Ambrosia Software Web Board: Cythera Chronicles: The Swordsmen of Darkness: The Binding (Part 4) - Ambrosia Software Web Board

The Creation of Cythera
Over the seas and over the waves, come forth, spirits!
Over the seas and over the waves, come forth, land!
Under the land and over the seas, come forth, life!
Under the land and over the seas, come forth, elements!
East, West, North, South, all come forth and close death’s mouth!

And over the waves, Truth appeared, and he called himself: Belil-Gand.

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Timon and Ivor had been following the Sword Star for two minutes when the storm stopped. The fog in front of them dropped. The clouds were whisked away in a glance. Not a drop of rain fell from the sky. "That should give that mage some sense. When he sees that the star is not real, and an illusion, then he will know that they are being tricked. It is quite simple, Belil-Gand." At the Black Mountains, far from the Silver Spire, Erurdag-Rak was furious.

"They’re going to raise the storms, are they? Well then, Hlikë, ris i telpe orod! Now, for the star, Elda gûl! Gurth le kale!" The stars bright light ceased immediately. Timon saw what happened.

"Ivor!"

"What, Timon?"

"We’re being tricked! Someone evil, a sorcerer, no doubt is trying to trick us to somewhere else! We have to hide, because it’s obvious that they can see us. C’mon! Let’s go!"

"Right, Timon. I’m glad you came along."

"I am too." The Swordsmen of Darkness lived up to their name. Out of nowhere, six men in dark cloaks that hid their faces appeared. On their chest, each one had a star-metal breastplate and was loaded completely with swords, daggers, dirks, and knives. To be exact, each of the swordsmen carried:
1 Handmade sword
1 Regular sword
2 Dirks
5 Daggers
2 Knives
1 Dark cloak
1 Star metal breastplate
2 Leather gloves
1 Pair of gator skin boots

Silently they came and silently they bound and gagged Timon and Ivor. Silently, they trudged off

After marching swiftly, at probably a light sprint speed for about five minutes, the silent group came to a gate in a dark cliff. Megil Minas, tir i thonieleva i annon. "Sword Tower, look toward the kindler of the gate," Timon whispered to Ivor, as best he could, because Ivor was staring at the strange writing on a rock. No one looked anywhere. A small crash was heard, but Timon and Ivor thought it must have been thunder. The dark men entered the through the solid wall. There was another crash, and the wall was really solid again. Through the portal, there was a great city. It was perfect for the swordsguild. It had a blacksmith, swordsmith, barracks, training rooms, a market, provisions stores, and a strange tower that you couldn’t see the top of, because it ran up through the cliff. ‘That’s odd,’ Timon thought, ‘A tower in the cliff? And something else is strange. That is the only door with guards by it. Hmm.’ Just then, however, he was distracted because the men took off their hoods to reveal scarred faces. "Welcome to the guild," one said. "You will live here for the rest of this life," said another, and the group chuckled. A messenger ran up to the leader, the one who had told them that this was the Swordsguild of Darkness. ‘Well, it is dark in here,’ Ivor thought. The man opened it and read it briefly. "Come. Lord Erurdag-Rak wants to see you."

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"Hlikë! Gûl echi lye! Este linte mí i iâ!" With those words, Sirion freed the Silver Spire from the great serpents attacking it. "Darn that Erurdag-Rak! While sending these serpents to attack us, he was able to capture the young boys, just when they came to their senses about this matter!" Sirion groaned. He could not afford to let his magic fail again.

"The boys are already liking it there," Belil-Gand stated impassively.

"They will not like it forever," Sirion replied. "I know you speak the truth, as you are bound to it by your nature, but remember that one incident..."

"Yes, I remember the incident. We must save the boys."

"Who is the closest?" Sirion asked. At the same time, it dawned on both of them they turned to each other in perfect symmetry and together they named one spirit.

"Ignae."

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So they were going into the tower. ‘That is good,’ Timon thought. Ivor thought the same. ‘That is why it is guarded. The leader is there!’ Silently the men moved up the tower. It must have been twenty stories high. Up and up they went, never stopping, never speaking. When they came to the top room, the door opened, just as they were arriving. A husky, yet coaxing voice came from the inside. "Enter, Captain and your men, good, good, and... ah! Yes! Timon and Ivor! Welcome, welcome." Erurdag-Rak smiled. ‘This will be a very good day,’ he thought. "Captain, you may go." The Captain and his men left, and with a flick of his finger the door closed. Then Erurdag-Rak turned to the boys. "What is the need for bonds and silencers?" His voice rang out like beautiful music. The boys wanted nothing but to serve him. With another flick of his finger, the ropes and gags fell off, dead on the floor. "Boys, would you like me to show you something?"

"Yes, please, master!" Came the boys' voices in unison.

"Good, then come with me up these stairs, please." Erurdag-Rak was absolutely enchanting, but the voice was blocked by one pair of ears. There was the sound of a sword being drawn.

"We don’t want to follow you, Erurdag-Rak." The voice was hostile, and not one of the boys' voices. Erurdag-Rak had only heard that voice a long time ago.

"Thoas."

"That is what I go by, for that is what my parents named me. I will not let you take these boys like you did me."

"Then we shall duel." Timon turned to Ivor.

"Wasn’t Thoas the name of the blacksmith in Cademia?"

"Yeah! It was! He must have followed us!" The duel following was the best any of them had ever seen. Slash, lunge, parry, parry, back and forth, twist and turn. Slash, parry, lunge, parry, slash, slash, lunge, parry. Both of the duelers were extremely good swordsmen, but in the end, Thoas was severely wounded.

"They will not read the Tome of Evil, Erurdag-Rak!"

"Silence!" Slash, but no parry. In one swift move, Thoas was dead.

"The Tome of Evil? ‘Beware the Tome of Evil!’ From my dream in Cademia!" Timon shouted, but it was too late.

"Yes," Erurdag-Rak continued, "The spirits of Truth and Wisdom tried to warn you, and save you with their storms, so you could not see the star. I recreated the star where it should be, with my magic. You can thank me by coming with me."

"No, I think not," came a voice from nowhere. "On account of the fact that I hate your guts, Erurdag-Rak, I will take these boys where I want them to go." A red spot appeared between Erurdag-Rak and Timon and Ivor. It grew slightly and a column of light sprouted up from it. The light took the form of a demon. As it began to materialize, it became clear that it was covered in fire, an ever flaming fire. With a slight bang, it was clear.

"Ignae. Get out of here, you cannot save them. Go now, old fool!"

Ignae smiled. "Túle si, nolë ar i arátoeva i dûr!" With a blast, Belil-Gand and Sirion had entered.

"Good work, Ignae. You may return if you wish," Sirion commanded. Ignae was gone in another beam of light. Sirion nodded, and Belil-Gand pulled a small black orb from his robes. Inside, the mists of time were swirling, ever swirling. Erurdag-Rak screamed. In a flash of light and wails of agony, he and the orb were gone.

"What has happened to him?" Ivor asked.

"He has been bound to the earth at long last," Sirion said. "You may take these swords," he continued. It was then that Belil-Gand spoke.

"I am the spirit of Truth. Whatever I say, it is true. You boys will do great things together, someday. Not now, and probably not soon. Wait until you both are older. You will meet again. You are both home now." Sure enough, both of the boys were separated, and both were just a couple feet away from where they lived. Timon rushed into Pnyx and Ivor rushed into Kosha. All was well, for now. The spirits turned to each other.

"Auta i lómë, Belil-Gand."

"Utúlie’n auré, Sirion."

~The End~

[This message has been edited by moderator (edited 08-05-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Mr. Somebody (edited 08-12-2002).]

I can see some improvement in your writing. Good job.

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Slayer's guide to Cythera:
[url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/cythera.htm"]http://www.macclassi...era/cythera.htm[/url]

I think Slayer's right, your writing is still improving.

OK, now that the series is finished...

One thing I noticed is that the central characters - Timon and Ivor - didn't actually do anything. They travelled into a dangerous situation, and had to be rescued by other, more powerful beings.

Now, in and of itself, there's nothing wrong with that - in the right context. As a stand-alone story it doesn't work too well, since it leaves most readers feeling like they've missed out on something.

How it can work is as a sort of prologue. I hope you can use this series that way, and write another few stories with Ivor and Timon in the leading roles - as you sort of hinted you might.

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The e-mail of the specious is deadlier than their mail

Darn! How can I surprise anyone with you staying ahead of me?! Yes, Cache is right.

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"To listen, one must be silent." -Ogion, A Wizard of Earthsea