Placing Siben’s ring in the palm of her hand, Lum felt its weight, heavy and strangely cool. She knew nothing of the metallurgical techniques that had gone into its construction, but the color was difficult to describe: pale yellow-gold with a strange blush of coppery red.
“Put it on,†said History.
“Is it safe?â€
“Of course it’s safe. If they hadn’t intended for you to test it, would they have left it in your keeping?â€
Shrugging, Lum tilted the band up with her thumb and slipped it over her finger.
“It’s perfect,†she said.
“Magic rings always are,†said History. “Now, feel anything different?â€
“Not really,†said Lum, but the words were slurred and distant. A warm, tingling sensation spread through her body, like she’d just had a stiff drink. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her head to clear the cobwebs. Someone was laughing outside, far away. She realized it was her.
“Perfect,†said History, his voice coming as if from a great distance.
“This isn’t right,†said Lum. She tried to stand but her feet slid from under her. She felt heavy, her body dragging her to the ground, immobile. She’d been drugged.
“Sleep now,†said History, his voice echoing through her mind. “Everything will be fine in the morning.â€
Closing her eyes, she saw of a long corridor of doorways. Behind each one were scenes from her life: marching with the Immortal Flames, Master Ghalt’s steady hands, Captain Daru’s drunken speeches. She saw her friends: Remi and Stanzie and Sei and Siben; all the people she’d met in the Night Blades. Ellion was there, influencing every thing she did these days, always in her mind. The doors held individuals or groups of people, different times and places, the things they’d done together. She’d grown as a member of the Blades, and every door framed an experience that had changed her.
At the end of the hallway was a single doorway opening to everything. She saw herself there, everything she was and everything she could be. Her hopes and dreams, her present and past: the foundation of who she was. Reaching toward it, she felt herself drifting backwards, fingers brushing the edge of the door as it closed.
Then she was falling, images disappearing behind closing doors, each scene a perfect memory she could almost touch before it slipped past her fingers.
“Put it on,†said History.
“Is it safe?â€
“Of course it’s safe. If they hadn’t intended for you to test it, would they have left it in your keeping?â€
Shrugging, Lum tilted the band up with her thumb and slipped it over her finger.
“It’s perfect,†she said.
“Magic rings always are,†said History. “Now, feel anything different?â€
“Not really,†said Lum, but the words were slurred and distant. A warm, tingling sensation spread through her body, like she’d just had a stiff drink. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her head to clear the cobwebs. Someone was laughing outside, far away. She realized it was her.
“Perfect,†said History, his voice coming as if from a great distance.
“This isn’t right,†said Lum. She tried to stand but her feet slid from under her. She felt heavy, her body dragging her to the ground, immobile. She’d been drugged.
“Sleep now,†said History, his voice echoing through her mind. “Everything will be fine in the morning.â€
Closing her eyes, she saw of a long corridor of doorways. Behind each one were scenes from her life: marching with the Immortal Flames, Master Ghalt’s steady hands, Captain Daru’s drunken speeches. She saw her friends: Remi and Stanzie and Sei and Siben; all the people she’d met in the Night Blades. Ellion was there, influencing every thing she did these days, always in her mind. The doors held individuals or groups of people, different times and places, the things they’d done together. She’d grown as a member of the Blades, and every door framed an experience that had changed her.
At the end of the hallway was a single doorway opening to everything. She saw herself there, everything she was and everything she could be. Her hopes and dreams, her present and past: the foundation of who she was. Reaching toward it, she felt herself drifting backwards, fingers brushing the edge of the door as it closed.
Then she was falling, images disappearing behind closing doors, each scene a perfect memory she could almost touch before it slipped past her fingers.
Code: (Select All)
            Ellion’s hands          Siben’s rickety lab
       death and darkness             Master Ghalt’s smile
           Seimei            too much drinking     reading reading reading
sword practice with Armi and Sindl                   fixing Remi’s eye
            medical training           first kiss
 falling on Stanzie                    History repeating itself
    Denn               leaving home           Cicero’s poems     Â
Loki’s frown             never good enough            Â
         Ellion’s smile          basic training
            his strong arms
                     his scent
then black
           black             black
black              black
        black          black       black
shutting her out