The Gathering of Lost Souls

Status
Not open for further replies.
The tale unfolded as they slept. So real was this dream that they could feel the sun, the cool water, eat fruit from the tree's and be full. The tale let them feel the emotions of both human and feline, it brushed them with the magik of both, leaving a touch behind. On each sleeping child a small paw mark appeared upon their chest above their hearts...You see, the telling of the tale had many reasons. and one of those was that those who listened to it and understood would be forever linked to the cats, those of the past, present and future. This was a gift, it meant two things for certain, one that the felines would come if either called for them with great need and two, that some day when a new litter was born, the kittens would seek out the other half of themselves, like Chesh and Lady Light...And it seemed also for Swish and Jewel...When they awaken, they would know these things and also feel refreshed. Each ache gone, bellies full and minds alert and ready.
 
While the children slept Nalya could hear rustling in the distance and she felt she needed to investigate.


"Swish," her thoughts reached out to the Great Feline, "please keep a watchful eye on the young ones for I must make sure harm does not fall upon them."

Nalya head out in the direction of the rustling and as she walked she let the robe fall from her body. A few more steps and she began to morph back into her wolven form. As bones snapped and reshaped she did not stop to allow the process take place as she normally would do. Her body fell to the ground and though not completely changed she forced herself to continue to forge ahead crawling on hands and knees until her body was totally transformed. Yes it would of been much easier if she waited and allowed the transformation to take place but she felt there was no time to waste.

Finally shifted she kept her body low to the ground and with silent foot falls she crept fowards. Her keen senses informed her that what was up ahead was human, but if they were friend or foe she was not yet certain.
 
The cloak returned to a ball of light and followed the wolf, waiting for her to swallow it once more. This gift would forever be either a ball of light, or a cloak, and only work for the Lady Nalya.
 
Sarah woke and peered down to witness the transformation of the woman. Strong, yet without prode were her thoughts. Seeing the dawn was only a short time away she quietly slipped down from the tree as the wolf went about her scouting. From her pack she drew some salt beef, cheese and a nearly stale heel of bread. This would do for breaking there fast.

As she removed the itesms from her pack she thought about what the day before had brought. A lady at court I should be, a warrior princess I am. She knew not where she was going, but that moment resolved to end where she belonged. Tor'Mhaelgodin was her place, Theron wearing the badge of Prince of Lillies and her holding court for her brother.

Theron woke groggy eyed and dazed, when his feet planted on ground once again he walked towards her ever so quietly. She wanted to leap and laugh and giggle but held it all within herself. There would be time enough for that in the future, however, that thin smile broke her lips once more as he approached.

"Dawn will be here soon brother, eat." Handing him his portion she remained knealt.

A curt nod from him was acknoledgement enough. In the morning Theron was a sight to behold. And often a grump to boot. "Where is the Lady Nalya? No harm must befall her sister, she is to have home and refuge at Tor'Mhaelgodin once this business is finished."

So he had been hearing the small conversations they had. Theron was learning it would seem to speak less and listen more. Once more he to had realised where they were, that here they were no longer common beggars that scavanged and salvaged to stay alive. Here they were Prince Aranor commander of Her Majesties armies and Prince of Lilies Sworn Protector of the Border Lands, and She was Princess Aranor, Gatekeeper of the Border and Shining Light of the Court.

She had never thought to behold the day when any of that would mean anything. Father will be glad to see us, and we him. Squeezing her water skin tightly she squirted a bit of water at him in jest! Splashing him in the face with cool morning spring water was to wake and startle him and snap him out of the brooding place his mind had found.

In silence they broke their fast and waited the Lady Nalya's return.
 
Last edited:
The boy knelt in the grass, or what was left of the grass, at least. He was staring at a paper, trying to decipher the scribblings on it. At six, he was fairly young for literacy, anyway. But the writings on the paper were symbols he wasn't even able to recognize, much less read.

Dressed in little more than a tattered pair of pants and a worn out shirt, he looked more than a little out of place sitting in the middle of the Gray covered land, staring at an unusual piece of paper, with his back turned to the overgrown path from which Nalya had come.
 
The scent got stronger with every step she took. Finally she could see something moving around just up ahead and it wasn't what she expected. Yes it was human but it was another child. Silent steps she took and made sure to stay hidden so not to frighten the young boy. "Why am I the one to keep finding them?" she asked herself.

The sun had already begun to rise and her thoughts went back to the two she had left sleeping in the trees.

"Great Feline, what am I suppose to do now?" Nalya laid her self down and laid as flat as she could to keep hidden. "What was he looking at she wondered."

She couldn't leave this child here and she couldn't take the chance on going back to gather the young ones either. Well, here goes nothing......................

She filled her lungs with air and let out a long, loud howl. This should get their attention. Once more she called out to the young ones and then stayed silent. She knew, even if the child didn't know what kind of animal made a sound like that, that it would probably be frightened all the same.

Nalya had not yet noticed the tiny ball of light had been with her and chose to not shift form at this paticular moment just incase the child would of stumbled upon her.
 
Last edited:
The child sat with his back turned to the direction of the wolf, straining with everything he had to try and figure out that piece of paper. That all changed when she sounded her howl. He dropped the paper, covered his ears, and ducked down even further. The paper fluttered down and rested beside him. The windless nature of the Gray prevented it from going any further.

When the howl ended the boy slowly uncovered his ears, then reached over and snagged the paper from the ground. He remained hunched over like he was trying to hide, but started, once again, trying to read the symbols on the paper.
 
Sarah would rush through the whole of the realm to aid someone she trusted and liked. Theron though he was gonna go around the protected and find what frightened them. That was the great thing about Sarah and her shield, it often allowed him to strike from the rear and finish the job easily.

He saw Sarah plant herself as if a large stone bolder shielding the Lady Nalya. That shield of hers would deflect any natural attack just fine. And that sword of hers would cut deep and strong.

As he wheeled into the frey from the left he stopped suddenly. Saber and long knife in his hands ready to do their worst. Sarah and Nalya nowhere to be seen for the brush about them. The only thing here was this small boy child and that script of paper.

"Merely a boy, we feared wargs or worse!" His voice rang out through the forest.

He could see Sarah stir on the other side of the thicket between them and started his way.

"A boy Theron, a child you say," her voice had a cold sound to it. "Why is there a boy child in the bush?"

Thernon knealt and spoke to him softly, kindly even, "What are you doing in this forest all alone child?"

Niether himself nor Sarah ever lowered there weapons, all to familiar with things and people not always turning out to be what they first were.
 
For a kid who'd just had the tar scared out of him by a wolf's howl, he didn't seem to be too awefully shaken. Though he did cringe just a bit when he heard Theron's voice shout out, when he saw the older male's face, he sat back up and refocused on the paper.

When asked as to his purpose here, he simply held up the paper. It was written in a pattern that looked to be a language, but it was nothing this realm or any realm directly connected to it had ever seen before. The symbols of what would appear to be the letters shifted slightly. Needless to say, it was completely illegible. The boy looked at Theron with curious eyes. "You know what dis says?"
 
"Lets have us a look?" He said it that soft voice that sounded like it belonged to someone else. He was cautious to not read it aloud, that had worked once, only once. Young boys in the middle of the thickest parts of the forest, with a strange letter written not in languages that Theron had ever noticed, NOT exactly the perfect scenario.

He inspected the letter carefully but did not mutter the words, if any were readable. Taking his eyes from the script after a very short glance he would wait.

"Well wait here for the others..."

Sarah still stood, she would not move without Nalya.
 
Last edited:
Swish heard the lady's call but at the moment she could not muster up enough energy to send a thought with out taking some the power she was using to stay atop the dragon and remain calm. While heights where normally fine with this feline, moving heights seemed to make her belly roll with each step.
Chesh heard the Lady as well and he could feel the waves of motion sickness coming off of his sister. He managed to choke down a laugh, but his grin was wide and very bright, he thought her situation a bit funny.
Shaking the smile off his maw he addressed the Lady Nalya for his sister..

"Sorry, M'Lady, Swish is...well...slightly ...well let's just say she would not make a good dragons companion... *A small laugh escaped him before he could stop it* ...Pardon, sorry about that....Dear Lady, you don't seem to know just how brave your heart is...perhaps you should relax your mind some and go with the instinct of your heart? The boy seems lost, and he seems pure...so win him over and bring him along...I'm beginning to think you where meant to travel this road to collect those who will be needed in the near future...Notice the Gray is around the boy, but not covering him? Just like the rest of you...Hmm...Excuse me, I think I need to think on this..."

Swish called out with misery in her tone...

"I heard that laugh you wicked ball of fluff! You ride on a dragons back and see how You like it!!"
 
Nalya shuffled back into the deeper brush and it was then she saw the small ball of light that the Great Feline had sent her. Leaping up to catch the ball of light in her mouth she quickly swallowed it. She let her body flop back down in the tall grass and her body instantly began to morph back into her human form.
It almost seemed that, for some reason, her transformation was less painful than it had always been.
The snapping of bones shifted and changed form as her body shrunk and lost it's thick wolfen fur, and once again as she stood upright her naked form was covered by the long black hooded robe.

Once shifted Nalya stepped through the thick brush and back to where the others stood surrounding the child.

"Stand down!" she ordered the twins to lower their weapons and step back so to not frighten the young boy.

"He is lost and confused and we shall protect him as we would each other."

Nalya walked over to the boy and knelt.

"Little one," her voice was soft and soothing, "why are you here all alone?"

She had a thought that he probably had no idea where he was or where his family may be. The child obviously was also a victim of the Gray and it was probably meant for the Trio to find him.
 
The boy appeared to relax quite a bit at the appearance of an unarmed woman rather than the young man in front of him. The boy smiled as she came closer. In response to her question, he simply pointed at the mysterious piece of paper.

The boy looked at Theron with a bit of a question in his expression, then back over at Nalya. "Tryin' ta read dat. Da guy wif da swords can't read it. Can you?"
 
Nalya giggled at the young boys comment be for asking him if she could see the paper.

"My name is Nalya, can I ask you what your name is?"

Nalya sifted her legs so that she could sit on the ground next to the child. She dare not reach for the paper for concern it may upset him.

"My friend with the sword is unfamiliar with the writing. How did you come to have this paper? Did you find it or did someone give it to you?"

Nalya spoke softly to the boy as she reached her hand out with her palm facing upward.


"May I see it?"
Her eyes gazed upon the child with compassion and concern. She had many a question she wished to ask him but did not do so so not to over whelm the boy.

She looked over to Theron and gestured with her head for him to come and sit with them, then she looked back to Sarah to also do the same.
 
"My name's Anon." The boy stood and held the paper out to her, his face beaming with all the innocence and wonder a child of his age was supposed to have. He seemed completley unaffected by the Gray.

"I guess I finded it. I was walkin' an' I sat down an' readed it. I don't know how to read it. Can you read it?"

As soon as Nalya's hand were to touch the paper, the slightly moving symbols on it would bend and completely rearrange themselves to form first, a picture. It was an image of two towers, one bathed in light, the other shrouded in shadow. Between the towers stood a series of banners with various symbols on them. Holding those banners were various adventurers. Nalya would recognize several of them. They were the people she'd encountered recently on this new adventure she'd been thrust into. Still, there were some she wouldn't recognize. She was there, too, in a combination of two partially transparent images, one of her wolf form, the other of her human form. She may also note that one other image was similar in makeup to hers. There was another image that was two partially transparent pictures in one spot...a dragon and a human.

The image would, after a short time, break apart on the paper, and form words that, while she wouldn't recognize, she would understand. "The band of warriors you have seen will not last as it currently is through the coming days. The challenges that lie ahead will test everything you know of yourself and those you have chosen to bring into your company. If you are to stand a chance of defeating the plague which has beset this land, you must find these adventurers and work together to win back your world. Continue on your path, and let nothing draw you away. The child will be they key you need."

The boy known as Anon simply stared at Nalya. Wonder was evident on his face. He smiled brightly as he waited for her to acknowledge him, again. He'd forgotten the others. She was the one he wanted to go with.
 
Nalya watched in awe as the words on the paper began to swirl and create patterns and images as soon as it came in contact with her hand. The paper seemed to tell her a story even though she had no clue what the words were or what the images meant. But some how she knew what it all meant. Her eyes shifted from the paper to the little boy and she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm going to hang on to this for you alright, and it would please me immensely if you would honor us and come with us on our adventure."

Still smiling even though she had no idea what this adventure was or what the outcome was going to be. She reached her arms out to the boy and pulled him tightly to her hugging him. She reached her right hand up and let it stroke down along is soft hair.

"Are you ready to go Anon?"

She took his hand in hers and stood and looking to both Theron and Sarah.

"Are you two also ready? We lost much time and we must make haste, we must reach the Tower as soon as possible and we still have another days travel."

With Anon in tow Nalya led the way, she had no idea of the way, all she had was her instincts to guide her.
 
Lady Light returned to the window in which Chesh sat like a statue watching the spot where the Gray stopped and the path to the towers water fountain began. Light and water played with in the round stone pool, images that where on the paper Nalya held danced across the rippling water. Lady Light's eyes widened as she to read the words aloud to Chesh. Tail sweeping back and forth, her turned his sleek furred face towards her, with a mix of wonder and horror reflecting in his gaze.

"What we thought to be a fairytale, is about to unfold for real?"

Lady Light nodded and scratched him lightly under the chin.

"All tales come from a grain of truth, little one, you know this....The time to wait is almost over and the time to fight is growing closer. I can feel my sisters mind and it is awake, soon enough we will have to deal with her, him and the Gray...A trio of dark trouble...We must have faith in those that are coming and in the light!"
 
Anon nodded in response to her question. At this point in time, he was willing to follow her anywhere. The boy didn't hear the voice of the great cat. Nor did he pay much attention to the siblings. He appeared to have imprinted himself on Nalya, and at this point in time, he wasn't willing to let any amount of distance get between them. He happily held onto her hand as any small child would to someone they felt comfort with, and trodded along as best he could.
 
Sarah and Theron both strod off behind her. There were lessons in all of this and they were learning quickly. They both had to let a bit more trust enter thier hearts. It would be as long and as difficult a road that they were on currently, only they would not have the Lady Nalya to guide them so deftly.

Sarah sheathed her sword and hung her shield from her belt. That boulder like look took her face and she was as readable as a slab of granite for the cooks kitchens. It would seem a mood had taken her, Theron knew the look all to well and wondered what it was she would want to know.

"Im likely to find Tor'Mhaelgodin covered in this damnable tangle vine by the time I claim my seat...." Theron was surly and sour as well it would seem. As well in no mood for subtlety as he spoke loud enough for everyone in the kingdom to hear him. Oh he would love the day that all of this was behind him and his fathers smile fell upon them once again. A magical day when all would be right and life would be good again. "I wonder if father is partial to jape as I am Sarah?"

The searching question was meant for Nalya. He was grasping for anything at this point. The silence on the subject was driving him mad, he was quick of foot and quick of mind as well. He knew there was something unsaid he just couldnt puzzle out what it was yet.

His eyes brightened somewhat at the sight of the hare under the brush. Not breaking stride he scooped two palm sized stones from the ground and let the first go with a strong whipping motion of his arm. As usual of late the first stone struck true and they would be eating roast hare this evening!

Sarah would follow in her straight line fashion, Theron in his own way. They were to go to this unnamed place and that is where they would go!
 
Chesh opened her mind, narrowing her thoughts to just the siblings, in his tone you could hear the warmth and pride.

"If your throne is covered in ivy vine I will personally have it removed. I am speaking to the two of you only right now, so please do not let on or repeat, use your mind if you wish to reply....The Lady Nalya thinks she is not brave, she thinks she is weak..Ahh, but we know better, do we not?! So I ask of you two brave warriors, help me show her just how much magik and light she holds in her...We need all the faith we can gather in the following days, True Dark will soon join the Gray...We must be ready with True Light!"
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom