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Bookclub!! S
Bookclub!!
So if anyone has written a book and they would like to share it, they post that they would like to post their book, and I will put them on a list when we get at least three people I will draw a name out of a hat. Then if it is their turn, they post a chapter a day. If they miss four days in a row, they will have to give up their spot. Sorry, but this is so the thread will stay alive. Anyone can read the stories and or post about them.
Thank you for your time.
- Cho Chang
submitted by Cho C., age 12, At Hogwarts
(November 8, 2015 - 2:19 pm)
(November 8, 2015 - 2:19 pm)
12,000 words now.
Chapter
II
Munch
peered over the moss on a branch in the jungle. He watched the portal
wink out after the girl walked out of it. He wasn't surprised that
the portal had come back to Ontalian. After all, anything was
possible. He scurried and leaped from branch to branch, following the
girl as she listened to the harmona birds' songs. He knew, deep down
in his little furry chest, that she was the one he was waiting for.
He hopped down from the branch he was on to a vine, scrambled down,
and paused on the end as the girl stopped right below him. This was
his moment....
Amber
felt a light thump on her shoulder. She started. “Hey, you almost
knocked me off, lady!” a squeaky voice complained. She looked back
at her shoulder. A small chipmunk was sitting there, rubbing its fur
with its paws. Rather than being shocked that a talking chipmunk just
fell out of the sky onto her shoulder, Amber was curious about it.
This day can't get any weirder, she thought. “Who are you?”
she asked.
“I'm
Munch.” the chipmunk answered. “Are you Amber Goldleif?”
Amber
was surprised. “Yes, how did you know that?” she asked, suddenly
suspicious. “Are you a spy?”
“No,
of course not!” Munch cried. “What a silly idea,” he added as
an afterthought.
“How
do you know my name, then?” Amber wondered.
“Well,
it's rather hard to explain...” the chipmunk began. “But I'll
tell you. It all started a few months ago... After a nice day of
foraging, I was settling down to sleep in my hollow for some sleep.
As I was just drifting off, a voice sounded in my head. It said,
'Munch, your time will come. In the seventh moon, the portal will
come. It will appear, and a traveler will come. She will be a shifter
of shapes, cast off from the humans. Her name will be Amber
Goldleif. It will be your choice to help her or to leave her to fail.
Make the right choice, and you and she will live. Make the wrong, and
you both will die. You are linked. Save me. I am dying.'
“At
first it didn't make any sense. It still doesn't. Except I know that
you're the traveler because this is the seventh moon since the portal
last appeared. And I think that 'shifter of shapes' means
'shape-shifter'. That's a really rare gift-”
“And
I just so happen to be one.” Amber interrupted. “Do you know what
the voice was?”
“I
guess some prophetic spirit thing,” Munch said.
“I
think I'm your traveler that you've been waiting for. I've always
been cast off from villages, and I'm a shape-shifter. I just don't
understand what I'd be failing at, and I don't know who to save,”
Amber summed up.
“So
can I travel with you because I think that's the right choice?”
Munch asked.
“Yes,
I think so. I don't know what I'm looking for, but you're welcome to
come with me,” Amber invited. The chipmunk nodded his head and
stayed on her shoulder. “This should be good,” he murmured.
The
Meridox was dying. It had not been entered in centuries, and it was
growing weary. Its openings were closing and it would soon be lost.
It was millenia old, but soon it would be no more. It needed magic to
fuel it, and the amount of it left in the world was dwindling. The
humans did not want there to be magic, it destroyed their rules. It
was too unpredictable, and they didn't want it. So the magic simply
was 'unbelieved' and ceased to exist. But the Meridox needed it.
The
ancient maze's many corridors had stopped shifting, stilling to a
halt. The portals were fading away, the paths crumbling. Deep in, at
the center, the Meridox's heart was slowing. It would soon stop
altogether- unless- unless a Believer came. A Believer... The Meridox
felt a strange calm and peace settle into it. The heart still beat,
but with renewed strength, for the Meridox sensed a Believer in
magic.
Amber
and Munch had been strolling through the jungle. Amber had shifted
into a deer again and Munch was riding on her back. “Ontalian is
really one of the most pleasing places to be,” Munch remarked.
“Where's Ontalian?” Amber asked. “It's this jungle! Ontalian is
one of the realms of Avaloria, the home of the Meridox.” Munch told
her.
“What's
the Meridox?” Amber was even more confused now. “It's a
spectacular labyrinth fueled completely by magic. It's always moving,
and there are new pathways every time you turn, and you never follow
the same one twice. It's also full of portals, like the one you came
to Avaloria through.” Munch explained.
Amber
thought about this for a moment. She heard the cascades of the
waterfall again, growing much louder. Pretty soon, they would see it.
Amber had always loved waterfalls. Even though they were deafening,
she loved to watch them. They made her feel... Somewhat complete. She
and Munch walked in silence for a while, enjoying the songs from the
birds overhead and the peaceful serenity of the jungle. Eventually,
she asked, “What are those birds called?”
Munch
yawned. “Harmona birds...” he mumbled sleepily. A leopard wove in
and out of the foliage. Amber nodded her head to it, and it nodded
back. She shifted into a leopard, realizing how much easier it was to
shift in the realm of Ontalian. The leopard eyed Munch hungrily, but
Amber flicked her tail at it and shook her head. The leopard got the
message and padded away. Munch's even breathing told her that he was
asleep. Amber shook her head in amazement. How could that little guy
sleep with the sounds of the waterfall?
Amber
padded a few more steps as the waterfall thundering grew to a roar.
She trotted through a curtain of vines to see the waterfall. It was
magnificent. Amber stood at the edge of a pool, closing her eyes
against the spray that was coming off the falls. It was nearly as
tall as the trees, white with foam at the bottom and light blue at
the top. Amber shook herself out, as leopards hate getting wet. She
shifted into an otter, sagging under the now heavy weight of Munch,
who miraculously was still asleep.
Amber
the otter found a safe spot for the chipmunk under a frond of a large
plant. Then she bounced over to one of the numerous pools and swam.
Amber had never done anything quite as delightful as swimming in an
otter form. She slid through the water with an easy grace and agility
that she had never experienced before. She loved this realm, loved
being free, loved being herself.
(November 15, 2015 - 6:46 pm)
Munch,
however, was having a nightmare. Unbeknownst to Amber, he stirred
uncomfortably in his sleep and muttered unintelligibly. In his dream,
he was falling...falling....hitting the ground.... The voice sounded
again, more urgently. “You have found the traveler, you must save
me. I am millenia old, I am ancient, you must save me. If magic
becomes extinct, then I fear I will die along with it. For I am the
Meridox and I am dying.”
Munch
was running through countless shifting corridors, racing to the
voice, when, abruptly, all movement stopped. He was in a circular
chamber. In the center, there was a golden sphere infused with lapis
lazuli half embedded into the stone. The sphere beat slowly, like a
heart. The voice said, “You have found me. I am the heart of the
Meridox.” The heart beat slowly...more slowly... then stopped.
Munch promptly woke up, gasping.
Amber
sat down on a rock and looked up at the falls. There were little gold
and silver fish flitting about in the shallows and bigger ones
leaping in and out of the waterfall. She gazed up at the sky. In the
clearing where the waterfall was, there was also a clearing in the
canopy of leaves, so she could see the sky.
The
sun was setting. Amber shifted to a fishing-cat and swam to the
foaming bottom of the falls. The pounding was incredible as she
dragged herself out of the water and onto one of the boulders by the
falls. She leaped up from boulder to boulder, the spray tickling her
nose. She caught one of the bigger fish in her mouth and realized how
hungry she was. She ate the fish, surprised at how succulent it was.
She tried to catch another, but missed. She imagined the fish
laughing at her as it fell away.
Amber
hopped up the boulders until she reached the top of the waterfall.
She gazed down on the jungle. It spread for as far as she could see,
except for some mountains in the distance. She settled down by a
rivulet of water and watched the sunset. “Beautiful sunset, isn't
it,” a voice remarked, somewhere behind her, startling her. A
fishing cat tom was standing behind her, also watching the sunset.
He
padded forward to sit by her. “I haven't seen you before. And I've
seen everyone. How'd you get here? I'm Takiri, by the way.”
“I
came by portal. I'm Amber, nice to meet you.” Amber responded.
“Right....
The seventh moon.”
Amber
remembered Munch saying that the portal reappeared every seven moons.
Munch. Munch! He was still under the plant! What if an animal had
gotten him? Why had she left him? What if he thought she had
abandoned him and wandered off? “Takiri, I left a friend down
there- a chipmunk named Munch- and I need to get back to him.”
“Munch?
He told me about the seven moons' portal. I know a shortcut down, I
can show you,” Takiri offered.
“Sure,
that would be great,” Amber said tersely. “can we get going,
please? Not to be rude, but I just want to be sure that he's okay.”
“Yes,
yes. Let's go. Follow me.” Takiri led her down the boulders, taking
a different route than Amber had first taken. It was definitely
faster, but wetter. He led her through a series of pools caused by
runoff from the waterfall. “Just a couple more boulders...”
Takiri murmured. “And here we are!” They were back in the main
pool at the foot of the falls, not a yard away from where Munch was.
Munch
had woken up and was cornered against a tree, with a tiger cub
snarling at him. Amber quickly thanked Takiri and then shifted to
tiger form. Amber didn't turn to see his reaction because she
advanced on the cub, growling low in her throat. “Get away from my
friend, cub. You don't want to challenge me.”
The
cub turned around, suddenly scared. “But, my family... We need
prey! My mother just had a litter of new cubs, and she needs food!
She sent me and my sister out to hunt, because she thinks we're old
enough. Did you say that this chipmunk is your friend?”
Amber's
face softened. “I never had a family to protect and hunt for, but
can understand your need. But please don't eat my friend. His name is
Munch. I'm Amber. I'm a shape-shifter. Do you know how to catch a
fish? They're good, better than you'd think. I can catch one for
you,” Amber offered.
The
cub nodded vigorously. “Yes, please. My name is Nadiv. Amber,
thanks for your kindness.”
Amber
nodded. “It's not a problem. I can catch you one of those big ones
in the falls.”
“So
are you guys just going to talk over me like I don't exist?” Munch
asked indignantly.
“No,
Munch, I just wasn't aware that chipmunks like water.”
“Well,
you're right. We hate it. Now that the tiger isn't going to eat me,
I'm going to take another nap.” Munch yawned and lay down, his
striped sides rising and falling gently. Amber led Nadiv to the falls
and jumped up a couple boulders. She showed him how to thrust his
neck out when a fish was about to leap. She caught a couple for him,
then, each carrying a fish, hopped down the boulders. “Take these
home to your family, Nadiv. I hope that you stay safe,” Amber said.
“Thanks again, Amber. I hope
that you and Munch stay safe as well!” Nadiv told her. “Good
luck!” Amber called after him as he disappeared into the jungle.
Amber gently picked Munch up and tossed him over on her back. The
tiger and chipmunk padded into the jungle as well, and the thundering
of the falls grew quieter behind them.
Amber
heard the pounding of paws on the earth when she and Munch were
settling down for the night. “Amber! Amber! It's me, Takiri!” a
fishing-cat raced through the jungle to Amber. “Why didn't you
tell me that you were a shape-shifter?!” Takiri demanded. “Didn't
you think that that was important at all?”
“Sorry,
I was a bit preoccupied with a tiger cub trying to eat my friend,”
Amber said. She yawned. “Want to stay with us for the night? It'll
be safer for you.”
“Sure,
why not. Tell me more about you in the morning. I'll take first
watch,” Takiri sat on the ground beside Amber and Munch. And so the
night went on.
In
the morning, Takiri yawned. He had stayed up all night on 'first'
watch. Which was the only watch. Amber stretched. “Why didn't you
wake me up for second watch?” she asked. “I thought I'd let you
sleep,” Takiri yawned again. “Takiri, why don't you sleep a bit?
I'll take watch.” Amber shifted to a fishing-cat and took Takiri's
place as guard. “Thanks...” he mumbled before falling asleep.
Early
morning light filtered through the canopy of leaves. Amber stood up
and padded around the camp, Takiri and Munch both still asleep. Amber
thought of the past day. She had messed up in village number
thirty-seven; there had been a storm; some shimmering mist that
became a portal...stepped through; there were pictures of
shape-shifters; a talking chipmunk fell out of the sky; turns out his
name is Munch; learn about Meridox and Avaloria; lose Munch; meet
Takiri; catch fish for Nadiv; sleep; now. Now, she thought.
What happens now?
(November 16, 2015 - 8:33 am)
Chapter
IV
Munch
stirred. “Meridox...die....” he mumbled. He woke up. He shook his
head, as if to clear it, and immediately started rambling about
food. “Hey, Amber! Where are you?” he squeaked. He nudged Takiri
next to him, thinking he was Amber. “Amber, I'm hungry.” The
fishing-cat on watch turned around. “Good morning, Munch. What do
you want?”
“I
want Amber. Is there food?”
“I'm
Amber. That's Takiri you're nudging.” Amber padded over, shifting
into a human to prove her point. “I can turn into a bird and get
some cacao beans for you, but I might have a problem getting a pod
open,” she offered. Munch shook his head. “No cacao. Too bitter.
Maybe walnuts... No, none in the jungle...”
Amber
smiled at the chipmunk. “I'm sure we can find something for you.
Can you wait until Takiri's up to eat?”
“Oh,
that'll be hard... I don't know, Amber.” Munch shook his head. “I'm
hungry. I didn't eat dinner yesterday, you know...”
“Do
you only eat nuts or something?” Amber asked.
“No,
we chipmunks aren't that limited.” Munch puffed out his chest, and
Amber stifled a laugh. “Unlike our stereotype,” the chipmunk
added. “Could you eat fish?” she asked. “If it was the only
thing,” Munch answered.
“Then
I'll catch you a fish.” Amber assured him. “Any preference?”
“No.
Just as long as it's edible.”
Amber
laughed and shifted into a harmona bird. “I'll be at the waterfall.
Wake Takiri if anything happens.” She soared off.
At
the waterfall, the fish were plentiful, like the day before. She
shifted to a bird of prey and tried grabbing one with her talons. The
problem was that the fish saw her shadow over the water and she
wasn't quick enough to grab them before they flitted away. She
shifted to a larger bird and tried to get one off the waterfall while
it was leaping. This worked, so she got a couple in her talons. She
shifted to a puffin, and with the fish in her mouth, dove in the
pools for smaller ones.
Amber
discovered that puffins are better fishers than hawks. She caught
several of the small fish by diving. Her feathers were waterproof, so
she didn't get cold afterward. After she had finished fishing, she
shifted into a heron, picked up the fish in her talons, and flew back
to camp, where munch and Takiri were talking. She landed in front of
them and dropped the fish out of her talons. She shifted into a
fishing-cat. “Breakfast!” she sang. Munch's face lit up and he
grabbed a smaller fish. “Thanks, Amber,” Takiri meowed before
selecting a large gold fish. Amber nodded and took a big fish, as
well.
After
they had finished their fish, Amber said, “Takiri, do you want to
travel with us? I don't know where we're going, but-”
“Amber!
I forgot to tell you! I had another dream! There was the Voice, and
I...” Munch interrupted. “Let me start again. I was walking in
the jungle, like yesterday, when I fell down into the ground. Only it
wasn't the ground. It was a really deep hole. At the bottom, I was in
a labyrinth that could only be the Meridox because it was shifting
and had portals. Then the Voice came again and it said that it was
dying and I needed to come-” the chipmunk paused, gasping for
breath. “and I ran through the maze, and the corridors stopped
moving and the portals winked out.
“
Then I was kind of teleported
into a circular chamber with a gold sphere in the ground in it. The
sphere had lapis lazuli in it and was beating slowly. The Voice said
that the sphere was its heart. The Voice is the Meridox, Amber. The
Meridox is dying.” Munch finished. “This dream happened while you
were on the waterfall.”
Amber
took this in. “So that means... That means that we're supposed to
save the Meridox. Okay. That's not too hard,” she said
sarcastically. “All we need to do is.... What do we need to
do?”
“Let's
go over what we know about the Meridox,” Takiri reasoned. “So we
know that it's an ancient labyrinth, it exists because it runs on
magic- Oh! So if it runs on magic, and it's dying, then
it's dying because there's not enough magic in the world to sustain
it!”
Munch
nodded vigorously and Amber looked impressed. “So, Munch, do you
know where an entrance is?” the changeling asked. 'Not... exactly,
no. But I think that they just appear wherever when the Meridox feels
like making an opening.” the chipmunk answered.
“So
we could just walk in any direction and hopefully an entrance will
open up under our feet?” Takiri summed up. “Basically,” Munch
agreed. The fishing-cat stood up. “What are we waiting for? Let's
go!”
They
had been walking through the jungle for so long that Amber could see
the mountains that she'd seen from the waterfall. Takiri padded
alongside her, and Munch rode on her back. He had fallen asleep
again. Takiri nodded to the chipmunk. “Lucky chipmunk,” he
remarked. “Are you getting tired yet?”
“Yes.
Do you want to stop to rest?”
“And
catch some prey, of course.”
“Yes-
how about we set up by this stream?”
“Okay.”
They
set Munch carefully on the stream bank and Amber sat down. Takiri
went hunting, insisting that Amber had done enough and should rest.
She gratefully agreed and was now laying with Munch, who was mumbling
about chestnuts in his sleep. Amber yawned, the exhaustion of the
day's traveling catching up to her. She relaxed and fell into a
dreamless sleep.
Amber
woke up to Takiri's nose in her face. Wake up, sleepyhead! It's time
to get going!” he meowed enthusiastically. “And I saved you a
fish,” he added. Munch was awake too, and like Takiri, seemed
anxious to continue. “Any more dreams about the Meridox?” she
asked.
“No,
just chestnuts,” the chipmunk answered.
“Alright.
Let me eat this fish, then we can leave.” Amber took the fish in
her paw. It was an earthy copper hue, unlike the flashy silvers and
golds of the fish at the waterfall. She gulped it down, not pausing
to savor the flavor, and hopped to her paws. “Takiri, Munch, I'm
going to shift into a horse form to make travel faster. You both can
ride on me,” Amber announced. Munch nodded vigorously and Takiri
reluctantly nodded as well.
Amber
shifted into a mare. Her shiny coat was the same color as her hair;
it was auburn. Her mane was a darker shade of auburn and her eyes
were crystal blue. She had never been a horse before, and it felt
so... free. She pawed the ground with her hoof and knelt down
so that Takiri could climb on. He took the offer and, once on,
remarked, “I don't think I'll ever get used to your shape-shifting,
Amber.”
She
laughed. “Oh, I'm sure you won't, Takiri. Honestly, I don't know if
even I will.” She lowered her head and Munch quickly climbed
up. And off they went. How odd that must've looked; a chestnut mare
with a fishing-cat riding on her back and a chipmunk on her head. But
none of the three were thinking about that as they neared the
mountains. They were magnificent.
Amber
stopped in front of the mountains in awe. They were majestic sweeps
of deep, dark purple stone. They were slightly translucent and capped
with snow. Munch sat back on Amber's head and gazed up. “Welcome to
the Sinnaloch Mountains...” he mumbled. “Another part of
Avaloria?” Amber guessed. He nodded. Takiri said, “So these are
the Sinnaloch... Impressive.” Amber looked back at the jungle,
already fading away in the distance as they trotted on. She sighed,
already missing the sweet songs of harmona birds.
(November 17, 2015 - 6:59 pm)
Amber,
Takiri, and Munch traveled on over the Sinnaloch. Amber shifted into
a lynx, since they were better suited to the climate, and Takiri
gladly hopped off her back. “I'm a lot more comfortable walking on
my own paws, and it's not fair for you to need to carry us both.”
Amber
disagreed, but she wasn't going to argue with Takiri. She hated to
admit, but she was getting tired. Her lynx paws felt like lead. She
glanced at the sky, and noticed the sun setting. In Sinnaloch, it set
with a rim of purple around it, when in Ontalian, it had set with a
rim of green. Amber scanned the desolate mountain, noticing a small
cave sheltered from wind. She nodded to it. “Maybe we could shelter
there for the night.”
“Yes,
good idea. One problem, though- what's there to eat?” Takiri asked.
Amber looked around again. She noticed that they seemed to be the
only living things on the purple mountains. “Um... I don't- Ah!”
Amber cried. She fell down, taking Takiri and Munch with her. Only
they didn't hit the ground. They just kept falling. Falling through
countless layers of translucent rock; varying shades of purple;
falling through layers of dirt and silver metal...
falling...falling...falling.
The
trio seemed to fall forever. Amber shifted to human form and grabbed
Takiri and Munch close to her. She closed her blue eyes and took a
deep breath. Strangely, she wasn't frightened. Only calm. A peaceful
serenity took her and held her, kept her sane through that falling.
She wondered when, if, they would reach ground again. She streamlined
her body, not letting go of her friends. She lost track of time and
space, lost all direction. All she knew was the falling.
Amber
seemed to have been falling for a millennium when she felt a thud.
She opened her eyes. She was in a chamber, a circular chamber. It
had seven archways, each with a different color keystone, that led
down many pathways, and down them, she could see more paths. A light
thump and a heavier one beside her told her that her friends had
landed as well. Munch immediately burst out,”We've found the
Meridox!”
~{}{}{}{}{}{}{}~
The trio looked around the
chamber at the arches. “Which one do we choose?” Takiri said
aloud.
“I
don't know, maybe that one over there,” Munch answered. “I'm
feeling a pull to it. Intuition,” he nodded to the arch with a red
keystone. Amber agreed. “You've been getting all the dreams, I
think we should follow your intuitions.”
Takiri
nodded and padded to the arch. “Let's go!”
Amber
walked over after him. Munch was scurrying after them, his short legs
pumping. “Hey, wait for me!” he called. Amber looked over at
Takiri and couldn't help it. She laughed. She shifted into human form
and picked a breathless Munch up. “It's about time,” he grumbled.
Amber held back a smile. “I can put you down again,” she
suggested. Munch shook his head. “Please don't.”
With
Takiri at her heels and Munch in her hands, Amber walked through the
arch. They went on in silence for a while before reaching a fork.
“Left,” the chipmunk decided without hesitation. And they went
left. They followed the corridor until they reached a square chamber.
On the four walls, there was an arch with a magenta keystone, an arch
with a black keystone, the way they had just come, and an oval of
shimmering mist. “A portal,” Amber breathed.
“Go
to the portal,” Munch said. Takiri took a hesitant step. “I've
never seen a portal before,” he said warily. “Don't worry, I
think they're safe,” Amber told him. “I came to Avaloria through
a portal, remember?”
“Alright...”
Takiri
stepped forward to the portal, Amber's hand on his back. Instead of
it showing glimpses of diverse areas, it showed one image. As Amber
stepped closer, the shifting colored mists solidified into one
graphic picture. They showed a realm that was completely flat, gray,
and dusty. “Step through already,” Munch urged. All three
disappeared through, the image fragmenting back to chaotic swirls.
~{}{}{}{}{}{}{}~
The
Meridox could feel the Believers inside it, running through the
corridors. It could also feel its life slipping away. Hurry,
hurry... There still might be time.
~{}{}{}{}{}{}{}~
The
trio was inside the mist. For one stifling moment, they
were stuck, but then emerged in a dark expanse with walls covered in
images like a time line. Amber, Takiri, and Munch all saw the same
things...
A
shifting, a rumbling in wild untamed land, dragons soaring through
the skies....
A
myriad of tunnels forming and enlarging under the earth, the dirt
piling up into purple mountains above...
Chambers
digging themselves out of the ground, portals shimmering into
existence...
A
golden comet flashing through the sky, falling, and sinking into the
earth...
The
comet falling through the ground, embedding itself in a circular
chamber deep below...
Arches
assembling over tunnels, each capped with a different precious gem as
a keystone...
Vents
up above opening up, and animals of all sorts falling through, safely
carried by magic to the stone labyrinth below...
People,
now, falling like the animals before them, racing through corridors
to the heart, where they were carried by an updraft back to the land
above, gaining incredible knowledge and wisdom along the way,
becoming worshiped as wizards, the Believers, the casters of magic...
Now
a girl with auburn hair, a fishing-cat, and a chipmunk walking
through the very same paths.
Amber, Munch, and Takiri emerged
from the portal into the new realm. It was a desolate, gray flat
land, swirls of dust rising off the bare ground. The skies were
completely black, with no stars, no moon, but yet there was still
light. The sand was pulsing with an eerie glow, barely illuminating
the shadowy realm. The most unnerving thing about the desert,
however, was the absence of life and the silence. Complete, absolute
silence.
As the trio padded away from the
portal, Amber noticed that their feet made no sound on the dusty
ground. She looked over her shoulder at the portal, noting that it
was filling an arch with a gray keystone. She remarked how odd the
silence was to her friends, but felt like her mouth was stuffed full
of cotton. Her voice was silenced, just like everything else. Takiri
looked like he was about to meow something, but his voice didn't
work, either. Munch was asleep again, curled up in a ball in Amber's
palm.
Amber wondered if she and her
friends had become deaf, or this world just made no sound. Unlike
Ontalian, with its chattering of life and harmona birdsong, or
Sinnaloch, with the wistful howling of winds, the flat land had no
sound. Not even the breeze picking up the sand whistled. And the area
wasn't much to look at, either. Just desolate, dust gray desert for
miles around.
Takiri pressed closer to Amber's
legs. His notion was clear- he didn't like this place. They walked on
and on, the silence pressing on Amber's ears until she felt that they
would burst. As they went on, she noticed subtle differences, like
landmarks, in the brightness of the pulsing sand. She saw a sunburst
pattern in one place, and a sketch of a tiger in another. She pointed
these out to Takiri, and he relaxed as they began to notice the
artistic beauty of the world. They walked through the desert, seeing
it in a new light.
~{}{}{}{}{}{}{}~
The two had been going for quite
a while when Takiri's keen sight caught a glimpse of a shape on the
horizon. His eyes brightened and he looked at Amber, then at the
shape, then back again, hoping she would get the message. She put the
hand that wasn't holding Munch to her eyes and gazed forward. She
must've seen it, too, because she glanced excitedly at Takiri and
started to run.
Takiri noticed that he should
have felt somewhat hungry by now, but didn't. He left this thought
and ran to catch up with Amber.
(November 25, 2015 - 2:27 pm)
Chapter
VI
The shape drew nearer. Amber and
Takiri, with a sleeping Munch still in her hand, ran towards it in
anticipation. Amber tripped, nearly dropping, munch, and shifted into
a doe, giving the chipmunk to Takiri. They were able to travel faster
with Amber as a deer, and so the figure came into clear view. It was
a hunched old man, shuffling through the dust and sand. Amber noticed
that he was careful not to mess up the drawings in the sand. She
lightly stepped around them, and the fishing-cat was careful as well.
The
man had a faded blue coat, a cane made out of a knobbly wood, and
once-bright green pants. Amber and Takiri padded up to him, Amber
shifting back into a human form. The aged man looked shocked to see
that, and he jumped- or tried to- backwards. He ended up tripping,
cane flailing, and Amber rushed behind him before he fell. She
propped him back onto his feet. He looked like he was saying
something, but then slapped his face.
Amber
waved greetings and picked Munch up from Takiri's back. The old man
slowly waved back, as if his mind was still processing that there
were three other living things in the realm. He carefully set the
cane aside and began arranging the sand into letters on the ground.
Amber then realized that it was the man that had drawn the fantastic
images in the sand. Or perhaps there were others that they hadn't
seen?
The
words in the sand, if they were words, were in a language Amber
didn't recognize. The writing was smooth and fluid, in curlicues and
swirls. The man stopped writing and looked up expectantly, as if
waiting for a response. Amber moved over at his side and arranged the
sand in the words, I am Amber, and my cat friend is Takiri. The
chipmunk is Munch and we come from the Meridox.
The
old man nodded in understanding and wrote back in
the same language, I
am Soldana and I was lost here a long time ago. I have not seen
another soul here for what feels like longer.
Amber
wrote, I am looking for a portal. Do you know where one is?
Soldana
answered, Oh, that? It's just... maybe a few miles from here? It
all looks the same.
Amber
smiled as Takiri was looking between the lines of symbols, trying to
make sense of them. Can you lead us to it?
Soldana
nodded and stood up. He was surprisingly agile for one of his age. He
beckoned to Amber with his free arm, the other clutching his cane.
She nodded and followed. Takiri stayed at her side as they walked
through the silent desert.
They
had walked for a time when they saw a flickering light in the
distance that was brighter than the sand. Amber decided that it was
the portal. They made their way closer, and when they reached it,
Amber's face lit up. She clasped Soldana's hand in thanks and smiled
gratefully at him. He winked in response and shuffled off again.
The
portal was unlike any that Amber had seen before. It was still an
arch, with a glowing fiery orange-red keystone. What filled the arch,
however, was not mist. It was fire. The flames gave off no heat, just
crackled with sparks and gave off light. Takiri didn't hesitate to
pad through the flames, and Amber cast a glance behind her at the
fast-disappearing old man before stepping through, as well.
The
flames gradually grew in sound, first snapping, then crackling, and
finally roaring. Amber's ears hurt from the sudden sound and she
flinched. She ran through the flames, the dark of the portal taking
over. This one only had one image and was fairly short. The image was
that of a room with three arches. One had the same hue keystone as
the one she had just gone through and was filled with flames. The
other two were capped with sea green and lavender stones.
Amber
reached the end of the portal quickly, and ended up in the room in
the picture. Takiri was sitting in the center of the room, thumping
his tail on the floor. He breathed out a sigh of relief when she came
in. “I was afraid something had happened to you,” he admitted.
Amber smiled. “I'm okay. It's a relief to be able to hear again.”
“I
hear you.” Takiri meowed. “Literally and figuratively, if you
know what I mean.”
Amber
laughed and placed Munch on the ground. “Oh, Munch... Can you wake
up? Munch...”
The
chipmunk blearily blinked his eyes. He mumbled something and then
shook his head, fully alert. “What? Where? Who? Oh, it's just you
and Takiri.”
Amber
nodded. “We just came through that flame portal. You missed the
region we went into! It was kind of... eerie.”
“There
was no sound. Everything was muffled. The sky was black and had no
stars or moon, and the only light was from the glowing sand,”
Takiri intervened.
“And
there was absolutely no life, except for this old man named Soldana
that we came across. He showed us the way to the portal. He drew
these amazing pictures using the varying glows in the sand,” Amber
finished. Munch thought about this new information and tapped his
tail lightly on the ground. “That sounds like Xinana, the ghost
realm,” he said. “You're lucky you kept traveling in a straight
line,” he added. “Otherwise, you could have gotten lost.”
“Well,
we're back in the Meridox now, so which way do we go?” Amber asked.
Munch
looked around the room. “Take the lavender one,” he announced.
Amber picked him back up and she and Takiri headed through the
lavender keystone arch. They emerged into a torch-lit corridor. The
torches were in bronze sconces and blazed with purple fire. Amber
thought this was inspiring, as she had never seen flames any color
other than orange.
The
end of the corridor came and there were three paths that split off of
it. “Go straight ahead,” Munch ordered. The straight corridor had
two arches in its sides. Munch told them to ignore them and continue
forward. The corridor was now lit with torches in silver sconces, but
they still had purple fire. Amber noticed that she should be getting
tired, or at least hungry, and she told her friends this. Munch said
that the magical atmosphere of the Meridox eliminated all animals'
basic needs.
“How
did you manage to fall asleep then?” Takiri wondered.
“I
think it might be because I'm acting as your guide. Maybe I'm not
supposed to guide you through portal-realms,” the chipmunk guessed.
“Perhaps,” Amber said lightly. “Let's keep on the task ahead.”
The
trio reached another circular room. It had two arches in ti, one with
a deep, sapphire blue stone flecked with gold and the other blazing
white. “Take the blue one.” Munch said. Down the new path, the
torches were in gold sconces and had deep blue flames. As Amber
looked closer at them, she saw eyes looking back at her. They were
little more than slits, with gold irises and catlike pupils. They
slowly blinked, then widened.
Amber
jumped back. “There- there were eyes! There were eyes in that
torch!” she stammered. Takiri looked alarmed. He glanced up at the
torch, and seeing the eyes, hastily averted his eyes. Munch's chubby
chipmunk face smiled. “Oh, them?” he said. “They're fire
spirits. They're each a different color, but they're really sensitive
and could wink out if they're nervous. I, personally, like to look at
them, so I suggest that you leave them alone.”
Amber
took a last glance at the spirit before moving on. She shifted into
strange animals after giving Munch to Takiri just to pass the time.
After a while, none of the three were amused anymore. Amber blew a
gusty sigh. “Will this pathway ever end?”
“I
don't know. Maybe at that...is it an opening?” Takiri said.
“Yes,
I think it is!” Excitement filled Amber's voice. She uncoiled
herself from Takiri's foreleg and shifted into a fishing-cat. They
ran to the opening in the corridor. It was yet another chamber. It
had no arches, but a ladder going up through a hole in the ceiling.
There was art in the walls made out of precious stones. “This can't
be the end...” Munch speculated. “So we go up the ladder.”
“Wait,
Munch. Let me look at he pictures on the walls. They might be
important,” Amber said. She padded around the walls, examining the
images. There were pictures of jungles, of beaches, and of meadows,
but nothing about the Meridox. “Never mind, let's just go,” Amber
decided. They carefully ascended the ladder, which was made out of a
rusty metal. Amber shifted into an albatross to catch her friends if
they fell. Munch was gripping a tuft of fur on Takiri's back so hard
that it looked like he might tear it out. Eventually, they made it up
the ladder. Amber had to shift into a smaller bird to fit up the
narrow shaft of the ladder.
The
room they entered had a well in the center. It was made of weathered
stones with an old bucket in it. Takiri padded over and sniffed it.
“It smells... strange. I can catch the scent of something ancient,
something powerful, something evil on it.”
“That's
probably because it might be filled with poison. Or bad dreams or
something,” Munch said. Amber the thrush perched on the edge. “If
either of your guesses are correct, Munch, it'd be bad dreams, mostly
because there's nothing in it.”
Takiri
put his front paws on the edge and looked down. “That's strange.
Let's just leave it alone and go through one of the arches, please,”
he mewed quietly. “Takiri, what's wrong?” Amber asked.
“Nothing... It's just that looking down the well brings back my
worst memories. It's unsettling,” the fishing-cat admitted. “Me,
too. Like the thirty-seven times I've been kicked out of a village
because they don't like changelings,” the thrush replied.
“This
is all very nice, but let's stop looking down the well and get
going,” Munch interrupted, looking panicked. A tear gathered in
Takiri's eye and slipped down his fur to land in the bottom of the
well. Amber was shaking her head, as if trying to clear it. “Takiri,
stop looking down the well!” she cried, alarm audible in her voice.
She fluttered off of the well and shifted back into human form. “I...
can't...” Takiri sounded as though he were in a trance. Tears were
freely falling from his cheeks now and each one landed with a large
plunk in the well.
Amber pulled him away with all
her strength, but he scrabbled at the well with his paws, trying to
gain purchase. Munch was watching. “Amber, is there anything I can
do to help?” he asked anxiously. She nodded and shifted into an
eagle, Takiri grasped in her talons. “Take one of my feathers. Not
a tail feather or flying feather, but one of the downy ones.” She
grunted with the effort of holding Takiri.
Munch
hesitantly plucked a fluffy feather off of her thigh. “Will this
do?” he asked.
“Yes,
that's perfect. Now take it and use it to tickle Takiri's snout. That
might break the trance.” Amber shifted back into a girl. Munch
hopped up to the top of the well. He waved the feather in front of
Takiri's nose he sneezed, sending Munch and the feather teetering on
the edge of the well. Amber reached out her hand and caught him in it
just as he was falling over. She sighed in relief.
Takiri
had fallen on his side and was shaking his head as Amber had done. He
stood up, blinked, and said, “Let's get out of here.”
(November 26, 2015 - 9:25 am)
Chapter
VII
The
trio headed through an arch in the well room that was capped with a
soft green stone. The path
they entered had a very high ceiling and the
fire spirits were varying shades of green in copper sconces. The
corridor turned at one point and they followed it. Amber
wanted to see if she could transform into a small dragon. She had
never seen one before, but had seen many pictures. Try as she might,
she ended up turning into a bizarre creature with a horse leg, a bird
claw, a lion paw, and a fin.
Her
body was that of a leopard mixed with a donkey and she had two
misshapen wings on her back. She had three horns- a spiraling one in
the center of her forehead, a corkscrew one on her left temple, and
one that stood straight out on her right. One tooth protruded from
her lip. Both Munch and Takiri burst out laughing and a deep,
rumbling chuckle reverberated through the hall. Munch silenced
himself for a moment. “The Meridox is laughing,” he breathed.
Amber rustled her tiny wings and snorted, and Munch couldn't help
bursting into fits of laughter.
Amber
shifted into a more practical shape and the three walked the
remainder of the hall. They entered a room with one arch. The arch
had a green keystone, like the previous one, and they had no choice
but to enter it. It was another portal. Takiri
didn't hesitate to step through. Amber, with Munch on her back,
followed. The mists were green and cool. Amber relished
in the feeling of them on her skin as opposed to the warm air in the
labyrinth.
The
portal, unlike the other portals, contained no images. Amber saw the
end of it
relatively soon and walked out of it. The world she stepped into took
her breath away. Takiri was sitting on the mossy ground, marveling
at what lay before them. Amber trotted over and sat next to him.
Munch had fallen asleep again. Amber nodded to him. “I guess he was
right about not being able to guide us through portal-realms,” she
said.
Takiri
snorted. “Maybe he just gets really tired when we're not in the
Meridox.”
“Perhaps,
but technically this is part
of the Meridox, is it not?”
Takiri
said nothing and looked ahead. The
two were in a valley with springy ground that appeared to be made of
moss. The meadow continued for a few feet then suddenly became a
forest with tall red trees. The trees carried up into the clouds,
disappearing behind a shroud of mist. Their foliage was deep green
and sparse on the branches that were visible.
The
forest itself was huge. It
had tendrils of mist curling off of its
trees and softly
glowing spots of light danced in it. At the ground level, there were
ferns, brambles, bracken, and wildflowers of all colors. Amber
shifted into a fox and stood up. She motioned to Takiri to come
forward and the fishing-cat carefully picked up the sleeping Munch
before catching up.
Amber
inhaled deeply and the rich scents of resin and life filled her
nostrils. She could hear the scuffling of forest prey in the
undergrowth and thrushes and sparrows in the leaves. Takiri padded
uneasily alongside her. “I miss water.” he muttered. “Oh, stop
it, “ Amber chastised. “I can hear a stream far ahead.”
“And
I don't trust foxes,” he added sullenly. Amber shifted to a
fishing-cat. Her blue eyes sparkled as she said, “Well, do you
trust me now?”
He
tried to glare at her before his face broke into a grin. “I never
said I didn't trust shape-shifters.”
“I
didn't think you had the chance to meet one before I came to
Ontalian,” the changeling said with a laugh. The two carefully
maneuvered their way through the prickly brambles and dense
undergrowth. The specks of light whizzed around them, humming softly.
Amber reached out a paw to touch one, but when her paw made contact,
the glowing thing exploded into a hundred new specks. Amber quickly
withdrew her paw.
Takiri watched it with wonder.
“I wonder what those lights are,” he mused. “I don't know.
Maybe no one's ever named them,” Amber offered. Takiri's short tail
swished, hitting several lights. “Maybe they could just be lights.”
“Well,
they're not fireflies,” Amber said. “Maybe we should just stop
worrying about what they're called and focus on getting to the next
portal.”
Takiri
suddenly tensed. He quickly scanned the forest for threats and
sniffed the air. “What's wrong, Takiri?” Amber asked anxiously.
He swished his short tail over her muzzle, silencing her. Then she
caught scent of what was bothering him. A dragon. She slowly and
deliberately took Munch's scruff gently in her teeth and leaped up
into a tree. Takiri glanced up from the direction of the dragon and
followed.
Amber
nestled Munch into a hollow in a branch of the tree. “Watch him. I
might need to fight the dragon.” Takiri looked unsettled, but
nodded and sat down by Munch. The dragon, meanwhile, was crashing
through the trees and its roaring could be heard in the distance. It
grew louder and louder. Amber shifted into a falcon and hovered in
the air, heart racing. Takiri sat grimly by Munch and watched the
dragon.
It
came into view. It was huge and emerald green. Its eyes were a
metallic copper and its tail was tipped with a deadly club. It opened
its gaping maw and roared, the sound deafening. Its rows of teeth
were ivory white and spittle sprayed from its mouth. It had a rack of
copper horns and the same color spikes running down the length of its
back. It had copper plating on its chest. It was big, but smaller
than the surrounding trees and despite its thrashing tail, failed to
uproot them. Amber found this as a relief until the dragon suddenly
grew in size.
Even
though it had just grown a few yards larger, it took care not to
uproot the trees. Amber wondered why. Takiri motioned to it urgently,
as though telling her to shift into something bigger, and she nodded
and swooped high in the trees. She pictured the dragon clearly in her
mind and imagined herself becoming one. This was her hardest
transfiguration yet and beads of sweat formed on her little falcon
forehead.
Amber
pictured herself becoming larger, wings spreading wider, head
elongating. In a searing flash of light, the transformation began.
Scales stretched across her feathers and an impressive rack of solid
gold horns sprouted from her skull. The scales hardened to
translucent amber and her wings spread impossibly wide and had gold
membrane. Gold spikes ran down her back and she had gold plating on
her chest.
She
opened her crystal blue eyes, glowing with cold fire, and glided
downward to the other dragon. It glanced up at the descending dragon,
fear briefly filling its metallic copper eyes. The fear was replaced
with defiance as it grew yet again. Amber faltered, watching it, but
soon resumed her descent.
She
landed on the green dragon's back, digging her gold talons into it
hard. It screeched in pain and lashed out at her with its tail. Amber
leaped into the trees, narrowly avoiding the blow. Amber's wingtip
snagged on a branch and she howled in pain. Amber colored threads
vibrated through the wing, pulsing at the wound and healing it. She
dove again at the dragon, raking her claws at its eyes and missing.
It hissed in rage and disappeared.
Or
rather, shrank. It became so small that Amber hardly noticed it when
she landed on the mossy ground. It grew back to full size after
twisting around to be on her back. It slowly grew and grew, nearly
crushing her under its ever-increasing weight. Black spots danced
before her eyes and she struggled to breathe. Her hardened amber
scales helped her endure longer, but before long, she would crack
into a million pieces.
A
flash of hope gave Amber strength. She surged upward, her sudden
confidence throwing the green dragon off guard. She flapped her wings
while her scales mended themselves. Sunlight filtered through the
treetops, reflecting off of her scales. The green dragon shrank to a
normal size, squinting in the blinding light of Amber's armor.
Amber
took advantage of the dragon's momentary blindness and lunged. The
dragon blinked and recovered, but not before Amber had raked her
claws across its snout with a loud screech. It swiped at her, claws
screaming on her armor. She winced from the sound, score marks now
visible on her shiny scales. She locked her horns with the opposing
dragon's.
The
two dragons wrestled with each other on the springy ground. Snarling
and kicking, they were locked in combat, snapping branches off of
trees and clearing a circle in the brambles. Amber tried to breathe
fire, but only summoned hot air. It became apparent to her that the
green dragon could not breathe fire, either.
The
dragon suddenly shrank and flew over to Amber's head. It grew larger
again and swiped its talons over her eyes. She jerked her head back
and shook the bigger dragon off. She leaped into the air and flew by
Takiri's perch to see if he was okay. He was standing still, rigid
with terror, but relaxed and nodded as she passed. Munch was still
sleeping. Amber looked down at the dragon. It seemed to be tiring and
sat down on the moss.
“I
apologize for fighting you,” the dragon said. Amber landed next to
it and noticed its eyes were a more liquid brown instead of metallic
copper. “I was under the influence of a possessive spirit, an
Echtus. I believe it has left me, but I can never be sure. Please
forgive me.”
“What's
your name? I'm Amber, a shape-shifter,” she offered, shifting into
a leopard as evidence. The green dragon registered this information
while shrinking its size. “I am Berzolytl, a size shifting dragon.
I live in this forest, the Amariano. Welcome.” Berzolytl's voice
was deep and rumbling and sounded vaguely masculine.
Amber
scaled the tree that Takiri and Munch were in. “I'll be right
back,” she called down to Berzolytl. He nodded and sat down. Amber
climbed up the remaining branches to Takiri. She meowed, “It's okay
to come down. I'll take Munch.”
Takiri
nodded. “What was that all about?”
“The
green dragon- his name's Berzolytl- claims to have been possessed by
an Echtus, some weird spirit, and he's perfectly polite now. He says
the spirit left and I believe him. His eyes are more natural looking.
Please come down,” Amber explained. She took Munch gently between
her teeth and leaped back down the branches. Takiri's heavy paw steps
behind her told her that he was following.
“Ber..
Bersili... Um...” Takiri stumbled for words.
“Oh,
just call me Verde. Everyone does.”
“Verde,
I have two companions that I'd like you to meet. The fishing-cat is
Takiri, and the chipmunk is Munch. We came from the Meridox by
portal,” Amber introduced her friends to the green dragon. He
nodded to them “As you may know, I am Berzolytl. I am a
size-shifting dragon. And excuse me for being rude, but your chipmunk
friend appears to be dead.”
“Oh,
no, he's not dead. Just sleeping. He does that whenever we enter a
portal-realm in the Meridox,” Amber explained. “Do you know an
easy route through the Amariano?”
“I
am afraid not, as new trees and bushes constantly spring up each day,
but I would be happy to travel with you.”
“Thank
you, Verde. I appreciate the offer,” Amber said formally.
The
dragon nodded and became smaller. The foursome wordlessly walked away
from the battleground as tendrils of thorns already began to grow.
(November 26, 2015 - 5:56 pm)
Your story is great right now Scylla!
(November 16, 2015 - 1:58 pm)
Aarggghhh! I forgot about this! Scylla, I'm sorry, but you have to give up your spot. And it's my turn. Hope you enjoy, and is anyone still reading this thread? I really want to keep it alive.
Prologue.
Nercith. The first time I heard a man speak those words I thought he was insane. Now I wonder if I am insane.
Now it is your turn to decide. Welcome to Nercith. A land of mystery and intrigue. A land one might call fantasy.
(November 24, 2015 - 7:16 pm)
But, Cho, I posted two or three chapters then they were deleted!! Why do I have to give up my spot?
(November 25, 2015 - 10:55 am)
I didn't see that. I saw that you haven't posted for a week. I Am Confused.
(November 25, 2015 - 1:14 pm)
@Cho and Scylla: When the CB was down and the weird thing was happening where you couldn't get onto any other pages of threads other than the 1st one, none of the comments from that period were posted. (It happened to me)
(November 25, 2015 - 3:01 pm)
Oh, okay, Scylla you can keep your spot. Thank you Abigail!
(November 25, 2015 - 3:23 pm)
Actually, they were posted, because there was a whole conversation going in the CaC. They were just deleted.
I'd love to join this, although I don't think my novel is quite CB-censored level. Although I'm not quite up to the really gory parts yet, I don't think it would be fit to post....
(November 30, 2015 - 8:30 pm)
(November 30, 2015 - 9:06 pm)