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[Shanza]

ÆÐELRIĈ

The mahogany bay watched her, concealing an automatic sneer. He didn't mean to, but the fear coursing through him he could see go through her as well. It was if he wished to feel superior in some way, knowing that once he told his story that others would not remain unaffected. He had survived this, but could they? He knew it wasn't the most brilliant line of reasoning, but it was how he felt. He clenched his jaw, and took a deep breath, letting his anger, resentment, and above all, fear, start to flow out of him.

She started talking about how that it wasn't an accident; that the stallion wanted him to see those things. That he killed the sentry and Elveris on accident because of wrong identity; that that insane stallion wanted him to see these things. It was an intriguing angle, he thought, but his gut said that it was also wrong. The stallion was twisted and cruel enough to torment his prey before he ate it, that Æđelriĉ was sure of. His gut rolled as he remembered the way he stared at him, the anger and hatred and fury in his eyes; the way the stallion latched onto him, fully intending to drag the life out of his system; of that he was sure. In that moment the stallion had wanted him dead. It was as if he had seen too much, something had gone wrong. He didn't know how he knew it, but he had felt it. It disturbed him to admit there was a connection, even a very brief one, that occurred, but it had happened. He didn't know if what he felt was true, but he believed it was. That stallion had tried something, but it hadn't worked. Æđelriĉ had been caught in it; it wasn't a fog storm, of that he was sure. It was power; the real kind. Not harnessed by the witch-demons or wielded by the power-casters. It was pure and raw, and alive.

He shook his head, not sure of what to say, not sure if he even wanted to tell her. "I was going to die in there, Ástríđr. I was going insane, I was losing my mind. Then Ŋỵvől reached me." He looked up at her again. "You know her kind holds witch-mind-power; it might or might not be stronger than ours. I don't know. All I know is that she was able to reach me where I could not move, and where none of you could reach in and grab me. That black thing," he spat, "Severed all my connections, left me blind and deaf in a cold, hard world. She, somehow, reached my mind as I was starting to spin out of control." He paused, for he wasn't sure how else to describe what had happened to him. "It was like nothing I had ever felt, before or since. It was like I was going insane, only I knew it. The images grew faster and quickened in their pace," he paused again, shaking his head. "At first, when I was first engulfed by it, the flashes were of long moments in time, random and uncontrolled. It was as if I were simply remembering, letting my mind wander through memories. Only some of these hadn't happened yet. Some happened days or weeks after the incident, others not yet even.

"Then, just like all the others in the beginning, I saw the stallion. The only difference with this memory was that he -" He shook his head in confusion. "I don't know what happened exactly. It was like - it was like I was seeing two things, I guess. This stallion lifted his head from the ground, but it was as if he had already lifted his head from the ground. He was staring at me with all the hatred and violence and anger contained in the world. Then again, he was smiling in a sinister way, grinning with devilish pleasure. He was lifting his head from grazing, and walking closer with that insane grin. He was standing the whole time, boring into my head with his hate. It was strange- I don't know how to describe it." He paused, chewing on his cheek, a bad habit he had had since he was a foal. Irritated, he stopped, then sighed in frustration. "I don't know- to get an image of what I was seeing, they were two, yet one, same clearing, same place, same unicorn. They both were images, imposed ontop of eachother, both rather transparent." He shook his head, annoyed at his inability to describe the event with words. "I think the one that was smiling - that one, it was like the other images; distant and relativly obsure, like true memories. The other, however, the cruel one, it was as if he were standing directly in front of me, and I knew; I knew that I was seeing something he didn't want me to see. Maybe he knew when I saw him, maybe he knew when I saw into the future. I have no idea. What I do know is that he wasn't in control of this, at least not at that point. Then he faded, and I was relieved, if only for a short while. Other sights I saw, just like before. Then- then they started to break up quicker, come faster. They became simply glimpses of images, faces, things, places. They started to blend and fade, flashes running before my eyes. I and started to see him again. He blended behind it; I don't know. But this wasn't like before. He was chanting, staring me down, again like he was standing before me, only there was a waterfall of flashing images between us.

"I felt him; I felt his mind grab mine," his voice tilted into a snarl, and he automatically barred his horn as he remembered what had happened. I felt him wrenching at me, tearing at my mind, bending it and pushing at me until I would break. Then Ŋỵvől grabbed out; somehow, in one deft movement she tore through his hold, cut through the impossible, and grabbed a hold of my mind. I latched on, desprete not be lost in that wirlwind again. The images went back to how they were before; as if I was going over memories, only this time fresh and resounding in my mind. I saw the Guards leave; only the Wardens stayed, and the Ŋỵvől nearly fell out of the sky and into that thing. Then everything went pitch black again, but only for a moment. I opened my eyes to the last of the mist receeding, and Ŋỵvől standing over me. Then she left, and you know the rest."

He sighed, in partial frustration. "I haven't asked her how she did it, and she hasn't broached the subject. She hasn't asked me how I've been, giving me time, I suppose, to come to terms with it on my own. I want to know, and I want you to meet her. My mind and my opinions I think are too tense and twisted on the subject to make an accurate observation. She might have used the connection he forged between us to break it, but I don't know.

"As for that mist- it wasn't a fog storm, and it wasn't him. He wasn't in there with me. It was almost as if it were pure, raw power, but how could that be? How could it function, how could it solidify, how could it target or envelop? It was as if it targeted me, but I have no clue as to how or why." He clenched his teeth, looking over at his fellow Warden, her scarlet eyes shinning in the night. "I don't think he can take you yet, though. I think we may be stronger than he is when we are together, but I doubt it when we are alone. I think that the Gray warps even his witch-power, and that we might be able to stop him if he ever puts anything in motion. I think he knows this; I think that's why he wants us destroyed. Although I think we could only stop him if we knew where he was," he said, frowning.

"But anyway, that's what I think. I don't know weather to tell the Council or the other Wardens or not. I don't know if I'm over reacting or not reacting enough. I came to you because I needed another opinion, another's judgment. I don't trust my own." Saying that, he felt a rock drop in his gut, for although however much he hated admitting it, he knew it was true.




Word Count: 1500
Characters: Æđelriĉ & Ástríđr, third person
Place: Base Camp, Southe Ridge