Young Writers Society

He night before the journey began, Tris was in her room, fuming. The only two other elves in active duty had suggested she slit the writers throat." Its not as if shes smart enough to fix her masters curse. She but a girl!" Cyle had said. Faylin nodded in agreement. Needless to say, Saythor Allamar, and the elven counseler to the king, had shut the two up. He took Tris aside." My daughter, the reason I chose you for this quest, is because you are still a child, and you cant bear hate or malice to anyone. Its against your nature. Tran would want you to remain the pure and loveable woman you are. Your mother would be proud of you. So proud. You carry our hearts with us daughter."

The next morning.

Wearing only her light leather armour, sword at hip, two daggers, bow across her back, and hwr horse saddled and saddle bags full of her neccesities, Tris was finally ready to go. She reached the palace, and listened to the conversations. She noticed the human prince glancing at his female companions, and rolled her eyes. I have protected your great great grandfather boy, and am still as deadly as ever. She gave a small smile, which was hidden by her veil. He would soon learn, that even though the Sentinel corps had lost many soldiers, they were still as deadly as the asps venom.

Razieral Demora - Palace - Throne Room

Razley had not expected most of the other representives to be all females, a scary sharp Shadow Sentinel, the new Writer who was slightly taller than her ravaged in a book. Razley made a mental note to chat with her later, next came the woman in a purple plume cloak, it was like Razley's black cloak only a different color. Finally the only man going on this quest, the King's Son, Arykeo Lexander of Birathi the II. He didn't look to happy to be going on a quest with a bunch of ladies, Razley knew he was underestimating all of them.


"Razley wondering what are you reading?" Razley asked the writer.

The writer, distracted by her book, paid Razley no mind, a slightly annoyed Razley used her staff to lightly tap the writer on her head. Soon the young writer lowered her book and glared at the young wizard.

"What?" the writer growled.

"Razley wondering what are you reading?" Razley said happily ignoring the writers annoyed look.

The Writer, Katiian's look turned to that of suspition, eyeing Razley carefully, she made her reply "The History of Forgotten Religions in Birathi by Erobert Duval" Katiian said.

"Oh! Razley wants to read that, Master has the book at home!" Razley said.

The Writers suspicious look turned to true wonderment, Razley's childish nature and curious appetite for knowledge had seemingly mystified the young Writer. "Well, I suppose we could go to the Royal Library and check out some books to read," said the Writer.

"Yes, yes! Razley would like to go!" the child wizard said.

~Azya~

Everyone was waiting in the throne room for this meeting to convene so the Fellowship could be on their way. Azya stood in front of Hrothgar, saying her good bye.

"Remember everything I, as well as our healer, Aurora, taught you." he instructed sternly, the harsh lines on his face from age. "Don't let your guard down. Always keep your eyes open. Don't-"

"A simple I love you would suffice just as well," Azya smiled from under her hood.

He'd never been good with things like this. He never really knew how act with me, though it was always one of the most heart warming things to watch.

the lines around his face faded, and he looked at her like he would a daughter. "I'm trying."

Azya touched his hair gruffened cheek. "I know."

He pulled me in for a bear hug she returned with one of her own and a kiss on the cheek. As he set her down, his hands moved to remove her hood, and she began to pull away. He caught her. She began to squirm in his arms. Her eyes had always made her the object of unwanted attention, which is why she almost never took it off unless alone.

"Calm, young one," his hands moved once again to push away her hood, and as it hit her back, she looks down.

"Come now," his lord reprimanded gently, his fingers tilting her chin up, pushing her long bangs that swept past her eyes out of the way. "you know i've never shied away from your unique eyes."

Azya laughed gently. "Unique is one way of putting it."

He pulled her in for gentle hug and kissed her forehead softly. "Please be safe."

"I will," she nodded.

"And think about what I said." he looked into my eyes. "Promise me."

Azya's gaze strayed from his. "Promise."

A voice sounded through the room.

"The members of the Quest," the King's voice boomed.

"The human," he motioned to his Son.

"Aryk," he introduced himself, standing as tall as he could. "Pleased to represent the Humans in this quest."

Hm. Interesting, Azya thought. The king was letting his Son go on a potentially dangerous Quest? Interesting indeed.

Azya wraps her arms around his enormous body, or at least she tried to, replying. "I will. You've taught me too well not to be."

Azya looked upon the others as they were called, but this one spoke up.

"Katii, the Writer," she stepped forward.

So this would be the girl Azya was supposed to protect. So be it.

"The Elves," the King turned to the small cluster of elves in a corner, all of them looking well poised and prepared for anything.

"Trisianna," answered a young girl, one of the remaining Shadow Sentinel.

He kissed both of her cheeks before pulling her hood back over her head.

"The Shape-Shifter," the king then turned towards us, waiting.

Inhaling his familiar scent, she took a step back before stating her name. "Azya."

She caught the King's Son rolling his eyes and stifled the urge to stick a knife in his neck.

The wizard, on the other hand, looked every bit the part of a child. Azya took in her tiny frame and innocent looking eyes as she stepped away from the other wizards and spoke in a quiet voice. "Razley, representing the wizards."

Her Lord stood there for a moment, looking at her like he wanted to say something.

"You too," she replied to nothing he'd said verbally.

"in tenebris" he bowed his head.

"Illiminarunt," Azya bows her head as well.

He turned and took his leave without looking back. Azya once again looked around the room, taking everything in, taking in the people she would be spending the next who knows how long with them, and settle on the Kings Son, Aryk, with a frown on his face as he also looked around. The only Male of an all Female group, bur if she wasn't mistaken, there was one more who hadn't shown up. The Drifters. She wondered where their representative was. She turned her thoughts back to Aryk. He was unhappy with being stuck with Females he thought might not be able to take care of themselves. The though irritated Azya , made her itch to throw a knife at something.

Azya thought about it for a second, and walked over to him. He turned slowly to look in her direction. "May I help you?"

"So the King's Son is representing the Humans in this Fellowship?" Azya looks at him from under her hood.

"That would be correct." he stands taller. "And you represent the Shifters?"

"Yes, and I thought to introduce myself since we'll be spending the next for how ever long with one another." she nodded. "I also came to let you know not to let the fact that i'm not a Man fool you into thinking I can't defend myself or others."

Aryk blinked in surprise. "I beg your pardon."

"Don't think that just because we're not Men, that we can't hold our own . That way of thinking is unbecoming and idiotic. Thinking like that can also get us killed, and you'll find I don't take something like that lightly, or any kind of crap that night hold us back" she noted how low and quiet her voice came out, and almost smiled.

Almost. Hrothgar was the only person who'd ever been able to make her genuinely smile. Arky opened his mouth, but no words came out at first. It's not like she would give him time to react anyway. As Azya turned, she glided across the floor silently, following after two girls from earlier she knew were also part of the Fellowship, though she didn't plan on introducing herself to them.

As others began to scatter to differnet places, Tris' s father approached, holding something in his hand. She gaped." Father, thats the-" he shushed her with a smile." Yes Trisianna. This is the stone of tears. The Last Great Elven queen, Salanya Du Brathor, she cried apoun a stone the last time a great catostrophe threatened her people. Now, as heir to the Swan House, the house of nobility, you are the next heir. This was your mothers. Now, its yours. As soon as you return from your completed quest, the king has decided that you can take your place as the lady of the swan house, a title your mother also left you." Tris stammered." But papa, thats the house of royalty. That mean I would be..." her father smiled." Yes. You are the only living person now who carries the blood of Salanya Du Brathor. Also, the elders have decided, when you return, you will be given your adult name. The name of your ancestor. Salanya. Now, I must speak with the king. The drifters have still not shown up..." he walked away with a huff.

Tris looked at the necklace in her hands. The stone shown from inside, looking watery. The story was, the Swan lady, Salanya, had cried tears that became embedded inside a stone. She cried because the humans and elves had been at war, and she wanted the war to stop, so she made the deal with the human king. That elves would counsel the king, and pay hom age, however, no human could enter the Woods of Light and Darkness without losing their life. Since then, the woods had remained human free. The rangers protected the woods well. However, her father had agreed to allow the prince though, seeing as they needed him for the quest.

Tris mounted her horse and rode towards the House of the Swan, the homes of the elven royaLty, of which she was the last. She wanted to investigate. Surely Salanya had left some secrets, maybe to help on the quest! Excited, Tris urged her horse forward, then pulled it to a stop. She turned around, dejected. The quest was about to begin, and she wouldnt have enough time to fully search the buildings in order to look for clues. It could wait. Smiling happily, she rode towards the main gate.

Aryk- Human

The Drifters arrived three minutes after the appointed time, and entered the room amidst death stares from all the other groups. Aryk scanned the small group in search of the representative, but the Drifters were hard to see, and it was impossible to stare at them for too long without getting a headache.

Instead, he waited as his father quickly gave the introductions and asked the Drifter to step forward. One of them did, and I sighed at having another male companion.

"Damon," he said. He was young, even for a Drifter, and didn't look like anything spectacular. Still, it would be nice not to be the only man, even if the other members weren't just silly girls, and Aryk didn't think they were. The King then ushered all the members of the quest forward and commanded everyone else to leave.

"You will begin by traveling through the Shaded Forest. It will be dangerous. The creatures in that forest are things of legend, and they will show no mercy. Aryk," the king turned to his son with a look that might have passed as love to anyone who did not know the two better. "Humans do not often pass through the Shaded Forest. You must be always on your guard, and you must not let arrogance take any part in your attitude there." Aryk winced, feeling as though his father was just pointing out his flaws to show all the others. "If the guardians of the forest find you- they will want you dead, and only humility will save you."

One of the others chuckled sharply, but Aryk refused to turn around. He knew that his father's words had been an understatement. No human has passed through the forest since the agreement between humans and elves. Not that the elves owned the forest or anything of the sort. Just, they owned the gentler woods that covered the land just before the Shaded Forest began. Still, it wasn't just humans. Hardly anyone had ever gone through the forest, and even less had come back out.

"The moors and swampland come next, and this area is exposed and vulnerable. You must take care to guard each other and protect the group. Remember, you are now a group, and you must act as such. If you are to succeed, you will only do so with every member working together. Arguments among yourself will end in failure.
"Now, the swamps lead to the ocean. There are creatures in the ocean, nymphs, sirens, perhaps others that I have not seen. You must seek help and find friends before enemies, since on your own you will not succeed in crossing the ocean.
"Lastly, you will cross the desert of Surioy, which will also be exposed and terribly dangerous. Find the capital city and search for the book there. Legend says that there are more Writers in Surioy. They can help you, but do not assume that they are friendly. Be on your guard at all times.
"We have provided weapons, food, clothing, and horses that should last more than enough to get you to Surioy. Perhaps, if all goes well, you will be able to restock there."

Aryk's father did not say what would happen if all did not go well, and no one asked. All they needed to do was find the book and give it to the Writer so she could erase the plague. In reality, the fellowship themselves only needed to get to Surioy; they did not need to get back. Aryk shuddered slightly, though covered his action before anyone noticed.

"Well, then," Aryk stood and flashed a smile to cover the nervous tightness in his stomach and chest, "let us begin."

(So Sorry! My internet has been crashing so much recently, and I only just got it fixed.)

Damon looked at each of his quest companions. He and the Human were the only males in the group, but what should he care? It wasn't as if he could talk to them all that often. After he had introduced himself, he listened to the King's words. The Shaded Forest was a terrible, dreaded place. In all honesty, Damon did not really want to pass through, but hopefully he would be able to slip by all the 'beasts of legend' unseen. After all, he was a Drifter. He turned and stared at his kind. They were watching him carefully.
"Good luck" one said, his voice sounding like a storm's gale.
Damon nodded, then moved across the room to stand next to his companions.

~Azya~

The Drifters had finally arrived, though they were late, At least they were here. We waited as the King made a quick introduction and asked the Drifter to step forward. One of the Male Drifters stepped forward.

"Damon," he said. He was young, even for a Drifter, and didn't look like anything spectacular.

The King then ushered all the members of the quest forward and commanded everyone else to leave.

"You will begin by traveling through the Shaded Forest. It will be dangerous. The creatures in that forest are things of legend, and they will show no mercy. Aryk," the king turned to his son with a look that might have passed as love to anyone who did not know the two better. "Humans do not often pass through the Shaded Forest. You must be always on your guard, and you must not let arrogance take any part in your attitude there."

Aryk winced, And Azya nodded. Arrogance had no place on this quest, and she would make sure it didn't find one.

"If the guardians of the forest find you- they will want you dead, and only humility will save you." He continued.

That seemed a bit dramatic to Azya, but then again, everyone had their thing. Someone laughed crudely at what the king had said, and she could understand why. It may have seemed dramatic, but nonetheless true and an understatement. No human has passed through the forest since the agreement between humans and elves. Shifters didn't like the place anymore than the next person, but Azya wasn't one to let a superfluous emotion such as fear get the better of her. Azya had been through there dozens of times, and it had been quite the experience. Hardly anyone had ever gone through the forest, and even less had come back out. Except for her. Hrothgar never liked the thought of her going into that place, which is why no one knew she had. He would have locked her up and thrown away the Key if he thought he was protecting her.

"The moors and swampland come next, and this area is exposed and vulnerable. You must take care to guard each other and protect the group. Remember, you are now a group, and you must act as such. If you are to succeed, you will only do so with every member working together. Arguments among yourself will end in failure."

Azya looked at the others. It would take every one of us working together to pull this off. She just wondered if they would. She'd find out soon enough.


"Now, the swamps lead to the ocean. There are creatures in the ocean, nymphs, sirens, perhaps others that I have not seen. You must seek help and find friends before enemies, since on your own, you will not succeed in crossing the ocean. Lastly, you will cross the desert of Surioy, which will also be exposed and terribly dangerous. Find the capital city and search for the book there. Legend says that there are more Writers in Surioy. They can help you, but do not assume that they are friendly. Be on your guard at all times. We have provided weapons, food, clothing, and horses that should last more than enough to get you to Surioy. Perhaps, if all goes well, you will be able to restock there."

The king was the one who called this quest, and he didn't even truly have faith this would work. Azya heard it in the tone of his voice. She also saw how sickly he looked, the palor of his skin, the loss in body weight, though subtle, she was able to notice it, could smell the disease in him, and felt a sadness she'd that surprised her. He was in the first stages the plague, and she wondered if her knew it. If he did know, it made her wonder why he would let his son go on the quest in the first place. Maybe he was hoping to spare his Son the pain of watching him die, and hoped he would pass before he were to return home. If he did.

One other thing that troubled Azya, was that Aryk's father did not say what would happen if all did not go well, and no one asked. All they needed to do was find the book and give it to the Writer so she could erase the plague. In reality, the fellowship themselves only needed to get to Surioy; they did not need to get back. The thought did make her uneasy, but she shook it off. If anything, this would make them more determined to get back alive and well and together.

"Well, then," Aryk stood and flashed a smile, trying to cover up his nervousness. "let us begin."

She could smell the turmoil on him. His body had been secreting the pheromones since his Father had given us our mission. She even felt a little sorry for him. We were escorted outside the Palace by the King and several of his guards. Everyone stopped just beyond the Palace gates and turned to look at the King, who was looking at his Son.

"Head East until you meet a fork in the road where you'll see the entrance to the forest to your right, and it is there your journey will begin. Be safe, and stay vigilant."

Azya knew those last words were for Aryk as the Gates closed. She gazed at him from under her hood, wondering what was going through his mind. It made Azya wonder what would happen when she got back home. She could still hear her father's words rattling around in her mind, and her body tensed up. She turned and began head East.

"Stay close to me as we make our way into the forest," she instructed. "I've been there before and know how to make it through safely."

"And how, exactly, did you manage that?" Trisianna caught up with me.

Thinking about how Azya managed that had her resisting the urge to shudder.

"Multiple long, dark, and horrible visits," she turned to face them so fast, they stopped dead in their tracks.

Except for the Drifter, of course. Her voice turned cold and hard. "So stay close, keep quiet, and keep moving. This place plays with your mind. So no matter what you hear, see or anything else, don't stop"


No one spoke as they walked. Azya wondered if they were rolling over what she said in their heads, and realized they were. She just hoped they took what she said seriously. If they were going to make it through this alive, they had to.

Katii

The other girls looked fierce; she would be glad of their protection in the forest. She grew up learning to read, write and cast spells, not on self-defense. She hated being the weak link in the group, it would only give the rest another reason to hate her.

The wizard wasn't so bad, what was her name.....Razley? She had let her borrow some of the books from her personal collection with the girl squeaking," Razley likes! Razley likes! Thank you! Razley thanks you!" She had smiled indulgently but wondered if the girl was a megalomaniac. Even if she was she wouldn't mind..much. They could talk about books together.

She wasn't sure if anyone else was as nervous about the quest as she was. Probably not, as the fate of the entire country didn't rest on them and their ability to find and undo a spell.

She shivered holding her cloak tightly around her. Katii didn't like forests or traveling at all. What she wanted to do was go back to the palace, sit in her bedroom next to a roaring fire and read a book. The forest was dark, creepy, and cold like something from the fairy tales she first read. None of those had happy endings. Even if by some miracle she managed to live and reverse the spell there would be no happy ending, so many had died.

She sighed and stared off into the distance.

Aryk

Aryk watched the others walking almost dejectedly away from the palace. He wished he knew of some way to lighten the atmosphere, but didn't dare interrupt the solemn silence that had drifted over the company. Instead, he decided to let silence win out for now. They would stop in only a few hours- since they had decided that it would be safer and smarter not to enter the forest until the second day.

Therefore, they would have a chance to get to know one another once they made camp just outside the confines of the forest. In the meantime, Aryk glanced at the other members to try and guess how they were feeling. Most of them looked to have some mixture of confidence and worry. Katii looked determined not to show any traces of fear, but Aryk knew that she had never learned to fight or protect herself, and must have been at least a bit frightened.

At last the company reached the forest, dark trees reaching threateningly and ending the road in an abrupt dead end. Aryk threw his bag down and began setting up help.

"Razley will help," the Wizard chirped up, and she instantly began helping alongside of Aryk.

"Thank you," he said, ignoring her strange way of talking. The others began to help as well, and before long they had a fire lit and were all sitting comfortable around it. Katii pulled out a book, and Razley moved her blanket over so that she could look at the book and join Katii in reading.

"Maybe we can just consider this a long vacation?" Aryk asked, wanting desperately to break the silence. He had never been good at being quiet, and he always wanted someone else to join him in conversation. "Or not," he continued after a pause. "My father, I mean, the King, gave us a basic plan for our journey. Does anyone have anything to add? Any extra information?"

Aryk glanced at Katti, "Any knowledge about the past Writer?" He then turned to the elf, who was staring at some object that was hidden from Aryk's view, "or anything about the forest?"

Katii

Katii looked up from the book she was sharing with Razley when the prince addressed her. She sighed and looked up. "Too much and not enough unfortunately. I only became his apprentice after he had started the plague. He would never talk about it and whenever I tried to ask or question his actions he would make me organize all the books in reverse alphabetical order. Which took HOURS I might add." She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her hair. "The problem is he is.. I mean was, so disorganized I was never able to find any notes, map or indication on the whereabouts of the spell. For all I know it could still be in his workroom which I haven't been able to completely reorganize."

Everyone grew silent at her words. She hadn't realized everyone had been listening to her and she blushed and looked at her feet. Her words had sounded depressing and a little bad on her part. What type of Writer was she that couldn't find information that they so desperately needed? There was the one thing......

No. She wouldn't. She would look stupid and.. stupid, she told herself firmly. No need to bring up false hopes. No need to disappoint them this early on. But maybe....Katii frowned

"Tell us." Prince Aryk demanded.

"What?" she stalled

"You're thinking of something else. Something you're not telling us. I want you to say it."

"It's stupid..it's nothing." she muttered.

"We don't care. We don't have any leads. We have no clue where to even begin looking for this thing."

Katii bit her lip before answering, " Look, I just found it the other day. I haven't finished fully looking at it yet. I almost threw it away." As she was talking she was rummaging through her leather rucksack and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

On it was a triangle outlined in red with a circle drawn around it. There were words inside the circle and outside, connected by arrows moving counterclockwise. "See?" she smoothed it out and the group gathered around her forming a semicircle. "The words read:Ed Um, Arias Sect, Lacstry and Capel."

"What do they mean?" Someone next to her asked.

"I don't know,"she said with a defeated sigh. "They are not any written language that's in the library. But see these words here?"

The girl wizard leaned over her shoulder for a closer look. "The words inside the circle are ' Consummem Plague' that is what caught my attention. Consummem is the word for 'finished' and 'plague' is right next it. So this has to mean 'Finish Plague'. " The goup looked at each other wide eyed.

"What if it's a spell?" Razely squeaked "We can say the words to it and be done!"

For a second everyone dared to hope. "It can't be THAT easy." a girl behind her snorted and broke the spell. Katii could fell the eyes fall on her again. "Unfortunately, it isn't a spell. I tried it myself and asked a master wizard to try it as well. The only thing I'm sure of is the order of the words. It could be separate words or a phrase. That's what I'm hoping the writers in the next kingdom can help me with. But it could be nothing."

The group sat in silence for a while, thinking.

Tris spoke up." All Shadow Sentinels are trained in the forest. Before we are initiated and given our veils, we must spend a night in the forest. There are masters teach us the stories we heard as children, are true. We learn all about the guardians, and that it is our job to not let anything in.... or out." The others stared at her, transfixed." One story inmparticular, is true. 40000 years ago, right before the treaty, 3 siblings watched their father die. Princess Salanya, the greatest of elf queens, Trisago, the mighty warlord, and Marcus, the dragon, lord of fire. "Tris noticed the wizard child tremble." Trisago never wanted to rule, he was a warrior, not a politician. So it was between Salanya and Marcus who would become the next Du Brathor ruler. When Salanya was chosen by the people, Marcus was furious. He left to his wizarding tower. For the next 20 years, he lived there as his siblings built the Kigdom up. But it was found out, that he was studuimg the dark arts. With the emotions of a fire wizard, and the powers of a dark wizard, he cast a spell over all the land. The dead rose, and peoole died. He created dark creatures, and sent them to destroy the capitol city. Trisago died in his sisters arms. The great wizard, Amor Du Falain, cast a spell, dying during the deed. The spell gave a window of 24 hours for Salanya to flee the forest. With as many people as could come, and all their belongings, and the once great elven army, they fled. No one knows what happened to those who never made it past.

Now, the dead city of Aydindral is home to Marcus the usurper. But whom does he rule? The dead. That man is still alive, for I have seen the city, and the watch tower of Dalyan Gra, the Eagles nest. The guardians are on... friendlier terms with Sentinels, but would kill us if we stepped foot inside that city. Marcus uses dark magic to stay alive. The guardians, are dangerous creatures. By day, they seem like men, hooded rangers, but at night, they take on their true form. My usefulness as a Sentinel will end as soon as we leave the forest, but I fear we may not make it that far. For to reach the borders... we must pass the city."
Tris glanced around the fire." My companions, we must tread carefully. If Marcus finds us, no questions asked, we are dead."

Razieral Demora - Outside of the Forest

The mood around the camp was eerie even for Razley, Katii was nice to let Razley sit beside her and read the book she picked out together. Hearing the stories passed around by the Elf and Katii, cocking her head a few inches to the left Razley believed some amount of good news was in order to break the eerie mood around the camp fire.

"Razley is able to deal with most occupants of the forest, Pixies hate Razley, so do shades!" Razley said.

The Son of the King raised an eyebrow to Razley, "and why is that?" he asked. Razley pulled out her hands from the blanket and showed the back of her hands to the Prince,

"Light and Shadows respond to Razley capable of binding shadows where Razley likes them."

"I see," the Prince replied.

"So basically she can trap any of us where she likes, yeah I don't like that," someone else chimed in. The shape shiftier in which Razley had no problems with, didn't seem to like Razley for some reason. When Razley looked at her, she was glaring back at Razley with a horrible evil glare. Razley quickly averted her gaze from her unable to meet the Shape Shifters gaze. Razley's eyes quickly found the text that Katii was reading with her, silence once again overtook the camp because of her comment.

"That is not the end of the story of the Dead City of Aydindral, over the course of the 40,000 years. Many powerful wizards tried to break the spell on Aydindral, many faced Marcus the Usurper in an attempt to take the tome that could break the spell away from him. Marcus used the power of the tome to outnumber the mighty wizards, each time draining them of magic. It is said among wizards, the one to beat Marcus the Usurper will claim not only the tome, but the magical artifacts brought by the defeated wizards. There tomes, staffs, and other things blessed with magical power. The wizard to break the spell on Aydindral will be embroiled into Elven and Wizard history as the Savior of Aydindral."

Razley had been brave to speck up regardless of the Shape Shifters unsettling look, the Shadow Sentinal had smiled at Razley's end of the story.

"She's right, Elven Royalty have been seeking a way to regain the lost city," she said.

"Looks like we'll be hearing stories all night," the prince sighed.

Tris glared at the prince." With all due respect, if our people had not been chased out, we wouldnt have gotten in a war with the humans!" She snapped. She smiled at the young wizard then winked. The child smiled back. Tris turned back to the prince." With all due respect, if we regained that city, the elves would have thier kingdom, and my people would no longer be...." she trailed off, then took her veil off. Even the females were amazed at Trisiannas beauty, especially the prince.
"There is a treasure, tuat the elves didnt bring with them, a thing I would like to regain. The royal crown of Elven kind. It has powers that, well, are unknown. But, to face marcus would be folly. Unless our wizard was a fire wizard." She turned to Razley with a hopefull gleam in her eye.

~Azya~

It took them longer then Azya had expected to reach the edge of the forest, but once they had, they began setting up camp. After some time time had passed, they were sitting in front of a fire. She hadn't said a word since. Just sat there listening to every one. Especially Aryk. Who wouldn't stop talking.

"Maybe we can just consider this a long vacation?" Aryk asked, "Or not," he continued after a pause. "My father, I mean, the King, gave us a basic plan for our journey. Does anyone have anything to add? Any extra information?"

Aryk glanced at Katti, "Any knowledge about the past Writer?" He then turned to the elf, who was staring at some object that was hidden from Aryk's view, "or anything about the forest?"

Katii looked up from the book she was sharing with Razley when the prince addressed her. She sighed and looked up. "Too much and not enough unfortunately. I only became his apprentice after he had started the plague. He would never talk about it and whenever I tried to ask or question his actions he would make me organize all the books in reverse alphabetical order. Which took HOURS I might add." She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her hair. "The problem is he is.. I mean was, so disorganized I was never able to find any notes, map or indication on the whereabouts of the spell. For all I know it could still be in his workroom which I haven't been able to completely reorganize."

Once she realized everyone had been listening, she blushed and looked at her feet.

She wouldn't have knows it, but Azya had been staring straight at her. Something was on her mind. Azya saw it in her face.

"Tell us." Aryk demanded.

"What?" she stalled.

Poor girl. She looked so unsure and lost, Azya wondered what would have such an affect on her.

"You're thinking of something else. Something you're not telling us. I want you to say it." he said

"It's stupid..it's nothing." she muttered.

"We don't care. We don't have any leads. We have no clue where to even begin looking for this thing."

Katii bit her lip before answering, " Look, I just found it the other day. I haven't finished fully looking at it yet. I almost threw it away." As she was talking she was rummaging through her leather rucksack and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

Azya didn't have to move in to see the paper. "Tell us." Prince Aryk demanded.

"What?" she stalled

"You're thinking of something else. Something you're not telling us. I want you to say it."

"It's stupid..it's nothing." she muttered.

"We don't care. We don't have any leads. We have no clue where to even begin looking for this thing."

Katii bit her lip before answering, "Tell us." Prince Aryk demanded.

"What?" she stalled

"You're thinking of something else. Something you're not telling us. I want you to say it."

"It's stupid..it's nothing." she muttered.

"We don't care. We don't have any leads. We have no clue where to even begin looking for this thing."

Katii bit her lip before answering, " Look, I just found it the other day. I haven't finished fully looking at it yet. I almost threw it away." As she was talking she was rummaging through her leather rucksack and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

Azya didn't have to move in closer to see the paper. Her senses were far sharped then theirs.

On it was a triangle outlined in red with a circle drawn around it. There were words inside the circle and outside, connected by arrows moving counterclockwise. "See?" she smoothed it out and the group gathered around her forming a semicircle. "The words read:Ed Um, Arias Sect, Lacstry and Capel."

"What do they mean?" Someone asked.

"I don't know,"she said with a defeated sigh. "They are not any written language that's in the library. But see these words here?"

The girl wizard leaned over her shoulder for a closer look. "The words inside the circle are ' Consummem Plague' that is what caught my attention. Consummem is the word for 'finished' and 'plague' is right next it. So this has to mean 'Finish Plague'. " The goup looked at each other wide eyed.

"What if it's a spell?" Razely squeaked "We can say the words to it and be done!"

"I doubt it would be that easy," Azya finally spoke.

She may have crushed what little hope they had, but if it were that easy, then we wouldn't be having this problem. They were in for a rude awakening if they thought it would actually be that easy.

"Unfortunately, it isn't a spell. I tried it myself and asked a master wizard to try it as well. The only thing I'm sure of is the order of the words. It could be separate words or a phrase. That's what I'm hoping the writers in the next kingdom can help me with. But it could be nothing." Katii said.

Trisianna spoke up about something, but Azya was only half paying attention as she spoke. She'd heard it all before. All of the time she spent wandering around, even the amount of time she'd spent in the forest, she'd met and heard too many stories not to know.

"Razley is able to deal with most occupants of the forest, Pixies hate Razley, so do shades!" Razley piped up.

The Son of the King raised an eyebrow to Razley, "and why is that?" he asked. Razley pulled out her hands from the blanket and showed the back of her hands to the Prince,

"Light and Shadows respond to Razley capable of binding shadows where Razley likes them."

"I see," the Prince replied.

"So basically she can trap any of us where she likes, yeah I don't like that," someone else chimed in.

Razley turned to Azya, and Azya met her gaze head on, giving her a cold stare, and Razley averted so fast you'd think she got whip lash. If Razley had actually seen Azya's eyes, Azya's sure that she might have wet herself. Her eyes tend to have the effect on people wen they see them. Especially for the first time. She also agreed with whoever had just spoken up. She already didn't trust Razley because most Wizards weren't the most reliable people, which she knew first hand, and this just made her want to trust the girl even less, but she didn't do anything until she'd see for herself whether or not this one was as most people said. Assuming things got people in trouble. Razley went on about the story from earlier.

"That is not the end of the story of the Dead City of Aydindral, over the course of the 40,000 years. Many powerful wizards tried to break the spell on Aydindral, many faced Marcus the Usurper in an attempt to take the tome that could break the spell away from him. Marcus used the power of the tome to outnumber the mighty wizards, each time draining them of magic. It is said among wizards, the one to beat Marcus the Usurper will claim not only the tome, but the magical artifacts brought by the defeated wizards. There tomes, staffs, and other things blessed with magical power. The wizard to break the spell on Aydindral will be embroiled into Elven and Wizard history as the Savior of Aydindral."

"She's right, Elven Royalty have been seeking a way to regain the lost city," Trisianna said.

"Looks like we'll be hearing stories all night," Aryk sighed.

Azya didn't mind. This was an interesting bunch, to say the least.

Trisianna glared at the prince." With all due respect, if our people had not been chased out, we wouldnt have gotten in a war with the humans!"

"With all due respect, if we regained that city, the elves would have thier kingdom, and my people would no longer be...." she trailed off, then took her veil off.

"There is a treasure, that the elves didnt bring with them, a thing I would like to regain. The royal crown of Elven kind. It has powers that, well, are unknown. But, to face marcus would be folly. Unless our wizard was a fire wizard." She turned to Razley with a hopeful gleam in her eye.

She didn't pay attention to what happened after that. Azya let her cloak fall open, cooling off her heated body, though she didn't let her hood down. She stared at the fire in front of her, Hrothgar's words bouncing round in her mind, when she saw Katii move in her peripheral vision. Kati scooted closer, looking from side to side, fiddling with the pencil in her hand. Then she scooted closer to me. She didn't stop until she was about two feet away. Azya waited for her speak, which took a while.

Katii cleared her throat and said in a slightly squeaky voice, "Hey. Um. Are those- are those whips?" she shrank back a little even as she said that. "I mean.." she fiddled her pencil took a deep breath and continued " I read about them and I just never seen any before and I saw yours and I just wanted to ask what type they were and how you used them and stuff." She said this all very quickly, not pausing for breath, blushed and looked away.


Azya turned to look at her from under the cloak. "Yes, they are whips. Ivory White Bull Whips."

Katii just looked at her, waiting for to continue.

"I can't explain to you how to use a whip. I'm not very good at explaining things. I'd have to show you, but I don't think right now is the best time for that." Azya shook her head.

"That's ok," she fiddled with her pencil again as she looked at it.

She saw the disappointed look on Katii's face, and actually felt a little bad, which has never happened to Azya, and she sighed inwardly. "Would you like to have a closer look at one?"

"Really?" her face lit up as she edged closer to where Azya was sitting.

Azya took out her whips and laid them on her lap where Katii had a clear view of their gleaming handles and tightly wrapped cords.

Azya didn't see Katii reach for them, but heard her hiss and yank her hand away. The metallic tang of blood swirled around her nose. The talking around them stopped. She looked down and saw the blood dripping from Katii's hand put her Whips down.

"I-i'm sorry," Katii said as Azya's deceptively gentle hands pulled hers into them."I didn't know whips were that sharp-"

"That's because they aren't. They're lined with obsidian. I planned to tell you before you touched them, but I didn't even see you reach for them. This is on me." she pulled her hand closer.

The cut wasn't too bad. It didn't need stitches. Azya reached into her bag, pulling a jar a with a green paste in it, and wrap for Katii's wound.

"This is going to sting," she warned just before she rubbed the salve on the cut, her hand tightening around Katii's wrist as she tried to pull it away.

Azya wrapped her hand and smoothed it down. "The salve I put on your hand will stop the bleeding and numb the pain for now, but let me know if starts to hurt again. I don't want to take an chances. You cut your writing hand."

Katii nodded as Azya turned towards the others, who were looking at her. "Is there a problem?"

Trisianna gave her a look didn't like, and Razley...She didn't even know what she was thinking. Aryk was looking at Katii, and Damon...Azya had no idea. She put her Whips back where they were and turned back to Katii. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Katii

Katii's hand throbbed with pain and at the same time her face flushed with embarssment. Everyone was looking at the two of them, and while Azya didn't seem to care, Katii wanted to hide underneath a rock or even better, turn back time. Her hands were gentle and when she applied the salve to her wound the pain decreased to a steady throb. "Is there anything else you need to know?"

"No," she whispered. "Thank you for helping my hand. And for letting me look at your whips."

She scooted a little bit to the side and curled into a ball. After a couple moments she peeked out and said, "So, if they're lined with obsidian, how do you not cut yourself when you touch them?"

"Because of all of my years of training, I use my hands a lot, so the skin on my palms are tougher than yours." She answered.

Katii could have sworn she heard a smile in her voice, but couldn't be sure.

She looked at her hands and felt the soft, velvety skin on her palm. She used them to write with and carry books with but that was just about it. There was a small leathery red patch of skin on her pointer finger, from the friction of writing with a pen all the time. "One can tell a lot by someone's hands," she decided. Her hands showed the world that she didn't nead to do heavy labor and that she had a comfortable living. So were the prince's, although his hands were bigger and more muscled, from training to use weapons. Azya's were tough. Tough enough to hold an obsidian blade and not get hurt. But.. they were gentle when cleaning and binding her wounds. Even though she had scared Katii the first time she saw her Azya was kind enough to show Katii her whips.

For the first time that day she let her guard down a little and dared to hope.

Could she really be able to find companionship during this journey?

After all, a girl could only hope.