shadow-and-mist

[shadow-and-mist]

Vera’s Tales (Time and Fate)

- Two Distant Bards

Being a bard is a chase of life that we hold in our hands through performance and audience. All bards are unique, as all individuals are; so, I, Vera, am very glad to tell you the tales I have seen, readen or told, unlike the stereotypical Bard that is singing, dancing or playing an instrument. Unlike them, I have decided to help to contribute to the very melody and rhythm of life itself through my words,  but anyway, the gain of this story is not about me, but about two other bards that both lived in Himmlands, although very, very distant to each other.

One of them is called Denna Goodwill. If you are not familiar with the name, you have most likely never been to the big village in the north of the Himmlands; The Happy Breath. It is a very straightforward naming, really, as the village is filled with seas and oceans of laughter and joy. The breath of so-called happiness is not only distinctive to the owners of the land, Himms; the laughter magic surrounds all the village and the travelers within. Denna was a lucky girl, not only she was born in those blessed borders, she also has a blessed last name; the Goodwills. Her great, great fathers and mothers are known to be one of the first settlers and discoverers of the land, so all the village, even the very elderly respect the name. Oh, Denna… What an angel. You would respect her even if you had no idea who she was, trust me. I have had the chance to listen to her only once, and I can assure you, within a minute I heard her mesmerizing and enchanted voice, she had folded my reality into something more, more plausible. My ears were grateful, my mind was intrigued and my soul was rather... amazed and shaken. In short, girl, almost a princess with no self-importance, a heroine in the hearts of the villagers was… really gifted. She was performing in the Goodwill Tavern, which belonged to her own family. I am sure that the tavern and even the whole village used to be warmer than here, the Library of Sun where I am writing all these, because she took stage there and shined upon the audience.

The other bard is named Fherûn, if you are not familiar with the name, it means you are not lucky as I am. Fherun was a different case. She was five-six years younger than Denna, and she was an orphan lived in the southwest of the Himmlands, raised by her  big brother. The village she lived in was in a long way off to the Laughing River. Although “Himmish Cheer” was a widely-known fact, Himm in those villages made it look like it was a myth. Their ruined town had no tombstones and no tales to remember the dead because their souls were on the edge of losing it. The nature had not smiled upon them, they were very close to the dangerous forests of the south and they would be reminded very often about how death awaited them. For the warriors, or, survivors of the very wild village, laughing or crying was not an option at all, but the bard Fherun brought a very exceptional mood as she grew up. She could somewhat make you smell the heaven in time of blazing hell, she could somewhat make you taste the stars in time of fear. She would play and sing to those who were hurt and were in brink of death. People called her flute “God’s Mercy” as it either healed the wounded, or made them close their eyes for good with an eternal smile on their face. Her name had no meaning and she had no last name, and the only family she knew, his brother went on a short journey to get some food for the village, but he didn’t return. She had no chance but to wait, but to hope he was still alive.

At first, as all of you had done at some point of your lives, I, too, cussed on this world’s unfairness. But as we never think and as we all are very well aware, life itself is a field, a stage, even, waiting for you, me, and those two bards to perform on it. Sometimes the stage is rather dusty and the audience is kind of rusty, but in the end, your performance is the only thing that matters.

“Like the sky, like the ground, With my sound, you all are bound, Heaven is the crown, and we are crowned, We bloom within the laughter.”

As the fate never stays calm, the coming years holded unpleasant surprises for all of us. Denna, -she was around nineteen those days-, fell in love with a stranger. Her love and her lust for love was so intense, so full of emotion and passion, after spending one month in secrecy, she disobeyed the traditions and escaped with her lover. The tradition was not so strict, to be honest, but the boy did not have what it took to be part of the Goodwill family. As he was a traveler from the south of the Himmlands; he was not a source of cheer and laughter. Actually, you could see his teeth only when he was eating or when he was with the woman of his life, the little princess, Denna. She had left everything behind, except her lute and passion to live to see the tomorrow. The Happy Breath was covered in dark as their sun had abandoned them, especially the Goodwill family was perished in the absence of their daughter. They closed the tavern for good, and since they lost their cheer, they remained in complete silence for years filled with agony. Now, some of you might even be blaming our Denna, but, who are we to judge a young lover’s path?

“Laughter surrounds me and I dance, I dance, but I can only wish, I had the chance.”

Time played its cards in another reversal at Fherun’s village. She was only thirteen, yet, she had already experienced the unpleasant side of the very stage. She, restlessly waited for her brother for a full month. He didn’t show up. She had to accept what others were saying, she had to accept that death, even when it strikes to those that are dear to us, is very real. She took her flute and a traveler’s backpack and left the village with a fury over a night. She, too, had her journey started without knowing what was there to expect. She had no idea what would happen if she didn’t leave the village that night. The same night, perhaps after an hour, a deadly army of Blood Orcs raided the land. They killed every breathing flesh in the whole village, plundered what they had and burnt all the shelters to the ground. A village of the south was erased from the map that night, but, as sad as it is, no one realized.

“It is time of the cheer, Hold onto what you have dear, My hymn, heals your heart, It erases evil and the fear.”

The next day, Denna and her lover who were headed that way saw the arisen smoke that was fighting with clouds. The air smelled full of regrets and agony, they quickly made it to the ruined village. The tents and the houses were almost completely vanished and most bodies were turned to ashes. Her lover, in a terrible shock and regret, checked all the bodies to see if  his little sister was one of the victims, but there was no good. He was crying and checking on the half-burnt bodies. His salty tears boiled away when they touched the deceased. He always told Denna that they would get along too well, they had plans of sharing a life all together, even raising Fherun in another, safer village. Fherun didn’t know any of these, but perhaps, she was lucky she did not. He gave up looking for her hours later, he had to accept the crooked truth as well. They left the village as it was, but now the village he had left and the image of young Fherun were immortal in their hearts and songs.

“Never forgotten, forever alive, In your heart, we dwell, we thrive, Now, rise up as an angel and fly, Hover above, swim in the high, As we lie the oceans with cry.”

Currently, their whereabouts are unknown, but it’s being said that all three of them are now traveling bards that are carrying a fateful happiness to all around the world.

This is the story of two distant bards, everyone. From two distant lands and two distant lives. They both performed on this barbed field, they both performed by the crimson curtains of this stage, Time and Fate

[shadow-and-mist]

The Story of Tamag

- Genesis War: Betrayal of Bitreegl, the Story of Tamag.

During the sacred era of Genesis and Restoration of the Seven Stars, the Titans had to fight with the Enigma that had been long corrupted every land in the galaxy. Being warriors of the Conservant, Bitreegl and Sorandall siblings, creations of the mighty All-Seer Reshega were responsible to clear all the evil in progress.

…But the evil had its roots deep in the worlds of the Seven Stars. It was not an easy task to purge the planets, especially the Arreth which was the center and mainplace of the Enigma.

Sorandall, being the Warrior of Just and Order, did not hesitate to use his legendary sword “Bright” which was forged in the heat of the war by the Dermonn, Shaper of the Worlds and Blacksmith of the Gods.  The sword have accomplished a lot,  almost vanished all the nasty deeds on the terrain. While his twin brother, Bitreegl, which is famous for his Mind and Reasoning did not hold anything he had under his hands. Together, they claimed victory and served the empty, yet ruined Seven Stars to the hands of other Æsir and the Conservant.

Only a small group of Enigma had managed to escape to another microcosm. The Æsir were delighted, celebrating their triumph; but they missed on something that stroke right when it was most unexpected.

In the legendary Genesis War, Bitreegl was corrupted by evil schemers of the Enigma. With time, he felt that he was losing his reasoning and mind, which were all he standed for in the first place. He prefered to keep it to himself, hidden in the shadow of the conversant light they believed in.

After his brother, Sorandall created Taivas, which were responsible of the Skies and Elysium for Arreth; Bitreegl had assigned his job to create the other aspects. First of all, he created Valtamare, who was the Lord of the Ocean and Arreth, and then the furious Roshegii, whose job was ruling the Underground and Tamag. Knowing that he is getting worse every single day, he decided to create the Dragon Arbiters, with Chroma the Dragoon as their leader, to stop him if he ever tries to harm his family or the world they’re building.

Within time, the situation of Bitreegl went much worse. The other Æsir, especially his twin brother was aware that something was wrong, something troubled Bitreegl, but they never managed to reach him in the darkness that consumed his mind.

At some point, Bitreegl started to give orders to Roshegii, his creation to spawn an infinite amount of devil behind The Gates of Tamag, preparing for an attack to be unleashed whenever he wished. Reshega the All-Seer, alas his title, saw the growing hatred of his beloved creation, Bitreegl and tried to talk to him for one last time. Bitreegl did not confess or surrender, instead, he tried to kill the Reshega, but his twin brother Sorandall managed to stop him.

It’s been said that the struggle between those two siblings have moved from the very Æsir to the every generation of the Arreth. With Bitreegl, betraying and escaping after trying to kill a member of Pantheon, had been exiled to behind The Gates of Tamag. Septhemer have bonded the fallen Æsir’s fate with the Tamag, and creating the Bell of Darkness in Arreth to trap the dead in the boiling layers of the hell. Therefore he and all the dead, except Roshegii were trapped in and unable to leave the so-called Doors of Hell.

Since their creator went mad, Valtamare, Chroma and Roshegii were left in an ambiguous situation. They and their champions were confused, they didn’t know what to do. Bitreegl, using his creation, Roshegii, ruler of the Tamag as a minion, have reached to Valtamare and Chroma in both endless oceans and skies. Valtamare then realized that her brother, Roshegii was also corrupted by the same evil that their creator had been suffering from.

Valtamare and Roshegii have fought for the things they claimed as right; Roshegii have spawned hundreds and thousands of demons to fight with Valtamare from the underground, the ground shake like it never did before. The waters of the mighty Æsir flowed over the mountains and consumed the land, created rivers, seas and lakes on the united grounds. The fight ended almost scoreless, although it created an unceasing whirlpool in the oceans, which, even Valtamare or the Æsir couldn’t control.

Roshegii was tired, rather weak when he went to see Chroma. Somewhat he realized that Chroma was also suffering from the curse, having a trouble ruling all the Dragon Arbiters that were belonged to her. Roshegii did not fight her, instead, he took control of her to rule all the Arbiters, eventually causing to turn Seven Arbiters into symbols of Seven Deadly Sins that started devouring all the life on Arreth.

Bitreegl, instead of using Roshegii as his messenger, have created the Wings of Fury, an organization of birdfolk that could travel freely between Tamag and the Arreth, carried the messages and commands of Bitreegl to everyone that followed his evil plan to take over the world and give it back to the hands of the very Enigma that he himself once fought against.

During the Great Age, where heroes and champions were on a rise, Bitreegl’s plans behind the doors have given it’s first sprout. The champions of Sorandall and Bitreegl, respectively named Merqos and Buratros were Ancient Elf twins, almost one of the first creations to live in the Arreth. Enigma have started attacking Arreth once more along with evil Dragons, and Buratros, being blurred by the Wings of Fury and Bitreegl’s plans, have rang the Bell of Darkness in exchange of power, which released the evil and Bitreegl himself from Tamag. Merqos, seeing the Arreth is going to perish; have sacrificed both himself and his whole family including Buratros to restore the Bell of Darkness to its former peace, which is known as Sacrifice of Merqos in the books of history of mankind. It lead to Arreth’s map became scattered around, gaining its current shape. After this, the Envoy and Champions have imprisoned the evil Dragon Arbiters in the Dragon Temple way above the land, where it was impossible to get in or out for the mortal.

Enigma’s presence have been put on hold with those seals for centuries, centuries filled with evolution of ancient races, gnomes and dwarves waking up, also humans gaining their independence. During this time, Bitreegl and Roshegii have formed the Tamag into two big layers, named as Kazhan and Hell. The Hell is the dimensional place that is believed to be the home of the evil that people reached after their death, while Kazhan is the layer that has the throne of Bitreegl, along with Roshegii and his champion, Zereda.

The world was in tranquility for a long time, until an Ancient Sorcerer named Arafaturazs rang the Bell of Darkness in exchange of the ability to control fire, which was considered as the rare and infinite arcanum. By ringing the bell, he received the power of fire, but lost his mind and flesh. This also caused The Gates of Tamag to be opened once again. Having the greater power and nothing to lose, he attacked the Ancient Council and killed many Sorcerers except Phelpos and Azshemon. They were the only ones left being capable of sealing The Gates of Tamag, yet no matter how many times they tried, they failed against the evil. Phelpos, the leader of Ancient Council have signed a sacred treaty with Bitreegl. It was known as “Deal with the Devil” and according to it, Roshegl, also known as “Satan’s Religion” was going to be spread all over the world and The Gates of Tamag was going to stay open forever, in exchange for leaving the mortal world harmless. Azshemon, who was Avatar of Rama in that period had known that Bitreegl’s terms were a set-up for a further chaos, therefore he was against the treaty and died fighting against Bitreegl himself.

In the Reign Age, the human Queen of Arizasa, named Dominic Rhapsody have opposed the treaty and with the help of another Avatar of Rama, Sheera, they have killed Arafaturazs that was sent to kill them and sealed The Gates of Tamag once again. Dominic Rhapsody then have assigned her fellow three giants to protect the Bell of Darkness, giving the giants the title of “Guardians of the Bell.” Arafaturazs had chosen to be worthy to go to Kazhan, being the first human-born to reach the halls of Bitreegl.

Years later, champion of Roshegii, Zereda, the Broodmother of Demons that lied infinite eggs in the floors of Kazhan have managed to get past the sealed Doors of Tamag with the help of Bitreegl, started a big war against the Arreth. This action was known as “Demonspawn” and affected all the living.  Many people have lost their lives, and many heroes have lost their spirits and control over their body and mind to the hands of Zereda.

The war took months, but in the end a Hansp priest of Arizasa, named Elitia have entered the battleground with his team. Together, using their unique arcanum later to be named as “Holy Light” by people, have defeated the Zereda, and then rest of the Demonspawn. After this event, Elitia became the new king of Arizasa with the title of “Son of the Gods”; which quickly raised the religion of Hansp into one of the most believed religions of the world. Also, after this war, the calendar was changed into “Elitian”, starting with the year one after the year the Demonspawn have ended.

Since then, the evil is being kept sealed in the pit and their situation is unknown. The religion of Reshegl is still known and popular although it’s not welcomed in many places. The world is in hands of the humans of Arizasa, who are against their unknown foes, Enigma and the devil lurks behind The Gates of Tamag.

[shadow-and-mist]

The Genesis (Arreth)

The Titans are Godly creatures, wandering in cosmos to bring life and order to untamed planes of existences. They are responsible of forging worlds and fighting the evil in cosmic pattern. They are known to be the most ancient entities, even Time and Space were crafted by the first generation of Titans.

The Conversant are a group of younger Titans who were responsible of forging worlds in the macrocosm of the Seven Stars. They had shaped planets and banished the evil from worlds of different kinds, Arreth is merely one of them. They’re called and known as Gods of Arreth since they brought the life to the severe land.

The Enigma is the evil arch-enemy of the Conversant. Their origin is unknown but they’re most likely native to Seven Stars. They had corrupted and fed on many planets until Conversant have expelled them from the macrocosm, although it didn’t end the evil of Enigma. It’s known that their existence is persistent in another dimension and they periodically attack Arreth and other planets of Seven Stars in order to claim their legacy in the absence of the Titans.

----- Conversant members respectively:

(The Pantheon)

Septhemer, the Highfather of the Conversant. Lana, the Highmother of the Conversant. Reshega, the All-Seer.

(The Æsir)

Eurynom, the Source of Life and Death. Toselia, the Symbol of Soul and Progress. (Evolution) Dermonn, the Forger of the Planets and Worlds. Azsharozs, the Keeper of Arcanum and Lore. Bitreegl, the Arbiter of Mind and Reason. Sorandall, the Warrior of Just and Order.

(The Envoy)

Rama, the Avatar of the Conversant. Su’na & Mu’na, the Light of the Sun, the Light of the Moon. Chroma, the Commander of the Dragon Arbiters. Taivas, the Lord of the Skies and Elysium. Valtamare, the Lordess of the Oceans and Arreth. Roshegii, the Lord of the Underground and Tamag.

 The Pantheon’s members are of an older generation of the Titans. Being one of the oldest entities, Septhemar, have teamed with Lana. She gave birth to all Æsir except Bitreegl and Sorandall, which are creations of another ancient Titan, Reshega. They have formed a family of Æesirs and their group got the name of the Conversant.  Their power’s limits are unknown, but the children and creation of those Titans are merely a reflection of their own power.

The Æsir, creations and children of the Titans of the Conversant are the first-hand purgers and shapers of the Seven Stars. In the Genesis, they have cleansed the Arreth from the Enigma and they formed the life and order on the planet.

Bitreegl and Sorandall twins, creations of Reshega have mainly fought the Enigma that laid deep beneath the Seven Stars. During the Genesis War, even for the mighty Æsir, it took years to completely banish the evil within the land of Arreth only. Dermonn have replenished the broken landscape after the Genesis War, then forged mountains, steppes, hills; and created  Dwarves. Eurynom, brought life back to the infertile lands, spread forestry and jungle; and created Gnomes and Himm. With the assistance of Toselia, she also started the plant and primitive animal life on the Arreth. Azsharozs have infused the land and his creations called Ancient Elves with Arcane Magic. He also created the Bells of Arcanum, Reality and Dream. Bitreegl have created the humankind, along with Dragon Arbiters to be guardians of the Arreth. Toselia, once and for all, have breathed soul and persistence into the creations of the other Æsir.

All together, they started life in Arreth and assigned protectors for the continuity of the living.

The Envoy are the creations of the Æsir that were assigned to protect the Arreth from Enigma and other disasters.

Rama was created by Toselia in the name of the Pantheon. Rama is an ethereal being with no shape, known to be the Avatar of Conversant. It’s purpose is accompanying a person in every generation to show the Arreth the true path of the Conversant. Su’na and Mu’na twins were created by Eurynom, their purpose is being the Light and Shadow to the Arreth. They’re responsible for the day and night cycle, and they’re manipulators of haze, clarity, mist and luminescence. Chroma, the leader and commander of the Dragon Arbiters, was created in order to control the Bitreegl’s dragon creations to protect Arreth from any harm in absence of the Conversant. Toivas is the first and only creation of the Æsir Sorandall. He is responsible for the skies, rain, thunder and the heaven of after-life, Elysium. Valtamare, created by Bitreegl is the Lordess of the Ocean and Arreth. She is responsible for the ocean, seas, river, lakes, as well as the the nature’s safety. Roshegii is also a creation of Bitreegl; his duty is taking care of the underground, minerals, earthquakes and fire. He is Lord of the Underground and the hell of after-life, Tamag.

The members of the Envoy whose cause were protecting the living and continuity had Champions on the grounds of Arreth, who were the great heroes of the Great Age.

Dragon Arbiters are known as

Chroma, White and Black dragon; Commander of the Arbiters. Val’sharah, Green dragon; Arbiter of the Benevolence and Will. Amathorzs, Purple dragon; Arbiter of Patiance and Wisdom. Nathur, Orange dragon; Arbiter of  Modesty and Bravery. Misha, Yellow dragon; Arbiter of Kindness and Compassion. Telfamer, Red dragon;  Arbiter of Diligence and Persistence. Sairob, Blue dragon; Arbiter of the Temperance and Equanimity.

Chroma, the White and Black dragon is considered as All-Mother and Commander of the all the Dragons. She’s also known as “The Dragoon” which is a title she earned by her creator, Bitreegl. She’s also called as the “Gray One” being the fusion of two origin colours. She is not only commander of all the Arbiters, she also carries all the virtues that the Arbiters possess.

[shadow-and-mist]

Sefo G.A.N.G.

Sefo G.A.N.G. Welcomes You.

Sefo was plundering and done a hard task;

Gathered many pieces, all of them are unique,

Among us, you exist, and you too a geek,

Not weak you are, neither a freak,

Get used to hear, see, and speak.

Sefo was wandering and found a mask,

Gloves are needed, you gotta wear it,

Almighty spirit wants you in his pit,

Necessary evil, now, that’s lit,

Get real or he will quit.

Sefo was wondering and would like to ask,

Got any lighters or is it all dark?

All the dogs obey and can’t dare to bark,

No need to rush things, not in the park,

Great memories, but it was just a spark.

[shadow-and-mist]

Lyra ve Muna: İkinci Bölüm

- Gezgin 

Kabilesinin yaşadığı topraklarda dostu Muna ile yürürken gözleri yalnızca yolun ilerisine kenetlenmişti. Yolun her iki tarafında kalan farklı ailelere ait çadırları görmezden gelmeye çalışıyordu, nasılsa her büyük çadırın üzerinde bulunan farklı simgelerin hangi ailelere ait olduğunu çok iyi biliyordu. Aşağıya doğru çapraz duran, ucu sivri iki ince bıçak ve ucundan dökülen damlalar; köyde her türlü iksiri yapan ve bu iksirlerle savaş yeteneklerini birleştirmiş korkutucu İkiz İğneler. Beyaz, düz bir sopanın üstünde duran güneş ve ay çizimleri ve onlara doğru uzanan iki siyah yılan; kabilenin saf-Elf medikal ustaları ve soylu düşünürleri; Gök-yılanları. İç içe geçmiş yeşil bir kare ve üçgenin tam merkezinde duran siyah bir ok; ağaçların üzerinde görmeye alışkın olduğu hedeflerin sahipleri; ailesinin de çok iyi anlaştığı özel okçu birliği; Düzen Korucuları. Merkeze doğru yürümeye devam ettikçe en büyük iki çadırı -ve dolayısıyla aileleri- görmesi kaçınılmazdı. Koyu kırm��zı bir rengin üstüne beyazdan işlenmiş sivri kaplan dişleri; kabilede elf olmayan tek ırk -kedigil Nekkah’lar- tarafından yönetilen, acımasız Kan Avcıları. Tam karşısında, merkezde duran, yeşil renklerle çizilmiş yan yana uluyormuş gibi görünen iki muazzam kurt, kendi ait olduğu ve bütün kabilelerin yönetimini sağlayan büyük savaşçılar ve liderler; Yeşil Kurtlar. Yürümeye devam ettikçe kendi evinin etrafında kurulmuş, sabah çıktığında orada olmayan birkaç seyyar çadırı gördü. Kalabalıktan dolayı anlamakta zorlansa da, yeşil bir daire ile çevrelenmiş kalkan işaretini gördüğünde misafirlerin Nehir Bekçileri olduğunu fark etti. Birkaç dakika olduğu yerde kalakaldı. Yaşlarla taşmak üzere olan gözleriyle Muna’ya doğru baktı, kurt karşılık olarak sorgularcasına kafasını yana eğdi. Lyra, kendi çadırının önüne dahi bakmadan yerinden sıçradı ve kalabalığı yararak misafirlere doğru yönelmeye başladı. Hızla insanları çekiştirerek ilerlerken aniden karşısına çıkan birine çarparak, onlarca insanın arasında yere yuvarlandı. Genç avcıyı fark eden diğerleri yavaşça dağılmaya başladılar. Kıkırdamaları ve söylenenleri duyunca, gururu incinmiş Lyra büyük bir hışımla ayağa kalktı ve bağırmaya başladı.

“Ne gülüyorsunuz be?!”

İnsanlar hızla uzaklaşırken, arkada kalmış Muna, bağırışları duyunca birden havlayarak sahibine doğru koşmaya başladı. Büyük, yeşil çadırın önünde duran kurtlar da havlamaya ortak olarak Lyra’yı çevrelediler.

Lyra, sinirli bir şekilde etrafı süzerken, arkasını dönmüş kahkahasını saklamaya çalışan genç Nekkah’ı gördü. Onun kim olduğunu çok iyi anımsadı.

“Hey, Sin! Buraya baksana!”

Genç kızın bağırışları gittikçe şiddetleniyordu.

“Sana diyorum, bana bak!”

Genç Nekkah, yavaşça geriye döndü ve sıyrılmış kalabalıktan kıza doğru birkaç adım attı. Her adımıyla artan hırlamaları ve yerinden çıkacakmış gibi duran dişleri fark ettikten sonra sonra olduğu yerde kalmayı tercih etti.

“Dinliyorum, Lyra. Kendi aksaklığın için, yine beni suçlamayacaksın, değil mi?”

Büyük bir şevkle cümlesini bitirdikten sonra, sadece kendi ırkına özgün o sinsi, çıkarcı bakışı ile Lyra’yı sardı. Genç kız, herkesin odağında olduğunu fark etti. Yere düşmüş, üstüne bir de Sin tarafından alaya alınmıştı. Kızgın bir şekilde olduğu yerde bir şeyler geveledi, daha cevap verememiş iken, etrafındaki bütün kurtlar, çadırdan iki adamın çıkmasıyla sakinleşti. Adamlardan birisi oldukça yaşlı, siyah bir göz bandı ve yaralarla süslenmiş yüzüyle sert ve vahşi duruyordu. Diğeri ise genç, kahverengi uzun bir ceketin arkasında sallanan yeşil peleriniyle beraber, sempatik bir gülümseme taşıyordu.

“Bu kargaşanın nedeni sen misin, Lyra?”

“Tabii ki, o. Benim belalı kardeşim.”

Lyra, genç olanı görünce, gözlerinden akan yaşlara aldırmadan büyük bir sevinçle sıçradı.

“Abi!”

Ancak yanındaki sert adama ve içinde olduğu duruma bakınca, hevesi kursağında kalırcasına ekledi.

“Baba…”

Lyra ve Muna oldukları yere çöktüler. Abisi babasına bir şeyler fısıldadı ve babası kızına sert bir bakış atıp, çadıra tekrar girdi. Genç adam kalabalığı çabucak dağıttıktan sonra ortada kalan kız kardeşine doğru yürüdü. İkili büyük bir hevesle adama sarıldı, abisi gülümsemeler ile ikisine de karşılık verdikten sonra kolunu Lyra’nın omzuna attı ve beraber yürümeye başladılar.

“Gel benle. Biraz laflayalım.”

“Nasıl göründüğünü çok iyi biliyorum, ama, abi, Sin, gerçekten…”

“Sakin ol. Ben babamız gibi değilim. Bunu çok iyi biliyorsun.”

Lyra usulca onaylar gibi yapıp kafasını aşağıya eğdi. Abisi, parmağıyla hafifçe çenesinin altından kafasını geri kaldırdı.

“Şşşt. O kadar yoldan boynunu bükük görmek için mi geldim ben?”

Lyra, bu cümlelerle az önce olan şeyleri yok sayıp, durumun yeniden farkına vardı. Bütün bedeni sevinçle doldu, sıçrarcasına yürüyüp abisine büyük bir hevesle bakmaya başladı.

“Hem sana anlatacak çok şeyim var.” dedi abisi ve büyük bir zevkle arkasındaki pelerine işaret etti. Kız, çok da ihtişamlı olmayan büyükçe pelerini o vakit fark etti. Yeşil derinin üzerinde siyahtan yarısı pusula, yarısı saati anımsatan işareti gördü ve olduğu yerde kalakaldı.

“Abi… “

Abisi büyük bir gururla onayladı.

“Bu işaret… Gezginler?!”

“Doğru bildin, ufaklık.”

Lyra, aniden sıçrayarak tekrar abisine sarıldı. Gün boyunca akan gözyaşından fazlası, birkaç saniyeye sığmış, çocuğun uzun saçlarını nemlendiriyordu. Abisi yeniden kızı yatıştırmaya çalıştı.

“Abi… En büyük hayalin…”

“Hayalimiz.”

Kız aniden duraksadı. Sahiden de öyleydi. Abisi ile birlikte küçükken kurdukları hayaller, genç adam bundan bir yıl kadar önce evden ayrılınca yok olmuştu. Onu bekleyen kaderi haksız çıkarabileceğinin yaşayan kanıtı olan abisi, zamanla onun sadece özlediği dostu, kardeşi, ailesi haline geldi. Birlikte bir hayal paylaşmışlardı, abisi önce Nehir Bekçileri’ne, ardından da Gezginler’e katılarak kendi payını doldurmuştu. Sıra ondaydı, ancak kabileyi düşününce, yapılacak çok şey olduğunu biliyordu.

“Gel hadi.”

Lyra’nın düşüncelere dalıp gittiği o sırada abisi çoktan bir ateş yakmış, odunlarla harmanlamıştı bile. Kız yavaşça ateşe doğru yöneldi.

“Şimdi yiyecek bir şeyler bulmak gerek…”

Lyra abisini duyar duymaz çantasına yöneldi ve deri bir kılıf çıkardı. Kılıfı açtığında dört tane sarılmış, cansız balık göründü. Bu sefer genç kız ve kurt gururla poz verdi. Abisi aferin dercesine ikisinin de başını okşadı ve balıkları bir çubuğa geçirip, kızartmaya başladı. Bu sırada yerde oturan Lyra’nın suratını hafif bir endişe sardı. Köye girdiğinden beri abisinin kurdunu hiç görmemişti, hem Muna, abisinin kokusunu uzaktan ayırt etmekte zorlansa da, kendi kardeşinin varlığını kesin fark ederdi. Kara kurt, Luna, şüphesiz ki köyde değildi.

“Soracak çok şeyin olmalı. Başla bir yerden bakalım.”

“Luna nerede?” diye sordu genç kız, endişesini daha fazla saklayamıyordu. Abisinin suratını anlık bir burukluk kapladı ancak çok geçmeden bu ifadeden kurtuldu.

“Luna ile zor günler geçirdik. O şimdilik dinleniyor.”  Kız açıklamadan çok tatmin olmamış gibi duruyor, abisini daha fazla şey duymak için süzüyordu.

“Merak etme, o iyi. Diğer Gezginler’i ben yokken bir Yeşil Kurt’un koruması gerekiyor, değil mi?” Genç kız bu sözlerinden sonra Luna için endişelenmenin doğru olmadığını düşündü. Abisi, ateşin başında balıkları kızartırken kız onu iyice süzdü. Yüzündeki yorgunluk çok belli oluyordu. O sempatik gülüşüyle saklamaya çalışsa da, belli ki kafasında birçok şey dolaşıyordu. Ne için geldiğini dahi ona henüz sormadığını fark etti.

“Ben yokken gelmişsin. Haberim de yoktu. Eğer bilseydim, ilk ben karşılardım seni. Seni çok özledim.” Abisiyle çok fazla vaktinin olmadığını düşününce, kızın ağzından cümleler ardı ardına dökülmeye başladı. O artık bir Gezgin idi, çok fazla kalamayacağını biliyordu.

“Güneşten önce tepelere çıkmayı bıraktığını görseydim, üzülürdüm, Lyra.”

“Merak etme. Her sabah, Muna ile birlikte oradayız. İlk Rüzgar ile birlikte atış yapmaya başlıyorum. Tıpkı eskisi gibi. Hem de çok geliştim. Belki yarın sana da gösteririm, ne dersin?” diye, hevesle bitirdi konuşmasını Lyra. Abisi, hafif üzgün bir ifadeyle cevapladı.

“Lyra, üzgünüm…” Genç kız, az önce farkına vardığı şeyi yok saydığı için kendisine kızdı.

“Önemli değil.” ardından, zoraki bir gülümsemeyle hemen konuyu değiştirdi.

“Benim hayatım böyle geçiyor. Muna ile özgürlüğümüzü yaşıyoruz, ardından kabiledeki yaşlılarla uğraşıyoruz. Her şey bıraktığın gibi.” İkili ufak bir gülümseme paylaştı. Bu sırada abisi ilk balığı Lyra’nın önüne servis etti.

“Peki sen neler yapıyorsun, abi? Artık bir Gezginsin… Kim bilir nerelere gittin… Sahi, kabileye beni görmek için dönmüş olamazsın, değil mi?”

“Onlara katılalı sadece iki ay oldu. İlk seninle paylaşmayı çok isterdim. Nehir Bekçileri’ndeki dostlarımız beni en başta bırakmayı istemediler ancak onları ikna etmek çok da zor olmadı.”

“Seni bilirim, herkesi ikna etmeyi becerirsin.”

“Bir Gezgin olmak ise… gerçekten çok farklı.” Lyra, balığını yavaşça ayıklayıp yemeye başladığında sabahtan beri ilk kez yemek yediğini fark etti. Muna, tekrar acıkmış olacak ki, kokan balığa doğru koklayarak yöneldi. Kız her yediği lokma başına bir parça da Muna’ya vererek, abisinin laflarını dikkatle dinledi.

“Bir taraftan tam hayal ettiğimiz gibi; diğer taraftan hayal bile edemeyeceğimiz kadar farklı.” abisi kızarmış iki diğer balığı da Lyra’nın önüne koyup, son balığı afiyetle yemeye koyuldu.

“Eee? Bu kadar mı?” dedi Lyra, bir yandan balığı şevkle çiğnerken. Abisi ağzındaki lokmayı bitirip, konuşmaya devam etti.

“Eğer bir Gezgin isen, kendi kaderinin peşindesin. Bir şefin emri altında değilsin, ancak kimsesiz, veya yardıma ihtiyacı olan herkesin yanındasın. Üstelik saf-Elf olup olmaman kimsenin umrunda değil, her ırktan Gezgin var. Şu ormanın içinde bizimle yolu kesişmiş bodur Cüceler bile var.”

Genç kızın gözleri, duyduğu her kelimeyle daha da ışıldıyordu. Yemeği dahi unutup, ağzı açık bir şekilde dinlediği oluyordu. İstediği ve umduğu her şey, artık abisinin hayatındaydı. Ona çok imreniyor, bir yandan da heyecanlanıyordu.

“Ancak, Lyra… Bu özgürlüğün bedeli çok büyük.” abisi bir ısırık daha aldı. Onu ağzında çiğneyip, bitirene kadar geçen süre Lyra’ya günler gibi gelmişti. Sessizliğin içinde durgun bir akşam rüzgarı ve ateş çıtırtıları ahenkle oynuyordu.

“Gezgin olmak demek, evinin olmaması demek. Kalıcı bir evin olmamasından, sürekli seyahat etmekten bahsetmiyorum. Ailenin olmamasından bahsediyorum.”

“Peki ya diğer Gezginler? Ailen onlar değil mi?”

Elbette, ancak birçoğu, kendi kaderlerini keşfettiğinde birliği bırakıyor. Kalıcı bir bağ kurmak çok zor. Ayrıca, her Gezgin, bir zamanlar sandığımız gibi çok iyi sayılmaz… Hepimiz, çok zor sınavlardan geçerek Gezgin olduk, bu doğru, ancak bu bizim yeteneklerimizi kanıtlıyor. Kalbimizi ve içinden geçenleri değil.”

“Peki ya biz? Bak, beraber yemek yiyoruz. Hâlâ çadırda seni bekleyen bir yatağın var.”

“Babamı biliyorsun, kardeşim. Bugün, sırtımdaki pelerini gördüğünde yüzündeki hayal kırıklığını az çok tahmin edebiliyorsundur. Eminim ki köye geri döndüğümüzde o yatak, çadırdan atılmış olacak. Gezginler tarafından sözcü olarak gönderilmeseydim, benimle konuşmayı dahi reddederdi.”

Lyra, hayalini gerçekleştirdiği takdirde bunların kendi başına geleceğini de çok iyi biliyordu. Buna rağmen o sırada duyduğu acı ile, çaresizlikle yakınmaya başladı.

“Ama neden? Böyle olmak zorunda değil ki?”

“Gelenekler, kardeşim.”

“Gelenek, gelenek, yeter artık. Babamın gözüne girmeye çalışırız, onun takdirini kazanmaya çalışırız. Ona kendimizi kanıtlamak için daha ne yapalım, abi? Sen gittiğinden beri, kendince bana eğitim veriyor. Sen ortalıkta yokken, senin ölmüş olmana hazırlık yaparak beni varis gibi yetiştirmeye çalışıyor. Senin öldüğünü düşünüyor. İnanabiliyor musun?”

“Lyra…”

“Diğer kabilelere değinmedim bile… Babam, şu aptal Kan Avcıları’na gösterdiği töleransın zerresini bize gösterse böyle olmazdı! O bütün ailelerin babası, Büyük Şef, ama bizim babamız olmayı beceremedi! Hepsi onun suçu! Bizi en başta böyle hayallere muhtaç bırakan o! Senin gitmeni sağlayan, benim hırçınlığımın nedeni, hatta annemin-”

“Lyra.” kızarak lafını kesti abisi. Kızın adı, çoğalarak, geceyle beraber ormanda gezintiye çıktı. Kız ise olduğu yerde kalakaldı. Kendini kaybetmiş, hıçkıra hıçkıra ağlıyordu. Muna da hemen yanı başında kızı koklayarak ne olduğunu anlamaya çalışıyordu. Abisi yavaşça kıza doğru yöneldi, yanına oturdu ve onu sarmaladı.

“Bütün bunlar çok fazla, biliyorum. Ama ben, bugünden itibaren babamız için ölü bir adamım, Lyra.” Genç kız, sanki ayların birikimini kusarcasına, gittikçe şiddetlenen bir şekilde ağlamaya devam etti.

“Ama kardeşim…” dedi abisi, Lyra’yı sıkıca sardı ve o da gözyaşlarını serbest bıraktı.

“Hepsi geçecek. Sana söz veriyorum, bir gün bütün bunlardan kurtulacağız. Artık abin olmasam da-”

Kız birden olduğu yerden ayağa sıçradı. Nehir olmuş yeşil gözlerinin üstü, anlık bir nefretle perdelendi. Kızın kelimeleri, boğazından yukarıya çıkmaya direniyor gibiydi. Gırtlağı, boğuk bir acıya büründü.

“Ne dedin? “Abin olmasam da” mı dedin sen?

Abi…”

Abisini birkaç saniye o gözlerle süzdükten sonra, çimenlerin üzerinde geriye doğru birkaç adım attı. Muna da onunla beraber adım aldı. Birden abisine sırtını dönüp, Muna’nın üstüne çıktı ve güçlü bir ıslık çaldı. Bu ıslıkla beraber, Lyra ve Muna, gecenin karanlığına doğru hızla ilerlemeye başladı. Abisi ise arkalarından son hızla koşsa da, ikilinin hızına yetişemedi ve geride kaldı.

[shadow-and-mist]

Lyra ve Muna: Birinci Bölüm

- Güneş ve Rüzgar 

Baharın tatlı esintisinin ormanlarda bıraktığı iz, genç avcının açık kızıl rengindeki saçlarını savuruyor, yanındaki dostunun ise kabarmış, dağınık yelesini okşuyordu. Kız, ışığın, sığ ağaçların içinden göğe yükselişini izlemek için dostuyla beraber erkenden uyanıp karanlığa atıldı. Kabilesinden çok uzakta olmayan Yasaklı Nehir’e ve ötesindeki uçsuz bucaksız ormanlara bakan küçük tepelerden birine çıktılar. Hiçbir yolculuğunda onu yalnız bırakmayan Muna ile birlikte tepenin üstünde oturmuş, karanlık ve keşfedilmemiş ormanın gizemi içinde kayboluyorlardı. Gökyüzünü, aydınlığın habercisi olan kızıl sardığında, kız keskin gözleriyle uzaklara daldı. Çok geçmeden güneş kendini gösterdi ve ikili, ışığın huzurunda ayağa kalktı.

Lyra, gözlerini kapatıp derin bir nefes alarak ciğerlerini güneşin rüzgardaki ritmiyle doldurdu. Kollarını iki yana açarak iyice gerindi ve ardından yavaşça yayını ve oklarını hazırlamaya başladı. Hazır hissettiğinde, içi kendi elleriyle yaptığı oklarla dolu olan sadağını omzuna geçirdi ve yayını eline aldı. Muna, yükselen güneşin sıcağıyla yerde mayışmış bir şekilde yatarken, kız keskin gözleriyle etraftaki ağaçlara göz attı. Oldukları tepenin on metre yakınındaki bütün ağaçların kahverengi kumaşının üstünde Lyra’nın kabilesine ait yeşil boyadan hedefler çiziliydi. Bütün hedeflerin üzerinde de hali hazırda azımsanmayacak kadar tahta oklar yerini bulmuştu. Genç avcı, okunu yayına geçirdi ve kirişini birkaç kez geri çekerek elini ısıttı. Ağaçlardan birine nişan aldı ve ona ormanın yeşilliğinin yansımasıyla parlayan gözleriyle kitlendi. Muna olduğu yerden yavaşça doğrulup, Lyra’nın baktığı yöne doğru gözlerini çevirdi. İkilinin günü Lyra’nın sert bir rüzgarı bekleyip zor bir atış yapmasıyla başlar ve bu atışın başarısına göre de devam ederdi, bu yüzden ilk atış onlar için önemliydi. Hafif esen rüzgarlara, hafif nefeslerle eşlik eden ikili, dakikalarca ağaçla bakıştılar. Sonunda nehirin etrafından gelen yaprak hışırdama sesi, yoğun bir rüzgarın habercisiydi. Muna, rüzgar henüz tepeye varmadan sessiz bir havlamayla Lyra’yı haberdar etti ve kız nefesini tuttu. Birden suratına çarpan rüzgar, kıvrık saçını gözünün önüne getirdiği saniyede yayını belli bir açıda sola kaydırdı ve okunu bıraktı.  Büyük bir hızla rüzgarı yararak ilerleyen ok, birkaç metre sonra şiddetine yenik düştü ve ağaca varamadan savruldu. Lyra, gürlemeye devam eden rüzgara karşı koluyla siper aldı ve yavaşça yere çömeldi. Muna ise, Lyra’nın yanına hafiften inleyerek geldi ve ona sürtünmeye başladı.

Yaralı sağ eliyle tepenin üstündeki birkaç otu sıkıca avuçladı. Birkaç dakika boyunca yerde öylece kaldıktan sonra aniden kalkıp ok çantasını yere attı  ve yürümeye başladı.

“Hadi kızım, gidiyoruz.”

Gözü kararmış bir şekilde beş, altı adım attıktan sonra Muna’nın onu takip etmediğini fark etti ve arkasına baktı. Muna, yerdeki sadağın hemen arkasında oturmuş bir vaziyette, dili dışarda hevesle sahibini bekliyordu. Lyra, Muna ile göz göze geldiğinde duraksadı ancak hâlâ ikna olmamıştı.

“Hadi. Gidiyoruz dedim.”

Muna, kızın bu sefer söylediklerini anlamazlıktan geldi ve kafasını masumca yana doğru yatırdı. Bunu gören Lyra’nın suratındaki somurtma birden yerini istemsiz gülümsemeye bıraktı.

“Tamam, sadece birkaç tane daha.” diye söylendi ve yayına doğru yürümeye başladı, Muna ise sevinçle birkaç kez havlayıp, kendini sahibine sürtmeye devam etti.

Sadağını yeniden omzuna geçirdi ve tekrar vaziyet aldı. Bu sefer daha hafif rüzgarlarda ardı ardına birkaç atış yaptı ve her atış, iç içe geçmiş kareler ve üçgenler şeklinde belirlenmiş hedeflerin içini buldu. Her başarılı atıştan sonra, Muna sesli bir havlamayla avcıyı kutladı. Lyra’nın pratiği, rüzgar yokken de uzun süre devam etti. Bütün okların bittiğini görünce, yenilerini almak için tepenin üstünde, yere kazdığı çukura baktı ancak hepsinin tükendiğini gördü. Muna, bu sırada yerleri kokluyor ve öylesine geziniyordu.

“Acıktın mı bakalım?” diye hevesle sordu Lyra, Muna ise çok kısa bir inleme ile cevap verdi.

Sırtına geçirilmiş yayı ve boş sadağı, belinde yeşile boyanmış küçük çantasıyla beraber tepeden yavaşça aşağıya kaydı ve bir ağacın üzerindeki  -hedef çizgilerinin içinde olmayan- on, onbeş oku yerine yerleştirdi. Güneş tam üzerlerinde, onları izlerken, Yasaklı Nehir’in kıyısına doğru yöneldiler. Daha önce defalarca burada bulunsalar da, nehirin bu denli yakınında olmak, ikilinin içinde merak, ve belki de bu meraktan doğan büyük bir huzursuzluk yaratıyordu. Kabilesinin olduğu köye en yakın kıyıya geldiler ve ikisi de suyun içinde dans eden balıkları aradı. Muna, dili dışarda, büyük bir hevesle nefes alıyordu, Lyra da ne kadar acıktığını o vakit fark etti.

“Hazır mısın?”

Lyra, çantasından bir ip çıkardı ve birkaç okunun ucuna özenle geçirdi. Muna ise  görebildiği birkaç balığın arasından en büyüğünü ayırt etmeye çalışıyordu. Genç kız üçten geriye doğru saymaya başladı ve “sıfır” dediği anda birbiriyle yarışan ok ve Muna’nın dişleri, suyun altına dalıp birer balığı yakaladılar. Muna, kendi balığını büyük bir zevkle mideye indirdi ve Lyra yakaladığı balığı özel bir deri kılıfın içine yerleştirdi. Birkaç balık daha onların yemeği olduktan sonra, Muna, tok karnıyla etrafı gezmeye başladı. Lyra da işini bitirince kılıfını toplayıp ıslık çaldı ve ikili, nehire ve ardındaki ormana sırtını verip, kabileye doğru yöneldiler.

Gün boyunca büyük bir hevesle Ebedi Orman’ın içinde oradan oraya giden çift, en yavaş adımlarını köye dönüş yolunda atmaya başladılar. Lyra, büyük bir sıkıntı ile, kendi kendine söylenmek ve Muna ile sohbet etmek arasında gidip gelircesine yol boyunca konuştu.

“Her gün bunu duymaktan bıktın, biliyorum, ama yine kesin kötü bir şey olacak.” huzursuzluk kokan bir nefes verdi ve devam etti.

“Ne zaman ilk atışı ıskalarsak, köye döndüğümüzde ya yaşlılar bir şeyler zırvalıyor ya da bana aptalca bir iş veriyorlar. Gerçekten çok sıkıcı.”  Muna, yere bakarak yürürken, asık suratı ve çıkardığı seslerle kızın endişelerine ortak oldu.

“Abim gitmeden önce her şey çok daha farklıydı. Biraz daha kalsa ne olurdu sanki?” dedi ve usulca elini yumruk yapıp sıktı.

Yolun devamında ikiliyi güne başlatan güneş, yavaşça dinlenmek üzere köşesine çekilmeye başlamıştı. Işıkla aydınlanan yolu, köye attığı her adımda daha da bulanıklaşıyordu. Gölgeleri gittikçe uzuyor ve sanki nehre doğru geri dönmeye çalışıyorlardı ancak onun kabilesine, biricik “ailesine” dönmesi gerekiyordu. Şimdilik, uslu bir kız olmaktan başka hiçbir çaresi yoktu.

[shadow-and-mist]

The Cycle of Myth

Ten years ago, after the great war between the bandits and wizards, the border between two nations was filled with corpses of all kind. While the scavengers were roaming among the dead, they found a jaw that was blinking with magical glow. They reported it to the winners of the war, the wizards, and they studied the jaw casually until they learnt that it was a magic from the past, which believed to be of the Ketthu, The Foxess Goddess, that was worshipped by many wizards even then.

The best wizards of the nation, and even the world, came to see the magical artifact. Many studies and magical experiments were done, but no one could understand the bone or it’s unknown magic. Months and years followed each other, and they put the jaw to the highest room in the most protected temple, and it was left there to be worshipped only.

A lot happened in ten years. Peace was made and pacts were signed. The nations were now together, and they had greater threats, and needed better heroes. The existence and magic of the artifact was, if not forgotten, turned into a myth, and as it happens in every other myth, people believed its power and necessity with their hearts. They believed that the green-glowing Jaw hold the divine power to be used by “one true wizard” one day, which would save the world from the inevitable doom.

“He is just a lost baby that came out of nowhere, there’s no way we give the Jaw of the Lost Foxess to his small hands.”

That was decided and resolved two months ago in the gathering of the old wizards of the great nation. Bandits and also followers of the Foxess cults have decided on 6 years old Sam, who were thought to possess a magical affinity, which was later confirmed by Grandmaster, that he could communicate with inanimate objects, especially ruins of the fallen. He could hear the bones of the dead and talk to them since he pulled off his first words.

“His magical state is way above us, Master. He is the one that will save us.”

That’s what the Grandmaster’s apprentice said to him once, and the master knew well that most people thought about the same. The Master looked like he was being protective, and didn’t want to put any responsibility to a child. He didn’t want little Sam to suffer the same life he had, but there was one more reason to not accept him.

“That is the very reason that he is potent to be a great danger one day. We can’t lend the Jaw. Not yet.”

The Master was not really thinking of the potential danger, the threat they were facing now was more important, in truth, he was jealous of the young boy. He knew that one day the boy would surpass him, and even worse, the boy could deny his destiny and commit sins that he was not brave enough to do so.

One month past, and the greater danger they all feared was already put into action. An army of magically enchanted soldiers, which were thought to be blessed by another lost deity, the Rabbit Goddess, were marching from the north, which was the residence of the friendly bandits that lived within the nation. Wizards sent only little help, close to nothing, and it did nothing but to fuel the hatred among two societies. The young boy, Sam, which was denied, have been kidnapped in this period. All the wizards knew, it was the bandits did that, and they all begged the Grandmaster to get the child back no matter what, which was also denied by his pure pride.

Thirty days. Each day stinked of death and misery. Innocent blood on the ground had gone dry, and there was an actual war between the broken nation and the Rabbit’s soldiers. A lot happened that month. Some of the powerful wizards disobeyed the Grandmaster and formed a magical militia. The leader of the group was the daughter of the master and soon, the news reported the tragic death of the whole wizards.

The Grandmaster could challenge his pride only then, and he sent all the troops to the war. Even he, the Master of Masters, was attended to the war himself. All the nation fighting with all the strength they got, left the protected tower with very few guards. One day, an old looking Bandit broke in and killed all the wizards with ease. He was accompanied by little Sam, which learnt where the Jaw was being held by talking to the bodies that were just killed by his peer.

“You stay here, son. Let me see if I can find that glowy-thingy toy you wanted to play with.”

After hours of chaos, dealt by the bullets that couldn’t be stopped with any magic, they made it to the top floor and the old bandit that owned the guns started to search for the magical artifact. It was not too hard to find the bone that was blinking in a quick pace, in a way that it never used to. He tried to touch the jaw, but his hand got burnt and he dropped the gun. Young Sam’s eyes glowed with harmony with the jaw as he slowly walked towards the artifact and elevated it with his magic. Then he spoke with an amazed tune.

“Mommy?”

The boy touched the jaw with his bare hands with a huge smile that covered his face. The blinking green light left it’s spot to a stable blue one, and the light in the eyes of the young boy followed it. A tear swimming out his glowing eyes dropped on the bone. The blue light stopped for a mere second, and then a burst of red flames were spread from the top of the longest tower to all around it. It turned the whole nation into dust, and every man of breathing flesh turned into only pile of bones.

Ten years later, after the great war between the Lost Rabbit and Lost Foxess, and the great cataclysm, the earth was infertilite, cursed and filled with bones of all kind. While the scavengers were roaming on the dead ground, they found two skeletal heads next to each other, glowing with blue. When they took one apart, their light started to blink and turned to green.

[shadow-and-mist]

The Silent Tales of Yesterday: Chapter 1

- A Cold Day

It’s been days since we had that meeting. Maybe a week or two, I wasn’t really aware of the time. After a few days, I got bored of waiting him in my shelter so I accepted Alice’s kind offer and stayed there for a few days. Again, maybe it lasted a week or two, I am not sure at all.

We were laying down, drinking our beers and watching the new episode of… I don’t know, one of those teenager TV shows where the main girl is in love with two character at the same time; one considerably thoughtful and nice, and other who don’t give a shit. I was thinking as always, I was seeking the reasons of watching this stupid TV show and what she saw in me when she had already dived into the TV, waiting for every predictable scene with a great curiosity. I guess this explains all of the days I spent there, we did nothing but watch stuff, drink and have sex. What a couple, right?

“Mr. Booooooones! I am heeeree~!”

Two harsh knocking echoed all around the house, Alice jumped out of the bed with a great fear and I was… rather shocked but also pleased. I quickly told her not to worry and walked towards the door in a hurry when he was still shouting out my name. I opened the door quickly and I saw him looking around with a high anxiety which did not suit him.

“Hey! Stop shouting in front of-”

He suddenly hugged me and I pushed him away.

“What’s wrong with you?!”

“Oh, I’m just glad to see you Mr. Bones. It’s cold out there. Isn’t it? I’m kinda cold. It’s brrreeezing. I’m shaking. That’s why I’m shaking. Don’t worry about me.”

“What are you talking about? It’s like, what? Over 30 degrees?”

“Oh, no, no. You don’t get it. It’s cold. It’s cold, yes?”

Alice followed me with concerned steps and took a peek at the old man. He wasn’t looking at either of us, he was still checking around like he’s going to do something shady and I didn’t want her there for sure.

“Get in, Al. I got this.”

In the blink of an eye, his weird acting changed and a sense of self-esteem, some form of proudness, even, covered his eyes. Now he was standing upright and looking directly at our eyes. He had also gained that eloquence that I was used to.

“Al? Ridiculous. Don’t you think it’s weird to call her Al? What is her name, Alan? Al Capone?”

“Yeah, he’s right, how many times I have to tell you not to call me like that?”

“Excuse my colleague’s rudeness, my lady. I can only imagine what else he might have done.”

Alice got out of his hiding spot behind me and walked towards him with a cheerful walk and extended a hand to him, he, in return, looked like he was going to shake hands, but instead he grabbed her necklace.

“Oh, what a great piece. It’s a very well-cut amethyst, I must say, it suits you perfectly, my lady.”

She was afraid at first but gave up quickly after, she enjoyed his fake interest with giggles. She stared at me for like a sec, and I could see what she meant with that. “You never act like that to me, Josh, you never even realized my necklace!” Who the hell cares about her necklace? I was sure that he didn’t too, and I was sick of the situation I was in.

“Josh, why don’t you invite your… colleague to the house? It’s rude to keep him out there, you know?”

“Ah, I appreciate the kindness but we have to get back to work with him now. I must steal him for a few days, I hope you don’t mind dear…”

“Alice.”

“Ah, why am I not surprised? Your name totally matches your high aura, dear Alice. “

She again was lost in giggles and I was nearly going to puke.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on? I am not coming with you, you old prick, and Al, you know I’m not working, right? Why don’t you think about anything he says to you?!”

“You called me that way AGAIN, Josh!”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t even listen to me, is it really all about the way I say your name?!”

“Josh, you’re being rude in front of our guest. He might be your friend but it doesn’t mean he has to testify your enrage.”

“Oh, no, darling. Take your time.”

“Really? My enrage? And you, did you just say take your time? Oh fuck it, I’m out.”

Needless to say I was losing it with every word that was being said. I quickly entered in, took my jacket and left the house in hurry.

“Josh, where are you going?” she asked like nothing happened in the last ten minutes.

“Oh, I’m going to the hell!” I said shouting out with great anger, then I turned to the old man and kept on spitting the words.

“And you, moron, stop chasing me! My life is already ruined enough, I don’t need a fucking schizophreniac old man following me around!”

He and Alice were both remained still and silent, which drove me crazy more and more, so I left the place and started walking away. I was again thinking what were they gonna do, would she invite him to the house and whether they would really follow me or not. I couldn’t stop thinking all about this, which made me angry to myself even more.

I don’t know how long I walked, I walked a lot, but I sure walked enough to not know where I was. I stopped in a park, it was all crowded and all full, except one bench. The bench had flowers on it and looked occupied, so I walked past towards it, but something in me kept calling me back to the bench. It was different, it smelled different. It was like a light in the dark, the only empty seat in middle of all the disgusting crowd. So I went back there, checked around to make sure nobody was sitting there. The flowers were not so fresh or in order anyway, they looked like they’ve been stolen in a garden nearby. I slowly pulled them to the side and took my seat, then I realized the pain in my legs, I sure walked a lot.

I am used to being invisible in the crowd. I wear daily clothings like all of them, I am a simply man with a simple life, so I don’t stand up in people. It’s not something that I complain about, I like it that way but something was different this time. I felt like my mind was playing games with me, because it was not the first time it happened. I was just trying to sit still and think properly but every family, every loner, every dog that passed stared at me like I had just killed a man. I checked my face, my clothings if there was something wrong but it was all normal, at least, to me. I tried to ignore their eyes but it drove me crazy more and more. I couldn’t handle it anymore and I wanted to stand up, but this time it was my legs that betrayed me and I couldn’t even move. Also, it was over 30 degrees just now, right? Why I was feeling the chill crawling to my legs? I had no idea.

There was a beggar, an old lady covered in a rag. She sure didn’t take a shower for months. I, back then, was one of them too, so I had many friends like her. I tried to catch an eye contact. She was constantly checking on me but whenever I turned my head to her, she suddenly looked away, acting like she wasn’t looking at me in the first place.

“Hey, you!”

She acted like she didn’t hear me at all. After all the eyes I felt on my soul, even being ignored felt good, but it didn’t last long.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!”

She looked at me this time and then looked away again. I had nothing to do but one thing, the oldest trick in a beggar’s book. I put my hand into my pockets and searched for my wallet but I couldn’t find it there, I probably forgot it at Al’s. It was getting dark and people were still staring at me while I was searching my pockets, I really had enough and grabbed all the coins I had in my pockets and threw them to her.

“Just speak to me! SAY ANYTHING!”

People started to walk faster, almost looking like escaping from me, but this time I gave them a reason to, which was okay with me.

“Me?” she said silently and with such a crooked voice that you could think she was an old witch or something.

“Yes, you, why do people stare at me like that?”

“People?”

“Yes, what’s wrong with me?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Yes, that’s what I just said!”

“Oh…” then she turned her head away again to the south and I was just cussing on my luck that the third person I spoke today is also a maniac.

“Go.” she murmured and I looked at her again.

“What?”

“Take a rose. Go there.” she said with a yelling voice, pushing his head towards the south.

“You mean I should go there with a rose?”

“Yes.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Why?”

“Yes?”

“What’s… What’s wrong with me?”

“Oh we’re back to it again, ha? Screw it! I’ll go, what do I have to lose anyway?”

I grabbed one of the flowers randomly and jumped out of the bench with ferocity. Until then I didn’t even realize I had the strength back on my legs. I started walking towards the way she showed me and I didn’t even know what was there to find. I, again, followed the road with not being aware where I am. I had the chance to evaluate my actions today. I felt like a wild animal that did nothing but shout out and yell at the people. I was sure to scare people, I even scared myself. But right now, I was a lone man walking with a rose in his hand, what could go wrong? I sure needed to act like a human.

When I was in a fight with those thoughts, I saw a small zoo yard near. It was shining in a different color than the park lights that covered both the yard and me. Again, it looked like it invited me and I walked there with no expectations. I walked in. I was feeling the coldness in the air but people sure didn’t. It was crowded, all the children were here, all the people were here. I then realized it must be Sunday, at least that TV show we… she was watching was being aired on Sunday mornings. It explained all the crowd and the stench under the hot day. I walked towards looking around, listening to the screaming birds and barking seals, I walked between  balloon sellers and all the ice-cream sellers and I made it to a lion’s house. The lion keeper comes into the lion cage and there was a guy, rather old, looking like the homeless witch back in the park. He was sitting on one of the benches, watching every move of the keeper with a great enthusiasm. I was kinda impressed and took my seat next to him. I greeted him and put the flower between us, which, I doubt that he even realized. The keeper got in to feed one of the lions in one of the cages and only then the guy next to me realized my existence.

“Why are you here?” he said without even looking at me.

“I, I don’t know, sir.”

“Oh, right. You’re here for the same reason too.”

“What reason?”

He changed his voice like he was quoting something.

“To find out more about the way people exist with animals and the way animals exist with each other, and with people, too.”

He poked me and kindly asked,

“Could you move over a little bit?”

I nodded with a satisfied face, afterall he seemed like the only sane person I could reach today, so I moved over a little bit and he too, moved towards me. He kept on the quoting voice once again:

“It probably is not a fair test; what with everyone separated by bars from everyone else, the animals for the most part from each other, and always the people from the animals. But if it’s a zoo, that’s the way it is.”

I kinda lost him somewhere in middle, and I was about questioning his sanity once again, but there was no chance he was insane too, right? Perhaps it was me that was insane, I was staring at the lion keeper and thinking about it when he poked me once again.

“Hey, please move over a little bit more, will you?”

I didn’t say anything in return, I knew he had enough space but I really didn’t have the mindset to fight for the space. I was tired and I was busy with questioning my sanity this time, so I moved over a little bit.

“What’s your name?” he said with a curiosity and I realized he grabbed the flower before moving towards me.

“I’m Joshua. And yours?”

“Peter.”

A few minutes of silence surrounded us and we were watching the wild lion, how it easily turned into a kitten for food.

“Joshua, be grateful for the things you have.”

“Oh?” I said, here we go again.

“Anything you have could be taken from you. Anything that you hold onto. Your family, your pets. Tell me, are you a cat or dog person?”

“I… I don’t think it’s relevant?”

“Tell me, Joshua!”

“Geez, man, calm down. I don’t know, I have many dogs in my shelter.”

“Oh, so you have dogs AND a shelter?”

“I guess so. Why? It’s not a fancy house, and it’s not bred dogs. They’re street dogs.”

“Yeah? Street dogs? Stray dogs, you mean?”

“Yes. Stray dogs.”

“Have you ever seen a pure black dog with red eyes and red falliac, that was as wild as that lion in the cage?”

“What’s that question, again? No, I don’t remember one.”

“Joshua, be grateful for the things you have. I don’t have many things left, you see.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I don’t have many things, perhaps except this bench now. Do you know about the bench?”

“This bench?”

“Yes. I’m a man that lost everything he had, family, kids, a well-paid job. But what do I had to keep in return, do you wanna hear about it?”

I was feeling like I was getting under the dominance of the homeless guy. I knew his words were full of bullshit, but I really had no power to fight back after all I’ve seen today. It was still better than thinking about what happened back there, or what would happen next, so I moved on.

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Please? Yes, I will tell you, but first, move on a little bit, won’t you?”

“I think you have enough space, don’t you?”

“I said move on, Joshua.”

“Why would I move on? I am sitting here?”

“Move on if you wanna hear about it.”

I was getting angry, but I sure didn’t want to turn into a wild animal once again. Perhaps he was the animal in this case, and I felt more human staying calm, so I moved on a little bit.

“I kept my manhood, Joshua. It was not the thing I fought for, but I did that.”

“How did that happen?”

“Didn’t you read about it?”

“Read what?”

“You’re the one who brought the flower, Joshua. Don’t play with me.”

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about, sir.”

He turned his head to the lion cage once again and we stayed silent for a few more minutes. I was thinking about leaving the place because his attitude was rather annoying and I sure didn’t want to fight again, but somehow I didn’t want to get up. I felt like I was good in my spot, I felt good, at least, so I stayed.

“What time is it?”

I pulled out my phone and checked the time.

“It’s almost six. “

“P.M.?”

“I mean, yeah, the sun is still up there, right?”

“Right. I wonder where he is. “

“Who?

He stared at me again with empty eyes for a second or two.

“Who the hell are you and why are you sitting on my bench?”

“Excuse me?”

He pushed me out of the bench and I got up with anger again. I was about to hit him when he pulled out a knife and screamed, still sitting on his beloved bench.

“I’ll kill you boy, I did it before, I’ll do it again, leave my BENCH!”

Right at that time, I had no idea what happened. My vision went blurred and my heart just wouldn’t calm down. I jumped on him and we brawled for the knife for a few seconds or so. His hustle was great but the man was weak so I grabbed the knife in his hand and stabbed him with ferocity.

For a second, I felt the hot fire’s gaze in my hand and I dropped the knife. I didn’t and still don’t have any idea how it happened but I was sure I stabbed the guy, I apparently dropped the knife before I stabbed him and he was laying on the bench, fainted. I was just standing there, my body was shaking badly but my hands were worse. I didn’t feel them and I was in a shock, when I heard the voice that felt like the warmth I was seeking since I left the house.

“Mr. Bones. I see you’ve already met Peter.”

I was speechless. My mind and my heart was racing, I had many questions, I had many worries but couldn’t say any of it out loud.

“So eager to be a murderer, huh? I will save you, but you were supposed to be the savior, Joshua.”

He slowly walked towards us and left a bouquet of flowers to his bench just next to him.

“It’s his sacred place. You shouldn’t have sat on it in the first place.”

The words that got spilled out of my lips were not the words I wanted to say, but I said it anyway.

“All this… was just for the bench?”

“You know it’s not all about the bench, Mr. Bones. You could have got up and walked away, sit on another bench and just leave the guy alone. You decided to stay. Because it was not all about the bench.”

“What was it about then?”

“It was about all you had. It meant the bench for him, and perhaps, for you, your sanity?”

“It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Well, you almost killed the man, Mr. Bones. We wouldn’t do such thing for just a bench, would we? We wouldn’t do such thing without a real reason, would we?”

Come with me. Be my guest for next couple of days. If you decide to stay with me, we will go on. If you decide to turn back to your life, I’ll leave you alone for good. But you shouldn’t be alone right now.”

I nodded and I tried to walk, but my legs, they had betrayed me once again. I couldn’t walk, I was frozen when he came to my aid and holded me up, and then I felt the dark ice that covered my body, mind and soul was dissolving to the light. We were walking away from the shiny lights to the almost total darkness, but I felt like I had the fire with,  or, even, within me.

“It’s surprising you walked all the way here. But, as dear Peter back on the bench would agree, sometimes you have to walk a great distance before walking back a short, yet, correct one.”

I couldn’t do anything but to nod. I nodded and it felt like a surrender, or at least an acceptance.

“You feel it now, don’t you? It sure was a cold day, Mr. Bones. It was cold beyond the measure of the humanity.”

[shadow-and-mist]

The Silent Tales of Yesterday: Prologue

- not the Beginning nor the End

I didn’t know what was there to come. I had no idea how life could be seen, or experienced so differently.

It had been only seven days since she passed out. My life was crumbling into pieces and I had no power to hold onto something. I spent that night at Larry’s, one of the old, cheap bars of my street. I got a few quick rounds on the bar stool and it was no difficult for Larry to realize that I had no intention of sharing a chatter. I was focused on my inner world and I needed silence. Every sip I took turned the volume down by one level. Eventually, everything around me was muted and I could only hear the chilling footsteps that was crawling onto my body. I took my beer with me and sat in front of a fireplace that hosted a tiny fire, which was trying to survive. I was mesmerized and hypnotized by the sparks of the dancing flame when I heard someone talking to me. It almost felt like his words were matching with the cracking voice the burnt wood were yelling out.

“You have an unusual way of dealing with your problems, young man. I’m sorry for your loss.”  

I was very shocked at first, but I, obviously, was not in a mood for talking with a random guy that just stopped by. I didn’t even look at his face, all I could see was his reflection on the blazing fire that was just staring at me. I could only see wide lapels of his coat in the fire. I didn’t move an inch. For a few seconds I felt totally still and nonexistent, I was not feeling or thinking about anything.

“I came here to talk, but I see that you’re not ready. Not yet. We will meet again.”

Then, I sensed how his mysterious aura slided and shaded into the dark. I swiftly turned my head back and couldn’t see anyone near me. Everyone was drinking their asses off; Larry was serving the drinks. and Laura was flirting with random boys. It was all normal, it was all corrupted. Only then I remembered of the coldness on my skin and mind, and i realized the fire was too weak to warm me up.

The experience was different and strange, I never went to the Larry’s again. I didn’t have any friends there anyway. In fact, I didn’t have any friends at all, except my sister, Dega. I had trouble seeing the world as she did after she was gone. I couldn’t seize the day as she taught me. My natural benign face was slowly fading as I was seeing what was there; as I was seeing what the past and the future had planned for me.

One year later, I was in a different country, or a different city at least. It was the anniversary of Dega’s death, and I’ve been ready with my six-packs. Somehow, I was facing a fire again, this time it was trapped in a steel barrel on the street and this time, I had ignited it. The wood itself was stubborn and had no plans to surrender to my burning matches, I had to use some books I carried in my backpack. I carefully picked the pages to burn, especially the endings that I didn’t like or didn’t accept as endings.

The fire was accompanying me while I was on my third can, suddenly it burst and made clouds of ashes above.

“Which pages those could be, you think?”

I had no hints of him in my blurred mind when he appeared, but the heat of his tune brought me back to that day at Larry’s. I was shocked and suddenly, almost violently turned my head back to him. He seemed like a normal man in late thirties or early forties with a different shaped coat this time. He had an old fashion style and his high eloquence was rather annoying. The light touched only a few times to his face and I could only see his right eye, shining like a child on a christmas day. I was still not so sure if that was him, but he made it very clear after seeing me.

“You definitely are one of a kind, Mr. Bone. I told you we would meet again, so, um, hello there.”

The way he moved while he was talking was fitting his age and the formal-old clothing he carried, but the last part added to the boy that’s unboxing some presents under a tree. He was both serious and childish at the same time, it got me confused for a minute or so, then I stood up against him.

“Who are you? How the hell you know my name or my residence?”

“Got any more questions coming? No? Alright, I will start with the boring ones. I know who you are, Mr. Bone, as I know about your parents, your sister, the girl you’ve been texting with or  anyone. Really. Anyone. I know everyone.”

He, then took a few steps towards me and I unintentionally took a defending position. He didn’t care about my stance and got near the fire. The flames looked like they were celebrating his arrival, boosting up and getting out of the barrel. As he turned his face towards me to continue his speech, he revealed his face to the light. His left eye was blind or the guy had some white eye or something, while the right one was shining bright with red and yellow.

“Your residence? You call this a residence? HA!”

He cleared his throat and took a few steps away from the fire, and now I was sure the fire was reacting to his presence.

“Well, you’re an easy kid. I would say “I followed and gazed upon your soul using the Flames of Anguish” but, it would be a lie. No crazy superpowers. Not yet.”

As I was totally confused, he kept walking and talking with a higher volume.

“Ah, and I saved the most interesting one for the last. Who am I? Ha. Good one, kiddo… or perhaps it is the first thing to ask when encountering a stranger, but, I am no stranger since we are written together.”

“What?”

“I mean, I can, and could be anything, Mr. Bone. If you want, I could go with a first and second name that nobody would remember and I could take a surname, like, Raskolnikov. Well, no. Do not ask for that. This story isn’t that realistic, although it includes some existential issues, we’re not going that far. Hmm... I don’t like cockroaches, so no to Gregories. I could be Hamlet, even, but we would get bored, wouldn’t we? … How about I be Dr. Frankenstein and you, my monster? Well, that’s science and tragedy, I will pass on that. Oh! Big Brother and Winston? Nope. It doesn’t fit you well. Hey, some help would be nice. I could be someone from history or, even, a deity or mythology, but, you know, we’re in a book, so we better-”

“STOP! Cut the bullshit! Why the fuck you’re stalking me, why were you there that day and why did you appear again at her anniversary?!”

“Oh? Death is a human-construct just like the life itself. Belief, knowledge and the term consciousness are nothing but merely human-made resources or, even, primitive tools. We have experienced and will experience different layers of life and death, there is no beginning nor the end, it is rather a circular system that is working within eternity.”

“What?!”

“Well...  What I’m saying is, I can bring your sister back. She’s not dead. I mean, she *is* dead, but, not like, dead-dead. You know.”

I felt like everything, the blinking fire, the air above and the earth below,  all were making fun of me. I was so angry and somewhat upset at the same time, before I knew it, I punched the guy at once and he fell down. With sudden release of emotions, tears bursted out of my eyes and I was still lost on feelings.

“Great idea... “ he murmured and got up.

“We will be Holmes and Watson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… Batman and Robin!”

As I was heavily breathing and having a fight with my own self, he went on and on, talking about things like it was all normal.

“No, Mr. Bone! We will surpass all of them. This is our own story, written together. We will go and explore different worlds, different lives of all kind. We will solve struggles or cause them, we will be gifted with joy or be the gifters. We will live and we will experience our own tale! You can call me Rama or simply Yesterday! Pack yourself up as soon as possible Mr. Bone. stand with me and let us hold the pen of our destiny! The journey shall begin!”

[shadow-and-mist]

Saints of Blasphemy: Chapter 1

"Pilot"

It's been hours since the lights had been switched off. Stillness claimed all the building as the rumble faded slowly within the dark. Soon after, it left it's place to rising snoring voices of the thin breathing shadows of big breathing fleshes. A man with a flashlight shattered the darkness that was laid on his way, walking with a baton on his left hand; causing echoing tickerings that would wake up the most vicious beasts in their light sleep. Not that all those animals are known for being the light sleepers already, ready to strike and guard in moment of distress even if they're deeply dreaming about the girl they used to see next door. The man walked around 45 feet forward, leaving footprints of thrice amount, with two big guys accompanying him. He was not afraid and took brave steps until he reached his destination.

"Saints. It's time to get up."

The man with the baton spoke with a commanding voice, directing the light right onto the bunk bed that the men were sleeping on. The man on the top murmured with a sleepy voice, as his peer straightened up a tiny bit without any grumbling. A sudden strike on the iron with the body of the hard baton got the murmuring guy tumbling out of the bed, and it now woke all the beasts, and flinched some.

"Ahh... Was it... Was it really necessary? I was going to get up anyway... Gah..."

The man was either in a brief shock caused by the sudden violent voice or he had trouble waking up. No matter which is the case, the man that ruined his sweet sleep replied with a voice varying from the sincere friend to the boss.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Now get up. Hurry."

The guy on the bottom didn't even flinch at the sudden strike, he slowly got up and washed his face at the sink that was just next to their bed, as the other one continued talking after clearing his throat.

"Well, I know how much you like to take me to a night trip, Jerry, but please, can't I get some... like... me time or something? Like, you're more tedious than my ex, Natasha, you know..."

"You never had a girlfriend named Natasha."

His peer replied with a mild smile after drying off his face with a cheap gray towel that was probably white once. Then they both slowly took a stand against the source of light; head down, wrists over each other and arms extended forward.

"Well, yeah, you're right, brother. You know very well that I don't have a thing with Russian chicks no matter how hot they are."

The jailor in lead, Jerry, carefully placed his baton to it's socket and unlocked the prison door with wary steps as his men walked into the cell with a rush, handcuffing the brothers and taking a deep breath afterwards. Jerry, filled with the air of safety, too, slowly walked towards the brothers with a proud manner.

"Uhm... Hey, Jerry... Is your wife Russian? I could always make an excepti-" Jerry punched the talking brother in the face before he could finish his sentence and covered his big mouth with his hand, which is even bigger.

"Shut the fuck up now, Tommy, you know that I have the keys of the solitary.

"You know that it won't stop him, right?" his peer replied with a bored face now.

"Jesus, how do you even endure this, Jeff? he replied to the man as he took a step back. Tommy's smile, swimming in blood, was revealed and he licked it as they all started walking in the hall.

"You've been hearing him for only five years now. Add fifteen to that, and you get used to it. Barely."

As they were walking in the dark, this time with more feet in harmony, grunting and growling voices could be heard from the men in other cages. It was not the first time that the jailor woke everyone with a crash, even the neutrals that were doing their best to stay away from trouble were furious. They all blamed the duo, the Saints, and they got reasons to blame them.

"So, Jerry, did you ever bang a Russian?" Tommy asked out of nowhere and the jailor remained silent. Having no response, he turned to his brother, Jeff and whispered.

"She was probably an agent anyway."

Jeff was enjoying the view that his brother's blabbering was capturing the jailor's mind, bothering, and, even, maddening him along the road. It took five minutes walking between the roaring cells, and ten more under the bright lights. Every jailor and every clerk that faced them grimaced, almost looking disgusted of their presence. They made it to the biggest room in the whole building and Jerry knocked the door and entered in alone.

"Here we go again."

"Just leave it to me." Jeff replied his complaining brother when the jailor Jerry appeared once again.

"The manager is waiting for you. Tommy, don't forget to mention about crazy adventures with your... imaginary girlfriends. I'm sure Mr. Jones would like to hear about them." he said and departed with his men with laughter.

"Yeah Jerry, don't forget to mention me to your wife! I'll be expecting a call!" he shouted and Jeff dragged him inside the room.

The room was looking formal, tidy and black. Three things that Tommy couldn't stand. The man in the room, the so-called manager was slightly overweight, wearing a white striped black suit with galluses, smoking a Cuban cigar and gazing directly to the duo.

"What the hell did you guys do? Do you know about the consequences? Have you ever thought about it?"

"What about it?" Jeff was rather calm when the manager was in distress.

"Do you know about the man you recently killed, Jeff?"

"Yeah, sure. Which one?"

"You're surely driving me crazy here. You know, the one that you slit the throat of? Ring any bells?"

"All due respect, you're not being very specific here." he answered with a serious voice, which got the manager rising. He stood up and got to the yelling part quickly after.

"You slit his throat for fucking fourteen times, Jeff! His head was gonna draw apart from his body. Everything in his cell was painted red with his blood!

"Oh, yeah, that was a good one." Tommy laughed and approved but Jeff didn't even take his keen eyes off the manager.

"Shut the fuck up, Tommy!" the manager yelled out with all his voice. He was left breathless afterwards and opened the side window to get some air in.

"How did you get in his cell in the first place? He was a max-secured case... I just don't get it. This isn't a fucking playground. Just because you're sentenced to death, it doesn't mean you should bring the fucking death!"

"He committed a sin."

"Oh, yeah? That's what they taught you back in the church, Jeff? Be a slasher if someone commits a sin?"

"Oh, you would be surprised." Tommy got in once again with an attempt to share laughter, but seeing the furious eyes of the manager, he stepped back.

"What did he do, anyway? Did he call you a son of a bitch or something?!"

"Well, not me."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You killed a valuable prisoner just because he said some shit? Your Tom there left no mothers in their peace, Jeff!"

After a few minutes of silence, the manager, now with a calmer manner, poured some news to the brothers with a glimpse of both satisfaction and despair in his eyes.

"You should know that they're asking for execution. This time there's no bailing out of this. Even if they don't put you on the chair, Russians and Italians will get you done for good. You got no friends left here."

"We don't need any. We never needed one."

"You're not aware of the situation, are you? You guys are really bigot, bloodthirsty monsters."

The so-called brothers stood still as the manager looked at them in the eye for two or three minutes. His eyes were now filled with only despair, it looked like he was pitying, or even, feeling sorry for the duo. He made a quick call to the Jerry and other jailors that were in charge of the solitary.

"The court will decide on the execution matter this Monday. Five days from now. Tomorrow you can go back to your cell, after it's search is finished, but I recommend staying in the solitary and spending those five days together. Alive."

The jailors knocked the door and took the silent brothers. As they were leading the men to solitary, Jerry was very amused that that they were going to the boxes. It meant a victory for him. He messed with Tommy on the road but the Saints were unresponsive to anything they said or done. They both were thinking and saving their words. Jerry opened the door of one of the closed, dark iron cages and waited Jeff to get in.

"What time is it, Jerry? I'll have the lawyer visiting me as early as possible."

"It's five, but you can't make a call anyway, so enjoy your misery here."

"And why's that we can't make a call?" Tommy asked curiously and Jerry looked at his mates to prepare them for the moment.

"Because, I, don't feel like it is needed.""

"I just wish your dad didn't say the same thing about condoms, you shit."

"Oh, just get in the box and cry me a river, Tom."

Jeff was standing in the dark, waiting for Tommy to get in, but he didn't intend to step back as he was very furious. All the laughing and mocking of the jailors did nothing but to add to his rage. He was keeping himself back, constantly checking his brother's face, looking like waiting for permission but Jeff was just shaking his head slowly to each side.

"Yeah, listen to your big brother and get in now, Tom." Jerry said with a serious voice in middle of a laughter and Tommy took it as a humiliating challenge and just stood upright in front of the door, not moving a bit and gazing at Jerry.

"Tommy, just get in. No more trouble."

Jeff said, knowing that it would be no use. Jerry, seeing his headstrong stance, pointed Tommy with his finger and his men kicked the young boy down and beat him up with batons for a minute or two. They threw the Tommy like a garbage sack to the solitary cell and closed the big, iron door afterwards. Jeff walked to his brother that was laying on the floor and offered his hand to get him up but he refused when Jerry's smirk covered the sliding window on the door.

"I don't care what the manager says, you'll be here for days, no food, no water. Perhaps then you will learn how to behave, fucktard."

The sliding window was then closed and it now was totally dark inside. The laughter of the jailors faded with distance and Tommy slowly crawled to a corner. The brothers' eyes didn't adapt to the dark yet, but hearing the coughing and spitting, Jeff realized that his brother was having trouble breathing.

"Lungs?"

"I'll kill that bastard."

"He didn't do anything."

"I'll kill those two motherfuckers too!"

"You did it to yourself, Tom. Manager was right about one thing, you gotta think about the consequences."

Tommy stopped coughing and his breathing turned to normal after a five minutes or so, the dark now was accompanied with a complete silence which bothered him.

"Then why did you kill that man? You knew that, he was not our business."

Jeff remained silent and he crouched to a corner as well.

"You think they'll put us on the chair this time?" Tom continued.

"No."

"You still trust that old fuck? He sold us out, bro. Don't you get it?"

"I trust no one, Tommy. Especially him."

"Then how can you be so calm?"

Jeff, again, didn't reply and he lied on the floor. Using his arm like a pillow, he made himself comfortable on the hard consecrate ground.

"Take some sleep, will you?"

Tommy didn't say anything in response. He crouched down and hugged his legs. He stood like that for five to ten minutes until the sense of exhaustion took over his body, and he too, slowly gave up himself to sleep.

It was not the first time they were locked up in a small box, or young, chatty one took a harsh beating. The execution warning was not new to the brothers either, but Tommy was feeling different this time. He was not afraid of dying but who would welcome the death anyway? He knew something was happening but they hid it from him. As he had nothing in his hands more, all he could do was to trust in his big brother, Jeff, who also have been acting very strange lately. The bond between the so-called Saints were very unique, they wouldn't mind to kill or die behalf each other, which came from the sense of family, which made them brothers in the first place.

While they were sleeping on the floor, approaching footsteps beyond the door opened the tired eyes of Jeff. The door got opened and four officers, that were not with Jerry, looked inside and called for Jeff, when Tommy was, again, murmuring in his half-sleep.

Jeff quickly got up to answer the call and followed the officers. Jailors were leading him to meeting room with a rush, Jeff didn't say a word on the road but he was confused that Jerry wasn't there. It was early for his shift to be done and there was no chance that they slept for more than five hours already. He entered the meeting room to see his lawyer, wearing an expensive dark-scarlet suit and looking at him with arrogant eyes. Jailors took him to his seat and engaged to lock his handcuffs to the table, but the lawyer insisted that it was not necessary. The jailors nod and left, now it was only Jeff and the swelled head in the room, facing each other.

"I got some news, dear Jeff."

"Good ones or the bad ones?"

"Depends on you. They really want to put you on the chair this time."

After a few seconds of silence, a grin covered the face of the lawyer and he continued.

"Congratulations."

"I did what you asked. Get to the good news."

"Well, the request will be discussed on Monday. I can do something about it."

"And?"

"Did you do your part of the deal, Jeff?"

"I got the man. He can't talk anymore, so your dirty arses should be safe."

"Yes, but did you get any papers, or a phone, anything?"

"His cell was empty."

"How do you know?"

"They always tell the truth when they're against me. Especially if I am holding my knife."

"I see...I have one more request, then."

"We had a deal, and I did my part. Now it's your turn."

"I don't think you're on a seat that you can negotiate, Jeff. Do not get angry, I have only one more request. A small one. Then I'll get you two out of this."

Jeff was feeling stuck. He knew that he was dealing with the devil himself, but he had no other chance. He was in the hands of the man, and he could ask for anything to be done and then leave the brothers to trail of the incoming death. Jeff knew the danger, but he had no chance but to agree to his terms. They discussed the "small request" that was undeniable, and jailors came and took Jeff when his meeting time was over.

"Two days. I'll see you Friday morning."

Jeff said and gazed upon the lawyer as he was being taken out. He expected to be in the solitary once again, but instead, the jailors dragged him to the other way. The other prisoners, seeing that they're out of their pit now, were clenching their fists and expecting the jailors to leave. Another group of jailors were dragging Tommy there as well, and he was swearing to some other men that were threatening him on the road. The brothers, formed together at the entrance of the prison yard, facing all the other convicts, knew that they were the food in a lion's cage.

"Oh, hey, brother. So, what do we do now?" Tommy asked with a worried voice.

"We stay alive."

[shadow-and-mist]

The Firefly

It's 4 A.M. in the deep forest, Campers, wild beasts and many others go on, Fragments of the breathing light, spreads among all, There is one being, it glitters but small.

Getting things done is a big chore, Absence of the dark have brought on its own, It makes the past hard to recall, There is one being, it glitters but small.

Keep trying and hitting the wall, No matter what, don't quit at all, There is one being, glittering but small, The Firefly that got burnt into Ashes.

The carrier of the light and hope flashes, Intention and motivation, both, crashes There is one being, glittering, yet small, The Firefly that got burnt into Ashes.

[shadow-and-mist]

The Diamond Daisy

The most valuable, afraid to hold it, It is the savior, only one who can solve it, So precious, so naive, everyone yet hoped it, The Diamond Daisy, bloomed like the sun.

Long wait of hope and fear, the Pigeon was sent, Carried the deeds of the Daisy and her only friend, At the very last, it all came to an end; The Diamond Daisy, bloomed like the moon.

I want you to sprout but I'm afraid of thorns, I will protect you from the bugs and the Demon's red horns, What if the earth doubts and the whole Eden burns? The Diamond Daisy, bloomed like the sun.

The right and wrong is afar from the truth, Nevertheless, it was the real beauty of the youth, The Diamond Daisy, bloomed like the moon, And it's light have brought us the sooth.

[shadow-and-mist]

Two Birds

The story is about two love birds; that always clap their wings to the tomorrow for the sake of each other. They fly to the distant, unknown lands and the seas, singing their song all together.

Once they found a lake, almost superior as a sea. They gathered and inspected it with a Cat's curiosity

They saw the branches that covered the water, Which looked like a scene from Harry Potter.

They dived in, swimming was not their wish, But some magic happened, and they turned into fish.

"How do we get out?" one of them spoke, But their hopes and will, was not yet broke.

They learnt to swim, it was different than fly, The water was salted with the former's cry.

In pursuit of happiness and an actual help, They saw their loneliness with an echo of their yelp.

They wanted to be high again, hover above the clouds, But it was the deep sea, covered the evil crowds.

Just at the moment that they were about to lose their hopes, They found an idea, but they needed to find the Octopus.

The search was infinite, filled with fear, Only one thing was invisible, and it was their tear.

They called their friend at the peak of the night, They knew that together, they could reach the light.

The magic was undone, and they were very alive. They started to outrun, it was time to arrive.

The sea have taught to the sky's beaming; love's and companionship real meaning. They were then, happy forever, and they never left one another. After all, this story is about two love birds; that always clap their wings for each other;

And live to see another day and fully recover.

[shadow-and-mist]

Words of the Shadow

Words of the Shadow, Spoken to the all, Dreaming the nature, Denial of the call.

Fight for the hope, Glorious death in the war, Never be abandoned, Gods will be in the hall.

Right or wrong, It doesn't matter, Soon or later, The lies scatter.

Carry the burden, It'll eventually shatter, Bad words are labeled, While the good ones are flatter.

The wish is made, to be well And wake up in peace They will not listen, Unless they got a piece.

Preserve the good heart, Don't ever sneeze, Once it begins, You'll get on your knees.

Share the wisdom, Please the love, Don't get fooled, You're far from above.

Might be an arrow, Blessed with the vow, But it can't go further, Without the bow.

The beauty shows itself, She looks like a doll, Do not get too near, Or you'll get in a brawl.

Leaves are leaving, Whispering to the fall, The moonchild is absent, At the last, he did, Fulfill the goal.

To be continued.