Hmmm, I'm getting a little off track here.
Anyway, happy leap year! (did you see the Google? Its super cute.) To celebrate the utter oddity of today, I am posting a incredibly odd piece of writing. Its odd because I was the one who wrote it (thank you, thank you, save your applause till the end, please). Anyway, here it is:
Temenesia’s Tale
Part the First
Once upon a time, in the city of Periculum, the crown jewel of the kingdom of Sanna, there lived a girl named Temenesia. Temenesia lived at the edge of Periculum with her father Rapidus and her older brother Tallus. Well, sometimes she lived with Tallus. He went to the Academy for seven colder months of the year. Good riddance, her father always huffed. Rapidus and Tallus often disagreed on..... certain subjects. Certain subjects meaning everything. If Rapidus said the sky was blue, Tallus would say it’s “water colored”. If Tallus said Rapidus’ career was stupid, Rapidus would “Smack that insolent child around the kingdom until he comes to his senses!”
But while Rapidus certainly never missed Tallus, Temenesia did. She loved her father, but Rapidus didn’t really understand eleven year old girls. Or girls at all. If she hadn’t met her mother, Temenesia would never have believed Rapidus had ever been married (although she knew too well how that had worked out). He always acted like she was too delicate to walk down the road without fainting. From fall to spring, Temenesia had to stay by her fathers side, away from all other human beings. Even when she turned eleven, the age where people should have go for their first ever year at the Academy, her father still wouldn’t let her leave him. But in the summer, when Tallus was around, her father always spent more time cursing under his breath and kicking things than he did watching her. Plus, she liked Tallus. And he liked her. He was getting older- he didn’t need a parent to take care of him. He could have run away, found some other place to haunt when school wasn’t in session. He really, really, hated Rapidus, and would have gladly left, even though he wasn’t eighteen if not for Temenesia. If not for his younger sister, he probably wouldn’t bother to come back to east of Eccelsia at all.
Every single one of Temenesia’s good memories from the past five years were from summers spent with Tallus: splashing around in the pond, running up and down grassy hills, watching Lindworms race each other, and playing (rather extensive) pranks on their father. Especially playing pranks on their father.
And today Tallus was finally coming home. Yesterday had been the last day of spring, so the Academy had let out for the summer. The trip from the Academy to Periculum was only a day long, so her brother would be arriving soon. Temenesia was hurrying to get her long list of chores done so she wouldn’t have to do any work when her brother got home. At the moment she was weeding the garden. When she was done, she had to feed the chickens. When she was done with that, she had to make fifteen strength potions, seven healing potions, ten prince to frog potions (easy), ten frog to prince potions (much harder), sixteen luck potions, and one love potion.
Temenesia didn’t normally make potions (her specialty was, after all, charms). But her father was excruciatingly busy preparing some spells for the huge Midsummer's Eve gathering next month and didn’t have time to deal with his customers. And because of the gathering, every half bit magic man out there was scrambling for something powerful to show off to their other pathetic friends, or to try to prove themselves to the Council. Unfortunately, there were a lot of half-bit magic men. Which meant a lot of extra work for Temenesia. Luckily she had inherited her dads knack and love for magic - something her brother hadn’t. In fact, magic was the one, solitary subject Temenesia and Tallus ever disagreed on.
Tallus’ malice for his father unfortunately also spread to his father’s occupation. Tallus despised magic in every way shape or form- except his little sister, of course. But that didn’’t mean they never argued about it- they did. Constantly. They had ever since the first time Temenesia started practicing magic, six years ago...
When Temenesia was five, she had found a small Lindworm scale at the top of one of the seemingly endless grassy green hills that surrounded her home. It was so pretty, its smooth blue surface catching the sunlight. She felt she just had to make something out of it. She went home to gather materials. She was tying it to a long string of soft leather along with a few Lux Bird feathers when she felt an odd buzzing feeling spread through her body (which, she learned later, was her magic sparking for the first time). When she showed father the necklace, he was very pleased. He explained the buzz, and told her that her new necklace was actually a protection charm, and a particularly powerful protection charm at that.
“Protection charms are very advanced magic,” he informed her. “Most Shaman students can’t make them till their third year of training.” He smiled. “Even I didn’t accomplish protection charms until my second year.” He knelt beside her, and carefully placed the charm around her neck. “Wear this always.” Rapidus murmured quietly. “Not only will it protect you, but it is considered rather good luck to keep your first charm with you.” He rose slowly. “The path of a Shaman is a mighty one, Temenesia. If your brother will not realize that, I hope you will.” And with that he left her to go back his studies.
Temenesia touched her charm. It still hung around her neck- she had never taken it off, not even at night. It was her greatest connection to her father, and she would not remove it, not even at her brother’s constant insistance.
Unfortunately, Tallus was not one to take “no” for an answer. Whenever he got the chance, he would beg her to take it off. Whenever Tallus saw the charm, he would scowl and stare at her accusingly. Looks, Temenesia could deal with. But if it was after a fight with Rapidus, he would scowl, look away, then think better and grab for the charm. Temenesia would duck out of the way. “Tallus! Stop!” she’d shout, annoyed. “I’m keeping it on!”
“It’s wrong, Temenesia.” Tallus pressed. “It stands for him. His oppression, his treachery, and worst of all his magic.”
“Magic isn’t wrong Tallus. It’s just... a job. Like that archeology you’re so interested in. That’s like being against farmers or something.”
“Farming doesn’t kill.”
“You can kill just as easily with a plow as you can with a spell! It depends on who’s using it! It depends on what you mean. I mean to help people. Not hurt them!”
“Can you say the same for him?”
The conversation always ended there. Temenesia never had an answer, and Tallus always felt his point was made. Eventually they would rejoin, a silent agreement to never speak of their argument. But it always happened again.
And again.
And again.
At the moment, Temenesia was working on an luck potion while humming to an old folk song she had heard at the last Periculum Gathering. Four months ago and still stuck in her head. Not that she had heard any music since then....
Sigh. When would Tallus be home? He should have been home, at the latest, three hours ago. And it wasn’t like Tallus to be late. Tallus had a lot of annoying habits, but he was never late. Unlike Rapidus.
She stuck the cork in the last potion and dropped it in the “out” box. She would take those into town tomorrow, but at the moment, she needed fresh air. The musty atmosphere of her father’s old workshop was beginning to get to her.As she pulled open the door, a breeze swept into the dark interior of the building. Carried on the wind came a sound... voices. The workshop was built to be completely soundproof, as some of her fathers spells required complete silence. She could never hear anything from the inside, which was particularly annoying when someone was calling her. Frowning, she listened closer: she recognized those voices. One was her fathers. That was easy, as she spent way more time with Rapidus than she would ever choose to. But after straining, she recognized the other too. Even after seven long, long, long, months she knew it well- Tallus!
She ran away from the workshop, toward her brothers voice, laughing gleefully at the prospect of seeing her brother again. As she got closer, he could see their silhouettes on a hill on the distance, their figures positively radiating.... Anger??? What? They couldn’t be arguing already! Temenesia shook her head with utter disbelief. But she had seen them quarrel enough times to recognize one of their fights. And this looked like a nasty one.
Stealth, Temenesia decided, would be necessary if she wanted to find out what all the ruckus was over. Sometimes seeing her made the fighters cease, but for the most part it just made them (if possible) even more angry. Thankfully, after eleven years of being the youngest child in a Shaman’s household, she had learned a thing or two about stealthiness.
Temenesia put her hand to her belt, memory guiding her to her worn pouch without even looking. Opening it she pulled out a Murim whisker, two Lunam Moth wings, and a piece of twine. Hands moving quickly, she tied them together. Muttering an old spell, she magicked the necklace into a new charm- a shadow charm. Not an invisibility charm by any means, you needed a lot more ingredients for one of those. But at 8:00 at night, a shadow charm was just as good.
Temenesia slipped it on, and crept up the hill as quietly as possible. She was a living shadow, just a black spot on the green hill. She walked up the hill, slowly, because while one may not notice a shadow slinking toward you, you would definitely notice it running at you. And as soon as she was in earshot...
“....four months ago! What kind of fool do you take me as? You think I don’t know what this means? You think I don’t know the law?”
Say What? That had been her father. But what law? What had happened four months ago? Oh yes- her brothers birthday! But what did that have to do with a law? Tallus had turned eighteen this year... oh no. According to the law “Any persons having turned eighteen years no longer has the right to ask shelter from their parents, so orders King Proditor III.”
And then Temenesia realized what Rapidus was saying.
She was going to lose her brother.
Part the Second
“FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!”Both Rapidus and Tallus turned around, surprise flitting across their faces as Temenesia removed her charm and suddenly appeared five feet away from them. “Temenesia,” Rapidus gaped, startled, but she gave him no chance to finish.
“What do you mean, Tallus is going? Tallus isn’t going anywhere!” Temenesia screamed. She had never ever dared to yell at her father before, but the horror of losing the only person in the world that actually cared about her overloaded every other thought in her mind- all that was left was white hot anger.
“Temenesia!” Her father shouted. Suddenly the anger was gone, leaving absolute terror in its place. She cowered under his rage; nobody spoke to Rapidus as she just had. And if they did, they generally found themselves transformed into snails. And that was when he was in a good mood. And right now he was not in a good mood.
“Er, I mean, why should Tallus leave? He’s your son! And my brother! And your sister’s nephew! And your mother’s grandson! And...” Temenesia might have gone on forever, if not for her fathers interruption.
“Silence!” Rapidus roared. Uh oh, Temenesia thought. I don’t want to be a snail...
“Why? There is no ‘why’! Your brother has undermined me from the start! Insulted my profession! Disgraced our entire family by ignoring the path of a Shaman and taking up archeology! Its to much! I can’t take it! The boy must leave!”
“Wait a second,” Tallus interrupted, outraged. “Are you dissing archeology? Just because I keep slamming magic? Don’t fight fire with fire, old man!”
“OLD MAN?! I’m NOT an old man!” I am sixty years old! That’s not even middle aged!” Rapidus cried, no longer angry but now upset. That’s right, Temenesia thought, hit him where it hurts, right in the ol’ ego.
“Yeah, If you happen to be a tortoise!” Temenesia giggled.
“Who are you calling a tortoise?! I should turn you into a snail for that!” Rapidus pulled out a whittled stick- his wand. Uh-oh.
“I’d like to see you try!” Bad idea Tallus....
“Oh yeah? Try THIS!” Temenesia hit the ground and covered her head.
BAM!
“Ha! You missed by a mile! You must have lost your aim along with your youth!” Tallus laughed. Um, Tallus, Temenesia thought as a blast of purple energy soared over her head, you can probably stop now... please...
“AHHRG!” Rapidus roared, and geared up for another shot.
BAM!
“Geez, you couldn’t hit the side of a barn!” Tallus taunted.
“TALLUS! STOP IT ALREADY!” Temenesia screeched desperately.
BAM!
“ I SAID STOP IT!” She yelled with such anger they both turned around to stare at her incredulously, their mouths wide open.
“What are you doing?!!!!” Temenesia screamed shrilly at the opponents. “What are you, five years old?!” The two men hung their heads in shame. “You two are supposed to be adults! Why don’t you act like it for once in your sorry lives!!!”
“It doesn’t matter.” Rapidus grumped, recovered from his astonishment. “The boy is going, and that is that. He is no longer welcome in my house.”
“Hut.” Tallus gleefully inserted, rather unhelpfully.
“House! And if he comes anywhere near my property, I will turn him into a mouse and feed him to the cat! And that’s if I’m in a good mood!”
“Then... Then...” Temenesia stuttered. “Then I’m leaving with him!”
Tallus grinned and gave her a thumbs up while Rapidus sputtered.
“That’s what I thought young la-wait a second... WHAT?”
“You heard me!” Temenesia yelled, getting used to the idea. “Farewell, Hasta Lavista, Bon Voyage, and GOOD-BYE!” She cried victoriously. Tallus gave her a high-five.
“No...” Rapidus muttered. “I lost Peridita, but I’m not losing my daughter too. No... No.” Rapidus made odd gestures with his hands, as if... as if he was warming up for a spell...
“This cannot be happening to me...” Temenesia moaned.
“Procul recedant pueri puellae dormient somnum sempiternum!” Rapidus bellowed. His words echoed through the empty air, ringing against the darkening sky. For a second, nothing happened. For just one second, things might have been fine. But then, after one not-long-enough-second, the wind began to stir.
Within moments, the light breeze that had accompanied the long summers day had transformed into a full force hurricane. Temenesia screamed, but even she could not hear herself over the terrible gale. Lightning crackled and hail slashed. This was possibly the most potent spell Temenesia had ever witnessed. Too bad she didn’t have a chance to enjoy it.
The hurricane rampaged across the hill, making its way toward Tallus. ‘No!’ Temenesia thought, but there was nothing she could do. No magic of hers could ever stop anything as powerful as this. As she watched, Tallus was sucked into the swirling vortex.
Then something even more terrifying happened. The hurricane turned toward Temenesia.
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