Castle Shyr

OH! THE SHOCK!!!!!!:surprised::cool:


-Captive-

If her wrists hurt, it was because she was struggling too hard against the ties. If her ears hurt it was because she’d tried too hard to scrape off the blindfold. If she had cramps in her shoulders it was because she’d tried to dislocate them and pull them over her body. All the pain and discomfort she felt was her own fault - so, why did he continually find excuses for it? It wasn’t as if he was doing anything to her that she and her kind hadn’t done to his.

“The more you struggle the more it’s going to hurt,” He said in spite of himself, cocking his head to one side to look at her over the fire crackling between them.

Noya narrowed her eyes from behind the small slit she’d opened in her blindfold, snarling at her captor. She felt her blood boil as his eyes narrowed in laughter, as he doubled over and walked towards her.

“Listen, you’re really makin’ this hard on yourself. I told you I’d be more than happy to let you go if you’d just cooperate.” The Nanion laughed again as she spat a reply, only to have her words and threats jumbled into incoherency through her gag. He reached forward and slowly pulled the cloth from her mouth, resting his arms over his thighs as he looked at her expectantly.

Noya took a moment to work her jaw around an ease some of the tension before she struggled into a seated position, leaning against the tree behind her.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” She growled, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Because I’m not a ruthless murderer, that’s why.”

“You’re weak.”

“I’m too nice for my own good.” He paused and cocked his head to the side once more. “Wait a minute, shouldn’t you be grateful that you’re still alive? I’m confused.”

“It’s a disgrace, being captured and held like a prisoner by a Nanion.. By a Nanion like you none-the-less.”

“That hurt.” He sighed, standing and moving back around the fire to dig through his bags.

“What are you doing?” Noya growled again in agitation, shaking her head and further lowering her blindfold as she heard rustling from the Nanion.

“I’m - looking for…something.” He grumbled in response, clearly distracted and uninterested in carrying on the conversation. She looked away and began to scan the area around her. He’d tied her with nothing more than simple rope, but it was thick rope, bridge-laying rope, and all her attempts to wear it thin had proved useless. They’d been on foot since the attack on Crawyn, and he didn’t show any signs of tiring. They’d passed effortlessly through the Votoc Mountains and were now resting before he made his next move. Though he talked incisively, Noya found (much to her annoyance) that he did nothing to disclose his plans to her, she had no idea where they were going or what was to happen one they got there. It was that sense of mystery and suspense which had her so angry, not really the capture itself. She had prepared herself for capture, for death, and that was what she had been expecting, but this was new, this was unplanned, unwelcome and strange. The Tev were not trained for thinking on their feet like scholars, they were beings of action, of strength and determination.

“Ahah!” Noya started slightly as her captor, and only companion for the time being, let out a triumphant cry and fell to his backside near to his belongings. She craned her neck to try and see what he’d become so excited over, but it was useless through her bonds and partially intact blindfold. Her suspense didn’t last long however, before a light trilling sound met her ears. It was an instrument. He had scattered all his belongings for a brass instrument. Noya’s shock was quite apparent as her jaw fell slack while she stared at her companion. His shoulders trembled a bit, giving her the impression he was suffering through another laughing fit, and he pulled away the flute to remove his hood, revealing for the first time since she’d been captured his bouncy once green hair, now mostly white, and smart blue eyes.

“Calm down. It’s just a flute. Plus with a fire roaring so close I doubt any predators are getting any closer than they already are.” Johan snickered again. “Plus, I’ll protect you if anything happens. I wouldn’t want to loose my hostage now would I?” With that he placed his flute back on his lips and started to play once more. He didn’t get very far however, before a roughly placed breath caused him to drop the flute and begin hacking, gripping at his bloodied side with a hiss of pain.

He narrowed his eyes viciously as he heard a chortling sound come from across the flames, and looked up to stare down his uproarious prisoner. She had the gall to laugh at him, did she? He stood shakily, blood on his palm now and trickling from the slashes over his face, but he paid it no mind, it was good that he looked rugged. He crouched down and reached out to grab her chain mail collar, pulling her a bit closer to his face.

“How dare you laugh.” He growled in a voice his friends had never heard him use. “This is the second time your filthy race has slaughtered everything I knew. You are bloodthirsty beasts not worthy of a rotten apple - and yet I have spared you. I’m not claiming to be some kind of God or Saint, Gods forbid, but I have spared your life! I watched you, I watched you kill my friends! They died on your blade! And yet here you are in my care, unscathed! I have washed and dressed your wounds, fed you night after night, and what have you done to deserve this?! I should throw you off a cliff! I should skewer and roast you! You have no right to laugh at my misfortune!” Johan clenched his hands into fists so tightly that his arms began to shake and vibrate.

“That is why you are weak. You’ve gone out of your way to do something for someone who doesn’t deserve it. If I’m everything that you’ve said I am, I have every right to laugh at your misfortune.”

Johan had never struck a woman, not even a few days ago when she’d attacked him, but he couldn’t hold back and before he realized what he’d done Noya was on the ground and his hand was raised in the conclusion of a back-hand. He slowly dropped his arm, watching as the she-Tev pushed herself back upright and set her jaw with a snarl.

“You make me sick.” He spat, standing and limping back to his spot across the fire.

“Then kill me.”

“No.”

“You weak piece of hawk-shit! You’ve just listed a whole mass of reasons why you should kill me! So do it!”

“No.”

“You spoke with such passion and conviction! Where is it now? You coward!” Noya paused, seething with anger and panting with a hitch in her side as the Nanion looked back over at her, blue eyes suddenly calm and compassionate.

“That is what you want, isn’t it.” He nodded sadly as he watched the she-Tev’s eyes grow wide: he was correct. “I suppose I am no better than you then, for keeping you alive when it’s so clearly what you do not want, but I cannot bring myself to kill you. So deal with it and go to bed. We’ll be leaving with the sunrise tomorrow.” With that he determined to himself not to talk with her the rest of the night, and brought his flute back up to his lips.

Why did he keep going? Why didn’t he just give up and let the Tev take him? He hadn’t found the bodies of Rhinwyn and Kyin, but the village had been burned to the ground and bones were hard to identify, yet he held out hope. Something told him that they were still alive, still out there somewhere looking for their own path to follow. Johan believed in fate - he knew their paths would lead them together in the end. The only thing he had to go on was a gut feeling - a strange and powerful urge to go to the Castle. To talk with those in the Shyriol and find out what had really gone in in the shadow of the Votoc Mountains.


When the sun rose Johan was shocked to discover that he’d fallen asleep sometime during the night. The first few days, when Noya had been unconscious, Johan had permitted himself a lot of sleep, knowing that the moment she woke up he’d have to guard her like a predator all hours of the day and night. He had been doing well, he hadn’t even felt tired, up until last night.

He climbed shakily to his feet and stretched for a moment before turning his gaze to where he’d left his Tev captive.

She was gone.

Johan let out a short noise and immediately began shifting through his things for his dagger, which he’d set down last night in exchange for his flute. He heard a small click behind him and before he could react there was a cold pinch to his neck.

“Who are you?” The voice was not Noya’s - it belonged to a man, a gruff man by the sound of it. Johan tried to tilt his head to get a better view, but an arm snaked around his chest and the pinch sent a trickle of blood down his shirt collar.

“I-I’m not out to hurt anyone.” Johan replied quickly, holding his hands with palms up. “I- my name is Johan. I’m a Nanion from - from the other side of the Mountains.”

“From near Crawyn Valley?”

“From Crawyn Valley.” Johan felt the man stiffen behind him, shift his weight and release his hold the slightest bit.

“How fair the shadow villages?” The man asked carefully, and Johan almost smiled. The man was testing him obviously, the way his blade hand still twitched, he was looking for Johan to slip up. As if his hair wasn’t enough of a give away - what a boar-head.

“They have been burned to the ground.” Johan replied shortly, hoping he didn’t need to go into further detail. He felt the man hesitate for a moment more before letting his hands slide away from Johan as he stepped back. Johan turned, reaching up to rub the nick in his neck with a frown. The intruder was Nanion also, which put Johan slightly at ease, at least he had not stumbled into foreign territory. The Nanion was a bit taller than Johan with dark blue hair to his shoulders and dark green eyes. He looked battle-worn and fatigued.

“Sorry about that,” Troydt said with a small smirk, indicating to Johan’s neck. “I got a little carried away. It is just that we have had some raids recently and, well, you can never be too careful. Right?” He finished with a hearty laugh and replaced his dagger, popping his hands to his hips as he did.

“Right.” Johan said, distracted as his attention was again on the absence of Noya. “Um - you didn’t happen to see a she-Tev nearby, did you?”

“She-tev? In these parts? Pssht.” Troydt gave an off-handed wave and crouched down to inspect the fire. “The Tev stay on their side of Votoc, the Shryiol is too close for comfort down this far. Maybe you would have better luck further North.”

“Further North?” Johan echoed, pausing in his search to look back at Troydt. “Where am I?”

“Oh, jeez, where are my manors today, huh?” Troydt said with another hearty laugh before thrusting out his hand. “My name is Troydt, Troydt Yoiko to be precise. And you, my friend, are just two months travel from the Shyriol itself. Lucky you, eh?”

Johan nodded slowly as he shook Troydt’s hand, then stared into the forest again. Troydt cocked his head to the side, and then moved his curiosity from the fire to Johan’s bags.

“So, why are you looking for a she-Tev? I would want to be as far from them as possible, if I were you.”

“Uh, oh, well, she’s kind of my prisoner.” Johan sighed as he bent down and scanned the area he’d left Noya, thankfully seeing no hint of severed bonds. He heard a slight snicker and turned to look over his shoulder. “Hey!”

“Is this what I think it is?” Troydt said with another snicker, brandishing Johan’s flute wildly in the air. “Is it yours or the she-Tev’s?”

“Mine, thank you.” Johan said shortly as he snatched the instrument from Troydt’s hands roughly, shoving it into his pocket as he did so. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pack up and find her before she gives me away.”

“Oh, we are in hiding are we?”

“The Tev just slaughtered my village, wouldn’t you be in hiding?” For some reason Johan regretted the words the moment he’d spoken them. It seemed a cowardly thing to say - but Troydt seemed affected by it, and gave a small nod, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hey, you are injured.” Troydt muttered, noticing for the first time the blood caked over Johan’s side, and the slight trickle which began to run from a scratch across his face.

“I told you my village was burned to the ground.” Johan replied shortly, giving Troydt a rather vicious glare.

“I will go get some other men from the village and we will help you find your she-Tev, and then I will take you back and get you fixed up. I certainly hope it was not just a single she-Tev that did that to you.” Troydt said, and with a final hearty laugh he vanished into the foliage.

Johan took a moment to stare after him, blinking once or twice incredulously. What a character, and such proper language. He’d said Johan was two month’s travel from the Shyriol - had he really come that far in just seven days? He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, he couldn’t dwell on that now, he had to find Noya. If the Tev found her it would mean trouble for not only Johan, but any other survivors from the villages: for Rhin and Kyin.

“Aw hawk-shit.” He mumbled to himself, quickly shoving his things into his bags and swinging them over his shoulder. She probably left the moment he fell asleep, and she probably back-tracked their path in hopes of returning to familiar territory.

“Oy, Johan!” The Nanion boy haulted and turned slowly, his bag slipping from his shoulders as his eyes grew wide to take in the scene before him. Troydt had returned with help, as he’d said he would, but this - was not what Johan had been expecting. Troydt lead a team of five Nanion close to his own age, but the beasts on which they were seated, Johan had never seen such creatures. They were shorter than a horse or a mule, but that didn’t make them seem any smaller. The majority of their muscular bodies were caked in dark, spotted feathers which thinned out near the rump and hind legs to show thick, curly fur. Their faces resembled large birds with long, raking beaks and unblinking eyes. Their legs seemed to resemble their hindquarters, looking like they belonged on mountain goats or winter mules, strong, stumpy legs ending in two pointed hooves. Their tails varied in length and color but for the most part looked cat-like in nature, long and spindly.

“Heh,” Troydt snickered, leaning forward to pat his mount affectionately on the neck, “never seen a vlyph, have you?” The beast shuddered under his hand and made a strange mewling sound.

“No, no I can’t say I have.” Johan answered finally, pulling his bag back up to his shoulder as he continued to study the beasts. “Vlyphs, did you say? Um, what are they, exactly?”

“It’s vlyph, and they are a rare breed of mountain goat.” Snickered one of Troydt’s cohorts, laying atop his vlyph lazily. Troydt chuckled and nodded with a wave of his hand.

“Eh, they are something like that. At least, that is the closest animal we have been able to link them too. They are fast and powerful, but not too bright.” He gave another pat to the side of his mount’s neck and held out his hand for Johan. “Come on, let us go find your she-Tev.” He chuckled. He still didn’t quite grasp why Johan was so eager to find the runaway, but he seemed ardent to go. Troydt couldn’t help but laugh again as Johan reached shakily up and grabbed his wrist, giving a firm nod right before shouting as Troydt swung him up to sit behind him.

“What do they feed you over there, crackers?” Troydt looked over his shoulder at his companions and then back to Johan. “So, where do you think she went?”

“She probably tried to backtrack our steps to find her way back home. We came from that direction so I figured we’d just-”

“’That direction’ was all you had to say, Johan.” Troydt said as he leaned forward. “Now, you had better get a good grip around my waist and brace yourself. Vlyph are not really adept at smooth running.”

“Uh, what exactly does that mean?” Johan whined slightly as he wrapped his arms firmly around Troydt’s waist and squeezed. He was rewarded with only laughter from the other Nanion, and a small crack which had apparently come from the vlyph.

There was a slight hesitation, during which Johan made the mistake of relaxing the slightest bit, then a short mewl and the beasts started off. Johan’s head smacked immediately into Troydt’s back, right between his shoulder blades, only to be throw back painfully. Johan could barely hear Troydt laughing over the thud-thump of the vlyph, who’s running could only be compared to an infant’s. The beasts seemed as if they weren’t only rock jumping, but rock jumping on falling rocks! Their steps were so uneven, so jostled and uncoordinated Johan questioned the Nanion’s want for them.

“They do much better on rocky ground!” Troydt called back, as if reading Johan’s mind. “They are made for cliff-climbing, not terrestrial running!”

“O-o-h-h..” Johan chattered in an attempt to answer. He didn’t understand how they were supposed to find anything this way, he couldn’t focus his eyes enough to tell how fast they were moving, or if they were really getting anywhere at all! He chanced a look at the ground, however, and was quite startled to discover just how much ground the vlyph covered in one lanky stride.

“Oof!” Johan snorted in an undignified way as his whole body suddenly slammed into Troydt’s, with so much force it nearly knocked them both over the vlyph.

“Get a grip, will you!” Shouted Troydt as his beast stopped and he turned to look at Johan.

“Why did we stop?” Johan muttered, taking the break for a chance to rub his forehead.

“Let go of me!”

“Because we think we have found your she-Tev.”

Johan’s eyes grew wide and he immediately leaned to the side, still holding onto Troydt for dear-life.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He muttered, speechless. Noya was on her knees in front of Troydt’s mount, one of the other Nanion boys standing behind her with a pike at her back. She was not pleased. Johan couldn’t help but chuckle as he stiffly released Troydt’s waist and leapt to the ground, walking shakily over to Noya.

“You look like you sat on a sword.” She growled, turning to snap at one of the Nanion who apparently came too close for her like. Johan laughed and reached down to grab her upper arm, shaking his head.

“I’m not the one who has to ride back on one of those without the use of my hands.”


The ride back to Troydt’s village wasn’t that long, a fact for which Johan’s rump was grateful. As the vylph skittered to a stop just outside a fenced in meadow Johan leapt to the ground and doubled over, bracing himself with his hands on his thighs as he waited for his head to stop aching.

“Chum up already,” Troydt laughed, plopping to the ground beside Johan and slapping his hand on the musician’s back, “it will make you feel better.”

“Chum up?” Johan repeated anxiously, standing as Troydt began to gather leather reins from the fence posts. He heard two of the other Nanion chuckling behind him and turned to raise an eyebrow.

“Blegh!” Lurched one of the boys as he fiened a rather comical vomiting fit.

“Tada,” snorted his counterpart delightedly, “chum up!”

“I think I’ll pass.” Grumbled Johan.

“Excuse me! I would like solid ground under my feet! Get me off this thing!” Noya’s angry shouts did little more than amuse the Nanion boys as Johan walked over to pick her up.

“Yes your highness.” He snickered, giving a mock bow before reaching up to grab her shoulders. He cocked his head to the side as she narrowed her eyes, then lifted her head higher, took a breath, and spit on Johan.

“Hey!”

“Wow, looks like you got yourself a fiesty one, Johan.” Troydt said with a disapproving click of his tongue, standing behind Johan and putting his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

“Do you mind if I?” Troydt offered, pointing to the she-Tev. Noya narrowed her eyes again and looked at Johan.

“Uh, sure, go right ahead.” Johan grumbled, standing back and crossing his arms over his chest as he cocked out one hip, watching Troydt curiously. Troydt simply reached forward, grabbed Noya’s shoulders and then a little above her knees, turned and swung her into the air, letting her land perfectly balanced behind his head, across his shoulders. Johan’s jaw nearly hit the ground.

“Do not look so flabbergasted, Johan,” Troydt said happily, starting towards the village Johan could now see in the distance. “Now, let us go have those wounds of yours tended, mm?”

Johan nodded and turned to look in the direction of the village, freezing to the spot. It was enormous. They were standing on a large hill and Johan still could not see the full extent of the village. It looked more like a city. The buildings ranged in size and style and were built with wood and stone. If Johan didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that he was standing in the Shryiol itself, aside from the lack of dazzling white walls, which the Shryiol supposedly sported. He shook his head and quickened his pace to walk next to Troydt.

“So, you said we’re two months from the Shyriol?”

“That is correct; two months in that direction.” He pointed back towards the meadow where they’d tied up the vlyph. “Unless you want to take the longer, more scenic route, and then you go that way, through the Sways and much closer to the swamps.” He paused as Johan made a slight noise and smiled slightly. Now that Troydt had a good, unobscured view of the white-haired Nanion he could tell just how young the boy was. Not that Troydt was too old himself, but there was definitely a large gap. Johan was probably about sixteen, the age of Rolin and Tuscho, who were currently engaged in a game of ‘mimic the angry she-Tev’ behind Troydt.

“Hey, Rolin, Tuscho, go fetch Lib and tell her to meet me at the ward.”

“Why do we have to?” Rolin grumbled, even as he changed direction and pulled on Tuscho’s sleeve.

“Because I have to get these two to the ward first.” Troydt grumbled, having quickly noticed that the she-Tev was also injured. “If you go get Lib it will save a lot of time.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Tuscho snickered as he tagged Rolin on the shoulder and took off through the alley.

“The rest of you can head home or whatever, thanks for helping out.” Troydt said as he turned to face the remaining Nanion, ignoring Noya as she struggled to free herself from his grip.

“Do not mention it, Troydt. We were all on watch duty anyway.” Said one of the older men as he touched his forehead with two fingers, then reached over and touched Troydt’s in the same way. “Tell Lib I said hi.”

“Yeah.” Troydt muttered, watching the men leave for a moment before turning back around and steering Johan down another path through the village. “It looks like you did a pretty good job patching yourself up, but just in case I am taking you to our sick ward, just so the doctor can look you over for any infections.” Troydt said, as if he needed to explain himself. Johan merely nodded and ran a hand over the back of his neck with a click of his tongue.

“I just hope she cooperates.” He grumbled.

“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not right here.” Noya stuttered, struggling again.

“She had better if she knows what is good for her. Our doctor is not the most gentle man, and he will not hesitate to show the she-Tev who is boss.”

“Wonderful. You’ve spared my life only to toss me off to some - nasty… old… doc-tor.” Noya’s words became broken and soft as she lifted her head, gazing down a nearby alley in shock. It couldn’t be what she thought it was.

Johan tilted his head to look at Noya as her malicious words died off, and he caught her rather awestruck gaze, and turned to look in the same direction. It took him a moment to realize what she was looking at, and when he did he took a short, startled step backwards, shaking his head a bit. He had appeared, at first, to be a Nanion or a Tev. He stood on two legs, had creamy tan skin and five-fingers, but he was - big. He was the same height as a Tev soldier, but he was bulkier, and it was not in a chubby way. He was - muscle. He was hardly graceful, and Johan supposed he sacrificed grace for strength. His ears were the strangest thing about him, however, they were small and rounded.

“Uh, what are you looking at?” Troydt whispered, leaning down towards Johan’s ear. Johan started slightly and looked over at Troydt, frowning slightly.

“Wh-what is he?” Johan grumbled as quietly as he could.

“What is who?” Troydt said as he looked over. “Oh, him? Do not tell me you have never seen a human before.”

“A - what?”

“A human mud-for-brains.” Spat Noya, who seemed to have given in and stopped struggling. “They’re really clumsy, but quite strong. They can take down a Tev like a Tev can take down a Nanion.”

“Troydt, I have a very important question for you,” Johan sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up at the blue-haired Nanion.

“Yeah, and what is that?”

“Do you think the doctor could permanently sew her mouth shut?”