Young Writers Society

Fool’s quest

General information: Five generations ago, the reigning king of Welonwe banished all magic users. Anyone found to be associated with magic users were killed, mutants whom were the most abhorred out of all were half-animal, half-human were exiled or killed. And from the chaos of his reign, the clans emerged. And for five generations, the people lived in peace. Until now, when a threat threatens the survival of the whole land. It is amidst this chaotic time, the mostly unlikely heroes emerges and they embark on what seems to be a Fool's quest to search for their only chance of survival.A portal, described in many lores that is said to lie beyond the glacier mountains.A portal it is said, to be able to grant the land of eternal peace.


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Lyanna 

It was a fine day that day, sunlight spilled in through the canopy in vast quantity, bringing warmth upon the cool winter air and her numbing face. Tilting her chin up to the sky, she inhaled deeply. Smiling lightly as a mixture of pine, earth and crisp winter air filled her veins. No matter how many times she, the smell of nature never gets old. Yet, the day's good weather did not relax her nerves. It had almost been a week since she departed from the mountains, she had expected to arrive at the border of the Darkblood almost two days ago yet judging by the distance she had covered. It'd still be a day's journey ahead of her. The encounters she had along the way were more than troublesome, fastening the knife belt around her hips. She set out again, weaving through the light undergrowth, silent as death.

Nichothodes Euthandor Timosus Benigedy Koryfoides|A forest near the Phynix clan border

In the forest, where the stream burbles and babbles over pink granite rocks, and the birds flit through the branches of trees, making them shake the droplets brought from the recent rainstorm, a man walks a barely noticeable forest pass, treading carefully to make little noise. As he walks he hums to himself under his breath, a slow waltz he had heard a street musician playing in the city he had just left. The forest was beautiful. A broad grin spread over the man's face, as he stared around at the natural harmony, a balance between animals and plants thankfully unspoiled by the unseemly bustle of the city.

Pausing for a moment, he sits himself on a rock, and grabs a overhanging branch. He pulls it down, and, using a knife drawn from his belt, he cuts the fruit hanging from the branch down. It was yellow and pear shape, and wobbled slightly like a cross between custard and jelly. The man cut slices off, eating them off the tip of his knife.

As he finally flicked the last pieces of the fruit of his face with a pocket handkerchief, he stood. He was thankful for being but a second son; While his older brother stayed at home on the Koryfoides estate he could go into the forest whenever he liked, which, as he grew up was getting more and more frequent.

He noticed a stick by the wayside, and, picking it up, he continued along the path, whittling the stick as he did so. With any luck he will whittle a bow out of it by the time he gets where he's going. Wherever that is...

Kyo Lovatt - Forest

Kyo was done with the day. Done. Everything that could possibly go wrong, went out of its jolly way to make sure it did. He had a gash in his leg from falling down a stupid ravine, Blaeze was being a jerk, and there was no prey in sight. He may have even bruised his tail, that darned thing. He hesitated to think it, because it would most likely come back to bite him, but, How could this day get possibly worse?
Yep. Almost guaranteed karma there.
You are in a foul mood. Blaeze's voice whispered. Kyo flinched and turned away from the dog, scowling. The idiot wolf had thought it would be funny to "forget" to warn him of the miniature cliff obscured from Kyo's view by greenery, resulting in a deep wound far from the cottage and medical supplies, leaving him stranded with only one living thing for company. Lucky him, it happened to be a jerk canine.
Not for the first time, Kyo wondered how they had lived together so long, with such clashing personalities.
He couldn't move, the pounding in his temples was so intense. He had jarred his hip on the steep slide/fall down the slope, and his tail felt crooked. The crimson shine of blood on his leg was visible from his peripheral vision, but Kyo wasn't ready to look just yet. How was he supposed to get back? He couldn't possibly climb back up that hill like this.
He could see Blaeze shift slightly away from him, wrinkling his snout. Annoyance flamed in Kyo's chest.
"What? Disabling me isn't enough for you?"
Blaeze flashed a glare in his direction, his emotions of conflicting guilt and disgust mingling in Kyo's mind.
No, it's not that. Your anger and pain...it has an unpleasant stench.
"Oh, so I smell bad too? It's your fault anyways. Goodness, this is deep." Kyo took a sharp breath when he finally looked at the ragged gash down his calf, the blood soaking his jeans and staining his right foot crimson. "I'll find something to stanch the blood." He spotted Blaeze's eyes begin to scan for herbs to remedy the injury.
"Oh, no, don't try to help. I think you've done enough." Kyo snarled.
Summoning his strength, he lurched to his feet, bit his lip at the pain, and staggered off to find a patch of tormentil, small yellow flowers that stopped bleeding. Feeling extremely light headed, Kyo could feel his vision sliding about, but stubbornly shook it off. This had to be the worst day ever. He was at least three miles from the cottage, with no tormentil in sight.
Sighing, he sat down and ripped the bottom of his left pants leg into strips and wrapped his leg tightly. That should keep him from dying...much sooner, anyway.
Lost in his thoughts, Kyo was startled by Blaeze's stealthy approach. The wolf sat beside him and leaned into his shoulder, as if nothing had happened between them. Guilt and frustration pored into Kyo's head, apologizing for the foolish decision. Kyo felt his anger melt away, and relaxed into Blaeze's furry body.
"Oh, fine, I forgive you. I just need to figure out how to get..."
Kyo froze. Scanning his mental map quickly, he realized that his fall had brought him dangerously close to human territory. Other Clan territory.
Somewhere no injured mutant Darkblood ever wants to find themselves, ever.
Yep. concluded Kyo bitterly. Definitely the worst day ever.

Leading Lissandra through the crowded marketplace, I kept us low, uninteresting, and blended in with the crowd. Everywhere we went, there was panic. Most of the markets were closing down, and the few who weren’t were flocking crowds of people, trying to stock up on things they might need before they leave the Capital.

“Keep your head down,” I muttered fiercely as the clouds let down a long trails of rain.

“The sky is crying,” she whispered, and I sighed.

“That’s just an old wives’ tale to scare children. It’s just another way we are to know we are forever Nature’s servants.” A storm had rolled in quickly, and by the time we reached the edge of the market, there were small puddles forming everywhere along the road.

“We need to find somewhere to not be seen,” I looked around. We were next to a crossroads, the north road leading to Inner Kingdom, the West heading to the Outer Wall, the South leading to the Mountain houses, and the East heading to Wearwashe, a smaller farm town that supplies the food for the Kingdom. We were heading to the Inn District, right outside the Inner Kingdom.

Lissandra closed her eyes and her brows furrowed. “Five houses down, there’s an alleyway. No doors open there, and there’s no one awake over there.” She looked up at me and smiled,” Furia told me that.”

“Yes, I know Furia told you that. This better not go on inside the castle, Sandra.” Her smile vanished and she looked down once more. I hesitated. Young women was never my forte. “You… are getting stronger with connecting to her.”

“We’re always connected. It comes naturally now, like you said,” she glanced up at me, a smile dancing back to her face, “you need to work on your compliments when it comes to a lady.”

“Seeing as I barely give out compliments, you should be grateful.”

“I am.” I smiled thoughtfully. Women were much too difficult to comprehend completely. I was sure that they themselves don’t even know the complexities of their actions sometimes.

My thoughts were interrupted whenever the nearest Inn, by the name of Where the Rivers Run, bursted open and a group of five young women walked out. They must have been minstrels, for not single one was drunk. They were fully aware of us the moment they walked out, but paid no attention as their loud conversation took precedence.

“Did you hear those people in there?” The first woman asked.

“The entire kingdom’s running amok with the death of the King. It was only a matter of time before they showed their faces again.” The second muttered.

“Whose faces?” The third mused, trying to catch up to the group. She looked younger than the rest, about twelve, and had on a dress much too long for her.

“Good grief, Mary, did you not listen to anything that was said there?” The fourth one exclaimed.

“This one here might have been sleeping on the job. I heard she shared a few interesting dreams with the cat there.” The fifth one, older than the rest, patted the young child.

“This isn’t the place to talk about that, Jessricah. You know we could get into trouble even talking about that.” The fourth one muttered, looking around. We had melted into the corner of the street, making sure they no longer saw us. My heart was racing. Could there be other Bonded Ones within the city? Surely this magic was completely driven out?

“Oh, who cares anymore. A new Day is upon us. It turns out that Dawn is still alive, and they’re coming to here. Tonight.” The second lady laughed. “I shouldn’t be surprised. This should have been…” Their conversation trailed off as the wind picked up.

“Did they really mean that?” Lissandra whispered. I could tell she was just as terrified as I felt. We tried to keep it a secret, but it leaked out. Of course the first people to know was the minstrels.

“Shush, child. We need to find that alleyway.” She nodded and led the way, turning to the East Street.

We found it somewhat easily. As she had predicted, no one was there. “Start it, Sandra.”

She groaned, “You know I hate using Dusk-”

“Do it, child.” I frowned. Even here, I could have sworn we were being watched. Pulling down my sleeve, I pushed my forefinger deep into the large vein on the inside of my arm. Instantly, I could feel the magic pulsing through me. Muttering a few words of the Dusk Language, the rain suddenly stopped in the alley.

Instantly, I was lightheaded, and almost feel if it wasn’t for Lissandra pouring energy into me. “You need to stop using that magic, Alex. It’s aging you far more than it should be.”

“I only use it in times of need. And I need you to be prepared to enter the castle whenever the sun rises. That means dry clothing.”

“But you look twice your age.”

“That can’t be helped. Besides, it’ll help me pull off being the helpless old advisor of the princess.”

She was strong in the Dusk magic, and it came to her easily. Where she kept all the blood she used, I didn’t know, and might never.

The small shack was built fast and we camped in it for that night, but neither of us slept. We never slept in during the night, for we might miss the most memorable experience that has shaped the land for hundreds, if not more, years: The Dawn of a new day.

As the great sun rose from the horizon, Lissandra scooted closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes. “Sleep well, princess. It’s not only the dawn of a new day. This is the Dawn of a New Age.” With a kiss on her forehead, I closed my eyes and contacted my companion.

How is she doing, Alex? Her deep and mesmerizing voice rumbled through my head.

I don’t think she quite yet realizes what the implications of her being here are yet. How’s everything on your end?

Furia has exhausted herself messing around in the wet weather. She is slumbering right now, no doubt sharing dreams with the young one. I will rest now, Alex, and I advise you do the same.

I sighed deeply, Remember the times we used to share dreams, Sha’la? I wish we could do that again.

You know we could, if you allowed it. I could feel her inching towards my mind, melding with it. I stopped her, and it gave me a sweat.

Please don’t. I need to concentrate. Good night Sha’la.

I could tell she was hurt, but she tried no further, ending our conversation with a terse “Good night, and sweet dreams.” Dreading the day ahead, I slowly succumbed to my subconcious.