An Incomplete Circle

Written by: Cyanna

This NaNo was written under the working title An Incomplete Circle. I'm debating whether or not I'll keep the title or change it to The Staff of Jahbal after it's edited. It was not written spontaneously. Older PPT mods might remember me trying to start writing this thing multiple times through the years. NaNoWriMo finally gave me the battering ram I needed to push through to the end.

This "teaser" is the first written scene of the book.

A cold wind blew from the north stirring the grass that was fighting to reclaim the charred land. Large pieces of gray stone dotted the landscape, stone that was once a part of buildings, temples and homes. A flourishing culture once existed here. Now it was nothing more than a dead city inhabited by those who refused to be laid to rest.

From a nearby hill, a white Lupe looked out at the ruins. Kal Panning was reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. But somewhere inside this city was someone who could help him find the answers to his many questions. He looked down at the medallion he had retrieved from the defeated Rollay Scaleback. There had to be a reason why this item came to him. There had to be a reason why he was on this quest. What evil was causing the world to become so infested with monsters?

The Lupe became to make his way through the ruins. On some of the of the bigger chunks, he could see family ads and storefront signs carved into them. The air was deathly silent and it gave the Lupe a chill. A great battle took place here. The fighting took place before his time but it was still like a fresh wound in history.

The white Lupe looked up and saw a figure standing on top of a large rock. Though it had its back towards the Lupe, he recognized the unmistakable ears of an Aisha. The Lupe quickened his pace and ran towards the edge of the city. The Aisha suddenly turned her head and eyes, blazing with malice, roasted on the Lupe. He stopped short and his lips parted in surprise. Her fur was a dull gray and her paws hung limp beside her hunched body. She looked like another one of the zombies. The Lupe took a few more steps closer.

"Are you the one called Faelinn?"

The Aisha let out a piercing shriek at the sound of her name. Her paws shot out and sent a blazing fireball towards the Lupe. He quickly jumped behind a large stone and felt the intense heat as it flew overhead. This restless spirit was an especially powerful one.

“I know you’re there,” her voice hissed. “Show yourself.”

The Lupe poked his head slightly over the rock he was hiding behind. His eyes met Faelinn's and he immediately crouched down again as another fiery blast shot above his head. For a few seconds there was silence. Then he could hear the sound of feet running towards him.

He had heard stories about Faelinn’s talents. She would have easily been made a member of the Circle of Twelve but she had refused the position for reasons that she never made public. Rumor had it that it was because she didn’t trust the Circle to do anything properly let alone act as a governing body. There was another rumor that she hated working with mages more talented than herself. But one thing was certain. Faelinn was not one to mess with. She guarded her country fiercely. It seemed that not even death could stop her. The Lupe’s heart pounded against his chest. He doubted he’d be able to last much longer in a battle with her. The destruction of Kal Panning required multiple mages.

He poked his head from around the side of the rock and heard the sizzle of fire burning the grass. He quickly tapped into his own abilities and created a snowy wall to block the fire. But Faelinn's power was not so easily blocked. She leapt on top of one of the stones and was able to find the Lupe from the higher angle. Before he could react, she shot a paralyzing bolt of Shock Magic at him, knocking him to the ground. The medallion flew out of his grasp and landed on the ground just out of his reach. He gasped for air, concentrating on trying to get his lungs working against the shock magic used against him.

Faelinn jumped off the rock and walked to the Lupe. Wisps of smoke were rising from her paws from the fire spells and the shock spells she had cast. Her face was set into a stony expression of indifference, looking ahead at some faraway point. The Lupe watched her feet come closer when something else caught his attention. She was just a few steps away from stepping on the medallion. He opened his mouth but he still could not speak as Faelinn brought her foot down right on it. She flinched in pain for a second then looked down to see what she had stepped on. She picked up the medallion and passed it between her two paws a few times. Then she held it up against the sky, her lips were moving as if reading some inscription. Her eyes became softer. The Lupe watched as the shrieking monster disappeared leaving behind a Faelinn more true to her old self.

She seemed a little dazed as she looked around at her surroundings. Finally she turned her attention towards the Lupe. She knelt down beside him and placed a paw at his side. She frowned as she sense the severity of the damage she did to his nervous system. She closed her eyes in concentration.

“What are you…” the Lupe could not finish his question.

The Aisha shushed him. Almost immediately afterwards, the Lupe began to feel a strange tingling sensation in the areas that were hurting him the most. It felt almost like a tickle The tickling sensation gradually turned into something soft and smooth. The Lupe’s tail began to wag. Faelinn smiled at this reaction. He had control in parts of his body that were further away from his brain.

“Move your paws,” she said.

The Lupe slowly moved his paws back and forth.

“Do you feel any pain?”

“No,” the Lupe replied. “It doesn't hurt at all.” He placed his paws on the ground and pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Wow your skills are amazing,” he said in a lighthearted voice.

Faelinn did not look as happy. “Your compliment would be more appreciated if...” Her voice trailed off as she thought about his injuries. “I feel I owe you an apology.”

The Lupe shrugged. “Hey, if you were under the influence of a spell, there's nothing to be sorry for.”

Faelinn looked down at her feet, which twitched nervously as she tried to suppress her guilt.

“Only partially,” she admitted. "Part of me wanted to succumb to that magic."

The Lube sat quietly waiting for her to continue. Seeing no sign of anger or disappointment in his eyes, she spoke again.

"I watched MY city be torn apart by those who should have known better, by leaders that we once looked up to. Instead they turned on us and I wanted revenge. This is still my city. I would guard it even after death."

"Your leaders." The Lupe sounded confused. "Who were these so-called leaders?"

“This was the work of The Circle.”

The Lupe was stunned into silence.

“Yes, the same Circle that governed all of Neopia. They were once a group of kind and wise rulers until that sudden change in leadership. Xantan fell and Jahbal rose to power. Did you know they came to me asking if I would like to take Jahbal’s former position? HA! As if I would join such a corrupt group of mages. And so to make an example of me, they destroyed my city and turned my people into the undead creatures you’ve been coming across on your way over here. Myself included.”

“The Circle did this?” The Lupe was horrified.

Faelinn looked at the world around her with saddened eyes. “After Xantan’s demise, the Circle fell completely into darkness. Even before then, it was already showing signs of corruption. They are all but gone now. The members themselves were betrayed by the very leader they had followed into their path to darkness.”

“Jahbal,” the Lupe finished her thought.

“Yes. Jahbal had turned on those who helped him conquer Neopia. In the end, it was just another conquest for him.”

“He must be dead though. It’s been years since the Circle came to Kal Panning and even more before the fall of Xantan.”

“No, he is alive. He is very old and minions do his dirty work for him but he is still very much alive.”

She raised her paw and pointed to a speck on the horizon.

“That is Two Rings Palace. From there he looks out over all of Neopia, creating and sending monsters at will and seeing to it that the land will never forget his presence.”

She turned to face the Lupe. "Jahbal is a very powerful wizard. He... personally saw to it that I would be defeated.”

She smiled a little when she saw the Lupe’s normally collected face falter a bit.

“But so will you be by the time you face him,” said Faelinn with a smile. “My power only extends as far as the city borders. I cannot dwell any further. But I can see that you have the potential to become a great mage, perhaps once of the greatest. I have faith that you will be able to rid the world of Jahbal’s presence.”

The Lupe gulped. “It’s awfully nice of you to say that. I’m certainly going to head over there with the intent on giving him what’s due to him. But I just need to know one thing. How do I...”

Knock knock.

Loraul’s head snapped up at the interruption to his Neoquest game. He glanced back at the screen thinking he might be able to squeeze a few more seconds of game time in, but decided to let it go and answer the door. It wasn't like he had never beaten the game, on all three difficulties, before.

Cyanna is an undefeated NaNoWriMo winner.

Lillie is Pink Ink's own Power Editor™.