Post by Trevelyan on Sept 30, 2009 1:16:15 GMT -5
Below is a story from the Court of Lady Renae. I may make more if there is interest in them. I can also do requests from people for their characters in the Court or their realms if the they are fortunate enough to hold them.
I came out of sleep like a swimmer breaching the surface of thick, clingy, water. Numbness seemed to infiltrate all regions of my body, yet I still sensed I was somewhere not completely safe. Some animal instinct kept me from opening my eyes and told me to lie as if I was still deep in sleep. It served me well, for I heard voices most peculiar, which sent me into a silent panic. I did not remember these voices, and upon reflection realized there was little I remembered, not even my name, let alone where I was, how I came to be here, or where here was.
"He was found where again?" said a female voice, one that I immediately associated with authority. Why I immediately identified her as an authority I don't know, something in the quality or tone perhaps. Still, those few minutes of hearing shocked me with the force of an Epiphany, here was a person of authority I would soon have to deal with.
"Here, allow me to show you my Lady," a rustle of parchment which sounded wrong somehow, as if it was wet skin instead of paper, followed. "Right here, where the borders between The Lands in Flux and The Borderlands of Aether are in contest." This voice was masculine in nature, but odd. I did not know at the time what made it seem so strange to me, but it sent ripples of wrongness down my spine.
If the previous voice sent ripples of wrongness down my spine, it was all I could do not to cry out at the next voice. Its words were sane, masculine sounding, and yet....the madness inherent under them. Woven under and through every syllable was howling insanity and the fetid breath of madness. How I know this I could not tell you, I just did, though the only words uttered were, "The lines on this map keep moving, why is that?"
"The map is drawn in fey ink," the strange voice said, though I was at a loss to understand what "fey" meant, "the lines will continue to move till the battle between the two realms is over and the borders are firm once again."
"So the battle still rages?" the authority voice asked. "Is this where this one got his injuries?"
"Yes, my Lady," the strange voice answered. "He was recovered by one of your passing enforcers about to be eaten by a golem in the service of the Unseelie court, they are working as mercenaries for the ruler of The Lands in Flux..." the voice was cut off by a horrid scream. Belatedly I realized it was my own. When the voice said "golem" unbidden to my mind came a horrific imagine of a dripping creature with foul breath, its mouth open wide, yellowed fangs ready to snap down and devour me.
Upon my outburst there was a maniacal burst of demented laughter and a yelled, "Our guest is awake! Time to play" from the mad voice. Followed by the sound of heavy chain rapidly sliding across a stone floor and then a solid thud as if something ran to the end of said chain and came to a stop.
"Now, now," the authority voice said calmly, "We should do this properly, Napoleon. You there! Rise and find yourself in the Court of Lady Renae and make your case to my furry minion!"
I did as bid, opening my eyes and rising to my knees, for that was as far as I could rise. I found myself in a heavy iron cage placed upon the cold stone floor. Directly in front of me was Lady Renae, the voice of authority I had heard. Immediately to her right was a slender man in royal clothing, bound to the wall with heavy chains. One gaze at his face and I could tell this was the source of the voice dripping with foul insanity. Of the third voice I saw no source, but I did glimpse a rather peculiar animal.
It had the appearance of a rabbit, but as it stalked toward me, its movements were oddly feline, though it had no hint of feline about it other than that. It is true that it was rather large for a rabbit, but at that point I still found it more curious that frightening. That is, until it sat before me and talked.
"I am Trevelyan, Court Alchemist and Furry Minion to her Highness, Lady Renae whom you see before you, " it said after seating itself before me and looking at me for a second, "And to her right you will see Napoleon the Clown, second in her Court." This my poor head could not wrap around, I fell on my backside and scooted to the far limits of my cage screaming all the way for this foul beast and abomination to be away from me.
This set Napoleon to laughing his maniacal screech and the Lady to grinning in a most wicked way, "How dare you insult a member of my Court? It is unbecoming of a guess, especially one proving to be poor fun thus far. You shall rise again, and remain silent as the minion tells me what we know."
Shakenly, I got back to my knees and did my best to remain still as the rabbit circled my cage talking to his Lady. "Well, as I said he was found in the battle. He was about to become fodder for a golem when found. He babbled all the way back according to your enforcer."
"Anything coherent?" the Lady inquired.
The rabbit finished a third circuit of my cage and settled down back in front of me. I could feel his strange gaze upon me as he responded. "No. It would appear that some fey trick him into giving up his memories." This caused another vague memory to come to the surface of my mind, some beautiful lady asking me if I would like a deal and then....whiteness tinged with red.
The mad voice of Napoleon broke my revery, "The fool has no idea whom he is!" Followed my more of his horrid laughter.
The rabbit before me smiled, actually smiled! "No, he is a nameless, unknown wander in the Lady's realm."
"And one that has insulted my court," added the Lady once more seated, "Nothing more can be found about him?"
The rabbit considered, "I could use some potions, and elixirs or have the mages use spells, but I doubt they will tell us anything useful."
The Lady frowned, "No, he's bored me enough already. The mere sight of you nearly sent him over the edge, so I don't think we'd have much fun toying with him. Do we have anything useful to do with him?"
From somewhere, I still can't figure where, the Rabbit had produced a book and was studying it. How he held it and turned the pages made my eyes water. Everything about this court made me queasy and filled me with uneasiness. My stomach knotted with cold ice when I heard myself being discussed as an object of little use and as absurd as it was I found myself wanting to beg the rabbit before me to have mercy.
"Ah," the very same rabbit said, his ear perking up in a way that would have been comical had my situation been not so dire, "We do need a scribe in the lower levels of record keeping if that pleases the Lady?"Ah," the very same rabbit said, his ear perking up in a way that would have been comical had my situation been not so dire, "We do need a scribe in the lower levels of record keeping if that pleases the Lady? Or, Napoleon's current chew toy is getting a bit ragged? "
I nearly fainted with shock when I heard myself being discussed as a chew toy, but manage to stay awake when I heard the Lady indicate that I was to be a scribe as Napoleon's chew toys needed to be tougher. I suppose I should have been insulted by the slight on my toughness, but I did not relish being the toy of a mad man. Two strange creatures appeared from a dark alcove and lifted my cage and the stone it was upon via massive metal handles in the stone. Lead on by the rabbit, slight smoke curling from where their hands held the metal, I noticed these creatures only had stitching holding eyelids together instead of eyes, and stitching keeping their mouths shut tight. The ice in my stomach returned two fold.
"Ah, yes, the laborers," the rabbit startled me, seeming to read my mind, "They displeased the Lady, this is their punishment. They are fey you know, the cold iron of those handles burn their skin worse than a mere human such as you could ever understand. I would suggest you never find yourself in the position of displeasing her."
His last words gave me hope, and I found my voice, cracked and weak, but there, "You know of me? Tell me, if I'm useful will I get out of here?"
The rabbit only laughed, "I was afraid that the golem had gotten your tongue, makes scribe work harder." I continued staring at him and he sighed, "No, I don't know of you the person, I know of your kind, human, that is all. You'll be useful, don't worry about that. As far as getting out of here, soon you won't want to."
In what little free time I have from my duties I often ponder those strange last words the rabbit said to me as I was lead deeper and deeper into the lower guts of this foul place. My duties are as peculiar as the rest of the place. When some strange creature places a parchment document or map, drawn on what appears to be skins whose origin I wish not to contemplate on, upon the the desk in my cubbyhole an overwhelming compulsion to copy it perfectly overtakes me and will not leave me till I finish it. I am given food, rude furnishing, and little interaction besides the constant demands at all times to copy these strange documents, many of which I don't understand and the ones I do I no longer read for fear of going mad.
I no longer feel any need for sleep. When I try to leave this unlocked cubby, a crushing sense of despair and fright overtakes me to the point it is all I can do to crawl back across the threshold and breathe again when it abates. Time eludes me here, I look up from my feverish copying to see that it is the next meal period. Those are all I have to measure things. Sleep is gone for me, the normal routine of life is gone. I began writing this in the beginning to help me keep a sense of myself, I feel it slipping more and more, and the writing here upon this document is undoubtedly slowing down. This fills me with dread, when I consider what the rabbit said. Surely, my sense of self won't slip so much that I won't realize I need to be rid of this place?
There is hope though! I saw the rabbit down here the other day, and swallowing the tattered remains of my pride asked his help. I told him I had learned that an alchemist could make potions to do various things. He promised me one that would help make my duties easier, to be delivered with the next meal, and I hear it coming! Soon, I hope, I may return to normal.
I came out of sleep like a swimmer breaching the surface of thick, clingy, water. Numbness seemed to infiltrate all regions of my body, yet I still sensed I was somewhere not completely safe. Some animal instinct kept me from opening my eyes and told me to lie as if I was still deep in sleep. It served me well, for I heard voices most peculiar, which sent me into a silent panic. I did not remember these voices, and upon reflection realized there was little I remembered, not even my name, let alone where I was, how I came to be here, or where here was.
"He was found where again?" said a female voice, one that I immediately associated with authority. Why I immediately identified her as an authority I don't know, something in the quality or tone perhaps. Still, those few minutes of hearing shocked me with the force of an Epiphany, here was a person of authority I would soon have to deal with.
"Here, allow me to show you my Lady," a rustle of parchment which sounded wrong somehow, as if it was wet skin instead of paper, followed. "Right here, where the borders between The Lands in Flux and The Borderlands of Aether are in contest." This voice was masculine in nature, but odd. I did not know at the time what made it seem so strange to me, but it sent ripples of wrongness down my spine.
If the previous voice sent ripples of wrongness down my spine, it was all I could do not to cry out at the next voice. Its words were sane, masculine sounding, and yet....the madness inherent under them. Woven under and through every syllable was howling insanity and the fetid breath of madness. How I know this I could not tell you, I just did, though the only words uttered were, "The lines on this map keep moving, why is that?"
"The map is drawn in fey ink," the strange voice said, though I was at a loss to understand what "fey" meant, "the lines will continue to move till the battle between the two realms is over and the borders are firm once again."
"So the battle still rages?" the authority voice asked. "Is this where this one got his injuries?"
"Yes, my Lady," the strange voice answered. "He was recovered by one of your passing enforcers about to be eaten by a golem in the service of the Unseelie court, they are working as mercenaries for the ruler of The Lands in Flux..." the voice was cut off by a horrid scream. Belatedly I realized it was my own. When the voice said "golem" unbidden to my mind came a horrific imagine of a dripping creature with foul breath, its mouth open wide, yellowed fangs ready to snap down and devour me.
Upon my outburst there was a maniacal burst of demented laughter and a yelled, "Our guest is awake! Time to play" from the mad voice. Followed by the sound of heavy chain rapidly sliding across a stone floor and then a solid thud as if something ran to the end of said chain and came to a stop.
"Now, now," the authority voice said calmly, "We should do this properly, Napoleon. You there! Rise and find yourself in the Court of Lady Renae and make your case to my furry minion!"
I did as bid, opening my eyes and rising to my knees, for that was as far as I could rise. I found myself in a heavy iron cage placed upon the cold stone floor. Directly in front of me was Lady Renae, the voice of authority I had heard. Immediately to her right was a slender man in royal clothing, bound to the wall with heavy chains. One gaze at his face and I could tell this was the source of the voice dripping with foul insanity. Of the third voice I saw no source, but I did glimpse a rather peculiar animal.
It had the appearance of a rabbit, but as it stalked toward me, its movements were oddly feline, though it had no hint of feline about it other than that. It is true that it was rather large for a rabbit, but at that point I still found it more curious that frightening. That is, until it sat before me and talked.
"I am Trevelyan, Court Alchemist and Furry Minion to her Highness, Lady Renae whom you see before you, " it said after seating itself before me and looking at me for a second, "And to her right you will see Napoleon the Clown, second in her Court." This my poor head could not wrap around, I fell on my backside and scooted to the far limits of my cage screaming all the way for this foul beast and abomination to be away from me.
This set Napoleon to laughing his maniacal screech and the Lady to grinning in a most wicked way, "How dare you insult a member of my Court? It is unbecoming of a guess, especially one proving to be poor fun thus far. You shall rise again, and remain silent as the minion tells me what we know."
Shakenly, I got back to my knees and did my best to remain still as the rabbit circled my cage talking to his Lady. "Well, as I said he was found in the battle. He was about to become fodder for a golem when found. He babbled all the way back according to your enforcer."
"Anything coherent?" the Lady inquired.
The rabbit finished a third circuit of my cage and settled down back in front of me. I could feel his strange gaze upon me as he responded. "No. It would appear that some fey trick him into giving up his memories." This caused another vague memory to come to the surface of my mind, some beautiful lady asking me if I would like a deal and then....whiteness tinged with red.
The mad voice of Napoleon broke my revery, "The fool has no idea whom he is!" Followed my more of his horrid laughter.
The rabbit before me smiled, actually smiled! "No, he is a nameless, unknown wander in the Lady's realm."
"And one that has insulted my court," added the Lady once more seated, "Nothing more can be found about him?"
The rabbit considered, "I could use some potions, and elixirs or have the mages use spells, but I doubt they will tell us anything useful."
The Lady frowned, "No, he's bored me enough already. The mere sight of you nearly sent him over the edge, so I don't think we'd have much fun toying with him. Do we have anything useful to do with him?"
From somewhere, I still can't figure where, the Rabbit had produced a book and was studying it. How he held it and turned the pages made my eyes water. Everything about this court made me queasy and filled me with uneasiness. My stomach knotted with cold ice when I heard myself being discussed as an object of little use and as absurd as it was I found myself wanting to beg the rabbit before me to have mercy.
"Ah," the very same rabbit said, his ear perking up in a way that would have been comical had my situation been not so dire, "We do need a scribe in the lower levels of record keeping if that pleases the Lady?"Ah," the very same rabbit said, his ear perking up in a way that would have been comical had my situation been not so dire, "We do need a scribe in the lower levels of record keeping if that pleases the Lady? Or, Napoleon's current chew toy is getting a bit ragged? "
I nearly fainted with shock when I heard myself being discussed as a chew toy, but manage to stay awake when I heard the Lady indicate that I was to be a scribe as Napoleon's chew toys needed to be tougher. I suppose I should have been insulted by the slight on my toughness, but I did not relish being the toy of a mad man. Two strange creatures appeared from a dark alcove and lifted my cage and the stone it was upon via massive metal handles in the stone. Lead on by the rabbit, slight smoke curling from where their hands held the metal, I noticed these creatures only had stitching holding eyelids together instead of eyes, and stitching keeping their mouths shut tight. The ice in my stomach returned two fold.
"Ah, yes, the laborers," the rabbit startled me, seeming to read my mind, "They displeased the Lady, this is their punishment. They are fey you know, the cold iron of those handles burn their skin worse than a mere human such as you could ever understand. I would suggest you never find yourself in the position of displeasing her."
His last words gave me hope, and I found my voice, cracked and weak, but there, "You know of me? Tell me, if I'm useful will I get out of here?"
The rabbit only laughed, "I was afraid that the golem had gotten your tongue, makes scribe work harder." I continued staring at him and he sighed, "No, I don't know of you the person, I know of your kind, human, that is all. You'll be useful, don't worry about that. As far as getting out of here, soon you won't want to."
In what little free time I have from my duties I often ponder those strange last words the rabbit said to me as I was lead deeper and deeper into the lower guts of this foul place. My duties are as peculiar as the rest of the place. When some strange creature places a parchment document or map, drawn on what appears to be skins whose origin I wish not to contemplate on, upon the the desk in my cubbyhole an overwhelming compulsion to copy it perfectly overtakes me and will not leave me till I finish it. I am given food, rude furnishing, and little interaction besides the constant demands at all times to copy these strange documents, many of which I don't understand and the ones I do I no longer read for fear of going mad.
I no longer feel any need for sleep. When I try to leave this unlocked cubby, a crushing sense of despair and fright overtakes me to the point it is all I can do to crawl back across the threshold and breathe again when it abates. Time eludes me here, I look up from my feverish copying to see that it is the next meal period. Those are all I have to measure things. Sleep is gone for me, the normal routine of life is gone. I began writing this in the beginning to help me keep a sense of myself, I feel it slipping more and more, and the writing here upon this document is undoubtedly slowing down. This fills me with dread, when I consider what the rabbit said. Surely, my sense of self won't slip so much that I won't realize I need to be rid of this place?
There is hope though! I saw the rabbit down here the other day, and swallowing the tattered remains of my pride asked his help. I told him I had learned that an alchemist could make potions to do various things. He promised me one that would help make my duties easier, to be delivered with the next meal, and I hear it coming! Soon, I hope, I may return to normal.
