Re: The Song of the Siren -A Keep Story Ch 3 Up!
Posted: March 16th, 2011, 12:23:23 am
A note:
Chapters one and two will get revised. Again. Also wanted to let people know I'm still writing. I'm not terribly busy at night, and have been doing a small bit of writing when I can.
Book 1
The Finding
Chapter 3
Wherein Lorelei is told a story.
There was fire everywhere. The sky was a dark red, and the air smelt of sulfur and smoke. In the distance a mountain was spewing ash and lava. She knew this place... she had been here before... Lorelei was sure of it. But when, and where? A hellhound seemed to appear at her side; it was growling at a small, scraggly bush. It was rare to find plants so near the volcanoes. Rustling came from behind the bush, and a soft sound, almost like a small yawn. Lorelei felt herself approach cautiously. She reached out an arm- she wore a dark cloak and black gloves she noted- and pulled aside the bush...
A blinding light filled her eyes, forcing her into the waking world. On instinct she slapped at the offending light; feeling her hand connect with something as the light went out. As she opened her eyes, the late afternoon sunshine coming from the window made her wince.
Without warning a blue and yellow blur started to buzz angrily in her face; she knew that it was Aten, her Sacred Scarab.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to hit you. You startled me." Her voice sounded sleepy, even to her.
The Scarab flashed once before settling down on her head. She had been around him long enough to know he was annoyed with her. Lorelei felt her actions were perfectly justified, but the proud insect wouldn't feel that way.
"I'm sorry, Aten. I know I asked you to wake me up; but you really startled me. Forgive me?" She held up her hand to the creature. After a second or two she felt the light tap of antenna on one of her fingers. The fact that he even acknowledged her was proof enough of an accepted apology.
Now that the matter was settled, it was time she moved her thoughts to heading home. She glanced through the window, trying to gauge the time. She scowled at the sun, which was only a hand span above the horizon; it meant she wouldn't be home in time for dinner.
She didn't dislike this town; she just liked her keep better. There she was freed from almost all responsibility; save taking care of her companions. Here... well, she was the only fire magi in a hundred mile radius. That alone meant that she was always asked to do fire related things: put wards against fire on people's houses, create Ever-Fire for various people, things like that. She didn't mind helping them, but three straight hours of that could really tire her out. Even the thought of it was making her tired, despite the nap she'd just had... if it could be called a nap. With weary resignation she stood up to head downstairs.
~~
It was an hour before she finally left the inn; the innkeeper had promised her a full meal if she repaired the fire ward there. As she made her way through the streets several people stopped to talk. They asked about some of her creatures, or asked after Aurora. Once she had managed to extricate herself from the latest conversation she headed as quickly as she could to the docks. SnuggleMuffins would be there; he wasn't much for the hustle and bustle of the town.
As she got closer to the docks themselves she could make out the distinct shape of her Nandi Bear. She shaded her eyes so she could see better; it was what she had hoped to see. Next to the bear was a young man with dark skin made darker by his many days on the open deck of a ship. Next to him stood a slender woman in blue; she had the same lightly-tanned skin as the inhabitants of the village. She spotted Lorelei first and waved.
Lorelei waved back and started running. When she reached the group she promptly hugged the young woman, who hugged her back.
"Amanra, I haven't seen you forever! How was the Keep?" Lorelei stepped back, beaming. Amanra lived in the village; like many she had developed a knack for water magics. Her power was great enough that she had been sent to the Keep for a few months.
"It was nice... a little intimidating at first. I'm glad to be home, though. Naftali was just about to tell me about his latest voyage."
Lorelei turned to the young man, smiling. He looked a little crestfallen at not getting a hug from the fire magi, but the look quickly passed.
"It was pretty scary." Naftali sat down on a nearby crate, motioning for the two women to sit as well. Once he had their attention, he began talking again.
"Well, it started of well. Mari came with us; he brought some of his Ebbenne sharks." Mari was one of the Water Magi who lived in the village; he was a veteran sailor, and when he was along it was almost always smooth sailing. "We didn't have much, mostly just letters and things. We stopped at the Callisto Islands right on schedule. We refueled on supplies and picked up our cargo. Some fruit and a few rare eggs. About after leaving things started to go sour. There was a huge storm; it blew up out of nowhere. That lasted for three days; three days of waves as tall as the ship, of pitching back and forth, the constant roaring of the wind, the crash of waves and booms of thunder; you could hardly hear yourself speak! The only reason we didn't capsize was because we had Mari. Once it had cleared we had no idea where we were. We were really lucky that the mast didn't break, and that the hull held. Even more lucky that we had gotten the sails down. To make matters worse we also lost most of our water supply." He grimaced.
Lorelei leaned forward, her eyes wide. "Then what?"
Naftali chuckled. "Well, we started heading north; even if we were way off course, going north meant we would hit land eventually. After another day, Mari's sharks found us again; they had gotten seperated from the ship. Not even their powers could help them against the fury of the ocean during a storm. Apparently we had gone off the course in a pretty west-ward manner, and we corrected our path, heading south-east. The water was running really low by then, and Mari was having trouble remembering the spell to remove salt from water. Just when we were down to the last cup full of water, a ship appeared on the horizon!" He held out his hand in a dramatic motion, fingers splayed. Lorelei gasped, then leaned forward more.
"We hailed them, asking for help... for some reason the sharks had left... I can't exactly remember why... possibly looking for help. But, anyway, once it got closer we noticed the ship wasn't flying any colors. Unusual, but not unheard of. Once it was really close, so close we could make out the people on the ship... it raised a flag. A pirate flag... a pirate flag belonging to Issac Rackem." This time, both girls gasped.
Lorelei stared at him in awe. "Are you okay?"
Changed a bit to better suit the next chapter.
Chapters one and two will get revised. Again. Also wanted to let people know I'm still writing. I'm not terribly busy at night, and have been doing a small bit of writing when I can.
Book 1
The Finding
Chapter 3
Wherein Lorelei is told a story.
There was fire everywhere. The sky was a dark red, and the air smelt of sulfur and smoke. In the distance a mountain was spewing ash and lava. She knew this place... she had been here before... Lorelei was sure of it. But when, and where? A hellhound seemed to appear at her side; it was growling at a small, scraggly bush. It was rare to find plants so near the volcanoes. Rustling came from behind the bush, and a soft sound, almost like a small yawn. Lorelei felt herself approach cautiously. She reached out an arm- she wore a dark cloak and black gloves she noted- and pulled aside the bush...
A blinding light filled her eyes, forcing her into the waking world. On instinct she slapped at the offending light; feeling her hand connect with something as the light went out. As she opened her eyes, the late afternoon sunshine coming from the window made her wince.
Without warning a blue and yellow blur started to buzz angrily in her face; she knew that it was Aten, her Sacred Scarab.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to hit you. You startled me." Her voice sounded sleepy, even to her.
The Scarab flashed once before settling down on her head. She had been around him long enough to know he was annoyed with her. Lorelei felt her actions were perfectly justified, but the proud insect wouldn't feel that way.
"I'm sorry, Aten. I know I asked you to wake me up; but you really startled me. Forgive me?" She held up her hand to the creature. After a second or two she felt the light tap of antenna on one of her fingers. The fact that he even acknowledged her was proof enough of an accepted apology.
Now that the matter was settled, it was time she moved her thoughts to heading home. She glanced through the window, trying to gauge the time. She scowled at the sun, which was only a hand span above the horizon; it meant she wouldn't be home in time for dinner.
She didn't dislike this town; she just liked her keep better. There she was freed from almost all responsibility; save taking care of her companions. Here... well, she was the only fire magi in a hundred mile radius. That alone meant that she was always asked to do fire related things: put wards against fire on people's houses, create Ever-Fire for various people, things like that. She didn't mind helping them, but three straight hours of that could really tire her out. Even the thought of it was making her tired, despite the nap she'd just had... if it could be called a nap. With weary resignation she stood up to head downstairs.
~~
It was an hour before she finally left the inn; the innkeeper had promised her a full meal if she repaired the fire ward there. As she made her way through the streets several people stopped to talk. They asked about some of her creatures, or asked after Aurora. Once she had managed to extricate herself from the latest conversation she headed as quickly as she could to the docks. SnuggleMuffins would be there; he wasn't much for the hustle and bustle of the town.
As she got closer to the docks themselves she could make out the distinct shape of her Nandi Bear. She shaded her eyes so she could see better; it was what she had hoped to see. Next to the bear was a young man with dark skin made darker by his many days on the open deck of a ship. Next to him stood a slender woman in blue; she had the same lightly-tanned skin as the inhabitants of the village. She spotted Lorelei first and waved.
Lorelei waved back and started running. When she reached the group she promptly hugged the young woman, who hugged her back.
"Amanra, I haven't seen you forever! How was the Keep?" Lorelei stepped back, beaming. Amanra lived in the village; like many she had developed a knack for water magics. Her power was great enough that she had been sent to the Keep for a few months.
"It was nice... a little intimidating at first. I'm glad to be home, though. Naftali was just about to tell me about his latest voyage."
Lorelei turned to the young man, smiling. He looked a little crestfallen at not getting a hug from the fire magi, but the look quickly passed.
"It was pretty scary." Naftali sat down on a nearby crate, motioning for the two women to sit as well. Once he had their attention, he began talking again.
"Well, it started of well. Mari came with us; he brought some of his Ebbenne sharks." Mari was one of the Water Magi who lived in the village; he was a veteran sailor, and when he was along it was almost always smooth sailing. "We didn't have much, mostly just letters and things. We stopped at the Callisto Islands right on schedule. We refueled on supplies and picked up our cargo. Some fruit and a few rare eggs. About after leaving things started to go sour. There was a huge storm; it blew up out of nowhere. That lasted for three days; three days of waves as tall as the ship, of pitching back and forth, the constant roaring of the wind, the crash of waves and booms of thunder; you could hardly hear yourself speak! The only reason we didn't capsize was because we had Mari. Once it had cleared we had no idea where we were. We were really lucky that the mast didn't break, and that the hull held. Even more lucky that we had gotten the sails down. To make matters worse we also lost most of our water supply." He grimaced.
Lorelei leaned forward, her eyes wide. "Then what?"
Naftali chuckled. "Well, we started heading north; even if we were way off course, going north meant we would hit land eventually. After another day, Mari's sharks found us again; they had gotten seperated from the ship. Not even their powers could help them against the fury of the ocean during a storm. Apparently we had gone off the course in a pretty west-ward manner, and we corrected our path, heading south-east. The water was running really low by then, and Mari was having trouble remembering the spell to remove salt from water. Just when we were down to the last cup full of water, a ship appeared on the horizon!" He held out his hand in a dramatic motion, fingers splayed. Lorelei gasped, then leaned forward more.
"We hailed them, asking for help... for some reason the sharks had left... I can't exactly remember why... possibly looking for help. But, anyway, once it got closer we noticed the ship wasn't flying any colors. Unusual, but not unheard of. Once it was really close, so close we could make out the people on the ship... it raised a flag. A pirate flag... a pirate flag belonging to Issac Rackem." This time, both girls gasped.
Lorelei stared at him in awe. "Are you okay?"
Changed a bit to better suit the next chapter.