Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:03:59 -0500
From: Daniel Enns <lunarboy4@live.com>
Subject: Tales of the Lost Souls 2

The usual disclaimers apply. This is a work of fiction, so any resemblance
to real people, living or dead, is completely coincidental. This work will,
eventually, contain graphic descriptions of sexual relationships between
two of-age men. Also, if you are under the proper age to view this material
in your area, you are offended by male on male action, or you have any
other obscure reason to not be viewing this, you should probably leave now.
I do not own the ideas behind the races and classes of my characters and
the world's pantheon, but I own all other rights to this story, so any
reproduction of it without my expressed permission is illegal, and not very
nice.

Anyways, this is a new tale loosely set up in the realm of Dungeons and
Dragons. This means that it is set in a world separate from D and D, but it
has the same races, classes, and pantheon, so it's similar yet different at
the same time. I hope you enjoy it, and don't be afraid to email me at
lunarboy4@live.com.

Tales of the Lost Souls

Part Two: Ominous

	"Okay, you've gotten distract, send thoughts, and your
at-wills. Now we need to work on your more powerful discipline, mental
trauma. You've done it before, but let's try to get it as strong as you
can, Ella," Joseph said, encouraging his young pupil.

	"Okay, it's the one where I push my thoughts onto my opponent so
much that I actually weaken them to other psychic attacks, right?" She
asked, overjoyed that she gets to, finally, use her most powerful attack
again.

	"Yep, that's the one! Think you can do it?" Joseph replied, getting
caught up in Ella's excitement.

	Ella focused her thoughts, and a pure white halo appeared around
her head. This halo represents her thoughts, and her power. Psion's have
the ability to use their own thoughts and mental energies as power; hence
their thoughts can manifest a halo around their heads. Her halo began to
shine even brighter as she muttered a few ancient words. About half of a
second later, Joseph felt a foreign presence filling his mind with a mass
of confusing thoughts, visions, sounds, and sensations. He tried to fight
it off, but this mental invasion couldn't be stopped. He felt the pain from
the assault, and once the thought left his head, he was left with a major
headache.

	Becoming braver, and desiring to test out just how well she used
her power, Ella started focusing her thoughts again. She muttered just one
word, and thrust her consciousness into her master's mind, which seemed to
harm him a little more than usual.

	"Owe!" Joseph screamed. "Was that last mind thrust really
necessary?"

	"I wanted to see if mental trauma really worked," Ella stated,
hoping her master would understand.

	"Well, trust me, both attacks worked. And I'm beginning to think
that you don't need me anymore," Joseph said, worrying that his pupil was
becoming a better Psion than him.

	"Really? But what will I do during the day?" Ella innocently asked.

	"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Joseph laughed.

	"Hmm, does this mean that I can go home now?" Ella asked, wanting
to go tell everyone about her success.

	"Yes, go home. And don't come back tomorrow. You need to discover
your own path from now on," Joseph said, not really knowing why those words
left his mouth.

	Ella yelled her goodbye's as she ran out the door toward her
house. Like usual, she wasn't paying attention and she tripped on the
ground. Looking back to see what tripped her, she saw a long, thick, red
tail. Following the tail, she eventually came to the compassionate face of
a tiefling.

	"I'm sorry, maim. I didn't see your tail there," Ella apologized as
she stood up.

	"Oh, I'm sorry for not watching where my tail was," the tiefling
said. "What's your name, little gnome?"

	"It's Ella, what's yours?"

	"My name's Feylinna, but you can call me Linn."

	"Wow, Feylinna, that's a pretty name."

	"So is Ella. If you don't mind my asking, where were you going?"

	"Oh, I'm going home. I just finished with my Psion lessons and I
wanna beat my brother and sister."

	"Oh wow, you're a Psion? That's cool, I'm a Bard," Feylinna stated,
proud of her mastery of music and magic.

	"What kind of Bard?" asked Ella, knowing a thing or two about
arcane magic and its practitioners.

	"Ah, I'm a Prescient Bard. I'm able to see the future and help
better position my allies for it. Of course, the future is constantly
changing, so I can only see brief glimpses of what's going to happen a few
seconds from now during combat," Feylinna explained, enjoying the
inquisitive nature of the young gnome.

	"Wow, that's cool. I'm a Telepathic Psion; I mess with people's
minds," Ella boasted, proud of her own recent achievement.

	"No way! I've never met someone who uses psionic power before,"
Feylinna gushed, genuinely interested.

	"Linn, we need to get moving. I don't think the people we're
looking for are here," said an eladrin.

	He was a handsome, young eladrin with sun kissed skin. His long,
flowing hair was an auburn color, and his eyes were an endless pool of
green with a small bloom of golden brown where the pupils would be on any
other creature. He wore leather armor that was designed with leaves and the
color of the forest itself. He wore a sheathed long sword at his belt, the
sheath designed in a matching leaf pattern. Feylinna was a tiefling with
the classic reddish skin associated with the race and demonic heritage. Her
hair was jet black with highlights of red and flowed from between her pair
of tan, curled ram horns. Her teeth were pointed, but her eyes were an
endless pool of silver, revealing her compassionate nature. She wore
chainmail covered by a beige tunic designed to appear like bark, and she
carried a bow, a quiver full of arrows, and a wide variety of
instruments. Also, a small, wooden wand could be found on her belt.

	"Arandel, can't we stay the night, at least? I'm tired from all the
walking," Feylinna whined to her companion.

	"Yeah, I'm tired too. Hey, gnome, know where we can find a place to
stay?" he asked Ella, trying to sound nice but still coming off as a bit
rude.

	"My name's Ella and I know a wonderful place for you guys to stay,
if you think you can handle a little sibling rivalry," she stated, looking
straight at Feylinna.

	"Okay, that sounds good to me. Where is it?" Arandel asked,
wondering why the gnome couldn't take her black orbs for eyes off of his
companion.

	"Just follow me!" Ella squealed as she grabbed Feylinna's hand and
started running.

	"Hey, wait for me!" Arandel yelled as he chased after a pair of
giggling girls.

	Meanwhile, in the forest, a young dwarf was just finishing up her
lessons with an old human hermit, devoted to his life of communing with the
spirits of nature. She was playing with her long, rust red hair as she
intently listened to her instructor, Orwell.

	"I think that you're ready to reach into the spirit world and find
your spirit companion," Orwell simply stated.

	"Master, are you sure? I mean..." she stammered, nervous about
finding a malevolent companion.

	"You are ready. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't know that you
were," Orwell interrupted, sensing her anxiety. "I have the bonding circle
ready for the ceremony, and I'll be there to make sure you don't get into
more than you can handle."

	"Okay, I can do this. I'm ready," she firmly stated, trying to
assure herself and trusting her teacher. "When do we begin?"

	"Immediately, and remember: don't look for a spirit, let your
companion come to you," he reminded his nervous pupil as he led her to the
circle he drew earlier in anticipation of her becoming a true Shaman.

	Orwell began a cleansing ritual to dispel any malevolent spirits
from his circle and his pupil. Once that was completed, he began the ritual
to call the spirits of the earth to find the one that was meant to be her
companion. Helja was nervous about the ceremony, but she knew that her
teacher would never betray her trust. Suddenly, she felt a presence. It was
something in the wind swirling through her hair, the stones warming her
feet, and the moisture in the air dancing around her that seemed to be
calling to her, wanting to come at her call.

	"Spirit companion, come to me and come to be," she breathed as she
watched some of the recently fallen leaves swirl into a vaguely humanoid
form, then flowing into the form of a wolf, and then just turning into a
mass of swirling and floating leaves.

	"And so you have found your spirit companion, may you serve each
other well," Orwell stated as he suddenly disappeared in a small tornado of
red, orange, and yellow.

	"Wait, Orwell!" Helja screamed as she watched he master dissolve
into the leaves.

	"He was meant to go somewhere else and find someone else to
train. The spirits are always sending him to new pupils," said the leaves
that now looked like a man's shadow floating in the air, made completely of
red and yellow leaves that seemed to flow in a pulse-like rhythm.

	"Who are you?" asked an amazed Helja, wondering if this was her
spirit companion.

	"The question is not whom, but what. What am I? I'm obviously not
corporeal, so what do you think that makes me?" asked the man made of
leaves as he passed his "hand" over her face and she only felt the leaves
and a light breeze.

	"I think you're my spirit companion, but what kind of spirit are
you?"

	"That's the ticket! I am your spirit companion. Tell me, what did
you feel when you were conjuring me."

	"I felt... the wind, the earth, and the water. Are you a world
speaker spirit?"

	"Right-o! You figured it out all by yourself, which makes it even
more special."

	"Okay, so what am I supposed to do now?" She asked, genuinely
confused.

	"I would advise going home and getting some rest. You always need
rest. Good night, my dear friend," said the spirit as the leaves made one
last swirl and gently wove to the ground.

	"Great, so I finally get my spirit companion, and Orwell is sent
off to another place while I'm left with a spirit who is more quizzical
than an oracle. Just my luck," Helja muttered to herself as she began her
journey back home to follow her companion's advice.

	Little did Helja know that her ritual wasn't the only one that
evening. In the temple of Sehanine, Nalklyr was finally going to be named
an Avenger. He had been through many tests and trials, all leading up to
this point. It was time for him to finally make his vow, binding him,
forever, to Sehanine and her will. This particular temple favored the use
of double weapons, whether that is a double axe or a double sword. He chose
a double sword, finding inspiration from his eladrin cousins and their
famous swordplay.

	"Are you ready for the cleansing ritual?" asked Fiona, a Halfling
devout of Sehanine responsible for all rituals in the church.

	"Yes," Nalklyr simply stated as he walked toward the altar, holding
his arms out for the cleansing.

	Fiona completed the cleansing ritual and led him up to the altar,
where she began the final ritual, the ritual of the oath.

	"Now, Nalklyr, make your oath and hope the goddess accepts," she
stated in the manner expected of her.

	"I, Nalklyr, vow my life to the service of the moon goddess,
Sehanine. I vow to invoke your wrath on those who threaten you, your
following, or my closest friends and family. When I say my family, I mean
Hope, Ella, and Helja, not my biological family who follows your nemesis,
Lloth. Please, Goddess, accept my vow," Nalklyr stated, placing his head
down in the praying position, hoping that the goddess accepts him.

	A few seconds after he rises up from his prayer, he saw the
crescent moon rising in the daylight sky. He and Fiona knew that this meant
he was accepted as an Avenger of Sehanine, a tool of the goddess's
vengeance, so she finished the ritual with the normal marking and baptism.
After the ritual was finished, Fiona gave him a hug, her congratulations,
and sent him home. She was his only witness to the ritual, and that is the
way it is supposed to be. Only the devout can know an Avenger's vow, for
that is a personal connection to the goddess herself, and the wrong people
knowing an Avenger's vow can use that vow against them.

	Excited about finally being accepted, he knew that he could finally
tell his family what he was doing at the temple. Avengers are sworn to a
life of secrecy, for some members of the church see them as vengeance
seeking executioners, and that doesn't reflect well on the church. But,
once he was initiated and his training was complete, he only had to answer
to the goddess. Therefore, he was free to tell anyone he pleased, but he
only wanted to tell his family. Little did he know that his family would
see his power before he ever told them about it.