FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

We arrived at the gates of Nox'Hyem an hour before sunrise. The place was nearly impossible to enter until the sun was up, but I had a secret. I walked down the thirty foot path carved from the cliffs, and noticed movement in every single slit and crevice in the rock walls. The place was designed for attack and seige, and nothing could enter without permission. Luckily, I could obtain that.

I stopped before two spears sticking straight out of the ground, with one nailed to the two at my neck level. I raised my head over it and starred at the great statue of some ancient magician. Then I heard the voice of an old friend through one of the slits.

"Cairn? Is that you?"

"Yes, Neyclos, I'm home." About five hundred rocks moved and warped in shape to form a gate as the scarlet fox came running through and embraced me.

"I can't believe you're finally back! How's life been treatin' you?"

"Just fine, but... I have a certain request."

"You know I'll gladly give you money."

"No, I don't need any. Actually, it's something a bit bigger... I... The king's made an enemy, and it's one that he can't win against."

"Cairn, you know damn well we won't mettle in the affairs of the King-"

"I'm not asking for you to help the king. I'm asking for you to help the people he's hurt." Neyclos' head tipped up as he saw a few of the people look down the pathway. "He burned down their home. There's women and children among them. They need your help."

"Right... Right... Well, they can enter if one of them knows the answer to the arcane question. It's a formality, Cairn, you know that."

"We'll take it as the only option."

"Okay. Go on in, and we'll see if you ever see them again." I went through the door and joined a few others at the slits. Nearly thirty men and women came down the pathway, lead by Zander, Nrasky, Sebastion, and Duskle.

"Before you can enter, you must pass a small test. As a place of knowledge, learning, discovery, and for some, a safe haven from the troubling world, we aim to keep it that way. You can all enter, if even one of you can complete the following task. You have three options. You can answer an arcane question to prove your understanding and worth, you can try to beat me at an arcane duel, or you can provide a piece of arcane power. The choice is yours."

Zander suddenly spoke up, "Does it have to be specifically magic? I mean, if I could show you a device that perhaps acted like magic and the body reacted to it as if by magic, would that count?"

"Isn't that magic in and of itself?"

"No. Magic is uncertain. Science is not. However, it does contain a peice of magic to make the machine work."

"Hand it over, and pray tell it doesn't kill me. Otherwise all of you would suffer the same fate."

Zander took off his own helmet and handed it to Neyclos. "Put it on, and hit the button on the side."

He ended up having to help Neyclos who didn't understand what he meant. He walked over and did something to the helmet, and Neyclos' eyes widened incredibly fast. He took off the helmet and handed it to Zander.

"Okay, you're clearly a master of witchcraft. Go on in, all of you." Neyclos turned around and together we lead them down hallways and corridors lined with fancy tapestries, paintings, and sculptures. We finally stop at one corridor and tell them to stay in there for the time being. We all badly needed sleep, and I think I passed out before having what should've been breakfast.

* * *

I woke up in the arms of someone I didn't know. Their arms were strong and muscular, their fur was incredibly soft and warm, and their breath felt hot on my neck. I could hear a strange sound in the background, but couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded like a voice, but also... not like a voice. It was strange, and I was fully woken up just trying to rack my brain trying to figure out what I was listening too.

After what must've been half an hour of me laying there boredly, the person holding me rolled over, and I suddenly found myself starring at the ceiling. I tried to move away from their arms, but they just squeezed tighter and my head bumped up into their chin, which felt like metal. I was officially confused and bit their arm to wake them up.

With a sudden flash of movement, light, and pain, I found myself slammed hard against the opposite wall, with Zander standing upright, wearing only his helmet and trousers, but holding two massive blades. He glarred intensely at me, then slowly realized what he was doing.

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Maybe... Why... Why were you holding me?"

"Oh... Well, you fell asleep, and there weren't any spare blankets, mostly because I gave mine up, and you were really cold, and I couldn't just let you freeze to death-"

"You like me, don't you?"

"I-... Yes..."

"Well, I'm very grateful for a compliment like that, but I'm a bit more interested in taking down Crogar."

"Yeah... I get it."

"And... What the hell is that sound?"

"Oh, this?" He pulled off his helmet and messed with something, and the sound was suddenly audible through out the room. It was a strange tune, with lyrics and meaning. The instruments being played how ever weren't any I recognized. They all sounded strange and unusual.

"Yeah..."

"It's... It's an artifact."

"Artifact?"

"Yeah. From another time, before the world was like this."

"Hasn't it always been like this?"

"Well... Maybe. I just know there's a lot of really weird crap that washes up on the shores at the Alecian Harbor. It all comes in big wooden crates, has meaning, and... is like our language."

"Oh. So how does this tie in to the enchanted helmet?"

"It's not enchanted. In fact, the only part of it that's magic is this little emerald here." He gestured to a green shiny thing on the inside. "It generates a form of energy that powers this. This is the artifact. It says Sony Walkman on the side, but I don't know what that means. It has this massive list of song after song after song on it. They're all from another time, another world, another life... I just wish I could find out where it's from and go there."

"Huh... Why did you put it in the helmet, though?"

"Oh, well, I found that if I block out all other sounds, only listening to the music, it helps me fight. I only think about the music and the combat, and the music seems to line up with the combat, so it works."

"So it's not witchcraft at all! You literally cheated my dad into getting inside!"

"Wait, Neyclos is your dad?"

"Well, no... I was abandoned as a child. He raised me."

"Abandoned? Who... Who abandons their child?"

"My parents, apparently."

"That's... That's not right."

"Eh, I don't care. I grew up with magic now, so I'm happy."

"How can you just brush that off like that? I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my parents."

"Well that's the thing. Neyclos is like a father to me. I may not care for my actual parents, but I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him. He's always been there for me, always encouraging me to do what I want... Like a parent."

"Like a parent? Tsk, my parents wanted me to go on and be a merchant, and here I am, one of the Army's best soldiers."

"Yeah, 'cause you have a stupid helmet."

"It's awesome, okay! It's got some songs on here that... Really helped me through some stuff. This helmet means more to me than just a tool, it's something that keeps me safe, from the world around me, and from my own thoughts. I don't think about myself when I listen to the music, but I think about the music and the world around me. It focuses my reasoning and helps me fight, or do anything at all."

"So why do you sleep with it on?"

"It's got some really nice songs on it that... Really calm me down. I put padding on the inside of it so that not only would it better protect my head against blows, but it'd be more comfortable to sleep with. That's why I always wear it. I'm sure I've got faded lines on my neck and head from where it's been."

"Oh..." There was an awkward pause, and I realized I was pretty hungry. I went down to the main area and ate what felt like breakfast too me. It was weird, but I didn't really care. I was just happy that everyone survived.