(This should be read while listening to the song "Flightless Bird and American Mouth" by Iron & Wine. I was listening to that song when I wrote this.)
The room was vast, lit only by the soft amber light of thick candles that had been burning for hours. The late night gave the room a somber heavy feeling - as if the bustle of the dance had been a heavy burden, gratefully cast aside.
She entered slowly. Her bare feet making soft padding noises on the smooth wood floor. This room always held her in awe. The Grand Ballroom. Stately windows on all sides, exquisitely draped curtains framing them like antique edging around faded photographs.
She inhaled deeply. The smell of the room was her favorite smell - candle wax, perfume, food, people, early spring....
She quickly moved into the center of the room, claiming her place for the dance. Her Dance. The dance of her heart.
She only heard the music when she was alone. The room only sang to her when it was empty.
She raised her arms as if to embrace a partner. Slowly stepping in time to the music of the room she moved carefully, confidently through the space with the silent invisible partner that always waited for her. It was her companion, her friend. They had talked many times in this way - her bare feet on the floor, the music of the silent room beating through her veins. They told each other their secrets, shared each others joys, comforted their sorrows. She didn't know who she was without this. The room never sang to anyone but her. And she never wanted to hear another song.
23 March 2009
Elementals
- Water Beasts - can assume human shape convincincly enough to decieve TruthSpeakers. Can only maintain the form for the duration of the assigned task. Do not exist independently outside of 2nd party creation. Are sentitent of themselves once created. Creater must be very careful when programming the task, as water beasts have been know to interpert instructions....creatively.
- Earth Creatures - can assume shapes somewhat resembling insects. Good at completing manual/ dexterous tasks, generally used for infiltrate or seek and destroy or information collecting missions. Easiest to recognize and easiest to defeat. 'Life span' not limited, can remain and be 'in service' for decades - but the bodies are fragile - once critically broken they turn into dust.
- Wind Animals - always assume the shape of an animal - are very frail and ethereal - behave very much like animals, can't talk, used as distractions, used as trail markers, send messages long distances (can carry light objects like letters...)
- Fire Demons - are very small - only a few inches - they burrow into the living heart of people (and animals), they can stay indefinitely. Once introduced into someone's heart it is very painful and usually lethal for them to leave. Not sure what their effect or uses are...this requires more deliberation. Fire Demons are VERY difficult to create and require insane amounts of heat and concentration. They are incredibly rare - only a handful have ever been known to exist. Once created they last forever. When their 'host' dies they completely consume the body. The ashes harden and form a shell that the fire demon lives in until they are introduced into a new host....
- Creators - elementals are not created by magic. It is a scientific process and the creators are scientists - scientists that have a deep, profound connection with the Earth and space and matter. It takes a heavy toll on the scientists to create elementals - most often the scientist loses part of the 'order' that binds them as a being (the part that holds their atoms together) ...something about the energy of the human consiousness is what makes elementals possible. Scientists usually start to lose their sanity the more elementals they create - this happens as their body, life force, personal glue, starts to dissolve.
- Truth Speakers - (John/ Jack) They are trained to identify the truth of all situations. A high price is paid to become one - a 'truther' has to give up all personal relationsips with people, animals, things, places - truth cannot be first if anything else is planted in a truther's heart that could influence his persecption or motivation. They must be completely objective. They are the highest authority in the justice system. Spend decades becoming a Truth Speaker - study history, human nature, philosophy, economics, etc... Don't know if there is an acutal physical change when they become a truther or not.....still human or more than human.....
04 March 2009
The Fellowship ( a very brief introduction)
Along the western wall of the Manor a handful of tall arched windows punctuated the darkness with cold florescent light. From the darkness Eliza kept a close eye on window seventeen. This was where the girl was located according to Trapper’s reconnaissance. The girl in the room had been in the manor for six days and Eliza was worried it might already be too late for a rescue. She had seen some of the effects of long exposure to Jack Lambeo’s cruel rehabilitation program. It was not a pretty sight. The last attempt to extract a subject from Rhybook Manor had been fatal, not only for the subject, but for two of their fellowship as well. Jani, the fellowship leader, was wary to accept this new mission to the Manor, but the dividends would be astronomical if everything worked out. Eliza knew she was the best pick for the job, but her racing heart betrayed her increasing fear.
Eliza’s best friend, Trapper McKinnery, had been her recruiter into the fellowship. They met in her first year of college and were practically inseparable. Trapper was a devoted friend and confidant, but there was always something he had kept hidden from her, something that would make his eyes burn like fire. When this happened she would grow anxious and excited all in the same moment. She never questioned him about it even though she yearned so desperately to know his secret. He appreciated her respectfulness, and his trust in her grew rapidly. Now here she was, three years later heading up her most dangerous mission to date for the fellowship and her heartbeat was betraying her.
“Eliza, calm down. Have you seen any change in the room so far?” Trappers voice flowed smoothly through the implant in her ear.
She took a deep breath and focused on her heartbeat. “I will be calm.” She thought.
“Trapper,” she whispered softly, knowing he would hear her clearly, “ I saw two figures enter the room two minutes ago. I am sure Jack is in there, but there is another…” here she paused to find the words to describe the other figure, “…another being in there too. It is shaped like a human, and I don’t think Jack knows what it is yet either.”
“Hold steady for now Eliza. We just received some intel that is a little disturbing.” Trapper’s words were very precise but Eliza could feel the undercurrent of concern flowing through them. “It seems there has been some activity in this area by more than one elemental. Jani is having second thoughts about sending you in there.”
Eliza’s heart sank. She didn’t want to be pulled off this mission on account of a pair of meddling Elementals. All her life she sensed there was more around her than what she could see with her naked eyes. When she joined the fellowship, her eyes had been opened, and her feelings were confirmed. She lived amongst a myriad of creatures and beings existing only a slight shift of focus away. Elementals were less dangerous than some of the creatures she had been learning about, but they still required a healthy dose of caution. Two Elementals couldn’t be so dangerous. She glanced up at the window again and noticed the light had finally been switched off. It was now or never. She sucked in a deep breath of air and hailed Trapper on her secure line.
“Trapper.” She whispered.
“Yes.”
“Tell Jani I am going in.”
“WHAT?” His voice was loud and clanged sharply inside her head. He sounded alarmed and she could hear him rummaging around for something.
“I have to go in now. I can’t wait around for clearance. I know we will be too late if I don’t go now.” She felt certain this was true. Something had lined up inside her head when the lights went out and she knew exactly what to do.
02 March 2009
Outside the Door
Ansel made very particular note of the door and its number as he pulled it closed. He kept his hand on the knob until he heard the secure click and hum of the lock sliding into place and the electric security device activating.
His face carried a sour and perplexed expression as he turned away and walked down the hall, falling into step with John. He was sure he had recalibrated the sleep meds for this room .
"Why again?" he murmered quietly to himself, involuntarily wiping his moist mouth with the back of his hand.
"What?" snapped John, irritably next to him. John had also been pondering on the peculiar circumstances surrounding the continuing difficulties with this patient. He was not pleased with the implications.
"Nothing," Ansel sulked. " I was just thinking....I am sure I recalibrated the mechanism for this room days ago."
"Yes" John replied, "I know you did. I watch everything regarding this room very closely. I would not have allowed any negligence or forgetfulness to occur. Yet, somehow, these.....inconveniences....continue. I watched you work on the machine. Everything you did appeared to be in accordance with the task you were instructed to perform. Yet, still......"
John stopped walking and turned to face Ansel.
"I am trained to detect deceit in all forms. No one can lie to me - either through words or actions. But you..., you performed a task completely intended to deceive, and I failed to recognize it." He paused, again considering the form before him. "The how, however, pales when I stop to consider the why."
Ansel's surprise was palpable. He stopped at John's words, stunned by his accusation. He left his mouth gaping, setting free a long, clear bead of saliva that swan dived toward the cold grey tiles of the hallway and faintly splashed.
John continued to stare fixedly at Ansel. He was well trained for these kinds of confrontative situations. He know what people were thinking and feeling often before they did. It distrubed him greatly that he had failed to recognize ansel's duplicity.
Ansle, however, remained standing, gaping, motionless as John surveyed him. This too was unnerving. This reaction to his accusation was as inexplicible as the need to accuse him had been. As he tried to make sense of these anomolies, John took a step closer to Ansel. He hoped that advancing on him would elicit a response from the still figure - give him something more to read, to deduce, to analize and return control to him. As John began to slide his foot forward the air around Ansel suddenly shifted, setting off a brief glimmer in the dim light. The outline of Ansel's body flickered and glowed for a second, then dulled back. A look of horror attacked John's face as he realized what was happening. Quickly he jumped away from Ansel, wanting to distance himself as much a possible, but not wanting to abandon the hallway to the presence of such a creature.
"Water beast" John whispered as he watched Ansel's now undulating form fold and billow as the humanesque shape began to melt away and dissolve into droplets and mists of water.
His face carried a sour and perplexed expression as he turned away and walked down the hall, falling into step with John. He was sure he had recalibrated the sleep meds for this room .
"Why again?" he murmered quietly to himself, involuntarily wiping his moist mouth with the back of his hand.
"What?" snapped John, irritably next to him. John had also been pondering on the peculiar circumstances surrounding the continuing difficulties with this patient. He was not pleased with the implications.
"Nothing," Ansel sulked. " I was just thinking....I am sure I recalibrated the mechanism for this room days ago."
"Yes" John replied, "I know you did. I watch everything regarding this room very closely. I would not have allowed any negligence or forgetfulness to occur. Yet, somehow, these.....inconveniences....continue. I watched you work on the machine. Everything you did appeared to be in accordance with the task you were instructed to perform. Yet, still......"
John stopped walking and turned to face Ansel.
"I am trained to detect deceit in all forms. No one can lie to me - either through words or actions. But you..., you performed a task completely intended to deceive, and I failed to recognize it." He paused, again considering the form before him. "The how, however, pales when I stop to consider the why."
Ansel's surprise was palpable. He stopped at John's words, stunned by his accusation. He left his mouth gaping, setting free a long, clear bead of saliva that swan dived toward the cold grey tiles of the hallway and faintly splashed.
John continued to stare fixedly at Ansel. He was well trained for these kinds of confrontative situations. He know what people were thinking and feeling often before they did. It distrubed him greatly that he had failed to recognize ansel's duplicity.
Ansle, however, remained standing, gaping, motionless as John surveyed him. This too was unnerving. This reaction to his accusation was as inexplicible as the need to accuse him had been. As he tried to make sense of these anomolies, John took a step closer to Ansel. He hoped that advancing on him would elicit a response from the still figure - give him something more to read, to deduce, to analize and return control to him. As John began to slide his foot forward the air around Ansel suddenly shifted, setting off a brief glimmer in the dim light. The outline of Ansel's body flickered and glowed for a second, then dulled back. A look of horror attacked John's face as he realized what was happening. Quickly he jumped away from Ansel, wanting to distance himself as much a possible, but not wanting to abandon the hallway to the presence of such a creature.
"Water beast" John whispered as he watched Ansel's now undulating form fold and billow as the humanesque shape began to melt away and dissolve into droplets and mists of water.
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