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krwordgazer wrote: Facing your greatest fear A rebirth of some kind A natural disaster Prediction, foreboding, forewarning or any sense of something to come The biting wind nipped at his bare skin as he stared out from the cave. It had been days now since the snow had come – and since then, it fell with relentless vengeance – as if attempting to cover the unseen stains that were left on the land. The Coils of Madness. He closed his eyes. He could see it all so clearly. Steeleye. Fernglade. Starmane. Runningspring. Woodspear. Elktamer. Stormcreek. All killed in a single night – all killed within mere moments, by the Rainbow Serpent. (1) He had stood there – so struck with fear that he could not move. He watched as this enormous serpent that was the length of most alligators – simply attacked and destroyed seven members of the tribe. In seconds it had killed his chief, his chief’s mate, his own sister, and the brother of his lovemate. Sungazer took the mantle of the Chief of the tribe after that slaughter and had gathered some of the others to find this creature when Shadow managed to stumble back into the Holt. The horrifying scene had been too much for young Shadow back then – he was so distraught that he had lost the ability to speak. For many, many, seasons – Shadow never spoke again. Instead he would only send. It seemed to be the only way to communicate. His inability to verbally speak also led to internal rage – which he used to focus on hunting. This, combined with his silence, had made him a superior hunter very early on in his life. The day had come when Wildthorn, son of Steeleye, would challenge Sungazer for the position of Chief of the tribe. The young would be Chief had managed to defeat Sungazer in the Trial of Pack Leader, all too easily. Shadow suspected that Sungazer never truly wanted to be chief, or that perhaps he felt that Wildthorn was meant to be chief, once he was ready for it. Coils of Madness. Wildthorn was driven by revenge. He wanted to track down this beast that had killed his mother and his father. Shadow had made every attempt to explain that the creature had been struck by some kind of unnatural lightning bolt – and its skin had fused with Bloodfang, the giant bear – and had probably crawled off to die. Wildthorn would not be settled. He wanted to find the bones of the creature if it had crawled off and died, despite more than several seasons having already passed since this event had happened. Coils of Madness. Shadow knew there was no way to talk his young friend into changing his mind. He did not know what else to do. Steeleye had mentioned that there were trolls – and one of them by the name of Trollforge had been the only one among the lot to trust – Steeleye always said there was something different about that troll. Shadow had gone to the troll caves and pounded on the door. A troll by the name of Grimestone had slowly opened the door – but Shadow pushed past him and demanded to know where Trollforge was. Grimestone was none to pleased about being threatened by an elf whelp who had his puny sword drawn. But even he, with his limited wisdom, knew better than to mess with this whelp – he had a look in his eyes – one that assured Grimestone that this was one to take quite seriously. Shadow had never put his sword away and Grimestone had led Shadow to the legendary troll smith – Trollforge. Trollforge excused the disgruntled Grimestone, assuring the troll that he was adequately safe. “What brings you here, whelp?” Trollforge had asked. “I need your help,” Shadow spoke for the first time in many years. His voice was guttural, almost beast like; the sound of it even startled himself. “My help?” Trollforge tilted his head sideways. “What would you need my help with?” “Steeleye,” Shadow spoke again. “He has spoke of you – and your weapon making skills. We are in desperate need of your weapons.” “Why would I make weapons for you elves? So that you can come down here and,” he looked at Shadow’s blade, “threaten us? I think not, whelp.” “I don’t want to fight you,” Shadow said. “But I need your help. My tribe – they’ve been killed. Many of them. By a creature. Two creatures. Now one creature. And now our chief – my closest friend – seeks revenge. He will lead us to the Coils of Madness. He will lead us to death.” Trollforge suddenly looked interested. “What are you talking about?” “There was a bear – we called him Bloodfang, for his unusual towering size – and his exceptionally long fangs,” Shadow explained, his words and voice now sounding more and more like himself. “We have never been able to kill it. Never. It has always survived or eluded us – or killed us. Then there was a snake that one of your kind had stumbled across – asked Steeleye to get some of its scales from it – it was… larger than any snake I have ever seen. Its width was like a tree trunk! Its venom was fatal within minutes!” “Definitely…” Trollforge paused, “Unusual sounding creatures.” “One night,” Shadow continued, “when we were hunting the snake – it killed many of my tribe – it would have killed me next – if it had not been for the arrival of Bloodfang. The two engaged in battle. But Bloodfang was not there to save me – he no doubt caught the scent of all the blood and had come to feast – it’s what he did. He would come like a scavenger when he was feeling lazy and either drive off whatever had made the kill – or kill it, if it was foolish enough to try and fight Bloodfang… Well the snake, we called it the Rainbow Snake, would not back down. The two engaged in combat – the snake wrapping itself Bloodfang, but unable to constrict it to death – Bloodfang’s deadly paws were at his side – the two seemed as if they would be there for eternity – neither able to kill the other – until… lightning… from the sky – like I have never seen before – striking them… it.. fused their flesh together… born into something new… the sound it made… was horrible… such a scream of … sheer madness.” Trollforge was silent for a long moment. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be what he was thinking. “I will help you,” Trollforge finally said. He leaned over and grabbed a large sack. “Take this back to your people. Careful, it’s heavy. These are the finest weapons I have made recently. Their blades are razor sharp, their steel unbreakable. May they guide you and your tribe to victory.” Shadow took the sack and dragged it as best as he could back through the troll caves, out into the forest, and back to the Holt. He presented the blades to his tribe. Wildthorn smiled as he picked out his blade from the sack. “I shall dub this blade, ‘The Killer of the Coil.’” High Ones, Shadow thought to himself, may it not be the killer of our tribe. Wildthorn gathered a few who were willing to follow – Shadow, Foxhair, Moonsong, Treerunner, Stream and Skyshade. He knew Shadow disliked hunting the Coil as they had come to call it – but he also knew Shadow knew its scent – and he would never forget it so long as he lived. “I need you to track it for me, Shadow,” Wildthorn had said, placing his hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “I know what I ask of you is no easy task – but this creature killed my father – my mother – and your sister! We must avenge it.” Nothing Shadow said that night would change the young Chief’s mind. Shadow had considered leading Wildthorn astray – away from the scent – if he caught it at all. He knew his Chief, and his closest friend, would be able to read into his eyes and see the truth. Mounted on their wolves, they had moved silently through the night. It would seem that Shadow would get his wish and never pick up the scent of The Coil – but when his body suddenly froze, his eyes widened with fear – Wildthorn knew that his older friend had caught the scent. “Lead us to him, my friend,” Wildthorn whispered. “Lead us to him so that we might strike him down.” As if matching Shadow’s dreary mood, the rain began to come. Softly at first, but with each passing moment, it seemed to fall harder and harder. As Shadow continued to follow the scent, every time he blinked his eyes – he saw the lightning again – saw the two creatures fused together – saw the broken bodies of his tribe all around him. He could not shake that something horrible would come of this… Was he leading them to their death as well? What made him do it? Was it the notion that this time, perhaps, he could save them? It was madness. The Coils of Madness. Shadow had continued to lead them as the rain came down harder than ever before. It had begun to rain so hard that it was now difficult to see more than a few feet in front of them. There was never a danger of losing The Coil’s scent – it was so horrible, flaring in Shadow’s nose, tainting the back of his throat with the taste of rotten meat. They came to a cave near a river where there was no doubt that this had been the den of The Coil. Bones ranging from humans, wolves, deer, and even bears littered the floor just outside the cave. {This is it,} Shadow sent to Wildthorn. Though he had spoken to Trollforge – he somehow could not bring himself to talk to his own tribe – not yet. Wildthorn slid off of Glimmer and drew the sword that Trollforge had made, which Wildthorn had dubbed ‘The Killer of the Coil.’ {What’s our plan?} Shadow sent. Wildthorn held the blade above his head. “Coil, I call to you to come out of there! I know you’re in there! You murdered my mother! You murdered my father! You murdered my family! And now, I shall return the favor and send you back to the black abyss from which you came!” Shadow sent, {What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? We needed to surprise him!} But it was already too late. From deep within the cave an unmistakable growl emerged. What was once pitch black within the cave; was suddenly two hungry eyes; eyes that had fed all day, all night, insistently feeding, and still hungered for more, in its quest to end the starvation within its twisted stomach. Wildthorn was suddenly frozen with fear. The Coil emerged from the cave, its upper torso that of a bear; big, power, arms with massive claws. It’s head was shaped like a bear’s, but covered in scales; its eyes were yellow slits, like a snake; it’s fangs nearly as big as Wildthorn himself. Its body from the torso down was that of a giant serpent, blending into the shadows of the cave somewhere, its end tail, invisible in the darkness. Shadow looked at the others – they were frozen with fear as well. Poor Stream, the only tribe healer now, was too young to see this. Shadow swallowed his fear. He urged Mooneyes forward, and came between Wildthorn and the Coil. {No!} he sent to the creature. {You will not kill more of my tribe! Not tonight! Not ever again!} Then it happened. Shadow did not only touch the mind of the Coil. He touched TWO minds. And not only that – there was something to those minds he touched. Aside from the madness. There was something… almost familiar. His mind reeled. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be. “No,” he whispered again. “No, it can’t be.” The creature knew its secret had been detected by this one. It had to eliminate it; as it had to eliminate all life. The Coil reared up – and let out a howl that shook the forest itself to its very core. However, it felt the sting of a bolt strike the back of its mouth, as it reared up – striking the top of the cave. Something snapped Shadow out of the daze. He heard the rocks around the cave suddenly beginning to give after The Coil had struck it – loosened by the relentless fall of rain. He then heard a rushing sound in the distance. “Flood!” He suddenly shouted, speaking for the first time in years. “Get out of here! Now! Now!” He grabbed Wildthorn and threw him over Mooneyes as Glimmer raced next to them, checking on the elf he had bonded with. “He’s fine, Glimmer,” Shadow assured the beautiful wolf. “Run, my friend! Run!” The crash came against the cave, toppling it upon The Coil, which howled in fury as its den collapsed around it. The tide from the flood river that came after it, rapidly drowned its furious howls. EPILOGUE 1: Trollforge returned to the den. He had been following Shadow since he had left his cave with his weapons. It was easy enough – Shadow had been too distracted, too preoccupied with everything else. And once Shadow had caught the scent of The Coil, that’s all he had focused on. Trollforge had followed them, to see if his suspicions had been correct. When he saw The Coil – he sensed it. He had been the one that shot the crossbow bolt into The Coil’s mouth that had bought Shadow the valuable time he needed. But none of them ever saw the bolt strike – they would never know. They had been struck with fear. In truth – what had held them in place was what Trollforge called Black Sending. It had paralyzed their bodies. Both Bloodfang and the Rainbow Serpent had at one time been High Ones, much like himself – who had changed their bodies to escape from the humans. They had taken on predator body shapes because that had been the most logical choice. Their fear had kept them in these bodies until they had lost the ability to shape back into their true forms. Driven mad by this, they became twisted versions of the beasts they had once adopted the form of. In their battle, it had not been lightning that struck them – but the magic that exchanged between them – fusing their bodies together – further driving them insane. Now, the den of had collapsed but there was no sign of The Coil. It had washed down the river with the flood. Trollblade had prayed that both Sirentel and Urenti died in the flood – he knew who they both were – for he too had once been a High One by the name of Tawaim; now trapped in the form of a troll. Wildthorn had returned to the den as well, disappointed not to see a body – but Shadow was never able to pick up the scent again, since it had been swept away in the flood that had come. EPILOGUE 2: “What are you thinking about?” Foxhair’s voice had waken Shadow from his thoughts. Shadow turned around and looked at Foxhair and smiled briefly. “I am thinking about how we will not die in this cave because of this damn snowfall.” Illustration by Embala. Click here to see. 1. See the [url=http://www.elfquest.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=408307#408307][b]December 2008 Grab Bag[/b][/url] for details on this story. |