Aegis:
Chapter Two
[Rating: General
···
Length: Very Long
···
Genre: Mixed up, Serious]
[ Word count: (chapter: 2, 227) (total:22444
)]
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
The farewell procession was far grander then she had
ever imagined. Shopfronts had been festooned with paper
lanterns, waving flags of wonderful colours and all manners
of strange and beautiful objects that fluttered in the
slight breeze, the sidewalk a seething mass of cheery
faces.
As she strode along, she was showered with petals and
wishes of good luck. Yet she felt slightly distant from
these people, as if they had little relevance to her.
Her mind drifted to the fair hills of Nadrak in distant
Karithian and the sweeping lakes of Godril. She felt a
longing for wide, open spaces where nature ruled, quiet
and thoughtful unlike the bustle of humans.
As the vision swam before her, the bird she had met a
cycle before stirred in the yard. Gaining height, it left
its fellows and made its way to the Sugerplant fields.
At first the vine tunic had been uncomfortable, but she
walked it became warm and snug. Her staff had also changed.
A thick vine grew up the shaft and ended in a sight curl
at the tip. It and looked a lot more impressive than it
had when it was only a plain black rod; yet she had yet
to learn and utilize the full extent of its power.
Soon the streets became dirt tracks, then finished altogether.
The crowd thinned until the people were few and far between.
Now it was quiet, the trio were able to strike up a conversation.
“That was amazing!” Nerithia enthused. “Yes,” Ashrak agreed.
“The human capacity to celebrate is wonderful, yet so
often overlooked.” Aegis, feeling rather distant, nodded
in agreement and continued along silently. Nerithia and
Ashrak continued to talk about many varied subjects until,
finally, their paths separated. “Good luck!” Nerithia
beamed. Aegis, pulling her mind from the task ahead for
a few seconds returned the sentiment, waved and turned
back to her first destination – the Sugerplant field.
The stalks of sugerplant rustling pleasantly overhead,
Aegis ambled along the genghal track. Large creatures,
genghals plowed through the fields and ate the leaves
of the Sugerplant. Though first thought of as pests, they
were now welcome and often domesticated by the farmers
when it was discovered that, in eating the leaves, they
promoted the growth of the actual plants.
She thought of how convenient it would be if she could
catch up with the herbivore and befriend and quickened
her steps. Not only would it be convenient transport,
but also on the giant creatures back she could reach the
nourishing sugerfruit.
Stumbling, she looked down to see what had caused her
foot to slip. A thin trail of red liquid began and disappeared
around a bend. As she continued, the blood thickened.
Knowing that the genghal must be hurt, Aegis tightened
hr grip on her staff and rushed forward. As she turned
the corner, she stopped abruptly. Lying before her, soft
blue fur waving in the breeze lay the massive beast.
A soft pitiful wail emanated from its bleeding mouth.
Kneeling down, she saw that a sugerplant stalk, toughened
by the hot sun, had embedded itself in the genghal’s lip.
Muttering comfort to the suffering animal, Aegis gently
pulled the stalk away. The poor genghal twitched with
the pain, but stayed still. Bringing the tip of her staff
to the wound, she chanted a healing spell:
Yedisckaurm gnikeah drakku mostrel umbeguide
The pain gone, the genghal rose to its feet, puzzled.
It’s slow mind recognized that this small creature with
a patch of long black fur had stopped the pain. Nuzzling
its new friend, the genghal lowered itself to its knees.
Aegis smiled and lithely jumped up onto her mount. After
years of riding genghal in her youth, she soon had the
obliging herbivore under her control. At the thought of
her younger days, an image of her sister flashed into
her mind. Ignoring the pang of sadness, she forced the
memory away.
As the sky darkened, Aegis called the genghal to a halt.
They were in the middle of a clearing, large enough to
hold at least three sleeping elephants. Her cloak, now
converted to a makeshift bag as her other smaller one
was full, was bulging with sugerfruit and she had filled
her leather canteen with their nourishing juice. Dismounting
with ease, she sang softly to the genghal. Listening to
her sweet lullaby, it soon fell into a deep slumber. After
eating a few of the golden cobs of Sugerfruit she curled
up by her pet’s soft, blue flank and was soon dreaming.
Nearby, the bird also settled on a tall stalk to rest.
It had followed Aegis the entire day and would continue
to do so for some time. It was not hungry- there were
plenty of insects buzzing about, eating the plentiful
sugerfruit cobs. Days later, it was still the same.
Again sleeping in a clearing, the genghal was awoken by
a blast of cold air. Opening a large hazel eye, she surveyed
the small clearing. Through the suffocating blackness
it could see no threat. Slowly getting to her feet, it
peered into the sky. Silhouetted against the white pinpricked
deep blue backdrop of the night, a shape was fluttering.
It was only a draf, a bird-like lizard that hunted for
small rodents during the night. Drafs usually hunted near
genghals, needing the warmth that the mammal could provide.
Returning to its slumber, the genghal snored quietly.
A small furry body darted for the cover of the genghal’s
shadow. Diving down with startling accuracy, the draf
soon had a night’s meal. It could sense much needed warmth
somewhere nearby but could not locate the source. As it
sat on its haunches to devour its food, it heard a loud
snort to it’s left. Finally noticing the two creatures
that shared the clearing, it gulped down the last of the
meat and waddled over. Curling up next to the smaller
creature, it too relaxed into a deep sleep.
Feeling the movement at her side, Aegis opened her eyes
sleepily. In the darkness she could see nothing, but the
texture of the creature’s skin told her she had acquired
another new friend, a draf. Upon waking, Aegis realised
her luck; the still sleeping draf had remained by her
side. Gently rising and moving the lizard into the genghal’s
fur, she set about making a cord from the sugerplant’s
thin, strong leaves. When the cord was complete, she tied
it to one of the draf’s legs, just above the three talons.
She would train it to hunt for her, because, as unpleasant
rodent flesh was, she could not survive on sugerplant
alone.
A short time later, the genghal, blinking sleepily, rose
to its feet and the surprised draf was shaken awake. It
was further shocked to find itself bound by a thin rope
to a creature that now appeared to be eating. Cawing angrily,
it tried to gnaw through the cord, though to no avail.
Aegis, seeing her charges had woken, pulled the draf gently
to her and stroked its head soothingly. Forgetting his
fear, the draf allowed itself to be scratched under the
chin. It felt suddenly safe-trust seemed to flow from
her fingertips. The cord had served its purpose – Aegis
had been able to work the magic, albeit subconsciously.
She had realised by now that her sudden way with animals
was because of the tunic. She had never been able to properly
befriend animals before but the magic had changed all
of that. Though she had half been expecting this, it still
shocked her to see how a simple touch could change the
behavior of a wild animal.
That day they had made great progress. When Aegis stood
upright on the genghal, she could see the beginnings of
a large rocky plain. The draf, now released from its cord,
swooped down every so often and picked up a rodent. Dropping
it in Aegis’s now very stretched cloak it paused in front
of her for another scratch. It was glad it was off the
rope yet it didn’t want to leave its friend. Whenever
she saw a ripe sugerfruit, Aegis plucked it from the stalk
and added this to her stash.
By the end of the third day they were at the edge of the
field. Knowing that she would have to leave her friends
as she would be progressing onto the rockfields, Aegis
sadly curled up for one last night. When morning came,
she bid farewell to them and walked through the last clump
of sugerfruit. Both the animals stood watching the clump
for several minutes, waiting for her return. When she
did not come, they ambled away, remembering the kind creature
that had changed them, hoping that she would return soon.
After what seemed hours of trudging dejectedly through
the rocky foothills, Aegis was near exhaustion. The cloak
full of food banged painfully against her leg every step
and she missed her friends. She had abandoned her smaller
bag as it had torn on the sharp ground. Her canteen was
empty and her reserve had sprung a leak. When she had
finally emerged from the densely cropped sugerfields under
a cheery blue sky, the distant forest had seemed much
closer. Her usually silent footsteps caused loud cascades
of pebbles that echoed hollowly in the fast diminishing
light. Even though the sky turned to a rose pink, the
stones around her stayed stubbornly stark and grey, as
though absorbing the comforting glow the sky gave off.
She had hoped to cross the rough terrain and enter the
forest by nightfall, but was beginning to realize she
would have to sleep in the open.
Determined to make as much progress as she could, she
ignored the impending darkness and steadied herself into
a strong rhythm. It was only when she stumbled on a concealed
pothole that she realized the sky was a deep purple. reproaching
herself for not noticing sooner, she cast around for a
suitable resting-place only then did she see the shape.
Silhouetted against a darkening backdrop of sky and rock
was a large figure. At first glance she thought it was
just another rock, but when it moved she thought otherwise.
Fingering her staff nervously she stepped back. The thing
stepped forward. “Light” she muttered, slashing the foreboding
silence that had settled like dust. A small fire erupted
from her staff’s tip, giving off a small circle of brightness
in the now almost pitch darkness, illuminating Aegis’s
drawn face and tired eyes. The unseen creature shuffled
clumsily toward her, noticing Aegis was near collapse.
Leaning on the staff for support, Aegis steadied herself
in case of a sudden attack.
Entering the small pool of yellow light, the creature
growled. Two clawed feet supported a thickly set torso.
Six thin and sensitive tentacles swished through the air
next to two scythe-like arms, muscle straining under taught
stony skin. Small spines that could be mistaken for sharp
pebbles lined the creature’s back and a thick tail pounded
the ground angrily. Though lacking Aegis’s grace and agility,
it more then compensated with brute strength and instinct.
It’s sunken head boasted two dull eyes that were almost
blind but this was of no consequence. It was a hunter
of the night and sensed its prey with tiny hairs on its
tentacles that it held close to it’s body when at rest.
On seeing the creature, Aegis’s brain raced. Straining
through years of experience, she finally remembered what
this creature was: a rockhound. They sucked up the heat
of the day and during the night slowly cooled off. The
colder they got, the slower they move. Stupid and aggressive,
rockhounds hunted by night, their prey usually being small
rodents and reptiles. This bizarre habit had confused
many people – surely the rockhound would be more efficient
during the day, having heat readily available. Still many
people debate on the nocturnal habits of a rockhound,
some joking that it’s only purpose was to give them something
to wonder about. On finding a larger animal, it would
either run away or, more commonly, attack. By the look
of its stance, Aegis knew it had chosen the latter option.
Mustering the last vestiges of her strength, she raised
the staff and, unsteadily, began to chant an ancient spell.
Gethre mygratum mehide sokar tsune…
Her voice, weak and rough from lack of water, was merely
a whisper in the darkness. She did not have the strength
to complete it and, one word short, she fell to her knees.
The rockhound, however, was in full fighting form. It
charged forward, missing Aegis by a hand-span as she managed
to throw herself out of the way. Now lying on her stomach,
she let her head drop. She felt the crushing weight of
the rockhound as it stepped on her back, its rank breath
as it opened its wide maw to snap at her spine. As it
met its mark, Aegis felt the strength of the blow and,
crying out, arched her back to find that she was not attached
to a hungry animal. The rockhound backed away slowly,
wondering what had happened. Its tiny brain was convinced
that this creature should be dead. Dragging herself up
to a sitting position, Aegis did not see the vine tunic
settle. It had protected her from the rockhound’s sharp
teeth, saving her from certain death.
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
|
