Greetings all. I hope your week got off to a great start! This is a continuation of what Zak left us with Part 20 last week. Unfortunately, I am somewhat poorly at the moment, so not great reveal or anything exciting. However, it is a great set up for Zak to do his thing later in the week.
“Ouch!”
Her hand made contact with a body and then she was promptly kicked in the chest. All the air left her lungs, and she was left gasping for breath. There was a roar of laughter and her eyes snapped open.
A dream? It was all a dream?
Derric was sitting up and rubbing his chest while growling at her. Mortis was just about rocking off his chair as he laughed, and Adiran blearily looked at the pile of children and muttered.
“Come now, children. No need to fight.” The mage got to his feet and stretched. “Night will be here soon. We should get ready to get going.”
“But what about dinner! We can’t leave before dinner!” chimed in Derric.
“Young man, you will need to learn to eat in the saddle.”
“In the saddle?” Derric looked at him in confusion. “You expect me to ride a horse?”
Magna slowly stood up and looked at her right hand, and then her left. The dream gnawed at her. The sword she had drawn, it had been in her left hand, not her right. She instinctually knew that it was her blade, but she had never seen the one she had drawn in the dream.
“Magna, I asked you a question.” Stated Derric.
“What?” Her attention snapped to him.
“Do I have to ride a horse?”
“I don’t think we have a spare horse.” She said stupidly.
“The boy is slight enough that he can ride with you.” Said Mortis as he pointed outside. “As for dinner, I believe Millmor said…Daisy, was it? Has gone hunting for you.”
“Means we are getting rabbits!” Derric seemed ecstatic and bound over to Mortis to find out more.
Magna, unable to shake her dream, sided up to her uncle and said softly. “Uncle, I dreamt of something strange.”
The older man rubbed at his eyes and muttered, “You and me both.”
“There was this sword. It shone like Helios, but it was strange. I drew it with my left hand.” She continued to look at her hand. “Why my left? Unlike you and my brother, I am not ambidextrous, much to Mother’s disgust. Why would I draw…”
“I am not an Oneirologist, Magna.” Snapped Adiran as his face went pale, “I don’t study dreams and I have no idea what it can mean.”
“Was it made of steel or silver?” asked Mortis as he held off the boy from taking off his helm.
“Silver.” Said Magna without hesitation.
An odd choking sound came from Adiran, and he tried to cover it with a cough. He quickly left the cottage and went into the gathering darkness, leaving Magna feeling as if she had done something wrong.
“Interesting. I guess the Gods are at play.”
Derric took to swinging from one of Mortis’s arms and Magna was momentarily distracted by the strength of the knight before what he said really hit home. “The Gods?”
“You are old enough to know of the Gods. Why do you seem so shocked?”
“I know of the Gods as I know of Ghouls. Doesn’t mean I believe in them.” She sneered.
She could immediately tell from the change in Mortis’ body language that she had said something wrong.
“What world do we live in when children don’t believe in Gods?” he muttered as he got to his feet.
He then looked down at Derric. “And you, young man, need a weapon.”
“I have my teeth.” He grinned.
“Not good enough. Let’s see what Millmor had brought from the forest for you.”
And like that, Magna had been ignored, leaving her feeling like her dream meant far more to others than what it meant to her.
Adiran walked for some distance before he sank himself to the base of a large tree. He had barely managed to get out of the cabin when the tears started gathering in his eyes. Why did this have to happen now?
“She is too young to be pulled into these games.” He whispered to the gathering darkness. “Please leave her be. She is innocent.”
He slammed his fists into the ground hard enough to skin his knuckles, “I didn’t work this hard and for this long for you to turn a blind eye to me and move it onto her! Leave her be!”
All around him, the forest remained silent, and there was no answer to his demand.
“I have done everything you expected of me. The deal was, you left her alone, you were always meant to leave her alone. It is me you want. It has always been me.”
“What are you muttering about?” came a cold voice from the forest.
Adiran looked up in time to see the Ghoul King come from the darkness. He remained within the shadows of the trees, watching the mage in the dying light of the forest. It was clear he had heard some of the ravings, but Adiran wasn’t sure just how much he had heard, and he didn’t feel like explaining.
“Family concerns.” He said as he got to his feet.
And that is where I will leave it for @zakludick for later in the week. Have a great week everyone!
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
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Mortis Custos Parts
| by @lex-zaiya | by @zakludick |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | Part 2 |
| Part 3 | Part 4 |
| Part 5 | Part 6 |
| Part 7 | Part 8 |
| Part 9 | Part 10 |
| Part 11 | Part 12 |
| Part 13 | Part 14 |
| Part 15 | Part 16 |
| Part 17 | Part 18 |
| Part 19 | Part 20 |
| Part 21 - You are here | Part 22 - Coming Soon |
The Reader List
If you would like to be tagged in every episode of Mortis Custos, leave us a comment and get added in, miss nothing!
Right now I will add people who have been keeping an eye on this series:
@weone, @merenludick, @clairemobey, @shopnilhasan, @therneau, @blitzzzz, @pravesho, @joetunex, @captainquack22, @irisworld, @braaiboy, @sketchygamerguy, @fuego-oscuro, @felt.buzz, @dibblers.dabs, @beeber, @brittandjosie, @tamacvet, @thinkrdotexe, @alonicus, @joetunex