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Shattered Dynasty Book 1: A World Divided

 

03-13-08 06:53 PM
iBOCK is Offline
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Note: Because I am writing the novel and I may get my work stolen, I am not going to post the story here, I am only going to tell you a synopsis ONLY. I have become very paranoid since I got 12 tarot readings and ALL of them answering me the same way when I asked the question, "Will I become a successful writer?". The cards said, "You will become extremely wealthy, followed by a crushing defeat that will set you back due to someone stealing your ideas. To prevent this, do not reveal the work you are doing to the people near you, for they can all be the thieves."

It's nothing personal, I'm just being as cautious as possible because I have poured my heart and soul into this book's creation.

It's about a 15 year-old boy who lives in a tiny, nearly unnoticed village. Fifteen is the age when boys become adults and are permitted to leave their homeland.

After traveling, he gets into major trouble with the government on an island far from his home, where they suspect him of creating an illegal rune called the Magic Sword.

I know I'm being insanely vague but I will have to wait to show you the story when I finally get accepted by a publisher.

Words: 25,445 out of God knows what.
Note: Because I am writing the novel and I may get my work stolen, I am not going to post the story here, I am only going to tell you a synopsis ONLY. I have become very paranoid since I got 12 tarot readings and ALL of them answering me the same way when I asked the question, "Will I become a successful writer?". The cards said, "You will become extremely wealthy, followed by a crushing defeat that will set you back due to someone stealing your ideas. To prevent this, do not reveal the work you are doing to the people near you, for they can all be the thieves."

It's nothing personal, I'm just being as cautious as possible because I have poured my heart and soul into this book's creation.

It's about a 15 year-old boy who lives in a tiny, nearly unnoticed village. Fifteen is the age when boys become adults and are permitted to leave their homeland.

After traveling, he gets into major trouble with the government on an island far from his home, where they suspect him of creating an illegal rune called the Magic Sword.

I know I'm being insanely vague but I will have to wait to show you the story when I finally get accepted by a publisher.

Words: 25,445 out of God knows what.
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03-20-08 04:22 PM
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I wouldn't worry about someone stealing your work. Pretty much all movies/ games / books are a rip off of one another in some form. Although it is better to post a synopsis rather then the whole thing thats for sure.

The story is very interesting I must say, I like how the government is involved in it it adds a bit reality to the fantasy if there is anything magical going on in Magic Sword

Can't wait to see the whole thing!
I wouldn't worry about someone stealing your work. Pretty much all movies/ games / books are a rip off of one another in some form. Although it is better to post a synopsis rather then the whole thing thats for sure.

The story is very interesting I must say, I like how the government is involved in it it adds a bit reality to the fantasy if there is anything magical going on in Magic Sword

Can't wait to see the whole thing!
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03-20-08 08:45 PM
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Halfway through writing it. There's going to be a ton of symbolism that may be confusing towards the latter half.
Halfway through writing it. There's going to be a ton of symbolism that may be confusing towards the latter half.
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03-20-08 08:48 PM
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As a writer, I know where you are coming from with this. I myself rarely let anyone see any of my manuscripts until they are complete. Wouldnt mind seeing a sample chapter though, if you think it safe enough to do so.
As a writer, I know where you are coming from with this. I myself rarely let anyone see any of my manuscripts until they are complete. Wouldnt mind seeing a sample chapter though, if you think it safe enough to do so.
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03-20-08 09:26 PM
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I will definitely do so. After 35,000 words I will release the foreword and first chapter of the book on this board. Excuse the rambling in the book once I show the 1st chunk, I wanted to pay attention to the detail.
I will definitely do so. After 35,000 words I will release the foreword and first chapter of the book on this board. Excuse the rambling in the book once I show the 1st chunk, I wanted to pay attention to the detail.
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03-21-08 09:07 AM
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Remember, the prologue and the first chapter are the most important! You want to include a lot of background and detail, but not so much to drown your reader. You need to grab their attention first and foremost.
Remember, the prologue and the first chapter are the most important! You want to include a lot of background and detail, but not so much to drown your reader. You need to grab their attention first and foremost.
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03-21-08 11:02 AM
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The foreword is the start of the book I've always wanted. It's short but it's definitely good... I think. Here, I'll show you the stuff right now (foreword, prologue, chapter 1)
Please excuse the blocks of text.


Foreword by the author
Hello, and welcome to Shattered Dynasty- From The Start. I've written this story out of inspiration. Out of the blue, such a story occurred to me, and I was compelled to write this down. All of the characters flooded into my mind like a river of creativity and a world of such massive proportions just continued to expand in my head. When I was writing this, the words in my brain flowed faster than the ink in my pen. It was as if a wave of the feelings and adventures of these characters took over me and it was like I became them, writing their story on these flowing sheets of such a tale.
This story occurred to me one day after waking up from a deep sleep. At first I figured it would have been just another story to think of... But then it grew into something more. Every person in this book told me to show you their words in text, and to reveal their lives to you. They all spoke to me crystal clear, like a flowing, endless dream. Their desperate pleas for their voices to be heard reached my ears, and it was a message that I immediately knew to record.
Upon receiving this message in my daydreams, I pulled a pen from my backpack and immediately began to scratch the white notebook sheets at breakneck pace. The adventure was written as if already subconsciously in my mind, hiding in the deep crevices of my head. Such a book could not have been left idly by in my memories; this had to be written... It was my duty to tell the story of these people from their world, in my imagination.
They want me to speak their words, the question is....

Will you listen?
























Prologue- A History to Remember
In Akra, a small republic residing in the midst of Sadys, a child was born. Of course, you may think a child will bare no significant impact, but this was no ordinary child. A boy by the name of Shadu lived in such a place. He had hidden talents, those of which even his father did not know of. The boy was always curious of the world around him, but to be blunt, nosey would be a better suiting word. Shadu liked to help his father in the potions shop he ran, dilly dallying and looking on shelves. He mixed potions out of wonder to see what they would become, and usually resulting in a small disaster... Okay, to be honest, it usually ended in something catching fire, in more ways than one. Shadu also had a knack for getting into trouble, as you can see.
Many hours of his free time snooping around were of places he was not intended to be. Often Shadu poked into his father's herb lore laboratory, drinking chemicals to see what they tasted like. Even though it was not the healthiest of time consumers, he did it anyway. Once he had stumbled upon a shelf with a potion that was specifically labeled, "Do Not Consume". And, well... You know what results, actually you most likely do not- after drinking this chemical, he felt dizzy and struggled to stand. Moments afterward he burped loudly, smashing some potion bottles near him.
Although he did have free time, it was mostly occupied by getting into everything that was in his path. A large portion was spent just wasting time, and exploring the wonders of his small home. At age eight, he finally learned to fletch and carve branches. For his birthday his father scrounged enough disposable income to purchase a new fletching knife. The old one was becoming dull and less efficient.
Shadu then learned to make small trinkets for decorating the house. He carved paperweights to start with, becoming the beginning of his wide line of creations. The boy continued to practice and managed to learn how to make small boxes, which were placed all around his father's home to liven up the place. At age nine, he learned more about fletching and proceeded into more challenging tasks such as making small shields and practice swords. Most of his creations would soon go to his friends for play.
Replacing non-productive tasks, Shadu began to occupy his time with more and more hobbies. In the small home of the small village of Ogrewood, this boy lived. At the age of ten, he advanced to more challenging stages in fletching. He also spent his time creating inventory for a new small shop to bring income to the home. After a few months passed, the shop ultimately evolved into his source of all pay.
Wooden trinkets were not the only things he knew halfway through his tenth year of life. Shadu finally tried out potions for a change, although a novice, he was making up for it by doubling his skill in the first hobby of carving and fletching. Coin after coin, the more he saved up, the more his satchel of money increased in weight. This was around the time he learned to plan financially, even at the current age he was at.
Alas, eleven years old was the age in which he could travel to the mines southwest of Ogrewood. The grant is always given to every eleven year-old child showing improvement in development skills. Mining would once again accumulate more coins for him to save up. Exactly one month after his birthday, he received his mother's ring, a pickaxe, and an arm brace. All three of these items were now his encouragement to increase his wealth. It was the taking on of a new challenge which helped him to save up the piles of coins that came his way. This distracted him from wondering about his family's past... His mother Fresca passed on when he was six years of age, and Shadu did not know much of her, all he has to remember her by is her ring. Aging to thirteen, Shadu decided to participate in swordsmanship. While an apprentice, he began to learn somewhat quickly. He practiced every day to become like his father, training and using his talents to their full extent.
Although his swordsmanship did not improve, he began to quickly advance in herblore, and then he delved into rune casting. He started small by practicing on large rocks and wooden stumps, allowing for his aim of throwing to improve drastically. There were many places in which his potential branched off, and his childhood talent of fletching still continued to develop. His education also began to improve, learning of the weather and outside lands. Shadu always had a tall red bookshelf in his room, which had a lockbox with Fresca's ring inside, and all of his textbooks for learning purposes.
He had no more mementos of her, just specifically the ring. It was undetermined whether or not it was the wedding ring, but he kept it safe in the lockbox he made, behind his favorite three books concealing it away from sight. Finally reaching fifteen, Shadu was an exceptional Fletcher and herbalist, and still struggling to keep up in swordsmanship. He became more and more intrigued in books after that, often adding more and more to his shelf to read. Theris began to see the remarkable progress the boy was making.
At last, several months after his birthday, Shadu asked his father if he could travel outside of Ogrewood. The answer was not instant, and there was long consideration before a decision was made. He was allowed to do so, and began to pack his things to leave. Curious of the world around him, Shadu brought a journal with him to take notes of his surroundings, as he traveled out of Ogrewood, and into this vast continent.
That was just the beginning.



















































I- Past Ogre Wood / To another region

The path past Ogrewood seemed to be endless. As Shadu began treading, the trees around him seemed more and more lifeless with his progression. He looked down the path way, and saw past the wintry fog of the Croherian Borders. The hill beyond him was steep, almost like the edge of a cliff. Every tree in sight had lost its leaves, and they looked as if they were crying for help. Snow seemed to drop in sheets, the heavy snowflakes constantly blanketing the ground. Shadu enjoyed the sound of the snow crunching from underneath his boots.
He noticed the wind was becoming colder as he took every step. Shadu keeps
marching forward, until there was something that caught his eye. A small block of ice was slightly stuck out of the ground. He walked over to observe it, and noticed it was firmly frozen to the snow-capped ground. Shadu
was fascinated, he had never seen ice in this perfect of a shape before... In fact, the only time he had ever seen ice in his life was when he read textbooks about them. Such a finely cut block distracted him with its fantastic,
wondrous cube shape. He never knew ice looked as such! Shadu pulled out a small tablet and began to write about the block of frozen water.

It has only been one hour and I have already found an amazing discovery. This perfectly-shaped block of frozen liquid has appeared to me from nowhere in sight. It astounds me to what I have found in such a
short amount of time, a frozen block! My father will be very surprised to see these discoveries once I make more!
I'm enjoying my time out of Ogrewood, even though it's my home. I really just enjoy the new scenery, some change for once. Anyway, it's getting rather cold standing here, so I have to stop writing for now.
Shadu closed the journal and continued onward. The cold air began nipping at his face. Snow came down heavier gradually. he thought ice and snow were different worldly occurrences than these. After all, Ogrewood only lets you out of the village when you are eleven years old, so it only
makes sense he never knew of such complex weather. Everything was new to him, the snow, ice, cold air, everything. Shadu's eyes began to tear up from the steadily lowering temperature. The sky was
now completely gray, snow coming down faster than ever before. He noticed the snow crunching louder as he continued walking. Snow was falling heavier and heavier, in droves as Shadu continued walking into the unknown. The path seemed to be circular, almost in a complete spiral--It was taking a very long time to progress any further. He noticed the snow covering everything, almost making the path hard to see.
Shadu continued to walk through the white plains, noticing there were no more trees remaining. All of a sudden it became more frigid than
before, the wind was fiercer than once perceived. He searched through his deep pockets and
retrieved a heat rune, and poured some restoring water to fill its magic power. He then carefully placed it onto the ground and then put his hand on it. His freezing bones thawed as the snow around him began to
dissipate.
Feeling refreshed, he put the rune and potion back in his pocket, and continued forth. The area looked just like an empty white space. It resembled the blank room in one story Shad read when he was ten... He would continue walking, except the faint sound of footsteps disturbed him. He paused and still hear the crunching of the snow.
Someone was following him. "Hello?" Shadu immediately turned around, looking for someone to
respond. Nothing, just the whistling of the frigid wind. He kept his guard up. Someone was indeed following him, but he had yet to know who. It could be someone meaning no harm, but on the other hand, it could be the polar opposite. Until then, Shadu observed every inch of every solitary step he took. He was
taking no chances.
He took every single step cautiously as if it were his last. The footsteps returned. He turned around and still nobody was there. The wind picked back up and once again Shadu continued his trek through this
frozen land. He prepared to refill the magic power of the heat rune once more. For the third time, the invisible steps of another being commenced.
Shadu fully charged the rune and threw it behind him. Moments after, he turned around and noticed someone appearing from nowhere as the snow
around the individual evaporated. "Whoa!" A little boy fell over and was surprised. Shadu could see his
pursuer at last.
"Aha! There you are!" He walked over and picked up his heat rune.
"W-what was that?!" The boy asked Shadu, rising from the cold ground to his feet.
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"Oh. It's an element camouflage." The little boy proudly responded.
"An element camouflage? Never heard of it!" Shadu was deeply curious about
this peculiar little device. What were the secrets behind it? How did it work? And, how could he receive one? This odd item perplexed him, Where had a mere child acquire such a valuable and useful accessory?
"Yeah.." The boy pulled out of his pocket a small purple device, and presented it to Shadu.
"Wow..." He held the item in his hand, caressing it as it glowed wondrously.
"Where may I receive such a thing?"
"Well... You're not even at the border of Croheria as of yet." The boy took back the element camouflage and continued walking.
"Hey, wait!" Shadu shouted to the child.
"Come on! I'll show you where to get one of these!" He gestured to follow.
Shadu continued trotting, and followed the boy's lead.
"So where is the nearest town?"
"Quite a ways away. Croheria is far from here."
Croheria... A new place to Shadu. Where had all of these places been?
Winter's harsh grip was new to him, and he was becoming colder, his clothes were not fit
for such a journey.
"It's very cold, and white flakes are falling from the sky... What
weather is this?" Shadu knew not of this condition, and why cold, white flakes
descended from the heavens.
"It's winter." The boy responded and then resumed walking.
"Winter...?" Shadu was instantly bewildered.
"Winter's when it gets cold and snow falls." This little boy
continued to tread as Shadu stood writing momentarily in his journal.
Dear journal,
It's me again! I just discovered what this beautiful yet harsh weather is! Something by the name of 'winter' ! It's fascinating! I never knew winter consisted of cold wind and flaky frigid pieces from the sky. I
love what I have found so far, and it has not been a very long period of time! So far I haven't even treaded a great distance away from Ogrewood, and already everything in the outside world is
so brand new!
The boy signaled to keep walking. Shadu closed the tablet immediately and continued on. A frigid wind became colder and colder. The weather was near a deadly freezing point. Shadu fished through his bag once more and found a spell book. He immediately opened it and looked for the advanced heat rune spell Temp Norm. The first few pages of the spell book did not contain what he was indeed looking for. After several moments of searching through the thick spell book, he alas found the spell. Shadu then retrieved a blank rune from his bag for attaching the Temp Norm spell.
The instructions stated the spell would modify the air around the user to body temperature, in order to
prevent freezing. Shadu took out the linking potion (which will tell the rune his body temperature), and then sprinkled a droplet on the rune and placed his hand on it. A small veil of heat made Shadu recover from the
blast of freezing wind. The border of Croheria was near, and the young boy
yelled to Shadu, "Come on! We're at the borders!" Indeed the borders were right in front of them.
A large metal gate pierced through the snowy ground. The border seemed empty, as if nobody was
standing guard. Shadu walked forth to the gate and did not know someone was
indeed guarding the border, cleverly with an element camouflage in their hand.
"Stop right there!" A border guard removed the element camouflage and
stepped forward. He did not seem very pleased.
"Whoa!" Shadu jumped back and fell over.
"Hey," The boy walked forward and explained, "I'm here to go home."
"But who is this?" The guard stared suspiciously and not very impressed by the explanation.
The boy stood for a few moments, trying to think of a valid response. What would he say to the guard without getting caught? You would figure a child would not think of a clever way out of such a situation, but this boy was different. He was cunning and swift, unlike any average boy from Croheria.
The question however, was how would the boy word such a lie to escape receiving punishment....
"He's... er...." He knew of the excuse to say, but his vocabulary did not extend far enough for him to state the lie. Desperately, he torpidly muttered, "Visiting family!" the boy was hoping this dimwitted man
would buy the fib. With a rather stupid expression on his face, the man began to think deeply... The suspense was like a slap in the face, silence being the current conversation. Although the temperature was at a deathly freeze, beads of sweat rained from the bad little boy's forehead.
He thought to
himself, "I don't think I'm going to get out of this one!".
"I have never seen him around here in these parts..." At last the verbose lookout mentioned a somewhat obvious observation. Of course Shadu wasn't from Croheria, he hadn't even heard of snow until fifteen
minutes ago! The hilarious notion was that the besotted border guard did not
even suspect much. The boy had to think of another answer to get him and
Shadu out of this rut, and he had to think fast. Although the patrolman was not so swift, he did expect a swift and intelligent answer...
Even though he wouldn't be able to interpret a response of an extensive vocabulary... For a
single, solitary moment, the child came up with a clever, fool-proof response. With a sly tone, he worded,
"You've only been guarding this border for two years, correct?" Another blast of silent air made the atmosphere once again uncomfortable. Was the guard stalling for something? It was almost like his mind was
trying to catch up with his mouth... If he slipped up and said something to tangle the webs of his weaved lie, then Shadu would not be able to proceed.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" A cocky look on the man's face signified he
tried to compensate for his lack of intelligent dignity. His stupidity was not well hidden, which made it far more easy than before for the boy to verbally thrash him with any cunning excuse. The next response slid off the tongue,
"He hasn't come here to see his family since three years ago." Now all that was left
to do was wait for the slow, insipid man to actually think of a plausible response.
"I see... Then you may proceed..." The border guard swaggered over to a rusty wheel. He rubbed his hands together to prepare for the force needed to open the large gate. Shadu watched quietly as the lookout struggled to turn the heavy, rusted wheel to open the only obstacle remaining: the giant metal
gate. The loud creaking and grinding of the cogs screeched loudly. All of the gears staggered to successfully operate, they seemed to be dated and in need of repair.
The frigid air meant nothing now, since Croheria was now in the horizon.
"What's your name, kid?"
"My name's Tom, what's yours?" Tom sneezed and then continued to walk through the tightly packed sheets of white snow. Crunch, crackle went the cold groups of flakes as Croheria became closer and closer from the trekking.
"I'm Shadu. It's nice to meet you, Tom. Thanks for helping back there." Shadu laughed and then proceeded forth into the icy winter of eastern Akra. The clouds in the sky changed hue, and were now a dark grey, almost black instead of the graceful white it once was. A storm was approaching, and so was the mysterious, shady night. The once perceived harsh cold was now paled in comparison to what was ahead. The temperature steeply and quickly dropped, almost instantly Shadu and Tom began to feel the effects of the winter.
Shadu's bodily reaction momentarily kicked in, the shivers of the algid breeze had numbed his bones. An intensely, increasingly cold blast of air didn't even phase Tom. He was used to the weather. Shadu was curious, so he asked,
"Why were you out of Croheria? Was there something important for you to do?"
"I had to go get resthium for grandpa. He needs to craft this weekend." Tom smiled and reached into his deep pockets. Pulling out his hand once more, eight small shards of resthium were in his palms. He seemed to be proud of the day's batch of mining loot. The gust knocked a piece out of his hand.
"Oh!" Tom knelt over and stuck his hand into the cold mound of snow. The resthium was slippery now, melted flakes dousing it quickly. It was wet and shiny. He quickly pocketed the resthium pieces and ran onward into the expanse.
"Hey, wait!" Shadu ran after Tom and slipped on the dangerous, frozen terrain. The fall quickly startled him and he jumped back up to prevent being further embarrassed. He quickly felt a brief sting from his left arm. Observing, he noticed a scrape that slightly bled. Shadu retrieved a handkerchief and began to pat the small wound dry.
After a couple moments of pressure, the tiny stream of blood stopped flowing, and the trivial cut seemed to be reacting slower from the effects of the climate. Continuing on, Shadu walked more carefully this time. He cautiously kicked off any of the snow left from the bottom of his boots, so
he would not slip once more. Croheria's bridge was now in sight, and
more and more violent the brewing storm became.
"Wow... It sure is dark out here." Shadu mumbled to himself. His shivers grew more violent this time around. Time seemed to stop, as if frozen by the temperature itself, quickly wind flew by and bit at his already
freezing hands. Shadu continued to slowly but surely proceed into the wintry storm that was birthing from the devastating heavens. How would he reach Croheria in time if he continued to walk slowly like this? By instinct, his legs picked up speed without his control whatsoever, his brain was telling his physical form that if he didn't reach Croheria with haste, he would be in the midst of the swirling, shivering deathtrap.
"You're all the way back there? Pick up the pace, or you'll get hit!" Tom waved his small arms gesturing with tension and worry, indicating to be quick or death would surely be the only way out of this storm.
"I'm coming, I'm running as fast as I can!" Shadu was gasping for breath. The frigid air blasted into his lungs and cut short his stamina rather quickly, making it more difficult to breathe than once before. He began
to slow down his running speed in order to prevent from catching an illness.
Tom quietly walked over the Croheria bridge, waiting for Shadu to catch up with him. A fierce, unforgiving gust swept up a large pile of loose snow to the right of the bridge, it was as if the wind were alive and preparing to attack.
Snowy fog emerged from the frigid air, and Shadu sprinted one last time to assure he would reach Croheria in time.
"Gah! What's happening?!" Shadu yelped as he dashed past the tornado that
just consumed where he previously stood.
"It's a winter storm." Tom scratched his nose, the penetrating wintry wind biting at him like a monstrous creature. The climate grew stronger as if it were a living beast, a monstrosity of nature. A gust slapped Shadu with all of its strength, stinging his entire body. The temperature was now surely below zero, and it gave
Shadu’s body such a physical shock it paralyzed him for a few seconds. The shock of such a blast caused an unleashed force of physical damage that was near mortal.
"Are you okay, Shadu?" Tom ran over to him and checked to see if he was in good enough condition to continue on. The question was how Tom did not feel the same way from the impact of the storm. Perhaps he grew to bear the wintry fierceness, but for now the main question was how Shadu would get to Croheria in time before his body died.
"What was that...?" Shadu quickly reached into his bag and used the remaining magic power of the heat rune. Quickly the frigid air around Him began to fritter away and he was able to move his frozen joints more freely.
He started to breathe easier and then proceeded over the bridge. Tom stopped him quickly and said,
"That was just part of the storm." he followed Shadu into Croheria and
prepared to get indoors as quickly as possible.
The foreword is the start of the book I've always wanted. It's short but it's definitely good... I think. Here, I'll show you the stuff right now (foreword, prologue, chapter 1)
Please excuse the blocks of text.


Foreword by the author
Hello, and welcome to Shattered Dynasty- From The Start. I've written this story out of inspiration. Out of the blue, such a story occurred to me, and I was compelled to write this down. All of the characters flooded into my mind like a river of creativity and a world of such massive proportions just continued to expand in my head. When I was writing this, the words in my brain flowed faster than the ink in my pen. It was as if a wave of the feelings and adventures of these characters took over me and it was like I became them, writing their story on these flowing sheets of such a tale.
This story occurred to me one day after waking up from a deep sleep. At first I figured it would have been just another story to think of... But then it grew into something more. Every person in this book told me to show you their words in text, and to reveal their lives to you. They all spoke to me crystal clear, like a flowing, endless dream. Their desperate pleas for their voices to be heard reached my ears, and it was a message that I immediately knew to record.
Upon receiving this message in my daydreams, I pulled a pen from my backpack and immediately began to scratch the white notebook sheets at breakneck pace. The adventure was written as if already subconsciously in my mind, hiding in the deep crevices of my head. Such a book could not have been left idly by in my memories; this had to be written... It was my duty to tell the story of these people from their world, in my imagination.
They want me to speak their words, the question is....

Will you listen?
























Prologue- A History to Remember
In Akra, a small republic residing in the midst of Sadys, a child was born. Of course, you may think a child will bare no significant impact, but this was no ordinary child. A boy by the name of Shadu lived in such a place. He had hidden talents, those of which even his father did not know of. The boy was always curious of the world around him, but to be blunt, nosey would be a better suiting word. Shadu liked to help his father in the potions shop he ran, dilly dallying and looking on shelves. He mixed potions out of wonder to see what they would become, and usually resulting in a small disaster... Okay, to be honest, it usually ended in something catching fire, in more ways than one. Shadu also had a knack for getting into trouble, as you can see.
Many hours of his free time snooping around were of places he was not intended to be. Often Shadu poked into his father's herb lore laboratory, drinking chemicals to see what they tasted like. Even though it was not the healthiest of time consumers, he did it anyway. Once he had stumbled upon a shelf with a potion that was specifically labeled, "Do Not Consume". And, well... You know what results, actually you most likely do not- after drinking this chemical, he felt dizzy and struggled to stand. Moments afterward he burped loudly, smashing some potion bottles near him.
Although he did have free time, it was mostly occupied by getting into everything that was in his path. A large portion was spent just wasting time, and exploring the wonders of his small home. At age eight, he finally learned to fletch and carve branches. For his birthday his father scrounged enough disposable income to purchase a new fletching knife. The old one was becoming dull and less efficient.
Shadu then learned to make small trinkets for decorating the house. He carved paperweights to start with, becoming the beginning of his wide line of creations. The boy continued to practice and managed to learn how to make small boxes, which were placed all around his father's home to liven up the place. At age nine, he learned more about fletching and proceeded into more challenging tasks such as making small shields and practice swords. Most of his creations would soon go to his friends for play.
Replacing non-productive tasks, Shadu began to occupy his time with more and more hobbies. In the small home of the small village of Ogrewood, this boy lived. At the age of ten, he advanced to more challenging stages in fletching. He also spent his time creating inventory for a new small shop to bring income to the home. After a few months passed, the shop ultimately evolved into his source of all pay.
Wooden trinkets were not the only things he knew halfway through his tenth year of life. Shadu finally tried out potions for a change, although a novice, he was making up for it by doubling his skill in the first hobby of carving and fletching. Coin after coin, the more he saved up, the more his satchel of money increased in weight. This was around the time he learned to plan financially, even at the current age he was at.
Alas, eleven years old was the age in which he could travel to the mines southwest of Ogrewood. The grant is always given to every eleven year-old child showing improvement in development skills. Mining would once again accumulate more coins for him to save up. Exactly one month after his birthday, he received his mother's ring, a pickaxe, and an arm brace. All three of these items were now his encouragement to increase his wealth. It was the taking on of a new challenge which helped him to save up the piles of coins that came his way. This distracted him from wondering about his family's past... His mother Fresca passed on when he was six years of age, and Shadu did not know much of her, all he has to remember her by is her ring. Aging to thirteen, Shadu decided to participate in swordsmanship. While an apprentice, he began to learn somewhat quickly. He practiced every day to become like his father, training and using his talents to their full extent.
Although his swordsmanship did not improve, he began to quickly advance in herblore, and then he delved into rune casting. He started small by practicing on large rocks and wooden stumps, allowing for his aim of throwing to improve drastically. There were many places in which his potential branched off, and his childhood talent of fletching still continued to develop. His education also began to improve, learning of the weather and outside lands. Shadu always had a tall red bookshelf in his room, which had a lockbox with Fresca's ring inside, and all of his textbooks for learning purposes.
He had no more mementos of her, just specifically the ring. It was undetermined whether or not it was the wedding ring, but he kept it safe in the lockbox he made, behind his favorite three books concealing it away from sight. Finally reaching fifteen, Shadu was an exceptional Fletcher and herbalist, and still struggling to keep up in swordsmanship. He became more and more intrigued in books after that, often adding more and more to his shelf to read. Theris began to see the remarkable progress the boy was making.
At last, several months after his birthday, Shadu asked his father if he could travel outside of Ogrewood. The answer was not instant, and there was long consideration before a decision was made. He was allowed to do so, and began to pack his things to leave. Curious of the world around him, Shadu brought a journal with him to take notes of his surroundings, as he traveled out of Ogrewood, and into this vast continent.
That was just the beginning.



















































I- Past Ogre Wood / To another region

The path past Ogrewood seemed to be endless. As Shadu began treading, the trees around him seemed more and more lifeless with his progression. He looked down the path way, and saw past the wintry fog of the Croherian Borders. The hill beyond him was steep, almost like the edge of a cliff. Every tree in sight had lost its leaves, and they looked as if they were crying for help. Snow seemed to drop in sheets, the heavy snowflakes constantly blanketing the ground. Shadu enjoyed the sound of the snow crunching from underneath his boots.
He noticed the wind was becoming colder as he took every step. Shadu keeps
marching forward, until there was something that caught his eye. A small block of ice was slightly stuck out of the ground. He walked over to observe it, and noticed it was firmly frozen to the snow-capped ground. Shadu
was fascinated, he had never seen ice in this perfect of a shape before... In fact, the only time he had ever seen ice in his life was when he read textbooks about them. Such a finely cut block distracted him with its fantastic,
wondrous cube shape. He never knew ice looked as such! Shadu pulled out a small tablet and began to write about the block of frozen water.

It has only been one hour and I have already found an amazing discovery. This perfectly-shaped block of frozen liquid has appeared to me from nowhere in sight. It astounds me to what I have found in such a
short amount of time, a frozen block! My father will be very surprised to see these discoveries once I make more!
I'm enjoying my time out of Ogrewood, even though it's my home. I really just enjoy the new scenery, some change for once. Anyway, it's getting rather cold standing here, so I have to stop writing for now.
Shadu closed the journal and continued onward. The cold air began nipping at his face. Snow came down heavier gradually. he thought ice and snow were different worldly occurrences than these. After all, Ogrewood only lets you out of the village when you are eleven years old, so it only
makes sense he never knew of such complex weather. Everything was new to him, the snow, ice, cold air, everything. Shadu's eyes began to tear up from the steadily lowering temperature. The sky was
now completely gray, snow coming down faster than ever before. He noticed the snow crunching louder as he continued walking. Snow was falling heavier and heavier, in droves as Shadu continued walking into the unknown. The path seemed to be circular, almost in a complete spiral--It was taking a very long time to progress any further. He noticed the snow covering everything, almost making the path hard to see.
Shadu continued to walk through the white plains, noticing there were no more trees remaining. All of a sudden it became more frigid than
before, the wind was fiercer than once perceived. He searched through his deep pockets and
retrieved a heat rune, and poured some restoring water to fill its magic power. He then carefully placed it onto the ground and then put his hand on it. His freezing bones thawed as the snow around him began to
dissipate.
Feeling refreshed, he put the rune and potion back in his pocket, and continued forth. The area looked just like an empty white space. It resembled the blank room in one story Shad read when he was ten... He would continue walking, except the faint sound of footsteps disturbed him. He paused and still hear the crunching of the snow.
Someone was following him. "Hello?" Shadu immediately turned around, looking for someone to
respond. Nothing, just the whistling of the frigid wind. He kept his guard up. Someone was indeed following him, but he had yet to know who. It could be someone meaning no harm, but on the other hand, it could be the polar opposite. Until then, Shadu observed every inch of every solitary step he took. He was
taking no chances.
He took every single step cautiously as if it were his last. The footsteps returned. He turned around and still nobody was there. The wind picked back up and once again Shadu continued his trek through this
frozen land. He prepared to refill the magic power of the heat rune once more. For the third time, the invisible steps of another being commenced.
Shadu fully charged the rune and threw it behind him. Moments after, he turned around and noticed someone appearing from nowhere as the snow
around the individual evaporated. "Whoa!" A little boy fell over and was surprised. Shadu could see his
pursuer at last.
"Aha! There you are!" He walked over and picked up his heat rune.
"W-what was that?!" The boy asked Shadu, rising from the cold ground to his feet.
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"Oh. It's an element camouflage." The little boy proudly responded.
"An element camouflage? Never heard of it!" Shadu was deeply curious about
this peculiar little device. What were the secrets behind it? How did it work? And, how could he receive one? This odd item perplexed him, Where had a mere child acquire such a valuable and useful accessory?
"Yeah.." The boy pulled out of his pocket a small purple device, and presented it to Shadu.
"Wow..." He held the item in his hand, caressing it as it glowed wondrously.
"Where may I receive such a thing?"
"Well... You're not even at the border of Croheria as of yet." The boy took back the element camouflage and continued walking.
"Hey, wait!" Shadu shouted to the child.
"Come on! I'll show you where to get one of these!" He gestured to follow.
Shadu continued trotting, and followed the boy's lead.
"So where is the nearest town?"
"Quite a ways away. Croheria is far from here."
Croheria... A new place to Shadu. Where had all of these places been?
Winter's harsh grip was new to him, and he was becoming colder, his clothes were not fit
for such a journey.
"It's very cold, and white flakes are falling from the sky... What
weather is this?" Shadu knew not of this condition, and why cold, white flakes
descended from the heavens.
"It's winter." The boy responded and then resumed walking.
"Winter...?" Shadu was instantly bewildered.
"Winter's when it gets cold and snow falls." This little boy
continued to tread as Shadu stood writing momentarily in his journal.
Dear journal,
It's me again! I just discovered what this beautiful yet harsh weather is! Something by the name of 'winter' ! It's fascinating! I never knew winter consisted of cold wind and flaky frigid pieces from the sky. I
love what I have found so far, and it has not been a very long period of time! So far I haven't even treaded a great distance away from Ogrewood, and already everything in the outside world is
so brand new!
The boy signaled to keep walking. Shadu closed the tablet immediately and continued on. A frigid wind became colder and colder. The weather was near a deadly freezing point. Shadu fished through his bag once more and found a spell book. He immediately opened it and looked for the advanced heat rune spell Temp Norm. The first few pages of the spell book did not contain what he was indeed looking for. After several moments of searching through the thick spell book, he alas found the spell. Shadu then retrieved a blank rune from his bag for attaching the Temp Norm spell.
The instructions stated the spell would modify the air around the user to body temperature, in order to
prevent freezing. Shadu took out the linking potion (which will tell the rune his body temperature), and then sprinkled a droplet on the rune and placed his hand on it. A small veil of heat made Shadu recover from the
blast of freezing wind. The border of Croheria was near, and the young boy
yelled to Shadu, "Come on! We're at the borders!" Indeed the borders were right in front of them.
A large metal gate pierced through the snowy ground. The border seemed empty, as if nobody was
standing guard. Shadu walked forth to the gate and did not know someone was
indeed guarding the border, cleverly with an element camouflage in their hand.
"Stop right there!" A border guard removed the element camouflage and
stepped forward. He did not seem very pleased.
"Whoa!" Shadu jumped back and fell over.
"Hey," The boy walked forward and explained, "I'm here to go home."
"But who is this?" The guard stared suspiciously and not very impressed by the explanation.
The boy stood for a few moments, trying to think of a valid response. What would he say to the guard without getting caught? You would figure a child would not think of a clever way out of such a situation, but this boy was different. He was cunning and swift, unlike any average boy from Croheria.
The question however, was how would the boy word such a lie to escape receiving punishment....
"He's... er...." He knew of the excuse to say, but his vocabulary did not extend far enough for him to state the lie. Desperately, he torpidly muttered, "Visiting family!" the boy was hoping this dimwitted man
would buy the fib. With a rather stupid expression on his face, the man began to think deeply... The suspense was like a slap in the face, silence being the current conversation. Although the temperature was at a deathly freeze, beads of sweat rained from the bad little boy's forehead.
He thought to
himself, "I don't think I'm going to get out of this one!".
"I have never seen him around here in these parts..." At last the verbose lookout mentioned a somewhat obvious observation. Of course Shadu wasn't from Croheria, he hadn't even heard of snow until fifteen
minutes ago! The hilarious notion was that the besotted border guard did not
even suspect much. The boy had to think of another answer to get him and
Shadu out of this rut, and he had to think fast. Although the patrolman was not so swift, he did expect a swift and intelligent answer...
Even though he wouldn't be able to interpret a response of an extensive vocabulary... For a
single, solitary moment, the child came up with a clever, fool-proof response. With a sly tone, he worded,
"You've only been guarding this border for two years, correct?" Another blast of silent air made the atmosphere once again uncomfortable. Was the guard stalling for something? It was almost like his mind was
trying to catch up with his mouth... If he slipped up and said something to tangle the webs of his weaved lie, then Shadu would not be able to proceed.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" A cocky look on the man's face signified he
tried to compensate for his lack of intelligent dignity. His stupidity was not well hidden, which made it far more easy than before for the boy to verbally thrash him with any cunning excuse. The next response slid off the tongue,
"He hasn't come here to see his family since three years ago." Now all that was left
to do was wait for the slow, insipid man to actually think of a plausible response.
"I see... Then you may proceed..." The border guard swaggered over to a rusty wheel. He rubbed his hands together to prepare for the force needed to open the large gate. Shadu watched quietly as the lookout struggled to turn the heavy, rusted wheel to open the only obstacle remaining: the giant metal
gate. The loud creaking and grinding of the cogs screeched loudly. All of the gears staggered to successfully operate, they seemed to be dated and in need of repair.
The frigid air meant nothing now, since Croheria was now in the horizon.
"What's your name, kid?"
"My name's Tom, what's yours?" Tom sneezed and then continued to walk through the tightly packed sheets of white snow. Crunch, crackle went the cold groups of flakes as Croheria became closer and closer from the trekking.
"I'm Shadu. It's nice to meet you, Tom. Thanks for helping back there." Shadu laughed and then proceeded forth into the icy winter of eastern Akra. The clouds in the sky changed hue, and were now a dark grey, almost black instead of the graceful white it once was. A storm was approaching, and so was the mysterious, shady night. The once perceived harsh cold was now paled in comparison to what was ahead. The temperature steeply and quickly dropped, almost instantly Shadu and Tom began to feel the effects of the winter.
Shadu's bodily reaction momentarily kicked in, the shivers of the algid breeze had numbed his bones. An intensely, increasingly cold blast of air didn't even phase Tom. He was used to the weather. Shadu was curious, so he asked,
"Why were you out of Croheria? Was there something important for you to do?"
"I had to go get resthium for grandpa. He needs to craft this weekend." Tom smiled and reached into his deep pockets. Pulling out his hand once more, eight small shards of resthium were in his palms. He seemed to be proud of the day's batch of mining loot. The gust knocked a piece out of his hand.
"Oh!" Tom knelt over and stuck his hand into the cold mound of snow. The resthium was slippery now, melted flakes dousing it quickly. It was wet and shiny. He quickly pocketed the resthium pieces and ran onward into the expanse.
"Hey, wait!" Shadu ran after Tom and slipped on the dangerous, frozen terrain. The fall quickly startled him and he jumped back up to prevent being further embarrassed. He quickly felt a brief sting from his left arm. Observing, he noticed a scrape that slightly bled. Shadu retrieved a handkerchief and began to pat the small wound dry.
After a couple moments of pressure, the tiny stream of blood stopped flowing, and the trivial cut seemed to be reacting slower from the effects of the climate. Continuing on, Shadu walked more carefully this time. He cautiously kicked off any of the snow left from the bottom of his boots, so
he would not slip once more. Croheria's bridge was now in sight, and
more and more violent the brewing storm became.
"Wow... It sure is dark out here." Shadu mumbled to himself. His shivers grew more violent this time around. Time seemed to stop, as if frozen by the temperature itself, quickly wind flew by and bit at his already
freezing hands. Shadu continued to slowly but surely proceed into the wintry storm that was birthing from the devastating heavens. How would he reach Croheria in time if he continued to walk slowly like this? By instinct, his legs picked up speed without his control whatsoever, his brain was telling his physical form that if he didn't reach Croheria with haste, he would be in the midst of the swirling, shivering deathtrap.
"You're all the way back there? Pick up the pace, or you'll get hit!" Tom waved his small arms gesturing with tension and worry, indicating to be quick or death would surely be the only way out of this storm.
"I'm coming, I'm running as fast as I can!" Shadu was gasping for breath. The frigid air blasted into his lungs and cut short his stamina rather quickly, making it more difficult to breathe than once before. He began
to slow down his running speed in order to prevent from catching an illness.
Tom quietly walked over the Croheria bridge, waiting for Shadu to catch up with him. A fierce, unforgiving gust swept up a large pile of loose snow to the right of the bridge, it was as if the wind were alive and preparing to attack.
Snowy fog emerged from the frigid air, and Shadu sprinted one last time to assure he would reach Croheria in time.
"Gah! What's happening?!" Shadu yelped as he dashed past the tornado that
just consumed where he previously stood.
"It's a winter storm." Tom scratched his nose, the penetrating wintry wind biting at him like a monstrous creature. The climate grew stronger as if it were a living beast, a monstrosity of nature. A gust slapped Shadu with all of its strength, stinging his entire body. The temperature was now surely below zero, and it gave
Shadu’s body such a physical shock it paralyzed him for a few seconds. The shock of such a blast caused an unleashed force of physical damage that was near mortal.
"Are you okay, Shadu?" Tom ran over to him and checked to see if he was in good enough condition to continue on. The question was how Tom did not feel the same way from the impact of the storm. Perhaps he grew to bear the wintry fierceness, but for now the main question was how Shadu would get to Croheria in time before his body died.
"What was that...?" Shadu quickly reached into his bag and used the remaining magic power of the heat rune. Quickly the frigid air around Him began to fritter away and he was able to move his frozen joints more freely.
He started to breathe easier and then proceeded over the bridge. Tom stopped him quickly and said,
"That was just part of the storm." he followed Shadu into Croheria and
prepared to get indoors as quickly as possible.
Vizzed Elite

Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 05-02-05
Location: the grid
Last Post: 4188 days
Last Active: 3146 days

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