ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Shady's Tail, Er, Tale chapter 9 - Lave's Test

Lave sat outside the castle twirling his sword around, and wondering how long it's been.  "I hope Shady's having more fun than me."  The wind picked up to a gentle breeze.  "I am slowly going crazy 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 switch Crazy going slowly am I 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 switch."  Lave was most assuredly bored out of his mind.  ~Lave~ He stopped, recognizing telepathic communication.  "Shady?  That you?"  Silence followed.  "Whos there?"  Fully alert now Lave prepared himself for battle against whatever would bring itself against him.  ~Lave drop your weapon, you will not need it.~ He felt compelled to comply and he layed his sword on the ground.  ~Come with me~ with that the world seemed to swirl around him and fade away.

Lave found himself standing in absolute darkness, except for a few feet around him that was illuminated.  It seemed as though the light was coming from Lave.  The voice continued.  ~Lave why are you travelling with Shady?~

"Because he's my friend!" was the first reply he could think of.

~What makes him your friend?~

"I don't know, it's just something you can tell" again the first thing he thought of he said.  He realizes his first response to each question is the one he says, regardless of if he wants to or not.

~When could you tell this?~ The voice inquired

"Could be when he woke up in that house I took him to, or when we were traveling through the Divide, or even when he came over for breakfast."  He becomes unsure of exactly where this conversation is going.

~Why did you go with him through the Divide?~

"Because I thought he needed my help, I didn't know he was a dragon!"

~Why did you want to help him?~

Lave became annoyed.  "Since when did you have to have a reason to help someone?"  The voice went silent as if contemplating Lave's response.  It was several minutes before it spoke again.

~You have proven yourself worthy, through your actions and words~ the light's intensity around Lave increased and pushed the darkness out of sight.  A sword appeared in front of Lave.  ~Take this, the symbold of the Paladin~ and Lave took the sword, once it was in his hands it ignited into a blue flame.  ~That sword is a mirror of your inner purity, its flame represents the light you hold within yourself.  It's also a cheesey Quest for Glory reference.~

Again the world seemed to swirl around him and Lave found himself back outside the black castle.  He became aware of things around him, that he hadn't noticed before.  One of which was the 3 red tupids approaching from the southeast.  Lave smiled at this new talent and prepared for battle. "Lets dance!"