Fanfic Archive: Into the Light, 10
May. 28th, 2009 12:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchan(Written: 2004)
Warnings: Bad Language. Violence
Summary: Badly injured while protecting his companions from a magical creature the Heavenly Ones sealed away centuries ago, Orphen has no choice but to call on Childman for assistance and protection. Will the sorceror who was once his master come to his aid, or is Childman really bent on Orphen's destruction?
Legal Stuff: As always, this story is intended to express one fan's genuine appreciation of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and its characters. It is just for fun and not for profit. If you have any rights in the anime described here and find the posting of this fanfiction offensive or harmful, please contact me, and I will be happy to remove it.
Into the Light
CHAPTER 10
They had been walking for about an hour, in a heavy silence punctuated only by an occasional sniffle from Majic, when Childman suddenly halted. Majic, who had been lagging behind the sorcerer, shuffling his feet and staring morosely at the ground instead of watching where he was going, slammed right into Childman's back. The older man grunted from the impact, and he turned slowly to glare at Majic.
"You should watch where you're going, boy," he snapped.
Majic sniffled again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Sorry, Master Childman," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. Without looking up, he asked, "Why … are we stopping?"
Childman scowled at Majic again and commented in a flat, toneless voice, "We're here." He pointed and Majic leaned around the tall, dark sorcerer to look in the indicated direction. They had almost reached the top of a small hill, and, from where they stood, Majic could see its summit, which was covered in tall, dark green grass. A full, silvery-yellow moon hung high overhead, and a gentle breeze blew across his face, rustling through the grass and making it glimmer with a silvery hue. In the moon's soft light, he could see four stone towers surrounding a huge stone slab, which almost looked like an altar. The moon's rays slid across the stone altar and climbed up the farthest tower, and its stones, which were slightly wet, shimmered and glistened.
Majic gasped in awe at the beauty in front of him, momentarily forgetting why they had come all this way. "It's … it's beautiful," he whispered.
Childman's short, harsh laugh brought Majic back to the present, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts. "Don't go forgetting why we're here, boy," he said, stressing the "boy" part of the sentence with just a hint of sarcasm.
Majic winced internally at the sound of the older sorcerer's voice. He could tell that Childman was mocking him, but he wasn't sure exactly why. What he did know was that, after the emotional hell he'd been through in the past few days, he really didn't feel like taking any more of Childman's crap. As the sorcerer turned to walk away, Majic bent quickly and grabbed up a handful of medium-sized rocks. Before he could talk himself out of this obviously fool-hardy course of action, Majic took aim and launched the first rock at the sorcerer's retreating back. He had always had very good aim, and, sure enough, the missile found its target, smacking squarely into the middle of Childman's head with a loud, satisfying smacking sound. The force from the blow pushed the sorcerer's head forward and caused him to trip and fall to one knee. As he stumbled, he dropped Orphen's body, which fell limply to the ground with a sickening thud and then rolled a few inches before coming to a stop near one of the stone towers. As Majic saw his master's body hit the ground, he immediately felt nauseous. In his impulsive fit of anger, he had completely forgotten that Childman was carrying it. Majic began to move forward to check on Childman, who was still on his hands and knees, shaking his head as if to clear it, but the rational part of his mind suddenly reasserted its control over him, and he found himself fighting the urge to run away and hide in the nearby woods.
He suddenly remembered a time when he and Orphen had had a fight about something --- he couldn't even remember now what had caused it, but, at the time, it had seemed so important. When Orphen had turned to walk away, Majic had launched a fireball at the young sorcerer's back. Majic could still remember how the ball had grown as it flew through the air, almost like it had a life of its own. He would later learn that it had been fueled by his own anger, but, at the time, he had been completely shocked and unprepared for the spell's reaction. Orphen had been oblivious until, at the last second, Majic had managed to find his voice and shout out a warning. The young sorcerer had turned just as the huge fire ball reached him, barely managing to throw up a shield to protect his body from Majic's attack. As it was, the force from the fire ball had catapulted him backward, smashing him into a tree. Ever since that day, Majic had struggled to keep his temper under control, and he had been successful --- until today.
He nervously edged backward slightly, toward the woods, as Childman began to stumble back onto his feet. Majic could remember that Orphen had been frighteningly angry after being hit by the flame ball. In his limited experience around sorcerers, he had discovered that they all seemed to have very short tempers, and he was guessing that Childman was probably no exception to that general rule. Majic swallowed hard, his mind racing to try to find some excuse or justification for his actions that might placate the older sorcerer. Finding none, he gulped nervously as Childman finally managed to stand up. Majic suddenly realized, almost as if discovering it for the first time, that Childman was really a lot bigger, and, probably, a lot stronger than Orphen. As Childman finally managed to stand fully upright, still shaking his head groggily, he towered over Majic, and the boy thought, almost absently, 'Oh, I am dead meat.'
As Childman turned toward him, Majic saw the anger flashing in the sorcerer's eyes. Majic backed away, grinning and holding his hands in front of him in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "I … I … I'm … s… sorry, Master C…childman," he stammered, laughing nervously.
Instead of coming after him as he expected, Childman just turned away without saying a word. Silently, he moved to the nearest stone tower and gently turned Orphen's body over, as if checking it for injuries. Majic, taking hope from the fact that Childman didn't attack him, tentatively approached the older sorcerer and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder as he turned Orphen's body away from the tower's base, and gently brushed dirt off of the young sorcerer's face.
"I … is … he OK?" Majic asked, his voice barely a squeak. He frowned as he noticed a large, bleeding gash on Orphen's face, and he guessed that it must have been caused when the young sorcerer's body hit the tower.
"He's dead, boy. It's not like you can hurt him," Childman snapped irritably. He softly muttered a spell, and a blue light appeared under his hand. Slowly, as he chanted, the cut on Orphen's face stopped bleeding and began to close and heal. Without looking at Majic, he muttered, "A sorcerer can never strike out in anger, boy. You will only hurt those closest to you."
"I … I know," Majic muttered. He felt ashamed, and stared at the ground, wiping his runny nose on the back of his sleeve.
Childman looked back over his shoulder at Majic. When he saw the shameful look on the boy's face, he felt his anger melt away. He could remember seeing that same look on Krylancelo's face many times. He almost felt as if it was a young Krylancelo standing there next to him, instead of Majic. His voice softened as he laughed and said, "You're just like him." He picked up Orphen's body and walked toward the stone altar, calling over his shoulder, "There's not much more time. Stay outside the towers' circle. It's too dangerous."
Majic retreated a safe distance away from the altar and surrounding stone towers and watched, awe-struck, as Childman laid Orphen's limp form on the stone altar. Taking up a position at one end, the sorcerer raised his arms over his head, toward the moon, and began to chant, softly at first, and then, louder and louder, until Majic could clearly hear the words of the spell, even though he didn't understand them. As the chant rose to a crescendo, Childman spread his upturned arms, and turned his face toward the moon. The soft, silver light seemed to form itself into a beam and shot straight down toward the altar and the two sorcerers within the circle of stone. The beam hit first one tower, then shot toward the second, then the third, then the fourth, forming a circle of light around Childman and Orphen. It shot into Childman, connecting him with the stone towers, and, then, it poured into Orphen's body, finally completing the circle of light. The light pulsed, as if it was alive. It slowly turned from silver to blue-white, and, as the spell ended, it slowly faded away. As the last of the light faded, Childman collapsed to his hands and knees.
"Master Childman!" Majic called. He darted forward, into the stone circle, to kneel next to the older sorcerer. "Master, are you all right?"
Childman nodded weakly. "Yes," he replied. "I'm … I'm fine. Just a little … tired."
Majic looked toward Orphen's body, which still lay on the altar. It didn't look any different to him, and he began to fear that the spell had failed. "Master Childman," he asked softly, "did … did it work?"
Childman grunted as he pushed himself into a standing position, using Majic's shoulder for leverage, and replied, "I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."
Warnings: Bad Language. Violence
Summary: Badly injured while protecting his companions from a magical creature the Heavenly Ones sealed away centuries ago, Orphen has no choice but to call on Childman for assistance and protection. Will the sorceror who was once his master come to his aid, or is Childman really bent on Orphen's destruction?
Legal Stuff: As always, this story is intended to express one fan's genuine appreciation of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and its characters. It is just for fun and not for profit. If you have any rights in the anime described here and find the posting of this fanfiction offensive or harmful, please contact me, and I will be happy to remove it.
CHAPTER 10
They had been walking for about an hour, in a heavy silence punctuated only by an occasional sniffle from Majic, when Childman suddenly halted. Majic, who had been lagging behind the sorcerer, shuffling his feet and staring morosely at the ground instead of watching where he was going, slammed right into Childman's back. The older man grunted from the impact, and he turned slowly to glare at Majic.
"You should watch where you're going, boy," he snapped.
Majic sniffled again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Sorry, Master Childman," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. Without looking up, he asked, "Why … are we stopping?"
Childman scowled at Majic again and commented in a flat, toneless voice, "We're here." He pointed and Majic leaned around the tall, dark sorcerer to look in the indicated direction. They had almost reached the top of a small hill, and, from where they stood, Majic could see its summit, which was covered in tall, dark green grass. A full, silvery-yellow moon hung high overhead, and a gentle breeze blew across his face, rustling through the grass and making it glimmer with a silvery hue. In the moon's soft light, he could see four stone towers surrounding a huge stone slab, which almost looked like an altar. The moon's rays slid across the stone altar and climbed up the farthest tower, and its stones, which were slightly wet, shimmered and glistened.
Majic gasped in awe at the beauty in front of him, momentarily forgetting why they had come all this way. "It's … it's beautiful," he whispered.
Childman's short, harsh laugh brought Majic back to the present, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts. "Don't go forgetting why we're here, boy," he said, stressing the "boy" part of the sentence with just a hint of sarcasm.
Majic winced internally at the sound of the older sorcerer's voice. He could tell that Childman was mocking him, but he wasn't sure exactly why. What he did know was that, after the emotional hell he'd been through in the past few days, he really didn't feel like taking any more of Childman's crap. As the sorcerer turned to walk away, Majic bent quickly and grabbed up a handful of medium-sized rocks. Before he could talk himself out of this obviously fool-hardy course of action, Majic took aim and launched the first rock at the sorcerer's retreating back. He had always had very good aim, and, sure enough, the missile found its target, smacking squarely into the middle of Childman's head with a loud, satisfying smacking sound. The force from the blow pushed the sorcerer's head forward and caused him to trip and fall to one knee. As he stumbled, he dropped Orphen's body, which fell limply to the ground with a sickening thud and then rolled a few inches before coming to a stop near one of the stone towers. As Majic saw his master's body hit the ground, he immediately felt nauseous. In his impulsive fit of anger, he had completely forgotten that Childman was carrying it. Majic began to move forward to check on Childman, who was still on his hands and knees, shaking his head as if to clear it, but the rational part of his mind suddenly reasserted its control over him, and he found himself fighting the urge to run away and hide in the nearby woods.
He suddenly remembered a time when he and Orphen had had a fight about something --- he couldn't even remember now what had caused it, but, at the time, it had seemed so important. When Orphen had turned to walk away, Majic had launched a fireball at the young sorcerer's back. Majic could still remember how the ball had grown as it flew through the air, almost like it had a life of its own. He would later learn that it had been fueled by his own anger, but, at the time, he had been completely shocked and unprepared for the spell's reaction. Orphen had been oblivious until, at the last second, Majic had managed to find his voice and shout out a warning. The young sorcerer had turned just as the huge fire ball reached him, barely managing to throw up a shield to protect his body from Majic's attack. As it was, the force from the fire ball had catapulted him backward, smashing him into a tree. Ever since that day, Majic had struggled to keep his temper under control, and he had been successful --- until today.
He nervously edged backward slightly, toward the woods, as Childman began to stumble back onto his feet. Majic could remember that Orphen had been frighteningly angry after being hit by the flame ball. In his limited experience around sorcerers, he had discovered that they all seemed to have very short tempers, and he was guessing that Childman was probably no exception to that general rule. Majic swallowed hard, his mind racing to try to find some excuse or justification for his actions that might placate the older sorcerer. Finding none, he gulped nervously as Childman finally managed to stand up. Majic suddenly realized, almost as if discovering it for the first time, that Childman was really a lot bigger, and, probably, a lot stronger than Orphen. As Childman finally managed to stand fully upright, still shaking his head groggily, he towered over Majic, and the boy thought, almost absently, 'Oh, I am dead meat.'
As Childman turned toward him, Majic saw the anger flashing in the sorcerer's eyes. Majic backed away, grinning and holding his hands in front of him in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "I … I … I'm … s… sorry, Master C…childman," he stammered, laughing nervously.
Instead of coming after him as he expected, Childman just turned away without saying a word. Silently, he moved to the nearest stone tower and gently turned Orphen's body over, as if checking it for injuries. Majic, taking hope from the fact that Childman didn't attack him, tentatively approached the older sorcerer and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder as he turned Orphen's body away from the tower's base, and gently brushed dirt off of the young sorcerer's face.
"I … is … he OK?" Majic asked, his voice barely a squeak. He frowned as he noticed a large, bleeding gash on Orphen's face, and he guessed that it must have been caused when the young sorcerer's body hit the tower.
"He's dead, boy. It's not like you can hurt him," Childman snapped irritably. He softly muttered a spell, and a blue light appeared under his hand. Slowly, as he chanted, the cut on Orphen's face stopped bleeding and began to close and heal. Without looking at Majic, he muttered, "A sorcerer can never strike out in anger, boy. You will only hurt those closest to you."
"I … I know," Majic muttered. He felt ashamed, and stared at the ground, wiping his runny nose on the back of his sleeve.
Childman looked back over his shoulder at Majic. When he saw the shameful look on the boy's face, he felt his anger melt away. He could remember seeing that same look on Krylancelo's face many times. He almost felt as if it was a young Krylancelo standing there next to him, instead of Majic. His voice softened as he laughed and said, "You're just like him." He picked up Orphen's body and walked toward the stone altar, calling over his shoulder, "There's not much more time. Stay outside the towers' circle. It's too dangerous."
Majic retreated a safe distance away from the altar and surrounding stone towers and watched, awe-struck, as Childman laid Orphen's limp form on the stone altar. Taking up a position at one end, the sorcerer raised his arms over his head, toward the moon, and began to chant, softly at first, and then, louder and louder, until Majic could clearly hear the words of the spell, even though he didn't understand them. As the chant rose to a crescendo, Childman spread his upturned arms, and turned his face toward the moon. The soft, silver light seemed to form itself into a beam and shot straight down toward the altar and the two sorcerers within the circle of stone. The beam hit first one tower, then shot toward the second, then the third, then the fourth, forming a circle of light around Childman and Orphen. It shot into Childman, connecting him with the stone towers, and, then, it poured into Orphen's body, finally completing the circle of light. The light pulsed, as if it was alive. It slowly turned from silver to blue-white, and, as the spell ended, it slowly faded away. As the last of the light faded, Childman collapsed to his hands and knees.
"Master Childman!" Majic called. He darted forward, into the stone circle, to kneel next to the older sorcerer. "Master, are you all right?"
Childman nodded weakly. "Yes," he replied. "I'm … I'm fine. Just a little … tired."
Majic looked toward Orphen's body, which still lay on the altar. It didn't look any different to him, and he began to fear that the spell had failed. "Master Childman," he asked softly, "did … did it work?"
Childman grunted as he pushed himself into a standing position, using Majic's shoulder for leverage, and replied, "I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."