Winter solstice, second half. Year of the dragon.
The Naturals appear to be more and more uneasy every time one of our own walks among them. There has been talk of the more brutal tribes capturing Magics from the other end of the land. Burning's have occurred. These are all rumors that seem to have made themselves fact in our realm now as well.
Nobody of us has seen these atrocities take place with their own eyes, but the tension and suspicion is thickening in the air. His majesty worries for our future, war looks to be closer than we thought, but the outcome looks more and more blurred and uncertain.
If this war, dear lord we beg it doesn't happen, but if this war should come to pass sooner than we've planed, we'd assumed we would always have the upper hand.
Malcolm believes we do. He's powerful in his own right as a sacred Scarrow, but he fails to realize that not everyone is as lucky or as strong as he and I.
I can only hope our side sees fit to reason should the worst fears come to pass.
Harden has started another fight with the palace guard. I must tend to it.
Magnus Monicroff
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Teagan's interest in her journal almost made her forget about her appointment with Thad.
"Aren't you going to head out yet Teagan?" Lila says as she brushes her hair to silk finery.
Teagan jolts out of her entranced reading and nods, realizes what time it is, and hops off the bed, adjusting her shirt over her long riding pants.
After all, it wouldn't do to ride a horse in a skirt.
She plans on showing Scarrow just what she's made of, forget the Monicroff name.
"I'll see you after Breakfast, Lila!" Teagan calls as she rushes out and down the hall not waiting for an answer in return.
Teagan's outside in the main court yard in a few moments, the sun's rays are just peeking out from behind the bell tower and the air is crisp, early morning dew drips on the grass blades and on the trees leaves. Birds chirp and Teagan enjoys the soft glow of the almost blue sky above her.
She wonders how people centuries ago lived without the sky during war times. She wonders what Magnus did in those times, what he would have thought about this time now.
They were so much better off now. His story seems so much more important. Teagan feels that whatever she writes will never compare to this. . . Or any of the other entries in the book.
"Ready, Teagan?" Chrysanthemum's voice startles the red headed Mage in training.
"What are you doing here?" Teagan asks as she makes her way towards the thin girl. She seems to be floating with almost a soft glow about her in the early morning sun. Almost fairy like.
"Oh, well, I remembered I could ride a flying horse. Did it all the time with my Pa, before his soul was sucked out and he was killed brutally in an alleyway by a rouge Mage for his money." Chrys says easily as she leads Teagan towards the stables.
Teagan stops. "Oh I - I'm sorry I -"
"Why? You didn't kill him. Anyway the man who did was put down awful quick. Too bad though, I would have liked to see his face before they sentenced him to death. Might have made my faceless nightmares more bearable." Chrys voice remains calm and gentle as the breeze as she speaks and smiles good naturally at Teagan.
"I - oh." Teagan doesn't know how to answer that. This girl seems - Strangely well adjusted for someone who had such a horrid thing happen to her. . . Then again - she was a bit loony. So that made sense also.
"Morning Teagan and-" Thad's eyes land on Chrysanthemum and he looks at Teagan in question who shrugs.
"Right. Well, let's head towards the stables. Professor Gripes says we can practice before try outs this afternoon."
Teagan feels the excitement in her stomach as it flips harder the closer they get to the horses. Inside the stables smell of hay and horse dropping, leather rises as an after smell and a subtle hint of burning coal. Must be the furnace where the saddle braces are made.
"Welcome to Heaven Reachers." Thad smiles and waves at one of the stable boys as the walk into a large airy horse house.
Teagan's eyes adjust to the dim lighting inside and she sees a beautiful horse in one of the stalls gently moving back and forth, as if anticipating the arrival of the young people. The horse is Majestic with a golden sheen coat. Its eyes were the color of the early morning sky, nearly clear, and its wings, gloriously golden wings, the tops seemed as if they were dipped in the sun when he flew over it.
"Who are you?" Teagan breaths, eyes not moving from the dear creature. She out stretches her hand slowly and lets the horse come closer on its own. Teagan can't deny the thrill that shoots through her when the horse places its soft muzzle in the palm of her hand willingly.
"That's Lyra. She's a beautiful sun dancer, she is." Thad smiles proudly at the horse. "As temperamental as one too. I'm surprised she's letting you touch her actually." Thad says while scratching his impossibly fluffy black hair.
Chrys smiles softly and tilts her head at the horse. "She seems to like Teagan doesn't she."
Teagan finds this a fact she likes, her heart swells at the thought and realization that this creature, one she's never even come this close to, likes her.
"But I don't think she's the best one to learn on for you Teagan." Thad says slowly as if trying not to hurt anyone's feelings. Including Lyra's.
Teagan shakes her head. "No- I want this one."
"Teagan, horse flying is hard... You can't just -"
"Oh, let her. What's the worst that could happen aside from her falling from masterful heights and breaking her neck?" Chrys says with a wide smile as she pats Teagan bravely on the shoulder.
Thad throws the strange girl a befuddled look then notices Teagan doesn't seem to care. He sighs and takes off his glasses. "Better find the right saddle for you at least. Come on."
Teagan's never been so excited for anything in her entire life.
Except maybe joining Ridgemoor in the first place...
This comes in a close second.
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"Ease off on the reins, there you go... Easy Tea, easy there." Thad was watching her closely from his own black mount, Teagan thinks he might be showing off his riding skills just a tad.
Chrys had flown off long ago. She seems to be an expert at this.
Lyra was a tad unsteady as Teagan tries to keep her weight evenly distributed, the wings were twice the horses size and almost as wide as they flap on either side smoothly, keeping them aloft, Teagan's beginning to see the main problem, aside from balancing, would be space control.
"You tilt to the right and the left with your entire body Teagan, not just your arms, and make sure you never lose the grip with your knees, the harness and leg braces help, but still."
Teagan rolls her bright eyes at her friend. "Now you're just nagging, you sound like my mother." She teases.
Thad throws her a wide grin before tilting his body to make Rumbus, his mount, fly a tad closer to her, maybe a bit too close. Teagan tries to hide her small shake of uncertainty when he does.
"I have to say, for a first time rider. You're almost a natural Teagan." He says, his puffy hair blowing back from his pale forehead as the sun makes his massive amount of freckles pop on his face.
Teagan smiles. "What else would you expect form a sixth generation Monicroff?" She says, faking her smugness just to make him roll his eyes.
He obliges, "Oh, what to expect, hmmm? Suppressed emotions, fears of failure, maybe a near death situation or two perhaps?"
"Hey, that's not fair." She pouts as he laughs at her grumpy face.
"You asked."
"Rhetorical question you, now I know why Lila's always smacking you." Teagan says good naturedly.
Thad rolls his dark eyes again. As Chrys suddenly whooshes down. Her golden hair streaming behind her, glittering in the early morning sun, she does a smooth side roll and almost flies straight up towards the sky's arching perfectly on her way down.
Teagan doesn't miss the impressed look on Thad's face. That was pretty impressive.
"Wow Chrys, you should join the Gracers with abilities like that. " Thad says appreciatively.
Chrys flutters next to them and smiles her lazy sunny smile. "Oh no, I couldn't. I would rather offer my skills for recreational enjoyment then to a bunch of hard gotten competitive base human moments." She says easily and tilts her body away from them to give her mount some more room.
Teagan and Thad look at each other. Thad's face asks a question and Teagan shrugs.
"I think we're just going to have to learn to go with it." She says simply.
Thad nods.
They watch Chrys for a few minutes more before they get back to Teagan's training.
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Lila's absolutely giddy as she flits around Teagan's form. "You look spectaculars in a Gracers uniform. Those boys won't know what hit them."
Teagan smiles warmly at her friend and adjusts the leather pad that extends from her elbow to her wrist, her hands are encased in fingerless leather gloves, and her legs are fitted into grip boots that connect firmly to the side braces of the Pegasus saddle. She's in their year's colors, green, black, and gold, her shirt a bright green stuffed into tight black rider pant. She adjusts the straps around her middle that supports the leather vest that connects to her horse's front harness.
"Just boys?" Teagan says meaning a joke.
Lila nods firmly, her pretty face not an ounce of joke in it. "You do realize girls don't really join Gracers right?"
"No girls on the team?" Teagan hadn't thought of that. True, the training she'd endured was rather strenuous, but try outs today were for horse maneuverability and not falling off into the obstacles like the hoops that are out there. That gets them into the team, catching and throwing comes after.
"Not since generation three. And even then, she fell off and broke her leg, Molly Peterson, I believe her name was." Thad says as he walks into the room, he's dressed like Teagan only taller and more leather.
"Ready, then?"
Teagan lets out a shaky breath after counting ten. "Not at all."
"Come on Teagan, I believe in you, have Scarrow choke on his words!" Lila's enthusiasm is very unrealistic, but Teagan figures going out there and trying even if she fails is better than not going out there and loosing face.
Be a Monicroff Teagan. You can do it.
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So she does.
The sun is hot as they exited the stables and enter the green circle that is the Gracers arena. Several boys, dressed in the same attire, are walking around, their horses in tow. Teagan's eyes catch Scarrow in the back, talking with a rather jittery Joseph as he pats his Pegasus on the white nose. His Pegasus was nearly all a sleek black except for the nose and the sharp tips of its wings, which where a pure, shocking, white. The Pegasus was as beautiful as he was fierce.
Scarrow must have felt her eyes on his back because he looks up; his green eyes look nearly colorless under the sun which reflects off his ridiculously blond hair, which does nothing for his pasty complexion. He lets her have a shockingly sharp smug smirk.
Teagan rolls her eyes. She would make him eat his own smugness too.
"Ready?"
"Nope." She really wasn't, Thad gives her a side smile and hands her the reins to Lyra anyway as he takes Rumbus by the head.
Gripes suddenly jiggles in, seemingly out of breath as he tries to keep his top hat on, his uniform is less leather and more for showing school colors than anything.
Teagan feels giddy, and a strange buzz in her head distracts her from Gripes' hellos. She shakes her head and walks into the gathering group as Gripes instructs them on what they should do.
"I want to see you all in the lines, no foul play, these try outs are for your riding fluency and control of your Pegasus. Don't let me catch any funneling. And make sure you go through the hoops not over or under. Each will have his turn. Henry, we'll start with you." Gripes instructs them all and pushes Henry Wiggins forward.
Teagan tries to give the timid boy and encouraging smile. He won't meet her eyes. She doesn't blame him.
Teagan looks up at the floating obstacles. Several hoops placed at different levels in the sky, they move at random moments for extra difficulty. Henry manages to make his way clumsily through them. Teagan applauds with the rest of the boys, the buzzing in her head making her a bit dizzy.
She's assuming it's from the bearing sun. September seems strangely warm this year.
Thad was next. He excelled; of course, his agility seems to be the best so far. A few others went after and pass through with some effort, someone threw up before they could pass the first hoop, another nearly fell off and had to be taken to the nurse's office because of hyperventilation. Scarrow was after, and Teagan hates to admit it even in her own head. She hates it so much.
But he was good.
So very good, it irks her to no end. How could such a nuisance like him be good at something as graceful and skillful as Pegasus flying? She finds her face pinched with annoyance when he gets the best score for execution.
Teagan doesn't miss the annoyingly full of himself smirk he throws at her as he all but saunters into bench space.
Teagan's so annoyed and the buzzing isn't helping either.
She scoffs in an attempt to show she doesn't care and climbs Lyra with, thankfully, as little embarrassment as possible. She hopes her act isn't superficial to the others. She starts her horse into a gallop after bracing herself in and Lyra takes off wonderfully.
Alright, so far so good. Teagan smiles, the air whooshes past her face and the sun nearly blinds her as she tilts her body like Thad had taught her to turn. She comes to the first floating hoop and aims to go through, it moves way and Teagan refuses to show her exasperation. She takes her time and turns Lyra, successfully going through one hoop.
Good, five more to go. She spurs Lyra in the sides again and eases her toward the second hoop, easily shifting through, the buzzing in her head travels to her lower neck now and it makes her miscalculate the distance of the third hoop, Lyra's hoof nicks the edge, she refuses to let that kink bother her.
She shakes her head, her vision blurs for a dangerous moment, she manages a loop through the fourth hoop. The fifth one gives her trouble and she gasps almost careening into a seat tower. She dodges the wooden supports easily and barley makes it through the fifth one.
She can't find number six, where was it? What was this buzzing in her head?
She suddenly feels a hot flash go through her, her balance wavers and Lyra stalls in the air dangerously teetering, her great wings flapping harder to maintain balance. Must find the sixth... She suddenly feels horrifically sick.
Teagan tries to take in deep gulping breaths, by now Gripes and the onlooker have noticed something's wrong, Teagan can't understand what is happening, it's becoming harder to breathe and she tries to direct Lyra downwards.
The grounds coming up too fast!
Suddenly, flashes of images she's never seen before rip through her minds eyes, she can't see the real world. She's frozen in her suffering. A golden dragons head flashes into her waking mind, a long narrow tunnel and a blurry image of a strange blue tapestry she doesn't recognize.
Then pain. Lots and lots of pain.
Teagan gasps breathlessly. She feels coolness on her face and realizes, absently, that she's on the ground, her cheek pressed into the grass. She blinks hard against these false images and finally sees where she really was.
Thad's concerned face is blurry as he kneels down to her and reaches for her arms to lift her up.
Well... So much for making the team.