As The Scrolls Unroll -- One

[EllieNeo]

as ellie entered the clearing, she saw the woman she had healed was pointing… a gun…!?![/i]... at her. ellie’s eyes widened. ‘oh shit.’ yes, she knew what that was. the woman was stating the obvious. but at least she was speaking english. she just as easily could have spoken spanish or russian or some other language that ellie didn't know. ellie held her arms up. she heard omri growling at the woman. she looked down at him and shook her head, and he calmed down. ellie took a step toward the woman. she cocked her gun. ellie stopped. obviously, being knocked out from the pain had made the woman forget that she had saved her life. ellie cleared her throat. for the first time in three years, ellie opened her mouth and spoke to someone other than lauri and omri. she kept her eyes on the woman’s gun and her arms raised as she spoke.

“whoa… calm down there, texas ranger. i’m not gonna hurt you. i found you here. you had a very large stick stuck in your right side. i pulled it out, and i healed you. i’m guessing, now that i see it, that you got that stick in your side when you wrecked your motorcycle. i came back here, because this clearing is magical… i thought more people would appear… and they did. looks like they’re from the future, too, now that i can see them clearly. which is really weird. cuz in the last ten years, no one else has come here from the future except for me. and lauri brought me. and now you four show up, without lauri’s magic, right when a war is about to start. i dunno about you, but i don’t think that’s a coincidence. all the amazon tribes in the area are gonna come and help us fight this war, but if you wanna stay, we could really use the help. though the other tribes only speak greek. dunno if you understand any greek. cuz i didn’t, when i first got here.”

the woman’s friend put her hands on the gun and made her lower it. ellie put her arms down. the woman’s friend spoke slowly, as if she didn’t really understand english too well.

“you must be ellie. your friend at the med hut told us about you. i’m phalon, and this trigger-happy maniac is scrappy.” phalon shot scrappy a look, and scrappy shrugged, putting her gun back behind her back. phalon looked back at ellie. “these amazon tribes that are going to be arriving to help… do you know if zena or evergreen belong to one of those tribes?”

ellie scratched her head, then shrugged.

“there are waaaaay too many amazons to remember them all by name. though the name zena does sound… vaguely… familiar. queen eglise would probably know more. heck, she might know all the amazons by name, the woman has a mind like a bear trap. she’s also the oldest living amazon, according to lauri. well. that we know about, i guess. around here, with as many enemies we’ve got in the area, the life expectancy of the average amazon isn’t much higher than thirty years. the queen is older than fifty.”

phalon nodded and sat back down, motioning for ellie to join them around the campfire. ellie eyed the tall man and the woman seated next to him warily, then sat near the fire next to scrappy and phalon. omri lay down next to her, putting his head in her lap. his eyes stayed on the man sitting on the other side of the campfire. he growled. living among amazons, the only men omri had ever seen were enemies. ellie stroked his head gently.

“easy, omri.”

she looked up at the man and woman who sat across from her.

“aannndd… who are you?”

[vox]

Stand Off

Aphemenie sat in awe as the scene unfolded before her, while she sat silently watching the happenings below her. She wondered just who the war was between, was it between Ellie and Scrappy? Or Scrappy and Jason ? Why were they so hostile towards each other? There were no signs of hostility when Ellie, Scrappy and Phalon were in the village, and it seemed that poor Jason and Letitia had inadvertently got caught up in the middle of it all!

She yearned to make herself known to them, but thought better of it at present. She must go back and report this, but was reluctant to leave. “No, I will not report every little thing!” she said to herself. With that, she retreated back to her hiding position.

[Phalon]

Who was this man standing before her who knew Eurayle? His physical appearance was familiar; his sword was unmistakable as one she knew she’d seen prior to this moment. The urge to reach up and brush his cheek was making her fingers itch. With just one touch she’d discover things perhaps better kept hidden.

Letitia too. She was young and very beautiful. Her eyes though, held in them a story very different; the beauty of youth could not conceal it was a story as old as the ages. It wasn’t that it’d appear rude to reach out and touch the strangers, and it wasn’t that it was very clear that both were armed with more than one weapon. Phalon sensed if she touched either of them, she’d find herself in a vast sea, drowning in someone else’s memories. As she weighed her option, her hesitation ended abruptly with the sounds of an argument coming from just outside the clearing.

Moments later, the dark-haired woman Phalon had followed into the Amazon village strode into the clearing. Her gun already pulled, Scrappy aimed it at the newcomer, growling, “From the look of your clothing you know what kind of weapon I’m holding and the damage it can do.”

“Psst….Scrappy”, Phalon whispered under her breath, “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, ‘Don’t bite the hand that heals you?’”

She was ignored. Guess not, Phalon thought as the Scrappy continued without lowering the gun. “We haven’t been formerly introduced, and that isn’t going to change now. I don’t know who you are and I don’t care to know you.”

“Scrappy….”, she started again, but heard the door to Scrappy’s mind slam shut. Here we go again, she thought, running her hand through her hair and shaking her head in frustration. It’s happened before – every time she tried to help in that house, Scrappy would shut her out. It became apparent that their new surroundings were not going to change anything. The mind is a terrible thing to waste, but it seemed a wasted effort right now to get inside Scrappy’s.

“And if we were supposed to be impressed by that little melodramatic demonstration between you and lefty you’re wrong. Now tell us what you want or go away before I shoot you.”

Phalon wasn’t one to give up so easily though, and her tenacity was one of her traits that at times annoyed Scrappy….and it amused Phalon that it did. But there was nothing amusing about the gun in Scrappy’s hand.

As the newcomer to the camp explained there was a war impending, Phalon knocked on the door to Scrappy’s mind once more. “Scraaappy….oh, Scraaa-ppppy…”. A tiny crack appeared in the doorway. “Excuse me for interrupting, but come on, Scrappy, and let me in.” The crack opened wider, allowing Phalon to enter.

“All this talk of war we’ve heard in bits and pieces since we’ve arrived…Amazons, and centaurs, and Romans; hasn’t this all been fought before? I have fought nearly the same war out of loyalty and I have fought out of necessity….and as you’ve witnessed yourself in the house, I do it well. But I do not carry the battle-lust within me. I will not raise my sword just because there is a war to join. My loyalties here lay with you, and I will stand with you in whatever we encounter. But this…”, she raised her hands to Scrappy’s gun, “…this is not necessary…”. She lowered her hands, bringing the the gun down with them. “…at least, not for now.”

Turning to the woman she recognized as the one called Ellie, she made the introductions which hadn’t been done prior. “I am Phalon, and this trigger-happy maniac is Scrappy.” “By the way, Scrappy, what’s a ‘Texas Ranger?’ Anything like ‘a commando’?”, along with the thought, Phalon shot Scrappy an ‘I’m-just-teasing-don’t-shoot-me’ look. Scrappy rolled her eyes and shrugged, tucking her gun back in the make-shift holster of her jeans.

With introductions made, and another request into the whereabouts of Zena and Evergreen denied, they made their way to the fire. As a tenuous peace settled in the small camp, Ellie turned her attentions to Jason and Letitia.

“Aannndd… who are you?” she asked the man and woman seated across from her.

Phalon waited for the answer, wondering what of that vast sea of hidden stories would rise to the surface to be revealed.

[moonglum]

As she stepped into view, sword levelled at him, Jason realised just how much he’d changed. Once upon a time he could have read her mind. Now, well now he had to guess at her intentions, like everyone else. He drew his sword, but kept the point lowered, as he studied her. Noting her dress and the profusion of trinkets around her waist, he suddenly knew her. He’d seen her before…………..in a village. The village was being attacked by soldiers……roman soldiers. Was it possible he and Letitia had been transported back to her time?
“I meant what I said; I really do mean you no harm. In fact, an old friend asked me to say hello. Eurayle says Hi, she told me to look out for you.”
“Eurayle? Is she here? Where is she?”
He was about to say ‘yes; no; and… I don’t know’, when someone jumped on his back.
“What the hell!” he exclaimed, as he tried to shake the newcomer off. She, yes it was a woman, that much he could tell at least, clung to him with limpet-like ferocity.
The green-eyed woman in front started shouting “Get off him.” Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw Letitia slide from the tent with cat-like stealth. She stood and drew her sword in one fluid motion. As his attacker slid from his back, he motioned for Letitia to lower her sword. He turned back to the two women who were now talking.
“I’m Jason, and that’s Letitia,” he said, nodding towards his companion. The leather-clad woman shook his hand.
They sat down around the fire and had just begun to talk, when more disturbances from the forest caught their attention. The one called Scrappy stood up and producing a pistol from her belt, began shouting at someone approaching the camp. Jason leaned across to Letitia and asked, “You ok?” She ignored him and sat there staring at her injured hand. Jason sighed and sat back. This was becoming wearisome, he thought. Looking up he saw a third woman had joined them, accompanied by a large wolf. She sat down and stared openly at him. The wolf growled.
“Annndd…..who are you?” the stranger asked.
Jason gave a sideways glance toward his companion. Letitia however, was still engrossed by her hand. She stared at the bandage with such intensity, almost willing it to disappear.
He looked back at the dark-haired woman and said. “We are just travellers, passing through.”
He had no wish to be more forthcoming than strictly necessary at this point, but he did need information. He found it odd that, if in fact they were back in roman times, why then did half the people they’d met so far, wear jeans?
“Where exactly are we?” he enquired.
Before anyone could answer, Letitia swore and, standing up, she strode off into the forest. Jason watched her go, then saying, “If you will excuse me for a moment,” he went after her.
He found standing by a large oak tree, crying.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, putting his arms around her.
“It won’t heal,” she sobbed, “It hurts so much and it won’t heal. And I can’t feel them anymore.”
“Feel what, your fingers?”
“No,” she spluttered. “Ever since I was born, I was able to feel the presence of all the other gods and goddesses. Now there is nothing, just empty horrible silence. It’s like I'm totally alone."

[EllieNeo]

ellie could feel the pain in the woman’s hand as she stood and strode off into the woods. the man stood and followed her. ellie raised an eyebrow. the woman was clearly very upset about her hurt hand. ellie could heal it in five seconds, if the woman would let her. but for now ellie sat in silence, stroking omri’s head, and waited for the two to come back into the clearing.

[vox]

Guardian Angel

“Why are we here?” that’s exactly what Aphemenie wondered. All the while she has been watching the goings on below; her mind had been trying to recall exactly where she knew Letitia and Jason from.

She remembered being told tales one evening whilst back at the village where her brother’s and sisters were, of having ‘previous lives’. Could it be true?
All of a sudden she kept hearing a voice saying “Mervina, Mervina! now would be a good time old friend!” Why was that name so familiar to her?
Aphemenie had always wondered about her ‘wings’ not all of her people were the same, some did not have wings. Was it possible that she is indeed a re-incarnation of Jason’s old friend? That’s why she is so intrigued by him and the reason she feels such a strong connection with Letitia, the woman who so often rode on her back!

She must have been sent here to watch over them, be their guardian angel!

[EllieNeo]

ellie sat in silence as she waited for the tall blonde man and the woman with the injured hand to return to the clearing. she continued to stroke omri’s head and stare at the spot where they had disappeared into the woods. she wasn’t convinced these two were simply “travelers.” if they were travelers, the man would not need to ask where they were. they would know. any good traveler always carries a map. also, their clothing told her they had to be from another time period, possibly even one similar to the one she herself was once from. she shook the thought from her head. being in this clearing brought back the memory of how she had gotten here, ten years ago. this was the place she had woken up. as she stroked omri’s head, she soon found herself lost in her rememberings.

she found herself wandering the woods. why she was wandering the woods, she was unsure. perhaps she just felt the need to be alone. perhaps the death of her parents had affected her more than she wanted to admit. her roommates at the orphanage didn’t understand. they thought that the solution to everything was to ‘get drunk.’ ellie didn’t agree. even though she wasn’t old enough to drink, she did sometimes drink. heck, none of her roommates were old enough to drink, but sonya looked twenty-one and could get the drinks when their roommates wanted them. ellie hated drinking because she was an angry drunk. she was an even angrier drunk than her mother had been. and her mother had liked to throw lamps when she was drunk. but, sometimes, when ellie got very upset, she would drink anyway.

ellie hated that she no longer had anyone around who cared about her. her parents had been her only family, and her roommates only liked ellie because she was smart and helped them with their homework. she often got the feeling that they didn’t really like her at all, and that they were just using her to get their homework done. perhaps she should have refused to help more often, like she had tonight before setting off on her walk. she had told them she was too tired from work and school, which was a lie, but they believed her.

after school everyday, she helped the mailman deliver heavy packages, and he made her wear steel-toed ankle-high boots to do the job. well, they would have been ankle-high on a tall adult. on her, this five foot five fourteen-year-old, who had not yet had a growth spurt, they were slightly higher than ankle-high. they were also three sizes too big. but she wore them anyway because the mailman paid her in cash to help, and they were comfortable.

her roommates thought she had gone to the store for sleeping pills, which she sometimes took when she had had a hard day at work and school. they weren’t really her friends; she realized that. she really had no friends at all. she hated that orphanage, but she had nowhere else to go. she didn’t want to be adopted. of all the kids there, she was probably the only one who didn’t want a new family. they could never replace her old one. perhaps the walk was just to clear her head, to decide what to do with her life now that her family was gone and she was alone in the world.

whatever the reason, ellie now found herself wandering the woods behind the high school campus, humming to herself. it was a tune she did not know, but which seemed to become clearer in her mind the farther she walked into the woods. she ran her fingers through her short black hair as she walked, and tried to think of where she’d heard that song. the moon was high in the sky, and almost full. because she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, her t-shirt sleeve got caught on a tree branch. when she stopped to untangle it, she stopped humming. that’s when she realized that there was actually music playing. it was coming from somewhere deep in the woods. checking to make sure she still had her box cutter from work in the left pocket of her baggy jeans, she followed the sound of the music. it sounded like some very old instrument. she couldn’t tell what kind.

suddenly, the woods around her began glowing. it wasn’t like any kind of light ellie had ever seen. it was surreal, and it swirled around her in a deep blue color. the light seemed to climb up her body, and she tried in vain to swat it away. the sounds of the woods faded away around her, until all she could hear was that strange music. as she looked at her hands, they slowly became transparent.


ellie awoke on the ground, and she tasted blood in her mouth. she kept her eyes closed and thought. she tried to get her bearings. she didn’t remember falling asleep. she didn’t remember anything. all she remembered was that glowing light in the woods. and the music. that strange music. where was she? she heard running water nearby. a river…? birds chirping. the sound of a squirrel climbing up a tree nearby. the ground she was laying on was covered in dead leaves. she could feel them underneath her hands. she could see that it was light out now, even with her eyes closed. she felt the emotions of someone nearby; surprise mixed with curiosity, a hint of disappointment. someone is curious about me? and… disappointed…?? she tried to feel the emotions of anyone else around, but there was nothing. her left hand went into her pocket and she clutched the box cutter that was there. slowly, she opened her eyes, and spat the blood from her mouth.

in front of her stood an unfamiliar woman in strange clothing, staring at her in awe. scared and confused, ellie jumped up, drew the box cutter from her pocket, and tackled the woman, stabbing her in the side with the box cutter. “WHERE AM I!?” she shouted. the woman groaned and gripped her side. ‘damnit,’ ellie thought, ‘the bad thing about being an empath is that i can feel her pain.’ ellie pulled the box cutter from the woman’s side and placed her hands on the wound. a green glow appeared and the wound slowly disappeared. ellie scurried back from the woman and sat against a tree, staring at her apprehensively.

for a few moments, the woman sat there, inspecting the spot where her wound had been. there wasn’t even any blood staining her dark purple robe. the only evidence that there had been a wound was the hole in her robe. the woman shook her head, brushed a strand of her long dark red hair out of her purple eyes, and then looked at ellie.

omri barked once. LOUDLY. ellie snapped out of her memories and looked down at him. he was standing in front of her, looking up, and growling. ellie had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed he’d gotten up. she turned and looked up at the tree omri had barked at. it was the largest, oldest oak tree in the area. she couldn’t see anyone up there, but she could feel someone’s curiosity. how long had someone been up there, watching them? ellie didn’t know. this person didn't feel evil, just curious. without a word to scrappy or phalon, ellie stood, walked over to the tree omri had barked at, and began quickly and expertly climbing it.

[vox]

PARTIAL RECALL

Aphemenie jolted herself out of her ‘daydream’ and again sat watching and listening to the gathering below her but she could not concentrate fully on what was taking place, different memories were flooding her mind. She decided she must go back to the others at their camp and discuss what she had discovered about herself. The memories of war and death weighed heavily on her mind and she needed confirmation from her ‘elders’.

With that, she took flight, just as Omri the large black wolf, barked loudly at the foot of the tree.

[Joxcenia]

Trenna cleaned and gutted her catch of the day and shoved each fish onto a stick before hanging them out over the fire to cook. She was getting a wee bit sick of fish, but she couldn’t hunt big game while on the move. She would be able to take off way before sunrise this day, as she knew that the river headed straight toward the morning sun. The moonlight would help guide her for many hours before time for the sun to rise. Surely she’d be at the end of her journey soon. How far away could Apollo be? She’d have to meet up with him soon enough. Oh, what a happy day that that will be; to be able to fly over the land below, in search of home. Would she recognize it when she saw it? Would her memories come flooding back? That was her hope anyway, to be back with her family, and to have back all her memories.

Trenna laid back and dozed off for a wee bit, waiting for the fish to fully cook. Dreaming of what home might look like. Of what her family might look like. She dreamt of blood sucking leeches, and of slopping on a mud covering.

[EllieNeo]

scrappy and phalon exchanged looks when ellie stood, then watched her climb the tree. omri walked over to scrappy and sat next to her, and she eyed him. he looked up at her and seemed to smile.

when ellie reached the top of the tree, she didn’t find anyone. she found, in fact, nothing. but someone other than an animal had to have been up here. she didn’t feel the emotions of animals. she felt the pain of animals, but not their emotions. she could only feel the emotions of humanoids and centaurs and the like. hrm. she rubbed the back of her neck and climbed back down the tree.

her eyebrows went up when she saw omri was sitting next to scrappy and allowing her to scratch behind his ears. ellie walked over and sat next to them. her eyes stayed on omri, who was contentedly letting scrappy continue to scratch behind his ears.

“he doesn’t normally warm up to strangers so fast. as a matter of fact, he’s never let anyone else but me even touch him.”

scrappy just shrugged. ellie chuckled and shrugged.

“someone was watching us. up there, in that tree. i think we oughta head back to the village, just to be safe. plus, there’s food there. and i bet you guys are starving. should we wait for those two to get back…?”

as the words left her mouth, ellie looked up and saw the tall blonde man and the woman with the injured hand reenter the clearing. the man walked right up to ellie.

“sorry about that. now… you didn’t get the chance to answer the question i asked a moment ago. where exactly are we?”

ellie stood and shrugged.

“right now, in the middle of frickin nowhere. bout twenty minutes away from my village, bout a week away from athens. across the river there, there are about half a dozen centaur villages, all close together. they’re part of the group that wants to fight this stinkin war. if i bring you back to the village, i’m sure queen eglise will allow you to stay. but then, you may just want to leave, to save your own skins from this damn war that’s gonna start any day now. but, at the very least, we can give you supplies if you wanna leave. oh, uhm,… hope you speak greek, cuz that’s what the queen normally speaks. she understands english, she just doesn’t speak it much.” ellie started to tell them about the person who had been watching them, then stopped herself. “…oh, yeah… i… didn’t get your names.”

the man smiled and nodded.

“i’m jason, and she’s letitia.”

hrm, interesting names. ellie stuck out her hand, and he shook it.

“ellie.”

ellie pointed up.

"someone was watching us."

jason looked where ellie was pointing.

"who?"

ellie shrugged.

“dunno. whatever was watching us, i don’t think it was gonna hurt us, but we oughta get out of the open and to the village, just to be on the safe side.”

jason nodded, his eyes still examining the treeline. for the first time since she’d started talking to jason, ellie noticed letitia was standing directly behind him, staring at her hand. ellie could feel her pain, and how upset she was. but she wasn’t just upset about her hand… there was something else bothering her. but ellie had no idea what. ellie stepped toward letitia, who looked up. ellie’s voice was gentle as she spoke to letitia. she didn’t want to upset her more. she just wanted to help. ellie pointed towards letitia’s injured hand.

“want me to heal that for ya?”

[Awesome Aphrodite]

I narrowed my eyes. How could these people not have known they’d been being watched by that flying… thing? Even from where I was, on the ground near the river, I could tell that I wasn’t the only one watching them. I looked up and saw whoever it was take off into the sky. I shook my head. Human senses were so poor.

Looking down, I examined my front right paw. It still hurt from that thing that had bitten me as I’d swam across the river. I licked it gently. OW. I shook my head again. Seemed I would have no choice. Whatever had bitten me must have been poisonous, or my paw wouldn’t still be hurting three days later. That would also explain why I was suddenly unable to assume my human form.

Turning toward the five people in the clearing, I whimpered. The one called Phalon appeared to be a doctor, and the one called Ellie had claimed she had "healed" the one called Scrappy. Between the two of them, perhaps they could help me. Licking my paw, I turned toward the clearing, then cautiously limped towards them.

[moonglum]

They sat at the base of the tree in silence, hugging each other tightly. They both felt drained. It’s not every day you battle gods and get to walk away. Perhaps they were naïve to have believed they could walk away unscathed, however. She, now more mortal than god; and he……… What had he lost? He’d lost his memory, true, but Eurayle had restored that. He was no longer telepathic, he could live with that. No, there was something else. Something, or someone, neither of them remembered. As he thought, his left hand gripped Soulrazor and Jason felt something stirring deep within himself. Something dark and powerful. He felt his sword vibrate, almost shudder with excitement.
Jason stood up. He held his hand out and helped Letitia to her feet.
“Let’s go,” he said. “I want no part of this war.”

Jason strode back into the clearing, Letitia almost running to keep up. He walked up to the dark-haired woman and they began talking in low tones. From the other side of the clearing Phalon and Scrappy looked on, wondering what was being said. They saw the woman step towards Letitia and reach toward her hand. In the blink of an eye Soulrazor was in Jasons hand and the blade was pressed against her neck. The black wolf growled and tensed to spring. Jason raised his left hand and whistled softly. As he did so, he slowly brought his hand down to his side. He leaned in close and, as the wolf lay down, he breathed, “Touch her and I will kill you.”
Letitia turned away and untethered the horses. “Leave her,” she said. Jason withdrew his blade and rapping her sharply at the base of the neck, watched the dark-haired woman fall to the grass. He quickly gathered what remained of their possessions and packed the horses. Turning to the others he said. “I apologise for our hasty departure, but there are some things we need to attend to.”

The pair turned their horses and rode off into the forest.

[Phalon]

For a moment it was quiet in the clearing…just for a moment. Jason had followed Letitia into the forest. They didn’t go far; she could hear their voices quiet just inside the wall of trees on the clearing’s edge. Ellie sat, stroking the wolf which lay at her feet. Scrappy fussed with her motorcycle, occasionally cursing under her breath. When she seemed satisfied that everything was in order, she returned to the fire and sat next to Phalon.

It was quiet, but not silent, for a forest is never truly silent - nothing that lives and breathes ever is. Not the tiniest insect, or the tallest oak…like the one that stood opposite the fire from her. Ah, the oak – the most sacred of trees. Zeus’ tree; it was the tree of prophecy. This gentle giant stood towering above all others, dwarfing them in its majesty. Its magnificent branches arched over the clearing, as to shield those underneath from whatever ills may reign down upon them. If only it were so.

Phalon watched a leaf fall, fluttering slowly down and get sucked into the fire with a crackling hiss. And then another. Three more followed. Five leaves total, each hissing its dying breath as it was consumed by the fire. Her gaze left the fire and drifted upward, to the great canopy above. There, she saw a winged woman, her face framed in hair the color of the flames in the clearing well below.

Phalon thought she saw the woman put a finger to her lips as if to whisper, “Shhhh…”, just before she left her perch and took to the skies. The sound of her wings was as quiet as her whisper. Quiet, but not silent.

The wolf barked. Phalon barely heard. That quiet whisper led her down a passage in her mind when not so long ago….

…He pushed open the doors and walked into the dining hall, "I believe you have been expecting me," he announced to the assembled group….

A sword is drawn.

He walked to the edge of the table, unbuckled his sword and placed it on the polished surface. The others had risen when he had entered, now they stepped back from the table, apprehensive and wary of this stranger.

A blade the color of the sky begins to darken.

I have been a soldier for most of my life now, so for what it's worth, I offer you my services. I'll be your army, I'll stop the horde…

Cold steel rests against warm flesh.

…and picking up his sword, he looked around the table once more. “The time has come to make a decision, they are here”, he said and turned towards the door. Stopping at the doorway he looked back……“Stay out of my way, or I’ll kill you.”

“Touch her and I will kill you.”

Phalon now knew where she’d seen that sword…and the man that wielded it. She didn’t have time though, to wonder if he’d been able to stop the horde….if he’d been able to save them all from that house and the demons within.

Because now, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Ellie was down!

Note: Passages in italics were written by Moonglum and taken from posts in "The House of Whoosher".

[EllieNeo]

omri growled at jason as his sword touched ellie’s throat. jason apparently could control animals, because at his whistle, omri lay down. omri had never responded to anyone else giving him commands before. ellie fell to the ground, and watched the two load their horses and leave. she felt her temper rising, but she fought it down. ‘geez, i was just trying to help,’ she thought. noticing that there was a small cut on her neck, ellie raised her hand to it, a faint green glow appeared, and it vanished. she sat for a few moments, stroking omri’s head. though a moment ago she might have cared, she no longer wondered where jason and letitia had come from or where they were going. they had just turned down her help, and free supplies.

omri suddenly stood and approached the edge of the clearing, growling. ellie turned and looked as a red-furred wolf much smaller than omri limped into the clearing. she could feel its pain. she could also feel its… curiosity….? she whistled, and omri came back to her. scrappy and phalon turned and looked as the new wolf limped into the clearing and collapsed. ellie hurried to its side, phalon beside her. ellie looked up at phalon.

“this isn’t a wolf.”

phalon raised her eyebrows. ellie put her hands on the wolf’s front right paw, which looked like it had been bitten by a poisonous river snake. the green glow appeared, and ellie felt the pain the wolf had been feeling cease. she could also feel how grateful it was. she shook her head. the wolf looked at her, its amber eyes revealing nothing. but they didn’t need to. ellie knew what this wolf’s secret was.

“it’s ok. we’re not gonna hurt ya.”

the wolf backed away a little, and the group watched as she transformed into a woman. she wore a leather halter top, a skirt, and had sai attached to either side of her waist. her short strawberry blonde hair was similar to the fur color she had had as a wolf. her amber eyes met ellie’s green eyes, and she smiled.

“thanks.”

[Awesome Aphrodite]

I stopped approaching the clearing when I saw the one named Jason had pulled his sword on Ellie. When he whistled and raised his hand, I felt myself involuntarily lying down. I noticed that Ellie's large black wolf, Omri, did the same. Could this guy control animals? 'But... I'm not an animal!' I thought. Even from as far away as I was, my keen ears still heard his words.

"Touch her, and I will kill you."

'Whoa....' I thought. 'That was completely uncalled for.'

Ellie fell to the ground next to Omri. I watched as Jason and the woman called Letitia began packing their horses. Noticing that I could stand again, I began limping toward the clearing. Omri growled at me, but returned to Ellie's side when she whistled. I misjudged a step and my feet fell out from under me.

I looked up to see Ellie and Phalon standing over me. Ellie looked at Phalon and informed her that I was not a wolf. 'How does she know that?' I wondered. Ellie put her hand on my right front paw, and it glowed. The pain stopped. Wow, that was a neat trick. Ellie's eyes met mine.

"It's ok, we're not gonna hurt ya."

I backed away, unsure. Feeling cramped from having been stuck in wolf form for three days, I decided there was nothing to lose if I returned to my human form. I just hoped my clothing and weapons hadn't been too badly damaged from that swim.

Once back in human form, I looked at Ellie.

"Thanks."

Ellie smiled and stood next to me.

"Any time. Now, before anyone else decides to draw weapons on people, you think you can tell us who you are and where you came from?"

I nodded. Of course they would want to know that. It wasn't every day you met a woman with the power to transform into a wolf.

"I've been sent here to warn you. The centaurs are planning a sneak attack on your village... tonight. They heard that you had sent for help from the other Amazon tribes, but they aren't going to wait for them to get here. If your tribe wants to survive, you must prepare for their attack."

Ellie raised an eyebrow. She sighed, then looked at Scrappy and Phalon.

"If you guys want to leave, we'd better get you back to the village and get you supplies, now." Ellie then turned and looked at me. "The queen might accept two outsiders. She will not accept three. So you oughta do that trick again and be a wolf for awhile, if that's alright with you."

I nodded. Though I was hoping to remain in human form for awhile, I understood the need to not anger an Amazon queen. I morphed back into my wolf form and stood next to Omri, who sniffed me. I sat, watching the three. Then I noticed a large... thing. Scrappy was rummaging through some bags on its side. What the heck was that thing?? Not for the first time, I wished I could speak while in wolf form. I made a mental note to ask what that thing was later, as I continued to watch Scrappy go through the bags.

[Scrappy Amazon]

I listened politely as Ellie once again tried to convince us we needed to return to the village. She did have a point. If there really was a war coming, the forest wasn’t the best place to be. Though it afforded some little bit of ability to hide, it definitely didn’t allow for the kind of protection a village full of armed women could.

Once committed to a side there was no turning back, I had no argument with the Centaurs. Heck I had just barely learned they existed. No, I wasn’t about to begin killing people I didn’t know. This is not my war and I have no duty to the people who are fighting it.

On the other hand I did have a duty and a loyalty to Phalon. Where she went I would follow. She and I needed to have a few minutes to discuss this. If she wanted to stay and help I would stay also.

I looked up at Ellie and put on my best ‘everything is ok face’. “Ellie can you give us a few minutes? Why don’t you two head back to the village and we’ll follow shortly. I want to check my bike more thoroughly and Phalon needs to help me repack my saddle bags.

“Of course.” She nodded and headed off towards the village.

Finally I turned to Phalon.

"So what do you think? About this war I mean. Personally I wish you'd have told me that centaurs were real. Any other mythological creatures I need to keep my eyes open for? Well besides the Werewomen, obviously."

"The subject never came up. We were guests of a woman who kept a couple of gargoyles as pets, in a house battling a demon who wanted to own our souls. It never occurred to me that I should mention the men-horses back home. But to answer your question....ever hear of dryads, chimeras, harpies, and ewww, the bacchae - they're a pain in the neck. Oh, and I believe we might have at least one winged woman flying about too."

"We were a little busy back there weren’t we. Good point. So, Oh Wise One, What do you want to do? I'm thinking I'm not so keen to get involved in a war that will end up killing things I didn't even know were real until yesterday afternoon. They haven't done anything to me. And while I’m grateful to them for healing my wounds, I feel to compunction to help the amazons in this war."

"I want to go home, Scrappy", she could feel hot tears start to form. "I need to see my family, but...", Phalon refused to finish the thought aloud. "How long were we in that house? A week, maybe two? What if time passed differently here while I was away? What if they're all....?" The tears flowed in rivulets down her cheeks.

"I hadn't considered there’d be a big time difference between when you left and when you returned." I put a gloved hand on Phalon's shoulder, "But we'll find your family. Or at least we'll try." I squeezed gently, offering a tiny bit of assurance before I let go. "First things first. Do we just bail without telling the amazons or do we at least let them know we are going? Second, we find a, what would you call it, a tavern or an Inn somewhere and find out where we are and then how to get where we need to be. I'm guessing there aren't any gas stations nearby."

"I don't even know what a gas station is, so I'm guessing you're right. But taverns, inns...yep, that's what'd I'd call them, and I'm sure there's more than a few of them around. But we really should let them know we are leaving. Just so they won’t waste energy and time looking for us."

“Agreed. I checked the tank earlier and it looks like it’s full. So for now we have about 200 miles before I really need to worry about the gas situation. Let’s get back to the village and say our goodbyes.”

“Scrappy, I don’t even know what time period we are in. All those Amazons who speak English and Ellie is wearing clothes like yours. For all I know we could be in the future, or we could be in the past or hell I just don’t know.”

“It’s ok. We’ll figure it out. For now I’m just glad to be away from that damn house. It almost feels like I’m on vacation!” I smiled at my little joke and patted Phalon on the arm. “Let’s go.”

I mounted my bike and helped Phalon climb on the back. The engine turned over with a roar. Any birds or fauna in the nearby vicinity immediately bolted with a rush and a swish of wing a foot. Instead of going all the way back to the village we managed to catch Ellie and the wolf woman pretty quickly. They heard us coming and stopped to wait.

I addressed Ellie since the wolf woman was back in her lupine form. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but we won’t be going back to the village. Phalon hasn’t been home in a while and she wants to see her family. And where she goes I must follow.”

Phalon reached out to shake Ellie’s hand. “I hope you understand. We have no quarrel with the Centaurs.”

Ellie took Phalon’s proffered hand , “I understand. Take care of yourselves.”

“Thanks.” I watched Ellie and the Wolf woman head back towards the village for a few seconds before turned the bike around and looked at Phalon over my shoulder. “Which direction Ma’am?”

“About that, there’s something I need to tell you.”

[moonglum]

They rode towards the river bank at first, and then, for several hours they followed its meandering course into the hills. Their talk beneath the oak tree had helped him realise how serious the injury to her hand was. Since she was born an immortal, she had never known physical pain, she had never known disease. The Gods were real and, in their way, reliable. It’s what the belief system was founded on, that reliance, that faith. The destruction of the Balance changed all that, it had changed Letitia, and it would change all of them. The Gods were now mortal. They felt pain and they would know disease. Jason had seen injuries before and knew people recovered from them, given time and care. He had no idea what it meant to have infection but no natural immune system to fight it off. Now he knew, now he realised that, from the moment she awoke and began to breathe the fetid air of the House, she had begun to die.

[vox]

ROOTS

As she flew away Aphemenie secretly thanked the lady Phalon for not giving her away. She soon reached her village and went in search of the Chief Elder Goranje. and when she found him, he immediately sensed her anxiety and invited her to sit down with him and tell him what she had found out and also what was troubling her so.

Aphemenie began by describing the ‘strangers’ in the woods, what she had seen and heard and about the strong feelings she had towards the ones called ‘Jason’ and ‘Letitia’. She then divulged the thoughts she had had whilst she was watching everyone in the clearing. “Can you tell me where I came from? And why I have these strange feelings? Aphemenie was very disturbed by all these thoughts. “Is something wrong with me?” she asked Goranje.

Goranje unable to bear her distress any longer said “Sit here with me my child and I will attempt to explain your origins to you”.

He began by saying that the brothers and sisters were all mutated descendants of a tribe called the Linjaldrage thousands of years ago. The Linjaldrage were a blonde haired, fair skinned race, who rode magnificent ‘dragon’ beasts. They came from an island called Eyinhelgh in the Noronze Ocean. They ruled their kingdoms defeating enemies for thousands of years and one day the dragons began to die out until there was only one dragon and rider left. His name was Garak Kurhn. He left the island of his birth taking his faithful servants with him and they eventually settled in a mountainous region on a far off mainland. They began to build a new life for themselves and new farms and villages were created.

“But what has that to do with me?” said Aphemenie. “Hush a while” said Goranje, “please listen and let me finish, so that you may fully understand”. They called their new world Orkadia. Eventually the last dragon, died and Garak buried her. Within a year Garak too was gone and the Dragon Rulers passed into legend, so they thought.

Goranje stopped a while for refreshment and also to enable Aphemenie to digest all that he had told her.

After a few moments silence, Goranje said to Aphemenie “You my dear are an evolved descendent of the dragons, you have inherited all of their skills and knowledge, which may explain your psychic connection with these people”.



My thanks to Moonglum for allowing me to use some extracts of his writings from the House of Whoosher.

[EllieNeo]

ellie understood that the two women needed to discuss their decision in private. she walked off toward the village, and omri and the red-furred wolf followed. she heard the bike start up a few minutes later, and scrappy explained that they were leaving. ellie told her she understood, then started to walk off. she stopped herself. she walked back to them, and heard phalon talking.

“about that, there’s something i need to tell you."

ellie didn't want to interrupt, but she had a lot of things she had forgotten to say. she cleared her throat, and the two women looked at her.

"uhm, i forgot to tell you. once you leave this area, no one speaks english. or, as they call it around here ‘ellie’s language.’ only our tribe knows it, because ren taught lauri; who then taught it to the rest of the tribe; when she learned i would be arriving. basically, if it weren’t for me being here, no one around here would speak english at all, except ren, and she’s dead. so… everyone else speaks greek. or some other language that i don’t even know what it is. mostly they speak greek, though, unless they’re romans. i bet you don’t speak greek, scrappy, since you’re obviously from around the same time period i was once from. phalon, do you?” phalon simply nodded. ellie continued, raising her left arm and pointing north towards the village that was still out of sight. “also, i dunno where you're going, but i can tell you how to get to athens. you can get pretty much anywhere from athens. if you were riding a horse, i would tell you to head north about three days, then head east. another four days’ worth of riding, and you’d reach athens. but… since you’re riding a motorcycle, you’ll probably get there much sooner. there’s a sign posted that tells you when to start heading east for athens.” ellie lowered her arm. “i don’t blame you for leaving. no one could. you owe us nothing. this war’s gonna be hell on earth. and scrappy, i didn’t heal ya just to watch you get killed three days later. so yeah. get the hell outta dodge.”

ellie turned and again started walking toward the village, then stopped herself. she turned back to scrappy, and her hand went into her pocket.

“oh yeah. here.” ellie took her hand out and extended it, closed, to scrappy. scrappy reached out. ellie opened her hand, and the familiar sound of coins clinking together could be heard. scrappy looked down at the pouch full of coins now sitting on her open palm. ellie smiled at scrappy.

“eventually, your bike will run out of gas. here’s fifty dinars to buy a horse when that happens. actually, it should be good to buy two, if you go to the right place. go to drew’s shop, in athens, tell him ellie sent you. he should give you a discount. also, i don’t think it would be a good idea to drive your bike all the way into athens. they might think you’re evil gods or some such stuff. there’s a small hut not far from athens, it belongs to me. not the best hut, cuz i built it myself, but it’s nice and secluded and it’s sturdy. it’s like a mile west of athens. it’s where i go when i want to be alone. even lauri doesn’t know about it. feel free to store your bike there for as long as you want. have a safe trip.”

certain she had said all she needed to, ellie turned and disappeared into the woods, omri and the red-furred wolf right behind her. just outside the village, ellie looked down at the red-furred wolf. the wolf looked up at her, and ellie chuckled to herself, realizing she hadn’t asked her her name.

“whoever sent you to warn us, they didn’t expect you to fight with us, did they?”

the red-furred wolf’s amber eyes met ellie’s, and she nodded. ellie sighed, then walked into the village.

“ok… whatever.”



ellie could tell who she was from the back as she entered the village. she walked right up to her.

“eglise.”

ellie’s voice startled the queen, who turned and looked at her. queen eglise had not heard ellie utter a word in three years. what was so important now, that ellie was talking? and where had that red-furred wolf come from? wasn’t one wolf enough for ellie?

“the centaurs are attacking tonight. we need to abandon the village.”

ellie could feel the queen’s surprise and anger. she knew what the queen would say. she just didn’t expect her to say it in english.

“never.[/i]”

ellie shook her head.

“use your head, eglise! if we stay here, we’ll all be slaughtered!”

“ellie, we have nowhere to go. the closest big city is athens, and that’s a week away for one person. there are over fifty[/i] amazons in this tribe, ellie. and four of them are with child. there is no possible way we can make it to athens before we are attacked!”

ellie sighed and shook her head.

“we don’t need to make it to athens, eglise. we just need to abandon the village.”

the queen glared at ellie.

“and where will we go?”

ellie grinned.

“to rondex’s village.”

ellie felt the queen’s confusion.

“that village has been abandoned for three years, ellie… there is no one…”

ellie could almost see the light bulb appear above the queen’s head. for the first time in a long time, the queen smiled at ellie.

“you’re brilliant.”

ellie simply smiled back, then turned and headed to her hut, omri and the red-furred wolf at her heels.

[moonglum]

Around midday they stopped to rest and water the horses. Jason helped Letitia down and noticed, for the first time, her laboured breathing. She sat on the river-bank while he made some, not too successful, attempts at catching something to eat. After a while he gave up and went to gather some berries and fruit. On his return, he sat down next to her and revealed the meagre harvest he had found. She laughed and the laughter brought on a bout of coughing. Jason felt her forehead, she was burning up. He gave her a sip of water and, after drinking it, she said.
“Do you think we’ll find her?”
“If she is in this timeframe, yes.”
“What if she isn’t?” she whispered.
He remained silent for a moment. Truth be told, he didn’t know how to answer her question. “We find another portal,” he finally said.

[vox]

After a short sleep, Aphemenie again went and sought out Goranje for his knowledge and advice on what she should do next. She found Goranje in his hut, just finishing off his meal. He invited her in and they sat down together. She asked Goranje if there were any others in the village like herself. He informed here that there are two others, male twins, Perde and Fenne. Aphemenie was surprised to find this information out and had so many questions to ask. Her first being, where could she find them?, Did they too have wings? There was so much that she wanted to know but she could feel the ‘pull’ from Jason and Letitia and the urge to find them was greater than the urge to seek out the twins. That could wait for another day, thought Aphemenie. She had already spent too long away from the woods and needed to get back.

[EllieNeo]

ellie noticed what was missing the second she pulled back the curtain door of her hut and stepped in, omri and the red-furred wolf at her heels. her eyes narrowed. she eyed the round black container sitting on top of a folded piece of parchment on the table across the room. other than those two things, the table was bare. ‘oh, hell[/i] no.’ ellie was so angry she saw red. she drew her katana as she turned and started to leave her hut. when omri started to follow her, ellie looked down.

“sit, stay.”

he sat on the spot. the red-furred wolf sat next to him, and they watched as ellie stormed out of her hut.

she knew only one person with the audacity to steal something that precious from her. not caring that she couldn’t see her, ellie shouted her name as loudly as she could.

“JANIS!!!!![/i]”

the amazons nearby all looked at ellie in amazement. had their ears deceived them, or did ellie actually speak? none of them had heard her utter a word in three years. they could all see the anger on her face, and didn’t go near her. some of them backed away, and ellie could feel their confusion and fear. queen eglise started to walk toward ellie, but backed away when she saw the murderous look on her face.

janis came walking down the middle of the village. she held a katana in her hand. the handle was wrapped in dark green leather, and the scabbard attached to her left hip was white. she walked up to ellie, a grin on her face. ellie’s eyes were wild as she glared at janis, and her words, spoken through her teeth, sounded like a growl.

“that’s ava’s katana.[/i]”

janis shook her head.

“so. you can speak. the rumor was that the centaur who you spared during the last war cut out your voice box in your sleep. as for this…” she held the katana up. “you took my katana. it is in the middle of the raging river. unless you want to retrieve it, you have to replace it. the one you have in your hand is designed for a left-handed swordfighter. obviously, i can’t use that. this is the only other katana that you own. i claim it as a replacement for mine. you want it? come and get it.”

ellie gripped her katana tightly in her left hand and tried desperately to control her temper. the last time it had completely taken over, she’d killed. she didn’t want to kill again. especially a sister amazon… and with a war coming. she took a deep breath and let it out. her tone seemed a tiny bit calmer when she spoke again, but her anger could still be heard.

“give it to me, janis. or i will take it from you. don’t make me take your other arm.”

janis shook her head.

“it never should have been yours. ava had no right to give you her right of caste. if it weren’t for you, she would still be alive. you left her to fight by herself, and she died. you manipulated her into making you an amazon. you are not worthy[/i] of the title of amazon. you never will be! OUTSIDER!!![/i][/u][/font]”

that did it. ellie could no longer control her temper. the lies spilling from janis’s mouth were too much. ‘blaming me for ava’s death? HELL[/i] no.’ the noise that ellie made as she attacked janis almost sounded like a lion’s roar.

janis parried ellie’s first strike and swung back. ellie dodged around to janis’s back. the sounds of their katana clashing together rang out through the village and the surrounding woods. the amazons around were watching in disbelief. it wasn’t the first time these two had fought, but it was the first time since ellie had taken janis’s arm, five years ago. none of the amazons knew what to expect. queen eglise looked worried.

when janis swung wide and missed ellie, the katana in her hand stuck in the soft earth. ellie kicked her in the left knee with the toe of her steel-toed boot. a loud CRACK[/i] resounded throughout the village. janis cried out in agony and clutched her knee, falling face first into the dirt. ellie could feel the pain of janis’s shattered kneecap, but her own anger blocked it out. she held the edge of her katana to the back of janis’s neck. she raised her arms, ready to cut her head off. the glint of the katana that lay embedded in the ground in front of janis caught ellie’s eye. the words on the parchment that sat on the table in her hut flashed across her mind.

… “do not become a monster. do not kill just for the sake of killing.”…

a tear rolled down ellie’s face. she nodded. she hit janis hard in the back of the head with the handle of her katana, knocking her out. she then sheathed her katana. bending down, she removed the white scabbard from janis’s hip. pulling the katana out of the ground, ellie wiped the dirt off of the blade on her jeans and sheathed it. and though the other amazons tried to talk to her, she walked back to her hut in silence.



*note: blue dialog is greek

[Awesome Aphrodite]

I was still in Ellie’s hut when she returned. She carried a katana in her left hand. She walked over to the table and placed it behind the container that sat on it. I decided from the look on her face that she wanted to be alone, and so I walked out of her hut, still in wolf form.

I wandered the village for a few moments, listening to the conversations of the Amazons. Conversations in English. My mother had taught me English. I thought I had heard Ellie say her name earlier, when she was talking to Scrappy. My mother had come back from the future thirty-five years ago, and her name had been Ren. She was a very powerful sorceress, with the ability to see the future. Was this the same Ren who had taught English to these Amazons? It wasn’t exactly like it was the most common name in the world. I sighed. Mother was dead. She’d been dead for thirteen years now. There was no way to ask her. But perhaps Lauri would know.

I looked around for Lauri, but didn’t see her. Heck, I didn't know what she looked like. Why was I looking for someone when I didn't know what they looked like? I sighed. Tired from all the goings-on of the day, I sat down in front of the medical hut and watched quietly as the Amazons gathered their weapons and prepared to abandon the village.

[moonglum]

“I haven’t that ability anymore,” Letitia sobbed. “I can’t find another portal. Jason, you must find her, please.”
Even in her weakened state, her grip on his hand was strong. But he felt the strength ebbing away fast until she released him and lowered her head to his shoulder.
“Please find her,” she whispered, before lapsing into another coughing fit.
“I will, I promise”. He had little idea how, though.

His talk with her spirit in the campfire had revealed that Eurayle wasn’t sure where he and Letitia had wound up. She thought the place seemed vaguely familiar to her, but was that enough? Jason needed to be sure. He could hardly search the entire country, there simply wasn’t enough time. Letitia’s condition was worsening by the hour. At the rate her health was failing, it wouldn’t be long before she was unable to travel at all. He had to find Eurayle, he had to find a village and ask around, he had to…….. He needed help.

[vox]

Exposure

As Aphemenie flew to find Jason and Letitia she thought long and hard, she must make herself known to them, to be able to help them on their journey.

It did not take her very long to locate Jason & Letitia, they had tethered their horses to a tree by the riverbank and made camp. Poor Letitia did not look too well and the concern in Jason’s features was very apparent.

As she sat perched high in a tree, she thought about how she was going to make herself known to them.

How would they feel when they discover that someone has been watching them since they first arrived? Would Jason pull his sword on her? If they gave her a chance to relate her story to them, would they believe her? Aphemenie was in such turmoil, she wanted to help them in any way she could and if that meant putting herself at risk or even dying, then she would.

[Phalon]

“About that, there’s something I need to tell you”, Phalon said, almost breathlessly. Even the short ride on Scrappy’s motorcycle to catch up to Ellie, left her prickling with excitement. The wind in her face, the speed, the shear power of it was incomparable to anything she’d ever felt. It was a similar feeling she’d got when she goaded Aronia, her horse, into a full gallop. But yet riding this “metal horse” of Scrappy’s was far different than riding one made of flesh and blood.

Her excitement was interrupted by a pang of sadness for the mare she’d left behind. What had happened to Aronia after Phalon had been plucked from that world, and thrown into the next? She was sure Zena would have taken care of the horse, found her a good stable, or perhaps a gentle rider.

It was a strange feeling to think about all the things she might have lost while in that house. It was even odder still that she didn’t feel that now that she was back, she’d regain them. All the time she was gone, she’d thought once she returned to Greece she’d be overwhelmed with a sense of belonging; that the yearning to be home would cease, and she’d step into her life right where she left it.

She didn’t feel any of that though. This didn’t feel like home. She supposed it was that portal – a dark aura clung to the place that even the shining sun didn’t brighten, and it permeated the woods around them.

That the people here spoke English did nothing to ease Phalon’s feelings of disappointment. It was a language she’d never heard before stepping out of the sea and into that house from hell. It was a language that at first sounded barbaric to her ears. Not even in her travels as far north to Eire during her stay with Eurayle and the Gaelic-speaking people, did she hear anyone speak English. And to hear it spoken in Greece! Her home! It only added to Phalon’s dread that this Greece was not her Greece. It was a small comfort to her that Ellie said that English was only spoken in this small Amazon village. It meant that there was hope; that the portal was the cause of everything here that felt wrong. And once they got away from it, she’d forget all these thoughts, and truly be home again.

Athens is three days north, then another four east, Ellie had said. That would mean they were now in the peninsula of Attica. Good. Then Pireaus would not be far…only slightly more than half the distance of Athens, by Phalon’s calculations. Then again…maybe it was less, maybe more. She laughed to herself, while scratching her forehead; she never was very good at following directions. But sooner or later they’d reach Pireaus….and the port was only a short ferry ride to Aegina, the isle that was her home.

"Uhm...Phalon? You wanna wake up from that daydream, and tell me whatever it was you had to say?"

[moonglum]

As they rode on through the afternoon, Jason thought about recent events. Maybe he’d been hasty in leaving the others, but he had been convinced that they didn’t know of Eurayle’s whereabouts. The woman with the green eyes had seemed genuinely astonished at hearing her name. Perhaps he should have talked more with her but….no, they were right to leave. Eurayle had said, “…..if this is Greece, ask for me in the port of Pireaus. There is a ferryman I count among my friends”. Now he had to find Pireaus.

They had left the river and followed a track off to the northwest. By mid-afternoon they were climbing into the hills. They travelled slowly, Letitia’s horse on a long-line, behind his. He had loaded their possessions onto her horse and, doubling-up; he rode with Letitia clasped firmly against his chest. As they rode he became surer of his instincts. Finally, as they crested a hill, he could smell the ocean. Letitia stirred against his shoulder, as he reined in the horses, and they looked out over the cliff-tops at the crashing ocean below.

[Phalon]

Phalon hadn’t realized she was pacing, as she so often did when she was thinking. She’d gotten off the bike while Ellie was speaking, and after the dark haired woman departed, she now walked back and forth in front of it….driving Scrappy insane. “You had something to tell me?” Scrappy asked again, trying to bite back her growing impatience.

Phalon stopped pacing directly in front of the motorcycle, grabbed the handle bars of the bike, and leaned in close to Scrappy’s face. “I’ve been thinking, Scrappy….”

Her eyes met with Scrappy’s death stare. “Get…your…hands…off…the…chrome”, she hissed between clenched teeth.

Phalon pulled the long sleeve of her robe over her hand, and polished the smudge marks off the handle bars. “Better?” she asked with a sheepish grin.

“Hhmph! Go ahead, continue with what you were going to say…just say it without touching the bike.”

Phalon started her pacing again. “This morning, I watched five leaves, one by one fall from the great oak. Five of them from the tree of prophecy – one for each of us – for you, for me, Jason, Letitia, and Ellie. Wafting down, slowly, before they fell into the fire, and were consumed by it…..”

“And the point is…?”

“Nothing”, Phalon shrugged. “It’s insignificant. A mysterious prophecy yet to be fulfilled; an ominous foreboding…a cheap puff of smoke, a fortuneteller’s parlor trick. I’m supposed to be a great mystic, remember? I thought it’d be a good lead-in to my story. What’s a mystic without a bit of mystical babble every now and then?”

Scrappy rolled her eyes. “Get on with it, Phalon. We haven’t got all day to sit here doing nothing.”

“Ok, ok, ok….but allow me my eccentricities every now and then. I have fun with them. But to get to the point….what was the last thing you remember from our time spent in the house?”

Scrappy sighed and resigned herself to the fact that nothing, when talking with Phalon, was ever straight to the point. Scrappy silently agreed to herself to play along in what seemed to be a game of twenty questions. “We were seated in the dining room, listening to Malory”, was her answer to question number one.

“After Malory was done speaking….what happened next?” Phalon continued with question number two.

“I burped.”

“Yes….and it was disgusting”, Phalon wrinkled her nose. “But after your display of crudeness, then what…?”

“I….I….I don’t remember”, Scrappy looked puzzled with the realization.

“I don’t either", Phalon confessed. "Except for a very little portion, perhaps. When I was watching those leaves burn this morning, I became entranced by the fire. It’s a living entity, you know…it breathes; it feeds, and it dies. When Jason and Letitia came back to the clearing, I saw fire in his eyes. I saw it in his sword. And I knew that sword. The last thing I remember in that house is a man striding into the room, announcing he had come to do battle, and laying his sword upon the table in front of us.”

“Jason!”

“Yes!” Phalon sighed. “Scrappy, I would love to put that house and all the hideous things contained within behind me, and forget it ever happened. I cannot though, forget the people that lived through it with us. I want to go home…but I can’t yet. I would spend the rest of my days wondering what happened to Guru, to Joxie, and Malory….” She lowered her voice, and spoke the next name softly, “ ….and to Dixie.”

Scrappy’s expression saddened just for a moment at the mention of Dixie. She caught herself quickly, forcing her bravado to the surface again. “And Jason is the key.”

“So….”, Phalon swung around to point in one direction, “do we go to Athens where we’re sure to find a hot meal and a warm place to stay?” Sweeping her hand in the opposite direction, she continued “Or head into the woods, unsure of where we’re going and what lies ahead, following a man who perhaps saved us all. Or perhaps his intent was not nearly so noble.”

“When have we ever chosen the easy way?”

“Exactly what I was thinking”, Phalon said, barely getting back on the bike before it sped off into the forest. Its roar quickly subsided as the density of the woods swallowed the sound.

It was quiet in the clearing once more….but not silent. The embers of the fire consumed a freshly fallen oak leaf. Crackles rang out as laughter at an inside joke only it understood.

[vox]

Aphemenie quietly followed Jason & Letitia, all the time hearing his thoughts, hearing how concerned he is for Letitia’s well being. She could see his turmoil and how he needed to meet again with Phalon. Phalon would know where he could find the one he was thinking constantly about, the one called ‘Eurayle’

When they reached the coast, it was then that Aphemenie decided she must get Jason, Letitia, Phalon and Scrappy together if there was any chance for Letitia. She would leave Jason and Letitia and go and find Phalon and Scrappy and guide them to the port. After all, Phalon had seen her once and it would not be such a shock to her when Aphemenie introduced herself.

Off she flew, quicker than she has ever flown in her life, time was of an essence, she had no time to lose. She quickly found Phalon and Scrappy speeding through the woods, but they were going in the wrong direction.

Aphemenie flew ahead of Scrappy and Phalon, she needed to gain their attention in order for them to stop. “Now how can I make them stop for just a moment?” thought Aphemenie. She must do something. Her thoughts went back to what Goranje had said “You my dear are an evolved descendent of the dragons, you have inherited all of their skills and knowledge” if that was the case, maybe…….. She took a very deep breath, held it in for a while, and breathed out slowly. Yes! She could!

Aphemenie came across a tree that had fallen, she quickly ignited the tree with her fire, praying and hoping that it would bring Phalon and Scrappy to a halt.

[vox]

She hated igniting the tree, the trees are her home and she had infinity with them, she felt at one with nature, the trees have been her home for as long as she can remember, she lives off the fruits of the forest, but she could console herself with the fact that the tree was dead and no longer living.

She stood waiting, it should not be long now before Scrappy and Phalon come this way, hopefully they would have seen the smoke ahead of them and would wish to investigate. If not, she would have to think of another way to contact them.

Whilst Aphemenie waited, her thoughts went back to Jason and Letitia, she wished she could feel the ‘love’ that they held for each other. She had never known love with one person, only the love of the ‘Elders’. What did it feel like? How does it keep two people together for so long? She went into a daydream thinking about the two of them alone by the coast………..