FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

He followed the Wolven female through hallways, turning left and right seemingly at her whim. Finally they came to a great stone door. "Here we are, in you go" she said. Chris looked at the door, trying to spot a handle or the crack where it must surely split in the middle. He saw neither.

The female made a shooing motion to him. Chris stepped up to the door, not knowing what else to do he put his hand against it to push. Instead of his hand putting pressure on the door it passed through it. He could feel the stoniness of it in his wrist, he looked back at the Wolven female fright in his eyes. She winked at him and made another shooing motion. "Go on, walk through." She said.

Chris turned to the door and took a deep breath. He stepped forward, the stony feeling slipping up his arm. He closed his eyes when his face came up to it and took another step forward. He shuddered at the feeling of the door seemingly going through it, he could taste stone on his tongue. He willed himself to take another step and another, until the stone had passed through him.

He opened his eyes and let out his breath. He stared at the naked back of the big youth standing in a circle of earth. Around the circle, two people robed in deep blue stood to the youths left, two in grey robed ahead of him, two in white to his right and to the left and right behind him, two in a burnt orange and two in dark brown robes stood.

"Take off your clothes and step into the circle with him, quickly now" said a voice. Chris looked to his right, the old bald man who had been in his room stood smiling at him. "Don't be shy now, hurry up."

Chris gulped and shakily drew the robe over his head. "Your trousers too" the old man said.

Chris nervously fumbled with his trousers, finally loosening them to drop to the floor.

"Now step into the circle" the old man said, ushering Chris forward, he stopped at the edge of the circle of earth. Chris stepped forward, the dark moist soil compacting under his feet. He strode forward and stood next the muscled youth. The youth turned and looked him in the eye and nodded his head. "I'm scared too" he whispered to Chris.

Before Chris could answer a humming started, the vibration coming up through the floor and seemed to flow through his bones.

Suddenly the earth beneath their feet rose up and enclosed their legs up to the top of their calves. In fright Chris tried to move, but his legs were held fast. Suddenly his arms were pulled up into the air so that he stood like an X in the flickering light of the torches set in the walls behind the robed figures. He pulled at his arms, but it felt like he was pulling against manacles of the hardest steel even though he could see nothing. He looked at the youth next to him, seeing him standing similarly.

"Prepare yourselves." the old man's voice said.

Then it started.

A scream ripped from him and dimly through the haze of pain he could hear the bellow of the youth next to him. It felt like his whole body had been stung with the pinpricks of uncountable needles. He shivered and twisted, trying to get away from the pain. "Don't fight it, accept it" the youth next to him panted between harsh breaths. Chris didn't know if the youth was even speaking to him. "Embrace it, cling to life" the youth continued to pant before bellowing in pain. He seemed to be saying it over and over. Chris fought for a breath and spoke it with him, using it as a mantra against the pain. Sharp fiery pain ripped through his legs and he screamed. It felt like he was slowly being burned alive from his feet upward, the inexorable pain climbing like water slowly pouring into him.

His muscles spasmed and twisted, it felt like they were ripping apart and rippling over his body. He took a breath to scream, but the pain burned up from his stomach out his throat, he felt his bones shift and move inside him. The pain was unbearable and he wished for nothing but the peace of oblivion, but the longed for darkness wouldn't come. A brief break in the pain let Chris's sight clear, he was hanging limply from his arms, still held up in the air. Tears streamed down his face and dripped to the ground, his body was covered in sweat. He felt heavy and like there was more to him, as if he was seated inside of something bigger. Light suddenly streamed in a circle around them in the air. Through the haze he could see the light flare into flame. He whimpered and struggled as it constricted coming closer and closer. Finally it was right in front of him, he could feel its heat on his chest. It flared and pulled in burning into his flesh. Searing heat flashed through him. He screamed and screamed until he was hoarse. The pain ceased again. The earth beneath him rumbled, it rose up, encasing him, in climbed up his neck and over his chin. It crawled upward and covered his mouth. He tried vainly to stretch his neck upward away from it. It covered his nose. This was it, he was going to die. He held his breath, terror clutching him in its cold grip. The earth covered his eyes and he could feel it sealing him in its softness.

His lungs burned with a need for air. He opened his mouth and gasped for a breath, instead the he breathed in the muddy ground. It seemed to force his jaw open and rush into him. He could feel it swiftly disappearing off his body and felt the uncomfortable feeling that it was now covering his innards. He gasped for another breath, the need for life giving air tearing desperately through him. He felt with relief the breath come, he could hear the other youth gasping next to him.

Surely it was over now. He desperately clung to the thought. It was then that he could feel wetness on his skin. It soaked through him, washing the sweat from his body. Suddenly it turned cold, so cold that it burned. It felt like he'd been left skinless and frozen the pain rushing through his whole body indescribably to him in coherent words. Thought left him, there was only pain, agonizing pain. It didn't fade, but intensified endlessly. Suddenly he dropped, his body falling to the soft ground. His world tilted crazily, his body heavy and strange. Blessed darkness descended.

*

Skye sat on the cold floor. He felt lost and bereft. His brother had guided him after the choosing and left him to stand, only telling him to be brave and he'd be there with him soon again. A long time had passed until he'd felt a strangers had take him buy the arm and guide him here and told him to sit. The loneliness was crushing. His brother had always at most only been a word away. Skye had been blind since birth. The darkness behind his eyes the only thing he'd ever known. His older brother had always looked out for him and taken care of him. Skye had talked his brother into coming for the next choosing to join the war. He knew his brother wanted to, he was always telling him stories of the war. About glory and honour, Skye hadn't wanted to be the one to hold him back. So Skye had convinced his brother to come for the choosing. He'd thought that he would be turned away, but at least his brother would be able to live the life he wanted without his little blind brother holding him back. He'd thought that he would be turned away at the door, but they had let him come with his big brother. Skye was sure that his brother would be chosen for something great, but never that he himself would be chosen for anything. He was still sure that any moment now he would be told that he wasn't going to be sent back to his people.

Time passed, Skye could hear the breathing of another person with him. They'd been told to be quiet though and he didn't dare ask who was there.

He heard the whisper of slippers on stone, the breathing next to him stopped sharply with an indrawn breath.

"So, we have two new prospective great mages here" A voice said, Skye immediately recognized the voice as the one who had spoken at the assembly. His brother had told him that it was the Grandmaster himself.

He heard the crack of knees bending and the whisper of cloth on the stone. A gasp came from next to him.

"There now" he heard the Grandmaster say. "Take him to a room and watch him, call me when he awakes."

He heard other booted feet and the shuffle and scuffling of cloth. A hand gripped his leg and other his face. "Ah, the blind one I was told of. You made quite a sensation. We have great hopes for you. The choosing stones showed that you would be strong of spirit" the voice of the Grandmaster sounded kindly and quiet.

Skye felt a sensation around him like a wind had picked up. He felt light, as if he was floating up into the air. He gasped as a cold wind struck through him, the sound of rain and the smell of fresh earth assaulted his senses. Just as suddenly great warmth enveloped him and a feeling of intense peace. Rapture bubbled through his veins, he felt like inside him gateways had opened and he was flooded with life. It was so intense that he couldn't get a grip on himself. It was so wonderful that he didn't want to. He wanted to cry with the ecstasy of it, it was so sweet he couldn't handle it and he felt peaceful darkness descending.

Skye woke up and reached out for his brother. "Snow?" he asked, his reaching hand finding only empty air. Then he remembered that he wouldn't be there. He ran the sensations through his mind that he'd felt before when the Grandmaster had touched him, reliving the ecstasy of it like a favourite memory. He opened his eyelids. He could see the walls around him in a shimmering light. Skye closed his eyelids again. The familiar darkness descended.

He opened them again slowly, again he could see. He stared around him in wonderment, too amazed to think. He could see the walls, the blanked that lay over him. He brought his hand to his face. He could see his hand! A giggle slipped from his mouth involuntarily. A creak made him turn his head in its direction. He could see the door opening. A figure stepped in. It moved toward him.

"Welcome back" it said. He recognized the Grandmasters voice.

"I.. I can see!" He babbled.

The Grandmaster smiled. "Yes, you can see. In a sense" he said. "You don't see like I do though, you are seeing with your inner eye. With..." the Grandmaster paused, "Magic" he continued.

"I'm seeing with magic?" Skye babbled.

The Grandmaster laughed. "Yes, you are seeing with magic. Now breathe before you pass out."

Skye realised that he had been holding his breath and let it out in a rush. He could see! The thought dominated his mind to exclusion of everything else. He realised that the Grandmaster had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to him, smiling.

"I, I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to be rude" he mumbled out, realising that this great person was sitting here and waiting for him to speak whilst he was lost in the wonder of being able to see.

The Grandmaster chuckled. "It's quite alright child, now how do you feel. No dizziness, no headaches? Anything?"

"No, no sir. I feel perfectly fine" Skye replied meekly.

"I'm glad that you came back to us, we thought we had lost you for a minute or so. The other one chosen with you didn't make it."

Skye was shocked. It had been such an uplifting experience, so intense and ecstatic.

"How did he die?" he asked breathlessly.

"There is much about magic that you don't know, but you will learn in time. When I touched you, I invoked the magic within you. I unlocked the gateways for you in a sense. I'm not sure how it felt to you, it affects us all differently. Some just never wake afterwards. We don't know why. As much as we know about magic, we've come to realise that there is much we don't know." The Grandmaster shook his head sadly. "Now, get some rest. I will be back again soon enough and then we will begin your training. I'll be teaching you myself"

Skye was agog at this turn of events. The Grandmaster himself would be teaching him! Wait until his brother heard about this. The sudden thought blasted through him like a javelin. His brother!

"Sir!" he near shouted. The Grandmaster turned from the door and raised a bushy eyebrow. "My brother Sir? When can I see him? Is he ok?"

"What was his name child?" The Grandmaster asked.

"Snow sir. His name is Snow. Please, is he ok?" Skye's lower lip trembled.

"I do not know, but I will make inquiries for you. If he is alive and well, I will take you to see him before we start our studies. Now, get some rest." The Grandmaster swept out of the room.

Snow lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to the familiar darkness. A tear ran down his face as he turned on his side. Snow had to be ok, he wouldn't' be able to bear it if he couldn't tell his brother the happy news that he could see.