The First Year

Heya Everyone, just another really short post, because I didn't have that much to do to wrap up this little tale. So this is the final part of the prompt: Necromancy, Technomancy, Pyromancy. You and your two best friends each have one of these powers. Tell me about the first hour, the first year and the first decade.

You can read part one here: The First Hour, and part two: The First Day.

Enjoy, and I will see you all next week :).

After a year they had a shelter, close to a river for cleaning and fresh water. Calista had mastered her abilities enough to not only sustain a fire but also to go, kill and cook meat as she came across it. Her body heat significantly higher than that of her friends, and she never felt the same chill on the air that they did, allowing for her to explore much more freely than those that couldn’t handle the nearby mountains snowy plains. Able to go further and further away in search of food and items to make their small base more habitable.

In fact, everyone had a much better handle on their abilities. Alliana could freely touch those whom she wished, with no fear of accidentally taking their lives, and the development of being able to talk to those who had died didn’t bother her as much as it had when they’d first appeared on the dawning of the next day. Spirits of those long gone helping her build a structure from the materials at hand to keep them all safe and warm. Centuries of expertise available to her with only a slight flick of her wrist. They all claimed it was what allowed them to survive in the wild as long as they had.

Izzy, much like her friends, had a much better grasp on her abilities, daring to make the long trek back to the city time and time again until she felt like she could get closer without passing out. Alliana and Calista hovering close by as she took a seat just behind the forest’s cover, eyes closed as her abilities stretched out and brushed against the edges of the city, allowing her to test and strengthen her powers, trusting her friends to help her should it all become too much once again. It was a trip they tried to make once a fortnight.

They knew now that they could survive in the city if they wanted, it wouldn’t be their powers holding them back, but instead their age. They were only eleven, and while they’d matured to feel like a much older group, it didn’t change they way they would be seen by those within the city. It had barely been a discussion, it would be easier for everyone if they just maintained their current way of living, slowly expanding their base. Alliana was dead set on cultivating a farm, using her powers to coax them to life far sooner than they should have been.

Which left Izzy the responsibility of cooking and keeping the upkeep of the house, sorting and organising everything in such a way that no one else could find the logic nor anything she had put away. She was also an early warning system for anyone that could be hiking their way, someone that had moved off the tracks and gotten lost. They’d discovered that no one was without any sort of technology anymore, and even if it was dead it would let off a faint hum that Izzy could detect.

It had been a warning system that allowed them to help several people who had gotten lost and were at the point of being delirious. Izzy happily nursing them back to health before helping her friends carry the person back to the city, placing them somewhere they would be easily found before they regained consciousness. Never allowing themselves to be anything more than an angel gifted by hallucinations, nursing them back to life.

It was the life they had built for themselves, and one they were more than content to live until they reached adulthood.

The First Day

Heya Everyone! Sorry this is so short. I am in a lot of pain, and absolutely exhaugsted so I couldn't come up with any more than this. It's the second part to last week's 'The First Hour', and next week should be the final part; 'The First Year'. Until then, enjoy :)

The First Day:

Alliana’s hands froze mid way to another blow on her former dead friend's chest, watching the way her friend gasped for air, rolling over and bracing herself on all fours, head cradled in her hands. The words a mere whisper passing her lips as she asked what had happened. Alliana and Calista shared a glance, unable to find the words to explain the past few minutes. How could they tell their friend she had been dead mere moments before?

Alliana zoned out as Calista stumbled over the words and finally filled Izzy in. She had to figure out what to do next, clearly, they couldn’t return to the city Calista had directed them towards, not until Izzy wasn’t overwhelmed by the powers given to her. They would have to make the woods their home, avoid those from the research facility.

Her hands were still shaking as she pushed herself onto her feet, reaching to help Izzy up, before stopping herself. Those same hands had just brought Izzy back to life, what if they’d take it away the second time? Calista seemed to be thinking the same, stepping forward to help Izzy instead, her hands wrapping around her and keeping her upright as her friend struggled to remain upright, head flopping down to her shoulder.

The first thing to do was find a safe space deep within the woods, somewhere near a source of fresh water. They knew nothing about surviving in the wild, but they were strong enough and fit enough to figure out a way, at least until they could figure out these new found powers. Somewhere safe from those they had escaped from, and from those that could be hurt as they tried to figure out exactly what they were capable of now.

Alliana took the lead at a glance from Calista, a nod of her head as she guessed which way would take them deeper into the forest. The lights of the city faded on the horizon, the three girls struggling to make out the shapes of trees and roots before them as the branches and leaves overhead got thicker, cutting out the moon's gentle light.

It was Izzy’s plea for a rest that stopped them, Calista gently easing her friend down to rest against a tree branch. Alliana could only watch as Calista silently checked their friend's health, before stretching and walking over to her to speak softly. A nod as she agreed to rest there for a few hours, they all needed to sleep if they were to make it much further.

Calista went to reach for her, but Alliana jerked back with a shake of her head, she wouldn’t risk it, not until she knew was safe, that she wouldn’t take a life in exchange for the one she’d given back.

Alliana watched as Calista settled herself down beside Izzy, her hand stretching towards the centre of the small clearing as a trail of fire left her fingertips and set alight a small patch of grass. Warmth creeping towards the three young girls and giving them a little bit of light to see what was around them. They all knew it could lead their captors right to them, but were too tired to care, adrenaline wearing off quicker than they expected, and sleep drawing them into its firm hold.

They would deal with whatever came in the morning, learn how to cope with what they were, but for now the day was done.

The First Hour

Heya Everyone! Hope you're all having an amazing week! This week's blog post is another prompt - although one that expanded far beyond what I could imagine and needs to be split up into two or three parts. So this week is part one, the first hour. Enjoy :)

Prompt: Necromancy, Technomancy, Pyromancy. You and your two best friends each have one of these powers. Tell me about the first hour, the first year and the first decade.

They were all children when it happened, barely old enough to be allowed to travel freely to school and back. Parent's drifting back behind them to allow an illusion of freedom, as they watched over not only their own but those of their closest friends.

They would never have guessed they would not be close enough.

They were seven when it happened, snatched by strange men in all black clothing and forced into a van. Screams filling the air, intermingling with the yells of their parents, racing forward as if they could stop what was happening. Gun's pointed at them said no, but their parental instincts couldn't be swayed by metal objects branded by muscular men.

The gunshots were the only thing that stopped the frenzied yelling.

The three girls huddled together inside the van, numb to the shock of not only being snatched from the streets just outside of their school but also from watching the lifeless bodies of their parents hit the cobblestone footpaths, red seeping forth and running down towards the grass.

They had no idea what to do next. No reassuring words fell from lips. No whispered plans discussed, hidden behind dagger filled glares at those that had dared take them captive. Just three seven-year-old girls who had no idea what to do next.

Three years passed, easily, they became numb to the tests they were forced to endure. Easily accepting that no one was coming to rescue them, that they were alone and left to suffer, rationing as only ten-year-olds could so they could retain their small grasp on their sanity.

They did everything the doctor's asked, never questioned the needles stuck in sore and bruised arms nor the dozens of tests they performed day in and day out. They did whatever they were told to in order to stay alive, barely able to remember a time they were mere children, free to do as they pleased, except at night, when the memory of their parents, shot and falling before them played on repeat. Never allowing them a moment of peace nor of rest, despite all, that they were put through.

They never expected they would be the first to notice the changes in their bodies. The tests they were forced to partake in never showed a difference, but the three girls knew that something wasn't quite right.

For Izzy, she noticed it when the machines made to monitor them started calling out to her, the quiet hum they normally made now seemed to be words that flooded her brain. She brushed it aside at first, but the noise only grew until the words spoken by scientists sounded like white noise, unable to make them out over the screaming within her own mind.

Her cry for silence wasn't verbal, but every machine around her stopped as if the power had gone out in the facility, confusing the scientists, but offering her a moment of relief, before they started to trickle back on, a quiet murmur in the back of her mind.

The urge that came next was one she never expected to feel, the urge to fight back, overwhelm the scientists and escape to freedom. She tamped it down though, she wouldn't escape without her friends, they would be punished even if she failed. No, the escape plan would have to be foolproof, and it would have to be all of them.

The rest of the day seemed to crawl by as a slow torture, but she amused herself by learning what she could and could not handle, forcing irregularities in the machines around her that had the tests called off early, rescheduled for when the technology was once again bug free, no one ever expected that it could be her.

So that night, when they were supposed to be asleep, she whispered her plan. Words falling past her lips in an excited rush, finally, the hope no one had dared pray for was handed to them, and plans were set in stone for the next night. One more day of experiments and tests then they would be free.

If Izzy thought the day before had been torture, then today was hell. Every tick of the clock seemed to take an hour. The dull screaming in her mind gave her a headache worse than anything she'd ever felt before, but she dared not use a drop of her new found powers in case she was discovered before they could use them to escape. It took everything in her to resist, to run on the treadmill for an hour on end, run through the strength and cardio tests before she was injected with some new substance before forced to do the entire workout again.

Finally, night fell, and the bedtime routine began, the three girls forced to shower before dinner, then being sent to bed. Everyone assuming they would be there to do the same the very next day.

They waited until the middle of the night when they knew there were fewer people patrolling the corridors, to make their escape. The locks on the doors nothing compared to the power Izzy now wielded. She lead the way, listening for the buzz of machines that guards carried to avoid them, walking the opposite direction to that of the screaming machines. It would make no sense for machines to be towards the exits.

No one was prepared for the elderly man that suddenly walked in front of them, and they didn't know how to react. There was no gentle hum coming from his body that Izzy could detect and use against him. So instead they stared at each other in stunned silence, but it was the elderly man who moved first, opening his mouth to call for assistance.

That call for assistance was the shock the girls needed to get themselves moving, Izzy tugging on her friend's sleeves as they bolted down corridors, frantically searching for the exit and freedom.

The dead end then was the last thing they needed. A door locked with a simple key the only thing standing between them and their escape, and despite three years of intense workouts, they couldn't break it open nor bash it down, even as their strength heightened with both fear and adrenaline as armed guards drew closer with heavy footfalls.

Calista was the one who somehow fought to get a level head, standing in front of her friends as the first of the guards rounded the corner, intent on capturing them and taking them back to the only area they'd known.

The heat from the overhead lights beat down on her as she glared at those approaching, silently begging for one of the girls behind her to get the door open. Even as she stared down the barrel of a gun, knowing her chances of escape had dramatically decreased.

With each deep breath, the air around her got hotter, swamping her with heat until she felt as if she was suffocating where she stood. She did the first thing that came to mind, mentally pushing all the heat away from her in a last-ditch attempt to do something.

She didn't expect the fireball that ripped free from her body and blasted down the hallway, frying all of the men where they stood until all that remained were smouldering piles of ashes. A quiet murmur passing her lips as she turned to her friends, just as stunned as they were.

It was with hands as hot as fire that she grabbed her friends and forced them behind her, holding out her hands towards the door and trying to replicate what had just happened. Eyes squeezing closed in an attempt to conquer her shock and fear, as well as calm her racing heartbeat. When she opened them again, nothing stood between her and her escape to freedom. Her friend's hands on her arms, tugging her along as she struggled to come to the realisation that just maybe she could control fire.

The cold air that attacked her drew her from her thoughts as quickly as she’d been dragged down into them. Her arms pulling free from her friends to run herself, all three of them angling themselves towards the forest. They had no idea where to go or what to do, they hadn’t expected their plan of escape to work.

They didn't question it when Calista took control, following her lead towards where the sky was lighter on the horizon, where they could grab peaks of it through the unending sky treeline. It would be easier to hide and escape if they were around other people rather than wandering alone in the woods.

With every passing motor, or hint of technology, the trio hid, untrusting of anyone that came near. They could be more guards, trying to drag them back. It was safer if they just hid, trusted no one but the three of them.

The buzzing in Izzy's head got louder the closer they got to the light on the horizon, but she didn't mention a word of it to her friends. They needed to get to safety, this she could handle.

Until she couldn't, when they could make out buildings breaking through the skylines, endless lines of streets lit up and stretching on before them, a sight they hadn't seen since their seven-year-old selves walked them under the careful watch of their parents.

The buzzing grew louder and louder, machines screaming to be heard only increasing with each step that got closer, until a scream passed out from Izzy's lips, and she collapsed beside her friends. Eyes open and staring at the tree's beside her unblinkingly as blood ran free from her nose. The calls of her friends landing on unhearing ears.

She couldn't feel it as her body was lifted, Calista carrying her back, deeper into the forests that offered them shelter, communicating in quiet whispers and barely seen hand movements, letting Alliana lead the way further into the darkness.

Alliana turned when Calista stumbled, catching both her friends and taking the dead weight of Izzy from her. Tears streaming down both their cheeks as they realised it was their actions that cost Izzy her life, their inability to be content with life as lab rats, they weren't ready to escape. They were barely ten, too young to be out on their own.

Alliana's pain turned to rage, angry at those that had taken them from their parents. Those that had shot the people who tried to protect them and left their bodies dead in the streets. Pain and anger bubbled inside her, rising to the surface as she fought the urge to mourn one of her closest friends and the one who'd given them their freedom.

She was so wrapped up in her own emotions that she didn't see the tree branch that blocked her path, not able to hear Calista's shout of warning before she tumbled down, landing heavily atop Izzy. She couldn't resist the urge to cry anymore. Hands pounding on Izzy's chest as she spoke every curse word she knew, pain, anger and confusion swirling inside her young frame until it burst forth.

and Izzy gasped for air.

One word to change a world.

Heya Everyone. I am so sorry this is a day late. Long story short, I went to a funeral yesterday morning and was out all day as a result. Then when I finally got home I had to move a whole lot of stuff and dig trenches to drain away water because with all the rain hitting us right now we’re at a high risk of flooding.

BUT! I did manage to find time to start this and finish it today, so here you go. Enjoy :)

The small dragon was barely the size of her thumb, content to be curled around her pointer finger as she went around her daily task, seeming to be little more than a silver ring remembering the ancient dragons of long ago.

If anyone ever found out that her ring wasn't as fake as it was made out to be would only mean trouble. The ancient dragons had been chased away centuries before she had been born. Tales of how they had ravaged the lands her people lived in had coloured the pages of enough history books to fill a library as large as a villagers house, pages bound within large dragon scales, making the room seem to dance under the torches soft light. Nevertheless, both her and her constant companion felt unease whenever they had to pass the room.

No, it was unsafe for her small companion to be seen. It would mean certain death for her little dragon, or worse, the creature would be taken from her and given to the spymasters that had her Queen’s ear. Yet it did not stop the creature from wrapping itself around her finger day after day, staying still as stone to prevent anyone from catching on. She too carefully made sure that her hand never stayed still long enough for anyone to see the small puffs of smoke that accompanied each breath.

It was a risk they were both more than willing to take.

They'd been together for as long as she could remember, the silver dragon never growing any bigger nor seeming to age as she did. She could remember when it flew around her head as a small baby, trying to keep her happy and entertained while her nurses and mother were away or ignoring her. She fell asleep with the creature curled against her torso, spreading out in the winter months in an effort to keep her warm.

As a toddler the creature was her lone companion, the other children kept away from her for fear that they would corrupt the kingdom's first princess since the dragons were chased away. Even when she started her education the others shied away from her in fear.

It had only been quite recently that she had heard the tale of the kingdoms cursed princesses, a group of daughters that had openly played and entertained the dragons of old. How three dragons with the colours of gold, silver and copper had corrupted the princesses of old and cursed the kingdom. The beginning of a time when dragons were no longer welcome within the kingdom for fear of the curse they brought with them.

The nobles, elders and children believed her cursed, keeping away from her if only due to the fear of what her gender would bring to the realm. It worked in her favour, though, their distance allowed for her bond with her dragon, keeping alive a companionship that otherwise would have been lost to the test of time.

So when her hand in marriage was offered to a second son, the prince of a nearby kingdom they both knew her silver toned friend had to go. She would be expected to hold the hand of her betrothed, to share everything with him as her parents had. The nobles that took her hand and pressed a kiss to it in greeting would double in number, as would the amount of time she spent in public and before those that held her people's fate in their fat greedy hands.

Yet neither could bring themselves to stop, each dawning day had the small creature stretch from where it slept between her breasts, it's tail curling around her finger, front claws gently falling into small spaces they seemed to leave either side of the end of it's curled tail, head resting across the left paw, each small breath a gentle familiar caress across her knuckles. Wings folded up and left loosely down the small creatures back.

It was there on the day her betrothed traversed the forest that bordered their two lands, meeting her and her horse on the other side. An unofficial unarranged meeting that they'd secretly set up, disguising themselves as travellers to get out of their respective castles. It was those secret meetings, accompanied by her most trusted guards that the young couple started to learn about each other, and the cultures that they were to be married into.

She learned that dragons were just as forbidden in his land as they were hers, the same curse that threatened her realm had trickled into his. Stories passed by travellers scaring the villagers until the kings and queens of old were forced to act, driving dragon's from their homes and destroying the harmony that had previously exist.

It hadn't seemed to stop him though she hadn't asked, but she could only assume the golden dragon that was entangled in a chain around his neck was real. She had seen the scarred tissue that spread from his chain to his shoulder as his shirt moved with him, no doubt from when the creature was learning to control his flame.

He moved too much for her to ever be certain, never allowing his chest to hold still long enough for her to catch the gentle rise and fall of the golden creature. It did not stop her from admiring it, unlike her silver friend, it was not curled up, and instead it was spread freely. It's tail entangled with the golden chain, and she struggled to tell which part was the chain and which was the fine scales of its tail. Bigger loops of chain circled around the creature's chest, barely two full loops keeping it secured, wings spread wide out either side, and it's head over the top of the chain, pointed straight forward.

It wasn't until their first official meeting that she was sure, a soft smile on her lips as he pressed a lingering kiss to the back of her hand. She was sure he felt the warm breath of her beloved friend rolling over his cheek, and the twinkle in his eye as he rose was enough of a confirmation, a knowing smirk on his lips as he took a step back, once more inline with his parents as they stood opposite her and her mother.

They weren’t permitted to be alone with each other that visit to ask, dragged quickly between meetings as they set the terms of the betrothal and planned the huge wedding that was expected of them. Books handed to him so he could read the history and learn of the realm that he was to become King of. But, like everything, they'd faced in life, they didn't allow that to stop either of them. She could feel his leg pressing gently against hers beneath the table, raising her eyes to see him sitting opposite her with a smile as he pretended to pay attention to the documents before him.

It wasn't until a few weeks later when he had returned to his own kingdom to start his goodbyes that she finally got her answer. Once more in disguise, as she travelled to the glade in the forest where he awaited her, but this time it was different. The dragon was no longer entangled in his necklace, instead sitting on his shoulder, wings flapping lazily in the cool breeze. Her own companion opened his eyes at the familiar sound, before unwrapping from her finger and flying over to the golden dragon.

They fluttered happily around each other, chirping softly as they spoke in their own tongue. Her prince smiling as he watched the interaction just as she did. They both remembered their guards at seemingly the same moment, hearing the sound of swords leaving sheaths as they moved in closer to the tiny pair.

It was with the same mindset that they snatched the pair out of the air, cuddling them close to their chests as they stared down the guards. They would have to be killed themselves before they would let anything happen their little companions. Backs pressed to each other so they could see every angle that they might be charged at from.

She moved her hands first, feeling her silver friend curl itself safely in her clothing as something else settled at the nape of her neck, hidden beneath her hair. His hand found hers, entangling their fingers as he took the first side step towards the thick expanse of forest. The gentle sound of his sword in his hand, dangling at his side just in case.

Then he spoke the one word that would change their lives forever.

"Run."