Post by Headmistress Briarthorn on Nov 15, 2009 3:40:07 GMT -6
Usha Valentino was eighteen years old when her destiny was finally met.
It happned when she knelt beside her mentor and most beloved teacher, known to all simply as Briarthorn. Usha was a very pretty young Indian/Romani woman, dressed in a floor length black gown, a vest on over the top of it. It was obvious that, one day, Usha would grow to be statuesque, elegant, and stately.
Out of habit, the young gypsy pulled several cards from a deck in her vest's pocket. Death, The Lovers, The Hierophant, The Empress, The Devil, and the World.
Four years ago, she had not held such stock in these cards. Four years ago, they were random images to dupe marks into giving her and her family money. Now, she knew the deadly serious meaning behind them.
Briarthorn coughed up large amounts of blood. She was a pale-skinned--moreso now than usual--purple-eyed, turquoise-haired elf, wearing a gown of blood red, forest green, and the occasional grey.
"Usha. It is good to see you before...before the end." The Headmistress said with a weak smile.
"Headmistress Briarthorn! Who did this to you?" Usha knew the answer, but she desperately did not want to believe it.
"Lucky. Lucky did this. She wanted my power for her own. When I would not relinquish it, she and her minions overpowered me." Briarthorn coughed again. "What she cannot have, Lucky wishes to destroy. Even now she gathers strength to destroy the Academy. You cannot let this happen, Usha."
"But what can I do? I...I am just a student." Her accent, once thick, was now barely traceable after four years at the Academy. "Lucky's stronger than me. She always has been. And...and she has teachers working for her now. And even the students are too powerful...the one advantage I have is that Fox's tail has nearly been severed....but even then the one who severed it is gone now. Dalton was all the strength I had, Headmistress. Please, I can get you to the nurse. She can help you."
Briarthorn shook her head. "No, my dear, dear Usha. You are stronger than you think. You came to this school a caravan peformer, much as Lucky came here a pickpocket. But you have grown so much where she remains the same selfish girl she has always been. When Frederick offered you power and a place at his side, you said no. When you were given the chance to slay Dalton's murderer, you instead granted him mercy. You have touched many lives here at the Academy. And each one is better for it. Including my own." The elf smiled. "No, child. You have more strength than your former companion could ever dream of."
"But how can I stop her without you?" Usha sobbed. "I'm an illusionist, a trickster. I don't have any real power."
"I beg to differ but soon..." Briarthorn winced. "That will be a moot point. I am dying, Usha. It is time for me to pass away. And to pass the school to my successor."
"Who is she? I shall fetch her forthwith." Usha god to her feet and started to move, but halted when the elf said, "It is you, my dear. The school will be yours, as will be my title."
Usha gaped visibly. "But Headmistress....I...."
"You are perfect save for one problem--you are not eternal, and the Headmistress must be, or close to. I know of a way, however, but, as you will see, it will have to wait until Lucky is defeated. But with the power of this Academy at your beck and call, that will not be as difficult as you might believe." Briarthorn said, pausing to cough up more blood. "...it will not be long."
"But I...I ca..."
"You must, Usha. You are the only one for the position. There can be no others--even if there were, there is not time for you to fetch them. It is your destiny, child. Accept it and your role in the cosmos." Briarthorn extended her hand. "Take it."
Usha did so. Immediately, she could feel the power inside. The ebb and flow of the whole school, possibly even the cosmos itself, pulssed inside her.
"Usha Valentino. Do you accept the name Briarthorn as your own, and the title of Headmistress of the Briarthorn Academy for Troubled Youth as your own?" The elf asked.
"Yes. I claim them for my own." Usha felt power begin to surge.
"Then I, Venara Swiftcrest, reclaim my birth name, and bestow upon you that of the Headmistress, your old name known only to Heaven. Be reborn forever more Briarthorn, the Headmistress." As the elf finished, there was a bright flash of light. Her gown's colors faded into white and silver, while she who was once Usha's turned blood red and forest green, with a hint of charcoal grey.
Briarthorn stood over the body of her predecessor, feeling reality reshape itself. There was now a Venara Swiftcrest, where before, there had not been for two thousand years.
And any who knew the name Usha Valentino, save those of Heaven, now knew the one-day statuesque young woman, as Briarthorn.
***** Four Years Back
At school for less than an hour, and Usha Valentino already felt it was a mistake.
She was sitting in a black gown that somehow fit her perfectly, though she had never been fitted for it, in a seat in the Quad of the Academy, standing before a stage and a podium on which Headmistress Briarthorn, a pretty woman whom Usha had been informed was an elf, Mrs. Gregor, a severe-looking German woman who was the nurse, and the last, an athletic-looking, brown haired, shoeless women in men's clothes whom Usha had been introduced to as Ms. Hanover, head of security.
And all around her, creatures of myth were seated, talking and conversing like normal children. It had all sounded so fanciful and foolish when the long-eared woman had spoken of it. Now that she truly was amidst creatures she had been taught did not exist, Usha was feeling rather overwhelmed.
"Ol' pointy-ears got you too, eh?" Came a female voice next to her. The source was a girl Usha's age with waist length, messily bound, strawberry blonde hair and bright, inquisitive green eyes. She was wearing a similar gown, except hers was blood red rather than black. "Lucky Kent." She extended a hand in a rather forward gesture.
"U-Usha Valentino." She said, somewhat nervous and embarassed by her somewhat poor English.
"You're a gypsy?" Lucky asked. Usha nodded.
"I am half. My mother was from India." The girl replied. Lucky gave an impressed whistle.
"From New York, New York, myself. So, what're you here for, Usha Valentino?" Lucky's voice was smooth, and though her manner was rough, she came off as being less vulgar and more casual and pleasant.
"Miss Briarthorn says that when I read my tarot, I am actually telling the future." Usha said. "I am positive she mad a mistake, however." She pulled three cards from the deck. The Fool, The Lovers, and the Two of Swords. "Why are you here?"
"Be pretty amazing if it were true, though. Me, I just picked the wrong pocket, ended up with a raging troll after me. Briar rescued me, brought me here. Not really troubled, though. I'm excited to see if all this hocus-pocus is the real deal. What room're you in?" The girl asked.
"Forty-three and eight."
"Hey, me too!" Lucky said with a grin.
"Oh my, how convenient." Usha replied with a steady smile.
"Hey, that's me." The more charismatic girl, soon to be Usha's best friend, and later her mortal nemesis, kept her wide grin. "I'm so lucky they named me it."
It happned when she knelt beside her mentor and most beloved teacher, known to all simply as Briarthorn. Usha was a very pretty young Indian/Romani woman, dressed in a floor length black gown, a vest on over the top of it. It was obvious that, one day, Usha would grow to be statuesque, elegant, and stately.
Out of habit, the young gypsy pulled several cards from a deck in her vest's pocket. Death, The Lovers, The Hierophant, The Empress, The Devil, and the World.
Four years ago, she had not held such stock in these cards. Four years ago, they were random images to dupe marks into giving her and her family money. Now, she knew the deadly serious meaning behind them.
Briarthorn coughed up large amounts of blood. She was a pale-skinned--moreso now than usual--purple-eyed, turquoise-haired elf, wearing a gown of blood red, forest green, and the occasional grey.
"Usha. It is good to see you before...before the end." The Headmistress said with a weak smile.
"Headmistress Briarthorn! Who did this to you?" Usha knew the answer, but she desperately did not want to believe it.
"Lucky. Lucky did this. She wanted my power for her own. When I would not relinquish it, she and her minions overpowered me." Briarthorn coughed again. "What she cannot have, Lucky wishes to destroy. Even now she gathers strength to destroy the Academy. You cannot let this happen, Usha."
"But what can I do? I...I am just a student." Her accent, once thick, was now barely traceable after four years at the Academy. "Lucky's stronger than me. She always has been. And...and she has teachers working for her now. And even the students are too powerful...the one advantage I have is that Fox's tail has nearly been severed....but even then the one who severed it is gone now. Dalton was all the strength I had, Headmistress. Please, I can get you to the nurse. She can help you."
Briarthorn shook her head. "No, my dear, dear Usha. You are stronger than you think. You came to this school a caravan peformer, much as Lucky came here a pickpocket. But you have grown so much where she remains the same selfish girl she has always been. When Frederick offered you power and a place at his side, you said no. When you were given the chance to slay Dalton's murderer, you instead granted him mercy. You have touched many lives here at the Academy. And each one is better for it. Including my own." The elf smiled. "No, child. You have more strength than your former companion could ever dream of."
"But how can I stop her without you?" Usha sobbed. "I'm an illusionist, a trickster. I don't have any real power."
"I beg to differ but soon..." Briarthorn winced. "That will be a moot point. I am dying, Usha. It is time for me to pass away. And to pass the school to my successor."
"Who is she? I shall fetch her forthwith." Usha god to her feet and started to move, but halted when the elf said, "It is you, my dear. The school will be yours, as will be my title."
Usha gaped visibly. "But Headmistress....I...."
"You are perfect save for one problem--you are not eternal, and the Headmistress must be, or close to. I know of a way, however, but, as you will see, it will have to wait until Lucky is defeated. But with the power of this Academy at your beck and call, that will not be as difficult as you might believe." Briarthorn said, pausing to cough up more blood. "...it will not be long."
"But I...I ca..."
"You must, Usha. You are the only one for the position. There can be no others--even if there were, there is not time for you to fetch them. It is your destiny, child. Accept it and your role in the cosmos." Briarthorn extended her hand. "Take it."
Usha did so. Immediately, she could feel the power inside. The ebb and flow of the whole school, possibly even the cosmos itself, pulssed inside her.
"Usha Valentino. Do you accept the name Briarthorn as your own, and the title of Headmistress of the Briarthorn Academy for Troubled Youth as your own?" The elf asked.
"Yes. I claim them for my own." Usha felt power begin to surge.
"Then I, Venara Swiftcrest, reclaim my birth name, and bestow upon you that of the Headmistress, your old name known only to Heaven. Be reborn forever more Briarthorn, the Headmistress." As the elf finished, there was a bright flash of light. Her gown's colors faded into white and silver, while she who was once Usha's turned blood red and forest green, with a hint of charcoal grey.
Briarthorn stood over the body of her predecessor, feeling reality reshape itself. There was now a Venara Swiftcrest, where before, there had not been for two thousand years.
And any who knew the name Usha Valentino, save those of Heaven, now knew the one-day statuesque young woman, as Briarthorn.
***** Four Years Back
At school for less than an hour, and Usha Valentino already felt it was a mistake.
She was sitting in a black gown that somehow fit her perfectly, though she had never been fitted for it, in a seat in the Quad of the Academy, standing before a stage and a podium on which Headmistress Briarthorn, a pretty woman whom Usha had been informed was an elf, Mrs. Gregor, a severe-looking German woman who was the nurse, and the last, an athletic-looking, brown haired, shoeless women in men's clothes whom Usha had been introduced to as Ms. Hanover, head of security.
And all around her, creatures of myth were seated, talking and conversing like normal children. It had all sounded so fanciful and foolish when the long-eared woman had spoken of it. Now that she truly was amidst creatures she had been taught did not exist, Usha was feeling rather overwhelmed.
"Ol' pointy-ears got you too, eh?" Came a female voice next to her. The source was a girl Usha's age with waist length, messily bound, strawberry blonde hair and bright, inquisitive green eyes. She was wearing a similar gown, except hers was blood red rather than black. "Lucky Kent." She extended a hand in a rather forward gesture.
"U-Usha Valentino." She said, somewhat nervous and embarassed by her somewhat poor English.
"You're a gypsy?" Lucky asked. Usha nodded.
"I am half. My mother was from India." The girl replied. Lucky gave an impressed whistle.
"From New York, New York, myself. So, what're you here for, Usha Valentino?" Lucky's voice was smooth, and though her manner was rough, she came off as being less vulgar and more casual and pleasant.
"Miss Briarthorn says that when I read my tarot, I am actually telling the future." Usha said. "I am positive she mad a mistake, however." She pulled three cards from the deck. The Fool, The Lovers, and the Two of Swords. "Why are you here?"
"Be pretty amazing if it were true, though. Me, I just picked the wrong pocket, ended up with a raging troll after me. Briar rescued me, brought me here. Not really troubled, though. I'm excited to see if all this hocus-pocus is the real deal. What room're you in?" The girl asked.
"Forty-three and eight."
"Hey, me too!" Lucky said with a grin.
"Oh my, how convenient." Usha replied with a steady smile.
"Hey, that's me." The more charismatic girl, soon to be Usha's best friend, and later her mortal nemesis, kept her wide grin. "I'm so lucky they named me it."