Private Tales Crossing Over

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
The Aralyssian smiled faintly. She did not know whether the elf was being rude or felt that after seeing the use of a true name she would withhold hers. As if the elves knew those names any more.

Once they had known how to whisper the magic of the world and the names of things. Now they grasps scraps of the knowledge they had held as humans set fire to their world with uncontrolled magic.

"The rest of your little town knew you were coming to find them?" she asked. She glided around them in a full circle once more.

Keernan turned with her, putting himself half a step closer the Syuri at all times. This was a creature beyond his knowing. Something old, unique and powerful.
 
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Syuri’s brow furrowed irritably at the creature’s question and she gave a firm nod. “Of course they do.” Her gaze narrowed, and she turned with the woman. She tried not to look as nervous as the Aralyssian made her feel, but she was certain her pulse was audible.

“There’s no reason to make an enemy of the elves. But I assure you, if we don’t return with those children, an enemy is exactly what you’ll have.” she told her with as much conviction as she could, her chin held high as she stood her ground and awaited the woman’s answer.
 
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"You're probably expecting me to have an irrational sense of stubborn resolve on the matter. I see things quite clearly. Your people do not threaten me child, but I do not want elves buzzing around the doors to my realm like flies."

She turned to face them directly. She lifted an impossibly long finger and drew back a clump of fkaxon hair that had draped forwards.

Keernan's body language had shifted. He did not know this creature. She veritably thrummed with power. In truth, he could not even explain how he could identify the others. That he could not do the same now made him nervous. His heart had started to race, reminding him that he was fully tethered to his mortal form.

"A simple deal. Take the children, never try and find your way back here..." The creature took two graceful steps forwards, standing tall over them both.
 
Syuri watched her closely, keeping her chin raised and shoulders squared, a hint of shaky defiance on her features. The fact that Keernan was so silent didn't make her any more comfortable, but she fought the urge to look at him and her jaw clenched as the creature called her 'child'..

Her gaze narrowed as the woman seemed to give in so quickly, and she recalled the Nyxie's words, that the Aralyssian wouldn't give the children up...that she would 'see'.. It couldn't be that simple, could it?..

"Deal..." she said hesitantly, her brow furrowing in contemplation. Her head tilted slightly upward to look at the towering woman and she drew in a breath in effort to calm her pounding heart.. "If you'd be so kind as to tell us where they are, we'll collect them and leave at once. You'll never see us, or my people again." her brow quirked.
 
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"Deal," repeated the Aralyssian. It felt as if magic itself shuddered. Even Syuri must have been able to feel that, though Keernan.

Making a deal with a fae was a dangerous business. They could have spent days debating the terms upon which it was made. However, he suspected this creature wanted rid of them almost as much as they wanted to leave.

She seemed to glide away from them both without her feet moving. The whole experience was deeply unsettling. Keernan could only imagine how Syuri was feeling.

A wave of her hand and the foliage parted. There was a clearing, marred only by a number of small bodies arranged in a circle.
 
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The single word caused her blood to run cold and she suppressed a shiver as her skin tingles and bloomed with goosebumps. She stared at the woman uncertainly as she moved, unable to shake her uneasiness.

The curtain of foliage was swept aside and Syuri felt her heart stop for a moment, her glacial eyes settling on the children she was not accustomed to seeing so still. She thought over the deal she'd just made, silently praying to all the gods that the woman wouldn't have been so cruel as to harm them, and with a glance to Keernan she let out the breath she'd been holding and rushed to the circle of children and fell to her knees.

She reached for the first, the one she knew best and the one the changeling had been immitating.. "Mirryn?.." her hand reached to push the child's white hair out of her soft face, and she couldn't help but cry with relief as she felt the child breathe.

"Help me wake them.." she glanced up at Keernan, concern written on her face. Until she had the children back home, safe and well, she wouldn't trust this creature had struck a fair deal.
 
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Keernan nodded his head. "They are alive," he said firmly. He could feel the spark of life still with them. She needed to know that. He was not perfect at recognising emotions in expressions, but he could see her pain and concern plain as day.

He dropped to his knees heavily beside Mirryn. She was breathing very softly. Not wanting to linger, he held his hand over her chest, palm down. A soft, warm glow fell upon her for just a second and the girl's eyes snapped open.

"She would have woken on her own, but there is no need to linger," he explained. "I will...eugh..."

The last of his breath was expelled in a grunt. Keernan was dragged across the floor as if an invisible hand had him by the belt. The heels of his boots dug little rivulets into the earth.

"Now what are you?" crooned the fae. She lifted her outstretched hand and Keernan was lifted into the air before her. The Aralyssian tilted her head to one side. "Curious."

Keernan cried out in pain. Faint streams of orange light lifted from his skin, formed streams in the air in front of his chest before plunging back down into his body. The yellow of his eye faded and both became the same colour.

"You may go," the fae snapped to Syuri, the curtain of tree branches fell back down cutting her off from sight.
 
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She nodded quickly to Keernan, slowly starting to let herself ease. They were alive, and safe as far as she could tell. Now it seemed they only had to find their way out of here and they'd be back home with their families. How happy Kip would be. She allowed herself to smile as Mirryn's eyes opened and she let out a laugh in relief and grabbed the child up against her chest and hugged her with a soft reassurance by her ear. The child was confused for a moment, but rumbled a quiet "Hi Su.." and hugged her back sleepily.

Syuri let her go quickly as Keernan was pulled along the ground and she reached out to try and take his hand but was too late. "Keernan!.." she called out in fretfully and instructed Mirryn to wake the others as quickly as she could and took a few steps toward the Aralyssian, her gaze wide as she watched the harrowing light show.

"Let him go!" she demanded and reached for her bow, having aimed an arrow before the verdant curtain fell again. "No!.."

Syuri rushed forward to hack through the foliage. "That was NOT part of our deal! He comes with me! You deceitful bitch!"
 
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The Aralyssian hadn't left. Syuri would be able to see Keernan struggling just beyond the veil of branches and vines.

"That deal was predicated upon you both being elves who would bother me. This is not an elf. You may leave with the elves.

"Challenge..." hissed Keernan, "...the deal." It was barely a whisper.

"I did not hear you," snapped the fae.

Their kind enjoyed loopholes and taking advantage of the mortals. However, they took their rules seriously. A formal challenge led to a court, being judged by other who may or may not have held the accused in favour. Power was always a delicate balancing act here.
 
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Keernan collapsed to the ground as the invisible ropes were released. The golden aurora that had been drawn from his body snapped back. His eyes were once again two different colours.

The last of the vines rattled out of the way and the Aralyssian turned sharply to face Syuri. There was a very mortal expression of frustration on her face. Perhaps she had been watching their kind too much or perhaps the fae had taught the elves to feel in the first place.

"On what grounds? I said I wanted the elves to leave and that is not an elf. Well, not entirely an elf..."
 
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She watched as Keernan fell and frowned, watching him for long enough to know that he was alright and refraining for going to him as she held her ground.

"Liar." Syuri frowned slightly and took a step toward the Aralyssian, her voice and posture calm as she tried to maintain composure. She could feel the fae's frustration, and her brow arched defiantly. "You said nothing of the sort. I said we need to get the children back, and you said to take the children. My terms were clearly stated before you agreed." her bow lowered to her side and her free hand settled on her hip.

"I didn't take your sort to be liars. Tricksters, perhaps, but lying is just pathetic." her nose wrinkled in disgust as she looked the creature from head to toe with a slow shake of her head.
 
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The fae drew herself up to her full height. She towered over them both. Despite her spindly limbs, there was no sense of frailty in the Aralyssian. There was a constant undercurrent of malice.

"The deal was made," she agreed, deciding not to chance a court. "But consider your options. Walk away without him, retrieve the children. A fair trade. Or I will be very, very upset.

"My anger has outgrown entire forests, species have been and gone whilst I nursed a grudge."

She took a step back, opening her arms. Offering a clear route to Keernan.

"Choose."
 
It was difficult not to look intimidated, and impossible not to feel it. She felt tiny as the woman loomed over her and she forced herself not to take a step back, to hold her ground and keep her jaw clenched and muscles taught to suppress the shudder that teased at her spine.

"Yes. The deal was made. And now you stand here threatening me when I want nothing more than to stand by my side of said deal? I believed you to be at least somewhat respectable people. As I said, and as you agreed - WE will be taking the children from this place, and we will not return."

She looked to Keernan. She couldn't leave him here, he'd been the only reason she'd found the children in the first place, and so she had to at least try to get the woman to drop whatever claim she felt she had over him. "I choose to stick to the original agreement. Like a respectable woman." her chin lifted, a slender brow arching at her.

"You choose. Honourable? Or no better than self entitled humans who just see something they want and take it for themselves like children.." her gaze narrowed.
 
The Aralyssian had teeth. Her lip curled back into a snarl. For an instant, it seemed as if she might risk her standing and murder Syuri where she stood. Such an act could have terrible consequences and the Aralyssian was a self centered creature. She hadn't survived this long taking risks.

Besides, she could confirm her suspicions first and then track down the thing masquerading as an elf. Perhaps she would even confide in some of the others.

"Go," she hissed, turning her back on them both. Keernan started getting to his feet unsteadily.
 
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Syuri could almost feel the rage radiate from her and her fingers tightened around the hilt of the dagger at her hip. It was a last resort, but she'd already made her mind up that she'd fight if she had to. The frown she wore only deepened as she watched the woman consider her words as though she were digesting something putrid.

The word caused her a rush of relief but she refrained from making it audible and let her breath out slowly and silently, her muscles easing and giving a belated shudder that lingered with an uneasy tingling under her skin. Syuri kept her eyes on the aralyssian for a brief moment and walked calmly to hold out a hand to Keernan to help him to his feet and keep him stable. Her eyes studied him, concern etched on her features, mutely asking if he were alright to move. Not that he had a choice, they had to move before she tried anything else.

"Mirryn, form a line and hold on to one another and don't let go." she instructed and reached to take the girl's other hand as they formed a chain. "Quickly now." she offered a small smile of reassurance despite her own uncertainty. She turned to start moving off in the direction they'd come from, but it wasn't like looking for a door..

"Can you sense where the veil is?..." she asked Keernan quietly, offering him the support of an arm for as long as he required it.
 
Keernan had to rely on here to take some of his weight. He didn't even know what the fae had done to him. Keernan felt as if he had been cracked to the core, pulling in different directions just to see if he would fully break.

Casting a look over his shoulder at the children he gave a firm nod. He might have forgotten how to always be an elf, but he did care about their safety. This wasn't just idle curiosity.

"This way," he said softly. He hoped he had to strength to stay on his feet. The children were pale, woozy from the magic laid over them. They had likely had some of their strength sapped in whatever technique had passed their likeness onto the changelings.

"Parallel to the river, then veer off to the left as it turns away."
 
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Syuri nodded, eager to be quicker on her feet than she could be whilst supporting his weight, it wasn't easy to take her time when she feared something might come after them. She was glancing cautiously over her shoulder and keeping a tight hold of Mirryn's hand. The child had taken it upon herself to be the voice of reassurance to the others since she was at the head of the line.

"S'aright, we're goin' home! Su will get us there. And this funny man. You'll see!" .. Syuri couldn't control her anxiety enough to find it amusing, but the children seemed eased by it and so she gave the child's hand a delicate squeeze and forced a smile.

She followed the river until it started to bend and she kept left, recognising the way the trees lined up and a few flowering shrubs. Her gaze narrowed as she searched for something, and between two large spruce trees there was a ripple in the air. She looked at Keernan, her brow arched in mute question.
 
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Keernan nodded and drew himself to his full height with his own strength. He stepped forwards ahead of the rest and marched to the veil.

"Go on," he said, "nearly home."

It wasn't like a portal stone. It wasn't a movement between two places. There were no whispers in the void. When he followed the group home he hadn't moved to a different place. He had taken two steps. The places just occupied the same space.

On the other side he collapsed into a heap.
 
She felt that change in atmosphere she'd felt before and knew they'd crossed into their own realm. The air felt different, the birds sang as they swayed in the canopy, and Syuri pulled the children through with a surge of relief. Her smile was quickly wiped from her face however and she dropped to her knees next to Keenan, trying to sit him up..

"Keernan? Hey!" her hand slapped at his face, her pulse pitched to frantic. She didn't know what the Aralyssian had done, but she knew this was her doing and she growled to herself as she shook at him..

"You have to get up!" she demanded and looked to the children who formed a crescent around them.

"Mirryn, you know the way home from here right? Take the others, get them home, and tell my brother to come find me." she nodded, and the child quickly nodded and obliged.
 
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"Please...don't shake me..." he whispered.

He was awake. Sort of. He could feel himself drifting in and out. It was a very surreal experience. For him, far more frightening than walking through a fae realm. He didn't even know why that was. It barely made more sense to him than it might of to Syuri.

"A moment..." he asked, breathing quickly. "...then help me up."


"It was him," the Aralyssian confirmed. Through her glass the others were as clear as if they were in the Grove with her. It drew their scepticism right into her home.

"He was destroyed. Every part of him sublimated into the aether," replied a creature in a shadowy land. The voice was male, the figure something between a man and a feline.

The Aralyssian visibly bristled. It was now a case of silencing those who would question her as much as issuing a Warden.

"You all remember than we stole his true name. You all remember that I was the one who used that to burn him until there was nothing left?"

Silence.

"I used that name today. And it held power over that...thing."

"How could that possibly be?" asked an even less human looking creature.

"I do not know," she snapped, "Perhaps some spark of what he was refused to go away."

"Then after a thousand years of his terror. A reign we thought we had finished, you are saying that we failed?"
 
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"I was...fairly up to speed until that last part," he groaned. Keernan grasped his knees. It felt as if he would fall if he lost his grip on them.

"A more powerful fae had called on some other kinds. Nyxie to draw in the children and to stand guard. Changelings to take their place. I don't know why. I don't know why she took an interest in me."

"She is right though. Well. Almost. I am not an elf. I am an elf, was an elf. I don't know."

It was strange that amongst everything else, dying was one of the strongest memories he held onto from before.
 
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She nodded quickly as he explained.. “Aye.. I picked up that much.” she frowned and waited impatiently for the rest of the explanation. If anything she was only more confused.

“Was? What do you mean ‘was’?..” her brow furrowed. “What did she do to you?..” she pressed and glanced up at the rippling air with concern..

”We have to get away from here.”
 
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"Nothing good," he sighed, "nothing good."

The shimmering air smoothed out. It was as if the ripples had been stretched out. The quality of magic in the air shifted.

"She is not coming after us just yet," Keernan grunted. The song that had been cutting through the air had fallen silent, but that had probably been the case since they had been attacked by the nyxie. He slowly stood up, looking towards the town.

"One foot in front of the other. Can't be too hard."


"Then we are all in agreement. All except for one. The Aralyssian will take it as her own charge to investigate this matter. It must be confirmed before any of us would be expected to take action ourselves..."

The Aralyssian hissed in disdain. No help. No responsibility. They wanted it all on her and not because they thought she was lying.

It was because the thought he might be back and that they were afraid.
 
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