Post by lil on Dec 13, 2005 11:06:13 GMT -5
(The name of Faith's world is Yisheiga)
Faith sat up in bed in a dazed manner, still remaining in the final throes of the weird dream. He knew it was definitely not those vague dreams that everyone has once in a while. This one presented some disturbing images and probably hidden dark omens, as Faith's subconscious told him but somehow he could hardly remember anything about it except that a voice had been echoing in his head.
"What the...." He mumbled to himself, forehead creased as he tried to recall further.
"Faith! You better get up this instance! You'll be late for the ritual if you dawdle any longer!" The voice of his eldest sister, Luriel preceded her physical presence.
Faith stretched lazily, staying glued to his bed. He didn't want to attend the ritual; he'd fail like the last time anyway. And his Father's expression each time just got harsher and harsher, as if it was ready to burst forth into a typhoon any second.
"Luriel... my bestest big sis... tell him I'm ill and can't get out of bed." Faith pleaded with his trademark wide-eyed puppy dog face. Her mouth twitched only the slightest in amusement.
"He'll know that you're lying straight away, so you might as well get your ass into the Grand Summoning Courtyard before he gets even angrier."
With a huge, long-suffering kind of sigh, Faith practically had to drag himself out of his bed covers, mechanically going through the motions of washing and dressing.
It turned out this was one of the worst days he had ever experienced. As expected, his Father was barely concealing his displeasure at Faith's tardiness. And due to some unknown reason, it seemed that Faith's staff refused to even yield to the simplest requests which made him even more flustered. It didn't help that the whole family, including his uncles, anuts and cousins, had turned up at full force to witness how he had done. Some were undoubtedly smirking at his failure to handle his staff.
The pressure had never been greater.
"Come on, stupid staff! What's wrong with you?" He muttered angrily, giving it a wretched look. With a deep breathe, he smiled uneasily, before beginning the ritual again.
Raising his staff to the skies, Faith drew the eight symbols of Yisheiga while chanting a complicated mantra, channeling his utmost concentration on the task at hand. He could not fail. He could not.
"Heavens Above, Earth below, hear your devoted servant! Bestow unto me your purest power, Whisper to me your deepest secrets. I summon you, oh bearer of celestial prophecies!!!" He shouted, before planting his staff onto the ground with a heavy thud.
There was nothing for a few moments. Faith's head drooped slightly, thinking that he had failed again.
His eyes flew open when gasps from his family perpetuated the air.
Faith had not summoned anything. But instead, something else had been triggered.
The purple snow that should have evaporated as soon as it touched a surface, was starting to cover the ground rapidly. Faith gawked at the sheet of purple sleet, that was piling up so heavily as if a myraid of gravity spells had been cast upon them.
Before they could even fathom why this was happening, a great yawning hole suddenly appeared in front of where Faith was standing. A huge shadowy figure with what looked like twisted wires for a head and a heart-shaped hole at his torso rose from the depths of the hole.
Without any warning, the mysterious figure started shooting dark balls at randomn, several of them hitting Faith's sisters.
"Luriel! Muriel! Fancyl!" Faith shouted when he saw them wincing in pain, whipping back to bash the Darkside with his staff but all it did was cause some serious jarring to his hands. "Why are you attacking them?"
It only grinned back menacingly, clamping a hand on Faith's and retreating back to the hole, pulling the hapless boy with him. Faith struggled against its grip, but some unseen force was sucking him down together with the Darkside.
"Faith!" He heard Luriel call out frantically, reaching a hand to grasp his, only to have his fingers brush briefly against hers before slipping away.
And Faith knew nothing but darkness and the sinking sensation of plummeting down a bottomless hole for a long time afterwards.
Faith sat up in bed in a dazed manner, still remaining in the final throes of the weird dream. He knew it was definitely not those vague dreams that everyone has once in a while. This one presented some disturbing images and probably hidden dark omens, as Faith's subconscious told him but somehow he could hardly remember anything about it except that a voice had been echoing in his head.
"What the...." He mumbled to himself, forehead creased as he tried to recall further.
"Faith! You better get up this instance! You'll be late for the ritual if you dawdle any longer!" The voice of his eldest sister, Luriel preceded her physical presence.
Faith stretched lazily, staying glued to his bed. He didn't want to attend the ritual; he'd fail like the last time anyway. And his Father's expression each time just got harsher and harsher, as if it was ready to burst forth into a typhoon any second.
"Luriel... my bestest big sis... tell him I'm ill and can't get out of bed." Faith pleaded with his trademark wide-eyed puppy dog face. Her mouth twitched only the slightest in amusement.
"He'll know that you're lying straight away, so you might as well get your ass into the Grand Summoning Courtyard before he gets even angrier."
With a huge, long-suffering kind of sigh, Faith practically had to drag himself out of his bed covers, mechanically going through the motions of washing and dressing.
It turned out this was one of the worst days he had ever experienced. As expected, his Father was barely concealing his displeasure at Faith's tardiness. And due to some unknown reason, it seemed that Faith's staff refused to even yield to the simplest requests which made him even more flustered. It didn't help that the whole family, including his uncles, anuts and cousins, had turned up at full force to witness how he had done. Some were undoubtedly smirking at his failure to handle his staff.
The pressure had never been greater.
"Come on, stupid staff! What's wrong with you?" He muttered angrily, giving it a wretched look. With a deep breathe, he smiled uneasily, before beginning the ritual again.
Raising his staff to the skies, Faith drew the eight symbols of Yisheiga while chanting a complicated mantra, channeling his utmost concentration on the task at hand. He could not fail. He could not.
"Heavens Above, Earth below, hear your devoted servant! Bestow unto me your purest power, Whisper to me your deepest secrets. I summon you, oh bearer of celestial prophecies!!!" He shouted, before planting his staff onto the ground with a heavy thud.
There was nothing for a few moments. Faith's head drooped slightly, thinking that he had failed again.
His eyes flew open when gasps from his family perpetuated the air.
Faith had not summoned anything. But instead, something else had been triggered.
The purple snow that should have evaporated as soon as it touched a surface, was starting to cover the ground rapidly. Faith gawked at the sheet of purple sleet, that was piling up so heavily as if a myraid of gravity spells had been cast upon them.
Before they could even fathom why this was happening, a great yawning hole suddenly appeared in front of where Faith was standing. A huge shadowy figure with what looked like twisted wires for a head and a heart-shaped hole at his torso rose from the depths of the hole.
Without any warning, the mysterious figure started shooting dark balls at randomn, several of them hitting Faith's sisters.
"Luriel! Muriel! Fancyl!" Faith shouted when he saw them wincing in pain, whipping back to bash the Darkside with his staff but all it did was cause some serious jarring to his hands. "Why are you attacking them?"
It only grinned back menacingly, clamping a hand on Faith's and retreating back to the hole, pulling the hapless boy with him. Faith struggled against its grip, but some unseen force was sucking him down together with the Darkside.
"Faith!" He heard Luriel call out frantically, reaching a hand to grasp his, only to have his fingers brush briefly against hers before slipping away.
And Faith knew nothing but darkness and the sinking sensation of plummeting down a bottomless hole for a long time afterwards.