13 Days of Darkstar 4: Almost All Fall Down, Part 1
AN: 13 Days of Darkstar 2010 Part 4
Alternate Universe Time Heals-verse.
Yep, an AU of an AU in which Darkstar and Charmcaster take over the Earth, but not in the way you would expect.
Okay, I was inspired by the Plague Doctor/Beak Doctor costume so much that I wanted to put Darkstar in one...and have him be an actual healer (IRONY) and the only place I could do that is in an AU.
See the Historical Costume here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beak_doctor_costume
Details about the pandemic that has overtaken Earth in this -Verse will be explained in Part 2. For now, Enjoy Part 1!
Almost All Fall Down, Part 1
The mana witch huffed and blew a stray platinum lock of hair out of her face. Even with her hair cut short, the odd piece fell into her eyes on occasion. She spit in irritation and continued onwards against the sharp, cold wind that battered her.
The effort had better be worth it. She’d only come back to this barren rock for one reason and he was proving most difficult to track down, which by all accounts, should not have been difficult.
The year and a half of global plague had made even the simplest of locating spells work. Life had simply begun to drain out of people, it seemed. One by one, millions had simply dropped dead and dried into mummies within hours of showing the first signs of illness. Three years in, two out of every five people were dead. It was a dreary statistic, but one she wasn’t worried about.
However, with the population so greatly reduced, there was hardly enough mana from sentient beings for her trace spells to work. She had managed to pick up a signal from this particular geographical area. There were three small towns in it and the first had been a waste of time. The second, not entirely. Though her tracking spells were hazy, her tongue and mind were sharp and she was able to get information from the small band of surviving townsfolk.
Yes, there indeed was a man in a mask who came to the town to treat the ill. Unlike other doctors, whose fees were astronomical and seldom did anything, his fees might have been the same, but many of his patients actually survived. It seemed only natural that this mysterious doctor was the man she was looking for. There were thankfully precious few explanations for how a disease which caused mana to dry up could be cured.
Charmcaster had missed the good doctor by half a day. He had made his rounds and pressed on and now she had to catch up with him. He’d taken to dressing as the other doctors, as she’d understood it...long black robes, heavy gloves, thick boots, and a peculiar bird shaped mask with a certain kind of holy flower stuffed into the beak. It was a different look than the one she’d known him to have, but it suited his needs, especially with her absence having left him without proper glamour.
It couldn’t have been helped, though. She had needed to return home to attend to family business. In the three years she had been gone, she’d inherited the family mantle and become a full fledged sorceress and master magician. She walked with an ornately carved walking stick in the shape of a snarling lindorm. There was a slight bounce in her step as she imagined picking up exactly where they had left off.
Charmcaster could swear she smelt flowers on the wind. Mana flowers, like the ones that blossomed on Anodine and that sprang up where Anodites and unicorns stepped.
When the witch reached the outskirts of the next town, she followed a trail of small roadside shrines that seemed to depict a very familiar eight pointed star mark. They varied in size and shape, but each bore a family name, Inside them were a series of offerings ranging from burning candles and incense to money to canned food and rich fabric.
It was like he was some kind of god to them.
She barely had time to take it all in when the front door of a nearby house opened and a very sinister figure emerged from within.
A pillar of black stepped onto the front stoop while a bone white mask in the shape of a peculiar bird’s face. The eyes were covered by deep brown glassed goggles and the rest of the body was concealed under endless layers of protective black fabric. A black capelet was fashioned neatly around his shoulders with a brooch which also bore the eight pointed star mark.
The doctor had left the building, it seemed.
She couldn’t help but smile. It was suitable for him and ironic for everyone else. The garish ensemble hid the grotesque form underneath while this strange, shadowy figure provided hope and miracles to the downtrodden. Charmcaster began to tickle the corners of the doctor’s consciousness with a mind link spell.
She did not even need to finish before the mask jerked in her direction and she felt him look her up and down. Even hidden underneath her glamour disguise, he could see her. She felt his attention snap and focus solely on her as the avian mask moved slowly up and down, as if drinking in the sight, sound, and smell of her. She felt his mind reach out to her own through the link between them, whether he meant to or not, she could not be sure.
So, he had been thinking of her these past three years. This would be easier than anticipated.
“These three years have been kind to you, Charmcaster. A pity you should return under such unpleasant circumstances,”
The voice. It was his voice. She would have known it anywhere. Even muffled under the mask and cowl, she could make out the distinct tones and rhythms that were exclusively Darkstar’s. She wondered what it meant that her heart seemed to flutter in her chest.
Alternate Universe Time Heals-verse.
Yep, an AU of an AU in which Darkstar and Charmcaster take over the Earth, but not in the way you would expect.
Okay, I was inspired by the Plague Doctor/Beak Doctor costume so much that I wanted to put Darkstar in one...and have him be an actual healer (IRONY) and the only place I could do that is in an AU.
See the Historical Costume here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beak_doctor_costume
Details about the pandemic that has overtaken Earth in this -Verse will be explained in Part 2. For now, Enjoy Part 1!
Almost All Fall Down, Part 1
The mana witch huffed and blew a stray platinum lock of hair out of her face. Even with her hair cut short, the odd piece fell into her eyes on occasion. She spit in irritation and continued onwards against the sharp, cold wind that battered her.
The effort had better be worth it. She’d only come back to this barren rock for one reason and he was proving most difficult to track down, which by all accounts, should not have been difficult.
The year and a half of global plague had made even the simplest of locating spells work. Life had simply begun to drain out of people, it seemed. One by one, millions had simply dropped dead and dried into mummies within hours of showing the first signs of illness. Three years in, two out of every five people were dead. It was a dreary statistic, but one she wasn’t worried about.
However, with the population so greatly reduced, there was hardly enough mana from sentient beings for her trace spells to work. She had managed to pick up a signal from this particular geographical area. There were three small towns in it and the first had been a waste of time. The second, not entirely. Though her tracking spells were hazy, her tongue and mind were sharp and she was able to get information from the small band of surviving townsfolk.
Yes, there indeed was a man in a mask who came to the town to treat the ill. Unlike other doctors, whose fees were astronomical and seldom did anything, his fees might have been the same, but many of his patients actually survived. It seemed only natural that this mysterious doctor was the man she was looking for. There were thankfully precious few explanations for how a disease which caused mana to dry up could be cured.
Charmcaster had missed the good doctor by half a day. He had made his rounds and pressed on and now she had to catch up with him. He’d taken to dressing as the other doctors, as she’d understood it...long black robes, heavy gloves, thick boots, and a peculiar bird shaped mask with a certain kind of holy flower stuffed into the beak. It was a different look than the one she’d known him to have, but it suited his needs, especially with her absence having left him without proper glamour.
It couldn’t have been helped, though. She had needed to return home to attend to family business. In the three years she had been gone, she’d inherited the family mantle and become a full fledged sorceress and master magician. She walked with an ornately carved walking stick in the shape of a snarling lindorm. There was a slight bounce in her step as she imagined picking up exactly where they had left off.
Charmcaster could swear she smelt flowers on the wind. Mana flowers, like the ones that blossomed on Anodine and that sprang up where Anodites and unicorns stepped.
When the witch reached the outskirts of the next town, she followed a trail of small roadside shrines that seemed to depict a very familiar eight pointed star mark. They varied in size and shape, but each bore a family name, Inside them were a series of offerings ranging from burning candles and incense to money to canned food and rich fabric.
It was like he was some kind of god to them.
She barely had time to take it all in when the front door of a nearby house opened and a very sinister figure emerged from within.
A pillar of black stepped onto the front stoop while a bone white mask in the shape of a peculiar bird’s face. The eyes were covered by deep brown glassed goggles and the rest of the body was concealed under endless layers of protective black fabric. A black capelet was fashioned neatly around his shoulders with a brooch which also bore the eight pointed star mark.
The doctor had left the building, it seemed.
She couldn’t help but smile. It was suitable for him and ironic for everyone else. The garish ensemble hid the grotesque form underneath while this strange, shadowy figure provided hope and miracles to the downtrodden. Charmcaster began to tickle the corners of the doctor’s consciousness with a mind link spell.
She did not even need to finish before the mask jerked in her direction and she felt him look her up and down. Even hidden underneath her glamour disguise, he could see her. She felt his attention snap and focus solely on her as the avian mask moved slowly up and down, as if drinking in the sight, sound, and smell of her. She felt his mind reach out to her own through the link between them, whether he meant to or not, she could not be sure.
So, he had been thinking of her these past three years. This would be easier than anticipated.
“These three years have been kind to you, Charmcaster. A pity you should return under such unpleasant circumstances,”
The voice. It was his voice. She would have known it anywhere. Even muffled under the mask and cowl, she could make out the distinct tones and rhythms that were exclusively Darkstar’s. She wondered what it meant that her heart seemed to flutter in her chest.