A Day to Remeber Part Two

      Rynn woke up just a few minutes later, and slowly stood up and looked around. He quickly surmised he was not in the field anymore. Stam was nowhere to be found, and neither was anyone else. The ground was covered in a strange mist that completely obscured it from view. He knelt down to see if he could clear the mist away but it was just too thick. He put a cautious hand to the ground to see what it felt like, but the sensation was strange. He could feel no dirt, or ground, but he was clearly outside, as he could see the sun. He did notice however, when he looked up at the sky at that moment, that the clouds were gone. At that point he stood up and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was how the wind had picked up. It had been howling since he woke up, and hadn't let up in the slightest. And even though the sun was overhead, the day seemed strangely dim. As Rynn looked out, he suddenly noticed a building in the distance. He couldn't be sure, but from where he stood it looked almost like a castle. For a long time he didn't move at all, not really knowing what to do. After awhile, he mustered his courage and began walking toward the castle in the distance. He still seemed very tired, and no matter how deep he breathed, he couldn't seem to get enough air. He walked very slowly, partly because he had too, and partly because he wasn't sure he really wanted to get closer to that castle. But since it was the only place he could see, he felt like he didn't have any choice.

            After walking for what seemed like hours, Rynn had to sit down. It seemed to him that he hadn't gotten any closer to the castle, it looked as far away as ever. He was breathing heavily, as if he had ran the entire time, when in fact he had walked as slowly as he could. He was looking up at the sky, in the direction of the castle, when he noticed something in the air above it.  It was small, but seemed to be steadily getting bigger. As it got closer to him, he saw that it seemed to be an animal, not a bird. It did have large wings, but it looked like it had an man's head and an animal's body, with four legs dangling beneath it. As it grew nearer, Rynn thought it almost looked like a lion with wings. Then all of a sudden, Rynn realized it was flying right toward him. He fell flat on his face, hoping the mist that still covered the ground would be deep enough to hide his body. For a few moments he heard nothing except the wind, which was still blowing and hadn't let up the entire time he had been there. Then he heard the sound of wings flapping.  The sound drew closer nad closer, and then heard and soft thud, and the wings stopped. For a long moment, all heard was the wind again. He dared not look up. After what seemed like forever, he heard a deep resounding voice, and his heart sank.

            "Get up boy." the voice said, and Rynn  immediately stood up. After he was on his feet, he looked slowly up at his addresser. It was the strangest creature Rynn had ever seen. It did indeed have the body of a lion,as it had appeared in the distance, with huge batlike wings, And while the head and face of the creature did have a distinctively feline grace, it was the face of a man. It looked like a middle aged man, with a long black beard, and mostache. It had piercing blue eyes that seemed to be reading his thoughts. And it may have been, considering what it said next.

            "Don't be afraid boy. I am sure you got here by accident, as no one as young as you could get here on purpose. What's your name boy?"

            Rynn couldn't answer, his throat was dry and he was more frightened than he had ever been in his life. Although he had heard stories about fantastic creatures like this for all of his life, they had usually been told by traveling minstrels or drunken men wandering around the village. His parents and others had always told him not to pay heed to such tales from men like that, as they were likely just making things up. But here was one of those fantastic creatures now, standing in front of him, asking him his name. He just stood there looking at the creature, unable to move or speak. At length, the creature began to look annoyed at Rynn's silence. It spoke again.

            "I'm sure you have a name boy. What is it. I dislike calling people by vague references, like boy, but if you don't tell me what you're called I'll have no choice. Well ?"

            At this point, Rynn actually wanted to tell the creature his name, but he simply couldn't get his mouth to move. As if sensing his predicament, the creature spoke again.

            "Would it help if you knew my name first? You may call me Shagon. I am a manticore. You may not have heard of my race. There are few of us left."

            As strange as it seemed, hearing the creature say it's own name did in fact help Rynn force his mouth to finally move. Even then, all he got out was one word.

            "Rynn". He immediately looked down after he said his name, he had no idea why.

            "Rynn," the creature replied, "Very well, Rynn. You should not be here Rynn, and the masters of this place will want to know how you got here, why you are here, and what you intend to do now that you are here. I advise you to tell them the truth in every question they ask you, for these masters are very powerful, and it is an easy thing for them to see if a little boy is lying. If you have no bad intent, and you do not try to decieve them, I believe the masters will let you go free. Now we must go to them."

            Shagon the manticore approached young Rynn and took him up in one of his huge paws. He spread his wings out and with a huge flap leaped into the air. Rynn's breath, what little he had left, fled his body when he went up into the air. He closed his eyes tight so he wouldn't see how high up in the air he was. After a few minutes however, Rynn's curiosity overcame his fear and he opened his eyes and looked around at where he was. At first he was very disoriented, what he saw below him made no sense at all. But as he continued to look around, he realized just where he had ended up. He was up in the sky, on top of a cloud!! As the manticore rose higher he could see the length and breadth of the cloud, it was huge, and sitting right in the middle was the castle he had seen in the distance. It was toward this castle that they were now going, and it was fast approaching. As they drew nearer, Rynn could make out more details. It was made of a pure white stone, the very  same color as the cloud itself. It was built in the shape of a square, with a tall tower at each corner. As they neared the castle Rynn could make out a huge building in the courtyard, another round tower, similar to the ones on the corners but much wider, and taller. As they approached the great castle, Shagon veered toward one of the towers on the corners. He flapped his wings to slow down their glode, and landed gently on a small balcony that went all around the top of the tower. This balcony barely held the great flying beast, but there was plenty of room for a small boy. Shagon put Rynn down near a doorway into the tower, and folded his wings to his body.

            "Here we wait for the masters." Shagon told him.

            It wasn't long before Rynn heard faint footsteps coming toward them. For mor than a minute Rynn heard them coming, but the sound never rose above a whisper. Then suddenly two tall men in stark white robes emerged quickly from the doorway. Rynn fell back a step and might have fallen off if the balcony had not had a 3 foot high wall surrounding it. Then men both had long white hair and beards, and both seemed long in years. They were not equal in height however, as one of them seemed nearly half a foot taller than the other. Both of them seemed not to notice the manticore at all, but stared down at Rynn. Neither of them spoke for a long time, and Rynn began to wonder if Shagon had told him the truth about these masters letting him go if he was honest. Finally, the taller one, without moving his head or taking his gaze off of Rynn spoke to the manticore.

            "That will be all for now Shagon. You may go, but be on hand in case we need you."

            At that last part, the shorter man seemed to clear his throat somewhat, as if scoffing at what the taller one had said. After Shagon had flown off, the taller one spoke again.

            "I am Prevnevron, Fifth  Archmage of the Council. What is your name boy?"

            Unlike his encounter with Shagon, Rynn's mouth was not paralyzed now, for whatever reason, and his answer came out almost instantly.

            "Rynn, sir"

            The shorter man seemed to lean in just a bit closer to Rynn when he said his name, and then made the same noise he had made earlier, when the taller on ehad told Shagon to stay close.

            "Rynn," Prevnevron paused after repeating his name, as if considering it for some reason. Soon though, he continued, "And what brings you to my castle in the sky Rynn? "

            Again, Rynn found the he answered the archmage just as soon as his question was asked. And Rynn told him everything. He was playing with Stam, about following the rider, all about his curiosity in seeing him disappear, everything. As he spoke he seemed to talking faster and faster, as if  he couldn't tell his story quick enough. When he got to the part about Shagon flying him to the castle, Prevnevron held up his hand and said,  "Enough. I see."

            Both men stood for along time, not saying anything. Then, Prevnevron turned to look at the other man, and they began speaking as if Rynn wasn't even standing there.

            "Well, as you can see he's telling the truth," Prevnevron  began, "and I can detect no outside influence on him at all. Do you?"

            The shorter man, who had never said his name, stood silently for a moment, his gaze still fixed on Rynn. In a moment, he finally turned his head to look at Prevnevron and spoke.

            "It doesn't matter if he's here by accident or by design. It only matters that he is here now and there's only one thing to be done about it. You know what it is and you'd better have the spine to do it. And if you don't, you know I do."

            "Your compassion knows no bounds, does it Stavlon?" Prevnevron began, "I am always so pleased when I see how good and kind your heart is." The sarcasm dripping off that last statement from the tall one was obvious, even to Rynn. Rynn was just a small boy of eleven, but even he could tell that there was an almost palpable hatred coming off the shorter man, Stavlon, and it was now directed at both of them. Stavlon shouted a quick  'Bah' and then turned around and went back through the doorway, and started down the stairs. Rynn looked up at Prevnevron, who was looking down at Rynn with a concerned look. He soon spoke, "Down the stairs Rynn, were going to have to decide what to do with you."

            Rynn suddenly became terrified, his grew wide and he almost shouted " The man-lion said I could go  home if I told the truth! Your not going to hurt me are you? I'm so sorry I trespassed. I won't do it again and I won't tell anyone I was ever here. Please please!".

            Prevnevron felt a wave of sympathy for the boy, but he knew how his fellow archamges felt about their privacy on the cloud. Prevnevron had a plan in mind, he just hoped he could convince his superiors. For now, he tried to calm little Rynn down.

            "No one's going to hurt you Rynn, just calm down. Now go with me and we'll get this all straightend out." He pointed toward the stairs and urged Rynn to start walking.

            Rynn took a few tentative steps, then stopped for just a minute. He felt Prevnevron's gaze on him, and he started down the stairs again. They seemed to go on for miles as he slowly descended them, and minutes later they emerged on the ground floor from another doorway at the base of the tower. Here in the courtyard the ground was no longer misty. There was a thick, green grass everywhere, brighter than any Rynn had ever seen. He stopped for just a moment to look around, but Prevnevron pointed to the large building in the middle and ushered him toward it.

            The large building in the center of the courtyard had a huge metal door on one side, and as they approached it the door opened, seemingly on it's own. Rynn and Prevnevron walked slowly through it into a huge room. On either side, a staircase wound up along the sides of the tower to a second floor high above the ground. Ahead of them, in the middle of the huge room, was a huge stone chair. One either side of the chair stood three men, all with long white hair and beards in the same fashion as Prevnevron's. All of them see med to Rynn to be of middle or late age, and they all wore the same look of concern that Prevevron had when Rynn had first seen him. As they approached the stone chair, Rynn could see some of them had the same look of disdain that Stavlon had had on his face. Suddenly Rynn's fear began to rise agian.

            Sitting in the chair was a very, very old man. He seemed much older than any of the other men, his face was gaunt, and his skin appeared extremely thin. As they drew near the chair, Rynn could clearly see the veins underneath in his face and hands. No one said anything for a moment, then finally the old man in the chair leaned forward, gazing intently at little Rynn as he spoke.

            "Well well, what do we have here, a little trespasser it seems. The last time someone came up here uninvited, we through him off the side. Hehe, I think the cloud was over a volcano at the time, hehe, what do you think of that ey?? hehe". The old man hinted faintly at a cruel smile.

            Suddenly Prevnevron spoke,"Yes I agree. This boy does indeed present a grave threat to this council and should be dealt with accordingly."

            The old man's smile quickly turned to anger,"Watch your tongue, upstart. I could have you both thrown off the side." Suddenly the old man's demeanor changed again, as if trying to regain his composure. He sat for just a minute as if regarding Rynn, then he looked behind him at Prevnevron and addressed him.

            "So, what does the vaunted Fifth Archmage have to say about this intruder?" the old man was clearly sneering at this point.

            "He is innocent of any malice, nor is he any kind of outside agent, I am sure."

            The old man in the chair seemed unconvinced.

            "Is that right? You're completely sure? Well, it's not as if the great Prevnevron has ever been wrong." At this the old man's sneer seemed to get even worse. "Still,  we of this council cannot take any chances, even with a small boy, do you deny this, Fifth Archmage?"

            "No I do not deny it, but I cannot believe this council would sentence this innocent child to death for something no fault of his own."

            The old man's voice rose slightly,"O no of course, why we should just reveal ourselves to the world to save the life of this whelp. You are a fool, Fifth Archmage, you have not the courage to be a wizard of this council, and it is by the grace of my predecessor only that you stay here, much less stay alive.!" The old man stopped abruptly again, and tried to regain his composure. It was a few moments before he spoke again.

            "Very well, Fifth Archmage, if he is not to be killed, what shall we do with him? The secrecy of this council is your sworn duty, how will you protect it and still save this boy's life?"

            Prevnevron wasted no time with his response, as if he already had it prepared," I shall erase his memory of this day. He shall remember nothing of this, for as long as he lives."

            The old man stared at Prevnevron for a long time before he responded, regarding him almost as if  he were seeing him for the first time, clearly this was not an answer he was expecting. Still, a small grin crossed his face.

            "And you are sure this will work? He will never remember where he has been, or who we are? For the rest of his life?"

            "I am."

            Again, the old man stared at Prevnevron for long time, finally, he said "So be it."

            Suddenly, an angry voice came crying out over the balcony of the second floor. It was Stavron, the man Rynn had seen with Prevnevron when he arrived at the tower. " I do not believe this. You can't possibly believe that preposterous lie. That old fool can't erase anyone's memory any more than I can." Stavlon began to walk down the stairs toward them. "Has this council gone mad? It's clear what has to be done. Let us simply do it and get on."

            Anger shown once again in the face of the old man in the chair. But this time he was able to regain his composure before he spoke.

            "Silence. You do not have the right to speak on this floor, and if you continue to disobey our rules you will not have the right to speak at all, anywhere."

            Stavlon stopped at that, halfway down the stairs. He looked first at Prevnevron, then at Rynn, and finally at the old man in the chair. Then he turned and returned up the stairs. The old man turned  his attention back to Prevnevron and Rynn.

            "Very well, Fifth Archmage, you may go. Wipe the boy's memory, our secrecy is in your hands." The venom dripping off the old man's last words was almost palpable.

            Prevnevron bowed slightly, then ushered Rynn out of the chamber. They took a few steps outside, and then Prevnevron put a hand on Rynn's shoulder and stopped him. Rynn looked up at him, scared. Prevnevron tried to smile gently at him, but it really didn't work. So he tried to say something comforting, "Don't worry Rynn, you're going to be fine,  you just won't remember anything that  happened today. That's all."

            After a moment, Rynn finally managed to ask a question, "Why does that man not like me?"

            Prevnevron felt his heart sink at this, and he answered as best he could,

            "It's isn't you he dislikes boy, it's me. We have had some very bad disagreements lately, and I have not, how shall I put this, done what he wanted. And that has made him very angry with me. Do you understand?"

            "Not really," Rynn started, "Why does he..."

            Prevnevron cut him off before he could ask anything else, "No more questions, Rynn. The less you know the better. Even though you won't remember today, you shouldn't hear or see anything you don't need too. Here, Shagon is coming.

            Rynn looked up and saw the manticore flying down toward them. He grabbed Rynn in one of his great paws and Prevnevron climbed on his back. When they were ready, Shagon lept into the air and flew up, and then back to where Rynn had first appeared on the cloud. Rynn could see that the sun was beginning to set, and he suddenly wondered if anything had happened to Stam. Soon they were on the ground in the spot where Rynn had appeared. When Shagon had released Rynn, and as Prevnevron was climbing down, Rynn asked,

            "What about Stam, will you have to make him forget too?"

            A sudden look of concern crossed Prevnevron's face, as he asked "Who is Stam?"

            He's my best friend, we were playing together when I found myself here.

            Prevnevron looked over at Shagon, who looked back as if knowing what question was about to  be asked.

            "There were no other trespassers, my lord" Shagon said, "I have scoured the cloud three times now."

            Prevnevron looked back at Rynn,"Did he see you dispappear?" he asked.

            Rynn looked down,"He might have, I don't know. He was with me when I started to feel dizzy."

            Prevnevron said nothing for a long time, looking first at the ground, then ot Shagon, then Rynn. At last, he spoke,

            "Well, I think not. At the most all he would have seen is you disappearing, and when you return you won't be able to tell him anything, because you won't remember anything. Are you ready?"

            Rynn felt scared again, "I guess, will it hurt?"

            "A little," Prevnevron replied, and then he reached out and touched Rynn's forehead. Rynn yelled out in pain and then crumpled to the ground, unconcious. Prevnevron looked over at Shagon with a pained look, and Shagon shook his head, and closed his eyes. Prevenvron frowned, and felt his heart become very heavy with what he had to do. He wondered at that moment if what he had heard about the Council really was true? Either way, he had to do this now to save the boy's life. He began to slowly incant short, powerful magic words, and trace strange patterns into the air. Soon his finger glowed with a faint blue glow and as moved his finger in the air, a slight blue trail would appear after it. Then, he reached down and touched the back of Rynn's head with his finger, and Rynn, still unconcious, screamed in pain. Prevnevron heard a voice utter an angry syllable, and he knew it was Shagon, disapproving. When Rynn's cry had died away, Prevnevron stood up, and looked around. Shagon turned back around to look at him, and both of them nearly had tears in thier eyes. Prevnevron made another gesture, and Rynn disappeared. He walked over and climbed up on Shagon's back. As the great beast prepared to leap into the air, Prevnevron said, "No, take me to temple first. Then we'll return to the castle."

            Shagon turned his head slightly to ask a question,"Will they let the boy live?"

            "I don't know, and I don't like not knowing. Come on", was his reply.           

            Rynn slowly opened his eyes. At first, he couldn't see anything, but he knew he was in a field because he could smell the hay. Then heard a familiar voice, "RYNN!!!" It was Stam. Slowly Rynn tried to get up, but he was so weak he could barely make it to his knees. Suddenly he felt someone grabbing his side and trying to help him up. Rynn blinked his eyes a few times and things slowly began to come into focus. He was in a field, and it was getting dark, but he had no idea how he got there. He looked over at Stam, who had the most frightened look on his face.

            "Where did you go Rynn? You've been gone for hours? You were standing there and you just disappeared." Stam's voice was shaking. "C'mon we've got to get home, tell me what happened while you were gone.." Stam started to walk them towards home. It was a few minutes before Rynn was able to gather enough of his senses to be able to speak.

            "How did I get here?" was all he could muster, and Stam looked at him incredulously.

            "We were looking for that rider and you just disappeared. Don't you remember? It was just a few hours ago.

            "Rider? What?" Rynn was clearly confused. Stam wanted to question him more, but somehow he knew that Rynn wouldn't be able to tell him anything. So , as the sun set, Stam took his best friend home.