Greetings all. Glad to have you back with me. Now this story is going to take a slight turn from the other two in the series. It branches off the main story line and goes off by itself. It's a Joey story, which is the reason the whole package has been relocated to its present location. David has been more then patient with me during this stage, which I have to thank him for. Thanks.
I'll gradually make a larger list, but for the time being I have a few close people to thank. First I'm going to thank Kenitra for getting me to write Saga in the first place. Second thanks go to Shade and Aeoros, you guys have been great, sorry about not communicating more. And of course thanks has to go to Apples, I told you you'd start using that nickname. And as mentioned before, David, thanks for setting me straight about a few things.
Comments are more then welcomed, both the good and the bad. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both regularly and will respond as quickly as possible. I enjoy hearing from anyone, and freely admit that I'm an e-mail junkie. Please help support my habit.
And now for the wonderful disclaimer. This story is a work of fiction. It is not supposed to reflect anything about anyone in the group Nsync. If you are too young to read this, or it's illegal in your area, please leave. If you are offended by homosexual themes/references/etc. leave as well. Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
And now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story and don't forget to let me know what you think.
Until next time, Rune.
POWERS OF THE MIND
The shaman sat cross-legged in the cave with her eyes closed. Violet hair hung around her shoulders and framed her beautiful face. She came here once a year to commune with the spirits. Came once a year to find where she was to lead her people for the next year. She hated how she left her people undefended, even for such a short period of time. The pestilence she knew as the Summoner was becoming stronger each day. With each creature he controlled he gained one more worshipper. Even if that creature did not love him as most would love their object of worship, he gained power. He may even gain enough to become a god. And if that were to happen then her way of life would end. She would be crushed along with everything she stood for. That was one of the questions she had put forth to the spirits. One she hoped they could answer. What was she to do about the Summoner?
A tiny ball of light appeared in front of her. "Shaman," the sphere softly spoke. "Your people are in danger. Go protect them."
A child's cry pierced the night. It was quickly joined by the sobbing cries of an elven woman trying to keep them from taking her child away from her. The elf's cries were silenced as the minotaur backhanded her. She slumped to the floor unconscious. The bull-man picked up the elf and threw her over his shoulder. He carried the child in one hand.
Outside the hut similar scenes were unfolding around the village. Violet haired elves were vainly trying to fend off the attack that had taken them completely by surprise. It was well after midnight and not one of them expected to have been woken from their sleep. The few guards had been easily subdued and now wore shackles.
The minotaur deposited his charges in a wagon before moving to capture a young boy that was trying to escape. The boy's parents were already on one of the wagons and he would soon join them. The vast majority of the villagers were already on the wagons. It wouldn't take long to collect the rest.
Not a soul stirred when the shaman walked into the village. A few huts had been knocked down and others had holes in them. But no one was there. Even the jungle was quiet. Her people were gone. She had her guesses about what had happened, but needed to be sure.
She easily located a small bird that had been woken by the disturbance, but hadn't felt it safe enough to flee. With carefully chosen words she calmed the frightened bird down enough to talk. The bird told her of the noise that woke it from its sleep. How so many creatures came into the village and took everyone away. It didn't know where they were going, just that they'd left. A few more questions told her everything she needed to know.
Once she'd let the bird return to its roost, after assuring it that it was safe, she walked to the centre of the village and fell to her knees.
"Spirits of the land, of the air, of the jungle," she cried. "I have failed my people. I have allowed harm to come to them. But I may still be able to atone from my mistake. Lend me your power. Give me the strength that is needed to save my people from this evil that has come in the form of a man. Give me the power to purge him from this land. To save my people."
The jungle was silent to her plea for only an instant. A soft breeze caressed her face as a spirit of the air rushed around her. Tiny wisps of mist drifted out of the ground and from the trees. They wrapped themselves around her and then vanished. A silver panther ran out of the trees and raced toward her kneeling form. It leapt into the air and dove into her chest. The ethereal cat didn't come out the other side. The jungle was silent for a moment. In that moment of silence the air crackled with energy. Not a sound was made, but you could feel the power in the air. The shaman was struck by a bolt of lightening that snaked down from the sky. Then the jungle was quiet again.
She fell forward onto her hands. Gasping for breath she whispered her thanks to the spirits for their gifts. The gifts that would allow her to save her people. And avenge them if need be.
The first of the creatures to fall to her wrath died slowly. They lay at her feet in a dismembered heap. Limbs barely recognizable amongst the gore. Blood had splashed itself on her clothing several times, but she ignored it. She breathed heavily while her body calmed itself after the intense battle.
When she regained her breath she stepped over the bodies and strode quickly into the jungle. Nothing was going to stop her from regaining her people.
TBC
That's it for now. It's short I know, but I imagine you'll all recover. That is one thing you'll notice about this story in comparison to Saga or Harbingers. The individual chapters will be shorter (there are less characters to work with after all) and that the story itself will be shorter overall.
Rune