Post by cyansky on May 13, 2009 18:58:13 GMT -5
Syl's Awakening
Darkness. Nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see. Then, suddenly something hit it. Hard. Like being plunged into a lake hundreds from a high cliff, there was a painful sensation of cold. Then… nothing.
Slowly but surely… it felt something. Its eyes opened. Little by little, its surroundings became clearer. It was in a room, one that looked like something a very poor person would live in - poorly maintained, dusty, aesthetically unappealing and poorly furnished. It was lying on a bed with thin sheets and a worn mattress. Slowly, it sat up, looking all around it. Mostly darkness. The only light came from a window and a glowing crystal pendant on a nearby shelf.
It recognised the crystal instantly. It was the crystal that was given as a ‘gift’ to it so long ago… back when it was still… happy. It didn’t know what was the crystal's purpose, or why it glowed. It just knew that it was important, for whatever reason. It grabbed the crystal and gazed at it steadily. So, not all was lost. Its eyes searched further. Not far from it was a notebook. It picked up the notebook and examined it. The notebook appeared to be worn, but still in relatively good condition.
It opened it…
… And it recognized the writing instantly. This was its Kiel’s writing! The very sibling that abandoned it so many years ago to live with humans, and was changed for it…
Hey. What do you remember?
It was left speechless. What could it remember? Death, for sure. Suffering, yes. Disaster, definitely. Its sibling? That was the only thing that was as clear as glass.
It then tried to gain some recollection of what had happened before. It remembered being content once… but then afterwards it all faded away. Something bad happened, one that caused it to lose everything. Other than that, its memory was blank. It couldn’t even remember its own name or what it was specifically. (Well, it knew it wasn’t human for starters…) It knew its skills and capabilities, but almost nothing about its religion, its culture, its other family or about the world it came from. Well, perhaps nothing that it could recall at the moment.
How strange.
Then, as it watched, more writing appeared, as if written by an invisible pen.
Sylredrae,
… or should I just say Syl? I sincerely hope that you don’t find this unsettling, but I recently picked up on a human tradition. Thought that I would give it a shot. Never hurts to be open-minded, you know… even to humanity. I hope you are safe, and no, I am not going to turn back from this path, even if it means becoming a traitor. Thanks for your concern.
-Kielleas
PS: You had this coming to you.
No more writing appeared.
“Well,” it said to itself, “how informative. It seems like my name is Sylredrae… or Syl for short.”
It stood there in silence for a few moments, letting the information sink in. It didn’t know whether it made sense to trust notebooks with writing that just appeared there.
‘Sylredrae’ may not be necessarily be its real or full name – it could be an assumed name, just its first name or just a nickname. Oh well, it would have to do. Still, it wondered, what did Kiel mean when it wrote ‘you had this coming to you?’ Syl knew that it wasn’t a paragon of virtue, but what could cause it to end up in this unknown place?
Syl closed the notebook and sighed. This was seriously not its day. The architecture of this place clearly indicated that it was not on its homeworld. Or could it be? It didn’t quite remember.
It then absentmindedly stuffed the notebook into the largest pocket in its coat, just realizing that it had woken up fully clothed. It put the pendant on and tucked it under its shirt, searching for any more items that it could take. There was nothing.
“Fair enough,” said Syl to itself. “this is all I need, anyway. It’s not like I want to live like royalty. It’s that I’ve been thrown into an unknown world with no clues as to what this place is, how I got here or who’s behind this.”
It walked towards the window, and from there it saw a dark city from above. There was a church in the distance, a few ruins just hiding out of view and many other buildings that Syl had never seen before. The city seemed massive.
Now what? It thought, what do I do? Is Kiel behind this? Or is this some dream that I can’t wake up from? Kiel was always the kind of person to get me into trouble. Why should this be any different?
It continued to survey the city.
Well, one thing’s for sure. This isn’t home.
Syl now glanced at the window rather than what was beyond it. It noticed, with surprise, that the window had no latches, no unsealed edges, nothing to open it.
It turned its eyes back to the city, before noticing its reflection. Bright red eyes gazed back at it. Its hair was black, falling to its mid-back, and its appearance was human-like… although very androgynous in both face and in body. Its expression was impassive and its face was smooth and young, which felt strange considering that it certainly didn’t feel that like… that. It didn’t know its age, but it sure knew that few people would feel young and invigorated after waking up from a nightmare… or in a nightmare for that matter.
Looks like flying is out of the question. I’ll have to use the door. But… then again, maybe flying right now isn’t a great idea. The thought of having the wind in my face is very appealing, but flying tends to attract attention, and this seems to be a city where most of the residents are ground-bound. I should be grateful for the fact that I still remember how to fly at all.
Knowing now that there was nothing left in the room for it to take, Syl exited the room. As it did, it glanced at its surroundings. Above the door was a number scratched onto the wall above it – #4.
“How odd,” it muttered to itself.
Syl shrugged and proceeded downstairs. The stairs were old; it could tell because the wood was a bit greyish in colour. Perhaps the greyish colours were because of the dust, but for sure most of the vibrant brown it had started with had faded away. The stairs now appeared so old that it seemed to have been there for decades untouched. Nonetheless, it made no sound as it gently stepped down into the lobby, looking around cautiously for any sign of a threat.
The lobby was deserted and appeared abandoned. The desk was empty except for a blank guestbook. Syl double-checked it to make sure. Yep, completely blank, asides from some illegible scribbling on the first page. A signature, perhaps?
In any case, everything else appeared as if it had stayed there for decades on end – the tables, the chairs, the walls, the door…. There was nothing on the walls, except for a board that read this, in writing so messy it was barely legible:
WELCOME TO ANIMUS.
Animus… it thought, so I at least know the name of this place.
It took another quick look around the lobby, hoping for some more clues about this mysterious city. Asides from mould and dust… it couldn’t find anything, no matter how much it checked the desks and tables, hoping that it wouldn’t so fragile that it would collapse with a touch.
Syl knew that this place was unsuitable as a home. It was too… well. It was abandoned and old, extremely dusty and altogether unappealing.
It walked toward the door, talking one last glance at the abandoned lobby before stepping out into the streets. It would explore them a bit; see if there was anyone around that might tell it what was going on. Then afterward it would find a safe place to rest, and then find some answers to a few important questions.
What was this place? What brought it here? Why? Could Kiel really be behind this? Would it survive to find out?
Those questions tugged at its mind.
It needed answers, and there was certainly none in this building. Perhaps there were some elsewhere… Syl walked into the streets, looking both ways. It felt the gentle breeze refresh it as it it looked around, mentally preparing itself to explore the unknown.
Darkness. Nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see. Then, suddenly something hit it. Hard. Like being plunged into a lake hundreds from a high cliff, there was a painful sensation of cold. Then… nothing.
Slowly but surely… it felt something. Its eyes opened. Little by little, its surroundings became clearer. It was in a room, one that looked like something a very poor person would live in - poorly maintained, dusty, aesthetically unappealing and poorly furnished. It was lying on a bed with thin sheets and a worn mattress. Slowly, it sat up, looking all around it. Mostly darkness. The only light came from a window and a glowing crystal pendant on a nearby shelf.
It recognised the crystal instantly. It was the crystal that was given as a ‘gift’ to it so long ago… back when it was still… happy. It didn’t know what was the crystal's purpose, or why it glowed. It just knew that it was important, for whatever reason. It grabbed the crystal and gazed at it steadily. So, not all was lost. Its eyes searched further. Not far from it was a notebook. It picked up the notebook and examined it. The notebook appeared to be worn, but still in relatively good condition.
It opened it…
… And it recognized the writing instantly. This was its Kiel’s writing! The very sibling that abandoned it so many years ago to live with humans, and was changed for it…
Hey. What do you remember?
It was left speechless. What could it remember? Death, for sure. Suffering, yes. Disaster, definitely. Its sibling? That was the only thing that was as clear as glass.
It then tried to gain some recollection of what had happened before. It remembered being content once… but then afterwards it all faded away. Something bad happened, one that caused it to lose everything. Other than that, its memory was blank. It couldn’t even remember its own name or what it was specifically. (Well, it knew it wasn’t human for starters…) It knew its skills and capabilities, but almost nothing about its religion, its culture, its other family or about the world it came from. Well, perhaps nothing that it could recall at the moment.
How strange.
Then, as it watched, more writing appeared, as if written by an invisible pen.
Sylredrae,
… or should I just say Syl? I sincerely hope that you don’t find this unsettling, but I recently picked up on a human tradition. Thought that I would give it a shot. Never hurts to be open-minded, you know… even to humanity. I hope you are safe, and no, I am not going to turn back from this path, even if it means becoming a traitor. Thanks for your concern.
-Kielleas
PS: You had this coming to you.
No more writing appeared.
“Well,” it said to itself, “how informative. It seems like my name is Sylredrae… or Syl for short.”
It stood there in silence for a few moments, letting the information sink in. It didn’t know whether it made sense to trust notebooks with writing that just appeared there.
‘Sylredrae’ may not be necessarily be its real or full name – it could be an assumed name, just its first name or just a nickname. Oh well, it would have to do. Still, it wondered, what did Kiel mean when it wrote ‘you had this coming to you?’ Syl knew that it wasn’t a paragon of virtue, but what could cause it to end up in this unknown place?
Syl closed the notebook and sighed. This was seriously not its day. The architecture of this place clearly indicated that it was not on its homeworld. Or could it be? It didn’t quite remember.
It then absentmindedly stuffed the notebook into the largest pocket in its coat, just realizing that it had woken up fully clothed. It put the pendant on and tucked it under its shirt, searching for any more items that it could take. There was nothing.
“Fair enough,” said Syl to itself. “this is all I need, anyway. It’s not like I want to live like royalty. It’s that I’ve been thrown into an unknown world with no clues as to what this place is, how I got here or who’s behind this.”
It walked towards the window, and from there it saw a dark city from above. There was a church in the distance, a few ruins just hiding out of view and many other buildings that Syl had never seen before. The city seemed massive.
Now what? It thought, what do I do? Is Kiel behind this? Or is this some dream that I can’t wake up from? Kiel was always the kind of person to get me into trouble. Why should this be any different?
It continued to survey the city.
Well, one thing’s for sure. This isn’t home.
Syl now glanced at the window rather than what was beyond it. It noticed, with surprise, that the window had no latches, no unsealed edges, nothing to open it.
It turned its eyes back to the city, before noticing its reflection. Bright red eyes gazed back at it. Its hair was black, falling to its mid-back, and its appearance was human-like… although very androgynous in both face and in body. Its expression was impassive and its face was smooth and young, which felt strange considering that it certainly didn’t feel that like… that. It didn’t know its age, but it sure knew that few people would feel young and invigorated after waking up from a nightmare… or in a nightmare for that matter.
Looks like flying is out of the question. I’ll have to use the door. But… then again, maybe flying right now isn’t a great idea. The thought of having the wind in my face is very appealing, but flying tends to attract attention, and this seems to be a city where most of the residents are ground-bound. I should be grateful for the fact that I still remember how to fly at all.
Knowing now that there was nothing left in the room for it to take, Syl exited the room. As it did, it glanced at its surroundings. Above the door was a number scratched onto the wall above it – #4.
“How odd,” it muttered to itself.
Syl shrugged and proceeded downstairs. The stairs were old; it could tell because the wood was a bit greyish in colour. Perhaps the greyish colours were because of the dust, but for sure most of the vibrant brown it had started with had faded away. The stairs now appeared so old that it seemed to have been there for decades untouched. Nonetheless, it made no sound as it gently stepped down into the lobby, looking around cautiously for any sign of a threat.
The lobby was deserted and appeared abandoned. The desk was empty except for a blank guestbook. Syl double-checked it to make sure. Yep, completely blank, asides from some illegible scribbling on the first page. A signature, perhaps?
In any case, everything else appeared as if it had stayed there for decades on end – the tables, the chairs, the walls, the door…. There was nothing on the walls, except for a board that read this, in writing so messy it was barely legible:
WELCOME TO ANIMUS.
Animus… it thought, so I at least know the name of this place.
It took another quick look around the lobby, hoping for some more clues about this mysterious city. Asides from mould and dust… it couldn’t find anything, no matter how much it checked the desks and tables, hoping that it wouldn’t so fragile that it would collapse with a touch.
Syl knew that this place was unsuitable as a home. It was too… well. It was abandoned and old, extremely dusty and altogether unappealing.
It walked toward the door, talking one last glance at the abandoned lobby before stepping out into the streets. It would explore them a bit; see if there was anyone around that might tell it what was going on. Then afterward it would find a safe place to rest, and then find some answers to a few important questions.
What was this place? What brought it here? Why? Could Kiel really be behind this? Would it survive to find out?
Those questions tugged at its mind.
It needed answers, and there was certainly none in this building. Perhaps there were some elsewhere… Syl walked into the streets, looking both ways. It felt the gentle breeze refresh it as it it looked around, mentally preparing itself to explore the unknown.