Cessaly

      Alundra sighed and looked up at the sun. "It is getting a little late. I should start heading back," she thought to herself. She looked back down at her book. "'Once upon a time, once upon a time . . .'. Why must they all start with 'Once upon a time'? These lessons are rubbish," she huffed as she closed the big book and pushed herself off the large tree trunk she was leaning against. The young woman tucked the tome under her arm and followed her way back to the cabin.
      "What's this?" she said as a sparkle off the path drew her eye. She walked over to examine it and just as she was about to push aside some fallen leaves, the ground below her gave way and she fell into a deep pit. Alundra gave a startled yelp as she thumped on the bottom, her new dress covered in dirt and torn. "Great. This would happen on a day like today," she said while looking out at the sunlight just over the lip of the hole. She tried to climb out by grabbing some roots sticking out of the dirt walls, but they weren't strong enough to hold her weight. She examined her situation. "My book must have fallen on the ground outside, as it's not in here. Maybe someone will see it and come over, although who'd be wandering around in these parts at dinnertime, I can't imagine," she mumbled to herself and she placed a hand on her stomach and felt it rumble. She thought about Niki's tomato soup warming on the stove and the fresh buns that were probably in the oven and her stomach rumbled more. She sighed and sat on the dirt floor, her pale orange dress neatly circling her, hoping to see or hear someone nearby, but resigning herself for a nice long sit.

* * * * *

      Pietr gazed at the red-orange sky as the sun fell towards the horizon. It never failed to amaze him at how beautiful nature could be. The natural hues that the world produced were so varied and beautiful, and yet people paid him to make things look different, if even for a short while. Waving his hand, a burst of color shot out and arced across the sky, varying from red to green to blue and back as it expanded towards the sky he was admiring. Closing his hand into a fist, the colors dissapated. Pietr shook his head sadly. People never saw the beauty around themselves. Picking up his rucksack and walking stick, he started walking down the path again.

* * * * *

      Meanwhile, in another part of the wood, Eatharion Welldigger bit the head of a baby rabbit. The red blood of the still blind mammal stained his white robes as it ran down his pale hands. Welldigger raised the rabbit's head to the sun, bowed his slnder head in prayer, and thanked the gods of the local religion for his luck in hunting.
      "Have mercy on its soul, Eroican," he said, then put the small head against his lips and drank the blood of the rabbit.
      It tasted sweet, and some of it ran down his cheek towards his pale hair. He threw the rabbit away, and headed for a nearby brook. Blood got very sticky after a short while, and he thought it would be best if he tried to wash it away as soon as possible.
      About halfway to the brook, he had to cross a pathway. Hiding in a coppice of young birches, he peered out on the path. No one seemed to be near. On the other side, ranunculi cuddled underneath ferns. It looked humid and sheltering, and there was a small vole sniffing around there.
      Welldigger smiled, showing his vampire teeth to the almost empty forrest. Eroican, the god of hunters, was on his side today. Stealthily, he crawled out of the coppice, moving as silently as elves always do. The vole didn't have a chance.
      Once more, Welldigger rasied the head of a small forest mammal to the sky, and thanked the gods - Eroican in particular. The blood of the vole was a bit bitter, as it had been an old vole, but Welldigger didn't notice. This was his hunting instincts taking over, and he didn't feel the taste of the blood, just that blood was pouring down his throat.
      He dropped the vole on the ground. Euphoria poured through his stomach, then as the blood was absorbed into his body, the feeling of warm happiness spread slowly.
      There was a sound from the path! Welldigger crouched, and lowered himself into the ferns. The half of him that was elfish made him good at hiding in the woods, and he was sure that whoever it was that was approaching would not spot him.
      He readied himself for an assault.

* * * * *

      As the insofar unsuspecting traveler neared the area where the predator lurked in waiting, Silros lowered his head for a better look. His tail, tipped with a light splash of a sea-foam green hue, lashed slowly through the heavy air in anticipation of what was to come. Having been cast out of his tribe for having a tainted ~kieat~, he had since picked up the habit of observing conflict, and occasionally acting to incite violence when he was particularly bored. Silros' tail wrapped around the thick branch he was perched precariously on, and one paw lifted to his fuzzy muzzle for grooming. The rich ebony fur along his neck rippled, the dappled pattern of gleams making him distinct from the shadows congealing in the fading daylight. Then all was still again in the tree, his amber eyes glittering in his watchfulness.

* * * * *

      Piper looked out across the horizon, toward the unknown territory. She tossed her pink hair out of her eyes as the wind picked up. "This isn't good," she said, "The wind never blows this early in the fall out here." She turned to go inside of her small warm house as a Silver Dragon assended from the sky. Piper grinned and stroked the dragon's head. "Well Sorbo, what brings you here to visit?"
      Anon, the local Wizard quietly walked up behind her. "You do," he said, as he walked over to Piper, "You are about to change your fate Hulfen." Hulfen was the local word for half elf, half human and it was not a liked word but one Piper had become accustomed to hearing.
      She looked at the old wizard excitedly. "What is to become of me?"
      "You must find three others, all forsaked like yourself and unite them. Only together can you destroy the Black Heart."
      Piper sighed and fell back on the ground, "I think I need to sit down."
      Laughing, Anon said, "Do not fear, Piper. It is a task that you and the others can get done."
      "Will I live? Because it sounds like to me this is no coming back."
      "It will be dangerous, but with the four of you it can be done. I see love in your future, Piper."
      "Wait, love?"
      "Yes, and with someone you would never imagine but only if the Black Heart is destroyed."
      "What is this Black Heart you keep talking of?"
      "Come Piper, lets go inside. Such things can not be mentioned in the open."

* * * * *

If you want to add to this story, e-mail me at jasujo@hotmail.com.

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