Kyngdom Survival Guide
*TALE: TWO KYNGDOMS
Chatterbox: KYNGDOM™ Power of Hoof
*TALE: TWO KYNGDOMS
*TALE: TWO KYNGDOMS
A Tale of Two Kyngdoms, Part One
By Zephyra
It was the worst of times. That much was obvious. Chaos everywhere. Claaws was dead. Jaaws roamed our land, jaws dripping with Brazen Goo. Catastrophe was always lurking, ready to fight anyone at the slightest provocation. I heard whispers of a “Mutant Army.” And B.I.G. crept ever closer to finding and activating all four of the Powers, which would lead to--what? Utter global destruction? To be honest, I was finding it harder and harder to go to sleep. Dark thoughts swirled through my brain at all hours of the night.
On one particularly hopeless mornings, as I was drooping over a mug of oak root coffee at the Bog & Burrow, I received word from my faithful network of spies that Dr. Cornelia Hornshaw was heading north, toward the Decoy Forest. My go-to tech wiz, Techibeetle, quickly tapped her phone and, after listening to a very disgruntled conversation she was having with one of her chief scientists, we learned that she believed the fourth Power--the Power of Hoof--was located there. In the forest.
Now, this was a little too close for comfort for me, my fellow spies, and the other Guardians. Because we knew that while the fourth Power wasn’t actually in the forest, it was nearby--very nearby, on the hoof of Regina the Silver Reindeer herself. I sent a message to Regina begging her to retreat to her mansion, and then I began planning my trip to the north.
(Another complication: I was supposed to be planning my nephew Little Crow’s Naming Ceremony. It was time. He was of age. But the party would just have to wait--and I felt terrible about it.)
After another mug of oak root coffee, I hit upon a plan that was simple, but so daring that it made me nauseous. I was going to do the unthinkable. I would try to intercept Cornelia before she went into the Decoy Forest, and I would…talk with her.
Yes, talk. A dialogue. I figured that I could use B.I.G.’s technology to make Cornelia understand what I was saying, and then I could explain how dangerous her behavior was. How it would put us all at risk--animals and humans. Naïve? Maybe. But sometimes the best route is the most direct, no? There’s a reason for the phrase “as the crow flies.”
Of course it was a terrible shock when, while flying over the Labyrinth, I heard something rustling about in the suitcase that was strapped to my back--and out popped Little Crow, squawking that he couldn’t let me go alone and he was practically an adult and why did I get to do all the fun stuff? I was furious that he’d snuck along, but it was too late to turn back. Cornelia’s train was literally zooming below us as we flew. Besides, I’ll admit it: sometimes it’s nice to have a sidekick.
When we arrived at Jökull, the mansion of the Silver Reindeer, Regina greeted us joyfully and gave us each a huge, steaming mug of Black Winter Cherry cider. Little Crow was shivering. I was exhausted.
“She’s coming,” said Regina, giving me a meaningful look.
“I loathe Cornelia Hornshaw,” spat Little Crow.
“Little! She’s done some terrible things, but she is a very lost, very confused woman,” I said.
“She thinks we’re stupid. She doesn’t respect the world we’ve built. Why do I have to like her?” said Little Crow.
I was flustered, jet-lagged, but Regina jumped in with grace. “You don’t have to like her, Little Crow,” she said, her mother-of-pearl horseshoes twinkling. “But what Cornelia Hornshaw lacks is empathy. She can’t put herself in our horseshoes, so to speak. So she’ll never truly understand us--or anything about the world, really. Zephyra is saying that if you try to empathize a little with her, no matter how much it angers you, then you will have already won part of the battle.
“And for the other parts--if empathy and reason fail, at least you have an entire network of spies and warriors on your side,” I added.
Little Crow’s eyes were drooping.
“Let’s go to bed,” I said. “Cornelia is probably staying at that human eyesore, the Wayward Villa, tonight, and won’t be striking off toward the Decoy Forest until morning.”
After Little Crow went to sleep, I turned to Regina.
“I’m worried,” I said. “The Decoy Forest never shows travelers the truth. But who knows what she’ll see there? Sometimes half-truths and white lies can lead to the real thing.”
Regina looked down at her fourth horseshoe--the one that was old, rusty, nondescript.
“I am prepared to fight,” she said, simply.
submitted by Zephyra, Decoy Forest
(January 4, 2017 - 1:39 pm)
(January 4, 2017 - 1:39 pm)
Raven, you're back, this is so exciting!!! Saoirse looks AMAZING! How have you been?
-----------
Samuel Coryli didn’t head to the kitchen. After all, he was on vacation. He was Caligo’s guest. He intended to stretch this as far as he was able, because he knew it wouldn’t last. For all he knew, this could be the last week of his life: If he failed, he’d pay the price.
The situation was...complicated, to say the least, but Sam was not one to dwell on the prospect of failure. He had to succeed, and Sam couldn’t hope that Caligo would pull through. He had to know it. Because if Caligo didn’t, then Caligo would die.
One way or another.
Sam was considered one of the lowliest Resistance agents in existence--one level above prisoner. Although his values and goals were officially separate from those of Catastrophe's Army, he was STILL A MEMBER OF THE ARMY, and COULD NOT BE TRUSTED WITH ANY RESISTANCE SECRETS. If he failed to succeed on this mission, it would EASILY be viewed as treason (ESPECIALLY since he and Caligo knew each other formerly), and Samuel himself would either ~mysteriously disappear~ or be sent on a different mission from which there would be no coming back. And then, someone deadlier would be sent to Jokull in conclusion to the failed experiment--that generals could not safely be converted to good using light magic.
Samuel had wasted no time in getting started.
He hoped with all his might that the potion in the juniper juice would do something.
~ ~ ~
Caligo felt too unwell to give his conference. He felt too unwell to address the scouts on the hunt for the rogue assassin that had killed two more troops today. He felt much too unwell to hear the URGENT NEWS from the northern outpost scouts...But Caligo did all these things anyway, because he had to.
I meet with the outpost captain in my office.
"Sir! You'll be glad to hear that Lieutenant Sanders is back."
I'm not shocked. But I will admit this isn't the news I was expecting.
"Well, where is he?"
"On the way. One of my men is escorting him here as we speak. He was dropped off by the Sanukans in the tundra. They had him prisoner, but due to the truce, he's been returned."
"Have him cleaned up in the medical wing...put him in a quarantine cell...Standard return procedures. Tell me when he's there and I'll interview him myself."
"Yes, sir!" The captain leaves.
"Shut the door behind you."
He does so, and I'm alone again.
I let my head fall back against my chair's headrest. Though my eyes are now closed, my chandelier's million twinkling lights prickle through my eyelids and extend deep into my skull, perpetuating my throbbing headache. I press my palms onto my face, but a glinting imprint continues to dance in my retinas. The longer I cover my eyelids, the brighter and deeper the starry glow pierces. My ears are ringing. My heart is pounding. I'm cold. I thought it was nothing, but now I'm worried...
I sit up, opening my eyes. Light floods in--brighter than it was before--brighter than I can handle. It bounces and undulates like water off the walls, the varnish on my desk, my pins and badges. I swear it's making a sound. Have I been poisoned?
I shut my eyes again, whereupon the glare follows me, melting as it fades, smearing itself into every dark part of my eyelids. I can't escape it. I can't block it--it's inside me now. And it hurts. It slides down, and I feel my consciousness dimming. My mind is screaming in panic, but my body wants to follow the hallucination into oblivion.
Something stops it.
The light disappears, and now I see nothing, darker than darkness, lighter than light. My senses are locked, and there is nothing. Is this death? Something icy swirls around me.
This feels
so familiar.
This feels
like two seconds stretched into five minutes.
This feels
like I am there again, but my eyes are open and I'm not shaking his hand--I'm frozen--and there's a beast with white teeth and red eyes talking to me.
My eyes fly open and everything is normal. The chandelier in my office isn't even on--only refracting the light from the window. Everything is quiet. Seems like I'm fine.
A quick glance at the clock reveals that only one minute has elapsed since the captain left the room. What happened, exactly? I'm glad to be alive, but the image of the red-eyed beast leaves me with a feeling of terror. Yes, terror. And a feeling of something having been dislodged--the feeling of an enlightenment of some kind. A question and an answer rolled into one.
(April 3, 2020 - 9:48 am)
Sanders~~
I'm alone, in my own room, waiting for Caligo to come speak to me. I could kill him when he arrives...No, I'll wait. I want backup when I decide to get rid of him.
The guards seem to be listening more to me than Caligo. They clearly hate him--you can tell it by the look they get in their eyes whenever he is mentioned. I've hardly been here for three hours and I can already tell that.
"So, Pichokara," I say to the guard in the hall. "What's happened of late?"
"Not much," He sighs. "We formed a truce with Sanukaville, made a path through the Forest, and Caligo's friend is here as a guest."
"Caligo's friend?"
"Yeah, his name is...something Coryli, I think--"
"Coryli? Isn't a Coryli working with the Resistance?"
The guard, Pichokara, pauses. "There's a girl who works with the Resistance --not so sure if she's actually in it, though. And she's a Coryli, yeah. They might be related, I'm not sure, sir."
"Hmm. Keep an eye on him. Kill him if he does anything suspicious. I'm sure Caligo would agree."
~~~
(April 3, 2020 - 4:46 pm)
It's great to be back! I'm glad you guys like Saoirse's new design, (if I'm not too careful, I'll end up redesigning Raven as well..... oh no, I am suddenly filled with the urge to redesign Raven as well)
Raven
--
Raven flapped her wings as she jumped higher into the trees of the Decoy Forest, her pleated coattail pressed up against her legs as backed away from the woman in front of her. The woman's eyes wer glazed over, but she still seemed conscious, aware of the mist that difted off of her to curl up on the forest floor. Her head tracked Raven's movments as she flew overhead, until she was out of sight on top of the forest. She hovered in the air for a moment, poised to attack, but nothing followed her. She took a deep breath as she removed the mask from her face, the metal beak glinting in the sunlight, reveling in the clear and safe air. It tasted different than the shifting air that circulated in the forest, she thought.
Raven shook her head. She had to find Saoirse. If that woman was who she thought, then there was something much bigger at hand. Raven drew her twin blades, one shimmering with black magic, and began to fly over the Decoy forest, searching. For a while, she flew undisturbed, until her ears caught the sound of a grating roar and the felling of a tree. She beat her wings, halting herself in the sky, head sweeping the tree tops. And, there, another tree wavered and there was a sound of a large and heavy object falling. Her mind raced through the possibilities, before it struck her. Saorise went into the forest earlier, with her constant companion Granite. The crash came from the direction she had been flying away from, and the woman.
--
so I'm just going to go back to the drawing board... Raven's redesign shall be up on the art thread in but a day's time. Until then, she now has a man's regency style coat, with coat tails that resemble a bird's tail feathers, and a tricorne with a feather. Her color scheme of purple, grey, and black has not changed.
(April 4, 2020 - 5:53 pm)
Ashzan~
My leg has finally healed, and I've been released to the Elite Barracks. There's a voice inside my head that screams for me to defect back to Catastrophe, but I know that Catastrophe would destroy Kyngdom if he had the chance. The silence is deafening. All of the Elites have either defected or are dead. Tsuki: Defected. Deeja: Dead. Me? I will follow my general. Echoing screeches bounce off the inside of my skull. VICTORCENDARENCENDARENVICTORCENDARENVICTORVICTORCENDAREN!!! I clutch my head and whimper. These voices are real. They're two different versions of me.
~
(April 4, 2020 - 8:23 pm)
Ashzan. This is more than a choice of who to follow...It's is a matter of good and evil.
You can choose good, or you can choose me.
Don't...choose me.
(April 5, 2020 - 2:38 pm)
Caligo~
"Well, Sanders. That has to be the shortest imprisonment I've ever seen."
Sanders rises from the cot in a dignified sort of way. He looks like he could use a shower, but other than that, he seems fine. Better fed than the rest of us here at Jokull, in fact. "Those prisons are cold."
"How did it happen?"
"It was an ambush in the ruins of Hvall." He shakes his head. "If the rest of the squad had paid more attention, I would've at least been able to radio a warning to you. I was interviewed in the Sanukan prisons, but they didn't acquire any vital information."
"How kind of them to return a Lieutenant to us without stripping him of his secrets," I remark dryly. "Are you aware of our newly-kindled truce?"
"What kind of truce? I heard it mentioned."
"Non-aggression over the next six months. I'll fill you in when you get out of quarantine, which should be after this."
"The rest of my squad is probably being kept for leverage, in that case," Sanders muses.
"Why not you?"
"Returning me makes you trust them more."
"Does it, now?"
Sanders grunts. "Mm."
"Mm indeed. Well, to be frank, Sanders, most of us thought the Forest had gotten you. Good to know you're still sane."
A smile plays at his lips. "No doubt they also thought I'd run away."
It's true that this return does make him look more like a hero. Maybe the rest of us should try getting kidnapped by Sanukaville sometime.
(April 4, 2020 - 10:20 pm)
Sanders~~
Caligo seems...off, a little bit, like perhaps he's been sick. Which seems reasonable, seeing how thin all the soldiers I've seen are. Caligo, despite being the general, is just as thin and underfed as his soldiers. It will make my plan a little easier.
"So, Caligo, I heard your...friend is here."
"You must mean Coryli. Yes, he's here. As a guest."
"I hear he has a relative, in the Resistance."
"Really."
"I'd keep an eye on him, if I were you. Wouldn't put him past poisoning your juniper tea." Something flashes in Caligo's eyes, as if he's realized something.
"Is everything alright, sir?" I ask.
"Everything is fine, Sanders. I'll have a new uniform delivered to you and then you can resume your duties."
"Very well then," I reply. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Yes," Caligo says. "One of our Elites, Ashzan Moksovinan, has returned. She was being held captive by the Sanukans, but she escaped. She returned not long ago, perhaps a day before you."
"Hmm," I say. "She must have been held in a different section of the prisons than me, I didn't see her anywhere."
"Interesting." Caligo's voice is flat and emotionless.
~~~
(April 5, 2020 - 8:08 am)
Thought it would be fun to change up my name a little bit (also now I don't have to write Tsuki at the top of this)
~~~~~
Saoirse is about to reply when there's the sound of a loud thud. The ground shakes.
"That sounded like a tree fell," I say. "Were there any weak looking trees you saw?"
Saoiree shakes her head. "All the trees I've seen seemed healthy."
Another thud, and the ground shakes again. Saoirse whistles. Granite lands beside her, and a mechanical bird--Cuckoo, if I remember correctly--rests on her shoulder.
"I think we should investigate," I suggest.
"Maybe it's Hornshaw," Saoirse adds. "So yes. Investigating seems smart."
We head towards where the trees fell. After about two minutes of walking, there's a creaking noise and the ground shakes once more. That would be the third tree.
"Have you seen any of Catastrophe's soldiers around here recently?" I ask. I know the soldiers at Jokull had been clearing a path through the Decoy Forest. They're not supposed to be here, but that doesn't mean they aren't here.
"I haven't seen any," Saoirse replies, "But that doesn't mean they aren't here."
~~~
I don't really know who could have been felling the trees, so I'll just leave it unknown for now.
(April 5, 2020 - 5:58 pm)
Caligo~
The conversation with Sanders leaves me shaken. It shouldn't, but it does. I--I should have connected the dots sooner. Sam definitely put something in my drink.
The thought brings me a cold sort of satisfaction. I knew I wasn't the only one who's changed over the months. Sam, apparently, is just better at hiding it. I know now that he isn't just here to visit. He's got something up his sleeve. But why didn't he kill me when he had the chance? What purpose did the juniper juice serve if only to give me a strange hallucination?
As much as I ruminate over the possibilities, I cannot make myself believe that Sam would try to kill me. Logically, it makes sense. On a normal day, I would have sent him right back down to Aslahari after he even tried to give me a mug of juice. But at this very moment--I'm slipping, and I can't make up my mind.
I've left Sanders to change into a new uniform. I'm travelling down some particularly quiet halls on my way to an undisclosed location when I nearly bowl over another soldier.
It's Ashzan. She looks taken aback too, as though she didn't even see me coming. Her eyes are wide, like she's been caught doing something she shouldn't. Although, she could probably say the same about me.
"G-good afternoon, General," she says with a respectful nod. "How--are you?"
"I've just come back from greeting Lieutenant Sanders. He was released from the Sanukan prisons earlier today."
Ashzan shifts. "Oh, that's good."
"...Just watch out for him. He doesn't trust you." I don't know why I said that. I don't know why I say anything anymore. I have just confessed that I trust my recently-disappeared new recruit more than my highest-ranking Lieutenant.
(April 6, 2020 - 3:18 pm)
Caligo~
I leave Ashzan and continue on my way through the darkest halls of Jokull. Before long, I arrive at my destination--the office of my employer. I order the two elite soldiers standing there to step aside.
The elites remain stoic. "What's your business?"
"Get out of my way," I snarl. "Don't disobey a direct order. I'm the one with the key. And the authority over your lives."
Slowly, they step to either side of the door. I pull the ornate metal key out of my front pocket, unlock the equally decorative doors, and step into the darkened office of Catastrophe.
I shut the door behind me, and the room falls into dead silence. All light is blocked out, and I'm left in pitch blackness.
I close my eyes and breath in deep, feeling the darkness ripple and bounce off the forms in the room. I can "see" everything in perfect detail as long as there is movement.
My fingers trace the walls, seeking hairline cracks that might lead to a secret room. I reach the tapestry in the back--the place where the monster hid on my initiation. After mulling over my vision, I am nearly confident of the beast's identity. It was Jaaws, the black dragon. I've seen her once in person, from a distance, and the sight of her red eyes has never left me--only because they drew me in and somehow, I wasn't afraid.
My searchings for a secret door are in vain. For Jaaws, in her enormous size, to have exited the room in the time it took me to shake Catastrophe's hand, there would have to be a faster way out--that is the ONLY logical explanation. But there isn't a secret door: I would be able to see ripples getting caught in even the tiniest break in the wall or floor, and other than the small--real--door behind Catastrophe's desk (that Jaaws could never fit through), I find nothing.
So I guess I was wrong...But still, I feel like there's something I'm missing. If only I knew more about Jaaws.
It wouldn't mean anything if Jaaws had been here that day. Catastrophe works with her frequently. I suppose she could be called his pet. But it would mean a lot if Jaaws had talked to me as she did in my vision...
I feel a coldness shoot down my spine. What if it was the vision that had been caused by dark magic? That would explain why I feel so different now. Why I'm indecisive and afraid...
A part of me likes where this train of thought is going.
I burst out of Catastrophe's office, lock the doors behind me, and seek the shelter of an abandoned hall. I radio someone to radio the head cook to radio Samuel Coryli and send him to my office in two hours. While I wait, I make an impromptu phone call to the base in Aslahari.
"This is General Caligo from Jökull. Put me through immediately to someone who can tell me about Samuel Coryli, a soldier from troop 57."
"Yes, sir. One moment, sir, and I will transfer you to the captain associated with that division."
There's a click. A deep, but nervous, voice comes on the line. "General Caligo, sir. This is a very unexpected phone call."
"Are you Samuel Coryli's captain?" I ask.
"I was."
I shift in my seat. "What do you mean by that?"
"Samuel Coryli died in action about a month ago."
(May 30, 2020 - 9:45 am)
Tsuki Natsu~~
"There's somebody here," I realize. "Somebody's felling these trees by hand."
"I think they're trying to block our path," Saoirse adds.
"Then it must be Catastrophe's soldiers," I say. "I don't know who else could do this. Nobody, other than soldiers and Hornshaw, and you, go into these woods."
Saoirse tilts her head. "No," she said. "There's others. There used to be a tribe who lived here-though they're gone now. And others live here, those who have fallen to the Decoys."
"You speak as if we are seperate beings," A new voice says. Saoirse and I turn to see a woman, standing on top of a log. Hornshaw herself.
"We are all one--the Forest and every soul that lives here. We are all the Forest, and the Forest is all us," She continues. Her voice is odd, like it's coming from multiple directions at once. Mist flows from her body to the Forest's floor.
"Cornelia Hornshaw?" I ask. "Is that you?"
She tilts her head. "Perhaps I was, once. Are you friends of the bird-girl?"
"Did this particular bird-girl have black wings and a purple coat?" Saoirse asks.
"Why yes," the woman says. "She did have the most interesting outfit." They must have been talking about Raven.
"Yeah, we're her friends. But enough crazy-talk. If you're Hornshaw, then you need to come with me," I command. Hornshaw's gaze focuses on me, and I notice there's a strange look to her eyes. It's almost like blindess...but different. Like a combination of insanity and vision loss.
"Why should I?" She asks. "The Forest is my home."
"Because people are dying and you're the only one who can stop it!" I say, louder than I intended. "Listen. You know more about this Forest and the Powers than anybody else. If we want to end this war, if you want to--save this Forest, then you need to come with me."
"If it is to save the Forest, then I shall gladly come."
---
Saoirse manages to find Raven Shadows. We have a happy, though brief, reunion, and they both help me through the woods. Granite carries Hornshaw, who was walking awfully slow and looking awfully lost for someone who lived in the Forest. We make it outside the woods.
Rubiana walks up to us. I introduce her to Raven and Saoirse, telling her who they are. She still seems suspicious and wary, but eventually relented and let them guide Hornshaw onto the helicopter.
We say our farewells, and I find myself hoping that I'll be able to run into Saoirse and Raven again soon.
~~~~
Sorry this was rushed, I started running out of time.
(May 30, 2020 - 10:30 am)
Samuel Coryli entered the office looking perfectly at ease. He held his hat in his hand in Caligo's presence, and his eyebrows were up in a friendly greeting. But he wasn't smiling.
"Good afternoon, General," Sam said, dipping his head in a slight bow.
"Lock the door and sit down."
Caligo stood while Sam sat. His eyes burned intensely as he scanned his old friend's face. The general may have looked collected, but like Sam, he was hiding his inner turmoil. "Coryli, your superiors have contacted us."
Sam's eyebrows went up. "I see, sir. What did they want?"
"Don't lie to me, Coryli," Caligo answered coldly. "So how did you die?"
Sam looked like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. With pursed lips, he averted his eyes and murmured, "Heh, um." He sat up straighter and tried to hold Caligo's gaze. "They believe I died in the explosion that cost me my leg. With an injury like this they were going to...get rid of me anyway. So I moved where I could still serve and be...alive. You know how it is."
"Who really sent you?"
Caligo knew that if he caught Sam in a lie, Sam would be executed, and part of Caligo desperately wanted to unearth a secret that would explain his sudden unraveled state of mind. There was this irrepressible intensity--an anger--a hardness of heart--that almost needed Sam to be hiding something. It would put everything back into place. And so his mind charged forward with little regard to anything else. Uncomfortable thoughts were silenced--Caligo refused to acknowledge the pain and disgust knocking on the door to his soul.
Sam cocked his head and squinted at Caligo. "I did. I sent myself."
"And who do you work for?"
Sam said in earnest, "I work for you at this point."
Caligo's mind raced beyond Sam's answer. Who did he know that might hire Sam to destroy his career--his life? An Aslahari general? A lieutenant? He didn't even consider that the Resistance might be at fault. He was too paranoid in his own headquarters.
There was a knock at the door, and then a voice: "General, sir! We have the items you requested. The entire room has been stripped. Here are the belongings we found."
"Open the door," Caligo prompted Sam, who, quietly, and with a blank look at the general, rose and obeyed. A soldier stood at attention outside with a large wooden crate of Sam's own belongings. Sam allowed the crate to be placed in his arms, and the other soldier saluted and left, shutting the door.
Sam placed the crate on Caligo's bare desk without a word.
"Is there anything in here I should know about?" Caligo wondered. "I'm curious about what you put in my juniper cider."
Sam's expression--or lack thereof--didn't change. "I don't know."
"The question is," Caligo murmured as if to himself, "why?"
One at a time, the general pulled Sam's things out of the crate. The largest of them all was Sam's walking stick, which Caligo propped against his desk. Then came a half-empty bag of caribou jerky: Caligo poured the bag's contents onto his desk and picked through the food in case something was buried inside. Next, he pulled out Sam's wrinkled laundry, which he didn't bother with. The only things left were trinkets--letters, photos of loved ones, and a little carving of a beaver. Last came the tattered remains of the backpack these things had come in. The other soldiers had destroyed it in making sure nothing else was hidden inside.
Sam risked a look into Caligo's eyes, his way of saying, 'See? You've got no reason to be suspicious of me.'
Caligo ignored the look and picked up Sam's walking stick again. "This looks familiar."
Sam swallowed. "Does it? I had to get one when my leg was--"
"About that. Who made that prosthetic for you?"
"There are SailHaven refugees everywhere down south."
Caligo held the walking stick horizontally and inspected both ends. His hands shook and his skin grew cold with apprehension. "Remember that one mission?"
"Probably," Sam answered, and this time his voice was meek.
"We hid the poison in our walking sticks."
On the inside, Sam was screaming. He was terrified by what Caligo had become. It didn't seem that the light magic had worked at all--only tipped Caligo off that something was wrong. Whatever Catastrophe had done to him--it didn't look like there could be any cure.
Caligo ran his hand along the length of the walking stick until he reached the bottom. He gave it a strong twist, and with a pop, five inches of the end separated. Gently, as though unsheathing a sword, Caligo slid a tube out of the center of the walking stick. Nestled like peas in a wooden pod emerged six small vials of shimmering liquid. Caligo picked one up and observed it.
"Cendaren, I can explain," Sam said, voice hoarse with fear. "The stuff in the vials is just light magic. I didn't come here to kill you."
Light magic? Caligo's eyes flashed.
Sam was breathing fast. "I, uh, didn't send myself. I was sent by...well, the Resistance."
Again Caligo felt himself jarred by shock.
Sam continued as quickly as he could, "See, they wanted me to kill you! But then they found out that light magic cures all kinds of hypnosis. So they sent me to try it on you."
"Light magic cures all kinds of hypnosis."
Red eyes flashed again in Caligo's memory. A sick feeling entered his gut.
"I didn't come here to kill you."
I know you wouldn't kill me, Caligo confessed internally, though the thought felt like swords slashing his insides. You were always a good friend. He now shook visibly.
Sam saw Caligo trembling and didn't know what to make of it. "It's the truth and you can believe me or not, but it is. I don't think it worked. They said if it didn't work then I would have to end your life." He shook his head. "I can't do that. I'm telling you this so you don't think I betrayed you."
For the first time in his life, Caligo felt like the traitor.
"And I know you're not yourself because either Catastrophe or Jaaws did something to you--and I'm really sorry you went down that path."
Hypnosis. Wouldn't that be something? The ability to make your underlings obey you without question. If only it existed.
Hypnosis was a lie. Caligo hadn't been hypnotized. He'd been given a choice. If what he'd seen in the vision had been true, then Jaaws had spoken to him. He'd never been possessed and he'd never been controlled. His heart had been opened by Jaaws and she'd told him to follow it. It had only ever been Caligo's choice to do so: He'd closed up the door to his own conscience and walked away without looking back.
But now he looked back.
Caligo pushed the tube into the walking stick and twisted the compartment shut. The room was dead silent except for the nervous tapping of Sam's feet.
Caligo wasn't cold anymore; he was blazing hot, feeling all his pride melt into a puddle around his feet. Any semblance of honor he'd held--that disintigrated too. He was the weakest man alive--the kind who only served himself.
Caligo sank into his chair.
"Sam, you're free to go," he said quietly. "Take your things and ask for a new satchel."
"...Sir...?"
"Don't call me that."
Sam stood up hesitantly.
Caligo continued in that same sorrowful monotone, "If anyone asks, it was a false alarm from a traitorous officer you made enemies with in Aslahari."
Sam's eyes watered. "Yes, sir." While he picked his items off the desk and put them in his crate, Caligo stared off with empty eyes.
"Take your stick."
Sam balanced it on top of the crate. He opened the door and looked back. "Thank you."
Caligo didn't seem to hear.
(May 31, 2020 - 11:30 am)
Gamgi Kholodno~~
Victor's request for my presence came as a surprise, and not necessarily a welcome one. Instead, it made me nervous. Had Tsuki been lost to the Forest? Had Rubiana's copter been shot down? Had our soldiers been unable to retrieve Sväu safely? Had Caligo broken the treaty? Had Sanders assassinated someone? Had Ashzan been discovered?
Naturally, I felt a surge of relief when I opened the door and Victor's head wasn't in his hands. An even greater surge of relief flowed through me when I saw Tsuki and Rubiana beside him. So they had made it.
"Tsuki!" I exclaimed. "You're alive!" We exchanged a brief hug. Tsuki and I had grown close in Ashzan's absence. We were both wonderfully similar people, as it turned out.
"Sure am," She replied, in a much calmer tone, though there was still a fair amount of happiness within it. "It's good to see you again."
Victor smiled at us. "I'm glad to see you two are getting along. Now, let's discuss the matter of the Pre-Winter Masquerade."
"Pre-Winter Masquerade? Who in their right mind would be holding a dance at a time like this?" I commented.
"The pur Keteques, apparently," Rubiana said. She rolled her eyes. "I hate Nobyls."
"As ridiculous as a masquerade is, there is certainly a positive side. If we send a representative, as the Keteques have requested, we could get funding and supplies," Victor said.
"But we already have plenty of funding and supplies," Tsuki said, tilting her head.
"Up north, yes," Victor explained. "But in the Grasplands, we are seriously suffering. Catastrophe has been blocking off our trade routes. I sent Kimi and Davina to investigate...but I fear they won't be able to act quick enough. Everyday, the reports Hviti sends me get worse and worse.
"Catastrophe wouldn't block supplies coming from Nobyls--it would be horrible for his reputation, and it's his reputation that gives him power in the Grasplands. It would be a temporary solution, but I believe it would give Kimi and my daughter the extra time they need," Victor continued.
"The Masquerade will be dangerous," Rubiana warned. "Who could we send that Catastrophe's representatives wouldn't immediately try to assassinate? Not me, or Tsuki--they hate Tsuki, and they know I'm your second in command. And obviously you aren't going."
"I could go," I suggest. "Catastrophe probably doesn't even know who I am. And I could protect myself, if needed."
"Are you sure?" Tsuki asked. "It would still be devastating if you were killed..."
"I can do this," I said, much more certain now. "Believe me."
~~~~
(May 31, 2020 - 2:52 pm)
How do I join Kyngdom? is there a charrie sheet?
(June 2, 2020 - 10:26 am)
Hi Isabel, welcome!
You can create your charrie on the Who's Here thread:
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/kyngdom-new/node/196649
And we also have a Kyngdom Academy thread with a detailed plot summary. On the last few pages is a 'site tour' to help you get around, plus a dictionary of terms:
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/404640
Don't be afraid to just jump in and start RPing. Right now we're getting ready for a Masquerade Ball that's hosted by the Nobyls, Kyndom's rulers. Your charrie(s) can make their debut there if you want. Here's the link:
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/kyngdom-rp/node/438941
Let me know if you have any questions!
(June 2, 2020 - 1:25 pm)