The Seventh Day
In the middle of the chamber, Fickerfut and Fernkellis danced with joy. Billy was near the wall inspecting it or looking for something. Ogloromn stood where he was, freshly hauled from the darkness of the tunnel, blinking in the torch light and looking about him.
He focused. The chamber he was in was large. Its walls had a strange metallic purple tinge to them, they were rough and multifaceted. The ground was dirt and dull brown. There were three tunnels leading out from the room. Billy approached one and peered inside. He went through with a cool and confident gait.
Fickerfut started a fire out of some wood from his pack. He settled near to tend to it. Fernkellis looked about with an air of elation. It was now that it suddenly hit Ogloromn that he had no clear idea of what was going on. From the very first day, when he had been snatched from his normal life, to this day, when he stood inside an odd purple cave far from home, everything seemed a blur. For the first time he was confronted with the question of "What am i doing here?"
He straightened his back and lifted his head. His mind was clear and sharp. A million things seemed to rush from every corner of his head at once, but he held them at bay. There was something odd going on here. There was a powerful feeling that had awoken him to this state of awareness that was now lost among the other competing thoughts. He was in a cave, doing nothing. He felt there was something he ought to do. But what and why? Perhaps the others knew.
"Why are we here?" he posed the question to Fernkellis. Fernkellis grinned his mischevious little grin and said,"A little philosophical, isn't that?" Ogloromn battled to keep the edge in his thoughts. "I mean, why have we come here, really?" Fernkellis looked at him with a bored expression. "Cause its there." he replied. Ogloromn looked at Fickerfut working away at the fire. He had taken out a knife and was carving a small ring around the flame in the dirt. He looked very intent. There was something very doglike in his action. Ogloromn looked up to speak. "I am going down these corridors." Fernkellis had cut him off with the very same thought. He had an adventurous gleam in his eye. "I'll come with you", said Ogloromn. Perhaps a look at these corridors will lend me clarity, he thought. "Are you coming?" Fernkellis asked Fickerfut. The man said nothing and continued to construct doggedly what looked more and more like a fire place. As they left through the corridor opposite Billy's, they heard him mutter,"Must have a fire. Can't bloody well do without that, can we?"
The corridor was dark and hewn into the rock. It went forward for some way until it gave way to a chamber similar to the one they had left. "Not much variety huh?" said Fernkellis. Ogloromn was battling with focus. "Why are they called The Stones of Birth?" "Don't know," said Fernkellis with rapidly growing impatience. There was a corridor to the other side. "Wonder where that goes", he said and moved swiftly towards it. Ogloromn struggled with the idea of keeping up. He decided not to. He found a smaller corridor 90 degrees to the left and went through it.
A lot of thoughts were crowding his mind. He wondered about Birth Stones, what they were. The process of Birth, what it was. How it was that he had come here but had no memory of when he had first left here, years ago. All this he wondered. And that powerful thought from before grew in the back of his mind, but chose not to reveal itself. I hate that sort of thought, he said to himself, and ignored it.
The room he was in was small and cozy. It had two narrow curving walls that gave way to a corridor at the other end. It would have seemed like a corridor itself, had it not been for the purple walls and the torch hanging from the wall to his right. The torch reminded him of his anonymous savior. That was one of the thoughts fighting for attention. Who was she? Where had she gone? Would the memory of a few minutes last him a lifetime? His focus was now in danger again. He righted himself. Billy came in the other end.
"Oggy, my friend," he called ina cheerful manner that had a hint of desperation, "how good to see you! Admiring the Stones I see?""No",replied Ogloromn."What are they?" "Why the Stones of Birth! Touch one and say a name and out pops the spirit of a newborn child!. Listen, if you see anyone out of the ordinary, please tell her to meet me." An with that he walked off, his gait now rather nervous.
Ogloromn reeled from the shock of Billy's words. Say a name and they pop out??? That was it ? That was the whole process and mystery of birth? That was how he had come to be? That was what he was one day expected to do? Of all the new thoughts from this, the one that came forth the loudest was: Then what of love? He had always considered a Birth to be a two-person task. A man, a woman, the Birthing Stones. Could what Billy said be true??
Suddenly his focus returned to him. He touched his chin and stared at the wall in front of him. I could, the thought came through slowly, give birth now. I could, in effect create a new life, someone to show the wonders of this world. The name, the thought continued, would be of utmost importance, he knew this from his own life, and Billy's words. He silently cursed the people who had Birthed him.
He reached his hand out tentatively towards the stone. It seemed to fall back, repulsed at the idea of his touch. No, he thought, not that easily. He planted his fingers firmly onto the cold, purple stone. It shivered, there was a flash. For an instant he saw before him a horrific seen. A world, he knew it was Prokulpia, but it was not quite. It was something else too. It was mad, insane, it held terror, desruction, dispair. Ogloromn held fast. All of a sudden he was very, very focused. The flash was too weak to deter him, he would give a name now. He went through his thoughts at lightning speed. A name, a name, he must have a name. The child must be strong! No, it must be smart! No, adventure! No, wisdom! Must save the world! Must love the world! All these thoughts pouring through his mind, piling up till they were like one.
But he was losing his grasp. He needed a focus, different from the one compelling him to Birth, he needed something to hold onto while crying out the names, some thought, some feeling, some emotion to drive the immense power in his hands. He looked about himself as spirits swirled around him, his emotions dominated by fear. Almost uncontrolablly, he was crying out names, and children were awaking from the stone. Deformed, maladjusted to this world, they ran about as if insane, he could not find the name!
Abruptly he removed his hand. The same focus held true. It was a very very cold sort of focus. Very practical. All it could think was, No, this will not do. A name is required....
Suddenly from behind him a voice. The spirits seemed to clear away, flowing down the corridors left and right. He saw before him a figure in a hood. It was her. She removed her hood and his focus began to give way. She smiled at him, an action not contained solely to her mouth but extending to her sparkling eyes and the set of her hair. She smiled at him and came close. His focus decided to lurk in the background of his skull.
"That's why", she said," people usually choose not to do this alone." A spirit that had been hiding on the ceiling fell down and solidified. It began crawling out of the room. "You see", she came forward and held his hand, drawing it slowly towards the stone," the trick is not in the actual Birthing, it is in deciding the name." She shivered a little, which was odd because he had begun to feel embarassingly warm. The contact between them was electric. The stone again recoiled from their touch, but it did not matter, theirs was a different focus now, calm and warm. Slowly they touched to purple rock, and he began to lose himself to his thoughts again. But this time was different. He could hear her with him, it seemed as if their minds were free to mingle, she was asking him questions, Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here? and she was giving answers, I am Heather, I come from Salotan, I am in search of what's missing, that drew me Here. There seemed to be an intense chemistry between them, a mingling of minds that went deeper, far deeper than the thoughts on the surface. Ideas were now surfacing, that were not his or hers, but Theirs. In her he could see a mirror, a view of the qualities he wanted, chose, held dear. A name was coming up, the rock took it from them.
All of a sudden a terrible rumbling filled the entire hall. The place seemd ready to fall apart. Jerked from the intense mental effort of the birthing to a state of waking stupor, Ogloromn and Heather clung together. The walls WERE breaking, the cavern was falling apart around them. In came Billy, his eyes filled with white flame. "OH, IT WAS HER THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!" He said in a tremendous voice, a voice too loud to be human. "THE ONLY FEMALE PLAYER THAT I KNEW OF. AND YOU HAVE FOUND HER, NECROMANCER?" Ogloromn glanced at Heather. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BILLY?" Ogloromn had assumed that the loudness of Billy's voice and the trembling of the cavern had been some expression of the Seer's anger. Clearly this was not so, In fact, he saw Heather staring up at him with eyes just as white. "YOUR EYES!" she roared.
Billy looked about. "SAD THAT WE SHOULD LAST MEET LIKE THIS. I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN SO SOON." Even with his super loud voice, Billy had to shout to be heard over the noise of the crumbling cavern. Where is all the Debris? Ogloromn thought. His vision had become blury, it seemed as if the walls were melting into nothing. He thought to ask Billy."WHAT IS GOING ON?" The words never came out. Which was fine, for noone was there to hear them. Prokulpia was gone.
He focused. The chamber he was in was large. Its walls had a strange metallic purple tinge to them, they were rough and multifaceted. The ground was dirt and dull brown. There were three tunnels leading out from the room. Billy approached one and peered inside. He went through with a cool and confident gait.
Fickerfut started a fire out of some wood from his pack. He settled near to tend to it. Fernkellis looked about with an air of elation. It was now that it suddenly hit Ogloromn that he had no clear idea of what was going on. From the very first day, when he had been snatched from his normal life, to this day, when he stood inside an odd purple cave far from home, everything seemed a blur. For the first time he was confronted with the question of "What am i doing here?"
He straightened his back and lifted his head. His mind was clear and sharp. A million things seemed to rush from every corner of his head at once, but he held them at bay. There was something odd going on here. There was a powerful feeling that had awoken him to this state of awareness that was now lost among the other competing thoughts. He was in a cave, doing nothing. He felt there was something he ought to do. But what and why? Perhaps the others knew.
"Why are we here?" he posed the question to Fernkellis. Fernkellis grinned his mischevious little grin and said,"A little philosophical, isn't that?" Ogloromn battled to keep the edge in his thoughts. "I mean, why have we come here, really?" Fernkellis looked at him with a bored expression. "Cause its there." he replied. Ogloromn looked at Fickerfut working away at the fire. He had taken out a knife and was carving a small ring around the flame in the dirt. He looked very intent. There was something very doglike in his action. Ogloromn looked up to speak. "I am going down these corridors." Fernkellis had cut him off with the very same thought. He had an adventurous gleam in his eye. "I'll come with you", said Ogloromn. Perhaps a look at these corridors will lend me clarity, he thought. "Are you coming?" Fernkellis asked Fickerfut. The man said nothing and continued to construct doggedly what looked more and more like a fire place. As they left through the corridor opposite Billy's, they heard him mutter,"Must have a fire. Can't bloody well do without that, can we?"
The corridor was dark and hewn into the rock. It went forward for some way until it gave way to a chamber similar to the one they had left. "Not much variety huh?" said Fernkellis. Ogloromn was battling with focus. "Why are they called The Stones of Birth?" "Don't know," said Fernkellis with rapidly growing impatience. There was a corridor to the other side. "Wonder where that goes", he said and moved swiftly towards it. Ogloromn struggled with the idea of keeping up. He decided not to. He found a smaller corridor 90 degrees to the left and went through it.
A lot of thoughts were crowding his mind. He wondered about Birth Stones, what they were. The process of Birth, what it was. How it was that he had come here but had no memory of when he had first left here, years ago. All this he wondered. And that powerful thought from before grew in the back of his mind, but chose not to reveal itself. I hate that sort of thought, he said to himself, and ignored it.
The room he was in was small and cozy. It had two narrow curving walls that gave way to a corridor at the other end. It would have seemed like a corridor itself, had it not been for the purple walls and the torch hanging from the wall to his right. The torch reminded him of his anonymous savior. That was one of the thoughts fighting for attention. Who was she? Where had she gone? Would the memory of a few minutes last him a lifetime? His focus was now in danger again. He righted himself. Billy came in the other end.
"Oggy, my friend," he called ina cheerful manner that had a hint of desperation, "how good to see you! Admiring the Stones I see?""No",replied Ogloromn."What are they?" "Why the Stones of Birth! Touch one and say a name and out pops the spirit of a newborn child!. Listen, if you see anyone out of the ordinary, please tell her to meet me." An with that he walked off, his gait now rather nervous.
Ogloromn reeled from the shock of Billy's words. Say a name and they pop out??? That was it ? That was the whole process and mystery of birth? That was how he had come to be? That was what he was one day expected to do? Of all the new thoughts from this, the one that came forth the loudest was: Then what of love? He had always considered a Birth to be a two-person task. A man, a woman, the Birthing Stones. Could what Billy said be true??
Suddenly his focus returned to him. He touched his chin and stared at the wall in front of him. I could, the thought came through slowly, give birth now. I could, in effect create a new life, someone to show the wonders of this world. The name, the thought continued, would be of utmost importance, he knew this from his own life, and Billy's words. He silently cursed the people who had Birthed him.
He reached his hand out tentatively towards the stone. It seemed to fall back, repulsed at the idea of his touch. No, he thought, not that easily. He planted his fingers firmly onto the cold, purple stone. It shivered, there was a flash. For an instant he saw before him a horrific seen. A world, he knew it was Prokulpia, but it was not quite. It was something else too. It was mad, insane, it held terror, desruction, dispair. Ogloromn held fast. All of a sudden he was very, very focused. The flash was too weak to deter him, he would give a name now. He went through his thoughts at lightning speed. A name, a name, he must have a name. The child must be strong! No, it must be smart! No, adventure! No, wisdom! Must save the world! Must love the world! All these thoughts pouring through his mind, piling up till they were like one.
But he was losing his grasp. He needed a focus, different from the one compelling him to Birth, he needed something to hold onto while crying out the names, some thought, some feeling, some emotion to drive the immense power in his hands. He looked about himself as spirits swirled around him, his emotions dominated by fear. Almost uncontrolablly, he was crying out names, and children were awaking from the stone. Deformed, maladjusted to this world, they ran about as if insane, he could not find the name!
Abruptly he removed his hand. The same focus held true. It was a very very cold sort of focus. Very practical. All it could think was, No, this will not do. A name is required....
Suddenly from behind him a voice. The spirits seemed to clear away, flowing down the corridors left and right. He saw before him a figure in a hood. It was her. She removed her hood and his focus began to give way. She smiled at him, an action not contained solely to her mouth but extending to her sparkling eyes and the set of her hair. She smiled at him and came close. His focus decided to lurk in the background of his skull.
"That's why", she said," people usually choose not to do this alone." A spirit that had been hiding on the ceiling fell down and solidified. It began crawling out of the room. "You see", she came forward and held his hand, drawing it slowly towards the stone," the trick is not in the actual Birthing, it is in deciding the name." She shivered a little, which was odd because he had begun to feel embarassingly warm. The contact between them was electric. The stone again recoiled from their touch, but it did not matter, theirs was a different focus now, calm and warm. Slowly they touched to purple rock, and he began to lose himself to his thoughts again. But this time was different. He could hear her with him, it seemed as if their minds were free to mingle, she was asking him questions, Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here? and she was giving answers, I am Heather, I come from Salotan, I am in search of what's missing, that drew me Here. There seemed to be an intense chemistry between them, a mingling of minds that went deeper, far deeper than the thoughts on the surface. Ideas were now surfacing, that were not his or hers, but Theirs. In her he could see a mirror, a view of the qualities he wanted, chose, held dear. A name was coming up, the rock took it from them.
All of a sudden a terrible rumbling filled the entire hall. The place seemd ready to fall apart. Jerked from the intense mental effort of the birthing to a state of waking stupor, Ogloromn and Heather clung together. The walls WERE breaking, the cavern was falling apart around them. In came Billy, his eyes filled with white flame. "OH, IT WAS HER THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!" He said in a tremendous voice, a voice too loud to be human. "THE ONLY FEMALE PLAYER THAT I KNEW OF. AND YOU HAVE FOUND HER, NECROMANCER?" Ogloromn glanced at Heather. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BILLY?" Ogloromn had assumed that the loudness of Billy's voice and the trembling of the cavern had been some expression of the Seer's anger. Clearly this was not so, In fact, he saw Heather staring up at him with eyes just as white. "YOUR EYES!" she roared.
Billy looked about. "SAD THAT WE SHOULD LAST MEET LIKE THIS. I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN SO SOON." Even with his super loud voice, Billy had to shout to be heard over the noise of the crumbling cavern. Where is all the Debris? Ogloromn thought. His vision had become blury, it seemed as if the walls were melting into nothing. He thought to ask Billy."WHAT IS GOING ON?" The words never came out. Which was fine, for noone was there to hear them. Prokulpia was gone.
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