The Maiden's Trial

[MatthiasMan]

Chapter 1
The Squirrel And The Mouse

    If you are reading this journal, be prepared for a long and terrible story, of the dark ages, the bloodshed, of my family and all that happened, before the mouse, the little mouse and squirrel, that risked their lives, to rid a foe, whom had left trails of blood, down my doorstep. This mouse once had helped to rid of Badrang The Tyrant. But once again he was called upon battle, but he could not help, for he was old and weak. He placed his trial in the hands of a squirrel, who had cared for him in his old days...

    Hynlia walked over to Brome with a wet cloth. He was very tired from planting seeds all day and baking for dinner. In the summer Noonvale could get very busy, and all around, animals bustled to get by, carrying a list of items. Brome walked over to his house with a blue top, and Hynlia followed. Following him up the stairs and entering his room, she carried a tray filled with towels and a flagon of water. Brome sat down on his blue chair and looked about the room. A picture of old friends caught his eye. Felldoh, Grumm, The Guerilla Shrews, Boldred, and Celandine.
Celandine.
She had been Hynlia's mother. He remembered all of the circus friends he once knew. Everything had changed since Rose had died and Martin left, and yet he thought, nothing had changed at Noonvale. Nothing ever happened. It was a cycle almost, a round circle that you could go around forever. His concentration was broken when Hynlia put a damp cloth on his head.
"Mr. Brome, your forehead feels hot. Are you getting a fever? Must I fetch Grieve to come help?"
Brome's voice was old and crackled.
"No my dear child. Do not fetch her. I was working out in the sun all day. The heat has probably been created by my darkened fur. Go my child, I have a favor. Do you see that sword hanging on that wall?" Hynlia nodded. "Go out of the town into Noonvale woods. Gather firewood for the bonfire."
Hynlia answered with a worried voice. "But Mr. Brome. I can't leave you here. What if the..."
"Silence!" Brome's voice was suddenly vicious. "Obey me now, and send in Dau to me!"
Seeing how serious he was, Hynlia grabbed the sword off the hook. She found the sheath and headed out to find Dau.

* * *

    Dau walked into the room to find Brome laying in the chair, with his eyes silently closed. Dau was a strapping otter with a robe that was very static. She was always smiling and taking care of the young.
"Brome, you sent for me?"
His eyes opened and looked at Dau.
"Indeed. I have had a dream. And not a pleasant one either. Tonight the only ones left. . ."
Dau was puzzled. Her eyebrows came together.
"Dau. . . Tonight they will come. From my childhood. . . The nightmare. Dau, do you remember the story of The Black Chains?"
Dau answered almost halfheartedly,"Of course. The one about the vermin that were shadows and mist. But that was a fairy tale to scare young un's to bed. Why?"
Brome answered nervously and arose from his chair,"No Dau. That is a lie. The Black Chains were never a fairy tale. I know because. . . I was there when they roamed. They are coming. The only. . . ones left, tonight. . ."
He drifted off in his chair again, and fell into a coma.

* * *

    Out in the woods, Hynlia walked awhile until she found a broken limb of a tree, it was very sturdy. She chopped it into five pieces, each about a foot long.
"Hmm. I wonder if I should pile up the limbs and when I'm done get Grieve to help me haul them back, or maybe Mys will help. He usually is sent out to get things. Oh silly me, getting off task and talking to my self as usual."
    Hynlia was known to talk to herself because she never stayed around anybody for long, save Brome who she took care of. After resuming her work, the  pile of wood being created became larger every time it was stacked. She climbed trees to get the best of branches, long and thick ones, that could hold a mouse or mole if they tried to lay on it. It became dark very quickly, quicker than Hynlia expected, and the pile of wood was as tall as herself.
"Whew, I'm swettin' like a river. Best be gettin' back to Noonvale to help gather the wood."
    With the sword the cutting was easy, but now she had to do the hard part. Getting the wood back to Noonvale.
    She carried as much as her arms would let her, and with the blade bouncing upon her back, she trotted back singing a tune that came into her head along the way. She had once won the award of best singer at Noonvale.

Earth, Sky, and Sun,
Into one time,
River, and Land,
Hold me up high,
Above, the dark deaths,
But below the hero's of the past.

A terrible bloodshed,
A fight to the end.
Cuts in the head,
Fights always take a bend.

Slaughter, the war,
Killing, the poor,
Assassin, the evil one,
Death, you better run.

Blue red and green,
Yellow and white,
Make the colors,
A bloody fight,
The warrior who made the free,
Must now be gone from me.

"Hm. What an odd song that came from my head. Rem. . ."

[AbbotAlf0805]

Cool but more detail.

[MatthiasMan]

I'm not done with the first chapter yet! I had to post just that so I could see who PMed me.

[AbbotAlf0805]

K

[MatthiasMan]

Chapter 2
The Other Squirrel

   Hynlia fell over and fainted. Noonvale was destroyed. There were no survivors, all save her, unless you call a squirrel in a coma of shock, fright, and confusion a survivor. She fell over into a pile of burned animals, crisped, burned, ignited, sizzled, or any other word, a torch sticking high out of the middle. The cottages of Noonvale were ignited, flaming, leaving smoke high above. In Hynlia's mind, her life went by before her.
   She remembered the day that her best friend, another squirrel whom she was very fond of, named Kendra, had gone off one day to get wood, but never came back. Hynlia locked herself in a cottage, where she slept every night, for two days. When she came out, she had never been the same.
   She remembered when she and Kendra had swiped a pie on the windowsill of a cottage and stuffed their faces till there stomachs were a bursting. Ashe, the mole who placed the pie on the windowsill, became nothing but irked. But after Kendra and Hynlia had helped bake another pie Ashe had laughed at the whole incident and let them stay up late with her. They read stories about warriors, noes who visited Noonvale, but most of all about a particular mouse.
Martin.
   Brome visited them, at that time he was young too, and told of his great battle with Martin. But now, when Hynlia entered the boundaries of Noonvale, Ashe was one of the first to be discovered dead, for an arrow had been shot straight through her head.
   All around was burning or ruined. The village square, where Kendra and Hynlia had played tag all day, was beyond comprehension. The fountain at the center, was exploding out water, with many punctures, from multiple weapons: arrows, mace and chain, sword. All this was too much for Hynlia.
Death.
Massacre.
Devastation.
Slaughter.
   None of these words could fit it. This was beyond words, barely possible for the mind of a young squirrel to even comprehend. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. . . The only word.
Nothing.
   It was not possible to describe the place. Pure cruelty.
Why?
   The question floated around Hynlia's head.
Why?
    Why would someone do this? Why would someone slaughter the innocent? How was it possible to get to this level of hate? How could someone be filled with the joy of seeing others in pain?
    Kendra came into Hynlia's knocked out mind. He was holding a sword and shield. Hynlia wanted to scream for joy, but for fright too. She wanted to run to the image, to be with someone. He moved his mouth but no words came. A groaning, a creaking, then, finally, a voice. He spoke in song, a poem.

Find me here,
Around Noonvale,
Live with me,
Come follow me with the gale.

    The he disappeared and Hynlia slowly woke up. Oh, she thought, It was all a dream. I'll go see how Brome. . . Her thought were cut short by the sight of fire. Oh, no. No. It really happened. She looked around, fearfully, and sure enough, the pile of animals were burning too. Oh, dear. She had to get out of here. Noonvale. Nothing was left for her anymore. That word again.
Nothing.
   It turned out she had fainted in the middle of the village square. She fell down on her knees and wept. What could she do? She did not know how to survive on her own. For almost an hour she wept before she decided to get out. Leaving everything behind. Even leaving the fires to die out. It started to rain, so Hynlia started to the south. At least what she thought was south. The wind usually came from the north, and the rain had put out all the fires. The smoke stopped. Hynlia took her first step's out into the wilderness.
Nothing.

* * *

   It was very dark, and the sun had been down for multiple hours.
Splosh!
Slip!
Slop!
   Her feet slapped against the muddy ground. Noonvale was out of sight and nothing was dry. Her clothes were soaked clean through, her sandals squished out water with every step of the way, and her fur was cold, sneezing and runny nose.
   Hynlia hadn't the slightest clue to where she was going.
Nothing.
   She had nothing.
Bump!
   Her footpaw hit a tree root and she tripped forward. The sword flew out of the sheath. Unlikely, she had been wearing it the whole time.
Thwump!
Now she landed. Her face coated with mud, spitting it out of her mouth and rubbing her eyes, which only made it worse. The mud from her paws only coated it even more.
   Hynlia lay there, crying the night away. The rain disguised her tears, and the blasting wind softened her wailing.
Nothing.
She had nothing. She felt nothing. She heard nothing. She saw nothing. She tasted nothing. Her body completely shut down itself.
Something.
No it was nothing. Yes something! A splosh splash coming closer. Hynlia barely thought anything of it. Two paws stopped in front of her, brown paws. Hynlia felt two paws come around her, and was lifted away. She tried to look up but was too weak and fell asleep.

* * *

   Hynlia shook like a leaf, her fur and clothing was still damp. A blanket had been lain over her, multiple blankets in fact. She was leaning against wood, the inside of a tree. A small fire burned next to her. She could feel the warm heat, as it covered her. the rain outside pattered down hard, and thunder roared out. Besides the sniffles and sneezing, she was okay.
   Hynlia awoke and opened her eyes, and what met them, left her amazed. A hollowed out tree, with a hole on the left side that served as a door handle. Around the door was a dark brown border. To the left there was a wooden chair with feathers on it. In front of the chair there was a table, but made of maple. A cup, and cards scattered mindlessly, lay there. Under the table a small fire burned, and the table helped trap the heat. On the left side of the table there was another chair. It was fancier and had many twists and turns, like calligraphy writing. Behind the chair, a hook had a sword hanging from it, a sheath next to it too. But the sword looked all to familiar. A blue hilt, almost crystal colored, silver, sleek, and a deadly sharp blade. The bottom of the handle, that was covered in a cloth for easy handling, had a blue diamond in it. It glowed when complete darkness hit it.
   Hynlia stood up and sneezed. She sneezed four times on her way to the wall. Putting her hand against the wall, she shivered. It was very cold. Or was she just cold because she was wet?
   "I'd sit back down if I were you Hynlia. It isn't healthy to stand up when you have this bad a cold."
   Hynlia looked around suddenly and took in air, scared it might be someone evil. But what she saw was nowhere near evil. What she saw could never be evil.

* * *

Although he was a a small squirrel, he was muscular and strong. Kendra was not as he appeared. He was about the same height as Hynlia, and his small ears stood up when he talked. Hynlia and him sat at the table and talked. She was covered in blankets and still shivered a bit. Nothing about why he found her lying in the mud came into the conversation.
   "Hynlia, haha! I knew you would leave to find me sooner or later. How is Brome doing? Have you been helping out to pick the food for the festival?"
   "Ha-ha-Achoo! Oh yes and no. I mostly helped Brome around, ah-achoo!- around Noonvale and. . ." Hynlia sneezed and tried to blink back a deluge of tears, but could not hold the downpour.
   "Oh Kendra it was terrible! All of them!. . Oh boohoohoho they are all gone! Kendra, Ashe, Jrige, Brome, Grieve, Dau! I'll, I'll, I'll. . ."
   Suddenly her sadness and weeping turned to hate, and anger. She gritted her teeth, and picked up the sword, that was placed on the table by Kendra. She stood up from the chair and headed for the oak door. Kendra ran over and stood in her way, holding his eyes arms wide. He saw the battle light in Hynlia's eyes and took the sword from her hands. Instantaneously, the light in her eyes disappeared and she fell into Kendra's arms, weeping again.

* * *

   "So. . .Hynlia, they are all dead?" Kendra spoke softly, and stared into her worried eyes.
   "Oh Kendra, it was awful. . .?" She now sat at the table again with Kendra, with her arms wrapped tight around him. He noticed her arms were dry and got up from the chair, and she let go. They had been sitting in the same seat. Hynlia had gotten over what had happened to Noonvale, but had a small frown on her face. Kendra started to cook a stew in a pot over the small fire. She sat watching him, and saw that he added garlic to the stew. The aroma filled the air, and her nostrils.
   "Achoo!" The strong smell made her sneeze.
   Once Kendra got the stew brewing, he went over to a desk Hynlia had not noticed. To the far side of the room, Kendra pulled up a chair and took out ink and pen.

Kendra's Diary, The Season of Hynlia

   I have found a lost friend from my childhood. Hynlia, my only friend and true friend. She is tuckered out and tired. I found her in the woods, laying in the mud, with a sword a distance away. She is wet and soaking. Right now she has her eyes closed on the chair, trying to sleep with the fire crackling. I am cooking stew for her. Poor Hynlia. After what I've been told, she has seen a lot and been through it all. My home, or place I once called home, has been destroyed. But when she picked up the sword I'd found near her, she became crazy. No, not crazy, but vengeful. I saw the battle light in her eyes. I stopped her from leaving my tree house, or else she'd be caught in the rain again. She is not a girl, no, not a maid. She is a warrior, I experienced it. I saw through her eyes. But in her eyes, the picture of a mouse, a mouse maid, a pretty girl with a ponytail, shone. The mouse was very pretty and of young age.
   It's all so strange. I can't understand what's going on. Maybe the weather had gotten to her. I am clueless to the core. But I do care for Hynlia. I wouldn't let any thing happen to her. Her life is too precious to me. She is the only friend I've ever known. I barely remember her home. Only Brome and Ashe, but they are dead now. I would rather her live and me die. But what am I saying? I supposed to be writing today's events. Oh well, I guess I like to get of topic.
   Hynlia's eyes, so pretty. No one could compete with her voice too. I remember when she sang me a song when she was young. It stuck too me.

Earth, Sky, and Sun,
Into one time,
River, and Land,
Hold me up high,
Above, the dark deaths,
But below the hero's of the past.

A terrible bloodshed,
A fight to the end.
Cuts in the head,
Fights always take a bend.

Slaughter, the war,
Killing, the poor,
Assassin, the evil one,
Death, you better run.

Blue red and green,
Yellow and white,
Make the colors,
A bloody fight,
The warrior who made the free,
Must now be gone from me.

   This song. I also found it on a piece of wet paper in her clothing pocket. The ink was smeared a bit but I could make it out. Memories flooded to my head. But on the back of the paper was a note, and a picture of the same mouse I saw flaming in Hynlia's eyes. Here is what the note said. . .

  The Black Chains will know revenge.

[MatthiasMan]

Chapter 3
Nian Power

   Dawn arose with cloudless sky's and birds chirping in the air. Fresh oxygen layered itself over the soft ground. Dew fell from every tree, flower, or grass, visible. Warm sunlight had reached the forest and and lit up the leaves, leaving shadows of darkness on the ground. Such a tree was Kendra's. The oak door was opened when Hynlia awoke. On the chair she had fallen asleep, but woke next to the fire again. Kendra must have moved me closer to keep me warmer, she thought. She got on her knees, Kendra walked in the door with firewood across his arms. Mostly logs, but a twig here and there.
   "Good morning miss Hynlia. I see you've awakened." A smile was spread across his face. "Dry and clean now, eh? I can tell you are hungry aren't you?"
   Hynlia's stomach rumbled. "Yes Kendra. What do you have for breakfast?"
   "It's a good thing you asked. Come here. I'll show you my shed." He set down the wood next to the door and walked outside. Hynlia quickly got up and dashed after him. Marking his left turn, she sharply imitated.
Bump!
   "Ooof!"
   "Oww. Ow. Hynlia!" Hynlia knocked over Kendra and had fallen onto him, face down. "Hyn! You can get off now. Oof."
   "Oh. Sorry. I didn't know you were right there. I had to catch up."
   She got up and pulled him up with her. On the walk around to the back of the tree, Kendra gave reason not to embarrass him, falling over on him face down, like that. Blushing, he took her hand and quickly led her around the tree.

* * *

   The shed was a brown little cottage almost. It was completely dry because of the thick layer of leaves over top. It was almost two mice long and a mouse and a half tall. Hynlia easily fit inside, but Kendra ordered her to stay out, he had some weapons where she could get hurt, just by touching them.
   "Kendra," she said,"If breakfast comes from a shed filled with weapons, I don't feel safe eating it."
He answered back,"Don't worry Hynlia. The shed goes far back into the tree, and the pots and pans are on a mobile table, that's why I eat outside. So I don't eat with something dangerous in my food. And you won't have to worry. You do trust me?"
   She hesitated."Well. . .Yes. I guess I do." She smiled and sat down. Kendra's voice echoed through the shed. He came out with a small table on metal wheels. It contained two pots with porridge. White porridge spilled out. He entered the shed again, and this time brought out eating utensils and bowls. Kendra put one pot down and set up an eating place. He laid a blanket down, which was also on the table.
   Kendra took a spoon from inside the pot and filled their bowls.

* * *

   After Kendra and Hynlia had eaten their fill, they took a walk through the woods. Kendra over the years, had even made a small trail and signs to help him get back home to the tree. The signs were not actually signs, but piles of rocks, and twigs here and there. On the way he told Hynlia about his first time taking a walk and how he was lost in the woods for almost one day and a half. An old mouse who knew the woods well, named Barktree, had helped him use the position of the sun to get home. A map had been slipped into Kendra's pocket, also used to get home.
   "When I visited him, he had died during sleep. I buried him next to an oak tree, where it was shady during the day, but full of moonlight at night."
   They had walked for some time. Kendra decided they should turn back, but Hynlia insisted to go farther.
   "Sigh. . .Hynlia, beyond here of the woods can be very dangerous, and frightening. Only if you are armed should you go further." But she insisted more. "Kendra come on. We can go just a little further?" He sighed.
   "Oh alright. A little further." He shuddered when he looked into her eyes. There it was again, the mouse maiden. Only this time, it had a dress, and didn't look battle ready. In fact it was more beautiful then fearful.

* * *
   
   Once Hynlia and Kendra had returned from their long walk, it was five after noon. For the rest of the day Hynlia and Kendra told stories about eachother at Noonvale, about their childhood, and climbed to the top of Kendra's tree. They watched the sun set, and quietly went to eat dinner, which was mushroom tea—suprisingly delicious—and fresh fruit and vegetable which had been scavenged for.


Hynlia could not sleep that night. What lay in the shed could not leave her mind. Kendra's snores filled the tree, and noted that he was asleep. Hynlia could not resist any longer. Getting up from her new straw bed,(layed next to Kendra's writing table) she silently slipped out the door.

Night sound filled the air, and it was a bit foggy. Hynlia opened the shed door and entered. Darkness lay ahead.
   "Yelp! Owowch!" Hynlia stepped on something. She had no light to see, and squinting very hard at the floor, she discovered a broken glass frame. "Huh? A picture frame?" The picture said, "Nian Power is coming."

[gorath]

GREAT. CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE.

[MatthiasMan]

I'm suprised ANYBODY is reading these things. I'll post chapter three in this post later.

Chapter 4
The Reason of the Fires

   Hynlia woke up to the smell of honey scones, but decided to sleep in. Not feeling very well though, Kendra shook her awake. "Come on sleepy head. Breakfast is ready. I found some fresh nuts in some trees today."
   The sound of the word nuts sent Hynlia's ears straight up, and her eyes opened wide with hunger. Jolting to the table, she sat and watched Kendra bring in three platters with semi-circle tops to cover them. Hynlia asked him,"How do you make all of these things? They shine brightly and are so fancy." Kendra replied,"Well I have tools, special tools, and lots of places inside of this tree. You've only seen the bottom. There is an attic, and three other floors I cannot show you. You must promise me never to go up there through my shed." He  sat down at the table in the tree to eat.

* * *

   After having a breakfast of fresh nuts, hot scones, and some October Ale to wash it down, Hynlia felt that she should go to Noonvale. She did not know why but felt rather that it should happen. The same mouse Kendra saw in her eyes. This time it looked the same as before, with a sling tied around her waist. Kendra sighed and led the way, because she had mostly run random ways.
   North, facing the wind, is mostly the way they traveled. Sighing again, Kendra reached Noonvale's edges. A hill, but a beautiful view."You can see Brome's house from here," he said. "The little blue one, correct?" At that Hynlia started walking towards the house, like she was in a trance. Memory's flooded to her head. She kept walking through Noonvale, heading for the house.
   Kendra stood and watched from the hill, crossing his arms and chewing some wheat.

* * *

   Hynlia was inside Brome's room now, and she fell out of trance. The place looked almost the same, but Brome's body was gone. Tables were overturned and sliced, a few books on book shelves were burned, but nothing major. So she decided to clean up the place, for Brome's spirit at Dark Forest. Wherever he was, Hynlia was sure he'd be pleased to have his room cleaned. She picked up one of the books on the ground.

"Brome's Diary"

She started to read some. One section title got her attention. It said,"Hynlia- Rose." Now Hynlia thought this was odd, and began reading.

   Hynlia my old friend, she is a great young squirrel. Trustworthy, kind, and shy. Yes shy, but it may have never seemed like that here with her. It does not seem so, because I put the blessing of my sister on her. In fact, she was born the same day my sister died. My sister told me before she went, that one day I was going to be needed to fight again. But I grew older, and weaker. I put this into Hynlia's hands. A trial shall I say? I needed her to fight the Black Chains. She has encountered them once by now I suppose. The blessing of Rose my sister is almost a second life. Basically, I sent part of Rose into Hynlia. Every once in a while, in time's of great emotion, Hynlia will have Rose appear in her. The Black Chains, and Nian Power. That aflictted stoat. He knows revenge. I knew Nian once. He was known as Clogg. Clogg, had fought with Badrang the Tyrant. I knew of his treachery. Clogg will rise again one day, and Hynlia must fight him, no matter the peril.

~Brome~

   Hynlia was shocked and could not take it in. This is the reason of the fires of Noonvale. Nian Power. The Black Chains. She could not take in all of this at once.
Rose, the mouse she never told anyone about, the mouse she had a conversation in dreams almost every night. This diary is the key to it all.

[gorath]

good, It is interesting

[MatthiasMan]

Chapter 5
The Journey Begins

   "Kendra, I know now."
   "Know what?"
   Both of them had returned back to the tree house, enjoying a hot cup of tea. "I know my purpose. I have something to tell you. . . A mouse. A mouse I didn't know existed. I talked to her every night in dreams. What she told me last night was a poem. I still remember it."

A thousand of black,
That wander Mossflower,
The north seasides,
Ruling by power.
Slaughter the innocent,
And slave the poor.
Help me fix this,
Fix this old chore.
To defeat the chains,
Of their tricks and their jokes.
Do not look at the eyes,
With colors of oaks.

Through the wood,
Down to the South,
Drop inside,
Of the sepulcher's mouth.
Come out alive,
And you will survive,
Living death and life,
Go now my child,
Rid of their lives!

"And I read part of Brome's diary. Some of it I understand, other parts I don't. He says here that I'm a second life of someone. Of a warrior mouse, whom I talk to. She gave me that poem."
   Kendra would not speak. He closed his eyes and try to put the pieces together.
"I think I get it. I don't think I told you yet but sometimes in your eyes I see a mouse. I think that she wants you to somehow, sometime, go to Mossflower, and rid of these ghosts and ghouls. But my question is, when?"
   "Well, why not know? We can go South, because I read in a book once that Mossflower was very far from here, and that you must follow the seashore to get there."
   "Go there tomorrow? But first I think you need some training. I will teach you all I know of sword fighting. Having to defend myself for years, I know lots of tricks and gambles."
   Hynlia sat down a moment. "Well then. We can start now."

* * *

  Thwack!
   "Good, now dodge to the left and stab."
   Twang!
   "Wonderful! Disarm me with a skyward thrash, tackle me, and bring the tip of the sword to the throat."
   "Ha! Gotcha now." She pinned him to the ground and had the sword point ready to stab.
   Kendra replied in a voice like a cowardly vermin. "Oh no please, spare me! I beg you! Spare my life!" Hynlia replied in a voice she thought was a tough, rough, mean old vermin. "Harharhar, ye can't save yer life now me beauty. Time fer yer to see the Hellgates!"
   Then Kendra burst out laughing. Hynlia joined in. She rolled over on the ground and stared up at the sky. Only a few clouds drifted over, but she couldn't stare long because the reflection of the light was starting to make her eyes tear. She closed her eyes when a shadow fell over her.
   "Come on missus', you have a lot more to learn from me. Would you like to learn throwing knives next?" Hynlia jumped up, her eyes sparkled, and clapped her hands together. "Yes! Oh, how accurate I am!"
"Good, now prove it. If your as good as you sound then I should have no problem getting you better." He pulled out three knives from a back pocket on his cloak. Then he pulled out a bowl of red, smashed, holly berries. On a tree he painted a circle, with a dot inside. After he was done painting the target, he took 20 large paces back from the tree.
   "Try and hit that target. If you can't then we need a bit of training. But, if you can hit it in anyway, I think you don't need to learn much. And if you somehow get all three knives dead center, then that's pretty much self explanatory."
   "Right." Hynlia focused her eyes, brought one knife to her nose, and looked straight into the target. She closed her eyes half way, looking serious. Winding up, the knife flew from her hand, twirling, spinning, twisting, towards the target.
Thunk!
The knife hit straight on, in the very center of the target. Kendra didn't seem impressed, but instead put another piece of wheat in his mouth to start chewing, and crossed his arms.
Thwack!
The second knife hit the same spot, cutting he handle of the first knife in half. His mouth started to break a small grin, and his ears stood up while his eyes sparkled.
Thrack!
The third knife hit like a speeding bullet, splitting both the first and second knives and blades. The knife seem to stand still for one second, when the blades shattered and flew across the air. Kendra started to chuckle, and his pure white teeth shone out.
   "Hah! Told you. I'm the best knife thrower in the world!"
   "Yes you are. Well now that my knives are ruined," he said with a cackle," I guess you can help me make some new ones for yourself." He smiled at her. Hynlia's pretty eyes shone with delight. What she saw in Kendra's eyes made her heart skip. It was a mouse with a rusty old sword, looking out to sea. The mouse's eyes were filled with tears, and he turned back to the shore, walking silently with tears dripping in the sand like a waterfall. Then the image faded.

* * *

"Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Well I'm not."
"Hah, when will you ever?"
"Never!"
   Hynlia giggled at his remark. They were packed and ready to head South. Supplies from Kendra's tree house were all packed in traveling bags he had fashioned from leaves and tree sap. Despite the weak look, they were very strong when sap had hardened on it. They just closed the front door to the hollowed out trunk when Kendra spoke.
    "Hold on Hynlia. Before we leave, you must come up to the attic through the shed." He was silent when he led her to the back.

* * *

    Hynlia was still putting together what she saw in his attic. It clearly showed that he was Martin the Warrior as a different person. She still thought hard on it when her feet trampled across the ground. He was more different than she thought. If he was a new form of Martin and she was a new form of Rose, than what was that meant for? She overheard once from Brome that Rose and Martin loved each other, but Rose died and turned into Hynlia. If that was true, then her real name was Rose, and Kendra. Kendra, was Martin. If they truly were them two, then why did they not remember their true selves?
    Canopy's covered the sky, and blocked out the suns rays. It was a beautiful day. Birds chirping and wind blowing filled Kendra's ears. He heard Hynlia break out into a beautiful song that made his eyes tear.

Leaving home,
Out into the new world,
To discover our paths,
And blend two lines.
Intertwine two,
Intertwine three,
Leaves are a growing,
Hastily.
Feel our pasts,
Becoming the future,
And the future becoming the present.
Leaving my home,
My home,
My home.
And going a new road.
Taking a risk,
To do something good,
And draw into new great power.
Taking a journey,
Onto the ride,
That leads me down my line.
Until our rope separates,
And we meet our fates.
At the Dark Forest,
Or Hellgates.


The Journey had begun.

[Wisteria Wild Cat]

You've got to be kidding, I love this! You're amazing! 

[MatthiasMan]

Hehe. Thank you. I'm still working on it.

[Wisteria Wild Cat]

Yay, I can't wait for more!

[MatthiasMan]

Alright Wisteria, I'll work on the rest of the second chapter today, after I have soccer practice. And thanks so much again.

[Captain Rake Nightfur]

nice work matthias! wish i could write like that.