The Mystique
Chapter 2: The Precious Gift
Word Count: 3654
Naomi floated peacefully within her air lock. It had been approximately 20 minutes since the air lock was severed from her fathers command ship, and she had made peace with her doom. The air lock was steadily spiraling toward a giant planet in the not so far-off distance, and she could not bear to watch the accent on the planet. The horrifying thought of not suffocating before making entry into the planets atmosphere made her skin crawl. Off in the other direction, Naomi’s air lock was steadily floating away from her fathers Naval Star Fleet, which had been heavily damaged when a chunk of the ship broke away during transit in hyperspace.
She couldn’t bear to look at the site of the massive carrier capsizing uncontrollably as it remain dead in the water, or at any of her five support ships equally dealing with there own degree of damage. Surround on one end of sights that may or may not have been caused by her negligence, and on the other… her punishment. Naomi could not bear to look at anything. And so she floats, in the center of her spiraling air lock, with her eyes fastened shut.
The air lock had enough air locked within to sustain Naomi for a time, and she was hoping and praying that it would run out before the catastrophic crash that was sure to happen within the next half hour. But for all her waiting, the time did not come, surely the air lock couldn’t hold that much oxygen, but alas, she was nearing the planets stratus-sphere and she was still able to breath. ‘This is it… I will not be afforded a clean death.’ She thought to herself as the lock began to enter the planets atmosphere.
The lock began to shake furiously, Naomi just kept her eyes shut, tightly grasped her hands before her and began to pray. The shaking intensified, and then the air locks exterior erupted into flames. The heat emitting from the walls, doused Naomi in sweat, but the lock was holding together and though it was hot, the temperature was bearable. As gravity suddenly kicked in, Naomi was roughly thrown against and pinned to the far wall of the lock. The impact sent shearing pain through her already dislocated shoulder, and the heat emitting from the wall was beginning to lightly singe her back.
Naomi did not want to be conscious for this; it felt like she was on a horrifying roller coaster. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat, and her whole body felt like it was being smeared into the wall. At the very least, she hoped it would all be over in an instant.
-Planet side
A tiny village lay nuzzled into the hill side of a beautiful clearing surrounded by miles of forest in every direction. It was mid-winter here, and the plains were all a brilliant white of snow as pure as flour. The technologic advancements of this village were that of the medieval earth period. But the town’s folk were not stricken by poverty. They were a peaceful and content folk, and today they were gathered in the village square, clothed in thick camisoles, to shield themselves from the chill of the winter. A tiny stage is erect before the crowd, and on it, a townsmen stepped forth.
These beings are not that dissimilar from humans. Their mass and anatomy is practically identical to humans, all that is different is the color of there skin and hair. The flesh of these people is a light blue, almost that of a frozen humans. The hair is pale as well; various shades of platinum blondes and whites, and they all had white eyes.
“The spring harvest was incredible this cycle, as it has been for many cycles.” The townsmen addressed the village. One would presume he was the leader of this tiny tribe. “But if we are to fair prosperously in the market come the warm seasons, we must spare our harvest’s preserves and feed off of the land. In order to do this, we need a successful hunt this winter. I know many of the village hunters are eager to place there skills to the test, but to ensure a successful venture, as is Morodian custom, the village high priestess his here to bless the winter hunt.” Upon this announcement, the mayor stepped aside, and the tiny crowd erupted into cheer as the high priestess stepped forth.
She was young, approximately 17 to 18 years of age. Tall and statuesque, she was clad in a beautiful white gown that was completely open at the shoulders, with a grand feathered collar that swooped up from her bi-ceps around the back of her shoulders, and peaked up above her head. Her hair was pulled up into a beautifully intricate up-do, and her exposed neck was laced with a gorgeous necklace, that held a luminous gem just above her bosom.
She was gorgeous, and her mere presence demanded respect and attention. “I have studied the cosmos and the realm of all spirits.” She spoke aloud to the crowd, her voice deep and exact. “There have been no omens to suggest a flawed hunt this winter…” The crowd erupted into cheer again. After a brief moment, she raised a hand and the crowd quickly silenced so she may continue. “Upon this day, let it be known, that I: Lexuss von Eldermere, will pray until nights fall, for the blessing of our gods, to ensure my peoples prosperous fair during…”
She suddenly stopped speaking, and her confident and upright demeanor transformed into a surprised and confused one. It only took a moment for the villagers to realize something was wrong, and began to chatter amongst them selves. “Priestess…?” the Mayor said as he came to her side.
“Something’s wrong, something’s coming.” She said a crackle of emptiness in her voice, as if her spirit were light-years away.
Almost on queue with the Priestess’ declaration, a loud boom echoed through the air, as high in the sky, Naomi’s air lock broke the sound barrier and pummeled to the surface. The villagers watched in horror as the metallic ball of fire sliced through the sky and crash into the distant forest with an explosion marking its location.
The villagers gathered on the edge of town and peered off toward the pillars of smoke that now blackened the white forest. “What was that?” a mother asked, as her two young children clung to her waist.
“It was an omen; the gods must be unhappy.” An unnerved man cried out.
Realizing how quickly panic could spread amongst her people, Lexuss stepped out of the line, and walked a few yards toward the clearing. “No! This may be an act of the gods, but it is not an ominous one.” She stated confidently.
“Then what was it?” another villager asked.
“I am uncertain; perhaps it was a gift…” She then spun around and addressed the mayor. “Assign to me the villages best hunters, we must track this gift down and properly secure it.”
Without a single word from the mayor, four brave hunters stepped forth and volunteered there services to the priestess. One, a stocky gentle with decades of hunting under his belt was known as Hildemere, the Master Taurus Hunter. He wore the pelts of the giant beast known as the Taurus across his back, and the giant long horns of one, upon his head.
The second was Kilday, the Huntress of the Plains. She was a specialist of taking down larger feral cats that hunted in the open plains. These animals were extremely fast and a hunter of there kind needed to possess great speed, finesse and skill. She wore the spotted furs of her greatest game, across her body, and the furious claw of their paws on her grieves.
The third was Harv, the prodigy of the hawk. He was but a child, but already deemed the most skilled hawk hunter in all the forest. His small frame was littered with the feathered trophies of his past excursions.
But last and certainly not least was the wolf slayer, Dante. This mysterious young man had no family and hardly any friends within the village. This was not because he was unlinked, but that he was unsocial. When he wasn’t hunting or patrolling the perimeter of the village, he was training. A destined warrior through and through, and the village loved him for it. He had stone-walled the mischievous attempts of bandits on numerous occasion, and never asked of anything in return from his neighbors. Unlike the other hunters, he did not wear the prizes of his kills. Instead of fur pelts, he wore beneath his cloak, a light weight tunic, laced trousers, and leather gauntlets and accessories, all to maximize his combat effectiveness.
It was agreed that the winter hunt be postponed until the priestess’ return, and as she and her four retainers departed the town, the remaining villagers all gathered into the village inn, fore its tavern was large enough to accommodate the large group. The Morodians were a rare breed. Despite their frigid disposition, they didn’t appear to be all that bothered by the cold. Only Dante wore a cloak, and his was something he wore commonly. The others all trotted through the snow with ease, and with no regard to the temperature.
More surprising still, was Lexuss’ adaptation to the rugged situation. A tracking expedition through deep woods in the dead of winter, in no less then knee deep snow, did not seem like something a heavenly creature like the Priestess would take lightly to, but she did, with her retainers guarding and leading her. They were able to cover surprising distances in little time.
After nearly an hours trek the party came to a halt in a patch of the forest with the least amount of snow. Hildemere took in a few deep sniffs “I smell smoke looming in the air.”
Dante perked his head up “I hear fire crackling.”
Harv did a series of acrobatic maneuvers, bouncing from the ground, into one tree branch to the next, until he was high up in a near by tree. “I can see the flicker of flame off in the distance.” As Harv dismounted the tree, Lexuss turned to Kilday “Scout ahead, we shall follow.”
With that, Kilday took off into a sprint, her speed was immeasurable. She moved so fast she seemed to glide over the surface of the snow, carefully vaulting and tumbling over fallen tree logs, stumps, shrubs, and low hanging branches. Lexuss and the others calmly re-shouldered their weapons, and carried on.
In a matter of minutes, Kilday had covered nearly 400 yards. When she reached the perimeter of the crash site, she silently took cover in the patch of snow covered bushes. Large chunks of flaming debris scattered the blackened ground where the snow had melted. It was a river bank, and though the rivers had all frozen over, she could hear the flow of water. Their was a twig blocking her view of the actual river, so she carefully reached through the bush and pulled away one of twig revealing to her a sight like none other.
On the other side of the forest, while the village was preparing for the winter hunt blessing, a group of bandits were making ready. They new that the village’s strongest men would be on the hunt, leaving the village vulnerable to plunder. They had planned to raid the small village, but put there plans on hold, when they too witnessed the sight of the crashing ball of fire.
Something told the lead bandit that there would be treasure of immeasurable value where the fire ball had crashed, and so the plundering of the village was no longer a priority, instead the thieves headed out toward the crash site. Though they were coming from the far side of the forest, they would have beaten Lexuss’ party to the crash site, if it weren’t Kilday’s amazing speed. She beat them by a matter of minutes.
Lexuss and the others arrived to the crash site to find Kilday standing in a bush, no longer trying to remain inconspicuous, and staring toward the river. As Lexuss and the others rounded the bank they realized what it was that had Kilday so awe struck. A girl, in tattered foreign clothes, was levitating slightly above the surface of the frozen river. Her head was tilted skyward and her eyes were peacefully sealed shut. Her hair was floating like an angel under water, and an evident aura of energy spiraled beneath her feet. Chucks of ice from the frozen river, water, stones, twigs, and debris from the air lock, orbited the girl. They were caught in the spiraling energy like tiny moons orbiting a mammoth planet.
“Spirit of the River…” Hildemere gasped in awe as he nervously stroked his long beard.
Naomi was alive; she had somehow survived the crash landing, but was now in some sort of coma. As to the cause of the energy phenomenon that seemed to engulf her body, is a complete mystery. “Back off, we saw it first.” A voice bellowed from the far side of the river. Lexuss and the others looked to see the lead bandit and a few of his men, making their approach on the river bank. “If you want it, you’ll have to go through us.” He added.
“We will not allow such a precious gift of the gods to fall into the hands of thieving rabble.” She proclaimed. “Ready yourselves.” She added to her retainers.
Some of the bandits had taken position up in the trees, and on the lead bandits word, they unleashed a barrage of arrows from their cross bows in the trees. Harv, utilizing his custom Poi maces, deflected the income arrows, and began his acrobatic accent into the tree tops. Once there, he met the bandits head on. They were ill prepared for hand to hand combat on the unsteady and narrow footing of the tree tops, and they hadn’t enough time to reload their cross bows before Harv was upon them.
The young boy was fast and nimble, like a bird, he felt right at home in the tree canopy. If he possessed wings, he would fly. He darted from tree limb to tree limb, taking out bandits with every move. When the majority of them had fallen from the trees Harv leapt after them, and while still airborne, he retrieved a fistful of feathered darts, and tossed them. When the darts met the failing bodies of defeated bandits, they were immediately rendered unconscious by the darts toxin. Harv landed softly on the ground some stores below, and then was soon accompanied by the rain of unconscious bandits.
Dante, Hildemere, and Kilday charged in a met the remaining bandits in a head to head clash of strength on the rivers edge. The bandits were of no match for the hunters, but their numbers were great. Hildemere possessed the strength of many Taurus’, and wielded his giant battle axe with ease. Using it he sliced through hordes of bandits, paving way for Kilday to zip through the crowd with her razor like claws and bladed boots flying about, her speed and precision further trimmed the size of the bandit horde.
Dante on the other hand, had one opponent insight… the lead bandit. But alas the bandit would rather have his men do all the fighting while he went in for the booty. Dante cut the bandit off, but was met smartly with an onslaught delivered by the lead bandit armed with his trusty dagger. Dante dodge and evaded the incoming attacks, all the while leading the crook away from the gift.
Throughout the commotion, Lexuss calmly made her way through the battlefield with ease; she positioned herself just beyond the River Spirit. She closed her eyes, held her palms toward the gift and activated her power within. The large gem nestled above her bosom began to glow and levitate above her person. She was using her celestial powers, the powers possessed by all high priest and priestess to study this enigmatic angel.
While he struggled to slice at his foe, the lead bandit noticed the priestess near his spoils. “No! Get away from it.” He hollered as he turned his back on Dante and dashed off toward Lexuss. Dante immediate drew his sword and intercepted the thief. From here on in, Dante possessed the upper hand in the battle fore he was skilled with the king of blades… the mighty sword. The fray ended when Dante delivered a swift slice to the bandit’s abdomen. As the bandit fell, incapacitated, but not dead, the other retainers had taken out the remaining bandits and gathered on the edge of the river near Lexuss’ who was wrapping up her celestial study of the precious gift.
Dante seethed his blade, and joined the others as Lexuss turned to address them. “She IS a gift. A gift of the gods, but she herself is not a god, though her power is immeasurable. See has lost her way and is not supposed to here. I don’t know when she’ll wake up, but when she does we have to help her. This has been tasked upon us, fulfilling this task will great good fortune upon our people.” The retainers absorbed this knowledge like children watching fireworks for the first time.
“Then you will have the might of Hildemere at your service.” Hildemere declared as he effortlessly heaved his giant axe onto his shoulder.
“Yes, and speed of Kilday is yours to command.” Kilday added as she joined Hildemere’s side.
“…as will be the skill of Dante.” Dante said, a mysterious tone to his voice, as he kept his back to the group, and peered off toward the River Spirit.
“Hey, I want in too…” Harv interjected.
“Well, we will need permission from your mother before you can pronounce your allegiance young one.” Lexuss responded with a chuckle.
The lead bandit had been laid out a few meters away, listening, and he did not like what he heard. Though he was in excruciating pain, he was not yet out for the count. “If I can’t have it, then no one will.” He said as he retrieved his dagger, and with every last bit of strength he could muster, sent the dagger flying toward the River Spirit. “Look out!” Dante yelled as the four hunters made to stop the dagger, but they were too late.
“No!” Lexuss screamed as the dagger soared toward the gift. But the dagger stopped short in mid flight, it had gotten caught in the energy stream circling the girl. Unlike the rest of the debris that was orbiting the girl, the dagger remained stationary. Then the girls eyes slowly began to open, Lexuss and the others shielded their eyes from the blinding light that poured from them. The girl, still levitating, her hair still floating about, slowly grabbed the floating dagger. After a quick examination of the weapon, she released it, allowing it to float before yet again.
The dagger did not float for much longer, without so much as a gesture, the girl sent the dagger flying through the air like a speeding bullet, and it sunk into the thick ice of the frozen river, just short of the bandit that threw it. Frightened at first the bandit had buried his head in his arms, after realizing the dagger did not strike him, he raised his head to find the dagger in the ice before him. But he also noticed the dagger was slowly being consumed by ice.
Once the entire dagger was frozen the frost began to spread, until the load cracking of ice could be heard throughout the entire depth of the river. Then there was a mystique expulsion beneath the ice, turning the frozen river into an explosion of sharp ice shards, as giant ice spires shot out from the depths of the frozen water. The blast was tremendous; Lexus and her retainers would have been shredded by the razor sharp ice shards, if Lexuss hadn’t formed a celestial barrier around them.
When the upsurge of ice had ceased, and Lexuss dropped the celestial barrier, she and the hunters beheld the awesome power of this alien creature they had come to call the River Spirit. The river and surrounding trees had transformed into a forest of ice. Ice so pure it looked like crystal, they could see directly through each tree. The river had transformed, it was now comprised of what looked like geysers that had instantly frozen over. The bodies of the bandits were no where to be found, they had been consumed by the ice, and the alien girl, the “precious gift” now lay unconscious, on the snow laden river bank. No more spirals of energy, no more levitating or floating hair. She was normal once again.
Having felt no reason to truly fear the River Spirit, powers or no, Hildemere gently scooped the girl up into his stocky arms. Dante removed his cloak and draped it across the girl. Then the party made to return back to village. “Wait” Lexuss called out. “If word of this girl’s great power were to reach the ears of evil, her stint on this world may become unpleasant. None shall know of what happened here.” With that she turned back toward the river, and extended a hand. The air quickly grew heavy and a large amount of energy seemed to collect in her hand. Once the energy had culminated to uncontrollable levels, she gave her fingers a simple snap, and the entire ice forest disintegrated into glassy dust.
With the evidence of the Precious gifts arrival eradicated, the party set forth for safe travels back to the village.
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