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[gypsy_merrique]

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At first she thought the children would protest; there were few kids who would accept any type of medicine or potions without complaining that they tasted bad or were just yucky. In fact it was uncanny how compliant both Shalcross and Demetria were when she sat them down a few weeks back and told them it was time, in fact long overdue, for them to begin the supplements that would make them strong Umbran soldiers and citizens.

The deal was simple. Take the potions daily as she administered it, and the Patriarch would not be summoned to discuss insubordination. As it turned out the deal worked very well. Both of the kids seemed hesitant to test whether or not Merrique really would report to Myrddin any refusals on their part. To sweeten the deal, Merri would occasionally loosen the reigns and allow the two extra practice time, or to run about without the constant watchful eye of an overprotective parent.

As the weeks passed and the pair began to more resemble young adults, it astonished Merrique how much like his father Shalcross could be and yet so very different...and then there was the elven child. Well, there was no accounting for her traits, with a genetic history known only to the absent parents who brought her into the world. As the girl physically developed she often came to Merrique to complain that she was afraid her new curves would affect her archery. The response was simple: If it does, deal with it and work around it.

Shalcross seemed so much calmer lately. Perhaps it was maturity and perhaps it was growing pain, or even a combination of things. It was hard to believe that the teenage-looking boy was her first child, and on occasion Merri would revisit the many (often heated) discussions she'd had with her husband on the rightness of it all. In the end it didn't matter what Merri felt.

Her end of the deal was simple, also. Her firstborn was, indeed, Umbran.
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. . . But the dark is very trustworthy.
It's always as dark as you thought it was.
And you don't have to work at staying there.
All you have to do is survive it.
And I've been doing that forever.
from the novel "Dark Debts" by Karen Hall

[Shalcross]

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The day had come for the first of the supplements. Shal was too young to really understand, he did know his parents had argued about the growth supplements before. But the young boy was clueless.

Didn't seem to take long and he was growing up, muscles getting bigger, growing taller. Sadly the new growth made his archery more and more difficult as he had to relearn to fit with his changing size. He knew the supplements were not something his father cared much for, every time it came up Walter was quick to change the subject or otherwise dodge the topic. But still they kept coming for both Shal and the little elf girl. Soon very soon he'll be big and strong like his father, and that he looked forward to everyday, to make his father proud.
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Shalcross

[Demetria]

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Her feelings were mixed about the forced growth she was experiencing. On one hand it was thrilling and exciting, knowing that soon she would be a strong adult, but on the other hand as she lay in her bed at night, the pain in her joints--especially her knees--was at times sheer agony. Demetria's body was growing so much faster than Nature had intended, and along with the physical changes she could almost feel the psychological advancements as they happened. It was an odd, fleeting sensation to be suddenly awash in what must be adult insight and perception. In some ways the whole experience was so frightening.

One of those scary aspects was the changes in her friend and buddy in archery, Shalcross. He was starting to look so much like his father. It was only natural for her to wonder...

Would he begin to think like his father, also?

When that thought crept across her mind, Deme pushed it away as fast as she could. The idea of losing someone she saw as a true friend was unacceptable.

The young woman held faith that it would be Umbra that held the bond together. After all, it was Umbra that got her off of the streets and put a direction to her life--albeit after an arduous and probably life threatening ordeal imposed upon her by the Matriarch Ceinwyn.

In the elf's mind, one statement seemed true and acted as a balancing weight.

All roads lead to Umbra.

[Xana]

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Despite their ongoing differences that included everything from perspective to lifestyle, Xana was deep down grateful that her twin had decided after all to leave her alone and not seek remuneration for untrue ideas and accusations. The birth-time separation of her and Merrique had nothing to do with favoritism, and in fact though the Umbran twin grew up thinking it was she who was sent away at birth was favoritism toward Xana; the truth was that Merrique was the chosen one; she had the mark of the witch that gave her the birthright to study gypsy magic with the elders of their tribe. With that considered, Xana once again felt free to come into the city of Umbra and do her business there as she had long before Merrique left the lands of Ilshenar and set about pursuing her life among the dark ones of the city.

Due to her own personal problems, most of which centered around her failing health, Xana spent a good deal of her time abusing powerful potions with opioid properties and managed for the most part to convince herself that it really was for the physical pain. She'd seen many healers, some obscure, and many great healers of the lands. Nobody could seem to explain why it seemed that her own body was making her sick, causing the right side of her body to be nearly useless from the hip down. Unfortunately part of the truth lay in the fact that the concoctions made her feel euphoric and carefree. Almost as carefree as she had been before the string of events that had led to her present state.

It was during one of these drug induced states of intoxication that she was making a transaction with one of the Umbran merchants, when Xana heard a not-quite-familiar voice call out "Aunt Xana!" She turned around toward the source of the exclamation, and there stood her nephew Shalcross. How handsome he was, with his quiver slung casually yet businesslike over his shoulder and holding a hip-shot pose that seemed almost exclusive to teenagers. With the sensation of the world moving beneath her, she realized that the boy was nearly grown, she guessed his age to be approximately fifteen. Certainly he was close to manhood.

Not having a clue about how Umbra managed its children, Xana knew not what kind of magic, trickery, or falsehood stood before her as evidence of yet more unknowns. The last coherent thought she had before dropping her purchase on the floor and fainting dead away was By the Gods, what have they done to that child?
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An artist is a creature driven by demons ~Faulkner

[Kale ab'Arawn]

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Kale's face screwed up into a grimace as Haydn pushed the contents of the needle into her.

"Owie!" Kale blurted.

"It'll all be over soon," came her sister's reply.

Kale knew what the injections were doing to her. She had been receiving one daily since she was just a few days old. She fidgeted in her seat as a familiar impatience took over her. They were making her bigger, but it was not as fast as she would have liked.

She would be out there in the world soon, getting revenge on the lightbringies, like her daddy said. They had made mommy go away, and one of them had taken her twin brother away. The strange bald man that her older brother had called Sid.

Daddy had explained to her about the bad people that must be punished when he brought her home with him. She had marveled at the huge raven, Harbinger, that was now her guardian. And she had giggled giddily at the jail cell in which he had told her she could "play" with prisoners he brought her.

And when Haydn hadn't been looking, Kale had hid some of the magic growth juice in her pocket with a secretive smile.
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Halister Marner, adminning the world.
We ab'Arawns just be moddin' all up in here!