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Post by Tismri on Aug 17, 2008 17:28:55 GMT -5
Jeriah followed Elaine, Jahag following her. She wondered why, but decided not to ask. When they arrived at the quiet the courtyard, she gazed around it. The place was so peaceful and quiet. It reminded her of the home Lathem had made for her in a small way. She struggled to keep her tears in check as she took a seat. She heard Elaine ask a question about the rules of magic.
"I know that it takes up as much energy as if you were really trying to attempt it. Uh, that's all I really know. I know magic can exist in different forms, too, such as the giant crystal that floats high over the city of Eoam on Beirland Island." Jahag sat near the entrance of the courtyard and watched Jeriah's lessons progress.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 18, 2008 13:02:27 GMT -5
Elaine's eyebrows drew down in curiosity. A giant floating crystal? Although Elaine really wanted to inquire about this crystal, she had higher priorities. At the moment, it was training Jeriah. "Yes, that is correct. And that is almost the most important thing to know about magic." Elaine held up a finger. "But the next most important thing is this: once you commit to using your magic, you cannot stop midway. For example. If you were to try lifting a boulder ontop of a house, but found out halfway there that you didn't have the energy, it would be too late. The magic will not just stop. It will continue carrying the boulder to the top, even if it kills you." Elaine's eyes were serious as she spoke. It was not uncommon for arrogant magic users to abuse this particular law of gramyr. "Now, to summon magic, you must know the ancient language. The more you know, the more precise a spell you can cast." Tucking her legs underneath her for a more comfortable position, Elaine asked, "can you tell me any words in this tongue?"
Eridor flew swiftly to the courtyard Elaine and Jeriah sat in. The elegant area was much too small for him to land in, so when he arrived above it he simply hovered. With a large gray eye, he stared at Oranthor. Oranthor, come with me. Let's see what you can do.
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Post by Tismri on Aug 18, 2008 17:30:48 GMT -5
Jeriah blushed a little.
"I know a lot of words in the Anceint Language. Lathem-my friend- was teaching me how to use magic and was teaching it to me. I know only a little of practical magic, but..." she paused, wondering how to explain what she was about to say. "I know enough of the language to make up songs that reflect how I am feeling at the present moment. I first learned it while I was with Lathem. My first one was so...lovely." She nearly smiled at her choice of word. Lovely...full of love, the love she had for Lathem. Then her small happiness faded again as she thought more of her boyfriend. She looked back at Elaine. "Would...would you like to see what I mean?" she asked.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 18, 2008 21:35:45 GMT -5
Sweeping her hair out of her face, Elaine listened to Jeriah intently. She found the young woman's words interesting, if not odd. Thinking back on her own training, she recalled the mention of elves and their forest homes. Most of the houses were sung from trees. Perhaps this is the talent Jeriah was describing. Leaning back, Elaine looked at the other rider curiously. "Sure. Let's see this talent of yours." She smiled encouragingly.
Eridor waited in the sky patiently, one eye on Oranthor while the other was gazing at Elaine and Jeriah. Interesting, he said, letting the thought drift to Elaine.
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Post by Tismri on Aug 18, 2008 21:50:39 GMT -5
Jeriah smiled, a little shy suddenly, then stood and walked toward the center of the courtyard. She observed her surroundings carefully. Then she accessed her magic and thought of some words from the Ancient Language. As she sang, her feet moved and her body swayed as she began a slow dance about the courtyard. The song she sang was sad, telling the tale of two friends and lovers, who when their separate ways. They joined the opposite sides in a war. The song was told from the woman's perspective. Her dance moved all around the courtyard, as graceful as a willow tree. She lept and twirled, though all her movements were slow and sad. It seemed to fill the entire courtyard with its sadness. Both the dance and the song. Neither could exist without the other. Together, they reflected her deepest feelings at that moment. Her sadness of losing Lathem, and her hope that he would someday come back to her. She danced around the fountain. She sang of her love. She danced near Elaine, near enough to touch her if she wanted. She sang of receiving the terrible news from Jahag. She danced near the far side of the courtyard, she sang of coming to the Varden. She danced, she sang, she danced, she sang.
When she finished her dancesong, she turned to face Elaine.
"I don't even really know how I do it. It reflects my innermost feelings at the moment, and I cannot even control it. It just...happens," she explained, her heart still filled with the sadness of her dancesong.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 19, 2008 11:03:14 GMT -5
Settling into a more comfortable position, Elaine watched Jeriah walk to the center of the courtyard. A part of her was a little apprehensive about this talent. If Jeriah didn't know much about the ancient language, how could she properfly perform a song with it? These thoughts drifted away as the young rider began. At first, Elaine was taken with the beauty of the performance, with the elegance and grace. But when the song began, Elaine was surprised to here Jeriah speak them clearly and perfectly. It would seem she was an expert on the language. As the song developed, a sudden ache welled in her heart. The meaning of the words and they way they were formed brought tears to her eyes. Was this what had Jeriah so sad? Unable to restrain it, tears began sliding down her cheek. The sorrow she experienced then was like nothing before. She felt like she had been the one to lose someone. The song filled every corner of the small yard, saturating it. Mingled with the sorrow came hope, distant but evident, and Elaine found herself smiling as her tears fell. Even the birds and insects were silent. At the end of the emotinal performance, Elaine had to take a moment to retrieve her thoughts.
As the sadness melted from the courtyard, Elaine stood and walked to Jeriah. Although she herself no longer felt the sadness, she was certain Jeriah always did. She hated to see a fellow rider in such torment. Coming close to her, Elaine wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her tightly. This was the only comfort she could think to give her.
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Post by Tismri on Aug 19, 2008 16:09:37 GMT -5
Jeriah returned the hug to Elaine, glad for her comfort. She realized that she had been bottling up her feelings about Lathem ever since she learned about what had happened. It really felt good to let it out, to let someone know how she really felt at that moment. The tears continued to fall down her face as she embraced this woman and fellow Rider.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 20, 2008 0:42:42 GMT -5
Holding Jeriah, Elaine patted the rider's back softly, allowing her to cry freely. At that moment, she felt like an older sister comforting her younger sister, which suddenly made her feel slightly protective over her. This Lathem boy must be crazy. How could he do such a thing? A streak of anger ran through her, but she kept it in check. Jeriah seemed too in love to be angry at him, and Elaine didnt' want to cause further sadness by being angry. For now, she was just glad that Jeriah was allowing her emotions to run free. Sometimes, that was the best cure. After a few moments of silent comfort, Elaine stepped back from Jeriah and held her at arms length, her brown eyes showing sympathy.
"Will you be allright? If there is anything I can do to help, please, let me know."
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Post by Tismri on Aug 20, 2008 16:23:46 GMT -5
"I'll be fine," Jeriah assured her. "I just don't know what could have caused him to do such a thing as this. He...he ran off in the middle of the night, leaving behind me and Oranthor, Jahag-the werecat who he befriended, who is also sitting over there," she pointed to where the white werecat was seated on the steps leading down from the castle into the courtyard, "A he also left behind Zamah, his dragon and one of those he trusted most. After that, Jahag told me and Oranthor to go to the island of Beirland and continue our wanderings through Alagaesia. Then he came about a week ago, explaining what had happened to Lathem." At the thought, she again burst into tears, which fell down her already wet face. "I just wish I knew what happened..." she whispered.
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Jahag blinked at Jeriah's mention of his sitting there, but did nothing about it. He was just watching her. He was glad she made the decision to join the Varden. He had tried to warn Lathem several times about the cruelty of Galbatorix and how dangerous it was to remain neurtral.
Suddenly, Jahag sat up, alert. He felt someone coming this way, though whoever it was would probably take a while getting here. He turned around and took a quick shortcut through the grounds to the room where he stayed with Oranthor and Jeriah. Once he was in, he quickly changed into a small boy and found the clothes that he kept around in case he ever needed them. Putting them on, he left the room and headed back to the courtyard where Elaine was teaching Jeriah and waited for the person to approach. The person felt cold, calculating, bitter, and angry. But there was also compassion in there, buried under all the cynicism. To his surprise, a little girl came into veiw. He walked up to her.
"Okay, who are you, and why are you coming to this courtyard?" he asked, with a hint of a cat-like growl.
"I would ask you the same thing," the girl answered. A shiver ran down Jahag's spine. Her voice was unnaturally mature. He got over the shock quickly, however. The girl continued.
"To answer your questions, my name is Elva and I am coming to try to comfort Jeriah as best I can."
"I don't think anything can comfort her now," Jahag replied, "Unless Lathem were to come back to her. I am Jahag, and I came here with Oranthor and Jeriah." He gazed at the girl curiously.
"I've never met a werecat besides Solembum before." She shook her head. "He lives up to his name. He's solemn and he's a bum," she gave a small laugh of amusement and Jahag grinned.
"Well, who wouldn't be when they've followed a witch around for years?" Jahag and Elva felt each other gently growing easier with each other and walked back to the courtyard together.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 20, 2008 19:53:49 GMT -5
Elaine nodded. She too wished she could figure out why Lathem would be possessed to carry out such an action. She glanced at the white werecat, which she hadn't noticed before. This would be her first glimpse of such mysterious creatures. Jahag suddenly walked away, and Elaine returned her attention to Jeriah. "Come on," she said cheerfully, trying to take Jeriah's mind away from her lost love. "Let's sit back down, and I'll teach you more of the wonders of magic."
Ten minutes later, as Elaine was teaching Jeriah the more basic words in the ancient language, such as water, earth, fire, the werecat Jahag came back into view, accompanied by Elva. Elaine stopped talking to watch them. "Hello, Elva." She called out, suddenly tense. The misfortuante girls presence wasn't usually a good omen.
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Post by Tismri on Aug 20, 2008 21:13:10 GMT -5
Elva approached the two women slowly, her eyes on Jeriah the whole time. This girl had just now begun to feel the pain of the world, and there was still so much she didn't know. She walked up to them and climbed onto the bench where they sat. She looked full into Jeriah's face.
"Not all is lost with Lathem, you know. He can still be saved. It will just take a long time." Jeriah gasped and tears fell down her face.
"How...how can you be sure?" she asked.
"Because," Elva explained slowly, choosing her words with care, "I have the...ability to tell some things that will happen, usually bad things. If someone is worried about something, I feel the need to do what I can to comfort them, if I can. I know that there may be hope for Lathem, but it will come with a price. When the time comes, you must do what you can to help him." With that, the girl jumped off the bench and walked away, offering Jahag a rare, small smile on the way out.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 21, 2008 20:55:31 GMT -5
Trying not to be an eavesdropper, Elaine turned her head away from Elva and Jeriah, giving them privacy. Still, it was impossible to block out the cursed child's voice. The cynical sound broke into her awarness no matter her efforts. When Elva was done, and walking away from the courtyard, she didn't miss the small smile that slipped across the child's face. Slightly stunned, Elaine turned to Jeriah. "Whatever that girl says, you can be sure to trust her words. Elva really does want what's best for everyone. She doesn't have a choice."
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Post by Tismri on Aug 21, 2008 21:09:47 GMT -5
Jeriah watched after the strange girl as she walked away.
"I hope so," she whispered, then said a little louder, "What happened to her? Why is she so...old?" Jeriah could think of no other way to describe it. She stared into the doorway long after the Elva disappeared through it.
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Post by Trinn on Aug 21, 2008 21:29:23 GMT -5
Looking down at her hands, Elaine thought of Elva's predicament, wondering if it was her place to spread the tale of her situation. Why not? Most everyone knows about it now anyways. Her eyes turned back to Jeriah's young face. "Way back, when the varden still called Trojheim their home, the rider Eragon was stopped by a woman holding a baby. The woman was persistant, I've been told, not letting Eragon leave until he blessed the baby in her arms." Elaine smiled grimly and shrugged. "At the time, he thought he had blessed her with the words, "May you be sheilded from misfortune". However, as he was still new to the ancient language, he accidentally mixed up his phrasing." Elaine's expression turned sad. "What he had actually said was, "May you be a shield from misfortune." Elaine shook her head in sorrow for the girl who should only be but a baby still, just beginning the toddler stage of her life. "Eragon feels badly for his actions, and he has even promised Elva that he can free her from the curse he cast upon her. I hope such a thing is truly possible."
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Post by Tismri on Aug 21, 2008 21:35:46 GMT -5
Jeriah nodded, saddened by the young girl's tale. And to think, she had no choice in her actions. She only hoped Eragon would be able to help her. She realized now how dangerous it would be to try to cast a spell when you don't know the proper words.
"Well," Jeriah said, brushing off all the sad thoughts and trying to focus, "in light of this story, I guess it would be good to continue our lessons."
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