Olansaf 4 - Draft 2

When I came round, Chris looked over me approvingly.

"You have good instincts, and you're in shape. We just need to get you into the water."

That was all I got. We spent the dark hours inside a deep ocean cave. At first he explained the formation of it and how he'd come across it; he had such an enchanting way of telling tales you felt as if you had been there with him. He explained how we would stay here until I could return to the docks by swimming. When I told him I wouldn't learn to swim, he laughed and told me quite calmly that if that was the case then I'd never get out of the cave.

Eventually he coaxed me to the waters edge. He taught me how to catch and cook the little shrimps and Tridfish that lived in clumpy seaweed along the edges of the water.

We had only basic equipment in the cave: fire starters, dry wood, stone bowls, netting and a couple of thick hides. Chris had a waxed sack and we both still had our belt knives.

In return I explained some of how I'd ended up there and a basic rundown of my physical abilities. Chris was a good listener and only interrupted to clarify some points and ask a few questions. The reliving of the shipwreck dampened my spirit. Chris picked up on just how bad it affected me and decided we'd sat still long enough. He taught me basic swimming in the shallow end of the cave. As reluctant as I was to learn at first, I caught on quickly and could soon swim a circuit of the cavern in quick succession. By the time Chris let up we had covered a fair amount and I could feel my muscles burn. Chris dived into the deeper mouth of the cave and came up with some crabs that we boiled and then cracked open. We sat a bowl in a ridge in the cave to collect the drinkable water that collected there, strung up the nets, and went to sleep.

The next while had the same basic rhythm to it. We woke up, we ate, we strained the nets of the salt, drank the water in the bowl and set another.

Then we swam. We'd swim the long lengths of the cave until I’d improved my running total by two circuits. We’d take a break and dive to the bottom, looking for Tridfish, crabs, clams and shrimps. Whatever we found we ate, and any we didn't eat got buried in our ever increasing salt sack. This routine continued for what seemed an eternity. That's because I couldn't see the sky changing outside the cave. By the time I was deemed “ready” and released from the cave Chris had taught me everything I needed to survive and increased my stamina and strength, along with a long day routine.

It was strange being part of Jace’s clan again. I had a couple of weeks to observe and help out with the workings of the clan. Training with Chris became running and climbing exercises with a few basic hand-to-hand combat lessons. It was easy to learn from Chris. The main thing I had to get used to were the Heyvanlars, seeing people you know as animals was still unsettling. Patrols ran regular but I wasn’t always included in the rotation on my own. Everyday seemed to be a lesson; JayJay showing me sigils and charms, Ben sparring with me; Chris tutting or giving advice and Billy teaching me more about Heyvanlaren rituals.

--------------------------

“Jace, I've been meaning to ask you something.” he turned towards me and caught me with his soft blue eyes, and I felt suddenly shy and unsure of my question.

“What’s that then lass?” his smile glimmered at the corner of his mouth.

“You've taught me all this, let me see into your world.” The smile grew a little more. “Well, Why me?” The smile beamed and he chuckled.

“I've been waiting for you to ask me that for ages. Well, why do you think we have taught you?”

I blinked and my head snapped towards him. “I can change can’t I?” Jace's look became even more amused. “You bastard! I can!” He chuckled.

“Lets get back, there’s work to be done.”

Jace explained to me more about changing over the course of the next week. He told me that the change would happen at a moment of power, when something something creates a surge of power or like it. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't force a change, although he did assure me that it probably wouldn't be long before I did.

It was about a week later. The day seemed hotter than usual, Jace and I were patrolling the normal route we took around the walls of the town and the heat beat down on us in palpable waves. Jace normally seemed unaffected, but today even he had perspiration lining his brow. It didn't take me a lot of effort to keep moving. When you hit the deadsea in a ship and there’s no wind, so all hands go to rowing. I’d caught that duty many a time before, so working in heat didn't faze me. We ambled at a slower pace anyway- trouble was rare this time of year. Jace was kicking stones- he’d flick them up to his knee and bounce them over his head without using his hands. It was annoying, he did it without missing a step, and would not stop unless you could catch the stone.

It got to the point of really annoying. I reached out my hand vaguely to catch it, but my hand fell short. The stone stopped dead, hovered for a second then fell to the floor. Jace didn't seem to notice.

"I caught it." I exclaimed.

"No you didn't." Just as he was about to kick the stone once more I flicked my hand out at the stone. It sprang from the ground and darted to my hand.

"I caught it, OK." I said passing the stone back to him. Jace stood still for a second, shell shocked.

"Catch." He threw a stone far out of my reach. I reached out my arm in its direction and it shot back into my hand. I looked back at him. He was already throwing another stone, I had no time to react. I put my hand out to block the stone from my face, but before it even got close a black glowing sheen flashed in front of it making stop dead.

"How did you do that?" Jace said.

"You just threw a stone at my head!"

"How did you do that?"

"You could have warned me first."

"I didn't know if it was going to work if you knew it was happening. As I asked, how did you do it?"

"I don't know, I just tried to block it with my hand and it worked."

"Let's try some other things." We stood there for a good while, him throwing stones and me either blocking them with a black sheen or bringing them to my hand. After a while I started firing them back at him on instinct, an inkling of possibility. Another idea glimmered at the back of my mind. I held my hand  in front of me and I ran my other down it, trying not to deflect but to coat. I sheen appeared around it just as I wanted, but it soon vanished. At Jace's prompting I summoned a sheen, and then almost shaped it- it appeared like a shield hovering from my arm, but with no straps, nothing to hold it. It would follow my arm and would stop projectiles dead- from a thrown stone to one from a slingshot.

After the fifth clunk on the back of the head from a stone I'd snuck past him, Jace cracked a grimace.

"Come on let's get back. I think Jay Jay's got some work to do."

That evening most of us were sitting upstairs lounging around when we heard a door fly open, slam, and shouting. Alert and now silent, we sat listening. It was JayJay and Jace arguing, loudly.

"Why do you trust her?"

"Because she is the one."

"The Olansaf? I want proof! I will not treat my friend like this!"

"I have seen her powers, she's pure! I would not do this to him if I did not have to! Every part of me wants to agree with him!"

"Then do!"

"You know I mustn't JayJay, just see sense; what could happen if I don't?"

"I think you can't see past the love struck haze you peer blindly through!"

"... Love struck? You know me better!"

"I know that ever since she appeared its been Millie this Millie that!"

She didn't stop ranting as she walked up the last of the stairs.

"It's not like that." Jace replied calmly.

"Oh I think it is!" JayJay exploded. The energy was so powerful- I willed a sheen around me and the rest of the guys as I watched through squinted eyes. I had never seen a transformation this explosive: through the black sheen I watched her skin stretch and dissolve back into her as she reformed. She snarled and howled, and gradually the light disappeared. Jace stood shielding his eyes vulnerable beside her. She charged at him and he flew from the impact. I glanced around- Billy had his weapon in hand but was still blinking spots from his eyes; Ben had disappeared around a partition. Lu was clutching his head and Chris was patrolling I was the only one who was in any fit state to help Jace. 

With an angered frustration I crossed my arms in front of me and willed a shield. It was easier this time- with so much energy in the room I could create easier. I imagined the shield on Jace’s arm and then if was- he seemed briefly stunned but soon had to use it to deflect another blow. Now I had time, I imagined myself coated in the sheen, sheen shield on my arm and sharp sheen blade in my hand. I couldn't focus. I shut my eyes and concentrated- it made it worse. Then it clicked. Instead of concentrating I relaxed. It was like seasickness, the more you focused the harder it was, but if you just let your surroundings fade it was easy. I abandoned my armour and just gathered the energy, then in one almighty move I flung my arms wide opened my eyes and pushed it all at JayJay. She was flung from Jace as if a wave had hit her, and slumped against the wall unconscious. Ben reappeared and tossed Billy an amulet encrusted collar. Bill moved forward and began to attach it around JayJays wolfish neck, I saw her stir. Her eyes opened and she began to raise her arm- Bill stayed intent on his task. With a speed I didn't know I had I lunged across the room and stamped on JayJays leg. She howled and blacked out- just before Bill touched an amulet and the Sigil activated. JayJay changed back to human and slumped truly knocked out. Her leg sat an odd angle- I'd broken it. A wave of guilt flushed through me along with exhaustion. With a wave of my hand I released my Sheen shield and what was left of the sheen wall. I collapsed down- I didn't have the energy to move. I shut my eyes. The world disappeared and I slept.

Olansaf 3 - Draft 2

“Do you believe him?” Chris asked, not rudely, just curiously.

“It sounds ridiculous, but I do. You could be spinning a very elaborate story, but my eyes have seen some proof that I cannot explain.” I replied quietly.

Jace spoke next. "There is one thing I can now show you, the true basis of us. You see, we're Heyvanlars. What I just explained are classes. We all have them, they are a vast skill set that help us excel, yes, but they are not all that we are. What we are can only be believed if you see it. But know this Hatter, none of us will hurt you." Jace finished and clicked his fingers. On what seemed an impulse, everyone but me jumped up and stood in an arrowhead formation.

I wandered 'round the table to stand in front of Jace.

"Do you trust us?" He asked, but I felt the weight to the question.

"Completely, irrevocably, stupidly." I replied. A smile crept onto his face.

"Hold onto that, and remember, we are us."

Without another word he stared into my eyes, raised both arms and brought them together above his head. As soon as they connected a pure white light, brighter than a hundred towering bonfires, flashed out from all of them. A range of noises, from the croak of a raven to the howl of a wolf sounded, spilling out into the night. All at once the white purity vanished, and standing, perching, lying, in place of Jace and his clan were their Heyvanlars.

The great golden beast, huge and muscular with a flowing golden mane stepped forward. A lion, they call them in the desert lands, I had seen them in the captains log. Swirling grey eyes told me it was Jace, without a doubt. I stepped hesitantly forward, blinking spots from my eyes. I reached out a tentative hand forward and he bowed his head, allowing me to stroke the golden mane as I walked forward. He bared his teeth and growled. I growled back and He bared his teeth, but in more smiling than threatening. He turned around and stood on my right side.

To the right of him was a wolf, I knew it from my homelands. They would roam in packs, great, grey beasts. However the one before me was so brown it was almost black. The eyes were a burgundy, and gave away to who it was.

"Hello JayJay," I smiled. She blinked and bowed her head in recognition, and moved aside, turning round to stand beside me on the side Jace wasn't flanking.

This revealed the others, and suddenly, Bens little prophecy came under a new light. In front of me stood a White Tiger, a monkey, a snake and a raven.  I looked into the brown eyes of the tiger and knew it was Chris, the green eyes of the snakes and saw it as Billy. The raven was easy, the eyes were still swirling a mixture of gold and purple, and I made sure not to look into them. That left just the deep blue eyes of Ben, a monkey that so aptly represented him.

I greeted them all in turn, and in turn they flanked me. Jace and Chris sat to my right, lion and tiger, and on my left was JayJay and Ben, Wolf and Monkey. I offered my hand down, a sign of trust, and Billy slithered up and wrapped his endless body around mine resting his head on my left shoulder. I crooked my arm and the raven flew up to perch upon it. I swallowed guiltily and relaxed, looking into Lu’s eyes. He cocked his head and blinked.

The feeling of having someone share your mind is impossible to explain. You’d think it intrusive, and at some points it can be, but it is also an amazing experience. The visitor then has the ability to understand everything about you, exactly who you are and what you’ve done, all the experiences that have made you this way, and all of the tragedies that have paved your path. Lu could have torn all of this up in seconds and rendered my helpless, but instead he sent a thought racketing around my brain.

“Yes, Miss Redlaw?”

“I believe you. This is all real. Tell them to change back.”

“Yes, Miss Redlaw, whatever you request.” His tone was so respectful, I was taken aback. He fluttered up and connected his eyes with jaces for a microsecond, before they all took a hesitant step back, Billy slid down to the floor. Lu hovered back in front of my face and his voice resounded around my head.

“You may want to shut your eyes, this could get bright.” I obeyed. I saw the light through my eyelids, it was even brighter than before. When it had faded I opened my eyes. Jace was talking to Billy about patrol changeovers, but it ended abruptly when I heard a clack. I started to turn, to see who was going to come up the stairs, but Chris stood in front of me.

“You wanna be one of us?” He asked, his voice quiet and respectful, but his eyes blazed with seriousness.

“Yes. If I have it in me, yes.”

“We’d better get started then. You have a lot to learn, and so little time to do it in. The next initiation is in-” He glanced at a chart on the wall- “Four tendays. Luckily you’re not too badly out of shape.” He began to usher me one way, back tracked and moved me towards the fire. As we neared it, I noticed a narrow window hidden by a wooden beam. He opened the window inwards and unhooked a lantern from the wall. He checked the oil and then lent out, affixing it to the outside wall near the window. He stepped back and pointed.

“What was your rank aboard the ship?”

“Bos’n Mate.”

“Then get out on that rope. There’s a ladder on the other building. Go.” His voice was slightly panicked. I heard a deep voice call out greeting as I scrambled out onto the sill. Aboard the ship I had got quite used to climbing between masts and up the ropes. The sill stuck out a bit so I regained my footing.

The deep voice got louder.

I took a breath.

I leaped.

The rope flew up in front of me and I grabbed it with one hand. I used my momentum to carry me forward swinging along the rope like a monkey. Within moments the ladder was in sight and my toes had purchase. I let go of the rope and grabbed the ladder, sliding down it, my hands clamped onto the sides, my body pushed away from it. I saw the floor approaching and spun away, landing in a crouch, my back to the wall. I glanced up at the window in time to see Chris leap. He jumped from the windowsill with incredible grace, covering the gap in seconds, slamming into the ladder. It groaned under his weight as he pushed away from it, falling 20ft to close the gap between himself and the floor. He spun up from his roll into a full out sprint, dragging me with him. I grabbed a breath and ran speeding after him. My hand enclosed in his own. I was disorientated as we ran between streets and alleyways, vaulting walls and scaring beggar boys. Scattering cats and rolling round corners, we soon reached a dock, and before I could splutter a cry we were plunged into the deep dark water. I panicked. The darkness closed in and I blacked out.

Olansaf 2 - Draft 2

And then it all cleared and with a gasp I was back in the room. Lucifer was looking at me confused, still holding my hand, but he’d straightened up now. His eyes seemed to swirl with gold and purple, alluring and endless, absorbing, making me want to stare and get lost. His voice interrupted me. I tugged my hand back.

“Well that’s new,” He cocked his head. “ No ones done that before.”

“Done what?” asked Jace.

“Rejected me. She just said no and pushed me out. It was like hitting a brick wall. Not even He can do that... He just gives me black or gore that makes me want to get out. Never actually force me.”

“Can you get back in?” Jace glanced at me.

“I’m trying but she’s not letting me.” He grimaced. “She’s for real Jace, she’s impossible.”

I raised an eyebrow at the conversation.

“I’m impossible? You just walked into my mind like it was a book you wanted to read. That requires more explanation than I do.” I exclaimed. Lu looked blank so I spun around and faced Jace. He sighed and relented.

“No time like the present,” he muttered “I’ll tell, but you’re sitting down and not interrupting. You’re one of us. Kinda.” He gestured over to the fire and the table in front of it.

“After you.”

I walked around the table; I took the seat closest to the fire, facing out into the room. It warmed my back as I waited for the others to sit. Lucifer took a seat on the end of the table next to me, black hair next to me. Brown-hair dashed away into one of the rooms and came back carrying a two pitchers of wine and some metal cups. He set one on a metal table over the fire to warm, and added a few spices to it, before setting the other down with the cups on the table. He then sat down directly opposite me. JayJay was next to him, and the other man, who I had nicknamed blondie, who had been in the open room from the start, sat at the end. There were only six chairs around the table so Jace stayed standing. He stirred the heated spiced wine with a wooden spoon and then grasped the handle of the pitcher and transferred it to the wooden table we sat around.

“Anyone for Hot Wine?” he asked. JayJay and Black-hair nodded and he poured a cup for them both. I nodded meekly along with them and Jace passed me a steaming cup as well. I wrapped my hands around it, grateful for the warmth. Jace set the warm pitcher back down and poured four more cups, one for Lucifer, Brown-hair, Blondie, and himself. Once they were all given out, he began to talk.

“This is not an easy thing to explain Hatter. There is a great chance that before the end you will call me a delusional liar, but I ask that you stay and witness what proof we have before drawing a conclusion.” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “I suppose the best place to start with is the people sat around you. You’ve already met Lucifer Yates, and you have felt what he can do. He can turf up old memories, walk into your mind and make you remember things that never happened. He is what we call a Writer.” He paused to sip his wine and Lucifer spoke into the gap.

“I meant no ill my dear, I was merely disbelieving of what Jason had thought. My deepest apologies if it unnerved you. And may I say, I am sorry for your loss.” A few of the others raised an eyebrow at this but no-one spoke. I did not want to think about my ship, my losses, right now. Jace continued.

“The man sitting opposite you is Ben Bangham. He may be the fastest and most physically able of us, but his skill is the slowest to develop. Ben can see the future, the major events that have yet to happen. He once predicted we would have a guest that would touch everyone of us.” Ben interrupted Jace.

“Actually I saw a lion save a hat, catch it before it fell. I saw a wolf repair the hat to splendour, I saw a snake add decorations to it, and fix it inside, make it strong. A monkey cared for it and made sure it stayed in tact while the winds from the south shook it. I saw a raven pluck it from its perch and reunite it with its original owner, but not before a White Tiger had added it’s own, not so subtle addition. There’s only one place I’ve ever seen those animals.” Jace interrupted.

“Will you stop getting ahead? I’m leaving the best until last. Anyway, Ben is a Sighter.

“You’ve met JayJay. She abandoned her surname a while ago, so she’s just JayJay. You’ve also felt a small amount of what she can do. She has a skill which allows her to use charms, sigils, symbols and potions; A Charmer. She didn’t just touch your arm, she traced the ‘Heal’ sigil.” He paused to take a drink and I spoke into the silence.

“Thanks for that JayJay,” I smiled and waved with my right arm.

“That’s okay. No big deal, I can soon reverse it,” to prove her point she swiftly traced a symbol on Ben’s left arm and he gritted his teeth and grunted in annoyance. He used his right hand to pick up and place his now useless arm on the table, revealing the crooked angle it sat in. JayJay smiled sweetly and traced another sigil, making it click sharply back into place. Ben shrieked and glared, jumping backwards out of his seat. He growled loudly, a long chattering sound, and shook his arm.

“Lucifer, Alert our patroller that there’s no cause for alarm.” Lucifer nodded briskly and his iris’s started to swirl. Jace switched his attention to me. “My Class is a Wisdom. I am a controller of the soul, Master of Words and Keeper of the Truth. Watch, behold what I can do!” His words seemed to echo with power and as I watched his body collapsed. It seemed lifeless, as if a part of him was now missing from it. A second or so later I felt a tap on my shoulder, barely a breeze, but enough for me to know it was Jace. I turned and all I could see was a flickering shadow upon the floor.

“I know you’re there Jace, how, I don’t know, but there nonetheless.” I glanced back to Jace’s body and he sat up, smiling.

“I am a Wisdom. What we do is dangerous and all too easy to get consumed or destroyed by. Before I was a Wisdom I learnt the Armer Class.” He gestured to Blondie who wasn’t gaping at me, but his eyebrows had shot up into the fringes of his strong, golden hair. “Meet Chris Griffeth, our resident Armer. He is a teacher of sorts. You will find none more capable than an Armer, as they understand even the things Venoms do not. A Venom is a protector, a keeper, they keep our world by any means necessary. As such they are overly capable in the physical arts, and Billy, our resident Venom, knows every weakness of bodies - human or animal. Although, he does look rather like a giant cuddly toy to me.” Jace’s eyes glinted with humor as both Chris- Blondie, and Billy- Black hair, smiled and nodded my way.

Olansaf 1 - Draft 2

Left foot in that hollow. Right hand up. Right foot... There! The ridge at my knee.
Find a left hand hole first.
Uhmm... ok, don’t find a left hand hole.
Oh... My left foot’s going.
Right foot to the ridge, now! Heave! Crap! My right hands cramping. Oh no. I’m going to go down. No.
I’m going down.
Wait... Rope. Where did that come from?
“Hold onto the rope! Before you fall!”
Well I’m not gonna argue with that. Right hand. Wrap the rope around. Cling with left hand and wrap legs around. Hope!

“Is this the afterlife?” I croak. A dark shape blots out the light. A person.
“Not even close, you’re still alive, thankfully. You gave me a scare, I thought I’d lost you when you blacked out on the rope, but you wrapped it around so you stayed tangled.” The figure bends and I feel a water skin on my lips. “Drink. There we go. You might want to go back to sleep. You didn’t come up whole.. This will hurt.”
Pain in my shoulder. Too much. Blackness...

Snatches of memory.
Being carried, across a field. Green jumper... so cold.
Down a street. Brick building, books. Stairs. Pain.
Voices... “Trust... No.. The one.. Can’t... Let.. See.” Shoulder, blissful chill....
“It’s true.” A soft voice.. A recognition. I know that from somewhere. I can’t fight the blackness. It’s too much...


“Wakey wakey little lady. No don’t sleep again, you need food. Open your eyes...”
Where am I? I open my eyes to a green jumper. The memories flood back with a gasp. I follow the green up to a face. Kind blue eyes smile at me from the frames of dirty blonde hair that falls around the face. The nose and lips, male features, definitely. I can’t talk... Mouth is dry.
“Water...” I manage.
The kind blue eyes offer me a water skin and I move both hands to take it... but only my left hand responds, so I fumble and my grip slips. But the kind eyes just pick it back and offer it to my lips, and a slow trickle of water slithers down my throat. I swallow and wash the water around my mouth, draining the water skin dry. I coughed and tried to regain my voice.

“Can... Can I sit up?” I asked hopefully.

“Ahh.. Ok, but go slow. Support with your left arm not your right.” He helped me sit up and lean back against a pillow.

“What’s your name little lady?” He asked, examining the bandage around my right shoulder.

“Milliner Redlaw, but most people call me the Mad Hatter, on account of I don’t have much sense. What’s yours?” I croaked.
“Jason Yolbas, But you can call me Jace.” He said, distracted by my shoulder. He called for ‘JayJay’ and a brown haired girl came jogging in from ‘round the corner of the partitions that surrounded my bed. He gestured for her to take a look at my arm and she pulled a face, but he glared and she relented, moving forward to take a look. She pulled a face and I felt a faint pressure as she traced something on my arm. I gritted my teeth as a loud crack! cht cht cht! emanated from within.
“Ow. Ow Ow Ow Ow. What was that?!” I moaned fighting another wave of blackness.
“That was the break in your arm re-aligning and fixing. It may have done your shoulder too.”
She prodded my shoulder and surprisingly no pain came.
“Well that didn’t hurt, so am I good to use this arm now? I have an itch I really need to scratch.” I asked. JayJay just rolled her eyes and walked off, but Jace nodded his head and I reached over and sighed dramatically as I scratched the itch on my left arm. I paused.
“How did JayJay do that? She just touched my arm. Is she a witch?” I enquired and I heard a snort from the next partition over.
“She’s not a witch... Though she acts like one. She’s different, like everyone here.” He said busying himself tidying the little room.
“Everyone? How many people is there here? In fact, where IS here?” I asked, sitting up and testing my right arm. It felt stiff, but it seemed alright.
“There are six of us, and a...” He paused, considering his words, “Guest. Plus you, for as long as you need. And this is the library, you’ll understand in a while.”  He removed the bandage from my shoulder and disposed of it. Abruptly he stood up.
“Would you like to meet the rest of us?” He asked, staring at me intently. I thought for a moment and nodded.
“Yeah, alright,” I replied. Jace nodded absently and wandered out of the partition. I heard him talking to someone- a deep baritone voice. A few seconds later there was the shuffle of feet entering the room, and a slight sound of one leaving it. There was a silence and a couple of muttered half conversations. Jace poked his head around the partition, and I stood. He smiled and held out his hand. I grasped it, suddenly nervous at meeting these people.
What if they didn’t like me? What if JayJay used her ability for bad as well as good? What am I walking into?
The thoughts swirled around my head in the seconds as I rounded the corner into a large room. The walls were a deep brick, but they were mostly covered by maps and wall drapes. The room had a couple of woollen rugs laid down near chairs to stave of the cold of the dark wood flooring. a fireplace sat blazing merrily off to my right, and I resisted the urge to go and curl up in front of it until I’d stopped aching. To my left there was a spiral staircase and behind that, a large window, showing the dark night and stars beyond. As I was looking around, a dark shape flickered outside the window and then opened it, revealing itself to be a tall lanky lad with a mop of dark brown hair. He was dressed in a short sleeved shirt and shorts, despite the evening chill. Before he could clamber inside, another guy with jet black hair, leapt up the stairs and slammed the window shut, causing Brown-haired boy to fall back and out of view. I shrieked in panic and whirled round to look at Jace, who was glaring at Black-hair with pointed intent. Black-hair was looking amused until Jace turned to me and shrugged. Black-hair gaped at me, but I’d turned back to the window. I started to move towards it, but before I could take a step Brown-hairs head appeared over the edge of the window, his fingers clinging to the sill. He took one hand off and smacked the window, forcing it to open. His head ducked out of sight. Maybe ten seconds passed before his legs appeared, at the top of the window, and he swung inside. I gaped in shock as he somersaulted onto the railing around the stairs, and neatly jumped down onto the floor. He stood up smartly.

“You called, boss?” He replied in a calm tone. How is he not breathless? The thought flickered through my brain. Jace arched an eyebrow. I was still gaping.
“We have a guest, so show some courtesy Ben.” He gestured to me. “Meet Miss Milliner Redlaw, she will  be staying for a while. While she is here she is to be considered one of us, and will participate with our,” He paused and smirked, “Unusual life style. No leaving her out.” He smiled at me and gestured for me to say something.
“Hello,” I said shyly. Great. Nice one Hatter. I chided. One of the spectators smiled. He had a shock of silvery white hair, pale skin and eyes that seemed to be molten silver. I glanced nervously away and saw his smile widen in my peripheral vision.
“I’ll start the introductions,” he smiled. His voice was warm and quietly comforting. “My name is Lucifer Yates, but you can call me Lu, everybody else does.” He lent forward and held out his hand. I went to shake it, but he simply held on and lightly kissed the back, glancing up at me as he did so.

I tried to smile but my world rocked.
The floor seemed to lurch beneath me and for a dreaded moment I felt like I was on the ship again, the rocks closing in, the rope slick and burning under my hands, the waves crashing over the rocks. No, no, no, I don’t want this. Stop, stop STOP!

Olansaf 4 - Draft 1

I was cold. So cold. My body was warm but my insides were petrified, my insides turned to ice. We were on top of the old battlements surrounding the town, on the most secluded side. Chris and Jace stood in front of me. Jace was assuring me it’d be alright and Chris stood  there for reassurance, so I could hide in his jumper so I didn’t freak out. the rest of the clan stood around us, Billy facing out on the lookout and everyone else looking in.

Jace took hold of my arm and held it out pressing the amulet against my chosen spot, just below my right wrist, where my watch would sit. Chris took a step closer to me blocking my view as Jace prepared to change, but at the last moment his grip let go and a cooler, rougher hand took its place. An almighty shriek took to the air as the hand turned leathery and grew claws, but didn’t let go until it had turned back to a normal hand, odd, because it was meant to let go after it had shifted to heyvanlar form.. at least I swear that’s what Jace had said...

“That’s the first one,” Chris muttered in the ear which wasn’t buried firmly in his jumper, “Jace is about to do the second, hold on.” This gave me pause so I barely heard the roar of Jace changing. Jace was doing the second? But JayJay was meant to do that. Jace couldn’t do two...  Who had done the first one? My head swam as my arm was relieved from the pressure and Jace changed back. Gingerly I drew my arm back and looked at the skin. The two amulets were perfectly melded into my skin, curved to the shape of my arm and sunk in so they didn’t stick out. there was a large gap between them where my clan amulet could go, though I wasn’t ready for that yet. Hell, hell no. My mind flickered back to the shriek and leathery skin and I looked up suddenly, looking for who had done the control amulet. Jace was looking over my shoulder at something so I stood and turned to see what it was. Someone I hadn’t seen for a long, long while stood there. I staggered back and chris caught me before I tripped.

“YOU’RE DEAD!” I screamed, as the figure turned. “They told me you were DEAD! I went to your funeral, I grieved at the coffin, I cried on my own, I cried for you, for Arthur Gendry.You’re dead... Why..? How!? You’re, You’re....”
“Alive.” He said in his smooth voice. That quiet, familiar, real voice. “I’m alive.” He turned to Jace. “I had to do it. I couldn’t...” He looked at me. “I’ve abandoned her once, I can’t do it twice.” He took a step forward and closed the gap between us, and put his lips close to my ear and whispered for my hearing only “I had to leave.”  and with that he turned and walked off, starting his evening patrol. I watched him go, his jeans and leather jacket fading into the dark, the gleaming sword hilts the last thing to disappear.

“Oh my great goddess, you have to come see what I got you!” shrieked JayJay, leaping up and down like a toddler on christmas morning. Apparently it was tradition to buy the newly initiated gifts to start them on their way, and JayJay had gone all out on hers. We were walking back through the streets to the library, and everyone was babbling constantly to cover the awkwardness of the mood. Jace was smiling sadly at me and Chris had a troubled look on his face as he conversed with him, but everyone else was happy as could be. They kept gesturing at my amulets and their frowns were getting deeper and deeper. Finally, I’d had enough and stopped walking, pulling everyone else to a halt. I walked back to their little huddle and thrust my arm forward. “It’s an arm, they’re amulets, just like yours. What’s the problem?” I asked

“The problem is only one of them matches mine,” Jace replied, “And it’s the wrong one. You should have a control amulet and any class amulet besides leader or elder on your arm. But you don’t have either. You have been given leader as your class, straight away, and that shouldn’t happen. Your other amulet doesn’t match mine, either. It’s not a control amulet like it should be.” He gestured at JayJay who was staring at my arm. “Correct me if I’m wrong JayJay, but that is a leader and a power amulet on her arm, is it not?” He stared at her pointedly.

“You’re right, it is. She’s been given leader... and power. I bet power was Gendrys fault. He did two transformations touching it.” She paused and considered the implications. “It’s better though. She didn’t need a control, you saw her, she took to it straight away. She just needed Power to help her create quicker. It suits her needs better. I can’t say for leader though. That wasn’t your fault, that amulet would only give the right symbol. I got it from the elders myself.” She looked up at Jace. “You said it yourself, she’s different. Now worry about it tomorrow, I want to give her my present!” She finished with a huff and grabbed my arm, marching me down the road with the rest in tow, Jace last.

When we got back to the library there was a table in the main room, set high with wrapped up presents. The biggest was JayJay’s, she’d taken my armour off me that morning saying that I had to have normal clothes on at the initiation and had marched away with it and secluded herself in her workspace, not letting anyone disturb her. She had slaved away all day and no we got to see the result. The armour that I had shaped to traditional suit of armour when I had given it to her now had engraved inset banding of all maner of symbols, charms and shapes. She had gone all out on it and it looked stunning. She said that while I was wearing this I’d not need to eat or sleep, it could sustain me and protect me, but I shouldn’t use it unless I had to. She said that I could shift it to something else and as long as it was the same matter it would still work. She looked really proud when she told me that, and boasted that few charmers could do it.

Billy had gotten me a leather pouch that he had engraved with my sacred name, Olansaf, and Jace had gotten me incredible amount of high density matter to condense and carry in my new pouch. Ben had gotten me a lot of simple things, survival packs and first aid kits, multi tools and all sorts of supplies, enough to last a human adventurer months in the deepest darkest jungle for a year, all fitted in a variety of leather pouches to match Billys.
But it was Chris that made the rest pale in comparison, for he had gotten me a pet. And not just any pet, he had tamed and trained an eagle, specially for me. He had gotten JayJay to enchant protection and sustainability symbols onto the slivers she had taken from my armour when she was enchanting it, and had attached them round the ankle, so it could last as long as me in my armour, but would still hunt if it wanted. Billy had handmade a leather glove, Ben had supplied me with a messenger clip and Jace had designed a sling that could be attached to the birds legs, so it could carry objects. I was so happy when I was introduced to it I cried. But one thing still had to be done.
“You have to name it,” said Chris, “And then I can teach him to respond in a few minutes.”
“Can you give me a minute? I can’t think when I’m hungry!” I said as I dashed off to retrieve something from the kitchen.
On the way back, I paused to turn the radio on, and was greeted with Katy Perrys “I kissed a girl and I liked it” song, and in my happiness, started singing it at the top of my voice as I wandered through the main room. Half way across I noticed I was being watched, and that’s when I realised I was singing a song they couldn’t hear playing in the kitchen. Guilty and embarrassed, I smiled sheepishly and set down my bowl of food, collapsing down besides Billy and reaching over the back of the sofa to where I had stowed something earlier. With a clink I hauled up a large container filled with bottles of beer, cider and general alcohol drinks and set it down on the table, to which there was a loud cheer as even Jace grabbed a bottle.
“To our girls good health and strength!” He cried.
“TO OUR GIRL!” the chorused. I turned to Chris and tried to put on a serious as the alcohol found the weak point in my tolerance already. “I have a name,” I said. “Call my beauty Askar.”
“Askar? What does that mean?” Asked Ben, slurring his words.
“It means collected, complete, found.” I replied. “And it’s about time as well! Now, last to three bottles is a loser!” I cried as we all threw ourselves forward to grab another bottle.

After a while most of us were reduced to a stupor or passed out. Even me, but after a bit of experimentation I flushed the alcohol from my system by removing the matter, and turned it into an apple, which i chomped down as I collected everything I had been given, putting it on or condensing it down to put into a pouch on a belt that Billy had supplied. I changed the rubbish on the table to a comfy warm pair of trousers and a jacket. I slipped on the glove and whistles to Askar and he flew to my hand. I double checked I had everything and turned to the window, only to find Jace blocking my way.
“I have to go, I need time to digest. I’ll be back, eventually. Apologise to them for me. Make them understand.” I said. He nodded quietly and gave me a hug.
“Go out via the garrison gate, you’ll be spotted otherwise. Take care girl, come back to us soon.” he replied.  I nodded and jumped onto the banister, flying silently to the window and opening it.  I whistled and Askar took flight, and with a brief nod backwards I leapt out into the early morning sky, and glided with Askar to the Garrison gate, an old brick arch built into the wall. I dropped to the ground and walked under it, walking from tarmac to dirt.

Suddenly Askar screeched overhead and a thump behind me had me spinning into a defensive crouch, my hand going to the pouch containing my armour. When I realised it was just Arthur I straightened up and relaxed clucking so Askar knew I was safe. he was still wearing the same clothes as earlier but up close I could see the large sword on his back and the shorter one on his hip. On the other side he wore a battle axe that swung whenever he moved.

“Where are you going?” he asked, “You haven’t had all your presents. You haven’t had mine.” Quickly and deftly, he swung a bag of his shoulder and held it open to me. Cautious I walked forward and reached in, grasping the strap I found inside carefully I pulled out a double leather strap, and held it up confused. “Here,” he offered “Allow me.” He took the strap and flicked it over my head, and gestured for me to put my arms through the straps. He quickly fastened it, and nodded happily at it. It was two straps, one over each shoulder diagonally across my body. They had hooks where they rested on my hips that fastened onto my new belt and fastened by a metal buckle at the middle of my chest. While I was carefully melding the leather at my hips together Arthur turned back to the bag and withdrew a box from the bottom. He opened it sideways and took out some knives, carefully attaching their sheaths to the circles of leather on the straps. I melded the matter together as he went so the sheaths were all secure, and when he was finished he asked me to wait as he vaulted back up to the bridge. He swapped bags with a figure I recognised as Jace and nodded. Jace clapped him on the back and Arthur clasped the one strap bag over the shoulder that wasn’t taken up by a sword strap. He jumped down and walked towards me. “C’mon,” He said, “I’ve left you once and I won't fail my job again. I’m coming with you.” I nodded, grateful and turned at the figure on the bridge, a silhouette in the morning light. Slowly and distinctly the figure gestured, then saluted. I saluted back, and turned, gesturing to my life guardian to follow. As I did so some thing whistled past my ear. With a shriek Askar flew over head and circled us, dove down and caught it. He then returned to my gloved hand and dropped it into my palm.

It was a small, multi-coloured bouncy ball. 
I smiled, and let Askar fly. 

As I stepped from a familiar place, into a new life and story.

Olansaf 3 - Draft 1

“"Don't be daft, how can black be bright? It's black for goddesses sake!" I cried for the third time.

We were sitting in the main open room at the top of the stairs in the library. Ben had gone into the kitchen to find some food, living on his motto of "If in doubt, eat!" and Jace and I were sitting on our bunks watching JayJay hop around on her newly fixed leg in disbelief.

"I don't know how to explain it, your whole body glowed, but your eyes, they were jet black. I only saw them briefly and every part of me wanted to look away. It was so strong, I nearly did. You're something new. I met another Olansaf once, but he didn't glow. He didn't have as much energy as you either, he got worn out quickly. You shouldn't have this much energy before initiation" replied Jace, bewildered.

"I just find bright black hard to believe," I replied, "It's like the phrase 'bitter-sweet' I never could understand that either."

"Hang on, I have an idea." said Jace, as he got up and dodged round an over joyed, unshackled JayJay. He walked into the bathroom and came out a few seconds later with a mirror, which he hung in place of a picture JayJay had accidentily smashed in her rage. He placed a pillow against it and smashed it, using the pillow to muffle the sound and protect his hand. Carefully, he removed the pillow and let the glass slivers drop to the floor.
"Come here and fix the mirror," he said "But do it in your head and look with your eyes." Realising this would let me see me while I fixed I walked over and stood in amongst the glass. Carefully I pictured the mirror pieces flying up and re-assembling seamlessly inside the frame, but looked with my eyes. what I saw in the swirling mirror was a interesting spectical. my body was glowing pure white, but if you could see through the glare you could see the pitch black armour I was still wearing, rippling and swirling as if it was alive. Looking past my reflection I could see how bright the room had become from the glow I radiated. But that was not what I was here to look at. I gazed straight ahead into the frame and watched the mirror until it had fixed over the part reflecting my eyes. Suddenly I could understand why Jace had used the words bright black. My eyes glowed like the rest of me, but they didn't glow white. They glowed black. Dark swirling tendrils disrupting the pure white, but they were brighter than the white. They were like twin suns on the glowing horizon of white.

Suddenly, the mirror was fixed and I was me again, my awkward eyes that could never decide if they were grey, green or brown in place of the black, and the swirling black armour in place of the white. The sudden colours assaulted my eyes so much I had to blink a couple of times before turning around.

"...Wow. You were telling the truth!" I gasped at Jace.

"Would I lie to the girl I trusted for no apparent reason?" He replied smugly. I nodded to concede his point and made a split decision. "BEN! Don't you dare eat all that pasta, I want some!" I hollered as I wandered towards the kitchen.

After battling Ben for some pasta, and gulping it down, I went to bed. There were 6 patrols the next day, and I offered to take the last two, spending eight hours from four pm until midnight scanning the town for trouble and checking the wall for other clans, groups like ours looking for a patch to claim, trouble to cause or just to pass through. Jace didn’t usually let one person take an eight hour patrol on their own, but he understood I was only doing it so I could sleep through the next day, so I didn’t get apprehensive about initiation. Jace had explained initiation to me, and it seemed simple enough.

Initiation was a simple. There was two stages to initiation, and a third for clan initiation.

The first stage was releasing the powers, to let the transformations be held for any period of time, and be controlled so they didn’t happen accidentally. To do this an amulet is placed onto the skin, and held there by the initiator while they changed forms. This effectively endowed the amulet with the power of the change and burnt it painlessly into the skin.

The second step is similar to step one, but with a blank amulet and this time by a different initiator. This would show the class of the person.

There were 8 classes, but there used to be many more. They were lost over a hundred years ago when a gathering of rare classes gathered on “The unsinkable ship” titanic, and died when it sunk. Many could not change and escape for fear of detection, the last one dying on a rescue boat.
The common classes were:
Sighter, Those who has the power of Future Glimpse,  the ability to foretell how something would unfold.
Writer, Those who holds the ability to change, read and edit memories, for tellings and written word without leaving a trace
Charmer, Those who captures the power of charms, amulets and symbols to enhance other given powers and abilitys.
Armer, Those who choose to train and mentor the new and old in the physical arts, teaching them how to control, transform and fight.
Wisdom, Those who collect and impart teachings of the mind, often knowing a wide berth of things on a given subject without study.
Venom, Those who protect the secrecy of the hayvanlar, by whatever means at their disposal. Often very stealthy.
Leader, Those who lead a clan. This only comes after a second initiation on the class amulet, and exploration of two classes
Elder, Those who have explored all the classes or have been in service as a leader for over 150 years.
The class could be changed by having someone transform while touching it, and it would change to what it should be.

The third step was another amulet, carved with the clan symbol, burnt into the skin by flame and pain, and if removed left a permanent mark of disloyalty, making it hard to join another clan. I was only having an initiation into powers, not into the clan, but I was still scared.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn’t notice Billy until he tapped me on the shoulder. He told me he was taking over and that I should go and rest. I flew back to the library and slid in the window that they had left open for me. I changed the black armour to soft pajamas, collapsed onto my bunk and slept.

It felt like I had just fell asleep when Jace shook me.

“Girl.... Girl... GIRL! It’s time.”

Olansaf 2 - Draft 1

Jace smiled at me.

We were sitting opposite each other on the old battlements that surrounded the edge of the town, and Jace was trying to explain how the building blocks of the universe work. But all I was understanding was basically, everything was my plasticine and my imagination was the mould.
“But you need the right amount of matter for the right transformation.” said Jace, tossing me a stone. “How much matter in that?” I looked at the stone for a microsecond.
“About.. 120 million?” I replied
“Not about, exactly. You didn’t just guess that, You knew it. try and squish the stone.”
So I did, and nothing happened. So I got mad and threw it down, imagining it bouncing up and turning into a rubber ball.
And it did just that. It flew out of my hand and within the time it took to blink, it had changed into one of those multi colored bouncy balls and was flying towards Jaces forehead. but I didn’t want to hurt Jace, so I imagined the matter around his head forming a perfect padded carbon steel helmet, black and shiny that perfectly mirrored his face. He made a small ‘ooft’ at the unexpected weight of it, so I made it lighter, a substance no one had ever seen before. Strong, light, and sheer black, that came apart at the will of the owner and flowed to their will.. I liked it so much I took a pile of rubbish and made myself some more. It flowed up my arm and onto my body, covering me perfectly. I held my hands out to feel the air around me and flicked my fingers down, and took off like a bird. I swooped around the town, over the glorious buildings and came to a running stop just behind Jace. He swirled into a defensive stance, then straightened as I flowed down my helmet.
“This is amazing!” I cried, “What else can I do?”
“You can take a break for a minute. Without being Initiated, it will drain your strength a lot. The next initiation is in four days, We’ll do it then. Right now, we ought to get back. C’mon.” He stretched out a hand, but I was having none of it. I had plenty of strength! So I flew up and behind him and picked him up, as easily as you would pick up a bag of sugar, then carried him back to the library where we tapped on the window until Ben leapt up over the stairs to open it. I hovered in and set Jace down in front of a shackled JayJay, back in her human form, and went through to the fridge, to find some food. While Jace forgave JayJay, I carefully examined her matter from the other room, but it didn’t help so I wandered through and looked at her, looking at what her matter was made into instead of how much matter was there. First I looked at the nerves and temporarily got rid of them, then I fixed the broken bone and muscles, and then added the nerves back. She gasped and I shook my head to clear the double vision and glanced up at Ben an Jace. Jace was looking at me curiously and Ben looked slightly freaked. I glanced back at JayJay.
“Is that better? It should be all fixed, I left no trace of the break and cleared broken bone out of the surrounding area. I’m sorry I broke it.” I murmured, examining her leg.
“It-it’s fine, thanks. I, um, I’m sorry I doubted you” JayJay stuttered back.
“Consider us even, ok?” I replied turning to Jace before she answered. “Why are you looking at me like that?” His answer was quick and simple, Yet it stumped me.
“Your eyes, they glowed bright black...”