As Told by child_dragon: Part Seventeen - Earthen Boundaries by child_dragon |  |
I stood blinking in the stone room, adjusting to the absence of water now.
I was dripping wet, but oddly enough, not cold. I looked at the two shards in
my hand. If I was going to have to find six of 'em, they'd be quite a handful
to carry.
"Now what do I do with these?" I asked BrightSong.
"Combine them," he said simply.
I shook my head in disgust; his cryptic instructions were starting to really
annoy me. I placed the two shards together, and with a hiss and glow of blue
and red, the shards melted together into one. Red and blue mist seemed to swirl
within the crystalline structure. It was a little longer than my forearm, as
skinny as MoonFall's horn, and sharp at both ends. "This should make things
easier," I muttered, reflecting on the fact that I had a longer reach now. There
was the sound of a soft wind, and I looked to see another gate open, green,
the color of earth.
"Nurturing and protectiveness," BrightSong said. "Retrieve the third shard."
"Just a minute," I said. "How did the spear get broken up in the first place?"
"A traitor. I'll tell you more when you return."
I sighed and stepped through the gate.
I stood in the middle of a vast meadow, lush and green with a bright sun overhead.
The whole scene could have looked very peaceful and relaxing, if not for the
fact I knew there was some nasty creature out there wanting to get rid of me.
Plus the very openness of the fields intimidated me a bit. I was used to closed
areas, forests, houses, the city, not bare openness. There was the dull thud
of hoofbeats, and I turned to face Lady MoonFall.
"Hello," I said with a smile.
She dipped her head and snorted happily, tossing her mane.
"You doing good so far?" she asked.
I nodded and brandished the partly completed spear.
"Wonderful. I know where the third beast is, want a ride?" she said, turning
sideways so I could climb up on her back.
"You sure?" I asked. I normally didn't like my pets carrying me.
"Positive. Get on."
I took hold of her mane and swung one leg over. Even bareback, I still remembered
how to get on a horse from a long time ago.
"Get a good grip," she instructed, and I tangled my hands in her mane.
She whickered and took off in a gallop, with me leaning over her neck and
holding on for dear life.
"Grip with your knees Kiddo, you're gonna fall off!" she said.
I did, and something occurred to me.
"You called me Kiddo," I said. She had never used my nickname before.
"So I did," she said softly, in wonder.
Eventually I saw what looked like a scar in the earth, a gaping hole. She
stopped at the edge of the chasm. The side was gently sloped, rocky and broken.
The bottom spread out into the horizon, a barren wasteland of rocks.
"I can't go any further," MoonFall said softly. "The slope's too steep for
me, and even with my wings, something's preventing me from continuing. It's
up to you."
I looked at her in the eyes, remembering all the times we'd had together.
"I've always been kinda bossy," she said with a smile, "and I know me and
Un-eairkagh fighting over silly things have really tried your patience, but
I left my position as royalty to find a family. And I've found one beyond my
wildest dreams."
I hugged her, and turned quickly to hide the tears in my eyes. I slipped over
the edge of the slope and slid down in a slightly controlled slide. I flared
my wings at the bottom to keep from stumbling and looked around me. At the top
of the slope was the white figure of MoonFall, watching, ahead, a barren wasteland.
I tightened my grip on the shards and started walking. The sky grew steadily
overcast, and soon MoonFall was out of sight. Ahead of me was a circle of rocks,
taller than me. I paused just outside them, an inner feeling warning me that
this was trouble. Sure enough, the ground started to shake, and I leaped into
the air to avoid being knocked off my feet. I stared in horror as green strands
connected the rocks, pulling them together. They merged, a figure emerging from
the mass of stone and dirt. A lizard-like creature, made entirely of stone,
looked up at me with burning green eyes and roared, a hissing kind of screech.
I hovered in the air, wondering what to do now. I could just stay in the air,
and wait for an opportunity to attack, but apparently this realm had other ideas.A
blast of wind came from nowhere, and I was slammed into the ground. I quickly
recovered, and rolled aside in panic as a massive stone foot slammed into the
spot where I was seconds earlier... I danced aside, watching warily. It was
slow, but the stone body would be impossible to pierce. It screeched at me,
and advanced ponderously in my direction, the ground shaking under its weight.
I staggered slightly, and realized I'd have to have very good balance to avoid
falling in this fight. Speed and agility were my advantages now; time to use
them to the fullest. I ran to one side of it, my hooves clipping hollowly on
the packed dirt. The creature slammed its foot into the ground and I lost my
balance, falling to one knee. The beast turned to me, its green eyes glowing.
The eyes… I waited for it to come closer, remaining in a crouch, but tensing
for the leap. It was mere feet away, and with every step the ground trembled
violently. It moved with sudden quickness now, darting its head forwards to
snatch me up, but I was still faster. I leaped into the air, over its head,
my Uni legs much stronger than any human ones. I twisted in midair and landed
deftly on its back. The creature howled in anger and I leaped over to straddle
its head. It tried to shake me off, but I managed to keep my balance, and I
raised the spear shard high, aiming it for its glowing eye. With all my strength,
I brought the point down. The rock beast screamed and thrashed, and this time
I really was thrown off. I landed about a yard away, and scrambled into a crouch.
The creature wasn't moving, a red and blue crystal protruding from its darkened
eyes. The beast let out one last whispering hiss, then crumbled away into dust.
The dust swirled through the air, turning from brown to green shimmers of light.
It coalesced into a shard, then melded with the other two pieces. The spear
was half complete. I reached forwards and took it from the air, and a rushing
wind and bright light surrounded me, and I was back in the center room.
To be continued...
Feel free to Neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is really my brother, you can Neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on that. He's in college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for getting a ton of Battledome challenges, etc. Melody is also real, my best friend. She's in college too, her NeoPets name is horngodess, but I wouldn't suggest bugging her, she has a very demanding major and hardly any free time. Sakuko is also real, she's a really nice person.
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