Vera Suis Background part 6.

Title: Return to the Past
Author: SilverInk
Writing: Character Backround Story
Word Count: 1815 (

I froze. Damn obedience curse! I thought, irritated again. With irritation, I glanced backwards, without taking my eyes off the escapee.

“Are you so clouded as to not see who she is?” the voice of Jane Exina chided again. “Can you not recognize your friend?”

“Who’s side are you on?” I retorted, but caught myself from any insults, remembering our respective ranks. I may have been a Guardian, but Jane had also risen in rank, and was now known as a Shadow. She had power beyond that of most in the Cordelian heiarchy, and had only to report to the King himself.

“Do you not recognize your old friend?” she repeated.

“I have no friends.”

Jane moved around so she was standing between the escapee and me. “You used to,” she murmured. “Have you forgotten?”

Her cold tone had returned and I felt her presence slip out of my mind. “You have not forgotten.” She walked to the escapee and set her clock on the shivering lady’s shoulders before moving aside and I stared at the escapee more carefully.

We had been separated for a decade, and were hardly recognizable. But at Jane’s prodding, I recognized a few familiar features—that, and there were not many people in my past that were of much significance. And at that moment, I almost wished that reunions were as simple and easy as a “It’s been too long,” or “Don’t you remember?”

I felt Jane Exina’s hand touch my shoulder and send a wave of calm though me. The rock-hands vanished, and I mellowed a little. Still, no words were exchanged. Finally, Jane broke the silence, voicing my thoughts. “What do you do now?”

Akeisa pleaded with me silently, holding the baby as if it were the only thing that mattered. But I knew that failure would not be accepted. I had my own life to worry about, and I was expected to be recruited when the Lord of the land came to find a guardian to the land’s Shade team.

“Let her go,” someone said, but it was not Jane this time. “And I’ll be the next Shade.”

Bus Kandler—predictably, I supposed. A passing Shade had pitied his statue and brought him out of it—he quickly proved his worth in repaying the debt. “Go ahead. Save your—friend,” he spat the last word, and laughed.

“You are not to speak that way to a superior,” Jane admonished, testing him. He had yet to know of her new rank, and obviously could not tell by her cloak, as it had been given to Akeisa momentarily. Yet if he had any memory he would remember that she was the one that had permitted the Shade that had saved him to save him, put two and two together, and see that we were not acting.

He failed that test. “She is no superior,” he laughed, and attacked, uprooting trees and other debris of the forest to launch at me. With unsurpassable speed, I retaliated, merging the flying matter into a single entity and shooting it back at him. They bounced off him and did as much impact as a grain of sand does an ocean.

“Shadevow,” he said smugly, pointing at the dull gray jewel on a brooch. “You can’t hurt me.”

Through this encounter, Akeisa had slipped further from us, but now paused. She, as well as Jane, seemed to know that the next move depended on me.

My childhood resurfaced for a brief moment, flashing images of my triumphs and failures first as a Revelin, then as a Cordelian. Now that I had a choice, where would I stand?

My next words came from the Guardian-trained side of my brain; in a near monotone, I said, “Master Shadow?”

Bus looked around wildly searching for a Shadow. Akeisa had left the cloak hanging inconspicuously in a branch, and peered at us, looking for a way to escape. “Certainly,” replied Jane.

Incredulity plainly crossed Bus’s face and he smirked. “Nice try,” he muttered, and resumed the attack.

I dodged his attacks, manipulating the projectiles only when necessary to protect Akeisa. No one noticed Jane, who seemed to have vanished. Projectiles and blasts of pure psychic energy flew at me, colliding mercilessly with the environment. Finally, I tired of this game and –Shadevow or no—returned the onslaught.

Without fear, I threw my entire entity into a great tree that had been slashed in the battle; my body crumpled behind me, protected by a boulder. Inside the tree, I at first pushed, like Souls were trained to do, then decided to abandon those lessons and instead just asked to share the space for awhile. It relented hesitatingly, and I felt control of the massive being flood into my control. It was not like standing with my feet glued together and my arms stuck out stupidly; it was just being. The roots did not feel like feet—they were roots, not feet; the branches were branches, and each twig a separate being. I had given it a temporary nervous system, but it was still itself and did not mold itself to any animal shape. I was a tree. I was not a person inside the tree; I was a tree.

I lunged a branch forward using the whisperings of the wind to find him, and propelled a few roots around him, caging the fellow without harming him.

“You can’t hurt me!” he proclaimed again, doing nothing but confirming his location. Magic coursed though my vascular tissue and secondary growth of the plant ensured, making branches sprouting leaves curl around the guy, securing him tightly in a complex web.

I thanked the tree for sharing, and asked it to maintain the position before slipping away and reclaiming my own body.

“You still can’t hurt me,” Bus laughed, spitting out a mouthful of leaves. “You can trap, but not harm.”

I was about to speak, but Jane appeared above him, sitting calmly on a branch. “Arrogant much?” She peered at him and then leapt down, instantly at my side. “Your call,” she muttered pointlessly.

I had made my choice. I would not return with Akeisa to the Revelin—in any case she had escaped in the midst of the battle—but neither would I return with Bus to the Cordelian Empire. I glanced at Jane, knowing she was reading my intentions as I formulated them.

“Why?” I asked, taking the cloak I wore off. She swung it over an arm and said, “As a Shadow, I have privileges; among them, the right to pursue personal interests. This particular one is called, ‘the better path of an individual,’.

“Veraline,” she said, smiling interestedly. “I can’t make you braid your hair, but I can call you as much, can’t I?”

Vera—now Veraline again—smiled and hugged Jane Exina one last time before turning and leaping off into the woods, calling out to the forest for directions.

--- Fin---

Tsiyone Karmiti, fourteen years of age and the daughter of the chief, looked up from her work for a rare moment. The boy sitting on her right stopped as well, setting aside the basket he was helping her weave and stared at her. “What is it, Tazanna Tsiyone?”

“The trees are telling me…” she paused. “Shila Tasuke—oh, banish the thought—Wihe Evangeline! Please go find Pahan Nemonni and tell him to stand at the southeast border. The trees tell me someone is searching for him.

Tasuke grimaced as Evangeline, purple haired and pale skinned, darted off, fast despite her seemingly plump figure, before returning to work on his basket. He was an oddity, a child with no feeling in his legs. But the tribe was good, and did not see this as a drawback or a shame. He was to work with the women then, and work as they did. His arms were not damaged, and his brain was keen; he would work what he could with his conditions.

Within a few minutes, Evangeline returned with a man that stood out among the others: his skin was not quite as tanned as theirs, and his hair was a strange orange color; but the tribes people did not see him as a bad person, and he did not feel his awkwardness; these people were his closest family, and he knew their ways as well as any adult of the tribe. “Tazanna, he said, placing his left palm around his right fist in the native’s way of bowing, “My daughter told me I am expected at the south-east border? Am I looking for someone particular?”

“I know not, Pahan Nemonni. I was merely told that someone who can apparently communicate with the forest is searching for someone of your name. They come this way.”

The man bowed again, a move which Tsiyone mirrored as well, and then left for the south-east part of camp. He selected a place where he could see and looked around him, looking for whoever was looking for him. A few hours passed, and Nemonni was tempted to return, when a voice called, “Nem?”

“Vera?”

A very thin figure made her way towards him and Nem ran forward to help her. “Did you walk all this way from Shalenfear? However did you get enough to eat?”

“Hello uncle,” Vera said, smiling. Her hair was messy but presentable, Estallos still set in them, fluttering their wings with the wind. Her uniform was tattered and torn and her boots were hopelessly worn, but Vera Suis herself was very much fine. “Veraline now,” she corrected, accepting a drink of water from a flask Nem offered.

“I learned a lot in Shalenfear,” she started, “and I figured out how to use my abilities to keep myself alive. I talked to the trees to find out where you were. How did you know I was coming?”

He led her past the last tree before the camp and she gasped. “You’re living with natives?”

“Yes. This is the Karmiti Tribe; the chief’s daughter talks to trees and told me someone was looking for me.”

They continued through the camp, sharing tidbits of news.

They had arrived where Tsiyone was working with Tasuke and Evangeline. “Veraline, this is Tazanna Tsiyone, the daughter of the chief, whom I told you about.”

Tsiyone stood and bowed, the traditional hand-over-fist sign of respect. Vera started to salute, as she had been trained to do as a Cordelian, but stopped and remembered the native salute Nem had taught her so long ago. “Pahan Veraline, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Evangeline and Tasuke also bowed, the latter from his sitting position since he could not stand. “Tasuke,” Nem said, indicating the sitting boy. The two glanced at each other and smiled politely.

“Evangeline,” Nem introduced, but the indicated girl had come over to shake Vera’s hand personally. “I’ve heard a lot about you cousin. Welcome.”

Artist's Note: Yea...Finally done :) Sorry for the late update :P

I dunno what to do about Tsiyone's part, but that's the next major thread for me... unless I get tired of writing character profiles sometime and throw in a random non-character-background thing XD

The following should be defined in Tsiyone's part, but for clarity, this is the translation of the words in native (NOTE: I made these up; they aren't actual native indian words and aren't supposed to be the same as any other author's terminology)

Tazanna--Title for the daughter of the chief

Pahan--Non-native-born brother or sister (I realize this Pahan is also "mage" in Street Magic by Tamora Pierce. This was not intentional.)

Shila--Brother

Wihe--Sister

@Minsat--thank you for the compliment you wrote on a comment for "Point of an Eraser". <3

~Silver Ink

Vera Suis Background part 5

Title: Reestablishment
Author: Silver Ink
Writing: Character Background Story
Word Count: 1230

Jane Exina was right.

Life at Shalenfear Academy was much like I had always envisioned life for a student to be: School, chores, homework, and leisure time. In addition to language and math and science and history and magic, Souls were also drilled in soul-work and possessing objects or people. A few of us were selected to work for the Shalenfear Guard, a prestigious station of office. Chores consisted of keeping our dorms neat and cleaning the school every weekend. There were other positions, but Souls were exempted so they could train their abilities.

I was new, and a Soul.

Despite my lessons and Jane’s persuasive skills—using examples from my personal past as academic examples—my conversion was rather slow. Gradually though, I understood and embraced the principles of Cordelian life. By the end my first year in Shalenfear—and my admittance into the actual Academy—I was a successful convert.

I wandered, sometime soon after my arrival to Shalenfear Academy—after the conversion— to the main courtyard just in time to hear the following conversation about me.

“The new girl, you know. Suis.”

“Vera,” another supplied.

“Bright orange hair with the funny winged hair ornaments?” I recognized this boy—he was the top Soul in the class, known only as Bus Kandler. “Yes, her.”

“What’s so weird about her?”
“Don’t you know?” A pause. Someone must have shaken their head.

“She used to be part of the Revelin. Jane Exina found her living with a Native in the forest nearby. Rumor is that she’s a Revelin spy.”

“But Bus, she’s a Soul!”

“She grew up around the Revelin; an oddity.”

“Huh. I can see. Her powers too, did you see?”

“Soul-sending and Biological Control. Absolute possession. Scary.”
“I think she’s here to destroy the Cordelian government from the inside.”

“I am a Cordelian!” I shrieked, stepping into sight, enraged. “And not a spy!”

“You eavesdrop though, said Bus Kandler.

I clenched my fists threatening him silently. The group of students around him backed away quickly—the Academy had no policy against fighting. The weakest fell because of their inability to protect themselves. Unnecessary violent was prohibited, but this was provoked. The law of the school was on my side. Only Bus remained unfazed. “Go ahead, stupid ornament-hair girl. Give it your best shot.”

I knew I could not outmatch him in a battle of power. His telekinetic power was well honed, and would react faster than I could act; nevertheless, I attacked, sending the soul of my whole body—but not me—into a nearby boulder and attacking with the stone-concrete statue I now controlled. A few of the others charged at me, and I spun some of my soul-self back, letting the parts drop from the concrete body as I hit the closest with my fingers. Haphazardly, I hit under his ribs, and was whisked into an area I thought to be his diaphragm. It was a short journey to the lungs to pop a few alveoli and transfer a bolus from the esophagus to one of the bronchi, which is what I did. I cut the muscles of two more attackers, plummeted a third with a concrete foot, and drove two of them headfirst into the mud of a nearby planter with a friendly, “Enjoy” to the tree.

This time there was no Akeisa to stop me.

Bus was gone though, by the end of this. I saw him the next day in class, and we passed with a simple curt nod each—our battle had become academic.

I spent my leisure hours alone, honing my skills in the smaller courtyard outside my dormitory hall. No one bothered me there. Jane Exina came a few times, and only she would dare trespass on the territory that was clearly marked “Vera Suis and her only.” I did my homework alone too, for all of the four years I was at the Shalenfear Academy. But Jane Exina was still right: it was a home.

Graduation Day. I had turned out at the top of the Soul class that year, and had a grant to being working directly with the district Guardians. Graduations at Shalenfear Academy were not to be made a great deal of. There was no long speech; only the presentation of badges and other necessitated dignitaries. I passed on my role as one of the head Souls in the Shalenfear Guard and accepted the title of Guardian without much ceremony.

Beside me, graduating second in the class, was Bus Kandler. He accepted his gold medal—mine was made of Soul-steel—with a bitter expression of defeat and accepted the title of Head of the Shalenfear Guard. I clapped politely, my smugness thoroughly concealed.

In the end though, at the party, Bus tracked me down. We were standing about three yards from each other, me talking to a the sole Guardian that had attended and he glaring loathingly at me. He shrugged and pulled off the medal and tossed it at me, intending to ruin my moment talking to the esteemed Guardian. I reacted instinctually, sending a hand of my soul into the gold and putting up a blocking the disc with a shield the shape of a hand in the same material.

“You dropped your medal,” I said, picking it up with the large gold hand. The Guardian had stopped talking, and many people were staring. Bus looked at the small golden disc in golden palm and shook his head.

“You err, Guardian Vera. I meant to hit you. Preferably in the eye.”

A gasp sounded from those watching who understood—a Soul’s weakest point was generally his or her eyes. The Guardian present gave Bus an irritated stare. “Vera, show this insolent what those who reckon with us are treated to.”

And order. I really didn’t want to hurt him, but the order—and my knowledge of the punishment asked for—compelled me to do so. I nodded a single swift jerk of my head in acceptance of the orders.

Bus obviously knew the punishment as well and blasted the medal telekinetically at my eyes. Too slow. I had long since improved my skills: with lightning speed I transferred the soul of in the gold hand back into the medal to stop the path of the disc; the new, tiny, golden hand streaked towards Bus and tapped him lightly on the leg. In a flash, the muscles in both legs had been moved to his stomach and rear end, which provided good cushioning as he collapsed.

 He seemed surprised but any pit for him was replaced by irritation at his scowl. “Stupid hairband girl,” he muttered so quietly that only the Guardian at my side and I heard.

I reached my hand into the my hair for a moment, pulling the winged hairbands out of my hair in an innocent move. “They have a name.”

I tossed them lightly at him, muttering so he would know—and not make the same mistake again—“Estallos.”

If Bus Kandler wanted to get out of the stone prison that encased him—and he was lucky it was only a stone prison and not instant death-- he would need a few very good spellcasters who were willing to suffer the same fate as him.

The Guardian nodded a tacit approval as Estallos fluttered back to me and set themselves in my hair.

Artist's Note: I lied again! >_< But I promise the next one is the last part for Vera. I'm trying to figure out how to tie in the ending of hers into the beginning of the next character's. The next one will start off where the excerpt in the beginning of part I-- so long ago! :/ >.<-- left off. 

Cookies for whoever can guess who the two people in the beginning are, now that all major characters relevant to Vera's story have been mentioned. More cookies to whoever can guess the next OC in this to-be never-ending thread of background stories.

Regarding the post itself though, I am rather pleased. I discovered that I write best at midnight >_< I am throughly tired now, and my fingers are heavy from typing nearly non-stop for the last 3 hours (work and then the story) and I'm sleepy. So goodnight! Please read and review!

~Silver Ink

Vera Suis Background part 4

Title: Conversion
Author: SilverInk
Writing: Character Background Story
Word Count: 1152

I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember much about that day when once again my life was altered. The Cordelians had no reason to suspect a man with his niece--living peacefully in the forest and paying taxes to the Cordelian government in the form of potato, grain or other surplus material—as supporters of the Revelin. I know not to this day why they came after us.

They had a strong mind-reader with them; her name, as I later learned, was Jane Exina, and she had been a part of the Revelin before being captured.

It was nothing like the army assembled at the village five years before. This time, only a few people were there, a few fighters, and a familiar face or two, from the trading in the city. We were caught unawares at night—they arrested Nem swiftly and threatened his life if I should attack. A soldier caught me from behind and held a knife at my own throat. He was close, very close—I could feel his breath breathing down on my neck, and his arm holding me flush against him. One of my hands was close enough to his leg; if I could only get the other close as well, I could get into his body via the leg; from there it was a short trip up to the brain to paralyze him.

The only Soul that had come with them—there was always a Soul or a pair of Souls supervising the Cordelian missions—examined the two of us, as if deciding with body to take over. Nem had just recovered from a cold, and was still looking quite sickly; he turned towards me.

It felt like my body was suddenly too small—like being in clothes that were too tight—and the world had gotten smaller. I could physically feel the other Soul wrenching his way in, pushing my soul out; like trying to squish into an already occupied seat—or in my case, being squished out. He succeeded, of course—he was much more advanced than I was—and it felt like I popped free of my body. It was nothing like what I was accustomed to doing in soul-sending and more like being shoved out a door than the usual launching-into-the-sky sensation. But I was still in my body, and could still feel my limbs. I tried moving them, but they were not mine to command, only mine to feel.

The Soul was experimenting with my body, lifting my arms and legs and shaking them as if to rid himself of a cramp. I was trapped in my own body, suppressed into a the size of a erythrocyte. But if anything, this red-blood-cell that was now me had a lot of mental power, which was at the moment fueled by indignation and anger. He began prowling through my brain, searching for indications of my power. Frequently I speculate what would have happened if I were not a Soul myself and what would have happened if Jane had not chosen that moment to intrude—she, being a mind-reader –a slight derivative of a soul-sender—blasted her conscious into my mind as well, and shifted through my mind even as I hurtled nasty insults at them both with my mind—which still had some control over my brain.

At this point I realize that for anyone but me, this moment is very strange and confusing. There is no way I can express each distinct feeling as it happened and as I felt it because so many were simultaneously. To compensate, I will call it a blur of action.

After this blur, I found myself—in the next distinguishable feeling—back in my own body, as I had been prior to the Soul’s intrusion. There was a faint dizziness, and I could not feel myself, but essentially I was fine. The girl mage—Jane—was chastising the boy about something in hushed tones and he was glaring at her as if her were superior. I glanced diagonally behind me at Nem, who had been tranquilized and left on the doorstep of his hut.

The Soul left, leaving me with my escort and the girl mage. He had a bitter expression and muttered something about getting her killed.

“Vera Suis,” she greeted, extending a hand. I didn’t take it. “I apologize for my companion’s intrusion. He is a novitiate, and has yet to learn the proper procedure. Come with me. I will ensure you are well.”

I didn’t want to believe her, but she took my hand and a feeling of calm washed over me. Weary, I followed.

---

When I next awoke, I was in a small dormitory, with a tray of food on a desk next to the bed I was laying on. As I dressed in the uniform lying on the chair, I inspected the broth for poison. Determining there was none, I ate greedily. The taste of the food was different, but not unpleasant, as was the feel of the clothes and the look of the room. A knock sounded on the door briefly and I whirled as the girl mage from the day before stepped in. She introduced herself, and my new surroundings, which she called Shalenfear.

Jane Exina was a partial Soul. She did not have the ability to completely take over a creature, but she could “throw” herself into the mind of another and search through their memories like a Soul. She had the ability of telepathy, as well as mind-reading.

And she, like me, was a Revelin convert, which was, as she put, “partially why [she] had the other Soul spare [me]”.

Jane Exina introduced me to Shalenfear Academy, where she lived as well, and assured me I would have a home there. I requested to return to my uncle’s hut in the forest, claiming the place did not suit well with me, and for some reason she agreed. We left immediately, Jane hushing stares with her death-cold glare.

“Your uncle left after the attack,” she said as we neared, and indeed the place was abandoned by the time we got there. I searched through the hut to find nothing, not even my glass figurines in their pretty wood/metal case.

“You will have a home at Shalenfear, Vera…they took me in when my parents were killed.”

“Why would I work for them? Why would I help the people who eradicated my family?” I spun on her, tears at the brink of falling.

“You can leave now if you want. I won’t stop you,” she said and returned to the front. I was in the bedroom now, facing the back door.

I hunted around the place, for any sign of something left behind—nothing. I thought I had been abandoned, again.

I stood up and walked out the front. “You’ll have a home at Shalenfear. I promise.”

Artist's Note: Technically, I posted twice last last week, so there was no missed update. Either way, this post is twice as long as the usual 500. But it's horrible. I'm going to blame it on writer's block and laziness and other stuff. 

But this is part 4, which is super-confusing and just a bunch of fluff in my opinion. Hopefully the last part will be better. Maybe starting another character would help too :/

Anyways, sorry for the lousy update this time -.-

~SilverInk

Vera Suis Background part 3

Title: Nem
Author: SilverInk
Writing: Character Background Story
Word Count: 972

I was tired beyond belief. Given my power, I could feel every drop of lactic acid stinging my muscles. My head hurt. I had scratches running along my arms where stray branches had struck me.

Still I pressed on.

The curse ensured it. Akeisa’s “Go west,” continued to press me westward. Even when I was struggling to stand, the curse urged west. It took a giant effort just to stop at a fountain and drink. I was staggering, slowly, but as long as I continued west, the complaints didn’t start. Still, no relief.

“Stop!” a voice called. I halted, glad for the order, almost uncaring who it was that stopped me. A figure made its way towards me, and I could tell through my blurry, spotted vision that it was a man with orange-brown hair, only slightly darker than my orange. “Come with me.”

I didn’t complain and submitted to the order. He led me to a hut in the forest, next to the river I had been following west. Staggering through the doorway, I watched as he set me down on a soft mat, and then heard running water. He handed me a glass, and I drank. When I had downed the glass, he gave me another, along with a crust of fresh bread. “Eat,” he commanded needlessly. When I was finished with that as well, he led me to another room, and left me alone. Too tired to complain or suspect, I slipped into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, the man was gone, and I crept up, intending to leave. I was on my way out the front when a photo caught my eye.

I scrutinized the photo and determined it was indeed my dead mother, arm in arm with the man who had rescued me. On her other side was Father, who was also surely dead as well now.

“You’re up,” a voice noted and I whirled from the photo. “Eat,” he said, pointing at food on the table. I sat in the seat he indicated and ate.

“Thank you,” I said when I was done. “Sorry, but who are you and why are you helping me?”

“My name is Nem Suis,” he said. “I’m your uncle. Your father is my older brother, and Cora was my friend when we were little. What did they name you?”

“Veraline,” I replied, watching him and wondering how he knew about me. Father had occasionally mentioned a brother, but I had always thought him captured or dead.

“I’ll have to call you Vera then,” he said after a moment.

“Why?”

“The ‘-line’ part would identify you as a part of the Revelin.”

I asked him how. He gave me a long explanation I had no interest in and to save time I consented. “You joined the Cordelians,” I accused.

He shook his head but did not answer. I was about to bolt out the door but stopped when he called me offered a pile of clothing. “We’ll need to wash what you have on, Vera,” he said. “Go change.” I started to argue, but he said, “Don’t argue, go change.”

It was like he knew I was obedient.

I changed into the tan dress and returned with my old clothes. He taught me first how to wash the clothes, then how to dry them, and then we headed in for lunch. After lunch he worked in the garden as I watched and learned, occasionally helping with familiar plants. When the sun went down, we headed back into the house and he lit a lamp. I helped with dinner and over rice and vegetables we swapped stories. He sent me off to take a shower as he cleaned up the dishes, and I wiped down the counter and table when I was finished. I unpacked my glass figurines under his scrutiny, and he promised we could build a case for them. Before blowing out the light, he laid down a few blankets and mats for me to sleep on. For privacy, he even hung a thick blanket through the bedroom for me.

By the end of my first day in Nem’s cottage, I felt like I had been living there all my life.

The next morning proceeded as if it were only normal I was there. We went over plans for the area as if we had lived together for more than the day we actually had. Plans were set to build a case for my figurines, to remodel the bathroom with a shower, and to harvest the grain in the back fields. I was to sew myself a cot and more clothes, and weave a proper dividing mat for the bedroom.

Nem worked in the fields in the morning, leaving me by myself. There wasn’t much to see in the three-room hut: the front was divided into a kitchen on the right and a living room on the left. The kitchen featured a small pantry, sink, and box that I figured was supposed to be a refridgerator. On the living room side was a deep woven chair sitting by a fireplace, and storage boxes with anything from cloth to knives in them. Past these two rooms was a small empty room with a privy and the foundations of a shower. The rest of the back of the hut was bedroom and food storage. I found a hammock chair on the back porch and settled there as I worked, thinking about what could have happened to Father and Akeisa.

I cooked lunch and dinner with a little trouble from the foreign ingredients, but as I was a quick learner and Nem a good teacher, I was soon working with the materials confidently. After dinner each night we played chess with a handmade set and discussed plans.

Once a month or so we trekked down to the nearby town and purchased materials we couldn’t make ourselves and sold our wares—wood carvings, woven crafts, and surplus food. It was my only times in cordelian society and I learned to deal with it. Nem was ambivalent to the conflict, and I accepted his views easily and happily.

In spare time, we worked on strengthening my magic and developing my abilities as a Soul; for a non-Soul, he knew remarkably much. Ironically, the only living things readily near us were plants, which were supposedly the hardest for Souls to possess; nevertheless, with Nem’s guidance I learned the complexities of my abilities.

There were times in the five years I lived with Nem that I longed for more company than my uncle, but they were ephemeral thoughts that were soon forgotten. Life was good, and I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, my life had a strange sense of humor and again decided to meddle.

Artist's Note: I lied >.< The conversion is next time I guess then. I decided to add this post because it's significant in the overall series. 

@Lyra--Thank you for your reviews in the last post :) To clarify:

The belief is that every being or object or whatever has a soul of their own. Vera's ability it sending her soul out of her body to take the quality of another's (Soul-sending). She can also "enter" the physical body of another living soul and adjust system's manually. 

A Soul is someone who possesses living things and takes over the original soul's task in thinking and controlling. They take on the strengths, weaknesses and abilities of the "host body" and govern it. The body's original resident soul is not pushed out, only suppressed. 

Somewhat clearer?

@Minsat-- :) <3

There were only two Souls in the attacking group, but there were other, non-Soul attackers as well that were not mentioned.

Yes. Vera's father stabbed the substance (which was the Soul escaping the dying body) but didn't manage to kill it, and was then possessed. 

>_< Sorry about all the errors, to everyone. I'll edit! :D Hopefully this post is better ;) Thanks for the reviews! 

~SilverInk

Vera Suis Background part 2

Title: Invasion
Author: SilverInk
Writing: Character Background Story
Word Count: 1800

When I was seven, the Cordelian secret police group invaded the village. We knew almost a week beforehand, and some were able to escape, but their scout crew caught most of the escapees. There was nothing to do but wait for the attack, fight, and hope we would win.

I learned why everyone was so scared of Souls.

There were actually only two Souls during the attack—Akeisa pointed them out to me from a rooftop one day before the attack. They looked like normal people, milling about with the rest of the attacking party, but Akeisa said they were able to possess others.

“Most Souls abandon their original body for a host’s body,” she explained as we climbed down.

“What about their original powers?”

“They lose them, of course, but they gain those of their victim.

I mused on this, wondering what it was like. “Can I try it out?”

She peered at me funny. “You wouldn’t need to ask. I’m not a Soul, so I wouldn’t know, but most just intrude. Some say the host’s soul is able to resist Souls in the early stages and even push them out, but it’s rare that it happens,” she said, striding ahead. I walked behind, wondering how I was supposed to use who I was as an advantage.

Thinking of my soul-sending abilities—I had noticed that a lot of me revolved around souls and possessing—I flung my entire conscious at her. It was awkward out of my body, but I persisted. My soul-self drifted near hers, and before I knew it, I—Veraline—was at the same time Akeisa. It was strange. I saw my body lift a hand, and the Akeisa-me raise a hand as well. The real Akeisa stared, confounded. “You must be doing it wrong,” she decided. “You’d have to let go completely of your body.”

“How?” I said, and the words popped out of both my body and the Akeisa-me body.

She shrugged. I returned to my body and the traces of the double fluttered back into its source—the real Akeisa—like any other soul-sending move. We walked in silence a while longer before I asked, “How does the Soul return to his or her original body?”

She shrugged again. We had reached my house, and stopped. There was a moment of silence before she reached out and shook my hand. “Veraline, they’re attacking tomorrow. I can feel it.”

I didn’t doubt her. Akeisa had the Gift of Auras as her power , and she could detect emotions and sometimes intentions.

“If we never meet—“

“Father says all the children will be sent away to escape. We’ll see each other then, right? And we’ll protect each other. They won’t catch us.”

She started to shake her head, then nodded, a tear escaping. Akeisa never cried. I knew something was wrong—even more wrong than she let on. “I’ll be coming with you, and guiding, most likely.”

I nodded, understanding. Akeisa was a clever person. She was waiting to determine the exact intentions and natures of the attackers to ensure the most advantageous move. “I’ll see you in the morrow then,” I murmured, shaking her hand. After a teary hug, she disappeared into her house, and I into mine.

Father in at home, for once in a rare time. He’d been spending more time at the house recently, helping Cora cook and pack. When I walked in, he nodded and drew away from her—it was clear they had been discussing something before, and possibly tears were involved, though I saw none.

“Veraline,” he addressed and I curtsied. “You’ll be leaving with the other children tomorrow?”

I nodded.

“Have you everything you want to bring?”

Another nod. I had already collected my few possessions—a blanket, a pillow, and my beloved glass figurines— and tucked them safely in a knapsack. Cora had added a load of foodstuffs, water, and hygienic materials to it, and determined I was set. Unlike the other children, I needed no weapon.

“Get some dinner and sleep them. You’ll need it.”

The next morning—the day of the invasion—I woke up early, nervous. Father and Cora were already up, talking quietly in the kitchen. After a solemn farewell, I shouldered my pack and joined Akeisa at the south gate. She had a similar pack on her back, as well as a belt of knives and was consulting a map. “Hello, Veraline,” she greeted without looking up. I fingered one of my braids.

“Where are all the others?”

“They escaped at midnight,” she said neutrally. “Without telling anyone.”

“Weren’t they afraid?”

“A few of them were caught,” she said, putting the map away. “We’re lucky it’s foggy today. You ready?”

I nodded, and she unlatched the lock. Without a backwards glance, we strode out, relocked the gate, and ventured into the forest, towards the lake.

We were almost at the lake when the first sounds of battle reached us; it was so soon we were both a little scared. At the river, we encountered another surprise—the group of children that had escaped the night before had taken the boat to the other side, leaving us with no way to get across.

Akeisa looked around for a handy vine or log we could use, and after a moment’s thought, I came up with an idea. With a hand, I absorbed the materiel of a nearby tree and enlarged the hand as much as possible. It still couldn’t span the lake. I tried using the other hand as well, and was able to make a makeshift bridge. We both scuttled across.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said. We whirled, to find one of the boys from the village glaring evilly at us.

“Traitor!” I hissed, clenching the giant wood-hands into fists.

“No, he’s being possessed by a Soul,” Akeisa noted quietly to me. Seeing that she wasn’t looking for an escape told me that this Soul had commands to fight and kidnap.

“I’ll take care of him,” I muttered. “You go.”  I lashed out at him, sending wood splinters flying at him. The Soul laughed and I briefly wondered why he hadn’t even tried to pretend to be a friend. I swung another hand at him and he dodged again, leaping around the clearing with amazing speed. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed from behind me and struck him in the chest mid-jump. He was tossed against a tree heavily as two more arrows found their mark. A figure dashed up and stabbed the wisp of substance that floated out of the dead body, but the wisp didn’t fade. After a moment’s shock, I recognized my father as the attacker. Seeing no bow on him, I looked back and saw Cora across the lake with her bow, crossing the lake on the boat that my father had surely pushed back for her.

“RUN!” I heard, and did so, the wood-hands vanishing as I summoned my soul back into my body and following the darting figure I knew as Akeisa. The Soul had managed to possess my father, and was now racing back to the river to eliminate Cora. I saw a bloody slash of his knife, and a splash of red water before Akeisa pulled me out of sight behind a boulder. She was shaking, but she quickly undid one of my braids. I was about to ask if this was seriously the time to be worrying about hair, when she stuttered, “The braid. It’s a symbol of the Revelin. Take yours out. Hurry!”

I did as she said, and shook the two remaining pigtails on my head so it seemed that I had never had it braided in the first place. Akeisa did the same, and ignoring the brown mess as she dug through her bag. “Take these,” she said, handing me two hairband-like objects. I set them obediently in my hair, the vain part of me delighted with the way the “wings” on the stone looked and the sensible side yelling about the intelligence of worrying about all this now. “They’re exploding rocks,” she said, getting up and continuing to jog over the hill. “And they’ll reform after every use.”

“Thanks,” I said, as we ducked under a low branch and continued downhill.

“Don’t mention it,” she said bitterly. We ran undisturbed for a while, and then suddenly Akeisa stopped, holding her hand out for me to as well.

I mouthed, “What’s wrong?” but she ignored the question and told me seriously, “Never braid your hair again, Veraline.” She then recited a quick spell making it so the command would override any future orders I was given. Confused and scared, I said the reply, confirming her spell.

“Good,” she sighed, grabbing a couple of knives. “The other Soul followed us here. I’ll hold him off for a while—you leave. Go west,” she ordered, pointing.

Unable to refuse, I left the way she had indicated, tears rolling down. First my father had been possessed by a Soul, then my mother had been killed by him in his possessed form, and now my best friend was abandoning me.

The other Soul—also in a body from the village—entered he clearing as soon as I was a few trees away, hidden in the fog and behind a few trees.

“Akeisa,” he greeted, faking friendliness. “Come with me. I know where are friends are. Why have you undone your braids? Why do you threaten me so?”

Akeisa ignored him, though, chanting another spell. I was worried—spells were usable by any, as they were set by the ancient ones, but using one still drained remarkable energy. Already Akeisa looked fairly pale. Another one might kill her.

“My friend, what are you doing?” the Soul stepped closer, but Akeisa didn’t move, and only kept chanting. “Stop this,” he said, reaching for her hand, but she finished the chant—her left knife glowing white, she stabbed the possessed body with her right, and as soon as the Soul escaped to possess her, she swung the left at him with unmatchable speed, screaming, “ESTALLOS!”

I didn’t see or hear what happened next, because I was still moving backwards due to the obedience curse. A few moments later though, I saw a bright light shooting from the small clearing. The ghostly aura of the light was so strong that even though I did not have Akeisa’s ability to detect auras, I could feel the call of ghosts and spirits rushing out and then collapsing back in. Frightened and propelled by the curse, I ran.

Adrenaline coursing through my body, I raced westward as fast as I could, with little care about where I was going.

Artist's Note: Part 2! So soon? Yes. :) This may or may not be this week's post though...

Anyway, that covers the majority of Vera's childhood...next post will go into her conversion and the fourth will hopefully finish it off, with a return to the scene described at the beginning of part 1.

School resumes after a four-day weekend tomorrow =.= I don't know what to say besides wail about my grades :'( 

Please read and review!

EDIT 12 June 2010: Edited a little! :D Thank you for the reviews! Hopefully this is  better :)
~SilverInk

Vera Suis Background part 1

Title: Friendless

Author: SilverInk

Writing: Character Background Story

Word Count: 1314

“Vera, you have been assigned to detain or defeat the escaped prisoners.”

I nodded and accepted the mission briefing card. After skimming the objective again, I flipped the card around and examined the map. Another nod.

“Best of luck, Miss Suis.”

I bowed, placing my left palm over my right fist, accepted the supply pack, and swung my cloak on while walking out.

Tracking the prisoners wasn’t hard. They had gotten hurt during the escape, and a trail of blood clearly marked a path. Luck! I thought, glancing around. Stealthily, I crept down the path and before long found myself near an abandoned shack

It was almost too easy.

With a jerk of my hand, I sent the soul in the hand out of my body and let the invisible soul hover near a boulder. Slowly at first, then with building speed, the material of the rock arched and covered the soul, so it seemed that there was now a rock hand floating in the air. The rock whose material I had stolen from appeared unchanged. The hand on my body moved a little and the rock-hand moved likewise. Satisfied, I continued towards the hut, enlarging the rock hand with my mind.

“Vera!” a voice called pleadingly from the door of the hut. “Please, Vera, you don’t have to do this!”

“Convert or death. Those are the rules,” I replied, venom creeping into my tone. The giant stone hand was aptly camouflaged against the night forest and was vibrating undetectably as a result of my impatience. Talk was pointless.

The escapee shook her head, tears forming. “Please, let us go!”

Us?

“Who else is there?” I barked, annoyed.

She reached to a place behind the wall and showed me a bundle. A youngling. That must have been why she was so eager to escape.

I glared at the bundle and at the escapee. “Convert!” I called again. “For the youngling’s sake!”

“I won’t have my child brought up like them!” she cried, cradling it.

I could have rolled my eyes at the sappiness of it all. Slowly, I stepped a few steps to my left. A small move of my hand brought the giant fist forward for her to see. She gasped with a expression of terror and shock, eyes pleading hopelessly with me. Then goodbye. I thought, clenching it into a fist.

“Vera, don’t!”

---

But first, there is another story behind that. One that explains why I’m called Vera and not Veraline.

I used to tie my hair up in braids. Four of them, them, two on each side, hung up neatly like ponytails. It was the symbol of the Revelin, the rebels and survivors of time before the Cordelian takeover. I lived in one of the Revelin villages in the midst of the Cordelian realm.

I lived with my Mum, but I never called her that—she was known as simply “Cora” to everyone, or maybe “Ms. Cora”. She was a nice lady, of pretty size and figure, with mellow temperament and good intelligence, and always smelling of cinnamon and sage. She was the village’s head cook. Together we lived in a small stone and adobe building that my father—who was usually away for council business—had built. It had three cots in it, though there was always another if Aponya, the healer and our neighbor, needed an extra.

Down from our hut was a small courtyard where all the children would play under the watch of an unoccupied adult.

I didn’t go down there much.

“Ew, it’s Veraline…” one of the kids murmured as I approached the courtyard one morning.

“Hello!”

The other kids shuddered collectively.

“What’s wrong?”

Another shudder.

I stood still, innocent of their contempt until at last I heard my mother calling me back to the house to run a few dishes to other houses. “oh..Well, I’ll see you all later then!” I said, smiling and waving as I bounced back to the house.

After the orders were delivered, I happened to be walking back to the courtyard and hid behind a wall when I heard the kids talking about me as they bounced a ball around.

“Why you all so mean to her?” someone asked. From the voice I recognized Akeisa, Aponya’s daughter.

“Don’t you know?” a kid said. “It’s because of who she is!”

“What do you mean?”

The bouncing stopped. “She’s one of them.”

“You mean a Cordelian?”

No reply, but I could guess someone shook their head.

“What do you mean then?”

There was a lot of uncomfortable shuffling and murmurs as someone struggled to explain. Finally, someone stepped forward and said bluntly to Akeisa, “She’s a Soul. Didn’t you see that time she possessed the leader of the wild dogs?”

“Yea, but what do you mean? She’s not bad though—she saved the village!”

“They’re all Cordelian spies, that’s for sure. And of course they’re bad. They possess people. And then her ability—detaching parts of her soul and stealing material from other objects or just taking them over completely—pure evil I say.”

There were murmurs of agreement. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I stepped into view. “That’s not the least of it,” I growled, tiny fists curled.

Without thinking, I rushed forward and tapped three fingers to each side of his head. Immediately the scene changed—I could now see inside his brain. Every neuron was clearly visible to me, vulnerable to my control. I thought about killing him—it was a short trip down to his heart and crushing the thing into a pulp—but I was unsure if I would be able to reach the brain in time again to escape the dying body. Instead, my mental conscious  reorganized the maze of neurons into a few simple shapes and I picked one of them up and crushed it before slipping out.

The victim had been still while I was inside, but now he jumped back and screamed, clutching his eyes. A few kids screamed; some attacked, while others ran. I struck one of them in the arm and was whisked into the muscle of his right arm. With maniacal anger I snapped the closest arteries before abandoning his body.

The kids remaining had learned to stay away but I gathered the material of the ground on my soul-feet and kicked them with the mud and dirt. When one of them lashed a torch at me, I sent my soul into the fire and twisted it to burn it wielder.

“Veraline!, They didn’t mean it! Stop fighting!” The order stung me and I couldn’t fight. The mud-feet didn’t fade and I still had control of the fire, but I couldn’t hurt anyone. A long moment passed and Akeisa laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. “That’s better. Calm down and be nice now…it’s ok.”

My parasympathetic system kicked in and within moments I was remarkably calmer even though some part of me still wanted to be angry and hurt. Slowly, I relinquished control of the mud and the fire. “I’m sorry for disrupting the peace,” I muttered, though still hurt at the kids’ cruel words. Looking at the person I had blinded, I said without meaning it, “I can repair that for you” and did. I healed the injuries I’d inflicted on the other kids as well before running home. Damn the obedience curse.

I resolved that day never to go back to the courtyard. Word of the incident never reached the adults for some reason, but everyone still held a grudge against my being a Soul, so I was avoided nonetheless. For some reason though, Aponya and Akeisa never saw being a Soul as an intrinsically bad thing and were kind. From then until the invasion of the village, I hung out with Cora and Aponya and helped them, learning bits of their trades. 

Artist's Note: I'm starting another character background thread thing! Vera wasn't an option on the MiniPoll, but I had a sudden inspiration to write something about her and decided to write her background story. I tried to start Miranda's (who was the only one mentioned >_<) but it hasn't come out exactly as I thought, and I'm really struggling with it; nevertheless, if I do procure something decent for her, it shall be posted. ;)

For the most part though, I will be sticking to the following four characters for a while, maybe with a few NaNoWriMo-related posts every so often: (In alphabethical order by first name)

Arliquen Chizan--16--healer

Quinn Winchester--15--nomad

Tsiyone Karmiti--14--nomad

Veraline Suis--15--secret police

:) I think, at least. Anyways, sorry for the late post this week and please read and review! Thank you in advance! :D

~SilverInk