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The shifting shards of the Shattered lands were dangerous in the best of times, and these were not the best of times. Kuono and her Family walked amongst the ruins of the broken city, through the flowing and floating sands of the parched desert, between the bent and broken trees of the pine forests, and in every place they went they found the minions of Uchoyo, the Great Enemy, waiting for them. Each time a creature arose to halt their progress, each one more hideous than the last, and each time in turn one from the group would step forward and their unique talents would allow them to pass, but in defeat the minions of Uchoyo would often claim some small victory in turn. In time, they found their way to the building where Aktion has last seen Feund the Engineer. It sprawled across the landscape, a colossal edifice, with wide arches and wide windows, and inside there were cogs and machines and all of them were still, disconnected, dead things from a dead world. Feund had been trying to bring them back to life, to restart their mechanical hearts, though their time had passed and they no longer served any purpose. By now, he should have accomplished his goal, but the machines lay still, silent and unmoving. Aktion strode inside to reveal the Engineer's papers scattered, the furniture toppled, and in the stone floor deep furrows left by the claws of Uchoyo's beasts. Kuono saw the signs of struggle, but noted that there was no blood, and left the machine building to examine the ground around it. In the soft dirt off the road there were many claw marks and signs that something had been dragged, and Kuono surmised that the Engineer had been captured by Uchoyo's minions for some nefarious purpose. She told the others of what she had seen, and they tried to follow the tracks, but they soon became lost in the shadows between the shards, details of their quarry's path obscured by the mist and the light such that they seemed to travel in all directions at once, and they could go no further. They took shelter in the building, and they slumbered, and they regained their strength, and in her sleep Kuono dreamt, and in her dreams Kuono felt a whisper tugging at her ear. Kuono looked for the source but saw nothing. She raised her spear, a furious lance of white light, and said "Speak your name, for I know not who approaches and am prepared to defend myself from any threat." The whispering tugged again at her ear, as though a being stood just behind her, but whichever direction Kuono turned she saw nothing, and the whisper became soft words. "Lady of the Sanctuary, She Who Sees, you may see much but you will not see me, except in my passing. You knew me once, when I was not as I am, but in fear of Uchoyo's creatures I withdrew into the space between spaces and became such that his gaze can never again fall upon me, His fingers can never grasp me, now, and I call myself the Whispering Wind." Kuono was confused, but spoke again, asking "And what would you have of me, Wind, that you approach me here in this place where I am separate from the others?" "Others too have joined me, and found a new place in this broken world that is safe from its dangers. But it is a lonely place, sometimes, no matter how I howl, and when I found you lying here in this strange state, I grew curious and drew close, and as I touched upon your face I recognized you." whispered the wind to her. "As you knew me, so I knew you, and my memories of you are fond, and so I offer you the same escape I have taken. Become a wind and you shall be safe from all harm. You shall have a place where you belong. You shall be the Seeing Wind, and through you we shall see the world once more." Kuono did not accept the wind's offer, for she already already found a place with her new Family, and she was sure that they would keep her safe. Instead, she told the wind her story, and though her refusal meant that the winds would remained blind in their travels, the Whispering Wind bore her no ill will. Indeed, it was gladdened to hear that others had found their own places, and offered to share with Kuono the rumours the Listening Wind had heard on its travels and shared with him quite recently. And so the Whispering Wind told Kuono of many things. It told of the Sanctuary, and how at that very moment Protector Oro was fighting the forces of Uchoyo on it's doorstep. It told of Hatuma the Huntress, with a chain around her neck and a beast on her back. It told of Feund the Engineer, although it did not tell much, for he had been taken to a place no wind could reach. It told of other things as well, for it enjoyed speaking with someone who could speak back, but these are the things Kuono repeated to the others when all were awake. She asked, and the wind told her, one final thing, of a place many passed without seeing, but this she would not tell to the others until the time was right. The Family then knew that the ones they sought were in Uchoyo's clutches, and they despaired, but Kuono told them not to fear, for she had a plan to find and free them both. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Sep 1, 2015 |
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Aug 31, 2015 03:24
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 19:40 |
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