The Auroroborus Saga

[Kai]

'Rolandsgaard's throne Room' not 'Rolandsgaard’s thrown room' sorry I mentally correct everything I read...
But great story Starry!

[Rain]

So do I, Keely! ;D
And Starry, awesome chapter!

[321unicorn]

Nice one!
Update soon!

[ponyiowa]

Cool! Update soon!

[Starry Dancer]

Next update! it's slowly grinding into gear, but I have been writing ahead a bit and can't wait to post the next bit!


Oh, nd here's Tarragon's card for reference!



The rest of the day was spent in flight. The early spring weather was fair, thankfully; when they stopped to rest for brunch on the edge of the Brightree rainforest, it was even pleasantly warm, with a cool breeze stirring the canopy high above. Mina wordlessly doled out some dried fruit and hardtack to Strahlen and herself, and then supplemented the horses’ meals of fresh grass with sugar cubes from her sack.

Strahlen ate in silence for a while, but Mina could tell that she was pondering something. At last, in a voice far removed from the bravado Mina was expecting, Strahlen asked, “Do you think they’re all right?”

Mina softened. She would be in a bad mood, too, if her family, friends, and entire community had disappeared off the face of the earth. “Why not?” she said, trying to give Strahlen a reassuring smile. “For all we know, Ivenna may have had nothing to do with this. North of North’s full of magic, good and bad. ”

Strahlen nodded, poking at the thick rainforest loam under her feet with a stick. “But what then? What if Ivenna doesn’t know what happened to them? We don’t have a lead, no one to contact, no tracks, no clues.”
Mina thought for a minute, drumming her fingers on the log she was sitting on. “In that case, we take the magic bit into our own hands,” she concluded.
Strahlen rewarded her optimism with a smile.
The remaining hours were spent in conversation. The ice had clearly been broken between the girls, and they now flew shoulder to shoulder, chatting and swapping stories. Nightingale and Tarragon had already formed an alliance of sorts, and were eager to illustrate their riders’ tales with mental images. Strahlen told of how she and Tarragon had accepted a dare to sample every edible plant in the forest, along with the rest of the Spice horses and their riders. Spice horses excreted the smell of whatever they had recently eaten form their pores, and, thus, posed significant problems for their riders if they had eaten, say, chile peppers, spicy onions, or especially pungent herbs. Strahlen told of how she and Tarragon had been the champions of the day, not even letting the notoriously eye-watering Fire Pepper get in the way of their challenge. “But of course, Tarragon’s favorite food is…”
“Let me guess: tarragon!” finished Mina, giggling. The Pegasus whinnied in assent, secreting a mist of bittersweet, tangy tarragon herb from his wingtips.
Mina told the story, at Strahlen’s specific request, of how she had defeated the duplicitous Thetans, immortal siblings with shape-shifting powers. By the time they landed to rest for the night, Mina could see that they were well on their way to becoming very good friends.

The spirits of the whole party, however, sank quite low when they saw that they were camped at the very edge of Bella and Sara’s domain. The dense woods were beginning to show signs of evil and blight. Black, charred trees reared up amongst the healthy green ones, growing more and more common as the forest marched west. A dark miasma, purplish-black in color, could be seen swirling over the horizon. Strahlen suggested that it came from the Styginmore swamps.

As darkness fell, the horses suddenly pricked up their ears, eyes wide. Mina thought she could pick out, among the rustling of dead branches and whistle of the wind, an eerie wolf’s howl. A thought from Nightingale confirmed her worst fears.

[ponyiowa]

Cliffie! Cool!

[Rain]

;D

[ponyiowa]

Oh, and I love the picture of Tarragon!

[321unicorn]

I can't Wait to read what happens Next!
Update very soon!

[Starry Dancer]

At any rate, the four passed the night unscathed. In the morning, over a breakfast of forest tubers dug up by Strahlen, the girls and steeds poured over Mina’s map.
“I’m impressed with how far we’ve come,” Strahlen announced, sitting back on her heels. “It took Tarr and I a full day’s sprint from where I last saw my people to get to Rolandsgaard, and that was with the wind in our favor.”
Mina nodded, tracing the scant distance from their current position to the darkly inked outline of Styginmoor. “It looks like we won’t even be a full day in the sky,” she commented. “We should reach the castle-”
“-too soon!” exclaimed Strahlen, suddenly standing and striding over to Tarragon. She busied herself adjusting the straps on her saddlebags. “The sooner we get this over and find my people, the better. But there’s a problem: Ivenna and her minions will suspect something the minute they see a non-spice Pegasus- with all due respect, Nightingale.”
Nightingale stopped her grazing for a minute and pondered, and then sent Mina and Strahlen an image of a plant strange to Mina.
“Cardamom! ” cried Strahlen. “It’s a spice my mother uses in cooking.”
“Do you want us to disguise you as a spice mare with cardamom, ‘Gale?” Mina asked.
Nightingale nodded enthusiastically, and Tarragon galloped off to locate some of the pungent, sweet-smelling herb. He soon returned with a stalk of the plant, and the girls helped to rub it into Nightingale’s chocolate-colored coat. In no time, she smelled “like a month’s supply of cardamom cheesecake,” according to Strahlen, and the disguise was complete.


Flying again; the green trees in the forest below were soon supplanted by black trunks, hung with eerie creepers. Any birds that may have been present were silent. A malaise seemed to permeate the air, but the girls and their horses were focused on the dark spires of Styginmoor. As they grew closer, they could sometimes spot the rush of a wolf on the forest floor, speeding on towards the castle. Mina and Strahlen exchanged a look as if to say, “We’re being followed,” but didn’t make a peep.

As the sun began its descent from noon, the rolling mountains dropped away to reveal the rock-studded swamp that surrounded the castle. In a gradual coast, the two pairs floated silently towards the yawning gate that marked the entrance into Ivenna’s very home. As if from thin air, a platoon of snarling, snapping wolves materialized at their sides, barely under control as they herded the horses through the gates, which swung open as if by magic, and into a cold, dank courtyard. Mina had never been so scared in her life. She repressed the urge to reach for her rapier.
The wolves stopped, leaving the horses and riders still in their midst, and the gates slammed shut behind them with a reverberating BOOM. All four flinched, then snapped to attention as a deep, growling voice came from the top of a towering stone staircase before them: “Who goes there?”
Mina knew that the voice could only belong to Myrfor, the ruthless leader of all North of North wolves. Sure enough, the gigantic wolf at the top of the stairs fit his description perfectly. She was thankful that Strahlen had agreed to do the talking, as her voice had deserted her entirely.
“We request an audience with milady Ivenna of Styginmoor,” Strahlen said, effectively keeping a tremor out of her voice.
“What about, Traveler?” Myrfor asked, though the malicious glint in his eyes suggested that he already knew the answer.
“Concerning the disappearance of the Travelers. Sir,” Strahlen replied.
Without a word, Myrfor turned and disappeared through the door at his back. A minute later, he had returned. “The Lady Ivenna will see you now,” he said stiffly. The wolves surged forward, causing Tarragon to spook and skitter sideways. Strahlen calmed him, narrowly avoiding a collision with a particularly grizzled wolf as they were carried up the stairs and through the gate by the throng on growling, snapping fur and teeth. Mina clung to Nightingale’s mane for support, her ridiculous fluffy chaps buffeted by the bodies of their lupine guards. She had hardly a chance to take mental notes on the layout or disposition of Styginmoor castle’s interior for future battle plans; all she knew was that, at an alarming rate, they were closing in on the throne room where Ivenna herself held court.

[cammin]

OH WOW this is soooooo amazing! please please please write more soon!

[Starry Dancer]

Thanks, cammin! Here's a chapter just for you!


“Who have you brought this time, Myrfor?”


The voice was merely annoyed, but still as chilling as if it had been screaming at them. Mina craned her neck to see the throne on the absurdly high dias. As they got closer, she could make out the shape of a person, swathed in white-furred robes- reclining? Sure enough, Ivenna was stretched length-wise across her throne, sipping a glass of a vile-looking liquid and staring at her guests (or prisoners, Mina thought with a shiver) with lazy contempt.

“Travelers, milady,” Myrfor rumbled. As if on a silent cue, the milling pack of wolves melted away into the shadows at the edges of the vast throne room.

“And what do you ask my time for, Travelers?” Ivenna smirked. She obviously already knew the answer to their question, and furthermore knew exactly what they would ask.
Mina was clenching her teeth where she stood. Here she was, a Valkyrie apprentice in the very hall of North of North’s greatest enemy- and she could do nothing! One sign of hostility would mean certain mauling at the hands of the wolves, or at least some nasty spell cast by Ivenna. But O, how she wished that she could summon the legendaries straightaway…
Strahlen dismounted and stepped forward, offering a stiff bow. “With all due respect, milady, my- our people have disappeared. We came to inquire if you knew anything of their whereabouts, you being all-powerful and all-seeing.”

Ivenna let out a hoarse cackle, rolling into a sitting posture on her throne. Then she leaned forward, peering over the dias to better see them. “Flattery won’t get you too far in this court, dear,” she said in a cloyingly sweet voice. “It’ll only buy you time. Now what have we here? A heroine-” Strahlen, obviously, “-two spice horses and-” her brown wrinkled when she spotted Mina. “Aren’t you a bit… puny to be a lumberjack?”

Mina tried to open her mouth and say something, but nothing came out of her mouth. Speak! She shouted at herself mentally. Thankfully, Strahlen picked up the slack: “He’s just learning how, milady,” she replied, eyes downcast. “He’s only twelve.”

Ivenna settled back in her seat, apparently satisfied for the present. “Very well; I am tempted to tell you just exactly where your people are- I know, of course- right here and now, but my better judgment prevails. I ask myself, ‘What have I to gain from this exchange?’ So I ask you: why should I?”

[ponyiowa]

Cool! Update soon!

[Starry Dancer]

I will update after I get back from vacation, Pony and Cammin! I have about half of an update ready until then...

[Starry Dancer]

Strahlen was at a momentary loss for words, but valiantly rallied to say, “We are so very humble, milady, that you have no reason to tell us. However, it will heighten our esteem for you even more than it is, and we will be forever in your debt-”
Mina momentarily let her mind wander as Strahlen continued to flatter. She was slightly concerned that her compatriot was laying it on a little thick, but Ivenna seemed to be lapping up the praise like a cat drinking cream.

“You are quite right, Starling, your name was? Under typical circumstances, I would refuse you for my own amusement. This time, though, my work is simply too ingenious to keep to myself. Follow me.” Ivenna leapt from the dias in a manner quite reminiscent of a panther, and jerked her chin towards a clump of wolves in a corner. They swarmed out, engulfing Strahlen and Mina in their midst and drawing them down a hallway after their mistress’s quick stride. Tarragon and Nightingale’s eyes showed white around the edges, and their hooves beat a frustrated rhythm on the onyx tiles. Both girls sent them calming thoughts, and Mina was slightly relieved. At least here, the two steeds could fly up into the lofty rafters of the throne room if any danger were posed.

After a few minutes of winding passageway, dank and dripping with icy water, Mina and Strahlen were deposited in a second cavernous room. However, this room, instead of being entirely dark, was lit with pulsing light that emanated from countless glass orbs, floating lazily through the chilly air. It wasn’t the chill that sent a tingle down Mina’s spine; with a sinking in the pit of her stomach, she suddenly knew what had become of the Travelers.

“You girls are familiar with that little comeuppance I had with your little friends in Rolandsgaard, hmm?” Ivenna said, her voice artificially sweet and crawling with sarcasm. “The one with the fairies? I think Sara must have told all you…you… lowly citizens how I learned about the seven roads to herd Moonfairy; but in case your backwater community never got the news, I’ll give you a review.” Ivenna began to pace between the orbs, every so often picking one out of thin air and inspecting its contents. “I kidnapped one of the Fairy Queens, Rime, I believe, shrunk her, and imprisoned her in one of my lovely baubles until she told me the secret to finding Feywind castle.”

Strahlen’s face paled with her epiphany.
Ivenna’s voice was practically oozing when she let out a laugh and brandished a large orb before the girls’ faces. Neither could pull their eyes away from the assortment of tiny horses, humans, and wagons jumbled in the bottom of the ball. “That’s right, dears,” the sorceress cooed. “Your people were… getting in my way. I need the land they pretend to own. So, I merely shrunk my problem. A manageable size, isn’t it?” She cackled at her own wit.

Strahlen was sputtering in incoherent anger. Mina was stunned into silence. Finally, the older girl found her voice.

“So you’ve dispossessed my- our- people?” she barked, voice hardly under control.
“And why not?” retorted Ivenna, tossing the orb skyward and watching it float slowly back down.

“You know we’ve more than paid in full for the Moor!” Strahlen was shouting now.

Ivenna’s eyebrows plunged together and the sickly smile disappeared from her face. She took and menacing step towards the girls, who automatically leapt back.

“That is no concern of mine,” Ivenna growled. “Now, get out of my sight!”