The Winds of Ysgard - Part One

[Ireth]

Rikhard scowled as Addison spoke on. He knew what he'd seen, what he feared. He'd known it all along, and it didn't help. He reached up to is pendant, running his thumb over the metal engraved with his mother's name. How could he face his fear when it struck to the very heart and soul of him?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rikhard's fake smile became a less pleasant expression—one that he wasn't faking. Loke seemed attentive to Addison's words, but he was suddenly compelled to leave.

So, maybe I'm the only one who sees the upside o' facing fears?

Addison decided it was best she face her new fear: Loke. She knew it was the gytrash's fear and not her own, but still, it was odd to look at the man who killed her as her ally. Even Rikhard's scowl seemed more accusatory than it was. Lies and shadows.

To none in particular she said, "Wake me when we're ready to eat me kill."

Addison focused on Snorri. Maybe if she just watched through his eyes, nothing more, she wouldn't over exert herself. Her body fell limp. Her mind saw Loke leading her to water…

 

[DMThaane]

"There you go," Loke said, feeding Snorri a treat before dropping his lead. "These greaves saved me from a painful bite." Snorri leant in, rubbing against him. "Yes, you did well and so you get a break from the other horses. You don't like them, do you." Loke gave him a quick rub. "You don’t like anything bigger than you. But you are quite small, Snorri, so most horses are bigger than you."

Snorri gave a snort and leant down to drink.

"Do not fear; I still like you above them. You're cheap to feed."

He knelt down, leaning over to splash some water over his face. As he glanced up his heart almost leapt from his chest as he caught a pair of golden eyes leering at him from across the bank.

"Off with you," he growled, splashing water at the fox and sending it fleeing. His mind was playing tricks with him.

He almost returned to camp—at least with the other's there would be some distraction. But no, he had come to the stream for a reason and it was not to flatter Snorri's ego.

His slid the locket from around his neck, holding it out over the stream. It seemed a simple thing, to see in the dying light. An elegant yet simple pendant of gold, hanging from a bronze chain. Only up close could one make out the elegant engravings, though even then, most could barely recognize them as elven, let alone discern their meaning. Yet still he kept it hidden. Even among the Raiders scant few had laid eyes on it and only three had ever been told its story.

I lowered it into the water and began to clean away the dried blood.

"I can feel you," he muttered. "Your breath on the back of my neck."

 

[Gryphos]

Bendalitz sat in silence, hands steepled under his nose, thinking unnerving thoughts. Gytrashes ... they make one see things, but they don't create those things. They conjure them from the depths of one's own mind, immediate fears, or looming concerns. In that sense, what Thoros said to him might well have come from himself. But he couldn't believe it?

His eyes flicked over to Farrun. "Might I ask something?" he said. "How exactly does a dragon select its rider? Why did Thoros bond with you?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Addison watched the grayscale vision of Loke and Snorri. Blades of grass came into view from time to time, as Addison had linked with the wrong animal—a fox that happened to be spying on the party.

A fitting vessel. The fox already seemed to have the idea to follow Loke and Snorri—or was it influenced by Addison's desire. No matter. This was the gentle side Addison wanted to see. The killer who split her head was her strong ally, a man she would need to depend on in battle. The gentleman caring for his horse was the good man Addison would trust.

"Off with you," he growled.

Wetness prompted the vision to dart into brush. Not so quick, brown fox. I want to see more.

The Huntress coaxed the animal to control its breathing. Lie still. She saw shiny metal dipped in the water. Loke spoke, but the fox was too far for Addison to make out the muttered words.

Who is he talking to?

The fox trotted off, and Addison decided it best to move away from Loke. What she saw was beautiful. She could never tell the others, but the hardened warrior hadn't lost his humanity. Visions of him bringing down his axe would not haunt her; she would think of this.

The fox's curiosity was piqued by a rush of wind in the skies. She looked up, and there was Thoros overhead. And he's got me buck in his meathooks.

The prospect of dinner excited the fox. She scurried in Thoros' direction.

Stay hidden, Brownie. Ye can't eat me dinner, and if me friends see ye, ye might be a side dish.

Wind and leaves whipped against the fox's face. Addison let the little creature run and watched the world through her eyes.

 

[DMThaane]

Loke dried the locket off. In spite of his efforts, it remained stained. A tinge of red to spoil it.

"I hope you're laughing," he said, slipping it around his neck and tucking it under his shirt. "Once more I find myself at your mercy and yet you withhold your touch. Why? For them? Is that my purpose? You not only spare me but draw me from my weakness." Or was that purely a creation of his own mind? "I hope you enjoy this game you play."

Snorri snuffled his ear.

"I might as well ask you," he said, scratching the horse's muzzle. "For all the answers I'd receive."

His life was a cruel joke told by a harsh mistress. If he had one comfort it was that path he now followed felt right, for the first time in many years.

His filled a skin with water and bandaged his hand. "Let's go back," he said, taking Snorri's lead. "Before the others worry themselves."

 

[Tom]

"How are you feeling?" Troia asked Einan, sitting down beside him.

"Too well for someone with a cracked head," he replied, grinning wryly. "I owe all thanks to Farrun for bolstering the healing with magic--otherwise I might have been in for a lot more pain."

Troia nodded, casting a furtive glance at the dragonrider. She still somewhat held him in awe, even though his frank kindness seemed to welcome friendship instead. As she turned back to Einan, she caught the quickest flash of a strange expression on his face, before it smoothed again into a smile. Her eyebrows drew together. There was something he wasn't telling her. Perhaps something that had happened during the gytrash attack?

"Hey," she said quietly, scooting a little closer to him. She was about to lace her arm around his shoulders, but stopped when she remembered his injured arm. She instead placed her hand on his knee. "What did you see?"

"You mean, what did the gytrashes show me?" he asked. Troia's heart ached as she watched his face close off. "The night my parents died. The wolves. What else would they have shown me?"

"You--you still remember your parents' deaths?" That took her by surprise. He'd been barely a year old that night! How could he still hold those memories?

"Yes." He shifted, cradling his bad arm across his chest. "I don't know how. Maybe elves don't forget their early memories as humans do."

He looked to Farrun questioningly, but Troia doubted the dragonrider had any answers for him. After all, Farrun had fought and killed elves--not lived among them and learned their ways and their minds. How could he know?

 

[Nimue]

Farrun glanced over at Bendalitz, wondering where that question had come from. He had a great deal of questions about the nature of dragonriding--was he doubtful of his odds of bonding, or was he just being Bendalitz, and hounding after information?

"Thoros doesn't remember being in the egg," Farrun told him, "Any more than you or me remember being an infant. Well, a little more than that. He seems to recall some feelings or sensations, though they might be from when he was a hatchling." Farrun found the bag of bandages and medicines and hauled it from the cart. "The closest thing to an answer he's ever given me is that he sensed that I was...warm." Warmth enough to pull me back from a long way. Those had been his words. A sheepish, tender look spread across his face, before he recalled himself and got down on his knees beside Einan.

"Other dragons would probably look for different qualities. Intelligence, bravery, strength. We don't know for sure what causes a dragon to choose someone."

Uncorking a waterskin, he began to clean Einan's mostly-healed shoulder, numbing it thoroughly first. Each time he called up magic now, his headache tightened behind his brow, but it wasn't bad enough to stop him. He caught some of Einan and Troia's conversation and his fingers paused. Einan's family had been killed by wolves? The black dogs would not have had to reach far for that terror...

He didn't touch on that sensitive topic, but offered a reply to the young elf's searching look. "I know that the elven druids can look into their own memory, and find crystal clear images, even if they took place hundreds of years ago," Farrun said thoughtfully. "I witnessed that in Iridhe. It may be that your memory is very different from a man's. Elves have a capacity for wisdom and magic that is beyond our reach."

Cool wind swept over them as Thoros came in to land. The fire beat low and then crackled up again. Thoros laid the deer down several feet from the fire and then retreated to the treeline of a nearby grove to lounge like a massive cat, his eyes glittering.

There were nine dogs on that ridge, Thoros remarked, sounding faintly impressed.

Aye, Farrun said shortly, not in a mood for tactful reassurance.

"Einan, can you take off your shirt?" he said aloud. "I'd like to wrap your shoulder properly."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The fox waited for Thoros to leave, then swiftly darted to Addison's lap. The Huntress stroked the wild creature, staring into its golden eyes. She ain't no brown fox; her hair's red as mine. Do the beasts not see color, or can I not see color through their eyes?

Perhaps Farrun would know. Addison blurted, "Can dragons see colors?"—from out of the blue, completely disregarding any ongoing conversation.

Her curious eyes stared at Farrun with a childlike innocence. She sat still cradling the fox in her lap. The Huntress' wide eyes occasionally shifted to the fire—Fascinating!—then back to Farrun.

The fox was watching the fire as well, eyes occasionally shifting to Addison or anyone who moved. The animal did not fear the fire. She found it quite fascinating.

 

[Tom]

Farrun's explanation somewhat satisfied Einan's wondering, but it still nagged at him. Perhaps if we meet some Iridheen ourselves, I will find the answer there.

As the dragonrider continued to treat his wounds, he winced, the magic prickling against his skin despite the numbing. It wasn't the stabbing pain that it had been before, but it still hurt. It reminded him of the first time he'd shot his bow at ten--of the sting of the bowstring slapping against his bare forearm.

At Farrun's request, he nodded and pulled his tunic off, catching his breath as the cool night air hit previously unexposed skin. Pain flared in his shoulder as he stretched his bad arm above his head.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Addison and her fox, Brownie, both stared at Einan's scarred back for a second that passed as an eternity. "Oh, my dear Ciardha," she whispered to the animal. She projected the thought, Now I'll never know if dragons see in color!

How could her question of dragons' vision possibly compete with this curious sight? Even Addison wanted to change her question, but instead, she stared expectantly at Farrun. Answer my godsdamned question godsdammit!

 

[Tom]

Einan wrapped his good arm around his chest, trying to ward off Addison's curious stare, trying to hide the scars that crisscrossed ribcage, back, and stomach, like gouges in a worn tabletop. He felt as if he were suddenly the focus of every gaze around the campfire.

 

[Ireth]

Rikhard looked around at Addison's exclamation, and spotted Einan shrinking back from the stares of the others. Rikhard let out his breath in a sympathetic hiss and looked away. Einan clearly didn't want people staring at him; Rikhard knew he certainly wouldn't in Einan's place.

 

[DMThaane]

After tying Snorri to a tree, Loke headed for the cart, replacing his missing throwing axe. He was down to four, now.

Everyone's attention seemed drawn to Einan—or, at least, Addison's attention seemed particularly drawn—so he followed suit, stepping around the camp to catch a better sight of the boy's scars.

"Hmm," he muttered. "Not bad."

They were certainly impressive but they weren't the kind of scars gained in battle or even by abuse. To his mind, they most closely resembled a mauling.

He turned to Addison and the creature in her lap, the light catching its eyes and causing them to flash gold.

His hand twitched.

"Are we now keeping foxes as pets?" he asked, disguising his discomfort with a mocking tone. "What will the dog think?" He slid his short seax from its sheath. "I can prepare this little one. Unless someone wants to get started on that deer."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Addison held the fox closer, ignoring the sting in her left shoulder as she cradled the animal protectively.

"Brownie is not a pet!"

Her head started to spin a bit. She breathed deeply, blinked, regained her composure.

"I mean… this fox. Don't waste your blade on her. Me buck'll feed us for days and taste much better. This little creature'll go into the wild in a bit, but not a hair on her'll be harmed. I mean to see through her eyes again." Smirking at Loke, she added, "But feel free to splash her if ye catch her gawking."

 

[DMThaane]

He was curious about the fox but he hadn't expected her to be so open about it. "You should be careful about whose eyes you look through and who you watch them with. Such a trick could make a man paranoid." He smiled at the fox. "And you already felt what it was like to be a dog that caught my ire."

He sat down by the fire and began picking the dirt and blood out from under his fingernails. "Fair warning. Snorri is off-limits. I rely on my bond with that horse; I can't have his mind affected by anything."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Don't be paranoid. I only watched ye to know if I can. If I keep practicing, I can learn to use the wild animals as scouts and guards."

Snorri was her intended target. Given the fox's bond, Addison was glad she missed.

"Ye make a good point about not getting into your horse's head. You've me word on that." Turning to Troia, Addison added, "Same goes for Ari. The beastspeaking don't hurt his bond with ye none, but if I get into his head… well, I won't. Not on purpose. I best limit me beastspeaking with Ari to emergency situations. Same with horses—only if to save ye from being thrown."

 

[Tom]

"Thank you," Troia said, and she meant it. Though Addison's ability to use magic on Ari was useful, she felt it would disrupt the close understanding she and Ari shared if Addison were to bond with him. Ari was her dog--her trusted sidekick, her helper. Her friend. She didn't want anything to come between them.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Addison just smiled at Troia when she was thanked, then she forced herself up. The fox scurried away, though under the Huntress' watchful eye. No harm would come to Brownie if she could help it.

Addison knelt close to the fire and said, "I know I'm pushing meself, but the sooner I understand me tricks, the sooner they'll do us good. If I get into an animal's head, I feel what the animal feels. This buck lost the will to live; killing him was easy—an act o' mercy. Better me peaceful visions and me dead shot arrow then what the gytrash'd given him.

"It was the buck who spoke to me, sent me the vision… I didn't go into his head on purpose. We honor this beast. I want his skins. Waste as few parts as possible. Take the best cuts for ourselves, leave some for the scavengers—I mean what we can't eat before it turns." Addison trusted the men to be better judges of the party's appetite. Loke could eat twice as much as Addison, she figured.

She remained on her knees to recite a prayer. "Ciardha, thank ye for this beast. May he feed us well, and may his spirit rest peacefully with his kin." She prayed silently for a few more seconds, then stood and stepped back from the fire.

 

[Nimue]

Farrun pulled out a roll of bandages and wrapped Einan's shoulder with familiar deftness. He saw the scars, but they were old and smooth, not recent--and by the look on Einan's face, he wanted anything but a mention of them. So Farrun said nothing, but tied the ends of the bandage under and handed Einan's shirt back to him. "That should do you. Close your eyes a moment, and I'll make sure your head is healed enough for you to get a good night's rest."

Fingers to Einan's temples, Farrun was half-submerged in the dim, heartbeat-threaded sensations within Einan's skull when conversation cropped up between Loke and Addison. Blinking, he glanced up to see the fox in Addison's lap, and a frown creased his face. He concentrated to finish his work, soothing the pain and inflammation until there was nothing but a trace of it left. "There we are." He clapped Einan's shoulder--the uninjured one--and told him, "You'll be fine for tonight. Just to be safe, though, let me know if your headache gets worse or if you're dizzy, will you?"

With that, Farrun rose to his feet, ignoring his headache as it roared up. "Addison," he said, sharp with weariness and extinguished anger. "You need to stop for a moment and consider if what you are doing is necessary." He had seen the curious, glassy look in her eyes, and how it mirrored the stray fox's before it ran off. "There are consequences to magic. It is not something to be toyed with. You were just injured, you lost half a pint of blood, and threw yourself into a fit of panic and terror because you did not think about what you were doing." He realized that he was raising his voice and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Afterimages of the black dogs' vision flickered on the backs of his eyelids. "This is not the best time to practice," he said, more quietly, looking down at her again. "Sit still for a moment."

He turned to look at the heart of the fire, then up at the deer. "Troia, do you know how to prepare game? Can you help Rikhard with the deer?"