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EN World Short Story Smackdown - FINAL: Berandor vs Piratecat - The Judgment Is In!
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<blockquote data-quote="orchid blossom" data-source="post: 4223580" data-attributes="member: 12815"><p><strong>Round 1: orchid blossom vs. Piratecat</strong></p><p></p><p>Untitled</p><p></p><p>She was sixteen the first time she slipped out of the maiden house and into the foothills. Her daytime explorations had revealed only a strange energy, one her Priestess-trained senses felt but didn't see. Still young, it had taken her several weeks to discover that this veil was like the one that hid their valley from the world beyond. A hidden place within a hidden place. And like curious young people everywhere, she sought that place.</p><p></p><p>Heart beating hard in her chest, she crept out of the maiden-house and into the night. Away from the small village that housed the Priests and Priestesses she muttered to herself and a blue ball lit her way across the meadow and into the trees. Her feet knew the path as if she had walked it each day of her life, in every life before this one. She reached a place where two trees arched over the path; their limbs intertwining to create an arbor. </p><p></p><p>The time of testing was still months away, but so determined was she that she focused her mind and used the spell that was reserved for the ordained to part the veil. With surprising ease it opened, and the soft tread of her bare feet were the first of a human felt in that ancient place in millennia.</p><p></p><p>She returned to the maiden-house before dawn, but a priestess waited to bar her entrance. Instead she was led to a small hut of her own, maiden no longer.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p>Years of vigorous training passed with years of watchful eyes. No word was ever said of her midnight journey or the journeys that followed. No accusations or punishments, no words of discouragement. She continued her training, and at 26 finally wore the delicate tattoo on her forehead of the ordained. Chosen for her was a circle of stars, and a secret name.</p><p></p><p>Some nights a flame burned in her heart that led her away from her home and into the foothills to part the veil and meet him. It was years before they even spoke, years more before he began to teach. He was, without doubt, of another world but she did not fear her gentle teacher of those arts the priests could not teach. He touched the very stuff of the stars and infused them both.</p><p></p><p>She began to glimpse the afterworld and the otherworld, and then the neverworld. Possibilities swirled through her mind that none had before seen. “You must be prepared for these,” he said. “The world is changing.”</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p>The years were treating her kindly. At nearly forty she looked and felt no older than she had on the day of her ordination. Twisting strands of ink wound themselves around her wrists and the backs of her hands to encircle fingers signifying her mastery of the spheres.</p><p></p><p>She led services and cast the circles. She advised the mighty and tended the common. Power grew in her and the respect of her teachers and students was hers. Even the eyes of the old ones who remembered her impulsive departure from the maiden-house watched her now with some pride. Yet they still wondered about her midnight rambles into the foothills.</p><p></p><p>His beauty had not faded, but in his movements age had begun to show. She parted the veil into his realm and saw the signs of autumn. Had summer not still embraced this place in its soft warmth just the week before?</p><p></p><p>He came to her through the autumn leaves, unashamed to live uncovered in the body he inhabited. Here there was no such thing as shame or sin and they united in unbridled passion. “The world is changing,” he said again, later. “All things come and pass in their time, and come again. A new world is coming, and you must know it, so you may remember and guard the old.”</p><p></p><p>Drowsy with satisfaction, she nodded. He had said such before, but he continued. “Tonight we will journey. I will guide, but with your power we will pass between the worlds.”</p><p></p><p>She clothed herself, questioning. Surely her own power was nothing to his. Yet he was calmly waiting. Whether or not this was beyond his power was irrelevant; it was within hers. “The first lesson,” he whispered to her, “The power is always yours. You have seen the place we must go, the otherworld. Lift the veil.”</p><p></p><p>Breath moved in and out of her lungs. The inner eye turned to the visions she had seen, some beautiful, some terrifying. A different world was before her eyes, one of machines where people had become estranged from the world they lived on, but one with a great beauty of its own. Lips moved in prayer, but the veil remained closed. In great compassion he said, “We cannot go there, it is the future world and even our arts cannot send us into a place that does not believe in them. If you could dig deep enough into the earth you would find remnants of the last technological age, the age when I was born. The place we must go is not so pleasant.”</p><p></p><p>Unsurprised by the confession that his life had spanned millennia, she focused on the other place she had seen in her visions. A place of pain; one she would not willingly enter without his assurances. The veil parted, and they stepped to the edge of a crater so large the other side could not be seen. The sounds of far-off screams haunted the place and torment hung heavy in the air.</p><p></p><p>“This is not a place of my world,” she said plainly.</p><p></p><p>“It will become so. It already lives in the imaginations of many, although not yet those of your homeland. It is called Hell, an afterlife of eternal punishment for the wicked.”</p><p></p><p>“Will the wheel then be forgotten? Souls return, all know that. Our sojourn in the afterlife is short; until we are brought again into the world to right our past wrongs and learn from a new life.”</p><p></p><p>He sighed. “Already some seek a simpler solution. Bliss for the good, eternal pain and suffering for the bad. A simple justice of black and white. The belief in this has already created this place, it will become larger and stronger as more come to believe.” Stairs appeared in front of them and he began a slow decent into the increasing cacophony.</p><p></p><p>Blistering air washed over them as they descended. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34069" target="_blank">Red haze filled their eyes and faces, screaming and contorted sped toward them, their voices driving her to the edge of madness.</a> She held to the rock behind her and pulled sulfurous air into her lungs. Moments later she asked, “Who are they?”</p><p></p><p>“Men of great evil from the last technological age. There are few whose souls truly deserve such a place as this. They are among them. Come.” He led them through a doorway in the rock. Inside the cave it was cooler, and the further they walked the more the screams faded, but the heavy feeling of the air did not lift.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34070" target="_blank">The corridor ended in a column of clear white light shining down on what seemed to be a creature made only of human arms.</a> They were twisted together such that even hands were hidden. “These are among those who believe they belong here, whether they do is another matter.”</p><p></p><p>Her hand reached out to touch, but stopped, suddenly fearing the hands that must be there. “Why would they believe such if they do not belong?”</p><p></p><p>“The twisted arms tell you why. These are those who unwittingly assisted those with evil intent. Forced, or tricked, or ignorant, guilt has led them here.”</p><p></p><p>Finally she asked the question that had been held at the back of her mind. “Why have you led me here?”</p><p></p><p>“Like all things, I must pass. I have already spent many more lifetimes on the earth than I should be allowed. The next age is too close now to release them, but it will pass and someone must return these souls to the wheel. I could not reach them all in the time I had, I spent too much of it searching for one who I loved. Those who believe they belong here are the hardest to find. Such a one were you, my beloved.” He leaned and spoke a name in her ear.</p><p></p><p>As if from a spring, memories came slowly to the surface of her mind. A life in another world. A noisy, busy world filled with machines and grand buildings and people scurrying self-importantly here and there. Even as she reached out to him he said, “We have had our time together, as we will again. My time is at hand. Lift the veil; to a place that is the opposite of this.”</p><p></p><p>She wanted to refuse, but this most recent life still dominated her thoughts and obedience to this teacher was a habit ingrained. An overwhelming sense of power was manifest in this new place, seeming to emanate from a huge winged man before them.</p><p></p><p>“His rebirth has begun,” her guide said. “Human belief is changing him, but he has worn this shape before and will wear many others in turn before he returns to it again. Not many will pass after me who can join the wheel and be reborn. They will abide here or in hell until the age changes again. Then your work will begin.”</p><p></p><p>“Will this place not trap their souls as much as hell?”</p><p></p><p>He shook his head. “This place bears a much closer resemblance to the afterlife you have always believed in. It will change again and the souls residing here will be reborn. But hell is always hell, it is kept there by the belief of those who feel their punishment is justified. Those you must release, and perhaps on a distant turn of the wheel hell will be emptied and finally disappear.”</p><p></p><p>The wings of the man, or rather god, rustled. Her guide turned to look. “It is my time,” he said again. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34072" target="_blank">He looked at her again for a long moment then turned and walked away toward what she now remembered the word for. Angel.</a></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p>The sisters had noticed her leaving the small hut near the foothills at midnight. As usual, one watched for her return at dawn, but she did not return. They opened the door uninvited to find their sister lying peaceful but lifeless on her palette.</p><p></p><p>The moment had been anticipated from the night a sixteen year old girl had slipped away from the maiden house. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34071" target="_blank">The priests and priestess brought offerings, herbs and texts, plants and jewelry and arts, all the knowledge she must preserve.</a> Then together, they lifted the veil around the cottage, leaving to await another age.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="orchid blossom, post: 4223580, member: 12815"] [B]Round 1: orchid blossom vs. Piratecat[/B] Untitled She was sixteen the first time she slipped out of the maiden house and into the foothills. Her daytime explorations had revealed only a strange energy, one her Priestess-trained senses felt but didn't see. Still young, it had taken her several weeks to discover that this veil was like the one that hid their valley from the world beyond. A hidden place within a hidden place. And like curious young people everywhere, she sought that place. Heart beating hard in her chest, she crept out of the maiden-house and into the night. Away from the small village that housed the Priests and Priestesses she muttered to herself and a blue ball lit her way across the meadow and into the trees. Her feet knew the path as if she had walked it each day of her life, in every life before this one. She reached a place where two trees arched over the path; their limbs intertwining to create an arbor. The time of testing was still months away, but so determined was she that she focused her mind and used the spell that was reserved for the ordained to part the veil. With surprising ease it opened, and the soft tread of her bare feet were the first of a human felt in that ancient place in millennia. She returned to the maiden-house before dawn, but a priestess waited to bar her entrance. Instead she was led to a small hut of her own, maiden no longer. * * * Years of vigorous training passed with years of watchful eyes. No word was ever said of her midnight journey or the journeys that followed. No accusations or punishments, no words of discouragement. She continued her training, and at 26 finally wore the delicate tattoo on her forehead of the ordained. Chosen for her was a circle of stars, and a secret name. Some nights a flame burned in her heart that led her away from her home and into the foothills to part the veil and meet him. It was years before they even spoke, years more before he began to teach. He was, without doubt, of another world but she did not fear her gentle teacher of those arts the priests could not teach. He touched the very stuff of the stars and infused them both. She began to glimpse the afterworld and the otherworld, and then the neverworld. Possibilities swirled through her mind that none had before seen. “You must be prepared for these,” he said. “The world is changing.” * * * The years were treating her kindly. At nearly forty she looked and felt no older than she had on the day of her ordination. Twisting strands of ink wound themselves around her wrists and the backs of her hands to encircle fingers signifying her mastery of the spheres. She led services and cast the circles. She advised the mighty and tended the common. Power grew in her and the respect of her teachers and students was hers. Even the eyes of the old ones who remembered her impulsive departure from the maiden-house watched her now with some pride. Yet they still wondered about her midnight rambles into the foothills. His beauty had not faded, but in his movements age had begun to show. She parted the veil into his realm and saw the signs of autumn. Had summer not still embraced this place in its soft warmth just the week before? He came to her through the autumn leaves, unashamed to live uncovered in the body he inhabited. Here there was no such thing as shame or sin and they united in unbridled passion. “The world is changing,” he said again, later. “All things come and pass in their time, and come again. A new world is coming, and you must know it, so you may remember and guard the old.” Drowsy with satisfaction, she nodded. He had said such before, but he continued. “Tonight we will journey. I will guide, but with your power we will pass between the worlds.” She clothed herself, questioning. Surely her own power was nothing to his. Yet he was calmly waiting. Whether or not this was beyond his power was irrelevant; it was within hers. “The first lesson,” he whispered to her, “The power is always yours. You have seen the place we must go, the otherworld. Lift the veil.” Breath moved in and out of her lungs. The inner eye turned to the visions she had seen, some beautiful, some terrifying. A different world was before her eyes, one of machines where people had become estranged from the world they lived on, but one with a great beauty of its own. Lips moved in prayer, but the veil remained closed. In great compassion he said, “We cannot go there, it is the future world and even our arts cannot send us into a place that does not believe in them. If you could dig deep enough into the earth you would find remnants of the last technological age, the age when I was born. The place we must go is not so pleasant.” Unsurprised by the confession that his life had spanned millennia, she focused on the other place she had seen in her visions. A place of pain; one she would not willingly enter without his assurances. The veil parted, and they stepped to the edge of a crater so large the other side could not be seen. The sounds of far-off screams haunted the place and torment hung heavy in the air. “This is not a place of my world,” she said plainly. “It will become so. It already lives in the imaginations of many, although not yet those of your homeland. It is called Hell, an afterlife of eternal punishment for the wicked.” “Will the wheel then be forgotten? Souls return, all know that. Our sojourn in the afterlife is short; until we are brought again into the world to right our past wrongs and learn from a new life.” He sighed. “Already some seek a simpler solution. Bliss for the good, eternal pain and suffering for the bad. A simple justice of black and white. The belief in this has already created this place, it will become larger and stronger as more come to believe.” Stairs appeared in front of them and he began a slow decent into the increasing cacophony. Blistering air washed over them as they descended. [url=http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34069]Red haze filled their eyes and faces, screaming and contorted sped toward them, their voices driving her to the edge of madness.[/url] She held to the rock behind her and pulled sulfurous air into her lungs. Moments later she asked, “Who are they?” “Men of great evil from the last technological age. There are few whose souls truly deserve such a place as this. They are among them. Come.” He led them through a doorway in the rock. Inside the cave it was cooler, and the further they walked the more the screams faded, but the heavy feeling of the air did not lift. [url=http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34070]The corridor ended in a column of clear white light shining down on what seemed to be a creature made only of human arms.[/url] They were twisted together such that even hands were hidden. “These are among those who believe they belong here, whether they do is another matter.” Her hand reached out to touch, but stopped, suddenly fearing the hands that must be there. “Why would they believe such if they do not belong?” “The twisted arms tell you why. These are those who unwittingly assisted those with evil intent. Forced, or tricked, or ignorant, guilt has led them here.” Finally she asked the question that had been held at the back of her mind. “Why have you led me here?” “Like all things, I must pass. I have already spent many more lifetimes on the earth than I should be allowed. The next age is too close now to release them, but it will pass and someone must return these souls to the wheel. I could not reach them all in the time I had, I spent too much of it searching for one who I loved. Those who believe they belong here are the hardest to find. Such a one were you, my beloved.” He leaned and spoke a name in her ear. As if from a spring, memories came slowly to the surface of her mind. A life in another world. A noisy, busy world filled with machines and grand buildings and people scurrying self-importantly here and there. Even as she reached out to him he said, “We have had our time together, as we will again. My time is at hand. Lift the veil; to a place that is the opposite of this.” She wanted to refuse, but this most recent life still dominated her thoughts and obedience to this teacher was a habit ingrained. An overwhelming sense of power was manifest in this new place, seeming to emanate from a huge winged man before them. “His rebirth has begun,” her guide said. “Human belief is changing him, but he has worn this shape before and will wear many others in turn before he returns to it again. Not many will pass after me who can join the wheel and be reborn. They will abide here or in hell until the age changes again. Then your work will begin.” “Will this place not trap their souls as much as hell?” He shook his head. “This place bears a much closer resemblance to the afterlife you have always believed in. It will change again and the souls residing here will be reborn. But hell is always hell, it is kept there by the belief of those who feel their punishment is justified. Those you must release, and perhaps on a distant turn of the wheel hell will be emptied and finally disappear.” The wings of the man, or rather god, rustled. Her guide turned to look. “It is my time,” he said again. [url=http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34072]He looked at her again for a long moment then turned and walked away toward what she now remembered the word for. Angel.[/url] * * * The sisters had noticed her leaving the small hut near the foothills at midnight. As usual, one watched for her return at dawn, but she did not return. They opened the door uninvited to find their sister lying peaceful but lifeless on her palette. The moment had been anticipated from the night a sixteen year old girl had slipped away from the maiden house. [url=http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=34071]The priests and priestess brought offerings, herbs and texts, plants and jewelry and arts, all the knowledge she must preserve.[/url] Then together, they lifted the veil around the cottage, leaving to await another age. [/QUOTE]
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