The snow clung to the fiery curls of the man's beard like the most tenacious burrs or brambles.  The blue paint on his face had long since cracked and flaked to be nearly unrecognizable.  Had it once been a bird?  Hard to tell.  His thick furs held much of the winter's offal as did his gloved hands and large scabbard.  As he walked south through the swirling blizzard, he half hoped one woman had moved on and forgotten him... and half hoped she would be waiting to give him the worst tounge lashing he'd ever recieved...   A small smile quirked the corner of his mouth, and he trudged ever south... back toward civilization...

"Its fer the best..." 

Doc said as he trudged on through the snow.  He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than the horse he appeared to be talking to...

"She'll hate me... She'll move on... an' She'll be happy an' safe, right?" 

He pets the horse's mane, trying to calm himself.  It doesn't seem to be working.  He frowns and rubs his eyes as he continues to trudge uphill, moving farther and farther into the mountains.

"Its fer the best..."

((Leaving Iraq! :D Losing access to game for a bit D:  I'll keep checking on this from time to time... so if ya wanna keep contact, I'll try to check it out ;)  Love RPing with you guys, and as the governer of the great state of California once said.... I'll be back.))

Twilight sets slowly over the northern mountains.  The cloudy night was cool, but not frigid, summer was here.  The crimson glow of sunset ignited the low hanging clouds with a cascade of warm color.  Reds, oranges and yellows, blending to set the sky aflame.

The bright Poitanian sun seared his skin and eyes after so many months in the dark.  He walked a little bit, then turned around, confused, and walked a bit in that direction.  He had no idea where he was, or where he was going, but he knew he had to find shelter, or the lightning would get him again.  He'd learned lightning didn't need clouds...  Shelter, focus, where was he going to go? Tree? No, trees attracted lightning. Cave? Okay, where?  He spun in a slow circle, and began to walk away from the sun.  He couldn't find a cave. Where were they?  He spun in another slow circle, and set off in another direction.

Several hours pass, as Caradoc spins in slow circles.  The sun sets, leaving him in the dark once again...

((okay. I'm sure this excuse is getting old by now... but I've been Wicked busy. I went home for a bit, and now I'm back in Iraq... and I finally got my computer! ... but something happened to it in the mail, and the monitor wont work >.<  so... while I work on that... any updated on the Caradoc story I should know about? And also... I dont know how to transfer my character to Cimmeria, or if its even possible anymore. Can anyone help?  Well... thats it for now...

-Caradoc-  ))

It tickled a little.  The rivulet of blood found its way down the most sensitive part of his spine.  He would arch away from it, but he was shackled, and it would cause excruciating pain to do so.  He was amazed to find he could still notice such sensations. He'd forgotten there were feelings other than pain...

A fluttering light pulled him to conciousness, teasing his heavy eyelids open a bit.  He couldn't focus, he felt drunk.  A figure swam into focus, a woman.  She slowly stepped toward him, menace in her step. As she stepped forward, the soft glow of the torch bathed her face in warm light, setting off her skin tone and calling her features into sharp contrast. 

... Kemena?

He faded into blackness again. He must have been bleary from the beating, there was no way he could've seen a familiar face... could he?

((okay, so, I've been gone for a little bit now... and I'm only a little bit closer to getting back.  My computer is having shipping issues...  but I do have internet in my CHU now.  Friends say its fast enough to play WOW, so here's hoping it gets me back into the swing of things soon... My creative juices have not been flowing recently, due to overwork and undersleep ((<--- made-up word, hehe)), but I'll try to come up with something soon.  We've finally gotten into a battle rhythm: What time we find out if we go out next day, Maintainance days, etc... so I should be able to post more often again.  I'm sorry to those of you who miss me, and to those that don't? Well... I'm sorry to clutter up your page ;P ))

Soft.

The snow is soft.

The snow is soft, comforting, cold.

Cold, the cold begins to burn.

He groans and shifts. 

The sun burns his eyes..

He sits up, rubbing his eyes. Where was he? He looks around, The mountains are tall, the snow is deep, and there is nothing else but the castle he escaped in his sight.  He fights his way to his feet.  He has to move. They'll find him if he doesn't.  He staggars off towards the sunset, Hoping he finds what he's looking for.

((My comp still isnt here D:  I'm getting internet on the fifteenth... supposedly.  I'm still trying, lol.  I'll be back as soon as I can))

The setting sun shines through his only window.  The beams of light play along the wall, as they slowly fade.  The torture is postponed today, because his voice is gone. He croaks out some hoarse laughter at that.  He still refused to scream as long as he could, and he could hold out for some time, but his hypothesis had proven right.  They loved to listen to his voice.  He shook his head gently, then stopped apbruptly, as pain shot through his head like lightning.  He sighed as he began to fall asleep. Images flashed through his mind: His mother, Kohnar, His horse, Moki...

Moki!

He had to write. She must be going insane.  He scrambled about, looking for some paper, wincing at the pain.  He stopped.  He had no paper. What was happening to his mind? He whistled for Kohnar.  The regal bird flew in, looking a bit haggard, but carrying Caradoc's writing instruments. He sat down and began to write a short note:

Today was bad. They made him scream.  They seemed very happy with themselves, the self righteous pricks... Screaming made them stop. And when he stopped screaming, they would start again.  He was confused. If he just yelled, they left him alone. He was getting hoarse with all the yelling.  He just filed it away as useless information. He had to have human contact, so he did the only thing he could.

He whistled gently, and his feathered companion flew into the window once more.  Kohnar, the blue feathered hawk was carrying some parchment and the small bone he was using as a pen.  Caradoc began to write.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone,

The dim light makes him squint. His head pounds, but thats the least of his worries.  He winces as the large, pale hyperborean drags him up the stairs, but he makes no noise. He won't give them that satisfaction.  This last bout of torture... it was bad. He cant remember much about it, except that they finally got him to scream.  He curses himself silently as his jailor throws him into his cell once more, locking and barring the door.  The darkness covers him like a blanket, caressing him like a lover.  The darkness is his friend.  The light means pain, the dark means rest.  He likes the dark....

NO!

A fist sized stone drops in the market area of Old Tarentia.  Wrapped around it, and tied off with a leather cord, is a note. It is written in neat Vanir runes, in a nearly archaic form.  This note reads:

"To whomever may find this, I ask a task...

                 The task I request, is that this note be delivered to Moki or Aryanna of Anx Ma'at, Kemena of Invicta, Wulfran of King's Guard, or Lluna of Keeper's of the Ways.  "

The second part of the note, is sealed, the bottom half folded up and sealed with melted wax. When opened, it reads:

Moki, Ary, Kem, Wulf, and Lluna...

((Many of you already know... but for those of you who dont, I'm going to Iraq tomorrow. I will be there for about a year, and I'm unsure as to the accessability of internet when I get there. I've been there once already and the connection was terribly slow, not good enough to really support this game, but things may have improved (knocks on wood).  If not, I have an IC reason to be gone... and I will post here every now and again, Using my blue feathered hawk Kohnar as a vehicle for my postings. I thank you all for the great RP, and I hope to be back in a few weeks... but Murphy's first law of combat is to be considered; "Everything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong"))