Silence: Chapter 8
Writing on paper for a first draft is good, because I can write in school and so not only I get more done, I get better edit! And ideas stick with me if I keep on writing them every single fucking day. :)
Silence
By Tiger Dauthi
Chapter 8: The Shape of Truth
This is one of my better chapters, I'd say.
A frantic soldier was pushing his way past the guards at the gate. Even when he was apprehended, he continued to struggle against the guards, yelling at the top of his lungs about a strange teenager and monsters of the earth.
When Master McCoy finally came out, the soldier had gone limp, but upon a gentle shake by McCoy jumped up again. When asked what he'd rushed here for the soldier babbled incomprehensibly for several moments before a guard impatiently knocked him on the head. Senses cleared, the soldier said, "A blond teenager came and forced all of us out of his way. His eyes were b-b-burning and he made the earth shake under u-us..."
The soldier trailed off, reliving his impossible experience. It seemed as if the terror was too much for him, for he collapsed to the ground, muttering one last thing before his eyes rolled into his head.
"...Kolima Forest..."
Everyone around him gasped, and slowly swiveled around to look at each other, hoping to find some shred of reassurance. This boy was either a friend or a foe, and he seemed more likely a foe, judging by his description. The disaster they thought was cursed onto them was finally coming around.
And in some ways, it was.
~*~*~
So you are the one to save me.
The old tree smiled sadly. Even as he died inside and his very roots were consumed by waves of bitterness and disease, he could not help but feel a pang for the young boy, no man, no... As another brittle branch snapped off and collapsed through his now-scarce canopy of leaves, he glanced at his brethren (his dead brethren) and settled on a word.
Good luck, demon-child...
Isaac glanced up, poised at the entrance into the tree. Blue eyes shifted from thought to thought, like fog on a glass mirror.
Not a child, but an adult. For a child could not have such dark eyes. And so soon...
Tret closed his eyes, and succumbed to the darkness festering within him.
~*~*~
Blood streamed down Isaac's cheek in little rivulets. His breath came out in small gasps. Sweat stained the tunic clinging loosely onto him.
He lunged forward, feinting to the left, then easily jumped to the right when a vine tendril shot toward him. Landing in a half-crouch, he leaped toward the tree, dodging the spike that emerged from a sudden crack that'd appeared where Isaac had been standing.
He plunged his sword deep into the forehead of Tret, burying it to its hilt. The gnarled tree gave an inarticulate cry as the dark purple glow formed into a mist and floated away.
Isaac leaned against a wall, coughing and rasping. After a moment, he staggered over to the face. Heaving, he pulled out the sword, landing on his butt from the extra force he'd exerted.
Tret slowly opened his eyes, himself once again. Dazedly, his eyes focused on the man sitting in front of him.
Hello, Isaac.
Startled, Isaac looked up at him in astonishment.
How do I know your name? Trees are old, Isaac, very old... so very old...
A slight touch on Tret's face made him come out of his reverie. Looking into the crystal-like blue eyes, Tret spoke sharply.
What is truth, Isaac?
An assortment of emotions passed over Isaac's face. Surprise, then a small bit of anger, wonder, and finally a blank look.
Truth is nothing.
Isaac looked taken aback. Images started invading his head. Of humans coming into the forest and hacking down all the trees, of people calling Tret and the forest cursed when it tried to protect itself, of hailing anyone and everyone to go and cut down the trees to weaken the curse, (and sending them to almost-certain doom) of death, destruction, the dizzying smell of smoke billowing up from embers, the collective wail of dying trees. He saw the desperation of the forest, the final bid to a side that they'd never wanted to see again, the -
The sound echoed all through the walls of the tree when Isaac clapped his hands to his ears, sinking to his knees. He was shaking his head furiously, sweat dripping from his brow.
After what seemed an eternity, Isaac staggered to his feet. Swaying, he looked Tret in the eye.
Fear, bewilderment, horror, the slightest bit of understanding. Tret searched Isaac's eyes for more. Not finding what he was looking for though, he sighed.
I was wrong to call you an adult. You're just like the others...
Tret regarded him sadly.
I suppose, in the end, I can only wish you the best of luck...
The amber sap oozing out of the gash on his head had reached the bottom of his face, making it seem like he was crying.
The first rays of light were beginning to stream through the ceiling of leaves when Tret finally closed his troubled eyes and slept peacefully.
~*~*~
News traveled quickly in Bilibin, even if no one was sure how the information got there in the first place.
Perhaps the person who'd spread the rumors had seen the blond teen limping back from afar and had just assumed, for no one had ever come back from the forest alive.
At any rate, a procession of villagers had gathered to greet the young hero, faces alight with either awe, concern, or consternation. Girls glanced at him appreciatively; the cut on his face only served to emphasize the perfection of his face, and his limp could be cured in no time.
Everyone hushed up as he stepped through the gate, and looked around at the villagers. Sure, his eyes didn't really seem normal, being blue and yet glowing with a sort of fire, but they were definitely beautiful, and it didn't really matter anyway; the people who had been turned into trees had just as suddenly turned back to people, and were sprinting up to him even now, wanting to give their congratulations.
Isaac collapsed as soon as the first one reached him.
~*~*~
A clink of china against wood woke Isaac, and he found himself staring into the eyes of one of the villagers, a girl of about 15 or so, with sandy brown hair and the same color eyes. Upon seeing his gaze on her, she squeaked and turned bright red, then rushed out of the room.
A couple minutes later, Isaac stumbled out of the room, fully dressed in his clean clothes and sparkling armor - someone had given them a thoroughly good scrubbing while he was out - and proceeded to seat himself at one of the tables that was close to the menu hanging on the wall.
A waiter who had originally been taking orders for another couple promptly left them and asked Isaac in an excited voice what he'd like.
Isaac pointed to the cheapest item on the menu, eggs and ham. The waiter paused.
"It's alright you know. Don't have to order anything cheap, have a big breakfast! Everything's on the house!"
The waiter glanced over at the innkeeper, who nodded his assent. Isaac just shook his head no.
"Alright then, whatever you say..."
Almost immediately, his eggs and ham came, along with three pieces of toast and a cup of orange juice. A person sitting at a table in the corner was gesturing to a waitress.
"Hey, my breakfast should be done by now, shouldn't it?"
"Of course, sir, but you see, we decided that the young man over there should get first dibs, seeing as he's the hero..."
Two pairs of eyes stared at him for a moment, and Isaac heard the man say, "Well, that's alright then. Hurry up though, please."
Isaac was even more confused when he walked outside and was smothered immediately by people, who were firing all sorts of questions at him.
"Where are you from?"
"What's your name?"
"Were you scared?"
"Why'd you do it?"
"Will you go out with me?"
"How'd you kill that bastard?"
Isaac blinked. Behind him hung on the wall of the inn was a notice which said, "A night in the hero's room! Starting at only 1000 gil!" There was a line of people extending from the door of the inn. (Most of them were girls and women)
The crowd of people suddenly split to reveal a plump man at the end.
"Why, what a wee lad!"
Amused, the man nudged the soldier standing to his left good-naturedly.
"And yeh said he was the fiercest demon yeh'd ever seen!"
Ashamed, the soldier hung his head and muttered, "Well, he seemed scary at the time..."
Laughing, the man walked up to Isaac, and gripped Isaac's limp hand firmly, shaking it hard.
"Glad tae meet yeh, young sir. Yeh've got some true hero blood in yeh, lad, defeating that monster like yeh did. And barely a scratch too! Mah name's McCoy, noble of this village. Come, we must discuss all the details, give yeh yeh proper due. Of course, many rewards will be given. 10,000, nay, 100,000 gil, the best armor and weapons we can afford, and half the land of that accursed Kolima, once we've resumed clearing it out. No one will hurt yeh with yeh power, and we'll always come to yeh help if you need it. What yeh say, lad?"
He pounded the boy on the back happily, fully expecting him to take the reward. The crowd held their breaths, waiting to cheer the second he accepted.
"...kill that bastard..."
"...the fiercest demon you'd ever seen..."
"...accursed Kolima..."
He could feel the trees crying, mourning the loss of their leader. Somewhere he felt it too, as the executioner.
Truth is nothing.
Turning on his heel, he strode out of the village, leaving the people and McCoy bewildered.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the place, bringing on it the rank smell of smoke, fire and dead things, but if Isaac noticed, he took no heed. He plodded on the route to the lighthouse, leaving the transformed trees behind him.
o_O I liked this chapter. What has the world come to?! Me, liking something? It's prolly because I spent more time on it, even though it's so short.
Next chapter Isaac gets to meet Mia! w00t!
Princess Viv: Well, I hoped you liked this chapter too! *shakes a stick at you* You better! :p
Kodoku: Okay, well the update was kind of slow, but it's only gone three days over two weeks... Hey, I updated pretty quickly this time! o_O
Silence
By Tiger Dauthi
Chapter 8: The Shape of Truth
This is one of my better chapters, I'd say.
A frantic soldier was pushing his way past the guards at the gate. Even when he was apprehended, he continued to struggle against the guards, yelling at the top of his lungs about a strange teenager and monsters of the earth.
When Master McCoy finally came out, the soldier had gone limp, but upon a gentle shake by McCoy jumped up again. When asked what he'd rushed here for the soldier babbled incomprehensibly for several moments before a guard impatiently knocked him on the head. Senses cleared, the soldier said, "A blond teenager came and forced all of us out of his way. His eyes were b-b-burning and he made the earth shake under u-us..."
The soldier trailed off, reliving his impossible experience. It seemed as if the terror was too much for him, for he collapsed to the ground, muttering one last thing before his eyes rolled into his head.
"...Kolima Forest..."
Everyone around him gasped, and slowly swiveled around to look at each other, hoping to find some shred of reassurance. This boy was either a friend or a foe, and he seemed more likely a foe, judging by his description. The disaster they thought was cursed onto them was finally coming around.
And in some ways, it was.
~*~*~
So you are the one to save me.
The old tree smiled sadly. Even as he died inside and his very roots were consumed by waves of bitterness and disease, he could not help but feel a pang for the young boy, no man, no... As another brittle branch snapped off and collapsed through his now-scarce canopy of leaves, he glanced at his brethren (his dead brethren) and settled on a word.
Good luck, demon-child...
Isaac glanced up, poised at the entrance into the tree. Blue eyes shifted from thought to thought, like fog on a glass mirror.
Not a child, but an adult. For a child could not have such dark eyes. And so soon...
Tret closed his eyes, and succumbed to the darkness festering within him.
~*~*~
Blood streamed down Isaac's cheek in little rivulets. His breath came out in small gasps. Sweat stained the tunic clinging loosely onto him.
He lunged forward, feinting to the left, then easily jumped to the right when a vine tendril shot toward him. Landing in a half-crouch, he leaped toward the tree, dodging the spike that emerged from a sudden crack that'd appeared where Isaac had been standing.
He plunged his sword deep into the forehead of Tret, burying it to its hilt. The gnarled tree gave an inarticulate cry as the dark purple glow formed into a mist and floated away.
Isaac leaned against a wall, coughing and rasping. After a moment, he staggered over to the face. Heaving, he pulled out the sword, landing on his butt from the extra force he'd exerted.
Tret slowly opened his eyes, himself once again. Dazedly, his eyes focused on the man sitting in front of him.
Hello, Isaac.
Startled, Isaac looked up at him in astonishment.
How do I know your name? Trees are old, Isaac, very old... so very old...
A slight touch on Tret's face made him come out of his reverie. Looking into the crystal-like blue eyes, Tret spoke sharply.
What is truth, Isaac?
An assortment of emotions passed over Isaac's face. Surprise, then a small bit of anger, wonder, and finally a blank look.
Truth is nothing.
Isaac looked taken aback. Images started invading his head. Of humans coming into the forest and hacking down all the trees, of people calling Tret and the forest cursed when it tried to protect itself, of hailing anyone and everyone to go and cut down the trees to weaken the curse, (and sending them to almost-certain doom) of death, destruction, the dizzying smell of smoke billowing up from embers, the collective wail of dying trees. He saw the desperation of the forest, the final bid to a side that they'd never wanted to see again, the -
The sound echoed all through the walls of the tree when Isaac clapped his hands to his ears, sinking to his knees. He was shaking his head furiously, sweat dripping from his brow.
After what seemed an eternity, Isaac staggered to his feet. Swaying, he looked Tret in the eye.
Fear, bewilderment, horror, the slightest bit of understanding. Tret searched Isaac's eyes for more. Not finding what he was looking for though, he sighed.
I was wrong to call you an adult. You're just like the others...
Tret regarded him sadly.
I suppose, in the end, I can only wish you the best of luck...
The amber sap oozing out of the gash on his head had reached the bottom of his face, making it seem like he was crying.
The first rays of light were beginning to stream through the ceiling of leaves when Tret finally closed his troubled eyes and slept peacefully.
~*~*~
News traveled quickly in Bilibin, even if no one was sure how the information got there in the first place.
Perhaps the person who'd spread the rumors had seen the blond teen limping back from afar and had just assumed, for no one had ever come back from the forest alive.
At any rate, a procession of villagers had gathered to greet the young hero, faces alight with either awe, concern, or consternation. Girls glanced at him appreciatively; the cut on his face only served to emphasize the perfection of his face, and his limp could be cured in no time.
Everyone hushed up as he stepped through the gate, and looked around at the villagers. Sure, his eyes didn't really seem normal, being blue and yet glowing with a sort of fire, but they were definitely beautiful, and it didn't really matter anyway; the people who had been turned into trees had just as suddenly turned back to people, and were sprinting up to him even now, wanting to give their congratulations.
Isaac collapsed as soon as the first one reached him.
~*~*~
A clink of china against wood woke Isaac, and he found himself staring into the eyes of one of the villagers, a girl of about 15 or so, with sandy brown hair and the same color eyes. Upon seeing his gaze on her, she squeaked and turned bright red, then rushed out of the room.
A couple minutes later, Isaac stumbled out of the room, fully dressed in his clean clothes and sparkling armor - someone had given them a thoroughly good scrubbing while he was out - and proceeded to seat himself at one of the tables that was close to the menu hanging on the wall.
A waiter who had originally been taking orders for another couple promptly left them and asked Isaac in an excited voice what he'd like.
Isaac pointed to the cheapest item on the menu, eggs and ham. The waiter paused.
"It's alright you know. Don't have to order anything cheap, have a big breakfast! Everything's on the house!"
The waiter glanced over at the innkeeper, who nodded his assent. Isaac just shook his head no.
"Alright then, whatever you say..."
Almost immediately, his eggs and ham came, along with three pieces of toast and a cup of orange juice. A person sitting at a table in the corner was gesturing to a waitress.
"Hey, my breakfast should be done by now, shouldn't it?"
"Of course, sir, but you see, we decided that the young man over there should get first dibs, seeing as he's the hero..."
Two pairs of eyes stared at him for a moment, and Isaac heard the man say, "Well, that's alright then. Hurry up though, please."
Isaac was even more confused when he walked outside and was smothered immediately by people, who were firing all sorts of questions at him.
"Where are you from?"
"What's your name?"
"Were you scared?"
"Why'd you do it?"
"Will you go out with me?"
"How'd you kill that bastard?"
Isaac blinked. Behind him hung on the wall of the inn was a notice which said, "A night in the hero's room! Starting at only 1000 gil!" There was a line of people extending from the door of the inn. (Most of them were girls and women)
The crowd of people suddenly split to reveal a plump man at the end.
"Why, what a wee lad!"
Amused, the man nudged the soldier standing to his left good-naturedly.
"And yeh said he was the fiercest demon yeh'd ever seen!"
Ashamed, the soldier hung his head and muttered, "Well, he seemed scary at the time..."
Laughing, the man walked up to Isaac, and gripped Isaac's limp hand firmly, shaking it hard.
"Glad tae meet yeh, young sir. Yeh've got some true hero blood in yeh, lad, defeating that monster like yeh did. And barely a scratch too! Mah name's McCoy, noble of this village. Come, we must discuss all the details, give yeh yeh proper due. Of course, many rewards will be given. 10,000, nay, 100,000 gil, the best armor and weapons we can afford, and half the land of that accursed Kolima, once we've resumed clearing it out. No one will hurt yeh with yeh power, and we'll always come to yeh help if you need it. What yeh say, lad?"
He pounded the boy on the back happily, fully expecting him to take the reward. The crowd held their breaths, waiting to cheer the second he accepted.
"...kill that bastard..."
"...the fiercest demon you'd ever seen..."
"...accursed Kolima..."
He could feel the trees crying, mourning the loss of their leader. Somewhere he felt it too, as the executioner.
Truth is nothing.
Turning on his heel, he strode out of the village, leaving the people and McCoy bewildered.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the place, bringing on it the rank smell of smoke, fire and dead things, but if Isaac noticed, he took no heed. He plodded on the route to the lighthouse, leaving the transformed trees behind him.
o_O I liked this chapter. What has the world come to?! Me, liking something? It's prolly because I spent more time on it, even though it's so short.
Next chapter Isaac gets to meet Mia! w00t!
Princess Viv: Well, I hoped you liked this chapter too! *shakes a stick at you* You better! :p
Kodoku: Okay, well the update was kind of slow, but it's only gone three days over two weeks... Hey, I updated pretty quickly this time! o_O