Character Castle 2.0
- This topic has 2,849 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 4 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
Jade
No use in letting another unexpected event delay the dance. Jade ushered Isaias, Abirami, and Ophelia onto the stage.
”Wait,” she said. “Ophelia, you found some sort of music player. Where is that?”
Ophelia shuffled her feet and smiled before gesturing toward the radio’s (?) recess. Why would the girl be nervous over some music? She started it in the first place, anyway. Jade flipped the thing on and came back out.
”Positions!” Jade called, going to stand by Ophelia in the center. “And one, two, three, four!”
Arms like wings, raise right leg. Kick it down, carry the momentum into a flying spin — and that’s where the magic began. Does music give one feathers? What about that simple beat makes feet as light as falling snow, and one’s body just as likely to be carried away on a tuneful wind? Jade landed, and her smile grew. Perfect.
Now for the first lift. Jade struggled to not stiffen at Abirami’s approach. He was doing fine, after all. The last practice was great. Besides, surely he’d want to get this right for Ku.
As though she was a bird taking flight, Jade spread out her arms when Abirami swept her into the air. Good so far. He smoothly spun, and Jade closed her eyes to savor both the feel of the air and the triumph of her well executed beginning.
The landing was a little rough because Abirami’s footing was off. Jade sprung away with all her grace to make up for it, dancing back toward the center just as Ophelia did the same. When they met, both raised their arms and stood with their backs facing each other. Jade positively grinned at the perfect timing. The boys were almost done with their pas du chat. Just in time for the final lift, Jade and Ophelia spun toward them. Another leap — please let him catch me — and Jade flew through the air once more thanks to Abirami. Set down and —
There were people out there. Watching. Jade stopped breathing, but she bowed anyway, the other dancers quickly following suit. Then came applause. Jade waved and smiled at her first ever audience, and then rushed to the back before she could do something stupid like cry.
We are called to be lights in the cosmos.
May your inkwells never run dry!Yarrow
I twist in the tree. The dark trees around me are dotted with the other Folk. Looking down, I slowly smile and grab another apple. Just as I am about to release it over my friend’s head, the sensation of falling hits. The trees whirl around me. Trying to not panic, I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the impact. I’ve only fallen out of a tree once and the memory causes me to hope more then ever the soft ground will help. But it never comes. Instead a feel something brush my wrists and it feels like I’m sitting on something. Did I faint?! That’d be cool. Wouldn’t help our mission but probably scared some people.
Grinning, I open my eyes. Surrounding me are candlelit tables, dotting the floor before a large stage.
Well, I didn’t certainly expect that. This should be fun! Was I captured? Seems too nice for Holda’s fortress. I wonder if I can climb those curtains.
My fingers brush against something so I look down. To my relief, my bow and quiver are resting on the floor next to me. I pick them up as I stand and sling them over my back. That’s when I notice the clothes. Not too different from the everyday clothes of my area, except my shirt is short and tucked in. The boots are also shiny and heavier. I frown as I take a step and they thud dully. Not any good for stealth. I like being able to creep up on people and scare them. Just as I bend down to take them off, a booming voice echos through the room.“In honor of Ku’Aya’s birthday,
the castle proudly presents..
the dance of flocking secrets.”Haha, well, at least someone here has a sense of humor. I think we’ll be great friends. Who was it though? Where did the voice come from? And it’s someone’s birthday? Do they like pranks? If this is where Calla is from, they probably won’t appreciate pranks. They’re all a bunch of stick-in-the-mud warriors. Except Calla… but she’s still serious. I should be polite… if I want answers, that is. Maybe after I learn where I am I can… who’s that guy in the back? Is he a statue? Can I climb him? No, he’s moving. He looks like he’s made of iron.
I hear a noise and turn toward it. The curtains have been drawn back. This’ll be fun…A long-hidden tale may hold the answers-and the healing-they so desperately seek.
~Set the Stars AlightOk, so the fish food thing was morbidly brilliant! I actually really liked that part ngl
Also I think we’ve just seen so many HORRIFIC backstories in this castle we’re not fazed anymore :’)
Not that I haven’t contributed lol
Ku and Abirami in general are really fascinating to me! I really love how @jared-williams created such an imaginative and honestly really bizarre (in a good way) world while still keeping it really grounded and realistic and honestly so very human!
Haha, yeah, I’ve said some pretty morbid things when it comes to writing… “*laugh’s evilly* she likes kids cause she likes to eat them!” 😂
Yes! They’ve been really interesting.
A long-hidden tale may hold the answers-and the healing-they so desperately seek.
~Set the Stars AlightA good way to sum (spellcheck says sim) up what Saevus would be doing-just an iron statue in the back lol.
and the dance was pretty cool.
Just a heads up guys, @rose-colored-fancy is currently recovering from a minor surgery, so I think Cal and Ophelia are going to be out of commission for a few days 🙂
😱. praying! 🙏
Yes! Those papers! I’ve been wondering about those for a long time. Is it people who won’t say their greatest regret? Or what? I guess I’ll find out…
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 Honestly, I literally just made it up with nothing in mind for it! lol. Just thought it would be an interesting twist 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 👹 mwahahahaha
Interesting. I’ve never actually created a character inspired by another (my mind won’t let me😂)
… kinda deep note here…but Abirami’s character began as an image of how I wish I had been as a brother… or how I wish my brother had been…. (uh, yeah… both.)
There’s certainly a number of…interesting personalities in here right now. I’m really looking forward to the greatest regrets challenge, but also kind of not because I really don’t want to write about their deepest pain and regrets :'(
I hear you there!!! I just KNOW Ku’Aya’s going to relive hers… and it is going. to. be. HEART-WRENCHING!!!!!!!!!!
ooh I forgot about the posters! Do you have any ideas for where we could go with that?
🤔🤷 I kinda hoped an antagonist would come along and pick it up…. lol. or….. the castle…. perhaps the castle is making a list of people who break unspoken/unknown castle rules… (for instance, Ku used her insects to explore the castle… big no no, so she gets an ‘x’ on her picture…. as for why the eyes are cut out… 🤷 )
so tell me again, why is Gandalf good?
😂 So…. I’m a teacher…. and in my classroom, I have a picture of Gandalf with his staff staring down the balrog… On the top of the poster….
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
on the bottom of the poster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR NAME ON YOUR PAPER!!!!!!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂 Abirami pooping thread and diamonds?
😂 yes! And the diamonds…. in the story I wrote about Abirami’s parents meeting, Abirami’s father, Hanniumm can also transform into a gippscolide… and in the story, he presents Aefflaed (Abirami’s mother) with a diamond. 😂😂😂😂 She’s like “aw! 💕 ” …. and then she’s told where it came from. 😳. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Yes, he’s a hue-man 😂 (had to XD)
😂😂😂😂 YES! Let it catch on!!!
Ku and Abirami in general are really fascinating to me! I really love how @jared-williams created such an imaginative and honestly really bizarre (in a good way) world while still keeping it really grounded and realistic and honestly so very human!
aw!!!! ☺️ thank you! I’ve really REALLY wanted to pull other characters in here too… but Abirami and Ku are just so ingrained!!! lol.
(examples… Nicte and Yaxkin are twin scyphozomes… they can change the color of their skin to blend into the background – they my ninjahs of my world. ✨🥰 – and they can control their hair (think the twin ghosts in the second matrix movie…or the hair of some of the Star Wars characters) and at the end of each strand of hair is a barb that holds electricity! But what is special about my twins are they have (fun) diametrically opposing personalities!!! Nicte is like Pip, while Yaxkin is like… an autistic version of Severus Snape. 😂
or… or… or… King Sharrukin is like Sherlock Holmes meets Gandolf – personality-wise, not power-wise…
and then there is Abirami’s love interest, princess Puabi, who is King Sharrukin’s daughter… or Menna and Setti… or Semiramis, who is Abirami, Setti, Menna, and Ku’Aya’s parental guardian… (she’s a maunin who can control plants…)
any who….. too much. 😁…….. maybe someday….. (Starts singing) 🎶 Some day, over the rainbow….. 🎶
Or maybe at least the food, but he’s not going to take his helmet off so I guess he can’t eat it XD
😂😂😂😂 says who? In Naruto, there is a character who wears a mask ALL THE TIME, but they still show him eating…. through the mask! 😳 …. 🤔
Yay! The dance! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
(lol… just noticed… okay, not just… hehe. I think im overusing the emoji’s now…. teehee)
Haha, yeah, I’ve said some pretty morbid things when it comes to writing… “*laugh’s evilly* she likes kids cause she likes to eat them!” 😂
😂she likes kids😂
😂😂😂 reminds me of amphiboles… sentences that can be taken to mean two different things. You know, commas can kill….
– Let’s eat grandma… or is it Let’s eat, grandma…
– Flying planes are dangerous (are the planes dangerous, or the act of flying them 😉 )
and my all time favorite…
– I broke the window with my sister….
(teehee… I’ll let you figure out what the two different interpretations of that sentence are 😈)
…. I may write Abirami or Ku here sometime tomorrow…. maybe….?
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried. ~ G.K.C.
I’ll have to make this one pretty brief!
while Yaxkin is like… an autistic version of Severus Snape
That’s really cool!
Good autistic representation is really, really small in media tbh so I’m always really interested when I hear that people are writing autistic characters!
… kinda deep note here…but Abirami’s character began as an image of how I wish I had been as a brother… or how I wish my brother had been…. (uh, yeah… both.)
It’s interesting, I’ve found that the emotional connection to my characters and my story really grew as I started using my own life as inspiration. Idk if you’re doing this with Abirami, but it’s such a good way to really explore painful subjects and try to work them out – maybe because it’s kind of removed in a way, since they’re characters? So you get to look at it from a different perspective, and maybe even better understand how other people might see that same experience differently, or understand why it happened. So for me, that character would be Val. I think that working with her actually has helped me work through some of my experiences and look at the from a different perspective 🙂
Also, do you like anime? You mentioned Naruto, so I was curious XD
*laughs as one fey*
ENYDD
My heart was thudding in my chest.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
I’ve been attacked by bugs and swallowed by a giant worm. Seeing a fight that I wasn’t even part of shouldn’t be stressful.
Yet here I was, practically collapsing into a chair with every nerve worn thin. I leaned back into my chair, trying to think happy thoughts. Celebrating Ku’s birthday, watching a ballet, and… revealing our deepest regrets.
I groaned. Why couldn’t there be just a single moment of peace in this castle? It was just one thing after another!
With a sigh, I sat up and smoothed my dress, which was surprisingly clean. I studied the people at the table. There were two new people. One of whom was the giant that fought Abirami, and the other was a young boy with no sense of respect.
I turned my head to the stage and nearly fell off my chair when I realized that the empty seat next to me was now occupied by a blonde teenage boy.
“Oh, my word!” I panted. “I’m going to have heart attack sooner or later.”
The boy looked up at me, slightly disoriented but amused.
Just then the castle boomed“In honor of Ku’Aya’s birthday, the castle proudly presents the dance of flocking secrets.”
Introductions would have to wait until after the dance.
I froze. After the dance was when we would have to reveal our deepest regrets, and this poor kid wouldn’t even have time to brace himself.
I lean over to him. “Hi, I’m Enydd. I just wanted to let you know that after the dance you’ll have to tell everyone your deepest regret and trust me when I say that there’s no way to get out of it. I just wanted to let you know,” I say in a low voice.
Also, do you like anime? You mentioned Naruto, so I was curious XD
👍. I like all kinds of shows… but one of my favorite genres in anime is Isekai.
I lean over to him. “Hi, I’m Enydd. I just wanted to let you know that after the dance you’ll have to tell everyone your deepest regret and trust me when I say that there’s no way to get out of it. I just wanted to let you know,” I say in a low voice.
😂 that’s quite the introduc- I mean ultimatum!
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried. ~ G.K.C.
I’m gonna let everyone else go first, because Saevus will not at all be happy about having to do this…like, expect another fight to occur unhappy
*questions dropping in the one character who can destroy him*
I’m curious, since the others had their clothes changed for the dance… was Saevus forced into a suit and tie? 😂
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 Honestly, I literally just made it up with nothing in mind for it! lol. Just thought it would be an interesting twist 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 👹 mwahahahaha
😂😂 it will be interesting to see where those go *grins*
… kinda deep note here…but Abirami’s character began as an image of how I wish I had been as a brother… or how I wish my brother had been…. (uh, yeah… both.)
Ok. I like Abirami… listen up, @ethan-leonard
Jkjk😂😂😂 So…. I’m a teacher…. and in my classroom, I have a picture of Gandalf with his staff staring down the balrog… On the top of the poster….
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
on the bottom of the poster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR NAME ON YOUR PAPER!!!!!!!
Oh my goodness!! That’s awesome🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, when my mom asked who she was and I said “Gandalf” she nearly crashed the car😅.😂 yes! And the diamonds…. in the story I wrote about Abirami’s parents meeting, Abirami’s father, Hanniumm can also transform into a gippscolide… and in the story, he presents Aefflaed (Abirami’s mother) with a diamond. 😂😂😂😂 She’s like “aw! 💕 ” …. and then she’s told where it came from. 😳. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
*laughs so hard I choke* that’s epic 😂😂
😂😂😂😂 YES! Let it catch on!!!
😂😂
😂😂😂 reminds me of amphiboles… sentences that can be taken to mean two different things. You know, commas can kill….
Yes! We love those🤣
I like all kinds of shows…
Have you seen The Chosen?😀
A long-hidden tale may hold the answers-and the healing-they so desperately seek.
~Set the Stars Alight👍. I like all kinds of shows… but one of my favorite genres in anime is Isekai.
Nice! Kit and Basil (one of my former castle occupants) were both inspired by characters from my favorite anime/manga XD
I’ve actually never watched an Isekai anime before…
I’m gonna let everyone else go first, because Saevus will not at all be happy about having to do this…like, expect another fight to occur unhappy
You mean the worst regrets thing? I have a character I’m going to introduce at the very end, so is it ok if Seavus holds off until then?
I’m going to use the worst regrets thing to kick start his time in the castle, so I’m going to wait until everyone else goes XD
Also, that would be interesting if he was forced to be in the same castle with the one person who could destroy him…
I’m curious, since the others had their clothes changed for the dance… was Saevus forced into a suit and tie? 😂
that’s so cursed though…
Seriously though, that’s an EXCELLENT question and I’m very curious myself!
*laughs as one fey*
No. He stayed in his armor. I don’t even know what he looks like without it lol
(I’m going to change Yarrow’s to third person)
Yarrow
Yarrow sat back down to watch the dance before he ventured to talk to anyone.
That’s when he noticed the young woman seated beside him. Their gazes met and the woman jumped slightly.
“Oh, my word!” She exclaimed. “I’m going to have heart attack sooner or later.”
“I’m sorry, did I surprise you?” Noisy boots and all, he thought with a slight inward smile.
“Not much, just—” she broke off and a look of dread crossed her face. “I’m Enydd. I just wanted to let you know that after the dance, you’ll have to tell everyone your deepest regret and trust me when I say that there’s no way to get out of it. I just wanted to let you know.”
Yarrow raised his eyebrows. “Well met, Enydd.” Is she joking? Does she just like trying to freak people out? “That’s valuable information. So who is forcing this? I’m Yarrow, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Yarrow. Lord Castle. It was the voice that announced the dance—”
“The castle talks?! Awesome! I wish ours did. Did it name the dance? ‘Dance of the Flocking Secrets’.” Yarrow laughed. He and this castle were going to be great friends. Wait. Did she say… deepest regret? Hold on. No. Too painful. He hadn’t even said sorry. Couldn’t.
The laughter died in his throat.Before he could say another word the dance began, and he turned to watch the stage. Music filled the air as two men and two women took their places on the stage. What in the world are they wearing? This looks nothing like our dances.
Yarrow’s curiosity mounted with the high, graceful leaps of the dancers. Where am I? And what am I doing here?A long-hidden tale may hold the answers-and the healing-they so desperately seek.
~Set the Stars Alight’m curious, since the others had their clothes changed for the dance… was Saevus forced into a suit and tie? 😂
😂 let’s just say we don’t know if his clothes changed… since the armor is technically over his clothes. lol. IDK… he’s technically already in a fully body suit… so…. 😂 I’ll leave that decision to Saevus’ author…..
Have you seen The Chosen?😀
oh, yeah. though… I haven’t watch all of it yet… I really like how they put that together. Have you heard of Sight & Sounds Theater? They have AMAZING musical productions of Bible stories!!!!!! Like, seriously, worth looking into!
I’ve actually never watched an Isekai anime before…
lol. really? There’s a lot of really good ones. it simply means a show where the protagonist is somehow or someway transported to a different world/universe
I’m gonna let everyone else go first, because Saevus will not at all be happy about having to do this…like, expect another fight to occur unhappy You mean the worst regrets thing? I have a character I’m going to introduce at the very end, so is it ok if Seavus holds off until then?
I will kick it off. 😁. …. just… don’t cry too much when you read Ku’Aya’s turn…
nice. well written post! I like it. Yarrow seems level-headed and a fun character. (not a typical combination 😉)
Abirami
It was finished! The dance was over. I couldn’t really believe I had done that. It went by so fast, I wasn’t even sure if I’d done what I was supposed to. Had it been good?
I walked off stage and went straight to Ku. She and Ehud were laughing hard about something.
I looked around, and people were eating, drinking wine and carrying along well. Minus a few who just sat silently, but when were there not people like that in a crowd?
Isaias, Ophelia, and then finally Jade walked off stage. The moment Jades’ feet hit the ground floor, a wave of light swept across the room. I was suddenly in my garb, my gaaban underneath.
I sighed in relief, not fully aware of just how unsettling not having it had been. Looking around, everyone else had returned to their normal attire as well. Ehud whooped ecstatically and hugged himself… or, I guess his jacket/sweater (?).
With the sudden light, I also found myself seated next to Ku’Aya, and everyone else seemed to have a seat as well. The tables, food and drink were gone. I attempted to stand so I could gain my bearings and look around; however, the seat seemed to have a seatbelt, and my feet were pinned to the floor. I looked for some way to dislodge them, but found none.
“Time to collect.” Called a voice. “The castle now requires your deepest regret. Speak now, or the shards of your past shall be visited upon you. You have been warned.”
I looked about me. Horror was struck across the faces of those in the room. Some were in deep contemplation, while some looked like they were about to get up and flee.
“I will go first,” I called out, but the restraints remained. Not knowing how this worked, I decided to just press on. “A few years ago-”
A transparent film fell, separating us from the stage. “Ku’Aya, orphaned child with no last name. Divulge your deepest regret.”
No. Oh, please no.
I looked at Ku. The tips of her ears were red, and it spread all the way down to their roots.
By the maker, she was mad.
Ku stood and screamed up at the ceiling, “You first!”
The film flashed red.
I looked around. Everyone else had restraints about them. Why was Ku the only one able to stand and move about?
The castle was quiet.
Ku scanned the room, then glared back up at the ceiling.
“My biggest regret is not setting this dumb place on fire sooner!”
The film flashed red again.
Ku spread her arms out. I knew that signal. She was summoning her hive.
I grinned. Ku would be Ku.
But… no buzzing could be heard. No swarm appeared. Ku tried again and again, but nothing happened.
What was going on?
Wondering if I had been affected too, I tried to augment the bear’s strength to tear apart these restraints, but the image never formed. I couldn’t tap into the essence. Had the castle cut off our abilities? But how? And would they return?
A symbol appeared on the stage. It was a strange symbol, but for some reason I understood what it represented.
10
Then it began to change.
9
…
8
…
“The answer’s no!” called Ku. The film flashed red.
7
…
6
…
“For goodness sake, just tell us!” someone yelled out.
5
…
“No,” another called out. “They can’t force us to reveal something that personal. They have no right!”
4
…
“But the warning-”
3
…
“Forget that! No castle’s gonna make me spill my deepest regret.”
2
…
“Ku,” I whispered. She turned to me, the glare still on her face, but I could tell. She was scared.
The numbers disappeared from the screen, then the room went black.
A few of the younger females let out screams. Then a dim light shone from the film above the stage.
An image flashed onto the screen. It was Ku. She was smaller, but it was unquestionably her. Just what was this? Some sort of curse?
The image showed Ku begging on the streets of Azupiranu. Tears came to my eyes. She was treated worse than dirt. Kicked around and abused. Whenever she got too close to the food vendors or the local shops, she was subsequently chased away.
Ku stared up at the screen in defiance. “I regret nothing!”
The screen flashed red, even as it continued to show us scenes from Ku’Aya’s past.
Ku was sleeping next to a sewage grate just off the northeastern gate, when a face filled the screen.
Ku screamed in rage and rushed the stage, but try as she might, her fists slammed harmlessly into the screen without even a dent to it.
“Ku!” I called after her. “Ku, who is that? Ku, what’s wrong?” But I wasn’t sure if she could hear me over her own screams.
The man reached his hand out, and the young Ku on the screen took his hand.
“No!” Ku screamed, kicking her shoes off and throwing it at the screen over and over. She ran back and tried to pick up her chair, but it remained cemented to the floor. She ran back to the screen and pounded futilely against it.
“Ku!” I called, but she either couldn’t hear me or simply ignored me.
The screen showed the man feeding her a meal, giving her privacy to clean, and a bed to sleep in.
“Make it stop!” screamed Ku
But the next moment, it showed Ku being dragged around by her hair, forced to do chores, and beaten when refused or did something wrong.
I pulled against my restraints. “Ku!” I screamed, trying to get through to her.
I could see the tears falling down her eyes. “Make it stop!” she cried out.
The man had other little girls with him, and the screen showed him pulling his fingers through their hair as he sniffed them. Then he picked one and they disappeared into a room.
“No!” yelled Ku. She turned and ran at us. “Don’t look! Stop it!” But an invisible barrier kept her from reaching any of us. She pounded on it and screamed.
“Just tell the castle what it wants to know,” someone called.
“No!” Ku screamed. She ran back and pounded on the memory screen.
“Ku,” I cried. “If you say it, it might stop it.”
The man came out of the room, a wide grin on his face.
“Fine!” cried Ku. “I regret being beaten up by that creep.”
The screen flashed red.
The image continued showing days of Ku’s terrible treatment at the hand of that man.
“I regret ever going with that man.”
The screen flashed red again.
“What do you want from me?” screamed Ku at the ceiling. “Okay, I lied. I have millions of regrets. I even regret living!”
The screen flashed red.
“Curse you!”
I pulled against my restraints. Ku had never used that language before. What was this? And why wasn’t it working. Wait…
“Ku,” I called out. “It wants your deepest regret. You may regret those things, but what is your deepest regret?”
The screen showed the man looking over the little girls. This time, he grabbed Ku by the hair and began dragging her into a room.
“No!” Ku screamed. “I regret not telling you what my greatest regret is.”
A flash of red.
“I regret ever coming here!”
Another red flash.
The man threw Ku onto the bed and pinned her down.
“Okay, Okay!” Ku cried. “I regret that he sexually abused me!”
The screen flashed red.
Ku fell to the ground, tears falling from her cheeks.
“What is it?” She wept.
“Ku!” I hollered. I pulled against the restraints. My ankles were chaffed and bleeding, and my fingernails were beginning to bleed underneath from trying to peel off the strap around my middle.
The man ran a hand through her mohawk then grabbed it from the top and pulled it down onto the bed, forcing her head up. His eyes glanced up and down her body. His other arm reached for her.
“I REGRET EVER TRUSTING HIM!” Ku screamed. “I REGRET I EVER TRUSTED ANYONE! I PROMISED NEVER TO TRUST ANYONE EVER AGAIN! I REGRET EVERYTHING.” She bowed down and fell into a fit of tears.
Half way through her rant, the screen flashed green, and the image disappeared instantly.
I continued to pull against my restraints. “Let me go!” I hollered. “Let me go!”
Faintly, I could see Ehud sitting just on the other side of Ku’s chair. His mouth was open, and he stared wide eyed at the scene in front of him. It was just out of the corner of my eye, so his reaction was indistinguishable to me, but for Ku’s sake, I prayed he would remain Ku’s friend. She needed a friend.
But right now she needed me, and this stupid castle and this stupid chair was keeping me from her.
I hollered in anger as I continued to fight my restraints.
Abirami el Hanniumm, son of Aefflaed en Sweterun and Hanniumm el Abdmago: Divulge your deepest regret.
My restraints disappeared, and I leapt to my feet and ran to Ku’Aya.
I dropped to my knees and skidded the last few inches to her as I grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her into my arms. She turned and buried her head in my shoulder and continued to weep.
She shook under me, and I found my own arms shaking as I strengthened my grip around her.
Cruel joke. I stared up at the ceiling. Castle… you and me… we’re enemies.
“Abirami,” called Jade. She pointed behind me to the screen.
Turning my head around, I looked up to see:
3
…
2
…
I looked back at Jade. My face set and stern.
Shadows, lights, and colors lit the ground around me. A moving image could be seen within the retinas of those staring forward, and I knew… my deepest regret was playing itself out behind me.
I turned to face it but rested my head down upon Ku’Aya head as she continued to weep in my arms.
Let it play. What did I care for it. Right now, Ku needed me.
As I watched my own deepest regret, my mind went back to that day and what had occurred.
………….
here in a second, I will post Abirami’s…
sorry for the… no, it’s not really shock and awe… more like… shock and cry?…. when thinking of what Ku would actually regret… (cause she is so… Ku…) sadly the only thing I could think of was a bad experience that led her to distrust people… and it’s so ingrained in her – the idea that people aren’t trustworthy – that it had to be… drastic… forgive me.
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried. ~ G.K.C.
Abirami
As I watched the screen, a strange sensation came over me, and my mind was transported into the time and place on the screen. My senses, my mind reliving all that had transpired.
Just as it closed around me, I prayed, Oh good and gracious Maker, please tell me Ku didn’t experience all that again! Not like this….
Not really wanting to exert the energy or the effort, I forced myself to consider my surroundings, and my eyes slowly fluttered open. Dim light filtered into my vision and slowly revealed forms and shapes in the darkness.
Rough, knotted walls of dirt surrounded me, curved into a near perfect oval with the ceiling and floor. Looking down the cavern, a small light illuminated the back of the cave where two people stood. One was a tall, bald man with small slits on the side of his face for ears, and whose ashen skin was almost as dark as the shadows that flitted across the cave. The other was a slim, slightly shorter female with light skin, long, straight, dark hair, and whose pointed ears stretched up toward the ceiling.
It was Semiramis, the woman who had taken care of me ever since my father died, and Galchobhar… the man we had saved from the Dhiaga’s prison… the man who had fought with my father during the great war. But at the time, my memory had been lost. I couldn’t recognize anyone. Not even those that I loved as my adopted family.
Now wide awake, I warily watched the two as they spoke in hushed whispers in the back. The light came from a candle atop a pile of crates leaning up against the back wall. I slowly sat up and felt a fabric shift against my skin. Looking down, there was a robe-like garment loosely fitted around my torso and wrapped around my arms. It felt inhibiting, and I did not like it. Was it there to impede my movements?
Suddenly, a ray of glistening light emanated from behind me, and I sprang up in surprise. My movements were silent, yet I crouched upon the cot that I had been laying on, one hand grasping the edge while the other held back toward my chest, ready to strike.
The light shifted and danced upon the cave floor as shadows moved across it. Looking further down the cave, I saw movement, as if a large object was being dragged away from the entrance. The light solidified and grew as the white ground, trees, and a sliver of blue sky was revealed beyond the cave opening.
A young boy with cyan wings flew into the cave with a pair of limp rabbits hanging from a rope around his shoulder.
Setti!
His wings fluttered quickly as he entered, as if he was struggling to stay aloft, and it sent drifts of snow and dirt into the air preceding him.
The fine cloud of dust and snow brushed past me and filtered into my eyes, causing them to emanate discomfort. Letting my dislike for it known, I felt a vibration in my throat as a low growl escaped my lips.
No. Don’t…
The boy’s wings stopped, and he fell to the ground as he stared in my direction. Two young girls entered after the boy, talking over each other in alarmingly loud and fast paces.
Oh, Menna and Ku’Aya!
One had greenish-blue feathers braided back from the top of her head, down her shoulders, and blending into the feathers that covered her upper arms. The other was a short, trim girl with green skin, a mohawk, and ears that stuck out the side of her face like half-blossomed tulips. Their voices were indiscernible to me and sounded more like loud screeching than actual words. Behind the two girls, another followed; a taller man who resembled the slim lady, save a nest of leaves and branches that seemed to grow from atop his head.
Malcuno. The man who had fallen in love with Semiramis.
But I failed to pay much attention to them, for the young boy had recovered from his amazement and was leaping toward me at rapid speeds with his arms stretched out.
“Abirami!” the boy cried.
No! Don’t… don’t come any closer!
I knew not what he wanted, but I feared the dust and discomfort I had felt and wished the boy to keep his distance. My growl intensified. When he did not slow or stop his advance, I reacted instinctively. Before I knew what I had done, my hand lashed out, and the boy fell to the ground.
NO!!
His hand rose to his cheek where I had scratched him, blood slowly seeping between his fingers. A look of horror and surprise mingled upon his face as his eyes slowly filled with water.
I backed up on the cot, staring unblinking at him. My hind leg hit the back wall, and I leaned back against it, raising my hands to defend myself should the boy or any others attempt to approach or strike back.
My eyes began to sting again, but I refused to blink as I stared at the boy, willing him to leave me alone.
As water began falling down the boy’s face, he scrambled to his feet and ran away from me toward the slim woman in the back of the room.
I had not noticed, but they were all staring at me. The slim woman had her hand over her mouth and water was falling from one of her eyes as well.
Looking back and forth between the three in the back of the cavern to the three at the entrance, no one moved, but all of them stared at me. I was trapped. What did they want from me?
A few of them began saying, “Abirami.” I searched their faces for the meaning of the word but could find none.
Then a fourth figure appeared near the cave entrance.
My breath caught. It was Puabi.
The sunlight gleamed off her skin and seemed to blind me if I looked directly at her, so I shielded my eyes. As soon as the shadow of the cave entrance encompassed her, the glimmer faded and I could see she was beautiful with long black hair, golden skin, and blazing orange eyes. I could not help but stare into those eyes. I had never seen such a vivid color. It seemed to lighten the cave itself.
An animal trotted up next to her on four legs. Its long snout and pointed ears directed its attention toward me, and its tail began to wag. Then it barked and began to run toward me as the golden-skinned female screamed, “Abirami,” and followed close behind the wolf.
I backed up further as all these new and strange occurrences overwhelmed me. My breathing became ragged and I felt further imprisoned. I had to escape. Inside, I was panicking, but I could not reveal this to those in the cave. I snarled and growled as I backed up, retreating from their advances.
No. Don’t.
The girl stopped running, tilting her head to the side in surprise. The wolf stopped as well, staring intently into my eyes, then suddenly bent low to the ground, its tail between its legs, and began to growl back at me.
I bared my teeth and the hair at the back of my neck bristled. I wondered if I was like this wolf. It growled, and I growled, not like the taller people in the cavern who seemed to use words I knew not their meaning.
Staring at the wolf, I considered its shape and size, wondering if it compared to my own. The golden-skinned one ran up to the wolf and hugged it, laying her head down on its back. “No, Accalia. It’s Abirami. Our Abirami.”
The wolf whined, looking back toward the person holding onto her, and I saw my chance. Feeling a heat surge through my body, I leapt from the cot, the garb falling away behind me, and I ran on all fours toward the exit. Perhaps I was like the wolf. I looked down my snout as I raced toward the cavern’s exit, my breathing paced and even.
No. Don’t run!
I felt I could run forever like this. But then I saw the three still standing there and could see no way around them.
I looked up at the free sky behind them. If only I could fly like that boy, I could escape from this place and the dangers therein, whatever they may be. I had no desire to stay to find out.
I instinctually focused upon my desire, and a burning sensation in my sides brought about a strange confidence. Feeling I could simply jump over them, I leapt up and beat at the air with the wings that had grown from my side. I knew not how it occurred, but I wasn’t about to question what would allow me to escape. I flew over the heads of the three, who stared up at me in amazement, and out the cave into the wide open space beyond.
Don’t go!
Tall mountains surrounded me on all sides, and I still felt trapped somehow, even here out in the open. I glanced behind me as the cave entrance grew smaller and smaller. The members of the cave came out and stared up at me, and I heard their voices on the wind repeating that strange refrain, “Abirami,” but its meaning was lost to me, and I flew on.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as my chin rested upon Ku’s mohawk. She was watching too now, and she seemed to have gained some semblance of calm.
To my surprise, the image didn’t stop. It continued to show me flying through the mountain valleys and running through the hills. And my first kill – a rabbit, which I ate raw, licking the bones clean after.
Sent shivers down my spine. At least I had been in wolf form at the time.
But why hadn’t it stopped? I thought my deepest regret was injuring Setti and leaving my family behind. If it wasn’t that, then what was it?
The images showed them all my barbarity as I ran havoc in the port town until I was chased away. But then I continued to be hunted, until I began hunting back… until I killed those who were hunting me…
Oh, yeah… I’d forgotten.
But then it continued. On and on, until Ulhas found me. His face entered the screen and his hand reached out, then nothing. The images disappeared. Ulhas. The man who stopped it. The man who saved me. The man who brought me back to myself.
I get it. My deepest regret… was losing myself – allowing my essence to take over my consciousness. For it led to everything that followed. My own foolish decision. I had been warned that the essence-boosting pills I had taken were dangerous, but I had paid them no heed. It was all my fault.
That was my deepest regret.
Ku looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Now what?” she asked.
Pondering that for a second, I looked down and smiled at her.
“Has anything really changed?” I asked.
She looked down. “Well, everyone know now. You know.”
I nodded. “But did that really change anything?”
She looked up at me and squinted. “No?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried. ~ G.K.C.
- The forum ‘Private: Fantasy Writers’ is closed to new topics and replies.
