Listen To THe Sound Of The Ashlands, Chapter 1->The Return Options

[Destri Melarg]

I agree with Verlox about the paragraph spacing.

Overall this one had the feeling of being slightly rushed. Even so, it was still immensely entertaining. Furan making the potion to cure Olissia's rockjoint really stood out. I hope this act of kindness buys him from hospitality from the Telvanni. More please!

[Remko]

Ooo.. Morrowind and the Nerevarine... you had me from the 1st sentence.
I agree with above comments though, last chapter seemed rushed.

[Zalphon]

I do like ones about Nerevar and Morrowind.

[Fiach]

yeah I suppose it was, sorry I guess I was a little tired after the st patricks day celebrations xD

I'm taking more time with the next two parts so hopefully they'll be an improvement over the last.

thanks for the replies everyone, it means a lot

[mALX]

I'll agree about the paragraph spacing, it would be so much easier to read if it was spaced out - but the content is perfect! Your writing is very addictive and riveting - I am really getting into this story!

[Fiach]

be wary of your reflection Furan... it holds the secrets of your soul...

I blink back tears as I look at the river, it is nirns blood that is forever pulsing and moving along the lands. Never stopping or pausing, only moving in different directions.
My reflection stared back at me today as my master’s voice returned from memories that I thought I had buried. I had to admit that I was different.

My head that was shaved bald last time was replaced by an unbound waterfall of jet black hair. The Tang mo tribes believed that long hair was a symbol of bravery and strength and so after a few months with them I decided to let it grow.

My red eyes that was once so wild and lustful for adventure had reached a stage where they were tranquil; calm, as if they had seen too much. Memories stirred as my shaking fingers touched my face, 3 ripe scars against my cheek; I gained those trying to protect a small Tsaesci village from what they called the Boot-Khan. It was the size of a bear with the strength to match. Its head and neck were that of a crimson snake while the rest of its birdlike body was blazing with shining golden feathers that no blade could cut through.

It would talk to its victims with the voice of a young woman, leading them away from the village and into the shadowy forest before consuming them in a fit of unnatural hunger.
I could still hear the monsters screams when I closed my eyes and my own to match it.Light stubble grew along my cheeks like a blanket, hiding the scars like a defiant shield.

“Furan...or is it Nuraverine? Are you going to keep looking at your reflection all day or are we going to get moving?” I turned around with a small grin.
“Don’t use my other name Haeil you know you can’t pronounce it”

He just grunted in response, throwing me my rucksack with one fluid swing of his right arm. With a smile I caught it, strapping it to my back with a click.
We were in forest land now for four days; the coast was abandoned as we began to move west toward Vvardenfell.

Trees stretched far above us, a forgotten sea of green and a rich rusty autumn red. Some the trunks were thicker then houses as they held leaves the size of face fans. Birds fluttered overhead like warrior poets, fighting and screeching with tragically beautiful songs, claiming the ancient skies for themselves as the danced in the air above us. The sky was their epic stage.

With every step we heard the small rustle of a frightened animal making its way deeper into the woods.
That’s the type of thing that I missed when I was on the sea, the wild and untamed beauty that you saw anywhere in Morrowind.
“So what’s the plan?” Haeil asked as I tore my eyes away from the treetops. I looked at him for a moment with my eyebrow raised as I thought about it. Where exactly should we go?

The Imperial city” I said finally after a few minutes.
“We keep going west, reach the coast... take a ship to the other side of the mainland and then to Cyrodiil... The Emperor was the one who funded the Akavir trip...he’ll want to know exactly what happened... as well as that argonian pirate ship that attacked us.” I thought about it for a minute, remembering old Uriel Septim with his loose white hair and blue eyes that seemed to look straight through you, the type of stare of a man who has seen more than a mortal should.
Haeil nodded with a sigh. “That’s going to take another month...at least, but then where?” his voice was little more than a crackle now as the question began to set in.

I shrugged softly, “It doesn’t matter.” I whispered as we began to walk my tone bringing Haeil’s voice to a sudden hush. Closing my eyes softly I began to listen around the forest, the boundless singing of birds and the sound of drops of water the size of puddles which fell down to the ground with the simple movements of creatures far above. So peaceful, the music the chirping until...

“AAAARRRRRRRGH” my eyes snap open as Haeil begins to move quickly before me.
It was when I looked through the thick bushes along the edge of the road I saw the screams creator.

He was a Dunmer, his silvery grey hair running down to his knees as he fought three hooded warriors. They each wielded a long swords but the mer didn’t seem to care as he fought with his bare hands, the crimson robes that wrapped his body moving quickly as he jabbed and punched his attackers.

Fire suddenly leaped out of the mer’s hands as it wrapped itself like a whip over one of the warriors. I could feel the heat rub against my face as I watched the steel armour melt away before leaving a heavily burnt reptilian corpse.

More argonians? This is just insane.

The other argonians took advantage of the time while their comrade slowly died, wrapping a bronze amulet over the mages throat; his screaming voice turning to a shocking silence. One of them raised his sword to finish the job before Haeil and I pushed through the bushes with a loud rustle.

One of the argonians stepped back as I took four strong steps forward with my short-sword drawn. Haeil wrapped his tail around the other, his fangs cutting through the steel as if it was made of scrib jelly. The two argonians screamed as they both hit the floor, their bodies landing with a soft thump.

Satisfied, Haeil moved over to the bodies, his hands moving through their pockets and satchels easier then water going into a bucket. With a sigh I turned to the mage who was lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

The robes he wore were made of silk, died the darkest crimson while the simple bronze amulet around his neck refused to come off, the strong smell of magic coming off it that made me feel a little dizzy.
But it was then that I noticed it, a black snake that stretched along his right arm. Its mouth was open as if it was about to snap at something while its tail curled around his thumb.
To most people it was known as the mages oath, a silent seal. But it was also the code of obedience, a symbol of loyalty to his masters.

The mage was a Telvanni.

This post has been edited by Fiach: Mar 19 2010, 07:47 AM

[Remko]

That was better paced, although I feel you could have lenthened the fight between them and the Argonians that attacked the mage.

[mALX]

Your descriptive phrases wrap the story like a gift, each unwrapping is a present! Awesome Write!!

[Olen]

Good piece and more development, I quite enjoy the quick movement of this story.

One issue I find is you occasionally drop into the present tense then back to past. An example is "I blink back tears as I look at the river, .... My reflection stared back at me ". Tense changes are, in my opinion, best avoided full stop. Some poeple use them for emphasis at certain key points, but often the gain in directness is more than offset by the clumsy feel of them. You migt disagree with me but it's something to consider. A possible exception is dream sequences/ flashback which sometimes work well in the present tense as it sets them apart from the main story.

I very much liked your description of birds as poets.

[haute ecole rider]

This had better flow.

Part of it is the paragraph spacing - it definitely helps.

Another part is that you're improving on your use of verb tenses - becoming more consistent with the use of the past tense. Like Olen said, it is best to stick with one tense only throughout the story. But verb tenses are sneaky!

The content, as always, is good. More description, less rush, might give you even better flow.

Technical nits aside, I'm left wanting to know more about this Telvanni mage!

[Fiach]

The dunmer was breathing heavily.

Our first job when the guards were killed was to remove the top of his robes to show the wounds. My eyes widened as I looked at his shaking figure, it was gripped with fever; the bronze amulet tied to his neck refused to yield. When you have fought others for long enough it isn’t hard to spot the body of another warrior.

The mer’s chest was criss-crossed with many small light scars, none of them were deep enough to cut muscle and thus none of them damaged his movement. Whoever this mage was whatever mistakes he had made in combat they were few and brief. There were several small gash wounds along his arms from fighting the guards earlier and the rope burns on his wrists flashed me every couple of minutes telling me that he had obviously been captured before...but by whom?

I guess we needed to wake him up first... “HAEIL!” I called as he rushed through the bushes with a handful of herbs in his claws. “I couldn’t find any Wickwheat” he hissed before I opened my mouth, dropping the rest of the ingredients to the ground. I felt a little sorry for him, he had gone through a lot before we had even met and the stress of the last week was starting to show as his he mashed some ingredients together in his palms before wiping it on a damp cloth.

The mage gave a short sigh as the cloth touched his tainted forehead. He mumbled something under his breath. Bad dreams were common for fever victims; I guess it’s just the minds way of coping.
I nodded softly.
Picking up the other ingredients I loosely began to look at them.

Corkbulb Root… some Sweetpulp… a dash of chokeweed…

My hand softly brushed over the dunmer’s sweaty chest, pushing the contents of my mortar and pestle down his throat. With a cough his mumbling stopped.
“Ok” I whispered.

Haeil wielded a needle better than any blade as it spun artfully between his fingers, the thread allowed itself to be pulled along as the perfect follower, through the dunmer’s ashen skin as the wounds on his arms began to close up I smile softly, if he was awake he would probably need something to ease the pain; it seemed that the fever was good for something after all.

The fire crackled lazily beneath my fingers, the smell of cooking rat meat hanging in the air. My nose curled in disgust but there was little I could do about it, one of the first rules of an adventurer is that a picky eater wouldn’t last a month out in the wild. I learned that when I arrived in Seyda Neen for the first time oh so long ago.

“Do you have any beef?”
“Beef?” Arrille stared at me blankly with suspicion growing in one of his eyes like an over ripe fruit.
“Are you trying to trick me outlander?”
“Oh….no, no of course not….but what do you have to eat?”
“Well I have some of the finest Scrib jelly, just made this morning. Only 12 drakes.”
He stressed the only part.
My eyes sat on the sour green mush that he held up to me in a bowl.
“I think I can go a few days without food” I muttered.
“What?”
“I said can do you have any armor for sale?”

Turning around I look at my patient, his eyes were open scanning the heavens above as if they held some answers for him. They didn’t seem to as he turned to me, his eyes resting on the 3 scars against my cheek.

“Why did you save me?” he whispered.
I shrugged, sitting beside him taking one of the rat’s skewers away from the fire and handed it to him. “You were pretty badly beat up… I thought a Telvanni would appreciate the help.”
Whatever smile the dunmer had harbored while he was awake slid off his face,

“You aren’t from around here…are you...”
It wasn’t a question.
Instead I held out my hand, “I’m Furan” I muttered.
“I’m Evo” the dunmer whispered without shaking my hand he instead looked at the crackling fire with his tired eyes, his man of grey hair dirty along the edges from the muddy floor.

“Would you be able to tell me what’s happened? I haven’t been here...in a while” Haeil began to make his way toward the fire, ripping the cooked rat about with his winter white teeth.
Evo laughed before realizing that I was serious, “Morrowind is a hard place these days outlander” he muttered, chewing the end of his rat meat softly before looking at the stars.

“I think our troubles began with the Nerevarines disappearance. He left Morrowind for who knows where…. The Oblivion Crisis happened a year or two after that and unless you’ve been out of Tamriel for the last decade you must have heard of it!” his laughter cracked the evening silence as I sat there quietly, feeling the guilt painted across my face. “Vivec disappeared with the gates and then Black Marsh invaded… King Helseth as well as all the main leaders of house Telvanni and Dres were killed, shadowscale blades cut through them like a knife through scrib jelly…”

Haeil looked at me with an eyebrow raised, “Something tells me we won’t be leaving here for a while…” he whispered, the fire crackled near his tail.

Evo spat into the fire, the sizzle from it breaking the silence.

“The Dark Brotherhood claimed Morrowind; members of the Morag tong fled, joined the brotherhood or were put into slave labor.
Then the king heard rumors about the Nerevarine, began to hunt him down…burning villages and people…men woman and children were put to the sword or sent to the labor camps”
“Isn’t there any resistance?” Haeil asked. I nodded slowly with my eyes resting on Evo.

How could I have let things get so bad?
You didn’t know…
NO! Sul-Matuul told me that Morrowind needed me, I should have listened.

“There is a resistance” Evo muttered, silencing the voices in my head for the time being. He flung his arm to the west, his razor red eyes showing defiance against the trees that blocked his gaze.

“Follow the trail toward Vvardenfell, take a ship to Sadrith Mora and then keep going west…when they find you ask for Lock, he can help you.”
“When they find us?” I asked.

Evo just smiled.

“To be honest with you I think you shouldn’t even bother trying, make your way to the imperial city get a room and have a future for yourself…there’s nothing here anymore accept for ash and pain. I would prefer it if you both didn’t die.. if it wasn’t for you I would be slaving in swampland right now…or I’d be dead!” Evo laughed hoarsely

Haeil nodded softly and sighed, we talked some more but we kept away from the tender topic of the country, instead sending my mind swimming into the plans of the occupation of Morrowind, we needed to find Lock and if what Evo said was true, calling myself the Nerevarine openly could be dangerous to whoever was nearby…

With a chuckle Haeil stood up.
“It’s ironic Furan” he whispered, “You left Morrowind for adventure…it seems that she has been waiting for you.”
I nodded softly, turning my back toward the fire as the sound of Evo’s snores took over my dreams and my night.

This post has been edited by Fiach: Mar 19 2010, 10:35 PM

[haute ecole rider]

This gets better and better!

More interesting, now that we know we're past the Oblivion Crisis and the Empire has fallen into ruin.

[mALX]

Yes, I agree with Hauty! Whew!

[Destri Melarg]

Vivec gone, Helseth dead, Black Marsh, shadowscales, Telvanni and a resistance. We are starting to get the lay of the land in these last few posts. You have a very nice, deceptively simple style that makes for enjoyable reading. Stating that the birds in flight were 'like warrior-poets' almost buried the needle on my bad simile meter, but you were able to cook your way out of it. So much so that by the end of the paragraph I was nodding my head in agreement! Well done.

[Fiach]

Sorry about the late post everyone, school has been merciless which is shown in the size of this post,,, I hope you enjoy it

“Fifty drakes or now deal” the boat captain squeaked with the shrill, mind numbing voice that could only belong to a wood elf.
I gave a sigh and looked at him, part wishing there was another captain here and part wishing that I could push this boat master in the water.
The bosmer looked at me bravely, but at his height he was actually just looking at my coin purse that was tucked away behind my cuirass. The captain was barely up to my shoulder, with flat grey eyes that hid behind a hook nose that was set at an awkward angle as if it was broken in the past.

I spat into the water and tried my best Vivec style accent. “Guar dung, I’ll pay fifteen drakes... I mean how dangerous can a boat ride be?” my voice croaked, as I heard the grunt of Evo trying not to laugh. The wood elf traded his suspicious look for one of surprise, “There’s daedra about Outlander, and I’m not risking my children’s futures for a ‘boat ride’”

Looking over at the sea of ghosts, I saw a thick mist hanging against the water tonight like a silver blanket. Shapes broke against the mist every now and then; the water repairing itself almost instantly after them. But were they just the waves crashing up... or something worse.
“Thirty drakes” I said throwing the coins onto the boat before the captain could object. “If we get in any danger I’ll give you another twenty.” The bosmer nodded with a greasy smile before pulling up a long wooden plank twice his size to bridge us across to the boat.

“No short jokes Haeil” I muttered before the Tsaesci could open his mouth. “we don’t want this bosmer pissed.”Evo got onto the boat after us quietly. “To Sadrith Mora” I muttered to the wood elf who laughed to himself against the stern, “Crazy Bosmer” Evo chuckled to himself; playing with a small ball of light in his finger tip that was weaved from his own magicka.

Large monuments poked out of the water as we passed them, “Former gates” the captain whispered quickly as if it was a taboo to even think about them. The twisted stone and metal poked along the grey waters of the sea, where the ghosts got their name.
Evo sighed and closed his eyes, “this will take a few hours at least.” He muttered, lying back against the mast.

I smiled to the setting sun, letting my head rest against the wood of the moving ship.

[haute ecole rider]

Tell me about school! Though it's been almost twenty-five years since college for me (and nearly twenty since I got my doctorate), I remember all too well how time consuming (as well as draining of one's creativity) it can be. I still have fragments of stories I started and never finished from those days. Ahh.

Anyway, this is good, again. I liked the characterization of the Bosmer here. You did well fleshing him out beyond the stereotypical Annoying Fan (I'm not as familiar with Morrowind, I think their version starts with an F - Fargoth?). I especially liked the comment about risking his children's futures for a "boat ride."

I did notice a few nits, nothing that detracts from the content, really, just slightly disrupts the flow while reading it:

I spat into the water and tried my best Vivec style accent. “Guar dung, I’ll pay fifteen drakes... I mean how dangerous can a boat ride be?” my voice croaked, as I heard the grunt of Evo trying not to laugh. The wood elf traded his suspicious look for one of surprise, “There’s daedra about Outlander, and I’m not risking my children’s futures for a ‘boat ride’”

Methinks a paragraph space would do well between the two bits of dialogue, since they are spoken by two different characters:

I spat into the water and tried my best Vivec style accent. “Guar dung, I’ll pay fifteen drakes... I mean how dangerous can a boat ride be?” my voice croaked, as I heard the grunt of Evo trying not to laugh.

The wood elf traded his suspicious look for one of surprise, “There’s daedra about Outlander, and I’m not risking my children’s futures for a ‘boat ride’”
When the dialogue is spoken by a different character, it is customary to put in a paragraph break between the two speakers, to make it clearer that someone else is now speaking.

“Thirty drakes” I said throwing the coins onto the boat before the captain could object. “If we get in any danger I’ll give you another twenty.”
The comma after drakes swam away. On the other hand, I loved this little bit of haggling!

“No short jokes Haeil” I muttered before the Tsaesci could open his mouth. “we don’t want this bosmer pissed.”Evo got onto the boat after us quietly.

"we . . ." should be capitalized since it follows a period in the previous clause: "We don't want . . ."; bosmer may need capitalization while wood elf necessarily doesn't; and the space following the closing quote also disappeared into the Sea of Ghosts. OTH, great sarcasm here ("No short jokes . . .").

I hope you don't mind my nits. I'm about making good writing great, and I think you've got what it takes to write a terrific and compelling story.

[mALX]

You have done a great job of developing the characters in this, I can't believe I actually like a Tsaesci !!! You have a definate forte with your character builds, Awesome Write !!

[Remko]

Good story! I really like it.

[Destri Melarg]

hautee has already ably pointed out the nits, so all I have to say is MORE!

[Fiach]

~well, its the easter holidays now so hopefully I'll get more written during the next 2 weeks I'm off

hope you guys enjoy it. and thanks a lot to haute and everybody else who took the time to review and point out any mistakes so far , hopefull this will have better flow~

I’m walking through the undergrowth, tree branches brushing past my limbs like the demented claws of a madman.
My guide is ahead of me, a Tsaesci who moved shakily through the wilds as if he feared every shadow beneath him.

I tried my best to ignore it though; the jungles had enough dangers without adding imaginary ones to the mix.

A squat blue spotted fly fluttered lazily around us beneath the harsh sun, it was the length of my arm and covered with what seemed to be dozens of fiery red eyes.
With the finesse of an acrobat the fly landed on a pale grey leaf the size of a dinner plate.

I blinked and the fly was gone… replaced by a sliver of green blood as the leaf curled around the bug that squealed as if it was burning in the very plains of oblivi-

“The tomb is not much farther,” my guide hissed, nodding toward a group of bushes a few meters away. I smiled; thankful of the distraction.
The coins jingled lazily in my coin purse as we travelled, making sure that my guide remembered why he was so far away from home.
The Tsaesci stopped for a moment… from the way his shoulders were angled I knew it was a defensive position, his tail curled so that he was low down on the ground. I squinted over him to have a look at what was past the trees ahead before feeling my breath catch in my throat.

The natives called it the Zwinga-mallu, the stone demon and it lived up to its name. 20 feet tall, it held itself up with four stubby legs that stuck out like pillars, lazy green eyes scanning over the trees that it towered. 3 horns were scattered on the massive beasts head that was covered in thousands of plates the shape of sea-shells that were the size of a daedric cuirass. The natives claimed that not even pure steel could penetrate it, which made them it valuable.

Moving closer to us, it looked at the Tsaesci with hunger in its eyes, a slack mouth that hung open in a way that mouths generally should not be.

The Tsaesci took a deep breath.

Drew its sword.

And ran.

The Zwinga-mallu seemed unfazed as it stared at me instead, looking curiously at my ashen skin in such a way that I could tell that it was wondering how I tasted behind it. Running my tongue over my teeth I extended my hands, magicka summoned to my fingertips with a whisper and into the air in front of me with a thought.

Flames extended along the creature hungrily before evaporating almost instantly. I could feel the surprise on my face, but the creature’s curiousity had left it, replaced by a fiery rage that consumed its piggy little eyes.

Then I ran.

Past the trees and through the long grass that stained the simple boots that were tied to my feet I could feel the ground tremble beneath me as I kept running. come on…come on!

My legs were getting tired but I willed them faster, rocks, bushes…more trees…

My lung were burning now, the ground approached me like an old friend as my body hit against it with a solid thump. I turned around in surprise… the beast was on the ground panting heavily….

There was a Tsaesci in front of it; a deep white light that had to be calming magic ran from his fingertips along the creatures back. With a smile he turned to me but by then I was practically….

__________

“How strange.. I must say I’ve never seen anything like him…”

“Do you think it’s really…him?”

I opened my eyes carefully to a blurred hut… there was two Tsaesci woman beside me, dressed in the blood red robes of a healer, there was also another Tsaesci there, with his back against the wall he looked at me with a smile.

“Sisters…leave us” he muttered with a hiss. The healers gave a short bow and left, their tails dragging softly behind them.

“I found you in the jungle?” he hissed in broken cyrodiilic, “Do you have a name?”

“Furan Saris…pleased to meet you” I smiled, replying in perfect Tsaesci, the creature looked at me in surprise before giving me a wide grin.

“Likewise stranger….only a great fool or a great warrior would battle such a monster… and either way you have my friendship. You may call me Haeilgraforath Ko Bazamorfidhack…. or if you prefer, simply Haeil.”

With a grin I pushed myself out of bed.

________
Entering Haeil’s hut, I noticed just how much larger it was compared to the others in the village, swords of all kinds lined the walls, some of them I recognized but most of them I couldn’t even imagine would work correctly in a humans 5 fingered hands.

Haeil entered the main room in the centre of the hut with a smile on his face, a little Tsaesci girl was by the fire,but began moving quickly beside him when she saw us, her blue scaled gleaming as Haeil picked her up and gave up a hug.

“How is my little Wanobe today” he whispered softly, gesturing for me to go to the large fire that was burning in the middle of the hut.
Wanobe looked at her father with a toothy smile and pointed out toward the window, “I climbed that big Yesmet tree that’s near the river!”
Haeil laughed,
“Really? I didn’t know you were so brave!”

Wanobe puffed her chest out with courage

“I wasn’t scared, you can even teach me how to fight now” She looked up at him hopefully,

“We’ll talk about it after dinner” he laughed giving me a wink from across the fire as another Tsaesci with red scales brought some raw meat to the fire, she looked at him with gentle eyes, looking at me with a smile.

“You are the outlander…yes?” I nodded softly and with a chuckle she pushed a small mound of roasted meat near me.

Haeil raised a small glass cup “To Ser-Furan, the warrior who fought with the Tang-mo and stopped the red dragon!” he gestured toward the many braids that ran along my thick black hair.
“I heard the stories from traders...” he added when he saw my dumbfounded expression.

I opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted by a scream, the kind of sound that rips through your spirit like a cold knife, leaving only the fresh sting of silence in its wake.

Haeil pulled a katana from above the doorframe and nodded at me to follow him.
____________

Outside, near the middle of the village I saw an old Tsaesci woman who I remembered was one of the healers who cared for me less then an hour ago.
She was holding a dagger in her hand, her eyes awake with a demonic fury that followed us as we looked at her with horror.

“For Lord Dagon!” she roared before pushing the dagger into her chest, her body vanishing in a plume of blood red light.

Unless you’ve seen an oblivion gate for yourself it’s impossible to truly describe it, The gate is shaped like an upside down U with a blood red sky hanging overhead, there’s also a silence that surrounds it, the kind of silence that you hear when you know that you are going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

We paused for only a moment, pausing often is the thing that kills most soldiers on the battlefield. Drawing my Tang-mo tanto I followed Haeil through the portal, and into the savage paradise beyond.


The Sigil Tower was a tribute to destruction, made of scrap metal it towered above an island surrounded by lava, blood sweeping down from its walls as a crimson waterfall that never seemed to end.

“You….will…not…get…my…Wanobe!” he roared!
Haeil’s eyes were wild, intense as he swung his blade around, steel meeting dremora skulls with sickening crunch.
Exhaustion painted his face but he didn’t seem to care, as more and more demonic blood covered him like paint.

Light glowed from above as I clutched the large stone in front of me, magic soared in my body and the world collapsed from beneath my feet.

I laughed when I hit Nirn’s ground again, the fresh untainted air filling my lungs, my eyes were closed but I hung a smile on my face. I hadn’t fought like that in years; challenges like this were so hard to come by…. “WE DID IT HAEIL! WE WON!”

I was answered by a sob.

My eyes opened softly to see the village around us in ruins, Haeil was in front of me and hunched over, crying at whatever it was that he held in his arms.

“No” I muttered as I stood up.

It was Wanobe.

It was his daughter.

I gasped a mouthful of cold air, Akavir vanished from my mind and was replaced by Morrowinds thick salty air. Haeil was shaking me, sitting above me with his tired golden eyes.
“We’re here” he whispered. nodding toward the side of the boat.

This post has been edited by Fiach: Mar 27 2010, 10:01 PM