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part five.
IP: 2.27.240.21
Posted on June 3, 2014 at 10:00:23 PM by georgia

PART FIVE The Castle Arthur’s grip loosened on his sword, but he managed to get a firmer hold of it before it clattered out of his hand. “Hello, Arty,” her full, pink lips curved into harrowing smile. “Do you like my comforting face?” Years. Years the royal guards had searched, scouring the land far and wide, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to find the missing queen. Before the cracked sky, before the gods returned, Lorraine had brought an ice-storm upon Shaman which confined its occupants to only a few bare territories. It was during her vicious winter that Arthur and Lilith’s eldest son, the heir to the throne, Prince Gawain, had been slaughtered by a band of outlaws. The villains were never caught and the prince’s body never recovered, and the queen, growing increasingly sick in both physical and mental health, had finally abandoned what remained of her family. Risking death by famine and hypothermia, and presumed dead by most, she had left the safety of the warmer territories and set out into Lorraine’s frostbitten wasteland. None had ever seen or heard from her again, in spite of the guards’ and king’s best efforts. Arthur had surpassed the point of hoping for her return, although little details of memories still crossed his mind often – the fall of her skirt when she dressed, the smell of her perfume when she leant over to kiss him. Gone forever, existing only in memory. And now, here she was. In spite of everything, her words penetrated the thick layer of shock: do you like my comforting face? What was that supposed to mean? Arthur tightened his grip on his sword and kept his grey eyes focused on his wife’s face, but didn’t answer. Lilith tilted her head as though listening, and a moment later the sound of approaching footsteps echoed throughout the chamber. Within seconds the door burst open a second time and Rhaegar halted next to Arthur, his own eyes locked on the figure on the throne. He must have had the same idea that Arthur had – and the same realisation which was starting to dawn now. “Oh, you people,” Lilith clasped her hands together, looking upset. “People, plural. That makes this soooo much harder. Now I have to find a comforting face to suit both of you – otherwise, what would be the point of a comforting face at all? Now stand still while I find one.” Since that made no sense whatsoever, neither of the men said anything. Lilith did nothing more than glance over them both with a searching look, although Arthur had the horrible feeling that she was using telepathy against them. Rhaegar’s hands clenched into fists. After a few seconds, Lilith gave a soft, dissatisfied little snort and stood up. She spread her arms apart, and her body dissolved into a swirling black mist – the same shadow they had seen enter the castle – except now that they were closer they could see what it was composed of: words. Hundreds of thousands of spinning words in different languages and alphabets, interlocking and darting around one another with such speed that individuals were impossible to make out. The darkness knitted itself together tightly and began to reform a body again, a different shape to the one before – torso, legs, head, arms… it took the sharper details, like the facial features, before Arthur recognised the ancient creature’s new form. “I suppose this will have to do,” Tsi grunted. The creature had even managed to get his voice and accent chillingly accurate, although it didn’t seem bothered about imitating mannerisms. It arched Tsi’s back with much more flexibility than Arthur suspected the real Tsi could probably manage without divinity, and leapt down the steps of the throne dais with a dancer’s grace. “It’s not great, but it’s the best face I can find to offer you mutual comfort. This would have gone a lot better,” he waggled his finger crossly at Rhaegar, as a teacher might a naughty schoolchild, “if you hadn’t have shown up! Now I have to be doubly comforting. Really, it was very inconsiderate of you.” Gar’s lips curled in an expression which was half smile and half leer as Arthur found his voice. “Comforting?” Creature-Tsi shrugged. “Well, there’s really no sense in being nasty about all this. After all, all I want is your powers – it’s not as if I’m after your lives. I thought if I reached into your memories and assumed a form you once found comfort in, it would be easier for you to deal with and you wouldn’t do something brash which would make me want to kill you.” He gave him a piteous look. “And really, no one wants that, do they?” Rhaegar offered him a harsh back of laughter. “You might want to try again with the face,” he said as his smile became a sneer, “you really had to scrape the barrel, didn’t you?” Creature-Tsi said nothing, but merely stared at him in a thoroughly unnerving manner, which looked completely wrong on the Chairman’s face. Arthur shot the deity a warning look and turned back to the creature, choosing his words carefully. “And what use would you have of our magic?” He pressed, a little more forcefully than usual. The image of Lilith’s face still burned strongly in his mind’s eye. “You cannot take it. I will not allow you to take anything from the people of this kingdom.” “Hmmmmm,” Creature-Tsi tapped his chin and tilted his head thoughtfully to the side. “But, I already have. All of your magic is gone. As for what I want with it – I will consume it. Fairy magic is pretty tasty, and Shaman has enough to last me for a few centuries at the least; I have removed all of your magic and stored it in preparation for consumption. There’s really nothing you can do. I only came down here and put my comforting face on to tell you that, so that you wouldn’t do something silly like try and fight me. See? I’m not here to kill you. I’ve got what I want. You can’t get it back and you can’t stop me. The only thing you can do now is look into my comforting face, know the truth of my words, and accept it.” “Accept it?” Rhaegar demanded, his violet eyes narrowing, “you come here and start stripping away the birthright of a species, and you say accept it?” He laughed, a cold and bitter sound which echoed around the throne room as his gaze locked with creature-Tsi’s. The Dane swore and spat on the ground, “you can try” he said, “but for a creature who claims such great knowledge, your ignorance is astounding.” Creature-Tsi’s face hardened. His eyebrows knitted together and he fixed Rhaegar with a glower which would have made a lesser man wither, which was quite an achievement using Tsi’s naturally open and friendly face. His body seemed to radiate a power which pressed against Arthur’s lungs and restricted his ability to inhale. The corners of his lips curled into a snarl. “I can see that you will not be comforted,” he replied in a cool tone, searching both their faces. “So you will have to be threatened. Now, let me see… what shall I use for my threatening face? Is there a face in your mutual past which has caused you both great pain and suffering?” He studied them for a moment, taking a slow, easy step forward with his right leg. It seemed to take an age, but after what could only have been a few seconds his expression lifted slightly. “Got one.” Tsi’s body disintegrated into the swirling, writhing mass of black words. The newly chosen body began to form quickly, although it didn’t seem that way at first, since the legs and torso retained the black colouring. This time, Arthur recognised the general shape of the body and the colour of the skin before the details solidified, and he clenched his jaw. As before, with Lilith, the creature had miscalculated by delving too far into the past. It was correct – this was a face which had once caused him great pain and suffering – but it was a face which threatened him no more. Until today. The enhanced scowl on Mallos’ face was so uncharacteristic of the Spaniard that he more closely resembled the imitation Gwythr had used during the Shaman civil war. Rather unnervingly, though, when that scowl was lifted as the creature glanced down to examine his new body, the natural mannerisms of the creature coincided with the deity’s to give a much more believable impersonation than Lilith or Tsi had been. His movements were fluid, like the real Mallos’, and there was a similar eccentricity in the way he waggled his fingers at the pair which made Rhaegar growl and Arthur’s eyes narrow a fraction. “Threatening face, check!” Creature-Mallos grinned and drew a tick in the air with his stolen finger. “And noooooow for the threats! Ready?” He planted his feet and returned the scowl to his face, which Arthur was quickly beginning to realise was just a show. This whole event was just a game to this being - like a cat playing with a pair of mice. “I am the inherent power in all words. I have control of any word in any language you care to use – written, spoken, or thought. No person with a language can even stand up against me, and if you could – ” his gaze turned to scorn “ – what would you do? I took your magic without effort. I could take your life with less. Now, do you intend to fight me without magic, when I control your thoughts and voice?” A sharp chill seemed to settle over the room, although there was no breeze, but Arthur felt oddly elated. The question, reworded, could almost seem to say do you intend to fight physically, with nothing but the strength of your arm? “I will fight you,” he promised. “And you will lose.” Creature-Mallos chuckled. “My faces suck today. I assure you, Arty, Gar – if either of you were here alone, I would find a threatening face which would have you quaking in your boots.” He spread his arms and shrugged, still smiling. “Good luck with your quest. Luck is all you have left now, after all.” He dissolved into shadow once more and disappeared through the solid stone wall of the castle.

Written by Georgia and Merlin

Replies:

• part six. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 10:00:17 PM
• part seven. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 10:00:08 PM
• part eight. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 10:00:02 PM
• part nine. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:55 PM
• part ten. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:47 PM
• epilogue. - By georgia June 3, 2014 at 09:59:27 PM

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