Lone Warrior-Chapter 4: Caygans and Calgarians (Continued again and again)

The fire crackled, the leaves rustled, the breeze whispered, everything but humans speaking continued as if not interrupted. Then a huge laugh came from Martina. "The Prophecy of the Destined Three? Oh, please, don't you mean the Prophecy of Winnie the Poo?"
"I do not know who Winnie the Poo, a wonderful person I am sure, but this prophecy, I know, is not about him." shaharazhad replied calmly. "Until now, i have not known who it was about, but now, it is quite obvious. It refers to three people. And the only three people who even have the slightest chance is you."
"Look, We don't know anything about this world, I mean were from Vancouver, Canada. We're not going to be of much help..."
"Taledo, you have no idea what the prophecy is, how can you be so sure it is not about you and your friends?"
I had no answer to that.
Shaharazhad settled herself by the fire, looking completely at peace. While Doldi clasped the pitcher of water against her chest as if it were her child. "Sit" Shaharazhad said, feeding dried leaves into the fire. But these were not regular leaves. when caught fire, they released a fresh scent and a cloud of sweet smelling silver smoke. "I heard this prophecy when I was 14, at my coming of age ceremony. And I am telling you this now, for you will play a great part in the story this prophecy tells."
She closed her eyes and recited from memory, "Beware of dangers to be faced, for in the end th wind shall save. Three of which the job shall be to bring the destined to the destiny."
"Wow..." I breathed.
"But...but..." Martina stuttered, "that doesn't necessarily mean we're the three in the prophecy."
"Martina, you can keep telling yourself that if you wish, but it isn't going to change anything, the prophecy couldn't be any clearer if it had used your names. You are the only hope. The only hope for people that he really can be defeated."
"Wait a second," I said, "Whose 'he'?"

Lone Warrior- Chapter 4:Caygans and Calgarians (Continued)

I blinked. How could someone be angry for 200 years? How could someone even be alive for that long? And the same question kept popping up, what is a Caygan? Was it a type of creature? A place or a race of people? Solan seemed desperate to go to a 'Caygan Camp'. That suggests that Caygans are a race not an object or a location. But if Shaharazhad's mother was at a Caygan Camp, then perhaps Shaharazhad had also been at such a place. Martina appeared not to have heard anything. Megan rolled over in her bed, her eyelids opening slowly, then sitting up. The door to the caravan opened and Doldi popped her head in, "Ah! Good, you're awake! The three of you had best get out here. Oh, and Shaharazhad dear, they're is a rider here to see you. Says her name is Ticara."
"Yes, I was expecting her. In fact she is late. I'll go see her now." Shaharazhad stood and left the caravan, followed by Doldi. Shrugging her shoulders and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Megan left as well.
By the time Martina and I were out by the fire with Doldi and Megan, Shaharazhad had already disappeared into the trees. "I don't understand," Martina whispered into my ear.
"Don't understand what?"
"Why Doldi and Dornen are helping us. They don't know anything about us. It just doesn't make any sense," she replied.
"Well, maybe they don't care." I answered.
Megan, who until now, had been silent and staring at the fire as if the heat pained her, spoke up. "Gypsies are very spiritual. Maybe they're helping us because, I don't know, a prophecy or something has foretold it."
"A prophecy?" Martina guffawed, "You're joking, right? Why would they're be a prophecy about us? We're just normal teenagers."
"Well, excuse me," Megan said defensively, "but what has happened to us so far hasn't exactly been 'normal'."
I had to admit she was right. I think Martina thought so to because she suddenly became very interesting in the tin cup of water she was holding.
"What are you girls talking about?" Doldi inquired, puring water from a pitcher.
"Oh we were talking about prophecies ans stuff," I blurted without thinking.
My friends sent me warning look to late. Doldi dropped the pitcher and Dornen's pipe almost fell into the fire as he let go of it in shock. The silence afterward was almost unbearable. "Pr...prophecies?" Dornen finally stuttered.
"Umm...yeah..." I answered, unsure of myself.
Shaharazhad appeared at that moment, a frown creasing her forehead as she saw the dropped pitcher and Doldi's look of shock. "What's wrong?
"I just said we were talking about prophecies" I answered quietly.
Shaharazhad did not react by dropping a things, but her frown did deepen. "Ah...I see you will need a briefing."
"A briefing?" Martina murmured.
"Yes, about the Prophecy of the Destined Three."

Lone Warrior-Chapter 4: Caygans and Calgarians

Megan was muttering in her sleep as usual. Something about buttering Romania, but apart from that I was unable to understand anything. Afternoon light poured through the parted curtains of the caravan and onto the small table at which Martina was sitting at. She was consulting a map and taking notes. Martina's favourite things. I could hear Shaharazhad and Solan talking in the bed at the back of the caravan.I strained to her them over the sound of Martina cursing herself if she made a spelling mistake. "Solan, you can't come to the cay...."
Martina pounded her hand against the wood of the table and let out an exasperated sigh.
"But we're getting married!" Solan cried.
Shaharazhad hushed him."That doesn't matter to mother. She would not allow a non-Caygan in her camp."
"But why?" Solan was pleading now, sounding like a small child being denied the thrill of a lolly-pop.
Caygan? What on earth is a Caygan? I'd have to ask Martina. Moving from my spying spot,I seated myself across from her at the table. "Martina..."
"Shiek!" She yelled.
I sighed. Ever since Martina found out about the ZELDA video games, she's been using Zelda's doppelganger as a swear.
"Martina, Do you know what a Caygan is?" I asked
"Hmm? A Caygan?" Martina muttered, not taking her eyes off her work.
"Yes, a Caygan" I repeated.
'Ah...somebody from Calgary?"
I frowned, "No, no I really don't think..."
"No, people from Calgary are called Calgarians, and besides..."
And of she went debating with herself whether or not a person's city is also their nationality.
I zoned out halfway through and concentrated once again on Solan and Shaharazhad's conversation.
"Mother doesn't even approve of the marriage. How can you expect her to like you?" Shaharazhad's voice sounded almost cold.
"Oh, thanks" Solan muttered sarcastically.
"Look, she's been bitter ever since..." Shaharazhad faltered, and lowered her voice. "Ever since..."
I couldn't make out what she said, to me it sounded like "Trust your son", but I figured that was wrong.
"Oh" Solan raised his voice, "So she's been angry for over 200 years?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 3: Doldi (Countinued 5 Times)

Doldi pointed towards a large caravan painted bright oranges and yellows. "Oh..." Martina faltered. "You're a..."
"A GYPSY! THAT'S RIGHT! But don't tell anyone."
My friends and I exchanged glances. Whatever we were thinking wasn't very flattering for Doldi. The caravan was parked,(Is parked the right word?) in a small clearing over-flowing with pink flowers. There was a campfire just outside the caravan with three of the most unlikely people hunched around it. One of them was an old man smoking a pipe. Sitting next to him on the left was a young man of perhaps 25. On the right there was was had to be the most beautiful young lady I had ever seen. Long red hair tumbled down her shoulders and her silver eyes flashed in the sun. "Dornen!" Doldi called to the old man.
"Aye? What ya want woman?" the man rasped
"Don't ya go taking that tone with me! We got visitors Dornen, visitors!"
Dornen set his pipe down and rearranged a green woolly hat on his head. "Visitors? We ain't had visitors since the Outbreak!"
"Oh, good deduction Dornen. We got visitors, so you gotta get rid of that pipe!"
Dornen grumbled something that sounded like, "Old bag."
Doldi smacked him in the head, then turning, she greeted the young lady. "Shaharazhad! I didn't notice ya there."
Shahrazhad gracefully stood up and bowed her head. "Good to see you Doldi."
"Who are these lovely young ladies?" The young man asked, standing up and slipping his arm around Shaharazhad's waist. "I'm Solan, Doldi's son."
I nodded.
"And this is my fiancee" he added, gesturing towards Shahrazhad.
"I am Shaharazhad Moonriiys" The lady said putting out her hand.
Megan froze, her hand half extended towards Shaharazhad. Uneasy thoughts seemed to swirl between the two of them. "Well!" I broke the silence, "I'm Taledo, Taledo Trayk."
"Nice to meet you Taledo" Shahrazhad said, not taking her eyes off Megan.
"I'm Martina Vantucket" Martina stated.
Shaharzhad nodded, "And this is...?"
"I'm Megan" Megan squeaked.
Shaharazhad's suspicious gaze raked over all of us. "Megan, Martina and Taledo" she muttered. "Megan Moonrayse, Martina Vantucket and Taledo Trayk."
It was only after did I realize that Megan had not given her last name.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 3: Doldi-Continued (Again and Again and Again)

"How far until your house now?" Megan whined, inspecting a scratch on her knee.
"Just a bit longer Miss Impatient" replied Doldi, pushing a strand of gray hair out of her eyes.
Megan snorted. "We've been walking for an hour, and she says I'm impatient! The nerve!"
"Hush!" Doldi muttered
"Well, excuse me."
"Hush!" Doldi seethed, pointing through the bushes.
I peered through the brush to see a large stone gate with four...soldiers stationed just outside it. "What in the world..." I mumbled in amazement.
"The Border gaurds" said Doldi
"That is the bracken border?" replied Martina.
"Aye" she said, "This is going to be tricky nobne ofyou have Broch passes I assume? No, I didn't think so. Well here goes!"
Doldi grabbed my arm and pulled us through the thicket to the gate.
"Well hello there Mrs. D, what can I do for you?" said a gaurd mockingly.
"Just the usual Elfredge. I don't converse with blockheads unless I absolutely have to."
I grinned, "Good one" I thought.
Elfredge's sneer faltered for a moment then came back in place. "And who are these lovely ladies?"
"Just a...a...a Taledo and Martina are my neices"
"I see. But what about her?" he said, gesturing towards Megan.
"Megan is Shaharazhad's cousin."
"Who the heck is Shaharazhad" Megan muttered, "If I am to be her cousin, I should know who she is."
"Where are their Broch passes Mrs. D?" Elfredge asked smugly.
"Caygans don't need Broch passes, so that has Megan covered. And Martina and Taledo, well..um..you see...the thing is..."
Elfredge raised his eyebrows.
"Oh elfredge!" Megan cried, "It was horrible! The bandits were upon us in seconds and they took our Broch passes! I was so scared! We didn't have a strong man like you to protect us!"
She began bawling...fake bawling.
Her tears seem to shake Elfridge, he handed her a handkerchief. "Well, i don't like to see such beautiful young ladies cry. You may go past. But don't you worry Miss. Megan, i will catch these bandits myself!"
Megan smiled and batted her eyelashes, "I feel so much better now, thank you."
Hurridly we passed through the gate. As soon as we got out of ear-shot, I hugged Megan. "That was amazing! You could have gotten any lead like that!"
"It was nothing, simple acting tactics."
We laughed.
"Oy! In case any of you are interested...we're here."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 3: Doldi-Continued (Againand Again

"The Bracken Border?" Megan asked dubiosly.
"Yeah, you is on the she-she people side" Doldi replied.
"The she-she side?" Martina said.
"Aye, that's where the castle is and all the legal rubbish."
"Where are we?" I said.
"I told you! Didn't I tell you?"
Megan nodded her head furiously.
"You is on the wrong side of the Bracken Border!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know...but WHERE are we. Like, WHERE is this Bracken Border. Which province?" I said very slowly, hoping Doldi would understand me.
"Province?" Doldi repeated stupidly, "What in the name of Epsicron is a province?"
"Okay, I give up." I muttered.
Megan nudged me ans stepped forwards. "Doldi, what is an Epsicron?"
Doldi cast a sympathetic glance in my direction. "You poor dears!" she clucked. "You must be having a hard day if you don't know where you live."
"What are you talking about?" I retorted, "Megan asked you what an Epsicron is, not...not whether or not we're having a bad day!"
"I did very well answer your friend's question Miss Cranky-Potts." Doldi said.
I raised my eyebrows. "So what is an Epsicron?"
Doldi sighed dramatically. "It's were you are Honey-bun, Epsicron is here. Epsicron is the ground beneath your feet. The sky above your head, the trees around you."
"Which continent?" Martina interjected.
"Continent? Now you is making no sense either! Look, what you three need is a little nap and a bowl of my vegetable soup. Now come on, it's a long walk to my house and I don't want any complaining the whole way!" she commanded.
"But we have a party tonight at Lauren's house and our parents will be getting worried. We've been here for almost an hour and a half alrea..."
"AH!" Doldi interrupted, "That, is a complaint."
She was already halfway up the hill when she turned. "Oh, and there haven't been any parties 'round 'ere since the Outbreak-and that was ages ago."
None of us asked what the Outbreak was. we just followed Doldi up the hill to her house.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior:Chapter 3-Doldi: Continued (Again)

Martina pinched my arm-hard. "Well, are you going to tell her?" she asked.
"What?" I startled.
Martina sighed. Oblivious to me they had been having a conversation with the old lady, while I had been thinking over the whole-pinch-yourself-out-of-a-dream tactic. "Doldi was asking you what your name was" Megan chimed in.
"Doldi...who the hell is Doldi" I thought.
At least I thought I thought that. In fact, I had just blurted it out in, unfortunately, a rather loud voice. Everyone froze. Oliver took the opportunity to start chasing his tail and a poor little gray mouse-like animal. 'I'm Doldi" The lady said with a flourish of her hand. "Uh...nice to meet you Doldi, I'm Taledo".
"Lovely, lovely. Well, I best be off! Husband and son to cook for and neither of 'em have had any lunch! So, may the power of The Creator be with you always. Well, I doubt it will be with you ALWAYS, but at least for right now!"
Doldi turned and began to trudge off up a grassy hill to the left of us.
"Wait! Where are we?" I called.
Doldi stopped and turned around. "Huh?"
"Where are we?" Martina repeated, "Burnaby? Victoria?"
Doldi laughed and grinned toothily. "You is on the wrong side of the bracken border!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

P.S. I am very sorry I wrote Taledo swearing but it seemed like the right thing at that very moment for her to say. My parents will have my head! Well, thanks...Elanor

Note to the Reader

To all fans...as I am sure there are a lot of you-right?...Right? Oh come on guys! RIGHT?????

Anyway, I am sorry I have not written in a while, it is just that I am very caught up in my life right now and have had very little spare time. I hope to return to my book and continue my blog regularly. I will start the next post now, but I am not sure if I will be ready to publish it tonight.

So-fingers crossed,
Elanor

Lone Warrior-Chapter 3:Doldi,(Continued)

Martina was speechless, A stranger had just told her to:"Get used to it".
The old lady smiled. "I didn't mean it to be an insult, merely a warning at what you will have to face."
Now I was speechless. I mean, I had heard a lot of weird stuff, but never had I been cautioned that I would have to face...something. People said that kind of thing in adventure books, not in real life. but then again, what had happened to my friends and I was not exactly real either. After all, we had dreamt our way into some sort of...world. Then again, this could still be a dream. I did not believe in the pinching-yourself-in-the-arm-trick, because if you pinch yourself in a dream, It is not like your actually hurting yourself, therefore, it is not likely it is going to wake you up is it.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 3: Doldi

Even with my eyes closed, the light of the arch was almost unbearable. I screwed my eyes shut and swam blindly forwards. followed by Megan and Martina. My eyelids felt as if they were being burnt by the heat, which they probably were. AS soon as all three of us had completely cleared the Arch, it disappeared. I am not going to make it sound fancy, not going to say, "It dissipated in the winds of change". I have sworn to write only the truth so that is what I write. It simply vanished.

***
Megan lay back on a log beached just of the shore. Martina and I were standing by the beach, wringing out our hoodies. We had been drying off for a good half-hour when Megan called us. She was kneeling next to a large gray dog. Personally, he looked more like a grizzly bear than a domesticated animal. Even though I had gotten over my fear of dogs ages a go, I wasn't thrilled when it came over to me and started jumping up, trying to lick my face. Both Megan and Martina had dogs so they thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Well, I could live without the big barking, slobbering, stealing-food-off-your-plate kinds, as obviously this...dog ...was. "OI! OLIVER! YOU GET BACK HERE, YA GREAT BLOWN-UP BUFFOON!"
We all turned, even the dog, whose name must have been Oliver. A lady, wearing a gray shirt full of holes, a bright orange skirt and glasses the size of a small coconut came running towards us. "Oliver! You come here, you great oaf! You can't bring those squirrels home for supper! they're to big...in fact, I don't think they're squirrels at all!"
"Well! In all my life I had certainly not been called a squirrel! And a big one at that!" Martina huffed.
Then the lady said exactly what I had been thinking.
"Get used to it."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 2: Drowning in Disbelief: (Continued again times 5)

"Now all we have to do is swim through the arch an..."
Martina interrupted me, "Swim through the arch? Are you crazy? We'll be zapped to pieces by the...the..." She broke off.
"The heat" she added lamely.
Megan snorted. "Well if YOU want to stay out here and drown, that's find by me. But personally, I would prefer not to end my life at age 14, perhaps you have similar preferences?"
If we had not been in this position, I would have laughed. Martina's cheeks coloured, like they always did when she got mad. "Fine, but I'm warning you, if we go through that arch we'll die too. So, would you rather die by being burnt or would you prefer to drown?"
I thought that one over. I would rather die by being burnt. "I'm going through the arch." I decided.
"Me too" replied Megan.
"I'll come."
Martina obviously wanted us to believe that she wanted to go through the arch, but I could tell that she would much rather stay and drown.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 2: Drowning in Disbelief:Continued, (Again and again and again and again)

"Martina!"
This time I yelled her name. Struggling to push her soaking brown hair out of her eyes, she swam over to me. "Why did you drag Taledo under?" Megan questioned suspiciously.
"I wasn't sure who she was, I thought the best way to find out would to be to see her under the water."
"You opened your eyes under the water?"
I shuddered, my eyes always stung really bad if I did that.
"It feels quite nice actually" Martina stated matter-a-factually.
Then a a blazing light's reflextion on the water covered us. I tried to cover my eyes, while not sinking into the sea. It was an arch, but an arch like I had never seen before. It was made of pure light, yet it looked a if someone had carved into it with a chisel, creating a series of words. I could not read the words, they looked as if they had jumped right off a Persian tapestry. Squinting, I looked beyond the arch, what I saw, could have given an even healthy young man a heart-attack. "L...o...ok, beh...in...d th...the arch" I stuttered. For the last word, my mouth could barley form the word, "Land."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior: Chapter 2-Drowning in Disbelief (Again and again and again!)

Once again, I was overcome with a sensation of freezing. You know when you stick your ungloved hand in the snow and it gets so cold that it burns? Well, imagine your whole body engulfed in a freezing fire. Luckily, as a instinct, I had taken a deep breath before being pulled down. Even so, my lungs ached for fresh, unsalted air5r, like the kind wafted to you from a lake. My head began to spin, I needed air, now! Suddenly, a thought popped into my head, if the thing dragging me under was human, it would have to come up for air too. This thought triggered another one, which was not in the least comforting. The thing hadn't come back up yet, which could mean, it wasn't human. Almost immediately after that idea, I felt the pressure around my ankle release and then I found myself floating upwards. I used my numb arms to propel myself to the surface. My lungs felt ready to burst, black spots lept before my eyes. After what seemed like eternity, my head broke the crest of the waves and I filled my body with air. though it had a tinge of salt, it seemed like the cleanest, purest air I had ever inhaled. I was hyperventilating, I tried to slow down my breathing. Telling myself to take deep breaths. but I couldn't, I hungrily gasped and coughed, trying to get more air than was possible. I wanted ALL the air, I wanted to drain the world of it, sucking it all up for me, no one else. You can tell how long I'd been underwater. A few feet away, my assailant shot out of the water. Swimming ina circle, she turned to me. My heart thudded. One word left my mouth, "Martina."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Culture of Epsicron

Hello! this is not part of the story, it is just some information on the culture of Epsicron.





Culture. Hardly an adequate word to describe the rich legends and history of Epsicron. From Larkeen to the gypsy market, religions and traditions are virtually the same. Imagine a world that had only one belief...Epsicron is one such land...

Across all the reaches of Epsicron, the maker of all is the Creator. Some say he lives deep in the heart of the Lassandrin forest, others are sure that he walks the land in the form of a beggar. Neither is completely true. If you are a lonely pilgrim, the Creator might come in the shape of a fellow wanderer and keep you company. He is neither human nor god, perhaps something in between.
But he has a weakness, two in fact. Firstly, his name: the Creator, allows him to only make not destroy the things in Epsicron. Secondly, his sister, Estianesto is not actually his sister. Estianesto was the first Caygan leader. Though she has, of course, lost her Caygan magic, her mind and heart still remember the days of fighting and mind-reading.

Estianesto is the patron goddess of Virgins, Wisdom and Sword-play. As the story goes, the Creator gave her two swords as a gift. These two swords held extraordinary magic when wielded by the correct warrior. Omicron, the savage one, was destined to Sumner, the leader of the Caygans. Epsilon, the sword of Strategy, was to be the blade of Taledo Trayk. Both of the swords were found by the correct people, but in the end only one of the destined ones possessed their true weapon.......
Although Estianesto was kind, (To females), she made a few enemies in her day. Unfortunately, her worst rival, Fate was the goddess of Destiny. Fate put a curse on the swords letting them only kill one person a-piece. Omicron could only kill the Lone Warrior, Sumner’s son. Epsilon was given a peculiar target, Prince Orlov, son of the great King Ornkorthe of Larkeen.

The creation of Omicron will be told always, by the few people that know it. It was made in Toupelae, the Mount of Katari in the Broks Mountains. The sword was welded in the flames and then cooled in the salty waters of the Serenithian sea. The Creator found it buried in a pile of sand and shells. He brought it back with him and when his sister was old enough, gave it to her.

Omicron’s twin, Epsilon has a similar history. Created in Toupelae and then bathed in the Serenithian sea. The legends say that the Creator gave Epsilon to his sister, but in truth, Estianesto found it herself. She was only eleven when she travelled to the gypsy market and found Epsilon wedged between two wagon wheels. Nobody could pull it out except for Estianesto. That is how the story of Camelot was created. Epsilon is the Excalibur of Epsicron.

Lone Warrior: Chapter 2-Drowning in disbelief: Continued (Again and again))

To my relief, the hand was attached to an arm, and the arm to a torso. A red haired head bobbed up to the surface. "Megan!" I chocked.
Megan didn't respond. "Megan? Megan? MEGAN!" I screamed.
She lay there, stiff as a board, floating above the water. I wracked my brains, trying to conjure up what could have happened. Firstly, she could have hypothermia. I quickly un-zipped her gray sweater and pulled off her shoulders, letting it drift away. She could have also been bitten by an un-recorded sea creature that nobody knew about that released a poison so strong that it killed you within seconds. I highly doubted the second option, but hey, I was panicking. Then a thought struck me, this had happened to Megan before...and in the water as well. I hurriedly searched her pant pockets until I found what I was looking for. A blue and silver inhaler with her name on it, literally. I inserted it between her purple-looking lips and gave three sharp puffs. Megan took in one, shaky breath and then another. She continued doing that until her breathing slowed and her chest stopped pounding. She coughed up one more mouthful of salt water and then lay on her back, quivering. "You okay?" I asked between breaths.
Megan nodded, still finding it difficult to breathe. Until that point, I had been treading water. My arms ached and my legs felt numb with cold. We had to get out of the water before one of us died of drowning or hypothermia, at the moment, none of them sounded appealing. I rolled over onto my back, heaving great gasps and spitting out seaweed. That was when I felt a pull at my leg, pulling me under the water.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior: Chapter 2-Drowning in disbelief: Continued (Again)

It was the smell that awoke Martina up. The tangy scent of salt. She moved as if to roll over, only to inhale a gulp of water. Caughing and spluttering, she rolled onto her back, heart pounding. After regaining her breath, she went back onto her stomach. A gray...something...floating in the water caught her attention and she swallowed another mouthful of water. "Could it be shark?" Martina thought, panic seizing her. Then her logical mind woke up and came to it's senses. It couldn't be a shark, the water was to cold for them. Martina caught a glimps of pale yellow and what looked like a pair of black shoes. Blinking salty water from her eyelashes, Martina surged forward, ignoring the fact that it could very well be some kind of creature you don't want to meet in a dark alley way in the middle of the night.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Lone Warrior: Chapter 2-Drowning in disbelief: Continued

I resufaced...wait, did I say resurfaced? A cry arose from my throat and my mouth imeadiatley filled with with water. What was going on? I felt something brush against my leg and I let loose a high-pitched shriek. Very uncharacteristic. I saw a flash of orange, and then a pale hand shot out of the water. I thought back to all the mystery books I had read, all the hands with nothing attatched to them floating in the water. But I recognised that hand and it's thin, feminine, fingers. Against my better instincts, I grabbed the clammy hand and pulled.

***

Megan was in the water, the freezing water clawed at her arms and legs like icy fingertips. Her lungs felt heavy and full, it became harder and harder to breath. at first, Megan paniced, not knowing what was going on. Then, it hit her and the truth was even worse than she had dreamed. She was having one of her asthma attacks.
mwegan felt light headed, she was now so cold that she scarcely noticed the change in temprature as her head slipped below the water. In a last desperate attempt to get help, she stuck her hand above the water, hoping that someone would rescue her. Her hand was only out of the water for a few seconds, but Megan felt someone grab her hand, felt herself being lifted from the water, then, she blacked out.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 2: Drowning in Disbelief

"Taledo" The note read, "Lauren called, she is changing the party to six. Get some sleep,Love Mom."
I was tired for some strange reason. Droping my backpack on the floor, I crawled into my bed and within 10 minutes, I was fast a sleep.

***

As soon as Martina's head hit the pillow, she was asleep. Her mom smiled, usually Martina had trouble sleeping. Her mind seemed to come alive with knowledge and facts. But now, as her mother watched, she slept without a twitch.

***

The nightmares came as Megan had feared. As soon as she had gotten home, she had went to bed. But she was no longer in her bed with the green covers, she was running head lng into a mass of dark trees. Something, or someone was chasing her. No, it was a man, brandishing what seemed to be a three-foot-long sword. When her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw the distinctness of the blade, all the details. Megan gasped, for upon the hilt was set a gem, a pearl to be exact, in the shape of an O. Omicron! "Shaharazhad!" The man yelled, "just give it to me and I 'll let you go back to camp!"
Megan heard herself say, "I...I can't...I...I...I don't...don't have it!"
"What do you mean, you don't have it? You're a Caygan aren't you?"
It was meant as an insult. "I...I...yes...but...I don't have enough...enough..."
She suddenly felt a hand clamp on her shoulder and a knife at her throat. Megan had a sudden sensation of drowning.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Character Description

Hello! This bit is not part of the story. I just thought you might like some briefing about the main characters: Taledo, Megan and Martina. After the character description I will move on to Chapter 2.

NAME:Taledo Trayk
AGE:14
HOBBIES:Fencing and playing music

NAME:Megan Moonraise
AGE:14
HOBBIES:Acting and dancing

NAME:Martina Vantucket
AGE:14
HOBBIES:Reading, math drills and reciting poetry

Lone Warrior-Chapter 1: The Invitation-Continued (Again)

After we dropped Martina off at her house, Megan and I continued down Mcdonald Avenue. "How's fencing?" Megan asked.
"Good" I replied, "How about you and ballet?"
"Oh...it's okay..."
"Just okay? I thought you liked it?"
"I do."
We walked in silence for a while until suddenly Megan burted, "Look, Taledo, I 'm sorry i've been acting strange, it's just that I've been having these nightmares and stuff..."
"Nightmares?" I said, "What about?"
"They're always about this man..."
"Oh" I smirked, "A man!"
I nudged her in the ribs. Megan's face went red "No...it's nothing like that! He goes around attacking villages and burning them." Megan shivered at the mere prospect of fire.
"Burning them...is't that, I dunno...sort of 16th century?"
Megan didn't answer. When we reached her house, she went in with no more then a mumbled "Bye."
Usually she would cry at the topof her lungs, "Long goodbyes are not chivelrous!"
And then waltz towards the door, leaving me alone, and laughing my head off.

Lone Warrior-Chapter 1: The Invitation-Continued

3:05pm. Mr. Shrooner droned on about PEDMAS and the importance of parenthesis. "D...what does the D in PEDMAS stand for?" he asked in his irritatingly squeaky voice.
"Let's see...how about...Taledo! What does the D mean?"
"Dismal...I mean, division!" I stammered.
"Very good! Now..."
*RING*
"Oh, there's the bell! Have a good summer and don't forget to practice your algebra!"
everyone rushed for the doors, leaving a mess of ripped papers and broken pencils on the ground. I met Megan and Martina at our lockers, where the two of them were disputing whether or not it was BEDMAS instead of PEDMAS. "Taledo! Megan! Martina! Hold on!"
5'ft Lauren Balart(Or Lauren Loud, as we'd nicknamed her)elbowed her way over to us. She flipped her perfect blonde hair over her shoulder and cleaned non-existent dirt from her beneath her hot-pink nails. "Glad...I...I caught you!" she wheezed.
"Whew! You wouldn't believe how stuffy this school is! Anyway, I want to invite you to a party, say, Fivish. you know, to celebrate the end of school."
"Oh!"
My family and I were going out to dinner that night.
"Well..."I began.
"GREAT! See you then!"
Lauren dashed off, no doubt asking,(Sorry, demanding), other people to come to her party. "Wait! Lauren!"
But by then it was to late, she had disappeared into the crowd. "Drat" I muttered.
"Come on guys, let's go get a slushie" Martina said.
"But I..."
"Come on Taledo!" Megan replied, pulling me by the arm.
Finally I relented and followed them across the school yard.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Lone Warrior-Chapter 1: The Invitation

" Megan, Martina, are you awake?" I asked.
I didn't expect them to answer, I thought they were asleep. "What?" said both of them in unison.
I could make out the faint outline of Martina, propped up against her pillow, while Megan had not moved one bit. "I had a really weird dream where I was sword-fighting this man. I don't have a clue who he was but his sword was called...Om...Omi...hang on a sec...Omi...I can't remember."
Megan suddenly sat up, "Omicron?"
"Huh?"
"The sword, was it named Omicron?" said Megan impatiently.
"Yes! The's it! But how did...how did you know?" I inquired.
"Omicron is the sword of the..."
Megan broke off, a terrified look on her face. "I...I mean, I don't know."
She dropped back into her pillows. Martina gave a quick glance in her direction and frowned. "Anyway, Omicron is the Greek name for the letter O."
"How did you learn that?" I asked, startled .
"English class. You do know that Mrs. Xanthis? When she found out that I was interested in the language, she asked if I wanted to stay after school to learn more about it."
"Did you know that Megan?" I said.
"No."
Martina stifled a yawn and I realized how late it was. "We should get to sleep. Night."
"Goodnight."
"Night."
One by one we drifted off to sleep, me being the last. When finally I got to sleep it was already 2:30am. We slept so soundly that none of us noticed the window crack open slightly. Didn't see the head poking through the gap. And neither did we stir, as the stranger closed the window and was swallowed by the darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED...