The
Hopes of Airy Knoll
Draft_3
By:
Chase L. Currie
(The title is a little missing leading...)
The Kingdom of Whispering Oaks,
The Bottoms,
10:33 PM,
Knock, Knock...
The squirrel in a dark black
hood and cloak, hits against the door of the small church. He waits a
couple seconds and knocks again. It's about to rain and every one is
heading for the in doors, not that the rain bothers the Hood or
anything, he's here to see the Father of the church, not anyone else.
He knocks one more time, then waits, it getting close to being late
and the Father is more then likely getting ready for bed. So it isn't
like he taking his time to get to the door or anything and the Hood
knows that. Finally, the door slowly opens with a grayish red
squirrel peering out with a candle, “Yes, my son?” he asks, very
unsure why this Hood is standing at his door step.
“Father Martin Seeker?” The squirrel asks, drawing out the “R's”
in every word, telling the Father he's not born to this Kingdom but
born to the Kingdom of Well-Stone.
“Aye, that is me.”
“I am Poseidon White-Stone the
3rd
, sir,” He quickly replies, stepping a little into the doorway,
“and I need a moment of your time.”
“Of course,” Father Martin says, showing the Hood into the small
church. They head down the middle of the building, where at the end
is a giant wooden cross, with an eye sitting in the middle of it. The
eye of the loving All-Father; the one true God and the God of all the
squirrel Kingdoms. Poseidon grins as he looks up at the cross, saying
the pray of welcome under his breath but loud enough for the Father
to know exactly what he's doing.
“Aye, your a squirrel of faith?” He ask as they head for a seat
close to the front, under the cross and the Father hopes that this
visit is about faith and not a questioning. The Whispering Hoods are
known for being mean and quick to pull their swords. They are the
ones who hunt down any squirrels practicing or using magic in the
land. And everyone knows they are quick to judge and even quicker to
deal out punishment. So the squirrels of the land have only come to
fear them. A fear Father Martin is feeling this very moment.
“I am Father but normally I go to church in the King's Keep.”
Poseidon tells him as he looks around, it's in his training to keep
an eye out in the shadows of the building and to know all the exits,
to know where he could get attack from at any moment. Also to keep
his paw on the hilt of his sword.
The sword his father gave him before he left his home so many years
ago. A rapier that has been passed down through his family. A rapier
named Pointe Penible and like all rapier it's made for speed and the
ability to slip through chain mail without having to cut through it,
making the weapon deadly to all who go up against it. It become even
more deadly in the paws of a squirrels who been train all their lives
to fight with it, just like Poseidon.
“Then may I ask, what bring you to the poorest part of the
Kingdom?” They sits down side by side. The Father just throws his
tail over his legs, putting his paws together and trying not to show
his fear the best he can. Poseidon pulls his sword from his side,
throws his tail over his legs, and sit the sword down on top of his
legs.
And then, as he speaks, “When I was a pup, I would have these
terrible nightmares-” He slowly removes the hood around his head,
showing the Father the bright blue marking running down his dark
brown fur and under his cloak- “about the Cleansing Flood, that the
All-Father is going to cast on to the world one day. Am sure you know
the legend?”
“I do,” he replies, still wondering why this Hood is siting in
his church. “And I can understand why a pup would have nightmares
about suggest a thing.”
Martin tried not to look at the markings but they were the brightest
blue he ever seen. It would have put the clearest blue sky to shame.
It only means that someone in Poseidon's family has been a
Spell-Crafter, because the markings are only for those who's blood
has been touch by magic. But for it to be this bright, it must have
been his father or mother no one farther down the family tree.
“You see, Father, I stop having the dreams as I got older, as you
can imagine most pups forget their young fears as the grow up but I
would have this dream again-” He says removing his paw from the
sword putting them both under his tail- “I had the dream the first
night I was at the training camp for the Whispering Hoods; that night
was the worst. I saw the wave coming over the trees and it was for
the sin of magic, our greatest sin. When I woke I knew that being a
Hood was the right thing to do.”
“So you are new?” Martin starts to asks, but Poseidon had
already started shaking his head no.
“That was years ago,” he states, “however, I been having the
nightmares again. They been coming to me the last couple of weeks.”
“I'm sorry, my child,” he says, still not understanding what is
going on. Why this warrior is talking about his bad dreams and most
of all why the dream about the flood and not all the squirrels he has
killed. “Do you wish to talk about them?”
“Not really.”
“Then we can pray about it,” Martin says, hoping that will work.
He hopes that all the Hood wants, is few prays to be said, lite a few
candles, and then leave. After that Martin can go back to bed and not
have to worry about this anymore
But that hope dies as Poseidon says, “I pray all the time about
it. No, am here to tell you why I've been having this dream...” He
looks over at the old fur of the Father and waits for him to give him
the go ahead to continue his story. Martin just nods and Poseidon
starts saying, “A month ago we got word of a Spell-Crafter was
living in the Bottoms. I and a couple of others were sent down here
to find them...and that is where things went wrong for me. I should
have known right then and there that this task was going to be the
greatest test of my faith.”
~
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