About time I sent this out. *grin*
It's safe to assume that people who believe that Reality Bites live
in the world on their own creation. A world fashioned by their own
imagination...through art, through dreams, through anything one
perceives as her destiny. Where the impossible is possible, where
dreams are reality, where the end is endless....a mixture of paradoxes
all blended together in one fantastic realm.
Some call it a place for dreamers, those who defy Reality on their own
accord. Others call it hogwash, that such a world exists. And still,
others believe that this is a realm of beginnings, endings, and
eternity....where nothing is limited as long as the person has a
complete control of her visions.
Though the place remains nameless, I believe the third statement.
Where visionaries like us are given a perchance to dream, to explore the
possibilities of one's mind, one's imagination.
I called this place Ether.
A.C.E. NON-JQ PRODUCTIONS hesitantly presents........
E. T. H. E. R.
(Everything Through Heart, Everything Real)
I figured that Ether was a perfect name for the place. Webster
defined it as "An imaginary substance regarded by the ancients as
filling all the space beyond the sphere of the moon, and making up all
the stars and planets."
Ether is a substance that creates, yet it exists as something
unproven, something unreal. Something that makes things possible.
Something that works like a person's mind, one's imagination.
Something that captures the attention of everyone's soul.
In my case, however, it went through extremes. It captured my
attention alright.......
By pulling me in. PHYSICALLY.
And so my journey on Ether begins.
EPISODE FIVE: DARKNESS
Outside the elven citadel in the Gretcera Woods, the dark of night
had already fallen thick on the neighboring town of Escasalon.
It was a quaint little area of Shale, where not much happens. The
roads were made of cobblestone, and the businesses in it were small, yet
familiar to the neighboring residences. Escasalon had the essentials to
what a town should be, a bakery, a smithy, a village medicine man, and
of course, the chairman's house.
A young, teenaged girl ran through the town, her long hair and
cloak flying in the nightly breeze. She was dressed in black leggings,
a long, green skirt slit on both sides to her thigh, and a white,
short-sleeved shirt, with the cowl of her green cloak pulled over her
head. She had a dagger on the side of her hip, and a leather pouch
hanging loosely from her waist.
She turned to a sharp right, towards a quaint, small cottage
several miles away from the town's small commerce district. The girl
burst inside the residence, panting a little as she leaned on the
doorframe, her fair skin flushed with the exertion.
"Teacher?" she panted. "You wished to see me?"
A dark shadow loomed in front of a candle-lit wooden table. The
figure seated in front of it nodded quietly, silvery strands of white
hair flowing down the person's back.
"Brittany...." a hushed, male voice stated. "Please come in and
shut the door."
The girl shut the door and followed to where her teacher sat. "I
came as you told me to, teacher," she told him. "What is it? More wild
herbs to hunt?"
The old man seated in the chair shook his head. "No, lass.....you
have been an apprentice of mine since childhood, aren't you not?"
Brittany nodded. "Yes sir."
The old man nodded, his back turned to his student. "Your greatest
challenge has yet to be faced, girl. Are you sure you can handle it?"
The girl stood up a little straighter. "With you as my teacher, I
can handle ANYTHING!" Brittany said confidently.
"Ethusiasm is a remarkable quality, lass....but recklessness,
however, is not."
(heh heh heh...a King Kashue-ism from Lodoss War!)
Brittany deflated a little at that statement. "Yes sir," she said
quietly. "However....teacher, why have you wished to see me tonight?
I'm not supposed to come until next morning like you originally told me
to practice my lessons."
The old man turned to face his student, and Brittany gazed at her
teacher's eyes.....all white, no pupils. A characteristic all prophets
in all the continents over the Varr shared.
"The Shading of the Three Moons has occured."
Brittany's eyes widened.
The atmosphere inside Maverick's temple grew quiet as the legend of
the Ashka-Lha started sinking in everyone's perception. Alexis stared
at her notebook, then at her black signpen, then looked at Maliha.
"So.....who is it?" she wondered out loud.
Rogue and Ann lost their footing at her naivete, landing in a thump
on the floor, gaping up at the bewildered foreigner. Maliha sighed and
shook her head sadly, looking at Alexis in disbelief.
(heheheheh. In other words, they facefaulted)
"YOU! You clueless ninny!" the brown-haired halfling cried, jumping
up from the floor. "Maliha's implyin' that YOU'RE the Ashka-Lha."
Alexis looked at him calmly. "Gee....NOW who's crazy?" she pointed
out.
"I AM NOT CRAZY!" Rogue bellowed indignantly.
Ann closed her eyes tiredly and elbowed the frustrated halfling
calmly. As Rogue stopped ranting to look at her, Ann beckoned him to
lean closer.
"Ya know..." she whispered in Rogue's ear. "I think she's in
denial or somethin'..."
Alexis looked irritated. "Hey," she pointed out. "JUST because I
wear strange lil' doodads ya guys haven't seen before and JUST because I
happen to WRITE a bunch of stories that COINCEDENTALLY happened in real
life doesn't mean that I'm this...this Ashka-Lha."
Rogue's left eye twitched. "Actually, GENIUS....that's EXACTLY
what it means," he grated out, frustrated beyond belief at the strange
girl's naivete.
Alexis glared at him. "Well, whatever. I'm not the Bard of
Destiny or whatever you guys think I am. I mean, hell, there's
absolutely NO WAY I'm gonna be the usual schmuck tryin' to save the
world...or in this case, A world. It's too....too...CLICHED!"
Maliha, Rogue, and Ann just looked at her strangely.
The sixteen year old sighed. "You don't know what the heck I'm
talking about, do ya?"
"Nope," the three chorused.
Alexis raised her chin stubbornly. "Well, I for one don't believe
it," she said loftily. "I'm not the Ashka-Lha, I'm just an ordinary
HUMAN girl with no strange powers whatsoever who writes stories when
she's bored. I don't have powers over destiny, and the only things I
have right now are my jeans jacket, my notebook, and grossly nearsighted
vision."
Rogue rubbed his temples in frustration. "Stubborn lil'...." he
muttered.
"Denial's a very harsh thing..." Ann told him philosophically.
Maliha looked at Alexis exasperated. "Alright foreigner, we have
no right to dictate your destiny to you," the elf girl said crisply.
"But we do so have another matter to discuss."
Alexis blinked at the serious tone and the urgent face. The elf
looked at her intently, her green eyes riveting on the strange girl with
the khaki skirt.
"It is clear that someone knows you are here," Maliha continued.
"And as you know, unless we permit it, only fellow elves are allowed to
visit the Gretceran Citadel. Whoever sent those vampires must have been
able to breach the magical barrier that keeps this place unnoticed and
unharmed for centuries. It is quite obvious that we have had a major
security breach."
"You mean the vines?" Ann asked intently.
Maliha nodded. "Only those who mastered the Lumina Bells' Soulfire
can have only the slightest chance of breaking the barrier forged by our
ancestors," the elf continued. "Whoever has done the act of breaking
through this barrier is either very skilled in the magical arts, or
someone from the inside."
"So there's a possibility of a traitor in our midst," Rogue
concluded grimly. "What do we do?"
Maliha shook her head. "I highly doubt it came from the inside,
for we elves are somewhat connected with all our breathren through the
Soulfires we extract and consume from Lumina Bells, which are also
connected with their fellow plants in a magical aspect. If one of us
did open the barrier from within to let the vampires through, we would
sense it. That's why our kind is still thriving in these
parts...because we can sense danger rather hurriedly. The only option
left is an outside source."
She turned to Alexis. "Whether you like it or not, foreigner, you
are in danger...and you will put others in danger if you remain here not
knowing what to do."
Alexis eyes darkened at the possibility. "So the only option I
have left to ensure others' saftey is to keep moving from here," she
concluded. The teenager sighed heavily. "But WHY me? I mean, most of
my life, I get overlooked often and now being some sorta 'center' of
attention's kinda new to me! It doesn't make any sense!"
Maliha brushed some strands of golden hair away from her tanned
face and looked at the hapless girl. "It's simple, foreigner," she told
her. "Whether you like it or not, you're destiny seems greater than you
yourself can comprehend in this world. Maybe not from where you come
from, but it is the opposite here. It's about time you accepted that
fact and the responsibilities that come with it....."
"It's time for you to grow up a little."
Alexis' eye widened, taken aback by the blunt statement as Maliha
eyed her sternly. Then, she looked at Maverick's altar.
"I shall pray to our god to keep you from harm and to give you his
blessing," the elf said in a more gentle tone. "I will also make the
necessary arrangements for you to be transported safely away from here."
Alexis was speechless, everything was coming too fast for her.
Rogue and Ann looked at her sympathetically.
"Even if you are not the Ashka-Lha, you are still in danger for
reasons unknown," Maliha said, breaking the silence. "It is also best
if you keep moving. Whatever the vampires want with you, it cannot be
too good."
Alexis set her mouth in a grim line. Her eyes narrowed. She was
never so frustrated in her entire life, and she struggled to keep her
temper intact. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.
"When do I leave?"
Maliha gave her a small smile and nodded at the girl. "As soon as
possible, preferrably tonight, under the cover of darkness. I will
arrange an escort for you to take you to Escasalon, the nearest town
from here."
"That won't be necessary."
Alexis blinked, then turned to look at Ann. The child mercenary
grinned at her. "I'll go with you," she piped up. "I've been to a lot
of places....and I know the geography, you might get lost, you know."
The sixteen-year old looked at her hesitantly. "But--"
Ann rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I know. I'm a kid, so what?"
She grinned cutely at Alexis. "I'll keep ya outta trouble, I promise."
Alexis grinned at the child, relieved despite her hesitance to have
a child involved in her own problems. "Well, alright if you insist."
"You'll have to pay me though."
"WHAT?!" Ann giggled. "I'm a mercenary, remember?" She looked at
Alexis. "Don't worry, you can pay me back at the end of this entire
lil' run-around of yours."
Alexis' shoulders sagged. "Gee, thanks," she replied flatly.
Rogue placed his hands at the back of his head. "If ya don't mind,
I think I'll stay in the citadel. I kinda like it here," he replied.
He gave Alexis a smirk and added. "Besides, I paid you back already for
saving me, remember?"
Alexis looked back at him, slightly annoyed. "Don't worry, I
remember," she said shortly. "Besides, I didn't ask you to come."
Rogue gave a sigh and shook his head at her tone as Alexis turned
to face Maliha, waiting for the elf's instructions.
Maliha looked at Alexis, giving her another overlook. "Would you
like new clothes?" she asked, gesturing to her khaki skirt and jeans
jacket. "I can easily arrange it."
Alexis shook her head. "My clothes and sneakers are just fine with
me," she replied. "No offense, but I prefer my Nikes to leather boots
any day."
Maliha nodded. "Alright. I'll send someone to give Ann a map of
Shale, then I'll arrange for you to pass through the secret escape route
of the citadel." She turned to Ann. "It's up to you to lead yourselves
to Escasalon. The fewer people who travel with the foreigner, the less
noticeable you'll be."
Ann nodded and gave Maliha a mock salute. "Count on it!" the child
said ethusiastically, somewhat excited with her new mission.
Later, Maliha handed Alexis a leather satchel with a strap. "Put
your things in here and put this on," the elf told her, producing a
black, hooded cloak. "Pull the cowl over your head and follow Ann
through the forest. It won't be long until you reach Escasalon."
Alexis took the satchel and placed her notebook and jeans jacket
inside it. She wrapped the cloak over her shoulders and pulled the
large hood over her head. She felt ridiculous, but she knew it was
necessary.
"Well, I always asked for a more exciting life," the schoolgirl
muttered. "What's more exciting than being some sorta fugitive?"
She slung the satchel on her shoulder and looked at Ann, who had
the same kind of cloak on. She started to chuckle. It was almost too
big for Ann, and the cowl almost went over her eyes.
Ann glared up at the taller girl. "Don't start," she growled.
Rogue came up and handed Ann the map. "Take care of yourself,
kid," he told her. Ann pouted at him.
"Of course!" she huffed. "I ain't a mercenary for nuthin', ya
know!"
Rogue grinned and turned to Alexis, who raised her eyebrows
inquiringly.
"And you....beware of meat eaters this time," he told her,
chuckling slightly. "Some of them aren't even HALF the good guy I am."
Alexis smirked back at him. "No need to get mushy, I'll be just
fine," she retorted, remembering his remark earlier during the vampires'
attack.
"WHO'S being MUSHY?!" Rogue asked indignantly, peeved. Alexis
mimicked his "defense" gesture, putting her palms up in mock defense.
"Obnoxious lil'..." he grumbled as Maliha stepped forward.
"Heh heh heh heh heh...." Alexis snickered. She turned to Maliha.
"I guess we're ready to go, thanks for everythin'."
"Take care of yourself...Ashka-Lha," Maliha replied. She handed
her a slim, long object wrapped in soft white silk. "Keep this with
you," the elf instructed. "And make sure to visit the Prophet of
Escasalon."
"Who's--" Alexis began when Ann tugged at her arm.
"C'mon," Ann told her. "We gotta leave..."
Maliha touched the wall in front of her and the stones swung open,
revealing a hidden, dark passage. "This leads to the middle of the
Gretcera Woods,:" she informed them. "Be careful....it's dark out, not
much different from this passage."
Alexis nodded, and slipped inside the hidden pathway after Ann.
Maliha closed the wall, cutting off the light from the fire-lit
hallway, and the two were suddenly enclosed in darkness.
In the depths of the Gretcera Woods, a heavy boulder jiggled
slightly, then slowly moved to the side as forces pushed from within.
Ann stepped out quietly, peering about in the darkness from
underneath the huge cowl of her cloak. Her expression brightened when
she realized no one was in sight. She pushed the boulder the rest of
the way.
"Psst. Alexis, we can move," she hissed in the darkness.
Alexis stepped out of the cavern she was in, blinking at the
darkness in front of her. "I can't see a thing!" she hissed, stepping
beside the twelve year old. "Don't you people have any moons?"
Ann looked at her curiously. "We have three moons," she told
Alexis quietly. She gazed up the dark, star spangled sky. "This year
is special, though.....The Shading of the Three Moons. It only occurs
once every seven millenia. An old man in the village where I grew up in
always said it can be interpreted as a good omen and a bad omen at the
same time, where the three moons of the sky can never be seen, and all
the lands over the Varr are plunged into darkness...."
Ann turned and grinned impishly at the teenager. "But to make sure
it's a good omen," she continued as they started walking deeper into the
forest. "The neighboring towns in Shale hold The Annual Festival of the
Shadows.....even if the actual Shading only accurs every seven thousand
years. It's something to appease the Griffin Goddess, Cat-Kiska.
People always believed that she was the one responsible, since her
domain is the sky."
"So....even though the elves revere Maverick, they can worship
other gods, too?" Alexis asked, bewildered.
"Every race worships all four gods," Ann said. "Yet it is their
choice on which one they would devote themselves to fully. Elves devote
themselves to Maverick because he is the guardian of all the lands over
the Varr Ocean....since they practice Nature Sorcery."
Ann hacked some branches out of their way and continued walking in
the darkness. Alexis gaped at her surroundings, slightly nervous. The
black, winding branches cast their sillhouettes, black in the dark blue
background of the night. The light of the stars gave her some comfort,
yet she felt slightly uneasy.
A twig snapped sharply, echoing through the silence of the quiet
forest. Ann jumped at the sound as Alexis froze in her tracks.
"Didja hear that?" Alexis hissed, hoping that her black cloak can
camoflauge her sufficiently in the darkness.
Ann held her sword defensively in front of her. "You bet I did,"
the young girl whispered urgently, starlight glinting faintly on the
slim, silver blade. She looked over her shoulder at her charge. "Stay
behind me."
Alexis raised her eyebrow at that. Then her eyes widened when she
heard a sharp, grunting sound.
"It sounds like a wild boar," she hissed at her companion, who
raised an eyebrow.
"Somehow..I doubt that...." Ann muttered. Her eyes widened, then
her nose wrinkled. "Ewww.....something stinks..."
Alexis caught a whiff of the stench which suddenly filled the air
and choked. She started coughing, the smell getting stronger.
"It's..getting.....closer..whatever the hell it is.." the teenager
coughed, clutching her nose.
Ann's eyes widened in realization. The grunting, the snuffling, the
smell....and the darkness which surrounded them could only mean one
thing.
"ORCS!" Ann yelled, whipping around wildly, eyeing the darkness.
"WHAT?!" Alexis cried.
Suddenly, small, red blinks of light filtered around them against
the black shadows of the forest, forming a semi-circle of red around
them.
Ann and Alexis backed into each other, Ann armed, Alexis with no
weapons whatsoever.
"We're surrounded!" Alexis cried in despair.
"Don't move!" Ann cried back. She gritted her teeth. "I'm too
young to die! And you're too clueless to defend yourself!"
"HEY!" Alexis cried indignantly. "Don't knock it 'til ya tried
it!"
"What's THAT supposed to mean?!"
"Oooooooh..NEVERMIND!"
They backed into each other further as the orcs started closing
in. Alexis' eyes widened at the sight.
The orcs were red-eyed, squattish and short. Their long arms hung
down to the ground, and the faint starlight glinted off long, yellow
fangs. Their skin was dark, and covered with reptillian grooves in
their thick hides. Huge, black claws stuck out awkwardly from their
hands and feet.
"Don't let the claws or fangs touch you," Ann warned, eyeing the
semi-circle of red, glowing eyes warily. "You can die from one
scratch.....they can inject deadly poison to ease the death of their
victims."
"Oh great, inhuman Kevorkians," Alexis muttered. "Not like there's
much of a difference anyway."
The growling grew louder. Ann handed Alexis a dagger. The
black-haired girl gripped it on her right hand, slinging the strap of
her leather satchel diagonally across her chest.
"They're about to attack!" Ann whispered hoarsely. "Get ready."
The child felt her heart pumping loudly at her chest. "We won't make
it..." her brain's logic cried out in alarm. "There's too many..."
The growling grew louder, and a dart of black shot up in the air,
black claws shining as an orc launched himself in their general
direction.
"YAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!"
"ALEXIS!"
Black, smelly liquid spalshed somewhere near Ann, staining her arms
and boots. Alexis quivered slightly, her hand stretched out, her dagger
pointed.
The orc fell on the ground in a sickening thud, motionless.
Ann gaped at Alexis wide eyed. "What..what didja..."
The sixteen year old opened her eyes, then stared at the bloodied
dagger in her hand. "I just......reacted," she replied dumbly. "Like
the time my brother threw that hanger at me...it almost poked me in the
eye, but I was able to swipe it before it reached my face..."
"Okay okay, I get your point!" Ann cried. A sudden realization
swept through her senses, and she was frightened.
"That was a sacrifice," she whispered as Alexis lowered her arm.
"They're testing our defenses."
The circle closed in again, causing them both to back further.
Suddenly, a loud, inhuman shriek pierced the air as a dark shadow
loomed over the dark canopy of leaves overhead.
END EPISODE FIVE
NEXT EPISODE!
Alexis gave him a baleful glance. "I wouldn't know 'cause you came
before I could do anything remarkable," she retorted dryly. "Who knows?
I would've altered destiny and had them shrivelled up into brown,
wrinkly raisins."
"Why not butterballs? At least I could've eaten them."
"I don't care much for balls."
The halfling smirked. "I can tell by the way you slammed your foot
down that vampire's groin.....Ingrate."
"Egomaniac."
Ann looked at Rogue curiously as he laughed at Alexis' comment. "I
thought you said you weren't coming?"
"Well I--"
A loud growl sliced through the conversation sharply as a surviving
orc leapt in the air, descending swiftly on the halfling.
Ann gaped in horror as fangs slashed at the halfling, who gave out
a sharp cry of pain.
"POISON!" the child mercenary yelled, fear gripping her chest.
EPISODE SIX: THE APPRENTICE
coming...er...soon :)
--
---Alexis: Chaos Insanity Ensuer
FANTASY QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in books written
by rabbits."
-- The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
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