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Prologue Part I
"Assahh...." . Hmarkes MacCkhendreis' Flightworm spoke in enthusiasm. The cloudcurrents were wonderfully soft and cooperative this Pringh morning, he had to agree. Normally he had to strap on an extra pair of navplates to gain extra control on the guidance of the air that his steed moved upon. But not today! Today, everything had been perfect from the very beginning. Hmarkes' creditplate had gone through to the housing guy effectively, and he had had an unexpected but entertaining visit from Sarieh, his uncle's trained Marthigein, as a thank you for the birthtime gifts he had received as a result of his nephew a month before. He sure hoped things would go as well at the councilmeeting of the messengers, which was where he was going right now. Every anha he and the 11 others with the title of "messenger" met on the hill of Dalea for a 12 day meeting to discuss the progress of their work and to assign the new codeunit for the new messenger's year, delivered by :Archess Greenlande/Erisahn's tacticom councilman.
This ahna, however, It was not just another gathering of the year's distribution progress. It was a very special time. The young Archess had birthed her first child, and in the traditional fashion, would need to have all the people of her court present for the dedication of the newborn prince. In the last few days before this time, Hmarkes had been flying back from the Southwest Redlands, where he had carried the Archess' message to some of the more rugged courtspeople, such as Jharon Lao-Khalibious, who were engaged in diplomatic talks with a recently discovered Poell Tribegrupe. It was indeed a time of celebration for all the creatures of Marrekh.
The cloudvision thinned as Hmarkes' flightworm began to drop downwards. They had already reached the hill. He had not realized how close they were. But yes, they were there. His worm's tailcrests hummed slightly as the serene green hill of the stones came into view. A rush of warm wind, and they were landing, the green groundcover reaching up to greet the delicate feet of the tired flightbeast. Nine of the messengers were already there. Kqueran Astreignhehm had brought his son for some oddly strange reason, but the rest was as usual. The tents had previously been set up. The group of men and women stood near the ancient standing stones, talking among each other, the bright red-orange sun glowing warmly upon their friendly faces. Taery Kihpre-Philesmann had brought out his lhaera, and was playing a few new melodies for himself and anyone who cared to listen. Councilmeetings were usually more enjoyment than toil, Hmarkes observed. It was when fellow "sufferers" who only saw each other for a few days each ahna had time to discuss the goings on in their lives and to plan out their futures. He had a feeling the Archess didn't intend the councilmeetings of her important errandsmen to be totally free of fun, also.
Sera Hheld�n touched down, her dark hair fluffing up in the down-currents like a shadowy parachute. She was the more busy of the messengers, and one of the less friendly as well. Somehow, however, Hmarkes always managed to strike a friendly conversation with her, when he had time time alone with her, that was. And it wasn't often. It seemed that she was always the last one to arrive at the gatherings each ahna, but this was not a point of blame, for she was extremely hard-working. She jumped off her glistening steed and ran towards the encampment, a look of impatience in her eyes. Kqueran waved his hand, and the assembly of beings grew silent taking a seat around the beautifully carved rock platform that had served as council-table uncountable times.
"Welcome, fellow Messengers" Kqueran Asthreignhehm stroked the braided hairs of his lush red beard, his eyes smiling with a hint of nostalgia. " Now that we are all here, I will quickly brief you on the information just recieved from FWEpost 167. All 456 of the :Class 4 Greenlande Courtspeople have arrived in Hallileigh. Excellent work, everyone." Hmarkes and a few of the others smiled with satisfaction "Very soon we should be expecting Greenlande/Qui. He will be with more information on the birth celebration preparation in Hallileigh Faere. Tonight we shall travel there ourselves to attend the Class 4 meetings." Astreignhehm grinned a wonderfully hearty smile, his face brandings stretching across his face in a comical but mighty way. "I'd say everything turned out incredibly well!"
"EEEEEEeeeerreeehhhrrrr!!" It was the voice of an unfamiliar flightworm, a flightworm in great terror. Hmarkes and the others looked towards the sky, trying to make out the rider. The worm was coming from the direction of Hallileigh, alright, but that was sure not Greenlande/Qui atop that flightbeast! Astreignhehm stood, his nephew running up the hill from the tents in the darkening valley below, where torches were being lit.
The rider called in a distressed manner from the back of his curving animal: "The Archess' heir is in fatal danger, please, you must mount at once! It is a time of blackness...!!" It seemed as if a dark menacing cloud had fallen over the assembly. Each of the Messengers rose to their feet. Sera swore. The urgent rider touched down and dimounted, steadying his crazed flightworm. "My name is Quiean Kilren...Qui's brother.....I have ..news.... .You must help! Qui was..was..shot down by a milemany darkshadow, it intercepted his course here. .I never saw such a thing..!" Kqueran put a hand on the desperate man's shoulder. "Tell me, Kilren, in what direction was this darkthing aft from?" The man sobbed wretchedly, motioning with a cut and dirty hand. "The east, messenger....It came from across the great water ! It was evil, blinking, vast..." The man's flightworm moaned from nearby, as if to add to the horrific description. Astreignheim raised one arm in a powerful but desperate manner. "People! Arm your steeds! We are needed in Hallileigh!"
Prologue Part One point Five
The air hummed, then went silent. In the darkness of the warm night the thirteen flightworms sped on towards the east. Every once in a while they would pass over the faint glow of a small town. Kqueran prayed with all his power that they were not too late. His heart seemed to slow however, when the sight of fires appeared down on the ground. Arsi's flightworm crowed in alarm, and the flock hastily flew forth, closer to the ground now, the fires down below becoming more frequent. Hmarkes saw the scattered shapes of landrider herds racing across the barren lands, they also traveling towards Hallileigh. More of these herds were fleeing from the capital however, the bulky shapes of the riders' pack animals showing clearly that they wished to evacuate the Shadowed land completely. The 12 messengers flew on without Qui's sibling, who had left the party out of fright and had circled back upon the company's route of passage. They were not completely in danger, for they had armed their steeds with a slight variant on hyprei-detail flightarmor. This equipment was provided by the Archess for the improbable times in which the messenger found herself flying over a danger zone.
Kqueran's son tightened his hold around his father's waist. "What �s going on there, ..P..Padu..? Kqueran frowned . "I'm sorry, Neile, so sorry..ahh. I should have left you back at the co-sedaa with your mother..." Neile Astreignhehm interrupted "We'll still get to see Granda, won't we?" His father sighed. He had temporarily forgotten why he had brought his son along in the first place. But now he was a bit more calm. "Yes", he would drop his son at his grandmother's Hallileigh livingbuild on the way to the Archal Palaces, first thing. Even if it took time the messenger's didn't have, at least his boy of 9 ahnas would be safe from whatever would soon happen in the home of the Land's ruler. Kqueran straddled the controls to the navplates , and after calling to the rider to the right of him to inform him of the fact that he'd be a bit late coming in on the aid-mission, dropped his worm away from the trailcurrents made by the messengers in front of him and headed off into the sunset.
Sara Hheld�n grimaced. She'd had a feeling that something about this day was not going to be as cheerful as everyone had planned. Aside from the grand weather and the happy mood, there was a slight odd tension in the air. She'd experienced this awareness many times before, but had never had known any particularly ominous events to follow. Perhaps she was a seer of some sort after all. She remembered, gloomily, how at the age of 12 she had been diagnosed with pre-cerce abilities, Abilities which never proved to much of anything but a waste of physaid beads... a dark shadow seemed to fall into her thoughts. The messenger in front of her whispered "Oh my ...", his voice like the rustling of dried sder-pods on a hot day. With a frown she raised her tired head to see what was the problem and gasped, her hand losing grip on one of the steering ropes. To the west, coming into view from behind a type 9 storm cloud, was the shadowy form of the most colossal transport vessel she had ever had nightmares of seeing.
* * * * *
"Green's Lady, Gelarmic shielding balance has been achieved on levels Sel, Gej, and Ple of the Crosshouse. I've just been informed that the Pex-dul Gesse Strheikus has made contact with Torkenzi Sight 397 Scarlet. I..."
The Archess Erisahn interrupted the Organization Director's report. "What of Ani? If it's true what that madman-seer says, that that hellshadow wants my son, I want Ani there with him. He knows every nook and cranny of that maze of a crosshouse. Besides, I believe he's made himself immune to nervewisp poisons, if that's how they plan to make off with the Greenlandes' prince in one piece." They walked with haste along the lampway, passing many worried Greensman on the way to the massive complex that was the Crosshouse of living for all people of Archerial blood in Hallileigh. Lady Erisahn was losing her temper. "Why am I the only person here to save my son from a million foot long death-vessel? The Arch's two thousand miles away in the middle of some garden party, Torkenzi is celebrating an unmissible holiday, and I'm left here to make sure that the Greater Archile's future ruler lives long enough to experience a naming rite-"
A soft and oddly comical voice spoke up behind the Archess's shoulder. "Lady green-" Erisahhn turned around and took the tall red being by the hand, most of the scowl now off her face. "Ani, thank the Spring, you're here. The child is in the crosshouse. We have reports that that dark demon of a flying machine has the intention of making off with him." Ani's youthfully furry eyes opened slowly wider as Erisahhn spoke on. "I want you to come with us- once you stand by the little prince's side, you do not leave from him, ever, until that darkthing is gone back to the depths from which it came."
* * * * * *
Prologue Part II
The baby lay stilly in the thick green blankets that swirled over the inside his criblike carefully positioned waves. He moved his left arm a bit, gently touching the edge of the intricate carvings cut into the side of his oakwood crib. A faint light shimmered in his vibrant brown eyes as his small fingers slipped over the shape of a dragon, a longriding Dreshi, it was. A small grin began to form on his lips, but then his glance and his hand shifted over to some more of the carved pictures. A Lion, A Kaersei dragon, A Pelanian Wind Serpent, A Dolphin, A...! His hand drew back as he came to the small image of a Firehawk, as a strange distant tension lept into his face and body, and a small unhappy wail slipped from his throat. Rustling could be heard as the drowsy Midwife moved from her daydreaming to see what ailed her beloved baby prince.
"Oooahh, my child... be calm, my love. What is it that is wrong?"
...... More to this is constantly being developed - stay tuned!
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