Fated (Chapter Eighty-One)
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Chapter Eighty-One
Ruins of Dalania, Minecraftia. November 17, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
When Adrian awoke, he was aware that something was off.
He couldn’t quite place it at first, but as he heard a quiet sigh and felt something hug him tighter, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times at the sight of Niel.
What in the…
Adrian was surprised, but he couldn’t admit to being too surprised. He had been suspicious that Niel had been moving closer to him during the night, perhaps to ease the Davion’s nightmares. He had half-awoken in the night many times to someone hugging him tightly, whispering calming things in his ear to lull him back to sleep, but whenever he awoke he found himself alone and Niel outside, usually training with Shred and he wasn’t sure if it had been reality or just a dream.
He awoke a little before dawn to train until the others got up and ready to go, and thus, Adrian was always alone in the tent in the mornings.
However, today was different. Adrian could tell that it was around dawn and Niel was snuggled up against him, fast asleep, and he had to admit that he didn’t mind.
It was...kind of nice, actually.
He sighed quietly and shut his eyes again. He didn’t want this to end. He knew he should focus on their current mission, but he just…couldn’t. Ever since the groups had split up and Nia had gone south- the only person that he had known his entire life that had come with them on this crazy mission- he had been kind of out of it.
He still had nightmares about the Velloh incident, but not like he used to. Talking to that candle that Niel had found helped, as well as time and Niel himself. No, his nightmares nowadays were more about his fears of killing again, of hurting Niel or the others.
He would never, ever forgive himself if he hurt Niel again. He still might not forgive himself for that first time, back when they were heading to Ahnrak. That felt like lifetimes ago, when in reality it had been perhaps a month.
A lifetime of blood and terror, all in the darkness of sleep.
And so, Adrian had taken a step back from their quest, following along and helping but not involving himself like he had at first. He had found that doing that only got people hurt or killed.
Not that anyone’s safer now. He thought grimly. This was supposed to be the ‘safe’ mission and we lost so many…
He shivered and pushed the thoughts aside, trying to focus on Niel and only Niel. He had changed a lot over the time that Adrian had known him. Ever since the skettisren tunnels, he had seemed a lot more confident, and since Sunspire, Niel had grown a lot closer to Shred as he trained. He was a lot better and a lot less skittish.
Adrian had no idea why, and his wondering was interrupted by someone shaking their tent.
“Niel? You okay in there?” Shred’s voice.
Niel grumbled and buried his head.
“Don’t make me come in there!” A pause. “Niel, it’s time to go.” Another pause. “Dammit! Adrian, are you in there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Adrian said, sighing and sitting up. Niel suddenly jerked awake as he realized that his warmth was moving and his face lit up with red as he looked up at his friend, realizing that he had slept in and had been caught. He started to stammer an explanation before he heard Shred’s voice again.
“Come on! We need to get going!”
Adrian and Niel looked at each other. “I’ll…um…” Niel hesitated. “I’ll explain to you as we walk?”
Adrian just shrugged before standing and starting to pack up the tent.
The group was silent as they set out once more, but that was to be expected. The chattiest members of the group were the most depressed- Samuel, Tranpar, even Baltbee. Altren seemed to want to talk but he didn’t, likely out of respect for Tarsen. He had intentionally sacrificed himself to save them, and that was worth silence.
Eventually, Niel cleared his throat and spoke in a whisper to Adrian. “Um…About…this morning. I just…I…well, um…you…you tend to have nightmares.” Adrian reflected that Niel was suddenly back to his old, nervous self.
“You don’t have to be nervous, you know.” Adrian hesitated. “I don’t mind. I…kind of appreciate it, actually. It…helps. I had thought you helped me there for awhile, but I wasn’t quite…sure.”
“You don’t mind?” Niel sounded pleasantly surprised.
“Why would I?”
Niel didn’t have an answer to that, and they fell silent, but this time it was a more companionable silence.
The silence pervading Samuel and Shred, however, was much heavier and sorrowful.
Shred, too, had not been up to training that morning, which is why she wasn’t too annoyed with Niel for sleeping in. Instead, she had been attempting to console her friend.
Friend. The word felt like an insult, a joke from the universe as a reminder that anything else could never be. Aside from the fact that chances were good that at least one of them would die before the end of this war- for that’s what it was, a war between two forces that they were not a part of, only pawns of-, Skullblade traditions and laws frowned upon everything to do with the line of thinking that wormed its way through Shred’s mind no matter how much to tried to destroy it.
She physically shook her head, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Focus, Shred. If you both live through this crap, you can deal with your feelings and the laws and Samuel after. You need to focus on getting as many people through this alive as possible.
She straightened her shoulders and felt her confidence return, a flood of reassurance, before returning her attention to Samuel.
The poor guy was wounded, blaming himself for every death that happened under his command. Xullos, Trymdas, Valkan, Martin, Tarsen. They had lost five, on the ‘safe’ mission. Shred didn’t dare to consider how many the south group had lost.
A sick sense of irony.
Samuel had lost the closest thing he had to a brother, and as Shred considered how she would feel if her own brother, Fade in Silence, were killed, she felt another surge of sympathy and stepped closer to Samuel. Without really thinking, she reached down and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
Samuel glanced over at her and nodded slightly, a ghost of a smile gracing his face momentarily before fading again as he focused on the road ahead.
As they walked, Shred didn’t let go.
~~~
Tarsen sighed in frustration. “You’re sure there’s no way you can let me out of here? It’s really starting to piss me off that I can’t do anything.”
“I’m sure.” Kaepravah told him. “And you have me to talk to.”
“Yeah, sure, talking is nice, but I’m bored.”
“That’s a shame. Maybe you’ll learn how to pass the time. I’m millions of years old- it’s a skill I’ve learned and perfected.” Tarsen narrowed his eyes and noted that Kaepravah seemed to be seated in a large wooden chair, alternating between reading and glancing up at him.
“You’re out there and I’m in here. There’s not a lot in here.” He insisted. “And you’re not very interesting. All you want to do is complain about mortals and the futility of our lives.”
“It’s true, though!”
“It’s boring. Be more interesting.”
“Fuck you too.”
“Oh please do. It would be better than this.”
Kaepravah groaned, getting to her feet and walking towards the exit. She didn’t leave, however, pausing there with her back turned to him.
“Awww, c’mon. It’s not that bad of an idea, is it?”
“Shut the hell up before I remove your tongue and your teeth.”
Tarsen fell silent, deciding that she was not only capable of doing it but willing.
He sighed, leaning back against the ‘wall’ of the Heart of Pain, resigning himself to another long period of boredom.
Kaepravah sighed after a few minutes and came to sit down. “I could put you in stasis, you know. Essentially freeze time for you until my father wakes up.”
“Please don’t. I’d rather talk to you.”
“You’re being so annoying, I might just.”
“You wouldn’t d-” Tarsen was cut off by Kaepravah clicking her fingers.
It seemed like only a couple of blank seconds had passed before Tarsen was aware of time again. He gasped in lungfuls of air and looked around wildly, finding Kaepravah still in her seat but significantly further into her book.
“What did you do?!”
“I put you in stasis. You were there for a week.”
“YOU WHAT?!”
Kaepravah sighed and looked up at him. “I’m kidding. It was only an hour. I got bored.”
Tarsen growled and looked away from her, crossing his arms moodily.
“Suit yourself.” Kaepravah went back to reading, apparently uncaring.
-~-
Paul looked at Blame, grinning.
“Yeah, yeah. You see, this is why I don’t make bets with you anymore. You keep winning.” Blame grumbled.
“It looks like Samuel’s going to win a bet.” Paul said cheerfully. “And Shred is going to eat her words.”
“Or eat something else.” Vechs suggested mildly, causing Blame to throw a pillow from the couch and Paul to bury his face in his hands.
Blame turned to Aureylian, demanding, “Can’t you control him?!”
“You’d think I would have figured out how, after a couple hundred years.” Aureylian mumbled. “But no. He’s uncontrollable.”
“I can think of a few ways.” Vechs wiggled his eyebrows.
Aureylian picked up the pillow that Blame had thrown and hit Vechs in the face with it. “You’re impossible.”
“But you love me anyway.”
“Hmm. Sometimes I wonder.”
Vechs pouted, causing Paul to burst into hysterical laughter.
Sometimes things were okay.
---
Kingdom of Orvex, Minecraftia. October 31, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
Velana wanted to scream.
She had finally reached Ahnrak, only to be informed that they had indeed seen Adrian and Nia (she had asked about Teramelle) but they had no idea where they had gone. They did, however, know that they had come from the nearby pigman village and had one of those pigmen with them. Hoping to find answers, Velana had set out up the river towards the village.
She had finally reached it, after another day’s travel, and paused to take a breath. She exchanged glances with Fey before marching right up to it, waving to the first pigman that noticed her. He bounded up to her and tilted his head.
“A human mage? What is it that you want?” He seemed wary.
“Don’t worry, I don’t mean any harm. I’m looking for my niece and nephew, Nia and Adrian.”
The pigman’s eyes widened. “The Davions! You are related to them?”
“Yes! I want to assist them on their quest but I need to know where they’ve gone.”
“My brother went with them.” The pigman said excitedly. “I do not know where they were going after, but they went to Ahnrak.”
Velana groaned. “I’ve already been there, and they didn’t have any idea where they went, either.” She sighed. “Is there any way to find them?”
The pigman shrugged. “I don’t know. I could take you to my aunt, if you’d like. She’s the leader of our village.”
“Please do. I would very much like to find my family.”
He nodded and led Velana into the village, and she jumped in surprise at the sight of a decent chunk of the pigmen being zombies. She had noticed the potion at his hip, and had seen it present with all other pigmen except the zombies. She tapped his arm.
“Those potions you carry, do they transform you into zombies?”
He nodded. “Yes. We are of the Zistykin tribe, meaning that, when we are near death, we will consume the potion so that we may continue to serve the tribe even in undeath.”
“Does your brother, the one who went with Nia and Adrian have one of these potions?”
“He should, yes.”
“How common are they?”
“They are only found among the Zistykin tribe. Why?”
“If I could have a small sample, I could cast a spell to track it and, if I follow your brother, I will find Nia and Adrian.”
The pigman stopped and grinned at her. “I knew that you were a genius the moment you said you were related to them! I would be happy to allow you a drop or two of my potion if it would help the Davions.”
Velana bowed her head to him. “I would greatly appreciate it.”
Little did she know that Velloh was dead.
However, someone else had the potion.
Someone who accompanied Adrian everywhere.
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 03:50 am (UTC)G.C. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 06:00 am (UTC)-Anon Cami
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 06:30 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 02:17 pm (UTC)I think you left the flamethrower next to the stack of TNT, probably not the wisest of places to leave it.
Vechs' mother doesn't have the launch codes, I do though :D
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 03:46 pm (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 08:40 pm (UTC)Get some sleep
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 06:50 pm (UTC)But where is it now?
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 06:35 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 07:28 am (UTC)The section in the Vortex was fantastic. Maybe it's just that it featured some of the main characters in the earlier books, but it felt so refreshing and familiar and fun. I love Vechs goofing off and how no one can control him even after so many years.
(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 02:15 pm (UTC)Shred's got a crush on Samuel! :D If this had been hinted at or mentioned before I either forgot or didn't pick up on it.
LOL at Vechs' perverted mind :>
The potion is in the bag on Teramelle's back right?
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Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 08:46 pm (UTC)I'm ill, typing gone away
~koijuly
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 02:10 am (UTC)Hope you feel better soon Koijuly (::)(::)
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 06:40 am (UTC)Hopefully will be
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 05:24 pm (UTC)Also an expression that Bubbles and Jiminee use a lot in their stories 'get around' had never come across it before.
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 07:01 pm (UTC)think it's just the region I'm in... wasn't thinking straight enough to generalise it to muchly
~koijuly
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 07:23 pm (UTC)Edit: Just looked at your profile and realised you're from the UK too :)
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 07:56 pm (UTC)I'm also fascinated by differences in how English is used
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 08:15 pm (UTC)Indeed. I read somewhere that there are nearly as many regional dialect differences and accents in the UK as in USA.
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 09:20 pm (UTC)also darned thing keeping loggin me out when I can't think clearly...
~KoiJuly
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Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2016 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2016 02:53 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2016 11:59 am (UTC)and i approve!
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Date: Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2016 05:16 am (UTC)-Anon Cami
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Date: Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 12:33 pm (UTC)