Aegis:
Chapter Four
[Rating: General
···
Length: Very Long
···
Genre: Mixed up, Serious
[ Word count: (chapter: 2, 723)
(total:22444 )]
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
She had almost caught him. Just one more step – yes!
“Tag, you’re the chaser,” she called to her friend. Turning,
she ducked across the playground, far ahead of her laughing
friend. Just as he was about to catch her, the clang of
the bell echoed from the schoolhouse. As Aegis lined up,
she saw her sister and waved. Niyah smiled and waved back
as they filed in to their respective classes. A pang of
discomfort caused her to stop, but she was jostled along
through the doorway. Something was not right, but what
could it be?
It was just another ordinary school day. Her mother had
walked her and her sister to school; they had their lunches…they?
Wasn’t her sister dead? As panic took her, a roar sounded
in her ears and her vision blurred.
Blackness. Shapes brushed across her legs and arms, wrapping
around her face and tangling in her hair. Their very touch
sent a shiver of dread through her, dread and something
else. Some brought her tears rushing, others spelt a terrible
emptiness. Batting them away she screamed- the sound sucked
up by the blackness before it left her lips. They were
emotions – all of the emotions she had pushed aside during
her life. Shutting her eyes against the blackness, she
curled up, feeling the invasive swimming forms swishing
past. Her mind was slowly escaping her.
She could not tell how long she had hung there. She could
not tell who she was. She felt the shapes gliding by,
more numerous now. The rest of her self had seeped out
to join all of the discarded emotions. There were other
shapes too, shapes that weren’t hers. The thoughts of
others who had apparently been lost here too. Wait, she
wasn’t lost, she was all here. Perhaps in many fleeting
pieces, but she remained. Her empty form was only one
of those pieces. The form that she was now rushing to.
Blinking, she opened her eyes to find herself not in
pieces but lying in mud. Her hand rose instinctively to
her tunic. She felt soft tendrils of the vine creeping
up her neck, encompassing her jaw. Indeed, her whole head
was covered. Scared she was going to choke, she clawed
at the vine but it would not budge. She looked around
for a stick – anything to pry off the vine.
Stopping, she raised her hands to her eyes. She felt
the silken threads of vine covering them and yet, she
could see. Experimentally, she drew breath. The air was
sweet and cool, revitalizing her lungs in seconds. She
felt her cloak tightening around her, the material transforming
into vine. It had wrapped around her hands and toes until
all that showed of her was her hair. It fluttered in the
breeze and caught the light. It did not shine its usual
purple hue, but a deep green.
The vine on her hands and feet shifted and became thick
bark in a flash of light. Raising herself to her feet,
she looked at her staff. The tip had a residual glow of
green, slowly dissipating. Soon it had faded completely.
She was aware of every nerve in her body, every bone,
every muscle. Looking at herself, she saw the bark that
made up her gloves and boots. She was all there and them
some. Disjointed memories of stark grey rooms and large
shapes jostled at her consciousness, all wanting to be
heard. Suppressing them, she began to walk forward.
After taking a few steps, she observed that tiny patches
of grass and flowers, dripping with dew, had followed
her footsteps, forming a soft column of life. Setting
her eyes straight ahead, she began to walk.
Emerging from the horizon, the black bird flew swift.
It followed the thin green line until it saw the small
figure of Aegis, dwarfed by the very size of the tortured
land. It cawed loudly and flew down by her side.
Turning, she saw the black bird and noticed that the
clouds had parted. The bird stayed hovering exactly where
it was, defying the law of gravity. It perched, as if
on a branch and looked at her. She took a step toward
it, but it floated just out of reach. Puzzled, she continued
onwards, to the middle of Kadavern.
When she had reached her destination, she stopped. The
bird was still there, cawing now and then to remind her
of its presence. On an impulse, she reached out with her
staff and hooked the bird toward her. It did not struggle,
but sat calmly. As soon as her hand touched it, feathers
flew. Amongst the whirl of black quills, Aegis could make
out the birds shape shrinking until she held but a chick
in her hand. The feathers gathered behind her, as if held
by an invisible force. Several suddenly harpooned into
her back, straight through the vine. She cried out in
surprise and pain, but the sting was suddenly gone. Instead,
she could feel a crunching of muscle and bone. The feathers
swirled behind her and, with a final jolt, settled mid
air.
Aegis was aware that something had happened. Still carefully
holding the chick in one hand, her staff in the other,
she turned. No feathers were in sight, not a blemish on
the land for miles save the pools of putrid water and
dilapidated buildings. Swinging around again, she felt
some resistance. The chick cawed softly, fuzzy black down
softening its hard bony frame. Then, in the corner of
her vision, Aegis saw a feather.
Not thinking, she pulled it towards her. It obligingly
neared her left hand. The hand she had her staff in. The
chick shuffled in her other. How did it…? Stepping to
a nearby pool of repulsive water, she looked at her reflection.
Not only did she see a thin form wrapped completely in
vine, but two large black wings protruding from its…no…her
back. The chick wriggled again and crawled up her arm
on strong feet. It came to rest on her shoulder, just
above the beginning of her wing.
Straightening, she experimentally tried to move them.
Fluidly her new muscles responded, flexing. She felt every
slight vibration in the air; few sound there were here.
Flapping them proved to be as easy as walking. Soon, she
was joyfully soaring though the air, chick holding on
stubbornly. Flight had always been a dream, imagined when
she was cramped indoors for long periods of time when
it rained. When her joy had slowly faded, she remembered
her purpose.
Stopping mid-air, she shifted her hands on her staff.
Turning her head, she came eye-to-eye with the chick.
It looked steadily back at her, blinking rapidly. Aegis
stared back, mesmerized in the bird’s hollow yet filled
eyes. It felt as if a fog had raised from her brain. New
knowledge pored in, filling every crack of her consciousness.
She raised her staff.
Ropes of vine snaked off her form faster than the eye
could see. They formed an intricate web of life, absorbing
the pools of putrid water and covering the buildings.
Aegis remained still, arms outstretched and staff floating
serenely before her. Within minutes, the entire land was
carpeted in green. The overhead sun poured down, no longer
held at bay by dark clouds.
The vines now receded from Aegis’s face. Her eyes had
become blue, like the sea on a fine day. Fine swirling
white spray glided across the blue and, if an observer
stared long enough, you would see a whale’s silhouette
gliding deep within. Throwing her head back, she called
to the sun in an ancient language, indiscernible to human
ears. A great column of green light poured from her form,
piercing the blue cloudless expanse. It was visible for
miles. Many people stopped their business and gathered
on hills to witness the beautiful spectacle, wondering
what was causing it.
The light slowly grew until it swept the seething vine
with a wave of energy. After the first pulse, more continued
until a regular beat was established. Every wave brought
a shadowy form that slowly solidified with passing energy.
A ghostly landscape of trees and bushes, lakes and animals
was slowly coming to be. Within one cycle, it was unrecognisable.
A final pulse sucked the column with it and all of the
quiet sounds of nature began filling the air. The soft
trickle of water over rocks, the rustle of a bird chasing
an insect. Kadavern was now a utopia, beautiful and untouched.
Aegis slowly lowered to the ground. The vine now was
thin and woven into a shiny fabric that swirled serenely
in the breeze. Her hair was peppered with leaves and flowers,
her face slightly glowing. The chick had re-grown its
feathers yet now some blue glittered like flame amongst
the black.
It was smaller than it had been, a mere cubit wingspan,
but long blue feathers hung from its tail and wingtips,
insubstantial like fire. It cawed to Aegis, who had sat
down suddenly. She looked at it and smiled. The land around
her seemed to smile too, and it soon echoed her sweet
laughter.
In the air, Aegis thought the return journey home should
take less then a cycle now that she had wings. The little
bird fluttered by her side, barely matching her speed
as she sped onward. The forest seemed a mere carpet of
green. At a whim, she swooped down to the treetops and
skimmed the leafy canopy.
A sharp squeal stopped caused her to pause, hovering
next to a very tall oak. It came again and, with a rustling
of leaves, a small nose appeared. The nose’s owner scrabbled
onto an open branch and sniffed at her. Raising its head,
it purred softly. Without thinking, Aegis reached out
and scratched its chin. It felt familiar…
A quick glance told her that this was the snarglok that
had helped her on her way. She spent what seemed like
seconds patting it and cooing softly while the bird sat
on the branch, preening itself. It was only when the sky
grew dark that she realized she must press on. She was
surprised to find that she was not even the slightest
tired, more awake then ever. Turning in the air, she beckoned
to the bird and turned to go. The snarglok wailed pitifully
and stretched out into the air towards her.
“I can’t take you,” she said, turning again. It looked
at her pleadingly but she took no heed. It was after only
a few metres that something made her turn back. The snarglok
launched itself from the branch toward her and, its momentum
running out, plummeted to the ground. Before thinking,
she had caught the furry bundle and swooped back up to
the tree.
Replacing it on its branch, she backed away slowly. The
snarglok readied itself to jump again. “Oh, all right!”
she gave in. Plucking the snarglok from it’s perch, she
continued towards home.
The steady residual heat from the day warmed the air
above the rocky plain and Aegis soon found herself rather
higher then was necessary. Shifting the snarglok into
one hand, she hugged her staff to herself and plucked
the tired bird from the air. Turning toward the distant
sugerplant fields, she pulled into a sharp dive.
The sweet perfume of the sugerplant hung in the warm
air that currently buffeted Aegis’ face. Despite the two
rather nervous animals that she clutched, she whooped
with joy. Never had she experienced such a rush – the
speed, the wind, the pure excitement! The guardian of
nature that had given her the task had looked so sad.
How could she be? What could depress you when you could
do something like this?
Noticing the ground was rather close, she flapped upwards
and was soon gliding over the sugerplant fields. The loud
flapping of wings and a sudden weight on her back, between
her wings interrupted her thoughts. A leathery head popped
into her vision, comically upside-down. “Not you too!”
she groaned to the draf, who had now made itself comfortable
on her back, holding on with its talons and the spikes
on its wings. It cawed happily and began to – if it could
be described – purr.
When she was about halfway across the field, the moonlight
gave way to sunrise. Aegis’s now orange eyes observed
the spectacle with interest. The animals she had been
holding had crawled onto her back too, the bird curled
up beneath the draf’s beak and the snarglok had wrapped
around her shoulders like a scarf. Surprisingly, she did
not feel the extra weight but almost lighter. The draf
suddenly cawed loudly in her ear and snapped its head
down. Looking below, Aegis saw that a genghal was below
her, ploughing through the sugerplant. Rolling her eyes,
she swooped down and landed on it’s back.
Despite the available space on the genghal’s back, the
draf, snarglok and bird refused to leave Aegis’s. The
genghal seemed very happy to have her back and walked
at quite a pace toward the city. Aegis, finally feeling
tired, settled down on her steed’s soft fur with a living
blanket and slept.
The intricate pattern of the sugerplant’s shadow striped
the unusual party, camouflaging them very well. All that
was awake was the happy genghal, and it too was only half
so. It was only when it stumbled across a clearing that
it fully woke. Amongst a mass of broken stalks, a very
large rockhound lay. Its eyes were glazed over and it’s
foul breathing was even. The genghal had never seen a
rockhound before as they usually kept to the rocky plains
yet it sensed that it could be a danger. Gently shaking
its charges awake, it stepped back into the sugerplant
shadow. Opening it’s eyes, the draf blinked sleepily.
Since it had befriended the genghal, it had found it’s
sleeping patterns altered. Now, it loved the sunlight
and welcomed the taste of sugerplant.
Taking care not to wake its friends, it peeped into the
clearing. Stifling a squawk of alarm it placed a wing
over Aegis’s mouth and shook her awake. As it predicted,
she groaned before opening her eyes. Luckily, its wing
had stifled the noise.
All thoughts of sleep dissolving from her mind; she gently
removed the wing and sat up. The draf had actually looked
concerned…but draf shouldn’t show expressions, they don’t
have the intelligence… She looked again. It looked squarely
at her and gestured to an opening in the sugerplant.
Wondering what was going on, she slipped down the still
genghal’s back and pulled her staff with her. Circling
around, she looked at its face. It too seemed…well…scared.
Mind whirling she saw it look at her and to the opening.
It repeated this until she nodded and began to walk to
the broken stalks. Suddenly a large furry leg blocked
her way. Turning, she saw the genghal shake it’s shaggy
head and the draf look like it was having a silent fit.
It then put it’s leg silently down.
Experimentally she took a few silent steps. The draf
recovered and sat happily on the nodding genghal’s head.
Creeping to the opening she saw what her friends were
so scared about. The rockhound was large yet very thin.
It must be starving, poor thing, so far from it’s home
and usual prey.
Wondering what she could do, she fingered her staff.
The answer swam into her mind. Stepping cautiously forward
she extended her staff until it rested on the rockhound’s
back. She muttered a spell and her staff fell to the ground.
Where it had been there was now a small female snarglok.
At the sound it looked up at her and growled like rockhound.
Baring its now blunt teeth it stood up. Wondering why
it wasn’t so tall, it advanced. Aegis scooped it up in
one hand and smiled at it. The poor ex-rockhound was very
confused so it hung there like a rag doll.
The genghal with the draf, the snarglok and bird strolled
out of the shadows. It was positively grinning and the
draf was dancing a rather bizarre jig on its head, falling
off repeatedly and flying back up. The bird watched disapprovingly
and the snarglok stared at the ex-rockhound. It stared
back and began to struggle from Aegis’s grasp.
[
Chapter One · Chapter
Two · Chapter
Three · Chapter
Four · Chapter
Five]
[
Chapter Six · Chapter
Seven · Chapter
Eight · Chapter
Nine]
|
