Raindrop14
Soldier for Christ!
Alright, so sorry for taking so long with this, I just procrastinated doing it because getting things off of my laptop is a pain. :\ So here is the first part, enjoy. ^^
Chapter one: Meetings
It was the typical day for Kirana; do nothing but watch the entrance for someone to enter their itty-bitty village. The reason for it being itty bitty is that it was in the middle of a forest, infested with dangerous creatures; and no one wanted to bother with visiting or living there, save a small handful obviously. Every day Kirana watched that entrance, not just because she was so bored, but she was actually waiting for someone to come through that stone arch.
The town was structured so that her house was directly across from the entrance, and so it was actually easy to look and wait on her own property. There were very few houses that made a hallway of sorts leading to the arch, and the rest of the buildings creating the ‘hallway’ were a shop and smithy. It just shows you how small this place was. There was a tower on either side of the arch, where the guards of the town took residence.
And so Kirana sat where she usually sat, in front of her house underneath the window that lead to her bedroom inside. She assumed there to be nothing new to happen today either, but she was proven wrong when a girl she’d never seen before in this town came out of one of the houses.
I’ve lived here for sixteen years, and not once have I seen her. Kirana thought, puzzled at the girl’s sudden appearance. But strangely, she looks familiar…
The girl had two long dark brown French braids falling at her back, but her facial features were hidden with her being turned away from Kirana. Kirana wanted to see who the girl was, but stayed at her house to seem less conspicuous. The girl disappeared into the shop, and Kirana was left wondering. It was very odd to see a new face, especially since Kirana had always stayed waiting outside her home for the longest time, and she’d never seen this girl come in.
The girl came out of the shop soon after and headed into the house nearest Kirana’s.
Had she really lived so close to me?
Kirana wasted no time in getting up and walking over to the girl’s house. Perhaps if she friendly knocked on the door and asked her name, she wouldn’t sound too suspicious; after all, it’s sort of neighborly to get to know the people of the town.
Kirana made up her mind and knocked three times on the wood. The girl from earlier opened it, and Kirana could now see her more clearly. The girl’s light blue tunic stood out, as it was uncommon to wear bright colors nowadays. But the rest of her garb, being just tights and leather boots, were normally seen. She was wearing a necklace with an emerald green stone in the center of a gold plate. Her eyes matched the stone in her necklace like a pair of socks, and they both shone like jewls in the sun.
Although Kirana’s own garb wasn’t normal either. She wore long blue shorts that went past her knees, odd for a girl but they had sentimental value. She wore a plain white shirt, with a red vest over it. She certainly was an oddly dressed girl, more so that this other girl.
Kirana forgot what she was going to say for a minute, but remembered herself with a quick shake of her head.
“Hi, I couldn’t help my curiosity, but mind my asking your name?” Kirana asked, smiling awkwardly.
The girl eyed her suspiciously, but continued the conversation nonetheless. “My name is Tekara Ki. I suppose it’s a pleasure to meet you, but this meeting isn’t what one would expect to happen on any given day.” She joked at the end to seem more friendly.
“Yeah. Oh my name is Kirana by the way,” Kirana said in ebarrasment. “And I can’t help but wonder, have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
“It’s possible, I’ve lived here my whole life. How long have you been a residant?”
“Same as you, but I don’t recall ever seeing you. I mean, here.”
Kirana realized that her statement was unusual, for where could she have ever been but in this itty bitty town her whole life? But she knew she had never seen this girl here, she had seen her somewhere else. As to where, she had no clue.
“I feel the same, that I know you somehow, but I don’t see it likely being true.” Tekara said, dismissing the idea of an unnatural meeting in a different place. “I have had this same situation with a friend of mine though, her name is Keeta. For some reason I knew her before we even met, but we were unable to explain our knowing each other, so she went to Sovlain to seek answers.”
“Sovlain huh? Well if she can get answers there, so can we,” Kirana said in a cheerful mood.
“Let’s not jump on the wagon yet, Kirana; Sovlain is a bit far, and I don’t even know if Keeta is still there.”
“It never hurt to try,” Kirana winked at Tekara.
“I suppose so.” Tekara gave in to Kirana’s stubborn, yet not so forceful, push for their adventure. Then there was planning to do. “I’ll have two horses ready tomorrow morning, and we can leave then.”
“Understood, I’ll see you then!” Kirana went back to her house in a jolly mood, she had to keep herself from skipping to avoid ebarrasment.
Kirana entered her house upon reaching it, and in front of her lay the T hallway, which streached out only a few feet. To her right she went, and inside that small bedroom of hers she got out a satchel for her trip. She lazilly tossed it on her bed next to the window, and began rummaging through her chest that sat next to the bed. Her bookshelf was full to the brim, up against the wall to her left, and her room seemed very small with all her things scattered about. Kirana had never kept her place very tidy for the longest time, it hadn’t mattered to her much after she lost all of her family members.
Kirana found a dagger in her chest, underneath the other junk that had been stored in there for a long time, and tossed it on the bed to be thrown in the satchel once she had her belongings gathered. She rose from her spot, and then grabbed the lantern off of the table near the doorway. With that more gently tossed, but tossed nonetheless, onto the bed with the dagger, she went into the other room across from this one, to get the things needed from there.
This one was about the same size, although less walking space with the cabinets, counters and a table in there. It was a kitchen, cleaner than the bedroom, and a place for more books as well. There was a bookshelf all along the wall to her left, and the table had to be pushed as far as possible in the far left corner. The cbinets went all along the wall to her right, with the counter underneath. This is where Kirana started her search, digging through the cabinets to find suitable food for a journey.
Kirana dug through the cabinets, and laid out her provisions on the counter below.
Not much there. She thought, looking at the low supply of food.
She shrugged though, and carried it all back to her bedroom and stuffed it in her bag. She would also need her cloak, which after a time of stressful searching she realized she was wearing it already. Kirana’s unnatural dark blue hair got caught on the cloak as she was taking it off. For a moment she struggled with it, and finally it let loose her waist length beast.
She threw all of her needs that were left into the satchel, save the cloak, and closed it up to be taken the next morning when she would leave. Kirana had no need to pack clothes, as she saw no point in changing while travelling possibly for a long time. She did take off her leather gloves and boots though, and hopped onto the bed to sleep. Here red eyes reflected the setting sun through her window, but the image suddenlt faded as she fell asleep.
Not long after she was sleeping did she awake to a terrible cry. She jolted up, her eyes wide open at the shouts.
“The Rain! Go to your houses, it’s the Rain!”
The calls came from the guards at their stations. She froze with horror when they confirmed that the Rain were here. Quickly she jumped out of bed, pulled on her boots and gloves, and frantically searched for her dagger. Forgetting it’s whearabouts, she waved it off and ran to her window. There were dark shadows moving everywhere, but there were also figures out there whom she was able to tell were guards. Some guards had torches, whilst the others faught the Rain.
Kirana feard going out there, but she also feared staying in here. The Rain however, never came close to her house, and for that she breathed easier.
But just as soon as the Rain came, they left. It was as if they’d only come to see the town, and then leave. Perhaps they weren’t here for a killing, but just to observe the goings on of the town. Kirana shuddered at the thought that the Rain could possibly be spys for someone, but her thoughts were shattered when she heard a knock on the door.
She got up to open it, but hesitated when she reached the door. Kirana had no way of telling wheather the Rain had truly left, although the shouts from the guards had faded. She stood there unmoving, wating to see if it would pass.
Another knock came on the door, and Kirana took a step back for fear of the Rain entering her house. Suddenly the doorknob began to turn, and the door opened to a dark figure standing in the doorway. She gasped at the sight, but was even more frightened when the figure fell over into her house.
Suddenly Kirana recognized the man who’d fallen over; it was her brother Allan! She rushed to his side, and held him up. He seemed to be alive, but his eyes were closed as if he were asleep.
“Allan!”
His eyes were still closed, and her cry was to no avail. She began to stroke his short dark blue hair, a gene that never seemed to leave the family line, and hope for his awakening. He was dressed in the same garb as Kirana, as they both tended to wear the same thing all the time, even when far apart. Kirana held her hope, seeing if he would awaken or not, when his eyes slowly opened like a man coming out of a daze.
“Where am I?” He asked, propping up on his elbows and rubbing his head.
“Your home Allan! You’re here at Calla!” Kirana said with joy, hugging him.
He hugged her back, awkwardly from the angle he was at, then stood up slowly along with Kirana.
“How did I get here?”
Kirana had no way of answering that, as she didn’t know either. So she gave a shrug, and Allan was left wondering.
“I really shouldn’t be here though, I need to get back to the Wind Temple.” Allan rubbed his eyes with one hand, and his mucles seemed to tense up from stress. Then he looked to regard his sister. “Kirana, I’m sorry for this happening, but now I have to go. The Wind Sage’s life is in danger, and I need to help her.”
“I understand, it’s perfectly alright,” Kirana said, holding back tears. The last time she had said that, was seven years ago when he first left. That was the day…
“I’m really sorry,” He said, hugging her then. “But I need to go. It’s my job to protect Ashie, I can’t let her down.”
“No, go on, the Rain can’t take anyone else anyway…”
“What do you mean?” Allan asked, breaking the hug and looking her in the eye. His eyes too, were red like rubies.
“It’s the day you left Allan,” Kirana said, breaking down and crying. “The Rain, th-they took them, mom and dad. Their dead!”
Allan didn’t know what to say, but he bent down and hugged Kirana to calm her. His parents died the day he left? For some reason though, he was unable to cry. Kirana gladly accepted his hug to comfort her, and waited a little while more to tell the rest of her story.
“A few hours after you left, the guards signaled the Rain coming. Dad went out to fight, and hours passed,” Kirana explained, while still embracing Allan. “We had no way of knowing if the Rain were gone yet, we alwayse had to wait until morning. But mom, she went outside, telling me she would be back. She never came back Allan, the Rain killed her too! I was left there until morning, when they came and got me, we had their funeral there. I’ve been living alone ever since Allan, for seven years!” She began to cry again, and all Allan could do was pet her hair.
“I should’ve been here,” He said in a low voice.
“No, you had to protect the Wind Sage, it was your duty,” Kirana said, looking up now and stiffling her tears.
“I know, I just wish they’d chosen somebody else.”
“You were chosen for a reason, Allan, and that makes you special,” Kirana smiled at her brother, knowing it would cheer him up.
Allan stood up then, and Kirana followed suite. She knew this was now where he would leave again, probably never to be seen. He had to protect the Wind Sage, and that was probably one of the biggest jobs in hitory.
“I have to go though, Kirana, I’m sorry.”
“I’m fine Allan, the Wind Sage needs you more.” Kirana managed a smile.
And with that, Allan headed out the door. Kirana stood at the door, watching him leave, hesitant to run and give him one last hug. She held herself back though, and saw his figure fade with the growing mist. Kirana stood there for a moment, hoping to see Allan once more, but once she realized that fooling herself woud do her no good, she went back in.
It was starting to rain outside now, and the sun, although hardly noticable with the thick forest they lived in, was coming up. The people of this town had figured out ways to tell where the sun was, and so everyone born there were brought up with that knowledge. Kirana decided she’d gather her things then, and check to see if Tekara was ready to go yet. She grabbed her satchel, and put on her cloak, tieing her hair back so it wouldn’t be in the way. She headed out the door, remembering how that was the place she’d seen Allan in a long time; but she ignored the thoughts and walked through the rain to Tekara’s house.
There seemed to be no horses about, but Kirana ignored that and knocked. Momentslater there was no answer.
Did she leave already?
Kirana wouldn’t believe that Tekara would have left, and she knocked again. No answer once more, and so Kirana was lead to believe the previous thought. She took off from the small town, through the arch that she saw her brother fade into, and out intothe open forest. She heard calls of good luck to her from the guards, and she smiled.
It was a dense forest, and you could hardly see ahead of you. Kirana followed the path that was created long ago, to keep from getting lost. The path lead to the docks by the ocean, which was where she would probably meet Tekara. About an hour passed and Kirana finally reached the open plains, surprisingly without a single encounter from a nasty creature. The Rain must have scared them off.
It was raining harder out here, without the cover from the trees, and Kirana had to pull up her hood to see properly. The mist too, was thicker here, and she had to walk at a slower pace to keep from stumbling. After about thirty minutes of walking in the mist and rain, she heard a noise behind her that sounded similar to horses. When she turned she was unable to see anything but two large figures heading her way, at a quick speed too. Knowing that the riders would not see her in this mist either, she hurried off the pathway to stay clear of being trampled. When the horses got closer, they stopped.
“Walking eh?” She heard a familiar voice.
Kirana turned to see Tekara, dripping wet from the rain, on a horse and holding the reins of another horse.
“Well I checked your house but you didn’t answer,” Kirana said, smiling at Tekara for bringing the horses.
“Well hop on, walking takes too long.”
Kirana gladly got on the horse that was offered to her, and they both began at a trot. Going too fast in this rain and mist might end badly, the horses didn’t have infravision, but they needed to go at a moderately good pace to get there in a timely fashion. Kirana kept silent while they trod along the muddy road, and Tekara seemed to keep herself occupied with steering her horse in the right direction.
Soon the mist lifted, and all that was left was the light rain that continued to fall. They were able to speed their horses up a little, but not too much lest they slip in the mud. The sun was nowhere to be seen still, but Kirana could tell it was about midday. As soon as it hit about two or three in the afternnon they stopped, and let their horses graze while they ate their own meals they broght with them.
“Did you see them last night?” Tekara asked, breaking the long silence.
“The Rain?” Kirana asked, receiving a nod. “Yes.” They both fell into silence then, not too eager to recall the accounts of last night.
It made Kirana even more sad to think about Allan though, rather than the Rain’s appearance. She finished her slice of bread and cheese, and put her satchel back into the horse securely. The rain had come to a slow drizzle now, but the clouds did not pass.
They kept silent for the rest of the day, neither mentioning their experiences with the Rain the previous night. When the sun fell and the moon rose, they dimounted and tied their horses to a nearby tree. Kirana hadn’t brought a mat to sleep on, but luckily Tekara had thought ahead and her horse had one attached to the saddle. She detached it, and set it up in the dryest spot that she could find.
“I’ll collect firewood, you can start to make some sort of meal,” Tekara said, heading off into the plains in search of dry wood.
Kirana took to getting their food supplies out and found a pan in Tekara’s satchel. She got that out, along with two fish that Tekara had packed, and waited for Tekara to come back with the wood. After some time of hard searching, Tekara arrived with a good load of firewood, and they made their fire. Kirana cooked the fish for them, and they both ate pleasantly.
“Kirana, have you ever lost anyone by the Rain?” Tekara asked, starting on her fish.
“Yes,” Kirana said, putting her half eaten fish on her lap.
“I’m sorry, I just… Wanted to know if I was travelling with someone who shared the same feelings as I do, towards the Rain.”
Kirana left her fish uneaten, and sat there for a time.
“I lost my mother to them, when I was five,” Tekara started. “My mother was a soldier of the town, fighting due to the absence of men who lived there. She never came back after the Rain left, and I shut myself in my house.” Tekara poked the fire to keep it going, and continued her story without looking up. “I stayed in there for what seemed like weeks, living off of the food that had been stored in there. One day I heard a knock on the door, I opened and to my horror I saw one of them, it was another raid. I ran to my room, calling for my mother, and the Rain left as if I wasn’t important anymore.” Kirana shuddered at Tekara’s mention of meeting one of the Rain, but stayed silent to hear the rest.
“I once more stayed in there for the longest time, ignoring knocks and shout at my door. One of the soldiers, he was a good friend of my mother’s, I let in after I had been starving myself for a while. He said he was going to adopt me,” Tekara had trouble holding back tears, and Kirana felt sorry for being sort of rude when she asked about the Rain. “I never saw him again though, because once he left to get his things to live there, I shut myself out again. I’ve snuck out to get food for my whole life now, not allowing anyone to know I lived there. That’s probably why you never saw me in town I guess.” Tekara looked up at Kirana, and gave a weak smile.
“My situation was similar,” Kirana said, feeling guilty about not sharing her story when Tekara had done so. “Right after my brother left to be a Keeper, my father died fighting the Rain, and my mother died going out to warn of another raid. I lived on my own without being bothered, hoping that my brother would come back some day.” Kirana let loose her tears now, and she heard Tekara come over to sit next to her. She wiped away the water and looked at Tekara. “I never thought I’d see him again Tekara, but he came back, last night. The Rain took him for some reason, and brought him here. But he left, to go help the Wind Sage.”
“It seems the Rain has left their mark on everyone. But don’t ever loose hope that you and your brother can see each other again, the Sages aren’t unkind to good souls.”
Tekara patted Kirana’s back, and Kirana decided she didn’t want the fish anymore. She tossed it in the fire, and they watched the body burn up. Kirana let Tekara know she was fine, and Tekara went back to her mat to cover up. Kirana did the same, lying down and pulling a blanket over herself. They both gave each other a smile, and fell asleep.
***
Thanks for reading, I appreciate your feedback and support. ^^
The Sage’s Orbs
By Raindrop14
By Raindrop14
Chapter one: Meetings
It was the typical day for Kirana; do nothing but watch the entrance for someone to enter their itty-bitty village. The reason for it being itty bitty is that it was in the middle of a forest, infested with dangerous creatures; and no one wanted to bother with visiting or living there, save a small handful obviously. Every day Kirana watched that entrance, not just because she was so bored, but she was actually waiting for someone to come through that stone arch.
The town was structured so that her house was directly across from the entrance, and so it was actually easy to look and wait on her own property. There were very few houses that made a hallway of sorts leading to the arch, and the rest of the buildings creating the ‘hallway’ were a shop and smithy. It just shows you how small this place was. There was a tower on either side of the arch, where the guards of the town took residence.
And so Kirana sat where she usually sat, in front of her house underneath the window that lead to her bedroom inside. She assumed there to be nothing new to happen today either, but she was proven wrong when a girl she’d never seen before in this town came out of one of the houses.
I’ve lived here for sixteen years, and not once have I seen her. Kirana thought, puzzled at the girl’s sudden appearance. But strangely, she looks familiar…
The girl had two long dark brown French braids falling at her back, but her facial features were hidden with her being turned away from Kirana. Kirana wanted to see who the girl was, but stayed at her house to seem less conspicuous. The girl disappeared into the shop, and Kirana was left wondering. It was very odd to see a new face, especially since Kirana had always stayed waiting outside her home for the longest time, and she’d never seen this girl come in.
The girl came out of the shop soon after and headed into the house nearest Kirana’s.
Had she really lived so close to me?
Kirana wasted no time in getting up and walking over to the girl’s house. Perhaps if she friendly knocked on the door and asked her name, she wouldn’t sound too suspicious; after all, it’s sort of neighborly to get to know the people of the town.
Kirana made up her mind and knocked three times on the wood. The girl from earlier opened it, and Kirana could now see her more clearly. The girl’s light blue tunic stood out, as it was uncommon to wear bright colors nowadays. But the rest of her garb, being just tights and leather boots, were normally seen. She was wearing a necklace with an emerald green stone in the center of a gold plate. Her eyes matched the stone in her necklace like a pair of socks, and they both shone like jewls in the sun.
Although Kirana’s own garb wasn’t normal either. She wore long blue shorts that went past her knees, odd for a girl but they had sentimental value. She wore a plain white shirt, with a red vest over it. She certainly was an oddly dressed girl, more so that this other girl.
Kirana forgot what she was going to say for a minute, but remembered herself with a quick shake of her head.
“Hi, I couldn’t help my curiosity, but mind my asking your name?” Kirana asked, smiling awkwardly.
The girl eyed her suspiciously, but continued the conversation nonetheless. “My name is Tekara Ki. I suppose it’s a pleasure to meet you, but this meeting isn’t what one would expect to happen on any given day.” She joked at the end to seem more friendly.
“Yeah. Oh my name is Kirana by the way,” Kirana said in ebarrasment. “And I can’t help but wonder, have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
“It’s possible, I’ve lived here my whole life. How long have you been a residant?”
“Same as you, but I don’t recall ever seeing you. I mean, here.”
Kirana realized that her statement was unusual, for where could she have ever been but in this itty bitty town her whole life? But she knew she had never seen this girl here, she had seen her somewhere else. As to where, she had no clue.
“I feel the same, that I know you somehow, but I don’t see it likely being true.” Tekara said, dismissing the idea of an unnatural meeting in a different place. “I have had this same situation with a friend of mine though, her name is Keeta. For some reason I knew her before we even met, but we were unable to explain our knowing each other, so she went to Sovlain to seek answers.”
“Sovlain huh? Well if she can get answers there, so can we,” Kirana said in a cheerful mood.
“Let’s not jump on the wagon yet, Kirana; Sovlain is a bit far, and I don’t even know if Keeta is still there.”
“It never hurt to try,” Kirana winked at Tekara.
“I suppose so.” Tekara gave in to Kirana’s stubborn, yet not so forceful, push for their adventure. Then there was planning to do. “I’ll have two horses ready tomorrow morning, and we can leave then.”
“Understood, I’ll see you then!” Kirana went back to her house in a jolly mood, she had to keep herself from skipping to avoid ebarrasment.
Kirana entered her house upon reaching it, and in front of her lay the T hallway, which streached out only a few feet. To her right she went, and inside that small bedroom of hers she got out a satchel for her trip. She lazilly tossed it on her bed next to the window, and began rummaging through her chest that sat next to the bed. Her bookshelf was full to the brim, up against the wall to her left, and her room seemed very small with all her things scattered about. Kirana had never kept her place very tidy for the longest time, it hadn’t mattered to her much after she lost all of her family members.
Kirana found a dagger in her chest, underneath the other junk that had been stored in there for a long time, and tossed it on the bed to be thrown in the satchel once she had her belongings gathered. She rose from her spot, and then grabbed the lantern off of the table near the doorway. With that more gently tossed, but tossed nonetheless, onto the bed with the dagger, she went into the other room across from this one, to get the things needed from there.
This one was about the same size, although less walking space with the cabinets, counters and a table in there. It was a kitchen, cleaner than the bedroom, and a place for more books as well. There was a bookshelf all along the wall to her left, and the table had to be pushed as far as possible in the far left corner. The cbinets went all along the wall to her right, with the counter underneath. This is where Kirana started her search, digging through the cabinets to find suitable food for a journey.
Kirana dug through the cabinets, and laid out her provisions on the counter below.
Not much there. She thought, looking at the low supply of food.
She shrugged though, and carried it all back to her bedroom and stuffed it in her bag. She would also need her cloak, which after a time of stressful searching she realized she was wearing it already. Kirana’s unnatural dark blue hair got caught on the cloak as she was taking it off. For a moment she struggled with it, and finally it let loose her waist length beast.
She threw all of her needs that were left into the satchel, save the cloak, and closed it up to be taken the next morning when she would leave. Kirana had no need to pack clothes, as she saw no point in changing while travelling possibly for a long time. She did take off her leather gloves and boots though, and hopped onto the bed to sleep. Here red eyes reflected the setting sun through her window, but the image suddenlt faded as she fell asleep.
Not long after she was sleeping did she awake to a terrible cry. She jolted up, her eyes wide open at the shouts.
“The Rain! Go to your houses, it’s the Rain!”
The calls came from the guards at their stations. She froze with horror when they confirmed that the Rain were here. Quickly she jumped out of bed, pulled on her boots and gloves, and frantically searched for her dagger. Forgetting it’s whearabouts, she waved it off and ran to her window. There were dark shadows moving everywhere, but there were also figures out there whom she was able to tell were guards. Some guards had torches, whilst the others faught the Rain.
Kirana feard going out there, but she also feared staying in here. The Rain however, never came close to her house, and for that she breathed easier.
But just as soon as the Rain came, they left. It was as if they’d only come to see the town, and then leave. Perhaps they weren’t here for a killing, but just to observe the goings on of the town. Kirana shuddered at the thought that the Rain could possibly be spys for someone, but her thoughts were shattered when she heard a knock on the door.
She got up to open it, but hesitated when she reached the door. Kirana had no way of telling wheather the Rain had truly left, although the shouts from the guards had faded. She stood there unmoving, wating to see if it would pass.
Another knock came on the door, and Kirana took a step back for fear of the Rain entering her house. Suddenly the doorknob began to turn, and the door opened to a dark figure standing in the doorway. She gasped at the sight, but was even more frightened when the figure fell over into her house.
Suddenly Kirana recognized the man who’d fallen over; it was her brother Allan! She rushed to his side, and held him up. He seemed to be alive, but his eyes were closed as if he were asleep.
“Allan!”
His eyes were still closed, and her cry was to no avail. She began to stroke his short dark blue hair, a gene that never seemed to leave the family line, and hope for his awakening. He was dressed in the same garb as Kirana, as they both tended to wear the same thing all the time, even when far apart. Kirana held her hope, seeing if he would awaken or not, when his eyes slowly opened like a man coming out of a daze.
“Where am I?” He asked, propping up on his elbows and rubbing his head.
“Your home Allan! You’re here at Calla!” Kirana said with joy, hugging him.
He hugged her back, awkwardly from the angle he was at, then stood up slowly along with Kirana.
“How did I get here?”
Kirana had no way of answering that, as she didn’t know either. So she gave a shrug, and Allan was left wondering.
“I really shouldn’t be here though, I need to get back to the Wind Temple.” Allan rubbed his eyes with one hand, and his mucles seemed to tense up from stress. Then he looked to regard his sister. “Kirana, I’m sorry for this happening, but now I have to go. The Wind Sage’s life is in danger, and I need to help her.”
“I understand, it’s perfectly alright,” Kirana said, holding back tears. The last time she had said that, was seven years ago when he first left. That was the day…
“I’m really sorry,” He said, hugging her then. “But I need to go. It’s my job to protect Ashie, I can’t let her down.”
“No, go on, the Rain can’t take anyone else anyway…”
“What do you mean?” Allan asked, breaking the hug and looking her in the eye. His eyes too, were red like rubies.
“It’s the day you left Allan,” Kirana said, breaking down and crying. “The Rain, th-they took them, mom and dad. Their dead!”
Allan didn’t know what to say, but he bent down and hugged Kirana to calm her. His parents died the day he left? For some reason though, he was unable to cry. Kirana gladly accepted his hug to comfort her, and waited a little while more to tell the rest of her story.
“A few hours after you left, the guards signaled the Rain coming. Dad went out to fight, and hours passed,” Kirana explained, while still embracing Allan. “We had no way of knowing if the Rain were gone yet, we alwayse had to wait until morning. But mom, she went outside, telling me she would be back. She never came back Allan, the Rain killed her too! I was left there until morning, when they came and got me, we had their funeral there. I’ve been living alone ever since Allan, for seven years!” She began to cry again, and all Allan could do was pet her hair.
“I should’ve been here,” He said in a low voice.
“No, you had to protect the Wind Sage, it was your duty,” Kirana said, looking up now and stiffling her tears.
“I know, I just wish they’d chosen somebody else.”
“You were chosen for a reason, Allan, and that makes you special,” Kirana smiled at her brother, knowing it would cheer him up.
Allan stood up then, and Kirana followed suite. She knew this was now where he would leave again, probably never to be seen. He had to protect the Wind Sage, and that was probably one of the biggest jobs in hitory.
“I have to go though, Kirana, I’m sorry.”
“I’m fine Allan, the Wind Sage needs you more.” Kirana managed a smile.
And with that, Allan headed out the door. Kirana stood at the door, watching him leave, hesitant to run and give him one last hug. She held herself back though, and saw his figure fade with the growing mist. Kirana stood there for a moment, hoping to see Allan once more, but once she realized that fooling herself woud do her no good, she went back in.
It was starting to rain outside now, and the sun, although hardly noticable with the thick forest they lived in, was coming up. The people of this town had figured out ways to tell where the sun was, and so everyone born there were brought up with that knowledge. Kirana decided she’d gather her things then, and check to see if Tekara was ready to go yet. She grabbed her satchel, and put on her cloak, tieing her hair back so it wouldn’t be in the way. She headed out the door, remembering how that was the place she’d seen Allan in a long time; but she ignored the thoughts and walked through the rain to Tekara’s house.
There seemed to be no horses about, but Kirana ignored that and knocked. Momentslater there was no answer.
Did she leave already?
Kirana wouldn’t believe that Tekara would have left, and she knocked again. No answer once more, and so Kirana was lead to believe the previous thought. She took off from the small town, through the arch that she saw her brother fade into, and out intothe open forest. She heard calls of good luck to her from the guards, and she smiled.
It was a dense forest, and you could hardly see ahead of you. Kirana followed the path that was created long ago, to keep from getting lost. The path lead to the docks by the ocean, which was where she would probably meet Tekara. About an hour passed and Kirana finally reached the open plains, surprisingly without a single encounter from a nasty creature. The Rain must have scared them off.
It was raining harder out here, without the cover from the trees, and Kirana had to pull up her hood to see properly. The mist too, was thicker here, and she had to walk at a slower pace to keep from stumbling. After about thirty minutes of walking in the mist and rain, she heard a noise behind her that sounded similar to horses. When she turned she was unable to see anything but two large figures heading her way, at a quick speed too. Knowing that the riders would not see her in this mist either, she hurried off the pathway to stay clear of being trampled. When the horses got closer, they stopped.
“Walking eh?” She heard a familiar voice.
Kirana turned to see Tekara, dripping wet from the rain, on a horse and holding the reins of another horse.
“Well I checked your house but you didn’t answer,” Kirana said, smiling at Tekara for bringing the horses.
“Well hop on, walking takes too long.”
Kirana gladly got on the horse that was offered to her, and they both began at a trot. Going too fast in this rain and mist might end badly, the horses didn’t have infravision, but they needed to go at a moderately good pace to get there in a timely fashion. Kirana kept silent while they trod along the muddy road, and Tekara seemed to keep herself occupied with steering her horse in the right direction.
Soon the mist lifted, and all that was left was the light rain that continued to fall. They were able to speed their horses up a little, but not too much lest they slip in the mud. The sun was nowhere to be seen still, but Kirana could tell it was about midday. As soon as it hit about two or three in the afternnon they stopped, and let their horses graze while they ate their own meals they broght with them.
“Did you see them last night?” Tekara asked, breaking the long silence.
“The Rain?” Kirana asked, receiving a nod. “Yes.” They both fell into silence then, not too eager to recall the accounts of last night.
It made Kirana even more sad to think about Allan though, rather than the Rain’s appearance. She finished her slice of bread and cheese, and put her satchel back into the horse securely. The rain had come to a slow drizzle now, but the clouds did not pass.
They kept silent for the rest of the day, neither mentioning their experiences with the Rain the previous night. When the sun fell and the moon rose, they dimounted and tied their horses to a nearby tree. Kirana hadn’t brought a mat to sleep on, but luckily Tekara had thought ahead and her horse had one attached to the saddle. She detached it, and set it up in the dryest spot that she could find.
“I’ll collect firewood, you can start to make some sort of meal,” Tekara said, heading off into the plains in search of dry wood.
Kirana took to getting their food supplies out and found a pan in Tekara’s satchel. She got that out, along with two fish that Tekara had packed, and waited for Tekara to come back with the wood. After some time of hard searching, Tekara arrived with a good load of firewood, and they made their fire. Kirana cooked the fish for them, and they both ate pleasantly.
“Kirana, have you ever lost anyone by the Rain?” Tekara asked, starting on her fish.
“Yes,” Kirana said, putting her half eaten fish on her lap.
“I’m sorry, I just… Wanted to know if I was travelling with someone who shared the same feelings as I do, towards the Rain.”
Kirana left her fish uneaten, and sat there for a time.
“I lost my mother to them, when I was five,” Tekara started. “My mother was a soldier of the town, fighting due to the absence of men who lived there. She never came back after the Rain left, and I shut myself in my house.” Tekara poked the fire to keep it going, and continued her story without looking up. “I stayed in there for what seemed like weeks, living off of the food that had been stored in there. One day I heard a knock on the door, I opened and to my horror I saw one of them, it was another raid. I ran to my room, calling for my mother, and the Rain left as if I wasn’t important anymore.” Kirana shuddered at Tekara’s mention of meeting one of the Rain, but stayed silent to hear the rest.
“I once more stayed in there for the longest time, ignoring knocks and shout at my door. One of the soldiers, he was a good friend of my mother’s, I let in after I had been starving myself for a while. He said he was going to adopt me,” Tekara had trouble holding back tears, and Kirana felt sorry for being sort of rude when she asked about the Rain. “I never saw him again though, because once he left to get his things to live there, I shut myself out again. I’ve snuck out to get food for my whole life now, not allowing anyone to know I lived there. That’s probably why you never saw me in town I guess.” Tekara looked up at Kirana, and gave a weak smile.
“My situation was similar,” Kirana said, feeling guilty about not sharing her story when Tekara had done so. “Right after my brother left to be a Keeper, my father died fighting the Rain, and my mother died going out to warn of another raid. I lived on my own without being bothered, hoping that my brother would come back some day.” Kirana let loose her tears now, and she heard Tekara come over to sit next to her. She wiped away the water and looked at Tekara. “I never thought I’d see him again Tekara, but he came back, last night. The Rain took him for some reason, and brought him here. But he left, to go help the Wind Sage.”
“It seems the Rain has left their mark on everyone. But don’t ever loose hope that you and your brother can see each other again, the Sages aren’t unkind to good souls.”
Tekara patted Kirana’s back, and Kirana decided she didn’t want the fish anymore. She tossed it in the fire, and they watched the body burn up. Kirana let Tekara know she was fine, and Tekara went back to her mat to cover up. Kirana did the same, lying down and pulling a blanket over herself. They both gave each other a smile, and fell asleep.
***
Thanks for reading, I appreciate your feedback and support. ^^
And even though I read this long ago back when you posted the first version, I don't remember much, though I did remember the Rain and what they did. Keep it up, you're doing great. ~Atsie
And I don't really mind reading the chapters from the old story, at least we'll have something to read. 
Good luck with your other projects.
~Atsuma