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Hi. Having recently
Hi. Having recently realized how to "post" something on the Chatterbox, I decided to start one of those cool RRR. It may be a flop, but it may work, so here goes...
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Quai Monsoon was thirteen years old. She lived in Kygamnommoc (cig-am-nom-moc), a village in Witchburnt, a city in the country of Salamfyre. A pleasant place, if you didn't ask too many questions and rock too many boats.
Which happened to be Quai's specialty.
But not by any fault of her own. It was well-known in Kygamnommoc that the merchant Frav's daughter, the one who looked like her mother Lui so much with those beauteous straw-colored tresses and those piercing green-gold eyes, was cursed. She had the ability to read minds.
Her "gift" wasn't limitless. She had to know the person's name and be holding something that belonged to them or looking at them. Everyone knew this, and they all also knew that Quai came from a lovely family: her dear parents Frav and Lui, her charming elder brother Elkworn, her cunning nine-year-old brother Foxtail, and little baby girl Arialk. But Quai was treated like a different species. Her father avoided her at all costs. Her older brother dropped by her room every now and then to talk, but she called him Brother, which was the only name she knew for him, and his kindness therefore struck her as faux. Foxtail stuck with his dad. Quai's mother and little sister were the only ones who seemed to care about her.
And then came the degree from the palace.
submitted by Mary W., Enlightened, age 11, Bordentown, NJ
(February 6, 2009 - 3:20 pm)
(February 6, 2009 - 3:20 pm)
Hi. That sounds really cool. Post some more!
(February 7, 2009 - 9:49 am)
Um... Leah, she meant to start a round robin story.
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"Why couldn't we have had a normal girl!" complained Quai's Father. "Why did the fates stick us with an abnormal MIND READER for Trio's sake!"
As this was a common enough topic brought up in the Monsoon family, when the little ones were asleep and the parents were up late, talking.
"Just because she's different doesn't mean anything," consoled Lui. "The gods have given her a gift that will be used to their purpose."
"But why me?" asked Frav "If the gods want a mortal to do their bidding, and that has the power to read minds, why couldn't they have been born to royalty or better yet, the Aphixiate!" The Aphixiate was a "church" or as close to one as you can get because that country didn't have churches. There Aphixiaters spent Dawn to Dusk worshipping the gods.
"Be grateful that she was born to us" said Lui "Remember her Sign"
"That's probably why she is so strange!" roared Frav "Born under the Dama! It's just not natural!"
"Shhhhhh." cautioned Lui, putting a finger to her lips, "you'll wake the children." But that warning was in vain, because Quai, hiding behind a door, had heard every word. Troubled, she slipped back into her bed. No one had told her she had been born under the Sign of the Dama. She had thought that this was a freak accident, or maybe an inherited talent though she doubted the latter. Now she knew why she was different. A Dama! Why had no one told her! Probably, every time she passed the elders in the village, they probably made the sign of the star to ward off the unknown. Anyone born under the Dama (and only about 5 in 10,000 years had been) had always lived a cursed, horrible, torturous life unexcepted by others and with a single "gift" that had always singled them out. Gomar the 3-eyed had 3 eyes. Marne could destroy cities with a few well chosen words. Friw actually drowned people using his "gift" to control the waters. Ethelflead had a horn in her head. And now Quai could read minds. It was funny, she thought, if no one had feared the Sign of the Dama, I might be actually considered almost normal. Next morning, the official from the Imperial court came, bearing an ultimatum. All strange or gifted beings must report to the capitol or their city will become extinct.
******
You like?
(February 16, 2009 - 8:34 pm)
It's good! Better than mine... probably because yours had dialogue.
After that degree, ending with All strange or gifted beings must arrive within a half week, Frav completely went beserk. Lui tried to calm him with little luck. By the end of two days, Quai found herself with a smll knapsack containing food, toiletries, and other necessities, and an unopened note that her mother had pressed into her hands upon her departure, whispering, "Read this on the wagon." Settled uncomfortably in the straw of a musty wagon driven by a silent old farmer, she decided that now was the right time. She easily read her mother's familiar curlique handwriting, though it became more difficult with every biting word.
Dearest darling Quainia,
It pains me to write this letter, but you must know everything possible about yourself before you reach the Plaza of King Edwardius. He is an evil man and you are a special girl. Read carefully.
You were born under the Sign of the Dama, a constellation resembling a swan with a knife through its heart. Damas are remarkable and beautiful, like a swan, but all have perished by the hand of a selfish or evil enemy such as Edwardius. Gomar had a curse put on him causing his eyes to ooze horrible gunks and eventually acid, which ate away at him until hardly bones remained. Marne was tricked into destroying her own hometown, and her family along with it, causing her to commit suicide. Friw was driven mad with grief when his nemesis enchanted his hand, forcing him to drown a whole village, engulfing it with powerful waters and killing the entire innocent population, except for a few now leading sorrow-filled existences. Etheflead, also cursed with clumsiness, gored an emporor and was hanged for treason. Countless other heroes have left our world in this way but I refuse to allow you to suffer the same fate. There is another letter attached to this; only read it in greatest need.
I am,
Your Loving Mother
Lui Lesse Monsoon
Quai could only put her head in hands in despair.
(February 17, 2009 - 7:06 pm)