(no subject)
Title:WIP#2 Pt.1
Genre:Fantasy
Characters: Veyriell and a whole slew of others
Rating:PG (overall will be NC-17)
Summary:
My throat and lungs burned violently, each breath requiring a supreme amount of effort. The pauses between breaths lengthening as my mind fought my body’s reluctance to continue such an arduous task. I blinked slowly, willing my eyes to focus. My left eyelashes clung together and my eye, when I opened it, burned fiercely. I closed my eyes again trying to take a deep breath to steady myself and merely caused my abused lungs to protest in the form of a harsh coughing fit.
I curled onto my side, the dirt beneath me cool and damp, soothing against my overheated face. I blinked again, opening my right eye warily. My breath seemed to come easier from my new position and my eyes slowly slid into focus. I lay upon the cool wet sand of the lake shore just beyond the temple.
The waters of the lake were nearly black, faint waves rippling in the soft wind. Flashes of color flowed over the water; gold, scarlet, rust, gleaming where the faint waves peaked like a great beast writhing beneath the water’s surface, desperate for escape. I stared entranced at the dancing colors, my breath falling slower as I forgot to concentrate on it.
The colors erupted over the lake brighter and more plentiful and I feared the beast would rise from its watery cage. I could hear its roar, echoing over the valley, as waves of heat poured over my small frame. I gasped softly, my lungs again protesting and I coughed weakly. Black spots flitted over my vision blending with the blackness of the lake. Panic choked my faint breath as I feared the beast rising from the depths of the lake. The beast somehow forged of fire yet dwelling within the confines of the lake for as my sight and consciousness slip away from me I felt the heat of the fire-beast as it wrapped around me choking the last of the breath from my lungs.
My next memories are hazy at best. I recall a soft voice singing in a language I did not then recognize. My eyes, when they obeyed the weak commands of my mind, saw little, shying away from the ever present sunlight streaming through the window above me. The air was thick and damp, vapors floating over the room and reflecting the sunlight back a hundred fold. However this thick air was cool and soothing, so different from the last breaths I remembered.
I lay upon a bed of straw wrapped in down blankets so it seemed as if I were floating more than laying. Above this wondrously soft bed was a window, gauzy white curtains doing nothing to prevent the sunlight entrance to the small room. I knew naught beyond the bed and window above it for when I could bear to keep my eyes open it seemed almost as though I were looking through a veil, so thick was the mist in the room. But through the mist the sun reflected shafts of colored light dancing off of the air itself.
Shimmering rainbows floating in the air, reminding me of the colors upon the lake beyond the temple… the temple! I sat upright quickly, my body and head screaming in protest so that I had to fight the blackness creeping up the sides of my vision and force myself to remember why I had done such a foolish thing. I swayed, torn between focusing on staying up and remembering why it was important for me to be up and awake.
A gentle hand pressed itself to my chest, urging me back down onto my soft bed. I stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before letting myself sink back into the down. Blinking in confusion a face slowly came into focus leaning over me. A woman with deeply tanned skin and hair silvered with age smiled gently down at me. She spoke in soothing tones though I knew not what language she spoke in. I allowed myself to fall back into peaceful oblivion, the smooth flow of her voice lulling me into sleep.
When next I woke I found my world much clearer. The hazy quality of the small room had dissipated and it was either early morning or late evening for the light had that soft grayness of change to it. Without the mist to peer through I found that the room was exceedingly bright with all manner of strange objects strewn over the cramped space. Directly across from the bed was a small door and stairs leading outside. Upon those stairs was the silver haired woman from before.
I sat up again, slowly this time, and though the room spun slightly my body did not protest as much as it had previously. I opened my mouth intending to call out to her, only to find naught but a faint rasp escaped my lips. My hand went to my throat and even that little pressure made me wince in pain. It felt as though my entire throat was bruised. “Excuse me?” I tried again, louder this time. I hunched over, tears stinging my eyes as my throat burned. It felt as if I had swallowed razor blades which were now intent on tearing my vocal chords into shreds.
As the pain brought tears to my eyes, the act of crying only worsened the pain until I fell back to the bed curled up on my side. Tears flowed freely down my face, dampening the pillow beneath me even as I tried to staunch them ere I cause myself more pain. I stayed like that for some time, watching the woman sitting on the stairs, smoking from a long pipe. I knew if sitting up hurt as it did I would certainly be unable to walk to her. Even so, if I should decide to make the effort I could not speak to ask her the questions burning through my mind.
More than that, I had no idea if she would even understand these questions. She had thus far only spoken in a language foreign to me. Who was to say she knew the language of this land. I looked around the room more carefully, taking in the deep indents narrowing the floor space on either side of the room, the lack of any other exit, the slight downward tilt of the floor… a wagon. My eyes darted frantically over the colorful shawls, feathered and beaded adornments, as well as the odd symbols painted around the doorframe. Gypsies!
Obilitio’s curse I’d been found by gypsies! The woman had spoken to me in Varomyn, the traveler’s tongue, then; a language now known only by the nomadic gypsy tribes. The gods knew how long I had been asleep, lost to fever and pain. It was impossible to tell how far we may have traveled in that time. I needed to return to the temple. My sisters were there and my kyndessa, Aurelie.
I saw her in my mind’s eye, falls of golden hair piled upon her head, warm brown eyes sparkling as she laughed merrily at some foolish question I had asked in my lessons. She was my teacher, my mentor. Had the fire, no, the demons I corrected myself been the end of her. The last I remembered of her was her shoving an armful of food and silk at me and telling me to run. Run I had, towards the lake. She had been mere steps behind me but I had tripped and rolled awkwardly down the hill for many yards.
What had become of her, of all of them? So many still training to be sworn to Shandriss, and yet more already in the goddess’s service. Had all been lost to the fire? The foul beasts had come in the night and the temple was already in a blaze before many woke and woke to screams.
I sat up again with determination, tears still trying to steal my breath from me. I had to know. I had to find out if I would ever see my Aurelie again. I had to bite my lip when I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I nearly bit through it when I shifted my weight onto my feet. I immediately fell forward with what would have been a cry but was merely soundless agony. Blackness danced before my vision obscuring the face of the silver haired woman that had rushed to my side as well as the face that belonged to the sheet of golden hair that followed behind her. The last thought in my mind as consciousness slipped yet again way from me was of my sweet Aurelie.
Genre:Fantasy
Characters: Veyriell and a whole slew of others
Rating:PG (overall will be NC-17)
Summary:
My throat and lungs burned violently, each breath requiring a supreme amount of effort. The pauses between breaths lengthening as my mind fought my body’s reluctance to continue such an arduous task. I blinked slowly, willing my eyes to focus. My left eyelashes clung together and my eye, when I opened it, burned fiercely. I closed my eyes again trying to take a deep breath to steady myself and merely caused my abused lungs to protest in the form of a harsh coughing fit.
I curled onto my side, the dirt beneath me cool and damp, soothing against my overheated face. I blinked again, opening my right eye warily. My breath seemed to come easier from my new position and my eyes slowly slid into focus. I lay upon the cool wet sand of the lake shore just beyond the temple.
The waters of the lake were nearly black, faint waves rippling in the soft wind. Flashes of color flowed over the water; gold, scarlet, rust, gleaming where the faint waves peaked like a great beast writhing beneath the water’s surface, desperate for escape. I stared entranced at the dancing colors, my breath falling slower as I forgot to concentrate on it.
The colors erupted over the lake brighter and more plentiful and I feared the beast would rise from its watery cage. I could hear its roar, echoing over the valley, as waves of heat poured over my small frame. I gasped softly, my lungs again protesting and I coughed weakly. Black spots flitted over my vision blending with the blackness of the lake. Panic choked my faint breath as I feared the beast rising from the depths of the lake. The beast somehow forged of fire yet dwelling within the confines of the lake for as my sight and consciousness slip away from me I felt the heat of the fire-beast as it wrapped around me choking the last of the breath from my lungs.
My next memories are hazy at best. I recall a soft voice singing in a language I did not then recognize. My eyes, when they obeyed the weak commands of my mind, saw little, shying away from the ever present sunlight streaming through the window above me. The air was thick and damp, vapors floating over the room and reflecting the sunlight back a hundred fold. However this thick air was cool and soothing, so different from the last breaths I remembered.
I lay upon a bed of straw wrapped in down blankets so it seemed as if I were floating more than laying. Above this wondrously soft bed was a window, gauzy white curtains doing nothing to prevent the sunlight entrance to the small room. I knew naught beyond the bed and window above it for when I could bear to keep my eyes open it seemed almost as though I were looking through a veil, so thick was the mist in the room. But through the mist the sun reflected shafts of colored light dancing off of the air itself.
Shimmering rainbows floating in the air, reminding me of the colors upon the lake beyond the temple… the temple! I sat upright quickly, my body and head screaming in protest so that I had to fight the blackness creeping up the sides of my vision and force myself to remember why I had done such a foolish thing. I swayed, torn between focusing on staying up and remembering why it was important for me to be up and awake.
A gentle hand pressed itself to my chest, urging me back down onto my soft bed. I stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before letting myself sink back into the down. Blinking in confusion a face slowly came into focus leaning over me. A woman with deeply tanned skin and hair silvered with age smiled gently down at me. She spoke in soothing tones though I knew not what language she spoke in. I allowed myself to fall back into peaceful oblivion, the smooth flow of her voice lulling me into sleep.
When next I woke I found my world much clearer. The hazy quality of the small room had dissipated and it was either early morning or late evening for the light had that soft grayness of change to it. Without the mist to peer through I found that the room was exceedingly bright with all manner of strange objects strewn over the cramped space. Directly across from the bed was a small door and stairs leading outside. Upon those stairs was the silver haired woman from before.
I sat up again, slowly this time, and though the room spun slightly my body did not protest as much as it had previously. I opened my mouth intending to call out to her, only to find naught but a faint rasp escaped my lips. My hand went to my throat and even that little pressure made me wince in pain. It felt as though my entire throat was bruised. “Excuse me?” I tried again, louder this time. I hunched over, tears stinging my eyes as my throat burned. It felt as if I had swallowed razor blades which were now intent on tearing my vocal chords into shreds.
As the pain brought tears to my eyes, the act of crying only worsened the pain until I fell back to the bed curled up on my side. Tears flowed freely down my face, dampening the pillow beneath me even as I tried to staunch them ere I cause myself more pain. I stayed like that for some time, watching the woman sitting on the stairs, smoking from a long pipe. I knew if sitting up hurt as it did I would certainly be unable to walk to her. Even so, if I should decide to make the effort I could not speak to ask her the questions burning through my mind.
More than that, I had no idea if she would even understand these questions. She had thus far only spoken in a language foreign to me. Who was to say she knew the language of this land. I looked around the room more carefully, taking in the deep indents narrowing the floor space on either side of the room, the lack of any other exit, the slight downward tilt of the floor… a wagon. My eyes darted frantically over the colorful shawls, feathered and beaded adornments, as well as the odd symbols painted around the doorframe. Gypsies!
Obilitio’s curse I’d been found by gypsies! The woman had spoken to me in Varomyn, the traveler’s tongue, then; a language now known only by the nomadic gypsy tribes. The gods knew how long I had been asleep, lost to fever and pain. It was impossible to tell how far we may have traveled in that time. I needed to return to the temple. My sisters were there and my kyndessa, Aurelie.
I saw her in my mind’s eye, falls of golden hair piled upon her head, warm brown eyes sparkling as she laughed merrily at some foolish question I had asked in my lessons. She was my teacher, my mentor. Had the fire, no, the demons I corrected myself been the end of her. The last I remembered of her was her shoving an armful of food and silk at me and telling me to run. Run I had, towards the lake. She had been mere steps behind me but I had tripped and rolled awkwardly down the hill for many yards.
What had become of her, of all of them? So many still training to be sworn to Shandriss, and yet more already in the goddess’s service. Had all been lost to the fire? The foul beasts had come in the night and the temple was already in a blaze before many woke and woke to screams.
I sat up again with determination, tears still trying to steal my breath from me. I had to know. I had to find out if I would ever see my Aurelie again. I had to bite my lip when I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I nearly bit through it when I shifted my weight onto my feet. I immediately fell forward with what would have been a cry but was merely soundless agony. Blackness danced before my vision obscuring the face of the silver haired woman that had rushed to my side as well as the face that belonged to the sheet of golden hair that followed behind her. The last thought in my mind as consciousness slipped yet again way from me was of my sweet Aurelie.