Sylva halted as she saw a small and shabby wooden cabin. Cather bumped into her back, making the Sylvorpa bare her teeth at him. He shied away, moving back beside Seaweed who nudged him playfully and whispered something about how cute Sylva was. Cather blushed furiously, flicking his tail at Seaweed, who dodged it.
"Stop yer messing around!" Sylva snapped, cautiously slipping into the murky water. She swam through the liquid like a dart, and clumsy Honey was truly amazed. Sylva then climbed onto a side of the hut, peeking through an empty window. There was a Nephini draped across a person's shoulder. Wish turned around, his wild antlers almost catching hold of one of the dreamcatcher's he had set up. The wizard grinned wickedly, revealing to long and pearly white fangs amongst a bunch of crooked and yellow teeth.
He quickly cast a spell that no one else knew, a spell that would allow him to talk to all Sylesties.
"So, you're the leader of the group who's coming to pay me a- ah, visit?" he whispered, waving his hand carelessly. A small wave suddenly tugged at Sylva, who was perched on a thin piece of wood. She knew the man to be teasing her, giving her a taste of his rage and power.
"Perhaps I am, but we'll be on our own way, and ye on yours. We didn't mean ye any harm, I hope ye know!" With that, she dove back into the water and swam to the shore where her friends were waiting. Temp stood behind them all, trembling. He scratched Cather's back before dodging behind Seaweed. Cather glared at Seaweed, assuming that he had done it.
"There's a crazy wizard back there and a Nephini companion. We best not interact." Sylva said in a low voice, walking forward. "I HATE NEPHINI'S!" Tempesttorn roared, making Rainbow Dust nearly fall over. That's not true, Sylvorpa's and Nephini's get along fine, Lavender thought, but then again, you hate everyone.
With a start, Honey realized that Summerless had left her side and was nowhere to be found.
***
The Ryori gasped for breath as soon as she was released. She spun around, looking for her captor. She only found a dark green Nephini hanging from a branch calmly. "Onyxia," Summerless said politely, bending her front legs in a half-bow. "Summerless," Onyxia replied, nodding her head. The two stared at each other for a minute, before there was rustling and out from the bushes came Wish.
"Good job, my friend." he whispered to Onyxia, who entwined herself around his arm like a sleeve. "I notice you are the most powerful of your group. I sense you can control natural disasters?" he inquired to Summerless, who nodded, seeing no point to lie. "I do what I can to stop some. But others I must not, for I can not save everyone... If I do, I die." she said calmly.
Wish nodded, biting his lower lip. "I have been banished from the kingdom of Ethernia. Onyxia came with me, bravely. She left her family..." he paused to give the Nephini a loving scritch on her chin.
"I can find uses for you. You must destroy King Dalan and his people," Wish whispered. "They're going to start a war that will ruin all of Sylestia." Summerless stared at him calmly with those huge grayish-blue eyes.
"No." she said simply. "I would not hurt other's for the sake of one. I would never, never, kill innocent people." Her face contorted with horror as what the wizard was asking of her sunk in. "Never." she whispered again, glaring at the man furiously. Wish shrugged; he had assumed this to be her answer.
"Say, you're an astral sort of thing?" he asked, grinning horribly. "What would happen if we put out your smoke?" And with that, he pushed Summerless, with surprising strength for such a thin man, into the swirling brown water. There was a yelp of terror and then silence.
"Whoops!" Wish muttered when she didn't come back up. With a shrug, he started to walk back across the wooden bridge to his cabin.
He was thrown off the bridge by a furious green Sylvorpa.
***
Dalan ordered a servant to his fetch his children. The maid complied, hurrying off. While the king waited, he read the paper again. It claimed his children had declared war on each other. This, of course, was not good. A few minutes later, two nineteen year old children walked into his room, shoving each other roughly. When Dalan's gaze fell upon them, they immediately bowed. "My king," they offered politely, righting only when their father bid them to do so.
"I have heard tidings that you two have declared war upon each other," he whispered, looking disappointed. The two stiffened, bowing their heads and nodding. "I'm ashamed. You will call this off at once." Colit's face fell. "I'm afraid that's impossible, sire. We have already rallied many troops and there's already infighting. We will let those who don't wish to fight leave, though who would want to abandon their leader's?" Lithia exclaimed quietly.
The king's eyes flashed. "You will call this off," he repeated through thin lips. "Your mother would not want any of us to get hurt." He struck gold then, the twins beginning to shuffle their feet nervously. "Mother would want us to come out of this battle, victorious and unharmed. We will not call it off." Lithia and Colit said together in unison. Dalan stood up, trembling with rage. "You will." Once again they shook their heads, making him roar in anger. "Guards! Escort my children to some cells. Do not let them get out." he cried when two heavily armed men rushed into the room. One grabbed Colit roughly, the other gently lifting Lithia off her feet.
Outraged that she was considered gentle and not fierce, she bit the man's hand the was laid upon her breast, restraining her from breaking free. He let go briefly, wincing, but this break was all Lithia needed. She shot a bolt of ice at the guard holding Colit and he too let go. The twins rushed through the door, the princess sealing it with ice. There was an angry yell from inside, obviously from the king.
The two ran through the castle, drawing curious looks from Sylesties and Avator's alike. They stopped when they reached the cleverly concealed room that no one else knew about. Lithia sank down onto a cushioned chair, trembling.
"My God, my God!" she whispered repeatedly, and Colit shared her concerns. To disobey to the king was punishable by prison, or more commonly, death. "What are we going to do?" he asked, shaking servely. Lithia shook her head in confusion, not knowing. Then she said something like nothing obedient Lithia had ever said. "We run away," she whispered, terrified at the thought. "Perhaps we can not do this war... Perhaps we must flee like our warriors before us."
"And do what?" Colit asked sharply, breathing heavily. "We look for Cather and Sylva. Only with aid will we survive... Maybe we can find clues to our past, to why mother so mysteriously died. And that story... the story where she said that not one being except a great dragon had ice and fire powers. It was a hint, a clue." she said, barely comprehending the words which she spoke. The two snuck down into the kitchen, where the Ferikki chef had gone missing. They stole bread and cheese, before calmly walking out of the front doors of the palace.
The guards there tried to stop them, but they were no match for the magic of the twins. Soon the two were heading towards where it was rumored the deserter royal Sylesties had been headed; Sweet Blossom Orchard. |
I have no idea what Super Paper Mario is, sorry. =/
Also ~ If there isn't punctuation where there should be, then I apologize. I sometimes write this story on Google Docs, but when I copy-paste it here and then post it, I have to edit the post and put in all the quotation marks. Once again, sorry for that, and if you see a missing punctuation of some sort, please inform of where it is- or isn't, rather. Thank you!
Dear reader, I feel the need to remind you that this is the past and has not been told; therefore, anything can change. Remember how Summerless lied to Tempesttorn, about how there was no war... only peace and calm. Perhaps these words will come true- perhaps they will only soften the blow of a thousand sweeps of a sword. Perhaps.
Seaweed swam as fast as he could, charging through the water like a bullet. He heard Wish struggling against the fierce Tempesttorn, but ignored this and tried to navigate through the murky water. Eventually he heard a quiet splash some twenty feet away, and when he got there, he found Summerless trying to climb up a thin sapling that had grown in the water. A wet Ryori is not a pretty sight.
Summerlesss normally astral-like smoke arising from her body had disappeared, leaving a bare and unprotected layer of skin. Her skin was a mixture of gray, brown and blue. Her eyes were frantic and fearful as Seaweed hesitantly approached her. "Come on, Summerless. Its okay, come on then." he whispered calmly, and Summerless allowed Seaweed to gently lay her down on his chest, before swimming backwards and upside down through the water, taking great care to make sure that the Ryori's head stayed above the murky surface.
Once the two were back on the spongy shore, Summerless shook her body gracefully, scrunching up her face in concentration. Her smoke began to curl out of her paws, then her legs, then her neck, and so on. Soon she looked normal, if but a little shaken. "Where's that man?" she asked. Seaweed gestured to the shore, where Wish lay with many scratches and bruises.
The seven walked towards him, Temp sitting by the mans side. Wish felt the angry eyes on him, and could only chuckle drily and shake his head. "Is she okay?" he whispered, eyes closed. "Perfectly fine," responded a cold voice, Rainbow Dust. Everyone looked at him in surprise, but he paid no attention to them.
"But thanks to your foolishness, she's badly shaken and will need time to recover. So I hope you'll accept us as your guests, because your home really looks comfortable."
Wish let out a resigned sigh, and peeked open one eye. "Please, make yourself home." he said, sitting up. He stood up, spun around on his left foot, and magically teleported into his hut. Seaweed, Rainbow Dust, Summerless and Temp walked out onto the rickety ramp, the last two reluctantly.
As Lavender and Cather made to walk behind them, Sylva flung herself in front of them. "We can't just stay here!" she hissed quietly. "Recall that we ran away?" Honey and the other two stopped in their tracks, lowered their heads and sighed. "Just- stay here." Cather said to them, and they watched as he darted across the rickety walkway.
It was silent as the Zolnixi walked to the empty door frame of the house. There he saw all the Sylesties glaring at Wish, who was sitting on a wooden table, glaring right back. Onyxia let out a faint hiss at the sight of the Zolnixi. "What is it, Cather?" Rainbow Dust asked, turning around.
"So, remember how Lavender, Honey, Sylva and I ran away from the castle? Were being sought after- were to be killed if were caught. I'm sorry, we have to leave you. But I wish you all luck and good fortune, wherever your other journeys may take you." he said, inclining his front knees in a sort of bow.
"Farewell, friend." replied Summerless, somewhat sadly. The others murmured farewells, too, looking sad. And even Temp was sad- who was he going to beat up now? And so the two groups were separated, four friends staying in the swamp, four others walking back down the murky trail.
***
Lithia let out a groan as her cheek was scraped against a thorny rosebush. Her armor, which she had long ago taken off and put into a bag, slowed her down. Colit was having similar problems, occasionally setting small bushes on fire, causing Lithia to quickly shoot the smoldering plant with her ice, glaring at her brother.
The two were a sorry sight. Both of their hair was tangled and had twigs in it, their arms and legs were scratched, and they were simply in a foul mood. So when they found a well maintained wood cabin deep into the forest, relief flooded their senses as they stumbled to the door and knocked.
An old and portly man answered the door, his wife close behind him. "Oh dear," said the man, looking worried. "Come on in, you two. Do tell what happened." The two were quickly ushered in, the man muttering "Make some tea for them, Beth." to his wife. "I'm Jonathan," he said once the twins had sat down on a couch. "And you are?" The two glanced at each other and accepted the tea from Beth, sipping it to avoid conversation. But Jonathan didn't relent.
Colit sighed and brushed his shaggy bangs out of his eyes. "I'm Colit, and this is Lithia. Were the kings children, and we've declared war on each other. But now that we really think about it, we've realized how stupid we were. But... When our father asked us to apologize and leave this whole fiasco, we said no. So... now we're running from the royal guards." he said quietly, quite embarrassed at the look of confusion that passed over the couple's faces.
Jonathan shook his head in awe, reaching for his cup before quickly withdrawing it due to the heat. Lithia leaned forward and placed her hand on it, cooling it down. This was an absent minded action, one that she had to do a lot due to her mischievous brother.
"So, we should maybe leave or else you two could get in trouble. We wouldn't want that. But we can offer you gifts to beg you of your silence- you might call them bribes." Lithia said, sitting up and saying a quiet word of thanks for the tea. She then muttered to Colit, "Do something cool with your fire. Or- something hot." She quietly laughed at her stupid pun, Colit rolling his eyes.
He shook his arms and tapped his chin thoughtfully. He spun his arms around in a circular motion, eyes looking as if they were on fire (and they were). "Winter is fast approaching," he said wisely, the old couple agreeing. "I grant you both eternal fire- one that will change its degrees according to your single thought." Then he gently placed the now flaming orb of fire into the fire place, where it licked at the logs but didn't burn. It did give off a tremendous amount of heat, heat that was indeed welcomed.
"And I- I give you something more of beauty than practicality. Ice can hurt and scorch, as can fire. But when used in a kind and gentle manner... By the gods, it can be astonishingly helpful or pleasant." Lithia said, closing her eyes and raising her hands, speaking softly. In an empty corner, an ice sculpture appeared. It was of every known Sylesty, Sylvorpa's splashing in small puddles, Puffadore's chasing each other around, Bulbori's shyly cuddling. They all were in their own private spot, and at the very top, supported by magic, was a dragon, a blue one.
Beth and Jonathan admired the sculpture and eternal fire, bowing down and thanking them immensely. "Be assured, Your Majesties," Beth said in a British accent (though of course there is no Britain in this world). "None will hear of your passing this way. But please, stay the night. We have food and bed, and heaven knows what trouble will befall you if you wander out into the darkness."
The twins thanked them and allowed themselves to be led to a small room, where there was a small bunk bed. Colit immediately climbed on the higher bunk, sticking his tongue at Lithia's quietly angry face. Jonathan, who had shown them the room, shook his head happily and wished them both protection from the wild dangers. And more royal ones.
When morning came, Beth made a delicious breakfast of eggs and pancakes. Once everyone had finished the food, the two elders sat up and walked to their room, where they stayed for fifteen minutes or so. While the twins waited for whatever they were doing, Lithia washed some dishes while Colit gathered clean clothes and polished their weapons and armor.
Jonathan and Beth came out of the room, holding two knapsacks, offering one to each of the twins. They peeked inside, revealing normal supplies like food, water, and rope. "Stay safe," Beth commanded sternly, everyone nodding in agreement. "And if you ever wander this way, pay a visit." But everyone knew that the odds of that happening were low.
So the prince and princess, in common but clean clothes, walked out of the door and into the dense forest. The sun filtered through the branches of tall and sturdy trees, creating an odd pattern on the leafy floor. A breeze, hinted with the slightest chill, desperately tried to reach anything it could. All in all, it was a fine autumn day, and the twins were feeling confident.
***
The sky flitted around its wings.
The sun shone behind it.
The ground whooshed past below it.
The beast was free; from mortal bounds, from natural ones, from more draconic ones. The great beast sighed and shifted its wing ever so slightly, changing direction to a network of caves. The air, which had been reasonably warm, suddenly got colder, then hotter, and back again. The dragon didn't question it; its brood was of ice and fire dragons. It was the mother of over fifty of them, though they held little to no respect or concern for her.
As she landed on the ground, she heard rather than felt the burst of fire behind. Spinning angrily, she lashed out with her tail, knocking a fire dragon to its side. It started to get back up, before feeling the intense heat and biting cold of our brood mothers special breath- Iceflame. And that was her name, though she hated it.
The red dragon, smoke furling from its nostrils, limped away, occasionally stopping to tenderly lick its wound on its front left leg.
Iceflame sighed again, and stretched out as a cat might. She hated that red- it was one of her oldest children. He had ambition, and was getting out of control. Though the females of dragons were dominant and superior to males, he still wanted power. Power that wouldn't be willingly given.
She let out a roar, startling new-born whelplings. None of her children had been a combination of fire and ice, not yet. All her mates had been one kind, sticking to fire and ice. One time, she even mated with a water dragon. Those eggs had not lived, battling with themselves, not being able to decide which power to take on.
She was interrupted from her brooding by a quiet hiss behind her. Iceflame turned around in concern. There was a small ice dragon, icicles pointing up on its back to form spikes. It breathed in regular air, but the thing that went out was snow. It bowed its head in respect, Iceflame nodding in her turn. The ice dragons, while still fierce, were far more wise- but smaller than the more famous red. But wit, like they always said, could be used as a far stronger force than sheer size and power.
The newcomer, named Crystallize, indicated that she would speak to her mother. The latter let out a quiet hiss in response as they shifted their minds so that they could telepathically speak.
I see you harmed my ignorant brother, Crystallize mused, grinning a toothy grin. It serves the foolish male right. My sisters inform me that he has found a mate. I hope she is worthy and strong, and dominant! Iceflame nodded her head in agreement, stretching out again. If not, we can easily kill her. What's another life, when we currently have twenty new eggs hatching. Speaking of which, perhaps we should check on the new whelplings.
The two flew up into the sky in unison, before pulling into a dive, gracefully landing on a rocky and rigid platform. In between slabs of stone were eggs, some being cold to the touch and an icy blue, others scorching and red. Only a few of these eggs were cracked and abandoned; these ones would be older and more skilled than their slow siblings.
Crystallize nodded in satisfaction. Even though she was quite young, she had laid some of the eggs that had already hatched. They would be purebred- ice, stronger ice than most dragons in their network. We must find the whelplings. They've probably already wandered into our caves, the ice dragon suggested, Iceflame nodding and flapping her wings as to rustle the still confined whelps.
Then the two carefully picked their way to a huge cave that was situated right next to the hatching grounds. They could hear snarls and winces coming from the depths of the cave. Iceflame rushed forward quickly, roaring loudly. The sound disappeared, replaced by a quiet shuffle of eight claws against stone.
There were four dragons, three of which were huddled together. The one that was alone, a green, growled angrily and tossed its head back. Iceflame was genuinely surprised that an earth dragon was in her caves, but didn't question it for long. The other ones were what made Iceflame stop in her tracks.
They were all side by side, two of the whelps leaning on another for protection. The middle one, the largest in the room besides the adults, had a menacing gleam in her eyes, teeth bared. To her left whimpered a red dragon, a male who was almost as big as the middle one, who was female. To the right was an ice dragon, who looked frightened but brave. She cuddled closer to the middle dragon.
The two younger ones were obviously from the same egg. No two dragons of such different breeds would willingly be so close together and look for comfort in the other. The middle one was truly puzzling though. It seemed that for once, a dragon of ice and fire had finally been born. She was an adolescent, as was the other green that had bullied the newborn whelps.
The names of these dragons escaped Iceflame, so she said what came to her mind. Solandrie, she muttered, gesturing to the mixed dragon with a talon. Dalan, she pointed to the menacing green. Colit and Lithia she then gestured to the red male, then the ice female. The words came to her, as did a picture of a family. There was a king, a queen, and twins. But... no, not twins. Triplets. Iceflame fainted, a very undragonlike thing to do.
***
Honey yawned and stretched, shaking her head fiercely to remove any drowsiness from her body. She opened her eyes just to find herself snout-to-snout with Lavender. The Puffadore cleared her throat and sat down, beginning to groom herself. "Sylva and Cather are out looking for food," she explained when Honey glanced around questioningly. "Your honey is getting toxic." she added, making the Ferikki scowl and plop back down.
She then made an orb of honey and stubbornly tossed it into her mouth, making her try desperately to keep a straight face. Lavender scoffed and walked away, laying down around a sturdy oak tree.
Honey surveyed her surroundings, as she hadn't been able to see them in the night. They were in a dense forest, though the ground was still swampy in places. They couldn't find a clearing as they stumbled in complete darkness the night before, so they eventually settled down at a place that seemed safe enough. The ground here was firm, with a large slab of rock shooting out of a small hill, providing shelter from the wind and rain. They had made their weak fire there, cuddling around it to preserve warmth.
Lavender shifted uncomfortably; this was the first time Honey and her had been alone and she didn't know what to say. "Tell me your story", she commanded. "Then I'll tell mine." Honey stared at the Puffadore for a second, before shrugging and beckoning Lavender closer and lifting her tail in front of herself.
Then to Lavender's great surprise, she saw a reflection staring back at her. But not hers. Instead, two Ferikki's. They looked exactly like Honey. They were obviously her mother and father.
"My mother and father, though I loved them both, left me when I was still a child. It was a tearful goodbye, them saying to use my powers to serve the kingdom and royalty. I knew only one skill, besides being clumsy- I could make honey. So, even though I had a name, I was dubbed Honey. Its a fine name, and I don't even remember my old one. Though I was accepted into the royal kitchens as the lead chef, they still scolded me and treated me differently. I don't know why.
"The maids and servants and cooks all said I was just an absolute delight. Mind you, I speak of the Sylesties. The Avatars, well, they kicked me around since I was a cub. The prince and princess were the nicest of all, Colit sometimes dropping a bite for me to eat and Lithia patting me on the head. Even though they couldn't speak to me, they were my best friends. And my worst enemies.
"The royalty of Ethernia had to be strict and unrelenting. Lithia, she's cold and snappy. Colit is like a firework- he could go off at any minute. And King Dalan- well, no one ever sees him. He's secluded from the world, barely ever seeing his children. He more often visits his councilors and other court people then his own family.
"The cause of this is because of his wife's death- or mysterious disappearance. No corpse was found, no evidence leading to her murder. The top investigators of Sylestia couldn't see any clue, some of them even helplessly suggesting that a plant in her garden had eaten her, because that was where she was last spotted. Dalan and his children immediately snapped back that no plant would willingly harm their queen and friend. And besides, they had planted every flower, every tree, every bush- everything, together.
"But I suppose you didn't ask for their story. You asked for mine. I don't have much to say, except I know what happened to Queen Solandrie. I was there that terrible night." Honey stopped talking, closing her eyes. |
