Making Waves (Closed For Ohia_Lehua)

[KiwiD82]

Renauld's boots sank into the mud, the thick brown sludge clinging to his feet and threatening to suck him downwards with each step.

Tired thighs pulled his extremities out one at a time, only to find them returned to the quagmire a short distance later.

Likewise, the hooves of the horse he led also struggled with the soft ground which coated the animal's lower legs.

Renauld was a tall man, with dark blonde hair and grey eyes. His face was handsome enough, though his strong jaw was now covered with stubble - he hadn't had time to shave since he'd started his journey.

Most of his equipment and supplies - rations, rope, flint and anything else he had thought might be useful - sat in saddle bags on the horse's back.

There were a few exceptions: his sword, which hung uselessly from his belt; his spear, which served as a walking stick with which to help him through the mud; and his shield, which was strapped to his back in an occasionally successful attempt to keep the sporadic downpours of rain from drenching his back.

Renauld was a fit man, even compared to other knights, but he was weary. And he wasn't even sure if he should be trudging through liquid earth in the first place.

It had all started with the harsh weather that had hit his small fiefdom, and the inability of those under his protection to grow more than the bare minimum of food. Renauld had been worried that the food already stored away wouldn't last them through the winter and his advisors had confirmed his fears.

After seeking assistance from his neighbours without success - for they, too, were struggling to grow enough for their own needs - Renauld knew his options were limited.

It was then that he'd heard of a wise woman who might he able to help via the use of magic. The knight held next to no confidence in what some old crone might be capable of, but he was desperate. And she was believed to live on the other side of the large forest that bordered his fiefdom.

Which was why he was near exhaustion, traipsing around trees in mud up to his knees. All in the vain search for some woman who might be able to assist his people to grow a bit more wheat.

Renauld sighed. He was frustrated with the situation. And he needed a rest.

Spotting a large rock nearby that lined the edge of the lake he was skirting, the knight leaned on his spear to pull him out of the boggy ground and his horse followed.

Renauld almost fell down into a seated position atop the rock, allowing his boots to rest in the water to wash them as his thirsty mount lapped at the clear liquid.

Leaning back on his elbows, the worn out would-be protector closed his eyes and tried to make the most of what would surely be an all too brief rest.

 

[Ohia_Lehua]

There had been a time, years ago and nearly forgotten that the landscape around the small magic cloaked isle shimmered with unspeakable beauty. The waters were crystal clear, fishes dances in the waters and waterfowl dotted the surface, the rocks worn smooth and warmed by the sun. Emerald green meadows shaded by towering hunter green trees were the resting place of fawns and baby foxes where birds sang and squirrels happy chirped in melody. Fluffy white clouds took shape against the blue swirling sky, the shade of blues colored by the hour. It was a magical place, it still was yet the view had changed.

Nyneve had been witness to it all, the wonder that had once been Avalon to the mire that the once pristine lake was turning into. There was still a great expanse of the lake that was untouched and an even small portion of the words that still held that unearthly glamour but time was claiming her home and for one who's time stretched on with no measure to account it by, it was happening too soon for her liking.

The isle had once been home to an order veiled in secrets. A place where with enough practice and skill the impossible became possible. A grand castle had been home to dozens and now stood empty, it's ceilings falling in on themselves, the ivy claiming it as it's own. The only structure on the isle that stood in livable condition was a simple shack. Large enough to house a bed, a hearth, a table and some chairs with shelves for books and jars with a window to hang herbs by.

Nyneve played with the necklace nestled between her breasts feeling it's familiar warmth against her skin. A King and once raised a magical sword in the defense of his people but she doubted anyone even remembered that. She often wondered what came of the tales from her time but rarely ventured from the lake.

"Kow-Koww Kaw."

Over head a sooty winged bird crossed the sky crying out loud an alarm, a disturbance in the swamp. Ny took a deep breath in and held it before releasing it slowly. She couldn't remember the last time someone had risked the journey across the swamp and where she would normally leave the matter alone there was something that nagged her into dressing in a rough spun cotton green dress.

It was magic that kept Ny above the muck of the swamp and she used that to her advantage as she skipped and danced above the worse of the mud much like the dragonflies that were leading her way to this disturbance. When the dragonflies scattered and disappeared Nyneve knew she was close and picked her way along the lake line. A few trees later and a shape of a horse took shape, followed by a man blanketed over a rock.

There wasn't anything about the mix matched pair worth being nagged over. The sooty bird was back but he was silent in his observation. "A man greedy for the riches and fame of the sword of a King." Ny assured the bird against his endless stare.

The bird shook out his feathers and soundlessly opened his mouth as if in disagreement.

After years of no human contact the animals around the isle became her friends and companions. "I think you are wrong my friend." Ny shook her head, the bird mimicking the motion. "We shall see." The woman challenged breaking from the shelter of the trees to be seen if the man were to look in her direction. The horse saw her first and snorted in uncertain greeting.

 

[KiwiD82]

Renauld had sorely misjudged how tired he was. The mere act of stopping and giving his legs a rest had been just enough of a change in momentum to allow his body to reiterate to him how little energy he had left.

His brief moment of eyelid resting became a lengthier moment of uncomfortable slumber, the combination of rock and shield against his back proving to be a less than ideal mattress.

Despite this, however, he slept, and even allowed himself to dream of times gone by. He remembered his earliest days, as a young boy with the freedom of his father's household, climbing the parapets and worrying his mother. He recalled serving the king, firstly as a squire and then as a knight, pledging to serve his monarch with utmost loyalty. He relived the moment when the king had bestowed upon him the honour of his own fiefdom, and the pledge he had made to protect its inhabitants.

But that was all in the past, and whether it was this realisation that awoke him or the uneasy noise of his horse, Renauld now found himself suddenly awake upon the rock, the buckles of his shield pressing into his back.

The knight sat up quickly, inhaling sharply as if he'd been underwater the entire time. He rested his hand on his gelding's reign to steady them both, before following the animal's gaze.

What Renauld saw next caught his breath in his throat. His observer appeared almost otherworldly, and yet she looked equally as if she were at home. She wore the colours of the forest with a simple and plain dress, but her general appearance and stature implied a regality that his own king would struggle to match. Her toes rested in mud but the rest of her was impeccably clean.

And she was more beauteous than any woman he had ever taken the time to look at.

Renauld suddenly realised he was staring, so he took his spear, planted it into the mud next to him, and used it to pull himself up, stiff back and all.

"Milady," he nodded in greeting, his tired gaze accentuated by flecks of mud across his face. "Are you in need of assistance?"

It was possible that she knew where to find the wise woman, but it was important to remember basic etiquette first and foremost.