Lost Memories

[angeldenoche]

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[angeldenoche]

The island of Tramay was a prosperous one. The land was fertile, the weather ideal, and the populace flourished. Cities of thought and art sprang up as quickly as the crops did. Laughter and love flowed as deeply and easily as the river Vulting. There was peace in the land.

Yet, just as there is always light, there will always be dark.

Upon one night of the dark moon, a pair of demons descended into the land. They brought with them greed, unease, sickness, anger, jealousy, and perhaps the most fatal of all, fear. The people withdrew into their homes and when they did come into contact with their neighbors, words that were one filled with joy and laughter, now filled with bitterness and scathing anger.

The land began to die.

The goddess, Esylie, saw the plight of the land and the people and her heart was moved. Unable to stand by and watch the darkness consume so great a people, she left her heavenly realm and sought about a way to end the demon threat. Disguising herself as a witch, she lured the demons to the mountains across the Vulting and there sacrificed herself to imprison them within cages of magical glass in the heart of the mountain, locking them away from this mortal plane and those whom the demons would consume.

The land returned.

As Esylie lay dying, the land restored life unto her for her unselfish sacrifice. It could not return her to an immortal goddess, but as long as she remained upon the island, it would lend its life and energy unto her.

And thus did Esylie become known as Guardian of the Isle.

Years have passed. Generations have come and gone.

Esylie faded from memory into legend.

As did the story of the demons.

The people of Tramay are happy and flourishing once again. None dare venture across the Vulting to the Sleepy Mountains. Though if asked, none could answer why, only that it has been forbidden for as long as any could remember. And most are content with this answer and go about their lives within the shadows of the mountains, never giving it more thought as to what might lurk there.

But just because the people have forgotten, does not mean the demons nor Esylie have.

Eslyie guards the riverbanks and does her best to ward off any who might dare to approach the mountains. She keeps a tireless vigil over those she gave so much to save.

The demons, too, have not been idle. As far as their senses can reach through their prison, they seek and probe the pulse and power of the land, learning its rhythms and cycles. The passing and joining of life they have learned is a time of transition. As one soul journeys from the mortal plane to those beyond, barrier between the two weaken, just for the briefest of times. At such a time, their timeless prison weakens and becomes vulnerable.

Vulnerable enough for even a human to open.

All they need is for Eslyie to leave her guard long enough for one curious human to dare to venture across the river and into the mountains. From there, with their combined powers, it would be easy to lure such a human to them and to have said human release them.

But first, all must forget that there was ever something to fear and guard against.

That, would be their first step to freedom.  

[angeldenoche]

︽Lyrick︾

Dull did not even begin to describe the horror of his prison. It was worse than nothing, worse than even not existing. For here, in this tiny, yet somehow infinitely large cage, he was aware of everything and could affect nothing. Each second passed by as if it were an eternity. He could scream and feel his body produce the scream, but he could hardly hear it, it was muffled and distant, as if it were someone else.

So this was madness, he mused.

He had often been accused of madness. Even by those of his own kind. But clearly, he had never been mad before. Impulsive, reckless, chaotic, yes. But mad, no.

Not until now.

He laughed, or at least he thought he was laughing. In this place, it was impossible to tell. He didn’t even know what he was laughing at anymore. There was nothing amusing about where he was or how long he had been here. He found joy in his dreams of the destruction he would rain down upon the world once he was freed, for he would be free one day simply because prisons could not last forever, but he could not answer if that was what made him laugh.

Yes. No. Maybe so.

Laughter ceased suddenly as he felt it. The slight tapping in the back of his head like the ticking of a clock. The pressure against his skin changed too, suddenly lighter, no longer weighed down under rocks, but light enough to float up in the air if he so wished.

“Zelus... Zelus. It’s coming. The time is coming, sister.”

The time was coming indeed. The barrier between this prisoner and the world was growing thin. Life was shifting between the planes. And with it, the chance of freedom suddenly grew.

Yes. No. Maybe so.

Freedom...  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

☪Zelus☪

Even though her eye's were closed and it appeared that she was sleeping against the spherical edge of the cage that held her and her older brother. She really wasn't sleeping she was concentrating on a curse she had been working on she knew that with the goddess out there they would not get far unless they came up with a way to erase the memories. She doubted that the goddess was even a god any more. Maybe she would be weak as the humans to wear the curse would affect her.

She lightly opened her eye's that were dark holding no light in them like a humans eye's did. She figured it was because she had no soul like the humans did. She had heard many stories when she had been out in the world long before being caged it this trap were they were so close to the world they could almost touch it. Her lifeless eye's look as her eye's looked at her brother.

"Good it is about time. The curse is ready and we have to cast it as soon as we are out. We can not give Esylie a chance to cage us again. Then we could stay and with in Tramay. Until we are strong enough to leave." She said back to her brother. She had a small fear that someone would break the curse by figuring out the lie, but she really didn't see that happening.

She pushed herself off the wall as she paced lightly in the cage lightly running her fingers along the wall. "How are we getting someone up here with Esylie always on guard?" She asked looking at the dirt of the cave that there cage sat in. She wanted out as much as her brother did. If a human got by Esylie she could attract a human by crying like a human child she did it every now and then cause it seemed like there voices could move beyond the walls of the cage.  

[angeldenoche]

︽Lyrick︾

She was more insane than he was. Steel gray eyes looked at the child form of his sister with mock fondness. Deftly, he reached out to muss up her hair. “Always planning, always scheming,” he announced, his voice taking on a sing-song lilt, “always...so...serious.”

With a chuckle, or what he thought felt like a chuckle, he let himself fall heavily and backwards to the ground. The impact he knew should have been sharp, and perhaps it was, but at the same time, it felt like falling onto a rather lumpy bed. He turned on his side and propped his head up with a hand. “Getting a human past the goddess. Ah yes, there’s the rub.”  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

☪Zelus☪

Her black eye dull glared at her brother as he messed up her hair. She began to fix it she couldn't believe that he was really older the she was, but with no humans around there was no reason to act all cute and innocent. She still couldn't believe that she lost her Scythe it held a lot of magic in it. She missed it she missed a lot of things.

She looked at her brother as he chuckled as she watched him fall backwards. She lightly shook her head as he turned on his side and propped his head on his hand. She lightly walked over to him and sat on his side. She lightly hummed with the wind that blew into the cave.

╭☆╯Esylie╭☆╯

Esylie looked to the east at the sunrise from the top of the tree she took in the peacefulness of the morning wondering what would be different today. She climbed slowly down the tree once her bare feet touched the ground she was off gathering herbs up the mountain that she would trade too the villagers in exchange for food or cloth. She blessed the ground she walked on for it was the reason she lived on and did not age. She hummed lightly as she planted seeds and picked herbs. She carried them back to her shack a little hum in the wind made her stop and looked up at the mountain. She would not let those demons ruin her good day. She put some herbs aside for herself and the rest she bundled up. She tended to an injured rabbit that she had found. She wondered if she would her a villagers tail on how she saved the little town. It amused her how much the story had changed over the years.  

[angeldenoche]

︽Lyrick︾

“What? No plans, lit-offph.” His teasing was cut short as Zelus decided to use him for a chair.

Brat.

His eyes narrowed.

Briefly he considered pushing her off. Yes, no, maybe so. But instead, Lyrick sighed and the glare faded. Too long. Too long they had been trapped in here. But how long was that? Trapped in here with nothing but the mountain walls as company there was no way to know. All he knew was the light changed, the only clock to measure the passing of the years.

Time. That liquid thing he had never considered before. So odd, so fluid. For a timeless being like him, the changing of the seasons never mattered. One day was only as good as any other depending on the chaos caused. Then he found himself trapped and outside of that golden liquid time.

Was this how it passed for humans?

Arms shot out and abruptly pushed Zelus off him. “Enough pondering. Time to act,” he declared, standing up. He smiled darkly down at the little demoness. “How do we get a human pass that damned goddess? We push the curse through now. Forget, forget, they all forget. She forgets, we forget, everyone forgets and chaos reigns....I reign...Or do I?” Lyrick tapped his chin, in pondering. “Yes, no, maybe so. I am chaos after all. Or is chaos me?” A short giggled escaped him.

“Anyway, no matter,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand. The hand continued on and grabbed at Zelus’ hand. “Come, sister! Let’s dance as our curse grows and goes!”

Laughter filled their prison as he whirled her into a twirl and this time as the magic grew, he knew he laughed.  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

☪Zelus☪

Zelus sat there in thought she thinking on how to get a human up here. She had a thought but before she could say any thing Lyrick was pushing her off and he was saying to enact the curse She lightly watched her brother was he really that desperate to get out this cage was going to get the best of both off them if they weren't careful.

Lyrick was soon pulling her off the ground holding her hand twirling her. At his words she tripped him sending him to the floor she leaned over him. "I know you want to get out but we can not enact the curse tell we get out of here." She said looking down at him. "Come!" She held her hand out to him to help him up. "Esylie can't seem to not be helpful so we will make a human sick by casting a little spell. I'm sure that there is a human down there that while Esylie is away will climb the mountain."

She helped Lyrick up and stood in the center of the cage placing her hands against his and started chanting a spell that would fly threw the wind to the village. Making someone dreadfully sick.  

[angeldenoche]

︽Lyrick︾

“A distraction then,” he surmised, taking his sister’s hand, “A look over here at this, opps, now you’ve gone and missed it, plan. See, sister dearest? This is why you do the planning and I do the playing. But why just one?” Lyrick tapped his chin as if thinking the question over. “Why not make them all sick? Would that not work better to distract her?...Not to mention the sweet fun of making all those humans miserable. A pre-taste of the delicious meal of sufferings to come.”

He smiled widely as he stood before Zelus and placed his hands against hers. If they had learned anything during their time in this prison, it had been how to blend their magic together to create more powerful spells. And maybe, just maybe, this time it would be strong enough to set them free.  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

☪Zelus☪

Zelus smiled lightly at her brothers comment as to why she does the planing she was only level headed in this cage when out in the world she could be as tenacious as a child and unable to know what they would do. Her smile widen more as her brother why one would be affected she could not say how many would be affected. She loved how her brother thought on how to make it better. She couldn't give an accurate determination on how many it would affect.

"I can't say how many it will affect." She said to her brother she had cast this spell before, but she had been alone in the process so she had maybe been able to make two too three sick, but they had to be close to where she was. She hadn't cast a spell with her brother not like this not in a magical cage.

She let out a deep breath as Lyrick placed his hands against hers. She looked at her brother knowing that they had done some nice things during the time in this prison. She looked into her brothers eye's. She took in a deep breath and as she did the strong breeze began to blow through the mountain. "On the wind a sickening chill through the breeze deep with in a poison bringing a hot fever, cold chills undetected tell a breath in." She said feeling the spell strong between her and her brother as it went threw the cage and into the wind. She would repeat it again with her brother to make it stronger and have better chances of it getting to the village far from the mountain.  

[angeldenoche]

❋ Daiysha Kambren ❋

“Daiysha! Moma said to tell you we’re bringin’ brother to you! He’s sick in an awful way.”

Blue eyes glanced up and through long, golden brown hair that just never managed to stay put to the small child darkening the doorway to the Healing House. She frowned, trying to place a name to the waif who swayed from foot to foot. Nope.

“When did he come down sick?”

“Jus’ today. We were outside playin’ ball an’ suddenly he went all pale and fell down.”

Another one? This made how many....Eleven? Twelve? In the last two hours people had begun to flow into the Healing House with the same symptoms; sudden weakness, fever, chills, pale skin, and vertigo. It was troubling to say the least.

“Thank you, child. Best you go back home quick now. Don’t want you coming down sick, too,” Daiysha ordered with a nod of her head towards the door.

The child gave a nod, then ran off.

“Mom! We have another comin’. Need to set up another bed.”

“Another?”

“Aye,” she confirmed, standing up and rubbing her hands on her apron. “Sounds like another lad from the description.”

Her mother sighed, rolling her shoulders, from where she leaned over the bedside of an old woman who had taken ill only a few hours ago. “Have Abby make up another bed.”

“We’re going to need more Sweetmilk and Gentskirt,” her aunt, Moria, announced, walking over to take her mother’s place. In her hands, she rubbed together the herbs she had just named, releasing their fragrant and musky oils into the air.

“If this keeps up, we’ll need more than just that. We need more bodies,” her mother added, her eyes surveying the room. Already most of the healers of Tramay were here and working, but at the rate the sick were arriving, they would soon be overwhelmed and their stocks of herbs depleted.

“Then I’d best to fetch Esylie,” Daiysha decided.

Her mother shot her a glance.

“We’ll need the help. You just said it yourself. And we need more herbs. Chances are good she’ll have her own stock that we could use,” she reasoned.

Slowly, her mother nodded her head. "Be quick about it then."

Daiysha nodded and ran out the door and down the granite steps to the wide cobblestone roads below. As she did so, she passed several more sick that were being helped up the steps and side ramps. Anxiety fluttered its wings painfully against her chest, spurring her run as fast as her legs would carry through the streets to the edge of city. While some folk cried out questions to her, seeing her blue garb that denoted her as healer, but Daiysha only shook her head and pressed on. She did not have any answers for them. And right now, she had to summon help.

While any of the aides could summon the other healers of the city, only she knew where to find Esylie, the strange, but powerful witch of the wood. It wasn't that she was unsocial or disdained contact with the rest of the world. In fact, she was fairly well know among the healers. But somehow, she always managed to keep to herself and no one could ever claim to really know her either. Well, everyone save Daiysha that was.

Somehow, she had managed to win Esylie's trust. And as such, she was the only one who knew where she lived. So she pushed her body as her feet sought the familiar path down to the tiny hut where she lived. Daiysha just prayed to the gods that she was home. "Esylie!...Esylie! Where are you?”  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

╭☆╯Esylie╭☆╯

Esylie tied her long teal blue hair. up so that it no longer would be dragging along the ground it already had a light brown tint on the tips of her hair. She had gotten done with her taking care of the few injured animals that she had come across in the forest over the past few months. She rarely ever went to the city unless she needed something and that wasn't often. She used a spell to make her look like she was aging. She walked to the river washing her hands and cupped her hands bringing the water to her lips taking a sip of the cool water. She had began thinking about making a fire to begin brewing some herbs. She looked up as she watched a bird fly past her she could tell that someone was coming. She heard a voice off in front of her little hut. Just from the sound of the voice she knew who it was, but she could also tell that something was wrong. "I'm right here."

She said as she walked abound her hut looking at Daiysha she looked over the girl it had been awhile since she had last seen her. She had grown close to her teaching her more advanced healing herbs. She rarely got close to anything. She could her friend wasn't there to meet up and chat. "Daiysha how can I help you? Is the city running low on herbs?" she asked as she moved to the hut waiting for Daiysha to give her a list of herbs she needed.  

[angeldenoche]

❋ Daiysha Kambren ❋

“There you are,” she exclaimed, relief flooding her. Daiysha let out a long breath, not even aware that she had been holding it in. “Praise the gods. I was worried you wouldn’t be here.”

She sprinted over the last few feet to stand before her friend and mentor, pushing hair gone lose in her mad run here back behind her ears. “We need more than herbs.” The news tumbled off her lips, like rushing spring melt water over the streambed, “The whole city is coming down ill. It just started this morn and it’s spreading faster than wildfire. Sweetmilk and Gentskirt seem to be helping ease it, but we’ve got more coming in than we can handle...
We need you, too,” she beseeched.

Her blue eyes pleaded for Esylie to come. She knew the mysterious healer kept to the woods and avoided the town, but they needed the help so desperately. Uncertainty gnawed painfully at her insides, as she licked her lips, her eyes searching Esylie’s for answer she sought.  

[Kitsuneko Suzuki]

╭☆╯Esylie╭☆╯

Esylie looked at Daiysha seeing the relief in her face, but she could also tell she had been running. She moved around her small hut grabbing a basket knowing that she must be there for herbs. It worried her that they were low already and the day had just started.

She began grabbing all the bundles of the herbs that Daiysha named off as well as some others she had taught her about that she thought would help. She paused as Daiysha told her they needed her help. She did not like the idea of going into town the healers didn't seem to like her for what ever reason. She never got the greatest vibe from the town healers.

She looked back at Daiysha to look right into her blue pleading eye's. She let out a sigh. She had a hard time saying no to Daiysha was probably why she had come instead of one of the healers. She shifted grabbing bundles of dandelions and mint for her favorite tea. She also grabbed a mortar bowl and pastel to help her make her tea as well as crushing the herbs.

She left the hut with basket in hand over flowing with the things she felt were needed. "Daiysha, Can you give me an update on what you and the healers have figured out?" She asked as she starter to move toward the town.  

[angeldenoche]

❋ Daiysha Kambren ❋

Daiysha followed Esylie into her small home. Normally, the smell of the fresh herbs which hung from the rafters, the careworn and simple furnishing, and familiarity of this place brought peace to her. Countless hours and countless days had been spent within these four walls, learning herblore and how to combine herbs and magic into powerful healing spells. This simple hut was now a refuge. But not today. Her blue eyes watched as Esylie gathered her needed supplies, drawing plants, herbs, clothe, pestle and mortar from their familiar resting places into her traveling basket. Daiysha rocked anxiously back and forth from foot to foot, pausing as a deer before the hunter, when her mentor paused at the request of her coming into town to help with the healing.

When Esylie reached for her tea items, Daiysha felt herself smile as she let out another sigh of relief. She would come.

The young healer kept pace alongside Esylie as the two started away from the hut and back towards the town. “It just started this morn,” she answered, “We don’t know much, yet. Not near enough. Folks are coming in with sudden weakness, fever, chills, pale skin, and vertigo. Young, old, healthy and sick alike. There doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern to it as of yet. All we know is it’s spreading and too quickly for us to manage on our own.”