Illusion Vale: A Spirit's Cry

[Angelus]

Largos moved through the forest; wanting nothing more than to move through the forest and get away from this as soon as he could. He knew that he could never be what he was before and that all this running would not strip it from him but it was giving him something to do, something that would take his mind away from the curse that he was under. He wanted nothing more than to scream out so that the thing that had turned him into this would know where he and he could kill it to get the life that he had back but he knew just how stupid that was.

He stopped for a moment to take a breath, knowing at once that he was lost. He looked around and tried to find something that would take him back to Len but everything that he saw was strange to him. He could search this forest for days and never find where the campsite was which made him want to cry out again but he started to run again.

The elven part of thim wanted to get back to Len, to seek her comfort and find out if she knew anything but the other part of himself, the vampire part of himself wanted nothing more than to run, disappear and cut down as many people as he could. It was enough to make him want to stay where he was and let everything move past him, forget about him but with that he knew that he would be giving up on himself and what he had been brought to this world for. He knew that he had been brought here for a purpose and standing here in this forest was not one of them.

It gave him one question though. Was he sent to the tavern for a reason? Had he been turned into the vampire that he the same reason? Was it something to do with saving this world; had he been turned into the immortal that he was now to have the strength needed for the task at hand?

The other vampire landed in front of Largos without a sound which caused him to move away instinctively, his eyes never leaving the vampire and his hand fall to his sword. He knew that he would be killed before the first cut was made but it gave him strength to feel it in his hand.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

Largos started to slowly circle the vampire as he spoke to him, offering help and power.

"You can help me control this curse? You can teach me to stop wanting the taste of blood in my mouth? You can take away the hunger that screams at me so loudly it drives me mad? If that is what you can teach me then I will listen but if you wish to teach me how to be a better killer and how to kill innocent people around me without them knowing I am there then I do not want that."

He stood back and looked straight at the vampire.

"How can I trust you? You are nothing more than a killer! I do not want to become something like you!"

He turned and ran away from the vampire, hoping more than ever that he would find Len so that she could help him. He just hoped that he would be able to get away from the other before it was too late for him.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

"Because you have asked so nicely, I've decided to help you. But there are a few things that need to be cleared up first and foremost. First, I wish to see the Spirit before I do anything in the way of working on the queen. Secondly, I'm supposed to be dead by order of the queen, remember? How are we going to get around that little fact? And third, what powers are you talking about?"

Rolyn blinked. He just sat there for a few long moments and stared at Eeth, his face completely blank, though there was an air of shock about him. He blinked again, this time slowly and began shaking his head. Then he out right laughed. He threw back his head and began laughing in a gusty manner and his eyes twinkled with tears. Van mewed quietly and went to hide behind Eeth again.

"You're just a kid in your world, aren't you? No matter what age you look now in your elven form, you're just a kid," Rolyn said, sobering up and looking at Eeth solemnely. He didn't mean it as an insult, far from it. Rather, it was a revelation.

Rolyn stood, shaking his head slowly, he looked over Eeth's head into the distance, "I would have thought you had the power, I would have thought you had the strength. That you would have know what to do," he murmured to himself. Then he shook his head again and looked up down at Eeth, all hope gone from his eyes.

"Go, go see the Spirit. Answer all your questions, I can send some elves to take you there. It will take at least two to three weeks to get to her even on our fast mounts," he walked towards Eeth, passing him and walking further into the cavern, "Do not return. I would have you remembering Neferin as it is now, glorious and beautiful, not as it will be in the future," his voice went down to the barest whisper, but Eeth could still hear, "For when you come back, it will be too late,"

A shudder ran through the large elf and tears finally escaped his tight control. He realised that he had put too much faith on the new elven warrior, and now because of his blundering and his procrastination in dealing with the Elven problem and now he had to face the consequences.

He could not face the Guardian, but he stayed near, his head resting against rock as he hoped against hope that Eeth would help them, that no more questions would be asked and that action would take place. He feared that his hope was misplaced.

Van looked first at Eeth and then at Rolyn's retreating back. He mewed forlornly, pawing at the ground absently. When he spoke, he was once again back at his usual speech inflections, "Van know Eeth sent here to help the Vale. To help the Spirit. Van know Eeth want to help. But... Van not sure why Eeth hesitate. Neferin is in the Vale, Van scared of nasty evil elves, but Van not hate them. The Vale needs saving by you, Neferin in Vale. Neferin needs saving. Eeth already have mission, Van helping. But," the cat paused and looked over at Rolyn's slumped form, "Eeth help Neferin then Eeth help Vale, nya?"

He put out a paw and stroked it down Eeth's arm softly, "Spirit maybe sent Eeth here to help here, mew?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Michael/Sila/Tula

"I am a guardian, Sila was sent to aid me. She has taken very good care of me, and i failed to protect her. Some guardian i must be."

Tula's tinkling laugh was somewhat similar to Sila's and those that heard it were struck with just how similar they sounded, "That is where you are wrong, friend Warrior,"

She continued to stroke Sila's hair in a motherly and very loving fashion, cooing softly to ensure her peaceful sleep. "She is here, alive, isn't she?" she chuckled, "You do not get rid of this pesky little fairy that easily," she smiled warmly at Michael, not even fazed at his admission to being a Guardian, despite their bad reputation.

"Knowing Sila, she chose you. And if she did, then I trust you completely," she reached over and patted him on the shoulder, "Do not worry, with time, she will recover,"

"Tell me, why are you here?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

"It was once. There still are woods and streams and rabbits, but not so much as there was. And there are stories of magic and folk like you, but if they were ever real no one believes them. For many centuries people lived as they always lived, but then something changed and people began to think of new and clever ways to do things and they never realized the impact it would have on the world."

"They began to live in larger and larger cities, and move around more for work or health. They lost their sense of community and more and more crime occurred. More and more people became hopeless and the whole while they were polluting."

"See the fire, it has smoke. Smoke is a kind of pollution, but it's not bad. Just one little fire in the woods. But imagine a thousand fires, or a million, in a place that's all stone corridors where the wind had a hard time clearing it away and there are no trees to change it back into air. That's the level of pollution in my world. And once we realized what was happening, we were slow to start making changes. No one wanted to give up the comforts that were causing it."

"Humans are basically selfish, that way. But, like I said, it's part of us to aspire too, so many of us work against what's happening, and keep trying to educate the rest."

"But I don't want you to think it's all grim. There is art, and music, and beauty as well...but those things are harder to explain."

Sishota smiled and nodded, "We know of music and art and beauty here as well," she looked sadly of into the distance, "It is often harder to explain the good things in life rather than the bad,"

She shook her head and sighed, "We will camp tonight and then I will take you to a nearby settlement. There we can get a horse for you and then we can travel to Vale City and get you to meet the Spirit," she smiled at Danae as she indicated the tent, "The sun will be down soon. I'm not sure if you will be more comfortable in the water or in the tent,"

Sishota then began to clean up the camp, washing and putting away the various utensils used for the previous meal. "The Vale is not all like this," she pointed to the east, "There are mountains near us, uncrossable mountains. The west there is a vast lake and to the south there is an endless plain," she shrugged, "There are many creatures, different sizes, shapes, forms. They all live in peace and harmony together," she paused, "Well until recently. That is why you are here," she smiled and laughed, "The Generals of the Spirit, I suppose,"

 

[Wolfsister]

Fay and Faelin

Faelin watched out of the corner of her yellow eyes as Fay tried to half heartedly fly. She failed, of course, and when she began to mumble about her feelings, Faelin was about to snap at her whining when all of a sudden she perked up.

And tried to fly again.

Faelin blinked as this time the Avian had managed to lift off the ground, but still fell flat on her face. She sighed to herself and shook her head, trotting over and licking Fay's face as she attempted to get up.

"Flap my wings harder? Or should I glide?"

The large wolf regarded her with a dubious expression, then she gave a slightly grin and responded, "Do I look like I have wings, Chicken?" she gave Fay's old nickname, hoping to perk the bird up even more. It seemed in the short time they had been together, Fay had soften Faelin's heart. Towards her, at least.

"I think flap, then glide," mused the permantly land logged canine.

 

[Wolfsister]

Largos and Talon

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

Talon smiled, revealing his sharp whitened fangs once more in the moonlight, "I am named Talon, at least that's the name I chose for myself. I already told you, I want to teach you. To let you use what you've become,"


"You can help me control this curse? You can teach me to stop wanting the taste of blood in my mouth? You can take away the hunger that screams at me so loudly it drives me mad? If that is what you can teach me then I will listen but if you wish to teach me how to be a better killer and how to kill innocent people around me without them knowing I am there then I do not want that."

Talon chuckled, completely calm in the darkness in contrast to Largos' furtive movements, "Teach you to suppress the Hunger, indefinitely? No, I cannot do that, its what makes us what we are. But," he held up a long bony finger, "I can help you control it. So that it does not control you,"

"How can I trust you? You are nothing more than a killer! I do not want to become something like you!"

Talon watched as Largos disappeared and raised an eyebrow, speaking to the retreating vampire as though he were still right in front of him, he said, "So many questions Young One. Why do you have to be so curious," he growled and leapt in quick pursuit, "And fast!" he grinned, loving the chase of the night.

He was soon in front of the fleeing elf though through years of learning to control his own movements and years of living in this dark wood. He stopped a little ahead of the elf and leaned against a tree, waiting for Largos to come stumbling into his line of sight. He chuckled, "What I offer you is complete control, can you say that you have that now?" he spread out his hands in an all encompassing gesture, "You can run all you like, but I will have my answer,"

 

[blaster8]

Eeth was about to protest the kid remark when he realized that Rolyn did not mean insult. So, Eeth just sat a listened calmly to both Rolyn and Van speak.

Eeth was silent for a moment after Van finished speaking, then he spoke a prayer in Navajo; a prayer for wisdom and quidance.

He then spoke: "Before you make judgements about me, Rolyn, there are something you must keep in mind. First is that I am new to this world, so I do not know yet what I am capable of. Second, I was not a child in my world. I was an adult and one of the most respected members of my community. Third, in my world, no one has any powers aside from political power. It is quite possible, that in coming here to the Vale, I have acquired powers that are unique to the Guardians. And finally, I have already said that I would help you. If you say that if I go to see the Spirit, by the time I get back it will be too late, then so be it. I shall stay and do what I can, but you will have to help me."

Eeth paused for a moment, to allow this information to sink in. Then he continued, "This then brings us back to the fact that I am supposed to be dead by order of the queen. How do we get around that?"

The whole time Eeth spoke, he remained sitting with his back to Rolyn, in order to give the big elf some manner of privacy.

 

[Angelus]

All Largos wanted to do was run from this other vampire, to get as far away from it as he could. He could see what he could become in it and did not want to end up like that, killing for the fun of it. He moved through the trees as if they didn't even exist and hoped that he had gotten far enough away from him as fast as he could but stopped as soon as he saw the one that called himself Talon leaning up against a tree as if waiting for him.

"What I offer you is complete control, can you say that you have that now? You can run all you like, but I will have my answer."

Largos stood there and he knew what those words meant, that he could become even more powerful that he dreamed possible but he knew where that would lead to. It had been the same life that he had just left where he could do anything that he wanted just because he knew that he could get away from it. He had told himself when he had come to this place that he did not want that but yet those words rang in his ears and made him want to listen.

He took a step towards Talon without realizing it but stopped and closed his eyes, daring himself not to look at the vampire as it might mean he would lose himself and fall under the control of Talon. He lowered his hand to his sword hilt, squeezing it so hard that he feared he would break it before raising his head to look at Talon.

"What if I do not want what you offer. It is true that you can teach me how to control the hunger that threatens to drive me insane and to even control the powers I do not know I have but what if I do not want anything to do with that? I know the life I have now will be torture but it will be better than the life I would have with you."

He drew his sword and even with the knowledge that he could not hope to beat Talon held it at his side as if to try.

He stood looking at Talon, a cold look in his eyes.

"I want nothing from you. For all I know you are the one that did this to me. Leave me now as I do not want help from you; I will never ask for anything from you."

 

[Optimas]

Dribbling wolf and a soggy shoulder

He took a little for himself and left the rest for Wolfy, sitting down and enjoying the charcoal aroma beginning to lift into the air.

The wolf looked at the imp and licked his lips as the boar was cut up. Then the imp began to cook the meat on the fire, the smell was making the wolf drool and saliva dripped to the floor - he licked his lips. The wolf moved over to the imps shoulder and rested his head the saliva dribbled down Goreabs shoulder.

 

[rengadeirishman]

The fairies laugh was very much like Sila's, it was quite strange. "I dont know why I'm here. I just all of a sudden found myself in Illusion Vale, and somehow managed to become a werewolf."

 

[Dracona]

“How can I say that when I’m not really sure who or what you are?? So tell me all about yourself and then we can at least be friends…can’t we?”

Hiran grunted, trying to distract himself from her more than obvious and powerful charms, he began to talk in his usual gruff voice, "I'm a Water Elemental. There are things I can't tell you about my race," he raised an eyebrow and looked at her, "Do you know the concept of secrets?"

He didn't wait for an answer and continued on, "You will find many different creatures in this land. Including yourself, I presume?" He had no idea what she had looked like before the transformation and he also knew that he would never see it. Didn't stop him from hoping that she had been ugly in a previous life.

"I have certain abilities to do with water," he said, his voice rising with self importance, "I'm one of the strongest in this region," then suddenly, having the urge to impress the siren at his side he spun his hand out and a thin column of water spun out from the edge of the lake. It pooled in his upturned palm and he frowned in concentration, which is to say his expression didn't change in the least.

The water began to move, sloshing around and swirling in his palm. It reared up and began to take the watery form of a half open rose, its stem covered in leaves, the petals long and smooth looking. He took a half breath and slowly breathed onto the water-rose.

The result was a slow crystalisation of the water form on his palm. When he was done, a clear ice rose was present and he handed it to Janelle with a flourish, a rare smile at his achievement on his normally severe features.

“Oh Hiran…” Janelle reached out hesitantly, pulling her hand back once before carefully cupping the icy blossom in her fingers. “How beautiful!”

On impulse Janelle went up on tip toe and kissed Hiran’s cheek. His skin felt smooth and slightly cool to her lips. She smiled and linked the fingers of her free hand with is and began to walk again. She gazed at the clear rose as she walked knowing that the warmth from her skin would soon have it melting.

“Why keep such a talent a secret? That’s the coolest trick I’ve ever seen. But then I suppose in a dream like this all kinds of things can happen….after all…I had a fish tail just a little while ago. And I have my voice back.” Janelle’s tone grew soft and her expression thoughtful. “I used to be a singer, a pretty good one too. Not anymore though, my voice is shot….along with my life”

Tears welled up and trembled on her lower lashes and she lifted her face to look at Hiran. Her blue eyes were like stormy seas and she gripped his hand tightly as she forced a trembling smile to her lips.

“Maybe I will just stick around here with you.” She said softly. “Do you think I can do any cool tricks? Something a little more impressive than sprouting scales and fins? It’s my dream after all.”

A single tear overflowed and trickled down Janelle’s cheek and she blinked to stop more from following. She looked back to the ice rose in her hand and sighed sadly as she saw meltoff pooling in her palm. The pretty creation wasn’t going to last much longer. As she watched the puddle in her hand began to spread out across her skin. She blinked and looked again, despite what she had just seen Hiran do she knew water wasn’t supposed to move like that on its own. The water spread out in a thin layer covering her palm and extending out each of her fingers and then, as she watched, it soaked into her skin. Like her skin was a sponge that absorbed the moisture.

“H-Hiran??” She turned and held up her hand to show him. There was a slight note of fear in her voice. “Why is it doing that?? Did you make it do that??”

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

"Before you make judgements about me, Rolyn, there are something you must keep in mind. First is that I am new to this world, so I do not know yet what I am capable of. Second, I was not a child in my world. I was an adult and one of the most respected members of my community. Third, in my world, no one has any powers aside from political power. It is quite possible, that in coming here to the Vale, I have acquired powers that are unique to the Guardians. And finally, I have already said that I would help you. If you say that if I go to see the Spirit, by the time I get back it will be too late, then so be it. I shall stay and do what I can, but you will have to help me. This then brings us back to the fact that I am supposed to be dead by order of the queen. How do we get around that?"

Rolyn turned around, stared at Eeth for a moment and shook his head. Van mewed quietly and nodded with approval, blinking in surprise. Rolyn spoke softly, "Forgive me. A child in our world has a long life. We try, as a whole, to give them as much freedom as they can get while they are still young and innocent. When they grow older and more responsible, they still have a long way to go before they return to the the Blessed Isles,"

Rolyn walked slowly back to the fire, sitting across from Eeth once again, "You are a child in this world and whatever you were before, that is no longer here. I forgot that, I forgot just how naive you are about how things work here. I put too much pressure on you, and I am sorry for that,"

Van mewed, "If Eeth help like Eeth say he will, that mean Rolyn not try eat Van?" he asked innocently, still clutching the blue scrap of cloth towards his chest.

Rolyn laughed, the first truly mirthful sound he had uttered since meeting Eeth, "I will give you another ten year extension, little one. But after that, I promsie I will eat you," he chuckled good naturedly and Van mewed again, forlorn but seeming to accept the deal.

Then the other elf turned to Eeth once again, "As to your abilities, if you have not discovered them already, then I can not help you there. But I can say that whatever natural abilities you possessed in your world will be increased ten fold here. As well as the natural abilities unique to elves here."

He paused, picking up a stick to stir the coals in the fire absently, "As to what you are going to do. I do not know. All I can think of is ending her madness, but I hesitate at wondering how."

Van licked his paw and mewed quietly, making Rolyn look up and grin at the cat, "As to you being dead. It is better that way. Then she will not know that you are coming,"

He had a plan, it was a risky one but he knew that if it worked, then the Elven race as a whole could breath easy once again. But first, a few more pieces had to be put into the puzzle to make everything work.

 

[Wolfsister]

Largos/Len/Talon

"I want nothing from you. For all I know you are the one that did this to me. Leave me now as I do not want help from you; I will never ask for anything from you."

Talon eyed the fighting stance that Largos had taken. He noticed Raster's sword in his hands and grinned, knowing that at least now he was free of the stupid contract with the Innkeeper. "I assure you boy, you don't want to make an enemy of me,"

He began to step forwards, hidden daggers in his voluminous sleeves sliding down into his palms. He kept his hands away from Largos so that the elven vampire would not see the blades. He smiled, licking his lips, "You may have beaten Rastor. I don't care if it was easily or not, but I assure you, Rastor's level was no where near mine,"

He looked up and was annoyed when he heard the faint flapping of feathery wings. That damned bird was close, he could smell her in the air. He revealed his wickedly sharp fangs once more and bared them at Largos. "Think about it boy, I know what I can do. Do you?"

He waited for an answer but when Largos didn't reply fast enough he lunged, wanting to prove to the younger vampire just how much he did not know about himself. The lunge came with a wide swing of his left hand aimed across Largos's chest, the blade of his dagger flashing silver in the moonlight. If that landed, it would only be a very shallow cut, but he would continue to attack with a thrust of his right hand following the left slash. The point of his right dagger designed to stab Largos in the shoulder. If this, too, landed, then he would jump back out of range.

He was about to tell Largos of his foolishness when a loud raven's caw interrupted his thoughts. "Damn," he muttered low under his breath.

"Largos!!" came Len's startled voice inside his head. "Whatever he offers you, don't do it!" she screamed inside his mind. Her feathers were all in disarray when she finally landed with a huff onto Largos's right shoulder. She would caw loudly with pain if Largos had indeed been wounded, but otherwise she would fluff up her feathers and squawk imperiously at Talon.

"You!" she hissed in both their minds, "You are the one responsible for this," with that she suddenly flew at the other vampire, claws extended, her beak primed for pecking. She may not have been able to stop Largos's turning, but she would not let Talon near him again!

Talon grinned, finally he would have his revenge on the little avian. He whipped out his hand, another blade fitted into his palm. The small dagger hit Len with unusual force and she could barely make a sound as the momentum of the blade drew her backwards through the air. Straight into a tree.

Len blinked through a haze of pain. She had failed once again. She struggled to move the wing that was pinned to the tree, the blade buried in the thick wood, wedging her wing inbetween the hilt and the tree. She blinked again, her voice weak in Largos' head. "Please... you must... stop him,"

Talon grinned. Served her right, stupid little bird. He looked over at Largos, "Do you see? Do you see where weakness gets you?" he gestured at the pinned raven, "Do you want to end up like her some day?"

Len blinked, her red blood dripping down the bark, sliding down to pool on the ground between two exposed roots. "Largos... Largos... please... don't do it... don't be.. just... like... him..." The loss of blood began to make her dizzy and soon she found herself struggling to climb out of the blackness. But it was too much for her and she soon blacked out.

Talon grinned again, exposing his vicious teeth, "Does her blood drive you mad, vampire? Does her blood make yours boil? Take it, take it and see what real power is!"

 

[Wolfsister]

Dinnie and Goreab

Goreab frowned. He tried to shoo the wolf away, but it seemed that it was staying. Normally, Goreab would have minded, but this time he figured he needed a bath anyway, so he let the wolf drool all over his shoulder.

"Wolfie like cooked meat?" he asked, obviously talking about the very large slab of meat that sat steaming in the sun, waiting for the carnivore to devour it.

He shook his head and scampered up onto all fours, dragging the meat back to the hot fire and throwing that too onto it. He shrugged, "Fine by Goreab. More meat to burn!" he crowed, cackling slightly. Scratching his armpit, he reached in and turned the sizzling meat over, barely stopped by the roaring flames.

"Goreab not have plate, wolfie eat off ground, Goreab have lap," he said, mumbling at he cooked the meat to perfection. Well, his, perfection.

Tearing out the meat, he slapped a burning hunk down onto the ground near the large wolf and sat down crossed legged, indian style, and began tearing at the meat with his imperfect little jagged teeth. He even wiped some of it down his front to collect the wolf's drool. Added flavour.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

"The sun will be down soon. I'm not sure if you will be more comfortable in the water or in the tent,"

"The tent is fine, but I'd better take a swim before I sleep, I got muddy eariler..." She blushed a little thinking of the mud rolling kick-fest, and it still felt strange that she could just...stand up. Walk to where she wanted to be.

"The sun will be down soon. I'm not sure if you will be more comfortable in the water or in the tent,"

Sishota then began to clean up the camp, washing and putting away the various utensils used for the previous meal. "The Vale is not all like this," she pointed to the east, "There are mountains near us, uncrossable mountains. The west there is a vast lake and to the south there is an endless plain," she shrugged, "There are many creatures, different sizes, shapes, forms. They all live in peace and harmony together," she paused, "Well until recently. That is why you are here," she smiled and laughed, "The Generals of the Spirit, I suppose,"

"War, that's something my race understands. Myself not so much...but I'm sure it'll come to me." She turned to the Air woman. "I'll be right back." She smiled and walked back to the lake edge and slipped off the dress.

Once in the water though...something stranger even than finding her self able to walk in an alien world happened to her...she changed.

It was painless and fluid, but as she dove into the water she became other. More fluid, stronger, sleeker...legless again but legs were not needed. Her eyesight in the murky water was perfect, her sense of smell even better. She headed for the surface and looked at her hands...but they were no more... she had flippers instead with dark mottled black and silver fur.

It suddenly clicked for her. She knew what she was. She was the Selkie Bride, like in the famous story. "I'm in a magical place, and magical things have happened to me. I am a magical being..." She whispered to herself, but the sounds were not human speech...she was a seal now, and spoke as a seal.

She dove back into the water and tested the limits of her ablity; seeing how fast she could go, how long she could last without breath, how strong she was, how slippery and wiley....She caught a fish and ate it and then realized what she did and was shocked.

But it was tasty, very very tasty.

When she came ashore she was very tired, but happy in a childlike way. Donning the dress she went back to the tent and fell asleep instantly.

 

[Wolfsister]

Michael/Sila/Tula

"I dont know why I'm here. I just all of a sudden found myself in Illusion Vale, and somehow managed to become a werewolf."

Tula nodded, "I know the story of the Guardians well. Sila told me most of it when she was charged to be your guide," she laughed again, "I know my daughter and I realise that she may not have given much clues as to why you are here,"

She stroked the soft purple hair of her little princess, "I am named Queen Tula," she raised her eyebrow at the wolf, "I know you already know of Sila's name, but I think you are intelligent enough to guess at her title now,"

She looked around the small infirmary and noted the passings and goings of the other inhabitants of Guarden Hall. She called a dwarven nurse over and ordered some appropriate food for the newly risen werewolf.

"Thank you," she said softly to Michael as the dwarf hurried off to fill the order. "If it were not for you, the goblins would have escaped with all that is precious to me. But you stalled them and allowed us time to catch up,"

 

[Wolfsister]

Janelle and Hiran

“Why keep such a talent a secret? That’s the coolest trick I’ve ever seen. But then I suppose in a dream like this all kinds of things can happen….after all…I had a fish tail just a little while ago. And I have my voice back. I used to be a singer, a pretty good one too. Not anymore though, my voice is shot….along with my life”

Hiran shook his head as she took the ice rose, more to clear his ever lustful thoughts rather in any negative comment to what Janelle was saying. "People sometimes keep the simplest of secrets, but when revealed, they are often more powerful," he shrugged, not explaining his difficult past further.

“Maybe I will just stick around here with you. Do you think I can do any cool tricks? Something a little more impressive than sprouting scales and fins? It’s my dream after all.”

The woman was getting on his nerves. This was anything BUT a dream. He clenched his teeth and for some reason, though he wanted nothing more than to shout some sense into the silly girl, he felt a need to be more gentle to her. The need to protect her from her own delusions.

"Janelle," he said softly, his voice low and still gruff, but gentler, "This is no dream. I want you to fully realise just how significant that fact is. If you continue to believe this is all just fantasy, then you are going down the wrong path," he looked down at her and saw something different, something other than the beautiful creature standing before him. He saw the innocence, the confusion and the pain in her eyes. He realised that somewhere deep in her mind, she probably knew this was reality, but couldn't accept it. Not yet, at least.

“H-Hiran?? Why is it doing that?? Did you make it do that??”

Hiran watched the water sink into her palm and smiled. A rarely genuine smile, gentle and comforting. "Janelle, you don't realise just what you are, do you?" he said gently.

He stopped walking, ceasing her forward movement as well and held both her hands in his own, "Janelle, in this world, you could not survive in your own form. So you were changed," his voice was soft, gruff and concerned, "You became a different being, one that you would most likely would have been if you had of been born here,"

He gently wiped away an errant tear sliding down her face, "Janelle, you are a Siren. A creature of both the land and the water. You have abilities that you need to discover and one of them is that you can sing again,"

He sighed and then frowned down at her, "So stop being so weak and face up to the truth. You have your voice back, now use it!"

He didn't bother to explain the water trick just yet, but if Janelle was the intelligent being he was confident she was, then she would figure it out. All he was here to do was to prod her in the right direction. Well... sometimes he realised that he would have to shove her in the right direction. And now was one of those times, besides, he'd been 'nice' for far too long now.

"Sing, Janelle," it wasn't phrased as a request though, it was more of a command. He gritted his teeth and hoped to the dear Spirit that he would be strong enough to resist her when she unlocked her melodous vocal chords.

 

[blaster8]

Eeth nodded as Rolyn came to realize that he was in error, if you would. Now if only Rolyn could not forget such important details again, all will be good. Eeth heard Rolyn out, and smiled at the exchange between Van and Rolyn.

“Well, you are most definitely right about me being naïve to the ways of this world, but there is one wrong thing about your statement about what I was before. You say that whatever I was before, it is no longer here; I say not quite. There is still a little of what I was before left. Well, actually a bit more than a little. My memories are still here, as well as my life experiences and my various skills. I still know how to speak in the native tongue of my people, and I still know how to find and follow a trail,” said Eeth.

“As to my abilities here in the Vale, I have already discovered a few, but I have yet to be put in a situation where the bulk of my abilities come into play: combat. I know how to use a bow and arrow, but I know nothing about how to use a sword. Plus, it should be interesting to see what I can do with an elven bow,” said Eeth with a smile. He was a decent shot with a bow and arrow, but he had handmade his bows and arrows, so they were crude. It would be interesting indeed to see what he could do with bows and arrows that were finely made. “And while I don’t know much about elves, I get the feeling that we possess magical abilities,” he continued, feeling a little odd to be saying the word we in that sentence. “If that is true, then I would like to learn how to use those abilities.

“About the ‘me being dead’ part, in order to maintain that, I’m going to have to stay hidden. If I am seen up in the city, walking around freely, the queen is going to find out real fast that you didn’t do your job and have us both put to death properly,” said Eeth, putting emphasis on the last word. “Now, if you have any plans, you better fill me in on them, because I don’t like being the part of plans that I know nothing about.”

 

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

"War, that's something my race understands. Myself not so much...but I'm sure it'll come to me. I'll be right back."

Sishota blinked and smiled as she saw Danae headed towards the water. Standing, she followed at a discreet distance and watched as Danae slipped into the water. It was true that she had never seen the transformation from water form to land form of a Selkie, or vice verse, and she had to admit that she was curious.

Once Danae hit the water, there seemed to be a ripple of appearance under the translucent surface. Sishota blinked and lost sight of Danae, then a large and beautiful seal rose from the surface, blinking into the retreating light. Somehow, the air elemental knew that this seal was in face her charge.

She smiled, the Seal was perfect. She was beautiful!

Chuckling to herself, Sishota turned back towards the camp and made ready for a long night's sleep. When Danae returned, the tent had been made ready and Sishota watched as the exhausted Selkie wrapped herself up and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning Danae would find a happily sizzling fire with a large skillet full of fresh fish and grilled vegetables.

"Good morning, Danae. How are you this fine day?"

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

The next morning Danae would find a happily sizzling fire with a large skillet full of fresh fish and grilled vegetables.

"Good morning, Danae. How are you this fine day?"

"Starving! And that smells so good I'm about to leap into the fire to eat it!" Danae laughed as she sat down. She began finger combing her hair. "Actually, I'm coming to grips with everything now, and feel a lot better. I don't know why, or how, or who, or what...but I've desided that it's just better to find out where this all takes me rather than stress over things I can't change or understand."

She looked around her. "Maybe I did crack my head and maybe I am in a coma or something, but I'd rather be here in my head than laying in another damn hospital bed feeling helpless and hopeless."

She leaned forward and looked in the pan, brows arched hopefully. "Is it done yet?"

 

[rengadeirishman]

Michael thanked her when she ordered food for him. "Little Sila is a princess?" he said, surprised. "And you dont need to thank me Highness, I've grown fond of the wee lass. I just wish I coulda kept them from hurting her at all."

 

[ultimate_nerdslut]

"Do I look like I have wings, Chicken?"

Fay frowned at her wolven friend. "It's Big Chicken to you," she said with a chuckle. Well, there was no point getting angry with her guide when it was clear that she was going to need her to get anywhere.

"I think flap, then glide,"

"Alright alright..." Fay said before taking a deep breath. She took off running and jumped flapping her wings before opening them up and catching a breeze. And then the stupid things took on a mind of their own, or maybe on some level she knew what she was doing.

Fay laughed and whooped as she kept low but was obviously flying. She circled around low before stopping next to the wolf.

"How long do you think it's going to take now that I can fly?" She asked sounding pleased as punch. "Maybe I could carry you when I get better..."

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

Rolyn nodded thoughtfully. He palmed his chin, thinking quietly to himself just how to explain his crazy plan. But first there were some other matters he needed to attend to. Such as Eeth's 'training'.

"You understand that we are on a short time limit. A few weeks or more and we believe that this crisis will escalate, especially with the re-emergence of the Guardians," the elf paused, whetting his lips, thinking, "I think we will need to give you a crash course in battle. We can measure your abilities and improve on them if need be," he shook his head, "Don't worry about the part where you're supposed to be dead. From now on, we're all walking on razor's edges. We'll hide you down here. I have allies who will look after you and Van," he waved a dismissal with his hand, "You know, food and the like,"

Van mewed and picked up his tail, licking the fluffy bit at the end with unrestrained vigor, "Van hungry now," he murmured to himself and Rolyn shook his head, chuckling.

"You say you can use a bow?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow towards the younger elf. "Show me," he said and stood, another elf bringing him a simple bow made of dark yew, the string already attached and a full quiver of arrows. Handing them to Eeth, "No time but the present to see what you can do," he smiled at the other elf, "We can discuss our plans while we train,"

He set up a row of stones some fifty yards from Eeth on a rock shelf and stood back, waiting.

 

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

Sishota nodded in sympathy. "I realise that it can be confusing and difficult for you. Especially since things are so different here, but that is what I am for. As both a friend and a guide, I'm here to help you," she smiled warmly at the Selkie as she fished out a few plates for the frying food, "Don't forget that, my dear,"

Then her smile got even wider as Danae asked about the sizzling food. She quickly finished up the cooking and added sprinkled a bit of salt over the finished breakfast. Offering a plate to Danae, she said, "It is now,"

As she watched the selkie eat, she began to go over just what they needed to do for the day, "I think that it would be best to head for the nearest big city," she paused, thinking, "That would be Nariel. Its in the Ethari plains. I would normally suggest Neferin, the Elven capital in the Vale, but I hear of some unpleasant things occurring there, so perhaps we should avoid that place until things clear up," she mused out loud.

"I think, to better help your quest and give you a starting point, we'll head for Vale City to see the Spirit. She will be able to point you in a better direction than I can, I'm sure."

She looked at Danae and her eyes became slightly saddened, "The plains are a harsh place. There is little to no water to be found for miles sometimes. I'm well equipped for such a journey however," she indicated a place beyond the trees, "I have a two horses available. One for you and one for the supplies."

Then she frowned, "Do you ride?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Michael/Sila/Tula

"Little Sila is a princess? And you dont need to thank me Highness, I've grown fond of the wee lass. I just wish I coulda kept them from hurting her at all."

Tula smiled, "Now, now. No need for that. It was not your fault. If anything, it is mine. The war between the greenskins and the fairies should have been ended long ago, but..." she trailed off, "We are not a violent race," she sighed, "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this,"

She shook her head and laid a delicate hand onto his arm again, "No need to go calling me that Michael. Tula is my name. Please, you would honor me to use it,"

"As it stands, you are a hero to our people. And I'm sure the Dwarves are fairly impressed as well," she smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. A noise made her frown and pause though and she looked back to Sila's bed.

"M..Mother?" came Sila's weak voice, "Mother is... is.. that you?" she tried to move but severe pain and a firm hand on her shoulder soon stopped her.
"Don't move my sweet little bud, you haven't fully healed yet,"

Sila's eyes went wide as she saw Michael on the bed next to her, wrapped up in bandages, "Michael! What happened?"