[2004/12] The Calm

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=323

Frostfell, 15 P.Y.

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=324

Antius stepped into the portal and reality was whisked away. The grass, sand and sky blurred into a streaked, purple mess. His stomach lurched as gravity disappeared. The sounds of the birds and surf faded to a bleak pinpoint of nothing. They were replaced with a high-pitched whine that assaulted the warrior's ears. He felt light, weightless; but at the same time, the walls of portal space screamed past him at an incredible rate of speed. He feared what might happen to him should he chance to float into those walls. Luckily, such a thing had never happened. Still, the fear remained.


Bile pushed its way up Antius' throat. No matter how many times he used these alien portals, he never grew used to the effect they had on his body. He hated the way this place made him feel. He was a capable warrior - strong and fierce. But in this place, he was helpless as a newborn babe.


Antius closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing, though there was really no air here. Even so, it helped to focus one's thoughts on those most basic of human functions.


Antius felt something pull at his feet. He recognized that sensation as gravity. His stomach began to settle as the whine of portal space receded to the back of his mind. The sounds of birds and surf replaced that whine once again. But this time, the birds were different. He had never had the appreciation for birds that Elysa did. Surely, she would be able to tell him what sort of bird he now heard, as opposed to the sort that made their homes in the battlements of Elysa's castle. But in her absence, he had to pride himself on the small accomplishment of simply recognizing one trill over another. It was not just the birdsong that separated this place from his island home, however. The surf, too, was different here. It came from the west, rather than from all around him.


"Welcome, Antius!" Antius opened his eyes. Jenavere stood a few paces before him. She made a small bow. Behind her, Hendac pulled his sword from the corpse of a Banderling. He turned to Antius and nodded his head.


Antius cleared his throat, acclimating himself to reality once again. "I see you've been busy." He nodded to the Banderling's corpse.


"You kept us waiting long enough," Jenavere replied. She looked into the forest just east of them. "This forest does not want us here."


Antius nodded. Suddenly, he remembered something he had nearly forgotten. "Oh, Hendac." Antius pulled a small pouch from his belt and tossed it to the man. Hendac caught it and sniffed the small bag, a great warm smile crossing his face. "Elysa sends her regrets for not sending this gift sooner. She knows how much you enjoy her pearblossom tea."


The silent warrior tied the pouch to his own belt. He clasped his hands before his mouth and bowed deeply.


"I'll tell her you said so," Antius replied.


"Okay, boys. Enough gift-giving," Jenavere chided. "Let's do what we came here to do." The three warriors turned and ran north.


*****


"When did it appear?" Antius asked the man.


The Gharu'ndim gentleman removed his fez and scratched his head. "We don't really know, my lord. There has been nothing but ocean out there for so long that we rarely even look in that direction. When I first moved to this fort, I thought I would spend all my time meditating on the calm, deep waters of the sea. But after a time, even the most beautiful surroundings become mundane, I suppose. Now, we spend most of our time just waiting for passing travelers with whom to trade." Feruza nodded to the robed man standing on the upper walkway of the fort's walls. "It was not until that young man arrived that we took notice. He is the one who pointed it out to us. Now, I wonder how we missed it for so long."


Antius thanked the man and climbed the stairs of the small fort's meager walls. The Sho man on the walkway held his robe close. He coughed once and nodded to Antius, a broad smile on his face. "Good day, my lord," the man said. Antius nodded to him, then looked at the mountain to the north.


He had been to this fort many times. Since his arrival on this new world, his adventures had sent him across all the known reaches of Dereth. He knew this place well. There had been nothing but empty ocean out there the last time he was here. But those waters were no longer empty.


A massive plateau of ice rose from the sea. Beyond it, an island chain graced the horizon. Antius felt the breath leave his body. So much land in what had previously been the barren sea. How had that happened? Had something caused that land to suddenly come into being? Or worse, had it been there all along, and they had just been unable to see it until now?


Antius looked down at the two figures on the beach. Hendac and Jenavere stared intently at the new islands. He wondered if they were filled with the same sense of dread that he was. The three of them had been through too much together to simply ignore these new islands. Something had placed them there - or unveiled them. Something of great power, no doubt. And if life on Dereth had taught him anything, it was that beings of great power are often bent on great destruction.


Antius pulled the gem from his pack. It was time to report to his queen.


*****


Light and dark swirled into a mass of seething shadow as the creature's body twisted and popped. Its dark, translucent form bled into a mass of muscled, gray flesh. Blood of red, green, black, and purple flowed from the wounds which covered its new body. The wounds closed, the blood stopped, but the pain remained. The creature gasped as a mouth grew from its newly formed face. It bellowed a cry of soulless anguish. The thing fell to its knees and wept.


A hand caressed the top of its head. "Shh..." the dark voice whispered. "This pain is temporary."


The hand reached down and settled beneath the creature's massive chin. The thing looked up into the dark eyes of its master. It blinked and shuddered at the blinding light of the great one's profane beauty. "M-m-master..." it stuttered.


"Yes," the great one whispered. Its words were oily and thin, wrapped in a sea of writhing madness. "Master..."

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=325

He looked down at his flesh. It was still new to him. He both loved and loathed its alien feel - its texture; its smell; its oils. So powerful, yet still so flawed and weak compared with the existence he had previously known.


He looked at his brothers. He nodded to the youngest of them. The changeling nodded in assent and ran east. The other two looked to him for their own orders.


He removed a map from his pack and unrolled it. He placed a large finger on two locations. Each of his brothers nodded and began the trek to their designated posts.


He held the map to his blade of flame and watched the paper crumble to ash. Then he began his own journey. For he, too, had a part to play in this great game.