Whispers in the dark.. ((closed))

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Ashayen
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Whispers in the dark.. ((closed))

Post by Ashayen »

((unless you ask for writing something))
She opened her pale-blue eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom, laying in the bed. She waited for the right moment until the governor would finally sleep again and fought against the sleep which every now and then seemed to overwhelm herself. Even if this might do good to her after all the days of care and nursing, but there was something else do to, important things for her. The last days she used every opportunity to plan, used every moment to prepare herself for the trip and to buy a nice surprise for her husband.

With a tender smile upon her red lips she turned her head to look at Edward. He was still sleeping, his bandaged torso moved up and down, steadily as he was breathing through his nose. The paleness of his face was faded, the rest and healing of his wounds went good and fast, without any complications and soon he will be able to rule Bane again with all his strength.

She left the bed and sneaked out of the room as quiet as possible to leave the seahorse with hasty steps. The night was starry, the moon so bright and round illuminated her way through the dark forest in the west of the town. Her steps still hasty as she approached a particular bush, not far away from a clearing, where everything should take place.
She bent down and reached with her hands into the bush, yanking then on something big and heavy, soon uncovering a heavy backpack. She gasped quietly and kneeled in front of it, opening the pockets on its side to pull a few things out before she rose again. With candles under one arm and two black leather pouches in her hands she made her way to the clearing.
She just loved that place, so peaceful and the air seemed to be cleaner here.
She begun to prepare everything with an enthusiastic smile upon her lips as she then stood there with one black leather pouch in one hand and closed eyes.
She begun to point to the north then to the east, south and west then closing the small circle around her at the north point again. She was concentrated, in her mind visualizing the drawn circle. Slowly she felt the energy rising in her, flowing over to the the small black leather pouch in one of her hands. She begun to rotate the pouch nine times and let her eyes closed as she started to mutter something quiet.
Her fingers opened the small pouch and they pulled a brown leather ribbon out into the moonlight before she slowly kneeled down, in front of a lit candle on the ground.
Holding the leather ribbon with the thumb and index finger she let the small, wooden disc with the engraved symbol which dangles down from the black leather ribbon pass over the small flame of the candle, three times..calling for the power of light and life to empower the amulet with their full strength.
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She grabbed for a small bottle with a clear liquid, standing on the ground right next to the candle and uncorked it to sprinkle some of the liquid over the amulet, whilst chanting:


As I sprinkle water over you, I name you Charm
By Air and Water, Earth and Fire.

O Goddess, protect my loved one every day, as he sleep and as he play.
Help him to always smile bright, and keep him safe in Your loving light.
Protect him from harm and from all his fear.
For he is the one that I hold dear.
I thank the Goddess for helping me.


She ended her chant after a while of just humming and closed down the circle under a quiet spell:

Now the work is finished
Where Charm has been brought out of the dark nothingness into this world.
In the name of the elements.


A brief and satisfied smile crossed her serious features as her calm gaze traveled over the black leather pouch with the amulet. Now she finally felt ready...to go.
She slowly rose from the grass, stored the small pouch into a pocket of her robe before she began to gather all the other things, making the place look "untouched".
With the heavy backpack on her slender shoulders she made her way back to town, it wouldn't take long anymore until the sunrise would dye the terra in its lovely reddish color. Thus it was time to hurry.

She let out an exhausted gasp as she slumped the heavy backpack down on the floor, shoving it closer towards the wall right next to the door of their room with the help of her boot.
But instead of walking back into the room, she rushed down the ladder again and marched into the small kitchen of the Seahorse.
A light jingle and jangle could be heard as she searched through the small cupboards for the right dishes as well as fresh bread rolls, some pieces of ham and a bit of fresh fruits.
It looked lovely as she arranged everything on a wooden salver, bringing a small bottle with a brownish color on it as well before she placed the small black pouch between the bread rolls and from a big box in the kitchen, she pulled out a black walking cane with its top ornated by silvery ornaments, mounting a giant sparkling crystal which she placed diagonally above all the things on the salver.
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It was quite an concentrating act to climb up the ladder without making too much noises and she took a deep breath before pushing the door handle of their room down with one of her elbows.
Her eyes immediately traveled over to Edward to make sure that he's still sleeping and with a brief smile she walked closer towards the bed, placing the salver upon her bedside. As she gazed out of the window, noticing the sunrise already on its way she turned to kneel in front of a wooden box in one of the corners of their room.
Lifting the lid extremely careful to lean it against the wall behind she started to sort out some clothes and straightened up again. She really needed to hurry and thus she removed all of her tailor-made clothes and replaced them by more decent one which was a simple leather trousers, a white shirt with a vest and sturdy shoes. Slipping then into a coat she somewhat hesitatingly bent over the box, extended one hand to wrap the slim fingers around the cold and small handle of a dagger which she attached on the belt around her slim waist, letting out a quiet discontented grumble. All she hoped was that she didn't need it, but it seemed to be necessary for the trip, if something would go completely wrong.
Not much later she pulled a rope out of the depth of the wooden box along with an rolled up parchment before she finally closed the box quiet and carefully.

For some reasons she appeared frustrated as she walked back towards the bed and then slowly around to his side, smiling faintly when gazing down at the still sleeping governor. Her pale-blue eyes gleamed with bitterness, now she felt absolutely not ready to go anymore, but they waited for her already and hopefully she'd be back soon again.
Warmth and love seemed to spread all over her facial features but they let the lips untouched which are tightened together, presenting just a thin line in her pale face. The parchment still in one hand and the rope in the other she bended over to carefully bring the parchment under his hand which rested upon his bandaged torso. Her eyes looked back up into his motionless face and she brought her face slowly above his head, pressing the lips gently against his, muttering something quiet as she slowly leaned back again
"Be well, my dear.."

Her warm gaze stared at him for a little while and she slowly began to straighten up again, facing the door with a frown, which she approached with hesitant steps, the rope still in her hand. As the door fell into the lock she picked up the heavy backpack and stepped down the ladder, leaving the seahorse and moments later even the town. A red sparkle slowly came up on the horizon as she made her way out of the town to guide her steps towards two figures, who were waiting...carrying heavy backpacks as well.
Last edited by Ashayen on Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Ashayen
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

The dancing flames of the fire licked over the glowing wood in the oven of her kitchen, filling the room with warmth and subdued light whilst the deepest night moved about the land outdoors.
Now there she sat wide awake on the stool which is completely covered before by her black, tailor-made robe.
The head was lowered, the thick black hair hung smoothly over her slender shoulders as she stared down on the sleeping body of the young, black panther, which slumbered peacefully on the stool in front of her.
Her fingers constantly stroke over the warm and smooth fur of the animal, her facial features stern and thoughtful.
However, the animal was not the only sleeping being in the cosy room. The young, sleeping girl, who has been often seen on the side of Ashayen when she walked through bane, lay on the wooden floor of the kitchen, covered by a warm blanket.
An quite unimportant fact for Ashayen.
The flickering light of the fire hit on the rings on her moving hand, cast coloured sparks at the ceiling and caused to flash the amulet which adorns the neck of the young animal.
Her fingertips traced and touched it curiously as her pale blue eyes glide over the silvery-grey metal to examine it closely and stopped then as she spotted the small, red stone, enclosed by the metal of the amulet.
She wrinkled the forehead and pulled her hand away from it, still letting the hand outstretched to spread her fingers apart, looking at a particular ruby-ring on one of her slim fingers with the long, pointed fingernails. A gift...from him, long time ago.
She shook her head and a quiet sigh escaped her red lips, before she rose her soft and thoughtful voice
" You confuse me, 'Alexander'."
She snorted condescendingly as his name came over her lips, a bitter smile upon her weary face. "You are just as mysterious as before and you know how to simply disappear again .. leaving me alone with many burning questions upon my lips. Maybe you even just spoke about yourself ... predictable ... unemotional ... coldly ... this can't be only me, my dear."
She spoke with herself, the words quiet and coldly spoken whilst the corners of her mouth didn't stop to twitch ... lost in thoughts ... constantly twiddling with the ruby ring on her finger... looking at it with a perfidious and mysterious glitter in her eyes.
She kept sitting there on the stool for a long time, unable to find some sleep after the happening, the encounter with him. But in a try to escape her own wild thoughts crossing her mind she finally stood up and left the house with the hood of her robe covering her head...trying to get some bloody meat for the young, black panther.
Ashayen
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Post by Ashayen »

Half of the night she just strolled around, restless and hidden behind her own masquerade.
The familiar full-length, black robe with the red ornaments still clung like a silky veil on her body, a good eye could have recognised that her body isn't really able to fill the tailor-made robe anymore. She had lost weight.
The hood was covering the pitch black hair, the brim pulled down into her face, making the eyes and even the nose disappear in the shadow.
Her lips, dark and in the illuminating moonlight still red as blood, formed merely a thin line in her clear-cut face. She was pale, her gaze blank.
Underneath and behind all that, there was a fragile woman with a broken, cold heart, a heart which was trampled under feet and that not just by the Lord.. a passionate heart which was now thirsty for power and revenge. She wasn't a Lady anymore, she never was and now she's just so sick to death playing a role, getting chased by power-hungry people who were after her mighty ring, which she now finally gave to the demon..

Power will raise with the trust and knowledge of her 'Sister'.
Revenge will take place as soon as mother earth has gathered her strength.

Nobody shall ever make fun of her,
nobody.

A dry chuckle blew past her lips at those thoughts crossing her mind and she finally entered the holy ground of the meadow where she'd set up a camp for herself.
Her pale-blue eyes began to dance with delight and warmth began to grow in her gaze as Ashayen spotted 'her'. She immediately kneeled down on the ground and spread her arms apart to embrace the closer stepping wolf. She whispered softly against the wolf's ear
"Be greeted, my dear Eyda."as her long fingernails ruffled the wolf's fur. The vial, which once adorned Ashayens neck, dangles now down from the wolf's nape and for a moment her fingers stroked over the cold glass, a wistful glint in her eyes. With a vague smile she straightened up again and walked over to the nearby river, knowing that the wolf would follow her.
Every now and then she started to have regrets about changing Eyda to a wolf, together with the power of her 'Sister'. But they all knew just too good that it was necessary and just the best when the war will start. But just right now she began to miss Eyda's voice for having a serious and eager conversation, which she obviously can't find in 'Bane'.
But whether Wolf, bird or flower, Eyda was still Eyda and thus she didn't hesitate to tell her all the news whilst she kneeled down on the shore, white-washing her face, wiping the masquerade away...doing that all without getting any answers back, as grief, humility, delight and doubt spoke out of Ashayens soul and the naturalness slowly began to return in her. Definitely not easy for everyone to make out to what this woman is capable of.


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Ashayen
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Post by Ashayen »

This night was hard, filled with hard work pinning all those parchments upon some trees in every town. Her feet hurt with every weary step, her body ached from the long travel, her clothes were still moist from the heavy rain hours ago and she was tired, so tired...yet, she needed to finish it, for her 'Sister'. The hours passed slowly and she yearned to go back to Trolls Bane, finding some sleep but her heart was like set on fire, the mere greed to fulfill her 'task', making her Sister satisfied was everything that matters.

That special connection to her Sister was born as she felt the lips from her on her own, the heat, cold and might crawled through her veins as the woman sucked the blood from her cutted lower lip and from that moment on she could now feel the connections to the elements growing with every day. She started to understand and to watch closely what her Sister is teaching her, the lessons important for her future. Nonetheless, she sometimes was nothing more than a mere slave. Her own wrath was not comparable with the one of Na-Chayas, yet Ashayen didn't rebel against her. What for? Na-Chaya was her 'Sister' and she is probably the only one on whole Gobiath who could introduce her to this special knowledge of magic. The magic of a witch.

A faint smirk tugged on Ashayens luscious lips as she strolled down the road of Varshikar, a satisfied glint in her pale blue eyes. The task was fulfilled, now it'll be up to the people to decide their fate.


FATE

Within a second she started to frown as she kept walking through the night, the hood of her black robe still pulled over the pitch black hair. "Fate" she muttered softly, remembering the young man who spoke about "fate" all the time as they met by the depot in bane. A young man with the hair as black as her own and the eyes gleaming as blue as her own as well. She never saw or...realized him before, but his appearance the more she thought about it now was something...unusual.
She shook her hooded head with an inaudible sigh and wiped over the tired eyes
"I'll find out, i guess...sooner or later. He learned his lesson at least.." A dry chuckle blew past her lips and she stopped for a moment to let the narrowed eyes scan her surrounding. As everything was quiet and calm, feeling safe, she slid the hood of her robe back down on her small shoulders and continued her way, quickly. A crooked smile crossed her pale face as she ran one dainty-fingered hand through her disheveled hair, looking down on her moist and almost ragged appearing clothes. "Now Drathe...i wonder what you would think if you would see me this way. Where's the Lady you desire, hm?" She laughed bitterly at her own mutter and began to speed up her walk, seeing the blurred outlines of the townwall of bane in the distant now....finally.
Ashayen
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Post by Ashayen »

Her dainty fingers loosened the grip around the bag and leather pouch, dropping it down on the wet grass right in front of her feet. The heavy rain poured down on herself, her black robe and the dress underneath completely soaked, yet she didn't care. The sky darkened more and more, the thunderstorm intensified and constant lightning flashes broke the darkness of the sky.
Her pale blue eyes stared blankly skywards as the heavy raindrops hit the skin of her pale face when pouring down on herself, damping her pitch black hair more and more. Her eyes began to sparkle with delight, she was fascinated where others probably ran now to find a dry and safe place but within a second she furrowed her gently curved brows, sensing the unusual might...for the cause?

She turned her head from side to side, strands of her wet hair flying in the air and sending waterdrops around before they clung to her cheeks as she was searching for something...someone. But no one else was around.
The corners of her mouth began to twitch as she narrowed her eyes which sparkled, for the first time they got crossed by small lightning which flash up from under her dark lashes. A knowing smile appeared upon her pale face, her voice nothing more than a scornful hiss, floating into the air as a whisper
"You little bitch. Are you stalking me now when i'm having nice times..."
She raised one hand to let the moist fingertips trace her luscious lips, smearing the raindrops over them...his taste already faded with the rain. She smiled bitterly as she lowered the hand back down, hissing again to fill the air with another whisper, it was as if she was communicating with...someone whilst the thunderstorm still broke the silence of the night. "...probably not so nice like you'd think" She threw a thoughtful gaze into the direction of the fog in which he walked in to disappear and a low bitter chuckle blew past her lips "Alright, alright. You're right, my dear Sister. It was foolish to let him play the game but..." Her voice faded as her tongue slipped past her lips, tasting them with a soft moan before her voice raised to a mocking whisper "...quite delicious.." She smiled crookedly at her own words, knewing that his company was a fault and bent down to gather her wet bag and the small pouch from the grass, marching then straight over the slippery trunk which laid across the small river and soon she was standing in the entrance of a cave, not far away from where she came now. She tiltened the head as she dropped the bag, pouch and the wet robe on the sandy ground, strolling further to a wodden box which was decorated by some candles, several small bowls with herbs or soil, pouches and shiny gems, her altar.
The growling noise of the lightning sound dull as she was sitting in the dark cave, her face turned towards the entrance, in front of her crossed legs was standing a huge wooden box which sides appeared like being opened and "unfolded", yet it looks like an unspectacular object. A mischievous glint lingered around her dark-lined eyes as she raised her delighted voice to another whisper
"Meet me. I'd like to show you my trade for the ring with the demon, Sister"
After saying that she leaned back on the sandy ground, staring upwards to listen to the slowly fading sounds of the thunderstorm which seems to slowly calm. She turned her head to watch the entrance, knowing that she would show up soon and she couldn't help but to lift one hand, constantly tracing her lips with a crooked smile as she was waiting for her.
Ashayen
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

She rushed out of the shop by pushing the door open, forcibly. Her footsteps fast as if being in a rush, constantly rubbing over the forehead, hectically. The pale skin soon became red and she lowered the hand down as she felt the pain, her mind was racing about that what she just had seen. The truth

She snorted mockingly as she sat down on a stone by the river, shaking the head before a soft sigh escaped her lips. And again she had to realize that her naivety blinded her again. It doesn't hurt but she could feel how her heart was beating against her chest slow but very hard. She breathed calmly through her nose and gritted her teeth as she fed her own wrath with pictures about the past and...present, as she was used as a mere puppet. If she would help her 'Sister' now then it wouldn't be because of the revenge of nature more because she felt like taking revenge in her very own wicked way.

She leaned her head back against the rough stones of the mountain behind her and closed her pale blue eyes. First a light and warm breeze was crawling over the grass as if stroking it gently but soon it increased more and more, growing to a hard and heavy wind which surrounded the fragile figure on the stone completely. The dark hair blew wildly and a resounding, almost like a possessed laughter waved over her lips and filled the air. She knew that she was able to fed the wrath of her 'Sister' as well since she got the information from the silly female lizard, just the thought of it made her heart dance with delight and insanity. Na-Chaya was planning her next step, she felt it and yearned for the timing she would call her to show the scum of Gobiath what it means to awake the wrath of the witches.
Soon!
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Gregory Hardcast
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Post by Gregory Hardcast »

'Gregory.. i want you to be completely honest with me. Have i done something? You seem distant.'

'If you want honesty, then i shall give you honesty. Kaelyn.. you worry too much. Please.. stop it.'

Then he had smiled, before turning his head and pressing a kiss against her neck, but he knew it had been a fake kiss, a lie he was using to comfort her. Ever since that time by the river, his mind had been unable to focus, churning out images which had become embedded in his brain. He had never felt passion like that. Not even with kaelyn. It had just seemed.. right. So as he held the woman he had promised to marry in his arms, whispering promises into her ear, all he could really hear was a voice screaming at him to not let what he had tasted slip away.

But how could he just.. cast aside a woman who loved him like the gypsy girl did? Not after what they'd been through. That was why he had stepped away from ashayen in the shop, swallowed his passion and turned his back.
I'm sorry. He thought as he saw her slinking away out of the corner of his eye.
Gods.. i need a drink.
Ashayen
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

You are a special woman, and what i said to you by the river still holds true.

She can't survive without me.

I won't ever forget you.

Love

Gregory.


She hesitated to open the parchment, brought by a dove, since she felt something linger around it, something that...wouldn't make her happy.
Her pale blue eyes swept over the written words restlessly, she still wasn't able to understand why he couldn't break off from the leash and yet she remained calm as she couldn't take her eyes off of the parchment. For the first time she could feel it again, the piercing pain which seemed to cut her heart into pieces. She felt it so often before and hoped to never ever feeling it again.

Strangely the thought of revenge didn't came into her mind this time, therefor she knew too much about love and thus she knew that this wasn't the right way at all. She was not willing to go down to the same wretched level like the other woman did and so she couldn't do anything else than...trying to forget that special man.
Sadly, she wasn't even able to enjoy the news he brought one day ago, times were stressful for her and first she just could think about the other woman who didn't took it well at all but she shrugged it off and just wanted to show him how she felt, but the chances doing so just slipped always out of her hands. Maybe that let him go back.

Ashayen snorted mockingly and shook her head, hissing in a disappointed manner
"No, he was weak...that coward."
Laughing then dry and bitterly her dainty fingers began to crumple up the parchment before she brought it into a pocket of her robe, grabbing then for the bottle of wine on the grass as she was sitting by the river. Her mouth sucked the wine out of the bottle, thirstily but soon she began to wonder about the freezing cold of the liquid running down her throat as she swallowed the gulps down. She stared at the bottle, held in one hand and everything felt just normal under her fingertips which were pressed against the warm glass of the bottle. But she apruptly threw the bottle across the meadow with the red wine spilling around, making a face of discomfort. What was that?
A shiver ran down her spine and she rolled her small shoulders before she rose from the ground, shaking the head with a low grumble
"All 'his' fault, shall he get happy and live his lie. I'm sure he can't live with the torture forever..."
Another bitter laugh escaped her full lips, echoing between the mountains surrounding the river before she walkded back to town, her facial features hard and the eyes holding a glint of pain in them.
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Carus
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Post by Carus »

"That slimy rat.." Carus hissed the words in anger, feeling how his slender fingers clenched around the handle of his dagger instinctively as he made his way through the streets of the town. In the horizon, the last rays of the setting sun painted the sky screaming red, alarming the decent folk of the looming night.

Soon the darkness would cover the town and the streets would be reined 'till dawn by dangerous people who lurk in the shadows during the day. It was time for the honest people to avoid dark places or disappear into their houses, out of the harm’s way. Despite this, his footsteps only got faster and faster, leading him through the alleys and narrows streets towards the remains of the tavern. The frustrating situation made his throat as coarse and dry as the desert and made him crave for a cold beer. Drinking always helped.

He wanted to hurt Gregory, but at the same time he knew that Gregory was untouchable. It would be so easy to tickle the bastard's innards with a sharp shank that the mere thought tempted him to seek out the unsuspecting man... but in his mind he knew that it would make her even more upset. Ashayen, Carus' sister, was the only thing which restrained him on that very moment. With a frustrated scowl on his face he entered the nearly empty establishment... throwing his last coins on the table as the grumpy dwarf filled his mug with watery beer.

Carus was not typically a hot-headed man. He was a bastard, a loudmouth with a quick wit, sharp tongue and the uncanny ability to insult people. Due to his traits he was no stranger to troubles. This time was different, though. He hadn't hurt anyone. 'The slime bucket' had hurt his sister. His precious sister. The mere thought made his blood boil, and he took a thirsty sip from the mug. Oh, how Gregory had weaseled his way into his sister's good graces... only to break her heart as his hustling failed. His knuckles turned white as he squeezed the handle of the mug in anger.

He had known his sister for only a few days. A faint, crooked smile crept on his lips as he remembered how he had hoped to see her for so long. How he had hoped as a small boy that his big sister would come and take him away from all that shit someday…

He took another sip from the mug.
"I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt you, sis..."
Ashayen
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Post by Ashayen »

Ashayen was laying on the soft grass right in front of the house of the cromwells, her svelte body protectingly covered by a coat which someone wrapped around her as she was dreaming. Yes, dreaming, it was no normal sleep in which she fell, she was dreaming her very own dream which would help her soul to find the right way again. That's what she needed after all these days spending with drinking wine and slowly drowning in self-pity. Her 'sister' was right with that, facing the truth just hurt and made her feel like an idiot since she never lost her strength and still, she didn't understand why she acted the way she did in the situation with Gregory and Kaelyn.

If someone would have walked by she wouldn't even have noticed but the tickling sunbeams of the midday sun let her suddenly rouse from slumber with the result that she found back to 'herself', she could feel the pulsing strength in her veins, her mind clear but there was one burning question inside her.
Is it possible to do the same with him?
She grumbled annoyedly and shook her head, abruptly rising from the ground as her hands gathered the coat and a small vial with a blue liquid from the ground then walking up the small river by the house as a cursing whisper filled the air "Argh, who cares, he's not worth it. He's just caring about her and his own pain, giving a damn about mine.. i lost."
She strolled along the river as she wanted to walk back to her altar, her head slightly tilted as her pale blue eyes sweeped over the water of the river coming to an abrupt halt. With furrowed brows and the irritated gaze fixed on her own reflection of the water, she leaned closer to gaze at the red mark on her forehead. The closer she leant the easier to identify the mark, a pentagram gleaming as red as blood. Her fingers moved swiftly up to dip into the red color and wiped it away, chuckling bitterly as she lowered the hand, gazing at the red fingertips with a slight frown. The red color was quite thick for just a simple color and so she curiously licked over one fingertip, soon letting the lips escape another quiet chuckle, muttering lowly "Uuhh, hopefully that was your own blood, Sister. But yes, i know...who i am and 'what' and that witch here won't lose the strength anymore."
Her lips curved to a devious smile but her pale blue eyes were still marked with a bitter gleam, her knees bend slowly to kneel down as she quickly scooped some of the fresh water, washing her face and the mark on her forehead away then she quickly walked away from the river to finally climb up the ladder in a small cave which lead to her very own place with her altar.
Ashayen dropped the coat and her bag on the ground as she moved quickly closer to her altar, shoving and turning it to the north, adjusting every tool on the altar so it was facing north as well. She straightened and took a deep breath before she stepped back, drawing a wide circle around herself. Everything was prepared for the continuation of the dream she dreamed, the small ritual would bring everything to an end.
And so the hours passed as she was waiting for midnight, working with the full moon as she was chanting and speaking her prayer, asking for help from mother nature, drinking the blue liquid from the vial as the air around her became muggy, grey clouds surrounded 'her' place, hiding the secret actions for the 'normal' beings.

Sitting now there in the middle of the drawn circle surrounded by the grey clouds, she was waiting...waiting to feel her emotions as her Sister told her she would feel them, it was time to set them free but nothing happened.
She grimaced annoyedly and let her shoulders slump, her blank gaze travelling over the altar, restlessly as she came to the conclusion.
"I failed.." A bitter smile was tugging on her pale lips before she gave a soft sigh, crawling closer to the altar and suddenly around it, facing the hidden object, her puzzle box. Her fingers stroked over the warm and even wood until they began to fumble and shove and turn and click against some small movable parts of the wood, hoping to reveal more of its secret. She didn't knew why she felt like doing it now, probably to avoid thinking why she failed to feel her emotions but the hours passed and no solution was found, but suddenly a quiet *click* came from the box, her fingers abruptly stopped moving as she hold them in place, tilting the head from one side to the other as she examined the box closely. Staled air fired abruptly out of a straw-sized hole on one side, causing a hydraulic movement in which a sharp edge fired out the other end and poked into Ashayen's thumb, cutting her. It felt like it was drinking some of her blood before retracting back into the cube. "Iautsch." she hissed in surprise, bringing the thumb immediately to her mouth, her pale blue eyes narrowed as she stared at the box. This time she didn't make any progress but why was it tasting her blood now. She scowled at the box and gave it a rough kick with her boot, grumbling darkly as she shuffled away from it. "A toy of a demon, heh...sure, the secret can just be something evil. But no matter what it will cost me, i'll find out." A sadonic laughter blew past her lips as she leaned back against the rough rocks behind her, furrowing the brows at the box before her puzzled gaze slipped down at her thumb, the dark blood still oozing out of the cut and it made her smile for a moment but suddenly she blinked, heavily... hot tears were running down her pale cheeks, unstoppable as she now realized that the cube tasted a sweet sin just like she did...and it hurts to feel the bitter agony again now as she realized that she lost him, forever. Her emotions were set free and she let it all out this night on the mountain spur, as mother nature was feeling with her, the grey clouds soon joined in Ashayens mood as they began to pour down the warm rain all over the land of gobiath.
Ashayen
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Post by Ashayen »

The fragile figure was standing on the mountain spur, surrounded by grey wafts of mist which were covering the land of gobiath so much often this year as all the years before. The pale blue eyes stared into the direction of trolls bane, the arms folded beneath her breasts and her fingers tugged on the silver ring of the black leathercollar around her neck as she was thinking. Thinking about the news which she just had heard from a citizen of trolls bane.

"It truely worked..." she spoke softly to herself, a delighted smile playing over her lips as she kept staying there, motionless. The plan which she unfolded to Luc days ago truly bore fruits. How surprising.
Ashayen chuckled in an amused manner, her pale blue pale sparkled with excitement. She never really expected that the elf would "survive" it and that they really could get the chance to take him under their wings but it was true now.
She got excited, her heart was beating wild and hard against her chest at the mere thought what her Sister will do now with him, the fact that Na-Chaya would help the town to fight down the demons was the bitter aftertaste of the whole story. She knew about the might of Na-Chaya, nonetheless something just made her doubtful about it.. about the triumph.. probably the fact that she 'could' lose something special, the secret knowledge she had been searching for so long just frightened her quite a lot. She sneered to herself and shook her hand, waving a hand dismissively as she muttered softly
"She knows what she's doing, why do i worry. But.. " she gave an inaudible sigh and slowly turned around, showing the town her back as she licked over her lips as if tasting them, a thought crossed her mind which made her lips curve to a tender smile but soon a hard glint began to grow in her eyes, her facial features grew stern. "I need to prepare for the negotiation..uuh, and i so wonder what she'll do with him and what she is teaching me." Ashayen made haste as she descended from the mountain, chuckling in a thrill of anticipation.
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Post by Ashayen »

Sometimes bad things need to happen to keep the balance of good and bad things.

The piercing pain in her head was something which became quite annoying with the time. A persistant frown covered her otherwise emotionless pale face all the time, mentally trying to cope with the headache to get through the nights. The cause for the headache?

It happened some days ago, on that mountain spur, another long night was just ahead and to flee from the monotony, even though she actually had enough to do and prepare, she started to keep herself busy with the puzzle-box. The toy of the demon.
The last two tries revealing more of its secret sadly always ended in disappointment. Either the box was tasting her blood or just disappeared for one day, but the box refused to unfold itself more and therefor it remained unchanged.
That all was probably strange enough and a weak soul would have already tried to get rid of such a scary object, but not Ashayen, a curious woman, seeking for knowledge in any situation and enjoying it to play with the fire.
She was concentrated as she moved her fingers over the wooden surface of the box, twisting or pulling particular moveable parts in the box with deliberation and suddenly the smell and sound of a hydraulic push followed by lightning-fast growth. It was so fast that she coulnd't even react and her forehead got smacked by the box, waking up across the mountain spur with a serious bruise.
As soon as her eyes unblurred she could see that this time she was able to reveal more...the box now taller than it is wide, over three feet tall, and it has dug its way into the ground with sharp, metal talons.

But the task of the following nights was not revealing any secrets of the box now, it was more the passionate devotion to prepare the ritual. 'His' ritual.
The spawn!
The green gleaming liquid was tapped from the insects and was resting in a small clay bowl in front of her crossed legs. Her dainty fingers holding a piece of thread, broke the even surface whenever they dipped the thread into the liquid.. covering it.. drenching it with the bitter smelling juice, dipping it in and out and watching the small green globules dripping back down into the bowl from the end of the thread.
Her pale blue eyes sparkled with devilish delight as she brought the first piece of thread into a vial and with the same excitement she repeated the work with another piece of thread.
She chuckled in a low and almost maniac way, her thoughts racing around the sadistic ideas what the green liquid could cause and she brought the other piece of thread into the vial as well, leaving the clean and dry ends outside of the vial as she pushed the small cork into the opening.
The poisoned thread. ~Step 1~
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Post by Ashayen »

Dried herbs were something which she always had, it was part of her tools and what would a witch be without her tools.
Each sort of herbs was stored into small pouches, now it was just the question for which sort she shall decide.


"Hmmm" Her pale blue eyes travelled over all labels of the pouches, restless and thoughtfully whilst her fingers tapped against her lips as she stood in front of her altar, arms folded beneath her breasts "...it needs the symbolic power." She smiled delighted as her eyes lingered around three particular pouches which she began to lift up.. one by one. ~ Nightangels blossom ~ Black thistle ~ Toadstool ~ She just took a pinch of every hackled herb and brought them into small clay bowls. And there they kept resting, the herbs, for the special day. The herbs ~Step 2~

She turned away from the bowls, facing the small fireplace on her mountain spur, in the middle was a small pot with hot water. In the middle of the pot and the warm water was a much smaller pot, filled with a hot bubbling red viscous liquid..
And now it was time to prepare the fourth and fifth step, since the third was already done. The blood of the elfess was already in her possession.
The blood ~Step 3~
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Post by Ashayen »

She turned away from the cloaked man and led her steps in the pale moonlight slowly upstream, the taste of the wine still lingered in her mouth - the wine which she had bought to celebrate the victory over the demon...alone. How odd. But it was no surprise that she wouldn't read nor hear any thankful words from the government, since it wasn't a warrior, a mage nor an army of men who could give proof of their 'powers'... it was 'merely' Ashayen.

She had to sneer to herself as she slowly began to bear hatred towards that town, climbing up the ladder to that mountain spur with hard gleaming eyes. Just as she straightened up with a quiet gasp she began to pull a small vial out of a pocket of her skirt, the dark red gleaming liquid sparkled dangerously between her pale fingers. It was the blood of the demon. Surely useful one day..

But she came back to that place for something else, slowly turning away from the ladder to step up to her altar, placing the vial with the demon-blood in the middle. She lowered her slender body down to sit in front of it with crossed legs and an abrupt soft sigh blew past her lips, her bare shoulders lightly slumped. Gregory - it was not good seeing him again, feeling his cold eyes on her was something with which she couldn't deal at all. A piercing pain got shooted right through her heart, cutting the scarred scars open as she looked into those dark blue eyes for only a fraction of a second, thousands of visions appeared in front of her eyes which made it hard to stay in the same room with him. She need to learn dealing with it.


"Mh...but not now. No, not now! Now it's time to gather all the tools and wandering up to the north." She nooded eagerly to her own words, an excited sparkle began to burn in her steel-blue eyes as she first stored the vial with the blood of the elfess into her bag, followed by the vial with the two poisoned threads, black candles...a lot of them and the two bowls with the herbs got stored into the bag as well, carefully. Her gleaming eyes lingered on a single candle on her altar, before her slender fingers grabbed for it, holding it up in front of her eyes and then storing it into her bag as well. Black and Red that was the color of that special candle. It wasn't special because of the colors, no, something in the candle made it special...something from the scapegoat. She spent a whole night to remove the fingernail from the finger covered by dried blood, Wolf's finger, hackling it and then bringing it into the candle in painstaking work. And so she finally could make her way to the north for the ritual which was close and 'her' wrath immense.
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Post by Ashayen »

"My sister... Came to me today with an interesting tale of seeing my Albarian begging and pleading with a dark-haired woman before she dismissed him and spoke instead with another man."

And what a tale that was! Did they already had to spy Gregory's actions because of Kaelyn's lack of trust? At least so does it seem for her and discussing the truth about that 'tale' was something that even now days ago still followed her. Why? She actually had no clue.
Why didn't she talk to him? Why did she had to ask her? As if the short encounter with him wasn't enough to cut all scars of her scarred heart open, no, now she had to come and yearned for the truth. Ashayen was unsure if she would be able to believe her words at all. A jealous and desperate woman who fears to lose her love wouldn't believe the words of that woman who was once a rival.
But it made her curious, even more so as she heard that he grew distant from her.


"Stop it!" hammered the inner voice through her head, admonishingly.

Her lips parted, setting free a quiet scared gasp as she caught herself reaching for the black lace, covering the crystal ball. A gift from Na-Chaya.
Was her heart truly yearning to find out what is going on?
Ashayen drew the slender fingers away from the black lace before they could even touch it, but the nervous tickle, running through her hands didn't vanish.


"That's not the right use for it, i guess." she mused softly, her lips barely parting to release the words as she kept staring at the covered ball.

"Bring some control over yourself again and don't be so foolish!"

Her facial features grew abruptly blank, sitting in the snow in front of her blazing hot kettle, cross-legged. The snow beneath her slowly began to soak her black robe and the skirt underneath, her rear and legs felt already numb but it didn't seem to bother her as she again grabbed for the small spoon, stiring the clear liquid in the kettle, which spreaded a very bitter and rotten scent.
But she didn't mind, on the contrary, she even leaned closer to fill her lungs with the disgust-smelling steam and let out a pleased soft moan. A quiet chuckle blew past her lips before she mused softly again
"I probably need a guinea pig.." . Another quiet laugh followed and her steel-blue eyes abruptly darted over the edge of the kettle, facing the small little sensation which she has gotten from the box.

Some days ago as she again tried to reveal the secret of the box, which had dug its way into the ground with sharp metal talons, it suddenly happened that a luminescent steam issued forth from the box as she was spinning a wheel here, turning a knob there, pushing this lever here and setting the pendulum swinging. Another set of claws gripped the walls, and the box was from that moment on a permanent fixture of the small mountain spur, now appearing like a big mechanical metal door. The front of it abruptly flew off and hit the ground with all the grace of a cow which took a flight and the sound of raw chicken against metal. From inside 'thirteen' glowing, throbbing, very much living globes fell onto the ground, like slimey vegetable sprouts twice the size of a human fist and they grew over all these days, meanwhile they would measure two feet in diameter.

She was a mother of thirteen...globes and in her own madness, that she finally had luck revealing the secret of the puzzle-box, she even began to care about them without any fear but with the mere curiosity what exactly would hatch out.
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Post by Mr. Cromwell »

Edward stumbled out of the house, leaving the door wide open as he bent down on the ground, sinking his hands into the deep snow which covered the ground. A relieved gasp escaped from his lips as the snow reached the finger-shaped burn marks on his wrists, slowly numbing the feeling of excruciating pain. He closed his eyes and tried to control his fast breathing, but the insane chuckle was ringing in his ears - refusing to fade away.

He had no idea of what happened during the past few days with Ashayen. First it had almost seemed as if some old wounds had finally begun to heal between the two. They both had been present during the miracle and afterwards they had talked and even rested together, with the future seeming just a little bit brighter. As suddenly as it seemed to get brighter, the future now appeared even darker than before and 'how' the situation changed had made his blood boil. He was still enraged, even more so as the sadistic smile on her full lips returned to his mind.

He had been pleased and surprised to see her, but something had happened, something had changed in one dwarven day. She had been furious, insane grabbing his wrists and burned him, with a mad and delighted gleam in her eyes. The worst was thing that he could see how she enjoyed hurting him and that had pushed him over the limit. Never before had he been violent towards her, and he had previously suffered mistreatment from her without complaint because of his feelings for her.. and more importantly because of the guilt he felt for hurting her. Yet, this time she had pulled him deep into the darkness and the picture of his strong fingers squeezing her throat became alive in his mind again. On that very moment, choking her brought him no guilty conscience. Ashayen had deserved it.. yet, the foolish, crazy woman was the apple of his eyes. He had released his fingers on time.. but what made it even stranger was the fact that she didn't fight back, even though he could have easily snapped her fragile neck with his hands.

With a frustrated, angry hiss blowing past his lips he opened his eyes again, rubbing some more snow on the burn marks with his hands. He had ‘no’ idea as to what would happen now. With a long glance over his shoulder, he stared at the spot from where she had just vanished into the thin air, shaking his head in disbelief. Ashayen seemed to constantly come up with some new surprise, a new power or ability and that bemused him greatly.

On the carpet inside the room laid a forgotten bundle of dried flowers.
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Post by Ashayen »

The Leaving.

Delicate fingers ran through the short black fur between the flattened ears of her black panther, they slowly started sliding further and bend in an attempt to crawl the massive neck. A soft purring sound came from the flews of the majestic animal, obviously liking to feel those caresses from Ashayen. Chasira, once a present from the mysterious red Hunter who also showed Ashayen the animal inside herself, an animal which represents herself in every single way but 'now' she was probably just comparable with a simple gray rabbit.
Everything around her just turned gray over all those months of isolation, the only hold she had was Chasira. So much has changed and nothing for the better, the final break with her husband, Lord Cromwell, was a torturing phase over months but she got too sick of the nobility. She wanted to be the only one in his life, forever like they both had once sworn each other by the altar as they married but then he started cheating her and knowing that his hands roamed over a body which wasn't her own, that his lips tasted something new and at the same time very bitter, that a woman has made it into his bed while they still lived together as a couple and while she thought he'd never let come something between them just leaded to her action of totally indifference, anger and contempt. His own sorrow and hindsight didn't bear fruit like he hoped it'll be the case, his neverending attempts to continue living 'their' dream just made her flee.. almost in panic to get disappointed again, yet he probably would have been the one who had made her stay if he just wouldn't treat her with silky gloves all the time.
She had lost the dream of carrying on the work of Na-Chaya, she lost Eyda, Na-Chaya, Mirron even her brother fled from her. Drathe and Gregory, both men who had their fun to debase her. The house in the north was no place for two people and so she decided to let Merung continue his work.. alone. Khagmur and Heergang seemed to distance themselves from her for whatever reasons, she didn't knew just saw and felt their behaviour, yet they had not the courage to speak openly with her and so it overcame her even more that nobody is accepting her. Not even the druids who actually should treat everyone the same but their actions were nothing more than cowardice.
And now? She felt empty and numb. When she started turning her back on them she turned her back on herself and became a simple machine who just started each day with roaming around, the only aim to survive the day somehow. There was no strength left to change something for the better, that's at least what she thought and so she didn't even tried at all, but now came to the conclusion that she could live such a way of life also somewhere else. Who would miss her? Who would notice that she had left the isle. Nobody.

Her chest swelled as she inhaled the piercing cold air though her nose and she slowly rose from the snow covered ground with her fingers slipping away from the panther's neck. A regretful gaze lingered on the animal since she didn't know if she would ever see her again, tearing her away from her familiar surroundings wouldn't do good for her and a ship was no place for a panther as much as Ashayen would like it.


"Go now, my darling." she spoke in a hushed soft voice with her gaze lowered to the ground. She wasn't good in saying goodbye and since it started hurting just in the moment the words leaved her lips she also refused to look after her, seeing her hesitant Chasira disappear as she moved back into the thicket of the forest not before poking the moist nose for the last time against the cold fingers of Ashayen, licking over them brief and gently as if saying goodbye in her very own way. The touch made her fingers twitch and she kept still with a scarce smile playing over her pale face.
After a long moment of silence she rose her chin, looking over the snow leading toward the forest which beared the footprints of Chasira. Her pale eyes remained staring ahead as if looking through the trees as doubt began to gnaw on herself, but before she could agonize if her actions now were right or wrong she pulled her robe tighter around her body and swiftly turned away, letting go of the past to make her way toward the harbor and the ship.
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Post by Mr. Cromwell »

He kept staring at the ship until the day turned to evening and the sails finally disappeared into the Horizon. He stood there, hoping that the ship would turn back or that he somehow... anyhow... could turn back the time. If it just was possible to live the moment again, he would have grabbed her arm and prevented her from leaving, but now it was too late as she was sailing away on board of that damn ship. For how long, he did not have the faintest clue. Maybe she would be gone forever.

With a lazy shrug he pushed himself away from the wall, while letting his gaze sink down on the ground. His green eyes were narrowed to tiny little slits as he slowly made his way towards the harbor... feeling more and more frustration and anger towards himself and Ashayen with each new step. He had tried to persuade her into staying, but all his efforts had been in vain. Surely, in the past he had been far from ideal husband and had definitely treated Ashayen badly. He muttered a silent prayer and then immediately after cursed the way fate would play with the mortals. The irony of everything was that once he had made effort to be that good husband she had always wanted, everything was too much for her. There was no turning back anymore... it was over, she had said.

The snow creaked under the soles of his expensive boots as he walked through the town, with his feelings and mood becoming murkier as the darkness slowly took over the sky. It had been painful to hear the words “goodbye” from her. He had known that even before he set his foot on the docks... and yet, like some masochist, there he was... trying to turn her head even though he knew words could not save either one. A constant fear had for a while lingered on the back of his mind... the fear for the day she would end it. Maybe that’s why he had pretended like nothing was wrong, but of course he had felt how she had drifted away from him. He had felt how she withdrew and became more distant, secretive. A grimace crept on his lips as he grudgingly admitted to himself that he had given her plenty of reasons to distrust him… and except for words, he had not done much to correct the situation. Now it was too late, too late for everything…

He slammed the mansion double-door shut behind him upon entering, before his shaking hands reached for a bottle of fine wine. He uncorked the bottle and took a long sip... tasting the wine… her wine. The burning feeling in his throat as the liquid poured down was nothing compared to the burning inside his chest. He grimaced and stared at his image from the large mirror. Outwardly he looked just the same as before and at least his hands had stopped shaking but... inside he felt numb, lonely and cold. His thin lips’ twitched lightly as his hand clenched around the neck of the bottle, guiding it back to his lips..


“..At least she promised to write...”
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Post by Ashayen »

He said that he wanted to see her when she is about going aboard and so she had sent him that silly dove with the brief note of coming along. She didn't know why she wrote something to him at all, since she already felt bad enough also knowing that she had disappoint him but with his presence there by the harbor it wouldn't change anything like it never changed anything weeks ago.
His words always just passed her ears like a cool breeze, her mind not willing to really listen what he is saying and to understand the meaning of his words as long as she still was suffering over the things he had done with and to her.

And so the meeting with him by the harbor was as cold and distant as before which made it hard to believe that the two once were wife and husband, a couple made for each other to receive and give adoration.
She felt quite tensed as she stood in front of him, just the small signpost by the docks separating their bodies, symbolizing that they're so close, and yet still so far away from each other. But apart from feeling tensed she also hoped for something... something coming from him to make her stay but as again just his words filled her ears she turned away toward the ship to go aboard, frustrated and angry.

The ship was a three-masted carrack, anchored next to the shore and tied firmly on the harbor pier. It was not very large and maybe sported eight to ten men crew, but at the first close inspection it became clear that the ship had already seen its best days. The rear of the ship rose high above the deck, on top of which was the helm of the ship.
Right underneath the helm, inside the pronounced rear-portion was located the best cabins and the captain’s quarters. The front of the ship was adorned by a worn and faded wooden statue of a mermaid, which obviously had give the ship its name; “The Singing Mermaid”.
The sideboards of the ship were covered in mollusk-shells and the holes on some of the boards told a grim tale of the presence of termites or other maggots. It was a glaring fact that the ship was not only old, it was also badly maintained. Even the most basic shore-duties were being neglected by the crew and the captain.
The sails of the ship, even though patched, seemed to be in working order. If one could glance over the bulwark of the ship, it would be clear that things were not much better there. The splintered deck boards were covered in salt stains and several rope-coils and crates were scattered seemingly at random around the open deck.

Ashayen already spoke with the captain earlier that day and initiate that he shall bring her as far as they're going, standing now on the deck with an almost lifeless face her eyes began to search for the captain as she looked over the crew closely. A unshaven, filthy bunch. Their skins were tanned and scarred, their hairs were greasy and all of the men reeked of cheap rum. The eyes of the ragged and weather-beaten men began to shimmer with lust as soon as Ashayen set her foot on the deck of the ship. She could feel their lustful gazes at her and see how they stared at her, whispering with each other.
She could even see one or two licking over their lips at the sight of her or casting a lewd, sparse-toothed grin at her.
She immediately felt disgusted but wasn't showing it as she kept glaring at them through two small slits, a strange dangerous sheen flashed in the pale-blue pupils and suddenly her lips began twisting into a lopsided smirk when the captain was finally found. He silently beckoned her to follow downstairs and so she did, tracing his steps from the deck down toward her cabin, merely giving him a brief nod before she entered the cabin, shutting the door behind her.
A musty smell was lingering in the rather moist air, casting a veil of mist across the room but she didn't mind, as long as the bed was comfortable enough to find some sleep. She dropped her leather bag down her shoulder and shoved it closer toward the bed with the tip of her boot, on her way casting a brief gaze out of the small scuttle to look over the troubled sea. Finally sitting down on the bed she drew her legs up as well and lay back to stare up at the wooden ceiling, listening to the noise of the hard waves hitting the ship as it was sliding through the sea, leaving Gobiath.
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Post by Ashayen »

The rocking movements of the ship made her body shake softly as Ashayen was laying in the bed of her cabin, her hands neatly folded upon her coated belly and her pale eyes kept staring up at the ceiling.
Creaking noises seem to come from everywhere as the troubled waves kept hitting the ship while it was sailing to wherever. The loudest noises came from the busy crew upstairs who did their best to control the wooden cave in which Ashayen was trapped now.
The slightest feeling of doubt slowly crept up inside herself but before she was able to let these feeling of doubt spread across her mind she realized that she barely could keep her eyes open, all the preparations over the last days which seldom allowed her to find some rest and sleep for herself were now gnawing on her bones and so she gave up and relaxed, falling asleep…


She saw a forest which had a curiously familiar air. A light malodorous greenish fog was hanging all around her.
Noises, everywhere there were noises which echoed and frightened her. Voices, familiar voices came from far away. Creaks came just behind her, coming too quickly. She ran as far as she could and stopped again, standing surrounded by immense huge bony trees, dead trees which ached just to look at them.
And then again, voices.. of people mumbling words which were directed at her but her ears suddenly felt numb. A cold shudder running down her body as she felt cold touches on her neck, swiftly turning with the heart beating in panic still trying to stand her ground as she expected to see the cause of the touch but she stared into the dark greenish emptiness which kept gathering around her legs, like building up a barrier to make her stall in an attempt to run further way.
Again she could hear those voices of people, coming from the edge of the forest. They approached and they were coming dangerously toward her. After speaking they started whispering.
She was turning around herself in all directions to see where they are coming from but it was impossible. It was dark night and yet it was light here. Where did it come from?
She was barefooted, naked in a white knee-high dress and so her legs suddenly began cutting through the thick fog around herself as she started running again, the voices followed her...so close and distorted grimaces, like ghostly shaped faces out of fog began arising in front of her face, Na-Chaya, Mirron, Carus and Eyda.. whispering all together in a low yet still screaming-like tone.


"You have crushed my dream!"
"You got didn't get accepted, did you accept me?"
"You cry because of losing everything but wasn't it YOU who told me to leave, you cold Bitch!"
"Where were you as i needed you. You have left me alone... YOU, my family!"


She shut her ears with both of her hands and kept running, just away from these voices and faces, looking back continuously. Someone was still following her and she got terrified the closer he came, hands were trying to get a grip of her dress but she could barely escape them, long black nails cutting through the cloth of her dress. The soles of her bare feet began aching and bleeding as she was running over those piercing-sharp fir needles which felt five times bigger than normal and suddenly an almost invisible root covered by thick fog made her stumble over her own aching feet and fall hard on the ground, scraping her knees as she slithered over the dry dark forest soil spiked with those sharp fir needles.
Her chest was like corded up which made it hard to gaps for breath and with the last physical strength inside herself she propped the upper part of her body up with her dirty hands on the ground and began shifting her head around, looking for the other person. Nothing.
But the voices still echoed from far away and suddenly an intense light was shining down on her, making her to a spotlight for something which was coming down.
Almost a dozen of thin black robes came falling down with its end hitting the forest soil around her. Feeling threatened by them she swiftly turned on her back, forgetting the piercing pain of her feet which kept bleeding and not noticing how four of the robe-ends slid closer over the ground, like worms reaching for her wrists and ankles, twining itself around to hold her tied on the ground.
Colorful birds were suddenly flying around her, cheeping a happy tune as they were circling around her and between the thin robes still hanging down from the bright light. And again a ghost-like face was forming in front of her face, a sun-kissed face with green eyes gleaming like two emeralds. Edward! What a bizarre change, but before she could even think about what to do now her head suddenly felt heavy, too heavy and so she was laying back, blinking heavily as a viscous red veil was blocking the beautiful view, his hushed voice
"I tried to change for you, and you ran away nonetheless!" passed her ears as she felt that she was drifting away...out of her dream.

She opened her pale-blue eyes. Strands of pitch-black hair sticked on the skin of her pale face. Every muscle of her body was aching. Her body sweatened even though the cabin was bloody cold. She gasped and blinked, her mind racing around the dream she just had but she carefully, as if still being frightened that it isn't over yet, started to let her eyes sweep around the room without turning the head. It was night, the cabin dark and calm. After a while of looking around and waiting for something but nothing happened she felt save enough to slowly sit up on the bed, groaning softly at her aching muscles.
So many impressions in a single dream and so many true facts. She wanted to end it and now it still is following her. 'He' is following her, even now in her dreams.
Ashayen slid out of the bed and began pacing up and down in her cabin with the arms folded in front of her chest, snarling angrily before muttering to herself
"Yes, Yes...YES! It's all up to me. Most of the things slipped just out of my hands and instead of grabbing for them again i just looked at how they slipped further away. I even scared them away!" . And there the indifferent and fragile mask moldered.
She cursed and bit her nails into the cloth of robe, furrowing the brows right after and kneeled down, reaching for her bag on the wooden floor. She tugged the flap of the leatherbag open and slid one hand in, pulling it carefully out with Na-Chayas crystal ball in the hand-palm.
She moved toward the desk and sat down on the small stool, placing the crystal ball onto the middle of the desk. With the head moving closer toward the ball, she glared blatantly into it and lifted her brows delighted as a picture began casting its life into the ball. She never really dealed with the crystal ball and so the surprise of seeing it work made her curious.
The picture inside the ball was as dark as the cabin in where she was sitting and a troubled and sleeping body was tossing about on the ground..
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Post by Mr. Cromwell »

He twitched heavily in the uneasy sleep; his feet pushed an empty bottle of wine over, causing it to fall against two other empty bottles.

The loud sound of the bottles made him shiver, and he could feel the cold sweat on his forehead as he reluctantly opened his eyes… glancing around the dark room. A bad taste, all too familiar from his past drinking days.. lingered in his mouth, and he felt rather nauseous as he begun to struggle to climb on his knees. He breathed fast and deep, reaching for a half-empty bottle of wine with his shaking hands. He took a long sip… feeling how the alcohol calmed his body and slowly begun to numb his mind as well, something which he sorely needed. What a strange dream… He grimaced and sipped from the bottle again. It was almost even if he could not leave her alone, even in his dreams… that he would somehow have to get her into his dreams as well. However, this dream had been stranger than any other. It had almost felt like real… he shook his head, licking over the wine-stained lips.
“It felt like real”, he mumbled to himself and then gave a suspicious glance at the bottle of wine, tossing the now almost empty bottle on the carpet as he stood up.

With slow and unsure steps, he made his way into the kitchen and drank cold water with greedy, thirsty sips. He felt that his chin was covered in thick stubble… and knew that he could not leave the house looking so ragged. Luckily the shaking of his hands had eased already, and he searched for his razor and filled a bucket with water. As he returned into the other room, he turned on the oil lamp in the corner of the room... and had to blink in surprise as he noticed what was staring back at him in the mirror. The man certainly did resemble him, but the red eyes, the stubble-covered chin and the lack of self-confidence. A wreck of a man, he sighed to himself. He splashed his face with cold water, before carefully beginning to shave his chin. His movements were quite mechanical… as he could only think about the strange dream, and the fact that the pride and joy of his life was... gone.

He let his gaze sink down as he let go of the razor blade, rubbing over his smooth-shaven chin. As he lifted his gaze up to look into the mirror again, it seemed as if he had suddenly put a mask of some sort on. He looked emotionless... the redness of his eyes begun to disappear... his chin was smooth as ever… the self confidence had seemingly returned, but the eyes. Behind the fading redness, the eyes seemed colder than before. Yet, he could not hide the yearning in his voice... as he quietly muttered to the reflection in the mirror
“It won’t take many more dreams like that… about her... and we will be out of our minds, you and me..”

He cast a bitter smirk at the man in the mirror, who without hesitation returned a matching smirk. Edward stared at the smirking man for a moment, before turning on his heels and opening the door, marching aimlessly into the darkness outside.
Ashayen
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

Ashayen kept staring into the crystal ball through narrowed eyes, in that moment she couldn't deny that she was curious to see him - observing him was a kinda strange feeling though, but yet still very tempting. Her lips tightened together and a knowing snort blew from her nose, nodding slowly to herself as she could see all those wine bottles spreaded in the house. "The booze, the booze.." she muttered in her silky, bored voice and sucked the cool air through her nose, adding dry and cooly as if just confirming something ".. that is how you will go down, toots." .
Her brows furrowed as she continued to observe his actions which actually weren't that interesting especially as he started shaving his chin. She drew her lips into a small pout and began tapping her fingertips against her lips, lifting then a surprised brow as he was looking back into the mirror to check the result. She couldn't take her eyes off from those green eyes.. and the coldness laying within turning his usual beautiful face into a cold emotionless-gazed mask. A cold shiver ran down her spine, uncertain if it came from non-confessing delight or fear. But it didn't matter as within a heartbeat his voice was streaking through her ears.
Those words spoken in the dream, his words began echoing in her ears continuously.
It was provoking her temper, hot anger.. anger of emotions.. anger between lovers began boiling in her veins.

She snapped at the ball and rose from the stool which fell heavily back on the floor due to the fast and forcibly push of her calves
"You tried to change? Oh yes, you were literally crawling on your knees toward me.. like a whining baby. Everytime you tried to somehow lure me closer with those flowers and herbs, like a little boy would do when he is about admitting his deep love toward a little girl.. always treating me like a fragile flower who needs to get touched with care.. with 'your' silky gloves. Just one time i would have liked to see your real feelings and not just the facade.
Your little Ashie is gone and you didn't notice.. the Edward i fell in love with is gone as well and you didn't notice either. So don't tell me you would have changed, don't! It's simply not true as i just could see 'now'!"


In all her effort to control her anger swirling around her she was now breathing furiously, glaring at the "empty" crystal ball with a sinister expression upon her face.
Biting back her fury she suddenly swirled around and cursed, oh how much would she have loved the moment to tell him that straight into his face. Now!
But there was no way, no way.

"Gods, some rest, i need to calm down.." she suddenly whimpered, moving back toward the bed to snuggle her shaking body under the sheet. She tried her best not to think, not to listen to any voices, not to spent her fury here and now... rest, sleep was all what could help now and it didn't take long 'till the rocking movements of the ship and the sound of rain outside throbbing against the scuttle made her fall in a save sleep.
Ashayen
Posts: 883
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

Still tied onto the dry forest soil with ropes snapped firmly around ankles and wrists her aching body began squirming. Every lithe muscle tightened in the hard-working act to break free. With no result.
Nobody was there. She was alone.. and trapped, like she was when not dreaming.
The bright light still shone down on her and suddenly began spreading warmth just in the moment she began feeling angry and despaired due to the ropes which kept holding her down, mercilessly.
Sweat was covering the pale-milky skin the more the green-misty air around her began heating, soon almost burning on her skin. Thick green fog gathered around her which didn't give her lungs much space to breath.
It was like her chest was suddenly corded up. She gasped in the try to fill her lungs with air, the exhausted squirming movements seemed to lose on strength.
Faces, familiar faces, ghostly grimaces shot out of the thick green fog and danced above her head in the bright light. Just one face was missing. Claw-like hands pointing at her as if making her responsible for something, wanting her full attention.
Exhausted from the fight against the ropes she was suddenly giving up and layed still, with a dizzy gaze bringing the attention toward the hands. One after another came flitting closer, pointing a claw directly at her face.
Voices, those familiar voices again. They began taunting and provoking her with what she did all wrong in the past.
They kept provoking her more and more, their words felt like dagger stabs piercing through her heart, mercilessly.
There was no way to escape them, no way to shut her ears. All she could do was listening or.. .
Her head abruptly started squirming again, her arms and legs too. She groaned in pain and in fury as she used her last power to break free. The thin black robes suddenly teared apart, first on her ankles and then on her wrists. The upper part of her body rose, rests of the ropes dangling from her wrists as she suddely floated up, deeper into the bright light, soon hovering over all those faces and claws beneath her.
Her sweatened and dirty stained, pale face a pure grim mask, her pale-blue eyes flashing with cold anger as she hissed tartly


"You all shut up, now!
I doesn't want to be at the mercy of you all anymore.
You can punish this body all you want, all you dare, but you can never touch 'me'!"


Her voice roughened with bitter disappointment

"I no longer bend my life for anybody. No more. I'm not the one who is living 'your' dreams. Time has come that i finally realize mine and therefor you 'all' should bend into my direction and not the other way around. No more!"

She sucked the air through her nose and gritted her teeth. Blinded from the hot fury lingering around her she didn't notice as a silent listener was stepping out of the shadow, moving behind her into the bright light.. joining her with his body pressed against her back, roughly wrapping one arm around her waist as his sun-kissed face moved closer from behind her with his hot breath trickling through her hair and his green eyes glaring cooly down at all those faces.
Ashayen
Posts: 883
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Post by Ashayen »

Surprised by the arm wrapping around her waist she turned her head to face the profile of his beautiful face and narrowed her eyes within a blink. Her body stiffened.
His presence caused her pulse to quicken and his unashamedly fashion aroused her anger but before she could rebuke him for that the picture of both, levitating in the bright light blurred.


Her pale-blue eyes opened and again she found her body covered by hot sweat. She could feel the burning desire to spent her rage and clenched her hands so hard that soon the knuckles began turning white. She had to push the danger within herself back, she had to.
Her body rose into a sitting position upon the bed and in exhaustion and despair she burrowed her face in her trembling hands, muttering a quiet prayer which hardly helped to control herself.

She slowly looked up and turned her head to peer through narrowed eyes toward the scuttle behind her, realising that the dawn must be close. Shaking with anger she forced herself to stand up straight, brushing over the front and back of her black rumpled robe as if trying to smooth the folds. Hooking the black hair behind her ears she moved toward the scuttle, the flowing robe swished with the sway of her hips. It was still raining; from far away a roll of thunder promised a more than bad day. But fresh air that was something which she could need now, too many hours already spent in that small cabin and it couldn't be bad to distract her troubled mind.

Immediately moving closer toward the door, her hand snatched at the door handle and she flung herself into the long, dark corridor.

Ashayen’s presence on the deck was immediately noticed, and the sailors on night watch stopped their work and turned to stare at her. As she made her way across the freeboard to lean against the starboard bulwark of the ship, the men silently walked nearby and begun to whisper something to each other… their gleaming eyes all staring at her in the dark. The three men kept on whispering to each other, and soon lewd grins appeared on their faces. Slowly, the biggest of the three began to walk towards her, speaking with a self-confident voice.


“What is a beautiful little thing doing on the deck when it’s dark? Looking for some Sailor’s love for the night, eh?” The man’s eyes gleamed in the darkness and his lips curved to a sparse-toothed grin. The man reeked of rum and sweat as he stepped closer to her “Hah! You want love from a scrawny seadog like myself for certain... ” He reached for her with his hand, trying to grab her arm.

A sweet, strange darkness rolled through her as she turned her head, trying not to breathe the enhanced odor of his unwashed body and pulled her arms behind her back in a try to make clear that she isn't interested at all. She backed away from the man, holding her dangerous gleaming eyes fixed on him which gave him a shudder of shock. The rain began pouring down even stronger and the first lightning of the thunderstorm reached the ship. Her pale face turned into a sinister mask and her lips twisted into a grim smile, as she spoke, her words were soft and venomous.


"You better start speaking your prayer, you piece of scum. You 'all' should start praying, since it'll be the last thing you're able to do."

Her drenched frame turned away from the puzzled looking men and she slowly walked through the heavy rain, disappearing out of their sights as she moved through the corridor, entering her cabin. Her movements were slow and determined, nonetheless her body was shaking as she still tried to control herself.. her face still a hardened and sinister visage as she grabbed for her crystal ball, storing it into her bag. Now she knew which way to go and so it shall be tonight.
The men already whispering with each other again fell silent when noticing her moving frame on the deck expectant and sceptically. A loud roll of thunder was cutting the silence, bright thunderbolts were streaking through the dark clouds just above the ship, the sea slowly began vibrating, troubled waves hit the sides of the ship hard making it stagger.
But Ashayen kept approaching the backside of the ship and brought her shaking hands closer toward the ropes holding the lifeboat of the carrack in place. Her hands clenched around them and with all of her physical effort she pulled the knots of the ropes open with the lifeboat falling down into the troubled waves of the sea. She followed right after with the drenched robe clinging to her curves, her pale blue eyes kept gleaming with rage through the wet strands of raven black hair, which partially blocked her view. Her hands clenched firmly around the oars and the sea beneath her boat began vibrating more and more... hard waves kept hungrily hitting the sides of the carrack with the men standing by the bulwark, watching her rowing away when not throwing puzzled gazes between each other. The thunderstorm begun to gather above the ship, mercilessly pouring rain down on the carrack and filling the air with loud noises and bright lights.

When the anger of a witch gets too much to bear there was just one way finding back toward her ease. It had to be spent.
A witch's cold anger was implacable, almost unstoppable until the fury was spent. Ashayen's cold anger rising from deep within wasn't blunted by pain or hunger or weariness.
And the time has come to finally spend her fury, fury caused by all those who kept taunting and provoking her, fury caused by herself... bending her life for everybody, playing the silent person who always said yes to everything and everyone, 'always'... 'always' cutting down her own desires.
But enough! It was just enough now!
She stopped in the middle of the sea, facing the ship from a safe distance and began turning her mind inward to weave her spell…


For a moment, everyone on the deck suddenly froze like a statue as they saw a huge wall of water heading towards the starboard side of the carrack. In a heartbeat, the men grabbed a hold on what they could and screamed for Tanora to aid them, as the huge whitecap gushed down on the ship, covering everything in its drowning and crushing embrace. The thunderous roar of the water hid the screams of the men as they were swept into the raging sea. Those who managed to stay on the deck were tangled on the ropes or thrown against the bulwarks of the ship like lifeless ragdolls. The momentary lull after the enormous wave gave enough time for some of the men to cough the water out of their throats and climb up on the soaked only to notice that another large wave was heading towards the ship, and that the helm was unoccupied and rolling uncontrollably. The wind had torn the sails into shreds and the men knew that their doom had come as the next wave cast its shroud of darkness over the ship. The men screamed in fright as the wave plunged down on the ship and themselves. The wooden boards creaked under the stress and began to break and the masts snapped into pieces like toothpicks in the fingers of a giant. The groans and wailing of men, sounds of breaking wood and the thunder of the raging sea all joined together to form a terrible cacophony of death and destruction. The wave had torn the side of the old ship asunder and filled the cargo bay with water. Soon the ship begun to turn on its side and even the last sailors were thrown overboard. The lucky ones grabbed a floating piece of wood, helplessly watching how the ship capsized and quickly sunk into the murky depths of the furious ocean. The survivors kept shouting and screaming until a third wave, a massive wall of water, crushed the remaining sailors and dragged them into the depths Tanora’s realm.

Only a few clothes, barrels and pieces of wood floated on the surface of the restless, stormy sea, to tell of the ship’s grim fate.


Image

Cold water whipped across her face but a blatant grim stare was directed toward the arising storm which greedily sucked the ship into its embrace. Nothing shall be left, not here and not inside her.
After a long while of observing the spectacle with emotionless gleaming eyes she slumped back in the small boat, exhausted and free.
My next move must be accomplished on gobaith.
Breathing flatly through the nose and looking up at the sky with its dark clouds tearing apart to give way to the morning sun she turned her mind inward again, using the last power within herself to weave a last spell.. blue swirls and mist entwines her body, sending her back to gobiath, leaving nothing more than an empty lifeboat floating lonesome on the calm sea surrounded by the remains of the carrack and its life within and so as she leaved she didn't notice the arrival of another ship with its bow slicing through the last thick clouds of the storm..
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Mr. Cromwell
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Post by Mr. Cromwell »

"Misha! I saw it with me very own eyes", the sailor uttered excitedly. "A storm out of nowhere..! Huge storm.. and the Singin' Mermaid was gone.. ! Tanora took her with all her hands, down into the depths! I swear, to me mother that I saws it with ma own eyes..!" He waved his arms in excited manner while talking at the second sailor.

"Naaww.. you've been drinking, Jerak!" The other man laughed. "Did you get a visit from the the pink faeries as well?"

"May the Kraken use your ship as a lavatory, you searat!" Jerak said with a frustrated voice "Barak and Jerome saw it as well, as did first mate Anderson! We saw the magical sparkle around the sinking-spot.. like blue beacon in the night! You can ask the others if you don't believe me!"

Edward, slowly lowered the small inventory list quietly down on the Harbor depot, turning to look at the open door. He could feel how the hackles at the back of his neck would rise as he listened to the discussion of the two sailors. The Singing Mermaid... that was the name of Ashayen's ship! He turned around and without hesitation walked out of the Building Master's office, facing the two sailors as he closed the door behind himself.

The two sailors stared at him with widened eyes, before the other began to turn on his heels to leave. Edward raised his hand at the man, causing him to stop.
"What were you saying about the Singing Mermaid?" The second sailor took a step away from the sailor called Jerak, who swallowed as he stared at the expensively dressed man. "Uh.. Aye, Sir.. I was saying how I saw the sip sunk in a storm!"

Edward gritted his teeth together, but nonetheless forced himself to ask with a stern voice "What was that part about ..blue sparkles?" He stared at the two men with his brows furrowed, slowly crossing his arms over his chest. The sailor called Jerak swallowed again, muttering. "Yessirrah, I saw them blue sparkles near the ship as it went down! I sure did!.. And on the next day, we only found some clothes and an empty lifeboat where the ship sunk!"

Edward nodded at the man's words. He wasn't quite sure what to think. The ship was sunk..but blue sparkles? Could it be.. ? He took a deep breath through his nose and absently tossed the man a small pouch of coins.. and suddenly he found himself running towards Trollsbane as fast as he could.
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