Aegis:
Chapter One
[Rating: General
···
Length: Very Long
···
Genre: Mixed up, Serious]
[Word count: (chapter: 3791)(total:22444
)]
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
Swooping through an endless expanse of sky, a beautiful
figure swam effortlessly through the air. The bird’s black
feathers glinted in the bright sun as it caught updrafts
and soared higher still. The fluffy white clouds that
blanketed the space beneath it soon melted into the clear
sky and the bird could see for miles.
In the distance, it saw a collection of buildings. Flapping
its wings gracefully, it dived lower and, skimming a dense
forest, set off for the town. As the forest dissolved
into a long plain of stones, the bird was forced to climb
higher because of the heat the backed grey sentinels threw
into the sky. A Sugerplant plantation offered some rest
and the bird clung to an obligingly tall stalk for a time
before continuing its flight.
* * *
Through the crowded streets of argopolis, a tall hooded
figure strode to the bakery. The long, thick staff at
her side did not help navigation and she was forced to
hold it close to her body. Practically grabbing the baker’s
doorframe, she hauled herself out of the fast moving current
of bodies, only to be almost knocked over by a large black
bird that fluttered in behind her, landing on the floor
and scuttling under the nearest shelf.
A weather-beaten man looked up from cleaning the display
glass. “’Ello Aegis!” he greeted, waving the polishing
cloth in a friendly salute. “Hello, Sergoth,” she replied,
pulling back the hood to scrutinize the bread before her.
Sleek black hair tumbled down past her hips and waved
in the slight breeze from the open door. Leaning her staff
against the counter, she crouched down to inspect the
bread with glittering purple eyes. “Two sesame loaves
and a sugerplant bun, please,” she called from her lowered
position.
“Righto,” the kindly man replied, pulling the appropriate
food from the counter and pushing them into a paper bag
with care. “That’ll be four umaks thanks.” Rising gracefully,
Aegis handed over the money and lifted the bag. The bird
promptly waddled forward and sat on her foot. Looking
down, she saw its species and laughed. “You seem to have
attracted another one, Sergoth” she remarked to the man
who, after setting down his cloth, walked around to the
other side of the counter. “I wonder where they all come
from,” he mused, attempting to scoop up the bird and failed
as it flapped up to a high shelf. Aegis dipped her hand
into her bag and offered it her bun. Tentatively, the
bird glided down to snatch at the food. Aegis grabbed
it and bid Sergoth open the back door. He did so and she
shoved the protesting animal to join many of its kind
in the small lot behind the bakery.
“I don’t know what I would do without you, Aegis.” The
baker smiled, shutting the door. “Oh…” said Aegis “you
haven’t heard, then?” Sergoth’s expression of utter bewilderment
answered her. “I am to face the choosing.” His face cleared
yet fell slightly. “I am going next cycle.” Sergoth seemed
to shrivel at the news. “So this is goodbye, then. I’ll
have to manage without your bird-catching services.” Picking
up his cloth to hide the look of sadness, he called “Good
luck. May your flame eternally burn.” “And yours, Sergoth.”
With that, she collected her staff and readied herself
for the journey home.
Conversations such as this had been reoccurring every
time she had talked to someone. She was very much liked
in this village, though some found her quiet manner irritating,
and it saddened people to see her have to leave, even
for a short while.
Hands full, she pushed the tough wooden door of her family
hut open. Bustling into the hall, a small dumpy woman
with short black hair relieved Aegis of both cloak and
bread. “What took you so long?” she asked kindly. “I was
getting worried.” “Sorry, Mother,” Aegis replied, leaning
her staff on the coat-rack “The crowds were terrible.”
Strolling into the kitchen, she grabbed a bread knife
and helped her mother slice the new loaves.
“What do you expect? The choosing is next cycle, only
four days. Everyone will be there.” The older woman’s
voice was simultaneously proud and sad. At the mention
of the trials, Aegis stopped cutting the bread. “I am
a bit nervous.” “You have no need to be. You are mage
material.” She said with a smile. Blushing at the complement,
Aegis resumed her cutting.
“All of this hype is terrible – I blame the gossip,”
Nagani muttered disconsolately. “If not for the gossip,
I wouldn’t have known to go to the tests. I wouldn’t have
even heard of the choosing.” Aegis replied, selecting
a piece of bread to munch on. “The authorities could have
sent a proper notice. They should run it all official-like.”
At that she rushed out, calling “Finish that, would you?
I have to run an errand for Gudrin.”
* * *
The cycle dragged by slowly. Despite her longing for
the day of the choosing, time obstinately continued to
slow. When the night before the trial arrived, Aegis’s
sleep was filled with thoughts of the ritual she had to
remember; the honour and the test. She wondered which
form of magic she would be chosen for. It seemed she had
only just drifted off when her mother was calling her.
After a short breakfast, Aegis dressed in her best robes
and polished the dark wood of her staff. Pulling her hair
into a ponytail, she strode toward the door. Her mother
rushed over, smiling and crying all at once. “I’ll be
there to watch. Good luck!” After holding Aegis in an
embrace that rendered her rather short of breath, Aegis
stepped on to the street. Unlike the previous day, the
main thoroughfare was clear but the sidewalks were a mass
of seething people. The only thing that kept the crowd
from bubbling onto the road was strong green cords, spun
from sugarplant husk, tied onto poles that had been embedded
into the ground the night before, to contain the crowd.
The moment she stepped out of the hut, the crowd erupted
into loud cheers; they flung flowers at her, calling encouragement.
Pushing down her nerves, Aegis smiled and waved. Soon
another, a short male youth with dusty blonde hair and
blue eyes wide with a mixture of nerves and excitement,
joined her from a small, non-descript hut. By the end
of the street there were three of them. Aegis, the youth
and another girl, with brown hair and an arrogant expression,
who had joined them a few houses before. The trio, despite
their obvious physical and less obvious personality differences,
had one thing in common: They were to become mages – powerful
beings that guarded the land from evil. Every hundred
years three more were appointed to continue the guard.
As there were three guardians, so there were three areas
of magic: Guardian of people, Guardian of nature and Guardian
of time. Gossip spreads the news when it is time to chose
the new guardians and all the villages send five of their
people, aged between fifteen and twenty, to the hill of
choosing.
On arriving they rest a day, eating only the berries
that grew on the bushes at the foot of the hill. The next
morning at dawn, they sit in a circle about a small stone
at the hill’s peak. As the sun hits the stone, it will
bounce into three beams of light. The light will only
touch the three who are to become guardians. They then
return to the principal village-Aegis’s village in secret
until one week before the final choosing, so naturally
the whole village knows. Only then will the guardians
come and assign each their task. Arriving at the platform
of initiation, now covering most of the Town Square, the
three people kneeled.
Three shimmering forms glided slowly from the clouds
above the hushed crowd. One, the Guardian of the people,
was clothed in flowing robes of orange. Aegis, peering
closely at the guardian’s garments, could see faces and
artifacts of ancient swords and tapestries, scenes of
merriment and games, all flickering evasively across the
bewitched thread.
The Guardian of time wore a glittering white dress that
sparkled like the falling sand in an hourglass. Tiny clocks
shimmered in her hair, all of them small with silver hands.
The Guardian of nature wore what at fist glance was a
green tunic, but was in reality closely woven, living
vines. They swished in the breeze, letting off a soft
scent of flowers. Small blossoms made up the collar and
hems. Her eyes seemed of the sea, changing colours like
the rolling waves, dark blue, light blue, white. Dark
blue, light blue, white. It was said that at night they
followed the colour of the sunset and at dawn, followed
patterns of sunrise. Despite all their beauty, all of
the guardians appeared mournful, as though there was a
great weight on their shoulders. Landing in unison near
the back of the stage to the crowd’s hushed delight, they
turned to the three who kneeled before them.
Stepping forward, the Guardian of people spoke in a voice
that of many. “I give the task of people to Ashrak of
Karraban.” The terrified youth stood and was engulfed
with orange light. The Guardian was dissolving slowly,
his life force twisting into a column of light that now
surrounded Ashrak to the excited gasps of the crowd. When
the glow subsided, Ashrak wore an orange tunic, signifying
the chosen magic. Not only did his clothes change. He
found new knowledge tucked away in his brain, including
his task. No longer nervous, he turned to the crowd. He
spoke confidentially, after all - this was his calling.
“My task of initiation is to travel to the distant land
of Yeroshimen and to turn the conflicted native people
to a peaceful civilisation. I have precisely five cycles
to complete this task.” He stepped back to stand where
the Guardian of people been just moments before. Now,
the Guardian of time glided nearer. Mind racing, Aegis
wondered if she was to be chosen, but, the Guardian turned
to the mousey girl. “I give the task of time to Nerithea
of Jhorbok.” Dissolving into a glittering white spectre,
the Guardian of time dissolved about Nerithea. When the
final traces of shimmering white had faded, Nerithea was
wearing a tunic of white. Small silver clocks, all showing
the same time, floated across the shining thread. Looking
toward the crowd, she spoke. “My task is to find and recover
the timepiece of the ancients. I have five point three
cycles to complete this task.”
Realising what was coming, Aegis began to feel an unusual
mixture of apprehension and excitement. As the Guardian
stepped toward her, the whole world seemed to blend into
insignificant soup of sight and sound. The only thing
in focus was the kind brown face and its owner as it glided
toward her. Aegis distantly noticed that small flowers
were growing in the Guardians wake. “I give the task of
nature to Aegis of Argopolis.” As the Guardian began to
melt into a bright light of green and blue, Aegis felt
a great wave of sorrow. Why should such a beautiful being
be destroyed? Was she doing the right thing? But as the
guardian’s soft consciousness began to meld with her own,
she felt an overwhelming wave of calm. The knowledge of
what her task was slid into her mind, forming as slowly
as the vines that grew from her shoulders.
All she could see was green, like a forest, then blue,
like the sky. Slowly the soft vision faded. Aegis wanted
desperately to call it back, to live forever gazing at
the beautiful sight, but she knew she could not. It had
been the lush forest of Kadavern, before an unknown hand
wasted it. Raising her face to look at the crowd, she
spoke. “My task is to travel to the dead land of Kadavern.
I must restore the life that it has lost. I have five
cycles to complete my task.”
Stepping back, she searched the crowd for her mother.
There she was, laughing and crying once again. She wished
her sister still lived to see her triumph, but that could
not be. Casting the delicate net of her thoughts to the
task ahead, she began to plan her route to Kadavern. She
would begin in the sugerplant plantations, then cross
the Rocklands. It would be a small matter of then trekking
through the forest and she would have arrived at her destination.
The touch of a kind hand pulled her from her thoughts.
Smiling at her, Ashrak showed her to the steps at the
side of the raised area. “Come, you must rest. Your task
will be trying.” “As will yours,” she replied wearily.
After she had wound her way through the crowded streets
to her hut, she began to gather food and water for the
journey ahead.
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
|
