Fan Fiction ❯ Paths of Madness ❯ The Desent ( Chapter 1 )

Paths of Madness

Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan in any of its adaptations other than my own.

A/N Well read it and tell me what you think of my take on the long loved and wonderful story of Peter Pan. No huge A/N for this beginning this time but you will not be spared in later chapters. Please enjoy and bare with the oddness of this huge beginning chapter.

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Pain cracked though the dark void he was floating in causing him to cry out.

"Argh"

Water flooded his mouth the salty tang burning his tongue as he choked on it. Spitting the burring liquid out he instinctively thrashed his arms and legs, too dazed to comprehend what was happening. Then he was slammed into a rock again, making him swallow even more sea water when he cried out.

`What in Odin's name …'

Terribly confused the young man scrabbled to cling to the next rock he was flung into. Dashing a battered and bruised arm across his blurry eyes he squinted into the dark night.

"Land?" he mumbled in disbelief. A large wave pressed him into the rock he clung to reinforcing its presence in his fogged mind.

The last think he remembered during the huge storm that had caught his vessel far out to sea was a giant wave sweeping over the bough of the ship. It had torn the mast head from the prow. He had watched frozen in horrified shock as the massive wooden dragon crashed into him knocking him over board and into the merciless raging sea.

A wave washed over the teen then startling him out of his memory when it cracked his head into the rock before him. Crying out in pain he felt warm liquid trickle down his forehead mingling with the cool sea water. Cringing at the stinging wound the youth peered again into the dark night.

Licking the salty copper tang that pooled at the edge of his lips the boy nearly wept in relief when a slivery curve of sand came into view. The glowing moon shown down on the perfect crescent shaped beach as the shredded clouds blew across the sky scattering before the wind.

Letting go of the sharp edged rock he pulled himself though the water with long powerful strokes. The mild current that tugged at the teen's body caused him few problems. His whole body was sore and battered crying out protests that he ignored. He had learned to swim before he took his first steps and his strong arms made short work of the distance between the rocks and the gleaming beach before him.

Lungs burning the young man crawled up the sand forcing his trembling arms and legs to carry him up past the tide line and then further just to be safe before he allowed them to collapse beneath him. Rolling onto his back the boy stared up at the night sky. The full moon smiled down at him her gracious face radiant in the silver night.

The exhausted young man cried out in shock trying to raise form the sand as he closed his eyes.

`A woman's face?!'

"Impossible." He mumbled prying his eyes open once more. But the face remained, her shining smile suspended in the night sky. Confusion, pain and exhaustion washed over the half drowned boy and when the darkness came to claim him, he did not resist its approach.

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The moon again waxed large in the sky nearing the night of its fullness. The teenage boy shuddered at the thought of seeing that smiling face staring down on him as if her gaze were directed solely on him. `Who else would she be looking at?' He groused silently thinking about the past two months, spent exploring this prison. In two months he had not seen even the faintest of traces to intricate there was another living soul on this island.

Even after swimming to nearly all of the smaller islands surrounding the main one he had met with the same results. Standing on the summit of one of those outlying islands he gazed back at the larger land mass behind him. Its forested slopes were darkly shadowed in the slivery moonlight.

The darkened depths called to him singing a song of endless adventures and deep mysteries that awaited his discovory. Shaking his auburn head the young man spun around and looked back out to sea. Those forests could still be harboring some unfound threat he told himself. Frowning he watched the sea and sky trying to make scene of the dizzying array of stars that hung there.

Every pattern and position he had learned in his sixteen years seemed jumbled and confused in this sky. None of those points of light offered him any direction or aid. The refusal of the night sky to conform to the rules he had learned from childhood irritated him.

Flopping down on the oddly shaped rock formation he had designated as his observatory he pulled out the rolled length of bark and a slender piece of wood the tip of which was dark and charred. He sat for hours noting the positions of the frustratingly unfamiliar stars checking them against his previous notes and marking them on the new roll of bark.

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Freedom sang in the boys veins. Dashing though the dense green leaves of a hundred different kinds of plants he ran heart light and joyous. He battered at those leaves with a stick sword imagining foes and monsters torn to ribbons beneath his furious onslaught.

Ambushed by a mob of flowering shrubs he leapt over the fearsome fiends and fled towards the seaside cliff. Laughing over his shoulder at his attackers the young man sped faster rather than halting at the cliff edge. Jumping as far as his wiry legs could push him the boy spread his arms.

Auburn hair whipped off his face and hazel eyes were bright with the joy of his brief flight. Pulling in a quick breath he hit the water and rolled tucking his legs. Bobbing to the surface he laughed up at the draping vines and overhanging trees defying them to follow his escape.

Paddling around the crescent cove the young man swam on his back in lazy circles staring up at the fatherly sun as it made its stately way across the sky, blessing this world with his brilliant smile. Diving under the water the teen explored the multi-colored coral its watery population schooling around him in a mutual display of curiosity.

As the sun settled in the west and began to pull the blankets of night around him the teenager strode out of the tide. Shaking his shoulder length dark auburn hair he ran his sun bronzed hands through the length squeezing out the excess moister. Striding up the beach in search of his misplaced supper the youth stopped mid step when he came to the boat.

"Damn, I forgot." He groaned

`You really need to stop acting like a child and finish that dam thing.' his thoughts echoed darkly

"Oh shut up!" he mumbled out loud and stalked past the hulking ugly thing he was trying to carve out of a fallen log.

His previous buoyant mood destroyed he sat and stared moodily at the fire as he roasted his fish. Finally the smell of cooked fish roused the hungry teen out of his reflections and he snatched up the food barely waiting until it was cool enough not to scald his tongue before tearing into it.

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The young man piled fruit and nuts into the lopsided basket he had woven out of leaves. Turning he caught the thongs on the water filled gourds hanging on the branch beside him and slung them over his shoulder. The full gourds knocked together as he stooped and lifted the basket to his hip. Striding to the rough hewn log boat the teen carefully stowed the rations with the others already tied to the edges of the boat. Turning he set his shoulder to the stern of the modest craft and shoved the heavy hulking boat into the tide.

The deepening water caused the log turned boat to shift and list to one side before it righted itself. Launching himself into the boat the lanky young man nearly capsized the thing when his weight was added to one side. Scrambling into the middle of the sooty depression he had burnt and carved out of the log he took up the long awkward oars and dipped them into the gently rolling sea.

"Say good bye to the wild freedom of being the only living human in paradise." He mumbled and his strong arms pulled the boat though the waves. Rolling his eyes at himself the boy's thoughts darkened. `Five years is plenty long enough to spend neglecting the duties a man must consider back home.'

"Ha! A man!?" he scoffed "I was lost at sea during my right of passage. Just because I survived only to wind up on a deserted island would not make me a man?" he finished a puzzled look crossing the young man's face.

Picking up the bamboo tube that contained his star charts the boy made sure the seal was still tight and water proof before he tied it to the rope that ran along the rim of the dug out boat. Glancing over his shoulder the he took a bearing off the rising sun adjusted his course slightly and continued to pull the boat though the breakers.

Once clear of the crashing waves and sharp coral he brought in the oars securing them to the same rope that held the star charts and water gourds. Turning to the makeshift mast the teen unfurled the crude woven sail made of the same broad leafed plant as the basket. In fact the basket was the result of his early weaving experiments. The sail while not magnificent would hold the wind and if treated properly remain sound. He hoped.

Wrapping the fibrous rope attached to the boon around his hand loosely the teen tipped the carved rudder into the sea and took his bearings once more. Turning the sail into the morning breeze he let the crisp wind carry the boat east towards the smiling sun.

Behind him the sun was setting lighting the sky on fire. Gazing back at the blood red and orange display of that smiling orb the young man scanned the horizon for any trace of the odd island he had spent five ageless years on. Not catching sight of his resent home he turned his back on the sun set and reached for the tube containing his star charts.

The teenager paused at the sight of his sun bronzed hand. It hadn't changed at all in the five years he had been marooned. The wrongness of it hit him strongly for a moment. The strong yet slender hand before him belonged to the sixteen year old boy that he had been the day the storm had washed him into the rocks of the never changing island.

Remembering his older brother after he had returned form the voyage that marked him a man the boy scowled again. His lanky half grown older brother had literally transformed over night. In a few short years his sibling had filled out with bulky muscle, stood four inches taller adding an inch to his height each year, and had even grown a full beard, becoming the talk of all the young maidens.

Yet as the young man gazed down at his own hand he realized that while trapped on an island after being flung into the sea while undergoing a similar journey he still hovered on the brink of manhood.

Growling in disgust he yanked at the knots binding the star charts in place and hauled the tube over to him. Unrolling the thin sheets of bark with genital hands that belied the anger still burning hotly the teen shuffled though them until he found the correct page.

Replacing the others he studied the neat clear notations for a few minutes while the sky continued to darken. Satisfied he replaced the chart and hung the tube close at hand waiting for the first of his guiding lights to appear.

As the dual constellations rose with their trio of connecting stars the young man grinned. Making a slight adjustment he angled the prow of his craft towards the second star to the right of the constellation he dubbed Sister. She was a young woman carrying a basket of dripping wheat. Behind her bending to retrieve the fallen grain: each kernel represented by the connecting three stars, was her smaller Brother.

The young man sailed for hours by the stars grateful for the moon's absence making them that much more clear. Around midnight he began to tire having set sail with the rising sun. Thankful to the strong current he had found he lowered the sail and let his arm fall from its position on the boom rope.

The over worked limb rested in his lap like a lead weight quivering with fatigue. Glancing at the horizon the teen searched for signs of the rising moon, glad that the shining face of the woman would not be present on this half moon night. An hour passed with still no moon making him worry about his calculations.

`It should have risen by now.' the boy mused, thinking about the many hours spent charting the patterns of the night sky. Looking up into the night sky he took note of the Sister and Brother reassured that he was still on course. Shaking his head he frowned once more and continued sailing.

A silvery glow snapped the young man out of his doze. Widening his eyes the youth stared in disbelief as his shadow slid out before him. Unwilling to turn and look at the sphere that should have been at his prow, his eyes raced to scan the heavens. Confusion and shock rammed though him as the saw the clear pattern of his guiding constellation hung low in the sky as it always had never moving as the other stars swirled past it in the night sky.

Slowly he forced himself to turn and look at the moon rising at his back. There gliding through the night sky, her silver rays brushing gently against the surface of the calm sea was the half moon. It hung large and bright ten degrees from the horizon. Glaring at the incomplete orb the teen franticly tried to decide what to do. This was not possible! How could the moon rise behind him? He was sailing east the constellation before him proved that.

"But does it really?" he mumbled darkly "Everyone knows that the moon rises in the east it always has and it always will. What if I made a mistake and the Sister and Brother are not as fixed in the sky as I thought." Remembering all the times he had abandoned his nightly observations to explore the moonlit bay pretending he was on a midnight raid the teen cursed himself.

"What the hell were you thinking? Your old enough to understand how important it is to get these things right!" Yelling into the empty night around him he yanked hard on the tiller turning the small craft around. Unfurling the tiny sail the young man maneuvered the awkward boat out of the swift current that bore him towards the constellation.

Glancing over his shoulder he looked again at the mysterious constellation. A thin coil of wonder wrapped around him. `I wonder where it leads if it can change positions like that?' Anger again flooded the teen as he questioned how much time he may have lost following that constellation. Growling he reached for a piece of fruit in the basket near him determined to stay awake to keep form wandering off course again.

Every muscle in his body ached from the strain of staying awake. His arms burned as he a kept track of the rudder and his legs were nearly numb as he sat huddled in the cramped boat. The sky had begun to lighten an hour or so ago but the shining face of the sun had yet to grace the sky. Relief flooded over the youth as the first brilliant strands of fire blazed over the horizon.

He relaxed for a moment leaning wearily against the edge of his boat as the sun sent his flaming arms into the sky bringing with it a beckon he could rely on to guide him though the sea. The moon had abandoned the sky hours ago and the paranoia of a night filled with unfaithful stars had worn the boy's nerves thin. At one point the teen had thought he had seen a school of mermaids swimming in the dark waters around him their iridescent skin glowing in eerie pearlescent colors as they stared up at him malice dark in their eyes.

Shaking such dark imaginings from his mind he smiled up at the rising sun. His breath caught in his throat as he registered its position. A deep frown marred the young man's smooth features and darkened his hazel eyes to deep green as he realized the sun was much too high in the sky. As the bright streaks of light widened and filled the sky pushing the night before it a savage growl ripped from his throat.

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The young man pulled his weary body though the waves tugging the broken leaking boat behind him. Dropping the rope he left the log craft in the tide not caring if it was swept back out to sea. Limbs that felt like wooden blocks stumbled their way onto shore. Behind him the sun barely cleared the horizon the pale yellows and pinks kissing the deep cove and white sand of the narrow beach.

The boy collapsed nearly weeping in frustration. "Again! Every time I try I only end up back on this island." he moaned rolling onto his back his agonized thoughts swirling as he found himself once more upon the sands of the island he had again tried and failed to leave behind.

Panting on the beach the teen sat up when the shadow he lay in slowly reseeded before the rising sun. For a moment he watched the shadow as it slid down the beach. It reached the waters edge where he followed it to the small island that sat off shore a good 1000 meters from the main land mass.

It was connected by a series of tear drop islands that curved into the very cove he rested on. The large island across the cove bulked up out of the water its steep slopes black with a dense forest. The island was divided by a basalt cliff that ran the entire height of the island. Its summit was a rounded peak and the entire black cliff was riddled with caves and tunnels. Four main caverns depressed the face of the rock directly across from him. The largest of the caves rested at sea level its gagged rim creating a sinister look.

Above that an irregular cave gaped black and dark. Still above this sat two nearly identical caves to either side of the irregular cavern. The parallel caves were round and smooth edged as if the molten rock that had formed the mass that bubbled and blistered. Over the years he supposed the outer layer of rock had given away to the onslaught of rain wind and salt water opening the domed caverns to the air.

He knew those caverns well having explored them many times. Each cavern was connected in an intricate maze of tunnels the inner chambers each hewed in hundreds of colored crystals. Atop that domed rock he had spent years studying the stars as they swirled through the night sky.

"A lot of good it did me." The young man grumbled tossing a pebble at the battered and worn log boat swaying on the water. Glaring back at the black island he growled "Stop staring at me you fanged skull!" The last of his energy drained out of him and he collapsed onto his back once more.

He watched the sky fade to pale blue as the sun rose higher. Fluffy clouds swam across its surface dancing in the breeze. Frustrated tears rolled unnoticed down his face dripping into his long dark auburn hair streaked with lighter brown and gold from the years spent in the sun of this island. Hazel eyes filled with confusion and hurt closed slowly laying dark lashes against his bronzed cheeks. As the sun began to blind his closed eyes the teenaged boy threw a well muscled arm up over his head shading his eyes.

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Yet another failed trip found the youth lying again on the beach of the island he had first washed up on so many years ago. For eight years he had tried over and over to sail away form the place after a year of careful observation charting the stars and their courses each time only to return to this place.

No matter what shore he set out from or what direction he sailed the morning of the second day always brought him with in sight of the mysterious island. After thirteen years of plans and attempts the boy was tired of the sea, tired of the endless struggle to abandon the island that would not abandon him.

The desire to run into the forest behind him and ignore the duties lost to him that night so long ago when a giant wave threw him form his father's boat surged hotly through his veins. The youth gasped and tears rolled fast down his face at the thought of letting go of all the expectations his family and even he had placed on him.

Opening eyes that matched the crystal blue of the sky above he half rose from the beach ignoring the burning protest of over taxed muscles. Looking back at the inviting coolness of the forest the boy glanced once more at the broken and tattered remains of the boat that rested on the sands of the crescent cove a large gash along its side from the coral reef was a jagged reminder of nearly sinking.

The broken mast made his arms ache anew from the endless night spent rowing. A dark voice struggled to rise, tired to tell him he had to try again. The dark voice tried to bring cool reasoned logic to the surface of his rebellious mind. The voice tried and failed.

Lifting his tired body from the sand the teen wearily pushed himself forward into the cool and inviting depth of the forest full of mystery and adventure. A sense of wonder draped itself around him as the boy's imagination took hold providing him with thousands of possible quests, dangers, and excitement all waiting for him to find and explore within the green lit world of the forest.

The exhaustion melted from his limbs as he leapt into a bounding run. As graceful as a deer he dashed though the forest climbing over fallen logs and scampering up vine covered cliffs. The dappled sun glimmered off the kid's light brown hair making the golden red highlights shine in the shifting light.

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Phantom demons chased him though the forest nipping at his heels as he laughed and swung his double bladed battle ax at their heads scattering them. The lanky boy posed on a fallen log jaunty and proud his hands on hips. Tilting his head back his voice echoed under the green canopy as he crowed.

Cocking his head to the side at his choice of battle cries he laughed before he fell back, once more under attack. Speeding though the leaves away from his foes the boy zipped around trees sliding under fallen logs and leaping small gullies. Jumping over a low lying log he broke into blinding light.

Throwing up a protective arm the youth cried out in offended pain as he stumbled to his knees in the pale sand. Still shading his eyes he stood dusting off his knees. Turning again to the dark forest the boy began to retreat back into that shaded world sandy brown hair shifting around his shoulders in a messy tangle.

Intent on picking up his adventure before the mood left him he jumped up onto the mossy log he had hurdled moments earlier, when something to this left caught his attention. Blue eyes clouded as he turned towards the object.

Sliding back to the sand he walked over to the dark lump that marred the otherwise pristine beach. As he grew closer his heart weighed heavy in his chest causing the shining happiness that had taken residence to scatter like thin clouds before a storm wind. The young man's dark brows knit in a deep frown.

The sun seemed to dim as he recognized the remains of his boat. Broken and upturned its mast was completely gone and as he glared at the sea rotten wood a large crab scuttled out of the deep gash that ran the length of the small craft.

The sun began to lower as the teen continued to glare at the rotten boat. "What the hell were you thinking?" he mumbled to himself. "Why do you refuse to admit that you are no longer a boy and try to get off this forsaken island?" thinking about all the time he had spent in the forest his quest to return home completely forgotten he glared harder angry with himself. "I'm a man now!" `Well I will be once I get home.' He thought quietly. Sinking to the sand the boy sat cross-legged chin in hand as he rested his elbow on one knee. "What's the point? I've tired getting off this island hundreds of times only to end up right back where I started."

"Then try a hundred more times." He retorted voice rough and deep. "That's what a real man would do. Real men don't give up they try and try until they get what they want."

"Well what if I don't want to go home? Maybe that's why I can't leave maybe I don't want too."

Realizing that he was arguing with himself he stood quickly and stalked off down the beach. As he walked along the shore his thoughts rolled darkly. `Do I not want to leave? Is that why I always wind up back on the same beach I leave from?'

"That's ridiculous!" he growled swiping his dark hair off his forehead. "Of course I want to leave. I must make it back to my family to prove to them that I have become a man." He continued kicking at the pale sand.

Scrambling over a dune the young man pushed through the tall sharp sea grass and stood gazing down at the small cove below him. The sun was setting behind him shading the irregular cove with its chain of small islands. The only island still basking in the lowering sun was the furthest and largest of them. The shadows of its caves deepening as the sun sank behind the main island.

Sitting down on the grass covered dune he watched the caves darken to sinister looking pits set in the black skull of rock. As the island fell into shadow the youth's thoughts darkened further. Would anyone even be waiting for him anymore? How many years had it been since he had been swept over board? Ten? No longer than that surely he had stopped trying to sail form this island thirteen years after washing ashore. How long had he spent ignoring his duty to try and return to his family? Looking down at himself the teen growled again.

His body was lean and tone. His skin was darkened by the tropical sun but it had failed to change with the advance of manhood. His face remained smooth and unmarred by the growth of a beard. He had not yet reached his full height which he knew would have been at least 5 inches more than what he stood now if he remembered his brothers and father correctly.

Even his voice refused to change completely. Growling darkly at the thoughts of his ever rebelling voice he swiped at his hair as it fell into his face. Tugging roughly at the curling strands he gathered the dark mass into a low tail which he secured with a bit of hemp at the base of his neck.

As one tendril escaped its restraint once more he screamed in frustration. Gripping the offending strand the dark curl wrapped around his fingers nearly black in the fading light. Frowning slightly at the color he tucked it behind his ear distracted from his rising anger.

Looking back at the forbidding empty eyed island across from him he stood and strode down the beach. Glancing up frequently to assess the black island the young man calculated the seasons he had spent in the forest blindly ignoring the world around him. Cursing his childish indulgence he reluctantly abandoned his desire to return home realizing no one would be waiting for him now.

The fleeting image of soft brown hair and warm blue eyes set in a creamy freckled face flashed in his mind. His heart clenched in his chest causing him to pause and lean against a palm tree. As the image faded the pain was replaced by raging anger as he realized everyone he had known and loved was now dead.

Ramming his fist into the tree he vowed never to let this island rob him of his sense of time again. "A hundred years?" he moaned softly remembering the dark haired girl who had vowed to wait for his return. `How could I have forgotten about her for such a long time?' He continued silently

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The hot sun beat down on him as the muscular youth pulled the twisting hemp basket dangling at the end of the rope higher off the ground. Sweat glistened on his broad back, the sun bronzed skin rippling as his lean hard muscles shifted and tightened. Hand over hand he raised the load of black rough hewn block up the wall. The hemp rope whined through the wooden pulley hung form the timber of his scaffolding.

As the basket reached him the teen leaned back and tied off the rope looping it around a peg set into the dark wall. Once the load was secure he swung the basket the reaming few inches up and sat it next to him on the scaffold. Swiping the back of a dirty hand across his brow he sat down on the wooden shelf hung off the edge of the rising black stone wall. Long muscular legs dangling over the edge of his working platform he gazed out at the clear blue ocean.

He was hot and tired but his mind was reasonably clear today. Glancing over at the load of stone blocks he tried to remember why he had started this never ending task. The blocks were carved from one of the many chambers and tunnels that riddled the cliff below him. Glancing over at the larger cooler island across the cove the youth sighed. Dull blue eyes gazing fondly at the deep shadows he remembered the simple earthy shelter deep within the cool encompassing forest.

"Why do I even bother building this thing?" he asked himself frustration rising in his voice. "In all the years I've been here I have never seen another human being why do we need a freaked castle?" he raged gesturing wildly at the hulking black bulk whose wall he now perched on. The main structure as nearly complete its wall reaching into the sky two stories. It loomed dark and threatening perched on top of the very summit of the domed skull shaped cliff that dominated this smaller island.

The boy surveyed the scene around him restless and irritated by the picture it made. `Why would you want to live here?' he asked himself slightly surprised when he didn't' receive a reply. Pushing auburn hair out of his hazel eyes he noticed one of the many odd things that had washed ashore on his island home. A small ship nearly the size of his father's bobbed near the gaping mouth of the sea level cave below him. The square sail so unlike the striped triangular canvas he remembered was stark white and blazoned with a blood red cross.

Staring at the ship his thoughts darkened. "Look there and you can clearly see why we need to build this fortress." Remembering what he had found with in that boat caused a frown to pull at the teens featrues. His dark brows dipping together over glowering green eyes as he thought about the bloody sword he had found beneath one of the wooden benches of the ship.

Its long blade was narrower than his fathers had been and the hand guard was a simple cross bar. In the pommel was an engraved cross stained the same color as the one adorning the sail. The lacquer of the red cross glistened in the sun as the teen had picked the thing up. "Just because no one has washed ashore doesn't mean it's impossible. Look as us we washed ashore here. Though the years have there not been countless items that have made there way here?" he asked standing.

Turning he grabbed the rope hanging beside him and repelled down the wall. As his feet hit land the young man strode over to the edge of the rounded cliff gazing again at the cool blue waters below him. "You're getting paranoid in your solitude." The teen snapped.

"I am trying to act like a responsible adult and not be a reckless boy refusing to see the dangers that…"

"I would rather be a reckless boy and enjoy the paradise I have found myself on than an old man working himself to death building a black castle on top of this windswept miserable island like I have been for the past two hundred years!" he screamed interrupting himself in a fit of frustration.

He was hot and sweaty and the blazing sun was giving him a splitting headache. The angry young man realized he was once again arguing with himself and growled. Looking down at the inviting crystal clear water of the deep cove he ignoring the nagging thought that he was abandoning his duty and dove off the cliff.

Spreading his arms wide the boy fell though the air his dusty blond hair whipping behind him blue eyes full of laughter. Cutting off his whoops of delight he took a deep breath brought his hands before him and plunged into the sharp cool water.

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The teen stood arm raised his hand wrapped lightly around the hilt of his long thin bladed sword. Feet spread shoulder width apart the blue eyed boy lunged forward jabbing the point of the sword deep into the heart of his opponent. Laughing merrily he sheathed his weapon and crowed his victory as the straw dummy danced at the end of its rope.

Turning sparkling eyes away from his straw enemy he gazed at the wood and earthen room in which he stood. The large room arched up into a curving and gnarled dome of roots and bark encircling him in an earthy wooden cave. To one side was an alcove among the roots its sides plastered in hard brown clay. A fire flickered and jumped with in it as the curling white smoke drifted up and to the back of curved fireplace.

To either side of the fire stood iron bound barrels filled with swords, pole arms and axes of all shapes and styles. Tossing the delicate bladed sword into one of these barrels the youth selected a new weapon. Admiring the broad curving sword he twisted it in the firelight watching as the ornate gilded hilt sparkled. A large blood red jewel set in the pommel caught the light and refracted it across the room sending thousands of points of light dancing across every surface.

Narrowing sky colored eyes the boy spun on the balls of his feet his waist length sandy blond hair flaring around him. He swept the wicked edged sword in an underhanded arc slashing it across the dummies chest.

Straw and strands of deep album hair fluttered to the floor in a hushed clatter as the blade sliced through the bindings that held the dummy together. Laughter again filled the room, echoing through the smaller chambers that branched off from the main fire lit living cavern as he ran his hands through his now shoulder length, blond hair.

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The midday tropical sun blazed down on the bronze skinned youth that crouched laboring on the rooftop. Dragging a sweaty arm across his brow the green eyed teen straightened from his bent position. Shading his eyes he glanced at the position of the sun before growling softly.

Reluctantly he moved across the nearly completed roof towards a stone wall that angled up from the slate shingles. Lowering his lean frame into the shade offered by the black volcanic blocks he reached for the water gourd to his right. Drinking deeply of the sweet water he surveyed his work. Pleased with the progress the young man nodded his green eyes bright with accomplishment.

The black castle was nearly complete. It lacked only a quarter of the roof shingles and then his fortress would be ready to defend his island home. His gaze wandered over the cove to rest on the forest that shadowed the island across the bay. Black brows knit together as the teen remembered stumbling out of that dark green tinged world so many years ago. He had wandered the beaches of the island deeply depressed his spirit aching for some unnamed fulfillment.

The young man grinned slightly remembering how the depression had lifted like a veil when he had come again to the small beach that looked across the deep cove to this skull adorned island. The black bones of the castle walls rose from the skulls domed head casting their dark shadows far across the waters as the sun set behind him.

A frown again settled on his strong face when the youth remembered the state of disrepair he had found the castle when he reached the island. Many of the black blocks had tumbled down from the walls and lay stuttered around the building. He had even needed to rebuild an entire wall which had fallen during the years he had wandered the forest of the main island.

Growling at that thought the youth pushed his strong sun darkened hands through his black hair confining the waist length curls in a leather thong at the base of his neck. Resting his hands on his knees the teen scoffed lightly at the image they presented. His never aging hands rested against the dark canvas of his calf length pants. Plucking at the fabric of his pants with lean strong fingers he scowled. He had found them like so many things though the years washed up on the beach of the main island.

This island presented him with a bounty of treasures all brought on the tides carried from the outside world on the ocean currents that swirled around the island. Growling again the green eyed young man stood glaring out at the ocean. It brought him wondrous treasure but never would it allow him to leave. Never had he found a current that took him away form the island.

"Never. Never age. Never leave. Never. This is a land of never ending beauty never diminishing wonder and a land of never ending adventure. This never land will hold me to it till the end of time." Slumping back against the wall the auburn haired youth gazed out across the water faint memories of kith and kin clouding his hazel eyes.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

The moonless night wrapped around the black castle that squatted sinister and dark atop the empty eyed skull of volcanic rock like a shroud. Wind howled into the night shrieking in multi toned voices as it felt its icy way across the island. The small gnarled and twisted trees of the island bent and danced in the storm clinging to the rocky surface with clutching roots. Dim lights flickered in the arrow slit windows of the buildings main hall casting a faint light into the gloomy night.

The young man sat slouched upon a plush, gilded throne that sat on a small platform at the end of the large hall. His face hidden in the shadows he clutched his head in his hands hazel eyes fogged and distant as the wind again screamed sending lances splitting through his head.

Before him a huge fire jumped and danced throwing weaving shadows against the walls. The many decorations around the hall twisted in sinister shapes that bobbed and wove in the flickering light making his head swim. Closing pain filled hazel eyes the youth tried to block out the quarrelling voices that added yet another note to the turbulent storm that raged around his drafty home.

"Finally all the work has paid off. Look Boy at the accomplishment, forethought and responsibility has wrought. Tell me; is your pathetic tree house even half as grand?" A deep resonate voice questioned.

"Ha! Fancy words for a pile of rock perched on top of a windy, barren cliff." A light tenor replied.

"This pile of rock will protect us from invasion you upstart brat!" the man snapped

"Protect us? From what?!"

"Are you so wool headed that you haven't noticed the odd lights that have appeared recently among the trees of the main island? Just because we've never seen other people on this island doesn't mean we never will. Those could be savages waiting…."

Green eyes glared out of the shadows surrounding the throne as he was interrupted by mocking laughter.

"You old cod fish those are just fairies dancing beneath the trees. We all know that they never hurt anyone." The laughing voice informed.

"Fairies don't exist, Boy they are figments of your imagination." The man growled

"DON'T SAY THAT!" The youth leaned forward blue eyes shining in anger as sandy hair tumbled around his shoulders.

The young man's lips curled into a sneer as his eyes shifted hazel briefly before gleaming malice reflected in their green depths. Leaning back against the cushions of the throne he twirled a raven curl around his finger and replied. "Fairies don't exist."

The sound of a sword sliding against metal echoed around the room. "I'll show you who doesn't exist Old Man!"

Pain curled around the teen's heart and mind with the sound of the sword being drawn. Growling he slammed his fist against the arm of the throne and yelled into the empty room. "Both of you shut up! I'm too tired to put up with your bickering tonight."

As the echoes of his words died a sword clattered to the stone floor. Opening hazel eyes he gazed into the depth of the flickering flames trying to concentrate on something other than the swirling pain and confusion that now dominated his world.

Unnoticed amongst the rafters huddled a group of flickering lights. The fairies looked down on the slumped figure who sat panting in the shadows of his throne. They knew the young man was sick and they remembered the boy he was when they had played together in the deep green forest.

Born of the wishes of that lonely boy as he sat remembering a childhood story they had come into existence on the sparks of a dancing fire one night beneath the trees. Now as the auburn haired youth that so resembled their friend sat shadowed in pain and despair they talked amongst themselves.

They had seen the changes in their friend as his moods swung wildly from joy to deep anger. Once they had fled the black haired fiend that he had become, only returning when they had seen the red haired youth wandering lost and confused on the beach.

Chiming voices in agreement they flew out one of the narrow windows and let the wind carry them to the home of the sun and moon. On this night of darkness they knew the creators of this land would both be in residence.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Have we done the right thing Lugh? I know the boy is in pain but to let the fairies do such a thing…" Star strewn eyes watched as the golden lights of the fairies faded into the surrounding clouds.

"Aine my love this was meant to be. Men can not exist in happiness alone." A man with fiery red hair stepped onto the clouded porch of his home and wrapped his golden bronze arms around his petite wife.

"But why?" Turning her night black starry eyes to meet her husband's sky blue she absently brushed a strand of her slivery white hair behind her ear.

"Aww my fair wife the world of men thrives on the never ending struggle of good and evil." He replied thinking about the boy they had saved from the waves. That boy stood poised on knifes edge. Not yet a man but no longer truly a boy. Clearing his head of such thoughts he nuzzled his lips against the nape of his wife's slender neck relishing in the feel of her soft curves as he held her close.

Turning again to gaze down on the world they had created for the boy lost centuries ago in a storm she snuggled into her husband's embrace. The feel of his lips dominated her mind and she turned to him willingly forgetting the affairs of the island as they embraced on this one night that belonged only to them.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

His skull was splitting and twisting pain wrapped around his intestines. Groaning the auburn haired youth doubled over clutching his head in his hands. Voices echoed in his head endlessly arguing. A sandy haired pre teen his eyes shining with youthful mischief floated before his closed eyes. The image made him smile against the pain as he remembered that look reflected in the eyes of his brothers as they had played in the cold forests of home.

Outside lighting lit up the sky in a display of splitting light. Scant moments later thunder rocked the foundations of the castle causing him to open his eyes and gaze out of the window nearest him. Blue eyes slowly fading to blazing green he remembered a different storm.

That storm had brought him here to this place where he continued to hover between childhood and becoming a man. Anger crashed around him louder than the peals of thunder shaking the black wall of his fortress.

Turning away from the window the young man strode over to the fire as it continued to burn in the pit set in the middle of the floor. Ignoring the flames he watched the curling smoke as it rose to writhe around the tapestries and banners that hung from the rafters. Their many emblems telling the story of time passed in the outside world. Frowning at the banners he wondered how many years each design represented. He had long ago lost track of the years he had been trapped on this island.

"Only you could get grumpy staring at pieces of cloth Old Man." A youthful voice mocked.

"Shut up Boy!" he growled turning back to his throne as pain again wracked his lithe form. Lowering his body into the plush chair he wiped sweat soaked black hair off his forehead and glowered at the flickering flames.

As he watched more and more small dancing sparks floated around the fire before him. Shaking his head he lowered it to his palm.

"What's the matter you old cod fish? Getting lazy in your old age?"

"Boy you try my patience. Must you always flit about life like a bird never settling for more than a few moments? Life must be planed and mapped like the sea, lest you fall prey to its many dangers."

"Dangers! Ha! Old Man to truly live is to experience life with no regard to the dangers that you may face. Why avoid the danger when it's such an adventure to meet it."

"Life is not only adventure Boy! You must facet the truths of…."

"Life with out adventure would be dull indeed Old Man." The boy's voice sang out.

"Grow up Boy and realize that to become a man means you must think beyond boyish fantasy." The man growled.

"NEVER! I will never grow up!" the outraged voice cracked as the blue eyes youth stood in a flurry of movement drawing his sword in one smooth movement.

Leaping off the platform the boy turned and faced the dark haired man who sat there. Raising his sword in challenge he ran a hand through his blond kissed hair scattering all order from the short length. Grinning mockingly at the scowling bronze skinned man as he stood and drew his own sword the boy moved back towards the fire allowing his opponent room to face him.

"Now Old Man let us begin a new adventure." The boy laughed and lunged at the green eyed man.

"Boy your lessons in life will start and end this night." The man snarled as their swords met in a clash of metal.

From the throne the young man watched as a blue eyed boy crossed swords with the man whose long black hair hung in dark curls down his back. The pain that had plagued him for so long receded from his tired mind and he slumped back in the plush chair. The two fighters were so familiar to him that the fact that he had never seen them before this night barley crossed his mind. Leaning his head against the frame he let himself fade into the night closing weary hazel eyes on the fight before him.

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A/N: my goodness I didn't think that chapter was ever going to end. Are you confused? Did the shifting eye and hair color make sense to you? I hope so. If not (points to muse) blame Jinx he's the one that stuck this idea in my head. Don't worry from here on out it will be a bit less confusing. I hope u liked. Please review.