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Ceramic DM Winter 07 (Final Judgment Posted)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rodrigo Istalindir" data-source="post: 3409823" data-attributes="member: 2810"><p>“Daddy, tell me a story,” the curly-haired moppet entreated.</p><p></p><p> “Shhh, honey, it’s time to sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow,” her bespectacled father replied.</p><p></p><p> “Please? Pretty please? Just one story, and I promise I’ll go right to sleep. Promise,” she repeated solemnly.</p><p></p><p> The man looked at her, and knew the battle was over before it had begun. He laid his daughter on the bed, tucked the covers around her, and, in the proscribed manner, started the tale.</p><p>*</p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">O</span></span>nce upon a time, a sweet young woman named Kerestal fell in love with a young man named Syndir. Had they been normal people like you and I, they could have jumped right to “lived happily ever after” and skipped all the unhappy parts in-between. But they weren’t normal people like you and I. Iin fact, they weren’t, strictly speaking, people at all. Syndir was the child of the Sun, and Kerestal was the daughter of the moon. And just like your Uncle Harry went into the family business after Grandpa died, it was expected that someday Syndir and Kerestal would follow in their parent’s footsteps.</p><p></p><p> Now you know that the Sun and the Moon are almost never in the same place at the same time, and so Syndir and Kerestal probably would have never met, much less fallen in love. But every so often, as the Sun and Moon circle around the Earth…</p><p></p><p>*</p><p></p><p> “Daddy! The Sun doesn’t circle around the Earth, it’s the other way around,” the little girl said solemnly, like she was correcting the village idiot.</p><p></p><p> “This is ‘once upon a time’, sweetheart. Things were different back then. Now, do you want to hear the story?”</p><p></p><p> She nodded and scrunched down under the covers.</p><p></p><p>*</p><p></p><p> Now, every so often, the Moon and the Sun end up on the same side of the Earth. This used to scare people quite a bit. Some thought a dragon was eating the Sun, or something silly like that, but now we know it’s just an eclipse. </p><p></p><p> So there was an eclipse, and while the Sun and the Moon were busy ignoring one another and waiting for the other to go away, Kerestal and Syndir snuck away. Neither got to see anyone but their parent very often, and they were each very lonely. They were a little shy around each other, at first, but they soon became friends. They went out past Mars and played billiards with the asteroids, and played tag amongst the stars, moving so fast they were just a streak in the sky.</p><p></p><p> Soon, though, the Sun and Moon drifted apart, and as the heavens began to light up again, they realized their children had gone missing. They called and called, and finally Syndir and Kerestal came slinking back. They waved goodbye, each watched the other disappear into the distance. </p><p></p><p>Time moves differently for the stars than it does for us, and although years and decades might pass between eclipses, Syndir and Kerestal always managed to sneak away together to play, and one day realized that they were never happier than when they were together. Each resolved to run away from their parent so they could be together forever.</p><p></p><p>When the Sun and the Moon discovered what had happened, they were most angry with each other. They called each other bad names and threw things and generally acted poorly. They scoured the sky looking for Kerestal and Syndir, and finally found them hiding behind fat old Jupiter. The Sun grabbed Syndir by the wrist, and the Moon Kerestal, and the two were dragged home. Syndir called to his love, and promised that he would return for her.</p><p></p><p>The Sun was so angry that he sparked and flared, and before you knew it he just up and died. At first Syndir was unhappy, for he did love his father, but then he was happy for the thought this meant he could be with Kerestal. But he looked down upon the earth, and saw how cold and frightened the people were, and he realized he couldn’t just turn his back on them. With a heavy heart, he turned back and became the new Sun.</p><p></p><p>The Moon was angry with Kerestal, too, but more understanding. She tried to explain to her daughter that things would never work out with Syndir, that they were just too different, but it had little effect. When the Moon realized that Kerestal was going to have a baby, and that Syndir was the father, she feared that her daughter would run to him. The Moon was wise and knew that in the end the young ones couldn’t be together, so she quietly slipped into the sea and sank below the waves, leaving Kerestal to take up the job of lighting the night sky.</p><p></p><p>Soon, the new Moon had her baby, and named her ‘Halcyon’. Every night as she looked down upon the Earth, she cradled her daughter in her arms and told stories about the people that lived there. She loved Halcyon child very much, but every day she could look off across space and see Syndir in his father’s place, and it made her very sad. </p><p></p><p>Kerestal knew that if Halcyon grew up with only her mother to keep her company, she would be lonely too, so one night she wrapped her infant daughter in a blanket, and as a moonbeam stole through the window of a young woman who was crying because she couldn’t have a child. She laid Halcyon down in the empty crib the woman wept over, and returned to the heavens, her own sobs echoing in the night sky.</p><p></p><p>The young woman heard Kerestal’s lament, and raised her head to see who was as unhappy as she. She saw the moonbeam shining upon the crib, and let out a gasp when she saw the perfect little baby inside. (Picture 6) She cried out in joy to her husband who slept in the next room, and held Halcyon up to him when he rushed to her side. The father saw a piece of paper pinned to the blanket. He plucked it free, and had but a moment to see ‘Halcyon’ written in cursive before the note disappeared in a burst of silvery sparkles.</p><p></p><p>The new parents, Sarah and Will, were happy to finally have a child, no matter how irregular the manner, but they knew the neighbors would just look at them like they were crazy. They didn’t care what people thought about them, but they didn’t want them to laugh at Haley (for that is the best Will could remember from the note) and call her names, so they told a little white lie, and said that a cousin on Sarah’s had had a baby and couldn’t care for her. They raised her as their own, and never told her about how she had come to live with them.</p><p></p><p>A couple of years after Haley’s miraculous appearance in the crib, another eclipse rolled around. It was the first time that Kerestal and Syndir had seen each other since their parents had split them apart. Kerestal greeted Syndir coolly, and though Syndir tried to talk to her, but her attention was elsewhere. As the eclipse swallowed the earth, Kerestal turned her gaze groundward, hoping to catch a glimpse of Halcyon while she was awake and about.</p><p></p><p>Syndir saw that his one-time love was distracted, and followed her gaze. He saw a little girl with her parents, and saw her father showing her how to watch the eclipse through a pinhole camera. He saw the way her smile lit up her face, and knew her for his daughter.</p><p></p><p>He turned to Kerestal, and started to berate her for not telling him, but the wistful look on her face stopped him. They started to drift apart, and she broke away from Halcyon to see Syndir looking at her. She explained to him what she had done, and why, and Syndir’s anger drained away. He knew that Halcyon would be happier with two parents that loved her instead of being forced to choose between Sun and Moon. He bowed to Kerestal, and wished her happiness. Kerestal smiled, and said she looked forward to the next eclipse.</p><p></p><p>And so little Haley grew up with her adoptive parents, never knowing that her real father watched over her while she played outside or that her real mother watched over her while she slept. </p><p></p><p>But as much as she looked like any normal girl, Haley was a celestial child. One summer day, the neighborhood decided to have a block party at the lake near their homes. There were hamburgers and hotdogs and pop and ice cream, and everybody had a wonderful time. Everyone was getting ready to leave when something scary happened. </p><p></p><p>Mr. Gibbons had packed his wife and kids into their pickup truck. He started up the engine, but instead of going forward, the truck slipped into reverse. Mr. Gibbons panicked, and stepped on the gas instead of the brake, and before you knew it the truck had plunged into the lake.</p><p></p><p>There was a great commotion, with much waving of hands and running about, and a couple of men jumped in the lake to try and free the Gibbon’s from the truck, but the water kept the doors from opening.</p><p></p><p>Haley stood on the shore and watched as the truck started to sink beneath the surface. She noticed something strange, though. Ephemeral tendrils wrapped around the truck, some thick as the branches of a tree, some so thin that they were almost invisible. She realized that the bigger ones sank beneath the surface, while the smaller stretched off into the sky towards the sun.</p><p></p><p>She also saw that the translucent vines were engaged in a tug-of-war over the Gibbons’ truck, and that the wavy lines pulling it below the water were far stronger. She closed her eyes and concentrated, silently urging the lake tendrils to let go of the truck. </p><p></p><p>The gasps of the crowd made her open her eyes. To her surprise, the Gibbons’ pickup was floating mid-air above the lake. (Picture 5) She shouted and clapped her hands together in delight. She called out to the sky-tendrils to pull the truck to shore, and was pleased to see that they followed her bidding.</p><p></p><p>After the Gibbons were safely on dry land, she was less happy to discover that her friends and neighbors were staring at her in fear and suspicion. Will and Sarah grabbed her up and rushed her home, hoping that little Haley didn’t hear the calls of ‘witch’ and ‘devil’ that spewed forth.</p><p></p><p>But she heard them.</p><p></p><p>From that day forth, the people of the neighborhood would have nothing to do with her. Her friends were forbidden to play with her. When she went street to street selling cookies for school, doors were slammed in her face. Haley was confused and hurt; she didn’t understand why saving the Gibbons had been a bad thing. Her parents were devastated at how the others treated her, and would have moved if they could have afforded to.</p><p></p><p>As she spent more of her time alone, Haley began to notice other strange things. If she concentrated, she could see the little tendrils everywhere. The ones from the ground were always the biggest and strongest, but the ones from the sun were always there during the day, and at night she could see very, very faint lines leading to the moon as well.</p><p></p><p>She discovered that she was never cold; no matter how bitter the winter, she would scamper about as if it were a summer day. She could see in the dark as if it were broad daylight. And sometimes, if she listened really carefully, she could hear music coming from the stars and planets, each playing a different tune.</p><p></p><p>Haley became more and more withdrawn, and finally Will and Sarah realized they had to tell her how she had come to be their daughter. She was shocked, and ran to her room crying. The next morning, Will and Sarah found her room empty, her schoolbag missing, and her bed had not been slept in. </p><p></p><p>Haley ran far away. She moved mostly at night, using her night vision to elude the people that were looking for her. As the rosy hue of dawn spread across the sky, she’d ask the moon-tendrils to lift her to the treetops, where she’d fall asleep to a stellar lullaby.</p><p></p><p>Eventually, she left the town far behind and ventured deep into the forest She was tired and hungry, and she missed her Will and Sarah. She didn’t miss the cold looks of the others, though, and she thought if she could just find a way to talk to her real parents, then everything would be ok. She curled up at the base of a tree and fell fast asleep. (Picture 2).</p><p></p><p>She was awakened by a chattering sound, and leaped to her feet when she felt tiny hands pulling at her. She scampered up the tree and realized that she’d accidentally broken into the home of a family of monkeys.</p><p></p><p>At least they won’t make fun of me, she thought. And if they do I’ll just have the sun-tendrils pick them up by their tails and swing them around.</p><p></p><p>For several days she lived among the little primates. She followed them to a nearby stream where she could drink and bathe. She watched carefully to see what berries and nuts were safe to eat. She even made a bed for herself in the crook of the tree, and slept with her adopted family.</p><p></p><p>In the sky above, Kerestal and Syndir were beside themselves with worry. They had followed Halcyon until she had disappeared into the forest, but the thick canopy now shielded her from their watchful eyes. The Moon had tried using a moonbeam to lead the rescue party to the forest, but they paid her no mind, and eventually gave up.</p><p></p><p>During the day, when she wasn’t foraging for food, Haley explored her new home. As she become more accustomed to the wild, she ranged further and further afield, until one day she discovered a small cabin in a clearing. She saw a grizzled man puttering about, and hid herself carefully in the woods lest he spot her.</p><p></p><p>She watched until her stomach rumbled, and then she retreated into the forest to find something to eat. She returned the next day, and the day after that, never for long, but some part of her still longed for human contact.</p><p></p><p>One day, while she spied on the man, she saw something that made her eyes widen. The man stood in the clearing staring at a large tree that leaned precipitously over his small home. With her sight, Haley could see the earth-tendrils pulling it down. </p><p></p><p>The man reached out towards the tree, and to her surprise she saw the strands weaken their grip on the oak. Freed from their grip, the tree straightened momentarily. The stranger moved his hand sharply, and the lines yanked sharply in the opposite direction. With a crack like summer thunder, the trunk of the tree shattered the splinters and fragments flying everywhere but towards the cabin.</p><p></p><p>Haley realized that the man could see the same things she saw. She’d never met anyone else who could do that, and despite his scraggly appearance, she thought maybe she’d come back some day to ask him if he knew who her parents might be.</p><p></p><p>Haley turned back into the forest but had only managed to creep a few yards before she felt her arms and legs grow heavy. She focused her sight and saw the tendrils from the ground pulling on her much harder than usual. She struggled, but soon was prone on the ground, unable to move. Out of the corner of her eye she saw muddy boots approach.</p><p></p><p>The man gestured, and Haley felt the strings holding her weaken. Before she could scamper to her feet and flee, the man grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her until her feet dangled above the ground. He marched back to his cabin, and no matter how hard she struggled, Haley could not break free. Inside, he tossed her in the corner like a discarded toy. She started to rise, but once again her limbs were pinned. </p><p></p><p>Haley’s captor was a dangerous and desperate hermit named Graves. Graves had been blessed with some of the same gifts as Haley, but he had come to see them as a curse. Once he had seen the earth-tendrils pulling at his body, he became obsessed with escaping their grasp. He studied alchemy and tried to brew potions that would let him slip their hold permanently, but to no avail. He studied magic, and sought a spell that would free him, but failed. No matter how hard he tried, he could affect their pull for but a few moments at a time.</p><p>It was only when he turned to astronomy and divination in search of his answers that he saw results. The signs and portents pointed to the child of the Moon and Sun as the solution to his problem, Once he knew that, Graves was able to use all that he had learned to create a spell that he believed would allow him to capture the essence of the heavens and so leave the earth once and for all.</p><p></p><p>Those same auguries had led him to this cabin, and though he was secretly surprised that Haley had come wandering here as ordained, he wasn’t about the squander the opportunity. That next night was the night of the new moon, and he intended to complete his terrible magic when the prying eyes of the Moon were blinded. He turned to the big cauldron that bubbled and gurgled, and began to prepare the foul brew that would rob Haley of her celestial spirit. (Picture 1)</p><p></p><p>Graves had lived too long by himself, and had long since acquired the habit of talking to himself. Haley overheard his muttering, and when she learned what he intended, she was terrified. She tried using her talents to free her from Graves’ control, but the sky-tendrils were weak in comparison, and she failed to move so much as an inch.</p><p></p><p>Far above, Syndir was angry. He’d sensed the disturbance when Graves had tugged at the tree, and had seen the evil man drag his daughter away. For all the might he possessed, he felt powerless. While he could turn the entire planet to ash in his rage, he couldn’t even risk setting the cabin afire for fear of harming Halcyon. </p><p></p><p>As the earth turned and dusk approached, Syndir called out across the heavens to Kerestal, informing her of their daughter’s plight. Kerestal didn’t possess Syndir’s raw power, so through the ages the Moon had learned to be more subtle.</p><p></p><p>Kerestal scanned the space between her and the earth until she spotted something suitable. With gentle tugs and nudges, she guided the man-made interloper the humans arrogantly called a ‘satellite’ out of its comfortable orbit and sent it tumbling into the atmosphere. She guided the falling metal star for as long as she could, but the closer to the earth it streaked, the weaker her grip grew. With a mighty crash, it plowed into the forest some distance from the cabin.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, a team of scientists prowled the forest looking for the fallen satellite. They found its crumpled form half-buried in the dirt, as monkeys pranced about like it was some new toy provided solely for their amusement. (Picture 4)</p><p></p><p>The scientists tried to shoo the playful little creatures away to no avail. One of the monkeys even stole the chief scientist’s fancy cell phone right from his pocket, and fled to the tree when he tried to steal it back. Complaining loudly, the spindly man climbed up after the mischievous beast. </p><p></p><p>To his shock, he found Haley’s backpack wedged in the crook of the tree. He pulled it free and jumped to the ground. He gave up rescuing his cell phone as a lost cause, and instead had one of his comrades go for help.</p><p></p><p>Two hours later, police and volunteers combed the woods. In short order, they found the cabin in the woods. At first Graves tried to fight them, sending the earth-tendrils to knock them down, and even tried to fell trees on their heads. Soon he realized it was a lost cause, and he set Haley free. </p><p></p><p>Haley ran to the first policeman she saw and threw her arms around him. Behind her, Graves walked slowly into the clearing, his hands held over his head. The Sun brightened unbearably for a moment, forcing the rescuers to shield their eyes lest they be blinded. When the sky dimmed once more, there was nothing left of Graves save a burnt patch on the ground.</p><p></p><p>Haley was reunited with Will and Sarah, and she stayed with them till she was all grown up. Being the child of the Moon and Sun, Haley was unaffected by the passing of time, but Will and Sarah were mortal. In what seemed like the blink of an eye to Kerestal and Syndir, they grew old and died. </p><p></p><p>So grateful were the Sun and the Moon for the happy life Sarah and Will had given their daughter that they raised their spirits into the heavens, and if the astronomers noticed two stars where none had been before, they were careful not to make too much of it.</p><p></p><p> Kerestal and Syndir grew to love each other again, and if they could only be in the same place every so often, they still talked every night when dusk settled over the earth, and every morning, too.</p><p></p><p>And Haley? In what would seem like a long time for humans but was really the blink of an eye for a celestial, Haley came into her full powers, and left the Earth behind once and for all. Now she streaks through the sky, travelling to see Will and Sarah for a while before swinging back to visit Kerestal and Syndir, who were the Sun and the Moon, and also her parents.</p><p></p><p>*</p><p></p><p> The father stopped talking, and looked down at his sleeping daughter. He might not be her real father, he thought, but his life revolved around her just the same. As he crept silently out of the room, he noticed her peaceful face framed by a moonbeam shining through the window.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rodrigo Istalindir, post: 3409823, member: 2810"] “Daddy, tell me a story,” the curly-haired moppet entreated. “Shhh, honey, it’s time to sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow,” her bespectacled father replied. “Please? Pretty please? Just one story, and I promise I’ll go right to sleep. Promise,” she repeated solemnly. The man looked at her, and knew the battle was over before it had begun. He laid his daughter on the bed, tucked the covers around her, and, in the proscribed manner, started the tale. * [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]O[/SIZE][/FONT]nce upon a time, a sweet young woman named Kerestal fell in love with a young man named Syndir. Had they been normal people like you and I, they could have jumped right to “lived happily ever after” and skipped all the unhappy parts in-between. But they weren’t normal people like you and I. Iin fact, they weren’t, strictly speaking, people at all. Syndir was the child of the Sun, and Kerestal was the daughter of the moon. And just like your Uncle Harry went into the family business after Grandpa died, it was expected that someday Syndir and Kerestal would follow in their parent’s footsteps. Now you know that the Sun and the Moon are almost never in the same place at the same time, and so Syndir and Kerestal probably would have never met, much less fallen in love. But every so often, as the Sun and Moon circle around the Earth… * “Daddy! The Sun doesn’t circle around the Earth, it’s the other way around,” the little girl said solemnly, like she was correcting the village idiot. “This is ‘once upon a time’, sweetheart. Things were different back then. Now, do you want to hear the story?” She nodded and scrunched down under the covers. * Now, every so often, the Moon and the Sun end up on the same side of the Earth. This used to scare people quite a bit. Some thought a dragon was eating the Sun, or something silly like that, but now we know it’s just an eclipse. So there was an eclipse, and while the Sun and the Moon were busy ignoring one another and waiting for the other to go away, Kerestal and Syndir snuck away. Neither got to see anyone but their parent very often, and they were each very lonely. They were a little shy around each other, at first, but they soon became friends. They went out past Mars and played billiards with the asteroids, and played tag amongst the stars, moving so fast they were just a streak in the sky. Soon, though, the Sun and Moon drifted apart, and as the heavens began to light up again, they realized their children had gone missing. They called and called, and finally Syndir and Kerestal came slinking back. They waved goodbye, each watched the other disappear into the distance. Time moves differently for the stars than it does for us, and although years and decades might pass between eclipses, Syndir and Kerestal always managed to sneak away together to play, and one day realized that they were never happier than when they were together. Each resolved to run away from their parent so they could be together forever. When the Sun and the Moon discovered what had happened, they were most angry with each other. They called each other bad names and threw things and generally acted poorly. They scoured the sky looking for Kerestal and Syndir, and finally found them hiding behind fat old Jupiter. The Sun grabbed Syndir by the wrist, and the Moon Kerestal, and the two were dragged home. Syndir called to his love, and promised that he would return for her. The Sun was so angry that he sparked and flared, and before you knew it he just up and died. At first Syndir was unhappy, for he did love his father, but then he was happy for the thought this meant he could be with Kerestal. But he looked down upon the earth, and saw how cold and frightened the people were, and he realized he couldn’t just turn his back on them. With a heavy heart, he turned back and became the new Sun. The Moon was angry with Kerestal, too, but more understanding. She tried to explain to her daughter that things would never work out with Syndir, that they were just too different, but it had little effect. When the Moon realized that Kerestal was going to have a baby, and that Syndir was the father, she feared that her daughter would run to him. The Moon was wise and knew that in the end the young ones couldn’t be together, so she quietly slipped into the sea and sank below the waves, leaving Kerestal to take up the job of lighting the night sky. Soon, the new Moon had her baby, and named her ‘Halcyon’. Every night as she looked down upon the Earth, she cradled her daughter in her arms and told stories about the people that lived there. She loved Halcyon child very much, but every day she could look off across space and see Syndir in his father’s place, and it made her very sad. Kerestal knew that if Halcyon grew up with only her mother to keep her company, she would be lonely too, so one night she wrapped her infant daughter in a blanket, and as a moonbeam stole through the window of a young woman who was crying because she couldn’t have a child. She laid Halcyon down in the empty crib the woman wept over, and returned to the heavens, her own sobs echoing in the night sky. The young woman heard Kerestal’s lament, and raised her head to see who was as unhappy as she. She saw the moonbeam shining upon the crib, and let out a gasp when she saw the perfect little baby inside. (Picture 6) She cried out in joy to her husband who slept in the next room, and held Halcyon up to him when he rushed to her side. The father saw a piece of paper pinned to the blanket. He plucked it free, and had but a moment to see ‘Halcyon’ written in cursive before the note disappeared in a burst of silvery sparkles. The new parents, Sarah and Will, were happy to finally have a child, no matter how irregular the manner, but they knew the neighbors would just look at them like they were crazy. They didn’t care what people thought about them, but they didn’t want them to laugh at Haley (for that is the best Will could remember from the note) and call her names, so they told a little white lie, and said that a cousin on Sarah’s had had a baby and couldn’t care for her. They raised her as their own, and never told her about how she had come to live with them. A couple of years after Haley’s miraculous appearance in the crib, another eclipse rolled around. It was the first time that Kerestal and Syndir had seen each other since their parents had split them apart. Kerestal greeted Syndir coolly, and though Syndir tried to talk to her, but her attention was elsewhere. As the eclipse swallowed the earth, Kerestal turned her gaze groundward, hoping to catch a glimpse of Halcyon while she was awake and about. Syndir saw that his one-time love was distracted, and followed her gaze. He saw a little girl with her parents, and saw her father showing her how to watch the eclipse through a pinhole camera. He saw the way her smile lit up her face, and knew her for his daughter. He turned to Kerestal, and started to berate her for not telling him, but the wistful look on her face stopped him. They started to drift apart, and she broke away from Halcyon to see Syndir looking at her. She explained to him what she had done, and why, and Syndir’s anger drained away. He knew that Halcyon would be happier with two parents that loved her instead of being forced to choose between Sun and Moon. He bowed to Kerestal, and wished her happiness. Kerestal smiled, and said she looked forward to the next eclipse. And so little Haley grew up with her adoptive parents, never knowing that her real father watched over her while she played outside or that her real mother watched over her while she slept. But as much as she looked like any normal girl, Haley was a celestial child. One summer day, the neighborhood decided to have a block party at the lake near their homes. There were hamburgers and hotdogs and pop and ice cream, and everybody had a wonderful time. Everyone was getting ready to leave when something scary happened. Mr. Gibbons had packed his wife and kids into their pickup truck. He started up the engine, but instead of going forward, the truck slipped into reverse. Mr. Gibbons panicked, and stepped on the gas instead of the brake, and before you knew it the truck had plunged into the lake. There was a great commotion, with much waving of hands and running about, and a couple of men jumped in the lake to try and free the Gibbon’s from the truck, but the water kept the doors from opening. Haley stood on the shore and watched as the truck started to sink beneath the surface. She noticed something strange, though. Ephemeral tendrils wrapped around the truck, some thick as the branches of a tree, some so thin that they were almost invisible. She realized that the bigger ones sank beneath the surface, while the smaller stretched off into the sky towards the sun. She also saw that the translucent vines were engaged in a tug-of-war over the Gibbons’ truck, and that the wavy lines pulling it below the water were far stronger. She closed her eyes and concentrated, silently urging the lake tendrils to let go of the truck. The gasps of the crowd made her open her eyes. To her surprise, the Gibbons’ pickup was floating mid-air above the lake. (Picture 5) She shouted and clapped her hands together in delight. She called out to the sky-tendrils to pull the truck to shore, and was pleased to see that they followed her bidding. After the Gibbons were safely on dry land, she was less happy to discover that her friends and neighbors were staring at her in fear and suspicion. Will and Sarah grabbed her up and rushed her home, hoping that little Haley didn’t hear the calls of ‘witch’ and ‘devil’ that spewed forth. But she heard them. From that day forth, the people of the neighborhood would have nothing to do with her. Her friends were forbidden to play with her. When she went street to street selling cookies for school, doors were slammed in her face. Haley was confused and hurt; she didn’t understand why saving the Gibbons had been a bad thing. Her parents were devastated at how the others treated her, and would have moved if they could have afforded to. As she spent more of her time alone, Haley began to notice other strange things. If she concentrated, she could see the little tendrils everywhere. The ones from the ground were always the biggest and strongest, but the ones from the sun were always there during the day, and at night she could see very, very faint lines leading to the moon as well. She discovered that she was never cold; no matter how bitter the winter, she would scamper about as if it were a summer day. She could see in the dark as if it were broad daylight. And sometimes, if she listened really carefully, she could hear music coming from the stars and planets, each playing a different tune. Haley became more and more withdrawn, and finally Will and Sarah realized they had to tell her how she had come to be their daughter. She was shocked, and ran to her room crying. The next morning, Will and Sarah found her room empty, her schoolbag missing, and her bed had not been slept in. Haley ran far away. She moved mostly at night, using her night vision to elude the people that were looking for her. As the rosy hue of dawn spread across the sky, she’d ask the moon-tendrils to lift her to the treetops, where she’d fall asleep to a stellar lullaby. Eventually, she left the town far behind and ventured deep into the forest She was tired and hungry, and she missed her Will and Sarah. She didn’t miss the cold looks of the others, though, and she thought if she could just find a way to talk to her real parents, then everything would be ok. She curled up at the base of a tree and fell fast asleep. (Picture 2). She was awakened by a chattering sound, and leaped to her feet when she felt tiny hands pulling at her. She scampered up the tree and realized that she’d accidentally broken into the home of a family of monkeys. At least they won’t make fun of me, she thought. And if they do I’ll just have the sun-tendrils pick them up by their tails and swing them around. For several days she lived among the little primates. She followed them to a nearby stream where she could drink and bathe. She watched carefully to see what berries and nuts were safe to eat. She even made a bed for herself in the crook of the tree, and slept with her adopted family. In the sky above, Kerestal and Syndir were beside themselves with worry. They had followed Halcyon until she had disappeared into the forest, but the thick canopy now shielded her from their watchful eyes. The Moon had tried using a moonbeam to lead the rescue party to the forest, but they paid her no mind, and eventually gave up. During the day, when she wasn’t foraging for food, Haley explored her new home. As she become more accustomed to the wild, she ranged further and further afield, until one day she discovered a small cabin in a clearing. She saw a grizzled man puttering about, and hid herself carefully in the woods lest he spot her. She watched until her stomach rumbled, and then she retreated into the forest to find something to eat. She returned the next day, and the day after that, never for long, but some part of her still longed for human contact. One day, while she spied on the man, she saw something that made her eyes widen. The man stood in the clearing staring at a large tree that leaned precipitously over his small home. With her sight, Haley could see the earth-tendrils pulling it down. The man reached out towards the tree, and to her surprise she saw the strands weaken their grip on the oak. Freed from their grip, the tree straightened momentarily. The stranger moved his hand sharply, and the lines yanked sharply in the opposite direction. With a crack like summer thunder, the trunk of the tree shattered the splinters and fragments flying everywhere but towards the cabin. Haley realized that the man could see the same things she saw. She’d never met anyone else who could do that, and despite his scraggly appearance, she thought maybe she’d come back some day to ask him if he knew who her parents might be. Haley turned back into the forest but had only managed to creep a few yards before she felt her arms and legs grow heavy. She focused her sight and saw the tendrils from the ground pulling on her much harder than usual. She struggled, but soon was prone on the ground, unable to move. Out of the corner of her eye she saw muddy boots approach. The man gestured, and Haley felt the strings holding her weaken. Before she could scamper to her feet and flee, the man grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her until her feet dangled above the ground. He marched back to his cabin, and no matter how hard she struggled, Haley could not break free. Inside, he tossed her in the corner like a discarded toy. She started to rise, but once again her limbs were pinned. Haley’s captor was a dangerous and desperate hermit named Graves. Graves had been blessed with some of the same gifts as Haley, but he had come to see them as a curse. Once he had seen the earth-tendrils pulling at his body, he became obsessed with escaping their grasp. He studied alchemy and tried to brew potions that would let him slip their hold permanently, but to no avail. He studied magic, and sought a spell that would free him, but failed. No matter how hard he tried, he could affect their pull for but a few moments at a time. It was only when he turned to astronomy and divination in search of his answers that he saw results. The signs and portents pointed to the child of the Moon and Sun as the solution to his problem, Once he knew that, Graves was able to use all that he had learned to create a spell that he believed would allow him to capture the essence of the heavens and so leave the earth once and for all. Those same auguries had led him to this cabin, and though he was secretly surprised that Haley had come wandering here as ordained, he wasn’t about the squander the opportunity. That next night was the night of the new moon, and he intended to complete his terrible magic when the prying eyes of the Moon were blinded. He turned to the big cauldron that bubbled and gurgled, and began to prepare the foul brew that would rob Haley of her celestial spirit. (Picture 1) Graves had lived too long by himself, and had long since acquired the habit of talking to himself. Haley overheard his muttering, and when she learned what he intended, she was terrified. She tried using her talents to free her from Graves’ control, but the sky-tendrils were weak in comparison, and she failed to move so much as an inch. Far above, Syndir was angry. He’d sensed the disturbance when Graves had tugged at the tree, and had seen the evil man drag his daughter away. For all the might he possessed, he felt powerless. While he could turn the entire planet to ash in his rage, he couldn’t even risk setting the cabin afire for fear of harming Halcyon. As the earth turned and dusk approached, Syndir called out across the heavens to Kerestal, informing her of their daughter’s plight. Kerestal didn’t possess Syndir’s raw power, so through the ages the Moon had learned to be more subtle. Kerestal scanned the space between her and the earth until she spotted something suitable. With gentle tugs and nudges, she guided the man-made interloper the humans arrogantly called a ‘satellite’ out of its comfortable orbit and sent it tumbling into the atmosphere. She guided the falling metal star for as long as she could, but the closer to the earth it streaked, the weaker her grip grew. With a mighty crash, it plowed into the forest some distance from the cabin. The next morning, a team of scientists prowled the forest looking for the fallen satellite. They found its crumpled form half-buried in the dirt, as monkeys pranced about like it was some new toy provided solely for their amusement. (Picture 4) The scientists tried to shoo the playful little creatures away to no avail. One of the monkeys even stole the chief scientist’s fancy cell phone right from his pocket, and fled to the tree when he tried to steal it back. Complaining loudly, the spindly man climbed up after the mischievous beast. To his shock, he found Haley’s backpack wedged in the crook of the tree. He pulled it free and jumped to the ground. He gave up rescuing his cell phone as a lost cause, and instead had one of his comrades go for help. Two hours later, police and volunteers combed the woods. In short order, they found the cabin in the woods. At first Graves tried to fight them, sending the earth-tendrils to knock them down, and even tried to fell trees on their heads. Soon he realized it was a lost cause, and he set Haley free. Haley ran to the first policeman she saw and threw her arms around him. Behind her, Graves walked slowly into the clearing, his hands held over his head. The Sun brightened unbearably for a moment, forcing the rescuers to shield their eyes lest they be blinded. When the sky dimmed once more, there was nothing left of Graves save a burnt patch on the ground. Haley was reunited with Will and Sarah, and she stayed with them till she was all grown up. Being the child of the Moon and Sun, Haley was unaffected by the passing of time, but Will and Sarah were mortal. In what seemed like the blink of an eye to Kerestal and Syndir, they grew old and died. So grateful were the Sun and the Moon for the happy life Sarah and Will had given their daughter that they raised their spirits into the heavens, and if the astronomers noticed two stars where none had been before, they were careful not to make too much of it. Kerestal and Syndir grew to love each other again, and if they could only be in the same place every so often, they still talked every night when dusk settled over the earth, and every morning, too. And Haley? In what would seem like a long time for humans but was really the blink of an eye for a celestial, Haley came into her full powers, and left the Earth behind once and for all. Now she streaks through the sky, travelling to see Will and Sarah for a while before swinging back to visit Kerestal and Syndir, who were the Sun and the Moon, and also her parents. * The father stopped talking, and looked down at his sleeping daughter. He might not be her real father, he thought, but his life revolved around her just the same. As he crept silently out of the room, he noticed her peaceful face framed by a moonbeam shining through the window. [/QUOTE]
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Ceramic DM Winter 07 (Final Judgment Posted)
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