Categories > Original > Fantasy > Twins of Rosebush Manor
Part 1 Chapter 1
0 reviewsWhen an entire way of life is threatened by one man, two women devise a plan to finally defeat him, doing something so drastic, no one expected it. Can these two, plus two others, separated by tim...
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Part 1
Chapter 1
Of the two women in the large room, one was keeping a better hold on her temper than he other. She was sitting at the ornate desk, hands folded in front of her face and elbows rested on the cluttered surface. Open books covered the desk and were strewn about the room anywhere they would fit. Therefore, the bookshelves were looking a little bare. The other woman was pacing the length of the room, flipping pages in a book. Occasionally, she would drop it on the floor and stalk to a bookshelf and pull down another book and start all over again.
"Would you sit down, Rofa!" the one at the desk finally snapped. Both women were tall with long, straight, red hair. Their ordinary-looking oval- shaped faces were offset by the brilliant shade of their pink eyes. The two were identical in every way except in personality and abilities. The one named Rofa was a woman of action: she would much rather do something than sit around and talk about it. She was a Mage and was trained to use her powers for the good of her people. Her twin was more calm and collected; she was a Healer and more patient.
Without stopping, Rofa glared over her shoulder and snarled, "We need to do something, Iewa!" She dropped her current book and pointed outside, where bangs, crashes, and screams could be heard. "Do you hear that? That is the sound of our people dying while fighting a losing battle! If we don't do something soon, there will be no one left to save."
"I know, sister," Iewa replied in a sorrow-filled voice as she buried her face in her arms. "But we tried everything we could, and your frantic search is not helping. If only we had more time."
With her face hidden, Iewa did not see her sister stop her frenetic pacing and stare at her sister like she had grown another head. Then, she began moving again, gesturing with her hands and mumbling, "More time. We need more time." After a few minutes of hearing only this, Iewa looked up and watched Rofa until the mage-cleric exclaimed, "I think I've got it! Iewa, you're a genius."
"Of course I am. Now, tell me what I did," the healer-cleric grinned.
Rofa pulled up a chair across from Iewa and grasped her sister's hands in her own, their clasped hands resting on the books on the desk. "You said we need more time, yes?" At Iewa's nod, Rofa continued, "Our people are unable to defeat Drixel now. He is impossible to kill; we have tried enough times to know that. But what if they had more time to prepare and plan: a year, ten years, and one hundred years, more? What if we send Him so far forward that our people can finally defeat Him?"
Excitement building, Iewa jumped out of her chair. "It would solve everything!" She paused. "But how would we do that? We wouldn't have nearly enough power to do that. I assume that, if you had the Energy, you could create the means."
Rofa bit her lip. "That is the only problem: we would have to ask the Lady for permission. But She has always said that if we come up with a solution on our own, She would help us carry it out." She stood and beckoned, "Come, sister. Let us go to Elsewhere, for we will receive our answer soon enough."
The two women, the High Clerics of the Great Lady Siliana- the patron Goddess of Rialla- and leaders of their people, were the most respected, loved, and feared in their country. They were the best of people: kind, generous, fair, and open. But they received their status by being the strongest healer-mage pair in the order and by being chosen by the Lady, Herself. They were the only ones capable of communicating with Her directly.
The two left the room, mage-locking if behind them. Arm-in-arm, they headed for the sanctuary. While it was open to the entire priesthood, and any cleric could pray there, if the High-Clerics were traveling Elsewhere, they would be left in undisturbed solitude. Once in the giant room, they made their way to the complete center. Although preparations were unnecessary, they certainly made it easier: being in the center of a room focused their power; their postures (kneeling on the ground, facing each other, holding each other's hands, heads bent, and eyes closed) channeled the Energy they would be using; their slow, rhythmic breathing calmed the two and allowed them easy access to the magic they called. Iewa sent a tendril of her magic to her twin, and Rofa wove the thread in with her own magic and used the combined energy to pull the twins to Elsewhere, a plane that coexisted with the one mortals lived on. It was not quite the immortal plane but, rather, was in between the two.
When Rofa and Iewa regained consciousness, they were surrounded by fog. Their dreamlike bodies were projected as flawless replicas of the ones of flesh-and-blood their minds had left behind. Before they could even gather the breath to speak, a tall figure in flowing skirts, with long, streaming hair appeared through the mist. Automatically, they bowed low.
Laughing low and melodiously, the figure motioned the twins to rise. "What is it, my daughters? What brings you Elsewhere?"
"Great Mother, we believe we might have a way to stop Drixel forever," Rofa began excitedly.
"However," Iewa continued, "We need your help, for it would require more power than the two of us have combined."
The lady frowned thoughtfully as she responded, "Perhaps you should explain everything from the beginning." Rofa quickly, succinctly, and fully explained the extent of what they had already come up with. The cleric told her about their theories about time and how, if they could send Drixel forwards, their people would have enough time to find a way to stop him. After listening thoroughly, the Lady looked thoughtful for a moment. As the moment drew into eternity, the twins began to become nervous. Finally, the Lady spoke, "That is one possibility I will admit that had never occurred to me. However, I do have a way to get you the extra power you need. But there are consequences. Severe consequences."
The clerics looked at each other and shared a silent communication that all twins do. They returned their gazes to their Goddess, and Iewa answered for them both, "What must we do? Nothing is too much for our people."
Chapter 1
Of the two women in the large room, one was keeping a better hold on her temper than he other. She was sitting at the ornate desk, hands folded in front of her face and elbows rested on the cluttered surface. Open books covered the desk and were strewn about the room anywhere they would fit. Therefore, the bookshelves were looking a little bare. The other woman was pacing the length of the room, flipping pages in a book. Occasionally, she would drop it on the floor and stalk to a bookshelf and pull down another book and start all over again.
"Would you sit down, Rofa!" the one at the desk finally snapped. Both women were tall with long, straight, red hair. Their ordinary-looking oval- shaped faces were offset by the brilliant shade of their pink eyes. The two were identical in every way except in personality and abilities. The one named Rofa was a woman of action: she would much rather do something than sit around and talk about it. She was a Mage and was trained to use her powers for the good of her people. Her twin was more calm and collected; she was a Healer and more patient.
Without stopping, Rofa glared over her shoulder and snarled, "We need to do something, Iewa!" She dropped her current book and pointed outside, where bangs, crashes, and screams could be heard. "Do you hear that? That is the sound of our people dying while fighting a losing battle! If we don't do something soon, there will be no one left to save."
"I know, sister," Iewa replied in a sorrow-filled voice as she buried her face in her arms. "But we tried everything we could, and your frantic search is not helping. If only we had more time."
With her face hidden, Iewa did not see her sister stop her frenetic pacing and stare at her sister like she had grown another head. Then, she began moving again, gesturing with her hands and mumbling, "More time. We need more time." After a few minutes of hearing only this, Iewa looked up and watched Rofa until the mage-cleric exclaimed, "I think I've got it! Iewa, you're a genius."
"Of course I am. Now, tell me what I did," the healer-cleric grinned.
Rofa pulled up a chair across from Iewa and grasped her sister's hands in her own, their clasped hands resting on the books on the desk. "You said we need more time, yes?" At Iewa's nod, Rofa continued, "Our people are unable to defeat Drixel now. He is impossible to kill; we have tried enough times to know that. But what if they had more time to prepare and plan: a year, ten years, and one hundred years, more? What if we send Him so far forward that our people can finally defeat Him?"
Excitement building, Iewa jumped out of her chair. "It would solve everything!" She paused. "But how would we do that? We wouldn't have nearly enough power to do that. I assume that, if you had the Energy, you could create the means."
Rofa bit her lip. "That is the only problem: we would have to ask the Lady for permission. But She has always said that if we come up with a solution on our own, She would help us carry it out." She stood and beckoned, "Come, sister. Let us go to Elsewhere, for we will receive our answer soon enough."
The two women, the High Clerics of the Great Lady Siliana- the patron Goddess of Rialla- and leaders of their people, were the most respected, loved, and feared in their country. They were the best of people: kind, generous, fair, and open. But they received their status by being the strongest healer-mage pair in the order and by being chosen by the Lady, Herself. They were the only ones capable of communicating with Her directly.
The two left the room, mage-locking if behind them. Arm-in-arm, they headed for the sanctuary. While it was open to the entire priesthood, and any cleric could pray there, if the High-Clerics were traveling Elsewhere, they would be left in undisturbed solitude. Once in the giant room, they made their way to the complete center. Although preparations were unnecessary, they certainly made it easier: being in the center of a room focused their power; their postures (kneeling on the ground, facing each other, holding each other's hands, heads bent, and eyes closed) channeled the Energy they would be using; their slow, rhythmic breathing calmed the two and allowed them easy access to the magic they called. Iewa sent a tendril of her magic to her twin, and Rofa wove the thread in with her own magic and used the combined energy to pull the twins to Elsewhere, a plane that coexisted with the one mortals lived on. It was not quite the immortal plane but, rather, was in between the two.
When Rofa and Iewa regained consciousness, they were surrounded by fog. Their dreamlike bodies were projected as flawless replicas of the ones of flesh-and-blood their minds had left behind. Before they could even gather the breath to speak, a tall figure in flowing skirts, with long, streaming hair appeared through the mist. Automatically, they bowed low.
Laughing low and melodiously, the figure motioned the twins to rise. "What is it, my daughters? What brings you Elsewhere?"
"Great Mother, we believe we might have a way to stop Drixel forever," Rofa began excitedly.
"However," Iewa continued, "We need your help, for it would require more power than the two of us have combined."
The lady frowned thoughtfully as she responded, "Perhaps you should explain everything from the beginning." Rofa quickly, succinctly, and fully explained the extent of what they had already come up with. The cleric told her about their theories about time and how, if they could send Drixel forwards, their people would have enough time to find a way to stop him. After listening thoroughly, the Lady looked thoughtful for a moment. As the moment drew into eternity, the twins began to become nervous. Finally, the Lady spoke, "That is one possibility I will admit that had never occurred to me. However, I do have a way to get you the extra power you need. But there are consequences. Severe consequences."
The clerics looked at each other and shared a silent communication that all twins do. They returned their gazes to their Goddess, and Iewa answered for them both, "What must we do? Nothing is too much for our people."
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