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Nystagmus
Nystagmus woke with a start. “Oh man,” he said to himself, “you’ve done it this time!” Nystagmus had a habit of falling asleep at inopportune times; it was how he got his name. When he was born, he cried for only a few seconds, and then fell deeply and peacefully asleep. At the time his grandfather had chuckled, “We should call him Nustagmos. That means ‘drowsy’ in the old tongue.” The name had stuck, but mangled a little by an older brother who could not quite get his tongue around all those syllables.
Now it didn’t seem quite so amusing. He looked around, not recognizing the field in which he was lying, though it had a vaguely familiar feel to it. “Master Lin is going to be furious,” he said to himself. “This is the second time I’ve been late this week! If only I could control that sleeping.” It was a curse he’d lived with ever since birth. He never knew when the sleeping fits would hit. But whenever they hit, it was always inconvenient to say the least.
Master Lin was particularly put out right now. Just one week ago his dojo had their first competition of the season. Nystagmus had fallen asleep during his first bout, and was disqualified, bringing shame to the whole dojo. He had endured a lot of ribbing from his friends, but he was used to that. His good friends didn’t really mean it anyway, they were used to his sleep attacks by now, and always tried to help when they hit. He was worried about what Master Lin would say. Master Lin had been very encouraging recently, telling Nystagmus that he showed real promise, even talking about starting weapon training soon! This was what Nystagmus wanted! He had always admired the shining metal of the Neckode, and the cold gleam of the Cestus. The few times he had been allowed to handle some of the weapons he could feel an almost electric shock pass between him and the warm steel. He knew he was meant to carry these into battle.
But now he wondered if he would ever get the opportunity. Nystagmus did a slow turn, taking in the scenery. He was in a small field, really more of a clearing among several tall trees. In the distant west, he could just make out some mountain peaks. To the east, where the sun was rising, there appeared to be a cobbled road, and beyond that, a strip of blue. Water perhaps? Nystagmus couldn’t recall a stream in the direction he had been going. And why was the sun just rising? He had left his parents house, just after lunch. Could he have slept through a whole day? And what was going on with the trees? The leaves were vibrant colors, reds, yellows, and all shades in between. But it was spring! And there was a nip in the air that didn’t seem right either.
Nystagmus decided he’d better make for the road, figure out where he was and get to Master Lin’s. As he walked towards the road, the woods parted to the North, revealing a small farmhouse surrounded by fields of cabbages. “They’ll be able to point me in the right direction.” He thought to himself. So he changed his direction.
As he approached the farmhouse he was surprised to see a stout bow and a quiver full of arrows lying next to the door. “What are they planning to hunt?” He wondered. Then he noticed the stout frame of the door, the heavy paneling of the walls, the small size of the windows. “This house looks like it could stand up to a small siege.” He thought to himself. Not seeing anyone outside he went to the front door and knocked. Immediately came the sound of scuffling and scraping inside, then a gruff woman’s voice saying, “Quiet yourself, Drudges don’t knock. Go answer the door.” Next the grating sound as if a large timber was being moved away from the door, and it opened.
The man inside looked Nystagmus over and asked, “What do you want. And how did you get here? You don’t look equipped to travel these parts.”
Nystagmus stuttered, “I was hoping you could give me directions… I was heading for Master Lin’s; his dojo is on the west end of Tattori.”
The woman interrupted him, “Oh my dear, you just arrived, didn’t you?” She pulled him inside saying, “Sit here, have some tea.”
Nystagmus looked around the room in amazement. He had expected a farmhouse, what he saw reminded him of Master Lin’s dojo. The walls were lined with all manner of weapons. He saw neckodes, staffs, maces, swords, and daggers of all types! “You must be a great warrior!” He blurted out.
The farmer looked around, chuckled, and said, “No, just a survivor.”
Just then they heard a sound at the door. It was a mewling, but like none Nystagmus had ever heard before. When he turned to look he saw two enormous cat-like creatures bounding in through the still open door. The farmer yelled, “Darn, and I left my bow outside.” He ran to the nearest wall, grabbed something off it and threw it to Nystagmus saying, “I hope you know how to fight.” He then grabbed a heavy staff from the wall and leapt at the nearest creature.
Nystagmus looked at the object in his hands. It was a Cestus, but like none he had ever seen before. Sparks leapt from its shiny surface to fall on the floor. But the sparks didn’t burn him. He quickly slipped it on his hand, and immediately felt a sense of power, like he had never felt before. It was as if the Cestus knew him, and was telling him what to do, where to place his fingers, how to position his body. He was mesmerized.
Suddenly he felt a burning pain down his side. He looked to see red streaking down his torso from where the creature’s claws had cut deep. Without thinking he stuck his fighting pose. With the Cestus directing his movements he blocked the next strike from the creature, then countered with a blow of his own. Such power! He could not believe it. With just one blow the creature slipped down to the floor, shocked dead. He turned to look at the farmer; the second giant cat creature lay dead at his feet. Suddenly, without warning, Nystagmus slumped to the floor, fast asleep.
When he awoke he was still in the farmhouse. The farmer and his wife, he learned their names were Min Turn and Ba Salt, allowed him to stay. They told him of his new world, Dereth. They taught him about Lifestones and Portals. They told him tales of the Empyreans, of the coming of the Othloi, and of the escape engineered by the wizard Asheron. Min Turn taught him what he could of fighting. They tried to interest him in their farm, as they had no children of their own, but they came to realize that Nystagmus was not meant for the life of a farmer.
One morning Nystagmus awoke (from a normal sleep this time) to find Min Turn and Ba Salt standing next to his pallet. Min Turn was holding the Lightning Cestus. He handed it to Nystagmus. “We know you grow restless,” he said. “Rather than see you leave with enmity some day, we prefer to send you out into the world with our blessing. The village of Shoushi is North and a little West of here. If you follow the road, you will come to it. There you will find others who carry adventure in their hearts like yourself. We wish you good fortune. Take this Cestus. It always liked you better than me anyway.” He concluded with a grin.
With little else, other than a hearty breakfast, Nystagmus made his way out into his new world. Not knowing what to expect, and more excited than he had ever been in his life.
Nystagmus - Runeknight House Jara
Patron: Battledragon