Lady of the Lake

[Deleted]

Too many people.


Artemis glanced up at the trees, right where the leaves met the sky. He often looked here to listen to the forest. A butterfly trembled out, spreading its wings and fluttering away in the direction of the girl he had seen before.


" A sign that it’s time to go."


He filled the third canteen, and sniffed the air. The warm smell of the mountain was all-encompassing, and his leather began to feel heavy. He was better suited for a different environment.


Water was never his favorite element.


But as he turned to go, he remembered that the butterfly flew another direction. His fate often depended on his interpretation of Omen, so his gut wouldn't allow himself to ignore it.


Take a sample, for the sake of scent.


So he stood, nearly erect at first, and then slouched back into his primal stance. Right as he began to do so, Claire dropped a piece of cloth and approached the others in the spring.


Now! 


When he began to move, his awareness heightened dramatically, as each toe dug deep into the wet spring soil. He nearly galloped by, at a full sprint, while the other people in the hot spring seemed to slow down. He rushed by the overturned stones, and extended his arm just enough to steal the cloth Claire had dropped. He made one quick shift left, planting his feet and hands on an overturned rock, and then swung onto a tall tree as if he were a monkey. He took half of a moment to smell the cloth.


It wasn't something he would soon forget.


He swung up to plant his feet on a sturdy branch, and rushed smoothly into the canopy of the forest.


And he was gone.

[Deleted]

Aria frowned; she could feel her temper getting the better of her. Core feeling her anger poked his head out of whatever corner of her mind he was hiding out in….not one to usually pay attention while she was in the baths. But curious enough to wonder what was going on, ‘you are a thief….you bear the mark still.’ Aria ignored him, thief or not her word still meant something and to have it questioned wasn’t something she swallowed easily. Perhaps it was her pride….she didn’t like to have it hurt. A pout formed on her face....core was unfortunately right. ‘That’s a good girl’..at that Aria responded ’shut up’ She turned her attention back to the girl.

”You are not the only one who lost their family; while mine may exist in this time I do not... though I am fortunate enough mine seem to be popping up”

She glanced over at Rivers; then back over to Ilta.

”But I am not to be held responsible; you were greeted by the time witch yes? We are all in this situation together whether we like it or not. Even if I did wish to dump you I do not think that wise. The deity known as Destiny has summoned us here; and for good cause. Not all is right in this time….its unsettling. I rather keep track of the once brought here….gods have a ….talent for causing disruptions in the lives of mortals its best get their deeds done and over with and hope they soon tire of us. However I offered you two of the knives. Up the price on those and sell those for your missed coin. As for shelter we are all in the same boat at the moment, at least you have pants….and undergarments….Also I don’t believe I lead you to any ravine….my dragon however did come back with several abrasions and a broken wing. That dragon is made for flight it would not have broken it without due cause. ”

She looked back at Rivers with a small chuckle…he did seem to be really use to this.

”More than I am apparently, this was my first time getting dragged against my will and I’m less than happy about it. But I’m not foreign to shitty luck or being called to do something but having no clue what it is.”

Suddenly she was grabbed by the other woman, her wrist examined and she was flipped around. Aria blinked…a seep blush forming on her cheeks. It was one thing to go around where people weren’t really taking in the sights of her and her naked glory…but it was another to be examined so closely ‘wow I apparently do still have some modesty, who’d of guess…er Core…you alright?’ she could feel shock radiating from her ever present companion. His silence was worrying her. A worried look crossed her face, but she turned her attention back to the woman as she struggled to communicate. Aria nodded in response recognizing the word.

”Yes….I am fated”

Aria looked back at Rivers when he asked if he should start selling tickets.

”Start selling…I like the breeezzzze”

[Claire]

A huge grin broke out on Claire’s face at Aria’s confirmation. It was her. This was it! She hadn’t even made it into the city yet, and yet here this woman was! She laughed, gripping Aria’s shoulders firmly.

“I have waited a long time to meet you.” It was clear she had been practicing this one as well and she hugged Aria boldly. Finally, it was over. She had done as her goddess had commanded. Now she would know what else to do.

Claire looked back down at the young woman, still gripping her shoulders. “The Mother has sent me to you.” her grin could not be tempered by anything, except for Rivers. When she heard him speak, she turned to look at him.

Claire recognized that sort of expression on Rivers’ face and she scowled at him. Ogling. Even though he was only slightly taller, there was no doubt that she was bulkier, and Claire looked directly at him with a look that made her disapproval clear. She removed herself from Aria and reached forward to grip Rivers by the collar, taking a step aside and yanking him forward, pushing him towards the water and with any luck, straight into it.

Claire looked back to Aria expectantly, a satisfied smile on her face. “What has the Mother told you, Fated Girl?”

[Rivers]

As Aria admits this is the first time she has gotten dragged into something like this Rivers chuckles. "Don't worry about it Boss, you'll get used to it. Let's hit the Mary after this and try and get a better grasp of our bearings. Also if you haven't noticed your powers have probably changed." He tells her, giving her a heads up on some of the stuff he has noticed from doing this several times, it was a shame he hadn't gotten to retain some of the stuff he had learned in other worlds.

Though as he prepares to go sell some tickets, the large scarred woman grabs him and yanks him towards the hot springs. Rivers stumbles several times and then in an impressive display of dexterity spins around and flings his coat so that it drapes over Aria before taking a rather graceless dive into the water.

"Well this is inconvenient." He says as he untangles himself and stands up, clothing totally drenched. He wouldn't be able to walk around in the cold like this so he takes his over sized scarf off and sets it aside. Then he strips and picks up the scarf again to wrap around his waste.

Without his shirt Rivers was actually a lot less scrawny than he appeared due to his oversized coat, while he was by no means bulky he had well toned muscles that seemed mostly to have been built up from being very active as opposed to working out. His torso also had several large scars across it, including one that appeared to be fun a fairly large puncture right above his left hip.

"Well I suppose fair is fair, look as much as you like at my supple skin." He offers in a somewhat offhanded gesture as his cloths suddenly disappear.

[Deleted]

Itla looks back at the man trying to defuse the situation. He was right that there were better places to negotiate the terms of this. “You know, considering my situation, if it paid decently, I really wouldn’t care.” She sits down besides the water. She could leave or join, either way would be awkward at this point, and she’d probably prefer to the former at this point. She raises an eyebrow as he offers to let her stick around. “You hardly know me.”

The two of them had no money and no home. An unfortunate truth, and she probably wouldn’t be getting paid for her work. The two of them might just be stuck with each other due to some plotting of a god. “Fine, you can have the set. They all belong together anyways.” She’d be done with it.

All of a sudden someone runs past and scoops up what appears to be a pair of underwear. No one else seems to react to it like that is out of the ordinary. For a few moments, she wondered if that was a hallucination. It distracts her for a bit until she sees the other woman try to shove the man’s head into the water.

Shaking her head, she grabs her pack and pulls a wooden box out. “Yours. Once you see them, you’ll see why wanting to only pay 5 silver is a bit of an insult. Take good care of them.”

[Deleted]

Aria blinked, clearly very befuddled at the woman’s sudden change of attitude. Arias body stiffened like a board and her eyes bulged out like saucers when she was suddenly embraced by the other naked woman….and the other woman was almost a foot taller than her……breast to face contact came VERY close…..WORSE she could feel Cores sudden elation at the contact; at this point Arias face was so red that it reached the tips of her ears. By Mylee’s drafty balls was this how Garrett felt whenever she did this? When she was released all Aria could do was open and close her mouth….no sound seemed to want to come out. Finally after a couple of moments she looked down at her feet and cleared her throat…The blush still evident on her face.

”I errr…yaaa.”

It took her a moment to compose herself and shove Core back to that corner of her mind. When she had control over herself she looked back at the grinning elated woman. It would seem Core very much knew this woman, images flashed across their shared connection…ones that she would have rather not seen of the woman. But at least she had a name. Aria watched as the woman turned to Rivers, blinking as the large powerful woman grabbed him and flung him. An unlady like snort coming from her lips as the satisfied look came across the other woman’s face, bubbling into giggles to uncontrollable laughter. She had to sit down and clutch her sides as she wiped tears from her eyes. She continued to laugh even as the coat draped over her, when she began to get her giggles under control she pulled the jacket from her head. A grin still on her lips…that was until Rivers stripped. Her eyes bugged out once again and she slapped a hand over her eyes. She may have had no issues being bare and around bare females but when it came to the male anatomy…..

”I have only seen a naked man one other time…. and even then he had undergarments. Wait two….uncle was naked that one time to…wasn’t he.”

Aria turned her attention back to Claire who was now once again talking to her. She kept her eyes on her as she wrapped Rivers jacket around herself. Suppose she should cover up a little. Her eyebrow quirked at the mentioning of this mother once again? Was the lady talking about Melania?

”…I apologize, unless this mother is Melania the time witch then I do not know who you speak of. Although I have I believe spoken to Destiny the one who brought us here….I think they hijacked her puppet mid greeting….But I am afraid us fated are told little to nothing.”

Whether she would understand or not would remain to be unseen. When Ilta spoke again she was surprise to hear that she would give the entire set. Aria stood up clutching the jacket around her and walked over to where Ilta stood. All hostility towards the girl gone, Aria got mad quick, but also forgave quickly as well. When she saw the blades she let out a whistle, picking one up and balancing it in her hand. The exact weight and balance of the dagger that lay dormant in her arm. A big grin split across her features as she tossed it up in the air and caught it again with ease. They were a beautiful set, more so with the sapphires embedded into each blade. She could see why the girl was less than happy to part with out a good price for them.

”Comparable to the legendary blades; your truly a master of your craft….There are forges in the first district meant for supplying the kings army. I think you may want to try your luck in going there. The training grounds are to the back of the first mountain with the castle. You’ll find the forges there. But you are right to pay five would be an insult. You have my word I will attempt to repay you one way or another.”

She smiled and placed the blade back in the box and picked it up…but the smile slowly faded and replaced by a look of fleeting sorrow. Her hands skimming over the blades.

”You can be assured I will take care of the blades….It is a shame they won’t be given to its intended recipient. He would have like them, the gems almost match his eye perfectly…shame to that it will be a little longer before I can complete them either”

Aria looked back over at Rivers momentarily forgetting his nakedness…very quickly she slapped a hand over her eyes once more.

”Your right about missing a lot of the magic, I feel weak without it…..so many years of training locked away. The web of this world’s manna is foreign to me, I have not found its flow yet. But all elements are connected with another….I have confidence I will find my way to it again.”

Aria turned her attention to everyone present.

”But … Seeing the majority of us here are fated…besides Claire here….that is your name right? The voice in my head won’t shut up until I address you. But back to my point…. We are being kept track of by more than one party. There is a list in the castle…I for one do not like being kept track of, I don’t know what your feelings are of it. Ilta, Rivers….you were both spoken to by the time witch yes? Did she direct you to work? Or a place to go. I’m curious to if she’s spreading us out or sending us to one place.”

[Claire]

A loud laugh escaped Claire as Rivers fell into the water, clearly proud of herself until he got up and began to speak. When he made his clothes vanish with a wave of his hand, she looked startled. Claire took a measured step aside, eyebrows furrowing. Magic. Then she heard Aria speak.

Claire blinked.

What.

What.

As the young woman prattled on, Claire repeated the phrase over and over in her head.

“I do not know who you speak of.”

Melania- who the hell was that? That was not a name that the Mother went by. She was simply that- the Mother. Did she not know? Was this the wrong girl? Claire stared ahead blankly at Aria, confusion beginning to cloud her expression. She didn’t know anything. She didn’t know why she was here. But when Aria spoke to her again, Claire’s expression went from confusion to distrust and barely disguised horror.

At first she began to speak in a language the could not understand before it threaded into common. “Stop- that name.” She hissed, taking a step back again. “How do you know that name?!” She had never been Claire to her family- Claire was the name given to her by the people of this country who could not have the time or energy to pronounce her given name. No one here knew that name but her. How did she know?!

Claire turned briskly and marched back to her pile of clothes, starting to dress again. When she realized what was missing from the pile she looked up sharply, scanning the treeline for that man she saw earlier. A look of disgust came over her face when she couldn’t see him. She yelled something towards the trees, clearly furious as she began to dress without that particular garment.

Claire twisted her wet hair back and pulled her cap over it, looking back to the group gathered by the water. Oh, she would have words to say for her gods that night. She pulled a small crystal talisman on around her neck and heaved up her rucksack, staring daggers at the three of them. They couldn’t be the right ones. She made a mistake in her eagerness. She had to search harder.

Without a word of goodbye, Claire turned and marched back into the forest.

[Rivers]

Rivers laughs at the entire event, from Aria freaking out to Claire running off after the panty thief. This entire even was comical. He gets out of the water and shakes himself off then holds out his hand and his cloths, though much dryer appear in his hand. He begins to change back into them. "Unfortunately, I do not have much more to say about the happenings here, but I will be heading to town and to go visit the Bloody Mary, do any of you wish for speedy passage?" He asks curiously.

[Deleted]

Ilta shrugs shoving her stuff off to the side. She shrugs as Aria mentions paying her back. “Don’t worry it about.” She wasn’t going to keep track of any debt nor worry about this anymore. “And yes, working at a forge would make good money, but ultimately, I’m probably not here to make weapons for an army. It’ll just make me homesick. Besides, I am not sure about serving a kingdom that I honestly know nothing about.”

She watches as the unknown woman gets up and leaves in a huff. That was a serious moodswing. One second, all buddy buddy and the next storming out of the hot springs. She gets a glimpse of the scars on her back. An interesting design, purposeful and perhaps more meaningful than a tattoo. She looks back at Aria, “You piss off some interesting people.”

It occurs to her that she should possibly actually do what she meant to do by coming here and bathe. Taking off her shoes, she says, “I didn’t really ask her about work, and mostly planned to find some myself. Save up to live in some place that’s not a tavern.” She shakes her head as Rivers offers her speedy passage to the Bloody Mary. “I haven’t even gotten in the water yet. I can find my way back to the city though, so don’t worry about me.” She undresses and hops into the water. The hot water mellows her mood almost instantly. Staring up at the night sky, she tries to see if there are any constellations remotely similar to home.

[Deleted]

Aria blinked when the woman went from bosom buds to rawr mode in three seconds flat. Well….easy come easy go…and she’d likely be seeing her again. She seemed like the type to need to collect her thoughts. Aria waved good bye as she left.

”I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again….we’re fated after all”

She said the last part mostly to herself before turning her attention back to Rivers who was getting ready to go.

”No thank you Rivers; I’m home for the time being.”

She removed the coat from her form and handed it back to him before sliding back into the warm waters with a happy sigh. Aria looked back at Ilta, it would seem all her fight just fizzled out. Aria shrugged at Iltas remark. She really could not blame her….one bit…but the statement made her smile. An outright laugh burst from her lips when she mentioned pissing off interesting people.

”My dear girl you don’t even know the half of it!”

Aria fallowed her gaze up to the stars as she spoke; she would suppose this was very confusing for Ilta….she had been warped into thinking the split kingdoms was how Nova had already been…despite being only six or so years from the start of the wars that brought down the gods wrath.

”Even the stars change with time….When you wander this land you will find things similar and things that are not. In our time this city had long since fallen; its history known to only a few who searched for it….or lived it.”

Aria looked back down at Ilta…she was thinking each word carefully.

”I do not blame you for not wanting to serve a kingdom you do not know….and I most defiantly understand the sentiments of wanting to get back home. It took me sixteen years to find my family….to part with them after I found them is not something I am swallowing easy. The person you first spoke to, she is a time witch and an adviser to the king. She may have the magic to return you…but I do not think you will find your family if you return”

[Deleted]

Ilta looks at Aria for a moment. “Sixteen years without. I don’t think I would have considered them family at that point. Rather strangers with a few shared traits.” She wouldn’t have been so forgiving in the case of being abandoned like that. Neglectful individuals were not worthy of her concern nor care. At the moment, she isn’t sure if Aria’s level of forgiveness is admirable or foolish. “I understand what you are saying, but I don’t think are situations are all that similar.  Not that you don't face your own issues which I am sure burden you all the same.  But I buried half of them after knowing them my whole life, and left my aunt and uncle the burden of looking after my brother and sister until they grow up a bit more. Anyways, I am stuck here and can do little but wonder as to their lives, which really serves neither me nor them nor anyone else well. Ours pasts matter little and cannot reach us here. So let’s stop the self pity then.”

Ilta sinks further into the water, enjoying the warmth from the travel to get here. “So what do you think was with that woman earlier? The Mother… not a name of a person that I’ve heard before. Also, that scarring. Enduring pain like that is impressive, and not something they do where we are from. Makes me wonder how much is outside the walls of that giant city.  Be nice if I had a decent map of this place.”

[Deleted]

”Hm? I only have actually one blood relative that shares any traits with me. The rest are fondly adopted…but Daddy had his reasons. They were hard to accept; but the choices he had to make that day tore him more apart then what any man should have to endure… I was hidden for my protection…I may have grown up on the streets but I had a good teacher that taught me what I needed to survive….”

She fingered the large red amulet on her neck, her finger tracing over a carving of a crown and dagger. A very fond smile coming across her face.

”I perhaps wouldn’t have been able to make that decision to forgive if I hadn’t been adopted into a family myself, just months prior to finding out the truth…well of sorts at least”

Her smile faded as she listened to Iltas tale, it was a sad one that was sure. One where empty words of condolences was meaningless. Aria was silent for a while with a thoughtful look on her face; the girl had a strong but stubborn streak. A strange chuckle escaped her throat when Ilta brushed the past aside.

”But my dear girl….we are in our pasts. The past surrounds us completely right now! What we do here will lie the foundation of the home that we know!”

She laughed out right at the thought of the past not mattering; it ruled her life to such an extent it was hard to think anyone would brush it aside so easy. Tho then again it was other’s pasts that were haunting her right now. When the conversation turned back to the woman who had just left, Arias response was to shrug.

”Well…I’m not sure what she was referring to either, as for what I think of her….well I think I’d rather have her on my side then not….As for a map….if I can get my hand on some parchment and ink I can see what I can do for you. I have a pretty good layout of this place already…But Ilta….what are your thoughts for being pulled here? For what purpose do you think?”

[Deleted]

“Hmmm… I suppose it is a chance to change things. I did want to prevent some of the problems of our time. It was what I asked for,” Ilta muses, remembering the day at the Falls, which hardly seemed but a few days ago. “Still, I can’t help but wonder if this is the past of our worlds or something else entirely. I can hardly tell whether I’m in North or South Ka’Glen or what would sit in those spaces before being given those names. At times, it feels like both simultaneously, so I wonder if this isn’t the foundation of our world but some different one.” This might very well not be the Feyerlun that she sought to protect. It was a Feyerlun and the one she currently inhabited, so it was important all the same. Still, she tries to forget the idea that she left loved ones in a dying world.

“I can’t say I have any more knowledge as to why I am here than anyone else. I find it hard to believe that Fate would pull me of all people out of all possible candidates. If it is true, that God is very desperate. Like grasping blindly for anything in the dark, hoping it will work. I wonder, do they think that this will really help them or not?” She frowns, “I’m not sure I enjoy the idea of thinking about the Gods being as helpless as we are.”  What hope was there for the average person really when even Gods were powerless.  It certainly made her re-examine what being a god meant.  "What of you though?  You say you are knowledgeable of this place, so why do you think we are here?"

 

[Deleted]

”It’s both”

Aria slid under the water, soaking her hair before coming up again. Pushing the deep red strands back and out of her scarred face. She had let it slip from her mind that Ilta was under the effects of what her father wrote…she did not remember a time when the land was different. Aria sighed, for once a serious expression falling onto her features. This was going to be slightly hard to explain.

”This was how the land was before your time: these springs….they were moved by the gods in your time. This was where they had been for centuries…and the city…well those were not but ruins lost far beneath the earth…perfectly preserved in time ruins none the less. Only a few knew where they were; for good reason.”

Aria leaned her back up against some rocks in a deeper end of the spring. Her eyes staring off unfocused by anything really around her. But a somber expression was set on her features.

”We are in our past however as you suspect things are drastically different…people in which history turns for are missing….there are new and odd gods here in this world…some which hadn’t existed before. My knowledge is extensive but its incomplete in light of this new evidence.”

Arias smile returned when the girl questioned her importance. Aria just shook her head, knowing exactly the feelings behind such a statement.

”Free will; mortals will always have free will. The gods can guide mortals, nurture, and teach. But there comes a time when the gods must stand back and let the inventible happen. There are moments in time when only a mortal can affect the outcome of events.”

Aria’s blue green eyes bore down on Ilta.

”The gods will survive; the masses…well that’s another question. You were brought here for a reason, people like you are the fulcrums on which the future turns. They can be anyone from any station of life; judge a book not by its cover….”

She paused when Ilta asked her if she had any idea of why she was brought here; her solemn expression was back on her face.

”I can certainly guess….I know my purpose…your welcome to fallow me if you like? It won’t be safe…and you won’t be able to go back once you join. But it’s a direction…and if you want to make a difference this might be your chance.”

[Deleted]

Ilta groans as Alex explains the geography. “That is horribly disorienting. I see no reasons as to why things had to move.”

As Alex explains that her knowledge was spotty and even wrong in some instances, Ilta shakes her head. “I don’t understand how you can hold onto the claim that this is our past then. It is a past, but it doesn’t have be ours. Ours came and went. Whatever happens now will only change it further from our own. No use trying to recreate things that cannot be,” Ilta says, feeling somewhat resolved in the fact that her world would move on forever without here.

Ilta looks at Alex skeptically. “Free will, huh? Is it really? We were dragged here without consent and told that there was some unknown purpose for us. There hasn’t been that much choice so far. And are you sure they will? If this is our past, some of these Gods do not exist where we are from, meaning gods, like mortals, can die. Actually, thinking about it, I almost feel better knowing that anything can be defeated.”

Ilta doesn’t know why Aria wears such a serious expression now. It fits her face strangely. “Knowing your own purpose puts you better off than most people, myself included. However, I don’t follow people unless I know what they are about. Same reason that I’m not about to work for the crown.  How about you tell me what you intend to do and then I will tell you whether I am willing to aid you or not?”