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part two.
IP: 137.44.82.131
Posted on December 11, 2010 at 02:53:39 AM by georgia

The Island of Mykonos of Greece, AD 990 The likelihood of Tsi visiting the tiny isle of Delos had never been strong; Panagiotis’ suspicion that he’s stopped over at Mykonos, the larger neighbouring island, was confirmed by a quick visit to Demetria, another old fairy friend. Demetria was well known as the island gossip, but her gift of clairvoyance means that, usually, her gossip was pretty accurate. Armed with this information, Panagiotis and Lefteris hired a boat to Mykonos and then travelled by donkey to the nearest town. Since monetary resources were limited, they could only afford to hire one donkey, which Panagiotis insisted his friend should ride – for the most part, poor Lefteris was too tired to argue with him. Unfortunately, the first town they came across was small and its only inn was full; since they were both tired, rather than continue on the men agreed to take shelter in the stables with the donkeys, which the innkeeper had grudgingly offered them as a last resort. The plan was to spend one night there and move on in the morning. Lefteris, exhausted by the day’s events and by his pregnancy, was out for the count as soon as his head touched the floor, but Panagiotis couldn’t sleep. How had this happened? Two years ago, Lefteris had been the promising young apprentice blacksmith; his disappearance had been inexplicable but not disconcerting at the time, since Lefteris was also an accomplished sorcerer and could use his magic to get out of more or less any scrap. How had he ended up like this? The question is easily solved, but the answer to it sends a chill up Panagiotis’ spine. The only person who could have overcome both Lefteris and the force of nature would be a divine being – a god. That then begs the questions which god, and why? Panagiotis had the uneasy feeling that this little mess wouldn’t be as easy to resolve as simply finding a deity to help his friend give birth. Reproduction of any sort was forbidden amongst the original fairies. This was... serious. Nobody had upheld a complaint against an original fairy in living memory – to call the Star Chamber out would cause a global scandal, with he and his dear friend Lefteris sitting right at the heart of it. Part of Panagiotis wanted to see the person who had put his friend through this brought to justice, but the other part of him simply wanted to keep his head down and get on with his life. Unfortunately, that second option wasn't looking like an option at all. It was no use. The strange predicament had left Panagiotis in such a restless state that he eventually gave up trying to sleep and, with a guilty glance back at Lefteris, slipped out of the stable doors and tiptoed across the courtyard. The cool night air felt good. As he trudged down the street, Panagiotis marvelled at the day he'd had. Thrown out of his home that morning, he'd met up with a long lost friend, travelled across the ocean and is now plodding around a strange town in search of a god. At least, Panagiotis mused, the god in question was one who was not known for a habit of hiding himself amongst humans, like Aura or Mallos. Tsi was, by reputation, one of the less arrogant of the originals, but he did seem to enjoy his deity status and the attention he got for it. From what Panagiotis had heard (having never met the fellow), he was a jolly and affable sort of chap with a great interest and love for people of all kinds - fairy and human. That was comforting. It was also reassuring that Tsi was probably one of the least likely of all the originals to have been the one who impregnated Lefteris in the first place - although who did, Panagiotis wouldn't like to guess. It sounds like the kind of thing Lorraine might do for spiteful revenge, or Mallos for a joke... a joke which got seriously out of hand. Poor Lefteris. He didn't deserve this. Panagiotis was not a particularly magical fairy, but he did have one very special trick. He was the only fairy he'd ever met with this power and believed it to be unique; he was immensely proud of it. Although it had no official name, he called it his 'Psychic Compass'; if he closed his eyes and really focused on something he wanted, he would be able to feel an invisible force tugging him in a particular direction. Every time, without fail, if he followed the force he would end up where he wanted to be. It was a tricky power to control since it also responded to his subconscious desires, but over the years he'd managed to get it more or less under his finger. Closing his eyes, Panagiotis focused first on Lefteris and then let his thoughts turn to Tsi. It took a little while to coax the power out, but eventually he felt a subtle but discernible tug to his left. Turning instinctively towards it, Panagiotis felt the tug grow more insistent and he trusted in the power enough to open his eyes again and walk boldly in the direction indicated. It led him a reasonable distance down winding alleyways, behind the bazaar and past a ruined temple dedicated to the ancient human gods, until he eventually wound up outside the blacksmith's. All of Panagiotis' psychic instinct was telling him that Tsi was inside, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine what the deity would be doing in there. Hesitantly, he knocked once and pushed at the door - only to leap back in surprise as he beheld a man standing in the doorway. "Hello," the man said keenly, while Panagiotis tried to settle his racing heart. "You must be Panagiotis. Would you like to come in? Or do we need to leave immediately? Hmm." He studied the dumbfounded man from top to toe. "Immediately, I think. Come along then." Before Panagiotis could say anything else, the funny little man jumped out, shut the door and trotted past him. Still mute with shock, Panagiotis followed him numbly. Tsi. It had to be. Only Tsi could have read his mind like that. Furthermore, from his slanted eyes, his round face, dark hair and caramel-cream skin, the man was clearly of oriental background. Although it was well known that all life originated from Africa, over time the originals had spread out and each of them had become associated with a particular country - for example, Mallos was associated with Spain, Aura with England and Lorraine with Russia. Tsi's country by association was China, and despite his frequent visits to other nations he was proud of his Chinese identity and liked to display it. "Keep up, keep up," Tsi prodded his arm cheerfully, and Panagiotis realised that he'd been lagging slightly. Picking up his pace, he opened his mouth but Tsi answered the question before he had a chance to ask it. "Getting my horse shod, of course. Magicking up horse shoes doesn't do anything to help the local businessmen, Panagiotis. Just like teleporting doesn't do anything to keep you fit! Hurry along, now." There really was nothing to dislike about the man. Appearance-wise, he was the most flawed deity (they were a vain bunch and none of them ever looked anything shy of perfect) Panagiotis had ever seen; slightly overweight, the effect wasn't helped by his round face and rouge cheeks, and his floppy black hair looked a little bit silly. The slight roughness of his appearance coupled with his genuine personality made him an endearing character, and Panagiotis felt instantly at ease around him. It was a real stroke of luck that Tsi was in the vicinity; quite apart from Mallos (the alternative if Tsi hadn't been here) being much further away, he was reputed more for his mischevious nature than his kindly one and would be unlikely to treat the situation with the gravity it deserved. Sneaking back into the stable wasn't hard; for some reason (Panagiotis suspected he knew why) they met nobody along the way, so there was nobody to question them. Lefteris was still asleep, sprawled out in the same position; Panagiotis shook him awake excitedly, and at the introduction of Tsi Lefteris leapt to his feet, wide awake. The deity pushed him back onto the hay sternly. "Now, Eleutherius, you shouldn't be on your feet. Let me have a look at you." Tsi's smiling, open face lost its cheer as he examined the pregnant man, and Panagiotis thought he saw a flicker of anger in those dark brown eyes. "It has to come out." "Now?" Lefteris looked surprised. "No time like the present. I won't lie to you, Eleutherius, there's no easy way of doing this... just magicking the child out can have serious repercussions not just on its health, but on yours too... believe it or not, it's actualy far simpler for you to give birth the normal way. Don't worry, though," he added kindly as he noticed the expression on Lefteris' face, "I'll put you into an enchanted sleep. You won't feel a thing. Goodnight, Eleutherius." Before the man could protest, his head dropped back against the hay and he fell into instant and blissful sleep. Tsi rolled his sleeves up and turned to Panagiotis with an expression which was altogether too cheerful. "How good are you at catching?" Somehow, Panagiotis felt it was going to be a long night. And it was. Panagiotis rather felt that he'd like to have been in an enchanted sleep, too; it was bad enough when he'd witnessed his wife giving birth, but watching his best (male) friend do it was... disturbing. Things started to go wrong fairly quickly. As Tsi distractedly explained in bits and pieces, magical intervention in the birthing process was dangerous and difficult; it was better for a deity to use small injections of magic throughout the pregnancy to ensure a smooth birth than to simply pile the magic on all in one. Creation was a concept still not fully understood by the originals, and it seemed to hold some kind of power above divinity - thus, divine intervention may do Lefteris more harm than good. Panagiotis felt that that was probably true for an ordinary birth where the 'mother' would just want some magic to kill the pain, but it was clear that there were complications in this one, and as time passed he felt like screaming at the deity. What right did Tsi have to withold his magic when Lefteris was getting weaker with each passing second? His initial assessment of the god must have been wrong. What use was a kind face when the person behind it wouldn't use their power for the good of another? It went from bad to worse. Lefteris' breathing grew shallow and the blood loss was all too evident from his pale cheeks. Tears of frustration reached Panagiotis' eyes, but he brushed them away furiously. The two arguments he'd already picked with Tsi had turned up no results; the deity flat-out refused to use magic, claiming that not enough was known about the creation of life for him to be able to do so safely. Tsi's face was almost as white and drawn as Lefteris', but he stubbornly stood his ground. When Lefteris entered the second stage, Panagiotis had to leave the stable. He sat outside for what must have been at least three hours, gulping down the night air. When all this was over, Lefteris would owe him a pint. At least. Tsi didn't emerge, but Panagiotis felt a slight telepathic tug which told him it was alright to go back inside. Mustering up his courage, the Greek pushed timidly against the door to the stable and edged inside, only to have something damp and heavy thrust into his arms. "Look after her a moment while I see to Eleutherius," Tsi said over his shoulder, already preoccupied with his patient, who was starting to come around. Panagiotis stared down at the little girl, who stared straight back up at him with disconcertingly bright blue eyes. She definitely had some Greek in her, he decided; her skin had a warm olive colour, and the patch of fluff on her head which indicated hair was dark, Mediterranean brown. He imagined she looked a little like Lefteris, especially with her wondering expression and round baby cheeks. Despite the commotion around her with Lefteris moaning, Tsi muttering and donkeys braying, she stayed still and silent and didn't cry at all. Panagiotis tilted his head to the side. The little girl imitated him. Warmed, he smiled at her; she presented him with the sweetest and most innocent smile he'd ever seen on any child in return and pointed her finger upwards, causing such a loud BANG noise that he almost dropped her in surprise. Tsi looked up, and his eyes met Panagiotis'. In unison they rushed to the door, Panagiotis still cradling the infant in the crook of his arm, and stared up at the sky. An almighty star, larger and brighter than anything else around it, shone merrily in the heavens. Its brightness was such that it outshone even the moon, casting a glowing white light across the courtyard. In silence, Tsi gently placed his fingers on the baby's temples; physical contact would help him to ascertain exactly what kind of power she had. He barely touched her, however, when he leapt back with a little yelp, as if he'd been electrocuted. "This..." he gasped, staring at her with a kind of horror which made Panagiotis feel extremely uncomfortable. "This is... this is the child of a god. She has the divine power." No. No. Divinity? There was no such thing as a second-generation divine being. The ancient laws forbade originals from breeding, and only they could weild divinity... it took a being of pure stardust to be able to control pure magic. How could it be possible for Lefteris' child to have the power, even if she were the daughter of a god? Panagiotis had expected a global scandal. He hadn't expected a complete overhaul of everything that is known or understood about magic, every law which is written and every faith believed in. One little girl, no more than a foot long, may just be the end of over two thousand years of harmony amongst fairykind. Overwhelmed. That was the only way to describe how Panagiotis was feeling. Sick was probably a better way of describing how Tsi was feeling, judging by the way he looked. There would be no turning back from this night; no way to rewrite the pages of history. In that moment there was only one thing Panagiotis could think of, and in his heightened emotional state the word burst from his mouth in a little cry: "Lefteris!" Tsi started. They turned simultaneously for the door but Panagiotis, surged with a sudden adrenaline, made it to the bed first. Lefteris' grey face was relaxed and his chest was still. He was dead.

Replies:

• part three. - By georgia December 11, 2010 at 03:27:22 AM
  • part four. - By georgia December 11, 2010 at 06:40:17 AM
    • part five. - By georgia December 11, 2010 at 07:39:36 AM
      • part six. - By georgia December 11, 2010 at 09:08:07 AM

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