7 Getaway (6)

He expanded his demesne, the breadth of his keening, and what had been the brief flash of an afterimage, became a blur of emotions he tracked by their arrival and departure at a place. Not able to match their speed, the keening gave him the opportunity to anticipate where and when they would be. Readying himself, he waited for his opportunity.The clash and clang of blades was cacophonous, echoing throughout the chamber like. Their music was harsh, orchestral. In it could be heard the highs and lows of the individual steels’ tone. The retreats and advances. The bang of blade edges meeting, the scraping slash, the high ringing song of the poignard, silence between recoveries, the high tonal, clangorous flunge, was exacting and terrible to hear.How long could they endure at this grueling pace, the accelerated flow of ki. You cannot take in more than can be used was an inviable truism, and they were using internal ki quicker than they could take replenish its well. Poe had already had t

7 Chapter (7)

Hunter extended his demense as far as he could, deepening his connection to all, to the heat of things, the emotions of the people within its purview. The roil of ki, with no Wardens to dam that flow, churned from the power of those emotions. His heart pounded, breath naked, a prickly sensation suffused his skin and lifted him on his toes. The hair at the knap of his neck stiffened, and it felt as if his locs were standing on end.After that first exhilarating rush, he calmed, even as the inflowing force filled him. It was as if a waterfall had become uncorked and fell to expand the bottomless depths of the lake beneath. Senses enlivened and enhanced, he was better able to track the movements of Master Poe and Master Margarete. What had at first been flashes, flitting ribbons of yellow and red light, slowed. No longer a blink between here and there, a crescendo of clashing blades, their movements became something Hunter could follow and anticipate, rather than react to. He realized

7 Getaway (7)

Hunter felt a strange constriction in his chest and flashes of heat and cold. It was disorienting, distracting. It was a side effect engendered by the overwhelming emotions coming at him as the group of searchers rushed to converge on them. The emotional baggage became more concentrated, the pressure building. His body, riddled with competing feelings, felt like foam being tossed from the surge of two waves crashing together. Something else he had to deal with.Slish!Clank!Clank!Clink!CLANG!Hunter scrambled to parry the slash from Master Margarete and was thrown off-balance. Footwork skewed, he could not fully avoid the riposting strike that sliced through robe to open flesh. Blood gushed to drench cloth, but none fell to the ground.From the Abyss, eyes shrouded in fire swelled, and a scream exploded from Hunter, rattling the chamber. Dust rose from the floor, and pebbles fell from the ceiling. All three flashes were blown away. When they came to rest, Margarete, revealed to be

Alternate Ending (1)

And from those glimpses of possibilities he saw a use for the play of darkness and light that enveloped him like a shroud. He sent it forth as a twined shaft of coiled forces. Poe reached forth a hand as if to stop it, but helix struck Poe full in the chest knocking him backward but not off his feet. Slowly the sword came up and began to glow golden, then silver. It began to cleave shadow and light, separating them into their respective parts, as they went to either side of Poe.Hunter began to understand what it meant to shape shadow and light to a purpose, of channeling emotions as a material force. The dark force was his pain and the light was his fiery anger that he used as a weapon against Poe, but what was the cold sapping force that took from matter it’s life? What power did he tap when using that ability?Though Poe had split the force rushing at him, it was not enough. The darkness and light began to turn, separating into flowing tendrils that reached for Poe. He raised a shi

(2)

He felt the emotions began to well up in him again, blunting his concentration. He felt again the isolation at being so profoundly different from those around him that he could not completely share his feelings. He felt the deep longing to connect with others, only to be spurned and feared for a potential that he could not see within himself and a secret that he could share with no one. They tugged at him as the barrier tugged at him. It was only then that Hunter understood. He felt of glimpse of it through the links that connected him to Hunter, felt it more as a keening than anything else. He felt Poe’s fear. H realized that these emotions and feelings were not his, they were a mantle of thought being raised in him by Poe--to distract and deceive. They were to make him forget that he was fighting fro his life and needed to escape quickly. It was an artful move Poe had made to turn Hunter’s own errant thoughts, to replace emotion with decisive thought and action. Hunter needed to fi

All Chapters of Foundling: Chapter 71 - Chapter 75

7 Getaway (6)

7 Chapter (7)

7 Getaway (7)

Alternate Ending (1)

(2)