I spun my new sword, watching the sun's reflection on it that made the flames that were carefully engraved by the expert, Darl himself, come to life. I saw my sister's little body rise with a sigh and I approached her.

  "Oh little sister. What ails you?" I asked her, leaning against the tree, next to her.

  "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

  "Well you just gave me two very different answers. Either it's nothing, or you don't want to talk about it. So choose one." I said, laughing. She didn't take the joke.

  "It's nothing then."

  "Kiethar, I can tell what you are feeling."

  "Really? How?" She said with disbelief dripping from every syllable. I sat down beside her.

  "A new trick I've learnt. I can see what people are feeling, by concentrating on their life-flames." I told her, dismissive. Her mouth was wide and gaped like a fish.

  "That's not fair." She told me and I laughed.

  "No, what isn't fair is that you won't talk to me. What have I done?"

  "You treat me like a child!"

  "You are a child..."

  "NO I'M NOT!" She screamed. I blinked a few times as I listened to the silence of the forest around us. Nature was on edge.

  "You will always be to me. You are my little sister! I am supposed to be protective of you, don't you see? That is why I need to know why I need to beat Darl up." She looked at me blankly.

  "What?"

  "He has upset you, even though you are in love with him." That shocked expression was on her face again.

  "I'm not..." She began.

  "Don't lie to me, Aven. You know I can see right through you. You are an open book to me, so do not insult my intelligence."

  "I wasn't, Elowyn. I just... don't want to admit it. I feel... weak. Like he can destroy me at any moment and I wouldn't even care because at least he would be happy..." I smiled at her.

  "That's love, jynla. There's nothing you can do about it, and you shouldn't want to."

  "I don't. But I get so angry at you when you treat me like a child, because I don't want him to see me as one. I don't see what I have to offer him..."

  "Do not say such things! You are beautiful, kind and strong. You are a much better being than I! And believe me, he does not see you as a child..."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Oh jynla, I just know. I know the way he looks at you, and how he is almost as protetive of you as I am. Do not doubt him. You both need a kick to stop being such cowards and Baenthe already!"

  "Do you really think so?"

  "Trust me, kiethar."

  "I do. With my life. Always."We hugged and I felt that we were closer than ever. I sighed and she looked up at me as we parted. "What is it?"

  "It's just..." I sighed again and looked up to the blazing sun. "I think that we are strong enough to try to storm Castlar. Or at least to try."

  "People might get hurt, Elowyn."

  "People might get hurt now, Aven! All we are doing is travelling through the forests and hiding. We should be fighting!"

  "I agree. We should not be hiding from them. We are acting like cowards, when really we should be giving the people of Aeridia hope. I will talk to the others. We leave at first light, tomorrow."

  "Thank you, kiethar."

  "Don't worry, Elowyn." Aven stood and walked a few steps away from me, then turned and looked at me with a sad look in her eyes. "You miss him, don't you?" She asked me. I tried to smile, although it looked more like a grimace. I struggled to breathe, as I always did since I had been parted from him.

  "It's as if I have lost a part of my soul."

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Author guidance for This exercise

Collaborators Info:

Discussion Topic: http://www.protagonize.com/group/planning-brainstorming/topic/3339

The Tome of Aeridia (compendium containing a dictionary, atlas and spell book) - http://www.protagonize.com/work/the-tome-of-aeridia

Character Profiles

Name: Aven
Species: Elf
Age: Sixteen
Gender: Female
Appearance: Dark hair in a pixie cut and green eyes. Very pale skin and lips which are white in colour (painted white, really just normal). Slender bodied. Elegant.
Element: Earth
Other: Can find the spirit within the plants and bend them to her will. Can create healing potions as well as poisons, Skilled with a dagger. Very loyal to her friends.
~ emptyanima

Name: Elowyn
Species: Elf
Age: Seventeen
Gender: Female
Appearance: Similar to Aven, as she is her sister. Dark brown, curly hair, down to her waist and regularly worn in a thick braid. Green eyes. Slender, but with curves. Wears different shades of red. Refuses to paint her lips as she wants to keep her personal life/experiences private, which annoys her sister as it is thought to be tradition.
Element: Fire
Other: Is close to Dragons, as they are creatures of fire, as she is, and is bonded with a particular dragon (Anna-Lena's character). Runs very fast, and is very skilled with a bow and arrow. Stubborn, and sometimes secretive, but is very caring and loving behind her tough exterior.
~ Drinibini

Name: Faeth
Species: Human
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Appearance: Black. Long black hair. Purple eyes. Petite. Scruffy maid clothes.
Element: Air
Other: Can fly. Invisibilty. Shy, easily confused. Paranoid. Parents have died. The King is the uncle. Likes her sword. She calls it Freshe.
~ genie72

Name: Princess Meredyth
Species: Human
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Appearance: Waist length, dark brunette hair. Striking violet eyes (turn white during hypnosis/mind control) V. curvaceous figure (think Evony and such like!)
Element: Psychic
Other: Daughter of king, disagrees with what he wants. Cast out, title renounced. Wants peace in the land. Has many powers: Mind control, hypnosis, memory searching, 'torture through imagination' (a bit like Jane from Twilight) and deep connection with spirtual/angelic beings.
~ WackyWeasel

Name: Sunelya
Species: Dragon
Age: 374
Gender: Female
Appearence: About twelve metres of pure strong muscle. With a wing span of 18 metres. Between her wings there is a 'seat', as she has formed a Bond to Drinis character 4 years ago. This is where her character sits. She has got a long neck and on her head we find to horns, not very stable and rather for decoration; although they are still made from dragon ivory (very popular) and quite sharp. Other than that she has 4 legs, the hind ones being stronger than her front ones so she can effortlessly take off the ground. Her claws are also made of dragon ivory and are so sharp and robust that she can easily climb ub vertical walls. her long strong tail is suited with sharp scales at the end and is often used by her in battle. She is coloured with varying shades of purple, reaching from light sparkling purple on her head to deep glistening shades for the rest of her body. Her eyes are deep gold; very unusual for dragons.

Element: Water, Fire and Drager Afideria (This is dragon magic; the lizards have this form when they reach adult age and can operate it according to their spiritual power but don't need a spell book.

Other: Loves to hunt, eat, joke and annoy Faeth.She is very close to Elowyn as she is her rider and they have chosen each other. She is very strong willed and one of the best fighters known to men; rumours in Aeridia say that no one has ever beaten her and Elowyn in Battle. Although she is stubborn she had a very soft and intuitive side, if you don't annoy her. One of her remarkable skills is that she can fly very well although she is large in size.
~ChinkyCat

Name:Darl
Species:Elf
Age:18
Appearance:Tall and muscular. Dark tanned skin. One eye hazel brown, the other pure white with a long scar running from halfway up the forehead, across the eyelid and down to stop at the top of the cheekbone. Dark bronze coloured hair cropped close to the scalp except at the back where it lengthens into a long ponytail. Usually wears thick leather chaffs and a breastplate of tanned and studded, blood red, dragon-hide.
Element:Metal ;)
Other:Nomad from the Barrene Land. Master blacksmith (with help from control over anything metallic allowing him to bend and shape it in any way he wishes). Carries an assortment of blades and weapons; favourites of which are a small steel hammer and a sword made of some unknown metal, the blade of which is inlaid with words from a long lost language. Pet hawk named Carla.
~owen

updated May 10 '11 by emptyanima