FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 10. Minstrel's Lament

The next two days went by really quikly, we had continued eastward and got to the human city. We couldn't enter it though, because of the danger of running into the legion's arms, so we went around it. And pretty soon, we were allready at the edge of the huge rainforest.

I looked at the large trees and exotic plants blooming around. You could hear birds crowing and chirping in the trees and the leaves of the high trees rustled in the wind loudly.

I looked at the swaying trees quietly and took a deep breath.

"So... Is this it...?" I asked and turned to look at Blaine who nodded slightly.

"This is where I'm from... This is the home of Leurs."

I turned to look at the forest again and then remembered Blaines shackle.

"Didn't you- Didn't you say that you can't go back before the shackle is removed?" I asked a little worried... What might the other Leurs think.

"This situation is way more important than just a simple punishment, they just have to listen. They have to." Blaine said, and it sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince me.

I squeezed my fist tighter and stepped forward.

"Well, we have to hope for the best..."

'And maybe fear for the worst...'

We made our way trough the bushes, trees and plants, but nothing out of the ordinary really caught my eye.

I looked around and tryed to spot something that might resemble something built by the Leurs even a little bit, but I couldn't see anything but trees and plants.

"Blaine... Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked and moved in closer to him.

"Of course I am, this is my home. Or atleast it was... You'll see, just be patient."

I nodded nervously and kept my self close to Blaine, somehow, the forest started to seem... Intimidating, in some weird way.

The atmosfere was defineatly like we shouldn't have been there.

"Ah! There it is!" Blaine exclaimed suddenly and pointed at a huge tree ahead. My eyes widened as I looked at the grand tree rising up all the way to the top and above the other trees.

"That is the entrance." Blaine said and smiled a little bit.

"E- What?" I studdered and looked at the tree while rubbing my eyes.

"That's the entrance? To the city? How?"

"Just wait and see." Blaine anwsered and winked.

We went beside the tree, wich was WAY bigger than it looked from a distance. I touched the rough surface of the tree and looked around it. There was a caterpillar crawiling on the trunk and I took it on my finger.

"There's nothing here..." I said and looked at the caterpillar crawled on my finger.

"This way." Blaine said and signed me to follow him.

As we walked arount the tree I noticed that it was also way wider and thicker than it looked from a distance.

It might take atleast fifteen minutes to get all the way around it.

"Here!" Blaine called out as we finally came to a large hole on the trunk.

I looked inside curiously.

"The city's... In... Here?" I asked suspiciously.

Blaine just climbed in from the hole and didn't say anything. I shrugged and followed him in.

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the bright light that shone from above.

As I looked up I saw a grand wooden stairway going up in a spiral inside the large hollow tree. I held my breath in amazement, but remembered what we were doing when Blaine grabbed my shoulder.

"Come on, we have to move on." He said and nodded.

I walked behind Blaine as we walked up the stairs, that seemed to go on forever.

When we finally reached the top, I almost fainted from the sight.

There were large treehouse-like bildings everywhere and they were connected by a network of wooden bridges.

There were some Leurs here and there, but they didn't seem to notice us at first. Blaine just stood there, he didn't say anything. He looked a little sad as he saw the houses and other Leurs, but I could tell he was happy to be back.

Suddenly, some of the Leurs saw us, and some of them pointed at me or started whispering.

I looked around nervously and pulled my self closer to Blaine.

"Do they recognize you...?" I asked and scowled back at a Leur who was staring at me with an angry expression on his face.

"I think they do.. And it won't be long until-"

"Why do you return... You filthy murderer...?" I heared someone say from a short distance away.

I looked ahead and saw a black furred Leur standing on the other end of the bridge we were standing on.

"Jaze..." Blaine said and looked at the black furred Leur.

"Do you know what the word 'banish' means, Blaine?" Jaze said and walked to us.

"It means you're not supposed to come back... Not atleast before you get the shackle removed. And it looks like you haven't." He said as he saw a glimbse of the golden shackle still around Blaines neck.

"And on top of all this-" Jaze continued and turned to look at me in loathe.

"You bring a HUMAN to our city!"

I examined Jaze, and noticed that he looked a lot different than the other leurs, not only because of his black fur. He had an X shaped scar on his muzzle between his deep blood red eyes.

I tought Blaine had fierce eyes, but his were nothing compared to that of Jaze's sharp gaze that seemed to pierce straight trough your scull and in to your mind.

He had some worn out white strappings around his wrists and short ripped up pants that barely covered his knees. His body was also just as muscular as Blaine's.

"Jaze, this is really important, I have to speak with Mosuke, it's extremely urgent."

Jaze grit his teeth and frowned.

"You dare call our leader by his name, you traitor!"

Blaine sighed and shook his head.

"Just... Just take me to him, ok?!"

Jaze didn't say anything, he just looked at me and Blaine quietly.

"Fine..." He said finally and turned around without a word.

Blaine nodded to me and we went after him.

Every single Leur that we passed by turned to look at us, especially at me. I couldn't blame them though, humans and Leurs did have a bad history.

We finally came to a larger wooden building that really stood out from the other buildings.

We entered the place and Jaze stayed outside.

When we were inside, I noticed that there was no roof at all.

The whole building was covered with a beautifully textiled fabric that looked like silk.

"Mosuke, my lord..." Blaine suddenly said and knelt down on the floor. I looked around and saw an old looking Leur in the other end of the room.

I flinched and quikly followed Blaines example while koughing awkwardly.

The old Leur stood up slowly and frowned.

"What is this?" He said quietly and walked closer to us.

"What is the reason for your return, brother Baine..." Mosuke said and beemed at Blaine with his partially blind eyes.

"I... I am sorry, my lord, but I have some urgent news, that might affect the whole of Esperia." Blaine said keeping his head down. Mosuke just raised an eyebrow and signed Blaine to go on.

"I believe... I believe that the shadows have entered Esperia!" Blaine exclaimed finally and rose his head.

Everyone in the room gasped and looked at eachother.

Mosuke raised his hand up and everyone quieted down.

"And why do you think so? Do you have any proof?" He asked.

Blaine frowned.

"I- I..." He studdered.

I realized that it wasn't indeed Blaine who saw the shadow, it was me.

I slowly stood up and looked Mosuke in the eyes.

"I saw one, sir." I said and nodded slightly.

Mosuke turned to look at me and examined my whole form, as if to see if I was telling the truth.

"And who might this human be?" He asked and turned to look at Blaine again.

"My name's Michael, sir. And I'm Blaines travelling companion." I said and nodded again.

"That's right." Blaine said and stood up too.

Mosuke closed his eyes and sighed.

"Tell me, child... Where did you see this shadow?"

I tought for a while and then took a deep breath.

"Well, we- I mean, I saw it at the kings castle, behind the king. It looked like as though it was controlling him. I saw it just before he had us thrown in the dungeons."

Everyone in the room gasped again and started whispering and looking around nervously.

"Silence!" Mosuke shouted with a strong voice, making everyone freeze up. Even the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

"These are some serious claims, child... If what you speak is indeed true, then I'm sure that this is no small matter." He continued and turned around.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any proof of it... But I swear, I am telling the truth!" I exclaimed and spread my arms.

Then, suddenly, we heared shouting from the outside.

Everyone turned to look at the door.

Then, explosions, more screaming. Blaine and I turned to look at eachother.

"What's this!?" Mosuke shouted and hit the floor with his staff.

Blaine and I both ran outside. My eyes hurt from the sudden amount of light, but when they got used to it I saw the whole scene.

Leurs were running in panic and hiding behind buildings while some had gathered around in a large circle around something.

"There's something attacking the city!" Blaine shouted when he saw some of the collapsed buildings.

"But what could do something like this so fast?" I said and ran towards the pack of Leurs, Blaine following after me.

Then suddenly, some of the Leurs in the circle were sent flying a great distance before crashing down on the hard wooden floor loudly. Then I saw him trough the broken formation.

"Rh- Raynald!?" I exclaimed and ran closer.

Indeed, it was no other than him. He was holding his other hand up, his palm in our direction, while holding some long sharp needle looking throwing knives in his other hand.

"What is he doing here!?" Blaine shouted and ran towards Raynald with his fists ready to attack. But then suddenly, Raynald crouched and spun around while throwing some of the knives towards Blaine who just barely managed to dodge them.

"Geeze! For a blind man he sure is accurate!" He exclaimed as the knives hit a nearby tree trunk.

"Blaine! Be careful!" I yelled and ran to him.

"I don't want you to get hurt..." I said quietly and stared at Raynald who just stared ahead with a hollow expression on his face.

Chills ran down my spine when he suddenly turned his head towards me.

"... You shall come with me, child who doesn't belong..."

I flinched as heared those words, "the one who doesn't belong"... How did he know about the prophecy?!

Then a familiar figure appeared before my eyes. Behind Raynald, the same shadowy cloud-like figure, with red glowing eyes and a hood. It looked straight at me with those glowing red eyes, making cold sweat form on my face.

"It's... It's one of those shadows again." I said while Blaine looked at me with his eyes full of questions. "Where? Here?" He asked and looked around.

"It's taken over Raynald..." I said and breathed heavily.

"I can feel it, but... I can't see it." Blaine said and squeezed his fists tighter.

"We don't have any choise. We can't let him destroy this whole place, we have to do something."

Raynald lowered his head.

"No response...?" He said quietly.

"Then, I have no choise but to eliminate you..."

"You won't lay a finger on Michael!" Blaine roared and ran towards Raynald, but Raynald just raised his palm again, making Blaine freeze up in mid-air when he was about to attack him.

"You think you have any chanse against the elite warrior of the king, the former apprentice of the great wizard..." Raynald said still keeping his blindfolded eyes turned towards me.

He swinged his hand making Blaine fly and crash on the ground in a large arc.

"Blaine!" I shouted and ran to him. He just mumbled and cursed while trying to get up. I placed my hand on his back and sighed of releaf. I stood up and turned to look at the shadow.

"Why are you doing this...?" I asked and stared at it's red eyes, while gritting my teeth.

Raynald nor the creature didn't move, say or do anything.

"I asked you a question..." I said again and narrowed my eyes.

"For aeons, we were stuck in the dark realm, that existed only in the shadow of this world..." A cold voice echoed in my mind, making my head suddenly hurt.

I collapsed on my knees and heared Blaine run towards me.

"We had allways been watching, allways watched this world trough the shadows, we watched everything that took place... The humans arriving in this world... The Leurs, running in fear..."

I grabbed my head and almos shouted from pain, I could see Raynald collapse on to the ground in front of me and the shadow dissapearing from behind him.

"Humans... Evil and greedy... Leurs... unwise and cowardly beasts... None of you deserve to dwell in this realm."

"Michael what's wrong with you? Hold it together! Can you hear me?!"

The last thing I could remember was Blaine in front of me, holding my shoulders and staring into my eyes. He looked worried, more worried than I had ever seen before. Then, everyhting went black. Just the words "None of you deserve to dwell in this realm" echoed in my mind.

I couldn't feel a thing. All I saw was darkness.

I felt like I was floating. There was nothing but me and the black emptiness. I tryed to speak, but the words didn't come out.

'Blaine...' I tought and tryed to remember what happened.

"Humans... All so weak, the mind, oh so corrupted and easy to control... Full of greed, fear, hatred..."

'What, has it take over my body?'

"Not only your body, I also have your mind, child..."

'Oh no! This can't be happening! Blaine!'

"Why do you long after that beast... What is he to you...?"

'There's no one I'd rather be with! I care for him more than you could ever understand!'

"And why is it that you care for him?"

'You couldn't understand that with that black heart of yours!'

When I tought those words, I suddenly felt the darkness crumble a little, lose it's grip on me.

I could hear faint voices from the outside allready, and I felt... I felt something warm around my body. I felt a little safer.

That feeling didn't last for long though, since the empty and chilly laugh of the shadow echoed in my mind again.

"Oh... So you care for a murderer...?"

'Ah- a- what?'

"That's right... The one you care for, took someone's life..."

My heart skipped a beat and I felt the darkness taking a stronger grip on me again.

'That... That can't be true, I won't... I won't believe you!'

"Then, let me show you... For everywhere where there's shadow, everywhere that light doesn't shine, we see all... We know all..."

Suddenly, a clear image appeared in my head. I could see a dark forest, and an edge of a cliff?

And there, stood too figures.

Two Leurs.

The other one had his arms around the other, who was trembling. I saw a blade, thrhrusted trough the flesh of the Leur who was holding the trembling one.

Then, words.

I saw the Leur holding the other whisper something to the others ear, before collapsing on the ground, limb, dead.

The one holding the blade backed away, and dropped the sword on the ground before looking up to the sky. That's when I saw the face. It was Blaine, indeed, he had taken the life of that other Leur!

'But! Why!?' I yelled in my head and cryed in my subcontiousness. That's when the darkness poured on me, just like the sadness that engulfed me. I felt something cold in my hand sinking into something and then, felt something warm flowing on my wrist.

"That's it... Submit to the fact, that you're weak, you feel! You feel sorrow that we can easily feed off of, there's nothing you can do..."

'You're wrong...'

A glimpse of light, feeling that same cumble again I gathered up all of my toughts.

'You're wrong!... It's true... Humans, some humans might be greedy, corrupted... Evil... But feelings aren't the same thing!

Humans and Leurs are strong because they can feel! Care for eachoter! It's the bonds and the will to protect them that make us strong!

I... I love Blaine... And there's nothing you or your mindcontroll can do to hurt us when we're there for eachother!'

It was then that I felt the darkness around me shatter completely, the cries and unreal sounding screams of the shadow bellowed around me and I felt like I was shaking.

My vision began to return, a bit by bit.

I could already make out the village, and some buildings and trees, then, as the feel in my limbs and body returned, I noticed that someone was holding me.

It was Blaine, his breath was shaky, and his head was next to my ear.

That's when I realized the warmth on my hand and wrist again. I was holding something. It was one of those sharp long throwing knives, and... Blood...

My eyes widened and tears began immediately gushing into my eyes. I slowly let go of the knife, but I couldn't say or speak anything.

That's when I felt Blaine tighten his hold on me.

"M- Michael... I'm.. I'm sorry..." He whispered to my ear with a shaky voice.

It sounded like he was in a lot of pain.

"Nh- No..." I whimpered when I felt Blaines body begin to go limb before collapsing on the ground on his back.

"No! Blaine!" I shouted and fell on his chest while tears flowed down my cheeks.

"No, Blaine. I'm sorry, don't leave me, please... I couldn't go on without you..." I whimpered and pressed my head against his chest.

I heared someone behind me, and saw a pair of black furred Leur feet with the corner of my eye. It looked like some other Leurs had gathered around too. I took a deep breath and nuzzled my face against Blaines chest again.

"Please Blaine... I... I love you..."

I suddenly heared a click and then a faint ticking sound. And then, a faint heartbeat. I opened my eyes as I realized something. I rose my head and saw that the mechanical lock in Blaines shackle was moving. Some moving parts in the heart spinned around and clicked open one by one, before the whole collar flung open while making a weird soft sound.

I quikly pressed my head against Blaines chest again, and indeed it was his heartbeat.

"He's still alive!" I exclaimed and looked around.

"Isn't there a doctor or a healer among you Leurs?!" I shouted making everyone just look at eachother.

I got frustrated and growled before hugging Blaine tightly again.

"Blaine, please just hang on, I won't let you go..."

Then I suddenly remembered Rildels words, back when I was his apprentice:

"The power of a minstrels song isn't based on the pattern and sound of notes alone... The true power comes from within the heart and from the will to affect someting."

I slowly turned to look at my flute as I took ahold of it. I could see my face reflecting from it's shiny surface. I then quikly reached in my backpack and grabbed the notes for the song that I'd been working on. It was allready almost complete.

I stared at the notes for a short moment before lifting the flute up to my lips.

"Please, Blaine... Come back to me..." I whispered before closing my eyes and beginning to play the song.

A slight breeze sweeped trough the forest, making the trees sway as the melody of my flute echoed in the forest. The other leurs around me were gasping and looking up to the sky as a few rays of light escaped trough some clouds, shining on me and Blaine. The knife on Blaines chest began to dissolve into the air as a slowly flowing trail of silvery sparkles and the blood on his fur vanished. Even the wound below his chest began to heal slowly.

When I played the last notes of the song I slowly opened my eyes and lowered the flute. The wound on Blaine had dissapeared completely and I could see him breathing slowly.

He then, slowly opened his eyes and looked around. As he saw me and the extremely happy and releaved expression on my face, he smirked slightly.

"What did you expect, me to turn into a prince?" He said while smiling.

I almost cryed from happiness as I wrapped my arms around Blaine and kissed him. I really kissed him, altho it was quite hard because of the shape of Blaines mouth, but it didn't matter.

Blaine just blushed furiously at first, but then, he kissed me back and wrapped his arms around me too.

As we broke the kiss, Blaine pulled his head next to my ear again.

"Don't worry... I would never leave you... Because I love you too, Michael, more than anything."

"Blaine..." I whispered and pressed my head against his chest, when suddenly I felt someone grab my shoulder.

I turned around and stood up.

It was Jaze.

"I hate to interrupt your little... Moment... But I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, to both of you." He said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Blaine shook his head and smiled a little.

"It's ok Jaze, if I was you I would have my doupts too." He said and stood up too.

That's when Mosuke hit the ground with his walking stick making a loud bang that caught everyones attention.

"It seems as though the boy was telling the truth... And Blaine, since you do still have love in your heart, and the removed collar as the proof, we have no more reason to keep you away from here."

I turned to look at Blaine and smiled.

"Altho... We still have a serious problem in our hands, if the king is indeed under the controll of one of these shadows... So tonight, we're going to have a meeting, to discuss what we should do to prevent anything more serious from happening."

Blaine and the other Leurs nodded in agreement.

"But now, before nightfall, let's consentrate on rebuilding the city!" Mosuke exclaimed and held up his staff.