Post by The Pilot on Sept 14, 2007 12:27:16 GMT -5
“Wake up, wake up,” Lauren had a vice grip on Narthas’ shoulder and was shaking him profusely.
“Unh.. what? Up?” The elf groaned as he turned over in his bed and squinted at Lauren through the bright morning light parading through the open window.
“I’ve been awake all night. I saw two more meteorites and something else. We have to get going.”
As soon as she said “meteorite” Narthas was wide awake. He sat straight, flinging the sheets from him and standing up. “More? You saw other things too?”
“Yeah dude. This is getting really weird. The other thing I saw was a pair of flashing red lights. If it were daytime, I might have seen the actual thing, but it was definitely a flying machine of some sort.”
Her companion’s hand went to his hair and coursed through it in a subtle anxious panic. “No, no, no…” he muttered under his breath. “Too many. There are too many coming.” He paced for a second, and then turned to Lauren and grabbed her shoulders. “There’s no way that they’d be able to hide themselves if they keep coming at this rate. They have to remain hidden!”
“So these are fans falling from the sky?!”
“What else could they be!”
Lauren rubbed her face and did her fair share of pacing. “I don’t know!”
“We have to leave. Now.” He immediately went to the table and began to throw their things back into the bags. “We have to get to Gondor.”
“Why Gondor? What’s so important there and who are these connections you’ve got?” Lauren was beginning to get suspicious of her friend, and definitely not for the first time. “I thought you said you didn’t know what these are.”
“I don’t,” he barked at her. “Which is all the more reason that we have to hurry. There is one fan in particular that I need to talk to about this.”
That explanation seemed to be enough for Lauren, at least for the time being. She’d have to get used to his slyness, and when she really needed information from him, she’d have to pry it from him. Perhaps with a sharp tongue, or a sharper sword.
The girl began to pack her things up as well. “All right, but if I don’t get let in on what exactly is going on soon, I’ve got some asses to kick. The first one being yours.”
Suddenly, however, there was a great tumult outside, and the sound of beating hooves was like thunderstorm. Their kneejerk reaction was to go to the window, and that’s exactly what the two did. Upon discovering that they wouldn’t be able to see any of the riders, Lauren rushed downstairs and out the front door, nearly tripping over herself, with Narthas close behind. Lo and behold, at the top of the hill and the foot of the Golden Hall, there was the guard, all on horseback. Three figures descended the steps: two standing tall, and one seemed to be dragged between them. When they reached the top of the flight, the two guards held up the man between them, and it was obvious, even from such a distance, that he was bound by ropes.
“People of Edoras!” cried one of the men. “Behold the traitor of our King Eomer! It was by his hand alone that our Lord was poisoned, in an attempt on his life!”
Lauren squinted, trying to see who exactly the failed assassin was, but it was to no avail. A shout rose up from the citizens as they suggested various means of public humiliation and torture in unorganized unison. Then everyone grew silent again after what she thought was him spitting on one of the guardsmen holding him up. He was dropped to the ground again and promptly kicked in the stomach. He cried out various obscenities that Lauren couldn’t really hear, but when she caught one syllable, it all fell into place.
“He’s not a resident of Middle-earth,” Lauren gasped, not taking her eyes off the scene unfolding before them.
“What, how do you know?” The elf turned immediately to her.
“Didn’t you hear? He said ‘fuck’. Natives of this world don’t say fuck, do they.”
Narthas stared wide-eyed at the man on the front step of the hall, and the guard that had addressed the people did so once again. “This filthy, heathen, traitor,” he began. “Will remain in the stocks until nightfall! Whereupon he will wait in a cell until the King is well enough to execute this vermin himself!”
Angry uproarious cheering erupted from the crowd and people gathered in the streets. Lauren jumped when a hand squeezed her shoulder.
“Come on. We have to get going,” the elf said before opening the door and going back inside. The young ranger turned her back to the scene and followed Narthas back to their room.
“What I want to know is, why would a fan try to kill Eomer. It doesn’t make any sense. What would he have to gain from the death of the King? Since he has no heir yet, rule would probably pass to his second-in-command, or I don’t know… his sister?”
The elf was rushing about, finishing the packing and then putting some decent clothes on himself. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he said. “Maybe this has more to do with another fandom than it does ours.”
“Great.”
“Are you ready to go?” Narthas paused and looked at her.
“Yep.”
“Alright. Grab your bags. We’re outta here.”
Lauren stepped over to the table and slung a pair of saddlebags over her shoulder, and with effort, followed the elf out the door, down the stairs, out the main door, and over to the stables. It seemed that the stable hands had abandoned the horses for a while to go stand amid the crowd that was now throwing vegetables and rocks at the attempted murder. “Come on. Ready your horse.”
About five minutes later and they were ready to leave.
“No leisurely riding this time, and no stopping longer than we absolutely have to. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Okay. Let’s go. Yeah!”
Lauren dug her heels into Miril’s sides and the horse dashed off down the empty street toward the main gate. No one tried stopping them, and even if they had, the two riders were traveling far too fast to halt for a few guards. Not to mention they were too much in a rush.
“We’ll take a lunch break at high noon!” he shouted over the noise of their riding. Lauren nodded in response.
They galloped across the plains like a whisper, the wind whipping Lauren’s hair into knots behind her. Her heart was racing just as fast as her horse, and it wasn’t because of the adrenaline rush. Something was happening to Middle-earth --HER Middle-earth—and something needed to be done about it before more lives were put at risk.
When she seriously gave it some thought, the concept did make sense:
People’s souls remain intact after they die.
People get to choose where they go after they die (assuming they’ve been pretty good in life.)
The list of places to go is determined by religion, or by worlds created in the human mind.
Some of these worlds are completely fabricated, and others actually exist.
The only reason some people know of the other worlds is by accidentally tapping into them, getting sent there, or by some other extrasensory stuff.
For every idea, world, and afterlife created ever, another door appears in the labyrinth that is Purgatory.
Every world physically exists somewhere. Some are separated by time, space, dimension, or a combination of the three.
Unfortunately, those boundaries can be broken by some that know how to do it.
Fans, still being nothing more than people, are often times clumsy, short-sighted, and generally stupid all around with little attention span.
Mix that with actual residents of these worlds that have little or no clue as to who the fans really are.
Mix those with countless rifts between the worlds.
It spells disaster.
The two companions rode on for a very long time. The scenery didn’t change much either, but as they slowly made their way closer to the White Mountains to the south, it became much greener. They rode just beyond the forest’s edge on the plains, for several hours without slowing or talking, and then suddenly Narthas held up his hand as a signal to halt. It was time to eat for a few minutes. The horses slowed to a comfortable trot and eventually the company of two settled down in a nice lush clearing.
The elf reached into his pack to reveal two apples and a satchel of jerky. Lauren could immediately smell the meat and spices. Narthas tossed her an apple before cracking his back and taking a seat on the ground.
“I’ve got a theory,” he said between bites.
“Let’s hear it.”
“I think that fan back in Edoras was working for another fan who wanted Eomer dead.”
“Why in the bloody hell would any fan want Eomer dead.”
“Perhaps consider the obvious. Maybe they wanted the throne.”
“A random person that no one knows, who doesn’t have any traceable or at least credible genealogy or family ties to Rohan would not get the throne if the King died. It would pass onto uh, what’s his name. Gamling, or something.”
Narthas was silent for a long time, deep in thought. A few minutes passed before he broke the silence. “Unless,” he said in a dark tone, eyeing Lauren. “Unless that fan can take on the form of other people.”
Lauren swallowed hard. Yep, things were getting mighty creepy in Middle-earth. She was about to respond when suddenly the horses started to panic. They beasts reared up and neighed, and despite the best efforts of their respective owners, the two dashed off back in the direction of the plain. Narthas drew his sword and scanned the area.
“Not good,” he growled.
“Not good,” the girl breathed, staring into the green of the forest. She too, drew her sword and held it at ready.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a great shadow emerged from the undergrowth.
“I’ve never seen a bear that huge before!” Narthas exclaimed.
“He must’ve smelled our food. What do we do!?”
The elf didn’t take his eyes off the beast as it took at step closer, opening its jowls and letting out a great noise. There was something in its roar, though, that she found to be out of place.
“If it comes after either of us, attack it. But if it doesn’t we’ll just wait for it to go away.”
“O-okay..”
It was a few terrifying moments of watching the bear. It took a step closer here, a step sideways there, watching with its strange eyes. When Lauren caught a strange glimmer in one of them, she spoke up.
“Narthas,” she said with considerable unease. “I… I don’t think this is a normal bear.”
“I think you might be right…”
As though knowing what they were saying, the bear stood up on its hind legs making it well over 9 feet tall. And then, it’s eyes flashed with an inner blue light.
“Unh.. what? Up?” The elf groaned as he turned over in his bed and squinted at Lauren through the bright morning light parading through the open window.
“I’ve been awake all night. I saw two more meteorites and something else. We have to get going.”
As soon as she said “meteorite” Narthas was wide awake. He sat straight, flinging the sheets from him and standing up. “More? You saw other things too?”
“Yeah dude. This is getting really weird. The other thing I saw was a pair of flashing red lights. If it were daytime, I might have seen the actual thing, but it was definitely a flying machine of some sort.”
Her companion’s hand went to his hair and coursed through it in a subtle anxious panic. “No, no, no…” he muttered under his breath. “Too many. There are too many coming.” He paced for a second, and then turned to Lauren and grabbed her shoulders. “There’s no way that they’d be able to hide themselves if they keep coming at this rate. They have to remain hidden!”
“So these are fans falling from the sky?!”
“What else could they be!”
Lauren rubbed her face and did her fair share of pacing. “I don’t know!”
“We have to leave. Now.” He immediately went to the table and began to throw their things back into the bags. “We have to get to Gondor.”
“Why Gondor? What’s so important there and who are these connections you’ve got?” Lauren was beginning to get suspicious of her friend, and definitely not for the first time. “I thought you said you didn’t know what these are.”
“I don’t,” he barked at her. “Which is all the more reason that we have to hurry. There is one fan in particular that I need to talk to about this.”
That explanation seemed to be enough for Lauren, at least for the time being. She’d have to get used to his slyness, and when she really needed information from him, she’d have to pry it from him. Perhaps with a sharp tongue, or a sharper sword.
The girl began to pack her things up as well. “All right, but if I don’t get let in on what exactly is going on soon, I’ve got some asses to kick. The first one being yours.”
Suddenly, however, there was a great tumult outside, and the sound of beating hooves was like thunderstorm. Their kneejerk reaction was to go to the window, and that’s exactly what the two did. Upon discovering that they wouldn’t be able to see any of the riders, Lauren rushed downstairs and out the front door, nearly tripping over herself, with Narthas close behind. Lo and behold, at the top of the hill and the foot of the Golden Hall, there was the guard, all on horseback. Three figures descended the steps: two standing tall, and one seemed to be dragged between them. When they reached the top of the flight, the two guards held up the man between them, and it was obvious, even from such a distance, that he was bound by ropes.
“People of Edoras!” cried one of the men. “Behold the traitor of our King Eomer! It was by his hand alone that our Lord was poisoned, in an attempt on his life!”
Lauren squinted, trying to see who exactly the failed assassin was, but it was to no avail. A shout rose up from the citizens as they suggested various means of public humiliation and torture in unorganized unison. Then everyone grew silent again after what she thought was him spitting on one of the guardsmen holding him up. He was dropped to the ground again and promptly kicked in the stomach. He cried out various obscenities that Lauren couldn’t really hear, but when she caught one syllable, it all fell into place.
“He’s not a resident of Middle-earth,” Lauren gasped, not taking her eyes off the scene unfolding before them.
“What, how do you know?” The elf turned immediately to her.
“Didn’t you hear? He said ‘fuck’. Natives of this world don’t say fuck, do they.”
Narthas stared wide-eyed at the man on the front step of the hall, and the guard that had addressed the people did so once again. “This filthy, heathen, traitor,” he began. “Will remain in the stocks until nightfall! Whereupon he will wait in a cell until the King is well enough to execute this vermin himself!”
Angry uproarious cheering erupted from the crowd and people gathered in the streets. Lauren jumped when a hand squeezed her shoulder.
“Come on. We have to get going,” the elf said before opening the door and going back inside. The young ranger turned her back to the scene and followed Narthas back to their room.
“What I want to know is, why would a fan try to kill Eomer. It doesn’t make any sense. What would he have to gain from the death of the King? Since he has no heir yet, rule would probably pass to his second-in-command, or I don’t know… his sister?”
The elf was rushing about, finishing the packing and then putting some decent clothes on himself. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he said. “Maybe this has more to do with another fandom than it does ours.”
“Great.”
“Are you ready to go?” Narthas paused and looked at her.
“Yep.”
“Alright. Grab your bags. We’re outta here.”
Lauren stepped over to the table and slung a pair of saddlebags over her shoulder, and with effort, followed the elf out the door, down the stairs, out the main door, and over to the stables. It seemed that the stable hands had abandoned the horses for a while to go stand amid the crowd that was now throwing vegetables and rocks at the attempted murder. “Come on. Ready your horse.”
About five minutes later and they were ready to leave.
“No leisurely riding this time, and no stopping longer than we absolutely have to. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Okay. Let’s go. Yeah!”
Lauren dug her heels into Miril’s sides and the horse dashed off down the empty street toward the main gate. No one tried stopping them, and even if they had, the two riders were traveling far too fast to halt for a few guards. Not to mention they were too much in a rush.
“We’ll take a lunch break at high noon!” he shouted over the noise of their riding. Lauren nodded in response.
They galloped across the plains like a whisper, the wind whipping Lauren’s hair into knots behind her. Her heart was racing just as fast as her horse, and it wasn’t because of the adrenaline rush. Something was happening to Middle-earth --HER Middle-earth—and something needed to be done about it before more lives were put at risk.
When she seriously gave it some thought, the concept did make sense:
People’s souls remain intact after they die.
People get to choose where they go after they die (assuming they’ve been pretty good in life.)
The list of places to go is determined by religion, or by worlds created in the human mind.
Some of these worlds are completely fabricated, and others actually exist.
The only reason some people know of the other worlds is by accidentally tapping into them, getting sent there, or by some other extrasensory stuff.
For every idea, world, and afterlife created ever, another door appears in the labyrinth that is Purgatory.
Every world physically exists somewhere. Some are separated by time, space, dimension, or a combination of the three.
Unfortunately, those boundaries can be broken by some that know how to do it.
Fans, still being nothing more than people, are often times clumsy, short-sighted, and generally stupid all around with little attention span.
Mix that with actual residents of these worlds that have little or no clue as to who the fans really are.
Mix those with countless rifts between the worlds.
It spells disaster.
The two companions rode on for a very long time. The scenery didn’t change much either, but as they slowly made their way closer to the White Mountains to the south, it became much greener. They rode just beyond the forest’s edge on the plains, for several hours without slowing or talking, and then suddenly Narthas held up his hand as a signal to halt. It was time to eat for a few minutes. The horses slowed to a comfortable trot and eventually the company of two settled down in a nice lush clearing.
The elf reached into his pack to reveal two apples and a satchel of jerky. Lauren could immediately smell the meat and spices. Narthas tossed her an apple before cracking his back and taking a seat on the ground.
“I’ve got a theory,” he said between bites.
“Let’s hear it.”
“I think that fan back in Edoras was working for another fan who wanted Eomer dead.”
“Why in the bloody hell would any fan want Eomer dead.”
“Perhaps consider the obvious. Maybe they wanted the throne.”
“A random person that no one knows, who doesn’t have any traceable or at least credible genealogy or family ties to Rohan would not get the throne if the King died. It would pass onto uh, what’s his name. Gamling, or something.”
Narthas was silent for a long time, deep in thought. A few minutes passed before he broke the silence. “Unless,” he said in a dark tone, eyeing Lauren. “Unless that fan can take on the form of other people.”
Lauren swallowed hard. Yep, things were getting mighty creepy in Middle-earth. She was about to respond when suddenly the horses started to panic. They beasts reared up and neighed, and despite the best efforts of their respective owners, the two dashed off back in the direction of the plain. Narthas drew his sword and scanned the area.
“Not good,” he growled.
“Not good,” the girl breathed, staring into the green of the forest. She too, drew her sword and held it at ready.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a great shadow emerged from the undergrowth.
“I’ve never seen a bear that huge before!” Narthas exclaimed.
“He must’ve smelled our food. What do we do!?”
The elf didn’t take his eyes off the beast as it took at step closer, opening its jowls and letting out a great noise. There was something in its roar, though, that she found to be out of place.
“If it comes after either of us, attack it. But if it doesn’t we’ll just wait for it to go away.”
“O-okay..”
It was a few terrifying moments of watching the bear. It took a step closer here, a step sideways there, watching with its strange eyes. When Lauren caught a strange glimmer in one of them, she spoke up.
“Narthas,” she said with considerable unease. “I… I don’t think this is a normal bear.”
“I think you might be right…”
As though knowing what they were saying, the bear stood up on its hind legs making it well over 9 feet tall. And then, it’s eyes flashed with an inner blue light.
