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.