Chapter 6

Ktarl Arl

I am at the Kulash, I bring my head down and open wide my mouth, gulping large amounts of the kulash-water. My two outer tongues clean my mandibles of water before i turn back to the land. One of my seconds, Ktarl Vuhk greets me from thick-water. “Shaman Arl, how is the Kulash this cycle?”  I shake my head and respond to him “they are frothing wild, i feel much change will be coming, whether it be good or bad we’ll have to see.”  Ktarl Vuhk nods and asks me “is your rebirth to happen soon? It’s been roughly the amount of years i believe, hasn't it?”  I nod my head “yes, it should occur before the end of the next season. Could you have someone, perhaps ktarl Valth Neeuhn, to acquire the necessities?”  they nod to me and we head back to the camp. I feel like something is stirring on the far coasts of the Kulash, something that the Kat Ravale won’t be able to devour and forget. I’ll need to speak with the spirits soon, I hope that it can wait until my rebirth, it would be quite unfortunate if it couldn’t.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vingya

I run forward and grab the skygge, this abomination has done something to her. “Ah, Calrik, Vingya, it’s a shame that Tristan didn’t make it this far, but at least the important people did. And it’s a good thing you got rid of that druid Calrik, her madness was sealed at the beginning of this world.” I ask it, almost screaming if i’m being honest “what did you do to her!” it’s disgustingly wrong face looks at me in what I think might be confusion “what did I do to who? Vinkiir threw herself to insanity, not me! Hell if you’re going to blame anybody, you should blame Calralgalrim, it’s their fault for being such a good politician, really, they practically-” I interrupt it, not caring for whatever idiocy it’s talking about “not her, the skygge!” It begins laughing at me! “HAHAHAHA! Oh, oh you’re serious aren’t you? All I did was put a mind-rune on the thing, sure it’s a special one, not your everyday ADHD fixing mind rune, and definitely not the shoddy, slowly break someones mind because they keep seeing flashes of self hatred whenever they get distracted mind-rune, no no no! Mine is top of the line, real fine work-” this time it’s the kingling is the one that interrupts it “no offense, Altere Wessen, but what exactly did you do to it?” “oh yes yes yes, sorry, i’ve taken to rambling every now and then, I put a mind rune on it, to help it along it’s journey, it’s a bit late to the game, and the Lys had half around half a century to grow and mature and train and such, so i just thought it fair to give it a little boost! It’ll help it to learn languages, and slightly increase the speed in which it matures, nothing major, don’t want it to become a god whilst it’s rival is still only a fledgling! Well, maybe you two will, but me? I personally want to see a fair fight between these two, i wasn’t there to see the fight between the originals. Now, I've got places to be, summoners to irritate, beings beyond the veil of reality to worry, things like that.” and then the fucking thing just disappears “Calrik, what on earth was that thing?”  “that, half-elf, was the primian god, the Altere Wessen, and it very well could have erased us both from existence, i would, personally, suggest apologizing if we see it again. Actually don’t, it might forget how you talked to it and frankly that’s far better to hope for that than to try apologizing.” “if it does something to the skygge again, god or not, i’ll beat it to death!” the young king looks at me like i’m insane, which i’ll admit I might be and says “if the elves expect their young to be taught by the likes of you, i expect their next few generations to be cut far shorter then their forebears.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Neithid

The Lesser Council Ray didn’t like my report. They demand answers have decided to send me on another search into the human lands to find them, when i suggested that we look amongs ourselves for the culprits of our misfortune a third of the council demanded my death. Thankfully, the other 2 thirds simply demanded I be punished with a task that would keep my from my family and my home for a few more months or perhaps even years if i’m particularly unlucky. I sigh and continue onwards towards another lake, this one is more shallow than i’d like, there’s very little room for me to hide, te bottom is rocky instead of muddy which makes it all but impossible for me to hide my spines and natural colors, and there doesn’t seem to even be any polution emitting from it, but I must do as ordered. Even if the order is an idiotic one.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Auvith

I am on the edge of reality and dream, my head is aching, a throbbing just behind my eyes, I hear loud voices, far louder than the shadows usually, no, have ever been. They don’t sound like shadows either, using weird noises that for some reason…. I wimper as the symbol from earlier burns into the vision of my mind, and slowly those noises make sense, the half elf and the 1 armed human are talking, and for some reason I can understand it “we shouldn’t go out their until the middle of the night, when most potential enemies will be asleep!” a huff from the human, his voice raising in what I think i recognize as anger “that would give us half, perhaps less, time to get to the gates of the steel-tooth! Which do you think poses more of a danger, Vingya! The creatures of this valley, when you’ve seen it tear through armor like paper and recover from a blade like a lion from a mosquito, or the light which you yourself had seen it huddled hiding in a field from, tears in it’s eyes!?” I groan, these two fight alot, but is it usually this cruel sounding? “Stop. yelling.” I try to say it like they say things, and it comes out more naturally then i’d have expected, since i’ve never understood it before now. And in response i’m given complete and utter silence. I have a feeling that has more to do with surprise than a willingness to speak at a sane volume. I slowly open an eye and look at the two of them, and see that they are both gaping, wide eyed. I’m guessing they’re more surprised than I am, although they’re also probably in less pain, so that could explain it. “My head hurts and you’re louder than usual.” I realize a moment too late that their disbelief which made them quite was dispelled by my continued talking in their way. The human is the first to respond “I guess that’s wh-” and he is immediately interrupted by the half-elf. Who screams “Holy crap she can talk!!”  I whimper and my ears press against my head, why are these two so loud? Maybe if I can understand them now, i’ll be able to get the shadows to teach them to talk right.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vethiir

The nation of Calris has, somehow, survived, and has become defiant. It has put something which i’m told looks like a skygge on it’s flag. We’ve burnt it’s capital, killed it’s king, and yet they have defied us. I’d love to go and burn their entire nation to the ground, but lord Vinterock has assured me that isn’t the right course of action. He has sent some of his “riders” to the northern nations to spread word. We are going to march on Calris and bury it’s people in the steel of their neighbors, and once we’ve shown that nothing will get in our way, we’ll burn the dark woods and every other nation on this pathetic continent that would dare to defy our holy rights. And then, we will burn the northern “allies” when they are weak and incapable of properly defending themselves. And then we’ll move to another continent and, at that point, what could stop us? That is the thoughts of a foolish fae, a hunter who thinks himself a general. The arrogance of the lord will prove our downfall, he is no general. When the allies of Calris make themselves known and route this pathetic army he’s assembling, i’ll assert my dominance, and send him to hunt for the skygge. Poor Lord Vinterock has ears and eyes, but he is not as good at using his as I am mine. I was hatched to lead vast armies and do battle with all that is wrong with this pathetic world, and Vinterock is just a hunter, who thinks he can hunt nations whilst the one true threat we have goes galavanting off to search for butterflies. I have seen how well wood and cloth and flesh burn in this realm… I wonder, do the fae of the sidhe burn just as well? Better, perhaps? Hehe, i’d best not get so arrogant, i’ll burn this world before i turn my claws to the sidhe, and only if nothing on this plane can satisfy my thirst for a personal victory as they will give me tactical military ones.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rheda

One of the Harpies returned from Kalagna, bearing news of the wild-hunters stalking the norths roads. Apparently they had gargoyles assault the harpies, and only the one managed to evade them. I know that it’s more likely she betrayed her kin in order to assure her own survival, but the likelyhood that I would have to send more scouts to that dreadful place, combined with the fact that she returned with actual information, will stay my hand for now.The gall that the Calrisians had to pull what they’ve pulled, it’s palpable. King Gharamund the III and his general, Valuhm? Vulahm? Whatever his name is, they wish to stay neutral in this matter, why get involved with the plights of a small nation on a different continent?  Thankfully, the soldiers and even the commoners care more for the will of a godess of war’s will than the king’s, it will take some time for the armies to be gathered and the ships to be built, but I have studied for centuries, and I know what the “Lord Vilnerock the many hunter” will do. His self aggrandizing titles have already basically told me what i needed to know of him, the studies were unnecesary. The lys i expect to be slightly trickier than him, it probably wants him to fail. Whilst the armies are preparing and the soldiers training again, I think I’ll head off to the Still-Raven islands, see if my mother wants a piece of this fight. Thankfully i’ve learned much about her as well, she would prefer to face starvation once more to leting the lys leave this world without it’s tail between it’s legs. Or, if she believed it would work, it’s neck between her jaws.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Calrik the VIII

I didn’t realize it when we were in the “sepulcher” but now that we are out in the moonlight it looks to me like the skygge, auvith it calls itself, has grown somewhat, it’s not a mountain carrying behemoth, obviously, but it does seem larger, now the size of a large dog or perhaps a small horse. It’s wings seem to have grown to be wider, and they actually seem like they might have a chance of taking it off the ground for more than a minute now. It surprised all of us when it began talking, yet it’s voice seemed perfectly prepared for it, sort of silky and wispy, somewhat like one of the bards who visited our court when I was young. “Calrik, how far do you think we are from the place we’re going to?” my lord it is difficult to accustom myself to it’s voice “we are roughly half way there, Auvith, we should be able to get there before the sun comes up. So long as we don’t come across any unnecessary obstacles.” vingya pipes in, pointing towards a few of what I believe to be primian warriors training here in the valley, they’re darker skinned with fair hair, wearing leather and chain armor with feathers and scales of various birds, lizards and dragons “I think we’ve run into an obstacle already. Which just goes to show; keep your mouth shut.” one of them, one with what appears to almost a crown made of raptor feathers and dragon scales steps forward and speaks “pay a tax. Or head back that way” Auvith asks me a question which i’d desperately hoped it wouldn’t “aren’t you a king? They look like you do, so they’re human. Can’t you jsut order them out of the way?” the leader of these bandits speaks up, probably insulted by the implication “mixed-blooded kings will NEVER rules us! Even if he wasn’t an abomination, he’s still weak, doesn’t even have his good arm!” I speak up again “this lame, mix-blood is a follower of the Altere Wessen, who’s instructed us to go through this pass. Either move from our path or take the wrath of Calris and all real primians upon you!”

______________________________________________________________________________

Auvith

I don’t really understand what they’re talking about with primians and all that, but i can hear the anger in their voices. The leader of these human says, in a way i believe to be… condescending? “Any real primian would know the wessen is a god of trickery. He might have sent you here for safety. He may have sent you here to be gutted, and thrown to the raptors, or maybe to be left along the side of the path, to send a message to someone else he’ll send along this way?” the half-elf speaks up “it said it wants to see the skygge and lys fight, we’re helping it to do that. Doesn’t that mean anything?” the leader of the humans spits at her feet “who bade you to speak, child? You know nothing of anything but the trees of the woods!” the king steps in once more “if you do not let us pass, I shall damn you to the punishments of my father, King Calrik the seventh of Calris.” for some reason the mention of his “father” silences the humans. I, tentative to keep from worsening the situation, ask “what does that mean, exactly?” instead of the king, the leader of these humans speaks “that we’d have to fear the wrath of Calrik the seventh for the rest of our, likely shortened, days. If you’re willing to incite that mans ghost, you may pass… men, lets leave. I’d prefer my death be to a dragon or the raptors than to a dead man.” 

______________________________________________________________________________

Carthin

I’ve begun my trek back to the steel-tooth. It’s taking some time, but i’ve managed to avoid falling debris, raptors, or dragons thus far. Sadly, i’ve not managed to avoid Primian barbarians. “You willing to pay a toll, dwarf?”  I sigh deeply, and pull my pockets out ‘i’ve got no purse fer you to take from me. You may be able to find something of value back that ‘way though, wreckage of a royal carriage. That info enough to buy me passage?” the chief snorts at me “maybe if the royal who rode in it weren’t still out an kickin’ it would. The bastard came through here yesterday, threatened us with his father’s wrath.” “what? And that’s enough ta stopya?” he grunts at me before saying “when that father’s the legendary Calrik the seventh, king of calris, it is. The man scared your leaders when he was alive, i’d prefer not to see what he can do without his body getting in the way of things.” I’m almost glad i didn’t bring any whiskey with me on this trip, because if i’d had any when he said that i’d have spit it out ‘that’s the royal they sent me to fetch!?” he growls and turns to ‘is men “come on lads, let's get to one of the other roads, i’m not taking an risks as long as that royals lot are about in the valley.” they turn and head off, aparently more worried about the ghost of a dead king than with exacting any toll against me.