A Mind in Motion

     The wood in my hand creaked under the strength of my grip but I know its sturdiness and it will never fail me under the strain I will put it through.      When I had first felt the rush inside of me, the hair raising electrical charge that revealed itself to be Magic coursing through my veins, I dreamed of the day I would wield it as strongly as I do a sword.      It took years to master--a n uneasy road of many failures with few triumphs.     I courted the scattered training grounds, seeking tutelage under as many practitioners who would grant me time and attention. Some taught me wisdom beyond my age, others kept me up to pace as I grew, and the few who failed me, betrayed my innocence--engraining in me both mental and physical scars that drive me still today towards righteousness.      Over the years there has been much blood on my hands--those of monsters and demons that dwell in caves and nightmares--an...

     He was a blacksmith's son, a weaver's lover, a nobleman in his dreams.      His skin was the shade of night, his spirit a Wanderlust , and his body a riddle of chiseled lines earned through hard work with long travels upon the land and sea.      There had never been a song on his lips or a ripple in his pains that gasped with each beat of his heart. He knew not the swell of despair or the ache of lost that rattled bones.      But the day the Knights rode in to the small port he had just spent his last dime to reach, his skin tingled with a pulse of something he could not place but felt so deeply it spoke of truths unseen.      There, as they trotted past, a single pair of stormy grey eyes surrounded by gleaming gold in the light of the fading sun caught his own. They grazed him with phantom touches as they swept up and down his form, then returned their focus to the ships docking in the distance, but ...

[ Previously ]    ..."They will not accept you," she reasoned.      His maniacal laughter bubbled up out of him again and she did not need to see his eyes to know the glint in them now.      "They do not need to, they simply just have to kneel before me." *****      The cavern rumbled again and loose rocks tumbled from the ceiling around them. She was not sure if this network of tunnels would remain stable after the tremors ceased or if it would collapse altogether. Kek hanu seemed not to care either way as he continued stepping back towards the shadows.      "I cannot let you abuse innocents like this," she warned him. She had hoped for reason, but prepared for a fight nonetheless if he was unwilling to see things her way.      "I know, mother," he replied, a hint of resignation in his words.       Her shoulders fell slightly at the reality they bot...

[ Previously ] ..... "We do not play with mortals," her commanding tone cracked, but the whip of her words fell short upon his deaf ears.      He cocked his head, so much like his simian descent, and questioned childishly, "Why not?" *****      She felt her temper flair at his willful ignorance. From the day she had brought him home, set on giving him every opportunity lost to him when his lineage faded in a haze of madness and blood, he had pushed back at her with defiance. At first she assumed it was due to the trauma of his past and his inability to deal with his emotions. Then she chalked it up to his irrational rage, brought on by his basic animal nature--his hormones--his physical separation from others as he aged--and any other excuse she could find to lie to herself.      Eventually, though, she had to accept that he was defiant because it was part of his nature. He could not fit in, could not settle...

     Nothing but clear sky and the low hum of altitude surrounded her.      The weight of the helmet she had pulled from its perch atop a marble mold now rested in her hands, its golden curves glinting against the sunlight beaming brightly from its point high above. Though it had been some time and--truth be told--she had never wanted to become familiar with said weight yet again, she found herself finding comfort in it now. Many actions well beyond her control had brought her here, but this last action would be her choice.      And she was ready to make it.      As her wild red mane fluttered in the charged air, she continued to stare down at the chaotic mass of storm clouds blocking her view of the destructive terror going on below it on the surface of Humanity's Earthly terrain. Through the howling wind, crackling lightening and deep rumbling thunder were the heart heavy tones of sirens wailing and buildings crumbling. It...