, feeling the pull of her muscles. "I was a little curious what was written about you."
"Oh." There was a small crease between Aldran's eyebrows as he frowned.
"You're not?" Ras asked, her eyebrows rising.
Aldran shook his head. "Not really..."
Ras glanced back at the book she had just been reading. Seeing what had been written in it, and how people generally acted around…him. Dammit, Ras had realised just how quickly and easily her mind had slipped back into 'he'.
"Aldran…" Ras said slowly. "Does it…" It seemed like – no, she really was asking out the blue. "I keep referring to you as 'he' in my head and…" She frowned, sighing. "You're not and…"
When she glanced back at – Aldran, his head was tilted at an angle, confusion on his face. "I…don't mind?"
"You don't?" Ras repeated, his words cutting through some of her own confusion. "But you're not…"
"There isn't anything else to use, is there?" he asked, coming over, his tail moving freely, if a little slower than usual. "I don't mind, really."
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: G
Notes: You can find my commentary on this part here.
Genre: Fantasy/Friendship
Word count: 1,353
Total word count: 60,864
Status: Work in progress
The corridors were well lit, and they were also eerily quiet, only the torchlight the sound that Ras could hear clearly, apart from her own footsteps.
While they looked different, it didn't take Ras very long to make her way to the library, and when she opened the door, she was unsurprised to see that there were still mages present, some looking as if it were the middle of the day, not the middle of the night.
She garnered a few quick looks, nothing more, as she passed, and when she got to one of the globes of light, she paused, wondering what she should read. While it was best that she know more about geists, she was curious about psyvens, and if she had been wrong about so many things concerning geists and khertan, then what else was she wrong about? She wouldn't be able to ask Aldran about it either, seeing as he probably wouldn't know.
Nodding to herself, Ras searched for where the psyven books where.
When she was given the directions, she mused with some amusement how the three topics weren't close to each other. How were they being ordered? If they were, Ras supposed, looking up at the shelf. She grabbed a few after skimming the titles and then left with them under her arm.
After Ras had prodded the fire back to life, feeding it some more wood, she began to read. The story of how the first psyven came to the planet was the first thing she saw, and Ras read that, if only to see if there were any differences between the one in the psyven books and the khertan books.
As far as she could tell, there wasn't, so she continued on.
The books, she realised, were a lot thinner than the khertan books, and Ras wondered why. If the psyvens hadn't written them, then it had to have been someone else and if they hadn't talked with the psyvens… Ras eyed the book in her hands under a new light. She couldn't know if what was written here was the truth.
In fact, Ras thought as she scrubbed at her eyes, she couldn't know that about anything she had read. Lesten and Yaran had said that most of the books hadn't been written by khertan and psyvens, so if the writer hadn't experienced what it was like to live as them… If the khertan and psyvens didn't tell them the full truth either…
So where could she go for the unvarnished truth? Other khertan and psyvens? That would depend on what they knew.
Ras sighed, leaning her head on her hand. There were too many layers to this. There wasn't much point in replacing false truths with more false truths, but she had already brought the books, and if she was mistrustful of everything written there, mistrustful of everyone else's words, then she was stuck in place again, stubbornly not moving, in the chance that she moved in the wrong direction.
Lesten had said that there were truths in books, no matter how buried, so they were useful, even if she wouldn't know which ones were reality. Hopefully that would be enough.
She started reading the first book on top of the pile; the first number of pages were of the psyvens' origins with the Gods, which Ras knew were to be false, especially if Aldran had been created by, not living with the Gods. Maybe he was the only psyven that was like that, and the rest of the psyvens had truly lived with the Gods, but Ras doubted it.
When Ras flicked through the rest of the book, to see what else it would talk about, she could see the drawings next to the text were detailed, though there didn't seem to be many of the psyven alone – they were always with a khertan or it was a khertan and psyven fighting a geist. Ras supposed it made sense, seeing as a psyven would not have been created if they were not to bond with a human, but Ras would have expected at least one drawing of a psyven by themselves.
Ras went back to the start, skimming the origin chapter, huffing in amusement with what she read. There were passages about the psyvens serving the Gods, being constantly bathed in a golden light, and how the psyvens were trained specifically to fight the geists. That was definitely a fantasy.
The next chapter was about what psyvens could do, which Ras hoped she mostly knew. There were details about the link, and what the book detailed Ras agreed with; the khertan were the conduits for the psyven's magic, it worked better when the khertan and psyven agreed with what to do were only a few of the details listed.
After that were a few more details that Ras found interesting, like how psyven were faster healers (which she knew), and were resistant to magic (which she mostly knew but hadn't put much thought to, seeing how the healer cast more magic at Aldran when they returned to Winolock), and that they had better eyesight than humans did (which Ras hadn't really noticed, since she and Aldran hadn't spent that much time outside during nightfall).
The next chapter was about the relationship the psyven had with the khertan which… Ras frowned at the words in front of her. The psyven was always the same sex as the khertan? Because their souls were matched? But that… Ras sighed, leaning back and glanced at Aldran.
They weren't the same, no, but did that really mean anything? If the Gods had chosen Aldran to be –Ras' frown deepened, suddenly remembering the conversation they had had a while ago- physically male, then that was what the Gods had chosen. Although, if Aldran didn't think…himself to be male, then – Ras' head was starting to hurt. If Aldran wasn't male, then…then she shouldn't be using 'he' when referring to – Ras squeezed her eyes shut. But how was she supposed to refer to – Aldran? 'It'? That didn't sit well with her; she used that for geists because they ate souls.
Which was not their fault either, since the Gods had created them to be like that.
And she clearly wasn't thinking in a linear way anymore, Ras grumbled to herself, rubbing at her eyes. She couldn't sympathise with the geists, not with how they continually hurt humans, but…it wasn't their choice to be born that way either.
And why had it taken so long for her to realise the problem what she was using for Aldran's pronoun?
There was a shuffle as Aldran turned over in bed, making a sleepy sound as he did so. "Ras…?" he –dammit- said drowsily.
"I'm just reading," she said, her tone soft, wondering how she was going to bring up the topic she was just thinking about.
Ras' mind was awash with turbulent thoughts as Aldran got out of bed, rubbing…his head with a hand. "What about?"
"Psyven."
Aldran's hand froze, his eyes going wide. "Why?"
She shrugged, putting the book down and stretching, feeling the pull of her muscles. "I was a little curious what was written about you."
"Oh." There was a small crease between Aldran's eyebrows as he frowned.
"You're not?" Ras asked, her eyebrows rising.
Aldran shook his head. "Not really..."
Ras glanced back at the book she had just been reading. Seeing what had been written in it, and how people generally acted around…him. Dammit, Ras had realised just how quickly and easily her mind had slipped back into 'he'.
"Aldran…" Ras said slowly. "Does it…" It seemed like – no, she really was asking out the blue. "I keep referring to you as 'he' in my head and…" She frowned, sighing. "You're not and…"
When she glanced back at – Aldran, his head was tilted at an angle, confusion on his face. "I…don't mind?"
"You don't?" Ras repeated, his words cutting through some of her own confusion. "But you're not…"
"There isn't anything else to use, is there?" he asked, coming over, his tail moving freely, if a little slower than usual. "I don't mind, really."