046 - Sahabintreiusdhein

[JasonPaul]

There was nothing to be seen for miles and miles. Nothing but white as far as the eye could see, much like a blank canvas before an artist begins his brushstrokes. This was clearly no ordinary spell. It was not something that the Stosstrupen were trained to counter. Anwyn recognized it, even though he had never actually fallen victim to such a spell. The actual spell name, based on its runic components was “sahabintreiusdhein”, but it had a much more common name.

“A spell of Astral Binding,” Anwyn said, actually smiling a bit as he regarded this Tyne with new respect. Clearly this was no ordinary mage if he could pull something like this off. It was a spell that even Anwyn, whose specialties lied in conjuration and evocation rather than illusion and translocation, was incapable of. “How quaint. I didn’t think you’d give me too many problems, Tyne. I do apologize for my arrogance.” Anwyn began walking into the vast emptiness. There were a number of counters for this spell, but the most well known counter--and the one that Anwyn would have to settle for--was to find a way out of it. “All right then, Tyne. It’s been so long since I’ve been truly challenged by another mage. Hit me with your best shot.”

And then, almost as if Tyne were listening, the vast expanse of white turned into a vast expanse of black.

***

There were others in the spell that weren’t having as much fun, however. Among them was a small, ten year old felinefolk girl with light brown hair, trying her best to defend herself from the blows many other felinefolk girls. All of them laughed at her as they struck her with sticks, bottles, and whatever else might be handy, chanting two words over and over again.

“Mi! Wang! Mi! Wang! Mi! Wang!”

In the Kendou tongue, “mi wang” meant “born of dishonor” and was one of the worst things you could call a Kendou. The repeated chants of those words rung through the young girls ears. She tried to run from the girls, but it was no use, as her right leg was encased in a cast and she quickly tripped and fell on her face as she tried to step. The other girls laughed loudly at this display of clumsiness, and the blows continued. The little girl screamed through tears as she felt the pain of repeated strikes to her back.

“Sun Ji!” the little girl shouted in a pained cry. The ones attacking only laughed at this. And why wouldn’t they? Sun Ji was probably getting hers at that moment as well. However, it wasn’t simply a cry for help. It was an attempt to drown out the laughing she could hear above her. She shouted the name again, but the laughing only grew louder. The girls chanted another name. “Sun Chan.” They repeated it over and over again as the little girl screamed Sun Ji’s name again. However, she was cut off very quickly as she felt a sharp pain on the side of her cheek.

“Sun Chan! Get ahold of yourself!”

When the little girl opened her eyes again her hair had turned back to the more familiar shade of red and she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was looking directly into the eyes of her sister, Blue. The little girls who were bullying her were no longer there. She was now sitting in a small wooden room. She and her sister were the only ones occupying it.

“Bluzie…” Red said weakly before bursting into tears. Blue closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her sister.

“It’s okay, sister,” Blue said, knowing exactly what Red had just experienced, as it happened to her not too long ago as well. “It’s over now."