Silverfeather Keep

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Ricansea
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 5

Post by Ricansea »

Yay readers! :bounce: I'm glad you guys liked the story so far, and thanks for joining in, Lunaheart!


My computer's been giving me major issues, unfortunately, and with an untimely crash I lost a big hunk of what I wrote. D: It's nearly all re-written, though - expect a new chapter Nov. 1st or 2nd! :)
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 5

Post by NepetaLeijon »

Oh fun! I just can't wait to read more! ^_^
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 5

Post by Lunaheart »

I second that!

Looking for Donis on my wishlist. See my profile for details on what I have to offer.
Sarge is one of my Keep Guardians along with Durakro.

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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Halloween Surprise!

Post by Ricansea »

Thanks guys! What I said before still applies - you'll have a new chapter tomorrow or the next day. But lookit something speshul! Just wrote it for fun and decided to share.

Anyhoo...I have a little surprise cooked up for you guys (yes, a little late, but I was trick-or-treating - good excuse! D:) This is a little prelude to what will be coming when the adventure truly begins - though you haven't met Vizia and Torin yet, this gives you a little insight as to what they're like... and there's also a lot of fun with those elements associated with this grand day. It's in two parts... the first one I'll post now, the second tomorrow after I've finished it *cough* This may or may not become part of the actual story, but it matters not; the characters are true, so you need not worry about ruining your ideas of them.

Though this takes place in the future for our adventurers, for us here on earth, it takes place today... All Hallow's Eve.
Spoiler
We picked our way carefully through the dense forest, breaking the quiet night with frequent snaps, cracks, and outbursts of swearing as we caught our feet on protruding roots or tangled our hair in wickedly snarled branches. We’d left the path long ago.

It was hardly our first time within the untamed parts of the forest, but this night felt different… foreboding, somehow. I missed Arjeyoun by my side; there was no way his immense bulk could make it though the closely-packed trees, so he was currently flying somewhere above us… I hoped. Talon and Talvi were still by us, though, making little fluttering hops from branch to branch as they matched our slow progress. Talvi was clearly enjoying himself as he made little flips in the air – it was nice to see a spark of happiness in the dreary darkness.

A single voice rang out as we stumbled into a small clearing. “Let’s stop here for the night,” It was Torin that had spoken, bringing up at the rear of our little party. Normally I would have wanted to press on, but I’d had enough of this eerie trek; nothing sounded better than a warm fire and food.

Sorras and I voiced our assent and immediately began picking up dry branches. Vizia was quick to make her disapproval and disgust for us known; I astutely ignored her jibes, though I did have to suppress and urge to fling a particularly sharp tree branch at her.

A fire was soon set and made, and Sorras prepared to go and scavenge something for us to eat. “No,” Torin said suddenly. We all stopped and stared blankly as he continued. “No,” he repeated. “I’ll go.”

I shook my head violently to clear it, sure that I was dreaming. Did Torin – Torin – just offer to go into a dark and dangerous forest?

I chanced a glance at Vizia, wondering if she was up to her usual tricks, this time at Torin’s expense. But she looked just as shocked as I, the expression so genuine I was forced to believe it. Torin stood with the barest hint of a shiver, and waved off Arcana as she moved toward him. “No,” He said once again. “I’ll go by myself, thank you very much. I know better than all of you combined which plants are most suitable for eating.” the words were right, but the tone was wrong; there was no hiding the undercurrent of fear. Before any of us could object or drag him back, he stepped through our protective spell-bubble and disappeared into the night.

~*~

Torin stumbled through the forest, jumping at every noise – even those of his own making. He forced himself not to go for his dagger and to walk calmly… because animals could smell fear.

The sane part of his mind was screaming about how harebrained this was – why did he put himself in unnecessary danger? They had not been poisoned yet; clearly Sorras knew the rudimentary rules of plants. Why, then, did he choose to go?

He didn’t know the answer to his own question. Perhaps to prove his bravery… but if that was the case, he was failing miserably. He put the entire issue out of his head, knowing that if he did not return with spoils, he would be written off as useless for good.

He created a small bubble of light over his palm to help see the dark plants around him, to see those which would help sustain hungry humans and hungrier animals. But the light cast strange shadows as he moved, and it seemed as though there were enoxes and manticores at every turn… this wasn’t helping matters.
Frustrated with both himself and the lack of edible plants, he extinguished the light, plunging everything into inky darkness as his eyes struggled to adjust. As they did, he thought he saw a glowing… and when he squinted, he was sure he did. A strange round orb of orange was sitting at the base of a gnarled tree. He approached cautiously, his dagger finally in his hands as he approached the unnaturally bright light.

As he drew closer, he could make out shapes, and he realized that instead of one glow, there were several faintly glowing shapes grouped together. He took the final steps and stood over the trunk of the tree, staring down. Several owls and night birds screeched their disgruntlement as Torin unexpectedly laughed out loud; they were gourds! Of all things to find in the forest, he’d stumbled upon a patch of wonderfully ripe and edible gourds!

Perhaps there was more to the fae glowing than Torin realized, for he felt no fear or suspicion of the glowing objects – that was not normal. He normally would never consider eating something that was glowing, but this was a strange night. He made to pick up the largest, but before his fingers touched the surface, he froze. The gourd seemed to have… twitched. He drew back and pointed his dagger at the now-suspicious orange plant. Nothing for a moment, then it twitched again.

Torin scrambled backwards as the twitch became a shake. He paused several paces back, unable to take another step away, his eyes riveted upon the orange glow.

The gourd shook, trembled, then began to turn. A slow creaking sound accompanied it as it slowly spun to reveal….

A toothed face! A horrid face! A grotesque mask marred the face of the pumpkin, and the features were moving. Torin screamed at the top of his lungs and ran for it, running into trees and falling as often as not. It was lucky for him he’d gone in more or less a straight line – there was no way he ever would have made it back to the camp otherwise. His panicked mind was not focused on the camp at all, truth be told; he was simply trying to put as much distance between him and the possessed gourd as possible.
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Special Halloween chapter!

Post by Ricansea »

Sorry for the wait, guys... my computer ate what I had for this, as well as chapter 6. :'( Ate everything. I rewrote the ending for the chapter, though it is not as good as what I originally had... I could not bring myself to do so, felt bad about working so hard and not having it. So I apologize for any drop in quality in this one... still, I hope you enjoy it, again just a bit more Halloween fun and a little glimpse into the relationships between the adventurers as the story goes on. A bit of information - Vizia and Ricansea knew each other before this quest, so the friction between them is from a past event that will be explained in time.
Spoiler
I was absentmindedly whittling a piece of tinder with my dagger when I heard a loud crashing noise, very close by. I jumped up as I heard a high-pitched scream – upon hearing it, Arcana leapt to her feet with a snarl.“That sounded like Torin,” Sorras said, sounding unconcerned. He was still sitting and looked completely at ease. “He probably saw a Nandi or something. Don’t worry about it.”

But I stayed standing. Everything had seemed off ever since night had fallen and we’d entered the forest… there was certainly something strange going on. Though it was no secret that Torin was startled easily, I saw no reason to let down my guard until I heard Torin’s explanation for myself.

Torin burst into the camp a minute later, looking more panicked then I’d ever seen him. He immediately collapsed upon the ground, breathing heavily. Arcana examined him worriedly, but he did not seem to be hurt. I cautiously lowered my dagger and asked him urgently what happened. He panted for a few moments longer, then said, “There… There’s something possessed back there. It has to be dark magic. It has to be! I was going to pick it up and it moved… and there was a FACE on the gourd… and that moved, too! It was horrifying.” His voice got quieter and more strangled the more he talked, as though he was scared to even speak of the possessed gourd.

I sighed and flopped back down on the ground. Sorras was right – just Torin being Torin, as usual… and now we didn’t have any food. “It’s okay,” I said quietly. “We probably have enough bread to last us one more night.”

Torin stared at me blankly. “What are you talking about? We have to go and kill that thing!!”

We all stared at him again; I suppressed a shiver. Something was definitely up tonight. I stood once more. “I’ll go with you,” I said stoutly, scowling as I heard a soft laugh behind me.

“How fitting, a coward helping a coward,” Vizia said, smiling at us with malice in her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll both be back soon, wetting yourselves because of a possessed mouse – or perhaps a leaf that blows across your path! It will be entertaining to see what scares you two when you come running back.” She laughed again.

It was only Torin’s expression and the apparent importance of killing this beast that kept me from leaping at her. I set my jaw to keep from retaliating, though of course she took this as a victory. I stamped through the spell-bubble before I could hear her reply.

The forest was dark and intimidating, but I kept a tight hold on my dagger and followed Torin closely as he warily led the way. Though he told me not to bring a light, I kept my magic close at hand, just in case. I squinted, hoping to see our enemy soon. He’d said they glowed…

I knew we were close when Torin stopped dead in his tracks. I peered through the murky darkness and could just make out something faint and orange…

Determined to be braver than Vizia thought I was, I boldly approached the glow. As I stood over them I saw that they were just harmless gourds. One round orange pumpkin was sitting snugly in the middle of the pile, its glow the brightest of all. Smiling now, I reached down to pick it up. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I said, shaking my head. I knew of no one else that could be afraid of plants. My hands were about to touch the smooth surface when Torin whispered, “Careful!”

As though signaled by his whisper, the pumpkin twitched. I jerked back as the pumpkin twitched again. Dropping my dagger, I went for my sword, ready to cleave it in two. The pumpkin slowly shook and spun, turning slowly to reveal a face, smiling at me with pointed teeth and blinking eyes.

I fell back a step, while Torin stumbled back three. I raised my sword again, but as I did, I noticed something about the grinning face. Its eyes, though unnerving and unnatural, did not seem to hold malice. I was disconcerted by how human its expression seemed. And despite the fact that it was carved on the face of a pumpkin, it looked… friendly.

I sheathed my sword and ignored Torin’s protestations as I approached once more. My hands touched on either side of the glowing, smiling face… then suddenly everything went black. The glow disappeared from the gourds, even the faint light from the stars; everything was extinguished. Leaving one hand upon the gourd, I groped behind me until my hand knocked against Torin. I linked my arm with his securely so he didn’t panic and try to bolt – or at least I’d know if he was trying.

I heard a faint rustle beside me, and there was a sudden spark of green light, throwing a truly nightmarish face into sharp relief. Though the body shape was that of a female human, the face most certainly was not. Straggly black hair fell from underneath a pointed hat, but the unruly strands only partly covered the face. Her skin was green and covered with odd lumps, almost like warts. A hooked and bulbous nose protruded out from the clumps of hair, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her teeth were nothing more than cracked yellow stubs.

“What brings you here to my garden?” The being said, the voice much gentler than I had been expecting. Behind me, Torin whimpered. Without waiting for an answer, she knelt and picked up the smiling gourd, which beamed and hopped about happily in her hands. “You should know better. Never eat anything that’s smiling at you, you silly girl.” She ran her gnarled, warted hands across the pumpkin, her sharp and cracked nails caressing the stem.

I opened my mouth to say something – or to scream, I’m not really sure which – when a new voice entered our little confrontation. “Greetings, nightsister,” A calm voice said, and I jumped as I recognized Sorras. He strode boldly up to the witch, standing between her and me.

She looked astonished. “You know me, silver hair?” She said, her voice slightly softer now. Sorras shook his head. “Not you personally – I’m sure you would remember me if we’d met. Your race just has a rather… distinctive aura, if I may be blunt. Are you enjoying this Hallow’s eve?”

I could just barely see her smile in the ghostly light. “I suppose I should not be so shocked. We are hardly a secretive race… though you humans have begun to forget us in recent years. It is nice to have a few younglings remember that witches still walk this land. ”

Sorras said nothing more, and after a moment, the nightsister turned away from him, stepping around both Sorras and me and approaching Torin. To his credit (and our surprise) he held his ground, his hand clenched around his dagger. The witch cackled. “Wonderful,” She said, setting down the still-grinning pumpkin and rifling around in the pockets of her tattered dress. Sorras and I jumped as we heard a hiss; there was a glitter of green eyes, and a black cat dropped to the ground from the witch’s pack. The witch completely ignored the interruption and continued to search about as the cat wound about her legs. I shifted uncomfortably, off-put by the turn of events. I turned to Sorras and asked in a whisper, “How did you find us? And why are you here? I thought you were staying back at camp with the cow.”

He grinned briefly at my new nickname for Vizia, then answered, “Aren’t you a suspicious little thing. I was going to stay, but I got curious about the supposed glowing possessed things - you two weren’t that hard to follow. Anything else you want to question me about, or are you satisfied?”

I scowled at him. “Not quite,” I said, still speaking in a whisper. Torin was standing awkwardly in front of the witch, who was still rifling through her pockets. The pumpkin – which apparently had no trouble moving by itself – was leaning against Torin’s leg. I could see him trying to edge away, without much success. Returning my attention to Sorras, I said, “How did you know what she was? Are you sure everything’s… okay?”

He snorted. “You would know if you paid attention in old man Belmos’s classes. Considering she hasn’t killed us yet, I doubt she will. And yes, she can hear everything we’re saying right now, and I don’t care, so don’t interrupt me to ask me that. I knew what she was because the description I read was very clear, and I’ve studied them before. They’re an old race of magic-users… a lot different than ours, and not very well-known in these days. Witches and nightsisters rely on potions more than anything else, and they can make things we can only dream of. It’s all part of a greater –“

Whatever he was going to say was lost as the witch finally pulled something with a flourish out of the depths of her cloak. “Hush, you two,” she said to us. “You can discuss my histories later. You there, blonde one. Come closer.” Torin pulled his dagger out of his sheath once he realized she was talking to him. “Put that stick away,” She said impatiently. “I shan’t harm you. Now come!”

Torin glanced desperately over at us. I nodded reassuringly. If Sorras thought she was safe enough, then so did I. He stood rooted in place a moment longer, then took a few hesitant steps forward, stopping when he was within an arm’s length of the witch. The pumpkin wiggled about on the ground until it was at the witch’s feet; with a hoarse meow, the black cat leapt atop its gnarled stem. They both watched as the witch closed the distance between Torin and herself, something clenched in her outstretched hand.

Torin flinched away, but the witch’s hand darted out and caught his arm, forcing something into his palm. She stepped back and watched him expectantly. Still eyeing her warily, he carefully opened his hand and saw…what? Though Sorras and I both craned our heads, we could see nothing there. Either she was playing a trick on us or it was seriously small.

Then, quite suddenly, a grin stretched across Torin’s face, and he carefully held up an absolutely miniscule glowing thing. We both came forward and saw that there a glowing pumpkin hanging from a thin chain. Before any of us could say anything, the witch said, “That’s something unique to the nightsisters. I doubt you’ll see any one of us again – we only appear to mortals on All Hallow’s Eve – but should you, it will be a valuable token. We nightsisters see with more than our eyes; I know how difficult it was for you to scavenge alone with no outside help. Bear this token as a reminder of your night of courage… and do try to have it surface more often, will you?” Torin tucked the glowing pumpkin beneath his shirt, where the glow immediately disappeared. He said nothing, but the witch did not seem to want a reply. I felt slightly uneasy, wondering what she meant about seeing more than she saw with her eyes… I quickly tried to force my fear down, lest she ‘see’ that too.

If she noticed anything from me, she didn’t comment. Once again rifling through her voluminous pockets, she pulled out something that couldn’t possibly have fit; a round iron cauldron with a face carved upon the front, looking eerily similar to the pumpkin at her feet. She handed it to Sorras, saying, “I won’t have you eating my gourds, but there are many spirits roaming the forest tonight that are not as benevolent as I. Take this and begone to your camp – do not stray from the path you took when coming to me.”

Torin was the first to find his voice. “Thank you, nightsister,” he said, his voice reverent. She cackled, not seeming as fierce as she had when she had first appeared. The saying ‘looks can be deceiving’ was definitely true.

“Lucky that you hadn’t tried to actually eat my gourd, or you would have very little to thank me for,” She said. She roughly shoved me and Sorras in the back, sending us toppling into Torin and out of her little glen. Torin shouted his thanks once more over his shoulder, then the green light surrounding the witch disappeared, plunging us into darkness once more.

It was quiet on the way back, all of us at the ready for the less-benevolent spirits the witch spoke of. As we neared our camp, Torin stopped in his tracks – screams could very clearly be heard, coming from directly ahead of us. Sorras ran ahead, closely followed by Torin – I followed more slowly, for those screams sounded familiar…

When I made it into the camp, I was met with an interesting sight – Vizia was screeching and running about the camp, something black tangled within her dark red hair. Hezzerak and Svarvok were watching worriedly from the side, whereas Talvi was rolling about on the ground, laughing loudly in his chirping little way. Eventually I saw wings and realized there was an enormous bat in her hair. There were burn marks on the ground where she’d clearly tried to shoot it off, and a foul-smelling bundle to the left of me made it clear she’d accidentally blasted off a lock of her own hair.

I laughed and folded myself on the ground by Talvi, enjoying myself. Sorras put the cauldron down and stood back, his expression impassive. Vizia continued to screech incoherently, but she did not ask any of us for help. She never would have asked me – she could be dying and she still wouldn’t ask me – but I was a bit surprised she hadn’t screamed Sorras’s name by now. Eventually, Torin took it upon himself to save her and ripped the bat out, releasing it immediately. It flew away without pestering any of us.

She did not thank Torin, nor did she look at any of us at first. She asked of the air whether we’d managed to find any food, then looked directly at me and asked whether we’d accomplished anything while we wasted precious time dithering about in the forest. I was about to reply with a sharp retort when Torin cut me off, saying that yes, he had food. Without saying where he got it, he swiftly took the lid off the cauldron. Immediately we were enveloped in a spicy, delicious scent – the cauldron contained a soup. Our budding argument was forgotten in the prospect of good food. It was quickly ladled out and passed around. The smell was not misleading – it was absolutely scrumptious. There was no meat – that I could recognize, at least – but the hearty nutty flavor was very filling. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it… except for Vizia. She screamed it was too hot, but even after we all had finished and were bringing out our blankets, she said the soup burned. Sorras threw an accusing look at me as he banked the fire – I quickly raised my palms up, then glared at him. It hadn’t been me! I wouldn’t have gone so far to poison her food, he should know that. She might do that to me eventually, but I certainly wasn’t going to sink to her level. He took in my infuriated expression and shrugged, mouthing ‘sorry’, and doused the fire.

I curled up by Arjeyoun, whispering the words of a few extra spells that would strengthen the screen around us. Though the witch was clearly good – to us, at least – I took her warning very seriously. I wasn’t in the mood to run into the other creatures of Hallow lore… hadn’t we been through enough? A slight glowing caught my eye as I saw Torin examining his new charm. I nestled deeper into my cloak, wondering if this would bring about a change in the always-timid Torin… and whether Vizia would blame me, as Sorras originally had, for the strange curse she had with the soup. Though it truly hadn’t been me, I smiled in vindictive pleasure, pleased that there were still a few forces out there that seemed to be on my side.
Chapter 6 will be up tomorrow... I'm doing it more slowly and telling myself not to make it shoddy just because I lost it once. X3 Sorry for the wait and thanks for your patience! <3 And sorry again. Please send good thoughts to my computer and cross your fingers it doesn't die. :/
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - 2nd Special Halloween chapter!

Post by Feathersun »

I read chapter 1, it was AWESOME!!!! :yey: I can't wait to read the rest of the chapters you have written and can't wait for more!!

If you see me on here, smack me and tell me to go write something

- Looking to take in ANY Osaths -
- Paying aprox 500g per birdy -
- I will take frozen, lineaged, named, adult, hatchling, 1,000,000 gen, or anything -
- I will gladly help hatch as well! Just send me the codes -

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Re: Silverfeather Keep - 2nd Special Halloween chapter!

Post by Ricansea »

I'm glad you like it, Feathersun! Welcome aboard!!! :t-glomp: :t-glomp: And I'm so glad you finally picked at last and saw the light, ponies, and lizards. :t-dance:

whew! After many forced rewrites, here is chapter 6!

Chapter 6

No one froze the tower’s momentum; though it seemed to slow, it did not stop. It landed with an almighty crash, altogether too loud to know whether there were human screams mixed in the din. The fog coiled angrily around the hole the tower had made, quickly beginning to close around the Keep again. Just before the fog blanket was made whole again, a single golden orb pierced its defenses, somehow sneaking in through the hole the tower had made.

The orb was so insignificant, for a moment it seemed like nothing had happened. The tendrils still attacked, the fog still seemed solid and impenetrable. Then Arje abruptly dropped several feet and coasted forward, apparently keenly interested in something. I didn’t pull him back, and as I looked, I could see the fog was contracting around where the orb had entered, looking like it was retreating within itself…
The battle continued, but it looked as though the smoky stuff was being rapidly pulled toward that single point. The tendrils all around the castle were shrinking and disappearing, lost within the central mass of the fog. The fog itself was still quickly being drawn into a sort of whirlpool; the dark spell seemed to be breaking. Shards of gold light pierced the remaining wisps of smoke, and with one brilliant flash of light, the castle was visible once more.

There was no cheering at the reappearance of the keep – no shouts, no celebration. Just silence. The fog above us dissipated more slowly than the spell around the castle, but in a few moments it too was gone. Arje looked up at the starry sky for several moments before hesitantly beginning to coast downwards. He hovered as the magi made way for us to land – or so I assumed. Even when Arje was safely on the ground, the magi continued to back away slowly, surprisingly hostile looks on many of their faces. Many were running about, most to the Keep, some to the fallen tower, but a small number stayed grouped around us. I shrank back against Arje – what had I done? I’d never been very well liked within the Keep, but I didn’t think I’d been hated. But the looks of the mages around me clearly said otherwise.

I was about to tell Arje to take off again and get away, but my eyes were drawn to a disturbance within the crowd. The watching magi were pushed aside, giving way to Master Belmos. But he was not the stately and stern professor I’d come to know; his short gray hair was singed and wild, and there was a long and nasty-looking scrape along his jaw, still oozing blood. The fact that he had not healed it yet - exceedingly easy for one of his power - bothered me more than the cut. He ran forward to me and roughly grabbed my arm in an iron hold. “How do you still have this gryphon?” He hissed at me, his eyes wild. “How is he still alive??”

Terrified, I shook my head mutely, unable to find my voice, forcing myself not to think of the implications of his words.

“Answer me!” He commanded, looking vicious… as though I was an enemy. This couldn’t still be about the wall! He didn’t honestly think that I was responsible for this mess, did he?? How could he?

“I…I was coming back…” I could not force the words out past the terror. Everything was so mixed up and wrong… I could not gather myself together to answer.

“We were coming back from Remy’s, Master,” Sorras said from behind me, causing me to jump. His voice strained but steady. “We came back early because we heard the noise of the battle – it was not hard to miss the fact that something was wrong. We wanted to help, but there was little we could do --” He broke off then, and I wondered if he was going to admit that he had been the one responsible for the tower falling. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and continued, “We stayed high because it seemed odd that there were no creatures fighting alongside you. Ricansea had no part in this spell, and neither did I.”
There was no way I could match Sorras’s calm tone, so I kept quiet. I outright refused to think about the consequences of the battle until I was forced to, so I instead focused my thoughts on Sorras. I didn’t understand how he was able to talk, much less put together an articulate speech as he just had. I knew he could hold his drink, but this was surprising from a man who looked close to fainting from overindulgence less than an hour ago. I wondered whether the same fear that threatened to incapacitate me had steadied him.

Master Belmos brought me out of my harmless questions of logic and back into painful reality. “I see,” He finally said, releasing me at last. He waved his hand at Arje, and at Talon perched upon his head. “I did not truly think you were responsible, but to see this…” He sighed and covered his face with his hands, seemingly not noticing when they came back bloodstained. “It was a question that had to be asked.”
He looked like he was about to say more, but he abruptly turned away from us, looking towards the milling magi. There were many less than before – now that I was listening, I could hear screams and even sobs echoing from the Keep, filling me at once with pity and a cold dread. Master Belmos ran from us, his hand raised high above his head. “Stay back!” He shouted, but the words were not directed at us. A concussive wave flew from his form, kicking up dust and spreading quickly. It hit a small knot of magi gathered around the crumpled roof of the fallen tower, knocking them away. The wave passed harmlessly through the walls of the Keep, but when it hit us it nearly knocked Arje off his feet.

Arje didn’t like that very much. With an enraged roar he took to the air; but before he did, I felt something move behind me. Glancing back, I saw that Sorras was no longer there – he’d apparently jumped as soon as Arje had spread his wings. I watched as his black-cloaked figure sprinted towards the broken doors of the castle, disappearing inside – it was clear his need to check his creatures could not wait any longer. I could not blame him, but I wished he hadn’t left.

I sighed and clutched Talvi closer as Arje gained altitude, coasting towards the fallen tower. The magi there were grouped around Master Belmos now. He had something large clutched in his hands, attacking it with so much golden magic that at first I thought the thing was glowing. Arje landed and strode forward – he was so tall that I could clearly see over their heads. I could see a few upturned heads glaring at me, but I was now able to ignore it, knowing why they stared at me so. It would all be set right later – I’d make it known somehow that I had no part in the spell. I put them out of my mind and looked towards Master Belmos.

It seemed as though he was holding a stone, its pale surface just visible underneath the flickering golden strands of magic. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but it clearly wasn’t working - his hands began to shake. As I watched, a blonde magi stepped forward and added his own magic. The pale yellow strands were a far cry from the rich gold of the Master’s, but they were enough. With a loud cracking sound disproportionate to its size, the rock split in two. The moment the golden light of the magic faded, he let the pieces drop to the ground.

He raised his eyes from the broken fragments of rock and gazed at us. “I suppose you are looking for an explanation,” He said slowly. “I’m sure you wish to know what evil has spirited away all of your beloved creatures. I now know who attacked us… and I will tell you. But know first that you will gain no solace with the knowledge. It will bring nothing but grief to those of you who understand next what I say.”
Grief or no grief, I wanted to know what we were up against. What ‘knowledge’ could be worse than knowing all of our creatures were taken from us?

Most of the magi around me seemed to agree. Though two magi slowly detached from the group and walked away, hurrying towards the castle door, the rest of us stayed. Master Belmos sighed heavily. “Very well, I will tell you. This stone is a mark of their own twisted brand of magic, most certainly their crowning achievement.” His voice was bitter. He picked up one broken half of the stone at his feet, showing it to us. “Do you see the markings along this cursed piece of rock? I’m sure you can see what this stone was made to resemble.”

I was too far away to see it clearly; it just looked whitish with some grey smudges on it. One of the magis spoke out, “A kamar rabbit egg!” but he was quickly elbowed into silence by his brethren. But then the same blonde-haired magi spoke quietly, “It looks like the moon.”

“The moon,” Master Belmos echoed. “And therein lays your answer. I do not know what foul name they call themselves, but we know them as the ravagers, the thieves of light…” His voice broke. I looked down at the other magi to see that they looked just as confused as I was – only the blonde magi had a different expression… he looked horrified.

Master Belmos looked as though he was about to continue when there was an enormous crash was heard from inside the castle. Without a second glance at us, he ran to the source of the noise. He was the most skilled professor within the Keep – it was up to him to return things to some semblance of normalcy, and he wasn’t getting that done by talking to us.

Arje took off abruptly, startling me. I clutched the feathers around his neck to stay on as he sped around the castle towards the oaken doors that marked my home. Apparently he’d had enough of waiting, too. Truth be told, I was terrified of what I would find in there… but I knew I’d waited long enough. We needed to see what the ‘ravagers’ had done to my home.
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Lunaheart
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 6

Post by Lunaheart »

Ooo.......what's going to happen next? Can't wait for more!! I actually am very interested in how, in the story, Talvi came around?

Looking for Donis on my wishlist. See my profile for details on what I have to offer.
Sarge is one of my Keep Guardians along with Durakro.

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Ricansea
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 6

Post by Ricansea »

Lunaheart wrote:Ooo.......what's going to happen next? Can't wait for more!! I actually am very interested in how, in the story, Talvi came around?

<3

I'm back from my trip, so busily working on chapter 7.... should have it up tomorrow. And as for Talvi... :smirk: working on a speshul chapter for you so you know a little bit more about how magi Ricansea came across him. :)
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Re: Silverfeather Keep - Beyond the Castle Walls (Chapter 6

Post by Ricansea »

gaaaaaaaaaaaak! D: My trip was so much longer than it was supposed to be, I just got internet now! D: I have several (the next 7...) chapters written out on paper... there wasn't much to do in the long drive to San Fran, lol. So expect a deluge of chapters soon if anyone's still interested in reading this... I'll space 'em out a bit instead of dumping 7 chapters on you, but expect one or two a day. but after I eat. :tard:

Mod edit: Do not double post!
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