I'm just lazy, that's why I don't post....

[balltag]

Hello.  I'm alive.  Excited for school, but am going to have to wait until after I get my wisdom teeth out and a check up before I arrive.  That's really the only excitement that is worth putting in a post.

So, to appease the masses (mainly Koola who I am so cruelly tormenting over MSN right now), I have another story chapter to post.  Really, I am tormenting the poor girl.  She threatened, and I quote "I will send an army of monkeys to mess up your room."  Awwwww, how cute it is to have a rabid fan.  =P  ^_^  I love you Koola.

So here for her's and anyone else's view pleasure....Chapter 8.

She was in the black mist again, but this time she was not afraid of it.  That was because her entire attention was focused on the grey shadow before her.  Though she stood up straight, he was still much larger than her.  And he looked down on her.  Not just in size, but he doubted her word.  How dare he!  Did he think that she would say such things if she had not triple checked everything first?  Why was he not listening?

Karen actually had no idea what the argument was about.  She knew she was talking to this man, but she could not hear the words.  Strong emotions were the only things she could feel in this black mist.  Karen could feel herself struggling to keep them under control.  Yes he insulted her honor.  Yes he doubted her word.  Yes to a lot of things, but that did not change the reason this argument had started.  He was their leader, and she had to get him to understand the danger that was coming.

Other grey shadows surrounded them until all were there.  They were all listening, many confused that he was not listening to her.  They did not know the argument yet, but they knew her reputation.  Her word was as good as anything.  How dare he doubt it!  He knew about this danger, and he was not doing a thing about it.  In fact, the more they argued, the more Karen realized that he supported it.  She could almost feel her heart break as she stepped back in shock.  Did he not understand that this would bring about the end of him?  How could he have chosen?

She turned her back to him, trying to fathom a way to stop him.  Instantly there was a clash of metal reverberating in the silence of the black mist.  Karen whirled around, her eyes wide at the scene before her.  He had pulled out his weapon and had tried to cut her down.  Another grey shadow stood between them, stopping his blow and protecting her from the attack.  Two more shadows rushed to her, one holding tightly for fear of losing her.

Their once leader had three who had gathered to him, but there was still half of them left, standing on the sides.  The challenge had been called, and the line had been drawn.  No one would be left on the sidelines in the end.  The next fight would be one of words.  Karen knew she would do all she could to keep others from following him.  The real fight would be in choosing sides.  After that, it would be an issue of staying with that choice, no matter what.  The choice was so clear.  How could they have doubted?

They had been traveling for three days since leaving Taaena, and Karen had probably seen Sicin a total of three hours.  It seemed the Wolf was always out scouting or something to that nature.  He hardly ate meals with her and Gerald and only stopped by long enough to usually tell Karen that if she talked less, they would be able to move faster.  Like he was doing now.

“You are not to bother Ryder,” the Daimyn said gruffly.

“Then why don’t you stay and I’ll talk to you instead.”  Karen cocked her head.

It was amazing how the same character who had intimidated her, could also have no affect on her if she chose so.  Sicin’s long ears moved a bit and Karen smiled.  Despite not seeing him that often, she was beginning to pick up a few of the subtle indications of his mood.  Regardless of his lack of expression, she could tell the Wolf was not as annoyed as he acted.  The one person who did not seem to be enjoying the whole situation was Gerald.

The younger man was standing to the side, his eyes closed and his fingers pressed against the middle of his forehead.  He probably felt like the chaperone of two bickering children.  Gerald grimaced slightly and Sicin tilted his head vaguely.  Karen knew that Sicin had turned his full attention to the other human.  It was oddly comforting to her that he was concerned about his friend.

Gerald opened his eyes.  They seemed more hazel compared to how blue they had been for the past few days.  Karen honestly was not sure what color his eyes really were.  The young man had such a look of long-suffering on his face that Karen had to stifle laughter on account of it.

“Why are you standing around?” Sicin demanded as he began stalking off.  “We need to keep moving.”

“You started it,” Karen responded.  She stared at his retreating figure for a moment and then turned to Gerald.  “Well then, shall we continue?”

The man smiled as he shook his head and began walking.  “Lady Karen...”

“You insist on calling me a ‘lady’ after all this?” Karen interrupted.

“My apologies, my lady,” Gerald smiled at her.  “It is a habit, and despite your insisting, you are worthy of such a title.”

That was cute.  Karen smiled back and then looked up at the clear, blue sky.  It was bluer than she had ever seen before, and seemed to get bluer by the moment.  It was the one thing she could use to convince herself that it was all still a dream.  Dreams do not last for over three days, but only a dream would have such an incredibly blue sky and a Wolf guy walking around.  The last defense Karen had for herself was a coma.  She would continue to lie to herself until something shattered that.  After that, she did not know.

“Do you have any questions...Karen?” Gerald hesitated, but did manage to leave the ‘lady’ off.

“I will humor Sicin and actually be quite,” she answered.

“You always come up with more questions when you do that,” Gerald laughed and looked over at her, his eyes bluer than before.  “I hope I shall have satisfactory answers.”

“You have so far,” Karen smiled back.

She really was enjoying this.  After a few awkward moments the first day, she had realized that Gerald was extremely well educated.  He really could answer any question she asked.  He did not seem bothered by the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about this world.  That was kind of embarrassing seeing that this was her world.  Everything he told her was familiar, yet new.  For the past few days Gerald would answer Karen’s questions and then she would think about it and ask him, usually, to clarify something.

They had really only covered one subject, and that was about the races of this world.  Even after three days, Karen was still having difficultly sorting everything out.  She had never heard of any of these species in mythologies.  They had qualities of mythological creatures, but there was always something different.  It was truly fascinating.  Karen had asked about if Humans and Daimyns were the only races and she still was not past that subject.

Apparently Taaena was partially from a race known as the Faaeliourous.  They lived in the forests and were about the same height and build as Humans.  There skin was dark as well as their eyes.  According to Gerald, the whites of their eyes were actually black.  It was an odd mental image, but one Karen was eager to see.  It seemed that the way Taaena spoke, two voices at once, was a common trait for that race.  Their language was hard to understand and near impossible to speak.  Though Gerald had told her that when you hear them sing, you would care less that you did not understand them.

There were the Tgixens.  They lived up in the north.  The cold had little affect on them.  Their skin and hair color were both blue and they were usually a little shorter than Humans.  She had not gotten much past this race beyond physical description.  Karen looked around at the sparse wooded region that they had been walking through.  She had really meant to get just an overview of everyone, but one thing kept leading to another and she could never seem to ask just one question.

The Merias were easier to categorize.  They were essentially mermaids, only without the tails.  Gerald had said that they were more inclined to scholarly pursuits.  They were also the shortest of the six main races.  Five foot was the average.  Karen tried to mentally picture some kind of underwater palace for them but decided a fairytale castle does not work underwater.  They could breathe both in and out of water apparently.  Karen was excited with the idea of reaching the place Gerald called the Garden, because she would be able to see all of these creatures.

“So, why does this road exist if there are no towns along it?”  This was probably the third time she had asked this question.

“It is a back road for those who travel quickly like messengers,” Gerald answered.  “Because such roads can also be dangerous, many Synth hunters travel along.  As for the lack of towns...”

“I remember,” Karen interrupted.  “It’s because of a lack of an easy water source.”

“Correct, my lady.”

“I feel like I’m in school,” she laughed.

“You are doing quite well, my lady,” Gerald said as he shifted his staff to his left hand.  “The primary purpose of back roads is to get to your destination in a faster amount of time.”

“But at the cost of safety.”

“Your safety would only be in jeopardy if...”

“I was traveling with incompetent fools,” Karen finished with her own answer.  “I’m very glad I’m not.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Gerald smiled, his blue eyes staring at the path ahead.

She defiantly knew that she was not traveling with fools.  Her hero was a very capable warrior.  Gerald had confirmed that that attribute had remained despite the change in physical appearance.  She really had been expecting a world of humans.  Karen pulled her jean jacket off and tied it around her waist.  She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and looked around, wondering if she would spot the Wolf.

Apparently Daimyns were a group of four races.  Gerald had said that they were one race, but that they had four different groups.  There were Wolfs, Tigers, Hawks, and Dragons.  Each group labeled according to their animalistic traits.  Like Sicin and his tail, among other things.  That made him a Wolf.  Hawks and Dragons had wings while a Tiger had a tail like the Wolfs.

Gerald had warned Karen that she should not judge the society based on Sicin.  Though the Wolf-Daimyn was a fine example of the race’s physical prowess, he was actually much nicer than the majority of his kind.  Though it seemed like only Daimyn’s with at least a little bit of restraint would be the only ones they would find in the Garden.  That got a raised eyebrow from Karen, but Gerald had explained that the Daimyns’ tendency to fight has led many of the races to avoid their land.

The one race that the Daimyns rarely contended with were the Serons.  They were the tallest of the races.  What Karen found to be the most amazing about them was that they were dragon people.  They primarily lived in the deserts and had the ability to transform into dragons.  Gerald admitted that it was a fascinating thing to witness, but that usually a full transformation was effect of a bad situation.  Everyone knew of the Serons’ ability, but few had actually seen it, and lived.

“Are Serons the most powerful?” Karen asked.

“Each race is powerful in different aspects, my lady,” Gerald answered.

“I guess what I’m asking is who would win in a fight.”

“Power may help, but it never decides the winner on its own,” the man said solemnly.  “Everyone can be overpowered in someway.  I pray I will never see that day.  Such a fight would be the end of us.  Perhaps power would win the battle, and maybe even the war, but it cannot last on its own.”

“The frightening thing about that is that it makes sense,” Karen said softly.  “I’ve heard someone say that it doesn’t matter who is right, only who is left.”

“Ah, my lady,” Gerald turned to her and smiled, “but those who are right are not easily beaten.  They are those who last forever.”

“Because they’re what everyone wish for.”  Karen placed herself in that category.

The trees were getting fewer and the reasonably flat ground was now becoming rolling hills.  It was amazing to Karen how she could feel exhausted at the end of the day, but not sore.  By all accounts, her body should be hating this all day hiking.  Three days of walking.  Sicin had said that they should reach the Garden before sunset.  It was obviously a place of importance, and Karen had no idea what it looked like.

She looked over at Gerald.  His brown-blonde hair somehow always looked taken care despite the fact that he must not have been to a town for almost two weeks.  He was an interesting character.  Karen knew there was more to him than his stately manner.  After all, he traveled with Sicin.  Gerald realized she was staring at him and he looked at her, his eyes seeming to shift between brown and blue.  He knew a lot.  She knew what her next questions would be about.

“The Garden is the largest city in the entire world, my lady.”

“Is that where you grew up?” Karen asked.

“No it is not, La...Karen.”  Gerald caught himself as he quickly thought about his answer.  It was not that he was embarrassed; in fact, she already knew and had not made a big deal out of it.  “I was raised in Rydon.”

“In a palace?”

“Yes,” Gerald said.  He really was appreciating the fact that she did not make a big deal out of the fact that he was royalty.  “It was a very nice place.”

“I can imagine that,” Karen said as she flexed her left hand a bit.

She had told him yesterday that it was perfectly all right and only bothered her now and again.  He wished that he could quickly deal with the stiffness, but Sicin had put a ban on unnecessary magic.  At least until they reached the Garden, which would be about mid-afternoon, a few hours, at their current pace.

“So, if you’re not in live for the throne,” Karen said, “that would mean you have an older brother.  Any other siblings?”

“I also have an older sister.”

“Me too,” Karen said with a smile.  “Only I also have two little brothers.”

“They are very lucky to have such a pleasant sister,” Gerald said.

Karen did not say anything for as she looked to the side.  “So,” she finally said, “your brother was no doubt raised to become king.  What did your parents hope you and your sister would be when you grew up?  I don’t think they planned on their youngest prince trekking through the woods.”

“Ah, no, my lady.”  Gerald now found himself looking to the opposite side.  He really should not have even let this conversation start.  It was not that he was incapable of doing so.  “My brother was trained to be a kind and a great warrior.  Indeed he has accomplished both, as will his son.”  Never mind the fact that currently his nephew was only two years old and a little sickly at that.

“My sister,” Gerald continued, smiling as he thought about the family he had not seen since his nephew’s birth, “she is a Sairicro, a teacher of knowledge and magic. She has always been very intelligent.”

Now he was really wishing that he had not continued this conversation.  He should not have talked about his siblings because now he would also have to talk about himself.  He was going to lie.

“I, my lady, was to be a duke of a northern estate as a diplomatic line between two places.”

They were not completely lies.  That was his brother’s wish, but even as King his brother would not make it a command unless Gerald himself said he felt he could do it.  Diplomacy was not the problem.  At least, it was not then, but perhaps it might be now.

“So why aren’t you?” Karen asked.  “I mean, you don’t have to answer.  It’s just that, well, you really don’t seem like someone who has the training to be out here fighting evil.”

Of course not, Gerald thought to himself.  Diplomats do not fight, they negotiate.  He could not tell her how he came to travel with Sicin.  He had been cautioned by more people other than Sicin about keeping his ability secret.  No telling how his parents wanted him to be an oracle.  No telling how he spent a good portion of his life insane and hardly ever in the present.  No explaining how Sicin and the others helped him find sanity and control.

One cannot simply tell people that they are a time mage.  Particularly that they are the first sane one.  All it would take would be for that information to reach the wrong ears.  Then Gerald and anyone near him would never be safe.

“I do not have to worry often about fighting, my lady,” he finally said.  “If Master Sicin is not near, than the chances are that there is someone nearby that I can negotiate protection from.”

“Oh,” Karen said.  “Well, I’m not very good at either, but if the time comes, I promise I’ll do my best to help.”

“I am sure you will not have to worry about it, Lady Karen,” Gerald said, “but I thank you.”

“I will try,” Karen said determinately.

“I merely hope that we reach the Garden without incident, my lady.”  Gerald smiled, knowing that the chances of that happening while traveling with Sicin were very slim.  “I do not doubt your word.”

There was a ripple in the magic around him and Gerald almost lost his focus completely.  It took almost all his will power to keep his step from faltering.  He was fairly confident that Karen had not noticed anything.  Gerald did no know about Sicin, but he would guess a yes if the Wolf showed up soon.

He sighed and rubbed his staff as he waded back to focus.  He had been controlled by time for so long that Gerald doubted he would ever be truly free of its pull.  That thought crushed him more than he would admit as Gerald remembered he had no future.  The few images that he had seen of himself in a future always involved his death, or that of someone close.

A ripple in warning, gentler than the last one, splashed against him and Gerald eyed the small hill before them.  He slowed them down without changing the pace.  His fingers rubbed the runes on his staff a bit as he pulled back on the magic that flowed around him.  It would not be that big of an inconvenience.  They were close enough to the Garden that they could make it there before dusk traveling at normal time.

“There is a group ahead, my lady,” Gerald told Karen.  He had definitely been around Sicin too long because Gerald found the idea of passing by this group to be an annoyance.

“Who else would be traveling this back road?” Karen asked.  “Wait, I remember.  I think.  Probably messengers, or...uh...hunters?”

“Hunter mercenaries,” Sicin said dully, startling Karen.  “All Human.”

Gerald did not even look at the Wolf, knowing what Sicin’s opinion on “pure” groups was.  The Daimyn did not pause as he proceeded to the top of the hill, forcing the other two to move faster.  Gerald sighed inwardly.  Someone in the other group was probably going to find himself learning the value of respect.

“There are some low-levels trying to surround us,” Sicin said quietly as he looked down the short incline at the bickering group below them.  “Not worth my trouble.”

“Who are not, them or the synth?” Gerald asked as they waited for the group to notice them.

The leader of the mercenaries finally looked over when one of his men pointed the three of them standing.  The man sneered and crossed his arms over his chest armor, careful to keep the blades attached to his gauntlets from cutting anything.  Gerald kept eye contact as they headed toward the mercenaries.  Sicin looked bored and Karen kept herself a little bit behind and between them.

“If he’s trying to be intimidating,” Karen whispered, “standing that way sure isn’t working.”

Gerald had to agree, but refrained from showing so as they walked through the group to the man with the irritating sneer.  The man was nearly as tall as Sicin and much thicker.  He had more weapons than he could use and his brown eyes stared at the three of them like they were all underneath him.  His eyes paused on Karen, and Gerald decided on his dislike for the man.  There was almost a little hiccup in the flows around him as Karen leaned back a little, adopting Sicin’s look of this not being worth her trouble.

“Travin’ wid ‘is likes?”  The man looked at Gerald, deeming him the only one worth talking to.  “Thaer kine ain’t honer-ble.”

“I believe that depends on your own dealings,” Gerald replied smoothly.  “It is quite pleasant to meet others on this road, sir...”

“She yers owr ‘is ‘ore?”  So much for pleasantries.

“Takes one know one,” Karen replied before Gerald could.  The prince felt his ears burning with anger.

“Wud you call me?” the man snarled at Karen.

“That depends,” she took a step closer to Gerald and Sicin.  “What did you call me?”

The man looked enraged while Sicin, oddly enough, had an obvious look of amusement on his face.  Gerald could feel time whipping around him as he ignored the building headache.  Years of diplomatic training and he had no desire to use it.  In fact, he found himself wanting to opt to Sicin’s usual tactics.  This man was going to regret his behavior.

“Perhaps you should learn who people are before you disregard all honorable mannerisms.”  Gerald gripped his staff tightly as he lowered the volume of his voice.

“You ain’t nuttin’ tah us,” the man said, indicating his armed group.

“And here I was hoping for a bunch of strong warriors who could protect me from those horrible synth,” Karen said overdramatically.  She placed her hand over her forehead and whispered to Gerald, “Right?”

“There are too many for such a small band of men to fight against,” Gerald said, taking his cue from Karen.  “Do not despair.  Perhaps we will find such a group before those frightful creatures catch us.”

The overdone drama and absolutely bad acting was so horrendous that Gerald was almost surprised at Sicin’s sudden boredom.  On the other hand, the simple minds of the mercenaries suddenly were excited.  Gerald found he was enjoying the ridiculousness of the situation, and his headache calmed down considerably; Karen had her head buried on the back of his shoulder and he could feel her laughing as the leader of the mercenaries stood up straight.

“S’evil ain’t an mat’ fo’ us,” the leader said arrogantly.

“Good,” Sicin finally spoke.  “Here they come.”