Crimson Tattoo

[thurnwenthil]

the story started out as a short story for a contest.
in the end after one short story came another and and other.
which also could be seen as chapters.

Prologue

The Beginning: Betula And Shanr

The Second Legend Of Florion: Twin Beastmasters Part 1
The Second Legend Of Florion: Twin Beastmasters Part 2

Third Legend Of FLorion: Katelijne
Third Legend of Florion:Emerald Stranger
Third Legend Of Florion: Memories Of The Wyvern

[thurnwenthil]

Prologue

Image a world were everything is perfect, the perfect balance between nature and cities.
Wild flows. The air and waters unpolluted, the sky is light blue almost all the time were as the oceans and rivers are like crystals throughout the land. The population knew how to make metal vehicles but they didn't do it because of the noise. The cities would blend in with the forest around them or the fields. That planted was called Florion.

The safe heaven for everyone was only part of it, the light side everyone believed in, but deep hidden in the shadows there was the most darkest of all things.
The inhabitants of Florion almost didn't have a free will, every feeling of action was set in motion by some vague god that lived hidden.
They would always show themselves with their servants horses that could fly without wings in the colors of the god that would ride them.
When they chose a king or a queen it was for their lifetime, since their were not wars among humans to fight with.

Why would someone want to change this perfect world without hunger and war?
It was cruel at times when children of mixed blood were killed, but that was the law.
Why would anyone want to change that law?
At one point the gods were in disarray. A black stallion was born without a god, his tattoos were more beautiful and powerful that one before him, only the first breed of horses were as powerful as him. But he could not fly.
The most oldest of the god horses said to the black stallion “I think young one it is the best for you to run the world we know, to find the companion that is meant for you.”
“I will go right away elder.”

[thurnwenthil]

The Beginning: Betula and Shanr

Close to the horizon ran a beautiful black stallion, galloping without rest he had nothing to fear not even the humans when he crossed their lands.
The stallion saw a girl coming out from under the tree line. That girl raised her hand and said “Shanr, beautiful black stallion I want to ask you something, can you come near?” curious the stallion Shanr stopped galloping and stepped carefully towards the girl, when he came closer he saw that the girl wasn't a normal girl but a white nymph with one silver and one gold eye.
Why do I feel drawn to her? Was what Shanr was thinking.
The white haired nymph looked at the stallion up close and outed a word of surprise, “I am sorry, horse of the gods. I didn't know you were one, sorry that I called out to you”
Shanr shook his beautiful head, and the nymph saw a strange yet gorgeous pattern on the front of his head with the same type of art as on his flank down to his front leg. The white haired nymph reached out to Shanr to touch his head but a little bit before touching him she stopped, she felt guilt for wanting to feel this beautiful gods horse. Shanr looked in her magical eyes as if he wanted to read her mind the nymph answered with a soft voice “I am Betula, the birches are my brethren”
an other long gaze by Shanr gave him this answer
“I wanted to travel the world to see what else is out there I thought I could call a horse to be my companion but when you came closer, I saw I shouldn't have called out for you. This may sound rude but why weren't you flying trough the sky like most of your kind does?”
at that point Shanr started to change into a man in his early twenties
“because I like running over the ground and it is the only way to find my god”
“find your god?”
“yeah I was born without a god and the ability to fly. The journey I am on is to find both”
“how will you find your god?”
“I will know, when I see. It would be too hard to explain to a nymph like you”
“I am not really a pure blood nymph, that is the reason why I want go on this journey, to find more of my kind. I don't feel home with my mother, my father died, he was killed by nymph because he defiled my mother”
“you are a half breed? Why weren't you killed?”
“because my mother hide me until I could walk and I grew a lot faster than normal nymphs, I just turned 20 this spring. That is why I am allowed to leave the forest now. Please let me travel with you, I will not ride you just accompany you where you are going and maybe help in the search for your god”
Betula reached for his hand to touch Shanr, he didn't want her to touch him.
Shanr sudden move startled Betula she tripped over a poll of grass and she fell on top of Shanr. Shanr wanted to stand up almost right away but Betula unwilling prevented that. Their head butted when both of them fell back to the ground.

the second that their heads touched Shanr felt a reconnection to something he had lost. He wanted to feel that moment again. He stood up and helped Betula on her feet. There is was again, the feeling of not wanting to let her go. Shanr looked at Betula in the eyes to see if she also had felt it. But nothing in her face was showing. For a moment he wanted to touch her forehead again with his, not knowing what she would do and still afraid of being turned down he stopped just before touching her head.
Betula started to say “I shall go to fetch my backpack, so that I can travel with you”
Betula ran to the tree line and a few minutes later she came back with something on her back that wasn't big but it seemed too heavy for her. This time as a greeting he touched her head with his. For a second Betula had a feeling of dizziness, but that feeling disappeared quick. There was a feeling that didn't vanish, without thinking she touched her hair moving it a bit backwards, Shanr eyes fell on the red marks that were clearly visual on her pale skin, which remembered him of the white light that shinned in those nights when he was lonely and looked at the moon.
Shanr touched those markings and they started to change into a more feminine version of his head pattern. The feeling faded after a few minutes, then Shanr said “you can ride me, my Goddess”
“I, an halfbreed nymph?”
they started to walk towards the descending sun still discussing.
“yes because you are different than most nymph, isn't that tattoo on your head not the proof that you are a goddess?”
“you could have put it there when our head met by force, that time”
“no, those patterns are like finger prints to us, you always had them but they were hidden because I wasn't near you.”
“you are saying that every god or goddess has the same kind of tattoo's as their horses?”
“no, there isn't even a sign that the gods are our partners, all the more reason to presume that our bond is a rare thing”

years passed after that first meeting with the goddess, Betula didn't age and the same was to be said about her stallion. The bond these two mysterious creatures shared was legendary amongst the gods and nymphs but they weren't welcomed in both lairs.
Why you would ask, because of the standpoint they took towards humans and mythical creatures. Believing that it is good to live in harmony with each other and talk, instead of ignoring the other. Helping humans and mythical creature along the way.

One of the times that made the rest of them so angry was the saving of a monarch from a certain death by the hands of an assassin send by the same gods the worship. This one chapter in their adventures was the turning point for them to make their own way of living not ruled by humans or gods.
“Why did we decided to do this, Luna?”
“because it is the right thing, would you let this king being murdered because he is worshiped by his people?”
“true this time I don't agree, Luna you know the consequence? I don't mind that I can't see my kind again but for you to live without others to talk to”
“as long as you are by my side I can handle the most hideous torture, so moving trough time without meeting my mother or father. Is something I can take easily”
“then let's roll”
they didn't have an invitation for the party but that didn't matter, when they arrived at the door, they look a bit different than normal, Shanr had still his long dark hair but the tattoos had vanished, Betula looked really different with her chocolate colored hair and eyes, but even though they looked plain, there still was only the question how do you want to be announced Shanr answered “Lord Shanr and his Lady Betula of the Moon Birches”
while the officer called out their names Shanr whispered “I am going to look for the assassin, guard the monarch”
Betula gave a light kiss on Shanr cheek and said to him “at least give me the first and last dance after that I will guard the king with my life if necessary. We keep our mental link on just in case”
they walked down the stairs greeted the hosts with just a nod of their head. Which was something out of the question to most of the nobles who were already present at the party. The only ones who were allowed to do that were the nobles who had an higher rank and some of the royal families from this kingdom but never a stranger that just came into the kingdom.

There was music softly playing but none of the nobles were dancing, the reason was some etiquette that the dancing would start if everyone was present, yet nobody knew who would all come to the party, they thought everyone would come but they didn't know for sure so there were evenings were nobody would dance. Unless the hosts for that day would say that all the nobles that were invited were in the room present.
Shanr and Betula didn't care about those etiquette’s this would be their first dance before their dangerous tasks would start.

The dance they showed was something none of the nobles had seen before it was on the beat of the music, sensual yet gracious, passionate it discipline at time dancing together but also alone it had a unity it those combinations with steps only they knew. The music came to an end, both walked in different directions, which left a very dramatic impression, when Shanr vanished into the crowed, Betula danced towards the only royal member present at the moment. She gave him her hand while introducing herself “good evening I am Betula Luna of the Moon Birches, will you accompany me the rest of the evening?”
“but didn't you come here with your husband? Why isn't he here with you?”
“I can't explain that but if everything goes right I get the last dance of the evening with him to celebrate our victory. But in order to succeed I need to stay by your side”
“if you want you can do it but don't bother me too much and if you do something like this again I will throw you in the dungeon.”
“can you at least tell me your name?”
“insolent girl, for you it is My king”
“then you have a problem because you are not my king, nor am I a civilian of your kingdom, on top do that my rank in society is at least equal to yours”
“can you prove that?”
“you will have the evidence before the last dance, now please tell me your name so I know what to call you”
the monarch signed “okay you can call me Callian”
“were you the third inline to become this lands king?”
“how did you know, was the only one who survived the test”
“yeah that is kind of my family faults because of some miss believe they all share, you will understand later on”
the conversation ended with those words, mid way the party there still wasn't any dancing, only eating and gossiping about the ones that might or might not come.

Again did one of these new nobles something they shouldn't have.
Betula took this time Callian's hand and lead him on the dance floor. She was the one that took the lead in the dancing not the king, in this dance it wasn't really show yet the monarch felt that he was lead around by a girl that just reached adulthood. They danced a long time taking turns when the dance demanded to go straight, Whirling around. At one point Callian saw a change in Betula, she wasn't the plain looking girl anymore with chocolate brown hair. More nobles saw the change in her and starting to stand around the dance floor looking at a fairy dancing with their king, because of this Shanr had it easier to find the assassin. “Luna I found him, keep the people busy for an other 10 minutes”
“I will, but I think after this we should leave this place again”
“yeah you have shown what you really are”
for a moment Betula closed her eyes and she returned to her former self.
Her cloths that didn't fit her image when she had chocolate hair and eyes now, glowed in this form. The candle light gave her hair a silver flame while her duo colored and crimson tattoos gave her something outer worldly.
Since she showed who she was the assassin didn't take the trouble anymore to hide. He had drawn his invisible wind blade, Betula knew what kind of weapons he would use, she only shielded the monarch with her body and not drawing a weapon. Her powers are those of nature and here was nothing alive except humans. And she didn't want to use them, Betula saw her partner walking closer to the assassin she use a last trick, she let the crimson tattoo's on her body glow with a dark but bright red light. Shanr surprised the assassin and wounded him with a dagger in his stomach, Shanr walked towards the middle where his Luna was standing, he started to talk with his deep “ Callian this is the person who was out here tonight to kill you, my Luna wished to stop this. Because of her family wanting to kill you”
“then shouldn't she also be punished?”
“no because she already receiving her punishment, for what she has done she isn't allowed to go back to her home. Here is the assassin we are going”
he looked the silver-moon haired nymph in her eyes like he has done a hundred times “are you coming with me my Luna”
“of course my friend, my Shanr”
Shanr gave the assassin a push towards some soldiers that were near him.
Betula and Shanr started to walk to the door when Callian asked “who are you?
“we are a goddess and her horse of the gods but to be honest we are just lovers who want to find a place to stay” was Shanr's answer.

They heard the monarch shout “go after them”
but it was already too late, Shanr was already in his black stallion form and Betula was sitting on his back as they flow away ,towards the north.

After this incident they traveled more around the planet to look for a place to settle down, after a lot of years they found a well hidden valley, with their combined powers, it was easy to change it so that the gods couldn't see in it.
Then the hard way of living began, the people they had met and agreed with their ideas needed to be found again. If they weren't killed in the meantime by the gods they served in the beginning. Beast who were trapped half bloods like Betula, or others, they asked if they could raise them Shanr and Betula even begged for the human parent to be saved so he or she could raise their own kid. Sometimes both parents wanted to go with Betula and Shanr so they could be a real family what was very rare. For both it was a big plus that they were almost immortal

after almost a century and a half of building the place it was time to raise a family of their own. After a few misses, twins were born to them, they had a almost transparent tattoo on their heads and arms.
“we will have our hands full with these two”

[ZonieCatz]

Ayyy...

Can't wait to read! ^^

will do in next few days I hope!

[thurnwenthil]

Updated

[ZonieCatz]

Nice!
The prologue helps in understanding the story,
and I like the additions you've made to the original contest entry
^^
I'm guessing there's more to come?
..............................~(^-\.<
*Sniffs out a good story*

[thurnwenthil]

you already read the second part,
but that was only the beginning the adition has 4000 words in the end

[ZonieCatz]

Yay! ^^

[thurnwenthil]

yep need to wait to post it.

the name of the first part is Tiberius Remulus.
the second part name will be Helena Pasifica

haven't written the second part the first part is finished just need to wait for an week or so before posting it. the other one still need to be written, only wrote the prologue this afternoon

[ZonieCatz]

Was wondering about waiting between updates.
I'm impatient to post my whole story but thought maybe I shouldn't do it all at once.

Do you think I should wait a week or so before next update?