Neo-Valdemar
13-05-2006, 00:48
It was a black night. Not that all nights weren't black, but that this one had a palpable sense of WRONGNESS about it. Few people moved about the streets, and the Herald Trainees all slept, safe within the confines of the Collegium.
All but one. Far from the city of Haven, taken there by the powerful energies of an extremely dangerous Gate Spell, stood two young men. One, Vanyel Ashkevron, stood seemingly paralyzed, bound to the power of the Gate sustained by his own life force. The other, an older boy, clad in the grey of a Heral Trainee, stood seemingly mad with rage. A ball of shadow given form swirled and coalesced before a group of revelers. They didn't notice the bizarre pair, yet.
Then everything changed. A quartet of beasts, the size of big cats, and with the appearance of weasels materialized from the ball. And when they did, they let loose a scream certain to grab the attention of anyone that did not see them. Everything froze. The beasts curled in and among themselves, weaving a mesmerizing dance as they evaluated their prey.
"Murderers. You murdered my brother. How dare you rejoice when my brother lies dead?" The high voice echoed across the darkening landscape, the speaker illuminated only by the light of the Gate at his back. One of the guests began to run, and one of the beasts sped after him, swifter than any horse, bringing him to the ground, and ripping him open almost incidentally.
From behind the strange pair could almost be heard the tinkling of bells, as though a sleigh was approaching. At second thought it was more similar to glass chimes...there was less than a second to process this though, because a massive form, gleaming white in the darkness burst through the Gate, barrelling past Vanyel, and Tylendel. The equine being placed itself between the pair and the revelers for a moment.
<You are no longer my Chosen.> A sorrowful voice seemed to echo through the minds of every person there. It was only a moment, but the mad boy seemed to deflate. Then the strange equine turned, and ran directly towards the pack of murderous creatures. Gleaming brilliantly the horse-like being laid into the beasts, striking out with hooves, crushing a skull on the first blow, and another on the second. But that was the end. The other pair leapt onto the equines back, bringing it down beneath their solid weight, and crushing its legs. Blood ran from a dozen wounds on the horses neck, and it still tried to bite its attackers. Finally it was over, and the young man collapsed in unison with the white horse. It no longer shone in the darkness, its light forever extinguished by the instruments of his revenge...
The beasts began to become agitated, moving slowly towards the revelers that had been designated as their prey, but they did not make it far. Not one but THREE more equines screamed through the Gate. And these bore riders. The pair of beasts managed a single step before the first was blasted to the ground by what appeared to be a bolt of solid white lightning. The second was transfixed by a bolt from the second rider. Pinned to the ground by a lance of purest white.
The rain began to fall, and both boys collapsed. The Gate remained, drawing the life from the dark haired boy. Two of the riders gathered up the boys, and bore them back through the Gate. The third remained to deal with hte terrible reprecussions of this disastorous evening. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that the Gate remained standing, even after it should have collapsed.
The first rider, now discernible as a middle aged woman dressed all in white, paused on the far side of the Gate. Its creator was unconcious, and it was slowly draining one boy of life. She could attempt to close the Gate, but there were risks...
She tried anyway. Moments later a blast of energy threw her from her feet, roused the lighter haired boy from his unconciousness, and sent him screaming into the darkness. The dark haired boy never moved, seeming almost like a broken toy on the floor of the Gazebo. Moments later ther was a sickening impact. And finally the dark haired boy roused, screaming in pain and from the loss. His love was dead, his mind burned. And in his agony, he screamed.
Anyone with a mind to hear would know what had happened, and the images graven into his mind would carry farther than anyone might have thought. Deep into space, past the border of the atmosphere, out beyond the farthest reaches of the solar system, farther even than the Galactic Rim.
Foremost in the boys mind: A rider dresed in white, upon a white horse with eyes of deepest blue...
All but one. Far from the city of Haven, taken there by the powerful energies of an extremely dangerous Gate Spell, stood two young men. One, Vanyel Ashkevron, stood seemingly paralyzed, bound to the power of the Gate sustained by his own life force. The other, an older boy, clad in the grey of a Heral Trainee, stood seemingly mad with rage. A ball of shadow given form swirled and coalesced before a group of revelers. They didn't notice the bizarre pair, yet.
Then everything changed. A quartet of beasts, the size of big cats, and with the appearance of weasels materialized from the ball. And when they did, they let loose a scream certain to grab the attention of anyone that did not see them. Everything froze. The beasts curled in and among themselves, weaving a mesmerizing dance as they evaluated their prey.
"Murderers. You murdered my brother. How dare you rejoice when my brother lies dead?" The high voice echoed across the darkening landscape, the speaker illuminated only by the light of the Gate at his back. One of the guests began to run, and one of the beasts sped after him, swifter than any horse, bringing him to the ground, and ripping him open almost incidentally.
From behind the strange pair could almost be heard the tinkling of bells, as though a sleigh was approaching. At second thought it was more similar to glass chimes...there was less than a second to process this though, because a massive form, gleaming white in the darkness burst through the Gate, barrelling past Vanyel, and Tylendel. The equine being placed itself between the pair and the revelers for a moment.
<You are no longer my Chosen.> A sorrowful voice seemed to echo through the minds of every person there. It was only a moment, but the mad boy seemed to deflate. Then the strange equine turned, and ran directly towards the pack of murderous creatures. Gleaming brilliantly the horse-like being laid into the beasts, striking out with hooves, crushing a skull on the first blow, and another on the second. But that was the end. The other pair leapt onto the equines back, bringing it down beneath their solid weight, and crushing its legs. Blood ran from a dozen wounds on the horses neck, and it still tried to bite its attackers. Finally it was over, and the young man collapsed in unison with the white horse. It no longer shone in the darkness, its light forever extinguished by the instruments of his revenge...
The beasts began to become agitated, moving slowly towards the revelers that had been designated as their prey, but they did not make it far. Not one but THREE more equines screamed through the Gate. And these bore riders. The pair of beasts managed a single step before the first was blasted to the ground by what appeared to be a bolt of solid white lightning. The second was transfixed by a bolt from the second rider. Pinned to the ground by a lance of purest white.
The rain began to fall, and both boys collapsed. The Gate remained, drawing the life from the dark haired boy. Two of the riders gathered up the boys, and bore them back through the Gate. The third remained to deal with hte terrible reprecussions of this disastorous evening. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that the Gate remained standing, even after it should have collapsed.
The first rider, now discernible as a middle aged woman dressed all in white, paused on the far side of the Gate. Its creator was unconcious, and it was slowly draining one boy of life. She could attempt to close the Gate, but there were risks...
She tried anyway. Moments later a blast of energy threw her from her feet, roused the lighter haired boy from his unconciousness, and sent him screaming into the darkness. The dark haired boy never moved, seeming almost like a broken toy on the floor of the Gazebo. Moments later ther was a sickening impact. And finally the dark haired boy roused, screaming in pain and from the loss. His love was dead, his mind burned. And in his agony, he screamed.
Anyone with a mind to hear would know what had happened, and the images graven into his mind would carry farther than anyone might have thought. Deep into space, past the border of the atmosphere, out beyond the farthest reaches of the solar system, farther even than the Galactic Rim.
Foremost in the boys mind: A rider dresed in white, upon a white horse with eyes of deepest blue...