Chapter 2
Nicholas awoke with a start. The children were all outside lined up waiting for their ration of barley meal and water. The sky was a livid grey with streaks of oily smoke coming from the south. Nicholas felt the fear begin to well up inside of him. He yelled when he saw the large ominous birds fly out from the woods. There were three and their smoky black eyes were watching him. He began to run but no matter how hard he sprinted he didn’t go anywhere.
“They’re coming!” he yelled as his eyes opened.
He was in the dark tent. Several boys moaned and called sleepily in anger at his loud disturbance. From the depths of the dark stuffy tent a pillow came down hard on Nicholas’ face as an agitated voice said,
“Loudmouth! Will you stop kicking me!” The boy next to Nicholas complained.
“S-sorry.” Nicholas said feeling the glare coming from the rest of the tent.
“Just go back to sleep. You were just dreaming.” said the other boy with a yawn.
Nicholas lay in the tent but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the birds were still watching them. In his mind’s eye he could see the three large oily black owls with their smoking eyes and horned heads as they sat in the grass just watching. He shuddered and got up, slipping out of the tent into the morning light.
The fog still covered the entire area like a thick woolen blanket trying to smother all life. The line between heaven and earth was gone and in the endless white there seemed to be shades of silver and grey prowling. The sandy clearing where the large monoliths stood was an island in the sea of long golden grass which stood motionless in the windless morning air. Nicholas listened to the far off call of some bird and the croak of a frog before he started moving.
He walked to the large monolith on its side where the foodline had been the previous night. In a hollow in the stone surface a pool of rain water had collected and reflected his wearied and tired face. His deep brown eyes stared wearily back up at him, while his curly dark brown hair looked like a large tangled bush or shrub. He washed his face with the water from the small pool when he heard someone behind him.
“Hmm. It’s a bit early to be up.” It was the Leader.
Nicholas turned and said, “…I couldn’t sleep…”
“That’s alright. A lot of children couldn’t sleep being away from their parents. Don’t worry in a day or two you’ll be back with them safe and sound.” the Leader said, attempting a rough smile on his dark features.
Nicholas turned obtusely and said, “No, I won’t. I don’t have any parents.”
The Leader’s smile faded and he walked over to where Nicholas stood. Then leaning in he asked, “And what’s your name son?”
“Nicholas. Nicholas of Luca. I am the servant of the village elder.”
“I see. And tell me, Nicholas of Luca, do you want to be his servant for the rest of your life?” a strange light in the Leader’s eyes.
“No. But I don’t have any choice. I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Nicholas said sulking.
“Well, if you’re a good worker and a fast learner, we may have an opening in our… group for you.” He grinned out of the corner of his mouth.
“What does your group do?” Nicholas asked pensively.
“Hahaha!” the man leaned back his thickly braided head and laughed heartily, “The better question is ‘what do we not do’! Right now, we are protecting something that needs to be kept very secret and safe. You could say we’re like special world traveling guardians.”
“Really!?! You guys get to travel all over the world?” Nicholas asked with eyes wide.
“That’s right. We have an opening left if you’d like to join.” He said smiling warmly, “After all, we orphans need to look out for each other.”
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In a distant land the morning sun was also rising over the choppy icy sea, the green grey waves of salty water crashing against each other as the Seakings made war beneath the depths. Above the raging waves a small craft creaked up the mountains of water and raced into the valleys. On board a dirty, greasy looking fat man was retching over the side cursing his bad luck.
He wanted to pull his deck of black cards out right then and there and freeze the whole ocean so he could just walk across. But that would require walking, not his most loved pastime. Besides, she had instructed him not to use any magic until he was in Teaul.
He snorted to himself as he thought about the woman in the black gossamer cape. She wasn’t so tough. Sure she could do some tricks with her cape and with his mind, but that had been when he wasn’t ready. If he had really been fighting her will, he would not have fallen so easily. She couldn’t tell him when and where he could use his cards, he thought angrily.
With contempt he opened the seal of the black scroll she had slipped in his pocket to give to the Vestal in Teaul. He started coughing again and had to steady himself on the careening ship before he could read the curving elegant handwriting. As he read he spat a few times to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth.
“Unto the Chief Vestal in Residence on Teaul,
My sister, I send to you the vessel for your deceptive plot. The pieces are moving across the board and soon your part will be required. This creature should do nicely in the role you have planned. If he does not fit your requirements or if you have already found a replacement than feel free to sacrifice him to the Void. Hopefully this one will last longer than the others.
Until the next full moon
High Matron in Sylvania”
The fat man’s hands were shaking as he reread the words. He felt a cold sweat begin to cover his body and he could not stop himself from swallowing several times, causing his engorged double chins to wobble and sway. He wished the nauseating sea sickness would return and replace the terrible weight of dread he now felt in his stomach. He slid down against the railing of the ship and covered his head with his hands.
“What am I going to do?” He said despondently as he smelled his reeking breath curling about him. “If I run, she’ll find me and kill me for sure, but if I stay they might sacrifice me to the Void. Either way I’m a dead man. I should never have gotten involved with the Circle.”
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The early morning light shone through the large columns of black smoke that billowed up towards the sky. A light snow began to fall on the remains of the village of Luca. A small figure, a man bent over double with a rat like face and four yellow teeth in his mouth skittered as he ran between the large craters that had been houses before. He bowed several times as he neared the ominous presence of his master.
“What is it Lurq?” The armored one said without turning, the glowing eyes staring into the large crater surrounded by concentric cracks in the stone ground.
“Mye mystirr, Aye feer de veelijers have fled eento de mounteens. De troops could not peersue dem, oh crusheer of skulls.”
The armored one turned and raised the large glowing mace, the light sending odd ripples across the silver chainmail and large horned helmet. The shriveled man made several whimpered pleas before the large mace swung down. The force was so great that a wave of dust flew in all directions. When the dust had cleared the whimpering man was lying on the ground in a ball crying and shaking.
“Before I crush your bones, what was the report of the scouts?” the triune voice speaking deeply.
“De-de-de reeport… oh, de reeport!! We have dem! Tree of de birds reetruned erleer. Dey are camped at de stones!”
“Good.” it came more as a rumble than a word, “Awaken the best Styx we have and prepare my chariot. Lurq, fail me a second time and you will wish I had given you a quick death today.”
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“Alright everyone. Gather round!” Called the Leader as he beckoned all the children together around the fallen stone upon which he stood. “Come on, make sure everyone is close enough to hear. Good, good. Alright, is that everyone?”
A female archer did a quick head count and gave a nod. The Leader did his best to smile patiently as he called for silence from the talking children. There were probably fifty or more children and it took a while. Finally with a loud whistle he got everyone’s attention.
“Alright! Now, I’m glad you’re all a bit more energetic because today were going to do exercises!”
There was a general groan that came up from the kids that had to be silence before he could continue.
“But not that kind of exercise. For the next two days we’ll be out here until its safe to go back to your villages.”
“Why isn’t it safe?” Called a small boy of about five.
“Because the evil armored lord is looking for us!” called an older boy.
“I heard he has wings like a bat and twelve arms and really really really big yellow eyes!” said another boy.
“Well I heard that long ago someone in the villages killed his son and now he wants to come and kill us in revenge!” cried another child.
“I heard he’s actually a wolf from the waist down!” Said a frightened girl.
“Will you stop all this stupid babbling!” yelled a pale faced boy with goggles in his black hair, “Those are all old wives tales! The lord who owns the lands our villages are built on needs servants and wants to take us. That’s why we have to hide. He’s no supernatural monster, just the regular human kind.”
The Leader chuckled and said, “Thank you…”
“Ivan of Janez. I’m the apprentice of Racha the Scholar.”
“Thank you Ivan. Now, as I was saying, today we’ll be practice emergency drills in case of an attack. Have you all been tested for your giftings?” He asked with a look of concern.
“Oh! Yes! My mommy says I’m the best daisy chain maker in the whole village!” called a girl from Matvie.
“I can throw rocks really far!” said a boy from Luca raising his hand.
Before another wave of talking could begin the Leader quickly interrupted while motioning to the female archer, “Alright, well those are all really good gifts but the ones I’m talking about are a little different. You are all probably still too young for your giftings to have manifested but hopefully we can coax them out.”
The children all just stared at him as if he was a lunatic and he gave a nervous laugh before motioning to the Archer to go ahead. She stepped forward and spoke in a deep sonorous voice, “Lets start from the beginning children. You all come from the four villages, between the mountains and the forest, on the grassy plains. That’s where we are right now. Each village has a special gifting that only they can do and everyone in the village can do the gifting more or less. Do you understand so far?”
There were a few confused faces but most of the messy heads of hair nodded yes. She was about to continue when a screech was heard in the distance. Several of the children began to tremble slightly while the rest looked fearfully into the mists. Nicholas who stood next to the Leader spoke hauntingly, “It’s them. The birds from my nightmare!”
Turning quickly he grabbed hold of Nicholas’ shoulders, “What birds!?! What did they look like!?! Speak quickly!!!”
“I-I dunno… birds like I’ve never seen before! Big black owls! With horns! And eyes…. eyes that looked like smoke was coming from them!” Nicholas said fearful at the kind Leaders’ sudden urgency.
“Styx!!! We’ve been found! Quick, forget the fire and the tents! We move now!” The Leader called to the rest of the guardians in their dark cloaks.
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The armored figure paced the ground pensively, reveling in the rush of fear and anxiety coming from the children and the guardians far away. The figure walked into one of the houses that seemed to have belonged to a scholar of some sort, half of it destroyed by the armored one’s mace. He reached his clawed gauntlet into a pile of parchment and pulled out a clean piece. As he began to write he spoke to himself,
“What will you do now that the children have been discovered, oh great leader? Will you risk the mountains? No, those cloaks of yours are strong but they cannot resist the mountain cold. That is my domain. The forest then? Ha, you fear those woods more than you fear me. You know what lurks in the shade of the ancient trees. So, you will try to hide in the sea of grass. That will be of no use if you cannot find your way. Hmm, time to repay an old enemy.”
On the parchment was written many strange block like characters and in the middle a name was printed. The figure walked to the still lit fire and lit the parchment. It burned quickly and the ashes danced upon the wind in the hand of the evil one. Then he blew them whispering an ancient word as they flew away fast.
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The children were running through the sea of long golden grass, the heavy white mist above them like a blanket. They pushed through in a single file line. The Leader and three other guardians were at the front while the rest of the guardians were scattered along the line urging the children on. As they ran breathlessly through the tall grass Nicholas had worked his way through the line near enough to hear the Leader and the other three talking.
“How did they find us, Sato? I thought you said we lost them yesterday!”
“It wasn’t Sato’s fault. We did loose them. They used a child to get near us.” Said the Archer fiercely, “Those monsters will stop at nothing. It was the little girl from Luca that cried so much. They followed her tears here.”
“Well is there another safe area Leland?” The Leader asked the third guardian who seemed to be really leading the line.
“Hmm. There is but it will take us through the pass.” he said cautiously.
“You know I don’t like the pass. Getting there we get too close to the forest.”
“It may be the only safe haven left for the children. If that monster finds them there’s no knowing what will happen to them.” the Archer said worriedly.
“Fine. Take us to the pass Leland.”
Then Nicholas heard Sato speak for the first time, “The mists. They are bad. A whisper. An echo. Something not right.”
The Leader looked concerned from Sato to Leland and then said in a hushed voice, “Leland why did you not sense this too?”
Leland looked blankly at the Leader and then the whole line was stopped as the Leader held up his hand. His eyes bore into Leland’s as he spoke softly, “Leland, does he know your name? Think hard.”
Leland seemed to think for a few seconds then his eyes grew with alarm as he spoke softly, “Oh no, you’re right! He does! Twelve years ago when we snuck into the fortress to steal the scrolls and I had to open the navigator’s door. It required my name!”
The Leader closed his eyes and Nicholas stepped forward asking worriedly, “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
The Leader looked at Nicholas before he took a deep breath and spoke, “Our navigator has been compromised. The thing we are escaping from sent this mists. Here look.”
The Leader pulled a round metallic box from his pocket and flipped it open. The inside had a compass with a golden letter n at the top showing north. But the arrow was not stationary. It pointed to the right, then suddenly swung to the left, then after a few more moments it turned to the right again.
“Not just that, but any natural way of telling direction won’t work. The moss changes sides on stones, the sun and moon are blocked completely, even animals that migrate through here will get lost. That’s why we needed our navigator. But since he knows Leland’s name it means the creature must have blocked his senses and he’s no better than my compass.”
“So now what?” asked Nicholas looking hopefully to the others guardians, “There must be a way! Someway to get out of here!”
“Well, there is one way.” said Leland as his eyes scanned the children, “ How many children do we have from Janez?”
“About twelve,” said the Archer, “eight girls and four boys.”
“Hmm. Bring me the boys.” Leland said hopefully.
“Leland if you want to do what I think you want to do then we’re going to need time. And that’s something we don’t have!” Said the Leader still scanning the skies.
“Well, just need a few minutes. If even one of them has the gifting strong it can work!” Leland said defensively. “In the mean time, why don’t you get the children in the emergency drill patterns. Every second you buy me might get us out of the sea of grass and into the pass.”
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Twenty large black owls were flying low over the golden sea of grass barely visible through the thick heavy fog. Their smoking wings beat the air and their cries echoes like screams on the wind. They flew faster and faster as if their master was right behind them in full fury. The trail of tears had long since dried up but that did not matter. They could feel the fear of the children close by.
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The heaving fat man stepped off the boat and looked about. He began walking down the wharf when he heard the chillingly rustle of silk behind him. The sick cloyingly sweet voice behind him purred and scraped against his soul.
“Don’t even think about running. The last one that ran made such a mess when I had to suck his soul from his body in the middle of the market place. Just turn around slowly and walk with me.”
Stultius did as he was told and followed the figure in the scarlet red hooded cape through the busy market place. Somewhere deep in his mind he knew he had done it. He had made his decision and there was no turning back now. He gulped and tried not to think about the gnawing fear in the pit of his stomach.
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“Here they come!” cried the scouts as the edge of the group.
“Steady now.” said the Archer reassuringly to the children who were standing in a large circle. “Now, all of you, remember what I told you. How special all of you from Matvie are. Its very important that you not let go of each other’s hand. Even if you get scared don’t worry. You’ll be fine and I’ll be here to keep you safe.”
The children were scared but they nodded and gripped each other’s hands tightly. The Archer nodded and then looked at the smaller circle of Lucians inside the circle of the Matvians. Each guardian was close enough to keep an eye on the trembling children. And then within that circle was Leland with the boy from Janez who he had said had the gifting.
It was Ivan of Janez. He was visible shaken and was trying hard not to let it show. He played with the goggles in his hair as he listened to Leland’s instructions. The Archer close by nodded approvingly as she continued circling the Matvian children and watching the trembling ones from Luca.
Then the children from Luca all seemed to stop trembling and looked to the left. The Archer let three shafts fly towards the wall of fog as she kept walking forward. The next moment a large Styx broke threw the wall and was instantly slain by the three arrows. The Archer already had her bow notched again with one eye on the Lucian children who were trembling again.
Then the Lucians all looked up with fright and she spun around loosing more shafts upward. Another guardian did as well but five Styx had all broken through at once and only four of them were slain. The last one descended on the children with large black wings billowing and sharp iron talons ready.
It impacted the circle of children and enveloped them completely with dark smoke. Then the smoke dissolved into the air but the children were still fine. A few were scared and a few seemed to be ready to cry, but most seemed to be fine. The Archer ran up and reassured them all while watching the Lucians and glancing at Ivan and Leland.
“Now, you try. Which way?” Leland was saying.
“Hmmm. That way!”
“Very good. You’re ready. That small nudging you’ve always felt. That is the pull of the South Pole. Now, keep feeling it until it’s the biggest feeling in your body. Now turn so its over your left shoulder. Good.”
Several more Styx came out of the clouds and they were felled by well placed arrows. Another came towards the Matvian children but this time they stood their ground and as the bird was a handbreadth away, it seemed to hit an invisible wall and crumple into smoke and nothingness.
“Oh fearless Leader!” called Leland triumphantly, “We have our heading!”
“Good! Everyone move! Keep Ivan at the front and the Matvians at the back!”
The line headed out again and was on the move. Nicholas found himself at the back near the Matvians. He also saw Sahrina and Bella there. They were both walking briskly, Sahrina looking worriedly and Bella looking scared. Then suddenly Nicholas and several other Lucian children all looked to the left. Ten Styx flew at the children and nine were slain instantly by arrows. But the last one wasn’t and had caught its prize.
“Sahrina! Help me!”
“Bella!”
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In the ruined village the armored one suddenly jerked as if a bolt had stuck him. He staggered and groaned, then leaned back as he gave a roaring laugh and struck the ground several times with his mace.
“Hahaha! Yes! They did it! I’ve done it! The key is mine!”
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In the far off sea town, the crimson caped one stopped. She raised her hand as if she was trying to remember what she wanted to say. Then she turned and lowered her hood. He saw with amazement that she had a beautiful face, red lips, and green eyes, all framed by her rich auburn hair.
“You want to kiss me don’t you?”
He could only nod.
“You know its prohibited. You could be in so much danger.”
He didn’t seem able to understand the meaning of anything else at that moment. She leaned forward and placed her red lips on his. He felt like he was dissolving into the kiss, as if hundreds of tiny feathers were tickling against him. And then as he opened his eyes, she suddenly seemed shorter.
“Hmm. You’ll do fine.”
And with that she leapt up on his back, which was no a dappled grey color. He began walking forward and saw his hooves on the street. But for some reason it was all fine. He was fine because suddenly he didn’t need anything else in the world. All he could think of now was maybe getting a juicy carrot.
“We must make haste. If Oleander has found the key then our time is almost up!”
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Okay
so as you may ahve been able to tell, this story is slightly diffrent from the first. Don't worry, its actually working its way towards merging with the other version. In fact, at the end of chapter three I will be using large sections of my first and second chapters of the older version for the story....
Question though, I am thinking of going back to the original very first story, which had Laburnum as Queen of Alexandria and Alexi as her niece. Then the group has to overthrow Laburnum (who actually dies in that version). So, my question is, which do you prefer... or better yet, which do you think would be the better story?
