Elf Haven

Oh yeah

2006-11-02T16:28:22Z

I know only a few people actually read this, but if you see something in my stories that doesn't make sense or needs correcting or just anything, feel free to leave a comment or two about it. I would appreciate it ^_^.

Thanks, Winston

Prelude: The Wanderer

2006-11-02T16:22:17Z

Our fair village Rarun is a quiet place, a place where people can live and lead normal lives without worry or fear. It is a place of little excitement, a place where nothing out of the ordinary could possibly happen, or so we had thought until he came, until the wanderer showed up.
    The day was the same as any other, dry and dusty, that’s what happens when you live in a desert. The children were playing and the folk were going about their business as usual and I, Mattias, sat in my home studying ever-alone.
    A scream pierced the comforting silence; I rushed out the door to see what the matter was. I headed in the direction of the scream to find that it had come from one of the children; I rushed over to them to see what happened. A torn figure lay on the ground soaked in blood lying face down in the sand scarcely breathing, a giant sword by his side.
    A crowd started to gather, people spoke in hushed whispers about the stranger. I bent down to check his pulse when he started to stir; he muttered something in a strange dialect I barely heard it but recognized it as some sort of elven. I decided to look into this later but at the moment, I asked some nearby folk to help me carry the stranger to my house, they were cautious and unsure at first but decide to help.
    Once inside my house I guided my helpers to the bed and bid them to lay him face down so that I could tend to his back where his wounds were most grievous. I told one of the men to get the strangers’ sword and he looked at me as if I had lost my wits, I explained to him that I didn’t want the children touching it and anyway the stranger couldn’t use it in his condition the man nodded and rushed out. I assured the rest of the men there that I would be fine, they seemed unsure to leave me with the stranger even though he was unconscious and injured but they left anyway. I peeled away what remained of the clothing on his back and examined his wound. Long slashes covered his back and he had lost much blood, the wound also appeared poisoned; even more questions arose in my head.
    The man came back with the stranger’s sword, it was very large and the man had difficulty bringing it in, as soon as he set it against the wall I bid him to leave, then I went about tending to the strangers’ wounds. After nearly six hours I had done all I could I had only to wait, the poison had been in his system for several days from what I could tell but fortunately there hadn’t been much damage. Now I could only hope for the stranger to awaken.
    During my wait I must have fallen asleep for I woke later to find that darkness had set in. I looked over to check on the stranger, he was muttering incoherently in his sleep. He awoke suddenly breathing heavily; he looked toward me and started to breathe easier though he had a cautious look in his eye. I offered him some water which he took and nodded his thanks. I knew enough of the elven language but it had been decades when I had previously used it, I wasn’t very fluent in the graceful language but I tried anyway.
    I asked him who he was and where he had come from, he looked at me curiously intrigued that I would know his language but no doubt confused by my awkward dialect. He replied slowly so that I could understand that he hailed from the inner desert then he paused for a moment then told me he was called Sholnfete then bent his head low as if recalling bad memories. Sholnfete was a title rather than a name he told me but he didn’t say anything further about it, I was confused but I did not question it figuring it was something personal. I then asked him how he received those wounds on his back; he replied ‘seragos’ or sandworm, my face paled for sandworms were very large predators. Huge beasts that grew to lengths of over forty feet and with one end vicious pincers and a maw full of needle-like teeth the other end a barbed stinger which was poisonous, very. It was a wonder that he was still alive. I started to worry that he was followed by the seragos being injured and all it wouldn’t have been hard to take down the lone elf, he saw this fear reflected in my eyes and shook his head and pointed to his enormous sword leaning against the wall. I nodded slowly, I then offered him something to eat which he accepted, and after that I told him to rest. I pulled some spare blankets out of a chest and slept on the floor.
    I awoke the next morning a little stiff from sleeping on the floor but otherwise good. I got up to stretch my old bones then noticed that Sholnfete had gotten out of bed and was standing before me deep in concentration muttering something inaudible. I merely stood there staring, wondering what he was up to then ethereal flames shrouded his body, I stood there unable to say anything then all of a sudden the flames dissipated. He stood taller after that, then he started stretching his limbs, something he couldn’t possibly do because of his injuries. He sat down on the bed after that and started to remove his bandages, I cried out in protest but he looked up at me with a knowing look, when he had removed his bandages he showed me his back the slash marks were merely faded scars. He asked me something in his language which I understood as clothes. I went over to my chest and started digging through it, I pulled out an old robe of mine and gave it to him; it was much too big for his elven form but with some hemming it would do.
    I asked him how long he would be staying, he shrugged his shoulders. He may be staying a while I thought, so I asked him if he wanted to learn the common language, he sat there thinking a moment then nodded. After that I started the process of teaching him the common language he learned fast and he wanted to learn more about humans so I taught and he learned. The folk of Rarun were still a little unsure about the strange elf but the children always wanted to see him. Sholnfete enjoyed the visits from the children, he told them many stories when they came, stories passed down from generation to generation through his people like the story of Kheldryn Fae known as the Champion of Wind.
    After Sholnfete had learned all that I knew I began to ask questions and learn from him. I knew it would be painful for him to bring up his past but it would be better for him to get the demons off of his back. He was first unsure when I asked him but soon gave in. He told me of his people, his clan, and his dearest friends. The dry elves were a nomadic people traveling when the buffalo herd traveled; Sholnfete’s tribe was following a herd of buffalo to the Detrus oasis, they had been traveling for several days but on one unfortunate day they were ambushed by several sandworms, all but a few of his people remained after they had killed all but one of the worms. Sholnfete told me he was taken by unbridled fury and remembered nothing until he had awoken on the hot sand his back stinging and his sword stained with blood. The worm he had been fighting had been nearly severed in two; he was thrown off by this, his sword the Hiroki, is blunt and is more or less a tool for cracking hard carapaces not meant for heavy melee due to its weight and size. He said that after that he merely picked a direction and started walking he knew not for how long, he expected to perish before long but had miraculously ended up here. The room was silent after that, I sat there absorbing all that he had said I told him that I would introduce him to the villagers the next day so that they could get used to him, he nodded his consent and then we slept.
    The villagers were a little cautious about meeting the elf but their children prodded them into meeting the master storyteller. After meeting Sholnfete and talking with him the villagers’ worry and unease went away, they were all friendly toward the elf and got along with him easily. Sholnfete was relieved and touched by their friendship, he decided he would stay a while and told the villagers that he was here if they needed his help or anything else.
    That night I asked him if he was a wizard, recalling the ethereal fire and his speedy recovery. He laughed at that and said no, he told me he used his elemental magic. Elemental magic, more commonly known as elf magic as I found out in an old musty tome, is a type of magic unlike arcane magic that draws upon the wielder and the elements; elf magic is, in it’s simplest form, an element that when combined with the users personal energy can be used in any shape or form depending upon the will of the user. I decided that that was enough for now and I would look further in the matter later. Having no other questions, we went to sleep.
    I awoke the next morning to find Sholnfete’s bedroll empty; I got dressed and left my abode in search of him. I asked some of the villagers of his whereabouts and they told me he was over at the blacksmiths helping him out. I went back indoors glad that Sholnfete was starting to belong. For the next few months Sholnfete did this and that helping out whoever needed it usually building or making things, he was very good with his hands and then of course in his free time he entertained the children.
    He confronted me one evening telling me he was getting restless, he loved our little village and its people but he had to leave, it just wasn’t his place. I understood and knew that this was likely to happen, so I had prepared for it. I asked him where he would go, up north he replied, I nodded. I had a dear friend of mine make him some new clothes and a heavy leather coat that went down to his feet; I gave these to him which he thanked me. I also gave him a staff and a pouch full of gold, I told him I had no need of the gold and he could keep it.
    I then pulled out a small amulet which I also had made for him was fashioned to look like an eclipsed sun; I put this around his neck which he looked at curiously. I told him it was an eclipsed sun and that it had a likeness to him. Sholnfete meant ‘the lost one’ he told me quietly. I asked him what his birth name was, he told me that it was Shei and then he said that he preferred Sholnfete, and instead of being lost he was reborn as the wanderer.
    For the past few days he had been working on a project of his own, it was a long flimsy piece of leather, I stared at it curiously then he sheathed his Hiroki in it and understanding set in. He then cut two holes in the back of the coat so he could strap his sword to his back. I looked at him and he looked like a true adventurer like those from his many stories. I embraced him, and he returned it, then he walked out of my door and out of our lives.
    Everyone was saddened by the news of his departure especially the children, I looked at the sad faces of the villagers and I now know how much he had changed us all. Eventually everything went back to normal, for the most part, Sholnfete was mentioned in some conversations every now and again.
    Many months later word reached down to Rarun of many towns up north getting waylaid by terrible creatures, but all assaults were set back by the courageous efforts of an unknown warrior of great strength. This warrior was Sholnfete, I knew in my heart that it was, I had hoped that he would return to Rarun but I now see he has made his place in the world helping others. Rarun turned back to normal in time though Sholnfetes name is whispered from time to time, but otherwise it’s just a quiet little town where people can live ordinary lives, where nothing out of the ordinary happens.
    I cannot help but think of what would’ve happened to our lives if on that fateful day long ago Sholnfete hadn’t stumbled upon our village, perhaps it was fated to be. Ah well, the musings of an old fool.

612, year of Sorrow
- Old Mattias

Ch 1: Fires Within

2006-11-02T16:21:19Z

The desert was so unnaturally hot these days, Shei thought as he wiped gathering sweat off of his brow with the back of his hand. His race was usually tolerant to the fierce heat of Detrus desert. Dry elves were born and raised in the sweltering desert and were accustomed to the harsh climate. He looked to his friends, Aryutael and Korian; they suffered from the unnatural heat as well. Aryutael looked his way and he gave her a smile to which she returned. To him it didn’t matter how hot the desert got, he was among his friends and he’d rather be nowhere else.
    Shei’s clan, the dry wolf, had been traveling many days following the buffalo herd that his people lived off of. Each day it had gotten increasingly hotter and the elders of the clan were most confused and worried about this odd occurrence. No worries though, they were due to run into one of the few ruins that was nearby. There were several such ruins that dotted the land; they served as resting points while the tribes followed the desert buffalo. Shei’s tribe frequented these places often while traveling.
       As the familiar ruins neared into sight Shei looked around and saw several relieved faces among his people. They had suffered greatly from the heat, especially the children. Once beneath the shade provided by the ruins though, everyone was more relaxed, sure they would have to leave in a while but it was a welcome reprieve for now.
Shei took this time to sit and talk with his friends, they talked little while traveling doing such would make one’s mouth go dry and they only had so much water to go around. Shei walked over to the spot that his friends had picked out and sat between them.
    “Surely this accursed heat has an end,” Korian complained as Shei sat down. Aryutael nodded, “You would think so but thus far it seems to only get hotter and hotter as the days pass,” Korian only stared into the vast desert outside the ruins in deep thought.
“What do you think about this Shei?” Aryutael asked laying her head on his shoulder out of weariness. “Well the elders seem to be greatly concerned and that makes me somewhat concerned, true that it is very peculiar; though who knows what mysteries the desert hold it could be natural but, perhaps not. Ah well,” Shei replied.
    He yawned; his weariness was catching up to him. May as well he thought, a little sleep won’t hurt, he glanced at Aryutael her eyes were flickering as she was struggling to stay awake. Shei reached his arm around her and pulled her closer, “Sleep, you need it,” Aryutael nodded in reply and slumped against him breathing steadily.
Shei smiled, truly he would rather be no where else. Korian turned from his thoughtful reverie and stretched, “I’m going to take a walk around the ruins, I’ll be back in a bit, you two should catch up on some rest it’s hard to come by these days,” he smiled at the couple then walked off. Shei nodded to his friend as he walked away, then he made himself comfortable and dozed off in moments.
    He awoke some hours later, he noticed the sun had neared dusk; he noticed that he had gotten a decent amount of sleep. Shei sat up and looked around, Aryutael was still sleeping contently her head leaning against his chest. Across him Korian lay against a pillar snoozing, Shei was glad that his friend managed to get some sleep. He scanned the other parts of the ruins, there were some folk up tending fires and preparing dinner from what he could smell. He roused Aryutael, she got up and stretched and awoke suddenly smelling the scent of cooking food. She pointed at sleeping Korian to which Shei shook his head; he decided that his friend needed at least a little more sleep.
    The couple walked over to one of the fires where few sat, an elderly woman tended to the fire and the stew that cooked over it. Shei asked if they could join them for some supper, the elderly woman smiled and nodded motioning to some vacant seats around the fire. She got some bowls for the two and filled them with stew, while they listened to stories told by an elder who sat at the other side of the fire. Others listened intently as he wove tales from long ago that Shei remembered from his childhood. He smiled recalling fond memories as he sat down to eat.
    After finishing their stew and the elder his story they sat in silence until the elder stood up, “Well, from what I’ve been told from the head elders, we are to be continuing our travels within two hours,” there were some confused looks, “These days are very hot and our elderly and our young ones cannot much stand the heat for very long so we must go by night if we are to escape this heat, do not worry though, we will be fine once we reach the oasis,” he assured everyone. A few nodded their acknowledgement and thanked the elder others went about rousing family members and gathering their things readying themselves for travel. The elder smiled getting up then bowed and walked off. Shei put his hand on Aryutael’s shoulder to get her attention, “Let’s go rouse Korian, if we are to leave soon he ought not to be sleeping,” Aryutael nodded then thoughtfully dished up a bowl of stew to take to Korian.
    Korian still slept at the base of the pillar, Shei knelt down and nudged him awake. Korian heaved a sigh but acted as if he was still slumbering otherwise, “You must wake, we are to leave in a little over an hour and Aryutael has been kind enough to bring you some leftover stew,” Korian was awake instantly his eyes scanning for this stew he had been told of. Aryutael handed the bowl to Korian to which he thanked her and started eating ravenously. Aryutael and Shei looked at each other and grinned. They sat there and waited for Korian to finish eating then told him of what the elder said.
    The friends talked a little before their departure then gathered their things and headed out of the ruins with the rest of the tribe. The moon was full in the sky bringing a silvery light upon the land, though being elves they could see in the dark anyway. The soft silvery glow from the moon was somewhat comforting for the traveling people anyway. The tribe would have to be traveling almost constantly for the next twelve hours or so. There were no resting points until a large rock outcropping some hours away from the oasis called the Dragons Talons and even then the tribe would be too exhausted to close the distance to the oasis. Once the sun rose, traveling conditions would be very harsh for the dry elves so they pushed to make good time and reach the Talons in time.
    After traveling nearly seven hours a temporary halt was called so that everyone could rest. It was still in the middle of the night so everyone rested easy on the cool sand. The three friends walked around distributing water to the young and elderly, helping to comfort the weary people as much as they could. Shei and Korian went to replace the current guards so that they could rest. Most everyone in the tribe took turns as guard; they rotated guards every time they rested. Shei though it was an efficient enough system, trading out the current tired guard with the more watchful, rested, and alert ones.
They were given a weapon and a position to take while traveling. Korian got a spear and was positioned to take point whereas Shei got a hiroki blade and was to take right flank. The hiroki blade was a very large sword made of an obsidian colored metal. It was as tall as Shei was from hilt to tip and it curved at the end. It was very blunt though but it was so for a reason, there were some monsters that roamed the desert that had a carapace that was nigh indestructible. The hiroki blade was used to break these carapaces thus making them vulnerable for the sharper weapons. It was an incredible and rare weapon, their tribe possessed very few of the weapons for they were made of a rare yet indestructible metal called zirok. Zirok is a mysterious obsidian colored metal found in the Firesmoke Mountains on the northern border of Detrus, but dragons laired there and hoarded the precious metal making it almost impossible to attain.
    Shei and Korian took up their guard positions once tribe got moving again near an hour later. Shei walked with another guard whose name he did not know, they walked in silence so Shei was left with his thoughts. Not long after the tribe had left from their rest the sun had begun its daily ascent. It was fortunate that they had departed in the night and had made good distance for though the sun was slow in rising they still felt the intense heat building with each passing minute. It was not yet midday and Shei’s face was already dripping with sweat. The going was rough already but they would make it to the rocks in short time.
    Hours passed and the sun rose higher in the sky fortunately the Dragons Talons came into sight, they were no more than a couple of miles away. Someone was running towards the tribe, Shei identified him as one of the point men. Shei shaded his eyes to see if he could make out whom the person was, it appeared to be Korian. Shei was curious as to what brought him back to the tribe, trouble mayhap. Korian caught sight of Shei and started waving his arms frantically, Shei waved back and started running to his friend. Korian came up to him doubled over breathing deeply. As soon as he caught his breath he related his story, “Shei, you must gather everyone there are seragos nearby, more than one; hurry now I must tell the elders,” then he ran off again. Shei was stunned, this was very bad, seragos were deadly on their own but more than one could prove fatal. He snapped out of his shock and went to obey his friends order.
    Shei hurried around and gathered as many people as he could with much confusion on the side of the tribes folk, he told them that the elders would explain soon enough. Then he hurried to find Korian, who was speaking with the elders with Aryutael by his side. Shei let out a sigh of relief; he hadn’t seen her and had started to worry. He rushed up to his friends as the elders were discussing a plan of action, “We will have the warriors stationed down over there,” he pointed to a dune some hundred of yards away, “while the rest of the tribes folk escape around and head to the Talons,” the head elder concluded.
    “But what about the warriors, there are multiple seragos, many will perish,” one guard spoke up. The head elder raised his hands, “I know, but we must think of the rest of the tribe, they are the ones that must survive they are the future generation of this tribe,” he explained. The guard looked down ashamed of his cowardice. “So does everyone understand what they are to do?” everyone nodded their acknowledgement and the elder waved his hand in a dismissal.
    Shei took Korian aside, “I want you to take Aryutael and make sure she makes it safely to the rocks,” before Korian could say anything Aryutael spoke up, “I can manage on my own, I’ll be fine,” Shei shook his head slowly, “But I still worry about you and I want to make sure you will be safe,” Korian spoke up then though softly, “I’ll take her, I’ll guide her safely to the rocks,” Shei nodded his thanks. He knew Aryutael wasn’t much happy about it but at least she would be safe. He gave her an apologetic look before he started to walk off, then Aryutael grabbed Shei’s arm, “You had better come back alive; do you hear me?” Shei didn’t have enough time to nod or speak before Aryutael hugged him close and kissed him. Shei gave her a sorrowful look, “I will, I promise,” then he ran off to join the gathering warriors.
    The warriors were gathered about a hundred yards from where they were to confront the seragos, there were nearly two-score warriors there. The captain of the guard was there and he briefly told them about the situation in which they were put in. Shei got there in the middle of the briefing, the hiroki blade hindered his speed. Most of the warriors present wore a stoic or confused expression but at the mentioning of multiple seragos their tan faces paled. They had to harden up Shei thought grimly; it was their duty to make sure the rest of the tribe got to safety.
    Suddenly, the sand beneath their feet started to quake. All of the warriors tensed up gripping their weapons tighter, looks of fear were displayed clearly upon their faces. Near two hundred paces away a seragos came from the ground with an explosion of sand going everywhere, it cried out in a high pitch screech. Before anyone could react another blasted from the sand not far from the first. The worms were of great size they were larger than anything Shei had seen before in his life. He gazed upon the great worms with both awe and fear. Truly these were unnatural beasts, he had only seen a couple before in his life but these were gargantuan worms.
    Some of the warriors shook their heads as if dazed then let out great battle cries inspiring courage in the rest of them. The warriors then took up a charge rushing at the worms undaunted by their size. The seragos let out great screeches then charged as well maneuvering over the dunes easily and stirring up a cloud of sand as they ran on. The outcome of the battle would be close the warriors were many and yet the seragos were well armored and armed. Their carapace was as strong as steel and not only did they have pincers and teeth in the front but also they had multiple stingers on the other end filled with deadly poison.
Shei struggled to keep up with the charge of his fellows but his encumber some hiroki blade slowed him greatly yet he ran on full of adrenaline. Then another screech, though this time it was behind him. Shei glanced over his shoulder fear and dread easing into his mind; another gargantuan worm had emerged from the sands near the outcropping. Shei was stunned; the seragos had set a trap they had been lured into.
Shei glanced back to his comrades in arms, they had met in combat with the worms, several were dead or dying and the worms still held strong. He felt torn, his people and Aryutael ran towards the outcropping approaching certain doom; on the other hand his friends and comrades were being ripped from limb to limb by two great seragos. He was unsure of who to aid, he was aware he wouldn’t be able to aid everyone if anyone at all; he was just one person he couldn’t take one of those huge worms on his own. But he had to try, he didn’t know who to aid though. He decided to aid his people; the elders own words were that they were more important.
    He gripped his hiroki blade tight then exhaled clearing from his mind doubt, fear, and dread. Then he ran and he ran hard, he concentrated on only his destination and his task. As he closed on the worms a sharp pain exploded behind his eyes, he staggered in his run. He shook his head fiercely though the pain stayed he still ran. Soon the pain spread throughout his being and he felt numb. A sudden ferocity came over him, an urge to kill and one he couldn’t resist. His vision was hazed over by a red cloud and he felt his control slipping away being replaced by something more feral, more primal. Then he felt the last of his will slip away to the feral beast that came from within and he knew no more.
    Shei awoke to the howling sound of the desert wind. He sat up shaking his head, is still pained him and he sat there sorting his thoughts trying to recall what had happened. He got up from where he sat and looked around listening all the while. Nothing reached his ears save for the dry wind that blew across the heated plains of sand. While he looked around he spied the remnants of the battle and he was suddenly distraught. For not a thing stirred on the field of battle, all laid slain. He decided to go to his slain people, at least to see them one last time before the desert sands swallowed them.
    He bent over to pick up his hiroki blade and such a pain came from his back he grimaced and clenched his teeth. He felt his hand to his back and felt several gaping wounds; he retracted his hand and saw discolored blood upon his hand. The blood was his and it was poisoned, he must have taken quite a hit from the seragos though he remembered nothing from the battle. Anyhow he was resolved to look upon his people one last time. He got up grasping his blade as a crutch then started down a dune closing in on the silent battlefield.
    He staggered a little as he went down and the pain in his back bothered him some but he endured it. Shei made his way over to some of the fallen noticing familiar faces of the elders and of childhood friends. Tears were gathering in his eyes, these had been good people whom he had cherished and had shared good memories with. Then a flash of orange caught his eye, it was as he expected the hair of his beloved Aryutael. He walked over to her then fell on her knees before her. He started to weep but noticed that her chest rose and fell taking in shallow gasps of air.
    “Aryutael, do you still keep company of the living?” he asked in hopes of a response, “Aye but not for long, I must depart soon enough though I pray that I may spend these last minutes with you,” she replied strained even by the effort of speaking. “All of our people lay here slain, all save for myself somehow I managed to live though I can recall nothing of the battle,” Shei spoke shaking his head trying to recall his lost memory. “We came down here when the seragos attacked, Korian jumped in the way of one of the stingers but the great worm pierced Korian through and stung me with its poison,” Shei looked to her abdomen and saw a grievous discolored wound in her and knew that she would be called away soon.
    “Shei, I depart soon now, you must live on for me for everyone I know you will but promise me,” he grasped her hand and went in close to her face, “I will I promise to you,” then he kissed her, she smiled then her eyes closed and the life went from her. He sat there thinking and grieving thereafter; he looked around and saw the great seragos not far off. Shei gasped it had looked like a great rock from afar but now that he was closer he saw it in a different light. It was quite dead; the gaping charred wounds that ran down the length of the worm belied its vitality. As his eyes ran the course of the seragos fire flashed before his eyes as if from a memory. Pain came to his head and he squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them and the fire was gone.
    Shei sat in silence for a while longer in respect for his people that had lost their lives in this tragedy. He then stood and looked among his slain people and said a short prayer for them to the Guardians so that they would watch over them in the afterlife. Then picking up his hiroki blade he started to walk, not in any particular direction he just started to walk. He walked and walked with each step he was further away from the battlefield and his previous life and closer to something else. Shei hadn’t thought much about where he was going to go, he was even unsure if he would survive very long on his own in this wasteland. He could only go so far without food and little water that he had in a water skin by his side and to top that he had a wound that would prove fatal soon enough if not treated. He was actually pretty surprised that it hadn’t killed him yet though. A minor victory but one he was grateful for.
    Soon after he started to feel the effects of the poison, at first his vision started to blur and then his movements become sluggish and he started to swagger. Shei shook his head, he had to keep going before either this poison or accursed heat could kill him. So he continued staggering along but he made some progress nonetheless. Shei stopped to drain what was left of his water skin which was very little. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. He glanced up at the sun and saw that it was late in the day though from it he could determine what direction he was heading, a lot good that would do though. He spied some mountains to the north; from what he recalled from geography and history lessons he could guess that those were the Firesmoke Mountains. He looked around some more and saw a village, or what looked like a village anyway, he was unsure if his eyes lied to him or the desert played tricks upon his eyes. Shei decided to chance for this village though, it lay to the north-west and he knew nothing of it but it may provide hope for him yet.
    Shei started towards the village with renewed vigor, still using the hiroki blade as a crutch. He went as fast as he could but in his current state and the weight of his blade it was an effort that was quickly draining him of his strength. As he neared he could see more detail of this obscure village and he looked upon it and saw that it was real. He could not help but be happy and he redoubled his efforts to reach this sanctuary. Upon reaching it he stopped and looked upon the structures and the village as a whole and while he stood there marveling at the place his fatigue caught up with him. It hit him like a sledge in the back of his head and he slipped into unconsciousness, before he hit the ground he thought he heard a scream like that of a little girl child but then he knew no more.

My world, my book

2006-11-02T16:20:23Z

The following couple of posts are part of a book I started, got stuck, then stopped. It's been stopped for a while, but I plan on picking it back up soon along with several other things.

A Journey Begun

2006-11-02T16:17:49Z

Here is a character background for one of Sam's online campaigns that he needs to pick back up ^_^.

Shea looked out of the single window in his room at the Firewine inn. He stared reverently at the setting sun as it descended into the ocean far off in the horizon. Such a beautiful sight he thought. He couldn’t imagine living without such beauty in his life, like his fathers people, the drow, did.
    Shea was half-drow; half human and half drow some view his race as cursed and in a way it was. Human, drow, it didn’t matter he was either hated or feared he merely didn’t belong anywhere. His family had been the only people he had; they had looked after him and kept him safe. However, his father had been assassinated by his own people for loving a human woman. Shea is now the only living heir to the Rha’lin house, not that they were nobility it was just that family had meant a lot to his father. Shea’s mother was the world to his father, but after he was killed it had left his mother distraught. They moved to Luskan afterwards and settled down there, his mother married a human sailor named Beor. They had a son named Shawn and though Shea was older and of a different race they were still close.
    His mother then passed away when he was the age of twenty-one, which of course was still very young for a half-elf, and Shawn was seventeen nearing manhood. Beor died shortly after the boys’ mother falling prey to vicious pirates. Having nowhere to go the brothers traveled for a time. Their travels led them to the city of Waterdeep; there they joined a local pirate crew that goes by the name of the Wave Fangs. The captain was a lighthearted half-elf by the name of Winst’n. The Wave Fangs were a group of pirates that did not plunder and kill but rather they helped the people oppressed by men of evil natures controlled by their greed. The brothers fit right in being rather good fighters themselves, Shea was agile and nearly unmatched with knives and Shawn was known for his master archery. At that point in his life he was living life the way he thought his father would have wanted him to, refusing to live by the reputation of his race and giving into their evil ways and selflessly helping other that need it.
By now the sun had dropped beneath the horizon though the sky still gave off a dark crimson glow. Shea gave the beautiful scene a last look then turned from the window and lit the oil lamp on the nightstand and sat down on the bed. He didn’t feel much tired though; he took the black ring off of his right hand and examined it underneath the lamp light. It was a very curious ring, it seemed magical to the touch though he didn’t know its properties it still brought back memories, both good and bad.
    The ring that lay in the palm of his hand brought him back to the past, though it hurt him emotionally to go there he still couldn’t forget the good memories it brought on. In his latter years with the Wave Fangs Shea had encountered a woman whose beauty was unsurpassed. Her name was Raven, the ship she was traveling on had been attacked by pirates and she was the lone survivor. She had been floating in the ocean for almost a day and was near death. Shea had taken care of her and nursed her back to health, for the remaining time out at sea the two had bonded and had shared their life stories. Raven was an Imaskari, a human race of spell casters that dwelled in the Underdark. Raven was no different; she was a powerful wizard herself but was tired of living a life in a forever-dark realm so she ventured to the surface.
    Upon reaching the shore they realized that the time they had spent together had forged a very close relationship and they had fallen in love. Only days after reaching land the couple decided to be wed. Shea, after deciding he was done with adventuring, had made the decision to leave the Wave Fangs and to settle down. Shawn stayed though; he belonged with the Cap’n and the crew he had said. After their wedding Raven and Shea traveled until they got to Waterdeep. There, with the money Shea had received with his lengthy ten year stay with the Wave Fangs, the couple bought a house in the grand city. They dwelt there and lived peacefully among the people for a long time and had even had a daughter, Tamara.
    Then when little Tamara was only ten, Raven passed away from a wasting disease which was magical in nature so nothing could be done to save her. Shea was distraught, though having been married twenty years it still grieved him that his time had been cut short with her. It was then Shea’s duty to raise Tamara on his own; he had never fully gotten over his grief but he was still happy to have his daughter who was the image of her mother with her black hair and moonlight pale complexion. Tamara also had the gift of magic passed on from her mother; Tamara had inherited her mother’s spell book and seemed genuinely interested in the art so Shea decided to nourish his daughter’s interest by paying for magic lessons.
Shea heaved a sigh and wiped a slowly descending tear from his eye then slid the ring back onto his middle finger and lay back on his bed. It seemed that Tamara had grown so fast, he was used to the little child that looked up to him with inquisitive eyes, now she was seventeen and almost a woman. She was the one that had insisted and ultimately convinced him that he should follow the road once more; he remembered the last conversation he had with her before he had left his home in Waterdeep three days back.

*****

Shea stretched his sore back and leaned back in a chair as his daughter Tamara walked into the house. She seemed exhausted, as she usually did every day. “Training hard again Tam?” to which she only nodded in reply. “You shouldn’t push yourself so hard it’s not good for your health,” he paused, “anyway you’ve got a long life ahead of you, ye need not learn it all at once.”
“I know, I don’t have to go in tomorrow anyway, mistress Naiji gave me the day off,” she looked over at the wall to which a dart board had been nailed in and had multiple knives sticking out of the center. She looked back at her father and heaved a sigh, “You know, you could be doing something more productive than throwing knives at the wall,” her father shrugged then smiled, “I’m too busy taking care of you, I’ve no time for other tasks.”
“I am old enough to care for myself you know,” she snapped, “you, however, need to be doing something it’s not good for your health to be sitting around the house wasting your days away.”
Shea nodded slowly, “I know, it’s just that I’m too concerned about you and anyway what would I do, where would I go. It’s been too long since my adventuring years,” Tamara arched an eyebrow and glanced at the dartboard on the wall, “You’ll be fine I’m sure of it.” She crossed her arms and gave Shea a stern look.
Shea raised his hands in resignation, “Alright, alright, if you think you can take care of yourself then I could probably afford an adventure or two,” he said smiling.
Tamara smiled back at him, “Tomorrow then, I’ll prepare a pack for you,” she said as she started rushing around gathering things for him. Shea smiled to himself, better rest up then, he thought to himself.
The next day father and daughter stood at the southern gates of the city saying their farewells. Tamara handed him a pair of boots which brought a confused look to his face, “Here they’re enchanted so your feet don’t get sore and pained from traveling,” she explained,” then she handed him a small band of black metal, “It’s mom’s ring; I enchanted it so I can communicate with you from time to time,” she gave a thoughtful look, “though it wasn’t easy, there was already some magical properties on the ring that I wasn’t capable of discerning,” she gave him a sweet smile then put on a serious face, “you promise to come back, right?” he nodded and returned her smile, “I promise.” Then he kissed her on the forehead and gave her a tight embrace then walked off down the road starting his adventures anew.

** ***

Tam was a smart kid she is capable of looking out for herself Shea reassured himself. He sat up and slid off of the bed, “Well, if I am to make any progress I had better get going afore I get bored,” he smiled to himself.
He gathered his belongings together and left the inn leaving some coins in his room for the innkeeper. As he exited the inn he paused, looking over his shoulder to the road that led back to Waterdeep, I’ll come back Tam I promise. He turned back to the road that led to mystery and adventure, a road I’m glad to welcome back he thought as he started walking down the road.

Burning Bright

2006-11-02T16:16:45Z

This one's a work in progress, I'll probably redo it anyway.

“Wha…where am I?” Awakening suddenly he sat up suddenly in a daze. A sharp pain assaulted his mind, blurring his vision and sapping his strength. Noticing a glass of water on a table beside his bed he took it and drank eagerly; the cool water setting him at ease and soothing his mind.
    As he sat there grasping for thoughts, memories, anything really nothing would come to him he found. He didn’t even know who he was, least of all where he was. Setting his glass down, he took in a deep breath and looked around at his surroundings. The room was rather small, but it was clean and tidy. Sunlight leaked through a small window located up high on the wall. At least it’s not barred, I guess that’s a good thing, but where am I, he pondered. While trying to remember something, anything, the door clicked as it was being opened and a woman entered.
    She was carrying a tray of food, “Oh, you’re awake now,” he vaguely heard her say as his attention was held on the food. She sat it down on the table, but he found that he had to know some things before he could eat.
“Excuse me, miss…?”
“Mala, Miss Mala. Do you need something?”
“Mala, yes…Where am I?”
“You’re in the Beryl Bastion, in Faeryl,” Mala told him. “Oh, I see,” although he didn’t really see, he still had no clue where he was. “Well, if you need anything else I will come in to check up on you every hour,” she told him as she started to leave. He grabbed her arm startling her; looking up at her pleadingly he asked, “Who am I?”

    She looked back at him, her eyes widening with surprise, “Wel...well, I thought you could tell me that,” she said stumbling over her words. “I…I’ll go get someone, hold on,” with that Mala rushed out of the room. Feeling overwhelmed and confused he buried his head in his hands. Still, nothing came to him; he lifted his head and stared at his hands, they were the color of ash. Why hadn’t he noticed before, he just didn’t know; nothing made sense anymore. He had nothing, no memories, no name, nothing.
    “Ash, I will be Ash,” he told himself. There, now he had a name, it was suiting he thought glancing at his ash gray skin. Now I have something and I’ll not lose it, Ash thought.

Shadowborn

2006-11-02T16:15:13Z

A’kiel Lief ran his fingers through his raven black hair. Dark, it was always so dark in Everdark Forest. The trees grew so close together they left no room for the sun’s rays to get through their suffocating canopy of leaves. A’Kiel didn’t mind the darkness though, he was an eclipse elf native to Everdark; his race was well adjusted to the dimness.
He traveled through the forest silently and swiftly; clad in black leathers and a black cloak he doubt he would be seen so easily, he couldn’t afford to be hindered. A’Kiel’s goal today was the deep forest and his need was urgent. He could feel the call from deep within the forest. Everdark is a mysterious and magical place; a path may be in one location one day and in another location the next day, with all of these changes occurring it would take a skilled forester or an elf familiar with the parts. Fortunately A’kiel was both.
    A’kiel sped through entering the section of deep forest which was marked by denser vegetation and a deepening darkness. The darkness, how it comforted A’Kiel, for one with a gift such as his this darkness was a sanctuary. This gift, as eclipse elves view it, is very rare and unique to their race. Those blessed with this gift are called Shadowborn, mostly known for their mysterious eyes which are completely black with white pupils and iris resembling a single star alone in a dark night. Certain powers manifest themselves in the gifted that give the Shadowborn their name. They have dominance over shadows; they use it as most use elf elemental magic and they can blend in with surrounding shadows or step through a shadow and out another. A’Kiel also had powers of earth which helped him with tracking and such but he wasn’t much of an earth caster as he was of shadows.
    A’Kiel stopped at the edge of a clearing; he had found what he had sought. The Darkways Gate, a dimensional gate that upon activation opened a rift to another plane of existence. This plane was a mirror image of the world, how it came into existence no one knows for sure, but there are stories.
One is, that at the birth of the world a powerful demon created several dimensional rifts throughout the world; upon the creation of these rifts monsters of all shapes and sizes, all evil, came through spilling out onto the world creating havoc and destruction everywhere. An archangel was sent from the heavens to combat and put this evil away. The archangel succeeded in putting the evil back through the gates but, it was impossible to seal the rifts completely after they’ve been opened. However, the archangel knew a way to block the Ways but it was at the cost of her own life. Her life energy was spread to all the gates and in their place stood massive white oak trees.
The trees act as a barrier blocking the evil in. If an evil being on the outside were to come upon the trees they could summon monsters through the barriers. The archangel, her life spent now and the gates sealed had done her job. The duty to protect the barriers now rests upon the Shadowborn; they are the only ones who are able to cross over through them at will. And that was what brought A’Kiel to the sacred white oak. He had sensed trouble brewing in the realms of shadows. The gate had been breached.
    A’Kiel sensed that this tree before him had been breached. The creature that had broken through was somewhere nearby. The rift in the barrier was still open though. It was A’Kiel’s duty to seal the gate and slay the monster; if he failed the situation could get ugly. First things first he had to seal that barrier before anymore shadow beasts took advantage of it. Usually the ritual to close and open the Ways was very time consuming, fortunately though, A’Kiel had a slight advantage. He had two weapons belted on, a dagger and a sword. These weapons were very potent not only in combat but out of it too. The dagger was forged with the power of light enabling A’Kiel to open a path to the light world from the Darkways and close the gate from there as well. The sword was its opposite. It was forged with the power of shadows and darkness allowing him to open the gates from the light world and closing them while in the Darkways. These blades had helped him in many tough situations; they were a keepsake of the highest ranking Shadowborn.
    A’Kiel stepped up to the white oak and drew his dagger giving the area a small luminescence. He waved the dagger through a series of patterns in front of the open gate. Moments the later the gate was closed A’Kiel heaved a sigh of release. Now for the shadow beast; A’Kiel drew his sword which gave off darkness that negated the dagger’s light. Shadow beasts left prints that could be tracked though they faded after a short amount of time. A’Kiel looked around for these tracks and he found a few of which were of a very large shadow beast. He sighed again then started following the quickly fading prints.
    Shadow beasts were naturally stealthy creatures. Born from shadow and corrupted by dark magic; they differ in shape and size but are all equally, or more, deadly than the last. And the one A’Kiel tracked was a particularly big and nasty one. He shrugged his shoulders, a beast was a beast he had fought them before and will probably keep doing so till the end of his days. A’Kiel noticed the prints got more spaced out as he progressed which meant that it was running and it knew A’Kiel was in pursuit. A’Kiel got a whiff of sulfurous ash that was the telltale odor of a shadow beast new upon the prime plane, it was close, now was the time for caution. He got down low and slowly stalked towards where the rapidly fading tracks led.
    It was very close now, he could sense it. It was folly to try and find the beast for it was a creature of shadow and could blend in perfectly in this forest so A’Kiel had to lure it out. Fortunately he had the means. He first conjured a ball of shadow, empowering it with a lot of power which he derived from the shadows surrounding him. He then set it adrift through the air, the amount of power he had put into the ball was high so the ball gave off high emanations of magic which would attract the beast. The ball drifted through the air into a clearing and hung suspended in the middle. Still controlling the sphere he triggered the sphere to burst which set free all the dark magic within scattering it within the clearing.
    A’Kiel heard a roar that shook the ground almost knocking him off of his feet. He kept his eyes locked on the clearing awaiting the beast’s entry. His wait didn’t last long for the beast leapt into the clearing sensing the dark magic though looking for its source. The beast had a sleek feline form; it almost looked like a panther, if the panther had glowing red eyes, was three times the size of a normal panther, and whose body looked composed of a swirling black mist. A’Kiel drew his sword only and charged into the clearing. He slashed at the huge hellish panther with his sword cutting into its flank; the wound did not bleed though. Instead the black mist that its body was composed off swirled over the wound closing it. A’Kiel grinned, his sword upon inflicting the wound, had drawn some of that shadow substance into its blade, which had weakened the beast slightly but gave his sword more of an edge. That was how he defeated the shadow beasts; he would weaken them with his dark matter sword and then absorb the core essence of the beast with his dagger of light while the beast was weak enough so that it was not repelled by the pure light magic the dagger was composed of then he would release the essence back through the portal.
    The dark beast was weakening they both new it. It gave out a low growl and then leapt away. A’Kiel cursed underneath his breath then pursued the great beast. It wasn’t easy for it moved swiftly and without a trace. A’Kiel had a notion though about where it was heading. If it reached the Darkways then the gate would open and there was a chance that more beasts would flood through. That was a very bad thing and something he had to stop immediately. He took the swiftest route to the gate to head the beast off, the beast was faster but it was the only hope he had to rely upon.
    After several long minutes of running the gate came into sight. As A’Kiel neared he noticed the gate was still closed to which he gave a sigh of release. Then he tensed up again realizing the beast wasn’t in sight. Surely he didn’t outpace it; really they should have arrived at the same time. Then he heard, or rather felt, another of the beasts’ earth-shattering roars. Yea, it was there, now he just had to slay the thing. Convenient for him though the portal was there and he could release the beasts’ essence back onto the shadow plane without traipsing halfway across the forest.
    A’Kiel jumped into the clearing standing before the gate, the beast then jumped into the clearing as if accepting a challenge. They started circling each other slowly, eyeing each other looking for the other to betray a weakness. A’Kiel couldn’t tell anything from the beast’s movements so he decided to surprise the thing. So he charged the beast with his dark sword.
The beast pounced at him in response to the elf’s charge. A’Kiel ducked low and thrust the sword upwards while the beast was over him. He got a rewarding roar of pain. A’Kiel looked over and saw the beast lying on its side scarcely moving. He knew it was due to having all of its power drained by the power of his sword. He walked over to the beast cautiously, for it still posed a threat though minor, and withdrew his dagger from its sheath. As he did this the clearing was filled with a soft glow from the dagger. The beast gave a low growl then revealed its fangs though it could do nothing. A’Kiel neared the beast then poised his dagger over it then thrust it into the shadowy material it was composed of. It gave a silent roar then was slowly absorbed by the light dagger. Once the shadow beast was fully absorbed the daggers’ light was dimmed slightly. A’Kiel’s shoulders sagged, it was over. That was a nasty one he thought as he looked at his dimmed down dagger.
    Now all he had to do was to release the core essence back into the shadow plane and then it would be the end of that chapter just like that. He walked to the tree that served as the gate; he stopped a couple of paces short of it withdrawing his sword which still held shadow essence powering it. He waved the sword through a series of gestures in front of the gate leaving a trail of dark matter behind it, once complete the gate that he had closed not to long ago with his dagger reopened. Reopening the gate however used up the power that was stored in the sword. Once the gate was open though A’Kiel thrust his dagger in it and there was a sort of vacuum and the core essence that the dagger contained was drawn back into the realm of shadow. A’Kiel sighed, his job was done for the most part, and all that needed doing was the closing of the gate.
    A’Kiel withdrew his dagger from the gate then stepped back and made a series of gestures with his dagger to close the gate. Once he finished gesturing the gate started closing once it was all closed except a little sliver it abruptly stopped. A’Kiel’s face scrunched up with confusion, now that wasn’t supposed to happen like that he thought. He stepped closer then drew his dagger closer to the crevice. As soon as he prodded it the world as he knew became blindingly bright then suddenly went very black, and that was the last thing he knew.

Champion of Wind

2006-11-02T16:14:08Z

Kheldryn Fae looked out upon the vast desert. He was a dry elf, a creature of the desert, and descendants of the high elves. A clan of high elves broke off from their brothers and sisters and took to the desert. They adapted to the ways of the desert, and were changed over time by it’s magic. And here they dwell in the desert, thriving as masters of it.
    Kheldryn rose from the rock he sat on and picked up his quarterstaff. He raised his eyes to the sky; a sandstorm was brewing. It would be here within the hour he discerned, he would have to run back to the clan and tell them to fall back to the caves. Kheldryn sprinted from the rock racing across the dunes of sand. He shifted his weight perfectly so that the shifting sand wouldn’t impede him. He was a trained monk; his muscles were finely honed to perfection from hours of training. His balance was perfect and in combat he was an unequaled fighter in his clan and several of the other clans of the great Detrus desert.
    Within ten minutes he arrived at his clan’s camp. His clan, the Desert Wolf, was a nomadic people, as were all clans of the desert they moved with the herds of desert buffalo that were scattered about the land. His people had tracked the buffalo this far out into the desert and had sent Kheldryn out ahead to scout for them.
    Kheldryn raced to the main tent of the small camp his clan had constructed, it was used as a temporary shelter for when they were moving. He was stopped by the guards at the front, “Greetings young Kheldryn, what news do you bring back?” one guard questioned.
    “A sandstorm approaches from the northwest, gather the villagers tell them that we must fall back to the underground caves,” he explained hastily, “I’ll tell King Gaen,” he said.
    The guards nodded and hastily left and Kheldryn entered the tent. He moved before the table that King Gaen was seated and bowed low. “State your business Dune Fighter,” King Gaen said.
    “A great sandstorm approaches, we must fall back to the underground caves it will be here within the hour,” Kheldryn said.
    “Indeed, the caves then we must recede into,” the king said, “it would be most unwise to be caught helpless by the storm, after though we resume to the oasis for surely the herd will take shelter there,” Kheldryn nodded then hurried out of the tent.
    He went around helping people gather things that would not last through the storm. After everything they needed was packed the tribe left off for the caves for their temporary sanctuary.
    They arrived after nearly an hour of travel, as soon as the caves came into sight they ran straight to them. They got there just in time for a few moments later the storm hit. The clan rested their feet in the cool underground caves; they were a perfect place to stay for there was a pool of water deeper in the cave formed by some source of freshwater that was deeper underground. Kheldryn had found the caves not long ago; the tribe visited it whenever they were near to stock up on their water reserves before following the herd again.
    Kheldryn sat near the entrance of the cave thinking deeply as he stared out into the swirling sand. These storms get more frequent each year, there is something going on with Detrus that seems unnatural he thought. But no matter this storm will end soon and we will resume our journey to the oasis after the herd.
    Kheldryn’s clan roamed the desert constantly, but the one place they frequented most was the Detrus oasis, a lush paradise with very little downsides. It was one of the few landmarks of the desert aside from the shrine of fire and various ruins of old temples. Though the oasis was nice it often attracted unwanted attention such as the desert minotaur, taller than their temperate climate dwelling kin but no less fierce. Then there were the crab-like abominations that dwelled in the sand outside the oasis and all over the desert as well. Their rock hard shells made them near invulnerable and they were surprisingly fast. They would often jump from the sand and grab any unwary travelers. Kheldryn had fought both on several occasions, though he could defeat them with relative ease, he’d rather not confront either of the fierce beasts for they rarely traveled alone.
    The oasis was only a small part of the desert; its size was insignificant compared to the actual size of the Detrus desert, and minotaur and crab monsters weren’t the only predators of the desert. As the nomadic clans of the desert followed the buffalo herds, part of the herd sometimes strayed away and the lone buffalo attracted monsters - big monsters – great muscled and scaled beasts that have roamed the desert for centuries upon centuries. They were an off breed of a race of dragons that have died off, but their offspring were intelligent as any dragon, they were feral beasts though and did not speak any language and they often hunted only for the pleasure of killing. Kheldryn had seen these beasts on few occasions and had seen their ferocity as one tore apart and devoured a buffalo; Kheldryn was awed by its presence and had slipped away unnoticed to steer his clan away from the beasts. Kheldryn shuddered as he recalled that memory.
    True those beasts were terrifying but there was once a greater monster that had ruled the desert centuries ago. Kheldryn was a young lad when he heard the story from one of the clan elders. They were once great dragons powerful and ancient as the legend was told but they twisted by an ancient dark magic of the desert. They were fierce killers that only lived to kill, their reinforced spiked and scaled hides turned any weapon and their claws, tail, and teeth defeated all that opposed it. Their eyes gave off a fierce gold glow when angered and their rage was legendary, destroying all that they came upon. As he was told after a time the creatures simply vanished from the desert without a trace, most thought of the story a myth to frighten little children, but Kheldryn had seen the ruins all over the desert and could only wonder. He had seen some strange things and did not doubt that the desert once possessed such creatures and he was thankful that no such creatures could be found anymore.
    Three hours had passed and the sandstorm died down completely. Kheldryn had been meditating nearly the whole time but he got up and picked up his staff, stretched, and went off to tell his people that the storm had died. They had been taking the time to rest so Kheldryn roused King Gaen. The King got everyone up and moving so they headed off to the oasis.
    It would take them two days travel to reach the oasis. They took a leisurely pace for the herd would remain at the oasis for days at a time sometimes weeks.
    Kheldryn always traveled ahead of the group mostly to serve as a scout. He walked across the dunes quarterstaff in hand at his own pace. Then something in the sand caught his eye. Minotaur tracks, though vague Kheldryn had seen such tracks before, these were recent too for the storm would have wiped out any previous prints. The minotaur were probably driven this way by the storm. But nonetheless he couldn’t take chances, so he went back to the group. Kheldryn told King Gaen of the tracks and the King called for a halt and informed the clan that they would be camping here. They only had a day left of travel but the people were weary and agreed to making camp.
    As they slept Kheldryn and a few other clansmen took first watch. He sat on the sand staring up at the starry sky thinking of the possibilities of what the minotaur were doing this far north of the oasis, though minotaur lived throughout the entire desert they were scarce north of the oasis and lived mainly near the heart of the desert. He shook the troublesome thoughts away and simply gazed at the beautiful serene sky the rest of the night.
    They started traveling again the next morning right before dawn; they would arrive at the oasis near dusk. Kheldryn again stayed far ahead of the main group, leading them on the fastest safest path through the dangerous desert.
    The clan arrived safely and without incident at the oasis near dusk. Kheldryn and four of his friends in the clan left to scout the oasis to make sure it was free of danger. The freshwater pond in the center of the oasis was their destination, that’s where the clan would be staying. Kheldryn led his friends through the thick vegetation of the oasis; he paused every so often to check for tracks or signs that something or someone was there. They neared the pool of the oasis so they made their steps lighter, they would have to be cautious for if anything was here it was probably around the area of the pool.
    The water shone from the setting sun’s light shining through the trees. Kheldryn felt something emanating from the pond, he couldn’t discern what it was but it didn’t last long.
It looks very peaceful here Kheldryn thought as he and his friends stood at the edge of the clearing. The thoughts of serenity were still in his head as he was admiring the beauty of the place, which was until one of his friends strode towards the pool of crystal clear water. It seemed very quiet all of a sudden and something flickered in the corner of his eye; Kheldryn wanted to cry out to warn his friend but a giant minotaur leapt from the side of the clearing and cleaved his friend in half, the words of warning sticking in his throat.
    Kheldryn leapt forward, a fiery rage in his eyes. He feared nothing of the desert. He charged at the minotaur and slid through its widespread legs just as an axe came swinging down barely missing his head. Kheldryn jumped up and swung his quarterstaff at the back of the minotaur’s kneecaps. He heard a satisfying grotesque popping sound as the minotaur’s kneecaps popped from their sockets. Kheldryn jumped back as the beast fell. Before the minotaur hit the ground Kheldryn swung his quarterstaff into it’s throat crushing his windpipe. The minotaur hit the ground hard clutching its crushed throat gasping for air, Kheldryn brought down the end of his quarterstaff into the minotaur’s eye. Gore went everywhere as it’s skull shattered. Kheldryn wiped his staff on the dead creature’s fur and looked back at his friends.
    He was shocked to see more of the shaggy beasts had jumped into the clearing and were now engaged in combat with his friends. His friends were hard pressed and wouldn’t last long against these brutes, but he had to do something.
    He threw his quarterstaff like a javelin at the nearest minotaur. It struck the beast in the side of the head dropping it unconscious; his companion saw the opening and cleaved it with his great sword. He ran towards the minotaur at a great speed. The minotaur turned to face the fierce elf designating that it was the greater foe; the other elf lay on the ground with his weapon lying just out of reach. In a desperate attempt the minotaur threw its axe at the dangerous elf. But Kheldryn wouldn’t be stopped so easily; he would not be stopped though. Kheldryn sidestepped to avoid the throw but snatched the axe from midair as it flew by. He was running the whole time. As he snatched the axe he jumped off the side of a near tree going high into the air, he felt very light, amazingly light. A second later he dropped like a rock embedding the axe into the minotaur’s thick skull.
    Kheldryn shook the gore off of him and surveyed the remains of the battle. His friends were weary and one suffered some injuries. They stayed at the site as Kheldryn tended to his friend’s wounds. They made a fire and burned the minotaur bodies; after the bodies were burned they waited for about an hour, after no more monsters showed they decided to go back for the rest of the clan.
    Nearly an hour later they arrived back at the camp. The clan was disheartened about the loss of a warrior and friend, Kheldryn grieved little the desert was dangerous and he had lost friends before; although he did shed a few tears for his fallen comrade. Then the clan packed their things and went off to the pond.
    A lot of things accompanied Kheldryn to the pond, one thought stuck out the most. He couldn’t help but notice when replaying the fight in his head he realized he moved faster than he had ever moved before. Kheldryn had a grasp of some minor wind elemental magic; he could enhance his speed in combat or he could use it for other occasions. He rarely used them in combat for he had faith in his fighting skills and he thought that the use of his magic gave him an unfair advantage. He most often used his magic to deter the wind from blowing sand in his eyes as he stood guard or ran point for the clan.
During the battle though, he hadn’t summoned or cast any spell of any sort. It was all very curious. The battle was over in a matter of minutes, but he was so fast, he hadn’t realized it before because his adrenaline was pumping and he was caught up in the battle.
    He held these thoughts until they reached the pond then he decided he’d come to a conclusion about it later. Kheldryn just wanted to relax by the pond; he had been busy of late and needed a much-deserved rest. He shoved his staff through the sash he wore around his waist. Then he reclined on a wide branch allowing the gentle breeze to soothe him nearly to sleep. He shook himself from his relaxed state wanting to take a quick swim. He noticed that the branch he was sitting was overhanging the water. The calm water in the starlit clearing was enticing so he decided to dive off the branch. Kheldryn stepped out onto the branch; he ignored his quarterstaff mainly because he always liked a challenge. He sprung off his high perch in a graceful dive. Kheldryn felt odd as he dove though he looked down at the slow approaching water through his hands.
    Slowly approaching? Seeing through my hands? Kheldryn was utterly baffled and tried not to panic. He kept going down towards the water but it was unbelievably slow.
    Kheldryn’s fingers grasped towards the water, but he dissipated into nothingness before reaching the placid surface of the pond.

Stories

2006-11-02T16:12:02Z

I'm going to be posting my stories on this journal so I can come back and look at them and fix them instead of using my poor excuse for a word processor. Anyway, all of the stories are my own so please don't steal them or any of the ideas or anything. If you want to use anything from them please ask me first.

Thanks, Winston.

yeah

2006-10-18T00:11:36Z

So I think I'm done with posting parts of this story for now. I'll probably do some more writing, just different stories. I plan on making Immolation a novel though, so don't worry, it'll be finished some day. I have alot of writing that I want to get caught up on, I just have to actually do it. Anyway, I'm off here shortly to play some Silent Hill 2.

Immolation: part 4

2006-10-17T23:43:31Z

There were still some hours before dawn, the guard could hardly wait. It was cold and he was tired and hungry, why's it gotta be so damn cold, and why's it always me the one having to do night duty, damnit. He shivered when a chill wind blew by him, wrapping his cloak a little closer around him and trying to warm his hands away from the chill of the wind.
A noise to his left flank drew the the guards attention to some nearby shrubs, he drew his sword halfway out of his scabbard. "Probably just some damn squirrel," he muttered to himself. "Maybe, maybe not," is all the guard heard before he was knocked out. Yaghn looked at the guard, "Any sensible squirrel would be sleeping right now," he told the unconscious guard. Yaghn looked around looking for a good place to put the guard, he finally decided to lean the guard against a nearby tree and made it look like he was napping.
Yaghn went from tree to tree getting closer to the fort, there were a pair of guards stationed outside the entrance, he'd have to find a way to dispatch them. He started looking through some of his belt pouches until he found something, a small sphere with a fuse. I hope this works like the old man said it would. Yaghn crept atop the overhang where the entrance was built some ten feet up, he looked down and saw the guards, they looked rather lax than at attention, perfect. He took the sphere in his hand and held the fuse between his finger and thumb until it lit. Then he dropped it between the guards, the device worked as planned, it started smoking immediately.
The guards didn't notice immediately, but then the smoke started to spread, the guards were then a bit more attentive. In seconds the smoke enveloped them and Yaghn dropped from the ledge on top of one of the guards knocking the guard out. He sat on top of the guard for a few seconds listening to see where the other one was; getting a sense of where he stood Yaghn went around quietly to where he assumed the guards flank was. Ducking low, Yaghn aimed a kick at the guards knee, he made contact but barely; it did it's job though and dropped the guard. He heard the guard grunting and cursing as he started to get back up, so he aimed another kick, this one at the guard's head. The kick connected knocking the guard out.
Not wanting to lose any time Yaghn searched both guards for a key of some sorts and eventually found a ring with a few keys on it. He went up to the door and tried them on it, one worked. Yaghn cracked the door open just enough to squeeze through the opening, keeping the keys with him he silently closed the door. Well, now that I'm in where do I go? Everything seemed still inside, torches that hung on the walls flickered, but otherwise it was silent. I'll just have to do this the hard way, but I'll have to hurry so I can get out before those boneheads wake up.
As Yaghn stood at the entrance deciding what to do he suddenly heard neaby footsteps. Cursing himself for a fool, his mind raced for ideas as his eyes searched for somewhere to hide. An idea suddenly came to him, he slowly drew his sword so that it wouldn't make a noise as he drew it. Then he crept up to the wall of the passage and stood at the corner with his back to the wall, waiting. What looked to be a servant walked by his position, oblivious to the armed Yaghn. Yaghn smiled.
He swiftly snuck up to the servant and brought his sword around to the man's neck, "Say a word and I shall slay you instantly," Yaghn said in his best scary raspy voice. "You will listen to me and will respond accordingly, got it?" he told the man who nodded, trembling with fear. "Good, where is the girl?" Yaghn demanded, the servant started shaking his head so Yaghn pressed his sword a little bit closer, "You will lead me to where she is held, understood?" after a few moments the servant nodded. The servant started walking, Yaghn removed the sword from his throat and placed it at his back.
After several minutes of walking the corridors of the fort they came to a room with several prison cells, passing several cells they stopped at one, within it slept the little girl. Yaghn leaned in close to the servant and handed him the keys he stole earlier, "Open it, now," he coldly told the servant. He complied, trembling and fumbling with the keys he managed to open the door. Yaghn stepped in and scooped up the sleeping girl in his arms and carried her out of the cell stopping to look at the sevant with cold eyes, "Do not follow, do not wake anyone. I will know then I will come for you," the servant nodded dumbly as Yaghn left with the girl.
Finding his way back to the entrance he let out a sigh of relief, glad that his bluff worked so well. Before he opened the entrance door he sat the girl down, he then opened the door to peek at the guards; they were still unconscious, good. Yaghn opened the door then scooped the girl back up in his arms and headed out of the fort. Now I have to head to the Jhal Rivers, I hope this girl is up to the walk. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, her eyes fluttered open and went wide. "It's ok, you're safe now. I'm here and I'm taking you to a safe place," he told her. The girl smiled and fell back asleep. Yaghn smiled and pressed on through the remaining hours of the light, yeah, it was worth it.

A good day.

2006-10-17T00:30:25Z

It's been a good day thus far, classes weren't that bad, I have like no homework that requires immediate attention; it's nice. I also got to sword spar earlier, in the lobby of the dorm ^_^. As people walked into the dorm they were wandering what we were doing and so they watched. I fought so much and am now utterly exhausted, I'm out of shape and haven't done that for that long of a time in a while. It was awesome though. Later I'm going to 4th floor to play some more Silent Hill 2, that game is so creepy and disturbing, so was the first one.

I'm out for now, Winston.

-side note- I will probably have part 4 up tomorrow.

Immolation: part 3

2006-10-16T03:22:13Z

Yaghn’s eyes fluttered open, he saw stars peeking through the branches and leaves of trees. “Welcome back,” said a nearby feminine voice, “Hello Lori’en, been around long?” Yaghn asked, still lying on his back.
“Long enough, but I must get going soon, I cannot stay here for much longer,” Yaghn sat up. Lori’en sat at the base of a tree across from him, his stuff was next to him except his bedroll, which he had just noticed he was in. “Where did they take the girl?” Yaghn asked, “South east of here, there is a small fort hidden in the side of a valley, you should have no problem with it. However, it will attract the Sovereign,” Yaghn nodded, planning ahead already.
“I can find a place to hide, can you meet me at the Jhal Rivers? That girl will need somewhere to go and sticking with me is a bad idea,” Yaghn said. Lori’en nodded, “I will meet you there and take them to the Hidden, she will be safe there,” she said.
“I will be there in four days then,” Yaghn said, but when he looked up Lori’en had left already. He nodded to himself and started getting his things together and re-equipping himself. Judging from what Lori’en said that valley is only half a day away, I can get there some hours before dawn and maybe surprise them. I have no desire to kill any of them, but if I have no choice than it is their own foolishness that will lead them to death.
Less than half an hour later Yaghn set out for the valley fort. He hoped that the girl was still alive, if not then Yaghn did not want to think of what would happen, he would just have to control himself this time. If he did manage to sneak into the fort then he would also have to sneak out and get away to the rivers. Ugh, so much to anticipate, but that child is relying on me so I will have to do all that I can to save her. Heh, this is crazy, I could die just to save this girl. Yaghn smiled to himself, this is what makes life worth living...

End of Break

2006-10-16T02:43:22Z

It is now the end of Fall Break, which was the weekend and friday off. Not very long, but hey, I'll take it. Anyway, I think I'm going to start my story stuff up soon, I don't have a whole lot of homework so I should have some time for it.

Maybe not...

2006-09-27T00:10:24Z

Looks like I don't really have a ton of time or thought to develop this thing for now, so it looks like it's just going to hang.

An update

2006-09-08T15:58:26Z

I'm probably going to be updating this thing more often, I'm going to try for nce a day. However, it will probably be more story stuff like this, I think I would bore people talking about my day. Anyway, the stories that I post originally won't be a final draft or anything, it's just inspiration writing. I'm thinking that I'll go back and edit my stories as well, so please don't yell at me when they suck.

Immolation: part 2

2006-09-08T15:32:03Z

The raspy man blocked Yaghn's charging sword with his own deflecting the blow out wide, he thrust his sword towards Yaghn's torso. Yaghn's sword was there to block it with impossible speed; with his free hand Yaghn punched the raspy man in the face while he gaped at Yaghn's speed. The man reeled and Yaghn came upon him again sword raised, the man staggered and managed to block Yaghn's ferocious blows, barely. How is he so fast, the man wondered, I can't beat him, "Grold! The girl now!" he yelled past Yaghn.
   Yaghn stared daggers at his opponent, hearing a whimper from behind him, he turned and saw the girl being held by another sinister looking man, a look of worry crossed his face. Yaghn turned back to his foe, "You bastard, let her go!" then the rage flared inside him, it tore at him, in him. He couldn't control it, it burned so much, the pain was agonizing. Yaghn let out a terrifying scream of pain.
   The raspy man stared gaping, as he looked upon Yaghn he could feel an intense heat coming from him, more intense than the burning buildings, who is this guy, he’s not human.
   Yaghn fell to his knees from the intense pain, not again, they'll all be killed, I have to control this. Then something released and Yaghn could no longer feel the pain, in it’s place he felt something, something he couldn’t control.
   "Grold, take the girl, go back to the base, hurry you fool!" The raspy man yelled to his partner. Yaghn's head snapped up looking at the raspy man directly, his eyes were dancing orbs of red and orange and flames danced across his body. Yaghn raised his sword and set his feet to attack his foe. His foe raised his sword in a pitiful defense suddenly feeling very drained of confidence, his face going pale.
   Yaghn smiled then charged, his sword bursting into flames. The raspy man would have blocked the blow if it weren't for the fact that Yaghn's sword had melted through his own, shearing it in half along with his torso.
   Yaghn breathed in the aroma of burned flesh and smiled, he turned around and noticed that the little girl and Grold were gone. The smile left his face being replaced by a visage of rage, his anger flared up again and Yaghn could feel the pain again even more agonizing than before, then his vision went black and he passed out before he hit the ground.

Immolation: part 1

2006-09-07T23:51:29Z

Yaghn (Y-awn) looked around the burning village, what kind of bastard would do this, he thought. The smoke from the burning buildings stung his eyes and burned his nostrils; rage burned in Yaghn's eyes as he looked at the corpses that littered the streets. Women, children, infants, it made no difference it seemed, they were all corpses now.
   A sudden movement caught the corner of his eye, "Who's there?" he asked. "I mean no harm," unless you're the one that did this he thought. A child, a little girl, stepped from behind a building tears in her eyes. Yaghn backed up holding his hands out in a non-threatening pose, "I mean you no harm, can you tell me what happened here?" he asks motioning to the burning buildings and corpses.
   The girl burst into tears then ran to Yaghn hugging his legs tight, "They're all dead," her voice muffled against his legs. Yaghn patted her head trying to soothe the crying girl. He gave the burning village another look then said, "We should get going, it's not safe here." The girl just sobbed in reply, Yaghn picked her up and held her close, "Shh, it'll be ok, we have to go though," he started walking to the entrance of the village, Yaghn held the girl close so she couldn’t see anymore of the carnage. He would set up a camp about a mile out then feed the poor child and see if he could find out what befell the village.
   "Where do you think you're going?" a voice from behind him said, Yaghn stiffened at the raspy sound of the voice. "Did you do this?" Yaghn demanded sternly. "Aye, I did, don't you think it's an improvement?" Yaghn set the child on her feet and told her to stand of to the side and behave, the girl complied still teary-eyed. Yaghn turned around to face this perpetrator, this wrong-doer.
   "Why?" Yaghn asked simply, "Why would you do something so terrible to these peaceful people?" his voice rising in volume and intensity. The raspy-voiced man was smiling at him, "It matters not dear Yaghn, what matters is that you are here now, the master will be pleased," Yaghn's fierce countenance faltered for a moment, "You must pay for this, you will pay for this," Yaghn said steadily, pulling his sword from his sheath. "You amuse me Yaghn, but I have no time to play games, I have to bring you to our Great Sovereign, he needs you."
   Yaghn gave a small laugh, "Heh, well that's too damn bad isn't it?" raising his sword, Yaghn charged. "Don't make me kill you Yaghn, I don't want to disappoint my master," the raspy-voiced man said pulling out his own sword preparing for Yaghn's charge.

Enjoying Cappuchino

2006-09-06T23:02:58Z

Almost done with homework, just have to read the rest of this book which is getting duller by the page. I also hope that Gar puts the shard up for a little while so I can play that for a bit, I still need to read that photoshop book so Gar doesn't kick me out of the project, that would suck too much for words. I've got cappuchino though so life is good. I just wish Janelle was here because I miss her badly; this is for her ^_^:

What Is It That I Love?

If asked why I love her I would say
It’s the sway in her hips,
the thickness in her thighs.
It’s the lust in her lips,
the love in her eyes.
It’s the softness of her skin,
the silk in her hair.
It’s the twist in her walk;
it’s the sweetness in her talk.
It’s the way she loves me
that makes me love her each day.
That is what I would say.

- Justin Hutchins -

Good stuff

2006-09-05T22:26:49Z

I am taking this idea from Janelle because it sounded fun. I'm just going to list a couple things that I'm grateful for and that make my day.
1. Karen Janelle Jarvis
2. The Lord
3. My friends
4. My parents
5. College
6. Writing
7. Sleeping
8. Getting out of class early
9. Inspiration
10. Gaming (video games + D&D)

Posting so Janelle stops nagging ^_^

2006-08-04T01:37:42Z

Yeah, I usually don't get around to posting because I'm doing other stuff or really that I don't feel like posting. I'll probably just post when Janelle prompts me to, mainly because she's the only one that reads this ^_^.

Weekend Recap

2006-05-01T21:41:02Z

Friday: After school I hung out with one of my friends, after going to my house to get his truck we went to his house to get some stuff. After that we picked some friends up then headed to Anderson, we were off to Friday night magic. When we got to Anderson we went to Rally's then McDonalds to get some food, then we went to "Reader's Copies" to eat and later play magic. The tournament started, I watched, I didn't want to pay the entering fee. None of my friends won, close, but no. Around 11, I think, there was a draft which my friend payed for. During the draft I got a rare card worth some money, I gave it to my friend who payed for me and he let me keep the rest of the cards I got in the draft. The we had draft matches, we played with the cards we got. I got like 2nd or third, at any rate I won my first match and got a special card. We left soon after and I got home at almost midnight and went to sleep.

Saturday: D&D day, or so we thought. A couple people came over but Sam never did, so throughout the day we played Smash Bros., stratego, sword fought, RISK!, Magic, and yelling at middle schoolers. It was fun overall, but not near as fun as D&D as I was hoping to play. THe day went pretty well though.

Sunday: Went to church, came home from church, went to friend's house, played magic, went home, left home, went to girlfriends house, left there went to church, had teen rally at church, left church, took girlfriend home, went home, went to bed. Didn't do a whole lot, it was fun, but I was pretty tired (still am).

I'm out, Winston.

Blegh...

2006-04-25T23:03:09Z

Today I missed the first 4 and a half period of class due to a doctor appointment with my cardiologist. I found out that there's no change in my heart, which is good news. I actually got homework today, math and econ. Both boring and involving numbers... ah numbers, my most hated enemy. After school I hung out with one of my friends, I taught him how to play Stratego and we played a game, of which I won forunately and for a change. Tomorrow I've got to do a paper before 6th period, that is finish a paper, shouldn't be that hard. For the rest of today I'll probaly read or do something to occupy my time. Too bad it rained, I want to sword spar someone. I am currently thinking about teaching people, sure it won't be 'official' or anything nor will it use any 'techniques' it will just be pure sword fighting; and why not? Those that do it enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is instead of making it something that it's not. Probably going to play D&D this weekend, kinda looking forward to it. Prom is in a couple of weeks, pretty excited, just need to get a few things sorted out.
I need something to do, I don't know what, I just need something to do. It bugs me when I feel this way, so unaccomplished and when I think of things to do they just don't seem all that great or worth doing. I'll figure something out though.
Well, I still have things to attend to, so I'm off here; Winston.

Good day

2006-04-25T01:06:42Z

I was pretty tired today, I felt like sleeping in class. School is back to normal, no more econ project, however we have about 4 weeks left of school so that's relieving. I had to go to the doctor today for an EKG for my other doctor visit tomorrow at Riley to see my heart doctor, I get to miss my morning classes so it's cool. I also got another D&D book today, Sandstorm, which completes my environmental collection (I'm a nerd). My mom and myself ate out at a mexican restaurant called el Japiero which serves awesome mexican food, amazing. After that we went to this bridal store to get a tux for prom (May 13th), I am going to look pretty sharp this year ;). Then I got home am now relaxing.

For a weekend recap:
Saturday, planned on doing D&D, yeah that never happened, we ended up playing video games and sword sparring. A couple of other people showed up randomly, I sparred with one and then the both of them sparred together, it was amusing and fun. They left then Wes came over, he's my older brother's friend. Then my brother left like the tool he is leaving his friend. So I got to hang out with him, we played some Mario Soccer, then played some Stratego, a classic boardgame from the sixties, it's amazing. We played 'till a little after one then ended up talking for another 35-45 minutes. I got to bed about 2ish.
Sunday, went to church, was a little tired. Went home, my girlfriend went with me. Once there we hung out a little then decided to watch Napoleon Dynamite, we didn't get it all done becuase I had to take her back to church for praise band practice. It lasted until 7, which was unexpected, then we went back to my house and ended up hanging outside for a while then going inside and having some dinner. I took her home at about a quarter to ten, dropped her off, then went home.

Pretty fun weekend overall, too bad I still have 4 weeks of school. Ah well. I'm out, Winston.

D&D

2006-04-22T04:12:31Z

Played some D&D today, didn't play alot but still had fun. Afterwards I went to Burger King with a couple of friends and ended up running into my girlfriend who was just leaving. She was pretty angry seeing how she told me never to show up when she was working, but she was supposed to be gone an hour before I got there -_-. Then, after eating, we headed back to my friends house to play a game of RISK!, that was lots of fun. We were back at their house at about 10, our game ran until 11:30. I ended up winning, as I usually do (not bragging, I promise) but I promised to help my friends out next time, give them tips and stuff. Got home shortly after, they only live 2 miles from my house, got online and am now talking to my girlriend and checking up on my forum. I should go to bed shortly because I've got more D&D tomorrow, everyone is not showing up, but we're still going through with it. Should be fun, not going to run it long because I've got a paper to type up that's due monday and worth 300 points (yay).
Until next time, Winston.