Prophecy

“This is even more beautiful up close.”

I said gawking at the tall ice building in front of me.

“Yeah, too bad that we aren’t allowed inside.” said Nick.

“Why? Isn’t this where we will be staying?” I asked puzzled.

“We wish. This part of the building is designated for the Grand Lune and his consorts.” he said as if feeling some sort of regret.

“You three, what is your business over this side?” said a rough voice in a thick Russian accent. The sound seemed to be coming from the tree line. We all turned to that direction.

“We have just arrived. It’s my brother Oisin’s first time here. I was just showing him the sites. We were just about to leave.” replied my father using the same Irish accent he’d used earlier with Marc.

Two men clad in white robes, broke through the trees and walked towards us. They stopped a few feet away from us and seemed to be eyeing our dress and the bags that we were carrying.

“Well hurry up and get to your quarters, we don’t any trouble around here.” said the taller of the two in an American accent.

“We can assure you that we won’t be any trouble. Goodnight gentlemen.” he bowed slightly to the men and then turned to us. “Boys.” he said addressing us.

Nick moved off at once, but I stood a while longer staring at the two men. One of them seemed to be wearing a slight smile. The other folded his arms and glared at me.

“Oisin,” I heard my father calling from behind me.

I gave the men a quick smile. “So I’ll see you then.” I said in my own version of an Irish accent. The one with the American accent smiled wider, while the other’s scowl seemed to deepen. I turned slowly to my family. As we walked away, I turned constantly looking back at the two men, who were still standing in the same position.

We’d walked over to the eastern wing of the building and had stopped in front of a small wooden door. Dad grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

“What no story or secret entrances?” I acted surprised at the ease of entry.

Dad only smiled before he stepped inside.

“Well this isn’t too bad.” I said as I entered a huge stone hall, which had stories of stairs spiralling upwards. “Where exactly are we going to sleep?”

“Grab a key and you’ll find out.” he said pointing me over to a notice board of sort. It had about ten small hooks, which had about twenty keys hanging from each.

“Is room forty-two any good?” I asked looking at the tag attached to the key.

“That’s on the third floor, it should be fine.”

“That’s too low for me,” said Naeht grabbing a key from one of the higher hooks. “One hundred ninety- three. That’s more like it.”

We walked over to dad who stood at the base of the stairs.

“I’m going to get a head start since I have a few more stories to climb than you. I’ll catch you tomorrow.” he said before darting halfway up the first floor.

Dad and I walked at a moderate pace until we got to our room door. I pushed the key in and turned the handle once. I flicked on the switch was right at the entrance and scanned my new room. There wasn’t much in the room except too small beds and a small table and a mirror.

I shut the door after dad had entered. He threw his bags on the bed closest to the door and I walked over to the other one and dropped my bags beside it.

There was a thin blue curtain close to the bed. I drew it open. I wiped my hand over the frosted glass and pressed my face up against it. From here, I could see the waterfall and lake.

“Who were those two men that we saw earlier?” I asked without removing my face from the glass. I had been saving that question until we were a safe distance, where I was sure that they couldn’t hear.

“Those two are a part of the Royal Guard. With them already running patrols, it must mean that Ay and his family is here.”

I turned from the window and sat down on the mattress. A waterbed. I bet Summer would get a kick out of that. I smiled. I kicked off my shoes and shuffled out of the thick jacket I was wearing. I then lay back on the low bed.

It was amazing to me how, since the first time I laid eyes on Summer, everything in my world centred around her. It was like she was the sun at the centre of my universe and all the other stars that had once seemed so colossal, immovable, suddenly dimmed into the periphery.

I never knew that it was possible to feel so attached to another person. Even now laying here without her, it felt like some part of me was missing. I wouldn’t say a limb, as I could live without a hand or foot. She was more like my brain or heart, vital organs that kept me alive.

I can remember every single detail of her. From sun-kissed berry, scent of her hair, to the silky, smooth curve of her waist, perfectly chiselled for my arms to rest whenever I held her. The soft crush of her lips against mine … the things she did to my body even at her slightest touch… I inhaled deeply as my brain warmed in the memory of her.

It was hard for me to ignore her fiery spirit that seems to pull me in every time she opened her lips to speak. In the earlier days, I would intentionally say something to annoy or offend her just to hear her speak. Of course she used let me have the full length of her tongue, but it was usually worth it.

I loved her, I knew it even from the earlier days when I’d tried to convince myself that I didn’t. I wanted so badly to leave right now to go home, but I knew that I would probably too weak to move after I left the protection of this place.

“Son, did you hear anything, I just said?” My father’s voice had started drifting back into my consciousness.

“Yes, you were saying something about the Royal Guard and Ay being here.” I said turning to him.

“Yes,” he said eyeing me speculatively.

“So even the mighty Grand Lune needs protection during this period.” I stated before he was allowed to probe further into what I was thinking about, although he must have already guessed.

“Yes, even he is susceptible. One thing about Ay is that he might be cold and treacherous, he isn’t stupid. He knows that this would present the perfect time for someone to attempt a coup. He has to protect himself.”

“But is there anybody in the Lune community who would risk doing that, knowing that it would mean instant death for them if they failed?”

He smiled and wore a strange expression that was hard to understand. “It would be silly and not to mention impossibly hard, but there will always be someone who will try to challenge his authority. One main characteristic of our race is that we are extremely ambitious. Which can be a good thing if applied correctly, but most often times, it is what leads to our downfall.”

“So has anyone tried in recent years?”

“Yes, I can think of quite a few actually, but none of them really got further than the planning stage. As those involved were usually betrayed by someone on their team.

“He usually reacts fast and with much cruelty. All the members of the families of those involved, even those who had no knowledge of what was going on. When found, they are slaughtered on spot, as an example to the rest of the community. But even then there are those who still try.”

“So many innocent ones are killed naught; the whole deal is rather shameless.” I stated bitterly.

“That’s just the price of corruption. Any system of government built on such vice foundations, usually suffer the outcome you see being manifested now.”

“I hope that one day someone will succeed, all this madness has to end and very soon.”

“I hope so too. I just hope that the next one will not be as equally vile as this leader. What would be the use of swapping spoiled cabbage in exchange for a rotting carcass? The both of them will still cause a nauseating stink.” he said with a hint of wariness in his tone. If I didn’t know better I would think he was aiming the comment directly at me.

Becoming the next Grand Lune would be impossible. I wouldn’t know how to even start planning a coup. I didn’t know if even wanted to rule. I was happy being just Rain. Would be just Rain.

Wrong…not just Rain.. more than Rain…

I sat up quickly as there was a heavy pounding on the door.

“Who could that be?” I whispered.

Dad placed his finger over his lip signalling me to be quiet. “I’ll get it.” he then moved over to the door. I stood silently and folded my arms as he opened the door.

“Greetings in the name of Grand Lune Ay.” said the man dressed in the full white robe. I recognised his voice as being the American we’d met coming in. He stepped into the room. He stepped into the room and removed his hood, showing his silver hair, which was cropped short at his neck.

I dropped my arms and shifted my weight to my other leg.

Safe….safe Lune…

“As to you,” said my father before closing the door.

“I see that you are all settled here.”

“Yes we are. I don’t mean to be rude but how can we help you? We’ve been travelling all day and would like to get some rest.” said my father using his Irish accent.

“I can understand the weariness of you and your son, especially under the present conditions. I will be quick.”

“Yes my brother and I are very tired.” replied my father emphasising the word brother.

“Yes, excuse my mistake.” he looked at me with a slight smile, which made me a little uneasy, but I tried not to let it show on my face. “I’m just here to give you this,” he said handing a piece of paper to my father, who took it from him and seemed to be scanning it.

“What is it?” I asked coming closer.

“It is a list of events leading up to the eclipse,” I frowned slightly. “You didn’t think that you would spend the whole time lying in bed did you?” he said addressing me.

“No of course not.” I replied brusquely. “May I see it William.” I said to my dad, who handed the piece of paper to me.

“Well, that is all.” he started heading out the door and then stopped and looked behind him. “Where is your other brother?”

“My younger brother decided to get a different room higher up. He decided to leave the babysitting to me.” said my father with a hint of jest in his tone. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” he said nonchalantly. “I look forward to seeing you around, especially you young Oisin, was it?” His emerald green eyes flickered to my face.

“Yes,” I answered.

He smiled slightly then walked out the door closing it behind him.

I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps in the hall. “What was that?” I whispered.

“A test,” said my father still using his Irish accent. It must have been a precautionary method, just in case our visitor was still listening in. He walked up to the frosty window. I sat on my bed. “They wanted to see if our story was strait. He intentionally called you my son to see how I’d react. If he’d remembered your name, then it would be unlikely for him to forget our relationship to each other.”

“Do you think he will go and speak to Ethan?” I said re-adopting my own accent.

“I don’t think so. I think he heard all he wanted.” he said turning to me. “You better get some rest, as you can see that you have a full day in front of you.”

“Don’t we all,”

“No those things are planned mainly for the younger ones.” I frowned and re-read the paper. “They’re looking for young blood to add to the Guard. Those activities are meant to test your strengths. The best among you will be selected and will be asked serve under the Guard.”

I looked over the list. Tomorrow would be a test of swordsmanship. The following days would see a swimming, archery and water bending competition, all leading up to a closing address by the Grand Lune himself.

I knew that my skills were a little more than average in all the named, except bending. I lived under a bloody lake, so swimming shouldn’t be a problem. On the other hand, probably so did many of the other shifters I would have to compete against.

The others events were mainly physical and dad had introduced me to them from I was a child, during our many ‘hunting’ trips and his ‘king and castle’ games. Which I soon found out were all a part of his shifter-training regimen.

I was only exposed to bending a few years ago when he told me the whole truth about what I really was. I still had years of learning to do in this aspect of my training, so it would probably be my only downfall, during these games.

“Do I have to participate?”

“Yes.”

“But I thought we didn’t want to draw undue attention to ourselves while we are here.”

“Yes, but with you not participating will do just the opposite of what you want, since every other young one will be entered.”

I sighed heavily and ran my hands through my hair. “Let’s say by some dubious chance that I am asked to join, for let’s face it there might be others out there who are stronger than me, do I have to accept?”

“You seem to underestimate your strengths, but humility is always good, it will better prepare you to face challenges and to expect the unexpected.”

“You are avoiding the question.” I said impatiently.

“No, you don’t have to join. If you refuse they will see that you’re not entirely committed to their cause. They’ll only want persons whom they are sure will be loyal in their duties.”

“So what do I do?”

“You do your best; you can look at this as an opportunity to learn new things and is a chance to really test yourself.”

“You knew that they were going to do this, that’s why you brought me along, didn’t you?” I asked accusingly.

I watched him as he moved silently over to the light switch. “You should probably get some sleep. You have a lot coming up.” He flicked the light off.

So I was right. I put the piece of paper on the floor and folded my arms under my head as I lay down. I had a lot to digest and to prepare for. The voices in their ominous monotones had been reduced to whispers and sleep dragged heavily on my lids. I succumbed easily to the darkness.

I was awakened by the soft padding of my father’s footsteps as he walked across the room. The water in the mattress sloshed around as I got up. He had changed out of the travel wear he had on last night into the traditional garb of the Lunes. This consisted of a light loose fitting button less shirt, which had the crescent moon insignia of the Lunes embroidered on the upper left part of the shirt and a black trousers, whose foot was bound into place by high-strapped leather sandals. The ensemble would be completed with a long hooded robe, which he’d obviously decided not to wear. We wore this not only because everyone else would be dressed similarly, but also of the advantage it posed of changing with our bodies whenever shifted forms.

“You should probably start getting ready; you have a long day in front of you. The washroom is at the end of the hall. I’m going over to the games field. I suspect that I will be seeing you in due time?” he said raising an eyebrow.

“As soon as I’m done, here.” I replied curtly and stood up.

“I know you are not pleased with the turn things have taken, but you will see the benefits of it later. Bring the key with you when you are coming.” he said before he walked out the door.

I searched through my bag until I found a small elastic band, which I used to pull my hair back. I folded it under as I didn’t want it getting in my way while I washed.

I walked hurriedly over to the bathroom. Usually I abhorred anything hot or even remotely warm, but of recent times, I seemed to be limbering up to the idea of using hot water whenever I showered.

I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked back to my keep. I would have more privacy, since this was a communal shower and anybody could walk in at anytime.

I changed quickly into the garb, similar to what my father was wearing. I didn’t think I would need anything else as I was sure that my father hadn’t brought any weaponry with him. I assumed that all that I needed would be provided by the host. I grabbed the key and marched out the door.

It was about high noon, but it was hard to tell as the place was still dark and the only faint rays of sunlight that came through the cracks in the dome, were cast off the rocky pillars into varying colours of the spectrum. I stood akimbo with my lips slightly pressed together. I was told to go to the games field, but I had no idea of where to find it. The idea of searching the entire premises seemed daunting.

“You look lost.” said a voice that was becoming all too familiar.

I turned to face the white robed figure moving towards me. “Yes I am. My brother skipped out on me. I was told to meet them at the games field, but he forgot to tell me where it was.”

“The games field is east facing north of the lake.”

I stared at him vapidly as his directions were still vague. “Which direction is north?” He pointed to the building I’d just come out of. “You could have just told me that it was to the right of the lake.” I said after following his instructions.

“Yes, I could have, but I didn’t.” he smiled. “I’m heading in that direction.” he said moving off. I followed and kept pace with him.

“You could have also told me that.”

“Yes, I could have, but that wasn’t the question that was posed. You asked for the direction of the field, which I told you, not whether or not I was going to the field.”

“You’re impossible,” I said smiling slightly.

“Not impossible, just well trained. In the Guard, we learn to answer just what is asked of you. You’ll find that you’ll get in a lot less trouble that way.” he replied as we broke through the tree line. “So I take it that you’ll be participating in the week’s activities?” he asked turning to me.

“Do I have a choice?” I said with a hint of dark humour. He merely shook his head at my response.

As we moved further into the snowy forest, the sounds of clanging metal and people chattering became more audible. We soon burst onto a wide courtyard, which was dotted with black and silver haired people, moving aimlessly about. The place became silent as soon as they’d noted the entrance of the white robed figure beside me.

“Best of luck to you.” he said softly.

“I’ll probably need it.” I grumbled sourly.

“Somehow I doubt that you will.” he smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder before moving towards the centre of the field.

It was weird that he’d expressed so much confidence in someone he hardly knew. His cordial behaviour was even more surprising, despite the aggressive air I presented every time we’d met. I was prepared for anything but such open acceptance, especially from one who served under the Royal Guard.

“Greetings in the name of Grand Lune Ay.” he said with his voice echoing around the field.

“As to you,” was the jumbled response of the crowd.

“Well we are once again gathered to test the abilities of our young ones, to select the best of the best to serve our leader on the greatest and strongest army in existence.” his voice seemed to echo with pride as he spoke.

The crowd gave a brief roar and then came to silence after he’d put up his hands for quiet.

“Well let’s not delay any longer, all participants step towards the centre of the yard.”

I inhaled deeply and looked around at the crowd. I tried to make out the figure of either my father or brother who I was sure was watching somewhere in the crowd. I gave up the search after a while as there were just too many black and silver heads to search through.

I moved purposefully to the centre of the field, where I was joined by nine other young persons. I was a bit surprised when I noticed that a female was among the lot. She was pretty, but I’d seen much greater beauty. I smiled internally. I tore my stare away from her when she’d looked in my direction.

“These are the simple rules of the game. You’ll be separated into two groups of five. Each member of the group will face each other. The winner of the most games from each group will then face each other and the winner of this competition will be determined.

“All the fights are expected to be clean, absolutely no bending is allowed as there is a separate game set to test that ability. Everyone understands these rules?” There were marked nods of consent among all the participants. “Good. Now you’ll be given steel swords so don’t try cutting each other because it will not work. The match ends whenever one opponent is pinned into submission or completely disarmed. That is, the whole sword hit’s the ground.”

He waved to someone in the crowd and two men came forward clutching sheathed swords under their arms. Each of us was given a weapon. I drew mine out its scabbard and pushed the blade downwards. The blade sang as I released it and allowed it to vibrate until it stopped on its own accord. I ran my finger along the edges of the blade, which were very sharp, but proved harmless on my almost impenetrable skin.

“So you five standing here are in one group,” he said pushing me and a few others to the right. “The second group,” he said raising an eyebrow at them. “In the interest of time, several games will be running simultaneously, but don’t think that you can get away with cheating as several of us will be watching.” I looked about the court and noted four other white clad men each standing at each corner of the rectangular court.

“Well the crowd’s anxious so let’s get started. This group follow me to this side. The others go with Vitali to the other end.” he then walked with us to the right side of the court. “Names,” he said taking out a piece of paper and scribbled on it as we gave our names.

“Oisin, you and Lars and James you are paired with Matthew.

I walked over to the left and waited. My heart raced as I watched my opponent walk to the opposite side of our little sparing ring. He was approximately half a foot taller than me, and was a bit bulkier. His whole countenance was rather smug. I knew that it beamed from his knowledge of his height advantage.

“Withdraw,” I heard the guard say.

I did just that and waited. An eerie silence covered the courtyard, as the anticipation of the crowd built up around us.

“Engage,”

I held my position. I smiled slightly as I watched the large Lune running towards me and hollering. I’d spotted his weakness. He had a height advantage, but from his poor handling of the sword and the clumsiness with which he moved, it would be easy to disarm him.

Stand still,….three… two …one …attack…..

I swiped my sword under his. There was a loud clang as the blades met. My sudden strike had loosened his hold on the weapon, so I quickly twisted the blade around in his hand and with a final strike; I knocked it from his hands.

I stepped away from my engager, swinging my sword around once before sheathing it at my side. The motion was almost theatrical. He wore an expression of surprise and probably shock, as he stared at the grounded weapon. As I walked over to the waiting area, I stared way across to the opposite side of the yard. I was drawn to one match in particular. It was with the girl I’d seen earlier. From what I could see, she wasn’t a lumbering lug-bug as my former opponent, but was actually a skilled swordswoman. I watched with interest as she delivered her final blow, which sent her opponents sword flying over his head.

Before I even reached the waiting area, I was called back to face my second opponent. He fared better than the first, but still was no match. I’d won all my first three matches and this final one wasn’t much different from the others. I bowed slightly to my challenger after disarming him.

The whole process had taken me less than an hour and most of my time was spent waiting for the other matches to end. I walked back to the end of the court, where I saw dad and Nick walking towards me. Dad was beaming while my brother wore a more sombre expression.

“What the hell are you trying to do, get drafted into the Royal Guard?” asked Naeht acridly.

“Of course not Ethan,” I replied equally sharp.

“I was the one who told him not to hold back.” said my father in a placating tone.

“What? Why?” he sounded confused.

“You there, leave the gabbing until after the final match.” said one of the guards.

“I’ll explain later,” my father whispered. “Good luck with your next match. The girl will not be as easy to beat the others. You might have to use more than your swordsmanship skills to win this one.” he said warily, before walking off. I then moved closer to the centre of the field.

The matches on the other side seemed to have been more competitive as I had to wait for another half hour before I was again called to the fore.

My final opponent was to be the girl. She hadn’t won all of her matches, which gave me some hope that I could still beat her. Not that I doubted my own ability, but it appeared that the matches on the other side were of a higher calibre than those I participated in.

“Well, it took some doing, but we are finally down to the final match of the day. It will be between Scarlett von Haug,” there was an uproar in the crowd. “And Oisin O’ Shea,” there was still a little applause, but it wasn’t as loud as the first.

I studied the lean form of the girl who stood before me. She was clad in a blue thigh length dress, which matched the colours of her eyes, and she seemed to be examining me as well.

Trouble….troubled….avoid trouble…

“What, no snotty remarks?” she trilled in a high soprano tone, which was marked by an eastern European accent.

“It would be awfully stupid of me to underestimate your potency as an opponent, seeing that you’re the last one standing from your group. Besides, you’re the crowd favourite.”

“So I am,” her lips tilted into a smile.

“Opponents, stand at ready,” we both unsheathed our swords “...Engage!” he said flagging us on.

We both stood waiting for the other to attack. I was about to make the first move before she soon disappeared. I heard her footsteps coming from behind me. I turned sharply, just in time to block her attack. I charged forward and she carefully dodged my attempt. We moved back and forth across the field, each time ducking and blocking the intricate combinations we’d both coined. Our swords clanged heavily against each other, as their owners swung lethal blows at each other.

Her face wore a mask of total determination and concentration, but there signs of her tiring leaking through the fine creases of her forehead. We’d been going at it for fifteen minutes without break and it obvious that we were both running out of new ideas. Dad was right about me having to use more than my swordsmanship to in order to win, but what?

Bend low…,low blow…

I dodged another of her assaults, and managed to manoeuvre one of my trickiest combinations, which had left us in a deadlock. I could feel her heated breath brushing hard against my face, as the only thing separating us was our weapons. We pushed each other away.

Bend low…low blow….

I inhaled deeply and quickly brushed back the loose strands of hair that had fallen into my face with my free hand. I saw her stoop briefly and then advanced quickly. I felt a sudden wetness sting my face and my eyes. It was only snow. No harm was done but it had distracted me only for a one tenth of a second, enough time for me to lose my form.

Her powerful slashing undercut sent my sword flying up out of my hand. I was not going to lose. I hurled myself into the air, catching my blade before it hit ground. As I landed, I surged towards her at full speed. I knew that she was expecting me to use the same undercut that she’d used on me. However, as she swung at me, I dipped lower and then slashed at her unprotected shins. It didn‘t cut her of course but it was enough to cause her to lose balance and throwing her weapon away. I quickly caught the falling sword. I crossed both weapons at her neck, pinning her to the ground.

Her steely eyes bored into mine. I removed the swords from her throat and stepped away. I put both weapons in one hand and extended the other hand to her. She smiled slightly and then took it. I pulled her to her feet.

“I was not expecting that,” she trilled.

“I was counting on that.” I smiled and threw the metal swords on the ground.

Our exchange was broken by the white clad guard who I’d met earlier. “We have a winner, Oisin O’ Shea.” This time the crowd seemed more appreciative of my efforts as the applause I received was a lot warmer.

I bowed slightly and waved once at the crowd.

“Seems like we have a new crowd favourite,” she smiled. “But this is only one competition, I’m sure I’ll beat you in the others.” she said gaily before skipping off.

I smiled and shook my head and started towards the stands, where I knew my family would be.

“That was quite a show,” said the familiar American accent. “I thought you said you’d be needing luck.” he smiled.

I turned to face the white robed figure. “I did, and I think I might have used it up in one day.”

“Well luck or no luck, no matter how you fare in the other competitions, it will be hard to ignore a performance like that, even with snow in your face. I think you are fast on your way of becoming our newest addition to the Royal Guard.” he tapped me gently on the shoulder once and gave a wink. “I’ll be seeing you around Oisin O’ Shea.” he said before walking towards the other robed figures, which seemed to be waiting on him at the far end of the court.

I stood transfixed both with fear and wonderment. A slight shudder ran through my back as I watched the fast yet dignified retreat of the guard.

“What was that all about?” asked my brother who, with my father had pulled up beside me.

“It seems that I’ve booked my place on the Royal Guard.” I said finally turning to face them. “Dad I hope you have a very good plan to end all this madness.”

“Don’t I always, besides madness wouldn’t be the word I’d choose to describe it. This is all fun and games.” he smiled.