Author: Sam

Story: The Never-ending Story: 3 of 33

Series: none

Setting: Summer 1986: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragon

Characters & Ages: Diana- 17 going on 18 and Dekion, assumed 27 going on 28

Feedback: Yes, please? Especially constructive. samwise_baggins@yahoo.co.uk

Webpage: http://www.oocities.org/samwise_baggins/index.html

Blackness. Total cold, unfeeling darkness. Had life ended? Had death claimed them?

With an inaudible groan, Diana turned her head and tried to blink away the black nothingness before her eyes. She almost felt as if it were invading her very soul. With a cry as primal as the dawn, she pushed herself blindly up, defying whatever was occurring. She would not go out lying down; she never had before. Falling silent, listening to the blanket of soundless black, she suddenly, thankfully became aware of something.

The ground.

She was sitting up, hands planted firmly in soft, grassy loam. It was as if she had been lying in someone's new garden, with sprouts all around. The feel of the earth below her brought comfort in the confusing, endless night.

Smells assaulted her next, and her quick wits figured out that perhaps there really was something to see and hear. Perhaps her own senses were at fault and not the world around her. This was confirmed by the touch of a gentle, hesitant hand on her head.

Then the sense of taste returned, and with it came the knowledge that her mouth was filled with dirt and something metallic. She brought her hand up, blindly, trying to spit out the debris, to clear her mouth. Whoever had touched her seemed to be helping her still. Something was brought to her mouth, her head tilted sideways, and water, cool and clean, poured over her open mouth, washing away dirt and blood, for that was what the metallic taste had been. It was a wonder that none had gone down her throat during her scream.

Thankfully, she utilized as much of the water as she was permitted, until it ran out. With a sigh, turning blind eyes up to where she thought her rescuer stood, Diana attempted a smile. "Th... thanks..." her voice sounded hoarse and small to her ears, but it sounded none-the-less. Her smile widened as the sound of a deep, reverberating voice came back to her.

"You would have done the same for me once, Young Acrobat. It is the least I can do to repay your kindness."

The voice was familiar... solemn and gentle and strong all at once. Something about it tugged at the memory, and suddenly, she recognized the speaker, surprise lending strength to her own voice. "Dekkion? Is that you?"

A soulful laugh accompanied the reply, "Yes, Acrobat, it is I, Dekkion. And if memory serves me, you are known as Diana." She felt a strong grip on her arm, reminding her of the arm grip of greeting she'd once seen used in a King Arthur movie. Instead of greeting, however, the Celestial Knight was pulling her to unsteady feet, using the firm grip to balance her. It certainly made her feel steadier than a simple hand tug would have.

As she stumbled against him, despite the support, his voice rumbled out in calm warning. "Careful, my young friend. You will remain unsteady for some while, and your eyesight will not return for some hours. You have had a long, arduous journey through the Void and must expect weakness." His other arm came around her and the Knight guided the teen into walking.

She had no idea where they were going, but something inside said that she could trust this Knight they had saved far more than she could even trust the new Venger. And so, she allowed him the control, the guidance. After a few easy steps, with no apparent barriers to stumble upon, she asked, "Where are the others, Dekkion? I can't hear anyone else."

"There are no others, Lady Diana. We are on the edge of a precipice away from Humans and other denizens of the Realm. The only others around are simple creatures without the interest or will to aid us. The Void oft separates travelers."

"Void?" Diana turned her head towards her companion's voice, so many questions bubbling up that she needed answers to. "Precipice?"

"Yes; when you left the Void, you all but fell over the edge. However, I happened to be passing and stopped your fall. The rest you are aware of." Dekkion tugged her arm gently, guiding her to sit on a flat, large stone.

She obeyed. "But, Dekkion... the Void? Where are the others? How do you know how I got here?"

"Dungeon Master told me to look for a warrior to aid me..."

When his answer came from her other side, she wanted to scream in frustration. She had never thought blindness could be worse than feebleness, but not knowing where she was, or where her companion was, drove her towards the edge of anger and despair. "And how will I find the others if I can't see?"

Dekkion made a rumbling sound, as if acknowledging her while trying to come up with answers to her inquiries. Finally, as her patience was about to snap, he responded. "The Void is where people go when they are teleported across the Realm for long distances. Dungeon Master would have used it as the fastest way to get you to where you are needed most. In this case, you were sent to me, for I, too, am preparing to fight the evil newly arisen." He touched her shoulder, again on the opposite side as before, causing Diana to actually growl at him. He seemed unbothered by her reaction. "And the blindness will go. It is a result of the Void. People are affected different ways, but I have yet to hear of a permanent disability from such travel. I do not think Dungeon Master would use a dangerous method to send you, Lady Diana."

"We need to find the others." Her voice was steady once more, the determination that was second nature to her helping her to push away the doubts and fears her handicap... temporary handicap she kept repeating to herself... had caused. Her companion didn't answer her and she tilted her head towards the last place she'd heard his voice. "Dekkion? You can't leave me in the dark like this. If I can't see you, at least I can hear you. So talk to me."

The Knight, once a skeletal horror with a curse, now a noble countenanced man, nodded his head at the blind Acrobat. "We are not going to find the other Young Warriors."

"What!" She stood quickly, anger singing through her voice, her very blood.

"Patience, Young One," he soothed. Holding up a hand she couldn't see, the man sighed. "We will yet see them again, Lady Diana, but for now, our task is to research this evil. We are the ones who will find the information, map his movements and goals... we are the ones who will obtain the tactical information needed for the coming war."

The dark beauty stood still, her breath almost stopping in shock. "What did you say, Dekkion?" The control, the calm of her words, was almost a shock in itself. She tilted her head, her dark eyes narrowing. "Me? An athlete? Stay behind and look through books and maps? That is what you're saying, isn't it? That I'm to be used as a librarian!" Suddenly, she exploded in frustration. "Not on your life, buddy!" She didn't care how much like Eric she sounded, how whiney and ungrateful her reaction, she wanted to be doing something. "I didn't give up the chance to go home to sit on my butt and let others fight my battles! I'm going to find the others and we're going to take this guy down so we can go home for good!" Whirling around, uncaring if she stumbled over things in her blind haste, the young woman started making her way deliberately back the way they'd come.

Dekkion's hand stopped her.

"You will walk off a cliff to your demise, Lady Diana, and no one's aid, if you continue on that path. Dungeon Master does not mean for you to remain out of the battle, Acrobat. He means for you to utilize your other gifts to aid in the coming war. He knows where your strengths lie, after all."

Pausing, Diana asked in a voice as sullen as the Cavalier's had ever been, "Oh yeah? And what strength does he think I have in this, Dekkion? Sheila could easily do the reading that he wants done." She felt a twinge of regret at the slight to her friend's battle prowess; however soft Sheila was, the Thief had never shirked her part, after all.

With a deep rumble of laughter, Dekkion smiled broadly at the unseeing woman. "He needs you to read the stars, Lady Diana. You, among the six, are the only one with enough Star Gazing to do that for him."

At the term Star Gazing, Diana flinched and started shaking her head, memories coming back in a rush of pain and desolation. Kosar... she'd lost him because of Star Gazing, and now Dungeon Master expected her to embrace this task whole heartedly? "I... I... Dekkion, someone else..."

"There is no one else. Of all the Young Ones to come to this Realm, only two possessed the knowledge of the stars which is needed. Of those two, you are here. The other is not. Therefore, the task falls to you, or we loose a much needed advantage." Dekkion's voice softened. He didn't know why she shied from this task, but he could hear the loss in her voice, knew that someone she cared for had been hurt because of this skill. "If you utilize this ability, Lady Diana, you would be honoring the memory of your loved one. Would that person run from this task?"

Diana had never been a coward, but she had never wanted to run so much in her life. Dekkion, however, was correct. He wouldn't have shirked this duty, no matter how painful, or even how tedious, it was. Kosar would have done it to help Dungeon Master and the Realm. She hung her head in acceptance but not defeat.

"I will do as you request, Dekkion. I will research the stars for this information, whatever it is. And after we gather everything we can," her head came up, and determination glinted in her fine, chocolate eyes, "I will go into battle and defeat this guy, even if I do it single-handedly. I chose to stay and fight, but once this battle's done, I'm going home for good."

The Celestial Knight did not question her. There was no possible question he could ask. The Acrobat had made up her heart, as well as her mind. And, after all, the warrior felt the same way about their assigned task, for he too wished to fight not read. With a silent touch to her arm, Dekkion started guiding Diana until she could see.

The pair turned to start on their long journey in silence.