That's all folks
Well, I've been trying to get this done before I go, but I haven't completed it. Anyway, I promised I'd get it up, so here's what I have. This is a continuation of Zhai's story from October.
Nineteen days. That was all the time they had to hunt down and store as much provisions as they could. Zhai pondered the possibility of even obtaining that much, let alone convincing the council to prevent hunting for almost four weeks. They won't even allow me on a hunt, how am I going to stop them from hunting. If there was any game that could be had in a days hunt, we would be fine, but there isn't. Anything that we could hunt is at least a full days journey away and that would mean being outside at night. She sank to the ground by the tree she had used as a ladder, no longer concerned with everyone discovering her secret. Why magic? The non use of magic concerned her. She knew that the gift was not widely distributed, although there had been many more users at one point. Stories from the dragon invasion told of magic users being the first ones killed in all of the fights. Well, we won't have to worry about that too much. Zhai was the only gifted one born since the invasions ended. Maidir had been born just after they went underground, and his father had died in the fighting. Magic was an inherited trait, and only two very old members of the council and her mother had survived the slaughter. Zhai stood as she thought about the scars on her mothers shoulder. She hadn't survived by avoiding the fights. Ceridwen had fought in the battle, covering the retreat to the drows hidden home. While the main force of the warriors had faced the human force, she had been running with a small group just behind the fleeing families. Their purpose was to delay any person who somehow evaded the heated front lines. The elves had been aware that the humans had joined forces with dragons, but little else was known. They had no way of knowing that one of the great beasts was directly over them when they fled. They were unaware of the danger until the monster dove down and crushed two of the elves. Ceridwen had quickly flung flames at it, in the same manner that Zhai had done to the log this past night. The dragon had reacted by sweeping a wing around and throwing her into a tree. It had roared something that Zhai's mother swore was actual words, although no one else heard them, and crashed through the woods after her. Engulfing her left shoulder and arm in its mouth it prepared to crush her. There was a small hiss, and smoke began rising from the depths of the dragons throat, while he began to squeeze down on her. Ceridwen knowing this was the end, summed up all of her power and placing her right hand under the chin of the beast had unleashed it. What spell or combination of spells that she had used she could never say, all she knew was the hissing ceased and she felt herself falling. She didn't remember much after that until waking up in the care of the drow, being hailed as the savior of the battle. Zhai had reached the hidden entrance, and pushed aside the vines. The entire village was buzzing, and as she stepped forward, someone grabbed her arm and told her to get to the old walnut. She made her way forward hoping that it had nothing to do with her late night. At least I don't have to worry about trying to get everyone together. Although I really should talk to the elders first. She listen to the quite chatter of the elves around her, trying to get an idea as to why everyone was summoned. She learned that the old seer had a vision last night, and that the village maybe in danger. He was going to tell everyone about it, as soon as everyone could be gathered. Zhai waited to hear what he would say, and again tried to think of ways to talk everyone into staying put for that time frame. Finally after sitting there for almost an hour, the elders began making their way to the center of the clearing. Behind them came the Seer. So old that even his name was forgotten he was hunched over and leaned heavily on a staff. As he passed, he turned and looked Zhai right in the eye, then gave a little nod. Zhai was shocked as he entered the circle. The Seer had made a point of avoiding looking at her in the past. In fact, he had been the voice in the elders meetings that continually advised against allowing her to hunt. He was one of the most vocal against any drow presence in the village. Why did he look at me now? What's more, why did it look like he was smiling? Zhai thought of what she had been doing the night before. Was it possible that he knew, and this was a ploy to expose her magical exploits? If the village found out, she could get kicked out, and that was something he would want. Zhai began backing out of the crowd, not wanting to be there when the anger of the entire village was directed against her.
The old man had reached the walnut and now turned to face the crowd. "My friends" He rasped "What I have seen this night is like nothing I have seen before." The familiar words he said every time he had a vision. Most of his visions were harmless, and most of them came true, so when he claimed that people were in danger, they listened. "This night I saw our hunters, thirty nights from now, making camp." He paused again, looking at every one of the hunters before he continued. "I see the fire that warms them through the night, it grows up and engulfs the camp." As he continued, his voice rose, and his eyes became glazed, as though seeing it all over again. "As our brothers back away, fleeing from the flames, a group of warriors leaps from the darkness and slaughters them." The crowd around him gasped, and stepped back as he continued. "Our hunters and protectors dead, the strange warriors begin tracing their tracks back here. Our entire village dies at the hands of unknown elves of dark skin."
The crowd stood in shock, as the head elder, Sindri, stepped up to speak. "Seer, what should we do to save ourselves?"
The old man turned "I do not have that answer." Another gasp swept through the gathering, as the village saw their doom. The seer held up his hands "I have not finished, the answer you seek has not been revealed to me, but there is one here who has it." Again Seer looked directly at Zhai. She had paused just outside the group to hear what he had to say, and now he made his way toward her. "What I have seen this night, can be avoided by listening to what she has seen." Zhai stared at the old man pointing at her. How am I going to tell them what I have seen? The crowd parted as he made his way toward her. "I have wronged you." He bowed his head to her as he continued "You were born in this village, and all you have desired is to belong here. I have done everything in my power, to prevent you from ever belonging. For this I am sorry. I see now you are more important to our survival than even I can hope to be." He reached out and took her hand, leaning almost as heavily on her as his staff while leading her to the tree.
"What is this, what is the meaning of this?" Sindri questioned as they drew nearer. "Does she have the sight too? How can she know what you do not?"
"I don't know, but in my vision she warned us not to hunt. She was practically begging us to wait two weeks for a full hunt. Said it was too dangerous to go out at night." He pulled Zhai up beside him and looked at her. "So how did you see it?"
Zhai stared at the seer for a full minute. "I.. I... I didn't see it.." How am I going to tell them?
"Come now, you must have seen something." Seer stared at her. "I know you have magic, sometimes untrained it comes out in visions."
Untrained? Well I guess my secret is safe. "I haven't seen any visions...."
"Is it possible you have made some mistake, that she was simply just trying to hunt again?" Sindri cut in when she paused.
"If that was the case, I wouldn't have seen the attack that wiped out the village. No, there was something more to her warning." Seer again turned to Zhai. "What do you know?"
Zhai wanted to sink into the depths of the earth. This has to be the first time I've wished to live in the earth like a Drow. Of all the times I've wanted to be recognized and embraced by my village, and now I just wish they would let me alone. She looked at everyone gathered around. "I saw one of them." She paused, waiting for the uproar that never came. Instead the entire village just stared at her. She turned back to see Seer looking at her with no change of expression, while Sindri had taken a somewhat skeptical viewpoint. "Can we talk about this more privately?" She was whispering her plea, but the silence over the crowd allowed everyone to hear anyway. That was when the uproar came. The elves pressed in on her crying for her to tell them, to save them. The elders around the walnut pushed back, trying to calm the crowd, but the press continued. Zhai had never been so afraid in the village before. She tried to hide behind the elders that had barely looked at her before. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them to look into the teary eyes of a child. "STOP!" She yelled over the noise of the the crowd. "Just stop it."
"Tell us what you know!" The cry rose up and carried across the crowd until Sindri held up his hands for silence. "Calm down, and we'll talk this out like adults. The elders and I will talk with Seer and Zhai, and we will come up with a way to avoid that end." Zhai looked up at him, and then out at the crowd who were shifting restlessly. It took a few minutes but finally they began backing away, allowing the elders to adjurn to the secluded meeting place behind Sindris home. Zhai related the warning that she had received that morning.
Now for goodbye. I don't know for sure when I'll have access to internet again. I think I should get it back sometime in July, but I'll still be in training, so I don't know how much I'll be able to do. I will say, I should be back by February next year.
Also, I've a couple of non essential characters that I need names for. Namely a very powerful dragon, and some more random elves. I'd love to have some thrown my way. :)
Nineteen days. That was all the time they had to hunt down and store as much provisions as they could. Zhai pondered the possibility of even obtaining that much, let alone convincing the council to prevent hunting for almost four weeks. They won't even allow me on a hunt, how am I going to stop them from hunting. If there was any game that could be had in a days hunt, we would be fine, but there isn't. Anything that we could hunt is at least a full days journey away and that would mean being outside at night. She sank to the ground by the tree she had used as a ladder, no longer concerned with everyone discovering her secret. Why magic? The non use of magic concerned her. She knew that the gift was not widely distributed, although there had been many more users at one point. Stories from the dragon invasion told of magic users being the first ones killed in all of the fights. Well, we won't have to worry about that too much. Zhai was the only gifted one born since the invasions ended. Maidir had been born just after they went underground, and his father had died in the fighting. Magic was an inherited trait, and only two very old members of the council and her mother had survived the slaughter. Zhai stood as she thought about the scars on her mothers shoulder. She hadn't survived by avoiding the fights. Ceridwen had fought in the battle, covering the retreat to the drows hidden home. While the main force of the warriors had faced the human force, she had been running with a small group just behind the fleeing families. Their purpose was to delay any person who somehow evaded the heated front lines. The elves had been aware that the humans had joined forces with dragons, but little else was known. They had no way of knowing that one of the great beasts was directly over them when they fled. They were unaware of the danger until the monster dove down and crushed two of the elves. Ceridwen had quickly flung flames at it, in the same manner that Zhai had done to the log this past night. The dragon had reacted by sweeping a wing around and throwing her into a tree. It had roared something that Zhai's mother swore was actual words, although no one else heard them, and crashed through the woods after her. Engulfing her left shoulder and arm in its mouth it prepared to crush her. There was a small hiss, and smoke began rising from the depths of the dragons throat, while he began to squeeze down on her. Ceridwen knowing this was the end, summed up all of her power and placing her right hand under the chin of the beast had unleashed it. What spell or combination of spells that she had used she could never say, all she knew was the hissing ceased and she felt herself falling. She didn't remember much after that until waking up in the care of the drow, being hailed as the savior of the battle. Zhai had reached the hidden entrance, and pushed aside the vines. The entire village was buzzing, and as she stepped forward, someone grabbed her arm and told her to get to the old walnut. She made her way forward hoping that it had nothing to do with her late night. At least I don't have to worry about trying to get everyone together. Although I really should talk to the elders first. She listen to the quite chatter of the elves around her, trying to get an idea as to why everyone was summoned. She learned that the old seer had a vision last night, and that the village maybe in danger. He was going to tell everyone about it, as soon as everyone could be gathered. Zhai waited to hear what he would say, and again tried to think of ways to talk everyone into staying put for that time frame. Finally after sitting there for almost an hour, the elders began making their way to the center of the clearing. Behind them came the Seer. So old that even his name was forgotten he was hunched over and leaned heavily on a staff. As he passed, he turned and looked Zhai right in the eye, then gave a little nod. Zhai was shocked as he entered the circle. The Seer had made a point of avoiding looking at her in the past. In fact, he had been the voice in the elders meetings that continually advised against allowing her to hunt. He was one of the most vocal against any drow presence in the village. Why did he look at me now? What's more, why did it look like he was smiling? Zhai thought of what she had been doing the night before. Was it possible that he knew, and this was a ploy to expose her magical exploits? If the village found out, she could get kicked out, and that was something he would want. Zhai began backing out of the crowd, not wanting to be there when the anger of the entire village was directed against her.
The old man had reached the walnut and now turned to face the crowd. "My friends" He rasped "What I have seen this night is like nothing I have seen before." The familiar words he said every time he had a vision. Most of his visions were harmless, and most of them came true, so when he claimed that people were in danger, they listened. "This night I saw our hunters, thirty nights from now, making camp." He paused again, looking at every one of the hunters before he continued. "I see the fire that warms them through the night, it grows up and engulfs the camp." As he continued, his voice rose, and his eyes became glazed, as though seeing it all over again. "As our brothers back away, fleeing from the flames, a group of warriors leaps from the darkness and slaughters them." The crowd around him gasped, and stepped back as he continued. "Our hunters and protectors dead, the strange warriors begin tracing their tracks back here. Our entire village dies at the hands of unknown elves of dark skin."
The crowd stood in shock, as the head elder, Sindri, stepped up to speak. "Seer, what should we do to save ourselves?"
The old man turned "I do not have that answer." Another gasp swept through the gathering, as the village saw their doom. The seer held up his hands "I have not finished, the answer you seek has not been revealed to me, but there is one here who has it." Again Seer looked directly at Zhai. She had paused just outside the group to hear what he had to say, and now he made his way toward her. "What I have seen this night, can be avoided by listening to what she has seen." Zhai stared at the old man pointing at her. How am I going to tell them what I have seen? The crowd parted as he made his way toward her. "I have wronged you." He bowed his head to her as he continued "You were born in this village, and all you have desired is to belong here. I have done everything in my power, to prevent you from ever belonging. For this I am sorry. I see now you are more important to our survival than even I can hope to be." He reached out and took her hand, leaning almost as heavily on her as his staff while leading her to the tree.
"What is this, what is the meaning of this?" Sindri questioned as they drew nearer. "Does she have the sight too? How can she know what you do not?"
"I don't know, but in my vision she warned us not to hunt. She was practically begging us to wait two weeks for a full hunt. Said it was too dangerous to go out at night." He pulled Zhai up beside him and looked at her. "So how did you see it?"
Zhai stared at the seer for a full minute. "I.. I... I didn't see it.." How am I going to tell them?
"Come now, you must have seen something." Seer stared at her. "I know you have magic, sometimes untrained it comes out in visions."
Untrained? Well I guess my secret is safe. "I haven't seen any visions...."
"Is it possible you have made some mistake, that she was simply just trying to hunt again?" Sindri cut in when she paused.
"If that was the case, I wouldn't have seen the attack that wiped out the village. No, there was something more to her warning." Seer again turned to Zhai. "What do you know?"
Zhai wanted to sink into the depths of the earth. This has to be the first time I've wished to live in the earth like a Drow. Of all the times I've wanted to be recognized and embraced by my village, and now I just wish they would let me alone. She looked at everyone gathered around. "I saw one of them." She paused, waiting for the uproar that never came. Instead the entire village just stared at her. She turned back to see Seer looking at her with no change of expression, while Sindri had taken a somewhat skeptical viewpoint. "Can we talk about this more privately?" She was whispering her plea, but the silence over the crowd allowed everyone to hear anyway. That was when the uproar came. The elves pressed in on her crying for her to tell them, to save them. The elders around the walnut pushed back, trying to calm the crowd, but the press continued. Zhai had never been so afraid in the village before. She tried to hide behind the elders that had barely looked at her before. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them to look into the teary eyes of a child. "STOP!" She yelled over the noise of the the crowd. "Just stop it."
"Tell us what you know!" The cry rose up and carried across the crowd until Sindri held up his hands for silence. "Calm down, and we'll talk this out like adults. The elders and I will talk with Seer and Zhai, and we will come up with a way to avoid that end." Zhai looked up at him, and then out at the crowd who were shifting restlessly. It took a few minutes but finally they began backing away, allowing the elders to adjurn to the secluded meeting place behind Sindris home. Zhai related the warning that she had received that morning.
Now for goodbye. I don't know for sure when I'll have access to internet again. I think I should get it back sometime in July, but I'll still be in training, so I don't know how much I'll be able to do. I will say, I should be back by February next year.
Also, I've a couple of non essential characters that I need names for. Namely a very powerful dragon, and some more random elves. I'd love to have some thrown my way. :)