Adventures of Edeon: Breaking of The Chain

[Enigmatic_Entity]

"Darfin!" His mother's shrill voice bellowed all throughout the house. He was awake for quite some time now, but had no plans on moving. He wanted to lay in bed and daydream all day, rather than gather logs with Charise. After ten seconds of no reply she called again, growing irritated. Darfin grumbled, shifted onto his side, and shoved the pillow against his ear. He triumphantly exhaled,the irksome calling had seized. Or at least he thought it had, the wooden door adjacent to his bed flung open hard enough to nearly knock it off its hinges and in the archway stood the beast that was his mother.

"Darfin, you hear me calling you boy!" She towered over his bed and he tightened his grip on the pillow. There was the slightest sense of hope that she would eventually accept defeat and storm out; Only to complain to his father when he would get home later. Once again, Darfin was wrong. She snatched the pillow from his grip and flung it onto the ground.

Darfin, being caught in the act, slowly turned over to glance at his mother. Giving her a stare of indifference, he let out a sigh and sat up. "Do I have to?"

"Do you have to?!" Her arms went straight to her hips as she scolded him. He knew better than to make eye contact with her bitter orange eyes, the same orange eyes that he adored when they weren't arguing. "Up, up! We don't have all day. Your father is going to be highly upset if he sees that his son didn't get any work done!"

He stumbled out of bed, ambled down the hall (followed by his bickering mother) and stepped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Darfin never understood why they couldn't get along as much as they did when he was younger. Ever since he turned sixteen, he grew more defiant and she attempted to dictate his every whim. He's old enough to focus on studies, but she won't allow it. His father is more lenient, and whenever she would nag him about Darfins' recent rebellious act he would grumble something about "becoming a man".

He got ready, stormed down the steps, into the foyer and out the door. Not giving his mother (or the breakfast she prepared on the table) a second glance. There was a nip in the air, he could feel it against his ash grey skin and see it in between breaths. It was a typical Autumn morning in The Empire, leaves began changing color, folks in town began gathering wood (as was his job) and everyone prepared for the oncoming winter which,seemingly always took two or three livestock with it.

He fixed the straps of the bag onto his shoulders, and walked off to find Charise who he (dishonestly) promised to gather wood with; it didn't matter at this point as he was still forced to. Recently in school, those who didn't know to use the Jodu learned, including Charise. He remembered sharing his deep jealousy and sadness with her, as he couldn't learn it, Elves didn't share the ability to. In fact, he didn't want to come with Charise for two reasons. Other than being completely lazy, he hated whenever she spoke about her new found power.

After walking along two blocks, strolling past the Fosters' family home and Yurmo's blacksmith workshop, he reached his destination and waited outside for his life long friend.

 

[Ethys]

"I should tell him the truth. Hasn't it been long enough?" Charise muttered, glancing at her sister. Getting only a shrug in return, she sighed and tugged her soft leather boots on. Being a human was so exhausting. She didn't know how they managed it. Piling the whole 'teenager' thing on top of it was just starting to be all too much.

"I mean, I know what Grandmother said, but you know how she rambles on. She may have been wrong about this whole thing," she added, though at this point she was talking to herself. Her sister didn't care, since she wasn't the one who had to go about faking everything.

Charise sighed and stood, grabbing an emerald green cloak from the wall. She could always lie. Tell Darfin she didn't feel well enough to go out today. She had done it before, but she always felt guilty about it. Eugh. Perhaps today she would try something new. If her grandmother had been right, then everything would be fine. And if not.. well, at least she could quit pretending.

Everybody kept telling her to wait, but it had been years. In the meantime, she had gotten to know Darfin extremely well. He was a good person and she knew that he could handle what was coming. You're running out of time. Take it slow. We're running out of options. Don't rush it. They couldn't have it both ways, damn it. Everybody expected her to solve everything and be patient at the same time. Well, she wasn't going to be playing by their rules any more. It was high time she took control of the situation.

"Don't forget this," her sister said, throwing her pendant across the room. Charise caught it and put it on, watching her reflection change in the mirror. Plain brown hair, big green eyes. The average human. She nodded in satisfaction and fastened her cloak on, then went over to the window to peer out. Darfin was there, waiting. He was actually on time, oddly enough. His mother must have been nagging him all morning to get him here. Poor kid. She smiled a bit at the thought and went outside.

"Hey. You ready?" she asked him, all smiles. "I think we should try something new today."

 

[Enigmatic_Entity]

Would daydreaming be considered an addiction, a hobby, or a waste of time? This was something Darfin loved to do during his free time. It would always be something different,becoming a soldier, a merchant, being allowed into the city without a pass (which he didn't have even till this day). But today was different, today he dreamt of what exactly it would be like having that power that everyone was so graciously blessed to attain. The god given powers that the Elves hadn't received for some inhumane sin, dooming them for all of existence. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking off into the distance away from her house and out into the acres of farmland ahead her home.

"Doomed to be a farmer?" He spat, snapping out of his trance at the sound of the voice he knew all too well. He turned to face her, his frown came undone by her beaming smile. But there was something quite off about her. She had something planned, he just felt it in the pit of his stomach. He remembered his younger years, when they first starting becoming more than acquaintances and friends; When they became best friends. He even remembers the day when it happened, where they planted a paint bomb under Mr.Baron's desk, that damned professor holds a grudge till this day. He didn't care either, he deserved it, especially after his father gave him the worst beating he had received in his life.

He looked her up and down, his twitching ears and corrugated eyebrows showed he was confused by the sight of her missing bag. How else would she collect the wood? Then what she said sunk down and he was taken aback, "Something new?" Now she caught his attention.

 

[Ethys]

Charise grabbed his hand, tugging him along to follow since he seemed too confused to budge. Now wasn't the time to back down. She had made her choice and now she would follow through. Once she was certain that he was going to walk along without being dragged, she let him go.

"Yes. No wood today. Instead, we are going to go into the forest and.. Well, you'll see. Pretend it's your birthday and it's some sort of magnificent surprise or something," she suggested, scrambling for excuses. He was bound to question her if she left too many gaps in her logic. Still, she hoped he would just follow along. They had to be as far away from everybody as possible. If she could just get him alone, it should be easy enough to get him to try.

She rummaged in the pockets of her cloak, finally finding a sticky bun wrapped in paper. Oh, her sister was a godsend. She had the worst sweet tooth, human or not. Delighted, she unwrapped it and tore it in half, offering one to Darfin while she happily munched on the other.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to murder you or anything," she assured him lazily, her face now covered in sugar. Ah, bliss. "If I was, I'd make sure it was at night. Less witnesses. Come on, hurry up. I think you're really going to like this."

She was leading him to a spot in the forest they had been to before, though it had been a long time. There was a small creek and a nice sized clearing. Might be a good place to practice, as long as he didn't take off running and screaming that she was insane. At this point, she didn't care what happened, as long as it was something other than sitting around and waiting for gods-knew-what. She smiled to herself, licking her fingers clean and wondering absently if she should have packed a lunch.

 

[Enigmatic_Entity]

A light tint of pink blemished his cheeks as she began to firmly tug him into the forest, "Let go of me Charise!" He demanded yet her grip failed to waver. His arm was writhing, attempting to find a loophole out, yet it was to no avail. Finally, he capitulated, alas there was nothing that would convince her of going against whatever motive she had. She let go and he wiggled his wrist, "You almost broke my damn hand," he half joked. They were now deep into the pine wood forest, where the trees soared above them swaying in the light breeze of the Autumn morn.

To any newcomer the scenery would be considered placid and alluring to the eye, but to him this nothing but a playground. He would play here many years ago, with Charise and some of the other kids in town. Charise, being one of the few humans around town, was quick to learn how to climb trees thanks to the help of Darfin. The needles to the trees were altering color at a rapid pace, going from the lively shade of emerald green to that of dirty yellow and brown-orange. Even the foliage on the ground seemed dull compared to how it previously was during the summer months. Pinecones continued to drop from the tree tops, bountifully spread across the floor, but the amount of grass was few. But Darfin found happiness at this time of year. The crops would slowly start dying, this led to less labor for his father who was often around during the Winter season.

"My birthday?" He repeated, confusion smacking him in the face. "My birthday was two months ago and you already got me a present! Why another one now?" As she expected, he still questioned her every statement. Typical of the Elf boy that had been her friend for so long. She failed to answer, instead offering him sweets that she pulled from her pocket. His stomach rumbled, remembering it hasn't had much to eat since last night's dinner, and he gladly accepted the sticky bun. He ate it within three bites, crumbs smearing the ends of his lips, his hunger being satisfied. Licking his sticky fingers, he asked with a smile, "Are you sure you're not going to kill me? Sometimes, I don't know."

He looked about, stepping over to the huge pinewood neighboring the little creek. He ran his fingers against the bark, indulging himself in wonderful memories. He smiled nostalgically, wiped the crumbs with the sleeve of his tunic, "So what is it that's so importantly you had to drag me out here?"

He peered into the creek with the family of fishes swimming peacefully to and fro. The water was slightly murky from the algae inhabiting it, and there were sounds of croaking frogs perched nearby. He didn't care much to search for them. He turned back to face her, he didn't seem to mind being out here, but there was still a reason for it all. "Well then?"

 

[Ethys]

Now that she knew he was going to go along with her, Charise was having doubts. This wasn't the time to be second-guessing herself, but.. What if something went wrong? All of these years could have been for nothing. They could have been misled, or perhaps some information was off. If she did this and nothing came of it.. Well, at the very least, she could kiss her friendship with Darfin goodbye. As it was, he'd probably accuse her of being insane. She frowned at the thought.

"There's something that I've been meaning to tell you, Darfin. I think today is a good day for it," she began, looking around at the trees. She, too, could remember the long summer days spent out here. Back when she was able to relax for more than two seconds straight. She turned back to her friend and smiled at him, trying to reassure both him and herself that the news she bore was not something bad.

Not bad, just mind-shattering for the poor boy.

She hesitated just a moment longer, trying to linger in the feeling. This was it. Everything was about to change. This life would never be the same for either of them. It was hard to let go of everything they had built together, as far as friendship and memories. She sighed and refocused on Darfin, attempting to look encouraging.

"You have Jodu inside you. A lot of it. I want to teach you how to use it."

 

[Enigmatic_Entity]

"A good day for it?" His mouth remained ajar as she seemed to nervously ponder. His cheeks went pink and every thought of what she was about to say raced through his mind. His father always mentioned how a man is made, telling him about "The butterflies and wasps". A process of becoming a man, involved the man finding a woman who would give him purpose. But why Charise? They've been friends for years, and he would never see her in the way he believed she saw him. To top it all off she's a human! Not that it's bad, his father is a human after all, and he himself is half. But it would be quite strange, maybe even looked down upon by some of the other kids. It was just weird.

Every notion pointed to her about to confess her love and he wasn't ready for it. Finally, she said what she was going to say and he realized his skin was a dark purple color from holding his breath. Exhaling heavily to catch his breath and calm heart rate, he became aware of what had been said. He stared at her, blinking once then twice, her statement having yet to settle into his head. Almost abruptly anger rushed through him like an erupting volcano. He clutched his fist, "Charise, this isn't funny."

"You know I can't learn how to use that!" He barked, his orange-yellow hues fixated on her. "How could you be so insensitive. Just because you learned it doesn't mean you have to bring me out all this way to show off!"

He turned back towards the path, ceasing for a moment to look back at her. He was no longer irate but curious, "Wait- Why do you think I can learn it? You know very well I couldn't, so what gave you this 'idea'?"

 

[Ethys]

Of all the ways she had anticipated him to react, anger hadn't been one of them. Charise stared at him in shock, her expression hurt as he yelled at her and accused her of bringing him out all this way just so that she could show off. How could he think so little of her? After all she had done for him? All the time that she wasted here? She frowned, looking away as he turned his back on her and started to leave. So this was it. She had messed it all up after all. Her grandmother had been right. But how was she to know that he was so bitter about his supposed lack of power?

"It isn't an idea, you idiot," she snapped when he decided to stop and speak to her again. She looked back up at him, now angry and frustrated. How dare he treat her this way? As if she was just going to stand around and be his punching bag because he got a little bit upset? Boys were nothing but gigantic babies. "It's a fact. You have Jodu. Anybody with half a brain would be able to sense it," she pointed out, as though it were common sense.

And with that, she left.

She turned away in a huff and started walking down the trail that led away. Away from him, away from the town, and away from all of this ridiculousness. As she went, she muttered to herself about how those damned Elves always went and ruined everything. She scowled, kicking a rock as she went. Maybe if she went far enough, she could find a few town and hide away there from the inevitable rage of her sister. Or, better yet, she could run away home. Her real home, not this fake garbage. She sighed at the idea. No, she couldn't go home. Not yet.

 

[Enigmatic_Entity]

A shiver ran down his spine when she rushed passed him, for a second he questioned whether or not he should follow her to apologize. But it wouldn't work. It was far too late now, she was angry and only time would help her calm down. On the walk back down the path he couldn't help feeling guilty inside, he had accused her of abusing her power to 'show off'. Then the thought snapped back into his head. She said he had the power, and putting the way she reacted into consideration, she wasn't lying. Yet his mother had told him otherwise, as well as his father. He didn't want to concern them with his problem, so he told himself he wouldn't mention it and instead speak with Charise once she settled down.

It wasn't like he wasn't angry either. If she were right, his parents told him a foul lie, that he so foolishly believed. But if she was the one lying, he swore that their friendship would be severed forever. He trekked back into town, feeling rather lonely, then went down to the lumber mill to do exactly what he thought he would when he left his house. There he worked, until sun fall, coming back home with aching legs and callus covered hands. His father was home, standing behind his mother as she scrubbed the dishes over the bucket with cold water. He was hugging her, asking her how her day went. That was his dad for sure, a womanizer, or at least he was around his mother.

He placed the bag full of neatly cut lumber in the corner of the room, and Wolf, their pet Husky helped to acknowledge his presence by barking. Pouncing, he knocked the boy on his butt, viciously attacking the his face with his warm droopy tongue. His tail waved furiously as he barked two or three more times. "Alright now Wolf, back boy," The dog ignored his master's commands, making his father laugh, "Wolf, down boy." He stepped besides the dog, pulling him back by his collar. The dog sat down, his tail happily thumping on the ground.

"Hello son," His human father's soft brown eyes brought a smile to his lips. He reached down and Darfin took his hand. It was muscular, strong, yet very worn. This is how years of hard work feels like on his hands. Once he got to his feet his father embraced him with a hug. "Your hands are becoming much like that of a man's," He mentioned the callus' on Darfin's hands.

"Yes, Pa." He blushed into his chest, until his father let go, patting his shoulder with his heavy hands.

"Go wash up now boy, we'll be done with dinner soon," He spoke behind his massive blonde beard, then turned back into the kitchen. Darfin glanced inside, noticing his mother was admiring their embrace from behind. Her hand shielding her thin lips and giggling voice.

This was the family he loved. The family he wouldn't trade the world for. This was the family that could very well be lying.

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- King's Palace -

"Sire!" A negotiator sprinted up the steeps of the throne, where two guards stepped in his path. The king sat on his throne, far too young to be a king, yet having no choice but to take such a position. A crown lay crookedly on his dark brown hair, his sympathetic coal eyes shifting towards the man. He sat up, his attention having been caught by the sound of urgency in his voice.

"Let him through!" He commanded, sitting back as he stepped forth. The negotiator bowed, showing his loyalty to the puppeteer of The Empire. Roderick II, son of Roderick the first, Grandson of Ethan the Great! Yet, he didn't feel so mighty. His father passed away a few months ago, and he was still grieving quite heavenly. His advisors wouldn't allow him to show any sadness in public, in fear of openly showing weakness. It was enough that half of the public didn't like him for the sympathy he showed to all the other races. His father ruled with an iron fist, and they expected him to follow in his footsteps. Something he believed he was unable to do.

"What do you want?" He asked kindly, a smile upon his plump lips.

He was breathing heavily, out of breath as the man was unhealthy, "Sire, I-It's the Dwarves! They claim they'll be sending a representative to speak about the Orc problem and how they want you to help!"

"They would want our help?" He pondered, then waved the negotiator off, "Thank you, I'll make sure you get compensation for your effort." Roderick stood, and walked off towards his chambers. His advisor, standing besides him the entire time followed, a worried look lingering.

"Sir Rodrick, it is best that we don't help the Dwarves," She openly warned following him through the halls

"Why would that be?"

"The last time we went to war with the Orcs, many of our own died."

"We cannot leave an ally alone during a time of need," He turned around to face the older lady, the same advisor for his father for so many years.

"At the expense of our own, I believe the contrary."

"..." He turned around, without another word, then walked away.

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Two days have passed, Charise has yet to speak to him again. But today, Darfin had a plan. With the help of his mother, he made a two sweet rolls as well as a cake made by the cheese of their very own cattle. He hoped to win her over with the help of her sweet tooth. He walked to her house after class hours, with the sweets bundled in white linen wrapping. He knocked twice on the door, taking deep breaths.

"Please let it be Charise," He had his fingers crossed, not wanting her sister or anyone else to answer. He was always awkward around them, "Please, please, please," He continued to mumble.

 

[Ethys]

Oh, she was such an idiot.

Charise sat in the middle of the woods, plopped on a log as though she was lost even though she knew precisely where she was. Great. She had just blown everything up in a magnificent mistake. Sure, she had known he might not react well, but she hadn't expected anger and accusations. She was also highly aware that she had responded poorly. Instead of facing him and trying to explain or even argue until he got it, she had turned and left. So now she was sitting alone and had no idea where he was. For all she knew, he was at her house, telling her family that she had lost her damned mind. Or maybe he was asking his own family about it. She could be chased out of town.

Why oh why had she mentioned sensing it? That was probably the most unintelligent thing she could have done! She had practically told him that she wasn't a human at all. Handed it to him right on a silver platter as if everything were sunshine and rainbows. He didn't seem to react, but then again, she hadn't stuck around. If he realized before she went home and packed..

She stood up and started walking through the woods toward town. If nothing else, she had to get her family out of there before they were chased out. As she walked, she went over the encounter in her head several times. Nothing would be different if she went back. She knew that. Even if she got another chance, her temper would get the best of her and it would all fall apart. She groaned to herself, slapping her own forehead a few times as she went.

"Stupid.. stupid.. stupid," she muttered with each smack.

By the time she got home, her sister was setting the table for dinner. Charise asked if Darfin had stopped by, which he hadn't. Her sister was confused since she had assumed they were together, but Charise refused to answer any questions. She just sat, ate in silence, and went up to her room to start packing.

Two days later, things hadn't changed much. She had yet to explain to her sister what had happened, instead waiting and listening. Her focus was on the chatter outside the windows every moment that she was awake. If there was a hint of anything wrong, they would be gone within the hour. However, there was nothing. She stopped going to school, deciding to give up the charade. It was pointless now anyway, since her entire reason for going thought she was a lying showoff.

"Get the door, I'm busy!" her sister yelled as somebody knocked.

"You aren't busy, you're fussing with your hair," Charise pointed out, but she went downstairs anyway. Hopefully it wasn't a surprise mob. That in mind, she opened the door, blinking in surprise as she recognized Darfin standing there with some sort of package. She eyed him, not detecting any anger.

"Hi," she said, glancing behind him. No angry mob. "Come to yell at me again?"