Young Writers Society

Cora

I stood in my room in the Red Lion completely decked in black. Longsleeved, turtlenecked woollen jumper and leggings. I had signed off for my day off this afternoon, so no one would be expecting me back at the castle for another day. Having already paid for the room, I hopefully wouldn't be returning, here so I quickly packed my few possessions into my belt bag. Finally, I picked a few raven feathers from my collection and threaded them through the back of my shimmering mask. I tied it my head with a piece of black ribbon.

Picking up the black bow I had stolen from the weaponry and slinging my quiver across my back, I opened my window and leapt out into the night. I have yet to figure out how to fly but that didn't matter because I was only one storey up and one of my many lessons included how to land safely and quietly.

Slipping round the back of the cabin, I was suprised to find the back door firmly shut but not locked. Carefully, I drew it open and stepped inside.

There was no one in the small, one-roomed interior, but I asked the wind what it felt in the room. At first, it didn't reply, then at last it hesitantly talked. I drew an arrow and notched in my bow. The only explanation for the wind's reluctance to speak was that another sorcerer was here too, preventing the wind speaking.

It instead began to murmur about once how it had seen a man who could move so fast, that he vibrated and turned invisible. At first I was confused by its sudden change of topic. However, then I realised it was trying to explain what was going on. I slowly scanned the room looking for any signs of the "invisible man". I noticed at one place that the air was rippling but I could sense no wind presence. Drawing back my bow, I aimed directly at that spot and said slowly, "I know you're there. I can feel you. If you don't, I will shoot you and then I'll walk away and never come back."

A few moments passed but at last the air began to vibrate slower and a figure became visible. When I saw who it was, I smiled to myself. Lowering the bow, I said to him, "So you came. I think its time you tell me who you are."

King Jormungandr | Throne Room | Late Evening


The king was bored. He tried to stay away from formal bureaucracy, but it was necessary. This is why a king needed functionaries, and a council. This is why Jake had two Councils and an army of highly disciplined scholars at his beck and call.

And yet the endless stack of paperwork never got any less endless.

Fortunately, his work was interrupted by the arrival of his daughter, Garnet. Anair was in the room already, lurking somewhere among the machinery. And plenty of machinery there was -- there were more deathtraps than Jake could count, down to the dust that hid in the rafters way above. The throne itself, in its simple metallic glory, meant death for anyone sitting on it that wasn't Jake. And even then the King had to be careful not to bear too much of a weight when on it. While he encouraged and hoped for scientific progress, one could never be too sure.

"Garnet," he said, not looking up. "I see there's a captain job vacant."

"He was expendable, I was bored," was the curt reply.

"We don't just give out jobs to anyone, you know," Jake scolded. "The captains here have all earned a certain degree of trust. I would rather you not repeat the incident again. Regardless," he waved a hand expansively, "not all is lost. I should have you know birth and death are both very much reversible. Before heading down to my lab, I shall be instructing you with what to do."

Jake stood, and walked from the throne. The green flames burning in the silvery water gave his face an eerie look, planes and angles almost inhuman. He had spent good money achieving that effect. Efficiency was all well and good, but he liked his style. Style was important. Style was twenty percent of the thing.

"Yes, Father," said Garnet, formally.

"You look... tired," Jake began, slowly. "And you have served Aradia well." He paced backwards and forwards, arms behind his back. "Thus, I have decided to assign you a... vacation, in Versh. With you will be going a few select escorts. I'm sure you'll enjoy the sights, marvelous country, Versh. The people are quite nice, too. Very trusting."

The king winked and wheeled around, back to his daughter. "You will be going, oh, in a few days. I shall give you enough time to set your affairs in order, of course."

"Of course, Father,' Garnet replied. "It would be a pleasure."

"And now," Jake continued, "to the labs! Join me at your leisure."



Garnet arrived to find Jake and her half-sister soaked in blood and oil, leaning over the corpse of the former captain. Both were wearing white overalls and arm-length gloves.

The labs, on the other hand, were everything but stylish. The walls and roof were a mass of steaming pipes, turning valves and other cogs. The center was dominated by a large table, connected to a series of apparatuses on walls via hooks and cables. Nearby was a rack of various surgical blades. The environment was lit by green flames, that shed light without giving away heat.

"Ah, Garnet," Jake greeted, tearing his eyes away from the captain. "We were just dissecting the corpse."

He selected a single-bladed, wide knife, and carefully cut the scalp away from the brain, along a previously traced line.

"Now you see, Anair," he continued, "the brain is the most delicate part. The body has been kept at freezing temperature, so hopefully little damage has been dealt to the organs. Now, as I have mentioned, it is impossible to replicate the spark of life, emotions are beyond my capacity. However, I can imitate life, and certainly make for a faithful servant."

He motioned at the corpse's limbs with the blade. "We've already inserted the rods, so that will give it balance and serve as a conduit for the shock."

He smiled as he explained. This was his element. Where science and magic merged, where he could create technological wonders by defying all previously established laws.

Morgan Darkrai~~~~~~~Resistance Stronghold (Nightfall)

I had a few hours until it was time to visit Uncle Marcus. Knowing him, surprises weren't really his thing, so I had the feeling he might demand an explanation of the unannounced visitors. I sent him a note to explain the upcoming visits so he wouldn't be cranky about it. I took a peek into Mercury's room.
He looked like he was wearing out a little too soon.
I chuckled, scaring him out of his concentration. "I knew you'd take the challenge, but I didn't think you'd attempt it alone."
Mercury looked me in the eye. "Well I thought you meant that. I've been told your challenges often require going alone."
I chuckled again. "That is if I told you to do it alone. I challenged you to build a dragon..." I smirked. "...but I didn't say you'd do it alone. If you weren't as mad as I heard from a reliable source, you'd figure out that you could use help to get it done. It could take months to get a giant metal dragon finished all by yourself."
For the second time, Mercury's eyes appeared to have doubled in size. "Why didn't you tell me that before? It could've spared me the trouble of doing this by myself."
I shrugged. "Private type of man, remember? I don't give away much." I left him alone, putting on my mask before going outside. I was already in my ninja suit at this time. The deadline was fast approaching and Leopold knew better than everyone else that I never intend of showing up late. I prowled around in the forest until I found Uncle Marcus' cottage. I knocked on the front door. "Marcus, it's me."
Uncle Marcus was a man older than I was and had the same dark hair as all Darkrai men had. It was a genetic trait that runs down the male line without cease and skips a generation in the female line. Unlike most of the men in the Darkrai line who had blue eyes, Marcus was the only Darkrai with green eyes. He let me in without protest. "It's about time you came around to visit. I've been waiting for you to come around. How's my brother's son Morgan? I haven't seen him since his father's death."
I chuckled. Marcus knew it was really me under the mask, but with company in his residence, he had to play along with my little tricks. He always did when I was younger. "He's doing fine. Still upset about his parents' death and holding bottled up anger against the king, but still alive and kicking. I'll send him your regards when I see him." I looked at a young woman with a feathered mask. "So, you're the one called the Raven. I've heard it from a very reliable source that you're a Wind sorceress. The resident here in this cottage is an Abnormal, so you better behave yourself or else the man is forced to touch you. I know Abnormals and the Aradian elements, so I know which element can be stolen by an Abnormal's touch. You're lucky I'm in a good mood for talking or I'd have to use you as target practice."
Nemesis perched on my shoulder. I came ahead of time so I could see her out. She threatened Leopold to make him reveal himself.
I clenched a fist. "Also, it's very rude to threaten one of my men when they came as my back-up. Don't even think about asking how I know about that. I have an unseen source at my command that follows my every order like you listen to every word of the wind itself, so I suggest you don't provoke me or else you'll know why I'm called the Ninja of Retribution. I sent Falcon Without Wings here to be sure you're not setting me up."

Mercury Quinn // His Office/ Room in the Resistance HQ

"I knew you'd take the challenge, but I didn't think you'd attempt it alone." Morgan said to me from the door.

"Well I thought you meant that. I've been told your challenges often require going alone." I said after a moment, my head hurting from the work - I hadn't slept in a few days. Which was a good thing.

"That is if I told you to do it alone. I challenged you to build a dragon..." he smirked. "...but I didn't say you'd do it alone. If you weren't as mad as I heard from a reliable source, you'd figure out that you could use help to get it done. It could take months to get a giant metal dragon finished all by yourself."

After he finishes, we talk for a few more minutes and then he leaves. I decide on taking up an assistant.

With an assistant i should get done a lot quicker than just doing it all alone. IT IS DECIDED

I will make a flyer...

I grab a peice of parcment and my pen and scribbl;e down the details quickly.

EXTRA - EXTRA

MERCURY SEEKING UNPAID INTERN FOR PERSONAL PROJECT

WILL WORK NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS - BUT THE END RESULT WILL BE FRICKIN AWESOME

SEE MERCURY FOR MORE DETAILS

I post the flyer right on the board in the main hallway so that everyone would see it.

And now all I have to do is wait for the fish to bite...

Kjolir

Everybody's crowded around the board in the hallway. I crane my neck slightly to see what it's all about. Mercury's taking an assistant for another of his crazy projects? Knowing him, the end result will be...interesting. I'm just wasting my time, anyway...

I strode down the hallway. He was a nice guy, and I might as well go help him. Although I wondered...Mercury doesn't ask for help often. This must be something big.

My first thought when I saw Mercury hunched over his desk was...He looks tired. Old and tired. This Resistance is aging all of us before our time... "Hello, Mercury. I read your notice, and I'd like to help. I'm Kjolir, in case you haven't met me."

"Hey, Kjolir. It will be hard work, and long hours. You do understand that, right?" Mercury appeared to be studying me, judging whether I'd be fit for the task.

I built a home in the woods with my own two hands, old man. I'll be fine. Out loud, I said, "I think I can handle it."

"Welcome to the job, Kjolir." He stretched his hand out to shake mine, but I shook my head.

"You have lightning magic, right? I'm Abnormal, so I'm pretty sure you don't want to shake hands."

Katsumi Gato - Hidden within the cabin

I had traveled so far from Versh my feet had been hurting, I had snuck into this cabin, of this guy who seemed to be an abnormal. I was sitting up on the beams of the cabin hidden within the darkness of the cabin, and I was sure greeted with a surprise when the Ninja of Retribution showed up and was devastated when I learned the Ninja of Retribution was a man named Morgon Darkrai, with someone else called The Raven. And another was here, the Falcon without Wings, this was an interesting meeting to be spying on, how much could I learn from all of this was a simple question how willing were they to talk. Listening into there conversation, a Crown traitor who's name was not said, and Morgon Darkrai acting as a resistance member, and another member being the Falcon without Wings. It's time I made myself known and collect all the money I could, I leaped from my place on the beams of the Cabin, landing solidly on my feet, Morgon took notice and looked at me.

"Falcon? Why did you come out of hiding?" Morgon asked.

"Not Falcon, Morgon," I said as I slowly rose to a stand.

Morgon was on me in a flash, charging me with two weapons drawn, but the attempt was foolish.

"Quadra slam!" I said.

I drew my family Katana, and easily diverted the momentum in Morgon's move upwards with the draw of my blade, the hilt had hit Morgon's chin, and slammed him against a beam on the ceiling, he came back down quickly, I swung my blade down with his momentum, for a second strike, he hit the ground hard his body sprang back into the air, and with a third swing, I slam Morgon into the closest wall, his body bouncing off the wall, and with a fourth swing, I sent Morgon to the furthest wall. He wasn't dead, none of the samurai moves were meant to kill.

"Now can you give me a chance to talk Morgon?" I asked.

I accidentally deleted. I'll repay on a sec. Can we say my post came before LH's. That way rre story will work out

Mercury

I was hunched over my desk finishing the plans when there was a voice at my door.

"Hello, Mercury. I read your notice, and I'd like to help. I'm Kjolir, in case you haven't met me." The young man said.

"Hey, Kjolir. It will be hard work, and long hours. You do understand that, right?" I said, studying his form over and over looking for anything shady.

He seems like he's fit enough to help me, but something seems off about him. And with a name like Kjolir - he could be a wild card

I could tell he was in thought, and then he smiled. "I think I can handle it."

"Welcome to the job, Kjolir." I extended my arm to shake his hand, he only shook his head.

"You have lightning magic, right? I'm Abnormal, so I'm pretty sure you don't want to shake hands."

I retracted my hand slowly,

I knew I could smell something off about him

"Well thank you for telling me before hand, make sure to wear gloves during the process I like my magic." he laughes.

I show him the plans, his eyes widen.

"The Metal Master bids a challenge to me to build him this machine. This is what you'll be helping me with."

He is speechless. And then after a moment, he speaks.

"Let's get to work then..."

Anaki Shadowflame

"I'd be happy to...to bring you a glass every now and then." I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

He looked at me a moment, and then smiled."I would love that."

I sat and looked at him a moment, afraid he was toying with me. I finally smiled. Well that went well...maybe..."So what did Morgan come to talk to you about?"

"Oh nothing important, just a job that would keep me busy for a while. Probably something that I shouldn't share I'm sure you understand. Morgan is a very private man."He laughed.

I giggled. He's not going to tell me anything..."Then I will leave you to your work then. Enjoy the coffee."

I started out the door.

"I certainly will!"

I slipped into the hallway, carefully checking for Morgan first. I didn't figure he'd be so forgiving a second time. I wonder if he's angry with me... I sipped on my coffee as I thought about what to do. I was bored.

I liked causing trouble when I was bored. I wandered to the room I shared with other female recruits and opened my chest, looking for an idea. My hand curled around the red wig I wore when I pretended to be loyal to the crown. I dropped it. No...I'm going to behave, for once.

I drained the rest of my coffee, set the cup on my chest, and flopped down on my bed.
I sighed deeply. Who knew being a Resistance member would be so...boring.

Leopold Thaertus

This Raven girl had already insulted me in the short amount of time she had been talking. I may not whisper to the wind but like birds I was at one with the wind and was insulted by what she was saying. I let out a slight humph in displeasure at what she clearly was suggesting about me. She went on to offer Morgan full control of the wind and as a sign of good faith to lay down her weapons. Before she could lay down her weapons someone dropped from the rafters. "Falcon what are you doing?"

I was confused and turned to the source of the sound,"Morgan I'm right-" The woman that had dropped from the ceiling stated that she clearly wasn't me. Morgan went to strike the girl she luckily deflected his blow and slammed Morgan about.

"Now will you let me speak Morgan." The girl let down her guard for a moment and I had her subdued and a blade at her throat. I looked between Morgan and the Raven both seemed shocked by our little intruder. The woman that I held the blade against the throat of seemed quite calm.

"So Morgan and the Raven," I applied a slight amount of pressure to the spy's throat. "Should we listen to what she has to say?

Anair
(graveyard on the Castle grounds, nightfall)

She played with a strand of her hair, dark green so it seemed almost black in the evening, with silver tips that reminded her of fish in the sea as the sunlight touch them. It was a windy late evening, Anair could smell something sweet in the air, and the graves were quiet.
She entered the cemetery, in which only the members of the family and those of great importance and trust of the Crown were allowed to rest in peace, through one of her tunnels. It led her to the crypt in which some long forgotten general found his last resort, in the part of the graveyard that still kept some of the previous king's dead. Anair knew that her father didn't do much to change that part of the land. He put up some protection and some defenses, like he did everywhere else, but he didn't move the graves or what laid inside of them. Anair could see the logic of that move, though she wasn't sure if he was thinking of it at the time. The cemetery was close to one of the smaller Castle gates, and the dead laying there could've been a useful little army if they rose in the right moment.

The princess smiled as she walked between the graves. She could tell their positions with her eyes closed, and name the ones laying inside. She focused on the smells and the pleasant lack of sounds, gently touching the stones with her fingers as the wind made her dress swirl around her. In white and as pale as she was, she was pretty sure anyone could mistake her for one of the ghosts.

She remembered her father's lesson from earlier, frowning a little. He showed her amazing things in his lab. Anair loved the way he used the metal already in the person's body to reanimate the person - she never used just one magic if she didn't have to. He had the knowledges of Alchemy and mixing of science and magic, and she was impressed by how simple he made it sound. Simple to her, at least - she could almost curse herself for stupidity of not noticing so many little logic things along the way before, now that he put it in words like that. Anair couldn't stop smiling over the dead captain's corpse, though she was wondering how it got moved from the Tunnels, where she and Garnet had left it. She will have to discuss that with Septimus later. Her father was also grinning, and Garnet was observing with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. Anair was pretty sure that reanimating the dead wasn't what interested the older princess - all kinds of tools hanging around, or the idea of having an army of undead minions, that maybe. It was one of the few things the King shared more with his younger daughter that with the older one. One of the few, opposed to the ocean of those he shared with Garnet.
Yet no matter how good Jake was at what he did, and how much she'd learned, she couldn't make a thought leave her mind.
However, he said, emotions are beyond my capacity.

Anair stared at the statue of some rather ugly old man, probably made on the request of his, as much she saw from the picture next to the two names under the statue, equally ugly wife. She couldn't stop thinking about that.
She made Septimus, she reanimated him and gave him his life back. And though he was serving her, he was always doing more than that - he guarded her, listened to her, understood her, argued with her from time to time, knew how to make her smile and surprise her, knew how to make her feel the right way whenever she'd come to him.. He loved her. Anair was sure of it, though she wasn't sure if her father saw it the same way. Septimus always acted as a servant when among other people, becoming a lover and a friend only with her, almost as if he's free will only worked when no one else was around. Anair sighed. He was, though, awaken with barely a bit of metal magic used. She combined her skills in Dark arts to bring him back, and sent electricity through his body to make his heart work - only pieces of metal were the mechanisms under his skin, that made the blood run normally and the heart beat without the need to be recharged every once in a while. She had no knowledge of Alchemy at the time, and even if she did, she would've probably gone with only magic anyway.

Anair liked magic, more than she liked weapons or almost anything else, and she was sure one could do everything with it. I will learn them all, she told to herself and to everyone who wanted to listen, ever since she was a little girl. And she wasn't far from that. There was only one thing - or better said, one person, or one part of her - that stood in her way of really developing her skills. The princess was afraid, afraid of what might happen if she learned how to use and combine all the magic types properly - Riana would most certainly take the advantage of that, wouldn't she? Anair didn't know if Jake and Garnet would survive that kind of battle, if it would come so far - and it was the one thing she wasn't curious about testing.

The crypts of two queens stood scary close to each other, separated by a figure of what probably should have been a weeping angel, but had wings of a dragon and his eyes weren't made at all. Anair just stood there for a while, with no clue of what to say or if to say anything at all.

"Princess. I thought you were still with Jake."
She jumped a little and turned, meeting the gray eyes of her father's most trusted friend. After a moment, smile appeared on Anair's lips.
"Mr Butler," she said. "Dad and Garnet are discussing something, I left to be alone a little." She hasn't seen him in a while - she missed the way he observed her, as if he's looking at a drawing that somehow came to life. His eyes always crossed her face, as if searching for signs of trouble she doesn't want to talk about - and pretty often, they'd find those signs, and eventually make her start talking about it. He was just good at it, that was why her father knew he was the best for the job. She always felt like smiling when he'd call her father by the name. He was only Jake when there was no one else around; as much as Anair knew, in all other moments, except for maybe those the two of them spent alone, The Butler would call him The King, His Highness, His Majesty or something equally respectful and distant. Your father was reserved for Garnet - he knew well enough that the King's feelings weren't quite the same for both of the daughters.
He had a small, controlled smile on his lips, and he kept his hand behind his back.
"I haven't seen you in a while, miss Anair," he said. "You seem lost in thoughts, as you always do when you come to visit your mother."
Anair shrugged, turning her head to glance at the two crypts.
"Her mother married a man, mine married a title," she said. "I didn't come to visit her, I was just walking." She bit her lip, doing her best to present herself as cheerful. "I apparently learned some Water magic, though."
His expression was strange for a moment, and he didn't say congratulations - he never missed the true meaning of her words, even when she didn't really want to start that topic.
"Apparently, you say?"
"A boy told me I shot him and healed him," she said, nodding and avoiding his glare this time.
"Is she here again?" He asked, and she hugged herself, noticing how cold her hands were.
"I don't think there's a time when she isn't."
He spoke again after a short break.
"I suppose you don't want me to tell Jake?"
"I do ask you not to tell him," Anair said, as the wind blew stronger and they turned their backs to the graves. "But I guess you will anyway." The princess grinned at the next thought. "Are you staying for long enough to teach me a thing or two?"
*

Morgan Darkrai~~~~~~~Marcas Darkrai's Cabin (late night)

I found myself knocked for a loop entirely. I was disarmed at the first strike and took a heap of damage at the rest. I whistled for Nemesis to bring Justice and Karma back to my hands. Once that was accomplished, I shealthed them. Nemesis, how badly damaged am I?
Nemesis sniffed at me. A few sore muscles, a cracked rib, and that's about it. I took a look at the sword. It's a more complex version of your kantana Justice. Too complex to be from your work. Not to mention that the moves she pulled were close to yours, but more as you say "by the book." Samurai, more specific.
I groaned as I tried to get back on my feet. Samurai. I hate samurai. When you want something done, a samurai goes by the rules. "Let her go, Falcon. If she wants to talk, she's no good to me dead."
Leopold looked like he was about to protest.
I pulled Justice out to where an inch of steel was showing. "Don't argue with me, Falcon. We'll discuss later. Right now, get the Raven out of here."
Leopold took off with the Raven in tow.
I felt like a torn-up rag doll, but I didn't let weakness get the best of me. I looked at the girl who attacked me. "I don't know how you know about my true identity, but I've worked up to my throat to keep it a secret. It's bad enough that my family name is stained on account of a rumor that's never been proven true. I don't want anymore trouble going on in my life." I sat down in a chair. "If you want to talk, then get on with it."