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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Seeing Double - 16. Chapter 16
So here's another chapter for you wonderful readers :) And Dan learns what it means to become so absorbed in a book :P
DAN
“We need this one...and this one...ooh this one looks good too.” Kyaila kept commenting as she flung books into my arms from the bookshelves of the library.
The library looked like a traditional, old fashioned library, floor to ceiling bookshelves stretched the length of the library which must have been the nearly the size of a football pitch.
Dark wood panels which matched those around the rest of the castle like buildings were fitted around the library and large chairs were scattered at intervals.
I felt my arms getting heavier and heavier as she kept darting down the aisles throwing books to me and I could barely see over the top and still she was still going.
“Um....Kyaila I think we have enough books.”
She turned round and started giggling at the sight of me gingerly walking, trying to keep the massive pile of books upright.
“Ok, I’ll let you off for now then.” She giggled then paused for a second.
“It is still ok to be cheeky like this isn’t it Daniel?” She asked shyly.
I hovered the books in the air with Energy and knelt down in front of her.
“Kyaila, you are a breath of fresh air where everyone else thinks they have to be overly formal towards me and Matt. You keep on being cheeky; every time you do it makes me smile.”
She beamed and then she darted off again and I tried to keep up, holding the books once more, not wanting a headache from carrying them using Energy.
I lowered the mass of books as gently as I could onto the table in their living room.
After the splendour of the Fortress and the Tower, coming back to a member of staff’s place brought a sense of much needed reality. The house was quite a generous size; it would be enough for a family of four to comfortably live in at home.
Colour was splashed on every wall, each room a different colour. Walking through it was like walking through the different bands in a rainbow.
The trip to the library must have taken longer than I thought because already the gorgeous scents of dinner were caressing my nose.
A whistle stop tour of the house ensued during which I also got to meet the man of the house. Fsaham was his name and Hanam looked just like his father, and Hanam was sure to break hearts.
Fsaham was respectful of me and couldn’t seem to get over having me in the house, no matter how many times I asked him to be more informal.
It was when Kyaila tripped and spilt water all down my front did he smirk and I smiled back at him for the breakthrough.
I managed to finally find a topic he’d happily talk about; Asenshi. The major sport here was like football back in England. During the talk I learnt the finer points of the game and more about the teams involved; I planned on surprising Matt with the information later on.
Dinner was incredible, a whole range of different tastes assailed my taste buds and I tried to slow down to appreciate every flavour.
Surprisingly, nothing tasted like chicken, and I chuckled to myself at that comparison.
Dessert was even more delicious, it was similar to a cheesecake but the fruit that adorned it looked, again, like nothing I had ever seen. When I tasted the fruit it was bliss, refreshing, tangy but still not tasting like anything I’d tried on Earth.
“These are all new experiences for me.” I said as I gestured towards the empty plates.
“As long as you enjoyed it, Daniel.” Yaala replied softly.
“It was wonderful Yaala, please, let me help with the dishes, I insist.”
Yaala looked like she was about to protest but in the end she was glad of the help.
I had noticed that Hanam had been quiet throughout the meal and he only communicated via telepathic links.
“Yaala, I was wondering why Hanam doesn’t communicate vocally.”
She smiled warmly before declaring “Hanam has been offered a place within our Mistress Ailarha’s Tower to study the Art of the Mind. As a condition of his acceptance, he swore a vow of silence until he begins his training. Only through the mind is he allowed to communicate.”
“To develop his mental powers?”
She just nodded in confirmation.
“I will pass on my congratulations; that is excellent news to hear.”
I could sense the pride in Yaala that one of her children had made it to a Tower.
“It won’t be easy; Ailarha’s Tower is renowned for being a tough place to train.”
“He knows, but it’s where he feels most comfortable, at his strongest. Hanam is prepared to push his limits.”
“That’s a good thing.” I smiled.
She just smiled back before adding “I think we’d better go into the living room Kyaila is probably getting impatient to read you a story.”
We laughed gently as we made our way back into the living room.
“You took your time, the dishes weren’t that dirty, I licked mine clean myself.”
I laughed deeply at her comment and lifted the pile of books into the centre of the room.
In the living room it was made up of deep browns and caramels that subtly blended into one another at intervals, soft lighting, made of Energy, cast a cosy feel about the place.
“This is a wonderful atmosphere for a story.”
Kyaila tutted at me and I threw my hands up in surrender.
“What did I say now?” I asked in mock indignation.
“It’s not a story, it’s a legend; one of the most important to Galwrock.”
I nodded and let her begin.
“Um...I need the one on the bottom.” She said pointing to the pile.
I gave her a pointed look to which she giggled.
“You planned this didn’t you?”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” She answered.
Lifting the pile so she could retrieve the book she giggled again before placing the book on top of the pile.
“Ok so this is the legend of how the Energy came to Galwrock.”
I expected her to start reading but instead she placed her hand on one of the pages seemingly at random.
Kyaila started chanting and as she did I felt my consciousness slip away.
Slowly but surely I felt myself fade away and all I could her was Kyaila chanting.
“How goes the tribe?” I asked Hquaio and his features creased slightly.
“It has been hard Matthew, the winter has harsher than we predicted. However we have been blessed with enough food, I think you may have had a hand in that. Am I right?”
I smiled, “You got me Hquaio; I told the villagers to spare some meat each week to help you with the winter. They will stop now spring had come around.”
Hquaio used the equivalent of a nod before we reached the edge of the cliff face we were walking along.
“Do you want to see if you still have it?” We said in unison. I laughed and Hquaio gave me a look which told me he was laughing inside.
I leapt onto his back and Hquaio took off down the cliff face which was at an almost ninety degree angle.
His powerful legs gripped tightly into the rock and his whole body was keeping as close to the cliff as possible.
I roared my delight as the adrenaline rush took hold and in my mind I could sense Hquaio’s smile.
Alas, the ride down the cliff only took a matter of seconds and once Hquaio had slowed down enough I leapt back onto solid ground.
“Still got it.” I winked.
With one paw he shoved me sideways and I almost lost my balance to which he let out a roar of a laugh.
Once we had both calmed down a bit, we walked in a comfortable silence until Hquaio decided to break it.
“Describe this Daniel to me.”
“Physically or personality wise?”
“Both.”
“Ok, physically, he has a body to die for; an athlete’s body, not overly muscular but toned. Incredible green eyes that I could gaze into forever, he has soft light brown hair and he has a big...” I stopped.
“Big what?” He teased.
“He has a big heart which leads me swiftly onto his personality.” I smirked.
Hquaio laughed hard at this which disturbed a flock of birds in the trees around us.
“So...personality?”
“Yes, he is kind, caring, respectful, and strong when he needs to be.”
“Will he like me?”
“Honestly? He will probably be scared of you at first, especially as he has to earn your respect but I’m sure he’ll love once he has gotten over the shock.”
“Hmmm, I hope so it would be a shitter if we didn’t get on.”
“Hahahaha, shitter? Since when did you use those sorts of words?”
“Since I started being the ride for the newest Lord of Galwrock.”
“Smart arse.”
“Yep, I am two thousand years old you know, I’ve learnt quite a bit.”
“Alas you act like a teenager.”
“Two thousand is young Matt. My father is approaching his 12061stbirthday don’t you know.”
“Sheesh do you just use one big candle for the cake.”
He gave me a pointed look and I sniggered.
The playful banter continued as we made our way back to the Tower.
DAN-
“Open your eyes Daniel.” I heard a faint voice say as I slowly regained consciousness.
I did as the voice asked and all I saw was white.
“How...”
I turned round to see the rest of Kyaila’s family standing there as if everything was normal.
“Have you not experienced story telling before?” Yaala asked.
“Not like this, not how you do on Galwrock that’s for sure.”
“Well it is very different here. Kyaila is very good at story telling as well.”
“So what happens?”
“Kyaila picks a tale out of the book that she wishes to retell and then using her power she weaves an illusion and we experience everything.”
“That’s very interactive.”
“It’s a wonderful way of experiencing the culture of Galwrock.”
“Do you know which story it is?”
Yaala shook her head “I do not, though I expect it will be an important story, Kyaila wished to impress you.”
As Yaala finished speaking the white light around us started to splinter into other colours.
“It begins.” Yaala smiled to me and I did feel a bit apprehensive over what was going to happen.
In a split second the white around us fractured into millions of tiny shards.
They flew at us and I instinctively but my hands up to protect myself.
There was no need and no one else had bothered doing anything, the shards flew past us faster and faster until all I could see was movement and the sound of the screaming air as the shards raced past.
As the last of the shards went passed my vision failed me for a few seconds, I wondered what was happening now.
“This will be the tale of the Legend of the Divide.” I heard Kyaila say and my vision returned and I saw I was one of many people lining the wide walkway up to the Council of the Lords.
“The story starts at the Council of the Lords, at this time the Lords are convening on dealing with an infestation of Sameq when the High Noble Arensha demands audience with Ailarha. The Legend of the Divide occurred five thousand years in the past. Let your eyes tell the story.”
Kyaila went silent and I saw a figure appear at the far end of the walkway up to Council’s table.
I looked down at my robes and noticed they were the colour of Ailarha’s house.
The figure strode purposefully down towards us and I could now see clearly the figure.
Arensha, he had once been a noble Galwron, his armour was a deep azure and layered like scales over his body, his helm was glittering in the light with unspoken power and on his back he carried his war hammer.
“Ailarha, I must speak with you immediately.” Arensha said as he reached the limit one was allowed to go before a barrier halted anyone’s progress; it was a defence against assassins.
Upon hearing these words, Ailarha span round to meet Arensha’s gaze.
“And just what is it that you must speak immediately with me about?” She asked evenly.
“Two weeks ago, I proposed to you, the possibility to join the two great houses of Galwrock, yet you still have not answered me...”
“Don’t you think this was better spoken about in private Arensha?”
“No, enough of waiting, you have left me hanging for too long.”
“Very well, I will tell you what you need to know. My answer is no, you are not fit to help rule this planet, your recklessness and inability to plan things through clouds you. There is no subtly about you and your emotions are dangerously on the surface all of the time.”
“How dare you?!” Arensha started to rage.
“See? It is this that stops you advancing further, I see your followers, all of them flock to your bravado and it is not needed here.”
Something seemed to snap in Arensha’s mind as his last outburst before the illusion dissolved was “I will have your head for this!”
“And so, Arensha was cast out of Galwron society along with his followers who sided with him. It was as he was wandering the wastelands of the west did he stumble across a way for revenge.”
This time lightning crackled across the midnight sky as dusty, barren ground stretched for mile after mile.
From my point of view I could see a large group of people though my vantage point was low.
I looked down...I had paws. In this illusion I was a rat.
The group came towards us and stopped close enough for us to hear them. Four of them carried a bronze chest that was inlayed with tribal runes and whispers and voices seemed to emanate from it.
I took a step back without realising it.
“Open the chest.” Arensha said firmly and I got a good look at him now.
He had changed already after just a short while in the wastelands. He had become gaunter and his eyes spoke of unbridled anger.
With a noticeable hesitation, two of his followers slowly opened the chest and the rest of them took a step back.
A wave of ruby light sailed from the chest and knocked everyone off their feet apart from Arensha, whose power allowed him to weather the attack.
The light was in the shape of a sphere now; the ruby light pulsed with constrained Energy as it bobbed gently in the air, as if inspecting the group that now surrounded it.
“Who awakens me?” A deep rumble echoed across the plains and the lightning seemed to intensify.
“I do demon. I am Arensha, High Commander of the Legions of the...”
“Former High Commander are you not?” The demon said with a chuckle.
Arensha’s temple seemed to throb with anger before composing himself once more, unable to gauge the demon’s reaction.
“Be that as it may demon, but I aim to show them the error of their judgement.”
“Oh? And how do you hope to achieve that?”
“You need a body, I need power. I will allow you to enter my body, so long as you allow me usage of your power. I wish to harness the arts those in the Fortress so fear.”
The ball of ruby light continued to float gently for a few moments.
“This is all for a woman?”
“She humiliated me; she needs to be shown that I do not accept her actions. Her righteousness is sickening. They will all pay for their arrogance.”
“And this group of followers will overcome the might of the Fortress?” The demon asked mockingly.
“More will join me. There are many that seek to throw off the shackles placed upon their powers.”
“Your thirst for vengeance amuses me mortal, I will agree to your proposal; the turn of events that will occur may slake my boredom of being imprisoned.”
A smirk appeared on Arensha’s face and the illusion disappeared once again.
“And so Arensha joined in Dark Patronage with the demon and under its tutelage learned the Forbidden Arts, 3harnessing the negative emotions to fuel many dark spells. True to his word, more flocked to his cause and soon they opened a grand portal to found a planet of their own.”
As Kyaila said this I could see many people, who I guessed would be Dark Practitioners step through an oily barrier that screamed whenever one of them passed through.
“Slowly but with increasing alacrity, Arensha built his army. Using the souls and the bones of the wastelands he created his army of undead, his Dark Practitioners acting as focal points to guide them.”
The next illusion was the wastelands covered by a seething mass of bones and war machines. All eerily silent the skeletons didn’t move.
All of the skeletons had a shimmer about them, the power sustaining them visible to everyone.
The sight made me shiver, I decided to look around at the others and they didn’t seem as revolted. I guessed they had seen this before, or versions like it and instead they were in silent contemplation.
“This was to be Arensha’s dark gift to Galwrock, he planned to corrupt the world spirits and plunge the world into darkness.”
Again the visions shifted and this time there was a huge siege against the Gleaming Fortress itself.
“Millions died in the war Arensha brought to Galwrock. Eventually, Ailarha, fuelled by righteous fury, fought Arensha in a duel.”
I saw two figures wreathed in Energy, they were both wielding enough Energy to decimate an army by themselves.
“Ailarha proved triumphant, though she was severely wounded from the battle, and Arensha’s spirit was cast back to his foul planet. His army soon followed him and Galwrock was victorious.
However this war had proven how many had fallen to the temptations of power. New guidelines and rules were made to govern those studying their Energies at one of the Towers.”
My vision went blank.
“It is taught that to stay in your negative emotions you become blinded. Only by letting go and being happy with yourself can your soul see the light.”
A bright white light flashed twice and then I was back in the room, still sitting in the same position as if only mere seconds had passed.
“That was incredible!” I exclaimed.
Kyaila stood there looking bashful.
“Thanks, Serama says I could be a wonderful story teller.”
“I’m sure you could.”
She hugged me.
But before she could reply she closed her eyes and seemed in concentration.
“Matt is waiting for you.” She said and I looked confused.
“He just communicated with me silly.”
I just smiled and let her take the lead out of the door.
Matt was standing on his own in the middle of the courtyard with his back to us; I called out and as he turned he had a mischievous grin on his face.
“You look like you’ve planned something.”
“Maybe.” He replied and then tried to look as innocent as possible which made me laugh.
“Dan, I want you to meet a very close friend of mine. He also happens to be my steed, for want of a better word. I hope you won’t be scared of him.”
“Matt, I doubt I’m going to be scared of a...” But before I could say ‘horse’, it came round the corner.
I damn near needed a new change of underwear after I saw it emerge from the alley in the courtyard.
It was a lion, a mountain lion, but it was no ordinary mountain lion. This lion stood more than twice my height and was at least my height wide.
After I could see him fully in the open; I estimated his length at over seven metres long.
I shrank back at the sight of him.
A magnificent white and silver coat of fur adorned his body and a great mane stretched around his face and down his neck.
He seemed to try and smile which only served to bare his teeth which were the size of my forearm long.
Powerful muscles rippled under his skin as he prowled closer, his whole body language one of grace and confidence.
“Dan? Please don’t be scared, he doesn’t mean you any harm.” Matt tried to break through my fear.
“I...err...How did you expect me not to be scared Matt?”
The lion had lowered himself slightly and put his right front paw across his left and bent his head.
“Daniel, I have heard much about you.”
“Shit! It talks!” I said without thinking.
The lion roared and the ground shook with the sound.
“It? It has a name young sir.”
“I...err...Forgive me...May I know your name?”
“You my call me as Matthew does and that name is Hquaio.”
“That is quite a mouthful.”
“And yet it is my name.”
“Well...very nice to meet you Hquaio. I must admit I wasn’t expecting a lion as a mount for Matt.”
A deep chuckle emanated from Hquaio.
“No. No I’m sure you didn’t. Matt thought it quite funny to surprise you like this.”
I could see Matt trying to keep a straight face.
“Oh did he now?”
He came over and gave me a hug.
“I’m sorry Dan but I wanted to play a little surprise on you.”
“It worked you mean, mean boy.”
“Please don’t be scared Dan, Hquaio is a wonderful individual who has guided me during my time here on Galwrock. This is as close as you can get thought before you have earned his respect.”
“And how do I do that?”
“Bow to him first. If you hadn’t noticed he already has to you.”
“Crap I bet I’ve looked really rude.”
Matt smiled.
“He expected you to be nervous so he doesn’t mind, but bow to him now you’ve recovered your wits.”
I did as Matt said bowing as deep as I could.
Hquaio issued a low growl and Matt smiled, and I guessed my bow had passed.
“Now let him look into your mind.”
“Hasn’t my mind been looked into enough?” I said with a hint of anger, why did this world have to be linked so telepathically?
“Please Dan, he will only be looking for one thing, everything else he sees he will forget, I’ve made him promise that.”
I sighed before adding “I trust you Matt, so I will let him.”
Matt kissed me in thanks before sending a silent command to Hquaio.
Hquaio closed his eyes and I felt a presence on the edge of my mind. I immediately liked his way of telepathy, he was silently asking for my permission to enter, not just storming straight through.
I let my defences drop enough for him to enter and he did so carefully.
As I felt his presence in my mind I felt how old he was already and how young that was to his race.
Hquaio was looking through my memories for something but at the same time allowing me to see some of him. I saw him play fighting with his brothers and Matt surprisingly. I saw him throw himself in front of a group of mutated creatures when Matt had been knocked to the ground. He joked with the Lords of the Fortress; he let Matt sleep under his paws and mane during the nights they spent out in the wilderness during Matt’s quests.
Truly this was a noble creature and I was embarrassed to have been scared of him.
He seemed to have found what we wanted because he lightly left my mind and my consciousness returned once again.
“Wow, Hquaio, you are a most magnificent soul.”
He did his smile of sorts once again.
“And you, Daniel, are worthy of approaching and you are worthy of being with Matt.”
“He’s our chaperone now?” I asked Matt.
Matt laughed lightly.
“If he had his way yes, but I’ve told him we don’t need chaperoning and we don’t want him witnessing what goes on between us.” He winked making me blush scarlet.
Hquaio laughed hard which almost sounded like a roar and I didn’t flinch as much this time.
We decided to walk around the moat around the Tower and I learnt more of Hquaio’s life in the mountains.
He was the head of the Pride’s son and it brought great honour to his Pride when Matt chose Hquaio as his mount.
Once we got talking I became more and more at ease with him and I might have become too at ease for when describing how he protected Matt in the wilderness before I accidentally said “You’re just a cute pussycat really.”
I couldn’t stop myself fast enough and Matt had a devious glint in his eye.
Hquaio stood up to me, and squared his shoulders.
“I am so sorry I said that...” I started before he walked towards me and with one paw he pushed me into the moat.
Matt was in hysterics and was on the bank of the river crying with laughter. Hquaio was laughing too and as I shook off most of the water I replied “I probably deserved that.”
“Come on; let’s get you dry otherwise you’ll get cold.”
“I wish to reacquaint with some of the Lords Matt, I take it you will be with Dan for the time being?”
“Hquaio, of course go say hello to them; I’m sure Ynana will spoil you as usual so go and have fun.”
With that Hquaio took off and that was almost literally, the speed with which he could run was staggering, within half a minute he was far enough into the horizon that I couldn’t see him.
“I think he likes you.” Matt said
I gave him a look before we both laughed and we headed back.
Well, we've seen Hquaio now, where are they going from here?
I'd love to hear your suggestions, any reviews are very much appreciated :) I've also included a clickable link just above this note if you'd rather say something in the discussion thread :)
I'd love to hear your suggestions, any reviews are very much appreciated :) I've also included a clickable link just above this note if you'd rather say something in the discussion thread :)
Thanks for reading everyone
-
5
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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