kiss my eyes

[exo] Eclipse 2/?

2013-03-10T20:39:37Z

Title: Eclipse
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: OT12
Word count: 4,061
Genre: fantasy, !MAMA, AU
Summary: A mash-up of sorts of MAMA, Game of Thrones and Avatar. An epic-fantasy tale of twelve people connected by a force beyond their powers and tied by the game of life. When a shadow covers the sun, when the evil raises its head, it's up to the Twelve save the nations.

A/N: This chapter is almost twice the length of the previous one, and you can expect chapters of such length in the future. Let's us enjoy some exciting fantasy, while we all await the glorious comeback of the twelve.
I'm considering adding direwolves in this. I mean, EXO seems to be fond of wolves :D ~~kidding, no wolves probably,~~
anyway, do leave some feedback!

<<< chapter 1

“Straighten your right leg; bend your left elbow a little. Too much. A little less. Good. Now relax your back. Don’t slump.”

“I’m not slumping,” Tao muttered, a little annoyed.

His new instructor was a prick. Tao doubted he actually knew wushu himself, and yet there he was, chastising Tao for not getting a basic fighting pose right. Tao was sure his stance, which he had been practicing for years now, was flawless.

“Don’t talk back!” The instructor barked, smacking his back; Tao gritted his teeth, clenching his fists with hands still in a fighting position. The instructor circled his stiff form, and when he seemed to find no flaws, let out a grump. “Not bad. But could be better.”

Tao let go of the pose and straightened up, his tall frame towering over the small instructor. For such a young age, Tao was ridiculously tall. He could see his height intimidated his new instructor a lot.

“Take a break, you need it.” The instructor- Tao had actually forgotten to ask his name and he hadn’t introduced himself- rubbed his forehead with his sleeve, wiping away drops of sweat from his forehead. “I’ll go look over the other trainees now. I will be back shortly.”

Tao only nodded, watching the scrawny man hurry off across the dry, dusty yard, into one of the dark buildings on the sides. Tao had a feeling his instructor only wanted to get under the shade. The sun was very intense today, burning bright and strong, and the usual black uniform of the Protectors only made it much, much harder to tolerate. Tao was hot. His hair clung to his forehead, wet with perspiration, like a black headband. He brushed it away, but it fell back again. He closed his eyes for a moment, but in the extensive light, he saw red instead of black.

“You shouldn’t be out in the sun during midday.”

Tao turned around, snapping his eyes open. A man, clad in the usual Protector uniform was approaching him. His round face was smiling as he regarded Tao friendly.

“Chief Xiumin.” Tao bowed hurriedly. Xiumin was the instructor of Tao’s training group, but he also held the rank of Chief officer- a relatively high rank among the Protectors. He was also a Wielder and Tao admired him for that, though he couldn’t understand why a skilled wielder like Xiumin got stuck training the future Protectors.

Xiumin stopped just a few feet away from him and raised his eyebrows. “You’re drenched. The heat is unbearable today, isn’t it?” Xiumin reached out to pat the boy’s back. “Come inside for a bit. You’ll cool down.” He motioned for Tao to follow him; Tao did, and the Chief led the boy away from the training grounds and towards one of the buildings. “You shouldn’t be out training today.”

Tao sighed heavily when they walked under the shade the buildings casted. “My new personal instructor thinks my technique is lacking.” He intended to sound all nonchalant and manly, but it still came out a little whiny.

Xiumin arched his eyebrows, grinning. Even after a year of training, Tao still couldn’t get used to this Chief’s friendly attitude towards his students. ”Oreo is such an ass. You’re unlucky to have gotten him.” Xiumin chuckled when Tao raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t Oreo your new instructor? He’s a new Protector, and he thinks he’s got the right to put the trainees through a hard time.” He clicked his tongue. “You and another kid, Baekhyun I think is his name, were very unfortunate to fall under his command.” They entered the building, and he let out a sign of relief. “Aw, I hate all the heat in this place.”

Tao looked around the nearly empty room- only two other trainees were there, sipping what looked like water, but Tao knew to be a vitamin drink, for the trainees’ bones and muscle, Tao’s trainer’s once said. It was dim; the windows were draped with heavy curtains to block out the sunlight in hopes to keep the temperature lower inside. It was working, because inside it was significantly cooler than the outside. But Xiumin still looked bothered and hot.

“Heavens, is it hot.”

“I’m used to the heat, it’s nothing unusual. I’ve lived like that my entire life,” Tao said. It was true. He had been born on the outskirts of the Ordinars’ Capitol, and he had joined the Protectors’ training group, he had never been to anywhere the north, where the climate was cooler. Most of the Ordinars’ territory was in the south, where boiling hot summers and warm winters were the norm.

Xiumin got a dreamy look in his eyes. “I was born in the north. Well, not far in the north- but sometimes we got to see snow during the winter.” He flashed Tao another smile. “I miss home sometimes. Especially in the summer. I can’t stand the heat,” he repeated, and fetched two glasses of the translucent liquid from a big table near the entrance. He clutched the glasses tight, until frost started creeping up their surface. Tao watched the display of the Chief wielding with wonder, and took the glass Xiumin offered him.

The glass was cool in Tao’s hands, and he clutched it tighter, putting it to his lips to take a short, fresh sip of the tasteless drink. The icy liquid travelled down his body, spreading a pleasant coldness inside.

Xiumin sat down on one of the simple hard wooden chairs situated next to the table, and Tao followed suit. He felt a little more relaxed, and before he knew it, a question he had always wanted to ask Xiumin escaped his lips.

“Why did you leave the Wielders’ territory?”

Xiumin drained his glass, and exhaled. “Someone had to. My social standing wasn't good enough. It was this, or being the lowest among the Elementals. ”

Tao sipped his drink, only to have an excuse not to answer. He knew that the Wielders were obsessed with blood purity and ranks, but it still seemed overly stupid to him. Did it really matter who your parents were? His own were ordinary workers, and it never seemed like a problem. But of course, he was an Ordinar, not a Wielder. He possessed no power, he was just a human. The best he could do, the highest he could go, was become a general Protector. Protectors were the army of Ordinars, that served the Ordinars. That’s why Tao had been practicing material arts since he was a little boy; that’s why he was working his ass off, and putting up with annoying idiots like his instructor.

He couldn’t afford to fail.

Xiumin fidgeted in his seat. “I might have to go away soon, though.”

Tao’s head snapped to the other guy. “What? Why?” He didn't want Xiumin to go. He was one of the few Wielders around the camp and he was definitely the only one Tao liked.

Xiumin looked like he hesitated, but only for a few short moments. “ Didn't you hear the rumours? About Ordinars developing an ability to block the Wielders’ powers?”

Tao frowned. “They’re not true, are they?” Taking away a wielder’s ability was beyond imaginable.

Xiumin shrugged. “I don’t know. Those are only rumours. But my friend in the Capitol- the Wielders’ Capitol, of course- said that the numbers of Elementals have been dropping. I might be drawn out to join them.”

Tao frowned. Everyone knew that lots of Wielder parents had been having Ordinary children lately. When it happened, the children were taken away to the Ordinars’ cities and left to be raised by the Ordinars’ families who either simply wanted kids or had their own offspring with powers taken to the Wielders’ cities. The number of Wielder children born into Ordinary families was a lot smaller than the other way around though and it was becoming an issue for the Wielders.

“Well.” Xiumin stood up, breaking Tao out of his thoughts. Tao pushed himself up too. The Wielder smiled, patting the boy’s shoulder. “I have to go. We’ve got an Elementals General visiting in a day. Lots of boring stuff to do… But you should stay here. I’ll have a word with Oreo. You’re under my supervision, so he better not play bigger than he is.” He smiled and stretched out his arms, dropping them back to his side right after.

Even before it happened, Tao knew Xiumin’s hands would knock over the glass the Chief had left on the table. He didn’t even have time to warn the older man before the glass was already tipping over the edge of the table, about to fall down. Xiumin yelped in surprise, his hand shooting out to catch the little object, but missing it.

Tao reacted fast. Like in slow motion he saw the remains of the contents of the glass spilling out and reached out his hand- which seemed to move a lot faster than the falling object- and grabbed the glass. Then he set it back on the table with a soft clack. “Careful.”
Xiumin gaped at him. “You caught it.”

Tao shrugged. His reflexes had always been exceptionally good. It was part of his success in material arts.

“I didn’t even see your hand moving,” Xiumin murmured, his expression a bit darker than it had been before. “How did you do that?”

Tao scrunched up his nose. “Reached out and caught it.” He gave the Chief a weird look. How else could he have done that?

Xiumin stared at him for a long moment. “Well, that was impressive.” He shook his head as if trying to rid his head of unwanted thoughts. “Now, I truly need to go. See you around.”

“See you.” Tao watched the Chief walk off in a hurry, stumbling a bit on his way out.

As Xiumin opened the door that led out of the building, the smooth glass on the table shimmered in the light, not a scratch on its smooth surface.

Kris huffed in irritation as his bodyguard struggled to keep up with his long strides. And Kris was not going to slow down. When bad mood hit him, he always found himself irrationally annoyed by his guard’s stoic face, which the latter somehow managed to always keep void of any emotion. Kris wasn’t much of a smile-er himself, but he preferred it when others were easy to read. And Sehun wasn’t. So the last thing he wanted right now was to be in his company.

“Kris! Kris!”

Kris came into a halt, and Sehun almost smack walked into him, stopping just inches away from his body. While Kris scoffed, Sehun calmly stepped back, allowing Kris some space, but looking relieved he was going to get a little rest from chasing his Prince.

Kris scrunched his eyebrows as Luhan rounded up the corner, hurrying to him, panting. He had been the one who had called Kris just now.

“Heavens, you walk fast,” Luhan said, an accusing tone to his voice, as he reached Kris and his bodyguard. “Good day, Sehun.” He nodded to the hard-faced Wielder.

Kris’ eyebrows settled low over his eyes, noting the dark bags under his friend’s eyes. “What is it, Luhan?”

Luhan shot a lightning-fast glance at Sehun, before smiling at Kris slightly. “I haven’t seen you in a while. I stayed up waiting for you last night, but you never came.”

Sehun fidgeted, noticeably uncomfortable.

Luhan and Kris’ close friendship had long been fuelling the gossip. Rumours about Luhan staying up late, waiting for Kris, who sneaked out of important Meetings and ditched his bodyguard- all for the other man- were very popular among the female population of the Capitol. It didn’t help that Kris and Luhan really did meet in secret, except not to do anything inappropriate, but to talk without being disturbed or overheard. Luhan had little free time, Kris was very busy too, and it usually was near impossible for them to meet during the day. Besides, the Elders were convinced their friendship was unhealthy for Luhan’s Sight and their disapproval, though having no effect on Kris, bothered Luhan. Kris still couldn’t understand why, but he wasn’t one to pry for information his friend wasn’t willing to give. So it all resulted in secret meetings late at night, and since Kris always had to get rid of Sehun first, he had long started to suspect that Sehun was convinced those rumours were true.

While Kris liked to pretend it didn’t bother him, he didn’t like how Luhan was perking up people’s imagination whenever he got the chance.
One glance at Luhan’s gleaming eyes proved to Kris the former was throwing about misleading words on purpose again.

“We need to talk,” Kris muttered, grasping Luhan’s forearm and tugging him away from Sehun, down the marble corridor. Kris hoped Sehun wouldn’t follow, and he didn’t, probably afraid of seeing something he shouldn’t if he did.

Luhan let Kris drag him until they turned a corner, disappearing from Sehun’s sight. Then he pulled his arm free, and smirked at Kris, smoothing down his shirt. “You always get angry.”

“You ought to stop doing that,” Kris said, regarding Luhan warily. “He’s convinced we sleep together.”

“Don’t we?” Luhan’s lips tugged upwards again at Kris’ expression.

Kris resisted rolling his eyes and took on a different tactic, changing the topic abruptly. “So, what’s the deal? You wanted to talk?”

As if by an invisible hand, Luhan’s smile got torn off his face. “Yes.”

Kris’ face hardened at the note of dread in Luhan’s voice. “You heard about last night’s Meeting?” He didn’t know how Luhan could have, since it was forbidden to talk about what was being said in the Meetings, but he could not think of anything else that could have upset Luhan so much.

Luhan got a suspicious look on his face. “No. But you’re going to tell me all about it now.”

Kris mentally cursed himself, but nodded. He was not going to hide anything from Luhan, the only person he could actually trust. Screw the Protocol and its idiotic rules.

He didn’t want to risk being overheard though, so he motioned for Luhan to follow. “Let’s go to my room.”

His chambers were not too far from where they were, and soon Luhan was seated on a big velvet armchair in Kris’ room, looking at the younger man, listening to a recap of yesterday’s Meeting. Luhan remained silent the whole time Kris talked, but his gaze had hardened noticeably when Kris finished.

“So that’s why.”

Kris arched an eyebrow. “What?”

Luhan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples slowly. Kris knew Luhan usually did that when he wanted to sort out his thoughts, so the Prince waited patiently- though he was anything but patient- until Luhan opened his eyes again, ready to speak.

“I had a vision last night. No, wait.” Luhan raised his hand in protest when Kris opened his mouth, a disapproving look on his face. “Hear me out. It was not abstract this time, and it was not a dream either. It was a vision, and I know exactly what it means.”

“Well, that’s a first,” Kris muttered.

Luhan chose to ignore his words, running a hand through his hair, bracing himself to finally say out loud what had kept him awake all night. “A war is coming.”

Kris set his lips into a firm line, his infamous hard expression falling into place. He had heard about Luhan’s visions, which usually consisted of lots of symbols and signs that could basically be explained into hundreds of different meanings, depending on what one wanted them to mean. Needless to say, Kris was not so quick to believe them.

Luhan frowned. “Stop with that look. I know you have doubts about most of my visions, and even I sometimes don’t understand them, but this time it was different. You don’t know what it felt like.” Luhan’s voice wavered a tiny bit, but enough for Kris to pick up on the change. “It’s real, Kris. I Saw it. The blood, the fire, I felt the pain.” He paused, his ragged breathing the only sound in the room. “It’s real, Kris. If it’s not real yet, then it will be soon. I saw the Twelve, too.”

Kris couldn’t help but snort at this.

Luhan shot him an annoyed look, his earlier glee long gone. “I know you don’t believe in it. But it’s not a fairy tale. It’s real.”

“I think our opinions differ on this matter.” Kris crossed his arms, frowning. The Legend of Twelve was a long, childish tale about a tree and an evil being that nearly killed the tree but resulted in only dividing it in two parts. The tale ended with a prophecy which said that when the two parts met, a war would break out, and only the Twelve could stop it and return the balance to the world.

Quite a fairy tale, if you asked Kris.

Luhan’s face hardened. “You cannot deny a war is about to happen. From what you told me, you understand that the Leading Elder has chosen to break the fundamental Law. If he’s going to start bothering the Ordinars, you know they won’t hold back. They’ll strike back, and then the two sides will start a war. And if the Ordinars really can take away one’s wielding…” Luhan trailed off, looking away from Kris. “My visions are real, Kris. Just because it’s an unusual ability, it doesn’t mean it’s not trustworthy.”

Kris stilled. Luhan and his Talent. They danced around the topic a lot, but had never actually talked about it before. Kris knew Luhan was the Prophesier, that he supposedly Saw visions about the future, but it was all too vague for Kris’ concrete nature.

He stared at Luhan, willing him to turn his head, but the older man didn’t budge. From Luhan’s tense shoulders and his refusal to look straight at Kris, the latter knew Luhan was upset. Upset with him.

Kris felt a need to explain his views, to defend himself against Luhan’s indirect accusation of not believing in his powers; but the truth was, Kris wasn’t sure how much he actually trusted what Luhan Saw. Like many, Kris had always been a little wary of Talents and their abilities, which didn’t fall under the usual categories of fire, wind, water and earth. Kris wielded fire, and it was simple enough. He knew how his inner energy worked, how and why flames responded to his chakra shifting. But no one knew why Talents could do what they did. There was no explanation for how or why Luhan Saw visions.

And Kris liked to understand everything and did not believe in “magic”.

“Look,” Luhan said, and Kris snapped out of his thoughts, focusing on his friend, who had turned to meet his eyes. “Let’s not talk about this. I’ll tell you someday.” Luhan blinked, his expression turning blank. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in what I Saw. Or even in the Twelve. The Elders are doing the wrong thing by angering the Ordinars.”

Kris nodded, a little relieved that Luhan was staying clear of the sensitive subject of Seeing. “Yes,” Kris agreed. “I don’t like where this is going. It could result in a war.” Luhan’s expression turned into one that resembled a silent see, that’s what I’m saying too much, and Kris pushed himself off the wall, suddenly in need of fresh air. “Sehun’s probably worried. We took a long time. Anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Luhan didn’t seem satisfied with their conversation, but took the cue to leave and stood up. “No. Let’s go. I’m already horribly late for the daily Ceremony.”

They both headed for the door, Luhan trailing just behind Kris. The latter was already almost out of the room, when Luhan called him softly.

“Mm?” Kris paused in the doorway, turning to give the other man a questioning look over his shoulder.

Luhan’s expression was once again innocently blank. “Do you believe that Ordinars can take away one’s wielding, though?”

It took Kris a few seconds to answer and all he came up with was a disappointing “I don’t know.”

“The check-up is not due yet.”

“Special orders,” Suho growled, growing impatient.

But the Ordinar behind the glass wall didn’t seem affected. “I have not been informed about any special orders.” He mocked the last two words, giving Suho a sour look. “There are still two months until the annual check-up, therefore, you will not be granted permission to enter.”

Suho did his best to appear calm. “I want to talk to your supervisor.”

The Ordinar’s frown deepened. “My boss. We have no supervisors here.”

“You should,” Suho muttered under his breath, barely containing his annoyance, and added in a louder voice, “All right then, I want to see your boss.”

The Ordinar grunted. “He’s not on duty today.”

Suho could barely contain his temper anymore. He was usually a calm guy, but this was even beyond his patience.

He slapped his hands down on the wooden table separating him and the passive Ordinar, making the latter jump up. “Look,” Suho growled. “Send someone to get him, or let me pass. I have no time to waste and you’re being very unhelpful.”

The Ordinar stumbled to his feet, looking a little shaken, but determined. “You Elementals have no powers here. You cannot order us around.”

“Wrong,” Suho hissed, leaning in a little, annoyed at the glass wall between them. It really took away from his act of intimidation. “I am an Elemental General, and I have the right to order anyone around. Including Ordinars like you. If you don’t want to lose your job, I suggest you do as you’re told,” he snarled, unable to play friendly and polite anymore.

“Damned Wielders.” The Ordinar didn’t even bother to keep his voice down, as he turned his back to Suho. “All right, all right, I’ll get the boss to talk to you.” He left through the small black door at the back of his small office, muttering angry curses all the while.

Suho straightened up, smoothing down his uniform which had ridden up his torso a little during his intimidation show. He knew Ordinars were painfully slow with everything they did, and he cursed his bad luck for the nth time that day for having been stuck with such an unfortunate task. He was a General, a title that was the highest among the Elemental forces, yet there he was, sent on a mission to investigate a bunch of nonsensical rumours about Ordinars who supposedly trained in secret camps and then attacked Wielders who just happened to lose their powers during said attacks.

In his humble opinion, those rumours were the result of someone’s imagination gone wild.

But, as always, the Elders had a different opinion. The Leading Elder had ordered Suho to inspect one of the biggest Protector training camps in the whole country, and it just happened to also be the camp furthest in the south. It was an interesting fact, one Suho had learned through his years as an Elemental soldier, that the further in the south people lived, the slower and lazier they were.

And the Ordinar, who had walked off to fetch his boss, only backed Suho’s theory when he made Suho wait for what seemed like an eternity before he came back.

Alone.

Suho was close to giving up. “Where’s your boss?”

The Ordinar gave him a stinky eye, already plopping down into his chair. “Couldn’t come.” Before Suho could open his mouth to protest, he shoved a paper through the little window in the glass that separated him and Suho. “But here’s your pass. My boss has signed it.”

Suho snatched the paper, and with a dry thanks stormed out of the stuffy office, not even flinching as the doors slammed behind him.

He clutched the paper in his hands, almost crumpling it, as he mentally groaned. The sun was already long past the zenith, and it had been far from it when he had first entered the Ordinar’s office.

He was running late, and it had only been the first of the ten Ordinar checkpoints on his way to the training camp.

It was going to be a long journey.

-----------------
chapter 3 >>>

[EXO] Eclipse (1/?)

2013-02-28T20:38:06Z

Title: Eclipse
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: ot12
Word count: 2,878
Genre: fantasy, !MAMA, AU
Summary: One prophecy. Two countries. One war. Twelve people, and a nation to save.

A/N: This is a high fantasy story. For now, I'm thinking about leaving this ot12, but there will be plenty of bromance going on. The story has been inspired strongly by MAMA music video and a little bit b the Song of Ice and Fire series, with a fraction of Avatar thrown in. I appreciate any comments!

Prologue<<<

“Prince.”

Heads ducked as a tall man, clad in a snow-white shirt and pants embroidered with royal black swirls, made his way through rows of seats and to the round Elite table. People kept their eyes cast downwards, murmuring silent greetings as he passed, though their hands remained by their sides and only a few put their fists over their heart in a respectful gesture.

Kris barely paid any attention to them. He bowed his head in a silent greeting, and pulled a heavy chair closer, sitting down. The elaborate design of his chair made sitting painful, and Kris fidgeted, already feeling his back turn stiff. The Elder on his right gave him a half-sneer, half-smile, and Kris gritted his teeth, freezing his body in a confident but uncomfortable position. He’d much rather suffer through a few hours of backache than let one of the old men laugh at him.

They laughed at him enough as it was already.

One of the old men seated around the oak table stood up, clearing his throat loudly. The hushed conversations died out as if an invisible knife had cut off all talk; everyone’s eyes fell on the Leading Elder. The Elder stood straight, his chin held high. His glaringly white hair, left long and brushed until they shone, streamed down his spotted long face, traced with deep wrinkles and folds of saggy skin. He was the oldest of them all, and he had the privilege of starting the Meetings, which were held according to a centuries-old protocol. The protocol was strict, imposing pompous and time-consuming ceremonies, which Kris had long started to detest. “The Leading Elder.” There was a short pause after his introduction, before he continued. ”Now that the Prince has granted us with his presence…” The Elder pulled his lips up in a cold smile, nodding in Kris’ direction, though he avoided direct eye contact with the young man. “… I announce the beginning of the 26th Meeting!”

Kris pressed his lips into a firm line. His face settled into the usual frown- an expression he had adopted thanks to the old men in the room. The last two years have changed him a lot; he no longer admired the Elders who ruled the country. Even though he was now one of them.
Because he was now one of them.

“The Prince shall now enlighten us on our main concern in this Meeting.”

Kris, lips still smacked tightly together, stood, his tall young frame sticking out like a sore thumb in the room full of short old wrinkled people. He kept his gaze fixed somewhere over all of the Elders’ heads, looking out of the glass walls to the enormously bright and flamboyant sunset. “Kris. Prince of the Wielders. The 24th Elder.” He didn’t wait the required five seconds after his introduction before continuing, ”…there have been several cases of attacks on Wielders in the past week.”

Soft murmurs met his words. It was obvious only the Leading Elder knew about the incidents, as everyone else looked anywhere from mildly surprised to shocked; a few even gasped, clasping their wrinkled hands over their mouths, muttering something in astonishment.

Kris kept his back straight and braced himself for what he knew was coming.

The Leading Elder drummed his fingers against the hard surface of the table, looking somewhere at Kris’ forehead. “Who is responsible?”

Kris did his best to keep a straight face, the Elder’s refusal to meet his eyes not unnoticed. “No one has been proven guilty as of yet.”

“But..?” The Elder prompted, raising his eyebrows. His calmness was unnerving.

Kris’ brows settled low over his eyes. He hadn't thought the old man would know about it. “There are suspects.”

“Suspects?” The Leading Elder tilted his head to the side, still looking somewhere above Kris’ eyes.

“Yes.” Kris was not going to cooperate. If the Elder wanted information, he was going to have to work for it.

“Who are the suspects?”

“People,” Kris replied curtly.

A few Elders snorted.

The Leading Elder’s gaze turned frosty. “Are they Wielders?” He leaned over the table a little, clasping his hands in front of him. “Are the suspects wielders?”

Kris almost huffed in distaste. The Elder obviously knew the answer and only wanted Kris to be the one to deliver the news.

“No.”

“No?” The Elder raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. His presence seemed to grow bigger, as the other Elders started whispering, eyes wide. “So they are Ordinars?”

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, eyes fixed on Kris, waiting for his answer.

Kris closed his eyes for a mere moment. “Yes.”

The table erupted in loud, obnoxious shouts. For a few confusing seconds everything was a mess, the protocol forgotten; Kris crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a throbbing headache pound on his head. But then the Leading Elder, who -there was no mistaking it- was enjoying it, clapped his hands, and the table shook loudly, halting the noisy talks once again. “Silence! The Prince has not finished speaking.”

But Kris had finished speaking. There was nothing left to say. There have been seven cruel attacks on common Wielders who lived in the far end of the country, close to the borders, and three Ordinars have been suspected to be guilty. That was all he knew; that was all there was to it. At least that was all Kris knew to be true.

But the Elders were expecting more. The Leading Elder stretched his lips until he was grinning. The big smile looked almost uncivilized on his usually unresponsive face. “Where are the suspects now?”

Kris uncrossed his arms and tried to catch the old man’s eyes, but the latter turned his gaze away quickly. “I don’t have such information.”

“They have not been seized and brought to the trial for justice to be carried out?”

“No.”

“And why not?” The Elder’s voice was soft as silk.

“The Ordinars have refused to pass them on to us.”

“Why?”

Kris hated being interrogated. He was used to people answering to him, not the other way around. But it was different in the Meetings, where for once his heritage meant nothing. Being the lowest among the Elders was what made Kris loathe these meetings in the first place. He hated how his rank forced him into the Elder circle, but his age left him in a position where he was basically a nobody among them.

“Why?” The Elder repeated, when Kris hesitated to answer.

“I wish for a permission to speak,” one of the Elders said. He was one of the younger ones, though still old enough to be Kris’ grandfather. He was of a lower rank, as his seat which was close to Kris’ own, indicated.

The Leading Elder’s eyebrows knitted together, but he nodded. “You may speak.”

The Elder stood up, and Kris sat down, as it was against the protocol to stand while someone else was speaking. “Alias. The 21st Elder,” he introduced himself. Everyone knew each other, but the protocol was important. “I have a question. Were the attacked Wielders injured?”

Heads turned to Kris, and he didn’t even bother to stand up. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t they defend themselves?”

“They couldn’t.”

Alias tugged on his white tunic nervously. “What was the reason they, who possess abilities, couldn’t defend themselves against powerless Ordinars?”

“Prince. One has to stand up when he speaks,” the Leading Elder cut in dryly, before Kris could open his mouth.

Kris ignored the remark, remaining seated. Standing would have been way more comfortable, given the horrible chair, but pride was more important than comfort. “I was told they couldn’t wield the moment it happened.” His own voice betrayed him as it let a note of uncertainness creep into it.

“They were beyond their limit.” It was a statement, not a question.

Kris kept a straight face on. There it was. The big revelation. “No. They say their inner energy levels were fine. Their wielding had been taken from them, temporarily though.”

“What?” Alias gave way to a disbelieving chuckle. Everyone else around the table seemed to find Kris’ words ridiculous too. Only the Leading Elder was listening intently, his eyes sharp. “We all know that is not possible. Wielders cannot lose their abilities once they develop. That is just not possible.”

Not a muscle moved in Kris face. "They claim it happened.”

“They must be lying.”

Kris didn’t answer.

The seven victims had been attacked at a different time and place, but they all said the same thing: they claimed having been unable to wield at the time of the attacks, after being touched by the Ordinars. Nothing like this had ever happened before, so Kris could understand the disbelieving looks the Elders gave him. But at the same time, he could not see a reason for the victims to lie. Those people had been severely injured, and only lived because the Ordinars had spared them. It was still a mystery how the Ordinars had gotten past the Border, or how they managed to take away the wielding of their victims, but one thing was certain. The peaceful ignorance between the Ordinars and Wielders had been shattered.

They could no longer live side by side.

“Prince, do you believe they are lying?” The Leading Elder was looking at Alias as he asked this.

Kris had to be truthful. “No.” His face hardened when his answer brought upon another wave of hushed whispers.

“I heard rumours,” one of the more important Elders said, rising to his feet. Kris knew him as one of his father’s friends. “Kimo, the 6th Elder,” he said, before continuing in a hoarse voice, “Rumours have been circulating around the city among the lower ranked Wielders. I have sources,” he added, upon seeing the others’ faces. The Elites, especially the Elders, didn’t mix with the lower ranks and such ‘friendships’ were not accepted by the nobles. “There are rumours about Ordinars having secret centres in the Protector training camps. They say that young Ordinars are being recruited and trained to take away Wielders’ powers.”

Kris frowned. He had never heard anything like that. Then again, he lived in the prestigious part of the city, where people were too occupied entertaining themselves and looking down on others to care about mysterious attacks on the other side of the country.

“We must investigate these rumours,” Alias spoke, looking scandalized. “Why haven’t we heard about this before?”

Because you never listen to what the common people have to say, Kris thought, but his lips remained pressed together firmly.

Kimo sat back down, looking almost guilty to have brought up the rumours, and the Leading Elder nodded. “Very well. We will send a few Elemental Generals to investigate the Protectors’ training camps. It is best we take things seriously. However, we will not stop here. If the attacks continue, we will take action.”

Kris didn't like the authority in the Elder’s voice. Since when was he the one to rule the country? With Kris’ father dead, he, the prince, was the highest-ranked person in the country. And yet, there he was, forced to answer to a bunch of old people who didn’t even know what happened in between the city walls, let alone outside them.

Kris preferred not to think that he barely knew anything about that either.

“The Ordinars.” The Leading Elder raised his voice. “They have posed as a threat to us ever since the human race was divided into two. Us, strong Wielders, who are gifted with the powers to manipulate earth, fire, water and air; and the Ordinars, who have remained ordinary humans with ordinary goals and abilities, or lack of them. The Order of Two states that the gifted and the deprived are to live under the same sky. But is this really possible in these difficult times?” He rose to his feet- he didn’t have to, the protocol let him speak seated- but he did anyway, opening his arms wide. “We have long been aware of the hatred among the Two. It is only natural that those who have less envy those who have more.”

Kris turned his gaze on the Leading Elder’s face, transfixed by the hidden joy behind it. The old man was enjoying the accidents, thriving in the danger. Kris knew that some old Wielders, especially the Elites, held a grudge, an irrational hatred for Ordinars, but he never thought he’d see it displayed so openly.

“We need to strike back.”

Kris’ fingers clasped around the edge of his chair upon hearing the Elder’s words. “What?” His voice came out much calmer than he thought it would.

The Leading Elder closed his eyes, hands still spread wide. “We shall defend ourselves. From now on, Ordinars shall pay for their wrongdoings. According to the only right law. Our Law.”

“Ordinars go by a different law.” Slowly, Kris let go of the chair and flexed his fingers under the table, trying to relax. Things were going downhill fast. Somehow, the usual formal Meeting had turned into a strategic attack against the Ordinars.

The Leading Elder met Kris’ eyes for the first time that day. “Not anymore.”

Kris held his gaze without even blinking. “You can’t do that.”

The Leading Elder’s next words came out as a whisper, but Kris still heard them in the dead silence of the room. “I can do whatever I want.”

The Elder clapped his hands, the marble floor shaking slightly under their feet. “The king would have wanted to keep his people safe.”

The mention of Kris’s father stuck a nerve, and Kris shot to his feet, barely registering the movement. Cold fury crept up his spine, chilling him to the bone. His glare alone could have murdered the old man.

The Leading Elder regarded him with a cold smile. “I announce the 26th Meeting over. You may go now.”

Kris didn’t wait for the others to stand, and ignored the judging looks he got as he stormed out of the room. His bodyguard Sehun, who had been waiting for him outside the door, struggled to keep up, calling out for him to be careful.

But Kris didn’t listen. His heart was somewhere down in his stomach, beating vigorously. So much had changed during the short Meeting. Kris had not thought the case of attacked Wielders would get so out of hand. It had been his turn to gather information for the scheduled Meeting, since the lowest rank Elders usually rotated the duty; now he almost felt as if it was his fault everything had gotten so messed up.

It was probably only a matter blown out of proportion, a false alarm-- Kris was almost sure it wasn’t as serious as the Elders thought it was, but the Leading Elder had already announced he was going to break the Law of Two.

The two worlds- alike, yet so different- were about to clash.

Kris knew the first step towards the war between the Wielders and the Ordinars had just been taken.

Luhan paced his room.

Decorated in white, his room seemed impossibly huge right now. Save for a bed and a small desk, it was empty. Two of the four walls were made of glass, overlooking the streets far below where people hurried, smaller than ants. Luhan lived at the very top of the Talents mansion tower, the highest building in the whole country. As someone who didn’t fancy heights, he would have been more than happy to switch places with someone else. Anyone. But the Protocol- the document that dictated all of their lives- said the Prophesier was to live in the highest tower, overseeing the clouds.

Luhan absolutely detested the Protocol and all of the ridiculous rules it implemented.

But right now, the Protocol was the last thing on his mind. Images from his sudden vision, which had occurred just minutes ago and caught him completely off guard, had occupied his mind completely. Two lands, churning and burning, the pain of fire and frostbite, and the Twelve blurry figures above all the chaos- it was a prophecy that was long thought to be only a tale to tell kids before sleep.

But Luhan had Seen it. He had seen and felt the pain, heard the screams. Visions rarely came to him without a sphere ball or meditation, but he had only dozed off for a few minutes when the horrible dream had invaded his mind and senses. It had felt all too real, all too certain.

He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew that whatever it was had to be quite serious, for it seemed that the Twelve was finally coming.

Haunted by the screams of children from his vision, he rubbed his temples, thinking hard. He needed to tell someone about what he’d Seen.

Taking one hasty look out his window to the tiny edge of the sun that was still visible over the horizon, Luhan muttered a soft curse, his hands clutching the hem of his tunic nervously. The Meeting was supposed to be over by now. He hoped Kris would come soon, because if there was a single person Luhan could entrust with information that important, it was his royal friend.

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>>>> chapter 2

[EXO] Eclipse - Prologue (0/?)

2012-12-12T20:59:41Z

Title: clipse
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: ot12
Word count 332
Genre: fantasy, !MAMA, AU
Summary: One prophecy. Two countries. One war. Twelve people. And a hell lot of things that need fixing.

A/N: This is a high fantasy story. For now, I'm thinking about leaving this ot12, but there will be plenty of bromance going on. The story has been inspired strongly by MAMA music video and a little bit b the Song of Ice and Fire series, with a fraction of Avatar thrown in. I appreciate any comments!
-12/12/12

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“When the skies and the grounds were one, legends, through their twelve forces, nurtured the tree of life.

An eye of the darkness created the evil which covered the heart of the tree of life, and the heart slowly grew dry.

For the tree of live to bloom once again, the legends divided the tree in half and hid each side- hence time was overturned and space turned askew.

The three of life, divided into two, created two suns that look alike, and two worlds that seem alike. The legends travel apart.

And the legends shall now see the same sky, but stand on different grounds, shall stand on the same ground, but see different skies.

The day the grounds clash, a great war shall break, pulling many into its eternal embrace. The Grounds shall weep and the tree of life shall see the last of its dawn.

In between the two worlds that seem alike, the legends will greet each other.

The day the eye of the darkness closes, and twelve forces reunite into one perfect root, a new world shall open up.”

-----------------

PROLOGUE

At first Luhan thought it was a mere dream.

He saw the usual - the bright clean centre of the Wielders’ Capitol, crowded with people. They were laughing, most of them. Swirls of easy fire gave way to bursts of clean water as the wielder children played with their elements- they were still young and the “magic” amazed them.

Everything was bright, cheerful and fresh.

But then the picture changed.

Screams. Bolts of lightning.

Empty eyes.

Fire, larger and hotter than the innocent flames the children had created, pulled the city in a furious, crimson embrace. The white stone of the city buildings started melting under the intense heat, drowning the children in hot, boiling liquid. There were shouts of pain, grimaces of forthcoming death.

Silent whispers came from cracked lips.

Luhan felt the unbearable heat, felt the flames licking his arms and shoulders. He wanted to scream when the fire touched his face. His flesh churned and burned, he could feel it turning into coal.

Then water drowned it all. A torrent of clear blue washed away the heat, and steam rose everywhere. The temperature dropped, Luhan no longer was engulfed in flames; now frost bit into his fingers, leaving them numb. The images of the city vanished, and a landscape of a dry, empty land replaced it. Bolts of eerie green lightning crossed the sky, bringing momentary light- enough for Luhan to catch sight of a line of shadows standing over what seemed to be a pool of pale light at their feet. The silhouettes shimmered and shivered, and Luhan could not make out their faces, or any other details. Pain was shooting through his limbs, sharp and persistent, and the vision started to slip away. Luhan tried to hang on a little longer- despite the pain, he wanted, he needed to take a closer look at the mysterious people- but it was beyond his control. The images scattered, the figures blurred, dissolving into shadows.

He snapped his eyes open, breathing hard.

>>>> chapter 1

EXO wallpapers

2012-11-16T20:46:53Z

---- also found @deviantart