Young Writers Society

That's what I thought.

I wandered the wastes on Frito(my horse), grateful for silence from all of the chatty animals. I could feel Frito, but he never spoke to me. In the distance, I saw a huge building.

Frito, you know what that is? I asked the old horse.

I believe so. It looks like the Maugrin Hold, an old house for a rich family. He replied, walking at a slow pace. I eyed the house warily.

Should we go look?

I still got some juice in me. I could run us off, and you could also give me Life. I glanced at the golden stallion.

You know the toll it takes from me.

Are we going or not? He asked. I sighed.

Let's go. I told him hesitantly. He steered to the old house. I tucked my long ears into my beanie, letting my hair flow. I seemed human, I hope. As soon as we got there, I dismounted by a patch of grass. From here I could see people huddled around a fire.

Tell me if you get in trouble.

Yes, Frito. Don't leave, and be ready to run. I'll talk to you soon. I walked up to them, blending with the shadows, waiting for the right time to approach.

Mehgan Lamontagne

Mehgan was tired. Her legs felt like lead weights. Hell, her entire body felt like a lead weight. The only thing that kept her going was pure mental discipline. And that was becoming weak. The urge to lay down and take a quick nap was slowly growing stronger as time crawled by at a snail's pace. The sky grew dark, and the temperature dropped. She shivered in her thin clothing, drawing her cloak tighter around her. She didn't like the cold. Stars winked down at her, and she sighed. She could remember stargazing with her family...

No, don't think about that. Don't think about them. They obviously don't care. She shivered again and kept walking. There was no moon to be seen, and it was totally dark aside from the stars.

Then the light of a fire caught her eye. She gasped. Could there really be other people out here?

She took off running without a second thought, forgetting about her lead legs.

Mehgan had heard plenty of stories of travelers hallucinating out of hunger and exhaustion and getting themselves killed from doing things like this, but she was hungry and tired and desperate. As she got closer she made out two figures, and soon she could hear voices. She got just close enough so that she wouldn't be seen.

“What-?” A pause. “But-” And there was silence again.

And then a new voice came, from the older man. He looked cautious, and his hand was at a sword. That was enough to make her nervous. “Hello, friend, we have a fire and food, if you’d care to join us. What brings you to the Waste?” And then he seemed to relax. "Hello, my girl." His voice sounded kinder now.

Mehgan gulped. "C-Could I sit down? I've been walking for hours..." Please, please, please...

Allin

Allin blinked as a pale girl slowly emerged from the edges of the firelight. Desse was looking vaguely satisfied. Allin wasn’t nearly so sure.

“Of course,” the old man said, seating himself once more, and patting the ground beside him. The girl hesitantly came over. She did not, however, sit next to him.

“Allin,” said Desse. “Fetch the young lady some food, will you?” Allin shrugged.

“Sure,” he mumbled, wondering if he should think this situation odd. As Allin rummaged around in the bags, Desse struck up a conversation with the girl.

“As I said, the boy is Allin,” he said easily from behind the aforesaid boy’s back, “and you can call me Desse. Or First Sword if you like, I never mind flaunting that title. What is your name, my girl?” Allin came back with a hunk of bread, some dried meat and a waterskin, and handed them over to the girl, not looking at her.

Mehgan Lamontagne

"Mehgan Lamontagne," she said quietly. She hesitantly sat down, nervous. The warmth of the fire felt wonderful though. She took the food. "Thank you so much."

She started eating, and her empty, starving stomach growled, as if knowing that food was on its way. She sighed, savoring every bite, though in reality it wasn't very good. She frowned slightly, noticing that Allin wasn't looking at her, but she didn't say anything. All she cared about was that she had sustenance, and warmth, and a chance to rest. She picked up the waterskin and drank, no pausing for breath. After about fifteen seconds of this she stopped, sighing.

Blending with the the shadows, using the dark elves' magic to stalk the group. Frito watched me, aware only through the mental connection I had waxed and strengthened through the many years.

"Meghan Lamontage," The girl said before devouring her food. The wafting smell was alluring, though I fought it. They all ate.

If they didn't eat meat, maybe I would have cooked for them. I though to myself, with my magic so Frito would hear if he wished.

"Someone is here, watching us." The old man said. He could use magic?! He must be fairly adept to interpret the code animals tend to use. I stopped breathing, using all my magic to blend and become a shadow. It was dangerous to shadow-walk, and only the most experienced dark elves attempted it. But I was adept in the art, so he didn't see me. They would watch; I would never find another chance.

"Pardon me, sir, I was merely curious why you were here." I told him, my appearance rippling as I came out from shadows. The girl who had called herself Meghan winced as I appeared. "Lorriassani Ich'fyn, at your service." I did not tell him my whole name, though I would if he pressed.

"Loriassani Ich'fyn... Hmm. Interesting name, shadow walker." He answered.

He is adept in our language. I think you can trust him with your titles. Frito told me directly.

"If I may ask, What be your name?" I asked.

"Emer Desse." He replied. "Where are you from?"

"You would not know, I assure you." I replied, until I remembered Frito's words. "It existed before the dreadful Waste Wars." He nodded. "If it means more to you, I am of Dark Elf Clan. Third elf in, if it means anything to you."

"So be it. This world seems to be piecing itself together again." Emer mumbled. "Come, join us." He beckoned. I sat by the girl. She shied away from me.

"Tell me, what brings you to the wastes?" A boy with pale blond hair asked. I sighed.

"If you would understand, I wanted to get away from... certain beings."

That is what you call them here? Frito asked.

Sh. You do not know what this Emer knows about us.

"Like?" He asked. I laughed.

"You are quite a persistent fellow. Well, I'll leave it at certain dark elves that would love to hurt me, for various reasons." He nodded. "How old are you?"

"I am eighteen to you." I told him,chuckling. "For humans have a very different view on time." A uneasy silence spread over us.

Desse

A shadow walker, Emer Desse thought furiously, and Dark Elf, so she says. If that is true, than wild magic is resurfacing. And now you’ve invited it to tea – brilliantly done, Desse.

When he felt that the silence had stretched too long, Desse started asking questions, and talking in general. Although he dearly longed to interrogate the so-called Elf, he first turned to the rather intimidated Mehgan.

“So, my dear, how old are you?” A mumbled “thirteen” was his answer.

“And what is a young lady like yourself doing in the Waste?” She gulped. The self-proclaimed Elf was watching this exchange with interest from across the fire. Allin, beside Desse, was poking at the flames with a stick, and the old man noticed, not for the first time, that the boy had a strange fascination with fire. This idea was only reinforced then a shower of sparks leapt out of the fire at his prodding, flashed red, gold, yellow, silver, and, for some odd reason, green, before soaring up and settling in Allin’s hair. The boy swore and beat frantically at the sparks. Desse was almost disappointed when he managed to extinguish the little embers. It would have been fun, he reflected, to dump water on his smoldering head.

Then he pretended not to notice the surprise of the two guests. Elf and girl alike were taken aback by this display of random magic.

“Magic,” one of them whispered.


(Sorry about Desse and his "so-called elf" stuff, DWF. It's just him.

Lori

I saw the man, Emer, watching me from the corner of his eye. I held back my urge to use my own magic to extinguish the flames. But, why give away all of my secrets? No one had to know that I had practiced magic for centuries before coming into this world, where I was suddenly 18 again. I pulled a single spark from his hair, a small green spark. Hmm. Green is not a usual color for one to make fire, but by that display, I don't think he meant to grasp a flame.

"Control your magic. Don't prod the flames and annoy them! Harness the energy in them. Like so." I told him, mumbling so he could barely hear me. I took the flames in hand, varying their colors. He watched me curiously before I let them slide back into the flame. I chuckled at what I had become. A dark elf helping others.

Are we going to spend the night here? It's getting late. Frito pestered.

patience. I replied. He kept munching the grass.

"If you don't mind, may I take off my hat? It's considered terribly rude at my colony, without permission. May I?" I asked. Emer nodded, suddenly intrigued. I puled the benie from my head, and my ears stuck out like a sore thumb. I pushed them up slightly, and smoothed my hair. "Thank you." He just nodded to me.

"So, where do you plan to spend the night?" I asked. The pale- hair boy shrugged. I moved onto the girl. "Hello."

"Hello," She replied, scooting over more. I gave up talking all together, when no one tried to speak.

Um...yeah. looks good at a cursory glance.I'm in. k?

Cool. Post your profile on the DT.

*Moved to DT*

azula, it would be better if you post in the DT. Nothing bad- just don't want to interrupt the flow here. Thanks! here's the link: Coming soon. its also at the beginning of the first page. Thanks!

P.S: not tying to be rude or anything, sorry if I did!

DragonWriterFanatic wrote:azula, it would be better if you post in the DT. Nothing bad- just don't want to interrupt the flow here. Thanks! here's the link: Coming soon. its also at the beginning of the first page. Thanks!

Sorry, I didn't realize you could do that. I'm still kind of new here.

No problem!

Lilian

Night ha fallen. I lay on the floor of the shack that my family called home, listening to the sounds of the night, combined with my mother's snoring and my own heavy breathing. Ever since the day I had accidentally discovered that I was a mageborn, I had been terrified for my life. I saw, we all saw what they did to mageborns. I remembered when I was ten, they had discovered a group of three of them(er, us) living just outside the village. They hung them in the square, forcing everyone to watch, and then left their bodies there for the crows and the grackles to eat. Nightmares often haunted me, showing me that awful day again and again, only now it was me, and my family, or my friends that I saw being hanged.

I had heard stories of young, untrained mageborns being rescued, and so I had waited in hope of such a rescue, but as of yet, none had come. If help didn't come soon I would have to run away.