Subj:	 [ffml] [MW] Homesickness
Date:	00-08-24 00:23:26 EDT
From:	magus@cyberverse.com (Daniel Polcari)
Reply-to:	ffml@egroups.com
To:	ffml@egroups.com

Several hours had passed since E'ris fell asleep against the rune and
rolled over on his side. The nostalgia of this place had effected him
deeply, as the cavern was filled with Air that had followed him through
the gate from Eyar. Stale, ancient air.. but the air from his home.
He stirred at last and awakened, his face toward the ground..
"Huh!?" he exclaimed. Looking at the earth surrounding the runestone,
he saw something that made his heart rise. When he first entered, the
dark was daunting to his spoiled eyes and he did not see it.. But now,
having slept in the pitch-dark cavern for hours, he made out innumerable
thin, green shapes rising out of the dirt.

Grass!!!

It could not have been that he had dragged grass seed along with him
when he fled.. without light and fresh water, the grass would have never
taken root. This was not a simple matter.. something was strange here.
E'ris stood and walked farther into the cavern, his heart racing at the
thought of what might be. He continued walking, walking, and after a time
he had walked farther than the cavern should have permitted him to walk.
He was standing on turf now, not the rocky floor of the cavern.. And
although he could now see the wall of the cavern sloping up to a close
in the distance, this discrepancy in size had a meaning to him.. The gate
with Eyar had never fully closed. He noticed it now; his eyes had not
adjusted to the perfect dark.. there never was darkness in the cavern.
Light had shined on him as he first entered and it had shined the whole
time. Light, water, and even grass had passed through the semi-opaque
junction between the two worlds.. There was hope. Tyrmagest finally
roused itself again, excitedly enumerating the possibilities for this
gate to E'ris. "Yes..! One day, Tyrmagest, when we are the strongest
being in this world.. we're going home.. And we're going to destroy
every last Guardeye on entire plane of Eyar.."

E'ris busied himself preparing several more runes for the cavern..
They would allow him to moniter this place and to one day use it
to fade back into his homeland..

-=-=-

Kilek felt strange, however. The farther he walked, the less obvious
Tampax's trail became. It was as though the trail were aging and fading
away before his eyes.. And to top it all off, he noticed a subtle difference
now in the color of the leaves on the nearby trees.. Was it his imagination?
He could make no guess of any use, so he continued on. By daybreak, Tampax's
trail was no longer legible. Several times during the night he had gotten the
strangest sensation. As though people had been passing back and forth past
him at a blinding speed... Befuddled, Kilek lay down and used the day to sleep
nearby some small saplings..

-=-=-

E'ris completed the runes in the cavern and began eyeing the moon pool.
He had felt a strange sensation several times as he worked in the cavern.
The grass now seemed different somehow, as though its season had advanced
during the short time he spent here. He boarded Granatraeva, unmindful of
the bizarre effect that had overtaken him.

-=-=-

Kilek awakened, now feeling even more confused. He no longer lay beside
a grove of saplings, but in the midst of several fair-sized trees. His
fur had become shaggy and matted, and he felt as though the march of
time had passed over him with cleated boots.. Disoriented, he stood up
and brushed himself off. Returning to the path, he resumed his journey,
now merely following the road toward destination unknown.

-=-=-

E'ris breached the surface of the ocean once more and gleefully listened
to the sound of Granatraeva's flight drives pulling them back into the
air. He sped off to the north, not knowing where he would end up.. but
it was time he got serious with this world...

-=-=-

The Dark Lord grinned one last time at his cleverness.. He had sent the
young Knight of Eyar and the moogle with whom he acquainted himself
forward in time.. perhaps he could not imprison or destroy the boy,
but he would be sure to confuse his path every step of the way..





[It's been a long time.. any feedback would be appreciated. I'll admit
that this is a rather quick patchup for the problems we encountered
when Vince left the MW, but still.. Hopefully we can take this in a
normal direction now, at least.]

+----------------------+
| Daniel Steven Polcari|
| magus@cyberverse.com |
|   Nemesis^ on IRC    |
+----------------------+