Immortal: Part One

If I had just one more wish, it'd be that I'd never been able to wish at all...

      I asked for it, and I got it. But now... Now I regret everything. It's so hard to live continuously, watching your friends pass you by, and die, while you yourself must keep on living. I've outlived my own destiny, and I've witnessed countless others complete their own. I've seen the rise and fall of great empires, rulers, both royal and enemy conquerors, I've seen it all. Except for one thing. My own death. And in all probability I never will.

      I have no purpose now...

*****

"Daniel!" a whine came from outside the door. "I need help!"

      I awoke, my mind still fresh and tingling with old nightmares. My bed covers were like a tangled jungle around me. I kicked them off with my legs and staggered to the mirror. My eyes were a dull red, tired from grinding away year after year. I felt wilted... like a cut flower left in the sun too long without water. I didn't bother brushing my fur, nobody could ever tell how messy it was because of how black it was anyway.

      "Come on big brother!" whimpered the voice again. "Are all you Zafara this slow to get up in the morning?"

      I gave a weary smile as I opened the door. My little foster-sister Amber was sitting there, her tail wagged eagerly. She was small, even for a Baby Lupe her age, and compared to me she was still just a new born. "You very well know it takes me a while to get up Amber." I said calmly.

      "It's because you're so old," she teased playfully.

      "How many times have I told you not to say anything about it." I snapped in return, perhaps a bit too angrily. She stepped back with tears springing to her large blue eyes. I decided to change the subject before my newest owner came to see what was wrong. Curiously enough, my social skills hadn't really developed in the last few thousand years. "Amber, what did you want help with again?"

      The tears stopped building. She blinked them back in an instant. "I have a history project, and I wanted to know about something."

      "Let me guess, you want to hear what happened from someone who was actually there?" I grumbled as I realised what she wanted. She nodded enthusiastically. I sighed, "Fine..." Telling my story and the events I'd seen during my never ending life was really the only thing people ever wanted me for now.

      Amber leapt onto my bed, snuggling down into the pile of covers. She held the sky blue sheets around her head, making her look like she was under a frozen waterfall. "I wanna hear everything!" she said excitedly. "I wanna know why you're that colour especially," she caressed my untidy masses of fur.

      I took a deep breath, images flashed through my mind as I tired desperately to remember. It was hard to sort through all those memories. Finally I grasped one I knew was right and started. "I can't really remember when my fur turned this colour, it was so gradual that I didn't even notice. It used to be the brightest shade of white in the land, I was the envy of all the villagers. Villagers that have now passed away thousands of years ago..."

*****

"He's so handsome!" swooned a female Moehog, she battered her eyelashes, hoping for my attention.

      "And his fur, I wish I had fur like his," moaned a jealous Ixi. His own fur was grey in comparison to mine.

      I smirked. They had every right to be covetous of me, both the males and females of the village of Paren. And I was going to be the envy of everyone forever. The sound of running paws distracted me. I turned just in time to see my older brother Zack come behind me. He jumped on me, crash tackling me to the ground. I growled irately and pushed him off. I got up quickly and brushed the dirt off my beautiful fur. "Zack!" I yelled furiously.

      "What?" he retorted. "Didn't you hear me before, little bro? So wrapped up in your own little world." He poked me in the chest. I never liked my brother. He was the true pride of the family. Despite his ugly brown colour, his fighting skills were known throughout the land. "Anyway," he continued and folded his arms across his chest, "it's time for you to be initiated into the Knight's Guild."

      My thoughts suddenly did a back flip and I forgot about my dirty coat. Finally it was time. I had trained very hard and had passed my page and squire years with ease. My fighting abilities were good, not quite as good as Zack's, but still pretty good. "When is it?" I asked.

      "Right now you dunce! Why do you think I ran all the way here? Now come on, Dan!" he grabbed my paw and pulled me down the street to the castle.

*****

The sword presented to me was new and shiny. I was a little disappointed at it albeit. Zack had our family sword, and a fine one it was too. The Zenith Sword, named after our first ancestor, was the greatest weapon in the whole region. It was passed down from one generation to the next, and to the oldest son, which was Zack in our case. I was furtively smug over the fact that he hadn't learnt how to truly wield it, as the story of our ancestor told of his heroics with the sword.

      "Sir Daniel of the Ancient Blood Line of Zenith, you are now officially a knight," said the presenter, an aging Draik with the aura of a warrior around him. He placed the black sash on my shoulder. "Be stout of heart and full of courage and ride the wind when the trumpet for war sounds."

      I bowed my thanks to him and withdrew from the castle to the outer courts where practise would be done. Holding my new sword I cut feverishly into the wood of the training dummy. I ducked and swerved fluently as it whirled around with its long branched arms. I was giddy with happiness left over from the ceremony.

*****

"So you were a knight? Cool!" interrupted Amber. "They don't have very many knights left these days." She place a paw under her chin as she thought.

      I nodded my head. "There were many knights thousands of years ago, and they all came from strong bloodlines. When the Faeries came to Neopia though, peace was announced and there was no real need for knights anymore."

      "Tell me about the Faeries Dan, please?" begged the Baby Lupe. She loved hearing about the magical creatures and their ways. "Neopia didn't know much about magic until the Faeries came. Is that right Dan?"

      Once again I nodded. "We relied on more crude ways to defer our enemies back then..."

*****

The trumpet sounded in the sky. It was the loudest I'd ever heard it in the past year that I'd been a knight. Hurriedly, I pulled on my chain mail and cape and brushed my handsome fur. I grabbed my sword and slid it out of its sheathe. The trumpet blasted a more urgent cry. I responded to it, nearly falling down the stairs. Zack was on his Uni waiting for me and holding the reins to another one.

      "About time!" he roared, his face a livid purple. "One knight could make the difference!"

      I said nothing as I vaulted onto my steed's back. With a sharp yell I pushed my mount out of the gate, following Zack to the battlegrounds. The old Draik was there, waiting for the knights to assemble. He paced on his Uni impatiently.

      When he was satisfied that everyone was present, he began. "We've had reports from our scouters and farmers outside the town that strange hooded beings have appeared in the area. We can only presume this is a scare tactic from our enemy castle Forlan. We have been instructed by the Lord George to ride into battle and show Lord Harold of Forlan we are not afraid! Now ride, Knights of Paren!" He pointed his sword forward.

      I hurtled off on my brave Uni along side the other knights. I expected the worse, a line of those alien beings with some sort of horrible weapon. Instead I heard battle cries coming from over the hill, knights from Forlan emerged over the crest, swords drawn at the ready. A glimmer of gold caught the corner of my eye, stealing a quick glance over my shoulder I saw something hiding in the forest. I did a double take and pulled the reigns of my Uni up. He looked at me in question, but having a bit in his mouth, he was unable to ask what was happening. Without giving an explanation I rode him to the forest's edge. My fellow warriors fled past me into battle, some staring at me and some calling me a coward. I did not care though, I had to know what or who that was. The creature gave a startled yelp as it saw my approach. My Uni suddenly understood my motives and jumped with a flying leap over its hooded head to prevent escape. I took my foot out of the stirrups and climbed down.

      The being stepped back and stumbled on a tree branch. The hood fell back as the creature did. Large purple eyes full of fright filled my own. Lilac hair drifted across her face like a cloud. She cringed as she noticed my sword. She held up a hand defensively. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered with a young voice.

      "Why shouldn't I? You work for the enemy, you scare the people of our lands!" The sword in my hand glinted evilly.

      "I swear upon the Faerie code, we're no ones servants. And we didn't mean to scare anybody," she said, her great orbs looking into mine.

      I wasn't sure what to do. She sounded sincere enough, and even Lord Harold wasn't to steep as low as to use young girls to do his bidding. "What's a Faerie?" I asked as the unfamiliar word wriggled around in my mind.

      "I am," she replied. Carefully she took her cloak off to reveal a slender body dressed in purple. A pair of magnificent butterfly wings fluttered slightly, free of the confines of the cloak.

      My sword dropped to the ground. She was beautiful, her wings were beautiful. Suddenly, I knew how all the others in my village felt when they looked at me and envied my attractive fur. As quickly as she had taken the cloak off, she put it back on. "But..." I raised a paw, yearning to see those wings again.

      "I'm not supposed to let anybody know, not yet," she said, and slid the hood up over her face.

      "I found you at last, spy!" yelled a crazed voice. A Mynci charged into the forest, sword in hand prepared to strike. "For Lord Harold and Forlan!" he shouted at the supposed enemy. He was inches away from being able to use his weapon on the female.

      "No!" I don't know how I did it, but in a fluid movement I picked up my fallen sword and rushed in front of the Faerie. With the ease of practice I dodged the sword and used my own. The Mynci fell to the ground, defeated. I heard a strangled gasp from the girl. A sharp screeching neigh from my Uni came to my ears as I saw him fall. Five soldiers surrounded us. The Faerie gave a squeal of fright. I snarled a challenge at the enemy and swung my sword in rage.

 To be continued...