Nandita To Nandini
- 3 years ago
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Training is in the eye of the beholder, like many other things, I guess. Being trained by a semi-imaginary six foot tall blue lizard? That's just a little strange, even for me, and I've seen some strange stuff. River has spent a good bit of time in the Imhur, so I know she's seen some stranger stuff than I have.
What I found truly interesting was the lizard's continual use of what I would have called 'Earthisms', phases and attitudes that seemed to have been drawn from the Earth/American setting that my grandparents and great-grandparents had grown up with. Mom too, I sometimes forget. She was very much a young American woman of Earth before she came to Arbor with Dad.
River, once she got used to him, thought he was funny. Master Jo? Well, I'm not sure I know what he thinks any more. He's almost transparent most of the time these days physically, but he is far from it otherwise. He has been pretty quiet, even after having regained most of his form, as if these events are so far outside of his experience as to be mind-altering. Come to think of it, I guess they are.
The training is an odd combination of stick work and mental insults. RJ accuses us constantly of immaturity, being unimaginative, lacking willpower, shallow thinking, insensitivity, spiritual weakness and complacency. Even Master Jo gets his dose of criticism, but the damned Lizard is plainly expecting different things from River and I than it is from him.
Did I mention that the lizard is a shape-shifting pain in the ass?
Every other lesson was a sparring lessons, and during the sparring lessons, RJ shifted from form to form constantly, challenging us to adjust and adapt. When we aren't sparring we were talking.
"You each have what the Dragons call an Ordinal source of power. What the folks on Arbor would call Elemental power. Earth and Sea. You have spend your Transformed lives so far accessing only one aspect of that Ordinal power. Rock, buried for you Obsidian and water, seeking for you, River. These aspects are powerful, and defining in some ways, but they are also limiting you right now. What I am trying to do is free your minds so that you can move beyond these self-limiting aspects and on to the broader aspects of who and what you are."
RJ was constantly forcing me to examine the Dragonstone, to feel the shape and weight of it in my mind. Not jut feel it, but find it.
"Seek it, Obsidian. Find it! It isn't out here, it is in you. Seek the heart of Arbor and bring it out."
Interesting words. Difficult to weigh them with care when you are scrambling to avoid an attack from the snarling blue Tree Bear that was really your instructor.
For River, it was the Sea, of course, and her struggle to separate the lives within it from the sea itself.
"If there's rock at the heart of Arbor, then the sea is its soul." RJ told her often. "You are the sea, so you are the soul of Arbor. Find it within you and bring it out!"
Always these statements came out in mid-battle.
"Reach out and use it! It's right there! C'mon! Feel it, draw on it."
When it was Master Jo's turn, the insults were usually much milder, and RJ seemed happy to drive him over and over again to fading back out of existence, back into that puff of breeze he had been when we'd first awakened here.
"Yes! Stretch! Open! More!" He would say, as his attack finally drove Master Jo into insubstantiality.
We slept nine times while we were there, and we trained for ten days, a tenday.
That night, the tenth night, RJ brought us wine. We still hadn't eaten, hadn't felt so much as a twinge of hunger the entire time we'd been there. The wine was delicious, bright and deeply flavored.
"Enough training for now, children. Perhaps we will gather again, somewhere down the road and work some more on being who we are."
The world was quickly fading into darkness, even as he spoke those words, and I thought briefly that perhaps the wine had been drugged, but I laughed the thought off, briefly, before sleep and darkness descended on me.
I woke up sitting beside the pool at the facet. Had we ever even moved at all, physically? I rubbed my chin. It felt like I had three days worth of unshaved stubble. The tenday and a half that it seemed we had been gone hadn't been real either. I turned slightly and saw River staring back at me. We had just enough time to give each other a smile when it was interrupted by a stomach grumbling. We both turned to find a finally solid Master Jo, grinning sheepishly.
"It seems we're back, and just in time for midday meal somewhere." He said.
We all stood. I was surprised at what seemed like a total lack of kinks and pain. If we'd been sitting, unmoving, for three days of real time, our bodies should be complaining right now, but all they were doing was demanding feeding.
"The Tower or the Red Flag?" I asked.
"The Tower, please." River asked. I reached out and jumped us to the Tower roof.
We were just in time, the cook said, and we all rushed off to get cleaned up a little before we sat down to eat. For me that meant a washcloth to the face and a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Time enough for a shower after we ate. River ran her washcloth over a few more places than I did, but soon joined me in the t-shirt and jeans decision, and to be honest, she looked way better in that kind of outfit than I did!
In the dining hall, Opal Durmiter joined us, and Master Jo returned from his own freshening up to sit down with us, but Plank wasn't there, and neither were the Arrals. There still seemed to be too many places set at the table until Mom, Dad, Coral, Trunk and Alianna Parkin came through the door to join us.
Well, you three look a little scruffy! Mom said. Been busy?"
"Yes and no." I said. "Very, very much yes and no."
"Eat now. Questions later." Master Jo said.
I could tell by the way that Alianna and Trunk were sitting, side by side, lightly touching, that something was up in that department, but I was too busy for a while with the heaping piles of scrambled eggs, sausage and fried potatoes to worry about anything else.
With the food out of the way, it was time for some questions and answers, or at least as close to answers as we could get in some cases. I was sure that it was no coincidence that my family, with Trunk and Alianna in tow, had arrived exactly when they did. Not with two seers in the family.
The trip to visit the Shar had been the beginning, so we started with it first. Of course dad wasn't surprised to hear that the Shar had set us on a quest, but he was surprised at the vagueness of it all.
"Ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. The days have come that mark the return of the dragons. Hear these words and heed them, for they are prophesy.'earth and sea will raise them. the sun and the sky will aid them. the dragons will return, born by the wind.'"
Dad listened to the words of the Shar prophesy, nodding his head as I spoke. I left the last bit, the final sentence spoken by Warup unsaid. There had to be a reason it was whispered, apart from the rest.
Now that they were back, and we were into the telling of it, it was obvious to me. Coral was the Lady of Echoes. Echoes of herself. But the whispering made me cautious, and I kept that piece unspoken.
Mom was appropriately maternal in her response to our near-death experience. Dad was conspicuous in his silence, but nobody thought that odd, except perhaps Alianna, who was hearing most of this stuff for the first time.
Explaining what happened at the pool was even harder, because none of the three of us were even sure yet as to what had really happened. Dad immediately suspected we had gone to the Dream World, a place he was familiar with.
"It sure sounds like it could have been the Dream World, but there should have been no way you could have taken Master Jo with you. Getting there is not easy."
"Well if we took our experiences literally, we had help getting there. But I'm not prepared to treat that as literal yet." I answered.
We had also, none of us, spoken of the Dragons' telling us about being left unawares of an ending outside the Shar assumptions. About the choice we would make somehow that would leave the Dragons free to remain in the Dream World, or wherever it was they really lived.
I still considered what we had seen as engineered for our eyes only, and not necessarily the reality of it.
It was still the dead of winter, and there was little to do outside of the winter chores, keeping the livestock happy, the water flowing, the fires burning, and the people happy. Though we could have escaped it easily, gone South to Demira and Trunk's family. It was summer now in the southern hemisphere, and it would have meant warm days and flower-scented nights.
Could have, but the beginning of our adventure was still here, waiting to get started by some word from Coral, if I had the clues figured correctly. The question was, should I wait for Coral, or should I go asking? This prophesy and quest business was not all simple riding off on your horse and fighting foes. Second-guessing prophesy in particular can make your brain spin.
River was particularly not ready to engage in any of the confusing speculation yet. She seemed to be laying back. Charging her mental and Magical batteries, I suspect. When she did move into the picture, it was going to be as a force to be reckoned with.
Master Jo was more himself, and yet at the same time I could see something going on there. Our trip from the pool had opened him up to something, or awakened something inside him. We'd know that for sure by the end of all this, of that I was certain. In the meantime, we still meditated and sparred every morning, and Master Jo had taken RJ's place as our tormentor.
"You are the water elemental, you are all the ways of water, not just the sloshing, soft kind. Stop acting like the babbling brook and become the hurricane!"
The taunt came as Master Jo was running around River, firing arrows at her. She dodged the arrows easily, but she seemed to hesitate in her attack. We were supposed to be attacking with some aspect of our Talent, which since our visit with the Dragons we had begun thinking of as our elemental gift.
River was getting frustrated. If we had been doing this at the Neck, where there was ready access to the Wind River and its power, she would have had less trouble. She was still looking externally for the power. I needed to remind her of RJ's lessons.
"Don't feel for the river." I called. "You are the river! You are the sea! You are the source. Look there!"
I got a brief frown sent my way for my efforts, but the furrowed brow was also River moving through her difficulty.
"Aaah!" She screamed, and then suddenly, in a glimmer of frost and ice, she was shooting blades of ice, like throwing knives at Master Jo. Toss after toss just missed him, and he ducked and dodged, and finally, an ice blade touched him, and he went transparent again briefly, and the blade passed through him completely!
"Good!" He said. "Good! Good! Good!"
"Are you all right?" River said, suddenly concerned that her attack had reached him that time.
"Yes, fine. You did it, River." Master Jo said. "We did it."
"I saw you go a little transparent there when the ice hit you." I said.
"Yes." Master Jo said. "River found a new aspect of herself, and I found the one that I'd been shown by the Dragons. We both made some progress today.
"You're the tough nut to crack then, Sid." River said. "When are you going to have a breakthrough?"
I liked to think it was because I had been further along to begin with than they had, but whatever the reason, it was true that I had made no progress since our return, and I wasn't sure why.
I was standing on the roof of the Tower thinking about that later that day when I felt a movement behind me.
"Hi Coral." I said.
"Hi big brother." She said. "Troubled?"
"Don't you already know the answer to that question?"
"In general, yes. Specifically? No."
"I'm not making the kind of progress I should be, compared to River and Master Jo." I said.
"I can't say anything about Master Jo's progress, because Master Jo is completely impenetrable to me. The gift doesn't work on him at all. None of my future selves ever mention him, and when I ask, they act as if they didn't hear the question."
"Interesting. Not helpful, thanks anyway, but interesting." I said.
"You are getting frustrated, aren't you?" Coral said. "Would it help if I told you now what you need to hear to begin your journey?"
That got my attention immediately.
"I knew you had to be 'the Lady of Echoes'." I said.
"As soon as the river is free of ice, take the road to Beletara, as Mom and Dad once did. You will find your answer along the way."
"Thank you." I said, and meant it. Seers never give easy answers. This seemed pretty straightforward.
"Mom sent me to tell you that evening meal would be in half an hour." Coral said as she walked back to the stairs. "Oh! As to your other problem. Why aren't you doing what the figment said to?"
That last bit tossed off just before her head disappeared down the stairs.
I thought I had been doing what RJ had been asking. I'd have to reconsider it then.
Pulling the ice out of myself had been amazing, and again, one of those perspective-shifting events. I had a better understanding now, that my problems were mostly self imposed, and as I learned more about myself, I would learn more about the power within me. What I had done was a minor thing, as far as power went, but a major thing as far as my own perceptions went.
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I woke up in a cocoon. I could see, through a gauzy film, Warup, or another of his kind, crouched over me. I had to fight back the urge to vomit when I realized the creature was spitting a cloudy white liquid across my wrapped form. It must have been visible in my eyes, because the spitting stopped and spoke. It was Warup, unless they all had the same voice. "Do not panic young sir. We are dissolving the healing blanket we placed around you. It is a process you are unfamiliar with, and we...
Mount Everest, Earth The highest mountain in the World lay quietly within the ranges of the Himalayas. The clouds themselves bowed to its size and hid the top of the mountain. Only a few had ever managed to conquer this mountain. Hundreds had died trying to reach this peak. But the mountain rarely revealed its secrets. Again, and again the bodies of expeditions that had failed on the way were found. Although the mountain was the most famous mountain on the planet, nobody knew its true secret....
MJOLNIR'S HAND "A Firespitter? Are you sure Isra?" Martin asked from the chair in his large Ready Room off the bridge of MJOLNIR'S HAND. The stars filled the large view window, the desk against the wall with two couches across from it. The small credenza was pushed up against the opposite wall with several holoimages of Androcles and Aricia, as well as Anja, Dysea and Isabella resting on top of it. The wall was adorned with framed still pictures of Torma and Isheeni, as well as Arzoal...
HADARIA DAY TWENTY-SEVEN Seanna sat to one side of the room in the palace and watched as Anja practiced calling for the healing pulses within her. She was practicing on the broken pieces of fruit and repairing the cellular damage made by knives and dropping the separate fruits onto the floor. She had a habit of lifting the pieces of fruit off the floor with her Mindvoice talents, frustrating her instructors who were telling her to focus on the healing pulses and try not to use both gifts...
A FISTFUL OF DRAGONS Part 2 Here we go part two of Yedda and Cyrena's adventures. Again I apologise for the length of time taken to get it out, but you have to admit I tend to give you decent size hunks. Anyway I am honestly trying to concentrate on this one and Kingdom of the Blind, the other four I have on the go just keep distracting me from them occasionally. Thanks should go out to Lynn from all who read this and enjoy it, for it is her efforts that translates 'Hypatia...
"The warrior heard of this legend as he sat in the dark and smoky tavern and a great hunger arose in him," the old man said, gleeful that his tale had captured the complete attention of the eight children sitting before him under the spreading branches of the oak. It was a fine day to be out with his grandchildren, telling them the old tales his grandfather told him when he was a boy. The sounds of village life had receded as the tale grew in the minds of both the listeners and the teller....
Our return to the Valley of the Wind was brief. The ice had already broken in the river before we arrived. Master Jo had been riding pretty much non-stop while we were gone, and had relearned the comfortable manner atop a horse that he had as a young man on Temple. He certainly thought that the saddle helped. His home facet of Temple's idea of a saddle had been pretty similar to those of the Zadaru, a blanket and a leather pad. The northern post road was clear, and had been clear for a...
USU'OZEIB 7 CAPITAL CITY OF DWURI Yuri sat up quickly in the bed, her face and neck laced with a fine sheen of sweat, the thin loose shirt she wore spotted with sweat stains in several places as well. The bedroom was dark except for the lights of the capital drifting in through the large floor to ceiling windows that open onto a balcony. Yuri turned her head quickly in the dim light of the room to see that his eyes were still closed and his naked chest rose and fell evenly. Robert's large...
Randi's Vacation Randi woke up to his alarm and quickly silenced it. A quick glance to his left confirmed the Denise was already up. She almost always got up before him preferring some extra time between getting ready for work and needing to walk out the door. He preferred to have enough time to get ready, eat and go. He walked to the bathroom which was right in the master bedroom. The condo they bought was a bit extravagant but provided plenty of room and they could afford it on...
Hum dono abhi bhi nange hi thay. Chalte chalte usne paad maari. Uski gaand mein abhi bhi haddi akti hui thi. Nadi kinare, jhadiyon ke bich usko bithaya. “Hug le saali madarchod. Kab se paad rahi jai bhosdiki.” Woh hugne lagi. Uski gaand se haddi nikal gayi. Uski garam moot ki dhaar mere pairo pe giri. “Saali maderjaat! Mere pairon pe mootegi. Saali raand muh khol,” main uske muh mein mootne laga. Lavda uske gale mein ghus kar mootne laga. Maine apni tange faila di aur wahi khade khade hugne...
Dungeons & Dragons: 4th Edition Creation Page (Only the Creation Pages are in 3rd Person's Point of View, the rest is 1st Person's Point of View) First it shall be decided, WHICH world of D&D your character will be made in, there are many a different types of universes for dungeons and dragons, it is open to make your own world, but it will require a good deal of work for it to properly work. now, here's a list of the campaign settings of Dungeons & Dragons. 1 Al-Qadim 2 Birthright 3...
FantasySome say every person is like a coin. There is always another side to them. But let me tell you friends, a person is more than a coin. He/she is a multi-faceted dice. A dice which rolls on its own and shows what it wants to depending on the person it shows to and the situation it is in. And I, yours truly, am no different. So world, this is Vanita Hiral and this is my sex story. This is my side which no one knows other than me and I am putting it out in the world for all to know. Born in a...
"Hello, Prin," he said. The girl turned from the table where she was arranging a display of women's shoes. "What are you doing here?" she said, scowling. She was wearing black lipstick and had a ring in her nose. "It's your birthday," he said. "I thought we could go to lunch." "Go away," she said, turning back to the table. "Prin, please." "Stop calling me that name." She dropped a shoe on the floor and cursed, picking it up. "Could we go out to lunch?" "I'm working,...
Raimi the dragoness spent the rest of the morning dragging old fallen trees and large pieces of wood then gathered arm loads of small and medium size pieces for the stove and to use as kindling to put behind her cottage. It was still damp from the day before but at least the sun had come out so hopefully it would dry she told herself. Strut snorted "you make me tired just watching you, what are you doing?" Raimi turned and looked at Strut "I'm trying to get ready for the cold weather, you...
I approached the warehouse, not sure what the security of the place was like. There was little outside lighting so there might have been no cameras. Then again, they might have used infra-red equipment to put would-be intruders like me at ease. I wasn't at ease. I could feel my heart pounding, my muscles flexing and the surrounding area slowing down. I was ready for a fight. I didn't bother with the door Russ and Leland had used. If they were expecting me, and I was certain they were, I...
DAY THIRTY-SEVEN APO PRIME OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER DEIA Deia insured the door was locked behind her and then turned to look at the men who had just entered her office. They had come in through a little used entrance of the main government building, further deserted by the hour of the evening. She had just spent the last five hours with Gorgo and Dasha in the sub-basement of the University sifting through mountains of scrolls and data pads and even some hand written documents dating...
SCIMITAR TWENTY-TWO HOURS FROM EARTH " ... landed behind Sadi's DT and then he comes out of the smoke, Elynth next to him, their eyes like beacons on some dark night. He launches his shield and then draws one of those two swords he carries ... gods it was like watching some majestic knight come to save you. As he fought ... his Shi Viska circled the area he and Elynth were fighting in ... it was almost moving of its own accord." Teeria was speaking animatedly as they sat at the table in...
NEOR KAVALIAN FEDERATION IMPERIUM HEADQUARTERS They had accomplished so much and he knew more was coming. Keleru'Puat looked around the large table at the gathered Pride Leaders and could not help but smile to himself. Two hundred and fifty-six High Coven worlds they had conquered in twenty-five years. The Kavalian Empire was once more reborn and it would continue to grow. Combined with the six hundred and fourteen planets of their original empire that they had reestablished control over,...
Mera naam Rudra hai. Ek number ka harami aur besharam. Mera dimaag mere lavde mein hai, jo saala har waqt chudai ke liye uchalte rehta hai. Kasarati badan jo ghanto tak lavde ka saath deta hai. Waise toh bachpan se hi kaafi chudai ki hai. Lekin yeh wali sabse achi wali, ya yeh kahu ki sab se gandi wali hai. Main tab 30 saal ka tha. Shaadi hui nahi thi. Ghar mein rehta hi nahi tha. Naukri hi aisi thi ke sheher-sheher gaon-gaon bhatakna padta tha. Peshe se ek civil engineer, jiski degree paiso se...
EARTH FOUR KILOMETERS WEST OF WICHITA The convoy of three large Heavy Lifters and half a dozen armored Lifters moved slowly along the transit path. This early in the morning and in this part of the country, other Lifter traffic was almost non-existent. Even though the reconstruction of Earth was proceeding better than anyone had expected, they had yet to reach out into the Wastes yet, mainly concentrating on rebuilding the many cities that had sprouted up, as well as building the defensive...