They rode solo.
All four of them; Ryder, Lyra, Iris and Xanth, having left a few of their soldiers in Rocheveron and a number sent back to Astaroth to get more troops. Ryder had the intent of keeping Rocheveron under the control of his army until he had the time to deal with them on his own and he intended on dealing with them. All throughout the ride, he could not take his mind off the things that had happened and he rode steadily beside Lyra, constantly keeping his eyes on her.
They had left the Rocheveron castle a little later than Ryder had wanted them to but still in the morning, Iris led the way for them and they only stopped twice in their journey to rest, mostly for Lyra’s sake, much to the annoyance of Iris but she could not do anything other than shoot the girl with death stares and glares.
The Tajon river was up ahead, they could see the waters shimmering under the evening light as the sun descended on the right side. They were riding sout
Winter was here now, and it brought with it the first snow of the season. It was cold and it was quiet, eerie quiet. They stood right by the edge of the forest, with the river to their left and the sun on the other side of the forest. Neither one of them hesitated when entering into the forest, neither one of them had in mind the dangers associated with this forest and what drove each one of them was different from what drove the other, but their reasons were very closely intertwined.Ryder went in for Lyra, he was very determined to get through this forest with his Khione in one piece and therefore he was more likely to do anything to prove that.Iris went in because this was their plan all along; to pass through the forest. The fact that the Khione girl was missing really did not affect her, except for the fact that she was Khione and she was very important and valuable to Ryder and to the kingdom of Astaroth.Xanth’s only mission was to act as a body gu
Ryder calmly watched Lyra, he knew he was seeing her because that was her body but that was his Lyra, her eyes glowed like it had done a couple of times when they had been in Astaroth. She had the witch’s spirit in her, his Lyra had been possessed by Indie.He held out his burnt hands to his side and summoned the dark energy from within him, it oozed out of his hands, from his finger tips and around the air close to his hand, until the dark mist formed a sword which he held in his hands. He stood straight and took a step forward.“Indie.” Ryder called. His eyes were darkened now and they burned with a dark smoky mist. His body radiated the same energy and he looked fearful, like a beast ready to go hunting. Lyra turned her head to him and her smile dropped. Ryder fumed and fisted his palm. “Get out of her body.”Xanth turned to look at Ryder and was immediately alarmed. “Ryder, what are you doing?” He whispered to him, s
“I know of your intention with the girl, Ryder of Astaroth.” Indie said. She paced as she spoke, the Khione girl was now asleep because of the spell she had cast on her so she only spoke to Ryder, Xanth and the other lady that had attacked her first, Iris. She perceived jealously and hatred in the lady for the Khione girl and it set in motion a plan in her head. She was a witch and she loved drama, besides it had been a while since she stirred up some kind of trouble.“You may not know this…” She continued at first but then paused and smiled at Ryder, shook her head and chuckled. “Okay you do not know about this but I want to see him again so I will be needing the Khione girl you have with you.”Ryder’s muscles tensed and he frowned even deeper. “And you think I will just let her go? Just so you can see your lover again?”“If you do not agree, then none of you will be leaving this forest. Ever.”
He was back in the forest, the same place where he had been with Xanth, Lyra and Iris before Indie had taken him away. His expression was grim and he didn’t smile, well, not like he had ever been used to smiling, but this time it was different. He stood in front of the portal after he had passed through it and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly through his slightly parted lips. His eyes opened slowly and he fixed them on Lyra who was standing with the support of Xanth. She looked like she had just woken up from the slumber Indie had put her into earlier. He took careful steps towards her until he stood right in front of her and Xanth, and then he took a hold of her arm, a little more forceful than he had intended to, she looked up at him with a pained expression.“Ryder, what are you doing?”“How do we get out of here?” He asked her suddenly.Xanth looked at him in confusion and so did Lyra, Iris came c
There was a reason it was called the Nuxvar village, and that was because it was indeed a village, undeveloped and not bothered about change, or maybe they didn’t know about the change seeing that they were practically cut off from the rest of the world by the Oerth forest and the very crazy Goddess, Indie, of the said forest.There were more people living right at the outskirts of the village by the edge of the forest than they had expected, and the way they were being carefully watched and distanced told them that it was not everyday that someone walked out of the forest coming from the other side. And they had arrived when it was night time.Ryder instinctively wrapped an arm around Lyra’s shoulder and pulled her closer still to himself as they continued walking further into the village. His eyes were sharp and alert, and so were Xanth’s and Iris’. Lyra felt like walking diamond, like a treasure that everyone wanted and would kill to get, and she
The young man stood by the window looking out into the night, his hands were clasped behind him and his legs were spread slightly apart. Every once in a while he would take in a deep breath, filling his lungs up with the Nuvarian air and then let it out slowly. He had been in this position for minutes now after the news had been passed to him, it was news he had been eagerly and patiently waiting for, it was the kind of news that told him his journey across the Tajon river from the quiet kingdom of Aerilon had not been in vain.He turned his head to his right and played a soft smile on his lips before he asked again for the one-hundredth time. “And you are sure of what you tell me? You saw the girl yourself?”“Yes, I did.”The man who replied to his question was the same hooded man who had left the inn only moments ago and had come down the alleyway and through the secret passageway, known only as “messenger” to come to
He woke easily like he had just had the best sleep in a long time. He smiled and breathed calmly, if only the rest of his nights could be like this. The sun was just rising and peeking through the window, sending little bright rays of sunshine passing through the window glass and into the room. He turned his head to his side and looked down, Lyra’s sleeping face faced him, her gentle breaths tickled his arm which cause him to smile.He felt comfortable and strange, but in a good way. A good kind of strange and he had never felt this way with anybody before, except his mother. He stiffened when she stirred, he didn’t want her to wake up so soon, not right away. Her body was warm and her little palm was splayed on his open chest, he placed a hand over hers and caressed it carefully. Her small lips were pouted and she drooled a little on his arm because of the position her head was in but he found it cute.He frowned.The last he remembered, he had been
Just across the Tajon river, lay a land undisturbed, a kingdom undiscriminating and inhabited by diverse people and creatures. The whole kingdom was a large island, curved away from the other kingdoms by the Tajon river which spilled into the sea. The land was a home - and more - to tribes, to races, to creatures and to people, and all who came with peaceful intentions were always welcomed.The kingdom of Aerilon was unlike any of the other kingdoms, they never had a record of war, didn’t have a king or a general ruler, what they had were tribe chiefs, a leader to keep its own kind always in check and to ensure that rivalries were peacefully and easily settled so that they all would be able to co-exist.The humans inhabited the land, and so did a few kind witches, the half breeds, the mixed breeds and the Khiones. Then handful of them who survived the great massacre and had managed to move from their home land, across the river had found refuge in the welco