Riven Wight

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Though his apology fell on deaf ears, Elayra’s head twitched toward Ghent when he spoke again. She forced herself to take a slow breath, regretting that she had not knocked him out when she had had the chance. At least then she would have had Drust’s help to carry him, instead of the other way around.
She grit her teeth when Ghent continued, her hands clenching. “Don’t even finish that,” she growled, but it came too late: he finished. Her eye twitched irritably.
As if it was contagious, Drust’s fingers twitched.
She could punch Ghent later. Right now, they had something worse to deal with.
She spun around to face him, making her hair whip behind her. Face scrunched in an effort to keep her fear and panic from showing, she glared up at Ghent.
“You have no idea what you’ve just done!” she hissed through clenched teeth. “That little trick?” she swiped her sword to the side, pointing to where the phantom face had formed. “The worst it could have done was make your allergies act up for the next hour.”
She sheathed her sword before the temptation to use it on him became too overwhelming, the blade sliding home with an angry click.
“But Drust?” She turned her back to Ghent, and stepped cautiously toward her guardian, her gaze wary. She rested a hand back on the hilt of her sword, just in case. “If he wakes up here, there’s no way he’ll be in control. Not with this place’s whispers eating at him.”
Though she would not admit it, she did not feel like she had another fight in her today. Not against Drust, at any rate. Between no sleep and a rough twenty-four hours, she would be running on fumes soon, if she was not already. The cruel powers of the forest only added one more stone after the other to the pit of her stomach. At this rate, there was no way they would get out of there. Not in one piece, at least.
“We need to find a Safe Zone.” Elayra stopped beside Drust and knelt down.
He sat awkwardly, propped up by his thick pack. Beneath it, his katana had twisted to the side, pulling its strap tight.
“Before you ask,” she moved Drust enough to pry his pack from his back, “they’re small pockets protected from the spirits and emotions.” She quickly loosened the frogs keeping Drust’s katana attached to its back strap.
Doing her best to keep her hands from shaking with the effort to keep the doomsaying emotions at bay, she shoved his katana into his pack. A couple things clinked inside the seemingly bottomless backpack, but she ignored it and closed it.
She slipped out of her own pack, then tossed her smaller one toward Ghent. “See if you can shove yours,” she nodded to his scull-patterned backpack, “into mine. Lose it,” she threatened, replacing her pack with Drust’s on her back, which looked rather uncomfortable compared to her smaller size, “and I’ll run you through.”

Of Science and Magic

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Hmm. Must’ve spaced on that, or hadn’t set the rules in stone in my head yet. Drust’s name would not matter, since Knights aren’t connected to magic. Created by, but no extreme access to. Plus, they’re already prone to magic, so it wouldn’t be necessary. In Elayra’s case, she doesn’t have to worry on the magic side, being a human with limited access and not well trained in it, but, as a royal, her name would have been known to the land from birth. Unwanted ears overhearing and recognizing it or the title “princess” could spell trouble. Ghent’s would have been kept from all but a select few people.

WE WILL MAKE THIS GARDEN HAPPEN. Still say wearing ratty Care Bear and/or Cabbage Patch Kids costumes would be like icing on the cake. Could cut off a leg of the CB and hop around with both legs in the remaining leg hole.

The squire was super annoying, actually… No idea what inspired him.

Yep! I do enjoy some sci-fi, but its premise just seems so random in compared to what they’ve done so far.

Awesome. It’s always wonderful when you don’t predict something like that! Oh, I also loved the concept of roses becoming red by drinking blood. That was unique.
Ha! Thanks. xD It’s a robe, actually! A robe is basically a cloak with (often wide) sleeves. Cloaks are long (ankle to floor-length, typically), sleeveless garments that wrap someone completely, with a closure at the front, and occasionally slits added to the sides as armholes. Capes vary in length, but only drape down the back, or cover only a portion of the shoulders (think superheroes).

Then, of course, “coat” is a very broad term, and has its own sub-categories, so I won’t get into that.
Bet you weren’t expecting a lesson in clothing today.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

In the same time it took for Ghent to so much as think the word, to vaguely contemplate calling upon the world’s magic, it swelled around him, feeling lazily interested. When the boy’s emotions surged through it, feeding it, it strengthened, reacting in as equally of a reckless panic as its commander.
“NO!” Drust shouted as the first syllable of the focus word left Ghent’s lips. The black veins in and around his crimson eyes pulsated as he lunged to clasp a hand over Ghent’s mouth before the magic could take to the careless demand.
Alas, he was not quick enough.
A burst of energy radiated from Ghent. The backlash of the gale-like rush made the boy’s hair and hood whip around his head as it erupted, unguided, from him in all directions.
All at once, the force blew through the face of condensed dust motes, scattering them to the winds with a bassy whoomp. It slammed into Drust, his hand centimeters from Ghent, throwing him back. It made Elayra shout as it knocked her from her feet as well and sent her twisting through the air in the opposite direction as Drust.
Elayra landed on her stomach a handful of yards away, narrowly missing a patch of vine-choked bramble, the wind knocked from her. Drust’s flight came to an abrupt end as his back hit an oak tree with enough force to make it shudder. He slid down the tree with a moan, slumping forward as he reached the ground.
As quickly as it had risen, the gale dissipated. For a short, tense second, a silence more eerie than its naturally unnatural quiet befell the forest.
Then, came the whispers.
Dozens of disembodied voices rose among the trees, as if the plants themselves had discovered the secret to speech. Echoic whispers of men and women alike. Whispers that spoke only a single word in an uncoordinated loop in a mix of horror, shock, and intrigue:
“Vinifcium!”
As suddenly as they had begun, the voices cut off. It was as if someone had slammed a door shut on a soundproof room brimming with people. In its wake, the silence was defining.
“You…” Elayra breathed, managing to catch her breath as she propped herself up. “You dunderheaded, imbecilic moron!” she finished her redundant insult as she got to her feet.
She swiveled on her heels to face Ghent, fear and fury warring for dominance in her gray eyes. Her hair stood at odd, windblown angles. Dirt and leaves Ghent’s magic gale had stirred up speckled the platinum locks, making her look more like a dirty blond who had just gone skydiving than a fearless warrior princess.
Her gaze flicked from Ghent. Her grip tightened on the hilt of her saber as she searched for Drust, her fury momentarily diminishing into worry. She inhaled through her nose as she spotted her guardian, unmoving, against the base of a tree.
“Drust!” She took a couple frantic running steps toward him, for the moment forgetting about Ghent.
She slid to a stop near Ghent as Drust slowly stirred in his unconsciousness. For a short moment, relief flooded through her; he was alive. But that relief was short-lived. Her skin went two shades paler as realization of the situation dawned on her.
Drust had been knocked unconscious. By magic. In Hollow Forest.

Of Science and Magic

I pretty much did the same. Heh. Got on a couple times, but did not get anything written.

Many thanks! ^.^

Of Science and Magic

Thought I'd drop by and say happy belated Thanksgiving, merry Christmas, and happy New Year! xD Yeash. Major holidays. They and I have a love-hate relationship, I think.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Glad to hear it! And you’re welcome, but I did it just as much for me as for you! Any kind of complicated story does well with some sort of glossary. Plus, it helps to keep details and world/magic rules fairly straight. I can’t remember which bits have been mentioned, but not explained to Ghent, though.

^.^ Heh, maybe we could come up with our own spin-off for them someday. Glad you approve!

Oh my gosh. Ghent’s reaction is wonderful. Scaredy-cat! See what you do, Ghent? xD

Pfft, I’m totally with you. Poke some eyes out on the Cabbage Patch heads, throw in a few twisted black roses, maybe around a coffin with a beat-up, abandoned teddy bear inside to preside over the garden, baby doll hands sticking up randomly from the earth…

Thinking of Toy Story, though, I had a dream the other night where I got sucked into a world that was like that meets Wonderland (surprise, surprise). It was weird. Another person and I were the only people not toys or life-like stuffed animals. A queen and an incompetent squire guy who liked to slither around like a snake and bite people took the rule over the kingdom from a cowardice king. I woke up wondering what the freak my brain was doing.

Oh! Nice. I saw something about that, but didn’t look into it. Did now! The Wizards one makes sense. I mean, “By the glory of Merlin,” after all. The 3 Below might be a tough sell for me, though. Hopefully they tie it all in together really well!

Doesn’t it? And my gosh, right? xD Oh, Hatter. That was amusing. The bits with the anpan and strawberry jam bread boys made me want bread. Actually, I’m pretty sure I went and made some toast to munch on while reading about Rotty and the Duchess. Is it bad, though, that the whole concept of the Bread Boys made me grin, and I found it all morbidly wonderful? Actually, I think I was grinning through 95% of the story. Like Cheshire’s apprentice or something.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Elayra licked her lips and shook her head at Ghent’s last question. Before she could give an actual answer, Ghent succumbed to the forest. His terrified shout shattered through the quiet of the woods, bouncing off the trees and repeating back to them in an unnatural echo.
Elayra shouted in surprise and stumbled a step forward when he bumped into her, her saber drawn in an instant at the panic in his voice, before his words actually registered. Behind them, she heard the familiar shing of Drust partially drawing his katana, quickly followed by an angered snarl and a sharp, clicking snap as he replaced it.
Heart pounding from the fright Ghent gave her, her face twisted in anger as she realized what had caused his outburst.
“You idiotic chicken!” she shouted at him, sword still drawn with the contemplation of using its hilt to knock Ghent out. But then, they would have his dead weight to deal with.
She inhaled and spun around, positive she had heard an echoic laugh behind her. The dust motes in one of the trees turned into a misty figure for a fraction of a second, before it dashed away, turning into a blur that vanished into thin air, leaving only the forest in its wake.
A deeper, sardonic chortle sounded, blending in with the first and radiating from another part of the woods. Another breeze stirred up around them, this one lower to the ground. It picked up fallen leaves, making them billow about their feet before swirling toward the foliage above, as if the leaves were trying to return to their lost perches.
“Give them fuel, and they’ll do more than just ruffle your hair!” Drust snarled through his teeth. His neck twitched violently.
Elayra held her sword defensively in front of her, her gaze cast about the forest, hoping Drust could keep it together. Another misty figure darted between the trees to her left, this one closer than the first, before disappearing into a tree.
She tried to take a couple breaths, to push back the despairing dread crawling up her, seeping into the soles of her feet from the very ground upon which she stood, but it clutched at her chest—fuel for the less than helpful spirits.
Drust turned his back to them. “Elayra! Eyes ahead!” he snapped, his head doing a double twitch as he took a backwards step toward them. His gaze scanned the trees behind them, his stance firm and defensive. “Keep going!” He angled his body to keep his charges in his peripherals without compromising too much of his view of the forest.
Unsure if he would see, Elayra nodded stiffly, her grip on her sword tightening to keep her hand from trembling.
“Stay between us!” she ordered with a glance over her shoulder to Ghent, her usual mask cracking fractionally to show her uncertain apprehension. “And try not to do anything stupid, Featherhead!”
She started forward again, sparing only half a glance behind her to be sure Ghent followed.
Before they could move more than a couple paces, more of the dust motes seemed to gather together in the morning light to their right. In little more than a blink of an eye, it spiraled upward, then shot forward. A hazy, featureless face with only a mouth open in a scream formed at its point, a high-pitched whine somewhere between an angry wind and a pained shriek rising from it as it shot straight for Ghent.

Of Science and Magic

I can't really give suggestions at the moment on descriptions without anything specific to go off of. The only advice would I have to offer at the moment is to write what you "see." Visualize it in your head, like a movie, then turned those pictures into words. A motion picture, only with letters instead of colors.

Hmm. For how his powers would act... How are they typically controlled? Maybe they would act like a wild animal of their own, acting with the primal instincts of the wolf. Lashing out with a purpose, but perhaps less of a plan. Not as focused, but still enough to be capable of recognizing what the wolf's after, and subconsciously working toward that goal. Wild and out of control, yet centered on its feral desires. Maybe it would even accidentally get in the wolf's way, or unintentionally lash out at him if they both acted at the same time or just close enough to collide. Pretty sure I just repeated myself a few times in different words, but hey. I tried. xD

Of Science and Magic

Not quite what I was asking, but good enough, I suppose, so long as you're okay with the details I put in there for what that manifestation of power looks like. That provided sentence did not give me a good visual on what Thea would see, only what Byrce felt. So let me know if you want/need me to change anything!

Oh, and yep! She was the first person to see his ice powers. Like I said, I was unsure if it was a sensation--and only a sensation--for Byrce or if it rolled over into a visual that Thea would see. So, thanks for the answer!

Edit: I did get the rough time correct, yes? At the beginning of dawn?