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Author Topic: Gegenschein: The First [22/10 - Tablet IX]  (Read 16914 times)

Offline Estrea

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Gegenschein: The First [22/10 - Tablet IX]
« on: August 29, 2010, 07:17:40 PM »
I'm reviving my own interest in Gegenschein by writing a piece of history far far beyond the time in Gegenschein proper. This is a narrative from several thousand years before, and will skip between two main protagonists. I will be writing them in unfamiliar names, names that suit the historical setting, and hopefully I'll capture the setting of that era as I see it. It will be up to the reader to figure out who is who. :D One is obviously Ai, the Ancient one. Except she'll still be very noob here. You'll see. This is her beginning.

Thus I present to you,


Gegenschein: The First




Look, there it is, the city they built. The great ziggurat they're so proud of.

We're pulling it down aren't we? They who think to exterminate us. We who are like and unlike them. We will carry it to them, the war they begun.

The tower that reaches to the moon. Do you think there is an afterlife for those like us? Do you think we will ever see them again?

I see Him every time I close my eyes. Do you?

The plains of Shinar are so quiet tonight. What do you hear, Raven-Truthsayer?

Ready then, my friend?

Not friends then. Yet.

But we have forever to figure it out.

Don't we, partner?



==========================================


I needed to start somewhere. :P Just to begin the thread really. Some characters here have yet to be introduced in Gegenschein proper, but are important there. But I will not show who they actually are, of course. Have fun deciphering as you go!

Oh and, this won't be too long a story, I think. Once this is over I shall go back to Gegenschein proper. :D This I swear.

I hope people will like this!
« Last Edit: October 22, 2010, 07:39:23 AM by Estrea »

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
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I'm also on AO3!
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Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0]
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2010, 07:50:33 PM »
Oooo~! You've caught my attention!

Ziggurat? Soooo? Aztec? Mayan? Hmm, did they have Ziggurats other places? *racks brain for long forgotten history lessons*

Offline Estrea

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0]
« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2010, 08:27:02 PM »
Here I am again!

rndm: Wrong part of the world. :P History plays a very big part here. I did my research, though it isn't as much as I probably would have liked. I did have to look up a few maps for my own benefit though. Haha. I'm obsessive. :D I'm glad I have your attention!

Next narrative is short, but it introduces a key character. :) Enjoy!

==================================================


Tablet I


That day, it snowed.

Small flakes, powdery dust fine in the air. It settles on hair, across shoulders, lying in sleep over the vast plains.

The two tones rang high, low. Almost musical, far from natural, and everything besides.

The spirits dance for us, spirits of flame and ice and rushing wind. My feathers flutter like wings as I dance. Circles, shapes, echoes of patterns unnamed.

We dance.


Together and apart. Fast, then slow. Like a neverending circle.

Like the winds of our plains they come, slashing and rushing. Unforgiving and unrelenting. Indifferent. My people scatter, the dance forgotten. Songs turn to screams. Pristine white turns to fine red slush, trampled.

The spirits kept dancing. Around me, my feathers billow in the wind.


It came too soon, ducking low. A feinting move, thrusting high.

I am alone. The dead around me; once friends and family. Kin and tribe, blood of my own. I hold a boy in my arms. He is cold, colder than the frost and ice of my land. I sit still.

My feathers all around me. Black as night, dark against the pale, pale skins of my blood-kin.


I saw and was no longer there. Moments later I was away and behind. The noonday sun glinted off the beaten bronze, gleaming gold in reflected glory. I held still until the horn signaled my victory, ending in a bow across dusty sand.

They find me. Dark hair like raven's wings, eyes like solid onyx. They call me Raven, after the feathers I wear. Later I find that they speak of death, the raven that bears tale of the barrows.

I am Raven. The sun beat down on us, the Chosen. We who are ordained to find those who are a sin against those ordained with numbered days on this earth, those who have days uncountable.

My sappara is at rest, glinting green-gold in the light. I breathe slowly, hiding all signs of exhaustion. My skin has tanned under the Anatolian sun, the only signs of my exertion the sweat sheen gleaming on golden-brown.

I look up, the sun's harsh glare foreign to me. Years have passed and will pass, but all I have to do is close my eyes, and see snow once more. I will never forget.

That day, it snowed.


===========================================


Notes:

1) sappara - Bronze Age weaponry, the Caananite "bronze sickle-sword", can be traced back to 3rd millennium BC Sumer.
2) Anatolia - Asia Minor, a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west.


I'm a geek. I might also be wrong. Feel free to correct any historical errors. XD

And so we have Raven. Note also the shifting tenses here. It means something. At least, I intended it to. XD Have fun!
« Last Edit: August 29, 2010, 09:05:00 PM by Estrea »

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
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I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline Fenrir

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2010, 08:54:39 PM »
Wooo~~

I always liked the gegenschein series. Glad to see you have started it up again.

I see we are going way back. Back into time. Back to the biblical days. What fun!

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2010, 09:00:36 PM »
*snaps fingers* Damn, that was my next guess, really, I didn't have to look it up at all! Not at all. XD

The beginning of a vampire hunter? So, Raven is the hunter? Who is Raven-Truthsayer? The hunter turned?

...
...You know, I'm just getting ahead of myself. It's like two posts in and I'm trying to figure out the whole story. :lol:

Offline kawaii beam

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2010, 02:20:11 AM »
^
of course you're the type to do that xD

i seriously love that we're going back in time^^ and i usually fail with history and like desiphering stuff but i shall try my best to think who's who^^
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Offline Beecubed

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2010, 09:10:41 AM »
 :onioncheer:

Major yay for Gegenschein/Vamp Seirei HISTORY!!!!!

I've always been a fond one of history  :wub: Although I can't ever guarantee that I actually understand it  :lol:

Hmmm... we've been given information here, most likely bits and pieces that will probably make a lot more sense as you feed us more and we begin to assemble things together. But for now, I can only make wild assumptions. But hey, no problem, that's exactly what I said would make a good story. Raising so many questions so early on  XD


Quote
We're pulling it down aren't we? They who think to exterminate us. We who are like and unlike them. We will carry it to them, the war they begun.

The tower that reaches to the moon. Do you think there is an afterlife for those like us? Do you think we will ever see them again?

I'm thinking this is Vampire Ai speaking, but I can't be sure.

She's asking a lot of questions. That could indicate her noobiness. Or it could not. It could just be your way of planting more questions in our own head.

Most likely a vampire anyway.


Quote
I see Him every time I close my eyes.

Who's the reverent Him?


Quote
The plains of Shinar are so quiet tonight. What do you hear, Raven-Truthsayer?

Is the vampire actually with Raven at this point? Or is that just a quiet question the vampire is thinking to herself/himself?

Gah. So many questions.


Quote
Ready then, my friend?

Not friends then. Yet.

But we have forever to figure it out.

Don't we, partner?

Very intriguing... the relationship between Vampire and Hunter seems a lot more complicated than it is at first glance.

 :mon huh:


Tablet I

This little piece was incredibly well-written and a really good one to try and decipher, but I can't come up with anything good, or at least intelligent to say about it  :nervous

Correct me if I'm wrong... but did Raven's people get attacked by the Vampires, and he (with his apparently more spiritual entity) was then bestowed with the title of a Chosen one? Is he the first? Who are they, the others who have also become Chosen ones? Raven's friends and family were all slaughtered, so...

Well again, I'm probably not on the right track, but it's a start to try to make sense of things. The finding out will be all the more fun a process.  :twothumbs


THANK YOU ESSY FOR DECIDING TO WRITE THIS UP AND FOR PROMISING TO CONTINUE WITH THE REAL DEAL AFTERWARDS!
 :heart: :heart: :heart:
Looking forward to the next update!  :love:

Offline Sukoshi

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2010, 10:04:14 AM »
*raeds poulroge*  hmm....  *raeds cahtper 1* ahhh...Ai sea.

Him?  I wdnoer who I cahn's bineg huanetd bye.  Cepery srie ddue or hntuer ddue?

Reavn-Turhtseayr...the olny tihng reavn Ai can tinhk of is Sayu (or taht reavn taht tnuated I cahn in Eonby Dsuk...tlak aoubt out of pcale toghuht!).  *mtteurs smeointhg aoubt a Sayu acesntor wtih a mnaly nmae* XD  *raeds on* O write...msut be smeonoe form taht Gaki caln. 

Hmm I'm lfet wtih mnay hlaf toguhhts....msot of tehm lainedg to taht pryo clhid form Ggeheinescn pepror.  pnetarr? hetunr? tswietd lvoe targinle?

ahwnyoo iignuintrg rtesart.  revenge exacted :P

Offline oddball

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #8 on: August 31, 2010, 02:36:04 PM »
A story of biblical proportions!  :lol: an intresting start to the fic so far, looking forward to more

Nice too see the Gegenschein stories back one way or another.

Offline kRisZ

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #9 on: August 31, 2010, 04:19:59 PM »
 :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

The fic that made me adore the Titan  :yep:

Will read hopefully tomorrow... I need to go to bed early.

Offline Estrea

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2010, 09:20:23 PM »
And back! I shouldn't be writing when I have work in the morning, but who cares?!

Fen: I like the Gegenschein series too, but it's such a huge project. XD It was intimidating to pick up again, but well, it's a worthy epic (I think XD). Yup, way back into time. What fun!

rndm: I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. :P I like how you keep trying to figure stuff out, but then again you have pretty good instincts for this sort of thing. Not confirming or denying anything, but you have some pretty good ideas. :D

kawaii beam: Just enjoy the ride. :D That's good enough for me.

Beecubed: I love raising questions and making my readers think. :D I like how you dissect the prologue like you're doing a literature review. XD And complicated is more fun, no? Well, as for your speculations regarding the Chosen, forgive me for not answering them at the moment, because it'll be revealed later in greater detail. :) The only thing I can confirm is that Raven's tribe is slaughtered, and that he/she is the last survivor of that clan. Everything else is up in the air. :P And you're welcome. Haha. You should give yourself a pat on the back, you're part of the reason for making me pick up the series again, what with talking about it on the fanfic discussion thread and all. XD The best way to get me to do something is to keep on bringing it up, though it doesn't always work. XD

Sukoshi: Have I mentioned how much I hate you? :heart: XD That was just fricking evil. But thanks for caring enough to do it anyway. Lmao.

oddball: Of biblical proportions indeed! I hope I live up to the hype too. :lol:

kRisZ: Aww Gegenschein made you like me? Wait, you didn't like me before? :O D: :lol:


And time to edit and post~

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline Estrea

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2010, 09:25:07 PM »
Tablet II


The first time I drowned, I became afraid of water.

Vertigo. Sun above my head, or was it around? So many bubbles. Can't breathe. Up, down, which way was safe? Hard left with the current, head against rock. White out, then black.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was safe.


The second time I drowned, my whole life changed.

Shouts at my back. I set a ragged pace, tearing through thorns and leaping over raised roots. Dodging, weaving. Every breath an agony, each cut sapping my strength. Brambles score my skin, leaving bits and pieces of myself behind with every step.

Out of the trees, into the open! I skid to a halt, a toenail catching painfully against a pebble. My muscles cry for rest. Behind me, dogs bark madly, thrilled by the chase. I hear them crashing through the undergrowth. I pant, moving on sheer adrenaline, fueled by terror.

No way but forward. Across the rocky promontory, blood marking my trail. I climb on my hands and knees, further out on the ridge. The river rushes below, leaping joyfully around rocks, kicking up white foam on the edges.

Torches bob closer behind me. The yipping of the dogs draw near, and the first one to scramble after me receives a kick in the face. Little more than a warning, but it keeps its distance, waiting for the rest of the pack.

I know they will kill me. Worse than kill. I have struck dead the son of the chief. Never mind that he was a lecher out to claim me without consent of my father, it remains that he is dead and I was the one who killed him.

I was to have been whipped sixty times by the scourge, an ordeal I would never have survived. Bound and thrown in a pit, I would have been sent to my fate at dawn, but for my brave mother. Braving censure and equal punishment, she set me free. Sheer bad luck then, to have encountered a pair of lovers out in the forest for a midnight tryst. Their outcry was enough to leave me in my current state.

Triumphant shouts in the distance. Close. Too close. The dogs were gathering. No way forward, except down. My hands shake, though not with exhaustion.

I would not be caught. To be caught was to die most painfully. The alternative was not much better. The stream rushing below seemed both very near and far away.

I am not brave at all. And I don't want to die. Fierce tears streamed from my eyes, blurring my vision. Behind me, half the village bursts into the clearing. I can't hear their shouts.

Turning one last time, I skim the little faces briefly illuminated by the wavering torches. Is that my mother I see, crying out in grief for me? Or my father, restrained by two others? My heart clenched, with fear and love for them. There was only one way to cleanse the stain on the family.

I don't want to die. But I will not be dragged back, my family beside me, to die painfully under the whip. Dust shifts under my weight as I move, raw skin scraping across jagged rocks. Pain, fear, determination. I won't die like this. I won't.

I am bleeding. I am crying.

Then I fall, and everything changes.


The third time I drowned, I never came back up again.

I was lost, and I was found. I was abandoned to the gods, and saved by one. I expected nothing, and gained everything.

I found Him. He who gave me life, not once, but twice. He who rescued me when no one else had, when no one else could. He was the sun, the moon, more radiant and beautiful than both combined. Aloof and alone, he was untouchable, a raging flame in the darkest of nights.

He was also the only man I have ever loved, and will ever love.

A man, did I call him? No, more than a man, far far more. More alive than anyone I have ever known. So filled with life that he could not ever die, or so I thought.

I wanted our time to be forever. I wanted to grow old and die in his arms, even though he would remain as always, young and beautiful through the ages. I wanted to give him something to remember, in his lonely journey through time.

Above all, I wanted him to be happy, if only for a while. No one should be alone as he was, as he was cursed to be. I loved him, but I could not stay with him forever, mortal as I was. He would never curse me with his fate, and I made him promise never to do so.

For I was born human, and will die human. There is no greater joy than that.

If only we had more time together. Just a little more time, for his seed to grow within me. Perhaps he would have had something to care for after me then. Perhaps someone to keep him company through endless time, as I could not.

But it was not to be.

They came, like a pack of locusts seeking to destroy. He fought them, but there were so many. I did my best, surprising one or two with a stick. Then it all ended in a burst of red, and I was drowning once more. Drowning in my own blood.

He could have won. Could have fought clear, at the very least. He stopped for me, and it cost him. I didn't know. I could not know. I couldn't even breathe, much less see clearly through the red haze. All I felt was Him, warm and safe around me. Secure in his embrace, I could even have slept through it all.

I did.

And when I woke, nothing would ever be right again.


=============================================================


Compressing all that drama into bite-sized pieces is pretty damn hard. orz

Needs more expansion...*ponders*

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline rndmnwierd

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2010, 10:45:26 PM »
Okay, I understand. She protected herself and suffered for it, he saved her and she loved him. He loved her? Maybe cared for, at the least, he promised not to turn her. Hunters came? And she was struck mortally. He turned her to save her? He died in her place?

Ai's beginnings? Ai's beginnings.

Offline kawaii beam

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2010, 10:58:53 PM »
^
WTF?! how did u beat me! XD

o.o wow she sucks with water XDD thats like dang. it was kinda bitter sweet(if thats the right word^^;) for her talking about wanting to have a baby before she died  :cry:
dang it essy i love u X3 XD
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Offline Sukoshi

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #14 on: September 01, 2010, 11:40:11 AM »
What's this?  Almost drowning twice and being chased by dogs?  Yeesh...it's like a chapter out of Sukoshi's childhood  :mon scare:

Quote
Brambles score my skin, leaving bits and pieces of myself behind with every step.

 :mon barf:  Well...there goes the midnight snack XD

Quote
He who rescued me when no one else had, when no one else could.

Ah!...was I right?  Is the "He" a creepy Sire dude?  well...okay...maybe sans the creepy part XD

Quote
Just a little more time, for his seed to grow within me.

Ah! pyro child!  How I've always wanted to know!

This explains so much!   :mon fyeah:


Now the chapter I'll be looking forward to reading the most will be the one where Reina gets turned!  I've always wanted to know that too!  It only takes place a few centuries later right? XD


Offline oddball

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #15 on: September 01, 2010, 02:53:47 PM »
So he turned her to save her and he died in her place, but she never wanted him to save her she would of died happily for him because she loved him?

Offline Beecubed

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [30/8 - Tablet 0, I]
« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2010, 05:35:31 PM »
I love raising questions and making my readers think.

Which is good or bad, depending on my thinking mood  :nervous
Sometimes I just want to mindlessly read, and I can't possibly expect to do that with one of yours fics >.< I find myself having to switch my brain on in order to follow your stuff. Which is a credit to you of course, for being so marvellously plot-oriented with your stories.  :wub:
So if I'm not churning out proper comments for your chapters, it's because I haven't found the motivation to turn my brain on...  :lol: it happens a lot when I get back from uni and school placements. >.<


Quote
The only thing I can confirm is that Raven's tribe is slaughtered, and that he/she is the last survivor of that clan. Everything else is up in the air. :P

Yeah, I was pretty confident I'd understood that. Just the other niggling little details I'm trying to figure out. Best not to overwork my brain, not until you give more details!


Quote
You should give yourself a pat on the back, you're part of the reason for making me pick up the series again, what with talking about it on the fanfic discussion thread and all. XD

 :mon cute:

*pats self on back*


Quote
The best way to get me to do something is to keep on bringing it up, though it doesn't always work. XD

 :lol:

I think I heard Essy mentally say 'Oh shit!' halfway through that sentence... because there's one story she's adamantly refusing to continue... *hmph*

Onto the chapter comment!:::::

Tablet II

 :OMG:

It's Ai-chan!

 :bow: :bow: :bow:

And I know she's pretty much running through hell here, but I just have to establish how thrilling it is to read about her. Especially in a fic like this, of this caliber.


Quote
I have struck dead the son of the chief.

Will we be getting any more details?  :shocked:
You mentioned that in passing, and for that simple reason she's raised hell upon herself? Or is there more to it?
I'm hoping for more background information here. Was Ai ever in love with the chief's son? What exactly happened between them that drove her to do such a thing?


Quote
I am not brave at all. And I don't want to die. Fierce tears streamed from my eyes, blurring my vision....
.....
Is that my mother I see, crying out in grief for me? Or my father, restrained by two others? My heart clenched, with fear and love for them....


I'm so used to reading kickass Seirei... Ai-chan so vulnerable here!
 :cry:


Quote
I found Him.

I hope we get all the details of Him too...

Is he just another being turned? Or something far more ancient and powerful than that? Like... an actual Vampiric God?  XD


Quote
He was also the only man I have ever loved, and will ever love.

A man, did I call him? No, more than a man, far far more. More alive than anyone I have ever known. So filled with life that he could not ever die, or so I thought.

Ai-chan loved a man? >.< lol, me does not want to accept, but let's see how it unfolds from here.

And is she glorifying him simply because he is a vampire and she had never once seen such an entity before - or is he really one to be reckoned with? I'm thinking the latter, but you never know...


Quote
He could have won. Could have fought clear, at the very least. He stopped for me, and it cost him. I didn't know. I could not know. I couldn't even breathe, much less see clearly through the red haze. All I felt was Him, warm and safe around me. Secure in his embrace, I could even have slept through it all.

A bittersweet end for her lover?

And his final act.. to turn Ai-chan? Despite his promise not to?... but now we have Seirei, so thank you to almighty Him.  :bow:

And she had said that she hoped to have a little more time to perhaps bear a child... and if I remember correctly, Seirei did talk about having a child?
So perhaps almighty Him was driven in part to protect his child too?


Quote
And when I woke, nothing would ever be right again.

Poor Ai-chan. >.<

Now I can understand better why Reina had observed the 'timeless regret and sadness' in her eyes. Of course we knew Seirei had a past, but this definitely solidifies things, even if it's just a brush over what had happened.

Of course she's had to harden up after all that history. Phew.


Quote
Compressing all that drama into bite-sized pieces is pretty damn hard. orz

So you're not going to expand on that anymore?

I don't mind... it's just I still have a lot of questions, but I guess not all of them have to be answered. You're the boss here. ^___^

You did a pretty rad job of compressing all that drama though. Great writing  :thumbsup
I really enjoy how you structure the flow of your story.  :heart:

Thanks for the update (intriguing as always!), and LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE!
 :heart: :heart: :heart:

Offline Estrea

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #17 on: September 06, 2010, 09:32:16 PM »
Lookie, it's 3 in the morning and I'm still here...which means!

Comment replies. :D


rndm: Ai's beginnings. *nods* More complications than what you've surmised, but by and large...that's sort of what happened. I'll fill in the details as we go. XD

kawaii beam: Aww you caught the baby thing. Good job. :D And thanks! :heart:

Sushi: Yeah, I'mma call you Sushi for now on. So there. :P You mean you were chased by dogs in your childhood? :lol: Sorry to bring up childhood trauma then. :P And as usual, you don't do well with gore. :P Well, the part where Reina gets turned...I suggest you go reread Gegenschein the original....I think I was fairly clear when that happened for her. :P

oddball: Pretty much. Good job. Lol.

Beecubed: Lol should I be flattered that my stories need brainpower to process? Lmao. Well, I suppose I should be happy that you need to think. :P It means I'm doing my job properly. XD And yes, you'll be getting more details as we go. I like to tell it in bits and pieces here, and there's a good reason for it. After all, these are Tablets. *hint hint* :P As for what happened to Ai, well, crime and punishment is pretty brutal in ancient civilization. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth logic, lifted straight from Babylonian law (yes, I checked XD Code of Hammurabi ftw?!). Yeah, I'm obsessive. :lol: As for Aichan being vulnerable, well, she's still human and quite young at that. Can you blame her? :P And well, the guy she fell in love with is pretty damn awesome, and it wasn't love at first sight. Repeat, IT WAS NOT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. Ahem. Actually, I could turn her story as a human into a standalone fic. I should. Lol. I'll expand as and when I need to here, but otherwise....god, Gegenschein is a saga. It's more than epic. orz Spanning thousands of years of history...I have a lot to write. @_@ But I can't wait to start! XD


Time to edit and post!

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline Estrea

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [1/9 - Tablet II]
« Reply #18 on: September 06, 2010, 09:51:22 PM »
Tablet III



"The tracks are still fresh, my Lord Barak. No more than a day or two. It is as you say, they lead towards the mountains. Those fiends think to lose us in the caves!"

Tanned fingers reached into the dark soil, simultaneously gripping and pushing out of it as he rose from a crouch. Hardened hands followed up to heavily muscled arms and broad shoulders, and he rose to his full height, a man in his prime.

At 29, he was a veteran, no, a survivor. Boys of 14 were veterans, in this neverending war. Petty squabbles between human kingdoms were bad enough; what they went through was a war that took generations.

The marks of war were evident on his body. Half a ear on one side, the upper edge ragged from an old wound. Puckered lines running from shoulder to torso, burn scars haphazard across his back. His mouth was twisted in a permanent scowl, courtesy of a parting gift from one of those he hunted.

The sun was harsh on his eyes as he squinted up, but he welcomed the glare. The demons did not fare well in the light, creatures born of darkness as they were. Twisted things they were, a sick leftover from an older war, here to plague mankind.

The tales spoke of their predecessors, true monsters that lost all humanity. What they hunted was far worse; monsters who mimicked humans, but monsters all the same. But for their fear of the sun, they would be the perfect wolf in sheep's clothing. He gave thanks to Shamash that the time of the abominations was over. Too many of them before had died fighting those, and now they were merely cleaning up the remnants.

Marking the position of the sun on the horizon, he contemplated the looming ridge, barely more than a little bump in the distance. It would be a hard day and night of travel on foot. Horses would be faster, but offered little stealth. He and those who traveled with him would make do without. The fiends might be faster, but their progress was limited by the day. Those tracking them would sacrifice little time over to sleep and rest, if only to close the distance while they could.

"Any word from Harran?" His voice was quiet, but not lacking in authority. His very bearing commanded immediate obedience, if not respect. The boy flushed, his still unbearded face almost awkwardly young in the face of this scarred warrior.

"No my lord. They might not have been able to catch up with us with the pace we've been setting."

There was pride in his tone, and half concealed disdain for those based within the region. Theirs was a roving team, acting both as a scouting force and an expeditionary vanguard to track and hunt down stragglers. The pace they set was staggering, as evidenced in their bodies and equipment. Their sandals were almost worn thin from all that travel, and due for replacement. Only the best went on expeditions like this. It was a hard life, and it would produce harder men who could withstand such conditions.

They jogged all around him, friends and brothers-in-arms. Always alert, they were heavily armed but lightly armored. Speed was far more essential, and armor meant little to those they hunted at any rate. The talismans they wore would have to be protection enough. Skill would even out the imbalance.

"The mines are just ahead. We might make it before nightfall, if we push." He remarked. He glanced at some of the older veterans, noting the hint of misgiving in their eyes. He knew what they were thinking.

Kestel was a mining community, extracting valuable tin from the foothills. From what he had heard, most of their town was underground, linked to their mining tunnels. The tracks from their quarry had been headed in that general direction. If they had thought to conceal themselves from the sun, there would be no better place to do so.

The whole place could be no more than a very large trap right now, but there was no way to know until they were actually there. Waiting for reinforcements was not an option. Given more time, their quarry could simply vanish into the Toros mountains and they would lose the trail. And that was simply not an option.

He whistled high-low to increase the pace, letting them know his decision by proxy. All around him, everyone instinctively checked their weapons and readied themselves. They would not be caught offguard by inattention. It was how they lived.

How they survived.

~*~*~

"My son! He went with the strangers to the mines! Please, find him!"

"Pull back, I say, PULL BACK!"

"The roof's collapsing!"

"There's another way through, from the old shafts."

"Sin's beard! What are children doing here!?"

"Everyone works in the mines. Kids do it better since they can burrow deeper with small shafts."

"Barak! One of the girls is marked!"

"They've been through here then. They might already have been tainted. We can't take any chances."

"What do you mean? They're just kids! Children!"

"I will not have them at my back when I pursue those fiends. Do it, or I will kill you myself."

"Boy...Baram. This is the sacrifice we make for the hunt. See, the fiends are no more. Those children were but a small price to pay for the lives of the whole town. This is the route I have chosen, and I will bury them with my own hands. I do not forget, and neither should you."

"Then I will bury them with you. If you would sin, then I will sin alongside you...Father."

~*~*~

The messenger from Harran caught up a day later, their ponies lathered under the sun. The small clay tablets changed hands swiftly, and Barak checked his new orders. His brows furrowed, blood creasing into the new bandage wound around his head.

"We have a new destination, boys. Strike southeast and converge with our brothers in Subartu." His mouth firmed into a thin, hard line.

"There's rumors of an Immortal near the Zagros mountains. We are going to ascertain that fact."

"And our orders?" Baram asked. His eyes were hard, taking the youthful edge off his boyish face. Barak smiled grimly, crushing the tablet to dust in one hand.

"As always: search and destroy."


========================================================================



Yet another angle. This time featuring others. It will make sense in time, I swear. :D


Notes:

1) Harran - A district near the border of Syria. In its prime it was a major Assyrian city controlling the the point where the road from Damascus joins the highway between Nineveh and Carchemish. As a result it always had strategic value, even from an early date.

2) Kestel - A. probable site of Bronze Age tin mining in the Taurus Mountains in ancient Anatolia. The Kestel mine has two miles (3 km) of tunnels, many of which are only about two feet wide, just large enough to allow children to do the mining work. In one abandoned shaft, a burial of twelve to fifteen children was found, presumably killed while working in the mine. (A fact I exploited here, plot-wise.)

3) Taurus Mountains - Referenced as the Toros mountains in the narrative, using the alternative spelling. Both the Euphrates and the Tigris descend from this mountain complex into modern day Iraq.

4) Subartu - Also known as the land of Subar. Located at the Tigris, north of Babylonia. Southeast across the Taurus Mountains.

5) Zagros Mountains - The largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. It spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Straits of Hormuz.


And here ends the geography and history lesson for today~ Courtesy of wikipedia. :lol:

Dino cookies to anyone who can guess why I chose to write this chapter from this POV!

永遠に咲き続ける花なんていない、すべてはいずれ枯れて朽ち果てしまう。

Currently writing:
- Lilium-related things. God save my soul.

On Hold:
- Everything Else. Too many to list.

I'm also on AO3!
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Estrea

Offline kawaii beam

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Re: Gegenschein: The First [7/9 - Tablet III]
« Reply #19 on: September 06, 2010, 10:11:25 PM »
D: my my mind....its crushed XD i'd want to say it in the pov of one of the wolf ppl but i'd probably be far~ off XD and yay for me catching the baby thing~! X3 i cant wait to read more~

and please make sure u get enough rest ok? dont want u dieing on us,no vampier ai will come to save u if u do XD
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