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Post by Susan Vandom on Apr 26, 2009 11:03:16 GMT -5
[Enter: Cedric and Elyon from the trees near the castle]
"Here we are," Cedric announced. He hadn't quite let go of Elyon's hand yet. He didn't really want to.
Above the stars stared down on them, as they weren't looking anywhere else. As if they were meant for this very spot. But the spaces in between the trees surrounding them were black as pitch.
A funny memory came to Cedric as he looked in between the trees behind them (it was a pretty spacey clearing, so the trees in front were too far). When he was little and Phobos had first showed him this place he was scared. He'd actually cried because he thought monsters jump out of the trees. But now he knew better. The real monsters were just outside...
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Post by Elyon on Apr 28, 2009 13:09:24 GMT -5
"Wow..." Elyon's jaw almost dropped. "It's... perfect!" Cedric and Phobos liked showing her one beautiful scenery after another, but certainly they would have a hard time topping this one. Perhaps it was the simplicity. Perhaps it was because nature itself shaped the area into this. Maybe it was both... Regardless, Elyon snapped back to the ground again. After all, if everything goes well, she should be able to take off and get her head in the clouds litterally...
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Post by Susan Vandom on Apr 30, 2009 18:32:55 GMT -5
Cedric smiled. "It's kinda ironic how your brother used to practice here, too."
It's too bad he's now using it for evil, Cedric thought. All those years of dreaming of being 'Phobos the Great'...
He stopped smiling. "Flying is a lot different from the magic you're used to training with. While most spells take lots of concentrating on one target, flying takes a very empty, wandering mind. You sort of have to let your instincts take over, the way birds do..."
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Post by Elyon on May 1, 2009 12:16:00 GMT -5
Elyon nodded. It made sense... Without worries to weight down on you, you should be able to head for the skies, right? Still sounded tough though... How can do make something happen without concentrating on doing it? "Alright... Anything else?" she asked, eager to try and see if she would lift off.
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 1, 2009 15:25:57 GMT -5
"Hmm...not that's explainable, no. I suppose you must close your eyes and not concentrate. In fact, don't even try to listen to the noises of the night. Don't even try concentrate on the blackness behind your eyelids. Just let go of all your senses, completely...when you do this, your mind with 'disappear' completely. It's disorienting at first. Actually, it's quite scary. But don't worry. Your mind will instinctly come back to you when feel the air beneath your palms...
"When it does, then you can concentrate on where you want to go, but you musn't feel anything. No worry. Not even happiness. You must be completely zen, with only thoughts. Once you learn how to get up there and how to manuver, I'll tell you how to land." He twitched at the tip of his mouth.
He was sorry that flying would not be the enjoyable experience that Elyon had expected, but one that she wouldn't even remember. But according to Meridian legend, that was the price the dragons made the humans pay when they stole the power from them...
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Post by Elyon on May 2, 2009 4:30:50 GMT -5
"Okay. I'll try..." the princess said, closing her eyes like Cedric told her. Ignoring the ourside world from this point on, Elyon tried emptying her mind completely. Not a sound. Not a thought. Not a worry in the world...
Was...? Was she flying already? She couldn't really tell. Phobos' right-hand man remained awfully silent through all of this though... Getting hit with impatience, Elyon opened her eyes again, only to see that her body was still under the full influence of gravity, much to her own frustration... "It... It didn't work!?" she almost yelled in disbelief. Everything she tried so far worked on the first go. Maybe not always in the proportions they were meant to be, but they worked nontheless. So why not this time? "What happened!? What went wrong!?"
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 2, 2009 17:32:33 GMT -5
He stopped himself from flinching. Her patience made her look so much like Phobos, replacing her own beauty. "You must be completely...empty. There's no other explaination..."
Cedric had never flown before, so he was totally depending on how Phobos had described it. "All I can say is that you know that you're flying when you've 'returned' to the world. But to get there, you have to escape...escape completely..."
Phobos had said it must have been like being dead, where you don't feel, don't think. Where you don't live; you're not even there.
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Post by Elyon on May 3, 2009 5:18:50 GMT -5
"Hmph..." Frustrated by this setback, Elyon decided to try it again, repeating the close-eyes empty-mind routine again. New attempt, new chances. And maybe this attempt would come with results...
How long it really took, she didn't know. But to the princess it felt like she was trying for fifteen minutes now. It couldn't possibly take that long, right? It would be highly inconvinient if it did...
She returned to world with another failure. Her feet were still firmly anchored to the ground... "Not again!" Elyon said, holding back the rest of her frustration with a sigh. Her patience had really gotten thin over the course of the week... But perhaps gravity was one force still a bit too powerful to dominate and defy on the first and second attempts...
"Okay, never mind then..." she said, turning around and crossing her arms. "Is there something easier I can learn instead?"
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 3, 2009 18:52:13 GMT -5
He nodded. He felt he had failed Elyon. It wasn't a very good feeling. With a sadden expression, he said, "Let's try...shape-shifting. That's rather useful, and it's not too complicated."
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Post by Elyon on May 4, 2009 12:49:26 GMT -5
"Shape-shifting?" Elyon repeated. That sounded like quite an odd ability... She wasn't really sure about it's usefulness though... But Cedric probably knew this best, and considdering her 'friends' have pretty much shape-shifted into winged Guardians of Metamoor's veil, it might be worth knowing about it...
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 7, 2009 18:46:10 GMT -5
"Yea...shape-shifting's the most useful in deception. You can basically turn yourself into anything you want. In fact, you could transform into your brother right now. You would have his whole physical appearance, even his voice. Your brain would be the only thing that belonged to you. Everyone would think you were Phobos..."
He shuddered at the thought.
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Post by Elyon on May 8, 2009 13:17:16 GMT -5
Was there a less comforting way Cedric could've put it? The princess doubted it. She finally came to terms with her new identity, and now it turns out she can be whoever or whatever she wants... Certainly not rush in mastering this ability, to be sure... "Can you... show me an example?"
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 8, 2009 13:45:43 GMT -5
Cedric gulped. He didn't like showing Elyon his snake form, but it was the quickest and easiest way. Besides, she wouldn't know it was his real form. She'd just think he was turning into some Meridian version of an anaconda...
Since he was so used to the transition, he didn't bother closing his eyes or even concentrating. Green lightning flickered around him, his body and face started to form into another. In only a couple of seconds, he went from a man to a hideous, green beast.
"Nothing isssss recognissable in thissss form," he explained with a whispery voice. He didn't bother trying not to emphasize on "s." It just didn't work with this form.
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Post by Elyon on May 9, 2009 5:06:18 GMT -5
Elyon's eyes widened, though she wasn't sure if it was amazement or horror. The process went by as quick as a flash and left her with very little time to prepare for anything at all... His pupils turned to slits. His teeth became razors. His fingernails turned into claws. His legs were nowhere to be seen and his flawless skin turned green and leathery... Wh-Where had the man vanished to!?
She wanted to scream and run far away. Or did she? Elyon's voice remained awefully silent for screaming and her feet remained firmly rooted on the spot... Her widened eyes narrowed back to their normal proportions after a few more moments, as they noticed all the little details... "That's not true..." the princess calmly spoke... His eyes were still blue saphires. His lovely hair, although much less so than usual, was still blond. And, for some reason, the composition of his face still felt familiar... "You're still you..."
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Post by Susan Vandom on May 9, 2009 18:45:26 GMT -5
He nodded his half-beastly head. "I'm sssstill Ssssedric, jussst in a different form..."
It was hard to tell, but his fierce expression molten into a somber, softer one. He didn't want Elyon being afraid of him. He liked her wanting to be at his side...
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