Two Worlds Collide

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Two Worlds Collide​

Right now this thread is closed for Tseranc, Wyld, Tabsco, and Red. We may open it later.

Two Worlds Collide is an SRP that takes place long ago, in a time forgotten. A clan known as Sundossan lives in the a large dense woods. Hundreds of years ago they were peaceful and kept to themselves. A group of settlers came to the area and began to move deeper into the land, coming closer to the woods. The people of the woods rebelled against this and war broke out. They won the war and the others were destroyed. Another 100 years passed, settlers arrived again. This time the Sundossan sent a small group out into the settlers to spread rumors concerning the woods. These rumors were so vile and evil that it kept the settlers away. Those that were brave enough to venture into the woods were never seen again.

Now... hundreds of years have passed and The Kingdom Syrith resides over the lands and the woods, but they still believe in the hauntings and curses of the Sundossan Woods. Who are these people? Why do the Sundossan want the witch? And will their leader be able to save all she holds dear to her? Will the warrior defend his way of life, no matter the cost? Will a Royal Brother’s revenge destroy them all?

Read along as we write Two Worlds Collide...

Writers: Please remember NO OOC in the thread. NO pic’s in the thread. NO links in the thread. ALL of that is for the PM! YEP all of it... even that “sorry its been a while” stuff. PM that is why it is there.


There is always something to write. Even if your just describing the shape of a leaf.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Rebecca... (first post co-written with Tseranc)

The woman was tied to the large post that had been placed in the ground. Her feet were bound at the ankles. Her hands pulled back and tied behind it. She’d been stripped naked. Her skin bled from the countless lashes from the whip, there would be no scars, the wounds not deep enough. But, scars were not on the woman’s mind. The sea-green eyes of the 26 year old woman looked into the coal black ones of her executioner.

“Rebecca Ann Sheldon, you’ve been accused of witchcraft and sentenced to die. May God have mercy on your soul ” The man lifted the torch high into the air.

Rebecca watched the flame drink the fuel that the linen wrapped torch had been dipped in. She bit down on her lip. She wouldn’t beg for her life, or plead for it. She was done trying to explain herself. They had sentenced her before she even got a chance to show them how anyone could do what she did with practice.

The torch came down to light the wood that had been piled beneath her. She closed her eyes and tried to breath deeply the smoky haze that was beginning to roll around her. Rebecca’s heart beat fast in her chest, her pulse raced, and her life flashed before her eyes. Her mother’s smile, her father’s laugh were flashes of memories that coursed over her clenched lids. She saw her baby brother, her sister, and her best friend.

The smoke reached into her lungs. She gasped, breathed in more, and coughed. Her eyes stung, her body tried to make her hold her breath, she refused. Deeper she breathed, deeper she swallowed the fear, suddenly a scream erupted from the executioner and Rebecca opened her smoke-blood shot eyes as best she could.

She closed them just as quickly. “God sends an angel on a horse to carry me to heaven... how beautiful,” she whispered to herself, before the smoke claimed her.

What she didn’t see was her “angel” had fired a series of arrows into the hearts of many, and his warriors behind him had finished off the group, while he and several men fought there way through the burning logs, burning their hands in the process. Rebecca didn’t feel the arms lift her, carry her to the warrior’s horse, or feel the breeze caress her skin.

The woman who had lived her life quietly healing others and caring for the town until the death of their most beloved Prince never saw the carnage of the village as the man and his warriors carried her into the forest. They rode for over an hour, with the girl draped over the lap of the leader, until they came to a steam, and all dismounted.

These woods had always been theirs, and none dared venture very far into them. Fears of evil spirits kept the villagers out, but the real things to fear were the forest’s very human protectors. A small, tribal people had kept to the woods when humanity left them for cities, for commerce, for roads and taxes. They protected the woods from ‘civilization’ and the woods protected them.

And here at a steam that Rebecca, had she been conscious, would have declared the most pure and clear water she’d ever beheld, they cleaned her. They tended to all her wounds. Only the damage caused by smoke was not fully restored by the time she woke – for that would take much greater healing powers then mere warriors would possess.

She awoke in a camp of strangers, yet though she did not know, was among friends.

 

[Tseranc]

Flames of the camp fire lick higher into the air as the light fails, and night claims it’s hold over the woods. Kelast, son of Senra, Chief of the Protectors, sat across the fire, watching his newest charge sleep peacefully. She clung to the blanket as would a frightened child, defiantly more out of comfort then warmth, as the night air would hardly cool this time of year.

The shadows danced across the faces of he and his warriors. Their tanned skin, made darker in various patterns by the blue dye used as camouflage, might seem frightful in the bouncing light. But it was these faces that had saved her from the fire. The same ‘ghosts of the woods’ that applied their own limited knowledge of healings and herbs to restore Rebecca as best they could…only the damage to her lungs required further attention; no other blemish remained on her skin.

He stared at her sleeping form, remembering all the times past he looked upon her from the shadows. He’d watched her most her life. The protectors always kept an eye on the townspeople, for fear they may someday venture back into the woods. But he took special interest in the girl with the hair that possessed a soft reddish hue. Hair that flowed like rivers down her back, seemingly without end. He remembered back to when he first reported to High Priestess Tinin (who sadly past on this last fall) about the girl who practiced the healing arts, and what Tinin had told him about her that day.

His people would likely not be pleased with his actions, saving this villager from her own, but he refused to let flames consume one of such a pure heart and spirit. In hopes the new High Priestess would understand. But all that would come tomorrow, after their long ride home. He was thankful the poor girl slept so soundly, she’d need the rest for the days to come.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Rebecca

She’d woken hours ago, but said nothing, just rolled away, her eyes not wanting to see the flames of the campfire. The flames were a reminder to the dream she’d been having. Yet, when Rebecca woke up she realized it wasn’t a dream. She was not in her little cottage. She was not surrounded by her meager possessions left to her by her dead parents. In fact, she was in the woods... the cursed woods of Sundossan. She’d heard of the people of the woods, the Sundossan. Their name had been handed down in the tales that were told to the people of Syrith. Now, she was among them. Rebecca wondered how long she’d live.

Her body shook in fear, not from the night air that breezed over her skin. She shook from the terror of the night, the people, and the memory of her almost death rolled over her. Rebecca fought to keep her eyes open, but she failed. She closed them and remembered. She could here thier voices, the voices of her parents telling her stories of the woods. How villagers would be drawn to the edge of the forest and then they were pulled in, taken, and never heard from again. Other stories were told about how hundreds of years ago the Sundossan tribes battled with settlers, slaughtered them, ate away their remains so no one knew they existed.

She shivered at the thought. She wished she’d died in the blaze. Rebecca wasn’t sure why these people had saved her, unless she was to be used as some tribal sacrifice. She’d heard of that happening too. Small children would disappear, eaten more likely she was told as a young girl. As she got older she was taught to never be out at night, for that was when they struck, that was when they took the women, and used them for their own vile acts.

Rebecca would wait... wait till they slept and then she would find her way out. A small groan escaped her as she realized that “out” only meant back “into” trouble. The Prince thought she’d killed his brother. She hadn’t. She’d tried to save him. She’d worked as hard as she could. But they were determined that she’d killed him and that determination had drove them to try and take her life.

She closed her thoughts off, only wanting to concentrate on the men sleeping. She willed herself to remain still... soon she told herself soon they’d be asleep and she could wander away. Another hour passed and she slowly rolled over. The fire was dying and the men looked silently sleeping.

Rebecca inched her way out from the blanket and slowly crawled on her hands and knees until she reached the edge of the small dirt clearing, she then stood and ran as silently as her feet could carry her into the darkness and the thick woods of Sundossan.

 

[TabascoKV]

Introducing High Priestess Ani

.....

 

[Tseranc]

Kelast had awoke to the new people around him…and his gut dropped knowing who it was. Reflexes kicked in, and he shot up off the ground, turning, and confirming his fears. But in the same instant he noticed the girl had gone.

Already Ani’s men were on the job, but he snapped his fingers at his own, waking them and sending them out as well.

Then it was time to take his knocks…he thought he had until tomorrow to prepare for this, he took a knee in front of the High Priestess; “My Lady Ani, please forgive me, but I could not let them kill one of ours, even if she does not know it. But if you cannot, then at least forgive my Protectors, they followed my instructions, believing that this time, like all before, had been your will.”

He bowed his head, praying that he truly had done the right thing. Hopping that all would turn out right. He’d put his people in a rough situation, and he knew it – but still - he could not have let them kill her. It was simply not an option that could enter his head.

But he knew this girl was important. He felt it. And not just to him, but to all the Sundossan.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Defeat... for now.

Rebecca stopped when she knew she was a good distance from the camp. She coughed hard, the smoke still hindering her. She shivered and closed her eyes. They were there, she could feel them closing in on her. She hated it. Hated her gifts. Hated knowing she was going to get caught.

She sat down leaned against a tree and waited. They had taken her. If they wanted her so badly they would have to come and get her again. Rebecca tucked herself up into the blanket she’d taken with her. They had obviously washed her, but she had not yet been given any clothes. The dress had been ripped from her body. The whip had slashed open her skin, but the beings of the woods had also used their evil magic to heal her. Why? She asked herself. The answer of course was instantly there, it was her father’s voice... Sacrifice. They need a pure virgin with no flaws on her body to sacrifice to their Gods.

Fear shot through her and she knew she couldn’t stand there and let them take her without a fight, she stood up and dashed back the way she’d come, hoping they’d not expect that. When she came closer to the clearing she saw a female talking to the man that had been awake the longest. Their words were carried to her on the wind, though she shouldn’t have heard them, but again a talent she possessed, one that her father told her to ignore. She often did, but in this case she didn’t, in this case she focused her eyes on their lips and heard their voices just as if she were standing beside them.

“One of them?” she thought. She stared and listened more. “He saved me because he is confused as to who I am... so when they find out... then what? I die? I become one of those lost in the woods, eaten by the Sundossan?”

Rebecca watched. She had no where to run. She was surrounded by the evil that was closing in on her. She would wait. She would bide her time and then she would escape.

 

[TabascoKV]

.....

 

[Tseranc]

Her words stung. They physically hurt, and not by any magic she was using, or the threat of death. It was the actual disappointment in her voice. Under any other circumstance he’d have never strayed from the good of the people, but this one, this once, he felt he must to save one of their own. One who didn’t even know who she was, which in his mind, made saving her all the more important.

His bowed head looks up at his leader:

“Lady Ani, I saved one of our own. She’s led her life healing the very people that tried to kill her, healing them with our ways. It’s also long standing tradition to never leave a single Sundossan behind. It is that tradition I shall stand by.”

He knew the woman was close. He could feel her approach from behind where he knelt. He knew her fear and confusion, and while he held pity for those feelings coursing through her, he knew they were better then those of being burned to death. At least she could overcome fear.

“High Priestess, please, we must take care of this woman.” He pleaded with her. Both his and the woman’s fate hung on the decision of the High Priestess, her word meant life or death at this moment.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Rebecca listened quietly to the two discuss her. The leader was a woman, this she found surprising, but not comforting. Woman ruled as hard as men, sometimes harder because they seemed to always have a need to prove themselves. The warrior was kneeling and she could still here him speak as if she were one of them. He was foolish to think such a thing. The woman called to her and Rebecca shook in fear. They would kill her. She wasn’t stepping further.

Fear ran through her. She’d already been taking by the mob, whipped, beaten, and tied to a stake. She’d been stripped prior to the whipping and then she’d been set on fire, or at least the pile of wood had been. She’d tried desperately to breath in the smoke, to kill herself with the thick blackness that surrounded her.

Her thoughts went to the woman. “No,” she hissed under her breath as well as showing the images that had been forced upon her mind. She didn’t know if the woman could see the pictures or not. She wasn’t sure if the leader could see the images that had been painted into Rebecca’s mind. Rebecca knew what was going to happen to her. She knew these people would torture her, hurt her, bring her pain, then kill her.

“Please...,” she whispered in the dark of night. “Please let me go... I’ll not tell. I’ll just run away from the woods and the village... please....” She stayed hidden in the brush, then fear consuming her and tears of desperation fell slowly from her eyes.

 

[Tseranc]

Maybe words were not enough. Lady Ani would have to see the girl personally, and her beckoning to the scared girl did little to produce her. They would have to see each other, to see they posed no threat.

He stood quickly, and turned to pursue the woman. He figured she’d seen him the most, and was the closest thing to a familiar face in these woods…it should be he to retrieve her.

None could move through these woods like he could. Rumor had it in the tribe that he could sneak up on the forest spirits themselves. While he never admitted that he wasn’t quite capable of that, it was still true that none cold match skill. So when he had circled around and approached the frightened girl from behind, with another blanket in hand as a peace offering, she did seem startled and more confused. But he had hold of her arm, and he gave the other blanket to cover herself more completely in.

“Dear lady, you are safe with us. We know many horrible stories have been said against us…long ago it was our people that started those stories…to keep people from out woods. I swear to you that I myself shall die before any more harm comes your way…but we must go speak with my High Priestess. There is much for all of us to learn here.”

His eyes were intense as they stared into hers. The distant firelight and the moon above were the only things to illuminate the forest. Shadows danced this way and that. He could feel many of the local spirits come to watch over the events transpiring this night. Seemingly all had a stake in the decision he had made in rescuing her.

“Come, Lady Ani is wise, and will help us all.” He never let go of her arm, the grip was sure, but not painful or demanding and it helped her to her feet.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

She felt him before he touched her. His hand gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet. The blanket he offered was taken and she wrapped it further around herself. His voice was comforting and for a moment she eased her stance, when he mentioned approaching the woman though she stiffened, but relented. He said he would die for her was touching, though she knew not why he would do such a thing. Her eyes darted between the woman and the man, eventually she gave in.

Rebecca walked with him. Her feet becoming covered in the evening dirt and she knew she’d have splinters come morning. Her lungs were not as sore as they made their way back to the camp. Her eyes rested on the group of soldiers. They each looked at her as if she were a vile creature, she returned their hated glances with equal ones of disgust.

“They’ll kill me,” she whispered to the man that still held her within his firm grasp. She felt his presence surround her and she found herself pressing against him. His touch was as comforting as his voice and she wondered why he’d saved her. She was nothing to him, nothing to anyone... not since her father passed. She missed him terribly, but he was gone, as were her friends, and now her Kingdom.

They stopped before the woman, the moonlight skated over her face and Rebecca was struck by not only the beauty of the woman, but her strength as well. Her fingers curled into a fist at her side. “I will leave her... just let me go and you’ll not have to bother with me again, I swear it,” she told the woman that obviously was not happy to see her with the man.

 

[TabascoKV]

.....

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

The Sundossan warriors blended with the night and the woman continued to stare at Rebecca. Her eyes captured those of the redhead and she refused to back down from the leader’s gaze. “My name is Rebecca Ann Sheldon. I don’t know what you want of me... I didn’t kill anyone in the village and I’d not harm anyone here either. I truly just wish to leave.”

Her eyes glanced to the warrior and back to the woman. “The villagers won’t look for me. They fear me... besides your men killed all the people... so your legend will continue to grow.” She huddled in front of the woman, the blanket blocking her nakedness. Something called to her and she looked to the sky.

“If you insist on taking me then you should do so. Rain is coming and will be here in an hour. Please... it will be a hard one and I can not stand out here with nothing but blankets. I would be a sick sacrifice for your Gods if I do.”

The wind never changed, but Rebecca knew the truth to her words. If they doubted her they would see she spoke the truth. “I won’t run this night,” she told them. Her eyes scanned the land around her, she studied every tree, every branch, and every speck of ground the moonlight shown her. She would remember this spot so when she ran again.... in the daylight, she would recognize it and know she was close to home, then she would find the river and run in the opposite direction.

“What will you do with me?” she asked. “I am thankful to your man for rescuing me. I didn’t do as they thought... but,” she sighed and hung her head. “They’d not listen. So angry in the loss of the Prince of Syrith that it was me they wished to lay the blame.”

 

[TabascoKV]

.....

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Rebecca smirked and lifted her chin. “If the decision were mine than why was I surrounded by your men when I wished to escape?” She lifted her hand. “Do not bother, I know you answer,” she looked into the woods. “I will go with you this evening. I’ll not cause you any more. I can only offer my gratitude for saving my life,” she said, this time addressing the man beside her.

Her eyes drifted down his form and she found it pleasing to look upon. She pulled her eyes away and looked up into the night sky. There were so many stars that would be covered soon, she hated the storms. Her father died the night of a storm, she was born the night of a storm, so she was told... everything horrid happened to her on nights of the storms. She shivered from the cold.

The forest was alive with sounds and some seemed to beckon her onward. She had always been gifted, ignored it for years, but now in the forest she felt her gifts grow stronger. “Since you know it will rain you are probably aware that the beasts of the forests are scattering in fear from the storm, it will be hard. We should go, unless you continue to stare at me and my blankets. I will not flee from you this night... and this man insisted on saving me so I am in his debt. I will see if there is a way to repay him and your people for saving my life. Then... I will go,” she said.

The group soon had broken camp to begin their travel through the woods. Rebecca shivered, unused to being out so late, and in the nude at that. She looked at the horses then to the man that had saved her, “Why?” she asked him. “Why did you help me? I am nothing, so why risk the anger of your clan to save my life?”

 

[Tseranc]

“Why?” she asked him. “Why did you help me? I am nothing, so why risk the anger of your clan to save my life?”

Yes, that would be the question. The question the Elders asked. The one all his own Protectors would ask. The one Lady Ani would very much need to discover the truth of, if his own life were to continue much longer.

“Good lady, we watch from the woods, to ensure to new threats form against us. This is the task of the Protectors, of which I am one. In this watching I had seen your abilities. How you can heal people when none of the other villagers could.”

He lift the woman he’d observed from afar for so long, up to his horse, then he got on behind her. He held her with one arm, in the least threatening way he could, and the other held the reins. The he continued:

“I reported this to our High Priestess, the previous one anyway, and she told me much about you. How her own sister was your mother. How your mother fell for an outsider from you village, and left us all for him. That outsider was your father. You are half Sundossan, as your skills in healing clearly should prove.”

He doubted that she’d believe him, at first anyway. He knew he’d find a way to prove to al where she belonged. For now though he just continued to ride toward home; his back straight and firm, his posture announcing to the world that none shall harm her.

 

[TabascoKV]

.....

 

[Wyld52771]

Prince Kyrinon Rand rode his black warhorse hard into the large village, flanked by his two ever-present bodyguards. He made an imposing sight. The Prince was tall and well muscled, his long, dark hair flying wildly behind him, his blue-green eyes burning with rage and his ruggedly handsome face distorted with grief. He wore fine clothing bearing the coat of arms of the Royal House, a red dragon running rampant across a blue field, and a fine sword with a well-worn scabbard hung at his hip.

His two bodyguards were no less impressive, but for different reasons.

Ceddwyn Ridge's slender form was dressed all in greens and browns, his features having an almost elfin-like quality to them, credited to a distant bloodline with that fabled race. His long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He had an impressive looking bow, and two quivers of broad-headed war arrows hung on his back. It was said that he was the best shot with a bow in the kingdom. He now carried the Royal Standard

Tallador Stark was a monster of a man, his head clean shaven, an eyepatch covering a scar from a sword slash that had taken his left eye, and another scar across his throat which had silenced him forever, making him mute. He was dressed in light gladatorial leather armor over a red jerkin pulled tight over his broad chest. He stood almost seven feet tall, with muscles reminicent of huge tree limbs. He carried a huge double bladed axe one-handed, his other arm having a small buckler strapped to it, and a brace of javelins upon his back.

The two bodyguards moved before the Prince, clearing a path, and although they drew much attention, it was their liege's commanding demeanor that caused the peasants to scatter.

Ridge looked to Prince Kyrinon, "M'Lord..the town square is this way." Of course, that did not need to be said, the smell of burning wood and spilled blood filled the air in that direction. The three riders slowed their horses, cantering onto the cobblestone square, where a fat man was yelling at some uniformed soldiers. As soon as the Prince entered the square, the soldiers all dropped to their knees, and the obese cretin yelled louder, until with a confused look, he finally realized that someone had ridden up behind him. He quickly dropped to his knees as well, huffing and puffing like a fish out of water.

Ridge dismounted, looking around the town square, and acted as herald, exclaiming, "All hail. Prince Kyrinon Rand...Lord of Safehold, Defender of the Faith, and blood heir, first in line to the throne of Syrith..."

Soldiers and commoners alike clenched a fist to their hearts, in deference, bowing deeply.

Kyrinon had no patience for ceremony at the moment, and giving Ridge a reproachful look, and spoke loudly, "Who is in charge here?" The fat man rose slowly, his eyes showing caution and even a bit of fear...if he knew what Kyrinon was thinking right now, he'd be more than just slightly afraid. "I am, my liege...I am Dunwelt, Lord Mayor of this humble village."

"It was your decision to burn my brother's killer at the stake, Lord Mayor?"

"Umm...well...yes, M'Lord. I thought it best to act quickly. You see, she was a witch-woman, and we did not want to give her the opportunity to escape by mean of her fiendish powers."

Kyrinon gave him a cold stare. "I do not recall giving you the authority to carry out the sentence of my brother's killer...that is mine by right." He could see what this slug had been trying to do...he had been trying to curry favor in order to gain status by trying to enact swift justice. Political scrambling...something Kyrinon had no tolerance for. He looked around, and stated, "It looks like your men have paid the price of that decision." He noted the dead bodies, and the wounded.

Ridge moved forward, and whispered to him, "These shots were taken my an extremely fine bowman, M'Lord...note, few were injured...most of the shots were one arrow per kill." Ridge smiled in admiration, "This man might be able to even match ME." Kyrinon nodded, and waved Ridge away.

Looking at the Mayor, he said, "You have attempted to communicate a sentence in my name without my authorization. I could have you put to death for that." The fat man paled, the blood draining from his face, stammering apologies and excuses. "But, M'Lord...I was only doing as I..."

Kyrinon raised his hand, silencing him. "I will not order you killed, but you owe your men a price in blood for the fellows they have lost. Therefore, it is my decree that you shall be flogged in this public square for your insolence."

He walked over to the highest ranking soldier, a Captain of the militia in the village, and pointing at the horsewhip at his belt. To the soldier he said, "See to his punishment...three lashes for every man that lost his life here today, and one for every wounded. Just make sure you do not kill him, or you'll share in his punishment."

The soldier knelt in front of the Prince, "It shall be as you command, my liege." The captain held up a hand, and the Mayor was seized by the arms. He then gave one of the soldiers the horsewhip, and the Mayor was dragged away.

Kyrinon said, "I would like to see my brother's body, Captain," he paused, a pained look on his face, and then continued, "and then you will tell me everything you know of my brother's killer and of her escape." He looked at the pile of burned timber in the center of the square, and looking at his two bodyguards, said, with his voice cracking with emotion, "I will hunt her down myself and bring her back to justice. My brother's spirit cannot rest until it is so. She will wish that she had died this day before I am through with her. The witch will suffer as I now suffer. This I swear."

 

[Tseranc]

He caught the glance from Lady Ani, and knew all to well what it meant. If this woman were o dwell with his people for any period of time, she’d have to change a bit of her behavior. He whispered in her ear, so that others need not hear his councils to her:

“Good Lady, please take a more respectful tone with our High Priestess. I’ve brought the weight of the world upon her mind when I rescued you form the flames. Normally she is a kind, gentle and very approachable leader, but the events now unfolding will test her, and many of the Sundossan.”

He hoped she would understand, but before he could continue his Matriarch beckoned him.


"Kelast, come here. Would you like to explain to me, in full, what this is all about?"

He brought his horse, with both its riders up along side the High Priestess, “Yes M’Lady, I would.” Both the women needed to hear his case, though Rebecca had already received chapter one.

“For many years in my tasks as Protector we watched over the village. I confess that early on one of their citizens, above all other caught my attention, You Rebecca. She had been a natural at the healing arts, skills no other of Syrith possessed. Long years did I watch her progress, knowing something was unique, and special in her case…and this I reported to High Priestess Tinin. It was she who told me of the girls origin.”

He paused, letting his message weigh in. He wondered why High Priestess Tinin had not told her own daughter, her successor, about the woman who now shared his horse.

“Lady Tinin told me how it was her own sister that fell for a man from the village, and left the Sundossan to be with him, your aunt M’Lady. She had born a daughter to this man, and the daughter is the woman in question before you now. She is of our blood. This is why she is as adept at our ways, though she never had instruction in it. It came naturally. As in our ways, it is the mother by which we track our lineage…which makes Rebecca heir to a Priestess. Surely we could not let one of our own die, merely for being born to a people who feared her?”

He thought about this…it was still very bothersome as to why no one else had been told of this. Had Rebecca been born to the hands of the Sundossan, instead of the Syrith, then she’d already be a Priestess – a leading member of their tribe. One such as that could not be left behind!

At least that was the second reason he saved her. But it would not do to tell the Elders or Lady Ani that he’d become completely transfixed by the red haired beauty.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Rebecca listened to the man that held her within his embrace. She felt comforted by him, sorry for him, that he thought she was this woman that he’d heard stories about, but for now she would play along until she could escape. He was a nice man and if their lives were different than she would have been more than willing to know him better. For now though she took his words to heart and rested herself snugly against him. “I am sorry,”she whispered to him after he had spoken to her of his leader. She did not want him in trouble, he did save her. She would always be indebted to him for that.

She tried to ignore the warmth that his words seemed to spread over her skin and she focused on something besides the feelings that were floating inside her. The woman called to them and as they approached her Rebecca lowered her head in respect and apologized. “I will treat you from now on with the same respect I gave the Prince... and if you wish to know why I was there today... why your clansman found me about to die, I will tell you when you wish it.” She bowed her head and turned her face away to rest it on the chest of her protector.

She could smell the scent of him as well as the forest dwellings she sensed them approaching. As the steady thrumming of the horses hooves carried them deeper into the forest she closed her eyes and listened to the man’s voice, the leader had called him Kelast and she said the name in her mind, repeating it often. The events of the day surrounded her and she listened to him speak in more detail concerning who she was and how she was an heir to the clan’s rule.

Rebecca wanted to call him foolish. Her father had painted horrible pictures that surround her mind at night about the woods. Why would he have done such a thing if he loved her mother? Her father did love her mother. Though Rebecca never saw her, she knew her mother was a beautiful woman. Her father had told her stories of how they loved each other, yet she left him to go to the heavens right after Rebecca’s birth.

She recalled his words of how her beauty surpassed all others and how one day she just happened to be near his lands and he saw her. He thought her a vision of angelic beauty, but she disappeared the moment he’d turned away to order his men to bring her to him. They all laughed at him, for when they looked to where he was pointing the woman was gone. He thought she’d been a vision, but later that following day she appeared again. This time he studied her and he saw her enter the woods. He was afraid, but when she came back he knew that she was just a village girl picking berries at the edge of the woods.

Now as the story began to unfold further Rebecca found herself wondering if perhaps her father had lied to her all these years. She shook the thought away and placed her arms around the man that held her so close. Her arms kept the blanket around her back and legs, but her breasts were now pressed tight against him. She could feel the heat of her blush scorch her skin, but she needed to be warm and she feared this was the only way. Eventually the heat of his skin touching hers settled around her again and she felt her body become heavy with sleep. Whatever the leader Ani wished to discuss with her warrior would fall on closed ears while Rebecca slept in the safety of her savior’s arms.

 

[TabascoKV]

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[Wyld52771]

Kyrinon walked into the building where Prince Koreth's body lay, and Stark and Ridge guarded the doorway, giving him privacy. The body was wrapped tightly in white linens, but Kyrinon pulled them aside revealing his older brother's dead face.

Memories flooded his mind. He and his brother running through the palace as young children, playing together. Having bouts of sibling rivalry flaring up, fighting over silly things during adolescence. Sneaking out of the palace as teenagers, drinking and wenching at commoner taverns. Going out on hunts together. Having long conversations about the future of Syrith. Looking down at Koreth's bloodlessly pale face, Kyrinon felt tears of loss rolling down his cheeks as he realized that now all that was gone.

He and his brother had been very close when they were young, but as over the past few years, as Koreth's time to attain the throne had been drawing nearer, Koreth and he had lost touch. While Koreth had been learning political policy and intrigue, Kyrinon had been training, learning the art of warfare. Traditionally, the younger heirs to the kingdom had been Warrior-Generals, and Kyrinon was no exception. He had trained in military strategies, studying great battles of the past. He had learned how to command on the field. However, he'd went further, finding the best trainers to teach him all the aspects he could aquire of the art of battle on a personal level as well, and eventually matching their skills. Kyrinon had been their greastest student, skillfully and effortlessly picking up even the most complicated of manuvers. He was perhaps the most diversely skilled warrior in all of Syrith because of his efforts.

Stark and Ridge had been two of his trainers, who had decided to stay on after their work was complete. The were now the leaders of the Rampant Dragons, Protectors of the Warrior-General, acting as Kyrinon's elite bodyguards. Recently, they had taken to assisting in the training all the new recruits and soldiers, creating an army of soldiers far superior than any Syrith had ever seen before.

"You would have been proud of me, brother," he said softly. "I would have built you an army such as this land has never seen." Now he would be King eventually...but he would not be an idle king. For the first time, Syrith would see a King AND a Warrior-General rolled into one man. But that was later....for now, all he could think about was the person responsable for his brother's death. Justice would be done. He would see to it personally.

After seeing to his brother's body, and arranging it to be transported to the palace for burial, Kyrinon walked out of the small building, his face looking almost like a dead man's himself, his face pale, sorrow seeming to have aged him years since he'd walked inside. He strode purposefully to the guardhouse where Captain Aydin, leader of the militia, resided. Stark and Ridge flanked him, their eyes ever watchful. As the crossed the courtyard, a high scream of agony pierced the air, followed by cries of alarm. Kyrinon and his companions found themselves running towards the commotion. What they saw stopped them dead in their tracks.

Mayor Dunwelt was stripped to the waist, his back showing a few red welts. These injuries were not the cause of alarm. The fat man's body convulsed on the ground, white foamy spittle escaping his lips, guttural animalistic sounds coming from his throat. Blood ran from his nose and ears, and down the sides of his face as he bit into his own tongue. The guardsmen were trying to restrain him, but he suddenly let out one last raspy breath and went limp. The guard who had been flogging him knelt down, looking for signs of life, and looked at Kyrinon, shaking his head regretfully, not finding any.

A crowd was starting to gather, both soldiers and commoners, and he heard rumors flying through the gathering, about the "Witch" cursing Mayor Dunwelt, killing him. Kyrinon didn't believe that necessarily, but SOMETHING had killed the man. Maybe this woman WAS a witch and not just a poisoner.

Captain Aydin ran up and exclaimed, "What happened here?" He then looked down at the mayor's dead body, and exclaimed angrily, "Who is responsable for this?"

"Your men are blameless for the good mayor's death, Captain," Kyrinon said, "but something is unexplainably amiss here." He grabbed the captain's arm, pulling him to the side. Your people seem to think that the person who is responsable for my brother's death had a hand in this as well, killing him with magic."

"He looked into the captain's eyes, his voice stern, 'You will tell me everything you know of this "witch", Rebecca Ann Sheldon. Hold nothing back." And as the captain began to speak, Kyrinon found himself listening intently, filing it all away for later.

 

[Tseranc]

His charge rested finally, drifting into sleep. Her skin, pressed against his own bade his heart quicken in his chest. He held her close, relishing the sensations brought from their bodies pressed together, rubbing ever so slightly from the pace of the horse beneath them.

It reminded him of spring festival. He was a great warrior, focused and dedicated beyond all his peers to his calling as a Protector; but this left him shy of more social engagements, particularly the Spring Festival. It was that time each year that all the priestesses (whom never wed or held true relationships with men) were able to pick any man of the time to claim as their own for the night. It was an honor to be chosen, and Kelast soon learned his shy demeanor around woman made him a marked man. Seems many of the younger priestesses found that a pleasant challenge, and he was always chosen whenever he was not able to get a patrol for the festival.

Also due to his shyness, those were the only women he’d ever been with. And once he drunk enough, liquid courage dissolving his apprehensiveness around the girl that had chosen him, he truly enjoyed himself; those times were good, playful, erotic fun. And it was an honor to be chosen. At least the honor lasted through the morning, when the priestess would return to her duties and he to his.

But this new woman’ breasts pressed against his as she slept also felt like the one thing always denied at those festival parings. He couldn’t name it, but it was nice…comfortable.

"She is what you say she is. Kelast, why did you not tell me? Did you not think I would have understood?"

Lady Ani’s words brought him out of his reverie; an he answered, his voice full of confusion.

“Milady, it had not occurred to me, that yourself, our High Priestess, born of Tinin who told me, would not already know.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “I had not been to the forests edge in some time before yesterday, but something told me that I should go just then. As I was preparing to go, one of my scouts reported the death of villagers prince. I took my personal band to the Edge, and learned that they blamed this woman, a healer, for his death and were going to execute her immediately. I had not time to ask for council, I moved to save our own.”

He held his head high, knowing that everything he said was true, yet his stomach tightened, knowing he had not revealed all to his matriarch.

“M’Lady, there is more. I cannot, any longer, hide it from you, though I fear what the Elders may think. I have become increasingly obsessed with this woman. I have watched her many days and nights when I was not assigned patrol. When I do patrol, I ensure I keep an eye on her, knowing I’m her Protector as well. From observing her so long, I can tell you surely, she killed no one. "

They rode on a bit further, his High Priestess taking in what he’d said, and suddenly he added, “I think I love her.”

He said nothing more, the beasts of the night, and the feet of their horses the things daring to break the silence.

 

[TabascoKV]

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