Before - Legends "Cat litter", an attempt to redeem Darksiders, 33rd update, 19th March 2012

Love to see a new update with the beautiful description of the world of her.

 

I am more than happy that you like her descriptions, dearest bird.

But please do not forget that Draconis is more than the Holy Isle of Cunabula with the River Valley and the Mother Jungle.

Due to Sionnach we also know that Draconis has whispering grass land, vast forest regions and long mountain chains with icy glaciers.

And via Isabeau we learnt that there is also a gigantic desert and that some hostile tribes live in the stone prairies of the far East.

Anyway, it is time for a check of the current up-date list. On board are:

* SWpants666, our brilliant main editor
* Chilla
* earlybird-Obi-Wan
* Lady_Misty
* Gkilkenny

and OFF the records:

* DarthUncle, husband and muse, not able to run off fast enough when another update is really & I feel like reading it aloud

Anybody off the up-date list? Or on?

FelsGooddess?
...

 

His eyes may be blue, but there is so much evil in them.

 

The original lyrics from the song ´Behind blue eyes` are actually from THE WHO. (And NOT from LIMP BIZKITS!) I think they fit very nicely with your concerns, dear Gkilkenny:

"No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes



No one knows what it's like

To be hated

To be fated

To telling only lies



But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be



I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free



No one knows what it's like

To feel these feelings

Like I do

And I blame you



No one bites back as hard

On their anger

None of my pain and woe

Can show through



But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be



I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free



When my fist clenches, crack it open

Before I use it and lose my cool

When I smile, tell me some bad news

Before I laugh and act like a fool



If I swallow anything evil

Put your finger down my throat

If I shiver, please give me a blanket

Keep me warm, let me wear your coat



No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes"

Be in for a hard ride and many surprises about what is really going on behind those blue eyes.



Okay the update list still looks this way, unless anybody wants to be on it or jump of it again:

(* DarthUncle)
* SWpants666
* Chilla
* Lady_Misty
* earlybird-Obi-Wan
* Gkilkenny

What about FelsGoddess? Or dm1?


Anyway I will be pretty busy in the weekend, so I better update now. Enjoy yourselves!


********************************************************************


Grandmother Techné Aletheia was loveable no matter what the rest of my siblings thought of her. Underneath her stern surface there was a woman who had suffered a great loss. Since the death of Grandfather Xenophobes her only comfort was her religion, which clashed with my culture.

I had to agree with everybody about Uncle Kairos though. He was a superficial man who had no love in his heart for us. We were dirty reptiles to him, tainted by Mother´s blood line. Bravely we held our tongues, especially my elder siblings. Father would not take it very well if anybody would tell him about his brother´s involvement with the Human League.

As far as I understood the matter, this league was a group of fanatic men who hated all who were different: Force sensitives, Elves, Lidérc and, on top of all, Ophidea.

Nanny Isabeau had spent some time away from court, irritated with Mother for various reasons. Being forced to drink a mug of hot chocolate with chilli pepper had been one of them. Grown-ups could get upset for such small reasons. Cacao beans were a holy blessing for my people. They simplified the communication with our Midi-chlorians.

All in all, Nanny´s return made me whole again. She carried the serenity of the desert with her. With all the informations and impressions raining down on me since I had been re-born, I needed her calmness very much.

?Are you sure you did the right thing?? she asked my mother who was feeding my sister Daná nearby.

It was a lazy afternoon for all of us. There was not much to do or to see. My other twin siblings were dozing in the bed nest and my older siblings were engaged in some games.

After a while, Isabeau repeated her question with more urgency in her voice. Every feline creature hates indifference. She would get herself into a state of aggravation until she had the full attention of Mother. ?Are you sure you did the right thing??

?You were never a mother and never will be. So there is no way that I can make you understand.?

Isabeau, who had us both bathed in sunlight, turned towards Mother. ?You are obsessed with the ones that you love. You should not abuse your powers that way.?

I liked Nanny even more for the bravery with which she faced Mother. Fas

 

* Azure* Yay! I was faster than you! Usually I get a PM or message via facebook, but this once I got here on my own before receiving any notification.


Underneath her stern surface there was a woman who had suffered a great loss. Since the death of my grandfather, Xenophobes, her only comfort was her religion, which clashed with my culture.

Aww, Grianan is so compassionate and understanding.
Techné sounds a bit like my grandma, though. Only suffering nice the day her husband died.
Great potential for conflict if her convictions clash with the culture of her daughter and grandchildren.

But lol - a man called "Xenophobes"? *chuckles* So, nomen est omen?

We were dirty reptiles to him, tainted by mother´s blood line.

What is Arcana's bloodline?

As far as I understood the matter, this league was a group of fanatic men who hated all who were different: Force sensitives, Elves, Lidérc and, on top of all, Ophidea.


Nomen est omen! Human league....hate anyone who isn't human.

Being forced to drink a mug of hot chocolate with chilli pepper had been one of them.

I'd be mad, too.

Cacao beans were a holy blessing for my people. They simplified the communication with our Midi-chlorians.

So that is why Luke drinks hot chocolate!

I always knew that chocolate has amazing properties.

With all the informations and impressions raining down on me since I had been re-born, I needed her calmness very much.

I like how Isa becomes her refuge.

Every feline creature hates indifference. She would get herself into a state of aggravation until she had the full attention of my mother.

Cats really hate being ignored.

It is a reasonable question, though.

?You were never a mother and never will be. So there is no way that I can make you understand.?

Aww. Arcana loves her children so dearly. All of the things she did were because if her great love.

Ouch about the "never will be a mother" part. Can Arcana see the future? Or is she just being mean?

?You are obsessed with the ones that you love. You should not abuse your powers that way.?

She is so right - Arcana is obsessed, and she uses her power to do things that shouldn't be done.

I liked the royal nanny even more for the bravery with which she faced my mother.

Isa seems like a cool person who died way too young.

Being rational, that is something that I know I cannot do! The day my sister died on me, I swore to myself that I will learn to stop people from dying.?

I can so understand why she doesn't want to let anyone she loves die. But the parallels to Anakin's fall to the Dark Side are scary.

But at least she acknowledges her feelings and doesn't suppress or deny them like the Jedi of the Old Republic - because that wasn't right either. It's like two extremes: Jedi of the Old Order versus Arcana.

?Even if I need to spend a lifetime seeking power over death, I will go this path.

And that is her undoing.
But Grianan sees the loving person her mother is. It's easy to see why Grianan will fight tooth and nail to bring her mum back.

It was not a novelty for my mother to get treated this way. She was sulking like a little girl. ?You have been here for less than one sun hour and you pick up a fight with me already.?

Good woman. People is power need someone who will tell them the truth and not just what they want to hear!

The royal nanny grimaced. ?Okay you scr...?

?Mind your words!? My mother raised her voice in warning.

So, does Arcana know just how much Grianan really understands?

"That is too much power for anyone to carry. Not only can she get drunk from her own abilities, they could actually break her.?

Unfortunately that isn't unlikely.

?I do not want them to start sucking up your rage via your mother?s milk already.?

That is a scary thought!

Isabeau grimac

 

her only comfort was her religion, which clashed with my culture.

Hm. Was it that their religions were different, or the culture just didn?t ?believe? in religion


irritated with my mother for various reasons.

No surprise there

Om nom chocolate <3


She would get herself into a state of aggravation until she had the full attention of my mother.

I love Isa


Therefore: do not lecture me on how to lead my life and how to raise my children!?

Then raise them correctly, witch.


The shroud of the Dark Side fell over my mother when Isabeau confronted her with her failure.

Things she has to get over: not being right all the time



My thoughts were interrupted when my mother stated frostily, ?I am a god queen. There is no such thing as having a vacation.?

Fair enough

 

I know a woman that is outwardly stern but she is rather nice once you get to know her.

 

Nice to see the reflections on Isabeau

This is giving a wonderful depth to all your other stories

 

Thanks for the background!!

In time you will understand her better, too. You do NOT need to give her absolution though, but you will understand how broken she was and what a blessing the love of Agathos' became for her.

Yeah, but that doesn't mean she had to turn out the way she did.

 

You are very welcome about that.

I also gave a very long answer for "Wolf whelp" but then the JC kicked me out and all was gone. My husband went to bed without me, me being mad like the Phantom of the Opera.

And yes, the Dark Side is a choice a person makes. No matter how tricky and seductive it is.

 

Update list check
* SWpants666, our brilliant main editor
* Chilla
* earlybird-Obi-Wan
* Lady_Misty
* Gkilkenny

More readers? Less readers?

 

I also decided to change orange letters into orangered letters to make my text pieces more readable.

From tomorrow on I will not be on-line until the weekend is over. Tomorrow evening I have an appointment. On Friday a college gives a party in the school restaurant. And on Saturday I will be off in the evening as well. This is why I update "Cat litter" NOW and NOT on Friday.

"Wolf whelp" will get a normal update on Sunday evening.

Anywhere, here it is my update about baby Grianán coming to know her family members better:


Isabeau vented her irritation as we went down to the bungalow. She knew a lot of swear words, but her anger was non-threatening and did not intimidate my siblings and me. Like any desert organism, Isabeau was rough on the outside only. We loved her for that.

?There you are, my darling.? Father greeted Mother with a brief kiss - when we all arrived on his veranda. ?We were slightly concerned that it took so long for you to arrive.?

My older siblings - also born as septuplets - had developed their own strategies to make our father happy. Their tactics mostly consisted of answering our father in unison, as long as the circumstance was appropriate. ?Sorry, dad! We had to wait for some Shesha to take over the babies before Isa would join us.?

?Marquise, what a pleasure and blessing it is to have you back in our midst. You were missed dearly,? Father let the Nanny know. I could sense his anxiousness to make this family union as pleasant as possible for everybody, including Isabeau.

?Is she there yet?? Grandmother Techné called out, driven by that same nervousness that my father held. ?Are the children with her??

I wished that everybody would let go of fear and other negative feelings. It was difficult enough for me to control my empathic powers. My head started to hurt. They were using words like lashes, and even the non-telepaths among them had poisonous thoughts. My head started to hurt even more by trying to work around it all.

The hostility of my current surroundings would not change, but at least I could alter my ways of perceiving sensations that prickled my brain. I closed my eyes and focused on listening to the heartbeat of Isabeau, forcing out everything else. At first it was difficult, but then the flow happened automatically, leading me to some of Isabeau?s deeper thoughts and feelings.

Sapuhru differed from the Mother Jungle. Change was more subtle there; the circle of life and death was more rapid. The sand made everything equal. Even the strong individuals were humbled by it.

The dune sea was beautiful to behold. No sand dune was similar. The constant breeze that made the tiny sand corns move had such a great impact. Time was meaningless here.

I returned from my trance-like state when I heard one of my twin brothers being mentioned. Shortly after our birth, he had been cut off from us, the rest of the newborn sextuplets. Iocus, Blandita, Dána, Calathus and I could not even feel him in the Force any longer.

?He should have been put straight into an incubator.? Grandmother was not pleased. ?Then the accident with the snake would not have happened at all. The poor boy, poisoned so early in his life. How could you give birth in such a filthy, dangerous place, Arcana??

Offended by the words against her charges, Isabeau rose with me in her arms. ?Excuse me, Grianán needs a new nappy.?

I got carried away from the battlefield with firm and determined footsteps. ?Narthex, it is me, Isabeau!? she called out. ?Can I enter your little kingdom??

Somewhere in the background Grandfather answered. ?We are in Agathos´ bedchamber.?

Isabeau caught my gaze and said to me: ?Let us go see your brother Aconite, ma petite!?

Aconite. My Midi-chlorians told me that there was something wrong with his name.

********************************************************************

Grandfather´s despair

 

so little and so helpful already. Love her and the new update

 

My dad said one of the best things about coming home was all of us children running towards him.

 

^that's adorable, Lady Misty.


She knew a lot of swear words

*snorts* I?m sure she did


I wished that everybody would let go of fear and other negative feelings.

If only, right?


The separate colour really is better than the italics


How could you give birth in such a filthy, dangerous place, Arcana??

I forget about the situation of the birth, but?it?s not like people can control it. *rolls eyes*



Chapter 3: Family encounters

?Of course, there is the medical staff that we sent for from Amnion, but the boy does need his family.?

*nods* family has much more power and influence with the sick/hurt.


?To try to figure out Arcana and her motives is like dancing on the edge of madness.

Too freaking true.



Grandfather Narthex laughed. ?What a blessing it is to have you in the family, child!?

Indeed!!

 

A little peak before I am off to bed. Could not resist. And I have impressions for you:

Isabeau
[image=http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n2/AzureAngel2_2006/SW%20pictures/P9290082.jpg]

Arcana
[image=http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n2/AzureAngel2_2006/SW%20pictures/P9290085.jpg]

Agathos and Narthex
[image=http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n2/AzureAngel2_2006/SW%20pictures/P9290084.jpg]

All sketches are done by a teenage Grianán as we soon my find out in "Wolf whelp".

Awww, this is so sweet that I would like to use that in my story at one point. And yes, Agathos loves his children dearly.

 

I love the drawing of Arcana!

 

Like any desert organism, Isabeau was rough on the outside only. We loved her for that.

Makes me wish Lucien would be like that. *sighs*

Even Force blind Adamah joined in with a, ?Sorry, dad!?

So one of Grianan's siblings doesn't have the force? Makes me feel sorry for her. All of her siblings seem to be telepaths. She'll be left out.

I could sense his anxiousness to make this family union as pleasant as possible for everybody, including Isabeau.

A lot of darkness lies over this family already. How sad.

I wished that everybody would let go of fear and other negative feelings. It was difficult enough for me to control my empathic powers. My head started to hurt.

There is no way baby Grianan can shut herself off. Poor little one.

They were using words like lashes, and even the non-Telepaths among them had poisonous thoughts.

I'm afraid a lot of people have mean thoughts.

I closed my eyes and focused on listening to the heartbeat of Isabeau, forcing out everything else.

I like her solution.

?Then the accident with the snake would not have happened at all. The poor boy, poisoned so early in his life. How could you give birth in such a filthy, dangerous place, Arcana??

SWPants has a point, you can hardly pick the place where you give birth. However, in a cave full of snakes seems to be particularily dangerous. I realize the snakes seem to be holy or something like that, but as a mother about to give birth, I would have called one of my servants (Arcana ought to have a lot) and have them removed for the time being.

The speech of my grandfather was slow, strained by the same tiredness that my father possessed.

Poor them. Seeing their child/grandchild wither away in front of their eyes and Arcana fall deeper and deeper into the Dark Side Side.

Whatever Force abilities he originally had called his own had been burned out of his body. He might as well be dead to the universe.

I strongly object to this. It seems to say that those without the Force are dead.

?I can´t remember,? my beloved nanny said.

Grandfather Narthex lowered his head as much as his voice. ?I wish I could, too.?

How come they can't remember that? Did Grianan accidentally do something or is this Arcana's doing?

?To try to figure out Arcana and her motives is like dancing on the edge of madness.?

She's so right.

While Isabeau was forced in an unwanted conversation, I could continue staring at my twin brother.

I don't understand this part. I thought Grianan and Dana were twins. But now there is a twin brother???

I had not asked my mother to suck out his energies on my behalf, and personally feeling guilty for it did not help his situation.

Why did she do that??? I was under the impression that she would do anything for her children. How come she would sacrifize one for the other? And why did she decide to save Grianan?

I took some of the grace that was given to me, multiplied it as much as I could, and passed it on to him.

I love the way this is phrased. "Grace" indeed.

?What a blessing it is to have you in the family, child!?

*nods* *nods* She will do her family good.

My brother did not think so. He was full of hatred.

Sorry to see this. I'm curious how this relationship will develope in the future.


Good update! Sorry I took so long to reply.

 

Unfortunately she looks nothing like Nicole Kidman.

 

Thank you so much for clarifying the "twin" thing. Reading the birth scene from Isa's perspective has also helped me to understand what's going on. Thank you!

 

I am glad both worked for you! I update today, after two busy days, because I will be even more busy tomorrow evening and Saturday evening.



Chapter 3: Family encounters

Just a sun month after our birth, the majority of the court went to Dún Barr, the midwinter castle of my family. The abrupt change of climate did not concern me; my body was prepared for it. My ancestry had made sure of that. I worried for Grandmother Techné though and her feeble health. Strong drafts came from long corridors and sometimes even from the colourful glass windows. There were too many stairs to be climbed for artificial hips like hers.

It didn?t help that Mother was a sinister woman towards her enemies ? and she considered Grandmother to be one of her enemies. The war that they lead was filled with ugly words. My siblings and I were embarrassed with how they behaved towards one another.

I tried to be with Grandmother as much as possible. It eased the pain that she was in for the time being. But I was no healer. My skills were of a different nature. I was not sure what they were good for yet. It was all very complicated. None of my siblings seemed to be able to perceive the universe as I was, so I kept my experiences to myself.

As the sun weeks passed, I watched the sunlight dance above the cradle that I shared with my twins when I was not carried around by adults like Isabeau. As much as I enjoyed seeing the rooms and hallways of the castle, I eventually began to avoid staring into the shadows because they stared back at me.

Sometimes Éleos would wrap me up in thick caribou pelts and take me outside to see the grey winter sky. There were two places we could go: the inner courtyard of the castle or into the vacant gardens. That was the only concession that Isabeau would make to somebody as young as me. She did not want me to be taken beyond the boundaries of Dún Barr.

I relished what I had. Just being with my elder brother was bliss. He was sweet and devoted, even if that meant changing my nappies. He did not mind. His love was genuine. And the Force was strong in him.

Thus far my young life was full of wonders and merriment. Winter was interesting. It made the world look even and produced hushed sounds. I liked the artwork it created, such as the transcendent crystals of snowflakes, or icy layers that glittered in breathtaking colours.

But there was a heavy burden that I carried around. It grew daily and I did my best not to bother anybody with it.

All of my brothers and sisters flourished in the Force. Yet I could not help but notice that some of my skills could not be matched to theirs. I started to believe that I was different, perhaps not even in a good way. I had forced both Luçien and Aconite to accept a gift of mine. Dark side abilities could not only be aggressive and destructive, but they could also have perversely manipulative tendencies.

The thought of being evil made me develop a little fever. Isabeau had me separated from my twins and took me to her own bed. There she entertained me with stories from her home world, controlling my body temperature anxiously. If I had been a normal child growing up on Sapuhru, I would have been carried out into the dune sea, forced to survive on my own account. Nanny did not think anything of those practices; however, her heart had been softened during her time here. For that I was grateful.

********************************************************************

As soon as Isabeau believed me to have recovered, Éleos was allowed to take me on a stroll. We ended up in one of the castle orchards. In the midst of dark shapes that were not much to look at, he came to a halt. Bald branches reached out to the sun above us. Even though the orchard seemed dead, I sensed faint life signals. The trees were in hibernation, dreaming of warmer days to come.

 

There were battle lines drawn between my mother and my father's ex mother-in-law and I do believe that they still exist.

However she loves my dad's mothers like her won.