Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A Chapter by comfan93
"

Ethaniel explains things to Josh, Shadow helps Laura bond with a Praestia and Lolly awakens in Otellus.

"

Chapter 6

 

“My god, this computer is slow.” Josh gave a sigh of frustration as he waited for the ancient... thing to boot up, “Remind me to give a world I make better technology next time.”  Ethaniel, who was stood behind him watching, made no comment but simply grunted.  “I don’t get why I’m doing this... you’re saying that... if I write more of this story, it’ll happen?  So I could say that magical rainbow ponies armed with lasers could just charge in and kill everyone?  And... it’d happen?”

 

Ethaniel groaned in desperation, running a hand over his bald head, “No... You have to write it as you were going to.  It has to reach the ending planned, or... well, things will go bad, to put it simply.”

 

Josh chuckled lightly, “Right... so... I end up in Otellus, and instead of going on an adventure with awesome animals like the characters are meant to, I’m stuck having to freaking write a story?  How does that even work if I write what I do?  Or am I going to be given a laptop to take around?  This makes no sense, you know.”  He opened up the document, frowning as he read the start, “Wait, what?”

 

Prophecy… The prophecy… Mortalitas… You will grow strong again! You will become stronger than before, and continue! But… At the same time, eight children will arrive in Otellus. They’ll be foreigners, not have a clue where they are, what to do! They will receive their first Praestia; they’ll travel the world, too weak to defeat you at the start! But they will grow powerful; they will be the strongest Praedux in Otellus… Tragedy… Death…

 

“I didn’t even write that... what the hell?”

 

Ethaniel shrugged one shoulder, sitting down next to the boy to look at the computer, “Well, that is the prophecy... or part of it.  And if you didn’t write it, it is possible that there’s another writer...  And that could be problematic.”

 

“What are you talking about, another writer?”

 

“I mean...” Ethaniel hesitated, thinking, “Someone back in your world that knows of the story... perhaps he or she is the one that sent you here, made the prophecy...  But... as for what you have to do, you don’t have to physically type it down.  It’s not as if the document there is magic itself...  But the more you stop writing it, the more... things don’t go to plan.  Especially if someone else is editing the story.  They can do what they want to you, and... your life could be in danger.  You need to take control of your story... with your imagination.  That’s what is important.  Scroll down to the bottom.”  Josh nodded, before doing as commanded, and raised his eyebrows as he read it, “That is our conversation right now...  It is being typed before we even speak.”

 

“That is just creep-“ Josh broke off angrily as he saw those very own words appear, “What...  This is just- that’s it, I’m closing it.” He clicked the x in the upper right, turning on his chair to face the old man, “So you’re telling me that I have to write the story exactly as I planned?  The whole lot?  Even though I know what’s going to happen, I actually have to write it or some creepy stalker guy could kill me?  Through WORDS?  Good god, and people say that reading and writing is for losers.”

 

Ethaniel laughed hoarsely, “Pretty much, yes...”

 

“How do you know this?” Josh questioned, eyebrows raising again, “I didn’t write you this way.”

 

“No, you didn’t.” The old man replied seriously, “But apparently, whoever is writing the story now wanted me to know...  But listen to me, you cannot tell anyone else about this.  What I’ve told you now... I cannot say the power it gives you, but if you were to tell someone else, and they find out what power they have... well, disaster could strike.  This story belongs to you, and now to the writer.”

 

Josh turned back to the computer screen, re-opening the document and staring at the words that were still forming on screen.  “Very well, then... if this guy, or girl, wants to steal my story... well, I won’t let him.  I was going to take a break from writing, but whatever.”  He pressed enter a few times, and set underline to on, “Chapter 6... wait, we’re already on chapter 6.  Thanks, Mr. Writer Guy.”

 

*             *             *

 

“So... where are we?”  Shadow turned on his heel to give the girl an incredulous look, before she quickly continued, “I-I mean... where in Otellus...?  Not... not that I really know any places in Otellus... but yeah...”

 

Shadow paused in his walking, examining her curiously.  Laura hadn’t spoken much since she’d woken up, and Shadow had nearly forgotten she was there.  They had been walking a couple of hours through the forest, and the scenery was exactly the same as when they had started.  The sun was setting now, not that it made a difference to the level of lighting beneath the thick trees.  “We... are in the north of the Pacaris region.  We are heading south... I found you in the Aralache mountains to the north in Viridicor.  We’ve already passed through Industrictus, before you awoke, and we are now headed for Puteulus.”

 

The names didn’t sound very familiar to Laura, but half the words in Josh’s story were damned long and overly confusing anyway.  Even if she had paid attention... it wouldn’t have made much difference.  “...Right...  Why are we going to Put... Put...”

 

“Puteulus.” Shadow snapped, finishing the word for her as he continued walking, “We are going there...” he broke off, hesitating, before turning his head to glare at Laura, “Never you mind! It is my business, not yours.”

 

“But why am I with you...?” Laura dared ask another question, and she cringed when she saw Shadow’s shoulders tense.  She almost expected him to kill her right there and then, but the tensing of his muscles vanished almost immediately.  But there was still no answer. “I mean... surely I’m just slowing you down?  Don’t you want to tie me up somewhere?”

 

“Do you want me to?”

 

Laura hesitated, considering the question.  If alone, it might be possible for her to escape. But she wasn’t exactly... strong, so the chances of that were little.  Probably more chance of her escaping right now, just by running.  But she didn’t, maybe she was too afraid.  After a few seconds of silence, she eventually replied, “...No, not really... but I’m confused.  I don’t... understand what’s happening, why I’m in... Otellus, or how I ended up with you.  Care to enlighten me?”

 

“Stop asking questions.” Shadow ordered bluntly, and Laura quickly shut up, “But if you must know... you are part of a prophecy, and that is all I can say.  I found you on the Aralache mountains... alone.  You arrived there through a portal from your own world, and that is about all I know... I need not tell you of this prophecy yet, but you will find out eventually.  As for why I didn’t tie you up...” The cloaked boy suddenly stopped, turning to face her curiously, before tossing her a bracelet, which she barely caught.  Laura examined it with a frown, it wasn’t exactly... pretty. It was more a metal band than something that looks nice like any other bracelet.  “Forget the appearance, girl, you will use this to bond with Praestia.”

 

Laura’s dark eyes looked up from the object to the boy ahead of her.  His hood was down now, revealing his spiked silver hair and cold eyes.  “...Bond..?”  Shadow nodded, and Laura quickly looked back to the bracelet, slipping it onto her arm, “...But I thought only special people... Praedux or something... could bond with them...”

 

“You are of the prophecy.” Shadow said simply, continuing to walk, “At least... I believe you to be...  And to put it simply, if you are not... well, your life could be in danger fairly soon.”  He could imagine the terror that crossed Laura’s face, and smirked slightly, “So you’d better hope that you are indeed special, my dear.  Now... what’s your favourite animal?”

 

“A... a wolf...”

 

Shadow gave a nod, before hesitating, considering direction, “Very well...  Let us find you a wolf, then.  I am telling you now, though... that every Praedux has one certain element they control.  This means that only a wolf of that element can bond with you.  So before you start trying to bond with something, we need to find your element... otherwise, the animal will think you’re attacking and most likely kill you. Or eat you alive.  It’s up to you which you find more pleasant.” 

 

Laura gulped, causing Shadow to chuckle darkly.  “Perhaps try an ant first, there’s less chance of death that way...”

 

*             *             *

 

“Hey, Lolly...?” Lolly looked up as Tom approached her, Molly at his side.  It was getting dark outside, and seeing as it was summer, that meant it was about nine in the evening.  The four of them had been sitting there for hours.  Josh and Laura’s parents were currently in with them, while Lolly, Tom, Molly and Ryan waited outside.  Yet after all this time, there was still no news or explanations for what happened.  Tom continued to say, “Molly and I are heading off now... it’s getting kinda late, and I don’t think anything’s gonna change before morning...”

 

Lolly nodded silently, before Molly added, “So... call us if you hear anything, okay?”  She gave the girl a quick hug as Tom smiled awkwardly, before the two headed off.  Lolly was then left alone with the dirty-blonde haired boy sat on the bench opposite her, hands clasped.

 

“You can head off too, if you want.” The girl offered, and Ryan’s eyes rose to meet hers.

 

He shook his head gently, “It’s fine.  Nothing much to do anyway... and I don’t want to leave you here.  Have you called your parents?”

 

Lolly gave a brief nod, “...Yeah.  I told them I’m sleeping over at a friend’s.  I can’t afford the bus home, anyway... so I may as well stay here and steal Josh’s money in the morning when he wakes up.” Ryan gave a light chuckle, moving over to sit next to her.  “I dunno... I kinda want to go home, but... well, after seeing Laura literally collapse in front of me, in apparently the same way Josh did... I dunno, I don’t want to leave.”

 

“Makes sense.” Ryan nodded, before hesitating, “Well... I can stay here with you. It’ll be like a sleepover... at a hospital.  Pretend it’s themed.”

 

Lolly laughed with a shake of her head, “It’s fine, honestly.  Besides... I’m kinda getting a headache, so I might just sleep.

 

“That’s fine... I’ll still stay.”

 

Lolly winced slightly.

 

Destiny...

 

A purple flash.

 

*             *             *

 

“What do you mean he’s missing?!” Ethaniel snapped, glaring at the young assistant in front of him.  With his naive yet willing to please personality, the boy reminded the Praedux master very much of Nelphen, which only added to his current frustration.  After leaving Josh to his writing, he had returned to the hospital to check on the other children, only to be told that one of them had vanished.  After taking a look at them, he’d figured it out to be the dirty blonde-haired boy.  That left the girl with sunglasses, the tall boy with glasses, the short brunette girl and the girl with no shoes on.  It was quite odd labelling teenagers by simple appearance factors.  But either way, one of them just vanishing was quite troubling.  The assistant in front of him was trembling, trying to find the right words, “Speak, boy!”

 

The man flinched, “I-I’m sorry!  No-one saw him leave... I came by to do my regular checks and... and that bed was empty.”

 

“Well, what was it?  Kidnapped? Woke up?”

 

“A-As I said, my lord...” The man shifted anxiously, “No-one saw... it’s possible the boy woke up, is perfectly fine, and just left... a-and we don’t really get kidnappers in this place.”  Ethaniel sighed loudly, entering the room, only to hear a gasp.  “M-My lord, the bare-footed girl is waking up!”

 

“Yes, I can see! Shoo!” Ethaniel gestured for the assistant to leave, and he did so, knocking over a lightstand on his way.  The old man immediately approached the girl, who was looking around wide-eyed, “Are you alright?”

 

“Y-You!” Lolly gasped, pointing a shaky finger at the old man, “Y-You’re... you’re old!  And... where am I?!  What’s going on?  There’s a creepy old guy-“

 

Ethaniel gave a curse, before saying loudly, “Quiet!  Look, long story short, you’re in the world of Otellus... and yes, the same Otellus that your likely friend Josh wrote.  You’re in Puteulus of Pacaris, Josh is currently... elsewhere... and three of your friends have yet to awaken to this world.  No, this is not a dream... yes, if you pinch yourself, it will hurt, and no... no, you cannot go home... Any other questions?”  Lolly blinked repeatedly after all this, and Ethaniel smiled gently, “It’ll take a while for your mind to become clear...  but for now... welcome to Otellus.”

 

Lolly opened her mouth, and closed it again, much like a fish.  “...Josh is here? Is he okay?  He kinda... collapsed along with my friend Laura, and it was kinda scary...”

 

“Yes, he is fine.  You can go and see him if you want.  Though you may want to get changed first... and have a shower, your hair is full of twigs and your feet are... filthy.”

 

“I’m good. I’ll just get changed.”

 

*             *             *

 

“...I still can’t believe you were serious about the ant thing... How do I get rid of it?” Laura peered at the tiny ant on her index finger that was held up to her face, “What... can an ant... do?”

 

Shadow stared at the insect with amusement, arms faded, “If you want to get rid of it, you can... but you’ve already bonded with it. It will be difficult, but... you really should, because if a bird comes down and eats that, you’re dead.  It’s a long process, so I’ll show you later.  Just put him in here for now.” Shadow handed Laura a small plastic container with a lid, and Laura gently shook the ant into it and closed the lid, watching the little thing scutter around.  “But.. we now know that your element is darkness.  Stereotypically, those of the dark element are... well... evil.” Laura frowned, appearing hurt.  “Others are dark because they prefer solitude, have troubled pasts, or... well, there’s many reasons.  I’m pretty sure you’re not evil, so don’t feel bad.”

 

“I don’t.  Dark is my favourite element.”

 

“...That might even be why.” Shadow sighed slightly, “Anyway, it’s getting late... Silvird’s found a dark wolf nearby when looking, so... let’s g-“

 

“Uh, Shadow, there’s a wolf right there.”

 

Shadow turned on his heel to look at the wolf slowly approaching them, eyes narrowed. “Oh. Lovely. It’s good when things go our way.”  He then looked to the dark aura surrounding the animal, and his smile faded, “Then again, I really don’t like having to jump out of the way of attaaaa-“ He was interrupted by the dire need to actually avoid the ball of energy blasted towards him, and threw himself to the side.  The ball, however, hit Laura dead in the chest and sent her flying backwards.  Shadow hit the ground, looking up as his companion flew through the air. “Well, crap, I’m used to going solo.” As Laura groaned in pain, Shadow staggered back to his feet and approached her. “...Erm, are you alright?”

 

He helped Laura to her feet, and she glared at him, “...Just help me catch this freaking wolf, and let’s get out of here.”



© 2012 comfan93


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Added on June 24, 2012
Last Updated on June 24, 2012
Tags: rise of mortalitas, fantasy world, otellus, comfan93


Author

comfan93
comfan93

Bordon, Hampshire, United Kingdom



About
I am 18 years old and from England, recently completed the second year of college, doing Aquatics Management. My hobbies include fishkeeping, playing the acoustic classical guitar, computer games and .. more..

Writing
Prologue Prologue

A Chapter by comfan93


Chapter 1 Chapter 1

A Chapter by comfan93


Chapter 2 Chapter 2

A Chapter by comfan93